Title: The Rising Tide
Summary: After losing Thessia to the Reapers, the war's toll on Shepard starts to show and she begins to crack under the pressure. Her friends and crew rally round to boost the morale of the commanding officer who is always there for everyone else.
Rating: T
Spoilers: MANY! Assumes ME1, 2 and 3 have been played (although 3 not necessarily completed, if you haven't played it at all, be warned - this story will give away plot points...)
Pairings: FemShep/Garrus
Timeline: Post ME2, into ME3 - at the end of Priority: Thessia
*A/N: I've done a little editing, just a bit of grammatical stuff!*
Chapter 1 - The Fall of Thessia
The Illusive Man was insane. That much was clear after his conversation with Shepard upon the discovery of the Prothean VI at the temple of Athame. The presence of his dog, Kai Leng, was unexpected, but when the head of Cerberus' wanted something, he usually sent those he considered 'the best' to do his dirty work.
Anger grew in Shepard's gut when she set eyes on him - the man that had cruelly taken the life of an already dying man: Thane Krios, one of her closest confidants and perhaps the galaxy's most talented assassin. She wanted to ram Leng's katana through his heart. If he even still had a heart. It had likely been replaced by cybernetics, with the amount of augmentation he'd had done. Now he was waiting for them to make the first move.
The squad opened fire on the assassin. He was skilled, cartwheeling and twisting away from their bullets, then coming in close to try and slash at them. With all their firepower, he still managed to propel most of it using his biotic powers. Liara kept him dancing with volleys of her own biotics, whilst Vega and Shepard rained down metal on his position.
During a break in the shooting, he paused. Putting his katana back in its sheath, he sprinted for Liara. "There's only one way this ends," he cried. Contorting his body to avoid her fire, he shoved her gun out of the way and grabbed hold of her by the waist, throwing her backwards and slamming her into Vega. They both fell.
With nimble feet, Shepard leapt over a terminal, shooting at Leng as she ran. He calmly put up a biotic shield to protect himself. Apparently amused by Shepard's bullheadedness, he smiled and pressed his comm. "Target the supports," he said as a gunship strafed in from behind. It sent out two rockets, aiming for the pillars that held the ceiling aloft behind the altar.
Beams and rubble came crashing down around them. The floor cracked like a sheet of ice under the weight of it all. Shepard scrambled backwards, but wasn't fast enough. What was once a hard stone surface crumbled beneath her and she had to throw herself across the now ten foot gap to avoid free falling into the abyss. A large chunk still remained, which she clung to for all she was worth. Her weight tipped the balance and it toppled over the edge.
"That was too easy," Leng mused. He peered over the edge and called down into the darkness. "Cerberus thanks you for all your hard work." Not one to hurry himself after a victory, he casually walked over to the terminal and downloaded the Prothean VI and accompanying data, deleting what remained.
Panic shot through Shepard. All that had kept her from falling was a hole barely wide enough to fit her hand in. She climbed as fast as she could without breaking the small thread that held the remnant of flooring aloft; it was not an easy task. At points, she had to propel herself upwards one-footed, letting go her hand hold in order to move higher to safety and solid ground. "Damn it," she grunted. Gritting her teeth, she ascended the last few feet until half her body was draped haphazardly over the ledge.
Leng, finished with his task, passed by Shepard who reached for something, anything to pull herself up with. He tapped the end of his katana on the floor. The tiny vibrations caused the hanging chunk of stone to give way completely, leaving Shepard clinging to the edge of the floor with the fingertips of one hand.
Shepard was losing her grip and nearly fell when Liara appeared out of nowhere. "Shepard!" she cried. "Hang on." She grasped Shepard's hand and heaved her up out of the gaping chasm below.
It had been a close call; instead of rolling over and breathing a sigh of relief, everything inside of Shepard screamed that she needed to get up, take her gun and cut down that bastard, Leng.
He was already at the entrance by the time she'd scrambled to her feet. The gunship that had nearly destroyed the Asari temple was waiting for him, and as he climbed into it, he looked back at her with a triumphant grin.
She chased him down. Her rifle spat bullets uselessly at the departing ship, but it was too late. She couldn't stop herself from screaming at it, more out of despair and frustration than anger. In seconds, he was gone, the Prothean VI and the identity of the catalyst with him.
Before Shepard could even think of what action to take next, her omni-tool buzzed. "Is anyone on this frequency?" said a voice tainted with urgency. "This is Lieutenant Kurin. My squad is trapped."
Liara and Vega came running over. They looked shell shocked, but ready and willing to charge into the frey once more. Shepard activated her comm. "This is Shepard. Give us your location."
Her words fell unheard."I repeat: is anyone on this frequency?" The Lieutenant's desperation cut through the static, sending a new wave of adrenaline through the squad.
"We read you! Give me your location," Shepard frowned. Turning to look out over the city, she willed herself to find the stranded soldiers through power of vision alone.
Unable to hear Shepard's responses, another Asari took up the silence. "The Lieutenant's down! Our whole zone is collapsing!" Her voice started to break. "What happen to Shepard? Did they make it to the temple?" The words pierced Shepard's heart like shards of ice. She winced.
Liara glanced at James, her expression betraying her panic. Shepard felt what she was thinking: we have to do something. Another Asari responded. "I saw them...wait!" She screamed. "Reapers inbound!"
Darkness shrouded the temple entrance. As the Reapers descended, the shadows of the colossal ships stretched across the horizon, blocking out what little remained of the fading sunlight. More voices cried out over the frequency. "Please, is there anybody out there?" "Oh, goddess...no!" Their screams filled the ears of the three standing there, watching helplessly as Thessia, the Asari home world fell.
Shepard stood aghast. She was unable to tear herself away until Liara, blinking back her own tears, laid a hand on her the shoulder of her commander. "Let's go." Without another word, they gave their ground to the enemy.