"So, ugh, Noble Six; what are you doing up here already? We kind of need to be docked before you can get off the ship." Joker's sarcasm was prevalent as ever, and he clearly had no reservations about subjecting Six to his normal insults. The Spartan was happy to hear it, though. It was nice that he wasn't going to be treated differently by someone here. Even in his own galaxy, Six was constantly being looked up to by marines as a legend, and looked down with disgust by some of his ONI superiors.
"Very funny, Joker. I guess that's how you got your nickname? Acting like a complete ass around people you just met?" Six chuckled a little to himself, amused by his own joke.
"Hah hah, very funny Six. You know, I could have EDI suck you out of the airlock for insulting me on my bridge." He turned over to look at her avatar, pulsing gently as if unfazed by the argument before her.
"Actually, that is not one of my functions on the Normandy, Mr. Moreau. I am installed on this ship to assist in cyber warfare and…"
"Yea I got it EDI! It was supposed to be a joke. Besides, since the lieutenant never takes that armor off, throwing him out an airlock would only piss him off. Do you wear that all the time Six?"
Six moved closer to the pilot, putting his arm on his shoulder. "Only for you Joker; only for you."
"Geez, and the rest of the crew usually complains about me making sick jokes. Looks like we have a new creep on board."
"Am I interrupting anything, Joker? It sounds like you and Noble Six are starting to become best friends?" Shepard's early arrival was actually quite welcome, by both Joker and the other Cerberus personnel that were unfortunate enough to hear the whole conversation. The commander stood over the pilot with a big, toothy grin, clearly amused that someone was actually brave enough to tease Joker.
"Glad you got here when you did, Shepard. This guy's a real piece of work. I say we go back to Canalus and throw him in the hole we found him in."
"Joker, that's no way to treat a guest on your ship. I'm shocked you'd say such a thing!" The Spartan threw his hands in the air while he spoke, adding even more sarcasm to his snarky conversation.
"You know… I'm gonna let you have that one Six, but only because you called the Normandy 'my ship' and not Shepard's. One time only, though."
"Ok you two, that's enough. Six, I just came up from the crew deck and Garrus and Tali are still having something to eat before the mission. We aren't on a tight schedule, so why don't you go down and join them? I'll be leaving with Miranda, Kasumi and Mordin as soon as we dock in Nos Astra. We'll be looking for the Justicar Samara. Like I've told you, your team will be searching for the assassin. I don't know this planet well, but Garrus should know enough to get started. And one other thing, lieutenant: the law is a lot looser on a planet like Illium. Technically, we aren't even in Citadel Space. So be careful. It's a lot more common to have mercenary groups running security everywhere. And they are big believers in the 'shoot first' philosophy of life."
"Got it, sir. You can count on us to get this job done."
Shepard smiled at the Spartan, standing back and crossing his arms. "You know, between you, Garrus and Tali, I think I might just be able to take the next few missions off. What do you think?"
"I think you would just get bored sitting on the Normandy all day, Shepard."
"Heh, you're probably right Six. Ahh, here's the rest of my squad. We'll talk later, Six. Good luck on your mission." The three he had been waiting for all showed up together, Kasumi and Mordin offering the Spartan a smile, while Miranda barely looked at him out of the corner of her eye.
"Just in time you guys, we're just about to dock in the business district. Bring back some better food, Shepard" said Joker.
"That's not within the Illusive Man's budget, pilot." The Cerberus ice queen had no problems speaking for Shepard, even if it only lasted for a few moments.
"Actually, that sounds great, Joker. If we have time after finding the Justicar, I'll see what we can do."
Miranda turned an icy glare at Shepard, only to be answered with a sarcastic smile from him. The four then turned to leave, the airlock closing behind them and leaving Six alone, as Joker was now strongly focused on dealing with Illium Customs and Regulations agents on his view screen.
"That Miranda girl sure is keeper, isn't she Six." Leliana seemed to feel as though she need to ensure her opinion was known to him. "I don't like the look of her. Do you want me to try and spy on her using those Cerberus surveillance bugs?"
"What? No, Leliana. I think she's trouble too. But let her try and scheme. Do you really think she can get any useful from either of us? She and the Illusive Man will figure out soon enough that we're here because Shepard is a leader worth following, not to satisfy the wishes of Cerberus."
"Whatever you say, Six. But if some Cerberus soldiers show up wearing MJOLNIR copies…"
"Do you really think they are smart enough to do that just from spying on us a little?"
"Well, no. But I just don't like not having any knowledge on her. But I'll leave her alone. Maybe she is just a pain in the ass."
"Spoken just like a true lady… But forget Miranda. Let's go down and see what we can do to get Garrus and Tali moving."
.
"Hey Tali, what do you think of Six? I mean, we're working with him on a mission without Shepard now. How do you feel?"
"You aren't actually worried he's some spy for the Shadow Broker, are you? I thought only Miranda was silly enough to think that…"
"What? No! I just want to know what you think of him, you know, as a person. You're the only one of us that's really seen him in battle; I just saw him scare a few Krogan on the Citadel, and Shepard just talked to him a few times. And didn't he come down to engineering and chat with you last night?"
"Yes, we talked a little while I was cleaning up the engines. He seems really nice, and I think he's actually happy here." Tali giggled a little, and leaned in towards Garrus so she could whisper to him. "He said a few embarrassing things when we talked; I don't think he spends very much time with regular people. But I like him so far. What has Shepard got the three of us doing?"
"Hmph, I don't really like it that much. We're going to be looking for this assassin, and the Illusive Man doesn't have a name for us. But he's a drell, and he's the best in his business."
"So what aren't you happy about? We want the best people on this mission, don't we?"
"Yea, but he's an assassin Tali. That means he kills people for money. People who could be anyone from an honest politician fighting corruption to some unlucky guy who just pissed someone off. I spent a long time on Omega fighting people just like him."
Tali wasn't surprised once Garrus had explained himself. He was always an idealist ever since she met him two years ago on the Citadel. Even so, she wouldn't blame anyone for feeling that way about a gun for hire. "I see your point, Garrus. But this mission is too big to ignore someone useful. I still hate Cerberus, but I know we have to work together to stop the Collectors. I know you can understand that."
"I never said I didn't. It doesn't mean I like it either, Tali. Besides, I don't plan on working with this guy unless Shepard makes me. It sounds like I'll be spending a lot of missions with you and Six. And that's just fine, if you ask me."
"Well, I didn't actually ask you, Garrus…"
"Very funny, Tali. You know, you joke a lot more since when we were hunting Saren down. What caused the big change?"
"It's nothing really, Garrus. I'm just a lot more comfortable around everyone now, especially you and Shepard. I guess I'm that way around my friends. And I figured someone had to put you in your place once in a… Hey Six! Come sit with us!" Tali cut herself off, standing to wave at the lieutenant as he was turning around the elevator shaft. He noticed quickly, walking over to sit down next to Garrus and across from Tali.
"Hey you two, Shepard told me you were relaxing a little before we go out. Aren't you two worried he'll find the Justicar before we get this assassin? I don't want him to think we're lazy."
"Don't worry Six, I've got us covered. I found out from one of my old C-Sec contacts that our old friend Liara T'Soni is working here now as an information broker. Her office is just down the street from our dock space. We go see her, and she'll point us in the right direction to find out target. It's easy as that."
"Liara is here? Keelah, I haven't heard from her since we got off the first Normandy… Why would she be working in the information business? I just figured she'd go right back to her excavation sites." Tali had clearly spent too much time with the Migrant Fleet to keep up with things.
"I didn't get that part from my contact. I would've said the same thing as you, Tali. We'll just have to ask her, I guess."
"Do one of you mind telling me about this Leeara Tuh Soni? Sounds like the three of you have some history."
Tali was the first to speak. "Of course we do, Six. She was another member of Shepard's first team, when we were hunting Saren. I'm sure you read about him, at least, in your codex. Liara is an Asari, just like most of the people on this world. When you meet her, you're going to think she's younger than me. She's quiet, naïve, timid…"
"Really, really attractive…"
"Garrus! I'm going to tell her you said that! And Shepard!"
"Go right ahead. You and I both know she'll just blush and stumble over her own words, heh. And Shepard will just agree with me."
"Well, you probably are right. Anyways, Six. Despite that, Liara is over 100 years old. Asari will usually live to be around 1,000 years old. She is still a child in her own culture, so people often overlook how smart she really is. Whatever we get from her, I promise it's worth trusting."
"Just don't try and talk to her. Since you're new, she'd probably be too shy to even put a full sentence together."
"Ignore Garrus, Six. Hey, we should get going anyways. I don't mind if Shepard beats us sometimes, but I don't want to see Miranda finish her mission before we do!"
Garrus stood up, stretching his arms and yawning out a somewhat mumbled sentence. "Alright Tali, you're probably right. Let's go before Six has to listen to us anymore. I bet he's itching to see what Illium looks like."
.
The sun was setting on the horizon of Illium, painting a most spectacular view for the three new teammates to watch as they made their way through the trade market of Nos Astra. The forest of skyscrapers reminded Six of New York. While he rarely had the chance to visit, several military parties and political meetings between the UNSC and Sangheili leadership were held in Manhattan, allowing him to visit. It was one of the few occasions that the Spartan actually was given several days of shore leave, and he always spent them exploring the city. He was excited to see what the rest of Nos Astra would be like. He made his way over to a railing overlooking the rest of the city, enjoying the view of the area.
"This is quite the city the Asari have, especially when it's just a colony world. It looks like they have a real boom in business. Seems like a place to spend some time."
"You know Six, everyone in Citadel space is always told how Illium is one of the safest places in the galaxy. Illium Travel and Tourism routinely cites the planet's low crime rate and glamour as reasons to visit. All that is true, until you fall off the grid. All you have to do is sign the wrong contract, join the wrong company, or just go down the wrong alley. Don't let the lights and money fool you: it's no safer here than Omega."
"And you think another big city is any better than that? That's just what you get when you have so many people competing for power and money. I doubt Illium is worse than New York, or whatever the capital of Palaven is."
Garrus was slightly shocked to hear Six mention Palaven, both because he was upset someone would compare it to something like Illium, and that Six even was familiar with it. The planet Garrus grew up on was the model of Turian honor and integrity; but the Spartan was probably right. "Maybe so. Just make sure not to sign anything while we're here. You could end up working corporate security for 15 years."
"Heh, thanks for clarifying that Garrus, but I wasn't planning on doing anything like that. We're here to get the assassin, oh and Shepard gave me an account for purchasing some things for my quarters. Speaking of it, want to help me with that Tali? I kind of need a girl's opinion on that kind of stuff. I don't really shop much, err, ever."
"Sure, Six, umm that sounds like fun. I'd be glad to help you." In truth, she was just an inexperienced as the Spartan. Life aboard the Fleet can do that to someone. But she was eager to get to know him better, and it sounded fun.
"Thanks, it should be a lot of fun. More than listening to Garrus talk how horrible this great looking city is."
"Funny, Spartan. But let's stay focused. Liara's office is just up those stairs over there. Why don't we go pay her a visit and find out what she knows about the assassin? And remember to keep your sarcasm meter down, Six. Liara will either become as red as a malum, or miss it entirely. So just be nice and let us do the talking."
"Red as a malum?"
"Yea, it's a fruit from Palaven. Sort of like those apples you humans eat to keep doctors away."
Garrus turned around and started walking to Liara's office, giving Six the chance to whisper something in Tali's ear. "Humans don't really eat apples for that. They're just a nice snack, heh."
They both snickered a little, cutting it short so they could catch back up to Garrus quickly and without him noticing.
As the three made their way up the stairs to see Liara, another Asari was quick to stand from her desk and stop the newcomers. She was the first one Six had a chance to see up close, and he was very intrigued by her. While none of the aliens in the former Covenant looked anything like humans, Six was finding that several other species in this galaxy resembled his kind. Besides the blue skin and tentacle heads, she wasn't any different than any other human girl he could think of.
"Welcome to Illium, Officer Vakarian and Miss Zorah. My name is Nyxeris, and I am Liara T'Soni's assistant. It is an honor to meet the two who were at Commander Shepard's side during the Battle of the Citadel. Regardless of that, friends of Miss T'Soni are always welcome here."
"You know who we are?" There was a small amount of nervousness in Tali's voice, but she did a great job of hiding it behind surprise.
"Of course, Miss Zorah. Liara has become a very successful information broker, and she was happy to learn that you would be coming to see her. You, however, are not known to us. She was very intrigued by your arrival here." Nyxeris was of course referring to Six, standing behind the other two, yet still easily visible standing over them.
"Well we don't want to keep her waiting then. Can we speak to her now?"
"Of course you can." Nyxeris sat back down in her desk, flipping one of the switches on her console. "Miss T'Soni? Your friends are here to see you now."
"Wonderful, please send them in immediately."
"Liara will see you know. Please enjoy your time in our city."
The three all nodded and replied with a polite "thank you" and made their way around the corner and through the next door, opening it quickly.
"Liara, please, give me a break. I've been helping you look for the observer for a month now, I just need more time."
"That is the only thing more valuable to me, and you are squandering what I give you. I'll make you one final deal. Help me solve this in one more week, and I will ignore the credits you owe me. Fail, and you'll find that I can be a very dangerous enemy to fight." She cut the feed on her hologram, leaving the Salarian she was speaking to with a look of terror in his eyes. She turned around, and Garrus and Tali saw she had a very new emotion on her face, one they had never seen before: malevolence. It was quickly replaced with a big smile as she ran over to the three. "Garrus, Tali! It's so good to see you both. It's been far too long.!" She reached out and hugged them both, embracing them for several seconds.
"That sounded pretty serious Liara. What have you been doing for the past two years?" Garrus was quick to offer an opinion, but it was out of shock rather than his usual chattiness.
"Oh, that was nothing Garrus. Just the way you have to speak to some people to motivate them. I wouldn't really hurt him just because of his incompetence. Now, what can I do for the three of you? Oh I almost forgot; we haven't met yet, Spartan." She walked over and offered her hand to Six, who was more than surprised.
"How did you know that?" The Spartan stepped back with one leg and crossed his arms, having no intentions of hiding his skepticism.
"Please, I am an information broker, Spartan. Anything I learn of people is simply good business, and I did nothing myself to learn that. There is simply a rumor about Shepard and someone he found on Canalus. Seeing you, I can tell that it is true. Now, what should I call you?" Liara kept a smile on her face, one that was genuine, if Six had any idea how to read people.
"Just call me Six, Liara. I'm more than happy using that as a name." He took her hand, shaking it more out of respect than comfort. While Garrus and Tali seemed comfortable around her, Liara reminded the Spartan far too much of an ONI operative that knew more than was good for her.
"Back to the reason we're here, Liara. We're looking for an assassin for the team. We figured you'd be the right person to ask." Tali was happy to get a word in the conversation.
"Yes, of course Tali. I'd be happy to help. Let me just look what I have here… That should be right. His name is Thane Krios, a Drell. He's been doing this for a long time. He should be just the person you're looking for. You'll find an Asari, Seryna, down in the cargo transfer offices. Thane spoke to her before he moved to his target, Nassana Dantius. I'm sure you remember her when we were all with Shepard."
"Oh, how could we forget Liara? She's a real gem. Maybe we should let this Krios finish his job before we go searching for him… Oh Six, the Asari that Liara is talking about; we met her two years ago on the Citadel. She contacted Shepard about helping rescue her sister. According to Nassana, she was captured by mercenaries and was being held in the Macedon system. We landed on the planet Sharjila and came under fire immediately by the mercenaries. We cleared their base out, but didn't find any hostage. After snooping around some of the files there, we found that Dahlia, Nassana's sister, was the merc leading that outpost. She was blackmailing her sister, and jeopardized her political career." Garrus filled Six in on their history with the Asari's colorful past.
"So Nassana lied so you could silence her sister?" The concept sounded a little too familiar to the Spartan's early days out of training.
"Yea, she's a cold-hearted killer. If we get to meet her, don't let the pretty face fool you. And she'd probably offer you a lot of money to do some of her newest dirty. You know… just in case you want to leave the Normandy."
"Very funny, Garrus. She sounds wonderful. Can't wait to meet her."
"If you two are finished babbling back and forth like a couple of Salarians, then we should keep focused on Thane. It doesn't sound like we have all the time in the galaxy. When was he supposed to be going after Nassana, Liara?"
"I can't say, Tali. Krios is very good at keeping hidden from even the most watchful eyes. I would suggest speaking to Seryna for any more information. I'm afraid that is all I know of him. I can see she's still at her desk, from a few surveillance bugs I have installed in that area. I wasn't able to help Shepard much either, earlier."
"Wait a second, how did Shepard already talk to you? I didn't tell him you were here" said Garrus.
"Well, I knew the Normandy was docking in the city, so I paid for its administration fees. I wanted to help you all as much as I could. But all I know of the Justicar is that she is registered with a tracking officer. Shepard and your other companions went straight to her after they saw me."
Garrus, frustrated that their jump on Shepard was now wasted, decided they needed to speed things up. "Alright LIara, thanks for all the help with the assassin. Did Shepard ask you to come with us already, or do we have to do that?"
Rather than blush slightly like how Garrus and Tali had come to expect from her, Liara simply answered in a distracted voice. "No, I… have some things I need to take care of here. When I finish what I have, if you are still searching for the Collectors, I'd be more than happy to come back to the Normandy. But I can't leave until I'm finished. Please though, come back and see me anytime you need help… or just want to talk." She smiled a little, but far less than the Liara Garrus and Tali were used to.
Everyone stood up, and Tali and Liara hugged each other one more time. Garrus just smiled and nodded to her. Six nodded politely, and was the first one to leave back through the doorway. The three of them waited until they were back on the trade floor before anyone spoke. Garrus, of course, was the first.
"Is it just me, or does Liara seem a little… different than the last time we were all together?"
"I have no idea what happened to her, Garrus. She used to be so shy and peaceful. She was even more worried around everyone on the Normandy than I was at first. And now the first thing we see her doing is threaten to kill someone. Something must have happened to her after our time on the Normandy. Maybe we should tell Shepard to talk to her. They were really close, until he, well you know…"
"Hey Tali, are you saying that Shepard and Liara were an item? Is that normal for humans to do?" While most of the conversation between Garrus, Tali, and Liara was meaningless to Six, the idea of a human and an alien was… alien! Is this something people in this galaxy did?
"What? Oh, that's right. I guess you wouldn't know any better. In our galaxy, it's not uncommon for members of two separate species to… do that. Especially the Asari. Males and females alike from almost every species find them fascinating. They are very popular… dancers, in many restaurants."
"Heh, I think I get what you mean Tali. Are the Asari the only ones that do that? What about Quarians?"
Only a split second had passed before Six's face turned beat red, and he thanked God over and over again in his head that his face was hidden. Before Tali could even answer him, Garrus, of course, had to make the moment worse.
"HAH! Six, do you have a crush on Tali? I hope you have a better pick up line than that!"
"Oh, you just shut your scaly mouth Garrus! Six is just interested in learning a little about us, right Six?" Tali turned back to him, seeming to believe that was the Spartan's intention.
"Ugh, yea. Of course Tali. I mean, we just met each other."
'Dammit, there I did it again!'
"Ha, well before you two fall in love, let's go find this Seryna. I want to beat Shepard back to the Normandy."
.
"Gee ,Lieutenant, you're sure making your move on Tali quickly. I bet you two will be on your first date before we get off Illium." Leliana had been bugging him the entire ride from the space port. Six had quickly taken the back seat in Seryna's hovercar, and Leliana had taken the pleasure of deactivating his armor's audio speakers. "I wish the others could have seen how red your face was!"
The Spartan simply ignored his AI, mostly out of frustration that he had nothing to shoot back at her with. He was going to need a tall drink back on the Normandy later to wash this away.
"Oh ok then, I guess just pout! Can't a girl have a little fun? I swear you have been moody the whole time we've been here."
"Well can you blame me? I've made an idiot of myself twice in front of Tali! I'm just thankful that I didn't creep her out. Sitting next to her in this car is awkward enough as it is. I hope she hasn't been sitting there expecting me to talk to her, since Garrus has been blabbering on with the Asari." He looked out of the corner of his helmet to see Tali sitting, seemingly happy just looking out the window at the city.
"You seem lucky this time, Six. But maybe you should try chatting with her a little; if nothing else she might be bored sitting there alone and quiet. Just ask about her and the Quarians; every girl can talk about themselves when you give them a chance."
He thought about it for a little bit, searching his mind for any reasonable excuse to ignore Leliana's suggestion. As usual, she was right and he thought of no reason to ignore Tali any longer. "So ugh, Tali… mind if I ask you a little about…"
"Hey, breaks over you two. The Dantius Towers are just around this next corner. Get ready." Seryna interrupted him quickly and very rudely, and she obviously had no problems doing so.
"What was that Six?" Tali turned to him, almost eager to see what he wanted to know.
"Umm, nothing. Don't worry Tali, we can talk about it another time. Let's just focus on the mission for now."
"Alright, we'll talk later then" she said cheerfuly, hopping out of the hovercar only moments later when the doors opened.
'Well, I blew that one…' Six thought to himself.
"You three be careful in there. Remember that she's gonna have Eclipse mercs all over the place. And she's paying them enough to shoot first, and then shoot some more later. Good luck." Seryna closed the doors on her hovercar and took off with haste, leaving the three to fend for themselves.
The team turned to look at the towers, impressed with their grandeur, showing even before the one before them was complete. Just a few moments later, they heard gunshots inside the lobby and saw several Salarians being gunned down by a group of mechs.
"Looks like we have some company, people! Get to cover and fire when ready!"
Garrus barked orders as he rushed over to the doorframe for cover, drawing his sniper rifle in the process. Tali readied her shotgun at the adjacent doorframe, but Six simply marched towards the enemy mechs, aiming his Mattock and firing several rounds perfectly in the optics of each unit. In the short time they had to return fire, the mechs barely flickered the shields on the Spartan's armor.
"Confirmed kills. Keep moving up; I've got point." Six didn't even skip a beat as he made his way around the corner, trailed closely by Garrus and Tali, who wasted no time following the exceptionally well-armored Spartan. In the next room, they found the Salarians who had just been attacked by the mechs, all dead on the floor or slumped against the walls.
"Looks like we were too late to help them…" Tali added somberly as she knelt down to check the pulse on one. "I'm starting to think we should let this assassin do his job before we talk to him."
"Maybe so Tali, but let's keep going. I've got tangos on my motion tracker. Stay behind me." Six moved through the next doorway, followed closely by Tali and then Garrus. Around another corner, Six spotted several mercenaries wearing yellow armor, and several more of those mechs that he so easily dispatched. "Garrus, are those the Eclipse mercs Seryna was…" As he was interrupted by a hail of gunfire, his shields flashed down to minimum, setting off numerous warning lights and sounds inside his helmet, and causing him to take cover behind the nearest pillar.
"Yea Six, that's probably why they're shooting at us!"
Both the Turian and the Spartan fired blindly around their cover, hoping to distract the enemies for a moment to regain their composure. Tali threw her arm out, activating her combat drone and sending it after the Asari captain leading them. "Go get her Chiktikka! Good girl!"
The combat drone was enough to distract the mercs assaulting their position, as they now were making their way down a single, narrow path towards them. "Garrus, Tali; cover me for a bit so I can slip around the back of them. And then we'll have them surrounded."
"Do it Six! That combat drone won't keep them busy for much longer! Tali and I have your back on this. GO!"
Tali and Garrus had barely begun to fire when Six bolted across the room, taking a few shots at his side before he made it to the parallel corridor. Through the doorway, he found two Eclipse mercs, each supposedly crafting the same idea as him. But they weren't ready for him to charge around the corner, and one of them jumped back in shock. The other, obviously more seasoned, immediately fired at him and managed to land a few shots on his shields before the Spartan fired multiple rounds into his abdomen. The next one, armed with a shotgun, had enough time to regain his composure to aim and fire a volley of pellets at Six, dropping his shields and peppering his still-shiny armor, creating several gouges across his chest. Six aimed again, firing a single round through the merc's helmet, dropping him instantly. "Textbook shooting!" Holstering his Mattock, the lieutenant drew his Eviscerator and ran up to the next doorway, behind the rest of the Eclipse group.
Peeking his head around the corner, he saw the Asari captain standing back, coordinating the attack on Garrus and Tali. "Keep firing you idiots! They can't hold out their forever! Send the mechs in first as bullet shields!" She then launched a biotic attack at the two, sending several of the crates they were using as cover flying into the air.
"Here goes nothing…" Six twirled around the doorway, remaining unseen by the Eclipse mercenaries, and more importantly, the captain. He sprinted to her, grabbed the Asari by her armor's collar and slammed her backwards into the ground. With her eyes gapping in shock as she now looked up at the Spartan, Six raised his arm while activating his energy dagger, and drove it deep through the right side of her chest plate, guessing her heart was in the same place as a human. She barely had time to raise an arm and call for help as her eyes went lifeless. Wasting no time on her, Six readied his shotgun and fired off two rounds, each killing a mercenary.
By now, the others had noticed him, and had all turned around to deal with the Spartan, leaving them completely exposed to Garrus and Tali, who immediately began to fire on the group. Six dove behind a crate in the middle of the room, and fired one more shot over his shoulder before reloading. With the sounds of fewer guns firing behind him now, he turned again to face the mercs, shooting one down the unfinished elevator shaft of the room, and two more direcly in the chest, dropping them almost instantly.
Tali and Garrus, now on the offensive as well, managed to destroy all the mechs that the mercenaries had activated, and now moved on the last group of mercenaries between them and Noble Six. Tali had drawn her pistol, rather than reload her shotgun, and fired multiple shots into each target, while Garrus dropped two Vanguards, each with a well-placed sniper round. The final mercenary, a young human woman, gave up and threw her arms in the air.
"I surrender! Please, just don't shoot me!"
All three stopped, lowering their weapons slowly in case she had a sidearm or hidden grenade.
"Please, just let me go! I'll tell you anything you want to know!"
"Relax human. We weren't even here to start trouble. Your friends are the ones that started shooting at us. Now tell us about Nassana. Where is she?" Garrus walked forward, speaking in a surprisingly calm and comforting voice.
"She… she's up in her tower. It's the next one over, Tower One. We're in Tower Two. She's got a lot of us there, too. She's… really scared someone is coming after her. Is that what… you're doing here?"
Garrus looked over at Six, who had walked up right behind the girl now, and just snickered a little. "No, but if you knew Nassan you wouldn't be upset about it one bit. But we are looking for someone; someone else that isn't supposed to be here either. Know anything about that?"
"Ummm… well... I did here Red and Silver teams chatting over the radio about some intruder. When you showed up, that's who I thought you were. But they said they were only looking for one person. So I guess he's still here somewhere. Both of those teams are up close to the top. The guy you're looking for is probably ahead of you, too."
The three looked around at each other, impressed the mercenary was so forthcoming with information. Obviously, she was a new addition to Eclipse.
"Sooo… are you gonna… let me go?" She could barely say the sentence through all the fear inside her, and played with her hands while waiting for an answer.
Garrus and Tali started mumbling to each other, giving Six a chance to walk behind her and firmly slap his hand on her shoulder. "Sure kid, why not. But I better not see you in an Eclipse uniform again. If I do… well let's just say you won't be too happy. And I remember faces pretty well. You better find a job that doesn't involve killing innocent civilians."
"Yes sir! Of course! I'll… I'll go to the employment office and look for something as soon as tomorrow. Thank you so much!" The young girl sprinted away, leaving her gun and dead companions long forgotten.
"Six, what the hell are you thinking, letting her go like that? Do you really think that she'll do anything she said?" Garrus was frustrated with him, walking over and standing right in his face.
"Relax Garrus. Aren't you wondering why I put my arm on her? It wasn't just to be comforting…" The Turian, and now Tali, both shrugged. "I planted a tracking chip on her. We don't have time to deal with prisoners, and I'm guessing you don't just want to execute everyone to avoid the problem. We'll find Nassana, grab the assassin and then I'll drop the tracking codes off with the local police. Simple as that. Oh, and I actually do think she was telling the truth. At least about leaving Eclipse. Did you see how scared she was? I almost laughed while talking to her. Everyone deserves a second chance, Garrus."
While he was upset at Six, Garrus realized the Spartan was right about the merc. They were in a hurry, and if they could deal with her later, that made things a lot easier. "Fine Six, you win. But next time, just wait and tell me and Tali before you let someone go like that. Got it?"
"Got it, Garrus."
"Alright, let's keep moving. It sounds like we have a lot of Eclipse mercs to deal with before we reach Nassana."
.
Author's Note:
Well there's another chapter done. I'm probably going to start writing them a thousand words or so shorter, just so I can update more often. Let me know if that's a good decision or not.
Obviously, the next chapter will be the continuation of Thane's recruitment, and I'm planning on telling it a little differently from the game. Just to mix things up a bit.
Suggestions are always welcome, and as always, thanks for reading!