CHAPTER 3: Once Lost, Now Found

As the acidic bite of the alcohol warmed its way down his throat, Thane took a closer survey of his surroundings. For an underground location, no expenses were spared in its decoration. Clear thought went into the location of each artwork hanging on the walls, each placement of the wide velvet seat, all the tables were arranged in precise manner. Everything had a purpose. Whoever owned this place knew what they were doing. Someone of obvious intellect. Which, by the look of the crowd, thinned out Thane's suspects by a considerable amount. Bringing the tall glass of cool liquid closer to himself, he closed his eyes and tried to clear his head, listening.

Bits of conversations flowed into his brain, separating, fading, nothing of import. Most of it was laughter and animalistic grunts of pleasure with an occasional break of verbal abuse. At other times, he caught bits of conversation regarding the ever pressing Reaper invasion. These people seemed to have little concern for it. It's a wonder this place was still standing, but there it was, in all its debased glory. Thane let out a quiet sigh and returned to his drink, waiting for the special event.

"Buy me a drink?"

Thane heard the footsteps before he felt the touch on his shoulder as a female voice rang close to his ear. He knew even before she leaned over that it wasn't Shepard. He remembered the weight of her step well, the way they echoed on the metal panes of the Normandy, or muffled by the soft carpeting of Kahje's hallways. No. This wasn't her. This was someone else. Thane knew he shouldn't hope too much, but knowing that still hurt a little.

"What are you having?" he asked without looking up, biting back the pain.

"And here I thought drell had perfect memories. Old friends forgotten, eh?"

The statement gave Thane pause and it took him a fraction of a second to recall the familiarity of the voice.

"Old friends?" he repeated as the corner of his mouth quirked upwards sardonically. "As I recall, it was your information that got me nearly killed on the Prados assignment."

"You're still butthurt about that? Come on, Krios. Forgive and forget! I repaid you triple for that! And look at you! You got the Dantius job because of it! Which, let me remind you, got you the job with none other than Commander fucking Shepard herself!"

Thane cringed at the mention of Shepard, reminded of his failure to protect her and pressed harder to rectify his mistake.

"Why are you here, Ari?" he asked, taking another swig of the cheap alcohol and turning to face his old information broker. The years have been kind to her. She changed little, save for the vibrant multi colored mohawk and contact lenses. But that was her thing and it worked for her. It worked for him at one time, too. A long time ago.

"Oh, you know, the usual." she grinned in response. "Booze, sex, drugs, and a wealth of information."

"You haven't changed at all."

"And you changed too much. What brings your honorable ass down to a place like this?"

"I'm -" Thane hesitated. He trusted Ari. As much as anyone would trust a liar and a thief.

"Don't tell me. The mighty Krios has finally fallen? Are you here to bid?"

The smile that spread across Ari's face sickened Thane. The fact that she would even think him sunk so low sickened him even more.

"Is that what you think of me?" he retorted, clenching the glass to keep control. "And what do you mean 'bid'?"

"Oops, the secret's out!" Ari clapped her hand over her mouth in mock apology.

"Is this a slave market?" Thane demanded, unaware of his death grip on Ari's arm.

"Slave market is such a harsh term." she replied, removing his hand from her.

"Then what would you call taking a life and selling it for a cash value?"

"Fuck you. With all you have done, do not dare and judge me, Krios."

Thane's fingers tightened so much around the small glass that it shattered in his hand, sending glass flying across the table and the salarian bartender into a mad frenzy. Blood formed in rivulets around the glass digging into the palm of his hand but Thane felt no pain. Only rage. Civilizations were being destroyed and all these people could think of was trading precious life for a few credits? He was about to get up and leave when the lights suddenly dimmed, illuminating only the small stage in the center. The music stopped, the voices hushed and a single human male walked into the light.

"In these dark times, the world would have us call for mourning, for sacrifice, for kindness and empathy." he began, giving Thane pause. "It would have us give. It would have us die. And for what? For a chance to live? I don't know about you, but I want more than a chance! I want certainty! And certainty is what we have here! And where is the rest of the world? The rest of the world is dead. So, let tonight be a night of selfishness and indulgence because ladies and gentlemen, do I have a surprise for you! You have all seen them, you have all touched and tasted them, and you have all loved them. Tonight, you will be able to own them!" A feeling Thane could not identify settled itself upon his chest, weighing him down. Grabbing the table ledge for support, he sat himself back down. At the back of his mind, he knew that nothing good would come of this. The bad feelings persisted.

"Be sure to stay until the very end because we have a very special guest for you today. One that you would not want to miss. Until then, let's begin with our lovely Aurelis."

A small asari female, barely in her second stage of life, walked out onto the stage. Wearing nothing, she was displayed like a prized piece of meat to be prodded and touched and sampled. The whole ordeal disgusted Thane and he turned away, unable to erase the face of the asari female from earlier. He wanted nothing more than to just walk out, burning this place down behind him, but something held him back and so he stayed put. Stayed put until the lights dimmed further and the announcer declared the last auction of the night. The one they've all been waiting for.

"For one night only, one of you lucky bastards can own, can do with as you please, the one that's touched all our lives, for better or for worse. We have all felt her wrath, been stung by her interventions, been ruined by her. But no woman is unbreakable, Commander or not. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you..."

The sinking feeling in Thane's chest was crushing him, leaving him short of breath and in pain. After all these years of hoping, of despair, he ended up here only to see it end this way? A death would have been kinder.

"Commander Shepard in the flesh! Let the bidding begin!"