A lone man covered in darkness woke up from his ever recurring nightmare. Opening his eyes, he found the stark room he was in to be pitch black. He was about to move and crane his neck to look around, but found himself unable to move. He was lying on a cold metal slab, but he couldn't for the love of God figure out why.

Where was he? How long had he been out? Why couldn't he move? These were all questions that were swirling in his mind as he kept trying to move his limbs from their resting position. Slowly, he twisted his appendages and began to feel sensation and stimuli return to him. He wriggled around some more and finally felt something.

There, on his wrists and around his ankles. He could feel... something. It felt unnatural -perhaps a tad bit intangible- as though nothing was there holding his hands and feet except for some inexplicable force that refused to let him move from his resting position. The man tried to lift his head and crane his neck to see what was going on, but felt the same intangible, invisible force push down his head too.

The man's breathing started becoming heavy and labored. His mind was racing, confused, worried... the man was panicking.

He struggled to move, started to... well, he would be thrashing around had he not been held down by whatever it was that was holding down. The man moved and struggled harder and harder until he felt something budge. Had he succeeded? Did he finally free himself? A failed attempt to move his hands again shows that he has, in fact, not accomplished anything. Whatever he was lying down on shifted further, and finally light banished the pitch black darkness which blinded him earlier. He reflexively closed his eyes as the light flashed into her eyes. He blinked a couple times as his pupils finally adjusted for the change in brightness. His eyes darted around, scanning everything he could see. He noticed that he was kept in some sort of container in a wall. God only knows why he was kept in there, and God only knows why he was taken out of it. He felt the metal slab seemingly drop from the wall, and in the split second it was falling he could feel himself become weightless. As the slab seemingly slowed down from it's descent, the man felt his weight return to him. He now saw the ceiling move above him and light wind brushing his skin. The slab must be levitating and moving somehow.

The floating metal slab was taking him somewhere. But where? He wasn't even sure what the Hell was going on or how he got here in the first place. He remembered the attack on Eden Prime and getting knocked out, but nothing afterwards until now. Was this the work of the Aliens? He couldn't tell. The facility he was stored in had a very different aesthetic feeling than the ships he saw the attacking aliens used.

Finally, the metal slab stopped. It floated there for a few seconds before a clicking noise came out from under it. The slab shifted in its position, not smoothly like it previously did but in a rough, almost mechanical movement expected of a robotic arm.

The slab turned and shifted on it's positions, changing angles and moving the man to an upright position. Now in clear view in front of the man were his captors.

Aliens. Aliens were his captors.

These kinds of Aliens weren't the ones he knew though. The Aliens that attacked Eden Prime looked vaguely Human, save the four eyes and skin texture. These Aliens are completely different. They looked like lizards, and they were slim and slimy looking. Completely different from what he had expected. The Aliens were talking to each other in a language he couldn't understand. The man was only now slowly realizing exactly what he was.

A test subject.

With that realization, mechanical arms rose from the floor with medical tools and and other apparatus.

The Aliens were going to dissect him, and the man was powerless to stop them. He sent out a bloodcurdling scream for help, but his voices merely echoed down to the empty corridors, heard by nobody.

-000-

Exodus

Zakera Ward, The Citadel, March 17, 2193.

Rana entered her apartment and was immediately greeted by slow music playing at a rather high volume. That's odd, she thought she turned off the music player earlier. She walked down the short hallway from her front door and into the living room, where she saw her bond-mate cradling their sleeping daughter.

"Oh, Kangl. I thought you were still on duty." She said, surprised to see her Salarian partner here.

"I'm on leave." he simply told her.

"And what is Meela doing here, isn't she supposed to be in school?"

"I picked her up some time earlier." Kangl answered. "Pack up your things, we're going."

"Wha.. why- where are we-"

Kangl shushed her mid-sentence, motioning to his aural cavities as he pointed to the walls. Were they being spied on? Was he playing music to mask their voices? Just what was going on?

"I swear I'll explain later, but we have to go as soon as possible." Kangl told her hurriedly. "Take everything of value that can be packed."

Rana complied. She went to the master bedroom and packed all her personal items that she couldn't afford to loose, as well as things they would need for at least a week. Her husband generally got breaks that lasted that long, so she simply assumed that would be how long they would be going. Once she was done, they left the apartment and took the elevator down to the apartment's basement level, where the parking space for personal vehicles were. Upon exit, she saw a large hovercar, able to fit at least a few Elcors, waiting in the basement lobby. There was a sketchy looking individual waiting for them in the driver seat. Kangl approached the driver and the driver talked to him.

"You're late." The Salarian driver said.

"She got caught up in traffic." Kangl replied, pointing to Rana.

"Whatever, get in the back and we'll take you there."

The family of three boarded the hovercar. It took off as soon as they were all seated.

"Dad, where are we going?" Meela asked.

"I... it's something to do with my work." Kangl answered. "My station will be changing soon and I'll be working somewhere else."

"So we're moving again?" Meela asked, disappointed.

"Yes. But on the bright side, once my transfer is complete I'll bre able to spend more time at home with you and mom!"

"Really?" the young Asari asked again, now a little bit excited.

"Really." Kangl confirmed. "I'm sorry that this is so sudden. I know it must be something of a shock to you to be moving so soon. But I promise you, everything will be all better once we're settled down again."

Rana looked at her bond-mate with a little apprehension, but eventually accepted it. Kangl worked a very dangerous job and they did move around very often. She just wasn't expecting to move again so soon after settling down in the Citadel.

Meela sat quietly on her seat, playing with her little toys. As the young Asari preoccupied herself, Rana leaned towards her Salarian bondmate and whispered.

"What's all this about?" She asked quietly, as not to alert their child. "Is the Citadel not safe enough?"

Kangl glanced at his daughter for a bit before turning back to Rana.

"I'm not sure." He answered. "I'm not sure who's friend and who's foe anymore. I can't be sure who's going to strike, and where."

"That's very vague, love. I'm going to need more details." Rana chastised.

"Something... something bad is going to happen, and I need to be certain that you and Meela are going to be safe."

"Goddess." Rana quietly exclaimed. "Is it that bad?"

"Possibly, but I'm not taking chances." Kangl reiterated.

The hovercar stopped, and the sliding doors to the passenger compartment opened.

"We're here." Kangl told his family.

The three of them stepped out to find themselves in one of the seedier docks in the Citadel. Rana kept Meela close to her as Kangl lead them through the maze of cargo containers until they reached an unmarked ship. There were armed guards surrounding it of a variety of species, though none of them were wearing any identifiable insignias.

"They'll take care of you ans get you to the safe place I was talking about." Kangl told the two Asaris.

"But what about you?" Rana asked.

"There's still a lot of things I have to deal with in my current posting." The Salarian regrettably told the two. "I'll catch up as soon as I can."

If there was any apprehension on Rana's mind, she didn't show it. She trusted Kangl, maybe more than she ought to, but he had always done right by her and Meela. She put her faith on her bondmate once more, trusting that he would keep his word.

"Make it quick, alright?" Rana told her bondmate.

The family of three embraced one last time before parting. They savored moment for as long as they could, unsure of when they would get the opportunity to do so again.

This was a good thing, as it would be the last time they would ever see Kangl alive.

-000-

Chasing Shadows

HNS Warsword, Salharik Star Cluster, March 29, 2193.

"Unit Warsword, this is Overmaster. Do you copy?" An electronic voice buzzed through the Turian stealth frigate's CIC.

"This is Warsword, We read you loud and clear, Overmaster." Nihlus reported.

Pila Squad was out in the Terminus systems hunting leads for the missing POWs. With assistance from the Free Batatian Republic they've managed to narrow down the search to a few clusters, though that's not exactly saying much.

"Warsword, Unit Aqui has noted an unusually high amount of unmarked traffic in the Minas-Kito system." Overmaster, the codename for the Blackwatch handler in the region, informed them. "They're requesting backup to deal with potential threats in the system."

"Overmaster, could it be the Humans? They have a flotilla active in this sector don't they?" Nihlus asked.

"Negative on that Warsword." Overmaster replied. "Human ships have been registered and monitored upon entering Terminus space. Unidentified vessels are potentially hostile. Can you assist?"

"Copy that, Overmaster." Nihlus confirmed. "Warsword will move to assist."

Once the call ended, Nihlus turned to his helmsman.

"Pullo, set stealth systems to cooldown and chart a course for the Minas-Kito system, full burn." The Blackwatch leader ordered.

The helmsman complied and the HNS Warsword and it's crew began it's journey to join it's sister ship, the HNS Aqui.

It took them almost an hour of FTL flight, but the Turian stealth frigate finally entered the system. After having the ship's stealth systems reactivated, they rendezvoused with the Aqui. Nihlus contacted them with a special short ranged laser-communicator.

"Aqui, this is Warsword." Nihlus announced. "Do you copy?"

"Loud and clear, Warsword." The Aqui's commander answered.

"What's the situation?"

"Several unmarked and unaffiliated ships entered the system and headed for the Colony of Kitho." Aqui told them. "They're of a Batarian build, but no identification markers have been found yet."

"Armaments?"

"Light. No spinal cannons, but a multitude of broadside guns and GARDIAN Laser cannons. Shield capabilities unknown."

"Affirmative, Aqui." Nihlus confirmed. "Have we figured out where they're going?"

"It's a mountain top facility of some kind. Long range recon suggests that it has some serious anti-air and potentially anti-orbital positions protecting it. Closest secure LZ is close to the foot of the mountain."

"That's a lot of firepower for a simple Terminus colony trading outpost." Nihlus concluded. "We should do a comprehensive scan of the area before do anything drastic. The last thing we want is to antagonize some Terminus Warlord while the rest of the Hierarchy is stuck in the middle of this war."

"Exactly what we were thinking, Warsword. You scan the facility, we'll watch out for in and outbound traffic." Aqui's commander said.

The two stealth frigates separated as Aqui stationed itself to watch traffic coming into the system, and Warsword went into geosynchronous orbit and began scanning the mountain complex in full detail.

The process was a lengthy one, as the various jamming and masking devices made it difficult for the cyberwarfare team on the Warsword to figure out just exactly what was going on in that mountain complex. What little they did figure out of the complex was that it was far larger than it looked in the outside. Energy signatures from inside the mountain was visible even from space after a 10 hour long scan of the area. Clearly this wasn't just another two-bit Terminus warlord. There was something big down there.

"Sir, we have a call from Aqui on the line." The ship's comm officer announced.

"Put them on the display." Nihlus told the officer.

"Warsword, this is Aqui. We found something here." The commander told them through the call.

"We read you loud and clear, Aqui."

"We've got another unmarked ship headed for the planet, of a Salarian build this time."

"A Salarian ship? What model and make?" Nihlus asked for more information.

"Just going by the silhouette, it's probably a Sur'ah-class corvette, probably one of the newer models."

"That's an STG ship." Nihlus concluded. "No Terminus warlord has access to that kind of tech."

"I concur." Aqui agreed. "We should call for reinforcements. Units Sigmar and Triarix are in the sector, they could be here within a day's time."

"Do it. We'll keep scanning the complex until they arrive."

Nihlus was about to close the call, but a thought came up in his mind so he spoke again.

"Aqui, notify the Humans that we're engaging in operations here." Nihlus added.

"What? Why?" Aqui asked.

"The Humans are following leads for their abducted people in this sector. We were looking for our missing POWs in the very same sector." Nihlus explained.

"You think that whoever took our guys took theirs too?"

"I'm saying it's a distinct possibility." Nihlus remarked. "It's too big to be a coincidence for both of our leads to take us to the same general area."

"I see." Aqui acknowledged. "I'll transmit the messages now."

After cutting the call, Nihlus leaned into the officer's rails beside him. Who in spirit's name decided it was a good idea to have the ship's commander stand up when in station anyways?

"So, sir... Do you think the Human's would have to join in with us?" The comm officer asked Nihlus.

"Well, it'd certainly be interesting to see them in action." Nihlus commented. "But don't get your hopes up, they're probably too busy trying to find their way around the cluster without picking a fight with one of the warlords."

"Heh, word around is that the Humans don't particularly care if they piss off the warlords, sir." The comm officer mused.

"Well, that would make one of us." The Blackwatch commander sighed out. "I'm retiring to my quarters for now. Wake me up when Sigmar and Triarix arrive."

"Aye, sir." The comms officer simply replied.

-000-

Galactic News Update:

Colonial News Center: With the 6th Expeditionary Flotilla entering the 2nd week of the Terminus Expedition, the lack of transparency from the Navy's high command has lead many to worry over the success chances of the operation. A stirring worry as of recently is that perhaps it is far too late to mount a proper rescue operation. Speculation has varied from wild theories of mass murder of captured Humans, all the way to the simple ides that perhaps the captured are simply too scattered to be found. High Admiral Grissom has assured that they will get to the bottom of this crisis, though he has not specified exactly how the Navy was going to do this.

-000-

Archive Update:

Legacy Divisions: Renown for their acts of military prowess and their lengthy history, the title of Legacy Division' is one officially bestowed upon military units which have proven themselves in combat and have immortalized themselves in history. This title was not one made out of the kindest of intentions, however. Following the "Brother's War", much debate was held in regards of what to do with military units that had sided with the Sol Union. Many of these units have history up to hundreds of years old. Old units such as the French 1st Infantry Regiment and the American 82nd Airborne Division were among the many Union formations on the proverbial chopping block. Unwilling to allow these historic units to be disbanded, many of the reconciled Union officers campaigned for these units to be retained in the new Systems Alliance military. Eventually, after much discussion and debate, many -though not all- of these historic units would be absorbed into the Alliance Military.

A/N:

The starting scene was actually cut content from a previous chapter. Honestly though, adding it in now on October makes a bit more sense thematically than adding it a couple months ago.

Anyways, this is a short update for now. I'll have a longer update on November before I'll have to go through exams.

Not sure what to add in here, to be honest. Not a lot of stuff actually happened in this chapter, and it's more of a set up for what's going to happen in the next chapters, making this the last part of 'Road to Oblivion' and the next part will mark the start of 'Gates of Oblivion' and the total mess which will follow.

As always, I hope you enjoyed the story thus far. Write down your thoughts or message them to me. I might not reply to it, but know that I always read them.

Thanks for reading, good luck and to you Godspeed my friends.