Chapter 25
Lirelia Police Department – Nos Astra – Illium
As soon as the door to the department opened, Shepard knew they on guard. The receptionist before had been understandably frustrated at being overworked, but now as the spectre approached the desk with Samara and Grunt behind her, her eyes flitted between the three of them anxiously.
Shepard stepped up to the desk and smiled at her. "If you don't mind, I'd like to know which officer borrowed car AV2618 earlier today."
"I… I don't…" started the young asari woman.
But the spectre grinned in a manner that wasn't pleasant at all. "I'm not going to ask again. Get me the identification of the officer who used vehicle number 2618. If you do not comply, I will get it myself and I assure you that you do not have enough people on the premises to stop me," she said threateningly as she stared down at the woman.
"What the hell is going on here, Shepard?" asked detective Anaya as she stepped out of her office. Immediately the asari grimaced at seeing Samara standing in her station again next to a massive krogan.
"Earlier today one of your officers took someone from their homes under false pretenses and I'm going to find out why," she said as she turned towards the detective. "Can I get your cooperation, or do I have to do this the hard way?"
Snorting, the detective strolled over to the receptionist's desk and shoved her chair aside, causing her to roll away from the computer. "Fine," she said as she opened the log on the computer. "What's the number?"
"AV2618," said the spectre as she eyed the woman.
A look of surprise dawned on Anaya's face. "The hell was she doing out?" she said before looking over to the receptionist. "Why was chief Isana even out today?" The younger woman just shrugged. Sighing, the detective groaned before looking up at Shepard. "So, it turns out it was taken out by Liselia Police Chief Isana, the head of this entire department. What does this mean?"
"It depends on if they cooperate with me. Where are they?" asked Shepard as she unfolded her arms. Anaya stood up and waved for them to follow.
The asari led them back through the station to a lavish office in the rear of the building. As soon as the door opened, Shepard activated her omni-tool and sent a pulse out that disabled any electronics in the room. The commissioner who was on a phone call at the time pulled the device away from their ear and looked up in surprise as the four of them marched into her office. "What the hell is going on?"
Samara stepped forward first. Reaching down, she lifted the desk with her biotics and tossed it aside much to the surprise of the woman. "Do you know who I am?"
The chief stared up in fear as the justicar stood over her. "You're the justicar… Samara…" said the woman, her comm now completely forgotten as she tried to back her chair away from the imposing asari.
"Good, that will make this easier," Samara said as Anaya went to get between them.
But Grunt stopped her and shook his head. "Don't even try it, detective," he said before shoving her backwards.
"You are going to tell me where you took the family of Oriana Valentine," said the justicar as she bent forward a bit, staring directly into the asari woman's eyes. "Using your authority to mislead the innocent is a very serious crime worthy of death. Pay penance and assist in their recovery and I will leave this station with you standing in it. But try to deceive me or the spectre and there will be nothing left of you to send home to your next of kin."
The chief apparently took the threat very seriously coming from a justicar as she got to her knees and bowed her head down to the floor. "Please, forgive me justicar!" said Isana desperately. "The Eclipse forced me to comply and escort the family to dock 3316 for departure. They didn't tell me why, all they gave me was the family name and the location for drop off!"
Shepard stepped forward her head tilted in curiosity. "What do the Eclipse have on you that they could force you to do something like this?"
"Twenty thousand credits worth of gambling debt…" said the chief as she finally sat up on her haunches again. "They said they'd cut it in half if I delivered the family."
Shepard groaned and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Never changes. Anywhere I go there's always some shady group who has an in with the police," she growled before turning to Grunt. "You stay here with the chief. If she tries to call anyone or warn anyone, make her regret it," ordered Shepard as she turned to Samara. "Follow me," she said as she led them back to the front side of the small department. Raising her voice, she began to shout. "I've just given the order for a wet blanket to cover this entire department. Nobody can call in, nobody can call out. You all are going to stay here until I'm finished dealing with the Eclipse. If you try to leave, Samara and the rest of my squad watching from the outside will discourage you," she said as she turned to the justicar. Samara nodded and Shepard headed out the door.
Liara was waiting outside with Tali, Jack, and Miranda. The asari gave her a small smile. "I haven't seen you that wound up since you asked Anderson to knock Udina senseless."
"Corruption always pisses me off," said the spectre as she headed for the nearby shuttle. Activating her comm, she opened the door to the shuttle. "Thane, Garrus, if anyone so much as sees daylight before I give the all clear, make sure they're hopping to work from now on."
"Understood," came Thane's response.
"Got it, Shepard," said Garrus through his comm.
Dock 3310 – Nos Astra Port – Illium
Miranda shook her head in annoyance as they all recovered from the crash landing. Looking over, she saw Shepard was more pissed than hurt, which was exactly what she needed right now. Reaching over, she opened the door to the shuttle and stepped outside. The others followed soon, all of them armed and armored. She pulled a pistol from her side as she looked over at the smoking shuttle they had unceremoniously land in.
"Well, we're not getting back in that," said Liara as she let her biotics cover her from head to toe.
Jack jumped free from the back seat and growled. "Alright, who do I have to tear to pieces?"
It only took moments for her to get her answer as a small troop carrier landed in front of them. A human man with the Eclipse logo emblazoned on his armor was hanging off the side and stepped up to them. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Miranda glared at him as he was clearly talking to her. "So, you know who I am then?"
"Yeah, the boss said you might get involved. You're the bitch that kidnapped the little girl," said the man with a sneer as he looked her up and down without even hiding his intentions.
"This doesn't involve you. I'd advise you to leave if you value your lives," snapped Miranda angrily.
The man just shook his head and chuckled. "You think you've got it all lined up, dontcha?" he said with a smirk. "Captain Enyala already has the kid."
"How did you find her?" asked Miranda angrily, but even her anger was doused by the surprise of Jack stepping forward.
"Tell her what she wants to know before I pop your head off like a beer cap," growled the convict angrily.
"Oh, we have our ways," said the man as he gave the biotic young woman a sleezy grin.
But his grin vanished when Shepard placed her hand on his collar and held him back at arm's distance. "I'm giving you once chance to learn from the mistakes of the other Eclipse losers on this planet. Take it and get out of here before you suffer the same fate they did," growled the spectre as her eyes already glowed red.
"Fuck off! My men have been lining up shots since you got out of the car! So, I'd recommend you walk away and go back to-" he began angrily, but he stopped almost instantly.
Miranda almost didn't see what the spectre had done. Within the span of a second, she had created one of her glowing blades and thrust it up under the man's chin, past his shields, and into his head. Her visor sealed and her armor lit up with hard light plating as she lifted the man's lifeless body up and carried it in front of her as a shield.
The XO didn't know if they were terrified of Shepard or horrified at what she had done. But his men took a full ten seconds to start firing at her, their rounds now deflecting off the shields and body of their ally. But it was too late for that. The men that he had claimed were lining up shots were pitifully unprepared for the power of the Normandy crew. Liara and Jack blasted them into oblivion with their biotics while Shepard threw the tacky man's corpse aside.
The operative stepped up to Shepard urgently. "The police chief said they took her to dock 3316 and we're at 3310. With the shuttle fried, we're going to have to fight our way there on foot."
"Fine with me," said Shepard as she pulled a battle rifle off her back and checked it. "Just make sure to alert us if you sister is on the battlefield," she said before activating her comm. "EDI, the docks are on emergency shutdown due to the firefight we just won. If any ships try to skip town, disable them."
"Understood, Spectre," came the AI's voice over the comm.
Dock 3314 – Nos Astra Port – Illium
Shepard ejected a heat sink in her rifle, sending the superheated device skittering across the floor. She let out a heavy sigh as she kicked the body of the groaning man in Eclipse armor over and looked down at him, her glowing eyes locked in a scowl. "Give me a reason to leave you alive and tell me how you found Oriana Valentine," ordered the spectre as she knelt down next to the man who had three separate shots in his leg.
The man was breathing rapidly, panicking at the immense pain he was feeling. "Enyala got ahold of some guy named Niket…" he said through his gasps of pain. "Made him talk."
Miranda growled and lit her biotics angrily. "Niket would never talk you lying bastard!" she snapped as she pointed at the man accusingly.
Shepard stood and looked up to Miranda. "Who is Niket?"
"He's a good friend of mine. The only one I trust," she said as she clenched her fist. "Now isn't the time for details, but he knew my father and knew how terrible he is. He's trained and I've seen him withstand torture of all kinds. There's no way these damn mercenaries got him to talk."
"These are asari commandos," said Shepard as Miranda's doubting expression grew. "Look, whatever is going on, I'm sure we'll find out when we get there."
Tali spun her shotgun expertly before stepping up to them as well. "I'm surprised you came along, Jack."
Shepard waved for them all to follow her as the biotic responded. "Just because her sister is a bouncing bubbly bitch doesn't mean she deserves to get taken away from her family," said the convict with a glare.
"Speaking of, you said this was your twin," said Liara as she activated the elevator to the next area. "Why do the mercs keep talking as if they've kidnapped a kid?"
"Well, she's not a kid. At least anymore," said Miranda as she leaned against the wall of the elevator. "When I ran away from my father the Illusive Man hid me from him, making sure that he'd never be able to get to me. When he realized chasing me was futile, he tried to start over."
"Start over? What, he had another kid?" asked Jack incredulously.
"He doesn't have kids," said Miranda with an icy glare. "He manufactures them. He uses gene selection with the top of the line genetic technology to make the perfect woman. He isolates traits in genes from women all over the galaxy." She turned and motioned towards her body. "Everything I am is something he picked from other woman."
"Putting everything he desires from women into a daughter is worrying," said Tali with a shutter in her voice.
"And now you understand why I ran away. He wasn't making me and my sisters an heir. He was trying to make us into the perfect wife," she growled angrily, leaving a look of shock on everyone's faces. "When I heard that he tried to start over and created a new child, I waited until she was old enough, made plans with the Valentine family, and I stole her from him. And I'll continue to do so until he dies a bitter, lonely, perverted old bastard."
"Goddess, I hadn't realized he was that depraved," said Liara in shock as the elevator finally stopped.
"Nobody does. He's a handsome, rich, charismatic businessman. He could bring a literal slave from Illium to the Presidium of the Citadel, and nobody would dare question his character," said the XO as she turned and faced the opening doors. "What's it to him to lock us away in a gilded cage until we're old enough to give him a proper heir? All he'd have to do is give people some lame excuse about how we met."
"Alright…" growled Jack, her face set in a scowl. "Cerberus can still go fuck itself, but I can one hundred percent understand doing anything to get away from him. Let me find him and I'll rip the skin from his body."
Miranda chuckled as Shepard picked up a signal from the next dock over. "They've broken through to the processing yard! Tell Niket to get the damn girl out of here!" snapped the voice over the comm.
Miranda's eyes widened at the claim. "Niket? No… that can't…" she started saying as the realization suddenly hit her. "He… he wasn't tortured…"
"Sounds like he gave them the information and helped to get Oriana away from the family," said Liara as she stepped out to see a bunch of Eclipse mechs marching through the cargo processing yard.
"How could he…?" asked Miranda angrily before lifting her weapon and blasting the nearest mech to scrap as it started shooting at them. Dozens of more mechs stood up from behind the cargo littered about the area. With rage fueling her, she dove at a group of four and landed among them, using her biotics to scatter them across the yard.
Several shots began to ping off her shields, but the mechs in question lasted only seconds as the convict brought down an entire baggage lift that crushed them beneath it. Leaping forward, Jack's suede jacket ruffled from the impact of a rocket fired from an YMIR mech near the back, her biotics blocking most of the shot. "Bastard!" shouted the tattooed woman as she picked up loads of cargo in front of her and used it to block the incoming chaingun fire.
Shepard and Liara soared together on the other side of the yard. Mechs rained fire down on them, but Liara's shield blocked anything and everything that came their way. They moved together, her shields blocking outside fire as the spectre closed in on each one and blasted their brain casing open, leaving them as scrap metal.
"I can take care of one of the YMIR mechs at the back. But there are still two more!" shouted Tali as she operated her omni-tool. Her Chatika zoomed up it's back and used a bolt of superheated arcing electricity to burn through the hack-proof casing. Once done, the drone shrunk and rolled inside, her three fingers tapping rapidly. "I'll hold them off as long as I can!" Suddenly, the mech she had invaded turned and began blasting at the shielding of the other two mechs on the yard, causing them to turn on it as well.
Shepard nodded to Liara before throwing her pistol up to her. Sliding another blade out of her gauntlet, she began spinning and slicing through their heads as she came into contact. Liara moved quicker as well, one of her hands taking hold of Shepard's pistol, she began to assist in destroying the annoying LOKI mechs that polluted the yard.
"This has to be the last group, right?" asked Jack as sweat covered her naked brow. She had probably used her biotics more over the last couple of days than she had in a long time. Even the battle on Horizon had been short and sweet compared to them fighting through multiple cargo yards and ports full of mercenaries and mechs.
"I'll try to take some of them out with this one!" shouted Tali as the YMIR she was controlling turned and blasted a group of advancing mechs away from the pair. It was already barely holding together as the other mechs tore it down. Finally, with a loud whine, it folded in on itself and exploded with the power of an artillery shell. The blast nearly blew the other two off their feet.
Jack growled and jumped forward again, landing nearby one of the large robots and lifting it into the air. She tried to crush it again but felt herself wobble on unsteady feet. The robot slammed down again and raised its chain gun directly at the convict. Miranda focused her mind like a blade and waved her hand. The mech stopped as the wave of biotics passed it, then its arms fell off. Seemingly looking at its detached limbs, the robot's upper half then began to slide sideways until the entire thing fell in half, her biotics cutting clean through the entire thing.
Jack panted heavily and looked up at her. "Not bad, Jiggles. Maybe I'll let you teach me that someday," said the biotic woman as she tried to stand. Miranda reached down and helped her, getting a glare from the young woman. But she ignored the glare and helped her up and Shepard and Liara finally caught up to the mech on their side.
As soon as they were within range, Shepard vanished from Liara's bubble and appeared behind it, her glowing blade sinking to the hilt into its motherboard. The heated and serrated edge melted through the polycarbonate plating, then stabbed through its control chip, resulting in it spasming wildly before finally shorting out. Liara lowered her shield long enough to reach out with her biotics and rip its head off before it could try anything funny. Finally, they all sighed as they looked at the carnage.
Tali shook her head as she reached them. "I hope they're putting this on Eclipse's tab…"
"Oh, don't worry about that. I'll make sure the penalties go to the right place," said Liara with a sweet smile.
"You're scary now," said Tali worried as she took a step back.
Shepard chuckled at the pair before looking over to Miranda and Jack. "You alright?" she asked the tattooed woman.
Jack sighed and wiped a small amount of blood as it dripped from her nose. "Think my tank is about empty. I guess that blue bombshell back on the Normandy was right. I need to train more."
"You've been using nothing but your biotics as a weapon for the last hour and a half. If any of us had done that, we'd have gone comatose," said Miranda as she helped her into the final elevator.
"I've got enough juice to defend myself," said Jack as she spat on the floor. "But whoever is left you might have to take on your own."
"I don't think that'll be a problem," said Liara as she handed Shepard's pistol back to her.
The spectre opened the doorway that led to the next yard and turned to the others as they boarded. "I doubt there are many left, but the ones that are left are commandos. Do not take them lightly," she said as she checked her pistol.
"Niket… how could you?" asked Miranda as she began to pace inside the moving elevator.
"You said Niket helped you escape. Did he know about Oriana?" asked Shepard curiously as she leaned against the wall.
"No. I hadn't even told him Oriana existed. But even if he found out, he knows how terrible my father is," said Miranda as she ran a hand through her raven hair.
"Okay, but did he know about the wife thing? Or did he just think you stole a kid from her rich dad?" asked Jack as she stared up at the XO. "Because one sounds waaay worse than the other."
"Fuck…" growled the operative as she hit her head against the wall. "But… why wouldn't he come and ask me instead of this!?"
"Only one way to find out," said Tali as she shook her head.
Dock 3316 Cargo Area – Nos Astra Port – Illium
When the door finally opened, Shepard knew what was going on, and it wasn't good news for Miranda who was holding out any hope that her friend hadn't betrayed her. There were three Eclipse mercenaries left, all three of them asari commandos, and a human man that looked to be in his mid 20s standing on the final dock. As soon as they arrived, all three of the asari drew their weapons, making things extremely tense. But nobody fired.
Miranda's face was a mask of ice as she glared at the human man in front of her. It took him a long moment to analyze her before he finally seemed to recognize her. "Miri?"
One of the asari woman smirked as she stood up from her spot on a cargo crate and let her shotgun hang. "Good, something to break the boredom."
But Miranda ignored the asari woman and focused her heated glare on the human. "Niket…" she said as she raised her weapon and aimed it directly at him. "How could you sell me out? After everything we've been through, after you helped me, you finally took his money?"
The man's face soured immediately, his hand brushing over his five-o-clock shadow in annoyance. "I helped you because you wanted help, Miri," growled the man as he glared back at her. "That was your choice. But I had to find out from your father that you stole your baby sister."
"I didn't steal her! I rescued her!" snapped Miranda, the pain in her voice apparent.
"From a life of wealth and happiness?" said the man dismissively as he waved off her claim. "You weren't saving her. You were just getting back at your father."
"Goddammit Niket! You don't know the first damn thing about me and my father!" she jabbed as she took another step closer, her gun now a meter away from him. If he was afraid, he didn't show it at all. "You clueless, bumbling, idiot!"
"What don't I know? That the little spoiled rich girl would throw away her father's gifts and do anything to get back at him? You know how many times I've seen this cliché?" he asked bitterly. "Unlike you, I grew up destitute, Miri. I didn't have the choice to throw away my rich parents and go at it on my own. And that's not a choice you should have made for her!"
"We aren't his daughters you yammering fool!" snapped Miranda, getting a surprised look from Niket. "He was creating us as his genetically perfect brides!"
"I… uh… wha?" asked the man in confusing. "No… but you said he was your father. You said he…"
"Wanted me as an heir?" she asked, tears in her eyes at his betrayal. "I told you that because the things he did to me, the things he said to me were too personal and painful to tell even you! You were my goddamn friend! The only friend I had, we were supposed to trust each other!"
"I-I…" he stuttered, all of his former bitterness shattered at the single claim. "Fucking hell…"
"Where is Oriana?" asked Shepard plainly, cutting through the emotional back and forth.
"She… She and her family are on an airship ready to leave," said Niket as he looked down at the ground with a guilty expression. "The port shut down before we could get them off world."
"Alright," said Shepard as she turned to the head asari among the three. "Captain Enyala I presume?"
"Spectre Shepard. Heard a lot about you," said the asari as she glared at her through the visor.
"Then you've heard what happens to people who get in my way," said the spectre as she glared back. "When it comes to fighting Eclipse, it's 3-0 in my favor. I'd advise you not to bet on those odds. Give me the family and walk away with what remains of your group."
"Holy shit. You humans are as arrogant as I've heard," said the asari with an amused smirk. "I'll easily be able to rebuild my group after I kill you. My reputation with the first human spectre's head on my wall? I'll have people lining up for kilometers," snapped the merc as she raised her weapon.
But Niket got in front of her. "No! Stop this dammit!" he said as he turned back to Miranda. "I'm… sorry Miranda, I didn't realize…"
"No, you didn't. The part that hurts most is you didn't even ask. You just assumed you had the whole thing figured out," she said glaring daggers at him.
"Enough," said Niket as he held his hands up to stop Enyala from attacking. "What she said changes everything. I'm letting them take the fam-"
"The hell you are. Your conscience isn't getting me paid," snapped the commando as she lifted her weapon.
Miranda's eyes widened as the sound of the captain's shotgun echoed around the room. Niket flew backwards, his chest blown open from the attack as he landed directly in front of her. She reacted on pure instinct and lashed out with her biotics, picking up the captain and hurling her across the dock before sprinting after her.
The other two asari moved to attack Miranda as she flew by, but Shepard fired at one and stood in front of the other. "You two can dance with us," she ordered as she turned to Tali. "Think you can handle one of them?"
"Oh, I've got this," said the quarian as she began to circle her opponent.
Shepard turned to the other as she held her arms akimbo. "The same offer goes to you. Leave here and you can take over what's left of the Eclipse when Enyala is dead."
The asari's stare darkened as Miranda began firing her weapon in the distance. "Confidence born of ignorance. I've been a mercenary since before you humans even discovered electricity."
"And yet the entire galaxy only knows one of our names…" said the spectre with a demeaning grin.
"You will pay for your insolence!" snapped the Eclipse boss angrily.
"This is my first fight with an actual commando," said Shepard with a grin. "Don't disappoint me now." The asari snarled and pointed with a single finger. Shepard assumed that was one of those attacks that could penetrate through her armor. She spun away from the attack before dodging another and another. From the looks of it, the asari was attempting to end the fight fast. "Liara, keep Jack safe."
"Worry about your goddamn self, Shepard," barked the convict with a middle finger in the air.
Shepard gripped her pistol and decided to start leaning into offense. The commando aimed at her again, but she was surprised to see nothing but air in front of her. Suddenly, she gasped in pain as a gunshot impacted the armor directly between her shoulders. Spinning around, she slashed with her biotics again, but only met air as the spectre vanished once more. Another shot, this time to the armored hip.
Jane knew these were likely only bruising her, but she knew what she was dealing with. This commando hadn't been in a fight without her group in so long that she had lost the ability to fight on her own. She was automatically using her most dangerous and effective move and would be exhausted within a matter of minutes. She could only react to whatever Shepard did to her. The spectre sighed to herself as she realized that she wasn't going to get a genuine challenge out of this fight.
The asari, having been humiliated enough it seemed, threw out a biotic shield that hurled Shepard backwards. But the spectre rolled to her feet and shook her head. "Do you really think that's going to save you?" she asked with an amused grin. She held up her omni-tool which showed a flashing indicator on it. The asari saw it, her eyes widening as she looked around in panic. But she never stood a chance as Shepard detonated the explosive she had planted during the early moments of the fight.
Fire swallowed the asari, tearing her apart and being held in for mere fractions of a moment by her dying barrier before it finally winked out. When the smoke cleared, Shepard stepped up to the asari who was likely in so much agony that all she could do was groan. Raising her pistol, she ended her mercifully once and for all.
Tali circled around her own commando as she eyed her up and down. "So, have you ever fought a quarian before?"
"Plenty. All of them dead," said the other commando with a sneer.
"Prepare to be surprised," said the engineer as she sprinted towards the asari. She was apparently much faster than the merc had expected if the surprise on her face was any indicator. Leaping up, Tali lashed out and dealt a glancing blow to the side of the woman's head, sending her crashing heavily into the ground. But she was quick and managed to roll back to her feet with her weapon up and drawn.
The merc began firing on her with a sub-machine gun, but that attempt was ended as Tali overloaded the heatsink in the gun, causing the woman to drop her weapon as it burned her hand. "Goddess!" snapped the asari as she then tried to reach out with her biotics. But as if she was made from water, the quarian flowed around the attacks by ducking backwards, flipping to the side, and leaping over them. Sliding between her legs, Tali thrust both feet into her back with full force, causing the woman to fly and crash into the nearby bench.
Grunting in pain, the mercenary go to her feet again and pulled out a serrated dagger. The quarian planted her hands on her wide hips and tilted her head to the side. "As adorable as that is, I doubt it's even big enough to penetrate my suit," she said mockingly. The asari threw another biotic attack that Tali countered by tossing the woman's own malfunctioning gun into its path. The asari closed in on Tali and swing the blade at her, aiming for the throat.
But Tali took a one-legged step back, leaning back far enough to dodge, before then leaning forward and swinging in with a full force kick. The asari woman screamed as the brutal kick impacted her knee and obliterated the cap, leaving the limb bent the wrong direction. She attempted to swing the knife again, her biotics now raging in fear around her body. But Tali simply ducked the attack and kicked out once again, impacting the asari's hand and ending her life as the woman's own blade buried itself in her throat.
The asari fell backwards, a look of shock on her face as her purple blood poured from the wound. Tali simply walked forwards, took the shotgun from her back and ended the woman before she could do much of anything else. "Bosh'tet," growled the commander as she turned towards the others.
Shepard and Tali approached with their weapons drawn, but it was clear to the spectre that the fight had been over for a while. When they showed up, Miranda was using her biotics to pummel Enyala's dead body into the ground over and over again as tears streamed down her face. The commando's body was no longer recognizable.
Shepard put her weapon away before moving forward and gripping Miranda in a full body hug. "What are you doing!?" snapped the XO as she glared at the spectre.
"It's alright, it's over," said Shepard as she looked down at her. "They're dead."
Miranda's angry expression vanished as if she just realized she had been literally beating a dead asari. Finally, she leaned her head on Shepard's shoulder and clenched her fists. "Why did she have to kill him?"
"I know. Come on, we'll see he gets taken care of. In the meantime, let's go get your sister," said the spectre as she moved from a hug to just having her arm over her shoulders. Reaching up, she activated her comm. "EDI, alert Grunt and Samara and tell them they're free to return to the Normandy. And deactivate the wet blanket over the station."
"Will the police let Grunt and Samara just walk away?" asked the AI curiously.
"If they don't, remind them what's happened to Eclipse since I've arrived on Illium," she said sourly. "Oh, and tell Detective Anaya to get a patrol and medical staff to the docks. There's a pretty big mess to clean up down here."
"Understood, Spectre," said the AI as the comm was closed.
Dock 3316 Departure – Nos Astra Docks – Illium
The small group made their way to the ship in question. But when they opened it, they found it abandoned. Shepard and Miranda double checked every compartment of the small craft but found nobody aboard, not even the pilot. Shepard stepped outside the craft again and looked up to see a young woman jogging towards them, her hand waving in the air.
The spectre stepped down the small staircase to the dock floor and her eyes widened as she realized how literal Miranda was talking. She looked almost exactly like the XO with the exception of having shorter hair and being obviously at least a decade younger. "Miranda, she's out here."
"I… I can't come out, Shepard," said the operative inside the ship.
The young woman finally reached her and Shepard could see that the mother and father were now coming after her. "Are you with the…" started the young woman as her eyes grew wide. "You're… Shepard! The spectre!"
The family stopped behind her with worried expressions as they heard her claim. Shepard just smiled at the younger version of her XO and nodded. "I am Spectre Jane Shepard," she said as she reached up for her comm. "Hold that thought," she said before turning around and activating it. "Miranda, half the reason this family was fooled into leaving their home was because they didn't have a solid grasp on who to trust. Do you really want to gamble that someone will come along again in the future and try this?"
"But… you don't understand! If she knows about me…" snapped the operative anxiously.
"I do understand," said Shepard with a sigh. "But would it kill her to know she has a big sister who cares for her?" asked the spectre as she looked up at the doorway of the ship. "If you come down now, then she'll be safer than before given you're the only one with information on her."
Shepard very clearly heard her sigh over the comm. "Alright…" said the woman as she stepped out into the daylight of the docking yard. Oriana looked up at the woman as she stepped down and approached, her eyes widening again as the resemblance became clear. "Hi…" was all Miranda could get out. She stared down at the ground, her entire being right now exuding the energy of a vibrating mass of anxiety.
The young woman glared at her for a long moment before pointing directly into her face, getting a gasp from Tali. "I knew it!" she snapped as she turned to her parents. "I knew it! You filthy liars!" she snapped, half accusing and half playful.
"I-I'm sorry… I couldn't-" started the XO as she tried to think of any excuse she could. But she went dead silent as the girl spun around again and threw herself into a tight hug. With a look of shock on her face, Miranda looked down at her sister who was squeezing her tightly before wrapping her arms around her back and hugging her tight.
If Shepard were honest, Miranda was an absolute mess. Her hair was wild from the overuse and static build up of biotics, what little makeup she used had been annihilated by sweat and crying, and she just plain looked exhausted. But never in her entire time of knowing her had she seen a more genuine smile on her face than she did as she hugged her sister back.
Captain's Quarters – SSV Normandy SR2
She sighed as she entered the room and immediately pulled her shirt off and threw it into a laundry basket. She felt the entire weight of that hour long battle across the docks in her bones now, making her want nothing more than to just turn the shower on the hottest setting and fall asleep inside it. Unfortunately, that'd mean the worst for the ship's water pressure and it'd probably overtax the filtration system, so just a regular shower would have to do for now.
She did consider as she sat down at her desk the option of going back to the Citadel for one of those sessions with Sha'ira's underlings. A massage would be glorious right now. But she brushed her aches and pains aside because she had work to do. Miranda, after speaking extensively with the family, decided it was best if they moved. Even with all the witnesses dead, it wasn't safe for the family to stay where they were any longer. Too many people still alive, mostly the police involved, knew where they lived.
So, the operative asked Shepard for assistance, and immediately she and Garrus both knew the solution to the problem. This involved escorting the family back to their place to help them pack, which Grunt and Jacob were assisting with. But furthermore, it required the help of Sidonis and his new profession on the Citadel. Originally, the spectre was just going to leave him to his own devices. But now it looked like she'd have to help him with the foundation and make this an actual thing.
She had done similar things many times before with political prisoners, mainly batarians, that she had rescued from Kar'Shan's oppressive regime. She had to pluck them from everything they had ever known and plant them in an entirely new environment. It was one of her favorite things to see the abused trying to adapt to new, less abusive environments. Many grew into it slowly, spending each day stepping out of their comfort zone to go to the grocery story and flinching as people spoke to them, bowing their heads extremely low as they passed law enforcement on the street, or just stayed in the comfort of their homes.
But then some took to it a little too quickly. She chuckled to herself as she found out that the batarian Hegemony on Kar'Shan banned pornographic material from their extranet, and one of the first things that the people freed from their control did was discover pornography of all kinds and used it almost religiously.
She shook her head and snorted in amusement. She was lucky she never had to live under that kind of control before. Now, she was considering investing in Sidonis's new business and helping him out with the legality of what he was doing. Because if she was going to put her faith in him, she knew she was going to do everything in her power to make sure he succeeded. Opening her terminal, she moved to send a letter to Sidonis when she found another mail in her own account. It was specifically in her government account for spectre, meaning it must have been important.
But as she read the tag line on the email, she sighed to herself and on it, it opened into a glowing and fancy invitational letter similar to the one she had received from the royal couple years ago. But this time, it wasn't from some rich couple, it was from someone she was expecting. She read through the email and nodded. "EDI," she said as she closed the email.
"What can I do for you, Spectre?" asked the AI curiously.
"Tell Kasumi Goto to meet me in my quarters when she gets a moment," ordered the woman as she closed the terminal and decided to get her shower in before any meetings.
"I will let her know when I manage to find her again, Spectre," said EDI playfully as she disappeared from her spot by the door.
CODEX ENTRIES
Wet Blanket | Technology | Military
An electromagnetic pulsing weapon that shuts down most modern electronic devices. Unlike old school electromagnetic pulse weapons that were a single instant burst, this one is less powerful but consistent. This prevents it from frying the components of running devices, but its consistency keeps them from working at all until the pulse is lifted.