MASS EFFECT: ENTANGLED

CHAPTER 13

** This takes place after Chapters 14 and 15 of "Solace." **

Citadel:

Alivia's heart beat rapidly in her chest as she moved through the crowd in the Shalta Ward. She felt like her feet were not moving fast enough to get her to the destination. He was at the station. Thane was back! Tears of rejoicing filled her silver eyes as she fought the urge to emotionally break down then and there in her steps. The night before, she unexpectedly received an encrypted message on her private terminal from him. He gave a false sender name and the origin of the message was hidden. All it said was to meet him near the skycab terminal on the southern district of Shalta. At first, the news of his arrival brought her happiness, but then the joyful feelings terminated when reality struck her; she was scheduled to arrive at Arcturus within four days for her training. Her assignment would be with Fifth Fleet under Admiral Hackett by recommendation of Councilor Anderson. She tried to reach out to Anderson to formally thank him for his assistance in the placement, but oddly, he vanished from the station after giving his sudden resignation from his post soon after Shepard's arrest. No one knew where he went. Rumors circulated the wards like a virus. Most inclined that the esteemed former captain became snow-balled with ridicule after what happened with the Bahak System. Humanity was on the brink of war with the batarians and not only did many fault Commander Shepard, but they also placed blame on Anderson, the Alliance, and the Council.

The Council remained tight-lipped throughout the ordeal after Shepard's fallout. They only stated that they condoned her actions and were looking into keeping her status as a Spectre. They declined any further comment. All interviews with the Alliance were shut down and information was spoon-fed out by the press representative; filtered heavily. The lack of transparency only fueled people's anger towards Shepard and protests mounted in the streets on the Earth and outside the Colonial Affairs offices on the Citadel. All were concerned with hostile transgressions with the batarians on colonies in the Terminus Systems and the threat of nuclear attack by the batarians on Earth. Batarian-led propaganda was turning up everywhere and some humans created a pro-batarian group to plot out revenge attacks on behalf of the Hegemony. Every extranet channel was filled with talk about theories and arguments. Chaos was brewing like a maelstrom at sea.

When Alivia reached the meeting point, there was no sign of Krios. Her heart sunk a little as her eyes desperately panned around and then she checked her omni. Her smile of hope reverted into a frown as she moved over to one of the windows that looked out into the wards' arms. It was scary just how enormous the place was! "Alivia…" Thane's soft voice called to her from behind.

Hearing how close he was made her nearly jump a few inches from the floor. She gasped when she saw him standing behind her. "Thane!"

He motioned her with his finger to remain demure. "We should not speak here. Your apartment?"

"Sure…," She was caught off guard by how cautious he was being and became curious about how dire his situation was. "This way."

Twenty minutes after catching a skycab, they arrived back at her apartment. Bringing him inside made her feel nervous and she found her mouth becoming arid. "D-do you need anything to drink?"

"No, thank you," He cordially responded and then smiled softly. "I thought I would never see you again. Are you well?"

Seeing him standing there alone in her apartment, quaked Alivia to her core. Unable to fight off any restraint she had, she moved to him quickly and kissed his lips. The action caught Thane off-guard, he paused only briefly and relaxed into her lips, returning it just as tenderly. After a few seconds, his lips broke from hers and remained only a few inches away. His obsidian eyes gazed into her own with his hands resting gently on her upper back. "I have grown quite fond of you, Alivia…"

She smiled. "I don't want to ever leave you again…." The tears captured in her eyes finally were released and flowed down her cheeks like streams. "Damnit…I should have waited…" Regret flooded her mind. She passed her psychological testing and was deemed to have the mental capacity to engage in combat. Therefore, she was accepted back into the Alliance and placed on active status. "I…I am with the Alliance now…I'm heading for assignment in a few days, Thane…"

Sensing the turmoil inside her, Thane embraced her. "Do not regret anything. We are fated to be apart, but my love for you will not cease from existence."

His touch and scent created a euphoric sensation and she seemed to almost melt in his arms as her body turned to a more tranquil state. "I love you too, Thane…I know it's silly to say it...I mean we hardly know each other."

"We fought side by side...," He reminisced. "I thought I was fated to die on Ilium; though it seems my life is not done yet."

"As a soldier, I shouldn't fear death," She gently laughed as she wiped her eyes. "Though I do; especially now. The Alliance is heading to war with the Hegemony. Everyone is mad at Shepard…I don't get it…I never thought she would…"

"She was not given a choice, Alivia," Krios argued as he turned to glance out her apartment's window. "I saw her right after the mission. She was severely broken…Kenson blocked all communication so none of the colonies could be warned. There was no time to evacuate."

"Did she do it?" She looked on with interest. "Did she push the asteroid into the relay like the reports are saying?"

"Yes. Kenson and her team were all indoctrinated. The reapers were on their way to our galaxy using that relay. If she didn't destroy it, then more lives would have been lost including those on Earth. No one is ready yet."

"Oh God…" Alivia choked as the news terrorized her. She held her hand to her mouth to stifle the outburst of fear of total annihilation. "The reapers…what she has been saying for years…are they still coming?"

"I fear that they are. We have not stopped them completely."

"How do we…"

"Several of Shepard's crewmates have dispersed back to their people to do what they can on their end with the leaders…I hope it's enough to-," His words were cut off sharply as he began to cough. "Excuse me..." He covered his mouth with a balled-up fist, but the coughing would not stop and she could hear him wheezing to regain his breath.

"Thane?" She took a few steps closer to render aid if required. He didn't respond and the coughing only intensified; seconds later he collapsed to the ground. "Thane!"

Earth:

Krysta found herself on Virmire at the landing zone and yet the structure of the breeding facility appeared to be foreign to her. Her visual acuity was stunted and the lighting appeared to be darker than a night on the planet. "Shepard!" Kaidan's voice called from behind. She whipped her ponytail to the right with a snap as her head move towards the beckoning.

He was propped up against the nuke with his sidearm at the ready. His jaw was clenched tightly as his facial expression was twisted from phantom pain. There didn't appear to be any injuries to him. "Kaidan!" She was going to get a second chance to save him! She stormed to reach his side, but no matter how many steps she took, she wasn't gaining any traction!

"Commander! Get out of here! I armed the nuke!" He yelled at her as he turned to face an invisible enemy. She knew the outcome; his fate. This was her second chance to redeem herself; to redeem his life! She would not fail this time! She would not fail him!

"Stifle it, LT! I'm not leaving you!" She yelled in return as her boots trudged through the water.

"Join us, Shepard," A mechanized familiar voice cackled from behind.

It was Saren! She pivoted hard on her heel to face him with her pistol ready to fire. Though, the deceased foe was nowhere to be seen. "Show yourself, coward!"

The turian agent remained absent. "You could have saved him," Saren taunted. "His death is on your hands."

"Liar!"

"Do you want salvation, Shepard? You can save yourself and everyone. Just submit."

"I will never fucking submit to the reapers, to Harbinger, Saren! You are delusional!"

"Shepard!" In distress, Kaidan called to her. His voice agonizing.

Hearing the desperation in his words, she turned to where he was to see him fading into an oily black shadow of his form. "Kaidan!" Krysta screamed to him as she moved to where he was once more.

"It's almost time," Saren's words cooed into her ear.

"No!" Shepard yelled and felt her body jerking back into a conscious state. At first, her surroundings deeply confused her. Her heart raced in her chest as sweat poured down her face. Once things became clearer, she realized that she was in her room at the detention center. Becoming angry at the troubling nightmare, Krysta yelled and pounded the bed violently with her fist. Tears flooded her face. Why did she relive Alenko's death again? It had been years since that happened. It seemed ever since she went after Kenson that the pain of his loss escalated as if the memory was fresh.

A gentle nap came at her door followed by the voice of her guard, "Everything alright in there, Commander?"

Feeling embarrassed from the raw emotion she endured, she wiped her eyes and sniffed to regain her composure. "Yeah. Just hard to sleep in here." When the room became still once more, she was satisfied that the guard didn't engage in further dialogue about the ordeal. Rising from the bed, she stretched and walked over to the small window that overlooked the city. She bravely faced her thoughts about the dream. She needed familiarity right now. She needed Anderson. All she knew was that he resigned mysteriously from his prestigious position as Earth's first human councilor and didn't go back to the Alliance. The man seemed to just disappear into thin air. No one knew where he was; not even people within the Alliance. She knew that if she was able to speak about this further with Liara that she would find him. She had her resources as the new Shadow Broker. Krysta's contact with the outside world was very limited and the only direct conversation she had with anyone other than formality was with James Vega. She gritted her teeth as her almond eyes panned out across the skyline. "Where the hell are you, Anderson?"

** This takes place after Chapter 16 of "Solace." *

Omega:

Bray wasn't fazed as several well-armed Cerberus soldiers moved to block Sh'sk's and his path as they approached the makeshift Cerberus docking port on the station. As part of Aria's secretive association with the organization, they were given a berth normally used for her private affairs and away from prying eyes. They were allowed to only bring salvage aboard from the Omega 4 Relay to use on their research site before shipping it off further to one of their remote labs. The Illusive Man advised T' Loak that all interactions on Omega would be peaceful and he had no intention to double cross her. He needed her permission to get through her airspace to the relay and to allow his ships to dock there for analysis, fuel, and supplies. In exchange, he handed over the names of those involved with her daughter's murder.

To anyone on the outside, their partnership seemed to be neutral and solid. Though, only a fool would believe that. Aria had no intentions of fully trusting the Illusive Man and that's why she sent Bray and Sh'sk down to check on things and to make Cerberus aware that she was watching them. "Go away, batarians," One of the soldiers spat at their presence. "This is a restricted area."

"Hey, Sh'sk, what do you think these assholes look like under those helmets?" Bray ignored the soldier's order and turned to his friend instead.

The batarian snickered. "Ugly fucks, I'm sure. You think they are human?"

"Probably Vorcha," Bray added with a snort.

The soldiers were not amused by their remarks and cocked their rifles upon the duo. The batarians didn't flinch from the aggression and met their action with stern eyes. "We have orders to shoot any trespassers," The first soldier firmly reminded.

This time Bray grinned. "I have orders from Aria T' Loak to check the salvage per the arrangement made with your boss. You shoot us and her entire army will wipe your asses off this station. Don't think the Illusive Man wants to lose what he has here, does he?"

The fully helmed soldiers glanced at one another till one motioned Bray and Sh'sk to pass through. "Quick and don't touch anything."

As they walked through, two of the soldiers broke from the others to serve as an escort and make sure that the batarians were in the up and up. Cerberus uniformed researchers glanced up from their work to note the intruders and cast them weary glances. As he passed by, Bray really couldn't see what they were working on, and asking to read over their terminals would be pushing it. He silently noted all the terminals to pass along to Aria's tech team. If anyone could break the network, it would be the former STG members. Crates of metal structures were near the back with a containment shield around them. Bray guessed it was wreckage from the Collector's vessel. He didn't see any bodies. What did they do with all the dead Collectors?

After a few seconds at a dead end of their tour, Bray signaled to Sh'sk to follow him out. Their view was very limited and he highly doubted they would be granted a second pass in the future. He would have to memory capture everything he saw and relay as much as possible to Aria. He paused only briefly at the entrance to speak with the guards once more. "We'll be back." Aria had the Collectors on the station years ago when they wanted Shepard's body. The event alarmed her. Nothing good came from them and Cerberus. What was the Illusive Man doing with the salvage besides studying its remains? There was more to this than he was letting on.