Chapter 1: Broken


Voice Log 27: What happened?

I can't help but ask myself this question over and over in my mind looking back on the past few months. I find sleep harder and harder to come by but my work must take precedence due to the astronomical events unfolding around me this very moment. I am Dr. Liara T'Soni and this may be my final log I shall ever leave behind.

We have lost all communication with Earth and the Sol system as a whole and the Reapers have arrived. These Reapers are a super advanced synthetic race that harvests all advanced life every fifty thousand years, and our time is now.

I arrived here on Mars about a month ago when called in by the Alliance to help dig for any information on the killer machines on the way so naturally I agreed. But I quickly realized that the Alliance was just covering their own end due to the fact that they didn't believe in the threat just as the Citadel Council thought it was a sham.

But now I have hope for once. I found something, something that can turn the tide against the Reapers but even then it might be too late.

*Loud crash and muffled shouting*…thirty second pause detected. Log auto save…


Liara's POV

Goddess what was that? Liara had heard the storage crates in the next room get tossed about and people shouting and she drew her SMG on instinct and took cover behind her workbench. She waited a few seconds trying to discern what was going on until the shouting started again and three shots rang out from behind the door and a woman screamed in the background. She heard several men shouting in deep voices before the screams were cut short as well right as the door panel to her office flashed green and two heavily armored men came charging in.

What!? Cerberus? What is going on? Only one way to find out…She gritted her teeth and charged up her biotics and let out a feral scream as she unleashed a duel warp as she stood up and charged the two troopers. Both of the men's miniscule shielding were crushed by the force of her attack knocking one out while the other grunted. She popped several rounds into both men's skulls to make sure before pausing to check for more. When she glanced at the bodies in the next room she closed her eyes and sighed. They had become friends and she now knew of four more orphans in the galaxy.

As she looked past the bodies she saw four more troopers followed by a much heavier armored soldier file in and started to blast away at her position. She was able to throw up a barrier just in time as the bodies of the other scientists as well as the fallen troopers where turned to smears on the decking. When the raining bullets died down for a brief second she bolted back into her office and sealed the door and she frantically glanced all about but there was no way out. She was starring out onto the Martian landscape and an incoming sandstorm as lightning flashed all about due to the massive amounts of friction from the red sand sending the static discharges to all points in the sky.

Think Liara THINK!

She heard some muttered words through the door behind her and saw a flash above her. They were cutting through the door!

"Damnit!" she said and looked up and found salvation. The ducts! Goddess thank you! Liara shot the four holding pins securing the air diffuser and charged up her biotics and jumped up into the cramped duct work just as the door she had sealed opened and another volley of fire ringed deafeningly around her in the small metal space. She began to clamber through the ductwork as fast as she could, thinking that the Cerberus troopers would loose interest in the tight quarters chase but she heard several loud clunks behind her right as a trooper crawled into view.

"Get back here!" he shouted at her and clumsily managed to bring his SMG to bear around the elbow joint. She ducked just in time to avoid the sloppy fire while new holes were rent through the ducts. Despite her situation she smiled just a bit. She knew a particular friend who would be 'pissed as hell' to the damages to his duct system.

"Hurry up and get the bitch!" she heard from behind the bend she just got through as more rounds tore through the ducts causing small pieces of shrapnel to pepper her causing her to shield her eyes but she pressed on knowing to stop was to die. She was panting heavily at this point due to the tight spaces keeping her from being able to draw full breaths and was relieved to find another diffuser grill to jump from and get her bearings and try and see who was still alive.

If they were lucky they could rally and hold out long enough to get to the Kodiaks at the cargo port but she was cut off from everyone else for all she knew. This might be it. All the work she had been slaving over could possibly be for nothing.

She had reached the grill and braced both feet by the latches and kicked with all of her might sending the grill crashing to the floor and she rolled out of the duct and slowed herself with her biotics and she whirled around in time to pull the two pursuing troopers out of the duct and slammed them into the ground. But before she could finish them off a shotgun blasted twice silencing the groaning troopers. She panicked and turned about while already squeezing the trigger but stopped and her heart stopped for a beat when she saw him. It was John.

"Liara…" he sighed heavily full of relief but his eyes betrayed a hint of surprise no doubt wondering what she was doing here. Her mind snapped back and began to whir into overdrive as she took in the situation. If Shepard…John is back in action, then Earth…oh Goddess the Reapers are here!

"John, we must hurry, Cerberus is here! They are after the beacon here at the Archives. If they get a hold of the information I've found…" she began as she began to turn and find a way back to the heart of the facility. But she saw two other Alliance Marines with him, one of which she knew. Ashley Williams.

"I know Liara. James, get back to the Kodiak and be ready for a quick evac. Ash, you ready?" asked Shepard with a hint of annoyance in his voice. Liara quickly glanced between the two and saw the tension and knew what it must be about. She had listened to John about their encounter on Horizon.

"Whenever you are Commander" said Ashley strongly and then nodded to Liara. Liara would ask questions later. They had to get her data before it was gone and the Reapers also hit Mars as well.

"Right, follow me then, I think I can get us up to the next level and move on." She said as she ran over to a nearby lift and waited for the others to follow. She watched the guy names 'James' stalk off with a scowl on his face and Ashley was the first to the lift. She simple nodded before continuing to pan the area for potential troopers. Liara noticed the now hardened lines on the once Gunnery Chief's features and could only imagine what stories they held but when she turned back, John had caught up and his gaze drilled into her. He showed no emotion. He didn't look tiered like when she last saw him. It was a cold and calculating stare that was trying to read her.

"John…" she began.


Shepard's POV

No one fuckin' listened to him. And that's one of the key reason's he was in the middle of the biggest shitstorm of the past fifty thousand years. He had spent the last six months in utter hell! Sure it was plush compared to being thrown into Levinworth or a dishonorable discharge but the constant watch that was placed on him in Vancouver was damn insulting. But, he would have done the same. If it wasn't for James, he would have lost it in that room he had been confined too.

It had only been two hours since he had been thrown in front of the Alliance Admiralty board and the Reapers showed up. All hell had broken loose and he knew he was lucky to even get off of Earth in the first place but each minute he was gone more people would die, it was all up to him.

He had been sent to Mars for some supposed data that would turn the tide against the Reapers but so far all he had found was fucking Cerberus. The Illusive Man was up to something as always but why the hell was he jeopardizing their fight now? He had too many questions and no answers so all he could do was grit his teeth and press on but right as he was about to get down to business, Ash decided to bring up her fucking issues with him and he didn't have time for her bullshit. Once he had gained entrance into the archives he had instantly heard a fire fight and lo and behold Liara.

He had a flurry of mixed emotions at that moment. He had worried himself sick for months about her yet she had never called or tried to reach him in any way, nothing. So here he was, with hell on his heels and Armageddon in his way. Much was to be done.

He reached the lift where Ash and Liara waited for him and finally got a good look at his girl, if that was still the proper term. She had a small cut on one of her fringes that Asari had instead of hair and it looked as if she had caught some shrapnel. The lift began to move and he put a hand up to her cheek and she froze for a second before leaning into it just slightly. So we are still together. At least I got one answer today.

"Let me look at that cut." He said while tilting her head to the side slightly.

"I don't even notice it John, I'm…fine." She tried to shrug him off but he made her look back at him.

"No one is fine. Not now." He said. Liara nodded slowly and grimaced as the lift reached the second level. As another door came into view he watched as more Cerberus troopers began to cut through the sealed door.

"Get cover!" he heard Liara shout and he activated his tactical cloak and brought out his Mantis and as soon as the door opened he scored three hits no thanks to his armor piercing rounds. The first two troopers went down while the third screamed in agony but he was cut off while Liara unleashed a singularity that sucked him up with the remaining two troopers and followed up with a warp. When this happened, she caused the mini black hole to become unstable and explode causing body parts to splatter against the surrounding walls.

"Damn, leave some for me will ya?" said Ashley under her breath. Liara just shrugged and began to press on.

"I'll fill you in as we go!" she shouted as both Shepard and Ashley sprinted to catch up.

"Hackett contacted me a few weeks ago and wanted my expertise as the Shadow Broker to help try and uncover anything I could about the Reapers here. But it seems Cerberus knows what I've found…" Liara paused for a second as the other two caught up.

"And?" asked Shepard.

"I've found something that might just do it but we need to hurry! If Cerberus gets to the Archives first…" she began and turned to run off again but Shepard placed a firm grip on her before she could take another step.

"Slow down! You're going to get yourself killed by rushing off…" he said. Liara was acting erratic and he could now make out the tiered bloodshot eyes and her sagging shoulders. Damnit Liara…I told you to take it easy…Liara looked down at the floor for a moment before nodding and looking out a window towards the center of the facility.

"Liara, we'll get the data but you need to hold up. What else is going on?" he asked in a softer tone. Liara kept glancing away and shook her head trying to focus.

"What do you know?" she asked.

"All Hackett said was that you would fill us in." he said and noticed Ash panning the room around them. He may be pissed at her but, she was holding her own.

"I found a weapon that could stop the Reapers in the Prothean Archives John. This could be it but right as we were getting data on the Reapers hitting earth…we got blindsided and we had no idea it was Cerberus…and I would have visited…" Liara trailed off as she glanced at his eyes trying to read him.

"Liara, under the circumstances, I understand." He said gaining a small smile from Liara before she turned about and pressed on. They made their way past the first checkpoint and fought more troopers to the second. As the Vid feed came on they saw that Dr. Eva again show up behind two of the Marines, and shoot them both in the back.

"Goddess! No! How could I be so stupid! Damnit Shepard I should have seen this coming!" swore Liara as she slammed a fist on the consol. Ok, things are getting way out of hand.

"Liara! It's not your fault. You were focused on your work. Where do we go from here?" he asked trying to bring her back on track. Liara sighed heavily and placed a hand on her brow in frustration and then uttered the very words he was trying not to say himself.

"John, this is only going to get worse…how are we going to keep going? The Reapers are here and we can't even spot one damn spy…" she tapered off at the end and he wouldn't have that not now.

"We keep going for the ones we love, Liara. If it's not for them what do we have?" he asked quietly and brought Liara in for a quick embrace. She took the moment to lean on him and he couldn't help but dwell on her questions but he locked down on his mind and knew he hadn't the time.

"Ok, where next?" he asked. Liara led both him and Ashley through the buildings and as they went, they only ran into more troopers and even more death. That damned Cerberus infiltrator had even depressurized the mess room full of people. When he found her she was dead. But they were now currently trying to skirt around an automated defense turret and Ash took the lead. Damn, she may be sketched out by me but she has a good head on her shoulders.

Ashley had drawn off most of the fire as the team made their way from cover to cover and then quickly dispatched the troopers in the control room thanks again to another Singularity from Liara. Damn I've missed her!

"Shit, we need a way in to the Archives but they have the trams locked down…" swore Liara causing both him and Ash to pause.

"Liara, I don't think I've ever heard you swear before…" started Ashley only for Shepard to start laughing. Ashley rolled her eyes and began to walk off.

"Either way, I'm going to find a transmitter from one of the 'Centurion' guys and see what I can dig up. Who knows, maybe we can convince them we are on their team?" said Ashley as she left the room and Shepard nodded.

Liara watched as the Lieutenant Commander left the room and smiled as she glanced at him.

"The LT has become quite resourceful." She said causing him to feel a bit of pride. Despite all the misgiving between himself and Ash, he was glad she was here.

"Agreed." He said simply right as Ashley called him over.

"I found one!" she yelled and he walked over to find her prying of the faceplate of a Centurion and when it popped loose they were left disgusted.

"Holy shit he looks like a Husk!" Ashley exclaimed and recoiling a bit. He leaned over and looked closely at the man's face. He had only begun to transform and it caused memories to flood back to his mind.

"I'll be damned, Kyson was right. The Illusive Man is off his rocker…" he said as he took the local transmitter. He then smiled at Ashley and activated the comm.

"This is…Delta squad. All contacts have been taken out." He said with a smile on his lips. He heard some static and then a rough voice come back.

"Where the hell have you been? Fine, we're sending a tram back for you." Said the voice.

"Understood." Shepard replied and tossed the transmitter to Ashley.

"Good going LT. See, fully trustworthy." He said with a smirk.

"Ok, I get it. Let's keep going" said Ashley with a scowl. Shepard watched as Liara glanced between the two with a confused look but he just smiled gently at Liara and turned for another potential fight and of course, there was. Once they had cleared the tram of Cerberus, they rushed on board and began to glide towards the main building. He was checking for more drop ships and saw the approaching storm had arrived. Damn. He turned to Liara but found her looking around, obviously distracted as she was flying away on her Omni-tool.

"Liara?" he asked trying to gain her attention and she kept looking at her tool and her face lit up.

"YES! He's still alive! Thank the Goddess!" she yelled right as an explosion ripped through the tram knocking all three of them to their feet. They quickly got to their feet and found themselves stranded on the tramway and another car coming on the opposite rails but, it was empty.

"Liara? What the hell?" he asked as he checked on Ashley who nodded that she was fine. The second Tram got close and gently slowed down next to them but Liara just kept smiling.

"Funny how you mentioned Kyson back there. He has our position and is waiting at the end of the Tramway." She said. Shepard was shocked at this news. Why the hell was Kyson not on the Migrant Fleet? Was Tali here as well?

"Wow, so is Tali here also? Damn would it be nice to have them back on board the Normandy." He said as the tram began to move to their destination.

"Tali's here? And who the hell is Kyson?" asked Ashley but Shepard noticed Liara's features darken and she looked just like she did when her mother died. Fuck that's not a good sign. He brought out his Mattock and motioned for the team to get ready right as the bay door opened. No one was there and nothing moved.

"Well Ash, I don't know about Tali but Kyson…how many Rednecks do you know?" he asked with a slight smirk. The Tram came to a stop but he didn't like the silence. Something was up.

"Knew one guy from Texas once…he was one of my squadmates way back on Eden Prime." deadpanned Ashley who took cover behind the guard wall. Shepard nodded to her in understanding and was about to vault over into the bay when Liara laid a hand on his shoulder.

"John, before you talk to him, he's…different." Said Liara cryptically. He furrowed his brow in question but before he could ask how Kyson was different the doors on the opposite side of the room blew open and troops from all angles flooded in and pinned them in the Tram. As his team took cover he began to hear something come over the comms of the facility until he recognized the whining pitch of a guitar. (Break Those Bones Who's Sinews Gave it Motion: By Meshuggah)

"He always was one for theatrics!" shouted Shepard over the now blaring and grinding music. He took a peak over the guard rail and saw a heavily armored body in all black drop from a vent in the ceiling and pull out what looked like two Eviscerator shotguns right in the middle of the room and surrounded by Cerberus troops. And he began shouting with the Lyrics of the song.

"Tremors! Reverberating! Frequency of doom!" Shouted what he assumed was Kyson a he pointed both shottys right in the faces of two shocked troopers and their heads exploded into a red mist spraying all over Kyson but, the kid didn't stop as all thirty some troops focused right on him. Shepard watched as four mini turrets popped out of four strategically placed crates and began decimating the Cerberus ranks a Kyson calmly began to walk forward and into the maelstrom of death.

"How strongly the violent thoughts of vengeance echo setting in motion the strings of hate! SHUDDER! SHUDDER! VIBRATE!" yelled Kyson as he let loose his shotguns once again causing two more men to fall.

"This is the soundtrack to our hostility to our malicious intent to the pointless grudge forever held! The callow dream! The dismal wish to harm!" continued Kyson as he reached a Centurion who had managed to take out one of his turrets only to spin around and be decapitated by not one but two Omni-blades. Shepard watched the unfolding scene and was quickly beginning to see that Liara was right. What the fuck happened to him?

"Animate now the twisted sounds of our disdain, our rage, the notions to our contempt! To unforgiveness and loathing!" Kyson then lit a cigarette while rounds bounced off his shields causing them to collapse and Shepard watched as Kyson simply turned and walked back into the still cluttered room now filling with the dead. Kyson walked as if going to sit down in a comfy chair and Shepard watched as he pulled out what looked to be a sledge hammer and come up right behind a Cerberus trooper and swung down with all of his might crushing the helmet and skull inside causing blood to ooze from the cracks. Kyson had the smile of one possessed by a demon as he began to scream again and dropped the hammer and pulled the two shotty's out again.

"A sonic declaration spite and resentment! Its resonance grinding to dust our souls, the twine of revenge tightly strung!" Kyson the fired both guns at once into the spine of a Guardian trooper who was widdling down another turret and was cut in half with a sickening splatter.

"Holy fuck this guy is insane!" shouted Ashley over the now constant noise of death.

"It's sub harmonics the undoing of all! So enticing the retaliation chords of man! THE ALL DEAFENING OSCILLATION OF THE DAMNED!" shouted Kyson and Shepard could see the pure crazed anger in his eyes as he let loose with a duel incinerate and setting ablaze four troopers at once. The room then went silent a the Cerberus troopers stopped screaming and fell in charred heaps. Shepard could hear the flesh still sizzling under the armor and the stench of cooked flesh filled his nostrils, it wasn't anything new. Shepard and his team hopped the wall right as one last Centurion came out from behind Kyson but Kyson must have heard him right as a taser came for his neck.

Kyson grabbed the taser by the leads and began to convulse and snarl like a cornered beast. Once the taser spent its charge Kyson laughed and locked right back onto the Centurion's gaze.

"You should be dead!" cried out the now stranded man. Kyson winked at the Centurion right as he brought up one of his shotguns to the man's throat and pulled the trigger. Shepard had been rushing Kyson position trying to help but found it unnecessary. He found the young engineer lying on the now headless corpse which served as a pillow with the Centurion's head in his hands and looking into its eye slits.

"To be or not to be…well bud, that ain't a problem for you no more! Whoo HA HA!" laughed Kyson as he kicked the helmet holding the head over his body while still lying down. Shepard watched as the head dropped into dumpster on the far end of the room and his jaw dropped. Kyson had lost his damn mind.

"What the fuck was that!?" shouted Shepard as he turned back to the lounging Kyson who slowly sat up and looked shocked that he was even on this planet.

"Whoa! When did you get here? Fuck it, it don' matter." Said Kyson in a quite tone as he got up covered in blood. He potted Liara and nodded to her.

"So he is back. Good. Let's get moving." Said Kyson in a calm a detached voice and turned to the door that led to the main Archive.

"Hold up! You pull some crazy stunt like that and walk away like it's nothing? KYSON! I'm speaking to you!" shouted Shepard causing Kyson to pause and look back at him and it was then that Shepard got his first good look at him. Kyson now had a full beard and his already shaggy hair had grown into a mane for it hung at his shoulders. He had a scar that ran down from his forehead above his left eye and down his cheek but it was his eyes that unnerved Shepard. They were hollow, there was no soul.

"I know you are. But time is a wastin'. Storm, remember?" said Kyson as he opened the door and walked in. Shepard charged into the room and began to scout the area as Kyson walked up to the main terminal and Liara rushed up to join him. The two of them began to open up the files when Liara cried out in frustration.

"Damnit! The files are being purged! It's coming from nearby!" she shouted. Shepard started looking around the large chamber but saw a glow behind Liara that turned into a full hologram.

"Shepard." Said the hologram. Both Kyson and Liara twirled around both with their weapons in hand and relaxed when they saw only a holo staring at them.

"Illusive Man…" growled Shepard.

"I see you are back in action. Just wanted to give you one warning. Stay out of my way." Said the Illusive man scowling at him. Shepard couldn't believe this. This was not the time for old grudges.

"Damnit what are you doing? The Reapers are here and you're fighting your own damn race?" he scoffed. The Illusive man shrugged and took a drag on his cigg.

"The data that was uncovered here will help me control the Reapers, Shepard. Think about it, if the Archives jumped us in technology by two hundred years think what we would gain by utilizing the Reapers!" said the Illusive man. Shepard shook his head at the insanity of it all.

"You only want Humans at the top! How does that make us any better than the Reapers? Look it's not too late! Give me your resources and we can stop them!" he nearly shouted. He knew it was a moot point but he had to try. He still had the council to deal with.

"Sorry Shepard but you had your chance. Like I said, stay out of the way. Good bye…Shepard." The holo of the Illusive Man then dissipated.

"Damn him. Why can't he see what's happening?" asked Liara with clenched fist. All he could do was shake his head when he heard Ashley call out.

"I found her! It's Dr. Eva! AGH!" shouted Ashley and Shepard had enough time to glimpse the now retreating doctor and he took flight after her.

"Damnit don't let her escape! We need that data!" he yelled as he made his way while dodging bullets and incinerations. He ran her down to the upper loading deck only for her to get in a Cerberus Kodiak that was waiting.

"Fuck!" he shouted but then he saw another Kodiak, an Alliance one at that zoom in.

"I got this Commander!" shouted Vega over the comms and Shepard could only watch in horror as Vega slammed into the other shuttle. Both came down right at him and he was lucky to get out of the way. He looked behind him and found the other three had stayed clear but Ashley looked a bit banged up.

"Ash, you alright?" he asked but she waved him off. Good, no one lost. He looked up at the now ablaze Kodiak and sighed. They just got shafted. Ashley got up and began to check the Cerberus shuttle when a burnt body came out of the wreckage.

"Ashley look out!" he heard Liara scream and turned in time to see Ashley picked up by the throat. It was a damn droid! It looked to be talking to someone when it suddenly lashed out and started to pound Ashley head first into the downed shuttle over and over and he could hear Ashley screaming in pain.

"NOOOO!" he shouted gaining the bots attention he began to run full tilt and unloaded clip into the similarly charging machine but he was too enraged and focused to miss. He dropped the bot and didn't stop running until he got to Ashley.

"Ash! Ash wake up!" he yelled but the LT just lay there unmoving. God DAMNIT! Not this early in the game! Shepard screamed in his mind.

"James! Kyson! Grab that damn bot! Liara, get over here and give me a hand!" he yelled. Cerberus was going to pay.

It was a twenty minute ride back to the Normandy that was spent in silence. He had almost throttled Kyson just because he was still pissed about him in general and now he had a friend dying on him. Once back on the Normandy he got Ashley up to the med bay with the help of Kyson and Vega.

"Joker! Get to the Citadel now!" he yelled as they set Ashley on one of the medical beds. He leaned over her trying to focus but it wasn't working. It was all his damn fault and he should have seen it coming.

"John." Said Liara leaning over trying to grab his attention but he didn't hear her so she leaned in closer.

"JOHN!" she yelled causing him to start slightly and look up.

"Get up there with Joker or somewhere I don't know! I got her for now but make sure a hospital is ready!" Liara pointed at the door and he nodded in agreement and left the med bay. As he walked out into the mess he saw Kyson leaning against one of the bulkheads like those months before.

"How she doin?" he asked quietly. Shepard hung his head and Kyson started to walk off.

"She ain't the first, and not the last." Said Kyson coldly and as he turned, Shepard saw the N7 emblem on his shoulder.

"Stop it right there. What the hell is going on with you! Why the hell aren't you on the fleet with Tali? One of the last messages I got from Luke before being confined was that you had joined the Quarians." He said. Kyson then did something very odd. His eye twitched as well as his right hand and he seemed to lose his balance for a split second but then went ridged again.

"I got fucked over. Just like you." Said Kyson in a monotone.

"Care to share?" asked Shepard. He was grinding his teeth now. He didn't have time for these stupid games.

"I got spaced." said Kyson who stared him down and once again the once lively expressions were missing and stripped from his features.

"So who brought you back?" asked Shepard with the first hint of a smile since the Reaper invasion but Kyson just stared at him unblinking.

"I never died." said Kyson in a now quiet and distant tone that caused him to shiver at the implication. He had been lucky and died. He couldn't imagine being stranded like that.

"What happened?" he asked in a now softer tone. It all made sense now, Kyson or, the Kyson he once knew had changed.

"Later Shepard. Right now we have bigger issues to take care of." Said Kyson and he turned to the elevator only to be joined by the Commander.

"We got time…" he began but was caught off guard as Kyson grabbed him by the collar with strength he had never seen from the young engineers and slammed against the wall. He looked at Kyson who finally showed a hint of emotion. It was one of pure agony. Kyson was grinding his teeth and trembling slightly and quickly let him go.

"I'm…sorry, I just can't bring myself to face it right now." Said Kyson as he suddenly stood stock still and kept glancing to the left of him as if someone was there. Shepard glanced to his side and found only empty air. He punched the holo for the engineering deck and stood quietly watching Kyson who just stood there grinding his teeth. He's more than unstable. Not surprising I've seen it before. The mind can only take but so much isolation with the threat of death looming over them. Look at what happened to Toombs…

He led Kyson down to what used to be Jacks old room and sat down on a crate and Kyson did the same but kept staring off into the distance.

"I can't have someone unstable on my ship Kyson. You know that." He said but only got a slight shrug from Kyson. Shepard noticed now that it was time to hit home. He needed answers.

"Where is Tali?" he asked strongly and watched not for the first time a man break down. Kyson began to shake uncontrollably, if he didn't know any better he would think he was having a seizure. Kyson closed his eyes and even his neck started to spasm.

"I…I…I don't know…I h- haven't seen here in almost five months." Said Kyson who now had his head buried in his hands but continued to stutter out words.

"S-she a-almost married me…and then I was set up and…THAT BITCH!" shouted Kyson who jumped up and kicked a crate so hard that it's hinges blew apart and rations spewed across the deck.

"KYSON!" Shouted Shepard and Kyson spun about with a wild fire burning in his eyes.

"Daro'Xen will die by my hands!" shouted Kyson and damn near all of Shepard's questions had been answered. He had gotten caught in the fleets political crossfire.

"Does Tali know your alive?" he asked causing Kyson to slump back on his crate and shake his head.

"Nope. She thinks I'm dead as a door nail. Xen is blocking all information about me from reaching the fleet…" said the defeated Kyson and Shepard felt sick to his stomach.

"We'll get her back Kyson…" he began only for Kyson look scowl at him.

"No, we won't." said Kyson who then lit another cigg.


A/N

Hey everyone! So I'm back with more story time goodness!

I decided to throw you right back into the action after debating if I should go through the opening Earth sequence. I will hold to my weekly posts as best I can once again and hope you enjoy the next instalment of the tales of Kyson Sorley!

~RJ