A/N: I would just like to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this story. Seriously, this story just hit 11,000 views and I'm honestly stunned. So to those who Reviewed, followed, favorited or just stopped by to see what all the fuss was about, thank you all!
~ I don't own mass effect, Bioware and EA does ~
21.03.0005 PRW
Citadel Docks
Yano L'voke checked her rifle, making sure that everything was in order. After all, it wasn't everyday that you got to be escorted by Asari Justicars, and despite their low numbers after the War, they are still considered to be some of the most deadly warriors the Asari ever produced.
Personally however, she was worried. Zaire was being hunted by some of the best hunters in the Republic. Justicar escort or not, if they were confronted here, there would be casualties, not to mention unwanted media attention.
The crowd that until then had been steadily flowing around the docking platforms suddenly changed, putting Yano on alert as everyone seemed to move out of the way of a four person group. Though Yano relaxed slightly as the four Justicars, including Justicar Samara, appeared from the crowd and walked towards her, the Asari Commando subconsciously straightened as the deadly group stopped in front of her.
Justicar Samara stepped forward, her every movement graceful and flowing as she spoke, her face expressionless, her three compatriots keeping back slightly, creating a small space between them and the moving crowd.
"Please inform Zaire that we are here and ready to move at her desecration, Commander."
Yano simply nodded, her helmet hiding her slightly nervous expression as she hit the all clear on her comm. Letting Zaire know that it was time to go.
The door behind her opened a few seconds later, revealing Zaire in her usual combat trousers and leather jacket, her old Dark Katanas strapped to her back by two leather belts. Zaire had thought them lost in the battle for Earth back in the War, but apparently Liara had managed to recover them, and they had been a surprise gift while they had been on Omega.
After the original Normandy had been destroyed, her original Katanas had gone with her. So after her revival at the hands of Cerberus, Zaire had decided to put her old training as a blade smith to use, and had started creating a new pair.
While on Omega to recruit Mordin, Garrus and Zaeed, Zaire had found some scrap metal that had been from Sovereigns armour plating. Buying the scraps, Zaire had spent weeks trying to mould the metal into blades, though even today, nothing is as kinetic, biotic and heat resistant as Reaper Dark Metal.
After finally having to buy specialised equipment located on the black market by Liara, after helping her defeat the old Shadow Broker, Zaire had finally managed to mould and sharpen the Dark Metal into two short but deadly monomolecular Katana.
Even after all the use throughout the Collectors and Reaper War, they had yet to be needed to be sharpened. The Dark Metal proving resistant to even Asari Warp Swords, which were famed for being able to slice through almost anything. Zaire had been resistant to taking them with her to see the Council, but after a long talk with Liara, she had conceded that they were both useful as a weapon and a intimidation tactic.
They had also decided that her arriving in full armour would have sent the wrong message, and that her escort of Asari Commandos and Justicars would be enough physical protection.
Liara was standing beside her bondmate, dressed in her form fitting white and blue outfit, which Yano knew was reinforced with stab proof and bullet resistant materials. Zaire smiled at Justicar Samara, and to the Commandos surprise, the elder Asari returned the gesture with both a small smile and a slight nod of respect.
Two of her own Commandos walked out last, and would be accompanying Yano in the secondary car that would be following behind Zaire as back up, ready to join the Human and the Justicars in a moments notice.
Zaire nodded in respect to the three other Justicars, and politely gestured with her arm towards the docks exit.
"Please, lead the way."
Turning on their heals, the Asari entourage surrounded the single Human and her Asari partner, and headed off, the crowd parting for the armed escort.
"The targets in sight, but we have a fucking problem."
"Problem?"
"Yeah, a four Justicar escort problem, plus three heavily armed Commandos."
...
"Do you have a shot?"
"Fuck no, goddess damned Justicars are in the way."
"Then we go to plan B."
"Copy that. Fuck."
The armed escort made it through the docks security points slowly, though Liara had used her contacts to get them entry, C-Sec was dragging their feet in the matter, clearly not happy with the armed, armoured and biotic heavy escort Zaire had brought.
The Council would no doubt be watching their every move by now, and Liara thought that forcing them through so many security check points instead of sending someone to help was probably a tactic to show Zaire their own power.
Though from first glance Zaire appeared relaxed and in control, she was subtlety keeping an eye on the balconies and ledges around her. Her instincts were screaming at her that something was off, but she couldn't spot anything out of the norm.
Finally clearing the last check point, 2 pre-rented armoured skycars were waiting. Zaire and Liara joined Samara and one of her Justicars in the first skycar, while Yano, her Commandos, and the remaining two Justicars used the second, where they would follow slightly behind them.
By then C-Sec had finally got their act together and 3 marked skycars moved around them, providing a escort through the dense traffic. They moved quickly, as Media reporters would no doubt have realised who had just boarded their station and be waiting for her at the presidium.
"Target is in the red and black skycar, confirm?"
"I see them. C-Sec is providing an escort."
"Do you have a shot?"
"I have a clear shot at the engine block."
"Copy, we have people in all nearby buildings and crash points. Take the shot."
Zaire was sitting in the back with Liara sitting next to her. Samara and one of her Justicars were in the driver's and passengers seat. Despite the enclosed and sealed space, Zaire's enhanced hearing picked up the muffled boom of a heavy sniper rifle, and reacted instinctively. Her new, white biotics exploded forth and created a bubble around her and Liara. Seconds later and the skycar lurched to the left, half the engine exiting with the heavy sniper round.
Samara immediately realised that staying in the air was impossible and roughly guided the failing car towards the nearest wide open space, which was a small park that sat between two residential blocks. The Justicar in the passenger seat using her biotics to help dampen the crash.
The people who had previously been enjoying a peaceful day at the park looked up in fear as a flaming skycar screamed past, trailing smoke and being followed by three C-Sec patrol cars. Many ducking for cover as the skycar hit the ground, earth and grass spewing up as the car slides across the open field, narrowly missing a Turian couple and their kid, before coming to a stop a few feet from a children's playground.
Inside, Zaire coughed as smoke started to fill the inside of the car, and she grunted as she detached her seatbelt and pushed the door open. The smoke slowly started to funnel out of the gap, and Zaire saw that both Samara and Liara were conscious, though Samara was bleeding from a blow to the head. Samara's companion however, hadn't been as lucky, and was out cold in the passenger seat, a rather obvious hit to the head had knocked her out.
Helping Liara out first, Zaire helped her Bondmate sit against the trench of earth the skycar had made when it landed, before returning to help Samara pull out the unconscious Justicar. They had barely gotten themselves out before a spray of gunfire peppered the grass above their heads, and Zaire managed to spot a few figures in black armour moving towards them from the park entrance and tree line.
Zaire turned and caught one of Liara's pistols as her bondmate joined her at the edge of the trench, popping up to fire. "Who's shooting at us?"
Zaire grunted as she leaned over the edge and fired towards the tree line. "Hell if I know. Just keep them occupied." She ducked again as one of the hostiles focused on her.
Hitting her comm, she flared her biotics and threw a warp, which caused one of the nearest of their assailants to dive for cover.
"Zaire?"
Not wasting time, Zaire yelled into the mic as she fired her pistol.
"Yano, where the hell are you?"
The sound of shoes hitting pavement echoed in the background, followed by gunshots indicated that her backup was occupied, and Zaire was temporarily distracted as she dealt with one of their assailants who had gotten the smart idea to flank.
"We landed just outside the park entrance, but there was a rear guard. Right now we're working our way past the entrance gate."
Taking a moment to look, Zaire could make out a small group rushing though the gates, and Zaire took the opportunity to get a look at their attackers.
Human, Batarians, Drell or Asari.
Considering who's government hit list she was currently on, she was going to take a wild stab in the dark and guess that they were Asari Republic Commandos, and if they were here, then chances were that a Justicar, a Huntress and a former Commando turned spy master were heading the attack.
Ducking as more concentrated suppressive fire was sent her way, Zaire mentally calculated the distance between them and their assailants, which OS confirmed with its own calculations.
"Yano, keep up the rear attack, we'll push towards you and pin them between us. Be on the look out, there should be specialists, if you see them, don't engage, call for back up and let me deal with them. Understand?"
"Copy that, good luck boss."
The comm went dead as the Asari Commander cut the connection, and Zaire turned to Samara, who was now helping her Asari girlfriend. Biotic attacks were now getting thrown both ways, and Zaire was internally glad that she was convinced to bring her swords. Patching into their internal comms, Zaire let her biotics flare.
"They're getting close enough for me to Charge them, both of you cover me."
Receiving two acknowledgments, Zaire waited a few seconds, and then shifted her shoulders to activate the mnemonic for a Charge, and promptly disappeared in a flash of white light and a sonic boom.
There was something unique about the feeling you get while you charge, and despite the upgrades and five years of inactivity, the feeling hadn't changed. Before she had died, Zaire hadn't been able to Charge with any damaging effect, however, after the Cerberus upgrades, she had managed to create enough force to cause people to stumble. So when Zaire Charged towards one of the nearest opponent, she had expected another slight boost in power. What she didn't expect however, was to send her target flying through a tree, sending large splinters everywhere, and talking out a second Commando who had been hiding behind said tree.
Stumbling slightly, Zaire stared in shock for a second. Though she quickly came to her senses and dived over the remaining stump, dodging a burst of rifle fire and Charged again. Reappearing behind the unlucky enemy who had shot at her and drew one of her swords, pivoted on her heel and sliced through the Commandos armoured neck, killing her instantly.
The other Republic Commandos had managed to track her movements, and they opened fire, forcing Zaire to Charge again. Getting to cover, Zaire used her spare hand to pull out and fire her pistol, though the Commandos Kenetic barriers stopped her shots, it still forced them to cover.
Liara and Samara had used her distraction to their advantage, and they had closed the gap between them and their attackers before unleashing their biotics, sending waves of Warpfire and biotic Shockwaves into the wooded area, burning the vegetation and obliterating trees and enemies alike.
"Assault team, what's your status? Is the target eliminated?"
Gunfire
"Negative! Target is moving to fast to pin down!"
More Gunfire
"Crap! The Commando and Justicar teams have pined us in the forest!"
"Last reports indicated that the target was unarmoured and unable to use her biotics, what's the problem?"
More gunshots and screams of pain
"Reports were inaccurate! Target has full biotic ability, she's literary cutting through us!"
"What about OverWatch?"
"OverWatch isn't responding!"
...
"Standby."
...
"OverWatch what's your status?"
...
"OverWatch?"
"Nice try Sey'sa, but your not killing my kid's bondmate."
...
"Aethyta. I shouldn't be surprised. You always were disloyal to the republic."
"Ha, and you shouldn't be either? Wasn't the Order originally created to watch the fucking Republic as an independent body in the first place?"
...
"I'm not doing this for the Republic, I'm doing this for the Asari people."
"Sure, keep telling yourself that, bitch."
Zaire grunted as she stabbed her blades through the back of another of their attackers, twisting the body around to absorb the fire of another Commando. Most of their assailants were dead on the artificial forest floor. But a sizable amount had rallied into a corner and had hunkered down, probably waiting on reinforcements. That was fine with her, she had her own reinforcements coming.
Liara was off to her left, alternating between firing her pistols and hurling heavy biotic strikes at the entrenched Republic Commandos. Samara had met up with her Justicars and had formed a defensive circle around the downed skycar and their unconscious compatriot. Which left Yano and her Commandos to help Zaire deal with any strays.
Dropping the dead body, Zaire sent a pull field towards the Commando that had fired at her, dragging the Asari off her feet and sailing through the air towards Zaire's waiting blades.
"Samara, how's your unconscious friend?"
The Asari Justicar responded over the comm a moment later.
"She will live, however I'm seeing two sets of skycars approaching. They do not appear to be C-Sec."
Pausing, Zaire sheathed her blades and started to head back towards the crashed skycar.
"What colours?"
Another few seconds of silence, and Zaire takes the time to inform Yano and Liara of possible enemy reinforcements before the Justicar responds.
"Two are solid black, no identifying markings and the others are Brown with green highlights."
Getting out of the trees, Zaire spots the Justicar team and heads over, her eyes on the black skycars moving towards them.
"Brown and green is our reinforcements, blacks unknown, presume hostile until proven otherwise."
The black skycars flew past Zaire's head, it's course heading straight for the pinned Commandos. The Brown and green skycars however, landed around Samara and her Justicars. The doors opening to reveal Krogan in heavy battle armour, the patch on their shoulders indicating they were the Krogan Embassy Guard, with a familiar Krogan with blue eyes at the front.
"Shepard!"
Zaire grunted as Grunt 'tapped' her on the arm. She never did get Jack back for introducing the young Krogan to the more violent of Human greetings.
"Good to see you Grunt."
"Zaire!"
Zaire spotted Yano and her Commandos, followed by Liara as they retreated to their reinforcements. The Republic Commandos obviously gaining confidence in numbers and had pushed them back, creating a new battle line.
At the front of the new line if black armour were two of the three Asari Zaire had been keeping an eye out for. Justicar Sey'sa and Asari Huntress Moeso T'raoza, where Aethyta Visir was Shepard didn't know, but where those two Asari were, Liara's father couldn't be far way.
Samara joined her and Grunt in their impromptu seace fire. She was openly glaring at the other Justicar, and Zaire hadn't seen Samara show this much expression since the War.
T'raoza drew her Warp Sword, and Zaire unconsciously unsheathed her own, holding them in a reverse grip while her biotics slowly flared. The white biotic mist crawled down her arms, hands, and finally her blades, giving them a ghostly appearance as Zaire slowly spun them in small circles.
"Samara, you take the Justicar embarrassment, I've got the Huntress, Grunt, leave nothing but us standing."
"He he he."
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