Mass Effect - A Hero Rises Ch. 67

Book 3, Chapter 17 - The Cure

*****

"Liara." I must have entered the room quietly as I felt guilty making her jump with fright. I made sure I smiled when she turned towards me. "My apologies, thought you would have heard the door."

"Sorry, Shepard, I'm just busy as always. What do you need?"

"I've just had a very interesting conversation with the salarian councillor. I want absolutely anything you can get on Udina. I don't care what it is, how inconsequential or insignificant the detail might be. Gianna, I'm going to need your eye on something like this."

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Valern thinks Udina is dirty. Now, I'm sure it's obvious my opinion of a certain salarian is rather low, but I'm not going to let that cloud my judgement of others. Our conversation was frosty, but he extended an olive branch, which I chose to accept."

"So we're definitely going to the Citadel?"

"We'll be there in a couple of days. I've told Joker to take his time as I wanted to give you two time to complete at least a preliminary investigation. I want to nail the fucker."

"I thought you were getting on with him?" Liara wondered.

"Barely heard a peep from him since we left for Menae. Apparently he's been funnelling funds. To whom? Not even the salarians can figure it out. Hope the Shadow Broker might be able to help out regarding that."

"Leave it to me, Shepard. Gianna and I will have a report ready for you by the time we arrive."

"No pressure then, Liara," Gianna said with humour.

Despite what might have been considered bad news, I found my mood improved. I'd despised Udina since the day I'd met him. The chance to bring the fucker down? I was going to leap at it and make sure he went down in flames. My mind was immediately whirring at the possibilities. What made me even more convinced that he was up to something was a message from Ashley. She was messaging me more often nowadays, having been released from hospital during our time on Tuchanka, but was still stuck on the Citadel, no doubt hoping to come back to the ship.

According to her, Udina had been in to see her a day or two before her release, offering her a position as a Spectre. Now don't get me wrong, I respect the hell out of Commander Williams. She's a terrific soldier. But a Spectre? In the future? Possibly. At this moment?

I messaged Tevos and asked if any Spectres were being inducted. She replied within an hour, answering that, due to the war, no new Spectres would be inducted until the Reapers had been defeated. Not wanting to upset Ashley, I replied to her message, simply stating how proud of her I was, and how much I was missing her.

So Udina was up to something. Definitely something big. I had that bad feeling in the pit of my gut, and I usually relied on my instincts. I liked to think I would good at sniffing out bullshit, and there was just something about all of this that smelled wrong.

I had Miranda bent over the desk, slamming her arse nice and hard, when it came to me. I stopped, buried deep inside her arse, when I exclaimed, "Shit."

She laughed. "I hope not, I keep myself clean just for you, sir."

"Sorry, no. Crap. Damn it. Sorry, I'm distracted."

"Then finish up then tell me what's on your mind, Shepard." She used my name when we were talking business. It made things easier for both of us. Sir when having fun, Shepard when being professional. Might seem weird and backwards, but it worked for us.

I cleared my mind, grabbing her hair and really giving it to her like usual. Managed to keep the thought in the back of my mind as I came inside her. Leaning forward to rest on my forearms, I felt her squeeze my cock, both of us chuckling, as I kissed her cheek. "Cerberus," I whispered, "It's got to be them."

She knew what I was talking about immediately. "Udina." I nodded as I pulled back, taking her to the couch, where I sat down as she straddled my lap, cock straight back in her arse, watching her face light up, as she slowly rode me. "Makes sense," she whispered, "If he's funnelling money, they're the sort of organisation who could keep it well hidden. All sorts of shell companies."

I took a nipple in my mouth and gently bit it for a moment, taking her other nipple and doing the same thing. "But to what end?" I finally asked.

"Help for Earth. But why Cerberus? They're clearly not helping." She pushed me back against the back of the couch, leaning forward to kiss me, her breasts pressing into my chest. "But the Illusive Man would love that sort of influence on the Council."

Running my hands down her back to her arse, she started to ride me faster, desperate to cum herself. "I know the fucker is dirty. I'm going to destroy him. Tear him down, piece by fucking piece."

"Is it wrong that the idea is a turn on?"

"I figured since you're riding me nice and fast."

"Oh, I just want to cum with your cock in my arse, sir."

"Well, you're going to be riding me a little longer yet."

"You think I'm going to complain, sir? I get to cum more often before you do again."

Kelly walked in around an hour later, Miranda and I back at our desks, looking busy. She stopped and sniffed the air, then looked at Miranda. "You've had anal!"

"How the hell..." Miranda started to ask.

"It's a distinctive scent, aware of the lube you use. Not unpleasant, otherwise no-one would do it, but the look on your face, Miranda, suggests you've had your arse properly fucked."

"I did." She rolled her chair back. "Haven't even bothered with a skirt as his cum would just leak out of me all over it anyway."

"Have something for me, Kelly?" I asked, giving her a smile, "Or just popped in to say hello?"

"If I said the second thing?"

I rolled my chair back and she quickly ended up sat sideways on my lap, cuddling against my chest. "You two are just too damned cute at times, and that's the only time I'm left wondering..."

"Stop it," Kelly said sweetly, "Frankly, we're all in a relationship together. We all fuck each other, and it's not only about that, and you know it."

Miranda gave that thought and laughed. "Actually, you're not wrong."

"I'll keep reassuring if you need it. Liara loves the arrangement as she desires both men and women. Gianna is now incredibly open minded about all of this. Emily simply thinks it's a lot of fun. Chakwas doesn't consider herself part of the group, but there's no doubting the fun she has." She cuddled into me again. "Can't wait to see Shiala again."

"You really miss her, don't you? Before you ask, I miss her like crazy. Messages and the occasional picture or video isn't the same. Granted, they are pictures and video that raise a grin and other things..."

"We should really just bite the bullet and go to Feros, Shepard."

"Maybe after our visit to the Citadel."

We were approaching Widow System when Gianna walked into the office with a datapad, placing it down. She explained that Udina covered his tracks well, but there were signs of corruption and dealings with external organisations. Nothing that suggested he was working with or for Cerberus, but Gianna was an investigator, and she was damned sure he was dirty.

So I suggested I'd need to speak with Valern and see if the information he had married in any way the information she had managed to gather. I stood up and embraced her, kissing her cheek too. "Thank you," I said softly.

"Felt good to feel useful." I gave her a look. All she did was smile in return. "It's not like Liara actually needs my help. I'm the beautiful but glorified assistant. But it's still good fun to work alongside her. She keeps me busy."

"Er, Commo... Shepard, we've got a problem here," Joker announced over the comm.

"Shit, he actually sounds worried," Gianna said.

"Yeah, better check it out." Exiting my office, Miranda, Samantha and Kelly were side by side, going over something they'd been working on. They'd heard the message and looked my way, returning a shrug as I had heard the concern but no idea what could be wrong. Stepping up next to EDI's chair, Joker glanced back, concern written on his face. "What's up?"

"We're on approach but I'm getting nothing from Citadel traffic control. It's just static, like no-one is home."

"Tried Alliance channels?"

"Nothing on those either. And the lanes are empty. Look around. Absolutely no ships coming or going."

"Open the frequencies, Joker. Let's see if anyone is listening." I paused, waiting for EDI to let me know. Once she did, I spoke. "This is Commodore Shepard of the Normandy requesting landing clearance. Can I have a copy?"

We had to wait to hear from anyone. The surprise was Thane replied. "Shepard, it's Thane."

"Thane. What the hell is going on?"

"Cerberus has launched a full scale assault on the Citadel. They currently control the docks, C-Sec, and various other areas. They are currently sweeping the station, no doubt in pursuit of the Council."

"Fucking what?" Miranda growled from behind me, "Thane, confirm please?"

"I'm sorry, Miss Lawson. But I can confirm Cerberus forces are currently on the Presidium."

"Where are you, Thane?"

"I might by dying but I still have my skills. I'm eliminating the enemy where I can."

"Okay, don't risk your life, Thane. We'll take a shuttle, head to C-Sec. Keep to this channel. I'll try and find help once we're on the station."

"Copy that. Thane out."

Once the channel cleared, I opened the ship comm. "Normandy, this is Shepard. Ground team members, report to the shuttle bay for immediate departure. All crew, situation update. The Citadel is currently under attack. It is believed Cerberus is responsible. You know your roles. Your job is to ensure any information you discover is fed back to the Alliance." Cutting the link, I crouched next to Joker. "Once we leave on the shuttle, you head for the relay and find the nearest fleet. Don't care if it's human, turian, asari or the fucking Klingons, the Asgard or a horde of Wookies."

"Nice reference, Shepard. Star Trek, Stargate and Star Wars in one go,"

"God help us if it is the fucking Klingons. Just do what you can, but I want the fucking cavalry here."

"I'll head for the relay as soon as you're away."

"Good man."

Miranda and I strode to the elevator. Kelly looked upset as I passed by, giving her a quick hug and absolute reassurance I would solve the matter. "We worked with them, Shepard," she whispered, giving me a tight squeeze before kissing my cheek. "Kill them."

"Oh, I think we'll be doing just that."

Miranda was practically grinding her teeth in the elevator, taking her hand in mind. She squeezed it so hard, I almost cried out. She used her other hand to wipe her cheeks. She wasn't upset. She was incandescent with rage. Stepping out, nearly everyone else was ready to go, Miranda and I slipping on our armour quickly, grabbing weapons and supplies, Cortez already behind the controls of the shuttle, ready to go.

As soon as we were away from the ship, I ordered Joker away then told Cortez to take us straight to C-Sec. Cerberus didn't know we were coming, and we arrived to find them still assaulting C-Sec headquarters. They were putting up one hell of a fight.

"No prisoners," I ordered as I was already firing before Cortez set the shuttle down. Flanked as they were, all of us now beyond pissed off by the attack, they didn't stand a chance. I hadn't even bothered with an assault rifle, I wanted this to get as bloody as possible. Charge, collide, fire. Shotgun aimed either at the gut, for maximum pain, or head, to simply watch it explode into blood and bone.

I wasn't the only one taking it personally. If I said Miranda was executing anyone in that symbol, I probably wouldn't be wrong. Liara had her beef with Cerberus and practically tore a few apart with her biotics. Garrus was pissed off they'd attacked his former colleagues. I think we all had our reasons to be following my 'no prisoners' order to the letter.

Finding Bailey still alive was a bonus. He'd taken a wound, Miranda and Liara giving him some medi-gel as he explained the situation. "Got to be an inside job," he said, "There is no way Cerberus could have made it onto the Citadel with anyone noticing."

"Where is the Council?" I asked.

"Valern had a meeting with the Executor. Your name was mentioned. I'm not sure where Tevos and Sparatus are, though I would assume they've been evacuated."

"Udina?"

"No idea."

Helping Bailey up and into C-Sec, the others helped the surviving officers as Bailey collapsed into a chair. He was able to give us some updates and also a message from Valern left for me. It told me everything I needed to know about what he wanted to tell me. If Udina wasn't dirty, I'd eat my hat. Bailey told us to head through C-Sec and we'd eventually make to where Valern was likely bunkered down. He'd keep in contact. Thane managed to contact us too, suggesting he was following someone who had taken his interest. I gently reminded him to be careful as I could hear him struggling. He assured me he was staying safe, his skills and mind sharp, but his body was letting him down.

What became obvious to us as we moved through C-Sec were two things. Firstly, our expert eyes recognised an inside job, considering half the bodies we found had been executed. Secondly, I wondered who the fuck Cerberus had managed to gain control, because the soldiers, engineers and whatever else sent our way were fucking idiots. Or maybe we just better than them.

Garrus started calling out names of old friends he'd once worked with. Each name was shouted with a little more desperation each time. He eventually stopped calling out after the sixth name was met by nothing but silence or gunfire, depending if we ran into anyone wearing that symbol. Otherwise, we moved silently and kept the chatter to a minimum. Thane kept us up to date of his position. Bailey would ask if we found anyone alive, needing to sigh before I told him we only found bodies.

"Damn it," he muttered.

"Any word on the Council?" I wondered.

"Cerberus have most frequencies locked down, Shepard. Doing my best to open an official channel."

"Keep trying, we'll keep killing."

"What about Ash?" Miranda asked.

I had her number so opened my omni-tool and tried to call her. It wouldn't go through, so I thought a message might work. I sent her one, letting her know Cerberus was behind the attack, that I was currently on the Citadel with my team, and that both Council and civilians were top priority.

I received a message back from here within a minute.

Udina?

I sent a simple message back.

Be vigilant.

I would have sent at least a dozen more questions, but I figured she was with Udina and likely the other two councillors, so he may already know we were on the Citadel. We ran into more soldiers, busy executing what we learned were sleeper agents, hearing one cry out 'I did everything you wanted!' Miranda could only shake her hand in disgust. Vega was with it enough to know this could set back humanity decades, even though it was due to Cerberus. But it would be hard to know who to trust after this. Hell, how could they trust me after this?

We made it to the Executor's Office, leaving a long trail of dead bodies in our wake. Bailey was busy gathering survivors from elsewhere around the Citadel, following in our footsteps. Carefully stepping into the office, we found the Executor dead on the ground, bullet to the back of his head. Hearing a noise from outside, we gathered at the window to see Valern de-cloak, body language one of absolute fear.

Then someone I'd never seen appeared near the councillor, and it was obvious his intentions were not noble. "Leng," Miranda growled. She smashed the glass window into smithereens with her biotics as I charged down to the lower level, Liara, Javik and Miranda using biotics to lower themselves. Shotgun aimed, Leng was only armed with a sword.

"Shepard, Udina is planning a coup," Valern stated, "He has Tevos and Sparatus. Commander Williams is escorting them, unaware of his intentions."

I just glared at Leng, whoever he was. "Look, bozo, don't care who the fuck you are. But look at my firepower. Think you can win? Fuck off."

He smirked. The fucker just smirked. "Oh, this just makes it interesting, Shepard."

No-one saw him drop from above, but Leng felt his presence, as Thane appeared out of thin air, watching the two fight for perhaps thirty seconds. In that brief half minute, Thane showed just how good he had been. Should have killed Leng, in all honesty. He didn't make a mistake. And Leng certainly wasn't better. It was the disease that led to the wound. Watching the tip of the sword out of his back ensured I charged immediately, sending Leng flying backwards, shotgun blasting which his shields somehow stopped.

I should have followed him, but I turned back to Thane as he crumpled to the ground. "Don't worry about me. Get him!"

I roared with anger before heading down the stairs and out onto an empty platform. "Bailey, I need assistance."

"Where are you?"

Giving him my position, a pair of vehicles appeared within a minute. "Sit-rep, Shepard. Udina is leading the Council to a landing pad near Shalmar Plaza. This Leng fellow you met, he's no doubt the one leading this attack. If an exchange is to take place, that's where it will happen."

Before getting in the vehicle, I asked, "Get hold of Commander Williams. Let her know Udina is dirty, leading her into a trap. Add that we're on our way and we'll be with her shortly."

"I'll do that immediately, Shepard. Just make sure the Council survives."

"They will. Valern is alive. And there's an injured man here. Thane Krios. He needs medical attention."

I would like to say that we enjoyed an epic car chase across the Citadel before we send Leng crashing to the surface in flames. Unfortunately, the bastard managed to catch us by surprise. What really pissed me off is that his skycar turned up beside ours. I swerved into it more than once, and the cheeky bastard still managed to leap up and over onto the back of our skycar. I immediately put the skycar into a dive, but whatever he was doing worked, as I soon lost control of the skycar, the Presidium quickly filling our windscreen.

"Oh, seriously, just fuck off," I shouted before we hit the deck.

Clambering out of the ruined skycar, the other one landed nearby, our team immediately getting to work. What pleased me was the fact we linked up with old friends keeping the citizens of the Citadel safe. Jack, Kasumi and Zaeed, who I hadn't seen since the day he left the ship, were all involved in the fight. There was a brief greeting before we laid waste to the Cerberus forces, all of us fighting with a ferocity unmatched since we'd flown through the Omega Four.

"How pissed off are you, Miri?" Jack did ask, "Not joking, being serious."

"Like you wouldn't believe, Jackie. And the guilt is overwhelming."

That's when I stopped, once anyone in Cerberus colours around us was dead, and hugged her tightly. "You have nothing to be guilty about," I whispered.

"But..." she choked back a sob.

"Miri, he's right," Jack said, coming alongside me, "Look, I still have my own problems with these fuckers, but you left them to follow him. So that would suggest to me that you're a good person at heart."

That made her smile. "Thanks, Jackie."

"Well, this is sweet and all, but I think we should kill some more Cerberus cunts," Zaeed suggested.

"Got a cigar ready for when we win?" I asked.

"Got plenty for anyone who wants one when we do."

Cerberus was now throwing all their forces at us. Regular troops. Engineers with turrets. Centurions, a name Miranda told us. They were officers, and if we wanted to, they'd be worth trying to take prisoner, though perhaps another day. Phantoms, armed with a sword and biotic barrier. Liara and Miranda enjoyed taking them out. Then what she called a Nemesis, who were snipers. Garrus took joy in showing own skills by eliminating them from greater distances.