Mina lowered her pistol, with Solana following suit.
"I'm not here to fight," Wrex continued, standing up. "I just wanted to make sure no one was dead."
"So you're the one who has been watching the place, huh?" Solana asked, walking over to turn on the lights in the living room. "What do you want from us?"
"To make sure Aster stays alive," Wrex replied, looking straight at Mina.
"I can tell that it's you," Wrex continued when Mina didn't reply. "That disguise won't help you. I know it's you."
There's no point in hiding it now, SAM commented.
Mina gave Solana a quick glance and could tell that she was also in agreement with letting the krogan in on their secret since he already knew. How he knew was still a mystery, a mystery that Aster was going to figure out.
"What are you doing here?" Aster asked. "How did you know it was me?"
"I've known it was you since I saw you land on the Citadel," Wrex replied. "The disguise helped since I didn't recognize you at first, but after you went to speak to that turian Spectre, I knew."
"And the mark on you gives you away," he added. "That scent reminds me of that blue-marked turian pyjak."
'He's referring to your fanboy husband,' SAM interjected.
'I'm aware,' Mina said sarcastically. 'And I don't have a husband.'
"Since I arrived, you've been watching this place?" Mina asked, wanting to confirm Solana hadn't been the target.
"Only since you arrived," Wrex replied. "Didn't think you were friends with a turian. But given the circumstances, I guess you're part of the Pyjak's family."
"She has a lot of turian friends," Solana commented, going to grab a chair to sit on. "You're lucky today's my day off."
"Why are you watching the apartment?" Mina asked, taking a seat on one of the sofas. "When you confirmed it was me, what made you stick around?"
"Rumors," Wrex replied. "Someone's looking for information on Aster."
"There's a lot of speculation, but since there hasn't been any new information, most of the bounty hunters haven't been interested. I've been on the lookout just to be on the safe side."
'I wonder who started the rumor,' Mina thought after listening to Wrex's information. 'The turians? Perhaps it was the Councilor.'
'I wouldn't put it past them,' SAM replied. 'They are the likely suspect, especially with everything going on.'
"Where did the rumor come from?" Solana asked. "I heard that rumor months ago, but it's not enough to warrant bounty hunters to come for her."
"Heard it from the Shadow Broker's informants," Wrex said. "I asked several times about any new information, but it never changed. Couldn't pinpoint who first started it."
"I'm assuming no one knows what you've learned?" Solana asked.
"I'm not stupid," Wrex replied, growling. "Aster and I go way back."
"Just make sure no one finds out," Mina said. "There's too much we don't know; it's best if we keep quiet about it until we figure out what we are up against."
"No one must know," Solana added.
"You mean who we are up against," Wrex commented.
"Wrex," Mina said. "Keep an ear out for any new information. I want to know if this rumor grows or if anything else gets out."
"I'll do that," Wrex replied. "I'll keep an eye out on this place as well until we know more."
*
That afternoon, Mina invited Garrus, Nilhus, and Wrex over for dinner. If they were going to be working together to clear Aster's name, they needed a plan. A plan that wouldn't end in prison or worse, death.
Solana and Mina had discussed that they would be ordering food for dinner. There was no reason to cook. However, when the three had arrived, Solana and Mina found that the guys had their own dinner plans. Shortly afterwards, the air in Solana's cramped Citadel apartment hung thick with the scent of krogan-spiced ronto steaks, turian pastries, and a suspiciously potent Asari fruit wine that Wrex swore was "vintage."
Solana surveyed the array of food with a weary smile. "You guys really didn't have to go all out."
"Nonsense," Wrex grunted, tearing into a steak with savage gusto. "A good meal is the foundation of any successful undertaking. Especially one that involves sneaking around that damn bureaucratic monstrosity."
Nihlus meticulously cleaned his plate with a piece of Turian bread. While they finished up dinner, Wrex, Solana, Mina, Garrus, and Nihlus huddled over the table as Nihlus laid out several datapads of information. Datapads that had been 'borrowed' for the time being.
"Alright, let's go over this again," Mina said, downing her drink. "We need that file from Citadel Tower. Undetected. That means no alarms, no firefights, and absolutely no Wrex-shaped holes in the walls."
Wrex grunted, tearing into a slab of suspiciously pink meat. "What, you think I want to fight my way through Citadel Security? Fine, I'll be sneaky." He punctuated his statement with a loud crunch.
Nihlus snorted, not believing him. "The surveillance grid is extensive. Garrus, have you analyzed the patterns?"
Garrus, already hunched over a datapad mapping the Tower's security network, nodded. "I've identified blind spots and predictable patrol routes. We can create a window of opportunity, but it will be tight."
"The file that we are looking for can only be accessed by a Spectre and the Council," Nihlus continued. "However, I believe that the Council will be on the lookout for anyone trying to access the file. We will need a way to access the file without them finding out."
"If you can get me into the Citadel Tower, I can download the files you need," Mina replied.
"We won't know what we will encounter until we get in there," Garrus commented. "It'll be best if a two-man team extracts the file."
"Since you're the lead on this investigation, you should take Mina and grab those files," Nihlus said. "They won't suspect anything if she's with you."
"In the meantime, Solana and I will be hanging out by the Embassies," Nihlus continued. "We will be on a lookout and Wrex can-"
"Don't worry about me," Wrex interrupted. "I have my own plan."
"Why is he even here?" Garrus asked, staring at the krogan. "I didn't realize we needed a mercenary to get the job done."
"This 'mercenary' knows more than you," Wrex growled.
"How about we concentrate on the task at hand?" Mina interrupted, not wanting Garrus to find out what Wrex meant.
"When do we do this?" Mina continued. "We can't arouse suspicion. Taking those files is not going to be an overnight thing. Citadel Tower is the most secure place in the whole station.
Even if we wanted to, it would take hours for me to hack into all the systems and find a way inside."
'What do you think?' Mina asked SAM as everyone stayed quiet.
'If you can get me close, I can hack it,' SAM replied with conviction that Mina didn't even feel.
"But not impossible," Solana said, speaking up and looking around.
She made brief eye contact with Mina.
'It will take some time,' SAM said. 'Hours, perhaps.'
"Eh, not impossible," Mina replied slowly. "If I can get close enough, I can get those files, but getting there and taking the files will take hours."
"What's so important about those files anyway?" Wrex asked, flexing a bit.
"They contain the details of who gave the video to the Councilor," Garrus explained. "The video is what is framing Ast- Captain Shepard."
"If we find who it was, we can confront the accuser," Garrus continued. "Set things right."
"I'm all up for clearing the Captain's name, but I don't think it's going to be as easy as you make it seem," Solana said, shaking her head. "If you think about this, only someone with high authority or a trusted individual could bring something like this to the Council and force them to take action."
"This goes beyond anything we have ever dealt with."
"You're thinking this is a coup?" Nihlus asked in disbelief.
'He may be on to something,' SAM commented. 'Who has the most to benefit from all of this? All of your missions are sanctioned by the Council. Imagine what will be said if this goes public and are found guilty of these charges.'
'But who would benefit the most?' Mina repeated. 'Who would want the Council removed? For what purpose? Who would go through all this trouble?'
"It's a possibility," Mina agreed. "Imagine what would happen if all of this news were released to the citizens of the Citadel?"
"If you take into consideration everything Captain Shepard has done under orders from the Council," Mina continued. "I can't imagine what will happen."
"I'm betting that every mission the Captain has done will also be exposed," Wrex inputted. "Not everyone is going to be happy about some of those missions. Especially those batarian bastards."
"They've never been happy since humanity beat them before the turians arrived," Mina commented. "Everyone knows that."
"Someone could take this as an opportunity to remove the current Council," Solana said. "If you can get enough support, it's possible to remove the Council."
"This is insane," Garrus said, rubbing his neck. "How could this be happening?"
"Whoever is behind all of this has to have an agenda," Nihlus replied. "The sooner we figure out what it is, the better, but we can't know for sure who is behind this until we get Captain Shepard's file."
"We need those files," Solana said, agreeing.
'They're right,' SAM said. 'Not even I have access to those files; I can't find anything. They're probably kept on a separate server.'
'They can never make it easy, huh?' Mina asked. 'It's a safe assumption. If secrets were kept on the regular server, more hackers may want to try their hand at taking them.'
'I guess there isn't any other option,' Mina continued.
'Not one I can think of,' was SAM's response. Those files may be our only hope.
"Alright," Mina said. "I'll do it. When are we planning on doing this?"
"The annual Council Ball will be occurring in two weeks following the Turian New Year," Nihlus said. "Most everyone will be preoccupied with preparations and security. I say that would be a perfect time."
"That's right!" Solana said excitedly. "I also received a notification about the ball; notification and invitation!"
"Alright," Nihlus said. "I got a plan. Solana and I will attend the ball while Garrus accompanies Mina to get the files-"
"Why can't you go with Mina?" Garrus interrupted. "You know the area better than I do."
"Why don't you want to go with your wife?" Wrex asked.
Silence descended, thick and suffocating. Garrus stopped mid-chew, his mandibles twitching. Mina nearly choked on her own spit. They stared at each other, mouths agape.
"In the meantime," Nihlus continued, breaking the awkward silence. "We will continue watching for any more reports on Captain Shepard and any changes with the Council. Any more questions or concerns?"
The five of them agreed to be in constant communication leading up to the heist.