"Fucking politicians, " Mia said, crossing her arms over her chest across the table from her brother. John had Mia and Kaidan meet him at Chora's Den after the meeting with Udina, just to bring them up to speed. He also owed the two soldiers a drink for dragging his ass back to the ship, and his sister had gratefully accepted, now on her second tequila sunrise.
They were going to make them wait a week for C-Sec to do an internal investigation into Saren, and they'd make a call sometime after that. The official hearing date at this point was supposed to be the 25th.
"I'm just hoping C-Sec can dig something up on him. There's no way they can't, right?" John sighed, resting his elbows on the table and placing his head in his hands.
"Hey, we're here to drink, not think about some big scary meeting in a week. Shore leave , right, big brother? You're on the Citadel for the first time! You earned your time off." She told him, meeting his eyes.
John looked down at his sister, whose face was flushed, and realized she'd finished her second drink, and was half through a third. He arched a brow at her.
"Easy there, kiddo. How are you planning on getting back to your apartment tonight?" He asked with a chuckle. Mia just shrugged.
"Figured you or Alenko would get me there. Or I'd end up in some Alliance hotel room. Either one's fine with me, honestly." She admitted. Kaidan laughed, arching his brows at her and looking over at John incredulously. He barked a laugh, looking back at the flushed woman.
"You can always count on me to make sure you make it home, Shepard," Kaidan told her warmly, nursing his beer much more carefully than she was downing her drinks. John held his gaze for a moment, exchanging a silent thank you with the man. Regardless of his motives for wanting her safe, Kaidan had proven to John that he'd be there for both of them and that he'd bring them home. "But maybe you should have some water next? Your brother and I don't have to worry about hangovers…but something tells me you're not that lucky." He chuckled.
"Oh, already holding the biotic thing over my head, are we?" Mia asked, rounding on Kaidan.
"Oh no, here we go," John said, smiling as he sat back, crossing his arms over his chest. He resisted the urge to burst out laughing as the man threw him a helpless look, and John just threw up his hands with a grin. He had never quite mastered how to handle one of his sister's drunken rages. He was just smart enough to know how to avoid triggering them.
"I can think of quite a few things I could hold over your head," Kaidan said, meeting Mia's eye. He must have realized how it sounded, how husky his voice was because he cleared his throat and added, "But I'd never do that. I just didn't want you to be miserable tomorrow." He finished quietly.
Mia calmed, and John had to admit, he'd never seen someone have quite that effect on his sister. Normally if a man had tried that on her, she'd have dumped her drink on his head and stormed out. He'd watched her do it many times in bars on Jump Zero. Instead, she bit her lip and stood suddenly.
"I'll… be right back." She murmured and made her way to the ladies' room. John turned to Kaidan.
"You like her." He said, bluntly.
"I-" Kaidan looked like he was considering lying for a moment, before hanging his head slightly. "Sorry." He finally sighed, almost wincing. John laughed at that.
"You're sorry for liking my sister?" He asked, sitting forward in his chair.
"Yes- no, I- I don't know where my head's at, Commander. There's regs, and she's your sister -" Kaidan shook his head. "But there's just something about her." He said, his eyes following where she'd disappeared.
"Never apologize for caring about someone, Kaidan," John said, taking a sip of his beer. "Even if it is my sister." He smirked, nodding at Mia emerging from the bathroom and heading for the bar. He smiled as she ordered water. "I think you two might be good for each other. In time." He said, nodding at her returning with her water.
"What about time?" She asked, appearing more collected now.
"I was just thinking it was time for me to turn in. Still on the mend, after all." John said, finishing off his beer and getting to his feet. He looked over at Kaidan. "Make sure she makes it home, will you? You have the location?" He asked. Kaidan's Omnitool dinged, and he looked up to see Mia putting hers away. He opened his Omnitool, showing that he'd sent her the coordinates, and tried unsuccessfully to hide a smile.
"Sure do, Commander. I'll let you know when I get her home safe." He told him, peeking over at Mia.
"Don't wait up!" She smiled up at him but dutifully sipped her water. John rolled his eyes and ruffled his sister's hair like he used to do when they were kids.
"Have fun, kiddo." He told her as he headed to find his hotel room.
June 17, 2183 CE Garrus Vakarian C-Sec HeadQuarters 0324 hours "Life is getting up one more time than you've been knocked down." - John Wayne
Garrus sat back from his console in the cramped office he shared at C-Sec, running a taloned hand down his face wearily. The turian was up late, and he stretched his back, feeling stiff. He supposed that was due in part to the chase he'd endured today, but also the several hours he'd been sitting behind this console, trying to put together what little evidence he had against Saren into a meaningful document. His issue was that he couldn't include in the document something he knew to be true: a feeling.
Saren was hiding behind an untraceable paper trail, not to mention every single one of his leads into Saren's business had resulted in that contact's mysterious, untimely end. He'd been hunting down a lead of unusual mercenary activity when a doctor had reached out to him about a potential lead. Too little, too late.
He'd put all of this in his report, he just knew that Pallin wasn't the kind of person to pass so-called speculation on to the Council. As if the deaths of more than a few Citadel residents with connections to Saren weren't suspicious enough to warrant declassifying his files. He swore the Council didn't want him to uncover anything. And perhaps they didn't.
He sighed, checking the time, before returning his attention to the blinking cursor of his report. It was as close to ready as it would get, he supposed. He finished up a few final touches and hit send, then turned his console off.
He sat there in the dark for a moment, staring straight ahead. Was this what his life had become? Chasing shadows that were far too big for him to even consider taking out by himself? He shook his head and got to his feet, determined to make it to bed and get up early enough to try and stall Executor Pallin before the hearing tomorrow…today? Whatever.
Garrus Vakarian Citadel Tower 0800 hours "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." — Winston S. Churchill
Stalling Pallin went exactly how he'd expected it would. It was like the man was so scared of change that he'd rather a whole war be dragged out, despite all the evidence that something was very, very wrong.
But one good thing came of dragging his ass to the Tower after four hours of fitful sleep. After he'd been shot down on the stairs to the Council hearing, he ran into a man in black N7 armor. He had a shock of auburn red hair, the sides neat and trimmed with the top pushed back off his face, giving him a windswept appearance. He could only assume this was the Commander he'd read about in the reports. If anyone would believe him about Saren, it had to be this man.
Garrus was ready to march over to the man the moment he saw him but he hesitated for just a moment. He had a few members of his crew with him, it seemed. At least, that's what Garrus assumed. The man looked like your standard Alliance officer, dressed in blue armor. But the female. She also had red hair that was pulled back at the top of her head, and her armor was white. But his browplates raised when he saw that she, too, wore the N7 designation on her shoulder.
He pulled himself upright and moved to greet the Commander, hoping to the spirits that he'd be able to pull some strings.
"Commander Shepard? Garrus Vakarian. I was the officer in charge of the C-Sec investigation into Saren." He said, matter-of-factly. Shepard looked the turian over, then nodded in the direction Pallin had gone.
"Who was that you were just talking to?" He asked.
"That was Executor Pallin, head of Citadel security. My boss. He'll be presenting my findings on Saren to the Council." He said bitterly.
"Sounds like you want to bring him down," Shepard said.
"I don't trust him. Something about him rubs me the wrong way. But he's a Spectre; everything he touches is classified. I can't find any hard evidence." He sighed, shaking his head.
"I think the Council's ready for us, Commander." The man to Shepard's left said. Garrus let out a sigh, his subvocals betraying his sorrow, though he was almost certain the humans wouldn't pick up on that.
"Good luck, Shepard. Maybe the Council will listen to you." He said hopefully. He watched the squad walk away, up towards the Council, and shook his head, heading towards the wards again. He had to track down this doctor. Maybe she could provide some more insight into what was really going on.
Mia Shepard Citadel Tower 0900 hours "Here's to the greater good for all. Do what you know you should for all. We all may die." -Poor Man's Poison, "Feed the Machine"
"I can't believe they let him sit there and flaunt his hatred for humanity. He all but flaunted his plans in the Council's faces and they just sat there and pretended like they had no idea what you were talking about, John!" Mia fumed, pacing back and forth in the lower lobby of the Tower. " Fucking politicians." She swore again, running a hand through her hair and removing the hair tie holding her hair up in the process. The damn thing was giving her a migraine. Or maybe that was Udina.
"Shepard, I suggest you get a handle on your crew," Udina said, narrowing his eyes at John.
"How about I do my job, Udina, and you do yours. Seems we both have some things to work on." John said coolly.
"Okay, that's enough." Anderson stepped in, looking over at Udina. "Shepard has every right to be upset at the Council's decision, Ambassador. We all are. Why don't we use that frustration and see what we can dig up about Saren ourselves? The C-Sec investigation was only given a week to gather evidence. Surely with how bold Saren's gotten, we'll be able to find something?" He said.
"As a Spectre, he's virtually untouchable. We'd need to find some way to expose him." Udina said thoughtfully.
"What about that C-Sec officer? Garrus Vakarian?" Kaidan said. "We saw him arguing with the executor."
"Yeah, he was asking for more time for his report. Bet he was chasing a lead." Mia agreed.
"Any idea where we can find him?" John asked Udina. The older man nodded.
"I have a contact in C-Sec that can help you track Garrus down. His name is Harkin." Udina said.
"Forget it. They suspended Harkin last month for drinking on the job." Anderson dismissed, shaking his head in distaste. "I won't waste my time with that loser."
"You won't have to. I don't want the Council using your history with Saren as an excuse to ignore anything we turn up. Shepard will handle this." Udina said, nodding to John.
"You're just going to cut Captain Anderson out of the investigation?" John asked, almost indignantly as he looked between the two men.
"The ambassador's right, Commander. I need to step aside." Anderson agreed.
"I need to take care of some business. Captain, meet me in my office later." Udina said, then departed with a nod. Anderson took a breath before continuing.
"Harkin's probably getting drunk at Chora's Den. It's a dingy little club in the lower section of the wards." He informed them.
"Any other leads, Captain? I'd prefer not to go back to Chora's Den if that's at all possible." Mia asked, looking a little sheepish.
"May I ask why, Lieutenant?" John asked, arching a brow. Kaidan chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest as she turned bright red.
"I may have tried to fistfight a krogan merc. I think he had a laugh, I was pretty drunk. But I can't show my face there again." She said quickly. Anderson chuckled, then nodded.
"Talk to Barla Von, over in the Financial District. Rumor has it he's an agent for the Shadow Broker, an information dealer that buys and sells secrets to the highest bidder. I've heard he's one of the top representatives. He might know something, but his information won't come cheap."
"That's more my speed. I'll go talk to Barla Von while you two track down the big guy. Keep in radio contact?" She asked, already walking backward towards the nearest transport vessel.
"Channel 2," John confirmed, switching to their private comms channel.
Mia Shepard En Route to Med Clinic 0930 hours "Not a 'Yes, sir,' not a follower, Fit the box, fit the mold, have a seat in the foyer, take a number I was lightning before the thunder." -Imagine Dragons, "Thunder"
"Shit, shit, shit." Mia cursed as she made her way back to the upper wards, heading for the med clinic. She'd gotten the intel from the volus about the rift between Saren and the Shadow Broker right after she'd gotten word about the firefight in Chora's Den. Typical. Feuding mercs could only mean bad news for whatever contacts Vakarian had. She had a sinking suspicion that the merc activity had been a leading cause of the turian's report coming up so sparse.
"En route to the med bay, I'll probably make it there first." She said into her comm, moving at nearly a run.
As Mia rounded the corner, she saw Garrus Vakarian crouched beside the med bay door, pressing a talon against his mandibles to tell her to be quiet. Mia looked up at the windows, seeing the armed mercs assaulting Dr. Michel, and understood at once. She nodded to him and entered the room.
"Now if Garrus comes around, you stay smart. You keep your mouth shut, or I'll-" Mia tried not to jump when the man turned on her, taking the woman as a hostage at once. "Who are you?" He shouted, turning a rifle on her. Mia pulled up her pistol at once.
"Let her go." She said, watching Garrus carefully as he came in from the other side, having lined up a perfect shot and firing to take out the merc without harming the doctor. He stared down the other two mercs for a second, and Mia almost laughed at their expressions. She was sure an angry turian was the last thing she'd want to be staring down, let alone a C-Sec officer. She'd probably piss her pants too. Garrus watched them run away, and once they'd turned the corner, he holstered his weapon again, turning to Mia.
"Perfect timing, Shepard. Gave me a clear shot at that bastard." Garrus said, mandibles splayed in what turians used as a smile. Mia was taken aback for a moment.
"You know who I am? We weren't quite…introduced the last time we met." Mia said, frowning at the turian.
"I saw your N7 designation. After I ran into Commander Shepard this morning, I did a little digging into your crew. Just errant curiosity. You don't encounter many ships like the Normandy, and fewer crews." He shrugged. Mia had to agree. Three N7 operatives alone were enough to pique curiosity, but a lot of the crew were ranked 7 in their respective jobs, as well. She turned her attention back to his actions.
"That was a risk, Vakarian. You could have hit the hostage." She said, crossing her arms over her chest. "But you took him down clean." She admitted, allowing herself to smile at his work.
"I-" Mia had never seen a turian get bashful before. She supposed there was a first for everything. He looked down at the ground, his browplates furrowing. "Sometimes you get lucky, I suppose. Dr. Michel, are you hurt?" Mia decided then that she liked this man.
"I'm okay, thanks to you." Dr. Michel spoke up, rubbing her neck gently. "All of you." She added to Mia.
"Those men. I know they threatened you, but we just showed you that we will protect you. Can you tell us who they work for?" Mia said, realizing she'd unintentionally used her public service voice and had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at herself.
"They work for Fist. They wanted to shut me up, keep me from telling Garrus about the quarian." She confided.
"Something tells me this has everything to do with Saren," Mia said dryly.
"My thoughts, Shepard." Garrus agreed from beside her. "Dr. Michel, tell us what happened."
"A few days ago, a quarian came by my office. She'd been shot but she wouldn't tell me who did it. I could tell she was scared, probably on the run. She asked me about the Shadow Broker. She wanted to trade information in exchange for a safe place to hide." She explained. This damn Shadow Broker was making Mia's life really difficult.
"Where is she now?" Mia asked.
"I put her in contact with Fist." Mia groaned. Great. "He's an agent for the Shadow Broker."
"Not anymore," Garrus said. "Now he works for Saren. The Shadow Broker isn't too happy about it."
"Fist betrayed the Shadow Broker? Stupid, even for him. Saren must have made him quite the offer." She said, sounding shocked.
"That quarian must have something Saren wants. Something worth crossing the Shadow Broker to get." Garrus speculated.
"Is there anything else you can think of that she may have mentioned? Anything about the information she wanted to trade?" Mia asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Like I said, I couldn't get much out of her. But… wait. Geth. She said her information had something to do with the geth." Dr. Michel said, rubbing her head as she tried to remember.
"She must have evidence linking Saren to the Geth," Garrus said. Mia nodded, looking up at the turian. "And I know where to go next. Come on, we have to find Urdnot Wrex." She said, nodding to Dr. Michel and leaving the med bay. She heard Garrus talking to Dr. Michel, promising a security detail would be sent up immediately, and then he joined her outside.
"So where's your head, Shepard?" Garrus asked.
"I've gotta radio in to my brother, he should have been here by now," Mia said, frowning. She checked her comm channel, touching her visor once to establish the connection.
"John? What's your location?" She asked, looking up to Garrus as she listened.
"Got a little caught up at C-Sec. Some krogan merc is giving security a hard time. Says he's gonna kill some guy named Fist." John said quietly in his comm. Perfect. John Shepard, even if accidentally, always two steps ahead.
"We need him, John," Mia said, relaying her intel as quickly as she could.
"I'll send a rendezvous point to your Omnitool. Bring Vakarian." John said, then the line cut.
John Shepard C-Sec Headquarters 1000 hoursJohn ended the call just as the krogan turned his sights on him and Kaidan.
"Do I know you, human?" He asked, his tone less hostile than it had been with the guards and that was encouraging to John.
"Name's Shepard. I'm going after Fist. Thought you might wanna come along." He said evenly. The krogan sighed heavily.
"Shepard. Commander Shepard? I've heard a lot about you." He said, and John got the distinct feeling that Wrex was sizing him up. John felt more than heard Kaidan shifting uneasily behind him. "We're both warriors, Shepard, so I'll give you fair warning. I'm going to kill Fist."
"He knows you're coming. We'd have a better chance if we worked together." John asserted, looking up at the krogan confidently.
"My people have a saying. Seek the enemy of your enemy, and you will find a friend." Wrex said, nodding.
"Welcome to the team, Wrex," John said, extending his hand to the krogan. Wrex shook it forcefully.
"Tell whoever you have on the other end of that come to meet us at Chora's Den." He said, nodding at John's blinking comm. John smiled at that.
"Will do."
John Shepard Chora's Den 1024 hours "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse." -Marlon Brando, "The Godfather"When John, Kaidan, and Wrex arrived at the rendezvous point, John was pleasantly surprised to see Mia and Garrus there waiting for them. However, his sister's face grew pale as the group grew closer.
"Oh, that's just my luck." She murmured.
Wrex seemed amused by her realization and chuckled. "Yes, hello to you, as well, human." John put the pieces together and grimaced over at Mia.
"Oh, come on. You tried to fistfight Urdnot Wrex your first night?" John asked, incredulously.
"I'd have let her if she could see straight. She's got the quads." Wrex laughed, and Mia's face became scarlet, as she turned away like a child.
"Let's just get this over with. We have a quarian to find." Mia grumbled, pulling out her sniper.
"Mia, Kaidan, go left. Garrus, Wrex, with me." John said, pulling out his assault rifle and checking the sights.
A quick firefight later and John called Mia in to decrypt a door, following Wrex's directions. The door opened and two warehouse workers with pistols raised their guns shakily.
"Warehouse workers. All the real guards must be dead." Kaidan said, shaking his head.
"Stay back, or we'll shoot!" One of them said.
"Well, we just killed fifty bodyguards to get in here. What do you think we'd do to you?" Mia asked, hooking a thumb over her shoulder at her sniper. "Think you're fast enough to get a shot off?"
"Aw, screw Fist. He doesn't pay us enough for this." One man said, dropping his gun and walking away. The other man promptly followed.
"Would've been quicker if you'd just shot 'em," Wrex grunted.
"Shooting people isn't always the answer," Garrus replied. Mia snorted at that.
"You're one to talk." She teased, before moving on ahead.
Another fire fight and they found themselves face to face with a surrendering Fist. John leveled his gun at the man on the ground, Wrex and Garrus crowded around them while Kaidan and Mia watched their backs.
"Where's the quarian?" John asked.
"She's not here. I don't know where she is. That's the truth." He said, looking between the three dangerous men.
"He's no use to you now. Let me kill him." Wrex said.
"Wait, wait. I don't know where the quarian is but I know where you can find her. She isn't here, said she'd only meet with the Shadow Broker himself."
"Face to face? Impossible! I was even hired through an agent." Wrex spat. Fist got to his feet, looking John in the eye.
"Nobody meets the Shadow Broker. Ever. I don't know his true identity. But she didn't know that. I told her I'd set up a meeting. But when she shows up, it'll be Saren's men waiting for her." He said. John grabbed the man by the front of his shirt, pulling him up to stand on his tiptoes.
"Give me the location. Now." He spat.
"Here on the wards. The back alley by the markets. She's supposed to meet them right now. You can make it if you hurry." Fist said with fear in his voice.
"Mia, Kaidan. Go." John told them, turning away to make sure they'd heard and had time to see them nod and leave before a shot rang out. He turned back to Fist to find him dead on the ground.
"What are you doing?" Garrus shouted.
"The Shadow Broker paid me to kill him. I don't leave my job half done." Wrex said, matter-of-factly. "How many people died because of him? He brought this on himself. Besides, we have more pressing concerns." He said.
"As much as I hate to agree with Wrex," John muttered, looking over to Garrus, who relented.
"Let's go."
Tali'Zorah nar Rayya Alleyway on the Citadel 1100 hours "The moment I saw you, I knew I was in trouble. And I never wanted to be saved." – UnknownTali took a breath, fighting the urge not to look behind her. She had a feeling this might be an ambush, but she didn't have many options these days. A lone mercenary stood in front of her in the corridor, where she was supposed to meet the Shadow Broker, and she knew immediately it was a trap.
" Tak'tal ." She muttered under her breath. "Where's the Shadow Broker? Where's Fist?" She demanded.
"They'll be here." He asserted, trying to take the drive she held in her hand from her. "Where's the evidence?"
"No way. The deal's off." She said, snatching her hand away as five more men sprang from doors nearby, another four flooding in from the hall in front of her. She gasped as a shot rang out behind her and she used the distraction to duck for cover.
She watched as a small team charged in, killing the mercs and securing the area. Three humans, a krogan, and a turian. Sounded like the start of a bad joke. She shook her head, getting to her feet and pulling out her pistol. She only had to fire a few rounds before the hall grew silent again.
"Fist set me up. I knew I couldn't trust him." She muttered, noticing one of the men who'd taken down Fist's men coming over to check on her. She took a moment to look him over, her eyes drawn to his auburn hair. She'd thought most human soldiers had shorter hair, but she thought it was best not to ask that sort of question after a firefight.
"Are you alright?" He asked, looking down into her mask. He had the brightest green eyes she'd ever seen, and she wondered idly if that was common in humans.
"I know how to look after myself." She told him, then offered him a smile, not that he could see it. "Not that I don't appreciate the help. Who are you?" She asked, nodding to his crew behind him.
"My name's Shepard. I'm looking for evidence that Saren's a traitor," he told her, and Tali's heart soared at that. This was the person who'd make sure she was safe, she was sure of it.
"Then I have a chance to repay you for saving my life. But not here. We need to go somewhere safe." Tali said, twiddling her thumbs. It was a nervous habit she'd picked up over the years.
"We can take her to the human embassy." the turian spoke up. He looked like a C-Sec officer, so she was more inclined to trust him. "Your ambassador will want to speak to her, anyway."
"After you, Ms…?" John asked, looking down at her with a smile.
"Tali'Zorah." She told him with a small smile. She was pretty sure he was the only one that heard her name. But in that moment, Shepard was the only one that mattered.
