ME3 Chapter 3 - Mercs
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Samael61
Not too sore, are you?
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Hello there,
If you enjoy my stories, you can read up to 15 chapters in advance per story on my Patreon page / patreon.com/Samael61.
Shepard is a genius, violent machine, ready to bring his boots down on the corrupt, the evil, and the genocidal machines. What inspired me to write him in such a manner was Thairon, the protagonist of my original story, Arrival : Ruptures. Comments, likes and reviews are appreciated. Here are the links for : AO3, Spacebattles, Royal Road and Webnovel.
—
Trebia System
He couldn't stop himself from whistling.
The homeworld of the Turian Hierarchy was a veritable kill zone.
Anti-proton launchers dotted the void, supplemented with nuclear armament and capital-grade laser cannons. Everything was protected with mass effect fields and reflectors.
Even without the fleets, the system would grind down any hostile force to dust.
The Normandy landed on Menea, Palaven's moon and first line of defense, to pick Garrus up.
A turian approached, flanked by two guards. "Commander Shepard, I am General Corinthus. Chief Advisor Vakarian is in a meeting with the Primarch. He will be here soon," he informed.
"Thank you, general."
"Is there a problem with the preparations? You seem displeased," he asked. The turian kept glancing at his homeworld with twitching mandibles.
General Corinthus turned to fully face Palaven. "We just aren't happy to lose the only Reaper expert we have," he said after a short silence.
"Turians," Javik scoffed behind him. "It is difficult to imagine the primitives of my cycle fighting the Reapers better than us," he said.
"This is?" the general asked, barely glancing at the alien, who did look like a Collector.
"He is Javik, the last of the protheans," Shepard introduced, gesturing to the alien.
"Spirits," the general chuckled, shaking his head.
"How much of your fleet is retrofitted, General?" he asked. The largest war fleet in the Citadel space, the Hierarchy had around forty thousand ships, only matched by the geth.
"Eighty percent. And to be honest? It wouldn't have been possible without the geth. Their production capabilities outmatch ours," he admitted after considering it for a bit.
The geth, once supplied with the blueprints and the necessary resources, had produced and shipped reflectors, laser cannons, anti-proton torpedoes, and more.
Even the unrelenting generals and admirals of the Hierarchy weren't willing to turn away all that hardware.
"The rest of the ships are currently in the docks," he added.
"You, though, we owe more than anyone else," Corinthus said, raising his open hand to his eye level.
"We are all in this fight together, general," Shepard said, saluting back.
"That we are," a voice spoke behind the general. Garrus was wearing new armor, painted in his preferred colors of blue and gray.
"Vakarian, sir," Corinthus exclaimed, raising his rifle to the air. The guards followed along, but Garrus was quick to stop them. "At ease, general."
"Shepard, great to see you again," Garrus said and took the offered arm, head tipping forward slightly towards Javik. "Where did you find the prothean?"
"In a freezer," he said with a light tone.
"Come in, I think the forward guns need calibrating."
"After months as an advisor, that sounds like a vacation."
—
"Hey there," Garrus said with a low growl. He hadn't even dropped his luggage, walking straight into the forward batteries.
"Hey," Hailey replied, turning around to lean on the console, "nice armor."
"A gift from the Primarch," he said offhandedly.
"To his favorite advisor?" she winked.
Garrus approached, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I just care about being your favorite."
"I missed you," she said, hugging back and laying her head on his chest.
"Me too."
"I think I might have gone crazy if it wasn't for those wormhole generators," Garrus muttered. A long-distance relationship was already difficult. Considering they were at war…
"Isn't that misuse of power, Mr. Chief Advisor?" she teased, sticking her tongue out.
"I'd break that law every day for you," he joked.
"You are impossible."
"Impossibly charming, you mean?"
"Sure, sure."
—
The Normandy's next destination was the Exodus Cluster, and then Kite's Nest for reconnaissance.
"Commander, there is a call for you. It's from Mordin," Joker informed him over the comms.
He was close to the QEC and took the call there.
"Shepard. Great to see you. Excellent work on wormhole generators," Mordin praised. He was in an office, Shepard noticed, one that was enclosed on all sides.
"Thanks, Mordin. How is ruling the Salarian Union working out?" he asked. Mordin's coup was unexpected, but with how much the new government had poured into the war effort, no one cared.
"Stressful, but manageable. Previous political system ineffective for war. Will install a more efficient one later," he said. It was one of the promises made after the coup, one that had been well received across the galaxy.
"I bet they won't like you being around," said Shepard.
Mordin's smile widened, "Salarian lifespan short."
He chuckled,"Ah, Mordin, never change. How are the krogan doing?"
"Good. The genophage is modified. No more stillborns. Birth rate reduced. No worrying over krogan overpopulation," his friend said. The krogan wanted a full cure, but even they understood the reason behind it.
The krogan had evolved to reproduce so quickly because of their hostile homeworld, which kept their numbers in check. With modern weaponry and access to less hostile planets, it had become a disadvantage in creating a stable nation.
"Alright. Let me know if anything else comes up."
Mordin nodded, and the screen turned black.
—
On the route back to the Serpent Nebula, Shepard gathered the team to discuss the current state of the preparations.
"Were you able to figure out what the device does?" Kaidan asked. The hologram of the decoded device, now named Crucible, was projected over the table.
"It is a converter. Transforms dark energy into a mass effect pulse in three specific wavelengths. The first one is an EMP that will fry the Reapers by scrambling their software through inserting data that is encoded into the pulse," he explained, showing the wavelengths.
"The second, I think, uploads an organic mind into the shared structure of the Reapers. If the consciousness survives, it could take control of the Reapers," Shepard added.
Heads turned sharply to the device.
"The third?" Hailey asked.
"I am looking at it, though it is the most complex one."
"At any rate, we will obviously destroy the Reapers. However, it will also destroy EDI, so we need to cover her core with a special reflector," he said, looking at AI's robot body.
"Thank you, Shepard."
"What about the Catalyst?"
"The only way for the pulse to travel through the galaxy fast enough that the Reapers won't be able to outrun it is this," he said, pressing a button to play the destruction of the Bahak system.
Once the dark energy from the mass relay hit the star at faster-than-light speeds, it triggered a supernova.
"You destroyed a mass relay?" Javik asked, all four of his eyes blinking at once, his lips slightly parted.
"No, Batarian terrorists did," Garrus replied dryly.
"I hope we don't have to blow them all up, along with, you know, everything else?" Ashley pleaded.
Shepard shook his head. "The pulse will automatically convert the eezo inside the relays. It won't result in anything like the Bahak system," he assured.
"The problem lies with delivery. The initial pulse will need massive processing power to work in the first place," he added. Whether to encode the data into the dark energy pulse before it went off or to disseminate an organic mind across the galaxy, the Crucible needed a hyper-advanced AI.
He could, given time, make one.
"Mass relays are highly advanced computers,"
"Yes, but we will need at least several of them synchronized together."
"The Citadel," Liara exclaimed, leaping to her feet. "It is a mass relay, which means its systems, the part where only the Keepers access, must possess enough processing power to pull thousands of Reapers out of the dark space, that is, what, at least thirty thousand light-years away?" she said.
Shepard's eyes widened. He had completely forgotten about the Citadel.
"Liara is right," Garrus admitted.
"EDI, get me the Councillors online," he ordered. She nodded, a gesture she had picked up from the crew.
It took less than ten seconds for the Council to answer, though only Tevos and Valern were there.
"Commander Shepard, we hope you are well," Tevos greeted. He hadn't spoken to the Councillors in months, busy as they all were.
"Thank you, but we'll need to skip the pleasantries. I need you to send people to check the parts of the Citadel where only the Keepers are allowed to access," he said.
"May I ask why?"
"The Catalyst for the Crucible, we believe it is the Citadel. As the largest and most advanced mass relay, it is the only place where we can find the necessary processing power."
Valern twitched, his beady eyes slightly widening, and started muttering to himself.
"I… understood, Commander," Tevos said after glancing at Valern. "We will send the C-Sec and specialists to see what we can find."
"Thank you, Councillors," he said, and the call ended.
—
The Citadel
His orders to join the fleets gathering in the Utopia system have been delayed due to an emergency.
General Petrovsky had shown his face.
His fleets had taken Omega after luring Aria T'loak out, and with all the research bases they evacuated before the Alliance could act, intelligence suggested he had plenty of Reaper tech.
The Illusive Man had confessed that there was research on controlling the Reapers. Combined with the recent discovery that the Crucible could potentially assert dominance over the machines, the United Command had agreed to intervene.
However, they did not wish to send ships or ground forces to the other side of the galaxy.
Aria herself was on the Citadel, gathering forces to take her station back. She had promised support for the war effort, including the vast eezo reserves of Omega, if she received help first.
Any force capable of fighting the Reapers was welcome, even if they were mercenaries and pirates.
Not to mention, Tali was there too as the Admiral of the Federation Coordination Efforts.
The Normandy docked, and he gave the crew time off, the only one until the war ended.
Tali was at the Presidium, arranging the details of how to transport the vast anti-proton torpedo stores of the volus to predetermined supply locations.
"Thank you, Rannoch clan. I believe that concludes everything," the volus said between deep breaths.
"You too, ambassador." Tali tilted her head, and the volus waddled away.
"Excuse me, admiral, I believe you have a very handsome visitor," Shepard teased, tapping her on the shoulder.
Tali turned around, looking at him for a moment. She wrapped her arms around his torso and laid her head on his shoulder, silent.
"You alright?" he asked, straightening his posture.
"Just tired. Seeing you helps, though," she admitted.
"Why don't you go and rest aboard the Normandy?" he offered. Even inside the suit, he could see her eyes drop.
"I have work to do. Admiral, remember?" His girlfriend complained.
He activated the omni-tool, showing her a surprise form: "The Federation has written orders for you to be drafted under my command."
She giggled, hugging him tighter.
"Creator Zorah, do you require assistance?" A
"Legion, you are here too?"
"This unit has the most interaction with the organics. The Consensus has agreed it would make us uniquely suitable for diplomacy."
"That's great."
"Thank you, Legion, but I got it. You still have work to do; don't delay it on my account."
"As you wish."
—
Purgatory
"Last time I was in a place called the Purgatory, a corrupt prison warden tried to capture me," Shepard commented as he sat down next to Aria.
"That's wonderful. One more corpse for your kill count," she replied dryly, looking through her datapad.
"Heard you had a run-in with Petrovsky," he continued, leaning back and grinning.
Aria put down the pad, her lips tight. "Shepard, we can sit here and talk while you enjoy this shitty situation I found myself in, or we can talk business."
"Alright, what's your plan?" he asked. It was tempting, but time was short.
Maybe later.
"The Eclipse, Blue Suns, and Blood Pack. I made arrangements, but the deals need to be closed."
—
Jona Sederis was the founder of the Eclipse mercenary organization.
She was also a certified nutcase.
Fortunately, there was Sayn, her second in command, a much cooler-headed salarian.
"Commander Shepard. I heard that you were coordinating Jona Sederis' release. I did not believe it, though it seems I was mistaken," the salarian said as he got up.
Shepard looked him over, nodding to himself with one eyebrow raised, and pursed his lips.
"What is it?" Sayn asked, his throat bobbing as he looked around wildly.
"Did anyone ever tell you that you looked very commanding? Like a proper leader? I say, you would be an even better leader of the Eclipse than Sederis," Shepard praised, patting the salarian on the arm.
"Ah, no, no one has told me that," he replied, shoulders dropped, scratching his horn.
"Then they were blind," Shepard said. "Why don't you leave Sederis to rot where she is and take control of the Eclipse? Under the command of a leader like you, they will be unbeatable in no time," he added.
"Yes, yes," Sayn said, his eyes shining. "You are right. Tell Aria that we have a deal. She can forget about Sederis."
"I knew you were smart."
—
Darner Vosque was a moron.
"Wow, Aria wasn't kidding, the great Commander Shepard on a leash," the leader of the Blue Suns opened his mouth.
"Say, Vosque, do you have a second in command?" Shepard asked, rubbing his eyes.
"Yeah, Liam over there. Why?" he said, head tilting to a man at the corner.
"No reason," Shepard said. His hand blurred, and he lifted Vosque up, squeezing his throat.
The mercenary choked as his windpipe was crushed, struggling to break free. His movements became sluggish, and Darner eventually stopped moving.
Shepard dropped the corpse and turned to Liam, growling a "Get over here."
"Yes?" Liam asked, stuttering as he walked closer.
"You are in command now. And if I hear one stupid word out of your mouth…" he glared at the mercenary, the warning left unsaid.
"Yes, Commander. There is just a little problem," Laim agreed quickly, almost shouting the first part before whispering the second.
"What is it?" he asked. The sooner it was solved, the less he would have to deal with these idiots.
"A turian general, Septimus Oraka, is stopping us from getting weapons."
"I'll handle it. Get your men ready."
—
Apparently, the Blue Suns were trying to raid C-Sec shipments, which included laser weapons, reflectors, and more.
Which was unacceptable to him and the good general.
Instead, he convinced Oraka to release outdated Mass Effect gear to the Blue Suns, saying he would be sending them first feet into Khar'shan.
The equipment was outdated, but they were still fresh from the factories as part of a previous contract.
Liam was smart enough to not say anything.
—
His last contact was Narl, a batarian.
After Garrus turned Garm and most of the Blood Pack on Omega into fresh, organic paint, a vorcha had taken control.
Crete.
"Shepard, there you are. This is Kreete." Narl introduced him to the vorcha, and Shepard wondered how in the hell a vorcha of all races took control.
Could be because Blood Pack was chuck full of imbeciles.
"So? What the hell do you need to join Aria's little crusade?" he demanded to know. This whole thing was getting on his nerves.
"He wants an autograph," the barbarian said.
"An autograph?" he asked, rubbing his eyes again. Kreete nodded, head tilting up and down repeatedly.
"Well, yeah. He believes it will bring him strength in battle," Narl explained, scratching the back of his head.
Shepard looked at Kreete but couldn't decide whether he was grinning or looked like that all the time.
He was holding out a rocket launcher and kept looking at the weapon and then at him.
Taking a deep breath, he activated the welder in his omni-tool and signed the rocket launcher.
"Yes," Kreete laughed like a gremlin, holding the weapon up.
Shepard just sighed.
—
In the next chapter:
"However, I have issues with some of the company you keep around," she said.
"My team?"
"Yes. If you are coming, I don't want them," Aria declared.
Shepard looked at her, blinking a couple of times, and touched his ear. "Let me see if I get this right."
"I have Garrus, the turian that wiped three of the biggest merc outfits out of Omega, as my right hand. Two N7s that are some of the best soldiers in the galaxy. Tali, one of the most intelligent engineers you will ever encounter; my sister, who holds the highest records in the Alliance military after me; a living, breathing prothean who spent his life fighting; and another Alliance soldier I've been training for more than a year—and you don't want them because, what? Garrus pissed you off?" he asked, eyes squinted.
Curious about the next chapter? Please consider supporting me on Patreon.
If you enjoy my stories, you can read up to 15 chapters in advance per story on my Patreon page / patreon.com/Samael61.
Shepard is a genius, violent machine, ready to bring his boots down on the corrupt, the evil, and the genocidal machines. What inspired me to write him in such a manner was Thairon, the protagonist of my original story, Arrival : Ruptures. Comments, likes and reviews are appreciated. Here are the links for : AO3, Spacebattles, Royal Road and Webnovel.
—
Trebia System
He couldn't stop himself from whistling.
The homeworld of the Turian Hierarchy was a veritable kill zone.
Anti-proton launchers dotted the void, supplemented with nuclear armament and capital-grade laser cannons. Everything was protected with mass effect fields and reflectors.
Even without the fleets, the system would grind down any hostile force to dust.
The Normandy landed on Menea, Palaven's moon and first line of defense, to pick Garrus up.
A turian approached, flanked by two guards. "Commander Shepard, I am General Corinthus. Chief Advisor Vakarian is in a meeting with the Primarch. He will be here soon," he informed.
"Thank you, general."
"Is there a problem with the preparations? You seem displeased," he asked. The turian kept glancing at his homeworld with twitching mandibles.
General Corinthus turned to fully face Palaven. "We just aren't happy to lose the only Reaper expert we have," he said after a short silence.
"Turians," Javik scoffed behind him. "It is difficult to imagine the primitives of my cycle fighting the Reapers better than us," he said.
"This is?" the general asked, barely glancing at the alien, who did look like a Collector.
"He is Javik, the last of the protheans," Shepard introduced, gesturing to the alien.
"Spirits," the general chuckled, shaking his head.
"How much of your fleet is retrofitted, General?" he asked. The largest war fleet in the Citadel space, the Hierarchy had around forty thousand ships, only matched by the geth.
"Eighty percent. And to be honest? It wouldn't have been possible without the geth. Their production capabilities outmatch ours," he admitted after considering it for a bit.
The geth, once supplied with the blueprints and the necessary resources, had produced and shipped reflectors, laser cannons, anti-proton torpedoes, and more.
Even the unrelenting generals and admirals of the Hierarchy weren't willing to turn away all that hardware.
"The rest of the ships are currently in the docks," he added.
"You, though, we owe more than anyone else," Corinthus said, raising his open hand to his eye level.
"We are all in this fight together, general," Shepard said, saluting back.
"That we are," a voice spoke behind the general. Garrus was wearing new armor, painted in his preferred colors of blue and gray.
"Vakarian, sir," Corinthus exclaimed, raising his rifle to the air. The guards followed along, but Garrus was quick to stop them. "At ease, general."
"Shepard, great to see you again," Garrus said and took the offered arm, head tipping forward slightly towards Javik. "Where did you find the prothean?"
"In a freezer," he said with a light tone.
"Come in, I think the forward guns need calibrating."
"After months as an advisor, that sounds like a vacation."
—
"Hey there," Garrus said with a low growl. He hadn't even dropped his luggage, walking straight into the forward batteries.
"Hey," Hailey replied, turning around to lean on the console, "nice armor."
"A gift from the Primarch," he said offhandedly.
"To his favorite advisor?" she winked.
Garrus approached, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I just care about being your favorite."
"I missed you," she said, hugging back and laying her head on his chest.
"Me too."
"I think I might have gone crazy if it wasn't for those wormhole generators," Garrus muttered. A long-distance relationship was already difficult. Considering they were at war…
"Isn't that misuse of power, Mr. Chief Advisor?" she teased, sticking her tongue out.
"I'd break that law every day for you," he joked.
"You are impossible."
"Impossibly charming, you mean?"
"Sure, sure."
—
The Normandy's next destination was the Exodus Cluster, and then Kite's Nest for reconnaissance.
"Commander, there is a call for you. It's from Mordin," Joker informed him over the comms.
He was close to the QEC and took the call there.
"Shepard. Great to see you. Excellent work on wormhole generators," Mordin praised. He was in an office, Shepard noticed, one that was enclosed on all sides.
"Thanks, Mordin. How is ruling the Salarian Union working out?" he asked. Mordin's coup was unexpected, but with how much the new government had poured into the war effort, no one cared.
"Stressful, but manageable. Previous political system ineffective for war. Will install a more efficient one later," he said. It was one of the promises made after the coup, one that had been well received across the galaxy.
"I bet they won't like you being around," said Shepard.
Mordin's smile widened, "Salarian lifespan short."
He chuckled,"Ah, Mordin, never change. How are the krogan doing?"
"Good. The genophage is modified. No more stillborns. Birth rate reduced. No worrying over krogan overpopulation," his friend said. The krogan wanted a full cure, but even they understood the reason behind it.
The krogan had evolved to reproduce so quickly because of their hostile homeworld, which kept their numbers in check. With modern weaponry and access to less hostile planets, it had become a disadvantage in creating a stable nation.
"Alright. Let me know if anything else comes up."
Mordin nodded, and the screen turned black.
—
On the route back to the Serpent Nebula, Shepard gathered the team to discuss the current state of the preparations.
"Were you able to figure out what the device does?" Kaidan asked. The hologram of the decoded device, now named Crucible, was projected over the table.
"It is a converter. Transforms dark energy into a mass effect pulse in three specific wavelengths. The first one is an EMP that will fry the Reapers by scrambling their software through inserting data that is encoded into the pulse," he explained, showing the wavelengths.
"The second, I think, uploads an organic mind into the shared structure of the Reapers. If the consciousness survives, it could take control of the Reapers," Shepard added.
Heads turned sharply to the device.
"The third?" Hailey asked.
"I am looking at it, though it is the most complex one."
"At any rate, we will obviously destroy the Reapers. However, it will also destroy EDI, so we need to cover her core with a special reflector," he said, looking at AI's robot body.
"Thank you, Shepard."
"What about the Catalyst?"
"The only way for the pulse to travel through the galaxy fast enough that the Reapers won't be able to outrun it is this," he said, pressing a button to play the destruction of the Bahak system.
Once the dark energy from the mass relay hit the star at faster-than-light speeds, it triggered a supernova.
"You destroyed a mass relay?" Javik asked, all four of his eyes blinking at once, his lips slightly parted.
"No, Batarian terrorists did," Garrus replied dryly.
"I hope we don't have to blow them all up, along with, you know, everything else?" Ashley pleaded.
Shepard shook his head. "The pulse will automatically convert the eezo inside the relays. It won't result in anything like the Bahak system," he assured.
"The problem lies with delivery. The initial pulse will need massive processing power to work in the first place," he added. Whether to encode the data into the dark energy pulse before it went off or to disseminate an organic mind across the galaxy, the Crucible needed a hyper-advanced AI.
He could, given time, make one.
"Mass relays are highly advanced computers,"
"Yes, but we will need at least several of them synchronized together."
"The Citadel," Liara exclaimed, leaping to her feet. "It is a mass relay, which means its systems, the part where only the Keepers access, must possess enough processing power to pull thousands of Reapers out of the dark space, that is, what, at least thirty thousand light-years away?" she said.
Shepard's eyes widened. He had completely forgotten about the Citadel.
"Liara is right," Garrus admitted.
"EDI, get me the Councillors online," he ordered. She nodded, a gesture she had picked up from the crew.
It took less than ten seconds for the Council to answer, though only Tevos and Valern were there.
"Commander Shepard, we hope you are well," Tevos greeted. He hadn't spoken to the Councillors in months, busy as they all were.
"Thank you, but we'll need to skip the pleasantries. I need you to send people to check the parts of the Citadel where only the Keepers are allowed to access," he said.
"May I ask why?"
"The Catalyst for the Crucible, we believe it is the Citadel. As the largest and most advanced mass relay, it is the only place where we can find the necessary processing power."
Valern twitched, his beady eyes slightly widening, and started muttering to himself.
"I… understood, Commander," Tevos said after glancing at Valern. "We will send the C-Sec and specialists to see what we can find."
"Thank you, Councillors," he said, and the call ended.
—
The Citadel
His orders to join the fleets gathering in the Utopia system have been delayed due to an emergency.
General Petrovsky had shown his face.
His fleets had taken Omega after luring Aria T'loak out, and with all the research bases they evacuated before the Alliance could act, intelligence suggested he had plenty of Reaper tech.
The Illusive Man had confessed that there was research on controlling the Reapers. Combined with the recent discovery that the Crucible could potentially assert dominance over the machines, the United Command had agreed to intervene.
However, they did not wish to send ships or ground forces to the other side of the galaxy.
Aria herself was on the Citadel, gathering forces to take her station back. She had promised support for the war effort, including the vast eezo reserves of Omega, if she received help first.
Any force capable of fighting the Reapers was welcome, even if they were mercenaries and pirates.
Not to mention, Tali was there too as the Admiral of the Federation Coordination Efforts.
The Normandy docked, and he gave the crew time off, the only one until the war ended.
Tali was at the Presidium, arranging the details of how to transport the vast anti-proton torpedo stores of the volus to predetermined supply locations.
"Thank you, Rannoch clan. I believe that concludes everything," the volus said between deep breaths.
"You too, ambassador." Tali tilted her head, and the volus waddled away.
"Excuse me, admiral, I believe you have a very handsome visitor," Shepard teased, tapping her on the shoulder.
Tali turned around, looking at him for a moment. She wrapped her arms around his torso and laid her head on his shoulder, silent.
"You alright?" he asked, straightening his posture.
"Just tired. Seeing you helps, though," she admitted.
"Why don't you go and rest aboard the Normandy?" he offered. Even inside the suit, he could see her eyes drop.
"I have work to do. Admiral, remember?" His girlfriend complained.
He activated the omni-tool, showing her a surprise form: "The Federation has written orders for you to be drafted under my command."
She giggled, hugging him tighter.
"Creator Zorah, do you require assistance?" A
"Legion, you are here too?"
"This unit has the most interaction with the organics. The Consensus has agreed it would make us uniquely suitable for diplomacy."
"That's great."
"Thank you, Legion, but I got it. You still have work to do; don't delay it on my account."
"As you wish."
—
Purgatory
"Last time I was in a place called the Purgatory, a corrupt prison warden tried to capture me," Shepard commented as he sat down next to Aria.
"That's wonderful. One more corpse for your kill count," she replied dryly, looking through her datapad.
"Heard you had a run-in with Petrovsky," he continued, leaning back and grinning.
Aria put down the pad, her lips tight. "Shepard, we can sit here and talk while you enjoy this shitty situation I found myself in, or we can talk business."
"Alright, what's your plan?" he asked. It was tempting, but time was short.
Maybe later.
"The Eclipse, Blue Suns, and Blood Pack. I made arrangements, but the deals need to be closed."
—
Jona Sederis was the founder of the Eclipse mercenary organization.
She was also a certified nutcase.
Fortunately, there was Sayn, her second in command, a much cooler-headed salarian.
"Commander Shepard. I heard that you were coordinating Jona Sederis' release. I did not believe it, though it seems I was mistaken," the salarian said as he got up.
Shepard looked him over, nodding to himself with one eyebrow raised, and pursed his lips.
"What is it?" Sayn asked, his throat bobbing as he looked around wildly.
"Did anyone ever tell you that you looked very commanding? Like a proper leader? I say, you would be an even better leader of the Eclipse than Sederis," Shepard praised, patting the salarian on the arm.
"Ah, no, no one has told me that," he replied, shoulders dropped, scratching his horn.
"Then they were blind," Shepard said. "Why don't you leave Sederis to rot where she is and take control of the Eclipse? Under the command of a leader like you, they will be unbeatable in no time," he added.
"Yes, yes," Sayn said, his eyes shining. "You are right. Tell Aria that we have a deal. She can forget about Sederis."
"I knew you were smart."
—
Darner Vosque was a moron.
"Wow, Aria wasn't kidding, the great Commander Shepard on a leash," the leader of the Blue Suns opened his mouth.
"Say, Vosque, do you have a second in command?" Shepard asked, rubbing his eyes.
"Yeah, Liam over there. Why?" he said, head tilting to a man at the corner.
"No reason," Shepard said. His hand blurred, and he lifted Vosque up, squeezing his throat.
The mercenary choked as his windpipe was crushed, struggling to break free. His movements became sluggish, and Darner eventually stopped moving.
Shepard dropped the corpse and turned to Liam, growling a "Get over here."
"Yes?" Liam asked, stuttering as he walked closer.
"You are in command now. And if I hear one stupid word out of your mouth…" he glared at the mercenary, the warning left unsaid.
"Yes, Commander. There is just a little problem," Laim agreed quickly, almost shouting the first part before whispering the second.
"What is it?" he asked. The sooner it was solved, the less he would have to deal with these idiots.
"A turian general, Septimus Oraka, is stopping us from getting weapons."
"I'll handle it. Get your men ready."
—
Apparently, the Blue Suns were trying to raid C-Sec shipments, which included laser weapons, reflectors, and more.
Which was unacceptable to him and the good general.
Instead, he convinced Oraka to release outdated Mass Effect gear to the Blue Suns, saying he would be sending them first feet into Khar'shan.
The equipment was outdated, but they were still fresh from the factories as part of a previous contract.
Liam was smart enough to not say anything.
—
His last contact was Narl, a batarian.
After Garrus turned Garm and most of the Blood Pack on Omega into fresh, organic paint, a vorcha had taken control.
Crete.
"Shepard, there you are. This is Kreete." Narl introduced him to the vorcha, and Shepard wondered how in the hell a vorcha of all races took control.
Could be because Blood Pack was chuck full of imbeciles.
"So? What the hell do you need to join Aria's little crusade?" he demanded to know. This whole thing was getting on his nerves.
"He wants an autograph," the barbarian said.
"An autograph?" he asked, rubbing his eyes again. Kreete nodded, head tilting up and down repeatedly.
"Well, yeah. He believes it will bring him strength in battle," Narl explained, scratching the back of his head.
Shepard looked at Kreete but couldn't decide whether he was grinning or looked like that all the time.
He was holding out a rocket launcher and kept looking at the weapon and then at him.
Taking a deep breath, he activated the welder in his omni-tool and signed the rocket launcher.
"Yes," Kreete laughed like a gremlin, holding the weapon up.
Shepard just sighed.
—
In the next chapter:
"However, I have issues with some of the company you keep around," she said.
"My team?"
"Yes. If you are coming, I don't want them," Aria declared.
Shepard looked at her, blinking a couple of times, and touched his ear. "Let me see if I get this right."
"I have Garrus, the turian that wiped three of the biggest merc outfits out of Omega, as my right hand. Two N7s that are some of the best soldiers in the galaxy. Tali, one of the most intelligent engineers you will ever encounter; my sister, who holds the highest records in the Alliance military after me; a living, breathing prothean who spent his life fighting; and another Alliance soldier I've been training for more than a year—and you don't want them because, what? Garrus pissed you off?" he asked, eyes squinted.
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