A/N: Sorry, this took longer than anticipated, even with considering the holidays and all. I was almost ready to publish when I decided to do a major rewrite of the middle part. Also, I wrote large parts of this chapter on my smartphone, so please ignore the mistakes. Thanks :)
Bioware still owns ME.
And thank you Vorcha Girl, AngstyShenko and guest for your reviews!
5. Spectre
Garrus lead the way to C-Sec headquarters and they indeed got lucky there. Wrex was talking to a couple of C-Sec officers in the atrium. Nick stood back watching the exchange and then walked up to him unabashed. The krogan practically towered over her as he turned to face her.
"What do you want?" he rumbled, eying her uniform suspiciously.
Nick looked at her fingernails and shrugged nonchalantly as she glanced up to him. "I'm going after Fist and thought you might want to come along."
"And who are you?" Wrex stared at the small female human. She squared her shoulders, her posture now taking a clearly military stance.
"I'm Commander Shepard, Sys..."
"Commander Shepard? Aye, I've heard of you. You're a warrior, Shepard, so let me give you a fair warning." He brought his face close to hers. "I am going to kill Fist." She still didn't flinch, but stood her ground and stared back at him levelly. Wrex was quite impressed. And surprised. He had imagined the famous Commander Shepard to be taller.
"It'll be easier if we work together," Garrus spoke up. "But our best guess would be Chora's Den. He owns the place after all."
Wrex turned his head away from Shepard to study the other two accompanying her. A turian and a male human, hmpf. The human male was watching him warily. Wrex wasn't worried. He was certain neither the turian nor the male Alliance soldier were a match for him. It might be interesting to see what this Shepard girl could do though. There were plenty of rumors concerning her. He was sure not many humans could fight off a Thresher Maw. Or hold off an entire platoon by themselves. He wanted to see what was so special about this young woman that seasoned Alliance soldiers seemed awed as soon as her name was mentioned. "You might be right. Ok, Shepard. We have a saying 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend'."
She grinned and stuck out her hand. "I think we'll get along just fine, Wrex."
Shepard stepped back. She would have to send someone to Anderson again. She looked at her three companions, considering her options. She didn't know much about Wrex's battle skills so there was only one way to find out. Or Garrus' apart from the fact that he was a decent shot. The resulting conclussion therefore was obvious.
"Lieutenant," she turned towards Kaidan, "please inform Captain Anderson that I have gone with Officer Vakarian and Wrex to follow a promising lead."
For a split second Kaidan's eyes flicked over to Garrus and Wrex and he looked like he was going to question her order. The moment passed so quickly she thought it must have been her imagination. His face was a mask of perfect professionalism as he saluted. "Aye-aye, Commander. I don't think I could handle Chora's Den twice in one day anyway."
She laughed quietly and then watched his retreating form as Kaidan headed towards the presidium before turning back to Garrus and Wrex. "As much as I agree with Lieutenant Alenko, I am afraid we won't be able to forego the pleasure of another visit at Chora's Den. Let's go."
The silence down by Chora's Den was suspicious enough already. The fact that the doors were firmly shut only added to that sensation.
"They know we're coming," Garrus hissed under his breath.
"Sure looks like it." Nick hesitated as her hand hovered over her shotgun. Instead she pulled out her sniper rifle.
As soon as the doors slid open their welcoming committee opened fire. Nick ducked behind a halfwall, popping up only to take down a mercenary. Garrus did the same. Wrex had pulled a shotgun and barreled right in. When Nick realized she had to change positions she also pulled her shotgun. It was just to confined in Chora's Den for decent sniping. She sprinted to the next cover.
After clearing out the mercenaries in the main room they came to the doors leading to Fists' office. The doors opened to reveal two warehouse workers pointing pistols at them. "Workers, all real guards must be dead," Garrus whispered.
"You can't go in here!" one almost squealed. The hand holding his pistol was shaking.
Nick raised her eyebrows. "I think you should reconsider your line of work. I just killed a shitload of mercs to get here. What do you think I could do to you?"
"Uh, I'm not getting paid enough for shit like this." Both warehouse workers holstered their guns and made for the exit.
"Good choice!" Nick called after them.
"It would've been quicker just to shoot them," Wrex grumbled.
"You can't solve all problems by shooting things," Garrus replied.
"Bollocks, Vakarian. Sometimes trigger-happy is the only way to go," Wrex firmly stated. Nick chuckled softly, shaking her head as she headed for the next door and found it locked. Shit. Maybe she shouldn't have sent Alenko away after all. She was really bad at overriding locks. Not that she couldn't do it at all but they wanted to find this quarian yet today. Luckily, she wasn't alone.
"Can one of you guys override this damn lock?" she asked pointing at the offending object. Garrus strode forwards and open his omnitool. He made short work of the lock and the door slid open. Shepard thanked him. "You're a tech, Garrus? Good to know."
At last they found Fist in his office. Unfortunately he had two mounted turrets on either side of his office which started firing as soon as Nick had passed into range. She dove back into cover. "Garrus! Overload!"
While Garrus overloaded one turret she and Wrex took out the other with their shotguns. They walked up to Fist who was grovelling on the ground. Nick didn't waste any time. "Where's the quarian?"
"I ... I have no idea who you're talking about ... ," he stammered.
Nick pointed her shotgun at his knees. "Wrong answer," she snarled, " Now, if you feel partial to your kneecaps I suggest you start talking."
The threat obviously worked. Fist told them about this young quarian who had asked to meet the Shadow Broker, claiming she had some interesting information. He had told her he would set up a meeting which was supposed to take place shortly in an alley on the lower wards. Wrex scoffed at that, saying even he was contacted by a contractor. Fist finally admitted it was a trap. Shepard narrowed her eyes.
"But i..if you hurry you can still get there in time!" he told them. Nick nodded her head in acquiescence. As she turned to go Wrex walked up to Fist and shot him.
"What the...?" Nick and Garrus whipped around.
"I had a contract to fulfill. I don't leave my jobs half done," Wrex said plainly.
Nick ran a hand through her hair. "I get that. And he really had it coming. But we don't shoot unarmed people. If they are criminals - as Fist was - we hand them over to the authorities. And now we better get moving." As she was just about to leave her eyes fell on a disc. On a hunch she pocketed it. Who knew what kind of evidence might be on it?
As they headed to the alley where the set-up for the quarian was they encountered new waves of mercenaries. Nick desperately wished she had some grenades to clear the path quicker. Once they had shot their way through the mercs they ran to the alley Fist had told them about. They arrived in time to witness the quarian ask where the Shadow Broker was. After refusing to hand over the data Saren's men attacked her. She reacted quickly by throwing a grenade and suddenly realized she had back-up in form of a woman, a turian and a krogan.
"Fist set me up!" the quarian fumed as soon as the last opponent was taken care of. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted him."
"Yeah. Don't worry about Fist, he got what he deserved. Did you get hurt?"Shepard asked, looking the young quarian up and down. It didn't look like she was injured.
"I can take care of myself! Not that I don't appreciate the help. And it is nice I don't have to be concerned about Fist. But...who are you, anyway?" The young woman backed away slowly, keeping a wary eye on them.
"Commander Shepard, Systems Alliance Navy. I am looking for evidence against Saren." Nick properly introduced herself.
"Then I have the chance to repay you for saving my life," the quarian replied. "But not here. It is too...open here."
"What about at the human embassy's office? I'm sure the your ambassador will want to hear of this," Garrus suggested.
"You're right. Let's head back." Shepard looked at everyone for a moment and went on her way.
Meanwhile Kaidan made his way back to the presidium to inform Anderson. He was fairly sure he knew why the commander had sent him back with the message. She probably wanted to see both Garrus and Wrex in action, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Personally he found the decision too risky. Wait, why exactly was he worried? She was an N7. And Garrus a C-Sec officer. And Wrex...Just can it, Alenko. She'll be fine.
As he walked into the embassies he saw Ashley sitting on a bench in the foyer. She raised an eyebrow quizzically when she saw him approaching alone. Ashley got up and wandered in his direction.
"What are you doing here, LT? Where's Shepard?" She looked passed him as if expecting Shepard to emerge behind him any second.
"She's giving Chora's Den another visit. This time with Garrus and Wrex." Kaidan's answer was short and crisp. He didn't need Ashley's comments just now. He knew she wouldn't like it. Not that it mattered. He really liked her but she had the habit of second-guessing her officers and at the moment he found that really annoying.
"WHAT? How could you!" Ashley glared at him. She seemed really upset.
"It was her decision, Chief. I understand her motive, really. Doesn't mean I like it, Ash. If the Captain disagrees and chews me out for obeying a direct order, then so be it." He kept on walking towards Udinas' office, Ashley following closely.
He knocked and then opened the door. The councilor and Anderson turned to see who had entered the room. Kaidan snapped off a text-book salute and informed the captain of Shepards' decision.
"At ease, Lieutenant. That sounds like something Shepard would do. We'll just have to wait until she shows up herself." Anderson nodded at him. "Have a seat. Both of you."
"Wait!" Udina demanded. "I just got a message about an all-out fire fight in Chora's Den. Can't she do anything without leaving a path of destruction?"
They didn't have to wait long before Shepard walked in - without knocking - followed by Garrus, Wrex and a Quarian.
"Commander!" Udina demanded, "do you have any idea how much trouble you are causing? Fire fights in the wards? An all-out assault on Chora's Den?...Who's that?"the councilor had noticed the young quarian.
"Keep your hat on." Nicks tone was icy. "Before jumping down my throat maybe you should know she has evidence that can help us bring down Saren."
"Really?" Udina nearly sneered at her. It was obvious he didn't believe her. Shepard just stared at him and was satified when the ambassador broke eye contact first as he turned tolook at the young quarian. "Maybe we could start at the beginning, Miss...?"
"My name is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya," the quarian answered.
"What are you doing on the Citadel?" Udina asked. "We don't see many quarians here, they rarely leave the Flotilla."
"I was on my pilgrimage, a rite of passage into adulthood," Tali explained as she saw the puzzled expressions. "When we reach maturity we leave the ships of our parents and our people behind and search the stars only to return to the Flotilla when we have found something of value, be it resources,or knowledge,or something else that may prove useful to the Flotilla. During my travels I began hearing reports of geth. Since they drove my people from the homeworld the geth never ventured beyond the veil. I was curious. I encountered some geth and managed to disable one and salvage this from its memory core."
"I thought geth memory cores got fried when they died. Somekind of defence mechanism." Anderson's brow furrowed.
"That is correct. But if you are quick, careful and lucky and know what you are doing it is possible to salvage small caches of data." Tali sounded very confident. "After all, we built the geth. Anyway, I managed to salvage something off of one of the audio banks." She lit up her omnitool and played the audio data she had salvaged.
"Eden Prime was a major victory. The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit," a turian voice said, followed by a female voice saying "And one step closer to the return of the Reapers."
"The first voice was Saren's," Anderson told them."but who was the woman?"
"I didn't recognize the voice," Udina said, shaking his head.
Shepard made a face. "Saren said the beacon brought him one step closer to finding the Conduit? What is the Conduit? And what are these Reapers the woman talks about?"
Tali explained that the Reapers were a hyper-advanced machine race that existed 50 000 years ago according to the geth memory core. They hunted the protheans to total extinction and then vanished. "At least, that's what the geth believe." Tali finished. "The geth revere the reapers as gods, the pinnacle of non-organic life. And they believe Saren can bring the Reapers back."
Udina hmpfed. "That seems a little far fetched."
"No." Shepard shook her head. "The vision from the beacon on Eden Prime? I understand it now. It showed the protheans being wiped out by the Reapers." She shuddered as she thought about the vision she had from the beacon.
"The Council is just going to love this." Udina looked decidedly unhappy about the prospect of having to inform the Council.
"The Reapers are a threat to every known species. They have to know." Nick was not fond of the Council, but this information was too valuable to withold. She couldn't believe the human councilor even considered not informing them about this.
"That aside, these audio files prove Saren's involvement on Eden Prime," Anderson mentioned. They all agreed on that and Udina told them he and Anderson would go ahead and prepare everything for the Council. "Take a few minutes to collect yourselves and then meet us in the tower."
Tali offered her help and Nick gladly accepted, if a little hesitantly. Shepard inquired if it wouldn't interfere with Tali's pilgrimage. After being reassured that was no issue - quite the opposite, actually - she agreed.
While they were waiting to be heard by the council for the second time in one day they had some time to look around the Citadel some more. Shepard told Garus, Wrex and Tali they could either join her, Kaidan and Ashley or settle in on the Normandy or wait for them in the Council chamber. She was surprised to hear all three aliens wanted to wait until after the hearing. Well, maybe she wasn't that surprised. She would most likely have done the same, wanting to know what was going to happen next.
Kaidan and Ash on the other hand joined her on her stroll through the Presidium. Nick decided to visit Barla Von, even if Wrex was already part of her team now. Maybe the Shadow Broker contact would have some other lead yet. They also met the Consort and Nick found herself agreeing to try to persuade a turian General to drop the defamations he had been spreading. She didn't quite feel comfortable around the asari consort. When the asari had caressed her face she had stiffened, not knowing what to expect. Nick did not like being touched by people she didn't know. It felt almost as though Shaira was trying to seduce her. Well, that wouldn't work. Nick was not into asari, or other females. She had tried a dating a woman once but had quickly realized that something was lacking. She wanted a man when it came to certain...things. And the way the asari consort touched her face and then hugged her was usually reserved for people she was much more intimate with.
She was also unaware of Kaidan's or Ashley's reactions to the intimacy the Consort showed towards her as they stood a few feet behind her. He tried to hide his discomfort but couldn't quite keep his fists from curling as he stepped from one foot to the other. and Ashley looked as though she had an unpleasant taste in her mouth. Neither of them were happy with the lack of respect the Consort showed for their XO.
As they continued their stroll through the Presidium they came across a hanar arguing with a turian C-Sec officer. Shepard slowed down to listen in a little. Eventually she shrugged her shoulders and walked on at her usual pace. Surely the C-Sec officer would manage to take care of the hanar on his own. She checked her omnitool. Still no message from Anderson. Well, then they could head to the wards yet, too, right?
"Lieutenant, do you have any idea if we need any medical provisions?" Shepard asked over her shoulder as she walked towards Dr. Michels' clinic.
"I don't know of anything specific, ma'a...Commander." He corrected himself again quickly as soon as he saw her eyebrows shoot up. He couldn't help but notice that her eyes looked more stormy grey than blue from this angle. He glanced over at Ashley who was grinning at him. Of course. "It never hurts to stock up on medi-gel, though."
"My thoughts exactly." Nick shot him a quick smile.
Shepard walked into the clinic only to see a clearly troubled doctor talking to somebody who seemed less than friendly. She sighed. "Why is it that every time I come here you seem to be in some kind of trouble, Doctor?"
The doctor tried to play it down but after a look in Nick's face decided to tell them what was going on after all. As soon as she had finished explaining Nick stretched out her hand. "Give me the supplies. We'll take care of it. And I promise you won't be bothered anymore when I am done with them."
"I suppose it is probably best not to ask what you plan on doing." Dr. Michel handed over a package with supplies. Nick just nodded her head in consent. It seemed to her that the doctor was in over her ruddy head. A small voice in her head was saying she should just tell Dr. Michel tough luck and walk away but Nick liked helping people. So she took the package and headed to the sales booths on the Lower Wards. On their way she was hailed again by an Asian looking woman whom she had noticed trying to get her attention earlier that day already. It probably wouldn't hurt to stop there for a minute. After all, knowing her luck she would still be there on their way back to the clinic.
Funny, how things work out, she mused as they left a very happy reporter after Nick had given her the disc she had found in Fists' office. And it was kind of nice to have a journalist in her debt. Sort of. Her omnitool beeped. She opened it and read the message Anderson had sent her.
The Council is ready for you. 10 minutes, Nick.
"Looks like the doctor's problem is going to have to wait. Apparently the Council is prepared to hear us again." Shepard altered her course and started jogging towards a rapid transit terminal, hailing a cab to bring them to the Citadel Tower.
A while later Shepard found herself inducted into the Spectres. The turian councilor wasn't thrilled about it but he complied. There was a brief induction ceremony with much less pomp than she had expected. Not that she was complaining or that it lacked pathos. Nick hated official ceremonies. Especially if she was the, ah, guest of honor. Spectres are trained, not chosen...Spectres are an ideal, a symbol...protectors of galactic peace, both the first and last line of defense... She replayed the councilors' words in her mind. No pressure, huh? Now she was supposed to bring down Saren and she fully intended to do so. Maybe she could shove a grenade launcher up his ass and...ok, that might be overkill, but it sure as hell sounded tempting. But the whole situation was so typical. First not wanting to acknowledge anything and then expecting her to put out the fire, so to speak. The good thing was she now had access to Spectre requisitions. After Udina had left mumbling something about her needing a ship and a crew and practically ordering Anderson to follow him she turned to her squad.
"You heard the Captain. Let's go get some new toys!" She rubbed her hands with glee. "You both need new armor and I expect the arms selection to be top-notch as well." She stopped as she noticed Ashley's and Kaidan's puzzled look. "Oh, come on. You don't expect me to take you on missions in that Phoenix armor, do you, Chief? As for your Alliance issue light armor," she looked at Kaidan shaking her head, "I don't think so. I can't have my head of marine detail running around wearing a piece of junk like that. And if you absolutely have to use a pistol let's find you one with a little more oomph to it." This was going to be fun. She loved this kind of shopping.
Before she activated the RapidTransit terminal however she walked over to a obviously flustered admiral. He introduced himself as Admiral Kahoku and after congratuating her for receiving Spectre status he admitted that one of his platoons was missing and he was being stonewalled by the beaurocrats in the Brass. Kaidan and Ashley looked at each other behind Shepards' back. It sure sounded suspicious. Why would the Brass stonewall one of their own admirals? Nick didn't hesitate to offer her help, much to the approval of her squadmates.
She probably shouldn't have been surprised by the Spectre requisitions officer's reaction when the 'special stock' popped upon his display after she had stated her name and rank. She just rolled her eyes as the turian officer tried to hide his surprise. "Just...show me what you've got." Her eyes began to shine as she inspected the Spectre Master Gear equipment. She turned her head to see what her squad was looking at, only to find Ashley right next to her drooling over the HWMA assault rifle. Nick couldn't see Kaidan and turned in the other direction. Of course, she should have known. He was fawning over the omnitools and amps.
"See anything you like, Alenko?" she asked, humor tinting her voice as she watched him almost lovingly run a finger along one of the biotic amps. He jerked his hand away as if he had been zapped and lifted his head to look into her eyes.
"Uh, yeah. You could say that," came his reply as he gazed steadily at her. Suddenly she felt rather warm. What was it with those whisky-colored eyes of his?
"I was talking about the amps." Shepard ignored Ashley's snort and just smiled at Kaidan. He raised an eyebrow and gave her this lop-sided smile of his own that she was beginning to think was surely forbidden somewhere in the galaxy because it was so damn distracting.
"So was I, Shepard. And the omnitools," he added.
Was it the first time he had called her by her name instead of Commander or ma'am? Nick wasn't sure.
"Of course. The omnitools. How could I forget." This earned her a puzzled look from him. She groaned inwardly and resisted rolling her eyes. He had been serious, of course, after all he was a tech nerd. "What do you have in mind?"
"Ah, these things are pretty pricey, Commander. I'm just dreaming here." Kaidan glanced wistfully over the omnitools and amps. This time she did roll her eyes.
"Alenko," she almost growled, "just bring the stuff over here. And don't you dare take anything different than what you really, really want! Same goes for you, Ash," Nick added, looking at Ashley again. Ashley held out the chosen assault rifle wordlessly. "Just put it on the counter, Chief." Shepard returned her gaze to Kaidan again. He stood between the omnitools and the amps, looking from one to the other undecidedly. She sighed.
"Kaidan," she said softly, sending a pleasant shiver down his spine as she walked over to him, "you can have both, you know. A new amp and a new omnitool. I already got my first Spectre fundings, I checked. Somebody was really quick in processing that. Ashley already picked a state of the art rifle and I think I've found some very good armor for all of us. And a new pistol for you." She motioned over to the heap of merchandise on the counter. "Not to mention all the toys I want to get for myself. Don't worry about how many credits it costs."
His eyes widened even more and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, I'll just take the Logic Arrest." He picked up the omnitool and went to the counter, not seeing Shepard grab the Serrice Council amp he had been admiring.
"If that's really all you want. I guess we can always come back and shop for more." She shrugged. "Okay, let me wrap things up here and then we take care of that little errand for Dr. Michel." She paid for everything and had it delivered straight to the Normandy. As soon as that was taken care of they headed to the Lower Wards.
Down on the Wards she headed to a booth right by the door. The salarian clerk greeted her.
"Welcome to Morlan's shop. What can I help you with? I have some fine some upgrades. I am certain you will find something to your liking here."
"Not what I'm here for, Morlan."
He seemed taken aback when she mentioned she was there for a shipment of medical supplies and started stuttering that the doctor was supposed to bring the supplies. He was rudely interrupted by a krogan.
"I told Banes you'd screw this up," the krogan blackmailer growled. He turned to Shepard. "And tell the doctor she'd better remember the deal or we will spill her little secret." He flexed his muscles threateningly.
Nick looked him up and down. She pulled back her upper lip in a snarl. "Talk and you're dead."
Oddly enough the krogan backed off, muttering. Maybe it had been the cold gleam in her eye and the steel in her voice. Or - what Shepard didn't know - maybe the krogan had seen the short biotic flare Kaidan had been unable to suppress. Or the fact that Ashley was suddenly handling her assault rifle fondly. Whatever it was, the krogan left. And it seemed as if everybody near by started breathing again.
Some time later - after Shepard had returned to Dr. Michel's and asked who this Banes was the krogan had talked about - they finally stepped out of the elevator of the docking bay. To their surprise Udina was waiting there together with Captain Anderson. Both men turned to face them as they approached.
"We have big news for you, Commander. Captain Anderson is stepping down as commanding officer of the Normandy. She's all yours now."
Shepard stopped short in her tracks.
"Say again?" She blinked like an owl. For the first time Kaidan had the feeling she was at a loss for words. She looked from the human ambassador to the Alliance captain. "You're yanking my chain, right?"
"You need a ship, Shepard. She's fast, quiet and you know the crew. The perfect ship for a Spectre," Anderson stated firmly.
"Well, yeah. But...you can't just relieve the Captain!" Shepard didn't seem overly thrilled of suddenly being commanding officer of the Normandy. She threw a quick glance at the ambassador. What ever she had wanted to say she obviously didn't want to mention in front of Udina. The ambassador was seemingly oblivious of the short lapse in her demeanor. He continued undeterred.
"The Council also wishes to inform you that they have several leads for you. Matriarch Benezia's daughter is an archeologist who is supposedly somewhere in the Artemis Tau cluster. Then there is a colony on Feros which is being attacked by geth and finally they have received reports about geth interest in the corporate research on Noveria. And Commander? Try being diplomatic."
"I'll deal with Saren and his cronies. You do your job and deal with the political fallout."
"Not the answer I was hoping for," Udina muttered shaking his head as he walked towards the elevator. Shepard waited until he was out of earshot before turning back to Anderson.
"Uncle Dave, will you tell me now why you aren't our captain anymore? How are you holding up?" She was genuinely concerned.
"I admit this wasn't how I wanted to end my career but in this case Udina is right. It was time to step down and I am more than happy that you are my successor. I wouldn't want just anyone commanding the Normandy. She's all yours, treat her well." Shepard saluted, confirming she would do her best. He then told her details about his dealings with Saren. Shepard listened closely. She bit her lower lip, considering her next move.
"I think we'll look for this Dr. T'soni first."
"You're a Spectre now. You can do whatever you choose. You answer to the Council only," Anderson reminded her. She snorted.
"Yeah,right. Oh, before I forget. Can you tell me anything about Armistan Banes?" Shepard asked.
"Where did you hear that name? On second thought, I don't want to know. As far as I know he is dead. Admiral Kahoku might know more."
"Thanks. I should go now." Shepard set off for Normandy's airlock, Kaidan and Ashley right behind her. She hesitated slightly before entering Normandy's decon chamber. When she stepped aboard she drew a deep breath. She was alone with her first command.
The Normandy.