-Chapter 7-

Closer Than Ever

Opening another door, Jared walked through a small area of the walkway which contained several market stalls.

Alright, this is good. Still know where I am and it looks fairly similar to what I'm used to. He was still unsure about everything that was happening, but worrying would do himself no good, he had to work on getting back home.

Moving past the various stalls, there were some more races Jared had yet to see, at least in person. Walking opposite of him with a daunting presence was an alien akin to a huge bipedal turtle with a large hump on its back. It had a rigid plate on the front of its head which stopped right above the eyes; the eyes were exactly like what the predator's on earth had. That's a Krogan. As the hulking presence got closer to Jared, he felt alarm bells go off in his head as if his brain thought he was being hunted by the krogan. Ignoring the thought, he kept walking, unconsciously speeding up to make his way past the beast and toward the stairs near the back of the market area.

"Earth-clan! Coming back from the colonies? I have many goods for sale!" A voice called out followed by difficult, labored breathing.

Near the stairs was a stall being run by a portly individual, covered head to toe in an armored, purple suit with white accents. The suit's mask was round and had two green shining eyes in the center, leading down from them were two prongs with what looked like a circular speakerbox separating them. The plump chest took up a majority of the creature's size with the arms reaching around the abdomen. The waist sported a large codpiece which separated the stomach from the legs, which were also small in comparison.

That's certainly a Volus. Jared thought to himself. You couldn't mistake that breathing for anything.

"Earth-clan, please, come see my wares, I'm sure you will be pleasantly surprised." The volus continued, interrupted occasionally by its own breathing. "I have many clothes for sale, as well as armor!" This was a subtle way to show that Jared truly was out of place in the jumpsuit.

"No thanks, not that I don't appreciate the offer, I just kind of need to be somewhere right now." Jared said, quickly making his way to the stairs across from the stall.

Wait. He stopped walking. He actually might be able to help me. If not, he can at least answer a question I've been wondering about for a while.

"Actually" Jared said as he made his way back to the stall. "Have you seen a human come through here? Should've been wearing some combat armor, most likely an N7 on the right breast." he asked, motioning to the area on himself.

"Ah yes! He did pass through here, not too long ago. He headed down the stairs there that you were going towards." The volus, using one of his three fingers, pointed toward the stairs.

"Okay, thanks, I really appreciate it." Jared said, moving back over towards the stairs before stopping once more. "Oh yeah, one more question. Do you experience feelings and higher thoughts? Like are you aware of what's going on around you?"

Silence, followed by the breath of the volus. "Yes." He uttered quickly before giving his attention to a Turian customer that had approached the stall.

Turning back toward the stairs, Jared began making his way down them. I got the help and the answer to my question. I thought maybe they were just empty minded robots or something, but no, everyone so far has been a real living thing. That I created. Thinking about this always gave him a dizzy feeling which caused him to stumble down two of the steps before catching himself. But that also helps me to see how well this universe has mimicked the events of Mass Effect one. So far, it seems to be pretty spot on, which gives me an advantage, and I need anything I can get right now.

At the bottom of the steps was a continuation of the upstairs market area with several more stalls than those above. He looked around to find a way through and in the back right corner was a door, but he also noticed something that was different from the games he knew so well. Everything felt a lot more alive. The area was packed with shoppers of every race. each browsing the stalls or trying to get the attention of the shop keep. The stalls actually had wares on display for anyone to view, and there were even security guards watching the floor, making sure no one attempted anything illegal, or at least, anyone they weren't paid off by. Jared stayed near the walls as he went towards the door, this was all still new to him and he didn't want to risk parting the sea of customers, or risk seeming suspicious to the guards.

After a few seconds of walking he had made it to the door. Placing his hand on the panel, the door slid open and he stepped through. Before him was a corridor that split off in two different directions. In front of him was an entrance to what looked like a futuristic parking garage with an arrow that stated "Chora's Den" pointing toward the interior. To the right was a set of stairs which led to another door. Suddenly, he heard gunshots ring out to the right of him. He instinctively got low to the ground and he could feel his heart rate steadily increasing. His hands started shaking as his legs became weaker, causing him to lower onto his knee. With the sound of gunshots continuing, Jared steadied his breathing and tried to breathe deep and slow rather than quick and shallow. He looked up to the door to make sure he was safe in case anyone attempted to barge through.

That is definitely where Shepard is! He must have gotten through Chora's Den already. Which means if I head up those stairs and through that door, I'm heading straight into a firefight without a gun, or any armor, or fucking anything in general. Jared slowly stood himself up, feeling his legs tremble as they tried to support him which made him forgo his steady breathing, instead, he was now on the verge of hyperventilating.

I must be fucking crazy right? I'm about to head in there like this? I know it's my only lead home right now but-. Mid thought, the gunshots adburbtley stopped, as he heard voices start to emanate through the door.

Perfect. Jared steadied his breathing once more and made a dash for the stairs as his legs began regaining their strength.

Once he reached the top, he opened the door leading to what looked like a maintenance hallway, covered in supports, pipe systems, and storage boxes. The hallway had a reddish hue to it as lights illuminated another staircase in front of him, leading up toward the rest of the area. Crouching down once more, he creeped up the staircase, deliberating taking each step to not make a sound, if anyone dangerous was still there, he did not want to risk alerting them to his presence. Making it up the staircase, Jared noticed a large storage box, leaning face down against a wall. He made his way to the crate and took cover behind it, then, slowly, he peered over the side of it to see what lay before him. There were two more staircases that lead down to a small storage area with several crates occupying it. Along with the crates were four figures, each with radically different heights and shapes, many more figures were sprawled about the ground, each with a pool of blood forming below them.

That should be Shepard, or at least I hope and pray. The weak feeling came back to his legs but still managed to keep his breathing steady . If not, I will most certainly die.

Jared steeled himself the best he could and began to step out from behind the crate making sure to put his hands up to indicate he was not a threat. "Commander Shepard!" He called out as the four figures turned to face him. "My name is Jared Knight, and I need your help."