Ascension

'You going to check the messages?' Hendel asked, the question a none-too-subtle reminder of his suspicion.

'Just need to locate a comm buoy. . okay, got one. Linking in.'

There was a short beep, and one of the monitors flickered to indicate a new message had been downloaded from the interstellar network of communication buoys used to transmit messages across the vast expanse of the galaxy.

'Play it,' Hendel told him.

Grayson punched a button, and Pel's face appeared on the screen, his voice filling the cockpit.

'Got your message. Sorry things fell apart, but I warned you about getting sloppy,' he said, raising one eyebrow. 'Lucky for you I think I can help. I'm sending the coordinates for a landing pad near my warehouse on Omega. I'll be there with some of my crew to meet you when you touch down.'

There was a brief pause, and then Pel laughed. 'You understand this is going to cost you, right? You know how much I hate cleaning up someone else's mess.'

There was another beep from the monitor, and the image froze, the message ended. In his mind, Grayson breathed a sigh of relief, though he gave no outward indication of how he felt. He'd expected Pel's message to be discreet; Cerberus operatives were well versed in the art of ambiguous double talk when using nonsecure bandwidth. But with Hendel looming over him, he'd still felt a tingle of apprehension when he'd pushed the playback.

'Pretty vague,' the security chief muttered.

'This is a public channel,' Grayson snapped back at him, his nerves still on edge and begging for a quick hit of red sand. 'Did you really think he'd admit to being a drug baron?'

'I think that's as much confirmation as we're going to get,' Kahlee told her partner.

Hendel considered for a long moment, then nodded. 'Okay, but I still don't like it. Take us through the relay.'

Grayson bristled at being given what sounded like a direct order; this was his ship, after all. But he did as he was told, initiating the course he had programmed before picking up the message.

'You look like you need some sleep,' Kahlee said to the security chief. 'You go lie down. I'll keep an eye on Gillian.'

And on me, I'll bet, Grayson thought. But he wasn't about to try anything now. He could simply wait until they landed at Omega, and Pel and his team would take care of everything.

As their ship shot forward to be snatched up by a twisting, shimmering bolt of energy unleashed from the mass relay, he couldn't help smiling at how well things were going to work out. He noticed Kahlee, unaware of what he was really thinking, smiling back.

Lemm peered through the binoculars at the nondescript warehouse. He'd been watching it for several hours now, perched atop the roof of a tall, four-story building on the next block. So far, he'd seen little to indicate anything unusual was going on, though all the windows were made of tinted one-way glass, making it impossible to see inside.

'I haven't noticed any guards on duty,' he muttered.

'They're there,' Golo assured him. 'Heavily armed. Pel doesn't trust nonhumans.'

Lemm didn't bother to ask why a xenophobe would set up operations in a place like Omega; greed could overcome almost any prejudice.

The warehouse, like most of the surrounding buildings, was a short, squat structure only two stories high.

'If I can get close enough to scale the wall, maybe I can sneak in through one of the second-story windows,' he said, thinking out loud.

'They'll have security cameras on the street,' Golo warned him. 'You'll do better coming in from above.'

He realized the other quarian was right. From their current perch he could leap over to the neighboring three-story building, dropping down one floor to land atop it. With the way the block had been laid out, he could continue on from there, hopping from rooftop to rooftop until he reached the warehouse.

'Good idea,' he admitted.

He still didn't like the other quarian; Golo would always be a despicable traitor in his eyes. But he had to admit that he had been extremely helpful in planning Lemm's assault on the warehouse. It was almost enough to make him start trusting him; almost, but not quite.

Golo seemed determined to prove himself, however. He'd even managed to acquire architectural plans for the warehouse's interior: a mind-boggling mess of twisting halls and stairwells that doubled back and forth, seemingly in an effort to confuse and disorient anyone inside. Despite the convoluted layout, Lemm had already memorized the blueprints. In simple terms, the front half of the building was divided into two floors. Offices had been converted into barracks on the ground level; the second story consisted primarily of small storage rooms. The rear of the building was an open, high-ceilinged garage large enough to hold scores of shipping crates and several vehicles.

As he watched, the garage door rolled up and a pair of rovers sped out, heading toward the nearby spaceport. He didn't bother moving; there was virtually no chance they would spot him lying flat on a rooftop hundreds of yards away.

'What are they doing?'

'Picking up a shipment, maybe?' Golo suggested.

Lemm briefly considered his chances of trying to sneak in to have a quick look around before they got back. Golo had told him there were five men and three women working for Pel — nine humans in total. He had no idea how many had gone off in the vehicles, but it was likely only a few had been left behind to guard the building. If the crew from the Cyniad were being held as prisoners inside, as he suspected, this might be his best opportunity to rescue them.

'I'm going in.'

'Don't be stupid!' Golo hissed, grabbing him by the shoulder as he tried to stand up. 'It's broad daylight! They'll see you coming!'

'There's probably only two or three people in there now. I like those odds better than nine against one.'

'Those vehicles could come back at any time,' Golo reminded him. 'Then you'd still be outnumbered, and they'd be the ones catching you by surprise.'

Lemm hesitated. His gut was telling him to make his move, even though everything the older quarian was saying made logical sense.

'Stick with the original plan. Go in tomorrow night. You'll have more time to prepare. Plus, it'll be dark and most of them will be asleep.'

With a sigh, Lemm settled back down and resumed his vigil. He didn't like sitting around doing nothing, but Golo was right yet again. He had to be patient.

The vehicles returned less than thirty minutes later. They disappeared into the garage, the heavy steel door slamming shut behind them.

'We've seen all we're going to see,' Golo told him. 'Let's go. You need to get some rest so you're ready for tomorrow night. You can sleep at my apartment.'

Clearly sensing Lemm's hesitation, Golo added, 'I know. You still don't trust me. Just keep your shotgun under your pillow if it makes you feel safer.'

***

Grayson brought the shuttle in to land with a long, slow approach. The sensors picked up two vehicles parked just beyond the wall separating the docks from the interior of the station; he assumed they belonged to Pel and his team.

They landed with the softest of bumps. He shut down the controls, killed the engines, then made his way from the cockpit back to where the others were waiting.

Hendel and Kahlee were standing on either side of

Gillian, the three of them waiting for him in the ship's airlock. Gillian had changed out of the hospital robe