//------------------------------// // Information Broker // Story: Mass Effect: Element of Kindness // by CommanderApplejack //------------------------------// Chapter 92 Information Broker “I still can’t believe he just left us!” Dash exclaimed as she followed Garrus off of the interstellar transport. “What could be so important that he couldn’t get his lazy butt over here?!” “The captain would have his reasons, Rainbow, we can ask what he did later,” Garrus replied, scanning the dock for anything peculiar. “Two o’clock, thirty meters. There’s an asari observing us.” Dash tensed up as Garrus casually continued his way into the crowd. “Can you fly up and continue flying in this direction at a walking pace?” “Y-yeah, sure.” Dash flew up so she was hovering over the crowd and looked down at Garrus… well, she would have if the turian had still been walking below her. “What?...” With the turian gone for the moment, Dash swallowed and continued her leisurely pace over the crowd. Some people in the crowd pointed at her, attention that made Dash feel uncomfortable for once. Her omni-tool beeped, signaling an incoming call which she picked up immediately. “Coast is clear, turn to five o’clock and you’ll pass right over us,” Garrus instructed, Rainbow banked in the appropriate direction and immediately spotted the turian standing next to an asari. “Thanks for telling me you were going to sneak off,” Rainbow snarked sarcastically to Garrus who shrugged. “You were a good distraction,” he turned to the asari, “Go ahead, we can find our own way to the market district.” The asari bowed a little and then walked off without saying a word. “What’s up with all this cloak and dagger stuff,” Dash questioned as Garrus motioned for her to follow him to a balcony which had a spectacular view on the city. “This place might look like it’s safe to you but when you’ve been off the grid like me you know better. Sign the wrong contract, join up with the wrong company, or walk down the wrong alley, and it’s as dangerous as anywhere else.” Garrus looked down at the pegasus with a serious look in his eyes. “Don’t let the pristine walls fool you, it’s no safer here than on Omega, maybe even less so. You can’t see most threats coming here.” “A-alright” A bit of color had drained from her face as she now looked differently upon the various shopping stands placed in the plaza behind her. “Just don’t sign anything if someone asks you and you should mostly be fine. Let’s go visit our friendly neighborhood information broker now.” Dash nodded in agreement and stuck closely to her new friend who seemed to know what he was doing. Finding the appropriate building in the market district the two walked inside, exchanging pleasantries with the assistant sitting at the entrance before heading into the main office. “Have you faced an asari commando unit before? Few humans have...” The broker was still in a call as they entered but Dash already felt a shiver going up her spine as she heard the business end of the threat. “...I’ll make it simple. Either you pay me, or I flay you alive. With my mind.” The asari closed the call and turned to look at the newcomers to the room, her eyes going wide. “Well, you seem to be handling things differently since the last time we met,” Garrus commented with his arms crossed but his tone of voice giving away some humor. The asari smiled but shook her head. “It’s been a tough two years… but I guess that goes for you as well.” She took place at her desk while Garrus took a seat across from her. “Soo, you’re Liara T’Soni?” Dash asked questioningly, very confused as to how the two knew each other in the first place. “I am. And you’re Rainbow Dash, correct?” Rainbow carefully nodded making Liara chuckle. “No need to be on edge, we share a lot of common friends after all.” “She was part of the original Normandy crew. She also taught Fluttershy how to use biotics,” Garrus clarified. “She picked up those biotics scarily fast as well,” Liara mentioned but turned serious immediately after, shooting a glare at Garrus. “And you took her to Omega.” Garrus held up his hands in defense. “Hey, she volunteered! I didn’t want to put her in that kind of danger… But I guess that point is moot now.” “Yes. It is,” Liara stated poignantly, Dash in the meanwhile had sat down on the second chair opposing the desk. “And now you need help finding her again, luckily I’ve gained ears and eyes in many places nowadays.” “You know where she is?” Dash asked hopefully but Liara shook her head. “I know who took her but I can’t give you an exact location to go,” Liara looked at Garrus, “The Blood Pack took her in the first place but that wasn’t on their own initiative, they were paid by the Shadow Broker.” “Fuck...” “Who’s that?” Dash asked, genuinely curious. “The Shadow Broker is the most dangerous and powerful information broker in the galaxy. I really only picked up on this deal because of you Rainbow.” Liara told the pegasus who raised an eyebrow. “When you chose to go for a joyfly over the Citadel on your first day you managed to run into them exchanging data and goods with the Blood Pack.” “Oh… uhm, glad to have helped, I guess?” Rainbow replied, scratching the back of her head. “We’re getting off-topic, you said you might have a lead to where Shy is,” Garrus interrupted, getting a nod from Liara who passed a tablet to him. “The ship she was loaded on never arrived at the rendezvous point they had agreed on but I managed to find out where it is right now...” Garrus looked at the data and grimaced. “That’s really not good,” he groaned. Dash was getting really interested in where her friend was located now. “What’s going on, where is she?” she asked, hovering next to Garrus to see what was written on the tablet. “The ship crashed, Rainbow… on Tuchanka.” Garrus placed the tablet back on the desk, rubbing his aching head. “It’s the krogan’s homeworld, one of the most inhospitable places in the galaxy.” “Horseapples… so when are we going?” Dash asked, both she and Garrus turning to Liara who cleared her throat. “I’ve already gotten a shuttle ready to transport you to the Aralakh system, I assumed you would want to go and get her immediately,” she smiled, jumping in surprise as she suddenly had a blue pegasus wrapped around her in a hug. “You’re the best! Come on Garrus, let’s go get that transport!” Without waiting for further words Dash flew out of the room, full of energy to go find her friend. “Go get her Garrus. We’ve both seen what Fluttershy can do and I refuse to believe that that crash got her,” Liara told Garrus as she transferred all the necessary data to her friend’s omni-tool. “I’ll keep her safe this time, I promise,” Garrus said as he ran after the pegasus before she could get lost. The pegasus meanwhile was impatiently waiting at the entrance to the building and the moment Garrus exited dragged him along to the planet’s starport where they boarded their shuttle. “So what can we expect on Tuchanka?” Rainbow asked as Garrus piloted them off of the planet, heading to the relay at full speed. “Let’s see... scorching heat, radiation, hostile wildlife, hostile inhabitants, pretty much the ideal vacation spot,” Garrus replied sarcastically, setting Rainbow chuckling at his snark. “We’ll be there in about six hours so settle in, I’ll give a warning” “Urgghhh, we there yet?” Dash whined, laying on the floor of the shuttle with her wings spread out. As it turned out there really wasn’t much to do when sitting in a shuttle traveling to another star system. “Yes, we’re almost there,” Garrus groaned, tapping a couple of buttons in the cockpit to return to manual control. “Finally!” Dash shouted as she shot up from the floor and jumped towards the cockpit to look outside, a brown planet visible in the shuttle’s viewport. “Wow, I at least expected to see some blue from water on the planet.” “That's Tuchanka for you, dry, hot, and radioactive.” Garrus steered the shuttle into a trajectory that'd bring them down to the surface. “Let's hope our arrival goes as unnoticed as possible.” Dash looked strangely at the turian but didn't press as flames started licking the shuttle's fuselage. Garrus swearing a couple of times as he steered the shuttle through the rough air. KABOOM The shuttle trembled as the smooth ride suddenly turned into a very bumpy one. “What the buck was that!” Dash shouted, grabbing a hold of a handle inside the cabin. “We just got noticed! Flak hit the rear of the shuttle, I'm losing power rapidly!” Garrus replied pulling on his stick and desperately trying to get the mass effect field generator back online. “How far are we from Fluttershy?!” Dash shouted over the metallic screeching noise the shuttle was giving off. “Twelve clicks! But there's an encampment a bit to the north of the crash I picked up as well!” Garrus was doing all he could to keep the shuttle from completely losing control but it was a battle he was quickly losing. “Do you think you can fly in this weather, Dash?!” “What, why!?” Dash questioned, “You're not asking me to get off I hope?!” she added in an offended growl. “This thing isn't going to be exactly the best place to be when it comes down! And if we both kick the bucket then that'd mean Shy loses two friends instead of one!” Garrus argued back, hitting the emergency button to open the outer door, the rough wind immediately ripping it off the craft. “We're passing over the crash site in ten seconds, get ready!” Damnit, stupid turian! Why do you have to make me choose! 1. Head for the crash site to investigate, Garrus will know where to find me in that case. 2. There's a krogan camp nearby, they might have already tried getting into the wreck and know things. 3. To Tartarus with jumping out, I'm not abandoning him! [Vote link]