A/N: Okay, so I guess another explanation is in order. I genuinely wanted to try and get a chapter out a week after my last update, but studying for finals had to take priority. Even though I did have time to work on this story during the last month and a half, I found that once I had spent hours every day reading and going through notes I was so frazzled I just couldn't bring myself to continue. Like I've said before, I'm still very enthusiastic about this story, so assuming anyone is still following it, it will be finished. Furthermore, the update schedule should be much better now. I know I said that last time, but I don't have anything on at the moment (university is done) and so faster updates will be the case unless I have a very good reason. I'm aiming for a chapter a week, so we'll see if I can stick to that this time.

As an aside, I have a couple of Mass Effect one-shots planned. This story takes first priority, so they will not interfere with the update schedule for Spectre. I'm not sure when I'll do those, but I suspect they'll be written at some point in the next couple of months.

As always, please feel free to let me know how this chapter turned out. I feel really out of practise, so I would appreciate it even more than normal (though feedback is always great) if anyone would like to let me know how this upload is.

Responses to reviews are as follows:

AnarionRising27: It's great to be back. As I said, circumstances were difficult for a while, and by the time I was able to start this chapter, it proved harder than expected to get back into writing. On the bright side, I did often think about this story during that time, so I know where it's heading next. As for where that will be... we'll have to wait and see. Thank you for letting me know I still seem to be doing as well (or poorly, if you prefer) as usual.

Guest: We'll see, there's only one way to find out. I have to admit that, as someone who has read plenty of stories on this site, it does give me some (evil) feeling of power knowing that only I know for sure what will happen in the future.

Chapter 14: Realisation

As the door in front of her opened, an unpleasant squealing noise that caused her to worry someone might hear her accompanying it, Kasumi darted into the armoury. She moved faster than she normally would have, Shaela's warning that they had little time still ringing in her ears. Glancing behind her to make sure no one had seen her enter, the thief pressed her hand against the softly glowing haptic interface next to the door, wincing as it closed with as much noise as it had opened. Feeling slightly reassured at the knowledge she should at the very least hear it if someone else entered, she turned around.

The room before her, much like the rest of the facility she had seen so far, seemed almost dilapidated, with several of the light fixtures not working and those that were providing barely more than the minimum amount of illumination needed to see somewhat accurately. Even though the armoury could not have been much bigger than the Normandy's medical bay, she could only just make out that the far wall was a different colour to the one she now had her back to, the former being a lighter shade of grey. Racks of weapons protruded from the walls on either side of her, leading from the doorway to the far wall, though they did not extend into the centre of the room, which allowed her to see from one side to the other despite the poor lighting.

Each of the racks was taller than she was—probably taller than Rassen, for that matter—and they held seemingly every kind of firearm imaginable, regardless of condition. The variety was staggering; batarian guns of course dominated, with there being plenty of Terminator assault rifles and the like, but there were also many human and turian weapons. As she made her way to where Shaela had said the terminal would be, Kasumi even saw a few asari and salarian firearms, and, she could have sworn, a familiar behemoth of a weapon which seemed even bigger than she remembered.

Reaching the terminal, which she saw had been welded to a section of wall, the thief was genuinely surprised it was still functional, given that its frame was pitted with cracks and scars all over. As soon as she attempted to access it, the screen—coloured a light orange like the haptic keyboard below it—flared red, a dialog box opening, the word "password" appearing in capital letters, along with a space underneath it where anything she typed would appear.

Kasumi smirked as she raised her forearm, omni-tool coming to life with a flash of orange, and began to sift through the different software packages she had built up painstakingly over years of various not strictly legal activities. Locating one of her favourite programs in less than five seconds, she established a link with the terminal and began to upload the file. In even less time than it had taken her to find it, the program had done its work, the dialog box turning a bright green before vanishing, the rest of the screen changing back from red to its original shade of orange.

Her fingers began dancing over her omni-tool, in moments establishing another kind of link between the device and the terminal. A horizontal bar, coloured a darker orange than the terminal screen itself, flashed to life, slowly beginning to fill with a lighter shade of the same colour. In moments the thief would have a copy of all of the files within the network utilised by the Mandalorians and batarians.

Glancing over her shoulder quickly to make sure no one was approaching, though she doubted anyone could have got in without the door behind her making the same noise as before, she then looked back at the screen. The names of various files, ranging from maintenance reports, to schematics of the facility, to things she had never heard of, began to fill it as the download continued. Checking again that no one had any chance to get the drop on her out of habit, the thief opened one of the unknown files at random, the text within it translating before she could blink thanks to her omni-tool.

What the hell?

Kasumi opened a second file, only to feel her unease grow as its implications were even worse than the first's. Checking over her shoulder for a third time, she turned back to the monitor and selected another file, the rest of her body freezing in shock as her eyes roved from left to right, having finally found what she had been looking for. Swallowing almost imperceptibly as the download completed, the thief accessed what was by now a familiar frequency.

"Shaela? It's Kasumi. We can't leave yet." As the woman at the other end began to demand an explanation, she started to erase any sign she had ever accessed the terminal, deleting all records of the various commands she had implemented with barely any conscious thought. She then turned to the rows of firearms around her and began to hurriedly scan them for anything they could use. Grabbing an assault rifle and the huge gun that had stood out from before, she attached them to her bodysuit. The first she fitted to her hip opposite the Locust that rested on its twin and the second she attached to her back, the latter causing her to wince at its weight.

Realising Shaela was still trying to find out what had happened, she cut off the quarian with three words that explained everything.

"Shepard is here."

As he continued to follow the Mandalorian deeper into the base, the lighting grew increasingly worse.

Rassen glanced upwards, only able to see the ceiling of the corridor he was being led down at infrequent intervals, owing to the lack of illumination. Looking back the way they had come as subtly as he could, the Jedi acknowledged that, at the very least, he would be able to find his way back relatively easily. All he had to do was head in the direction which was better lit.

He turned his gaze back in front as a group of batarians emerged from a door to his left, the three of them shooting glares at both him and the Mandalorian, who paid them no mind. Rassen likewise kept looking straight on as they hissed nearly inaudible insults and threats as they began pushing past.

All he had to do was play along until an opportunity would allow him to separate himself from his guide. If that meant walking and not saying anything, he suspected he could do that successfully. His mind turned to Kasumi. While he had no doubt as to her abilities, she had been much more badly wounded than he had on Watchman. Hopefully she had not encountered too many difficulties so far.

"Sir, what is it?"

Realising he allowed himself to get so lost in thought he had stopped walking, the Mandalorian having followed suit, Rassen silently berated himself for losing focus. "It's just been a while since I've been able to properly rest," he lied. Thinking for a moment as he saw a way to delay their arrival slightly, he continued the conversation before his companion could resume walking. "I found myself unable to sleep properly during the mission knowing our associates were also on board the ship."

The Mandalorian suddenly looked bashful, if it were possible considering the amount of armour she wore. "Can I speak freely, sir?" she asked, after a moment of thought.

"Granted."

"I… I understand why we're working together, but still… something about them rubs me the wrong way." She glanced up and down as though she were afraid more batarians would suddenly materialise out of thin air. "I get the feeling they'd betray us in a moment if they thought they could get away with it."

"I agree," Rassen nodded, considering his next words carefully. The tension between the two groups had been obvious as soon as he, Shaela, and Kasumi had arrived. Probing for more information would be difficult, however. Appearing too interested might make his guide suspicious, and continuing the conversation for too long might reveal gaps in his knowledge that would result in the same outcome. Even so, the three of them needed to know as much about their opponents as possible.

"Have they given you any trouble personally?" he asked, keeping his voice authoritative but injecting a small amount of sympathy.

"Yes, sir," she murmured, causing him to lean forward slightly so he could hear her better. "A couple of them have… have said Mandalore hasn't kept her word. That some of us… me, I mean, aren't as good as they expected."

Rassen nodded again. That explained what the batarians were getting out of the arrangement. Clearly the Mandalorians were to provide muscle, and the batarians, like he himself, had been surprised by the age and inexperience of the woman in front of him. He was about to ask what exactly she had meant by there being others like her, only for the young woman to jump slightly as she remembered where they had been headed.

"We should keep going, sir. Mandalore has been under a lot of stress lately. We shouldn't keep her waiting." As she set off again and he began to follow her, a new voice suddenly spoke.

"Rassen?"

Shaela's interruption was so unexpected that he froze with one foot slightly off the ground mid-way through taking a step. Momentarily off-balance as a result, he staggered awkwardly against nearest wall of the corridor. Glancing up, he noticed with relief that the Mandalorian was unaware of his having stumbled. Cautiously, he flicked off the vocabulator in his helmet and enabled the communicator function Kasumi had installed.

"Yes, Shaela?" he asked softly as he resumed walking, unwilling to take the risk of being overheard by the woman in front of him, even though he knew he was inaudible to her.

"I…" he winced as her voice trailed off before she managed to push through the tension between them. "What happened?" the quarian finally asked. "You're not in position, is everything okay?"

"Sort of." Rassen continued to observe his surroundings as he resumed walking, constantly checking that he could indeed make it back to the hanger as easily as he had at first assumed. "As you probably saw, I am currently with one of the Mandalorians. Apparently their leader wants to be informed in person as to what occurred on Watchman. I could not refuse to accompany her without arousing suspicion."

"What? Rassen, they'll realise you aren't a Mandalorian if they start asking you questions you don't know the answers to."

"I know," he replied. "Hopefully Kasumi will have found what she needs before we get that far. Once she has, I will try to get away as quietly as possible." He felt his voice turn grimmer. "We may have to fight our way out, though I would rather we not."

"Me neither." A determined note entered the quarian's voice now. "But we'll do that if we have to. I'll tell Kasumi to let us know as soon as she has what she needs." There was a moment of silence before she continued. "How are you going to get away, though?"

Rassen didn't say anything for a moment as he mulled over the question. Just how would he separate himself from the woman in front of him? She might have been helping the same people that had destroyed an entire colony, but she herself, as far as he was aware, had not taken part in the slaughter. Despite his desperation the first time they had met, he had refused to kill her, and the idea of doing so now filled him with the same disgust he had felt then.

As she turned left into another corridor and he followed, a small smile appeared on his lips when he saw it was empty and lined with doors on each side. His omni-tool translated the words that labelled each almost instantly. He glanced at the closest one, which stood only a few feet away to his right and apparently contained scrap armour plating from some kind ship he had never heard of. The next door along contained a similar sort of thing, as did the ones beyond that.

Turning to glance at the other side of the corridor, the Jedi saw that the doors on that side also led to rooms full of old materials and equipment the Mandalorians and batarians were hording. Given the condition of the facility and the lack of funding it implied, it only made sense that whatever could be salvaged was being held onto until a purpose could be found for it.

The Force seems to be in a good mood.

"Rassen?"

Shaking himself out of his musing for a moment, he replied. "Tell Kasumi she needs to work faster. I can begin making my way back now, but that means whoever is claiming to be Mandalore will know something is wrong when neither I or—" The sound of the connection cutting out interrupted his explanation. There was a moment of horrible silence before it returned. He opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, only to slowly close it as the quarian spoke nervously.

"Rassen, Kasumi just contacted me. Commander Shepard is here. She's already heading to his location."

Thinking furiously, Rassen considered the implications. He sighed, resigning himself to the fact the chances of them having to fight had just risen exponentially. The thief only had the ability to turn herself invisible as far as he was aware, meaning it would only be a matter of time before someone noticed their prisoner was attempting to break free.

"Can you monitor the cameras between both of us and where they are holding him?" he asked. "I doubt she will be able to get him out alone, especially if he is wounded in any way."

"I-I think so." The quarian's hesitation made it clear she did not like what he was suggesting, even though they had discussed it earlier. "You… be careful, Rassen."

"I will," he replied gently, "and Shaela?"

"Yes?"

He wasn't exactly sure what to say in that moment. That he was likely to blow his cover helping Kasumi and could get himself hurt or worse? That only a short while ago he had walked out on her when she had been trying to help him? That he somehow had the voice of the Sith Lord she had killed in his head, even if it had been silent for a while?

"I…" Inwardly, he cursed. Their lives were in danger, and he was worrying about what to say to her of all people. In truth, though, only one thing felt right.

"I love you."

The smile he could hear in her voice as she replied seemed to wash his concerns away like they had never existed.

"I love you too."

His own smile faded as he turned his attention back to the escort he was still following. It would not be much, but taking her out of the equation would hopefully ensure her superior would assume she had hit an unforeseen delay. Those extra few minutes could be vital.

"See if you can convince Kasumi to wait for me before breaking the commander out," he said. "I need to end the connection for a moment."

He was so focused on his task he didn't notice Shaela had begun to ask something before he had disconnected the link between them. Noting with relief that the corridor was still empty aside from himself and the Mandalorian, and that she was just making her way past one of the storage rooms, he began to shorten the distance between them, already reaching out to the Force.

As she continued to observe the camera feeds displayed by her omni-tool, Shaela tried to relax. While they hadn't known for sure that Shepard would be somewhere within the facility, they had known there was a possibility. With Kasumi having decided to go after the hero of the Reaper War, the chances of something going seriously wrong had just risen significantly. Even so, nothing had happened yet, and both the thief and Rassen had avoided discovery so far.

So why do I have a terrible feeling about all of this?

The moment after she and Rassen had reminded one another how they felt, her happiness had suddenly been replaced by worry. It was stupid to imagine something terrible was destined to happen in the next few moments, she tried to reassure herself. Assuming the worst and preparing for it was one thing, that was simply an intelligent course to take. Yet something felt off. No, felt was the wrong word. She could sense something was going to happen. Just like she had sensed Rassen was in distress back on Rannoch.

It might have been years since she had been taught what little she knew about the Force, but Shaela still knew it was trying to tell her something.

One of her feet began tapping against the floor of its own accord as she tried to work out what it could be. No one had approached the ship since the Mandalorian who had led Rassen away, the Jedi still had not been found out, and Kasumi likewise had avoided detection. Her frustration grew as her mind began to wander in circles, the tapping of her foot growing to the point that she huffed in irritation and went to cross her legs.

She let out a gasp as the motion caught the bag next to her, upending it and sending its contents spilling across the floor of the cockpit. Dropping down to her hands and knees, the quarian righted the bag and quickly began replacing each item, feeling her stomach flip as she examined the antibiotics Wessa had supplied in particular. Many of them were contained within delicate syringes with the name of the substance on the side, and while medi-gel could work wonders, a suit breach would require more specialised supplies in order to deal with effectively.

She sighed in relief as she found nothing had been damaged, ensuring the thermal clips and other more durable items were now at the bottom of the bag, providing a layer of protection for the weaker ones. The medi-gel went next, followed by the antibiotics. Shaela breathed out slowly as she checked the latter for a second time just to be safe, heartrate slowing as she confirmed they were indeed undamaged.

A tinkling noise behind her caused the quarian to turn, silver eyes wide behind her mask as she saw her foot had just caught a syringe she had missed, which began to roll slowly towards one of the walls of the small room. Shaela lunged towards it, manging to catch the cylindrical object before it could strike the hard metal, the material of the gloves that covered her hands allowing her to get an excellent though gentle grip on the object.

That was too close.

Looking around to make sure she had missed nothing else, she moved back to the bag, gently placing the runaway syringe back with its fellows. As she withdrew her hand, she noticed what the text on the side said, causing her to gasp in surprise.

"Keelah!"

Grunting slightly in exertion, Rassen hefted the unconscious Mandalorian over one shoulder, wincing at her weight. While she was much shorter than him and as a result much lighter, the heavy armour they both wore made the task harder than he had expected. Ensuring there was no chance of him losing his grip, the Jedi carried her as silently as he could to the nearest storage room, which apparently contained broken parts from some kind of engine, opening the door with a wave of his omni-tool.

Rassen silently thanked the Force as it slid open with barely a sound. The room was tiny, only measuring a couple of metres from wall to wall, though it was certainly large enough for his purposes, given it was empty aside from a few rectangular metal containers that stood as high as his knee. Grunting quietly, he entered the small space, the door closing of its own accord behind him, and lowered the woman to the ground.

The black visor that he knew matched his own stared up at him as he rose to his feet, seemingly gazing into his soul, though he knew it was simply just the part of the protective headgear that allowed its owner to see. Even so, he stared back at it, wondering if he and the same Mandalorian would cross paths again.

It would make much more sense to kill her.

The sound of Zaressh's voice caught him completely off-guard, causing Rassen to stumble much as he had only a few moments previously, eyes wide. The moment of shock was not lost on the voice, which laughed mockingly, louder in volume than it had ever been before.

You spared her once, and now she is here, helping the same people who wiped out that worthless colony. The same people that threatened your little alien lover. Tell me, Rassen, why spare her for a second time? She knows your face, but none of the other Mandalorians do. While she lives, you are in danger and Shaela is in danger. If you love her, why put her at risk?

Rassen grunted as a ringing filled his ears, a spike of pain suddenly erupting in the centre of his forehead. "I will not kill her," he managed to force out, gasping as the pain suddenly became worse. "She did not harm anyone on Horizon."

And how do you know that? Wishful thinking, nothing more. For all you know, her inexperience is an act. Combined with her youth, many would naturally underestimate her. The whole of Mandalorian society revolves around competition, is it so far-fetched that some would present themselves as being weak to trick others? The voice paused as though taking a breath before continuing. So we return to my previous point, is she worth putting the quarian at risk?

A familiar clicking noise filled the small room. Rassen looked down in horror as his hand trained the blaster pistol that had previously been attached to his hip on the unconscious woman in front of him. He hadn't even noticed he had removed the weapon from his side.

Kill her. It is the safe thing to do.

The spike of pain in his head grew to the point his eyes began to water. His finger started tightening on the trigger. Any moment the pressure he was exerting on the small piece of metal would become too much to bear and the mechanism within the weapon would respond, sending a bolt of scarlet energy down into the prone figure at his feet. At this range her armour would provide no protection. Death would be instantaneous, but also virtually painless. The room would be bathed in the same colour as the shot for the briefest of moments and then it would be over. It would be justice for all of the innocent people who had died on Horizon, wouldn't it? For the turian and two children he had been unable to save. Wherever they were, they could rest more easily if he ended the life of one of those who had been responsible.

Swallowing heavily, he dropped the blaster.

Kill her!

"No," Rassen muttered. "I will never end another's life if there is a better way." He knelt down and retrieved the weapon, making sure it was tightly secured at his hip and his hand was away from it before continuing. "I may not know what you are, whether you are a part of him or some part of me using his voice. I may have made mistakes getting back here, but I know who I am."

The pain in the centre of his forehead increased again, now so great that Rassen collapsed to his hands and knees, only able to avoiding screaming by gritting his teeth together with so much force he thought they might shatter. Zaressh's voice was no louder than before, though its intensity was somehow greater, the venom within it all he could hear as the room began spinning around him.

Then why have you not told the quarian what happened? How you failed that family? How you held that child as he—

"Shut up."

You saw the look in his eyes when you first met? That was hero worship if ever I—

A screeching noise caused Rassen to look up to see one of the containers near him slowly rending apart, the metal no match for the immense pressure being brought to bear upon it. Gasping, he tried to calm himself down, to cease crushing the object.

He blinked and suddenly felt his mind being pulled along, whatever it was in his head taking advantage of the distraction. He was now back on Horizon, Zaressh stumbling away from his kick, choking noises leaving the Sith's mask as he struggled to breath. The black-clad figure fell to the floor as he grew weaker and weaker, his movement eventually ceasing before he morphed into a Mandalorian wearing blue and white armour.

The memory ended as quickly as it had begun. The metal container had been utterly torn apart, shards of it littering the room. Through it all the Mandalorian had remained unconscious, totally unaware of what had just transpired.

Rassen's eyelids felt heavy. Even though he had rested before they set off, he felt his head slowly lowering to the floor almost of its own accord. "I am not like you," he muttered weakly.

A voice that could not have been more different to the Sith's responded, but it caused his heart to stop nonetheless.

"Rassen?" Shaela asked worriedly. "Who are you talking to?"