Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my MechWarrior/BattleTech - Mass Effect crossover.
Thank you all for your wonderful feedback and support. I know I sound like a looping audio file when I say that, but I really do mean it. Every bit of feedback helps me continue onward.
We're now about to reach the middle of the Citadel sub-arc for this story. Things are about to get interesting.
As always, leave a review, and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the MechWarrior/BattleTech or Mass Effect franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of BioWare, Electronic Arts, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, WizKids, Catalyst Game Labs, Piranha Games Inc., etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.
Citadel
Apartment Penthouse
October 5th, 2186
True enough, when they returned to the apartment, the 1st Davion Guards were all over the place, with a couple even holding a few recoilless rifles just in case the mercs that had attacked Shepard brought any heavy firepower to bear. Well, at least I'm in safe hands, Shepard noted, though I need to find out who's been hacking my accounts and trying to kill me. If we can do that, we can put an end to this madness.
He wasn't the only one wondering what was going on, as Wrex asked, "Someone want to tell me what's going on here?"
"That's a good question," Ardan Sortek nodded. "Liara?"
"I agree," Liara nodded. "Who were those mercenaries? They were heavily armed and using C-SEC shuttles."
"No clue at all," Shepard frowned. "I've never seen them before."
"Me neither," Celicia nodded. "In fact, I've spent most of my time exploring my homeworld, as well as the galaxy at large. Even I haven't found out about who those guys were."
"I can't believe you survived all of that," Brooks stammered. "They had guns! And grenades! And those drone things!"
"Nothing I haven't seen before, other than the mercs," Victor shrugged. "We used all of that, and more, during the Battle of Pinnacle. Certainly helped give us the edge against the Clans." Pulling up his omni-tool, he said, "Either way, it's not going to be a problem. The AFFC is going to give us their backing. Plus, I'll contact C-SEC and find out what's going on."
"OK, that sounds…" Brooks began, then a worried look came over her face. "Wait! Wouldn't that make whoever you contacted a target too?"
"No," Victor shook his head as he sent a message to C-SEC. "Shepard's omni-tool was hacked, not mine. I would've known, as MIIO would've contacted me. Say what you will about MIIO, but when there's a threat to the First Prince and his children, they're the first ones to know. Besides, there are few who would hack into the accounts of the First Prince's son; the threat of reprisal is more than enough to deter most would-be hackers."
"Fair point," Brooks admitted.
"Either way, it's a huge risk," Liara added.
"Having more hands on deck won't hurt," Victor countered as he finished sending the message. "Plus, C-SEC's Special Response Division handles cases like this all the time. It's a risk I'm willing to take."
"Same here," Shepard nodded. Looking at Brooks, he asked, "You OK?"
"I got shot!" Brooks groaned. "I've got medi-gel, but still, I took a desk job explicitly not to get shot! And you two killed a hundred guys with just a pair of pistols!"
"That did happen, though it was more like twenty guys, not a hundred."
"Still, who does that?! Well… you I guess, but besides you? They said the medi-gel might make me jumpy. Do I seem jumpy?"
While Brooks was talking, Ardan Sortek was examining her with the scrutiny a hawk would for prey. Certainly seems hyperactive, though that's probably due to her coming down from her adrenaline high, he noted. Still, there's something… off about her, like I'm looking at a facade. It might just be paranoia brought about from age, but I can't shake the feeling. I'll be keeping an eye on her. Nearby, he noticed a subtle nod from Victor, who had also noticed the minor details.
"How'd you get mixed up in all this?" Shepard asked.
"I monitor data for Alliance Intel to prevent fraud and hacking of officer ID's," Brooks explained. "Like someone using an Admiral's pass to get into a nightclub on the Citadel when that Admiral is fighting on a Turian colony? I wrote a tracking program. It's really neat. I call it 'Biscuits' after my cat."
"Please remain on topic," Victor interrupted.
"Right, sorry! Anyways, Mr. Bis… my program detected a breach in your classified files. Soon, everything we had on you was compromised: personnel files, mission reports, everything."
"Since when does hacking personnel reports involve heavy weapon fire?" Wrex asked.
"Same question here," Edward, who'd been silent until now, added. "Unless, of course, somebody knows better than I do."
"Think of what criminals could do if they got access to Shepard's military access codes," Brooks explained. "Or Spectre codes even!"
"That would explain why they need you dead," Wrex said to Shepard. "Nothing to stop them until the damage is done."
"I agree," Sortek nodded. "It's why Maximilian Liao abducted Hanse and tried to kill him once the doppelganger was ready. Once Hanse was gone, there wouldn't be anything preventing him from turning the Federated Suns into a puppet state. It's only because of Shepard's warning, as well as some quick thinking, that I managed to save Hanse and stop Maximilian's plot from succeeding."
Shepard, noting this, nodded in agreement. Ardan Sortek's the right man for the job, he smiled. He even said so himself. "OK," he decided, "let's figure out who they are and shut them down. Any ideas?"
"I've got one," Victor remarked, pulling out the pistol he had looted off the dead merc. "If we can trace where this gun came from, we might figure out who wants Shepard dead, and find out more about his attacker in the process. Still, this is high class stuff for the galaxy, though we have sidearms that are capable of this on their own."
"That's a good idea," Liara agreed. "Let me see if I can dig something up." With that, she activated her own omni-tool and began to talk with her contacts.
"Well, you can try," Brooks frowned, "but I should warn you, I haven't found anything yet, and I've been digging very deep."
"I'm sure you have," Liara added, giving a subtle wink to Shepard. "Glyph?"
A moment later, a drone shimmered into visibility, glowing blue-white in color. Sortek nodded when he saw it. Liara's personal information drone, he noted. Sensible, and the cybersecurity on it is second to none.
"Collating relevant intel for review, Dr. T'soni," Glyph replied.
"Thanks," Shepard nodded.
"Alright, Liara's on point," Wrex noted. "What about the rest of the crew?"
"Yeah, what about those slackers?" Joker added.
"You've been busy, Joker," Victor noted when he saw the crowd behind him.
"I found some people that actually like being shot at," Joker beamed. As he said this, Shepard watched as Garrus, Nyreen, Celicia, Iavalia, Nihlus, EDI, Kaidan, Mason, James, Javik, Tali and Legion walked inside.
"Permission to come aboard, Shepard?" Garrus asked.
"Granted," Shepard nodded. "It's good to see all of you."
. . .
For the next few minutes, the team spent some time unwinding from the excitement that had happened just a few minutes ago. While Shepard was making small talk with the crew, Sortek walked over to Victor. "Are you OK?" he asked. "When I heard about the attack from Hanse and Liara, I came as soon as I could."
"I'm fine," Victor nodded. "Just a few bruises that'll heal with time. What I'm more worried about is how you are doing."
"I'm OK," Sortek reassured Victor. "I might be old, but I'm not out for the count yet. We're going to help Shepard out, and find out what's going on."
"I agree. When I get the chance, whoever attacked Shepard and myself are going to regret the decision." With a hand motion, he motioned towards one of the rooms. Sortek, knowing what Victor was telling him, walked with him upstairs and into one of the bedrooms before closing the door. "I also think that Brooks is putting up a facade," Victor added.
"My thoughts exactly," Sortek added. "Call me paranoid, but there's something off about her."
"Agreed. My guess is that Brooks might not be who she is, and that she's trying to emulate who she claims she is to the degree where it's too perfect. She might even be working for the enemy, but is putting up such an excellent act that she's lost some natural spontaneity."
"Sounds like you've taken a few lessons from Quintus."
"He's one of the best, and you recommended me to him for intelligence training."
"That I did. Looks like he's taught you well. Either way, we should keep an eye on her, just in case she's working for the enemy. If so, we'll take her out."
"Sounds like a good idea," Victor nodded. Just then, his omni-tool pinged. "Looks like Liara might've found something," he told Sortek "That woman's really good at her job."
"Why shouldn't she be?" Sortek asked rhetorically. "Quintus Allard took her under his wing, and now she's one of the scariest people in the Federated Commonwealth. Either way, it's about time we go." With that, they exited the room and walked down the stairs.
True enough, everyone was gathered around Liara, who had managed to scrounge up something. "We have a lead," she informed the team. "I called in some favors to get a trace on the gun Victor took from the merc he killed. It led me to a casino owner named Elijah Khan. He's been suspected of using his profits to smuggle weapons onto the Citadel. Immediately after the attempt on Shepard's life, Khan made an interesting call."
A moment later, an audio file began to play, with Khan's voice coming up first. "I'm cutting you off," the man growled. "I'm returning your down payment now."
Just then, another voice spoke up, though Shepard frowned when they heard the distortion in it. "What's the problem?" it asked.
"Turn on a vidscreen! When I sell a gun, I don't want it showing up on the nightly news!"
"You won't be linked to me."
"Save it. Our association is terminated. And if you even think about coming after me, I've got info on you ready for prime time, so you can ponder that. Khan out." A moment later, the recorded call ended.
"So that's our identity thief," Shepard noted.
"Looks like he's using an ID scrambler," Garrus noted. "Those are a pain in the ass to get around."
"Not for MIIO," Sortek added. "They do that all the time. Liara?"
"That's exactly what I did," Liara added, "and what I found was… shocking."
"How so?" Shepard asked.
"The distorted voice, Shepard… is yours."
With that, everyone fell silent, while Shepard, upon hearing this, turned pale with shock, then his color returned, though his eyes, despite his tranquil facial expression, were now filled with white-hot rage. Containing the emotion, he said, "OK, now it's personal! They've taken my identity, and now they've taken my voice! That's is so fucking not OK!"
"Just like what happened to my father," Victor frowned, feeling genuine sympathy for Shepard. "Shepard, if it's any consolation, My father's been in your position before, and I learned from him what it was like. I know exactly how that feels."
"It isn't, but I appreciate the gesture," Shepard nodded. Taking a deep breath, he let it out and turned to Liara. "Did you get anything on the mercenaries that attacked us?"
"They're a private military corporation known as CAT6," Liara explained. "For those of you who don't know, CAT6 is an Alliance nickname for a dishonorable discharges. Many have criminal records, histories of steroid abuse, and other charming features. No doubt hired by the thief, not Khan."
"Just like Black Inferno," Mason frowned. "Well, at least it'll be easier to contain these guys."
"Indeed," Shepard nodded. "By the way, Liara, that phone call was pretty damning stuff. How'd you get it?"
"It involved the weapon's biometric data, Salarian intelligence, and a Hanar prostitute with camera implants," Liara deadpanned. Mason, picking up on the joke, chuckled, while Victor and Sortek smiled.
"Seriously?" Shepard asked rhetorically.
"No," Liara replied, "but the truth is boring."
"Khan didn't sound friendly to whoever that was," Victor noted. "He could pass the info on to us, but then again, he isn't going to be in a mood to meet the two of us, given that we likely know about the connection between him and the identity thief. He'll probably go to ground in a panic room, if the casino has one installed."
"That it does," Liara nodded, "and I agree. Talking to him in person would need some extremely smooth talking, and he'll likely assume the two of you are looking for revenge. EDI and Legion can give us programs to hack through the door, but the cameras and guards will complicate matters."
"Yeah," Brooks agreed. "Khan could disappear or worse. If his guards open fire, normal people could get hurt. Like me."
"She's right," Shepard decided after a few moments of thinking. "We can't risk spooking him. We go in quiet. No gunplay."
"I know of a way we can get in," Sortek added. "Before I got wind of what happened, I got an invite into my email's spam category. According to it, the casino we're heading to is hosting a charity event for war refugees. I guess even a gun runner like Khan can have a soft spot for refugees."
"That's an excellent opportunity," Liara beamed. "Glpyh? Purchase some tickets, then call up a layout of the building." A moment later, a holographic layout of the building appeared.
"Score!" Joker beamed. "So… how close can you get? You usually don't put a back door in the panic room."
"This air shaft bypasses the security gate and ends up in storage," EDI noted. "From there, the panic room's door-camera can be disabled."
"I have also been productive," Legion added. "I have created a program that will temporarily shut down any cameras that are present. All that is required is a discreet upload to the relevant terminal."
"Still, we're talking about a casino," Kaidan frowned. "There's got to be alarms in that shaft."
"I've got some countermeasures that may help," Liara added. "I'll know more once we're inside."
"I can handle the vents," Ardan Sortek volunteered. "I've been in tight spaces before, and I've handled covert missions before. I apologize, Victor, but you're gonna have to sit this one out."
"That's alright," Victor nodded. "Besides, I could use a break."
"Alright," Shepard nodded. "Let's go. Time to get some answers."
. . .
A few hours later, Shepard and Liara were flying to the Silversun Strip Casino, dressed in their finest formal wear. Shepard was wearing a three piece suit with a blue tie, along with black polished dress shoes and a white tuxedo under a black overcoat and black dress pants. He had it made for himself when he attended a formal banquet on Tharkad during the interregnum between coming back from the Periphery and the Clan Invasion. It looked very much like a suit from the 2000's, though there were some throwbacks to the 1900's, such as the tuxedo underneath.
Liara's dress, though, was nothing short of beautiful. It extended down to just above her ankles, but kept fairly close to her legs. Her bust was fully covered up, though the back of her dress was open down to just above the small of her back. Her dress was snow white in color, with silver trimmings that accented the white. A thin white loop around her neck kept the dress from falling down, and she had beautiful white stiletto-type dress shoes as well.
Noting the dress, Shepard whistled. "Where'd you get that?" he asked.
"It was handcrafted for me," Liara explained. "Hanse knew of a tailor that made the wedding dress for his wife, Melissa. I took the time to visit them and they made this dress for me."
"Funny. That's the same tailor that made this suit for me."
"And he did a spectacular job doing so," Liara beamed. "You, Shepard, are the picture of 'high society.'
Shepard smiled. "Ain't that the truth. I've got millions, if not billions, of SD-Bills and likely the same amount in terms of credits." Just as he said this, they arrived at their destination. "Show time," he smirked. "Ready to go to work."
"Most definitely," Liara nodded as they stepped out of the sky car once it landed.
Looking around, Shepard could see where they had landed. The entrance to the casino was up a flight of steps, though each one had a red carpet with gold trimming rolled down them. Dozens of people were standing in lines on either side, eager to get inside. A door on the upper pavilion allowed entry, though a pair of guards were standing near the door.
"Looks like they've rolled out the red carpet treatment," Shepard noted. "Where's Sortek?"
"Right here," came Sortek's voice. A moment later, Shepard watched as the Prince's Champion walked into view. Much like Shepard, he wore a three-piece suit, though Shepard could bet that Sortek was wearing a Combination Sneak Suit underneath all of that fine clothing. "You look good, Shepard," he smiled.
"Thank you," Shepard replied.
"Time for work," Sortek remarked. Once they were past the guards, who were quite easy to get by, they entered the casino proper. The flight of stairs they walked up led to a large atrium that was shaped like a C, with the Citadel's equivalent of slot machines on a pair of half walls. Past them, according to the schematics they had access to, where other games to play, such as blackjack, and even race betting. There was also a lounge on the upper floor, where there was a dance floor, as well as a bar.
"I'll head for the ventilation shaft," Sortek informed them. "Good luck you two."
"Thanks," Shepard nodded. "OK, Liara. Time to meet the 'riff-raff.' Any last input?"
"Khan has a lot of surveillance up," Liara explained. "I'd mingle with the guests if you want to look normal."
"Good thing I'm good at that." With that, they went to work.
. . .
While Shepard mingled with the rest of the patrons inside of the casino, Sortek was moving up towards the ventilation shaft he'd seen in the schematics. Good thing I learned a thing or two from Quintus after I became the Prince's Champion, he noted to himself. That man is very much the bane of any intelligence agency that is hostile to the Federated Commonwealth.
Moving past a few people, he came to the ventilation grate, which he noted was large enough that he could crouch-walk through the vent. Damn, he snarled internally when he saw a small blinking light on the panel. It's got an alarm. Fortunately, I can get around that. Just have to find the panel controlling it. Keying his comm, he said, "Liara, Shepard, meet with me ASAP." A minute later, Shepard and Liara walked up the steps. "Found the vent, but as we suspected, there's an alarm on it."
"We'll have to bypass it," Shepard decided.
"Here, use this," Liara replied, handing Shepard what looked like a pair of high tech contact lenses. "Resonance emitter lenses," she explained. "They should let you see security grids and wiring."
Putting them on, Shepard watched as security grids appeared as orange colored cones, while wiring showed up as blue, green and red lines. "Good," he smiled. "I'll follow the wiring to a junction box, splice it, and disable the alarm."
"Good," Sortek nodded. "Also, that program that EDI and Legion created should do the trick when it comes to disabling the cameras. Signal me when the alarm is down."
Nodding, Shepard proceeded towards where the line from the alarm led. It led to a junction box that was being watched by a security camera. "Here goes," he remarked as he uploaded the program. A moment later, the security grid cone turned green, indicating it was inactive. A time came up, showing him that he had around fifteen seconds before the camera came back online. Working fast, he spliced the junction box and walked away before the grid reactivated. "You're good to go," he informed Sortek.
"Moving in now," Sortek replied. Popping the hatch, he quickly began to move through, closing the vent cover before anyone spotted him. Keeping his formal attire on, he slowly began to move through the vent. A slight vibration in his left hand told him that the suit was actively jamming any sensors and scanners in the vent. So far, so good, he decided. "This will take some time. Mingle while you're at it."
Nodding, Shepard and Liara did so. While walking towards the stairs, he noticed an older man that was drinking heavily. "Enjoying the party?" he asked.
"Young people party," the older gentleman corrected. "I drink. Tonight, it's ryncol on the rocks."
"That stuff can put you down for the count," Shepard frowned.
"I just lost a staggering amount of income," the man countered. "This puts things into perspective."
"You need a few credits for a ride home, or anything?"
"Oh, no. It's not like that. You know all about those helium-3 facilities that are being wiped out or, as news would have it, being protected by Federated Commonwealth forces?"
"I've flown by a few."
"Well, to put it in layman's terms, most of those facilities were mine." Noting his lack of etiquette, the man cleared his throat and said, "My apologies. I don't think I've introduced myself. Jonah Ashland, of Eldfell-Ashland Energy."
"Shepard. Pretty fancy night out for someone worried about his financial future."
"It was my daughter Aish's idea. She's got a good heart, though she's going through a little… self-absorbed stage."
"You make it sound like she's trouble."
"My love for her is unlimited. She just gives me a lot of opportunities to prove it, but I'm pretty sure that she can change. You don't bet against something like that. Not even here." Changing the subject, he said, "Look at them all down here. Twenty years ago, you couldn't have imagined a shindig like this. Humans and Turians together like it's nothing. Council species all concerned about the fate of the Batarians… everyone trying to have sex with the Asari…"
"That's not new."
"Just seeing if you were awake."
"So, all these species in one room…"
"Yes. Nobody's afraid of each other anymore. If we win this, the galaxy's going to be one great place."
"I'll drink to that."
As he said this, Shepard felt the comm-piece in his ear vibrate. "Excuse me," he said as he walked away. Keying the comm, he said, "Yes, Sortek?"
"Got a guard below me," Sortek replied. "Distract him please."
"Got it," Shepard nodded. Moving down to the 'ground' floor of the casino, Shepard spotted who Sortek was referring to. A guard standing near the Quasar machines flashed briefly in red, with Shepard moving in. I remember spotting someone using Red Sand in the men's room when I was using the heads, he recalled. Perfect opportunity.
Walking up to the guard, he cleared his throat and said, "Excuse me. I think I saw someone using drugs in the men's room."
"I see," the guard remarked as he became more alert. "Did you identify the substance in question?"
"Red Sand."
That had the guard's attention. Keying his comm, he said, "Dispatch, we have a sand-tripper in the restrooms."
"Have they tried to compromise the games biotically?" came the response.
"Unknown at this time. Moving to confront. Send backup."
"Understood. Sending backup."
Looking at Shepard, the guard said, "Thank you for the tip sir. We'll handle it." With that, he walked off.
"Smooth," Sortek murmured over the comm. "Did you make that up?"
"Nope," Shepard replied. "Caught a whiff of the stuff when I was using the heads."
"Damn, nice catch. I'm moving along now." There was another period where Shepard had to mingle, though he could tell that things were going well so far.
"How we doing?" Shepard asked.
"Just worked my way around a pressure plate," Sortek replied. "Low tech security solution, but it works really well. I managed to bypass it; still, Khan is one paranoid asshole."
"Tell me about it," Shepard nodded.
A few minutes later, Sortek reported in. "Just reached the storage room grate. Moving in now. If this works out, I might even be able to chat with Khan, get him to let you in naturally."
"Good luck." Shepard replied.
"You too," Sortek replied. As he moved forwards, though, he spotted an alert on his omni-tool. "Damn."
"What's wrong?" Shepard asked.
"Thermal tripwire. I'll have to trigger it, but once I do, you distract the guard while EDI makes it sound like a false alarm." While Shepard did that, Sortek took the grate and gently pushed it out. Setting it down, he moved forwards, while doing what he could to prevent himself from tripping any other security measures.
As he moved towards Khan's office, he thought he heard signs of a struggle going on. Shit, he thought as he quickly moved in. Spotting the entrance to the panic room door, he quickly hacked it, before getting inside. Moving past the desk, he found Khan… only the man was now dead. "Fuck!" he snarled.
"What is it?" Shepard, moving inside, asked.
"Khan's dead," Sortek growled. "Someone got to him first, and whoever did it pulled a disappearing trick. They were gone by the time I got in here."
"Damnit!" Shepard growled. "Anything we can do?"
"No. Unless…" Moving towards the comm terminal, Sortek checked it. "Aha! They wiped the terminal, but they didn't clear the comm. I've got the guy that called Khan last, and it's your identity thief. Calling him now."
A moment later, a voice responded. "Elijah. Come crawling back?"
"Guess again, thief," Shepard growled.
"You," the identity thief snarled. "I see you've recovered from flopping on the floor like a fish."
"You'll have to do better than that," Shepard smirked. "The last guys that tried to trash talk me had 'Mechs, and one was two kilometers larger than you."
"Brave. I thought as much, but it won't matter. You have nothing. All you can do is wait for the hammer to fall."
"Not if I and my boss have anything to say about it," Sortek spoke up. "You attacked the First Prince's son, and you've incited the anger of the Federated Commonwealth in doing so. Did you really think that you could go after Shepard without the First Prince knowing about it? Besides, what did Shepard do to you to deserve this kind of bullshit?"
There was no response for a few seconds, then the thief said, "I'm going to take everything you have and everything you are." A moment later, the comm channel cut out.
"Couldn't get a trace, but at least we know more now," Sortek frowned. "I'm pulling the data drives. EDI and Legion should get more out of them than we can right now."
"Good idea," Shepard nodded. "It's time to go."
. . .
Back at the apartment, Shepard and the others were coming back inside. "Thank you, Shepard," Liara beamed. "That was fun. Well… not so much for the host."
"It wasn't a total loss," Shepard beamed.
"Here," Sortek said to EDI and Legion. "Try and get what you can from these drives. It's not much, but it should lead us to something."
"We will look into it," Legion nodded. With that, the two AI's went to work, while the others sat down and got some rest.
Shepard, though, was busy changing back into his casual wear. "Finally, I'm out of that suit," he smiled. Walking into the game room, he found Victor playing what he recognized to be Texas Hold 'em, a variation of poker, with Hastings, who had come to the apartment as well. "So, how's the war coming?" he asked.
"Not so well for me," Victor frowned. "I'm getting my ass beat by one of my guards. I thought I was good at playing poker, but he's better than me."
"Comes with the territory," Hastings smiled. "You effectively play a lethal form of poker when you're in battle." Pulling out a card from the stack, he smirked. "Straight Flush."
"Damn," Victor growled with mock-annoyance. "You win. Good game."
"Same here. You made me work for it, though."
"Yeah."
Just as he said this, Brooks came in. "Commander, I think EDI and Legion found something on the data drives."
"Perfect timing," Shepard nodded. Walking with the rest of the team back into the dining room, he asked EDI and Legion, "So, what do you have?"
"The data's root structure was erased," EDI reported, "but the logic integrity remained viable."
"We have recovered information relevant to our mission," Legion added. "We found an encrypted communication from a few days ago. Brooks-Analyst is working on it."
"I just need another minute," Brooks replied.
"A whole minute?" Joker asked. "EDI or Legion can shave that down to just five seconds."
"I felt that it was best that Brooks-Analyst improved her decryption runtimes," Legion stated.
"And you two lost your chance to show off."
"Like they need it," Brooks chuckled. "You're the crew of the Normandy. You're legends to the Alliance."
"Legends can be good or bad," Shepard countered. "Which ones are we?"
"Your the kind that people look up to. The kind they owe their lives to," Brooks explained.
"Then how come everyone's always shooting at us?" Wrex asked.
"I think it's mostly you, Wrex," Tali smirked. "The bigger the target the… uh… bigger the target."
"Are you saying I'm fat?"
"It just means that there's more of the legend to love," Liara smiled. Wrex, though, had a slight snarl, but it wasn't a threatening one.
"And the camaraderie, the friendship? I think that's your secret weapon," Brooks added.
"It's all just part of the job," Shepard shrugged.
"Same here," Victor agreed.
"Wait, job?" Garrus asked, "You mean the rest of you are getting paid for this?" At that, Sortek laughed.
Just then, Brooks decrypted the information. "Here we go," she noted. "Those mercs after you. They brought a lot of guns,, like big ones."
Looking at the info, Shepard noted the manifest. Looks like a few ATLAS spec mechs, though that's more like an armored exoskeleton by Inner Sphere standards. Beyond that, standard heavy weapons and armor.
"Mechs," Kaidan, who spotted the manifest, asked. "Why would they need those?"
"Maybe to get into a high security facility," Victor suggested. "It's what I'd do if… OH!"
"What?" Shepard asked, noting Victor's expression.
"I think I know where they're trying to get to!" Victor noted, an epiphany washing through his mind. "I think they might be trying to get into the Citadel Council's Archives!"
"The archives?" Vega asked. "What do we know about them?"
"The Council keeps sensitive historical information there," Garrus explained. "Real hush-hush. Even my old C-SEC clearance never got me in there.
"Fuck!" Sortek snarled. "I think I know what they're up to! If Shepard's records and biometrics are there, they're going to try and rewrite the biometrics so that the system recognizes the thief as Shepard!"
"Then that means we'll have to force our way in," Shepard decided. "Edward, that means you're up."
"Alright," Edward beamed. "About time I got to blow something up."
"Good," Shepard nodded. As he moved to get his gear, he heard Victor coming. "I thought you wanted to sit this out."
"Not anymore," Victor frowned. "It's high time I show people that I am just as crafty and dangerous as my father, if a little less experienced."
"Alright then. Let's go."
(Author's Q&A)
SulliMike23: Not quite. Good try, though.
Violet Toyger: I'm glad that I inspired you to write once more. I thank you for your kind words.
galacticarmor2 Alt: An interesting idea. I'll give that one a go.
StarBorn Michael: Maybe. We'll find out.
MarauderPrime12: Yep.
Chronus1326: Thank you. I felt that would be the best ending for a hard-fought victory. I also wanted to write the sushi place scene like that.
edboy4926: Two of them will be present. Not Hanse, though, he's really busy.