Hey everyone. This mission I took a few liberties with so I hope you don't mind. Let me know if you see anything that you didn't like and if there is a certain mission other than the obvious cornerstone missions that you really want to see. As always, comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome. Enjoy!
Luke watched as the medical ship drifted into view. His arm felt compressed within his armor but he needed the pressure to be able to move and fight on this mission. For all he knew they would storm the ship and find Saleon harvesting an organ out of one of his employees.
Garrus stepped to his side as Wrex and Tali were talking to Claire. "Could it really be so easy?" Garrus asked. Luke shrugged.
"Since when have things ever been easy… with C-Sec or on the Normandy?" The two men laughed and pulled their weapons.
"Alright, standard clearing of each room, slow and quiet. If we encounter resistance, we are clear to fire. Spectre authority." Claire spoke into her mission recorder. Luke smirked. Thank goodness he would not have to obey all the rules of engagement. As soon as they were fired on or attacked, they were clear to kill anything that presented the even a remote threat.
As the docking tubes linked, Luke was the first to move. His pistol out, Luke opened the airlock and moved into the chamber of the other ship. Wrex and Garrus were right behind followed closely by Tali and Claire.
"Luke, slow down and watch your corners." Claire whispered. Luke sighed and stopped at the door leading to the rest of the ship.
"Sorry Claire." Luke said overriding the door.
"It's alright. Just watch your corners." Claire reminded him. She could see the fire burning in his eyes, but there was a ruthlessness to Luke that she had never seen in him.
The door opened and Luke moved through with his pistol level. His arm ached but with the compression wrap inside his suit he was able to function well enough. His pistol was leveled off pointed at the door leading to the cargo bay when a horrifying sound echoed from behind the door. Luke stopped and looked back at everyone.
"Anyone want to guess what that was?" Tali asked holstering her pistol and pulling her shotgun. Wrex cocked his weapon and smirked. He was ready for a fight.
"Move in and stay close to each other. I don't want anyone ending up on their own." Claire said charging her assault rifle.
Luke led the group into the cargo bay where around the first corner, they were greeted with a horrible sight. A creature that appeared humanoid but it had dark green skin with blotches of black all over it. The smell was the same as a body that had been rooting in the Citadel heating ducts for a week. Sickly, yellowish, green goo slithered from the beings open mouth. It turned and looked at them with nothing but black orbs for eyes.
"What the-" Luke started but as the words passed his mouth, the creature roared and charged. Luke put two rounds through the creatures head and a last one through its chest. The creature made and sickly gurgle when it went down. Luke knelt next to the creature and examined it.
"What is that thing?" Garrus asked keeping an eye on the path between the crates ahead of them.
"I don't know but it looks like it's wearing a lab coat or some kind of jacket. Meaning that his thing use to be a person." Claire knelt down next to her brother and looked over the corpse.
"Whatever is happening here, we need to end it. Extract any survivors and clear the ship." Claire said. Luke nodded and stood moving forward with Garrus. Claire took Wrex and Tali that other way to clear the other side of the room.
"Have you told Claire what you are planning to do to Saleon when we find him?" Garrus asked as he put a round through one of the creature's heads. Luke put two rounds in the chest of another before looking over at his friend.
"Not exactly. Honestly, I'll be surprised if she wants to do anything else with the bastard." Luke replied firing again and dropping another being. They could hear shotgun rounds and an assault rifle and Claire, Wrex, and Tali fought their way toward the bridge of the ship.
"How many of these things are there?" Luke asked as Garrus killed another one of the disfigured creatures.
"I've counted seven so far that we've seen. I don't know how many Claire and the others have fought." Garrus replied as they moved forward. Luke and Garrus were the first to make it to the corridor leading to the bridge. Luke moved to open the door, but Garrus stopped him.
"We need to wait for the others." Garrus protested. Luke sighed and looked up at his partner.
"Garrus, Saleon is on the other side of this door. This type of ship has a cargo bay capable of being jettisoned in case of a hull breach. If Saleon can get to the bridge, he'll drop us into space. We need to get to the bridge now and secure it." Garrus looked back at his friend as the human opened the door and charged forward. The turian let out a sigh of frustration and chased after his friend.
"Luke, spirits! What if Claire and the others need our help?" Garrus said as Luke opened the door to the cockpit.
The room was completely empty. Luke had expected to find Saleon there with his finger on the button ready to escape. Maybe he was dead at the hands of one of his "patients." That thought made Luke smile but he needed confirmation.
"Okay, I'm going to check the other rooms on the corridor." Luke started to move but Garrus grabbed his shoulder.
"Hold up Shepard. Don't run off on your own." Luke knocked his friend's hand from his shoulder. "Your arm is still broken. At least wait for Claire." Luke growled and nodded reluctantly.
"Fine, but if that slippery son of a bitch gets away, it's on you." Luke used his good arm to punch the wall before starting to pace.
Only a minute later, Claire appeared with Tali and Wrex. "Feels good to be back killing stuff." Wrex said breathing a deep breath. Claire shook her head.
"Wrex, secure the cargo bay door. Tali, secure the bridge and disable the ship's systems. Everything but the life support. Garrus and Luke are with me checking the rest of the rooms." Luke nodded to his sister and started moving down the hall. Once Luke was out of ear shot, Garrus moved up next to Claire.
"What's our plan to deal with Saleon when we find him?" Garrus asked.
"Depends. If we can possitivly identify him, I'll take him into custody as a spectre and send him on a one way trip to a super-max prison." Claire responded. Garrus sighed and looked up at Luke as the youth opened a door.
"Thank you so much, you saved me! Thank you!" A salarians voice echoed through the halls as Claire and Garrus came up alongside Luke.
"This is him, Commander. Meet Dr. Saleon." Luke said raising his pistol.
"What? My name is Heart, Dr. Heart!" The salarian said defensively.
"It's him, Shepard. There is no where run this time doctor." Garrus said taking a threatening step forward.
"You're crazy. Please stop this." The salarian begged looking at Claire.
"Two former C-Sec officers have confirmed your identity doctor. I am acting in my authority as a spectre to arrest you." Luke looked over at his sister.
"No! Saleon doesn't get a trial. Look at the walls, the table behind him. I see at least three different species' blood. He has continued his sick practice ever since he left the Citadel. He doesn't get to walk away from this." Luke snarled placing the barrel of his gun against the Salarian's forehead.
"Luke!" Claire shouted but it was too late. The barrel of Luke's pistol sparked and Saleon's head jolted back spraying green blood all the way back on to the wall and floor. As the body fell, Luke stood frozen. His face blank and his eyes empty.
Claire could not believe what she had just witnessed. Her brother murdered someone in cold blood in front of her. She turned to look at Garrus but the turian did not have the shocked expression that she thought would play on his face. Garrus' look was more of clarity and relief.
"What the hell was that?" Claire shouted kneeling next to the salarian's corpse.
"Ridding the world of a really bad guy that I ranked only about two rungs below Satan and Saren, and only one below the bastards that took me off Mindoir." Luke snapped holstering his pistol.
"You murdered him!" Claire screamed looking up at her brother.
"I killed someone in cold blood. Not in combat. This is murder." Claire said standing slowly.
"I joined you to do some good. Just trust me, killing that guy is a public service." Luke said starting to leave.
"That's what this was about. Finding someone and killing them?" Claire screamed at him. Garrus looked at his friend as he got closer.
"We tracked down a dangerous man and made sure that he could never hurt anyone ever again. If you ask me, that is a successful mission." Luke looked over at Garrus. "Let me ask you buddy, did Saleon deserve to die?"
Garrus looked up at Claire then back to Luke and sighed. "Sorry, Claire, but Saleon was one of the worst guys that Luke and I ever chased. Yes, he deserved to die."
"No red tape. When we have the bad guy in our sights, we kill them. That is the only way to ensure that they are no longer a threat." Luke said patting his friend on the chest plate as he walked out.
"That is not… Damn it, Luke! Get back here!" Claire shouted starting after him. She stopped short of the door and looked up at Garrus. "Tell me that you two had more restraint than that in C-Sec."
Garrus sighed. "We only killed those that needed to be gone. Saleon would have been one such person." Garrus cleared his throat and looked around. "Let me ask you something. If we had the chance to take Saren down right here right now, what would you do? Would you arrest him? Throw him in the brig of some derelict ship? Or would you do the one thing that would ensure that he never hurt another soul again?" Garrus asked turning and following Luke.
Claire sighed and activated her radio. "All team members head back to the Normandy. We're done here." She took one last look at Saleon's lifeless body and looked back at the doorway that her brother and turian friend had vanished through. Maybe they were right about Saleon, maybe he did deserve to die. Judging from the room around her, Luke was probably right, but to watch her own brother execute an unarmed man was horrifying to say the least.
"Coming Shepard?" Tali asked as she passed the doorway. Claire nodded with a smile and followed the quarian back to the Normandy.