A/N: I said I would be quicker, didn't I? Sorry this took longer than a week, I find I keep having to go back to make sure I'm keeping various details from chapters I wrote months ago consistent. I nearly ended up saying Rassen had his lightsaber on his person at one point last chapter, when of course he didn't. :)

Responses to reviews are as follows:

AnarionRising27: As always, thank you for your support. So many mysteries, so little time. I'm glad the last chapter wasn't too disappointing after such a long wait and, like I said last time, it's great to be back!

Harlequin-TheDerangedVigilante: You have that too? Join the club!

Chapter 15: Convergence

He stayed on all fours unmoving, the question running through his mind over and over again like an echo. The armour he wore felt even heavier than before, seeming to hold him in place as he thought about what to say. There was total silence save for the crackling of static that indicated the line between himself and Shaela was still open. He hadn't noticed its reappearance during the confrontation with the voice inside his head, hadn't realised Shaela had contacted him while he had been distracted.

Rassen didn't know how long he remained in that position. It could have been only a few moments. It could have been hours. All he knew was that as he slowly began to struggle to his feet he still had a job to do. He hadn't known Kasumi for long, but he trusted her. She would need his help to extract Commander Shepard, which meant he would provide it.

"Shaela," he eventually managed, "how do I get to where Kasumi is headed?"

"Who were you talking to?" she repeated, voice filled with concern. "Rassen, some of the things you said…"

"I know." He finally succeeded in rising fully, though the task seemed to sap most of the little strength he had. "I… We can talk about it later."

"Rassen—"

"Shaela, please." He staggered over to the door, though not before ensuring the Mandalorian was still unconscious. "How do I get to Shepard?"

"Rassen, what happened while we were separated?"

His hand froze a few inches from the haptic interface that controlled the door. "A lot." He swallowed slightly before opening it, the process as quiet as it had been earlier. "Now, which way do I go?"

There was a moment of silence, and he could sense the quarian's worry and frustration as she debated whether to tell him or keep pressing. Eventually, though, she replied, the sorrow in her voice cutting deeply.

"Go the way you were heading before. It's clear as far as I can see for the moment."

He stepped out of the room before closing the door behind him, looking both ways down the corridor just to be safe. Checking the blaster pistol was still secured to his hip, he started down the way that had been indicated. Shaela deserved the truth, he knew that. Right now was not the time, though. Once they were away from this place, then he could explain to her what had happened to him.

Or you could just avoid doing that like you did earlier. I imagine she was crying behind that mask when you walked off.

Trying to ignore Zaressh as best he could, Rassen kept walking.

Kasumi winced as the bulky weapon on her back shifted slightly, part of it digging into her spine despite its folded and therefore supposedly more manageable state. Reaching around to adjust its position, she continued on her way, other arm ready to activate her tactical cloak at a moment's notice. She hadn't needed to use it yet, but there was no chance she would let her guard down. Carelessness was one of the worst attributes to have in her profession.

She had told Shaela about part of what she had found only a few minutes ago, but she had left the armoury far behind in that time, the knowledge that Shepard was close driving her on. After all, after what he had done to the Bahak system, who knew what the batarians had in mind for him? She had to get him out as quickly as possible.

She suddenly came to a halt midway down a long corridor as poorly lit as seemingly everywhere else in the base. Just why was she so determined to save him? He had helped her with retrieving Keiji's graybox, obviously, and had often checked up on her during the mission against the Collectors. The latter had hardly been unique to her, though, since it had become a bit of a running joke among everyone on board that Shepard seemed to spend as much time talking to them as he did attending to all of his other duties combined. In truth, they had been a pretty tightly-knit group by the end of it all, and the thief could honestly say she considered all of the crew friends to some extent, though she had been closer to some than others.

There was little doubt in her mind that had anyone else been captured she still would have tried to help, would still have been willing to put herself at risk for them. Yet it wasn't in her nature to throw caution to the wind quite as much as she had. She had insisted as soon as Rassen had told her Shepard was being held that they go immediately, with very little time spent making plans or preparing. There was only one other time she could remember showing impulsiveness like that…

She kept a polite smile plastered to her face, even though every nerve in her body, every instinct screamed at her to lunge forwards, to tackle the well-dressed man in front of her to the ground. To hurt him as he stared up at her in fear, to make him pay for what he had done. Nothing she could do to him would be enough, she knew that. Still, as she stood next to the equally as well-dressed Commander Shepard, with a statue of one of his greatest enemies nearby, a thousand different ways to make the dark-haired man in the white suit beg for mercy ran through her mind.

She barely heard the exchange of words between the two men she was so focused on maintaining her façade, until, of course, the conversation moved to her.

"But I will ask your companion to remain outside," Hock stated firmly. "You understand, I hope."

This wasn't good. As much as she would be able to stick with Shepard via her tactical cloak, Kasumi felt uneasy. In her experience, when the smallest detail of a plan fell apart, the rest of it normally followed soon after.

"Care to explain why my friend has to stand outside?" Shepard's tone was polite, but it carried a small amount of steel. In spite of the situation, she was impressed. He was playing the part of a professional gangster perfectly; business-like and authoritative without doing anything to offend their host.

"I don't like the look of your 'friend,' so she stays outside. Simple as that." As Hock's eyes roved over her, Kasumi kept her smile in place, even as her heart dropped into her stomach. She could have sworn she had seen a spark of recognition there for just a moment, that Hock had placed her. Had he really, though, or had it been her imagination, a trick of the light perhaps? Her internal debate was cut short as Shepard replied.

"No problem," he said smoothly, defusing the situation with seemingly no effort. "You're the host."

"Enjoy the party." Hock was already turning away, his business with them for the moment concluded, or so he thought. Internally, Kasumi grinned. Their business was far from over, he would find that out soon enough. Her mirth died down as she remembered the look in his eyes. She walked a few steps away from where she had been standing as she analysed the situation from every perspective she could, sensing it when Shepard followed her.

"Well," she admitted as she turned to face him, "that didn't go as I expected."

"Any idea why he'd send you away?"

"No," she replied, shifting her weight from one foot to another as she spoke. "We've never seen each other in person. And no one knows what I look like." She shrugged, feeling a little more confident now she had voiced a few of the facts. "Just watching his ass, I'm sure. I can't blame him."

"Don't worry about it. I can handle it from here," Shepard smirked. The same damn smirk he had given her when they had first met, every detail identical down to the look in his eyes that promised despite his military mind-set, he still knew how to have fun. The same confused bundle of feelings it had caused the first time reappeared, but she couldn't worry about that now. They had more important things to contend with.

"That's good. Because you'll have to do all the talking." She shifted her weight again. "I'll stay out of sight and stick with you the best I can."

A couple of guards began moving the statue of Saren they had brought, causing her companion to glance over his shoulder at the sound as she began walking towards Hock's mansion. He joined her a moment later, the two of them ascending the steps before the door together. "We'll keep radio contact in case something goes wrong," she said, activating her tactical cloak before she had even finished talking and vanishing from view.

Shepard didn't reply. She could see from the look on his face that he was focusing himself entirely on the mission, his years of training and battlefield experience taking over. Even so, she knew he had heard her. As the doors of the mansion loomed larger and larger, despite how she felt herself sliding into her own business mind-set, her eyes moved almost entirely unbidden to a point just below the small of his back.

Huh. I wasn't wrong on the way over. He really should wear a suit more.

She shook her head furiously as she realised she had stopped walking while reminiscing. Now wasn't the time for remembering past adventures. She had a job to do, and she needed to focus on it if she wanted to be successful. The fact the job revolved around Shepard…

Job. Get on with it.

As she resumed her progress, though, she began to worry slightly. Shaela had cut their connection so she could tell Rassen about Shepard, but that had been a while ago now. While she had no doubt she could make her way to where he was being held without too much difficulty, the knowledge she no longer had the quarian for long range support was more discomforting than she would have liked to admit.

The sudden crackling of static caught her off-guard, though she gave no outward reaction. Slinking to the shadows of the corridor, Kasumi checked no one was nearby as Shaela's voice reached her.

"There's nobody in the next few hallways. You can move on."

She frowned at the other woman's tone. She sounded… well, to be honest she wasn't sure she could describe quite how she sounded. In her voice there were traces of so many emotions, none positive.

Damn it, Rassen. What the hell did you say to her?

"Shaela," she asked gently, not wanting to undo the progress she had made with the quarian since infiltrating the base, "are you okay? Did something happen to Rassen?"

"I…" Shaela trailed off, and for a moment Kasumi could see her sitting alone in the cockpit of the ship, forced to watch events from a distance while the most important person in her life was putting himself in mortal danger. Putting himself in mortal danger to help her. Kasumi shook her head again. Guilt wasn't going to help them right now.

"He's going to meet you there," the quarian eventually replied, though her tone suggested she had wanted to say something else. "I need to go. I'm updating him using the cameras as well." The static vanished a second later, causing Kasumi to frown as she resumed her advance. Obviously Rassen hadn't been discovered or hurt. No, something else had happened to him and—much like earlier—he had refused to tell Shaela what it was.

As she moved from one corridor to the next, nothing about her surroundings changing aside from tiny variations in how bad the lighting was, Kasumi made a decision. Giving someone time was often a good course to take, but there was a limit. Whatever his reasons, Rassen's decision to keep whatever it was to himself was hurting Shaela, and it looked like it could hurt their ability to work together as well. The thief could accept that he didn't know her well enough to confide in her whatever had happened to him in the past, but if he didn't tell Shaela what it was once they were leaving Aratoht behind, she would have to talk to him herself.

"Take the next left. There are a few Mandalorians coming the other way, though, so don't do anything to draw attention to yourself."

"Understood." While he kept his voice calm, Rassen still felt himself wince at Shaela's instruction. The quarian was trying to focus entirely on her job, but he knew her well enough to detect the undercurrent of hurt that coloured her voice, even though she was doing a good job hiding it. As he had been warned, when he turned left Rassen saw a small group of Mandalorians heading his way. Continuing to walk at the same pace as before, he returned the nod the closest one gave him as they passed one another.

"Go right in about fifty metres," Shaela said, and he could almost see her scrolling through the different camera feeds, silver eyes intensely focused. "As far as I can tell, there's nothing ahead. You're about ten minutes away from his cell."

The word cell brought him up short. Although it only made sense that Shepard was being held in a secure location, with so much having happened over the last few days, it had never crossed Rassen's mind there could be others being held by the Mandalorians and batarians. "Is Shepard the only prisoner?" he asked, after having made sure the vocabulator in his helmet was still disabled. "Could there be others? The datapad we found back on Watchman did not mention any other captives."

"I can't tell," Shaela admitted, a hint of frustration present now. "If there are other cells, they don't have cameras in them, even though it would make sense for there to be, Commander Shepard's included."

"Should the fact you could design a more secure facility than our enemies worry me?"

"No," the quarian replied, his attempt to defuse the tension between them going completely over her head due to how occupied she was. Either that or more likely she had chosen to ignore it. "It will be the lack of resources that's responsible. What kind of idiot wouldn't make sure they could see what their prisoners get up to in private?"

"Unfortunately, I have no idea," the Jedi replied, wincing for a second time. Shaela's voice had grown louder and angrier during their conversation, and he didn't need the Force to sense it was entirely the result of him keeping secrets from her. His mind suddenly flashed back to Omega. They had barely known each other when he had gone searching for clues as to how he had ended up on the station. Shaela had confronted him on his return, telling him they needed to work together. She had been very quick to trust him, desperate for help so soon after the group of batarians had attacked her.

The irony that the second time he had arrived in this galaxy he found himself at odds with another group of batarians, albeit much larger than the first, was not lost on him.

Though he continued walking, Rassen was effectively running on auto-pilot as his mind then turned to when he had gone to confront Zaressh aboard the station. Shaela had wanted to come with him, despite the danger. Indeed, the only reason he was still alive was because she had managed to find him before the Sith could kill him. He might have had the best of intentions for going after Zaressh alone, but he had still failed to trust the woman who was even now looking out for him.

Years later, he was still making the same mistakes as before.

"I'm sorry."

Shaela's voice, which had just started to give him a new instruction, cut out mid-sentence. "I… What?" The quarian eventually managed, completely caught by surprise.

Checking to make sure he was still alone in the corridor, which was the worst lit one yet, Rassen gently leaned his back against one of its grimy walls as he explained. "Even back when we first met, you always wanted to help me." He shook his head slowly. "I should have told you everything as soon as you asked. You deserve to know."

"Rassen," Shaela's voice was soft now. "I—" The connection suddenly cut out much like it had earlier, causing him to lurch off the wall in alarm. A few moments later, however, it returned along with the quarian's voice. "You're going to have to move faster," she said. "Kasumi has almost reached Commander Shepard's cell."

Rassen nodded, grunting slightly in irritation as he realised she couldn't see it. "Agreed." Having reached the point that had been indicated a few moments previously, he went right, only to then halt as he found he had the choice to go either left or forwards a few metres later. "Where now?" he asked.

"Keep following the corridor straight on," Shaela replied gently. He muttered an affirmation before setting off again, walking faster than before, though he was careful not to look as though he were rushing. The longer they could avoid detection the better, after all. There was a moment of silence before Shaela spoke again, her words hesitant this time.

"There's, um, something I need to talk to you about as well once we've left this place. I just found something I wasn't expecting to on the ship, and I'm not quite sure what to make of it."

"What sort of thing?"

"A friend gave me a bag of supplies before I went looking for you, as well as a… as well as the ship I used." Her voice caught on the last part, and Rassen made a mental note to ask her about it later. "You'll see what I mean."

"Got it," Rassen said, noticing as he spoke that her had reached another choice of routes, this time with the option of either going left or right. The junctions were becoming much more frequent now, though he had no idea why. "Which way now?" he asked.

"Right. You're very close. I'll check on Kasumi quickly." The now familiar buzz of static vanished a second later as Shaela cut the line. Rassen turned in the direction indicated and continued, forcing himself to keep both his arms at his sides instead of reaching for the blaster on his hip. Now that he was close, the reality of them having to fight at some point was truly sinking in.

Pulse racing, she checked to make certain that the corridors to her left and right were empty. Once she was sure no one else was nearby, Kasumi took a deep breath to steady herself. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting during the time she had spent getting here, but somehow the moment didn't feel real. The door only a couple of metres away from her just looked so… ordinary. It had clearly seen better days, much like the rest of the facility, with pockmarks that were obviously the result of gunfire littering its surface, though it still looked solid. Unsurprising, given that any person with a brain wouldn't have put the cell's occupant behind one that wasn't.

Normally there would be guards outside a cell, especially considering if the person inside it were dangerous. However, the four batarians she had found guarding it had mysteriously received an urgent command from their immediate superior, who was conveniently located on the other side of the base. By the time they realised something was up, it would be too late.

There was no latch or window of any kind, the door's only distinguishing feature aside from the places it had been struck with gunfire being the thin layer of rust that covered it in patches. Almost unbidden, Kasumi raised a hand to touch one of the areas, the movement of her gloved fingertips sliding over the surface producing an almost inaudible scraping noise.

This is real. Shepard is right on the other side of this door. As she continued to trace a hand over the final barrier between her and the man the entire galaxy owed a debt it could never repay, a blast of static brought her out of her thoughts.

"Kasumi, it's Shaela. Are you there yet?"

"Yes," she whispered, voice almost inaudible. "Yes," she repeated, louder this time so the quarian could hear her.

"Good. Rassen is almost there."

Kasumi muttered that she understood as her eyes remained focused on the door. Her gaze then moved to the haptic interface beside it, the softly glowing orange light seeming to beckon to her, telling her to press her hand against its surface. Once she did it would open the door, freeing Shepard and allowing him to escape with them.

Or rather that was what it would have done if it hadn't been alarmed.

She had to give the batarians—she assumed it was them, since she recognised the set up—credit. What she was looking at was an only recently outdated alarm system, which would trigger as soon as someone not permitted access attempted to interact with the interface. The basic concept of handprint recognition was ancient, though still effective against most interlopers. No, what was much more impressive was the other layer of security.

Examining the interface carefully, Kasumi could see it consisted of a series of codes that changed automatically after a set period of time. Get one wrong and an alert would go off through what she guessed would be the entire base. Again, the basic concept was ancient. However, what wasn't was just how they needed to be entered.

It had to be done by omni-tool.

There was no keyboard as there had been with the armoury terminal. Hacking passwords took time, provided of course you didn't have a good program to do the job for you, but even so, that method of securing something could be bypassed by anyone with enough patience. She was willing to bet every credit she had ever 'acquired' that the only two reasons it had actually been employed in the armoury were because no one expected an intruder would get that far, given how well the base's location had been chosen, and because of the lack of resources.

The benefit of requiring an omni-tool to enter a series of security codes was that you could set up the system to only allow specific models to interact with it without setting off the alarm. Without having one of the kinds of omni-tool specifically allowed access, there was no way to avoid getting caught. Aside from, of course, if you happened to be able to mimic another kind of model to the one you owned.

The sound of footsteps caused Kasumi to stop her analysis of what she had to deal with, her tactical cloak activating a moment later. A Mandalorian appeared at the end of the corridor to her left, the lone figure marching towards her position at a quick though not unduly hurried pace. One of the corners of her mouth tugged upwards as she allowed him to walk right past her, only for her expression to transform into a frown as he turned around, visor staring straight at her position.

"We should not waste any time, Kasumi. I had to incapacitate one of them to get here. As soon as they are discovered an alert will be sent out."

She deactivated her tactical cloak, allowing herself to pout at being so easily found. "I know," she replied. She looked back at the interface next to the door. Satisfied she hadn't missed anything and confident she had just the programs for the job, the thief approached it, omni-tool bursting to life as she got to work.

"How long will this take?"

She didn't look in his direction as she responded. "A minute or so maybe? Things like this don't have a set duration, Ras. All I can say is not long." Activating the program that allowed her omni-tool to mimic another model, she chose a low-grade batarian one. With the kind of resources the base's occupants had at their disposal, there was no way they would be able to afford anything better. The process completed in seconds, and she began establishing a connection between the device and the interface.

Fortunately, even only recently outdated is child's play for me.

Sensing Rassen was watching her, she glanced over her shoulder. "Can you keep a lookout?" she asked. "If something is about to go wrong, I need to notice it before it happens or we're going to have a whole world of problems." Seeing his nod, she turned back to what she was doing, activating a second program, this one being the best you could find for working out and transmitting unknown security codes. "Oh, and try to stand a bit more like they do," she muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"You know, more imposing and less madly in love with a quarian."

"And how exactly would I do that?" She smirked at the slight irritation in Rassen's voice. Though he had done a good job, he hadn't quite been able to disguise it fully.

"Stand up straight," she shrugged, feeling her excitement growing as the program made short work of the final few barriers between them and access to the door. "Think imposing thoughts."

Rassen didn't respond, though she could practically hear him rolling his eyes. Shaking her head slightly as she focused back on her task, Kasumi felt her heart beat faster as the final code was bypassed. The interface flared slightly as she activated a third program, tricking the system yet again as she pressed a hand flat onto it, the fact she wore gloves making no difference, thanks to her software. The glow faded a moment later, though the door remained closed. Swallowing nervously, she turned to face Rassen, only to notice in surprise that he was looking at her again.

"We probably have even less time than we think," he murmured softly. "Take a moment if you need to, but you must be quick. I will continue to watch for any patrols."

Nodding shakily, the thief removed her hand from the interface, the door sliding open with a screech of metal on metal. Wincing at how loud it was, Kasumi stepped inside the room.

It was dark, though that was unsurprising. The only illumination came from the now open doorway, and much of that was blocked by her own body. Even so, she could make out that the cell was tiny, measuring barely more than two or so metres in diameter. A figure sat with their back leaning against the far wall, head bowed as they slept. Kasumi's lips were dry as she spoke softly, her voice barely audible.

"Shepard?"

The figure's head slowly lifted, revealing his face. His black hair was cropped short, not much longer than the stubble that covered his jaw and the area around his mouth. His strong features were exactly the same as she remembered, down to the thin scar on the left side of his head where no hair grew. His blue eyes stared as her in suspicion for a moment before widening in recognition. His voice was as quiet as hers when he finally answered her, the brief interval between their questions seeming to last for an eternity before he broke the silence.

"Kasumi?"