***AUTHOR'S NOTE***

Hello :) a speedier update this time! You proud of me?

I'm going to try and update at least twice a month from now on. I can't promise that chapters will be longer like this one because I like to stop the chapters where I feel it's right.

I hope you like this one :)

Review and stuff^.^

Chapter 41 – Citadel

They had been fighting and hiding for the better part of the week, moving slowly through the Presidium to help C-Sec clear out civilians and taking out holed in Cerberus personnel where and when they found them. Apart from the initial attack, it seemed like Cerberus were waiting for something to happen and had arrived too early. Unfortunate for them, really, as Thane and Marie effectively worked their way through the Presidium with relative ease. Thane worried over Kolyat, but his son was skilled and could defend himself well enough.
There was a lot of damage that would need to be repaired when this was over and bodies that would need to be buried, but that was an issue that would be resolved at a later date. Marie decided to handle one moment as it came and try not to worry too much about the outcome. Get people evacuated to the refugee camp and carry on. She really began to appreciate the size of the Presidium as it took them days to cover most of it without a skycar. They were tired and sore, small wounds here and there but nothing too serious thanks to their superior armour and specific set of skills.
Communications across the Citadel seemed to be down, so apart from the pockets of C-Sec they found trying to weed out Cerberus troops, it was hard to know precisely what was happening.

Eventually they made it to the C-Sec barracks and climbed up above the compound. From their vantage point she could see the place was swarming with Cerberus troops, there was no sign of the bulk of C-Sec personnel and no sign of Commander Bailey. He was a smart man, she reasoned, he must be bunkered down somewhere. Everyone was tired and it seemed Cerberus had enough troops to refresh them every now and then, they were organised and they were willing to play a waiting game.
Thane pulled up his sniper and Marie briefly ogled his fine muscle beneath the leather he wore before turning back to the situation, she had to appreciate the little things in times like these.

Thane's omni-tool blipped and he whispered into it, nodding every now and then before humming confirmation. He turned to Marie, "The Normandy is here, Joker is going to stay airborne whilst Shepard and the others take a shuttle outside C-Sec to take Cerberus out. We should move swiftly to meet them."

She nodded and followed him up another floor and into a relatively quiet walkway, making their way along as quietly as they could to find a place to meet up with Shepard.

The shuttle doors opened as Shepard nodded to his team, Garrus and Liara hoisted their weapons and prepared to jump to the ground.

"Okay people! We're landing hot, get to cover!"

They jumped and a rain of bullets erupted around them. Shepard rolled as he hit the ground and sprinted to a low wall that served the start of a walkway at C-Sec headquarters. There were turrets and so many Cerberus troops, he began picking them off one by one. The boom of Garrus' rifle was like music as it set the tempo of the fight, Liara threw out Singularities making the troops caught in them easy pickings.
They moved up to the next wall and he began taking out the turrets, ducking for cover as he reloaded knowing he'd be covered by his team.

The shooting stopped and they ran up to the doors, C-Sec personnel littered the floor.

"Shepard!" They turned to the voice; Commander Bailey was slumped against a wall holding his upper hip with a grimace.

"Bailey!" They approached him and Liara administered a medi-gel pack to him to ease the discomfort for the C-Sec Commander.

"Shepard…saw those Cerberus troops on ya I thought you were done for." Shepard grinned a wolfish grin, the red lines on his face glowing in the dim light.

"What are you doing here Bailey?"

The man grunted as he shifted his weight, "Getting my arse shot off trying to retake headquarters. Cerberus took it in their first push!" He look toward the doors, "We gotta kick them outta there. Everyone in C-Sec is flying blind without the network." He put his arm out as Shepard bent to help him up.

Liara hummed to herself in thought, "Is this the situation everywhere? Are the Councillors even alive?" From what they had heard from Thane earlier, Kaiden was with the Councillors, they had a chance of survival at least.

"They split up, I'll know more if I can access the terminal inside."

Shepard rolled his shoulders, thinking about what to do first; rendezvous with Thane, or find the Councillors?
Thane was very capable and Marie had improved massively. The Councillors however had one protector that they were aware of and no real fighting skills. Maybe the turian Councillor had some but not enough to fight back a small army Cerberus troops.

He decided to find the Councillors, "Can you get us inside?"

Bailey nodded and turned to the panel at the main doors, "I'll get the door…hopefully no one will interrupt me with a bullet this time." He pinned in the code and the doors opened with a mechanical hiss. Shepard pulled up his weapons and headed into the darkened headquarters, Garrus and Liara close behind him with Bailey pulling up the rear. They made it to a reception area with no trouble, the bullet holes and blood smears were disconcerting but nothing they hadn't dealt with before.

As Bailey made his way to the terminal, Garrus and Liara covered either end of the atrium they were in, "Here we go, the C-Sec Network Access, courtesy of Cerberus." His fingers tapped at the keys.

"How's that gonna help?" Shepard huffed as he re-tied his long hair.

"Cerberus has control of the main channels but I can set up a new one. Without it, our people have no plan and no chance" Shepard silently pondered on how reliant C-Sec were on their superiors, telling them where to go, how to go, when to eat, shit, sleep. No wonder they were so easily overrun and hadn't taken it back yet. A week? Come on… "Hello…"

"What have you got?"

"A warning from Councillor Valern, he's supposed to be here meeting with the executor, 'Be on guard, the likelihood of betrayal from within is high' Not a lot else. But if he's inside…"

Shepard frowned, "Why would the Councillor be meeting with the executor?"

Bailey shrugged, "Usually it means someone big is about to be prosecuted. I guess that someone had Cerberus friends, the Councillor would have a clearer picture, for all the good that does us."

"One Councillor is better than zero." He unstrapped his gun, "Where am I headed?"

"The executor office is defensible; he may have gone to ground there when the shooting started."

"I'm on it."

Shepard nodded and his team began to move out, "Just a sec!" Bailey called. He pulled up his Omni-tool and pinged to Shepard's, "There, now we can talk by Omni-tool." Shepard stood looking at his Omni-tool and added Bailey to his contacts, setting up a little mini profile for the man. He grinned as he set a not too flattering picture of Bailey as his picture. Bailey coughed, causing Shepard to look up with a raised eyebrow, "Go."

"Right,"

His team moved out.

"Thane!" Shepard's voice rang in his ears and he paused to listen for a moment. The conversation between the two commanders had been going on through his earpiece as he and Marie moved through some vents to get near the executors office. They could meet Shepard there, "You hear all that?"

"Yes. We're nearing the building, but keeping the two of us hidden is difficult. We'll try to get to you."

Marie gasped and Thane looked over his shoulder at her. She was sucking on her thumb with a frown after she had caught it on a stray piece of sharp metal in the vent, a small red slit was on the pad. He shook his head, that would be the cause of so much sulking when it will irritate her as she's trying to work.

"How far now?" She huffed, annoyance already colouring her words.

"We are almost there; Shepard will meet us in the executor's office. We'll regroup and then move on to find the Councillors."

"If they're still alive,"

"Yes, though I believe Kaiden is with them so they are not unprotected." He said the name as amicably as he could, but the human grated on his nerves as he flitted around Marie like a bee around a flower. Marie simply nodded as they moved as quietly as they could through the vents. It was warm without the usual breeze from the air-conditioning and he could see the beads of sweat on Marie's scalp, they left trails on her dusty face as they fell down her forehead. She huffed and wiped her eyes, leaving a thin streak of red behind as her cut thumb brushed there.

They heard crawling; a frantic but quiet scrambling of feet and elbows coming from the left in an intersection of the vents not too far ahead of them. Without a word, they activated their cloaks and waited as still as deer in headlights.

Slim and quick human figures flitted across the intersection and sped down the right. Thane counted six before he dared let out a breath. Before they took down their cloaks, a slower, more relaxed crawling replaced the frantic scramblers. They stilled and waited, the crawler was agonisingly slow, obviously at ease and very confident.

And then, the person was there, pausing in the intersection and looking directly at them, almost as if he could sense their presence. Marie was confident that her cloak design shielded them from life sign detection and definitely sight with barely a shimmer. The man's lips twitched at the corner of his mouth, his tan skin creasing slightly below a metal device that shielded his eyes and arched back to cup his jaw. Long black hair was pulled back, leaving wispy bangs at the sides of his face. His fitted armour was black and extensively modded for stealth. He was scary and Marie suppressed a shiver as he shook his head and followed the faster group to the right. His legs were encased in fine metallic armour, hugging his lean muscles and glinting as he moved.

After he disappeared, they waited five minutes before they dared uncloak and move on, pausing at the intersection and warily peering down. It was empty. They trudged on, hoping to find Shepard soon. The vents were feeling much more claustrophobic than usual.

She breathed a sigh of relief when they finally emerged from the vents and into the open space of the executor's office. The places was littered with furniture from all over he galaxy to accommodate those he would meet with and Marie took the quiet opportunity to sit on a long comfortable couch to catch her breath and ease her anxiety. She mentally took a note that while her new extreme hair cut may make her look tough, she was still an engineer at heart and the thought of fighting still gave her horrifying thoughts.

Thane pinged their positions to Shepard and his ground crew and she watched him as he dutifully watched the walls and entrances for enemies, most notably the man in the vents and his squad.

They heard a quiet bang from somewhere nearby, like shattering class, and quickly activated their cloaks. The draw backs of not being front line fighters left them at the disadvantage of not having much muscle power and reliant on stealth, though Thane could easily take out one or two enemies alone, she doubted he could take out the seven they had seen.

They waited quietly, eyes everywhere and ears straining for any sound. Shuffles from behind heavy doors made them investigate, hacking the doors quickly and carefully. Shouting began and Marie tried to focus before Thane gently bumped her away and unlocked it with ease.

They were in a cafeteria area and Marie almost laughed when she spotted Shepard, Garrus, and Liara stood in the center of it, their guns raised and pointing toward the salarian Councillor. Then she noticed the man from the vents, a hand held up with biotic power ready to fire.

"Three on one pal. It's over."

"No. Now it's fun." His voice was like tar and honey, too sticky and sweet. And poisonous.

His biotics flared as he got ready to kill the Councillor and without realising, Marie was moving, running as quickly as she could to get behind this man. Her cloak fell and she fired an Incinerate at his back.

She had never seen someone turn so fast, a blur of black and blue, a glint of silver, and then white hot pain that made her cry out. Warm blood soaked through her clothes and she stared at the man's face. His grin never shifted, even as he spoke, "The rat from the vent."

Then sound erupted around them, Thane shouting and his green fist connecting with the man's jaw. She vaguely saw Liara ushering the Councillor away as Shepard and Garrus began shooting. The blade was pulled from her in one swift and fluid movement. Blood dripped on the floor but all she did was watch Thane, his grace as he sparred with this man. Shepard slid on the ground and took out his legs, but he was quick and rolled away before bounding to the other side of the room. He leapt over a low wall, realising he was outmatched, and sprinted down the stairs. Shepard and Garrus were hot on his heels before she couldn't see them anymore.

Thane lifted her in his arms, muttering soothing promises and rushed hopes as he ran after them. Liara grabbed the Councillor and pulled him with them. She could hear shots going off but everything was muffled and fuzzy, as though she had cotton wool in her ears and water in her eyes.

Shepard's face was over hers then, "How bad is it?"

Thane hummed a reply and she passed out.

"She has time," Shepard watched the worried face of the drell, "Catch him."

The growl made him shiver and nod quickly, "Shepard, what's going on up there?" Bailey's gravelly voice was in his ears and he backed away from Thane and Marie, Garrus and Liara at his sides.

"Marie needs medical help fast, and I need to take care of an assassin."

"He must be going after the rest of the Council."

Shepard growled, "Get the word out – Udina is trying to seize power. I've got to get to the Councillors."

"They're being taken to a shuttle pad on the Presidium. Start driving – I'll try to raise them on the comm."

Shepard had had enough of this guy and he'd known him barely an hour; attacking his car, sending his goons in the elevators, not to mention stabbing Marie.

And now Kaiden was getting all high and mighty on him. He could feel his face flushing red with his barely concealed rage as he stared at his 'friend' who had pulled a gun on him.

"You're fucking kidding, right?" The other Councillor's watched warily from behind the newly minted Spectre, Udina's smug face grating on his nerves.

"Shepard's blocking our escape! He's with Cerberus!" Oh, I'm gonna enjoy crushing your nose. His cybernetics glowed red.

Kaiden winced but held his gun steady, "Shepard, what is going on here?"

"You know me better than this, Kaiden!"

"I knew the old Shepard! Before Cerberus messed with you! Right now, I don't know what I'm dealing with."

Ouch, "We don't have time to negotiate. You've been fooled. All of you." He glanced pointedly at the Councillor's, "Udina's behind this attack. The salarian Councillor confirmed it."

Tevos and Sparatus, the asari and turian Councillors respectively, looked at Udina, thinly veiled surprise on their faces. Udina stepped toward Kaidan, "Please, you have no proof. You never do."

"There are Cerberus soldiers in the elevator shaft behind us. If you open that door, they'll kill you all."

Tevos narrowed her eyes, skepticism glinting there, "What Shepard says is possible. Unlikely, but possible."

"We don't have time to debate this! We're dead if we stay out here." Udina moved toward a control panel on the shuttle pad, "I'm overriding the lock."

Shepard moved forward before Kaiden stepped in front of him and leveled his gun at his head, "I'm gonna regret this." He muttered before turning toward Udina.

"No, you're not." Shepard grinned as he watched Kaiden walk toward Udina.

"Udina! Step away from the console!"

"To hell with this!" He tapped the device and began prodding buttons with his stubby fingers. The locks on the console and elevator shaft lit up and synced as the human Councillor started his override. Shepard raised his gun but his shot was blocked as Tevos touched Udina on the shoulder, attempting a more peaceful solution to the one in Shepard's mind. Udina glanced at her with a snarl, shoving her roughly to the ground and pulling a small pistol on her. Tevos barely had chance to try and protect herself before Shepard shot the human Councillor through his forehead.

Sparatus pulled Tevos to her feet and grinned a turian grin at Shepard, Garrus shifted on his feet in irritation.

"Get the Council back and cover that door!" He didn't bother watching as he knew his team would follow his orders. He approached Udina and rolled him over with a boot. A blank gaze in greasy sunken sockets stared at him. How far you have fallen, Udina.

Sparks came from the doors to the elevators. Garrus, Liara, and Kaiden formed a protective wall between the doors and the Council, Shepard hoisted his gun and ran in front of his team.

The door hissed open.

"Bailey?"

The C-Sec commander swaggered forward, "Made it as fast as we could, Shepard." He looked around the Councillors, vaguely noting Udina in a heap near the shuttle pad, "Looks like you, uh…took care of things."

Tevos approached, "Then it's true. We were in danger. But I don't understand…you said Cerberus was right here." She looked to Shepard for an explanation.

Bailey shook his head, "Cerberus was right here, but they beat feet into the keeper tunnels when they figured out we were coming." After almost a week, C-Sec had finally regrouped and took out Cerberus pockets around the Presidium, "Sorry, Councillor. I'll say it plain: Shepard just saved the lot of you."

Sparatus approached him then, "Then I owe you, Shepard. For our lives, and for brokering a deal with the primarch and the krogan that I never could."

"Too bad it took this to get you on board." Shepard shrugged and rolled his shoulders.

Tevos laughed gently, "We will not make that same mistake again."

"Do you have any idea why Cerberus would do this?" Sparatus gestured the the entirety of the Presidium. Smoke columns rose here and there and they could hear wailing and shouts in the distance, families grieving and looking for lost loved ones.

Shepard shook his head, "Honestly, no." Sparatus hung his head, "But I plan to find out."

"All right people! Principals are evacuated, we got a tunnel and a million more places to secure. Move it!" Bailey barked.

Sparatus stopped him behind the rest of the group, "If you need anything Shepard, you know where to find me. If you need anything." He said it with a purr and sauntered of, leaving Shepard in a state of shock behind them all.

He shook out of it quickly, pinging Thane as he left for Huerta.

Kai Leng huffed as he patched his comm to the Illusive man, "Things didn't go as planned..." He put a leg up on his dash and poured himself a thick, syrupy brandy. It burned his throat as he took a swig but he liked it, "Udina is dead."

A puff of smoke hid the Illusive mans face for a moment, those synthetic eyes glowing through it, "Udina was expendable. I'm more interested in this girl you saw."

The rat girl from the vents? "She was small and weak, hardly a threat." Leng took another swig, pondering on the girl he ran his blade through. She was pretty enough he guessed, but hardly interesting.

"Was?"

"She got in my way so I took care of her," He grinned.

The Illusive man nodded, disappointment clear on his ageing features, "I believe she was the one Shepard granted asylum on the Normandy during his...time with us," Another puff of smoke, "If you believe the rumours, she was over two hundred years old and incredibly gifted with tech and mods. More so than anyone we have currently."

"That's...interesting," He really couldn't care less about who the girl was.

"Oh, and don't let Shepard get the better of you again."

"I wont."

The comm went dark and Leng growled out his frustrations. Húndàn.

Hope you enjoyed it :)

Hundan is apparently mandarin for asshole. I thought it would be nice if Kai Leng had a little of his ancestry in him more than just his looks?

If anybody has any requests or hope for this story let me know and I'll see if I can incorporate them :)