Collective Rebirth
ESKK: Here we go a new chapter time to get things started people.
(Start Omega Docking Ramp 5)
Kalvin arrived on the docking ramp with Ashley and Leon without much issue. Aria was not happy with what Lotor did. Apparently, the mad prince decided to cover his tracks and blow up the apartment and several locations that Aria let him use. Needless to say, that Aria was not a happy Asari for that as the Paladins found out upon seeing her again.
"So, who are we looking for?" Leon asked as he was not overly fond of being here.
"Some guy named Zaeed." Kalvin said to his teammates. "Apparently he's a merc." Kalvin said based on what he read up about the guy. Penny and Hector were back on the castle while Allura was doing some political work. Apparently, Romelle had some issues and needed Allura's advice on it. There was other good news from the Normandy SR-2, Tali was back. Apparently, the Normandy Team found her during a recruitment drive and now she is part of the team again. With Ashley om the Castle of Lions all they need is Kaiden, Liara, and Wrex and it would be one big fat Normandy Reunion.
"Mercenaries can't trust them." Ashley voiced which Leon agreed with.
"Yeah, Cerberus hired him, what are the chances he won't backstab us?" Leon asked but Kalvin sighed.
"Look I don't like anymore then you do Leon, but we need every advantage we can get." Kalvin said which Ashley agreed with.
"That's why I'm not putting up more of a fight about it." Ashley said as they headed towards what looked to be a shake down or something. From the looks of it there was a human beating down on a Batarian.
they arrived just in time to see the man punch the Batarian in the stomach sending him to the ground. "Please... you have to help me." The Batarian said as the trio saw this.
"No one said you can talk jackass." The man said as he continued to beat down the Batarian.
"I'm guessing your Zaeed Massani." Kalvin said to the man he assumed was the guy they were looking for.
"Yeah, that's me." Zaeed said turning towards the group. "I'm guessing your Shepard Jr." Zaeed said which almost got a chuckle from Kalvin. "What daddy wasn't available so had to bring mummy?" He asked which made Ashley blush and Kalvin glare.
"Hey, listen pal how about you." Leon began but Kalvin stopped him by putting his hand towards Leon's chest.
"Look shelve the insults Cerberus said you're going to help us with the Collectors." Kalvin said as he kept things diplomatic. "I assume you've been briefed." Kalvin said hoping that was the case.
"I've done my homework, Cerberus sent me everything I needed to know, runt." Zaeed said which Kalvin nodded.
"I'm guessing Cerberus is paying you a lot, not many mercs would take part in a suicide mission." Kalvin said as he found it odd Zaeed would take the offer.
"That's the long and short of it." Zaeed said denying that he was taking part for a huge sum of money. "This mission doesn't sound like good business but... your Illusive Man can move a lot of credits." Zaeed said which was good enough for the group.
"Welcome aboard Zaeed we have a lot to do." Kalvin said offering his hand to shake the mercs hand.
Zaeed returned the gesture and thus he got back to it. "That's what they tell me." Zaeed said before taking out his side arm and gesturing for the Batarian to get up. "I assume the Illusive Man told you about our arrangement?" Zaeed asked and thus Kalvin raised a brow to this.
"First I'm hearing about it. Looks like the guy decided to leave it out of the dossier." Kalvin said with concern to what this might lead to.
"Good thing I asked." Zaeed said before getting right down to it. "Picked up a mission a while back, just before I signed on with Cerberus. Thought you or the other Shepard might be interested." Zaeed said giving the trio the information they needed. "You heard the name Vido Santiago?" Zaeed asked but when he saw the two Paladins shrug a bit he explained further. "He's the head of the Blue Suns. Runs the whole organization." Zaeed said which answered the unasked question. "Seems he recently captured an Eldfell-Ashland refinery on Zorya and is using their workers for slave labor. The company want's it dealt with." Zaeed said which Kalvin was focused on the slave labor bit.
"If people are in danger, we'll handle it." Kalvin said refusing to allow any slave labor to go down while he could help it.
"Good get it out of the way so we can concentrate on being big goddamn heroes." Zaeed said and int urn the Batarian took the chance to run. But acting fast Zaeed shot the guy before he could get very far. "I better go and turn this thing in before it starts to stink." Zaeed said walking over to the Batarian so he can bring him in and collect his payment. "I'll be locked and loaded the next time you're ready to get some killing done." Zaeed added as he picked up the Batarian before walking away.
"Well, that was easier than normal." Leon said as he looked at the scene. "Makes me worried it's too good to be true." Leon said as this was one of the few times, they met with someone and didn't have to deal with any extra shit like enemies or having to do them a favor first.
"Yeah, that probably means the mission he's talking about is going to be shit." Kalvin said knowing that when the first part is easy the part it follows is going to be hard. "Come on let's head back to the Castle of Lions." Kalvin said which they were all in agreement about. After all they had to make their way over to Ilium for another recruitment drive. It was more important seeing as the Dossiers pointed them to two recruits. Thankfully, their possible recruits were both currently on the same planet they planned to go to, the Asari world, Illium.
(Scene Break on the Normandy)
John was up and about doing his rounds around the ship making sure everyone was doing well. Garrus had a contact on Ilium that can equip some Thanix Cannons onto the Normandy giving them some added fire power to use against the Collectors. When John got word, that Ashley was on the Castle of Lions, he was happy about it, but he figured the Alliance had a reason for it which he knew was no doubt because of Cerberus. John also made the discovery about Mordin about his time with the Salarian STG and his involvement with the Genophage.
Needless to say, John was not happy about it and from what he heard neither was Penny. It seems that after recruiting Ashley Penny had talked with Mordin and the topic of the STG came up. This resulted in Penny learning of the fact Mordin helped create the Genophage that has ravaged the Krogan after the Rachni War. John hoped Penny would be able to look past it, but this was a huge thing. The Salarians created the Genophage to curve the Krogan's breeding and the Turians were the ones who had distributed it basically neutering the Krogan for generations to come.
At the moment they were on the way to Ilium and would meet with the Paladins there after they docked. John had one last stop to make and that was with the ships XO Miranda. So, after arriving at the crew deck John made his way over to Miranda's office which John noted how it used to be his office there back on the Normand SR-1 before the Collectors destroyed it.
As soon as he walked in, he saw Miranda with an upset look as he soon ask, "Something the matter Miranda?"
"Shepard, I find myself in the unpleasant position of asking for your help," Miranda said as she seem a bit desperate, as she didn't want to include Shepard in a problem of her, but it seem she has no choice as she went on saying, "I don't like discussing personal matter... but this is important."
"What's going on?" John question her as she started to explain thing to him as she started saying, "My father was extremely wealthy. He wanted the ideal daughter, and he paid a great deal to genetically tailor me. When I learned that my father was more interested in controlling a dynasty than raising a daughter, I left."
"How did your father take that?" John asked as he was a bit curious and a bit worry of how Miranda's father is like as she said, "He was less than pleased. Several of his security guards were injured in the process. He knows not to come after me. But this isn't about me."
She stood up and walk around her desk to talk more face to face with Shepard and said, "I have a sister. A twin. And he's still hunting her. Cerberus has kept her safe. Until now. She's living a normal life on Illium, safe and hidden from my father."
"So why are you sharing the family history with me?" John said a bit surprise by this as he could guess something happen as she said, "My father's agents have been searching for my sister for years. I believe they've tracked her to Illium. I've tried to keep her hidden without impacting her life, but I'm out of options."
She turn around and walked a bit before turning to face Shepard again and said, "He's too close. I need to relocate my sister's family before it's too late.
"Does your sister's family know about this? Are they okay with being relocated?" John said as he is willing to help but wonder about to family as Miranda said to him, "They know nothing. they're completely uninvolved. Normal. I told Cerberus, and they're coming up with a positive reason to move the family."
"What do you need me to do?" John said as he is ready to help as Miranda explain it as she said, "My father is extremely persistent. I'd like to go to Illium when Cerberus is moving the family to make sure none of his agents get too close."
"Alright, we're headed there already to meet with the paladins for a mission, I can give them a call and tell the situation, they can help protect your sister and her family until we arrive," John said as Miranda smile to this as she said, "Good, I have a contact's name is Lanteia. She'll be waiting for us in the lounge near the Nos Astra docking bay after we take care of business."
(Later on, the Castle of Lions)
John got in contact with the castle of lions to give them the heads up of an additional mission as he give them a rundown of Miranda's sister and such as Kalvin said to his father, "Alright, we'll keep an eye out to help but… are you sure you want to do this?"
"Yes, I do, I know it outside of plan, she Miranda asked for myself. You don't have to help if you don't want too, but I had to ask regardless so I'm not taking you or anyone by surprise," John said as Allura stood by Kalvin hearing this as she look to Kalvin, as he look to her before he shrugs a bit and give her the option of doing it or not, as she smile and came up to say, "We'll take the mission, have Miranda rest assure that the paladin will assist in helping her to keep the sister and her family safe."
"Thank you Allura I'll give the news to her now. Meet you guy later on Illium." John said before hanging up the call as Kalvin said, "In a way I'm a bit surprised."
"About what?" Allura asked as Kalvin look to her as he said, "I thought most people in Cerberus would only care about themselves and their own goal, but I guess there are reason why people would prefer to have Cerberus to back them up if needed."
"There are a mystery to everyone where they are good or not, but all that matter is doing the right thing and I believe doing this is the right thing to do," Allura said as Kalvin nodded and said, "Alright, let notified the team and get ready to jump."
"Understood," Allura said as she walked off to get the tele-duv charged up as Kalvin walks off himself to gear up and tell the team.
(Later on, Illium)
The two ships had landed on Illium without much struggle for either of them. They each docked successfully and after the boarding tube attached to them the crew disembarked. Leon was already amazed at what he found upon their arrival in the city. He always wanted to come to Illium considering it to be Space Vegas, alas this was not that day for enjoyment. Still looking at the city the Paladins could not help but feel the sense of awe at what they saw.
They could see sky cars rocketing around in every direction, tall buildings that seemed to stretch out to the bare limits of the breathable atmosphere, and even from where they were in the port, they could see multiple different alien races roaming around. Before anyone could go any further in their observations of where they had most recently arrived, the team's attention was drawn to an Asari approaching them with a pair of security mechs flanking her on either side. Thinking that they were about to end up with a fight, many members of the two teams suddenly tensed a little, but they quickly relaxed when the Asari spoke to the man leading their team.
"Welcome to Nos Astra, Commander Shepard and Paladins of Voltron." The Asari greeted upon meeting with the teams. "We've been instructed to wave all docking and administration fees for your visit." She said making the group aware that they had free landing approved while on Illium. "My name is Careena. If you need any information about the area, it would be my pleasure to assist you," the Asari finished her greeting with a short yet polite nod.
"Well how about we start with who told you to wave the fees?" Kalvin asked as he had a suspicion as to who one that Shepard shared. Neither of them were complaining about not having to make any payments for docking and such, but both father and son liked to know who was paying for their gear and whatnot.
"The order came from Liara T'Soni, who paid all fees on your behalf. She also asked that I direct you to speak with her at their earliest convenience. Her office is near the trading floor," Careena replied while using her omni-tool to instruct the mechs to stand down.
"Liara? I haven't seen her since she took me to Thessia." Penny said recalling the last time they crossed paths with her.
"How has she been doing for herself?" Leon asked hoping to hear good news about Liara.
"Liara is one of Nos Astra's most respected information brokers," Corina revealed which surprised the Paladins but not John. "Nos Astra is based upon trade, information is valuable currency, and Liara has done quite well." The Asari woman said which meant that this may already be worthy of a visit to her. She might have information on their targets and possibly of Miranda's current situation as well.
John however had other thoughts on this. The Illusive Man had mentioned to the elder Shepard that Liara was an information broker. However, as John recalled, the Illusive Man had said she worked for the Shadow Broker, not that she was a major player in the field.
"Hey mind telling us what you can about Nos Asta?" Kalvin asked as he wanted to get as much information as he can about where they had their ship docked.
"Of course," Careena said with a nod and a smile. "Nos Astra is an exciting city, actually. We see a lot of new cultures and goods because of our proximity to the Terminus Systems." She said giving information on Illium. "At the same time, Illium is still an Asari world, so you should be as safe here as you would be on the Citadel." She said which put the groups minds at ease. "For your own safety, however, I recommend against signing anything." She said in warning, which was a no brainer, but the question was why.
"Uh, I know that many people can be hesitant about signing things without fully reading them, especially when it comes to the fine print, but why would it be such a problem here?" Leon asked as Allura felt she was not going to like what she was about to hear.
Careena only paused for a moment to stare at Leon, no doubt trying to find the right words, but still answered his question, nonetheless. "Illium is a free-trade world, sir, so contract term requirements are more relaxed here than on other planets. It's a small price to pay for keeping our competitive edge in goods from the Terminus Systems."
"You mentioned trading, what exactly gets traded here on Illium." John asked as he had a sinking suspicion in his gut.
"Anything you can imagine, Commander. Illium is a wonderful world for those can afford it." Careena said as Leon smirked to this.
"Well looks like we'll have to bring Allura and Sven next time." Leon said causing Allura to elbow Leon for that one while Penny glared at him.
Despite this Careena continued to speak. "In order to remain competitive as a competitive Terminus systems port, we've relaxed many of the standards you'd find on other Asari worlds." She said before she began to list off the things to know. "Most drugs are legal, provided they're labeled properly, you can buy almost any weapon or technology, and you can even buy indentured servants." Careena said which got the Paladins, John, and Ashley to perk up and not in the good way.
"Wait, what was that last one," Penny asked, and her surprise at said piece of news was very easily shared by a good number of people on the teams.
"What sort of Asari world would disgrace itself by allowing slavery." Allura asked appalled that a species she had viewed as modern day Altean's would allow such a thing.
For John it was worse seeing as he lost his Family as a child to Batarian Slavers. There was even this one girl who was rescued from said slavers back on the Citadel a little after John became a SPECTRE but before finding Voltron.
"We try to avoid calling it slavery," Careena quickly said, hoping to placate the Paladins knowing that one of them was also a political figure. "All indentured servants on Illium have voluntarily agreed to a term of service." Careena said to assure the group that it was NOT slavery. "Most choose indentured service as a means to pay off debt or avoid imprisonment. A contract holder is responsible for the wellbeing of her servants, and a servant's duties are agreed upon before the contract is signed." Careena said which Leon then leaned towards Hector and Kalvin.
"Sounds like Slavery with extra steps." Leon said as Hector nodded in agreement with Leon's view.
"Is there any chance you could help us? We're trying to locate a few people." John said keeping the group on task with their current mission.
"I can help you find major entertainment centers or stores, but I'm afraid I can't point you to individual people," Careena answered honestly to the group. "Liara is excellent at that type of work, however. I imagine she could help you." Careena said which the group now had more of a reason to go see her.
"We'll be sure to ask her then. Thank you." John said as he was likely going to enjoy the visit to see an old friend.
"Again, welcome to our city. Please enjoy your stay," Careena said with a nod in reply, before she then turned to leave, allowing the teams to continue on with their business.
After leaving the port, the group were soon greeted by the sight of the city that they had docked in, and it was only made much more magnificent by the sunset on the horizon. "Alright first things first we need to speak with Liara." Kalvin said knowing they had a mission to carry out. "See if she can point us in the right direction, with all our goals on one planet we're going to have to divide and conquer." Kalvin said which John agreed and was impressed with his son.
"My thoughts exactly." John said and thus the plan was being made.
"The Illusive Man did say in the dossiers that he sent us that she would be able to help point us in the right direction for a starting point," Miranda pointed out, though John could not help but notice how she did not seem to carry her typical tone of voice when she spoke. If anything, her voice sounded a bit more distant, like she was preoccupied with something else. John had a good idea as to what it was that was bothering her.
"Alright Ash, Garrus, Paladin, Sven, and Tali, you're all with me." John said pointing out to the mentioned peoples and group. "The rest of you wait out here for us. Look around at any shops that don't seem too suspicious and get what you think would be helpful for either yourselves, the team, or the ship in our mission, be it in the long run, or the short run." John said giving everyone directions, but it was basically a fancy way of saying to take five while they do what they need to do.
"Understood," everyone immediately chorused in reply, and they all began to split off into smaller groups. With the tasks distributed the group began the journey to meet with Liara and learn what they need to know.
(Later over in Liara'a office)
After they were met with Liara's assistant the group arrived in her office to find Liara speaking on a vid link to a human. "Have you faced an Asari commando unit before?" Liara asked the man she was currently speaking to on her office's comm. in a calm, yet rather intimidating voice. "Few humans have." She continued as the group noted that she sounded similar to her own mother Benezia when she was under Sovereigns control. "I'll make it simple: either you pay me, or I flay you alive with my mind." Liara threatened before she immediately ended the call without another word. Once the call was done, she let out a small, silent sigh of relief that said call was over, despite knowing that she still had a few more to deal with.
Sometimes she found herself wishing she had stayed in her original profession as an archeologist, but she always ended up reminding herself that if she had, she probably would not be who she was today not long afterwards. She was actually so preoccupied with both the call and her own thoughts, that she did not even register that someone had come in until a familiar, deep voice suddenly spoke up. "Looks like you've really grown up quite a bit from the nervous, shy Prothean Expert you were when we first met you, T'Soni." Garrus was heard and in turn Liara went wide eyed and turned around to see John, Tali, Garrus, and Ashley behind her with the Paladins in tow.
Spinning around to face the speaker, Liara's face immediately lit up almost as brightly as the city just outside her office window, and immediately told her assistant to hold all her calls for a while before she ran over to wrap the group in hugs of varying tightness. "Shepard, everyone it's so good to see you," Liara happily exclaimed showing the joy she had with seeing everyone again after the second battle for the citadel. "It's been far too long since we all last met." Liara said happy to see that everyone is doing well for themselves.
"Well trying to be the leader the Altean's need, and a Paladin for Voltron splits my attention." Allura said showing that she had a lot on her plate at the moment.
"I can understand." Liara said before her eyes fell upon Ashley. "Ashley, I never expected you to be here though." Liara said as it was honestly a shock seeing Ashely here considering how much pro Alliance she was.
"Let's just so interests collided and leave it at that." Ashley said with a small shrug causing Liara to smirk. No doubt the Asari saw right through what Ashley was saying.
Just then Sven cleared his throat getting Liara's attention. Looking Liara nearly gasped when she saw Sven there. "Sven?!" Liara gasped as she saw Sven standing there.
"Ello Liara. It iz good to zee you again." Sven greeted with a small smile.
"How is this possible?" Liara asked shocked that Sven was still alive.
"We found him in a Cerberus facility." Leon said explaining how he was here. "We think they used him as a test bed for what they did to revive Commander Shepard Sr." Leon said pointing to John who suspected as much about how Sven was still alive.
"I have so many questions." Liara said trying to figure out how Sven was still alive.
"And we would be happy to answer I just wish we were only here for a social visit," Garrus said as they came here for business.
"Yeah, we need some help and we're hoping you can give it." Tali said adding on to what Garrus said.
"We were hoping you can point us towards where we can find them." Kalvin said which Liara suspected it was Cerberus related somehow.
Realizing that more important matters were in play Liara sighed and got down to it. "Well, that would depend on the people in question," Liara said, ready to help her friends at the drop of a hat.
"One of them is known as Thane Krios and the other is called Samara," John revealed no doubt having seen their Dossiers when Miranda had presented it to him.
Liara nodded at the new information and made a small show of thinking for a brief minute or two before she finally answered, "They're both here on Illium at the moment, as you probably already know." Liara revealed which she was correct they already knew about this. "Thane arrived here a few days ago, and contacted a woman named Seryna. My sources tell me that Thane may be targeting a corporate executive: Nassana Dantius." Liara said giving the information to the crew.
"I remember her alright," Garrus commented recalling the incident with which she was involved.
"As you should, given that we had dealings with her almost three years ago, before finding Voltron." Liara nodded to Garrus before turning her attention back to John. "Seryna has an office in the cargo transfer levels. Perhaps she can give you a more exact idea on where Krios is." Liara said giving the group exact information on locating Thane. "As for Samara, she arrived a bit more recently and registered with Tracking Officer Dara. You can find her at the transportation hub." Liara said as the information about Samara was of concern.
"Why would Samara have to register with a tracking officer? Is she a criminal?" John asked as this was a justifiable concern for the crew. He already had Jack to deal with, so he was not so sure that he would be too comfortable working with two known criminals. The fact that they were recruiting Thane, a known assassin was already pushing it a little for him.
"No. In fact, she's quite the opposite." Liara said putting the groups concerns at ease. "Samara is a Justicar, one of an ancient Sect of Asari warriors. Dara can tell you more," Liara said pointing the group to the right direction.
"And this is all things you know right off the top of your head," Tali gasped in slight awe at what she found out.
"I'm a very good information broker," Liara easily replied with a smirk on her face.
"That you are." Ashley said agreeing with what Liara said. "You know we could use your help against the Collectors, it'll be like the good old days." Ashley said as she knew one of them would offer Liara a chance to join up and take on the Collectors.
"I can't, I'm sorry." Liara said as clearly something was keeping her here. "I have commitments here. Things I need to take care of." Liara revealed which got the entire group worried for her.
"What kind of things are talking about Liara?" Penny asked worried for the Asari.
"Yeah, are you in some kind of trouble?" Hector asked to which Liara had a response to that.
"No, no trouble but it's been a long time since we were all together like this." Liara said as she stood up from her chair and looked out the window for a bit. "I had things to do while you were gone. I have debts to repay." Liara said her tone shifting for a brief moment. "Look if you all want to help, I need someone with hacking expertise, someone I can trust." Liara said causing the group to lean in a bit close to hear what Liara had to say.
"Ok what do you need?" Kalvin asked willing to hear Liara out.
Liara then nodded and sat back down at her desk. "If you can disable security at key points around Illium, you could get me information I need." Liara said telling the crew what she needed. "That would help me a great deal." Liara said which then got to Kalvin to speak up.
"That might get dicey we need to find these contacts ASAP and also have another situation on the planet." Kalvin said keeping quiet about the Miranda situation. "Three Missions back-to-back." Kalvin finished which Liara knew that would make it impossible for them to help her.
"Plus, Leon and I need to meet with a contact about some Thanux cannons." Garrus cut in which meant they needed to make every second count.
"We can split up divide and conquer." John said surprising the group. "Ashley and I can handle Liara's request before heading to our mission while the rest of you meet with Samara and Thane." John said giving the idea on what to do.
"Seems like the smart thing to do." Ashley said agreeing that splitting up was their best shot at hitting all of their objectives at once. Plus, thanks to the size of their team they have the numbers for it.
"Alright I'll take, Allura, Penny, Jack, Lotarius and Jacob to meet with Samara, Sven can go with Tali, Kasumi, Grunt, Hector, and Zaed to find Thane, while you, Ashley, and Miranda handle your own missions." Kalvin said to which John nodded.
"My thoughts exactly." John said figuring it was the smart way to go about things. "This will also leave Garrus and Leon to get those cannons." John said which the human and Turian sharpshooters agreed.
"Yeah." Leon said ready to move out while Garrus just nodded.
"Thank you, Shepard." Liara said thankful for the help John was giving to her.
"Just be sure to tell us what this is all about when we get back." Ashley said and in turn Liara nodded to this.
"I will, I promise." Liara said and in turn the crew began to depart for their missions. "Now listen Shepard when you have one, a server will open somewhere nearby for a short time. You can download data from there if you hurry." Liara said giving John the needed instructions. "Thank you, Shepard, this may help me pay a great debt." Liara said which John understood.
"I'll talk to you later, Liara." John said and thus bidding farewell the group began to part way to gather their teammates and begin the mission.
(With Shepard, Ashley, and Miranda)
After meeting up with Liara and splitting up Shepard entered the lounge with Ashley and Miranda in tow. John had already gone and taken care of Liara's task thankful for his N7 training to get him through it even if there was no firefight involved with it. For John it was a bit awkward having Ashley on his side again after the Collectors attack on Horizon. It was even more so because in a perfect Galaxy Ashley would have likely been his second in command instead of Miranda.
"So, your dad." Ashley trailed off trying to strike a conversation.
"Now is not the time." Miranda said as she needed to focus.
"Look this our first mission in the same team so I would at least like some context on what exactly we're doing." Ashley said causing Miranda to sigh in frustration.
"Long story short, my father is an abusive psychopath who is obsessed with being in control of every aspect of me and my sisters lives so he can leave behind his bloody legacy." Miranda began as they entered the lounge for their contact, an Asari named Lanteia. "My father is extremely persistent and will stop at nothing to get my twin sister." Miranda said which meant they needed to act fast.
"How bad are we talking?" Ashley asked as she can sympathize with Miranda's desire to protect her sister.
"Long story short, he'll kill the family that took her in and take her forcing into a situation where he controls every aspect of her life. She would have no freedom of her own, no way to escape, and most of all through it all he'll act as if he did her a favor, killing her family and taking her from everything she knew." Miranda said which meant for Ashley that they needed to find Oriana before Miranda's father found her.
From what Ashley learned Cerberus had put in a considerable amount, of credits on Miranda's behalf to ensure Oriana's safety. Entering to a back room the group found their contact, Lanteia, leaning against a wall with her arms crossed. "Ms. Lawson, I'm glad you made it." Lanteia said greeting Miranda while standing up straight. "We've had a complication." The Asari said which concerned the trio.
"What happened? Is Oriana alright?" Miranda asked her voice showed great concern over the possibility. This was a sentiment Ashley could agree on if it had been her own sisters.
"She's fine but... you listed a man named Niket as your trusted source?" Lanteia asked which Miranda nodded in confirmation. "He contacted me, warning that your father has sent Eclipse Mercenaries to make a sweep." Lanteia said which shown that things were about to become a lot more complicated. "He suggested that the Merc's might be watching for you personally. He's offered to escort Oriana's family to the terminal instead." Lanteia said explaining what had been going on while Miranda and her two allies made her way here.
"You didn't mention anything about Niket." John said noting that was some information that was not brought up.
"He's a friend." Miranda said assuring things were ok. "He and I go back a long way." Miranda said which seemed to appear John and Ashley.
"Do you want to bring in any of your other Illium contacts, Ms. Lawson?" Lantiea asked offering to bring in some back up if needed.
"No, you and Niket are the only two I trust on this." Miranda said not wanting to bring in any more people who might be tempted to change sides or use this against Miranda.
"What information can you give us on the Mercenaries?" Ashley asked wanting to know exactly who they were facing.
"I've confirmed that their Eclipse and that they're working for an organization that Ms. Lawson warned us about." Lanteia said showing the information she had to them. "I could try to alert the authorities, but so far, they've done nothing illegal." Lanteia said which was good news for Miranda.
"You made the right decision; we'll handle this ourselves." Miranda said and thus they had all the information they needed about this complication.
"She's your sister, Miranda. What do you want to do?" John asked to Miranda following her lead on this.
"Lanteia we'll follow Niket's suggestion. Shepard, Williams, and I will take the car and draw their attention." Miranda said using the best plan they had to ensure Oriana and her family's safety. "Have Niket escort the family to the shuttle. Give him full access to the family's itinerary, just to be safe." Miranda added at the end feeling it would best benefit Oriana and her family.
"So, the plan is for us to get shot down by Eclipse while your sister gets to safety?" John asked looking over to Miranda about the plan.
"Eclipse are under orders to take my sister alive. They won't risk anything that could kill us." Miranda said assuring Shepard that they will be fine.
"Maybe we should think about giving your friend Niket some back up." Ashley offered knowing it would be what she would do if it increased safety for her own sisters if their roles had been reverse.
"Niket can take care of himself." Miranda said putting her trust in her old friend. "Besides any armed backup just draws attention on him." Miranda said showing she wanted to be quiet about this.
"Alright let's do this then." Ashley said which John agreed with.
In turn the trio began to leave as they made their way to the cards. "Thank you, both of you. I appreciate this." Miranda said as they walked out.
"I have sisters also and I'd scale the Galaxy itself to make sure they are safe." Ashley said showing she and Miranda had something in common.
"I'm glad to see that we do have something in common." Miranda said before focusing her mind on the mission. "I hadn't planned on Eclipse... but they never planned on Commander Shepard." Miranda said with a smirk on her face.
(Meanwhile Sven's team Dantius Towers)
Sven arrived leading the team with Hector, Tali, Kasumi, Grunt, and Zaed. According to the intel they got they will likely have to fight their way to the top level to find Thane. Seryna had just left after dropping them off at their target destination and in turn it would be a long ass climb to get to Thane.
"Man, this is just like the good old days." Hector said with a huge smile on his face. "I don't even mind that we're probably going to be shot at too high hell." Hector said but then paused when he said that. "Ok maybe I do mind." Hector said causing Sven to chuckle at his friend.
"You never change, Hector." Sven said before he directed his attention over to Tali. "Tali you met vith zis Nassana woman before." Sven said as he looked to Tali.
"Yes, before we found the Lions." Tali said recalling that particular mission. "She tricked us into killing her slaver sister." Tali said which Sven nodded in understanding.
"Alright zhen lets." Sven began only for movement to be seen from the doorway before them. The team saw several Salarian workers running away from robot guard who were shooting them down. Loki Mechs and Fenrir mechs from what the group could see. After shooting down a few Salarians the mechs took note of the team and from there they found trouble afoot.
"Vell zhen here ve go." Sven said as he pulled out his submachine gun ready for battle. Hector drew his Bayard ready to fight while the rest of the team had their own weapons drawn for combat. The team moved in and opened fire on the mechs to take them out. Tali hacked one of the Loki Mechs and turned it on its allies while Kasumi cloaked to sneak around them. It took them all little time to get through the mechs and when they did the mechs were all left broken on the ground.
"Just landed and already down to business." Zaed said with a smirk on his face.
"I like it." Grunt said with a chuckle the tank bred Krogan was known for.
"Sven!" Kasumi was heard and thus the group got moving. Heading over they found one of the Salarians from earlier. They saw that he was on the ground bleeding and in pain, but he was still very much alive.
"Help." The Salarian gasped clearly in agonizing pain.
"He's still alive." Tali said surprised that the Salarian survived that.
"I can't feel my legs, my chest is killing me." The Salarian said as Sven was shocked at what he was seeing.
Kneeling down Sven tried to comfort the Salarian but also get information from him. "Vhat happend, vhy did zis happen to you?" Sven asked as he held the Salarian's hand.
"We're just night workers, Nassanna sent them after us she sent the mechs to round us up, but we didn't hear they just started shooting." The Salarian said as this made Sven upset.
"They just attacked you?" Sven asked finding this to be concerning.
"Yes... we were too slow, it was horrible. Everyone... screaming." The Worker said trying to hold on so that Sven can get the needed information from him. "The merc said there was no time. Nassanna wanted us out of the way immediately. Then... the dogs." The Salarian said between coughs.
"He's not going to make it if we don't help him." Hector said knowing they couldn't just leave him here to die, and thus Sven acted without waiting for any more words.
"Here." Sven said handing to the Salarian medigel. "Zat should ease ze pain and keep you alive until help arrives." Sven said as he helped the Salarian apply the Medigel. "Ve vill find any of zi other workers who made it." Sven said assuring the Salarian that they will not leave anyone behind.
"Thank you, I'm feeling better." The Salarian said while stumbling to get back to his feet.
"Iz zere a way for us to make it to zi penthouse?" Sven asked the Salarian who nodded.
"Take the service elevator the bridge between the towers isn't finished yet but if you're careful. Just watch out of the mercs their everywhere." The Salarian said causing Kasumi to chuckle.
"No kidding." Kasumi said as they had a merc fighting for them. Zaed saw the jab and simply let it be for now.
"Alright you should be safe here." Sven said as Tali hacked the lock and opened the door so they can proceed.
"Thank you, I won't forget this." The Worker said and in turn he limped away to safety while the team continued on ahead to do what they needed to do. The team made their way through the door knowing full well that they would have to fight their way through who knows how many mercs.
"This is going to be fun." Grunt said as he was ready to roll out. Hector for his part just looked at Grunt with concern and a bit of fear.
"Yeah, you and I have two different definitions of fun." Hector said seeing how this could easily go south for them. All Grunt did was chuckle taking joy in Hector's fear. Once they entered the first room the gunfire began and with it so too did the battle. This was simply the first round of many fights as they made their way up the tower.
(Later with Kalvin's group)
Kalvin stepped out of the air taxi with Penny, and Allura. Following after them from the second air taxi was Jacob, Lotarius, and Jack with the bald psychotic biotic wearing body armor over her shirtless torso. Jack wasn't fond of following the orders of the Paladins seeing as they were the ones to put her away, but it was either that or a one-way ticket back to prison.
"Well, what happened here?" Jacob asked rhetorically as he saw they had just arrived upon a crime scene.
"Cops, investigators, and by the looks of things, a crime scene... yeah chances may be that our Justicar carried out her code." Penny said as Lotarius looked around a bit but remained close to Allura.
"Assuming she did." Allura said as she read up on the Justicars on their way here and needless to say she had respect for them. Penny never got to meet one especially when training with the Asari Commandos during the Paladins hiatus. But she did hear a lot of stories about them both good and bad.
"Let's go see if anyone has seen this Justicar." Kalvin said and in turn they began their search. But then Kalvin stopped to look over to Jack. "Oh, and Jack if any of the stories about what Justicars do is true... please don't set her off." Kalvin said as he'd rather avoid a confrontation if it can be helped.
"Hey why do you assuming it's going to be me?" Jack asked and then all eyes were on her the entire team giving her an unamused look. It was like they were all asking if Jack was serious knowing her wrap-sheet.
"Really?" Penny asked with a raised brow.
Realizing they were talking about her was all Jack needed to know to change gears. "Shut the fuck up." Jack snapped and thus they began their search. Jacob made sure to cover up his Cerberus tags so as to avoid causing any unwanted attention on them.
Kalvin had brought most of their best Biotics for this one. If a fight breaks out Kalvin suspected that they would need some Biotics on the frontlines to best Simara. Plus, with both Leon and Garrus unavailable while they retrieved those Thanix Cannons they lacked a sharpshooter. John agreed that the best bet to survive Simara if things go south would be to bring in some extra Biotics. Even then Penny made sure to pack some extra of Penny's Biotic Counter Measures the same type used to bring Jack in. Jack knew in advance and was going to enjoy seeing someone on the receiving end of it.
"Excuse me." Kalvin said to a nearby Volus who had a pair of Turian bodyguards.
"Great the Paladins." The Volus said not happy to see the three Paladins here. "What do you want? I already got mercs trying to kill me like they did my partner. I don't need any trouble." The Volus said which Kalvin noticed he seemed nervous about it. "As if that weren't enough some Asari Justicar showed up this morning. All the natives are scared of her. I've got to get off this world." The Volus said between breaths of his suit.
"Easy, we're not here to harm you." Kalvin said to the Volus. "The Justicar is actually why we're here. My team and I were hoping that you had information about her, has Samara done anything yet?" Kalvin asked being calm about this.
"The Asari say that Justicars are lethal in a fight and if they so much as smell corruption, they start shooting." The Volus said and for the team they knew what this meant.
"And with Illium she can literally find Corruption at every street corner." Penny said realizing what this meant for them.
With the urgency of this mission increased Kalvin got down to it. "Can you tell us how to find this Justicar?" Kalvin asked looking to the Volus.
"She's in the alley where my business partner was murdered." The Volus said pointing to the alleyway in question. "A detective sealed the area, so you have to talk to her if you want to go there." The Volus said and thus Kalvin saw Penny already had her Omni-Tool active.
"I should go." Kalvin said and in turn the group left.
Once they were out of hearing range of the Volus Penny began to speak. "Hey Kalvin, I looked up what we have on the Mercs in this area, apparently it's the Eclipse who operate around here and trust me this group is scummy even by merc standards." Penny said as she looked over the data. "They sell red sand and all sorts of illegal items, and most of all their all-coldblooded killers, you can't join them otherwise." Penny said which was something to take note of.
"What's red sand?" Allura asked as this was the first, she heard of it.
"According to my data... it's a Biotic enhancer but doubles as a hallucinogenic drug." Penny explained causing Jack to scoff.
"I could have told you that." Jack said as she may or may not have used it at some point.
"You would know." Jacob quipped a bit causing Jack to glare at him for it.
"Good to know, let's talk with this detective see if she can shed be willing to let us through." Kalvin said and in turn they began to make their way over to the police station to speak with the detective there.
(Later over at the station)
The journey was not a long one as the squad entered the precinct to find Detective Anaya, an Asari. Finding her was not hard and when they entered, she took note of them, the Krogan was hard to miss. "Sorry to bother you detective." Kalvin said as he greeted the Asari. "We were hoping you might be able to help us find someone." Kalvin said sitting across from the Asari. "An Asari Warrior named Simara." Kalvin finished hoping the officer of the law would point them in the right direction.
"Paladins of Voltron looking for an Asari Justicar?" Anaya said more then asked. "You guys don't seem the type to have a score to settle with her." She said confused a bit over why the Paladins were looking for her.
"We need Simara's help for an important mission, we'll be on our way after we convince her to join." Kalvin said making it clear they did not want any trouble.
"Justicar usually work alone, but they are drawn to impossible causes." Anya said when she heard those words.
"That's convenient." Jacob voiced seeing this as a benefit.
"She'll like our mission then." Jack said with a smirk on her face. Lotarius grunted as he also saw this as a benefit but also felt Impossible odds were the best kind.
"If you're getting her out of my district, I'll get you to her asap." Anaya said sounding almost relieved to get Simara out of her district. "She's at the crime scene." Anaya said to the group, but Allura noted something about this.
"I assume she's allowed in the crime scene because she has more experience than any of us here." Allura noted as she suspected Simara may be the Matriarch stage of her lifespan.
"Got it in one." Anaya said before Penny voiced another question that was bugging her.
"You seem oddly anxious to get her out of your district." Penny said feeling there was something more to this.
"My superiors want me to detain her. They're worried she'll cause some kind of cross species incident." Anaya said to the group revealing why she was nervous. "But her Justicar Code won't allow her to be taken into custody. If I try it, she'll have to kill me." Anaya said and in turn Kalvin was surprised by this revelation. "I have no interest in dying so if you lure her away with some big noble cause before I have to carry out my orders, I'm thrilled to help you." Anaya said making it clear that she will give the group all the help she can give.
"Wow back up, your higher ups are sending you to face someone willing to kill a cop?" Kalvin asked shocked at what he just heard. "If its certain death you have the right to refuse the order." Kalvin said causing Penny to slide.
"Says the guy who sends us to certain death twice a day." Penny said with a smug smile and her arms crossed.
"Life father like son." Jack added in before Penny gave Jack a low five.
"Difference is you guys can handle it and walk away unscathed." Kalvin countered before focusing on the current conversation with Anaya. "Anaya on the other hand is being told to bring in a powerful Biotic who could break her like a twig... no offense." Kalvin said the last part towards Anaya.
"None taken I'm with you." Anaya said with full understanding of what she is able to do. "But I'm a cop and I know my duty. I've been ordered to detain her, and I will." Anaya said knowing she had to do it, she swore an oath to enforce the law. "Unless I can get her to leave my district first." Anaya said to which Allura asked the next question.
"How do we get to the crime scene?" Allura asked which Anaya was happy to help.
"It's around the corner, go outside and take a left. Look for the police line I'll send word to let you in." Anaya said and in turn they had directions. "Be careful the local Eclipse mercs have been all over those back alleys lately." Anaya said as that went without saying considering she was speaking to the Paladins of Voltron.
"Alright thanks for the tip." Kalvin said and thus they began to leave.
"Good luck." Anaya said knowing they were going to need it.
"We better find Simara before the Detective is forced to carry out her orders." Penny said with concern for the officer.
"Agreed." Kalvin said as they were now on a timetable to find Simara.
(Back with Johns Team Cargo areas)
John, Miranda, and Ashley rode the air taxi to the Cargo areas. John and Miranda were in the front seat leaving Ashley alone in the back seat. As they rode through Illium something got their attention. "That's not good." Ashley said as outside their cab was Gunships flying in the same direction as them.
"Damn it." Miranda cursed when she saw the gunships after Ashley pointed them out. "Eclipse Mercenary Gunships." Miranda said recognizing those to whom they belong. "They'll be dropping troops in the cargo area." Miranda said as the gunships began to move in and drop off their troops.
"Take us down to that cover behind them." John said knowing that a little girl was in danger.
"Another day in the crew of the Normandy." Ashley said putting her helmet on ready for battle.
"Let's hope they really do want to take us alive." Miranda quipped knowing a firefight was upon them.
(Meanwhile on the ground)
On the ground the Eclipse saw their vehicle and immediately began to open fire on it. As the bullets hit the vehicle an Eclipse Merc with energy armor active saw this and acted. "Hold fire! I said hold fire, damn it!" The Merc Leader ordered knowing who was in the car. Soon enough the car landed with a hard skid before it was parked. Once that was done the door opened allowing John, Miranda, and Ashley to disembark from the vehicle. Seeing this the leader began his approach knowing what he was being paid for. "I got this." The Mercy Leader said as he began to approach the scene.
"Since you're not firing yet, I trust you know who I am." Miranda began as she approached the mercs while their gunship flew off.
"Yeah, they said you'd be in the car. You're the bitch that kidnapped our boss's little girl.," The merc Leader said which tell Shepard's group these men were feed lies as Miranda said, "Kidnapped? This doesn't involve you. I suggest you take your men and go."
"Think you've got it all lined up, huh? Captain Enyala's already moving in on the kid. She knows about Niket. He won't be helping you," The merc leader said as it seems this was a surprise as Shepard question him, "What do you mean, Niket won't be helping us?"
"Nothing you need to worry about. Nobody's going to get killed unless you do something stupid. You walk away now, the girls goes back to her father, and everybody's happy," The merc leader said as Ashley said to him, "Ain't that a load of crap."
"She's right. Everybody but my sister, and me," Miranda said as Shepard thought for a moment as he has piece together what the Merc leader was saying as he soon said, "Wait, Miranda. You said she was your twin sister."
"That what she told you? No, this crazy bitch kidnapped our boss' baby daughter. He's been looking for her for more than a decade," the merc leader said as Ashley said, "Hold on so this sister of your, is she really your sister or not?"
"It's complicated. We share the same DNA, just not the same birthday," Miranda clarified on the situation with her sister as Ashley didn't know to be pissed off at Miranda for not giving the full details, or just be confused all together as the merc leader said to her, "You took a baby from the richest guy in the galaxy lady. I don't know what your damage is, but you're not getting away with it."
"Should we be talking to captain Enyala about this?" Shepard question as he try to figure out a way out of this mess as the merc leader said, "You don't want to talk to the captain. She's not as polite as I am..."
Trail off a bit as he put his hand behind his back and walk a bit before turning back to Shepard's group as the leader said, "She's the best commando I've ever seen. I've seen her tear people in half with her Biotics. And she's getting paid a lot to stop you.
"She's gets in my way, she'll never had a chance to spend it," Miranda said as she doesn't care if she dealing with an Asari commando or not, as she is talented with her biotics herself, it just a matter of who's better as Shepard step up saying, "You're not getting Miranda's sister. IF you push this, it'll go badly for you."
"Captain Enyala ordered us to give you one chance to walk away. But this whole time we've been talking my men have been lining up shots," as the merc Leader was talking, Shepard saw a cargo machine moving some stuff above the two snipers, as he give Miranda and Ashley a signal to fight with the Merc leader finish saying, "When I say the word, we unleash hell on your squad. So, I suggest you walk away nicely, unless you want things to get ugly."
Suddenly Miranda and Ashley fire upon the Mercs killing some of them as Miranda said, "Works for me."
"I guess I'll go along as well," Ashley said as she made up her mind of the situation as it, the merc leader quick ran off as he avoided the gun fire from the two women while Shepard got behind some cover and took aim at the container nearby and fire upon it, as it blew up taking out some of the mercs before moving on as he join back in the gun fire with the two ladies, with Ashley look at Miranda seeing how well she fight, she can say she was a bit impressed by her, no doubt she was motivated of saving her sister no matter what, while Miranda did the same with Ashley and in a way she can see why Shepard was into a girl like her as they stood side by side and fire upon the Merc finish them off in the cargo area with just the leader who was limping away to the elevator trying to escape but got shot at causing him to fall down as he cry out in pain as Miranda up to the guy and said, "Wait, we can talk about this!"
Miranda didn't say a word as she just shot the bastard in the head killing him as she said, "I'm done talking."
After that things were quite as Ashley and John walk up to her as Ashley said, "Well now that is all out of the way, want to tell us about your sister twin again?"
Before Miranda could say anything there was a voice that was calling out next to the Merc leader as it was saying, "Team 4" before it was mostly static as Miranda went up to it and grab the radio as she said, "Hang on. I've got one of their radios. I'll patch us in, see if I can get an idea what we're up against."
After a bit as Miranda got the radio in tune with tier gear as Miranda started to explain herself as she said, "Shepard, Ashley, I think I owe you two an explanation. Oriana is my twin, genetically. But my father... grew her when I was a teenager."
"Wait, you're saying that your father cloned you?" Ashley said as Miranda nodded as she went on explaining herself as she said, "She was meant to replace me. I couldn't let my father do to her what he did to me. So, I rescued her. She's almost a woman now."
"Why didn't you tell me that we were saving a kid?" Shepard said as Miranda clarified as she said, "She's not a child: she'll be nineteen this year. But... well it didn't seem relevant at the time, I suppose."
"Maybe but it may have been a bit helpful to know full detail, as I didn't know if I would go through with this mission even after killing those merc or not," Ashley said as she hate being left in the dark with things, as she was glad that Kalvin had told her what's been going on between his father and Cerberus but still didn't like them all that much, in fact she doing this mission for Kalvin because his father had ask him and his team for help, with Miranda nodded a bit as she said, "I suppose I should have given more detail but there isn't enough time to tell everything, as there are people who'd use her against me. I'm very protective when it comes to Oriana. I'm sorry I didn't trust you sooner. you deserved to know."
"I can understand choosing to go your own way, but you stole a young child from her father." John said as he was working with the information he had right now.
"If you knew my father you'd have understand." Miranda said as she walked to the side a bit. "I wasn't the first one he made I was only the first one he kept." Miranda revealed looking to the two in the eye. "I was brought up with no friends pushed to meet impossible demands, I wasn't a daughter to him I was..." Miranda trailed off as years of emotional abuse showed through her. "I don't know what I was." Miranda said taking a moment to calm her emotions. "Oriana has had a normal life I made the right decision." Miranda said defending what she did.
"If Eclipse knows where Oriana is, then they'll be moving in on her soon, we need to hurry." John said which Ashley agreed with.
"Agreed, but I'm a bit worried about what the Merc said." Miranda said as it gave her a bad feeling in her gut. "If they got to Niket somehow this is going to be harder than I planned." Miranda said which was bad since they were short on backup at the moment.
"With the rest of our guys carrying out other missions we'll be on our own." Ashley said but this was nothing she was not used to.
"We'll have to make do." Miranda said agreeing with Ashley as they got moving. "According to the specs I reviewed, we'll need to cut through the cargo processing yard to get to Oriana." Miranda said recalling the information from her photographic memory. "We're going to be dealing with a lot of moving conveyors making it hard to find targets and a lot of shipments with hazardous materials." Miranda said listing off why they needed to be ready.
"I just hope your friend can be trusted." Ashley said knowing how bad it was for an operation if your inside contact was compromised.
"Absolutely. Niket is one of my oldest friends I guess you can say he was my only real friend." Miranda said revealing why she trusted Niket. "He's the only person I didn't cut ties with when I left my father." Miranda said revealing this to be an important bit of information.
"Is there a chance your father is using Niket to get to you?" John asked with concern that their inside man was either a trapped or had been turned.
"I'm sure he's tried but Niket's one of the few people who understands what my father is really like." Miranda added which put a few good points about him for the group. "I trusted him with my life when I ran from my father, Shepard. He won't betray me now." Miranda said which John understood.
"Let's go find Niket and Oriana." John said ready to start the assault to save them.
"Right." Miranda said and in turn John hit the button to summon the lift. Unknown to Miranda this was also personal to John, being a father himself, he could not imagine anyone doing all that Miranda said to their own child. Yes, Miranda was made to be genetic perfection but how the Lawson patriarch treated his own flesh and blood was the summit of narcissism.
(TBC)
ESKK: Well, here we are another chapter is done, I hope you all enjoyed it and will join me and my co-writer for chapter 9. But until the ninth chapter is published be sure to leave a review before leaving. Now I will once more end this with a ja-ne.