A/N: A new chapter is ready, so it's time to upload! I hope this lives up to expectations, and I also hope all of you are safe and well considering the current global situation.

Responses to reviews are as follows:

AnarionRising27: Garrus had to appear sooner or later, didn't he? Glad to hear you like his inclusion in this story. As to what will happen next... I'm not saying anything...

How was the previous chapter on the whole, though? It proved the hardest one to write yet, so I'm a little worried it might not have been all that good.

6tailedninja: Wow, thanks! Glad to hear you like the characters, I've really tried to give them development and keep them compelling, so that means a lot.

Guest: Hah, not a fan of rogue Mandalorians I take it?

seabo76: Had to, I'm afraid. How else am I going to force people to keep reading?

Yeah, hopefully there won't be anything as bad as the last gap. I have to be honest, though, each chapter is proving a real struggle to write. I can get the basic 5,000 or more words down in a week no problem, but the checking and editing part is taking months, and that's extremely frustrating. On the bright side, we're close to the end now, so there won't be too many more insane waits.

Glad to hear you enjoyed the chapter. As with the last few, did it measure up to expectations or did it feel slightly off? Editing is proving so difficult right now that I'm honestly not sure how well these chapters are turning out anymore.

Rob Sears: Hey, thanks for sparing the time to let me know what you thought!

Fight scenes are something I'm usually a little worried by, given that pacing is everything. Have them be too long and they lose their intensity, but have them be too short and they feel rather anti-climactic. I'm glad to hear you liked the most recent one, though, and that you still feel I'm managing to make the Mass Effect and Star Wars elements work together as well as they can.

I think you have mentioned that you like my writing style in that way, but you've also mentioned my tendency to use overly long sentences, similarly to how I've mentioned your habit of using a character's name repeatedly in a paragraph as opposed to using other terms such as their species name or their relationship with another character. To be fair, you've got better at that (currently on chapter 4 of Cenotaph II, so that's how I know). I'll make sure to keep an eye out for too long sentences over the next few chapters now that you've reminded me that's something to work on.

Ah, so many things could happen next. I'm not spoiling much by saying we're almost at the end now (as in only a few chapters) but rest assured a lot will happen in that time. Hopefully the wait won't be as bad from here on out, though.

Thanks again for showing your support, it really does mean a lot!

Chapter 32: Struggle

Rassen gasped as he violently awoke, the Jedi Knight heaving in a vast lungful of air as though he had been forced to submerge his head in water to the point of nearly drowning and had only just now surfaced. A second gasping breath followed, his entire body trembling partly as a result of his exhaustion, but mostly because of something else. Something he had just sensed.

Something that was terribly wrong.

The deafening sounds of combat—gunfire, desperate shouts, and explosions—left him completely disoriented despite them being noticeably less frequent than he remembered as he glanced around desperately, trying to get his bearings. Despite the obvious danger he was in, though, Rassen knew the noises that were occurring all around him were not what had dragged him back into consciousness. He had been tired, so, so tired, but he remembered thinking that he had to stay awake, remembered that he had repeated that fact to himself silently over and over again. But with Shaela nearby and unharmed, the last of his strength—

Shaela.

It was only now that Rassen noticed a new sound, one that had not been present when he had most recently passed out. It was both similar and different to the cries of the Mandalorians and batarians that continued to occur as they had for what seemed like an eternity. Whereas those were sounds of rage, determination, or even fear, the noise that reached his ears now, the sound that he now realised was connected to whatever it was that had caused him to wake up, was borne of something far more terrible.

As though controlled by some unseen force, Rassen's head began to turn almost without his consent, instinct telling him that what he was about to see was something that would stay with him until the end of his days if he dared to gaze upon it. Curiosity, though—the kind that no man or woman, no matter how strong-willed, could deny—meant he couldn't stop the inexorable movement of his body as his gaze landed on the sight a few feet to the right of him.

The first thing he saw was a Mandalorian, their armour drenched with their own blood as they stood with their back to him, their posture unnatural on account of the injuries they had clearly sustained. Despite their armour possessing no obvious distinguishing marks, though, the arrogance of their stance despite their wounds meant Rassen recognised them, or more specifically her.

Mandalore.

It was only after a few seconds of observing the armoured woman had passed that he noticed a second person, who was currently on the other side of Mandalore to him. They clearly weren't human, their digitigrade legs, smaller number of fingers and toes than he himself possessed, and full body enviro-suit meant Rassen noticed that fact instantly. The name of the individual's species floated to the front of his mind almost as soon as he laid eyes on them. They were a quarian.

She, for it was definitely a woman he noted as he continued to examine her, was currently on her knees with both of her hands covering her face. Her gloves dripped with some kind of dark liquid, a pool of which had already begun to form on the floor of the cave beneath her. A metallic tang to the air confirmed Rassen's suspicions.

Blood.

Blue shards littered the pool of red liquid that continued to expand as he watched, the material they were made from similar to glass, though far more durable and lightweight. As if on cue, the quarian's hands shifted slightly, several more blue fragments falling to join the ones already in the puddle of blood, as did more droplets of the viscous fluid itself. Throughout his observations, she screamed in agony.

Rassen stared uncomprehendingly at the sight before him, his mind noticing each part of the scene but still unable to piece it together, until Mandalore turned away from the quarian to face him, the armoured woman seemingly having sensed he had awoken as she spoke in a laboured voice.

"Still… got her."

Snarling like a wounded animal as the dots finally connected, Rassen lurched to his feet, the action causing seemingly every muscle in his body to shriek in protest, although he paid them no mind. As soon as he was upright, though, the all too familiar black spots exploded across his vision, almost causing him to pass out again. Shaking his head vigorously in an attempt to stay conscious, he began to stagger towards Shaela. She needed his help; he had to get to her before—

He barely saw Mandalore as she stepped in front of him, but Rassen certainly felt it as her armoured fist slammed directly into his stomach, his comparatively light armour buckling slightly under the force of the blow as the air left his lungs. His knees sagging, he threw himself forwards, grabbing onto Mandalore's shoulders in a desperate attempt to remain on his feet. A second punch followed the first, and there was a sickening cracking noise as it suddenly became even harder for him to breathe.

"You've forgotten… what I said," Mandalore panted, twisting free from his grip before slamming a shoulder viciously into Rassen's chest and sending him to the ground. The Jedi Knight's vision went completely black as the back of his head smashed against the floor of the cave, but he still heard what she said next as she moved closer, the thud of metal boots against stone likewise still audible despite the sound of blood rushing in his ears.

"She dies first, then it's your turn. And I'm not done with her yet."

Rassen's sight slowly returned to reveal the armoured woman standing over him, her head tilted slightly to the side as she observed him with one fist raised to strike, seemingly uncaring of the sounds of combat that continued to occur nearby. Gritting his teeth as he suppressed a sudden wave of intense nausea, Rassen looked over at Shaela, whose hands were still pressed over her face as she screamed. The world turned red as he slowly looked back at Mandalore.

"No."

Even if his response had been expected, his tone hadn't been. Rassen didn't need to see what lay beneath Mandalore's helmet as she stared down at him, clearly caught off guard by the certainty in his voice. His breathing began to speed up almost of its own accord, air hissing through his teeth as he stared back, rage taking over as he rose back to his feet with a roar, the armoured woman having no time to react before he was upright.

"I'm going to save her," Rassen whispered, his voice barely audible over the continued sounds of fighting. "But before I do, I'm going to kill you."

There was the unmistakable sound of a blaster pistol being cocked. Rassen looked down to find the barrel of the weapon in question pointing directly at the centre of his chest, the distance between him and it only a few inches.

"And how," Mandalore whispered back, her voice still mocking despite its low volume, "are you going to do that?"

How indeed, Rassen?

The answer came less than a second later. Mandalore let out a small cough, the sound similar to what someone would make if they were to clear their throat. A second, louder cough followed almost immediately after. Then a third, this one louder still.

Rassen lunged for Mandalore's weapon as she began to cough increasingly violently, shoving her arm aside as the armoured woman's finger tightened on the trigger, the blaster bolt missing him by inches as he tightened his hold on her throat, left hand curling into a fist by his side. As he poured more of his strength into the action, Mandalore slowly began to rise into the air before him, body becoming completely rigid as he held her in place with the Force, taking his time as he choked the life from her.

"You broke away from your own people because you thought you could lead them better than anyone else," Rassen said slowly, his voice eerily calm. "But those who came with you are dying even now. You failed."

He tightened his grip on her neck further. "In the end you are nothing more than a common thug. A petulant child who demanded things go their way. This is your reward."

Kill her.

"You're…" Mandalore managed to gasp, her voice weak. "You're a… a Jedi. You can't—"

Rassen stepped closer to her, his greater height meaning he could look the armoured woman directly in the eyes even though she was by now hovering several inches above the floor of the cave. "Watch me," he snarled, backing away slightly before raising his right hand, his fingertips humming with the Force in a way they never had before as bright blue light exploded from them, tendrils of lightning arcing through the air towards the defenceless Mandalorian leader.

He didn't know how he knew how to do it, much like he didn't know how he was slowly asphyxiating Mandalore the same way he had several of her subordinates on Horizon during their attack on the colony. All Rassen knew was that in that moment it didn't matter, and that she deserved it.

A smile pulled at his lips as the lightning struck Mandalore full on, her choked gasps for air instantly giving way to agonised screams. The smile then widened as he allowed his rage to grow, the lightning increasing in intensity as a result as Rassen continued to send it directly into the Mandalorian leader's still suspended body. After everything she had done… the massacre on Horizon, forcing them to flee and hide, threatening Shaela, and finally attempting to kill the quarian… she didn't deserve any mercy from him.

You are right, Rassen. She does not. You could never hurt her enough.

Rassen nodded slowly. That voice… something told him he shouldn't be listening to it, that its very existence was wrong, but he ignored the feeling. He knew where the voice was from, he was almost certain of that, but for some reason he couldn't place it at the moment. He shook his head in an attempt to focus back on the task at hand. What did it matter where the voice was from if it was right?

Smoke began to rise from Mandalore's body as he continued to gradually electrocute her, wisps of it curling away from her immobilised form before vanishing from sight as they headed towards the ceiling of the cave dozens of feet above them. Rassen heard laughter, and for a moment he thought someone was standing next to him, watching the spectacle unfold. It was only after he glanced around that he realised the sounds of mirth were in fact coming from him. His smile widened even further, turning into a grin.

Suddenly someone grabbed onto one of his ankles, causing him to drop Mandalore to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut. Trembling with fury, Rassen looked down at whoever was responsible, only to freeze in place, his anger slowly fading, as a very familiar person stared back at him.

One of Shaela's hands was still pressed firmly over her face, blood pouring from between her fingers as she desperately tried to stem its flow. With her other hand holding onto his ankle, however, Rassen could see that her visor had remained intact on one side, the light blue material cracked but still sound as a single silver eye stared back at him pleadingly. Although she flinched as their gazes met, the quarian's grip on him didn't slacken as she lay there on the rocky ground.

"Rassen," Shaela managed, her voice trembling with pain so badly he could barely understand her. "P-please… stop. This i-isn't y-you."

Rassen shook his head, snarling as he tried to stop his anger from fading any further. "After everything she has done," he hissed, "she deserves far worse. Let go."

"N-no," Shaela gasped, using her grip on his ankle to pull herself closer. "You k-k-know this is… this is w-wrong."

"I do not care."

"You can't…" Shaela trailed off, a sudden coughing fit overwhelming her for a moment before she continued, "l-let him w-win. He doesn't con… control you, Rassen."

Don't listen to her, Rassen! She is weak, just look at her. You know I am right, that this pretend Mandalore deserves everything she is currently enduring and far more besides. Now finish it!

Rassen's fingers twitched, the same humming sensation from before dancing across the tip of each of them as he turned back to face Mandalore, who hadn't moved from where she lay crumpled on the floor of the cave. He raised both of his hands this time. Zaressh was right. He should finish the job…

Zaressh.

That was what the feeling from a few moments ago had been trying to tell him. He knew the voice's owner very well, didn't he? Rassen lowered his hands, a frown appearing on his features as the red began to fade from his vision, rage giving way to a feeling of disgust as he stared down at his fingers. Zaressh… the two of them were… they weren't friends. No, they were… adversaries… no, that still didn't fit, didn't seem a strong enough term. The haze of fury lifted further as the voice spoke again, coloured with desperation as it tried to convince him once more.

No, Rassen! You hate her! You know she deserves to suffer!

"I… I love you."

Rassen swallowed heavily as he turned back to face Shaela, the voice in his head fading to a whisper at her words. That lone silver eye seemed to hold him in place better than even the Force was capable of doing, the quarian somehow still more focused on him than her injury as she continued to cling onto his ankle.

"Let go," she breathed.

"Come… come back to me."

No, this cannot happen! I refuse to—

Zaressh's voice cut out mid-sentence, causing Rassen to stagger, the movement pulling his leg free of Shaela's grip. He collapsed to the ground a second later, his gaze still locked with the quarian's as she stared back at him.

"I love you so much," Shaela whispered. "I… I…"

The quarian broke down coughing again, more intensely than before, and Rassen felt his heart stop as she suddenly rose onto all fours, placing her hands shoulder width apart on the rocky ground in order to steady herself. With Shaela now facing the floor of the cave, he still couldn't see the uncovered part of her face as she began trembling all over.

Lurching over to her side, Rassen tried to steady the quarian as her shaking grew worse, already reaching out to the Force as Shaela abruptly stilled, the only movement she now made the rapid rise and fall of her chest as she began to hyperventilate.

"Shaela—"

He was cut off as the quarian retched violently and then vomited, the contents of her stomach drenching the rock between her hands instantly. Rassen froze as he saw how dark the substance was, deep red, almost black spots of blood dotting the vomit as it soaked into the material of Shaela's gloves. Paralysed with horror, he nearly missed it as the woman he loved pitched over, almost landing in the puddle before he caught her around the waist.

"Your antibiotics," Rassen gasped. "Shaela, where are they?"

"Ship…" she murmured so quietly that he barely heard her, the quarian sounding as though she were a thousand miles away. "They're on the… on the…"

Sweat running down his face as it had ever since they had been captured, Rassen looked over towards the middle of the cave. The closest rock in that direction, which was only a few feet away, obstructed his vision somewhat, but he could still make out the shape of the Bo'slaak as it sat almost serenely perhaps thirty metres away from their current position. The bodies of countless Mandalorians and batarians littered the ground between himself and Shaela and it, but Rassen could see that at least a dozen individuals in that direction were still alive and in fighting condition. They, like himself and Shaela, were currently sheltering behind some of the other rocks that dotted the cave in order to shield themselves from the fire of the Alliance forces. Had he not been on the verge of collapse, Rassen could have used the Force to augment his speed, used it to sprint past them before they were even aware of what was happening. In his current state, though—

Shaela suddenly clutched at him, the quarian shuddering so violently that Rassen almost lost his grip on her as she vomited again, the substance noticeably thicker with blood than it had been a few seconds ago. He was out of time. He had to get her antibiotics to her now before it was too late. That meant he couldn't afford to go and retrieve them from the ship and then come all the way back. He only had one option.

Grunting in pain as his exhausted muscles screamed in protest, Rassen turned Shaela over as gently as he could before hooking one arm under her shoulders and the other around the underside of her knees. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he then let out a roar as he pushed off with his legs, rising from his crouch with the quarian in his arms, before nearly toppling over as something in his chest ground together. Staggering with every step, Rassen began to head towards the ship, the nearest hostile individual, a batarian, turning to face him as he emerged from the cover of the rock formation.

The four-eyed woman nearly dropped the submachine gun she held in shock at the sight before her, which gave him just enough time to adjust his grip on Shaela so he could open one hand flat in her direction. The batarian didn't get a chance to pull the trigger of her weapon before she was sailing backwards through the air, hitting the ground half a dozen metres from where she had just been standing with a crash a second later. Rassen swayed in place slightly, the use of the Force taking a considerable toll on his almost non-existent energy reserves, before he managed to refocus enough to resume his agonisingly slow progress towards the ship.

A pair of nearby Mandalorians turned in his direction, levelling their blaster rifles at the Jedi Knight as he reached out to the Force again, still cradling Shaela tightly as he prepared to dispatch them. Venture's immense heat seemed even worse than it had earlier, merely keeping his eyes open was a herculean task, and it felt as though every muscle in his body was slowly tearing apart, having finally endured too much punishment to be able to continue functioning properly for much longer.

But none of that mattered compared with the woman he held in his arms.

Shepard had been in worse positions than this one in his time, but that still didn't mean he liked his odds.

He had just about managed to fight his way to Kasumi, sprinting the entire way to the thief's location and gunning down any batarian or Mandalorian that had attempted to stop him, only to find her pinned behind a single large rock with none of their weapons in sight. Two Mandalorians and two batarians had been converging on her position, attempting to flank the rock on either side, before he had managed to intervene. The sudden arrival of even more of them, though, had forced him to take cover next to Kasumi before he had been able to consider the ramifications of doing so.

Unfortunately, that had left both of them trapped in the same location, and it seemed like every surviving Mandalorian and batarian was now bearing down on them.

Unleashing a quick burst from his rifle that shattered the kinetic barrier of his target, Shepard then ducked back down behind the rock as the batarian's return fire smashed against it, sweat pouring down his face. Fragments of stone were blasted into the air as the tiny projectiles drilled into the natural barrier, the sound loud enough to be heard over the noise made by the weapon responsible, even as it screamed its fury. Waiting until the barrage ceased, Shepard then straightened up with whiplash speed, centring the batarian's head in his sights before pulling the trigger of the rifle once and dropping the man instantly.

A blaster bolt skimmed over the top of the rock without warning, missing him by inches and causing Shepard to take cover again, his left forearm over his eyes to protect them from the loose granules of stone the projectile had superheated. Shaking his head at Kasumi as she gave him a worried look, Shepard then took a deep breath before leaning up again and opening fire on the Mandalorian responsible, his rifle fire ricocheting off the man's heavy armour until he managed to hit his target's less well-protected throat. A cloud of red mist erupted from the Mandalorian's neck as he fell to the floor of the cave, joining the dozens that had already been slain before him.

A spray of automatic fire from a nearby heavy weapon to his right forced Shepard to duck back down once more, his snarled curse rendered silent by the sheer volume of the noise made by the machine gun—an M-76 Revenant judging by its ferocity. A hand landed on his shoulder, causing him to snap round to find Kasumi pointing at something on their other side, the movement of her lips the only indication she was saying something as she stared past him, her face covered with a sheen of sweat.

Following her gaze, Shepard cursed again as he saw that a trio of batarians were closing in from their left, taking advantage of the suppressive fire being unleashed by the Revenant's owner in order to flank their position. Bracing the stock of his rifle against his shoulder, he fired fractionally before the nearest batarian could, finger pressed firmly down on the trigger as he riddled the man with fire, taking out the attacker's kinetic barrier and killing him almost instantly. Switching to the second nearest one as soon as the closest fell, Shepard gunned him down as well, sheer firepower taking precedence over accuracy for both of them as his opponent's return shots missed him by mere millimetres, the pinpricks of bright blue light racing just past the commander's head.

Desperately, Shepard aimed at the third batarian, already knowing it was too late as the woman's finger tightened on the trigger of her weapon first, sending submachine gun fire slamming furiously into his kinetic barrier. Mandalore had failed to confiscate it along with their weapons earlier, likely as a result of her relative unfamiliarity with his galaxy's technology. Had she done so, he would have never made it to Kasumi. But despite how vital a kinetic barrier could be to someone's survival, they still had a limit as to how much firepower they could handle at once.

An all too familiar warning tone filled Shepard's ears as he returned fire, signalling that his shields were rapidly depleting. Bracing himself for the almost as familiar sound of them shattering and the pain that would no doubt follow despite the armour he wore, he almost missed the flash of blue light as a shot from nowhere struck the batarian in the side of the neck. The projectile tore through her kinetic barrier like paper and blew her head clear from the rest of her body, a deep booming sound that came from somewhere behind the commander accompanying it.

Letting out a shaky sigh of relief, Shepard cautiously peered over the top of the rock in order to check for further hostiles, only to find another batarian aiming at him from behind a small boulder a mere ten metres away, a Revenant in his hands. It registered vaguely in the back of his mind that this had to be the same individual that had provided covering fire for the other batarians, but before either of them could so much as twitch, another boom sounded. The shot was every bit as accurate as the previous one, the batarian vanishing behind his cover as he was caught full in the chest.

The sound of heavy boots approaching from behind him caused Shepard to twist round, rifle at the ready, only to freeze as he recognised the armour worn by the men and women coming towards his position, its dark blue colouration noticeably different to that used by the Mandalorians. Staring at the squad of Alliance marines in disbelief as they moved past where he and Kasumi were crouched, the soldiers paying no attention to the two of them as they sought further targets while covering each other, the reality of the situation only sank in for him when the thief laughed tiredly, shuffling closer as she rested a hand on his arm.

"Well, that was a little too close for my liking, Shep."

"Agreed," he managed, unable to keep himself from laughing in relief as well. "Although, it could—"

An explosion occurred somewhere off to their left, cutting Shepard off mid-sentence and causing him to look in the direction the sound had come from. While it certainly seemed as though the fighting was almost over, with the marines now inside the cave in force, it was clear that regardless of how many batarians and Mandalorians were dead, the survivors still weren't about to simply lay down their weapons. Glancing back at Kasumi, he shrugged apologetically at the thief's expression as she saw the look on his face, clearly about to protest.

"I'm going to help them finish this. Stay here."

"No deal, Shep," Kasumi replied firmly. "Either we both stay here, or we go together."

Shepard shook his head in frustration. "You're unarmed," he countered, "and—"

"I may have a solution to that particular problem."

Shepard recognised the voice instantly, but even if he hadn't, the look on Kasumi's face as her eyes locked onto a point just over his shoulder would have narrowed down the possibilities of who it could have belonged to considerably. Turning to follow the thief's gaze, he felt his expression morph into an uncontrollable grin at the sight of a very familiar and heavily armed turian standing just a few metres away.

Garrus grinned back before walking over and slowly extending his forearm. Staring at it uncomprehendingly for a moment, Shepard then grabbed onto the offered limb, the turian gripping his forearm in return and pulling him to his feet before clapping him on the shoulder as another squad of marines hurried past them.

"It's damn good to see you, Shepard."

As the final nearby enemy, a batarian, slammed into the ground with bone-breaking force, Rassen staggered past, sparing the dying man no further attention as the distance between himself and the ship continued to shrink. A trail of prone bodies stretched out behind him, but the Jedi Knight's gaze remained fixed on the Bo'slaak as the sounds of combat that felt as though they had been occurring for years seemed to suddenly fall away. Only ten metres to go. Now five. Four. Three. Two. One.

The ramp seemed to take an eternity to lower as he stood there, Shaela barely moving as he continued to hold her. Looking down at the quarian, Rassen saw she had rolled over at some point while he had been carrying her, her face now pressing into his arm in such a way that he still couldn't see it. Adjusting his grip on her slightly, he then swallowed when Shaela didn't react in any substantial manner, the quarian barely shifting as the entrance to the ship gradually became accessible.

"Hang on, Shaela," he whispered. "Just hang on for a bit longer."

The bottom of the ramp struck the ground with a dull clang and Rassen lurched forwards, nearly overbalancing before he managed to steady himself and stagger up the smooth metal surface, his legs threatening to give out at any second. Ignoring the pain he was in, the Jedi Knight forced himself to keep going, sprinting through the interior of the ship as fast as he could, doorways flashing past as he desperately tried to reach his objective.

The entrance to the cockpit seemed to take even longer to become accessible than the ramp had, but Rassen didn't wait for it to be much more than half way open before turning his body sideways and lunging through, wincing as his shoulder caught the edge of the door before he finally lost his footing. Managing to turn slightly as he fell, the Jedi Knight gasped in pain as he crashed into the wall next to the door back-first, the impact knocking the air out of him as he somehow managed to maintain his hold on Shaela and stay just about on his feet.

For what was certainly not the first time that day, Rassen could taste blood as he pushed off from the wall, but he paid no attention to the coppery tang as he saw Shaela's bag sitting next to the pilot's chair only a few feet away from him. Gently lowering the quarian to the metal floor, Rassen then stumbled over to the bag, nearly tearing it apart before remembering how delicate its contents were. Forcing himself to slow down, he opened it carefully before pausing, one hand already inside, as he saw an array of different syringes, as well as a few other containers that appeared to be medical in nature.

"Shaela," he began desperately, turning back to the quarian as he did so, "which—"

It was then Rassen saw she had stopped breathing.