MASS EFFECT: ENTANGLED
CHAPTER 17
This takes place in the middle of Chapter 20 of "Solace."
It felt so refreshing to have Garrus Vakarian back onboard the Normandy; a far cry from normalcy. Despite her earlier years of xeno-cynicism, she felt a true bond with the former C-Sec officer. He endured so much on Omega and held his own against unfathomable odds. That gave her so much respect for him. After they left Menae, she immediately sought him out. She was becoming mentally and physically drained and they were only at the beginning of this war. Sleep was a stranger to her. As he went over his task group on Palaven following her arrest, she felt a nagging dull headache at the back of her head. She tried her best to ignore it, but the intensity went up a few levels and it was becoming bothersome. The turian must have picked up on her uncomfortableness because he paused and his avian eyes became expressively concerned. "Shepard, everything okay?"
"I'm fine. Continue," She lied. Krysta never was the one to divulge too much about her personal life. She had to remain strong in front of those around her. The mantra was almost branded on her brain.
"You are a terrible liar," He teased. "Don't forget I used to work for C-Sec. I have handled a hundred interrogations." A smirk spread across his thin lips. "That cannibal hit your implant?"
She furrowed her brow at his observation and obstinately shook her head. "Doubt it. He didn't hit me that hard and my kinetic barriers took the brunt of it." On the battlefield, she got sloppy and allowed a cannibal to sneak up on her from behind while she was squaring off with a brute.
"Fortunately, your friend, Vakarian, was able to take the kill shot to avoid any further damage," He poked.
She chuckled. "I thought you were an excellent shot, Garrus. You should have put him down before he got that close. Besides, it was either him or the brute."
"Touche." He allowed a few laughs before he became serious once more. "It wouldn't hurt to let Chakwas check you out."
"I think Joker is rubbing off on you, Vakarian."
"Oh?"
She patted him on the shoulder as she moved to exit the room. "I thought he was the only one in this ship constantly nagging and worrying over me." Smirking at her final words, she moved out of the forward battery to the mess. The lighthearted conversation was just what she needed to put a little pep in her step.
"I always have time for you, Commander," Kaidan's old words haunted her and sent a chill up her spine.
Her eyes danced over to where the kitchen was and her mind flashed to Kaidan's old workstation area on the SR-1. The same spot; but a different vessel. The smile on her face transitioned into a frown as she stared at the kitchen and she stopped in her tracks. "Kaidan….," She rasped. Her mouth felt arid. It was as if she could see him standing there looking right back at her with the familiar smile on his clean-shaven face.
"Commander, everything okay?" A fellow officer asked nearby. He and another were sitting at the mess table while they were on break. She didn't realize that they were there.
Feeling a little flushed from embarrassment, she cleared her throat. "I'm fine. Carry on." She diverted her path to the medbay; maybe a checkup from Chakwas wouldn't hurt.
The gray-haired ship doctor was sitting behind her terminal when Krysta walked in. She turned around with a puzzled expression on her face. "Commander, everything alright?"
"I think my implant got a little rattled on Menae. Can you run a diagnostic on it?"
She lifted an eyebrow at the statement as if she was a mother scolding her child. "What did you headbutt this time? You need to be careful. You're not a krogan." She stood up from her workstation and moved over to the examination table, motioning her to follow.
"Not intentional," Shepard cooly explained.
"Any side effects?"
"Just a headache," She decided not to say anything about Kaidan's ghostly imagery moments ago. "Could be from lack of sleep." Krysta assuredly stated as she lay down on the table and waited for the diagnostic tool to be set into place.
"Possibly. You have the L3 version, which is a bit more stable," Chakwas pulled up her omni to connect with the tool. "Should only take a few moments."
"Fine," Krysta took a slow deep breath as she closed her eyes.
"Dr. T'Soni, I have the most current reports from the agents on the Citadel. I have sorted the data by priority. Shall I send them to your private terminal for review?" Glyph announced from his charging dock as the asari re-entered her private office on the Normandy that evening following their mission on Menae. Her sore muscles ached and she longed for a spa treatment on Ilium, but the somewhat days of relaxation were over.
"Read to me what's first on the list," She flopped onto her back on the bed to retrieve a few minutes of plushness.
"Agent Mezoro spotted Aria T' Loak in the club, "Purgatory," along with heavily armed personnel."
The news made her spring back up into a sitting position. "Goddess!" Her ocean-deep blue eyes widened with shock and alarm. Her sources indicated that Aria rarely left Omega and it was extremely out of her MO to be anywhere near Council space. "Are you sure that's accurate?"
"I will inform Agent Mezoro to make contact for verification speech checks," The VI sphere dutifully acknowledged.
"Belay that!" She swiftly moved to her feet. "We are heading to the Citadel. I will go myself and verify. Cross-reference the data with relay traffic out of the Sahrabarik System. Also, ask all agents on Omega to give me current stats reports." This news frustrated her. Aria leaving Omega was a huge and unforeseen move on her part. Why didn't anyone from the station notify her of this?
Moments later, multiple data cache was being displayed on her rows of monitors. The relay was strangely not being used in days. The lack of frequency created a chill up her spine. "Glyph, pull up traffic from the Omega 4 Relay."
"At once."
The monitor to her left switched over to the data requested. That relay was fairly active and all marked vessels had the same identifiable markings. T'Soni narrowed her eyes at the find. "Cerberus…"
Liara tried her best to speak with Krysta further about what Glyph uncovered, but Shepard locked herself in her cabin on their way to the Citadel and seemed to leave the Normandy in haste before Liara had a chance to go up to the CIC to speak with her. What happened Ash plagued the commander and Liara knew that Krysta was going straight to Huerta to speak with her friend since Williams regained consciousness and was on the mend. This window of opportunity gave the time that Liara needed to make her way down to the ward level where Purgatory was established on. She would see Aria herself.
A small crowd of patrons gathered outside the club. The heavy bass of the music could be felt even at the skycar drop-off as Liara exited her cab. The location was very spacious compared to Flux and was one of the newer nightlife attractions on the station. A large entranceway and turian bouncers greeted her. "Have fun in there," One called to her with a suggestive wink. She flashed a thankful smile before moving past him. The club was on the lighter side with the lack of heavily armored krogan that usually manned Chora's Den. Once inside, the area opened even wider revealing a wide staircase that led up to two more levels: More seating and then an upper dance floor. Both levels had bars packed all around. After paying her admission fee at the kiosk, she casually strolled up to the second floor and noted a private seating area to the right. There on the plush seating arrangements was Aria T' Loak. In front of her was a holo table with a projected image of Omega. The asari stared deep in thought at the holo while to her right standing faithfully was Bray. A slight gasp escaped T'Soni's blue lips and she tried her best not to stop and stare at the pair. She chewed her lip. Something big was going on and Cerberus was right in the middle of it.
"Aren't you Shepard's little pet?" T'Loak cooed mockingly, snapping Liara out of her troubled thoughts. She cringed.
Taking the bait, T'Soni casually moved down to where the other was comfortably sitting with distrustful eyes. She crossed her arms as she eyed the holo more closely. "Far from home, Aria?"
"Figured that all by yourself," Aria sneered. "Heard you left Ilium unannounced, Information Broker." She allowed the unspoken hint to remain in the air before continuing, "I have my sources too." Victoriously, she smirked. "Shepard has her hands full right now it seems. I'm certain the Alliance let her out. I sent her a private message and she hasn't responded."
"The commander is quite busy at the moment," Liara replied nonchalantly. She wondered why Aria was reaching out to Shepard directly. It had to be with what she uncovered. This time, her blue eyes switched over to Bray. "Something happened on Omega, didn't it?" The batarian's two sets of eyes deflected away. She was right!
"Nothing that concerns you," Aria hissed. "Is Shepard on this station right now?"
"She is, but she's visiting a friend at Huerta."
"Shepard has a friend here too," Aria emphasized coyishly as she glanced over at her bodyguard. "Tell her when she becomes unbusy to speak with me here. It's important."
"I'll let her know," Liara walked away troubled. Krysta had a lot riding on her right now with the summit setup. Cerberus was more involved than they realized. Mars was not at all of it The pro-human organization was going to stir up war as well.
"Hey, Blue!" James called from where he was at the bar at the opposite end. He flagged her over. When she got close enough, he motioned with his head towards the direction of where she came. "You see the big fish in town?"
Liara blinked at the phrase. "I'm sorry?"
"Aria T' Loak. Why is she here?"
"Wanting to speak with Shepard it seems."
He chuckled. "Man, Lola is being pulled in all directions."
"I better go find her."
Aria huffed as she noticed that Bray's focus was entirely on Liara as the asari left the marine she was speaking with and exited the club. Ever since their encounter with Krysta's friend, he seemed rattled. "Eager to see her already?"
He snapped back in line with his eyes looking upon the Omega holo. "I'm wanting to get back to the fight against Cerberus. I don't like it here," He muttered.
"Be a better liar," She scoffed at his attempt. "I brought you here to be useful. I better not regret saving your ass on Omega."
"What did you need me to do?"
"I think the entire station knows you have a….liking…to Shepard. You fail nauseatingly at hiding it. I need Shepard's help to get Omega back. She worked for Cerberus and has fought them more than any of us. Plus, I need the mercs to fall in line. She can help me with that too. When she comes here, I'll appeal to her mission and all that; the heroic bullshit. I may need your help persuading her if she is hesitant."
"I can talk to her."
"You were both soldiers. Appeal to her honor code and whatever else."
"What if she won't listen to me?" He asked. Per his previous encounters with her, she was very headstrong and wasn't easy to push around or manipulate. He seriously doubted that she would simply listen to whatever Aria had to say nor; no matter how friendly they became months ago. Though, he wasn't too sure how high a single kiss would put him on her list.
"There are other ways to persuade, Bray," She knowingly grinned. "Sometimes, you have to think like my kind." He quickly picked up where she was going with her innuendo and gulped. Aria knew that the topic made him uncomfortable. "Go have a smoke."
"Shepard!" A familiar voice called to Krysta as she re-entered the waiting area of Huerta. She turned her head to follow the sound and saw Thane Krios by the window. "Thane," She smiled at her old squadmate. "I see you are still here with us. How is your treatment coming along?"
"The therapy is to prolong the inevitable. Though, I am grateful for the doctors here. Each day I'm still alive, gives me hope that I may…" He paused as his eyes closed to relive a private memory. Feeling Krysta touch his arm, made him snap out of it and he cleared his throat. "I apologize."
"You may hope for what?" She asked, going back to his previous sentence.
"I am dismayed and fear the worse for Alivia. I shouldn't. Though, with the Reapers now killing thousands and no word from her, I'm afraid for her life. She went right back into the Alliance for training before the attacks came. I pray constantly for Arashu to watch over her."
Hearing his compassionate words, Shepard smiled and touched his arm again to console him. "As soon as I get back to the Normandy, I'll reach out to Alliance Command to find out her location and status. Once I hear back, I'll relay it to you."
He bowed in gratitude at this. "Thank you, Shepard. It would mean a great deal to me. It's hard to find peace to embrace death knowing that I'm not able to protect her."
His genuine affection for her friend touched Krysta's heart. She knew her previous encounter with Alivia were not the best. She snapped at her for being with Aria. Then again, so was Bray and the batarian was still on Aria's payroll. Her thoughts back to Omega made her frown. She wondered how he was doing. Then there was the kiss outside Marsh's…she felt her fingertips brush up against her bottom lip by the distant memory. Thane's touch made her jump and retract her hand away quickly. "Shepard, is something the matter?"
Blushing, Krysta shook her head. "No. I just, have a lot on my mind about Ash. Mars was rough. I have the turian support, but only if the krogan will help. I am meeting with the krogan clan chief after I leave here."
"What does he want in return?"
"Hard to know. It seems as if everyone wants an angle. I'll do whatever it takes to get more troops to Earth. I won't let my planet fall."
"I shall remain here and continue to watch over Williams for you."
"Thank you, Thane. I'll send word to you of Alivia's status as soon as I hear something."