A/N: Back from my hiatus with another chapter for you guys!
Chapter eleven: War beyond the Veil, part II
With the upload of the rewritting programme complete, all Geth ships were immediately rendered immobile and unable to move an inch, allowing the two ships to focus their fire on the Reaper and Collector ships.
As the Normandy's weapons were not yet upgraded to take down the Reapers' robust kinetic barriers, its crew was content to allow its counterpart, the Vengeful Sword, to take down the barriers to allow the Cerberus ship to finish the job, though the sheer mass of the Reaper ships made it difficult.
Nonetheless, the Reapers found that they could not finish off the interlopers, at least not this time; not while the Heretics suddenly proved unresponsive due to the burst of data they picked up from the Geth station.
Needless to say, the remaining Reaper and Collector ships retreated through the mass relay, in order to replenish their losses and restrategise for the next time they would attempt to erase the nuisance that was Commander Shepard.
The crew of both ships let out jubiliant cheers as they saw their foes abandon the battle, then prepared transports to bring back Amarthathor, Shepard and their respective companions aboard in order to replenish their own losses; the Reapers' sheer numbers tested the limits of each ship, and both had suffered some measure of damage.
Damage to the Normandy was mercifully light, given its thin armor and moderate kinetic barriers. Unfortunately, its Thedosian counterpart fared worse; hull breaches and dents were visible on several parts of the ship, and dozens of turrets damaged beyond use, it was a miracle its vital systems and FTL drive were still intact.
Toby could not help but wince at the sight of the Vengeful Sword's state, though Amarthathor retained a passive expression when he laid eyes on their flagship.
"God, how the hell did she get so banged up?" Toby commented offhandedly in a muted voice.
"No ship is invincible, Master Toby," Amarthathor told him, his Draconian hearing picking up his whisper, "No matter how thick and durable the armor, how advanced the shielding, np ship is nigh impenetrable from any sort of attack."
Toby opened his mouth to retort, then thought better of it when he remembered learning the chaotic history of Dragon Age and the Empire by extension.
As such, he kept silent as the shuttle he and the Emperor were in, along with the surviving Quarian Knights, docked in the Vengeful Sword's hangar bay as the magical fields held it in place, the ramp opening to reveal rows of Knights saluting them, some sporting either light or severe injuries.
As Amarthathor and the others stepped down the ramp, Toby could not help but curl his lips in a mixture of horror and disgust.
What greeted them next was the sight of a few dozen knights being laid to rest, their corpses bearing severe burns that marred their faces beyond recognition or missing a limb or two, white banners of linen covering them as a sign of respect; normally, a Knightly Order would have a sigil adorning their banners, but the Knights of Ethrandir had just been formed about a day or two before, so they had yet to decide on a suitable crest.
There were not only dead Humans, but Dwarves and Elves also added to the count, so did a few Turians as well, their bodies still wearing the Order's silver armor until they could be given proper burials.
Even though such losses were surprisingly light for the Knights and Cerberus team, the Thedosian ship had to undergo immediate repairs before they could venture any further, and Amarthathor hated it when their mission was hindered by such a thing.
Toby tried his hardest not to shed tears at the sight of the dead Knights, but a few stray drops streamed down his cheeks, despite attempting to school his expression.
When he noticed that Amarthathor saw his tears, he quickly wiped them with his arm, though he never forced a smile.
"Is it your first time seeing the corpses of your would-be commrades?" The Dragonkin Emperor said, Toby only managing a wordless nod in response, "You will have to prepare yourself for such sights to be more frequent in the future, Master Toby."
"Just because I know I'm gonna see it later doesn't mean I have to like it," Toby protested.
"No one asked you to, Master Toby, and I do not expect you to be able to adapt in such a short time," The Emperor countered, though he was equally grim faced upon seeing his dead subordinates-no, commrades-in-arms.
"So where shall be our next destination, Amarthathor?" Kal'Reegar asked, casually slinging his sword on his shoulder.
"We shall have to depart for the Terminus System for repairs," Amarthathor said, tapping on his black omni-tool, "We cannot possibly continue our private war with the Reapers' servants with the state of our ship, and I'd prefer to replenish our losses, light as they are."
Toby had to resist the urge to wince at the memory at the damaged beauty of the Vengeful Sword, then made a personal reminder to ask more about the Blademasters in his free time from training.
"Kal'Reegar!" The Emperor called out to the Quarian Greatsword, drawing all attention to him as the former marine stopped in his track.
"Yes, Amarthathor?" Reegar asked, though it was more of a yelp in response.
For a moment, no one said a word, causing the palpable tension in the air to rise considerably.
Amarthathor then said, "Reegar, kneel."
The Quarian looked rather confused at the simple words uttered from the Dragonkin's mouth, but decided to follow his request – though he said it in a more demanding tone, equivalent to the commanding voice of a military officer.
To the Quarians and most of the Turians, they failed to understand the meaning of the Emperor's order. To the Silver Knights that witnessed it though, it was a moment of pride and joy.
Asking a nearby Knight to hand him a longsword, Amarthathor first conjured a gold goblet in his hands, then poured crystal clear water that glistened in its own light into the goblet, walking over to the kneeling Quarian in front of him.
Slowly pouring the glistening water over the Quarian's exposed head, the Emperor then intoned in a reverent, almost ethereal voice unlike his normal baritone in a language alien even to his fellow Thedosians.
"In life or death, on the battlefield or at the comforts of home, all souls have their own battles to wage, and under the gaze of the Goddess of Life and the Dark God of War, we Knight this young man to prepare him for the next battle."
Upon pouring all the water in the goblet over Reegar's head, Amarthathor then took the borrowed longsword and tapped the Quarian with the tip of the sword on both shoulders.
He then said, "For honor in service, for honor in battle. I, Amarthathor Sardothien, raise you. Rise, Silver Knight of Ethrandir."
Amarthathor could not help but smirk at the sight of Reegar gaping with his mouth open upon hearing those words; other than a few Turians, no other soul from the Council or ex-Council races ever received the honor of being granted full Knighthood, so it was a huge surprise for the surviving Quarians who gathered to witness Reegar's Knighting.
Once he managed to straighten out his thoughts, he stood with his back straight, almost threatening to hurt his own spine as he held himself in pride.
The other Knights that were present let out jubiliant cheers at Reegar's induction formal induction into the Knightly Order, while others simply clapped for him.
Raising a fist to silence the cheers, albeit reluctantly as he returned the longsword, Amarthathor began to order in a commanding tone, "Have the Vengeful Sword warp to Omega within the hour, and have the engineers and technicians repair whatever damage can be reversed."
The next command left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"Prepare the bodies of our dead brothers and sisters for burial, and give them their last rites. Notify their families of their fates."
Having taken care of the morbid task, Amarthathor could see that Toby moved away from the docking bay and avoided conversation with everyone else, trying his hardest not to shed tears in front of everybody.
Beckoning Meleath closer, he whispered into his ear, "Our friend is in need of counsel. Go tend to Master Toby whilst I organise the Knights."
True enough, as soon as Meleath saw Toby enter one of the private infirmary rooms in the medical bay, his sensitive Elven ears could hear quivering sobs behind the thick, sturdy metal doors that led inside; privately, the Sin'dorei priest was thankful no one else was present, which left him with the complete liberty of tending to Toby's emotional state.
Slowly making his way into the infirmary room, the Blood Elf saw endless streaks of tears coursing down Toby's cheeks as he huddled into an isolated corner away from everyone's eye, his body quaking with every sob.
"Is something troubling you, Toby?" Meleath asked.
Looking up at the priest, his tearful eyes conveyed the pain he was going through, the pain of seeing the bodies of his dead commrades, both on the battlefield and on the ship; it was only about a few dozen bodies at most, but for Toby, a Human Youtuber who had never experienced the horrors of war, it was more than enough to test his resolve.
Meleath said nothing as Toby wrapped his arms around his slender figure, holding him in a comforting embrace.
"Meleath," Toby managed through his sobs, "Why... why the hell do people have to die?"
Closing his eyes in brief sorrow, Meleath answered, "Because it is the nature of war, Master Toby; everyone dies at some point."
"But... but that doesn't mean I have to like it!" Toby cried out, repeating what he said previously to the Emperor, "God, how the hell do you deal with so many dead!?"
"Look at me, Master Toby," Meleath said, this time in a slightly harsher tone as he held the Youtuber's tear-stained face in his slender, yet firm hands, "No one takes pleasure in sending their commrades to their deaths, and we can only hope for the best once they depart for the battlefield. We can only honor their memory as we live for their sakes, for everyone's sake."
Toby nodded, wiping away his tears, "And I thought you would give me the crap about 'enduring the pain to become stronger' or something."
Meleath sighed, removing his hands from Toby's face as he sat on a nearby chair.
"I live to honor the memory of many of my former commrades who now live peacefully in the afterlife," The Blood Elf stated, then his expression soured in sorrow, "I used to have three brothers."
"Oh," Toby said upon hearing the priest mention his family, "Sorry if I-"
"It's an old wound, long faded by the passage of time, but still painful at times," Meleath said, cutting off Toby's apology, "You do not need to apologize."
The Human then moved to a nearby sink, washing his face and bloodshot eyes weary from the crying, and poured himself a cup of water to quench his parched throat; he still did not like war, but he resolved to survive and get through it as best as he could, in order to return home one day.
Happy that Toby had managed to at least calm down, he picked up his staff and proceeded to leave the room when a hand firmly clamped on his arm.
"Hey, Meleath," Toby said as the Blood Elf turned to face him, "Mind if we continue training later, after all the shit's taken care of?"
Smiling, Meleath earnestly replied, "Of course, Master Toby. As long as you need."
IIOII
On the Normandy, there were no cheers or shouts of joy as Shepard and her companions got out of the shuttle that ferried them back to the ship, the crew hurridely moving to prepare the ship for transit to Omega once Joker received the message from Taenith.
Upon boarding the ship's elevator, the Spectre immediately moved to the captain's cabin, where she eagerly took off her armor and bodysuit, then turned on the shower, allowing a continuous stream of warm water to envelop her entire body.
She always appreciated taking care of her hygiene, especially after a battle – however brief it may be – to ruthlessly eradicate any scent of sweat and blood that came with fighting wars.
When she finished cleaning herself, she proceeded to don her Cerberus fatigues and took a nearby book bound in thick, brown leather, its title being Lord of all Dragonkin, inscribed in gold ink.
First recommended to her by the Emperor himself, during her rather hospitable stay in the Empire, she quickly grew engrossed in reading the legendary story depicting the life of Emmanuel Sardothien, the founder of the Thedosian Emperor, and – much to her surprise, the deeds of the Inquisition's head chef who seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
Written by the long deceased author of that time, Varric Tethras, it had remained a very popularly read piece of literature that was also a piece of history – one of the few remaining snipplets detailing events that actually took place during the Dragon Age – which the Empire treasured since many historical annals dating before the Dragon Age were lost in the ensuing invasion by the long-extinct He'lith.
Shepard felt a pang of sorrow in her heart, the He'lith's ruthless invasion reminding her of the Batarian slavers' invasion of her home of Mindior, to whom she lost her brother and father, though she quickly and visciously tossed aside that sorrow; she still blamed herself for being unable to save them, despite the Empire avenging every death the slaver scum dealt with equally righteous fury.
She heard someone knocking on the door – for which Shepard was thankful, for it made her forget her pain for a moment – with a familiar voice asking, "Commander, you inside?"
"Miranda?" Shepard muttered to herself, before inquiring, "What's up?"
"The Illusive Man wants to see you," The Australian stated, "You know where to speak to him."
Shepard inwardly grumbled; she did not trust the Illusive Man at all, despite his supposed desires to 'aid humanity in any way possible', and he gave a very aloof attitude towards most people, Shepard suspecting some of them to be his lower-ranked subordinates. To top it off, she had barely talked to him for more than a few times, if at all.
Nonetheless, she decided to oblige, and told Miranda, "Got it. Just tell him to wait for me."
After finding her way to the same room fitted with the special transmitter, she stood in the glowing circle in the middle, allowing a series of glowing orange holographic circles to gleam over her entire body. Then, the whole atmosphere changed from a brightly illuminated, bone white room to a dimly lit one overlooking a living star, the celestial body radiating as bright as the day it was made.
Sitting lazily on his expensive, black leather chair, was the Illusive Man, taking sips of scotch whiskey from a glass in one hand and occasional puffs of smoke from a cigratte in another.
"Shepard, I must discuss some things with you, regarding your association with these Knights of the Empire," The Illusive Man said, not bothering to waste words on niecities.
"Yeah? Apart from them turning everything upside down and proving that we're not the only Humans in existense?" Shepard inquired further, noticing that he harbored a modicum of mistrust for said Knights.
"Aside from that? The fact that they're allowing you access to many of their resources and even devoting soldiers to your mission at all is an absolute surprise to say the least," The Illusive Man stated, inhaling a puff of smoke as he continued, "I'm even wondering if they are even acknowledging the fact that Cerberus even sponsored your efforts in the first place."
Shepard had to accept his reasoning, untrustworthy as he was; not once in the whole time she embarked on this mission did any of the Knights even refute her association with Cerberus, or even mention it as a matter of fact.
Regardless, Shepard said, "Hey, at least I've got good company for the ride, and to make my job a whole lot easier."
The Illusive Man only nodded, sipping his expensive whiskey as he slowly savoured the taste of the strong beverage.
"You seem awfully optimistic, despite all the events that have occurred in less than a few months," He commented, not taking offense to Shepard's nonchalant shrug at his statement.
"At least the Knights are rather friendly to most people, along with most UAP guys," Shepard stated in response, then shifted rather uncomfortably, which was immediately noticed by the Cerberus leader, "Though I might have to doubt whether it was good to bring along those... Zerg and Rachni with us."
The Illusive Man had to repress a shudder at the mention of the Zerg; the rumors he heard about the Zerg were extremely unpleasant, making him wonder why the Empire even allied with them in the first place, though he took notice of the palpable tension between the UAP leaders, especially between the leaders of the Korprulu Alliance.
From bioorganic pestilences turning people into living zombies that devoured their own former kind to huge swarms of monsters overwhelmig even the mightiest of defenses, all these rumors, combined with what limited videographic evidence they managed to salvage compounded the belief that the Zerg were an epidemic that needed to be erased from the face of the galaxy.
Though Shepard was not frightened of the Zerg or Rachni in general, the latter having only acted out of mental domination in the past, she still could not help but feel uncomfortable whenever she was near one of them, despite most of the UAP having mostly no problems working with them; she even saw a few Knights using Zerglings as mounts since they were serving as calvary units.
It was something the Illusive Man could agree with Shepard on – at least in part, perhaps the only thing they would ever agree on.
"Forget that for now, Shepard," The Illusive Man stated, "I have a new task for you, once you have replenished your losses."
"I'm listening," Shepard said, even as she thought, This better be important.
Harrumphing, the Illusive Man then said, "I've received reports of the Blue Suns causing quite a stir in the Terminus System, capturing any wanted criminal they could find and placing them in cyrostasis aboard their prison ship, the Purgatory, and then selling them to the highest bidder whenever and wherever possible."
Shepard could hear the Cerberus leader snort in disdain at mentioning the mercenary group, "They've created much trouble for Cerberus – even though they are unaware of it – and I'd like to see them disappear from the face of the galaxy."
"And I'm assuming you want me and my new friends to take out the ship?" Shepard asked, guessing the Illusive Man's intentions.
"Spot on, Shepard," The older man stated, "I believe more than a few would be happy to see the Blue Suns pay a price for their horrible deeds."
Shepard nodded, though she could not help but have a bad feeling, even if she did not know the cause.
IIOII
Erlan was busy sipping on a glass of Elven herbal mead with a scowl on his face, terrifying the poor Turian bartender behind the counter as he tried to avert his gaze from the Elven Grand Master.
"This is the bloody fourth time I've had to deal with those loathsome Asari anti-AI fanatics," He grumbled as he slammed the glass' contents down his throat, ordering another refill.
"Hey, chill," A masculine, gruff-looking Human male said next to him, "At least you don't have to waste precious time tracking them down, yeah?"
"That does not make the job any more satisfying now, does it Zaeed?" Erlan retorted, "Not when you cannot cut the head off the snake to end this whole foolishness in the first place."
Said man beside Erlan was rather burly and fit for someone his age; his face bore a few wrinkles, and a wicked looking scar marred his right cheek. His very short, cropped brown hair bore strands of grey, though his chiseled facial features and strong jaw belied his years in action, as did his milky white eye – which went blind during one of his more unfortunate jobs.
"Ah, shut it Erlan," Zaeed waved off Erlan's retort, "At least that damn annoying Asari Councilor's not sponsoring them or anything, so it makes the job much easier now, doesn't it?"
Huffing to himself, he poured the glass of mead down his throat, ordering the poor Turian bartender to once again fill his glass.
Ever since the Blademasters of Andarath had laid claim to Omega, they wasted no time in fortifying their hold on the station and establishing it as their primary – and only – stronghold in the known galaxy. The whole infrastructure of the station was being renovated from both within and without, upgrading all public amenities and defense systems, and where there was once a mercenary fleet jealously guarding their haven from any unwanted guests, now there was a veritable armada of cerulean ships emblazoned with the symbol of the Blademasters – twin-crossed swords overlaying a round shield – standing vigil over their territory.
The Afterlife bar had also undergone radical changes; gone were the numerous poles and booths where customers or other patrons would watch Asari strippers – dressed in extremely revealing bodysuits, as their jobs required of them – dance alluringly in front of them and paid for their services, including those of the more... intimate kind.
Now, they were replaced by fountains fashioned from intricately carved marble, bearing the elegance and sturdiness made by the hands of Thedosian stonemasons in their carvings and magical runes glowing from within the fountains' depts.
From the top of the fountains gushed forth streams of crystal clear water that glittered on their own, emitting a very dim, but very captivating turquoise glow of their own, adding to the tranquil ambience of the bar-turned-tavern.
Even with his relative inexperience in the arts of war – given that he was born after the Eternal war, Erlan could easily see why it would be hard for any invader to conquer Afterlife, now renamed the Mercenary's Folly; in the case any enemy were to invade the station of Omega, the whole tavern could easily be fortified into a sturdy fortress due to its structural layout and position.
With a stronghold and population centre in the Terminus system under their dominion, they were able to replenish whatever losses they sustained and strengthened their ranks considerably; once they numbered little more than thirty thousand. Now, their ranks swelled to over seventy-five thousand, more than half their original number.
Of course, that did not mean their reign was unchallenged; less than half of the station's original inhabitants – with a few Humans and Turians in the mix – who had become used to Aria's iron rule rebelled against Erlan's rise to power, unwilling to accept the presense of any UAP affiliated forces on their home.
As many expected, the rebels had failed miserably, though the Blademasters refrained from killing any of them, unwilling to worsen their strained relations with Omega's old inhabitants.
It did little to quell the unrest, though the locals were discouraged from any further rebellion.
And among the non-xenophobic Turians and Humans the Blademasters recruited into their ranks, was Zaeed Massani.
Zaeed was a veteran of the First Contact war between the Systems Alliance and Turian Hierarchy, who then founded the Blue Suns – a predominantly Human mercenary gang – with his confidant, Vido Santiago.
Few know about what caused the schism in the Blue Suns' leadership, but it ended up with Zaeed being exiled from the Suns in shame, while Vido assumed sole leadership of the mercenaries.
"Honestly, for the anti-AI radicals to be able to suddenly gain the advantage over C-Sec forces and most of the Council military," Erlan mused loudly enough for only Zaeed to hear, "I cannot shake the feeling that an insider is aiding them."
Zaeed only harrumphed, "Well, I'd be more worried about that insider than any of the anti-A.I's enemies; if the rumors about you Knights or vigilantes are true, God help them all."
At the ex-Suns leader's words, Erlan only smirked in response.
The Elf's smirk quickly vanished when a Dwarven Knight Initiate ran into the ex-stripper bar towards him, panting heavily as he stopped to catch his breath.
"Grand Master, fighting has erupted in the civilian districts! More than a few Turians and Thedosian civilians are caught in the middle!" He reported hastily in an American accent, indicating his Thedosian descent.
Erlan quickly put down his glass and paid the bartender a handful of gold coins for his services, much to the Turian's surprise and astonishment – most likely because he was not expecting to be paid such obsolete currency, and quickly ordered, "Mobilise our Knights to police these rioters and keep non-combatants out of the fray! If need be, utilise sleep spells to sudbue them until they calm down!"
"At once, Grand Master!" The Dwarf acknowledged the order as he ran off.
Erlan quickly moved to arm himself with his weapons, a longbow and curved hiltless longsword fashioned out of crystal, the latter imbuned with a string of Thedosian Elvish and detailed carvings of howling wolves glowing a bright turquoise, causing Zaeed to raise an eyebrow at the Elf's obsession over archaic weaponry as he himself cocked the firing mechanism of his own sniper rifle.
Though given that he was of the Thedosian Empire, that was notorious for utilising magic, swords and some sort of magic-infused technology, he was in no position to comment on it at all.
Without delaying by so much as a second, they rushed towards the thick of the fighting, where some civilians undoubtedly needed their immediate aid.
IIOII
"Bastard!"
"Thedosian whore!"
"Leave him be, you intolerant cowards!" An Elven woman bellowed as she smacked the pommel of her sword into the face of a Salarian man, breaking where his nose would be and nearly blinding him through eye injury, protecting the Turian whom she loved.
It was a fairly rare sight, to have Turians falling in love with people of other races, the Asari being the prime exception until now. Said Elven woman had met him by chance a few days before now, their relationship having just started to blossom when a few intolerant mobsters began surrounding them and nearly beating her boyfriend to death had she not intervened.
Said Turian was lying on the floor moaning in pain, suffering from a broken arm and a severe bruise to the face, laying helplessly as he watched his love fearlessly defend their relationship with a grace beffiting all of her race – something he was privately fond of.
The mobsters – a mixture of Salarians, Asari, Turians and Humans – began to charge her position once again, only to be expertly incapacitated by her skill with the sword, the flat side of the blade or the pommel striking their vulnerable nerve clusters or faces, rendering them incapable of striking back, though some ignored their injuries and continued to hound her.
One of them, a Human wielding an omni-blade, tried to deliver the killing blow so that they could finish the job with the 'traitor' Turian once they killed his love in front of his eyes.
Unfortunately for him, the Elfin woman was no slouch in combat, and she parried the omni-blade with her sword, the monomecular blade sliding off the sword and doing no damage, shocking all those who witnessed it – the injured Turian included – and hit his face with the pommel with so much force that it broke his nose and caused him to tumble backwards onto the floor.
Rather than cower at the sight of their badly injured commrade, the mobsters were enraged, and attempted to tackle her to the ground, when they heard animalistic snarls coming from behind them.
They stopped in their tracks and saw a number of werewolves garbed in the same sapphire-encrusted stone grey armor as the vigilantes that surrounded them, snarling loudly as if daring them to make another move on the couple they surrounded before they became the werewolves' next feast.
Some of them howled loudly, forcing all of them to relinquish their objective of murdering the couple out of fear they would become victims of hapless slaughter, whilst some of them helplessly wet their pants.
What they did not know, however – at least in that moment, that these vigilantes were bound by honor to not dirty their blades with their blood, and honor was gold in their society.
One of them, probably their leader as he wore a gold-lined, cerulean battle surcoat, stepped foward with a scowl on his face as he confronted all the mobsters, grabbing one of them by the neck with so much strength he nearly snapped the neck, the helpless mobster only surviving thanks to a huge amount of restraint on the leader's part.
"Your people are to not instigate any further riots over such trivial things any longer, or you will face Thedosian justice that is far harsher than you could ever fathom, understand me!?" Erlan demanded as his irises turned a golden amber, his pupils becoming slits like those of animals of the wild, his teeth changing into sharp fangs capable of drawing copious amounts of blood.
Nodding wordlessly as he prayed for his dear life, the helpless mobster crumpled to the floor as Erlan ordered the rest of the Blademasters to seize all the mobsters and drag them away to the prison complex, making his way over to the couple that had been attacked by them.
"Are you alright, ma falon?" Erlan asked the Elven woman who was nursing both facial bruises and her Turian love's broken arm, an emerald glow from her hand healing whatever damage he had suffered.
Said Elf stood up straight and immediately addressed Erlan, "I am fine, Grand Master Erlan, though I worry for ma vhenan; I am unsure as to whether these intolerant cowards will truly lay down their arms."
Erlan had to pinch the bridge of his nose to stave off the inpending headache; changing a society's ideology, especially one that was xenophobic, was much harder than he thought without the aid of mind-altering magic.
"Take the Turian to an infirmary. The healers can tend to his injuries whilst the rest of the Blademasters quell the various riots," Erlan ordered, to which the Elfin woman nodded before soothingly assuring her love that they would be alright, all the while allowing two of her fellow Blademasters to carry him on a stretcher.
Zaeed could only sigh; he had been to Omega plenty of times in his life as a mercenary, and he'd seen many of the inhabitants pick a fight with others just for some stupid reasons he did not even care to remember, but his heart nearly broke at the sight of the Elven woman tending to the Turian being carried away on a stretcher.
It reminded him of his youth, when he had fallen head over heels for a woman the same species as him, and she died at the hands of Asari mercenaries belonging to Eclipse, a predominant Asari group under the command of a sadistic Asari by the name of Jona Sideris.
He also saw that though the architecture of the station changed both within and without, the local populace was as xenophobic as the days of old, even before Aria's reign of terror over the station.
"Some things just never change," The old man muttered to himself, Erlan's ears picking up his words.
A few beeps rang from the Grand Master's omni-tool, informing him of an incoming transmission as a forest green glow materisalised on his left arm.
"This is Grand Master Erlan Hequinal, of the Blademasters of Andarath," The Elf said in an imposing voice, "Speak."
"Is that how you speak to your Cousin-in-law, Erlan?" A familiar voice said as he faked mockery in his voice.
Rolling his eyes, Erlan drawled, "As a matter of fact, it is, my dear Cousin. What brings you here to my stronghold, Amarthathor?"
"I shall get straight to the point then," The fake mockery disappearing from Amarthathor's voice, "I need urgent repairs for my ship, as I and my entourage have just come under attack from a force of Reapers and and their Collector puppets."
That made Erlan narrow his eyebrows in seriousness; this was the second time the Reapers and their servants made a daring attack on a Thedosian force, and directed at the Emperor himself, no less.
"Then I shall assign a team of Master Engineers to repair the damage done, though I must-" Whatever else Erlan was about to say was cut off when he heard what sounded like a woman shreiking briefly on the other side of the comms channel.
"Ow! Stop that!" The woman, bearing a Japanese accent, shrieked loudly, almost enough to hurt Erlan's sensitive pointed ears.
"You stop!" An Elven man chatised in a deep baritone, Erlan recognising the voice as Meleath's, "Who's fault was it for trying to so brazenly sneak aboard the flagship of a Knightly Order such as ours?"
"It's not like it's the end of the world," The Japanese woman pointed out, then Erlan heard a sound that sounded suspiciously like a staff rapping her head.
"Behave," The Elven man ordered, "We still have not determined your true intentions; honestly, I consider it a miracle that you have managed to hide within the boughs of our ship undetected, even with the Dragonkin's keen sense of smell."
Erlan sighed heavily out of irritation, then told Amarthathor, "Tell Meleath that I would like to see the woman that you have supposedly captured, Amarthathor. I shall be awaiting her at the Mercenary's Folly."
"Very well then, Erlan. Dareth shiral."
"Yggdrasil guide your spirit, cousin," Erlan intoned as the connection was cut, leaving him alone with Zaeed as he gripped his rifle tightly, just as several more fires broke out across the civilian wards.
"Don't think those racist bastards are gonna wait for us, aren't they?" The aged mercenary said with a wicked grin.
Erlan's own menacing grin far surpassed that of Zaeed's, his teeth morphing into fangs that unsettled the old mercenary slightly.
"Let us take to the streets, Zaeed," Erlan said, his grin never fading, "We have rioters to disperse."
"Right behind you, Elly," Zaeed jokingly said as he dashed off, leaving Erlan raising an eyebrow at the nickname he was just given.
Am I forever fated to be addressed as Elly by him in the near future? The Elven Grand Master wondered, then decided to run after him with his weapon drawn.
IIOII
When the damaged Vengeful Sword arrived at Omega with the Normandy, the latter's crew and Toby, along with the woman who was captured by the Silver Knights, could not help but gape in awe of the newly-rebuilt Omega after Aria's demise.
Where once there were ramshackle buildings with dim lights glowing the colour of yellow cat vomit, making for a truly sorry sight to look at, now there were great, tall spires of gold and obsidian, all bearing different styles of architecture from different cultures including the odd Japanese-style pavilions and the banner of the Blademasters draped across several buildings. If one were to look closer, they could see massive crystal pylons floating above many tall buildings and at the underbelly of the station itself, their turquoise glow illuminating the darkness of space.
The fleet itself only added to the sheer majesty of the rebuilt station, an avalanche of cerulean and stone grey standing guard over their new stronghold, the ships more numerous and battle-ready than any mercenary group ever to exist.
"Woah..." Was all Toby could mutter as he stared at the new Omega, which looked completely different from the Omega he saw in his video games, "This place looks so awesome..."
"I must agree with you Toby," Meleath said as he stood beside him with a smile, "Though Blood Elven architecture is not far from the quality work of Thedosian Master builders, they would certainly give them a run for their money."
"That, my friend, is the marvel of Thedosian architecture," Amarthathor said with a hint of pride as he stepped into view, now wearing his black armor and a gold-trimmed, silver battle surcoat that allowed his Dragon head-shaped pauldrons to move without restrictions.
"Yeah, I know," Toby said nonchantly, "But the damn station just looks so cool! It's even better than any city I've seen in all those games I played!"
It was only a matter of truth; when Toby played the game of Warcraft, he had seen many great cities designed by Blizzard Entertainment. The High Elven realm of Quel'thalas, the Dwarven city of Ironforge, the Draenei home of Exodar, yet none could ever compare to the sight his eyes were feasting on as of now.
Toby could hear someone whistle behind him, his head turning to Shepard who was wearing her Cerberus fatigues and admiring the sight just like him.
"So this is the new Omega," Shepard mused loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear, then chuckled slightly, though no humour was behind it, "Can't believe you guys could change so much in just a few weeks."
"So mind if you could release me right about now, please?" The Japanese woman asked politely, "I don't really like being tied up for too long, for your info."
Said woman was garbed in a contrasting white and black bodysuit covering her entire body, a cowl shadowing the top half of her face, though a line of purple was visible on her bottom lip, both lips forming a scowl as she struggled against the ghostly-glowing emerald cuffs placed on her hands.
"Is that really all you have to say, Kasumi?" Amarthathor said as he turned towards the Japanese woman, "You snuck aboard my ship without anyone's knowledge, and even managed to evade my keen senses until now. How do you think I should judge you, hmm?"
Toby and Shepard found Kasumi's punishment to be rather harsh, but if their limited time spent with Thedosians was any indication, it was that they took their security extremely seriously, especially after having survived one of the most hellish wars no one thought fathomable.
"Like I said, I had no idea the Emperor himself was on board the ship," Kasumi protested, "I just came to offer the famed Commander Shepard the services of the best thief in the galaxy."
Toby showed slight surprise at Amarthathor being addressed as Emperor, but decided to leave whatever questions he had later, knowing the current mood of the situation was on incredibly thin ice, and that Amarthathor knew what he was guessing as well; at least, he thought the Dragonkin did.
Kasumi cleared her throat before adding, "Well, at least in this galaxy, not in the UAP's."
"And I believe you need me to do something in exchange?" Shepard asked, as if reading Kasumi's intentions.
Nodding her head, all eyes on the Japanese woman now, she then stated, her earlier irritation replaced by a serious demeanour, "I'm currently trying to steal a graybox from a notorious weapons dealer and smuggler, Donovan Hock, but I can't do it alone due to the Eclipse mercs he's hired as additional security to deter... unwanted people."
They all nodded, accepting her reasoning, as Shepard said, "So you snuck aboard the ship, hoping to elicit my help."
"And in exchange, you get the help of a Master Thief for whatever mission you're currently doing right now," Kasumi finished, sighing in annoyance at how durable her restraints were.
"Donovan Hock..." Amarthathor muttered darkly, his menacing aura frightening Kasumi as she swalloed her saliva nervously, buckets of sweat dripping down her forehead, "That damn bastard has supplied mercenary bands that oppose the Empire with quality weapons time and again, hampering our efforts in securing the Terminus System."
"And through his efforts, at least a quarter-dozen Turian patrols who were ambushed were wiped out with little difficulty," Meleath added, his eyes burning with righteous anger at the reports he had received, "This is an opportunity to avenge those fallen Turians."
"And to cut the head off the snake," Aldrige added, having remained silent for the whole time, "But I do not believe that Donovan will take us so lightly, especially with us as new factors that may throw his plans into disarray."
"He's right, Emperor," Kasumi affirmed, "Donovan may be a huge son of a bitch, but he's not stupid. It's one of the main reasons he's managed to avoid being arrested the whole time."
The Dragonkin Emperor only let out an animalistic snarl, betraying his true nature as his crimson orbs briefly flashed a golden amber.
"I do not care in the slightest on whatever trait he has, be it clairvoyance or foresight," Amarthathor said with disdain lacing his voice, "I only wish for his head on a spike, as my honour demands he dies for his crimes."
The cold, heartless cruelty in the part-Dragonkin's words sent shivers down the spines of the non-Empire Humans and Quarians present, as they saw their fellow Knights or commrades narrow their eyes in anger and indignant fury, making them wonder just what did they have in store for Donovan and his lackeys.
Harrumphing loudly to break the silence, Amarthathor then said, "We shall discuss how to assault Donovan's base of operations later. For now, we shall nourish ourselves at the Mercenary's Folly whilst our ship undergoes repair."
He then turned to face Kasumi, whose hands were freed of the restraints that suddenly disappeared with a wave of his hand, and then told her, "There is someone who wants to meet you at the Mercenary's Folly, Kasumi. Be sure that you do not delay in the slightest."
Kasumi could only wordlessly nod, unsure as to the unknown character who was expectantly waiting to meet the Master Thief who just achieved what few dared to do.
IIOII
When Kasumi along with some of Shepard's crew and the Silver Knights stepped beyond the doors leading into what was once called Omega, they could not help but be astounded by the total makeover of the whole building.
Crystal pylons glowed brightly, illuminating the entire tavern in a calming light compared to the aggressive avalanche of colours that Afterlife used to have, a huge tree dominating where dance poles used to be, small fountains gushing out crystal clear water that glittered on its own.
All around the tavern, Thedosians of all races – garbed in the colours of the Blademasters or wearing simple but finely-tailored clothing – were mingling with one another, chatting animatedly while willingly drinking themselves into a stupor, feasting on gastronomic delights made for the common palate, playing games of Dragonstone or Hearthstone, or all three of the above at the same time.
Immediately, the Quarian Knights were unsure as to whether they would actually blend in well with the ambience of the place, given the rather boisterous atmosphere that was present before them, though Shepard encouraged them to at least try their best.
As the Quarians did their utmost to fit into the ambience, Shepard accompanied Kasumi as they moved to where one man of great importance – other than the Emperor – would be waiting for them, Kasumi unsure about this new character they were about to meet, other than him being the Emperor's cousin-in-law through marriage.
Nearing their designated meeting place – a balcony overlooking the entire tavern, the duo could see an Elven, blonde-haired man garbed in forest green and silvery white gossamer fabric fashioned into simple, yet practical traveler's garb, his slender features focused in contemplation whatever the duo could imagine as he sipped a glass of dark, earthy wine, savouring the strong alcoholic taste it imparted onto his tongue.
Standing guard at the entrance to the balcony were two other Blademasters, wearing ornately-crafted, immaculate armor in their order's colours, the insignia tailored on the shamrock tabard secured over their breastplates by their belts. Each held an equally ornate shield and spear – the latter looking rather large and slightly unwieldy in the duo's eyes, in their opinions – in their hands.
Each looked terrifying in their own right, the fact only compounded by the terrifying visage of their helmets which were shaped into dragon heads transfixed in an eternal state of roaring in anger.
As they spotted the duo approaching, they barred their passage with their massive halberds, causing both of the to tense, Shepard assuming a battle-ready stance before one of them said in a quasi-monotone voice, "Before you pass any further, I must ask if you have business with the Grand Master."
Both blinked their eyes in surprise, not expecting the information they were given. They were meeting with the Grand Master of the Blademasters?
Exactly just why did the Emperor love to be vague about certain things, but incredibly informative about others?
It seemed an eternal mystery which was doomed to never be solved.
Now that they thought about it, the Silver Knights had not yet decided on an official Grand Master of their own to lead the order as of yet, though it was understandable given how young it was.
The two women then heard the immaculately dressed Elf then say to the guards, "I have business with them. Let them pass."
"Yes, Grand Master," The guards acknowledged as they moved their spears away, allowing the duo to pass.
Kasumi was rather shocked at the information she just received; they were meeting with the Grand Master of one of the many Thedosian Vigilante bands scattered throughout the galaxy? And the very same one that violently ousted Aria from her throne of power in the Terminus System, to boot.
She could not help but fidget nervously where she stood, butterflies fluttering in her stomach as she fought to keep a neutral, unafraid facade with each step they took towards the now identified Grand Master of the Blademasters of Andarath.
Both took a seat opposite him, the Elf smirking as he took another sip of his dark, earthy wine, eyeing the two with a critical gaze as he scrutinised every detail of the two women before him.
After a few seconds that seemed to stretch into hours, the Elf then asked Kasumi in an accent that seemed to be mixed European accents, "You, you are the famed Master Thief in your corner of the galaxy, notorious from stealing from every unsavoury character you know of, yes?"
Kasumi could only gulp nervously as she nodded, slightly unnerved by the brief flashing of amber eyes in the Grand Master's earthy brown orbs.
"And you," The Elf turned to face Shepard, "The famed Commander Jennefer Shepard, renowned for her efforts in eliminating the rouge Spectre Saren Arterius and saving the Destiny Ascension from complete destruction during a rather devastating attack made on the Citadel by an 'unknown' ship only known as Sovereign."
Shepard could hear the Elf snarl – in the complete same manner as a real wolf would – at mentioning the Reaper ship as 'unknown'; she could not blame him, since the Council would always dismiss whatever warnings she had as no more than purely fabricated nonsense.
Her attention was brought back to the Elf before her as he harrumphed, continuing where he left off, "You then gained recognition for hunting down several Heretic Geth bands as you were forced away from the front lines, but then supposedly died in an ambush by the Collectors, only to be revived by Cerberus for... unknown reasons."
Setting down his glass of wine on the table before them, the Elf then chuckled slightly, before saying, "You two certainly deserve your reputation, though you have my condolences, Shepard. I fairly wish these other Councilors would actually listen to you for once."
He then bowed his head slightly, before saying, "I am Erlan Hequinal, Grand Master of the Blademasters of Andarath, as you now know. What brings you so far from home, Kasumi Goto?"
Kasumi raised an eyebrow at the mention of her family name, "How do you know my full name?"
Erlan only smirked in fake arrogance at that, "The Extranet is incredibly gullible to hacking attempts by our ."
His smirk quickly disappeared, though, as his expression became gravely serious.
"Tell me, what business do you have with Donovan Hock?" Erlan inquired, his eyes holding Kasumi's captive in fear.
"Like I said-" Kasumi began but was cut off by the Elf.
"I can tell you have a personal greviance against him, Kasumi," He pointed out, holding up a hand to forestall any complaints from either of the women, "We Thedosians are more perceptive than you think."
The Japanese thief opened her mouth to retort, then closed it shut as she realised he was right; she needed that graybox out of Donovan's hands, as it contained some things precious to her.
Precious memories of the one she loved.
Fighting a pang of sorrow in her heart, she then explained, "That graybox... it has many secrets I can't really say out loud in the open, and memories of... our good times together, before we encountered Donovan during one of our heists."
Shepard could tell Kasumi was having a hard time keeping her emotions at bay; it reminded her of the times when she was unable to stop the torrent of emotions flooding her heart when the pain of losing her brother and father was still fresh.
Erlan relaxed a little, allowing Kasumi a little breathing space as she tried to calm herself.
Heedless of the two of them, Kasumi then said, "We tried to steal his cache of illegally-accquired weapons when my partner... and then I had to leave him and the graybox behind... so.."
A single tear trickled down her face, Erlan's features softening upon seeing her distressed emotional state.
"I have heard enough, Kasumi," Erlan stated, causing Kasumi's tear-stained eyes to focus on him, "You need not say anymore."
Thankful, Kasumi wiped the tears from her eyes as Erlan diverted his focus to Shepard.
He had to admit, when he scrutinised the Human Spectre before her, he could immediately tell she was no stranger to combat, given her posture and body movement, even when the guards blocked their passage.
He could also perceive heavy sorrow and guilt in her eyes, the look that most soldiers would have if they felt they failed to save their commrades from danger.
"I heard that you were currently working with Cerberus to combat the Collector threat, before you encountered the UAP," Erlan commented, causing Shepard's eyes to narrow slightly, as if she was expecting him to criticise her association with the notorious organisation, "Given its reputation, however, I have to question just why my cousin-in-law even allowed some of the organisation's members to even work with my people – Knights, even – despite that."
"Yeah, I-" Shepard opened her mouth to retort before the meaning of Erlan's words hit her.
He was right, Cerberus always preached against working with alien species, even those so-called 'alien symphatisers' since the day of its creation.
So just why did the Emperor even allow a band of the Empire's knights to support their mission in the first place?
This smelt too much of underlying motives, he was sure of it; she made a mental note to ask more about it from Amarthathor when she had the opportunity.
"Nonetheless, I am confident you shall gain the answers you seek in time," Erlan said, derailing Shepard's train of thought as she focused on the Elven Grand Master, "Now to discuss how we shall deal with Donovan Hock."
Both women nodded as Kasumi brought up her omni-tool and a holo-projector, typing a few commands on the holographic wrist-mounted device to display an image of a typical Human-style mansion.
"This is where Donovan keeps all his accquired valubles, in a very secure vault on the colony of Bekenstein," Kasumi explained as she changed the image being displayed to show the inner workings of the mansion, "The bastard's organising a get-together party and is inviting all the notorious characters in my part of the galaxy, where he's going to perform his latest transaction of smuggled weapons to date."
"I'm guessing he doesn't want any party poopers to ruin it," Shepard said, Kasumi nodding in response.
"He'll have a shit ton of mechs and hired Eclipse mercs guarding every nook and crany of the place while the transaction takes place, so I can't do it all alone, even with my skills," Kasumi explained.
"Which brings you here, to enlist the aid of the famed Commander Shepard to retrieve this graybox and keep it out of Donovan's hands," Erlan finished for her, his lips forming a scowl.
"That's right, though I didn't expect to run into the Emperor himself in the process," Kasumi admitted, a slight blush forming on her cheeks, "Anyway, I already have plans in place to break inside the mansion. If everything goes according to plan, we should be able to make it out of the mansion with little trouble."
Erlan nodded, though he asked Kasumi, "Do you not wish to avenge your lover's death?"
That made Kasumi freeze, who had given no thought to taking Donovan's life.
"No... I-I never thought about it," Kasumi said, uncertainty clouding her heart.
Erlan then took a bottle of wine and emptied its contents into two wine glasses, offering them to the duo.
"Fen'harel's embrace, some of the finest grape wine brewed by Thedosian Elves," Erlan stated, explaining for their sakes.
They had been told by Amarthathor that drinking was one of the Thedosian Empire's most favourite pastimes aside from playing card games and sparring, and were warned of the potency of Thedosian drinks; they were much stronger than whatever liquor the Council races could ever brew.
Wordlessly, they nodded their thanks and cautiously took a small sip of the wine. Immediately, the Elven wine they tasted put every other drink they had to shame.
"Wow," Shepard was the first to recover, blinking at the surprisngly high alcoholic content for grape wine in general, "That is some strong wine."
"It is, is it not?" Erlan affirmed, then proceeded to take a sip from his glass, then set it down after finishing the very last drops, standing up as he said to the two, "Take the rest of the night off. You will need adequate energy to retrieve the graybox."
Just as Erlan began to walk away, however, Shepard stopped him in his tracks.
"Wait!" She shouted, thankful that the noisy ambience of the place drowned out her voice.
Though Erlan never turned to face her, he acknowledged her by asking, "What is it, Commander Shepard?"
"Why are you even showing interest in the first place?" Shepard demanded, "Why help us?"
Tightening his bare hands into fists, Erlan then gave Shepard a scowl as he answered, "Because he murdered my love."
Kasumi had been slightly shocked at the revelation, and said nothing more as the Elven Grand Master walked away, leaving them alone at the balcony overlooking the tavern.
For the rest of the night, neither of them really indulged themselves in drinking sprees or sessions of playing Dragonstone or Hearthstone like most of the others, just absent-mindedly sipping away at their drinks as they took the time to relax, though she could see the Quarian Greatswords lying on the floors in a drunken stupor, Kal'Reegar muttering incoherent language as he lay unconscious next to a pile of beer glasses that had been emptied of their contents minutes prior.
When Shepard went to sleep in her allocated room – which was spartan yet filled with standard, if albeit ornate furniture, she quickly went to sleep, thankful of the comfortable bed she was graced with sleeping on.
IIOII
"John!"
Shepard woke violently from her nightmare, wishing that it would just banish itself from the depts of her mind already. Panting and sweating heavily, she quickly got out of her bed to wash her face, which did little to calm her nerves.
Performing her daily routine of cleaning herself and eating her breakfast, she found the morning to be rather peaceful, despite the outside atmosphere remaining the same in her eyes.
She was just about to find her way back to the Vengeful Sword when war horns sounded throughout the station, and Shepard could see Blademasters shuffling throughout the station as they directed all civilians away to the deeper parts of the station.
To Shepard, this could only mean one thing.
Quickly donning her armor and getting her weapons, she rushed outside the station dashing to the nearest vantage point to get a good look of just who was attacking Omega now.
She saw dozens of merc ships, all bearing the insignias of different merc groups opening fire on the Blademasters' ships stationed as the defense fleet, a hail of Eezo slugs pelting the Thedosian ships to little effect, though it seemed the mercs hardly cared about this fact.
She had no time to ponder about the mercs' intentions as of now.
The invasion had begun.
A/N: I must sorely apologise at the amount of time I took to upload this chapter, but nonetheless, I have done it!
So I do plan to do the loyalty mission for Kasumi in Mass Effect 2, just with a few twists to it, and spoiler alert, I have other plans for the Master Thief afterwards.
I thank those who have remained faithful to this story, and until then, this is Ebanu8.
If you need rest, do so with a cup of Fenharel's Embrace.