“Harkin, right? Seeing as I’ve already gifted you a large part of my drink—which, by the way, my friend paid for with his hard-earned Credits—I’d say you owe me one. I am Lieutenant Kerber from the Alliance.”

Alex eyes the older, balding man, who looks disheveled and clearly hasn't been taking care of himself.

“Kerber? That fucking lunatic carrying a...” Harkin mutters, staring at Alex. His gaze falls on the sword at Alex's side, still streaked with blood. Droplets trail down the blade, catching the blue ambient lighting and making it gleam with a strangely beautiful, yet ominous shine.

“I... Look, you didn’t do it on purpose, no grudges here. How about you just leave me alone, and we’re even?” Harkin offers, clearly intimidated.

Suddenly, a loud voice cuts through the bar from behind Alex.

Alex turns around and sees a man accompanied by two handfuls of thugs.

“You! What the fuck do you think you’re doing in front of my club?!”

“Who the fuck are you? Are you the owner?” Alex responds, already recognizing the man by his exaggerated flattop haircut—Fist, the infamous club owner and Shadow Broker agent who switches allegiance to Saren.

I'd better avoid starting conflicts at this point. Kaidan could get into trouble, and worst case, C-Sec will hold me accountable… I don’t need to change things that will inevitably turn out in my favor.

“Yes!” Fist snaps.

Another figure steps forward—an older Krogan, calm but amused. “Human... Looks like the owner is angry with you. How about I take him off your hands?”

That’s Wrex...

“Guys, throw this Krogan out right now! I already told you to ban him earlier!” Fist yells. All of his thugs rush towards him, surrounding the Krogan and dragging him out of the club.

“So what’s your problem with me?” Alex chimes in, watching Wrex disappear through the exit.

“If you want to kill and murder outside my club, who am I to stop you? But throw the damn corpses into one of the lower levels, not in a corner like garbage! Do you want me to get in trouble?! I am already paying nearly a third of my earnings towards bribing C-Sec,” Fist complains, his voice strained.

“Well, sorry about that. Next time I’m about to get assassinated in front of your damn club, I’ll remember your advice,” Alex says, his tone dry with sarcasm as he casually puts a hand on the handle of his sword.

“...I guess I shouldn’t be so harsh, look, I don’t want any more problems,” Fist mutters, eyes glued to the blood-stained sword. “BARTENDER! This guy’s drinks are on the house tonight. If I hear any complaints, I’ll hold you responsible.”

Fist is so obvious. As soon as he notices I’m trouble, he wants to smooth things over.

“Ah, I think I already got a complai—” Alex begins, but the Turian bartender rushes over.

“Please! Give me a chance… I want—”

“What happened?” Fist angrily demands to know, staring at the Bartender.

I guess this pointless bickering doesn’t help. I gain nothing from humiliating this worthless NPC. I need to quickly make progress. I can ‘thank’ Fist and his employees later. He’ll be getting a very special visit later… I hope.

“You know what, I’ve wasted enough of your time. I just want to talk with my good friend Harkin here. Thank you for your help, you’re a kind owner. Bartender… how about you serve me, my comrade, and my new friend Harkin three—no, make it six—proper drinks, and I’ll consider us even.”

“Of course,” the Turian replies, bolting back to the bar.

“Okay, seems like there are no problems then. Have fun,” Fist says, walking off.

Moments later, six expensive-looking drinks are placed on their table, and the bartender quickly disappears.

“Oh? That’s the good stuff. I’m taking one then,” Harkin says, already gulping one down.

“Did I allow you to take my drinks? I guess you now owe me for real. But I have good news for you. If you can answer just a few of my questions, you’ll never see me again. And you can keep the rest of the drinks. I’ll even talk to the bartender and transfer my free drink status over to you.”

“Okay, deal. I want to drink in peace. Ask your questions and leave me the hell alone,” Harkin says, annoyed.

“Fine,” Alex says, grabbing a pink-colored drink and taking a sip. His face contorts instantly.

“What?! I expected something sweet… this shit’s strong and almost tasteless,” he says, setting the glass down. “Anyway, tell me what you know about Garrus. His current location, too. The guy seems like the black sheep of C-Sec. I can sympathize with the poor guy.”

“...Garrus? I see. Should’ve expected this from someone on Anderson’s leash. He’s still trying to bring Saren down. I guess your interests align, huh? Anderson won’t rest until he gets his revenge on Saren, it seems. I think it’s pathetic, Anderson is a damn humiliation for all of humanity.”

Funny, he’d say the same about you!

“What do you mean?” Kaidan asks.

“You don’t know? Anderson’s big secret? He used to be a Spectre… the very first human Spectre. But before it was made public, they immediately kicked him out. Does he still tell people that Saren set him up?”

Alex yawns. “Who cares? Honestly, just tell me where Garrus is, or I revoke my gracious gift of unlimited drinks.”

“Fine… settle down. He went to speak with Dr. Michel in her clinic. It’s near the local markets in the wards.”

“Any details?” Alex asks.

“Not really. Probably something related to Saren to tell you the truth, Fist is… forget it. The doc seems to have some information, in any case. Don’t ask how I know. If I reveal my sources, I lose the only thing keeping me afloat,” Harkin mutters, taking another gulp.

“Fine, enjoy your day,” Alex says, lifting the remaining drinks one after the other and taking a sip from each, ultimately deciding to keep the one filled with a shiny crimson-red liquid, taking it with him.

“This one’s the best. Keep the rest—bye!” Alex adds, standing up and leaving, Kaidan following with an embarrassed smile. Behind them, Alex vaguely hears a grumbling Harkin whisper, “Asshole…”

“Let’s quickly googl— I mean, let’s quickly look up where Dr. Michel’s clinic is,” Alex says as they walk back toward the nearby Rapid Trans Terminal.

After a quick search by Kaidan, they arrive in the Wards—Kaidan once again footing the bill for the transport.

“You can probably get that money back from the Alliance,” Alex says, feeling just a tiny bit guilty.

“It’s fine, Lieutenant. This is important! This is about the fate of Humanity itself!” Kaidan replies in a serious tone.

“A little dramatic, don’t you think? Well, you’re not totally wrong. Let’s quickly find the clinic—it’s not too far from where we went earlier for shopping,” Alex notes.

Walking through the busy markets, the crowds getting smaller and smaller, Alex and Kaidan notice a medium-sized clinic in the distance, a bright sign indicating they have found the right place. However, there are no other people around. The location is a bit away from the markets, with barely anyone else around, as there are no real stores in the vicinity.

“Rather quiet here?” Alex remarks, Kaidan nodding his head.

Suddenly, they hear gunshots.

“Not as quiet as I’d prefer…” Kaidan comments.

They begin to speed up, closing the distance to the clinic.

In front of it, they spot an armed thug.

“You better not come any closer. Walk away—unless you want a bullet, huh?” the thug says, raising his weapon at Alex.

“We don’t want any trouble,” Alex replies, raising his hands. “It’s just... you know, I like to call my blade [Executioner’s Blade], but I think the direct translation is a bit more accurate... Do you know what it is?”

“What the fuck are you even talking about? Are you insane?! Do you want to die?!” the thug barks angrily.

“It’s [Decapitating Carving Knife],” Alex says, drawing his blade and suddenly slashing horizontally. The weapon cuts straight through the thug’s neck and penetrates deep into the wall behind him.

You have dealt 133 x 3 = 399 damage to Thug

You have killed Thug

As the man’s body drops lifelessly to the floor, his head remains balanced on Alex’s blade—shock and confusion frozen in his eyes.

“Quickly, inside!” Alex orders, yanking the blade free from the wall. The head drops to the floor with a wet thud.

“Y… Yes, Lieutenant,” Alenko stammers, snapping back to reality.

As they barge in, they find several thugs engaged in a close-range shootout.

Alex doesn’t hesitate. He uses Ren and charges forward toward the surprised enemies.

With a clean vertical swing, he dispatches the first unarmored thug, slicing off his entire shoulder in a brutal surprise attack.

You have dealt 161 damage to Thug

You have killed Thug

Alex raises his Aura to the limit, activates Ko to channel it all into his sword, and unleashes a Flying Thundara Sword—a horizontal flash of power ripping toward the remaining enemies, shredding their bodies to pieces.

You have dealt 174 + 112 = 286 damage to Thug

You have killed Thug

You have dealt 161 + 110 = 291 damage to Thug

You have killed Thug

“What the?!” Kaidan yells, watching the thugs drop in mere seconds. “Alex… you…”

In the distance, at the far end of the clinic, Alex senses movement and calls out, “Garrus? Dr. Michel? This is Lieutenant Alex Kerber from the Alliance. We’re working with Commander Shepard!”

Garrus slowly steps into view, his pistol still raised. “Are you sure? I’m grateful for the help, but… you don’t look very human to me…”

“What do you mean?” Alex asks, visibly confused.

“Never seen a human unleash attacks like that. Actually… never seen any race do that,” Garrus replies, grinning as he lowers his weapon.

“Thank you for the help, Lieutenant Kerber. Your timing was impeccable,” he says with a grin.

“Anyway, Dr. Michel, that old, worthless drunk Harkin told me that Garrus is here… why were those thugs threatening you?” Alex asks.

“It all started when I treated that Quarian! She was injured, and I didn’t ask many questions or even demand Credits for that matter! I just helped her out… Those thugs were sent by Fist, the owner of Chora’s Den! They wanted to silence me, to tell nobody about the Quarian, especially not Garrus.”

Garrus rubs his head. “Apparently, the Quarian has information about the Geth. Information about my investigations is now public. I know that Saren is involved—he wants to shut her up permanently, and me along with her. Whatever information she has might be exactly what we need to expose him. Fist is working for Saren, I just know it, those thugs are working on his orders. That idiot is as greedy as he is stupid… betraying the Shadow Broker.”

Not like this is anything new or surprising. Still, I don’t want too many deviations. I'd better tell Shepard.

“Okay… let’s not waste time. I’ll talk to the Commander immediately, and we’d better pay our good friend Fist a visit. He’ll probably realize soon enough that I’ve taken out his goons.”

Alex steps aside and activates his omni-tool, contacting Shepard.

“This is Shepard speaking. Kerber, what is it? I’m kinda busy,” Alex hears her say.

“Commander, we have an issue. We were assaulted by assassins directly in front of Chora’s Den. Anyway, we dispatched them and met Harkin inside, who led us to Garrus. We’re currently at a med-clinic in the Wards. Garrus met with Dr. Michel, who runs this clinic. Just as we arrived, we saw both Garrus and the doctor about to be killed by hired thugs. I quickly behea— I mean, dispatched them. It looks like this is more complicated than we assumed, so I’ll make it short. Some time ago, Dr. Michel treated a wounded Quarian. This Quarian appears to have information about the Geth. I assume Fist—the owner of Chora’s Den, who I met just earlier—is responsible for hiring these thugs to silence the doctor. It looks like Fist is working for Saren, despite previously working for the Shadow Broker.”

“Hehe, interesting coincidence. My lead has brought us to the same conclusion—we’re just on our way to Chora’s Den. The Quarian is the best clue we got and Fist will tell us more about her… one way or the other. Meet us in front of Chora’s Den in 20 minutes. Hurry up!” Shepard says before forcefully ending the call.

“Oh, what a drag… right back to that shady shithole,” Alex mutters. “Anyway, we need to leave. We’re making a move against Fist… right now. You seem to be safe, Dr. Michel. Don’t expect any more visitors, especially not related to Fist.”

“Wait… Lieutenant, let me come with you. I’ll help you deal with Fist,” Garrus says.

“Lieutenant… he’s a Turian,” Kaidan warns, looking slightly worried.

“Haha, don’t worry about that, Kaidan, I know a good guy when I see one. Glad to have you on our side, Garrus,” Alex says, extending his hand. Garrus grabs it in surprise and starts to laugh.

“You are a weird human. I like you.”

“Thanks, I guess. We have twenty—no, eighteen minutes to get to Chora’s Den. We'd better hurry up!” Alex says, leaving the clinic.

On the way, he picks up the omni-disks, belonging to the thugs, with a smile.

You have received 1500 Credits

You have received 300 Credits

You have received 10 Credits

You have received 200 Credits

Broke loser! 10 Credits? What can I even do with that paltry amount?

“Guess what, Kaidan? The ride’s on me this time!” Alex says in an amused tone, unable to hide his grin.