Chapter 27: Downtime


The Normandy's medbay was far too small to accommodate the sheer number of injured which spilled out into the mess hall. They were prioritizing care for the critically injured, giving those with only non-life threatening injuries first aid in the meantime.

Despite the turbulence of the Normandy's escape and the several people tumbling about from it, Mordin maintained his balance and hand eye coordination long enough as he secured Jack on top of the bunk. "Secure the patients! Watch those IV lines!" he cried out in annoyance to the several Shadow Broker medics who were aiding him as things flew about in the room. "And take care of the sharps! Enough injuries to treat already without adding to the problem!" He said as he hurriedly slammed a drawer containing sharp instruments closed just as it started to open from the commotion.

Dr. Chakwas shielded an unconscious Samara with her own body as over a dozen small bottles of medication fell from the top shelf, grunting in pain as they rained against her back. "EDI, please get on the horn and tell Joker to take it easy on the show-boating!" she said, making sure Samara was unharmed. "I knew I should've lowered the dose I gave him!" she added to herself regarding Joker's pain medication and how the ensuing euphoria must be affecting his flying of the Normandy.

"Of course, doctor." EDI replied through the intercom.

After a few more tense moments, the turbulence ground to a halt and the ship finally flew on smooth sailing. "Oh, thank the heavens…" Dr. Chakwas said in relief as she secured Samara on to the bed, just in case the ship brought about another bout of turbulence.

"Doctor Chakwas." Mordin called out to her, garnering her attention. "Managed to stabilize Jack. However, would appreciate it if you apply biotic dampeners. She's not the friendliest person if she woke up strapped down to a table. No interest in spending retirement as a smear on the wall."

"Of course, Doctor." Chakwas replied as she rummaged on her table for a bracelet like cuff, hurrying over to Jack's side and slipping the device around her wrist. The device suppressed biotic reactions in quick bursts. Hopefully for long enough should Jack wake up in a panic. "Samara's condition has stabilized for the moment as well, Doctor Solus." She said as she adjusted the rate of Jack's IV. "She has suffered severe muscle tearing in all her extremities, but we've quelled the internal bleeding."

"Alright, we can leave them to recuperate, then." Mordin said, walking over to the bed where none other but the deposed queen of Omega sat, a cross look on her face as she clutched her mangled hand to her chest. "Have you reconsidered your options, Aria?" he asked her, taking her hand into his and re-examining the damage.

Aria T'loak pulled her hand away from him and slapped him in the process. "I've already told you, Mordin; Amputation is out of the question!"

"Amputation only short term solution, not final treatment plan." Mordin insisted, rubbing his cheek. "Too much damage to salvage! Nerves are severed, blood vessels obliterated, high risk for necrosis and spread of systemic infection, not to mention the irreversible chronic pain." Mordin enumerated to her. "Could get cloned limb grafted onto arm later on if artificial prosthetics not to your likin- urk!" He choked as Aria grabbed him by the bar on his collar.

"Read my lips: N. O." She hissed, and then pushed him away. "It's not a hard concept to understand, Mordin."

"As your physician, I must insist." Mordin continued, regaining his composure. "If other treatment options were available, would consider them, but there is none. Procedure would be quick and painless, with high rate of-."

Mordin's newfound composure suddenly crumbled as Aria grabbed him by the collar again and gave him a venomous glare. "Stop. Talking. Now. Or. Else."

"Alright, will conform to patient's demands." He replied. It was at this point that Dr. Chakwas noticed Mordin's hand slowly go to his coat pocket, gingerly grabbing a hypodermic syringe filled with what she recognized as a tranquilizer.

Before the situation could escalate any further, Dr. Chakwas quickly got between the pair and attempted to defuse the situation. "Maybe we should give the patient some more time to consider, hmm Mordin?" she said hurriedly, gently prying Mordin from Aria's grip and guiding him away before anything else could happen. "There are still others who need aid and I do not fancy the thought of doing all the work on my own."

"Ah, of course. Will allow time for stages of grief and acceptance to settle in with regards to mangled appenda-"

Dr. Chakwas was practically pushing him away from the sneering Aria now. "Yes, yes, let's leave her to it then." She said, cutting him off and bringing Mordin outside to where the majority of the injured laid about in the mess hall. Medics were busy cleaning wounds and stitching up what they could, while others were assessing the severity of injury. "These people need our help, too."

The familiar hiss of the lift doors opening alerted them to new arrivals, and shortly thereafter, Legion turned the corner supporting the bloody mess that was Commander Shepard. "Mordin-Doctor! Chakwas-Doctor! Shepard has been damaged!" The geth said as medics quickly relieved it of Shepard. Tali, Thane and Miranda turned the corner just a second later, worried looks etched on their faces.

Dr. Chakwas hurried to Shepard's side, scanning his vitals as the medics helped him limp towards the med bay. "John! You're a bloody mess!" she admonished him worriedly. "Tali, what happened?"

"He was stable just a few moments ago!" The panicked quarian began, walking with them. "He was fine, but then he just collapsed in the elevator and... I don't know, help him!"

Mordin rubbed his chin as he looked over Shepard. "Hmmm. Sudden change in condition probably due to crash from adrenaline high. Cursory observation reveals extensive injury." He mumbled to himself, flashing a light in Shepard's eyes. "Must get patient lying down on a bed for further tests."

"What the hell happened to you, John?" Dr. Chakwas asked exasperatedly as she continued scanning him with her omnitool. "You look terrible!"

"Sorry docs…" Shepard replied groggily as the congregation made their way into the med bay. "The bad guys got... Ugh… Got it worse though…."

Tali cupped his cheek with one hand. "Shhh, just rest John, try not to talk so much." She whispered to him. "If this is going to be how it ends up, I don't want you rescuing me ever again."

"No promises…" He replied with a weak half smile.

"I figured." Tali said with a bitter-sweet chuckle. "I'm going to kick your ass so hard when you get better."

Dr. Chakwas gently cleared her throat to get both of their attentions. "Unfortunately we'll have to ask you to wait outside the medbay, Tali. It's a warzone in there."

"Of course, doctor." Tali nodded, and then turned back to Shepard, saying the next few words with as much affection as she could muster. "Don't think you've gotten yourself out of trouble. Hurry up and get well, you bosh'tet."

"Yes ma'am." Shepard said, flashing her a smile as he was quickly ushered into the medbay, the doors sliding shut behind them.

"You can stop acting tough now." Dr. Chakwas pointed out nonchalantly.

As soon as he was certain Tali was out of sight, Shepard's face broke from his impassive expression into a grimace of excruciating pain. "I'm not feeling so good, doc…"

"Small wonder." Doctor Chakwas quickly found the last vacant bed and directed the others to lay him down there. "Looks like the medigel has quelled the hemorrhaging, but the damage is still extensive." Working swiftly, she checked his pulse while one of the medics helped Mordin with removing the remnants of armor strapped onto Shepard's beaten frame to get a good bead on his injuries. "He'll need a transfusion…" She said, turning to one of their aides. "Please prepare the infusion; we'll need type B+ human blood. The components are all in that compartment over there." She pointed out to a sealed refrigerated shelf in the corner. Dr. Chakwas turned back to Shepard, pulling out her syringe gun. "Heavens, John." She said as she infused a purple concoction into the vein on his left arm. "You're a mess."

And indeed he was; Shepard's body was battered and bruised from a long night of physical abuse. Grime and dried blood caked his skin, which was black and blue from the concussive blows of bullets and impact, and was equally covered in still bleeding cuts and lacerations. If Shepard's grunting and grimacing was any indication, it felt as bad as it looked too.

Dr. Chakwas frowned as she wiped away the grime on his brow. She knew that it wasn't just tonight's recent injuries that ailed Shepard. Throughout the whole Collectors debacle, the commander had been acquiring injury after injury. Most of which were negligible, but others were serious and life threatening. It all added up into a debt that was growing more and more impossible for his body to be able to pay for. But no matter what punishment was inflicted upon him or how many times he had endured punishments, Shepard just kept grinding on like an implacable machine. But even machines wore down after a time, and Shepard was merely a man. "Your body is on hyperdrive even though you've pushed well past your limits." She began, "Most likely your implants are still churning out adrenaline because of all this action. I'll need to sedate you to ensure that you can sleep."

"No!" Shepard blurted out, weakly grabbing her hand and pushing it away. "No sedatives…. I don't intend to spend the night here." He said, much more composed as he let her go. "There's something going on in Omega… Something we have to look into."

"Commander, look at you! I insist that you take the shot and that we take you and the rest of the injured back to the Citadel for further treatm-" There was a loud bang followed by the sound of instruments falling to the floor as Aria kicked down the small table next to her.

"Nobody's going anywhere as far as I'm concerned!" Aria snarled. "You promised to help me get my station back, Shepard! I will hold you to that promise, even if I have to bust a few heads around here to-!"

Shepard suddenly sat up, propping himself on his elbows to look Aria directly in the eyes. "Get a hold of yourself, Aria! I will not tolerate threats against my crew on my ship!" He said, his eyes burning with the look of a man who's been through hell and couldn't care less what else life was planning to throw at him next. Aria stared him down, just barely keeping herself steady against the primal rage behind those eyes. She was prepared to hold her ground if it came to it, but Shepard broke off from their little staring contest first to speak to Mordin. "Mordin, is there anyone needing critical care that we can't provide for on the Normandy?"

"Hmm?" Mordin said, perking up from cleaning Shepard's wounds as if he wasn't paying attention to the scene around him. "All patients are in stable condition. We have enough medication and equipment to care for them for several weeks if need be."

"And there you have it." Shepard said, much to Dr. Chakwas' chagrin at the situation. "Tell Joker to taxi around the debris field, we aren't going anywhere anytime soon."

Dr. Chakwas rolled her eyes. "You're condoning this choice of action, Dr. Solus?"

"I'm a doctor, not a keeper, Dr. Chakwas." Mordin replied, getting back to work. "Besides, I have my own interests for staying; still want to check on my clinic now more than ever. Bad blood with Blue Suns. Expecting the worse."

"I…" Dr. Chakwas said, at a loss for words, rubbing her temples. She turned to Shepard, a tired look in her eyes. "It's your ship, commander. I'll patch you up, but please do understand that I can't bring back the dead." She said, cleaning his arm in order to inject him. "I'll follow your orders, but I only have one condition."

"… And that is?" Shepard asked.

"8 hours. All I ask from you is that you sleep for 8 hours." Dr. Chakwas said sternly. "If you continue on at your pace without stopping, you will burn out and you will die. This I can assure you, John." She took out her syringe gun again and positioned it over his arm. "Commander, this is all I ask of you; do you agree to my one condition?"

Shepard looked into Dr. Chakwas' eyes, her visage was commanding, but her gaze was pleading. "Agreed." He relented, and almost immediately the needle plunged into his flesh. "Easy!"

"I hope so. Now hold still." She mused. "This sedative is a mild one. It will take a few minutes to take effect and it will assure deep, well-rested sleep. Don't fight it."

Aria squinted at him as the commander gingerly laid back down. "You better be playing me straight, Shepard. Hell has no fury like a woman scorned, and a queen is much more severe."

Shepard waved his hand, "I already… gave you my word." The reply was seemingly sufficient as Aria kept her silence. Shepard however was not done talking. "Aria…" He said, making her turn towards him, staring at him with those haughty eyes. "What can you tell me about Tarrana Ionet?"

"Tarrana?" she scoffed. "Huh, what about Tarrana?"

"Everything you know." Shepard said while activating his omnitool and projecting a holovid he recorded during his brush with the Eclipse commander. "But you can start around the part where she's a shape shifting monstrosity."

Aria's mask of indifference broke as she watched the recording of Tarrana transforming into a monstrous beast. "What in the name of the goddess?" she said as the vid played on.

She wasn't the only one who was staring; just about everyone else who was conscious in the medbay was frozen in place, their attentions turned towards the disturbing vid. Dr. Chakwas was whispering something under her breath while Mordin merely scratched his chin, keenly observing the vid.

Aria was watching, but still had trouble grasping what she was seeing. "What am I looking at here, Shepard?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Shepard replied. "My gut tells me that there's more to this coup than a simple power grab. She mentioned being the 'father's favorite child', or something similar to that."

"Father? I doubt she's talking about her parent." Aria said, "A cult maybe? I've dealt with my fair share here on Omega…"

Mordin chimed in, eyes still analyzing the vid. "Interesting." He said, completely engrossed in his observations. "We encountered an asari shortly before you arrived; she called herself Melina. Subject displayed peak physical and biotic capacity as well as unprecedented regenerative capabilities. She literally rose from the dead." Mordin activated his own omnitool and projected a vid recording of his own. The vid showed another asari, an Eclipse commando, duking it out with Samara. ". Shortly thereafter, she too exhibited mutation, but she exhibited more of… a feral nature, as compared to the intelligence displayed by this Tarrana."

"Yeah, I was going to bring up that thing Grunt was fighting when we arrived." Shepard said. "Whatever's going on, it can't be good. If only there was some way we could discern what they are, we might have a clue as to what was going on…"

"Ah, but actually there is." Mordin replied, "Took a subject for autopsy during the scuffle. Not sure whether it would yield anything interesting, however."

"So you're saying you've seen one of these asari commados resurrect from the dead, and you still brought one of their corpses with us?" Shepard asked, eyebrow raised.

"Not to worry, have it in stasis field." Mordin dismissed, "Still, insulting that you would imply I've overlooked such details."

"Uh, sorry?" Shepard replied, his vision starting to swirl. The medication must be kicking in, he concluded. "Finish up here and begin examining that body, ASAP. It might give us some clu-." He stopped midsentence as his head fell down on the pillow, a snore coming from his mouth; the sedative had suddenly brought him into the clutches of unconsciousness.

Dr. Chakwas shook her head as she pulled a blanket over Shepard's battered form. "I thought he'd never succumb to the sedative." She mused, she looked around the medbay before turning to Mordin. "It would seem we have everything under control here, Doctor Solus." She said, "I suppose you'll be heading for the lab now?"

Mordin nodded, heading for the door. "Will only be a call away if you need me."

"What I need is some damned liquid courage…" Karin Chakwas lamented to herself as Mordin stepped out of the medbay. Grabbing some cotton balls and anti-septic, she began the long, meticulous process of cleaning Shepard's wounds. "What a night this turned out to be."

Aria snorted. "You're one to talk."


War drums.

The intense beat of his own pulse raging through his veins pounded in his head as Gemini staggered down the hallway, careful not to slip on the blood of the men he had just butchered. He clutched his head, throbbing with pain as he tried in vain to fight off the inevitable. The voices were coming back to plague him, hungry and craving for more violence.

"No no no no no no…" He muttered to himself like a mantra. His head throbbed, his vision shook and the beating of the drums heralded their arrival. With a snarl, he punched the wall crumpling the steel frame under his fist. He must not succumb to them now, not when he was this close. So very, very close.

The old man that spoke in his head had promised him answers to his questions and to silence the voices. Was he mad? Considering the previous statement, probably, but he'd take any chance he's given at this point. Anything was better than succumbing to the voices again.

Again?

Why did he say again?

It was just all too confusing for him to comprehend right now.

His memory was hazy. Images of the past were veiled from his mind's eye in a thick mist. He was there, in the middle of all the chaos. He was on the Citadel, swarming with geth and other horrible monstrosities. The fighting was everywhere, and he knew he had an important part to play to save everybody. He really couldn't remember anything else past that point.

Save everybody.

Yes, everybody. Their faces were blurred, but he saw them. A quarian, an asari, a turian, a krogan, and two humans; one still living, the other tragically dead. Yes, they were his comrades, his friends. He couldn't remember their names or anything else about them, but he just knew they were his friends.

That was his goal wasn't it? He was no psychopath, no mindless killer. He was a hero and he wanted to save everybody. But why did killing feel so good? Damn it, it was all too confusing for him. Why couldn't he remember anything else?

He remembered the nights he was still bound in that hellish tube of a prison. The dreams he had, so vivid and real they seemed. Like stepping into a whole new world, watching as events transpired around him. The memories of the Citadel were only a small foot note. There was more, but it was as if he was reading a book with some of its pages torn off, jumping from one scene to the other so abruptly and without any explanation.

Destruction…

"Oh no…" he whispered to himself as the word echoed in the back of his mind. "No more, please." He pleaded. "Who are you?"

We are destruction made manifest. You do not please us.

"Big deal, I don't like any of you either." He replied.

What you like has little to do with this. You do not please us, but you must not listen to Him.

Gemini stopped in his tracks. He realized that this was the first time the voices were so coherent and even bothered replying to him. "Who are you talking about?" He asked. "Who is this 'him'?"

He is the enemy. He will be the end of everything.

"That makes him no different from you." He replied. "My memory maybe shoddy, but I think I know what you are."

Our destruction serves purpose. It maintains the balance. You cannot have beginnings without endings. He seeks to destroy this balance we have worked so hard to maintain. His plans will lead to the end of all things. The entire galaxy will lie dead and decaying. Life shall be extinguished, and only a crude parody of it shall flourish. We freed you from your prison in order to carry out our will. Kill them all, or all life will be lost.

"You freed me? How? What balance? Tell me more!"

Kill them all…

"Not until you tell me more!"

KILL THEM ALL!

The mental screaming brought him to his knees, clutching his head in agony. Blood dribbled down from his nose as Gemini grit his teeth, trying to weather the telepathic assault. The runes on his skin glowed, burning dangerously with power. "Get out of my head!" he roared.

KILL THEM ALL!

"I said…" he started, getting back up to his feet. Power crackled around him, snapping in the air. "GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HEAD!"

An explosion of orange light bloomed around him, scorching the surroundings in a wave of energy. He felt the tendrils in his mind still there, but the grip was 'loosened' somewhat. He had sent them reeling, but they'd be back. He walked on, hoping to reach the doctor before that could happen. Still, their message perturbed him. What could the voices, these malevolent gods of death, possibly be scared of?


Garrus leaned against the wall of the main batteries as he sat on his cot, taking care not to stress his injuries. Between the crash of the Kodiak and the firefight with the Eclipse, it was a long night. His wounds have been freshly bandaged by the medics and he nursed an ice pack to his bruised head.

"Man, what a night." He mused to himself, reaching underneath the cot and pulling out a small silver case. Flipping the locks open, the top opened with a hiss of depressurization. Taking his visor, he placed it gently back into the container, snapping the lid shut afterwards. He cringed as he accidentally over extended his leg, making his wounds hurt. The medics were amazed none of his bones were broken, just bruised and battered, but still in one piece. Doesn't mean it hurt any less though. His wounds were quickly cleaned and sutured, and they kicked him out of the medbay to make room for the more seriously injured.

His cot wasn't luxurious, but it was far better than most surfaces he's slept on in the past. And it has never looked more inviting or comfortable than it did now. He knew a few hours of sleep were not nearly enough to make him feel better, but it was a start. Not that he could sleep right now.

Today was just another fine exercise in disaster. They'd come out of it alive but just barely, really. He was supposed to have been the commander in Shepard's absence, but his decisions only compromised the Normandy as a whole. Sure they were alive, but there must have been a better way that he couldn't see. Jack and Samara were beaten damn near to death, and his joy ride with Joker almost killed the latter and put Kasumi's life at risk, not to mention compromising the operation by not being there to lead. He really could have done a lot of things much better.

Damned if he knew what the better way could have been, though. He really wasn't cut out for this whole squad leader thing, he supposed. Lying down on his cot, he stared blankly up at the ceiling, looking at nothing in particular.

"So tell me, why the hell aren't you in the medbay?"

Garrus didn't even bother to look for the source of the disembodied voice. Her scent was masked, but he could still whiff traces of it. It still somehow made his blood boil. "I could ask you the same thing, Kasumi." He replied, still staring upwards. "And for your information, yes I have been to the medbay. Nothing too major, surprisingly. How about you?"

"I've been taped up like a mummy underneath my suit." She said fizzling into view as the cloak wore off. "I'm also hopped up on pain meds, but otherwise mostly unscathed." She stepped towards him and took a seat at the foot of his cot. Garrus gulped as her rear brushed his foot, which he casually moved away from contact. "I tried to visit Jack and the others, but Doc Chakwas insisted that no visitors allowed, so I figured I'd just loiter nearby just in case. They are stable for the time being, though."

"That's good to hear." Garrus said, propping himself up on his elbows to talk to her, genuinely relieved that the pair of biotics were alright. "Your room is just down the hall from the medbay too, you know? Why stay here?"

"Eh, it reeks of stale alcohol and vomit in there." She shrugged. Garrus laughed at the realization that nobody must have had the time to clean up the lounge what with everything happening. "Hey, that's just mean. The smell might stick to all of my stuff!" she pouted.

"Well maybe you should have thought of that when you decided to set up your bedroom in the bar." Garrus replied with an amused grin etched on his face.

"It seemed like a great idea at the time!" Kasumi retorted, hands thrown up in the air. Man, Garrus thought, she wasn't kidding when she said she was hopped up on pain meds. "And what are you grinning at? I'm still mad at you."

"Well I didn't exactly ask you to come here, you know?"

"Well too bad." Kasumi scoffed, twiddling her fingers anxiously, clearing her throat. "I don't like big crowds. Sure it's easy to blend in with a lot of people around you, but I'm not exactly on a heist right now. It also doesn't help that I don't know most of them out there."

"Yeah, but if they work for Liara, they're fine by me." Garrus dismissed.

"Still… Would you mind if I crashed here for a bit?"

"That's up to you. Think you can stand being in the same room with me?" Garrus asked. Forget that, he thought, what about him? With her being this close, her scent was filling up the room. Her hood was pushed back; a bandaged wrapped around her forehead, showing most of her face under the light, a stray lock of her black hair coming into view. For human standards, heck for most species' standards, she was definitely beautiful. Shame that she always felt the need to keep it obscured, even among themselves.

"I guess I could make an exception." She said, flashing him a quick grin. "I suppose it's the least I can do for somebody I've saved and been saved by time and time again." She and Garrus shared a quiet chuckle at that, and she leaned back against the wall. "You've been…acting a bit strange lately." She said casually.

"Eh?" Garrus said. He wasn't that obvious, was he? "What are you talking about?" he replied, keeping his cool.

"Oh I don't know…" Kasumi said, letting the statement linger. "You seem to be rather… overprotective of me recently."

"As opposed to what? Letting you die on my watch?" Garrus said, laughing it off. "That'd make me look bad."

"Trust me, Vakarian." She replied amusedly, arching an eyebrow. "You don't need any help in order to look bad."

"Ooh, Harsh." Garrus said, reflexively rubbing a hand on his scar. "Hey now, a lot of women like men with scars. Most of them are krogan, sure, but I work with what I got."

Kasumi laughed. "I like men with scars." she said suddenly.

"If you're going to come in here just to make fun of me, I might as well start charging tic-" Garrus said, stopping mid-sentence. "Wait, what?"


Oh no.

Oh no, no, no, no.

Did she just-?

She didn't, did she?

Judging by the puzzled, expectant expression on Garrus' face, she probably did. "Errr…" Well, she deserved a pat on the back. Not every day that she could juice the awkwardness meter up to eleven. She didn't know what impetus possessed her to think that coming up into his quarters was a good idea, let alone what made her blurt out those words for that matter. Well, he wasn't going to go away she realized. Clearing her throat, she snickered, pulling her hood down and trying to mask the red filling her cheeks. "I'm just messing with you." She said, trying to save face. "Not that I think you look bad at all, no…" she added. Geez, why was it that every word she said felt like a nail being hammered into her coffin?

"Well…" Garrus replied, his tone seemed awkward, much to her dismay. "That's a relief, I suppose."

She looked at the door from the corners of her vision, trying to make up a reason to excuse herself from this mess she had made. This was probably just another rebound phase that she was going through, same as with Jacob. But… this felt different. Not that it made her feel any better about it. God, he wasn't even human! Not that there was anything wrong about aliens, but she always thought of herself as a one-species kind of gal. Why did she come up here again? Screw it, she should just leave now. "Hey, um… you're tired, and well… maybe I should just go and-."

Before she could get up, she felt a rough hand gently grab onto hers. She turned her head to see Garrus had sat up, holding onto her hand. "Wait." He said.

What the hell was he doing? She thought, color rising on her cheeks.


What the hell was he doing? Garrus asked himself, feeling the warmth of her skin through her gloves. The prior action was spontaneous, a reflex to her leaving. He didn't really have a plan of action for what comes next. He internally face-palmed.

Typical Garrus, smooth operator.

He could sense her squirming where she sat now. The awkward silence stretched and Garrus was fumbling for something, anything, to say. He felt her other hand gently pry away his grip on her, her eyes refusing to look him in the face. Before he could utter a word however, Kasumi broke the silence.

"I'm sorry, Garrus." She said as she stood up. "This was a- I should go." And Garrus just sat there, watching her as she disappeared, all words in his vocabulary virtually useless. A few moments later, and even the traces of her scent was gone.

"Spirits." he groaned, lying flat on his back. What a mess this was. He just laid there, staring at the ceiling, wondering what the hell came over him. There was something about Kasumi, he just couldn't figure out what it was.


What was once the Torvias Brothers Shipyard was now a wrecked hole on the side of Omega. The sudden depressurization from the Normandy's escape tore the shipyard inside out, venting everything and everyone into the void of space. Well, most everything and everyone. Among the floating bodies and debris, dozens of yellow armored figures slowly started to stir and prowl the wreckage.

Aliyah Tessarn double checked her suit's integrity as she tried to orient herself into the sudden loss of gravity. Her magnetic boots kept her feet firmly planted on the floor as she rebooted her armor's systems. It was a good thing she had kept her helmet on when she did. The hermetically sealed yellow armor was the only thing that saved her from death. She was thankful, not wanting to die at the young age of 160. Maybe it was time to reevaluate her career choices. A ping on her HUD informed her that her suit systems were operating at optimum capacity, and her omnitool flared up to life. Well, she thought as she pushed aside a floating corpse who didn't have the foresight to keep his helmet on, time to see if anybody else survived this disaster.

"This is Sgt. Tessarn, anybody out there still alive, over?" She said over the open channel. Her comm crackled as a garbled reply came through.

"Need help, sending coordinates." The panicked voice replied.

"What? Who is this?" Aliyah asked, downloading the said coordinates to her omnitool and suit radar.

"Need help, please." The voice persisted.

"Copy that, en route." Aliyah replied, making her way to the location marked on her radar. "What's your status?" There was no reply, but Aliyah decided to press on as the location was nearby.

Navigating through the floating debris, she travelled deeper into the wrecked shipyard, surprised that she hasn't encountered anybody else yet She checked her frequency and made sure she was on the open channel. "This is Sgt. Tessarn, I'm moving in to recover some casualties. Does anyone else copy, over?" The only reply that came was static. Shit, she thought, she couldn't have been the only one left alive.

She came upon the twisted wreckage of a truck, one of the ones that were harassing them earlier. Aliyah reached for her rifle and cocked it; could the distress signal have come from one of their enemies? Walking up to an opening in the hull, she raised her rifle and activated her LED torch, illuminating the darkness. "Hello? This is Sgt. Tessarn, is anybody alive in their?"

Her comms crackled, and the same garbled voice came through. "Aliyah? Thank goodness you've come…"

She stopped in her tracks, recognizing the voice. "My lady?"

"Yes… it's my lucky day." The voice replied. Suddenly, several tentacles shot from the darkness, wrapping around Aliyah violently, wresting the gun from her. The tentacles coiled down tightly, and Aliyah felt her bones strain from the pressure, unable to scream from the constriction crushing her lungs. "You're just my size, too." Without further ado, the helpless Aliyah was pulled into the darkness' gaping maw, all life being squeezed out of her.


Several minutes later, a feminine figure wearing disheveled Eclipse armor stepped out into the light, readjusting the armors rather tight fit on her curvy frame. Tarrana frowned, maybe she had misjudged when she said Aliyah was her size. But there were other, more pressing matters to attend to at the moment. First things first, she installed her personal OS into the armor's cpu and integrated her dual omnitools into it as well. Activating her radar, she scanned the area for any more of her surviving troops, earning a surprising amount of pings all around her, each marking a survivor. Poor Aliyah couldn't find anybody else since Tarrana had been jamming her signal when she had made contact with her. The poor girl was just at the right place at the wrong time.

A ping notified her that her upgrades to the armor's initially lackluster OS had been completed. Licking her lips, she log into the Eclipse's open channel and spoke. "Attention, this is Commander Ionet to all surviving troopers. I expect that you will find your way back to our HQ." She began, her musical voice resonating through the communicators of all the Eclipse left still standing. "If I do not find you at the base, I expect you to be dead, yes-yes?" She continued. "And if I discover you are still alive and you did not report back… Well, I will have to rectify that now won't I? Move out, darlings." A cacophony of replies came back to her, and Tarrana smiled with amusement as she cut off the frequency.

Turning around, she regarded the twisted wreckage of the truck and licked her lips again. "Shepard…" She whispered darkly, folding her arms over her chest. "My, my, what a man he is. Now I understand why the Patriarch so badly wants to kill him." she giggled. "Oh my, this makes me want to kill him, too. I think I might have a crush."

She was interrupted from her musings when her HUD notified her of an incoming transmission. Tarrana groaned when she saw who iot was from. "Oh dear, I hope this turn of events doesn't upset him TOO much." She murmured before accepting the transmission. "Patriarch, my dear darling beloved big brother! To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Skip the pleasantries. I need a status report, Tarrana." The Patriarch replied gruffly. "Have you dealt with the Normandy yet?"

"Oh, about that…" she began, giggling girlishly. "They… may have gotten… away."

"They… what?" The patriarch replied slowly.

Tarrana rolled her eyes as she muted the audio, watching the audio spike on her HUD from the Patriarch's profanity laced yelling. A good two minutes passed by before the audio seemed to settle, and Tarrana unmuted the Patriarch, tuning in midsentence.

"-warned you of what might happen! Why couldn't you just follow orders? No… you had to have it your way! Now Shepard is somewhere out there, and his ship and crew are fully intact!" he snarled through the comm. "Can you even begin to imagine what he could do to get in our way? Can you? You materialistic, self-entitled brat!"

"Calm yourself, brother." Tarrana replied sweetly.

"Calm myself? CALM MYSELF?! I could kill you for this, woman!"

"Kill me?" Tarrana replied, unperturbed. "You and I both know that would be just a waste of effort."

"I can damn well try! You're a disgrace to the Father's blessings!"

"Sshhh, come on then, I know you're upset, so let it all out, big brother…" Tarrana cooed. The Patriarch panted, seemingly out of breath from his tirade. "All done then? Good. All is not lost, brother. I have a plan…"