Chapter 28

Human Embassy – Presidium – Citadel

"Well, how'd it go?" asked Shepard as Jacob approached her and the turian woman from the transit unit.

He gave her a half smile and shrugged. "Sophia just wanted me to understand that I wasn't a problem."

Shepard's brow rose curiously. "You weren't a problem?"

"Yeah, like how all the women in the camp kept running away from me," he said with a shrug. "How strong do you have to be to go through what she did and even after all that, still worry about my feelings getting hurt?" he asked with a dry chuckle. "She's an incredible woman and I hope she gets to live happily after everything she's been through."

"Me too," said Shepard as she tilted her head, noting that he still looked wistful. "Anything else?"

Jacob looked up at her thoughtfully. "When she was trying to convince me that the survivors weren't afraid of me specifically, she kept using the word safe. She said I was safe, and that I helped save them."

"Is that odd?" asked Shepard as she scratched her dark red hair.

"Not odd. It's just that it's a word you've used to describe me before," he said as he crossed his arms.

"Oh…" said the spectre as she nodded. "Yeah, I guess I did."

"I dunno, I guess it's kinda stuck with me now," he said with a shrug. "Either way, I'm gonna keep up with the survivors and help them in any way I know how. It's the least I could do for not catching Ron's darkness earlier and putting him down before he could harm anyone."

"Glad to hear you're invested. Gives you something else to fight for," said Shepard as she stopped in front of the embassy and turned to the turian woman that had followed her as well. "So, question for the day. What did you learn from the experience?"

Ralixia eyed her curiously, her mandibles twitching at the question. "I don't understand the question."

"Really think about it for a few minutes. Everything you experienced down there, what did you learn from it?" asked Shepard as her brows furrowed.

The legate looked down for a long moment before looking back up with what looked like irritation. Letting out a sigh, she hooked her hands onto her cowl before turning to Jacob. "How long did you know this Ronald man?"

"Technically I knew him for about two years before joining him. But I spent five years side by side with him when we worked together," he said as he brow rose curiously. "Why do you ask?"

"Because after he saved me on Macedyn I wrote him all the time, but I never knew him or worked with him," she said with a heavy sigh as her shoulders sagged. "You know this Ronald Taylor and worked with him for five years and still could not see the darkness in him. So, what right do I have to defend someone I've only met face to face once?"

Shepard smirked then turned and waved to the receptionist. Tonya waved back and went on about her work as Shepard entered the embassy where Ambassador Korvus-Jamal was working. The woman looked up and smiled at Jane. "Good to see you, Spectre! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I'd like you to get into contact with Councilor Sparatus and inform him that I've made my decision on Legate Voretoria's Spectre candidacy," said Shepard, getting a startled look from the turian woman.

"Already? I thought you said you wanted a few more missions!" said the legate, sounding oddly disappointed.

Shepard ignored her for the moment and looked to the ambassador. Jasmine nodded dutifully, taking the hint and stood up from her desk. "I'll inform him personally. Feel free to wait here until I return."

After the ambassador left, Shepard sat in the woman's chair and looked up at the towering turian in front of her. "Wondering why I approved you?"

"Not that I'm not appreciative, but yes," said Ralixia as she crossed her arms.

"I only had a small hangup on you becoming a spectre. You've mostly shown me that you're responsible, you're capable of changing and learning, and that you're willing to cooperate even with people you don't like," said Shepard as she kicked her feet up on the desk. "But my main question the entire time was how you would handle a situation where you were given the opportunity to abuse your power."

Ralixia nodded knowingly. "I suppose that should be something you question a potential spectre about."

"Definitely," said Shepard as Jacob took his own seat over in the corner. "Believe what you will about Saren but you'd have to be extremely naïve to believe that spectres don't abuse their power every day. C-Sec does it out in the open and they barely get a slap on the wrist for it so imagine what someone with the power of a spectre can do."

"Given they can almost kill with impunity, there may not be any witnesses," said the turian firmly.

"Exactly. And I believe we have more than enough abusers condoned by the Council. You?" said the spectre as she pointed at the legate. "I want you to be bigger and better than them."

"How do I do that?" asked the turian as she stared at Shepard with her predatory eyes. "With absolute power comes absolute corruption and spectres are as close to absolute power as anyone in the galaxy. How do you keep yourself from turning into a monster with all the injustice in the world?"

"Absolute power doesn't corrupt absolutely," said Shepard as she shook her head. "Absolute power gives people the power to do what they wanted to do anyway. Humans have that saying as well and they commonly use it to justify how they would use power. When the truth is that power gives you the opportunity to truly act on your morals."

"A thrilling philosophical conclusion, but you didn't answer my question," said the turian in a snarky tone.

Shepard smirked and nodded before waving her hand to Jacob. "That's how."

Ralixia looked over a the soldier who seemed to be as confused as she was. Then she looked back as if questioning the spectre's sanity. "Elaborate?"

"I surround myself with people I trust to tell me the truth," she said as she leaned back in the chair again. "Years ago I found a stray Alliance nuke that they couldn't be bothered to track down. The entire time we were tracking it and trying to figure out who had gotten their hands on it, I had Garrus breathing down me neck about telling the Council."

"I… see…" said Ralixia as the picture started to become clearer.

"I've made several decisions that would be called controvertial," she said as she recalled finding Val'eda and releasing the rachni queen. Tali's face at the discovery of the AI and Wrex's insubordinate reaction to her decision flashed into her memories as well. "And every time I've had to make a decision like that, I've had my people making sure to tell me the truth. They don't lie to me to make me comfortable, they tell me straight whether they think I'm making a mistake or not. Sometimes they're right, sometimes I screw up. Sometimes they're not and we all save the galaxy. But the fact is, they're always there to keep me in check."

Ralixia stared at Shepard for a long moment before looking down. "Most spectres work alone."

"They don't like having their methods questioned. And that's what turns people into monsters," said Shepard as she crossed her arms. "Do you understand?"

The woman nodded knowingly. "I do," said the legate before she looked up at Shepard again. "My time with you has been vastly more… informative that I would have originally thought. I hope to work with you again once I've been properly ordained."

"The feeling is mutual," said Shepard with a wide grin. "So, are you ready to see the video footage?"

Ralixia looked up in surprise. "You said I'd have to use my spectre access to see it."

"That was mainly to motivate you to open yourself up to change; something that ended up being a lot easier than I anticipated," said Shepard as she shook her head. "To give you actual access to the classified information stored in the archives, it'll take at least a week for them to create your ID and give it access. I can give you that access right now."

The legate's face changed several times over the next few seconds. She looked grateful, then worried, then determined. Shepard knew that the footage she was about to see would change her. Whether that was for the better or for worse she wasn't sure. But she deserved to know the truth. "I would like that."

Nodding, Shepard sat down again and sealed the embassy door. Looking over to Jacob, she nodded. "Goes for you too, this is classified."

"No worries, Shepard. Nobody will hear a peep from me," he said as he stood up and walked over to see the info for himself.

Typing on the terminal, Shepard opened the archives and logged in with her spectre privileges. Once inside, she pulled up the date and all the video footage from her crew's body cameras during the Battle for the Citadel. She skipped past the trip through Ilos and the entire climb up the side of the Citadel Tower until finally they were inside. Looking up at the turian, she brought the paused video up on the view screen. "You ready for this?"

Ralixia didn't answer for a few seconds. It looked as if she was unsure or thinking about ducking out. But she finally managed to steel herself and nodded. "I-I'm ready."

Shepard activated the vid and watched the horrific expression on Ralixia's face as Saren showed up on screen for a few moments at a time. The spectre looked up at it as well as Tali snapped at her angrily, wanting Saren's life for herself. Then the camera finally showed him. He was beyond denial at this point. His formerly turian body had been so heavily modded that even his flanged voice sounded mechanical as he desperately tried to beg Shepard to kill him, to end his pain.

Ralixia gasped at the words, at the sorrow in his glowing eyes as he begged his most hated enemy to give him the mercy of death. Then the rush through the smoke as he fled to the top of the tower where the Councilors usually floated in their chairs. Shepard watched the turian woman's expression as his words from the vid hit her own ears.

It was then that he placed the gun under his chin and ended his own life. Ralixia turned away just as he did and Shepard stopped the video after his body fell off screen. Turning her back on Shepard, the legate reached up and stroked her fringe soothingly. "How could they do that to him?"

"Sovereign, the reaper ship at the Citadel that day has the ability to indoctrinate people using some kind of energy field," said Shepard as she turned away from the terminal. "Doesn't matter if you're an asari matriarch, a human operative, or a turian spectre. If you stay in the field, you will be reconditioned to believing in the reapers."

"You believe he was indoctrinated into trying to bring these reapers back?" asked the turian woman as she turned back to the spectre.

Shepard nodded knowingly. "I don't know what Saren was like before he was indoctrinated. I first met him here on the Citadel after he attacked Eden Prime and I'm pretty certain he was already too far gone to be saved by that point. We don't know how long he'd had contact with Sovereign before then."

The legate sighed and shook her head in despair. "Even if I didn't believe you about this reaper indoctrination, I cannot be so blind that I ignore that his very body was defiled with that grotesque machinery."

"So, you finally believe me about him?" asked Shepard as she sat back in her seat.

The turian leaned onto the desk and stared Shepard dead in the eyes. "I will not deny what he became in the end. He was a monster, used and discarded by a puppet master who needed his resources."

She nodded firmly. "In the meantime, you understand that Sovereign was just the beginning. There's more of those ships out there waiting to be let into the galaxy."

"It took everything the Citadel Fleet had just to take down a single one of them. How do we fight something like that?" asked the turian woman seriously.

"Together," she said firmly to the legate. "Meanwhile, I need the help of you and other spectres out there to prepare us for the war," said Shepard with a stern look on her face. "This isn't going to be a war we can win conventionally. But if we don't fight, then we're already as good as dead."

Ralixia nodded and stood straight. "I understand, Shepard," said the turian as she held out her hand in offer. Shepard looked down at it before looking back up to the woman's face. Reaching out, she clasped wrists with her.

"I'm glad to hear it," said Shepard with a cheeky grin. "And if you ever want a rematch in hand to hand, just send me a message and I'll let you know where you're gonna lose again."

Ralixia snorted as she glared at the human. "Last time, I was ill prepared for how agile and creative you humans are. I won't make that mistake again," said the legate as she released the spectre. "In the meantime, could I ask a huge favor from you before you leave?"

"You can always ask," said Shepard with a grin.

The legate glared at her. "Could you drop me off on Omega after your work here is done?"

Shepard's brow rose at the request. "How convenient for you that that's actually where I was going after leaving here."

Ralixia bowed her head politely. "Thank you again, spectre," she said before finally turning and leaving the embassy.

"I should get going too, Shepard," said Jacob as he stood up and smiled at her. "Thanks again for helping me out. It's a favor I won't soon forget." Then, he left Shepard alone in the ambassador's office.

The spectre sat down in the seat and rewound the video again. Once she was at the right part, she hit the play button. "Shepard… Go to Alchera…" She stared into his eyes. Despite being mostly machine at that point, he still had a look of sadness, a look of desperation on his face. She found herself asking if he was really setting a trap for her in those final moments of his life. If her were completely controlled by the reapers, he would obviously have access to the collectors and could set an ambush up. But then it didn't make sense for him to take his own life right afterwards.

She rubbed her head in frustration and sighed to herself before closed down the video to await the Councilor's arrival.

? - ?

She was adrift in the ocean, her hair waving and glittering around her as she stared down into the depths. Life unlike anything she had ever seen before sparkled below with bioluminescence, sending signals, communicating, warning predators, all sorts of things. It was odd experiencing this with no protective suit, but if anything that just made the ocean kingdom even more comforting.

She spun in the water and looked up to see all of the massive island-like creatures floating through the water. They were called Reefbacks and were a staple of the water world uncreatively named Planet 4546B. They floated through the oceans like continental shelves bearing life of their own on their broad backs. They were literal floating ecosystems.

"Hey, Shep. You mind if I have a word?" came a familiar voice as she looked around. Closing her eyes, she felt herself sucked away from the planet and thrust back into her body aboard the Normandy.

As she opened her eyes, she saw the agile form of Kasumi sitting yogi style in front of her. Her biotics dissipated as she leaned onto her knees with Grunt sat next to her, staring into a visor for his studies. "What can I do for you?"

Smiling, the wily thief opened her omni-tool and brought up a massive schematic. "I pilfered through some of the servers of the construction company that built Donovan Hock's estate on Bekenstein and found quite a bit of information we could use."

"Oh yeah?" asked Shepard as she stood up and turned to some of the mannequins in the training hall. Many of them were bent at an odd angle, but still plenty usable. Setting one up, she magnetized it to the floor. "Show me what you've got."

Kasumi brought up the schematics as Grunt closed his visor and watched the spectre in fascination. "We've got a brand-new Gordian Vault system buried within the mountain of the estate. The manor sits on top."

"Lemme guess, only one entrance," asked Shepard as she hit the dummy with a punch that blew the internal padding out of the back with a warp.

"You got it!" said the woman excitedly. "State of the art and only built in the last few years. It's so new that even I haven't had a chance to crack one yet," she said as she brought up the specs on the vault. "In order to open the elevator, you need a fingerprint, a voice print, a password, and a DNA scan. Then when you're on the elevator, it has a weight tracker. The person who activated the elevator, namely Hock himself, is shown a weight readout of everyone in the elevator."

"I guess to prevent any uninvited guests who use cloaking," said the spectre as Grunt set up another mannequin for her.

"Indeed," said the rogue as she brought up the readout on the elevator shaft. "The entire elevator shaft is full of lasers that'd cut through a starship hull. The elevator itself deactivates them as it passes, which keeps people from trying to get into the shaft and make their way down."

"So, we can't go through the elevator without either making an entire profile of him to open each lock, or just taking him hostage," said Shepard as she began punching the dummy that Grunt was holding for her.

"There are a number of tunnels that run around the vault. They are shortcuts from the manor to the docks below on the other side of the mountain," said the thief as she scratched her chin.

"Could we possibly blow our way in from one of those tunnels?" asked Shepard as she hit the dummy hard enough that Grunt put a foot back.

"This vault could withstand most nukes from the outside. And even if it was capable of being blown open from the outside, you're more likely to bring the tunnel down on our heads than breach the vault," said Kasumi thoughtfully as she zoomed into the docks. "Most of the stuff that goes into his vault arrives here, is taken up through the tunnels to the manor, then down into the vault with Hock there overseeing the entire thing. "I doubt we'd get away with a stowaway."

"What's that?" asked Shepard as she wiped sweat from her brow.

"One of the oldest tricks in the book. Also known as a Trojan Horse. You create something that the mark wants to put in their vault. An easy example would be an ancient sarcophagus. Then you hide someone inside until they're inside the vault, and then crack it open from within," said the woman excitedly.

"You're awfully eager to commit crimes," said Shepard in amusement.

"From the outside it might seem odd, but this has been my lifestyle for a long time. Stealing comes as second nature to me," she said with a shrug.

Finally, Grunt spoke from behind the dummy. "Does he even have anything else worth stealing in there?"

Kasumi tapped her chin thoughtfully. "That a krogan would want? I don't know. I believe he has a few krogan relics from the rebellions. Maybe some ancient weapons of war. I do know he has a dinosaur skeleton in there that he managed to buy out from under the National History Museum."

"What's a dinosaur?" asked the krogan as he tilted his head curiously.

"It's a word used to describe a bunch of extinct species from Earth that were around long before humans," said Shepard with a grin. Immediately the krogan opened his datapad and the visor covered his eyes once more. Shaking her head, the spectre turned to Kasumi. "So, I assume you'll have a plan ready by party time?"

"I always have a plan. Don't worry, Shep. You just put on your most expensive suit and I'll figure out how we get into that vault," said the rogue as she gave a cheeky grin.

"Preferably a method that doesn't end up with us entombed under a mountain," said Shepard with a grin.

"You could always threaten to flatten the entire place with the Normandy if he doesn't hand it over," said the thief as she cocked her brow.

"I'm sure that'd go over very well with the Council," said the spectre as she turned back to Grunt. She eyed him curiously as he had a look of awe on his face. "Grunt? You okay over there?"

His head snapped up and he looked at her wide eyed. "Shepard! Dinosaurs!"

XO's Quarters – SSV Normandy SR2

"What is it?" asked Miranda as she eyed the spectre worriedly. The red-haired woman had been sitting at her desk, scrutinizing her silently for the last five minutes and it was beginning to get disconcerting.

Shepard finally snorted out of her nose and rested her chin in her hand before speaking. "I know it was you, I just can't figure out the motive."

"What was me? If someone was murdered you should probably check Jack first…" started the XO with a cheeky grin.

"Very funny, Lawson. But you're not getting off that easily. Why did you send Jacob that notice about the Hugo Gernsback anonymously?" asked the spectre blatantly.

Knowing the jjg was up, she simply shrugged. "He never got closure on his mentor so I had been keeping track of the SOS codes for a long while. Ships like the Hugo Gernsback have the HG Protocol installed as a principle. So, I just kept an eye out for the SOS."

"Okay, but why anonymously? Why didn't you just bring them to him?" asked Shepard exasperated by her anonymity.

Miranda sighed to herself and brushed a lock of her raven hair from her face. "Look Shepard, without getting too into anyone's business, me and Jacob have history. We'd known each other for years before the Lazarus Project brought us together again and that's how I knew about the ship and where I got the codes."

"Wait…" asked Shepard as she tilted her head. "Were you two… you know?"

Miranda cocked an eyebrow at the unasked question. "Not quite. I don't really go for jocks. And Jacob doesn't go for anyone. Romance and sex have never been something he has ever shown interest in."

"Understood. So, what is it then?" asked Shepard as she continued to eye the woman.

"Look, a lot of our history before you gets kind of awkward. I'd rather not discuss it," said Miranda with a stern glare. "But I will say that Jacob had a hard time dealing with things back then. I was hoping that me sending this anonymously would have allowed him to get closure without bringing him back to those times."

Shepard nodded knowingly. "Understood. Trying to help someone without hurting them in the process can be a real pain in the ass," said the spectre before she narrowed her eyes again. "But from now on can you limit the number of vpn pings you use aboard the Normandy. In the future you can just bring the information to me and then I'll bring it to him if you want it done anonymously."

"How did you even know I did it?" asked Miranda incredulously as she narrowed her own eyes at the redhead.

"You don't understand, Miranda," said Shepard as she leaned forward onto the XO's desk and then pointed at her own eyes. "I see the Matrix. Data doesn't flow on this ship without me seeing it, tasting it, and especially reading it."

The operator gave her a deadpan stare. "Do I need to get Doctor Chakwas to check your head?" Shepard snorted in amusement then sat back in her seat.

Suddenly, both of them jumped in surprise as her door slid open and Grunt stuck his head in with a wide grin on his face. "RANDA!" he shouted eagerly as he stopped with just his head in the room.

Both the XO and Shepard stared at him in surprise. "What?!" asked Miranda apprehensively as she gripped her desk.

"Dinosaurs!" he shouted, practically bouncing on his feet with excitement.

"Y-Yeah?" asked the operator incredulously as she looked to Shepard for answers.

Suddenly, he yanked his head from the door then turned and vanished with a loud shout of, "KELLY!" The sound of the yeoman shrieking in surprise as well as the clatter of a stack of datapads hitting the floor could be heard outside the open door. "Dinosaurs!"

Then the door closed and left them in silence again. Miranda looked up at EDI's terminal slightly perturbed. "EDI, why did you open my door without warning?"

"I was afraid he was going to knock it down entirely if I didn't," came the AI's voice.

"A fair judgement," said Shepard as she turned back and leaned back in her chair again. "Grunt didn't know about Earth's former predator population until very recently."

"I… see…" said the XO as she shook her head. "Let's hope he takes it well when he finds out they're mostly extinct."

"Better prepare for that headache," said Shepard as she rubbed her head gently.

"Speaking of headache, I'm to understand that you plan to rob a civilian vault tomorrow?" asked Miranda as her brow rose again. "Care to explain?"

"Look, it's a long story and I don't know if you want to be burdened with the details," said Shepard plainly as she waved her hand.

But Miranda shook her head and leaned onto the desk. "I do."

Shepard eyed her suspiciously at first, but then smirked. "Trust?"

"Trust," said Miranda with a smile of her own.

Command Center – Pluto's Gate

"How have things progressed aboard the Normandy?" asked the Illusive Man, his irritation at being left out of the loop growing by the day.

"We've got the full crew aboard and we're ready for almost anything you can throw at us," said Miranda as she stood at attention in the QEC projection.

"You're very confident. Have you seen the crewmates working together? How do they stack up to the collectors?" asked the man as he pulled a cigarette from his gold-plated pack and lit it.

"You've seen the footage from Horizon. Not a single casualty and barely any injuries. With the justicar and the assassin added to the team as well, I doubt we'll have any trouble against the collectors," said Lawson with a firm head nod.

"On Horizon, you all needed assistance from Ashley Williams and her heavy weapons to deal with the collectors. Not to mention Subject Zero and Massani nearly killing everyone," said the man as he swirled his whisky around in the glass.

"Ashley Williams helped against an enemy we had never seen before, and we weren't defeated when she stepped in anyhow. Now we know they exist and have prepared for much of the same in the future. They won't be surprising us again. As for Massani and Jack, they've been spoken with about their use of creative destruction," said the operative with a glare in her eyes.

"And how about the Omega Protocol? Has it been discovered?" he asked, his glowing eyes scanning her face as well as he could through a QEC.

Her face had a look of surprise on it, but she showed no sign of distaste as he might have thought she would after spending time with Shepard. "It's still in place and ready to be used. So far, Doctor Chakwas hasn't detected anything."

"That's good," he said as he ashed the cigarette. "I heard about what happened with your sister. Is she alright?"

Immediately, the operative smiled. "She's fine. Thank you," said the woman as she looked down at the ground. "I apologize that I wasn't able to tell you about that sooner. Shepard kind of rushed us through the process of getting her hidden again and I didn't think you'd mind."

"Would you like to share where she is so I can assign extra protection to her myself?" asked the man as he poked and prodded her for weaknesses.

She nodded her head rapidly. "I don't mind at all. An agent named Fade on the Citadel is helping to relocate her family. The parents are going into retirement with my assistance so they don't have to worry about constantly moving. And since she just got her degree, she'll be able to start fresh in a new school to continue her education."

"I'm happy to hear she's doing alright," said the Illusive Man before taking a sip of his whisky. "I heard that Shepard is heading to Bekenstein soon to meet with Donovan Hock. He's a supporter of ours and a fairly large donator. Is there going to be trouble?"

"She trusts me now and ordered me not to tell anyone, but there's not much she can really do to stop me from reporting to you. As far as I can tell she intends to steal something from his vault. A greybox that used to belong to Kasumi Goto's old partner. She doesn't know what's on it, just that he died getting it and Hock thinks he could make billions off the information on it. Either that, or send the Alliance to war against the Council. Nobody but him knows what he actually intends to do with it," she said with a shrug.

His brow arched for the first time since she had called. After Shepard helped during the situation with her sister, he was all too ready to write Lawson off as a lost asset to Shepard's charms. But with the information she had just given him, he hesitated. "What kind of information are we talking about?"

The operator sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Unfortunately, she didn't know what was on the box. Even Kasumi didn't know and she's the one trying to get it back. The only one who actually knew was the owner of the greybox and he's not telling anyone. But if I manage to obtain the information on the box I'll make sure to get it to you somehow."

"I'll deal with the fallout of something happens to Hock. He's been getting a bit bigger in the head than I like from supporters anyhow. In the meantime, keep me updated on this data if you can. Knowing the political blowback that could come from it, I doubt Shepard would share it willingly. But we can deal with that when she's got her hands on it," he said amiably.

"Understood," said Miranda as she flashed a charming smile at him.

"I'll be eagerly awaiting your next call," said the Illusive Man as he ended the QEC call with the operative. He found himself ruminating on her for a moment, wondering if she was being truthful with him or putting on a front. If the information Miss Goto was after truly would send the Alliance to war with the Council, then it was extremely dangerous. He had no plans on weakening humanity by literally alienating them from galactic society, but he still wondered what information could so easily cause a rift in the good will humanity had earned.

Reaching down, he mashed the butt of his cigarette into the ashtray, putting it out before tapping the button on his chair again. Once more, the image of the man popped up over the arm of his seat. "Thanatos speaking."

"I'm concerned about the influence Shepard is having on Operative Lawson. She may be swaying away from Cerberus," said the Illusive Man sternly.

The holographic man grunted. "She can't possibly be as powerful and influential as you're making her out to be."

"Honestly, I'm not so sure. We've seen what she's capable of against the collectors, and we've seen how she turned Donnel Udina into a golden retriever of a politician. Underestimating her would be a very costly mistake," said the suited man as he pulled from his whisky again.

"You should have spent the money you used on her to improve me instead. I could run circles around her and her little crew of pets-" but he stopped at the stern glare he was given.

"I don't take kindly to having my choices questioned," said the man with authority. Thanatos simply closed his eyes and bowed his head. "That said, your time to shine may be soon. I want you to keep track of them when they show up on the Citadel. I need to know if Lawson is still an asset or if she's trying to draw my attention away from something."

"Understood. It'll be taken care of," he said before the call closed.

The Illusive Man turned and looked back up at the blazing sun shining from the view screens, wondering to himself whether he went too far in bringing Shepard back. He knew the woman was powerful. It took a sneak attack from a hyper advanced dreadnought piloted by one of the most powerful species in the galaxy just to kill her. He didn't relish the thought of using it, but perhaps the Omega Protocol would have to be utilized a lot sooner than he realized. He sighed to himself as he activated the viewscreen in front of him and put up the latest Machester football game.

Milgrom – Bekenstein

"You know, when I said put on your fanciest suit I didn't expect you to come to the party in full combat armor," said Kasumi as she eyed the spectre curiously.

"You and I both know how things are probably going to turn out on this job and I'm not going in there in nothing but a ballgown," she said glowering at the console as the aircar flew them to their destination at the Hock Estate. "Besides, I only wear dresses for certain people and none of these stuffed shirt assholes are deserving."

"I'm not disagreeing with you, but do you really think he's going to let you into the party wearing all that?" asked Kasumi as she eyed the armor and the battle rifle on her back.

Shepard turned to her and smirked. "If he wanted eye candy he could get it from any corner of the galaxy. He wanted a spectre, so he's going to get a spectre. This shows him what he's getting," said Shepard with a shrug. "I cleared it with his captain of the guard, Chief Roe."

"How'd you manage that?" asked the thief curiously.

"Jona Sederis is going to be at the party," said the spectre with a small chuckle.

"Oh… she must really hate you," said the woman as she tapped her chin. "So, you told them you aren't going to his party without your armor and weapons because he also happened to invite a potentially psychotic asari matriarch who wants you dead for collapsing her security business?"

"Bingo," said Shepard as she stretched her limbs out. "Not that I trust any of the other snakes he's invited to the party. But I wouldn't put it past her to warp a hole through me just on principle. So, my weapons and armor are here to dissuade her and anyone else who might have a grudge against me. Like Jedidiah Maxwell."

"Oh lord, what did you do to him?" asked the thief bewildered at her statement.

"I might have been responsible for the death of his daughter Jedore. I don't know if he actually knows what happened to her given her entire base was a smoking crater when I left it, but I wouldn't put it past him to have rounded up some of the mercenaries that got away and questioned them. If one of them let my name slip, he's probably gunning for me too," she said with a grin as she looked over at Kasumi. "Still up for this?"

"I'm not the one walking into the viper's nest, you are," said Kasumi as she shook her head. "Honestly I'd be surprised if you made it to the vault without at least one assassination attempt."

"Enough talk about me. You're supposed to be informing me about this plan you have for getting into his vault," said Shepard as she narrowed her eyes at the woman.

"Right right, sorry. It's always fascinating how many people in the galaxy want to kill you. Once you start talking about one I have to know more," said the woman with a cheeky grin. "Anyway, I've got counters to almost everything."

"Almost isn't going to get us into the vault," said Shepard as she cocked her brow.

"I know that but like I said, this is a new system. Half the time I crack vaults at least a quarter of the method is improvised and I'm going to have to try and improvise some," said the thief with a shrug. "In any case, let's start with a DNA sample. While you're dodging daggers on the dance floor I'll raid his room and try and get a DNA sample that'll get us through that gate."

"You're going to be sneaking around his estate while I've got snipers lining up shots?" asked Shepard in amusement.

"To be fair it wasn't I who left both the Eclipse and Jedore Maxwell in ashes. So, why should I share in your unfortunate fate?" she asked with a smirk of her own. Then she opened her omni-tool and brought up the schematics for the vault. "That's just step one, however. For the password, it's likely the Chief and a few of her goons knows it. The voice recognition software makes you say it out loud to drop the barrier. The harder part is getting his voice to say it. But I have just the program for that."

Shepard watched her as she opened her omni-tool and activated a file. Both her brows shot up as she heard her own voice say, "My name is Jane Shepard and I think the Alliance Military is super awesome!"

Immediately the spectre's brows furrowed as she glared at the thief. "Delete that. Now."

Kasumi giggled slightly as she deleted the file. "As you can see, I have that part covered. But I do need some live samples of Hock's voice to construct the password."

"Alright," said Shepard as she shook her head. "How about the fingerprint."

"Oh please, that's child's play," said the woman as she held up her glove and showed the pads she had on her finger. "I've already got a fingerprint sample."

"How the hell did you pull that off?" asked the spectre in bewilderment.

"Hock was on the Citadel when we got here. I happened to find him, bumped into him intentionally, and got him to grab my wrist wearing a silver bangle," she said as she showed a picture of the jewelry. "He wasn't happy about being bumped into, but he wasn't going to make trouble on the Citadel. Could have gotten his wallet too if I wasn't aiming for something bigger," she said as she activated the glove. Sure enough, the pads on the finger formed a perfect imprint of a fingerprint, thought she couldn't tell if it was his or not.

"So, seems like you've got most of this figured out. So, where's the hiccup?" asked Jane as she pulled the seat lever to give her more legroom.

"The elevator itself. Once we're through all the barriers I still need to access the elevator and take it down to the vault to get the greybox. But that requires secondary approval from his captain of the guard who are going to see nothing on the elevator and aren't going to unlock it to take it down into the vault," said Kasumi as she looked over at Shepard with her eyes narrowing.

Shepard glared at her suspiciously. "What?"

"Well, if you managed to slip away from the party long enough to take out the security station and approve the elevator drop…" started the rogue with a cheeky grin.

"You want me to take out his head of security?!" she asked incredulously.

"Well, you are dressed for it…" said the woman with a chuckle. "You could lure Sederis or Maxwell over there and say they attacked you even! I'm sure you know how to pull off a false flag like that Miss Former Alliance."

Shepard glared again but then snorted out of her nose. "Whatever's on this goddamn greybox had better be worth all the trouble." She then realized what she had said and flinched slightly. "I mean… aside from Kenji's memories. I know those are worth it."

"It's alright, Shepard," said the thief as she held up her hand. "I know I'm asking a lot. But just know that I plan to give a lot in return."

"I don't know what that means but it sounds terrifying," said the spectre with a smile.

Kasumi smiled back as they spotted the estate on the horizon. They would be arriving any minute now. "Well, time to put our game faces on."

CODEX ENTRIES

HG Protocol | Technology | Space Travel
Short for Hansel and Gretel, the HG Protocol is commonly installed on ships that travel into deep space without the use of the relay network. Because they travel so far away from the traffic of relays, they commonly go to space where comm buoys are not available, so instead the enact a protocol before leaving a relay system that leaves a trail of tiny mini-buoys behind. These buoys are meant to act as breadcrumbs for any ships with the proper signatures to follow to the ship's locations and can even carry an SOS message from one to the other until it hits an actual comm buoy.