Finding a Way: Mass Effect 1

Chapter 8

An hour later they approached the club, fully armed and armored, only this time it was silent.

"I think it's safe to assume Fist knows we're coming," Garrus noted.

"When you know it's a trap, they've already lost," Shepard smiled, quoting one of the instructors she had had during special ops training.

"There's two tables to the left and one to the right not far from the door," Kaidan remembered from their earlier visit.

"Yeah, that'll work," she replied, as he saw the wheels turning in her head. "You and Williams take left. Can you keep a barrier up until you get behind cover?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Alright. Garrus, stay behind me."

They put up their barriers and opened the doors. An immediate hail of bullets came at them from both directions. He and Ashley got to the tables on the left and flipped them for cover, while Garrus did the same on the right, creating a V-shape they could hunker down behind.

He popped up to warp one of Fist's goons and saw Shepard vault herself over the bar and into cover back there. She formed a singularity over several guys on the right of the room for Garrus to pick off, but when he came up to shoot them bullets rained on him from above. His shield took them, but Kaidan didn't have time to turn and help him as he and Ash were still dealing with all the bullets coming at them from their side of the room.

"Shepard, we got a sniper above the bar. I can't get a bead on him!" Garrus called.

"On it!"

He heard a burst of fire from her rifle and the thud of a body falling part way around the bar, leaving Garrus free to take care of the people still trapped in the singularity. Over the sound of gunfire, he heard a muffled exclamation of 'shit' come from Shepard. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her fly across the room and into the edge of one of the booths. Her head snapped back against it pretty hard and her rifle fell from her grasp, spinning out of reach. A Krogan came stomping out from behind the bar, the huge reptilian like alien leveling a shotgun at her head. Kaidan put everything he could into the throw he flung at him, and while it didn't knock him off his feet it at least caused him to stagger and miss the shot. He saw stars and knew he'd pay for that move with a nasty migraine later.

He glanced back at Shepard, as she shook her head and leapt to her feet, sprinting toward the Krogan. She brought out her omni-blade and sliced the shotgun in half as he tried to block the swipe she took at his face with it. He roared and punched her causing her to fall backwards to the floor. He went to stomp on her chest, but she rolled to her right and kipped-up, swinging a biotically charged fist into his kidney. She ducked his back hand and swung her other fist into his face. She started a roundhouse kick at him, but he caught her leg. Instead of letting it stop her momentum, though, she flung herself back and brought her other leg, complete with biotic charge, up and into his face. He went down on his back and she continued her spin before landing on her back, too. Before he could blink, she had drawn the pistol from her thigh, come to a sitting position, and put two bullets into his head. She then fell back to the floor and lay there, breathing heavily from the fight.

"Clear!" Garrus called from his side, as Ashley said the same for theirs.

"Shepard, you good?" he called as they came out from cover.

"Super," she grunted rolling to her knees and letting Garrus help her to her feet.

"Damn, Shepard, I've never seen a human go hand-to-hand with a Krogan before and live to tell about it," he said.

"Two cracked ribs, mild pulmonary contusions, and a concussion notwithstanding," Kaidan said as he ran his omni-tool over her injuries.

She grinned, wiped the blood from her split lip, and asked, "My field medic gonna tell me I'm not fit for duty?"

"He wouldn't dream of it, ma'am. But he is going to tell you to lay off the biotics with a concussion."

"Noted," she nodded and then turned and slapped Garrus on the shoulder, "I'll be sure to let you have the next Krogan, Vakarian."

"Actually, I prefer my Krogans at five hundred yards through a sniper rifle scope."

She laughed, "Now why didn't I think of that?"

They moved through the back rooms and towards Fist's office, hugging the wall as the doors slid open. Shepard took a quick peek around the corner before darting back as automatic weapons fire rang out.

"Seriously?! Fucking defense turrets?" she grumbled.

"Garrus, if you overload one I can get the other," he said. They broke cover, sending the overload programs at the guns and kept moving to the far wall letting their shields take the bullet impacts. Shepard was right behind them pushing a warp from each hand to destroy the guns and slid in next to him with her pistol in her hand. He caught the grimace of pain on her face before she turned to take another look in the room.

"So much for laying off the biotics," he mumbled.

"They were puny warps," she said in her defense, and he couldn't help but grin at her. If that was her idea of puny, he didn't want to see what trying looked like.

"I surrender!" a man's voice called from the room.

She signaled Ashley to move first and they followed, fanning out into the room. Fist was on his knees with his hands behind his head next to the desk, but he had a pistol within reach.

Shepard kept her gun up, so he did the same.

"Where's the Quarian?" she asked.

"I don't know!" he replied.

"Bullshit. I won't ask again."

"Alright! She wouldn't give her intel to me...only the Shadow Broker himself. I told her I'd set up a meeting, only it'll be Saren's men there."

"Where?"

"Back alley by the markets in the lower ward, but she's meeting them now. You'll never make it in time."

"Watch me," she said as she turned and started running, yelling back to them, "Get his ass to C-sec!"

"Go, Alenko!" Williams said, seeing the torn expression on his face.

He took off after her. For a woman with broken ribs she was certainly having no trouble setting a blistering pace. She rounded a corner in the alley that was their destination and took the small flight of stairs two at a time, drawing her pistol again at the sound of voices.

She ducked behind a stack of crates on the left and he slid in behind one on the right. The Quarian was just ahead of them speaking to a Turian, telling him the deal was off. From their position they could see the four Salarians closing in from behind her. Kaidan always thought they looked like bipedal salamanders, but these ones moved with deadly efficiency and were clearly assassins.

Shepard brought her gun up and started shooting at them while he used a combination of his biotics and his pistol. While they dealt with the Salarians, the Quarian had brought out a shotgun and taken out the Turian. It was over in moments.

"Clear, Commander," he said, breaking cover and holstering his gun. They approached the Quarian.

"I appreciate the help, but who exactly are you?" she asked.

"Commander Aubrey Shepard," she introduced herself and then him.

"Tali'Zorah nar Rayya," she replied.

"Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine. But I should've known that Fist was setting me up. I owe you my life, Shepard."

"Well, if you want to make it even, I'd love the intel you have on Saren."

"Deal, but not here. We need someplace safe."

"Let's get her back to the Ambassador's office. It'll be safe there and then he and Anderson can hear everything, too," he suggested.

She nodded agreement as they headed out.