Promises: Chapter 4 (pt 2)

Chapter 4: An Oath and a Betrayal part 2

   Jacob greeted them as they entered the briefing room. “Welcome aboard, Samara,” the man said, stepping forward to shake the Justicar’s hand. “Your biotics are impressive. You’ll be a great asset to the team,” he added. “High praise from an organizations such as yours,” the Justicar replied evenly. “Where should we put you?” he mused. She turned back to Shepard.

   “Somewhere that looks out upon the great empty void,” she suggested. Shepard nodded,
“How about the starboard observation deck?” The Justicar seemed very pleased with the arrangement and excused herself. “Dismissed. Miranda, you and Garrus be ready to head out in an hour. We’re going to find Thane,” Shepard ordered, giving a nod to Miranda and Jacob as she left the room. Kaidan had been nowhere to be found upon their return, and she could only guess what he was doing. Deciding not to obsesses over the matter, the Commander headed to get some coffee. She was tired, and needed to refocus before they headed back out. They still had to track down Thane, after all. Kaidan, whatever he was doing, could wait.

   Miranda nodded to the Commander and took the lift to her quarters on deck three. Upon entering, the operative frowned. She didn’t recall leaving her chair out, nor her terminal on. She walked around the table, her keen eyes roving over each little detail. Datapads had been moved, her glass of water, still half finished, had been set to the side, and she was fairly certain it wasn’t her doing. The question was, who? Jack? Miranda dismissed the thought as soon as it came up. No, the convict never showed anywhere near other people. Besides, Shepard had given her complete access to the ship’s files. She could access whatever she wanted from any terminal in the ship.

   Miranda hit the comm, “Jacob, I need to see you,” Though it wasn’t said in her usual commanding tone, she heard the crispness as her words echoed around her empty quarters. Looking over her desk, she frowned instantly. There was something wrong here; something very wrong. Hearing heavy, purposeful footfalls, the operative looked up, seeing the Cerberus soldier entering. His dark eyes landed on her; concern and confusion written all over his face.

   “What’s up? Is it about the Justicar?” the man asked, frowning slightly. He had no idea why Miranda would call him up to her personal quarters. They had ended long ago.
“Take a look. My desk, my terminal – it’s been tampered with while I was away,” she stated matter-of-factly. As his eyes left her face to rove over the desk, Miranda was pleased to see the man’s eyebrows rising slightly. Eying the shelf that held her collection of datapads, she saw that they hadn’t been moved. They were in the same precise order, shape, and position as when she had left. Activating her omni tool, she set it to scan for fingerprints. Moving slowly over her desk, she didn’t expect to find any on the holographic interface. That would have been too obvious. Seeing something on the arm of her chair and a row of half smudged prints on her desk to the right of the holo keyboard, she allowed herself a triumphant smirk.

   “What’ve you got?” Having rounded the desk, Jacob looked over Miranda’s shoulder, seeing just what she was doing on her omni tool. “Fingerprints? Going old school, are we?”
“If it gets the job done, yes.” Uploading the data to her terminal, she started a search through several databases in one frame while looking over the search history in another. Eyebrows rising as she saw what the intruder found, she let out a heavy sigh. “Well, well… Looks like someone went digging for answers about Subject Zero.”

   “Jack?” Seeing the look Miranda gave him, the soldier continued. “Why would someone go looking for intel on her? She agreed to work with Shepard and that should be enough.” Jacob racked his brains, trying to think. Jack herself was content to stay in the sub deck of Engineering, and wouldn’t have broken into Miranda’s quarters for the information. The thief Kasumi perhaps? No, there was no logical reason for her to snoop around in those files, and nothing to be gained from it.

   “Enough for this crew, maybe.” Eying the scan as it progressed, Miranda added another database. “It’s a good thing that Cerberus has full access to the Systems’ Alliance Military database-” She had no sooner said this when the scan stopped; a positive result appearing on her screen. “Well, look what we have here.” Her eyes moved up to Jacob, who had rounded the desk again, and was standing in front of her, his back to the door. “Our Alliance guest; Staff Commander Kaidan Alenko.”

   Jacob shook his head. “But why would he be looking up information on Jack? It makes no sense.” He scanned the files before looking back to Miranda. “He can’t have been looking for information on Shepard,” he mused. Miranda scoffed lightly.

   “Even if he was, EDI’s databases are sealed. We’re some of the very few that has full access to the Lazarus Project information as it is. None of which could be accessed through the terminals here.” No one but they had the necessary clearance anyway. Hacking, or attempting to, would have resulted in failure.

   “Damn,” Jacob sighed. He could understand Alenko’s suspicion, having himself served in the Alliance. He’d tried to befriend the Staff Commander, show him what Cerberus really stood for, why he left the Alliance, but the man had rebuffed him each time. Eventually, Jacob had stopped trying and had given Kaidan his space, not without a little disappointment, however. He leveled his gaze at Miranda. “So what’s the next move? Did you want to speak to the Staff Commander about it? Or Shepard?”

   Miranda shook her head. “No. So far nothing has been breached other than Jack’s files. Things are stressful enough without adding to it, but I think we should keep an eye on our guest just in case.” Though she didn’t show it, Miranda was slightly concerned about the events. What else had Alenko found?
   
   “What could he find that he hasn’t already?” Jacob mused thoughtfully. It was a question that Miranda had to almost sneer at. Jacob could seem far too “innocent” sometimes, and it made her want to laugh. Seeing her expression, he questioned further.

   “What? Something I said?”

   “Jacob, you know as well as I do that questions have been raised about Cerberus’ involvement in the events on Akuze.”
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   The crew deck was quiet, save for the two crewmen talking and joking with Rupert Gardner in the mess hall. Kaidan had been meandering around there since his discovery of the files on Jack, and he couldn’t really decide what to do with the information. Sure, he could sit on it and confront Shepard after her business was concluded on Illium, or he could say something to the subject herself. Jack had been looking through datapads that held vast sums of information on them when he had seen her venture out from the engineering sub-deck. Bowing his head in frustration, he froze when he heard voices coming from the XO’s office. Edging closer, while keeping himself from suspicion of eavesdropping, Kaidan confirmed what he thought he had heard. Akuze
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   “Yeah…” Jacob scratched his chin thoughtfully. “The Alliance was investigating allegations brought on by a Corporal Toombs after Shepard found him on Ontaron in the Newton system of the Kepler verge.”
“That’s right.” Crossing her arms, Miranda frowned. “From what I understand, it’s all true. Cerberus was running tests on the thresher maws there, and when Toombs survived the attack, they did the same with him.”

   “What was the point of that?!” Jacob leaned forward, palms resting on Miranda’s desk, and when she looked at him, she saw something that she hadn’t for a while: there was a hatred in his voice; it burned in his dark eyes, and she was slightly impressed. Unfortunately for him, it didn’t last.

   “Keep your voice down. We don’t need anyone overhearing this.” Giving him a level stare, she continued. “I have no idea what the objective was or why they were experimenting on creepers and Rachni in the first place. It would be far too dangerous and it sounds like it was… It wasn’t my project, so I wasn’t informed. You know that Cerberus cells work independently.”

   “I can still see where Shepard and Alenko wouldn’t trust us.” Bitterness overtook his tone, and Jacob went to leave, but Miranda’s next words stopped him. “This isn’t the time to start a bloody rift between ourselves and Shepard. You know as well as I do that we need her for this mission to succeed. If she goes, so goes the fate of humanity. Take it up with the Illusive Man later, if you wish; he’ll tell you the same thing he told me. It was a project that was beyond our concern.”

   “You asked him about this?” There was a hint of surprise in Jacob’s voice. Miranda nodded. “Since Shepard had been in contact with other cells before the Lazarus Project, yes. I was interested to see if it was in fact true what this Toombs had said.” In truth, she had been highly doubtful of the accusations when she’d found the Commander’s personal logs shortly before the reconstruction had begun. They’d been monitoring the Commander for a while before the Collectors had attacked the original Normandy, and that was one such piece of information that had crossed her desk. Naturally, she’d been curious.

   “If she finds out about this-”

   “She can’t find out about this.” Miranda’s tone was sharp as she spoke. “That’s how it was, and we have no control over what other cells do. We both knew that when we signed on to work with them. Tragic, but not our doing.”

   “Sounds like you’d consider telling her.” Jacob had detected the note of distaste in Miranda’s voice, but it had vanished as soon as it had come. “No. Best she doesn’t know… At least for now.” There was nothing to be gained and everything to be lost from telling the Commander. They needed her focused, capable.

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   They had barely stopped talking when the door opened, causing Kaidan to move away quickly and act like he was busy. Looking to Gardner’s left, he spotted the coffee pot. Going for a cup, Kaidan heard Jacob walk off straight for the lift that would take him back to the combat deck. Hearing footsteps behind, the Staff Commander turned to see Garrus striding past him, meeting with Miranda as she exited her office. The three vanished behind the lift, and Kaidan was left to his thoughts. What had he just overheard? Were Toombs’ accusations really true? At the time, he had thought that the man was delusional. Shepard had managed to convince Toombs to let the Cerberus scientist face justice rather than a bullet, but it seemed that there was an undertone of disbelief. Sure, Cerberus was bad, but to provoke a thresher maw attack on a colony and wipe out almost an entire unit of marines for testing? That was pushing the boundaries of what he could believe at the time.

   Now, standing on a Cerberus frigate, seeing Shepard working with them, and knowing that they had been responsible for Admiral Kahoku’s death two years ago, Kaidan wasn’t sure about a lot of things. Shepard was different; she sided with terrorists, murderers, and sick scientists that experimented with rachni, creepers, and their own people. She had once stood for the Alliance, fighting Cerberus at every turn, but now… Now, he wasn’t sure he should remain here. Was she so far gone that she couldn’t see reason? Was there not a way to get to the woman he still hoped was in there somewhere? Part of him didn’t want to believe it. There had to be some way to obtain more information. It was too hard to believe, but after what he’d just overheard… he was no longer sure.

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   Returning to Ilium, Shepard felt a renewed sense of purpose. This was what she was good at doing. She hadn’t seen Kaidan during their brief hiatus before this mission, for which a part of her was glad. While not normally one to shy away from confrontation, Shepard found herself unwilling to face the Staff Commander, or his accusations, at the moment. She knew in her heart that she hadn’t abandoned the Alliance. Or at least that was what she told herself. No one else would listen. No one else seemed to care about the Reapers or the Collector threat. Hell, it wasn’t as if she’d chosen to wake up on that damned base!

   Shoving the unwanted thoughts aside, Shepard focused on the mission. Liara had mentioned someone named Seryna. That was their best bet. They found an asari in the transport hub. “Seryna?” Shepard inquired as she and her squad walked over to the hub. “Who wants to know?” A deep purple hued asari replied without looking up from her terminal.

   “Name’s Shepard. Liara T’Soni said you might have information on Thane Krios.” That got her attention. The asari stood, walking out from behind her desk., telling the other asari to cover for her.

   She motioned to Shepard, moving away from the hub. “Over here. Yeah, I know who Thane Krios is. I might’ve passed him some information but I didn’t hire him. What do you want to know?” Shepard lifted her shoulders in a shrug.

   “Maybe you can help me find him,” she told the asari. Seryna scoffed.

   “I can tell you, but you won’t stop him,” she assured the Commander.. “When he contacted me I checked up on him. The man never gives up on a job. I ran security for Nasanna Dantius. Then I found out she was having people killed to cover up her dirty secrets. She fired me when I confronted her. Her loss. I might’ve been good enough to stop Thane from taking her down,” she told Shepard casually.

   Shepard rubbed her chin for a moment, thinking. “Why does that name sound familiar?” she wondered aloud. Seryna answered the question for her.

   “She was a representative on the Citadel a few years ago.”

   Shepard nodded, remembering the events while hunting Saren again. “Right.. she had me kill her sister, the slaver,” Shepard recalled. Seryna scoffed in surprise. “I thought that was just a rumor. Well, you know what she’s capable of then. She has even more power here in Nos Astra. She uses it to keep her friends in check, and her enemies dead.”

   “If you worked there you must have an idea what his opposition will be,” Shepard commented and the asari nodded slightly.

   “Eclipse mercs. High-tech killers. Undisciplined but very well equipped. She don’t much care who they kill, as long as they’re paid for it.” There was a sour note of distaste to Seryna’s voice. “Thane as quite a reception waiting for him. I told him all I knew. He didn’t seem worried.”

   “So where do I find Thane?” Shepard asked. Time was running short and she didn’t know when Thane’s job started, or if he was already in the midst of it.

   “The Dantius Towers. Penthouse level of tower one,” Seryna replied, moving towards the cab pedestal. She pointed across the way, at a group of skyscrapers climbing toward the sunset. As Shepard moved forward to attain a better view, the asari looked about furtively. “There’s a second tower, still under construction. If Thane's smart, he’ll go in from there.”

   Shepard folded her arms. “It doesn’t sound like Nasanna is just going to let me in.” They walked back to the desks.

   “She’s as smart as she is paranoid. No one’s getting in or out of there without a fight. I can get you in, but you’ll only get one shot. You’d better be ready.”
“Do you know anything else about Thane?” Shepard asked. Never hurt to attempt to uncover more information.

   The asari shrugged. “Not much. He did say he’d not doing the hit for money. Nobody hired him.” Seryna sounded confused that the man would do such a thing without wanting pay, but continued. “I wanted to know who I was helping. He said he’s doing this job on his own... the he had to “restore the balance of his life”. I don’t know. Maybe he’s crazy. If he takes down Nasanna, I don’t care why he does it.” Shepard regarded Seryna with an air of skepticism and no small amount of suspicion. “You’re just offering your help.. no strings attached?” There was something that didn’t quite sit right with the Commander. Either Seryna had another angle or she really hated Nasanna.

   “You’re going to look for Thane. Nassana’s mercenaries will try to stop you. At the least, you’ll distract her guards, take a little fire, give Thane a clear shot. I didn’t hire him to kill Nasanna, but I won’t shed any tears when she gets what’s coming to her.”
Shepard couldn’t argue with that reasoning, and it did give her a solid lead on the assassin. “Let’s go then,” she told the asari.

   “Good. I’m tired of this crap,” Seryna huffed. “We’ll go tonight as soon as the shift workers clear out of tower two.”

   The ride over was uneventful, allowing them to talk tactics. Once there, Shepard saw just what Seryna had been talking about. The lobby area was lined with FENRIS and LOKI mechs. Easy enough to take out, they moved on, encountering a badly wounded salarian worker. Informed that there were more that had been gunned down or attacked by the “dogs”, Shepard questioned Nassana’s sanity. She had been concerned with appearances back when Shepard had found and killed her sister Dahlia, but this was a stretch. The worker informed them that there were probably more workers hiding throughout the tower. Moving on, the Commander found that to be correct.

   The lower levels of the tower were filled with Eclipse engineers, vanguards, and commandos, as well as LOKI and FENRIS class mechs. Seryna hadn’t been kidding when she had said that there was a private army protecting Nasanna. Reaching the upper floors, Shepard found a datapad that held the genetic history of the Kirrosa family lying on the floor. Remembering the salarian that had been on a frantic call near Seryna’s station, she pocketed it. Miranda had spotted a locked door that held three salarians behind it. They warned Shepard of the bridge between the two towers and that Nasanna had many mercs up there. Only when the last group of workers was found did Shepard hear about Thane. He had shot a merc, leaving one of the salarians to grab his gun. Tellon seemed overly stressed and borderline paranoid, while his brother was more helpful. They warned that the winds were terrible between towers one and two.

   Advancing a little further, the three reached the bridge and worked their way across it. Troopers, commandos, and vanguards were what awaited them; attack drones perched just at the top of the bridge, closest to the penthouse entrance. Gunning down the Eclipse mercs, Shepard couldn’t help but admire their tactics. Stagger and use the environment to their advantage, use the grenade launchers to try and blow their enemies off the bridge, and use commandos as a last resort. Only when they had cleared the gusting winds did Shepard breathe a little easier. The asari commando that stood between them and their destination was a decent challenge, but in the end, she fell due to Garrus’ shredder ammunition.

   Approaching the door that led to Thane’s target, Shepard prepared for anything. Opening it, she was met with the silhouette of the asari. Nasanna had her back to them, looking out at the urban landscape that was Nos Astra. Hearing the trio’s approach, she turned; dark eyes narrowed and fixed on the human. Surprise took over her expression when she recognized the human Spectre.

   “Shepard… But you’re dead.”

   “I’ve been getting that a lot lately.” Shepard crossed her arms, green eyes narrowed. “I got better.”

   “I see...” Motioning for the two mercs flanking her to lower their weapons, Nasanna continued. “And now you’re here to kill me…”

   “Maybe I just missed you.” The sarcasm was tangible between them. Shepard saw Nassana’s eyes narrow as she turned away toward the window again, sending a glare over her shoulder toward the human.

   “Screw you, Shepard.”

   “Charming as ever.” Shepard didn’t miss the slight quirk to the asari’s lips as she looked over her shoulder again.

   “I suppose you find this all very ironic. First you deal with my sister, and now you’re here for me. Well, you’ve made it this far. Now what?”

   “You really think I’m here to kill you?”

   “Do you have another reason for decimating my tower? Eliminating my security?” Nasanna paced the floor behind the desk, the sun turning the ridges of her crest golden in their sunset hues.

   “I’m simply looking for someone.”

   “Do you really expect me to believe that?” Finally turning to face her fully, Nassana’s eyes roved over the turian and human companions that flanked Shepard. Garrus held his rifle close; ready to fire if needed. Miranda kept her pistol holstered; dark blue eyes narrowed as they regarded the eclipse mercs that flanked Nasanna. “Is it credits? Name your price and we can get this over with.”

   “All the credits in the galaxy won’t make this problem go away, Nasanna.” Hearing something above them thud softly, Shepard guessed that it was her desired target. Thane had apparently gone through the ductwork to get to the penthouse. Nassana’s entire body tensed at her words, but she made no move to look up. Clearly she hadn’t heard anything.

   Her eyes burned into the Commander's. “Who the hell gave you the right to play God!” Teeth bared, Shepard could see the paranoia and anger that had been mostly bottled up during this brief meeting. It burned in her eyes as she stared at Shepard. “I may not be perfect, but look at you.. We’ve both killed people for money! What’s the difference?”

   “You’ve killed people because you think they’re beneath you… or you think you’re going to get stabbed or shot in the back.” Advancing slightly, Shepard placed her hands on the desk, leaning forward slightly. “I kill people because they give me no other choice.” She locked eyes with the asari, watching her.

   “You do have a choice…” Turning away to avoid Shepard’s piercing green eyes, Nasanna looked out the vast window again. “You don’t have to do this…” Looking back at the Commander, Shepard saw something different. There was no simple paranoia. There was fear in her eyes. Real fear. “I can tell you-” Cut off by the sudden movement of one of the mercs, the asari turned, her tone sharp as she spoke. “What?” she snapped, eyes flashing.

   “I heard something.”

   “Dammit. Check those other entrances.” Motioning toward the mercs, she glared back at Shepard. “You, stay put. When I’m done with these fools, I’ll-”

   She was cut off as someone dropped from the vent above. Gripping the neck of one of the mercs, they broke it with ease; the merc crumpling to the floor silently. Stabbing the other one quickly, preventing her scream, the man, a drell she saw, pressed a heavy pistol against Nassana’s chest, pausing only for a second to allow her to look up at him. He pulled the trigger; the sound of Nassana’s weak and nearly lifeless protests as she was laid against her desk fading into a final, soft breath. Only when it was quiet and she heard slight movement did Shepard move to face her target. The drell stood over the now dead asari, folding her arms over her chest in a typical fashion for the dead. His eyes were closed, his head bowed.

   “Now we see the assassin himself.” Miranda’s words held a note of surprise and satisfaction. Shepard had to admit that Krios’ work was impressive and needed. Nasanna could be a paranoid businesswoman, killing all those that were beneath her or in her way, but the thought crossed her mind; what made her this way? Stepping forward, she thought of what to say to this killer.

   “I was hoping to speak with you.” Smooth and precise with her words, she heard Garrus and Miranda follow her lead, coming to stand at her side. Thane didn’t look up, though his body stiffened slightly.

   “I apologize…” Interlacing his fingers as he stood over the asari, the drell continued, voice rough but quiet. “But prayers for the wicked must not be forsaken.”

   “Do you really think she deserves it?” Shepard asked quietly.

   “Not for her; for me.” Finally looking up, he opened his eyes. Dark, they landed on Shepard. “The measure of an individual is difficult to discern by actions alone. “Take you for instance; all this destruction and chaos… I was curious to see just how far you’d go to reach me.” Pacing in front of the desk now, Thane found his place; he stood, blocking the view of Nassana’s body. The sun bathed him in a strange golden hue, outlining his form and illuminating the side of his face as he leveled the three with a curious gaze. “Well, here I am.”

   “You knew I was coming.” It was a statement, but she questioned his knowledge. Thane turned, resuming his pacing; dark eyes landing on Garrus, then back to Shepard. “Not until you marched into the front door and started shooting.” Back turned to Shepard, he continued. “Nasanna had become paranoid; you saw the sheer force of her guard. She believed that one of her sisters would kill her…” Turning his head slightly, Thane lowered his head in acknowledgement. “You… were a valuable distraction.”

   “You used me to get to her.” The slight contempt in Shepard’s voice was only marred by her slight approval. As Thane had just said, she was a valuable distraction; intentional or otherwise. “But I’ll worry with that later. I’m here to ask for your assistance.”

   “Indeed.” Still not looking at her, Thane nodded but remained silent.

   “I’m on a mission to stop the Collectors. I’m sure you’ve heard of them.”

   “By reputation.” Turning finally, Krios approached the window, rounding Nassana’s desk in the process.

   “They've been abducting entire human colonies in the Terminus Systems. Freedom’s Progress and Horizon were their handiwork.” Shepard felt a slight pull in the vicinity of her heart at the mention of Horizon. Kaidan was quick to enter her mind, though she shoved that thought back, focusing on the mission.

   “I see.”

   “We’re going to stop them.” Basically spelling it out in those few words, Shepard was surprised by Thane’s detachment to the entire thing. Whether it was normal for drell or not, it was new to her. Frustration growing at his continued silence, she chanced a look back at Miranda and Garrus. The turian seemed neutral, having no opinion, wile Miranda held that same frustrated glint in her eye. Thane finally spoke again, allowing the conversation to move forward.

   “Stopping the Collectors would require passing through the Omega 4 relay. No ship has returned from doing so.”

   “They said it was impossible to get to Ilos too.” Shepard pointed out coolly. Garrus gave a low chuckle, mandibles flaring slightly with amusement. Thane tilted his head to the side, observing Shepard for a moment, taking in what the turian said.

   “True. It seems you have built a career on achieving the impossible.” Focusing on the setting sun over the Nos Astra skyline, Thane looked thoughtful. “This was to be my last job.” Bowing his head in what looked to be defeat, he admitted something that Shepard found odd. “I’m dying… Low survival odds don’t concern me, however; the fate of your human colonies does.”

   “I hadn’t heard…” Shepard trailed off, momentarily taken aback at the new information. What could she say? Shepard hadn’t been prepared for something like this. Hearing that drell were skilled in combat, and this one especially, she had expected a quick and almost unsociable assassin, but this was different; he was different.

   “Is there anything I can do?”

   “Giving me this opportunity is enough.” Eyes closed again, Thane continued speaking. “The universe is a dark place: I’ve been trying to make it a little brighter before I die.” Turning to face her, Shepard saw a small wave of realization cross the drell’s face. “Many innocents died today. I wasn’t quick enough, and they suffered. I must atone for that.” Extending his hand, she took it, and he shook hers firmly. “I will work for you, Shepard; no charge.”

   Hearing commotion as they headed out onto the bridge, Shepard looked down. There were medical teams working with the salarian workers who had made it out, and crime scene techs were swarming the lower levels. Squinting, Shepard saw the unmistakable mobile hovering reporting aids that Khalisah Bintsinan Al-Jilani was famous for. She had to frown at the scene. Fortunately, she didn’t have to look at it long. A skycar hovered nearby, coming in for a landing on the bridge ahead. When it opened, Shepard saw a very familiar detective step out. Motioning for them to come closer, she crossed her arms; a smirk gracing her lips.

   “Not enough that you wipe out an Eclipse band and bust an illegal trading ring, eh, Shepard?”

   “Detective Anaya.” Nodding to the asari, she stopped by the skycar. “Had some business to take care of. I’m surprised you’re out here. I thought clearing off that Eclipse base would set you back a while.”

   “You kidding?” Motioning around and below them, the detective continued, amusement coloring her voice. “The Justicar was as much excitement as I’ve really had in a few years. Now a call goes out that there’s more trouble than usual up at Dantius Towers.” She motioned to the buildings. “Unintentional.” Miranda stated this with a slight amused note. “But it wasn’t preventable.”

   “Noted.” Motioning to the skycar, Anaya watched as Miranda, Garrus, and Thane sat down in the rear seat, while Shepard took passenger. Resuming her place in the driver’s, the detective closed the skycar and lifted off from the bridge, activating her omni tool in the process. There was a lot of comm chatter coming in as she responded. “Topside clear. Hostiles down. Send them up. Caution on the bridge.”

   “Copy that. Any casualties?” At this, Anaya glanced toward Shepard, who nodded grimly.
   
   “Handfull of mercs and Dantius herself. Notify the family.”
   
   “Acknowledged.”

   Deactivating her omni tool, the detective continued driving, heading for the transit hub near the Nos Astra trading floor. “So, what happened?”
“You really want to know?” Seeing the asari roll her eyes slightly, Shepard had to suppress a short laugh. “We were looking for the one that put a hit on Nasanna Dantius. Instead, we found the one who carried it out.” When the asari’s eyes darted back toward the drell, Shepard nodded. He was who we were looking for to assist in that mission I mentioned earlier.”

   “Rumor had it that you were building a small army. It’s… unsettling to know it was right.”

   “Don’t worry.” Garrus said this with a slight laugh. “No one here is a target.”

   “Forgive me if that’s not comforting.” Beginning the descent to the transit hub, Anaya removed a datapad from the console between herself and Shepard. “I was asked to pass this along from someone near the transit station. Handing it off to Shepard, she intercepted some radio traffic on her omni tool, hearing only “The bitch is dead,” when Shepard initiated playback. “Well, if that wasn’t subtle.”

   “Former employee. She was the one that got us into the tower.” Shepard eyed the omni tool that had been activated again. “Sounds like this is big news.”

   “Pain in the ass press.” Deactivating the omni tool again, Anaya shifted the skycar so that it could prep for landing. “They’ll be crawling all over the borders of that crime scene. She was a well-known target around here.”

   “Indeed.” Thane’s simple quip made Shepard nod.

   “Yeah she’s caused quite a stir. Too bad she isn’t alive to deal with it.”

   “She’s better off, to be honest.” Eying the silhouette of the towers as the car landed, Anaya frowned. “Rumor was that she was paranoid and losing her mind.”

   “Beyond paranoid.” Shepard motioned for the others to step out ahead as the skycar opened again, revealing the transit hub and Dara’s office. “I think she was losing it.”

   “That whole family’s knee-deep in it.” Anaya remained where she was while Shepard stepped out, joining the others near the stairs leading up to the pedestal. “Ah well, duty calls. I’ve got to get back and take statements from those salarian workers. Good that you got them out alive.”

   “They were lucky.” Thinking of the first one they had encountered, bleeding on the floor in the atrium, Shepard shook her head. “She didn’t have to do that. Thanks for the lift, Detective. Hopefully the investigation phase won’t last long.”

   “Figured you’d rather avoid the reporters. Investigating this is more or less a courtesy. We basically know what happened. It was coming for a while. Those salarians and the other workers that managed to escape deserve some semblance of justice.”

   “Heard that.” Hearing the engine kick in again, she stepped back. “Pleasure as always, detective.”

   “Be well, Shepard.”

   The skycar lifted off, aimed for the towers again, and Shepard turned abruptly on her heel. The Normandy was just beyond this area, and so was the Staff Commander that was slowly easing his way back to the forefront of her thoughts. As she rounded the various kiosks on the trading floor, she glanced back up toward Liara’s office. She could just see the asari maiden looking down over the lower level. When their eyes met, Shepard felt a tension in her chest. Not sure why, she made a mental note to return here and hack those terminals. It would at least get her mind off of Kaidan. Once back aboard the Normandy, Jacob met them in the comm room, and to Shepard’s surprise, his mood was less than welcoming.

   “Heard impressive stories about you, Krios.” Crossing his arms, Jacob landed Thane with a cold stare. “You’ll be a decent asset to the team… That is if you feel comfortable having an assassin watching your back.”

   “I’ve accepted a contract.” Thane matched Jacob’s stare, dark eyes betraying no emotion.

   “My arm is Shepard’s.”

   “Uh-huh… I’m loyal to Shepard, not my next paycheck.”

   “Obviously he is too. He’s doing this mission free of charge.” Shepard looked between the assassin and the former Alliance soldier, folding her arms. “What’s your concern, Jacob?”

   “I don’t like mercenaries; an assassin is just a precise mercenary.”

   “An assassin is a weapon. He does not choose who to kill. The one who wields him does.” Thane said this bluntly, and Shepard could agree partially with that statement. Jacob didn’t seem to. He scowled and looked away as Thane addressed Shepard again. “Where should I put my things? I would prefer someplace dry, if available.”

   “The area that houses the life support plant on the crew deck tends to be slightly more arid than most other parts of the ship.” EDI’s voice surprised Shepard as the blue holo form appeared at the base of the table before her. Shepard nodded in approval.

   “Ah, an AI.” Slightly surprised by EDI’s appearance, Thane quickly recovered. “My thanks.” He bowed low and made for the exit, heading for the crew deck, and as the door closed behind him, EDI spoke again.

   “He seems quite civil.”

   Once the room was quiet, Shepard turned to Jacob, and she wasn’t alone. Miranda was still in the room; dark blue eyes focused on the Cerberus soldier. Unsure of what to say to him, Shepard paused. It was odd for Jacob to show a blunt distrust of anyone that Shepard had been asked to recruit. He seemed to be open to everyone else: a convict, a former STG agent and scientist, a Krogan, the “Archangel”, and a Justicar. Now, he seemed to distrust someone?

   “We need all the help we can get on this mission.” Miranda said this with a slightly cold tone to her voice. Shepard had to agree fully.

   “He’s not what I expected in an assassin. He may surprise you, Jacob.”

   “Yeah.” Straightening up as he prepared to leave, Jacob still wore that scowl that suggested he wasn’t convinced. “And he may not.” Walking out of the comm room, he left the two alone. Miranda shook her head in exasperation.

   “Is he going to be a problem? He’s seemed fine so far.” Shepard questioned this aloud, half expecting Miranda not to answer. The Cerberus operative surprised her, though.
“Hopefully not. He may have his objections, but he knows why we’re here and why we’re recruiting all these people. I’ll assume he’ll keep his personal feelings to himself.”
Choosing to head to the armory and restock on thermal clips, Shepard saw that Jacob wasn’t there. Part of her was glad. She didn’t need the get into another argument. She’d had her fill of that, thank you. With the clips replaced in her pistol and assault rifle and the one in her sniper rifle checked, Shepard headed up to her quarters to remove her armor. Though she would be returning to Ilium shortly, from what Liara said, she wouldn’t be leaving the port. There wasn’t much need for full body armor in a place such as that. Wanting a chance to go without it, she looked forward to hacking the terminals. It was a chance to use other skills aside from tactics and strategy. Or pulling a trigger. While not a tech genius of any sort, Shepard was more than comfortable with most systems. Her ability to notice detail and to adapt her thinking made it much less difficult to grasp the concepts of hacking or infiltration.

   Removing her armor, Shepard couldn’t stop thinking. Kaidan, Horizon, Ilium, Liara, and the entire Collector mess were all circling around in her head, beating a tattoo in her brain. Knowing that she should spend more time speaking with Kaidan than she was, the Commander kept putting that off. Kaidan wasn’t the one she should talk to; he still had his distrust of Cerberus to work out. In truth, she couldn’t blame him, though. Waking up on the Cerberus station she’d felt, and still did feel. Must of that same distrust. Seeing all that she had back when they were pursuing Saren, it was no secret why he didn’t trust the “pro-human” splinter group. Finding admiral Kahoku dead at the hands of the organization and then hearing that the Alliance attributed his death to “natural causes” when his body was littered with needle punctures still didn’t sit right with Shepard.

   Once done wiping down her armor, the Commander returned to her desk. There, she gazed at the various model ships that she’d been acquired so far in her travels. The Normandy SR1, Sovereign, the Destiny Ascension, and a few others glinted back at her from their places above the desk. Looking at the Asari dreadnaught and flagship of the Citadel fleet, she reflected on how the Geth had nearly ruined everything, along with Saren, following Sovereign and its campaign of annihilation. Eyes landing on the reaper as well, there was still a sense of dread that filled her as she gazed at it. Reapers were causing all of this: the near death of the council and ten thousand crewmen aboard the Ascension, the five hundred dead alliance soldiers taken out when they followed her order to save the Citadel dreadnaught, countless lives lost when Saren tried taking over the station and when Sovereign crashed, her death, and now her temporary alliance with Cerberus. A flash caught her eye, and upon examining her terminal, Shepard found that there was a new message. She had to sit down when she read who the sender was.

   Toombs.

   From: Toombs

   What the hell kind of game are you playing, Shepard? You did the buddy act when I had the gun on that Cerberus scientist, telling me you understood. Now I find out that you’re working for Cerberus?

   “I can’t believe this…” Eyes glued on the message, Shepard shook her head in utter disbelief. Toombs had been slightly delusional when she had found him on that remote world in the Kepler Verge, but this was out of line.

   Tests were done on me that you can’t even imagine. For years. Cerberus did them. They tortured me. They used me as a damn lab rat. And now you’re teaming up with them like they’re any other merc band?

   “Any other merc band? Really, Toombs…” She hadn’t had a choice in the matter. This argument mirrored the one she was having with Kaidan currently ands she found it angered and hurt her almost as much. All other options had been lost when the Collectors had destroyed the SR1. Everything that had happened in the last three years had been a result of the Reapers’ imminent invasion: Saren and the Geth attacking Eden Prime, Benezia’s death on Noveria, Ash’s sacrifice on Virmire, the suffering of the colonists and Shiala on Feros, the near destruction of the Citadel and Council, and that had only been the tip of it. They had all faced the annihilation of the galactic races and civilization at that point. Then, while isolating and hunting down remaining Geth forces beyond the veil, she had lost her ship, her crew, and her life. The Collectors were simply being used by Harbinger as tools. So yes, this was all out of her control.

   I’ve got my own merc team now, Shepard. And I kill any Cerberus team I can find. If I run into you, don’t expect any different.

   “I can only hope that it never comes to that…” Leaning back in her chair, Shepard marked the message as read and kept it as a reminder, rather than deleting it. It bothered her. Yes, Cerberus had run tests on him. Yes, they had broken him down; both mentally and physically. Yes, they had been responsible for the death of a unit of marines and their CO, Admiral Kahoku. Unfortunately, they were, right now, the only ones believing that the Reapers actually existed. They were the only ones that hadn’t been ready to shove her body into a casket and archive it at one of the better cemeteries. Toombs’ accusations back in the Kepler Verge still bothered her, though. He had pointed the finger at Cerberus as far as the events on Akuze went. Was it true? Did they actually provoke the maws on that peaceful colony? Were they the ones behind what scarred her soul to this day? In a way, she wanted to know, but a part of her was afraid of the answer.

   Standing abruptly, Shepard strode down the few steps, not really sure about what she was doing, and found herself gazing up at the rapidly moving starfield above her. The skyward porthole showed her what she had always been used to seeing. Space was just part of who she was. It had been since her birth, but now it wasn’t home. Not anymore. No, now it was her endless prison; secrets about her past and the unknown that was the future shielded by its darkness. It was unsettling.

________________________________________
   
   Shepard wasn’t the only one lost in thought on the Normandy. Kaidan stared out into the vast blackness of space from the port observation room. He was thinking of how he’d felt, reuniting with Shepard on Horizon, before knowing… well before things went to hell. The feel of her in his arms, her scent. He felt a pang of grief.. or was that longing? So much had changed. The joy at seeing Shepard had changed in an instant when she’d said those words; Cerberus. In a heartbeat the woman he’d loved… it was as if he were staring at a stranger. The same face, same voice.. but different somehow, at least in his eyes. Kaidan heaved a weary sigh, placing his hand on the cool glass. He still had no proof that Shepard had been ‘resurrected’ by Cerberus, or if she’d even died. All he had was her word. It should’ve been enough for him. Yet, it wasn’t. Somehow he needed tangible evidence. He stared out at the stars and nebulae that stretched out into infinity before him. It seemed to the Staff Commander the same distance that lay between he and Shepard now. Hell, it was probably less that distance, he thought wryly. He wondered if that distance would ever wane.