After a long night, Alex gets a few hours of sleep and quickly readies himself for the meeting, which is set to start in a few hours. He unequips his [Colossus Armor S] and [Executioner's Blade R2]. Thankfully, despite wearing all his other items, thanks to his appearance modifications, he still looks reasonable and won't be the center of attention. Despite putting his Sword and Suit away, Alex still openly wears his [Brawler-Pistol] on his waist, which Shepard said was allowed, a result of hard negotiations.
He sits down in the lobby next to Liara, Garrus, and Kaidan, waiting for the others.
As he waits and waits, he gets increasingly frustrated as Wrex, Ashley, Tali, and Shepard have not yet arrived.
"Fucking drunks, this would be the most embarrassing way to fuck this up. If things go wrong, we might have to try a more forceful approach," Alex comments.
"Like what? I don't see a different way," Garrus says, looking intrigued.
"Look, there is a huge Alliance base here. We could just make up some shit and claim they kidnapped a bunch of people and are betraying the Alliance, then charge in, get what we need and then quickly leave," Alex explains, growing visibly more unsure about his plan as he continues talking.
"Way too extreme!" Kaidan says. "Don't suggest that to the Commander, or she might actually adopt this kind of strateg—"
"What strategy?" a voice calls from behind Kaidan as Shepard and Ashley appear behind them. Wrex follows them, looking content and well-rested.
While Shepard herself looks in fairly decent shape, Ashley holds her head, obviously suffering from a hangover.
"Nothing," Alex comments, deciding not to reveal his casual suggestion, which would probably constitute a war crime.
I need to learn to keep my mouth shut—this is such an occasion!
Liara looks confused and stares at Alex, chiming in, "Why do you say nothing? Didn't you suggest that if we miss the meeting, Shepard can make up lies, use the Alliance's strong position, and then just forcefully invade the building and obtain the information we need?"
"..."
It's weird coming from me, but that girl has to learn how to keep her mouth shut!
"Heh, I have actually thought about that myself. I even contacted Commander Livas and shared my plan, just in case. However, that is just our backup plan—let's try to resolve this in a quieter fashion. To be honest, the Commander begged me not to employ this tactic when I mentioned the possibility of us failing in our negotiations," she says, looking a bit embarrassed.
"I prefer this way," Wrex states with a big grin, looking at Alex and Shepard. "You two humans think like Krogans in some regards."
"Add in a whole lot of shamelessness and I'd say it's accurate," Garrus jokes.
"Shut up!" Alex barks back, causing both to laugh, while Shepard ignores them.
She then checks the time with her omni-tool and asks, "Where is Tali? She overdid it last night. As the commanding officer, I can't allow this behaviour."
You encouraged it!
Liara tries to say, "But didn't yo—" but Alex stops her by gently placing his hand on her shoulder and shaking his head.
"I see, this is another situation where I should remain silent! I am starting to notice a certain pattern," she says with a satisfied smile.
Five minutes later, Tali arrives. Despite her suit almost completely obscuring her face, Alex sees that she is visibly embarrassed.
"Good morning, Tali. Are you feeling better? You really worried us yesterday," Liara speaks up, the only one unable to read the atmosphere.
"I am fine… thank you, we can begin our mission," she replies.
"Wait, there is one thing I need to ask you. I could not help but notice that you called me a 'prat'ya' yesterday. I have researched its meaning, but I don't see how I can be considered anything close to the meaning of that word… maybe you misspoke?" Liara asks, visibly confused, showing a hint of anger.
Everyone grins, but Alex, unable to bear the second-hand embarrassment from this situation, speaks up.
"Let's get going soon, okay? Tali, Liara, you are with me. Commander, I'm in command of the infiltration team, right?"
Shepard nods. "Yes, Kerber. Alenko, you are in charge of the others. I'll be speaking with the corporations with some of Udina's and Anderson's contacts. I'll also be relaying anything that happens to you, so pay attention and listen to my commands! Let's leave early so we can check out the premises."
Liara mutters, "But my question…!"
I hope they can work together…
They all leave their accommodations and enter the prepared shuttles. Alex, Liara, and Tali share one of the shuttles.
The shuttles approach the towering ExoGeni Corporate Headquarters, one of the largest buildings in Lowell City.
"Sure looks impressive. Anyway, I want you two to be careful… if something happens, your successful escape takes precedence. Even if I get caught, I'll be able to land in front of a military court and can easily be bailed out by Shepard. You, as non-humans, will suffer more serious consequences. That is an order, by the way. It is my job to act as a shield because, frankly, that is all I can contribute. Your skills are required for our mission to succeed, while I am replaceable."
"Bosh'tet! We'll all make it through this. Don't go in planning to sacrifice yourself!" Tali yells in response.
Not like I want to, or plan to, but I just wanted to get my point across….
"I agree. We are a team, and we should aim to complete our mission together," Liara says.
"That is not what I wanted to hear. I hate pulling rank, but I'm in charge! You better not disobey orders later," Alex says, his voice turning a little more serious.
While Tali shrugs her shoulders, Liara's expression turns serious for a moment. "Understood!"
The shuttles reach ExoGeni's HQ, and everyone gets out.
Alex can't help but snicker at Wrex, thinking that he looks ridiculous without his suit.
That guy looks like a huge frog.
Shepard, followed by a few diplomats and Alliance officers, either dressed in suits or uniforms, enters first.
Alex, Tali, and Liara follow, with the others entering after them.
Alex looks around and sees a giant lobby, the ceiling extremely high. Everywhere are luxurious-looking couches, tables, and decorations.
"They must be rich…" Alex mutters.
"Appearance is often more important than the actual business of a corporation," Liara notes.
"I already hate this place…" Tali says in an annoyed tone.
Alex spots Shepard being welcomed by multiple older people in high-class suits.
What a bunch of asskissers.
Shepard talks a while with the suits, only to turn around and gesture towards the group.
"We're going up now into the meeting room. You are allowed to spend time in the lobby and the ground floor. However, expect that some of their employees will keep an eye on you," she whispers.
Finally, she looks at Alex and Tali. "Try to find access to their network. If you find out anything, contact me over our secure channel!"
"Understood, Commander," Alex says.
Alex, Liara, and Tali walk through the lobby, acting like they're just waiting, staring at pictures.
As they walk around, Alex immediately notices that they are followed by two employees in suits.
He whispers into the comms, only communicating with Liara and Tali. "Two suits are following us. Let's walk through the ground floor until we get a chance to either lose them or knock them out. As soon as you see a viable target to hack into their network, Tali, tell me."
"Understood. Let's lure them deeper into their building, away from the lobby. There is bound to be a restaurant or cafeteria around," Liara says.
"We need access to an elevator to get further up the building—there won't be any weaknesses to exploit on the ground floor," Tali suggests.
The group leaves the lobby and walks around the ground floor.
It looks like they are keeping their distance… they are not outright following us! I can work with that!
En!
Alex sees the two men in suits walking behind them, a few walls between them. As they make another corner, Alex spots a door leading to an elevator.
"Quick, inside! They are behind us!" he urges them.
As he tries to open the door, he notices it is locked.
"Can you open it, Tali? You've got around 15 seconds until our friends walk past that corner," Alex says.
"Heh, I need only 7," Tali brags as she activates her omni-tool, opening the door.
They quickly rush inside the now-open room, and the door closes behind them.
They find themselves in a small room with two elevators.
"I studied some floor plans last night. It is reasonable to assume that this elevator leads upstairs. It seems to be only usable by employees. You need to hack it as well, Tali," Liara explains.
Alex thinks for a second before speaking: "Cameras shouldn't be focused on us yet. They are probably focusing on Shepard… however, a distraction couldn't hurt. When the suits report that they lost sight of us, they'll ring the alarm bells. Tali, get us inside that elevator now!"
"Kaidan, this is Alex! We could use a distraction so the cameras are all on you!" Alex yells through the comms channel.
"Understood… Wrex… do your thing!" he hears Kaidan order with an embarrassed voice.
Tali does her best to access the elevator, and after just a few moments, she manages to open it, and the group quickly enters.
Working with her omni-tool, Tali analyzes the situation and says, "I'm seeing some data on my omni-tool… it looks like we can go up or below."
Below… ExoGeni is known for unethical, dangerous experiments! Maybe the underground will hide that side! Anyway, my feeling tells me to go down.
"I have a feeling we should check out the basement! Tali, take us down!" Alex decides.
"Why below? I am confused," Liara says.
"Look, people always stash away their secrets underground! Trust me, take us down!" Alex orders.
The elevator takes the group down to the lowest floor. The elevator door opens, and they find themselves in what looks like a maze of corridors. They step outside and see three possible ways to progress: forward, right, or left.
En!
Alex uses En and concentrates, doing his best to identify the things he sees.
This… At the very edge of my En, I see a person… in what looks to be a cell?! Two people are on the other side of the walls.
"We should go straight ahead," Liara says.
"I agree with you, for once," Tali adds.
"No… to the right!" Alex orders, walking ahead, Tali and Liara following him with confused faces.
Walking right and then right again, finally entering the door on the left, Alex sees two male scientists wearing coats and a female inside a cell.
They turn around and look at him with confused faces, while Alex rushes forward and forcefully punches them, one after the other.
You have dealt 37 damage to ExoGeni Scientist
You have dealt 34 damage to ExoGeni Scientist
"Pl…ea…se…. help… me!!!" the woman stutters, falling onto her knees, staring at Alex, Liara, and Tali, pleading for help.
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