Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Escape from Tarkov/Mass Effect crossover.

I looked at the poll, and I've found out that it's currently tied for both choices. As such, I've decided to make the final choice, since it's at a deadlock. Once this chapter's posted, the name of this crossover is going to be changed. Thank you all for voting for the choices you liked the most. I appreciate it.

Also, we're looking at the third to final chapter for this crossover, or the second, if all goes well. We'll also be seeing a major divergence in the story here. If you've paid attention to Chapter 6, you'll see the divergence coming.

Either way, thank you for your time, and I hope to see you in future chapters and crossovers.

As always, leave a review and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Escape from Tarkov or Mass Effect franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Electronic Arts, BioWare and Battlestate Games. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.

Geneburn - Betrayal

SSV Normandy

Leaving Virmire

2183

"Goodness gracious me," Chakwas said with some disbelief as she looked over O'Connor. "If I didn't know any better, O'Connor, I'd be thinking you were doing this intentionally. You have been through a lot, haven't you."

O'Connor, who was lying on the coy, couldn't help but agree. When he and Saren had gone up against each other, it felt like a light version of the sledgehammer that Killa's brother, Tagilla, used as one of his primary weapons, but not by much. Every part of his body that had been battered hurt like hell. "I have, and believe me, this wasn't my intention."

"I believe you," Chakwas agreed. Using her omni-tool, she scanned every part of O'Connor's battered, but unbroken, body. "From the looks of it, your armor absorbed the majority of the force from Saren's blows. What got through did some damage, but nothing major. You do have a small stress crack in your right arm, but nothing that a few hours of medical treatment and rest won't fix."

"What about my eye? I thought I lost it."

"You nearly did, O'Connor. What saved your eye is that Saren's talons were slightly shorter than usual, likely due to some trimming he did that very day. If they were any longer, I'd be placing in an order for a prosthetic. The scarring from that gash will be permanent, though."

"I don't care about that. I'll wear it as a badge of honor, and as a souvenir. Anything else that's major?"

"Aside from a few minor contusions to a couple of your ribs, nothing major. You were supremely lucky, O'Connor. Few have gone up against a Spectre of that caliber and survived. I recommend a few hours rest, and we'll be done with the stress crack treatment before we reach the Citadel." Pushing him down gently, Chakwas applied a thin strip of medi-gel to the gash that traveled over his right eye and down to the lower portion of his cheekbone.

There was a brief stinging sensation that O'Connor felt, then cool relief as the pain faded, replaced by a numbness that, while felt, wasn't major. "There," Chakwas beamed. "Now, once Shepard's done with the debriefing, we can begin the bone crack treatment. I'll get prepared for it while you're talking with Shepard.

"You've got it," O'Connor nodded as he got up and left. As Chakwas went to get the medical equipment required, he thought back to the mission they'd just completed. She's right, he thought as he analyzed the mission tactically. I got supremely lucky. I think what allowed me to win was that Saren didn't quite expect me to use the tactics that I did. Still, I'll need to be careful if we have another rematch with that bastard.

Walking up the steps, he gingerly touched his right arm, which had the stress crack in it. He winced slightly as a twinge of pain shot up the nerves leading from his arm to his brain. Hurts, but it's still usable. Either I was lucky that my bones didn't fracture from the assault, or I've got bones of titanium-steel alloy. He smirked slightly at himself.

Entering the CIC, he walked into the comm/briefing room to see that everyone had arrived before him. He was about to speak when Ashley came over and, in a surprisingly emotional act, tightly hugged him. "Thank you for helping Kaidan," she beamed. "You helping him allowed Shepard to come back and help us."

"It was the least I could do," O'Connor nodded. "Mind if you release me? My bones are protesting."

"Sorry." With that, she let go.

"Thanks for that. As for the decision, it wasn't really my decision, Ashley. Shepard made the call; I think you ought to be thanking him."

"No need for that," Shepard shrugged. "I was just doing my duty as a soldier. Anyone here would've made the same choice."

"And that's what separates you from the brass," Ashley added. "Unlike some of the brass, you're just doing what you need to do." With that, she sat down in the room again.

Now that Ashley was done, it was Shepard's turn to smile. As O'Connor sat down, he said, "O'Connor, I don't know if I've ever worked with anyone as crazy or downright foolhardy as you, but I can say I'm proud of you. You held off Saren and beat his ass like a snare drum in a concert."

"Just doing my duty, sir."

"I know, but that's what makes you a good soldier."

Just then, Liara spoke up. "Excuse me for interrupting, but I think I have an idea. I think the Beacon you found in Saren's base was similar to the one at Eden Prime. It may have filled in the missing pieces of the vision. I might be able to help you pull all of those pieces together."

"You want to join our minds again, don't you?" Shepard asked. When Liara nodded, he said, "OK. Go ahead."

Without further ado, Liara went to work. O'Connor merely looked away as she went to work helping Shepard make sense out of the jumbled mess of images that was the vision. After a few seconds, Liara staggered back and said, "Incredible… I… I never thought that the new images would be so… intense. I… I need a moment to collect myself."

"Did the vision make any sense to you?" Shepard asked.

Liara nodded. "It's a distress call, a message sent across the empire. A warning against the Reapers, but the warning came too late."

"What about the Conduit?"

"There were other images. Locations. Places I recognized from my research." Liara was thinking when her eyes dawned with realization. "Ilos! The Conduit is on Ilos!"

"I've never heard that name before," Garrus remarked. "Where is that?"

"I am not surprised. Ilos is in a region of space accessible only through the Mu Relay. But the Mu Relay was lost thousands of years ago. No one, except for the Rachni, knows where it is."

"We don't have to worry about that, though," Tali added. "Thanks to Benezia helping us, we know where the Mu Relay is."

"What gets me is that how you know the planet in question," O'Connor remarked. "How'd you recognize the place?"

"I recognized some of the landmarks from photos and vids I've seen during my research," Liara explained. "I know of Ilos. I just don't know where it is. Now that we have the coordinates for the Mu Relay, we can -" A moment later, she swayed, with Garrus, who was directly behind her, quickly standing up and catching her.

"You OK?" Shepard asked.

"I am sorry," Liara replied, holding her head with a hand. "The joining is… exhausting. I should go down to the medical bay and lie down for a bit."

"I don't feel tired at all," Shepard remarked. "Are you sure it was the joining?"

"Your role in our communion is passive," Liara explained. "I am the one who must submerge myself in your mind, drown myself in your thoughts. It is more difficult than it appears. The human subconscious instinctively resists the joining, Commander. A strong personality like yours makes it harder. I just need some time to recover."

"Get some rest," Shepard agreed. "The rest of you, aside from O'Connor, dismissed!" As the others left, he came over to O'Connor and asked, "You OK?"

"A stress crack in my right arm and a few bruised ribs and this gash, but I'm fine otherwise," O'Connor replied. "Why do you ask?"

"You went up against one of the most experienced combatants in the galaxy. I'm surprised you came out as well as you did. I thought you'd be missing a limb by now."

"Surprised him with some of my tactical choices, and then I got lucky. I did manage to nail a liver shot and it knocked the fight out of him. If I hadn't nailed that shot, he'd have kicked my ass fair and square. Sometimes, it all comes down to whoever is luckier."

"I guess. I'll let you get to Chakwas for treatment once the Council's done speaking with us… if they want to speak with us, that is."

Right on cue, Joker came in over the intercom. "Commander, there's a comm buoy nearby. I can link us in if you want to report back to the Council. You know, to warn them of Sovereign."

"Patch them in, Joker," Shepard ordered.

After a few seconds, the Councilors came in over the comm. "Commander," Tevos beamed. "I'm pleased to see that your mission on Virmire was a success.

"Saren is formidable enough without an army of Krogan serving under him," Sparatus added. He was about to continue when he saw O'Connor, and his slight limp. "Spirits, O'Connor," he whispered. "Shepard, what happened to him?"

"I can tell you that," O'Connor replied, a tired, but triumphant smile, on his face. "Saren cornered me near our method of blowing up his base. He and I had a bout of fisticuffs; he lost, and I won, though as you can see, I got quite the battering."

"You certainly look like it," Sparatus nodded. Already, Shepard could hear a certain level of respect in the Turian Councilor's voice.

Clearing his throat, he said, "I hate to interrupt, but we've got bigger problems. The Krogan would've served under Sovereign. A Reaper."

"Yes," Valern nodded. "We saw mention of this in your report. Sovereign; a sentient machine, a true artificial intelligence. This news is quite alarming… if it turns out to be accurate."

"What I noticed is that your report indicated it noticed O'Connor, and called him an anomaly," Sparatus added. "If it's because of his origins from another Universe, then it suggests a level of awareness that's alarming."

"Agreed," Shepard nodded. "As for you, Valern, Sovereign's a Reaper. Saren admitted it."

"He also said it straight to my face," O'Connor confirmed. "I've bargained and done deals long enough to know if someone's lying. He was telling the truth."

Valern, though, countered fast. "Saren is known to be deceptive when he needs to be, gentlemen. It is likely that he had agents on the Citadel that heard about your visions, and it is highly likely that he's using false intelligence to throw you off balance. Our own intelligence has not found any evidence corroborating this claim."

"Are you calling me an idiot?" O'Connor asked, causing the Councilors to frown. "How much more 'evidence' do you need? Sooner or later, you're going to have to take what Shepard and I are saying on faith!"

Tevos, acting fast, quickly held a calming hand up. "Try to see this from our perspective, gentlemen. Saren is a threat we recognize. However, as far as we know, the Reapers only exist in your visions. The decisions we make affect trillions of lives. We cannot act on the accusations of a single individual, even if that individual is a Spectre. Not without solid evidence, at least.

"We cannot take any official action here. That is why we created the Spectres. You have the authority to act as you see fit. If you truly believe that Sovereign is a threat, you must take whatever actions are necessary to stop it, and Saren. Good luck, Commander. From all of us." With that, the comm link cut.

"Damn bureaucratic fools!" O'Connor snarled. "They'd rather bury their heads in the sand and remain asleep than take action. It's time for them to wake up!"

"I agree," Shepard nodded, "but there's not much we can do about it." Looking around, he said, "Go ahead and head to the medical bay when you can. I don't want to risk your injuries getting worse."

"That much we can agree on. Also, did you notice the Turian Councilor. He seemed legitimately worried about me."

"Well, it was his species that you encountered first, and his species that found out the truth. It would make him look bad if you were killed. He also did express some interest in talking to you when you two first met."

"True. Either way, I'm heading to the medical bay for treatment. See you around, Shepard."

"You too, Marine."

That got O'Connor to cock an eyebrow. "It's been a long time someone called me by my former career, Shepard. Still, given all the shit we've been through together, I think you've earned the right to call me by that."

"And you've earned a promotion, and more than a few medals. See you 'round." Wtih that, both men went their separate ways.

. . .

It turned out, the medical treatment was a little more complex than Chakwas had originally anticipated. In addition to having to use brand new medical tools, the procedure needed longer than a few hours to complete. Overall, it was a good twelve hours before the procedure was completed, and O'Connor had slept through most of it.

When he woke up, he found Chakwas sitting in a nearby chair. "All done," she told him. "It went rather swimmingly, for an experimental procedure. There's usually more trouble involved with it."

"So, what was it?" O'Connor asked. "I fell asleep while you were working, though it was good sleep."

"It involves using a number of nanoparticles to attach synthetic calcium carbonate to the fractured areas," Chakwas explained. "I'm still processing the science behind it, but it allows any cracks and bruises on the bones to heal much faster than they usually would. I'd say you'll be ready for combat operations within another twelve hours."

"Damn, that's much faster than back in the day. You usually needed a few days to recover from that kind of injury."

"The wonders of modern medical science."

"Tell me about it."

"Well, I guess it's time for me to head our, or am I staying longer here."

"You're free to go. I'm all done."

"Alright, and Chakwas… thanks for the work you put in, keeping clumsy oafs like me going."

"It's no problem at all, O'Connor. Seeing you up and about, uninjured, is gratitude enough for me." With that, Chakwas went back to work, while O'Connor walked outside.

As soon as he did so, though, he heard a loud, metallic BANG. The sound was sudden enough that he jumped, something that, given the amount of fighting that he'd done, happened rarely. Turning around, he found Shepard kicking at the metal for his locker, a sour expression on his face. Uh, oh, he thought. Walking over, he asked, "I take it you had a meeting and it didn't go well."

"Those damn, fucking, bureaucrats!" Shepard roared, kicking the locker door so hard it unlocked and opened up. Angry, but tired, he slumped to the ground moments later, leaning against the dented metal.

"What happened?" O'Connor asked. For a few minutes, Shepard explained to him what had happened, from the Council's refusal to pursue Saren, to Udina locking down the Normandy and preventing it from leaving.

Shepard was surprised, though, when O'Connor's face flushed red, with the man closing his eyes, while his fists trembled and shook. Then, he walked over to one of the chairs in the room, picked it up and, with a violence that Shepard hadn't seen, smashed it three times against the table in the room. While the chair was still intact, it's legs had been bent out of place before he flung it to the ground.

"I knew it," he snarled moments later. "I fucking knew it! Always leave it to the motherfucking bureaucrats to screw up even the simplest fucking task!" Looking at Shepard, he said, "I cannot believe that they did this to you, Shepard! You, the Survivor of Akuze!" Slumping into another chair, he pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "I'm so sorry this happened to you, all because they'd rather ignore the truth than listen to reason and logic."

"It's not your fault, or the crew's fault," Shepard reassured him.

"It's not fucking right! After everything you've done for them, after everything you've accomplished! No one else could've asked for what you've done for them! The Council owes you everything, and this is the reward! Fucking assholes!"

"I don't care if they ground me, but if they refuse to go after Saren, if they don't stop him from finding the Conduit, then we're all dead!"

"Appealing to them won't work," O'Connor frowned. Standing up, he opened his locker and pulled out his weapons. "I guess we'll have to take back the ship by force!" He racked the bolt of his AK for emphasis. "What about you? You're just going to sit down and take it on the chin?"

"Hell no!" Shepard growled, getting up. "I'm not giving up. I don't care if I have to steal the Normandy, but I'm not going to let Saren get away, not now!"

"That's the Shepard I know," O'Connor beamed. "We won't let the Council stop us! If they get in the way, we'll mow them down."

"I'd rather not do that, but I get your point."

Just as Shepard said this, Joker came in over the intercom. "Sorry to interrupt, Commander, but we've got a message from Anderson."

"Are you spying on us, Joker?"

"No, just knew you were on the ship and I figured I'd pass the message along. He wants O'Connor to meet him down at Flux, that club down in the wards. He wants you on the ship."

"Sounds like our ticket out of here," O'Connor guessed.

"Tell the Captain we're on the way," Shepard replied. Looking at O'Connor, he said, "Thanks for that. Didn't know you were good at speeches."

"Don't push your luck. I'm quite terrible at them."

"Could've fooled me."

"Bah! Also, you should talk with Liara. I've heard you've got the hots for her."

"I'll admit it, I do. You heading to Flux first?"

"Sure. I've got nothing better to do anyways."

. . .

Finding the nightclub known as Flux wasn't that hard for O'Connor to do, as he'd been near the place more than enough times. Moving through the door and up the steps, he entered the club itself. The club was arranged as a two story affair, with the bar and dance floor on the lower floor, while a casino was on the upper floor. Every species in Council space was mingling, with lights flashing in other parts of the nightclub.

Just then, he spotted someone waving at him to come closer. Walking over, he spotted Anderson, who was sitting at the table, but there was someone else nearby as well. Shrugging, he came closer.

When he did, both his eyes went wide when he saw the other person sitting nearby. "S-Sparatus?!" he stammered out.

"Who else could it be?" Sparatus asked rhetorically. Instead of wearing his usual formal attire, he was wearing what O'Connor guessed was casual clothing for Turians. A kind of cap/soft helmet was on his head, and he was wearing a multi-piece outfit. "Sit down. We'll explain more."

Taking the cue, O'Connor sat down. "Is Shepard coming?"he asked.

"We just want to talk to you."

"I see. As for you, Sparatus… You've got some nerve coming here, likely to taunt my ass into submission."

"That's not why I came," Sparatus protested. "I came here because Anderson and I need your help."

"Oh, sure. Come along and frame me for a crime I didn't commit. That's how this is going to work, eh?"

"Sparatus is with me," Anderson replied, cutting off what O'Connor was about to say. "He came to me because he wanted to apologize for what happened, and to offer a solution." Turning to Sparatus, he said, "Go ahead, Councilor."

"Thank you, Anderson," Sparatus nodded. Looking at O'Connor, he said, "O'Connor, believe me when I say that I disagreed with the other Councilors. The problem, however, is that I'm in the minority. If the two agree on something and I disagree, they can override me. I think you and Shepard are right to continue to pursue Saren."

"You didn't sound like it, according to Shepard," O'Connor growled.

"Because I had no choice but to go along with it! Do you think I like agreeing with the others all the time! I might not appear to care, but I care for more than just my seat of power, O'Connor. I care for the trillions of people that are affected by the decisions that I and the other Councilors make! I hated what happened to you and Shepard as much as he does!"

Slumping over in his seat, he said, "Spirits forgive me for what happened. Even now, all I feel is guilt and shame for what happened to you two."

O'Connor stared at the Turian Council long and hard, searching for any kind of lie in the man's words, with the intensity of his stare startling the other two. To his surprise, he didn't find any kind of lie. Leaning back, he said, "You've got my attention for now. Don't piss me off."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Sparatus agreed. "I've seen your service record, O'Connor. You'd be able to kill me without a second thought if you needed to. I need you to use that kind of ruthlessness to help us out with something."

"Let me guess, a contract?"

"I can take it from here," Anderson nodded. "You need to help Shepard get to Ilos. You two are the only ones that can stop Saren. You, in particular, succeeded in a bout of fisticuffs with him, so I know you can beat him."

"Fat chance of that happening, what with the Normandy being locked down and all."

"That's right," Sparatus nodded. "Citadel Control locked down all the Normandy's systems as standard procedure in that case. That's why we've decided to hire you for a contract." Handing O'Connor a datapad, he said, "We want you to 'convince' Udina to release the lockdown on the Normandy."

That got his attention fast. "You want me to threaten him if he doesn't comply."

"Correct. If you convince him to release the lockdown, the Normandy can be in the Terminus Systems long before anyone knows they've left. As for you, you'll have to hide in the Citadel's underworld to avoid being captured by C-SEC."

"Have you considered infiltrating Citadel Control?"

"Yes, and it's took risky," Anderson nodded. "It's a heavily guarded area. If I'm caught, I'm as likely to be arrested as I am to be riddled full of bullets."

Looking at the datapad, O'Connor considered the choices. He didn't need long, as he sat up and said, "Alright, I'll take it, but one more question."

"Yes?"

"Why is Sparatus, of all people, providing the funding for this contract? I thought he didn't believe the Reapers existed. What changed his viewpoint?"

"You did," Sparatus replied. "When it was confirmed that you were from another Universe entirely, I was completely flabbergasted. You can't imagine the level of confusion and awe I felt when I heard that your story was true. Then comes Shepard telling us about the Reapers.

"When you asked me that question that day, I began doing something I never did before: I began to think. The more I did, the more it dawned on me that Shepard was right: that the Reapers did exist. In fact, since it was true that you were pulled in from another universe, then it was even more true that the Reapers existed, and were waiting to destroy us all when the time came for them to repeat their 'Cycle' of theirs.

"That's why I believe Shepard, O'Connor. Your question helped me see a pattern that I failed to see earlier. The evidence is clear, and I would be a fool to ignore it. Worse, it would be sheer stupidity and insanity to think otherwise."

Once he finished, O'Connor realized why Sparatus had been wanting to speak with him. I reawoke the solider inside of him, including the gut instinct that all soldiers have. I didn't even know I'd done that. "That explains quite a few things. Still, how will you avoid the backlash if I succeed? If I succeed in helping Shepard steal the Normandy, you two are the ones left holding the bag."

"I'm a Councilor, O'Connor. I have a lot of favors that I can call in for something like this. I called in a few so that I could get this to you. Besides, if Anderson is caught, I can bail him out. It shames me to say this, but bribery can go a long way."

"So, which will it be, O'Connor?" Anderson asked. "The Ambassador's office, or Citadel Control."

O'Connor looked at the approaches he could take. My heavy armor plating can help me get to Citadel Control, but Udina might be able to override that. I can go after Udina, and he's fairly unguarded. With Sparatus funding me clandestinely through a shell company, I can get the job done. Standing up, he said, "I'm going to kick that fatass politician's ass."

"I was hoping you'd say that," Anderson agreed. "He made this personal. You ready?"

"I'm a former Marine, Anderson. Marines are always ready."

"Good." As O'Connor left, he turned to Sparatus and said, "You'd better get ready for when we strike, Sparatus. I'm just surprised that you came to help us."

"O'Connor opened my eyes, Anderson," Sparatus replied. "I'm just ashamed that I didn't see this sooner. How could I have been so blind not to see the truth when it was… what was that human expression? 'Tooting the horn in front of me?'"

"Something like that. And don't blame yourself. We all make mistakes. We call it 'human nature.'"

"I see. Good luck, Anderson."

. . .

Sometime later, Udina was sitting in his office, quietly working at the computer he was using. Good thing I shut down that incessant arguing about the Reapers, he thought. It would've made me look bad for choosing Shepard. I should've chosen someone that was more obedient.

He was about to continue when the door opened. Instead of one of the clerks, Udina watched as a heavily armored man strode inside. "Who are you?" Udina asked. When the man didn't reply, he moved for the silent alarm. He never got to reach it.

Before he could reach the alarm, the armored man got between himself and the alarm, before lashing out with a right hook. The moment it impacted, Udina felt an explosion of pain in his jaw, and heard a loud CRACK! Moments later, blackness claimed him.

O'Connor watched as Udina fell unconscious, the ambassador slumping to the ground like a wet noodle. Pulling his silenced sidearm out, he fired at one of the cameras, blasting it apart in an instant. "About time I punched that arrogant ass in the face," he growled. "Now, to disable the lockdown. Good thing Tali taught me the tools and tricks of the trade." Leaning over, he began working before mumbling, "Open sesame."

At about this time, Anderson came in. Spotting the unconscious Udina, who was starting to bleed from his nose, he said, "Not bad. Wouldn't have injured him myself, but not bad."

"Thanks," O'Connor replied. "I was dying for a chance to kick his ass." A moment later, he said, "Got it. The lockdown's been released. What do you plan to do?"

"I'll take the fall for this," Anderson replied, taking the handgun from O'Connor's gloved hands. "That way, C-SEC doesn't pursue you initially. Just be in the underworld present here on the Citadel when they find out I was just an accomplice."

"You bet your ass I will," O'Connor nodded. Moving towards the door, he said, "Anderson, thanks for that. Once Sovereign and his Geth come along, that's when I'll come out of hiding and start heading to the Citadel Tower. That's where I'd go if I was Saren."

"I agree. Good luck, O'Connor. You're gonna need it."