The Waystation
Starbuck was a bit stuck for the moment.
She watched maybe three dozen black-clad soldiers with sealed and pressurized helmets humping rucksacks onto UNSC Pelican transports. Six new UNSC ships had arrived as recently as yesterday, each being a 'Prowler', a UNSC-standard Stealth Ship with all the bells and whistles, including active optical camouflage that the Galactica wished it had.
Silenced rifles, ammunition packs, long-haul non-perishables and other supplies like a bunch of water canteens and packs. She heard the clacking of heels against the steel grates of the Hangar and craned her neck to see who was coming, only to pause as she saw Doctor Halsey approaching her with some Colonial military reports.
"Lieutenant Thrace. Glad I caught you. I wish to confirm these reports you've written on your return from the Cyrannus System," She requested, offering the woman one of said reports. Starbuck took it and started reading through it, with Halsey stating, "It will let me know if we're going to deploy our men or not."
"... Yeah, this is accurate," She replied, "There's still survivors, actual Human Resistance down on Caprica… Hell, there might be on all planets-" then she blanked as a heavy realization struck. She demanded, "Wait a mike, you're deploying troops to our Galaxy…?!" while staring at Halsey like she grew a second head.
"Yes, indeed," Halsey answered rather calmly, "For now, small contingents of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. Special Forces trained in Behind Enemy Lines work," and was handed back the report, which she neatly put in with the rest of the papers while Starbuck's jaw hung almost loose. She turned fully to face Starbuck and said, "I am working with the UEG to gain approval for more direct action… We know your Fleet is running low on Tylium."
"Yeah, has been for a bit…" The girl replied, voice low, "Though we've always managed somehow…"
"Well, you will hopefully not need to just 'manage' for much longer," Halsey murmured. She looked over at the platoons of ODSTs marching onto the Pelicans. The woman lifted up her own personal radio and spoke, "This is Halsey to all Flights, mission is a-go. Coordinates have been sent to Cyrannus and the Star Road is primed. Safe travels."
Starbuck blinked, then asked, "W-Wait a frakkin' minute, Doc, how the hell are you guys gonna get over to our Galaxy!? The thing that disrupted our jump was that stupid Artifact we had on board! We handed it over to your Eggheads the moment we arrived, sure, but-"
"It is a control panel, Lieutenant," She nodded, "Of the same make as the ones at other Terminuses, such as ours or the Republic's. With it, we should be able to link to the Terminus of your Galaxy and find our way from there. It may take a few days for the Prowlers to find their way over, but Captain Foucault and the Red Horse are the UNSC's best Navigators and forward scouts."
"Yeah, doc, that's all fine and dandy, but we were about halfway from Caprica to frak-knows-where when we jumped here," The girl shot back, "How're you all gonna find your way to the Cyrannus system if we were literally hundreds, if not some thousands of lightyears away from our home worlds? If you'd ask me to point out a star on one of our current starmaps and say 'Cyrannus', I'd be stumped."
"We've cross-referenced points we've found in your other reports, including Kobol. With them, we should be able to accurately pinpoint the location of the system," Halsey offered, then lifted her tablet out of her pocket and showed the girl the reconstruction, "And get our men there in one one-week Slipspace Jump."
"You're using the Kobol constellation maps from the Tomb…" The woman snorted in disbelief, "AI help any?"
"No," Halsey chuckled, "Just a bit of human ingenuity and an interest in the Great Beyond."
"Heh... You guys gonna bring anyone else home, or…?" She raised a brow, turning to face the Doctor, "Because that's still a lot of people stuck down there, not to mention…" She bit her tongue. Figuratively speaking, anyways. Her heart began to race, as did her mind, memories she'd been trying to suppress flooding back up. She covered her mouth, then her voice cracked, "Tell your boys to keep their eyes open for the Hospitals…"
"Why?" Halsey raised a brow, but froze when she saw just how pale Starbuck had gone. She sighed and said, "I will… Don't worry, Starbuck," before sliding her tablet back in her pocket. She told her, "We're also deploying them to assess damage to the planets. High-yield nuclear airbursts usually leave radiation, but…"
"Yeah," Starbuck nodded, voice shaky still. She breathed in, then breathed out and said, "Alright. Just get people home if you can, doc."
"Will do," The woman answered reassuringly, "Go get something to drink and lay down, Kara. And if you feel like telling me what you saw in any of the Caprican hospitals later on, my door is open. Not like there's much more you can add upon an already terrifying atrocity," only to pause as she saw something flicker in Starbuck's eyes. Fear? Maybe… It made the doctor uneasy.
"Yeah, heh…" She choked up, then swallowed, "Didn't know our scary Evil Mastermind's also got a heart of gold."
Halsey rolled her eyes, "I may be somewhat cold on first meeting, but I care for all of my peers and the soldiers of mankind, regardless of allegiances," then tilted her head, "Now. Go and rest. Doctor's orders…"
"Ma'am," Starbuck smiled, snapped a salute, then walked off, still shaky. Halsey made a mental note to check whatever more 'personal' reports she'd written and scrapped before engaging with the poor girl again. She also made a note to request a psychiatrist for On-Station duties. What with the Galactica's airwing present.
"I suppose you saw it, too."
Halsey twitched at the booming voice of a familiar Admiral. She turned around, coming face-to-face with the tall, well-built Chiss male as he approached, a faint, if familiar smile on his face. He told her, "The Lieutenant is certainly not well after her trip to her former home planet…" and he paused as he saw the ODSTs boarding.
Halsey nodded, confirming the first part, then said, "Well, we are about to deploy troops to the Cyrannus System to see what caused her to feel so," before handing the man a dataslate. The pair started walking toward the command deck as the whirr of ion engines filled the hangar. A Republic ARC-170 fighter touched down and the pilots aboard dismounted.
"Part of it must be the fact that it is her 'former' home, though that kind of reaction speaks volumes of what she must have seen down there," The man replied as he read the reports. He told her, "I don't know if we'll be able to spare any task force of our own to assist if the UNSC does pursue actions like seizing Tylium facilities."
"We're already gathering a small Battlegroup to provide escort to the mining and refining vessels of the Colonials alongside the Galactica , so it should be fine," She nodded, "However, I would ask that you and Senator Amidala see what you can scrounge up as a secondary fleet. No requirements for anything like a Venator. A series of smaller defense ships would do for patrol."
"I'll see what I can requisition," The man hummed, scratched his cheek and mumbled, "It seems you and them are truly not so different."
"We still have our homes," Halsey replied darkly, "I cannot fathom their creations being so ruthless. Especially not creatures like miss Valerii. They tout themselves as superior to us, but end up in the same pitfalls as the average human being. Logic is trumped by feelings of anger, fury, fear. Did they think mankind would enslave them again after they signed an Armistice? After forty years?"
The Admiral shrugged, "I would need to meet one in battle, or recover something of theirs to better understand them. I doubt they're that complicated, however, doctor," and he saw the woman look up at him with concern. He told her, "What one might see as brain impulses, feelings and thoughts in these machines is just a series of pre-programmed commands. They are not, nor will they ever be as human as you, Lieutenant Thrace or anyone else."
"I'd contradict you with the fact Sharon is about to give birth to a healthy, half-human child. A child born because she supposedly loves the man she has created it with," She replied, a slight snarl in her voice, "While I fully understand that point of view about their combat machines, like their warships and Raiders… These Human Cylon are different. So different from the average machine, they are capable of greater atrocities simply due to being the way they are."
The man hummed thoughtfully, then replied calmly to the doctor, "I suppose that is also a point. We won't know unless we open one up to see how alike to us they are. Until then, I'll choose to believe they're simple machines with pre-programmed codes…" all while trying to avoid pinning the same mark on Sharon Valerii.
Halsey had noticed he left her out of the discussion just then. Thankful for that little olive branch, she replied, "Indeed… We'll see whenever we meet these… Toasters, I believe the Colonials call them, on our own. The UNSC will be glad to share the research with the Republic, obviously."
The Admiral tilted his head forward, "Of course. Do say hello to miss Valerii next time you visit her, please. And wish her well…"
"Certainly," Halsey replied. She checked the schedule and looked out of the transparisteel windows at the Pelicans that had just taken off toward their Prowlers. Right on time. She mumbled to herself, "Fair winds, ladies and gentlemen…" and boarded the tram out of the hangar with Thrawn, both of them heading for another meeting.
… Starbuck, meanwhile, had hidden herself nearby while they passed. The discussion to her was clear-cut–The toasters were the enemy, regardless. Sure, Sharon was cool for now, but the Gods only knew when the Frak she'd put two slugs in someone else's chest, or go for Adama again. And in the middle of so many events? She was glad the girl was still in the brig.
She stepped back into the Hangar, wanting to grab her Viper and head back to Galactica to assist in the patrol, but paused when she saw a Clone starfighter with all three of its crew disembarked. She noticed a few things about it, such as the red stripes, the massive cannons mounted to the wings and the rear-facing gun, plus the three-person crew hold.
She blinked, approached and greeted, "Fellas…" only to receive nods from the three same-faced gentlemen whose only differences were suit colors and the hairdos. One of them, the lead, had a short mohawk that he'd dyed dirty blond and an arrow tattoo on his cheek. The second, the co-pilot, from the looks, had blue contact lenses and hair dyed silver, while the last man, the rear gunner, had a scar across his eye, brown hair and eyes and an enclosed helmet.
"Lieutenant Thrace, ma'am," The pilot greeted, smirking. He extended a hand, his suit's dark-blue stripes and black color now firmly visible. She shook his head and he said, "Admiral Thrawn briefed us on you and the entire Air Group of the Galactica. I'm Lieutenant Mav, these are my crew. Blind and Turbo."
"Sup," Blind greeted with a grin.
Turbo nodded, smiling, though surprisingly calm.
"... Blind?" She blinked in confusion.
"He's a kriffin' awful navigator. Got us lost more than once," The man quipped, "Only to then bring us in right as the fighting got bad enough," then he straightened up. He told her, "We're 107th Fighter Wing off of the Valorous ," then pointed out an up-armored and up-gunned Venator-class warship that floated out amidst the fleet.
Starbuck snorted, then stated, "Surprised you haven't gotten him replaced by now, but, hey, if he gets ya back right in the thick of it," she shrugged. The Navigator gave a thumbs up while Starbuck examined the ship a little more. She paused as she noticed the nose art, that of a woman with twin-tails instead of hair and blue skin. She whistled and said, "Nice pinup."
"Thanks," Mav snorted, "Don't tell Commander Bly about it. He'll have our heads."
"So would General Secura. Not like they or the 327th are here," Blind shrugged, "They're still busy planet-side on some important CIS world right now, far as I know," and he looked to the Lieutenant as she still examined the fighter, a bit awed. He snorted and asked, "Like what you see, El-Tee? I getcha. ARC-170s are beautiful fighters, alright."
"ARC?" She raised a brow.
"Aggressive ReConnaissance fighter," Mav nodded, "Heavy, jump capable, deadly. She's the finest starfighter InCom's put out in the past decade, if I do say so myself," before he patted the cockpit and smirked, "Wanna take it for a flight?" before watching as Starbuck turned toward him with visible joy that glistened in her eyes. She grinned.
"I'm taking the gunner seat for the run if you wanna give her the crash course, boss," Blind stated as he climbed out of his co-pilot seat. The officer nodded, clambered onto the wing via the gun mount and jumped onto the Co-Pilot seat, behind and above the cockpit. Starbuck quickly grabbed a helmet off the deck, with Turbo nodding his approval. He stepped away from the fighter.
Starbuck giddily climbed aboard the vehicle, mounting up on the cockpit and gasping at the advanced avionics. Leagues above standard Colonial Viper Mark IIs, the damn thing's avionics looked like something out of a Science-Fiction video game from back in the day. She grinned, slid her helmet onto her head, then looked up.
"I'll take us out of the Hangar before I let you have your fun," Mav quipped as they shut the cockpits. He spoke into his helmet, "Test, test, mic check for ship com. Ya hear me over there, El-Tee? Because this is gonna be one short flight if our com ain't working."
"Copy you five-by-five," Starbuck grinned as she watched the various displays ahead of her light up in a sequence. Her pilot mind allowed her to memorize some of the startup sequence, or at least the buttons she thought she should press. Their alphabet was way too weird for her to comprehend at this moment.
The two gave each-other a thumbs up, while Blind replied, "I hear you guys, too. Go any time," before he slinked back into his seat and tightened his seat belts. Starbuck put hers on, too, with Mav having been the first to do so. Blind told them, "Don't forget to radio in the little unscheduled training flight, boss. You know how much of a tight-arse the Admiral is."
"Already on it, Blind. Don't get your panties in a twist," The man replied, then switched com systems and radioed, "Waystation Command, Waystation Command, this is Starfighter One-Five-Echo Heavy, requesting permission to undock. Be advised:We're performing test-flight for avionics verification…" and he grinned, "And certifying one of our allies on our bird. Don't worry, I'll have control if things get too hectic."
" Starfighter One-Five-Echo Heavy, copy your last. Admiral Thrawn requests that you don't wreck the ARC-170, over… " The seemingly exasperated Republic Air Traffic Controller replied, causing the three-man crew to let out laughs. Oh, Starbuck knew she was gonna enjoy this already, simply by how it was starting off.
"Roger that, Deck," Mav snorted, "One-Five-Echo, requesting permission?"
" Granted. Safe flight. Waystation Command, out. We'll remain on frequency to provide help if needed, " The Republic ATC quipped. All three aircrew hoped the man hadn't just jinxed them, though Mav was sure it was gonna be fine. As he finished the last checkups. All three crew, Starbuck most of all, suddenly felt their stomachs slightly invert as the dampeners kicked in.
The starfighter began its liftoff procedure, gently swiveling about on its axis as Starbuck instinctively put her hands on the throttle and the stick. She felt the aircraft gently accelerate out of the Hangar and away from the Station, before its thrusters kicked into gear. Mav spoke to her, "I'm not gonna try and teach another Fighter Jockey how to fly. You know how to deal with pitch, yaw, roll and how to throttle up and down if you've flown one of your Vipers. Keep your eyes on your sensors and try not to crash us."
"Heh… No promises," Starbuck obviously joked, with the pilot snorting. She felt the controls were heavy at first. She was unable to move either, throttle being stuck in place, same as the stick. She put her feet on the pedals for the aircraft's roll, felt them underneath her boots and nodded approvingly. Screw going to rest, she thought, she got better by flying.
Mav said, "Releasing controls to pilot in three… Two…" He saw Starbuck tense, "One… Green," And he hit a button, before laying back and challenging, "Let's see what you got, Starbuck!" with a hint of joviality behind his words. He sounded proud to finally let someone else fly his girl, despite the fact she was his bird.
Oh, he'd regret saying that, Starbuck thought with a grin.
When she felt the controls were hers, she kicked the bird's throttle to the max, feeling whatever passed for an afterburner slam her into her seat despite the inertial dampeners. The craft lurched and thundered forward, causing Starbuck to let out a loud, "WOO-HOOOOOO!" as it almost immediately cut through the void.
She kicked the bird into a roll to the right, banked low and started laughing as the heavy fighter's engines purred behind her. She could swear she heard the pilot behind her swear in their Basic, but she didn't care. Leveling off the bird with laughter filling her heart, the girl swiveled about and buzzed a formation of Vipers, casting a glance back at the pilots as they scrambled and utilized their thrusters.
She chuckled and said, "Sorry, Lee," before turning the stick left and using the pedals. Veering hard, she felt the S-Foils extending to allow her to make an even sharper turn. So, she did, flying toward a Republic Arquitens-class, she dived underneath it, powered the engines and pulled HARD up on the stick, grinning ear to ear as she began to do a sharp loop around the thinner midsection of the ship.
She swiveled about, did a corkscrew and aligned herself with the bridge of the vessel before beginning to fly around it. She waved to the crew, laughing heartily as they stared at the fighter with confusion, before punching the ship's thrust to max and eyeing one of the UNSC's warships. She flew close to a Stalwart-class Frigate deployed as fighter and combat support duty.
And she could swear she saw Marines cheering in the window as she did her Fly-By. Two UNSC Broadsword fighters formed up with her, following her as the fighter-craft danced around. They weren't calling on radio. Mav cheered, "Keep it flying, Starbuck! Holy kriff!" to which the girl snorted, closed the S-Foils when she found the button, then powered on to afterburn.
Trails of scarlet fire followed her as the Ion engines of the craft rumbled. She turned at a more acute angle, feeling a little bit of her blood going into her boots, before she cut the throttle back, called out, "HANG ON TIGHT!" and opened the S-Foils again as she pulled the stick up, hard and fast . The craft banked so fast she could hear the stress on the hull caused by faux-gravity.
Of course, her brain would've normally flowed out of her head, down her spine and into her ass with that maneuver, but the inertial dampeners genuinely seemed to be doing most of the work in keeping her from passing out. Blind called out, "I THINK WE FOUND YOUR SOULMATE, BOSS!" which garnered laughs out of both flight Lieutenants.
They dived toward Galactica next, with the girl switching frequencies and radioing, " Galactica, Starbuck! Don't scramble the guns on me, please! I'm gonna do a little something stupid!" as she aimed for the Flight Pod. She could hear Tigh's angry reply, but chose to ignore it as she powered her engines.
She wasn't gonna fly through it, just buzz it. Scare the living shit out of Chief Tyrol and the others. Though she could if she wanted to. She watched the massive ship, now with its full armored package reinstalled, looking more like a combat-ready silver whale than the skeleton of a beached one. She smiled a little, seeing the girl for what she was, finally, including her beautiful back-mounted emblem.
She dived low, aligned herself with the side of their Flight Pod and powered her thrusters to the max, buzzing past it and taking a left-hand, sharp turn, diagonally and up. Well, 'up' as was obvious was just a term used to ease a human's perception of the void itself. There was no 'ups' and 'downs' in space. Just vectors, directions, equations and angles. Maths.
Fighter Jockeys were the best at split-second calculus for this reason specifically. That and surviving High-G Turns, terrifyingly enough. She heard Tyrol himself speak over the radio, " Was that you that just shook us like that, Starbuck !?" though he didn't sound angry. He actually sounded amused. When she laughed as a reply, he told her, " Ha ! While it was fun ? Don't do it again, we were just fixing up a Raptor and you scared the shit out of us… ! My teeth are still rattling !"
"Mission accomplished, then!" Starbuck replied, happy, "I'm moving in to land now, though. Don't worry!" which garnered a collective, com-wide sigh of relief. She switched over to just on-ship come and said, "She's all yours again, Mav. I know how it is for someone else to fly your bird. You bite down as long as ya can, but… Yeah."
As they touched down and they exited, Starbuck told them, "Thanks for the ride, boys. Take me to dinner next time, though," as both thanks and a joke. The two laughed and Starbuck soon departed, giving them a thumbs up… And hearing Adama call out to her in the hallway. The trio of Clones reunited, exchanged quick looks, then watched as her CO started chewing her out.
Well, fun as it was…
Illium
The Asari sat before Shepard certainly looked like Liara. She acted partially like Liara, too, but didn't dress like Liara, feel like Liara or have the same calming, nerdy presence as the old Liara. Shepard knew it had been a period of two years since she'd last seen the young Asari scientist, but even two years seemed to be long enough to change the behavior of someone so long-lived.
Liara, however, simply smiled now as she saw Shepard and Garrus, then cast a glance down below at the crew they had come with, before stating, "I should've known you'd be the one to pick up members from those three new arrivals. I'm still wrapping my head around them, but…" she shrugged, "I guess it's good to know they're friendly."
"Oh, they're more than Friendly," Shepard offered with a smile.
"They actually believed Shepard when she told them about the Reapers," Garrus completed, grinning. Shepard seemed to get giddy whenever she remembered that the 'Adults' in Politics finally decided to listen to her. It seemed to catch Liara off-guard as well, the Asari information broker seemingly short-circuiting for a moment. Garrus and Shep both shared a glance, smiling, then looked back at their old friend.
As stunned as she was, Liara finally managed to utter out, "... You're serious?" before getting a nod. She asked again, "No stonewalling," and got a shake of the head. Again, "No Council debates," and a negative shake once more. Again, "no hiding it behind firewalls, no deliberating or lying about the technology being Geth…?"
Shepard finally replied, the pure happiness in her voice barely contained, "Nope. I showed them what Sovereign looked like, schematics and all and they believed me!" and she laughed aloud, "They're reinforcing the Star Road Terminus they came through even now, just in case the bastards come out swinging."
"That is incredible…" Liara smiled, but that happiness seemed to vanish for a moment as she furrowed her brows, "Not to mention incredibly convenient," but she offered still, "I'm glad to see things are working out, though…" then she cast a glance at the people down below, noting the aliens and soldiery among them, the power-armored ones being most outstanding. She inquired, "Anything more you can tell me about them?"
Noticing the last people Liara's eyes locked onto were BLUE Team, she told her, "The UNSC, from where the four big folks, the Spartans, come from, fought a very, very harsh First Contact War. Tens of billions dead, hundreds of burned worlds. They won in the end, but they keep stating they 'got lucky' in most of their reports."
The woman visibly winced, slowly typing away the report without even looking at the screen. She then stopped and pointed out the Clones, all of whom seemed to be gathered around a weapon Kiosk, currently overwhelming the vendor and causing Ahsoka, Jack and Jacob to laugh. Kasumi was giggling and Miranda stared with furrowed brows. She asked about the Clones, "And them?"
"Clone Troopers of the Galactic Republic," Shepard told her, then immediately saw confusion sow itself into Liara's psyche, not to mention concern. She explained, "Galaxy spanning war against secessionists meant they needed a large force. Space magic is real and they call it the Force. I've seen the Knight leading them, Ahsoka, their General, use it to squash things like they were bugs. She tells me there's a lot more to the Force, too."
"Uh-huh…" Liara furrowed her brows, even more confused as she wrote that up, then she pointed at Helo. The trio soon saw that the young man was browsing a gift stand for gifts, presumably for his wife and unborn child. She inquired, "And the man in a flight suit?" then fully turned to Shepard.
"Karl Agathon, callsign Helo. Captain for the Colonial Fleet. He's a Raptor dropship pilot. Stuff's used for Electronic Warfare, Early Warning, command and control. Can even jump a short distance, apparently, with their proprietary FTL," Garrus butted in this time, cool as a cucumber. He stared at Karl with sympathy.
"He's a pretty nice kid, if a bit miffed his wife is in jail…" He then added, saw more confusion on Liara's face and quickly clarified, "Oh, right, big detail about the Colonials? Their former creations, what they called the Cylon, committed mass genocide. Only around 30,000 of'em remain per their reports. Basically, think of them as a much less fortunate version of the Quarians…"
As Liara seemed to be processing it, the Commander and Garrus both waited, a hint concerned. The young Asari sighed, then mumbled, "... By the Goddess…" before rubbing her eyes. She typed away the report, then stowed it away in a hidden folder, before closing the haptic interface and computer, interlaced her fingers and leaned on the table, sighing.
"Yeah, the least screwed out of all of them are the Clones… Somehow," Shepard quipped, awkwardly smiling at her old friend. Liara blinked. Literal child 'slave' soldiers being the sanest of the lot really put into perspective just how awful the Colonials' and UNSC's worlds might have been by comparison. At the very least, the UNSC had survived and seemingly won its war, if she got the right cues.
So, she replied, "Indeed…" before offering a kind smile to her old boss and stating, "Thank you, Shepard. That should help me compile some good dossiers for any future employers."
Shepard gave a simple thumbs up, before humming and asking,"Speaking of, how'd you wind up an information Broker?" as she, too, leaned on the table. She continued, "Weren't you really into archaeology? It's how we met after all," without wanting to really bring up the fact that poor Liara had been trapped in that barrier.
"Yes…" Liara replied in a murmur. She tensed up, then leaned back into her chair and stared at Shepard with an unusually piercing stare. Calmly, though with an edge to her voice, she told her, "Let's just say things have changed rather drastically in the past two years. I needed to become a Broker because they have access to the best information available."
"Alright…" Shepard didn't want to judge. She'd been gone for those two years, comatose. Only recently did she really wake up. However, she did offer, "Anything I can do to help?" before cracking a small smile.
Taken by surprise, Liara barely processed the question. When she did, however, she smiled with that same brightness and youthful exuberance Shepard had first seen when they started working together. She told the Commander, "You haven't changed at all, I see… Good," before averting her gaze and whispering, "I was afraid that, with the rumors…"
"It'd take more than me dying, or working 'with' Cerberus, to change for the worse, heh…" Shepard grinned, then her expression softened again and she whispered, "I'm sorry," while looking between both Garrus and Liara. Garrus's mandibles once more formed into a tiny, but meaningful smile, while Liara…?
She answered Shepard, "There is no need to apologize for something you couldn't control, Shepard. The Collector ship caught us by surprise…" with a giggle. She then cast her hand toward the crowd of people below, some laughter echoing, before stating, "I'm just happy to see you are well, not to mention cooperating with Garrus and these other aliens. Must be grinding the Illusive Man's gears a little."
"Oh, I hope so," Shepard snorted, grinning.
"Speaking of?" Garrus urged her with a gentle elbow to the hip, causing Liara to furrow her brows.
"Oh…" Shepard blanked, then remembered, "Right. I'm here for the job with the Collectors. But, again, I can take some time if you need help with-" and again she wanted to offer. She got cut off by Liara raising her hand and shaking her head, smiling still. Both the Asari and Garrus shared one thought:Shepard was an overly-eager Golden Retriever some times.
"I'm good, Shepard," Liara offered, then told her, "I will contact you if I need anything, however. Now, what is it you need? I'll give you information for free as a both a first-time customer and… As an old friend, obviously."
"Okay, thanks…" Shepard replied. She told her, "I'm looking for two people. Thane Krios and Samara, the Justicar. New recruits for the job ahead."
"I see," The Asari Info Broker nodded. Bringing up her computer again, she started, "I've heard that the Justicar arrived recently here on Illium and registered with one tracking officer Dara. She seems to be hunting someone…" She hummed, then spoke in a low voice, "In Asari Space, terrifyingly enough," before going loud again, "As for Thane Krios… The Assassin. His target is Nassana Dantius, at Dantius Towers."
"Dantius, huh…" Shepard scoffed, rubbing her eyes. She added, "Old acquaintance…" as memories from the earliest days of their fight against Saren came to mind. Dantius had offered her some cash to off her sister, a pirate with a gang far out in Artemis Tau. Christ, that was a long time ago. Now, Dantius was up high here in some tower or something.
"Ain't that something," Garrus snorted loudly, "How the universe comes to bite us in the ass."
"Indeed," Liara giggled, scratching her cheek.
The Commander put her face in her hands, mumbled, "Thanks, Liara," Then she stood up. Liara followed suite as the Commander told her, "I'll be back and we can talk later. If you wanna catch up some more, or give me some work to pay off this little favor," before offering a curt smile. She looked back at Garrus and reassured him with a wink, to which he rolled his eyes, snorting and hiding whatever passed for a Turian blush.
"Sure thing," Liara offered, "I might have something for you to do when you return. Stay safe, Shepard," then she chuckled at the sight of a flustered Garrus. The Turian stood up as well, dusting himself off and coughing away the 'blush' as he walked toward the door. They needed to head out before Dantius was gonna get sniped and/or the Justicar was gonna book it.
"Oh, don't worry. I'm always safe…" Shepard quipped as she turned to leave. The two in front of and behind her let out loud snorts, to which Shepard demanded, "What!? I am!" with indignation. Seriously, she was pretty safe! Most of the time! She just didn't wanna drive anything again, because people kept complaining.
"Certainly," Liara giggled, "Good luck."
As the two began their descent and bid goodbye to Liara's assistant, Shepard was kind of fuming. She grumbled to herself a little, before calling out to a snickering Garrus, "Seriously! I'm a safe person!" while they descended to the corner of the stairwell. Garrus couldn't help but continue to chuckle at his CO's pouts, finding them cute.
"If driving a Mako through an active Mass Relay is 'safe', sure…" He jabbed back nonchalantly.
"Oh, shut…" She sighed, annoyed, then crossed her arms to her chest. When they reached the bottom steps of the stairwell, the Commander called out to the scattered parties, each at various kiosks, "Alright, everyone! Listen up! We've got the locations for our new recruits. We're splitting the teams, with Helo going back to the ship to prepare the Raptor…" And her gaze locked onto the man, whom she hadn't seen shopping, then asked him, "What're you up to, Helo?"
"Buying some gifts for Sharon and the baby, ma'am…" Helo replied, garnering 'd'awws' from a few human and alien women alike. He blinked, looking around, then asked the Commander, "I can stop if you want," while holding a toy and some sort of alien chocolate. The rest of the crew visibly cracked smiles, with Jack chuckling and elbowing Fives before making a few mocking moves. She got an elbow in the gut from Miranda and scoffed.
"Nah. Keep going. Be back to the ship as soon as you're done, though. Garrus, Miranda, Mordin and half of Blue Team is coming with me. We're tackling retrieving the Justicar," Shepard ordered, then looked around and added, "Be wary we might face Close Quarters. The other half of the Team goes with general Tano and Jacob to find Thane. Keep your ears open or ask for anything regarding one Nassana Dantius. If you find her, tell her Shepard sent you. She'll know…" before sighing deeply.
She really hated having helped that bitch, honestly.
"Oooh. Can I 'acquire' stuff from Dantius? She's a bit of a bitch if I recall!" Kasumi requested, cracking her knuckles and activating her infiltration programs. Shepard appreciated Kasumi's gusto. Behind her, Zaeed let out a short laugh as he probably figured just the kind of enemies they'd be facing. She hoped Zaeed knew, anyway.
"Be my guest. Just make sure it's useful stuff," She replied to Kasumi, who giddily prepared.
"Plan of action, ma'am?" The Master Chief inquired as he and Blue Team chose who they were gonna be splitting off. Seemed as though he and Kelly would be tagging along with Shepard and the Justicar Team, while Linda and Fred would take the Towers where Dantius was. Good enough, she figured. Large towers meant better sightline for Snipers like Linda anyway.
"Standard Modus Operandi for our team, Chief," Shepard replied curtly, pulling out her pistol to check it over, then stowing it away as they moved deeper into the tower they were in. She clarified for the Spartan, "That means we go in, find our targets and clear out anything that so much as sneezes wrong at us. Eyes open and keep yourselves topped up. Move it out!"
The team complied, preparing their guns. Jack herself quipped, "This is gonna be fun," While she activated her amps. Beside her, Fives prepared his blaster rifle, noting the stares they were getting from random local mercenaries.
"Try not to tear down any building, will you?" Shepard requested jokingly.
"Heh. No promises, Shepard. Dont' fuck up around the Justicar, either. She'd probably atomize your ass worse than I would," Jack joked, grinning ear-to-ear. She and Fives bumped fists as they walked, both of them laughing. Shepard couldn't help but smile at the sight, while her gaze swept back toward Helo, who walked alone back to the ship.
"I won't." She then replied. For a moment, she heard a chuckle from Cortana and felt like she'd caused someone a sense of Deja-Vu…
Meh.