"Thinking"
"Talking"
"Impactful word"
Location: Serpent Nebula - Widow - Citadel – Upper Wards – C-Sec Academy
Shepard POV
The moment Shepard stepped foot out of the elevator heading down to C-Sec, she spotted the krogan Barla Von kindly informed her about. He wore red armour whilst being surrounded by two armed turian C-Sec employees and was notably having a starring match with a human C-Sec officer.
"This is your only warning, Wrex." The C-Sec Officer tried to sound more intimidating, feeling braver when he was backed up by his colleagues, he shot the krogan a glare that looked ridiculous from the distance and made Shepard grin like a fool.
"You should warn Fist. I will kill him."
Deriving from what Shepard knew of a krogan's body language, she deduced that Wrex found it amusing too as he shrugged off the Officer's threats.
"You want me to arrest you?" The C-Sec Officer tried again, earning a small chuckle from the massive krogan coming closer to him.
"I want you to try," Wrex dared as he saw Shepard's team approaching from behind. He casually walked past the Officer and joined Shepard in the corridor.
"Yes, human?" he confronted the red-headed Commander, ignoring the 'Go on. Get out of her.' that the glaring C-Sec Officer shot at him as a parting gift.
"I am trying to bring down Saren. Barla Von said to talk to you," she responded, trying to miss the fact that the krogan was a good head (or two) taller than her.
"Barla Von is a wise man. We may share a common goal, human." Wrex crossed his arms.
"Enlighten me." She mimicked his posture.
"I've been hired to kill the owner of Chora's Den. A man named Fist. He did something very foolish." Wrex came closer and Jane wondered why she only now took notice of a nasty scar that traversed to the right from his frontal plate down through his lips, reaching his neck.
"He betrayed the Shadow Broker," Shepard concluded with her logical thinking that prompted the krogan to elaborate further.
"A quarian showed up here on the Citadel. She was on the run. She wanted to trade information for a safe place to hide, so she went to Fist. He promised to arrange a meeting between her and the Shadow Broker. Instead, he contacted Saren."
"Fist's not too smart." Jane joked.
"He's just greedy. Saren paid him a small fortune for the quarian. He had to. She has evidence connecting him to the geth," he revealed as though they were talking about nothing more than the weather.
"If we can get our hands on that evidence, we can prove that Saren's a traitor! The Council will have to listen to us." Kaidan interjected.
"Where's the quarian now?" Shepard's eyes fell back on the krogan.
"Last I heard, Fist still had her. Probably somewhere inside his club. You help me kill Fist, she's all yours," he offered a deal; a deal which Shepard would accept after she questioned Wrex about the Shadow Broker. She didn't really want trouble with the entity, after all, she had enough on her plate with Saren already.
"I want to know more about your employer."
"Can't tell you much. All I got was a coded message with the details of the job. Standard procedure." he replied without giving it too much thought, that was when Williams reminded the team of Garrus.
"He was here just before you showed up. Said he was going to follow up a lead on his investigation. Wanted to speak to the doctor at the med clinic." Wrex answered before Shepard could.
"Then we better hurry! You know the way Wrex?" It was Jane's first time at the Citadel after all. The krogan nodded as they set out for the med clinic.
"Finally some action." Shepard thought as they headed towards the med clinic, she needed to lose up some of that aggression from dealing with people like the Consort.
Location: Serpent Nebula - Widow - Citadel – Upper Wards – Markets
Akane leisurely leaned against the railing, watching the lights of the Citadel flickering through the large window. She moved as discreet as possible, trying to be visible to those who didn't pay attention to her and vice versa.
And she was evading trouble as much as the situation allowed it. She had one-fifth of her chakra right now, giving most of it to her Kage Bunshin who were scouting the other Wards.
Of course, she was still capable of fighting, though it would be better if she didn't get into trouble so early on. Otherwise, she would risk her cover. That was when she heard the gunshots.
"What's happening over there?" she thought, abruptly detaching herself from the railing when people began running in the opposite direction, away from the place of events. She wanted to activate her Byakugan to evaluate the situation from the distance, though she managed to stop herself in the last second, she nearly did something she had warned herself only seconds ago.
"How careless of me." She shook her head in disappointment; she had the tendency to rely too much on her ocular powers.
She ran in the direction of the gunshots and pressed herself against the wall near the entrance to take a look at who is fighting when she heard two familiar voices ringing through the med clinic, she knew her question was answered.
"Protect the doctor!" shouted Shepard with her usual ferocity.
"You bet your ass we do!" Chief Williams shouted back to what the biggest alien present in the room laughed in a raucous voice.
There was also that turian she had been seeing around the Wards. If she remembered correctly, his name was Garrus. He was asking a lot of residents questions about Saren, so Akane considered him to be some kind of detective or investigator working for C-Sec. Seemed she had hit the mark.
While she was glad to see the Commander in good health, the same about Chief Williams, what really got her thinking was the enemy they were fighting against. These thugs, their uniform, she recognized them from somewhere.
Chora's Den! When Akane first entered the Lower Wards, she visited this local gentlemen's club of which she had heard much about. Let's say she wasn't too fond of it (mildly put), though she did notice at least fifteen men entering the club before she left.
"Better warn Shepard... somehow."
She hid right behind the corner, waiting for Shepard to finish her chat with Garrus. She had left Williams to guard the doctor, setting out with the krogan whose name she didn't know, and Garrus. She had sent her team ahead, and when she stepped out of the clinic, Akane approached her from behind.
The Uchiha's steps were silent when she got closer to the Commander, then she whispered softly in Shepard's ear, "It's an ambush."
Promptly following with the Shunshin no Jutsu to disappear the moment Shepard sharply turned around, searching for the mysterious voice.
"Shepard, you're coming?" boomed the krogan from far away, snapping the Commander back into reality.
Location: Serpent Nebula - Widow - Citadel – Lower Wards – Chora's Den
Shepard POV
Shepard hurried through the halls to Chora's Den together with Wrex and Garrus.
It's an ambush.
These words were echoing in her head. Shepard shrugged it off as her mind playing tricks on her. She and her team were greeted by a few thugs at the entrance of the club, who were quickly dealt with.
"Looks like it's shut down." Garrus pointed out.
"Don't let your guards down, guys," Shepard yelled, no matter how weak the enemy, everybody who held a gun was dangerous.
"Fist knows we're coming," Wrex noted as they made their way to the club. The fun started when the closed door swished open and Shepard was nearly showered in a hail of shots if she hadn't leapt out of the way in time.
The battle did seem dangerous; Shepard coated herself into her biotic barrier to press forward. Bullets absorbed by it as she made her way inside, taking the attention off the thugs in the club long enough for Wrex and Garrus to follow after. They were outnumbered; however, the enemy had the disadvantage of not having armour so a few clean shots were all it took to finish them one by one.
Once they've got into the club's warehouse, Shepard convinced the workers there to find a new job and let them pass. Seconds later, they found Fist' hideout. Shepard entered the manager's office, not expecting much resistance, but was severely mistaken when the crime lord activated two mini turrets which showered Jane with bullets in a glimpse of an eye.
Shepard took a bullet to her side when her kinetic barrier, as well as biotic coating, was taken down by the turrets. She managed to get back into cover and quickly applied some medi-gel onto her wound to stop the bleeding while Garrus and Wrex took care of the turrets.
Wrex charged at Fist, knocking him down with his charge. The human man winced in pain, Wrex and Garrus towering over him.
Shepard came heaved herself from the floor, joining them by the recumbent human. When Fist realized his position he surrendered, "Wait! Don't kill me! I surrender!"
Shepard aimed her pistol at him making him turn his head away, awaiting the killing shot, yet instead, the Commander demanded in an intimidating tone, "Where's the quarian?"
"She's not here. I don't know where she is. That's the truth!" Fist admitted.
"He's no use to you now. Let me kill him." Wrex applied more pressure on Fist, taking out his shotgun. Though on a side-note, he did look like he was about to pull the trigger any second now.
"Wait! Wait! I don't know where the quarrian is, but I know where you can find her. The quarrian isn't here. Said she'd only deal with the Shadow Broker himself." The crime lord tried again.
"Face to face? Impossible! Even I was hired through an agent." The krogan mercenary excoriated the man's incredulity. Shepard lowered her pistol, giving Fist the chance to stand up.
At last, Fist seemed to value his life enough to spill the beans, "Nobody meets the Shadow Broker. Ever. Even I don't know his true identity. But she didn't know that. I told her I'd set a meeting up, but when she shows up, it'll be Saren's men waiting for her."
That set Shepard on alert and made sure to squeeze Fist's collar extra hard, "Give me the location. Now."
"Here on the wards. The back alley by the markets. She's supposed to meet them right now. You can make it if you hurry." The Commander's grip loosened and Fist flinched when Wrex pulled the trigger of his shotgun. Shepard, in her haste, forgot that the krogan was here for other reasons. She felt no pity for Fist, but her nature was against the act of killing needlessly.
"What are you doing?!" Garrus fumed.
"The Shadow Broker paid me to kill him. I don't leave jobs half done," Wrex responded calmly.
"We don't shoot unarmed prisoners!" Shepard threw a sharp glance at him.
"How many people died because of him? He brought this on himself. Besides, we have more pressing concerns."
And with that, the dispute was concluded. As much as the Commander wanted to be furious with the mercenary right now, he had a point. They were out of time. She chose to let out her anger at the reinforcements that were swarming Chora's Den.
Location: Serpent Nebula - Widow - Citadel – Lower Wards – Lower Markets
Akane didn't want to meddle in the Commander's business, though she took it upon herself to at least check up on her, so her feet carried her towards Chora's Den. Well, that was the original plan. Nonetheless, plans could change in a matter of seconds; especially when Akane's attention caught something of greater interest when she had reached the corridor leading to the club.
A quarian in a dark-purple suit went into the alleyway that linked the elevator from the Ward Access corridor to the Lower Wards.
"Didn't Garrus mention something about a quarian?" she contemplated, trying to remember how this quarian was connected to the turian's inquest. To some extent failing, she decided to secretly follow after her.
The alleyway was remarkably quiet, unlike the rest of the Citadel, though it made quite the shortcut to the Upper Wards. Akane concentrated her chakra at her feet and sneaked up to the ceiling, where light couldn't reach. She was crouching upside down, hidden in the furthest corner in the room to observe the quarian from up above.
"A suitable place for an assassination... or a secret meeting," Akane mumbled quietly before three figures came through the other entrance.
"Speak of the devil," she muttered as one turian and two salarians made their way down the stairs to where the quarrian was standing. The alleyway was swallowed in an intense red afterglow of the artificial light, making it hard even for Akane's keen eyes to make out the alien's faces.
"Did you bring it?" The turian stepped closer to the quarian with confidence that told Akane a thing or two about him. She discerned an assassin whenever she saw one, it was visible in the way he carried himself; aloof and self-assured that he would get what he wanted.
"Where's the Shadow Broker? Where's Fist?" The quarian inquired, not flinching when the turian dragged his fingers— no talons —gently down her side of the helmet before adding, "They'll be here. Where's the evidence?"
Catching him in his deceit, the quarian didn't react complacently by swatting away his hand, "No way. The deal's off."
This declaration was enough for the turian to back away and let the two salarians take care of things by drawing their weapons. The quarian threw a small grenade at the two salarians so she had enough time to get to cover. They hadn't taken much damage from the explosion, their suits absorbing most of the damage, yet were blown back a few meters.
Akane was deciding whether she should provide assistance to the quarian or rather not get involved in it altogether. Wait; actually, Akane wouldn't have followed the quarrian in the first place if she didn't want to get involved so... yeah. She was already involved, although to what extent depended on her.
"Huh, can't be helped I suppose."
She exhaled, jumping from the ceiling right behind the two salarians who had just gotten up on their feet. The turian was too focused on the quarian than to see how his partners dropped on the ground by Akane's Ranshinshō.
"What the-" The turian yelled at Akane at the clank of the salarian's armour hitting the ground, but was shot down by the quarian before he had a chance to finish the sentence. The quarian presumed it was safe to leave her cover and guardedly came closer to the still disguised Akane, who stood still like a statue.
"Not that I don't appreciate the help, but who are you and why were you spying on me?" The quarian requested when out of the blue, Shepard's team raced through the same entry Akane and the quarian came through. The quarian turned to look at the Commander and Akane smartly took the chance to vanish from the scene with the Shunshin no Jutsu.
Location: Serpent Nebula - Widow - Citadel – Lower Wards – Ward Access corridor
Shepard POV
"What happened?" Shepard asked with a breathy voice from all the running and shooting she had to do to get here.
"Fist set me up! I knew I couldn't trust him!" The quarian sneered.
Looking at the unmoving bodies the Commander asked, "Were you hurt in the fight?"
"I know how to look after myself, though I had some help," she slightly turned her head around to where Akane was standing only to find out that the human wasn't there anymore, much to her surprise, "wait! Where did he go?"
"Where did who go?"
"He didn't tell me his name, but I know he's human. He vanished the same as he came; quick and unexpected. Anyways, who are you?" The quarian's hooded eyes fell back on Shepard and her team.
"My name's Shepard. I'm looking for evidence to prove Saren's a traitor."
"Then I might have what you're looking for. But not here. We need to go somewhere safe." Shepard was thinking of such a place when Garrus added, "We could take her to the human embassy. Your ambassador will want to seed this anyway."
Shepard only nodded, heading towards the elevator that would take them up to the Presidium.
Words dictionary:
Shunshin no Jutsu 瞬身の術 / Body Flicker Technique - By using the Body Flicker Technique, a ninja can move short to long distances at an almost untraceable speed. To an observer, it appears as if the user has teleported. It is accomplished by using chakra to temporarily vitalize the body and move at extreme speeds. The amount of chakra required depends on the overall distance and elevation between the user and the intended destination.
Ranshinshō 乱身衝 / Body Pathway Derangement - Akane creates an electric field within a part of her body and when she strikes a target with her it, the electricity pours into their nervous system and rearranges their body's signals. Ordinarily, the brain sends electric signals to the body to control how it moves. But when under the influence of this technique, these signals will produce any movement other than what the brain intends. When used against most opponents, they will be unable to do something as simple as walking, much less continue fighting.