MASS EFFECT: ENTANGLED

CHAPTER 10

Krysta sat on the overly plush bed inside her cabin with her knees bent and drawn to the comfort of her chest. Her head rested on her crossed arms across her kneecaps as her almond eyes stared at the vast collection of model ships inside a large glass enclosure that gave some division of her room from her private terminal to her living quarters. She exhaled slowly through her nose as her mind thought back to Kaidan. Despite the fully staffed Omega-inbound ship that she was on, she felt so alone. There were now familiar faces like Garrus and Tali. That didn't help matters. It brought on intense pain and an unforgiving grim reminder of her loss. A few droplets of tears escaped down her face as her mind thought back to the first time the two bunked together. She smiled. God, she missed him. Most times, she would scold herself for being so weak, but this time she embraced the raw emotions. Just this once, in the privacy of her quarters, she would allow herself to be human like everyone else, give or take a few aliens.

A chirp from her door snared her attention and she quickly wiped the wetness from her cheeks. Grabbing a datapad from her nightstand, she pretended to be engrossed in something before answering, "Come in."

To her surprise, Thane walked in. Of all her squadmates, she pegged him to be the most isolated. "Is there a problem, Thane?" She set down the datapad and rose from the edge of her bed to greet him. The drell seemed very perplexed and it was challenging to read him.

"Shepard, the yeoman advised that we are setting a course for Omega to help Samara with her daughter. There is something that I may ask of you while we are there."

"Go ahead."

"I have an old friend on the station that I would like to check on while we are there if you would permit me so."

"A friend?" This intrigued Shepard.

"Yes, her name is Alivia- "

"Alivia?" The name jumped out at her. "You mean Alivia Lykaia?"

Krios paused. "Yes, do you know her as well?"

Shepard furrowed her brow as she recalled her troubling reunion with the fellow Alliance soldier. "Yes, I ran into her there when I recruited Mordin. She was Alliance…once." Her words mutated coldly as she remembered Alivia's new line of work. "She works for Aria now as one of her…flunkies." Krysta scowled as her mind switched to Bray. Why did the batarian bother her so much? Their brief entanglements were too frequent. It was like he was purposefully there in some form to keep an eye on her. Was it Aria calling the shots or was it another four-eyed alien with a chip on their shoulder? He was another difficult to read.

"Aria?" Thane's obsidian eyes widened. "That is…unexpected." He became concerned and cast his gaze away from her as if he was pondering over what was disclosed to him.

"How do you know each other, anyway?" Krysta pressed. His reaction didn't signify a simple acquaintance. There was more to this; deeper.

"I met her a few years ago when we were both contracted unknowingly for the same target. She was honorable and not your typical freelance merc that was hungry for credits. I felt like I could trust her…which is hard to do in my line of work. We kept in contact and I reached out to her when I received a very unusual contract by the Hegemony."

"The Hegemony?" Krysta raised her eyebrow. "They normally don't look to outsiders for their dirty work."

"Precisely. Yet, their query was within. The client was Ararn Balak."

"Balak?" She quickly recalled the surname. "Any friend of Ka'hairal?"

"Younger brother. Just as dangerous."

"And their target?"

"A high-ranked deserter of the Special Forces presumed to be on Aria's payroll on Omega: Bray Credgarok."

Him again! Krysta felt her fists clenched reactively and she stepped away from him. "I knew it…," she huffed under her breath. Bray was unlike most batarians that she encountered. He didn't flinch when she had him at gunpoint. Imminent death did not scare him. Some talked the talk, but when it came down to it, they didn't want to die and coward in her wake. He was hardened; a soldier. The Batarian Special Forces were similar to the N7. They were the best of the best of their military prowess. Still, he was working for T' Loak and could not be trusted just like her friend, Alivia. "Betraying the Hegemony is an instant death threat. I highly doubt he would risk that just to work for Aria. There's more to this…" She turned to face him once more. "You said Alivia accompanied you for the job. I am surprised that they would permit a human. Our races are not exactly fond one of another."

"Having her with me did throw Balak's contact off. Though, I believe time was on my side. Ararn was rushed to get this matter dealt with. That eludes me. They sent out one of their own to track Bray down, but he was coming up empty-handed and failure was not an option."

Krysta sportively tossed him a grin. "If the Hegemony wants you, Thane, you must be well sought out and expensive."

This jab stirred a chuckle from him. "My reputation precedes me."

"Bray is still alive so I take it you didn't finish the job. What happened?"

"As I stated to you on Ilium, I am wanting to make the galaxy a brighter place before I die. An internal conflict within the Hegemony is rare to outsiders. I wanted to learn more than what they were letting on. With Alivia's help, we were able to corner Bray to talk to him. Years ago, his team was dispatched to an undisclosed human colony in the Traverse. No orders were given until their arrival. He presumed it was another skirmish with the Alliance. Though, when he got there, he learned that they were to slaughter all the colonists: including unarmed women and children."

Shepard's jaw tightened as she intently listened in. She heard of raiding parties throughout the terminus systems; mostly colonies that were too far out from the Alliance's reach. The parties consisted majority of slavers and mercs. "And did he…?" She hissed through clenched teeth.

"No. He killed one of his own to save several colonists. They never linked him to that death, but he stated as soon as they arrived back on Khar'Shaan, he abandoned his post and left on a transport to Omega. Soon later, he found work with Aria. His disappearance was noted and since Ararn is head of the special forces, he was the one who put the contract out.

"He didn't kill any colonists?" Shepard was stunned in incredulity. There was fierce animosity between the humans and the batarians ever since humanity began to expand. He had no reason not to follow an order from his superiors over a well-hated race. Was he one of the few non-racist batarians?

"Not a one."

"Do you believe him?"

"It's hard to judge someone, though I do believe him. After hearing that, I worked with Alivia to hunt out the bounty hunter and learned there were two on the station. We killed both. I never reported back to Ararn and there has been no communication since."

Shepard shook her head as she tried to process all of this. What Krios told her about Bray deeply moved her. She recalled their first meeting with Aria. All she wanted to do then was to shoot him. She then spied the datapad on her desk that contained the cryptic message she received from Omega; another prompt to revisit the station. "I received a transmission from someone on Omega. Their identity is unknown but it seems they dug into my past and learned that I use to run for the Reds on Earth. They offered me merc work," She grumbled at the contents. "Sounds like Aria loves to find shit on people; as if she has any power over me."

"We all have our ghosts," Thane replied softly as he reviewed the message on the pad.

"I'm not afraid of what she finds out. I have nothing to hide," Shepard growled as she crossed her arms in annoyance. She didn't have time to play games with T' Loak. Her business on Omega was purely for Samara, though she would not give up the opportunity to dare the purple asari on her challenge. "When we get to Omega, I can give you two hours."

He bowed slightly in gratitude. "That should be enough. Thank you, Shepard. I will leave you to your previous thoughts."

"Thane?" She called out as he turned to exit her cabin.

"Yes?"

"If you can, get Alivia off that station."

He smiled, "I'll do what I can. Thank you, Shepard."

"You have a new message," The apartment's VI alerted Alivia that early evening from her slumber. Groggily, she rose from her bed and staggered over to her private terminal. Partly awake, she opened the message, though became fully alert when she recognized its sender.

"Thane!" She gasped loudly. Her eyes desperately read over the body of the message. He was on his way there with Shepard. Her heart skipped joyfully in her chest. He wanted to meet. This made her chew her lip as she frantically thought of a place that would not be too conspicuous and yet far from Aria. The VIP lounge came to her mind. It was a secluded part of Afterlife for a select few and out of Aria's direct view. Being high up in the ranks, Captain Galvorn could have access to it; she just needed to persuade him to give her a way in. A difficult task, but not impossible. Outside the VIP lounge would be the preferred choice and it wasn't a far walk back to the fighting pits to chance a brief encounter.

To Alivia's fortune, a few arrogant vorcha agreed to fight in the pits that day in hand-to-hand combat against the pit's newest champion: A krogan ex-warlord of Clan Nakmor from Tuchanka. He came to Omega a few months ago when the majority of his family abruptly left their homeworld to join up with the newly formed, Andromeda Initiative. It was a program built on epic proportions with egotistic intentions to find new worlds in the Andromeda Galaxy that was six hundred light years away. The idea was romantic and scary to Alivia and the krogan champion was cynical of his family's decision. Changes were being made on Tuchanka with Clan Urdnot being the dominant race. The clan leader, Urdnot Wrex, wanted their ways to be different and that included less violence against one another. The champion, Nakmor Zrug, found the changes to be boring and not krogan. He enjoyed the violence and the killing. He brought the same grit to Omega and volunteered to fight in the pits. So far, no contender was his match. His kill streak struck up more patrons and the place was becoming livelier with mercs once again attending the matches. With Archangel dealt with, it was business as normal on the asteroid.

The formed crowd thundered with cheers as Zrug dug his war hammer deep within the vorcha's skull, flattening it down to the size of a baby pyjak. A grotesque eruption of shattered bones, brain matter, and blood poured all over the large armored krogan. Zrug shoved his right fist into the air in triumph as he proudly held his war hammer in his left. Galvorn cheered in amusement from where he stood off to the side. Now was Alivia's chance! Using the chilling enjoyable moment, Alivia moved along beside him. "What a match!"

Galvorn cackled at the sight. "I haven't seen this place this alive in years."

"I need to meet someone at the VIP Lounge. You think I have time to go up there?" She casually forced out.

The turian guard shrugged and handed his key pass. "Sure, why not. I'll cover ya. Just don't take too long or Aria will have my ass."

"Thanks." She noted the variety of mercs down in the viewing section of the pits. "We have quite the crowd tonight."

"Love it. Glad that Archangel was dealt with finally."

"What happened to him?"

"Who cares. Good riddance."

Thane did his best to blend in as best as a drell could on the Omega markets outside the VIP lounge. He had a clear line of sight to the meeting point and so far, Alivia was not there. In the background, he could hear the batarian prophet up on his crate with a gathered crowd of interested followers and cynics. "Thane…" Alivia came from an alley to his right. She was still wearing a new set of armor instead of the Eclipse one he left her in.

"Alivia!" He moved over her way and kept his eyes focused on their surroundings. It appeared that no one around was giving them much attention. He embraced her gently and felt her warmth near his body. Letting out a soft sigh through his lips, he allowed his eyes to close momentarily as he silently prayed to his goddess for her safe return.

"It's so glad to see you, Thane. I was beginning to think I never would…" She smiled at him.

He nodded his head to the entrance to the VIP area. "You have a way inside?"

With a grin, Lykaia held up the pass card. "I have ways."

Impressed, Krios nodded with a returned smile. "I will follow."

The guard didn't question her pass card and waved her and Thane inside. It was only then that Alivia allowed herself to release her breath. The lounge was very spacious compared to the lower and upper areas of Afterlife. It housed a few handfuls of asari, humans, and mercs. The same rhythmic music poured through the area's speakers. The volume was just high enough to make conversations more private but not loud enough to interrupt one's thoughts. Thane found them a private table away from the entrance and closer to the much smaller dance floor and sidebar. As soon as they sat down, an asari waitress came over to fulfill their drink orders. After she left, Thane looked across over at Alivia. "Shepard said you are now working for Aria."

"Yeah, the fighting pits of all places," Alivia giggled at how wild the placement was. "It's surprisingly entertaining and makes the shifts short. I had to find something once you left and I feel somewhat protected working for her."

Thane furrowed his brow. "Don't let the veil cover your eyes, Alivia. There is no protection at this station. Working for Aria could be even more dangerous. I suspect she has many enemies that want to get close to her."

"True, but Bray escorts me to and from shifts," She then rolled her eyes as she foolishly remembered that the batarian's demeanor changed lately and she saw less and less of him. "Well, he used to. I don't know what's bothering him. He's become rather distant." She shook her head as she recalled her chat with him at his place. "It has to do with his run-in with Krysta. Ever since that day, I don't know…something happened. It's like they hate one another."

"I will admit. Krysta does share harsh feelings towards him."

"I didn't know that Spectres contract assassins."

"She didn't. I met her on Ilium when I dealt with Nassana."

Alivia grinned. "Did you help out the salarian's brother?"

"I hope so. There were many dead before I got to her."

"At least you killed her."

"I did and Shepard found me at that point. She told me about her suicide mission to get through the Omega 4 Relay to take down the Collectors. She works for Cerberus."

"Cerberus?" The name of the pro-human organization struck a chord for Alivia and she shook her head in doubt. "A rouse, right? I mean there's no way that Shepard openly supports them…"

"I have only accompanied her on a few missions and she is very difficult to read on matters. Though, I do believe what she's fighting for. The Collectors are very dangerous."

With the news, Alivia felt like her hope about their reunion was turning into despair. "I heard about the colonies being attacked with hundreds missing. I want to help too, but I will always support the Alliance and not Cerberus. I couldn't…I couldn't do that." Sadness washed over her like a tidal wave as she thought back to seeing Krysta on Omega. "She's so distant with me. It's like I'm an enemy or something."

"If you were her enemy, Alivia, then you would be dead," He pointed out plainly. "She has a lot on her shoulders right now."

She reached out and took his webbed hand with her own. "Thane, you were gone too long. I don't want to be here alone again."

"One cannot guarantee their fate. Once I leave here, I will pray to the goddess, Arashu, to survive this mission so I may return to you once more." He gently squeezed her hand with his own. "I have come to care for you…and for once in my life, I am afraid. I fear that this meeting with you may be my last."

She fervently shook her head. "No, this won't be."

"I want you to leave Omega."

"Where would I go?"

"Back to the Citadel. You would be safer in Council space. Do you have any old contacts in the Alliance that you could reach out to?"

She retracted her hand and rubbed her fingertips nervously. "Maybe…it's been years though."

"Despite your discharge, I know that your heart is still with the Alliance and not as a merc," His black eyes directly looked at her. "This is not your way of life. I have learned this after our talks."

The idea of returning to any part of the Alliance made her hesitant and she diverted her silver eyes away from the drell. All she could think of was the horrors inflicted upon her team on Akuze. She couldn't face that again. Just as she turned away, her eyes picked up a newcomer from the entrance. "Crud…" She cringed as she recognized the patron and looked away swiftly before she was noticed.

"What is it?" Thane became alarmed at her reaction and looked over her shoulder to also see that the lounge's new guest was Bray. He was out of his normal armor and was wearing black dress pants and a shirt. The top part of the shirt had a pop-up collar and leather buckle straps across the torso. He stood out compared to most batarians on the station who was in the much poorer status but seemed to fit right in with the VIP.

Alivia felt her heart racing in panic as she looked at the drell for support. "Ugh, I knew I lingered here too long…"

"He doesn't appear to be looking for you…he appears to be distraught about something."

"Yeah, me being gone. He's responsible for me…"

Thane kept his attention on the batarian. "I don't think that's it."

"Where is he now?" She wouldn't dare look yet.

"He went over to another batarian."

Alivia took a breath and found the courage to finally look his way. "Shit, that's Moklan. How did I miss him? If he sees me here..."

Thane took her hand once more to snare her attention. "Alivia, listen to me. There's a transport heading to the Citadel from here. It will be leaving in a few hours. Please get there and get out of this place. You will be safer."

Hearing his words, she passively nodded her head in agreement but continued to look at where Bray and Moklan were conversing. A few moments later, Bray appeared startled and then got up suddenly to move to the bar. Confused, Alivia trailed him with her eyes and had to do a double take! There, at the bar, was Krysta! She was also dressed differently. Her attire was more downplayed than his. Her hair was no longer sharply up in a tight ponytail, but instead flowing down freely along her waist and back. She was dressed in street attire. Bray was making a beeline right to her. If they despised one another, why? The two began to talk, but they were too far away for Alivia to know what was being said and she was horrible at lip reading. "You're seeing what I'm seeing. Right, Thane?" She couldn't believe her own eyes.

"Yes, it appears something is happening."

Krysta left Bray's side and moved to the dance floor. She began to dance along with the others. Bray remained still from where he stood, then seconds later moved out to where she was. The two began to dance with one another, their bodies were pretty close. Becoming embarrassed from watching, Alivia felt her face grow hot and she looked away. "Uh, so I guess…they are together?" Thane remained quiet.

The sound of loud shouting and drunken slurs coming from the dance floor made Alivia look back over. The pair were confronted by two intoxicated males. Then without warning, Bray punched one and Krysta used biotics on the other. Dancers moved away quickly in alarm as the fight continued. Reacting, Alivia and Thane stood up from their seats to move in if need be. Shepard darted away from the center of attention to where a female asari was waiting for her. The two then walked off together in idle chatter leaving Bray to deal with the drunks. He appeared confused as he looked for her till finally he realized she was no longer there and stormed out.

"That must be Samara's daughter that Shepard was looking for," Thane watched.

"I'm not sure what I just witnessed. Were she and Bray working together?" Alivia couldn't process it. It all seemed surreal. Was their dancing just a ploy? If so, how did they manage to work together after such fierce animosity? None of this was making sense! Her mind was spinning!

"I should be going. Shepard will be expecting me." He took her hand and placed a credit chit in it. "Go to the docks. This should get you to the Citadel."

Alivia fearfully looked at the chit and gulped slowly. She wasn't too sure what to do. She wanted to leave and yet she felt trapped. Would Aria hunt her down? "What if she looks for me?"

"You will make it. Get to the Citadel and find your old contacts if you can. If not, is there a local post there?"

"Yeah, I could get in touch with the VO…"

He kissed her on the forehead. "Promise me that you will go after I leave."

"I promise," She clutched the chit tightly in her palm.

Couple of hours later,

Bray stood off to the side near where the Normandy was departing from the station. Travelers bustled through the crowded area to get to and from their destinations. A few slavers were bringing in their merchandise in hopes of quick sales. In his armor once more, he kept his arms crossed as he casually leaned against the dirty graffitied wall. His chest remained tight ever since what transpired at the VIP lounge. Both sets of his brown eyes remained transfixed upon the large window to where he saw her ship in plain view. It was backing out slowly before moving out to the relay. After he left Krysta in the alley, he moved to his apartment to change his clothes. He felt silly in his plain clothes and slipped the comfort of his armor back on. Soon after, he made a mad dash back to the docks in hopes to catch her one more time before she departed. Though he lost his chance and the Normandy's crew was performing final checks for take-off.

His day went wrong that day and once again, it was all because of Krysta setting foot on the asteroid. She first accused Aria of digging into her past and sending her a cryptic message. He never thought when he sent that message that she would go to his boss with it. Shockingly, T'Loak admitted guilt and then had a "chat" with Bray after Shepard left. He was on Aria's shit list once again. This time, he wouldn't have some human merc and a drell to save his ass.

Taking out a cigarette, he lit up and inhaled slowly through his large nostrils as the Normandy became more and more distant. He thought back to the confrontation he had with her in the alley near Marsh's. He hung around the area and found her there about thirty minutes after she deserted him at the VIP. He pulled her into the alley and did the unthinkable! He kissed her! He had no idea why he did it and what possessed him in doing so. He couldn't stop thinking about it. The way she still fiercely looked at him. The way she smelled being so close to him. The way her lips tasted upon his. It was so intoxicating and riveting! She was his drug and one fix was not enough.

"Bray? Bray, that is you!" Ish beckoned him nearby. For once, the pestering salarian was alone. "I thought that it was…changed clothes I see. Looks good. Much better." He nodded his head in approval.

The obscure words stumped Bray and he grunted at him. "Leave me the fuck alone, Ish." He took another drag from his cigarette.

"That's no way to treat a fellow friend of Omega and course, Aria. We all love her." He continued.

"Stop kissing ass. I'm off the clock," Bray shortly reminded him. His eyes gloomily looked out the window once more over the salarian's shoulder. The Normandy was gone. Shepard was gone.

Ish eagerly followed his eyes and the grin on his face grew wider. "I'm sure Aria would be happy for you. A connection to a Spectre is very advantageous to someone in her powerful position. We all need allies."

Bray grunted again and stomped his cigarette out with his boot. "Aria doesn't need anyone."

"I'm sure…you do though," Ish moved in closer and his voice lowered, "Am I right?" Bray stared hard at him to try to grasp where the salarian was moving to. His silence only provoked a wider grin on Ish's face. "I'm a friend of Aria's, Bray. I'm sure her other 'friends' would love to know that someone like yourself has such an intimate relationship with the famed Commander Shepard, Alliance…I mean Cerberus soldier."

Realizing that one of Ish's spies revealed what happened near Marsh's, Bray growled menacingly and grabbed the salarian roughly by the collar. He spun on his heel and pinned him hard up against the wall. Removing a knife from the holder on his leg, Bray held the razor-sharp side of the weapon against the now trembling salarian's neck. "Are you threatening me, Ish?"

Anxiety struck the salarian and he whimpered at the sudden action. He inched away from the deadly edge as far as he could as his body seemed to almost flatten on the wall. "P-Please, Bray! I am only protecting Aria's interests!"

"Bullshit. You have no interest except for yourself."

"Bray!" Alivia rushed over to where they were. She was heading down to the docks to find the transport when she saw the whole thing transpire. "Let him go."

"Listen to her!" Ish pleaded for his life.

Cursing under his breath in his native tongue, Bray sheathed his knife once more and shoved the salarian away from him. "Get the hell out of my sight, Ish." He then turned her way. "What are you doing down here?"

She watched Ish scamper off. "I came here…to…" She paused. "Why were you hurting him?" She recalled seeing the salarian when she arrived at the station with Thane to look for Bray. Ironically, it was coming full circle.

"He stuck his business where it doesn't belong," He spat. "You didn't answer my question."

The batarian in front of her was heedful and tense. His display against the salarian acquaintance was disturbing. She missed the conversation between the two, and she feared what might have happened if she didn't interrupt. She wanted to question him about what went down at the VIP lounge but decided against it due to his stature. Taking a breath, she answered, "I am leaving, Bray."

"Aria knows about it?"

"No," She shook her head. "I need to get out of here. I made contact with Thane."

He scoffed under his breath. "The drell is on here too?"

"Was." A beat. "He left with Shepard earlier."

Bray's brown eyes narrowed at the name. He was hurt and deceived. "I have things to do." He stormed passed her; his eyes were dark. "I didn't see you leave."

Later that night, Bray's sleep came to a swift end when there was a chime at his apartment door followed by the relentless pounding of a fist. Dazedly, he reached under his mattress to retrieve his sidearm and cocked it. "Who the fuck is it?"

"It's me," Moklan replied on the other side. "Open the damn door, Bray."

"Shit," He grumbled and threw on some loose clothes before opening the door. "What the hell is it?" He fought back the yawn inside.

The other batarian smirked as he strolled in. "You must be hitting a lot of bad luck. How did you piss off Aria again?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Bray snapped defensively. He was too tired for cryptic games and he hated how the other loved to drag his face in shit.

"Your human pet is gone. Galvorn said she stepped away from her post for a break and never returned. Rumor has it that she left the station."

"She wasn't a prisoner of Aria's," Bray reminded him. "Glad she's gone."

"What's with you and the humans? Word on the street is that you like the human spectre…" Moklan sneered. "Did you pity this human woman too?"

"Fuck off," Bray bared his incisors with a vicious low growl. "I was in the lounge earlier. You saw me. If Alivia left, I didn't see her."

"Yeah, because you were too busy dancing with that spectre.." A victorious twinkle came from Moklan's eyes.

Reacting speedily, Bray raised his sidearm at him. "Be careful of what you say…I wouldn't hesitate on killing you."

Moklan didn't flinch at him and stared him down. "No, Bray. You be careful. Your position here is weakening…someone could take your place." A sadistic smile went across his face as he turned and left the apartment. "Aria may not protect you anymore."