Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium
Nos Astra, Harbor area
1323 Local Time, July 28th, 2185 Gregorian Calendar
Opulence, glamour, stark-white luxury. If anywhere in the galaxy could be considered a corporate paradise, it wouldn't be the well-insulated ice facilities of Noveria, nor the pretentious estates of Bekenstein. It would definitely be Illium. The all-encompassing light orange hue of its home star, the endless strings of skycar traffic, the golden terraces of the tallest skyscrapers from which one could admire the glistening cityscape that stretched as far as the eye could see, all of it served as a reminder of the greatness of asari splendor and those who chose to prosper alongside them. People here considered themselves as the "new money". Everybody with ambition and will to succeed was welcome to try their life here.
Which was why what happened at the spaceport left Shepard feeling so perplexed.
The Normandy docked at its traditional spot, without any pestering from the traffic control and the port staff. All their fees have probably been paid for in advance by Liara just like the first time they visited. But shortly after Shepard, with Virox and Jack accompanying her, left the ship through the docking tube, the eyes of both the asari and non-asari staff suddenly focused solely on them. They began to nervously talk to one another, with some of them pointing fingers at the three new arrivals. Whispers quickly escalated to louder chatter, and then a sharp alarm signal blasted through the area.
"What the fuck did we do?" Jack asked in her usual foul-mouthed manner, looking at the commotion with a mix of confusion and annoyance.
Virox on the other hand remained silent, but Shepard knew from a single glance that he had most assuredly ascertained the cause of this commotion already. Furthermore, the feeling in Shepard's gut was wholeheartedly convinced that his suspicions were correct.
Another short alarm signal went off, and a group of silhouettes suddenly entered the area, prompting the port staff to make way. The group consisted of four lightly armed security mechs, led by two asari. Shepard recognized one of them as Careena, the concierge that welcomed her during her first visit on Illium. The other one, clad in a clearly high-quality silver armor was a stranger, although Shepard suspected that she was some kind of security chief. The group approached them to a safe distance of about three meters before stopping.
"Halt!" Shouted the armored asari, her voice booming and authoritative. Her right hand rested on the grip of her still holstered pistol, while her left was extended forwards with an open palm. Familiar purple lights of biotics danced in between the fingers. The command felt somewhat redundant, given that all three of them stood in place ever since the alarms went off. Nevertheless, in order to avoid unnecessary commotion, they made sure to stay calm and refrain from any aggressive movements.
"Is there a problem? There was never any issue with my arrival before." Shepard asked, directing the question more towards Careena, who was clearly more composed of the two asari, although it was clear that she too was somewhat unnerved.
The security chief was about to answer first, but Careena placed her hand on the woman's shoulder, before speaking herself. "Forgive me, Commander Shepard. It's just that in the past your visits did not constitute any violations of Illium's laws. In fact there is no issue with your visit per se." She paused, glancing at something behind Shepard. "Only with one of your companions."
Virox twitched behind her and his jaws clicked quietly. No xeno-culture expert was needed to realize that he felt uncomfortable with being put on the spot. His tail was nervously swinging from left to right, with the tips of its spikes almost scratching the floor. After a few seconds of silence he moved his head closer to Shepard's.
"I'll wait on the ship. Just tell me who to call in my stead." He whispered.
"You will do no such thing." Shepard sternly whispered back before turning to face the two asari once again. "And what sort of problem might that be?"
This time the security chief answered, doing so quickly as if to prevent being interrupted again. "Due to the aggressive actions of the Carvin Empire against Illium and the wider Citadel Space, the corporate authorities have decided to bar entry for any citizen of the Carvin Empire indefinitely. As long as the carvin blockade continues, carvins will not be allowed on this planet."
Careena glared at her companion disapprovingly, but did not protest. Whatever she wanted to say must have differed little in terms of substance from what they heard just now. And even if she projected a more diplomatic aura than the security chief, it was probably safe to assume that this matter wasn't something they would easily budge on. Unless...
"I see. However I am afraid I will have to proceed in his presence regardless." Shepard answered, accenting her words with a courteous but firm tone. "I trust that won't be a problem."
"It will. The Illium law is clear: no carvins are permitted on the planet." The security chief sternly replied, letting a pinch of hostility slip into her words. The glares she was sending towards Virox were of unfiltered disgust and disdain.
"Does Illium also respect the authority of the Citadel Council?" Shepard asked innocently.
For a split second the security chief opened her mouth to reply, only to stop herself from speaking at the last moment. Her companion, Careena, also remained silent, with her eyes seemingly trying to escape Shepard's own gaze. Both of them have clearly realized what was being implied. Shepard was fine with that, as this was more or less the outcome she desired. She rarely felt compelled to leverage her Spectre status in such instances, but her crew - no matter what race they were - were among the things she held most dear. And the evident disrespect the asari were showing towards Virox increasingly irritated her.
"As a Council Spectre I authorize my companion's presence here and assure you that he will do nothing that does not align with my own intentions." She said, making sure to glance at every single bystander who was observing the incident as she did so.
"You can't just simply-" The security chief started, but Shepard cut her off.
"Do you wish for the Illium Corporate Authorities to contact the Citadel Council and clarify the position?"
It was clear from her reaction that she did not, realizing that her bosses wouldn't have their back. The stand-off continued for a few more seconds until the security chief begrudgingly called off the mechs and stepped aside with the most forced smile on her face she could have possibly mustered. Meanwhile Careena bowed deeply with an apologetic expression.
"I believe we can make an exception for this singular visit. We apologize for this inconvenience and hope you enjoy your stay." She said in a well-practiced cordial manner that could probably calm down an enraged krogan. "However, in the future please notify us in advance of your intention to bring a carvin company with you, Commander Shepard."
"Noted. And don't worry, I'll make sure there are no issues." Shepard said.
"I'll stop worrying once you put that thing in a cage, or on a leash." The security chief muttered loud enough for all of them to hear.
"Oooh, kinky." Jack giggled playfully before glancing suggestively at the Commander. "I'd love to spend some personal time with this one in between missions."
Shepard ignored both remarks and led her team out of the docking area and into the trading floor, as Jack kept sending suggestive gestures towards the security officer and Virox spared the woman one last glance.
The area was bustling as usual, with many traders, stock brokers, white-collar workers and businessmen, engaged in heated conversations on a multitude of topics, too vast for both her brain and her translator to discern. However, almost all of them without exception quietened down and directed their eyes towards Shepard and her team whenever she led her comrades into view.
Unflattering chatter quickly began to spread, and although Shepard had heard other species badmouth Virox from the sidelines before, this was different. Whereas in the Terminus Systems and Omega the reaction was mostly of surprise, fear (due to the infamous carvin anti-piracy campaigns) or annoyance, Illium delivered a completely new perspective. That of bigotry, hatred, and outright racism.
"...freak..."
"...who let one of those barbarians in..."
"...lost three shipments to their blockades..."
"...customs office is getting sloppy..."
"...filthy xeno..."
"...murderers..."
"...and with humans, huh? Guess misery loves company..."
That particular one, coming from a pair of asari, caught Shepard off guard. Sure, she had heard that even after their victory at the Battle of Citadel, other races still viewed humanity with caution and distrust (or even hostility if Captain Bailey was to be believed). But equating humanity with the carvins, the big boogeymen that conveniently revealed themselves while she was dead, was... uncomfortable. As if all of humanity's accomplishments and contributions were invisible or just treated as an irrelevancy by the average citizen of the Citadel space.
Even after all you've done, in their eyes you'll always be no better than Virox. An outsider, intruder. Nothing more. A cynical voice whispered in her mind. They'll sing their praises to your face while they loathe you behind your back, even more so for every single one of your good deeds. Humans will never truly be considered equals to other aliens.
Shepard knew that voice, and the sensation that accompanied it was also familiar. That chilling uncomfortable itch, seemingly just out of arm's reach, washing over her like strings of thick oil or tar. She recognized it from the Citadel Tower, when in the towering shadow of Saren's holoprojection the Council turned the human delegation away with nothing. When she spoke with Sovereign on Virmire. When they refused to listen that the Reapers - not Saren - were the real threat. When Sparatus condescendingly dismissed their existence as merely a product of Shepard's allegedly delusional mind. When she saw those she considered old friends, such as Kaidan and Anderson, treat her with distrust and caution she did not deserve. When the Illusive Man purposefully misled her and her team time and time again 'for the greater good'.
For every one of these moments and more, that whisper and that itch of doubt and cynicism were both there, nibbling away at her confidence. Every time Shepard simply pushed them away and locked them out of her mind, but she could never truly be rid of the doubt that perhaps there was merit to this feeling.
"Damn, Virox. I'm here with my tits almost in the open and people are still more interested in looking at your ugly mug." Jack broke the string of depressing thoughts, as she looked at the carvin teasingly.
"Well, I've heard that if something is prevalent and easily accessible, its value will decrease." Virox remarked back, forcing a playful tone. "I'm a curiosity to them, although I have to admit that this reception is a bit colder than the previous ones."
"Are you calling me cheap?" Jack asked, this time more seriously.
"I did not say that. You're the one that doesn't seem to mind showing your mammary glands off to everyone for free. You and countless other aliens from what I've seen on the extranet." The carvin shrugged, although whether that was from dismissal or disgust Shepard could not tell.
"Fuck you." Jack flipped Virox off, right before the three of them stopped in front of Liara's office.
Shepard hushed them both, not only because it would feel embarrassing to have her squad bicker in the background as she talked to her old friend, but because of what she was about to do. Liara warned her of this, and she had seen it herself - Illium was no less dangerous than Omega. The empty secretary desk, the place where Nyxeris used to reside, was a grim reminder of that reality. And considering both the value and the danger of the data she was currently in possession of, it was best for her squad to be on full alert. With a restless heart, she pressed the holographic button on the door.
"Come in." Came the response a few seconds later, and Shepard did as instructed, leaving her squad outside.
Liara's office did not look any different than when she was last there. Spotless walls, a clean and orderly desk, with little in terms of flashy expensive decorations. The only real change was in Liara herself. At first glance she too was the same as before, but a more careful look revealed the slightly bloodshot eyes, small yet deep bags under those eyes. Her face seemed more pale and bleak, almost as if she did not sleep for days.
Seeing her come in, Liara looked up from her computer and her expression softened. "Hello, Shepard."
"Good to see you. Looks to me like you've seen better days." Shepard reciprocated the greeting, sitting down in front of her friend.
"It's just exhaustion." Liara reassured, but her wandering eyes betrayed the insincerity.
"You okay?" Shepard asked, but this time making it clear that she wouldn't let the topic go.
"I'm... fine. It's just-" Liara started, but stopped mid-sentence after noticing something on her computer. Her soft and friendly expression suddenly changed to worry and concern. "You... have a carvin with you? I-I mean I had just heard that one got through the customs, just... didn't notice he was with you."
Her stuttering further solidified that something was definitely wrong, but considering that Virox was involved, Shepard decided to play along for now.
"You mean Virox? Yeah, he's a 'carvin liaison'. They sent him to report on the Collectors, since the disappearances of human colonies have been happening close to their borders." She said, intensely studying Liara's reaction.
"Can I... speak to him?" Liara asked cautiously.
"Sure." Shepard feigned indifference before calling out "Virox! Can you come in for a moment?"
Moments later the carvin's large statue appeared in the doorway. He briefly glanced at her face, silently asking for permission to enter, then walked in.
"What do you need?" He asked.
"Virox, this is Liara T'Soni. Liara, Virox Ri'Kaan. " Shepard introduced them to each other. "A terrific soldier and a loyal friend."
Virox's jaws shivered ever so slightly at the last remark, yet he dutifully straightened himself out, clasping his hands behind his back. "I have heard plenty good words about you, Doctor T'Soni. From mutual... friends."
He said the last word clumsily, seemingly struggling to get them through his throat. This confused Shepard. From her point of view, she and Virox had made up with one another some time ago. Why was he so reluctant to admit it? Was it a more personal issue? Did she say something wrong? Truly, the current behavior of both of her friends confused her.
"I'm flattered and... sorry that I cannot say the same." Liara answered, but judging from her expression, she was waiting for something. Her gaze was firmly on Virox, as if expecting him to do something, or turn into something.
An awkward silence filled the room. Shepard's eyes moved quickly from Liara to Virox, back to Liara, and so on. What was going on? Liara was always secretive regarding her pursuit of the Shadow Broker before, but this felt like a whole new level of paranoia.
Virox too seemed to share this view. "Uh... was I supposed to do something?"
"Haven't they-" Liara stuttered, clearly not expecting this reaction. "You mean you weren't informed of anything?"
"No?" The carvin cautiously answered, then his gaze suddenly dashed towards Shepard, and it wasn't a kind one. "Shepard, I swear, if you're keeping me in the dark again-"
"I'm just as lost as you are." Shepard raised her hands in defense before turning back to Liara for yet another time. "Liara, what's this about?"
Her friend looked positively stunned. Words that she presumably wanted to say were stuck in her throat. Unspoken streams of thoughts could almost be seen running through her mind. This Liara held little resemblance to the colder, more mature and ruthless person Shepard had seen when she first visited Illium. And one couldn't even compare it to the shy and clumsy asari doctor back from 2183. There was something else in her eyes. Fear, panic, some sort of dread.
She mouthed something that Shepard couldn't quite catch and sighed, letting her shoulders slump downwards as she rested on her desk.
"Nevermind. I thought that he was someone else." She said and, before Shepard could even ask about that 'someone else', she asked a question of her own. "Let's get back on track. You mentioned in your messages that you have some valuable data about the Shadow Broker, yes?"
Shepard did not like those continuing mysteries, and she promised herself to press Liara for answers at the earliest possible convenience, but this wasn't what they were here for now. The obsessiveness with which her friend was pursuing the Broker was worrying, but perhaps if they helped her, it would allow her to find inner peace. With those thoughts in mind, Shepard pulled out a secure datapad and, after unlocking it, silently gave it to Liara.
The innocently looking device came to life, displaying images of various aliens in quick succession and playing some garbled audio. Strings of text, possibly some encrypted data, ran at the bottom of the display. But whatever it was, it must have been quite valuable, since Liara's stressed demeanor promptly gave way to curiosity.
"Hmm... it looks like a leaked transmission between Shadow Broker operatives. Some hints as to the location and..." She stopped abruptly when the image suddenly changed to that of a young drell. "It's about Feron. He's still alive."
Whatever exhaustion still remained on her face seemed to evaporate in mere moments. Wrinkles disappeared, tired eyes regained vigor, the pale face flushed back with color. For the second time since her death Shepard saw Liara look genuinely happy.
"Who's Feron?" She couldn't help but ask.
"He was a friend. He helped me recover your body from the Shadow Broker." Liara explained, although she clearly struggled to maintain her composure.
Now this was new. Shepard was well aware of the fact that both Miranda and the Illusive Man were intentionally vague about how they recovered her body and resurrected her. Hearing this from an old friend whom she could trust felt reassuring, even if it left her with more questions than answers.
"Why did the Shadow Broker want my corpse." She asked.
"He was going to sell you to the Collectors, but Feron and I stopped him." Liara said, then her face was once again filled with regret. "Feron sacrificed himself to save me."
Shepard's mind went blank. The Collectors wanted to get their hands on her corpse? And if so, did Illusive Man know about it? If he did, it meant that he knew from the very start that it was them who were behind the missing colonists. And if he knew, how big was the chance that other high ranking Cerberus operatives - like Miranda - knew it too? How much valuable intel did he keep from her and the rest of the crew?
"Uh... am I still needed here?" Virox suddenly interjected, clearly feeling out of place. "If not, I'd rather wait outside."
"Oh. Sure. Yeah, you can go." Shepard answered, still trying to wrap her head around the stream of thoughts and speculations caused by this most recent revelation.
As the carvin left, she glanced back at Liara who was looking out through the window of her office. Her faint reflection in the glass showed a young woman struggling to cope with an avalanche of emotions, but unlike when a few moments before, this time those emotions seemed to be mostly positive. Shepard knew that they had a lot to talk about, but she also wasn't sure just how ready Liara was for such a conversation. Either way this visit just got a lot more interesting.
Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium
Nos Astra, Harbor area, Cargo bay of MSV Locil
1400 Local Time, July 28th, 2185 Gregorian Calendar
And touchdown. Right on the local clock.
In spite the distaste and reservations he held towards aliens, Irill had to concede to the mostly asari clerks of Illium that they worked very efficiently. Not a single minute of time was left wasted. This was a good sign for them too, since their operational timetable was not yet jeopardized.
The scheme which the Null Group used to land on the planet was a cunning one. During the blockades of the frontier clusters by the imperial fleet many ships and their cargo were seized. The vast majority of the materiel would then be appropriated and both the ships and the crew disposed of after thorough search and interrogation. But this particular vessel was different. MSV Locil used to be privately owned by a volus merchant named Alpo Fil, with a crew of automated mechs as support. The volus was an experienced trader in spices, red sand, as well as other kinds of Terminus luxury goods. And both the ship and its owner would have likely met the same fate as other similar vessels had the Frontier SpecOps Command not intervened.
Officially the ship was still owned by Fil, who, after desperately running an imperial blockade, and waiting out the search parties sent after him, decided to land on Illium in order to sell his goods and repair the damage his ship had sustained during the escape. To add to his supposed troubles, Carvin Empire placed a warrant on both his head and his ship, offering to pay handsomely for bringing them to carvin authorities. At least that was the cover story. In reality the volus was still locked up in a high-security prison where he would likely spend his remaining days. But nobody else outside of the Carvin Empire needed to know about this fact. In their eyes the volus was very much alive and still in command of his vessel, albeit feeling unwell due to his adventures.
"Get ready for the inspection." Irill whispered to his comrades, who were all scattered across the cargo bay and hidden from view under optical camouflage.
The plan was for the reprogrammed mechs to handle most of the bureaucracy, or at the very least delay it as much as possible. However if this did not work, they still had some backup plans in store.
It did not take long for the inspection to arrive. The entire ship seemed to hiss and exhale as the cargo ramp lowered itself to allow the dock clerks to board. Through the cameras Irill noticed an asari inspector accompanied by mostly non-asari staff. As planned the woman was greeted by the mechs.
"Where's the captain of this vessel?" She asked, looking at the automated bipeds, who were busy preparing the cargo for unloading.
"Master Alpo Fil is in his quarters. His health had suffered greatly due to the stress caused by evading carvin pursuit. He wished to not be disturbed." The one idle mech, remotely controlled by Slice, reacted and approached the inspector. It then ejected a datapad from its chassis and handed it to the woman. "Here is the cargo manifest and other relevant data."
Slightly put off by the interaction with the machine, the inspector took the manifest and browsed its contents. Meanwhile the rest of her crew opened the cargo hold and started inspecting the containers. Seeing that the doors were left wide open, Irill decided to prepare their exit.
"Reposition." He ordered, and the Nulls silently obeyed, slowly placing themselves near the exit from the cargo hold.
Having outfitted themselves with stealthy servos for their implants as well as various noise dampeners, they moved practically in complete silence. The loud work of the docking clerks made their job all the easier. Now all they needed was for the inspector to move. She was still in the main hallway, blocking their escape. They had to leave through the docking ramp, since any unnatural behavior by the ship would have been detected by the port staff. Thankfully there was a potential bait already in place.
The inspector kept looking through the cargo manifest when something she saw made her frown. After looking at it for a few seconds, she turned around sharply and headed towards the doors to what used to be Alpo Fil's quarter. Ignoring the reaction from the mechs (which Slice exaggerated slightly to make it seem more believable), she banged on the locked door.
"Alpo Fil! There's a discrepancy in here that need explaining!" She shouted.
"Roadkill, go." Irill signaled and, after his second-in-command obediently slipped through the open door, he turned towards Slice. "Slice, Blink. Make it look good."
And make it look good they did. Shortly after a holographic projection appeared on the closed door. It was an artificial model of Alpo Fil, based off of his actual appearance, and it promptly spoke with his voice, it too being extremely well-simulated.
"What *huff*? What is it?" The projection asked with a deliberately tired voice.
The inspector rolled her eyes, clearly wishing for this to be done face-to-face, but she reluctantly conceded. "There's cargo on this list marked as 'lost'. Care to explain?"
As another two Nulls quietly snuck out of the freighter, Slice fed the hologram a well-prepared answer. "Oh, that *huff*. Well, *huff* during my blockade run I was *huff* forced to jettison some cargo to fool the pursuing carvin patrols *huff*. I marked the missing cargo in advance *huff* to make sure the discrepancies were cleared up in advance *huff*. Feel free to compare the actual inventory with *huff* the list."
"I will do just that. And if something is off, we'll be talking face to face." The woman stepped back, heading to the cargo bay. "And make your mechs stand down until we confirm your inventory."
Slice quickly forwarded an appropriate command to the synthetic crew, and as the inspector walked past the Nulls remaining on the ship, at a distance smaller than an arm's reach, Irill stopped breathing for a moment. He studied her movements for the slightest indication that something was wrong, but after seeing no indication of such he and his men slipped out of the room and outside. One of the major hurdles was now behind them.
Irill pinged his men to regroup in a remote spot of the dock where they wouldn't be disturbed. Once everyone was together, he ordered a brief equipment check. For this mission they were issued captured eezo-based weapons from the Terminus systems. That way, in the unlikely event that they were forced to use lethal force, they would greatly reduce risks of implicating the Empire in any potential incident. A brief yet intense training with these weapons ensured that all Nulls were capable of using them, but it was clear that they preferred their old kit.
Still, the original plan assumed no need for their use, and they served merely as a backup in case they risked being compromised. With that in mind, Irill issued his next orders.
"Slice. I want you and Blink to constantly monitor the situation on the freighter. The port staff cannot find out the truth about our presence." He whispered, even though they were on a closed channel and their armor suits made their speech completely silent to bystanders. "But in the meantime, send the go-ahead to Doctor T'Soni along with the coordinates for the meeting. Move out, Null Group."
All five of them left their hiding spot and carefully made their way out of the spaceport area.
The mission parameters made rapid traversal of the city difficult, but not impossible. While hitching a ride on a skycar or a small flying transport was out of the question, given that the mass anomaly it was bound to create would have been easily detected, Illium did have a reasonably dense network of maglev trains. Hiding on top or on the sides of a train with the help of magnetized arms and legs would allow them to move swiftly along the established rail lines. Any additional ground needed to be covered on foot, and it was with these limitations in mind that the Nulls chose the rendezvous point with Liara T'Soni - a spot in the lower levels of the city, relatively out of view while within a reasonable walking distance to the maglev line.
However, any hopes of this mission going smoothly further were dashed when, after they almost reached the nearest train station, Slice suddenly perked up and stopped.
"Wait. Receiving message-no, messages from Doctor T'Soni. A string of replies. Stand by." He said, prompting Irill to lead the squad way out of view once again. "Rendezvous point must change. We have to meet in her apartment in the early evening. Non-negotiable."
"Out of the question." Irill hissed furiously, already feeling the returning phantom pains in his cybernetic eye. This definitely reeked of a set-up. "Tell her to stick to the original rendezvous. We'll increase the payment if need be."
Slice relayed the information and waited for the reply. Ten seconds. Fifteen. Twenty. The panicked voice in Irill's gut screamed at him to abort the mission, but they couldn't leave so early. The freighter hadn't even been properly inspected. Even if they decided to abort, they could at the very least investigate this sudden change. That thought definitely seemed like a sunken cost fallacy, but at this moment the prospect of catching even a glimpse of information regarding the Shadow Broker overshadowed everything else.
"Response. Change of the rendezvous point still non-negotiable. However, apparently an unexpected ally has entered the playing field. One of unquestionable reliability." The hacker reported.
"Ask who it is." Irill demanded.
After a brief pause, Slice dutifully repeated the answer. "They are, quote 'someone I'd trust with my life' unquote."
All eyes went to Irill, and in the seemingly soulless eyes of his subordinates a silent question was being asked - what do we do? But Irill noticed something else. Rather than simple curiosity, there was an eagerness in the postures of the Nulls. They were ready to follow him regardless of his decision. No, even more than that, they seemed to want to proceed with the mission. All they needed was a go-ahead. Could he truly allow his selfish drive for revenge to dictate their course of action?
Clenching his hands into fists so that they did not tremble, he turned towards Slice and gave the final answer. "Acknowledge the change of plans. And set a navpoint to T'Soni's apartment."
The Nulls acknowledged the instructions energetically, more so than usual, adding to Irill's worries. But then he felt himself become empowered, confident and determined, as if being aware of the faith of his men in his abilities pushed back the doubts and fears. Over the recent weeks they all started to look more alive and less like borderline braindead organic automatons, and the impact this had on how he perceived their reactions was undeniable. Even if they weren't as close to his heart as his old team had been, they were still special in their own right.
He only hoped that this development would not come back to haunt him in the future.
Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium
Nos Astra, Autonomous Taxi Vehicle
1715 Local Time, July 28th, 2185 Gregorian Calendar
"Move your tail, you fat bugman." Jack said, pushing the mechanical appendage further away than she realistically needed to. "There's no space in the back of this thing."
"It's not my fault these things weren't designed with carvins in mind." Virox rolled his eyes, but dutifully moved his tail slightly closer to himself, even if it was a bit uncomfortable. "Also stop pushing, or the spikes are coming out."
"Alright kids, if you don't calm down back there, I'm turning this thing around and we're going home." Shepard looked at them from the front seat with an unfiltered expression of annoyance and disappointment.
Both Virox and Jack simultaneously answered 'amusing' and 'funny', only to actually chuckle at the unintended synchronization. Truth be told, even with Jack annoying him with her very generous definition of 'personal space', Virox did not expect this visit to be as pleasant as it was. But then again he did not have much expectations to begin with, so it wasn't difficult to exceed them.
Shepard eyed both of them one more time, making sure that nothing major was brewing, before turning to Virox only "So how's your impression of Illium?"
"It's... flashy. Excessively so, to the point that if you look at certain things from certain angles, it becomes irritating to the eye." Virox admitted, gazing outside the cab window at the endless streams of skycars. "But it's not all bad. It sort of reminds me of the imperial capital. Or at the very least its business districts. The only difference being the level of flashiness. And... you know, the people."
Liara T'Soni had asked them to meet her in her apartment in the evening, so Shepard decided to spend the waiting time on a semi-guided tour of Nos Astra (with herself as the guide). And Virox had to concede that it was fairly interesting. Sure, he was getting hostile glares wherever he went and hearing the pedestrians badmouth him behind his back, but this was something he managed to somewhat get used to. Besides, he also had loads of unflattering things to say about most aliens, so he had little right to complain.
When they passed through the trading area and browsing the stalls, even Shepard was sometimes puzzled and surprised by what was being offered. Judging by her reaction, some of it was definitely luxury products, unavailable and also probably illegal in the Citadel Space. Not to mention the prices. With his current salary, and even if he was allowed to use the emergency discretionary funds he was issued on this assignment for personal purchases, he would still have to work months and sometimes years to afford things that were apparently considered 'common' or 'essential' on this planet.
The other places they visited were less interesting, maybe except for the bar, where the asari bartender (who was apparently also a matriarch) was the only person who did not seem to mind Virox's presence. She even asked how carvins liked their drinks for future reference, as if predicting that more of his kin were bound to arrive at some point. When Virox asked her about the playful indifference with which she treated him, in contrast to basically everyone else, she laughed.
"Most of the asari will deny it, but your empire and that mess with the geth a couple years back might just be the best thing that happened to the asari in centuries. Perhaps now our people will finally pull their heads out of their asses and start realizing that they can't just outlive and wait out the systemic, galaxy-wide issues." was what she said, following it up with some vivid and unflattering comments about the current asari leadership. If there was one person on this planet that Virox would genuinely want to talk with again, it was that bartender.
They spent the rest of the waiting time at the bar, enjoying a belated lunch, until it was time to go and they hopped on an autonomous taxi to Liara's apartment. However, throughout the entire tour, the sightseeing, the meal at the bar, Virox couldn't shake off a feeling that hanged over his shoulder ever since the conversation in Liara's office.
"Shepard... the way that Doctor T'Soni reacted to me... You saw it too. It was strange." He turned away from the endless lines of skycars passing by outside his window. "Did I say something bad?"
"No, you didnt. But you're right, it was strange indeed. I've never seen Liara like this." Shepard nodded her head slightly, gazing far into the distance where Illium's mother star was currently setting. "She was clearly expecting a carvin to arrive. I have no idea why she'd think that one would show up, let alone why she'd look forward to it, considering how everyone reacted to your arrival back at the spaceport."
"Meh, maybe she's more into the exotic?" Jack suddenly interjected. "I mean the asari can literally fuck anyone with that mind-joining magic stuff of theirs. Perhaps your friend likes bug-like faces."
The commander sent an admonishing glare towards the human biotic, suggesting that she wasn't amused, but quickly turned back to Virox. "She seemed to think that you'd be informed of something. Was there really no message from your higher-ups about this?"
"If I had been informed of anything, chances are high you would know without me mentioning it." Virox shrugged, slightly annoyed at this lack of trust. "Let's not pretend that EDI and the rest of Cerberus aren't reading my mail, or anybody else's for that matter. You'd have heard of it."
For a moment he feared he came off too strong, but Shepard simply nodded without a word and returned to watching the sunset. Jack meanwhile let out a short chuckle and, after elbowing him gently, gave him a thumbs up as if silently telling him 'well said'. Virox had begun to consistently pick up on some of this more overt body language for a while now, and even though the more subtle behavior often continued to elude him, his off-mission studies were definitely paying off.
Suddenly Shepard perked up and bent forward, visibly looking at something in the distance. Her calm, almost melancholic expression was replaced with a frown, and Virox couldn't help but try and find what she was looking at. He couldn't see it clearly at first, but as their skycar got closer he noticed bright flashing lights reflecting off of the metallic building that was their destination. Once their ride began to descend onto the landing platform, the source of these lights was revealed.
A police skycar and a larger shuttle were parked near the entrance to the apartment complex where Virox presumed Liara's apartment was located. Being used to unwelcome surprises and spontaneous changes of plans, he immediately suspected that this particular police patrol wasn't here on accident. That and the way Doctor T'Soni acted when they first met was yet another red flag in these eerily suspicious circumstances.
With a soft hiss their skycar set down on the platform and the large doors opened up, allowing all three of them to leave.
"Shit. I'm guessing these guys did not come here to get someone's cat off a tree." Jack remarked, sparing quick glances at the police vehicles.
Neither Virox nor Shepard said a word in reply, but they didn't have to. All three of them were probably thinking the same thing.
Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium
Nos Astra, Outside of Liara's apartment.
1722 Local Time, July 28th, 2185 Gregorian Calendar
"The police is what!?" Irill nearly screamed into his helmet microphone.
He, Roadkill, Slice and Wraith, were now hanging off the side of the massive multi-story apartment complex where Doctor Liara T'Soni had her apartment. Their magnetized limbs allowed them to climb it without much issue, given the fact that the building's structure was highly metallic. They planned to commence the insertion into the meeting point in this way, with Killstreak acting as their overwatch from another apartment building. But the report of their marksman dashed any hopes of an uncomplicated rendezvous.
"Repeat. Target missing from the meeting area. Signs of gunfire on the outer window of the apartment. Police is swarming the scene." Killstreak repeated his previous statement.
Irill cursed their rotten luck. Right before the planned meeting someone tried to assassinate their target. Such a convenient occurrence was way beyond coincidence. But strangely Killstreak did not mention anything regarding Liara herself.
"Any signs of Doctor T'Soni? Blood, bodybags, anything?" Irill asked, as they quickened their climbing pace.
"Negative. Police are looking over something that seems like hand and finger prints. No visual on any paramedics among them." Killstreak dutifully replied.
A sigh of relief. So she managed to escape. For a moment Irill feared that this preemptive strike by the Shadow Broker (there really was nothing else that could explain this awfully suspicious turn of events) would put their entire enterprise at risk. But perhaps there remained a sliver of chance that they could still track T'Soni down and possibly even extract her if need be. The main problem now, however, was the swarm of police officers that now rummaged through her apartment, leaving them powerless for the time being.
Once they were just a few dozen meters from the large punctured window of T'Soni's apartment, Killstreak reported again. "Alert. A non-police asari operative detected within the rendezvous area. She appears to be overseeing the investigation."
"ID?" Irill whispered, ordering the other Nulls to once again slow down their ascent.
"Unknown. Observed advanced and expensive armor suit. Possibly a commando from the local garrison. Stand by for more data." The marksman relayed his observations, before suddenly adding "New arrivals detected. Three footmobiles. Two humans, both female. And a carvin."
At the last word Irill's hand almost slipped during the climb. A carvin? How? How did he get through the Illium security? Who could it possibly be? And why on the blasted Void was he not informed of any imperial assets being deployed into the same area of operations?
"Get me a visual, immediately! Try to identify the carvin." He hissed as they almost reached the small ledge right outside of the apartment, where some sort of plants were growing. "And Slice, get a bug on this room. I want to see and hear every single thing going on inside."
Both men acknowledged the order and after a few seconds his visor lit up, and Irill could see the inside of the apartment through the magnifying scope of Killstreak's rifle.
Technically the entire apartment was in essence a one giant room, with various sections flowing seamlessly into one another. There was a lot of space, even in spite of the many pedestals with various artifacts scattered about here or there. In fact the only major divider of space was the arched staircase leading to the upper floor. At the door were the two humans in question, along with the carvin. They were talking to someone who looked like a higher ranking policewoman.
"-sealed off. Please stay back, ma'am." Irill's helmet speakers came to life as Slice's bug became operational. It was the policewoman speaking to the red-haired woman leading the trio.
"Sealed off? Why?" The woman asked. It was now that Irill noticed a signature symbol on the woman's chest. N7, human special forces. But this seemed to leave him with more questions than answers.
"Someone tried to kill your friend, Commander Shepard." The supposed asari commando slowly walked down the stairs, addressing the red haired human.
Commander Jane Shepard. First human Spectre. Savior of the Citadel a couple of years back. Presumed dead for a time, now active with the human supremacist group Cerberus. Irill was familiar with the name. Just like Aria T'Loak, she was one of the few 'untouchable aliens' should she ever be encountered within the Terminus Systems. He had read her dossier before he and his old team first deployed outside the Imperial Space.
Pieces of the puzzle suddenly started to fit neatly together. If the woman was indeed Commander Shepard, then this was probably the 'unexpected ally' Doctor T'Soni mentioned. According to T'Soni's dossier, the two were close friends during the geth crisis, prior to the Empire's official first contact with the wider galaxy. Which would make the accompanying carvin none other than Virox Ri'Kaan - a liaison to Shepard's vessel, and the only imperial asset operating outside its borders apart from the Null Group.
The asari operative meanwhile glanced at the policemen rummaging through the apartment and said "Thank you, officer. Your people are dismissed."
As if on cue, the police - except for their commander - dutifully packed up and began to leave. The commander tried to argue but she was clearly powerless in the face of the mysterious operative's authority. So after seeing her subordinates ignore her pleas, she waved her hand in dismissal and followed them outside the apartment. In the meantime the Nulls managed to silently climb up to the window, allowing them to look inside directly. The fact that they were using advanced optical camouflage greatly reduced any chance of their detection. Still, Irill kept the view from Killstreak's scope in one part of his visor display, and silently urged his men to not expose themselves too much.
Once the police had left, the asari introduced herself. "Tela Vasir. Special Tactics and Recon."
A Spectre? Irill thought and Shepard asked at the same time.
This was now way beyond a coincidence. Two Council Spectres, working on the same case - one which realistically should have been delegated to the regular police force - absolutely reeked of a set-up, and Irill was getting more and more nervous about this assignment. He cursed his own eagerness and thirst for vengeance for getting him and his team into this situation. Alas nothing could be done now. They might as well take what they were given.
"Liara was following a lead on the Shadow Broker." Shepard told Vasir after some initial introduction.
"The Shadow Broker? Dangerous enemy to have." The asari Spectre remarked, then glanced behind the Commander's back and at her companions. "You're keeping quite the company."
It was immediately clear that she was referring to Virox Ri'Kaan, since the carvin in question visibly tensed up.
"Virox can be trusted. I can attest to his loyalty." Shepard answered reassuringly.
"I see..." Vasir said, visibly unconvinced.
The two women exchanged information about the assassination, and the Nulls made sure to listen to everything intently. Apparently the first shots were fired less than half an hour ago, and Doctor T'Soni then spent another four minutes inside her apartment doing... something, before finally escaping. What she could possibly have wanted to do was unclear, but at the very least she was alive and well. Aside from that, little else could be determined about her whereabouts.
"Liara was expecting me. She would have left a message here. Her office wasn't safe." Shepard said, glancing at the bullet holes in the window.
"I'm not surprised. Illium is just Omega with expensive shoes." Vasir commented.
Irill could argue all day about that, because from an operational point of view, the two locations were nothing alike. The freedom of action he and his men were enjoying on that station was absolutely luxurious in comparison to the suffocating restrictions of Illium. Part of him even wanted to take back his own words about wanting to never visit Omega again. But he suppressed his annoyance and continued to study the scene.
"She also seemed extremely nervous when we saw each other earlier in the day. More so than usual." Shepard added. "And... I know it sounds far fetched, but she was probably expecting a some sort of carvin contact or representative. She reacted very strongly to Virox."
Immediately all the silhouette outlines of Irill's squadmates flinched, and he did not need to read their minds to know why. That blasted human practically exposed their presence to the world. If that asari took Shepard's words seriously (which she did not have much reason not to) then this mission would get even more complicated.
"Risk of detection high. I have the target lined up. Requesting permission to terminate the suspects." Killstreak's voice sounded over the intercom.
"Belay that. Shepard is untouchable. If we act now, Ri'Kaan will be forced to help them, and he could easily identify us." Irill ordered, in spite of his gut screaming at him to let Killstreak take the shot.
Meanwhile Vasir nonchalantly approached the carvin liaison. Irill stuck his head farther out of cover - still cloaked - in order to better see the encounter. The woman walked up to an arm's reach before Ri'Kaan hissed at her to not come any closer.
"Careful now, babe. He's a biter." The second human woman, one with no hair and lots of tattoos on her body, said with a smirk on her face.
"Good to know." Vasir nodded, before looking the carvin in the eyes. "So you know nothing of this?"
Ri'Kaan's outer jaws clicked as they trembled. "I have nothing for you."
"But you know how carvins operate. Do you think they could have been the ones to orchestrate this attack?" The asari Spectre asked.
The carvin looked around and his eyes briefly passed over the location where Irill was hiding, still in cloak. But he did not react, instead studying the bullet holes in the windows and the impact holes inside the apartment. There was no indication that he had detected the well-concealed Nulls.
"Not the usual M.O. Unless they hired an alien assassin. But if T'Soni really stayed behind for four minutes, then either the assassin is a shit shot, in which case he wouldn't have been hired, or it wasn't a carvin job. They'd have finished it properly." He shrugged.
"Don't carvins also use energy weapons? Barriers wouldn't have protected Liara from them, and the impact marks would've been different." Shepard interjected.
"Even if it was them, they'd use captured eezo weapons. "Ri'Kaan shook his head. "Scorch wounds would be a dead giveaway of the perpetrator. No one else uses energy weapons. At that point you'd be better off blowing the entire apartment to the Dozen Voids."
Irill couldn't help but be both impressed and annoyed at the accuracy of that assessment. In just a few sentences Ri'Kaan outlined the basics of the Nulls' own plan of action in the event that T'Soni had decided to betray them. Truth be told Irill did not know much about the liaison, but whatever preconceptions he did have were clearly incorrect, and the man was more capable than it seemed at first glance.
Thankfully his words seemed to have deflected most of the suspicions away from the carvins, as Shepard's next words indicated. "Guess this leaves the Shadow Broker's men as the only suspect. And considering their approach to information security, I doubt the carvins would cooperate with the Broker."
"So it would seem..." Vasir mused, still visibly unconvinced. "Well, that still leaves us with nothing. Unless T'Soni really did leave a message."
"I'll have a look around." Shepard replied, and the two women walked deeper into the apartment to search for clues.
Now Irill was left with a dilemma. He could finally decide that the risk was too great, cut his losses and cancel the mission. He could also proceed as usual, sticking close to the two elite Council operatives in the hopes that they would lead his team to T'Soni, but that, combined with the long shadow of Ri'Kaan's evident awareness, would make it difficult to maintain concealment, let alone approach T'Soni for answers. Or... he could try and silently recruit Ri'Kaan for his mission. This in and of itself posed a massive security risk, at least initially. But considering that he was already off the hook in terms of the aliens' suspicions, it could be worth a shot. All depended on Ri'Kaan's reaction.
Doubt weighed heavily on Irill's mind, yet in the end the desire to complete the mission prevailed.
"Slice. Open a backdoor into Ri'Kaan's system. We're letting him in on our secret." He ordered, silently praying to the Stars to not punish him for his boldness.
Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium
Nos Astra, Liara's apartment.
1727 Local Time, July 28th, 2185 Gregorian Calendar
That asari Spectre was a load of trouble. Virox could feel it, although he wasn't sure whether this was due to genuine red flags or if she had this peculiar effect only on him. Aside from Liara, Tela Vasir was arguably the only person on Illium who could make him feel so uncomfortable. Maybe she was just suspicious of his species, much like pretty much everyone on this planet, but this did not seem right.
It wasn't even the casual disregard for the local Illium police force. That woman approached this investigation as if it was some sort of game. Like a child solving a riddle at school. No stakes, no visible concern. Nothing. At this point Virox wondered why did she even take it upon herself to deal with this case? Was it because Liara T'Soni was well known and influential on the planet? Hardly a reason for a Council Spectre to get involved. Surely Illium wasn't as rich and prestigious so as to use Council Spectres as glorified law enforcement, right? At least Shepard had some personal investment in the matter. Vasir was an enigma.
But all of that hardly mattered right now. The two Spectres kept rummaging around the apartment, and Virox had neither the intention nor the ability to help them. Instead he and Jack rested by the entrance to the apartment, waiting for something interesting to happen.
"Alright, this is getting boring. I'm gonna get some brief shuteye." Jack said and leaned on the nearby wall, closing her eyes. "Wake me up once the two girl scouts figure something out. But no touching."
Virox had no desire to touch her. That woman was more unstable than a damaged drive core and, considering her abnormally strong biotic powers, likely equally dangerous. He gave her a quiet grunt of acknowledgement and turned his eyes to the holes in the window. He did not have much confidence in the idea that it was his own people that made the assassination attempt, but a shadow of doubt still crept into his thoughts. What if it really was them? T'Soni wanted to meet a carvin representative today. That's why she reacted so strangely to his presence.
Suddenly the left part of his visor let out a quiet beep and a pop-up with an inscription written in perfect caranogri appeared.
'NO SUDDEN MOVEMENTS'
Virox's hearts skipped a beat, and he had to use all his willpower to stop himself from flinching violently. Instead his eyes darted around the apartment, looking for even the smallest sign of whoever just hacked his system.
'WE CAN SEE YOU'
Glancing at Jack to make sure she still had her eyes closed, he made a series of subtle gestures with his hand, sending a silent message 'who?'.
'ALLIES'
That wasn't much to go by, but at least he wasn't being shot at... yet.
'WHY ARE YOU HERE?'
Virox sent an obvious glance towards Commander Shepard, but quickly realized that this silent method of communication wasn't working. Thus he stealthily activated his omni-tool, muted its sounds so as to not alert Jack, and opened a notepad.
"Assisting Commander Shepard." He wrote. His fingers running quickly across the keypads of the omni-tool while he made sure nobody was looking at him. " Shepard gave data on Broker. Offered help. Meeting planned. T'Soni missing."
He was skipping a few words here or there to save time, but the general meaning must have gotten across since he received a series of pop-ups shortly after.
'T'SONI MUST BE FOUND. ALIVE. YOU WILL ASSIST.'
This seemed more like a demand or a statement of fact rather than a genuine request, and Virox was not fond of being placed in this position. In fact he already had a suspicion about who had just contacted him. It was almost definitely real carvins, since there was no imperial notice about the caranogri language being compromised as a security measure. Still, assuming he was correct, he was willing to play along. There was only one thing he wanted to make sure of.
"Did you do it?" He typed out the message.
'NO.'
Well, this had to be enough for now. Knowing the true Virox watched carefully as Shepard carefully extracted a small object from one of the glass containers housing prothean artifacts. It seemed that they have found something, which meant that they'd be moving out soon. He had to wrap this up quickly.
"I will help. But my mission takes priority. If you obstruct it, I will resist." He wrote before finally deactivating his omni-tool. From now on the communication would be more one-sided.
'UNDERSTOOD. WE WILL TAP YOUR COMMUNICATIONS AND TRACK YOUR POSITION. MAINTAIN ABSOLUTE SECRECY ABOUT THIS.'
All Virox could do was try, but he had no intention of jeopardizing his own assignment. He would cooperate only as long as neither his post nor Shepard's (and by extension Liara's safety) weren't threatened by the mysterious carvins' actions. Fortunately, assuming his suspicions were correct, they would most likely understand his reservations so that both sides would get what they want without getting in each other's way.
The last message finally disappeared just as Shepard and Vasir started to make their way towards the exit. Virox therefore let out a low "Hey" at Jack, prompting the human to lazily open her eyes.
"What? We're moving out already?" She grumbled angrily at him. "Shit, I was just about to really doze off. Guess the girl scouts become smarter in numbers."
Virox had no time to say anything before Shepard was already next to them. Her steps were long, fast, and rhythmical. She had a look of stern determination and concern, which meant that whatever they managed to find was enough to put them on a solid trail.
"Let's go. Liara had set up a meeting at the Dracon Trade Center a few hours ago." She said with a tone that made it clear she would not tolerate any objections. "Vasir will give us a lift."
Both Jack and Virox gave a silent nod, following Shepard and Vasir out of the apartment. Virox, though, spared one final glance at the broken window, trying to find even a tiniest sign of the mysterious carvins' presence. Unfortunately and unsurprisingly he could see nothing of the sort, but, having spent some time at the Special Forces Academy, he was most certain that they were watching him.
And they would find a way to follow him.
A/N: Sorry for the long time. I've had no access to my PC for the better part of November, and so couldn't write much. This one is a bit longer, so there's that too. I've always found it strange that nobody in the game really questioned the presence of another Spectre during the LotSB DLC that just so happens to be working on a case related to Liara until after it's revealed that she's in the Shadow Broker's pocket. And her death isn't addressed either, which seems weird for literally the highest ranking Council operative imaginable, especially since it was another Spectre that kills her. So I'm planning to change that and you can look forward to the matter of her death being addressed near the end or shortly after the end of the LotSB arc.