Chapter 18
XO Quarters – SSV Normandy SR-2
Miranda was frustrated. Not just from the constant battles they've had since Shepard woke up, although she swore she saw more gray stands of hair in her mane after every mission. It was mostly her position. She quickly found herself approaching a crossroads at high speed. She knew from working with Shepard that if anyone in the galaxy could stop the reapers, it would be her. Nobody else had the drive, the authority, and the character to pull off what she had accomplished in the past. Even what she had done since she woke on Lazarus Station would earn a turian their blazing Twin Swords commendation, or a krogan a VIP seat in the female camps any time they wanted. And they were two species whose culture was war and battle.
But the woman, despite being more terrifying to people than Sovereign and their geth and being hailed as a hero so much so that they made a Hollywood movie for her, she just went on working without uttering a word. She rubbed her forehead gently as she knew where her train of thought was taking her. She herself was proud of everything she had gotten, everything she earned, every scrap of praise given to her by the Illusive Man and her own former subordinates. But, despite being the golden child of the Citadel Council, she brushed off the praise they gave her, she flat out ignored any from the Illusive Man, and she forcefully turned any praise given to her by her crew back on them.
She felt terrible comparing herself to the spectre. They were two different people who had different lives, so of course they would react differently. But she still couldn't help feeling a tad bit irate at how flippantly Shepard took her role. She acted like it was more than just her job, but her responsibility to do the things she did. As if she herself were trying to remove the heavy mantle of guilt from those around her and set it on her shoulders.
Inhaling, the executive officer blew her raven bangs out of her face in annoyance just as EDI popped up next to the door. "Operative Lawson, Spectre Shepard is at the door at your request."
"Let her in," ordered Miranda as she combed her hair back with her fingers. The door slid open, and there she was standing in the doorway. Stepping inside, the woman almost immediately plopped into the chair across from her and rested her head on the back of the chair. "Rough day?"
"You know how hard it is to get colonists that hate the Alliance to get on the same ship as a former and present Alliance N7 Special Forces agent?" she asked in aggravation. "Luckily most of them were more than happy to jump on after the attack. But the holdouts straight up refused. Including that damn mechanic we ran into," she complained as her hair fell like a waterfall over the back of the chair.
"It's their choice. If they'd rather risk another encounter with the collectors than being in Citadel Space, then you can't force them-" started Miranda with a smirk.
"Yeah, I know I know," said the woman as she waved off the talk. "I'd rather not think about Horizon right now. Damn bugs are gonna haunt me for the rest of my life." Finally, she tilted her head back up and eyed the XO. "So, what was it you wanted to talk about?"
"Well, two things actually," began Miranda as she brushed her hair behind her ear. "First, I have to ask. With everything you've done so far since waking up again, you haven't really taken any time for yourself. Are you sure you should be pushing yourself this hard?"
"I had three days of rest in the osteotherapy tank back on the Citadel," grunted the spectre.
"You and I both know that wasn't rest for you. In fact, I'm surprised you didn't headbutt your way out of the tank just to break the boredom," said Miranda as her eyes narrowed. "I respect you a lot, Shepard. A lot more than I thought I would when we first came aboard the Normandy. But you need to take some downtime. Even if it's just a few days, you need to do things that aren't work. Things that you enjoy doing off the Normandy."
Shepard glared at her before letting her head fall onto the back of her chair again. "Ugh… fine," she grumbled before raising her hands up to massage some of the stress from her face. "Udina said he needs me to do something when I get back to the Citadel anyway."
"I don't imagine dealing with politicians is your idea of rest. But at least they do things slow enough that you'll be able to rest in between," said the woman with a smirk. "Now, the second thing is a bit more personal."
Shepard's head rose again and at the serious look on the XO's face, she straightened her body up as well. "What is it?"
Miranda looked down at her desk. She didn't know how Shepard would take her news, or if she would even care. But she still wanted to break it to her as easily as possible. "When the Illusive Man had the intel department write up the dossiers, he had me look into your old crew once your body was stabilized. As you know, I couldn't find much on Tali besides the fact that she was in the Migrant Fleet. Garrus, we had nothing on, Ashley we had nothing on. But Liara was a lot easier to find… and I managed to find out a bit about her before we concluded that she likely wouldn't join your crew again."
Shepard's brows furrowed at the claim. "What do you mean?"
"Well, aside from the cosmetic surgery she had done, I looked into where she was staying on Illium. They require you to list all residents on every contract there as well as their relation. And a little under a year after you went to Alchera, she signed a contract for two residents in her apartment marked family," she said, making Shepard's brow rise slightly.
"Aside from Serraia, Liara doesn't have any family left. She was an only child and as far as I'm aware, she doesn't know who her father was," said Shepard thoughtfully.
"It wasn't her. At least, the contract said their name was Lilly V'Reena. Does that ring any bells?" Shepard shook her head. Miranda sighed again. "It stayed the same for a long while, about six months before the name had been removed. I tried to look into what happened, but all that shows up is an unscheduled trip to Thessia," stated the XO as she folded one hand over the other.
"Wait, are you trying to say…?" asked the spectre suspiciously.
"I don't know exactly what it means. I could be reading the data entirely wrong," said the XO nervously as she finally looked up into Shepard's blue eyes. "Obviously you'd have to get the entire story from her. But from the looks of it, she moved on after your death."
Shepard's expression vanished in a similar fashion to her own, a mask of ice. "And why are you telling me this?"
"Because…" started Miranda before finally exhaling deeply. "Because I thought you deserved to know, and I didn't want you heading to Illium a few days from now thinking that Liara would come running back into your arms." Miranda looked down again. "It hurts when you're expecting one thing and have to learn the truth the hard way."
"I see," said the spectre as she nodded. "Well, it's Liara's business, not mine," said Shepard as she rested her head in her hands. "If she wants to tell me, then she can. But I'm not going to pry into her business."
Miranda nodded at the claim. "Let me know if there's anything I can do."
"Are you offering me therapy, Miss Lawson?" asked Shepard with a cheeky grin.
"Very funny, Shepard," said Miranda, returning her grin. "I'm just letting you know that I'll understand if you need some time to process things."
"Thank you, but I've kinda been expecting something like this," said Shepard as she leaned forward, her elbows supporting her on her knees. "I've been dead a long time. I wouldn't have blamed anyone if they've moved on."
Human Embassy – Presidium – Citadel
Shepard stepped inside the embassy to see both the ambassador and Councilor Udina buried up to their nose in paperwork. She eyed them curiously as she had notified Udina that she was back awhile ago. "I tell you I'm back so you bury yourself in paperwork?" she asked in slight amusement. "I'm not that unpleasant to be around, am I?"
The ambassador chuckled while Udina just gave her a stern eye. "Spectre, we called you here to help out with this paperwork."
Stepping up to the table, she noticed that there were about three dozen files on the desk, all of them with someone's picture pasted in the corner. "What's going on? What are they?"
The ambassador picked up for Udina. "Spectre candidates."
Shepard's brows shot up as she looked between them. "You're selecting another human spectre?"
"Indeed. There was a bit of a mourning period after your death where we didn't want to look like we were trying to replace you. But since you've been resurrected, I figure now is as good a time as any," said Udina as he eyed the paperwork. "While I can recommend people, I can't actually choose them myself. They have to be recommended by other spectres, barring conflict of interest, and the ambassador herself." He looked up to her. "I believe you know how important this is, Shepard. So please, do humanity a favor and try to elect someone who won't make us look bad," he said as he stood up. "Oh, and maybe just a little bit more obedient."
Shepard's eyes widened at him. "My god, Donnel Udina, was that a joke?"
"I'll leave the jokes to your pilot. In the meantime, there's one more thing I need from you once you make your selection. I'll meet you back here at around 1800 CST," he said, eyeing his watch before nodding to her and leaving.
Once he was gone, Shepard stared at the door for a long minute. "Did Anderson's punch two years ago factory reset his brain?"
"You'd think," said ambassador Korvus-Jamal as she waved for Shepard to have a seat. "I've already picked one. You feel free to choose from the others."
"You're picking two of them?" asked Shepard curiously as she started sorting through the documents.
Jasmine nodded dutifully. "You were the first. And while it was a good decision to pick one to start, we've gotten to the point where we can get some more. So, we're going to move the scale up until we reach ten spectres of our own."
Shepard donned an expression of understanding. "Ah, so first me. Then two more, then three, then four."
"Correct," said the ambassador as she held one of the files in her hand. "Assuming one of the ones we pick doesn't go rogue…"
The spectre eyed the file curiously. "Who was your candidate of choice?"
Smirking, the ambassador held the file up so she could see. "Ashley Madeline Williams."
Shepard gave a bright smile and nodded. "Couldn't do better there," she said as she began looking at the other candidates. Most of them were Alliance officers of some note. "I feel kinda bad for the candidates."
The ambassador eyed her curiously. "Why is that?"
"Because whoever I choose is going to try and live up to the standard I set," remarked the spectre as she scanned two files at the same time.
"I don't think many spectres could live up to your standard, period," said the woman with a chuckle as she accepted coffee from her secretary, Tonya.
Shepard took a cup herself as she sorted through the reports. After a dozen and a half, she stopped on one. "Hmmm…" she hummed before taking a sip of the coffee.
"Find someone interesting," asked Jasmine curiously.
"I think so. But I don't have enough information on her. Before my death, she was just a security captain," said the spectre as she leaned back in her seat and read through the report.
Born in Saitama City of the colony world Demeter. Highschool grades were abysmal, but college showed improvement. Began working as security early on to make ends meet. Ended up at Elanus Risk Control Services where she started out as a grunt guarding doors. Then moved up the ranks over the next five years until she was captain. After an attack on Noveria involving geth, she was moved by ERCS to another posting where she acted as a personal bodyguard for the Noveria Internal Affairs agents in the field.
The ambassador spun her chair slightly to see the datapad that Shepard was reading. "Not a bad choice. She has the skills, but does she have the character."
"From my experience, she has the character, but does she have the skills?" asked Shepard as she continued reading. Her eyes widened as she read about an incident on Omega. Her brow arched as she read that Gianna Parasini went to Omega to track down the location of someone who had committed insurance fraud against Binary Helix. But she was led into a trap that ended up with a gang of around fifty ambushing her and trying to kill her. But somehow her bodyguard managed to get her out and left a trail of bodies a kilometer in length across the Norfair District. By the time Aria's goons even knew what was happening they were both back in Citadel Space.
"She took out a gang of fifty and still got her charge off of Omega alive?" asked Shepard as she gave an appreciative whistle. Setting the file aside, she began looking through the others to make sure there wasn't any more qualified. Finally, she picked up the file again and nodded. "Maeko Michiko Matsuo."
"Apparently her parents loved alliteration?" commented the ambassador as she gave the spectre a smile. "Well, if you like you can go ahead and contact Udina."
"I'm gonna see him later. I'll fill him in then," said Shepard as she stood up. "Any idea where I can find Miss Matsuo?"
"I've contacted the NIA and they said her and her ward are on Illium doing some light recon work," said the ambassador, causing Shepard's eyes to widen.
"I see serendipity is alive and well in the universe," said the spectre with a small grin.
"Thanks for your time, Spectre," said Jasmine as Shepard left her with a wave.
Zakera Ward C-Sec Watchtower 5
"Alright. The new executor folded like laundry. Apparently, he's less skeptical of spectres than his predecessor," said Shepard as she pulled up the videos she was forwarded.
Garrus nodded solemnly as he looked between the screens. "Rellius Tarkarian? Yeah. He's especially a fan of you for some reason," he responded as he eyed her curiously. She looked at him with a mirrored expression.
"I'll tell you later," she said nodding towards the other officers in the room.
He nodded and focused on the videos again. "So, what do we have here?"
"Six videos of six people. All of them are missing person's cases where they dropped off the map. These are the last time they were seen on the Citadel," said the spectre as her eyes flitted back and forth between the vids.
"Not a lot, but let's see if there's anything good in them," he said as he went on autopilot. It was a mode he went into back when he was a detective with C-Sec. His eyes jumped between two of the videos. One of them was in the ward near a seedy club called the Mobius Stripclub. They were a turian man who looked like he was about to do a drug deal. He looked over his shoulder constantly as he walked down the street. But Garrus saw past the common paranoia that he showed, and he saw real fear. He was being hunted. It was hard for other species to see fear in turians given their faces are far less expressive than humans, asari, and even salarians. But he knew turians, and he'd seen enough criminals being hunted by their own syndicates to know the signs. The slouched shoulders, keeping the hands close to the chest for protection, spurs inadvertently emerging as they walked.
The turian fled around a corner. He fast forwarded the video, waiting to see if anything else happened. Besides a tacky limo aircar passing the club, that was it. He grunted before turning to another video. This time it was a human in the market district. "Odd. If these are customers of Fade, they all disappeared in different locations," said Shepard as she scratched her head.
"It actually makes a lot of sense given Fade's skills. You can't exactly put your services in an extranet advertisement. You have to be discreet," he said as he pointed at the video he was watching. He turned to her as the video played. "Both videos I've seen thus far have always been in very populated areas, but very poor areas. The lower the property value, the less surveillance. The less surveillance, the less likely C-Sec or anyone looking for these people are to notice a pattern. And if multiple people disappeared off the map in the same location, C-Sec would start monitoring it."
He saw Shepard cock her eyebrow in that odd human expression of curiosity. "Huh…" she said thoughtfully. "That's weird."
"What is it?" he asked as he looked back at the video. The human man was gone by now.
Reaching up to one of the videos she was watching, she rewound the recording by running her finger right to left across the screen. When she stopped, she pointed at it. "That car."
Garrus eyed her video, then his eyes widened as he saw a tacky limo, the same one he had seen in his video. Looking at the video he just showed her of the markets, he rewound the video. As he suspected, he saw it. It was only the tail end of it, but it was definitely there. "That can't be a coincidence…" he said, his instincts revving into high gear. This was it; this was the break that he couldn't get on his own. And it was likely all he would need.
Reaching up, he rewound one of the vids and froze it. The camera was garbage quality, but it was well lit enough to get a tag identification number off of the vehicle. "Got what you were looking for?"
"More than I could have hoped for," he said as he turned to her, his omni-tool lit as he took down information. "Think you could help me strongarm C-Sec into tracking down that vehicle?"
"Given the new executor likes me, I doubt I'd need to do much," said Shepard with a shrug. "If this snowballs and we find out where Sidonis is, are you prepared?"
Garrus nodded towards the door. She nodded back and they both left the watchtower and stepped into the unsupervised streets. "I'm not even sure how to prepare, Shepard. If I had found him by any other method, preparation would be me cleaning my rifle and calibrating the scope for long distance. But I'm over that need now, I just don't know what to do with what you're turning me into."
She smirked at him. "Is that good or bad?"
He chuckled and shook his head. "I don't really know yet. Not revenge, justice," he said as he scratched the burn scarring on the side of his face lightly.
"Your squad deserves answers. You deserve answers. But not at the cost of your hum… er…" she said as she scratched her head. "Turianity?"
He snorted as they headed towards the rapid transit system. "I get what you're saying, Shepard. Let's get to C-Sec while we've still got this thread to pull."
C-Mart – Zakera Ward Markets – Citadel
It was a pretty tense situation as Shepard opened the back of the vehicle parked outside of a convenience store in the wards markets. Garrus opened the door on the passenger side and slid into the seat next to the driver. In the driver's seat sat a volus with a black chauffer cap on his head. He turned and looked at them in confusion. "I believe you have… entered the wrong vehicle."
Shepard activated her omni-tool and all of the locks on all of the doors secured. The car began to lift off the ground and flew on its own, making the volus sit back in surprise. Garrus leaned forward in his seat. "So, Yoffa Tif Bladol, am I correct?"
"What are you… doing?!" snapped the volus as he tried to control the wheel. But Shepard had locked him out of the controls.
"Answer the questions before I start driving into oncoming traffic," ordered Shepard with a growl.
"Yoffa Tif Bladol, yes or no?" asked Garrus sternly.
"Yes! Jor's bones! I'm Yoffa Tif!" screeched the volus between his breaths.
"Alright, Zan-Yoffa. I'm going to ask you a few more questions, and the answers you give me will determine whether this car speeds up or slows down," said Garrus with an amused tone in his voice. "Are you Fade?"
"Who?" asked the volus as he buckled his safety harness.
"Wrong answer," said Shepard as the car began speeding up. The volus thumped back against the seat as the centrifugal force kicked in.
"You were spotted on camera in up to four locations where people have dropped off the face of the Citadel. No body, no signs of struggle, no nothing. Just gone," said Garrus as he looked over at the volus. "I'll ask you again, are you Fade?"
"No!" snapped the volus as he clenched the controls of the limo in desperation. "He sends me locations… on my communicator, and I go pick up his clients!"
The car began to slow and the volus held a hand over his chest. Garrus continued. "Good start. Do you know Fade's identity?"
"No. I just know he used to… work for C-Sec," said the volus as he turned to Garrus. "You're not going to hurt me, are you?"
"I'm a Council Spectre. I have no desire to hurt you or even inconvenience you. Tell me what I want to know, and you may even make a profit," she said from the back seat.
"Spectre?" asked the driver as he turned and looked back at her. "Oh… Shepard," he said before sitting back in his seat. "Now you're speaking my language."
"Glad we're all on the same page," said Shepard with a grin before she nodded to Garrus.
He cleared his throat. "It's pretty obvious that if we track your comm, we're going to get nowhere. Someone like Fade wouldn't make any calls or send any messages without having half a dozen relays planted around the Citadel that'd lead C-Sec on a goose chase. But there is something you can tell us. Where does he have you drop the clients off?"
"How do I know you'll pay… me if I tell you?" he asked as he looked at Garrus with his hand open. The car began to speed up again. He gripped his seat. "Alright! He has me drop them off at dock 47 in the Zakera Factory district!"
"What can you tell me, Shepard?" asked Garrus curiously as he leaned back in the seat comfortably.
"Dock 47, Zakera Wards market. No name tied to it. Instead, it's a shell company called Covert LLC," she said giving Garrus a deadpan look. "They think they're clever…"
"Well, I guess the only way for us to find out is to go there," said Garrus as he looked down at the driver.
"So…" started the volus. "You want me to…"
"Let's go get something to eat while we wait," said the turian cheerfully as he patted the driver on the shoulder.
"Oh…" said the volus as he realized he wasn't getting away from them just yet. "Okay."
Zakera Ward Factory District – Zakera Ward – Citadel
It took a few hours of hanging out with the volus for him to get the call to pick up a new client. The volus did as he was told and drove the limo to the pickup spot. The door opened, and an asari woman sat in the seat next to Shepard. As soon as she realized there were others besides the driver in the car, she looked between them all with concern.
"Who… who are you? I was told only about the driver," she said with worry in her voice.
Shepard looked over at her and smiled. "Oh, don't worry. You're in the right car." As soon as she said the words, the limo took to the air and began flying in the air traffic lanes over the Zakera Ward. "So, here's the deal folks. I have spectre business I need to discuss with Fade. And as soon as we get there, you're going to lock the doors on this limo and fly away from the building, but stay close enough to meet us when we're done."
"Wha?" asked the asari worriedly as she looked up at Garrus who was crunching on a snack in the front seat.
"Once I'm done with Fade, you'll get what you want from him," she said as she eyed the asari. Gulping in fear, she just nodded.
The flight slowed down as they approached the large warehouse that the volus had mentioned. The windows were already tinted due to the nature of the business, so none of the security around the warehouse were any the wiser that something was about to go down. After a few minutes, one of the security team came up and knocked on the window.
"That's the cue," said the volus. "Good luck out there."
Shepard tossed him a credit chit before turning sideways and thrusting both feet into the door. It swung open hard and fast, slamming into the security guard and knocking him off his feet. As she stepped out of the vehicle, she pulled twin pistols off her hips and aimed one at the man on the ground and another at the men near the door. "Drop your weapons before I ventilate all three of you!" she snapped sternly. One of the men reached up to activate his comm when a shot near his feet stopped him from moving.
She couldn't see him the way she was facing, but she knew Garrus was behind her, his sniper rifle laying across the car hood. He spoke out. "Approach the vehicle or die. I don't care which but do it fast."
The man on the ground delicately grabbed his weapon and threw it aside while the other two tossed theirs and approached the car. "Nobody is going to die as long as you cooperate."
The walking men approached with their hands up and as soon as they were close enough, their eyes widened. "Sh-Sh-Shepard?!" one of then practically shrieked.
"Fucking hell! That bastard didn't tell me I'd be facing off with a goddamn geth killing spectre!" snapped the other.
The first one started again. "Look, ma'am…" he started, getting a glare from her. "Spectre, working here isn't worth dying. Please let us go and we'll leave!"
"I'll never show my face around here again!" said the other with an expression of worry on his face.
She looked between them all and noticed a common trait. "Are there any non-humans in your group?"
"No. Boss says he don't trust 'em," said one of the guards worriedly as her pistol lowered.
"And who is your boss?" asked Garrus as he approached. But before another word could be spoken, the door to the warehouse opened.
"What the fuck is going on out here? Who shot a damn hole-" snapped the man angrily. But his anger vanished like a droplet on a hot skillet as he saw Shepard and Garrus standing outside.
"Harkin…" growled Garrus as he immediately sprinted for the door.
Shepard lowered her weapons and slapped on the limo. It took off immediately as she looked at the security. "Get the hell out of here," she ordered before running after the turian. She knew she'd never catch up to him at full speed. Humans just weren't built for running like turians were. But she knew she helped somewhat as she sprinted into the warehouse.
Ten men stood in front of Harkin with their guns drawn and aimed at Garrus. As soon as she stepped inside, they all looked at her and immediately began backpedaling, their aim forgotten. "Fuck! It's fucking Shepard!" shouted one as they all broke formation and hurled their weapons away before fleeing for their life.
Garrus chuckled as the color began to drain from Harkin's face. He was left exposed now, his security apparently having heard the tales of the reaper killer Shepard, and took them seriously. He had nobody left. "Goddammit. That's what I get for hiring from Earth, goddamn cowards," he said before turning to the two who now held weapons.
Shepard smirked as she pulled her helmet off. "Well Fade, looks like we got your with your pants down."
"Not yet," he said as he gave her a slimy smile. "But you can always-" he started before Shepard cut him off. Walking up to him, she grabbed him none-too-gently by the ear and twisted. "Fuck! Lemme go!" snapped the former C-Sec officer.
"Make another pass at me and I'll tear it off. Now, sit down," she snapped as she kicked him in the gut, causing him to land flat on his ass and gasping for air.
Garrus stepped over to the man and knelt down, getting close enough for him to try something. "A turian named Lantar Sidonis dropped off the map here on the Citadel recently. I'm going to guess you had something to do with it."
"So, what if I did?" he asked, his eyes glaring hatred at Shepard now.
"You're going to do me a favor and find him again," said Garrus as pleasantly as he was able to the man. She had never had the displeasure of meeting him, but she knew a rotten to the core cop when she saw one.
"Business doesn't work like that. My business runs on making people disappear. If I turn over one of my clients to you-" he whined before a shot from Shepard's pistol silenced him. He looked down to see it had impacted directly between his legs and only centimeters from his crotch. "Fuck!"
"Pretty please," said Garrus sarcastically as he stood to his full height again.
"Fine. Whatever, just keep that crazy bitch off me!" he growled as he got to his feet, still glaring at Shepard. He reached down and activated his omni-tool. Shepard pulled up her own and immediately broke his firewalls, then began downloading all the information on it. "What the hell?" he asked as his began to glitch and freeze.
"Interesting," said Shepard as she looked through the info. "He was helping people drop off the radar, and then selling their location to the Shadow Broker."
"And you thought we were bad for business," said Garrus as he gripped the human by the back of the neck. The man went rigid before the turian pulled out a pair of magnetic cuffs.
"What the hell are you doing?!" he snapped at Garrus, then turned to Shepard. "And what are you doing with that data?! That's my-" he started, but stopped as Shepard reached out with a glowing blade that slid out of her wrist and held it to his throat. His eyes were wide in horror as he felt the heat from the weapon.
"You deserve to be tossed out of an airlock for what you've done in C-Sec, and what you've done here. But I wouldn't bother wasting one of my blades on you. Instead, you're going to jail for using a backdoor program into C-Sec's secure databases and using it to help criminals hide from the law," she said with a grin. His face fell even more. "Let's go, Princess," she said sarcastically as Garrus shoved him forward.
Zakera Thon District Mall – Zakera Ward – Citadel
"You ready for this, Garrus?" asked Shepard solemnly as they both looked at the turian man sitting on a bench in the rundown mall. It had security cameras that were probably older than her. The information they had found on Lantar was that he was now living in a rather rundown part of Zakera Ward's housing blocks. He was set up with a basic job as a security guard at the mall they were now at. And even though she could only see half his face from her position, she could see that he was miserable.
"As ready as I'm ever going to be, Shepard. Let's do this," he said as he began walking in the opposite direction from her. The mall was pretty crowded despite the neighborhood it was in. She swung around and approached him from the front. She noted that his carapace was light grey as opposed to Garrus's darker shade. She also immediately noticed that the clan paint on his face was uneven and asymmetrical.
Even if she wasn't looking for him, she would immediately be suspicious of him if they came face to face. Crooked or incorrect clan paint on a turian meant they weren't used to painting it. Turians painted their clan markings on their face almost as soon as they are capable of drawing it properly. They only change the markings very rarely and in extreme circumstances. The motions over the years are refined to a form of art. Garrus was meticulous about adding his and could commonly be found in the Normandy's facilities for over an hour once a week. But this wasn't refined or clean. It looked like it was done with a shaky hand.
Finally, she stopped in front of him, causing him to look up at her. "Lantar Sidonis?" His eyes widened at the name, and it appeared that he finally recognized her.
"Spirits… he's here, isn't he?" he asked as his head sagged.
"Right behind you, old friend," said Garrus in a scathing tone.
"Have you come to kill me?" asked the turian man as he simply stared at the ground.
"I've come to get answers. And once I have those answers, I'll decide then if you're even worth killing," growled her friend as he planted his hands on the bench on either side of the turian. "You can try to run, but I promise you that you can't outrun a bullet."
Reaching up, Lantar cradled his face in his hands. "I'm sorry."
Immediately, Garrus hissed. "Sorry isn't good enough!" he snapped, his anger rising with every second he stayed in Sidonis's vicinity. "Ten lives! Ten good people dead! Do you think sorry is going to be good enough?!"
Shepard looked up at Garrus and he huffed and backed off. Looking down at the broken turian, she began her questions. "Did you betray them?"
He finally stopped looking at the ground. "It's my fault they're dead."
"I didn't ask if it was your fault. I asked if you betrayed them," she snapped impatiently at him. She wasn't about to stand here while he threw himself a pity party.
"I… I did… I think," he said as he looked down for a moment to recall.
"What do you mean you think? Shouldn't you know whether you got ten people killed?" asked Garrus, his voice filled with venom.
"The day they found the base I woke up in the clinic with a doctor patching my injuries. I could hardly remember anything from the days before, but one thing I do know is that the Gowthra Family had caught me. I got sloppy on a job. I heard they were set to receive a shipment of slaves from the outer Terminus systems that were said to be going to the collectors."
"I remember hearing that as well, but the intel wasn't great on it. We only used solid intel before planning-" started Garrus angrily.
But Sidonis nodded. "I know I know. But it was personal for me," he said with a heavy sigh. "I grew up an orphan because my parents were taken by pirates from the Terminus Systems. I felt like even if the intel wasn't great, I had to check and make sure. I even used thermal vision to find out if the container had living people in it."
"And so?" asked Garrus curiously.
"It did. I was so sure that proved they had slaves. I took out the guards around the ship. It was lightly guarded, so I didn't figure I'd need the team's help. When I finally opened the crate to let the slaves out, I found myself at the mercy of twenty five or so soldiers from another family in the Blood Pack," he said as he shook his head. "They beat me senseless, dragged me into one of their safehouses, and then had the Blue Suns come in and start torturing me. Eventually they gave me drugs to try and loosen my tongue."
Shepard could see Garrus's face slowly softening as the story went on. His arms, originally tightly folded across his convex chest, now hung down at his sides. "What kind of drug?"
"I don't really know. All I do know is my vision in one eye was blurred so bad that I couldn't see through it. I drooled so much they had to get a bottom rung guy in there to mop it up," said Sidonis as he cupped his head in one of his hands. I could hardly see, hardly think, I could barely even recognize what they were doing to me. All I know is that it didn't deaden the pain at all."
"So, then what?" asked Garrus curiously, his voice softer now as well.
"It's… it's the weirdest thing. I think I hallucinated being rescued," said the man as he finally stood up and faced Garrus. "I saw your face. My vision had only cleared a bit, but I saw you. You spoke to me, I couldn't remember what you were saying."
"I wasn't there," said Garrus incredulously as he leaned against the wall next to the bench. "It had to be a hallucination because I didn't even know you had been captured by them until you just told me."
"I don't understand why it's so vivid. I heard someone call your name. I called out to you too, asked you to help me, to get me out of there." He shook his head miserably. "When I woke up in the clinic, I thought you had saved me. I rushed out of the clinic only to find our compound surrounded by a thousand or so mercenaries. They said they had slaughtered our team, and that you were cornered. I… I just ran. I never thought you would survive, and I thought they would come after me to finish the job once you were dead."
"So, you didn't go to Fade to hide from me. It was to hide from the Gowthra Family, who knew exactly what you looked like," said Garrus as he added the pieces up. "But you're built to withstand torture. Even drugged I would have bet my life that you would never have cracked. So, what happened? How did they find our team?"
"I… I don't know. All I can remember was that stupid hallucination," he said with a heavy sigh.
"That's not good enough, Sidonis! Ten people… good people died and I need to know why!" snapped Garrus, who got a glare from Shepard. He lowered his voice. "I need to know why they died."
"I wish I could tell you, Garrus. I don't know how they got the information from me, or even if they got it from me. All I know is what I've told you so far," he said as he spin his hand in a circle.
"Wait…" said Shepard as she looked down at the ground, deep in thought. Both turians looked at her quizzically. Her gaze snapped up to Sidonis with her brow furrowed. "You say this hallucination was very realistic?"
"Of course. I saw Garrus," said the man before he looked away slightly. "Well, as well as I could see anyway. My vision hadn't fully recovered by that point."
Shepard reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "Oh god dammit."
Garrus eyed her curiously. "What is it?"
"Before I got to Omega, I was told you were there," said Shepard seriously as she placed her hands on her hips. "Cerberus gave me the dossier and said that you had joined the Blue Suns."
"Me? In the Blue Suns?" he asked, nearly outraged at the implication.
"As soon as I heard you were there, I landed on Omega and joined the mercenary squad that was supposed to finish you off. While I was out in that crowd with you no doubt preparing for an assault, I talked to Tarak, the head of the Blue Suns. He said you were a part of his group," she said, causing Garrus to go slack jawed in surprise. "Once they finally took me to this Garrus," she said, emphasizing his name with air quotes, "I knew it wasn't you. He was taller, thicker, and his voice was slightly deeper than yours."
"I had an impersonator?" asked Garrus incredulously. "I guess I did somewhat make a name for myself by helping you with Saren and Sovereign."
"Yeah, that's what he said. People said he looked like you, so he swapped his clan paint and joined the Blue Suns using your name to get him a cushy job with them," she finished as she eyed Sidonis.
"I mean, that's certainly an astronomical coincidence that we'd be in the same place at the same time. But what does that…" asked Garrus before he stopped entirely. "Oh…"
Lantar looked between them before Shepard answered his question. "The Garrus you saw wasn't a hallucination. It was an impersonator. Apparently, the drugs were potent enough to make you ignore all the things identified him to me as not being Garrus."
"Spirits…" said Lantar as he sat on the bench again. "I don't recall what I said to you, I just know that I called out to you for help. I must have said something they could use to track the team down."
Garrus snorted in anger. "Justice…" he growled as he stood straight. "They couldn't even get that."
"Garrus… I…" started Sidonis, but his turian friend stopped him.
"Sidonis, I need to say something to you," said Garrus, getting a nod from the man. "I was fully intending on tracking you down and putting a round through your head without asking a single question." The turian took a step back at the admission. "A few friends of mine, as well as Shepard here told me that vengeance wasn't going to help me gain closure. They convinced me to talk to you instead," he said with a heavy sigh. "If it wasn't for them, I would have made an unforgivable mistake today."
"I… I don't… What are you…?" asked Lantar as he practically stuttered the words.
"What I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry," said the sniper as he held out his hand to Sidonis.
The other turian looked at the hand before looking back up at Garrus. "Sorry for what?"
"For letting my anger almost kill a friend," he said solemnly.
"We're… still friends?" asked Sidonis in astonishment.
"You had no way of knowing that Blue Suns impersonator wasn't me. You had been tortured and drugged and probably sleep deprived on top of all that," said Garrus as he looked down in shame. "I thought for so long that there was no justification, no reason in asking for your side. If things were even slightly different, I would have made a very big mistake today." Sidonis seemed stunned for a moment before reaching out. The two clasped hands together and held it for a long moment. "Brother."
"Brother," said Sidonis, a look of hope on his face for the first time since they had seen him.
"The Gowthra Family is dead. Tarak, who tortured and drugged you is dead. And Jaroth who led the strike on our compound and killed our comrades is dead," he said as he sighed to himself. "You have no cause to hide anymore."
"I will still take the guilt of what I have done to the grave," said Sidonis as he looked down.
"I cannot remove that guilt from you. I can only say that I don't blame you. And if they were still alive, I doubt the team would either," said Garrus as he gripped Sidonis tighter. "Live for them as I will. We are their legacy."
With those words, every ounce of self-pity or fear in Sidonis left his body and he stood straight and proud. "I will honor their spirits."
"As will I," said Garrus as he finally let go. "I have a lot to process. So, I'm gonna go ahead and head back to the Normandy," he said to Shepard. She nodded to him and he walked away to find his own way back.
"Thank you, Shepard," said Sidonis, getting her attention.
"Don't thank me. I did what I did because Garrus is important to me. I don't want to see him become a monster," she said firmly as she crossed her arms.
"Still, your guidance is why I still live, and Garrus has peace of mind. You've helped both of us more than you can ever know," he said as he looked down at her. "I don't know what I'm going to do next. But now, I can at least allow them to live on through me."
Shepard smirked and nodded. "Let me know if you need anything from me. And, if you can, keep in touch with Garrus. He could use some friends."
After their goodbyes, Sidonis left on his own path. Shepard eyed the bench where they had seen him sitting. She imagined Garrus blasting Doctor Saleon through his cranium with the pistol he held. Then she pictured him staring down the scope at Sidonis who sat helplessly on the bench. He was dark, corrupted, twisted. If he had done those things, he may have never recovered. He would have gone down the same path Saren did and become just another killer cop. She immediately shattered that look of him in her mind and instead, recalled him slamming his crest into the Mako's hood when she surprised him during calibrations, the panic in his eyes when he had fist bumped her breast, and him standing in the cockpit, bickering with Joker.
She smiled to herself peacefully, hoping she had done enough protect his spirit from the corruption that this galaxy constantly tried to pollute it with. Finally turning away from the bench, she left the mall with the same smile never leaving her features.
CODEX ENTRIES
Twin Swords Commendation | Culture | Military
The Twin Swords Commendation is an award given in the turian Hierarchy. It can only be given out by the current Primarch and Imperator of the turian military, and is only given to soldiers whose actions bring great pride onto the Hierarchy as a whole. Similar in standing to the Alliance's Star of Terra or Congressional Medal of Honor, the Hierarchy has only handed out around a thousand of these awards since their introduction back during the Unification War.
Jor | Culture | Volus
Jor Danus Zoltus was an ancient Irunite figure who was considered by the volus to be the one true king that they ever had. He was a figure revered for bringing all the tribes of Irune together to survive an ice age event that nearly wiped them out. After his rule, the tribes split again, but they never forgot his incredible leadership.
Zan | Culture | Volus
When speaking to a volus with respect, this is often added to the front of their name. The closest translation of the word has come to mean "honored one," and is frequently used between volus who do business with those higher on the corporate food chain.