DISCLAIMER – I do not own Mass Effect franchise, the story, or any of its characters. All rights go to Bioware.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Thank you all for your amazing and encouraging reviews! Here's a new chapter to show my appreciation, and it's an extra-long one.
This chapter is not my usual fare, but I had a burning need to write it. I just felt a need to make a Tribute to the little things of Mass Effect, and this chapter is just that. The topic and focal point of this chapter, well… I don't think that anyone has ever thought of writing about this particular thing – which is why I'm confident that you're going to enjoy it!
Chapter posted on 15.7.2017.
Main Tags: Action, Sci-fi, Adventure, Friendship building, Love.
Additional Tags: Slowly turning AU, Technology-heavy, Geopolitical themes, Economic themes, Intrigue, Romance, and a lotta attempted humor in this particular chapter…
Rated M – for mature and adult content.
Enjoy…
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Chapter 26 – Family
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"Greetings, Commander Shepard," the man's voice spoke from the other side of the line. "I represent a party interested in obtaining information on Cerberus activities, primarily pertaining to the information found in the bases that you had raided."
Marcus shared a look with Jaina who stood right next to him before the briefing room's comm system.
"Are you some kind of a comedian?" Marcus asked as they looked back at the console. "Nobody who's serious would contact us like this without any authorized credentials."
There was a pause.
"I assure you this is no prank call, Commander," the man replied. "The fact that I have, in fact, established a direct, no-proxy contact with the Normandy should tell you as much. The party I represent is a very serious player on the galactic scene."
"Even more of a reason not to have this conversation with you," Jaina replied with an icy chill in her voice. "Cerberus was performing illegal and unethical experimentations in various fields. Do you think an Alliance soldier would be crazy enough to give this information to just anyone, let alone someone who claims to be a so-called 'big player'?"
"Be reasonable, Commander," the man spoke. "What are you going to do with the information you have on Cerberus anyway? Both the Alliance and the Council are going to just file it away in some archive; but no secret stays hidden forever, as you well know. Eventually, someone somewhere will deliver it into our hands. It might as well be you! And we would compensate you quite generously for it!"
Marcus narrowed his eyes.
"You work for the Shadow Broker, don't you?" he demanded authoritatively in a manner that brooked no argument.
A pause.
"Very astute of you, Comm –"
"I'm surprised you people have the balls to call me after that stunt you pulled on Illium!" Marcus interrupted brusquely.
Another short pause.
"I am aware of the supposed incident, but I assure you, Commander, that we had nothing to do with it," the man said.
"You're getting on my nerves, little man," Marcus interrupted him with a deep, cold, deathly growl. "Do not try to act innocent. We know exactly what you tried to pull. Now, piss off! And don't call us again."
"That is unf – "
Marcus broke the link, cutting him off.
"Can you believe this guy?" he asked in a mix of incredulity and anger as he turned to look at Jaina.
She snorted. "Tell me about it!"
"Well, one thing is for certain: that information is not leaving this ship any time soon," he said as he turned back toward the center of the briefing room.
Ashley, who sat with other members of the ground specialist team around the room, spoke up:
"Sir, if I may be so bold to say…" she waited for a moment until Marcus nodded. "Wouldn't Alliance's experts be much faster in decrypting this data?"
"Frankly, Ash, I don't trust the Alliance's ability to keep this data hidden one damn bit," Marcus said. "Cerberus was infiltrated within the Alliance. They know their inner protocols. Remember, a squad of Kahoku's N3-s was sent to their deaths by fabricated orders that everybody thought was Alliance and that nobody could trace after they discovered it wasn't. I have no guarantee that they wouldn't be able to repeat that stunt and have this data disappear before it is properly decrypted." He shook his head. "So, no, this data is only safe here, with us."
"Huh… makes sense when you put it that way," Ashley mused, her expression deeply troubled.
"And what about the Council?" Kaidan asked.
"That would be unwise as well," Liara spoke up. "Several of my sources have confirmed independently from one another that Shadow Broker has an uncanny ability to appropriate information, even from the most classified locations."
"She's right," Wrex rumbled. "Shadow Broker had dealings with Saren, and I know for a fact that he was not the first, nor the only Spectre that had dealings with him. And Spectres have access to everything."
"The bottom line is that the safest place for this data is here, right on this ship," Jaina finished. "At least until we figure out exactly what's in the files."
"Where do we stand with that?" Marcus asked, looking at Tali.
"I'm afraid it's not much at the moment, Commander," she said. "Cerberus used multi-level encryption methods. Certain memory banks have triple-layer protection, and it will take a lot of time. But, I've managed to decrypt the surface access documents, and low-priority communication logs were in there as well."
"And I had already begun sifting through them," Liara added. "Most of it seems like mundane conversations, but I've begun running it through several correlating apps nonetheless; you never know if someone had let something slip in one message that can be correlated with another.
"One of those messages, however, contained something that drew my immediate attention," she continued, tapping out a command on the datapad she carried and transferring the accompanying data onto the large screen above the briefing room's console.
Marcus and Jaina spent a moment reading the info side-by-side.
"This looks like a general warning to Cerberus high-level personnel that someone is killing their people," Marcus said.
"It was a high-priority message that was apparently sent through the entire Cerberus internal network, so its encryption protocols were only basic – most likely to accommodate the fact that different cells use different methods of encryption," Liara said. "That is the reason we managed to decrypt it almost instantly."
"It says that the message calls out to all personnel that worked on the same project, something called 'Project Arrakis'," Jaina said as she read the data, then seemed to think. "Hmm… that name rings a bell for some reason."
"Dune," Kaidan said, drawing attention to him. "It's from a series of fictional novels from the twentieth century. Arrakis is a desert planet that produces a special exotic substance and is a home of gigantic sand-burrowing worms. Very similar to thresher maws."
"That's what I have found very quickly as well," Liara said, inclining her head, "but that didn't give me anything to go on. What did, however, was when I correlated the names of the mentioned scientists with their known locations over the previous years and decades. I have found only one single instance where they worked together, but it was apparently on an Alliance project ABEE – Akuze Biolife Exploration and Experimentation – back in 2177."
The mention of Akuze brought both Marcus's and Jaina's attention.
"Akuze," he rumbled slowly, then nodded. "I believe I remember the mentions of ABEE during the briefing before I was sent there. It was supposed to be a pioneering team that was to be attached to the colony." He hummed, narrowing his eyes as he looked down and to the side. "The briefing for the mission stated that we were supposed to secure the terrain for the arrival of ABEE team on the planet, but mid-way there, we received intel that the colony went dark and the mission parameters got switched to search and rescue."
Liara frowned.
"ABEE's arrival?" she asked, then shook her head. "That doesn't make sense, Commander. According to the data I have here, ABEE was on Akuze long before that; they were functioning for at least a year before the incident!"
There was silence around the team until Garrus spoke up grimly:
"This sounds like too much of a coincidence, Shepard. ABEE team already being there? And all of the scientists in that team also being members of Cerberus project "Arrakis" – which coincidently alludes to gigantic burrowing worms?" He shook his head. "This smells. If I were you, I'd follow up on this through Alliance channels. If ABEE was truly Alliance's project, someone would know more."
"And I fully intend to do so," Marcus said grimly, then looked at Liara. "Do you have something else concerning this?"
"Yes," Liara said, nodding toward the data on the main screen as she scrolled it down. "Almost all of the scientists that worked on the project were killed, but there are two more scientists on that list that are still alive. One is on Shanxi, and the other is on Ontarom."
"Very well," Marcus said. "I'll contact Hackett and see if this pans out. Hang on."
He promptly turned and tapped a few commands on the console. He watched for several seconds as the indication showed connection being established, and then waited while the phone rang on the other end.
"Commander Shepard," came a raspy voice of Admiral Hackett a few moments later. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Is this line secure?" Marcus asked without preamble.
There was a moment before a low-pitched scrambling sound was heard in the background.
"It is now," Hackett said, his tone grave. "What is this about, Commander?"
"Before I continue, I need you to know that I have found evidence that Alliance's internal security is compromised, and will refrain from talking details even over this comms," he said. "I am fully willing to disclose all the intel, but first I need some intel in return."
Hackett was silent for a heartbeat. "Go on…"
"I am looking for any and all information on Alliance project ABEE, Akuze Biolife Exploration and Experimentation, done during the course of 2177," Marcus said. "Specifically, I need the names of the scientists and their current locations."
There was a short pause on the other end.
"This is a doubly-strange coincidence that you're calling me about this, Commander," Hackett said. "Alliance internal security bureau has recently been investigating a series of incidents concerning those very same scientist's you've mentioned. Somebody has been killing them."
"I'm aware," Marcus said. "I need those men for intel they might have. Sir, are these men Alliance?"
"No, and hadn't been for years," Hackett replied. "But tabs had been kept on them since they were apparently part of some sensitive projects. The problem is that they'd gone to ground a year or so back. Whoever was doing these killings was fast and knew who he was targeting. We had realized the connection only a few hours ago ourselves, but there was almost nothing we could do since we didn't know where they are and had too little time to track them down after we found out."
"Commander Shepard, Jaina, speaking," Jaina declared her presence through the comms. "How spaced apart are these killings?"
"Seven days including today," Hackett replied. "Roughly evenly spaced."
"Including today?" Marcus wondered. "Our independent sources state that Doctors Zhang and Wayne are still alive."
"Not anymore," Hackett replied with a slightly urgent tone. "Zhang was killed early this morning. They've found her body not two hours ago. Wayne is the last one alive, but as I said, we have no idea where he is."
"We do," Marcus replied. "But if it's all the same, I'd rather keep it under wraps."
"The security leaks," Hackett stated in understanding.
"Sir, this links to Cerberus," Marcus replied. "The information I have points to all those scientists as being active members of that organization, and that an unknown third party is actually doing the killings. And furthermore, while apparently being members of Alliance project ABEE, they were also members of Cerberus project "Arrakis" – at the same span of time, and on the same location: Akuze! This is more than a coincidence!"
There was a longer pause.
"Are you telling me that Cerberus was piggybacking their projects within Alliance projects themselves?" was an incredulous question.
"Looks like," Marcus replied grimly. "If they did that under our noses, it makes you wonder what else is going on that we don't know." He sighed. "Admiral, I'm on this. Believe me. I have a very personal interest in this mission."
"Very well, Commander. You've given me something to consider as well when it comes to our Intelligence and Internal Security branches. Hackett out."
Marcus tapped the button, ending the call, and then manipulated the display into that of the smaller version of the CIC's Galaxy map. He zoomed into the Kepler Verge, Newton system, and then brought up the planet Ontarom onto the main display. A lush blue and green world was shown to them, with several points of interest marked out on one of its continents, and the moon in a decaying orbit.
"Joker," Marcus spoke up into the comms, "set a course for Kepler Verge, Newton system, planet Ontarom."
"Aye-aye, Commander," Joker replied. "ETA: three hours."
Jaina spoke up: "The Alliance has a huge military communications hub on the planet, right where that big mark is. There are four civilian settlements in its rough proximity. Wayne could be in any one of them."
"Comms," Marcus called, "send a message to Alliance Command on that planet. Tell them we need assistance in locating one Doctor Simon Wayne. Here's his profile."
"Received and acknowledged, Commander," the comms operator replied. "Sending the message now."
"Good," Marcus replied, then looked at the rest of his ground team. "Our goal here is extraction. We want this man alive, and not for the purpose of just saving him from whoever's after him. We want him for the information he has. We will reconvene at," he glanced at the time. "12:15, some twenty minutes before we land on Ontarom. Until then, dismissed!"
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Two and a half hours later, the Normandy exited FTL in the Newton system right on schedule, with Joker swiftly directing it toward Ontarom. The ground team had already begun their preparations, armoring and arming up with practiced efficiency. Marcus and Jaina were ahead of the rest in that department, and the two Commanders were already directing the CIC operations in full battle gear.
"Sir, we're receiving an incoming transmission from Ontarom," the comms operator called. "It's from Alliance Major Rossi, stationed groundside.
"Put him through," Marcus called from his place at the command platform. The indication flashed on his display, and he promptly pressed the button. "This is Commander Marcus Shepard of the SSV Normandy."
"Major Luciano Rossi," the man replied from the other side. "We've performed necessary investigations, Commander. We have confirmed that Dr. Wayne really is on Ontarom. The latest data we have puts him in the largest civilian settlement, Meridian. Apparently, he has a lab in the outskirts of town, where he works with a few other scientists, but we don't have much else. I'm sending all the data now."
Marcus's console chirped in confirmation.
"Glad that you could help, Major," he said.
"The pleasure is all mine, Commander. I have taken the liberty of warning the civilian authorities in Meridian. The city police will provide assistance. Will you require assistance from the ground forces as well?"
"Once this is through, we will need a pickup shuttle. The fifth fleet will send a ship for a detainee of importance."
"I'll make the necessary arrangements. Rossi out."
Marcus ended the comm link and shared a nod with Jaina.
"Pressly, you have the conn," she called as she walked together with Marcus out of the CIC.
"Yes, ma'am!"
She then tapped the comms and spoke, "Ground team to the cargo bay. Prepare for combat operations."
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Some twenty-five minutes later, the Normandy had gently glided into Ontarom's atmosphere, leveling out at some one thousand meters above ground and dislodging the two hover assault vehicles out of its cargo bay. After the most recent modifications, Jaina's Hover-Mako now sported the new and improved main gun, just like the one Marcus piloted.
Now fully dubbed 'Scorpions' by the Normandy's team, the two vehicles stormed through the air toward the town of Meridian as the Normandy changed its vector into a climb out of the atmosphere. Verdant forests, meadows and crystal-clear rivers were streaming beneath them, numerous herds and flocks of native ground and flying animals were running away from the roaring sound of their thrusters. In the distance, the town could be seen. It was sitting at a perfect tri-point where forested mountains, a large lake, and vast arable plains were meeting, and they were approaching it quickly.
"Commander!" Kaidan called from where he monitored the comm traffic, "The Meridian Police Department is reporting a firefight with an unknown group of hostiles right at the edge of town where Wayne's lab should be. They say it looks like a mercenary group."
"We're coming up on town now!" Jaina called, and the two vehicles stormed over the large cluster of prefab buildings, slowing down as they approached the edge of town.
Clear signs of firefight could be seen as the rounds flashed back and forth near a separated cluster of buildings.
"That's an MT-12, medium-sized transport shuttle," Garrus pointed out. "It has guns rigged on the outside. That must be merc's transport. There might be as many as forty of them in there!"
"The local police can't possibly stop that many of them if they are well armed!" Ashley called frantically.
"Then we whittle them down from above!" Marcus called and directed his vehicle into a down-turned vertical hover.
Jaina's Scorpion followed suit, and a second later, the two assault vehicles began launching round after round straight into clusters of enemy mercs, raining thunderous explosions with impunity.
In less than twenty seconds, it was over – a testament to the destructive power that the new cannons had.
"Sensors: clear!" Tali reported.
"Well, that was kinda anti-climactic," Wrex muttered. "I was expecting more fight."
"Don't get your hopes down just yet," Marcus called, "I bet ya a million creds there'll still be more of them in the building! Let's get down there!"
"Hmpf! No bet," Wrex barked in return as the two vehicles angled down.
The Scorpions descended with speed and precision, touching down right in front of the police cruisers with Marcus's and Jaina's team promptly dropping out of their vehicles and quickly trotting up to the ragged police lines.
"Who's in charge here?!" Marcus called, sweeping across the police personnel.
"That'd be me!" a middle aged man called, stowing his Mattock onto his back. "Sergeant Bezdek!"
"Commander Shepard!" Marcus replied. "How many hostiles are hiding in the buildings?"
"Maybe half a dozen, no more than eight, I recon, and they're all in that building there," the Sergeant pointed out. "That's the doctor's lab!"
"Secure the perimeter and follow behind us!" Marcus ordered. "My team will take care of the remaining mercs!"
"Roger that!" The sergeant replied and started hollering orders to his men, with a dozen of them immediately moving to follow the Normandy's team.
Marcus led them across the thoroughly obliterated grounds, noticing quite a few mercs still alive and moaning through their wounds. With a quick signal of his hand, he directed police sergeant and his men to secure the injured hostiles, before directing his and Jaina's team into a tactical breach of the dwelling.
They quickly passed through the doors and fanned out, fully expecting resistance. Instead, the large anteroom only held five mercenaries – their weapons already on the floor, and hands high in the air where everyone could see them.
"Don't shoot, Jesus Christ! We surrender!" one of them hollered almost desperately. "We didn't get paid to wage war against heavy artillery!"
"On your knees, hands behind your head!" Garrus directed them as he approached, aiming at them from his N7 Striker. The mercs complied, and a couple of police officers hustled in to secure their hands behind their backs.
"Is that all of you?" Marcus demanded from the mercs. "Is there anyone else?"
"Only Toombs!" one of them replied jerking his head toward one of the chamber's exits. "The crazy son of a bitch went after the doctor. He's the leader of all this. He's the one that hired us!"
Marcus turned his head and called his people: "On me!"
The team advanced out of the room, through the short hallway, until they entered into a large laboratory where they quickly fanned out, guns raised toward the sole occupants of the large chamber. Two men stood near the center of it – Doctor Wayne, wearing a typical lab coat, and an armored man behind him, pinning the doctor against him with a forearm around his neck. A syringe was in his other hand, and the needle was already shoved in Wayne's neck, the injection button needing only a single tap of Toombs's finger.
"That's close enough!" Toombs called out at Marcus's approaching team.
Marcus raised his fist, halting his team, without lowering his aim.
"Good. Now stay back; I've got no grief with you," Toombs called, his voice and demeanor incredibly calm for the first few moments.
But then, his eyes widened maniacally and he bared his teeth in an almost bestial snarl.
"No, no, It's this little motherfucking motherfucker that I want," he growled, shaking the doctor bodily. "Oh, yeah, Wayne. You and I are gonna have a lot of fun together! Lots of fun."
"Please!" Wayne cried. "He's a madman! Mr. Toombs, you're insane, you need help!"
Toombs laughed out loud, his voice raspy and deathly like something you'd expect from a zombie.
"It's Corporal Toombs for you, Wayne! Corporal Lionel Toombs of the 108th," he said. "And you're damn right I'm insane Wayne! Wouldn't you be insane if you were held prisoner for six years and made into a lab rat, like you did to me, hm? WOULDN'T YOU?!" he roared, shaking Wayne.
"Aargh! No, I don't know what you're talking about!" Wayne cried. "I-I've never seen you bef –"
"SHUT UP!" Toombs roared, then whispered maniacally. "You don't get to lie, Wayne. Not today. Do you know what this syringe is, hm? This is thresher maw acid. Uh-huh. The same. Thing. You kept injecting me with back when you held me imprisoned. Except that I have diluted this one; we wouldn't want you to die quickly, now would we?"
"Injecting you with Thresher Maw acid?" Ashley called out incredulously. "That's impossible! A human cannot possibly survive a thresher –"
She immediately cut off when Marcus raised his hand. Toombs took closer attention to the commander. He couldn't see anything behind Marcus's plated mask, but they could all see that Marcus had already lowered his rifle and straightened. He then slowly reached up, unclasping his helm and removing it completely, revealing his face.
For a moment, Toombs was silent, searching Marcus's face.
"Shepard…" he spoke slowly after a moment. "I rembember you!"
"And I remember you too, Toombs," Marcus replied somberly. "I remember."
"He was with you in 108th," Jaina said, the only one recognizing one of her husband's old posts. "I thought there were no other survivors!"
"And so did I," Marcus said as he looked at Toombs, his eyes narrowed as he worked through his shock. "I thought you were dead, Toombs. I saw the thresher maw strike you with its acid bone spike! Even if you somehow survived being impaled, no human should survive that acid."
Toombs laughed raspily.
"Yeah," he said. "Except that I did. The bone spike impaled me but missed all the internal organs and arteries. And acid? Well…" he chuckled mirthlessly. "It turns out that I have a rare genetic mutation. It makes my flesh almost immune to thresher maw acid. Can you believe it?" He chuckled darkly. "Because I couldn't. But these guys convinced me of it pretty quickly. You see, Shepard, this son of a bitch and his cronies are a part of a group called Cerberus – a real nasty rogue organization that likes to experiment on people under the guise of being Alliance."
"I know," Marcus said softly. "I personally led this team in eliminating some of their bases."
Toombs smiled in pleasant surprise and, for the first time, the smile seemed to reach his eyes. "Yeah? Good man. Good man! You see, it was Cerberus that's responsible for that attack on Akuze. They were experimenting with ways to direct thresher maws to attack who they wanted. They had installed a control chip into the beast while it was still young. Don't ask me how the crazy bastards did it, but they did. Our unit was to be the test subject. The victim. I guess I should applaud you for managing to drive the beast away, eh? You gave it enough pain to override the whip of its masters! Hehehe. That in itself is a good balm, even though I couldn't make it outta there."
"Toombs, I…" Marcus trailed off, clenching his teeth, not knowing what to say. "If I knew you were alive, if I knew where you were, I would have come back for you."
Toombs made a grimace. "I don't blame you, Shepard! If I was in your shoes, I'd have fled without looking back! The ones I do blame are these," he intoned, twisting the syringe around, the needle rolling painfully through Wayne's neck, making him wail.
"These fucktards," Toombs continued. "Instead of helping me like decent human beings, they imprisoned me! I awoke in a prison cell, behind impenetrable glass. They were delighted I've survived!" he said, grotesquely mimicking the scientist's delight for emphasis.
"They realized that my body was highly resistant to thresher maw acid. They wanted to do experiments on me in order to use the data to make a supersoldier. Do you know what it's like to have thresher maw acid in your veins? Well, I do. See, the fact that the mutation makes me highly resistant to it doesn't mean that it still doesn't hurt like hell. And when it gets into your blood, it will spread out and get to every pain receptor in your body. Every. Single. One."
Doctor Wayne cried out angrily:
"You can't prove any of this! This man is delusional! I demand you give me a fair trial!"
Marcus unlatched his heavy pistol and leveled it at Wayne's head.
"All I'm inclined to give you is a bullet to the head, doctor," Marcus said coldly. "And as a Spectre, I'd perfectly get away with it."
Wayne gaped like a fish, too stunned to say anything.
"You hear that, Doctor?" Toombs chuckled. "Everybody agrees that you deserve to die. You deserve to die for what you did to me, to Shepard – to everyone in our old unit! So, how about it, Commander? Will you let me inject him? To let him see what it is like?"
"Trust me, I wouldn't want anything more," Marcus replied grimly. "But I need him alive."
Toombs grimaced. "Oh, you're not about to tell me how he needs a fair trial," he warned.
"Trial?" Marcus murmured. "Who ever said anything about a trial? This man was Cerberus. He might even still be. And that means that he has information about them – information that I want."
Toombs sighed. "Yeah, I get it," he said bitterly. "But I can tell you outright that it's not gonna work. While imprisoned, I picked up a thing or two; these fuckers here work in cells. They're isolated from one another. The only thing this guy would know is his own cell. And I've killed everyone from it already. You won't find out anything."
"No, I will," Marcus said confidently. "And do you wanna know why?" Toombs looked at him questioningly. "Because keeping it within the cell cannot work perfectly. It can never work perfectly because they're only human. I guarantee that he has picked up a thing or two. He knows a thing or two. And that however minor knowledge might just be enough for me to correlate it with everything else I have and draw the big picture – you know how it is."
Toombs was silent for a moment. "Yeah," he said bitterly. "I know how it is."
"Hey," Marcus called out to him, a deathly smirk hovering on his lips. "Don't feel bad about relinquishing him to us. After all, he's about to be interrogated by some highly specialized interrogation experts. Truth be told, you killing him with that acid would have been a mercy for what they're about to do to him – you know how it is."
A smile tugged at the corner of Toombs's lips, then spread into a broad grin as the rich laughter bubbled out from his throat.
"Yeah," he said. "I know how it is."
The man slowly retracted the syringe out of Wayne's neck and shoved the doctor roughly toward Marcus. The doctor was welcomed by a fist to his gut, making him double over and drop on his knees, Garrus promptly approaching and securing his hands behind his back.
As the man was roughly led out, Marcus approached and placed a hand on Toombs's shoulder.
"Come on, soldier," Marcus said. "We need to take you in… but you're still Alliance. I can guarantee that the Alliance will take care of its family."
Toombs sighed heavily and nodded, letting himself be led out.
.
The ground team stood off to the side, next to the Scorpions, while Marcus and Jaina spoke with the representative authorities; the colony's police commissioner and Major Rossi were already agreeing on jurisdiction and finalizing the plans. Toombs was sitting silently in one shuttle, relieved of his weapons, and guarded by a pair of marines. Wayne was sitting locked in another one, his guards much gruffer and mean-looking. They had already heard the story of what Wayne did to Toombs; Wayne wasn't going to have a nice ride.
"Cerberus is infiltrated within the Alliance," Marcus spoke to Major Rossi. "We know they have the ability to fabricate orders, and there's every chance they'd try to get to Wayne – either to extract him or eliminate him – and they might try something similar to Toombs, too. The chance might be slim, but we cannot allow ourselves to be slack."
"Trust me, I know where you're coming from, Commander," Rossi replied. "Admiral Hackett has already called in; he's sending some men that he says he can trust to pick up the two men. Until then, the two will be kept with us under triple guard."
"Good to hear."
In the end, the shuttles lifted off, going straight toward the main military compound. Marcus watched as they disappeared in the distance, and took a sweeping look across the skyline of the nearby town, and the pristine surrounding lands of the New World.
"No one left behind," Jaina murmured, rubbing her hand between his shoulder blades and grimacing at the hard armor that was there. "I know meeting Toombs must've brought up some weird feelings, but you couldn't have known, okay?"
"Yeah," he agreed. He couldn't feel Jaina's hand through the armor, but he knew it was there; he knew what she wanted to do for him. "Perhaps later, when our armors are removed…"
She smiled. "You betcha!" she said and then leaned in closer. "Aaaand, I happen to know a beautiful young asari girl that would definitely love providing the equal amount of comfort."
Marcus chuckled. "You're an incorrigible tease."
"You love me that way," she said.
"Yeah," he said, sharing a loving look with her. "I do."
He then turned to Major Rossi who was working out some logistics nearby and spoke up. "Major?"
"Commander?" the man turned readily.
"Is there any place here on Ontarom that a group of soldiers can just relax and unwind a bit?" he asked.
The major smiled and chuckled, scratching his chin.
"Well, the town of Meridian is not Citadel or Illium, but there's plenty of pubs, good restaurants, and a whole lotta beautiful nature all around you."
Marcus turned to look at the rest of his ground team who stood grouped nearby. "What do the rest of you think?"
Murmurs of eager assent greeted him all around.
"Sure beats the ship!"
"Better than drab rocky worlds!"
"Or toxic ones."
"There's beer!"
"And wondrous nature!"
"Yeah, we can shoot things!"
They all turned to look at Wrex pointedly.
"What?" he asked with a shrug.
Marcus and Jaina shared a smile.
"Well, that settles it," she said and tapped the comm link. "Joker, bring the Normandy down to Meridian Spaceport. We'll make this a small shore leave on Ontarom."
"With pleasure, ma'am."
.
It took mere fifteen minutes for the Normandy to dock on the Meridian spaceport. Though the largest of the four settlements on Ontarom, Meridian held barely over 30000 colonists, with other three being only about half as large. Other than the main military base further south, warships rarely landed in the civilian port proper, and as such, even though the Normandy was small for a frigate, it took up a large part of the landing strip, causing a little bit of a commotion among the civilian populace.
Nonetheless, it appeared that people had a good relationship with the military. The Normandy personnel that were going out to stretch their legs and lungs on the firm soil and fresh air of Ontarom found themselves warmly welcomed. Just as the major had said, Meridian did have bars, pubs, numerous cafés, a club, a mall, and several beaches on the lake's shores, and the crew took great pleasure at utilizing every single one of them.
One part of the Normandy's ground team, however, had settled in a cozy bar-restaurant that stood on a forested slope and overlooked the lake. Unlike the majority of the buildings, this one wasn't a prefab, nor was it concrete-metal-and-glass type which was slowly beginning to make their appearance across the town. It was made out of logs on a stone-and-mortar foundation, and it had a huge shaded terrace that overlooked the lake. It was a place that any true hunter, woodsman or lumberjack would want to sit at.
"So, Marcus," Garrus spoke up as they settled themselves around the table. "Care to share a bit more about that freaky new Prothean sense that you've apparently developed?"
"Yeah," Kaidan added his voice. "I mean, it's fascinating, to say the least!"
Marcus shrugged. "I've shared most of it with you already," he said. "You know that I can read people's emotions when they are close by, I can basically 'read' from objects by touching them and find out things about the person or persons that used those objects frequently. I can even sense memories if I concentrate."
"And that's how you were reading things while we were dealing with Cerberus, right?" Wrex queried.
"Right," Marcus shrugged.
"Spirits, I wish I had had such an ability while I worked with the C-Sec," Garrus commented. "Sure, it couldn't be used as evidence, but by reading the criminal's mind, I could know where to look. Damn, I wish I had that against that bastard, Saleon."
"Hey," Marcus raised his hand placatingly. "Don't beat yourself about it. Now, you've heard Liara herself the other day: she will use her network to try to pinpoint Saleon's location. It's only a matter of time, and then we're after him."
"Yeah," Garrus nodded, perking up. "Thanks for that, Shepard."
It was at that moment that a waiter approached them – a triple B guy (big, burly and bearded) wearing jeans, boots and a lumberjack shirt.
"What can I get ya for, gentlemen?" he asked in a strong voice.
"Let me ask this first," Marcus spoke up. "Do you have turian beverages?"
"Sure do," the man nodded. "Strumgeshtus Verean. How's that?"
"You're kidding?" Garrus asked with a grin.
"No, sir," the man replied with a bigger grin.
"I'll have that then!" Garrus exclaimed.
"And bring us here three of your Mountain Bear lagers as well," Marcus added. "I wanna see what it's like."
"You got it!" the man replied and went to prepare their order.
"So, lemme get this straight," Kaidan spoke up as the waiter moved off. "You can touch a surface, and you could pick up memories of someone else who had touched that surface?"
"If it was touched often enough to leave a chemical imprint," Marcus said with a shrug.
"So, well… this table for example," Kaidan said, motioning with his hands. "Can you sense anything of it?"
Marcus smirked, tapping the table top with his palm as he began sensing.
"I sense… men laughing, talking, drinking… it's all jumbled together from all the people who ever sat here, but…" he smirked, nodding. "One thing's in common. Good times. Good times keep happening here."
The other men chuckled.
"Well, you don't need to have a Prothean sense to figure out that there were good times on this table!" Wrex spoke up. "Hell, even I can sense some things about this table myself!"
"Oh really?!" Garrus spoke up challengingly. "And what would that be?"
"Well, look at it!" Wrex said as he pounded on the surface a couple of times for emphasis and rumbled appreciatively. "It's a good, sturdy table! It's sure to support a pair of dancing krogan females with no problem – just as a table should!"
The other three men laughed out loud at that.
"Really, Wrex?" Kaidan asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. "Are females everything krogan think about?"
"What else is there to think about?" Wrex asked. "Females are the only thing that matters in this life. Which reminds me: where the heck has the female contingent of our crew disappeared to?"
"Jaina mentioned they were going to check out the town's shopping mall before heading out to check out 'other stuff'," Marcus said and shrugged.
"Really?" Kaidan raised his eyebrows. "I'm not exactly the one to stereotype people based on their species or gender, but I hadn't exactly thought that they too had a weakness for that."
"I don't know, Kaidan," Marcus said with a smirk. "We like to think of our female crewmembers as women who have elevated themselves above those stereotypes just because we're all here on an important mission to save the Galaxy. But if you think about it, here we are, the four men, waiting for the waiter to bring us our beers, while we listen to old-school rock and talk about – women! I'd call it human nature, but –" he trailed off, motioning with his hand toward Wrex and Garrus.
All four of them chuckled mirthfully.
"I assure you," Marcus continued, "as much as it might seem strange to think 'our women'," and he air-quoted right there, "who fight and bleed alongside us might enjoy those silly feminine things, I say that it's quite natural and GOOD to be so. Besides, I'm pretty sure that the four of them are already commenting and talking about us right at this very moment."
..
About a mile away, in Meridian's shopping mall…
Jaina, Ashley, Tali, and Liara sneezed as one.
"What the heck was that?" Jaina laughed out loud as they looked amongst each other, laughing as well.
"My filter isn't damaged, and I don't feel any fever," Tali said bemusedly.
"Meh, must be one of those strange space-magic things," Ashley brushed it off. "Anyway, where were we?"
Liara spoke up with a smile, "I believe it was about men and their need to both compete and overcompensate."
"Ah, that's right!" Ashley exclaimed excitedly, patting Liara on the shoulder. "Well, let me tell you something about that, hon…"
..
Back at the bar, at the same moment…
"Besides," Marcus finished, "I don't think you'd want to see any of our female friends dancing on the tables."
Kaidan and Garrus laughed out loud, with Wrex looking from one to the other.
"What are you three talking about?" the krogan frowned. "When I mentioned krogan females on tables, I was referring to the kat-kara. It's a traditional pre-mating dance. Females must be on an elevated platform. A table is just – convenient. And you ask me what else is there in life to think about except females? Well, I certainly ain't going to start thinking about this turian across from me."
"You're just jealous of my good looks," Garrus deadpanned.
"Hah," Wrex barked a laughter. "In your dreams. No female would ever be attracted to a guy with no scars. Maybe you should take a rocket to the face, and then we'll talk."
"Hmmh… I'll pass," Garrus replied.
Everyone chuckled at that. It was then that the waiter came carrying their drinks.
"Here you go, gentlemen," the man said, doling out drinks. "Three home-brewed lagers, and for our turian guest – a bottle of Strumgeshtus Verean."
"Damn," Garrus muttered as he accepted the bottle and the glass from the waiter. "I can't believe you have this turian beer."
"It's expensive, true," the waiter replied as he wiped his hands. "But since we don't have that many turians around, we figured it's better to have low amounts of high-quality beer sitting just in case, than having it the other way around – huge quantities that would just spoil eventually."
"Here's to that," Garrus replied, raising the bottle in cheers before he poured it into the glass.
"Looks like you have a nice and burgeoning little town here," Marcus said.
"And it keeps growing," the waiter replied proudly. "We've already begun constructing permanent buildings – all of it planned, large-scale, urbanized construction. We figure that in a few years, there'll be as much as fifty thousand people living here."
Wrex chuckled. "You humans like to live dangerously." He then peered upward from inside the terrace and pointed toward the large moon that was traversing across the skies. "That thing over there will drop down on your heads someday."
The waiter barked a laugh. "Not for another couple of million years it won't! And by that time we'll figure some technical solution to Thonal not dropping on our heads. Asari like to call us short-sighted, but it took us less than a thousand years to advance from swords and axes to FTL flight. It took them ten times as much to do the same. Fear not; I figure that we'll have the solution to prevent Thonal's fall in a few hundred years or so."
"Hah!" Wrex barked, raising his mug. "Now, that's the spirit! Hell – I might even live long enough to see it!"
"So, what's it like here in Meridian?" Kaidan asked.
The waiter smiled a broad smile as he looked across the town and surrounding area.
"I have no idea what to tell you," he said. "We're small and it's peaceful, but it also seems vibrant. We have a lot of farmers and ranchers, but we also have a lot of scientists from the Citadel itself – a lot of them wanting to catalogue Ontarom's biosphere before Thonal's fall, and many others doing some other various research; don't ask me what, though." He laughed at that last. "But even though we're so vibrant, we have no crime, no problems… hell, this thing with Dr. Wayne is the first problem we've had since the beginning! Well, that and the recent string of strange thefts…"
"Oh?" Garrus perked up. "What kind of thefts?"
The man laughed out loud. "That's the strangest thing I've ever seen. Basically, it's this: about a month back, people started reporting their credits suddenly starting to disappear. Here you are, walking down the street in the middle of the day, and suddenly, your omni-tool starts to chirp. You look at it, only to see that your credits are slowly being siphoned away! A couple of credits every second or so, but still! A few seconds later the siphon stops. And there is no explanation whatsoever! The guys at the police department swept the entire town area for signals that would indicate electronic transfer several times but found zip. They blame it on their own electronics gear; they say it's a bit old, but they don't currently have the funds to appropriate new, so…"
"Hmm," Garrus mused as he turned to Marcus. "Maybe we should check this out, Marcus. I mean, I do have a lot of experience with the C-Sec, and my C-Sec hardware and software are brand new. Perhaps I could help the local PD."
"Well, whatever you do, I'm sure that ChiefVelkov will appreciate it," the waiter said, and then looked to the side. "Well, now, if you'll excuse me, I have other customers. Holler if you need anything!"
.
Three hours later, in Meridian's center area…
"How did we find ourselves here, again?" Wrex grumbled.
The four of them were strolling down the busy main town street while they scanned the area with their omni-tools.
"Helping people is a good thing to do, Wrex," Kaidan chuckled at his grumpiness.
"As far as helping people goes, this is stupid," Wrex said. "We're supposed to be stopping a rogue Spectre that wants to bring about the destruction of the Galaxy at the hands of gigantic machines. Are we supposed to stop at every opportunity to help everyone around?"
"Well, if it's a small thing and it's on our way…" Kaidan said and trailed off with a shrug.
"Oh really? So – what? Say some hanar prophet starts to preach without a permit on Presidium, and we're supposed to handle it with the C-Sec?" Wrex demanded. "Or maybe help reporters plant bugs in – I dunno – Citadel Control maybe, so that they can make a heart-wrenching article about how controllers are overworked? Or maybe we're supposed to go around space looking for the insignias of all those turian colonies that disappeared before the Unification Wars so that Palaven museum can make a new exhibit? Where the hell is the profit or point to any of that?"
Marcus spoke up: "Well, most of those things… uhh… well, all of those things sound a little too weird for a Spectre to do, I admit, but this is a bit different. The local PD does not have the tech that we as a Spectre team do. If credits are being siphoned, and they can't seem to find where the money is disappearing to, then the least we can do is help them with this using our gear. Besides, it's a nice stroll down town."
Wrex sighed. "We could have spent this time hunting the local wildlife. There might not be thresher maws about, but there sure might be some other savage beasts!"
"Well, think of it this way –" Kaidan spoke up before he bumped bodily into Garrus, who had walked in front of them as the main investigator and had suddenly stopped.
They all stopped and looked at the turian from the side.
Garrus was looking far to the front of him extremely intently, craning his neck forward, his eyes wide and pupils narrowed into pinpoints, almost like a lion preparing to pounce on his prey. His nose twitched a couple of times.
Marcus spoke up worriedly, "Uhh… Garrus?"
"That is one Shifty-Looking Cow," Garrus said slowly at last.
The three other men's eyebrows shot up before all three of them turned their heads slowly toward where Garrus was looking.
A long-snouted alien creature with four legs and an additional pair of arms was strolling unhurriedly through the main street. Apart from its alien looks, it appeared to behave like an ordinary animal – a dog or maybe some herbivore – strolling around, sniffing as if searching for food, and apparently being very interested in sights and sounds of the milling people. And people actually almost didn't seem to notice it. A couple of them even petted it.
"Uhh… that looks more like a stag to me," Kaidan mentioned. "Or maybe a raccoon. A deer-fox-raccoon."
"I don't get what's so special about it," Wrex said with a shrug. "It doesn't seem dangerous. People don't even give it a second glance."
"Oh, but that's just it," Garrus almost whispered vehemently. "They're the worst kind. They seem like innocent bystanders when they actually take advantage of the people."
Wrex looked down at him with disbelief. "Have you been eating levo-food?" he barked. "What was in that beer you drank, anyway?"
"That animal's probably just looking for food in the town," Marcus said off-handedly with a smirk. "What makes you think that this… uh… 'cow' is shady?"
"Shifty," Garrus corrected, still not taking his eyes off of the alien cow, and then shook his head. "Just look at it. There's just no way you can trust an animal that can milk itself. And besides, those extra little hands look so… grabby! Turn your back on him, and those creepy little hands are going to go to work. Kiss those credits goodbye! Ahem, excuse me, sir?!" Garrus spoke up as he raised his hand, halting a passerby.
"Yes?" A young, thirty-something human spoke up as he stopped and turned to Garrus.
"Can you tell me what that creature over there is?" Garrus asked, still looking at the creature.
"Oh that!" the man spoke up cheerily. "We call them Space Cows – a native life form. They're very intelligent and very friendly. They even know how to use rudimentary tools! Those scientists that catalogue Ontarom environment are very interested in both them and the Space Beetles. They say that both are already evolving into sapient creatures. They say they'll become like us in maybe a hundred thousand years or something."
"And what about that particular one over there?" Garrus motioned with his chin toward the one Space Cow that moved through the throng.
"Oh, that!" the man spoke up cheerily, "That's Larry! He likes to separate himself from his group and come here to just hang out around humans. Everybody likes him. He came about a month ago or so, and has been everyone's favorite ever since."
"A month ago, huh?" Garrus murmured. "Thanks."
"No problem," the man replied and walked away.
The three men looked at Garrus who in all this time still looked intently at the Space Cow.
"You see?" Garrus muttered. "He came to town a month ago, and that's when the thefts started. I'm telling you, that cow over there is doing some shifty business. I have a gut feeling about it. It has never lied to me."
Marcus looked at him in surprise. "You're not seriously thinking that this cow has anything to do with those thefts?"
"Trust me on this one, Marcus, I know these things!" Garrus spoke insistently. "Let's just follow it for a little while, and scan things with our omni-tools. I'm sure something will come up!"
Marcus sighed, scratching the back of his head and spread his arms helplessly. "Sure, why not, if it will sate your need for stalking someone. We're supposed to go around streets looking for any electronic signals anyway."
Garrus smiled predatorily. "Trust me, you won't regret it. Come on, the Space Cow is moving."
The three men looked amongst each other helplessly and moved to follow Garrus.
"So now I'm down to following Space Cows around?" Wrex grumbled to himself. "What's next? Running around all over the Citadel and scanning the keepers for some whacko salarian scientist?"
Larry, The Shifty-Looking Cow, really did seem to skulk around as it moved through the streets, though. It always seemed to follow people around, but it never got specifically noticed by them; and whenever Larry the Cow moved close behind them, the people always started suddenly looking down at their omni-tools in shock and mild panic.
"Don't you see?" Garrus spoke to the rest of them, "All of those people that get approached by that Space Cow start losing their credits!"
"I am detecting electronic signals consistent with money transfer right at their location," Kaidan spoke up uncertainly from where he monitored his own omni-tool.
Marcus raised an eyebrow, and Wrex seemed genuinely surprised at the development.
"Let me see if I can pinpoint it…" Garrus said as he worked his omni-tool.
They continued following the Cow for another fifty meters or so as they approached the edge of town, all of their omni-tools linked together as they scanned in the cow's direction as it skulked behind locals.
"There!" Garrus choked out as he raised his omni-tool and pointed the screen to the others. "There! See!"
All four men stared in shock at the omni-tool screen. An electronic signal that signaled money transfer was leaving a man's omni-tool and was streaming straight into the Shifty Looking Cow's hand!
"Holy Kalros," Wrex murmured in shock, as all four men slowly raised their heads and looked wide-eyed at the Space Cow.
As if sensing danger, Larry the Shifty Looking Cow suddenly stopped in alarm and whipped his head back, looking straight at the four of them. For a couple of moments, all five of them looked at each other in utter shock, before Larry bolted.
"He's made us!" Garrus shouted. "Get him!"
As one, all four men surged after the Space Cow.
"Dammit, that thing is fast!" Kaidan shouted as they scrambled through the alleys at the edge of town.
"He's going toward the countryside!" Garrus shouted.
Larry the Cow bolted out of the alley between the final buildings at the edge of town and rushed forward toward the forested area that surrounded a stream, the four men hot on his trail.
"I got a clear shot!" Wrex shouted gleefully as he unholstered his claymore mid run.
"No guns!" Marcus shouted as he pushed the shotgun away. "Just chase it!"
"What the hell, Shepard?!" Wrex growled even as he kept running after the alien creature.
"He's trying to run toward those hills," Garrus shouted. "I'll run around and flank him – try to drive him back toward town!"
With that, Garrus unleashed his species' signature running abilities and stormed at well over thirty kilometers per hour through the wood copse, the turian's natural running style looking uncannily like that of a roadrunner bird.
"Wrex!" Marcus shouted, "you keep after that cow and shout to make it scared! We'll go around to intercept when it doubles back after Garrus overtakes it!"
The two humans banked, with Wrex shouting back after them:
"Ugh, you humans are slow as hell!" He picked up after the cow, shouting, "KORBAL!"
Larry the Space Cow picked up the pace as he ran up the stream bank, distancing himself from Wrex for a few seconds as he rounded a corner, before Garrus suddenly popped out of the nearby copse, blocking his path.
"A-ha!" Garrus shouted, dropping down into a posture ready to tackle.
Larry squeaked, breaking like a champ and doubling back, his hind legs kicking the soft ground powerfully and throwing a pile of river mud straight into Garrus's face.
"Ah, s'kak!" Garrus shouted as he stumbled, clawing at the mud in his eyes.
Larry rushed back, only to meet Wrex who charged at him from the side, his arms outstretched.
"Ha! You're MINE!" Wrex roared gleefully as he leaped head-first into a tackle.
Larry hopped like a stag, leaving Wrex to grab empty air and sail another five meters through it, before he landed with his entire bulk into muddy ground of the riverbank, making a small crater.
"I got 'im!" Kaidan shouted as he and Marcus stormed from the other side.
Larry made a slight hop, touched down and pivoted on his front legs, and made a vicious running kick with both his hind legs straight into Kaidan's chest, launching the human three meters away into a thick nearby shrub.
Marcus tried tackling the beastie, but Larry twisted through his grasp, making him fall down and skid on his chest across the soft green grass. As he promptly pushed himself up, a large mountain of mud ran past him.
"I'm gonna kill 'im!" Wrex foamed murderously as he ran after the beast, the mud falling off of him with every step.
Kaidan extricated himself from the shrub by that moment, spitting out tiny leaves and branches as he ran together with Marcus after Wrex.
"Sonuvabitch kicks like a mule!" Kaidan wheezed.
"He's doubling back into the town!" Garrus shouted as he sprinted past them all, trying to catch up to Larry. "He can't gain a lot of distance in these copses! After him!"
And the crew followed with all the might of their legs.
Back at the bank of the stream, about a dozen of the Space Beetles were looking from their village after the racing group with bemused expressions on their antennae.
"Mzzt, buzzz-zrzvn click-click mzzzmt chirp skitter-skitter?" one asked.
"Bzzzn-nnt," his buddy replied with a helpless shrug and a headshake.
With that, the two beetles laughed and returned to building the new mud dwelling.
Meanwhile, Larry the Shifty Cow had been zigzagging sharply through the woods, causing Garrus to overshoot him with every attempt to catch him and barely be able to avoid hitting a tree head on every time.
"What the hell happened to your famous speed?!" Wrex hollered as they chased.
"I can't!" Garrus shouted back. "Turians were made for straight runs, and this thing can zigzag like a freaking chaffa!"
"Just run!" Marcus shouted. "He's entering the town again!"
Larry zigzagged through the alleyways, kicking various junk and trash cans down in an attempt to slow his pursuers who were, truth be told, slamming into walls and trash cans as it was.
"I got a stun program I could use!" Garrus shouted as they chased him through the small yards.
"And you thought of it now?!" Kaidan shouted.
"I needed time to set it up, dammit!" Garrus shouted back.
"Wrex, you go that way!" Marcus shouted, directing the battlemaster.
Wrex roared and turned into a different street than the rest of them just as Larry the Cow raced out into the crowded street.
"I got him!" Garrus shouted as he pointed his omni-tool mid-run and unleashed a stun pulse just at the moment Larry had had the insight to bank, making the pulse wave miss him and knock out a few bystanders instead.
"Dammit, Garrus!" Marcus shouted as they ran past the knocked out people.
"I know, I know!" the turian shouted back in exasperation.
"Where's Wrex?!" Kaidan demanded, panting from exertion.
CRASH… BOOM… CRASH… BOOM – the repetitive sound of crashing walls came from somewhere to the right of them where Wrex was bulldozing through fences.
"There he is!" Marcus replied wryly.
"Heads up, he's coming back into the main street!" Garrus called, and the trio rushed after the Shifty Cow into the throng.
Larry turned, but just as he started to pick up speed, Wrex exploded from out of one of the fence walls, sailing straight past Larry, and managing to snag one of his hind legs in the process.
"HAHA! YOU'RE MINE!" Wrex bellowed victoriously.
Larry moaned in distress, trying to free himself by kicking the krogan in the face, but he might as well been kicking a rock. Wrex held on firm and strong. By that moment, the remaining three men caught up to them, and with mutual forces pinned down Larry who made a few final pitiful moans.
"Hah, hah… we got him… we got him," Garrus wheezed.
He was the only one of them who was half able to speak up at all, the rest of them panting tiredly, including Larry, the Space Cow master thief, while a crowd of confused and intrigued onlookers was making a broad circle around them. Marcus was about to begin issuing orders concerning what to do with Larry when they all heard a very familiar woman's loud and pointed cough:
"Ahem!"
Marcus, Garrus, Wrex and Kaidan all slowly looked up from where they were handling Larry, to see none other than Jaina, Liara, Tali, and Ashley standing not three paces in front of them, all of them dressed in their civvies. Each of the four women was carrying a couple of shopping bags, and each of them – except Tali, of course – had obviously had something done with their hair/tentacles and face in a salon. Each had a new lightly-applied makeup that perfectly accentuated each of their beautiful eyes and luscious lips, and despite still having almost the same hairstyle, their hair seemed to have more lush to it. In short, they looked like a million bucks.
In comparison, the four of the guys (as Marcus quickly surmised after making a quick glance around them) were quite the opposite. Garrus still had a nice brown mask of mud on his face, Kaidan was riddled with twigs and leaves from the bush he was kicked into, the entire front of Marcus's own uniform was thickly streaked with green from where he skidded across the grass, and with his entire front marred in a mix of mud and whiteness of concrete from where he bulldozed through the fences, Wrex was the very definition of a walking ruin.
"I can't leave you alone for two minutes," Jaina declared as she looked at Marcus in amused disbelief.
"And. What. Are. You. Doing. To. That. Poor. Creature?!" Liara demanded crossly in her velvety soft voice as she stepped up and hugged Larry the Space Cow protectively, being quickly mirrored by Tali, with Ashley stepping up to Kaidan challengingly.
"Poor?" Wrex croaked back from where he was still trying to hold onto Larry. "He ain't poor! He stole over a hundred credits while we were following him alone! He's wealthier than I am!"
"What. Are. You. Talking about?" Jaina asked with a raised eyebrow.
At that moment, a pair of police officers ran up to the group. "Commander Shepard?" One of them asked in confusion. "What is going on here?"
"Officer," Marcus spoke up. "We've managed to discover the culprit behind those mysterious thefts. Uh… well, you're not gonna believe this, but it turns out that it's Larry, the Space Cow. But we have proof. Here!"
He motioned to Garrus, and Garrus quickly showed the data they had obtained while following Larry the Cow. The police officer looked down at Larry with his eyebrows raised.
"Larry is the thief?!" he exclaimed, then shared a look with his partner. "But that doesn't make any sense! He-he's a Space Cow for crying out loud! A Space Cow!"
"But you see the evidence!" Garrus shot back in exasperation.
"Well, yes, I do, but… h-how the hell is that even possible?!" the officer exclaimed as he scratched his head, looking down at Larry.
"Ahem," Jaina spoke up authoritatively, making everyone turn to her. "If you'd allow me, officer."
"Uhh-humm… y…yeah, sure," the officer replied helplessly, spreading his arms.
Jaina approached where Larry was being held by Wrex on one, and Liara and Tali on the other side. She placed her hands on her hips and looked down at Larry with a stern and expectant expression.
To everyone's surprise, Larry's albeit bestial face showed a surprising amount of emotional expression. Seeing he was being stared down, Larry's ears dropped down and he seemed to shrink down into himself as he looked up at Jaina with puppy eyes.
"You understand me, don't you?" Jaina said with surprise.
Larry looked fidgety as he looked left and right and then back up at her.
"Mah," Larry 'spoke' nasally with his rudimentary speech communication, nodding in confirmation to what people raised their eyebrows.
"You realize you're in a lot of trouble, Larry, don't you?" Jaina asked rhetorically.
Larry shrunk down, dropping his gaze to the ground.
"This doesn't have to end badly, you know," Jaina said, making Larry's ears perk up as he looked up at her. "You need to tell us how you stole those credits."
Larry looked guiltily around him, and then raised one of his arms and opened his hand. In it was a small electronic device the size of a bottle cap. Tali reached out and took the device, quickly scanning it with her omni-tool.
"I can't believe it," she said in wonder. "This device works as a scanner and an automated transfer device. It automatically scans the nearby people and their omni-tools, then establishes a network and starts siphoning small amounts of credits while the user isn't looking. It has a credit chit processor rigged into it as well. It stores credits there."
"How much is there?" Ashley asked.
"About five hundred credits at the moment, siphoned from about a hundred and twenty sources," Tali replied.
"That can't be it!" Garrus said. "He's been stealing credits for a month!"
"Well, it's obvious to me that Larry here is only an accomplice," Jaina stated, then turned to the thief, speaking slowly. "You're not stealing this for yourself, are you, Larry? Who are you bringing this to?"
Larry suddenly looked very distressed, fidgeting nervously.
"Hey," Jaina spoke up as she cupped Larry's chin and pointed his head it toward her. "Whoever he is, he's using you, Larry. He's a bad man."
"Mo!" Larry replied, shaking his head vehemently. "Miike ffrrrrend!"
There was an audible silence.
"Well, I'll be... It speaks!" Garrus muttered in surprise.
"Alright, Larry," Jaina shifted gears. "Mike may be a friend, but what he's doing is wrong. It is hurting other people. You need to take us to him. We promise we won't hurt Mike. Okay?"
Larry hung his head pitifully and stayed silent for a couple of moments before he nodded. There was almost a collective internal sigh.
The group moved to follow Larry, while also keeping a close eye on him so that he doesn't try to bolt. Garrus, especially, had prepared another stun pulse just for that case. After a few minutes of walking down the street, Larry turned into the yard of one of the prefab buildings and, propping on his hind legs, he reached up with his little hands and rang the doorbell.
A few moments later, a boy that looked to be twelve or thirteen opened the door and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the large group of people and a pair of police officers in front of him.
"Mike?" Jaina spoke up as she raised the device pointedly.
Mike looked down at Larry who couldn't meet his gaze and exhaled in defeat.
"Shit," he muttered, and then raised his head and looked at both of the police officers defiantly as he hugged Larry around his neck. "Don't you dare do anything to Larry! I convinced him to do it!"
There was a moment of silence as everyone in the group looked at the boy who defiantly stared back at them.
"Jesus Christ, Mikey," one of the officers muttered. "Is your mom around?"
The boy's face scrunched into an uneasy frown and he clenched his jaw. "No, she's still at work," he replied.
"Why the hell did you do this, Mike?" the other officer demanded sternly. "You're virtually the brightest kid in school! Hell – on the whole of Ontarom! You have the future in front of you!"
"Oh, that's bullshit, and you know it!" Mike shouted out furiously, surprising everyone. "You know darn well that if I want that future you're talking about, I'll have to go to college. That costs money! And Ontarom is not a part of Universal Alliance Free Schooling Program because it's not yet recognized as a full-fledged colony! It will require at least half a million colonists to be that, and we don't even have a hundred thousand. Are my mom and I supposed to move to another colony? That costs more than we have! Mom's working her ass off just so that we can live in a bit of comfort here since dad died. And am I supposed to join the Alliance Military just so that I could get a free scholarship? Well, fucking excuse me if I don't want bullets flying over my head!"
There was a heavy, uncomfortable silence as the kid finished his tirade. But the kid was right. And everyone knew it.
"Shit, Mikey," one of the police officers muttered as he rubbed his forehead uncomfortably. "You did this only for the sake of getting into college?"
Mike looked to the side, anger still evident in his features. "Yeah, say that I did – so what of it? It's not like you're gonna let me keep the money, so what difference does it make?"
The cop shook his head. "Just… tell me you still got all of it."
"Yeah, I still have it," he replied curtly.
"Well…" the officer trailed off. "You're gonna have to give it back, for starters. And you're gonna have to answer at least in some way for what you did, ya hear?"
"Whatever!" the boy growled.
The officers, as well as a few others of Marcus's team, seemed taken aback by the entire situation. But not Marcus. Not him. He had seen all this before.
"Officer, could you give me a moment with Mike?" he asked in a commanding tone that brooked no argument.
"Uh… yeah, sure," the man replied.
At that moment, an unknown woman's distressed voice came from behind them:
"Um… excuse me, but what is going on here?"
They all turned to see a woman in her late thirties standing at the gate.
"Lydia," one of the officers greeted her, then turned to glance at Mike. "Mike got himself into a bit of a trouble."
"Michael?" The woman demanded, but the boy refused to meet her eyes.
Marcus looked at Jaina and gave her a silent cue. She nodded and moved to walk to the woman.
"Mrs…?"
"Donovan," Mike's mom replied.
"Mrs. Donovan, I am Commander Jaina Shepard. Please walk with me a bit. It's alright, trust me. Everything is gonna be alright. I'll explain everything."
Marcus watched Jaina lead the concerned mother away together with the officers, with the rest of his teammates stepping off to the side. He turned to where Michel stood and motioned him with his chin.
"Come on. Sit here on the steps with me."
The boy reluctantly obeyed, the tone of Marcus's voice bearing a strange strength that made others wanting to follow him. The two of them sat on the stairs, with Larry the Shifty Cow sitting on the other side of Michael.
"You know, that was pretty damn impressive," Marcus said after a long moment.
Mike's eyebrows shot up as he looked up at him as if he grew horns.
"You're actually praising me for performing theft?" the kid asked dryly, then snorted. "And here I thought I was gonna get some dull talk about how crime doesn't pay and that I should be a good person or some shit like that."
"What's the point?" Marcus replied calmly. "You're obviously smart enough; you know all that already. Why should I waste my breath? Praise, though?" he nodded. "Praise you deserve because you show more potential that 95% of people out there – most of who should be forbidden from breeding. And you're – what? Twelve I'm guessing?"
"Yeah?"
"Twelve, and you're already rigging up your own fully automated electronic device for siphoning money that nobody can track the signal to, and giving the hightail to the investigators for a whole month." He paused. "When I was your age, the siphoning devices I managed to rig were barely able to make a connection with the omni-tools of the people I robbed; I had to rely on my fingers to lift their credit chit most of the time."
"You pickpocketed as a kid?" he asked incredulously.
"Pickpocketing, robbery, extortion… I even killed another person before I was eighteen – self-defense, though. The list sure is colorful."
The kid was measuring him up silently.
"So, what now?" he asked after a moment. "You gonna tell me how Alliance changed all that and that I should go for it?" He managed to keep the derisive tone down, though it still showed.
"No," Marcus retorted firmly. "That's my history, not your future. What worked for me won't necessarily work for you. You already have here what I never had when I was your age, and that's what makes our cases different."
"Yeah? What's that?" he asked.
"Family," Marcus replied simply.
Mike quieted for a moment.
"Yeah, well, I don't have a dad anymore," he muttered sullenly.
"You have your mother and an entire town that knows you and would be ready to help you," Marcus retorted sharply. "I had nothing. I had people who wanted to either use me or abuse me for the heck of it. So don't compare us in that department."
"Gee, some pep talk there," Mike commented sarcastically. "You sure you know what you're doing?"
Marcus snorted, looking down at him as he contemplated him.
"Yeah, you got spunk kid, I give you that," he admitted. "Not a lotta people dare talk back to the Alliance's best and brightest."
Mike leaned forward, giving him a pointed look up and down his grass-streaked uniform from where he skidded across the fresh grass when he chased Larry.
Marcus traced his gaze, then inclined his head. "Alright, point taken," he admitted.
Mike sniggered as he hugged Larry who sat next to him. "Larry got ya'all good, didn't he?" he said.
"Yeah, he's a feisty one alright," Marcus agreed with a smirk. He then turned somber. "Not very nice of you to use him to do your work like that, though. I can understand why you did – nobody will look twice at a space cow – but that still doesn't make it right; especially if it's someone who can't really understand what he's actually doing."
Mike looked down to the ground, feeling bad about himself. Marcus spent a moment in silence before he continued.
"The question now is why do you do what you do," Marcus said.
Mike shrugged. "I wasn't lying when I said I wanted to use that money for college."
"Why college?" Marcus persisted.
"Well, it's not like I can get lots of money and a high-and-easy lifestyle if I stay here on Ontarom in the middle of nowhere," Mike said, spreading his hands and pointing around.
"No, what you just explained is what everybody wants," Marcus countered. "Money, social status, happiness, adventure – that's what everybody wants, and is not what I have asked you. I want to hear what you want. Why do you do what you do? Did it feel good to take money from other people?"
Mike sighed, then shook his head.
"Nah, man," he said. "Truth? I felt bad all the time. I thought that siphoning tiny amounts of money – something that nobody would miss – would make it okay, but… damn, having that money felt real bad… I just don't know…"
Marcus took a deep, contemplating breath.
"So you took other people's property because of something that is not what you want," Marcus said. "Because of something that you heard is supposed to be 'the thing' from people who don't even know what their own dreams are."
Michael was silent.
"So, what is your dream?" Marcus persisted. "What do you want?"
Mike thought about it. Then thought about it some more. Then, he sighed, shaking his head helplessly.
"I don't know, man…"
"Good," Marcus retorted. "Because no dream ever comes screaming in your face. Dream always comes from behind you; it sneaks up on you. You are not able to hear it, but right now, your greatest dream is whispering at the back of your head. It's almost impossible to hear. And it's okay; you don't need to try to hear it.
"But one day, sooner or later, you will hear it. You will recognize it for what it is. And once you do, you will feel like a star had lit up in your chest. You are going to be filled with such a sense of purpose and burning need to manifest your dream that you won't be able to sleep. And one thing is for certain: unlike what you did here, you will feel good doing it. The work you will do while pursuing and making your dream come true will feel like the best feeling in the world, and nothing – nothing! – will come anywhere close.
Marcus paused, taking a deep breath.
"So, you ask yourself: what really makes you feel good? Cause from what I see when I look at you now, stealing from the people of Meridian – from your own people – felt anything but."
They spent a moment in silence. From the corner of his eye, Marcus could see that Mike was thinking. He was thinking and realizing things for himself; something that few people, especially adults, tended to do.
"What about you?" Mike asked after a moment, breaking the silence. "Have you found your dream?"
Marcus's gaze grew distant and it shifted toward where everyone else had retreated some distance away. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Yeah," he stated with a nod. "Yeah, I did."
"What is it?" Mike asked.
Marcus spent a moment in silence before he nodded toward the gathered people.
"It's family," he said. "I have found and built up my family. Something for which there won't be the distance I'm not willing to go in order protect and make it grow."
Mike followed Marcus's gaze to where the rest of the Normandy crew were some ways up the street mingling with a few other present townsfolk and the few police officers. Ashley was busy meticulously picking twigs and leaves out of Kaidan's hair and uniform and muttering like a mother hen at him, most of the words revolving around an exasperated 'men'. Little ways to the side was Garrus, now clean-faced and hosing down the thick layer of mud and concrete from Wrex using a fire hose that the local authorities had provided.
"Come on, Wrex, you know the drill," Garrus's amused voice could be heard over the spraying water's din, "Surely you've been to prison!"
"That one prison didn't survive two minutes after I got there, and neither will you if keep talking," Wrex grumped loudly. "Now keep spraying!"
"A little more over there, between his legs," Tali's giggling voice directed Garrus's efforts, while Liara and Jaina were standing off to the side sniggering as they discussed the spectacle.
"That's some weird family you got," Mike judged, giving his solemn condolences.
Marcus laughed out loud, then looked to the side.
"Yeah? So is yours," he said, nodding at Larry who was chewing a glop he had dug out of his nose.
Mike laughed out loud. "Yeah," he said fondly, hugging the sentient critter around his shoulders. "That's my buddy Larry alright." He turned somber. "Hey, thanks. I'll, uh… I'll think about the things you said; it sounded smarter than most things people talk about."
"Any time," Marcus said, then nodded toward the distant group. "You're a lucky kid, you know. The town knows you; the cops and judges will be lenient toward you. A useful thing isn't it – to have people like that on your side. So think about it sometime, about what exactly bought you that credit with them, ya hear? Now go and have a talk with your mother."
Michael stood up with him and walked off to do as Marcus had told him, with Larry the Shifty Cow trailing closely after him. Jaina, meanwhile, had walked up and stood next to him with her arms crossed, smiling up at him.
"Now I know for sure," she said after a moment.
He looked down at her questioningly. "You know what?"
"You're going to be a perfect father material when the time comes."
He snorted and laughed. "I don't know, Jay," he replied. "The way my luck goes, our kids will end up being a natural disaster next to me."
"Just trust my feminine intuition," she said, then sighed. "Now, let's get you, mischievous boys, back to the ship. Honestly, though, how the heck did you manage to make such a mess out of yourselves? We were away for – what? Three hours? You men are really hopeless!"
And he laughed out once more.
...