Effecting Fate: Chapter 8

Author's Note: I'm a day late on this, and I apologize! But here it is, the full chapter.  This has not gone through my beta-readers yet, and as I mentioned during the monthly author's note, I kinda had to brute force my way through my writers block. Looking back on it, I feel it needs a lot of polish in places, and when I post it to Fanfiction and Archive of our Own in a month, it'll probably undergo minor changes. The conversations or the observations, a couple sections feel like they need to be padded out just a bit... stuff like that. But the main flow of things? That is most likely going to remain the same. After so long of not posting for this particular story, I really hope that everybody likes it!

Please leave a comment to let me know what you guys think. Whether you enjoyed it, or whether you think I should add or remove a part. I really do enjoy hearing what you all think, and it's always a relief to me to know that I'm not doing a terrible job.

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Arturia's POV

Arturia woke slowly, feeling comfortable and well rested. Courtesy of getting used to sleeping in the pods most military ships used - regular beds felt like heaven. And this particular bed felt even better than usual.

She was willing to delay the moment of being fully awake for a while, right up until she felt the presence of somebody next to her.

Her body tensed, eyes shooting open, and Arturia was a fraction of a second away from attacking whoever it was before she caught a glimpse of his face.

Shirou.

The memories of the previous evening came back swiftly after and she allowed herself to collapse back into the bed and enjoy the warmth.

It was an odd feeling, to take comfort in waking up to somebody. Especially after so long of being alone.

Even when she had been with Guinevere, it had been about duty on both ends. Theirs had been a political marriage, and both had known it. After a time, she liked to think they had become friends - good friends even - but it had not been love.

It was why she could hardly hold it against either Guinevere or Lancelot when they had been caught together. Guinevere had sacrificed so much for the sake of her family and country, how could Arturia begrudge her friend from trying to be with somebody she loved?

Now, what she did hold against them was their attempts to keep it secret from even her. She could have helped them keep their secret much more effectively.

But that was all in the past. A past that she had long accepted. For now, she had the present to be concerned about.

The present in which she was currently in the same bed as Shirou.

For Arturia it was almost a revelation, waking up to one that she did have feelings for. It felt so much better than she expected it would, especially with the knowledge that she’d be able to experience this again.

As Arturia let herself relax against the warmth and feelings of waking up, she even considered forgiving Merlin for his foolish meddling the previous evening.

Maybe.

Arturia felt, rather than saw, when Shirou first woke up. Like her, his muscles tensed in the unfamiliar environment. She shifted so she could look at Shirou just as his eyes opened, and she favored him with a smile.

“Good morning, Shirou.”

The look on his face as he stared back made it feel as if all the hardships she had experienced up till now, all of her struggles, had all been worth it. Just to end up here.

“Good morning, Arturia.”

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Breakfast was a simple fare. Arturia sat at the bar as she looked through their messages on her omni-tool while Shirou cooked.

“Anderson wants to talk to us,” she reported after making her way through a number of unimportant emails - It looked like Tess was being unusually demanding for an update on whether she’d had a meal from the ‘Chef Commander’ yet - “As soon as possible he says.”

Shirou nodded from his position in the kitchen, “So much for being on shore leave,” he murmured thoughtfully as he walked up and placed a plate in front of her before sitting next to her with his own. “I assume he wants to talk about the attack yesterday?”

“He doesn’t say,” Arturia admitted with a frown, tapping the Omni-tool thoughtfully. “I have no doubt he will, but it sounds like there’s something else as well.”

Shirou made a contemplative noise, “Does he say how long he expects it to be?”

“No,” Arturia replied, taking a moment to enjoy a bite of Shirou’s food. “But hopefully it won’t take too long, since it looks like we have a different appointment at noon.”

When Shirou looked at her quizzically, Arturia flipped her screen around to show him. “Looks like Kunio contacted that lead regarding Saren. He wants us to meet them at the diner.”

Shirou furrowed his brow. “That was a lot faster than I was expecting. I don’t have any issues with meeting them if you don’t.”

Arturia tilted her head in agreement as she sent a quick acknowledgement to the info broker.

The remainder of breakfast passed in relative peace. To the point that Arturia was genuinely suspicious of Merlin’s absence.

While Merlin was a notorious late sleeper, he was annoyingly able to overcome this when there was potential mischief to create.

It was that thought and paranoia that brought to mind the memory of another person. One that she met during the Holy Grail War, yet was not a participant herself. One that would once frequently interrupt their meals.

“Whatever became of Taiga?”

She felt a small bit of amusement as Shirou suddenly coughed, clearly taken aback by the unexpected question. “Wha-“ he coughed again, “What brought that on?”

Arturia raised an eye at that, “You’ve already brought me to see Kunio Fujimura.” She replied, putting emphasis on the last name. “I can hardly be blamed for thinking of Taiga Fujimura, can I?”

There was that, but there was more to it.

She knew Shirou. Just as she knew that Shirou knew her. Their connection during the Holy Grail War gave them a leg up on understanding each other that most people simply didn’t have. However, there was much that they didn’t know about each other.

Arturia had no idea what he did after the Holy Grail War. Just as she was sure he didn’t know of many of the events of her own life. She didn’t know what happened with Rin, Sakura, or Taiga. And Shirou (probably) didn’t know her feelings regarding her Knights (It was hard to say what all he got from the Dream Cycle, but there was only so much).

So many years had passed since then. What was his relationship with his current family? Did he still train like they once had? What of current friendships?

They were together now. They had time. Arturia wished to know more about the man she loved, and she wanted to share her own life and perspectives with him.

Shirou’s lips twitched upward, “I suppose not,” he replied before frowning. “Unfortunately, that takes a bit of context.”

He glanced at Arturia as if asking if he still wanted to continue, and she nodded encouragingly.

“After the Holy Grail War, I joined Rin at the Clocktower.” Shirou explained, folding his arms as he looked at the ceiling in thought. “I kept in contact with Taiga, but without being able to talk to her about anything related to magecraft, we eventually drifted apart.” He gave a bitter smile, “I’m pretty sure she suspected I was lying to her. Things had become pretty strained between us.”

Arturia nodded in sympathy, “having such a secret between you would no doubt cause friction.” She said from experience.

Shirou let out an absent nod. “Rin would stay at the Clocktower. Meanwhile, I would go out on jobs for both the Clocktower and the Church and help where I could. However, one job went… Bad.” He grimaced. “Really bad. Essentially, an entire city was destroyed.”

She frowned at the pain on his face, reaching over to grab his hand. “Sometimes, regardless of what is done, we still lose.” She murmured, thinking of her own past and battles.

King Arthur was praised for his victories, but most people didn’t realize the losses that occurred along the way.

Besides her final battle at Camlann.

Shirou shook his head. “It gets worse. Things got so bad, the entire world knew something was up.”

Ah. Arturia grimaced. “And it is forbidden for people to tell others of magic.”

She wondered at how the rest of magus society evolved as time moved on. Did the Clocktower still exist? Did the Church? She had not gone back to Earth herself, so she had no idea.

Not that she would have gone searching for them even if she had gone. Though she wondered if Shirou had gone.

Another question to ask in the future.

“Correct.” Shirou nodded to her statement. “And in order to preserve the secrecy of the Moonlit World, the Church decided to cut its losses.” He gestured to himself and gave a self-deprecation smile. “They decided to use me as a scapegoat to the world at large. All it took was one day, and I was the world’s number one terrorist.”

“They did what?!” If Arturia hadn’t been so shocked, she would have been incensed.

The idea of somebody just throwing Shirou away was practically ludicrous. The Church should have been overjoyed they had found somebody as loyal and strong as her chosen. “Just what exactly happened?!”

Shirou hesitated for a moment, “The official story was a sabotaged nuclear reactor. But the real story is a bit longer.” He admitted slowly, “and not one we have time for I don’t think.”

Arturia spent a moment studying Shirou, taking note of the haunted look in his eye, and acquiesced.

For now.

Shirou wasn’t quite ready to talk about it. She could recognize that. However, she also recognized the glint of guilt in his expression. She would yield for now, but she would ask him about that story later.

“I escaped before the execution,” Shirou continued, “But by that point, most of the world governments considered me a terrorist, and my contacts with the Church and the Clocktower were effectively burned.”

“The other mages didn’t stick up for you?” She asked with a frown. Had Shirou not made any allies in his time there?

Shirou rolled his eyes at some memory. “One of the Lord’s there was fond of me and might have tried, but the others probably didn’t see any benefit in it. Magus’ in general aren’t exactly big on loyalty. And Rin was… unavailable.” He shook his head at her questioning look. “Her… Teacher sent her somewhere, so she wasn’t around. Another story.” He said sadly.

The list of stories she’d have to get out of him was increasing rapidly it seemed.

“It wasn’t as bad as it could be.” Shirou said, and she had no idea if he thought it was reassuring or not.

“It wasn’t,” he assured her, seeing her skeptical look. “I wasn’t declared a Sealing Designee, so not many people in the Moonlit World really cared to hunt me down. It was mostly the various governments around the world.”

“Ah yes, because they are so easy to avoid.” She said while giving him a flat stare.

“Comparatively? Yes.” Shirou said with a note of certainty in his voice. “The main difficulty was having nobody I could really turn to. So, with a rather impressive bounty on my head, I ended up going back to Fuyuki.”

“And that’s where Taiga comes in.” Arturia concluded confidently.

Shirou nodded, letting loose an amused smile. “Taiga was… Upset. But apparently even before I arrived she had refused to believe anything the news was saying about me.” A melancholic look came over him. “Even after everything that had happened between us. But when I met up with her, she tied me down and demanded answers. And… I told her the truth. About everything.”

Some might have thought Shirou was exaggerating. But thinking back, Arturia could very much imagine the excitable woman going to the extreme of tying Shirou up.

Whether it was truly able to keep him down was another matter.

“In the end, I owed Taiga ‘free meals for the rest of her life’.” Shirou quoted with a nostalgic smile. “But in return, the Fujimura group outfitted me with a place and a new identity. With their help, I was able to still help others. And when Taiga eventually took over from her father, I supported her during the times I was laying low.” Shirou gave a huff while shaking his head in slight disbelief. “Seeing her in a leadership position was just odd.”

“It doesn’t surprise me.” Arturia returned with a knowing look. “Taiga always struck me as being surprisingly insightful when she desired. She simply enjoyed playing the part of the playful sister with you and Sakura.”

She found herself extremely grateful to the exuberant woman. Loyalty like that was as valuable as it was rare.

Shirou couldn’t resist a snort, giving Arturia a skeptical look. “Are you sure we’re thinking of the same Taiga?” He asked wryly.

Arturia shrugged. “She got you to agree to make her free meals for life. I’d say that that’s as good a sign as any that she’s doing something right.” She replied in complete seriousness.

Shirou rolled his eyes at that. “Ok, I still think you guys put too much stock into how good my cooking is.”

“And you are, of course, allowed to believe that. Just so long as you continue cooking.” Arturia ‘graciously’ allowed.

As somebody who had experienced it in many different ways, Arturia could say with absolute surety that army food did not taste good. It might be better than it used to be in Medieval times, but there was much to be desired.

Also, while she loved her father and would praise many of his skills, cooking was not one of them.

Shirou shook his head fondly. “I ended up dying before Taiga did.” He continued, returning the conversation once more. “But by then, she had been the head of the Fujimura group for years, her position was pretty well solidified, and was well respected. Though she never married anybody to my knowledge. If their family history is accurate, Kunio is related to her through a cousin. I’ve done what I can to keep an eye out for him once I found out.”

Arturia frowned at the mention of his death but let it slide. That was another bundle that they’d have to unpack at another time.

Instead of asking about that, Arturia gave him a smirk, “you know, there’s a certain amount of irony here. Taiga managed to get free meals out of you, and now her descendents are giving you free meals.”

The statement did it’s work in getting rid of the heavy atmosphere, and Shirou gave a bark of laughter. “Trust me, I’ve already thought of that.” He let out a fond smile. “It’s… odd, actually. I’ve shared recipes with Kunio, and some of the recipes he’s shown me are family recipes that I once gave them years ago.” He shook his head fondly. “He’s a good man.”

“I can tell.” Arturia assured him. And she could - his respect for Shirou was also easy to see.

Arturia hummed before Shirou stood up, pulling her with him. “We should probably start getting ready so we can head out to meet Anderson.” He said, and she sighed before nodding in acknowledgement.

Before they could separate to get ready, Arturia grabbed his hand, taking him by surprise as she pulled him to her, letting their foreheads touch.

Shining emerald met startled amber and kept their attention.

“I don’t know what happened that caused the Church to let you go like they did,” She murmured quietly, putting as much conviction as she could in her words. “But whatever the case, they were fools to do so. Whatever it was that you did, I want you to know that I accept you.”

Arturia had been the leader of armies and had had to deal with politicians at their worst. She could see that whatever it was that happened caused an intense amount of guilt within Shirou.

Shirou hesitated for a moment before relaxing in her arms. “You don’t even know what happened.” He murmured back.

“No,” Arturia agreed. “However, I know you.”

Shirou gave a sad smile, “A person can change.” He replied.

“They can. But I’ve been with you long enough to know that you haven’t.” She replied firmly, holding on tightly. “Whatever it is that happened, you are a good man. And I refuse to believe otherwise. I’ll tell you now, and when you feel ready to share your story with me I’ll tell you again.”

Shirou looked ready to argue the point, but Arturia glared at him until he backed down.

Good.

Arturia quickly pulled him in for a quick kiss before separating once more. “We need to hurry if we wish to avoid making Anderson suspicious.” She declared before taking off for the room to get dressed.

Shirou had once helped her with her guilt, and now it was her turn to return the favor. Whatever had happened, she would not let it hurt him as she had once been hurt.

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Shirou’s POV

“… Whatever it was that you did, I want you to know that I accept you.”

If anybody would understand how he felt, it would be his Saber. Yet a part of him still struggled.

Shirou had made his fair share of mistakes. Rin called him stubborn, but he wasn’t so stubborn that he couldn’t learn from them. But this wasn’t even a mistake - not really.

Watching as millions died around him but not able to help… Later, knowing that even those he managed to save were killed for being ‘witnesses’?

It wasn’t a ‘mistake’ on his part. The decision was made by the higher ups in the Church, to preserve the secrecy of the Moonlit World. They had chosen him as a scapegoat not because of any perceived wrong, but out of convenience. After all, he was just a magus to them. Useful, but dispensable.

Yet that did nothing to stop the frustration and guilt. It had taken years before he was able to gain a modicum of acceptance, and it still bothered him.

He’d talk to Arturia eventually. Just… Not now. They had other things to worry about .

Like the Admiral that was currently pacing in the Ambassador’s office.

Walking into the office, Shirou made note of the other people also there. The Ambassador himself of course, looking annoyed. But then, there were also the three others that accompanied Arturia and him on Eden Prime. Chief Willams and Corporal Jenkins stood awkwardly, as if they weren’t quite sure what they should be doing, while Lieutenant Alenko was at least confident enough to sit, even if he also looked uncomfortable.

He and Arturia had barely entered the offices when the entire room focused on them.

“Good. Now that you two are here, we can begin.” Anderson greeted in a tense voice. “Between Myrrdin’s email and your own, we have a decent grasp of the what happened -“

“Indeed. Congratulations on getting arrested not even a full day of arriving on the Citadel.” Udina drawled from where he was typing at his desk. “While I’d like to say that it was a new record, I sadly cannot.”

Anderson gave a brief glare towards Udina before looking at them once more. “However, Myrrdin’s email was a bit… Lacking.” He ignored Udina’s snort at that. “What can you tell us about the attack?”

Shirou let Arturia take the lead in giving the report, only stepping in once or twice.

“Wait, you guys beat up an armed group with omniblades?” Jenkins interrupted, his voice incredulous and slightly disbelieving.

Shirou raised an eyebrow. “Yes?” He asked slowly.

“But that's… Isn’t that stuff kinda useless?” Jenkins asked, still in disbelief, though he grew a bit flustered when he realized everybody was looking at him. “I mean, c’mon, I’m not the only one that thinks that! You’re bringing a knife to a gunfight!”

Shirou lifted his arm and activated his Omnitool, within moments a dagger formed. “So long as I have omnigel, I can create almost anything I need to.” He said blandly as the newly created item glowed with heat. “I wouldn’t call superheated pieces of metal useless. And unlike a gun, I’m actually allowed to carry this around the station.”

It truly amazed Shirou at what most people called ‘useless’. The fact that he was able to walk around with what was effectively an armory on his arm so long as he had enough material amazed him. And he managed to form an effective fighting style that revolved around it. True, they might not be as convenient for violence as a gun, but Shirou found it extremely practical.

”I mean, I guess not,” Jenkins didn’t look convinced, but didn’t say anything else.

“Yes yes, two of the Alliance's top soldiers are actually decent at fighting, who’d have guessed.” Udina snapped, causing Jenkins to blush in embarrassment. “Now, onto matters that are actually relevant - do you have any guesses as to who the assailant’s were working for?”

“Maybe”/‘We do not.” Shirou and Arturia answered promptly. Arturia gave Shirou a look, but he was unrepentant.

“We don’t have any proof.” She stressed instead, and Shirou couldn’t say much against that. “They were clearly waiting for us in particular though. They were a mix of Humans and Turians, and were decent combatants. However, they didn’t speak or accuse us of anything, nor did they wear any type of uniform.”

“They knew where we’d be.” Shirou added thoughtfully, slipping the created knife into his pocket once it cooled off. “And were there long enough to prepare an ambush despite it being a last minute decision on our part. Which meant they were either following us or they have another method of surveillance. Clearly not something a normal gang would do.”

“Yes, well, neither are their actions after being arrested.” Udina huffed.

Both Arturia and Shirou looked at Udina in confusion till Anderson sighed. “We heard from the C-Sec just before you arrived.” He supplied. “The men that attacked you committed suicide this morning.”

“They what?” Arturia asked, aghast, something that Shirou agreed with.

“Was it actually suicide? Or were they ‘assisted’?” Shirou asked intently.

Committing suicide… It took a lot for somebody to make that decision. It wasn’t an easy choice to make by any means. And how did all of them manage to slip weapons through to do it with? Shirou would find it more likely to believe that either C-Sec had a mole or that somebody snuck in to quiet them.

“Your guess is as good as ours.” Anderson said tiredly, running a hand over his face. “They wouldn’t tell us the ‘how’, only that ‘they had’ and that they would be opening an investigation.”

“Hmph. They’re keeping an annoyingly tight lid on it I’m afraid.” Udina grumbled. “My contacts have told me that the deaths were deemed ‘suspicious’. But they were unable to get anything else.”

Anderson coughed, looking back towards Udina. “This has to be Saren. Is this enough for you to act? For this to occur not even a day after we accused him? That can’t be a coincidence.”

Udina narrowed his eyes at Anderson, “ah yes, let’s go in front of the Council, again, and declare that their top agent is sending thugs to kill our people based on the mountain of evidence we have. Oh, wait. ” He sneered at Anderson. “We have no evidence!”

“Saren represents an active threat against humanity,” Anderson argued back. “Eden Prime showed that Saren was willing to act in an overt manner to get what was in that Beacon. The only reason Saren would try to take out the Commander’s is because he thought they were a threat to his current plans. Are you going to wait until somebody dies before taking this seriously?”

“Of course not!” Udina snapped, “I may not be doing what you want me to, but I am doing what I can! And unless you can provide sufficient proof, I cannot bring this to the Council!”

Anderson clearly wanted to say something else, but bit it back as he looked back towards him and Arturia.

“Until we figure out an appropriate response, I don’t want either of you to take any chances. I want these three,” he gestured towards Alenko, Jenkins, and Williams, “to accompany you while on the Citadel.”

Shirou frowned. “You’re giving us bodyguards?” He asked incredulously.

“I’m giving you backup.” Anderson returned. “Until we get to the bottom of this, I don’t want either of you to go anywhere alone.”

Shirou and Arturia both nodded, though Shirou did his best to hide his disappointment.

It wasn’t that he doubted their skill. All three handled themselves well enough while on Eden Prime. However, if they were going to be following them, that meant he’d have to go back to pretending that he and Arturia had only met a short while before.

They talked a bit more, with Anderson and Udina asking for various details about the attack, followed h by working out the logistics of having three others with them at all times. Eventually they were dismissed when both Anderson and Udina were satisfied.

“Phew!” Jenkins practically sagged as they walked out of the offices. “That was kinda intense.”

Alenko hummed in contemplation. “It was kinda odd. I don’t know Udina all that well, but I’ve never seen Anderson like that.”

“It’s hard to realize sometimes, but they’re just human like we are.” Arturia said, the tone of experience quieting the others. “They have their own frustrations and troubles they must deal with.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Jenkins scratched the back of his head. “Still though, do you really think that Spectre is at fault for sending goons after you? I mean, isn’t that guy supposed to be a major anti-humanist? Why would he send humans after you?”

“It’s not uncommon for people to be a bit hypocritical when in pursuit of a goal.” Shirou remarked dryly. “Especially when you’re sending people to fight and die. He might even view it as poetic - getting humans to fight humans.”

Williams let out a snort, “yeah, that sounds ‘bout right.” She scowled. “So you think that bastard is behind this as well then?”

Arturia shrugged. “There’s a high chance of that.” She admitted. “However, without more evidence, it could be any number of other groups out there.”

Well. Shirou personally thought the timing was way too coincidental for it to be anybody else. But Arturia wasn’t wrong.

“And, what, we’re just gonna wait for them to try again?” Jenkins asked.

Now, Shirou hesitated.

He noticed that Arturia hadn’t mentioned their meeting with Kunio to either the Admiral or Ambassador. There was a tacit understanding that it was his secret, to keep or to share.

It wasn’t that he was against them knowing.

As it was, he didn’t want for them to get their hopes up over something that might come to nothing. But if they were to be accompanied…

“Not quite.” Shirou answered Jenkins. Kunio always did appreciate more business.

“I hope you guys don’t have any plans for lunch.”

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“You know, I always thought an info broker’s place would be, I don’t know… Different.” Williams noted quietly as they sat down at a table.

“Oh yeah?” Alenko asked curiously as he sat next to Shirou. “How so?”

Williams looked around the brightly lit area with a contemplative look. “Eh, I don’t know. Maybe a bit grungier, darker, maybe a bunch of computers.”

They jumped as Kunio burst into laughter behind them. “You’ve been watching too many movies, cause that sounds as uncomfortable as you can get lass! Not to mention unsanitary.”

“Ah, sorry - “

“And why wouldn’t my place be clean?” Kunio barreled on. “I run a respectable diner here! I got recipes going back generations. My ancestors would think poorly of me were I to cook in unsanitary conditions.”

“That makes sense -“

“Besides, I’m not doing anything illegal. Nothin’ wrong with keepin’ yourself informed and knowin’ shit. Gotta keep your ear to the ground just in case, you know?”

“Of course -“

“But if you think that the only reason people come in here is because of that, you got another thing comin’! I take great pride in my food, ya hear?”

“Yes -“

Shirou listened with some amusement at the back and forth as the large man cheerfully talked over every attempt. “Alright, that’s enough hazing Kunio.”

With a final chuckle, Kunio clapped his hands together. “Ah, you guys are alright. But I’ll be honest, wasn’t expecting a group today.”

Shirou gave a shrug, “they’re companions of ours.” He explained, not wanting to explain why they had bodyguards.

And yes, despite what Anderson said, they were totally bodyguards.

“Well, any friends of yours are friends of mine.” Kunio said cheerfully before giving a frown. “But I’m afraid that the person that wanted to speak with ya is only expecting you two. They’re in the back waitin’ right now, but the others will halfta wait out here.”

The three were clearly uncomfortable with it. Apparently, meeting with ‘mysterious individuals’ mere hours after being assigned as bodyguards was a bit of a stretch for them, but Shirou and Arturia were able to talk them down eventually. Though they were warned that they would come charging if they heard anything.

Walking into the back rooms, Shirou couldn’t help but think that the others would have been much more reluctant to let him and Arturia out of their sights had they known the ‘mysterious individual’ was a Turian.

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Garrus Vakarian looked at the two humans in surprise as they walked into the room he was waiting in.

Having been in charge of the Saren investigation, however short-lived it had been, it would have been criminal neglect not to recognize these two.

Commander’s Emiya and Pendragon. Alliance military, highly decorated. A small stream of information came from his visor, but he discarded that with a blink.

It was a surprise, but it probably shouldn’t have been. After all, It made sense that the ones that would be looking at Saren were the ones screwed over by him.

This… This was actually a lot better than he was expecting. Far more than simply sharing information, these two would have contacts and positions that gave them far more leeway than what a C-Sec officer had!

Spirits, after days of going at this all by himself, constantly hitting dead ends and being brushed aside by fellow officers and superiors alike, support like this would be amazing.

Garrus gave a chuff as he stood up. “Wasn’t expecting Mr. Fujimaru to hook me up with two people so high up.” He remarked wryly, hiding his excitement before extending his hand in a typical human greeting. “Officer Vakarian. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

They both shook his hand. “Commander Emiya,” the male introduced. “And this is Commander Pendragon.” The female gave a nod. “Though it sounds like you already knew that. C-Sec?”

“Right on the money.” Garrus admitted. “Currently an investigator.”

Emiya nodded thoughtfully. “And what’s C-Sec’s interest in Saren?”

He let out a scoff. “C-Sec isn’t interested in Saren.” Which was exactly the problem. “However, I was in charge of the Saren investigation when it first came through. That’s why.

That got both of their attention. “I take it that there wasn’t enough evidence if they closed the case?” Pendragon spoke up, her tone slightly exasperated..

Garrus shot the woman a look, but she just shrugged. “It would make the most sense. I mean no offense, but as a member of C-Sec investigating a Spectre, I would be quite surprised if you had access to anything truly incriminating.”

… Ok, yes, she was right, but it was frustrating to have it pointed out so blatantly.

“I was able to find a few things.” Garrus defended before deflating at how pathetic that claim sounded. “But, you’re not wrong. Saren’s been a Spectre for over twenty years, and rumor has it that he’s saved each of the Councilor’s lives a time or two. Put it all together, it means anything related to him is locked up tighter than a Volus’ purse strings. Saren was supposedly on a mission at the time, but looking at what details I’m allowed… The whole thing feels wrong.  Like you’re staring at a picture that’s just slightly off.”

“And your superiors didn’t agree?” Emiya guessed.

“I couldn’t find any proof,” Garrus grumbled, fists clenching at the memory. “If I just had a little more time… But no, once my superiors discovered I had no evidence they ordered the investigation closed.”

Emiya gave a curious look, “and yet you’re here?” He prompted.

Garrus couldn’t resist a smirk.

Turians had a reputation for being sticklers of the rules and hierarchy. But then, he had always been a bit of a rebel in that regard.

“Something about this whole deal feels rotten, and I can’t just let it go.” Garrus replied confidently. “First with the destruction of Eden Prime and all that death, but then he’s gone and allied himself with geth to do it. Yet the moment I feel like I’m getting anywhere, I get stonewalled?” He shook his head. “I don’t know what he’s up to, but if I have a chance to figure it out, I’m going to take it.”

If Garrus was reading human expressions right, then that was approval that Emiya was showing, which made Garrus feel a bit better.

“So what is your plan?” Pendragon asked. “If you were hoping to learn more about Saren from us, I’m afraid we can’t offer much.”

“Anything at all would be useful.” Garrus leaned forward. “My plan was to get enough information to establish reasonable doubt. A lot of people in C-Sec dislike Spectre’s for the free reign they’re given, Executor Pallin included. If I can just find something, then I can get them to throw in their own support, which could force the Council to act.”

Pendragon and Emiya shared a glance and seemed to communicate something with their gaze before turning back to him. “Are you aware of the attack on us yesterday?” Emiya asked.

Garrus blinked. “You were attacked?” He asked incredulously.

“Ambushed.” Emiya confirmed. “C-Sec arrested the perpetrators, but we heard that they actually committed suicide this morning.”

Garrus spent a few moments grappling with that information.

Why wasn’t he informed of this?! Surely this would count as a connection to his case!

Unless…

Garrus scowled.

Unless Executor Pallin was purposefully hiding from Garrus specifically because he thought Garrus was getting too obsessive.

“Ok.” Garrus breathed out heavily. “I can work on that. I’ll look into who those thugs worked for and go from there.”

“Is there anything else we can do to assist?” Emiya asked intently.

Garrus hesitated for a moment, “not at the moment, but let’s exchange commlink numbers. I’ll keep you updated on my progress, and if you could pass me any information that you find on Saren, that would be appreciated. Especially anything that Admiral Anderson knows.”

Pendragon looked at him with curiosity. “You know the Admiral!” She asked.

Garrus chuckled. “You hear a thing or two if you work at C-Sec long enough.” He smirked. “Anderson’s dislike of Saren is rather well known I’m afraid.”

They talked a little bit more, to work out a few details, but overall Garrus felt overjoyed at the sudden progress.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Arturia’s POV, one week later.

‘Dr. Chloe Michel, Ward clinic. In danger.’

Arturia fumed internally at the criminally brief message.

They had been in communication with the Turian all week, and he’d been keeping them abreast of his progress. He had told them that he was looking into a crime lord that he believed had connections with Saren.

And then that morning he’d sent that message.

Arturia could understand the necessity of keeping a message brief. But it would have been greatly appreciated had he included what sort of danger he was referring to. Was he in danger? The ‘doctor’? Was the doctor the danger?

“Take a right here.” Shirou instructed her from the passenger side, a few wires connecting to the internals of the car from where he’d disabled all of the safety features. Thus, allowing her to go as fast as she needed. “Unless there’s an unregistered Dr. Michel, we should be there in two minutes.”

“Good.” She acknowledged before glancing in the back. “Remember, no shooting unless they shoot you first. Kaiden and I will be in the front with our shields up. We don’t know what the situation is, so I expect everybody to play it safe.”

“You’re the boss,” Williams shrugged, though her shoulders were clearly tense, with her hand brushing up against her gun. “Though I want you to know that if I die because you didn’t want us to wear armor, I fully intend to haunt you.”

“You won’t, but feel free. You know we didn’t have time.” Arturia shot back.

It was true, none of them were wearing armor. Instead, each was in their usual casual clothes.

All of their armor was back at the Normandy, and judging by the urgency of Garrus’ message there was no way they had time to go all the way there and equip themselves. They were lucky they had pistols on hand.

Shirou suddenly perked up. “Vakarian, can you hear me?” He demanded, fingers flying over his omnitool. “I have you pinned at the clinic. What’s the situation?”

“Emiya,” Garrus’ voice came over the comms as Shirou patched him through, sounding out of breath. “Seven thugs, lightly armed, one techie and no biotics. They’re here to kill Dr. Michel. Able to call and warned her to lock her doors, and I’ve informed C-Sec, but haven’t heard back.”

Arturia frowned as she went through the information. “Current positions?” She asked.

“Two outside. Five inside. Took a hot second for them to break down the front door, so we got a bit before they make it to her.”

Ok. They could work with that.

“I’ve got an eye on them, but I can't do anything without starting a large firefight. What’s your - ah, there you are.”

They sped around one last corner and came to a sudden halt in front of the clinic itself. She and Shirou were out almost before the vehicle was stopped.

“Hey!” What was obviously one of the thugs Garrus warned them about gave a shout. “The clinic‘s closed. Try again tomorrow.”

Arturia gave him and the other man a brief once over. Neither was very impressive, but she could see weapons underneath their clothes.

It would be so much easier if they could just fight their way through. With Shirou at her side, three Alliance soldiers at their back, and Garrus providing ranged support, she was rather confident in taking them without even killing them. However, it truly wasn’t that easy.

It would hardly benefit anybody if they were all arrested for ‘aggravated assault’, or something of that nature. Which is what would happen, regardless of intentions. They had no authority on the Citadel, nor did they have any actual proof of wrongdoing besides what Garrus had informed them of.

She would still do it if it meant the difference between somebody living or dying, but thankfully they had another option.

“You there!” Arturia ordered. “Let me speak to your leader!”

Charisma: B

Both thugs seemed startled and looked at each other, suddenly uncertain at the unexpected demand.

“Uh, the doctor isn’t -“

“I didn’t say I wanted to speak to the doctor. I wanted to speak to your leader”. Arturia corrected coldly. “One of the men currently in that building.”

“What are you doing?” Garrus hissed over the comms.

The thugs hesitated once more before one of them went inside.

The remaining thug stood awkwardly in front of them, clearly feeling the difference in numbers. To his obvious relief, a third man walked out with a scowl.

“What do you guys want?” He bit out. “Didn’t you hear? Place is closed.”

Arturia kept her gaze unimpressed. “You work for Fist, is that correct?”

The man’s eyes narrowed, and heads could be seen peeking out of the windows to the clinic. “What’s it to you?”

“I’m here to offer you an ultimatum.” She declared, as she suddenly shrouded herself in biotics, her eyes shining with power. “I’m here to either accept your surrender, or you can die.”

Sometimes, a bold approach worked wonders.

The truth was, most people didn’t want to die. Even those that enjoyed fighting didn’t want to die. Fighting for a cause that one believed in gave a person strength, but she doubted that this was one such case. So if you have somebody a chance to live, it made them think.

They were an singular force in ‘hostile’ territory so to speak. While they might have a somewhat defensible position, they were clearly up against an unknown superior force. A force that had the potential for reinforcements in the form of C-Sec.

And here she was, standing in front of them without fear. As if she had every confidence she could take them all on without an issue.

They were at a serious disadvantage. And they knew it.

His eyes widened in panic, and he was about to reach for his weapon when she cut him off. “If you take out that weapon, we will fight.” She warned.

And he was out in the open, facing off against at least two biotics.

Fighting against biotics was really quite scary. Unless you caught them unaware, they had both offensive and defensive capabilities that you couldn’t disarm. And right now, these men were facing at least two of them.

The man grimaced. “You’re here for that doctor, aren’t ya? If you attack, I’ll have my men kill her.” He threatened.

Arturia raised an eyebrow. “Your purpose here was to kill the doctor. If you could have done so, you would have already. That you have not means you have not gotten to her yet.”

Hopefully the woman had had enough time to hide in a room.

“Ah, I see what you’re doing,” Garrus mumbled. “Here, tell them that Fist has betrayed the Shadow Broker. His days are already numbered.”

Shadow Broker?

Arturia had never heard that particular title before.

“Fist has betrayed the Shadow Broker.” She declared, watching as the information clearly meant something to them. “Do you truly wish to associate yourself with him? Surrender, and I promise you will be treated fairly. Fight, and I cannot guarantee your life.”

Now there was open muttering between the men. Something the leader realized, as his scowl increased, his eyes darting back and forth between the group.

She saw it in his eyes before he did anything, and she frowned as he snatched his weapon.

“Kill them - gurk!”

Before he could say anything further, he was clubbed over the head and restrained by the two other thugs. He resisted furiously, but was unable to get out of it.

One of the men looked at Arturia nervously. “That offer’s still open, uh, right?”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“T-thank you so much for s-saving me.” Dr. Michel stammered out, clearly shaken from the experience.

Garrus’ warning had come just in time, and she had been able to lockdown the clinic and hide. Her clinic wasn’t very large, nor did it have the best security, but it manage to buy her enough time for help to reach her.

They had the thugs currently tied up in another room until C-Sec arrived.

“I was staking out Chora’s Den when these guys came out.” Garrus explained. “I overheard what they were planning, and immediately called for reinforcements. When nobody had C-Sec responded, I sent a message to you guys and the doctor and raced here as fast as I could.”

“So why would Fist want you dead?” Arturia asked, turning to the doctor with a frown.

“I… I don’t know.” Dr. Michel stammered with a confused look. “I hardly have any interaction with the man. Yesterday was technically the last one I had, and I helped arrange a meeting for a quarian that had information for the Shadow Broker.”

“What was the information?” Garrus asked, leaning against the counter.

Dr. Michel hesitated for a moment, “The Quarian girl, she said her name was Tali, she was being chased. She came to my clinic because she had been wounded. Said she found some incriminating information about a Spectre. She just wanted to get the information out there. If it was no longer her that had it, then there would be no reason for them to keep on chasing her, see? I knew that Fist worked for the Shadow Broker, so I recommended that she sell it to him.”

“Tarc,” Garrus swore angrily, “Fist is working for Saren! If that girl had something worthwhile, he was probably worried she had told you something.”

“Where is the girl now?” Arturia demanded a suddenly pale Dr. Michel.

I-I don’t know.” She whispered, “I just gave her Fist’s information. I wasn’t even sure she had called, she had already left by that point.”

“Then that means we need to figure out where that girl is.” Garrus declared. “Right now, she’s in more danger than you were.”

“Then we need to go after Fist directly.” Shirou proposed. “Figure out if he set up a meeting, and if so, where it is.”

“I hate to rain on everybody’s parade here,” Kaiden suddenly spoke up, looking apologetic. “But there’s a good chance that this ‘meeting’ already happened and the girl is dead.”

“We don’t know that.” Shirou said firmly. “Until we find evidence otherwise, we’ll treat it as if she is alive.”

“Which brings us to our next problem.” Garrus grumbled. “Any information like that is probably on Fist’s personal computer. Which is in his office. Fist himself is surrounded by bodyguards at all times, which means his office is well defended. How do you intend to get in there? A full frontal assault?”

He sounded way too eager for that option.

“That’s not necessary.” Shirou was suddenly typing on his omnitool, an intense look on his face. “Vakarian, C-Sec should be here any moment. Emphasize to them that these were Fist’s men. It won’t be enough to arrest him, but it should be enough for them to bring Fist in for questioning. Now until then…” Shirou shook his head and gave a sigh, “What can you tell me about a Krogan named Wrex Urdnot?”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shirou’s POV

“When I said to call me for a drink sometime, this wasn’t quite what I had in mind.”

Shirou looked at the Krogan and raised an eyebrow. “Are you complaining?”

Wrex Urdnot gave a deep chuckle, “For chance to have a good time? Can’t say I am. But it is rather sudden.”

After leaving the clinic, Shirou had taken Kaiden, and the two of them had met up with the Krogan. The three of them were sitting on a bench on one of the upper levels of the Wards, the entrance to Chora’s Den seen in the distance.

“So let me get this straight.” Wrex leaned forward a bit. “You want me to create a commotion in Chora’s Den. Get everybody’s attention and keep it for as long as I can. Easy enough. However.” Red eyes narrowed on Shirou. “Why?”

“Because I’m willing to pay you to do this.” Shirou responded immediately.

Honestly, this was hardly an ideal situation. But they were low on options and they needed to get in there now if they were going to save the Quarian. If that only cost some credits to make that happen, Shirou would consider that a bargain.

Wrex grunted, “And you ain’t afraid I’ll go off and tell on you?”

“No.” Shirou responded confidently. “You’re a professional. More than that, I know you don’t like Fist.”

It was a lot to go off of, basing this solely on an encounter that he witnessed in front of C-Sec a week prior. But what mattered is that Fist’s men knew and recognized Wrex.

While the Krogan was in there, all eyes would be on him.

“Heh.” Wrex looked amused. “I am. But you’re not exactly right. The little idiot’s got delusions of being bigger than he is, but he ain’t worth getting riled up about. However, he’s an idiot with a decent bounty on his head.”

“He’s not there right now.” Shirou shrugged, having expected something like that. “He’s currently at C-Sec for questioning, so there won’t be any conflict with your other contract. That’s also why we have to do this now.”

Wrex frowned and let out a grunt. “Is he?” He sounded disappointed before leaning back and studied Shirou for a moment. “Alright, so what’s Fist got in there that one of the Alliance’s golden boys wants so badly?”

Golden boy?

Sure, Shirou had done a number of impressive tasks, but it was almost humorous considering how much of a headache many of his superior officers called him.

“That’s my business.” Shirou deflected. He was willing to hire Wrex to make this happen, but he didn’t know the other near enough to talk about his goals.

Wrex gave a knowing smirk, causing Shirou to frown. “Yeah, it is your business. And I’m making it mine. That, or I take my business elsewhere.”

“I’m willing to pay -“

“I don’t care about the pay.” Wrex interrupted with a wave of his hand. “You got my curiosity all riled up. I’ll take the job, but I wanna know the whole story.”

Shirou hesitated for a bit. He could do this without Wrex - but the Krogan was the most convenient and fastest way.

Well, it wasn’t like Wrex would be able to do anything with the information.

“Fist arranged a meeting with a Quarian.” Shirou eventually admitted. “The Quarian has information that Fist doesn’t want to get out, and he wants her dead. We need to figure out where and when he told her to meet him to save her.”

“Oh?” Wrex perked up, looking intrigued as he leaned forward. “What information is that?”

This time, Shirou gave a small smirk. “Help us out and I’ll tell you.”

By the time they learned what information Tali knew it wouldn’t be a problem for others to know, so that was an easy promise to give.

Wrex stared at him for a while longer before barking out a laugh. “Fair enough. I’ll be expecting that information later then. Go ahead and get down there. I'll be along in a few minutes to get the fun started."

As the two walked away from the Krogan, Kaiden leaned towards Shirou. "Are you sure this was a good idea?"

Shirou's lips twitched. A good idea? "Probably not," He freely admitted, thinking back on his history of ideas.

"But it's the best one we've got."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wrex’s POV

There was a bit of an art to starting a good barroom brawl, especially in a place like this. Chora’s Den might be complete drek, but it was drek that knew what they were doing. Go at it all half-assed and even the stupidest bouncer would be all over your hump before you got the fun really started.

It’s a good thing Wrex considered himself a bit of an artist then, heh.

Emiya probably expected him to go it alone. Maybe just cause a bit of a scene. But that? That just sounded boring. So he called in a few hot-blooded young ones he knew to spice things up a bit.

Walking in, Wrex couldn’t help but smirk as the bartender immediately moved his hand under the bar with a look of panic. (Weapon or a button? Eh, didn’t matter). The rest of the bouncers (totally not thugs) focused on him. Heh.

“Wrex,” the bartender stated cautiously as the Krogan walked up to him, “You have no business here. Fist has already told you he has no intention of meeting you.”

Wrex gave him a grin full of teeth, not bothering to hold back a snicker when the man paled and let out a gulp. “Relax, I ain’t here for Fist.” He threw some credits on the bar, “Gimme a bottle of your best Ryncol.”

He almost laughed at the look of confusion on the bartender's face. He could feel the eyes on him as he moved to a booth. No doubt they thought he was gonna wait it out or something, but didn’t want to make a fuss until he did. Pansies.

Ironically enough he wasn’t lying.

Oh, Fist was as good as dead, but it wouldn’t be because of anything Wrex did. Not at this point.

Wrex knew he could have killed Fist first - He had thought up a dozen plans just the other day alone - but he hadn’t gotten as old as he had by being stupid.

The trick wasn’t in the killing, it was getting away with it without his mug being thrown up all over the Citadel as a murderer.

Granted, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if he had to be a fugitive in Citadel space, but it wasn’t something he was willing to do on a whim, especially for someone like Fist.

If he ever did it, it would be for something big. Something with some sort of significance to it. It wouldn’t be for a minor crime lord with delusions of grandeur.

He just took the job because he was bored, and he was essentially waiting for a good chance to knock him off without being instantly pinned by C-Sec.

He ignored all the eyes on him as he took a discrete glance around.

There wasn’t much to work with…

Chora’s Den was pretty much one large room. A circular bar in the middle, booths around the perimeter. Plenty of patrons, but far enough away from each other it would be difficult to get things to escalate.

He hummed to himself as he drank and looked at his potential targets. Besides the boys he brought over, there wasn’t much.

Wasted C-Sec officer at the bar was no threat. Asari dancers were at every other table, they’d probably put up a fiery fight, but not the one he was lookin’ for. Couple humans here and there, a group of Turians in one booth that looked promising, another Krogan in the corner that would probably join if the fighting got good…

Wrex saw a lone figure at one table and his face split into a grin. He stood up (he snickered as every thug visibly tensed) and made his way over with his drink.

“Huh, what do we have here?” Wrex drawled as he sat down heavily, ignoring the glare sent his way. “What’s a Turian General doing in a third rate dive like this, lookin’ like his sweetheart left him?”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shirou’s POV

“I don’t like this.” Kaiden murmured.

The two had claimed a table close to the door guarded by a bouncer, and were currently watching how everybody’s attention was on the Krogan.

“You’re saying you’re gonna go in the back when everybody’s attention is on the ensuing fight. Alone.” Kaiden gave a small glare. “You know this is the exact sort of thing that Anderson didn’t want to happen?”

Shirou shrugged, “I need somebody to keep an eye on things out here, and I’ll move faster on my own.”

“Maybe.” Kaiden allowed with a grimace. “And if this distraction isn’t big enough to get everybody’s attention?”

Shirou was about to answer when suddenly the Turian let out an angry shout and punched Wrex in the face. Wrex then immediately reached out and grabbed Turian, pulling him across the table, and threw him at a table of other Turians.

Everything seemed to happen all at once at that point.

The Turians sprung up and charged Wrex, who gave a bellowing laugh, which was answered by a nearby table of Krogan, who charged into the fight. The Asari dancers fled, and the bouncers sprung into action.

Not that they had any luck.

Within moments, the entire club was thrown into chaos.

Shirou immediately brought out his omnitool and connected to the club network, quickly inserting a virus he created previously for this purpose.

Soon, the cameras and lights went on the fritz, turning the entire fight into a rave-like scene.

A moment later, several more people burst out of the door to the back rooms and attempted to stop the fight. Shirou took that as his cue.

“Stay prepared!” He had to shout to Kaiden before making his way to the door. With the fight, nobody paid him the slightest bit of attention as he slipped through.

The hallways were empty, and he sped past what looked like a storeroom and a security room. There was a man in the security room that was desperately trying to fix the virus Shirou had sent into the system.

One well placed blow from behind, and the man was out like a light.

It wasn’t hard to find Fist’s office from there. A couple turrets were in front of it, but neither were currently on. Which made sense - you didn’t want your defenses to attack our own men. Had this been a frontal assault, then Fist would have activated all of the defenses beforehand.

Him being gone made things much easier.

It only took a moment to unlock the office door, and then he was in.

With experience borne from doing this sort of thing hundreds of times in the past, Shirou ignored everything else in the office and went to the computer, hooking his omnitool into it.

The computer itself wasn’t on the network. Otherwise Shirou would have attempted to remotely hack into it. But using his own omnitool as a middleman…

It took longer than he wanted to hack into the system. But once he did, Shirou immediately transferred everything he could find from his omnitool to another.

Jenkins would be able to filter what they were looking for. Shirou’s job was just to infiltrate and send the information. He couldn’t risk spending too much time here.

The moment the download finished, Shirou disconnected and rushed out.

Thankfully the bar fight was still going strong. Shirou slipped through and made his way to the table that Kaiden was using as a shield.

“Did you get it?” Kaiden shouted, throwing up a shield to deflect a chair.

“Yes!” Shirou shouted back. “Now let’s get out of here before - “

The door burst open, and C-Sec suddenly swarmed into the building with lots of shouting.

Shirou grimaced. “Before that happens.” He muttered.

After what just happened at the clinic, it would make sense that C-Sec would keep a stronger eye on the club. So their quick response was expected.

Still, even as C-Sec rounded everybody up, Shirou wasn’t worried.

It was up to Arturia now. And there was nobody he trusted more.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Arturia’s POV

“I’m getting the download!”

Arturia breathed out slightly at the excited response from Jenkins.

She, Jenkins, and Williams were currently waiting in the car. Jenkins was working fast on his omnitool.

“Ok, got the messages… ok, this guy has a stupid amount of messages… ah, here it is! ‘I have some info for the Shadowbroker… Want to meet in person… when…’ oh shit, it’s… it’s in ten minutes?!”

Arturia cursed, “where?”

They shot out of the parking lot before Jenkins even finished giving the answer.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tali’s POV

“You’re late.” the barefaced Turian said, and Tali eyed him nervously as he took a step towards her. She did not like how self-assured he was being. He didn’t wear any armor, but he was dressed in a black bodysuit that was probably made out of ballistic clothing, which would provide a measure of protection.

The gun on his hip would also rip through her own shields if it came down to it.

Another Turian approached her from behind, startling her.

“What is this?” She demanded, doing her best to hide how nervous she was. “Where’s Fist? Where’s the Shadow Broker?”

The first Turian let out a creepy chuckle. “He’s coming, don’t worry.”

She felt her heartrate speed up when she saw another person join in, a Salarian.

They were boxing her in.

“No,” She backed away, “No deal -”

Too late. The second Turian grabbed her from behind, pinning her arms against her sides. The first one stepped in close before she could think and grabbed her pistol, twisting it from her hands.

And then he punched her.

White spots danced across her faceplate as the gloved hand slammed into her stomach, knocking out all the air out of her lungs and leaving her gasping.

“Where is the intel?” A voice demanded, insistent. She didn’t know who spoke, and couldn't muster enough focus for it. “Tell us where the intel is!”

Shaken, she lifted a hand and quickly typed in the command to activate the two flash-forged mines she had scraped together and placed around the area, just in case.

The detonations startled them, causing them to releaser cries of pain, and she was able to take advantage of their confusion to twist out of their grasp.

“Tarc! You stinkin’ suitrat!”

One of them kicked at her, but she only stumbled as it hit her leg. She saw them raise their guns, and she began to ran away, knowing instinctively that she wouldn’t be able to make it.

‘Keelah… I’m sorry father. I won’t be able to say goodbye.’

Just as she prepared herself for more pain… A miracle happened.

A blue wave of biotics charged directly in the middle of the group, an explosion sending all three of them flying, the one that was hit crying out in pain as she heard bones break.

Tali jerked further back as more gunfire came from behind her, and a couple other men that she hadn’t seen cried out in pain, but her eyes were on the figure in front of her.

She was glowing with power, emerald eyes shining angrily as she lifted up one of the fallen Turians with her biotics and threw him,  looking more like a portrait of an ancient soldier than anything real.

Within moments the fighting was done, the people planning on ambushing not prepared for being ambushed themselves.

The human biotic looked at her, and despite everything that had just happened, Tali felt herself calming down. Like she was in the presence of friends once more.

“It’s alright,” The person spoke in a confident voice. “You’re safe now. Nobody will hurt you anymore.”

Despite herself, Tali believed her.