To be fair, I did say I would do this till I lost interest. Main reason I update now is because I was super bored. I might finish this arc. Might. Depends on how boring my new job is.

Ms. Paulings slowly paced her way through the empty halls of RED. During this hour, few of the regular employees were around, having long since retired to their hab blocks, or fallen asleep in the company provided Resting Tubes. Workstations and machines continued to hum and give off an ethereal glow, adding to the dim fluorescent lights above to light her way. She made her way to that door. Her door. The same thing happened as it always happens. Ms. Paulings is about to knock when she hears the word 'Enter' from that throaty old woman. The door opens, its mag lock disengaging. Ms. Paulings quietly steps towards the Administrator, her chair turned towards the hundreds of view screens detailing wars between RED and BLUE throughout Council Space, Attican Traverse, and beyond.

Ms. Paulings clears her throat. "Um, Administrator, clone output has been rising steadily as you had ordered, however there has been a few um-complications?"

The Administrator's chair swivels around, her neutral expression giving only the slightest twitch to show her annoyance. "Complications Paulings?"

"Well to meet the quota at the expected deadline, the research teams have been experimenting with different methods of accelerating the aging process so they reach maturation faster. The team in charge of Cloning Outpost 11357 has been experimenting by splicing the genetics of other animals into the Team Fortress batch. It has indeed accelerating the maturation process, but the embryos mutated and some…complications arose."

The Administrator took a long drag from her cigarette before holding out her hand. Ms. Paulings quickly placed the datapad in her hand and stepped back. "If you feel this needs to be resolved I can be out there in about three days."

The Administrator looked down, and accessed the data file. It was a compilation of logs and security footage from the Outpost 11357, a remote cloning facility she had built in a hollowed out asteroid in the Attican Traverse. The log began, and things seemed normal at first, then it began:

"Lot number 23: Day 4- The maturation process was a success, the embryos accepted the new genetics and are will be ready for knowledge integration by tomorrow-DATA CORRUPT –ay 5 The Clones are entering knowledge integration phase. This will ensure that when they leave the tanks the clones will be battle ready. Adjustments had to be made due to the changes to some of the batch clones' heads, but team's a team! These copies should be ready by week's end even if they are a bit different. I will compile a list of recommendations to weed out mutations in future lots as the team continues to monitor clone develpmen-DATA CORRUPT-r 23: Day 6- I have no idea how they found us! This needs to be sent to the Administrator, we need support! The clones haven't been properly trained yet and cannot tell friend from foe! The attack set them loose and now they're"

The vid cut off as the scientist is blown away by an explosion. In the new hole in the wall, collectors and Gray Bots swarmed in, shooting scientists and security. Suddenly the Collectors are in retreat as the unleashed clones come into view. Wait. No. There's something wrong with these. The Heavies and Medics are changed. Their heads are…feathers?! The video cuts to security footage of the facility's hangar bay. There's a burning ship blocking the bay doors, bodies strewn everywhere. A platoon of robots are blown to bits by a Demoman's grenades-wait is that a parrot head? Why does it have an eyepatch?! The screen switches again to another hallway, a collector is being dragged down by a Sniper with another bird head. The Collector twitches, and the Sniper-Owl thing spins around, and begins to relentlessly peck the unfortunate insect soldier until it is still. A window breaks as another Collector is tossed into the hall. Before it can get up, a Heavy with a bird head flies out. Audio was captured, and the Administrator heard the bird-Heavy speak: "Heavy will now lay egg in your mouth." It turned around, pulled down its pants and-

The administrator shut off the data pad. "You have two. Clear out the facility, they're still clones, so try and bring as many as you can, changed or not."

"Um, I may need to travel a bit for that ma'am." Ms. Paulings raises a hand. "You see, some of the clones managed to hijack the shuttles and have scattered."

That got more of a reaction from the Administrator. Her face turned into a scowl as she leaned in. "Where are they?"

…Illium…

"TWEET TWEET! TWEET TWEET!" Had anyone looked up, they would have been horrified to see a giant heavy human with the head of a robin, flapping its meaty arms as it glided gracefully in the air towards the setting sun.

But aside from a frightened shuttle driver, few even noticed the Heavy-bird in the midst of the clogging air traffic.

The Normandy was still docked, its crew scattered through the city, some enjoying a well-deserved shore leave, others, such as Shepard, looking up information with an old associate…

…Liara's Office…

"Are they really Team Fortress Shepard?" Liara asked wide-eyed. Shepard sighed, as he remembered how often she would join the old Normandy crew in their weekly Team Fortress tournaments.

"You're the information broker, you tell me" Shepard teased. Liara frowned. "I could if there wasn't so much false information out there. You should see some of the things people have been saying Shepard."

"Oh? What have they been saying?"

Liara pulled up a screen from her desk and turned it towards Shepard. Headlines, leaked footage, conspiracy theories, and dozens of other sites were listed, all detailing him and Team Fortress in some way:

IS SHEPARD THE TENTH CLASS?

GANG WAR ON THE CITADEL MOTIVATED BY VIOLENT GAMES? TF GANG SPARKS CONFLICT! HUNDREDS DEAD, MISSING OR DECLINED TO STATE

TEAM FORTRESS AND COLLECTORS ARE THE SAME THING

TEAM FORTRESS AND SHEPHARD: NEW SPECTRES OR TERRORISTS?

"That's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be" Shepard mutters as he leans back. "Yes, they are the real team, yes they are working for me, no I don't know if it's a permanent deal, and no, I don't know their real names. Look Liara, I would love to talk about those mercs all day" Miranda snorted behind him. "But I actually came here looking for help."

Liara became more serious, moving around her room as she tapped on her omnitool. "Actually I was hoping you could assist me with somethings."

Shepard mulled it over in his head. "That depends Liara. The Collectors are still out there, and I need those recruits. "

Liara smiled at this. "Well I can find them easily for you, but in return maybe you can help me while the rest of your crew rounds them up. What do you say?"

…Illium Bar…

"Check is mate again." Heavy grunted as he moved his piece into place. The Elcor shifted its weight and made a slight gesture through its wind flaps. If anyone was fluent in Elcor, they would know the Elcor player was seething with rage. The Elcor simply replied. "Undiluted hatred, you win, that was a good game."

Being told to stay in the financial district left very little for Team Fortress to do. Either sit around and listen to Asari bicker over shares in RED and BLU, or go to the only bar they could find and get completely pasted. At least everyone but the Scout, who was kept out for being a 'disturbingly tall human kid'. The Heavy found a group of Elcor playing chess and decided to join in, taking small sips of a vodka imported from a human colony. The Spy similarly retired to a corner of the bar to nurse a glass of Thessian wine, trying to ignore the Asari peeking over at him, while the Soldier and Engineer had joined in on a drinking game with a group of celebrating humans, each one attempting to beat the other in a game of Rock, Missile, Soldier, and the Engineer was winning. The Sniper had retired with Garrus among a group of Turian veterans swapping stories of impossible shots just narrowly made. Sniper got quite a few applause when he described how he took down an entire team with only 3 seconds between each headshot. Pyro ordered a flaming shot, and stared at the fire. The Asari bartender cleared her throat. "You're supposed to put it out now." The Pyro nodded at her and went back to staring at his drink.

The Demoman had selected a corner, sampling the various liquors Asari brewers had to offer alongside Grunt. Either he was too inebriated to notice, or just curious about the results, Grunt didn't warn the Demoman when he grabbed a bottle of the Krogan poison known as Ryncol. The Demoman emptied half the bottle, smacked his lips, and then tipped a bit of his own brew from the brown bottle he kept on his belt. The mixture proved to be too volatile, and with a loud bang, the Rynol shot out of the bottle in a stream of fire. Two dozen guns came out and aimed at Demoman, a kneejerk reaction to the explosion. The Asari barkeep slammed her hand on the counter. "Hey! No weapons in the bar! No concealed stuff either! Did anyone even bother following that rule?!"

The Pyro's hand went up. The Asari eyed the merc before shaking her head. "I-no, just don't make a mess of this place when shit hits the fan" she sighed and went back to cleaning a spot on the counter that she had removed hours ago, and at this point was wearing a hole in the table. "That's the term you humans use for when things go bad right?"

Grunt grabbed the Ryncol from Demoman's hand. "This stuff isn't supposed to be used by humans! How did…?"

The Demoman shook his own bottle "I'll admit it has a bit of a kick in it, but it don't got the taste of me own scrumpeh" he replied proudly leaning in. "Family secret."

He reached over and poured a little more in the now empty Ryncol bottle. "Here, give it a go yerself." The Krogan eyed the drink for a moment before drinking it in a single gulp.

Just then, the Scout came in and made his rounds through the bar, "Round up guys, the boss wants us back to work."

The Demoman shrugged and got up. "Welp back to it lad, top it off and lessgo!" he slapped Grunt in the back, who then belched a gout of fire. "That's just what Da does when he tries a new batch!"

…Normandy CIC…

"We have our leads" Shepard told the assembled team. Tossing a few datapads on the table. "The Assassin we're looking for is a Drell, apparently his mark is an Asari named Nassana, and it's happening tonight. This mission is going to be all about speed, so I'm sending Miranda to retrieve him, alongside Soldier, Scout, Mordin, and Tali." Miranda nodded.

"Next the Justicar, she is getting tangled up in local law enforcement bureaucracy. An officer marked in this pad will tell you where to go Jacob. Expect anything to happen, so take some heavy hitters with you."

"Got it" Jacob affirmed, turning to the rest of the team. "Jack, we may need some biotic support, I'll need you-"

"Go to hell, I'm done working with Cerberus!" Jack growled. The Heavy put a hand on her shoulder.

"Then workings with me" he assured her. Jack relaxed and leaned back. "Fine" she grudgingly accepted. Jacob continued

"That might cover most of the heavy support, but to be extra sure, I want Demoman and Grunt coming along. This is Illium, so a good application of violence may not always solve the problem. Spy, you come along too." The spy gave the slightest nod as he took a drag from his cigarette.

"But wait, Shepard" Engineer raised a hand. "If yer sendin' Miranda and Jacob on these jobs, where you goin'?"

Shepard scratched his forehead. "I got some intel about the Shadow Broker passed on to me by the Illusive Man, which I passed to Liara, the one who gave us the info we needed. She asked for my help in pursuing this lead."

"Zis Shadow Broker. He is a threat to ze mission?" Spy asked from the back.

"He dealt with the Collectors to find my body so I'm going to say 'yes'" Shepard looked away uncomfortably. "If we can remove his fangs now, it could make our mission against the Collectors that much easier. My first stop will be Liara's apartment. I don't expect much trouble, but I don't want to take chances. I'm taking the rest of the crew with me."

"All of us Shephard?" Zaeed grunted. "Seems like bit of overkill that."

"If we find the Broker, I don't want any chance of him getting away. Even if it means chasing him off world. That means the squads on Illium may be stuck here for a while unless they can secure transport offworld. We'll rendezvous on the Citadel. Everyone got it?"

A murmur of affirmation passed through the crowd. "Alright, let's get this done."

"Go team Shephard!" shouted Scout. "What?"

…Illium Spaceport…

By the time Jacob's team landed, an Asari officer was grilling a Volus for information. After a heated discussion, the officer stormed off, leaving the Volus looking very lost. Jacob straightened his armor, no point in wearing Cerberus gear, it would draw too much attention. Instead he opted for some body armor made in Cerberus labs, unmarked by any symbols or paint, giving him a drab, but somewhat official look. His team however looked anything but, three meatheads and a heavily tattooed young woman. Spy had already disappeared, gathering intel, and keeping in close communication with Jacob as he followed the officer into the police station. The Asari didn't even bother looking up from her terminal as he approached.

"If you want to report a misdemeanor, please fill out a form over there" she said in a tired voice, pointing in some general direction to her left.

"Actually I'm looking for an Asari named Samara. You seen her?" That made her look up.

"Samara? Why? She didn't kill anyone did she? Goddess she's killed someone and you're here for revenge or something aren't you" she looked to the Heavy and Demoman. "That's what the muscle is for right? You humans just keep getting bigger and bigger."

"Actually we're here on some important business. We got one hell of a mission coming up and we'll need her help."

The officer looked at him dubiously. "Well Justicars are drawn to righteous quests, and dangerous missions, you might be able to convince her if your cause is just."

"No worries about that" Grunt chuckled.

"Fine, if you can get her out of here, I'll point you to her. She's at the crime scene."

"Crime scene?"

"Murder. Most likely Eclipse mercs. Samara's at the crime scene for her own reasons. My bosses want me to detain her before she starts anything, but being a Justicar I don't think I can."

"Why's that?"

"She'll be honorbound to escape and kill anyone that gets in her way that's why, and frankly I'm allergic to dying so if you could-" she gestured to a door behind her. "Just follow the alleyway to the end, the crime scene isn't that far. I'll radio you in."

Jacob thanked her and moved for the door. "Oh and watch yourself, Eclipse mercs are in the area, and they might get trigger happy if they see you."

"Thanks for the heads up."

The Asari wasn't lying. No sooner did they cross the police line, Jacob's team stumbled onto a group of yellow armored mercenaries who pulled out their weapons and started shooting.

"It's the Heavy!" one of them shouted.

"What from TeeEff?! That's stu-" her remark was cutoff as a stream of bullets mowed her down.

"BLU Squid Babies must die now thank you!" The Heavy shouted. Yes they were his enemies. Yes they were blue Asari. Like Team BLU, and it filled him with righteous hatred. But they were also women, Heavy had to be polite.

Jack jumped over the Heavy and tossed a ball of biotic energy at a surviving merc, sending her flying into a wall, as the Demoman swung his sword over his head shouting a battlecry, chasing a panicking human mercenary down the alley.

"He will being fine." Heavy grunted as he stopped the motor on his minigun. "Come Jacob, we still have Squid Justice-Car to find."

No sooner did he say that did another Eclipse gunner fly into the alleyway, the force of the biotic push that hit her causing the unfortunate to smash into a wall at bone shattering force. They rounded the corner and found their target: the Asari Justicar, resplendent in a red bodyglove, her entire form awash in barely contained biotics.

She made her way to a shivering Eclipse soldier, whimpering as she came closer. "Those were my best…" she tried to raise her pistol towards the Justicar, but with a gesture the matronly Asari batted the weapon away.

"Tell me what I want to know and I will be on my way" the Justicar calmly commanded her.

"You want me to betray her?!" the mercenary spat. "She'll hurt me in ways you can't imagine."

"Just the ship's name will be enough." The Justicar said, in the same calm, but authoritative voice. The mercenary scowled at her, raising what biotics she had, ready to surprise the Justicar.

"Go to hell!" she yelled before the Spy materialized behind her, driving his knife into her back.

"Shame she would not talk. Such a pretty little thing", the Spy remarked as he wiped the blood off his knife.

The Justicar approached the fallen body and closed her eyes. Find peace in the embrace of the Goddess", she whispered before getting up to face the Spy. "I'm sure you have reason for interrupting my interrogation."

"I do", the Spy replied and gestured behind her. Jacob walked up to the Asari. "Justicar Samara?"

Justicar Samara turned around to face Jacob, sizing up the entire team. "Why do you have Team Fortress following you?"

"Even you know about them" Jacob asked incredulously.

"The game circulates often in the monastery despite being forbidden, and despite many attempts to suppress it, the initiates are always playing it when they think the rest of us aren't watching. But we watch them. Their games can be quite…fun to observe."

"Collectors collecting humans" the Heavy said. "Many humans. You know yes?"

"I have heard of the activity of human colonies in the Traverse yes…"

"We are team with Shephard. Team Shephard going to hunt Collectors. Shephard want Samara to join Team."

Samara mulled the offer around for a moment. "Enticing. To face a foe as daunting as the Collectors, you honor me with such an offer, but I must decline. I must continue the hunt for my own quarry first."

"Damn, I wish you just took their offer", the Asari officer from before pushed her way to the front. "I've just been told to take you into custody if you don't leave."

Samara nodded. "Officer Anaya, I understand the risks you are being put under. My Justicar will allow me to be held for one day, then I must return to my mission."

"And then?" Spy asked.

"And then I will return to my mission."

"What if they try to stop you?"

"I will return to my mission." Samara repeated herself, but putting more emphasis on 'will'.

Jacob made a quick decision. "How about we find out for you? You just need a ship name right? If we find it while you're locked up, will that satisfy your code?" Samara slowly nodded.

"That would be acceptable, and I will be able to join you on your quest. Your investigation may find start with the Volus Pitne For. His partner was the one murdered by the Eclipse, and I suspect he knows away into their base of operations. Find their base, and you just may find the name." she stated as she walked towards Anaya. "Please guide me to your holding cell Officer." Anaya nervously cuffed the Justicar and took her back to the station by the arm. She turned back to the team and mouthed "please find it!"

…Dantius Tower One…

The air car flew through the air, weaving through traffic. The Asari driver grunted as the mercenaries in her backseat pushed against her, while Miranda sat in the front, ignoring the groans and curses behind her. "So Seryna, why are you helping us? Shepard told us about you, but not much on your motivations."

Seryna briefly turned to face Miranda before returning her attention to her car as it narrowly dodged a truck. "Used to be head of Security for Nassana. I found out she was killing off her competition, literally, and even did her own sister in. Found out about it, and got fired for it. I didn't exactly order the hit, but I did help the hitman so he'd know the layout of the towers. You kill her, you do the galaxy a favor. Just be careful, she's got a small army between her and the penthouse. I'll get you to Tower One, it's furthest, but you'll have your best chance of getting in without getting swarmed. So my turn. Why are you here? Going to stop the assassin?"

"More just want to keep him alive actually" Miranda replied.

The aircar landed, unceremoniously dumping its payload, who stretched and shook their legs to get feeling back in their limbs. "Kee'lah" Tali moaned as she pressed her hands into her back. "Rocket launcher don't make adequate seat cushions."

"Everyone back in shape? We have an assassin to track down." Miranda called out, readying her smg, a Mann Co Delirious Derringer ("With this kind of firepower, you'll never need another gun!*" –Seamus Hale. *That's just a joke by the way, buy more Mann Co. Weapons!) and primed its core. "Move out team!"

They entered the lobby, finding a single squad of security mechs gunning down fleeing Salarians. Before anyone could say anything, Soldier fired a rocket straight in the middle, charging forward. "Death to all robots!" The rest of the team stayed to tend to a surviving Salarian as the Soldier Rocket jumped to another floor.

Mordin applied a treatment of medi-gel and painkillers to get the Salarian back on his feet. "Steady now, what's going on?" Miranda asked.

"Nassana, she sent her goons on us! Mercs and mechs! No reason, just started slaughtering us all! We're just night workers, but she just wanted us out of the way. And then the shooting!" the Salarian screamed.

"Easy!" Miranda shouted, grasping the Salarian. It shocked him back into reality. "Please you must help them! Save my friends please!"

"Don't worry" Tali assured him. "We'll do what we can."

The Salarian wearily nodded as he limped away, spitting on one of the busted security mechs as he passed them.

Explosions sounded off in the distance, as the comms came to life with the Soldier's laughter. "You maggots wear the color of cowards! All you're good for is running and dying!"

Miranda rolled her eyes. "Well if the Soldier hasn't alerted everyone in the building, he will very soon, come on!"

…Liara's apartment…

Liara had told Shepard to meet her at her apartment, it was supposed to be just a quick meetup. A police cordon meant things were not going to be quick. As he approached, an officer stopped him. The young Asari noted the guns Shepard had, and nervously held up her hand. "I'm sorry sir, but you can't go any further."

"What happened here?" Shepard inquired. Another Asari stepped forward. By the way she carried herself it was clear she had more experience than the younger officer. "You Shephard? Someone just tried to kill your friend." She gestured for Shepard to follow despite the protests of the officer.

"Tela Vasir" the Asari introduced herself as they walked. "Special Tactics and Reconnaissance."

"Spectre huh?" Shepard said. Tela nodded.

"Just like you Shepard. Heard you got reinstated. You're one our most famous operatives, might ask you to sign my chestplate" she joked. "So I assume you had business with your friend this evening."

Shepard nodded and tapped his comm. "We spoke about a lead on the Shadow Broker, I was to come over to help."

Tela winced. "Shadow Broker huh? Dangerous enemy to have." Shepard shrugged.

"Liara was expecting me. She would have left a message here. Her office wasn't safe."

"No surprise there. Illium is just Omega with expensive shoes." Tela affirmed.

"Is...is she hitting on Shepard?" Sniper whispered over the comm.

"No, this is just smalltalk." Garrus replied. "If she was flirting she'd be much more aggressive, look at her stance. Strictly business."

"Y'all know your comms are open right?" Engineer quipped. A stream of profanity and some rubbing noises against the microphone later, the line went dead. Shepard could focus back on Tela.

"So far we've found nothing that could help us track her down yet" Tela bobbed her head toward Shepard "you knew her better than us. Where do you think she'd hide her backups?"

"Somethin' about this seems all shonky." Sniper came back on again.

"She's a Spectre, it's her business to pry." Zaeed grunted.

Shepard looked behind Tela and saw the bullet holes. She followed Shepard's gaze. "High powered, custom work. Wasn't enough to bring her barriers down but enough to punch through the glass. And that stuff was designed to absorb the impact of bullets."

Shepard went upstairs and began searching proper. Out of the corner of his eye, Shepard saw a photo of the old Normandy by Liara's bed. Picking it up, the image flickered and changed to a photo of an old Prothean dig site.

"The picture changed when you picked it up. Must have been tagged to your ID. Any ideas what it means?" she asked.

"Might be a hint. This is a Prothean dig site. Her message may be in an artifact around here."

"Something like this maybe?" Tela held up a cylinder.

"Doubtful. That's a replica of something much larger. Knowing Liara, it'd involve something authentic…" Shepard trailed off as he moved towards a large display filled with a large Prothean relic. As he approached, a faint whirring sound as hidden servos activated within the display stand, revealing a data storage device. "This might be it."

Tela motioned Shepard to follow. "Her terminal is still intact, let's try running it."

The moment Shepard inserted the device, multiple screens flared to life, playing a recorded video call with a smiling Salarian oozing confidence..

"What do you have for me?" came Liara's recorded voice.

"Only the best" The Salarian replied. "I can narrow it down to a system."

"How soon" Liara asked."

"Very. Come by my office; RED Frontiers, Dracon Trade Center." The earlier confidence slowly melts away as the Salarian looks around, as if he noticed he was being watched. "What's this about anyway T'soni? How bad are we talking about?"

"Don't worry about it Sekar, I'll be right over." Liara dismissed, ending the call.

Tela turned to Shepard. "I know the place. My car's just outside." Tela jogged towards the exit. Shepard tapped his comm. "You get all that?"

"Yes, and I know where it is too; come on, we're moving positions." Garrus said over the mic.

"Just stay hidden, if things go bad, I want you to have the drop on anything that tries to hit me."

.…Illium Port…

The Volus Pitne For was more than willing to exchange information for safety. A bad deal with Eclipse saw the mercenaries trying to kill him, having already murdered his partner. He had given Jacob his copy of the Eclipse passkey with only one threatening glare from Heavy. Unbeknownst to Pitne, the Heavy wasn't glaring but actually trying not to sneeze, but it helped in the long run. One elevator ride, and a busted door later Jacob and his team was in an Eclipse warehouse, guns blazing. Grunt charged straight for an initiate, bowling into her before the Asari could conjure a field to push the enraged Krogan away. The Spy put on a paper mask with a crude drawing of an Asari on it, snuck past the Eclipse mercenaries and placed sappers on their security mechs, shorting them out in some cases, causing them to turn on the mercenaries in others. The warehouse was in chaos as a pair of rampaging YMIR mechs unleashed a deadly hail of fire point blank into the Eclipse line, even their drug enhanced biotics doing little to stop thousands of rounds of superhot death.

"Push forward" Jacob barked. "We have the element of surprise, let's use it!"

…Eclipse Warehouse…

"Ye ain't no god I ever seen. Yer too tiny, and fat." The Demoman was arguing with a Volus that was stumbling to stay on its feet.

"Puny mortal! My physical form is but a shell! When I am finished with my earthy tasks, I shall shed this cage and show the galaxy my true, terrifying form!" the Volus shot back, nearly tripping as it took a step forward.

Somehow the Demoman had continued chasing the terrified Eclipse mercenary down alley after alley, finally losing track of her after crawling through an air duct. He has assumed she had tried to escape through that tiny hole in the wall, but he was clearly mistaken. He then tried to figure out where he was when a Volus walked up to him, and demanded his worship.

"But what kinda god is a 'Bee-Optic' god?"

"A god of all! God of Biotics, Bee-Optics, all mastered by me! To think, I was once the humble merchant Niftu Cal! But then the Eclipse, in their arrogance and foolishness, forced upon me the very drug I and my partners sold them. Poor Pitne should have known better, but his error has become the key to my ascendance! I shall charge in there" he pointed to the door behind him. Then spun around and actually pointed at the door behind him instead of the office plant, "and I shall smite their leader Wasea, and then I shall sup her essence from her broken skull. Fueled by such a sacrifice, I will finally shed this limited form and become what I was meant to be!"

"And how d'ye expect to kill anyone when ye can't barely stand?"

"Fool" Niftu shouted as loudly as his suit's volume would allow, "observe and quake at my greatness!" He made a grand gesture, summoning his newfound biotic powers, and cast it at the office plant. It shook slightly, and Niftu turned back to the Demoman "BEHOLD!"

"I think I got a better idea. Where'd they put that drug into ye from?"

Niftu pointed slowly to an injection port on the side of his suit. "It was from this modest little hole that they place the great gift into me. I shall reward them with a righteous smiting the likes of which the universe has never seen bef…before…befour…be four…"Niftu's tirade was cut short as the Demoman dunked his entire bottle into the injection port. "What are you doing? My body no longer has need of sustenance! Cease your offering!"

"Just give it a sec."

...RED Frontiers, Ground Floor…

"Welcome to RED Frontiers, a subsidiary of RED." spoke a loud VI as Shepard passed by. "I have no idea what it is we do, but I hope you find what you need with us."

"The office we're looking for is on the third floor" Tela remarked, ignoring the VI. "We may have gotten here ahead of everyone, I don't hear anything."

Because fate loves proving people wrong, a moment later the entire third floor went up in smoke. The VI started droning on. "I apologize for any inconvenience, but it appears our office is on fire. If you have an appointment with one of the surviving staff members, please call to reschedule at our secondary office at-"

"Liara!" Shepard called out, running towards the building.

"Shit! They took out three floors just to get her!" Tela swore. "I'll head to the top and sweep downwards, you start at the bottom and work your way up!" she called as she ran back to her car.

"Got it." Shepard tapped his comms. "We're hot people. Garrus, you and the Sniper set up positions where you can see the entire building. Kasumi, get in there and spot targets for them! Zaeed, Pyro, you're with me. Medic, Engineer, stay out here! Tend to the injured and keep any eye for anyone trying to get past us!"

"Right comin' in!" the Engineer declared, a car landing haphazardly into another, hatch opening for the ground squad to come pouring out.

No sooner did they enter the building did Shepard duck under an upturned desk as a shotgun burned holes where he was standing not moments before.

"Gunners!"

"Shadow Broker's goon squad" Tela remarked over her own comms channel "Only way up is through them. Already running into resistance up here!" she grunted and cut her channel as the sound of gunfire erupted from it.

It was a small squad of hired guns hiding behind the corridor. Shepard attempted to keep their heads down, firing blindly from cover. The Pyro's flamethrower couldn't hope to reach them, so he switched out for his flare gun. Ignoring the bullets whizzing by his head, the Pyro took aim and fired a shot down the hall. As soon as it passed the first line of mercenaries it detonated, incinerating the Shadow Broker's men.

Pyro giggled with glee as he jumped over his cover and ran up the stairs, Shepard and Zaeed following after. What met them was row after row of charred gunmen, their bodies impaled with axes, poles, and various sharp implements. The pyro skipped down the corridors, hammer in hand, humming a tune as he made his way to a Heavy trooper, his victim trying to crawl away.

"I don't want a lollipop! I don't want a lollipop!" he cried out before the Pyro smashed his skull in.

Shepard grimaced as he watched the Pyro continue his hop skip dance towards panicking gunmen, their shots going wide as they tried to run as they fired, the Pyro batting at their shots like they were pesky mosquitos.

"I might stop bringing the Pyro on missions…" Shepard said to himself.

"I dunno, seems pretty effective to me." Zaeed said nonchalantly.

…Eclipse Docks…

Building by building, the team moved, tearing apart any resistance, the mercenaries were used to shaking down locals and getting into minor skirmishes with the local police. Against the combined killing power of the Spy and Heavy, they were mowed down like so much grass. That is if grass was yellow instead of green. Which would imply they were dead grass. Appropriate since they were dying really fast. The Heavy's train of thought was interrupted by the familiar whine of a gunship. Cleared of its docking, the ship turned its heavy guns on the team. They scattered, diving for cover behind crates and walls, which were quickly getting shredded apart under the ships's sustained fire. The veteran sister pilot of the Gunship growled as she brought up the ships missile system. Locking onto their heat signatures, she circled the firing trigger with a finger as she waited for the gunship's computer to calculate its lock.

"This is for Salyssa" she whispered. Before she could fire however, something large landed on her gunship.

"Heavy is nesting here! Do not disturb Heavy nest!" The bird heavy shouted as it slammed into the gunship's cockpit. The pilot screamed as more bird head Heavies swarmed her ship. They began to rip the windshield off the ship, one of them grabbing the pilot in a meaty fist. "Give Heavy all your millet seed or die!"

The ship careened out of control without its pilot, flying off into the distance before crashing into a building. The bird heavies flew off, carrying a terrified Asari pilot away as they shouted. "TWEET TWEET TWEEEEEEEET!"

Jacob stared at the flying Heavy as it carried the pilot further and further until they became a dot in the sky. He turned to the Heavy and Spy. "Someone want to explain that? Anyone?"

"That is new development" the Heavy shrugged. The Spy agreed. "I have never heard of clones mutated into birds before. Zis is all new."

Grunt scratched his head as he watched the bird Heavy fly. Then he looked at his own arms and tried flapping them. "Don't get any ideas big guy." Jack warned. Grunt made a sound that was somewhere between frustration, resignation, and a belch, and followed the rest of them. He moved to help Jacob pry open a door that had a busted lock from stray gunship fire, forcing it open with an unholy cacophony of screeching metal.

What greeted them was an irate looking Asari flanked by a few mercenaries staring right at them. The leader, named Wasea if her desk placard was any indication, threw down her datapad. "First the Yakshi, now TeeEff clowns ruining my entire operation here." She waved her arm and flung the desk away with her biotics. "At least killing you will make it a little better!"

Suddenly the wall of crates behind her detonated. Stumbling outwards was the Volus Niftu, taped in his hand was a grenade launcher, and in his other, a bottle of Demoman's finest liquor. The volus swung his arm around, his finger taped down on the launchers trigger, sending grenades careening in every direction and he muttered and shouted incoherently. "You Ellipses think yer bettern'me I show you all I da both of you, ye blue heathens! I AM THE BISHOTIC god-uh-where's the bathroom I'm gonner be shick…"

"Goddess what the hell's going on now?!" Wasea screamed.

"A distraction!"

From above the Demoman descended, swinging his blade straight at Wasea. Ancient steel met unprotected flesh, and Wasea's headless corpse hit the ground before she even finished spinning. The remaining mercenaries, caught between a grenade spamming Volus, Jacob's team of guns and biotics, and a Demoman with a glowing eye, threw their weapons down and ran.

"Yeah. Yeah you better run!" Niftu shouted after them pointing the grenade launcher in their direction, its ammunition spent. He looked at the weapon as it clicked in his grip. "I need more bomb food."

Jacob holstered his weapon and waded through the bodies and clouds of kicked up Red Sand. "I was hoping to interrogate Wasea, but she didn't look like she was in a talking mood to begin with" he picked up the fallen data pad. "At least we got our name" he smiled. "Let's head back. Uh Demoman, wanna explain who your friend is?" he gestured to Niftu, who had fallen asleep in a capsized crate.

...Dantius Towers…

"I dunno the reports are mixed. Some say it's one guy, others say it's a whole team" the Eclipse merc paced around the hallway talking with the rest of the company. They were getting mixed reports of fighting in the lower tower and wanted to verify, but moments after a squad said they were engaged they went silent. Fearing the worst, they radioed into one of the new recruits, a rookie they didn't even trust to guard the watercooler to fill them in on what was happening.

"I don't think you need to send reinforcements." the merc said smugly. "I got this part covered, don't worry. Wait. I hear someone coming. I'll call in when I verify."

Moments later, the Soldier blew the floor the merc was standing on, the force sending him into a window, which broke from the force of his impact, sending him plummeting to the ground below. A new entry made, the Soldier rocket jumped his way up the new hole, moving far ahead of the rest of the squad. His orders were clear. Find the alien assassin. Kill everyone else with extreme prejudice. Then the coin dropped. He had no idea what the assassin looked like. He just assumed it would be one of those Krogans wearing that stupid sock-mask the Spy wore, but the more he thought of it, the dumber it seemed. Maybe it was a Salarian wearing a stupid sock-mask. It became apparent that he probably should have stayed with everyone else.

He swung his rocket launcher when he heard the elevator ping, ready to deliver another helping of rocket-fueled freedom to some ugly Krogan when instead he was met with a peeved looking Miranda.

"Soldier, what the hell were you thinking jumping ahead of us like that?!"

"We had to complete the mission before the assassin got away." The Soldier replied.

Miranda pushed a selection on her omni tool and broadcasted the voice of an irate sounding Asari barking orders. "As long as she's still alive, that means we have time. Why didn't you take the elevator instead of blasting a hole into every floor?"

"I didn't even know there was an elevator."
"You...what?"

"Until you came through that door I thought that was a broom closet."

Miranda gaped at the Soldier. "How-why-you just-" She scrambled for the right words to explain how dumbfounded she was when the Scout put a hand on her shoulder. "It's best if you don't think too hard about Sol, just let him do his thing, and everything keeps working. Most the time."