A Map to the Turian Heart

by VNF118

Based just after the events of ME1. A Turian officer on board the Cruiser, Trianis, is left in charge of a Human exchange Engineer. Having lost her mother in the Relay 314 Incident, she has grown a hatred for humans and having been put in charge of one makes her uncomfortable. But this Human is... different.

11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The doors open as Annali shouts for the go ahead but they are stopped when an entire platoon of Alliance troopers point their rifles at them. Many of them were on the balcony were radiomen saw shuttles enter and exit the hangar bay. It seemed they managed to secure the Hangar but the battle was still very fresh in their minds. No one was sure what to do, not even Annali who had already drawn her Vindicator in response, "Whoa whoa whoa, don't fire, they're friendlies," A man in black and blue armor shouts behind them. The man walks in between the troops, lowering their weapons as he goes, "You're with the Trianis?" the man asks.

"Yes, we are. We're here to secure the ship. We have a few other shuttles coming in with some reinforcements," Annali tells him.

"Good, now we can take this ship back," the man states. A few men cheer as the shuttles fly in and Turian troops exit, they didn't care if they weren't Alliance as long as they had back up, they were happy as ever.

The squad steps out and joins the ranks of their Human counterparts. The shuttle doors close as everyone gets out then it dives back down through the opening back to the Trianis as another shuttle takes its place.

Annali looks around at the bay and notices bullet holes scattered everywhere; the attack must have been devastating, "How many casualties soldier?" Annali asks.

"Call me Sgt. Rios, uh…"

"Liaison Officer Veren but I retain the rank of a 1st Lieutenant," Annali clarifies.

"Ah, well then, perhaps you can lead a squad to the Captain; the last we heard of him he was in his quarters. Tereshkova can guide you there, he know's the way," Sgt. Rios calls on Max.

"I do, I'll get us there in no time," Max says as he takes off his helmet.

"Before you do that, I need you to secure the bridge; Cerberus is on their way to taking it and we didn't have the manpower until now to secure it. We were only able to send a few men to escort the Captain to his quarters to send a distress signal. He's currently holed up in there," Sgt. Rios explains.

"Understood, we'll move to secure the bridge immediately," Max says as he loads a clip into his M8 Avenger.

"Good plan, sir. Officer Veren, he will guide you to the bridge. I'll take care of the squads here and direct them to their positions," Sgt. Rios states before walking away and shouting out orders.

"Sir?" Annali turns to face Max. Max doesn't look at her, not wanting to elicit another bad reaction from her but Annali was already past having to deal with anything that would jeopardize their efficiency, "I don't care, just get us to the bridge," she orders him.

Max doesn't hesitate as he puts on his helmet and waves for the squad to follow. Annali looks at Ja'quar as he puts on his helmet and slaps a clip into his Vindicator before moving to follow the squad. She stops him before saying, "Do anything stupid or I put a bullet in your head," she warns him.

"I have no intention to piss you off right now, mam. Let's just get this over with," Ja'quar tells her. Annali doesn't like his tone but they were wasting time so she let's go of him and unclips her Vindicator.

"Then let's get moving," she tells him as she motions for him to rejoin the squad.

They get on an elevator platform which raises them up to the next level and next to another door guarded by Alliance personnel armed with Predator pistols, "You guys headed for the bridge?" the guard asks.

"Yes, I'm getting us to the bridge. We're making the push," Max tells him.

"We have a squad holed up in the bridge currently fighting Cerberus insurgents. Sneak up behind them and take 'em by surprise," the guard bangs on the door to open it, letting Max and the rest of the squad into the hallway, "Good luck, sir," the guard says before the door shuts behind them.

The hallway was littered with red lights blaring, scorch marks, and bullet holes as well as fallen Alliance crew members scattered along the halls. One man's chest was covered with bullet holes as another seemed to have been shot with a shotgun, his chest was burst open from the front. A janitor was also shot dead as a pool of red had formed around him as he was lying face down. They made no exceptions, "Fucking hell…" Max whispered as he examined a fallen crew member, his chest had three bullet holes as well as one in the neck, "I'm sorry friend… wish I saw this coming…" Max says sorrowfully.

"Man, they really surprised them," Ma'rice states as he looks down at the crew. The squad takes glances toward the Alliance personnel, shaking their heads in sorrow. This really was a gruesome sight to see for anyone.

Max had to find the mole soon before he or she could do any more damage. But first come first and the bridge had to be secured before they make their advance for Captain Colt, "I'll take point and guide us up to the top. Everyone behind me," Max tells them. Annali circles her hand in the air for the squad to rally behind her.

"Form up," she tells them. The squad lines up behind her, waiting for Max to guide them.

"Let's move," Max says as they start toward the bridge.

[

"What their location, Smith?" Colt asks.

"They're posted down the hall to the left of the corner, they're not letting up," Smith notifies him.

"Is that all?"

"They're gathering a larger group, not sure how many but they will surely have us outgunned and soon enough they'll be able to rush our position," Smith explains.

"Do we have confirmation of reinforcements?" Colt asks.

"Unknown, sir. If they have already then we should be expecting some soon. Though, I'm not sure how we'll know ahead of time so we don't shoot them," Smith says as a nearby explosion goes off. A few crewmen yell in response as they rush past the door to deal with the threat.

"Tereshkova will notify me through comms; we have our own comms channel should we need to exchange intel and such," Colt explains as he checks his gun for signs of faultiness.

"The Agent, sir?" Smith asks.

"Yes, 'The Agent'. You already know what his mission is," Colt states.

"I'm aware of that."

*BOOM*

Another explosion goes off but this time it was a lot closer. Suddenly, one of the crewmen burst into the room, "Captain, they've their push towards us. Now would be a good time to get out and let them waltz through," the man states.

"Are the explosives set?" Colt asks as he finalizes his pistol safety checks.

"Already primed, here's the detonator. On your command we'll make our retreat to Section B," the man pulls out a tube-shaped device from his belt and hands it to Colt.

Colt takes the detonator and places it on his belt, "Very well, you'll make your retreat once I've detonated the explosives," Colt states as he switches the safety from his predator pistol off.

"Us? You're not coming, sir?" Smith asks.

"No, I have to get to Engineering to find out what's going on down there. They've rigged something down there to act as a failsafe in case they don't take this ship. Once I've detonated the explosives more of them will be coming down the hallway to try and finish you off. I need you to distract them while I get to-"

"Captain, you can't-"

"I don't want to hear it, Smith. They've done something to the core and I aim to find out what they've done. Get the men ready for the retreat and-"

"No, Captain," Smith interrupts. Colt looks up at her as she pulls out her pistol, "You're not going alone. I'll have the Corporal lead them away while we get to the Engine room. This way, you have a better chance at surviving," Smith says as she loads a fresh clip into her M8.

Colt chuckles and shakes his head, "You think I won't make it?" he asks.

"I'm not saying that just you might not make it is all," Smith clarifies with a smart-ass smile.

"Whatever you say. Let's move now," Colt says as the exit the room and are then surrounded by Alliance soldiers.

"Sir, we'll escort you out," one of the soldiers tells him.

"Negative, son. You are to fall back and lure them away while Smith and I get to Engineering," Colt explains.

"Engineering? Engine room's lost, sir, we need to get you out and to a secure area," the soldier states.

"Soldier, you are to lure them away so we can get to the Engine room and investigate the area. We have intel suggesting Cerberus has tampered with the core so if we let this sabotage go unnoticed then this ship is lost along with everyone else," Smith yells at the soldier.

The soldier looks between Colt and Smith but then ultimately complies, "Copy that! Everyone, fall back to the secondary line of defense!" the Soldier yells.

The crewmen fire off a few shots before retreating back to the planned location. The soldier's surrounding Colt escort him to the intersection where the Halls meet in a T. The crewmen take a left down to the fallback area while Colt and Smith split right to the Engine room, "Good luck, sir!" the soldier calls out before rejoining the rest of the squad. The Soldier stays just behind the corner to look down the hallway as the Alliance impersonators storm the hall, "NOW, CAPTAIN!" the Soldier shouts. Colt reaches into his pouch and pulls out the detonator, flipping the cap and then pushing the button.

*BOOM*

The explosion rattles the floor and echoes through the halls, creating a much louder effect than normal. But with such an enclosed space, there's no wonder why it is.

Colt and Smith begin their run towards the Engine room as the squad fires on what was left of the Cerberus attackers. Colt knew there was something up with the Core, if the messages meant anything then this ship may have been rigged to blow.

"What's the plan, Captain?" Smith asks.

"Get to the engine room and kill anyone who isn't Alliance. If we come across Cromwell…" Colt looks at Smith as they jog down the hall, his stare wordlessly telling Smith what he expects of her.

"Got it, sir… no prisoners, then," Smith nods in agreement.

"Let's see if Tereshkova is here yet," Colt brings up his Omni-tool as they continue moving.

[

"Watch the fire!" Max warns as another wave of bullets zips past them.

They managed to get to the corridor leading to the Bridge but the area was already taken, they just needed to push harder to get in and retake it. But there seemed to be more than they had anticipated at first. They weren't going to let up easily.

"We need to get in there, now!" Ma'rice shouts on the opposite side of the hall.

"No way we can get in, too much incoming fire!" Annali shouts back as she flinches from a ricochet just over her head.

"Got any more grenades?" Ma'rice asks.

"NO, if we throw a grenade we risk shattering the Bridge windows and creating a vacuum into space. The Bridge will be lost to us," Max warns.

"Damn," Ma'rice groans in frustration. He fires off a few shots but gets returned with Cerberus fire.

Max peeks around the small corner he has for cover to scan the hall; Cerberus had set up a turret in the middle of the entrance while others were hiding on either side of the entrance firing on them. They were holed in. Ja'quar seemed to have the same conclusion as well as he backed against the wall, shaking his head. Max's wrist flashed Orange as a call was pending for him, "The hell? It must be Colt," Max thought. He collapsed his M8, attaching it to his back and then pressing on his wrist.

"Tereshkova, you there?" Colt asks with a heavy grunt.

"Sir, are you okay? What's your location?" Max asks.

"Had to move *zzkt* too many Cerberus guns headed my way *zzkt* heading to *zzkt*" Colt image began to fuzz and garble more and more.

"Captain, what's your location!" Max shouts into his Omni-tool but then the image suddenly cuts out, "Damn," Max hisses as he pulls out his M8.

"Where is he?" Annali asks.

"Unknown, Cerberus must have employed a Jammer from the bridge. We have to make our push now," Max says as he pulls out a grenade.

Annali sees the explosive and grabs his hand before he could throw it, "What the hell are you doing? Do you want to suck us out into space?" Annali asks, reminding Max what he had said earlier.

"This is a flashbang grenade, it'll only stun them. So I suggest everyone wait for the 'bang' to go off," Max explains as he pulls the pin on it, "Ready! Flashbang out!" without looking he throws the flashbang into the bridge, landing just in front of the turret gunner.

The gunner looks down at the can-like object in curiosity, "What the h-"

*BANG*

A blast of sound and light suddenly emanates from the device, quickly blinding and stunning the Cerberus occupants. Max sees this and realizes it's only a matter of time before they regain their senses, "They're stunned, let's move!" Max says as he steps out and fires on the turret gunner, quickly dealing with him. The rest of the squad follows suit as they fire on Cerberus, one by one taking them down without their noticing. Eventually, the bridge came to a silence as the occupants were quickly dealt with.

Annali looks out the bridge window towards the Trianis and sees multiple fires coming from the hull; their shields were getting weaker and they weren't going to last long without them as well as the Victrition.

"Get our comms back up and clear that jammer! We need clear communication between each other if we're going to effectively secure this ship," Annali orders.

Max walks over to the Comms Terminal and disables the Jammer; a flow of steady communications channels then floods the terminal with multiple distress calls coming from all over the ship, "Comms are back up," Max says.

"Sgt. Rios, comms are back up. You can communicate with your men now more clearly!" Annali notifies him.

"Copy that! We'll begin our attack. Sgt. Rios out!" the comm falls silent as the call disconnects.

Annali takes off her helmet and looks back at Max, her mind now fully convinced he wasn't a Combat Engineer; no Engineer would ever order a squad what to do, especially if he was Pvt. 1st class. If this told her anything then Max was a much higher rank than she had thought if he was able to elicit a 'yes sir' from Sgt. Rios. He must have been aware Max was of higher rank before he arrived on the Kilimanjaro. It only made Annali want to pummel Max for deceiving her so badly, it hurt her spirit badly how he had deceived her. She wished to the heavens that Max wouldn't join the many guys that wooed her only to try and take advantage of her. But Max was a different scenario; his infiltration onto their ship was most likely because he was a trained Spec-ops agent and he was meant to be inside. This only helped ease her pain from him since she would have tried her best to hold her mission secret too. Max was only doing his job. This brought more conflict to Annali and it was starting to get frustrating; was she supposed to be mad anyways or did she just overreact? What would mother have done? What would be the right thing to do? "Forgive?" she thought. It seemed to be her only choice but she couldn't rid herself of the anger that still burned deep within her. She needed time to think.

"Captain, comms are back up, can hear me? What's your location?" Max speaks into his helmet. Nothing, "Damn, he must be in trouble," Max says as he pulls up his Omni-tool.

"He said he was moving, wasn't he?" Ma'rice asks.

"Yeah but where is he going is the question," Max states as he tries to contact Colt through his Omni-tool, "Colt, what's your loca-"

"I'm in a bit of bind at the moment!" Colt yells. Gunfire could be heard as the zipping of bullets whizzing past him.

"Where are you, sir?" Max asks.

"We're making our way to Engineering, I think the Core's been tampered with! I'm going to try and *zzkt*look around," Colt explains as he ducks his head lower.

"Colt, you should've told me you were going there! There are too many contacts down there! Wait 'till I get there-"

"No time, son. Pretty soon everyone's going to get the word you've taken the Bridge and that's where the sabotage comes in," Colt states. He fires a few blind shots over him only to be greeted by richochets bouncing off his cover.

"We've already taken it, I'm heading down there now!" Max says as he disconnects the call and unclips his M8 from his back, "Ma'rice I need you to accompany me," Max says as he takes off his helmet.

"Tereshkova, don't!" Annali shouts, stopping Max.

"He needs my help, I need you to stay here and guard the bridge while I-"

"No, I'll go with you."

"This is my problem, not yours, stay put."

"Tereshkova, my mission is to secure the Bridge and her Captain. I am not staying put!"

"I'm not asking you to stay put, I'm telling you-"

"Don't fucking tell me what to-"

"I SAID STAY PUT!" Max roars. His voice causing everyone to look at him and silences Annali. She was stunned; Max had never raised his voice on her. Ever. Max's face was red with anger but soon dies down as he realizes his mistake. Annali's face was one of pure shock and Max couldn't do anything to help her, "I… I'm sorry, Annali… but I can't afford to lose you… not now," he tries to apologize.

Annali looks away from Max, avoiding his eyes, neither saying a word until she speaks, "…Take Ja'quar with you… I need Ma'rice here to establish comms with the other officers…" she tells him, turning away from him and toward the window.

Max wanted to say more but they were running out of time. Colt was in trouble and he needed his aid now. Max sighs and puts on his helmet, unclipping his M8 and turning for the door; Ja'quar was standing by the door and it seemed he saw the whole thing unfold. But with his helmet in the way you couldn't tell what his reaction was. As Max approached him, he unclipped his Vindicator from his back, "On your mark… sir," Ja'quar says with a strain on the last word. Max wasn't surprised but he didn't want to think about it any further.

He took his time before saying, "Let's move!" the two began their run for the Engine room. Leaving the rest of the squad in the bridge.

Annali looked behind her to see them run off and disappear out of sight as they took the corner. Once they were gone she looked back out through the window. Ma'rice walks up and says, "I'm… sorry…" he says sorrowfully.

A small tear trickled out from her eye, falling down to her cheek and continuing down to her armor. However, Ma'rice couldn't see it. Annali was distraught, she never thought she would see Max turn on her like that. To see that he was only trying to protect even after she pulled a gun on him after she forbade him to say her name, he was only trying to protect her. She wanted to cry badly but it would only complicate the mission further. She needed to suck it up and move on, "Are the comms up?" she asks as she wipes her tears away.

"Yes, the teams are coordinating and beginning their push," Ma'rice tells her.

"Get camera systems up however you can and give them the locations of Cerberus teams in the area," Annali orders.

"What about the Captain?" Ma'rice asks.

"Hopefully, they get to him in time. If things go wrong then we're booking it to the Engine room, understood?" she orders.

"Affirmative, we'll be ready," Ma'rice confirms as he goes back to the comms channel.

All they could do now was wait.

[

Bullets continue to whiz by as Colt and Smith take cover from the line of fire, "I'm on my last clip, Smith! Have any spares?" Colt shouts over the gunfire.

"Hold on!" Smith tells him. She pops out of cover and fires two shots with her pistol, taking out two Cerberus operatives, "Okay, now I'm out!" Smith shouts.

"Oh come on! Ngh!" Colt flinches as a bullet bounces close to him, "Do you really not have anything that can help us?" Colt shouts.

"Well, I do have this," Smith pulls out a grenade causing Colt to look at her then at the grenade then back at her with a look of surprise, "Since when were you going to use it?" Colt asks.

"I was hoping to save it when we run out of ammo but now seems like a good time, I believe," Smith yells.

Colt gives her sarcastic glare before saying, "Gee, I wonder if we've run out of ammo already, here, let me check," Colt says as looks at the empty chamber of his pistol, "Yep, I'm broke," he yells.

Smith shakes her head and presses the countdown for it, "Grenade out!" she tosses the grenade over her shoulder and the two cover their ears for the defening sound.

*BLAM*

The explosion echoes through the halls, the floors vibrate violently for a split second before everything dies down to silence. Colt and Smith look up from their cover to see a mess of bodies scorched black and some limbs blown off. It was a gruesome sight but neither of them was fazed by it, "The Engine room should just be down this hall. Let's move," Smith says as they vault over their cover and gather ammo for their guns. Just as they approach the Engine room someone walks out from the door. It was Cromwell.

"Captain, thank goodness you alive," Cromwell states as he starts to walk toward them but they raise their weapons, stopping him in his tracks, "Whoa, what are you guys doing? I'm with you guys," he tells them.

"Don't fucking play dumb with me you traitorous scum. You've caused a shipwide attack and killed many innocent people, don't you dare think I don't know it's you," Colt snarls.

"What are you talking about?" Cromwell asks.

"Your logs, I've seen them, you've been conspiring with Cerberus this entire time. You told them we were coming, didn't you?" Colt corners him.

Cromwell's face changes to one of innocence to one of a smug look, "Didn't think you would find out so quickly. I underestimated you, Captain," he admits.

"Put your hands behind your head and get on the ground you traitor," Smith orders as she lines her barrel with his head.

"How does it feel to be the first officer now, Smith? Does it feel good?" he asks as he places his hands behind him.

"Shut your ass up and get on the ground," she pushes the barrel behind his head as he kneels.

Cromwell smiles deviously as he does her bidding, "Well? Does it?" he asks.

"I said quiet," she orders as she takes his pistol from his belt and throws it to Colt, "You'll be charged with Desertion to the enemy and the murder of innocent personnel members. I'll make sure you pay for what you've done," Smith hisses.

"You need to realize why I am doing this; the Alliance is cheating us all with these promises of a better life after service. Once you're in they own you forever until you're not essential anymore. You have to see that," Cromwell states.

"So you organize a mutiny on the ship and kill everyone that doesn't join your cause?" Colt asks him.

"Not my cause… it's him," Cromwell says vaguely.

"Who?" Colt asks.

"We both know who we're talking about," Cromwell tells him with a smug smile.

Colt's anger gets the better of him and he sends a powerful kick to Cromwell's face, knocking him to the floor, "I know you've rigged something on the Core, I intend on disabling it," Colt tells him, "Handcuff him," he orders.

Smith nods and places her M8 on the ground, reaching for her handcuffs. But before she could pull them out, Cromwell saw his opportunity; elbows Smith's knees, bringing her down and he grabs her assault rifle, hitting her face with the stock and then getting behind her, wrapping his arm around her neck. Colt was quick to react and he pulls out his pistol and Cromwell's, pointing them directly at them, "Ah-ah-ah, shoot me and I shoot her dead. Put your guns down," Cromwell warns as he points the barrel at her head. Smith was breathing heavily, blood was trickling down from the side of her head.

"Shoot him, Colt. It doesn't matter if he gets me what matters is you get to the Core," Smith tells him.

"No, I'm not letting this happen. Let her go, Bruce, and I'll let you go free," Colt tries to negotiate.

"Put your guns down and maybe I'll consider it," Cromwell orders him. Smith flinches as he presses the gun barrel harder to her head.

"Alright-alright… fine," Colt drops his dual pistols from his hands, lifting his hands in the air to show he's fully unarmed, "There, now let her go, please," Colt says as he makes no move to her.

Cromwell looks at him from head to toe, his face remaining expressionless. But then he smiles and shrugs, "That's mighty kind of you Cap but I know your reinforcements arrived a while ago and they've already taken the Bridge which means… this plan is a bust. And like all failed plans there is always… a failsafe," Cromwell smiles widely. He then takes the stock of the rifle and butts Smith in the back of the head, knocking her out.

Colt moves quickly and catches her before she fell hard on the floor while Cromwell stepped back and pulled up his Omni-tool, "Say goodbye to your ships heart!" he says as he prepares to initiate the sequence.

"CROMWELL!" Max's voice resonates from behind and he hits Cromwell with a strong Neural Shock. But before Cromwell could succumb to the full effects, his finger manages to press down on the holographic button.

*BLAMM*

A massive explosion resonates from the Engine room, rocking the hull violently causing everyone to stumble and fall. The lights flicker on and off and suddenly the ship begins to tilt to the right. The Core's sound dims down from a hum to silence. The lights then dim out to darkness, rendering the hallways pitch black.

"We have a sudden loss of power! Switching to Auxillary!" a voice goes off over the speakers. A hum resonates elsewhere and the lights come back but only dimly lit.

Max and Ja'quar regain their footing and make their way to Colt who is still holding the unconscious Smith in his arms, "Are you okay, Captain? How is she?" Max asks as he kneels to assess them.

"She's just unconscious, I'm fine, I just took a bullet to the arm is all. Cromwell just blew the Core," Colt tells him as he takes Smith's right arm and wraps it around over his neck as Max takes the other.

"I'll see if I can get it back online. But first let's get you someplace safe, this ship is going to turn into one hell of a Merry go round," Max tells him as he helps them into the Engine room. As they walk in they are met with smoke billowing out from the opposite side of the corridor. On either side of them are seats designed to keep people secured from flying everywhere should the ship make a crash landing. Max helps Colt seat Smith on it and secures her seatbelts. Max then helps Colt to his seat next to her and secures him as well, "Best if you stay here where it's safe," he tells him.

"I'm not arguing," Colt tells him.

"I'll get the Core online meanwhile you stay here," Max says as he starts toward the Engine room. Ja'quar follows just behind him as they are then stopped by the door, the holographic symbol flashing red, "Looks jammed," Max theorizes.

"Or perhaps it's the lockdown protocol sealing down any entrances to the room. Perhaps to prevent any leaks from the Core from flooding the rest of the ship," Ja'quar says, earning a quirky look from Max, "It's just a thought. Let's pry this thing open," Ja'quar says as he looks around the cabin for something to wedge in between the door.

"So after what you just said about Eezo leaks flooding the ship you want to open it?" Max asks a bit confused.

"I said perhaps, doesn't mean I'm right. Here we go," he finds a crowbar and jams it roughly in between the doors. Max decides to go with it since he had nothing else in mind. While Ja'quar pulled the Crowbar, Max pushed it with all his might, their combined strength slowly prying the door open but at the same time allowing more smoke to escape from the opposite side.

"Looks like there's a fire on the other side," Max says as he pushes harder.

"That's not important, keep pushing," Ja'quar grunts. Eventually, the door locks give up and the door opens fully. Smoke then bellows out but the two are unfazed by and walk straight through, sure enough, there was a few fires but nothing major. They were then introduced by a massive near spherical room and in the middle was a massive ball of steel supported by multiple pillars and beams crossing through it. There was a small catwalk to the main console and next to it was a secured door that lead into the chamber leading to the Core directly.

"Please don't touch anything," Max says as they walk to the console.

"I'd rather not get into an argument with your ass right now. Just fix the damn thing before-"

*CREAK*

The hull suddenly rumbles and tilts in another direction, causing Max and Ja'quar to stumble and fall back to the left. They catch themselves on the railing as the ship tilts nearly on its side, "Crap, the stabilizers must be out!" Max shouts.

"You think?" Ja'quar shouts as well.

*CREAK* *GROAN*

Max taps the side of his helmet to get into contact with the bridge, "What's it look out there?" he yells but then the hull tilts farther to the right, bringing Max and Ja'quar over and hanging under the bars.

"SHIT!"

[

Everyone on the bridge was on the right side of the bridge as the hull had tilted suddenly and caused everyone to slide. Annali and Ma'rice were standing on the side of the Holo-display as the rest where just under them, "What's the situation?" Annali asks.

"The gravitational stabilizers are offline, the ship can't keep it's own course anymore. We're being pulled by the Planet's gravitational field," Ma'rice tells her.

Annali was in pure shock, "If the Core doesn't come back online soon then we'll be-"

"Incinerated on re-entry. We'll be a bunch of flaming spare parts if the Core doesn't restore Engines and shields," Ma'rice explains. Things then take a turn for the worst when the hull then tilts upside down, forcing Annali and Ma'rice to fall forward.

"WHOOAA!" they both yell as they fall on the ceiling and roll down with the rest of the squad. The hull continues to roll towards the planet but the nose of the Kilimanjaro begins to turn toward the Trianis, a collision was imminent.

[

"Helmsman! Divert power to thrusters, elevate us 100 meters and level off at 130!" Caepraka hollers.

"Yes, mam!" the Helmsman shouts in return.

The Trianis's belly lights up with multiple thrusters quickly raising the Trianis. But the Kilimanjaro's front was coming in too fast, they needed to get out of the way immediately, "All thrusters to max!"

"Adjusting, standby!" the thrusters burn red hot as more power is sent to them. The Trianis quickly rises higher just as the Kilimanjaro's nose comes into close proximity with the Trianis's hull.

*Screech*

Out of pure luck, the Trianis manages to dodge the Kilimanjaro as it only scrapes the bottom of the hull and misses as it veers below them toward the planet.

[

Max and Ja'quar were left hanging upside down, holding on to the rails for dear life, "Damn, I think we're caught in the planets gravitational pull," Max says.

"Explains why the ship is upside down," Ja'quar replies. Suddenly, Ja'quars left arm slips and leaves him dangling with one arm, "Crap, I'm slipping," Ja'quar shouts. His fingers begin to lose grip with each section sliding out, "S-shit!" his fingers finally give out and he falls towards the ceiling but then something grabs his right arm.

"I can't believe I'm saving your ass," Max says as he holds on tightly to both the rail and Ja'quar.

"I would say the same," Ja'quar implies.

The hull then creaks and groans as it tilts again to slowly bring the ship on its port side. As it turns, Max takes the chance to use all of his strength to bring Ja'quar up to the rail, "REACH!" he groans loudly.

Ja'quar pulls down on Max to elevate himself and grab the railing but in turn, it causes Max to lose his grip. But Ja'quar catches him and provides support allowing Max to lift his legs up and wrap around the railing. Ja'quar does the same and the two remain glued to the railing until the hull finally made its roundabout and began to level off, "It's starting to level, we need to get to that terminal before we get another horror ride," Ja'quar states.

"Agreed," Max says.

The hull then began to level off just as Ja'quar had anticipated; the two prepare to make the run to the console just as the floor had leveled, "Get ready," Ja'quar says. The walkway finally evened out slowly and it was now good to walk, "We're good, let's go," Ja'quar states. The two unhook themselves from the railing and make the run for the console. They make it and Max quickly goes to work on the console.

"Cover the door while I find out what's wrong with her," Max tells him.

"Can do," Ja'quar says as he unclips his Vindicator. Max pulls up the damage report from the system and accesses it. What he sees next stops him from continuing on with his work. Ja'quar notices he stopped suddenly and he shakes Max's shoulder, "So what's the problem?" he asks.

The screen on the monitor shows an image of the interior of the Core chamber, flashing red lights were going off with warning signs flashing, "The Core's supports are misaligned. There's no way we can fix it," Max explains as he looks back at Ja'quar, "The ship's lost," Max tells him.

Ja'quar's brow plates furrow in confusion, "What the hell do you mean the supports are misaligned, don't you have an automatic reset?" Ja'quar asks.

"Don't you understand? We can't align them from here. The only way to align them is if…" Max trails off as an idea pops into his head. Coincidentally, Ja'quar gets the same idea and the two look toward the airlocked door leading into the chamber.

"If we get inside…" Ja'quar begins to say but is cut off by Max.

"No, we can't go in there. The radiation is too great we won't make it," Max starts to explain but Ja'quar is already trying to open it, "What the hell are you doing?" Max tries to pull off Ja'quar but he just shoves him away.

"If we don't get in there and align those supports we'll be dead. There's no escaping this," Ja'quar argues as he tries to hack into the doors terminal.

"It won't matter, we'll be irradiated before we even get to the first column," Max explains as he finally interrupts his hack. Ja'quar looks at Max with frustrated eyes as Max looks at him with one of sorrow, "We can't do it. Our armor won't keep us safe for long, they're not meant to block intense radiation from a Dreadnought-class Eezo Core," Max tries to talk sense into him.

Ja'quar didn't want to accept the fact that the ship was lost. Flashbacks came across his mind thinking back to when his old squad had abandoned him. They didn't care for him when he helped them… and neither did anyone care for him now… but he could at least save them, "How many supports are misaligned?" Ja'quar asks.

"Four, including the main support. Why- OOF," A large fist comes across Max's face, knocking him out cold. Ja'quar catches him in time and drags him over to the seat and secures the seatbelts tightly around him, "I guess I finally did knock him out…" Ja'quar smirks but it fades away as he refocuses his attention to the chamber door. His only act of selflessness was now… and it would most likely be his last. He takes his helmet and puts it on, based on what Max said he should be able to withstand the effects long enough to re-align the supports. Ja'quar walks over to the terminal and completes the hack, then a small cylindrical device pops out from the side with a handle; there were directions to turn it, possibly indicating to turn it that way to unlock the door. He grabs hold of the handle and turns the cylinder to the left then pushes it back in. The door pops and then he swings it open, closing it behind him and locking it. Just as he stepped in, he felt the effects coming on to him; dizziness was starting to settle in but he knew he had to keep going. He had to.

[

The hull rumbled as it began its descent toward the planet. The hull was beginning to catch fire as friction began to take effect. The squad in the bridge held on for what seemed to be their last ride together. Annali was trying to get into contact with Max but the power had brought down the comms and the auxiliary would only be able to protect the ship from getting burned to a crisp.

The crew from the Trianis and Victrition had finally dealt with the Cerberus cruisers as they had retreated once the Kilimanjaro had fallen. And now all they could do was watch as the Kilimanjaro fell towards Chasca. Caepraka held deep sorrow for everyone on board, she felt like she could've done more but the cruisers had limited her options to help. And now, a boat full of humans and few of her own crew were falling towards their imminent death. Caepraka hoped something would save them but what else could there be?

Everyone held on for dear life, some praying to God to save them from this, offering promises they would make in exchange for their lives. The Kilimanjaro then aligned its stern to face the planet head-on, the front was starting to burn red hot as the ship made its re-entry.

[

The ship rumbled again, shaking Ja'quar as he made his way through the small tunnel he was just barely able to fit in. The radiation was messing heavily with his head and he was finding it hard to focus. Regardless, he kept on. The heat from the tunnel walls could be felt through his armor and he could tell the material was reaching its melting point. Finally, he made it to the Central Core Chamber. His head peeked out from the opening and what he saw was daunting in front of him, "That's… a huge bitch," Ja'quar grunted. In the middle was a huge Eezo Core with two major supports holding it in place; one was hanging above it as the other one was down below along with the smaller supports. Crawling out of the tunnel he fell down the small slide that took him down to the supports that passed power from the Core to the rest of the ship.

He sees most of them were aligned but only four were leaning to the side. Wasting no time he made his move to re-align them. The first one wasn't as bright as the others as they had light coursing through their conduit, this one was directly disconnected and leaning to the side. Getting on one side he tried pushing it to set it up straight but it didn't budge, "Get up you heavy *grunt* piece of shit!" he rammed his body onto the support and, by miracle, it flashed a bright blue, nearly blinding him and giving another headache. He had to finish the rest so one after the other he pushed back into place but with each one, it started to get harder and harder to align them; the radiation was getting to him and he was feeling tired. Ja'quar's toes began to feel numb as did his hands and he knelt before he could push the last one into place. He was breathing heavily, the radiation was too much and he nearly blacked out. Being the stubborn man he always was, Ja'quar got back up and used whatever strength he had, "NNRRAAAHHH!" he screamed as the pain shot through him for forcing his muscles to work. The Support had been aligned and the power started flowing smoothly. Ja'quar collapsed on his back in exhaustion, he was expecting the loud 'hum' to confirm he had done it but it only reached high then went back to being a low hum, "What's left?" Ja'quar asks himself. He aligned everything, it should have been fixed. He looked up at the Core and checked for anything signs of unevenness. There was nothing.

[

"We got power fluctuating through the ship's systems!" Ma'rice tells Annali.

"Now?"

"Yeah, shields are coming back online but we need the thrusters up or else we're making a crash landing," Ma'rice explains as he holds onto the Holo-display.

They needed the thrusters up, they were lucky the shields came on but they were done either way if the thrusters didn't come back. Annali needed to find a way to try and get the ship to land on its belly but they needed a helmsman, "Who here can pilot a shuttle?" Annali asks. The squad looks at each other until one member raises his hand.

"I do, mam."

"Good, cause you're gonna fly a Dreadnought," she points toward the position.

"Uh… yes, mam," the Turian stumbles to get to the terminal but makes it anyway. Sitting down and putting on the seatbelt he accesses the Kilimajaro's entire mainframe, "Mam, I can't do anything if thrusters are offline. We don't have sufficient power to bring them back," the helmsman states.

"Crap," Annali mutters. Wherever Max was she hoped he was in Engineering.

[

Ja'quar couldn't find the reason why the Core wasn't working, he had done everything correctly. Until he notices the Main support under the Core tilted to the right. That's what was left, he forgot Max had mentioned the Main support being out of alignment. This was his last push. He had to make it count.

Painfully, Ja'quar got up and made for the ladder that was nearby which would lead up to the catwalk surrounding the Core. He started up the ladder slowly, not wanting to wear out his limbs so quickly but it was still difficult to keep going.

*RUMBLE*

Another rumble violently shook the chamber, causing Ja'quar's feet to slip and fall but just barely saved himself from falling all the way down as he grabbed hold of the bar, "Oh Spirits help me, please," he pleaded as he continued the painful climb. Finally, he reached the top, pulling himself up and standing to the massive core. The main pillar that connected with the Core was tilted toward him and it had bent the railing. He needed to push it back into place but the thing was big and heavy. However, it didn't seem like he needed to push it so far, it seemed as though it was only a slight nudge away from being able to re-align itself automatically. But with his current state, it was damn near impossible to push without his full strength. All he had were grenades that would only cause more harm than good and some grappling hooks. He took them from his belt and looked at hooks, "Surely, I can use them for something," he wondered. He looked around the chamber for some idea but with the constant headache, he could only think of something for a short period of time, "Wait… what if I…" just then an idea started forming, it was the only one he thought of that didn't need overthinking and it was the only he had. He took the two grapple launchers and shot them in separate directions in front of him. The hooks dug deep into the steel and remained there, Ja'quar pulled on them to test them. All that was in front of him was the Main support and it just begged for a push, just as he jumped in the air he set the guns to reel in the cable and with that it pulled his body in mid-air toward the support. Ja'quar quickly brought his legs in front of him and pulled himself forward as hard as he could. His feet connected with the metal and a whirr could be heard as he hit it. His legs were numb but he could still feel pain which meant they weren't out of use. He jumped up and reeled the cable in, propelling himself into the support harder. The pain shot through him hard, he wasn't giving up so easily and he propelled himself again.

*STOMP* *WHIRRrrrr….*

*STOMP* *WHIRRrrrr….*

"ARRGH!" he growled as kept at it.

*STOMP* *WHIRRrrrr….*

"RAAGGH!"

*STOMP* *WHIRRrrrr….*

The main support kept whirring louder and louder with each hit, he was getting closer. But he was beginning to lose his vision; it started getting darker and darker with each hit. His body was carrying the radiation throughout his system with each sudden movement. He could barely see what was in front of him now, "Shit, I can't see… I can't… go on…" he was on the verge of blacking out. He knew he needed to give it one last good hit. One more, "One… more… NGH!" with one last push he jumped, reeled in the cable and misses the hit. His feet slide over the support and he falls down hard on the catwalk, "Aghh!" he groaned painfully as his body felt paralyzed all over. He wasted his only shot. He couldn't see or feel anything, everywhere he tried to look was met with black, he could hardly breathe, "I… can't see… I can't… no…" he tried to stand up but with all the numbness he couldn't feel any part of his body. Blood seeped from his mouth as his throat became so irritated and dry, it was hard to breathe.

He couldn't move. It was his end.

The Kilimanjaro brined bright red in the sky as it screeched through the atmosphere; the smoke just trailing behind it and patches of fire were still present on the hull. The Crew held on hoping they would survive the crash, hoping they would see their loved ones again but in the back of their minds they knew they were going to die.

…

"*grunt* NRAAHH!" Ja'quar's eyes shot open as he rejected the thought of defeat. His fist slammed down in front of him and pushed him up to his knees. Pulling his helmet off he stood up straight. His joints were screaming for him to stop, to give up, but like the stubborn man he is, "I don't accept failure!" he wheezes. He couldn't see or feel anything, but at least he had his sense of direction and he knew the last support was in front of him, "AAAAAAAHHH!" he ran blindly in front of him, pushing himself with everything he had left and rams his body hard onto the Support, "RAAHH!"

*SLAM* *WHIRRrrr….*

"AAAH!"

*SLAM* *WHIRRrrr….*

"YAAAHH!"

*SLAM* *WHIRRrrr….*

With each hit, the support neared closer to alignment. Ja'quar did not stop, more blood seeped down his mouth as he kept it up.

*SLAM* *WHIRRrrr….*

This was it, he was on the edge of blacking out but just out of sheer willpower he propels himself one last time, "RRRAAAH!"

*SLAM* *WHIIRRRRR* *SHOOOM*

The force of the connection launched Ja'quar in the air off the catwalk and he was sent reeling down to the bottom of the chamber.

[

"MAM, FULL POWER RESTORED!"

"FULL THRUSTERS, NOW!"

Immediately, the thrusters beneath the Kilimanjaro roared to life, one after the other, the rest flared to life. The Main Engines spewed massive jets of smoke before Eezo blasted out in Furiousness. The exterior lights came back as well as the Alliance symbol flickered to its euphoric blue.

"THRUSTERS AT MAX! STAND BY! STAND BY!"

The Kilimanjaro continued to fall helplessly as the thrusters struggled to reach their maximum power.

[

"Mam, we have an energy reading coming from the Kilimanjaro!" one of the crewmen tells Caepraka.

"What, their power is restored?" she asks, nearly in disbelief.

"Yes, mam; you can see them right now!" the crewman points toward the window. Caepraka quickly walks to the window and uses her visor to hone in on the Kilimanjaro. She could clearly see the Engines and thrusters burning brightly and trying to slow the ship's descent.

"I'll be damned… Get us down there now, they might have a chance at saving themselves but they need our help! Notify the Victrition!" Caepraka shouts.

"Yes, Captain," the helmsman nods and plots a course.

The crew stare in awe as the massive Dreadnought attempts to save itself from falling any farther. They were approaching the Altostratus clouds, they were only seconds from hitting the surface.

[

"WHAT'S OUR ALTITUDE?!"

"35,000 FT. AND CLOSING!"

"ARE THE THRUSTERS MAXED!"

"THRUSTERS PEAKING IN 3…2…1…."

The Kilimanjaro disappears through the clouds. Loud creaks could be heard as a loud metal roar followed. The sound of concentrated fire nears closer and closer.

…

*FFFSSHHHH*

The Kilimanjaro emerges from the clouds with the underbelly thrusters at their max keeping the ship afloat. Only a few scratches. Nothing so bad, eh?

The crew of both the Trianis and Victrition then cheer in relief as the Kilimanjaro rises unscathed. Caepraka lets out a breath of great relief, thankful the Kilimanjaro and her crew were saved. This was too close, they nearly lost their partner and now they needed help, "Alright, everyone, get ready to provide relief to the crew. They are going to need it," Caepraka orders.

"Yes, Captain!" the crew reply in unison, quickly getting to work as the Trianis and Victrition descended down to the Kilimanjaro.

[

"Mam, shields restored! Power online! Communication channels are open!"

Annali emerged from behind the Holo-display and brought herself up, her breathing was heavy and she hadn't quite calmed down fully, "Are the stabilizers up?" she asks.

"Yes, we shouldn't be making any twists and turns from now on. Altitude is stabilizing," the helmsman states.

"Multiple reports coming in from all over the Kilimanjaro; they have successfully captured the remaining Cerberus insurgents. The halls are safe to walk!"

"Mam, this is a miracle," one of the squad members states.

Annali stands up fully as she recovers, "One would say the same. Can someone get me comes with Sgt. Rios?" Annali asks.

"Officer Veren, are you okay?" coincidentally his voice pops up from comms.

"Yes, I'm fine. How's the rest of the crew?" she asks.

"Celebrating like there's no tomorrow, you saved us, mam," he tells her happily.

Annali was all but confused, she had done nothing except give out orders to the helmsman. It couldn't have been just sheer luck the power just decided to come back. It must have been… "Sgt. Rios, I need you to gather a team and meet me down at Engineering and send the Bridge crew back up here to take over. We barely know how to activate the thrusters," Annali tells him.

"Copy that! Moving to Engineering! Sgt. Rios out!"

Annali looked to her squad, "Come on, I have a feeling we're not done yet," she tells them. They follow suit with her as they make their way to the Engine room.

A few minutes later both teams arrive at the hall leading into the Engine room only to come across a body lying sprawled out on the floor, "Is he with you?" Annali asks.

Sgt. Rios shakes his head and looks at the man with disgust, "He's not with us… he's the traitor we've been looking for; Cromwell," he tells her.

Cromwell groans and shuffles on the floor, he was probably knocked out earlier, "Then that means they've been here. They must still be in the Engine room," Annali suggests.

"I had an earlier team notify me they were distracting Cerberus so that the Captain and the 2nd Lt. could get here. I got a feeling…" Sgt. Rios opens the door and Annali follows in, "Oh and bring that son of a bitch in here too," Sgt. Rios orders behind, implying to Cromwell.

As they walk in, Annali and Rios spot Colt and Smith both secured to their seats. Sgt. Rios didn't waste any time checking on him, "Captain, are you okay? Any injuries?" Rios asks.

"I'm fine Sergeant, just a shot arm. Check Smith first, she got knocked out by Cromwell. Where is he actually?" Colt asks.

"He's here, unconscious as it seems," Sgt. Rios sidesteps and reveals the unconscious Cromwell rested against the wall.

"Keep an eye on him. Tereshkova and another Turian went into the Engine room, check to see if they're okay," Colt orders as he allows Colt to help him up.

"They're in there?" Annali asks.

"I believe so, he fixed the Core, though, I don't know how he did it," Colt says.

Annali doesn't waste any time as she walks past the broken doors and into the massive room holding the Core Chamber. Walking up to the entrance she doesn't see anybody nearby, "Ugh…" a groan could be heard to her right and she finds another room with Tereshkova safely secured to a seat.

"Max!" Annali cries out. She was already assessing him of any sort of damage but she only notices a purple bruise on the left side of his head, "Max, are you okay?" she asks trying to wake him up.

"The hell happened?" Max asks, confused as to the events that just occurred.

"Max, you did it, you saved everyone on the ship," Annali tells him.

"What?" Max asks now clearly confused.

"What do you mean 'what', you fixed the Core, didn't you?" she asks again.

Max looks up at her and his eyes are wide open in shock, "The Core… THE CORE, WHERE'S JA'QUAR!" Max shouts as he unfastens the seatbelts and moves to the Chamber but he falls in dizziness.

"What about Ja'quar?" Annali asks now more confused.

"He… went inside..." Max looks to her momentarily then towards the Core Chamber entrance, "He went inside, the bastard," Max attempts to get up but stumbles. Annali holds Max's arm to support.

"Wait, he went into the…" Annali realizes what Max is saying and she quickly hurries to get them both to the door. But when they reach it, they see a gruesome sight.

Ja'quar had managed to crawl through the vents and he was resting on the wall just next to the door that would lead him out to safety. His mouth and neck were soaked in his blood as well as his skin plates had turned a lighter shade of its natural darkness. It appeared as though the suit around his neck had stuck to him as it had melted and cooled once again. Ja'quar's labored breathing could be heard through the glass as he struggled to catch his breath. Annali wasn't sure how to feel for him; all these years she knew him as a perverted jerk who wouldn't stop chasing her and other women but now she was staring at the same person who had just saved all of their lives. Ja'quar's eyes finally opened to see them and he gave a weak smile, "Would… you look at that… it worked… heh," Ja'quar wheezed painfully.

"You did… of all the people to save us," Max says with a shake of the head.

Ja'quar chuckled at his words, "Right?" he went along. His eyes trailed up to a console and reached for it, pulling down a lever. The door leading into the chamber closed and sealed with an airtight hiss. Signaling the radiation was trapped within. His arm fell lifeless as he began breathing hard, "I have to tell you… this… wasn't how I wanted to go- *cough* out… but my life doesn't make a difference outside… Ngh- of my job," a tear fell from Ja'quars eye as his fell to the door, his eyes looking up to both of them, "I… don't even know… how to apologize for all the wrong things I've done… in my life. I just… wish *cough* *cough*" Ja'quar began coughing uncontrollably as his throat became bloodied, blood seeping into his lungs.

"Stop, you're killing yourself," Max knelt down to the door. Annali watched him as he showed kindness to the person who had tried to kill him a month ago. Annali knew Max's heart was kind, but to feel pity for another who had done wrong to you was on another level she had not seen in another man. Something she didn't have and she knew it too well. All she could do was watch as Max tried to comfort his former enemy.

Ja'quar managed to calm down but his breathing had deteriorated to a shallow wheeze, "Why… are you still watching?... is it out of pleasure… to see the man who tried to kill you die?" Ja'quar asks.

Max only shrugs and he rests and arm against the door, "Not all… it's just… no one should have to die alone," Max tells him.

Ja'quar's brows unfurrow, his eyes watering again as tears flowed down. He couldn't even speak after Max's words, he hadn't planned to die alone and he was already hoping it would end faster. But the kindness Max showed brought a warmth to his heart, alleviating his pain for a few seconds. Which was all that he needed to feel.

"What you did today, I think it's accounted for all the dick things you've done in the past," Max jokes.

Ja'quar gives a weak chuckle, shaking his head, "I would hope so Tereshkova… hehe…" Ja'quar's eyes then began to droop, his breathing became shallower and shallower. Both Annali and Max had noticed this, Max wanted to help him but to do so would flood the entire room with lethal radiation. Ja'quar took one last glance at Max and Annali, a small smile forming on his face, "I would hope…. Mmmm…" his eyes became lazy as well as his eyelids. Soon his head had laid rest next to the wall as his limbs had finally relaxed.

Max gave a heavy sigh as he stood up, "He's gone…" Max says.

Annali had no clue as to what she should say, he had just died trying to save them and all she could feel was sorrow. For the man who had been a complete jerk to everyone but his followers, she felt sorrow. His story wasn't an excuse, it was just unfortunate.

Sgt. Rios came up behind them and nudged Max's shoulder, "What's going on here?" he asks. Max and Annali look at him then at the door. Rios was confused as to why they were looking at the door but one look answered his question as he saw the Turian lying peacefully on the other side, "Did he…" he began.

"Yes… he did," Max answers him, already expecting his question.

Sgt. Rios nodded in understanding and gave a salute to the fallen soldier. A moment of silence followed and Rios turns to Max, "Sir, the Captain would like to speak to you," he tells him.

"About what?" Max asks.

"It's a surprise," Rios gives him a pat on the shoulder as he walks back. Max and Annali look at each other in curiosity and follow Rios to the room where he seated Colt and Smith to the seats.

Walking in, they see Colt and Smith talking to one another as well as other Human soldiers conversing but the talks stop as Max enters, "Max, please step forward," Colt extends an arm towards him, signaling him to approach the circle. Smith was now conscious and she had a proud smile on her face.

Max looks to Annali but she shrugs and motions for him to go, "What's this about?" Max asks as he steps forward.

"Son, you'll see in a few seconds," he faces Max directly and then turns to Smith, "Lieutenant, take a vid of this for the record and witness," he tells her.

"Yes, Captain," she pulls up her Omni-tool and begins recording, "Go ahead," she tells him.

Colt then turns to face Max with a proud smile, "Tereshkova, please stand at attention for your promotion!" Colt states. The last word shocks both Max and Annali. Max was getting promoted not just of rank but his title.

Max quickly stands at attention and salutes, as does Colt. The two lower their arms as Colt begins, "Max Tereshkova, Serial Number: 67349278 T24 38 O, N6 trainee…" Colt extends a hand for Max. Max looks down at it and proceeds to shake it, his smile already clear to everyone, "A personal friend and excellent soldier…"

From behind them, Cromwell slowly emerges from his unconscious state. His head rises and he sees Colt and Max shaking hands; everything went dark so suddenly but he woke just in time to hear 'N6 trainee'. Max was getting promoted to N7. The title he had worked for so long only to be denied the rank by Colt himself. He couldn't let this happen, especially since he was denied his title. He looks up the soldier next to him and sees the Predator pistol. He looks back towards Colt and the hate arises as he hears him say, "By the power vested in me, I hereby promote you to the rank and earned the title of-"

*BANG*

Everything suddenly slipped into slow-motion for Max; it seemed as though everything was caught in some sort time loop. Here he was, about to earn his title, the mark he had worked so hard to achieve, his life goal was about to become a reality until Colt suddenly stopped. His eyes had shot wide open and his hand felt loose. Then the sound came… the shot… it rang painfully in his ears. Max looked down as Colt had clutched his chest, a dark spot forming in his chest and then spreading out as if someone had spilled coffee on him. He quickly caught Colt as he fell towards him, looking down he could see the ripped hole in his back. Max screamed for help but what could anyone do to save someone from a bullet to the back.

Annali watched as Colt fell into Max's arms, the shot scaring her and bringing back memories of the past; flashbacks of her past missions, her comrades dying from snipers while she remained behind cover to stay alive. Her friend had gotten shot in the neck and she desperately tried to worsen the wound, but she was already gone. It flashed so quickly by that time she already had eyes on the shooter… the human they first found unconscious. The traitor.

The soldiers had already restrained him and beaten him unconscious, Smith was already on the comms getting the Medics ready for a casualty. Casualty. The word rang in her head, all the while Max was trying to get Colt to respond. He was panicking. She had to do something, fast.

"Tereshkova, carry him to Med-bay, I'll help you!" Annali quickly slid down to grab Colt's arm, "Come on!" she shouted.

Max didn't argue, they couldn't wait for the Medics to arrive, it would take too long, They needed to make the run for the Med-bay, "I'll take his left arm! Get the doctors ready for Emergency Surgery, subject is the Captain!" Max shouts at Smith.

"Already done, we'll open the doors so you can glide right through and effectively. MOVE SOLDIERS!" Smith hollered at the top of her lungs, "And put that Traitor under arrest until I find a way to deal with him!" she orders.

Max and Annali carry Colt through the hallways as fast as they could go, the soldiers were opening doors left and right, guiding them to the Med-bay. Annali could sense the panic in Max, not because he was about to get promoted but perhaps Colt meant something to him. Colt's breathing was nearly non-existent and she knew he wasn't going to last much longer. Thankfully, they arrived at the Med-Bay, there were already doctors waiting for them at the entrance with a bed for Colt.

"Quickly, get him on the bed. We don't have much time," A dark-skinned doctor tells them. Max takes Colt and picks him up, carefully placing him on the bed pushing it to the operating room. Annali joins him as she helps push the bed to wherever it needed to go. As she did this, she saw Max reassuring Colt everything was going to be okay. Everything happened so quickly. Nothing could have prepared her for that nor could she have seen it coming. Before they could move any further into the Med-Bay they were stopped by two nurses.

"I'm sorry, this is medical staff only. You will have to wait outside while we work on the Captain," The nurses then walk through the double doors to join the rest leaving Max and Annali alone in the hallway.

Annali looks up to Max whom still hasn't taken his eyes off the door. Colt definitely meant something to him but she had no intention to find out. At least not now. The two sat opposite from each other, both not even glancing an eye. There was still pain in Annali for Max's dishonesty, but it didn't mean she didn't feel sorry towards him.

A few hours had passed since they had arrived, Smith came by and sat down next to Max, "How's the fleet?" Max asks.

"The Kilimanjaro sustained some minor hull breaches but other than that she's fine. The Trianis and Victrition are busy repairing their ship and we've parked just above Chasca's northern polar ice cap," Smith informs him. Max only gives a grunt, his eyes fixed toward the floor. Smith looks up to Annali, "Any more orders from your Captain?" she asks.

Annali shifts uncomfortably before saying, "My orders were to guarantee the Captain's safety at any cost. And now I fear I've failed it…" Annali looks away towards the doors.

"No one could have seen it coming. Sgt. Rios is cursing himself for not cuffing Cromwell in the first place but no one is blaming him," Smith states.

Max turns to Smith and eyes her carefully, "How's your head?" he asks.

"I've had worse situations but I can still feel where that traitor got me. I'm a damn idiot for just leaving my rifle next to him, I should've seen it coming. Hell, I should have shot his ass the moment I saw him," Smith states, clearly agitated.

"We all make mistakes, what matters is that we own up to them and forgive ourselves," Max tells her.

"Right," Annali mutters as she looks directly at Max. Max catches her eye but she turns at the last second to avoid him.

Max very well understood what she had meant by that and he took it to heart; he remembered back on the bridge when he yelled at her. It was something neither of them could believe happened. Max wanted to say sorry, but how could she listen to him after he had lied and just yelled at her out of impatience. Just then a doctor walks out and looks at all three of them as they stand up to hear what he has to say, "Are you Tereshkova?" he asks.

"I am," Mad confirms.

The doctor gave a sad shake of his head, "I'm sorry but we did all that we could for him. He won't last much longer on life-support. It is best no one enters as he in critical condition," the doctor explains.

"He's still alive?" Max asks.

"For the moment, yes, but not for long," he explains. But before he could explain any further Max rushes past him down the hallway, "Sir, you can't just-"

"Max!" Annali rushes after him as does Smith as they chase him down the hall.

A few soldiers on the other side spot Max as he rushes past them and they begin to take chase, "Sir, this is not for unauthorized personnel!" one of them shouts as they join Annali and Smith in the chase.

Max was in full sprint, darting right down another hall and rushing past people. Colt was still alive and didn't have much time left, he needed to talk to Colt before it was too late. His heart was beating faster and faster as anticipation grew, he knew where Colt would be. Meanwhile, Annali and Smith lagged behind, trying their best to keep up, there was so many medical staff in the way and Max was slipping by them with ease. Nothing and no one was stopping him.

Just then, a group of soldiers pops out from around the corner, "Halt!" one of them shouts.

Max stops to a halt, "I need to get to the Captain, he's not going to last long," Max explains.

"I'm sorry sir but he is in critical condition and we are on Condition 3, so I must ask you to turn around before we use deadly force," the soldier warns as the small blockade ready their rifles.

Max clenches his fist in frustration as he takes a step forward, "Get out of my way or I make you," he threatens. The soldiers back up as they raise their rifles at him.

"Sir, stand down now!" the soldier warns again.

At that moment, Annali, Smith, and the other group of soldiers arrive just behind Max, "Max, listen, you have to stand down. Colt isn't ready to make any form of communication," Smith explains.

"He won't be able to at all if we just let him die and he doesn't have much time left," Max then turns back to the group of soldiers in front of him, "SO GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Max pushes the leader back.

"Stand down!" the soldier hits Max across the face with his rifle, causing him to stumble back. Max remains still and motionless as the soldiers back up, raising their rifles up.

Max turns to look at the soldier that just took a swing at him, his eyes no longer friendly but now filled with rage. Before the leader could issue another command, Max's fist crashes into the soldier's helmet, breaking the glass visor and knocking him into the soldier behind him. The rest then try to subdue Max but Max was prepared as he quickly took a step back throws a powerful jab toward the left man and then deals with the right with the same arm by elbowing him on the side of the head. The remaining three were easily dealt with as Max slapped the gun away from the first man then proceeded to grab his hand and then twist around to put him in a shoulder lock followed by then pushing his foot down on his back and slamming his face into the floor. Before the second soldier could react, Max gave a powerful left hook then a right and finally landing a massive kick, as if he was breaking open a door, flinging him towards the remaining soldier and knocking him down. Once they were dealt with, Max then made a run for Colt once again.

Annali and Smith were stunned at his ability to deal with a group of armed people so easily and efficiently, Annali couldn't comment anything for his skills; Max was indeed a highly trained combatant. She couldn't think further on the subject as they had to keep up with him, "Smith, do you know where Tereshkova is headed?" Annali asks.

"Yes, Room 456 on B-wing, that's the emergency room. I know a shortcut and we can cut him off there if we haul ass," Smith explains.

"Guide us," the Annali and the group of soldiers then follow Smith as she guides them to the shortcut.

Max was now looking left and right looking for the Emergency room, he couldn't hear Smith and the others running after him so he assumes he lost them. He was so close, just another right turn and, "There it is," just as he turns the corner he sees a pair of double doors and a sign with the words capitalized and marked in red: "EMERGENCY ROOM: 456" As Max starts for it, he sees Annali, Smith and the group of soldiers run out from the opposite side of the hall.

"MAX, STOP WHERE YOU ARE!" Smith shouts.

Max's eyes widen, he looks at the doors that are just feet from him, and he makes a run for it. The group makes their run to intercept him; Smith activates her Neural shock ability and takes a shot at Max. Max jumps to the left to avoid it and he pulls out his pistol, taking aim at the light they were about to pass above them and fires.

*BLAM*

The glass shards break and rain over the group, electric sparks falling down and blinding them as they come to a stop. Max takes the chance and bursts through the doors, quickly turning around and grabbing a mop stick he closes the doors shut and slides the stick through the handles, barricading himself in.

"Gah, damn it," Smith mutters. The group rush to the door but are stopped as the mop holds them together, "Did he seriously lock himself in?" Smith asks.

"Can't believe you use conventional doors to get into a room," Annali states.

"Well, why don't you help us bust through instead? Everyone on three; one…two… three," Annali joins them as they ram the door.

Max, on the other hand, walks through the room, searching for Colt. He could hear voices nearby and he follows the sound, leading him into the operation room. There were several nurses and a doctor surrounding a bed. And on that bed was Colt, "Colt…" Max called for him.

The nurses then turned startled toward his presence, one of them approaches Max and says, "Sir, you are not allowed to be in here without the authorized equipment," the nurse tells him.

"I know but I have to talk to him, please, I know he's in critical condition but-"

"Max?" Colt's voice echoes through the room. Max turns to look at Colt and sees him looking at him, "You're always persistent when you put your mind to something," Colt gives a weak smile.

Max walks up to the bed as the nurses allow him closer, he kneels to get on his level, "Colt… I…"

"There's nothing to be sorry about Tereshkova… don't blame yourself for something you didn't do right," Colt assures him through a raspy voice.

Max nods then begins to chuckle, "You look like crap, Captain," Max jokes.

"Indeed I do, Heh heh *cough* agh…" Colt strains to laugh along.

"Glad to see your sense of humor is still intact," Max tells him.

"The one thing I'm glad I still have… yes…" Colt nods as he gives a painfully groan, "Agh… Max…" he begins to say.

"Tell me…"

"Remember when I first came across you, you were but a Private in the Alliance Army…"

"Yeah, I was just a scrawny kid trying to find his place in the galaxy…" Max answers.

"No, you had already found it… you made a family of friends, you loved your work. Even though you were a part of a platoon, you were seen as the leader of the group by your peers. I knew they saw- NGH!" Colt then grunted painfully as he tried to speak.

"Colt you alright?" Max asks, frightened.

Colt chuckles and looks at Max, "That is what they saw in you; they saw your compassion towards others and how you cared for them. That is what I saw when you led your squad behind the enemy and saved your platoon's lives. Not a single life lost within your family. It is the reason why I first considered you to become an N7 trainee," Colt explains.

"I'm flattered but it doesn't mean I could make a difference in everyone's lives by just remaining in the shadows like I'm someone I'm not," Max tells him as he looks away with guilt. Remembering Annali's face of 'why-didn't-you-tell-me?'.

Max shakes his head, "Wrong, being an N7 means you are- Agh- willing to go to great lengths to help others for their betterment rather than yours. The Alliance may tell what to do but how you do it is entirely up to you. You can always make a difference whether you do it directly or indirectly. You serve Humanity to protect us… and now…" Colt grunts painfully again, the heartbeat monitor begins to beat slowly.

"Heart rate is dropping, his vitals are deteriorating, we have to place him on life-support again," the doctor states as he sets to work.

"Now… you serve to protect everyone… Asari, Salarian… Krogan…" Colt's breathing becomes shallow, "Including Turians… I will not take life-support" he smiles weakly.

"Captain… you can't…" Max begins to say but Colt extends his left hand to him. Max holds his hand, his eyes beginning to tear up.

*DOOM*

The ramming of the doors could be heard as they try to break in.

"I was brought into this room… and I won't be walking out of it," Colt struggles to breathe now as he tries to speak.

*DOOM*

"Captain, you hav-"

"No… I am not the Captain anymore…" Colt unfurls his hand as a small object falls on Max's hand. Max looks down at his hands and his eyes widen with astonishment. He looks back up to Colt for an answer but is met with hopeful blue eyes by the now Former-Captain, "You are…" Max's stomach drops at the words that exit from his mouth.

"No… you can't…" Max begins to say but chokes on his words.

"Keep her safe for me… will ya?" Colt asks.

Max's hands tremble as he realizes where this was headed all along. He looks up to Colt with teary eyes and nods, "Sir… yes, sir…" Max tells him. Colt smiles as a small tear escapes his eyes, his hand around Max's slowly loosened until finally limp.

A long beep follows signaling there was no heart rate, "The Captain…" the doctor begins but trails off.

Just then, the doors break open as the group manages to burst through. Quickly Annali and Smith locate Max and Colt as the soldiers circle the bed and point their rifles, "Max, stand… down…" Smith begins to say but one look at Max told her something was wrong.

Max remained kneeling next to Colt, unmoving and unfazed by her words. The doctor walks around the bed towards Smith with eyes that could only show sorrow, "Lieutenant… the Captain has passed… I'm sorry," the doctor says.

Annali feels an emptiness in her stomach and it felt as though someone had stolen it ages ago; the Captain was gone. The soldiers surrounding Max then lowered their rifles, they were clueless as to what to do. Smith was lost for words, she wanted to deny this was the case but Colt's lifeless body had already proven everything. For a while, no one said anything, no one made a move, no one dared to make a sound. Max only remained kneeling, looking at the hand that held Colt's gift for him.

Annali knew Colt meant something to him, this only lead her to believe Colt was an especially close friend of Max. Max went through all this trouble just to see him, only to watch him perish in his hands. Annali was the first to make a move as she stepped toward Max, resting a hand on his shoulder, "M-Max… are you…" she begins to say but is cut off as Max stands up quickly, his hand still clutched tightly.

Max doesn't look at her instead looks down at his hand and turns to Smith, "He gave me this before he died…" Max unfurls his hand to reveal a golden pin shaped into an eagle with the Alliance symbol behind it and the three stars engraved into the A.

Smith's eyes widen in astonishment and immediately stands at attention, "ATTEN-SHUN! ADMIRAL ON DECK!" she hollers. The soldiers and nurses all look at Max and immediately stand attention, their hands shooting up to their heads in a salute.

Annali looked around her as they acknowledged Max's new rank… as Admiral.

"Isn't Max considered young to be an Admiral?" Annali asks.

"Typically, it is given to anyone above 35 but should any Admiral pass their rank to someone else then they can do so by giving them the Admiral's pin signifying the Admiral's trust has gone into the man he passed it to. Considering I am an N6, I am fully capable of receiving the Admirals pin."

Then a thought pops into her head, "Wait, how was Colt not acknowledged as an Admiral in the first place?" she asks turning to Max.

"The Alliance thought that if there wasn't a difference in power by rank then perhaps the mission could be completed more effectively. Admiral Colt volunteered to help lead the mission. We await your orders Admiral," Smith answers, still remaining at attention.

Max looks up from his hand as he looks at everyone who was at attention to him. He was Admiral now… he now has a responsibility to his crew. To the fleet, "At ease," Max says. He breathes deeply as his brows furrow into an angry glare, "Where's Cromwell?" he asks in a stone cold tone, surprising Annali, she had never seen this side of him.

"Locked up in a cell in the Armory, sir!" Smith states.

"Any prisoners?" he asks.

"Joining him!"

Max looks down at the pin and places it in his belts pouch, "Why are they on this ship?" he asks.

"Sgt. Rudy is questioning them but so far he hasn't come up with anything," Smith informs him.

"I think you should do it, put your sweet talking skills to use and get me something on their Home Base. And Doctor…" Max turns to the doctor behind him.

"Yes, Admiral?"

Max looks down at Colt, "You know what to do with him."

"Yes, I'll get a body bag," the doctor says.

"Aye, sir!" Smith salutes then leaves.

Max turns to the rest of the soldiers, "Guys, sorry I made you run," he apologizes.

"No problem, sir. Could always use a good jog," one of them jokes.

"Heh, you may return to your posts and tell the soldiers I beat I'm deeply sorry, I'll try and find a way to make it up to them," Max tells them.

"Yes, sir," they say in unison.

"Nurse, there's a… Turian soldier who had sacrificed his life to save the ship in the Core chamber. I want you to notify an Engineering team to bring his body out and put him in a body bag," he orders.

"Yes, sir!" the nurse salutes.

Once everyone had left, Max and Annali left the room as well, both heading down to Hangar bay and neither saying a word. Max knew he had to explain everything to Caepraka and the Victrition, he had to now since he was now the Admiral of the fleet. The power had shifted towards him and he needed to defend the Alliance's reason to hide his and Colt's identity. And Annali was definitely going to make sure he did. Neither of them said a word as they arrived at the Hangar where there was still extensive damage done due to the fighting. Multiple body bags were lined across the floor holding the men and women who died when the fighting started or died trying to defend the Kilimanjaro. Regardless, Max had a duty to uphold now and it was to make sure their deaths hadn't gone in vain.

As they approached their designated shuttle, Ma'rice emerges from somewhere they had no idea where, "Guys, did you hear the news?" he asks, his tone hinting something was wrong.

"What is it, Ma'rice?" Annali asks.

"The Captains; they're considering scuttling the mission," Ma'rice tells them.

Max and Annali look at one another then back at Ma'rice, "What are you talking about?" Annali asks.

"What do you think? They've gotten tired of just searching for a base that doesn't exist and now they want to talk to Colt about how to deal with this as soon as possible," Ma'rice explains further.

Max's mouth puffs in awkwardness as he looks in a different direction, not everyone knew he was the new Commanding Officer, not even the other Captains. Annali thought it as well, they would have to announce Colt's death soon but it had to be later. Max had to save the mission, "Tereshkova, you're going to have to work some magic with them if you want to keep this mission going," Annali tells him. Max scratches his head in nervousness, this was exactly what he didn't want to happen; him taking command wasn't something he was always comfortable with but he always managed to come out on top. But this was way different, he had to manage an entire fleet and the integrity of the mission was up to him to hold up.

Slowly, Max nods in agreement, "Yeah, definitely," he says.

"Wait, why him?" Ma'rice asks.

"Because… he's the new Admiral," Annali says.

Ma'rice's face turns into one of shock but then he starts chuckling, "Yeah-yeah, of course, a combat engineer is going to convince two hardass Captain's to keep the mission going, Hahaha…" but one look between Max and Annali told him they weren't kidding, "Wait, where's Colt?" he asks.

Max breathes a heavy sigh, "Colt is… no longer with us. I'm now the Commanding Officer of this mission," Max tells him.

Ma'rice's mouth then gapes wide open in pure astonishment, it was the best face Max had seen so far on a Turian, "You're serious? Admiral? That's…" Ma'rice searches for the perfect word but could only come up with, "-a big promotion. Holy hell!" he says.

"Indeed," Max agrees.

Annali is already impatient and she shoves Max towards the shuttle, "We're wasting time, Ma'rice make sure our men are ready to head back to the Trianis and the others who aren't with us go back to the Victrition," Annali orders.

"Uh, Yes, mam!" Ma'rice says as he goes back to giving orders.

Once they were in, Annali walks into the cockpit of the shuttle, "Pilot, take us to the Trianis," she tells him.

"Oh, it's you?! How coincidental," the pilot's voice rings familiarity again within Annali.

"You, again?" Annali asks, recognizing the pilot.

"I guess it was meant to be, mam," the pilot chuckles.

"I guess it was. Take us to the Trianis," she orders as she heads back.

"Yes, mam," the pilot starts the engines. The shuttle begins flying over the landing pad and moves over to the edge, where the hangar bay opened down toward the planet, "Flight control, this is shuttle 37. Requesting to disengage from the Kilimanjaro, over?" the pilot speaks over the comms.

"This is flight control, you may proceed! Safe flights!" the radioman states.

"Disengaging," the pilot then allows the shuttle to drop down through the bay then activates the thrusters propelling the shuttle towards the Trianis.

Annali sits down opposite of Max, her arms crossed and wordlessly telling Max to say something, but he doesn't see her as he stares down at the golden pin his hand, "Ahem," Annali clears her throat to catch his attention. Max blinks out of thought then looks up at her, her face already telling him what she wants from him. And Max understands, "I know what you want… You want to know who I really am," he takes a guess.

At this point, Annali starts throwing fire, "You think? You could have told me when we were first getting to know each other. I would have understood your reasons but you kept up the act. I told you my deepest thoughts while you told me, Spirits knows, how many lies about yourself. I took them to heart, believing you had gone through all those hard times, I believed that's what made you, you. I don't even know if I can even trust you anymore," Annali pours everything, her hands beginning to tremble with rage once again. She awaited Max's response, eager to hear him defend himself.

Max took a deep breath, closing his eyes to relax, then he starts nodding. This only confused Annali, he was nodding and it wasn't answering anything. Max then clenches the pin in his hand tightly before placing it in his pouch, "You're right… because I've been sworn to secrecy so many times I've begun to start getting used to keeping secrets. Even if I wanted to tell you it could hurt you in more ways than one," Max explains.

"Give me one," Annali tells him.

"I broke your heart," Max replies. Annali hadn't expected that answer but it was relatively closer to what he had done.

"Yes, you did… I loved you in more ways than one, I wanted to live with you for as long as I could," Annali begins to soften, "I wanted, after this mission, to live somewhere peaceful. I hoped you would bring me a peace I hadn't had since before my mother died. I thought I saw an honest man who deeply cared for the people he loved the most. I wanted so many things but… I guess I was asking too much… and I expected more," she looked away, a small tear had dropped and fell from her cheek, falling and staining her armor.

Max looked up in shock at her words. He knew where she was going with this, "Annali, I wanted the same with you. But my past had led me to a new life and it mixed with yours and from that, it turned into something wonderful… us," Max began. Annali still hadn't turned to look at him, her watery blue eyes not moving in the slightest. He kept on, "When you had your nightmares, you reminded me of my days as a teenager whenever I went out with my friends on a sleepover. Remember the girl I told you about who couldn't sleep because she was homesick?" he asks.

Annali remembered his story; he and his friends arranged a sleepover in a forest but one of them wasn't very fond of the idea of leaving their home and stranding themselves somewhere in a forest but in reality, they were only in Max's backyard which was the forest. Slowly, Annali came to realize this story wasn't a lie, "This one was true?" she asked.

"Yes, it was. She had gotten so homesick I started to feel she would have a panic attack. So I decided to-"

"Sing her a lullaby," Annali finished. Max smiled as his cheeks flushed red in embarrassment.

From what Annali understood, it was very uncommon for a boy to sing to the girl but he had done it to her and she thanked him for it. Max had sung a lullaby for her when she had her nightmares and it helped her so much she wanted to hear it again. And every time he sang it, his cheeks were red with embarrassment. A small smile began to grow from the memories, "I never understood why you were so embarrassed, it seemed so romantic to sing to a woman," Annali shrugged.

"I had a tendency to sing when I could but I was always embarrassed to show it to an audience. I would have rather just spoken Russian than sing to a group of people," Max tells her.

"And yet you sang while everyone was in the tent," Annali says.

"Well, that's because they were asleep, luckily for me. In the end, she thanked me for helping her get through her first sleepover. She even gave me a kiss," Max added in.

From that point, Annali's smile had faded, "Do you still know her?" she asks, partly jealous.

"I do, yes. Her name is Smith, Sarah Smith; she's the 2nd Lieutenant of the Kilimanjaro. I never told you that," Max tells her that.

At that point, Annali's eyes were wide with astonishment, "Wait, she's…?"

"Yes, she's a very old friend of mine. And so was Cromwell," A slight bitterness catches on as Annali says his name.

"But does she… you know…" Annali tries to hint at what she's trying to get to.

"Nonono, she and I were really good friends but we weren't very close enough to move up to that level. We usually joke what would have happened if we actually got together and we both agreed it wouldn't end well. Most likely, we would have broken up and never got back to try and at least be friends…" Max explains.

"The irony, right?" Annali says.

Max looks up at her, she was already firing shots at him, "Annali… I never meant to keep secrets from you, but being an N7 means to dedicate one's life in order to save others. Even if it costs them their lives. I would give my life to protect the innocent," Max tells her. Annali looks down towards her feet as he continues, "I would give my life to protect you, Annali. But it seems at this pace I'll only hurt you more," Annali's eyes look back up at him, her eyes filled with curiosity.

"What are you saying?" she asks.

"Annali… I've hurt you in so many ways I can't imagine the damage I've done to you. So, once this mission is over, if you want, I can disappear from your life. You won't have to deal with me any longer," his offer felt like getting hit in the back with a sack of bricks. Even after everything she had said to him, he was still looking after her, and this was his last act of kindness to her.

"M-Max…"

"It'll be like I was never here… Maximillian Tereshkova had never participated In the fight against Cerberus on Chasca. I was never present in the campaign, I was merely working as a computer analyst on the Citadel, directing traffic control, etc. I'll fade into the crowd-"

"N-no…" Annali squeaks.

"What do you mean 'no'?" he asks.

"Max… you hurt my heart… you broke my trust… you kept secrets, but you did it all to…"

"-Protect you from what could have happened. Because I couldn't bear to see what would happen had the information leaked to Cromwell and he initiated the mutiny days before we had any clue as to Cerberus plans. He could have taken the Kilimanjaro and destroyed the Trianis and the Victrition, killing everyone. This isn't a statistic, it's a scenario I prayed never happened because if I had failed to keep my identity a secret then I had failed my promise to you. Annali, I don't ever want to leave you. You are the best thing to have ever happened to me in years ever since my life was turned upside down since Shanxi. But if I've broken your trust for me then I don't deserve you. I've already done too much and it led to the death many innocent people who only wanted to find a life in this galaxy while I tried my best to…" Max trails off as tears begin flowing down his face, "I could have prevented the mutiny, I could have prevented anymore lives getting taken, I could have discovered the traitor, I could have done MORE!" Max slams his fist against the wall, his guilt had overcome him, "I could have saved James…" he says.

"James?" Annali asks. She never heard of anyone named James.

"James; James S. Colt, Admiral, and Captain of the SSV Kilimanjaro," Max clarifies.

"James…" she repeated his name, she only knew Colt by his last name. This was her chance, "Who was he to you," she asks.

"James… was like a father-figure to me. More of a mentor, actually; he inspired me to join the Alliance military as soon as I turned 18. Even though we were friends, he never gave me any benefits so as to teach me how to deal with situations as an adult. He gave me the image of fairness and to never judge another person just because he doesn't have something you have that he doesn't. As I ranked up and proven my effectiveness in battle against Cerberus and slavers, he nominated me as a candidate for the N7 program. Even when I was training, he still didn't help me but instead told me to never just trust in him to make it through something; you have to trust your peers to help you along. The problem was, no one wanted to trust anyone; we barely knew each other. What they needed was a leader. And because of that, me and two other teammates worked to lead everyone through every day. Not many people washed out since we kept the motivation and momentum going. I almost became an N7 if hadn't messed up on a mission back then. But my teammate helped pull us out of it and so he earned the title of N7 while the other leader in the pack failed the program altogether," Max paused towards the end.

Annali had an idea as to who it was, "Cromwell?" she asks.

"Yes, he punished one of our teammates for doing something wrong and nearly ended up getting court-martialed for what he did. He was kicked out and given a place as a 2nd Lt. later getting promoted to 1st officer. I always knew he hated the Alliance but I never fucking thought he would hate it so much as to join Cerberus. And from that point on, here we are, having this conversation and about to dock," Max says as he crosses his arms.

"Mam, we're docking," the pilot states.

Annali was surprised the ride lasted as long as it did, the conversation had brought many things to question but it mostly answered everything Annali thought about Max. He never wanted to hurt her, he just wanted to protect his people and her but it was hard to keep track of both. But the one thing that stuck out most of the conversation was his offer to disappear from her life. And she had no doubt he could, but then she couldn't imagine seeing him ever again. As they approached the shuttle doors, Max leaned down to her head and whispers, "If you want me gone, then I'll go," he says.

Annali almost wanted to yell no but she had to keep her composure, she needed to answer, "Max… I-" she begins to say but the doors cut her off.

A Turian soldier walks up to them and says, "Mam, the Captains are expecting you and the Captain at the bridge immediately," the soldiers informs.

"I know, he's here. What's the situation?" Annali asks.

"I really don't want to know but last I heard, they are starting to call it quits," the soldier tells them.

Annali and Max look at each other, both of them realizing this was getting much more serious, "Understood, we'll take care of it," Annali tells him. The two then rush for the elevator, wasting no time to get into argument and settle things down before it gets worse, "Or rather you'll take care of it," Annali says as she pushes the button leading to the bridge. Max wasn't sure as to how the Captains would react to Colts death, and it surely wasn't going to go swell.

As the elevator made its stop, the doors opened to reveal Caepraka and Captain Linnius arguing in a heated argument, "Linnius, you can't just walk out on this mission. We have enough supplies to keep us up for a few more weeks."

"Weeks? We've been at this for over a month and a half and you think we'll hold out for another few weeks. We got ambushed by Cerberus cruisers and by some sort of space station then we had to deal with the rat problem, and now the Kilimanjaro has been crippled and we nearly lost our lives trying to save their hide," LInnius retorts.

The two then notice Annali and Max standing near the elevator, "Veren, did you ensure Colt's safety?" Caepraka asks. Annali and Max remain silent, unsure as to answer. Caepraka eyes Annali suspiciously, "Liaison Officer Annali Veren, have you secured the Captains safety?" Caepraka asks.

Annali looks down in shame as she struggles to give her an answer, "Mam, the Captain… didn't make it," Annali tells her. Linnius and Caepraka both look at her in complete shock, neither had anticipated this sort of news.

"Colt is…"

"Yes, he is…" Max confirms.

"But how?" Linnius asks.

"Once we restored power to the Kilimanjaro, we managed to secure the Captain but the-"

"I was talking to the human, Liaison Officer," Linnius interrupts, silencing Annali.

Max looked down at Annali as she was instantly silenced just like that, it didn't fit right with him, "Linnius, you can't just silence her like that. She was on the right path," Max defends her.

"Engineer, I am not LInnius to you. I am Captain or mam and you will refer to me as such," LInnius orders him as she crosses her arms.

Max eyes her down, not liking her attitude towards him and Annali, his instincts were telling him to resist going all out on her. Annali saw this and tries to redivert the conversation back on topic, "Captain, in short, the traitor was a Cerberus agent taking the impression of Colt's 1st officer; Cromwell. Once Tereshkova had restored power to the ship, Cromwell found an opening and fatally wounded Colt. Colt passed away not too long ago," Annali quickly tells her.

Linnius looks back at Annali then at Max, "Then who is in charge?" she asks.

"That would be me," Max steps forward as he approaches the Holo-display.

Caepraka and Linnius both exchange looks of confusion and doubt, "He placed a Combat Engineer in charge of the Kilimanjaro?" Linnius asks.

"I believe the Captain kept something from us about Tereshkova that he didn't want us to see, am I close "Engineer"?" Caepraka emphasized the title, "Because I don't think you have armor with the N7 logo just for fun, right?" she asks again. Max knew she had him already figured out.

"Mam, I do not wear this tag for fun as I am an N7. I was the person you were talking about during the meeting this morning," Max formally reveals himself. Everyone in the bridge had caught eye at what he was saying and they were already looking at him with surprised eyes, "Colt and I were assigned different titles so as to not raise suspicion between us; he was an Admiral in the Alliance and I was an N6. I am not an N7 yet but before he was shot I believed he would have made me one. As an N6 I qualify to earn the rank of Admiral should I be given the Admirals pin," Max explains. This new information brought stunned expressions to Caepraka and LInnius's faces.

"You're saying he was an Admiral? Did he pass this 'Admirals pin' down to you?" Caepraka asks.

Max takes reaches into his pouch and holds out the pin, the golden chrome finish shined from the light of the Holo-display. Linnius and Caepraka both looked at the pin, then at Max, both clearly stunned. Linnius was the first to speak, "And why did you even hide your true identities?" she asks.

"We felt that, with the ongoing tension between the Alliance and the Turian Hierarchy, there may have been some issues over who had full authority over who. We were afraid the coalition would break as early as it had started before we could get information on your-" Max suddenly stopped before he spilt the beans entirely but it seemed he had nearly laid it all out on the table.

"On our what?" Linnius asks, now very suspicious. Even Annali was curious as to the Alliance's true goals.

Max sighed sharply, shaking his head, he knew he wasn't getting out of it and he was going to have to let them have it. He turns to Annali and says, "This is why I didn't want to say anything in the first place," he says before he faces the two Captains.

"Our… original plan was to find and destroy the Cerberus base that was theorized to be here. We took advantage of the Interspecies Exchange Program to organize a coalition between the Alliance and the Hierarchy. This was to mask my- OUR mission to…" Max pauses for a moment then continues, "-study your ships for any weaknesses we could exploit in case of war between us," Max tells them, revealing everything from start to end of the Alliance's plan.

Caepraka and Linnius stared at him with hard looks, not even flinching or acknowledging what he had just said. Linnius then gave a shake of her head, looking down then walking away, "Unbelievable… just fucking unbelievable… are you hearing this?" Linnius turns to Caepraka, she doesn't respond, "Are you hearing this? This whole damned mission was just a setup, this was never about Cerberus it was always about us. Who are we to them? Pawns or what, you tell me," Linnius shouts, her eyes burning with hate and betrayal.

Annali was just as shocked but she had no intention of getting angry again, "Captain Linnius please calm down," Annali tells her.

"Are you defending the Human, now? Do you have any idea what else he could be hiding that involves us?" she asks. Before Annali could respond to her Max voices himself.

"Linnius, I'm going to have to ask you to calm down, immediately," Max tells her in a stern tone. Annali didn't like where this was going, no one ever stood up to Linnius like that, not even Caepraka. All anyone ever did to calm her down was either talk sweet on the sidelines or agree with her. And Max was no follower.

"What did you just say to me?" Linnius asks, her anger was clear to everyone. Her hands remained loose but looked ready to turn into fist should her temper get the better of her.

Max wasn't fazed by her attitude and instead responded, "Linnius, as Admiral of this fleet, I am ordering you to calm down. You had no idea what you were involved in and now that you know you are doubting our ability to get the job done. If you had to hold sensitive information from your peers then it means you don't want anyone getting the hint because you know as soon as they know what you know there is surely going to be a battleground for disagreement. And this meeting proves my point," Max lays it all out on her. Caepraka seemed as though she was enjoying this but Annali was ready to intervene in case Max went too far, "So if you want to leave then, by all means, do what Cerberus wants you to do. This was their intent all along; to attack the Kilimanjaro and raise doubt within the ones that have high confidence thus creating disagreement. It's your choice," Max then crosses his arms right in front of her, waiting for her response.

Linnius's anger doesn't appear to differ, her hands didn't move or twitch and her green eyes remained fixed on Max's. After a long silence, she then crossed her arms, "Do you have a plan… Admiral?" Linnius asks. Annali finally lets out that breath she was holding, relieved Max hadn't peaked her. Even Caepraka was relieved as well, she didn't want to have to break up a fight between a Captain and the apparent new Admiral.

"In fact I do," Max then pulls up his Omni-tool, "We've captured the traitor and mole that was hiding on the Kilimanjaro and he's held up in the armory," Max shows an image of Cromwell.

"So this 'Cromwell', is the perpetrator of the attack on the Kilimanjaro? What do you intend to do with him?" Linnius asks.

"I have an idea but I have to make sure it'll work. I'll head back to the Kilimanjaro once I've gathered my belongings from my 'office' in Engineering," Max explains vaguely.

The two Captains look at each other, already doubting what Max had planned but thinking back to what he had said about Cerberus's plan, they needed to trust him. It was all they could do, "*sigh* Well, whatever it is, Admiral, it better be good and it better help wrap things up; we're low on food and I can only estimate we have as little as under two weeks before we have to get a resupply," Linnius explains.

"Don't worry, this should help us find the Cerberus base quick and easy. I'll explain the plan soon. Smith, did you get him to talk?" Max speaks into his wrist.

"If you count screams of pain as talking then yes. If anything I just made him mute, I'm sorry, sir, I tried to be persuasive but you know me," Smith apologizes.

"Yeah, I know, just get him ready for my arrival. I'll be there shortly, just need to get something things from here then I'll join you, Max out!" Max closes his Omni-tool.

"Well, I guess I'll return to the Victrition now. This plan of yours better work, Admiral. I'm not putting my crew in danger of starvation because of you," Linnius walks past him toward the elevator, leaving the rest to themselves.

Caepraka is the first to speak, "Tereshkova, I'll see you soon. Your ship needs a Captain and we need the Admiral. If you don't come up with a plan soon then the mission is over and I have no intent on abandoning. You have my support on whatever it is you have, now go," Caepraka turns back to the Holo-display. Max nods and turns as he heads toward the elevator, "Annali can you come here for a second?" she calls for her.

"Yes, mam?"

Caepraka leans down to Annali's ear and whispers, "I need you to find out what he has planned and notify me as soon as possible, understood?" she orders. Back to the spying.

"Yes, mam," Annali salutes then moves to join Max in the elevator. Max selects the Engineering deck, the doors close and the elevator descends softly.

Max then lets out a heavy breath of relief, "Holy shit, it worked," he says.

"What?" Annali asks, confused.

"Forgive me but Cerberus hadn't really planned to separate us. I needed to get them to believe this was their plan all along," Max explains.

"You lied?" Annali asks she was in disbelief, he had done it again. But then again, "It worked…" she realizes where he was headed. Had he not said that Linnius would have outright walked out of the mission.

"It did, now I'm worried when they'll figure it out. I hope this works," Max says.

"What is your plan?"

"I won't say much but it involves Cromwell," Max tells her as the doors open to a hall. There were crewmembers running then and there, apparently there was interior damage as well; cables hung from the ceiling as some terminals were sparking with electricity, and apparently, there were fires as scorch marks painted the walls and ceilings, "I wonder how Ranan and the boys are holding up," Max states.

As they made their way to Engineering they came across black bags holding… bodies, "Looks like there were casualties after all," Annali mumbles. Max looked down at the bags and watched as one was being zipped up to hold a Turian male. He couldn't make out the rest as the bag was closed shut. Once they entered the Engine room, Max and Annali saw Ranan, Dray, and Cay working on their posts, "You guys are alright!" Annali states with a hint of relief they were okay.

The three look behind and their eyes lit up like fireworks, "You guys are alright?!" Dray says as the three walk up to them, "I hear you guys retook the Kilimanjaro," Dray tells them.

"That we did," Max tells him.

"So what's the plan then, we taking the fight to the Cerberus now?" Cay asks.

"Not yet we're not, but I promise you it'll happen soon," Max assures him.

"Aw yeah!" Cay cheers.

"I heard you lost the Captain, rumors have been going around Colt is dead, is it true?" Ranan asks.

Max makes an uncomfortable grunt and nods slowly, "Yes, he didn't make it… unfortunately," Max confirms.

"Damn, that… isn't good," Cay says.

"Well, no shit it isn't. What do you think their government is going to say; that we did it?" Dray asks him.

"No, they won't assume it was the Trianis. We have a boatload of witnesses and my personal witness as well," Max assures them.

"Good, cause I don't do well in court," Dray says in relief.

"So I guess it's back to the grind, right?" Ranan asks.

Annali looks to Max and nudges him to tell them, "Go on, tell them," she tells him.

Max was nervous but he knew he had to move on with it, he didn't have to keep anything a secret now, "Do you see this symbol?" he points to the N7 logo on his chest plate. The three nod, "Well, I belong to an elite division that usually works in the shadows. I worked as an N6 but I had to keep my cover so I came here as Private 1st class Max Tereshkova, Combat Engineer," Max explains to them. Their faces then turned to shock as he explained it to them, "My job was to learn the infrastructure of your ship and learn of its weaknesses in case of war between our species. And now that the Captain has gone, I'm in charge of the mission," Max tells them.

The three only looked at Max with astonishment, this was something they had never expected, "I would have never known you where you were just so… natural, I guess," Dray says, still shocked he never could tell.

"Yeah, well it's years of being someone you're not, I'm hoping this is my last impersonation. I'm sorry I fooled you for so long," Max apologizes.

"Don't be, you're still the same guy, right?" Ranan asks.

"Heh, trust me I very much am," Max assures him.

"Then there's nothing to be sorry about… Captain," Ranan salutes as do the others.

"Well, he's not actually the Captain," Annali reveals.

"He's not?" Ranan asks.

"The Captain was in disguise too, he was actually an Admiral and he's passed his rank down to me. I'm the Admiral," Max explains.

"Well, damn, I guess this means you're moving back to the Kilimanjaro, huh?" Ranan says, some disappointment in his voice.

"Yeah, new rank means new responsibilities. I just hope I can live up to Colt's expectations," Max says as he scratches his head nervously.

"Of course you will, if he gave you his rank then he surely must have seen something in you that made you worthy enough to earn it," Ranan tells him.

Max nods to his words, it made him feel better when he put it like that, "Thanks, Ranan. Anyways, I have to pack my stuff and head back to the Kilimanjaro. It's been a blast working with you guys," Max extends an arm.

Ranan looks at it and takes it, shaking it, "Same here," he says.

Max shakes Dray's and Cay's hands as well, bidding his farewells and later stepping into his old room. His bed was neatly made thankfully while his stuff was merely packed into his duffel bag. He opens his closet, taking out his spare clothes and stuffing it into his duffel bag. Annali watched as Max then pulled out his guitar from the closet and then began to set in his bag. She remembered back when she was looking through his stuff she came across it and managed to get sort of tune going. The awkward moment when Max walked in on her. It was a silly memory she played from time to time, but it was all in the past now. Max had finished getting his stuff together and he hauled the largest over his shoulder while carrying the other in his right hand, "Let's go," he says.

The two make their down to shuttle bay, the work was non-stop repairing the inside as well as the outside of the ship. Luckily, Annali's gamble paid off as no shuttles were lost from either the Trianis or Victrition. A risk, yes, but it worked out well in the end. Mostly. Once a shuttle had been made available, Annali and Max stood waiting at the landing pad. It was an awkward presence they had on each other; the worst had passed but Max's confession lingered in the air, still creating that barrier of mistrust. After their talk on the shuttle, Max's offer ringed in her head. She wanted to forgive him, her gut told her it was the right thing to do. But then again, she was still wary of him; lying could only get someone so far, and Max was no stranger to lying. He had been doing it to her for a month and a half. She saw what he was capable of doing when he was surrounded in the hall. Who knows what else he had up his sleeve. But she knew he wouldn't dare use them on her. She sensed his guilt, he truly was sorry he had even given her the choice of banishing him from his life, all just so his work didn't interfere with her life. But his work saved her from a world of grief; he helped her move on from her hate for humans, he brought laughter and joy to her and her friends, he even brought the good out of the coldest person she knew, Ja'quar. And because of that, he saved them in order to redeem himself for what he had done in the past. Max never anticipated he would go so far as to sacrifice his life for them, for a boat full of humans. She would forgive Max but now wasn't the time. The Mission comes first.

The shuttle landed on the pad, the doors opened for Max and the two stepped in, Max was a bit confused as Annali followed him in, "You're coming too?" he asks.

"The Captain has ordered me to report your so-called 'plan' once you've assembled it. You won't have a problem explaining it, will you?" Annali asks, hinting some doubt.

"No problem at all, the question is, will it work?" Max states.

"What do you mean 'will it work'? It should, shouldn't it?" she asks.

"Of course it will," Max assures her.

"Then why did you doubt yourself?" Annali asks.

"Because Cromwell is no idiot and he'll catch wind of what I'm trying to do if he finds out. So please, when I interrogate him don't interfere. It'll make sense once I'm done," Max explains.

Annali nods and smiles, further confusing Max, "Good job, Tereshkova, you're starting to talk honest for once," Annali cracks a joke, it had been a very tense day and she just wanted to lighten the mood up. As Max always tried to do. Max finally cracked a smile after what he thought he would never be able to do. It made Annali smile wider, it was the next step in forgiveness.

Just like he taught her.

Ello!

Just posted this as I promised to keep updates regularly. Though I can't promise anything at this point, Spring Break really gave me time to work on this story, plus, I believe if I focused more on one thing then I can get this story done quicker. I'll occasionally upload chapters for my other story but my time will be spent more on this as it is of a universe I personally love.

I also like Halo but that's a discussion for another time. I'll be working on the next chapter to keep the momentum going. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, there's a lot, I know, but as always…

Have a nice day ;)

Pfft!