I don't own the Mass Effect.


Chapter 11: The Scythe

The following week was rather tense, as one could very well imagine.

We'd unanimously agreed, after two more hours of debate, that our best option was to go to T'Ravt for assistance. At the very least, we could exchange further services in exchange for guards. I'd thought it was a reasonable enough idea, and so had the Warlord when we'd sent word through her people.

Trisren hadn't been thrilled about our plan, but had eventually admitted that she didn't really have a better idea. Penning the five of us in with her people would leave everyone cramped in, and that was ignoring the awkward questions that T'Ravt might ask if she found us living with our supposed customers. And obviously she didn't just want us to up and leave Omega, robbing her of her support team. We exchanged a few short conversations about the best things to say and admit to, boiling down to not all that much, before she was again hectically involved in the fighting.

Unfortunately, things hadn't exactly gone well. We were, after all, trying to negotiate with someone in the middle of a military campaign, and her people universally didn't seem to comprehend the urgency of our situation. Or they just didn't care. Didn't matter, by the fourth day I was sending irritated requests every other shift, simply requesting a time and place where it would be acceptable to meet with her or one of her higher ranking subordinates.

By day six they were apparently rotating who got to deal with my messages, because I started getting variations on 'shut up and we'll get back to you'. More polite than that, obviously, but the tone was unmistakable even in text.

"What's this one read boss?" Illyan glanced over from the couch when my omni-tool flickered to life.

Setting my cards face down, I glanced at the message. "Master MacKeanen, while the Lady Warlord fully intends to negotiate further with yourself, at this time her attentions are required elsewhere. We will contact you.. etcetera etcetera. Must be one of the Asari, the Turians are blunter."

The tablet in front of Voya flashed as her fingers danced on the keyboard. That or they finally just setup a bot to automatically reply.

"Possible." Shutting the wrist computer off, I collected my game pieces and resumed inspecting them. "Is it seriously so hard just to set a fucking time though?"

"Not everyone is that sensible." Rane murmured from my left, carefully exchanging a pair of cards for two from the deck. "Especially subordinates such as those you have to deal with, my Reyja'krem."

"It does seem like those idiots need their bosses to think for them." Illyan agreed. "How's dinner coming Jarick?"

"A few more minutes Miss Illyan." The kid didn't look over from where he was carefully stirring a pot with one hand, while his other was flipping over whatever dextro-meat he was making for Voya. "I know Master Kean prefers his pasta to be tender."

Something in my cheek twitched. "How many times have I told you to make it however you want to?"

"Fifteen times sir. And you have asked me not to call you sir seventy-four times since I resumed keeping track." Rane quickly hid her grin behind her cards, Voya didn't bother, her small body shaking in silent chuckles. "Should I increment that to seventy-five?"

"Yes." Throwing my hand down in disgust when my three card exchange netted me a whole lot of nothing, I leaned back in my chair and sighed. "Is that the last of our boxes kid?"

"It is sir. We're low on drinks as well... and pretty much everything else."

I grunted quietly. "We'll have to risk going shopping tomorrow. Probably all five of us."

My lover's upper eyes flicked my way, while her lower set watched as Voya pushed more credit chits forwards. "Tomorrow will have us in an awkward situation, my Reyja'krem. T'Ravt's people are picking up the last cases of finished armor next shift."

Which would leave us essentially unemployed, and essentially trapped inside of the store. While it was comfortable... well, as much of a shithole as Omega was, not being able to even go out onto the patio to observe the comings and goings on the street was becoming taxing on all of us. Illyan and Voya in particular. While the latter hated the crowds, she hated being confined just as much. It wasn't that she really wanted to go out into the station proper, it was more that she didn't have a choice about it.

As far as the former... her stress levels were approaching mine. Trena and Ghai were barely messaging us except to assure everyone that they were still alive, and Erana wasn't being much more communicative. And what we were getting from her was tense and worried, which was setting off every alarm her sister had. Next, Ratha was still laying crippled in bed, and his brother and Herani were taking inordinate risks in battle to keep their minds off his wounds. The final wave hitting her mental levee was... whatever the fuck was between her and Voya.

"How long are we going to wait?"

I exhaled as Rane's voice dragged me back to reality, my fingers drumming slowly on the table. "We give T'Ravt's people their gear next shift, then we'll get some sleep. Hit the store and stock up for four days. If we haven't heard anything after that... we either go to the Talons or Eclipse for help, or we leave."

"Not the Eclipse." We all glanced over at Illyan as she rose from the couch, her lips pressed together. "We put up with them before, but I don't want to deal with those crazy bitches again boss."

As much as I hate to agree with the giant, I'd rather not become involved with their affairs either. Voya paused typing to brush a few strands of white hair out of her eyes. The Talons don't strike me as competent enough to protect us from the SIU either, not unless we relocated to their new headquarters.

"Illium then." I shrugged, not terribly broken up about it. "Or maybe half of us. Rane and I could remain behind to help Tris, two people can fit into their place easier than five. The three of you could go on ahead of us. Voya, that would give you plenty of time for your operation plus recovery. And Illyan could be with her sister again."

"I'd say that's close to being a plan boss, excepting the part where you two are still stuck here."

"We could leave once the True Sons are dealt with." Rane contemplated, "The Warlord does intend to use her own forces to deal with the Blood Pack, does she not? Trisren and her Blades would be little more than reserves. We could join you in Nos Astra in a few weeks time."

It certainly seems workable. I believe the round is mine, yes? Or can you defeat a Battle Line? The Quarian laid her cards out with a flourish, grinning when her opponent's lips twisted a little. And I do believe dinner is ready, so no time to... Her gloved fingers stilled as her head cocked to the side. Did you hear that?

I couldn't hear anything besides the water boiling and meat sizzling. Rane however had stilled, all of her eyes narrowed in concentration. "A distant explosion... but it sounded like it came from beneath us."

That didn't make any sense. An explosion underneath of us that was loud enough for them to hear it would have shaken the station, and thus, us. Unless...

Voya was a beat ahead of the rest of us, her tablet flashing as she linked into the building's security. We'd setup a dozen plus sensors in the tunnel leading to the hatchway, each keyed into our local network. The hatchway itself was securely locked with a mix of tech and explosive mines and grenades ready to detonate should anyone trip the sensors or try to force it.

"Everything still green?"

She nodded hesitantly, wide eyes furrowing as she bit her lip. Long fingers beat out a slow rhythm as she ran one systems check. Then another.

And then all of the blood drained from her face.

"Voya..." I'm rising from my chair before my brain actually realized that my body is moving.

The Quarian's mouth worked soundlessly before she flinched, as if forgetting then remembering that she can't speak. She shook her head wildly before making a series of rapid gestures ending with a finger across her throat.

It occurred at the same time as another explosion does make the floor shake beneath our feet, almost at once followed by the piercing alarm from Glitch's speaker and the roar of its shotgun. And for an instant, it feels like my heart stopped as the adrenaline hit, my mind racing through facts and logic as I try to settle on how to fucking handle this.

I had my cane because I always had it to walk with, but no one else was armed or armored. And we couldn't risk being penned in on this floor, there wasn't a way out up here. We needed to at least hold them off of the second level, especially since we had enough fucking explosives there to demolish the entire structure.

Which left me stuck putting a friend's life in extreme danger.

"Illyan with me. Rane, Voya, armor and guns! And alert Tris!" All of us were moving even as I snapped the words out. The Quarian was past me as I started to move around the table, my eyes catching Rane giving me a piercing look, her head tilted sharply to the right in a rare and demanding request.

Don't do anything stupid.

Problem was... I was pretty sure this was stupid. Required, but stupid. Someone had to hold them on the second floor, someone had to grab our second mech from the balcony, if he was still there.

Someone was probably going to end up dead if our opponents were competent.

A few moments later, Illyan and I were hauling the heavy doorway open, the sounds of gunfire increasing sharply without the metal in the way. Far more worrying was the heavy swearing in Low Batarian, easily audible over Glitch's programmed statements.

"Intruders must withdraw or be eliminated!" Its shotgun roared as we pounded down the stairs. "Target killed. Additional targets detected! Advancing to eliminate!"

"Someone throw a fucking grenade up there!"

Throwing my feet forwards, I skidded to a stop on the second floor landing, Illyan nearly bowling me over as she tried to arrest her own momentum. Sure enough there was a dull whump a few seconds later, followed by a second, and then third as the invaders apparently decided that overkill was the proper decision when faced with a kill zone.

I flinched as a sympathetic explosion keyed off of the third grenade, likely heralding Glitch's destruction. Which meant they'd have free rein of the first floor, including opening the doorway to let more people in. About the only good thing was that we kept all of our actual weaponry up on the second, not that we had much product left, so there wouldn't be anything they could grab.

Twisting around, I shoved my cane into Illyan's massive hands. "Take this, keep your fucking barriers up!"

She swallowed heavily but nodded, shifting it into a two-handed grip as if it was a rifle before focusing down the stairs. With her limited biotics she wouldn't be able to protect herself for long, especially without armor linked into her amp to give her a proper strength reading.

But I didn't have a fucking choice. I'd be dead in seconds without armor, she at least had a chance of survival. Athame willing, it would be long enough for me to get Fine off of the balcony. Assuming the second mech was still intact. If we could get him at the small landing, he could hold the choke point while she could use her singularities to keep grenades at bay.

I hoped.

Reaching the doorway, I yanked hard on the control lever even as I heard the first incinerate explode in the stairwell. Someone started swearing violently, and then a pistol's deafening barks echoed in the confined building.

"Warning! Combat detected!" Fine's flat voice had never sounded so fucking good, the mech shifting left to right awkwardly as it tried to shoulder its way past me. Its blue omni-armor was already online and gleaming, the Turian shotgun raised in an at-ready position. "Warning! Friendlies lacking in combat protection! Recommend withdrawal!"

"Shut up and advance to hold the stairwell!" Backpedaling as best I could, I slammed the heavy security door shut the second it's metal ass was through. "Position five!"

"Shut up order accepted, advancing to defensive position five."

Spinning around, I spared a quick look around the floor. Of course when I needed shit in a hurry was the one time it was actually cleaned up, the stock weaponry secure in its cases, T'Ravt's armor already packed up and ready to leave. Even if I did rip open one of the gun boxes, modern weaponry wasn't something you could just pick up and use. It had to be setup, loaded, checked... fuck, it normally took nearly an hour.

Fucking irony. An arms dealer in mortal peril because he didn't have the time to grab his own gun.

Ahead of me, I could see Illyan flinching as something skidded off of her shoulder, an orange streak flying out of my cane before the entire hallway lit up with reddish light. Fine was a third of the way there, advancing as quickly as its motors could propel it. Gritting my teeth, I moved after him. If I took the cane back, I could let Illyan focus on keeping her barriers up, and fire from around the corner.

The Asari fired off another incinerate, someone screaming in agony as the fireball detonated downstairs, and for a few moments I thought we could hold them off long enough for Rane and Voya to get down here.

And then Illyan tumbled backwards, my cane falling from her hands as tracer rounds stitched their way across her stomach, purple blood puffing into mists behind her as the metal shot exited her body.

She didn't scream, her mouth working silently as she stared in shock at her wounds.

"Illyan!"

"Friendly down! Medical attention required!"

I was past the mech, sprinting as my world narrowed in focus to where my friend was bleeding on the floor. I wasn't even aware of the footsteps pounding their way up the stairs until the first opponent stepped out, looming over her as the Batarian casually aimed a pistol at her head.

I didn't remember grabbing an armorer's hammer from a workbench. Probably Rane's, I'd moved past her station as I ran. But I was thankful that I'd done so when I brought the thing around in a wild swing that terminated in my opponent's throat.

It was the only weak point in his heavy, if scorched, armor. Something organic cracked horribly at the impact, his weapon dropping from his fingers as he reflexively clawed at his throat before tumbling backwards.

No, not tumbling, yanked. Another Batarian in black armor was moving up, his shotgun roaring. The majority of the shot went high and wide, but enough pellets hit my right arm to make my world temporarily go white with pain.

A second later a booted foot slammed into my chest, Illyan letting out a breathless cry as I landed on her. My vision swam back into focus in time to see him leveling his gun at my face.

He was a professional. There wasn't taunting. No wasted declarations of intent. Just ruthless and efficient execution.

"Priority ally disabled!" The SIU operative's head whipped right a millisecond before a solid slug from Fine's shotgun blew his helmet apart. "Covering allies, adjusting orders, advancing to position four!"

Wincing at the mech's shout, I rolled off of my friend and tried not to clutch at my arm. Above me, Fine stepped over us both, its weapon deafening as it finished off the man whose throat I'd crushed.

And then it was moving down the stairs, firing in a steady rhythm calculated to prevent overheating, working to prevent anyone from following the two upstairs. It wouldn't last long, they'd get the timing down just like we'd done to Shith's mechs. After which...

Shaking my head blearily, I tried to focus. "Illyan. We... fuck. Have to move."

"Cie..." her voice cut off in a choking, pained sound. "Hurts."

Grinding my teeth against my own agony, I forced both of my arms to grab one of her massive arms. Ignoring the blood running down my own limb, I forced a knee beneath me and hauled. She gasped in pain, weakly kicking her legs at the wall to try and help.

Somewhere the firefight was continuing, someone shouting orders while Fine tried to update us to what its algorithms decided was the best course of action.

None of that mattered, because Illyan was leaving streaks of purple on the floor as she moved.

"Goddess." The oath was out before I could stop it. She'd been hit four times, three on her right side, and once in the forearm. I vaguely knew where the major Asari organs were, and I didn't think they'd been hit, but the arteries I was less sure on.

Grabbing her shirt, I snarled in pain at the pressure it put on my wound wounds, tasting blood as I bit my tongue and tore the cloth into a long strip.

"If you wanted to see... Athame..." She couldn't even finish the flirtatious remark, her head lolling back as she tried to breath.

"Just... be quiet. And don't die." Shifting a bit, I grabbed her wounded arm and started to tie off the makeshift tourniquet. "I'm not telling Erana you died on me."

"And... fuck, you'd miss me."

"That too." My head snapped up as feet pounded on the stairs, eyes trying to find where my cane had ended up. Before I could even lunge for it, Voya landed heavily on the landing, apparently having jumped the last several steps. Her now armored head swung in our direction, Acolyte held loosely in one hand as her silver eyes went wide in alarm at the sight of us.

I waved her off impatiently with my good arm. "Support Fine!"

She shook herself, nodded, and vanished down the next set of stairs, her omni-tool already coming to life to directly command the mech.

If she was already here, Rane had to be almost here. Raising my voice, I shouted as loudly as I could. "Rane! I need Jarick!"

There was a moment of silence upstairs and downstairs, then the gunfire promptly resumed while my lover started barking for the former slave.

"Boss..."

"I need someone to bandage you." Returning my attention to where it belonged, I yanked hard on the tied cloth, knotting it as tightly as I could just above the wound and prayed to Athame it was the right place. "And keep pressure on them."

She tried to shake her head, "He's... a kid..."

"He doesn't have time to be one." I snapped, letting my screaming right arm go limp while my left hand found the torn edges of her shirt and hauled it up to let me see the wounds. They were... bullet shaped. And bleeding. Fuck. I was a mechanic, not a goddess-damned medic. All I knew was that she needed medigel and pressure. And a doctor.

"Cie... Erana, tell-"

"Illyan. Shut the fuck up. Now." Her eyes went wide. "It's a few little fucking pistol wounds. I lived through worse, so you're going to walk this shit off."

She tried to smile, only for it to turn into a grimace of pain as her eyes rolled back as she groaned.

The stairs echoed again, Rane's armored form appearing on the landing. Like Voya, she froze at the sight of the blood pile, her torso twisting as her helmet swung our way. Unlike the Quarian, she didn't need me to say anything, jerking her head in a nod before flying down, joining Voya and the mech in trying to keep our enemies penned in on the first floor.

A moment later, the kid arrived, his reaction... was fairly predictable. "Master Kee...ee... oh my god..."

"Jarick!" The normally pale kid had become white as snow, the medical supplies Rane had probably made him grab barely staying in his shaking hands as he stared at us, and at where the bodies were probably still on the stairwell "Get your fucking ass over here!"

He jerked into motion, his body automatically responding to a superior's command. In a normal situation I'd be annoyed at the obedience, but right now I just hoped it would let him do what I needed him to.

"On the floor, right here. Get the medigel canister, no that one. That one! Good, pour it in her wounds." The kid froze, staring at the small bleeding marks even as I tried to get bandages ready. "Jarick!"

The kid swallowed heavily before moving. I tried not to notice how badly his hands were shaking, or how much of the expensive gel over her toned stomach rather than into her wounds.

Below us, there was yet another muted grenade detonation, quickly followed by a pair of crackling overloads. Then another grenade preceded yet more echoes as people moved back up the stairs, pistols and a rifle chattering in the characteristic alternating patter of people laying down suppressing fire.

Voya and Rane appeared as I had Jarick yanking Illyan's shirt further out of the way so I could apply the bandaging, the Asari grinding her teeth and squeezing my leg with her good hand as we couldn't wait for the anesthetic in the gel to kick in.

"We lost Fine!" My lover growled, her low voice barely audible over her gun sending another burst downstairs. "Several enemies down, at least eight still active. Maybe more. One squad came through the utility tunnel, most of them are dead but they opened the front door and let in another."

Shit. My vague plan had been to escape off the balcony if we had to, but Illyan wasn't going anywhere under her own power. And she was too fucking heavy to us to move, never-mind risk letting her drop from the second floor to the street. "How long can you hold them?"

"Not long if they have more grenades." Which they would. Athame's fucking...

"Move me." My head snapped around at the pained voice. "Closer to the stairs."

"Illyan."

"Boss. Only one who can." She sucked in a breath, "Get me your cane, prop me on the stairs behind them."

Athame's motherfucking... "Jarick, grab my fucking cane."

"But she's-" His voice jerked into a startled noise as I grabbed his shirt with my left hand, leaning across Illyan's prone form to glare furiously at him. "Y-yes sir!"

While he skittered away, I grabbed Illyan's good arm. Getting her upright proved to be extraordinarily painful for the both of us, especially as we didn't have the time to be gentle about it. I could feel her straining to not let out any sounds as she leaned against me.

We made it onto the landing, Rane and Voya blocking most of the sight of the stairwell leading down with their bodies as they kept up more erratic fire than Fine had, not giving the SIU any pattern to exploit. At least, not enough to risk racing upwards, but it was a far easier thing to whip a small disc around the corner.

Illyan didn't need someone to shout the obvious. The air around her crackled, light splaying across her body as she threw a hand forwards. Every hair on my body stood upright as the dark disk shot between our companions, the singularity snapping to life midway down the stairwell.

The incoming grenade slowed, seeming to hang motionless in the air before being dragged backwards, flying back towards the black disk. Her fingers jerked closed, a gasp of pain escaping her throat as she killed the miniature black hole moments after creating it.

And without anything else to affect its momentum, the grenade continued flying back down the way it came.

Someone shouted as it clinked off of the wall at the bottom before exploding, all of us flinching as Rane grabbed Voya, keeping her upright and blocking, their shields and armor protecting us from the fragments that made their way up.

Downstairs, at least two separate voices had screamed in pain, another voice shouting. "Hold the grenades, that blue bitch is still alive! Don't throw that you Pillars damned idiot, do you want to kill us all!?"

Illyan managed a tiny smirk, even as most of her weight seemed to fall on my shoulder. "Assholes."

"You are so hot right now." I muttered, mostly trying to perk her up a bit as I pulled her back towards the stairs.

"I bet... you say that to all the girls... who bleed on you.." She gasped as we managed to slowly back our way up, stopping about five steps up. Enough that she could see Voya and Rane, but hopefully far enough back that she'd be safer.

"Jarick, get behind her and patch her back. The bandages have instructions on them." The kid was still pale, still shaking, but nodded determinately and started grabbing the medical equipment again from where he'd left it on the floor.

"You... have a plan boss?"

A plan? She was bleeding, possibly internally. Probably. My right arm was starting to stiffen up, not wanting to move properly as the pain worsened. We'd lost both of our security mechs, and nearly every defensive scheme I'd ever come up with had assumed that we'd be defending against an external attack. Not against people who'd bypassed our security and broken in.

Fuck. Even if we'd killed two or three enemies with her grenade trick, that still left us in a shitty situation. They weren't poorly equipped, poorly trained gang members. We couldn't rely on our armor and tech mines to fight our way through it. And I didn't think they'd be so polite as to give us the minutes I'd need to get upstairs, get my armor on, grab my gun, and get back down here.

"Reyja'krem!" Rane and Voya stopped their suppressing fire at the shout, the speaker not so stupid as to expose himself. "The Pillars of Kin allows for a parley by its tenth verse. Would you speak with me?"

I snorted as Jarick took the stairs two a time, shifting out of his way as he moved behind us. "So you can shoot me more easily? No thanks!"

There was a deep chuckle, but he didn't deny anything. "It would be easier on your companions!"

"Because the SIU just adores leaving survivors." A blue hand shoved my cane back into my hands as she let Jarick pull her into a seated position, her breathing labored as she tried to keep herself focused and ready. "Why are you stalling!?"

"None of your people have medical training. Your Asari can't last forever." The corner of my eye saw Illyan's throat work as she swallowed. "How long can you last without her biotics to protect you?"

Not all that long. Dammit. We couldn't even throw grenades back down properly, the first floor doorway confined the explosions too much. Especially now that they wouldn't be so stupid as to expose themselves after getting literally burned moments before. And with the front door and utility hatch open, they could... wait.

The front door.

Padding down the stairs as quickly and quietly as I could, my cane hit the ground as I moved towards the balcony door. I shouted as loudly as I could, hoping to keep them from trying to force their way up. "What do you propose then?"

"That the longer you delay this, the more painful it will be for all of you. Surrender now and we will make it fast."

"No you wouldn't." Rane shouted before I could, "We're well aware of how you operate!"

Reaching the door once again, I worked the lock, making sure that my body wasn't going to be exposed when the metal swung open.

"Then I suppose we're done talking. Don't worry, we'll be done long before your friends arrive. Assuming they ever do."

For a moment my fingers paused, then I berated myself for almost worrying about something a fucking SIU commando was saying. Making a few final adjustments to my cane's settings, I exhaled, breathed quiet prayers to Athame, the Pillars, and God in that order, and then stuck my arm around the corner and yanked the trigger.

I wasn't aiming at anything in particular. Fuck, I was seriously hoping that I didn't hit anyone on the street. That's why I'd lowered the detonation range as short as I'd dared to. The heat baked my left hand, not enough to burn, but enough to know that I probably should have set the explosion to go off a bit further away. Girmacing, I twisted the cane upwards a bit and fired again. And then to the left, pulling the trigger again.

The sniper round hit my cane mid-fourth shift, my fingers screaming as they were twisted as my walking stick-slash-tech launcher was ripped from my grip.

My right hand pounded the control panel, slamming and locking the door again before anything worse could happen.

Silence reigned indoors for a few moments, and then someone started shooting. But not up at us. It cut off after a moment, almost at once followed by someone or something pounding on the front door.

I couldn't stop a small grin, for once thankful for Omega's peculiarities. On Illium, our neighbors might have seen explosions in the air like that and called I-Sec, who'd then have to make their way to where it happened. On Omega, our neighbors were the local security, and the Talons usually kept at least three squads at the hotel just a block down the street.

Three squads who were some of our best customers, and who would investigate fireballs exploding in the air next to the store. And whoever had made the mistake of shooting out of the door had cemented the need for the gang to figure out what the fuck was going down in their territory.

Our guest shouted once again, while the pounding on the door grew and the shouting on the streets increased to the point where I could make out people shouting orders. "You are very clever for a fur covered monkey. We'll be seeing you, Reyja'krem."

Thank... wait. What?

Limping as quickly back towards the landing, I could hear people moving around downstairs. But no one was trying to get up them. No more grenades were being flung up for an unsteady Illyan to try and hold off.

"Are they seriously leaving?" I couldn't keep the disbelief out of my voice.

My lover seemed to glance at me, her helmet tilting slightly before she replied as quietly as she could. "Standard procedure, Reyja'krem. We're wounded, now homeless. They struck us and caused us pain, a worthy accomplishment in their eyes."

"They still could have rushed us... and then died." Realization came slowly as I leaned on my cane, wondering if blood loss was affecting my ability to think. "They'd have been stuck up here like we were."

"Indeed." Her posture shifted into worry for the barest of moments before she returned to her at-ready position.

The sounds stopped three minutes later, beyond the pounding at the front door. We stayed in place for another five, which was when someone outside finally just blew the entire thing in. Rane wanted to move over to help me, staying still when I used gestures to indicate she should stay. I was still breathing, and mostly upright. If this was a trick of some kind, she had to be ready to start shooting.

"Hail the camp!" A Turian's distinctive flanging echoed crazily off the walls. I thought it was Hetherus, but honestly I really had a hard time telling Turian's voices apart. "Identify yourselves!"

"Rane'li!" The lowborn shouted back. "Employee! The SIU just attacked us!"

There was a startled pause. "We're moving cautiously then, they probably set traps! No one in sight on this floor besides two destroyed mechs."

I sucked in a breath, having already made my decision while we waited. "We need a medic! Contact Red, tell her I'll trade the structure and what stock I have left for aid!"

"Spirits... MacKeanen, are you fucking serious?!"

"Fucking contact Red! Now!" My frayed patience snapped. "We need an Athame damned medic!"

He didn't respond with a shout, but a few breaths later I saw Rane and Voya relax before someone's footsteps began to pound. A few moments later an Asari in the Talon's distinctive red and black had appeared, she pushed past my companions before continuing up to where Illyan was slumped on the next set.

Following was indeed Lieutenant Hetherus, the Turian's mandibles flayed wide in shock as he caught sight of first Illyan, and then where I was leaning heavily against Rane's workbench to keep myself upright. "Spirits. McKeanen... those bodies on the stairs... what in the Spirits' holy names did you do to get Hegemony to send its kill teams after you?"

"That... is for Red." I exhaled, shaking my head to fight off a wave of dizziness. Fuck. "Call her already."

"Please." Rane added, letting her gun collapse as she moved past him, reaching my side in a few long strides before carefully inspecting my right arm. Which was by now... let's just say I wasn't looking at it for a reason.

Mandibles twitching, the Turian finally nodded, his silvery plates making me wince as they reflected the light. Soon enough his omni-tool was open, and Nyreen's voice was emitting from the tiny speaker.

"Lieutenant, you have a priority situation?"

"Ironhold Weapons was attacked, possibly by Hegemony commandos. MacKeanen is offering the building and his remaining stock in exchange for aid. I'm already providing medical assistance."

"She's going to need more than me!" The Talon medic snapped, grabbing one of Jarick's hands and shoving into place, "Press here dammit! A full surgery suite at least. That means home base."

I nearly sagged in relief when Aria's old flame didn't hesitate for a moment. "I'm sending two shuttles, and am on my way personally. Stabilize the wounded, I'll discuss with MacKeanen on arrival."

"We aren't secure." The words didn't come out as loudly as I wanted, forcing Rane to repeat them for me.

"The building is insecure, they breached out security. Can we move her to the hotel?"

The medic bit her blue lip, then nodded. "I'll need another one of my people to work a biotic lift in tandem."

"Hetherus, handle it. MacKeanen... we're going to have a long conversation."

My eyes closed as I nodded, cold running down my arm as my lover began frantically applying medigel. "Agreed."


End Act II: The Fratricide


Next up is Interlude III: The Recovery

Well... this was a thing. Things are starting to get interesting, and ever more complicated. The next two chapters will be interludes from Trena's point of view, taking place back on Illium.

Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."

Thanks, Kat


Review Responses:

Tusken1602 → He'll be getting far more page time in the next act, so we'll see how he's doing after all this.

Griezz → Well.. we'll see how it goes when we get that far, just seventeen chapters to go in this one lol.

5 Coloured Walker → Illyan and Voya have a rather... complicated relationship with one another. It's going to be elaborated on at some point.