A/N: And, the Wham Episode is finally here. These next few chapters will likely be the most dramatic chapters in Mass Vexations without a doubt. But the next few chapters will also be very action packed, especially the last of the Virmire chapters. For now, though, we'll get some goodbyes from some people on the crew.

So the questions begin. What will Art say to not give himself away? What will happen next? Where is Art going to go? These and more questions shall be answered very soon.

So let's get started.

Chapter 13: To Virmire

To whoever finds this:

It is good that you came here when you did. I'm leaving something here. Something that someone else may find useful.

See, Matriarch Benezia gave it to me before she died. She told me never to tell anyone of its existence, and she told me to keep it on me at all times. Frankly, this seems a bit hard now given the fact that if you're reading this I'm most likely dead.

It should be on the bed in front of you. If you find this paperweight... whatever it is... hang on to it. She told me to keep it on my person at all times. I'll advise whoever finds this to do the same. And if you're wondering what it is, your guess is as good as mine. Benezia didn't know either.

-Art *********

I gaze upon the note and the paperweight as I set the data pad down on the bed. The paperweight is taped down to the bed to keep it from getting overly jostled. Hopefully, it won't get found before anybody can comment, and it won't be destroyed by anything. Well, it can't, because by the time the destruction of the Normandy occurs someone will likely have found that orange paperweight anyway.

I just hope they'll believe me.

I give one last glance there. Okay, this looks about right. From here on out, we're nearing Virmire, so I'm going to see what's up with Shepard.

I leave my quarters and go wandering around the ship, as I'm usually prone to doing when I don't really have anything better to do.

I eventually find her in the rec area, looking over something on the table. She seems a little lost in thought, her fingers drumming against the table she's sitting at as she looks over to the far wall of the ship. Hm... Something's up with her. But what...? I approach, and then sit next to her.

"Hey, Shepard," I say. "What's up?"

The commander just gives me a shrug. "Kaidan told me about your terrible feeling," she says.

Oh. Well... Okay. That explains things a bit. "Oh?" I ask. "It is just a feeling, though. Nothing you really need to worry about."

Shepard nods at this. "Maybe so," she replies. "But as a Commander... I have to keep everyone's opinion in mind... And the fact that you think someone could die on this mission is making me a little cautious."

"You're Commander Shepard," I reply, smiling. "There's nothing you can't do." Especially when Part 2 comes around.

Joc shakes her head briefly. "Not exactly," she says. "People die on missions more than you'd like. We've been lucky so far. But the fact that you're fearing the same thing is making me wonder if our luck is going to run out." I notice hier fingers tap against the table briefly before she continues. "I shouldn't be this worried about something..."

Hm... She certainly doesn't look composed. That much is for damn sure. Hm... Well, Kaidan did say something about the commander... Maybe there's something she's not telling me. No, there has to be something she's not telling me. I can tell from the look in her eyes. I shift slightly in my seat as I notice her disturbed expression.

"This isn't just because you're a commander," I say. "There's something else on your mind."

Shepard blinks before looking over to me. "Am I that easy to read?" she asks.

Hm, now there's a thought. "Yes," I reply. At least, in my case. I can read you pretty easily, because I flippin' controlled your ass. So I can tell what your weaknesses are, and when you're thinking of things other than being a commander. And also, because Kaidan mentioned the same thing.

She nods at this. "Well... I'm worried about Kaidan," she says. "If any person is in danger of dying... I want it to be him least of all."

Hm... I see what you did there! "You care about him, don't you?" I ask, leaning back against the chair I'm sitting in.

She replies with a simple nod, looking over to me finally. "You could say that," she says. "I care for Kaidan more than I care to admit. I admit losing him would be hardest for me as a commander. No, not as a commander. As a person."

Huh. So the Kaidan/Shepard here is going especially strong. Well... Nobody said I couldn't influence events. At least in this case I can hide behind the fact that I'm not specifically talking about any mission or any nukes or whatever. Yeah, I think I can get away with this. Plus, it'll increase my chances of not being on Shepard's team when she has to make her choice. So... Here goes...

"Keep Kaidan by your side throughout the coming mission," I say, leaning forward so that my arms are on the table. "If you do that, I think he should be fine. And then you can keep turning to him and reminding yourself that yes, he's still there. And keep him there, no matter what happens."

She nods, and a soft smile graces her featues. "You think that'll work?" she asks.

"Of course," I say. After all, I saw the decision you'll have to make for myself well before we met.

She nods. "Thanks, Art," she says.

I nod. "No problem," I say. Okay... I think now is as good a time as any to say goodbye to Shepard. "And if it ends up being more than just a feeling and I'm the one who goes..." Shit, there's a lump in my throat. This is getting harder than it really should be. "It's been a real honor being a soldier under your command."

She turns to me and regards me with a soft smile. "If I can help it, I'll be getting all of us out of there alive," she says. "But you've been a good soldier nonetheless."

Okay, so I'm a good soldier. And a friend, she seems to be saying with her eyes. I nod at this, and then we look over by the table. I glance to the side before turning to Shepard.

"Well... I'm gonna go make my rounds around the ship," I say. "I'll be wandering around if you need anything."

With this, I step down from the chair and Shepard nods. "You'll be staying on the Normandy before we rendevouz with Kirrahe in case somethng comes up."

I nod. Okay, that'll buy me some time to say goodbye. Because I know we're going to have trouble with that anti-spacecraft gun. "All right," I say.

And with this, I leave the rec area with a slight spring in my step. All right, that's Kaidan and Shepard. Now I have to find Liara, Garrus, Ash, Tali, and Wrex and say goodbye to them...

...However that may come.

We're approaching Virmire; according to Joker we're only a hour away now. So I might as well go around the Normandy and make some more rounds.

When I find Liara next, she's sitting alone in the mess hall, seemingly contemplating about things. I raise my eyebrows before walking over to her, sitting down by the table.

"Hey, Liara," I say with a soft smile on my face. "How are you?"

"I think I am all right," she says, her voice sounding a little distantly. "I was thinking about my mother again."

Oh. Oh dear... I blink at this. "Oh..." I say. "Well... I..."

Liara's look is reassuring as she continues. "It is all right," she says. "I am past grief now. Now all that remains is my memories of her. I always find myself thiking about her."

I nod at this. "I see," I reply. "What do you think will come of this mission?"

"I hope to find the location of the Conduit afterwards," she says. "Unscrambling Shepard's visions have been... difficult. I am hoping that when we debrief next we may be able to tell the location of the Conduit."

... And now I'm hoping that asari can't read minds in addition to being innate biotics. Well... apart from when they embrace eternity anyhow. "I'm sure it'll present itself the next time we come for Shepard's vision," I reply. "At least, it better, or there'll be major hell to pay."

She nods at this. "I personally feel it is only a matter of time," she says. "If I can unscramble it further, I may be able to see what is left. And then the location of the Conduit shall be revealed. And then we can stop Saren."

Not if the Council has anything to say about that, the stupid asswipes. "Hopefully, we can," I say. "Or... you guys can, anyway."

Liara shifts slightly in her seat. "Why not you as well?" she asks. "You have done great work with us."

I shrug. "It depends... I've been having a bit of a fear of something going terribly wrong," I reply. "And I'm afraid I might be at the center of it..."

The asari gives me a rather odd look. "I see..." she says. "Such feelings of foreboding may be seen as a sign. I would not know..."

I nod, bringing my arms on the table. "I... I kind of wanted to ask," I say. "But... did the Protheans have any concept of an afterlife? One they might have left clues to?"

Liara's spine is erect very quickly as she looks at me. "Why do you ask?" she says.

"Curiosity," I reply with a hand gesture. "No, I'm not planning on killing myself." In the conventional sense, anyway.

The asari sits a little perplexedly at first. I see her features relax, though, as she settles back into where she's sitting. "Oh," she says. "Well... I do not know much about this, but the Protheans believed in a world where the dead roam aimlessly. They are accompanied by whoever they wish, but their soul always roams. Occasionally they may interact with a dreamer, but that is their only link to the living world. Otherwise, their goal is to head to a city in the center, where all journeys must end. And from there, the cycle starts anew."

I smile softly at his. "That sounds... serene," I say. "Almost beautiful, in its own wierd kind of way."

"It certainly sounds as such," comments the asari. "It is certainly a wonderful vision of the afterlife, if only for the promise of being reborn."

I nod. "I wonder what this city has..." I say. "I wonder what it looks like... Probably something incredibly grand."

"Maybe," says the asari. "We will never know for sure."

"Probably not," I say. "But I'm getting a bit sidetracked. If this feeling I've got is going to turn out as I think it will... I wanted to let you know that it was good knowing you."

"And I you," replies the asari with a soft smile on her features. "Let us just hope that this feeling is only that."

And with this, I stand up, taking leave of the asari. "I'll see you around if that's the case," I say, smiling.

She simply replies with a nod, and then I walk away. Well... That was certainly more calming than I thought it would be. It was kind of like going to a spa and stuff. But anyway, that makes Kaidan, Shepard, and Liara that I've said goodbye to. Three down, four to go. I'm already half-way there.

Good thing too, because we're approaching Virmire very quickly. And I'm going to have time for maybe one goodbye before we touch down on the planet.

We get to the planet. Exactly as I predict we have to stay out here until Shepard takes out the guns. And I'm not going with her, as she says that someone has to stay behind to greet Kirrahe. I've gotten into my combat gear and followed everyone else out into the cargo bay. Shepard boards the Mako quickly as Tali, Liara, Wrex, and Garrus all prepare themselves to touch down onto the planet. Tali is busy talking to Liara about something, Wrex simply jumps in, and I see Garrus working on some very last-minute calibrations.

Hm. I might as well use this time to say goodbye to him. He seems to be on his own as the bay's door opens. I approach, and he gives me an acknowledging glance as he gets to work.

"You know..." I begin. "We've come a long way since the Citadel. Don't you think?"

Garrus only nods his agreement. "That we have," he says. "Is there any reason you're here?"

I shrug. "I don't know if you've heard about this feeling I have...?" I ask. "It's been seeming to go about the ship pretty quickly."

The turian halts his calibrations, doing a brief bit by heart on his sniper rifle before storing it on his weapons rack on his back. "Yeah, I've heard," he says. "What I say? Don't worry about it. It's only just a feeling."

I nod at this. Well... wait, wasn't there that one talk with him... "It's not just because you heard, isn't it?" I ask him then.

He turns to me briefly. "Your question about decisions sort of clued me in about your bad feeling," he says. "Personally, I think you're just fretting. We'll be fine."

I nod to him. "But just in case..." I say. "I just thought I'd let you know it's been great knowing you, Garrus. I never thought I'd befriend a turian, but you're pretty awesome no matter what."

The turian beams over at me as he checks his assault rifle one last time before heading to the Mako. "Same here," he says. "It's been good knowing you for as long as I have."

I smile back and wave. The turian struts off to the Mako as Shepard and the rest of her team board. The bay door is open as the ground of Virmire approaches, and I'm suddenly aware of how powerful the artificial gravity is on board the Normandy. I watch then, as the Mako drives off the Normandy and onto the ground of Virmire below. Okay. Now they're off to disable the defense towers. Now we just have to wait until we get to the salarian camp.

I hear someone coming up behind me. I turn my head to see Kaidan walking over. "You're taking this feeling seriously," he notes.

I shrug. "I've learned not to question my hunches," I say. "Because usually, they turn out being right." My multiple delusions of grandeur in composition, on the other hand...

"I have a feeling this is more than just a hunch," he replies. "If you're taking it so seriously, that is."

Well... You're certainly getting good at catching on, Mr. Alenko. "Possibly," I say. "But then, so do my other hunches. I'll be waiting around until we hit the planet itself."

And with this, I move around the bay, hoping to exit it as the Normandy pulls away from the ground just the slightest bit.

A few minutes later, I find Ash standing by herself over somewhere. I come up next to her and nod. She notices me there, and then adjusts something on her armor as she turns to face me.

"Hey, Ash," I say. "Worried about the coming mission?"

"Not as much as you are, I'm sure," she says. "Kaidan told me about your feeling. I say, don't worry about it. It's not like any one of us will die anyway."

Oh, god damn it, you're not helping, Ash! Word spreads around the Normandy pretty quickly, that's for sure. But you're just making it harder not to crack. "I'm not worried about myself, just so you know," I reply. "I'm worried about everyone."

My tutor nods. "Don't worry," she says. "We'll all get out alive. But if you're here to say something regardless..."

I nod to Ash. "Well... I just wanted to say that first of all, you're a damn good teacher," I say with a smile. "Even if you were a bit bitchy during sniper rifle training, and even then that wasn't totally your fault. And then... I guess I just like how you are sometimes."

The Gunnery Chief nods. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were falling for me," she quips. Uh... maybe? I dunno. I would probably try to romance you in ME1 if only because Liara becomes such a bitch in ME2. "But... still, it's nice to see that you care. You're actually not a bad person at all. We need more soldiers like you in the Alliance. Just, with less distractions."

I shake my head. "Again with the distractions?" I ask. "Aren't you forgetting I'm not exactly an Alliance soldier?"

"I like to think of you as one," replies Ash simply. "It's just easier somehow. Why?"

I shrug, closing my eyes briefly. "In my heart I'll always be a musician," I reply. "It's how I will always feel. And Alliance soldier or no, it's how I intend to keep it. Call it a distraction or whatever but nobody in the music world got around by letting themselves get bogged down by Alliance regs."

"Right," she says. "But still, you're a good soldier. If you're not keen on joining the Alliance, you'd make a good crewman on one of their ships."

"No." And I shoot that idea down quickly. "I'd make a terrible crewman!"

Ash shakes her head. "If you make a good soldier, you make a good crewman," she says.

"Either way, I'm not too keen on doing things like that," I say. "Just, please respect my choice of occupation and we'll leave it at that, m'kay?"

Ash pouts briefly, giving me a rather icy look as she finally nods. "Fine," she says. "Military band?"

Military band? Oh. That's a thought. Well... I could, but... "See, I don't think they use string instruments in military bands," I reply. "If I played something other than violin or viola, maybe, but as it is I don't think that's open to me." That, and I don't really like that kind of music anyway. Unless atonal marches have sort of become the hip thing to do?

"Oh," she says. "I see... Then... maybe you could stay around in the Citadel?"

Now there's a thought I can get behind. I turn to her with a smile. "If I get out of Virmire alive?" I ask. "Sure. I think that could be arranged."

"Then what about your friend on Earth?" she asks.

Well... There is more than one way to kill a cat. "I think they'll understand," I reply. "I always wanted to get out of that dump of a planet anyhow. And now that I have..."

Ash gives me a soft smile. "Just be sure to visit Earth to let them know," she says. Ha, like I'll be doing that anytime soon. "And it's been great teaching you even with your... uh... choice of occupation."

Ah, I see what you did there. "That was a nice save," I reply. "I'll see you when we touch down on Virmire."

And with this, I leave her be as I go to check my stuff one last time before the inevitable touch onto the planet.

Yeah, I'm keeping my sniper rifle here. I'm not going to use it on Virmire, so I go out and get my shotgun, assault rifle, and pistol. All right, there's my usual ensemble. Now let's put it to good use.

I leave the lockers then and walk out towards the cargo bay. I see the door opening, and the world of Virmire stretching out as the cargo bay opens. I see that we're approaching the salarian camp, and I see the white sands of Virmire approach.

Kaidan and Ash arrive, and I nod to them as I look over to the open cargo bay door. I walk over to it, and then I feel the Normandy touch down on the ground of Virmire.

All right. We're at the planet. And... I'm walking onto the sands...

Now.

I step outside, and suddenly I feel like Sam Worthington's character in Avatar when he steps... err... wheels his way onto Pandora for the first time. Virmire is really, really beautiful. Yeah, XBox 360 graphics don't do this place any justice at all. The white sands... the palm trees... the crystal clear water that is no doubt an homage to the Carribean Sea right now... the walls far away... the beautiful, cloudless skies overhead...

I think I'm part of the way back home.

Wait... if I'm halfway back home... Oh, shit. It's hot here. I see mosquitos flying around over there. The water is probably infested with sharks. And the air is humid, meaning my sweat is going to stick to my face and it is going to annoy me longer than it has any right to.

FML. It's a tropical paradise, all right. Tropical paradise, including all the things nobody really wants to talk about.

But hey, it looks more beautiful than Miami given that it's not overindustrialized yet. Well... except for the fact that it's all going to be nuclear ash by the time we leave, but hey, what can you do? It looks lovely.

I wonder if this is what my parents would look at when they grew up in Cuba...

Right. I think it's time. We see a bunch of salarians greet us. At the head is a green salarian with scars on some parts of his face. He's frowning a little bit.

Why, hello there, Captain Kirrahe. I'm good, how are you?

"Is this it?" he asks us. "Is this all the Council sent? Just this one ship?"

...

Fuck you too.