A/N: Another chapter is ready, so here you go. Apologies about how long it took, but writing has proven to be extremely difficult recently. This really did take me all of the time since the last update.

Responses to reviews are as follows:

AnarionRising27: Thanks! Well, there's only one way to find out.

Rob Sears: I think that stems from me deciding to take things slowly and wanting to make a smaller scale story with the first one. From there it made sense to expand the number of elements that are introduced, both in terms of characters but also aspects of the lore. I'm glad you like the intertwining of elements and will try to continue to grow that over time.

Thanks for reviewing, I really appreciate it!

seabo76: Kasumi is probably the most underrated character in the series. She's great, but the fact that like Zaeed she doesn't have proper dialogue scenes outside her loyalty mission and recruitment and also is DLC means she gets overlooked a lot. I'd decided even before I finished the first False Masks that Shepard would appear in the sequel, but I at first wasn't sure who else would appear. In the end I decided on her, of course.

Thank you for all of your support so far. It really does mean everything (I know literally everyone on the site says that, but it's true) and I'll be sure to check out your story as soon as I can.

Chapter 30: Extinguished

As he stared down at the world below him, he had to admit he had seen worse in his time. He had seen better as well, but that wasn't exactly surprising considering how much of the galaxy he had been around during his decades of service. Venture was hardly appealing with its mottled green surface and scorching temperatures, but at least it was habitable to some extent. That was a lot more than could be said for many other planets in the galaxy... both those that had always been that way and those that had been rendered uninhabitable by the Reapers.

Clasping his hands behind his back, Admiral Steven Hackett continued to allow his eyes to wander over the different shades of green that made up the world fate had seen fit to draw him to, as if he could actually see the commander despite the many thousands of miles between them. When he had received word about Shepard being held captive on Aratoht, well, what little was left of Aratoht, he had scarcely believed it. The commander had proved he was completely unstoppable so many times that Hackett knew he shouldn't doubt that Shepard had somehow survived activating the Crucible, but he was very much a practical man at the end of the day. People in his position had to be.

It wasn't that he needed irrefutable evidence that Shepard was alive necessarily. Hackett was careful about whom he trusted, and as a result the group of people he did trust was very small indeed. However, that meant that the word of one of those individuals carried considerable weight, which coupled with the fact Shepard seemed able to defy death whenever it came calling, meant that once the message Matriarch Wessa had forwarded to him had been backed up by one Liara T'soni, he had known the tip was good. Shepard was still alive.

And he was on the planet that Hackett was staring at even now.

His taskforce had first gone to Aratoht, only to find it abandoned. The ships that had clearly been there were gone, as were any weapons. Every single terminal had been wiped as well. The quick search he had ordered had turned up nothing else aside from the fact an extremely powerful infantry weapon had taken a sizable chunk out of one of the hangers. With so little to go on, a more thorough examination of the facility had been the obvious next step.

Hackett had left a sizable detachment behind to do just that as well as hold the base before taking the rest of his vessels and heading for Horizon. The message he had received from Matriarch Wessa had made it clear that the colony had been wiped out, but there was still the possibility that some of the colonists could have successfully hidden from those responsible, and that they were even now in desperate need of food and medical supplies.

Upon arriving in the Iera system, though, every ship in the taskforce had picked up on the multitude of signals radiating from Venture. Closer inspection from just outside the world's atmosphere had revealed that a large number of batarian ships were stationed near the end of one of the planet's valleys, which ended with a large cave. Given that all of the ships were facing the same way, the conclusion had been obvious. Shepard was in that cave, and judging by the fact Hackett's forces hadn't picked up on anyone leaving those ships, their owners were likely already inside as well. That meant there was no time to waste.

Hundreds of marines aboard dozens of Kodiaks were already heading towards the cave. With the batarian ships all currently within the valley itself, the Alliance shuttles would have to land on top of the valley walls, which the marines would then have to descend in order to advance towards the cave. They couldn't land right outside it, as the only available ground between the batarian vessels and their target was at too harsh an angle to be suitable for the Kodiaks.

However, the obvious alternative of landing behind the enemy ships in the valley itself and attempting to trap them would mean that his men would need to make their way past all of the vessels on foot, which given how narrow the valley was and how many marines there were would take too long. Ultimately, landing on top of the valley's walls was the only real option if they wanted to reach the commander in time.

The Kodiaks were almost at their target. If Shepard could hold out for just a little longer—

"Sir?"

Hackett turned around as the voice interrupted his thoughts, his hands still folded behind his back as the man responsible hastily but professionally saluted. "Yes, Lieutenant?" he asked, keeping his voice calm with ease thanks to decades of practise. "Do you have something to report?"

The communications officer nodded before standing at ease as Hackett waved a hand. Protocol had its place, but not when speed was paramount, which it very much was given the current situation. "Most of the Kodiaks are still advancing in formation and at standard approach velocity, sir," the dark-haired man said quickly. "But one of them has broken away from the rest and is heading flat out for the commander's position."

"Let me guess," Hackett replied slowly, unclasping his hands so he could cross his arms. "It's the shuttle our volunteer is on, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir."

"And how exactly did he manage to convince the rest of its occupants to disobey my orders?"

"He, ah… he said that because he's—"

"Of course he did," Hackett muttered, feeling a stab of frustration. With hindsight it now seemed obvious this was going to happen, but then hindsight was a wonderful thing. "Contact the shuttle. Tell him that I don't care what he…" the admiral trailed off as a thought suddenly occurred to him.

"Sir?" the lieutenant asked, shifting in place as he waited for his superior to continue.

Returning his attention to the other man, Hackett gave him a nod before speaking. "Tell him that I want him to land out of audio range of the cave behind the enemy ships and advance past them on foot along with the shuttle's marines. They will observe and report on what's happening in the cave and then attempt to draw at least some of the enemy away from the objective. Hopefully that will buy the commander enough time for the other shuttles to arrive and take advantage of their forces being divided."

"Understood, sir." The lieutenant saluted again before turning on his heel and walking back to his post. Nodding at the other man's retreating form, Hackett then turned his gaze back to the planet below.

You just need to hang on for a little longer, Shepard.

The silence was almost deafening.

For a moment no one broke it, the four of them staring up at Mandalore as the armoured woman's gaze moved between each of them in turn, starting with Shepard at one end of the line before finally settling on Rassen at the other and then switching back to the commander. Over and over again she repeated the process, the tension growing harder and harder for Rassen to stomach as he continued to think as fast as he could. There had to be some way for the four of them to get out of their current situation. There had to be. Whatever the answer was, though, the Jedi Knight couldn't think of it. Judging from the expressions his friends wore, they too were struggling to come up with a plan... and meeting with the same amount of success as he was.

Rassen flinched slightly as Mandalore suddenly spoke, her voice wrenching him out of his thoughts as she pointed her vibrosword in his direction.

"Bring that one to me."

In response to the order, a pair of Mandalorians stowed their weapons and began to advance towards him. Despite the stab of fear he felt as the two armoured warriors closed in, Rassen kept his expression calm, locking his gaze with Mandalore's as she tilted her head slightly, clearly amused by something. Refusing to allow her the satisfaction of seeing how that only caused his fear to grow, Rassen continued to stare back at her as the two Mandalorians stopped before him.

No, not before him.

As he looked to his right with a mounting feeling of dread, Rassen's gaze met Shaela's, the quarian's silver eyes wide with fear as she stared back at him. Her hand suddenly found his own, and he gripped it tightly. For a moment it was just the two of them, time seeming to freeze as he tried to reassure her with his gaze, tried to promise her that he wouldn't let anything happen to her.

A vicious kick caught him in the centre of his chest, shattering the moment and sending him crashing to the floor of the cave on his back. Rassen gritted his teeth and struggled not to scream as his side erupted with agony, his vision swimming as his eyes watered. Forcing himself to show as little weakness as possible, he settled for gasping for air instead as he blinked in an attempt to clear his vision, his legs folded awkwardly beneath him as he stared up at the cave's ceiling, the world spinning even faster now than it had been earlier.

Someone screamed nearby, the sound triggering something primal within him before he even consciously recognised who was responsible. Grunting with the effort it took, Rassen managed to roll onto his front before turning in the direction the noise had come from. Snarling at the sight of Shaela being dragged towards Mandalore by the two Mandalorians from before, he tried to push himself to his feet, only for his side to erupt with pain once again, causing the Jedi Knight to collapse back to the ground after only managing to rise a few inches from it.

"And to think, I once believed you would be the most dangerous one."

Ignoring how his side felt as though it was on fire as best he could, Rassen slowly looked up to see Mandalore staring back at him. "I'll admit I was actually excited when I learned a Jedi was present on Horizon," she continued. "I thought it would give me a chance to hunt and test myself against a truly formidable opponent." She glanced over at Shepard before looking back at him. "How humiliating it must be to know that a mere soldier is more deadly than you, even with the Force at your disposal."

The two Mandalorians had by now reached their leader, and they threw Shaela to the ground, drawing a pained cry from the quarian as she landed on all fours before the armoured woman. Rassen's blood ran cold as Mandalore pointed her vibrosword directly at Shaela's neck, the tip hovering an inch away from the material of the quarian's enviro-suit as the weapon continued to hum. Looking away from it and back at Mandalore's visor, Rassen could almost see the smirk she wore as she enjoyed his helplessness.

"You've lost," Shepard said suddenly, causing Rassen to look over at him in surprise as the other man gave their captor a cold stare. With the threat to Shaela, he had almost forgotten that both he and Kasumi were still present.

"You said yourself that you know the Alliance is almost here," Shepard continued. "If you surrender now, they'll treat you fairly. They'll treat all of you fairly."

The last part was aimed at the hundreds of Mandalorians and batarians around them. It was a good idea, Rassen had to admit. Look for internal division, see if there was some way of making the enemy fight one another, or even avoiding a fight altogether. As he looked between the grinning faces of the batarians and the helmets of the Mandalorians, which no doubt hid similar expressions of savage joy, though, he could tell the commander's words had fallen on deaf ears.

"Lost?" Mandalore replied, a mocking edge to her voice. "How did you reach that conclusion?"

Shepard frowned slightly in response. "It's obvious," the commander said slowly. "How many of your troops are in here with us? All of them, or at the very least almost all of them. The Alliance will have started watching for aerial activity before sending anyone down to the planet's surface, and they'll be ready to shoot you down as soon as you take off. There's no way any of you are getting out of here alive without surrendering. It's over."

Mandalore laughed once, her voice hard and cruel as she tilted her head slightly. "It's only just begun, Commander. Due to what you did on Aratoht, changes had to be made to our approach, but I am nothing if not flexible. Your reinforcements will have little choice but to do as I say while I have their greatest hero at blaster point."

"So that's it?" Shepard asked incredulously. "You're going to use the four of us as hostages? The Alliance won't roll over and do what you want just because of that."

"I believe I only mentioned you, Commander. Your friends are far more... expendable."

Rassen felt a chill run down his spine. He didn't want to die, but the very real possibility of it happening was not the cause of the fear he felt. What was far worse than the prospect of his own death, what truly terrified him, was the fact that Shaela was still on her knees before Mandalore, an activated vibrosword a matter of centimetres away from ending her life.

"Let her go," he managed, drawing the attention of everyone in the cave back to him as he tried again to get up, only for his limbs to tremble before he collapsed back to the ground, barely managing to suppress a scream as the pain in his side somehow became even worse than before. "Shepard is… is telling the truth. There has been enough death. Lay down your weapons and let that be the end of it."

Mandalore shook her head slowly before replying. "It's not over just yet, Jedi. Circumstances may have changed, but the end result is the same as it would have been had the commander not decided to pull that stunt back on Aratoht. At the end of the day, you and your friends are going to die… well, aside from Shepard here."

"And how did you get Balak to sign off on that?" Shepard challenged. "The last time I checked, he didn't care about the others. I'm the one he wants to see suffer."

Rassen watched as Shepard suddenly turned his attention to the assembled Mandalorians and batarians, eyes narrowed as he searched for something. "Where is he anyway?" the commander asked finally.

Mandalore laughed again, the sound as cold as ever. "You killed him," she replied, before turning her attention back to Shaela in a way that made it clear she couldn't have cared less about her ally's demise if she had tried. "Now, where were we? Ah, I remember."

She moved her vibrosword even closer to the quarian's neck than it had been already, causing Rassen to hiss in pain and anger as he once again attempted to rise to his feet. Every muscle in his body screamed at him as he finally succeeded, his vision turning red. The world was spinning so fast now he thought he would be sick at any moment, but Rassen could still see the firearms that continued to point directly at him, the Mandalorians and batarians that surrounded their small group training so many weapons on him that he wouldn't have been able to defend himself against them even at his best, let alone in his current condition. Despite the knowledge that any sign of aggression on his part would result in them opening fire, though, Rassen barely paid them any mind. His attention was completely focused on Shaela.

The vibrosword was practically grazing the surface of the quarian's enviro-suit, meaning that even a slight adjustment of the wrist from Mandalore would be enough to bring it into contact, to cause the wickedly sharp blade to slice through the rubber-like material with no effort whatsoever. Slowly the haze of red began to lift. Rassen's gaze drifted away from the vibrosword and met the visor of its owner.

With the blade so close to Shaela's neck, there was no chance he would be able to get her away from Mandalore before the latter ended her life, and the armoured woman knew it as well as he did. Rassen could almost see the smirk she no doubt wore. She was daring him, daring him to try it anyway, to make even the slightest movement. For once, even using the Force was out of the question.

How defeatist of you.

Rassen's eyes widened in horror. Not now. Of all the times for Zaressh's voice to make an appearance, why did it have—

I think you should give it a try. After all, where would the harm be in that?

Against his will, Rassen's vision began turning red again, his anger building once more. Unbidden, the fingers of his right hand began to flex almost imperceptibly. The ground beneath his feet was spinning faster than ever before, the world almost a blur as he continued to look straight into Mandalore's visor, the armoured woman likewise staring back at him. She gave away no indication that she had noticed something abnormal was happening to him, likely still under the assumption that he was struggling with what to do.

His fingers slowly began to move faster, their motion still unnoticeable to anyone else in the cave as Rassen felt his arm try to move from his side to point towards Shaela. Sweat began to run down his face for reasons other than the heat as he struggled with everything he had to prevent the limb from moving from its current position. He had to stop it. He didn't know if he could, but he had to somehow.

As the internal struggle continued, everyone around him seeming as though they were frozen in time as it raged, Rassen felt his control over his arm gradually beginning to slip, the entire limb starting to shake as he continued to fight against Zaressh, or whatever it was in his mind that was masquerading as the Sith. He suddenly realised he could feel Kasumi and Shepard's eyes on him, the two of them having turned their heads to look at him at some point without him noticing. It was then he realised Shaela was looking at him as well.

The quarian currently had her back to him, but she had turned her head to face him as much as she could, looking over her shoulder towards where he stood. Her silver eyes seemed to plead with him as they met his own. His resolve nearly broke in that moment. Shaela was terrified. She knew how close to death she was. He couldn't protect her. For all of his abilities, for everything they had faced together, he still couldn't save her.

Her mouthpiece suddenly turned blue as their gazes remained locked. "Rassen," the quarian said gently, her voice trembling yet somehow remaining strong at the same time, "don't."

That was when realisation hit. Shaela was terrified, but it wasn't because of the threat to her.

It was because of the threat to him.

If he moved, if he acted, then it wouldn't matter that help was on the way, they would both die regardless. Despite the threat to her own life, Shaela was far more horrified by what would happen to him if he tried anything. That for her was just as terrible as her life ending was for him.

Rassen's arm stopped shaking, his fingers stilling soon after as new strength suffused him. He winced as Zaressh's voice tore through his mind, the immense fury it held almost causing him to stagger. Despite the power behind it, though, it somehow seemed quieter than before as his gaze remained locked with Shaela's, as though her presence was counteracting its influence.

Use. The. Force!

There were suddenly footsteps behind him, and Rassen grunted as something smashed into his back, sending him to the ground with a strangled gasp. Looking up with difficulty, he saw Mandalore give a curt nod, causing the Mandalorian responsible to return to their former position in the crowd. Black spots began appearing across his vision, but Rassen ignored them as best he could. Regardless of how much blood he'd lost earlier, he couldn't afford to pass out.

"Rassen!"

At the sound of Shaela calling his name, Rassen looked over at the quarian and tried to reassure her with his eyes that he was fine, not trusting himself to speak as his stomach suddenly began to roil, leaving him feeling as though he might be sick. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Shepard and Kasumi attempt to lurch to their feet, only for the Mandalorians and batarians near them to adjust their weapons, forcing the pair to remain where they were. Taking a deep, shuddering breath of scorching air, Rassen swallowed heavily, trying to suppress the nausea he felt.

"You disappoint me, Jedi," Mandalore snarled, causing him to tear his gaze away from Shaela and move it to her. "You clearly care for this one. Is it the compassion your kind claim to have for all life, or is it something more… personal? No matter. She dies, then you, then your hooded friend. If any of you have something to say to her, now is the time."

"That's enough!"

Everyone, even the Mandalorians and batarians watching the proceedings, froze in surprise as a single armoured figure emerged from the crowd to stand a few metres away from Mandalore. Rassen stared at the individual in shock. The Mandalorian was clearly female judging by her voice, but that wasn't what was surprising. No, what left him dumbfounded was that he recognised her.

She was the same Mandalorian from Horizon and Aratoht.

The newcomer paid no attention to him or the others as she faced her leader, standing defiantly despite her obvious fear as she spoke. "There's nothing honourable about this. We came to this galaxy to battle worthy foes, not torment and beat those we defeat!"

The black spots began to expand as he slowly managed to struggle back to his feet. Rassen fought against the darkness that threatened to consume his vision as Mandalore turned to address the other woman, her rage palpable despite the fact it wasn't aimed at him. "Dozens of us are dead because of the commander," she hissed. "The time for honour has passed. He will watch as his friends die before his eyes. Now get back in line."

Rassen's initial shock turned into complete disbelief as the Mandalorian shook her head, refusing to back down despite the anger of her superior. "N-no. This isn't w-what you told me would happen. I won't—"

Mandalore waved a hand in the other woman's direction, cutting her off as two other Mandalorians stepped forward from the crowd and grabbed her by the arms before beginning to drag her away. Despite how much of a struggle it was just to remain standing, Rassen opened his mouth to speak, countless questions on the tip of his tongue as the three Mandalorians vanished into the crowd of similarly armoured figures and batarians. Who was she? Why was she trying to help them despite him threatening her on Horizon? Why did she follow Mandalore if she didn't agree with her methods? He tried to voice those questions, only to let out a groan instead as he nearly collapsed right there and then. It was taking everything he had to remain conscious and on his feet. Even speaking was beyond Rassen as he started to sway slightly in place, his sense of balance beginning to abandon him.

Mandalore turned back to face him before carrying on as though the interruption had never occurred. "Enough time has been wasted," she snarled. "Now, do any of you—"

"You mentioned your plan has changed, but how is this any different from what you were going to do before?" Kasumi blurted out, causing Rassen to look over at her with difficulty. The thief was still on her knees next to Shepard, but she glanced quickly in his direction before returning her attention to Mandalore. Despite how it had been there for only the briefest of moments, Rassen still managed to see the fear in her eyes as their gazes met. Kasumi knew as well as he did that they were running out of time, but she likewise had no other plan than to try and stall for as long as possible.

"If you were going to try and kill us anyway, what difference does doing it this way make?" the thief continued, her shoulders set as Mandalore slowly turned to face her, the latter seemingly trembling with fury beneath her heavy armour.

"It makes all the difference!" Mandalore roared. "After what he did," she pointed at Shepard with her free hand, "death in battle is an honour none of you deserve. He will live with the guilt of not being able to save the rest of you as punishment for his crime."

"What… crime?" Rassen managed, drawing everyone's attention back to him as he painfully sank to his knees despite his best efforts to remain standing. Ignoring the blackness that continued to take up more and more of his vision, he stared directly into Mandalore's visor as he continued. "You must have… must have known you would lose people hunting… hunting Shepard and the… rest of us." He swallowed heavily and took a deep breath before continuing. "Why was blowing them up all at once on Aratoht so… so different from us fighting them in a protracted battle?"

"There was no honour in it, Jedi. All of them would have gladly perished in a true fight with the four of you, but instead he—"

"I what?" Shepard interrupted incredulously. "I ruined your dream of tracking us down and killing us while losing only a few men in the process? I ruined your plan to wipe out the Alliance taskforce? Your plan to kill thousands of innocent men and women like you did on Horizon? You're insane!"

The silence from earlier returned. The only noise Rassen could hear apart from his own ragged breathing was the hum of Mandalore's vibrosword as it hovered next to Shaela's neck. "Perhaps," the armoured woman replied, voice barely a whisper. "But that won't save your friends, Commander. Know that you carry as much blame for their deaths as I do."

"You keep… keep mentioning honour," Rassen said quickly, stalling for time as his eyes locked onto the tip of the vibrosword as it began to move closer to Shaela, feeling a sense of relief as its progress halted at his words. "Yet you have never shown anything resembling it. If it truly is so important to you, prove it."

"And what would you suggest, Jedi?" Mandalore sneered. "A one on one duel? You can't even stand, and the rest of you no doubt have little skill with a blade. As surprising as it was to see that this one," she inclined her head slightly towards Shaela, "has a lightsaber now, she didn't on Aratoht. And as I have said, I no longer have an interest in giving any of you an end through fair combat."

She suddenly grabbed onto the top of Shaela's helmet with her free hand, drawing a gasp of shock from the quarian. "This is your final chance. Do any of you have anything to say to her?"

Even though his vision had by now turned almost completely black, Rassen still managed to slowly extend a hand towards Shaela. He had no choice now; he had to take the risk. She would die for sure if he couldn't pull her away from the woman who had her at sword-point. As he tried to focus, his heart seemed to stop in his chest as Zaressh's voice returned without warning, its tone gleeful.

I've changed my mind.

Rassen's eyes widened in horror as nothing happened. He could still feel the Force, but the ability to use it was somehow just out of his reach. It was as though the Force was a reservoir and a dam separated him from it, the barrier solid and immovable. He desperately tried to break through the mental block, what little remained of his vision turning red again despite the near overwhelming blackness as he strained with the little strength he had.

Having difficulty, Rassen?

As had been the case earlier, Rassen didn't hear the initial command, but he certainly felt the result of it as an armoured boot slammed into his back without warning, sending him forward and then pinning him flat against the ground on his front, causing the taste of blood to fill his mouth as the side of his face collided with the hard rock beneath him. Looking up painfully, he saw both Shepard and Kasumi try to move to help him and Shaela, only for the Mandalorians and batarians who had them at gunpoint to adjust their hold on their weapons, causing the pair to freeze.

Swallowing heavily, Rassen slowly moved his gaze over to Shaela to find her staring back at him. The fear in her eyes was gone, sad acceptance having replaced it now. There was a flash of movement as Mandalore raised her vibrosword high into the air and began to bring it down towards the quarian's neck. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Rassen opened his mouth to tell Shaela he was sorry, only for his eyes to notice a flicker of blue next to one of the batarian ships outside the cave.

He stared in shock as the flash of colour reappeared a split-second later. There was someone down there, but the shade of blue they wore was too dark to belong to a suit of Mandalorian armour. That left only one possibility that he could think of, but he and the others would have heard it if the Alliance shuttles had arrived, so who—

A faint booming noise came from the direction of the unknown individual, the sound like a distant thunderclap. Mandalore staggered, dropping her vibrosword mid-swing before looking down at the patch of red that was now quickly growing across the left side of her body. Rassen stared as uncomprehendingly at the blood as she did as the armoured woman turned to face the direction the shot had come from.

"How?" she managed, her voice little more than a wheeze. "Should have… heard them arrive."

A second shot sounded, the projectile responsible for the noise smashing into Mandalore's shoulder and sending her to the ground. Rassen watched her fall. So did everyone else in the cave. For a moment, no one moved.

Then all hell broke loose.