Mass Effect Writer's Support Thread

"Lock the door," Valeria said over her shoulder as she stepped into the interrogation room.



Elias Kelham, secured in the chair in the center of the room, stared wide-eyed at her, then glanced at the door when it closed. The holographic panel floating in front of the door turned from green to red, and his eyes opened even wider.



Valeria compared this reaction to the vids of his prior interrogations and almost laughed.



Hah. Acts tough when he's got his own private army surrounding him, or when he knows C-Sec won't hold him for more than an hour or two. But take away his support and lock him in a small room with someone who isn't with C-Sec, and his true nature surfaces.



Valeria strode over to him and began circling him, just as she had circled Bailey a few minutes ago. She held up her Spectre ID and kept her voice quiet, yet just strained enough to show him how tightly she was keeping her rage in check.



"Valeria Terakkis, Special Tactics and Reconnaissance." She stopped and leaned over him, opening her mouth enough to give him a good look at her sharp, pointed teeth. "The woman you're trying to have assassinated is my husband's grandmother. She's part of my family, and I consider any attack on her an attack on me. Clear?"



His face turned almost white and cold sweat beaded up on his forehead. "Y--y--y--you want me to cancel the contract?"



"Not necessary." Valeria resumed her orbit around him. "I've already put the word out--any assassin or merc who so much as glances in Natalie Kurakova's general direction will end up strapped to a table in a vivisectionist's lab, and I will attend to each and every one of them personally." She stopped again, and stared straight into his eyes. "And I will make sure it takes every one of them a good, goddamned long time to die."



He shivered, and even more color drained from his face.



"Also, about the human your people tried to hold hostage to get me and my associates to back off." Valeria braced her left hand on the arm of his chair, and her right on its headrest, and leaned in until her face was mere centimeters from his. "That's my husband. I'm sure I don't have to spell out how I feel about this."



His trembling worsened and he tried to scoot away from her.



"You're on my last nerve, Mr. Kelham, so I suggest you answer my questions. Clear?"



"Yes," he half-whispered, half-squeaked.



"Good." She stepped back and paced slowly around him again. "For the moment, I won't get into why Cerberus has been working with your little operation, as there is a far more important matter to deal with. However, once that's resolved, I'll be back to question you again."



He turned his head slowly, keeping his wide eyes on her until she passed behind him, then he shuddered and pressed his lips together.



"Cerberus has been holding Captain Bailey's son hostage to ensure his cooperation. I need to know where."



He continued trembling until she stepped into his line of sight again. Suddenly, he glared at her, trying to pull himself together and reassert some measure of control.



"Hey, I--I have rights! You can't do this to me! I'm not saying anything until I speak to my attorney."



"A C-Sec officer can't do this to you. A Systems Alliance security agent can't do this to you. An officer of the Turian Hierarchy can't do this to you." She stopped and faced him again. "A Spectre can."



His scowl faltered for a second, but he recovered and sneered at her. "I want my attorney in here. Now."



Okay, time for a different approach. "Your high-powered attorney got you off the hook after you hired a hitman to assassinate Joram Talid during his campaign for Intendant of Zakera Ward. He might be able to get you off the hook for your attempt to have my grandmother-in-law killed. And he might be able to get the latest charges dropped." She stepped closer to him. "For Jorax Lanius. Do you even know who that is?"



He shook his head.



"He's the turian you ran down with your car. I saw the surveillance video. I read the eyewitness statements. I read the medical report. You plowed your car into him at full speed. The impact cracked his carapace open and sent him flying into a wall. You parked and walked away as if nothing happened." Valeria leaned over him again. "His internal injuries were massive. The surgeons did everything they could, but I was notified a few minutes ago that he didn't make it. Now, as I said, your attorney might be able to pull your ass out of the fire again, but that won't make any difference."



"What are you talking about? If you think you can threaten me--"



"I don't need to." She stepped back and shook her head. "I checked Jorax out once I found out what was going on here. He was a good man. A kind man. He never did anything illegal in his entire life. His wife, however, is a former asari commando named Arana Nelvos. She's said numerous times that Jorax is one of the few bright spots in her life, and he's been gradually turning her into a better person. Have you ever heard of her?"



"No." He rolled his eyes. "What the hell does that have to do with--?"



"As I said, she's a former commando. She's currently a high-ranking officer in the Eclipse mercenary corporation. She has an entire division under her command. If she doesn't already know you took away one of the precious few good things in her life, she'll find out soon. I wouldn't be surprised if she breaks all of her current contracts and sets her entire division upon you."



Kelham's defiant expression crumpled. He trembled, his lower lip quivered, and his breathing turned ragged.



Ah-hah. I've got his attention now. "I've never met Arana Nelvos, but I know her type. I can guess what she'll do. She'll kill you and everyone in your organization, as well as every Cerberus operative who gets between her and you. If you have any family or close friends, I wouldn't be surprised if she kills them first and makes you watch. Hell, if you have any pets, she'll probably do them, too."



After gaping at her for a solid ten seconds, he made one last attempt at regaining control. "You're making that up! You're just trying to intimidate me!"



Valeria unlocked his shackles. "You've got an Omni-Tool. Look her up."



He stared at her for a few more seconds before he activated his Omni-Tool and entered Nelvos's name. A dossier appeared, including an image of a grim asari in yellow Eclipse armor with a dozen scars crisscrossing her face. Kelham read the dossier and slowly raised a trembling hand to cover his mouth. He tapped a link in the file and another dossier appeared--Jorax Lanius. He read it and returned to the file on Nelvos.



Valeria leaned over for a quick glance at the display, which currently showed Arana's Eclipse history--mostly hired-gun stuff that included unnecessarily brutal actions against her clients' enemies. However, there was a noticeable shift after she married Jorax. Her division began accepting jobs from legitimate businesses and individuals, protecting the innocent and defenseless from pirates and slavers and criminal organizations larger than the one Kelham ran--and, more often than not, utterly trounced them.



And now there's a good chance she'll turn back into the person she was before Jorax brightened her life. Valeria stepped back and shook her head slowly.



Kelham finished reading, switched his Tool off, and slumped back in the chair. A long silence stretched out before he finally spoke, and when he did, his voice was a soft mumble, as if speaking to loudly could bring Arana's whole division down upon him.



"Shit. Oh ... oh, no." He ran his suddenly violently shaking hands through his hair and glanced around frantically, as if trying to find somewhere to run. But there was nowhere. "Oh ... fuck me."



Time to tighten the screws. Valeria walked in front of him and turned to meet his gaze again.



"You've got two options. You can tell me everything I need to know, and I can make sure whatever family and friends you have are placed in a protection program--or I can hand you over to Arana Nelvos personally."



Kelham gaped at her and struggled to resume breathing.



"Well?" She stepped closer. "What'll it be?"