“The Citadel. Home of the Council and the heart of Galactic Government. Flying into the nebula, you see the giant arms reaching out with great skyscrapers built onto them. A great melting pot of different species and cultures, all working and living together. From here, it looks like a real achievement. From here….you can’t see the enemy.”

The horde had gathered from all corners of the Citadel, reporters from multiple species had converged upon docking bay C13. There were mostly Asari, as were most journalists on the Citadel, but there were also Humans, Salarian and Turians. There were even a couple volus reporters in the mix, trying desperately to get to the front of the pack so they could be noticed.

And behind the reporters were the fans. Women, and also more than a few men, waiting for an opportunity to catch a glimpse of Humanity’s most eligible bachelor. The fans were mostly Human and Asari, but also a few Turians. All ready to mob the scene the second the Trillionaire made it through the checkpoints.

Garrus Vakarian could hardly believe the sight of it. As much as he resented being given escort duty, of all things, at this stage of his career, he now understood why the Executor felt compelled to pick C-Sec officers with riot experience to deal with the situation. The human ambassador had insisted on C-Sec’s top men to handle this escort job and for good reason. No way was this man getting to the presidium unmolested on his own and C-Sec’s normal brigade of rookies often used for escorting dignitaries would’ve been quickly overwhelmed by the crowd. As much as Garrus hated to admit it, it was probably good that he was here.

“He’s all clear.” A voice came into his personal intercom.

“Send him out.” Garrus replied before turning to the Asari officer standing at the other end of the doorway. “It’s showtime.”

The green circle at the center of the door rotated and flashed with a beep to indicate it was about to open up. The noise of the crowd picked up before the doors could fully slide open and, as the dignitary stepped through with four other C-Sec officers, two Asari and Two Turians, it build into a crescendo of screaming fans and buzzing reporters.

“Mr. Wayne! Mr. Wayne!” The reporters all yelled while the fans started screamed incoherently behind them.

Garrus and the Asari officer he was minding the door with took point while the other four who came out with Wayne took up position beside and behind him. Encircling the wealthy man while the crowd pressed in. The biotic officers employed very light barriers to keep people from getting too close.

“Mr. Wayne! What brings you to the Citadel!?”

“Just some light business.” Wayne answered with a smile. Much to Garrus’ annoyance. Wayne was a ‘rope line talker?’ Why? Was he planning to run for something? “I have some important meetings about Wayne Enterprises’ quest to ensure safe and prosperous colonies throughout the Traverse. And, who knows, maybe there will be time for a party or two.”

“Will you be meeting with the Council?” “Do you believe the Council should be involved in Human Colonization efforts?”

“No.” Wayne answered while Garrus did his best to maintain the group’s pace towards the elevator. “I do not plan to meet with the Council. And let me say that while Wayne Enterprises is a Earth-based company under Alliance Jurisdiction, the colonies we support are open to all species and their businesses. After all, the success of one colony in Citadel Space is a victory for every species within Citadel Space.”

Garrus couldn’t help but be impressed. Wayne was quite the smooth talker. Everytime he opened his mouth, the screaming horde quieted down just enough to allow the famous human to speak. Even so, Garrus wasn’t keen for his escort duty to go on any longer than it needed to...especially when large groups of people like this can turn on a moment’s notice.

The door to the elevator opened up, Garrus and one the Asari officers accompanied Wayne in the elevator while the others blocked people from following them in. The elevator doors closed and Garrus told the VI to take them to the Presidium. The Worst was over.

“I am sorry you guys had to do this.” Wayne said to Garrus, recognizing he was the highest ranking officer. “I had wanted to use my own people.”

“Can’t allow that, Mr. Wayne.” Garrus explained. “Citadel Security processes all new arrivals and escorts all VIPs from the docks. Once you're all settled on the Presidium, you can arrange your own private security.”

Wayne gave one of his famous Million-Credit smiles. “And I will do just that. Let you guys get back to serving and protecting.”

Garrus gave a polite nod while Wayne turn to the Asari officer. “You know, everytime I come here I just get bombarded with invitations. Charity Balls. Political Fundraisers.”

“Sounds exhausting.” The Asari said as courtesly as she could muster while the galaxy-renowned playboy worked his charms.

“It is.” Wayne agreed. “Especially since I don’t have a date ready for such things. Without one I’m just doomed with questions of why not? And would you like to meet my daughter? I don’t suppose you would like-”

“I have a partner.” The Asari quickly shot down.

“Really?”

“And a daughter.” The Asari added, quickly losing patience with the playboy.

“Little young to be in the Matron stage, aren’t you?”

The Asari glared at Wayne. “I’m 562.”

“Well you don’t look a day over 300.” Wayne quipped as the Asari rolled her eyes and looked away. Wayne leaned over to Garrus and whispered. “I do love a woman in uniform. Particularly the fit ones. She has a great ass.”

The Asari sneered as Wayne clearly intended for her to hear that comment. Garrus looked at the Human Trillionaire. Tall, dark, and handsome was the description the Turian had heard about Wayne from his human-female colleagues, and a few Asari ones, when word of his forthcoming arrival hit the Citadel news feed.

Garrus didn’t fully understand what the expression meant. Wayne was of above-average height for a Human certainly, about 6’2, though Garrus had once seen a human as tall as a Krogan. He wasn’t pale but wasn’t very tan either, though perhaps the ‘dark’ was a reference to his hair. And as for the ‘Handsome’ part, Garrus couldn’t really judge that but his female colleagues had given him assurances on that.

What Garrus wasn’t warned about were Wayne’s eyes, there was something about them. For starters, Garrus couldn’t help but notice that Wayne had actually forgotten to eye-up the Asari officer before commenting on her figure. Wayne’s gaze never ventured below her eyes before he turned it to Garrus. But, more importantly, there seemed to be a lack of conviction in Wayne’s eyes while he carried out his charm and playboy antics. As if his charismatic work with the crowd, his advances towards the Asari officer was, and subsequent objectification of her was something he was forcing himself to do.

As if reading Garrus’ thoughts, Wayne looked away and pulled something out of the jacket of his business suit. A small black case that he promptly opened. Garrus was familiar with the item that was inside the case, the item that Wanye put on over his eyes. Garrus remembered one his human colleagues refer to them as ‘shades.’ They were like those ‘reading-glasses’ some older humans wore but with darker lenses. Apparently they were meant to protect human eyes from sunlight, though why so many humans felt compelled to wear them on the Citadel was beyond him.

The doors to the elevator finally opened up to reveal they had arrived at the Presidium. Wayne stepped out. “Thanks for the escort.”

“Welcome to the Citadel, Mr. Wayne.” Garrus responded while the Asari officer told the V.I to return the two of them to C-Sec.

“What a pig.” The Asari cursed after the doors were closed.

“That was certainly the impression he wanted to leave us with.” Garrus commented while the elevator got moving.

With his C-Sec escort on their way, Bruce Wayne was finally able to let his smile fade away with a sigh. If only there was a way for him to skip those damn elevator rides from the docking bay. Perhaps even just getting a cab like an ordinary citizen or Alfred for that matter who is probably already at the Wayne Estate elsewhere on the Presidium.

But the Ambassador always insisted that Wayne be given the VIP treatment. Getting a special C-Sec escort through the VIP elevators that conveniently leads Wayne right to the Embassies on the Presidium. All but assuring that the Ambassador would always be the first meeting on Bruce’s agenda.

Bruce went along with it mostly because Alfred told him he should. As he was fond of reminding Bruce, people would expect the CEO of Wayne Enterprises to accept such favors from Humanity’s Ambassador and the Council. Even though he was sure the Council had nothing to do with.

Keeping his sunglasses on, Bruce turned and walked up to the receptionist. Getting his smile back on. “Hello there.”

“Hello, Mr. Wayne.” The Asari receptionist smiled back at him. “Ambassador Udina was alerted to your arrival on the docks and is waiting for you in his office.”

“Thank you.” Wayne nodded and walked over to the Ambassador’s office.

“Wayne.” Udina stood up from his desk as Bruce walked in. “Good to see you back on the Presidium.”

“Thank you, Ambassador.” Bruce shook his hand. “It’s always a pleasure.”

“You should really just settle-in here, Wayne.” Udina turned to sit back down at his desk while Bruce did the same in the chair in front of it. “I’ll never understand why you bounce around the Traverse the way that you do. And now the Terminus system. I hear Wayne Enterprises is on Omega now.”

“The Wayne Foundation is.” Wayne explained. “I set up a clinic in the slums there. Thinking of building an Orphanage out there in a few years.”

“Humanity has always appreciated your family’s work in supporting our colonies. I’m sure they’ll be happy to have you as a Goodwill Ambassador. Still, I don’t understand why you don't stay here on the Citadel where it’s safe. With your company’s Communication technology, you can manage things from here just fine.”

Wayne shrugged. “I like moving around.”

Udina sighed. “Well what brings you here this time around?”

“The usual.” Wayne explained. “Wayne Enterprises can’t build the galaxy by itself. The Citadel is a central point for business as well as politics, I’m hoping to arrange some joint ventures.”

“Those are the kind of negotiations that take time.”

“Yes.” Bruce knew Udina would be pleased to hear that. “I might be here for a few months.”

“In that case, maybe I can assist you. Say the word and we can throw a fundraiser for your foundation and I can have VIPs from multiple races here for it.”

“Consider the word given.” As much as Bruce hated such parties, they were important to the Wayne Foundation. Plus, Udina was actually really good at arranging such events. Like a true politician, he always had the right connections and favors to pull. And Wayne was always more than happy to delegate such matters. Especially since the favors Udina asked in return weren’t that outrageous, Bruce always figured Udina just liked having him in his collection.

“I’ll get right to it.” Udina said as Wayne stood up. “And, if you need any help with any of your unofficial business-”

Wayne raised his hand. “I’ve got that covered. I’m meeting with Barla Von tomorrow.”

“Very well. I’ll send the details about the fundraiser to Alfred.” Udina stood and the two men shook hands again before Wayne left the office.

The ‘unofficial’ business Udina was referring to was the arrangement Wayne Enterprises had with human colonies out in the Terminus Systems. Colonists looking to get away from the authority of the Alliance and the Council and live on their own terms. It was considered to be a profoundly human thing to do, to venture out beyond the scope of official civilization and tame the frontier.

But cutting yourself off from the authority of Citadel Space also meant cutting yourself from the legal business entities within Citadel Space. By settling in the Terminus systems, Human Colonies such as Freedom’s Progress and Horizon were forfeiting the protection of the Citadel Council as well as trade rights. Some human companies, like Wayne Enterprises, circumvented this with unofficial trade deals with the Terminus Colonies, sending them goods, mechs, and other materials under the table.

Technically, this constituted smuggling. So every now and then some fresh controversy about ‘Bruce Wayne: The Smuggler’ would hit the extranet and the Alliance would pledge an investigation that would ultimately ‘clear him of all wrongdoing’. No one with the Human Systems Alliance had any problem with Wayne helping the Terminus Colonists, least of all Udina.

Of course, there were other things that Bruce needed to speak to Barla Von about but Udina didn’t need to know about that. Nobody needed to know about that. That was why Bruce had no real issue with being called a ‘Smuggler’ on the extranet. It provided the perfect explanation for why someone like Bruce Wayne would be somewhere a man like him shouldn’t be.

After leaving Udina’s office, Bruce hopped right into a cab and went straight to the Wayne Estate on the Presidium. Something he really wished he could’ve done right from the get go. When he got there he saw Alfred finishing up with the maids and cooks who had gotten everything ready for Trillionaire’s arrival.

Bruce exchanged some pleasantries with the staff before being left alone with Alfred who watched as the charm and enthusiasm faded from his face. The public mask of Bruce Wayne falling away as that mix of sadness and anger starting to show under the surface. “You enjoy your meeting with Ambassador Udina, Master Bruce.”

“You know Udina, Alfred.” Bruce explained. “He’s pleasant enough as long as you don’t say no to him too much. Speaking of which, he’ll be in touch with you about a fundraiser for the Wayne Foundation.”

Alfred nodded with a smile. “I made sure to keep space free on your calendar, sir.”

“Thanks, Alfred.”

“Supper is ready for you.”

“Actually.” Bruce made sure they were alone. “I’d like to see the upgrades I requested for the Estate.”

Alfred stifled a sigh as he began to lead the way. “Very well, master Bruce.”

The two men walked through the lavish estate, right up to what was the study of Bruce’s father. What was now his study though Bruce never saw it like that. He didn’t spend much time on the Citadel as a kid but every memory he had of the station was of this room. Playing with his toys while his father conducted business and now it was the gateway to a new set of toys.

Alfred put his hand on the wall behind the desk, triggering a hidden hand scanner to read his palm print. The door slid downward to reveal what Alfred had already dubbed the Beta-Cave. A reference to the fact he didn’t expect Bruce to remain on the Citadel very long. Bruce wasn’t really concerned with what it was called.

The Computer screens glowed blue as they lit up the room which was as sleek as most places in the Citadel. It certainly didn’t share the same dim, gothic aesthetic of the cave on Omega. A table rose from the floor and opened up various batarangs and gadgets. And behind it, also rising from the ground and opening, the case for the Batsuit.

“Any updates from Omega?” Bruce asked Alfred while he inspected some of the gadgets.

“There have been 5 more incidents during your journey.” Alfred explained. “Effect was the same. Mostly Batarian again, but aslo 1 volus and an Elcor. The Elcor incident was particularly bad.”

“Volus and Elcor.” Bruce repeated. “They’ve attacked members of all Citadel species now.”

“You’re sure it’s coming to the Citadel, sir?”

Bruce shook his head. “Omega was just an experiment. If it’s not here by now, it soon will be.”

Garrus was sitting at his desk at the HQ of C-Sec’s Major Crimes Unit, finishing up paperwork for the day. From behind he heard Detective Anaya say. “How was escort duty?”

“Fine.” Garrus responded flatly, keeping his focus on his reports. “Any word on that transfer?”

“Accepted.” The Asari detective was also finishing up reports at her station. “Well, waitlisted. I’ll be moving to Illium just as soon as a spot opens.”

“Congrats.” Another Turian, Detective Chellick, said from his desk. “A lot less red tape on Illium.”

Sergeant Harkin sighed. “A lot more work though. I hear those damn Eclipse Sisters have been running rampant lately.”

“Some of us like a little excitement, Harkin.” The Asari pointed out.

“Easy to say when you’re a biotic.” The human grumbled. Harkin wasn’t the most popular member of C-Sec. Being one of the first humans to join, he had milked the politics of his position for every ounce it was worth. With Udina pulling strings to get him what many saw as an undeserved promotion to Detective-Sergeant given his history of drugs and alcohol. Even his fellow humans saw him as an embarrassment. He stood up from his desk, claiming a need to use the bathroom, but everyone knew he was going to sneak a few drinks.

As he left, the news feed that was playing on numerous screens throughout C-Sec had gotten to the story of Bruce Wayne’s arrival. Anaya looked at one of the feeds. “What was he like?”

Garrus quickly looked up at Anaya and then to the feed before going back to his reports with a shrug. “Honestly, I don’t think I actually met him.”

“I don’t think anyone has ever actually met him.” Chellick said, turning his chair to make sure there were no humans within earshot. “You know he’s Cerberus, right?”

“Yeah, him and every other rich human in the galaxy.” Anaya said sarcastically. “You really need to get off those extranet forums, Chellick. They’re bad for your health.”

“Hey, Lieutenant.” A salarian officer walked over to Garrus. “We just got a tip about Fist.”

Garrus broke from his paperwork. “What about Fist?”

“His men are doing a pick up in the Zakara Ward.”

“What kind of pick up? Eezo? Red Sand? Guns? What?”

“Not guns.” The Salarian explained. “The source didn’t know what the package was. Just that it was something new and Fist’s men are getting it in less than an hour... Zsasz is with them.”

A growing sense of urgency was building in Garrus, he had been after Fist for months. If he could catch some of his men red handed, he might be able to flip one of them. And even if he couldn’t, getting Zsasz off the streets would be a win on its own. “You trust this source?”

“Yes sir.” The Salarian answered affirmatively.

Garrus practically leapt from his chair. “Alright, everyone saddle up. let’s get down to Zakara Ward quickly.”

Harkin, who had walked back into the room at this point, groaned. “Seriously, Lieutenant. Shift’s almost over.”

“Earn a little overtime, Harkin!” Garrus shouted to his subordinate. “You can buy yourself a special bottle of booze.”

“Hard ass.” Harkin cursed under his breath as he followed Garrus out of C-Sec. Along with Anaya, Chellick, and several other officers..

It was all short notice, but Garrus Vakarian was an experienced officer. He quickly managed to coordinate with the C-Sec units of Zakara Ward. One of them managed to locate Fist’s men and put a tail on them while Garrus got his team into position.

It was about a half-dozen men Fist had sent into the Ward. They were all human as were most of the men in Fist’s small but growing organization. Since taking control of Chora’s Den over a year ago, the Human gangster had been looking to establish a real criminal foothold in the Wards.

It was this desire that had motivated his snap decision to send his men to this meeting, though he hadn’t told them who exactly they were meeting.

“You have any idea who we’re looking for?” One of the men asked.

“Salarians.” Victor Zsasz answered. “We’re looking for a couple of Salarians.”

“Oh, that’s helpful.” One of the other men commented.

“Quiet.” Victor's voice was as soft as it was intimidating. A tall but lanky human with a clean shaven head, Victor was one of Fist’s top men. He didn’t seem particularly menacing or even noteworthy in the business suit he wore, but the men who were with him knew better. Beneath that suit there was a ‘tally’ he kept of all the people who had crossed either him or his boss. It wasn’t a small tally either. When he said quiet, his men all shut up.

They made their way through the dark alleys of the Wards until they arrived at the destination. Not far from Warehouse 5, like Fist said. Right as Victor had begun to wonder what they were waiting for, one of the Salarians spoke. “Hey Hey. Over here.”

Victor turned and saw a Salarian peering around a corner. He slowly walked out with a second Salarian following right behind him with a case. The second one looked significantly more nervous than the first. Victor instructed his men to spread out and keep watch. He then stepped up to the Salarians. “You’re the ones who reached out to my boss?”

“Yes.” The first Salarian answered. “Or, uh, I am. This, here, is just an associate of mine.

“Can we make this quick?” The second salarian said.

“Calm down and get the stuff.” The first Salarian told his associate before focusing on Victor. “I can assure you, this will be worth your while.”

The second Salarian walked over to a crate on the side of the alley and placed the case he was carrying down. Victor followed with the first Salarian as he asked. “How large of a supply do you have? And what cut do you want?”

“Oh this isn’t to sell.” The first Salarian answered. “Not for you to sell, anyway. This is something for you and your men. Something to give you an edge.”

“We don’t have many biotics in our organization.”

“No, nothing like that. This isn’t Red Sand.”

The Second Salarian opened the case to reveal several circular glass vials. All sealed. The First Salarian pulled one out and showed it to Victor. The vial contained a light-orange liquid, almost translucent. It certainly wasn’t Red Sand. Victor was intrigued. “What is it?”

The blast of a pistol echoed through the alley before the Salarian could answer. Quickly followed by more shots and the shouts of Victor’s men. “C-Sec!”

Victor’s expression turned vicious in the blink of an eye as he turned to the Salarians. “You set us up!”

The second Salarian was absolutely apoleptic with panic while the first Salarian sputtered as he desperately tried to explain. “N-No, we didn-”

He couldn’t even finish his breath before Victor lunged at him with a knife the Salarian never even saw him draw, he was so quick. He sliced the first Salarian in the arm, causing him to drop the vial. The glass was strong enough to survive the fall and it rolled away while the Salarian screamed in pain and fell to the ground.

Without missing a beat, Victor turned to the second Salarian. Eyes wide, he was still unable to speak before Victor went into his chest with the knife, stabbing over ten times in a matter of seconds. He fell back against the wall and slid down, smearing and spraying green blood while Victor Zsasz stabbed him again and again.

With Victor preoccupied with his associate, the first Salarian took the opportunity to escape. He pulled himself up the crate, closed the case of vials with his good arm, and bolted away down the alley. Victor saw this out of the corner of his eye and pursued.

The firefight between C-Sec and Fist’s men picked up in intensity as an enraged Garrus screamed into his com. “Damn it, I told everyone to hold!”

“It wasn’t us.” Harkin replied. “One of the Zakara officers got made and was fired upon.”

“No matter what happens, I want Zsasz alive!” Garrus ordered. “You hear me!? I want him alive!”

The shootout escalated quickly throughout the alleys of the district as Fist’s men desperately tried to make their escape. While Harkin and Chellick tried to keep things organized on the ground, Anaya and Garrus rushed through the upper levels. They navigated through maintenance corridors and around keepers while the fight took place below.

“There!” Chellick yelled through the com. “To my right. Zsasz is in pursuit of a Salarian.”

“I see him.” Anaya said, pointing him to Garrus.

“Let’s nail that sick bastard.” Garrus said with his rifle drawn.

Anaya leapt down to the alley, catching herself with her biotics so she could land smoothly. She did the same for Garrus who jumped down after her. She then put up a barrier to shield them from stray rounds while they pursued their target.

The wounded Salarian was panting, struggling through his blood loss, and had lost track of where he even was while a crazed Victor chased after him. He begged. “Please, I had nothing to do with this.”

“I don’t know what they do to rats where you're from!” Victor screamed. “But on Earth, we fucking skin them!”

“Victor!” Garrus yelled. “Drop the knife and get on the ground.”

“Shit.” Victor turns to see Garrus and Anaya coming at him. He did not drop the Knife, instead he drew a pistol and opened fire. “Fuck off, Vakarian!”

Anya’s barrier stopped the bullets and Garrus returned fire, aiming for Victor’s legs. Victor kept running to avoid being hit. Anaya attempted to catch him in a singularity but Victor turned just short of it and went down another alley, tossing a grenade behind him.

“Down.” Garrus yelled as he and Anaya took cover from the blast.

The wounded Salarian, grateful to once again have Victor’s attention diverted, went down another in the opposite direction of the madman. Anaya took notice of him fleeing. “The Salarian is wounded. If we split up, I can catch him.”

“Negative.” Garrus ordered. “Stay on Zsasz.”

The two of them continued their pursuit through the back alleys of Zakara Ward. They moved from cover to cover and exchanged shots with Victor. Garrus, realizing where they were, suddenly came up with an idea. “Keep him busy. I’m going back up.”

Anaya nodded and kept her attacks going while Garrus put away his rifle and ran over to a ladder that would take him back up to the maintenance area. Once up there, Garrus drew his sniper rifle and readied it with a concussive shot.

Victor took cover behind a crate while his pistol spat out a thermal clip. He reloaded while Anaya yelled to him. “You have nowhere to go Zsasz! All the Elevators in this district are locked down and the cabs are grounded! Drop your weapons!”

“Piss off!” Victor opened fire, prompting her to take cover. He left the crate and started to run down to another piece of cover when he entered Garrus’ scope. The shot was there for only a second but that was all Garrus needed. He pulled the trigger and the concussive shot blasted right into Victor’s upper right side, popping his arm out of his socket and breaking his collarbone.

He lost his pistol as he hit the ground. He tried to crawl to it but, with the blue glow of biotic power, it flew away from him. Victor rolled onto his back and undid the button of his right sleeve cuff with the fingers of his left hand while still holding the knife. He pulled up the sleeve to see to kill-count he had etched into his very skin. He quickly added another in honor of the Salarian he killed, mixing the green blood still on the blade with his own red fluid.

“Drop the knife.” Detective Anaya ordered.

Zsasz did as he was told and smiled up at her. “I would like to speak to my advocate.”

Anaya looked at the human covered in green Salarian blood. “Yeah, I’m sure you do.”

With the battle done, C-Sec medics took a cuffed Victor Zsasz into a medical transport while Garrus and Anaya rejoined Harkin and Chellick. Garrus asked. “What’s the count?”

“2 bad guys dead.” Chellick explained. “2 injured and on their way to the hospital along with Zsasz. Rest on their way to lockup. One of our guys got clipped, nothing serious.”

“Very good.” Garrus saw the dead Salarian being rolled. “What about him?”

“We found him dead in the alley.” Chellek held up the vial of orange liquid. “Where do we think he and his partner were trying to sell whatever this is?”

Garrus took the vial and examined the liquid as Anaya added. “His partner is long gone now. Probably disappeared into the maintenance tunnels. He’s either in the wind or he bled out in which case the Keepers will dispose of him before we find the body.”

“Any ID on the dead one?” Garrus asked.

“As a matter of fact, yes.” Harkin answered by holding up a datapad. “His name is Del Sanna, he’s a lab assistant at Kersya Bio-Engineering. We had his biometric scans on file along with all the other employees there on account of a background check Citadel Security ran on the company after they received a joint-military-contract from the Spectres and the Salarian STG.”

“I guess we missed a few things.” Anaya commented while Garrus took it all in. A relatively low level crime boss looking to prove himself jumps to get his hands on a mysterious vial that just happens to be developed by a lab with Military and Espionage ties. Garrus went in hoping to eventually close the book on Fist and may have started a case that’s about to get a lot more complicated.

“Who runs the Lab?” Garrus asked, choosing to press forward.

Harkin handed him the datapad. “A Salarian Scientist by the name of Dr. Jonarian Crane.”

Garrus gave the vial back to Chellick. “Get that back to our lab for analysis. By my authority, I want this sample to jump the line. They stop whatever it is they are doing and examine that immediately.”

“The Executor won’t like that, Lieutenant.” Harkin warned.

“If he doesn’t like it, he can fire me.” Garrus fired back. “I want to have a chat with Dr. Crane and I’d very much like to know exactly what questions I’m going to ask him.”