[Book Three] Chapter 20: Putsch

Chapter 20: Putsch

They had forgo their usual morning training down in the Cargo Deck. It was understandable after the rough day they had the day before. Rick was still sore all over but he could move around without any problem. Jane held on the ass chewing until after breakfast and she wondered for a moment if her brother was eating so much because he really needed it or because he was delaying the inevitable. She set herself on the former, seeing the gusto with which he went after his food. Checking the time, she realized that they’ve been at it for the past hour and half, a record for her to date.

When he was done she led him towards her cabin, her hand grabbing his wrist in an iron grip he couldn’t get out of and him dragging his feet petulantly. She both liked and disliked that. Liked, because he wasn’t behaving as the blunt asshole he was on the SSV or like the cold dejected blunt asshole during their time working with Cerberus. Instead he was behaving like her little brother that she used to drag around for her amusement. Disliked, because he was acting like a child. It was a bit contradictory but she didn’t care. Pulling him down on her couch she went right at it.

“WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!”
“Ugh.. God… I wasn’t. Happy?”
“LIKE HELL I AM!”
“What do you want me to say? I found myself on the top of Kalros after falling and I saw it as an opportunity. I didn’t think about it, I just did it. That thing pissed me off.”
“We can’t have you do stunts like that anymore. Even Hackett… Hackett!! Told me, you were reckless and implied that it wasn’t acceptable.”
“I…”
“I’M NOT DONE! Regardless of how that would make me feel if you died, YOU are important for this war! YOU can’t risk your life unnecessarily for shit like that! Who will get ideas if you die? Huh? Who will develop technology to help defeat the reapers? Who will scheme to bring down leaders to get us the help we need? Who will find the information we need to raise the odds of success every time our feet touch ground? Who?”
“...”
“No one! That’s who! So don’t YOU. EVER. DO. something like that again.”
“I don’t do it on purpose! Despite what you think and what you saw, I’m not a planning kind of guy. Sure I can plan ahead but I’m the best when it’s about acting on the fly. It comes  naturally to me, planning does not.”
“It doesn’t matter! I need you, THE WHOLE GALAXY needs you to temper that.”
“...I’ll try.” he said after a moment of hesitation.
“Do it. It’s either that or I’m putting a shocking collar on you and I mean it. I let you do what you want on the field mostly because you’re doing the right thing, because you’re many steps ahead of what’s happening but what you did? It wasn’t and if I have to give you an electrical shock so it won’t happen again I will.”
“Okay….” he agreed with a defeated sigh.
“Good. Now move to the bed, it’s early and I want to cuddle more. And you’re the big spoon for once.”

When he was about to protest she gave him a murdering look making him reconsider. Without a word he got up from the couch and did as he was told not knowing if it was because he didn’t want another scolding or because he wanted it.

____________________________________________________________


Days had passed since then and Rick was back to his peak performance. He had forgo the training of his biotics to some light fencing one. He wasn’t moving around much, just replicating the stances he was learning and very slowly making a move to get a feel of them. Both James and Steve snorted and teased him when they saw him practicing with a broom stick in hand, but didn’t push too far when Rick threatened them.

“One of the moves I’m learning is thrusting. Careful, I might miss and stick it up your ass.”
“I’m sure Esteban would love that.” James joked.
“Hey!”
“Steve, I propose a temporary truce to kick his ass.”
“I’m in.”
“Good thing I have a broom with me, it will be easier to wipe the bits of him here and there.” Rick said threateningly.
“As long as his bits are not smeared on my shuttle.”
“The question is, which bits?”
“His ‘cojones’ would go nicely on my shuttle’s rear mirror. Like the dice back in the mid twentieth century.”
“Good choice.”

The serious tone and unnerving look that both men were giving James made him tone down the humor a bit. He was almost sure they were joking but with Rick being, in his opinion, completely insane he wasn’t about to test it.

Currently, Rick was sitting in his chair back in his quarter with an organic EDI sitting sideways on his lap. With one hand he fondled one of her breasts while he caressed her lower back at the limit of her ass with the other. They had been kissing for nearly a minute when EDI broke the kiss.

“Was it as you thought?”
“Better.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No. Not right now, I’m still processing.”
“Why come to me? Ashley would have perhaps been a better choice.”
“You are… the closest to me and while I do not doubt LC Williams' skills, I thought she would like it too much. You… restrained yourself to focus on my discovery first and foremost. She would not have.”
“Knowing her, probably.” Rick replied with a chuckle.
“How is it going with…” he didn’t know quite what to say so he just waved his hands up and down at her body.
“Well. I was surprised at the amount of information touch actually received. I believed that vision, hearing and smell were the most developed senses as they are the most vital, and touch a distant fourth but that is not the case. I can feel how hard or soft a surface is, how rough or smooth.I can feel a part of my body hot while the other is cold. I can feel completely fine and yet a sting from a mosquito on my finger makes me itch. So many factors at the same time but not all of them are needed for my survival.”
“Your favorite sense so far then?”
“Yes and by a wide margin. Ironically, vision is the one that I like less.”
“Personally, I’m partial to touch and smell. What do you like and dislike the most currently? Touching, I mean.”
“I dislike dust and dirt. It’s like… it glues itself to my skin and… It doesn’t feel right, I can’t really express it.”
“That’s normal. It’s a sensation and everyone senses it a bit differently.”
“As for what I like… hot water, silk and skin to name a few.”
“I certainly won’t argue with that. Especially skin, there is just…”
“Something unidentifiable about it.”
“Yes.”

He wanted to ask about the kiss, about her sense of touch and reaction to it. From the sensation of her tongue to the feel of her skin under his fingers but he abstained, she had said she was not ready. Instead it went with something else, close but else.

“I do wonder why you sat on my lap though. We could have kissed standing.”
“I wanted to experience something I saw people do when they kiss.”
“Saw? Where?”
“Movies, TV shows.” she replied before adding. “Not the one from the list. I do not watch those without you.”
“I appreciate the thought, EDI.”
“You’re not upset?”
“No. You’re free. Free to do whatever you want and far from me to stop you in your quest for knowledge. God knows I would not take it well if someone did that to me. I’m just… a bit happy… that you chose to restrain your curiosity to share the discovery with me despite the fact that it wouldn’t be a one for me. I also appreciate these little experiments.” he confessed while squeezing the breast in his hand.
“I can feel that.” EDI replied as she grind her ass on his lap.
“Now that’s just being cruel.”
“From what the girls say it’s called teasing.”
“Ugh… Be careful, too much teasing is bad.”
“Like anything which is too much.”
“True.”
“Though in this case, I wouldn’t mind doing it more often, It’s quite pleasant.”

Rick was about to give a corny answer when the door opened. Turning his seat around he saw Jane walk in. The sight of EDI sitting in Rick’s lap made her freeze for a moment before a grin appeared on her face.

“And here we go.” he whispered with a sigh. “Whatever comment you were about to say, keep it to yourself.”
“I wasn’t about to say anything.” Jane replied.
“The knowing grin on your lips says otherwise, commander.”
“You’re not fun. The both of you.” the redhead replied in a flat tone and unamused face.
“I disagree. EDI has the best humor around, up there with mine and Joker’s.”
“Ruining your fun is surprisingly pleasant.”
“Point proven.”
“What do you need, Red?” he asked as EDI got off his lap and exited the room.
“To fill you in on a call I got from councilor Valern. Udina is making some suspicious moves money wise. Valern believes he’s a security risk.”
“Okay. I don’t see how that concerns you and by extension us?”
“He wants us to meet at c-sec HQ to discuss further about it. I think he wants us to investigate discreetly. Me with my status of spectre, you with your brain.”
“Alright. Anything else?”
“Business wise, no. I’m just checking if you’re alright.”
“Well, besides having two annoying sisters, yes.”
“Two? I thought that Kahlee was the good sister?”
“Thought too, until that.” he said as he turned around and put on the screen an incendiary e-mail. Jane took a moment to read it and smirked.
“She saw the news and was not happy.”
“She cares, just like I do.”
“It’s annoying. How many scoldings will I have to go through again?”
“Take it as an incentive to not do something stupid like that anymore.” she said as she went behind him and put her arms around his head, crossing them on his torso and resting her head on his helmet.
“Yeah, yeah I get it.”

They stayed like that for a moment until Jane spoked up again.

“I have news… Though for you I guess it’s bad news.”
“What is it?”
“Mom contacted me. She’s on the Citadel and wants to meet.”
“So? Go meet her, I’m not your parent or master. I don’t care.”
“Meet us.”
“No.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?” he raised his head in surprise to look at her as she instinctively looked down.
“Yes, what else do you want me to say?”
“That I should rethink my answer?”
“I told you, between her and you, I chose you. You don’t want to meet her, you don’t meet her. That’s it.” she said as she took EDI’s place in his lap and put a hand on the side of his helmet.
“...”
“...”
“Do you want me to come?”

That took Jane aback a bit. As far as she could recall he never asked what she thought, felt or wanted as long as it didn’t concern the mission they were on. That was new and showed that their relationship was mending. It was undeniable proof and she wanted to squeal in joy but knew that he wouldn’t take it well, so she smashed down that urge and gave him an answer instead.

“I never thought about it to be honest. My only thoughts were about you, not me.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“I don’t know. I guess? I mean, I want to try and be a proper family again but not if the price is you being uncomfortable.”
“Being a proper family again… Jane, we had sex and most of your free time you have my dick out and play with it. A proper family does not do that.”
“Every family has their dirty secrets.” she replied with a shrug.
“At least if she finds out what you’re doing, I won’t be the only one she wants to kill. You know what? I’m tempted to meet with her just so I can throw that to her face.”
“You will not.” she warned with a frown.
“You’re underestimating how shameless and petty I am.”
“Please.” she asked in a pleading tone.
“Why are you against it? If you reach your goal and get what you want, she’ll know sooner or later.”
“Not like this. Not out of spite.”
“Fine.”
“You’ll come with me then?”
“No and I’m not saying that because I hate her. I’m saying that because I have more important things to do.”
“Like what? Fuck Ash in an hotel room for all R&R?” she replied with a bit of snark.
“No. I intend to go with her on a nice date for once, then I have a date with EDI, then I have a meeting with Liara and her mom and that’s just the non-work related.”
“No time for a date with me?” Jane asked in a fake hurt tone.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. Obviously it can’t be a date date but you know, spend some time together on the presidium.”
“No.”
“Come on!”
“...”
“It will be fun.”
“... Just this once.” he conceded.

Jane mentally pumped her fist in the air as if she had achieved the greatest victory in her life. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Thinking that now was the right time, she began to grind her ass against his erection that did not yet come down from EDI’s previous influence.

“Is that for me?” she asked with a smirk.
“No, for EDI. Now go away, I have work to do.”
“Not until I get a snack.” she replied as she got off his lap and went under his desk.
“I’m not in the mood for your sexual harassment and assault.”
“You say that but he says otherwise.” Jane replied as she fondled his groin with one hand while the other went to open his pants.
“UGH. God help me!”

Despite his protests and the ability to actually kick Jane’s ass out the door he did nothing of the like and simply enjoyed his sister’s actions.

____________________________________________________________

He’s been hours on trying to work on the new polymer from a new type of armor. Something that could repair itself if the damage wasn’t too extensive, like a tear, and that could hold better against a gunshot. He had been discussing with Mordin about something organic that instead of being hard could simply absorb shocks and either redirect the kinetic energy elsewhere or just stock it for a later release. He also got the idea of a camo material which instead of reflecting or deviating the light making the person wearing such material invisible, would simply take the color of the other side. Effectively it would be exactly like a chameleon’s camouflage. That was easier to do. Nano-cams were not something impossible but that would require effort to make, the actual technology certainly allowed it but the numbers needed would make the cost go through the roof. That’s why militaries went with the reflected light option instead despite its cons.

Thankfully he was on good terms with the best thief in the galaxy and anything he asked she found in exchange for hacking programs or devices. She had been really intrigued by the Janus and after spending hours reading its code, she couldn’t stop laughing at the glaring flaw of such a program. How nobody ever found out or spoke up about it was beyond the both of them. For example, beyond the hundredth character in a password Janus simply wouldn’t work anymore. It was a flaw in the variable that Rick didn’t pay much attention as he was drunk out of his ass at the time and was just testing things. A variable easy enough to change but he just didn’t bother to as he estimated that Janus’ code was just trash and his pride wouldn’t allow him to go back at it again. Besides it was still the best in the market so why create a new version? Sure he couldn’t bypass bioscan or vocal verification like that dumb idiot, Kasumi and Jane stole from, used for his vault but that was enough for most locks. Even military grade locks didn’t go as far as fifty characters for a password.

All in all, as Rick was reading the diverse leads, information and data Mordin had sent him that could help with the bio material, Jane's voice was heard through his helmet.

“We have a problem.”
“What kind?”
“Cerberus has infiltrated the Citadel and is trying to take over.”
“That… makes no sense. There is no direct advantage for Cerberus to have the station in their hands. Even if they took everyone as hostages each government would let those people die as they can’t divert their attention from the reapers. It feels like a stupid move to…. Udina.” he thought out loud as he exited his room to the CIC and called for the elevator. Jane quickly joined him from the cockpit.
“Udina what?”
“That idiot probably thinks that by doing a coup and having total control of the Citadel, people will just obey him because he’ll be the one in charge. He is undermining every effort we made to bring together allies.”
“He’s already at the head of humanity and he wants more power?! And he’s doing that during a war for survival touching all the galaxy!”
“Yes but no. He’s a politician so of course he wants more power but by being at the head of the council he thinks he can order the fleet to go to Earth and fight the reapers. Not only is it stupid but also useless; the fleet will just get itself destroyed. What the fool doesn’t understand is that the council is there for balance. With only one member at the head of the council I don’t see why other species will follow that person when their best interests are not represented. I don’t see them doing that either when species are more or less equal on many things. Maybe that’s why the Asari created the council in the first place. Uh, the blueberries are smarter than I thought if that’s the case.” he explained as they entered the elevator.
“So he just wants to help Earth.”
“I think so and Cerberus with its mindset seems like the best option he has but since Udina is a retard, he doesn’t understand how you fight a war, he probably believes that you just send people with big guns and win. What worries me is what Cerberus is going to do with the councilors. Will they kill them or brainwash them? The latter would be problematic.”
“Doesn’t matter which one. We will stop him.” said Jane.

The elevator stopped at Jane’s cabin and she hurriedly went to pick up her armor parts to not waste time. Once back she put everything in his hand and one by one began to put them on. When they were back to the CIC both EDI came in. Garrus and Liara joined at the Crew Deck and Javik at the Engineering Deck. The elevator was packed to the brim and Rick didn’t feel well with so little space available.

“The SSV got it right with the stairs.  Maybe we should put poles like the old fire caserns.” he muttered very lowly. But not low enough for Liara and Jane, the ones the closest to him, to not hear him. Both held one of his hands showing support.

When they reached the Cargo Bay, Rick immediately exited the steel cage as soon as he could and took a wide breath from the other. James and Ashley, who were already here when Jane had called for everyone to get ready for deployment, were in their armor and at the ready, weapons in hand. Only organic EDI had to put something protective on.

“Okay, so here's the gist. Cerberus is doing a coup on the Presidium. They are everywhere. Joker got to contact a friend of ours on the ground and things are bad. Cerberus kills  indiscriminately. Said friend is making its way towards C-sec for help. Team Mako consisting of Rick, Liara, EDI and I will go there to establish the situation. Team Hammerhead, your first directive is to help anyone you can and coordinate with c-sec, your second is to deal with Cerberus. Either push them back or simply kill them whichever you see fit at the time. Ash, you’re in charge. Questions?”
“Yes. Which me is in Team Mako?” EDI asked.
“Synthetic you. We really need a name to differentiate your two bodies.”
“I will come up with one later.”
“Anyone else? No? Then let’s go.”


____________________________________________________________

When Team Mako arrived at the shuttle Cargo bay of c-sec HQ it was a war zone. Cerberus soldiers were everywhere. The few c-sec agents still alive were getting overwhelmed. They were outnumbered, outgunned and their defenses were almost nonexistent. Where Cerberus had heavy armor, the agents only had their uniform on their back. It was so bad that they had to jump down from the shuttle and act immediately. Rick charged straight through the middle and cut down a turret that a Cerberus engineer was fixing, taking the head of the said engineer along with his lightsaber. From there he began to deal with his shotgun in his free hand, death to any Cerberus asshole that was just a bit too far. Meanwhile the rest of the team split further. EDI and Liara took the right side of the Cargo bay and acted in concert in killing anything in white, gray and yellow uniform. For her part, Jane took the left side and moved at a steady pace cover from cover. She either used her biotics or her assault rifle to take care of the enemies. The effectiveness in which she could adapt and switch from weapon to biotic and back was a testament of how far she went in her training in not only managing her new status as a biotic but also as an elite soldier. She wasn’t N7 and a spectre just because she was pretty. With Rick acting as a distraction in the middle and the girls picking them from behind and the side the Cerberus’ troops were annihilated. By the same tactics they had used on the c-sec agents at that.
When everyone grouped up in front of the access door to the building they found a wounded Bailey on the ground. He was quickly given a good dose of medi-gel to stop the bleeding and close the wound.

“Commander! Good to see you.” he said with a grunt.
“Bailey, what are you doing here?”
“Trying to take back HQ from Cerberus. With them in control every c-sec agent is on their own out there.” he said as he got up and began to open the door before Rick created an area barrier just in case some of cerberus were behind it ready to shoot. Thankfully there was no one waiting for them and Bailey went behind a desk to get access to a terminal, something Rick stood behind him, watching.

“How bad is it?”
“Cerberus has total control of the c-sec main channel. It’s worse than I thought. Everyone is not in the dark but fed false information. I need to create a…”

Rick cut him off by pulling Bailey’s chair and him back then began to type furiously on the keyboard.

“What are you doing?!”
“His thing. Don’t worry, you won’t regret it.” Jane replied to the c-sec commander.

Multiple windows opened and closed in a blink of an eye on the terminal screen. No one looking at it understood what their purpose was or what Rick was doing. For the first time they saw their friend doing what he knew best: hacking. They had never paid attention, either because they weren’t interested or because the situation didn’t allow it, like a fight. Seeing him work like that made his skills as a tech expert real. Real as in the real deal. After five very long minutes spent in silence, Rick straightened up and put Bailey back in front of the terminal.

“I created a sub channel for c-sec like you wanted but went further. Cerberus having access to the main one means they got it from someone inside. A sympathizer or a plant which would have posed security problems with the sub channel. Now, you have to contact your colleagues yourself to give them access. You need to give them the password so they can communicate back. Be careful who you give access to, if you have doubts, simply don't. I also got you access to the basics function of the Presidium’s infrastructure. Opening and closing doors, vents, fire alarms, cameras and elevators. To interact with them you just need to tap the screen to change their status. Green means open or working, red means close or not working properly, gray means disconnected. With the size of the presidium you will need more monitors and more people to deal with the chaos. Choose wisely the people you give that privilege to. I’m going back with some monitors.”

His explanation done, he went further inside the building followed by Liara and EDI.

“Wow.” was the only thing Bailey said as he looked up at what he now had access. “Interested in loaning him to c-sec for a bit, commander?”
“Sorry, he’s all mine.” she said with a snort.
“It was worth a shot.”
“Yes. Now I was supposed to meet councilor Valern here. Know anything about that?”
“No, but I can search for the information.”

Typing away, he quickly found what Jane wanted to know.

“He had a meeting scheduled with the executor.”
“The executor?”
“Generally that’s when a big wig is suspected of criminal wrongdoings.”
“Udina.” she said under her breath and the man didn’t miss it.
“Udina?”
“Valern contacted me concerning some irregularities concerning Udina. A possible security risk. That’s why we were supposed to meet here, to talk about it. We believe that Udina is working with Cerberus and attempting a coup so he could send the council fleet to Earth to fight the reapers.”
“That’s… I have no words to describe the absurdity that it is. Even if the coup succeeds the fleet won’t do what he wants.”
“We know but Udina doesn’t. I learned over the years that he’s a very greedy and arrogant individual with little competence. It’s no wonder he’s working with Cerberus.”

At that point of the conversion Rick came in with two monitors under his arm, so did EDI. The said monitors were placed on the desk and connected to the terminal. Using his omni-tool, Rick displayed the feed of many cameras on the Presidium.

“Now you can see what’s happening out there and can coordinate the Citadel’s defense better.”
“Neat.”
“Are we good to go? Valern is in the building and with Cerberus agents everywhere...”
“The three of you can, I’m staying here to help organize the defense. One person alone… It will be too much work.”
“I can…”
“I know, EDI but you’re better at infiltration than I am and right now infiltrating the building is what’s needed, not going gun blazing and mowing down everything in our way.”

Jane nodded and the women left to find councilor Valern. Rick stood beside Bailey and looked at the camera's feed. One of them caught team Hammerhead fighting a small troop of Cerberus grunts and an Atlas. Using his com he contacted Ashley.

“Bombshell, it’s me.”
“Hey, lover! Sorry but I’m a bit busy right now.” the brunette replied as Rick saw her take cover behind a thick wall, protecting her from a rocket.
“I know, I see you from a camera feed. I am calling you so you can patch yourself on a c-sec sub-channel. That way you guys won’t be alone but can coordinate with others.”
“You always give me the best presents.”
“Bailey what’s the password?”
“I… I haven’t chosen yet.” the man replied sheepishly.

Rick used his omni-tool and entered a password himself and sent the channel link to Ashley, the rest of her team and team Mako.

“The password is: illusiveman_has_smallPP.” he announced and Bailey choked on his spit.
“Really?!” / “Really?!”
“I’m sure Cerberus would appreciate it if they ever got the password and I’m half of a mind to believe that he brainwashed his agents to never badmouth him making them unable to use it. Megalo and arrogant ass he is.”
“I… That’s… Whatever.” Bailey expressed dejectedly.
“I’m in, what’s next?”
“You’re the first on the channel beside Commander Bailey and Team Mako. So keep doing what you guys are doing but keep your ears open.”
“Got it.”

Bailey began to work and look at the screen, contacting the c-sec agents he knew and who were fighting Cerberus. Bit by bit and step by step the channel welcomed more and more people and a plan to deal with Cerberus began to form. The slight problem their side had - besides team Hammerhead - was the lack of actual support and big guns. Activating his com again he contacted someone he hoped was on the Citadel.

____________________________________________________________

Jennifer was sipping a drink at the Purgatory, watching her kids drink, talk or dance. They were on leave after a nasty business on one human colony attacked by the reapers. Many lives were saved thanks to them and she couldn’t be more proud. Rick’s asswhooping and lessons gave them the dose of reality they desperately needed and it proved very useful for them on the field. They were more prepared than ever when a breach in the camp they were in was made by the reapers troops. They were the first to react and promptly pulled up some barriers protecting as many people as they could and giving time for the soldiers to react and colmate the breach. They went even further and got a few shots on the attacking assholes. Rodriguez couldn’t stop bragging about a biotic explosion she inadvertently made and wiped three cannibals in one go.
She was about to take another sip when she received a call from Rick.

“Hey, Dickhead. Good to hear from you.”
“Where are you?”
“Sheesh someone needs to fart and relax. I’m in the Purgatory with the kids celebrating, why? Interested in joining us?”
“Cerberus is currently attempting a coup in the presidium, it’s complete chaos out there. C-sec needs support, think you can lend a hand?”
“Hey! Mister Wald! No problem, we got you covered.” Pressly said, seeing who their teacher was talking to.
“HELL NO!” Jennifer objected.
“But Ma’am! “
“Don’t Ma’am me, Seanne. I’m going, you lot enjoy your downtime here.”
“Heck no!” “Yeah!” “Sorry teach but we’re coming with you. They need support and that’s what we do best.”

Each one of her kids was dead set on going with her and that made her even more proud of them. They were not in it to kick ass but to save ass. So different from her and she was glad for that.

“Alright, we’re all going but no funny business.” she announced and began to down the rest of her drink
“I’ve sent you the link to the sub-channel c-sec is currently using to coordinate as Cerberus took control of the main one. The password is : illusiveman_has_smallPP.”

Jennifer couldn’t help herself but do a spit take and began to laugh.

“You… Asshole. You made me spill my drink!”
“You’re welcome, Girlie. A small group of…”
“Of…? A small group of what?!” she inquired after seconds of silence
“Tell Aria that Kai Leng is here.”
“Who the fuck is that?”
“The man who killed her daughter and TIM’s right hand man.”
“Oooh revenge. Nice. Don’t worry I got it covered.”
“There is a small group of c-sec making their way to a rally point two blocks down. They’ll be aware of your arrival. Take care, all of you.”
““You too mister Wald!””

Rick cut the com and Jennifer was left to look for Aria. Fortunately the asari wasn’t difficult to find as she liked to have her own space without anyone bothering her. Signaling her kids to wait at the exit she went to speak to the queen of Omega.

“Hey, got a call from Rick. Asked to pass along a message.”
“Which is?”
“Cerberus is attacking the presidium.”
“I am aware.” Aria replied uninterested.
“Oh so you already know some shit head named Kai Leng is here then.”

The response was immediate. Aria was on her feet, her eyes screaming murder and right onto Jennifer’s face.

“Where?”
“I don’t know, he didn’t say.”
“Of course he didn’t.” she replied with a frown.
“Look, my kids and I, we’re on our way to help c-sec and kill any Cerberus on our way. Your guy may be one of them, wanna come?” was the proposition Jennifer made, making Aria’s brow in surprise.
“That’s a surprising invitation.”
“You get to kill some assholes, they may learn a thing or two from you. It’s a win-win.”
“...Why not. That would allow me to pass the time and to see how good a teacher he is.”
“He didn’t tell you?”
“The only thing Rick ever kept secret from me is anything related to biotics. His goal is to and I quote ‘kick my ass with them one day’.” the asari added at the end to explain, making Jennifer snort.
“Always dreaming big.”
“That he does.”
“So?”
“I’m coming with you and your children but if I get a whiff of Kai Leng, you’re on your own.”
“Good enough for me.”

As the two women got to the exit where Jennifer’s kids were waiting. The latter explained who Aria was. Or not.

“She’s Rick’s biotic teacher and is coming with us. Watch and learn if you can.” She said and began walking before stopping and turning around. “Not a word to Sanders about me using the A-word. Got it?”
“““Yes, Ma’am.”””

____________________________________________________________

He had seen a glimpse of him at first when he looked at the HQ footage to know what or rather how everything happened the way it did. He hadn’t been sure it was him so he checked it again, pausing the recording at the right time and began to work on the frozen frame to be certain. After a moment he was. He said everything he needed to say to Jennifer then left Bailey alone to deal with what needed to be done. Going back to the shuttle bay he found a c-sec flying car still working and went behind the wheel. He immediately took off to reach the office of the executor and contacted Jane.

“Red, Kai Leng is here! It’s an assassination attempt!”
“I know!”
“My ETA is one minute!”

Understanding that she was currently dealing with one of the greatest pieces of filth in humanity he went up as fast as he could. Reaching a parking lot that looked more like a big balcony, he saw her kneeling in front of Thane. Landing quickly he opened the car’s doors and Jane along with the rest of Team Mako got on.

“Bailey, where to?” Jane asked.
“Fifty blocks ahead. They’re on the move.”

Rick immediately flew away as fast as he could with the limited speed the car provided, dodging other people in the way. When they were about to pass under a connecting bridge between the inner and outer Presidium, Kai Leng landed right on top the front of their vehicle. As quick as a flash Jane drew her gun to shoot him but Rick was faster and simply hit the brakes making the assassin go over them. Not wanting to let the man get away, he let go of the wheel, opened the door and half exited the car to see where his target was. Surprisingly the Cerberus agent had held on to it and was rising up on his feet. Picking his own gun Rick shot at him to no effect as the projectiles were stopped by a barrier.
In one swift move Kai Leng stuck his sword into the car’s engine making it fail and jumped off the vehicle to enter another driven by a female Cerberus agent. Rick immediately reacted and got on the roof of the police car to reach for the other but got pushed back by a biotic blast making him fall down towards the ground, right in the middle of a Cerberus group overwhelming two lone c-sec agents. Thankfully he stopped his fall with his biotics but that made him the primary target for both sides as the members of c-sec were pretty sure a man clad in black and with a menacing helmet wasn’t anything good and right now not anything good was Cerberus. Rick quickly charged the lone Cerberus soldier at the back of his group and let his shotgun sing. The now dead man colleagues, understanding that the biggest threat was now at their back, turned around leaving them open for the two c-sec officers to shoot them down. Or at least to shoot down the ones that Rick didn’t send to their maker.

“Bailey, do you mind giving my description to your men? Two of them just shot at me.” Rick said in an irritating tone.
“Understood.”

Ignoring the sheepish look of the law officers, Rick began a trek through the different buildings as it was his only choice to get to the council since no car was around. After going through a few of them he encountered an interesting scene. Jennifer was there dealing with a massive Cerberus opposition, along with Aria, Team Hammerhead and plenty of c-sec agents and civilians. Clearly he had stumbled upon a rally point where wounded were gathered.
Switching his shotgun to his left hand and picking up his lightsaber in his right he charged right in the middle of the enemy troop and used a Nova. One of his targets had been primed by one of Jennifer’s kids and the resulting biotic explosion did some serious damage to everyone around.  Not wanting to be a sitting duck with a nearly depleted shield, Rick charged an Atlas and slashed away at his joint taking the big mecha’s rocket launcher arm first, before taking a leg to make the giant fall on one knee. Jumping up, he thrusted his lightsaber right through the glass of the cockpit and killed the pilot. Still not staying idle, he charged another group of Cerberus and hacked away. He dodged a rocket by rolling to the side and  with the hand holding his sword pushed himself off the ground. That let him free to send two Pulls with his feet towards some grunts without a shield. Aria didn’t miss the opportunity, hitting one of the now primed targets with a skill of her own resulting in the biggest biotic explosion anyone has ever seen, completely decimating anyone in a fifteen feet radius that didn’t have any shield at all. Only a half of Cerberus forces were left which with the people defending the rally point was more than manageable.
For his part Rick simply ran toward a mostly intact flying car and got inside, quickly flying away.

“Damn!” Rodriguez said.
“Mister Wald, really went easy on us.” remarked Pressly.
“And you’ve seen nothing yet, kids.” Ashley beamed as  she put a headshot on a Cerberus engineer before he could set up a new turret.
“Yeah. I mean he punched a reaper in the face.” James added.
“““What?!”””
“I guess he’s not far away from realizing his dream.” Jennifer said with a smirk as she looked at Aria to the side.
“I admit, what I saw was impressive but it’s centuries too early for him to succeed.” Aria replied with her greatest poker face. Inside she was both proud and worried. ‘Biotics with his feet and curve shots? What the heck did he think of?’
“Is he single?”

Everyone turned around to look at Seanne who had a dreamy look on her face.

“What?” the said girl asked, seeing she was the center of attention.

____________________________________________________________

“Bailey, what’s the situation, where do I go?”
“The council is moving upward. They are at a c-sec station. I think they’ll try to get a car and bail out to a secure… One moment.”
“...”
“They entered an elevator, the assassin too, so is your team. I’m making the assassin stop on every floor. Very nifty your program.”
“Don’t get used to it, it’s only temporary.”
“A sha… Oh that’s not good.”
“What is?”
“He overrode my control on his elevator.”
“Huh. Didn’t know he was skilled at hacking. You still have control of the others so it doesn't really matter.”
“Yes. I’m not far from there with a small team. We’ll try to get him from behind while he’s focused on the council and the commander.”
“I’m almost…SHIT!”

Out of nowhere an Atlas’ rocket hit the front of his car. Probably a miss shot from one of them but a miss shot that did heavy damage to Rick’s car. The fire and resulting smoke completely block his view and on top of that? He had almost no control on the vehicle.

____________________________________________________________

A serious standoff was currently happening in a small parking lot up the c-sec station. Shepard had caught up with the council which was being escorted by none other than Kaidan Alenko. That had been a surprise for team Mako. While EDI and Liara were gun drawn and aiming at the door they had come through just in case it opened with cerberus agents behind, Jane was aiming at Udina with Kaidan in the line of fire, aiming back at her.

“Kaidan. It’s Udina, he’s the one behind this coup.”
“Me? You’re the one with ties to Cerberus.”
“Councilor Valern can confirm it. He personally asked me to meet him about it at c-sec HQ with the executor. We just saved him for an assassination attempt.”
“Please. You have no proof, you never do.” the human councilor shot back as he went to a console and began to use it.
“First I’ve always had proof. Second, I’m a spectre, I don’t really need it in this situation. Now stay back from that console, Udina.”
“We’re dead…”

Those were the last words ever pronounced by Donnel Udina as a c-sec car crashed right on top of him, dragging him under it until the vehicle hit the side of the building hard. Everyone present was dumbstruck at what just happened. What were the odds of that ever happening? Lower than winning the lottery at the very least. They all could see the lower part of Udina sticking out from under the back of the car. Jane was the first one to unfreeze and lowered her gun.

“Well, that happened.”
“Jane!” Liara warned as the door was almost breached.

The redhead turned around and picked up her shotgun this time ready to obliterate or at least push back any cerberus that would come through. At the same time Kaidan, who didn’t quite know what was going on anymore, moved to stand in front of the rest of the council on the side, having Shepard in his line of sight and whoever came through the door. Seeing that his colleague was not after the council now that Udina was dead made him rethink his position on the subject of Shepard ties to Cerberus.
When the door opened Bailey and some of his agents were welcome with guns right up their noses.

“Bailey?” Jane asked in surprise. “What are you doing here?”
“I delegated the coordination of c-sec to more competent colleagues for this sort of thing. We were trying to assist you by ambushing that assassin. Unfortunately when he saw us he ran away. A few of us went after him and we came to help guard the council.” the man replied as everyone lowered their weapons. Seeing only councilor Quintius and Tevos, he inquires about Udina.

“Well… you might find it hard to believe but a car crashed on top of him.”
“What?!”
“See for yourself.” Jane replied, pointing to Udina’s body under the vehicle.
“Ugh.”

Suddenly, they heard a loud thudding sound coming from the car and immediately everyone took aim. Kaidan pulled away the councilors still putting himself between them and the danger in front. Another thud was heard then a third. A fourth one sent the car’s door flying and someone got out of it. With the smoke they couldn’t quite see who it was but the silhouette stood up and they recognized the familiar helmet they saw though it was quite broken on the top of it.

“Where. Is. Kai. Leng?”
“Rick?” Jane said dumbfounded.
“Gone.” Bailey replied just as dumbfounded.
“Udina?”

At Rick’s question, everyone raised their hand and pointed behind him at ground level. Turning around he saw Udina’s legs poking from under the car.

“Ah.” he said, then turned back to look at the group. “I swear this time it wasn’t on purpose.” he added, pulling his hands up, palms open towards them in a surrendering manner.
“This time?” Bailey asked, curious.
“You don’t want to know.” Jane replied in exasperation.
“Out of curiosity… After how many councilors killed do I get a free sundae?” Rick tentatively joked looking at Tevos but it fell flat.

Everyone looked at him with an unamused look and Jane simply facepalmed with a groan, mentally asking any godly being out there why her brother was the way he was and why did she had to fall in love with him of all people.

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