Chapter 29
Human Embassy – Presidium – Citadel
Ashley leaned against the railing of the human embassy. It was odd to her how the embassy itself had a balcony that allowed the occupants to see over the Presidium considering the office also had a lockdown mode. But with modern technology she supposed spying and assassination attempts weren't really a problem in the most heavily guarded area of the galaxy.
She inhaled deeply of the artificial atmosphere and found herself wondering what her future held. Ever since the first spectre's death, she had made it her goal to fill that void in the galaxy. She worked herself to death to get her N7 certification last year with the help of Shepard's training and then focused on training herself to try and do half the good the Shepard had.
Then she came back. As if the gates of hell refused to contain her, Shepard walked back into the galaxy and got back to work. She couldn't lie to herself, a part of her deep down was slightly bitter that she would never get the chance to take over the mantle of galactic savior. She acknowledged the selfish impulse and then threw it away. She didn't care how eager she was to live up to the woman, she'd have traded her own life for Shepard's at any point. Luckily, it seems like she didn't really need to.
She began to contemplate her beliefs on life and death once again before she heard the door open behind her. The ambassador as well as Captain Anderson strode through the door as she turned around. He gave her a smile and she grinned back. "So, Spectre."
"Already sounds weird," said Ash with a grin.
"Well you've earned it," he said as he held out his hand. She gripped his hand and shook it vigorously. "Sorry we don't have any rogue spectres for you to chase down."
She snorted and nodded. "I mean, does Shepard count?"
Anderson let out a chuckle and nodded. "You're not entirely wrong. She's certainly gone her own direction."
Ash sighed and sat in the chair opposite of the ambassador's own. "Honestly, I have no idea what I'm supposed to do now. Back then we had direction. Chase down Saren, fight the geth, stop Sovereign."
Jasmine's brow rose as she eyed the armored woman. "You know that spectres do more than fight reapers, right?"
The N7 glared at the ambassador. "From my experience they also fight the Council." Jasmine chuckled and shook her head. "I know and I can do all the other stuff as well. There's never not going to be terrible people that need a bullet in the ass. But with Shepard, she was a spectre for all of ten minutes before she was making plans. I'm kind of just drifting here."
"Well, maybe we can help with that a bit," said the man with a knowing grin. Ash eyed him suspiciously. "Follow me, Williams. Udina and I have been cooking up something for just such an occasion."
The captain nodded to the ambassador who waved them out. Ash followed him, wondering what he was planning exactly. "Were you all anticipating me becoming a spectre?"
"We had our hopes, but this was a just in case. The spectre didn't have to be you, but we're glad it was," said the man as he led her to a private aircar. The pair of them got in and he took them into the air before heading away from the presidium and made his way between the joints of the wards. "So, any plans to help Shepard?"
"Obviously," said the N7 as she crossed her arms. "I dunno if she needs it anymore though."
"Shepard always needs help," said the man as he gave her a stern side eye. "Shepard always seems like a juggernaut of unimaginable destruction who can do anything, but that's because she had you all with her. If she were alone she wouldn't have made it off Eden Prime, let alone saved the Citadel."
"I know," said Ash as she sighed and looked out the window and saw a massive presence from the Citadel Fleet. "It just seems weird. The first thing I do after becoming a spectre is going to work under another spectre? Isn't there more I could be doing on my own?"
"Shepard had the benefit of guidance and purpose. She had a mission right out the gate and cleaned up messes along the way. She also already had a lot of her contacts from her intel days. If she were in your position right now, she might be just as confused," he said, getting a glare from the N7.
"Yeah, but that doesn't make this situation any less confusing. Should I stay on my own or go with her?" asked the woman, exasperated at the choice she had to make.
Anderson finally turned and glared back at her. "Go with her, Williams."
"You say that…" said Ash in a snippy tone.
"Right now Shepard needs all the help she can get, and you need to make connections. You need friends, allies, and experience commanding," said the man firmly as he turned back towards the viewscreen.
"Why do I need experience comm…anding…" she mumbled as her eyes widened. Anderson grabbed the communicator on his car's console.
"Captain Anderson. Please state your business," ordered a voice from over the comm.
"I've got a spectre in tow, Fleet 4. She's coming to take a look at the new project," said the man with a grin.
"We'll need to check your IDs at the checkpoint," said the man again.
"Understood," said the captain as he smirked at the spectre's silence.
"No fucking way…" said Ash as she stared through the screen at this supposed project being made just for her with its unmistakable curved hull.
Hock Estate – Milgrom – Bekenstein
"Damn. Didn't think they'd have a laser grid at the front door," growled Kasumi as she eyed the entrance. Since they had landed, she had been cloaked to the maximum. She didn't want Hock to see her, hear her, she didn't want him knowing she even existed. Shepard couldn't really blame her given he was responsible for Keiji's death.
"So, no cloaking through the front door," said the spectre as she closed the aircar door.
"They've also got a hanar standing guard," said the thief with a sigh. "I guess those are the precautions you take when you associate with the scum that he does."
"What does the hanar have to do with anything?" asked Shepard curiously as she spotted the invertebrate guarding the door.
"You don't know? They can see straight through cloaking," said Kasumi in amusement. "Ironic given they don't have eyes. But their brains are actually better at reading light than anything in the galaxy."
"So, they just see straight through cloaking technology?" asked Shepard incredulously, never having heard of such a thing.
"They don't see like we do. Their brains are wired to see everything around their body all the time as colors of light. They can see you and me when we approach because of the light reflecting off our bodies. Cloaking tech was created to fool people with eyes, but not someone who can see every light distortion within a hundred yards."
"Alrighty, I guess I'll keep that in mind for the future. Never had to tangle with a hanar before," said the spectre as she slowly approached the heavily guarded door. "So, what's the plan if you can't get in?"
"Shepard, come over here to the right of the door and act like you're looking at this rose bush," said the thief mischievously. The armored woman did as she was told and steered away from the guard post for a moment. Stopping in front of the massive hedge, she eyed the roses. "Now brace yourself, I'm going to springboard off you onto the balcony above."
"Hurry, looks like they aren't a fan of me loitering," said the woman as she flexed her muscles. She felt as Kasumi planted her hands on her shoulders, then boosted herself up. Finally, the agile woman leapt into the air. While she couldn't see if she made it, the lack of her crashing back down to the ground was proof enough she was secure. Shepard quickly turned to the guard who had made his way over to her. She began walking towards the checkpoint. "Any idea where Hock gets his rose bushes? Those are massive."
The man sighed and shook his head. "No idea, ma'am. Please don't wander off on the property," he said in annoyance as he escorted her back to the checkpoint. "We're going to need you to leave your weapons at the gate. They will be ret-"
"I'm not going anywhere without them," she said, her face now a glare of authority. "I've already been approved by Chief Roe."
"I'll have to call her. Please wait-" started the man again but he was once more interrupted.
"I don't think the spectre would come all this way just to murder my party guests," came the thickly accented Afrikaans voice. Shepard looked up at the man and knew exactly who she was looking at. Even if she hadn't seen his picture already, she'd be able to tell it was him just by the look of him. He looked like every hair on his head and cheesy villain beard and mustache were individually cut and groomed. He almost looked like his picture had been slapped through one of the filters on the omni-tool to hide blemishes.
"You must be Mister Hock," said Shepard as she crossed her arms.
"And you're the great Spectre Jane Shepard," he said with an almost eerie grin. "I've been waiting to meet you."
"So I've heard," she said as she looked over at the guard with a glare.
"Do you normally attend parties in full spectre gear?" asked the man with a slightly amused chuckled as he nursed a glass of what looked like Amarula.
"When the guests include several unhinged mercenaries who want my head, you better believe it," said Jane with a grin.
The man smirked at her and nodded before turning to the man. "Let her in. We didn't invite her here to stand at the door, chop," ordered the man. The guard grumbled and stepped aside, allowing her up the stairs. Hock was the first to step through the laser grid and as Shepard stepped through, it practically gave her a halo. "Lovely as ever."
"Thanks?" asked Shepard, wondering what his deal was. She knew he was likely to try and get in her good graces for his plans as some kind of big shot info broker. But she found herself wondering if he would try to woo her into helping him. "So, you've got a hell of a lot of security here for a party. Should I be prepared for something?"
"Shepard…" he said as he placed his hand on her arm. She could barely feel it due to the armor, but she didn't like it anyway. "People like you and me, we attract certain… undesirable element. In our line of work, we appear as mountains to be climbed, puzzles to be solved, and rules to be broken. I am never expecting trouble, but I am always prepared for it," he said before removing his hand from her arm and stepping through the foyer into the large doors of what almost looked like a ballroom.
Any thoughts of the methods of his stray hand vanished as she saw the faces of all of his guests standing in the ballroom. It was a large open room with winding spiral staircases on either side, a large book den to the left of one and a security station to the other. The back wall was almost entirely window with a balcony hanging off the cliffside with a spectacular view. But her eyes were on the guests. She peered around and saw them all looking at her. Some had neutral faces, indifferent to her presence, some had nervous looks knowing she could likely clock them for half a dozen crimes just from what she'd find on their omni-tools.
And then there was the hatred. Multiple people, most she didn't know had looks of sheer spite in their eyes. She recognized one of them immediately, an asari that looked even more unhinged than Aria with purple paint on her face. Her blue eyes burned with seething malice as she stood in her dark blue dress holding a wine glass that looked like it had been emptied a few times already. Shepard eyed the woman, then giving her a playful grin before they passed her. The sound of the glass shattering in the woman's hand was only slightly satisfying.
The others she assumed were less on her radar and would probably be more on Gianni's as a white collar crime investigator. But she knew she had probably hit their pockets in the past regardless. Finally, Donovan Hock turned and stopped her in her path with a hand on her back that was a bit too friendly for her liking. Stepping up to a large dais in front of the fountain, he set aside his glass of alcohol and raised his arms.
Immediately, the crowd hushed and looked up to him. "Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues… friends," he said as he looked over all of them with a smile. "Many of you I know personally, some of you I know as friends, and some…" he said as he eyed her, making her brows furrow. "I hope to get to know better. But all of us are here for a very specific purpose. We're a menace to galactic society." This comment got many chuckles and even a cheer at the back. "We do the things that the Citadel Council and the Alliance need us to do to keep their pretty little hands clean. We are the true peacekeepers in the galaxy!" he said as he raised his glass.
Shepard looked around at them all. She recognized numerous gang leaders and plenty of security company and mercenary company bosses. She imagined some of them were investors or bankrollers. She found herself wondering if these people actually thought they were doing good in the galaxy or if that was something they told themselves to suppress the guilt over all the innocent bystanders they've displaced or killed as a result of their work. She sighed to herself and looked back up at the man.
"The Citadel Council and the Alliance leadership like to pretend we don't exist until they need us," he said, making her smirk. At least they had one thing in common in regards to the Alliance. "But this hands-off approach ends today! For we have finally attained the final piece of my plan!" he said as he raised his hand up in the air. He held it for a few seconds before lowering it to motion to her.
She raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Wait… me?"
"Indeed, Spectre!" said Hock as he gave her an eerie smile. "Would you like to see what the future looks like?"
"I'm sorry, what's happening?" asked Kasumi in confusion.
"I'd like to be less confused, yes," said the redheaded woman as she crossed her arms.
"Feel free to follow me," he said as he stepped down from the dais and marched back towards the large window of the room. Strategically hidden in the back was a stairwell that led down to what looked like a small corridor with armed guards standing on either side of a blank wall. Stepping between them, Shepard watched him place his hand on the wall and what looked like an unmarred section of wall vanished into thin air, showing the entrance to a vault.
"Is he going to just take you inside? I hadn't planned for him being that stupid," said the thief as she patted Shepard gently on the shoulder.
The rest of the crowd had stayed upstairs and were now watching them on a larger screen as a camera drone followed them and filmed. He stepped inside and she followed him. He entered the passwords, did the DNA, spoke the verbal audio password, and cleared every one of the checkpoints that Kasumi had been working tirelessly to try and get around. Once he was done, he motioned towards the now open elevator. "If you would, Spectre?"
Shepard eyed the man and sighed to herself. "I hope you don't have anything funny planned. I don't like surprises," she said as she stepped onto the elevator. She felt Kasumi's hand, meaning she boarded the elevator as well.
"Oh, there'll be a surprise. But I think you'll find it a pleasant one," said the man with a confident grin. Shepard grumbled to herself as she crossed her arms again. He looked her up and down after seeing the count of [234.212] on the weight reader. "How much does your armor weigh?"
"It's heavily armored. Plus the weapons and everything it's almost 70 kilos not counting my own body weight," she said giving him a grin.
He chuckled and turned the reader off. "I guess it takes a monster to put down monsters," he said as he returned her grin.
She flexed in her armor with a nod. "Indeed it does." Then the guards from the door stepped inside and they all began to sink down into the depths of the mountain.
Once they hit the bottom, he turned to her with a slimy smile. "Try not to be too impressed. I've built my collection up over the years." She entertained him with a nod but felt herself eyerolling internally. She did enjoy art herself on occasion and had enjoyed art shows in the past when going with friends. But art collectors who collected for the status were the worst.
But as the vault door opened at the bottom, she stepped inside and immediately knew why he had said that. Because as unimpressed as she was with art collections and the hoarding of historical relics, walking into a room and seeing the face of the Statue of Liberty had surprised even her. The camera drone flew into the massive room and swooped around, showing the audience that was still above.
With that surprise registered, she looked around at the other relics. As Kasumi said, there was the skeleton of a long dead dinosaur, statues, pottery, a model of one of the very first aircars, as well as a fairly old tripod railgun from years back. "You've got a hell of a collection here, Hock."
"How the hell did he get Lady Liberty's head? Who did he have to pay off to get that off Earth?!" asked Kasumi, almost outraged at the display.
"I told you you'd be impressed. But as impressive as all of that is, the most valuable thing I've got isn't some piece of art or historical creation to remind us of the past. No, this is what we're here for," said the man as he tapped a briefcase sitting on a small desk. It looked as if they had hastily set up the desk and the folding chair in front of it.
"And what's that?" asked Shepard, likely knowing what was actually inside the case.
"Control, my sweet spectre," he said with a smile. She eyed him suspiciously. "You see, in here we have a secret. It's a secret that took me years to track down."
"What kind of secret could be worth more than all of this?" asked Shepard incredulously as she eyed the case itself.
"The kind that can control the Alliance," said the man, getting a surprised look from the spectre.
"Sorry, run that by me again," she said as she stepped towards him. "You plan to control the Alliance with this?"
"You've had your issues with the Alliance as well, have you not?" asked the man as he looked her up and down. Shepard was now hyper aware of where his guards are, and to the fact that there were more guards likely hiding inside the vault. "It's time they paid the price for fucking with us," he said as he reached down and opened up the case. It showed a terminal attached what looked like a small transparent bandage. But she knew a greybox when she saw one. The chip was placed into the brain itself and recorded through vision everything that the brain saw. While the technology wasn't good enough to make an HD motion picture out of someone's lived experiences, it was still good enough to sometimes share memories with others.
"What do you need me for then?" asked Shepard curiously as she tilted her head at him.
"You're an Alliance N7 Intel Special Forces agent with some of the most decorated history in Alliance intel work," said the man, as he placed his hands behind his back in an almost military fashion. "This greybox contains the secrets I need to control the Alliance, and I want you to get them for me."
"You think I can crack a greybox?" asked Shepard with a smirk. "These are computer chips whose technology was meant to meld with the most powerful computers in the entire universe," she said as she tapped her head. "The brain. And you think I can crack one open without the key?"
"I think you're going to try," said the man with a knowing smirk, getting a rebellious look back from her. "I know you have history with the Alliance that may make you feel conflicted. But I was hoping that your grudge against them might sway you to my side. Because with their power under my control and your backing, we could eventually dominate the Council and rule the galaxy ourselves!"
She eyed him curiously, knowing he wasn't playing his full hand just yet. "Let's assume that what's on this greybox is as powerful as you say it is, which I have my doubts, but let's just say that it is. You must have had some kind of backup plan for handling me if I didn't agree to this."
"Oh, I'm very… persuasive," said the man as a dozen guards stepped out of alcoves all over the vault. Each one was as heavily armored as her and sporting new top of the line weapons, as well as armor that looked like it hadn't been used yet.
"Looks like you've got all the new toys," she said with a smirk as she looked at them all closing in on her position. She knew this was a possibility. In fact, Kasumi had planned around it happening eventually. That being said, she wasn't too afraid of mercenaries wearing new armor. A contrast to someone like Zaeed's, new armor was used to impress people, but not intimidate them. New armor and weapons meant that they hadn't seen use, which usually reflected in the skills of the person wearing it.
"Only the best for those who work with me," said the man with a salesman like slimy grin again. "So, Shepard, what do you say? Would you like to help me voluntarily and get paid for it? Or do I have to persuade you?" he asked as all the soldiers surrounded them both.
"Go ahead, Shep. There may be a way we get out of this without a fight," said Kasumi over her communicator.
She looked around at them and shrugged. "I'll take a look at it and see what I can do. I have to reiterate that we're talking about trying to crack into a greybox that attaches to a human mind. It's never been done before."
"I have faith you'll get it done," said Hock as he motioned for the guards to move out of the way. "The information I'm actually looking for was on another graybox that was stolen from my people by a theif. They uploaded all of the information from the other box to their own, then destroyed the original. Unfortunately, they died before I could torture the information out of them."
"If you haven't seen the original information yet, then how do you know it's as important as powerful as you're claiming?" asked Shepard curiously as she walked over and sat in the uncomfortable folding chair. It almost immediately folded beneath the weight of her armor. She glared up at him from the floor, "Perhaps better amenities next time," she said getting to her feet again.
The man waved to have the chair replaced. "Let's just say that I've got connections in the Alliance. People who are tired of watching the Alliance bow to aliens."
Shepard's brows furrowed at the claim as she sat in the new chair they had just set at the table, this one far sturdier. "Noted," she said as she looked at the terminal and opened it to see what she could accomplish on it.
"I appreciate your assistance, Spectre. When you finish, you'll be rich, and I'll be supremely powerful. And once we're done there, perhaps you and I can have dinner," he said, causing her to want to eyeroll again. She knew from how handsy he had been since she had arrived that he was at least somewhat attracted to her, but it wasn't until then that she understood how much.
"We'll see," she said as she started to crack away at the greybox, wondering what Kasumi had in mind.
"Grand. If you'll excuse me, I have party guests to entertain," he said as he turned around and walked towards the elevator again.
It was then that Kasumi giggled over her comm. "Oopsie!" she said mischievously.
Shepard's screen suddenly went blank and she stared at the contents briefly before calling back to the man. "Uh, Hock! I got it open!"
The man spun around with a look of shock on his face. "Already? But how!?" he asked incredulously as he marched back over to the terminal.
"It's pretty easy when there's nothing on the device," said Shepard as she turned the computer towards him. Kasumi must have started transferring the data from the greybox to her own as soon as she saw the chip, then used the password to self-destruct the information on it, wiping it clean. If the ploy worked, then Shepard would walk away clean with a very confused Hock behind her. "The lock was impressive but nothing I haven't handled before. But there's nothing inside it."
Hock slammed his hands down on the table, invading Shepard's personal space with one hand on each side of the terminal as he stared at the blank memory stash. Turning, the spectre stood up from the chair and planted her hands on her hips. He stood up and stared at the far wall of the vault, seemingly smoldering inside. She didn't know what was running through his head, but she wasn't about to sit around and wait for him to decide to blame her. So she turned towards the elevator.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?" he asked, his voice quiet in his rage.
"I did what you asked me to do. Sorry it didn't work out," she said as she crossed her arms and glared at him.
"I don't think so," said the man as he finally turned around and glared back at her. "You erased it, you did something to it. I don't know how you did it, but you had to have done it," he said as the guards around her began raising their weapons. "Why? Because of the Alliance? They tried to bury you and took away your ship!" snapped the man angrily.
"Hock, you can try and blame me all you like, but it's not going to bring the data back that wasn't there. The guy you pulled it out of must have triggered a data self-destruct after he saw how dangerous it was," she said as she tapped her foot impatiently. "Now, are you going to let me out of here? Or do I have to fight my way out? Because either way the data isn't here."
He stared at her for a long moment before chuckling. "You really thought you'd just get to walk out of here after fucking with me?" asked Donovan as he pointed directly at her. "Kill her. Make it brutal, teach everyone else in the galaxy a goddamn lesson."
Shepard sighed and shrugged as the guards prepared to grab her. "Kasumi?"
"I'm safe. Go for it," said the thief.
Shepard could hear the grin in her words. "You know this was going to happen, didn't you?" asked Shepard as she raised her hands and threw them outwards. A biotic bubble appeared around her and slammed into everything. Human, furniture, artwork, relics, it all was smashed and hurled backwards as Shepard blew everything around her outwards.
"I figured Hock wouldn't want to let you leave. But you and me can handle them," said the rogue, her position still unknown.
Hock himself was knocked backwards as one of his own men impacted him from the force of her attack. When he finally got his senses back he stared up at the dark figure standing over him. His eyes widened as the spectre grabbed him by his shirt and yanked him to his feet with startling strength. She pulled back her fist and cannoned it into his gut, causing him to heave painfully.
"You're going to apologize to me and escort me out of this place or I'll kill you and everyone in this room and then bring this mountain down on your precious collection," she snapped as she held her pistol to the back of his head.
"Fucking bitch, you'll pay for this!" he snapped at her as he struggled.
"The only one paying for anything here is you," she started, but she felt herself frozen in a web of biotic stasis. Her eyes looked around rapidly to see what had happened when she saw Chief Roe and her men getting to their feet.
"Get out of here!" shouted a female officer from among the guards. Shepard glared at her as Hock got to his feet, now free of the spectre, and ran for the elevator.
As soon as he was inside he slapped the console, shouting, "Up! Bring me up!"
The chief glared at the spectre as she held her in place. "This is what I get for approving your goddamn armor," she said as she prepared to drop the barrier. "Boys, as soon as I drop this, light her-"
But the woman stood stiff as if a bolt of electricity had just gone through her. Then she fell face first into the floor unconscious, all of her men looking at her in surprise. When she hit the ground, Shepard's stasis dropped and the woman catapulted into action. She dove through the air, sending a flying knee directly into the throat of the closest guard. The man hit the ground hard grasping at his loosely armored throat as she rolled to her feet and fired explosives from her omni-tool onto the chest plates of two more that had raised their weapons. They both looked down, wasting their chance to shoot and allowing her plenty of time to detonate them.
If the explosion didn't kill the men, they wouldn't be happy for a long time. The concussion from the blast knocked many of the men over as Shepard vanished and appeared behind them all with her new weapon charging and her biotics lit. Taking aim, the collector weapon made short work of their armor as it melted under the heat of the laser within seconds.
"I've taken out all of the cameras Shepard," said Kasumi as she fired a dart with a sedative into the twitching Chief Roe's neck.
"Why? We're already fighting," said Shepard as she held the gun up. She didn't know if all the guards were dead or if some were too afraid to get up, but any that had gotten up were either suffering or dead now.
"I don't want anyone having my appearance. Outside of Miranda and Jacob, even Cerberus who hired me still doesn't know what I look like," said the woman with a wink under her hood. "So, what are we going to do? I doubt Hock would bring the elevator back down even if you threatened to kill the rest of his men. And there's little chance of us hacking it."
Shepard looked around the area briefly and smirked at what she saw. Putting her collector weapon away, she began to stroll towards the far wall just as Donovan got onto the loudspeakers. "What the hell is going on down there? Give me a report!" snapped the man who could no longer see.
"Hey Donny, Shepard here," said the spectre as she reached down and grabbed the trailer of the railgun that he had kept for its historical value. Lifting it with her added strength, she began to spin it slowly, the wheels moving in tandem so that it stayed in its current spot. Finally, she let go of the trailer and allowed it to hit the ground.
"What the hell happened to my men?!" snapped the man angrily.
"You didn't know what you were getting into when you threatened me," she said with a grin. "Ask Jona Sederis what happens when someone pisses me off."
"Go to hell, Shepard! You're going to die down there for what you've done!" shouted the man, now sounding unhinged.
"Actually, what I'm going to do is something else. See, I've turned this neat little early 2100's railgun you've got here and aimed it right at your little chunk of the Statue of Liberty," she said as she stepped towards the early aircar that had gotten knocked sideways in her blast.
"You wouldn't dare…" growled the man, much quieter than before.
"Oh, you'd be surprised what I'd do," said the woman with a chuckle. "Now what you're going to do if you want to keep your collection down here is you're going to send the elevator down immediately."
"It doesn't have any power or ammunition! You're can't threaten me!" snapped the unhinged collector again.
Shepard chuckled to herself as Kasumi looked at her questioningly. She stripped out the aircar's battery and a chunk of the engine using one of her blades. Heading back towards the railgun, she tossed the chunk of metal to Kasumi and began wiring the battery to the railgun. Its console lit up immediately. "You've got until the count of ten," she said as Kasumi tossed the ferrous metal into the railgun's ammo chamber. The weapon picked it up magnetically and held it in place.
"Do you know who you're messing with, Shepard?!" came the man's voice. It was clear he wasn't sure whether Shepard was bluffing or not from his voice.
Shepard put her helmet on and activated her comm. "Kasumi, help me out here." Grabbing the remains of a heavy sculpture, Shepard dropped it onto the bed of a dolly that had been left here from moving stuff around. When the pair of them finished loading the statue up, Shepard fired several explosives on the cart. "Take that to the elevator and if they send it down, roll it onto it."
"We're not going to take it?" asked Kasumi curiously.
"They'll have the other end of that elevator so ambushed that we'd never get out of there alive," she said as she turned towards the railgun. Reactivating her voice, she shouted, "That's 10 Hock!" Activating the console, she watched as the ferrous metal was melted into a paste before it was fired at sub-light speeds. It hardened mid flight and shattered the face of the Statue of Liberty before slamming into the vault wall and blasting through the rock behind it, forming a crater that opened into a hallway on the other side of the wall.
When the smoke cleared, Shepard smirked as Kasumi looked at the opening dumbstruck. "How?!"
"Vaults are meant to keep things out, not in," said Shepard over the comm as she pulled her weapon free. "This vault was brand new and wasn't made to deflect heavy artillery from the inside. It was just a matter of lining up the blueprints so that I could blast through to one of the halls tunneled out around the vault."
"I suppose that makes sense," said the woman in surprise.
"What the hell was that?" snapped the man over the intercom as the earth shook from the shot being fired.
"That was your net worth dropping significantly with the destruction of your statue," said the spectre with a smirk as she took her laser weapon off her back again. "Now I'm going to ask one more time. Send the elevator down or I'll bring this whole estate down on your goddamn head!"
"Alright alright!" snapped the man angrily as the comm died. Immediately the elevator started moving. Within seconds, the doors dinged and opened again. Kasumi leaned in with her cloaking on and blasted the camera to dust before pushing the cart into the door and slapping the button.
As soon as the doors closed, they both sprinted over towards the cavernous opening in the vault wall. Shepard used her biotics to clear out the remaining rubble, and they were through into the actual compound of Hock's estate. "The docks should be this way. Lia may be able to meet us there with the shuttle."
Control Room – Hock Estate
He was fuming. He'd had it all figured out. Bring the spectre down to an impenetrable vault and get them to cooperate or destroy them. He was actually surprised with how little Shepard had put up resistance to his requests. From the moment she agreed, he'd had high hopes. But now, alarms were blaring all over his compound, his guests were fleeing en masse from the manor and he had no visual on what the hell was happening in his vault.
He felt the earth tremble beneath his feat. It wasn't enough to worry about the structure of the house, but as soon as he felt that tremor he knew he had just lost a fortune. He held a radio to his mouth as he watched from the guard station on the cameras. "As soon as that goddamn door opens I want you to turn that spectre into a corpse!" he snapped angrily as he watched the elevator doors. It was another ten seconds before the platform finally reached the top. The door opened, but from the angle of the camera he couldn't see what was inside. "What is it? Why isn't anyone firing?"
"Sir, it's just a dolly with-" said the man as he stepped towards the elevator to check. But before he could even finish his sentence, fire erupted in a concentrated blast through the elevator doors and chunks of stone flew out like a claymore, hammering into his men. Some were dead, some were gasping for air and groaning in pain, and others were putting out fires on themselves.
"WHAT HAPPENED NOW?!" he screamed as he felt the vein on his forehead pulsing angrily.
"IED detonated inside the elevator," said one of the responders who was checking on the men.
Hock's face was too exhausted to even be angry anymore. He'd seen what happened when someone tried to put Shepard under their thumb. He thought his plan was foolproof and now that hubris was literally exploding in his face.
"Sir…" said another of his men sitting at the end of the security console.
"What is it?" he asked, exasperated at the failure.
"Cameras are starting to go down in the south wing tunnels," said the man as he turned to the boss.
Donovan turned to him with his brows furrowed. "They couldn't have…" he said thoughtfully as he pulled up the radio again. "Someone get to the southern corridor and tell me what's going on there!"
"Already here sir. Just got here and there's a massive hole in the wall leading into the vault," came one of his men's voices.
He inhaled deeply and hurled his radio through the window. The glass shattered and crashed out into the sunlight below. "I know where they're going. Tell everyone to congregate at the loading docks," he ordered before moving out of the room.
South Docks – Hock Estate
Shepard and Kasumi headed down the corridor, both in stealth with their HUDs flagged to show where the other was. Alarms were blaring loudly as the footsteps of Hock's personal guard could be heard in the distance. Shepard nodded towards the door ahead of them that lead out into the shipping yard. "Lia said she'd try to sneak the shuttle towards the docks while all the guards are focused on the vault," said Shepard as she opened the door and snuck out into the sunlight.
"Grunt wanted to come with her and Jack wanted to come with him," said EDI over their comm as the pair of them tried to speed themselves towards the far end where a running shuttle was indeed waiting.
As they approached, the hatch opened and the massive krogan stepped out of the fuselage with his arms wide as their cloaking faded. "Shepard!" he shouted playfully as Jack stood up behind him.
As soon as they appeared a fighter craft flew up into the air from off the side of the docks. As soon as the ship appeared, the bay doors for the docks flew open showing at least two dozen guards collecting inside the ship bay. Grunt's eyes widened at the sight as Shepard's locked onto the fighter plane hovering over them with guns pointed directly in their direction. "Where the hell do you think you're going, Spectre?" asked Hock lividly as he hovered above in the fighter ship.
The doors behind them opened up and a flood of at least two dozen guards ran out onto the docks, all of them aiming towards the intruders. Grunt saw them and immediately his eyes dilated. "Shepard! You got me a present?!" he shouted before hurling himself from the platform and barreling head first into the line of guards.
Jack glared at Shepard as she stepped off the craft. "You can't even go to a damn party without creating a shitstorm!"
"I'm talented! Now you help Grunt while we deal with this!" she shouted as she pulled her laser off her back again and aimed at the fighter. Her biotics lit, allowing her to activate the weapon and she fired the beam directly at the fighter. Unfortunately, it stopped dead in a burst of scattered light. "What the hell? Kinetic barriers can't stop light weapons…"
"Spectre, it appears he is using cyclonic barrier technology. It's capable of stopping any and all weapons," came EDI's voice urgently.
"Shit," growled the spectre as she dove aside, the gunfire from the ship ripping into the dock where she stood before. She eyed the fighter from behind her new cover. "Kasumi," she said, unsure where the woman had gone.
"What is it, Shep?" came the thief's voice over the comm.
"Cyclonic shields work both ways. He can't fire without dropping his shield. Do you think you can draw his fire so I can get in close?" asked the spectre as she activated her own cloaking and began sprinting across the field while the bougie man frantically searched for them.
"I normally try not to be seen by people trying to kill me," said the rogue as she dropped her own cloaking and began firing at the ship. Hock immediately turned towards her and started firing as she too dove into cover.
"Goddamn you, Spectre!" shouted the man, seething as he accidentally shredded one of his own crates with no doubt priceless relics inside.
Shepard snuck up under the vehicle as he fired at Kasumi's location again and used her biotics to warp. Praying that she didn't accidentally slam face first into the shielding, she flew as time around her slowed, her biotics causing the dark energy of the universe to flow around her like water. She could only ever do it for seconds at a time before the strain on her mind began to increase. But she only ever needed seconds to get where she needed. This time, however, she was jumping inside a cyclonic barrier that could tear her to pieces if she fell into it.
She landed heavily on the fighter, thankful that the barrier was indeed down. The ship's weight shifted slightly as her mass was added and she used her mag boots and biotics to grip on for dear life. Raising her fist in the air, her biotics light again and she began to tear the engine inside of the fighter ship to pieces with a warp field.
The fighter began spinning rapidly as the shield winked out entirely. Shepard dove off and landed, pushing her momentum into a roll that saved her joints. Smoke began to billow out of the engine as it spun faster, the man inside screaming as he tried to control the descent. Within seconds, he slammed into the ground, his head bouncing off the control wheel of the vehicle. Shepard and Kasumi both approached, neither of them cloaked any longer. The spectre reached out with her biotics and tore the door off of the thrashed vehicle.
The man held up his hands defensively. "Alright Spectre, let's talk abou-" he started to say. But Kasumi pulled her pistol up and fired a single silenced shot through his head. The man gasped momentarily before he slumped into the control panel of the vehicle, blood now pouring from the wound.
The thief turned to Shepard, her eyes glistening as she finally took her facemask off. Shepard could see her eyes glistening with tears not shed. "Thank you, Shepard. You've done for me what nobody else could."
Shepard nodded firmly. "We're done here. Let's get the other two and get back aboard the Normandy before the police try and get involved."
The woman nodded and wiped her eyes before putting on her usual cheery grin. "Thanks Shepard. I'll never forget this."
CODEX ENTRIES
Laser Grid | Technology | Security
Ever since the emergence of cloaking technology research has been done about how to counter such methods. At its core, visual image cloaking requires the bending of light to make the user appear invisible to the naked eye of those observing. But it also bends the light of lasers. When a cloaked person tries to walk through a gate with a laser grid, their cloaking tech bends the light of all the lasers and lights them up like a beacon and preventing them from getting inside secure locations.
IED | Acronym | Military
I short and easy military acronym translating to improvised exploding device. It's designation can be anything from a non-standard grenade, to a Molotov, to any kind of ambush explosive.