Lazarus Project: Mass Effect 2 (Shenko)

Chapter 45

Milky Way/Crescent Nebula/Tasale/Illium

Earth year: 2185 CE --- August

After fighting through multiple waves of Blue Suns and mechs, they came across a locked room holding more salarian workers. After hacking the door, the salarians told them that someone had shot the merc that was lying dead on the floor inside.

"Did you see who shot the merc?" Callie asked.

"No. Whoever it was moved too fast, then locked us in here."

"Precision shot from a high calibre rifle." Zaeed whistled. "What kind of assassin is this?"

Callie said nothing as she told the salarians it was safe to leave the building through the lower levels.

As they were leaving, one of them turned back to face her. "If you find your assassin, tell him to aim for her head, because she doesn't have a heart!"

Sharing a look with Zaeed and Kasumi, they shouldered their weapons and moved on. After taking down a trio of Blue Suns, they took the elevator to the next level up, only to be met by a much larger force of Blue Suns determined to stop their progress.

Blue Suns, hostile LOKI and FENRIS mechs that looked like dogs but were  equipped with stun charges, swarmed them as they entered the hall from the elevator. They were all a pain in the ass as far as Callie was concerned. It wasn't hard to take them down, but if they were too close when they fell, they short-circuited and electrified anything within ten feet.

It stung like a bitch, not to mention the havoc and disorientation it caused to their shields and the auto-targeting feature of their weapons. So much firepower for one assassin, Callie breathed, what kind of threat was this guy, she wondered. Exhausted and bruised, they made their way to the unfinished bridge that would take them to the top floor where Nassana was hiding.

The bridge was not a cake-walk. While Kasumi was using her tactical cloak to take out a couple LOKI mechs, she got dangerously close to the side of the bridge and almost lost her balance when a gust of wind came up. Heart pounding, she made her way back the way she had come, taking shelter behind a crate while she waited for her pulse to return to normal. Callie caught her eye, a question in them and Kasumi nodded, her face still white from her near miss.

With a deep breath, Callie pushed forward knowing Kasumi was going to be okay and would catch up. She joined Zaeed on the back of a crate mover that gave them cover and  a slightly elevated vantage point. Zaeed focused on taking down the automated turrets that were positioned above them, making the bridge crossing very dangerous. So  Callie focused on taking down the Blue Suns that were attempting to block them from reaching the other side.

At first, she used Singularity, getting the mercs off their feet, but with the wind shear coming over the bridge, she wasn't having much luck.

Grumbling, she switched to Warp and although she got one, the rest easily avoided her by ducking behind crates. Tired, she could have kicked herself when she realized she should be using the wind to her advantage. With a frown, she sent a biotic Lift at a Blue Sun that took the merc off her feet and suspended her five feet above the bridge. She hung there a moment before she was gone off the side as a gust of wind caught her and took her with it.

In no time at all, the mercs were gone and Zaeed had blown up the turrets. Tired, windblown and exhausted, they made their way up a flight of stairs to the room where Nassana was holed up.

"Shepard?" Nassana said, surprised. "You're behind this? You're supposed to be dead."

"Good to see you too Nassana. Looks like your past finally caught up to you." Callie drawled, relaxing her gun arm.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised." Nassana snarled. "You take out my sister and now you've come for me."

"I'm not here for you Nassana." Callie retorted.

"No? You've destroyed my towers,  killed my people and you're standing there fully armed. What's your game Shepard? What do you want? Is it credits?"

"All the credits in the world won't make this problem go away Nassana."

"What are you talking about?" She sneered. "Everyone has a price. You just have to name it."

"Ma'am?" Interrupted an asari Eclipse.

"What is it?" Nassana snarled.

"I thought I heard something..." She replied as a soft bump in the ceiling echoed through the room.

"Dammit!" Nassana swore. "You!" She said, addressing a human male Eclipse merc. "Go check it out. And Shepard, I'll deal with you once this problem is..."

As Callie and the others watched, a figure dropped from the ceiling, silent as a cat. In a blur of motion, he knocked out the asari merc, snapped the human male's neck and had Nassana by the arm as he spun her around to face him, a gun pressed to her heart.

"Who...?" Was Nassana's last word as he pulled the trigger and laid her limp body against the console. He then folded her arms over her chest before bowing his head and putting his hands together in prayer.

Silence fell as Callie took in the figure who had just killed Nassana. It was a drell, a race that wasn't seen much outside of the Hanar home-world. Thane's scales were green with a bit of black streaking his face, and he was clad in a black, skin-tight suit. She frowned as he continued to ignore them.

"I've been looking for you." She ventured, waiting. "Hello?" Was he deaf?

"One moment." He said brusquely. "Prayers for the wicked must not be ignored."

"She certainly was wicked." Callie agreed, taking a step toward him and holstering her weapon.

"Not for her, for me." He corrected, looking angry. "Take you for instance. Where you go, destruction and violence follows. I wanted to see how far you would go to reach me."

"You knew I was coming." Callie reasoned, her mind working furiously.

"If someone is shooting at me, then I haven't done my job, I've made a mistake. I take my time and eliminate only those who stand between me and my target. You, however..."

"So you were praying for...?"

"Someone was pushing me, forcing me to move faster, take more risks. Innocents died and suffered because I wasn't fast enough. I must atone for that."

"I'm here to recruit you for an important mission." Callie said, moving to stand beside him. He may have used her to reach his target, but she decided to let it go. She needed him and it wouldn't get her anywhere by making an issue of it. "You've heard of the Collectors? They're abducting entire human colonies. I'm going after them."

"Taking on the Collectors would require going through the Omega-4 Relay. No one's ever come back from there."

"They tell me it's a suicide mission. I intend to prove them wrong." Callie said.

"Suicide mission." Thane repeated quietly. "Yes. A suicide mission will do nicely. I will work for you Shepard. No charge."

"No charge? Uh, not to look a gift assassin in the mouth, but why?"

"These colonists are civilians are they not?" Thane asked.

Callie nodded.

"Then they are innocent and do not deserve the suffering that has been brought upon them." He said simply. "Also, I'm dying."

"You're dying?" Of all the things Thane might have said, that wasn't one of them.

"My condition is not contagious, not even to other Drell. I assure you I am well enough to help you on your mission."

"In that case, welcome aboard Thane." She said, shaking his hand.

"Thank you Shepard. I look forward to working with you."