Collective Rebirth
ESKK: Chapter 11 time to get started people.
(Start Enroute to Hagalaz Lions)
A wormhole opened off in the Hourglass Nebula leading to the planet Hagalaz. From the data Liara discovered the Shadow Brokers base was located there. With the Thanux Cannons installation completed the ships were ready for launch. Travelling to this world was of course difficult but they had the means via the Wormhole. the plan was a simple one the Lions would go on ahead via a Wormhole and the Normandy and the Castle of Lions would follow suit via the Mass Relays.
The Normandy Away team plus Liara had split up between the Lions on John's suggestion. Ashley was riding in the Red Lion, Liara in the Blue Lion, Tali in the Green Lion, and Garrus in the Yellow Lion. John stood behind Kalvin's seat as their destination came into view, but they still had a bit of time. The entire ride was a quiet one and John was trying to find the best way to approach the Akuze Subject.
Kalvin for his part also knew his father wanted to know about Akuze and why it affected Kalvin. It was a sore subject for Kalvin even after all he had been through to see so much death firsthand and be powerless to stop it had left scars on Kalvin. His father would no doubt be asking about it and Kalvin knew there was no use trying to deny it even if he wanted to. One way or another his father was going to find out and it would be either from his mouth or from someone else like Liara or even EDI. Even Ashley may feel inclined to share seeing as Kalvin had told her of what had happened then.
Seeing no other option John made the first move. "You've been awfully quiet." John said as he kept things neutral. "Does this have anything to do with what Vasir said about Akuze?" John asked which got Kalvin's to grip the controls of his Lion tightly.
"Do you really want to know about it?" Kalvin asked as he was hesitant to bring it up let alone speak about it.
"Do you feel comfortable talking about it?" John asked wanting the truth but clearly this was something personal, so he didn't want to force it out.
"No... but you'll find out one way or another." Kalvin said seeing no point in trying to hide it.
"Then... take your time." John said willing to be patient with Kalvin on this.
"As you know after we stopped Lotor me, Leon, Penny, and Hector had to split up to be trained. Penny went to the Asari, Leon to the Salarians, and Hector to the Turians all of them to undergo training with each of their special forces." Kalvin said before he got to himself. "Me... I ended up going to Earth for N7 training following in your footsteps and all that." Kalvin said explaining what had happened. "It was hard on me harder than most in fact because of who I was related to and what I've done for the Galaxy my reception was both good and bad." Kalvin said recalling those days.
"Accusations of nepotism and high expectations rolled into one." John said seeing where this was going.
"Yeah." Kalvin said confirming his father's suspicions. "But instead of lashing out like in Grissom I endured and worked twice as hard." Kalvin said recalling a few sleepless nights of studying and days spent pushing his body to its limits. "Eventually I graduated and was set to head to Altea and get back to the Black Lion." Kalvin said but then the hard part came in.
"And I guess this is where Akuze comes in." John said as he saw what happened next. While John was proud his son made it through N7 school he had to focus on why Kalvin was telling him this.
"Yeah, see the Alliance had one mission for me minor and a basic milk run but a mission none the less." Kalvin said recalling what happened that day. "The Colony on Akuze had gone silent and the Alliance wanted to know why so they sent me." Kalvin said figuring his experiences with the Paladins played a role in this. "So, they gave me a unit to lead, and I headed down to Akuze to investigate." Kalvin said but John now knew what this was. "It was supposed to be simple get in find information get out... but then we got jumped by a pack of Thresher Maws." Kalvin said which surprised John when that happened. "The unit I lead people who looked to me for support who respected and even admired me all died while I could do nothing but watch." Kalvin said as he recalled that day. He tried to do everything right get the unit to safety, but nothing had worked.
"They all died, and you were left alive." John said seeing what his son had to endure.
"Yeah... I keep thinking back to what I could have done differently but..." Kalvin said but John stopped his son.
"Kalvin... I won't say it wasn't your fault or that you did all that you could." John said as this caused Kalvin to pause. "You probably had heard that enough times and may still not believe it." John said seeing what Kalvin needed wasn't comfort or excuses. "Unfortunately, what you endured is the burden of command, you can do everything right follow every procedure to the letter and you still would lose it all." John said as that was what Kalvin needed to hear the truth. John has had his own fair experiences of leading brave soldiers to their deaths and knew exactly what Kalvin was feeling.
"I just hope I never get put into that situation again." Kalvin said after a moment of pause.
"So do I." John said in agreement with his son. In turn they continued the journey to the Shadow Brokers base knowing once they arrive it was going to be a fight.
(Meanwhile with Allura and Liara)
The Altean and Asari rode the Blue Lion to the Shadow Brokers base as Liara was focused on rescuing Theron. However, Allura's mind was clouded with concern with what she had seen of Kalvin on Illium. It was shocking even frightening to see the man she loved becoming such a savage beast. The worst part of it was that Allura knew exactly what had happened to Kalvin in that moment.
"Is something bothering you, Princess?" Liara said as this drew Allura's attention.
"Oh yes... sorry it's just..." Allura said trying to find the right words. "You saw what had happened to Kalvin correct?" Allura asked as she needed to get this in the air.
"Yes... all the time I've known him, and I've never seen him in such a state." Liara said worried of what Kalvin might be hiding inside. "The way he moved was quick but the way he fought it was like a Krogan Bloodrage." Liara said as that was the closest comparison she had.
"The Galra had something similar to the Krogan Bloodrage." Allura said recalling those days. "See Liara Daibazaal, the Galra home world, back in its bygone ancient day was a very dangerous planet and the Galra had to adapt around it more so since at the time EVERYTHING wanted to kill them." Allura said getting down to it.
"So, they adapted and went from being the hunted to the hunters." Liara said seeing where Allura was going with this.
"And then some." Allura plainly said making it clear what had happened. "In a way the Galra adapted similar to the Krogan only without the excessive breeding." Allura said recalling how powerful the Galra were before Zarkon was corrupted by Quintessence. "The state Kalvin was in, is like a fight of flight trigger when pushed to a corner a Galra can shut down all non-essential mental and physical functions to eliminate what has them cornered." Allura said explaining what had happened to Kalvin. "They can activate it at will, but the drawback is to their health because once they exit the state any and all damages their body endured catches up to them." Allura said showing that the Galra's ace in the hole was a double edges sword. "They only use it when they need to get out of a tight situation and once out of it their body knows to shut it down." Allura said but then Liara saw where this was going.
"So that's how Jane earned her reputation." Liara said seeing where this was going. It might also explain how she died her own bodies greatest weapon turned into what killed her in the end.
"I suspect that since Jane was only half Galra her body didn't have the s trigger... it must have taken an incredible force of willpower to exit that state." Allura mused in the end as her theory made the most sense.
"Is there a way for Kalvin to better control it?" Liara asked with concern for the boy she had seen as a surrogate nephew.
"He would need another Galra to help him learn, otherwise he'll have to learn on his own." Allura said but then a thought occurred to her. "Unless... if that state is similar to the Krogan Bloodrage then maybe asking a Krogan for help may be the next best thing." Allura said realizing a visit to Tuchanka was in order.
However, before they could speak further something appeared on their scope. "Look at that." Liara said and in turn the group found something large before them.
(Outside with the Robot Lions)
The Five Lions came upon their destination, a massive spaceship hidden amongst the thunderclouds of the planet. The ship was large very much so as the Lions flew close to it making sure to avoid possible detection from it. "That is a big ship." Hector said amazed that something like this was hidden away for so long.
"Ok I was skeptical about the Shadow Broker being on Halagaz." Penny said as she had her suspicions. "I mean during the day the oceans boil and minutes after sundown the oceans freeze over." Penny said but after seeing the ship she could believe.
"So, this is where the Shadow Broker lives." Ashley said noting that the ship was large and from the looks of it old.
"Looks like the ship follows the sunset so unless you know where to look its completely undetectable." Leon said showing what he knew about these ships.
Allura meanwhile was looking at the ship in shock as if she had seen it before. "That's an Altean Ark cruiser!" Allura announced much to the shock of the teams.
"Wait what?!" Garrus asked shocked when he heard this.
"It's a prototype ship meant strictly for colonization efforts." Allura said announcing what she knew about the ship. "It was my father's idea to create a Network of Teleduvs to not only bypass the Mass Relay Network but also replace it." Allura announced and in turn the group all realized what this meant.
"Are you sure it's an Altean ship?" Tali asked looking at the ship.
"It's been retrofitted with different bits of technology no doubt to compensate for the degradation from time but it's clearly from Altea, it's a prototype." Allura said showing she knew the ship and for her the Shadow Broker made it personal.
"So, if we can access the Teleduv." John said realizing what this meant.
"We can take over the ship." Kalvin said realizing that the Shadow Broker was screwed once Allura comes inside the ship.
"Liara Allura you two are the experts on this, how do we get inside?" John asked knowing they needed to get Allura inside the ship.
"The shuttle bay is locked down we'll need to land on the hull and hunt for a hatch." Liara said and in turn Allura cut in.
"The best hatch is located at the top of the hull near the back shielding area right here." Allura said sending schematics of the original prototype where the hatch was likely to be located.
"This certainly makes our job easier." John said realizing with Allura on the team they might be able to simplify the mission by a large margin.
"Hey guys I'm detecting an energy signature inside the ship." Penny said as she displayed what she found. "And its... right where the Shuttle hanger is." Penny said realizing this might be trouble for them if they were not careful.
"Alright team land near the back shielding once we get there activate your lions particle shields to protect them from the Thunderstorm." Kalvin said giving his orders to the team. "Be careful knowing our luck... we're about to be in for a fight." Kalvin said and thus the order was received.
"Right!" The Paladins responded and thus they all moved in, to land on the ship.
Once they touch down, the lions quickly ejected their pilot and passengers out before they all put up their shields with Kalvin said, "Alright, this was the easy part, now we just need to get inside quickly and take over the ship as fast as we can."
"With Allura Activating the Teleduv, we can take this ship off world," Shepard said as know if they can get this ship out of this storm, they can secure it better and no doubt corner the shadow broker where he can't escape even if he could, with Liara turn to Allura and ask her, "Princess Allura once you gain control of the ship, could you open a wormhole to anywhere?"
"I may be able to fly it, but using the wormhole is too dangerous given how old it is and the added technology to it, not to mention if it does, I may cause it to become a singularity and we could be crush by the infinite gravity," Allura said as she learn from her father if a wormhole does not open on both sides, could cause the wormhole itself to be unstable and could suck everything turning it into a blackhole like phenomenon with very few way to stop it which would either use the control before they are sucked in as well or use Voltron to disrupt it and make it collapse on itself but both are dangerous, and no one in the their right mind would do it on purpose even if it was controlled as Ashley said, "Maybe we should stick to flying only then."
"That would be a good idea," Tali said as she didn't want to get crush to death by a singularity with Shepard agreeing as well and said, "Then we'll just have to make do with flying it, bring it off planet to a safe distant and hold it there."
"Understood," Allura said as everyone pulled out their weapons and soon headed to the entry hatch, which was easy to do as no one expected them as any guard that were around were quickly taken down before Allura points it out, "There, that the entry into the ship."
"That mean that hatch leads directly to the communication signals," Liara said as the group approach it Liara try to access it but discover it was lock up tightly as she said, "It's locked. Hang on, I've got a Bypass shunt program that can crack it."
Liara got to work on hacking the door as Shepard ask, "How long will it take?"
"I don't know, Shepard. I've never broken into the shadow Broker's base before. Well, not this one anyways" Liara said as Leon asked, "Can we just blow it open or something?"
"And cause massive damage and cripple the integrity of the ship to fly it, not to mention we got a hostage to save as well," Penny said as Hector came up and said, "Not to mention there isn't a lot of cover up here."
Hector freak out a bit as a conductor was struck by lightning a bit as Kalvin said, "Then we need to get in there as fast as we can then."
"I think I can help with that at least," Penny said as she walk up to the door and added to Liara's program while went on saying, "I got a few programs myself that could make the progress go faster."
"We'll leave it you two then," Kalvin said as the two soon gotten to work, as they install the programs, before they could wait to see what would happen several shadow broker's guards came forth as Kalvin said, "Hostiles!"
With that the group engage in battle as they got to cover and started shooting at the vanguards as Garrus and Leon handle the long-range combat, John, Liara, Penny Tali, Ashley handle the mid-range, while Kalvin, Allura, was more up-close, with Hector just handle the rear as if the door open up with enemies on the other side, he can mow them down at least and stay away from the lightning strikes.
"Rocket drones ahead of the ship!" Liara call out as Leon said, "I got them!" Got his Bayard rifle site set on the rocket drones as he pull the trigger and took them out quickly as he said, "Boom, no more drones. and I'll add that to my count of forty-three enemies taken down this month."
"Only a 43?" Kalvin said as he laugh at that as he cut down another enemy with his Bayard sword before blocking a shot with his shield and throw his Blade's sword like a boomerang as it took down a vanguard and came back to his hand as he said, "Try 58, and still rising."
"Hey your only ahead because you go close up and persona with bad guys while I can only handle ones from a far," Leon said as he may have a sword function on his Bayard but he not a daring as Kalvin is to get close up and person with enemies as Liara said, "It seem Kalvin and his friend had gotten better, as even if the enemy all attack at once, it would be quite difficult for them to take down the paladins."
"Yeah, we can take on big challenge, but don't give the idea to enemy Liara," Penny said as she use her Biotic and sent a vanguard flying off the ship into the waters below as if they don't die from the impact of hitting the water, then the boiling or freezing water would as Liara said, "Well at least with this, their maybe less to deal with inside."
"Here's hoping," Hector said as he still watching the door, but it hasn't open yet and hope when it does open there wouldn't be any enemies waiting for them inside as the vanguard numbers were dwindling fast as were their machines, as soon enough the light on the door change as hector said, "Hey they light change, does that mean something?"
"The hatch is open, head inside," Liara said as Kalvin heard this as he said, "Let move!" with that as the paladin and Shepard's crew all headed in as the door open for them before Liara shut it with Penny relocking it so the bad guys can't follow them in as she said, "That should keep them out."
Once inside Liara taken back by the architecture of the ship itself with Allura looks at it and said, "I must say they did well of maintaining this ship, while not all of it is of the original."
"I would say this ship is incredible. It must have taken Decades to rebuild it in secret," Liara said as Shepard said to her, "I wonder what happened to the contractors."
"If I had to take a guess myself of how the shadow Broker had order that building to be bombed, he didn't bother paying their work fees," Kalvin said as he mean the shadow broker just gotten rid of them as Allura agrees as she said, "I'm afraid to say that may be true."
Moving through the ship Allura saw that many of the things she once knew of Altea was not here. Altean technology was made to last a long time and as long as its properly cared for it will last. The interior of the vessel was dim yet still lit well enough to see the walkway clearly, but the lighting is not evenly dispersed over the dark materials of the space. The whole thing has an unsettled ambiance about it completely opposite to the Castle of Lions welcoming ambiance. the ship gave sounds showing that it was creaky with the weight of itself, or the heat diffusion through the metals. An ever-present chatter of unintelligible words quietly being picked up by their coms. A condensation on a number of the walls, like the cooling system isn't quite working correctly.
Needless to say, it was a sad sight for Allura to see another of her Fathers creations perverted in such a way. Just then Allura's ears perked up at the sound of stomping boots. "We have company." Allura said and thus Hector moved in.
"Leave it to me." Hector said summoning his Bayard.
Soon enough the Shadow Brokers forces came in but what they found was Hector unleashing his minigun upon the Shadow Brokers forces tearing through them. Clearing the path, the team knew that was just the first wave of the Shadow Brokers men. Knowing they were in for a long fight they began to make their way into the ship.
It would be pointless to go over all the groups of mercenaries the Shadow Broker starts sending their way. Sufficed to say that it's a lot, and that they don't have any trouble taking them down. Liara is fairly proficient with biotics as was Penny thanks to the lessons she got from Samara and Jack. The Shepard father and son pair were unstoppable together, Garrus was as good a shot as ever and with Leon's help it showed, Allura whipped her way through the enemy forces keeping to the back with Ashley using her combat knife to help cover Allura, and Tali seems pretty comfortable shredding through people with her shotgun and her drone with Hector covering her.
The entire time the Shadow Broker could be heard issuing orders to the invaders. It was pointless as the Normandy Team and the Paladins worked together to clear the path. Once they found the Teleduv node they can take the ship without struggle.
Eventually they come to a stop with Liara, who then took a moment to flick through her omni-tool more adamantly. She switched back and forth between two tabs a few times before simply moving to have both of them open at once. One, a loading bar of some kind, and the other a map, that slowly fills in more as the bar progresses. It seems her Omni-Tool had been connected to Allura's as Allura had the same files open comparing and contrasting between the older layout and the newer one.
"I've downloaded the ship's layout." She said to the group once it finished, before she looked up at the surrounding junctions. She headed towards one and the rest followed after her. "We're headed toward the prison block… and Feron." Liara said as Allura smirked to this.
"And once we find him what do we do about the Shadow Broker?" Kalvin asked bringing up a good question to the group. "I mean we're closer to taking this guy down then anyone has ever been." Kalvin said bringing up a good point. "We might not get a second chance and if we take Feron he might not be happy about it." Kalvin said which everyone agreed he made a good point.
Everyone takes a moment to think about Kalvin's idea as they keep moving. "Kid has a point." Garrus said seeing the value of this idea. "Not sure I feel comfortable leaving this guy alive when it'd be so easy to end this." Garrus said which Ashley also agreed with her Turian friend.
"Have to agree with this guy running around we're just waiting for more issues to pop up." Ashley said seeing that this might be the only chance they have to take down the Shadow Broker once and for all.
"Could we please worry about finding Feron first?" Liara redirected the team to the task at hand.
Later in the cellblocks the teams arrived and needless to say it was not a pleasant place to be in. Immediately the subtle chattering of stray signals hitting their radios is completely drowned out by the sound of screams, sobbing, and metal shifting. There was no telling how many people may be here other then Feron which meant that they had to save those people as well. This also provided eve more incentive to bring down the Shadow Broker and stop his reign of terror.
"This is going to be a huge ass mess." Kalvin said worried for these people.
"We may need to EVAC them for medical treatment." Leon said agreeing with the leader of the Paladins.
"Agreed." Allura said not wanting to leave these people here to suffer. With their goal in mind, they continued forwards until Liara slowed down and took a right to read into one of the rooms. There was a locked door separating them from the cell itself, which they were able to see through a window in the room. It didn't take long for them to bypass it, letting them all step through.
Liara stepped in first, and far more quickly than the rest. But she was also the first to slow to a stop as her eyes locked on to the being held to a mechanical bed sort of structure on the other side of a divider with a Drell laying on it. The bed in question had an uncomfortably diverse array of mechanisms and tools loom above.
The Drell seems to focused on them as John moves through the outer room surrounding his chamber. "Feron..." The name left Liara's lips after a moment, desperation in both her fear and her relief.
"Liara?" The questioned, just loud enough for the group to hear showing that he was in fact Feron.
"Hold on – we're getting you out of here!" She called out as she immediately starting to run over to Feron. She quickly overtakes John, only stopping once she reaches a console built into the wall. She reaches for the holographic display to start trying to deactivate the restraints, but this caused Feron to panic.
"No!" The Drell desperately called out, but he's not fast enough to stop her before the room blares with a harsh tone. Immediately the group had to shield their eyes from the lighting of the sparks over Feron, causing him enough pain to scream before it fades again.
"What the hell is the Broker trying to do to you?" John asked, stopping with the others beside Liara.
"The equipment is sensitive to tampering." Feron began knowing they wanted answers. "This chair plugs into to Broker's info network." He revealed to show the plight he was in. "You have to shut off the power. Pull me out now, and my brain cooks." Feron leaned his head up to face them as he explained what was going on.
"That means we have to take out the Shadow Broker." Kalvin said realizing what this meant for them.
"Seems that way." Penny said ready to take down this guy, whoever he really was.
"Don't worry we'll come back for you." Allura said assuring Feron they will be back for him.
"Just... hurry." Feron struggled as he had a bit of hope now and did not want to lose it.
"Let's move." Kalvin said and thus they got moving for the final room hoping to save Feron from the Shadow Broker and take him down.
The team made their way to the final room knowing that they had to take down this guy here and now. The Shadow Broker had caused a lot of harm but now he had nowhere else to run or hide. But as they made their way to the final door a voice cut in from the speakers to the group.
"I must commend you all for making it this far." A synthesized voice spoke up getting the groups attention. "But I would suggest lowering your weapons before you make things more difficult." The Voice spoke and everyone knew who it was.
"The Shadow Broker." Leon said glaring at the source.
"You can't hide anymore!" Kalvin announced ready to end this being once and for all.
"I should thank you; the Voltron Lions will earn me a great profit." The Shadow Broker said and thus Liara saw an alert on her Omni-Tool and realized what was going on.
"The Shadow Broker is opening the main cargo hold!" Liara called out and it did not take them long to figure out what was going.
"The Lions!" Hector said realizing the Shadow Broker planned to take them.
"Go." John said ordering the Paladins on this. "We can handle things here, but we can't let the Shadow Broker get the Lions!" John said and thus they had to split up.
"If he gets his hands on the Voltron lion then who knows what he will do to them." Liara said realizing that a weapon like Voltron must not fall into the wrong hands.
"Alright, secure the room and we'll secure the lions!" Kalvin called out before he looked to his fellow Paladins. "Let's move!" Kalvin said and thus the Paladins went the opposite direction to secure the Lions.
The Normandy Team was left as they knew what came next. "Alright let's meet with the Shadow Broker." John said and thus the group moved in guns hot and ready to fight. Entering the final room, the team made it inside into a dark room.
John enters first with Tali on his right and Liara on his left. Following behind him were Garrus and Ashley as the two handled the areas between John, Tali, and Liara. The group found that the space was expansive, they could see that the ceiling was at least fifteen meters up. More so there were a number of pillars around the room, but none seem to reached the ceiling. Meanwhile the ceiling itself had some sort of glowing energy container at the top, separated from the room with several thick sheets of glass. At the other end of the floor from them was a desk surrounded with a number of holograms on display. John was the first to aim his weapon down the room at the figure sitting at it.
The figure was a creature of some kind it was big, red, and featured an excessive number of both teeth and eyes. But despite his alien appearance it was clear that he was the one they were looking for, the Shadow Broker. He leaned forward against the desk he was sitting at, looking at each member of the group one at a time.
"Well, you have what you came for." His voice rumbled through the space, low and confident. "Coming here, and freeing him, was reckless. Even for you, Commander." The Broker said to the SPECTRE before him.
"Not reckless, just determined." John said without a hint of doubt. "Just ask your Asari SPECTRE about that." John countered not at all scared of the being before him.
"Vasir was expendable." The Shadow Broker began as he looked to the human. "All her death cost me was time." He said making sure that they knew that all they were to him was an inconvenience.
"Expendable like Feron?" Liara asked with an accusing tone in her voice and a glare in her eyes.
"Dr. T'Soni. Your interference caused all this." The Shadow Broker said directing his attention to the Asari. "Feron betrayed me when he handed you Shepard's body. The Drell was simply paying the price." He stated his tone neutral as it was when the conversation started.
"Someone was bound to come after you for working with the Collectors." John said not taking his eyes off this foe.
Seeing John was speaking again the Brokers attention moved back to the center of the group, towards the commander. "It was a mutually beneficial partnership. Your arrival is convenient. The Collectors' offer still stands." The Creature said as it was clear he planned to carry out his end of the bargain with the Collectors.
"Stand down now and there may be some of you left to identify when we walk out of here." John threatened glaring at the creature before him.
"You won't be walking out at all." The Broker responded, still just as collected as when he first spoke.
"You're quite confident for someone with nowhere left to hide." Liara said pointing out the facts against him.
The Shadow Broker then spared another glance to Liara, then scans over the rest of the group. Still, he remains calmly placed at the desk. "You travel with fascinating companions, doctor." The Shadow Broker said as this got their attention.
"I'm surprise you brought the Quarian, T'Soni." He as this got Tali's attention. "Her supposed leadership on Haestrom had gotten most of her team killed." The Shadow Broker said as Tali cocked her gun ready to fill this ugly bastard with bullet holes. "It's also good you brought Archangel T'soni. Your friend's bounty is still unclaimed." The Shadow Broker went on before he moved on towards Ashley. "And while not expected I'm certain that there are quite a few in the Galaxy who would no doubt want to see the Paladins Hurt for interfering with their operations and what better then Lt. Commander Williams." The Shadow Broker said as Ashley growled ready to shoot this guy dead.
"The Altean will certainly provide me with a bargaining chip as she unlocks the secrets of this vessel for me." The Shadow Broker said showing he was not aware that the ship was Altean made until Allura arrived. "And giving the Batarians the son of the Hero of Elysium and the Butcher of Torfan would certainly earn me allies from them." He added which served to anger John and further anger Ashley.
"You're not putting a hand on anyone!" Liara firmly said denying the Shadow Broker of harming anyone in her life ever again.
Hearing her voice his attention moved back towards Liara. "It's pointless to challenge me, Asari. I know your every secret, while you fumble in the dark." The Shadow Broker said ever confident in his approaching victory.
"Is that right?" Liara questioned as she knew what the Shadow Broker was. "You're a Yahg, a pre-spaceflight species quarantined to their home world for massacring the Council's first contact teams." Liara began as she put the pieces together which wasn't so hard. "This base is older than your planet's discovery, which means you probably killed the original Shadow Broker sixty years ago, then took over." Liara said as the Shadow Broker's composure was starting to break. "I'm guessing you were taken from your world by a trophy hunter who wanted a slave… or a pet. How am I doing?" She taunted and thus that was the nail to seal the deal.
Finally, the Shadow Broker reacted his composure broken with his hands parting to rest themselves against the sides of the desk. He rose up to his feet, keeping his eyes locked on the group. The group, in turn, kept their eyes locked on him as he rises and keeps rising. Liara and Tali both cautiously step back to the distance Shepard stands at as the alien's full height was revealed. The Shadow Broker was some ten or so feet and was by far looming over the rest of them.
"That's a big guy." Ashley said surprised at how big this alien was. The Shadow Broker then broke the desk in two with a smash of his hand before grabbing the broken piece and throwing it at the group. The Normandy Team got out of the way before the Shadow Broker roared in fury and drew his gun on the group.
"Well only way this was going down anyway." Garrus said as John noticed something behind the Shadow Broker, the Teleduv nodes. Ashley saw it as did the rest of the team and knowing what was needed, they got to work. Gunfire began and thus the Shadow Brokers last stand began.
(Back outside with the Paladins)
The Paladins made it back to their Lions just in time for the ships hanger bay doors to begin to open. As the bay doors opened up something began to deploy form it and it was something big. The Paladins managed to regroup and thus the Lions flew off to face this new foe whatever it was. "Alright where is that bastard." Kalvin said as the lions flew in formation.
Just then a steak of energy flew by breaking their formation and forcing them to scatter. "What the Heck was that?!" Leon asked shocked at what just happened.
"Trouble." Leon said and in turn they saw the steak coming for another attack.
"Move!" Allura called out and in turn the Lions moved to avoid the attack again.
"What is that thing?!" Hector asked shocked at what was attacking them.
"I can't get a lock on it, it's too fast!" Penny called out and thus Kalvin knew they needed to up the ante.
"Alright then Paladins on me, Form Voltron!" Kalvin ordered and in turn the Lions began to form Voltron. However, an issue arose during the formation. As Liara had noted it takes a total of 36 Seconds to form Voltron and while impressive in forming a giant robot in that brief 36 seconds Voltron is left vulnerable to attack. That vulnerability is made clear as the streak of light attacked once more and thus the Paladins formation was interrupted.
"Ok that never happened before!" Hector cried out shock at what just happened.
"Looks like speedy here just disrupted our formation sequence." Penny said realizing they were sitting ducks without Voltron.
"Wait I can't see it now!" Allura added noting the creature was gone.
"Let's try again Form Voltron!" Kalvin ordered but before the Lions could get close the creature attacked again as a streak of light forcing the Paladins to part. They cried out from it as it was clear the creature was waiting for them to attempt forming Voltron before it attacked again.
"Dammit this thing won't give us the chance to form Voltron!" Penny cursed realizing they were in a pickle.
"Uh guys didn't we have plan for when this happens?" Hector asked nervously as he was getting worried now.
"This has never happened before!" Leon said as he saw they were in a jam.
"Dammit." Kalvin cursed as he knew they needed a way out of this pickle. The streak flew around giving the Paladins zero chance to keep up or even keep it in their sight. Kalvin never realized that the Shadow Broker had this in his arsenal and the speed it was going was hard to keep up. However, as he watched the streak fly around Kalvin for a moment recalled another Lion that formed like that, the Black Lion. "Guys I got an idea!" Kalvin announced and thus the group heard him.
"We're all ears!" Leon called ready for it.
However instead of answering Kalvin instead chose to act by activating his Lions Teleportation power. As the others saw the Black Lions wings shift into its teleport form the Black Lion gave chase to its opponent. The two ended up as streaks of energy as they chased after each other clashing every so often as they zoomed around the ship.
The Paladins saw what Kalvin was doing but it annoyed them when it seemed that he was going lone wolf again. Kalvin on the other hand was trying to get a good look at what they were taking on. The Black Lion had its maw blade active as it flew around to take on the Robeast. As he held on tight to his controls Kalvin focused and began to catch up to what he was fighting. Once he saw it Kalvin saw it for what it was and strangely, he saw a giant eyeball but clearly it was a Robeast. Kalvin then increased his speed and after making sure he had a good picture of it he used the maw blade to cleave into the foe.
The Robeast was hit and thus flew off and soon enough Kalvin regrouped with his team. "Kalvin what was that about?" Leon asked shocked that Kalvin did that.
"No time I got scan of the Robeast." Kalvin said surprising the group when he said Robeast. He then sent the data over to the others as they saw the Robeast appear on their screens.
"Is that... a giant eye?" Hector asked surprised at what he was seeing.
"Haggar is running out of ideas I thought the Robeast theme was insects this time around." Leon said causing the group to look at him in confusion. "What? The last two Robeast fights we were in had a bug and an arachnid do the math." Leon said defending his assumption.
"Look out!" Allura called out and thus the Lions dodged another round of attack from their foe.
"Well, the data is all well and good but it's useless if we can't form Voltron." Penny said but Kalvin had another idea.
"I was thinking, is it possible to form Voltron if I used the Black Lions teleportation and speed to form each segment one at a time?" Kalvin asked as Penny thought it over.
"It's possible but there might be risks." Penny said showing that this was a huge gamble. "Allura?" Penny asked needing a second opinion.
"Voltron was designed to handle just about anything thrown at it, gravity, radiation, and much more." Allura said as she knew the risk. "But if we are wrong then we risk tearing the lions and ourselves apart." Allura said which Hector gulped a bit.
"Not a good way to go." Hector said but Kalvin sighed to this.
"Do we have any other option?" Kalvin asked and thus Penny turned her head for a negative. "Then we're doing it, trust in each other, trust in yourselves, and count on me to get us through this." Kalvin said and thus it was time. "Flash Form Voltron!" Kalvin called out and thus it began. The Lions all roared out and in turn Black Lion vanished avoiding another attack from the eyeball.
One by one the streak of energy the Black Lion made travelled to each lion starting with blue and yellow who vanished with the black lion. He then moved in to red and green who also vanished after the lion secured them. With each pass the eyeball was a moment too late to stop the lions while the Paladins felt the G-Force pushing down against them yet still managed to keep conscious enough to continue the formation.
Soon the streak ended and as it vanished Voltron began to appear from it. The last part to take form was the wings that reverted to its base form. "We did it, and we're still in one piece!" Hector cheered as they were able to form Voltron.
"Hell yeah, now let's blacken this eye!" Leon called out read to do what he just said. Ready for battle Voltron charged in to face this Eyeball Robeast so the Paladins can assist the Normandy Team.
(Back with the Normandy Team)
Back inside the Shadow Brokers ship the Normandy crew was currently firing away at his shields and armor. For an alien who for all intents and purposes is supposed to stay on his planet he was quite adaptive to the Galaxy. The team circled around the room to take as many good shots at him as possible. John, Liara, and Garrus drew his attention to keep him off of Ashley and Tali who were heading to the Teleduv nodes to secure it. If those nodes still work, they can't risk them being broken in the fight against this guy.
Garrus and John focused on the shields breaking away at them until the Shadow Broker was left with only his armor. Once his armor was exposed Liara got to work with her Biotics as John used his own to break down the Yahg's armor. The Biotics did the job, but it would seem that the Shadow Broker had a few tricks up his sleeves. The Shadow Broker roared as he then summoned up a kinetic shield around his body as he stood ready for whatever these invaders would throw at him.
Liara fired of a few test shots but saw how the bullets bounced off the Shadow Brokers shields. "The Shield is kinetically sensitive." Liara said as John joined up with her. "Energy and projectiles are bouncing off." Liara said which was bad news for the team.
"So, what do you suggest we do?" Garrus asked as he saw they needed a new plan of attack.
"We do this the hard way." John said as he cracked his knuckles in anticipation for the fight to come. John charged in and proceeded to punch the Yahg in the face causing its shield to come down. John then sent a few more well-placed strikes against his foe with enough force to knock him back. Once that was done John charged in to attack once more with a flying punch. Alas the punch never hit its mark because the Shadow Broker pulled up a hand shield and knocked John back with it.
"Well, that solves one problem but brings up a new one." Ashley noted as she and Tali took pot shots every so often on the Shadow Broker to keep him on edge.
"This is definitely like old times." Tali said getting the case of DeJa'Vu now that the old team was back together again. The next round began as this battle was going to be a long one.
(Back with the Robeast Battle)
The Paladins were in the midst of battle as the Robeast continued to fly about bashing into Voltron. Voltron was doing his best to dodge the attacks, but the Robeast was fast still and without the Black Lions wings it can't keep up. "Ok we formed Voltron, but this eyeball is still too goddamned fast!" Leon complained as they tried to get a good hit in on it.
Following the steak Kalvin narrowed his eyes on it and saw how it was approaching. Once it was close enough Kalvin acted on it. "Allura now!" Kalvin called out and in turn with the blue lion Voltron kicked the Robeast back.
"Yes, we got a hit in!" Penny called out happy that they finally got the first shot in.
"No so tough now are you!" Hector taunted and in turn his actions were short lived. The Robeast flew in and to the shock of many it transformed and proceeded to take a humanoid form with the eye taking up the entirety of its torso area. "Me and my big mouth." Hector said realizing this was on him and bemoaning it.
"I kind of liked it better when it was an eyeball." Leon said not overly fond of this new form.
"Focus we need to take this thing down." Kalvin said but he knew it will be hard with this thing still having the speed advantage on them.
Voltron came at the eyeball Robeast only for it to dodge them and hit them quickly. The two giants were getting hit by one another as Voltron held up its arm to block them, the thing keep hitting opening in his stands, and keep being pelted with strikes with Kalvin calls out, "Penny shields!"
"Got it!" Penny said as she call forth the wings on Voltron back and the shield plate on the green lion creating the shield as the Robeast came at them as it seem it was about to strike them but suddenly move around like it was gliding on ice before striking Voltron and keep doing so as Allura said, "It keep going around our shield!"
"Sense we too slow to react and hard to see it behind the shield," Leon said stating the obvious as Kalvin said, "Then let's try something else. Form cutlasses!"
Voltron disengage the shield before forming the two short swords being the quickest weapons to form on the spot to fight as they slash t the creature which barely block their strike with its body parts as it seem to be fast and flexible, as well with how its body its build it like a blade in itself as it defended itself with ease before pushing Voltron back with great force getting out of the deadlock as Voltron stood ready for another attack only to be surprise by what the Robeast as it charge at them with hyper speeds, breaking the sound barrier with ease as it did a sonic boom punch on Voltron sending the giant robot skipping across the waters while dropping the two cutlasses, as thee paladin cry out before landing in the dark side of the planet as the waters were quickly freezing up around as Kalvin call out, "Leon bring the heat, stop the ice from freezing us in place!"
"Got it!" Leon said as he made the red lion head breath out hot flames which stops the water from freezing giving Voltron enough time to get out as they flew towards the creature which dodge Voltron as he try to punch the Robeast, only to get counter with a strike from the Robeast itself sending Voltron and the paladin to the hotter side of the planet.
"Guys I'm roasting in my cockpit," Hector said as he was sweating a bit as was everyone else expect Leon due to his Lion specialty as he said, "Too cold on the dark side of the planet and too hot on the other side."
"We need to stick to the middle point of the planet to stable the temperatures," Penny said as she doing all she can to get the A.C running on Voltron as she went on saying, "Oh how I wished that my prototype weapon; was finished. We could be able to match this guy in speed and firepower."
"Well wishing for it isn't going to help us even if we did have that booster enhancer armor we don't even know if it will work well or not, we need to move now" Leon said as with that the Voltron force flew over to the center point near the ship is at but the Robeasts keep beating them one side or the other as they keep getting back up from the hits.
"Can't this thing stop hitting us for like 5 seconds, I can't tell if I'm freezing and sweating," Penny said getting upside of working the A.C and heater on and off a lot, as things were not looking good, with Kalvin speaking up saying, "Even if we stay in the middle, we can't catch this guy or avoid him, and if this keeps up, we'll be exhausting ourselves of trying to keep in the middle."
"How can we, if we attack that thing counters us, and anytime we defend its gets around us," Hector said as they were facing the worst kind of enemy that was faster than them as Kalvin said, "Don't give up. We can't let this thing beat us, even if it is faster than us, we must stand out ground and help the Normandy crew, if we don't the collector will win, and the reapers will come. We must fight no matter what!"
"Yeah!" Everyone said as with Kalvin motivating speech, something within Voltron come forth as Leon and Kalvin's port started slowing brightly
"Hey guys my port is glowing," Leon said as Kalvin look to his and said, "Mine as well."
"Voltron, he's helping us," Allura said as she smile knowing Voltron had their back with Kalvin smile as well as he said, "Then let's do it, all of us together!"
At that moment as both Leon and Kalvin summon forth their Bayard sync with each other as they plug in and turn all at once with the wings on Voltron back started glowing and changing before becoming a huge Rocket booster pack on its back as the team were in awe to this as Hector said, "Voltron has a rocket jetpack!"
"More like rocket boosters," Penny said as she examine the new weapon formation, or in this case an accessory as Kalvin said, "Let's try this thing out then."
"Right behind you Kal," Leon said as at that moment as the engine on the Rocket boosters started to glow before exploded with energy as Voltron took off like a rocket and slams into the Robeast finally doing some damage against it.
The Robeast was sent flying back from the attack as the Paladins all cheered at this turnaround. "That's what I'm talking about!" Penny cheered as the Paladins saw the odds were back in their favor again.
However, their joy was cut short as the Robeast was quickly back to flying straight showing the attack had done almost nothing to it. "Well, there goes that idea!" Hector called out as he saw their foe was back on his feet.
"We need to end this now." Leon said knowing they had little time to deal with this. After all the Normandy Team was facing off against the shadow Broker on their own.
"How? We're not making much of a dent on it." Allura said but Penny had a better idea.
"I think it's time to see how our weapons fare with this new speed of ours." Penny said ready for what came next in this fight.
"My thoughts exactly." Kalvin said as he then gripped his Bayard once more. "Form Sword!" Kalvin invoked and in response Voltron proceeded to form his sword ready for battle. The boosters ignited and from there Voltron was on the attack only now their foe was on the defensive.
They flew around for a bit the Robeast trying to keep away from Voltron now knowing its speed advantage was gone. Voltron kept chasing until Kalvin had an idea. "Penny fire a laser in front of it when it turns!" Kalvin called out and thus Penny nodded.
"Right!" Penny called out and thus the team waited for the Robeast to take the turn. Soon the beast took the turn and left itself open for attack. Voltron fired off his laser at the Robeast and in turn the beast was forced to stop and avoid it. Its action however had left it wide open as soon enough Voltron came in and sent several slashes through the Robeast before ending it with a stab into its massive eye.
Soon enough Voltron flew back as the Robeast began to spark and flux before it blew apart leaving nothing behind. Once the deed was done the team cheered as they just one the day. "Paladins save the celebration for later we still have one last thing to deal with." Kalvin said and that last thing was none other than the Shadow Broker.
"He's right, let's move!" Allura called and thus Voltron split back up into the five robot lions and flew back towards the Shadow Brokers ship. Their mission successful and now they can focus on the task at hand which was to assist John and Liara in defeating the Shadow Broker once and for all.
(Back with the Normandy Team)
The Normandy Squad was still locked in combat against the Shadow Broker as he had his shield up to block their oncoming gunfire. As the gunfire continued both sides were attempting to get the upper hand on each other. The Normandy may have numbers on their side, but the Shadow Brokers energy shield was making things difficult to get a good shot in on him.
"Well, this is getting hard!" Ashley cursed as she and Tali protected the Teleduv nodes from the Shadow Broker. The Rest of the team was focused on keeping the Shadow Broker's attention away from it as they continued to fight the Yahg.
"Tell me about it." Tali said half tempted to just try to hack the old system herself.
"Perhaps I can offer assistance." Allura was heard and thus the soldier and Quarian looked to see that Allura was standing there with a smirk on her face.
John meanwhile cursed as he knew they needed to new plan of attack. The Shadow Brokers shield was tough, and his kinetic shields were also an issue as well. More so the alien's brute strength was not something to scoff at either, already they had lost several spots for cover due to it. But then when the Yahg was about to attack again the massive alien roared in pain when Kosmo appeared on his back and bit down on it. The Cosmic Wolf began biting down the alien attempting to maul him much to the groups surprise.
"Where did the wolf come from?" Garrus asked when he saw Kosmo had arrived. Just then Kosmo jumped off only for Kalvin's dagger to stab in his arm causing him pain.
Charging in was Kalvin as he and his team had been ported in by Kosmo. Standing by Kalvin's side was Penny as the two charged in with Hector and Leon providing cover fire for the pair. Kalvin bashed into the Shadow Brokers shield with his arm and then allowed Penny to jump over and attack with her Bayard. Kalvin spun around and grabbed his dagger before shifting it into its sword form. Together the pair proceeded to attack this foe together much to the groups surprise. Kalvin and Penny were then forced to back off as they rejoined the Normandy Team.
"I take it our issue was dealt with?" Liara asked as Penny nodded.
"Yeah, our Robeast issue has taken a hike." Penny said with a tone promising to tell the team all about it later.
"So, what do we have here?" Kalvin asked as he looked to the group.
"A Yahg with an attitude." John began as he explained the situation. "He's armed with a high caliber rifle likely custom made and a shield on his left arm. If he runs out of his shields and armor, he has a kinetic barrier to block any further attacks entire." John said as Kalvin nodded to this.
"Got it." Kalvin said as Liara looked to this.
"I might have an idea if we can get him to bring that shield up again." Liara trailed off and in turn the team saw where this Asari was going with this.
"Understood, you got that Allura?" Kalvin asked with the last part calling over across the room.
"I most certainly did." Allura said as she was revealed to have reached the Teleduv nodes and had them active.
The Shadow Broker was wide eyed by this when his barrier suddenly activated on him. "Hey buddy next time you push us off, make sure we didn't plant anything on you." Penny said with her Omni-Tool active. On her holo screen it showed that Penny had hacked into the Shadow Brokers Omni-Tool and was controlling his equipment. "Liara now!" Penny added and thus acting fast Liara and John both launched their Biotics at the glowing dome above the Shadow Broker. Liara took control and proceeded to shatter the dome and in doing so caused the charged liquid inside to rain down on the Yahg.
The Shadow Broker was covered in it and in a world of unbridled pain as the energy filled his body. Soon enough the energy reached its apex and with it he exploded in a blast of fury. The deed was done the group began to move in on Liara as they were all panting a bit from the ordeal glad that it was finally over.
"Ok we deserve some shore leave after this." Hector said looking forward to some long-awaited R .
"Dude, you say that all the time." Leon said though he was happy that this could all be put behind them.
"Allura how does it look?" Kalvin asked as he walked over to Allura.
"I tad bit degraded but I can free Liara's friend." Allura said and Liara nodded to the Altean.
"Do it." Liara said and thus focusing on this path Liara did so.
"Ashley take Penny and Leon to make sure Theron is safe." John said which the trio understood.
"Got it skipper." Ashley said and thus the three went off to make sure that Liara's friend is ok.
Just as they left voices could be heard from a wall of screens nearby. Liara walked over to it and one by one operatives of the Shadow Broker were calling in noting the sudden system connection loss and were asking for updates. One by one many were speaking as Liara saw it all, the resources, and the connections all of it was here. As Liara considered on what to do next, she saw how deeply rooted the Shadow Broker was in the galaxy.
Seeing movement and actions going on Liara was in a wedge on what to do next. Each voice asking for an update she had to think but little time to do so. Thus, with only one option Liara decided on what to do knowing the Reapers were still a threat. Thus, she pulled up the mic and proceeded to speak into it.
"This is the Shadow Broker situation is under control." Liara said as her voice came through synthesized for the operatives to hear. "We experience a power fluctuation while upgrading hardware." Liara said taking her new role in the Galaxy. "It disrupted communications momentarily." Liara said and just as she did Ferron charged in with gun raised only to stop when he saw who was speaking. At the same time Ashley, Leon, and Penny came in all of them looked apologetic for letting Ferron run off like that. "However, we are now back online. Resume standard procedures I want a status report of all operations within the next solar day, Shadow Broker out." Liara said and in turn it was clear what was going on to everyone, Liara was now the Shadow Broker. Thus, with her orders given Liara ended the call and thus turned to face the group. Even Allura was shocked by what just happened here.
"Goddess of Oceans... it's you. You... how?" Feron asked shocked at what he just witnessed.
"Well, everyone who's ever seen him in person is dead so..." Liara said and thus Hector was the one to say it.
"You're the new Shadow Broker." Hector said shocked that Liara was not the top dog in the Galactic Underworld.
"Is taking over as the Shadow Broker really a good idea?" John asked with concern for Liara.
"It's either that or lose everything: his contacts, his trading sources. Those could really help us. More than just getting rid of him would."
Liara said as the reality of it all began to set in on her. "With the Shadow Broker's information network, I can give you…" Liara said as she turned around again, stepping over to the array of screens to rest herself against the edge of the console. "I can…" She said as there was a heavy remorse in her voice, a clear sadness and guilt about what she said one that Tali picked up on.
"Uh we should give her some time alone." Tali said to the team which the Paladins agreed on.
"Yeah." Kalvin said which Feron also agreed with. Leaving the room, the two teams plus Feron and Kosmo left John alone with Liara. With the group gone and alone with John, Liara could hardly contain herself, she struggled for a moment before quietly being reduced to sobs. In response to this John stepped over, placing a hand to the side of her arm. John just waited for a moment, letting her cry until she can compose herself again, at which point she slowly turned around to face him, wiping over eyes with the back of her gloved hand.
"It's over. It's finally… for two years…" Liara said as she breaths, just staring off into the distance as John stepped forward to hug her.
She accepted the gesture, embracing him in turn for a moment until he stepped back again. Then she stares into the visor of his helmet, into his eyes, once his head is in front of hers again.
"It's been two years. I don't… we're different people. You have your mission, and…" Liara said as she allowed herself a moment to breathe, taking a second to process. "For now, we need to figure out our options." She said before turning away from him and stepping to the side to start looking over the dozens of screens again.
Liara began looking it over and noticed a few things off the bat. "No safeguards or user restrictions. It's like he never anticipated anyone but himself being here." She said before she looked back at John over her shoulder. "And it's all ours." Liara said with a smile on her face.
"What kind of information are we talking about?" John asked as he wanted to know what Liara had.
Liara looked back to the screens, pulling a few down to start scrolling through them. "I'm not sure. I'll need to go through his files." Liara said as there was a lot of files to look over. "Come back later, and I'll try to have something useful for you." Liara said before she paused for a moment. "All I wanted was to rescue Feron. But…" Liara said before she stepped back, swinging around to face John again with an energy that's been absent since Shepard reunited with her. "Is it wrong that part of me wants this?" Liara asked, but Shepard doesn't respond. "With the Shadow Broker's network, I can help you. Maybe I can turn this operation into something better." Liara proposed, genuinely excited by the prospect.
"Don't be a stranger this time." John reminded Liara not wanting her to lose herself again.
"Come by when you have a chance. The doors are always open." Liara said with a smile on her face. John nodded before he turned around and starts walking across the room and to the door.
However, before he could leave a new voice spoke from the Shadow Brokers Network one with which they were familiar. "Shadow Broker, I assume the sudden loss of our connection means you have either been deposed or you've had a malfunction." Came Honerva's voice much to the duos shock.
"Haggar." Liara said realizing who this was. Thankfully, she didn't have the mic on as she headed on over to the monitors while John got to work on contact the team again. Liara headed to the console and began to respond to Haggar wondering how she got this link to the station.
"Honerva, I apologize we had a power fluctuation installing new hardware." Liara said repeating her previous lie. "We lost communication because of it." Liara adding hoping to trick the Altean so they can learn where she and Lotor were hiding with the Sincline.
"Is that so?" Honerva asked with a tone showing she saw through the lie. "Then why did I detect a sudden surge of Altean energy, Dr. T'soni." Honerva's voice said just as the team walked in as Liara was shocked by this revelation. "Don't worry I have no intentions of revealing who you are to the general public, after all it would not look well for the Shadow Broker's secret to come out." Honerva said as Liara cursed herself for not realizing it sooner. Honerva has been around for a long time and more than that she was like Allura and Altean alchemist.
"What do you want?" Liara asked keeping the group aware of what was happening.
"Seeing as your in charge of the Shadow Broker's operations now... nothing from any of you." Honerva said as she sounded to be vexed. "It seems I will need to conduct my business elsewhere." She added but Liara had a counter.
"Don't be so smug, Haggar." Liara said as she had to try. "With my new connections your days of hiding are numbered." Liara said but Honerva had a counter for that.
"Perhaps... but even if you do learn you will not be able to find me." Honerva said giving the group an idea of what they were facing. "I'll save you the trouble." Honerva said surprising the group. "Look past the Omega-1 Relay." Honerva said and thus it was clear where she was.
"So, your allies with the Collectors!" Allura snapped glaring at the screen.
"Ah, Princess it's been some time." Honerva said almost bored with how she said it. "And I would not say allies, but they and their masters share a goal with me, that is all." Honerva revealed which served to get the group involved.
"Whatever your goal is, we'll stop you." Kalvin said as Honerva chuckled to this.
"I suspect you would, but my goal reaches beyond the walls of reality." Honerva said which got the group confused. "Till we meet again." Honerva said and before anyone could respond Honerva hung up on them.
The entire room grew quiet realizing that the ship may not be as secured as they would hope. "So... what's our next move?" Penny asked worried as to what this would entail.
"We prepare." Kalvin said fearing that Honerva was planning something big.
(Meanwhile with Honerva Galra Base)
Honerva after getting off the call with the Shadow Broker she entered another room where Maahox was waiting for her. "Well things have certainly been productive." Maahox said as on his screens showed Voltron's fight against the eyeball Robeast. This meant they knew where the Shadow Broker's base was located. "Shall I deploy another Robeast to take the Shadow Brokers base?" Maahox asked offering to make it happen.
"No, in its current state it's useless to us." Haggar said calmly to the alien. "Have you put together the Dossiers of our new recruits?" She asked and thus Maahox nodded though he was a bit upset about not being able to do anything to the Shadow Broker base.
"Here they are the top three who can fill the roles we need of them." Maahox said and thus Honerva smiled at what she saw. Lotor's former Generals were not keen on aiding them any further, no doubt her son's betrayal of them had left a mark.
The first was a Mercenary of the Blue Suns on Zorya, the second an Salarian scientist located on Tuchanka, and finally an Ardat Yakshi hidden on Omega. With the Sincline and her wormholes Lotor can retrieve these three before any issues can pop up. Still Honerva had hoped there would be a few more but that would be pushing it. For the time being she would have to wait and see what Kala turned up on her own search. The data on Tuchanka suggested that there might be another recruit amongst the Krogans particularly those displeased with Clad Urdots progressive views on the Krogan culture.
However, if all goes as intended then none of it would matter. The main goal is to ensure that the Reapers don't learn of Honerva's true intention and that their deal was never going to be fulfilled. At the end Honerva would have everything she wanted she would have regained all that she had lost in the past.
(TBC)
ESKK: Took a bit but here we go chapter 11. We hope you all enjoyed it and will join us again for Chapter 12. This should be the last Mass Effect update until the new year's, so I hope you all enjoy your holiday and be ready for a round of loyalty missions. Now until then leave a review and again I will say, ja-ne.