Mass Effect - A Hero Rises Ch. 19

He didn't have to search long and hard for his first target. A planet that was ripe for the taking. It was called Omega. Run by Aria T'Loak. The perfect place to begin his path of vengeance. Fight in his name and cleanse the galaxy of the scum that infested it.

*****

The dozen men were gathered around the small table, on which sat only a map of the area. The leader of these men looked upon his followers, almost like a proud father. They were men of many race and creed -- turian, human, salarian, even a batarian had joined the ranks. The dozen men were dressed in combat armour. But on each man was no official insignia. They shared only the same colour. Some would have considered them mercenaries, as they fought with no army, representing no race or people. However, these men fought for no pay or personal glory. They fought to protect the innocent, and served justice to the guilty. They considered themselves just in their cause.

They were the protectors of Omega.

Garrus cleared his throat, the eyes of the other eleven men on him, falling silent as he started to speak. Like usual, the instructions would be short, sharp and precise. He trusted his men implicitly.

"The mercenaries are located in a warehouse here," stated Garrus, pointing at the map, "Butler and Krul, you will take up a sniping position, here. Weaver and Erash, you will take up a sniping position here. You'll provide us with cover and can eliminate any resistance not located within the building. The other eight of us will infiltrate the warehouse. The main door is located here. There are side doors located here, here and here, where we can enter. We will split into two teams of four. I assume you have all learned the lay-out of the warehouse?"

Eleven heads nodded.

"Expected resistance?" asked Sensat, the lone batarian. Garrus was surprised when he offered his services. But he'd proven his worth. He was a skilled fighter and worthy of being part of his team.

"Up to twenty to thirty mercenaries will be within the warehouse. They have no heavy weaponry. Expect only light opposition. Our objective is but one: We will enter, kill and exit as quickly and as quietly as possible. However, we will leave fireworks once we've departed. Mierin, that's where you come in. You have the package?"

The salarian nodded. An original recruit. One that Garrus trusted most. Ex-STG. And a tough son of a bitch.

"Good."

"Are we taking prisoners for interrogation?" asked Monteague, a human mercenary who had joined their cause not many weeks before, having lost everything he owned and loved to a band of mercs. One of many looked for their own sort of revenge.

"No," replied Garrus.

Eleven nodded their heads in agreement. It was the standard mission then.

"Any other questions?"

All remained silent.

"Good. Everyone clear regarding our objective?"

Eleven heads nodded.

"Grab your armour and gear. We leave in five minutes."

Garrus and his team were as silent as the wind as they made their way to the warehouse, using the shadows to their advantage. It was the same tactical plan. No-one would see them come or go. There would be the sound of gunfire, but that was not usual on Omega. Barely a day went by when there were not bodies found in the streets and avenues, all over the station. Omega was completely and utterly lawless. The only person Garrus knew who could even begin to bring a semblance of law and order was Aria T'Loak, and Garrus had no time for her either, considering she was the designated 'Pirate Queen' and undisputed ruler of Omega. Therefore, groups, such as those Garrus continuously fought, thrived on the misery of others. There was slavery, drug dealing, and murder. Utter corruption and debasement of the population. Garrus took pleasure in cleaning up the place.

With the snipers in position, Garrus and his team waited at the side of the warehouse. The crack of rifles soon echoed in the air. There were no cries for help. The men he had chosen were expert shots. They never missed. Silence soon descended again.

"All clear," came the call through his earpiece.

With only two hand movements, Garrus and his team split up as planned. They would flank the opposition, forcing them back into the main floor of the warehouse, where Garrus hoped to then mop up any resistance that remained.

He walked quickly, in a slightly crouching position, to the door, gesturing to the man behind him to the other side. Garrus grabbed the doorknob and looked at Sidonis. He looked back and nodded. Garrus flung the door open inwards and moved in, rifle raised, searching for targets. The hallway was dark and empty.

Garrus gestured to the doors to his side, two by two as the men searched for the enemy. He opened one door to see two men sat watching a vid-screen. They hadn't heard them enter. He gestured to Lorethis for quiet, the two creeping up behind the men, taking out the knife that sat at their hips. Garrus grabbed one of the men by the mouth, preventing him screaming out, while plunging the knife into his neck. The struggle didn't last long.

The quiet didn't last, though, as soon gunfire echoed around the warehouse.

"Go loud," ordered Garrus as they started walking quicker through the hallways. Doors were kicked in, rifles fired at anyone who moved. Anyone who ran towards them was mown down by rifle fire. He tried keeping count of the bodies but it was pointless. He knew they were approaching the planned killing field. He guessed that that the opposition would fall back for one last stand.

Garrus approached a closed door. He peered through the small glass pane. It was the main warehouse floor. Just as planned. He could see the remnants of the mercenary force trying to dig in. He could hear shouts of concern. He heard the one question that was always asked.

"Who the fuck is attacking us?" someone would ask.

"It must be Archangel," would be the reply.

Garrus looked back at his men and nodded. He opened the door and ran onto the floor, taking cover behind a crate. He waited until he knew his three colleagues were near him, and then they opened fire.

"Team two in position," came the call over the radio.

The mercenaries would now be pinned.

"Team three in position," came another call.

Those were the snipers, now taking position outside the warehouse door, preventing any escape.

Garrus would consider cease-fire as an option, giving the mercenaries a chance. But he remembered what happened on Nepheron and the morons from Cerberus, the olive branch Shepard offered, thrown back in his face. Garrus would offer no olive branch. These mercenaries deserved what was coming to them.

"Maintain pressure," he ordered.

The gunfire was incessant. Grenades exploded. He could hear the tell-tale noises of tech bursts. Of sniper fire. Of shotguns. The cries of the injured, soon to be dead, would drown out the sounds of everything else for a moment. The ground ran red and blue, orange and green with blood, the various colours mixing together, almost a kaleidoscope of blood on the floor.

Soon the fire started to peter out. Garrus called out to cease-fire. Carefully his team moved out of cover. Garrus checked for injuries. One or two of his men were wounded, but no-one had been killed. It was another successful operation, the bodies of the opposition littering the ground. The occasional shot rang out as a survivor was put down. There would be no prisoners.

"Mierin, prepare the package," Garrus ordered.

With the package prepared in moments, Garrus ordered his squad to move out. Again in the shadows they departed, the sounds of a massive explosion ringing in their ears, as they made their way back to their base, where they would unwind and quietly celebrate another success. It was another battle of a war that would never end. But it was a fight that Garrus would continue until his dying breath.

That was his solemn promise to the people of Omega. And to his dead friend.

*****

Ashley Williams

Ashley had said goodbye to Tali within a couple of weeks after the Normandy had been destroyed. It had... It had torn her heart out. She'd loved the little quarian, more than she'd ever imagined. She'd never thought she'd ever fall in love with another woman. Let alone another woman and an alien as well. But, somehow, they'd forged a bond, and Ashley knew she'd never forget her. But after Shepard was lost, they were forced apart, both knowing the forces of the galaxy were stronger than the love they may have shared.

It wasn't just losing Tali, though. Losing Shepard was just as tough. She loved Tali. Still loved her even after the quarian had returned home. But, in her heart, she'd loved Shepard. Perhaps differently to her quarian lover, but she had believed. More than anything, she had believed in Commander Shepard. Her friend, lover, confidant... The man who had believed in her as much in return.

She'd been promoted to Operations Chief and had started the road towards becoming an officer. She knew that was due to the recommendations of Shepard, plus the fact Anderson had also been in the ear of Alliance brass, and there was no doubt Admiral Hackett was now an admirer. She had more than one meeting with both men, as though she had earned promotion, they admitted to being unsure where to place her.

To her disappointment, she didn't find herself placed on another starship, though part of her didn't want to be on any other ship than the Normandy. She worked on Earth for a few months, keeping an eye and ear on the news over time as she watched everything they'd learned about the Reapers swept under the carpet, the Council denying their existence. They didn't call Shepard delusional but the insinuation was clear. As for the Alliance, Anderson was a believer, as was Hackett, but even the latter, even though he was Admiral of the Fleet, earning a promotion after the Citadel, only had so much power.

She kept in touch was Tali for a time but communication eventually dropped between them. Keeping a long distance relationship going, with little chance of seeing each other, was always going to be difficult. It was at least nine months after they parted when they simply agreed that they should both move on. She was upset to end it with her but, considering their circumstances, it was the best thing to do. Problem for Ashley was that moving on was just too difficult. Any man she looked at would be compared to Shepard, and no-one could possibly compare to him. And she didn't find herself attracted to another woman, figuring perhaps it had just been Tali who had interested her...

As for the rest of the Normandy crew, she eventually fell out of touch with them too. She would email Doctor Chakwas every so often, surprised to hear the good doctor had been shunted onto some facility on Mars. Joker had basically been grounded, and from whispers she'd heard, he'd taken to drink and blamed himself for Shepard's death. All other surviving Alliance personnel had been sent to other ships or postings, and the likes of Wrex and Garrus had simply moved on.

The one person she did keep in contact with was Liara. She would admit the two hadn't exactly always been warm to each other, at least to start with, but over time, the two had become friendly enough, each aware they were both intimate with Shepard, not that they'd discuss it. But Liara seemed to make sure she stayed in contact with her, sending her an email at least once a month. She didn't say much about what she was doing, but she definitely seemed to have plenty of information to share, particularly in regards to investigating the destruction of the Normandy. That just made Ashley scratch her head, wondering what an archaeologist was doing investigating it...

Still, at least someone was looking into it, as the Alliance had quickly written it off as a geth attack and closed the file. Ashley wasn't stupid. She knew Sovereign wasn't a geth ship, Saren was indoctrinated, and there was no way any geth ship could have ripped apart the Normandy as easily as it had happened. No, she knew there was another enemy out there. If it wasn't the Reapers, then who was responsible for the destruction of the Normandy and the death of Commander Shepard? She couldn't ask too many questions too loudly. She'd only just earned her stripes, finally rising to a station she believed she should have been at years before. If she rocked the boat now, they'd demote her just as quickly to prove a point.

She would simply have to keep her head down, grit her teeth, put up with the lies, and hope Liara or whoever else would find the truth.

*****

Liara T'Soni

(A/N -- To be honest, there is so much content regarding Liara between games 1 & 2 that I could have written an entire chapter just about her. So I've had to cut it to the bare facts before leaping into the next chapter. Still other characters to consider too...)

No-one else knew how busy Liara T'Soni had been since the destruction of the Normandy. She was desperate to tell those who knew her best the truth, but telling the truth about what she'd done would likely cause... problems...

Liara was a true believer in the Reaper threat. Having melded with Shepard numerous times, particularly once their physical relationship finally started, she knew everything he did. She knew what loomed on the horizon. They may have stopped Sovereign, but the Reapers would not be stopped forever. They'd find a way to arrive and begin the harvest. That's what made losing Shepard such a bitter blow.

But unlike the Alliance, she didn't give up on him so easily. She wanted to ask some of the others to help. She didn't think they gave up on him. They were just... heartbroken. She did wonder about approaching perhaps Garrus or Ashley, but the former spoke of joining the Spectres, while Ashley was quickly shuffled off to her next posting. That left Liara alone to go search.

Two months after the loss of Shepard and the Normandy, Liara turned her back on the world of science and archaeology in attempt to find him to begin with the... she wasn't sure what. Burial? Probably. Revival? Unlikely, but she could live in hope. All she wanted was Shepard back, as much as anyone else she'd been alongside. After searching Alchera, where most of the Normandy had ended up crashing upon, she found no sign of the Commander and put out feelers across the galaxy. That led her to Omega...

Arriving on Omega eventually led to a meeting with Aria T'Loak, the 'Pirate Queen', who proved of little help. That didn't surprise her in the slightest, but she did end up meeting her contact, a drell by the name of Feron. After finding herself ambushed by Blue Suns mercenaries, she ended up meeting a woman by the name of Miranda Lawson, who represented an organisation called Cerberus. She knew of Cerberus quite well. Shepard had spent months dismantling many of their operations across the galaxy, and she was well aware of their pro-human, anti-alien agenda. She was eventually introduced to the 'Illusive Man', who claimed he had the technology to bring Shepard back to life, but that couldn't be done without his body, and the Collectors, a race unknown to most of the galaxy, were willing to pay for it. He further insinuated, though couldn't provide evidence for now, that the Collectors were agents for the Reapers. That definitely grabbed her attention.

Further investigation led her again to the Blue Suns, who she discovered had been the group to find Shepard's body on Alchera, put it into stasis, and brought it to Omega to sell to the Shadow Broker, who would than move it for the Collectors. Feron and herself attempted an ambush of the handover of Shepard's body to Shadow Broker agents, but the operation quickly went wrong, a salarian agent by the name of Tazzik escaping with Shepard's body.

She gave chase alongside Feron, eventually ending up in the orbit of Alingon. There were no redeeming features about the planet, but they figured out it was a base for the Shadow Broker. Needing to infiltrate quickly, the pair established a simple plan to get planet-side and deal with whatever was necessary.

The whole thing nearly went wrong more than once. In fact, looking back, Liara couldn't believe she got away with it. It was only after events played out, escaping on Tazzik's ship with Shepard's body on board, Feron having sacrificed himself to ensure her success, that she could sit back, take a breath, and take stock of events. She was no longer the innocent archaeologist Shepard had found on Therum. She had taken on the Shadow Broker and won. But handing over Shepard was only the start. She knew the Reapers were out there...

Given co-ordinates for the meet, she flew the shuttle towards Minuteman Station. Meeting Miranda Lawson in person again, she asked if the Illusive Man would make an appearance. Miranda simply smirked, suggesting he was probably watching but would not make a personal appearance.

"Do you want to check?" Miranda wondered.

"It's him," she whispered, "I don't need..." She looked at the brunette woman. "Wouldn't it best to let dead men rest?"

"You don't believe we can bring him back?"

"It's not that. Hasn't he already done enough?"

"The Illusive Man believes in the threat, and also believes we have the technology and capabilities to bring him back. If he believes, why can't you?"

Liara found she didn't have an answer to that. With a last sigh, all she could do was hand over the body and ask Miranda to bring Shepard exactly as he was. Miranda said that Cerberus would, though Liara didn't know if she should believe her entirely. Surely they would be aware of Shepard's history with them?

That done, Liara was left with a dilemma. What to do next? She'd certainly made some enemies during her fight to retrieve Shepard, including the Shadow Broker. In fact, she was left rather pissed off regarding the enigmatic figure. No-one knew who the Shadow Broker was. A lone individual? A group of people? An A.I? She was left thinking and feeling that, whoever they were, they were dangerous. And she was left believing she was now in their cross-hairs.

For the first time in decades, she approached her mother for help. Not directly, but after her mother had been found guilty of treason, Liara had been left with the estate. One thing her mother had made sure to leave was credits. Lots and lots of credits. The one thing Liara needed was information. Information regarding the Reapers, the Collectors, Cerberus, the Shadow Broker, anything and everything that would help in regards to the upcoming war. She knew it was coming. When, she couldn't be sure. Not yet...

She eventually ended up on Illium, an asari colony world near the very edge of Citadel space. Using all the credits at her disposal, she put together her own little firm of information brokers. Information was everything, and Liara found she was quite good at analysing data. Recruiting numerous asari, turians, humans, even quarians, her firm soon grew, attracting the attention of governments and organisations, who soon grew to appreciate all the information she could gather and send out.

Life wasn't easy on Illium. Everyone had a price, and more than once, she was sure the Shadow Broker sent agents to find and eliminate her. She ended up with a solid protection detail, bodyguards who watched her twenty-four hours a day, or so it seemed. Her apartment in one of the finest suburbs of Nos Astra was the best money could buy, with all the protection needed for an aspiring information broker. Her name was soon opening doors across the galaxy. Even the Council seemed to take notice of who she was, though whether it was because of herself, or simply her name, she could never be sure.