Jenkins
Okay, it was confession time. I really, really didn’t like Ashley very much. She was by the books, but unlike Kaidan it just made her come across as a bitch, and not at all as charming or dedicated. It wasn’t solely her fault of course, she was incredibly motivated to atone for the mistake of her families past. It wasn’t necessarily a secret, but Ashley Williams was the granddaughter of a General Williams. He was well known, unfortunately for the wrong reasons however, as he was the man in charge of Shanxi’s colony garrison. Notable for being the only colony in human history to surrender to enemy forces, as during the first contact war he surrendered to the invading Turian forces. It was the only case of human surrender, and it lead to the Williams name being something of a bad thing to have.
It’s why despite her military competence, she was stuck guarding a backwater colony on Eden Prime instead of leading troops in the Navy. Now all of this makes her seem sympathetic, and in truth she kind of is, she doesn’t deserve the disrespect she gets from the alliance brass. No, my problem with her comes from how she decided to respond to her family's history. See Ashley decided to direct that chip on her shoulder towards the Turians, and become a space racist. Now I hadn’t seen any evidence that that’s how she was here, but it is how she behaved in the games, only ever really getting past it in time for the third game, and even then she was still kind of a bitch unless you took active effort to earn her forgiveness. Forgiveness for doing nothing. God she frustrated me thinking about it, not that any of that mattered right now. As far as the current situation went we were working together and she was in charge.
She lead the march to Chora’s Den in silence, at first I attributed it to focus on the mission, but in the two elevator rides it takes to get down into the Ward where the bar was located she didnt bother so much as even glance in my direction. Choosing instead to march silently forward expecting me to just follow instep it seems. Which I did of course, but not because I liked it, it’s just because I had a job to do. That being said, as we began approaching the entrance I decided to confront the issue, if we were going to get stuck in a gunfight I was not comfortable fighting alongside someone who wouldn’t even look at me.
“Okay, Williams. Are you going to tell me what your plan is here or am I just following you around as you march about the station? Cause I’m more than happy to lend my assistance where you want it, but If we have a problem then I’d like to know that before we start getting shot at.” She finally stopped walking. She exhaled a sigh before turning around to glare at me. She looked genuinely pissed which caught me off guard.
“I’m not here to chit chat with you Corporal. The Commander gave us a job to do and placed me in charge. My only request is that you follow my orders without complaint or making a scene if that is something you can manage.” Excuse the fuck out of me. I could understand my more relaxed attitude grating on her, with her staunch professionalism and all, but this was just uncalled for, and more importantly unfair.
“Fantastic, so if you want to give me some actual orders to follow then I will do just that. Instead of just avoiding speaking with me and trying to pretend I’m not here.” I pushed my anger back, trying to keep my tone soft and my sarcasm less directly insulting. Although I’m not so sure it worked.
“You want to know my problem, my problem is that you're a damned child. We are currently dealing with an active terrorist that has plans to cause as much destruction to humanity as possible. Everyone should be focused and working their hardest to solve this problem, instead you keep crucial details of our evidence to yourself, and when presenting it to the Council backfires you throw a tantrum in front of them. The worst part is not a single person calls you out on it. You’re just a Corporal, yet both Lieutenant Alenko and Commander Shepard turn to you for advice and listen when you speak as though the words are gospel. And when you act like a spoiled brat, smile along or laugh, uncaring that you seem completely unbothered by the threat we are dealing with.”
“...” I couldn’t say much. She had a point as much as I hated to admit it. I got away with a lot more than I had any right too, and to an outsider it probably made little sense and was incredibly infuriating. She likely got chewed out by every leader she ever had for every mistake she ever made. And here I was breaking procedure left right and center and getting yet being completely untouched.
“What? You got nothing to say, no jokes to crack when you finally have someone call you out on your bullshit?” She had been breathing heavily, but seemed to have calmed down a little after that initial outburst. I stayed silent, honestly unsure of what to say. It’s not like I had any explanation or justification for my special treatment, or how it would look to her. Still I had to try and say something.
“Ashley, I won’t apologize for who I am. I know I can come across as uncaring, as childish and immature. And I’m sorry that the way my behavior is tolerated makes you feel looked down on or disrespected. I know my joking nature can be grating on some people, and If it helps us work together I’ll drop it the best I can. But it’s also part of who I am. My confidence, my lack of fear or concern is an act. I’m terrified of Saren, of what it means if we fail to stop him. And if I stopped to really think about those feelings I wouldn’t be able to start going again. I can’t do that, because as much as you might not believe it I’m dedicated to stopping him. I’m here with this crew until the end, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure Saren ends up dead or in prison. If that means I have to keep information secret because I don’t trust the council not to warn Saren and give him time to cover his tracks then I’ll do it. If you have an issue with any of that you can make that complaint to Shepard after this mission, but for now we don’t have time to bicker. So, Williams. What are your orders.”
A gentle touch, lies or excuses were never going to work, and even if she accepted them it would only end badly in the long run. We were either going to be able to work together on our own or we wouldn’t and this mission would decide that. She looked me up and down, not showing her emotions or thoughts on her face. Eventually she glanced at her omni tool noting the time.
“Fine. I’ll take the lead, try and get Harkin to talk. If he’s dodging questions or evading info, scan his device and get something that will make him talk. Those rumors that he’s a rat likely have some truth to them. Watch my 6 and make sure I know if shit gets complicated before it happens.”
“Yes ma’am.” I give her a nod and wait for her to take point. I can only imagine that this was the best I was going to get out of her.
We entered the club of Chora’s Den. It was actually a rather small space, a circular domed room, with booths and tables all around the outside, and a large circular structure in the middle that was the bar itself. There were a half dozen scantily clad women, half working the bar and the other half-- performing. For lack of a better word. An even mix of Asari and Human among the staff, with a single large Krogan working the back door as some kind of bouncer. Music played in the background, not too loud, but heavy enough with base you could feel it. The rooms patrons were almost solely human, with exception to 1 or 2 Turians minding their own business in the corners of the room.
“That’s our man.” I pointed out the balding middle aged man sitting at a table on the opposite end of the room. He was wearing a C-Sec uniform although it was dirty and looked like it had been slept in. We marched across the room, and I let Ashley take the lead. She strode up to Harkins table, clearly preparing to speak before he cut her off.
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“Well hello there sweetheart. Are you looking for some fun? Cause that soldier getup looks real good on that body of yours.” Oh. Shit. I forgot this guy was a pig. Ashley was going to kill him.
“Excuse me?!” Ashley looked equal parts shocked and disgusted by his words, and taking that as a cue I began scanning his device. Looking at my omni tool I noticed something odd, a line of text easily accessed. Jenkins. A foreign individual attempted to scan your device. I blocked him to protect my own security of course, but I figured you should know. -Beta
Oh you have to be fucking kidding me, this is not the time. I start the scan of Harkin and type back Who. And When. I look up and briefly observe our surroundings as Ashley and Harkin continue talking.
“Yeah, why don’t you sit your sweet little ass down here. Have a couple drinks and we will see what happens.” He gave her a look he probably considered sexy and Ashley found it as repulsive as I did just seeing it second hand.
“I’d rather spend an evening shovelling Varen shit.”
“Suit yourself princess. You know if more marines looked like you I would have joined the Alliance instead of C-Sec.” He gave her a wink and I looked down as a new message appeared on my device. Unknown, but the scan occurred when you walked through the lower markets to get to this club. You did not appear to be followed. I sighed with relief, probably just some scammer or remote hacker trying to get a peek. Thankfully even without Beta my security is top notch. With him there it would be practically impenetrable.
“I just need you to tell me where Garrus is. C-Sec officer, Turian.” Ashley asked the question and I was impressed with her composure.
“Garrus? Ahaha you must be one of Anderson’s crew. He’s still trying to bring down Saren huh. Poor bastard.” He laughed, slapping his hand against the table before leaning back with the smile still present and continuing. “I know where Garrus is. But you gotta tell me something first. Did the Captain let you in on his big secret?” Okay, that’s enough of that. I wasn’t wasting my time with stories that didn’t matter and judging by how Ashley was grinding her teeth she was on the same page.
“I don’t know, were you going to let us in on your big secret. I mean it’s one thing to be a dirty cop that accepts bribes, but I mean you really take the cake. Working as an informant for Fist? How many officers did you get killed snitching on them?” I spoke, showing the screen of my omni tool that showed a few wire transfers from Fist, as well as some messages thanking him for the Tip. Harkin’s smile dropped and his brow furrowed, he leaned forward and looked ready to speak. Unfortunately Ashley slammed his shoulder back into the seat he had looked so comfortable in.
“If you want us to forget about this little tidbit, you tell us where Garrus is. No complaints, no distractions.” She gave him a kind, empty smile that sent a shiver down my spine, and I was on her side. Scary woman. Harkin seemed to get the message, gulping before speaking.
“Aha, yeah sure. You got it. Garrus is headed to the clinic here in the wards. Dr. Michel’s office. He’ll be there, I promise.” Ashley stood back up, letting up off the man’s shoulder, and looked back at me. I gave a nod that I had the location pulled up and was ready to go.
“Hey, you’re gonna delete that right. I gave you what you wanted.” Ashley turned back to speak but I spoke first, not giving her the chance.
“Yup thanks for the help. Word of advice though, find a new career, or invest in better cybersecurity. Because that was pitifully easy to acquire.” I gave him a smile and turned, marching out of the club. Slowing as I leaned up against the bar for only a moment. Anyone who was paying attention would notice the remote Grenade I placed below the lip of the counter, but everyone was focused on their own personal situations. I marched the rest of the way out of the bar. Ashley was quick on my heels and once we were out the door she leaned close to ask.
“You didn't actually delete that info did you, he probably got half a dozen officers killed snitching for the bastard.”
“More than that if these numbers are right. And no. I sent it right to C-Sec. Harkin is going away for a long time." The guy was a slimeball, and a monster given what he was willing to do for money. Not to mention he’d become an issue for Garrus in the future based on the events of Mass Effect 2. Locking him up now was just another name scratched off a list.
We marched off, heading towards the Clinic Garrus was at. It wasn’t far honestly, only about a 10 minute walk through a back alley and then across a large balcony that looked out over the ward of the Citadel. The massive metal structure showed a huge city, small short range speeders jumping from tower to tower, showing the city vibrant and alive with life. Each arm held millions of people, all living their lives aboard a massive impossible station. It was gorgeous, but we couldn’t waste time enjoying the view. As we reached the door to the clinic our radios came to life.
“This is Commander Shepard. Barla Von pointed us in the direction of a Krogan named Wrex. Apparently Fist has a Quarian named Tali in his possession, she may be carrying evidence that implicates Saren. We are making our way to Chora’s Den to stage a rescue. Your backup is requested.” Shit, we just came from there, that timing isn’t ideal, but I left my surprise behind for that reason. I look at Ashley who looks like she’s debating which way to take things. I nod towards the door.
“We’re already here, if Garrus' Intel is unrelated and also on a time limit then we have to know first..” She looked conflicted but eventually nodded, lifting her com to her mouth.
“This is Ashley, we just reached Garrus’ location, we will requisition his information and then join you, 10 minutes out tops.” We’d be faster then the 10 minutes, but it was good to suggest more time than less in these situations.
“Also Shepard, Jenkins here, I left a little surprise behind in Chora’s Den, give me a ping when you get there if you want a distraction.” Ashley looked at me surprised. I spoke to her directly, answering the question before she asked.
“Remote Grenade, placed it below the counter ledge in case Harkin was misdirecting us and we needed to come back hot. Before you give me shit it’s set to automatically disarm if it doesn’t receive a signal within 30 minutes.” The look she gave dropped from frustration to annoyed acceptance before nodding.
“Copy that, will ping when we make contact, good luck folks.” Shepard's response was quick and shot, and we took that as a sign to drop communication and move. We stepped forward into the Clinic where Garrus was supposed to be waiting. In the good news, we found Garrus immediately. The clinic had a short hallway that lead up to a front desk, one that separated the rest of the spaces supplies from what was clearly the waiting room. In good news we saw Garrus and the supposed Dr.Michel’s. In bad news, Dr. Michel had armed grunts threatening her at gunpoint, and Garrus was crouched behind the counter on our side, hiding out of sight.
In even worse news, the armed grunts saw us right away. The one closest to the Doctor grabbed her, pulling her into a choke hold and pressing the gun against his head.
“You two. Don’t move or the Doctor gets it.” He was panicked, scared and unfocused. He hadn’t expected two armed outsiders to walk in. He especially didn’t expect what happened next. Garrus stayed low to the ground, rounding around the edge of the counter before diving out horizontal. Drawing a pistol his aim was completely on point. A single shot through the temple ended the hostage situation immediately. And as the Doctor stepped towards Garrus the man’s armed friends, three from what we could see, opened fire on the Turian. He activated his own shield boost and shielded Dr. Michel's with his own body as he helped her move safely into cover.
Ashley and I didn’t waste any time, stepping forward up to the counter and using it’s position to the side of these thugs to flank them. The concentrated fire from Ashley’s assault rifle, and my own Pistol made short work of the men. They weren’t well armed or well prepared. Obviously not expecting much opposition on whatever their job was.
Stepping around the counter towards the back of the clinic, Garrus stepped out of cover, and walked towards us holding out his hand for a shake.
“That’s some damn good timing from you too. Gave me a perfect shot. You two are with Shepard right?” And with that I get to officially meet my favourite companion of the franchise face to face. Eternal best boy, Garrus Vakarian.