I wasn't happy about being unable to attend Joe's funeral. I was doubly unhappy about having sent Shepard alone. Yeah, she's a big girl, but damn.
Moreover, I still hadn't processed all that shit. I didn't know what to do with it. Joe had died because he sneaked into a transport that lost its life support mid-flight. While going to Mindoir. I remembered clearly how Simon and I talked about it the first Christmas I spent over there. I offered absolutely nothing. Not a fucking thing. I didn't even ask Shepard whether she felt the same at the time, I only just asked her before she left for the funeral. Stupid. What could it possibly do now? If she wanted to go back, she'd make her own damn way and get there without even needing to ask or tell me. Fuck's sake, she's a marine. Get your head out of your ass, Roy.
Part of the reason why I was so annoyed was the fact that I had no idea what the urgent orders I had received were. They did come with a seal from the Office to Citadel Affairs, which meant big fucking business. Only explanation was that Benezia wanted something, but I wasn't sure why she'd go about it like that. The orders were rather terse. Get in a shuttle, report to Glain station, and wait at the dock for my connection. It was Citadel space, out of the Alliance's borders. I wondered why we didn't just fly to the Citadel. Well, I wondered about a lot of things, really. I had a lot of time to think, and not a lot to do. I was carrying all my gear with me, but it was all stowed away, so I couldn't even clean my guns to kill time. I was surprised how after all the sleep I though I desperately needed, I was already bored of trying to rest. Trying and failing, mostly.
Blame the genemods, I guess.
The shuttle didn't stick around once we arrived. I was the only one in, and the pilot looked bored as fuck with his job of moving a taciturn marine around. So, he landed rather roughly, I thanked him as I walked out carrying my gear, and he took off as soon as I was out.
The hangar was empty. Completely. Not even maintenance crew. I walked off to the corner, put the armor case down vertically, and used as a seat to wait.
For almost an hour. When the ship finally arrived, I was well fed up already. I grabbed my gear and filed for the shuttle. It was noticeably smaller than the standard alliance ones, sleek lines and dark colour. The door opened, and I jumped in rather annoyed.
"What took so-"
"Hello Roy," the pilot called.
"Shiala?" I said. I probably shouldn't have been so surprised.
"Aw, you remembered me," she said, smiling mischievously. She gestured at the co-pilot seat, the only other seat in the ship. "Come on, we're running late."
"And whose fault is that?" I said, a little snappish. I stowed my gear behind the seat, ducking under the low ceiling and coming to sit down.
"The salarian who had to give me the shuttle," Shiala replied, unfazed by my response.
The airlock closed and she started the takeoff checks. She moved easy and efficiently, clearly very familiar with the procedure. I didn't know she could pilot ships. Well, I didn't know much about her really. Just a few minutes later we were backing out of the hangar, and another ten and we were off, speeding along towards the relay.
"Well, it'll take a while to get there," Shiala said, turning the controls to the VI and turning to look at me. "It's cozy, but not fast."
"Uh-huh," I said, my eyes fixed on the small window above.
"How have you been? We haven't seen each other in a while."
I furrowed my brow. Small talk? Really? That's what she wanted to do. Small talk. After the last time we met.
"Not great," I deadpanned.
"Oh." She paused meaningfully. "Would you like to talk about it?"
"No," I replied dryly. She didn't answer, and the silence dragged on for a while. With a silent huff of annoyance, I broke it after about five minutes. "Look, I'm just not in the mood."
"Very well," Shiala said. "Would you be in the mood to listen, at least?"
That did surprise me. I turned to look at her, but didn't get much. Her expression was... not exactly calm. Neutral, perhaps. Reading asari isn't as easy as it may look. Just because they looked near human didn't mean they always reacted the same way.
"I'm listening," I offered. I figured she wanted to talk about the mission, whatever it was.
"I owe you an apology," she said.
I froze. I hadn't expected that, not in a million years. I didn't answer, which Shiala took as her chance to continue.
"More than one, to be truthful." She took a deep breath, and her face relaxed. Looked like the word 'apology' was the hurdle she had been struggling with. "The first one is about last time we met. I... don't have much experience with humans. Poor excuse, I know. When I was younger, I spent some time exploring the galaxy. During my maiden years. Most non-asari I met were... rather forward." She smirked. "Which I didn't mind."
She waited to see if I said anything, but I really didn't think of anything. I mean, what the hell? Was she calling me frigid or something?
With a sigh, she continued.
"What I am trying to say, is that I didn't know when to back off, and I am sorry. I didn't want to push you."
"Really? And that... thing you did to me..."
"Oh. I... Roy, please. For us asari, melding is like breathing." Her smile relaxed. "We have so many words for it, depending who you share with and what it is. What I did... for an asari, it would be a bit forward, but not as... I don't know, I still haven't found a word for how I felt you feel. From my point of view, all I was doing was showing you that I wanted you. It was like putting you forward first; what I shared was to make it all about you."
I furrowed my brow at that. "That's not how it felt," I said.
"I know that now. I am sorry." She made a little helpless gesture, like the apology was all she could offer. "I wish I could understand you better."
"Okay. Um... thanks." When she gave a look, I just shrugged. "Look, I'm just not used to people apologizing to me."
She chuckled in response, and shook her head. That was all the humour she allowed herself.
"The other apology... I'm not even sure if it's enough. When I forced the first meld on you. I should have never done that." She actually looked away as she spoke, I couldn't tell whether she was just pretending or if she truly felt bad. "I have served Matriarch Benezia for nearly two centuries. I was there when Liara was born. I taught her how to use her biotics." She turned to look at me, her gaze intense. "I saw them grow apart, and saw their hearts break when their relationship did. And you came along... I just felt so angry."
"I know, you shared that to excruciating detail," I said. Yeah, so I was still sore about that.
"I am truly sorry," she said. "I should have never done that."
You said that already.
"Okay," I said. Non-committal. I wasn't about to kiss and make up.
"Maybe one day you will forgive me. Not today," she said. "What confused me a little is that I thought you almost... expected it?"
"I guess, given what I was bringing," I said, the irritation in my voice still present. "It happens, doesn't it?"
"Yes. In the same way that, for example, tying someone up and whipping them for information happens. It's not something that should happen, but here we are."
"That's a very specific example..."
She nodded, and turned back to the instruments, more as a way to avoid looking at me than anything else. The VI didn't need any help for the transition towards the relay.
"I have done things I am not proud of. Some were necessary. This one was not."
"All right," I said, turning towards the instruments myself.
The windows were small, and not particularly interesting at the time. It was a very small shuttle, thus, while it could go at FTL speeds, those speeds weren't spectacular. So, in reality, nothing much changed outside. It was a very static view. And that's how we stood, the silence not particularly dense, just... there. Not comfortable either, more of a waiting game.
The wait ended when the VI signaled our approach to the relay. With practiced ease, Shiala dropped us out of FTL speeds and started plotting our transit.
"Would you like to know why we are here?" Shiala said. "We're minutes from the relay."
"We're not meeting your boss?"
"No."
She smiled and extended one hand. Great, melding. Guess that's why she was apologizing, so that I wouldn't say no. I wondered why she wanted to meld instead of simply telling me.
With a grimace of annoyance I took her hand. Her eyes turned black, she whispered the ubiquitous "Embrace Eternity", and we were off.
Why the 'embrace eternity' thing every time?
It is part of the teachings of Athame, Shiala replied, amused that it was the first thing I thought of. I will explain some other time, if you so desire.
All right, so what's the big deal?
I felt a mental tug, inviting me to explore a memory. It was slightly distant, almost like I was watching a movie, not really being part of it. Shiala explained, a quick glimpse overlapping the memory she was showing me. Melding could be as deep or as shallow as the melding partners wanted. Things like the Courtesy of Thessia and Whispering, which was what we were doing now, were the shallowest of them all. It was for privacy, which I thought was a rather amusing idea coming from a race that shared and melded as a way of life. She found my amusement amusing, too.
"Shiala," Matriarch Benezia said. I recognized the small room of her luxurious yacht.
"Mistress," she replied, giving a small bow. At the matriarch's prompt, she seated herself.
"I have an assignment for you." She offered a data disk, which Shiala took and fed to her omni-tool without hesitation. "I want you to share this conversation with Roy, too. He will be part of this assignment."
"Of course," Shiala replied.
Okay, that was a bit confusing. So she had somehow managed to get an order passed through the Alliance's chain of command to me. Why on Earth go about it in such a roundabout way?
It is much less suspicious than you coming to us outside of your chain of command.
I don't have to be in the army, you know. It's not like it's a dream career for me. All I really wanted to do was learn to shoot and be close to Shepard if need be.
It would be suspicious nonetheless. My mistress prefers subtlety. You will understand soon.
"Before ending his visit, Roy revealed to me the location of the Shadow Broker," Benezia said.
I didn't quite get Shiala's reaction, since the meld was so shallow. She made a playful suggestion that she could deepen the connection, but I declined. She wasn't serious, of course, and made no attempt to hide it. Tease, tease, tease.
"He knew something like that?" Shiala said.
"Compared to his knowledge of the beacon, it is a rather small morsel," Benezia answered.
Shiala looked down at her omni-tool, then back at Benezia. "What is the assignment?"
"It is in the disk. You will pick up Roy, and the two of you will rendezvous with a Spectre. After that, you will infiltrate the base, eliminate him, and the Spectre will take his place."
Oh.
Oh? Is that all you have to say?
Pretty much.
The beeping of the VI brought the meld to its end. Shiala let go and turned to the controls, switching to manual. The relay wasn't into view yet – not that they were easy to spot, that with being black against the black background of space – but the instruments were saying it was less than fifty thousand kilometres away.
"You sounded worried," I said.
"I am worried that you are not," Shiala retorted.
"It's not like I wasn't expecting it," I added. "Who's the Spectre? Tell me it's not Saren."
"I am sure it is not." She banked the ship, and plotted a parabolic course to pass by the relay. "You really are not worried?"
"About the fact that we're going to have to shoot our way to a very protected target? A little, yes. It'll depend on the Spectre I guess."
"You would be more comfortable with people you can trust. Like your unit."
"Last thing I want is to get them involved in this shit."
"You cannot solve all these problems alone," she offered.
"Well, that's what you're here for."
She smiled at my response, her attention shifting to the relay. I rarely had the chance to see this, so I too shifted my eyes towards the window. It was coming fast, Shiala slowed the shuttle down to line up the transit, and a few seconds later the flash from the relay preceded the weightless feeling of the reaper machine throwing us across the galaxy.
"Ew," I muttered, feeling my stomach turn. "I'll never get used to that."
"You will," she said. She hit one of the pre-programmed flight paths and sat back, satisfied. "Eventually. Well, here we are."
"Where the hell are we?"
"Doesn't matter," she replied mysteriously. "We're going to meet here, then we will move to the real party."
"How long?"
"Oh, about two hours," she said. "We have time to chat."
"Uh-huh."
My reply didn't seem to dampen her spirits. "So why don't you want help from your unit? I have reviewed their records, they seem very capable."
"Have you?"
"Yes. Kim even made it to N1, and so did you. She could be an asset."
"I'll think about it."
"You don't trust them? She-"
"I'll think about it," I interrupted her. "What's with the sudden interest?"
"I merely think you should have people you can rely on next to you."
Guess you know that doesn't include you.
I didn't answer, thinking that would end the conversation, but Shiala wasn't done yet. And what she said next did throw me off a loop.
"What about Shepard?"
I snapped a look at her. "What about her?" I said, speaking quick and sharply.
"I know she is someone you trust, is she not?"
"I'm definitely not bringing her into this," I grunted.
"Is that wise?"
"Wi- That's the whole fucking reason I'm doing this myself!"
She raised both hands, as if asking me to calm down. She wasn't smiling now, though.
"She is close to you. Eventually you will have to explain what it is you are doing."
"That's half the problem," I muttered. "If I tell her, she'll want to come."
"Would that be so bad?"
"Yeah," I replied. "They don't call me Jinx for nothing. You better watch yourself too."
"Oh Roy..."
Now the conversation really did drop. Bring Shepard along? It was going to be bad enough as it was, I wasn't even sure if I'd be up to the job. Hell, I was hoping the Spectre we were meeting would, because I was totally going to be behind him during the firefight. I wasn't sure what kind of assets the Shadow Broker would have on his ship, but I was hoping it wouldn't be as bad as in the game. For one thing, he wasn't expecting us, unlike the DLC when Liara was a single data disk away from finding him.
I expected the Spectre to be a salarian. Someone from STG perhaps. It'd be fitting. I was a little surprised that they wanted the Spectre himself to replace the Broker, instead of flying in someone more suitable. Then again, Spectres were supposed to be the cream of the crop, so...
Well, we'd see soon enough.
"Roy," Shiala called.
Huh?
I opened my eyes and looked around. What the hell? Where...
"You fell asleep," Shiala said, smiling. "We are here."
Right, the trip. I rubbed my face and looked out the window. The shuttle was on approach to another ship. It's impossible to judge size in space, so I looked at the instruments. Huh. Given the distance, it was about sixty metres in length, sleek curved lines not unlike Benezia's yacht. It looked a bit like a teardrop, squashed with wider wing-like protrusions on the sides, and a wide dock at the bottom. Perfect shape for our shuttle to dock to, which was probably the point of it.
"So the Spectre's an asari," I said.
"Half of the Spectres are asari," Shiala replied.
"Oh. I didn't know that."
"All right," a feminine voice came through the comms. I could swear I recognized it. "Follow the approach vector and don't scratch the paint."
"Of course," Shiala said.
It took less than a minute, and our shuttle hit the docking clamps, getting secured in place. The whole thing trembled as the airlock connected to the ship above us.
"We're here!" Shiala announced. "Time to road this show."
"Get this show on the road," I corrected her.
She smiled and took off, clearly relieved that she didn't have to sit at the cockpit anymore. The shuttle opened straight to a ladder, and she climbed up before I even had a chance to open my mouth. With a chuckle I followed, pausing to check that my gear was still in place. I didn't know whether to bring it with me or not, but I decided to just leave it where it was. I got to the ladder, and made my way up. It dislodged me at a central lounge, luxuriously furnished despite its small size. A sofa against the wall, a small bar in a corner, and on the other side, the entrance to the cockpit, where Shiala was talking with the other asari.
She turned to look at me, and I felt a brick of ice settling in my stomach. I recognized that face. Dark blue skin, darker blue tattoo markings on her face, a pair like eyebrows and the rest going from her forehead to her crests and under her eyes, following a simple parallel pattern, high cheekbones, dark eyes, lips narrowing on the corners, and a final tattoo just over her chin.
Tela Vasir.
"All right, let's get this over with," she said, walking straight at me.
She raised her hand and I reacted by instinct, a flick of my wrist deploying my omni-blade. She didn't miss a beat, stopping instantly and raising a gun at my face. Fuck, I wasn't even wearing shields. A heartbeat later I heard the sound of a gun unfolding, and Shiala pointed it straight at Tela's head.
"Careful with that sweetheart," Tela said, giving Shiala a glance. "You may hurt yourself."
"Roy?" Shiala said, not taking her eyes off the Spectre. "What's going on?"
"She works for the Shadow Broker," I said.
Tela blinked, and looked at me like I had lost my mind. Then, without as much as a prompt, she lowered her gun.
"First off, I don't work for him. I use him to keep the galaxy safe, and if I have to do something every now and again to keep that going, then I will. And why in the abyss am I explaining myself to you anyway?" She gave Shiala another look, but she didn't flinch, keeping her gun where it was. "And second, you are the one who told Benezia, why the fuck are you acting so surprised now?"
"I... what?" I looked at Shiala, but she only shrugged in response. "Well, shit."
"What?" Tela said.
"I was slightly intoxicated at the time," I said.
"You have to be kidding," Tela deadpanned. When I shook my head, she huffed in annoyance. "Just my luck. Well, you've got me into this, so now I want to know what I'm going up against," she said, and raised her hand again.
I took a step back, and Shiala pressed her gun closer.
"You're not melding with him."
"Oh?" Tela said, turning her head slightly to glance at Shiala. A dangerous grin appeared on her face. "How territorial of you."
"She's not wrong," I said.
"So how are we supposed to prepare if we don't know what's waiting for us," Tela said.
"The traditional way. You can ask me."
Tela rolled her eyes, shook her head, and threw her hands up in annoyance. With a huff, she headed for the bar. She didn't even offer a word of explanation, she just went and poured herself a drink. I looked at her, and then at Shiala. She just shrugged, and put her gun down too.
"What is that thing?" she said, gesturing at my hand.
"Omni-blade." I pulled it back, and the omni-tool microfabricator ate it up again. "What?" I said, looking at the face she was pulling.
"I just remembered, the day I returned from the trip to that ship. Did you have that thing already?"
"I've had it since I joined the army."
"That explains it." I looked at her, but she just shook her head. Whatever it was, no explaining was coming. "Come on, time to suit up."
"Right. I'll go get my gear."
"Don't bother," Tela said, gesturing to the back of the room with her glass. "I've got your shit back there."
My shit?
Shiala gave me a grin and gestured for me to follow. I was right when I figured the ship was a lot like Benezia's, the inside was laid out in a similar way, although there were a lot less rooms. The was a single large bedroom, luxuriously furnished, and bigger than the ones aboard Benezia's yacht. Clearly, Tela didn't get visitors in that ship. Well, given the size of the bed, she probably got visitors but didn't have them sleep in a separate room. But that wasn't the interesting part. The interesting part was the huge wall of guns and armor that she kept in that room.
"That one's yours," Shiala said.
"Wait, what? I have my own gear."
"First off, you-"
"You sound like Tela now," I interrupted.
Shiala laughed at that, and continued talking. "For starters," she said, giving me a pointed look to note she had changed her words, "we cannot have someone in standard alliance gear involved in this, it'd raise too many questions."
"From who? Aren't we going to kill everyone?" I said, and didn't stop to think just how easily something like that had come out of my mouth.
"Perhaps, but one cannot be too careful. Information has a way of leaking in this galaxy."
"Information wants to be free," I replied.
"Too true. Also? This is Spectre grade gear. Whatever you have, I can promise you this is better."
"I don't know about that," I mumbled, looking at the armor. It was jet black, with the Spectres' crest displayed on both shoulders.
"I've seen the standard Alliance loadout, Roy. It is competent, but not impressive."
"I'll put fifty credits on that, I bet I have something that will surprise you."
"Oh?" She looked at me for a couple of seconds. "Well, fifty credits it is."
The armor had been custom made and fit me like a freaking glove. It was heavier than my alliance suit, but so much more comfortable I was starting to think I'd never be able to go back to my old gear. Too bad I couldn't keep it, it'd raise too many questions. When I secured the helmet, the shield gauge started charging, and it took a full three seconds for them to do so. Shit, given how thick the shield generator was, if it took that long it was probably a fucking strong kinetic barrier. I could get used to it.
Guns were a different matter. They were all of asari design, and felt very different from the ones I was used to. I picked up my standard loadout of pistol, shotgun, and assault rifle. I left the sniper rifle out. Tempting as it was to try a Spectre grade sniper rifle, I preferred my trusty Black Mamba. Sniping was not something that I wanted to do with a weapon I had never trained with.
Besides, I had fifty credits riding on the Mamba.
"Well, here we go," Tela said, and untethered the shuttle from her ship.
She hard left it on a stable orbit around Hagalaz, and now came the boring part. I didn't know exactly where the ship was, and there was a lot of planet to scan. Well, not as much. The ship was on the edge between the night and day, following the planetary rotation along the only somewhat habitable part of the atmosphere. Still, with the constant thunderstorms, it would be hard to detect. The shuttle was sporting some nifty STG tech which was supposed to make it easier to spot the Broker's ship, but still. Boring.
I had done a lot of boring waiting so far.
"Can't wait," I replied, and looked behind my seat.
Shiala was on her feet, bending down under the low ceiling and with a hand on the backs of each one of our seats, as we were out of places to park our asses, and Tela wanted me on the co-pilot's seat. She had a very tight fitting suit of armor, light and thin, and a full load of weapons too, including two pistols. What confused me was that she apparently had a sword on her back. Well, we had time, so...
"Shiala, what's with the sword?"
"What, this?" she said, and tapped her back, where she had strapped the weapon. "It's not a sword."
"No?"
"No." She gave me a look and a grin, crossing her arms and leaning on one leg. "You talked about me being a fangirl, which got me intrigued. And one thing led to another..."
"And?"
"Are you familiar with The Waters of the Goddess?"
"The what?"
"Oh Goddess' tits," Tela said, looking behind her at Shiala. "You have to be joking."
"What is it?" I said.
"Oh hell no, don't ask me," Tela said.
"Well, you'll see," Shiala said.
Whatever.
"What about you Vasir?" I said.
"Oh don't look at me, I'm not one of those fangirls you seem to like," she replied, making Shiala snigger.
"No, I mean what are you doing here? I didn't think you'd want to be the replacement for our buddy down there."
"Want?" She shot me an angry look. "You think they gave me a choice? The Council's got me by the gills, so here we are."
She turned angrily back to the instruments, closing that conversation. Yeah, that. And of course, I was the one to blame on that one. But hey, buckle up, we had a chance to get rid of the Shadow Broker, and get someone on our side to take care of business. I wasn't sure that Tela Vasir was the best choice, but it wasn't like I was the one to make the decision anyway. One thing was for sure, though. I was quite happy to have her as the one to lead the charge. If she was half as badass here as she was in the game, all I really needed to bring was the popcorn.
Hours passed. I spent most of them listening to music.
"Ooh, what's this?" Tela said, her voice playful as she immediately got our attention. She brought up a scan on the main console.
"That'll be the ship," I said, pointing at the holodisplay. "Entrance is at the back, towards those fins. It's under the communications array."
"What else is on it?"
"Repair drones, mechs, and possibly security teams."
"How many?"
"Beats me, quite a few probably."
"Well then," Tela said, and smiled like a cat in front of a troop of mice. "Let's do this."
She banked the shuttle hard, and headed straight for the front of the ship.
"What are you doing?"
"If we're going to take over this place, we need to eliminate everyone. We start from the front, and sweep our way back."
Just like in the game...
"Get ready," Shiala called, giving me a slap on the shoulder.
I got off my seat and put all the weapons in place, leaving the assault rifle in my hands. Shiala had only a pistol, which I knew meant she was planning on using biotics extensively. Not that it surprised me, it was a perfect place for it. Push people over the edge, and it'll even save you bullets. Weapon in hand, I stood by the airlock, ready for the signal.
"Go, go, go!" Tela called, opening the airlock.
I jumped out first, assault rifle up and looking for targets. I tried really hard not to get distracted by the heart-stopping view of us on the surface of a ship floating way above ground and engulfed in a permanent thunderstorm. Nothing extraordinary about it, no sir. I set up at the front, with Shiala following close. A few seconds later Tela joined us, and the shuttle shot up towards the sky.
"You sent the shuttle away?" I said.
"Why, you want a place to run away to?" she replied.
"Err, yes?"
"Pfft, you big baby," she replied.
She grabbed her pistol and walked to the front, not even waiting for us to reply. I quickly fell in, with Shiala bringing up the rear. We moved along at a good clip, stopping short of breaking into a run. I personally didn't want to be surprised by anything sudden, but Tela didn't seem to care much. She radiated this air of complete and absolute confidence, like assaulting the Shadow Broker's lair was just Tuesday for her.
We didn't find any opposition until we came upon the first set of lightning rods. A patrol, three people. I didn't think they were expecting us, given the way they stopped in surprise. It was like pistols at dawn, the three of us looking at the three of them.
Then, a bolt of lightning hit one of the condensers, and it was like the go signal had been sent. They raised their guns and started shooting, I returned fire, and as sudden as that was, Tela disappeared with a white flash of biotic energy. A charge.
"Wait!" I yelled at the comms. "The condensers-"
I didn't get a chance to finish. One of the guards hit the nearest condenser, and an electric arc shot out of it, hitting Tela. I heard her screams of pain through the comms, and cursing internally, I skipped going into cover and just put a knee down, shooting at the three guards. They were about to get into cover themselves when they were surrounded by a blue glow, and immediately thrown sideways, on a wide arc and plunging towards the planet below.
Not that I could actually heard their screams, but I could imagine them. I lowered my rifle and rushed over the platform towards the fallen form of Tela. She was alive, that much I could tell. She was moving, and soon I could hear her moaning over the comms.
"Son of an egg-spawn..." she muttered.
"The condensers discharge when shot at, frying anything nearby," I said, leaning over to help her up.
She snapped and gave me a slap on the helmet, nearly throwing off my feet.
"I can see that," she grunted.
"You're lucky to be alive," I said.
"No, I have a good medical interface," she retorted.
"They probably know we're here," Shiala said, walking past us with a purposeful step. "We better hurry."
I nodded and fell into step, while Tela came behind us. Oh she was pissed, I could tell. I felt a little bad for the next poor bastards we'd come across, because they were about to get on the receiving end of a stress-relieving exercise by one of the most dangerous Spectres in the galaxy. And I wasn't wrong. The next group barely got three steps in before both asari shot the nearest condensers, and Tela charged right in the middle of them. One very loud yell and a biotic explosion later, and the three of them confirmed their status as poor bastards as they were thrown high in the air, taken away by the spectacular winds of the storm.
"Feel better?" I said.
"I do now," Tela replied.
I was starting to get the feeling that this was going to be easier than expected. We found no other guards out there, not even combat mechs. We crossed two bridges and were just a shot walk away from the comms array.
And that's when all hell broke loose.
"Shit, get down!" I yelled.
We were about thirty metres from the entrance, and the place was absolutely packed with enemies. Two rockets landed as we dove into cover, the explosions rocking the area so bad I nearly lot my footing. Shit. I hit the magnetic lock of my boots, making sure I was well anchored, and nearly too late as someone slapped a singularity above us. I felt the pull of the gravity well, almost like it was turning me upside down. It's... hard to describe what being on the receiving end of biotic abilities is. I felt like everything was heavy, so heavy, the singularity struggling to pull the suddenly heavy gun off my hands. I fired the rifle, the shots pulling high - or low, it was hard to tell - and forcing me to correct my aim. Shots were hitting me too, taking bites off my kinetic barrier as they did. It was too heavy for me to crouch down into cover.
"Roy! Get down!" Shiala yelled.
"I... Can't..." I grunted.
The shields finally gave out, and bullets hit me as I tried to crouch down, dragging who knew how much weight away from the singularity. Pain flared on my side when a bullet finally broke through, but the singularity dissipated and I was able to crouch down into cover. The OSD flashed a warning about the suit being compromised, but the cool sensation of medi-gel being injected into my wound quickly stopped the pain.
I heard the boom of a biotic explosion, and peeked over the edge of the cover to see that Tela had charged into a thick throng of enemies on the left side. Crazy bitch.
"Are you hurt?" Shiala said, coming to get into cover not far from me.
"Nothing medi-gel can't fix I hope," I grunted in response. "Freaking biotics."
"Hey!"
Without answering, I racked the assault rifle and pulled the Black Mamba out. Tela was either making a huge mess of things, or tits deep in trouble and too proud to call in for help.
"Whenever you want, ladies!" she called over the comms. Well, strike the last bit out, then. "What in the abyss are you waiting for?"
"The dramatically appropriate moment!" I replied, getting out of cover, rifle up. "Start painting targets!"
I didn't have to tell them twice. I had a moment to see that Tela had gotten herself into a bit of a spot, because there was a lightning rod behind her, and a whole lot of enemies in front. I had no doubt she'd be capable of getting out, but hey, let's do our part. They weren't wasting time, my OSD soon started flashing with priority targets, so I had to get down to it fast.
One bullet, then a second. One asari went down with a splatter of blue. They had good gear, I couldn't get through when they had full shields in a single shot. I switched targets quickly, found a guy with a rocket launcher that was trying to give Tela grief, and a single bullet through the head put him down. Sucker. He got the cheap stuff instead.
That got me some attention, let me tell you. A hail of bullets peppered my position, but my shields held as I picked a third target. She was trying to get into cover, but there was enough of her back showing. Two bullets, and she went down. Not as spectacular as a headshot, but having a bullet go through your ribcage sideways can really do a number. I was about to dive down into cover when a swirl of dark energy surrounded me.
SHIT!
This time I didn't manage to grab onto something before I was lifted. Shit! I was a perfect target. I tried to twist and lay down fire, but being weightless and trapped in a biotic field really makes you pretty much helpless. I managed to catch the flash of a blue projectile, coming right for me. Oh crap, this was going to hurt. Biotic explosion inco-
It never made it to me. A second biotic attack zipped out from behind me and hit the incoming one with uncanny precision, the two of them interacting and making a huge blast that threw me backwards, floating away over the ship. My heart was beating hard, bracing for the inevitable plunge once I went over the edge. But instead of that, Shiala floated up to me, grabbed me, and the two of us went straight down as she started glowing brightly blue, dramatically increasing her own mass.
I landed with a thump, almost bouncing off in my weightlessness. Shiala took a moment to look down at me and smile behind the face plate of her helmet, but it was cut short when a splatter of blue blood erupted from her stomach, splashing on my helmet. For a moment she looked like she didn't know what had happened, and then went down.
"Shit! Shiala!"
So much blood. Shit, I had no idea how similar asari and human internals were. I pulled my omni-tool and ran the automated scanner. Not great, but it wasn't complaining about any life-threatening injuries. I started applying medi-gel, struggling to apply through the blood. Shiala was grunting something, but I ignored it for now. More important things.
"Are you two alive or do I have to do everything myself?" Tela called over the comms.
"You're a Spectre, aren't you?" I retorted, annoyed. Shiala grunted in pain as I did, damn, keep your head in the game. "Sorry."
"I'm fine," she muttered. "Careless."
"She's fine!" Tela called. "Get your ass here!"
"You know what? Fine!" I snapped.
Leaving blue blood all over it, I grabbed the Black Mamba, set the two-bullet burst mode, and got out of cover, picking targets as fast as I could. One, two, three, I dove down after the fourth, and quickly came up on the other side of the ledge. Five, six. Seven. The last rocket launcher wielding guard went down right after firing a rocket at me, so I had to get into cover again.
Only then I realized there had been no more biotic attacks.
"Not bad," Tela said. "Five headshots, and the other two were in cover. Hows the girlfriend?"
"Who?"
"I'm fine," Shiala said, struggling to her feet.
"Hey, the medi-gel hasn't set yet," I said.
"We can't stay here."
I ventured a glance over my cover, and saw that Tela was already cleaning house. There were maybe five people left, and the way they were fighting - shooting blindly, retreating in disarray - showed that they were not going to last long. Tela Vasir didn't mess around. With a sigh, I racked my weapon and turned to Shiala. She was laying on the ground, but her breathing was strong and regular.
"It was a clean shot," she said.
"How do you know?"
"Medical interface."
She offered me a hand, and I took it to help her to her feet. She was still uneasy on them, so I threw her arm over my shoulders. Not ideal, I was much taller than she was. I saw the last one of the Broker's men flying off in a blur of blue energy, and heard a giggle over the comms coming from Tela. Okay, that was slightly disturbing. I made it to the entrance, and left Shiala to sit down in a well protected corner. It looked a lot like it did in the game. Tela sauntered over, gave Shiala and I a glance, and went for the door.
Well, if memory served, this is where reinforcements arrived. I unracked both the Black Mamba and the assault rifle, and laid them down by the ledge in front of the door.
"Expecting trouble?" Tela said, still trying to open the door.
"What do you think? The Broker's going to sit on his ass and let us enter?"
"And give us some pie while at it," Tela retorted.
I kept my eyes on the radar, waiting for the inevitable. Behind, in front, where- There.
"Drones!" I called, taking the Mamba.
Single shot semi-automatic mode. They were weak. One bullet, one drone. Keep your eyes on the prize, and ignore the fact that they have rocket launchers. As long as I shot them down before they shot at me, I'd be golden. They kept coming, faster than I wanted them to. After fifteen the rifle overheated, and with a curse, I swapped over to the assault rifle. Damn, now the drones were close, and they started to shoot at me. Goddamn rockets. There were about half a dozen drones left, and now they were close enough to start shooting. I took two down, dove into cover as rockets exploded around me, and two drones whizzed overhead and past my cover.
Only to be taken down in the blink of an eye, one with a biotic attack that sent it crashing on the ground like a sack of rocks, the other by a burst of fire from two high-calibre pistols.
Shiala.
With her watching my six, I got out of cover and went at it again. The drones started shooting, but I held on to the last second, managing to shoot three down before the rockets hit. I waited for the fourth to get overhead, and then it was very violently torn to shreds by the combination of a biotic crush, assault rifle, and pistol shots.
"Hows the door coming?" I called, scanning for threats.
"Oh, I finished a while ago," Tela replied. "I was just watching."
She was standing by the open door, leaning on the wall with her arms crossed and a smile on her face so big I could see it through her faceplate.
"Really," I deadpanned, making her laugh.
I made for Shiala, but the asari stood on her own, acting as if the wound was nothing to worry about. And caught what I was thinking, too. She just gestured for me to stay back, and unholstered her pistols again. Well, fine. I took the assault rifle in my hands, and walked to the front of the group.
"Hold your positions, no matter the cost," a distorted voice called over the loudspeakers.
Several guards had come out to greet us, ordinance of all sizes raining on us as we went for cover. I was the first one out, spraying bullets as long as my shields held. A flash of electricity hit me, and my OSD started flashing angrily at me. Fuck, overload. I squeezed into cover as bullets hit my armor, most of them deflecting off the ceramic plates, but a couple of them broke through, and pain flared on my chest and arm.
Shit!
It didn't take long for the medical interface to kick in, but in the meantime my companions had been busy. While the Broker's people had been trying to turn me into a pin cushion, they had managed to get themselves to a better position, and started unloading biotic combos like there was no tomorrow. I saw a shockwave fly right after a singularity, then a second singularity to pull everyone in following the biotic explosion, and topped off by a couple of grenades.
The splatter of mixed alien blood and bits reached all the way to my cover.
"I want all teams to outpost C," the Shadow Broker called.
"Oh good," Tela said. "We won't have to hunt all over the ship for you guys."
"Comms check!" a voice called. Hah, Tela had hacked into them.
"Don't bother, I just want to say one thing," Tela said. "You're all going to die," she added, her voice low and menacing
There was a pause, then one of the guards spoke up. Almost like he was yelling, I could hear the false bravado in his voice, and so could the others.
"There's just three of you, Vasir," he said.
"I know," Tela purred. "I'll even the odds a little bit. The big guy with me? You should make him your priority target."
"Oi!"
"Ready?" Tela said.
I looked behind me at the path of destruction we had carved, and then at my two companions. It had been a tough fight, and none of us had walked out of it without some wounds. Tela didn't want to show it, but she had a limp, two bullets had gone through her leg and a third was still lodged in there somewhere. I had several of them too, the worst a shot that had embedded itself against my shoulderblade, and another that I knew for a fact had cracked one of my ribs. Shiala had been more careful, but she had gotten the most worrisome wound of all. A bullet had hit her neck, shallow enough that it didn't hit any of the major blood vessels, but literally half an inch from it costing her her life, not to mention the one she got outside the ship.
A few seconds to check the Mamba, and I nodded. Tela hit the door release, and it opened with a hiss, revealing the Shadow Broker's office. Shiala and Tela walked in with weapons raised, but I didn't bother. It was exactly as I remembered, with the broker sitting in the shadows behind his desk, cutting an enormous silhouette against the background of computer terminals and screens.
"You should have run," Tela said, her pistol aimed at the Broker. "I would have caught you anyway, but it would have been more fun."
"Vasir," he said, his distorted voice sending a chill up my spine. "How unfortunate. I thought we had a good working relationship."
"What can I say, a girl's got to feel wanted," Tela replied, her voice low and sultry.
"Unfortunate, and reckless."
"Really? Tell that to the guards outside."
"They were expendable, same as you."
"Or you," Shiala said, jumping into the conversation. I had a feeling she didn't want to be left out.
"Shiala Dovan," the Broker said. "A dangerous gambit for Matriarch Benezia to get involved in a coup like this. The shift of power will not leave the other matriarchs indifferent."
"After we kill-"
"It's pointless," the Broker interrupted. "I know your every secret. You involvement with the Tridend Colony fifty-three years ago is not a secret to me."
"You..."
Shiala's voice hesitated, which didn't surprise me. It didn't matter. To be honest I was looking forward to see what he had on me, it'd be a riot.
"Don't worry Shiala," I said, making a point to take a step forward. "Dead men tell no tales."
"Roy Morgan," the Broker said. "Why the asari would bring a nobody like you along is a mystery, even for me."
"... what, that's it?" I waited, but it was Tela who broke the silence, laughing.
"Go on, tell him," she said.
"Right. I'm the one who told them about you. Who you are and where to find you," I said. I cocked my rifle over my shoulder, striking a pose. I confess, I was enjoying myself - thank adrenalin for that - but didn't want to be caught off-guard. Now to see if I remembered everything. "You're a Yahg, a pre-space faring civilization declared off limits after they killed and allegedly ate the Council's delegates during first contact. Curiously, this ship pre-dates the discovery of the Yahg, which means you're not the original Shadow Broker. In a twist of irony I actually like, you replaced the original one, after being brought here as a trophy. Or a pet." I paused. "Any questions?"
The Broker leaned forward, hands under his enormous chin and giving us a glimpse of what he looked like past the shadows. Damn but the motherfucker was ugly. I could see he was trembling slightly, probably angry.
"One," he said. "Why."
"Why?" I paused to think about it. Huh. "No actual reason, actually. You were just a bargaining chip."
That was the last straw. He slammed his hands on his desk, and stood, the sudden movement taking my companions by surprise. I guess they hadn't really noticed how big he actually was.
"Oh yeah. Girls? He's a big guy," I said, and raised the Mamba.
The Broker roared and slammed his desk gain, just like I had expected him to. What I didn't expect was what he did next. He roared a second time, and charged right through the pieces of furniture, throwing them left and right towards my companions and running straight at me. My hands flew without having to think, my thumb switching the Mamba to full auto and spraying a full load at the Broker as he charged. It didn't even slow him down. I rolled out of the way, but severely underestimated his reach. With a sweep of his arm he caught him mid-roll and threw me hard against the wall.
I hit it like a sack of potatoes, falling to the ground with a thud and unable to think straight and try to cushion it somehow. Biotic attacks bounced off his shields harmlessly, I caught a glimpse of him and saw that the Mamba had taken most of them down, even if I was firing wildly. I saw Tela start to glow bright blue, set a foot back...
Here it comes.
Our opponent caught wind of what she was planning too, but his reaction was a surprise. He braced, and suddenly a bright orange shield was between him and the charging Spectre. The result was a blast that made the entire room shake, and Tela falling down like she had been struck by lightning. Shit. I tried to get to my feet, but only managed a very undignified stumble. The Broker took a step towards Tela, rose his leg, and was about to stomp on her when a biotic push hit the fallen asari, sending her tumbling away mere inches from being stomped by the Broker.
"You didn't forget about me, did you?" Shiala said, stepping into the light with both pistols up in her hands.
"I never forget anything, asari," the Broker replied. He pulled out an assault rifle, hunkered down behind his shield, and started shooting the thing with one hand.
Shit, I thought this would be easier.
I finally had gotten my bearings back, so I got to my feet and pulled my assault rifle. The Mamba had fallen several feet away from me, and I wasn't sure it was the best weapon at the moment. He was big enough that accuracy was really not an issue. I pulled to my feet and started shooting, the Broker roaring in pain and rushing backwards, hunkered down behind his shield. He made a flick of his wrist, and a bolt of energy shot from the top of the room, enveloping him in a new kinetic barrier. Shit, I remember this part.
"What the hell?" Shiala said, diving into cover. Yeah, he was still shooting while having that barrier around him. Cheater.
"Shiala! Biotics! Throw something big at him!"
I rushed between covers, moving closer to her while spraying with my assault rifle. I needed the Broker's attention, and I had to be able to step right between her and the incoming shots. As soon as he turned to me, Shiala got out of cover, shimmering blue surrounded by dark energy. The nearest half of the Broker's desk rose in the air, and a moment later shot towards him at amazing speed. He reacted in time to get his shield between the incoming attack and himself. It didn't do him much good, momentum being what it is, the desk crashed on him like a runaway aircar, throwing him off and hurting him quite badly.
"Nice!" I said, shooting a new burst at him. I scored several hits before he managed to get back to his feet and put the shield up.
And then I was the one who had to dive into cover when he turned to me. Whatever that fucking rifle he had was, it was chewing through my barrier like nobody's business.
"Roy!" Shiala called.
"I'm fine! Any ideas?"
"Yes," she said, and her voice came as a whisper over the comms. "Get him to charge at you again."
"... what?"
"Trust me."
I looked at her, then peeked out of cover. The Broker hadn't moved, and according to my targeting VI, his shields were recharging. Trust her? Shit, last time I stepped out I got thrown into a wall. Then again, we weren't getting anywhere. I swapped my rifle for the shotgun, and came out of cover guns blazing, firing round after round as I walked towards the Broker.
"Come on you big ugly! Show some balls!" I yelled.
Apparently, the Broker is easy to annoy. He roared, standing up to his entire eight feet tall frame, and shield forward, charged right at me.
Son of a bitch, but he was a fast lump of meat. I waited until the last second, and this time made sure I rolled well out of the way and towards his shield side, trying to avoid a repeat of the incident before. Right as I did there was a flash of blue biotic energy as Tela charged right at the back of the Broker, speeding his charge even more. Then, Shiala made her move. She came out of cover covered in dark energy, and made a swipe at the Broker before he could even react.
She had her melee weapon in her hands. It wasn't a sword, it had unfolded in her hands to show it was a spear. Lance. It was a long blade at the end of a four feet shaft, and she had spun it right as the Broker passed.
His body crashed on the wall while his head bounced off the floor a couple of times in the opposite direction. Then, and to my further surprise, Shiala made a swipe with her weapon and decided to strike a fucking pose.
"What..." I muttered.
"Oh Goddess, you're a Rania fangirl," Tela muttered, making Shiala laugh.
Author's Notes: Well, I was hoping to get more stuff done during this chapter, but the assault of the Shadow Broker's lair took longer than I had anticipated. Tela Vasir is an interesting character, a Spectre that dabbled with the Broker's network as a way to keep the galaxy safe. I always got the feeling that she was committed to her job as a Spectre, and didn't really go as far as Saren did with her brand of grey morality (as she mentioned). Of course, this is on the background of having Shepard forced to work with Cerberus, something I have several thoughts about.
So, would she replace the Broker? For one thing, Benezia and (spoiler) Tevos didn't give her much of a choice. She's asari, worked for/with the Broker, and did want to keep the galaxy safe. Taking over the network with the background of the impeding Reaper threat? Well, she could be pushed that way.
And she'd have a laugh about it too.
Oh, and Shiala using a melee weapon. Yes, she's a fangirl of something. More on that during the aftermath!
And reviews! So many lovely reviews, I'm glad to see there were no death threats about Joe's unfortunate fate.
thejoker122:So you have noticed that Roy didn't tell Shepard anything about the origin stories yet! Roy's quite thick when it comes to noticing female attention.
5 Coloured Walker: Yep, she joined right at 18, April 11, haven't changed that bit of canon. N-school with Shep will be interesting, for reasons :)
Selias: It's the Vila Militar, in Rio (that's how you'd say it in Portuguese), they do refer to it as the Vila on purpose :)
RadioPoisoning: Soldier. Roy's a grunt through and through, he doesn't believe himself capable of being anything else.
Oyshik: Thanks!Shep got better scores on all weapons and course training during bootcamp, except for the sniper courses. Roy went to the top percentile thanks to all the training he got :) Roy tried very hard to be something he wasn't - trying to be a sort of mentor figure, but ended up managing a complex brother-sister-like one with her. N-school, well, that'd be a spoiler :D But as for fighting together, they will! Life changing missions are something Roy will actually try to prevent.
Wolfund: I'm trying to wean myself, I promise!
Bolondka: Roy/Shep's very complicated at the moment. They're young, have seen some shit, and are confused as hell.
Toothless is best: Well, it's still early. Roy's going places! Shep'll take a bit more.
R3dRaven: Thanks a lot! Hope it's been fun enough to keep reading. Yeah, SIs seem very popular, it's a good way to throw things into flux isn't it? :)
Zeru'Xil, BJ Hanssen, Serenarey Chiba, WomanSlayer, Dickson, Lureln, Sci-Fifan95, Lfan8: Thanks a lot all for the support! I greatly appreciate you taking the time to write a review.
So this chapter went a bit longer than expected, but then again, the Lair of the Shadow Broker was a whole freaking DLC, so it shouldn't surprise me. So, next week, more lighthearted stuff, and if I get around to it, the Prism Box. Which really made me laugh when I thought of it. Until then, thanks for follows, favs, reviews, and of course, reading! You guys are the best.