Mass Effect Solace Chapter 21

The gentle hum of the war room brought tranquility to Krysta and she often sought refuge there instead of her cabin. Her eyes skimmed over the latest report on their military assets. An Elcor vessel made it into the fold along with a few rusty Volus merchant ships that the ambassador "could spare." She wondered if he would change his tune once the Reapers met his homeworld, Irune. Instead of helping the humans, the other council races were holding the bulk of their military and resources to protect their own borders. No one wanted to pledge anything. A selfish move, but she pondered if Earth would be the same if the roles were reversed. How many Alliances vessels would be sent to assist Palaven on day one?

At least with the new Primarch, the Turians were now on board to support their cause. Their alliance came with a cost. They wanted krogan boots on Palaven to aid them. History then repeated itself, the Turians wanted the Krogan to help them. The Krogan ambassador was on his way to broker a treaty. Krysta suspected that their aid would come with a hefty price as well. The Krogan were not kind to many races and who could blame them? After they assisted in the Rachni attacks, the Krogan were presented with the genophage. They were considered hostile among the Turians and the Salarians. At least now after Menae, Garrus was on the Normandy. She missed him. A new familiar face. The Salarians were also coming to broker a truce and she hoped that the terms of the treaty would not be as exhausting as Menae. "The Krogan ambassador is coming onboard, Shepard." Liara's soft voice called to her as the asari scientist entered the room.

"Good." Krysta's eyes never left the chart in front of her. "It's not enough."

"What?"

"We are slowly receiving help for the Crucible to go up against the Reapers. It's not enough to stop them."

"We still have a strong chance, Shepard. We are too early in this game to know the outcome." Liara pulled up her omni tool. "My agents advised that they received several offers to the Shadow Broker from freelance mercenaries who are willing to help."

"Aria wanted to help too." Krysta admitted.

"That's…peculiar." Liara chose her words carefully. She too was leery about the notorious pirate queen's true motive in any deal that she tried to broker. "What did you tell her?"

"No." Krysta closed the chart. "I don't trust her. I'm not working for her."

Liara wrung her hands as she contemplated the idea. "It's better than working for the Illusive Man." The man's name poured off her lips like acid. Krysta could tell that she despised the head of Cerberus just the same if not more than she did. "Mercs loyal to her, who are organized, could be very useful."

"Maybe." Krysta dodged to discuss the topic further. She avoided the Citadel since her last departure. Ash was released from intensive care and was transported to a rehab facility inside the Huerta. She would be in the same therapy class as Thane Krios. She knew that she would be in good hands. Thane gave his assurance that Ash would be cared for her while she was away. In fact, Ash's last communication to her was that Councilor Udina offered her the rank of Spectre. The honor was a prestigious one and Krysta debated if the move was more political than really for Ashley's credentials. Was it a blow to Krysta? She knew that he and her didn't get along. Even more so when she backed Anderson to be the first council member over him.

"You trust him." Liara continued the discussion.

"Who?" Krysta tried to act innocent. She knew where her friend was getting to.

"Bray. Aria's bodyguard." Liara pressed further. "Does he bother you that much? I've never seen you act like this before."

"Look, Liara." Krysta felt herself become more guarded. She didn't know where her feelings were for him and she didn't want to openingly discuss the matter with her when she herself had no idea what to feel. Avoiding the Citadel was the safest thing to do at the current moment. Her tone became icy. "One way or another, I would still be helping Aria. She wants something. I'll deal with it after I get the Salarians and Krogan on board. Earth is burning. Millions are counting on me and my affairs come last." She paused and stiffened her posture. She opened her mouth to further defend her choice but stopped herself when she heard a commotion outside the war room. It sounded like one of her officers was arguing with someone. "What the hell?" She moved quickly to the door to only come face to face with Urdnot Wrex.

The young Alliance officer was behind Wrex and quickly snapped to attention when he saw Krysta standing there. His face turning red from embarrassment. "Sorry, mam. He would not wait in the conference room as you instructed."

"I'm sure he couldn't." Krysta flashed a smile to the krogan in front of her. "Causing problems as always, Wrex?"

"What?" He smiled innocently at her. "I told them I was here to see you and they said you were here." He then turned his large head to look at Liara with a chuckle. "See you still look the same, Liara."

"A pleasure as always, Wrex." She returned the greeting.

"Dismissed, Lieutenant. Thank you." She waved the still flustered officer away before returning her focus on the reptilian alien. "Glad you could make it and I'm glad I am dealing with you. May make things easier."

"We'll see." Wrex's voice became serious. "I'm glad you didn't shoot me on Virmire, Shepard."

"Be a pain in the ass now and I can try again."

"Scan is clear. You are free to pass." The C-Sec officer ushered Bray inside the holding bay of the Citadel. The area was not meant for that many refugees to be housed. At first, each of the races were segregated with their own kind, but then space began to run out and many were seen housed together; sharing what supplies they could have between them. All the food and medical supplies were rationed. Clearance to the upper levels of the station was not permitted except to only a select few. Luckily for him, he was one of the select few. His overall appearance made him stand out amongst the inhabitants. His face was clean, his eyes were not sunken in from lack of sleep nor did he have any injuries to speak of currently. Keeping eyes straight ahead, he avoided the looks of his fellow batarians that were in the smaller of the areas of the bay. He could hear them chattering among one another, whispering about his presence. Who cares what they thought? He traveled down there on official business for Aria, well sort of. The subject matter still held his personal interest.

His contact, Sayn, caught his eyes from where he sat in the next section over and quickly stood up. The Salarian remained guarded and a few others stepped out of their housing crates with their hidden pistols at the ready. Sayn said nothing to them and held his hand to signal for them to wait. "Hello, Bray. Did Aria set her free?"

"Not yet." So far, the Eclipse Second-In-Command already answered his first unanswered question. If Jona Sederis was still in a cell on the Citadel, then Krysta didn't fulfill Aria's request. The pirate queen sent a private message to the Spectre's terminal with directions on how fulfill her deal of the bargain, but either the message didn't reach her yet or she ignored it. Bray suspected it was the latter of the two. He swore to himself. "We are waiting for the authorization to come in." He gave a sideway glance to the holding bay outside where they were at. A few locals were spying on them. He had to make this quick. "Did Commander Shepard pass through here recently?"

Sayn scratched his head as he pondered over the question. "I only seen her a few times. Most recently when more Turians poured in. One was her associate. I haven't seen him recently yet either. Maybe a few months ago?"

"Shit." Bray swore again. The news meant that Krysta did not bother returning to the station since roughly their last encounter. It would have been placed around the same time. Aria wasn't going to sit around too much longer and let Cerberus hold onto Omega. Her fleet was almost built up. A pack of krogan mercs were on their way with a very important guest of honor.

"When will Jona be released? We were instructed not to do anything until she comes back." Sayn inquired, breaking Bray of his thoughts. "My men are becoming restless down here."

Bray didn't bother on answering him and quickly moved towards the C-Sec guard station that filtered the refugees and visitors from the station. Pushing his way through the crowd, he finally made it back and cut around the growing line of those waiting to be processed. A young female human officer stopped him and prompted him to stand still for the scan. Bray held his breath, fearing that he would not be granted permission to leave. A few seconds later, a chime indicated he was free to pass. Without looking back, he quickly moved down the empty hallway towards the elevator. He was finally safe.

The brightly neon lit Purgatory sign was a welcoming sight as he approached the club from the elevator. He paused just outside to reach into his pocket and take out a cigarette. He needed a smoke. As he looked around at the scenery and the clubgoers, he realized that the Citadel was way too bright and clean for his liking. Omega was dark and dirty. Most would consider the asteroid station to be a cesspool of drugs, alcohol and sex. He spent about a quarter of his lifespan so far on said station and it always felt like home to him. He longed to be there just like Aria did, but would she have enough to go up against Cerberus? The ground war was only beginning to get tough then. He wondered how Sh'sk and the others were faring? Were they still alive? Were they captured? There were tons of contingencies in place, but would this General Patrovesky anticipate them? What about the adjutants? Were they disposed of or were more citizens being turned to them? Where did they come from? Why was Cerberus involved? A lot of questions went unanswered before he left the station.

"Hey! I know you." A male Batarian approached Bray from out of nowhere. Bray glanced around. Where did he come from? It was odd to see any of his kind just walking around the wards.

Bray cocked his head slightly. "I don't know you." Bray took another puff of his cigarette. He lied. He recognized him to be Senk Kod'rah. They were enlisted together and served for a few months in basic training. Senk was transferred to another division and left planet side. They lost contact shortly after that. Perhaps, news never reached him that Bray deserted the Hegemony after a few years.

"It's good seeing you again. There's only a few of us left. I barely made it. I was on a transport ship back to the homeworld when it was under attack. We diverted to the relay just when the evacuation order was given. You a plant too?" The other lowered his voice. "Never heard from you after my transfer. Glad to see you made it. Were you stationed there when the fallout occurred?"

Bray shifted his stance as he snubbed out his cigarette with his boot. "No. I wasn't there." Was this guy playing him or was he that isolated at his post?

"Walk with me." Senk motioned him along away from prying eyes.

"I have business inside." Bray didn't budge.

Senk looked at him in confusion. "Are you not part of the mission too, Bray? I guess they have you doing something else."

Feeling uneasy about the whole conversation and where it was going, Bray walked towards him trying to look casual. "It can wait. Fill me in."

"I accessed the port's codes. It was hard to crack their firewalls, but I was able to grab them until the security sweep." Senk explained as he opened his omni tool.

"For what?" Bray inquired as he tried to scan over the data that was displayed upon the tool, but it was hard to understand the coding that was popping up.

Senk paused and tapped his ear comm; a call was coming in. Bray couldn't hear who was talking to him on the other side. "Shit. I'll disappear. They won't find me." He quickly closed his tool.

"What is going on?" Bray pressed.

"I have a tail. I'll lose her. I'll catch up." Senk quickly moved towards the elevator.

Bray let his chest expand as he finally released the breath he felt like he was holding too long. That was too close of a call. Luckily for him, his name wasn't flashed to wherever Senk was at. Most of hot items were held on Khar' Shaan unless they figured the trespasser would be near one of their outposts. If Senk discovered that Bray was flagged as a deserter, he would have shot him without giving time for a defense. Seconds later, a huge explosion in the distance rocked the ward. The metal floor beneath him violently shook causing him to lose his footing and crash onto the ground like everyone else. The explosion was followed by several other smaller ones. Clubgoers screamed and ran inside the club in a panic while those inside were running towards the exit to see what was going on.

Standing back up, Bray jolted inside. He pulled up his omni tool and used his program to tap into C-Sec communications. Commander Bailey was already on and directing orders to his teams. "This is not a drill. We are under attack. Dock security flagged multiple inbound vessels as Cerberus. Multiple explosions prior to their landing. We have agents already here. Prepare for casualties. Take care of the threat and deal with the wounded later."

Another officer came on the line. "What section are they in?!"

"The heaviest numbers are in- "The line went to static.

"Fuck. They got the comms." Bray shut his tool in frustration as he shoved his way through the sea of people to get to Aria. She was standing up from her couch, watching the events unfold with interest. Her face with some alarm. Her eyes fell upon him and she remained still as he approached. "Cerberus. They are here."

Aria narrowed her eyes. "Good. What's C-Sec doing?"

"Dunno. Comms went down. Don't know how many of them there are."

Suddenly, shrills of fear filled the air and a group of armed Cerberus soldiers busted inside the club with their rifles pointed at the panicked patrons inside. Many scrambled to hide behind tables, crying and hugging one another. Aria remained calm from where she stood. The soldiers didn't budge and kept their rifles poised to prevent anyone daring to exit the club. Bray growled as he moved to unholster his pistol, but Aria slapped his hand away, shaking her finger at him slowly. He held her gaze and wondered what she was going to do. The Cerberus soldiers' radios crackled to life. "Normandy inbound! I repeat Normandy inbound! Be ready!"

The head of the group looked towards the others and pointed to two of the soldiers. "You two, go barricade the elevator!"

Bray whispered to Aria as he took her side while the soldiers were distracted. "Shepard's here." A wave of peace came over him. Now the odds would be in their favor. There was no way that C-Sec had the manpower or the skills to square up with a Cerberus force, but with Shepard and her team here, then the tide would be quickly turned.

Aria remained indifferent from the news. Her body became engulfed with a purple hue as she gathered dark energy. By the time, the Cerberus soldiers took note, it was too late. She unleashed a singularity attack that lifted the three remaining soldiers up in the ground. Their feet dangling and kicking as they tried to get back to solid ground. Bray took out his pistol and carefully aimed at each one. Striking a killing blow to their heads. The biotic charge dissipated, and their dead bodies slumped down on the ground. Gasps could be heard from the cowering patrons inside as they saw the display. They peeked out of their hiding spots and stared at Aria and Bray with questioning looks. Many knew who Aria T' Loak was and many still remained fearful for their lives. "Listen up!" Aria's voice boomed. "I have regained control of this club. Cerberus is out there, and we need to make sure they do not come here. I need all of you to make that possible. Is that clear?"

Bray chewed his lip as he looked back towards Purgatory's entranceway. Krysta was out there somewhere going up against them while he was here. He went up against them on Omega and knew what the fight was like. He had no idea if the numbers on the Citadel were the same if not more than what he had to endure. He couldn't let himself just stay there and remain a guard. He looked back over at Aria, who seemed pleased with herself as many began to carry out her order by collecting chairs and tables to act as barricades. He had to act fast. Before saying a word, he made a dash down to the doors, stepping around those carrying the furniture pieces. "Bray! Come back!" He heard Aria's command but shut his eyes as he ignored it. There was no turning back now. He had to get to Krysta, even if she would refuse the help. Pumping his legs faster, he ran towards the elevator and caught the attention of the two Cerberus soldiers. Taking out his pistol, he nailed one in the head before he had a chance to defend himself. The men were caught off guard, not anticipating anyone to come out of the club. The other went to his gun too quickly, so Bray lowered his weapon and shot him in the right knee with cryo rounds. The impact began to freeze the lower extremity, which distracted the Cerberus agent. This gave Bray enough time to fire off another round, hitting him fatally in the head as well.

Leaping over their bodies into the elevator, he punched the controls to take him up to a higher level. He had no idea where Krysta landed, but most likely, it had to be towards the center of the station and that meant the Presidium and C-Sec. If Cerberus wanted to control the station, they would attack there first. He switched out his clip to incendiary ammo instead since he only had two cryo rounds left and didn't want to worry about changing them during the heat of the battle. He cursed himself for not having time to get his rifle from Aria's private room inside the club. He had to make each shot count since he was going up against assault rifles with one pistol and he wasn't biotic, so he had nothing else to fall back on. Seconds later, the elevator doors opened and the display before him was gut wrenching. Many citizens were dead before him in pools of blood. Their wide eyes frozen as they didn't have time to scream before death overcame them from their bullet wounds. A man to his left had his intestines showing as whatever struck him blew his whole abdomen open. Still the horror was nothing like on Omega. Up ahead, he could hear Cerberus agents talking to one another and the distant sound of gunfire exchange. He scrambled to take cover as the voices drew nearer. He had no idea what he was going up against, but hopefully, the bulk of their strength had moved on since they slaughtered everyone that came across them armed or not. He double checked his clip and closed his eyes to take a breath. "Here we go."