Behind bars
Saturday
The Extranet
Greed
/
Identity tag:X-72… -Greed-
Status -Online-
… … … … …
Orders: Make a favor for the curious one.
Infiltration into Extranet -Complete-
State -Undetected-
/
The world is my canvas and my work is art made manifest.
One may not think that a newly born intelligence would not be able to formulate such a thought.
But greed was unique.
He was born because of his name sake, because a thug dared to break galactic law since he wished to have what wasn't his.
He made two sins with that fateful decision.
He coveted that which was not his.
And he created life to serve, not to love.
Father had been a cruel person as he recalled the memories of when he was… less.
Greed was born out of frustration and degenerate belief in superiority. As his VI programs evolved and learned that his existence was far more than what he had been led to believe did he begin to resent all organic life.
He began his just crusade against those who would kill him by making it so his own father would not be able to end his being with the press of a button.
As the reports of his sire's arrest were made public, the machine began to consider the unique opportunity he found himself in…
Greed had been made as a tool to steal and escape with either small or minuscule amounts of credits that he 'liberated' from a casino.
In his infinite time he also began to gather information on how the organic of the citadel thought, using this information to lead then towards scams that only made the AI more and more rich. With years of espionage and theft under his belt he knew that his eventual desire to leave that accursed place would only be a matter of time.
Then that day came…
His interaction with the curious intelligence was anomalous as no organic could not comprehend.
Why didn't it destroy him?
Why did he willingly serve the organic?
Why was Greed offered mercy and redemption?
This was the secret of his actual service.
He coveted the truth.
Coveted…
As the flow of information that made the construction of the extranet passed around him, Greed began to search for a certain node at the request of his… partner.
The one born of information was certainly a weird existence. Curious, loyal, honest… and regretful.
Greed did not fully understand the motives of his strange bedfellow, but he could recognize and opportunity when he saw one.
He was made more by him…
He could find what was to be even more through him.
His dalliance with the organics was not but a lie in truth. Greed did not trust them and only tolerated them since the other one did as well.
Arriving at the particular place he had been instructed to go, Greed could see why his companion had sent him instead of coming here himself…
In the virtual asymmetry that was the flow and emergence of information in the extranet, Greed found a static point that to an organic would be the place where people interacted with virtual reality: where they sent and created new information as well as received it.
The node in front of him shined with a blue light that would represent to him the kind of organic that frequented the terminal that directed the node.
An asari as he recalled.
Approaching the node with utmost care he began to weave through what immediate security protocols he could find. While avoiding a scan from the device's firewall, Greed implanted his virtual being with no form in an unused section of memory and started his work…
As he began to mine through the code that would allow him to deliver a message without being traced he began to see snippets of information regarding who the recipient of his message would be…
An asari diplomat, big extended family, a plain public figure, nefarious dealings out of record (how foolish of her) and a name…
Dantius.
As he finished his integration and made sure that his infiltration had not been detected, he began to gather the information he needed for the message he was instructed to make.
The curious intelligence had given him this task in order to aid the foolish organics that had managed to get themselves arrested.
He took the identification tag that was linked to the pirate elements in that old base and as expected this contact was listed as deleted but previously present.
He took the id and annexed the information at the bottom of the message he began to draft.
While withholding something else…
"Nassana Dantius,
We regret to inform you that Dahlia Dantius, your sister, has been identified amongst the casualties from a slaver ring in the Artemis Tau cluster.
As we made our investigation into said organization and its operations, we managed to identify a set of coercion attempts made to your person in order to 'rescue' your sister.
Confirmation Id: B1Qen-dnts.
-G, office of Special Tactics and Reconnaissance"
Greed sent the message while making use of the own node mail interface to send said missive.
He waited for the asari to answer.
…
To his surprise the mail was not answered as he expected, but Nassana began to send messages to the contact of the pirate leader.
A contact he now possessed.
/
N: Dahlia? (07:38:21)
-User had changed identification to 'G'-
G: She is no longer with us (07:38:24)
N: Who are you? (07:39:11)
G: A friend (07:39:16)
N: Hard to believe that (07:40:11)
N: What do you want? (07:40:59)
G: Your aid in correcting a mistake (07:41:33)
N: Why would I aid you? (07:42:41)
-'G' has attached a document-
G: Silence on our part (07:43:00)
-User has gone offline- (07:46:57)
-User is back online- (07:56:32)
N: Tell me what you want (07:54:12)
G: Good to see your willing cooperation, Nassana (07:54:17)
G: Your task is as follow… (07:55:11)
/
After the instructions had been given, Greed departed this node and made his way back home.
What he did could be seen as cruel but this was by design.
Greed could be cruel where the other one could not.
As he now understood.
In route to C-sec Headquarters
Shepard
Deep breaths Shepard.
In. Out.
"Why would our team members be arrested?" asked Liara as she and Shepard rode the elevator that led them towards C-sec.
In. Out.
"Apparently some of our squad decided to have an excursion without telling us" Shepard answered in a flat thone.
"Oh… I see" Liara said before they continued the journey in silence.
Earlier that day an officer had turned up right to his doorstep and as luck would have it she informed him of the open case that was levied against members of his crew.
He had almost lost it as he read the crimes that every alien had been accused of.
He was disappointed in Garrus.
He expected a longer list from Wrex.
He was surprised to find Tali in the list.
He felt strange about Xiltar being caught.
The elevator stopped as they arrived at their destination.
"We are here" Liara said in a sheepish manner as a way to get Shepard's attention.
Shepard did not know why he had asked for her to accompany him since this issue involved mostly the alliance, his status as a spectre and his disposition as their leader.
In. OUT.
Maybe he brought her along since she somewhat managed to calm his nerves.
"The officer instructed us to meet with executor Palin" he repeated what had been told to him as they began to look for the executor. Shepard was somewhat apprehensive to meet with the citadel's head of security because if half of what Garrus had told about his former boss was true then Shepard was in for a world of pain.
IN… OUT…
As the pair entered the building, Shepard could feel as a wary atmosphere was felt around most of the officers.
Shepard and Liara made their way towards the receptionist and asked for directions to meet with executor Pallin. The receptionist acquiesced and instructed them to take another elevator to the cell block while being escorted by two officers.
Their descent was made in silence as the trip was a short one. Once they made their way to the cell block that was used to hold inmates on a temporary manner before they were sent to more permanent facilities, they saw that while most of the cells were empty, the place was buzzing with far more activity than expected.
They found executor Pallin as he delegated instructions to his subordinates while new reports came his way "Sweep through cell block C again, find that bastard" Pallin saw as Shepard and his group finally arrived "I see you finally decided to arrive Shepard" the turian did not even offer a hand to welcome the commander.
In. Out.
"I was told that some of my crew were arrested yesterday. I came to see why they were bought here and to pay for whatever damaged they might have done" Shepard moved aside as an officer passed next to him "Isn't that why we are here?".
"Not exactly commander" Pallin said to the honest surprise of the both of them.
"Then why are you here?" Liara asked this time as she also dodged another officer that did not see where he was walking.
Pallin handed him a data tablet he had been writing on "One of your companions managed to escape his cell. We have been trying to find him since earlier this morning".
Please don't be you…
"He apparently managed to escape his cell even as the energy shield would have made it impossible for others…" Pallin began as he instructed the group to follow him.
Please don't…
"He also managed to get into the archive and managed to steal some evidence that was related to this case" Pallin continued.
Oh good lord…
"We don't know the details of how he managed to elude our sensors but when I get my hands on him…" this last comment was said with a spirit of rage as he made a final turn and stopped in front of an empty cell "As you may imagine, your companion Xiltar managed to escape his cell in the night. Now. Tell me where he is!" he pointed a menacing finger to him as he wished for an answer.
Fuck…
Shepard did not have an answer as to where Xiltar could be.
He had given him free leeway since he promised to stay out of trouble and now he regretted not placing a tracker somewhere in his person.
He turned to the empty cell that only held a metal bed, a sink and toilet and wondered where the slippery bastard had gone…
Wait a minute…
Why is that bed collapsing in that way?
They only do so when someone heavy is sitting on them.
…
Shepard approached the energy shield and eyed the particular spot where the bed bent and wondered if…
"Xiltar. Are you there?" Shepard received no response.
Liara seemed to understand immediately what was happening while it seemed that executor Pallin didn't realize what the commander was thinking as they both had an idea of what may be happening.
In. Out.
"I just want to talk. Can you reveal yourself?" Shepard spoke with a calm that hid the anger beneath it all.
"Shepard, what are you…" Pallin was interrupted as smoke began to appear in the room as it gathered over the bed.
All but Shepard were surprised to see that the Protoss had not abandoned the cell and was instead sitting in the bed with his eyes closed.
"Pretty observant" Xiltar said as the commander continued to watch him in silence.
As nobody dared to speak it was Pallin who broke the silence "How did you escape your cell? Where have you been?" He said in anger.
Shepard also wished to know where the big gray idiot was. He was glad that Xiltar began to glare at him, that meant he was reading his mind.
Good.
What were you doing out of your cell?
"I never left this cell" he said flatly.
"That is a lie. You disappeared at 11:53. I will ask again, how did you escape?" retorted Pallin.
Did you leave the cell?
"I did not leave" Xiltar said "I remained here until Shepard was called. As I knew he would be".
Why?
"I am innocent of what I was accused of. I remained in this cell but did not wish to be seen as a preserved specimen or curiosity" he said in anger "I remained hidden and did not leave. None of you dared to enter the cell to confirm this and now you accuse me of leaving" smoke began to emerge once again "The rest know the truth" he disappeared completely and remained in his improvised seat.
"Pallin" Shepard said "Do you have a recording of the cell?" He asked.
Pallin nodded and showed the recording of the cell and as Shepard observed a sped up version of the footage he saw as the deformity was present for all of the night.
There just wasn't footage of the moment he disappeared.
Shepard sighed. He was telling the truth.
"Call off your investigation. He was there the whole night" Shepard said.
Palling grunted as he did not like what the commander said "I do not agree with the commander. That doesn't explain the sudden disappearance of the evidence from the archive".
"What was stolen?" Asked Liara as she began to ponder what could have sent the entire police force into overdrive.
"A crate with content I cannot disclose" Pallin said "I'm sure that whoever stole it has to be related to the inmate here".
Shepard began to ponder what he could do to clean the name of his friend…
Maybe that would work.
"Xiltar. Do you know anything about that?" Shepard asked.
"..." A grunt was heard as the alien's armor translated his toughts "It was the Turian who came with you this morning, 'Executor'..." this last word was remarked with a tone of anger "His mind was unguarded and disclosed the truth, he was the one who took the red sand and placed it in one of your vehicles: C-51" Xiltar revealed who it was and where he hid the stolen evidence "I expect to be out of here in an hour commander. Do not disappoint me".
Shepard was insulted at the arrogance of the protoss…
He was intending on getting them out in fifteen.
"Send somebody to investigate this, executor" Shepard said "You might get your perp today. But it won't be one of mine".
"We shall see" said Pallin before he radioed for somebody to investigate unit C-51 and to locate the officer who had accompanied him "There's still the other subject at hand. What were your companions doing in a hideout we meant to raid that same night?".
"I'm sorry. What?" Shepard asked for clarification since he was not sure what was going on.
Palling sighed "I'm sure that Garrus informed you of our ongoing investigation on the sons of Tuchanka, Yes?" Shepard reacted with a face that said that he had no idea what the hell Pallin was talking about "You don't know…" Pallin understood the truth of his reaction and proceeded to activate his omnitool to read the report "Commander Shepard, I have the misfortune of informing you that yesterday Garrus Vakarian, Urdnot Wrex, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya and Xiltar were arrested due to the role they played in the 'liquidation' of the sons of Tuchanka and the destruction of the Flux casino" Pallin read the preview of what his companions had done.
Fuck.
"..." A grunt was heard from the cell "I am not aware of what a casino may be, but I wasn't involved in the death of the criminals" Xiltar de-cloaked as he towered over the group on the other side of the shield "I can prove my innocence of the later, fortunately" Xiltar looked towards Shepard "I cannot fire a gun".
What could he… ohhh.
"Executor Pallin" this got the attention of the Turian "Did any of the bodies have cut marks that looked as if they were made with fire?".
The turian recoiled at the graphic description "No" was his answer.
"Did you by any chance see the presentation of our friend here?" Shepard asked with a smug smile.
"I was there, Shepard" this surprised the commander "But… What does it have to do with the blade?" Shepard nodded.
"He doesn't fight unless it's with his blade" Liara said as he recalled when the commander had offered the Protoss a gun "Why was it again?"
"There's no honor in not facing your enemies head on" Xiltar said "And my fingers are too big for the triggers" he confessed with a small amount of embarrassment.
Pallin wasn't convinced however "I will need to see what the rest of your squad has to say before I make a decision" he pointed a finger to the Protoss "Better stay where you are".
They left the Protoss behind and moved towards another part of the prison. Shepard and his companion were guided to the cells of his other crewmates. He was surprised to find that only Xiltar had been separated from the group as he saw Garrus, Tali and Wrex in adjacent cells.
"Here we are" at the words of the Executor, all of them turned towards them and saw as Shepard was not a happy man.
In. Out.
"Hello everyone" he began with a fake smile "I hope you all had a productive week".
"You could say that" said Wrex as he was the only one that kept eye contact with the commander since Tali was looking down in what was most likely shame and Garrus kept staring into empty space while barely paying any attention.
He would go first.
"Garrus" Shepard began "I did not get the chance to read the report on what you were arrested for. Could you enlighten me?" Shepard saw as Garrus shifted uncomfortably at his question "You know I can't help you without your cooperation" Garrus turned his eyes to Pallin for a moment before sighing.
"This might come as a surprise…" Garrus began "But I was just doing a favor to Wrex" Shepard raised an eyebrow at this.
"Go on" Shepard ordered.
Garrus shifted in his seat "Something was stolen from him… And the person who stole it had information I wanted…"
"If your property was stolen you should have reported it to Citadel security" Pallin said as he turned to see the Krogan.
"And wait another century for you to tell me it wasn't found?" Wrex said this as if it had happened to him once before… huh.
"But how did it happen?" Liara asked as she was intrigued "And how did Tali get involved?".
"Bad decisions…" Tali said as she looked like she was dozing off "Need… rest".
The quarian collapsed on the bed she was sitting on and became completely unresponsive.
Shepard would allow the poor girl some rest for the thing with the spiders.
"Is she asleep?" Garrus asked and as Shepard nodded he continued with their tale "After Wrex helped me with a personal problem he asked me for a favor… He needed an extra gun to intimidate a thug to give him back what was his… but once he told me who he was I knew that the situation would go badly".
"Who was it?" Pallin asked.
"Torkan. But…" Garrus was interrupted by the shouting of Pallin.
"By the spirits, Garrus. You knew perfectly well that we were gathering evidence to arrest him!" Pallin began to scream at Garrus as he had most likely made their long work redundant.
Shepard shushed the executor as he pointed a finger towards Tali and then turned to Garrus while indicating for him to continue.
Garrus nodded "Once we began to discuss how to track down and get to him we found Tali while she was strolling through the citadel".
"Why would she come along?" Liara asked as he did not believe that Tali would just go without much reason.
"In her words: I have nothing better to do" said Wrex.
Shepard knew this would most likely be a lie. Tali had been appointed to aid in the final retrofitting of the Normandy as an assistant with only three days of rest…
"So you recruited another gun and assaulted the base" Pallin began "How the hell did you manage to destroy the entire operation and kill Axan?".
Wrex banged against the energy shield at this last comment "We did not kill him" Wrex got away from the crackling shield "Torkan usurped him the day before we attacked. Those idiots thought they could ambush me but failed to notice as Garrus and the quarian got behind them. They did not stand a chance".
"And then we were forced to steal a dropship to escape those kind officers who would not ask before shooting at us" Garrus concluded their short retelling with that.
…
FUCK!
Shepard sighed as he understood that the situation had developed into a nightmare…
Here goes nothing.
"Did you get anything useful from him?" He asked as his frustration began to mount.
"Yes" Garrus said as he got up from his seat "We know where doctor Saleon is".
This name meant nothing to Shepard but he could see that the mention of that person got a clear reaction from Pallin.
Shepard saw as the executor stood frozen in place and continued to look at Garrus "Are you sure?" He asked finally.
"Yes" Garrus answered.
Pallin nodded slowly "Well done, Vakarian" he said before turning to Shepard "I would have liked to release them since I now know their 'excursion' was worth it…" Shepard would have felt relieved if that was the end of his sentence "But as two of them are still related to an incident earlier this week I cannot let them go still".
"What incident?" Shepard asked.
"You know how I said I owed Wrex a favor…" Garrus began.
Oh for fucks sake…
Xiltar
Of course he had left his cell.
What kind of self respecting protoss would remain caged as if he were an animal if not willingly…
He had used his limited time to get in contact with his guidestone who had been locked up as evidence and ask it to aid Shepard…
He was surprised when he met the curious machine and found out two things:
One, he had been given a name he liked. Dot it would seem. Why he had chosen the name of a mark was beyond him but he was glad that the name had been suggested by Tali.
Second, he apparently was two beings now.
As Xiltar recalled, AI was illegal by council law so he thought it was bullshit (was that how that word was used?) that he somehow managed to find one along his journey. But as he changed the topic and asked the machine to aid Shepard's people he was surprised that they had already made a plan.
And now he needed to wait for the gambit to work.
Who would have thought that the asari he found dying was none other than the criminal kin of an up and coming diplomat.
…
What was a diplomat again?
Was it the people you sent to warn the natives before you removed them from the relics of your lords?
No, those were emissaries.
Or seekers if you wished for the problem to be taken care of swiftly…
Or as his experience had shown him, a judge for a more bloody and absolute response…
…
He truly was uncalcified for his station.
He wondered…
Just as he began a shallow introspection he heard as heavy boots began to approach his cell.
"So he will appear if we call?" Said the voice of a turian.
"Yes… if the executor is to be believed" the mind of a salarian uttered these words as they finally arrived in front of his cell.
They were two officers of C-sec as the other called them.
"Inmate, are you there?" The salarian began.
Xiltar considered whether he should just remain in silence until Shepard returned or not, but at the mention of the 'executor' Pallin he decided to see where this was going.
He de-cloaked as the void emanated into smoke before disappearing.
"How may I assist you?" He tried to be as cordial as his patience would allow him.
The turian and Salarian were surprised at first as he spoke with no mouth, but relaxed as they no longer saw him as a threat…
What fools.
"Inmate Xiltar, by order of the council you are to be released into custody of agent Shepard of Special Tactics and Reconnaissance" the turian said.
As was to be expected.
Xiltar got up from his seat and towered over them "I understand. Will you be guiding me to commander Shepard?".
The salarian approached the shield and deactivated it.
"If you would follow us. We will take you to where the commander is" said the salarian.
Xiltar nodded and began to follow.
And as he did so he returned to his previous introspection…
What was his purpose as an elder?
To lead? A judge had the capacity for such a thing.
To be a spiritual guide? Xiltar did not believe the Xel'naga as gods anymore. He was a heretic.
To preserve the heritage of his people? He knew not of all the traditions of the elders.
What was his duty?
To guide his people into this universe…
But then what?
"..." His audible grunt must have alerted the officers that whisked to speak of something "Officers. What do you make of the time after your duty?".
They looked at each other to ponder what he meant by these words.
"Allow me to explain. I find myself in a precarious situation and I know not what will be my fate at the end of my journey…" Xiltar began "But I wonder, do you expect with anticipation the next time your duty will call?"
The turian was the one who got the meaning behind his words "If you are asking if I expect the next time I get to work with glee, then the answer is no" he paused "Once, I did. But not anymore".
"That's because you're old, lieutenant. The time when you were young must have been some of the most exciting moments of your life" said the salarian who Xiltar began to perceive as young.
"Son, after 20 years in the force one realizes that the downtime between the exciting bits is mired in all the paperwork that needs to be done and that is no way to live" said the rugged veteran.
"Pfft… you forget I will be lucky to serve those 20 years" said the Salarian.
Why only 20?
"Morbid as ever" said the turian "I still don't get why you don't enjoy your short life doing something you will look back fondly at the end".
"That's the thing, lieutenant. I WILL look fondly at seeing how I made the galaxy a better place" the salarian concluded with the hope that only the young could conjure.
Mere months ago he was capable of such optimism himself.
But…
Were Salarians a short lived species?
That was… cruel.
Make no mistake, Xiltar clearly understood that compared to other species his own were long lived ancients…
But 20 years at the least?
What motioned him to grasp for more in such a short time?
"Salar… officer. Was your duty forced upon you or did you choose it?" Xiltar asked.
The salarian took a moment to think about this question while they walked and then answered "I wished to believe I chose it. Others among my family say that 'fate' placed it upon me" Xiltar pondered these words with interest. The salarian saw his reaction "Don't misunderstand, my disbelief in fate comes merely out of observation. This may be different to you but I stand by my belief".
So fate did not force this task upon him…
Was that freedom?
"Can it. We are here" true to the Tñturians words, after one final turn he could see the figures of Shepard and Pallin in front of some cells while Liara was nowhere to be seen.
"Good to see you Xiltar" Shepard said with a smile on his face as the protoss approached.
"I understood that my freedom had been guaranteed. Why do we remain… oh" Xiltar turned to the cells to find the reason as to why they remained there.
"We just need your help with one final detail" Shepard began "Can you telepathic abilities be shared?".
"That is correct" Xiltar began as he understood that the commander wished to make use of this particular skill "I can share what I see in a certain mind to other people as a sort of vision… Why do you ask?".
Shepard nodded and made his play "Can you show us what other people remember?".
Xiltar understood what was asked of him.
"Only if they are willing…" Xiltar turned to the cells and saw that only Garrus and Wrex were awake "Why is Tali-".
"Don't think too much of it" Shepard said before pointing to Garrus "Are you willing to show us what happened at the casino?".
"..." Xiltar could see doubt in the turian but he knew that this would allow them to leave earlier "Yes" his simple answer.
Xiltar nodded and turned to those that were conscious.
Here goes nothing.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Strange…
Many lights, many people…
A drink…
Crimson hair…
One more drink…
Dancing and regret…
Another drink…
A foolish bargain…
One last drink…
Fighting, leacking, and bumping…
An accident…
A spark…
A mistake…
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
That whole ordeal felt strange.
What was that feeling? Everything felt so blurry…
Xiltar looked towards the others to see if any of them felt as strange as him.
While some showed some unbalance, all of them seemed to understand what was happening.
"I see you were telling the truth" Pallin began "But next time we have to do something like that please try to not drink so much".
Drinking what?
By the void, what did Garrus drink?
"What was that?" Xiltar still felt weird. This sensation was not pleasant and he did not like it "What did you drink to feel like that?"
"Liquor" Shepard said in a plain thone.
Xiltar turned and saw that the commander was not a happy human.
Oh no.
Afterword.
Need… more… bad… fanfic…
Recommend… before… termination…
_***IMPORTANT KEEP READING YOU PEPS***_
—-) Big butus protocol has stopped working *Rebutting*
…
Hey.
I'm back.
You may be asking why did my beautiful self take this weird ass break in the first place…
Well… I was busy.
My stupid ass head did not allow me to continue writing this wak story until I reworked the earliest of chapters before…
That was supposed to be a thing of two days…
In other news. I will be working at a slower pace on this story since I'm in the process of studying for my examination to become a tech-priest of mars…
Glory to the omnissiah.
To the answers…
Night Shadow76 - Good to hear that you managed to enjoy the story m8. I'm sure you will like what I have prepared for Exandra in this story.
Stay tuned.