As Alex sits with Kaidan and Garrus in a shuttle, he watches it fly through the beautiful Citadel, lights shining all around him.
This view… awesome. I wish I could enjoy it in peace.
Getting a little sleepy, Alex takes out his omni-tool and updates Menchi and Jewel on how things are going.
[Menchi: Be careful, no need to take huge risks! Jewel and I are already making progress, and thanks to your Credits, we'll be more than fine for a while. Expect to hear good news soon, I'll conquer this world's culinary world by a storm.]
Finally, their transport arrives back at the same spot they landed earlier—right next to Chora's Den. Alex immediately spots Shepard, Ashley, Jenkins, and, surprisingly, Wrex as well.
Alex, followed by Garrus and Kaidan, approaches them quickly. They stand in front of each other, eying each other.
Wrex steps forward and eyes Alex suspiciously before addressing Shepard.
"Shepard… I met your… 'friend' earlier… he smelled like blood and trouble at that time… now he smells like even more blood, and more trouble. His blade has seen blood today… twice," Wrex says.
Prepare for trouble!
And make it double!
To protect the world from deva—
"Stop it, Wrex. We don't have time for this. He already reported his actions to me, in fact, he's working on my orders. Calm down. Also, Kerber, before you open your mouth, better think about whether what you were about to say would be helpful," Shepard says, shaking her head.
Alex, looking a bit disappointed, decides to keep his silly joke to himself.
… Fine.
"So you're with us, Garrus? I don't know what you're capable of, so stay at the back and provide cover," she says, addressing the Turian.
Garrus smiles in response. "No problem, Commander. I'm probably one of the best snipers in C-Sec. You'll appreciate my support soon enough."
Shepard steps forward, walking toward Chora's Den. "Let's go, then! We have more people than I thought—this shouldn't be too hard. Careful not to involve any civilians."
Alex follows and notes, "I don't think any will be present. Since I dispatched Fist's thugs, he should know by now that we're aware of his involvement. Also, please remember that while his thugs may carry some dangerous weapons, they don't even wear full armor. Play it cool, and we can dispatch them quickly—his goons are just thugs with weapons, after all. Fist doesn't realize that his home turf ends up as a dead end for him. He can't get out."
Shepard nods, "What he's saying is true. Get ready, everyone. And listen: we don't have much time. Let's do this carefully, cleanly, and quickly. Also—nobody kills Fist… for now. I'm keeping an eye on you, Wrex. We need to find out about the Quarian, it all depends on her," Shepard commands as she forcefully opens the closed door to Chora's Den with her omni-tool.
The group violently barges in.
Alex, following behind Wrex—a powerful Krogan Battlemaster, a rarity among Krogan because of their mastery and use of Biotics—knows Wrex is a rare powerhouse. He can use Barriers to make himself durable to an absurd degree, and his weapon and his other biotic skills are top-notch as well.
Alex waits for Wrex to advance, running behind him, Wrex soaking up all incoming fire as he roars and charges forward. He immediately notices that the bar is empty and that the thugs have flipped tables and moved furniture around, creating rudimentary defenses.
A quick use of En reveals all enemies to Alex. Without any flashy moves, he activates Ren and decisively rushes toward thug after thug, quickly killing three of them with his [Executioner's Blade R2]—a single strike enough to dispatch two of them, the third one, slightly armored, requiring two slashes.
You have dealt 141 damage to Thug
You have killed Thug
You have dealt 131 damage to Thug
You have killed Thug
You have dealt 77 damage to Thug
You have dealt 65 damage to Thug
You have killed Thug
With one side of the bar clear, Alex looks toward the others. He sees multiple thugs barricaded behind flipped desks or hiding behind the bar counter.
Alex casts Thundara, using the AoE variant to target as many enemies as possible, devastating their shields and not only dealing damage, but also stunning or paralyzing some of them. He notes the spell is doing way more damage than expected, thanks to its high effectiveness against shields.
You have dealt 81 damage to Thug
You have stunned Thug
You have dealt 75 damage to Thug
You have paralyzed Thug
You have dealt 64 damage to Thug
You have dealt 78 damage to Thug
You have dealt 66 damage to Thug
Briefly looking at the situation, Alex sees Shepard hitting headshot after headshot, while using her biotics to deal with enemies hiding behind cover.
Damn, those people have almost given up! They are scared shitless… this is an execution.
While Kaidan, Jenkins, Garrus, and even Ashley stay at a safe distance, carefully aiming, Shepard rushes forward and dispatches enemy after enemy using a combination of melee strikes, shots from her rifle, tech skills, and biotic abilities.
It doesn't take long until the main room of the club is cleared of all enemies.
Alex manages to grab a few omni-tools and a single green chest, which he pockets graciously.
Counting all omni-tools, Alex earns a total of 4000 Credits.
You have received 4,000 Credits.
The group progresses into the back of the club, encountering a locked door.
Shepard, assisted by Kaidan—who in reality just observes—opens the door in mere seconds.
As the door violently opens, a couple of warehouse workers in simple uniforms and pistols aim their guns at them.
"Stop immediately or we'll shoot," one of them says.
Shepard, with a smile, steps forward. "I killed fifty bodyguards to get in here. What do you think I'll do to you?"
"... Fist doesn't pay us enough for this," one of them says, lowering his weapon. "We'll just leave…." The other follows, both backing away. As they lower their weapons and walk off, Shepard stares at Alex and mimics a throat-slitting gesture.
"Understood, Commander," Alex responds, turning around and beheading both unsuspecting workers in a single stroke.
You have dealt 211 x 3 = 633 damage to Warehouse Worker
You have killed Warehouse Worker
You have dealt 204 x 3 = 612 damage to Warehouse Worker
You have killed Warehouse Worker
"Commander… why?!" Kaidan asks, obviously shocked.
"Was that really necessary?" Ashley questions as well.
Shepard lifts her hand. "We are on a mission. I'll repeat this once: I am making the decisions. Who knows what they know, or if they had tasks from Fist? We can't leak information about the Quarian. These criminals have forfeited their lives. Remember what happened on Eden Prime! The future of more colonies—and Humanity itself—rests on our shoulders. I won't risk that to save a couple of murdering, corrupt warehouse workers. They made their decision. Now, Kaidan, help me open this door… Fist should be behind it. Expect him to come up with a few tricks, so be careful!"
As Shepard explains herself, Alex grabs the omni-tools of the workers, finding 1,000 additional Credits.
You received 1,000 Credits.
I agree with Shepard. Fuck those corrupt henchmen. However, this is another subtle change in how things should play out… this Shepard is different, even from her full renegade game variant. I can't predict all her actions. I need to pay close attention and use these changes to my advantage.
Shepard, this time aided not only by Kaidan but also Garrus, struggles a bit more to open the final door, which is heavily secured. Alex knows it leads directly to Fist's office and is ready to rush in as soon as it opens.
Finally, the door opens and Wrex—followed by Alex and Shepard—rushes in.
Immediately, they get assaulted by hastily set-up defensive turrets.
Alex throws himself to the ground and avoids getting hit entirely, while Wrex takes a few hits but shrugs them off.
Using the small window of opportunity granted by Wrex's willingness to become a target, Alex casts Thundara on one turret, dealing a huge amount of damage and blowing it up in a single strike.
You have dealt 98 x 2 = 196 damage to Defensive Turret
You have destroyed Defensive Turret
As the rest of the squad rushes in, the second one stands no chance under the combined assault and quickly gets destroyed as well.
Fist, caught in the explosion of the turrets, falls to the ground—his shield gone, his face bloody.
As he lies there, Shepard kicks him in the face and then kicks his weapon away as well.
"Wait! Don't kill me! I surrender!" Fist screams in desperation.
Shepard steps forward and aims her pistol at Fist. "Tell me where the Quarian is, and I won't have to shoot your kneecaps!"
Fist immediately responds. "She's not here! I don't know where she is… that's the truth!"
He is obviously lying… but I have no doubt Shepard will figure that out herself.
"He's lying," Ashley points out, while Wrex laughs heartily.
"You can do the honors, Williams. Put a round in his leg and see if he talks," Shepard says.
"I… stop, please. I don't know where she is exactly… but I know where you might find her. She said she wanted to meet with the Shadow Broker himself."
Garrus comments, "Impossible. The Shadow Broker never meets personally with anyone. He works through his many agents. That's one of his core principles—and one of the reasons he's still in control of his little empire."
Fist replies, "Of course, nobody meets the Shadow Broker—ever! Even I don't know his identity. But she obviously didn't know that. I told her I'd set up a meeting… but in reality, she'll meet up with Saren's people."
"Tell me where that meeting is… NOW!" Shepard demands, her pistol directly in front of Fist's face.
"Here in the Wards… the back alley by the markets. It's close. You can reach it if you leave the club through the front exit. I'll transmit you the location right now," Fist says, activating his omni-tool and sending the data to Shepard, who nods approvingly.
"You will spare me, right? I came clean—I told you everything I know… Anyway, I have my own problems. The Shadow Broker won't forgive me this easily," Fist begs.
"Of course, I'll spare you. However, I made a deal with someone else… Wrex. He's yours."
"You… you can't do this!!! NO!" Fist screams.
"Glad to do business with you, Shepard." Wrex says with a grin as he holds his shotgun to Fist's face and mercilessly fires, instantly killing him in a gory display.
Alex, with a grin, spots a blue chest and quickly picks it up.
"We don't have time! FOLLOW ME!" Shepard shouts, rushing back, everyone following her.
------------------------------------------------
A/N: Always thankful for Power Stones, Comments and Reviews. Thank you for reading!
If you are interested, then please support me at patreon.com/FRWriter
60+ Early chapters available - I will still release on WN daily!! Thank you!
Bored? Complains? Demands? Check out the Discord: https://discord.gg/puVqWsf3y9
Thank you for supporting the story with Power Stones!