MASS EFFECT CHASM: CHAPTER 22
The jostling of the Kodiak shuttle heightened the migraine that was already emerging in Zalena that afternoon. The onset occurred after her departure and began with the ringing in the ears, then the throbbing throbbing in the forehead along the eye ridges. It was too late to pick up meds from Dr. Chakwas and she tried her best to tolerate the symptoms privately. Inside the shuttle, Urdnot Wrex and Eve chatted amongst one another while Mordin sat across from them in silence. Garrus stood to her right while Vega picked up the co-pilot's seat next to Cortez. She could overhear the brash marine nagging Cortez and his piloting. This stirred a pleasant chuckle from her lips. Brief relief from the migraine.
"You feeling okay, Shepard?" Vakarian's concerned words snagged everyone's attention to make her center stage.
She resisted the natural response to recoil and turned around to face them directly. "Just another damn migraine. Worst possible timing ever."
"We all need to rest, Shepard. Even you," The turian urged her mildly.
She smiled his way. His friendship grew throughout their years together. "And this is coming from someone who took on a lot of mercs over nearly half a week without any sleep." She chided him, making sure not to release too much information to pinpoint him as Archangel. Like it didn't matter. They were among friends, but still, she knew better to risk it.
"Touche," The turian chuckled. "I know how brutal it can be."
"Lack of REM sleep can increase the frequency of migraine headaches, confusion, irritability, hallucination, paranoia, aggressive behavior," Mordin chimed in with a laundry list of effects.
Wrex snickered. "Aggressive behavior? That sounds like krogan to me." The reptilian thick-skinned alien turned his head her way to stare at her with his familiar red eyes. "Don't let these pyjaks baby you, Shepard. You are fit as can be. We have a Reaper to take down!" Mordin grew silent and pressed his back against the seat. Shepard took note of this and wondered if the comment offended him. Urdnot Wrex then stood up and moved over to get closer to her, he paused at where Garrus was. "Move it, Vakarian."
"And you asked nicely too," Vakarian teased as he side-stepped to allow the larger alien to move to Shepard while Garrus sat down next to Eve.
"Heard you were attacked on the Citadel," The Krogan Clan-Chief continued. "You just can't stay out of a mess, can you?"
Zalena giggled and shrugged playfully. "It doesn't seem that way."
"You know what you need? A krogan bodyguard," Wrex proudly beamed. "Want me to send Grunt your way? I heard you saved his ass against the rachni."
"Actually," Shepard softly corrected him. "Grunt saved my ass. If he didn't, I wouldn't have made it past all the drones."
"Good boy," The krogan nodded his head in appreciation. "At first I thought Junior wouldn't make it."
Zalena lightheartedly shoved him. "Give him a break."
"Hey, Commander, heard on the Citadel News Net that they made Major Alenko a Spectre now. I guess they just skipped me," James Vega called from the co-pilot chair.
"Kaidan? He sure has come far," Garrus contemplated the news as he reminisced prior battles together.
Zalena grew sad overhearing his name. She missed him still. "That he has, Garrus…that he has…"
Shepard wasn't too sure when she exactly dozed off or how long she had been asleep when the reoccurring nightmare entered her thoughts. She recognized the same yet unfamiliar location: A dark forest with trees all around. No paths to follow with dead black leaves that littered the flooring. Ghostly oily shadows outlined bipedal figures, but their actual formations and faces were amiss. They grouped as if they were conversing with one another, dodging Shepard as she moved around. A child's laughter beckoned her attention. It was the same young boy that she tried to save on Earth and yet watched his untimely death as his shuttle was taken out by a Reaper. Seeing him again made her feel like she had a second chance! Moving through the dry leaves, she tried her best to get to him. She had to save him! Yet, the child moved further and further away. Quicker than humanly possible! What was going on?
The oily shadows watched on as if they were studying her yet judging her at the same time. Inaudible whispers echoed in her ears. As she grew closer to them, their voices elevated. "Thank you, human…" Dratin's voice spoke to her on the right.
"I made a mistake!" Mordin's plea of frustration moved her to the left.
"Is submission not preferable to extinction?" Saren Arterius' familiar voice called to her ahead.
Zalena paused at the phantasms. "What the hell is going on?"
"You've lost, you know that," Saren taunted her once more. The child was gone and then she woke herself up.
Springing up from the mattress, Zalena looked around and found herself once again alone in her cabin. Her dog tags dangled at the center of her chest as the room's air blew on her skin, cooling off her sweat dripping skin. Swinging her legs around the bed's edge, she remembered she undressed down to her panties and tank only before hitting the bed. Tuchanka ended the way she never imagined. The hurt was so deep that she sobbed until her body caved into the physical and mental exhaustion. It was at that moment when she dozed off and fell into the pit of despair of her hellish nightmares. Clenching her teeth, she growled out loud as she saw Mordin's face staring back at her in the elevator to the shroud. That was the last time she saw and spoke with him. The shroud was becoming unstable and the only chance they had to cure the genophage was for him to go up there into the blazing inferno to override the manual controls and release the cure. A one-way trip. Another suicide mission. Moving her hands from her face, Zalena stared at the ceiling of her room with tears pouring from her eyes once more. "Wherever you are, Mordin, I hope you are finding some great seashells to study. You deserve it."
"Um, Commander," Joker's concerned voice came over the cabin's intercom.
"What is it, Joker?"
"We cleared the relay, but there's no response from C-Sec. I think you better come down here."
"I'm on my way." She swiftly moved to throw her clothes back on that were still haphazardly on the floor. She hoped that their meeting on the Citadel to speak with the salarian councilor would give her time to check in on Kaidan and see how Thane was doing with his treatments. Choosing between the two was tough. She loved both but knew she couldn't be with them at the same time. It wasn't fair to either one. Picking Kaidan was not easy, but deep down she knew she loved him more. They had been through so much together. Being apart from him wasn't easy. Shepard just felt guilty that Thane got thrown in the mix. The unanswered call to C-Sec for their berth was not common and very distressing. Was the station in complete lock-down? Did it have to do with the attacks against her? How bad was it down there? "Joker," She called out to him as she moved out of her cabin to the elevator.
"Yes?"
"See if you can hail Kaidan Alenko."
"On it."
"Hang on, guys. I'm coming."
