A/N: Sorry for the long delay. Thank you guys for sticking with me this long and leaving wonderful reviews.
They really are the fuel for this writer's soul!
Location: Carte Blanche hotel—New Thebes, Capitol Colony of planet Anhur.
Tearing the last pack, Elena carefully applied the medi-gel over Mark's singed rib-cage. They found out long ago that infusing it with a light biotic touch made the gel activate quicker and dry faster. Cerberus chose to keep the discovery hidden, but right now Elena was just thankful they even taught the art of healing based on this finding.
Trailing a finger down his stubbly cold cheek she pushed all other thoughts aside and studied the handsome man fate was nice enough to return to her. She liked this new rugged version. Mark was always clean shaven and adhered to all Cerberus military grooming standards. Not that she didn't appreciate those but seeing something new was a treat. His jet black hair was a bit longer now, reaching past his ears but no further and the stubble would likely harden those bright blue eyes of his. Smoothing his hair away from his forehead, Elena lingered at his bedside. Trailing a hand along his forearm she found his and squeezed lightly. Mark had to wake up, he just had to. And not because they needed to get away but...god dammit it'sbeen too long since that night at her apartment.
Mark was still out cold and showed no reaction to the contact. Only the steady pulse at his neck kept her from flipping out with panic.
Elena's stomach clenched at the matrix of charred and bleeding flesh as she peeled the remains of his phasic vest away. It took the brunt of the assault and probablysaved his life. Stripping it away completely, she held it up and studied the holes.
The multiple angles of trajectory suggested more than one attacker. But the grouping was too wide to imply Cerberus. If this was their work, local police would've found Mark with a perfect symmetrical hole between his eyes, not a body full of evidence. She let the vest slide to the floor where it fell atopMark's equally tattered leather jacket.
The pet sized robotic vacuum that cleaned hallways started whirling around the pile and sucked blood from the carpet. Thankfully it followed Mark to her door and ate his blood trail. But Elena knew it would have to spend the rest of its life cycle cleaning the ocean floor. If a maintenance tech opened it up and found blood inside, they were done for.
Finishing her handiwork she tossed the spent packages aside and watched as the gel radiated with dark energy. The flesh around the grazes tightened, slowly sealing shut before her eyes.
Elena`s hands hovered over the wounds, careful not to disturb them but wanting desperately to re-assure herself that this wasn`t some cruel dream. The plan was to stay as far apart as possible and avoid giving Cerberus a two for one deal. It made sense. They all agreed on that, so why was he here? What happened?
A knock echoed from the door.
Training kicked in as Elena snagged her Harpy heavy pistol, a parting memento from Cerberus' armory, and cautiously approached the door. She wasn't expecting anyone and made sure all front desk managers knew that beforehand. A spare bullet in a simple employee would only bring more trouble.
"Who is it?" She called out, approaching the peephole.
The womanon the other end was dressed in a red hotel uniform with a cart of a hidden spread and a bottle of champagne in a bucket. "Room service, Ms. Creed."
"I didn't order any room service," Elena said. Probably a simple mistake—only problem was nothing was simple these days and that woman likely tracked Mark in here. Her fingers tightened around the Harpy's grip. "You have the wrong room."
"No it's right number. See I have bill here, room 223. Ms. Creed," the woman replied repeating the name 'Evelyn Creed' that Elena gave to front desk. "Look, I need to hurry. Please accept, it's paid for already."
That set of warning bells. "Who paid for it?" Elena asked. Cold hands settled on her shoulders from behind, making her jump as she whirled on the intruder jamming the Harpy's barrel into his bare chest.
"Nice young man, blue eyes, don't leave a name." The woman replied from the other end but Elena wasn't listening as she stared at the real blue eyed man in front of her wearing nothing but his jeans.
Pain, anger, relief and regret hit her at once when he gave her one of his carefree smiles as if all was good with the world. Without thinking she leapt into his arms, letting the pistol clang to the ground, as she ran a hand through his hair and wrapped the other beneath his shoulder.
"Hey," he said, sounding both exhausted and relieved but the raw quality of his voice failed to mask the obvious pain he was in. Elena wanted to kick herself as she instantly stepped back but his arms around her waist didn't let her go far.
"Shit! I'm sorry," Elena stammered, trying to smooth the globs of gel she displaced.
Mark shook his head dismissively before snagging her hand and kissing the palm. "Don't worry."
"Excuse me, I leave cart here?" the woman on the other side asked, ready to book it. "Hello?"
Elena grabbed her pistol but Mark was already reaching for the door before she could tug him back. He spoke to the woman and wheeled the dinner tray in. Watching the easy exchange she holstered her pistol and rubbed the worry from her eyes. A good meal was better than a gun fight any day.
o~O~o
Location: Firebase Dagger, control array—Ontarom.
To say the control array was in control would've been a lie. Techs jumped from one screen to the other, coordinating with the marines down below as they set up defense measures near the satellite fields. The techs around themmoved so fast that it was safe to say some were using biotics to cover the tight quarters.
One would think these guys were ambitious, but any mildly competent person would pick up the pace, especially when the boss was on deck and breathing down everyone's neck.
It only took a glimpse of Colonel Brock's ramrod posture and clasped hands behind his backto make Liam see red. Someone actually promoted him!
Brock turned to greet his guests with a crooked smile that would make Hades look charming. Brock's severe military cutand harsh jowls aged him. Brock may have looked imposing to the techs under his command, but Liam wasn't buying his bullshit. The Colonel never came back from the blitz, he could see that much in his hardened eyes.
"Dana." He didn't even look her way before stepping toe to toe with him, just tempting a punch. "And Shepard. It's been a long time."
"It has," Shepard answered coolly, fighting hard to appear relaxed and not rise to the bait of Brock's condescending tone. Of all the Brocks in the Alliance, it was just his luck that they were stuck with the incompetent one.
A few nearby techs stalled and looked their way. But one glare from Brock made them whip back to their screens. Probably thankful that the Colonel had moved on to micro-manage someone else.
"You called us here for a reason?" Captain Flores asked. If she was annoyed at Brock's attitude, she didn't show it. He couldn't help but call karma from the way shetreated Hackett, but at the same time Brock didn't have any right to be callous.
Liam crossed his arms and looked between them, trying to read the waters while yanking the chain on his anger.
Brock took a step back and addressed Liam, ignoring her completely now. "X-19 is lovely this time of year."
"I'll put a good word in for you. They always need someone to press the buttons," Liam said, getting that feeling of all eyes on him. A few snickers and knowing looks made their rounds.
"You were always a comedian, Shepard." Colonel Brock allowed a mirthless laugh that made his hard jowls quake, sort of like those bulldogs back on Earthhis sister loved to make fun of. "I was expecting the Eighth Fleet. Not the Dublin. Did the Admiral send you, Shepard? His favorite dog."
Not you. Was the hidden connotation Liam picked up on but refused to play his games. "I think my Captain asked a question." He allowed a smirk of his own. "Sir."
"I think so too," Brock said in a tone fit for describing the weather. "But here I am, asking you a question. What the hell are you doing on my planet, Shepard?"
"Colonel." The warning in Captain Flores' voice was enough to finally earn her a glance. "My crew is ready. If you have orders for us we're here. If not, we got a job to do."
Her distraction worked and Brock took a step in her direction. "You finally remembered my rank, Dana."
Liam gave her credit for holding herground as the colonel sized her up. All Alliance soldiers knew this bulldog of a man was also a sexist pig. But his last name made him royalty and there was nothing Alliance high command wouldn't do to keep his prestige. He was going straight to the top even if it meant feeding his subordinates to X-19 in order to hide his own incompetence.
Thankfully Brock never used his strong physique to its fullest potential. This idiot never left the gym and therefore hadn't seen a real battlefield all his life. Unlike in James case, the bulk on Brock was just for show.
"Colonel Brock, sir!" One of the senior techs waved Brockover to his screen dangling a cigar from his mouth. Brock didn't seem to mind. This particular tech who had the most screens in the array and likely the most respect from the Colonel.
A thread of pain reverberated through his skull and Liam resisted the urge to clutch his head. The smell of smoke filled him as the sensation of sand mixed with sweat grazed his neck.
"Sir? Sir we need orders, what do we do?" the young soldier asked, staring down at his shell shocked superior on the floor.
Brock rocked back and forth pathetically, huddled in a corner where civilians wouldn't see him. Liam looked around frantically, trying to find a way out.
Another mortar shook the warehouse to its foundation. The east wall toppled and buried everyone in a mix of dust.
"Get him up." Liam tapped the young soldier on the shoulder and motioned to Brock. "We need to move out. I'm taking point. Get ready to lead the civilians out of here."
"Yes...yes sir!"
"Is everything alright sir?" The soft voice brought him back. Liam met the concerned eyes of Comm. Specialist Traynor as she stood next to him with a datapad.
He whipped back to Flores and Brock who were in some heated discussion about god knows what at this point. The staff was oblivious, working faster and barking instructions out the window to the crew below.
He could feel sweat trickling down the side of his face but forced himself to fight the accompanying shiver and give Traynor his undivided attention.
It was hard to guess how long he hadspaced for, but after taking it all in Liam turned to Traynor who looked like she'd appreciate an answer. "I'm fine. What've you got there, Traynor?"
"I...didn't want to interrupt." She glanced to Flores and Brock who were now using sweeping hand gestures. Neither looked happy. "But there's a situation on Endeavor. A team of asariscientists are being held hostage."
It was hard to keep a straight face at the last bit. Leaning closer he pitched his voice low. "You're saying that asari were taken hostage. Did I hear that right?"
Traynor only gave a helpless shrug to say 'I know' and offered the datapad as proof. Surely enough the live feed of a surveillance drone looked real.
"Do you know how hard I've worked to keep the peace on this colony? We have a good balance of civilian to military personnel. Your presence here will only upset that!" Brock yelled almost red in the face. Putting political interests before mission objectives,just like old times.
"Too late!" Liam called, making both officers turn eyes on him and Traynor. The poor girl almost shrunk back behind him when Brock stared her down as if she just sold his family secrets. "Looks like you have a situation on your hands, Brock."
The Colonel fumed at such an informal use of his name but Liam was done eating shit from this bureaucrat who thought playing atwar was the same as fighting one.
"What's going on?" Captain Flores asked with a frown. The glint of sunlight kissed her face and for a moment Liam forgot there was an angry colonel in their company.
Brock snatched the datapad from his grasp before he could answer. "I'm the one asking questions here."
"This peaceful colony is holding a group of asarihostage," Liam explained to his Captain completely ignoring the Colonel.
Captain Flores laughed and he couldn't help but smile at the beautiful sound. He hoped to hear more of it if they ever got to know eachother better. She struck him as someone who was down to earth despite the heavy burden of being in charge and it was a nice change from pricks like Brock. "What? They forgot they have biotics?" She asked.
"They appear to be scientists," Traynor spoke up, only to shrink back under another wave of Brock's intense gaze. "...usually known for their pacifist nature," she finished lightly.
Liam moved so that he was perfectly between them. Which felt like the equivalent of standing in front of an impending krogan stampede.
"Have they made any demands?" Captain Flores asked, looking at the datapad still in Brock's beefy hands. The colonel looked tempted not to answer and Liam shook his head in disgust.
"Yes, ma'am," Traynor spoke from behind Liam's shoulder. "They want the asarito leave the cataloguing and preservation of Ontarom's biodiversity to humans who are working for Heyuan Genomics."
"Seems safe to say they're threatened by aliens," Liam deduced, watching Flores to see what she made of it.
Captain Flores nodded but otherwise kept a cool head. "Typical ofan all human colony."
"Get back to monitoring their communications. If they make a peep I want to hear it," Brock ordered Traynor who complied and rushed off. The colonel looked ready to blow but managed to swallow the worst of it. "Shepard, go rescue the scientists. I want all of the kidnappers shot on sight as an example."
Liam couldn't help it and turned to his Captain. "Orders ma'am?"
"What!" Brock nearly had a hernia and it was hard not to smile when his eyes bulged.
"Go and rescue the hostages. Take Hunter, Gordon and Vega. I'll get Blitz to dig up intel on this group." Captain Flores ordered without sparing a glance to the Colonel's rising shade of red.
He whirled on Liam. "I gave you an order, Marine!"
"And I'm taking it up the chain of command to my superior," Liam said casually, holding his ground. "You don't condone insubordination. Do you colonel?"
That silent threat shut him up as a wave of shared experience passed between them. Dismissed, Liam left the control array followed with quick pleased glances and nods of appreciation. For once the title of war hero actually came in handy.
Captain Flores appeared beside him. When they were safely out of earshot she studied him with a sideways glance. "I've never seen Brock lose his shit like that."
"Just following orders ma'am," Liam replied with a smile that faltered when he met Dana's contained fury. What the hell did he do now?
He stopped and she rounded on him. "But I asked you to play along, Shepard. Not piss him off."
"What are you talking about? The guy's an—," he began.
"Asshole," she seethed. "I know. Everyone does. So next time, do yourself a favor and follow my lead."
The Captain's intensity didn't leave much room for argument. It was also unexpected from someone who played it so casually back there. Then again wasn't this what she meant by indulging the bastard? Liam didn't like being used then reprimanded. "Are we done here?"
"You tell me," theCaptain said not giving an inch. She had balls, he gaveher that much. But there were innocent hostages that needed him to swallow his ego and save them.
He gave a cold crisp salute and didn't bother waiting for dismissal before leaving. Just another fucked up day at the office.
o~O~o
Location: Slums district, Outskirts of Endeavor colony—Ontarom.
Slapping the bugs away, Jeremy hunkered down and peered through his binoculars. At this elevation he had the perfect vantage point atop the hills surrounding the Major's long abandoned apartment. The run-down living complex, that made homeless shelters look like the Ritz, was so damn quiet it was spooky. It also made bugging the entrance console a big joke. The damn thing had no firewalls and would easily tell him who accessed the place from now on. He wanted to kick himself for not doing it earlier, but running was top priority back then not surveillance.
Bringing his omni-tool online, he checked on the status of the image processing program. Elena was kind enough to let him rig a small surveillance cam in her drawer just before they all split up. It was supposed to give them an idea of who Cerberus sent after them, but the damn thing was too small and gave a grainy image of the recent lucky guest. The bastard somehow survived the booby trap, but it was no problem. Like rats, guys like him eventually came back.
Squashing the cicada feeding on his neck, Jeremy smiled. They'd be back, he knew it. After months of running from an unknown threat he was finally going to get a glimpse of who they were dealing on his elbows, he adjusted the cover atop the high powered Titan sniper rifle. Whatever scouting party Cerberus sent would get a new breathing orifice by dinner time.