Reunions

The aircars can't take you all the way to the Spectre Office, but they can get you close. It's both surprising and not that the room is currently occupied. There are three other people in the room. Two of them were standing at a table with various weapons displayed on them. The third was doing something on one of the terminals.

"It's been too long, Aetok," greeted your long time friend, fellow spectre and rare biotically talented turian, Octavia Secundas. She was clad in dark blue medium grade armor with red accents. Mounted on her back was a Geth Pulse Rifle and she had an M-5 Phalanx attached to her waiste.

"Glad to be back," you say gratefully.

It was at this point, your team's hacker, an asari of all beings, stopped working at her terminal.

"Tok!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Give me just a moment!" She then typed something on the console. It was obvious that she had managed to do what she had set out to do, because she smirked triumphantly. "You're good, but I'm better Aria." She then turns around and hurriedly makes her way to where you and Jondam are standing.

"What's the status..." Jondam started to say, however he was interupted by the 341 year old Asari Spectre who waved him off with a rude, human hand gesture and promptly ignored him, before wrapping herself around you and kissing you passionately. You revel in the feelings brought forth by your fellow spectre and asari bondmate, Ria M'Tania.

Bau looks distinctly unamused, but allows it. After all, it had been some time since either of you had seen one another. And while that length of time might seem like a blip on the radar to an asari, even one as young as your bondmate, to a salarian, whose lives are much shorter, the moment feels like the concept of heaven that humans, drell, and even some turians believe in.

The final Spectre in the room, merely chuckles at the sight. They were not only older, but had been a Spectre longer than the other four of you combined as was a legend in the field of covert ops, or at least the would be had the records not been sealed. They are also one of the Council's best kept dirty secrets: a Krogan Spectre.

While Spectres generally came from the Council Races, this isn't always the case. After all, the Spectre Status of Commander Shepard pre-dated humanities seat on the Council. There had even been two Quarian Spectres at the time of their people's mass exodus from Rannoch, however, they resigned not long before their people were stripped of their status as an Associate Species of the Citadel and had their Embassy Privileges revolked. There had even been a very small number of Batarian Spectres, though not any in the last 70 years as Batarian Candidates that the Council deemed worthy were few and far in between.

Jorgal Ragnar was one of the oldest and most experienced Spectres around. The only ones who had him beat in either category were all asari and more than likely retired. While Jondam Bau had been your Spectre mentor, much in the same respect that Nihilus Kyrik had been meant to mentor Shepard, Ragnar had taught you everything you knew about covert ops. He'd practically written the book on it.

Most would find it odd that a loudmouthed, heavily armored, shotgun wielding krogan would be good at covert operations, but it made sense when you took a certain factor into consideration: krogan is the last word anyone would associate with the term Spectre or covert. Which is why his cover worked so well. Many people, even with proof, would not likely believe that Jorgal Ragnar was a Spectre. Attached to his lower back was an M-11 Wraith and on his upper back was an M-76 Revenant.

"Status on our tracked target?" Bau asks once you and Ria break apart.

"Meeting with Aria T'Loak," Ria answers.

Ragnar huffs. "Looks to me like that spiteful bitch is gonna make a move on Omega."

"Any way we could attach ourselves to the mission? I have nothing but respect for the esteemed Commander, but the last solo mission they went on resulted in the destruction of an entire system," Bau stated.

"He didn't exactly have much of a choice," Octavia pointed out.

"Agreed. But, I'd still like to give Shepard some back-up, even if he's unaware of the fact," Bau states.

Ragnar thinks it over for a moment. "Me, definitely. Tok likely. Tavia, maybe. You and Ria, not a chance. You two stick out too much."

Though turian expressions were not the most expressive, you could easily Octavia was greatly amused. You too were fighting a smirk. Jondam smiled at the irony of that statement coming from a krogan to a salarian. Ria actually laughed at the statement.

Bau shrugged. "None of us can be everywhere. Play to our strengths and all that. Tavia, get Tok some actual gear. Ria, see if you can't figure out what Aria's game plan is. Ragnar..."

"Get our quads on those ships to Omega," Ragnar finished for him. "M'Tania! Aria's meeting with Shepard done yet?"

Ria looked at one of the readouts on her Sentry Interface visor that was linked to the console through her omni-tool. "She's dropping Shepard off at Docking bay D-42 now."

Ragnar brought up his omni-tool, typing something into it. A screen popped up on his omni-tool, revealing the face of the deposed Queen of Omega, Aria T'Loak. "Aria, you crazy bitch, why didn't you call me up tell me you were gonna take the fight to those Cerberus assholes on Omega!"

A flash of annoyance flickered acrossed Aria's face. "One of these days, Ragnar, you are going to have to tell me who your contacts are."

The krogan laughed boisterously. "Sorry, Aria, but I don't kiss and tell."

"What do you want, Ragnar?" Aria asked impatiently.

"I and my crew want in," Ragnar told her.

"It's not very often you work with a crew," Aria stated leadingly.

"It's not very often the Galaxy is invaded by A.I.s the size of large buildings either," Ragnar responded.

"What's your angle? Why do you want to take on Cerberus?" Aria asked suspicously.

"My reasons are my own," Ragnar stated firmly, a clear indication he wasn't going to tell her why.

Aria's eyes narrowed. "Fine. Normally I'd tell you to fuck yourself, but I won't turn down more guns helping me take back my home. So your crew better be as capable as you seem to think they are."

"Ha! I'd pit my crew against any number of mercs you've already got hired onto this vendetta of yours!" Ragnar boldly declared. "Hell, I'd give them a better than fair chance against that Spectre friend of yours!"

Aria glared at Ragnar. "We REALLY need to have a chat about your contacts, Ragnar. Have your crew take a shuttle out to these coordinates." Before anything else could be said, the asari pirate queen cut the transmission.

Meanwhile, you were running your fingers acrossed a black and grey suit of armor. "It'll be nice to wear something that offers actual protection."

"A top of the line personal shield not good enough?" Octavia asked in amusement.

"Not in a sustained firefight," you tell her. "You wouldn't believe how often I wish I had my Spectre grade armor over the last couple months."

"As a turian, no one bats an eye if I walk around in armor all day, every day," she replied. "It's half expected. Check this out. The latest from Salarian R&D, only issued to STG agents on Sur'Kesh."

She then handed you the pistol.

"Nice!" you say as you get a feel for it. "Smooth design, a bit on the heavy side. How's the stopping power and rate of fire?"

"It has a higher capacity and firing rate than an M-77 Paladin. Lighter too. Damage output is comparable. It fires super condensed mass effect fields that stick to a target and explode once the field collapses," Octavia explained.

"You might not be getting this one back," you warn.

Octavia chuckles at that. "Keep it. After the Normandy team on Sur'Kesh managed to get their hands on one and managed to take it with them off planet, the Salarian Union is opening up distribution to other STG teams and Spectres. I suspect in a few weeks to a month when merc and militia groups manage to get a hold of them."

"I might be falling in love," you state, examining your new gun in awe.

"I didn't think I was your type," Octavia teased.

"I was talking about the gun," you snark back.

Ria places her arms over your shoulders, pressing you soft, yet firm breasts into your back, cooing into your ear. "Your pistol can't keep you warm at night."

"No, but it will keep me alive until you can keep me warm at night," you flirt with her.

"Promises, promises," Ria teases before kissing you on the cheek and going off to do something else Bau has her doing.

"What do we got by way of sniper rifles?" you inquire.

"Also straight from Sur'Kesh," Octavia informs you, gesturing towards a rifle style you'd never seen before. "The M-13 Raptor."

"This doesn't look salarian," you note as you pick it up and get a feel for it. "It's more human in design. Incredibly light too."

"That's because it is- Cerberus actually," Octavia explains. "Damage output compared to other sniper rifles is absymal, but it's firing rate and light weight more than make up for it. In someway it's closer to an M-96 Mattock, which seem to have made something of a comeback in the last year."

"I've noticed that," you say as you being to speculate. "I think that's partially due to Zaeed Massani using one while he was traveling with Shepard to take on the Collectors."

"It would make alot of sense. Mercs like Massani don't have alot of friends, but they do command a certain amount of respect. If an old dog like him considers them reliable enough to use against Collectors, there must be something to that gun," Octavia responded.

"What about my M-7 Lancer?" you inquire.

"That old thing?" Octavia asks incredulously.

You shrug. "We don't know what the situation on Omega is like. Cerberus has had months to dig in. I'd rather not have to worry about scavenging thermal clips if I don't have to."

"That's a valid point, but I think I'll take my chances," Octavia tells you.

"Hurry up! The pirate queen wants to leave as soon as Shepard is aboard her flagship, so we don't have much time," Ragnar warns them.