A/N: It's that time again. This chapter also proved difficult to finish. For some reason it's taking me ages to check just a single page for errors when normally I could do a whole chapter's worth in one go. I don't know if it's writer's block or not, but the next update might take a little while.
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AnarionRising27: Only one way to find out. Glad you liked it!
Chapter 29: Hope
As he slowly opened his eyes and looked over to the right, Rassen was greeted by a confused mess of different colours. Shades of blue dominated, many of which seemed familiar from somewhere, not that he could place them at the moment. Glancing up revealed there was a bright light of some kind above him, which caused the Jedi Knight to wince and turn his gaze back to where it had been before, letting out a groan of protest as he did so.
The groan turned into a hiss as Rassen suddenly became aware of a stabbing pain in his side, the sensation very uncomfortable, though fortunately not agonising. Completely disorientated on account of not being able to see clearly, he decided to lie still until the pain faded, mind sluggish as he tried to remember what had happened to put him in his current position.
Frowning as the mass of blue he was looking at moved in response to the noise he was making, Rassen began to reach out to the Force as it shifted closer, only to stop as it took one of his hands in its own. The other being's hand only had three digits, and even in his current state he knew what that meant.
"Shaela," he managed, tongue heavy in his mouth as he struggled to speak. "What…" He trailed off as the quarian's hand squeezed his own tightly before he felt her cup the side of his face with her free one. Rassen closed his eyes at her touch as Shaela spoke, her voice soft.
"You've lost a lot of blood, Rassen," the quarian murmured. "A shard of rock hit you just below your ribs, but it got stuck and managed to prevent you from bleeding out long enough for me to apply some medi-gel before your condition could become critical. You're going to be all right, but you need to rest. We can't do anything about the blood. Your body needs time to replace it."
Memories returned to him as Shaela explained what had happened. Running back to the ship with Kasumi, enemy fire peppering the ground around them. The Force warning him of danger just in time as he heard a scream from behind him so he could try and shield himself and Kasumi from the exploding mine that would otherwise have killed them. Landing on the ground after being airborne for a few seconds, the air leaving his lungs instantly as his back smashed against the unyielding rock. An agonising pain like a sharp knife was stabbing him over and over again in the side as he got up and managed to rouse Kasumi. The two of them somehow managing to make it back to the cave, the ground suddenly rushing up to meet him before… nothing.
He coughed, suddenly realising how dry his throat was, only for Shaela to press a canteen of water to his lips. Drinking greedily and quickly emptying it, Rassen took a gasping breath as the container was pulled away. "What have I missed?" he asked, looking at the quarian to see his vision had improved to the point that she now looked more like the Shaela he remembered instead of a mixture of shades of blue all clumped together. He could at least make out the silver of her eyes now, as well as the fact she was sitting next to him. "Are they still advancing?"
"I… They are," Shaela replied, and he could hear the reluctance in her voice at giving him bad news when he no doubt looked as terrible as he felt. "I've been keeping Shepard updated while you and Kasumi have been unconscious. They're close, Rassen. Shepard is locking down the loading ramp at the moment like Kasumi suggested. That should buy us a little more time."
Nodding slowly, Rassen allowed his eyes to wander away from the quarian and over his surroundings. Now that he could see a little better than he had been able to upon first awakening, he could make out the beds that surrounded the one he himself was presumably lying on. They were in the bunkroom. It made sense. "So where is Kasumi?" he asked, frowning as he found himself unable to locate the thief. "How is she?"
"Over here, big guy," came a familiar albeit drowsy voice, causing Rassen to lean up slightly so he could look around Shaela, a strong feeling of relief flooding through his body at the sight of Kasumi occupying the bed to his right. The way she was blearily looking about told him she had woken up while he and Shaela had been talking.
"I'm fine, thanks for asking. All systems go."
"You passed out almost as quickly as he did, Kasumi," Shaela replied before Rassen could, the quarian rising from the chair she had been occupying and moving over to the thief's side. "I need to run some tests to make sure you're actually okay and there will be no long term effects from what happened out there."
"Not sure we have time for that," Kasumi shrugged, sitting up without difficulty and stretching her arms above her head, something that caused Rassen to wince as a flash of pain ran through his side just watching her. "How long will this take?"
He had to make a conscious effort to hide his smile as Shaela let out a sigh of annoyance. "Only a few minutes," she replied. "Can you wait that long?"
"I guess," Kasumi mused, clearly pretending to think as she spoke. "You said Shep's by the ramp?"
"Yes," the quarian nodded. "Once I'm done you can help him lock it down. We're going to have to try and hold the ship until help arrives, though I don't know how long we can realistically do that for."
Kasumi gave a slow nod of her own in response. "Damn it. We're starting to run out of options, then. Once they get into the ship, we're going to have to fight them while we retreat from one room to the next. As much as I hate to say it, if help hasn't arrived yet…" The thief suddenly trailed off, eyes dropping to her forearm as a pinging noise issued from her omni-tool.
Rassen stared down at his own in surprise when it made the same sound a split-second later, mind racing as he tried to work out what it could mean. They had connected their omni-tools to the ship's 'VI' as the others had referred to it, in order to be notified when Mandalore and Balak's ships entered the planet's atmosphere. He and Shaela had missed the alert when the vessels had arrived on account of their being otherwise occupied. Why was the device on his wrist alerting him now, though? Did their enemies have even more troops coming? It was either that, or…
His head snapped up at the exact same moment as the room's other two occupants reached the same conclusion, the three of them staring at each other in disbelief, none of them able to speak. It didn't seem possible after everything that had transpired during the short time they had been forced to rely on themselves and no one else, but Rassen couldn't think of a third possibility.
Help had arrived.
Kasumi began punching commands into her now-active omni-tool as he watched, the orange haptic interface above her wrist seeming to glow with more energy than usual as she worked, though that might have been his imagination. Her face was bathed in light from the device, allowing him to see the look of concentration she wore despite her hood, as well as the hint of disbelief in her eyes, which only grew as she continued to stare at the screen before her. After a minute or so she looked up at him, then over at Shaela, and then back at him.
"I… Alliance Kodiaks are entering the atmosphere. I'm counting twenty of them at the moment, but more keep coming," Kasumi whispered in awe. "Looks like the cavalry's here."
Rassen grunted as he began to sit up, prompting a concerned gasp from Shaela as she moved to his side and tried to gently push him back down. As he attempted to brush her hands away, the quarian let out a resigned sigh before moving behind him and helping him lean up into a sitting position, causing Rassen to shoot a grateful look in her direction. As she squeezed his shoulder before returning to the same chair she had used before, he turned his attention back to Kasumi, who he noticed was smirking as she watched the two of them.
"Kodiaks?" he asked curiously.
"Alliance shuttles, Ras," the thief replied excitedly. "Never thought I'd be this happy to have an army heading towards me, but there's a first time for everything. They must have checked out Horizon already and then noticed all the activity here on Venture." She glanced back at her omni-tool before continuing in an even more animated way than before. "We should be able to see them from the cockpit in a few minutes, actually."
Finding the thief's enthusiasm infectious, Rassen allowed himself a small smile. It had been a close run thing, but with the Mandalorians and batarians still working their way through the mines, it was beginning to look like they had just about made it. Swinging his legs off the bed, ignoring the pain in his side and noticing with some surprise that he was still wearing his armour and cloak as he did so, he attempted to get up, only to pause as a very familiar enviro-suit appeared in front of him.
"Rassen," Shaela said firmly, "you're too weak to walk properly. Kasumi can go and look on her own." The last part was aimed at the room's other occupant, who jumped slightly at the quarian's tone.
"Right, yes," the thief nodded quickly. "It probably won't be that much of a view anyway, Ras. I'll go and let Shep know what's happening and then check it out." She turned to Shaela before giving the quarian a grin. "We probably didn't need to go through those tests anyway."
Rassen again found himself having to suppress a smile as Kasumi casually swung her legs off the bed before jumping to her feet and leaving the room as Shaela tried to protest, the quarian's mouthpiece lighting up blue for a moment before fading without her managing to say anything. Shaking her head, Shaela turned back to face him, the expression he could tell she wore beneath her mask causing him to raise an eyebrow.
"I take it your patients on Rannoch are normally more compliant than that?"
"Normally yes," the quarian muttered, sitting down next to him on the bed. There was a moment of silence before she spoke again. "It doesn't feel real to me, Rassen. We've done it. The Alliance is here and this is all nearly over."
"I know the feeling," he said gently, placing an arm around her shoulders and pulling Shaela against him, causing her eyes to widen before she realised she was leaning against his good side rather than his bad one and relented, closing her eyes as she relaxed against him. A comfortable silence fell between them as they sat there, content to just enjoy the brief moment of peace they had been granted.
As she left Shaela and Rassen behind, practically sprinting through the ship despite still feeling a little groggy, Kasumi couldn't help grinning. Almost bursting with excitement, she reached her destination in no time flat, nearly skidding to a stop she was running so fast as she reached the small room that contained the ship's ramp. Shepard, who had been entering a command into the haptic interface next to the ramp via his omni-tool with his back to her, twisted round, rifle at the ready, only to lower it immediately when he saw it was her.
Ignoring the apology he tried to give her, Kasumi waved both hands at him excitedly until he stopped talking and stared at her in confusion. "Shep," she began, it taking considerable effort to speak at something close to normal speed, "did your omni-tool go off a few minutes ago?"
Shepard shook his head. "I don't think so," he replied slowly, indicating the closed ramp behind him with a thumb. "But I've been using it to lock down this, which I've only just managed to do, since I'm not as familiar with batarian security systems as I would like to be. I might have been too distracted to hear any notifications. Why, did I miss something?"
Kasumi closed the gap between them, wrapping her arms around his mid-section and delighting at how his breathing noticeably altered. "Alliance ships are on their way," she smirked. "They're already inside the atmosphere."
"You mean—"
"Yep," she replied, her smirk turning into a full-blown smile now. "We just need to hang tight for a little bit longer, Shep." She turned slightly so she could look at the interface, only to frown at the text being displayed by the small orange screen. "I thought you said you'd locked it," she muttered slowly, an unpleasant feeling stirring in the pit of her stomach.
"What?" Shepard replied, carefully prying her arms away before turning around to look at the interface himself. "I definitely locked it. I was just about to add a few layers of encryption to prevent access from the outside."
Kasumi opened her mouth to ask how it was possible for the ramp to have unlocked itself, only to stare in horror as it suddenly began lowering. "It's them!" she shouted, pushing past Shepard and connecting her omni-tool to the interface even as a few rays of Venture's harsh sunlight reached her through the crack that had appeared above their heads. "They're on the other side!"
"What?" Shepard yelled, levelling his sniper rifle at the gap as it grew rapidly. "How did they get past the last few mines without us knowing?"
Because Rassen and Shaela aren't paying attention at the moment, she wanted to say, her eyes still locked on the interface as it flashed red, telling her that her command had been rejected. A blaster bolt sailed through the gap a split-second later, missing Shepard by inches before slamming into the wall behind them, the metal sizzling where it struck and a black scorch mark appearing. Shepard responded instantly, his rifle letting out a boom, the sound of a mass accelerator round impacting against flesh telling her that their enemies were indeed right outside. She couldn't currently see them on account of being much shorter than the man next to her, but that wouldn't be the case for much longer if she couldn't do something about the ramp.
"We need to get Rassen and Shaela down here!" she shouted, glancing over at Shepard as the command she had been trying to enter was finally accepted, the interface flashing green for a moment. He nodded without looking away from the gap, firing again a second later, the sound of another target dropping reaching her ears. Turning her gaze to her wrist, Kasumi tried to connect to Shaela's omni-tool, only to swear as the interface next to the ramp flashed red and the wall of metal began lowering again.
Shepard's kinetic barrier fizzled as it protected him from a burst of assault rifle fire. Her own flared a moment later, the ramp now low enough that even though she was hunched over as she worked, those outside could see her just as easily as they could the man next to her. Grabbing her Locust from her side, Kasumi unfolded the weapon before straightening up and opening fire.
She dropped down into a crouch after unleashing a quick burst, but could tell she'd hit something. Mentally counting to three, she rose back up and fired again, this time seeing the man she hit, a batarian ten metres or so away from the ship slumping to the ground. There were plenty to replace him, though.
She almost got hit by a blaster bolt as she ducked back down again, but Kasumi still swallowed at the sight of the countless dozens of batarians and Mandalorians outside the ship. She had managed to catch a glimpse of even more coming up the slope, clearly the last part of the combined force to get past the mines. The entire army was bearing down on her and Shepard, and at any moment they would have to pull back and try to seal a door behind them. The ramp was now so low down she was having difficulty crouching behind it successfully. Shepard was having even more trouble using the slab of metal as cover than she was on account of his greater height.
Damn it. Where the hell are Rassen and Shaela?
She didn't see the object as it sailed in an arc over the ramp and into the ship. She didn't hear the clunk it made either. She did, however, hear Shepard's cry of shock, her gaze instinctively moving to him before dropping to the flashbang grenade that had landed between them just as it detonated, causing the world to turn white.
As he sat there with one arm around the woman he loved, Rassen wondered if this was what his future would consist of. Moments of peace with Shaela where they didn't do much except enjoy the other's presence. Obviously they would both do other things as well, such as help the sick and wounded like she had suggested, but when they were not doing that, what would he do with his time?
Training was the obvious answer. He had agreed to her request that there be no more fighting after the current situation was resolved, but it would be foolish not to remain in form. As much as he hated to admit it, the galaxy… both galaxies were places where plans could often change and unpleasant outcomes arise without warning.
That being said, he hoped there would still be plenty of time for moments such as this one.
Despite having been unconscious for several hours, his eyelids were beginning to feel heavy. A quick glance over at Shaela and how her own eyes were slowly closing instantly told him that she too was exhausted. When had she last slept? Presumably she hadn't while he had been out, given she had been sitting next to him when he had awoken. Tightening his arm around her shoulders slightly, Rassen smiled gently at the quarian as she made a noise of contentment before snuggling closer against his side. Despite where they were, the moment could only be described as perfect.
There was the unmistakable sound of a blaster firing.
The two of them broke apart as Shepard's sniper rifle answered a split-second later, the weapon's deep boom unmistakable. Kasumi's submachine gun soon joined it as they sat there in shock, both firearms loud enough that they had to be shooting from inside the ship.
Shaela recovered first and lurched to her feet just before he did. Rassen let out a quiet gasp as the pain in his side flared as he got up, the Jedi Knight leaning against a nearby wall with his shoulder as the room seemed to spin around him. He winced as the noise he made caused the woman next to him to turn and face him, her lightsaber already in her hand as she did so.
"You need to stay here," Shaela protested, her silver eyes wide. "Whatever's happening—"
"We both know what it is," Rassen interrupted, pushing off from the wall and managing to take a couple of unsteady steps towards the door that connected the bunkroom to the rest of the ship. It seemed much further away from the beds than he remembered it being, which couldn't be a good sign. As Shaela stepped in front of him and blocked his way, Rassen looked directly into the two concerned silver pools that stared back at him.
"I am going with you, injury or no injury."
"Rassen," the sounds of blasters and mass accelerator weapons firing interrupted Shaela for a second before she continued, her voice pleading. "You can barely walk. Stay here."
"I cannot do that," he replied, staggering over to the quarian so they stood perhaps only an inch apart. "If you were the injured one, would you stay behind?"
"That's not—"
"The same? Of course it is," Rassen interrupted, trying to ignore how the floor spinning beneath him was beginning to make him feel sick. "We are wasting time, Shaela. We need to go and help them."
He almost relented as the pleading look in the quarian's eyes somehow managed to grow even stronger, the silver orbs begging him to stay where he was. Swallowing with much more difficulty than normal, Rassen held firm, neither of them blinking as they stared into each other's eyes. After what felt like an age as the sounds of fighting continued but in reality could only have been a few seconds, Shaela finally nodded once before turning in the direction of the door and sprinting towards it. Rassen stared at her back for a second before following, drawing his lightsaber from his side as he did so.
The sounds of fighting continued as he raced after the quarian as fast as he could through the ship's cramped confines, just about managing to keep up with Shaela despite the stabbing pain in his side getting stronger with seemingly every step he took. The shooting grew louder and louder as they ran through room after room, becoming almost deafening before abruptly falling silent just as quickly as it had started.
Rassen staggered to a halt, Shaela likewise stopping just ahead. The quarian turned around to face him, the same fear in her eyes that he knew was present in his own. Were Kasumi and Shepard… No. No, that wasn't possible. Shaking his head before meeting Shaela's gaze again, Rassen broke back into a run as best he could, passing the quarian before she began to follow him.
Panting heavily as they made it through the last few rooms, Rassen stumbled around the final corner before the loading ramp, only to freeze at the sight of a blaster pointing directly at the centre of his chest. As he slowly looked up, his eyes met the familiar T-shaped visor of a Mandalorian. Several others, as well as at least ten batarians, stood just behind the one aiming at him, their own weapons trained on Shepard and Kasumi, both of whom were on their knees with their hands behind their heads. They were both staring at the ground, but from this angle Rassen could see they were blinking rapidly, as though there was something wrong with their eyes.
Shaela burst into the room a second after he did, causing two of the batarians to shift their aim to her, the quarian stopping just as abruptly as he had. For a moment there was silence. Then the sound of heavy boots making their way up the loading ramp reached Rassen's ears. Although her armour was indistinguishable from that of the Mandalorians already in front of him, he still recognised Mandalore as she surveyed the four of them being held at gunpoint, her gaze moving over Shepard and Kasumi first before turning to himself and Shaela.
"Congratulations," she said coldly, but with a note of grudging respect to her voice. "I knew you wouldn't simply wait for us to find you before begging for mercy, but I didn't expect you to dig in and fight quite as tenaciously as you have. I'm afraid the hunt is over now, though. Lay down your weapons."
Rassen could feel Shaela looking at him. He wanted to tell her to go back, to get herself out of the small room while she still could while he bought her some time. The words stuck in his mouth. She wouldn't be able to ignite her lightsaber in time to defend herself at this distance, but if she attempted to run she probably wouldn't even manage to turn around before being fired on. And she wouldn't leave him anyway. Even if he begged and pleaded with her to try and seal herself in one of the ship's rooms, to buy herself a few precious minutes, she still wouldn't do it.
Rassen could feel Mandalore's impatience growing as he hesitated. "Drop your weapons," she repeated slowly. "In case you haven't noticed, I have two of your merry band at gunpoint. I will have one of them shot if you don't lay down your arms now."
The Mandalorians and batarians around Shepard and Kasumi shifted slightly, but their weapons never so much as wavered. From his position on his knees, Shepard slowly looked up at Rassen, still blinking as he shook his head almost imperceptibly. The tension in the air somehow seemed to grow even greater as nobody moved, so thick now it could be cut with a knife.
Then Rassen made his decision.
Turning his gaze back to Mandalore, he slowly allowed his grip on his lightsaber to slacken, the metal cylinder falling from his hand to clang against the floor. Shaela's own lightsaber as well as her pistol joined it a second later.
Rassen could almost see the smirk Mandalore wore beneath her helmet. "Good choice," she sneered, turning to her subordinates before gesturing to him and Shaela. "Take them outside, and bring the commander and the other one as well."
Wincing as two Mandalorians seized him by his arms, Rassen tried to think of a plan as he was frogmarched out of the ship and into the cave before being forced to his knees, grunting as he landed heavily on the rocky ground. He heard Shaela gasp in pain as she was forced down next to him. He looked over at her to see Kasumi being made to kneel on the quarian's other side, while Shepard was placed next to the thief, the four of them forming a line with their bodies so close together they were almost touching. Looking away from Shaela and at his surroundings as he continued to think desperately, Rassen saw that what had to be all of the Mandalorians and batarians were gathered in the cave. As if receiving some unspoken command, they closed in, surrounding their group of four on all sides.
The Alliance shuttles had to be close now. What was Mandalore playing at? Unless the leader of the task force was completely incompetent, they would be constantly monitoring for any vessels leaving the planet. Her desire to hunt them before Shepard had blasted a sizable number of Mandalorians and batarians to smithereens, coupled with the rage she no doubt felt about what the commander had done, had been her undoing. She was trapped on Venture. It was over for her and her followers.
So why didn't he get the impression she was worried?
A low hum suddenly filled the cave, snapping him out of his thoughts as Mandalore began to pace up and down in front of the four of them, a vibrosword in one hand. It was of an old—some might say ancient—design, the blade curving backwards at the end into a vicious point. Aside from that rather striking feature, the weapon was simple and unadorned, there being nothing to mark it out as special in any way.
Vibroswords and vibroblades in general were something Rassen remembered well from his galaxy. They were one of the few kinds of weapons that could stand up to a lightsaber without being cut in half, and they were in their own way just as deadly. The humming he could hear was the blade of the weapon vibrating, meaning even a slight cut inflicted with it could easily becoming a gaping wound as it tore through flesh like paper.
Mandalore abruptly stopped pacing before looking down at the four of them, a hint of manic excitement to her voice as she spoke. "We have a few minutes before your allies arrive. I think that gives us time to attend to a few matters."