MASS EFFECT: ENTANGLED

Chapter 1

"We're not the same
Streaking spectres
On the run
From a meaningless
Ending"- Comaduster (The Entangled)

2177: Akuze

"Drop point inbound five minutes," The announcement abruptly came over the transport's hold's comm. Lieutenant Alivia Lykaia took a slow inhale to prepare herself for their arrival and then slipped on her helmet. The other marines stopped their idle chatter as they did the same. Their team was dispatched to the colony among several others. After the blitz of 2176, the Alliance took every call to aid as another terroristic incursion. Despite the dire warnings from government officials to all colonial corporations, humans were still settling out in the vast edges of Terminus space and further away from Alliance protection. This created less security and an increase in response time. Protests were happening on Earth every day. Many wanted all colonial companies to be shut down while others blamed the Alliance for their "failures" to provide safety to all.

The marine to her left gave her a soft nudge to grab her attention. "Something has to be up. Why the hell would they send fifty marines out here?" Lieutenant Fernandez pointed out the logistics of the mission briefing that happened before their departure. Five transports were making a beeline to the offline colony.

"I don't know…. comms went dark without any warning. You think if it was an attack by raiders, we would have something…" Alivia bit her lip in her helm. A pit formed at the bottom of her stomach. The whole ordeal was very troubling.

Their commanding officer, Corporal Toombs, picked up on their private conversation. "Do the lieutenants of my squad have something that they would like to share with the rest of us?"

Alivia cringed. She hated to be called out like that. Fernandez spoke up first, "No, sir. Just ready to kick some more batarian ass."

When they reached planet side, the teams were divided to flank the colony and meet up at the center. The colony was still lit up like everything was normal. They arrived around nightfall. Toombs' team and another leading officer would take their two teams on the left flank. The corporal's unit comprised of himself, Lieutenant Lykaia, Lieutenant Fernandez, Chief Gunnery Choi, and Comm Officer Hudson. All, but Lykaia and Hudson were Earth-born. Lykaia was born on Mindoir in 2154. She moved to Earth shortly before enlisting in the Alliance in 2172. Hudson came from Fehl Prime. As their team neared the outskirt buildings, there was no sign of life anywhere. It was as if the entire colony just vanished. All the structures were intact without any battle damage. The standard MO for slavers/pirates was destruction in their wake with a fresh trail of bodies for those who dared to fight. "215 here," Their ear comms crackled to life. "Two rovers are missing with tracks leading off away from the colony."

"217 here. We are on the southern side. The terrain seems to be pushed upwards. Looks like a potential quake."

"A quake wouldn't make an entire colony just disappear," Toombs grumbled back.

"We need to follow the rovers. Let's set up camp and head out at dawn." The mission commander replied. With so many marines involved, Alivia really couldn't remember everyone's name and background.

The air became colder as night settled in. Each team was given an empty living pod and all bunkered on the floor trying to grab a few winks as comfortably as possible in their full tactical gear. The assumption by most was that the colony was hit by raiders and the threat was probably over with. Though, high command didn't want to let their guard down just yet. Alivia propped her head up against the wall with her knees to her chest as she looked across at the others trying to lie down for a few hours. The creepiness of the situation made it difficult for her to get any sleep. Hudson took to her left. The sandy-haired young marine let out a yawn. He was two years younger than she and fresh out of the academy. "Batarians?" He whispered over to her.

"I have no idea. That's all it is nowadays, right?"

"Could be the Collectors," Fernandez chided as he overheard their chatter and took to Alivia's right.

Hudson dismissed the possibility with a wave of his hand. "Pfft. That childish crap won't scare me. I know me and the LT here are colonists but I outgrew that story when I was six."

A chill moved down Alivia's spine as she heard the terminology. She was familiar with the story as well. Most adults within the colony when she grew up would tell the children about some mysterious race that preyed upon the wicked at night. They would warn the kids not to venture outside the colony's perimeter or the Collectors would take them away. No one she knew ever saw the feared alien race, but everyone claimed to have a tale or two about them. It was a bit frightening to hear their name come up during a time like she was presently in. Chief Gunnery Choi scooted over to where they were. She was around Alivia's age with short-cut charcoal black hair. She came from a mixed Asian family and was a no-nonsense type of person. She was their tech expert. "What are you guys whispering about?"

"Batarians or Collectors," Fernandez cracked a smile at her.

"How about getting some rest and finding out in the morning," Choi flatly suggested.

"I'm sticking next to Alivia," Hudson slyly smirked. "She's biotic."

"Doesn't mean I will save you," Alivia bantered back, ignoring the obvious flirt line to her. She had no interest in striking up a relationship just yet and Hudson did nothing for her.

"Ouch," Fernandez grinned over to him. "Guess you will need to stay with Choi. She may launch an incineration attack for you."

"You mean on him," Choi rolled her eyes as she moved away once more to get some shut-eye.

Alivia appreciated the stillness and felt her eyes becoming heavy. She closed her eyes and felt her body trying its best to get some sleep.

After what felt like five minutes, shouts of alarm and panic violently rocked Alivia from her slumber. "We are under fucking attack! Get your asses up!" Toombs' voice boomed over the cacophony. The discord was coming from a pod nearby. The terrain shook beneath their feet and marines were scrambling to grab their weapons.

Alivia took out her heavy pistol, Stinger X, and activated her implant to gather her dark energy. Terrifying hisses and monstrous squeals were heard out in the fray. Marines were rushing out and yelling at the mysterious foe while gunfire erupted. She dashed out to follow her team with Choi taking up the rear. As Alivia stepped out from the living pod, it was as if she was transported to a layer of hell. Two thresher maws were visible and attacking while two more were to the south on approach. The marines' hail of gunfire was providing little damage to the worm-like beasts' thick hides. Ten marines were hit by a spray of acid. They screamed in immense pain as their skin seem to melt off from the bone in a gruesome display. Alivia's eyes widened and her heart thumped heavily in her chest. She had on light Predator armor due to being an adept biotic so she knew her shields wouldn't stand a chance if the heavy armored marines would be killed on the spot. Her silver eyes desperately looked among the disarray to locate her CO. One of the maws hissed wildly before moving swiftly to the 215. It dove right at them and pierced two marines with its long protruding fangs. The soldiers' cries of anguish were snuffed out by the quick death and their lifeless bodies hung on the fangs like meat as the worm lifted its head back up.

A third maw moved towards her and Fernandez as he struck at the beast's midsection with a blaze of rounds. The worm reared its head back in annoyance to strike with an acid attack. Realizing the monster's intentions, Alivia used the harnessed dark energy to create a shield around Fernandez. "Move!" The marine dove to his right as the green killing substance shot out of the maw's mouth. Her biotic barrier kept the young soldier from being killed like the others.

"Fall back to the transports! Fall back!" The mission leader's voice cracked on the comm. Alivia desperately scanned for her team. Choi was missing and so was Hudson. They had moved to the epicenter to join up with the 215 and Toombs.

She and Fernandez locked eyes. "Where are the others?!"

The man pointed to where the severest fighting was taking place. The colony looked like a war zone as dead marines littered the streets; mostly in pieces. "I'll get them! Go to the transport!"

"I'm not leaving you!" Alivia called after him as she saw the LT skirt around a pod to move to the others.

Toombs came out of nowhere and shoved her toward the direction of the transport. "Get your ass to the transport, Lieutenant! On the double, soldier!" He pointed to the west. "Three more maws are coming! We are in a damn nest! I'll grab my squad!"

The lieutenant nodded her head sadly, accepting the order gravely before running towards where they parked the transport just outside the colony. The gunfire was endless and became further and further away, but the screams of death and torment never ceased. As she stumbled up the hill to where her transport was, she only then dared to look back at the hell below. Eight visible maws were all around the colony. One of them noticed her and dove into the ground to move in her direction! "No!" She cried in tears as she darted up the ramp and fumbled with the button to shut the door. She clambered into the metal walls as her body wanted to pass out. She reached the pilot's chair and activated the auto pre-flight take-off protocol. It would get her out of the atmosphere, then she would initiate the next flight path that was part of her training. It would be on autopilot back to Arcturus. The ship's perimeter alarms rang as the visual monitor showed that the maw reached where she was and glared ominously at her vessel. Tears flowed down Alivia's face as she gripped the pilot's chair armrests. "Go! Go!" The transport's engines came to life and it began its ascent. As it lifted, the creature roared and spat acid on the lower starboard part of the hull. More alarms rang as the damage alert notification sounded. Thankfully, the ship still was stable enough, and now it was higher than where the maw could further reach.

After the ship left the planet's atmosphere to head to Arcturus, Alivia activated the comms. There had to be more transports coming now! There had to be someone else! "This is Lieutenant Alivia Lykaia of 218. Inbound to Arcturus per protocol. Any other units out there?" The comm's silence made her chest tighten up more. "I repeat! This is Lieutenant Alivia Lykaia of the 218. Anyone read?" Static was the response. "Anyone?!" Her voice desperately cracked. "Unit 218! Corporal Toombs! Choi?! Fernandez? Hudson?!" She finally broke down as she struck the chair's arms hard with her fists. "I can't be the only one alive! I can't!"

An hour later, a chime came and alerted Alivia. There was a hail coming in. Once the transport reached a comm buoy, the system automatically alerted high command of the emergency protocol and the ship's destination. "Lieutenant Alivia Lykaia here."

"Lieutenant, we received the protocol activation alert. Status report," She didn't recognize the caller's voice, but she knew it was someone within the brass.

"The colony was built near a maw nest. We were hit by at least eight maws and I fear the colony's fate was the same. Did anyone else make it off?" She didn't care if she was breaking regs by asking a question, but she feared the absolute worse. Someone else had to make it. Not just her. Why her?

"Your ship has only responded. We can do more debriefing when you arrive."

"Search and Rescue inbound?"

"Too risky by what are you telling us. Colonial Affairs will be alerted to the situation."

"We can't leave them, sir!" Her voice rose to the male opposition.

"Calm down, marine," He remarked gruffly. "Once at Arcturus, you will adhere to a medical and psychiatric evaluation. We will expect your full report within three hours following and presented to the board. Admiral Connelly out."

Alivia stared at the console in disbelief. How could he be so callous? Her mind replayed his words in her head over and over. Psych exam? "I'm not crazy…"

2178: Torfan

"Marines at the ready!" Lieutenant Commander Krysta Shepard gave the order as their transport neared their predetermined drop point on the small moon. "Time for some payback." The six marines on her team cheered as they stood up while putting on their helmets. All checks were done pre-flight.

"For every life lost on Elysium, I will take down two batarians. Those four-eyed bastards don't deserve mercy," Lieutenant Jones spoke up from the team.

"Don't get cocky out there, soldier," Krysta coached him. "These bastards are dug in deep with their bunkers. They knew we were coming as soon as we left the relay."

"Cowards," Gunnery Lopzberg shook his head.

Minutes later, the transport landed and they darted off the ramp to join up with the others. Her team would go with Major Kyle's and hit head-on. "Alliance!" A batarian yelled to alert his comrades just as they stormed off and artillery started to ping off the transport's hull.

"Get away from the ships!" Shepard yelled to her team as she darted to the right to draw the opposing fire their way. The batarians had several gun turrets strategically placed along their path with several bunkers. "Watch your flanks and stay low!" She activated her implants and consumed her entire form with dark energy.

Several teams were skirting around the sides to try a pincher maneuver. Shepard had to be patient. Her squad of six stayed down and out of the side while the turrets were changing their trajectory to the other teams. Batarian soldiers raced toward their opposition and gunfire was exchanged. The Alliance was taking heavy casualties by the turrets. "Too many damn guns!" Major Kyle announced over the comm.

"Find me a window!" Shepard gritted her teeth as she switched to incendiary ammo. Darting out, she unleashed her biotics by lifting some of the batarians in the air with a singularity attack. They were quickly picked off by her team as their bodies hung helplessly. Jones took her right and fired his assault rifle at a batarian that turned to charge their way. The barrage of rounds broke the enemy's shields and his armor. His body twitched as Jones held his finger on the trigger relentlessly turning his body into a pulpy mass of tissue and blood.

Realizing that they were taking fierce opposition, the remaining batarian soldiers retreated into one of the bunkers ahead and directed their defense turrets towards Shepard's and Kyle's squads. "Take cover!" Kyle ordered as the marines hunkered down behind empty hovel structures. Once word got out that the Alliance was inbound, all the pirates and their families fled to the safety of the bunkers. Krysta gritted her teeth in her helm as she felt the concrete material break apart as the turrets fired upon them, shattering the structures' building materials. The pounding seemed like it went on forever till finally the turrets were repositioned to another squad. Shepard seized the moment and jumped out of cover with her pistol at the ready. "My team go, go, go!" Initiating a biotic barrier, she charged ahead and pumped her legs as fast as she could. They had to make it.

"Shepard!" Kyle called after her, but she ignored his cry of surprise. The longer they stood there, the longer the stalemate would be. She was tired of hiding. The batarians killed innocents through their raids or slave trade. She was exhausted of it. She had to send a message to them. A lone batarian soldier popped out of the bunker to fire, but she slammed his body into the wall with a hard biotic shove. He slumped down into an unconscious state. The ones manning the turrets caught on to her attack and the turrets were turning slowly toward their direction! She had to make it! She could hear Jones near her as he breathed heavily behind his helmet. Busting into the bunker, she fired at the two at the door, hitting both in the heads, killing them instantly while she shoved another with a biotic display. Behind her, she could the turrets ripping through her trailing squad. Their screams of anguish filled the air. Closing her eyes, she shut them out and pressed on.

Reaching the control room, Krysta lifted one with singularity as Jones killed him and she shot the other. "Jones, the turrets!"

"On it!" He rushed over to knock them offline.

Shepard moved down the hall to flush out any others. Only a fool would think their opposition was done. To her, the batarians would love to shoot her in the back. She forwarded Jones to another room to her right down the hall as she took the left. As she turned the bend, she lost sight of him. Slowing her steps, she listened carefully and heard murmurs coming down at the far room. Overriding the door lock, she carefully staggered her way in and scanned the darkened room with the scope of her weapon. The lights flickered on and in the corner were two female batarians sobbing uncontrollably in udder fear as they sheltered their petrified younglings behind them. Krysta clenched her teeth as she held her pistol at them. These were unarmed women and children, but all she could see were the dead souls on Elysium. The terrorists that struck that day did not hesitate to pull the trigger. Her breathing became heavier as her finger shook on the trigger. "I should fucking kill all of you…" She seethed. The trembling group held each other tightly and cried as they feared their end. "Anyone else with you here?!" One of the females shook her head feverishly. "I don't believe you," Krysta hissed through grated teeth. Glancing around with her almond eyes, she was satisfied that the female was telling her the truth. She noticed that Jones did not check-in. "Stay here and do not come out of here or you will be shot. Is that understood?" The prisoners nodded their heads.

Sprinting down the hall, Shepard moved rapidly to where Jones went. As she got closer, she overheard a conversation he was having with a batarian. "Please! I surrender!" Their foe pleaded.

"Fuck off," Jones coldly responded and then Shepard's heart lurched as she heard gunfire. This enhanced her steps and she saw Jones standing over the obvious dead batarian's form. The soldier's arms were tense at his sides and his empty fist was bawled. He retrieved his military-issued grade serrated blade and crouched down to hover over the corpse. Yelling out, Jones began to stab the body over and over with the blade: First, in the face, the blade hitting each eye, before moving onto his chest cavity.

For a few seconds, Krysta stood in silence as she watched him maim the body. Till finally, she called out to him, "Enough!"

Though, he wouldn't listen. The entire face of his helm and the front of his body were soaked with the other's blood as he kept stabbing over and over. Witnessing the sickening sight, Shepard angrily grabbed his arm and jerked him away. "I said enough, soldier!"

Jones didn't fight back and spat at the body. "None of them deserve to live."

"My God…what have you done?!" Major Kyle's voice cracked behind them. Shepard wasn't too sure how long he was standing there.

"Just a fucking batarian," Jones shrugged indifferently as he pocketed his blade. "They are all now dead."

"Not all," Shepard admitted as she met his gaze and then looked at the other leading officer. "I found civilians in a room down at the end. Two females and several children. Unharmed."

Jones' mouth gaped at the information and he stared at her incredulously. "Wha…. wh-why?!" He seethed.

Krysta glared at him. "I said they were civilians."

"So were the ones on Elysium! Do you think they cared?! Should I show you their bodies again?!"

"Stand down! You are talking to a superior officer," Shepard clenched her jaw. How far would Jones go?

"Lieutenant Jones, you are to report to the brig. I am writing you up for court martial. What you have done is inhumane," The major was appalled by the behavior as he still stood there dumbfounded. He shook his head again and glanced over at Krysta. "Your entire team is dead, Lieutenant Commander. Are you aware of this? They are dead due to your reckless stunt."

"With all due respect, sir, I am in charge of my team and I saw the opportunity to seize it. If we waited out any longer, more soldiers would have died. These fine men and women gave the ultimate sacrifice. I am proud to lead them."

"Led them to their deaths! You are truly the butcher of Torfan…I know the brass won't like this."

"I will give them my full report. I have nothing to hide."

Kyle looked upon Jones and Shepard in sheer disgust. He motioned two of his men over to where Jones was. "Escort him back to the ship and watch over him."

The man angrily stopped near Shepard and glared at her through his helm. "You and I are the same, Shepard. I shouldn't take the fall for this."

"No, Jones," Krysta remained calm at his statement. "You are wrong. You and I are not the same. Those batarians in here surrendered to you. I know it and you know the procedure when the enemy surrenders. We are supposed to take them into custody at that point, unharmed. We do not kill them on the spot."

After the hostile man left, Major Kyle turned back to Krysta one final time. "I hope you and I never talk again, Lieutenant Commander. I have nothing to say..."