When Fates Collide
Chapter 24
… Comes Around
~ Citadel ~
Wrapping up their nauseating conversation with the former c-sec officer, Harkin, the asari and newly appointed spectre now knew exactly where to find the Shadow Broker Agent, Fist. With the password in hand, they could continue their mission of bringing about an end to his menacing reign on the Citadel. Shepard's main objective wasn't just to stop the man from harassing Dr. Michel, by forcing her to provide free medical supplies and attention, but to also help her quarian friend, Tali'Zorah sleep better at night, knowing that man would no longer hassle her. The former rogue soldier was going to ensure Fist was no longer a threat to anyone ever again.
(Picture the theme song to The Good, The Bad and The Ugly here – lol)
Donned in full battle gear, Galactic Commander Shepard and Professor Liara T'Soni resembled something out of an old, earth, western vid, as they swaggered with great menacing confidence through Chora's Den. With each intimidating step they took, the duo appeared to be moving in slow motion as the soles of their boots clanked on the floor's grating, rattling like spurs from a bygone era. Rather than dirt flying off their old leather dusters, the club's lights flickered off their armor as they paraded down the corridor. Replacing a old dusty cowboy hat, Shepard instead wore a sophisticated targeting system visor that veiled one eye.
As the pair of feminine hips strutted towards the back room, a matching set of pearl handled six shooters were replaced by cutting edge side arms. On Shepard's hip hung a HMWP-X pistol. Next to her, strapped snuggly against Liara's slender thigh, was the latest Karpov pistol. However nostalgic the revolvers were of yesteryear, they hardly compared to the destructive power of modern day weaponry. Not only could the micro-scaled mass accelerators take down the enemy, they could incinerate the entire wall behind them. As a modern android trash bot scooted past the fighters one could have easily mistaken it for a rolling tumbleweed.
Mimicking the great western vid, the slow moving would-be-cowboys strutted by, picking up two more of their posse who sauntered up to join their ranks. Each deliberate step accented the fearsome foursome's armor, might and determination as they made their way to the back office. In a final homage to the old west and to further exhibit their threatening purpose, Wrex lazily removed his thumb from being tucked into the crease of his armor and spit out the toothpick he'd been chomping on since entering the club. The casual gesture was the final straw indicating that the quad was ready for battle.
To the first guard standing outside the back corridor leading to Fist's office, watching the wrath of destruction approach was a boot shaking experience. Gulping hard, the lone security guard helplessly stood his ground as he unsurely barked, "Hey, you can't be back here."
"Oh really?" mocked the female spectre.
The guard's rifle was just about to rise when a large blast terminated his movements, sending him hard against the wall. Further down the corridor, two more guards were readying themselves for the surprise intrusion. Another gunshot and the second guard fell stiffly to the ground, while a radiant blue light encompassed the last guard outside the private hallway. The man barely got out a yelp before his body collapsed under the biotics of the asari maiden.
Inspecting the man she just killed, Shepard half-heartedly kicked the body lying on the ground with a lopsided grin and repeated the phrase Harkin had given her earlier, "The password is: 'The beat is not the only thing that pulsates here,'" the spectre chambered a new thermal clip into her pistol before continuing, "As you just found out."
Barely amused that the redhead was speaking to a dead man, Liara chastised, "Really Shepard?"
Chief Williams, who had wandered up to the investigating spectre, looked down at the dead guard and said, "I think that was pretty funny actually." As both humans reluctantly held back their snickers, Ash poked the man's body with the toe of her boot and quipped, "Do you think he heard you?"
Before the two women had a chance to continue their fun, two more guards came rushing towards the group from inside the club. Spinning around to face the men, Shepard hardly had a chance to glance in Liara's direction when a loud explosion, very close to the spectre caused her to jump.
Mildly annoyed, the commander slowly turned around to see the source of the noise as Wrex and Ash stood proudly holding their weapons. "Subtle guys," Shepard said, as she glanced back to the panic in the club and shook her head, "real subtle." The faithful alliance soldier and the confident krogan exchanged a brief glance of satisfaction between them, before shrugging as if they had done nothing wrong.
The commotion in the back of the gentlemen's club had caused the occupants to empty out in a hurry, but as Shepard looked to the main floor of the establishment, she thought, perhaps it was best the place clear out. She didn't want to be responsible for any necessary explosions, should they occur.
Knowing it was too late for evasive maneuverers, Shepard returned her sidearm to its holster and retrieved her trusty Avenger assault rifle, realizing more fire power was about to be needed. With Maggie firmly in hand, the spectre turned back towards the dead guards just in time for the door to swoosh open, as several more guards started firing, sending her team scrambling for cover in the narrow corridor.
Immediately realizing she had been separated from the prothean expert, the former rogue soldier shouted over the loud gunfire, "Liara! Are you ok?"
A few more exchanges in gunfire occurred before Shepard heard the asari maiden's voice call out to her, "Shepard, I'm ok," instantly calming the panic rising within.
Knowing her priorities were now in order, the spectre readied herself for her next step of action. As she was about to leave her cover, a bullet struck the large crate she was kneeling behind, coming dangerously close to her head. The veteran solider gritted her teeth and grimaced before the words escaped her, "That's it! These guys are pissing me off now!"
Cohesively, as if they had worked together for years, all four squad members simultaneously stood and targeted a different guard, sending them to the ground instantaneously. Watching her team work in unison with such extreme precision made the spectre smirk enthusiastically. She knew she had collected the right team to defeat the rogue spectre, Saren, including the asari maiden, whom she had been so reluctant to bring.
After the skirmish, the newly appointed spectre marched over to the guard, whose particular bullet had come too close to her head for her liking, and continued to not only shoot, but empty her clip into his lifeless body. Even as her team gathered around her, Shepard did not comprehend some of her former rogue self was escaping. Finally being able to take immediate revenge on someone who had threatened her, the veteran soldier smiled from ear to ear, as she fired her last round with great pride. "Something about that just felt good."
Satisfied with her instant vengeance, the redhead glanced up to see Ash and Wrex staring at her. Unphased, the former rogue soldier simply shrugged her shoulders, suddenly aware of her actions. It wasn't until the spectre's eyes fell upon a pair of blue sapphires that she paused; knowing she had over done it a tad. Not wanting to jeopardize what she had gained so far, the soldier swallowed and quickly slipped back into her noble spectre persona and ordered, "Alright everyone, let's keep moving. We have a job to do."
Even as the spectre assisted in clearing out the next room, she couldn't help but wonder if Liara would bring up the incident later. Shepard again felt a familiar knot growing in her gut, one she normally experienced just before battle, but this time it seemed a particular asari maiden, barely a century old, was the cause of the pitting grumble in her stomach. However, before letting it fester further, the seasoned soldier knew, exactly like on any other battlefield, what had to be done. Pushing her worries and fears aside, she focused only on the fighting.
Upon entering the last door that opened directly into Fist's office, the squad encountered two more guards attempting to defend the Shadow Broker's top agent. Just like their predecessors, they were quickly overpowered and sent to the floor.
The last man stood shakily in the room, while haphazardly firing his gun a couple of times, but he was holding his pistol so poorly, he missed all four individuals coming towards him.
"Who are you people? Leave me alone!"
With a nod of her head, Liara followed the spectre's silent request and immediately disarmed the defiant man with a small controlled biotic burst. Wrex then pinned the frightened chap by his neck, against the wall using only his forearm. Kicking his feet wildly beneath him, the man with a bad crew cut tried to reach for his side arm, when Ash's assault rifle pointing in his face prompted every muscle in his body to go limp.
Frozen in place, the man's steel blue eyes focused on the only person moving in the room. Strolling towards him like she didn't have a care in the world, the redheaded woman asked flatly, "Are you Fist?"
Recognizing the man's pupils were dilating, indicating he was about to lie, the veteran soldier held up her rifle as if examining it. "Now, it's not a very good idea to lie to a spectre."
Watching the woman delightfully stroke her weapon like a lover caused the alarmed man to suck in an abrupt raggedy breath. As the woman's hand admired the beloved cold steel, the potential Shadow Broker agent's eyes shot wider and wider. A shuddering gasp was the only sound to escape him, before a meager nod, acknowledged his true identity.
Hearing the word spectre struck a nerve in the club manager as he looked around and evaluated the other occupants in the small office. Practically attached to him was the former merc Wrex, sent to kill him only a few weeks ago. And although he didn't know the asari; he did know: one, who was dressed in armor, was certainly not one he wanted to piss off. The last person on his scope was the galvanizing brunette pointing a gun in his face. The Shadow Broker Agent speculated how easy she would have been to defeat, but scanning over to the self-proclaimed spectre, he revised his opinion; the brunette must have been above your average alliance soldier to be keeping the company of a spectre.
Realizing he was in deep shit, the man speculated he would now be bargaining for his life. His unexpected guests clearly wanted something, or he would have been dead by now. After all, he reasoned, he didn't get to be the Shadow Broker's Agent by being stupid.
"I'm not telling you anything!"
"Oh, we'll just see about that," sneered the zealous alliance officer.
Adding to the threatening situation, Wrex grunted, "Shepard, can I break him in half and eat him now?"
Upon hearing the absurd request from the large krogan, Fist again tried to desperately struggle free. Despite his normal tactics of simply bribing people, he knew this team, who had defeated his men and gained access to his private office, would be immune to bribery. Fist's steel eyes once again glazed over the group in front of him, resting on the spectre, unless…
"Is this about the meeting with Saren? Is that why the council sent you?"
Surprised to hear about the rogue spectre, the galactic commander decided to turn her little visit into an outright interrogation, "Actually, they didn't send me, but since you brought it up, tell me about Saren? Where is he?" The spectre's face suddenly grew impatient.
Attempting to disguise how nervous he actually was, Fist busted out in a hardy laugh…yes…leverage… arrogantly, the Shadow Broker's agent snorted, "What? You don't know?"
Not in the mood to play games, the spectre warned, "You had better start talking, or that awful hair cut of yours is about to get all over my new shiny boots."
The man began to laugh in an almost hysterical manner, "What your precious council didn't tell you where he was?"
Mildly annoyed, the newly appointed spectre shook her head and tried one more civil thing, "I don't like being kept in the dark, Fist. You better start talking on your own free will before I make you start talking."
"I'm not telling you shit Shepard!" Spat Fist.
Imagining that the scoundrel was calling her bluff, after her normal intimidating stance and Maggie weren't threatening enough; the former rogue soldier decided she was going to have to play by her old rules if she wanted to get anything out of this scumbag.
The redhead signaled the krogan to release the man, dropping him unexpectedly to the ground. As Fist stumbled to regain his footing, he looked up just in time to see the beautiful asari beginning to glow an electric blue.
"What the HELL?" choked the man.
"She's an asari. You do know what asari can do, right? There are certainly enough of them shaking their asses around here. Surely, even a piece of shit like yourself has pissed one off every now and then," the redheaded woman mocked as pride secretly swelled inside of her.
Liara's svelte body started glowing more vibrant than any asari he had ever seen. Streams of electric looking bolts floated about, dissipating into thin air around the maiden. Accentuating her fierceness, the asari copied a threatening glare she had learned from her mother when she, herself, had gotten into trouble as a youngling.
Being a former merc, Wrex knew that look of fear and happily decided to expand on it. Using his deep raspy voice to further intimidate the man, the krogan added, "You know that the brighter she glows, the more powerful she is, right?"
Fist's eyes never strayed from the radiant asari as he spoke, "I… I don't know where he is… I swear."
Grabbing the sleazeball by his collar, Shepard explained, "I don't like being lied to," motioning to her entourage, the bringers of pain; the former rogue soldier growled, "I don't handle it well."
"I don't know what you're talking about lady!" retorted the difficult man.
Suddenly switching to a calm tone, as if she were discussing dinner plans, the spectre casually ordered, "Ash, put a round in his leg. See if that gets him talking."
Unsure if the spectre was serious, but trusting her leader implicitly, the gunny, as ordered, withdrew her side arm and pointed it at the man's leg.
"Whoa! Whoa! Don't shoot! Don't Shoot! Oh my God! You people are really crazy! You know that right?" shrilled the terrified man.
Running out of patience for playing paragon Shepard threatened, "Would you rather be a snitch or a corpse?"
The man's frantic eyes again scanned the room, evaluating his options. Realizing they were just about gone, he played his ace, "What if I tell you about a shipment I am sending him? He wants it pretty bad."
When the spectre crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one side, she didn't seem impressed; so the man continued, "I'm supposed to oversee the delivery myself, SB's orders."
Cocking her head to the side, "SB?" questioned the alliance officer.
In a driven, husky voice, stronger than the redhead thought imaginable, the prothean expert answered Ash's question. "I believe that is short for the Shadow Broker, Shepard."
Impressed by how the asari maiden spoke, rather than what was spoken, the soldier in charge lifted a brow and intriguingly purred, "Very good Professor.".
Catching her thoughts beginning to wander, the newly appointed spectre abruptly turned her attention back to her prey. Slipping back into character Shepard spewed, "I don't know what Saren wanted with you, I just want you dead!"
Fist saw the emptiness behind the seasoned soldier's green eyes, and knew he was losing bargaining ground. Worriedly, he stammered, "But I can provide you the shipment information."
Shoving her assault rifle, Maggie, into his right temple, a serious overkill at such a close range, the former rogue soldier spat, "I don't care about the shipment! I want to know where I can find Saren!"
"I can tell you when and where I am supposed to deliver the shipment of weapons. He will be there!" the man sniveled, nearly pissing himself, "I swear on my life."
"I'm listening."
"We're… we're supposed to meet in the Voyager Cluster in three weeks."
The angry soldier pushed Maggie impossibly further into the man's skull. "That's a mighty big system scumbag. Where in the system?"
When terror over took his sensibility, the man shuddered, "In... in the Amazon System. We are supposed to meet in the Amazon System."
Right on cue, the prothean expert's body illuminated again as she took a step towards the groveling man, making him provide the rest of the guarded information, "Alright! Alright! Call off your asari!"
A slight nod of Shepard's head informed Liara to back down, but a subtle wink indicated she was pleased with the maiden's initiative. "I am not going to ask again. What planet are you meeting Saren on?" blasted the former rogue soldier.
Finally accepting defeat, the man disclosed, "Sybin, I'm supposed to meet Saren on Sybin in three weeks. He's after a large shipment of weapons, worth a million credits."
Back to her sweet, professional tone, Liara stated, "Shepard. It will take a ship, even a fast one, almost three weeks to get there from here."
Looking back at the asari professor, Shepard announced, "A normal ship maybe but not the Normandy."
Realizing Shepard might actually be able to intercept the illegal weapons shipment in time, Fist panicked, "Wait, you're gonna let me go now right?"
Chambering a new thermal clip, exclusively for the gesture's intimidation factor, not out of need, Shepard sneered, "I think I'll just kill you instead."
Ash, having had enough battle experience, recognized the look in the spectre's eyes and moved towards the asari. Though she previously had ill feelings for Liara, she was part of the gunny's team now, so she considerately suggested, "Liara, perhaps we should wait outside for the remainder of the interrogation, yeah?"
Never taking her eyes off Fist, Shepard agreed with Williams's recommendation, "Yeah Ash. That sounds like a good idea. Wrex and I just need to wrap up a few loose ends with our friend here."
As the two women were heading towards the exit, Shepard absentmindedly recommended, "Get her something to eat. I hear the food here is great."
A white gloved hand barely wrapped around the asari's back, as Ash escorted her out, leaving the two warriors alone with the Shadow Broker's agent. The last thing the asari maiden heard before being shuffled out the door, was Fist begging for his life, "Please don't kill me! I'll tell you anything you want. Please don't kill me!" the man pleaded, dropping to his knees.
The soldier in charge waited until the door to Fist's office closed behind Liara, before returning her focus to the man on the ground before her. Pausing for a moment, like she was actually contemplating the idea of sparing his life, Shepard rebutted, "From what I've heard, you've been a very bad man, Fist."
Void of all moisture in his mouth, the man swallowed with great difficulty before shuddering, "Why are you doing this? Why does a spectre want me dead? I've done nothing to the council."
Mentally agreeing with the prisoner, Shepard bobbed her head. "True." Lazily pacing in front of the man, Shepard calmly replied, "But you did shoot a very good quarian friend of mine; not to mention, all the grief you've caused for Dr. Michel."
Immediately Fist's heart began to beat faster, beads of sweat dripped down his pale face, as his mind scrambled for ideas on how to get himself out of this mess, "I'll give you back all the med supplies we took from Michel's clinic," he whined.
Toying with the man, like a cat with its prey, the spectre sharply rotated about, "That's very gracious of you, all things considered," Wrex snickered at Shepard's reply, as she resumed her pacing, "but it's still not very nice to go around shooting the friends of a spectre."
Suddenly the redheaded woman twisted around, stared directly in the pale man's face and forebodingly asked, "Now, is it?"
As the grim ramifications of his deeds unfolded, Fist's breath became erratically shallow. Petrified, struggling to keep air in his lungs, he stared wildly up at the two weapons pointed directly at his skull.
Looking at the smug battlemaster to her right, who was holding his gun so close to the agent's head, the barrel's tip contained droplets of Fist's sweat, the amused woman smirked. With poorly veiled sarcasm, the newly appointed spectre announced, "Besides, the krogan does, after all, have an assignment he wasn't able to finish."
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Being the second to last to exit the club, Williams purposely dragged her feet to ensure she put some distance between herself and the rest of the squad. Waiting for the woman behind her to catch up, the alliance soldier quietly asked her commanding officer in a hushed tone, "Um, Shepard? Were you really going to have me put a round in his leg?"
A crescent smile tugged at the spectre's lips when she realized, she had not thought that all the way through.
Amused, Shepard replied, "Good thing he started talking, or we would have never known for sure, huh?"
The flustered marine then looked confusingly between the former rogue soldier and the unwavering krogan.
"Did you let Wrex kill Fist?"
"Who said I let him do it?"
Unconsciously squeezing the commander's arm, bringing her to a halt, Williams all but whined, "You didn't do it, did you?"
The redheaded soldier humorously glanced over to the mighty krogan battlemaster, whose pace never slowed and quipped, "I can't remember which of us did it." Just as the gunny was about to speak again, Shepard continued, "Heck, he might still be alive. I don't remember." Teasing the alliance soldier further, the spectre looked over to the enormous warrior and lightheartedly asked, "Wrex, do you remember?"
"Come on Commander, you have to tell me what happened." The marine pleaded, this time purposely holding on to Shepard's arm.
A flat smile muted the spectre's face, feeling as if she were being forced to come clean about a dirty little secret. Trying to distract Ash from her current line of questioning, Shepard jokingly asked, "So Chief, you give any more thought to going out with that asari spectre?"
Thankfully, Shepard received the immediate distraction she was looking for, when her comrade's eye shot wide and her jaw fell open. Williams's soft, brown face went pale; so, the redhead continued her spirited teasing, "She sure knows how to stop traffic in a room that is for sure. You're bound to have a good time." Seeing the long time alliance officer speechless over the ordeal, prompted the spectre to continue her mischievous jibing, as she carefully slithered out of Ash's grasp, "Just think of the weapons tech you could talk about." An enormous grin stretched across the redhead's face as she added, "In fact," Shepard could barely contain a chortle before continuing, "I bet a little eternity embracing is just what you need to finally cure your uptightness."
A furrowed brow glared at the commanding officer, finally causing the spectre to lose it and giggle a bit. The very thought of Williams on a date with an alluring asari, much less, one as provocative as the asari spectre, made the very inside of Shepard's ribs tickle with delight, and would for months, if not, years to come. Oh how she secretly wished Ash would actually go on the date. Stirring the spectre from her humorous thoughts, Shepard's piercing green eyes suddenly fixated upon a reputable badass stance she wasn't used to seeing, but rather, performing. Before her stood a white suited alliance officer, whose under armor was radiant pink, tapping her foot in Shepard's infamous ass whooping stance. "Hey you can't stand that way!" complained the former rogue soldier.
Standing up to one of the galaxy's formerly, most wanted criminals, Ash demanded, "Then tell me what happened back there."
The redhead beamed at the infuriated marine before shooting a mischievous wink in her direction, "Yup, you definitely need to embrace a little eternity." Allowing the idea to fester further, while avoiding the question yet again, Shepard called out to the asari ahead of her, "Hey Liara, wait up!"
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Making their way through one of the many plazas in the lower wards, Shepard decided to contact Tali about Fist's status. The spectre knew Tali did not want to be directly involved with tracking down Fist, but she had requested to be kept abreast of the mission. Not because she wanted revenge, but rather, Tali knew it would settle her nerves knowing he would no longer be a threat to her; or for that matter, to anyone else.
Tapping on her arm, the spectre called out, "Tali, this is Shepard. Can you hear me?"
A long moment of silence greeted the spectre before finally, Tali's whimsical voice, chimed over the omni-tool, "Hello Shepard. I read you loud and clear."
"Good," answered the woman as she peered over to the rest of her team, who were also listening.
Tali didn't waste any time as her synthesized voiced curiously asked, "So, how did it go? Did you manage to stop that piece of solid excrement?"
Shepard truly loved the masked woman's expert usage of the human language. "Well, let me put it this way, you can say 'Bye, Bye, Boshet'." Smiling, in an effort to hide her true feelings on the matter, the spectre pleasantly continued, He won't be bothering anyone again."
Being extremely perceptive for her age, the young quarian knew exactly what the galactic commander's words meant. In a clear and definitive tone, before severing the comm link, Tali replied in a salarian second, "Excellent."
Not completely surprised by the young engineer's sudden departure, Shepard turned off the omni-tool and shot a lopsided grin towards her asari confidant. What more could she say, she thought.
From Liara's reaction, the spectre knew the asari professor was also relieved. Knowing how troubled Tali had been about her early harrowing days on the Citadel Station, between Fist and his men trying to kill her and Citadel Security harassing her or tailing her, it was a long awaited, but welcome resolution. It had troubled, both Shepard and Liara, how their good friend had been treated so poorly on the Citadel, and not only her, but her species as a whole. It was something, lingering in the back of the spectre's mind; given the opportunity, she would like to see changed.
Interrupting the seemingly speechless conversation between Liara and Shepard, Ash concernedly asked, "Do you think that the Shadow Broker will be sending someone after you, for attacking one of his top agents?"
Liara's rich blue eyes flared for a moment, as she breathlessly whispered, "Let's hope not."
The ever confident spectre, hoping to soothe to her team, made a typical snarky remark, "He's gotta catch me first."
The self-assured statement aroused a hefty snort from the oversized krogan, pulling all eyes on him. Unphased by the sudden attention, the battlemaster turned and headed down the plaza, still emitting small chortles, "I hope he tries."
Not more than a few paces down the sidewalk did the newly appointed spectre's omni-tool go off again. Tapping in her password, an urgent message appeared, labeled: Official Business: Spectre eyes only.
To the asari hovering over her shoulder, clearly the warning meant nothing, as Shepard ignored keeping anything from the prothean expert. "What does it say, Shepard?" asked the young maiden.
"It's from the council. They have an idea where Saren might be headed. It says they obtained an encrypted transmission from one of their sleeper agents." Chewing on her bottom lip, the spectre continued to tap away on her arm, when she abruptly stopped. "Wait a second! This says Saren 'might' or 'might not' show up within the next four months." Staring directly into Liara's endless pools of blueness, Shepard dreadfully stated, "According to your mother, the galaxy doesn't have that long."
Believing she had no chance in hell of actually speaking with someone from the council, Shepard frantically typed on her omni-tool once again, as Liara mirrored the spectre's dazed expression. Suddenly, a familiar voice suddenly spoke on the other line, surprising the two tasked with saving the universe, "Councilor Tevos here Shepard, what is it you need to discuss so urgently?"
The newly appointed spectre blinked wildly as she stared at the equally stunned asari standing at her side. When no reply answered the asari councilor, she politely rephrased her inquiry, "Do you wish to discuss the transmission you just received?"
Absentmindedly pushing away her curiosity at how quickly the councilor answered her page, the spectre continued by transferring her information to the noble asari matriarch. "Through my sources, we don't have four months, but with a little heavy persuasion, I found out exactly where Saren will be in roughly three weeks."
Glancing up at the woman practically standing on top of her, Shepard divulged to the peacekeeper of the council on the other line, "Councilor, the Normandy needs to ship out, ASAP."
Without sounding the least bit surprised, Matriarch Tevos replied in her normal eloquent fashion, "I see Commander. Proceed as needed."
"Copy that Councilor, Shepard out."
Sucking in a slow deep breath, the galactic commander paused for a moment before addressing the rest of the squad, "We better get back to the ship right away. We have slightly less than three weeks to get to the Amazon System if we are going to stop Saren."
Letting her team talk amongst themselves, the spectre wandered off to a corner to make a private call on her omni-tool's secure line, "Garrus, this is Shepard."
"Commander, I read you loud and clear."
"Were you able to obtain the info?"
"It was harder to get than I expected. It seems that c-sec updated their security protocols since the council took you seriously about Saren bringing an end to all life."
"And…?" quizzed the spectre with a hint of urgency.
"Well…c-sec certainly knows how to encrypt their personnel data. It took almost two hours before I finally had to ask Tali to help."
Abruptly distracted by Garrus's admission, the redhead questioned, "Wait, I thought Tali was doing calibrations?"
Clearing his throat, forgetting he wasn't supposed to mention his temporary assistant, the former c-sec officer explained, "Well she was, that is, until I asked her to hack through the extra security layers. Man Shepard, you should have seen her. She cracked that code like a pro!" The turian's voice was filled with unmistakable pride as he continued, "She is a real hacker extraordinaire. With her unique skills, I was thinking of asking her to go into business with me." Static filled the comm link for a few seconds. Garrus, misconstruing Shepard's silence for something else, hurriedly continued, "After the mission, of course. What do you think? I mean with a little financing, I think I can swing it and…"
Finally reaching her maximum level of patience, the spectre stirred the man from his musings back to her intended inquiry, "So… about the information Vakarian?"
Coughing to cover his momentary lapse in professionalism, the former c-sec officer continued, "Sorry Shepard, sending it to your omni-tool now."
A moment elapsed as the spectre's omni-tool hummed, while the pertinent data downloaded. Drawing in a slow breath, Garrus cautiously attempted a prudent warning, "Sh… Sh… Shepard, could this information be too ..." the turian's flanged tone faded, as he contemplated continuing.
"What is it Garrus?"
In retrospect, thought Garrus, a meagerly offered warning, to the spectre tasked with saving the galaxy seemed a little … pathetic… Salvaging what was left of his bravado, the soldier hesitatingly continued, "… uh… it was nothing."
Completing the data transfer, Shepard snorted, "Don't worry Vakarian, I'll be fine."
The turian, mortified at realizing Shepard knew of his actual intentions, abruptly severed the connection, "Garrus out."
As soon as the transmission ended, the newly appointed spectre felt her gunny chief hovering over her shoulder. Probing in the galactic commander's business, Ash curiously inquired, "What was that all about?"
Shrugging off her new favorite alliance officer like she was her baby sister, or a flustered Garrus, thought Shepard before falsely answering, "It was nothing."
Completely ignoring her squad's questioning glances, from her brief departure, the noble leader addressed her squad, "Hey, I have a little errand I need to run before we leave. I'll meet you back at the ship in 45 minutes or so."
Not wanting to let the still healing woman out of her sight, the concerned asari protested, "Shepard, I don't think you should go alone."
Chuckling through her busted lips, the redhead replied, "I'm a Spectre now or didn't you hear?"
When she did not see the relief she was expecting on the professor's face, the recently promoted galactic commander gently collected Liara's blue hands in her gloved ones, stared into the asari's endless blue eyes and reassured her, "Liara, I'll be fine. I swear. No one is ever going to pull us apart again. I promise." About to scamper off, the redhead, still feeling Liara watching her every move, quickly spun back around, "Besides, it's not like I will ever let myself get manhandled like that again! Now that, you can count your sweet blue a-eyes on…"
Quickly turning back around to leave, the spectre began chastising herself for almost saying 'blue ass' instead of 'blue eyes'. However, before the former military soldier really got into giving herself a verbal reprimand, she allowed a lopsided grin to take hold, on the left side of her face and muttered, "You can take the girl out of the Alliance, but you can't take the Alliance out of the girl."
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About 10 minutes later two men, who were patrolling warehouse TangoWisky64, strolled past stacks of crated cargo, void of all other life forms on their nightly rounds. The only sounds filling the large cavernous space were the men's rambling conversation, and their feet slapping thoughtlessly against the solid ground, like raindrops after a big storm. Completely oblivious, they carelessly discussed their week's ventures, and how fantastic they had been, while continuing to mindlessly wander through the empty, or so they thought, warehouse.
"Hey… Assfucks!"
Quickly spinning around on their heels, the two human males shockingly stared at a shadowy figure causally leaning against a large crate. Unable to see who the woman was or even what species, the slightly taller guard shouted out, "Who are you?"
Looking over to his partner for support, the shorter man nodded before he viciously spat, "Come out of there bitch!"
Without any sense of urgency, whatsoever, the woman casually strolled into the light. As she revealed, exactly who was speaking to them in such an ill manner, the men were overcome with absolute horror and instantly frozen in place. The slightly shorter guard, who only a moment earlier had addressed the female intruder with inflated bluster, suddenly had a dark stain radiating out from his crotch. That was all the confirmation needed by the woman from the shadows to identify these two particular men as the ones who, in fact, had not so pleasantly apprehended her earlier this week.
Beaming a lopsided smile through her battered and bruised face, Shepard greeted their petrified stares with a mocking tone, dripping with revenge and hissed, "So, you don't think this bitch is very tough, huh?"
The expressions on the guard's faces were priceless. A gluttonish smile zealously smeared its way across the former rogue soldier's face, in anticipation of sharing this visual image with her favorite prothean expert, during their next meld. The redhead knew it would bother the asari to have not been here for herself, but as close as the two had become, through Shepard's memory, Liara would be able to relive this experience as if she were standing here, right now, about to implement sweet vengeance, alongside the spectre. This thought drove Shepard to new heights of euphoria, as her feet shuffled closer to the men.
"Anyone want to play, - tag, you're it?" hummed the overjoyed spectre.
%%%%%%%
A single pair of footsteps strolled out of the enormous repository. Adjusting her gloves, Shepard muttered as she cracked her neck to one side, "Good thing this is such a desolate warehouse."
Continuing to flex her newly bruised knuckles, Shepard figured the Normandy, would be safely out of Citadel space by the time either of those two pieces-of-shit, c-sec officers would have enough strength to crawl out of there or call for help.
The self-reliant soldier was pleased to see she still had a little bit of renegade left in her. Practically prancing, the woman shuffled her feet across the steel plated floor. Wiping a bead of sweat off her top lip, the newly appointed spectre chuckled, thinking how Matriarch Benezia would have enjoyed that little display of… controlled aggression. Not the beating itself, but more how Saren's ex lapdog had shown great strength and reserve in not killing the spineless men. Instead, she had simply pummeled them a bit. Vigorously shaking her left hand one more time, Shepard peered down to her clenched fist.
"Well, maybe it was more than a bit."