Ambush on Melos avenue
From FABT
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6 April 2184 CE | ||||||||||||||||
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- "You're a very lucky woman, Ms. T'Soni. You've just survived a Shadow Broker hit."
- — Randall Ezno to Liara T'Soni following the ambush.
The Ambush on Melos avenue was an ambush on Melos avenue within the financial sector of Nos Astra, Illium staged by the Shadow Broker's PMC forces on Liara T'Soni and Feron Huul, with Cerberus joining the engagement towards the end, that kicked off the brief War for the Corpse. Half a year after Commander Shepard's death and the destruction of the SSV Normandy, the Shadow Broker had given orders to Feron Huul, one of his top information traffickers, to oversee the retrieval of Shepard's body from Alchera's surface so it could be sold to the Collectors, who wanted the body to run genetic experiments. Suffering from a moral quandary from the order, Feron secretly betrayed his employer to work for Cerberus, who had already tried to recruit him to do so before, with the difference being they wanted the body to [[Project Lazarus|resurrect Shepard, while the Broker wanted the body to sell it. When the Broker became aware Cerberus would attempt to snatch the body, Feron changed the plan, wanting to enlist the assistance of former Normandy Squad member, Liara T'Soni, diverting suspicion away from him and towards Liara, convincing his employer Liara was Cerberus' partner in retrieving the body, and that he would deal with her while the Broker sent Gukon Tazzik to recover the body instead. Feron set up an elaborate ambush in order to secure the trust of the Broker and Liara alike, convincing both that they were on each other's side, while all the while ultimately working for Cerberus, making Feron a triple agent: leading a team of the Broker's private soldiers, Feron would lure Liara into an ambush along Melos avenue, buying the Broker's trust, while Randall Ezno, leading a squad of Cerberus commandos, would swoop in to "rescue" them at the last minute: from here, Feron would embed with Cerberus and Liara to monitor them, convincing the Broker that he was his double agent, while actually being Cerberus'. Through this, Feron could work with Cerberus to get the body with the Broker believing he was actually sabotaging them, all the while gaining Liara's trust and assistance at the same time, knowing she'd help out of loyalty to Shepard. While elaborate, the Illusive Man approved the plan, needing access to Shepard's body no matter the cost and believing Feron was firmly in their pocket.
The ambush went off without a hitch. Feron reached out to Liara, asking to meet her at Eternity Bar on Illium with information she needs for her mission, being deliberately vague, piquing her interest enough to lure her to Illium. Moving the Broker's team into position, Feron signaled Ezno's to move into position as well and when Feron met with Liara, he had a few Cerberus spies in casual dress tail them to sell Liara on the fiction she was being tailed by the Broker. Leading her into the avenue, the Broker's men launched their attack, overwhelming Feron and Liara in seconds, and capturing them. As they began questioning Liara before executing her, Ezno's team moved in and cleared out the Broker's mercs. The ambush was a success, kicking off the first encounter of the "War for the Corpse" as it would be known, with Liara assisting Feron and Cerberus with retrieving Shepard's body (although she was suspicious of Feron's true motives and loyalties, believing he was a double agent working for the Broker), and the Broker believing he now had an agent sabotaging their efforts.