Chapter 14
Harry offered to show Shiala to the sleeper pods, she'd volunteered to join them on their mission because she was concerned about Benezia. She had been acting very out of character. While she was not domineering, unlike most other matriarchs, she always radiated confidence, she inspired you to obey her instead of demanding it, but now she was prostrating herself, sometimes literally, before Saren, a bloodthirsty Turian spectre. Harry lead her into the lift and pressed the button.
"I'm sorry." Harry said.
"For what?" Shiala asked.
"I've been manipulated, used as a tool, and discarded by people when I was a young man. It is not a pleasant feeling." Harry said kindly. Shiala sighed and her shoulders slumped.
"I wouldn't trust Saren to judge the value of anything let alone a living being. Never let him make you think you're anything less than priceless." Harry said. Shiala took his hands and squeezed them, looking at him with tears in her eyes.
"Thank you, Harry. That means a lot." Shiala said. She then blushed and let his hands go.
"Sorry! Asari are very tactile..." Shiala said. Harry took her hands in his again and smiled.
"I know, I've met Dr. T'soni. I'm not offended." Harry said. The door opened and he showed her to the sleeping pods, which she immediately made use of after thanking him. Harry walked over to the mess are and sat down. He was about to order when a mug of tea and a plate of blueberry scones was placed in front of him by a beaming Sargent Gardner.
"You read my mind, Rupert. Thanks." Harry said
"Thanks for giving me good food to work with." Gardner said, sitting across from him and sipping coffee from his mug.
"Supposedly Napoleon once said that an army marches on its stomach." Harry said with a grin. Gardner laughed.
"Truer words were never spoken." Gardner said. Liara and Tali walked in and sat with Harry at that stage.
"What can I get you, ladies?" Gardner asked.
"Please Rupert, finish your coffee." Liara said. He shook his head.
"I don't think you understand how much I love cooking." Gardner said with a grin. She ordered a seafood dish and Tali requested dextro nutrient paste. Gardner looked at her funny.
"Seriously?" Gardner asked the Quarian
"What?" Tali asked.
"I have a fridge full of dextro food and two people on this ship that can eat it." Gardner said, slapping a menu surprisingly written in Kheelish in front of her.
"I've got Turian and Quarian recipes. Garrus likes the moonberry pie." Gardner said, pointing to that item on the list.
"If it's not too much trouble, I'll try that." Tali said. Gardner nodded.
"I just need to heat it up and sterilize it." Gardner said, walking back to his kitchen.
"I'm sure it'll take some getting used to Tali, just try to ask when you want or need something." Harry said. He picked up a scone and handed it to Liara.
"Try this, They're amazing." Harry said.
"What is it?" Liara asked, scanning it with her omnitool.
"It's called a scone. It's an earth food made from flour, sugar, berries and a number of other things. I think you'll like it." Harry said. Liara took a tentative bite and her eyes shot wide open.
"That's amazing!" Liara said, before devouring the rest of it.
"Wait until I introduce you to the majestic experience of blueberry muffins." Harry said with a faraway look in his eyes.
"So what's our next move?" Liara asked, scooting over when Shepard arrived.
"We've got some time. The next window for landing on Noveria is next week. Benezia was spotted on Illium two days ago, which means she's not there yet. We're heading to the Citadel to meet with Admirals Anderson and Hackett and resupply." Shepard explained.
"Oh and Elizabeth is going to be there to examine Jeff and try out a new version of his potion. I've also got a few projects I need to check on." Harry said, cryptically.
"Anything interesting?" Shepard asked.
"Someone from the Primarch's staff wants to meet with me, something about the Quarians, I have some business with my companies to handle, and we need to meet with an Asari representative. She'll need to debrief Shiala and process the paperwork to attach her to the Normandy crew. We are officially the most racially diverse warship in the galaxy! Aside from that there are a few things that... well I couldn't even talk to Steve about them. Nothing immediately dangerous, but extremely important." Harry said. Shepard nodded, knowing better than to push him. If Harry didn't want to tell you something, it was for a damn good reason.
"We'll also have to requisition armor and weapons for you, Shiala. The... fluid the Thorian had you suspended in ruined your commando armor." Shepard said. Shiala nodded.
"Thanks for the loaner uniform by the way." Shiala said.
"I can't wait to see the Asari representative's reaction to an Asari in an Alliance uniform." Tali said, chuckling. Gardner arrived with Tali and Shiala's food along with an Asari tea and vegetarian sandwich for Liara, which she accepted gratefully.
"Hope you don't mind, I guessed on yours, Dr. T'soni." Gardner said with a grin.
"Call me Liara and thank you this is exactly what I wanted." Liara said.
"Anything for you, commander?" Gardner asked. She shook her head.
"No thanks. Sargent. I loaded up before the mission and I'm still processing that." Shepard said, patting her belly. They couldn't see it but Tali smiled at that. During her time on the fleet she'd served with some captains that insisted on separating themselves from the rest of the crew, remaining on a pedestal above them, and others who disregarded their rank as soon as their shift was over. She always saw better results and more cohesive teamwork with the latter.
"Harry! I just remembered! Your ship is still out there somewhere between Therum and the Citadel!" Liara said.
"You mean this ship?" Harry said, after reaching into a pocket and withdrawing what looked like an extremely detailed and tiny scale model of his personal shuttle.
"I don't understand..." Liara said. Harry raised his hands and wiggled his fingers dramatically.
"Magic!" Harry said.
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The next day, Harry sat in a corner of the cargo bay tapping on his omnitool's haptic keyboard. Laying on the workbench in front of him was a printout of an article that had been printed in dozens of languages across all civilized worlds. With the stroke of a proverbial pen, Harry had destroyed ExoGeni's reputation, and thus the prices of their stocks took a nosedive. Ethics investigations tended to be of little consequence for Turian, Asari or especially Salarian corporations. Salarian companies tended to trade specifically on the fact that they were loose with ethics, or even morality. Humans, on the other hand, held their citizens to a much higher standard.
Harry had started with an anonymous report that Feros had been under attack, and that ExoGeni lost a billion credits worth of property as well as the lives of dozens of its employees. Shortly after, insurance companies representing the families of the fallen employees and colonists descended upon their corporate headquarters, and made a lot of really loud, really ugly accusations, and demands for compensation.
The media reported a quick explanation, and vowed to dig deeper, and much to their surprise an "anonymous" source dumped terabytes of data that had been mined from the central core in the ExoGeni building on Feros. Mind control research was bad enough, the deaths were enough to seal the deal, but when it came out that it resulted in the extinction of an ancient, unique life form, the other races started poking around. Within the space of 24 hours, ExoGeni's stock price had dropped to less than one percent of its previous worth.
Harry submitted the paperwork to purchase a controlling interest, he'd been meaning to diversify his stock portfolio anyway, and ExoGeni had access to extremely useful research data. Data that would assist if you were to say, be preparing for a galaxy-wide invasion if nigh-unkillable murder squids. He'd just saved the database he'd built with the information he'd data mined from their servers when a notification appeared on his omnitool. He stood from the workbench he'd been using and made his way out of the Normandy and onto the docking bay.
He secured rapid transit to a quiet part on the edge of one of the Citadel's arms, where a small bistro had been established shortly after Humanity joined the galactic community. He took a seat at one of the outdoor benches and ordered a glass of water, which he placed conspicuously at the center of the table. Fifteen minutes later he was joined by a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt, the hood drawn over his face to obscure his identity.
"Mr. Weaver, I presume." Harry said with a grin. The figure nodded.
"Any news?" Harry asked. Weaver slid a tablet towards him which he picked up and secured in a bag that he had slung over his shoulder.
"Would you like anything?" Harry asked.
"I could use a beer." The man said, grinning. Harry ordered him one.
"You still safe?" Harry asked.
"For now. I wish I had my wand, they confiscated the spare I was issued like you said they would." Weaver said. Harry nodded.
"Remember to keep practicing the wandless you can do. It might save your life. Any news on your friend?" Harry asked.
"Actually yeah. She's a literal genius so I'm sure she suspects something, but she's let it slip once or twice that she isn't so sure about him any more. She's beginning to question him." Weaver said.
"I'm shocked it took her this long, that greasy little shit isn't exactly subtle." Harry spat. Weaver grinned.
"I'd better be off, I gotta catch a transport off the citadel in about twenty minutes." Weaver said, standing. Harry stood and shook his hand.
"The information is important, Weaver, but you are too. Stay safe, say the word and I'll arrange an evac." Harry said.
"You got it." Weaver said, before he turned and left. Harry grinned. This meeting went better than he'd hoped. He drank the water and waved his credit chit at the kiosk, paying for the drinks before walking back towards the Presidium. It just so happened he passed Chora's den just as a familiar Krogan was making his way towards the establishment. Harry waved, and then stopped when the Krogan gestured for him to follow. Harry shrugged and complied, following the Krogan into an alley.
"I remember you... From Aethyta's bar, right?" Harry said. The Krogan grinned and nodded.
"Still can't believe you even survived two shots of ryncol, Human." the Krogan said. Harry laughed
"The glowing piss was worth it. What can I do you for?" Harry said.
"My name is Urdnot Wrex... and I'm here on a job. For the Shadow Broker." Wrex said, quietly.
"Ooh sounds fun!" Harry said excitedly. Wrex laughed.
"Now that you're retired again, I was wondering if you were interested in getting your hands dirty." Wrex asked.
"Go on." Harry said.
"Chora's Den is owned by a disreputable Human known as 'Fist.'" Wrex said. Harry rolled his eyes
"I've heard of him. His real name is Marion Griffin. Not sure where he got the nickname, but I've been telling people he got it in jail." Harry said grinning. Wrex cackled at that. After he regained his composure he continued.
"He was an agent for the Shadow Broker, but he betrayed him to that Spectre your friend Shepard is after. There's quite the contract on his head. I was wondering if you'd watch my back for half." Wrex asked.
"Nope, I'll do it for one credit. That son of a bitch has been on my shit list for years now. If I take the 1 credit, then I'm technically under contract and it'll be a slap on the wrist for wrecking his shit if we get caught." Harry said. Wrex nodded, and detached his shotgun.
"After you, Human." Wrex said. Harry grinned and walked into Chora's den. They walked over to the bar and Harry ordered two ryncols.
"Lemme go 'talk' to his guards, once they go down follow me in, that sound reasonable?" Harry asked. Wrex nodded. He paid for the drinks and passed one of the ryncols to Wrex, downing the other. He shuddered.
"Jesus they even water the ryncol down here." Harry said. Wrex nodded sadly.
"After this if you ever make your way to Tuchanka I'll show you what real ryncol tastes like." Wrex siad. Harry grinned and walked over to the guards, pretending to stagger as he approached.
"Hey... 'sup my man. I'm here to see... ah fuck, what's his name, fingers?" Harry asked, slurring his voice dramatically.
"It's Fist..." One of the guards said, trying not to smirk.
"That's the guy!" Harry said before leaning in and stage whispering.
"I heard he got that nickname in jail." Harry said. The other guard snorted and the first struggled not to laugh.
"Fist isn't seeing visitors at the moment." The first guard said.
"Aww crap... there's a password isnt there?" Harry asked, scratching his chin.
"Really, sir..." The second guard said.
"I got it! The password is... stupefy!" Harry said, holding his hands out towards both men. They both staggered back against the wall and slid to the ground, unconscious. Harry gestured for Wrex to come over.
"The door is biometrically locked... Oh hand print scanner! Haven't seen that in a while!" Harry said. He reached down and grabbed one of the sleeping guard's hands, removed his glove and stuffed it on the sensor. The door opened, and Harry let go of his hand.
"After you, Krogan." Harry said with a grin. Wrex shook his head and chuckled, before walking in through the door.
"See if you can avoid killing these guys, they're just paid muscle." Harry said, pulling out the Elder Wand and firing silent stunners at a pair of guards. That alerted the rest, who descended upon them. Bullets pinged off their shields, and while Harry was throwing every non lethal spell he could think of, Wrex charged and started pummeling and beating them with his gun.
"What's going on?!" A voice cried from an intercom. Nobody replied, they were too busy being demolished by an unarmed human and a Krogan.
"Report!" The voice demanded, right before Wrex dropped the last conscious guard.
"Nice, no fatalities. Thanks." Harry said. Wrex nodded and lead Harry over to the door to Fist's office.
"You got some of that magic stuff for this?" Wrex asked.
"Fist is human, he probably knows about magic and probably has wizards on his staff... but he is an idiot..." Harry said.
"You'll never get in here! That door is reinforced steel and the maglock is unbreakable." The voice shouted.
"Alohamora." Harry said, waiving the Elder wand. He was disappointed when the lock clicked and the door swung open.
"Jesus, guy, come on!" Harry shouted.
"Damn you! Get him!" The voice shouted. Several security mechs stepped into the hallway and opened fire. Harry raised a protego shield, absorbing their first volley, then dropped to the ground just in time for Wrex to level his shotgun and disintegrate two of them with a single blast. Harry twisted his wand in an intricate pattern, causing lightning to erupt from it and crash into one mech before jumping to another. They convulsed before dropping to the ground inert. Wrex dispatched the last by ramming his shotgun into its head several times.
They looked up and saw Fist cowering behind his desk. He fiddled with a control box, causing the two automated turrets on either side of his desk to awaken and start winding up. Wrex raised his shotgun but Harry beat him to the punch, obliterating both with the reducto curse.
"Shit! Fuck! Ok... I'll Talk... What do you want? Just don't kill me!" Fist cried.
"I won't kill you... if you give me everything you have on Saren." Harry said. Wrex looked at him but said nothing.
"Done!" Fist said, bringing up his omnitool.
"Yeah that's not what I meant. Legillimens!" Harry said, diving into his mind. He ravaged his mind, taking everything he could find that was of use. Not only did he have everything he'd given Saren, but he now knew that Fist had contacted Cerberus for protection from the Shadow Broker, and more importantly who his contacts there were. He broke the connection causing fist to stagger back and collapse into his chair.
"F-fuck!" Fist said, shaking his head.
"Are you happy now? You gonna leave?" Fist asked after regaining his senses.
"Sure. Like I said, I won't kill you. Never said anything about my buddy here though." Harry said, walking out of the room. Wrex grinned savagely, raising his shotgun and ending the crime lord's life with a single blast. Wrex walked over to the dead man, photographing the corpse and sending the image to the Shadow Broker through his omnitool. He turned and walked out, joining Harry.
"That was fun." Wrex said.
"I got good news and bad news. Good news is he totally did get that nickname in prison, and for the exact reason you're imagining!" Harry said.
"Ha! And the bad news?" Wrex said.
"That." Harry said, gesturing towards the two dozen c-sec officers approaching them with their weapons raised.