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Osiris	By : samanthalee Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 8333 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: This work of fiction is meant for entertainment purposes only, and no profit is being made from it. Mass Effect is the property of Bioware

Chapter List
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Author's Note: This is my first ever fanfiction, so please be gentle, criticism is welcomed as long as it is constructive. I was planning on something a bit smuttier for my first fic, but i enjoyed writing this one and i hope you enjoy it, please review and more chapters will follow shortly. Enjoy xox

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OSIRIS 1. The Hunted

“Thanks again Doc, I’ll be sure to send Garrus by before we leave again.”

“That is very kind, Shepard, but I know Garrus must be a busy man, I would hate to be a nuisance.”

“Don’t worry Doc, we’re on shore leave, I’m sure he’ll be able to spare the time after he takes care of a few things.”

His hangover for starters, Shepard thought to herself as he left the medical clinic and headed towards the Citadel Zakera markets. She couldn’t help but smile as she thought back to that morning, waking up snuggled up to the heat sink of a thanix cannon with what appeared to be a broken rib and a large collection of empty bottles feeling somewhere between half-dead and all-dead. Last night had been the first time the Normandy crew had had the chance to relax since their return from the Omega 4 Relay and holy hell did they use it well. After the lockdown had been lifted, the Normandy had become a nightclub, the military discipline had been thrown out the airlock and the alcohol had been unleashed. Every member of the crew had embarrassed themselves or created something of a story. A few highlights of which included Shepard and Garrus being recorded singing (if the definition could stretch that far) at the top of their lungs from the galaxy map platform, Miranda’s table dancing in the mess hall, Joker confessing his undying love to EDI and the two engine techs being discovered soixante neuf’d in the AI Core room.

Shepard’s memory went hazy shortly after she had joined in a drinking competition between Wrex and Grunt. Note to self, she thought to herself, Never try to outdrink a half tonne Krogan with 2 livers and a few centuries of drinking experience. The first thing she remembered seeing upon waking up in the forward battery was Garrus slumped against the other cannon. Realising that there wouldn’t be a single soul on the ship in any capable condition to give Shepards broken rib medical attention, Shepard had decided to visit Dr. Michel in the Zakera Wards, a broken rib could be healed in seconds with the right equipment and aside from the headache still splitting her skull Shepard felt reasonably fit for duty.

“Feeling OK?” asked Tali from the doorway.

“Define “OK”” replied Shepard as she shielded her still hung-over eyes against the fierce light of the upper wards. This seemed to amuse Tali somewhat as she shook her head and laughed. Tali’s enviro-suit prevented her from drinking alcohol; she had been limited to an phsychoactive aerosol that she introduced into her airflow system, it had a similar effect on her to the alcohol that the crew were drinking, but didn’t give her the horrendous after-effects that Shepard was now suffering.

“Yeah, yeah, keep laughing ... right up until I slip some vodka into you hydration filter.”

“Very funny. What now, back to the Normandy?”

“Actually, I wanna have a look around the markets, I’ll see you back there.”

“I’ll come with you, I have never seen the new markets.”

With that the two women headed off into the rebuilt upper wards. Two years ago this section of the wards had been a rather plain place, with only the clinic, the two clubs and a small market between them. However, almost the entire area had been destroyed during the battle of the Citadel, which presented the ideal opportunity to transform the area into the most extensive market on the Citadel. The markets stretched across two tiers, one overlooking the other, and contained dozens of shops. Shepard was excited to browse the shops without having to focus entirely on weapons upgrades for a change, she felt as if it had been years since her last shore leave (and she supposed it had been if she included the two years of being dead.) As she passed the first of the stalls, she noticed Thane standing with his son, inspecting some of the clothing stalls. She caught his eye and gave a curt nod which he mirrored before returning to his conversation, she smiled as she turned her attention back the wares of the stalls.

She spent the next few minutes talking with Tali as they wandered through the market, exchanging storied from the previous night of various calamities and considering various items that she thought could personalise her quarters a little. For the first time since she had first laid eyes on the Normandy, Shepard was starting to feel normal again, like a civilian (not that she had any understanding of such an existence). She felt the weight of the universe slowly being lifted from her shoulders and simply enjoyed the company of her friend and the soothing effect of their retail therapy. That was, however, until she heard Thane in her communications implant.

“Shepard, do not look back, do not physically react to my voice.” Thane had his level, no nonsense, operational tone of voice on, and it made Shepard nervous. She gave Tali a subtle glance, to which Tali in turn gave a slight nod, she could hear him too as he spoke again.

“You have picked up a shadow.”

Somebody was following her?! How did she not spot them?

“Since when?” Tali asked.

“I am unsure, I noticed him after you passed me.”

“Reporter?” Shepard spoke quietly even in the loud, crowded market. She found it incredibly difficult to resist the urge to rest her hand on the pistol on her hip. It was an instinctual reaction, drilled into her over a decade of combat, the feel of it would give her a sense of security, like the presence of an old friend, but she couldn’t risk starting a panic in the middle of a crowded street over a nosey reporter or worse, some kid looking for an autograph.

“Negative. He’s using surveillance blind spots to make his approach.”

“And for those of us who don’t speak assassin ...”

“They are avoiding the cameras ... they are well trained in counter surveillance techniques.”

This made Shepard even more nervous. She ran through the possible explanations in her head; the Council? No. They had re-instated her Spectre status, which they would not have done if they had any suspicions about her in case of a scandal. C-Sec? Unlikely, this wasn’t their style. C-Sec operated by the book, no exceptions, they would use the surveillance cameras to track her. She considered a number of options and dismissed each just as quickly. There were only a select few who had a reason and the resources to have a trained espionage agent following her in the middle of the citadel less than 24 hours after her arrival, and the list of candidates did nothing to calm her nerves.

“Can you get a description?”

“Negative. Turian ... male judging by the size. Blue clothing, black hood.”

“Armed?”

“... Unknown.”

Shepard took a deep breath and steadied herself, the citadel markets were a ridiculous location for any assassination attempt, there were too many exits, too many people, cameras, witnesses and C-Sec personnel. However, Shepard couldn’t deny her instincts, a mysterious, hooded and well trained surveillance operative following her less than 36 hours after the official announcement by the citadel that Shepard was, indeed, alive ... it didn’t feel good to her.

Time to get a look at this bastard, she thought.

“Distance?”

“Ten metres behind, five to your left, keeping pace.”

Shepard tried to act casual as she pulled Tali over to stall selling a number of strange metallic ornaments. Tali put on a good show of talking with the owner about price as Shepard lifted one dark polished item up, seemingly examining it while Tali haggled the price. The reflection on the surface of the object was warped, but Shepard caught a glimpse of the figure by the railing. Her eyes almost passed over him the first time she looked, his pose against the rail was so casual that he blended into the crowd, seemingly gazing out into space through the glass wall that ran the length of the market. But there he was, blue clothing, with a black hood over his head.

Shit, she thought, he must have turned when he saw them stop, he was facing away from her, she couldn’t see his face.

Shepard lowered the ornament and gently declined the owner’s bargaining and continued with Tali down the street. They were halfway through the markets, approaching the old section that had remained unaffected in the battle against Sovereign. It was more crowded here, and Shepard found herself getting more intimidated in the press of the crowds.

“Thane, does he have friends?” She waited tensely for a few seconds before his response.

“Negative.”

“Can you get close to him?”

“He’s being too careful, he will see me if I approach.”

Damn, she thought, we need to catch him.

“Tali and I can take him.”

“Negative, there are too many escapes, he will run and it’s too crowded, I cannot provide cover if it becomes confrontational.”

“We are running out of time and options, Thane.” Tali hissed, it was the first time she had spoken in a long while. She sounded nervous.

Shepard felt a bead of sweat trickle down her temple, they had reached the old markets and only had a minute or two before they ran out of the crowds that were giving Shepard her only source of cover. She was just feeling the beginnings of panic when her comms crackled in her ear again.

“Shepard, its Wrex.” She didn’t think she had ever been more relieved to hear that deep, baritone voice before. “Lead that slippery little bastard to Chora’s Den, I’m already there. There’s only one way outta here, and Frog-boy can cover that, me and Tali can cover you in the bar.”

“What are you doing there, Wrex?” Tali sounded both confused and relieved.

“Just enjoying the view. You wanna get this done or chat about my vacation plans?”

She thought about it for a moment, Chora’s Den was a circular bar, easily covered by three people should the situation become hostile. Also, the usual clientele of the Den should discourage any violence, half the people in that bar would be armed and a single hitter trying to blow away a local hero like Shepard without back-up in there would be suicide. With Shepard at the bar as bait, Wrex and Tali could converge on the stalker while Thane prevented him from fleeing. Shepard felt the wind changing to her advantage and couldn’t help the brief smile play across her lips.

“Let’s do it.” Shepard said, already feeling more secure. She turned down the stairs leading to the final section of the markets. “Thane, keep your distance, its less crowded down here don’t let him see you.”

“Acknowledged, Commander.”

“Wrex, where are you sitting?”

“Table at 3 o’clock from the bar.”

“Ok, Thane, when we’re all inside take up position at the door and cover the exit.”

“Understood.”

Shepard didn’t dare risk a glance back as she turned the final corner towards Chora’s Den. She knew the shadow was close behind her, he would have had to close the distance in the tight corners of the lower markets to keep her in sight, Thane would be somewhere behind, blending seamlessly into the crowds.

“Tali,” Shepard put on her most convincing smile as she turned her head to speak, not wishing to be obviously on edge “You move over and cover the left side of the bar from 10 o’clock.”

“Got it, Shepard.”

The door to Chora’s Den hissed open in front of them, Shepard steeled herself and stepped into the neon-lit bar and was instantly hit with a wall of bass-heavy music. She lingered for a moment as her eyes adjusted to the dark neon glow before walking directly towards the bar. Tali gave her a brief nod before heading over to a table on Shepard’s left and a brief glance to her right revealed Wrex tipping a dancer as she crawled off the table at which he was sitting. Shepard couldn’t help but smile as she wondered just how long he had been “Enjoying the view” before they had arrived, but now he had his game face on, and she could see the outline of his enormous Eviscerator shotgun on his lap below the table.

“Better stick to the pistol Wrex, don’t want any collateral today.”

He turned his head to lock eyes with her for a moment before subtly shifting the shotgun off his lap and propping it against the leg of his chair.

“Kill-joy.”

“Shepard,” It was Thane again. “target moving to Chora’s Den, I will move in when you confirm he is inside.”

It was a tense few moments as Shepard waited for someone to speak, she had her back to the door and would have to rely on Tali and Wrex to be the eyes in the back of her head. She simply nodded absently when the barman asked her if she wanted a drink, and as he began to pour her a drink of some vile blue liquid she risked another glance at Wrex.

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Wrex was sat comfortably in the same seat he had been occupying for the past hour, with his fourth drink of the morning in his hand. He put on a casual appearance, but inside he was tense and battle-ready. He leaned back in his chair enough to appear to lounging lazily, but kept his feet wide and bent under his chair, keeping them directly below his centre of gravity so that he would be perfectly balanced should he need to spring up. His right hand held his drink on the table while his left held the pistol at his hip.

His eyes left Shepard’s as he saw the door behind her slide open, revealing the black hooded turian standing in the doorway. The low lighting of Chora’s Den meant that even facing him, he couldn’t make out a face.

Game time, he thought as he tried to relax his muscles again.

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Shepard’s comms crackled again as Wrex spoke.

“Target at the door, scouting the bar.”

She took a deep breath and, as casually as she could manage, leant forward against the bar. A chill ran up her spine before her comms activated again.

“He’s seen you, he’s taken a seat at the table at 5 o’clock.” Tali this time.

“Wrex, can you see his face? It’s too dark!”

“Nah, and stop starin’, will ya? You’ll spook him.” Wrex sounded a little too damn relaxed for Shepard’s liking. “Frog boy, get in-“

“Shepard,” Thane’s voice cut over Wrex’s “six men approaching Chora’s Den. Mercenaries, no uniforms, heavily armed.”

Shit, shit, SHIT, thought Shepard. No assassin would attack her here alone, but with six men for backup Shepard suddenly felt like a fish in a barrel.

“Move in behind them. Wrex, Tali, hold your positions.”

The next few moments were some of the longest Shepard could remember. She was used to gun battles and ambushes, everything happening in an instant and having to react in a second, that was fine.

Hell, she thought, that’s sometimes fun.

This, however, was torture. The tension was playing havoc with her nerves; the waiting, the anticipation, the fear. In a reactionary situation Shepard never had time for fear, it was fight or flight, but this sneaking around, being followed, being hunted was shredding her mind. She was stuck with her back to her enemy, in a crowded bar with only a personal KBar (Kinetic Barrier) unit, the incredibly lightly armoured Cerberus utility outfit and a pistol.

“Okay,” Wrex said. “four hostiles entering the bar, shotguns and pistols.”

“Shepard,” Thane again “they have posted two men outside the door, I cannot get past them without violence.”

Fuck, she thought, this was going very wrong very quickly.

“Standby, Thane.”

Tali’s voice came through again. “They are splitting up, two left, two right. Looks like they are positioning themselves.”

“Get ready to rumble, people.” Said Wrex. “Wait, Shepard the primary target is up, he’s walking for you, 5 meters.”

Shepard carefully placed her drink on the bar and cracked her knuckles.

“Four meters.”

Shepard drew in a breath, and held it. She slowly trailed her hand down to her waist, taking her weight off her elbow on the bar and shifting it to the balls of her feet.

“Three meters!” Shepard wheeled around on the spot, knocking the salarian to her left across the floor, drawing her pistol as she did so. She had a very short space of time to capitalise on her advantage of surprise, she had to take down the primary and at least one other before they drew their own weapons if herself, Wrex and Tali had any chance of taking all 5 down before they got a shot off. As she turned, time seemed to slow to a crawl as the adrenaline shot through her veins: she felt the mechanical clunking in her hand as the barrel of her pistol extended and even above the noise of the bar, she could hear the slight hum as the power cell of the gun came online. After what seemed like an age, she completed her turn and raised her pistol, aiming at the black space below the dark hood in front of her just as the target lifted his head, letting the light hit his face for the first time and Shepard’s green eyes were met by the glowing blue Turian orbs that stopped her dead in her tracks.

She couldn’t move, all sound around her melted into silence as she stared into his face.

How could it be him? She thought, It’s impossible.

Time stood still as she stared bewildered into his eyes, her finger resting motionless on the trigger of her weapon. She was absently aware of the other mercenaries drawing their own weapons in her peripheral vision as Wrex’s voice thundered in her ear, but he sounded so far away, his voice lost behind those shining blue eyes. It was with a strange detachment that she finally drew her eyes away from his when she noticed the shotgun in his hands pointing straight at her chest, she glanced down at it for only a moment before she locked eyes with him again.

Saren’s eyes never left hers as he raised the weapon to her chest, and fired. Shepard heard the explosion of noise blast through the silence her mind had thrown around her, she saw her shields flicker and shatter as they hopelessly tried to block the immense power of the shot. It didn’t really hurt when she felt the impact, she simply felt a dull thump in her chest before she was thrown backwards over the bar, and her world went black.

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Thanks or reading everyone, if anyone wants to discuss the story with me please email me samanthalee1989@hotmail.co.uk, i would love to talk you all and see what you think of the story.
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Osiris