The First and the Last

Two: Hades' Dogs

The shuttle sped through the lanes of Omega traffic, ducking and weaving between aircars as they put as much distance between themselves and the Tuhi District as they could. The Human woman eyed Liara and Feron, glancing back frequently through the tinted windows to see if they were being followed. The Kodiak's cockpit was walled off from the transport compartment of the shuttle, and Liara didn't know if there were more of the armoured soldiers on the other side of the blast-proof door. She fidgeted nervously as they accelerated through the traffic, drawing her breaths sharply as the Kodiak swayed back and forth between strips of traffic.

"You shouldn't worry," the woman said to her. "Our pilot knows what he's doing – ex-Alliance Navy, decorated at Elysium. You're in safe hands."

"And whose hands are those?" Liara asked.

"My name's Miranda Lawson. I'm an operative with a Human organization called Cerberus."

The name rang familiar in Liara's mind. Memories came back from her time on the Normandy, to a series of grotesque experiments that they had stumbled upon while scouring the Traverse for Saren: biological weapons experiments involving Thorian Creepers and repurposed Rachni. Toombs, alongside Shepard the only other survivor of Akuze, had said they planned the massacre in their efforts to study Thresher Maws. Beyond that, Liara knew them only as a group dedicated to the advancement and supremacy of Humanity above and beyond the other races of Citadel Space.

She scowled as she looked back at Miranda, regarding her with a mix of disdain and anger. "Yes, I've heard of you. We came across several of your experiments while hunting for Saren. They were grotesque." She rose from the storage crate she was seated on and advanced a step toward Miranda, causing the soldier near the door to grip his rifle more tightly. "You murdered an Alliance admiral. You were behind the Akuze Massacre!"

"I assure you, Doctor T'Soni, that I have no knowledge of any of the alleged actions you speak of. Nor would I care even if we did have a past history." She glanced out the window at the sprawling vista of Omega, the dense night air choked by smoke from the fires lit below them. "We're working towards the same goal now."

"And what is that?" Liara asked acidly.

"Finding Commander Shepard."

Liara's voice was cold when she replied. "Shepard is dead."

"I know. But he's beaten the odds before."

"What do you mean?"

"We believe there is a way to bring Shepard back. Help us and I'll tell you more."

"Lawson, we've got two bogies in pursuit." The voice from the shuttle's cockpit betrayed the urgency of their plight.

"Dammit." Miranda glanced at Liara and Feron. "We were lucky we got to you when we did, but it appears we still have company." She wrapped her left knuckle against the door to the cockpit, prompting a glass screen to open. "Outrun them. We need to get to the uplink soon."

"Copy that" was the only response from the cockpit. The screen closed, and Liara immediately felt a notable change in the hum of the engines. The pilot gunned the throttle, sending their shuttle into a sharp dive out of the skylanes. Liara lost her balance and tumbled into Feron, sending them both sprawling across the floor of the Kodiak shuttle.

"You may want to hang on," Miranda advised as the pilot pulled them out of their downward run and spun the shuttle in between two sprawling towers of prefab shelters. Liara grabbed the handle nearest her, but Feron was too slow to react and again flailed wildly as he was thrown across the shuttle. They banked left, then right, and Feron finally managed to grip the roof of the shuttle after skidding across the floor once more.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," was all the Drell managed as he dragged himself to a standing position. "You sure we're being followed?"

"Beyond a doubt." Miranda again glanced through the darkened window. "Three black-box shuttles, possibly a gunship as well. Difficult to say from this angle."

"Can't we fight them?"

"Not all at once. The gunship you could probably take down given enough time and firepower on the ground," Miranda's eyes went to Liara's pistol, "but our current armory wouldn't fare well."

"So we have to lose them," Liara surmised as the pilot threw the shuttle into a near-vertical climb, dipping the shuttle to the right as they twisted upward beside the towering smokestack of an abandoned industrial sight. Miranda nodded amidst the vertigo of the climb levelling out another four hundred feet up. "Once that's done, where are you taking us?"

"To a secure location. My employer wishes to speak with you but we dare not do so in the open on Omega."

Their pilot's route afforded Liara a stunning view of the station's sprawling industrial district. Warehouses and long burnt-out factories dotted the landscape, the odd active site illuminated magnificently by the fires that burned in their depths. The traffic here was considerably lessened from the Tuhi District. Shadows danced across the sprawl as a handful of aircars and transports scurried between the factories, all of them looking like miniatures from their height.

"Have we lost them?" Feron looked around nervously, craning his neck to get a narrow view out of the window on his side of the Kodiak.

"I don't think so," Miranda replied, glancing out of the opposite window. She put her free hand to her ear. "Any sight of them?"

"No," the pilot replied from the cockpit, "but I'm not taking my chances. I'm taking us low to avoid spotters." The shuttle dropped into another manic descent, hurtling rapidly for a narrow crevasse between two lines of factories. Liara's heart skipped a beat as they pulled up just above the rocky floor of the industrial zone. Their pilot was methodical and exact, carefully guiding the Kodiak amidst the tangled mess of pipelines and generators that seemed to close in around them. Liara felt claustrophobic amidst the winding maze of metal, but Miranda and Feron seemed to pay it no mind.

"How did you know we were here?" Liara asked as she turned to face Miranda.

"We have our ways. I would say more but my knowledge of the particulars of our intel network is deliberately limited."

"So how did your employer know?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself?"

The Kodiak suddenly banked right, swaying Liara against the wall of the shuttle as she gripped the handle with every ounce of her resolve. The Kodiak accelerated as they raced for the rock wall of the asteroid. At the last moment, Liara spotted a lone, hollowed-out ventilation port nestled near the base of the rock face, and their pilot gunned the engines as they raced towards it. Liara held her breath as they ducked into the corridor, while Feron looked skyward and pressed his free hand to his forehead. If the maze of industrial buildings had seemed confined, then the ventilation shaft was even worse: there was barely five feet of maneuvering room on either side of them – one wrong move and they would die in this labyrinth of rock. Liara peered nervously through the window as the shuttle weaved through the narrow tunnel. The rock face of the walls gradually gave way to refined metal or durasteel. They could have been anywhere in the station – right below Afterlife, near the industrial district, even further down in the bowels of the station that extended below the asteroid itself.

After three minutes of navigating through the ventilation shaft, the shuttle came to an abrupt halt in the midst of the corridor. Miranda abandoned her perch against the opposite window and reopened the narrow screen in the door to the cockpit. She spoke a few, indecipherable words in hushed tones to the pilot, before nodding and sealing the screen behind her. Liara pitched forward as the hatch behind her swung open, barely missing the metal wall next to them as it extended to its full height.

"This is our stop," Miranda said simply as she drew her sidearm – a strange, white-patterned pistol that Liara didn't recognize. Turning, she strode to the edge of the Kodiak and hopped over the side, coming to rest six feet below where the shuttle was hovering. "Follow me."

Liara and Feron did as Miranda commanded, leaping off the shuttle and joining her. The Kodiak's door swung closed and the shuttle accelerated into the distance, disappearing rapidly in the tangled turns of the corridor. "Relax," Miranda cautioned them both when she saw the apprehensive look on Feron's face, "we won't need the shuttle where we're going."

Miranda led them down another, narrower corridor to the left, one that seemed to shrink with every foot they progressed. After about two minutes, all three of them were crouching low to the ground as they made their way forward. The rock gradually gave way to pipes, and Liara could see light shining through the narrow ventilation slits, spraying the far wall with a dazzling pattern of soft orange light. Miranda moved ahead of them, ducking behind another corner and out of sight.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Feron whispered to Liara as they crawled through the aeroducts in the bowels of the station. He slowed to a stop as Liara readjusted her knees in the cramped confines of the corridor. "Do you have any idea who these people are? Just look at the logos and uniforms!"

"I know exactly who they are," Liara whispered through gritted teeth. "But I have my own reasons for being here."

"And you think they'll honour them? They're a Human supremacist group! A Council seat isn't enough for them. Do you honestly think they care why you're here?"

Liara shook her head. "And it doesn't matter. They're evil, but if that's what's necessary to find Shepard's body then so be it." She pivoted to stare intently into Feron's strange eyes. "Nobody else cares about his fate. Not the Council, not the Alliance, not even his friends." Those last words stung Liara's being to say, but they seemed the most genuine she had ever said.

"Hey," Miranda's head poked around the corner in the duct. "This is the place. Follow me." Liara and Feron did as they were told, turning the corner to see Miranda working open a small maintenance door on the floor of the ventilation shaft. "Clear?" she shouted down. Seemingly satisfied with the response, she motioned down through the gap to Liara before lowering herself through it. The opening was barely wide enough for the Cerberus agent to nudge her shoulders through, and Liara grimaced at the thought of getting her armour through such a narrow gap. Peering down through the maintenance door, Liara saw Miranda dusting herself off, flanked by two soldiers in armour nearly identical to the guards that had been on the Kodiak shuttle. Bracing her knees for the impact, Liara dropped herself out of the ventilation shaft, landing in a crouch eight feet below.

It was impossible to tell what part of the station they had found themselves in; the room had no windows and no identifying markers. But the air in this part of the station was noticeably cooler, suggesting to Liara that they had moved away from the core of the station and into one of the lower districts cut off from the heat generated by mining equipment and industrial fires. In addition to her, Miranda, and Feron, there were four Cerberus soldiers, each in identically-patterned armour and holding identically-patterned assault rifles. Both of the doors out of the chamber were locked and encrypted, and Liara found that her comms unit was being jammed.

Miranda paced hurriedly back and forth across the room, checking and re-checking datalists on her omnitool. Squinting at the data in front of her, she turned to one of the Cerberus soldiers standing against the door to Liara's right. "Are we alone?"

"Yes."

"Were you followed?"

"We have been here for fifteen hours. Overwatch was provided. We have not established contact with agents of Suns, Eclipse, or Broker. To our knowledge, we are alone."

"Do they suspect that we are here?"

The soldier shook his head. "We used the intel obtained from the Gozu operation to enter the station. All comms in and out of this chamber are being jammed."

"And the uplink? Is it established?"

"It is. We faked tapping into the station's systems to throw off the pursuit but the quantum link is strong. Tested this morning. We'll dismantle it once you're gone without a trace. Usual liquidation procedures will be followed."

Miranda contemplated all this, nodding to herself as she glanced at the door. "Excellent." She turned to Liara, motioning for her to come closer. As Liara approached, the lock on the door in front of her deactivated, the indicator switching from red to green. "My employer will see you now, Liara. When you enter the room, stand on the disc in the center of the room and remain stationary. Our technology will do the rest."

The doors opened to reveal a blackened room, the windows blocked by large rows of equipment that hummed with a soft energy and light, giving the room a distinctly blue tinge as Liara entered. The lights were killed, with a single, solitary circle illuminated in the center of the room. Cautiously, Liara stepped in as she had been instructed, feeling the smooth disc spin to life. The machines around her whirred faster and faster, and Liara was suddenly aware of the room around her changing. No longer a darkened room in the darkest corner of Omega, she beheld instead the magnificent vista of a multicolored giant star. The edges positively glowed blue with heat, while the segment directly in her view was nearly scarlet. Yet it was ever so slightly off-kilter, the view tinged by the fuzziness of an interstellar hologram. It seemed this meeting would not occur in person.

As the hologram crystallized in front of her, a lone figure came into view, seated with his back to her in an elegant, yet simple chair that looked out on the stars at the edge of the hologram. The man's hair was silver-grey, rigidly cut to perfectly match the lines of his suit. As the man stood to face her, Liara was drawn to his eyes, which glowed with a faint blue that was off-putting. As he walked towards her in the hologram, Liara made a mental map of the details in the face: he was older, yet still in excellent physical shape. His right hand held a single tumbler of bronze-tinged liquid, and he advanced on her with a casual pace that still betrayed the air of authority and utter calm that this man held around him.

"Doctor T'Soni," the man said simply. "Welcome." His voice was like silver, flowing smoothly and authoritatively through the room.

"Who are you?" was all Liara could manage.

"I've been called many things in my time – terrorist, fanatic, visionary, genius, madman. I am all of them and none of them; it does not matter. To you, and to those I employ, I am the Illusive Man."

Stories had circulated about this man for years. What had Liara expected to see? She certainly did not picture someone so calm, so seemingly humble and charming. And for one wanted dead by so many interstellar organizations, she had not expected the head of Cerberus to work in such ornate facilities. "I had thought that we would be meeting in person, Illusive Man."

The Illusive Man paused, drawing a sip from his glass and setting it on a small pedestal that rose from the floor to greet it. "A necessary precaution. A man of my position has…enemies. And Omega is not as predictable as it once was." He took another sip, and brought his eyes to focus straight at Liara. "Finding you on this station proved far harder than anticipated."

"What do you want with me?"

"We share a mutual interest in a missing person."

Liara comprehended immediately. "Shepard. What do you want with him?"

The Illusive Man nodded. "Shepard is unique, one of the greatest examples of our species – a symbol for all of Humanity to follow. Dead or alive, we want Shepard back in Human hands," he paused for a moment, "and unlike the Alliance, we are willing to act."

"Shepard is dead. What could you possibly want with a corpse?"

"My motivations are not your concern – yet. For now, know that his body deserves better than its current fate. I don't expect you to understand our traditions. What matters is that we are not the only ones who want Shepard's body."

Liara thought back to the mercenaries that had tried to corner her and Feron in Afterlife, to the Blue Suns that had nearly captured or killed them. "The Shadow Broker? What does the Broker have to do with this?"

He paced to the side, pulling a cigarette from his jacket pocket and lighting it in one swift motion. "The Shadow Broker has made a deal with the devil: he has been hired to deliver Shepard's body to a species known as the Collectors."

Liara knew the term, but only vaguely. "What can you tell me about them?"

The Illusive Man tapped on his omnitool and brought up a number of schematics concerning the species. A broad, insect-like face with multiple sets of eyes that sloped upward along the crest of the skull. A chitinous exoskeleton covered much of the creature's body, with wispy wings protruding from the back.

"They operate out of the Omega 4 Relay – aside from their own vessels, no other ship has returned from a journey through the relay. Their technology is substantially more advanced than ours, and they frequently trade this tech to slavers and mercenaries in exchange for fulfilling odd requests – usually for live cargo."

Liara gulped, fully understanding the Illusive Man's meaning. "What sort of live cargo?"

He pulled up another schematic, indicating a long list of known Collector transactions with major mercenary groups. There was no discernable pattern to the transactions, save that the Collectors seemed to want atypical biological subjects – two dozen left-handed Batarians, fifteen Asari with undeveloped biotic tendencies, the like. "They pay slavers and merc groups exorbitant sums or trade startlingly advanced tech samples, collect their requested subjects, and then vanish back beyond the relay."

"What do they want them for?"

"The motives of the Collectors are unknowable, though likely experimentation of some kind. To what purpose? No one knows." The Illusive Man furrowed his iron-coloured brow, regarding Liara with his cold eyes. "But they're certainly more than 'just slavers', as too many have called them. Their interest in Shepard is alarming. It is not just important that we have Shepard's body – it is more important that the Collectors not get the body."

Liara thought she understood, even if she still had suspicions about Cerberus's actual motives. This Illusive Man seemed as unyielding as iron – unwilling to part with his secrets even as he demanded that Liara give up hers. She had no choice but to yield – for now. "What are you not telling me? Why me? Your agents seem perfectly qualified to retrieve Shepard's body."

"True," he noted, "but while I have significant influence in Systems Alliance space, it does not stretch far into the Terminus Systems. On Omega, the Broker has us outmatched. We can deploy a handful of agents to monitor and scout, but not enough to complete what needs to be done. Besides," the beginnings of a smile played across his face, "nothing beats someone with a personal motive driving them. You have one."

Liara nodded, her jaw clenching at the thought of what would happen to Shepard if his body was delivered into the insectlike hands of the Collectors. "Where would you have me begin?"

"Your Drell companion will know. He sees more and understands greater than many others on Omega. I have been told he has a lead on Shepard's location."

"Can I trust him?"

The Illusive Man smiled wistfully, again bringing his glass to his lips to sip the alcohol inside. "Do you have any choice?"

No, Liara thought to herself. And Shepard has none. "Thank-you for the information," she said as she turned to exit the holopad.

"Anyone diving this far into hell deserves to know what's going on around them. Don't make me regret it." He paused as the hologram began to waver and cut out. "Tell Operative Lawson that I would speak with her. Alone."

Liara exited the holo-room to find Feron leaning against the far wall, while Miranda paced anxiously from wall to wall. "Let me guess," the Human woman said as Liara rejoined them, "the Illusive Man wishes to speak with me?" Liara nodded, catching a glimpse of apprehension in Miranda's eyes as the Cerberus operative glanced nervously towards the door that Liara had entered moments ago. "I will do so. You two," Miranda shot a glance at Feron, who straightened up against the wall as she motioned to him, "you know what you have to do. See that it's done. We'll be in touch"

As Miranda crossed the threshold into the holo-room, Liara swivelled to face the Drell. "You have leads on Shepard's body. Share them."

The Drell focused his gaze on her, breathing in sharply as he began to speak. "I do, or at least I did."

"Did?" Liara furrowed her brow as she regarded Feron with skepticism. "why the past tense?"

"The deal was supposed to take place in the industrial yards of the Tauru District, with the Blue Suns handing over control of Shepard's body to the Shadow Broker's people. But they'll know that Cerberus is involved – our escape from Afterlife will attest to as much. It will almost certainly be moved."

Something didn't add up in Feron's explanation, but Liara couldn't quite place it. "How do you know that? I thought Miranda said we wouldn't be followed."

"You underestimate the Broker's caution," Feron retorted. "This operation is huge – the most important the Shadow Broker has carried out in years. If Cerberus knew where to find us, they knew where to find the information about the hand-off."

"And how do you know where the hand-off will be taking place?"

"I'm an information broker, Dr. T'Soni. It is my business to know."

He knew more than he was letting on; Liara was almost certain of it. "That's a conveniently evasive answer." She took another step towards the Drell, "almost as if you don't want me to know the details."

"I make money because only I know where to get the information. If I gave you the details, my line of work would be meaningless."

"And yet you know far more about the Broker's network than one should being outside it," she took another, more menacing step closer to Feron. "It's rather convenient that those Blue Suns knew exactly where to look for us, isn't it?"

Tensing his shoulders, the Drell sensed defeat and resigned himself to it. "I have done work for the Shadow Broker in the past. Though I am not part of his actual, formal network, I understand the Broker's methods and practices. I am many things, Dr. T'Soni, but I am not a traitor. I have been paid to help you find Commander Shepard's body, and that is what I shall do."

Liara reached reflexively for her pistol. "If you are, I'll see to it that you don't last long. Until then, let's get moving." She strode confidently for the far door, shooting the Drell a scathing look as he reluctantly followed behind her.

Miranda Lawson heard the last of their conversation before turning her attention to the holo-projector in front of her. Stepping onto the ring in the center of the room, she watched as the Illusive Man shimmered into view. He had traded his alcohol for a solitary cigarette, which he smoked openly as he regarded her with a look that mixed disapproval with unease.

"Ms. Lawson, this operation is costing me a great deal more time and resources than I had hoped." He fixed Miranda with a withering stare, causing shivers down her spine as she looked straight into his electric-blue eyes. "Too many wrenches being thrown into too much machinery."

"Sir, we're fighting on enemy territory," Miranda explained as calmly as she could, betraying no hint of panic or worry in her voice. "The cells were told to expect interference and they planned accordingly."

"You were supposed to plan to avoid interference. I don't know how, but the Broker knows about our little counteroffensive. And they're not the only player in this game that you've let blindside you."

"You think the Turian will interfere?"

"Possibly, but we planned for that. He's not the one I'm worried about."

"You mean-,"

The Illusive Man cut her off sharply with his right hand before nodding curtly. "He dropped off the grid a week ago. None of our cells have been able to find him," his eyes narrowed, "and I trust him about as much as he trusts us."

"You think he's on the station?"

"Quite likely, and he knows it well – possibly better than we do. I expect interference, and I expect you to stop it. Can you do that?" Miranda nodded silently, bringing her eyes up to meet the Illusive Man's. His reaction calmed them both, as a faint grin spread across his face. "Good. These next few days are critical for the future of Cerberus. You have been one of my finest lieutenants for years. Don't fail me now. Plug the leak."

Lower Afterlife

The Human mercenary slowly sifted through the wreckage of the lower level of the Afterlife nightclub. The fighting had been brutal, with nearly a dozen fellow Blue Suns killed in the crossfire. The fight had begun out of nothing, a lone patron escalating a scuffle with one of their soldiers as he was searched. They had been looking for a Drell and an Asari – beyond that, they knew very little. He sighed to himself as he craned his neck to look around the room once more: they weren't likely to find them here. The bodies of patrons were strewn everywhere. Some had died fighting, drawing their weapons and going out in a hail of bullets as they sought to defend themselves. But most had been killed in the crossfire, caught between drunk, trigger-happy customers and Blue Suns mercenaries seeking to restore order in their attempted search for their targets.

His team of three had been sent to sweep the bodies, looking either for survivors or the corpses of their targets. It didn't matter whether they lived or died, he had been instructed by his superior. All that mattered was that this particular Asari and Drell were neutralized. They had been searching for nearly an hour, yet had found nothing in the carnage. He could only think of the fury that Aria T'loak would be sure to exhibit when the scale of the destruction was understood: an uneasy truce had formed between Aria and the dominant merc groups on Omega, yet this incursion into her territory was bound to have repercussions. Whatever the Blue Suns wanted with these Drell and Asari would have to pretty important to offset Aria's wrath.

"I've got a live one!" the clear call of his Turian squadmate from across the club drew the Human's attention. The few who had survived the initial bloodbath had died of their wounds soon after, often while being interrogated by the Blue Suns themselves. "Condition unknown, but looks bad. We better do this quick!"

His pulse racing, the Human mercenary jogged the distance to the Turian, crouching beside him to look down at the patron they'd found. A Salarian, his face was caked with blood and, while there were no outward signs of damage on his hardsuit, his breathing came in ragged, intermittent gasps. His eyes shifted lazily in and out of focus, coming to rest on the two mercenaries above him.

"I'm not dead," the Salarian said simply, blinking to focus his gaze on the Turian. His eyes went the Blue Suns insignia on the Turian's armour, and he sighed a raspy breath that sounded choked with blood. "At least not yet."

"Talk and that won't change." The Human brought his armoured hand to grip the Salarian's left shoulder, pulling him upright to a half-sitting position. As his Turian companion began scanning the Salarian's vitals, he turned to questioning the poor bastard. "We're looking for a Drell and an Asari. See either of them?"

"A Drell?" The Salarian seemed to search his memory, silently cataloguing through the shapes and images of the prior evening. "Yes, a Drell." His breath quickened and he coughed up a smattering of blood. "There was one in here earlier tonight, sitting in the far corner." He gestured to one of the more thoroughly destroyed portions of the bar, to a booth long since shredded by the impact of gunfire. "He asked me if I'd seen an Asari that he was looking for. I told him I hadn't." He smiled weakly at the two mercenaries, "must not have been his night, if you take my meaning."

The Human did, yet was unamused. "Where did they go when the fighting started?"

"They?" The Salarian coughed again. "Who said anything about they?"

"The Drell and the Asari. We know they were in Lower Afterlife together before the firefight started."

The Salarian craned his neck, angling it to look behind him to where an emergency staff exit was located. "If they got out, it would be through there."

The Human glanced upward, seeing the ramp that led out of Afterlife and further into the bowels of Omega. Fucking hell! They must have gotten away! Their search had been fruitless – all in vain. Rage welled up inside of him, obscuring his thoughts for a moment. He heard the Turian mutter something to him, yet didn't comprehend it the first time.

"-ecks out."

"Sorry?"

"I said this guy's vitals check out fine. No threat of dying. At all."

Too late, the Human mercenary realized his mistake. Too late, he glanced down to see the grin spreading across the Salarian's face. Too late, he saw the razor-thin blade of silicon carbide hum to life. Shit. He felt his grip involuntarily loosen on the Salarian as the knife entered his ribcage, as he felt his life begin to leave him.

Jondum Bau reacted rapidly, withdrawing the blade from the chest of the first mercenary and turning his attention to the Turian. The blade swept across the merc's throat in a single, clean movement, throwing him backwards in a spray of blue blood. Rising from his half-seated position on the floor of Afterlife, Jondum swivelled to see the third and final mercenary turn towards him, stunned by the sudden action amidst the rubble and wreckage. The omniblade was thrown before the mercenary had time to react, and it caught him squarely in the temple. Drawing his Paladin pistol, Jondum quickly emptied a shot into the skull of each of the first two mercenaries, ensuring that their end was as quick as it was total.

Bringing himself to stand amongst the bodies that littered Lower Afterlife, he dusted himself off and wiped the caked blood off of his face. This was nearly all his doing, and he was rather proud of it. He'd tailed the Drell to the bar as soon as he'd reached Omega, waiting in Lower Afterlife for Dr. T'Soni to arrive and link up. The arrival of the Blue Suns was surprising, given their reluctance to intrude on Aria's territory in the heart of Omega. He'd improvised from there, starting the fight that had engulfed the bar in mayhem and allowed Dr. T'Soni and Feron to escape. What had happened afterwards was, at best, guesswork.

The firefight had died down quickly enough, but Jondum had waited as the Blue Suns conducted their sweep of the area. Better to find yourself behind enemy lines than to try and break through them by force. It had been a simple matter of smearing his face and armour with some of the blood that littered the floor, then hiding amongst the bodies and waiting for the Blue Suns to find him. It had worked countless times before, and he privately thanked the gods that every other species in the galaxy continued to underestimate Salarians. You could see it in his eyes. He had no idea the knife was coming. He smiled. They never do.

But where have they gone now? It was paramount that he not lose track of Liara and Feron, but it had been necessary in order to guarantee their survival. I could always ask Aria. She'd know where they were going, or at least point me in the same direction she'll inevitably point them.

Bad idea, the voice in his head replied. She's unlikely to be in the best mood, especially given what you just did to her favourite bar. Aria was a bad option then. The Blue Suns would still control much of the area near Afterlife. Better to let them suffer Aria's wrath rather than him.

Traversing the blood-soaked dance floor of the club, Jondum made for the lower exit, checking for heat signatures on the other side of the emergency door to make sure that he wasn't walking into an ambush. Gingerly stepping over the corpse of another Blue Suns mercenary, Jondum quickly covered the distance to the exit, electronically sealing the door behind him as he left.

Right, now. If I was a former Shadow Broker agent on the run, where would I go? His omnitool indicated a handful of residual heat signatures heading away from Afterlife, and he instinctively followed them to see where they went. They led him to a small plaza between two blocks of prefab buildings in the heart of the district, with high railings overlooking the square from above. Eleven blue-patterned, armoured bodies were strewn about the plaza, each sporting large gunshot wounds on their helmets or shoulder-plates. Pausing, Jondum glanced to the railings above. Sniper. A good one too. Rival gang? Probably not – there'd be more bodies. Feron or Liara? Unlikely – neither are noted snipers. Vakarian? Possibly. Fits the profile. He had to assume that Garrus Vakarian had arrived on Omega after all. Whether the Turian had linked up with Dr. T'Soni was impossible to say, but it would certainly spur their chances of finding Shepard's body if they had.

Returning to his omnitool, he noticed the two heat signatures from earlier moving away from the square in the opposite direction. Away from Afterlife. Good plan. Jondum followed the signature for another two blocks before the trail went cold, losing the signatures at a ledge that looked out onto the rocky, smoke-choked vista of Omega. It's not nearly the gates of hell, Jondum thought to himself as he stared out onto Omega, but you can see them from here.

His musings were interrupted by the sound of booted feet behind him, and Jondum swivelled to see four armed figures approaching him: three Turians and an Asari. All wore the exact same, grey-patterned armour, each pouch and clip packed with every conceivable high-tech weapon they could fit. The armour wasn't a pattern he immediately recognized, but he could sense from the very stance of these figures that they were a cut above the Blue Suns he'd encountered in Afterlife and on Illium.

"Gentlemen, Lady," he tilted his head in the direction of the helmeted Asari, who nodded back. "To whom do I owe the pleasure?" As he stalled, his omnitool picked up a fifth figure with near-identical tech signatures perched on the roof to his right.

"Who do you think?" One of the Turians responded. His voice was cold, mechanical, lacking any of the idiosyncrasies that marked the speech patterns of other mercenary groups: the boiling menace of the Blood Pack, the toxic love of violence that dripped from every word that an Eclipse merc uttered, or the simple professionalism of the Blue Suns.

"How kind of the Broker to think of me – it's been two whole weeks since I killed anyone working for him."

"You are interfering in matters that are not your concern. You will be eliminated, for the gods will it."

Jondum drew his pistol in a heartbeat, managing to catch one of the Turians in the chest before he spun for the cover of a small nook etched in the side of one of the buildings. The mercenaries didn't panic, but shifted their weapons so that any move by Jondum out of the alleyway would be fatal. He noticed the rough-hewn edges of the nook and pressed his back firmly against the wall, planting his feet opposite him. Slowly, he began to inch his way up the shaft created by the two walls, monitoring the location of the remaining four mercs as well as he could.

He saw one of his attackers sidestep into view, their rifle pointed at the base of the alley. The moment of delay was all Jondum needed, and he fired twice into the mercenary's helmet, killing them instantly. Dropping back to the ground level, he peered out from the alleyway to gauge where the remaining two assailants were. The shot that grazed the steel mere inches from his face told him that they still had him cornered. All or nothing. Transferring the full energy of his suit into his shields, Jondum leapt sideways from cover, gripping his Paladin with both hands to steady his aim. You get one shot. Don't fuck this up.

I never do, the voice in his head responded as he fired two clean shots at the mercenaries. One of them died quickly, while the other collapsed to the ground, their breathing strangled by choked cries as their lungs filled with blood. Now just the sni-,

His internal thought process was interrupted as he felt his shields deplete in a matter of seconds. He turned to see the sniper perched above him, quickly reloading to finish him off. Jondum panicked. No cover in sight. Ah fate, you are a cruel mistress. He braced himself and waited for the shot that would almost surely kill him.

But it never came.

Or rather, it never came for him. When the sound of a single gunshot rang out, Jondum was surprised to find that it didn't strike him. No pain. I suppose that's good? He turned at the sound of the crash, as the sniper's broken body fell from the roof, colliding awkwardly with a catwalk on its way to the ground. Its descent came to an end a few feet from Jondum, and he could see the gaping hole in the mercenary's helmet. Fortunately, the gods are less cruel. Bringing his hand to his forehead, Jondum offered a salute to his anonymous saviour before busying himself with scanning the bodies of the mercenaries he'd killed.

None of them carried any names or insignia on their armour, save for a set of Human numerical markings on each mercenary's left shoulder. On the right was a simple, pointed Latin cross, its crimson paint standing out amidst the grey armour. The presence of the symbol of Humanity's millennia-old crusade could only point to one mercenary group. Vult. Jondum had never encountered them, but their prowess in battle was talked of on nearly every world in the Terminus Systems. Why would the Broker hire Vult if they already had the Blue Suns?

Vult's internal comms proved surprisingly difficult to hack, and most of the data on the mercenary's omnitool was beyond Jondum's ability to get. However, after some digging, he was able to patch into the internal communications, where he began sifting through the data for relevant messages. Much of what he found was irrelevant – files pertaining to other contracts, internal logistics, or reconnaissance updates that had long since lost their relevance. Scowling, the Salarian kept probing, looking for something that would give him a hint of what he was dealing with, and why he was dealing with Vult.

He found what he was looking for buried deep in the archives of the internal comms, where a single file stood out for the sophistication of its encryption. The level of security around the file was staggering, and it stood out like a sore limb amidst the inane chatter that made up the majority of what he was able to access. I could stare at this for months and never crack it. So far from the operations radius of the Salarian Union, his options were limited. A direct patch into the STG network would likely be traced, and compromise the cover of far too many agents operating in the Terminus Systems. The other option was to resume contact with Cerberus. He was reluctant to do so, and was eager to keep his Machiavellian partners in the dark as to his true intentions. But it was worth the risk.

He patched his secure channel through to Miranda Lawson.

"Ms. Lawson? This is Jondum Bau."

"Bau?" Lawson's voice had an edge of relief, panic, and agitation as she responded. "Where the hell are you?"

"On Omega."

"When did you arrive?"

"Earlier."

"Very funny. My employer wishes to keep his cards close to his chest in this operation. Your disappearance has greatly hampered that."

"And here I thought we trusted one another."

Lawson was unamused. "We don't."

"Point taken. I presume you've found T'Soni and Thelion? Their trail disappears outside of Afterlife."

"We have. Dr. T'Soni has been briefed in full. She and Feron are doing what they need to. Are you doing the same?"

"I am. That's why I'm contacting you. I encountered mercenaries outside of Afterlife – Vult. It appears they are also in the Broker's employ."

"Vult? That seems an odd move."

"It does. I've hacked their internal comms but there is a particularly interesting file that I cannot access. The encryption is too high. I'm transferring you the data now – I need Cerberus hackers to crack it."

"You told me you enjoyed the irony of my employer needing your help. The converse is just as satisfying."

"I'm sure it is. Just patch the file. I'll keep digging in the meantime."

"I'll send it back when our cells complete the hack."

Deactivating the call, Jondum resumed his search through the archives. He was surprised to locate a text file bearing his name as the subject. Curious, he quickly hacked the encryption and viewed the private set of orders directed to the group of five mercenaries he had just killed.

Vult Tau-IX

The potential for interference by Council Arbiter Bau has been identified. Last seen entering Afterlife. If found, terminate with extreme prejudice. Return to eye of storm by 0600. Mission entering critical phase. Do not fail.

TZK

Now that was a callsign that Jondum hadn't seen in a very long time. Tazzik, my old friend, what are you doing in all this? The Salarian's involvement all but confirmed that Vult was working for the Shadow Broker, though it left Jondum with more questions than he'd had at the start. What was the 'eye of storm'? What did the 'critical phase' entail? Did Vult already have Shepard's body, or were they receiving it from the Blue Suns?

His thoughts were interrupted by a secure call from Operative Lawson. "The hack is complete. We have sent you the decrypted file."

Jondum smiled to himself at his success. "Audio or video?"

"Both. The conversation involves the Broker."

Jondum's heart skipped a beat at the mention of the Broker's direct involvement. Not a proxy or an underling, but him! THE Broker! Seeing that the file had arrived, Jondum temporarily switched off the audio on the call from Lawson to listen to the audio. The video was of nothing more than two holo-terminals, each occupied by a shadowy figure. On the left of the images, one terminal was occupied by a shifting, formless mass of jagged bolts and energy, while the right holo-terminal revealed a figure distinctly similar to the Collector that Jondum had seen on Illium. The audio was patchy, but decipherable.

"-nsufficient. Your operation is not progressing as planned." The Collector-figure spoke with a deep voice so utterly filled with authority and malice that it caused Jondum to quiver where he stood.

"Interference was inevitable. You underestimated the number of interested players on the galactic board. Yet this interference has been dealt with accordingly, and will continue to be. I assure you that I have the upper hand." The digitized, modified voice of the Shadow Broker was odder still, an almost digitized projection of the deepest sort that Jondum had ever heard.

"We shall only uphold our end of the bargain if you deliver on your guarantee," the Collector figure responded.

"And I shall. I am the only one who can get you the results you require. I have deployed my most capable operative to Omega to ensure that the job is completed. Shepard's body will be delivered to you according to our agreement."

"See that it is."

Both holograms cut out in the recording, leaving Jondum to ponder the nature of the deal that had been created between the Shadow Broker and the Collectors. What had been promised by the Collectors? What would happen once Tazzik had collected the body from the Blue Suns? These were questions that needed answering.

"Ms. Lawson?" Jondum waited for a quiet acknowledgement that she had heard him. "I'm going to be going dark for a while. There are things we need to know that we don't, and I'm going to discover them."

"Acknowledged. When can we expect to resume contact?"

"When I have answers. Until then, don't try to contact me – I'll find you." Deactivating the secure channel, Jondum blocked all of his known Cerberus contacts on his omnitool, ensuring that he wouldn't be disturbed until he needed to contact them again.

He would have to find Tazzik and Shepard's body before they did, and hope that Dr. T'Soni and Feron would cross his path as well. So this is how it goes, he thought to himself. A group of Human supremacists on one side, a former colleague and the Shadow Broker on the other, and me in the middle. Between an unstoppable force and an immovable object, both bound by the same goal as mine.

Just the way you like it, the voice in his head responded. So let the games begin.