They run. Were they running from the Reapers, or towards the beam? Did it matter anymore?
Commander Shepard tries not to think about who she was with. The orders were for someone, anyone, to make it to the beam, even if that meant going it alone. If one of her companions fell, would she see it happen? Would she want to?
Then she snaps back to reality. A beam, from Harbinger, cuts across the field. Does it hit someone? No one she knows. Keep running. A second beam hits a truck, she dodges it. She allows herself a split second of relief, then realises where it's headed.
She turns to yell, she's ended endless wars by yelling, stopped the most steadfast man she's ever met from killing her by yelling, united races, convinced trillions to fight and die for her by yelling.
But it's too late. She sees the truck flip and land on the ground, hard. A cloud of dust. She should keep going towards the beam, but her muscles act without her permission, before she can even form this rational thought. In fact, the thought never forms.
She hardly notices the rest of the world as she runs back towards the truck, leaps over rubble. For the first time in years she thinks not of the lives of the trillions of lives that depend on her. She's not scared for them, or for their unborn children. She's not afraid for distant friends who fight without her help. She thinks only of the woman she's come to think of as a sister, and the man she's come to love, lying in the rubble. Her two most loyal friends, with her from the beginning. Have they finally died for her?
First, she makes it to Tali'Zora.
"Tali…" her voice cracks as she says it. Parts of the quarian's enviro-suit are completely stripped off. She should never have asked Tali to fight with her on Earth. Amazing, brave Tali. She should have asked anyone else, she realised. Tali was always the smallest, a genius, but never as effective at fighting Reapers as the rest of her companions. She should have brought EDI, with her disposable body, or James for the muscle, or-
"I'm fine, Shepard," she wheezed, "just winded. I can walk." Her voice, surprisingly steady, convinces Shepard, who then finds Garrus.
His leg is shredded. The blue armor and his blue blood making it hard for her to identify flesh from metal from plastic. She can't stop the concern from flooding her features. She throws his arm over her shoulder, the three of them hobbling as fast as they can to relative shelter.
Save them.
She says nothing, panic seizing her thoughts.
He says nothing, he thinks that his and Tali's injuries have doomed the galaxy.
Shepard screams into her com, argues with her best friend. She knows it's not safe, that she's risking everyone on her ship for this evac, but she owes these people. Tali and Garrus, who've been with her from the very beginning. They've risked everything they had and put their lives on hold to follow her countless times. Even while she sits there she knows she can't go with them, but her heart still soars in her chest when she sees her beautiful ship land, maybe one last time.
Tali gets there first, and it takes more strength than Shepard's ever used to speak her next words.
"Here, take him."
She doesn't want to look him in the eye as she passes him off to her friend, but, like so many other times, looks straight into her biggest fear and attacks.
"I've got to be get out of here."
"And you've got to be kidding me."
She didn't expect him to sound so surprised, it makes it harder. Each word feels like she's sinking a blade into his chest. A final surge of emotion overcomes her. Don't stay long. Whatever he says, don't answer him. If you stay too long, you'll never leave.
"Don't argue, Garrus."
She tries to sound commanding, but falters at his name.
"We're in this 'till the end."
They're the only two people in the galaxy.
"No matter what happens here, you know I love you."
She reaches out, touches the scars on his face that she's stroked, kissed. How she wanted to kiss his cheek, but if he touched her back she was certain she'd freeze, and the gate would close, and the Normandy would fly off with her inside.
"I always will."
"Shepard, I..."
He touches her hand, they look into each other's' eyes. While it lasts, it seems to go on forever. When it ends, it was nothing more than a heartbeat. They say more in that silence than they've ever said with words.
"…love you too."
Tali starts to march him away; she knows her friends, knows what Shepard needs. The release of his hand jolts Shepard back to Earth, she looks behind her at Harbinger, readying its beam. She turns one last time towards the Normandy, trying to ignore Garrus' outstretched hand.
"Go!" She refuses eye contact with him, instead directing her command at her crewmates and Tali. When she turns, she forgets him, forgets everyone. It's just her and the beam.
His hand drops, he looks at her for just one more moment, then makes his way with Tali onto the CIC.
They are swarmed by humans.
Garrus is taken from Tali by Lieutenant James Vega, while Dr. Liara T'Soni grabs her hand and speaks to her calmly. Otherwise, humans do scans of the injured quarian and turian, make calls to the med bay, and help them into the elevator. The same question is on everyone's minds, where is Commander Shepard? No one asks.
Joker looks back at the men and women bringing his friends to the elevator.
"No…" he speaks to himself, but EDI answers, "Jeff, her vitals are strong. We have every reason to believe that she will be successful."
"It's not that I'm worried about… I know she's going to kick the Reapers' asses." He turns back to face the console, "I just hope she makes it out… poor guy."
"Jeff, it is counterproductive to worry about that now," she puts a hand on his shoulder and looks him in the eyes, "and if she doesn't… it's not your fault."
When they get to the med bay, Tali is stripped from her suit by Dr. Chakwas and a Lieutenant who arrived with Admiral Hackett. Both are wearing sterile gloves, and everyone in the room is wearing surgical masks. Liara convinces Karen to let her hold Tali's hand through the process, also wearing gloves. Through the entire process, tears had been silently falling down her cheeks. She doubted any of the aliens here would know the difference, and it was likely that only Dr. Chakwas knew what a quarian even looks like under their suit.
"Really, Karen it's not that bad. I could probably-" she breaks out in a fit of coughing, "-probably repair this myself. Just give me 10 minutes." She was joking. The damage was bad. Dr. Chakwas smiled behind her surgical mask. "You probably could, and before I might have let you- but I'm not sure I'm ready for to tell the Admiralty Board I let you do surgery on yourself."
She's sitting on the middle cot while the strip her, and soldiers bring in a stasis pod and lift it onto the cot closest to the med bay doors. Garrus sits on the far cot near the AI core. When Tali's suit is completely peeled off, Liara lifts her with biotics and gently places her in the open pod.
Tali was still coughing, it was Liara who spoke next. "When you get of this thing, we're going to crack open that dextro-tequila I bought you last month." Tali grinned, and the door to the pod shuts. It would fill with antibiotics and pure distilled water, washing away infection, and the slightest bit of medigel would help repair her scrapes. There's still shrapnel embedded in her flesh, but it's not near any vital organs, and stopping infection is the most important thing right now.
"Lieutenant, watch her at all times. If anything about her condition changes, you come straight to me." The man signals that he's understood, and stands next to the stasis pod, scanning with his omni-tool.
She walks to the soldier treating Garrus, who briefs her on the injuries. His right shin is fractured, and his armor's dug into the flesh in a few places. His right ankle is broken. Various scrapes and bruises. Shrapnel wounds. He puts his hand on her shoulder as she kneels to examine his leg. "Please," he asks, "I need to know what's happening."
She pauses. No matter what happens, he's going to find out eventually. His wounds aren't life-threatening, but he's lost a lot of blood. If the news is bad, could he go into shock?
"EDI," she directs her voice upwards, knowing the AI can hear, "what's happening on the ground?"
If this ends up hurting Garrus, it's all her fault. She tells herself she's doing this for him, but she looks around and sees that everyone else is just as apprehensive and curious, including herself.
"There appear to be six… five soldiers still running towards the beam." James puts his hand on Garrus' shoulder Dr. Chakwas pulled a long strip of metal from his calf and placed it in a tray while two other people helped remove the rest of his armor. The clothes underneath were soaked with blood in the places where the shrapnel had struck: his right arm, his right thigh, his abdomen, and his left hip.
"Harbinger appears to have blasted the soldiers on the approach. We have lost visual." Everyone in the room holds their breath. The only noise is of bits of armor hitting the metal tray. "Witnesses on the ground report that there are… no soldiers still approaching the beam."
It's over. The end of all sentient life in the galaxy is upon them. Liara leaves the med bay, goes to her own room. James stays, frozen, with his hand on his friend's shoulder, forgetting about providing comfort or solidarity, just trying to find a way to stay stable. The world reels around him. Commander Shepard wasn't just his hero, or his CO. She was his mentor and friend. He can't believe she's failed, he blames her and hates himself for it. She could do anything, why couldn't she do this? Dr. Chakwas continues treating Garrus, pushing all thoughts of her dead friend and a dying galaxy from her mind. Right now all that matters are her patients.
"Harbinger remains, it is preventing others from approaching the beam. A second reaper has landed and they are destroying all Alliance soldiers in the area." EDI continues with the updates, making everyone wish they hadn't asked. Garrus sees spots and grips the table. If only he'd asked her to stay, he thinks. If he'd grabbed her, dragged her back… then they'd have lost their best shot at defeating the Reapers, and everyone would be dead anyway. But at least we'd be together, he thinks, before realising how selfish he's being. Given the choice, he would have rather died on Earth too, in one last ditch effort.
He sits there, without his armor, as Dr. Chakwas pulls the last bit of shrapnel from his body. By the time EDI speaks again, all his wounds are bandaged, and he's stopped losing blood.
"It appears… it has been confirmed that somebody has reached the beam. If it has worked… they should be on the Catalyst now."
James Vega grins. He's been wondering, how could she fail? The great Commander Shepard, there's no way she's let us down! He feels guilty for thinking it, telling himself she's only human, but in that moment he knows that it's her who made it to the beam. They all know it. Garrus' expression approximates a smile.
In the War Room, Kaidan Alenko stares intently at the holographic interface showing the current state of the crucible and its relative positions to key Allied frigates. He's not sure what to do with himself. The simple fact that Admiral Hackett stands on the Normandy makes him the current Captain, but he's not going to stay here forever. If Shepard never comes back… that will make Kaidan the Captain.
He tries not to think about it, tries to hold out hope that his ex-girlfriend and old friend will make it through this, but it seems bleaker every instant. She's on the Catalyst, but doesn't seem to be doing anything. If she dies without activating the Crucible, is it his job to take her place?
Instead he thinks about Lieutenant Steve Cortez, who's alive and well on Earth. He'd promised him a drink if they made it through this war, and Kaidan's hoping it will turn into something more. He holds out hope for a lot of things right now.
Com Specialist Traynor stands on the other side of the holographic interface along the wall, looking more active than he's ever seen her. She's helping Admiral Hackett coordinate "Plan B," a squadron of Turian, Geth, and Alliance forces in individual fighters trying to land on the Catalyst individually. She's coordinating between the commanding officers of each of the pilots, and relaying updates back to Admiral Hackett. Eventually, she calls for the retreat, and is asked to help coordinate strikes on the Reapers surrounding the Crucible instead.
There is no good news for a while. EDI continues to update the med bay on the conditions of the fleets, which are rapidly deteriorating. No news on Shepard, the potential saviour of the galaxy. Everyone clings to the hope that she's alive, and on the Citadel, and fixing everything right now. No one knows what's to be expected on the Citadel, but they hope, with varying degrees of confidence, that Shepard will be ready.
"I can confirm that the soldier on the Catalyst is Commander Shepard, she is in communication with Admiral Hackett right now. She seems to have reached a sort of central command but the Catalyst is not activating."
"How does she sound?" Garrus tries the keep the desperation from his voice. If EDI had a heart, it would have broken hearing Shepard's voice on the com. "She sounds determined but… tired. Ragged. She is pressing Admiral Hackett for orders, but neither of them seem to know what she must do next."
More bad news. "Commander Shepard has ceased communications." Shepard…
The Lieutenant assigned to watch Tali calls out, "Dr. Chakwas!" and the doctor strides to that end of the room while ordering another medical officer to put Garrus' leg in a splint. His omni-tool shows Dr. Chakwas that infection has set in on one of Tali's wounds- namely the large scrape on her mid-section. Flakes of rust and charred organic matter that weren't washed away by the fluids in the stasis pod cling to and are embedded in her flesh around a 3cm long piece of corroded iron.
Dr. Chakwas drains the pod and calls for sterile tools. She asks James to leave, and puts the room on lockdown. Any person or object that could potentially be contaminated is thrown out of the room, and an Isolation wall descends between Garrus and his doctors and Tail and hers. Tali has all the attention of the most skilled doctor in the Alliance, though she takes no comfort from it due to her lack of consciousness.
In the War Room, Com specialist Traynor is receiving reports of extreme energy surges from the catalyst, and all nearby ships are preparing retreat trajectories to land planetside on various Alliance outposts relatively nearby. Admiral Hackett attempts to contact Commander Shepard on as many frequencies as he can, but there's no response. Then the call comes from those serving on the Crucible for a full retreat. Hackett gives the order.
It's not taken well. On the bridge Joker receives the order loud and clear through a speaker, but not from the Captain he trusts. He's stalling. The hero always pulls through riiight at the end, and Commander Shepard is definitely the hero. Once they hear from her he's going to bring the Normandy in and get her out of there, no matter what. Seconds go by, the order is repeated. Kaidan's voice cracks when he talks, "Joker… we have to go." Joker pauses again, as if Shepard was going to call in the next millisecond, "damn it," and he follows the course.
In the next couple hours, reports flood in of Reapers caught in the blast radius simply shutting down. Mass relays have been disabled, communications were down but are now working within a couple-light-year radius from Earth. No one has been able to establish a connection with the geth. Reports of various technological malfunctions have been coming in from all Allied forces. EDI is offline.
Garrus sits on a crate in the gun battery. His leg is in a brace but he is able to walk with a limp. He's tried to do calibrations, or clean his gun, or read turian status reports, but the numbers, fumes, and questions make him nauseous, so he just sits and stares ahead.
The Normandy, and all Allied forces that had retreated during the blast, now heads back to Earth. A quarian medical vessel is waiting to receive Tali'Zora, where they will transfer her from her stasis pod to a clean room where she can be fully operated on and given a new enviro-suit.
The Normandy is about to dock for a long, long time.
