He was back in his old apartment. Covered in Cynthia's blood, but she was nowhere in sight. He looked around and saw that everything was clean. No blood was on the wall and the pool that was at his feet was gone .He got up from his knees and saw a light was on in the living room. Kyson walked slowly down the hall afraid of what he would find. He wanted it to end. He wanted to move on. But it always came back. He walked into the light and panned the room. Cynthia was sitting on the couch, a smile on her lips.
"Hey there," she said with a sweet smile. Kyson just stared.
"Have a seat, its ok, its time this happened." Kyson was numb. He couldn't stop thinking about how this was going to get bad quick. But he somehow found himself in one of the leather chairs facing Cynthia.
"You've been holding on too long. I want you to let go." Kyson buried his face in his hands not believing what she said.
"Don't think like that. You know you're wrong, you couldn't know what was going to happen. You gave me a life I never knew I would have. Now you can do it again." Kyson shot up at the obvious reference.
"But what if I fail her too? I…still miss you." Tears were welling up in his eyes as he finished, but he didn't care anymore.
"Kyson, I miss you too. But you have the chance to do it again and more with Tali. She needs you as I did and you have much larger trials ahead." Cynthia got up and moved to stand in front of Kyson, putting a hand on his cheek. He couldn't make eye contact.
"Look at me, I love you. Don't ever forget that. But now is the time when your friends will need you. Love, Kyson, let it grow. Don't run from it." She embraced him and warmth flooded Kyson's being. He knew at that moment, this was the goodbye he always wanted.
"Goodbye Kyson. I will always love you." Cynthia said in his ear.
"And I you" He said. But before he could process what happened, Cynthia pulled away twirling around the room laughing lightly. He took in the good memory while he could.
"Oh, you overslept again." She said while still dancing.
"What?" all the sudden he felt distant again.
"Wake up," She said but with a new harsher tone. She said it again but it sounded male, someone he knew.
"Sorley, Wake up!" Shepard yelled at the top of his lungs. It took three times to rouse him. Kyson popped the only visible eye open and saw Shepard and promptly jumped out of bed, reaching for his pistol.
"What's wrong?" Kyson said searching the room only to find a pissed off Shepard and Tali who was still asleep.
"What's wrong is a five thousand credit bill for furniture damages with no name assigned and the fact that I just spent the last thirty minutes hacking a Quarian locking algorithm." Shepard had kept an even tone but from the frown on his face, Kyson knew he was in deep.
"Uh…oh yeah, that."
"Yeah, that." Shepard said tersely.
"The two of you, in my quarters, 15:00 hours." And he abruptly turned and left without another word.
Uh oh that ain't good. What time is it? Oh crap. His Omni-tool showed 13:07 earth time. Kyson turned to Tali and saw her still asleep. Must have turned her sound filters off. He reached over to rouse her when she intercepted it with her own hand.
"I woke up about the same time. I didn't know what to do…" She said trailing off. Kyson understood. He had never seen Shepard pissed like that before.
"It's cool. Alright, good thing our stuff pretty much stayed packed. I'm gonna hit a quick shower before switching back to my armor. We have less than two hours." He headed off and took a three minute power shower, and still didn't have enough time to shave. He came out of the bathroom with only a towel while gathering his under armor and gear.
"Um…pardon me for intruding." Tali said awkwardly. Kyson had no idea what was wrong so he just cocked an eyebrow and went back to the bathroom. He checked over his armor. It had some scratches and dents, nothing new, except he finally got a look at the neat hole where the sword had punctured the chest plate. Daaaammn, that would freak me out too. He thought how he would need to put a permanent patch over it once on the Normandy. Kyson also decided it was time to retire the red color scheme. But that could wait. Kyson walked out ready to go. He found Tali sitting on the chair at the small desk.
"Alright, let's get this over with." Tali just nodded and followed him. A twenty five minute ride took them back to the trading floors and the dock berthing the Normandy. They had twenty minutes to spare by the time they entered the Normandy's air lock. Another five waiting for standard decon, and that slow ride up to Shepard's cabin. But as soon as the airlock opened up Joker was there leaning against the bulkhead.
"Wish I got to sleep in. Guess it comes with wild night privileges. Garrus is already up with Shepard. Have fun!" And with that, he shuffled back to the pilot seat and started his flight checks. Tali just glanced at Kyson who understood the significance. Garrus was getting the first wave of wrath.
"Keelah, Poor Garrus." Tali said nervous. She had never been in trouble on the Normandy before, much less with Shepard.
"Agreed" grunted Kyson. They dropped their bags off at the bulk head next to the elevator and pressed for the cabin. The time was spent in silence, both not knowing what to expect. When the doors opened they knew they were in trouble when they had three minutes to spare and the door controls glowed red. They would have to wait, like a troublesome student waited for the principal. Kyson decided to break the silence.
"So…how we gonna do this?" Kyson said watching the door as if a caged tiger was waiting to devour him.
"It's Shepard." Tali responded shrugging her shoulders and staring at the ground. Both of them knew that no matter what, they we're screwed, hard. Kyson couldn't help but stare at the door. What else could he do? The lock turned green on the interface and Kyson at least kept his composure by not jumping in his boots. Garrus walked out looking dejected and nearly walked right into Kyson.
"Damn! Oh, my bad Kyson." Garrus didn't even stop as he entered the elevator and promptly hit the panel.
"That's not good" Muttered Tali, seeing Garrus in such a state. Kyson though didn't move. He simply stood there and waited for the tiger. And sure enough, it appeared. Shepard had the same scowl on from when he woke up Kyson and Tali. He simply pointed to his quarters and both Kyson and Tali knew better than to dawdle, and quickly filed in. Kyson decided to stand next to the fish tank looking over the model ships while Tali stood across from him. She was wringing her hands again and bouncing lightly on her toes. The door shut, and it began.
"The hell is the matter with you two?" Shepard began his voice almost a shouting volume.
"We have an important mission in five hours and my top engineers are no where to be found! I must have sent twenty messages each, and nothing!" Shepard began pacing in the lower section of his cabin. Kyson was convinced that Shepard was about to tear the room apart, but he couldn't help but watch the sight.
"I know I said R&R but getting flat out drunk? And furthermore, you get into some sort of fight and don't report it to the Normandy at least? Damn it Kyson I thought time on the Normandy would have shaped you up from Omega and Tali, you know better." Shepard paused in his berating enough to stare both of them down. Kyson wasn't gonna just take it after everything that happened.
"Shepard, it's complicated…" Kyson began.
"Oh really?" Shepard snapped back.
"Yeah. And first off. I was sober. Secondly, it wasn't a mere fight. It was the same girl who tried to kill Tali on the Alliance base. And I'm sorry for not reporting it. That is on me, but leave Tali out of this, she only tried to help." Kyson chanced a quick glance over to Tali to find her staring at the floor. He would be damned if he let someone else suffer for his own mistakes. Shepard seemed to relent on his pacing so Kyson pressed on.
"Her name is Samantha; she's an old member of the Tenth Street Reds. I was a techie for em for a few years. She apparently works for Cerberus now and wanted to send you a message via killing Tali. Its a coincidence that I am now working for you. But from what I can figure, she's still a psycho bitch who wants' to screw me over." Kyson spat the last bit out. Shepard was weighing weather he would tell Kyson what he knew. But, seeing that Kyson had enough on his plate, he let up on the lashing.
"Alright, duly noted, both of you take a seat I see that I jumped the gun on this one." Kyson stepped down the few steps and took a seat on the couch. Tali joined him sitting only inches away. This caused Shepard to smile a bit before continuing.
"Ok, it's time I make you aware of something." He moved to take a seat at his small secondary desk next to his bed.
"Kyson, I know about Samantha, and I also know about Cynthia." The look of shock on Kyson's face revealed everything Shepard suspected. He had no clue.
"You didn't think I would let you on board without Chambers making a Dossier on your past did you? I saw the reports on the raids Finch made you go on. Some brutal stuff, but I can't say much. I was part of them once myself." Kyson was reeling from this last shocker. He didn't know what to say. He started wringing his hands and shifted nervously. He hadn't felt this nervous since his first day at college.
"It's not a big secret; just need access to police records. Now, I had a nice chat with the Illusive Man while you two were asleep, and I'm sorry for the reaction. I see now that you needed it." Kyson glanced at Tali then back to Shepard.
"You, a Red?" Kyson couldn't believe it. It wasn't surprising once he collected his thoughts. He had to ask one question though.
"Rise-N-Shine?" Kyson knew that if Shepard was a true Red, he would respond in kind.
"Every morn!" And Shepard pretended to hoist a drink. This was tradition based from the gangs specialty. Moonshine, it wasn't as prevalent on earth with all the exotic drinks being imported and high tech labs, but Krogans and Batarians couldn't get enough of the white lightning.
"I'll be damned" Muttered Kyson. Not sure how to handle the info.
"Finch and I were bunk mates at the main base when we were about sixteen. He apparently rose in power after I left. Either way, there is this Samantha issue." Kyson tensed with this, but not for the reasons before. He wanted revenge. Tali placed a hand on Kyson's, and spoke up.
"Don't go there Shepard. He's had a long few days on that subject." This sudden defense was surprising to Kyson. Shepard on the other hand just smiled.
"Didn't mean to dig up bad memories it's just that this needs to end. I need him up and running. And I think I Know how. The Illusive Man let me know that Samantha would be put to use again if we didn't go for the Broker soon. But we're already beating him to the punch." Over the next few minutes, Shepard laid out the plan and Kyson smiled at the end.
"Sounds stupid" Tali said anger creeping into her voice.
"You're going to put him in direct danger for what, a chance to settle a score? I won't let you do that Shepard unless I'm there." Tali stated with no room for argument, once again confounding Kyson. She only talked that way when someone insulted Quarians or the Normandy's upkeep. Why the sudden possessiveness he wondered. He glanced at Shepard who was smiling again. Something was up, Kyson knew it.
"Twice now when Tali says something you smile. What do I not know?" Kyson asked before he could restrain himself. Shepard laughed and looked at Tali.
"So he doesn't know. We'll I guess you don't know your self either yet." Kyson just glanced at Tali who just shrugged her shoulders. Shepard looked at the young couple with a large smile on his face.
"So you haven't told him how bonding works…" Kyson felt Tali's hand tighten, no crush his hand. She was tight as a strung bow.
"H…how do you know about…" She stammered.
"I just do. I see I'm treading into something I shouldn't. Well, time to get ready for the mission. I'll let you know when we head out. Kyson, I need you with Jacob. We need Lucifer's Hammer on this one." Kyson didn't have a clue what was going on until the weapon came up. Lucifer's Hammer was his name for the M920- Cain, a powerful weapon that had enough kinetic energy to leave a mini mushroom cloud in its wake. He had always wanted to see it in action.
"Tali, I need you to go talk with Liara and go over contingencies for what we might face security wise. Get EDI to help." Tali just nodded and got up and left. Kyson noticed it wasn't her usual gait. It was quick and rigid. I'm still lost. Kyson knew there was more to what Shepard had said but dropped it. It was time to focus.
"You got It Shepard. Lucy will be ready. By the way, I have a surprise for you. I'll have it ready for you when you're ready to hit the Broker." Kyson took his leave then. He had to get working if he was going to get everything done in time. But he stopped. He was curious about something. He knew asking after getting off the hook was a bad idea.
"Hey Shepard" Kyson asked standing just outside the doorway.
"Yeah, what's up?" Shepard asked pulling out his armor and gear.
"Why was Garrus in such a hurry?" He didn't want to ask flat out why Garrus got lit up. Shepard's lightened mood dissipated for a second only to be replaced by a slight smirk.
"Ask your sister. She's on deck three I believe." And with that, Kyson rolled his eyes muttering something about "pulls anything on my little…" But that's all Kyson managed before focusing on his own task. Kyson paused briefly at the CIC (Combat Information Center) to pick up his luggage only to find them gone.
"Only two reasons that my stuff is missing. A, Tali was being nice. B…damn it TEEGAN!" Kelly Chambers was working at her post and found Kyson's thinking aloud amusing up until his sudden outburst. It wasn't like Kyson. She whipped around to see Kyson already back in the elevator, stretching his muscles. Kyson needed his pack and his new rifle. But he needed to get it back first. Teagann loves to borrow things first and make you pay a fee no, tax to get them back. He knew how to handle this.
The doors opened on deck three and he headed straight for the mess. He saw Liara and Tali talking no doubt about how they would tag team any obstacles tech wise. That normally would include him but Shepard had been planning on training him to be a combat engineer so he needed to add true fighting on top of jury rigging circuits and blowing stuff up. Kyson noticed that his travel bag was on the floor next to Tali's. But still no rifle, Liara spotted him and waved and Tali just looked at him as he passed.
What the hell did Shepard say, never mind, Teagann, problem, must fix it now! Kyson purposefully got himself riled up again before entering the forward battery containing the teeth of the Normandy. The Thanix cannon was Garrus's pride and joy. It fired a massive electromagnetic field that carried a molten Iron-Titanium-Tungsten alloy that blasted apart its target. If the force wasn't enough, the heat from the projectile was devastating. Kyson squared his shoulders before proceeding.
He had learned from working around Grunt that, if you wanted something done while pissed, let the rage carry you. He opened the door and rushed inside.
"Teagann!" Kyson roared looking for his sibling. Garrus and Teagann were both in Conversation when he barreled in. The both just turned to him with questioning looks.
"Where is my new rifle?" Kyson snapped.
"That old thing?" Teagann asked moving off to the side from the terminal to reveal the Mosin-Nagant rifle. Kyson stomped over and snatched it, checking it over for damage.
"Kyson, we were just looking at it." Garrus said.
"Ask, next time." Kyson turned to leave and heard Teagann mutter something about "Is it always like this aboard the Normandy?" but Kyson never heard the reply as the door shut behind him. He slung the old World War Two rifle over his shoulder and headed over to his bag. He had to get back up to Jacob.
"Thanks Tali. Catch you two in a few hours." Kyson said as he grabbed his bags without slowing down.
"No problem" was all he got from Tali.
Time to calm down Kyson, you need to clean up this old beast while checking over the heavy weapons.
Kyson used the time on the elevator to clear his thought before talking his task. He got off the elevator and gave a slight wave to Kelly as he rounded the bulkhead and entered the armory. He heard faint music coming from inside and found both Jacob and Mordin inside.
"Hey Mordin, been a while since I've seen you out of you corner of the ship." Kyson said in way of an announcement.
"Hello. Nice to see you Mr. Sorley." Mordin turned to regard Kyson but spotted the rifle he had unloaded onto the first table.
"My, what is this? Old human weapon? Yes. Very long though to compensate for kick as well as increase accuracy. I presume it is Russian? Very sturdy, well known for its ability to take combat damage and keep firing, nice choice Mr. Sorley." Kyson had grown used to Dr. Mordin Solus's long winded ramblings. He found it enjoyable to listen to the fast thinking Salarian's thought processes and sometimes would silently challenge himself to think faster than the Dr. It never happened, but it was fun.
"I'm surprised you know about this gun" Jacob Had watched Kyson come in with the new rifle and knew it by heart. He loved old weapons as much as the new ones. Becoming an Alliance soldier meant keeping up with old weapons not just on new tech.
"I saw it for sale on Illium. Was curious about it and researched it over a cup of coffee. No doubt you want to test it against modern shields and barriers. It only works effectively against kinetic barriers. Otherwise, everything else still has a chance to deflect it." Mordin smiled as he motioned towards the gun wishing to see it. Kyson nodded his head and turned his attention to Jacob.
"So, Shepard wants the Cain on this mission. It seems prudent to do a good once over with that thing." Kyson looked over to the table against the wall leading to the briefing room. Jacob walked over and hoisted the large weapon with the "nuke emblem" on the side.
"Damn, he expects this to go south quick. Alright, don't want this bad boy misfiring. Still love the nuke symbol, even if it's just a joke on engineering's part." Jacob was right; the Cain wasn't nuclear at all.
The monster propelled a 25 gram slug at the blinding speed of 5k's per second. The resulting impact was shear devastation. Kyson wondered who was going to deploy with it. Shepard tended to stick with his M-100 Grenade Launcher, but had taken the Cain out twice. Once on a trial run on some rock to test it, then against the human Reaper he found on the collect base. Garrus was there and showed him the vids. That was enough for Kyson to dream about using it.
The group set about their task of checking the weapons for any flaws and making sure everything had fresh thermal clips. Kyson had enough time to clean the old rifle and remove the packing grease. Mordin loved the old rifle, he said something about Humans being fascinating but Kyson just focused on his routine. Wire brush, five patches with cleaning solution, one dry patch, and repeat. He wanted the barrel spotless. Once the barrel was clean, he moved to the magazine and bolt. Don't want any jams. Kyson had a feeling he was going to need the Mosin soon.
Kyson looked over his shoulder and noticed Jacob had left. So, he turned instead to Mordin. Maybe he had an answer for a nagging question in his head.
"Hey Mordin, Shepard said something in front of Tali that made her on edge. I don't know why. He said something about bonding." The odd way Tali reacted to that word concerned Kyson. The only "bonding" he knew about was the Asari's ability to reproduce with any species. That and what he knew as getting to know people.
"It's how Quarian's mate, I only know cursory information on the matter but…." Mordin started.
"Wait what?" Kyson didn't know what to say.
"Sorry Mr. Sor…Kyson, I do not believe I'm the one to have this talk with you. It may be best to ask Miss Zorah herself." Mordin turned to Kyson and smiled.
"Off to run more tests on collector tissue samples. Good day." And Mordin walked briskly back to his lab via the connecting hall.
"Great." Kyson's brow furrowed with frustration. All he wanted was a straight answer. He finished putting the Mosin back together and turned his attention to patching his armor. He activated his Omni-tool and grabbed a tube of high grade epoxy resin. The thin hole didn't need much so a single dollop was enough combined with the Omni-tool's plastics repair mini-facturing programs he had installed, he hardened the epoxy into a neat patch. Finished with his work, Kyson headed down to the head. He wanted to be set for a long trip out.
Upon reaching the after relieving himself he finally noticed a week old beard growing. He knew he was getting rough but damn. He removed his ever present welding goggles and washed his face, seeing as there was no time to shower. It was at this time a Ship wide notice was posted, Shepard himself this time instead of EDI.
"Crew, I need everyone on their toes for this, we're 45 minutes out from hitting the Shadow Broker. Those who are the Mission, head to the briefing room." Kyson put his goggles back on resting them on his forehead where they usually stayed. Kyson swung back through the armory and load out. He grabbed his Viper for distance, and his Geth Plasma shotgun, but placed it back in his locker in exchange for his Mattock.
"Ahhhh, I've missed you." Kyson placed the semi-auto on his left shoulder. He was an odd one indeed. Most techies preferred being in the back ranks with close range weapons, not Kyson though. He used anything he liked and thought was best, in this case, sniping. He was about to head into the briefing room when he looked at the adjacent table. Smiling, Kyson loaded the Cain in his center back, and slung the Mosin over his shoulder. He felt invincible.
It was a matter of two doors and twenty steps to the briefing room. He strode into the room with as much bravado as he could. He was ready for a good fight after all that had happened. Kyson was the second third to arrive, Liara and Garrus already discussing the layout of a wild looking ship. They noticed Kyson loaded up like a tank.
"Bwah ha ha…! Let's have some fun!" Kysons adrenaline was already pumping. He hadn't felt like this since the Reds; the want to fight.
"Well look who's in a better mood" Garrus said cheering up himself a tad bit.
"Yep, got Lucy with me…" Kyson trailed off with a dangerous looking grin on his face.
"Lucy? I don't see anyone here Kyson." Liara said, confused and a little worried something was wrong with Kyson's brain.
"No Liara, It's the name he gave that giant weapon on his back. Say Kyson, why do you have that thing anyway?" Liara still looked like Kyson had a few screws loose in the head. Garrus on the other hand was smiling or doing what a Turian does for smiling.
"Boom." Kyson smiled evilly slipping his goggles on and left it at that and waited quietly for dramatic effect.
