MASS EFFECT CHASM: CHAPTER 11

The planet's sun glistened off the side of the Cerberus shuttle as it lifted off into the atmosphere. Kaidan Alenko grimaced as he watched below. There she went once more out of his life. The Cerberus logo stood out as a unsympathetic reminder of who she was now. He and the maintenance worker were the only survivors of the attack. The once-thriving beautiful colony on Horizon was deserted and a chill was in the air. Death without bodies. Agony. Many of his newfound friends lost to the Collectors.

Throughout the entire ordeal, he was conscious and restrained. The paralyzing sting from the swarm allowed his mind to stay awake and his eyes open. His body was stiff and he couldn't speak. He like many others were on the ground, helpless to their fate. Minutes after he was stung, the humanistic insectoid known as a Collector, picked him up like he was a paperweight and placed him back on the ground with a group of fellow prisoners. Alenko met their frightened eyes and he couldn't offer any words of sympathy or comfort to them. Amongst them were Lilith and several children. His heart broke as the children looked at him as if he could save them all. After all, he was part of the Alliance, their hero.

The Collectors methodically brought up capsules that were long enough for their prisoners' bodies and one by one the colonists were placed inside. When it came to Lilith and the children, Kaidan fought as hard as he could to miraculously break free. He had to stop them! The hellish nightmare lingered. All his efforts were futile. Bastards! Kaidan had to stay there, waiting for his turn and watch in horror. It seemed as if the Collectors were purposefully selecting the colonists in front of him. Why was that? What were they waiting for? Was this some sick joke? Did they know he was there to protect the people of Horizon? Were they mocking his existence? One Collector stood out amongst the others. His eyes shined brightly in a yellow glow. The same yellow flame encased his exoskeleton. He was menacing to just look at. Kaidan noted that this guy had to be one of the leaders. The one calling the shots. The Collector glared over at Alenko with his glowing eyes intensely looking into his. "We are the Harbinger of your perfection. You will ascend." Never! Go to hell!

Just as the Collectors were up to him, they abruptly stopped what they were doing and chattered amongst one another in a weird insect-like language. Then, they took off in the easterly direction. Were they spooked? What was going on? Was it retaliation from a small pocket of colonists that managed to escape the swarm? Minutes later, gunfire exchange was heard off in the distance near the front of the colony. Who were they now fighting?

When felt like an eternity, came to jubilation when the stasis dissipated around him and his body crumbled to the ground. His entire muscular structure felt wobbly. The muscle spasms prevented him from putting weight on his legs right off the bat. Artillery fire sounded! The AA towers? Did someone activate them? He began to crawl on all fours in the same direction. He wouldn't stay there helpless. He was an Alliance soldier! Damnit, Kaidan! Move your ass!

Finally, the weird sensation wore off and he was able to stand up. Scooping up a dropped weapon, he took off in a sprint towards the towers. The collector vessel that darkly loomed over the colony took off. There was no sound of celebration of rescues. There was only silence as he got closer. What was going on? It was then that he saw her; the ghost that haunted his dreams: Commander Zalena Shepard.

His former lover stood there with a batarian and a krogan on both sides of her in discussion with one of the maintenance workers. The surviving colonist was angry that Shepard couldn't save anyone and the Collectors left with what they came for. Shepard's armor was familiar with a N7 insignia with no Cerberus markings. Were all the communications untrue? Still, there were no messages from her. No effort to reach out to him. What did that all mean? If she truly was with the organization as she proclaimed to him that day, then why the aliens with her? Why not Cerberus operatives? Why not at least humans? The group was known to be pro-human. The krogan, who was much smaller than Wrex, eyed Alenko cautiously as a threat. Not a friend. The batarian's four eyes just studied him as he remained quiet throughout the entire conversation.

As soon as he brought himself to her attention, they embraced. Though, it wasn't a long-lost lovers' embrace. It felt awkward and distant. She always tried to keep things professional when they were out, but even this was a bit extreme. Why did she act so casual about their meetup? Kaidan felt hurt. Beyond hurt. He loved her! He didn't give a damn if anyone else heard it. He wanted her to know. He wanted her to feel and see how she wronged him. Another slap in the face was her admittance to Cerberus. She defended their efforts and spoke to him as if he was complete opposition. What was wrong with her? Was this the same woman that he fell in love with years ago? Or was she some sort of deceptive impostor? Anderson was right.

Reaching down, he gently moved his gloved fingertips through the blades of grass that gently blew with the breeze. His brown eyes slowly panned over to the living pods. All were empty. No residents outside to bask in the daylight. Nobody chatting with another. No kids playing. He could still see their smiling faces at him. Now, he could just see their terrified expressions. Clenching his teeth and fists tightly, a few tears escaped his eye ducts. This wasn't over. He had to do something. He would be damned to give in to Cerberus. He would never betray his oaths: The same ones that Zalena took when she entered the Alliance. Why was she so quick to break them? He was an Alliance soldier and he would die as one.

Heading to the comm tower, he found it to be back online. Whatever the Collectors did, terminated as soon as they left. He needed to get to Anderson. Right away!

With her head held high, Zalena exited the conferencing room and made her way to her cabin. She could feel everyone's eyes watching her, murmuring to one another. To her, the mission was a failure. Lives were lost; despite the pat on the back from the Illusive Man. The Collectors now knew that she was a force to reckon with. To add insult to injury, Kaidan was there. The Illusive Man knew it. He knew it before she arrived in the colony. He knew it before the Collectors struck! She was pissed! Damn him!

The man that she once loved stared at her like she was a stranger; an enemy of the Alliance. He questioned her loyalty for joining Cerberus. She calmly tried to reason him and make him understand her choice. Alenko was stubborn and hard-headed. Shepard knew that about him earlier on, but this time, it ticked her off. Why wouldn't he listen? Why wouldn't anyone listen to her?

Retreating to her cabin, she needed to find solitude. Solace in all the chaos. Her body wanted to collapse into a heap of self-pity. No, she was better than that. This mission would push her limits. She would endure. Humanity needed her. Her team needed her.

The sight of her bed inside her quarters beckoned to her. "EDI, turn off monitoring," She called to the ship's AI.

"Monitoring off, Shepard."

Falling onto the bed on her back, she gazed up at the ceiling. It was then when she knew she was alone, that she removed her guard and allowed the tears to flow down her cheeks. Turning on her right side, she hugged her pillow to her chest and squeezed the softness of it. She needed him there. She wanted Kaidan to hold her and tell her how he regretted how he treated her. Things were intense due to the moment. A lot of innocent lives were lost that day. Lives that could have been prevented. Kaidan was the bait that lured the Collectors there. He didn't know it and at the time, neither did she. How could the Illusive Man be so cold and calculating? What about the whole 'humanity first'?" His stance behind his decision was delusional.

There seemed to be something more sinister behind luring the Collectors there. The icy blue eyes from the Illusive Man stared at her when he brought up Kaidan. He knew her profile. He knew about their relationship. He confronted her with this information and asked her to make a decision. What kind of twisted game was he playing? She hated that and she hated him. For now, she would maintain her deal with the devil she knew and take on the enemy. She wasn't ready to sever ties yet. Too much was riding on this.

Sighing, she finally forced herself to stop crying and regain her composure. She had to remain strong. Zalena recounted the mission's beginning on the colony and the firefight they encountered. Dratin was a very good marksman and took out a lot of the heavily armed scions: a hideous bulbous mutation of husks. Lots of headshots with his viper rifle. Garrus would practically drool over it. Chuckling a little, she made a mental note to brag about this with the turian down at the forward battery later.

Then there was Grunt. The newest krogan on her team. He was tank-bred and practically an infant if you looked at it that way. Birthed right on the Normandy. More savage than Wrex. He menacingly reminded her that he only followed the strong and for now, he would swear loyalty to her for that reason only. She would be his battlemaster. A term that she didn't quite understand completely. Wrex never spoke about it. She missed her old chats with him down in the cargo hold and his constant tales of his merc days. Subconsciously during her talk with Kaidan, she knew she had to remain strong. She couldn't break down and release any feministic feelings. That would be a sign of weakness to Grunt. She highly doubted that krogan females had a level of sensitivity and feelings. He was a strong fighter. Her team was coming together. Their force of power was proven to the Collectors that day.

Forcing herself back up, she wiped her eyes and walked up the stairs to her small desk where her private terminal resided and her framed photo of Kaidan that Kelly gave her. His charming handsome face taunted her. She debated if she should throw away the object or leave it there. It was over. Why did it even matter anymore? Their reunion on Horizon was not what she pictured at all.

"Shepard," EDI's voice over her room's comm interrupted her thoughts. "Joker does not know your specified duration for our next course of action."

Zalena thought about this. The AI was right. She was so caught up about going to her quarters that she completely missed giving the flight path instruction to her helmsman. Thinking quickly in her mind, she toiled over the pending list. "Let's go to Ilium. There are two there: The justicar and the assassin." An interesting choice to say the least. She had to stay focused.

Miranda was surprised to receive a vid call from her boss one hour after they left the colony. It wasn't like him to just randomly check in. "Yes, sir?"

"Miranda, I'm concerned about Shepard's behavior. She may be straying from our cause," He began. "A new dossier was added to the list." His tone marked with disproval towards the choice and to Miranda's decision to delay the news to him herself. He paused to inhale on the cigarette that protruded between his lips. "What do you make of this choice?" The term was used lightly. He was just as alarmed as she was with Dratin being on their ship.

"I'm on it, sir," Miranda promptly responded. "I tasked Avery to do the necessary checks. I will follow up with her at once."

"Good and report back to me what you find. Shepard is sometimes weak with her emotions." He snubbed the cigarette into the ashtray on the small table beside him. "Weakness could crack our foundation."

"I agree with you."

He then swiped a holo-screen next to him. "I see that the ship is heading to Ilium. At least, she's focused. I may be too rash in my thinking." Another pause. "I'll await your report." With that, the call ended and Miranda didn't hesitate to place her next call.

A few minutes later, Avery's voice came over the connection. "Good old QEC," She remarked. "How's everything going?"

"The Illusive Man is doubting his choice on Shepard," Lawson chose her words carefully. This was not private since all calls to operatives were tapped. "Did you come across anything in your data mine?"

"Some," There was a quick shuffle of datapads in the background before Avery continued, "So this guy…. Dratin, that's his real name. He's twenty-seven in human years. Ex-Batarian military. Marked as post abandonment and MIA. Brother works at a prison on Aratoht. Wife and child also MIA. No indication of his whereabouts after he left their homeworld." Avery spouted out all the details.

"Omega," Miranda added in the missing detail.

"That's what I dug up so far and I'll cross-reference with Rasa to be sure since she compiled the dossiers."

"Ex-military?" Miranda groaned at the facts. "Damnit. I knew it. I knew damn well not to let Shepard bring him onboard." Her blue eyes moved down to her bottom desk drawer to where she stashed a pistol. She would go down and put a bullet between all four of his eyes if she had to. If that didn't take him down, then her biotics would. A notification on the lower end of her terminal screen grabbed her attention. There was an incoming message. Switching to read while she listened to her friend, she read that the sender was Lanteia, a trusted asari tasked with her private agenda. It only took her three seconds to read over the contents and she reread it twice to make sure she understood completely. "Oriana is in transport. Meet me at the Eternity Bar on Ilium as soon as you can." Miranda's heart stopped beating for a moment as she thought back to her baby sister and the turmoil that their estranged father, Henry Lawson, put them through. Miranda managed to escape her father's clutches, but he held strongly onto Oriana and vowed to not let her out of his sight. Her lips quivered as she thought to what possible harm could befall her sister. The one person in her life that she loved. "Ori…."

"Huh?" Avery picked up on this one after the silence.

Realizing that she was still on the call, Miranda quickly closed the message. "I have to go, Avery. Keeping working on this."

The abruptness threw Avery off and she stammered for some type of proper closure, "Are you sure-"

Lawson terminated the call and sprung from her chair. She needed to speak with Zalena. They were on the way to Ilium. As much as it pained her currently, she had to play nice.

Ustall grinned widely at the group often in front of him. All varied by different species with one common goal: To protect their true masters from any threat. They all met that evening in a closed warehouse in the lower wards. The owner was a turian and part of the ever-growing group. Ustall proudly held the glowing orb between his fingertips. "My friends. We have rid the station of the evil." The others cheered in unison and congratulated one another. "Blood was spilled and that is to be expected. We may all have to make the ultimate sacrifice. I will gladly do so if called upon to make sure that we are all truly safe."

"Me too!" The turian warehouse owner chimed in.

"Me also!" An asari rang in.

Ustall held up his hand to silence them. "Our newest member to our cause has brought some disturbing news." The salarian diplomat then flagged a young human male to the front to take his side. "This is Hadley. He works for Dr. Bryson. It seems that Bryson and his team are researching into Leviathan."

Gasps and whispers came from the group as fear struck them. "What will we do?" The asari asked.

"Dr. Bryson also has an artifact in his lab," Hadley calmly explained. "I work along beside him to study it. I have touched it without him knowing. It is real. Just like this one," He pointed over to the orb in Ustall's grasp. "He wants to track down Leviathan, though he's not close at all."

"Let's just kill his team and take the artifact," Another human spoke from the group.

"No, we can't do that," Ustall shook his head. "The artifact is safe and you heard, Hadley, they are not close. If we try to intervene, it may provoke unwanted attention to us." He then smiled over to Hadley. "Thank you for bringing this to our attention and welcome to the group. You can observe the situation for now."

"Of course," Hadley nodded his head. "Anything to help. I knew it was a bad idea from the start."

"Yes, it was," The salarian agreed with the smile remaining on his face. "Though, as you said, they are not close. He won't find us. He won't breach the darkness. No one will. We will need to expand our efforts."