It wasn't the sun, that shined so brightly on her closed, bruised eyes. An artificial light was unrecognizable, indecipherable through her periphery. The warmth trailed down her forehead, cascading down the bridge of her nose, pooling onto her bruised and bleeding chest. She gasped for breath, her emerald eyes bloodshot as they snapped open.
The pain, vibrating and pulsating, tingling her fingertips as they formed a fist. Her body glowed, the bright blue barrier flickering across her skin, goosebumps trailing.
She was alive. Alive.
She was not quite expecting that. She had said goodbye to him, she was prepared for the end. A cough choked out, and she realized her body was still in fact crushed, regardless of the barrier over her skin. It had helped to push the broken concrete off her, allowing her to wiggle around and bring her hand to her chest. In her fist was the gun, clutched to her like an extension of her arm, a rather poetic statement of the Alliance blood that now poured out of her.
She said goodbye to him. Her heart, her love. Her last words to him were that she loved him, and for him to go. He had to survive, no matter what happened to her.
His blue eyes burned in her mind and she smiled. He had never said the words before. It was so clear to her, like the existence of the stars, that he loved her. Even without saying it, she felt it in his touch, in his kisses, in the way his eyes burned into hers.
He was the last thing she saw before she shot the red cylinder, red electricity flooded her memory. It still tingled across her skin. Destroy the Reapers, her only purpose, her only cause, her justice for the galaxy. Like a judge slamming their gavel, her gun finalized the Reaper's fate, and was ready to die knowing she had saved them all.
She watched the Normandy fly away. She knew they were safe.
As she lay there, her barrier flashing like a beacon, she knew she couldn't get out without help.
"Okay…" She breathed out, the metal taste of blood covering her tongue, dripping down her chin. She felt the biotic power flowing through her veins, blue energy formed in her palms. With a gasp of desperation, she shot it out past the concrete. Lifting her hand, she grabbed the ball of energy and expanded it, the sound of it cracking through the silent sky like lightning. A beacon for him.
"Come find me Garrus."
They had barely escaped the red glow chasing them at light-speed. He knew Shepard had done it. Shepard had also made sure the Normandy was as prepared as possible, she knew it was going to be rough. Every plate had been reinforced. They had received transmission the mass relays were being reconstructed already and search parties had been sent out to supply food and medicine to the distant ships affected by the blast. It was slow, but there was already rebuilding.
Garrus was able to repair the main battery, and with Tali's help, the drive core. Together, they made the Normandy functional in less than forty-eight hours, and they flew off the lush green planet, hopefully never to return.
He stood in front of the memorial, the crew behind him, he knew he was their commander now. He held her name in his hands, her legacy in between his fingers. He took a deep breath and stepped forward to place the placard atop Anderson's. Something in his core stopped him. His breath caught in his chest and he clutched the placard in his hands.
He paused and looked back at Joker, "Do we have enough fuel to make it to Sol System?" Before Jeff could answer, Garrus asked Tali, "Can you give the Normandy a boost by rerouting all power to the thrusters?"
She nodded and quickly rushed down to the engineering deck while Joker went to pilot the ship. Garrus placed his hand on Jeff's shoulder.
The turian looked at the floor and said softly, "We're going to bring her home…even if she's gone…"
"We'll find her Garrus," Joker interrupted, looking up at him, "I promise."