Mass Effect: Entangled

Chapter 15

Events take place after Chapter 19 of "Solace."

1 month post Cerberus takeover of Omega:

Thessia

Wearing high-priced soft mahogany formal attire, Bray walked out onto the patio of the prestigious apartment that Aria and he were given for their unscheduled stay on the asari homeworld. The sun crested the horizon that evening and the temperature remained balmy despite the evening breeze that sent chills down his arms. An endless parade of lights from sky cars littered the backdrop.

Following their departure at the rendezvous coordinates, Aria set course for Thessia for asylum. She needed to get a foothold and despite her reputation as a ruthless ruler over Omega, she had shockingly clout amongst the reputable matriarchs. It was the only world that Aria knew they would be safe for now to recover and regroup. The other worlds would easily be penetrable by Cerberus sleeper agents including Illium, another asari world locked in the Traverse. Their names were stripped from any new arrivals. As far as Thessia was concerned, T'Loak wasn't there nor was her counterpart, Bray.

To make the rouse even more convincing, Aria and Bray stashed away their normal dress ware and were given complimentary clothing from a top merchant. Bray didn't know who stuck out the most from the getup: he or her. It was the second time in his life on Omega under her employment that he saw her wear something different and more formal; the first was at her secretive funeral for her daughter, Liselle. Aria accepted the disguise without complaint. He, on the other hand, grumbled every time he got dressed in the morning. Each day, it would be a new clothing selection delivered in a box. It wasn't him. He felt so naked out of his armor despite still being able to stash away his sidearm under his long jacket in the pants' back holster. There was a total blackout in communications from Omega and Aria decided it was best not to attempt a transmission to her forces hunkered down in the trenches. With complete Cerberus control, it was almost certain and fatal that all messages were intercepted and analyzed to find origins no matter how complex the encryption was.

Bray was itching to do something. He hated just lounging around like nothing was going on. He knew Aria was working behind the scenes with her contacts on Thessia, but she was purposefully keeping him out of the loop. He suspected his role was not due. For now, he was there for added layers of protection and to be called upon when needed. His almond eyes deflected down the many stories to lavish open pedways that were dimly lit to provide a more romantic and peaceful atmosphere. Enchanting clothed asari strolled along; couples locked in hands or arms. A few non-asari stuck out like sore thumbs: a small handful of krogan, turian, salarian, or hanar. No sign of any like him nor the other species. In the near distance, distinguished nightclubs were opening up their doors for patrons while lines formed out of expensive restaurants. The skycar traffic noise mixed in with the distant laughter and mingling to create a calm melody; a far cry from the Omega scenery. None of it called to him like the asteroid station. As a soldier and then bodyguard, the peaceful life never beckoned his soul. He needed the unpredictable, unforgiving chaos. The confinement was becoming intolerable. The downtime allowed his mind to wonder about his allies that were left on Omega like Sh'sk and what was going to be the verdict on Commander Shepard. The humans and the Hegemony were walking a thin line between one another and all discussions were a political dance. Both hoped to "salvage" what was left of their broken relationship while gathering forces in the background. The non-contending races watched the exchanges like it was some vid series while the extranet sites ran polls allowing users to cast a vote. It seemed like humanity was losing endorsements and was seen more now as the aggressor to many. Even the Council was remaining neutral this time; a pure one-eighty compared to the last transgression with one another years ago. Petitions were being created, demanding to either turn Shepard over to the Hegemony for prosecution under their law or strip her of Spectre status. For now, all the Alliance would say is that they removed her rank. The move was not enough. No matter the end, it didn't boast well for Krysta.

As he moved back inside their very spacious apartment, he met Aria's gaze. A lavender silk non-form fitting dress caressed her body. The dress' outline did not leave much to one's imagination. At the wall in front of her, a provocatively dressed young asari maiden was giving the once Omega ruler, a private seductive show. "Do you not like the accommodations?" Aria addressed him curtly. Noticing the two now in discussions, the entertainer paused briefly. When Aria saw this, she looked her way in annoyance. "Did I tell you to stop?"

"No, mistress," The maiden apologized and continued.

Bray couldn't help his body's urges as his eyes flickered the dancer's way briefly to take in a peek at the show. Resisting the temptation to linger further, he went back to Aria. "I want to get back."

"And I'm working on it," She rolled her blue eyes in frustration. "I am always in control and have a handle on the situation." A pause. "Are you doubting me?" She directly accused.

"No," He stumbled for the words. Her aggression caught him off-guard. He pushed the line too much.

"This tower has a lounge on the eighth floor. Go down there and just get out of my sight."

"What if someone asks about me?" The order completely threw him off. Even she wouldn't be that careless to exploit their location. Though, there were enough reasons for the concern; after all, batarians were scarce on the asari homeworld.

"Make up something," She growled.

Minutes later, the elevator dropped him off on the eighth floor and he located the lounge called "Lucen's Paradise." The lighting backdrop was black with light patterns shining on all the interior walls to resemble the stars. A pleasing downtempo track serenaded the handful of patrons inside. There was one krogan in full body armor sitting near a lone asari with several asari in a group nearby at another able. All stopped in their conversations to pick up the outlier. A chuckle of amusement was heard from the krogan as the brutish reptilian bipedal watched in amusement. "Finally, someone else," He grunted.

Bray avoided eye contact and took a seat on the embroidered plush cushion barstool. The asari bartender moved over to fulfill his order. Unlike the servers on Omega, she was wearing a sparkly elegant formal dress that was attractive but not seductive. "Yes, sir?" She asked in a very polite and timid tone.

All this niceness was throwing him off. "Give me something strong," He fumbled. The bartender briskly moved over to the shelves behind her. She then returned less than a minute later with a glass and began to pour a pale green beverage. He stopped her before she left to return the bottle. "Keep it here." Confused by his demand, she set the bottle down and found more work to put more distance between them. Bray took a sip and felt the cold sharp drink flow down his throat. It was more potent than some of the ales on Omega. "What do they call this?"

"Sorrow's Companion," She replied from where she was. Bray chuckled under his breath at the label; an unspoken jab at pushed-away thoughts. It was ironic.

"Hey, four-eyes," The krogan lumbered over to where he sat. His skin tone was pale yellow indicating he was at least over five hundred years old. His front crest was pine green and he had a few scars that went down the length of his face. "What brings you here?"

Bray eyed the surly alien next to him, then spied the distrusting asari watching on with great interest. "I'm here on business."

"What kind of business?" He hissed through sharp incisors.

"I'm a product designer for an eezo company off Camala. I'm here with a colleague to discuss a partnership with a corporation here. We are developing research to artificially manipulate compounds found within the eezo to boost biotic capabilities." The lie was so detailed that even he believed it. He didn't even flinch and made perfect unwavering eye contact. The krogan remained guarded and narrowed his eyes as he analyzed the answer. "What about you?" He hoped that the krogan was more brawn than brain to effectively tear apart his words.

The suspicious bodyguard snorted, "Private security detail."

"You must be pricey."

The krogan leered, "I am. Your type couldn't afford me." Satisfied that he fulfilled his employer's request, he lumbered back over to her table. Bray watched him cautiously and saw that the asari snubbed him. Cracking a half smile, he held up his glass slightly in a toast to her, before returning his attention away from them.

A loud chirp across the room broke the awkward silence. "Goddess," The asari patron groaned at the annoyance. She pulled up her omni tool. "I purchased this new omni yesterday and the extranet settings are off the chart."

"Is it the Logic Arrest?" Her companion asked beside her as she looked on.

"I had that one but traded it for the new Savant. Top of the line."

"Wow. Savant? That must have cost a fortune."

"Payment plans help. I just hate how it wants to notify me of every headliner from the extranet. Why can't it just be asari worlds only? Ugh, I don't care what happens with the other species," She obnoxiously complained. Bray grunted softly through his nose as he listened in on her racist remarks, but remained silent. The asari then gasped loudly as she read the alert. "By the goddess…. this has to be fake."

"What was it?"

"They are saying that the Harsa System had a major blackout. There has been a mass exodus of ships hitting that relay to Widow."

"What the fuck?!" Bray spat out his drink after overhearing her words. He swiveled around in his chair to look at her. "Are you certain?!"

The patron's companion frowned in feigning sympathy to him. "Oh, is that where you are from? Did you have any family there? I'm sure they are fine. Probably a hoax."

Bray ignored her questions and moved upon them quickly. "Show it to me!"

Alarmed by his proximity, she expanded the omni's display to where it was projected out for them to see. "Must be fake," She concurred to her friend. "They are saying that communications from refugee ships are reporting that the Reapers struck Khar'shan."

"Reapers?" The other rolled her eyes. "Probably the humans."

Bray tensed as his eyes skimmed over the detailed news report. "It's not fake…" Without another thought or word, he dashed out of the lounge to go back to Aria.

Ten minutes later, he darted inside the apartment to find her lounging on the couch with a glass of wine. "What is it, Bray?"

"Khar'shan was hit by the Reapers and ships are heading to the Citadel to seek refuge. The entire Harsa system is out."

T'Loak mulled over this wordlessly till she finally dispatched the next order, "Follow up on communications regarding my fleets. Make sure those ships come to me at the specified coordinates. I think it's time that we change locations."

"And go where?"

"The Citadel."

Perplexed, he scratched his head. "What for?" She only smiled at him.

The meeting room was alive with dynamic discussions following the red alert from high command: Harsa System offline with allegations of hostile aggressions by an unknown force on Khar'shan. Thousands of refugees flooded the Widow Relay and entered C-Sec-controlled areas. The Citadel station was on lockdown and no departures nor arrivals were being granted until further assessment could be made. The rumors floating in the air in the enclosed space speculated the events were a ruse by the batarians to ignite the war, or believing the attackers to be the Reapers: The sentient beings that Commander Shepard warned about during her role as a Spectre. Of course, the latter was designated as being a falsehood. Alivia remained quiet in her seat as she took in the conversations at all fronts. Of all the things to happen, she didn't suspect this. What was going to happen now?

The energetic dialogues became hushed as their superior officer walked in with a few highly decorated officers behind him. "You have all heard the news."

"I'm calling bullshit on the batarians, sir," A cocky younger marine spoke up from his seat about two rows in front of where Alivia was at. "Not until we get to investigate this ourselves."

"High Command is not considering any direct contact with Harsa at this time, Lieutenant Stephenson."

"Several million humans are living on the Citadel, including my family, sir. Is C-Sec going to let these known killers just waltz in?" Another marine spoke up, this time it was a female close to Alivia's age. Alivia recognized her to be Chief Gunnery, Aamina Traore. A few more grunts in agreement chimed in with their same safety concerns.

The CO held up his hand to silence the room once more. "Believe me, the admirals are examining all possibilities at this time. Our orders are to move to the Serpent Nebula to help with control and make sure there is no hostility. We will be on red alert until there's more intel given. As of right now, all feeds are one-sided and we have no way to confirm."

"Sir," Alivia found her courage to speak up. The sheer idea that the Reapers were behind this terrified her soul. For years, the implication was tossed aside by the general public as fantasy without any substantial proof. This pessimistic front sort of kept her anxiety level down. Now, it seemed like a horror movie starting up. "The batarian refugees mentioned that the Reapers were behind the attack on their homeworld. Commander Shepard made warnings about this possibility in our galaxy when she was investigating Saren and stopping the Collectors. What if the attackers are the same? What is our plan of defense?" A few scoffed at the notion.

"Shepard is in prison," A braggart leered at her. "She was just as looney as Saren."

Alivia glared hard at the fellow soldier. "She did more for the Alliance and humanity than you have."

"What if it is the Reapers?" Another sarcastically shot from the front row. "Good riddance to those four eyes. We are safe. If it was them, they would have hit us already. Maybe those machines only want to take out the batarians. Do us all a favor."

"Lieutenant Lykaia, we are keeping all possible threats open," Their superior officer reeled them back in. "All boots, this is your wake-up call. Stations and duty rosters will be assigned later on today. All others, you know what we have to do. None of us are now FNGs. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir!" The room erupted with response and salutes.

"Dismissed."

Alivia swallowed hard as she watched her fellow marines get up from their seats to head out. This was it. "You were brave to ask that question," Aamina moved to where she was.

"It was nagging at me. I ran into Shepard a few times before her arrest. As crazy as it sounds, I believe her, and I still have full respect for her."

The chief cracked a grin as they began to walk out together. "So, do I. I know the Hegemony has pulled a lot of crazy stunts in the past few years. I don't think they would be that extreme to stage an attack on their planet. Something else is going on. I don't think we are being told everything."

Alivia winced at the comment. "That's what scares me the most about this."