by HR Ringer
Chapter 21: Unexpected Help
Help can come from unexpected corners. – Tachibana Higuchi, Gakuen Alice, Vol. 13
* * *
Galea: Species of fighting fish common off Armali shores; also the name given to asari capital ships ('dreadnought' in Terran) (asari)
Ionsaí: Strike, or attack (asari)
Shīnan: Equivalent of an Alliance rank of E3 (asari)
* * *
* PRESIDIUM • ASARI COUNCILOR’S OFFICE *
Councilor Raesia Tevos was taking her afternoon break on the private balcony overlooking the lakes, fountains and pedestrian bridges of the inner ring of the Presidium. She generally spent from twenty to thirty minutes each afternoon, sipping her tea and browsing through a few of the seemingly less urgent reports with which her office seemed to be besieged daily. Having nearly finished her cup of tea, she stood and stretched, arms over her head and back arched, detesting the thought of going back inside on such a beautiful day.
Picking up her datapad, she intended to take one last look at the display before turning it off and returning to her desk. Buried in a report concerning shipments of various commodities and equipment related to processing and refining raw eezo ore into the high-grade product needed for starship operation was one line of text that was so out of place in this report it may as well have been entered in flashing neon colors.
Eezo shipments originating on Omega were destined for processing facilities scattered throughout the Traverse and Outer Council Space… this shipment was destined for Illium, and appeared to have nothing in common with any of the other items listed on the manifest. Normally, she would have paid little attention to the eezo shipment report, but the line of text, buried between two adjacent multi-line reports, was not about eezo; instead, it mentioned an object in which Tevos was deeply interested, an object that should have never been included in the reports at all.
Hurrying back to her desk, she keyed the human ambassador’s address into her comm terminal and pressed ‘send’ before she even sat down. She needed to talk to Anita Goyle, hoping she at least had heard something from the operatives combing Terminus and Traverse for a tiny figurine.
When the terminal trilled to indicate an incoming message, Tevos assumed it was Ambassador Goyle returning her call; the image that resolved itself above the terminal proved to be a rather unpleasant surprise. Instead of the agreeable woman from Earth, Tevos found she was wasting a smile on salarian councilor Valern.
“Councilor Valern. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?”
“Save your phony pleasantries for Sparatus, Councilor,” came the disagreeable reply. “I have information, from highly placed, reliable sources, that the asari government is conducting an investigation into actions one of our STG operatives has been taking to recover an item previously discussed by us in November.”
“As I recall, Councilor, it was you that categorically refused to share any information concerning either the involvement or non-involvement of the STG,” she replied in a frigid voice. Tevos crossed her arms across her chest and continued with a frown, “The asari government is not going to simply stand by in the hope that salarian assistance in this problem will bear positive results, or any results, given your total lack of cooperation at our last meeting. If you have news for us regarding this matter, then proceed… otherwise, this call is terminated, Councilor.”
Valern managed to look surprised at Tevos’ lack of a conciliatory attitude. “Councilor, the salarian union is only concerned that outside efforts to recover the object will compromise the integrity of the STG investigation into…”
“…So!” Tevos interrupted. “You admit to having the STG looking into this matter. Do you have any results to report, or are you simply trying to ascertain what we may have learned without your interference?”
“I resent your implication, Councilor,” came the indignant reply. “The salarian union will certainly share any pertinent information with the asari.”
“Which only means you have nothing to share, Councilor! Good day to you!” Tevos cut the connection before the surprised councilor could reply. ‘Insufferable bastard!’ As if reading Tevos mind, Huntress Tenir quietly observed, “He’ll never change, Mistress.”
Tevos turned to look at her ‘first’. “No doubt. Too bad for him… his people. If history teaches us anything, we can rest assured there will come a time when the Salarian Union asks for our help, Nizia. It will certainly be difficult for me to look on any such request with sympathy.”
The call Tevos had been expecting came ten minutes after her unpleasant conversation with the salarian councilor. Tevos had regained a bit of her good mood from earlier, even with the anxiety she was experiencing from the information revealed in the shipping records. She accepted the call and was pleased to see the human’s face on the monitor. “Madam Councilor? To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Anita. Thank you for returning my call. I need to meet with you in person, preferably in a restaurant for dinner. I no longer trust that our electronic communications are secure.
Of course, Raesia. Are you familiar with Daedoardo's Sapphire? It’s a restaurant that caters exclusively to the diplomatic crowd, very welcoming of all races, is quite secure, and has excellent food and service. I believe you’ll enjoy it.
“Sounds excellent, Anita… thank you. I’ll meet you there at… say… 1745?”
Goyle replied, “That will be perfect. I look forward to seeing you.”
Five minutes had not passed before Tevos comm unit trilled to indicate yet another incoming call. Keying the unit to answer, she was more than a little surprised to see the image of Councilor Valern displayed once again. “Counselor Tevos, if you please… I do have some information for you that may prove of value in your hunt for the… object… for which you have been searching.
Tevos crossed her arms and asked, “Something you neglected to tell me earlier, Councilor?”
Valern didn’t rise to the bait, instead employing a soothing tone as he replied, “Our STG agent has discovered the whereabouts of the… object… you have been attempting to find, without much success, I’d like to point out.”
Tevos hadn’t been a counselor for as long as she had by ignoring any offers of help, no matter the source. “What has your agent discovered, Councilor?”
“It seems he has actually tracked the object of your investigation to a freight transfer warehouse on Illium; a copy of the manifest is being brought to your office by a diplomatic courier. If questioned, I will categorically deny knowledge of how you managed to obtain said copy. A pleasant afternoon to you, Madam Councilor.”
* * *
Daedoardo's Sapphire was in the heart of the Presidium’s most exclusive section, within easy walking distance of the diplomatic and financial offices at the base of the Citadel Tower. The human ambassador was waiting in the lobby when Tevos and Nizia arrived; all three were greeted warmly by an asari hostess, who led them through a wide hallway into the main dining area. From there, short passages radiated outwards like spokes on a wheel, each leading to a secluded table within a small, private room. Nizia remained at the passageway’s entrance to deter physical eavesdropping.
After inquiring about liquid refreshments for the pair, the hostess left and Tevos got right to business, handing a datapad to Goyle with the information that had caught her attention earlier in the afternoon. “I discovered a record of a shipment from Omega, buried in the normal mundane data concerning numerous crates of eezo and the equipment used for refining the stuff. I never would have noticed it, except it was so obviously out of place on the report. Since I discovered this, it led me to wonder if your agents have had any positive results.”
Anita carefully scrutinized the datapad, scrolling the info up and down as she reread parts and compared them to other parts of the report. She looked up at Tevos as she said in a quiet voice, “They did uncover the fact that an STG agent, one Padok Wiks, was involved in spiriting a batarian waitress off Om
ega. He seems to be very dedicated… didn’t hesitate to relocate this waitress when he realized the danger her life was in. She’s living in the foundations now… has an apartment in Echo Ward, set up for her by that salarian.”
Nizia called quietly down the passageway, alerting her mistress to an interruption. Their hostess gently apologized for the intrusion as she set their drinks on the table and took their dinner orders. When they were once again alone, Anita continued where she’d left off. “She works at a tavern close by, up on the wards level. One of our agents talked to her clandestinely… didn’t learn much other than the STG agent’s name and that she’d set up the ‘buy’ for the middleman, one Ugrolya Rarfenak. The Shadow Broker’s agent on Omega confirmed the Suns are in possession of the artifact. We believed they would attempt to move it sooner rather than later… the information you have here would seem to support that hypothesis.”
Tevos replied, “The information contained there does include a copy of the shipping manifest, but it does not reveal the final destination after leaving Illium. Thoughts?”
A noise at the entrance to their hallway drew their attention. Nizia stood solidly in the middle of the doorway, one hand on her holstered pistol with wispy traces of blue, like the mist rising from a lake on a cool evening, emanating from her free hand. A salarian diplomat, victim of his own tendency to over-imbibe in the liquid spirits, had the misfortune to stumble right in front of Nizia as he attempted to walk in a straight line past her. Fortunately for all, but most especially the impaired salarian, Nizia would make sure her target actually posed a threat to her mistress before taking any action. The salarian’s brush with commando training sobered him slightly… he picked up his pace and hurried off best he could, his cloaca tight enough to crush a Thessian torthaí nut! Nizia looked at her mistress and smiled, shrugging her shoulders slightly in an expression of puzzlement she had learned from watching humans.
Anita made a face Tevos interpreted as one of amusement before she turned back and answered the question. “Not known, Raesia. Best guess – and we are working to confirm that – would be somewhere on Thessia. Lots of extremely wealthy people, not all as scrupulous as you or me. Second best guess would be Bekenstein, next door in the Boltzmann System.”
Tevos interest perked up at this. “Bekenstein? You think one of the wealthy humans would want an asari figurine?” She held her hand up to forestall Goyle’s answer, as a beckoning Nizia was silently indicating their dinners were ready.
They both looked up as the hostess and an assistant brought their food in and set the covered plates in front of them; they also set refills for their drinks, collected the empty glasses and vanished as quietly as they’d appeared. Once the pair had sampled their meals, Anita paused long enough over her salad to answer Tevos’ question. “There is one collector on Bekenstein that comes to mind… name’s Donovan Hock, an extremely ruthless arms dealer and smuggler. It’s rumored his fine art collection rivals any private collection found on Earth.” Taking a bite of fish, she followed with a sip of wine before continuing. “Of course, there are a number of other collectors on that planet… place is literally crawling with multi-billionaires, but my gut says it’s Hock.”
Tevos was enjoying her dinner and her conversation with this human and continued eating as Anita added, “Still, the Suns have to get the thing shipped off of Illium before they can deliver it to… whomever. The danger there is Eclipse – the Blue Suns are taking a calculated gamble they can hold onto the relic while it’s there; they invested a lot of creds to obtain it… wouldn’t want to suffer the wrath of Vido Santiago if his 6.6 million plus credit investment somehow turned up missing.”
Tevos nodded her head. “If the Eclipse find out what the Suns are attempting to do, there will be trouble.” Turning her full attention to her meal at last, she thought about all she had just learned. “Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me, Ms Goyle. You may keep that datapad… I’m sure the information there will be of some benefit to your agents.”
“Of course, Raesia. Perhaps we can meet here again, if you are concerned about the security of our electronic communications.”
Tevos grimaced as she responded, “Concerned? Yes, I do have concerns, since Councilor Valern seems to know exactly what the asari government is doing regarding our search for the figurine.” After a sip of Elasa, she continued, “I am positive there are no listening devices planted within my office or quarters, and Nizia and Dalis would sooner die than betray the trust I’ve placed in each of them.”
Tevos took a sip from her glass before concluding with, “You’ll be sure to call me with anything else your agents learn?”
“My pleasure.” Tevos and Goyle finished eating their meals in quiet companionship, discussing the differences and similarities between their respective races and sharing reasons for their mutual dislike of Councilors Valern and Sparatus.
* * *
* ARCTURUS STATION • L5 LAGRANGIAN POINT of THEMIS *
Yuán Xiùlán talked to Traynor as soon as she finished her vid call with Ambassador Goyle on the Citadel. “Get your gear packed, Sà mǐ… we’re heading for the Crescent Nebula.”
“Is this about that asari artifact?” Traynor was just finishing a late evening mug of hot chocolate. As close as Arcturus Station was to Earth, chocolate of any kind was a rare treat on the station, so Sam had brought as much with her as could legally be carried when her leave on Earth was over; her stash by now was getting pretty thin.
“Afraid so. Seems our STG agent tracked it from Omega to Illium. The Blue Suns still have it, but chatter intercepted by Padok Wiks points to someone with a lot of spare credits negotiating to take it off their hands.”
Samantha drained the last of the tasty liquid from her mug before asking, “How are we getting there this time? That’s what?… a three, four relay hop? Don’t know about you, but I seriously don’t want to make that long of a trip in a shuttle, especially ours.”
“The asari government is loaning the Alliance the use of the Ionsaí, an Oseros class corvette from their second fleet, to be our transport for this portion of our hunt; it’s en route to give us and our shuttlecraft a ride to Illium,” came the reply. “We’ll deploy and fly down once we’re in the system.”
Ever practical, Sammy asked, “Will there be a facility close by our docking area where we can change and eat?”
“Same type of setup as on Omega. Secure tavern, although we’ll have to make a short aircar hop back and forth, for meals and personal needs. Clandestine support is being arranged by Councilor Tevos on the Citadel.”
Traynor cupped one hand over her nose and mouth as she thought about what they needed to do. “What’s the plan? Are we supposed to find this needle in a very big mound of straw and retrieve it out from under the noses of the Blue Suns and the authorities on Illium?” Traynor huffed as she added, “We get caught, it’s us they’ll throw in jail, not the Blue Suns… if they don’t just simply shoot us outright.”
“Never known you to worry about consequences, Sà mǐ. What’s the problem?”
Sam closed her eyes as she massaged her temples with her fingertips. “I don’t really know, Lin. Perhaps… it’s Illium, ya know? The asari sorta turn a blind eye to most everything but murder, and the surveillance is virtually seamless everywhere you go.”
“True, but consider this… Eclipse is the dominate merc group on the planet, or at least in Nos Astra. They tolerate the Blue Suns, mainly due to the amount of smuggling they do from Omega. What they may not tolerate is the Suns shipping that artifact through their entrepôt without paying a hefty transit fee.”
Xiùlán smiled as she added, “They’re leader is an asari, Jona Sederis, and the group is made up of mainly asari, with some salarians and a few humans. Sederis may not look kindly on the Blue Suns trying to sell off an historic asari artifact of such cultural significance... I don't think any transit fee would be high enough. We may just have to make sure a few people in their organization know abo
ut the shipment. Should be interesting to watch the fallout.”
“You think we’ll be able to discover the location of the container and retrieve that artifact before it’s loaded for its next destination?”
“Going to do our best, Sà mǐ. We need to bring this chase to an end, soon.”
* * *
* ON BOARD THE IONSAÍ, MAKING READY TO LEAVE ARCTURUS STREAM *
“I am Traeria Shoni, executive officer. Welcome aboard the Ionsaí.” Traynor’s breath caught in her throat… she had seen few asari during her time in the Navy, and this one was stunningly beautiful. Her uniform fit every curve of her body like a second skin, leaving little to Sam’s vivid imagination. She kept her eyes focused on the asari’s face as she held both her hands out, palms upwards, in a show of greeting and respect. Shoni smiled at Traynor as she placed her own hands palm down on top of Traynor’s and bowed slightly.
After greeting Xiùlán in the same manner, she said, “It is nice to see you both have some knowledge of asari customs. It may prove helpful to you on Illium.” Motioning for the pair to follow her, she led them into a passageway busy with crewmembers coming and going. “The Ionsaí is just under 300 meters in length, so is not a large ship by asari standards; still, the layout of the decks and passageways takes some time to get used to, and visitors can easily become disoriented. I have assigned a shīnan, Luenia Phura, to be your guide during your stay.”