Mass Effect Betrayal Act 1- Shepards Revenge

Chapter 24

Commander Jane Shepard had recently survived an assassination attempt by a sniper, which also injured Karen, who was now aboard a Phoenix Starship with her arm in a sling. The rest of Shepard's crew had also joined them on the ship not to long ago. Karen was now sitting in the mess hall, thinking about what Tali'Zorah had revealed to her. It was hard to believe that governments would go to such lengths against their own people. Karen couldn't understand what the Alliance was hoping to gain from their actions.

As Karen rested her head in her hands, Sara Anderson sat in front of her, looking at her with a questioning expression. What Sara said next took Karen by surprise.

"Karen, I need to talk to him," Sara said firmly to Karen, who looked surprised by her sudden demand.

Karen started to respond, "I have..." but Sara interrupted her, not wanting to hear any excuses. "Don't! I know you can contact him! I need to talk to Hackett!" Sara practically shouted.

Karen sighed, realizing that Sara was not going to back down. She stood up from her table and motioned for Sara to follow her. They quickly boarded a shuttle headed for the Enterprise, and the ride felt like the longest one of Karen's life.

Once they arrived, they made their way straight to the QEC. Karen entered a code that she had received shortly before the Prime Minister betrayed her. It was given to her right after her meeting, as she was changing out of her Alliance uniform just before Phoenix picked her up. As the last input went in, the QEC beeped a few times, and a blue hologram of Hackett appeared.

Hackett began to address Karen, but before he could get a word out, he was met with an angry Sara Anderson. "What the hell were you thinking! Shooting Shepard!" Sara screamed at the old Admiral; her voice filled with fury.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Hackett asked in genuine confusion. "Yes, we have a kill order on Shepard. But no one in the Alliance or Hierarchy has authorization to carry it out, as killing Shepard would only make her a martyr," Hackett explained to the two women.

"Someone just shot Shepard. She barely survived," Sara started to tell the admiral. Hackett cursed under his breath, knowing the implications of that information.

Sara turned to Hackett, her anger still palpable. "I just needed to hear it from you. I needed to hear that my father would not order such an order," she said to the old admiral.

"Tell this war is over, dad. You won't hear from either of us. Goodbye, Admiral. Try and stay safe," Sara said as she cut the connection. She then erased the com code and blocked it from ever being used again.

Sara stormed out of the QEC and headed towards the bridge of the Enterprise, her anger palpable. Karen followed closely, hoping to get some answers from the former Alliance Intelligence Director.

"Where are you going, Sara?" Karen asked, hoping for an explanation.

"To the one person who might be able to fill in some blanks," Sara replied tersely.

As they reached the CIC and exited the elevator, Gibson was back at his station. He spoke up without looking away from his work, "Hudson wants to have a word with you two."

Without delay, Karen and Sara made their way to the bridge. As they approached the helm, they saw Katherine Hudson in conversation with someone they could only assume was the Phoenix Director. After a few moments, Hudson ended the call and turned her chair to both Sara and Karen.

Katherine raised her voice, "Next time you want to talk to the enemy, don't do it on the Enterprise!" Sara just stared at the helmsman, whom she had researched before coming aboard. She was a former Alliance helmsman of an Alliance cruiser who had disappeared after the war, only to resurface working for Phoenix with Shepard in tow.