Chapter Text
Serpent Nebula—Beckenstein System—Donovan Hock’s Estate
Donovan Hock scowled as he looked down at the greybox locked in its display case next to the M-12 Locust SMG used to assassinate two presidents. “What have you hidden in there Okuda?” The arms dealer murmured as an aide approached him.
“They’re here, Mr. Hock.”
“Very well…show them in.” Hock commanded, pulling down his jacket as his guests entered. “Ms. Brooks…Ms. Vasir…” the mercenary contractor politely greeted the dark-skinned human and asari Spectre standing before him.
“Have the arrangements been made?” Vasir asked.
“They have.’ Hock affirmed, “The leaders of the Blue Suns, Eclipse, and Blood Pack are open to an arrangement. For now, their goals align with yours.”
“Very good.” Agent Brooks responded, “Our employers will be pleased—as will you once you check your account balance.”
“And the other item?” Hock inquired, glancing down at the greybox.
“Our mutual friends have agreed to send experts to crack the box.” Vasir promised, “Provided you agree to share its contents with them.”
“I will do so.” The arms merchant affirmed. “So…we have a contract?”
“We do.”
A week later at an undisclosed location
“Commander Santiago.” The Illusive Man greeted the holographic image of the Blue Suns leader with a slight incline of his head. “It is good to see that you have survived your recent encounter with your former partner."
The mercenary leader snorted, "Too bad he didn't."
"Quite so." The Illusive Man acknowledged, flicking ash from his cigarette, "Thank you for accepting my invitation to meet.”
“You’ve paid for my time.” Vido replied, “So, what do you want?”
“I would like to hire your organization for a long-term contract.” The Cerberus head responded as he took a draw from his cigarette and exhaled. “One that I think you will find to be most lucrative.”
“You have my attention.” The mercenary answered back, “What’s the job and how much are you offering?”
“If you’ll check your omnitool, you’ll see our offer.” Smirking as the mercenary’s eyebrows lifted at the figure, the Illusive Man cautioned, “This is a flat offer. No negotiations. If you do not agree, then I will make the same offer to another group.”
"What's the Job?" Santiago inquired.
“I want your organization to escort certain special shipments to a certain location and then return with shipments from that location. No questions asked.”
“You’re asking a lot.” Vido responded, “What’s the catch?”
“The catch…” The Illusive Man answered back, taking another drag from his cigarette, “Is that you will be facing opposition from Citadel forces as well as certain other interests.”
“I’ll agree to the contract, but on one condition—and it’s not for more creds.” Santiago declared with a smug grin, “And this is non-negotiable.”
“Let’s hear your terms.”
“I want the help of your organization in taking over Omega.” The Blue Suns leader demanded. “That will mean killing Aria T’Loak as well as dealing with my…rivals. Agree to that, and you’ve bought the Suns.”
“Removing Aria from the chessboard might well be beneficial to both our organizations as she has made herself a nuisance recently." The Cerberus leader mused, "And I can also see the worth in removing your competition. Jona Sedaris is a loose cannon and the Blood Pack too unreliable. Very well. I agree to your proposal. Cerberus will help you in dealing with Aria and the other mercenary groups when it is time to move against them. So…when will you be ready for your first pickup?”
“Name the time and place and I’ll have a squadron of my best there to meet you.” Vido answered back, his lips turned up in an evil grin.
“The coordinates have been uploaded into your omnitool.” The Illusive Man replied. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Santiago.”
“We have Jona Sedaris and the representative for the Blood Pack on the comm.” Agent Brooks announced as she entered the Illusive Man’s chamber.
“Very good.” The Illusive Man acknowledged as he took a drag on his cigarette, “Put them on.”
“Ms. Sedaris and Warlord Garruk, Sir.” Agent Brooks replied as a holographic images of the insane leader of the Eclipse mercenary group and a snarling krogan wearing Blood Pack armor appeared.
“Hock sent word that you’ve got a proposition for us.” Sedaris sneered, “So…propose.”
“A temporary alliance…” The Illusive Man began only to be cut off by the Blood Pack leader who responded with a laugh.
“Alliance? What can you offer me that we can’t take on our own?” The Blood Pack representative laughed.
“Aria.” The Cerberus leader responded, flicking ash into the receptacle next to his chair. “If you complete this task for me and my partner, we, along with certain silent partners of ours, will provide your groups with assistance in taking Omega and dealing with T’loak’s allies.
“The Romulans.” Garruk spat, “They’re no threat. There’s only one ship.”
“One ship that defeated a Citadel taskforce including the Destiny Ascension in a military exercise.” The Illusive Man smirked as he played a recording of the practice exercise.
“I heard rumors they possessed a stealth technology that rendered their ship invisible.” Sedaris mused as the recording showed the Gallena launching what appeared to be several blobs of energy at the asari dreadnaught, “But didn’t believe them…until now.”
“The umpires ruled that the Destiny Ascension was destroyed by plasma torpedoes that broke cleanly through its kinetic barriers.” The Illusive Man declared as the recording of the war game continued to play out.
“How were you able to get this recording?” The Blood Pack leader demanded.
The Cerberus leader responded with a sly grin on his face, “From a highly placed friend in the Alliance. You’ll forgive me for not divulging my contact’s name.”
“You can keep your secrets.” Sedaris huffed, “My question is…how will you and your ‘friends’ defeat that ship?”
“Agree to help me on the projects I am about to propose to you and then carry out your side of the bargain and I’ll introduce them to you.”
“Agreed.” The Blood Pack leader responded, “Provided we receive the credits you promised in advance.”
“That’s non-negotiable.” Sedaris declared, agreeing with the krogan warlord.
Inclining his head in agreement, the Illusive Man activated his omnitool. “The credits have been transferred to the accounts you indicated. Now…here is what we want you to do…”
Cerberus base—undisclosed location after the merc meeting
“Can we trust them, Jack ?” Henry Lawson, one of the few who the cigarette smoking man permitted to call him by his real name asked as he entered the Illusive Man’s chamber.
“Of course not, Henry.” The Illusive Man responded with a slight grin. “However, it is in their best interests to cooperate with us for now at least. As for later once they have fulfilled their purpose…well, they and their mercenaries will serve as excellent experimental subjects for us and our allies. Speaking of which…”
“I have been informed by their…proxies…that the Reapers have agreed to direct the Collectors to attack Horizon on your signal in exchange for the colonists.” Lawson reported.
“Good.” The Illusive Man acknowledged as he put out his cigarette.
“Sir?”
“Yes, Agent Brooks?” The Illusive Man replied, turning to his attractive chocolate-skinned assistant.
“Your meeting with the Shadow Broker is in thirty minutes. Will Dr. Lawson be joining?”
“Thank you, and yes. Henry will be in attendance as well.”
“Very good, Sir. I’ll make the necessary preparations.”
New Blue Suns Headquarters—Agebinium, Amazon System, Voyager Cluster
“So Boss…How are we going to play this?”
“We’ll play it straight for now, Donner.” Vido Santiago, the leader of the Blue Suns, replied to his second in command, Donner Voske. “At the present time, our goals, the other merc companies, and Cerberus’s align. Once Aria is removed and we have control over Omega, we can move on the other groups and take them out. After that, we’ll be in the driver’s seat and we can tell the Illusive Man to go fuck himself. We’ll be so powerful that even the Alliance and the Citadel Council will have to take notice.”
“Our batarian and turian soldiers won’t be too keen about working with Cerberus you know.” Voske pointed out as the pair walked down a long corridor.
“For the creds they’re getting paid…” Santiago growled, “They’ll learn to suck it up. Tell Auric and Tyron companies to gear up and be ready to dust off in two hours. We’ve got a job to do.”
Illium—Eclipse base
“Your orders, Commander?” Sayn, Jona Sedaris’s salarian second-in-command, inquired as he walked alongside his boss.
“Assign Marl and his company the mission of taking out that cop and her people and give the contract for that girl Cerberus wants to Enyala.”
“What about Wasea?”
“Increase the bounty on her.” Sedaris growled, “I want that traitor taken out.”
“Consider it done.”