"Dammit Serayna! I'm paying you an entire year's worth of credits for a few weeks of security and guard service! How the hell can a single team of infiltrators get past an entire company of your Eclipse mercs!" Nassana had been screaming at the mercenary commander for the past 30 minutes, unable to calm down since the mysterious team consisting of a Turian, Quarian, and Human had infiltrated her towers and started eliminating her security. "There's only three of them! I hired you because you said you were the best!"
The Asari commander, seasoned and disciplined, appeared calm and held her composure in the face of her angry client. "Obviously we've underestimated this team's abilities, Miss Dantius. But I assure you, my troops will hold their ground and will kill these commandos. I was hired to keep you safe, and that's exactly what I'll do for you. So don't waste your time yelling at me." The Eclipse commander turned around from Nassana, trying to end their conversation in the penthouse of Tower One.
"Oh, well I guess I was just worried then. They've only killed three of your teams! Silly me! And what about that assassin I've been hearing radio chatter about? What are you doing to find him?"
"Miss Dantius, I need to be able to calmly communicate with my troops to ensure your safety. So please, respect my wish when I ask you to shut the hell up!" Serayna then walked out of Nassana's office, two of her personal guards following closely behind. "I want to know everything about these commandos. Why are they here, what are their capabilities, what sort of weapons are they utilizing…"
"Yes ma'am! Right away!" Both of her escorts sprinted ahead of her, probably to initiate communications between surviving team leaders. While Nassana thought that three teams had fallen victim to these infiltrators, they had actually just massacred number five. They clearly were completely capable of anything Eclipse threw at them, and they were only minutes from reaching the top of Tower Two. And from there, they were only a short walk from reaching Nassana's penthouse. If things didn't turn around, the commander may very well have to evacuate an increasingly angry client to a safer location.
Serayna walked over to one of the security monitor stations she had installed in the lobby of Nassana's penthouse, linked to the hundreds of cameras and sensors installed over the past few weeks. She flipped through all the recent feed, watching the enemy team make their way through her units as if they were Blue Suns recruits. While she had mentioned nothing to Nassana, the commander had run DNA scans on the team, and easily found that the Turian and Quarian were none other than Garrus Vakarian and Tali'Zorah, two of Commander Shepard's team that took down Saren. She wasn't surprised to see them here: Nassana had disclosed their… complicated history to Eclipse, as to notify Eclipse of any potential threats. The Quarian and Turian were both commonly known as idealists, fighting corruption and evil out of principal.
While they were both proven to be extremely deadly combatants, even the two together should've been no match for an entire company of veteran mercenaries. The commander then turned her attention to the third party member, the one that greatly intrigued her. Numerous DNA and bio scans by local security measures produced literally no data, not even with her access to the Illium Intelligence Service. Watching the video feed, it was clear to Serayna that this human, this one human, was the one truly responsible for the deaths of dozens of her troops. He charged directly into opposition, seeming invincible in the face of death. The sight of him… assassinating the captain of Green Team in the opening firefight, sent a chill down her spine.
'Who the hell are you?'
.
"Noble Six, move up and hit the mercenaries head on! Tali, move to the right behind those pillars and focus on distracting them. I'm going to pick them off from back here with my sniper rifle. Go on my mark. Three… two… one… MARK!" Garrus barked orders as he sprinted back several yards, sliding around a pile of sheet rock and taking aim with him rifle. Six rushed forward, firing heavily into the newest team of Eclipse mercenaries foolish enough to stand in their way. Tali reached her target and immediately activated her combat drone, and started hacking enemy systems.
Six, armed again with his Mattock, peaked around his cover and started firing at the Eclipse Vanguards he was now becoming extremely familiar with. They hadn't wounded him yet, but their constant close-quarters attacks were certainly testing the Spartan's skills; and shields. His new Mk. VII armor was getting a complete field test with today's combat, already saving his ass several times.
'Dammit! These Asari could almost team up on a Jiralhanae and win!'
Grabbing one of his new grenades, Six lobbed it perfectly to hit one of them directly in the abdomen, exploding around the two Vanguards only a moment later. Killing one of them, the other was wounded and stunned enough to give Six a clean shot at her, dropping her to the ground.
"That one's free of charge!"
He loaded a new thermal clip, turning around the other side of his cover to fire at the enemies, creating enough of a distraction for Garrus to pick them off. His first target, a Salarian brave enough to make his way towards them, was rewarded with a golf ball sized hole in his head. Rather than flee in terror like a group of Unggoy, the mercs held their ground and fought even fiercer. Several of the mercs even moved closer to the team, hoping they could catch them off balance. Tali, going relatively unnoticed as she was focusing on hacking, was given the perfect chance to flank several exposed mercenaries and immediately began firing with her shotgun, catching several in crossfire.
While Tali was too far away to drop their kinetic barriers, Six and Garrus both had golden opportunities to begin picking the enemies off again, killing several with well-placed shots in their abdomens and helmets. At the sight of several more of their comrades being killed, the remaining mercs began to fall back, but still held enough composure to keep the three from charging them. One of the remaining Vanguards seemed unfazed by her friends dying around her, as she biotically charged straight into the Spartan, knocking him to the ground and disarming him. Even the advanced shields on his armor couldn't withstand that punishment, causing them to overload and flicker violently.
"That's right you bastard! Now die!" the Asari screamed.
The Asari lowered her shotgun to aim directly at Six, who was just now realizing what had happened to him. He looked the Vanguard in the eye, and realized he didn't have enough time to reach for his sidearm. He could only use the last seconds of his life to think one more time about something.
'I'll see you soon, Noble Team.'
Just as Six waited for his release, he was instead greeted by the angry Asari falling on him, limp and bleeding from multiple wounds. Snapping back to focus, he threw the dead girl off him and was thrilled to see Tali, standing behind where the Vanguard was just moments ago. She pumped her shotgun, expelling a thermal clip from its chamber, and offered a hand to the stunned Spartan.
"I was just beginning to think that nothing could kill you, Six. Looks like I still need to keep an eye on you after all." Six could barely see through the Quarian's visor, but he swore he could see a soft smile behind the purple glass.
Their moment of relief was immediately broken, both directing their attention to the few Eclipse troops still firing at them in the room. Both fired their weapons, picking away at the shields of the enemies while Garrus still dropped them from his sniper perch. Each time Tali and Six injured a merc, they were awarded by the swift sound of a single sniper round whizzing past them, sending a mercenary to the ground each time.
By now, only two of the Eclipse troopers remained, both determined to fight to their deaths. They retreated around the next corner, attempting to lure the three teammates into a trap they wouldn't have time to set. Noble Six charged forward, turning the corner and immediately firing at the two mercs who were still running. Both weakened from the continuous fight already, they were taken down quickly and painlessly, the most the Spartan could offer them. Six turned around to wave at his companions.
"Hostiles neutralized. We should check the area to see if we can find any more workers who might still be alive. My motion tracker has neutral targets in the side room up ahead."
"Roger that, Six. Tali, see if you can get that locked door open. We'll keep you covered." Garrus gently pushed Tali towards the room, sending her on her way.
Tali started typing away vigorously at the controls, bypassing the multiple security systems that Nassana had installed in her towers. Six and Garrus backed up in front of her, keeping their eyes open for any more mercs that may be in the area.
"You've been doing one hell of a job, Six. Looks like you've gotten used to our weapons already. How are you holding up?" Garrus was, of course, referring mostly to Six's very recent run-in with Death. Had Tali not been so close to him, the Vanguard would have pulled the trigger and sent the Spartan packing.
"I'll be fine, Garrus. I've had more than my fair share of close calls. But thanks for asking… We've got a job to do right now. That's what we should be focusing on."
"Speaking of that too, Six. When we were on the Citadel and the Normandy, you were very laid back. I almost wouldn't think of you as a soldier. But throughout this mission, you've been very strict with yourself. Is there a problem?"
"No, Garrus… I guess it just comes with being a Spartan. I've spent my whole life a soldier, and as soon as the bullets start flying, it's all business for me. Simple as that. I don't want any of my teammates hurt because I was too busy laughing with them. We can talk about it after the mission is done. We have an assassin to find."
Garrus was more amused than surprised by Six, snickering a bit to himself. Quietly, of course, just in case the Spartan could hear him laughing. "Alright Six, we'll keep this one for another time. Tali, have you gotten the door open yet?"
Tali was still fiddling with the controls, going at speeds only an AI would be able to match. "Because we are still standing here, Garrus, I'm sure you can see that the door isn't open" she said with a bit of frustration, conveying her annoyance with the security systems. Obviously, Nassana wasn't messing around when she installed the software on her towers. "Sorry, Garrus. Just give me another few seconds… there! That should do it!"
The door flew wide open, revealing several Salarians more or less cowering in the corner of the storage closet. A dead Eclipse mercenary was also on the floor, his sidearm now in the hand of one of the workers. Raising the pistol at the newcomers, he immediately began to frighteningly yell demands.
"Stay back, you! We don't want you Eclipse to hurt us anymore! I said stay back!" The Salarian could barely speak over his terror, but to his credit, he stood his ground and held the gun at them. Six, more specifically. "Go away! Just let us hide here, we don't want to die!"
Noble Six had already realized the Salarian was out of place, completely unfamiliar with the situation he was now in. The Spartan approached him, calm and slowly, and held his hand out. "Hey, we aren't with Eclipse. None of us wants to hurt you. Please, give me the gun, and we'll keep you safe."
The Salarian considered his offer for a moment, and then quickly rejected it out of fear. "No! You're… you're just trying to trick us! I'm not falling for it, and you can just leave!"
"Hey, I know this isn't easy. But just think about it: we could've thrown some grenades in here, and killed you without trouble. Why do you think I'm trying to talk to you now? Just put the gun down, and let's talk."
The Salarian now spent more time pondering Six's statements, seemingly taking them to heart. He slowly lowered the gun, eventually dropping it to the ground. "I… I don't feel too good…" He fell to the floor, being partially caught by Six, keeping his head from slamming harshly.
One of the other Salarians in the room, who had been the calmest of the group, jumped forward as soon as the one with the gun fell into Six's arms. "Telon! What happened?" He crouched down, checking what appeared to Six as a pulse for a Salarian, placing a finger on Telon's forehead. "His name is Telon, and he's my brother. I just want to make sure that he's alright. I know you didn't hurt him but, he isn't the toughest person I know…"
Six crouched down to be at eye level with the other Salarian, while also taking the gun nonchalantly and handing it back for Tali to take. "Maybe not, but he is very brave for what he did. I could have easily been one of the Eclipse mercs, and they would probably have just gunned him down. Maybe he's foolish for not surrendering, but he tried to protect you and your friends" said Six. The firefight with Eclipse on the side now, he was able to let his emotions run freely once again. And while he never truly understood civilians, he tried to appreciate them. He spent his whole life fighting for them. This Salarian named Telon was clearly someone willing to give his life up against insurmountable odds. Even if he fainted like a girl…
Both Six and the Salarian now stood up, the latter seemingly happy that his brother Telon was going to be just fine. "He'll be just fine. I think he'll wake up in a few minutes. Are you three the ones that shot that mercenary" the Salarian said, as he pointed to the dead Human next to them.
"I don't think we got that one. It looks like he's been here for a while, and we just got to this level" said Garrus. "He has a sniper wound in his head, and I know I didn't shoot anyone that was already in this room. Did either of you?" He looked at Six and Tali, both shaking their heads. "Maybe the assassin came by here. Can you tell us what happened?"
"Yea, he… he found us in here a while ago; we were hiding from the rest of the mercenaries when we heard the gunshots. He started yelling at us, but we were all too scared to do anything. None of us moved, and he yelled some more, threatening to kill us. Just as he raised his gun his… his head just exploded! We haven't seen anything like it before. But, I guess we wouldn't really know anything about fighting" the Salarian said.
"Interesting… a perfect head shot from a tough angle, and no collateral damage. Why do you think he'd risk exposing himself to help these workers?" Garrus was very puzzled, clearly unable to consider that the assassin may actually want to help someone.
"Maybe he was looking out for them, Garrus. I think there might be more to this assassin than you're willing to admit. Either way, we should probably keep moving. More mercs are bound to come the area looking for us."
"Yea Six, you're right. Salarian, do you think you could lead your friends down to the lower levels? By now the police are on their way, and we've made sure the floors below us are safe."
"Yea, yea we should be able to do that" he said as he nervously played with his hands. He reached down to Telon, who was now conscious again and beginning to sit up. "Come on, Telon. Let's get out of here everyone!"
The Salarians left the room, in a hurry as to avoid any more Eclipse troopers that could be coming to the area in search of their missing teams. Tali and Garrus turned as well, leaving the room and started walking towards the staircase nearby. Six however, was stopped by a voice in his head. Well, sort of in his head.
"Six, wait a second! Do you see that data pad on the ground, next to the merc?" Six nodded, reaching down to grab it and start scanning it for Leliana. "It's full of bank account information. This merc must have been one of the officers here; he has all the access codes for every account listed! And it has holdings for multiple Eclipse outfits across the city."
"So what are you telling me, Leliana? Are you saying you can rob them?"
"Not just that, Six. Those accounts from other Eclipse groups? They seem to work one way… They deposit credits for this guy to access, but they don't have any way to use them once they deposit their funds. That means as long as they don't notice, we have free credits! And the deposits are weekly, and very, very generous. I suspect we can use these accounts for almost anything we'll need for repairs on your armor. And anything for the cabin. We'll be comfortable for a long time with what is already in the accounts, even without new deposits."
"Leliana, have I ever told you that you're the greatest AI I know?"
"Is that the best you can do, Six" she said playfully. "Impress me, Spartan."
"Ugh… alright. Leliana, you're the greatest AI I can ever hope to know, and you'll always be smarter than me. Are you happy now?"
"He he he. Yes I am Six. Now hury up and catch Garrus and Tali. You'll have to stay on their good sides so they help us spend some of these credits."
.
"Noble Six, move up to the elevator. We've got you covered" Garrus said, issuing orders to the Spartan after their most recent run-in with Eclipse. The firefight they just finished was easier than those from earlier; the mercenaries seemed to know that they were losing during each engagement, and each new group the three encountered appeared more intimidated than the last. And that was just fine with the Spartan.
"Roger that, I've got the door. Stay alert until the elevator gets to us." The Spartan made his way to the elevator controls, punching the call button. The always alert soldier noticed his motion tracker signal hostiles in the elevator, alerting him to the incoming danger. "I've got tangos in the elevator! Everyone get to some cover fast!" But he was too late. Garrus was close enough to cover to dive for it, but Six and Tali were left exposed when a very angry looking Krogan and two Human Vanguards appeared when the elevator doors opened.
Wasting no time to protect his squad mate, Noble Six dove straight for the Krogan, whose shot originally meant for Tali was deflected at the ceiling, while the the two Vanguards ignored him to focus their attention on Tali and Garrus, splitting up to each take on a target. While Tali was given the time to fire a few cover shots at the Human chasing her, Noble Six was left alone to deal with a very upset Krogan.
Still holding the edge over the surprised Krogan, Six raised his arm to ready for a hit, aiming right at the Krogan's face. Bringing down his hand, he expected nothing different than any other time he hit an enemy: blood and broken bones. No alien had ever, not even a Jiralhanae, proven strong enough to withstand a direct hit from a Spartan. Six was almost dumbstruck when his hand stopped almost instantly on the Krogan's nose, barely drawing blood from it.
"Awwwww crap…"
Nothing short of pissed off, the Krogan grabbed Six by his shoulder armor and threw him to the side, smashing him into the wall of the elevator, sending his rifle flying away. He even made a dent in the metal. Standing up, the Krogan roared in anger and drew a knife from a sheath on its shoulder. Six stood up, dazed by the hit but aware enough to see the Krogan wanted to fight him honorably. Or, that's what Six assumed. Rather than reach for his sidearm, which would give the Krogan enough time to charge him, he drew the kukri he had on his leg, and waited for the Krogan to make a move.
The oversized toad charged him, attempting to pin him against the wall. Six rolled out of the way, swiping at the Krogan's leg as it rushed passed him. With the mercenary now wounded, Six made an attack of his own as he ran at the beast, stabbing it multiple times in its hump. And while the Krogan was gushing blood from the wounds, Six was unsurprised when it spun around and swung its own knife at the Spartan, stabbing him directly in his left shoulder. His shields flickered and overloaded almost instantly as Six felt the sensation of cold metal seep into his skin. Flinching in pain, he used the adrenaline now flowing freely through his body to quickly head butt the Krogan, giving him the chance to rip the knife from his shoulder. Rather than turn the blade on its former owner and risk losing it, Six quickly bent it and threw it off to the side, leaving the Krogan at a disadvantage.
Now being more careful than to simply charge each other, the Krogan and Six paced a circle with each other, waiting for one to strike first. Patience is a virtue Spartans have, while Krogans do not, and the merc ran once again at Six. Acting surprised by this, Six stood his ground and let his attacker slam him into the wall freely, knocking the wind from him. The Krogan smiled in Six's face, but that quickly turned to surprise. Looking down at his chest, the Krogan noticed that Six had let him use his own force to impale himself on the knife. Twisting it to torture the merc for a moment, Six then ripped the knife from the attacker once more and drove it deep into the enemy's neck, stunning him completely and causing Six to be dropped on the floor.
While Noble Six struggled on all fours for a moment to catch his breath, the Krogan stumbled for a few moments, collapsing on its side once too much of his own blood poured from his neck and other wounds. The victorious Spartan stood up and walked over to his victim, taking the knife away to allow it to bleed quicker. The Krogan growled slowly for a few more seconds, staring off into space as the world went dark to him. Six was not without his own wounds, however. He looked to his shoulder, seeing the blood dripping onto the floor, and he felt bruises forming all over his body. But he won, doing what most humans could never hope to: kill a Krogan in hand-to-hand combat.
The Spartan sheathed his knife, and remembering the others, quickly turned around while drawing his shotgun only to see that Tali and Garrus were both watching him, the other Eclipse troopers dead behind them.
"How long have you two been watching me get my ass kicked by that thing?"
"Well, how long until you'd be angry?" asked Tali. Six started to point fingers before she interrupted him. "I'm kidding, Six. We both just finished up with those other two mercs. It didn't look like we would be able to actually help more than get in the way, so we were waiting. You know, maybe we could get a clear shot on it…"
"Yea, I'm sure you both were standing with your guns raised, ready to fire. I'm fine, by the way. Thanks for asking you two."
"Oh Six! I didn't see the wound on your arm!" Tali exclaimed as she ran to Six's side. "Let me take a look at that wound. Yes Six, I do need to see it." She became a bit snappy after the Spartan tried hiding his shoulder from her, unsuccessfully. "The wound doesn't seem too deep. How does it feel?"
"Like I got stabbed in the arm by a Mgalek… I mean Krogan. It hurts, but I'll be just fine once we get back to the Normandy. Don't worry about me Tali."
"You sound just like Shepard and Garrus whenever they get hurt. I swear Garrus, if you could have still talked after that rocket wound on Omega you'd have begged for your rifle!" She looked over at the Turian, who could only answer by rubbing his neck and some incoherent mumbling. "You aren't going anywhere until I fix that wound, Six. And no arguing!"
Tali forcefully pushed Six on the ground, keeping him occupied with one arm while she reached into her pockets to find a small canister. It reminded Six a lot of the bio-foam cans the UNSC used, but those were as large as a 2 liter of soda. The canister Tali held was no bigger than the bullet of an SRS99. She pooped the cap on top of it, and squeezed the goo onto Noble Six's shoulder. It stung for just a few moments, and then the sedatives began to sooth the knife wound he had received just minutes ago.
"There you go, Six. How does it feel?"
"Better… a lot better, actually. Thanks Tali." He smiled a little behind his visor, happy to be with teammates that cared about him.
"Good to hear. Maybe next time you won't argue with me so much, hmm?" She giggled a little, and then turned around to face Garrus. "What should we do know, Garrus?"
"Let's take the elevator up to the top floor; that's where the catwalk is to the next tower. We need to make our way over there before Krios can get a chance to kill Nassana and get away. I'll take point for now. Let's go."
.
"Six, take out those rocket turrets! We aren't going anywhere until their gone!" Garrus barked orders out as he was busy sniping enemy mercs, frantically popping in and out of cover as rocket's whizzed over his head. He could barely peek out of his cover to locate a target before he heard the turrets fire at him.
"Got it Garrus! Tali, give me some cover while I make a run for the staircase below them!"
Six started running towards the staircase while Tali was still aiming his shotgun, hoping to distract the mercs enough that Tali would be hit with any unnecessary fire. He sprinted to the first stack of crates, slamming into them to stop. A rocket impacted just behind him, sending rubble over his cover and bouncing off his helmet.
"Hey, this helmet wasn't cheap assholes!"
He pulled a grenade off his belt, priming it for a few moments and then tossing it over his shoulder without much aim, hoping to at least cause some of the Eclipse mercs to dive for cover. As soon as it detonated, he again ran down the catwalk, taking a limited amount of fire from a few of the mercs still aiming at him. Between his grenade and the constant fire from Tali, he had been lucky so far to avoid too much fire for his shields.
Reaching the last spot of cover before the staircase to the rocket turrets, the mercenary fire on Six's position had greatly intensified. Dozens of enemy rounds were chipping off the ground and cover around the Spartan, filling the air with small clouds of dust. The benefit of being so close now, however, was that the turrets wouldn't fire rockets so close to friendlies. And this gave Six the chance he needed.
Activating his radio, Six looked back at Tali and Garrus for help. "Garrus, Tali; give me a little more cover as soon as you can. I'll take the rocket drones out once I can get a shot in without too much damage!"
"Roger that, Six. Stand by so we can get a good angle on them" replied Garrus.
Replacing his Mattock onto his shoulder, Six removed the Arc Projector from its magnetic holster and waited for the mercenary fire on his position to cease. A few moments later, Garrus and Tali both began laying down heavy fire on the enemy positions, causing them to fall behind their cover. Six swung around his cover, charging the Arc Projector as he spun. As soon as he had a clear shot at the turrets, he fired the overcharged electrical bolt at his enemies. The ionized targets flickered and shook as they short-circuited, dropping down towards Six and exploding on impact with the ground.
Unfortunately for the Spartan, several of the mercs had moved to avoid his squad mates' cover fire, getting a now unobstructed shot at him. While switching back to his assault rifle, a mercenary sniper was able to get a shot off, shattering through the Spartan's shields and creating quite the impact dent on his chest plate. He ran back to his former position, now not needing to worry about rockets sending him falling to his death from the catwalk.
'Dammit, I need to be more careful than that…'
"Six, hold on a second: I detected several explosives crates on the left side of that balcony the turrets were. If you can throw a grenade onto that position, I think you will set the crates off. It might be enough to send the mercs flying off the ledge." Leliana highlighted the position on his HUD, giving him a clear view of what he needed to attack.
"Alright, here goes nothing…"
He took the last grenade from his clip, and lobbed it as perfectly as he could, watching it bounce on the railing to the balcony. Just a few moments later, he was rewarded with a very large explosion that shook the walkway he was on. He watched in satisfaction as most of the mercs were consumed in the blast, with a few others being knocked off the ledge and down the stairs, allowing him to pick them off with his rifle. The few remaining mercs staggered and stumbled as they stood up, becoming easy prey for Garrus, who seemed unfazed by the explosion as he still fired on the enemies.
"Looks like we're clear" Garrus chimed in over the radio. "Move up to the door to the penthouse Six; we'll catch up in just a minute."
Six stood up, looking back across the walkway to see Tali and Garrus checking the area for some loose thermal clips while making their way to him. He walked up the staircase, grabbing some ammunition for himself along the way. Once he got to the doorway, he looked around at the mercenaries that now littered the area, seeing that none of them were moving. There were a lot of Salarians and Asari; he assumed the best squads were here to guard Nassana. But several Human bodies still laid dead, something that still made the Spartan a little uncomfortable. It reminded him too much of Reach, and the rest of the war.
"Six, are you all set to go?" asked Garrus as he and Tali came around the corner from the staircase.
"Affirmative; I was just checking to see if any of the mercs were still alive. Looks like we finished the job."
"Good, because we need to hurry up and get to Nassana. I want to talk to her before the assassin gets his shot in."
.
"Garrus Vakarian? Tali'Zorah? What the hell are you two doing here?"
"We're just here to talk, Nassana. We aren't here to kill you" replied the Turian, who was standing between Six and Tali, who each had their pistols raised at the few mercenaries still protecting Nassana.
"Hah! Do you really expect me to believe that? Did Shepard send you? I heard he was still alive. Are you finishing what you started with my sister two years ago?"
"You really are one paranoid Asari, aren't you? We're just looking for someone."
"So is that why you broke into my towers? Killed my entire security force? Just to talk to someone?"
"They fired at us as soon as we landed! Don't expect us to have any sympathy for you!" proclaimed Tali, standing forward to accentuate her anger.
"What the hell did you expect for breaking into my tower? A warm welcome and a visit with me? You Quarians are nothing but beggars and peasants!" Nassana snapped back. "I wouldn't hesitate for a second to kill you both! And that goes for your friend, too!"
Six had been standing quietly on the side, observing the Asari and watching the mercenary guards for any signs of movement. But Nassana had given him reason to talk now. "Save the pathetic insults for someone else, Asari. Since you know we already destroyed your entire security detail, I don't think you want to piss us off when you only have four guards left."
"Well aren't you just typical for… WHAT!" Nassana was cut off as the Asari guard next to her started flinching and looking around.
"I thought I heard something" she answered.
"Dammit, check the other entrances into the room" Nassana commanded. "You three, stay right where you are."
Just when the mercs started to move to the doorways, Noble Six saw someone drop behind them almost completely silently. Only his enhanced hearing and his armor's audio sensors allowed him to hear the figure. He had no idea what a Drell was, but Six was certain this was the assassin. He effortlessly snuck up to the first merc, snapping his kneck in an instant.
With the mercenaries and Nassana distracted by Thane, Six aimed his pistol at the Asari Eclipse and shot several rounds into her, ensuring her immediate demise. Thane fired quickly into the last merc, all while grabbing Nassana and spinning her around to face him. She was in too much shock to offer any resistance to Thane while he pressed his pistol to her stomach…
The gun fired, sending the precision mass effect round through her and impacted on the ceiling, driving into its metal. A small exit wound on Nassana started bleeding, running onto the floor, creating a pool of purple blood on the floor. Nassana struggled hopelessly, mumbling quietly as Thane placed her on her desk gently, crossing her arms as he let her go. He stood silently, folding his hands together as he appeared to start praying.
Garrus, Tali, and Six only stared at each other, wondering who should be the one to try and talk to the silent Drell. Did he even care the three were armed, and still in the room?
Six decided Garrus had spent enough time talking today, walking a few steps closer to Thane before speaking. "Do you really think that she's worth a prayer?"
"My prayers are not for her, Human. They are for me" Thane answered in a rather hoarse voice. He looked up at Six, his black eyes seemingly emotionless to the Spartan. "The measure of an individual can be very difficult to measure by actions alone, Human. Take the three of you, for example. All of this destruction, violence… death. I was very curious to see how much you would go through to find me. Well, here I am."
"You were expecting us? How did you know we were coming?" asked Garrus.
"I didn't know at all. Not until the three of you barged in the front door and started shooting. Nassana has become exceptionally paranoid over the past few weeks. I'm sure you noticed the strength of her security force. It was much more of a private army. She believed that one of her sisters would attempt to assassinate her. The three of you were a welcome distraction for me."
"So you used us?" Garrus asked, slightly angrily.
"I needed a distraction to get to Nassana. You wanted to speak with me. You've helped me reach her, and now I offer my attention to you in exchange. What did you wish to speak of with me?"
"Have you ever heard of a race called the Collectors?" Garrus asked.
"By reputation."
"They're abducting entire Human colonies in the Terminus Systems. Freedom's Progress and Horizon were their work. We're here recruiting you for Commander Shepard. We're going to stop them" answered Garrus.
"I see. I know who you and Miss Zorah are, Mr. Vakarian." Thane answered as he turned to face Garrus. "Attacking the Collectors homeworld would require us to travel through the Omega-4 Relay. If I remember right, no ship has ever returned from a trip through the relay."
"People also told Shepard that it was impossible to get to Ilos. We sure showed them."
"That is a fair point. You've helped Commander Shepard build a career of completing the impossible. This was to be my last job; I'm dying. Low survival odds are not a concern to me. The abduction of Human colonists does."
"I take that as a yes to join the team?" asked Garrus.
"Yes, Garrus, it does. But if you would first introduce yourself…" Thane turned to Noble Six, but before the Spartan had a chance to introduce himself, they were interrupted by the sound of doors opening, and a particular Asari sprinting into the room.
"Hands where I can see them! All of you!" Eclipse commander Serayna yelled at them as she grabbed Tali from behind, pointing a pistol right at her head. "Make one move and you can all see what the inside of a Quarian looks like!"
Garrus, Six, and Thane all held their ground for a few moments, aiming their weapons at the Eclipse commander's head. They could easily take a clean shot, but if they weren't able to drop the Asari quickly…
"Everyone do what she says. We'll have to talk this out" ordered Garrus, who remained surprisingly calm around the mercenary who was essentially a criminal. "Look, you better not go and hurt her. Do you really think we'll let you go if you pull that trigger?"
"What are you three doing? Shoot her! Don't worry about me!" screamed Tali as she wrestled with the Asari.
Serayna tightened her grip on Tali's neck, pulling her back and down enough to grab her attention and stop her struggling. "Stop fighting with me or I pull this trigger! Now as for the three of you: get me a ride out of here and I won't pull this trigger on your little friend. And don't even try anything heroic or she gets it!"
"It's fine… just take it easy. Don't hurt Tali if you want that shuttle" answered Garrus. Garrus activated his radio link to the Normandy then. "Normandy? We need a Kodiak at our location immediately. No questions asked."
"No! Don't give her anything for me! Just…" Tali was cut off as Serayna hit her over the back of the head with her pistol, knocking Tali to the ground. She fell, dazed by the hit, and barely had time to turn over and see the mercenary aiming her pistol right into her helmet.
"You should've listened to me the first time, Quarian, Enjoy the hole… UGH!" Serayna was tackled to the ground in a blur of grey steel, slamming into the wall behind where she was just standing. She coughed purple blood onto the floor, unable to move as she was still pinned by whatever just tackled her. She looked up, through blurred vision and blood seeping from behind her eyes, to see a golden visor looking directly at her. He pressed her against the wall harder, cracking several bones across her torso as he ensured she wouldn't escape, causing the Asari to scream in agony.
With his free hand, Noble Six reached to his helmet and removed it, looking Serayna right in her eyes. She was still focused enough to see a look of pure revulsion over his face. "That just cost you your life, Asari." Six raised his right arm, activated his energy dagger, and drove it right into Serayna's heart. He watched with anger as she slowly stopped breathing.
Panting heavily from the adrenaline screaming through his body, Six stood up and remained looking at the Asari for several moments before he was able to regain his composure, turning around to see Garrus and Thane crouching over Tali. "Is she ok? Did the Asari hurt her at all?"
Garrus was scanning Tali with his Omni-tool, waiting a few seconds before he answered Six. "She's just fine, Six; she just got knocked out. She'll probably have a headache when she wakes up, but that'll be it. But… what happened to you?" Garrus looked at Six, without his helmet for the first time, to see that the look of anger had been replaced with distress. "I'm glad you saved Tali, but that was intense Six."
"I… I don't really know what happened. I just don't want any of my teammates to get hurt, that's all."
"That was more than professional concern, Human" chimed Thane. "I can see you treat these two as more than squad mates."
Six just looked over at Thane, unable to form any real answer as he was still calming himself down. "Yea, I… they're both the only friends I have now. It's a long story Thane, and there are still a lot of people in line to hear it."
"Fair enough, Human. For now, may I call you Six? That is what Garrus calls you, is it not?"
"That will be just fine, Thane. Thanks for asking." Six managed a weak smile as he reach over and picked his helmet up, placing it back on his head. "Garrus, can we carry Tali out to the landing pad? That dropship should be here any second."
"Yea, she's just fine Six. Don't worry. Give me a hand picking her up, and we'll go wait outside. You can take her to the med bay yourself when we get back."
.
It had been over three hours since they recruited Thane, and Dr. Chakwas had finally kicked Noble Six out of the med bay to get some sleep. The only reason he was even allowed that long was so he could be treated for his own wounds, the knife wound being the only real trouble. But still, as everyone knows, Chakwas won't let a soldier go without a full treatment, despite their usual protests. Six's shoulder was still burning from the medi-gel, clearly a stronger type than Tali's field cleaning, as he made his way into his observation cabin.
The first thing he did was lock the door, and then slowly walked over to the table in the center of the room, removing Leliana's chip and placing it so she could appear and look around. As soon as Six was looking at her, she already had a look of both sadness and concern all over her.
"You know I'm going to make you talk about it, right?"
Taking his helmet off and dropping it on the floor, Six walked over to the desk in the corner, opening a drawer and pulling out the bottle of scotch he bought on the Citadel. He took the cork and cap off quickly, almost starting to drink straight from the bottle. He managed to control himself, and reached for one of the glasses Gardner had given him, pouring enough to fill the low-ball to the top. He took a few gulps and refilled the glass before he turned back to Leliana. "Yea, I know. I just wanted to be ready for it" he dryly chuckled as he walked over and sat down with his AI friend. "Go ahead, tell me what I did wrong."
"Don't think it's something like that, Six" She answered quietly. "You know why you snapped like that. It wasn't just because Tali is was in danger. If Garrus had been the one, you'd have jumped at that merc just as fast, too."
"I'd do it for anyone I was fighting with, Leliana. She was in trouble and…"
"You may have fooled most of the people back in ONI that you don't get emotionally attached, Six, but don't bother trying with me. She's more than just another marine in trouble. Garrus and Tali are our team, now. And you don't want anything to happen to them. You're worried about failing them."
Six turned sharply at Leliana, clearly upset by what she just said. He could see the concern still in her eyes, but she was now resolved to give him a lecture. And he knew it was coming. Realizing that he would hear it eventually anyways, the Spartan bit his tongue, quite literally, and waited for the whole speech.
"Six, I've told you before, and I obviously need to tell you again; what happened on Reach… you're the best Spartan the UNSC ever made… even as lethal as 117. You couldn't have changed it. They all gave their lives for Humanity, willingly. You couldn't have changed so much that they all would still be alive.
Six just sat on the couch, listening as the memories and emotions flooded through him. The thought of all his friends, all still on Reach, was something he knew would stick him for the rest of his life. Truth be told, Six knew that most of them were out of his hands. It was just one of their death's that he couldn't get over.
"I could've changed it for one…" he mumbled, ensuring Leliana wouldn't hear him.
"What was that, Six?" she asked.
"Nothing. I just… I know you're right. It's just going to be hard for a while." He took another gulp from the scotch, barely able to hold back the tears in his eyes now.
Leliana smiled a little, happy that her incessant demands and lectures had finally cracked the stubborn Spartan. They still had a lot to work on, but it was a start. "Keeping yourself from drinking a bottle of scotch every week wouldn't hurt either, Six."
"Oh no, you had your big win for the night, Leliana. You can try and convince me to stop this another time. I'm gonna need it to get some good sleep through this medi-gel Chakwas stuck in my arm. It hurts almost as much as the knife did."
"Well you kind of had it coming when you picked a fight with a Krogan."
"Very funny, Leliana. Well it was that or let Garrus deal with it. I think he's pretty good, but I'm not willing to bet he can win a fist fight with one of those overgrown toads. He seems to like using his sniper rifle more than anything else. I can deal with the dirty work if that's how he wants it."
"Speaking of that, we'll need to talk to Jacob in the morning about repairs for your armor. When I was in the lab with Mordin, I noticed they keep all the same types of materials on board. They use them for other things, but Jacob should be able to make any repairs we'll ever need here on the ship."
"I'm glad you noticed. I was wondering what we were going to do if we had to fight in any vacuum." Six looked down at his shoulder, ignoring the medi-gel and wound to examine the armor damage. Nothing serious, but enough to warrant a unique repair. "We'll talk about it tomorrow, Leliana. I'm gonna get some sleep. Wake me up when you feel like it."
.
Author's Note:
There we go, another chapter down. Hopefully everyone likes it, and as usual, please add reviews or message me if you have suggestions.
I'm hoping everyone likes the development of Six. I want him to be funny and laid back most of the time, but as you can see, even he still has problems. His reaction to Tali being hurt, and later any friend, is going to be one of the most important parts of the story.
As a request to all my readers, I have a question: with Mass Effect 3 coming soon, I would like to know if people would rather me finish this story detailing ME2, and risk delaying Regret and Forgiveness for ME3, or skip large portions of ME2 to be able to get to ME3 within a few months of its release on March 6th. If I were to choose the latter, I would still thoroughly develop Six and Tali's relationship first; I would simply skip most of the missions and other parts of the story. Let me know what you all think.
Thanks!