Hello, my fellow readers! I apologize this chapter has taken much longer to write than I have thought. College and family matters have distracted me from finishing this work. Hopefully, that won't be the case for the next chapter.
I would like to thank 4Ferelden, who has helped me with the fic and, in fact, has written the beginning of this chapter. I found it to be a huge improvement to what I envisioned originally, so I'll give him credit. I would also thank Konous for looking over this chapter and suggested a few things.
And now, a few words from 4Ferelden:
4Ferelden: Many of you will know that many game mechanics had undergone changes in between ME1 and ME2; since our story is set in between the two, we couldn't ignore those. As such, we ultimately decided to use ME2 guns in the fic, since it the change from self-cooling to thermal clips had to take longer than two years, and mercs in Terminus Systems are likely to obtain the newer guns earlier than those in other sectors. The shields still work they did in ME, though, both for external reasons and because the ME2 changes to shielding seemed to be more on the programming level to recognize greater range of damage sources than anything else, and thus could easily be done in the space of two years or less.
With this out of the way, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter and the rest of this story!
Chapter Four: When Good Plans Go Wrong
Ethan sat, quiet and thoughtful, as the skycar they were in flew past the pillars in Omega. Feron and Miranda bickered about the details of their mission. Liara sat beside him, also lost in her thoughts. As he looked through the window, his thoughts turned back to his home universe. His heart ached when it occurred to him what it meant. He wouldn't see his friends again for a long time.
To distract himself from these thoughts, he looked at a datapad, which had all the basics on Commander Shepard.
Following in her family's footsteps, Shepard joined the Alliance at the age of 18. On the planet Akuze, a thresher maw wiped out her whole squadron. Years later, she was assigned to the SSV Normandy. She wound up in a chase against Saren after an attack on Eden Prime. With evidence against the turian, Shepard became the first human Spectre, a top agent working for the Council. She saved a space station known as the Citadel from Sovereign.
Four weeks after the battle, something destroyed the Normandy. While many of her crew had escaped, others didn't—including Shepard. The Council pinned it as an accident, but Cerberus placed the blame on the Collectors. The Collectors had a ship advanced enough to detect the Normandy's advanced stealth drives and struck the spaceship down.
Cerberus expected their mission to take a dangerous turn, so they provided Ethan with state-of-the-art weaponry and armor. He took advantage of this to secure an M-76 Mattock assault rifle, his Predator pistol, the M-97 Viper sniper rifle, and the M-23 Katana shotgun on his person.
His new set of armor was plain with a dark shade of gray, having sleek paddings covering much of his body. An omni-tool had been implanted into the armor, saving him some time using it while his Pip-Boy fitted over the armor on his left arm. Compared to his old omni-tool, the armor gave him a much stronger kinetic barrier. He kept his messenger bag, along with the things he normally needed. Cerberus also provided him with a salve known as medi-gel.
Liara and Feron kept their previous equipment. Now that Ethan had become acquainted with this universe's weaponry, he identified Liara's heavy, almost triangular pistol as an M-5 Phalanx pistol. Her other weapon was the M-4 Shuriken submachine gun, its shape akin to the pistols back at the Mojave. Feron carried an M-29 Incisor sniper rifle, and an M-9 Tempest submachine gun, the letters VTX inscribed on its barrel.
The skycar landed at the docking bay, near the nightclub. Liara and Feron stepped out as the doors opened.
"Hello? They're waiting for you," Miranda called out. "Were you listening?"
Ethan turned and nodded. "Yeah. The Shadow Broker hired these Blue Suns mercenaries to stop us. We have to find Shepard's body and take it back."
"And we'll compensate you," Miranda finished.
"But where would her body be?" Liara turned towards the Cerberus agent.
"If the body had left Omega, I would know," Miranda explained. "They haven't made the final handoff to the Shadow Broker's agent yet, which means we got a chance."
"Neither Liara nor I are familiar with Omega," Ethan pointed out. "Any place we could look?"
Miranda smirked as she sat back in the driver's seat of the skycar. "Like the Illusive Man said—ask your drell friend. I'm sure he'll have an idea or two."
The door closed, and the skycar took off. The engines hummed loudly until they were out of earshot.
"Since we're here, would you now tell us your name?" Liara asked.
"Ethan Sunderland," Ethan answered. "Now that we're more acquainted with each other…" He faced the drell. "Feron, how about you tell us where we should be going?"
Feron scoffed, pacing around. "You saw what happened the last time I tried to take you and Liara somewhere. What else could I give you?"
Liara frowned and glared at Feron. "Quite a lot, I should think. You work for the Shadow Broker. And they know it."
"What?" Feron asked with a cocked brow.
Before Ethan could say anything or react, the asari stepped forward, her hands glowing, and decked him right in the face, sending him tumbling to the floor. When a few members of the crowd around them noticed, they moved on.
"You could have killed me!" the drell cried out.
The asari stepped toward Feron and pointed at him accusingly. "And those mercs could have killed us, Feron! You were the only person who knew I came to search for Shepard, but they found me anyway! Either they knew what you were up to, or you sold me out!"
Ethan turned and looked down at the drell. "Is this true, Feron?" he asked.
"No. I didn't sell you out," Feron answered, standing up. "I've been taking some odd assignments for the Shadow Broker. He pays for eyes and ears everywhere. He knew Shepard's friends would be searching. I was simply supposed to lead you away. Money's good, I don't get my hands dirty, and no one gets hurt."
"Not directly, anyway, with the mercs who tried to kill us. Wouldn't want to lose sleep over it, right?" Ethan retorted.
"Nobody told me about them, either. I don't know why the Broker sent them." Feron paced away from Ethan and Liara, but they followed him anyway. "Maybe… maybe it was insurance. Maybe he's more nervous about getting to Shepard's body than I thought."
"He should be if he's working with the Collectors," Liara replied. "Did you know about that?"
Feron stopped and turned toward Liara. "Rumors—nothing solid. In this galaxy, the Collectors are as rare as violent hanar. But they're still nasty customers." He sighed and lifted his arms for a moment. "Listen, maybe you two would be better off without me."
Ethan snorted and stepped forward. "What, and leave us at the Shadow Broker's mercy? I'm not expecting him to give us free gifts. We need your help, Feron. You know more about him than either of us combined."
"I watched from my escape pod as Shepard died." Liara stepped in. "This is my chance to redeem myself. It can be your chance, too."
The information broker puffed his cheeks and turned his back. "Okay, okay. You made your point. C'mon, we better get going. I know the perfect place to start."
They stood at the front of the entrance to the nightclub, Afterlife. Music boomed in rhythm as the pink and purple lights shimmered behind the white letters. The elcor bodyguard was still there, keeping the crowd standing at the bottom of the stairs in a line. Two mercenaries hired by the club's owner stood on the balcony.
Liara gasped. "This—this is where we started!"
"Weren't you listening? I was supposed to lead you away," Feron replied.
"So that's where we start looking?" Ethan placed his hands on his hips. "They better not have any dancing corpses, or I'm gonna be upset."
With how Feron bit his lip, the drell was keeping himself from laughing. "This is where Aria's throne is, so yes. And if it satisfies you, then no, the club doesn't have any undead dancers. That would be… awkward."
"Queen of Omega, huh? Some palace," Ethan remarked as they went up the steps.
"You joke, but those are my exact thoughts," Liara replied.
"It won't be easy meeting her," said Feron. "Security's tight, and that asari never lets anyone get close to her. Lucky for you, that won't be a problem." He approached the elcor and turned on his omni-tool. After a few moments and some sweeping and swiping on his end, the drell turned off his omni-tool.
"Grateful: Thank you for your business," the elcor intoned. Ethan noticed that the elcor couldn't efficiently express themselves to other species with the way they were built, so they used prefixes instead.
Ethan smiled wryly. "A man after my own heart."
"Careful. I might fall for you," said Feron.
The three entered a circular hallway, the walls covered with holographic images of fire. Now Ethan thought about it, Afterlife was an even more fitting name.
"Feron, mind if I ask you something?"
The drell turned to Ethan. "What is it?"
"You're well-connected and in good relations with the Shadow Broker until now. How long have you worked for him?"
If his question struck a nerve with Feron, he did a good job of hiding it. "A couple of years. If you've forgotten already, I should know a thing or two about the best information broker in the galaxy. I also know a few of his operatives. They don't talk much, but I know enough."
"We'll have to take his word for it." Liara took a deep breath. "This is the closest I've come to finding Shepard. I'm not letting this chance slip by."
The room they entered was large, colorful, and bright, filled with people dancing on many floors. At the center was a glowing cylinder, depicting an asari in little clothing dancing in a seductive manner. Techno beats of music filled the room, but it was loud for Ethan. He wasn't used to that type of music.
A sharp catcall brought their attention to a pair of aliens sitting at a table next to them. One was a fat batarian. The other alien in a pressure suit was shorter than his batarian friend and just as plump. That shorter fellow was a volus, a species of merchants hailing from a high-gravity planet, hence the suit.
"Well, lookie what we have here," the batarian called out. "Move it, volus. We're gonna need some room for one more." He grabbed Liara's arm before a blue aura appeared around her. With a gasp and a shocked look on his face, he let go immediately.
It seemed like the batarians' reputation with slavery and other detestable actions was pretty accurate, Ethan noticed.
The volus hopped down from his seat and approached Feron. "Is the girl for sale, trader?" the volus wondered. He wheezed through his flappy breathing mask. "The market's overflowing with asari consorts since the attack on the Citadel. But my associate and I can always find a place for—"
Ethan stepped forward, glaring at the batarian and the volus with daggers in his eyes. "I don't know if you've noticed, but on Earth, we don't take kindly to slavery."
Feron looked on and blinked, not sure what to make of this.
Liara frowned, not looking at Ethan. "I can handle myself," she said.
"I know you can," Ethan replied, looking at Liara with a smirk. "But I think it'll be more fun to scare 'em, teach them a lesson."
Liara paused, curling her lips in contemplation before nodding at him. "Maybe you're right."
"Wh-what's going on? What are you on about?" the batarian demanded, nervous. "Uh, look, it's not slavery, it's—"
Ethan leaned in with his on the table, his head lowered toward the batarian. "I don't buy that." His hand hovered over his holstered and folded pistol. "Do you know who you're dealing with? This is Liara T'Soni!"
The volus gasped and wheezed, looking at Liara, then at his batarian friend, then back at Ethan. "Liara T'Soni?" He wheezed again. "She's one of the people who saved the Citadel from the geth, right?!"
Liara's demeanor didn't change. "That's correct. And I do not have the time nor the patience for people like you."
"So why won't you get out of here before she flays you with her mind?" Ethan demanded. "And if I see you harass anyone again—"
"We won't, I promise!" the batarian exclaimed, bolting out of his seat. "You heard the human, volus. Let's go!"
As the batarian and the volus scurried off out of Afterlife, a turian in blue armor with white paint on his face approached them in quick succession. "Huh. Looks like you did my job."
"You can say that," Ethan replied.
The turian guard beamed his eyes on Ethan. "Wait a minute… you're that human Aria wanted."
Ethan scoffed. "Everyone wants me for something. What for?"
"No idea. Aria sent me to find you." The turian gestured to them. "C'mon. You don't want to keep her waiting."
The turian left while the three followed behind him. Liara stared at Ethan as they walked up the stairs, surprised. "Being granted an audience with Aria must be easier than I thought," she commented.
"Indeed," the drell agreed. "Let's see what she wants. I hope she knows where the exchange is taking place."
At the top of the stairs, there was a purple asari slouching down on a black couch. The surrounding guards watched their every move. Underneath her white jacket, she wore a black skinsuit, showing skin around her stomach. A string of tattoos traced across her face like eyebrows.
"Here he is, boss, like you asked." The turian approached the purple asari.
"Good." The asari sat up. "I think that's all I need from you for now, Preitor. Go back to your post." The turian guard, Preitor, nodded and walked down the stairs, past the batarian in brown, bulky armor.
"Your friends here are better looking than your usual company, Feron," she remarked. "It isn't often that the Shadow Broker sends his minions to me for help. Something big and juicy, I'll bet. But…" She gestured to the batarian guard. "Anto, scan them for weapons."
Anto, the batarian guard in brown armor, nodded and approached Ethan and the other two. "Stand still." He activated his omni-tool and scanned them, which displayed holographic projections of a human, a drell, and an asari, skeletons and all.
Ethan rolled his eyes as he showed his pistol to the batarian. "FYI, I have a gun right here."
"Perhaps," the asari chuckled. "But it's a standard procedure. Nobody gets close until they get scanned."
"If I wanted you dead, I would've done so in the first place." Ethan put away his pistol.
The asari smirked. "That's what I thought."
A beep sounded from the batarian's omni-tool. "They're clean. No funny business."
Ethan nodded. Before he could do anything, Feron stepped forward.
"I'll handle this. Just keep quiet," the drell whispered to Ethan and turned to the purple asari. "Just checking on some merchandise, Aria—the body of Commander Shepard." Liara shivered when Feron mentioned that. "I know the Blue Suns are set to deliver it to the Shadow Broker. We need to know where."
"You don't—?" Aria T'Loak scoffed. "I knew the Shadow Broker liked secrecy, but for his own man not to know what he's up to." She looked at Liara. "And you. I know you. You're one of Shepard's crew. Were you able to speak when she was alive?"
"You're also interested in me," Ethan stated. "Why?"
"One thing at a time." Aria looked at Ethan. "But yes, I'm interested in you." She approached him. "Do you know who I am?"
Ethan bit his lip before smiling, hoping to give out a good impression. "You're Aria T'Loak, the Queen of Omega. Or boss or CEO, depending on the mood. Maybe I should bow before you."
The ruler of Omega chuckled. "Guess you're feeling middling today," she replied. "I figured you know the one rule on Omega. 'Don't fuck with Aria.' But this has been complicated by a few things."
The other guard lifted his omni-tool and broadcast a surveillance video. In it, the alleyway was empty. A few minutes later, a flash of light overtook the screen, followed by the screen buzzing out for a few seconds before it went back to normal. This time, he saw himself lying against the wall for a few minutes before regaining consciousness. The broadcast disappeared as the guard lowered his omni-tool.
"I contacted my tech specialist to take a look. He told me the camera was disrupted by what he would call an abnormality. This means you're dangerous. This is…" Aria frowned and crossed her arms in front of her. "…rather sensitive information. And if there's one thing I hate more than people fucking with me, it's an anomaly appearing out of nowhere that could disrupt the balance of power." She chuckled rather darkly. "But lucky for you, we may be able to come to an arrangement."
"And that is?" Ethan asked, cautious.
"An arrangement that would benefit both sides," Aria answered. "From the way you looked, I assumed someone left you for dead after a beating… or a robbery. I can offer you protection on the condition that you work with me for a year."
"Our client offered me compensation for finding the Commander's body." Ethan had to be careful not to refer to Cerberus. Aliens, like Aria, wouldn't take them well. "It's quite a lot, but I can't tell you about the big and juicy details."
Aria raised her eye ridges. "A mercenary?" She leaned in. "Whatever they're offering you, I can offer you more."
"I can take care of myself, but we need the location for the exchange."
"Or I could hand over the footage to whoever wanted you dead and get rid of the problem."
"I have enemies, but it won't help them when they're… quite a way away from killing me."
"I'm giving you a chance here," Aria growled. "I've heard about you fending off the Blue Suns, and some of my men saw you making trouble, so you know your way around a dangerous situation. You can take my offer or be left at the mercy of Omega."
"But the exchange—!" Feron exclaimed.
"The Shadow Broker is powerful, but this is my station," Aria asserted. "I know about the transfer, but why is he so interested in Shepard?"
Feron stuttered, but Ethan spoke out. "That's what we're trying to find out."
"Of course, you are," Aria chuckled and shook her head. "If you want to find Shepard, you can tell me."
Liara stepped forward. "Because the Shadow Broker is working with the Collectors! They're the ones that want Shepard's body!"
The ruler of Omega glared at Liara, her left eye twitching in anger. "The Collectors?! No one said anything about the Collectors!"
Ethan scoffed. "And here I thought you knew everything that happened on Omega. What would happen if people found out?"
The ruler of Omega clenched her teeth, and she sighed. "This complicates things in ways I don't like. Tell you what: I don't like it when certain people leave out certain details about exchanges on my station. I think I can help you. It's at the lower levels of Omega—the old mining processing plant. The Blue Suns took your friend there." She keyed a command on her omni-tool. "Here are the coordinates."
A ping sounded from their omni-tools. Ethan transferred the information to his Pip-Boy. Much to his surprise, it worked. As he looked at the map tab, a marker was near the lower levels of Omega. He didn't expect his Pip-Boy to receive data from something as advanced as an omni-tool, but it did.
"Much obliged," said Ethan, satisfied with the outcome.
The queen of Omega nodded. "Just go." The three left, sauntering past the crowd as they left the bar.
"Are you sure making Aria angry like that was a good idea?" Feron asked. "You realize she's ruthless, and you were pretty damn close to breaking that one rule."
Liara, Feron, and Ethan rode in a cab to their destination with Ethan in the back seat. Liara sat to his right while Feron sat in the front seat, driving the cab.
"Mentioning the Collectors already made her angry, Feron. I happened to take advantage of that," Ethan answered dismissively. "I know her type."
Feron shook his head and turned back to drive the cab. Liara turned to Ethan, concerned. "Have you thought of any alternatives if fixing your device didn't work?"
"Yeah. I'll be trapped here." Ethan relaxed and placed his hands behind his head. "All I need to do is gather the materials needed to fix my Transportalponder, do the experiments more carefully next time, and I'm all set. I know what I'm doing."
"Do you?" Feron asked without looking Ethan in the eyes, his tone colder than usual. Ethan tried to speak up, find a witty retort, but no words came out of his mouth.
The three exited the cab as it landed on the dock large enough for a large ship to land on it, with Ethan following behind Feron and Liara. In front of them was the old mining facility. There weren't any Blue Suns outside, so they assumed the exchange was taking place inside the plant. Ethan looked at the plant, noticing a blue light glowing similarly to biotics.
"So that's element zero?" he asked. "The glow's a sure sign it's radioactive."
"Yep," Feron spoke. "Omega has been built and rebuilt over this eezo-rich asteroid for generations. It also had some rich metals. Looks like the workers were in a hurry to abandon this place. Wouldn't blame them."
Liara looked at the plant nervously. "It's strange to think Shepard's inside."
"We have nothing else to go on. This is the closest we got to finding Shepard."
Liara nodded and took a deep breath. "You're right. We can't turn back now. How can we get inside undetected?"
Feron stepped forward. "We can sneak through the wastewater pipes. The main entrance is likely locked. If we try to break in through there, they'll know we're here."
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Is there no other way we can get inside?"
"The pipes are irradiated. No one in their right mind would guard them without getting sick, not even a turian with their metallic exoskeletons. If we go through there, we'll have to move fast."
"My Pip-Boy has a Geiger counter, remember?" Ethan showed his Pip-Boy.
Feron nodded. "Good. Sooner we get inside, the better. Let's go."
Ethan and Liara followed the drell. The three crouched down as they approached the entrance undetected and followed the pipes on the walls. They reached a catwalk to their right and noticed some of the pipes were fashioned into a set of stairs. Feron climbed on a series of pipes until he reached the top, where he pointed out Ethan and Liara. They followed.
They walked on until they noticed a pipe large enough for them to fit through. A yellow sign read: DANGER: HIGH AMOUNTS OF RADIATION FROM ELEMENT ZERO COMPONENTS. Do not enter unless you have adequate protection. TLD and a supplemental dosimeter are required for entry.
"That's good to know," Ethan quipped.
As they approached the large pipe, the Geiger counter on his Pip-Boy ticked. He pulled out a large, orange pill bottle labeled Rad-X out of his messenger bag, opened it, and poured out three small capsules. He handed two of them to Liara and Feron, who exchanged confused looks.
"Rad-X. It builds up resistance in your body against radiation. Here goes nothing." Ethan tossed the pill to his mouth and swallowed it. He entered the pipe.
Liara looked at her pill and sighed. "Your world has made some strange inventions." She swallowed hers as Feron did the same thing. The two entered the pipe, following Ethan.
Ethan's Pip-Boy continued to tick. Outside the tube, Blue Suns mercenaries patrolled the factory. The trip was long, and they were lucky no one heard them. They exited the tube and found themselves in the plant's control room. The room was small with a console nearby.
On the way, a female turian clad in Blue Suns armor passed by, a shotgun identical to Ethan's own hanging on her back. She looked different, lacking the crest of horns found in male turians.
Hiding in the shadows, the female turian walked down the hall, her hand placed next to a turian's version of an ear. Two more mercs followed behind, their faces hidden underneath helmets.
Liara raised her hands in front of her as she prepared her biotics. Feron stopped her, reminding her they didn't want any attention. Liara nodded and watched the mercs pass by without incident.
The three made it to a window after they climbed on a catwalk. Through it, they got a good view of the hangar. It had many floors, supported by railings, with boxes and crates scattered about the platform. The other two nodded back. After a second or two, Feron found a doorway leading right there. He took a huge step over the catwalk. "Hope you can land quietly."
The drell dropped down, landing silently despite wearing a full trench coat. Liara followed suit, her fall being a little clumsier. She landed close to a wall, and so she grabbed hold of it to steady herself.
The asari looked up at Ethan as he prepared to jump. With her hands raised, a blue glow surrounded Ethan, slowing his fall to the ground.
"You couldn't pull that off on yourself?" Ethan whispered. Liara ignored him.
Right as they filed in, they hid behind the boxes. There, a huge group of Blue Suns mercs standing around a coffin-shaped box, weapons in hand. Ethan surmised that it must be where Shepard's body was. It was too close to a Blue Suns vessel for Ethan's comfort. Soon after they arrived, a strange ship flew and landed in the hangar.
They watched as a huge, horned man walked out of the ship. His red-and-gray armor was bulky like he was a walking tank. The weapon with a large barrel he carried supported that assumption. Everything about him was intimidating, even from their distance. Ethan thought it was unusual for a salarian of that size. They were usually more fragile than other species. The salarian carried a large gun as he walked towards the Blue Suns.
Feron tensed. His black eyes betrayed the slightest hint of fear as he breathed to settle his nerves. "Damn! I knew this wouldn't be easy. That's Tazzik!"
Ethan smirked. "Him?" He looked at the large salarian. "They sure grow him large in their neighborhood, don't they?"
Feron shook his head, ignoring Ethan's attempt at a joke. It wasn't long before they heard a krogan below say, "They grow 'em large in your neighborhood, don't they?"
"And they grow them stupid in yours," the salarian retorted.
Feron and Liara glared at Ethan, who smiled in response. The drell then turned his focus on the muscular salarian below. "This day just gets brighter all the time."
"What's the matter? Who is that?" Liara asked.
Feron looked at the salarian. "Taz is the Shadow Broker's one and only hitman for the rare times he wants something, or someone, taken care of. The mercs are hired muscle. Taz—he calls for results. Results he usually gets."
"That's what they all say till they meet me," Ethan asserted. He glanced at the crates near the ship and looked to his right to see an unmanned turret. "This could give out a nasty surprise. Liara, think you can use your biotics to toss these crates at them? You can take out large groups, given the size and weight of them."
Liara squinted, looking at the crates. Some of them were filled with mining equipment and batteries. The other crates had processed element zero. When tossed at a high enough velocity, they can be deadly. After a second, she nodded. "Yes. I can handle the crates, but I do not like this."
Feron nodded. "And I'll handle the turret. It looks a little broken, but it's easy to fix with some omni-gel." He approached the turret in question. "I must say, Ethan, this is a dangerous business, disregarding a threat like Tazzik so casually."
Liara also nodded. "That grenade launcher could cause a lot of damage if we don't move quickly."
"Or he could hit those mercs or himself by accident," Ethan replied.
"No. Put it down!" Tazzik ordered. The two mercs instantly pulled their hands away from the casket.
The three paused, not saying a word. After a few seconds, the mercs moved along. "That's a fair point," said Liara. "We need to move. I'll handle the crates, Feron will shoot at the ship, and you can help me with the mercs. Unless you had something else in mind?"
Ethan positioned his Viper sniper rifle on the rails and looked through the scope, aiming at Tazzik. When he fired a shot at Tazzik, a blur surrounded his body, and the hitman was no worse for wear. His presence attracted the Blue Suns merc's attention as he turned in their direction.
And Ethan thought that kind of luck only happened in Vegas.
"We got hostiles!" A female merc grabbed a Vindicator rifle.
Ethan went for another shot, but the amount of gunfire focused on him stopped him from doing so. He ducked behind the rail and switched to his Mattock. He popped back up and fired at the merc who shot him, taking a few seconds to kill the merc, no thanks to his shields.
"Now, Liara!" he shouted.
Liara stood up and turned to the crates at the side. She seized them with her biotics. Before they got up in the air, they exploded, scorching the floor and sending debris everywhere. Ethan ducked, stunned, avoiding a massive battery that traveled inches above his head.
When the explosions died out, they saw Tazzik with his grenade launcher smoking. The huge salarian hadn't moved a muscle since the crates blew up. He looked at where Ethan and Liara were with an annoyed expression on his face.
"My turn." Tazzik aimed his grenade launcher at where they were and fired several times.
"Get down!" Ethan pushed Liara out of the way and leaped aside as the grenades landed. The wave of explosions knocked them off their feet as Feron turned the turret toward the ship. The drell fired a few rounds, hitting the ship's hull.
Tazzik wasn't deterred. He launched grenades at Feron as the Blue Suns shot at the drell's position. With a slight shift in his expression, Feron abandoned his post, leaping off the seat as a missile from a Blue Suns heavy's weapon landed at the turret. He rolled away when the explosion knocked him off his feet. Feron fell behind cover, but the drell's body shook as he looked over to Ethan and Liara.
Tazzik fired more grenades at Ethan, but Liara threw a biotic barrier around him and her. She turned to Feron as the drell stood up.
"Careful, Tazzik!" a turian shouted below. "You could've ruined that casket!"
"That platform wasn't close to Shepard, you idiot!" Tazzik replied, irritated. "Now I remember why I work alone."
"Feron, get over here!" Liara yelled.
The drell got up as he hobbled the rest of the way in a half-crouched position.
As his shields recharged, Ethan had a wave of dizziness hitting him like a bighorner kicking him in the head. Examining his own body to find metal shards sticking out of him forced him to realize he got hit by grenade shrapnel. He pulled a stimpak out of his messenger bag and stuck it on his right leg, and the metal fragments fell from his body as his wounds healed. He dragged Feron toward the nearest crate and administered some medi-gel on the drell. He then turned and fired at the mercs, taking them out one at a time.
He realized the Blue Suns outnumbered them even as he took out many of the mercenaries. A woman, completely covered in armor from head to toe and carrying an M-76 Revenant assault rifle, led them. As they avoided Tazzik's line of fire, she got all her troops behind whatever sparse cover there was. She made sure the weakest mercs got the best positions. Liara placed her into a stasis field, but the damage was already done.
The mercenaries maintained suppressive fire above the platform, going back to cover almost as soon as the trio re-emerged. The veterans shot at them in three-round bursts from their Vindicators, their special ammo eating through the three's shields at an alarming rate. A trio of mercs with missile launchers took cover and fired. Sections of the railing collapsed and rattled the floor. It was enough to knock them off their feet, sending the rain of shrapnel down on them.
Ethan was running low on stimpaks and medi-gel. With their combined fire and Liara's biotics, they took down several mercs at that moment, with him claiming most of them.
"What do we do now?" a nervous Liara asked.
Ethan found himself facing a tough decision. He could stay there and hold his ground with Liara and Feron, fight the Blues Suns until they either retreated or were defeated, but he wasn't sure they could hold them all off. If Tazzik and the others flee, they will take Shepard's body with them.
"We have to get out of here," Ethan answered. Retreating seemed like a good idea. But the way they came in had been cut off by the Blue Suns so that only left one option: his Stealth Boy. But he only had one.
With seconds to spare as the mercs closed in on them, he realized fighting back was futile. He wouldn't have time to tell the others how to use the Stealth Boy. He could try to rescue Liara and Feron after he escaped, even though Tazzik would use them as bait. It would be the right thing to do after abandoning them.
Ethan took a slow breath and edged closer to Liara. "I'm sorry." He strapped the Stealth Boy around his right arm and activated it, rendering him invisible. He leaped off the platform, rolling as he landed.
"Get the body on the ship! Now!" the salarian yelled at the soldiers.
Two of the mercs quickly took Shepard's casket to Tazzik's ship. Despite the damage caused by Feron, it was intact. For a moment, he considered going inside that ship but dismissed it as too risky. There could be sensors that wouldn't be fooled, along with all sorts of security, and not enough space to go around in.
He scanned his surroundings and found another opening. He dashed into the dark and narrow hallways, finding them to be empty of Blue Suns mercs or anyone else in the vacancy. When he got out of the plant, Tazzik's ship took off with Shepard's body, and his companions, on board.
Liara was shocked when Ethan disappeared before her eyes. He told her that he was sorry, and by the look on his face and the tone of his voice, he probably meant it, but him outright abandoning them on the spot made her not so sure. However, if he escaped, then he might have the chance to get Shepard's body.
A group of Blue Suns mercs burst through a door nearby, wielding Katana and Scimitar shotguns and even flamethrowers. Liara and Feron dropped their weapons and got their hands up. They would be shredded in seconds if they don't comply.
One of the mercs grabbed Liara from behind to prevent her from using her biotics. Another kneed her in the stomach for good measure. A wave of nausea hit her as the wind knocked out of her. A batarian centurion grabbed Feron afterward, holding up the already weakened drell by the arms. The two were dragged downstairs before everyone else.
The mercs parted slightly as the huge frame of Tazzik walked through, looking pleased with himself in the smarmiest way possible. "Have to be honest, Feron, I'm disappointed in you. It seems the Shadow Broker made the right call in sending the Blue Suns after the both of you."
The drell faced the hitman with defiance. "I won't work with anyone who makes deals with the Collectors. And especially not ones where—"
One of the mercs elbowed Feron hard in the stomach.
Tazzik shook his head. "That's how business works, Feron. We sell to the highest bidder, no matter who we buy or sell to."
Feron looked at Tazzik once again and chuckled. "I think this is where you and I come to a distinct disagreement. I can't work for him knowing what he's going to do." He chuckled bitterly. "I think you and I both know this would end with me leaving the Shadow Broker eventually, Tazzik."
Tazzik nodded. "You were one of the best, Feron. But you know how we punish traitors."
"And you tell me that like I don't know what he does to them." The drell gave the salarian an equally bitter smile. "There are risks that everyone must take, Taz. I took mine. I know the consequences."
Liara turned to Feron. "Do you mean that—?"
"I'm saying it won't be… pleasant."
"You're right," said Tazzik. "It'll be worse than what your asari friend will get. As for your human friend, I'm surprised he ran off, given his tenacity. Furthermore, he appeared on Omega with no known means of transportation. He had no form of identification, not even traces of DNA that matched with anyone, and he killed many Blue Suns mercenaries here alone."
"What, you want to recruit him?" Feron stated. "Too bad that won't happen."
Liara shifted, struggling to move. "Help me understand why anyone would sell the remains of my friend. What could they offer you to be worth that?!"
Tazzik turned his attention to the asari. "It was nothing personal."
"Shepard died looking for the Reapers. She killed one at the Citadel," Liara retorted, her voice teeming with anger. "Are you even aware that the Collectors' interest might be related to that? Do you know what they are going to do with her body once they have it?"
"And? What would you gain from it?"
"Closure, maybe. Do you know that Shepard is listed as MIA? Someone would come for her."
"The Shadow Broker will tell the Alliance to list Shepard as KIA, and everybody will move on." The large salarian turned his attention to two more mercs and nodded. Each got out a syringe and checked the dosage. Liara tensed at what they would do.
They struck the syringes at the side of Liara's and Feron's necks. Feron groaned as he fell to the ground, knocked out cold instantly from the potent dosage. Liara was next, feeling light-headed as her vision began to fade away.
"Put them on my ship. The Shadow Broker would be pleased to hear this," Liara heard Tazzik speak before losing consciousness. "And find this human. He shouldn't be far from here. I want him alive for questioning if possible. If he's not… I'll understand."