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ME 2 Chapter 20 - Hunting the Shadows
🕑 Added 2025-11-09 21:58:57 +0000 UTCEarth
Vila Militar
Earth. The cradle of humanity.
Where Shepard was born. And now, he has a twenty-three-year-old sister.
One whose existence he wasn’t even aware of before Admiral Hackett called him.
“You have a sister and didn’t tell us? Here I thought we were best friends.” Garrus looked at him with sad eyes, like a puppy begging to be picked up.
All false, of course.
“Garrus, I just learned about it myself.”
“What’s she like?”
“No idea.”
As they disembarked, General Marco, in charge of the villa, stood there with a procession to greet Shepard. “Commander Shepard, welcome back to the villa.”
“Good to be back, sir.”
“Come on in. We are keeping her inside for now.”
—
Shepard looked at his sister from the one-way mirror.
“Are we sure there is no error in the DNA test?”
“It was done multiple times in different labs to ensure that the results are conclusive undoubtedly.”
“I suppose I should go and talk to her.”
—
Shepard took a seat, looking at the red-haired woman before her. They had a staring contest for a while, neither willing to speak, but Hailey eventually broke the ice.
“So, we are siblings. Didn’t see that coming.” There was news of people claiming to be related to Jonathan Shepard every other month or so, but nothing came out of it.
Until now.
“Neither did I.” He never searched for his birth family, too busy with life, so this was a surprise for him too.
“You grew up in an orphanage? Huh, so they abandoned me, had you, and abandoned you too.” Why even have children in the first place? Not like birth control wasn’t freely available.
Hailey, who was more bitter about the missing parents, scowled. “I hope they are dead, or I am going to kill them.”
“Same.”
“So what now? I just wanted to join the military and build a life for myself. I don’t want or expect anything from you.” Older brother or not, she was too prideful to go and ask for handouts from him or anyone else.
Jonathan opened his omni-tool, showing the mass gathered outside the walls of the massive military base. “Reporters want to interview you, my fans want to see my sister, and there are plenty of people after your head. Sorry, but your life just became harder because of our relationship.”
“Damn it.” There went her chance at a normal life.
“Why did they even think of doing a DNA test?” He asked. What had she done to warrant it?
Hailey put her forehead on the table, groaning. “I pulled off a Shepard Maneuver.”
“Which one?” Well, even if they hadn’t been related, anyone who could pull off one of his maneuvers was cool in his book.
“Suborbital drop with the Mako.”
“Not bad.” That one was particularly tricky, because one wrong move, and you were dead.
Though most of his maneuvers were deadly if done incorrectly.
“You can stay here and continue your training. No one’s stupid enough to attack the villa, but outside of it, your life’s going to be tougher, especially when the Alliance throws you at whatever problem that’s too difficult for the common soldiers to solve.” The Alliance just had another Shepard sign up for the marines, and as he was too busy with the Reapers, Hailey would be sent to crack the toughest opposition the Alliance faced, with the expectation that she would perform as well as him.
“Or?” Hailey asked.
“I can draft you to the Normandy. No place is more secure, and you can get combat experience to qualify for N7.” He held most of the N7 records, and no one else could train Hailey better than Jonathan.
“Because I’m your sister?” She was not going to accept any kind of nepotism.
Jonathan shook his head. “Because your life just got a lot harder due to a guy you never met before.”
Hailey shrugged. “What the hell? Why not? You always have the most interesting things happen to you.”
—
“You want to take her with you?” General Marco didn’t want to lose such a talented soldier, but the politics were a bitch.
“Sir, this is too much trouble for you and the villa as a whole. I’ll be her mentor, and you won’t have to deal with the civilians outside the premises.”
“Hell, son, I can’t think of a better trainer for her than you. I’ll handle the paperwork.”
—
The Normandy
Hailey, just like everyone else aboard, had one footlocker and was quick to fill it up. She was brought to the meeting room so the crew could see her, and she could choose where to work.
“Alright, choose yourself a station. Miranda is my XO, Garrus has the forward guns, Tali is in engineering, and Jacob is the chief of armory.”
“I’ll take the guns.” The laser weapons were being produced en masse, but mostly for the ships, and infantry weapons were slated for the active units, not trainees, even if it was for N7.
She wanted to see what Normandy’s weapons pack was.
“Garrus, she is with you now. Help her with anything she needs.” Perhaps Garrus was the best choice in acclimatizing Hailey to the Normandy.
“Two Shepards in one ship? I think it will eventually cause a singularity, but sure.” Garrus teased, knowing that the recently acquainted siblings were feeling uncomfortable.
Shepard knew there would be no end to the turian’s jokes. “Go and calibrate those guns or something, Vakarian.”
“Aye aye, Commander.” Garrus mock saluted before turning around and motioning for Hailey to follow.
—
“The crew is going to look at you as if you are an exhibition.” Garrus gave Hailey his first piece of advice.
Hailey gave him a dry look. “Thanks, I hadn’t noticed.”
“Garrus, by the way, Garrus Vakarian.” He held out his hand, and Hailey took it out of courtesy.
“Hailey Malcolm.”
“Malcolm?”
“What? I didn’t know he was my brother, nor am I going to suddenly take his last name.” Her last name didn’t really mean much to her, other than that it had been the last name randomly assigned to her at the orphanage, but she wasn’t going to ride on the fame of the name Shepard.
“The people are just going to call you Hailey Shepard. You will have a tough time leaving your own mark in the galaxy.” To people across the galaxy, Hailey was Shepard’s sister, and it would be rare for anyone to look at her as her own person.
Hailey considered decking the turian on his bony skull, but technically, he was her superior. “Any other stellar observations, Captain Obvious?”
“I read your file. You are good, really good, and I know you will get there eventually.”
And she felt bad for it now. “Huh, high praise from someone as famous as you.” Shepard’s number one, and the deadliest turian in the galaxy, Garrus Vakarian wasn’t just known in Omega for his deeds but across what remained of the Terminus Systems as a deadly, unstoppable force.
Garrus smirked. “Don’t get used to it. Now, you wanted to play with the big guns, so let's play.”
—
“Shepard, congratulations. I heard you have a sister now.” TIM, just like almost everyone in the galaxy, had heard the news.
“The situation is too complicated. Let’s not go there.”
“As you wish.”
“I am going to handle that problem in your research base; just sit tight. I mean, since almost everyone is dead, there is no reason to hurry.” The dead didn’t need rescuing after all.
“I can’t argue with that.”
“Interesting cybernetics, by the way. Where did you get them?” Shepard’s instincts told him they were not your run-of-the-mill cybernetics.
“Custom-made.”
“Uh huh.” And he was a Prothean in disguise.
—
Shepard made sure to chat with his newfound sister, out of work, of course, and it was a very interesting experience.
She, unlike him, had actually searched for their parents, and while there were several names, nothing had come of them.
Which is when Hailey had decided her time could be spent better doing something else and had taken to stealing from gangs to make a living.
In fact, she had even stolen from the Reds before they underwent a rebranding.
There were predators on the street, offering her credits for sexual favors, and she had even killed a bastard who had gotten pushy.
Hailey was born in the United States, as far as she could tell anyway, and traveled all over the country by stowing away, eventually joining the marines to build herself a life, and was good enough to find herself offered a place in the Interplanetary Combatives Training.
—
“We are going after the Shadow Broker. First of all, he somehow got a clone of me and was about to hand it over to the Collectors and has been giving Liara no end of trouble. As such, we are going to find him, nail him to a ferroslug, and shoot him at the nearest black hole. Any questions?”
“Yes, are we really going to go to all that trouble? Can’t we just shoot him and call it a day?”
“Depends on my mood.”
“Fair enough.”
—
Ilium
Turns out, Nyxeris was working for the Shadow Broker, and Liara had put a laser bolt through her head for that.
But she had no other lead to follow until Shepard gave him what Cerberus had on the Shadow Broker.
A friend of Liara, a drell named Feron who was helping save his, or rather the clones', body from the Collectors, has sacrificed himself to save Liara and was actually alive.
She had gone to her apartment to think, and after giving Hailey a small tour, he had followed Liara home.
—
“What the hell is going on here?” Liara’s home was turned into a freaking crime scene, with bullet holes everywhere.
The Asari at the entrance was shocked at seeing him. “Goddess, Commander Shepard?”
“Yes, what happened here?”
Another asari spoke up, a familiar face, a colleague. “Somebody tried to kill your friend, Liara.”
“Tela Vasir. Haven’t seen you since the day the Council had those docs check me out.” Damn, it had already been that long?
“Not a surprise. You were too busy leaving the rest of us in the dust. The rachni queen, Ilos, saving the Citadel, Normandy going down in a surprise Collector attack, only for you to single-handedly take over the enemy cruiser, survive a crash, and stick yourself in a freezer.”
“Then that clone of yours, and of course, finding the flagship of the Protheans and handing it over to the Council.” Tela had wanted to handle this before Shepard became aware of anything, but it was too late now.
Shepard bowed to his fans. “You’re welcome.”
“Thank you, officer; your people are dismissed. This is Spectre business now.” Unhappy as they were, the police officers left without a fuss.
“What brings you to Liara’s house?” Shepard queried once the officers were out.
“The Council wants someone to keep an eye on her, discreetly, to ensure nothing happens to a friend of yours, especially one who became a highly distinguished figure.” He almost felt like laughing at Tela now.
“They stuck you with babysitting duty? Damn, who did you piss off?” Shepard knew Tela was lying, as none of the Councillors would be dumb or petty enough to send one of the most accomplished Spectres to watch Liara.
She was here for something else.
He could force Tela now or wait for her secrets to unravel.
Now, they had to find where Liara had gone.
—
Discovering the message Liara had left behind would be simple; the hard part was fooling Tela into leaving the house.
“Wait a second, didn’t she need a ship? She must be at the docks, trying to find one.”
“God damn it, I told her to wait. The Normandy just needed a short maintenance before we could leave.”
“Let’s just go find her.”
“You go to the docks; I’ll check the registry system to see if she found a ship.” Tela left the house as if it was on fire, confirming that she was scheming something.
—
The Dracon Trade Center
Shepard, Garrus, and Hailey headed to the Dracon Trade Center to find Sekat after listening to the conversation Liara had left in the hidden disk.
Tela was heading for the docks, unaware that she was being tracked, and they could find Liara, Benezia, and Sekat before his colleague realized what had happened.
“Shepard, there you are.” He found Liara outside Sekat’s office with her mother, who was armed and armored.
“Liara, Benezia, are you two alright?” They looked good enough, but he asked for confirmation.
“Yes, we made it out of the penthouse without a scratch.” Liara spoke, while Benezia just nodded, not trusting her voice.
Their last meeting had been… violent.
Checking the area, Shepard motioned them to move while Garrus and Hailey acted as scouts. “I came across Tela Vasir at the crime scene.”
“Vasir? Why?” A specter in her home? Either her hunt for the Shadow Broker was facing political backlash, or she was here for some other reason.
Shepard shrugged. “Probably trying to kill you.”
In his line of work, it was a common occurrence, nothing to worry about.
“How could the Shadow Broker convince a Spectre to work for him?” Having a Spectre, especially one as good as Tela Vasir, under his thumb gave the Shadow Broker a weapon that he could use with impunity.
“No idea. Did you get whatever you needed from Sekat?” They could figure out why Tela was slumming it with the Shadow Broker after killing the secretive information broker.
“Yes, I need a ship now.” Fortunately for her, Shepard had a stealth ship.
Shepard made for the exit, where Garrus and Hailey were waiting. “We need to go to the docks, then.”
“Where Vasir is waiting.” Garrus was looking forward to this fight.
—
“Uhhh, Commander? Tela Vasir is here. She wants to come aboard.” Joker contacted him halfway to the docks.
“Tell her to wait; I am coming to the docks. Also, tell the team to get ready; there will be action out there.” Vasir must have realized that she had been fooled and wanted to check if Liara was aboard the Normandy.
“Understood.”
Hailey looked at Shepard as if he had grown a second head. “You are letting her know we are coming?”
If Tela, another Spectre, was actually trying to kill Liara, she must have brought troops with her. Letting her prepare definitely wouldn’t end well.
Garrus checked his rifle, switching to the beam mode and back. “Of course he is; it wouldn’t be fun otherwise.”
“God damn it, I just landed in the middle of a pair of nutcases.” Hailey muttered to herself.
“Who is she, by the way?” Liara asked.
Illium was far enough from Earth, so perhaps she hadn’t received the news yet.
“You don’t know?” Shepard looked shocked, covering his mouth with his hand.
“Should I?”
“She is my sister.”
Benezia turned to him sharply. “Your what?
Hailey just groaned in despair.
