MASS EFFECT SOLACE
CHAPTER 37
"You're up early…or late?" Garrus tossed out to Traynor at her station as he yawned, coming off the elevator.
"I set an alarm for when we would hook up to the comm buoy, so I could download Shepard's messages for her." She glanced down at her terminal. "One is downloading now...let's see…. Mindoir. How peculiar."
"Mindoir?" Garrus stopped to look on. There was no activity coming from that colony. He tightened his mandible. Perhaps they were hit next.
"Complete. Audio recording…sender is…Avery?" She looked over at him for any thoughts on the matter.
Garrus recognized the name. He was with Shepard when they first met Avery on the Citadel years ago. Younger woman, smart and very polite. He remembered Shepard said that she ran into her on Omega and was part of the Talons now. Complete three sixty from her earlier status, but he suspected all people changed. He did after he left C-Sec, thanks to Shepard's influence after dealing with Dr. Saleon and Sidonis. He had no qualms in their blood that he spilt. He was always believed an eye for an eye; he wished privately that he had time to toss back the proper justice to Dr. Saleon after the Salarian harvested organs out of his donors while they were still alive. "She moves around I see. I don't blame her leaving Omega. Not quite what the Presidium has."
Traynor noticed that he was still hanging around as if he was suspecting her to play the message. "Shepard is on a call currently with Aria. I shall give this to her when she's off."
"That's right." Garrus looked towards the direction of the war room. "I wonder how that is going."
"Shepard, I have been waiting after your…mech summoned me." Aria's holo image on the vid comm showed a displeased look on her face.
"EDI and she's not a mech." Krysta corrected her sharply. EDI did a lot for her crew and she would treat her as one of them. Her interaction with Legion over the year seemed to have changed her view on synthetics and organics interacting with one another. If only, the Quarians learned this before they went to war.
"Are you here to gloat?" Aria cut her off. "You got what you want after all. I must say that I am impressed. You are becoming more like me. I just never expected that you would use me and recruit my people without my…consult."
"What the hell are you getting at?" Krysta was agitated already by her tone and her enigmatic statement. She almost forgot the purpose of her call.
"Bray, Avery and Sh'sk seemed to have disappeared from Omega."
A lump formed in Krysta's throat as she heard the news. "When?"
"Hours, days, weeks..." The Asari shrugged. "One of my doorman informed me that the last time they were spotted, Bray and Sh'sk were leaving the club and Avery approached them. They walked away from the club and never came back. No trace to their omni tools. Cowardly of them to just disable that feature. Stop the charade, Shepard. I won't come after them."
Krysta spied a Batarian standing on guard in the background. "I see that you had no problem replacing them, Aria."
"Garka?" Aria looked back his way. "He always has been on my payroll. I think you met him when you first came to Omega."
It was hard to make out his complete facial features in the distance, but Krysta didn't bother to try to recall her memory to her first encounter to figure out if what she said was fact or not. She thought back to Liara's manifest and paused the video. Fear crept in her mind. Liara did state that the mining process was not complete. What if Bray's and Avery's names were on that list as well? Trembling, she switched to the console to activate the ship's intercom system and selected Liara's room. "Liara?"
A pause. "Yes, Shepard?"
"Can you cross reference the manifest for me? See if Avery or Bray's names are on there."
"Give me a moment…" Krysta could hear Liara using her computer to do the request. She held her breath as she listened. Seconds later, she was able to breathe once more. "Their names are not present."
"Thank you." She switched back to Aria's screen.
The slight interruption irked Aria even more. "I hate being placed on hold, Shepard," She fumed. "Get to the point of this call."
"Aria," Krysta fumbled for her words. Her mind raced as she tried to figure out how now Sh'sk got with Cerberus and where Avery and Bray were. Now it seemed her earlier conclusions were correct: Cerberus was still on Omega! "I recently went to a refugee camp on Horizon called Sanctuary. It seems it was a front for a Cerberus operation. They were turning the refugees to husks. All species: Banshees, Cannibals, Husks, and Marauders.
"Makes sense. Cerberus failed with their adjutants out of the Omega 4 Relay and then went somewhere else. What is it to me?" Aria shot back coldly.
Krysta bared down on her teeth as every fiber of her being wanted to somehow reach through and strangle her. How could she be so heartless? Nyreen was right. Aria really didn't care about her people on Omega and only her power. She decided not to break the news to her gently. "When we arrived, Cerberus was gone and what was left were killed by the Reapers. There were no civilians left." She waited a moment to allow her to think about what she was about to say. "I retrieved the list of everyone that was processed at the facility. Sh'sk's name was on it."
This grabbed Aria's attention. A look of anger and dread slowly moved over it. She lifted an eye ridge. "Sh'sk? Are you sure?"
"Batarian's origin: Omega. What do you think?"
"Did you find him?"
"His originally state? No. A Cannibal in his place? Possibly. Hard to say. I didn't see any survivors. All the Reaper forces I encountered, I killed."
"And Bray?" Aria's next question hit Krysta in the chest. Was it possible that she would never see him again a well?
"His name wasn't on the list."
"Hah, the Illusive Man does like to hold grudges. If he thinks capturing Bray and Sh'sk to get me back on retaking Omega- "
"He didn't do it because of you." The pieces were all coming into place. There was a slight percentage chance that Avery simply got in the way during the attack, however, surely the Illusive Man knew that project was failing. Currently, he and Shepard were going at it to obtain information on how to stop the Reapers. If it was to get back at Aria, Avery would be the loose end and she would have been the one shipped off to Sanctuary. Not, Sh'sk. The Batarian had no connection to Shepard. He was the one who got in the way. "The Illusive Man took them to get at me. Bray and Avery are still alive. They have to be."
"Are you saying that Cerberus was still on Omega? My station?" T' Loak's voice rose, blocking out Krysta's thoughts. "I never did like the idea of you coming to Omega when you searched for Mordin and Archangel. You have been a complete pain in the ass."
"This is coming from someone who practically beg me to help them retake Omega." Krysta rolled her eyes.
Traynor walked in with Garrus behind her at her heels. "Mam…. I think you outta hear this message."
Krysta glanced once more to Aria and then disconnected the call. She knew that she would be furious that Shepard hung up on her, but she didn't care. She was done with Omega. Things just took a turn for the worse and now she had no idea where Bray was and what kind of danger he was in; all because of her. Krysta took the data pad. "It can't be any worse than what I just learned."
She hit play on the recording. "Shepard, this is Avery. Cerberus captured me, Bray and Sh'sk. Bray and I are on Mindoir…I don't know where they took Sh'sk. I'm scared. Bray is hurt bad. They plan on killing him. They told me to contact you. Please, Shepard. I don't want to die out here. I wish I never left the Citadel. I have to go." The recording confirmed her worst nightmare. They were all captured by Cerberus, and Sh'sk was sent to Sanctuary. The Illusive Man did want to get back at her and it seems that he found out about her connection to Avery and Bray. She never liked her friends or loved ones being used as pawns, but it seemed like she struck a chord against Cerberus and now they were playing even dirtier. "Joker, you awake?"
"Yeah…I just started my shift," The pilot yawned over the intercom. "We should be at the coordinates in two hours."
"Change of plans. Find a relay. I need to get to Mindoir."
"Mindoir?" Joker questioned the change up. "You do realize that is like ten hours in the opposite direction at full speed.
"You heard me." Krysta snapped at him, she shoved the data pad back into Traynor's hands. "Keep tabs on the signal. Cycle it every five minutes. Don't lose it."
"I-I will." Samantha fumbled as she held the pad.
Krysta stormed towards the armory while Garrus remained in tow. "Shepard, you do realize this is a trap that you're walking into."
"I know, Garrus." She didn't look back his way as she went into the elevator, the Turian was right behind her. "Too bad Kai Leng won't be there." Krysta stared at the elevator doors and then stepped off once they reached their destination. James and Steve were not back from their rests yet, so the floor seemed eerie from the quietness.
"Look, Shepard." Garrus was not through yet. "I know you developed feelings for Bray, but the Illusive Man wants you away from his next plan of attack." Krysta ignored the statement and went to open her locker, but Garrus pushed it back into place, keeping his hand pressed firmly to prevent opening. "You always talked sense into me, Shepard. Now, let me extend the favor. Don't go to Mindoir. We all need you here.
Krysta felt hot tears at her eyes from his words. It was Virmire all over again. Stop Saren or save Kaidan. Why was she punished to be placed into this predicament again? If she chose to ignore this, and move forward against Cerberus, then their fates were sealed. If she moved to Mindoir, then she could possibly face her own defeat and lose the chance of stopping the Illusive Man once and for all. Since her arrival on Omega, she developed strong feelings for Bray. She would have never thought that a Batarian would now be first choice as a love interest, but fate was cruel. Perhaps a redemption after Torfan. Bray knew the risks of being involved with her, but he still didn't deserve death and not Avery. She was young and admired Shepard as a mentor. She couldn't let her down. The girl suffered enough after losing her family. "Garrus, I made up my mind." She forcefully removed his hand from her locker and glared at him. "I'm going."
Garrus sighed as he gave in and allowed her to fetch her things. "Don't go in this alone again. Let me at least call Wrex for backup. I hate to say this, but we need a Krogan down there with us."
"Us?" Krysta stopped what she was doing and gave a faint smile. "Whoever said anything about us? And when would you admit that you need Krogan aid?"
The Turian chuckled. "You may need a sniper and I'm your man, er, Turian. Wrex, well I feel bad that he's missing action."
"The Krogan are on their way to Earth. I need Krogan boots there. I'm not pulling him back."
"Then who do you suggest?"
"Someone who won't stop me from killing every Cerberus agent I find down there."
"Jack?" Garrus tossed out playfully. "You know she loves them," He grinned sarcastically.
"She's leading the students from Grissom Academy to the rendezvous point. She's out too."
"Damn. The list is getting smaller."
Krysta nodded her head as she thought to the ones on her ship and their talents. She needed someone who had worked with her and Garrus since day one and could anticipate their moves. There was no room for error. That narrowed the list down to Ashley or Liara. Her Asari friend had no love for Cerberus, but she may lecture caution in their fight. Ashley, on the other hand, wouldn't mind busting a few heads. She dealt with Cerberus with her when they went to help Admiral Kohaku. She seen first-hand on what they are capable of. She smiled at Garrus. "Tell Williams to be ready."
Krysta finally allowed herself to exhale slowly to relieve the tension in her chest after she saw Garrus leave in the elevator to their sleeping quarters. "Hang in there, Avery and Bray. I'm coming to get you. No one is getting left behind."