Well, I had a writing spree. A big thank you to Bioware for creating the endless Mass Effect universe and thanks to those who take the time to read this lopsided story. I apologize for any mistakes and odd wording. If you spot any glaring mistakes then send me a pm. All characters are owned by EA/Bioware. The rating may change as I continue writing.
The night stars of the Amada system flickered softly as the wake of blue eezo engines silently coursed forward in space, the silhouette of the war frigate SSV Normandy gliding effortlessly throughout an endless void, its stealth drive giving no hint of their presence. Within, the marines and deck hands worked away like ants, keeping the ship's vitality alive; its stations and tasks effortlessly operated to perfection. The second phase of their patrol commandeered by the Council was underway, looking for any remaining hostile Geth pockets that could be operational after their supposed attack on the Citadel, though in truth, it was simply a facade to stop the Normandy's Commander from brewing any panic from the truth he spoke. To their credit, the members of crew had not spouted any anger towards the Council for this action, but it did not stop the occasional irritated brow or questioning stare.
After an event less day the evening shift had arisen all but a few moments ago, most crew members retiring, grateful to get some form of deep sleep after a long shift, yet one stirred, awaking from a shallow dream that had lasted only a few minutes.
"Ugh..." Came a murmur.
Commander Alek Shepard: hero of the Citadel, survivor of Akuze and the first Human Spectre lazily stood from his bed, his garments a mess from an unsettled sleep, the hair atop his head in a similar state. Yawning, the man straightened his attire, stretched his relaxed muscles and headed towards the luxury known as the Captain's en suite; taking a towel stashed away within a small compartment under the quarters modest bed.
The automatic door greeted the Commander as it softly slid open, the sound a comforting audio to ones ear. Shepard squinted his eyes attempting to rid any remaining holds of sleep before he placed the towel upon the sink, activated the taps and promptly splashed a mix of cool and warm water upon his face. Delicately pressing the fabric of the towel upon his features, he was greeted with an image of himself from the mirror addressing the room.
The deftly tanned complexion upon his features had not been kind, time had taken its toll, despite being within his late twenties. Recent events had been cruel enough to mark his feature prematurely; scars defiantly embedded upon his lips accompanied by a large gash atop his crown. The fine stubble colouring his chin had a shoddy display, in need of a good trim if one was to attain the respect maintained by command, his dark brown 'crew cut' hair also in need of freshening up. Despite Shepard's somewhat scruffy morning appearance, his emerald eyes stood prominence upon his features, the fire within them never lessening.
Sighing, the man rummaged through the contents of the toiletry cabinet situated behind the mirror and withdrew a comb to haphazardly groom himself into something more addressable. He eyed his facial hair, deciding to allow its residence before shifting from the mirror and moving towards the exit of the en suite.
Entering the Captain's quarters once more, Shepard concluded that attempting sleep would be a lost cause, instead pacing towards the computer terminal situated at the other end of the room. The machine chimed quietly acknowledging his presence as the man sat upon the desks chair, listing several data files for the Commander to complete and send to Alliance command. Grunting, Shepard ran a hand through his hair, cracked his knuckles and set to word on the holographic GUI interface.
After several hours of 'paper work', his eyes were now half lidded. The Commander closed the terminal, his head titling as tendrils of sleep finally started to return to grasp at the subconscious of his mind. He yawned, inhaling deeply as the final thought of staying awake vanished; standing up from the terminal to make his way towards the bed. Yet instead of falling comfortably upon the warm embrace of the mattress, the Commander halted just before he reached the bed, a rather loud, unruly sound erupted throughout the vessel as he peer upward to where it had originated; the evacuation alarms! Almost instantaneously removing any traces of tiredness, Shepard turned his head towards the exit of his cabin, eyes widening while erupting into a sprint from the far end of the quarters.
"Brace for evasive maneuvers!" Joker yelled over the coms.
The Normandy made an abrupt jarring motion sideways, sending the Commander crashing into the small table and chairs mid stride with an audible thud, losing his footing, he groaned, a low throb erupting in his lower torso before being rolled to the side wall of the cabin as the ship promptly jolted in the opposite direction to evade attack. Now attempting a nose dive, the vessel's gravity systems stabilized, allowing Shepard to stand and complete his sprint to exit.
"What the hell's going on Joker?" Shepard barked, knowing the pilot would be able to hear him over the intercoms.
"I'm kinda busy here!" Came the only reply.
Shepard ran to the equipment lockers through the crew deck, seeing several ship mates rush for the escape pods situated within the lower aft of the Normandy as small explosions of the ships systems erupted into fires, causing utter panic. Swearing under his breath, the Commander caught sight of Garrus and Liara frantically equipping their armour next to the lockers.
"Someone tell me what's going on! Now!" He ordered, military training overruling courteousness with his closest friends.
Garrus's mandibles twitched attempting to keep his head level as a small explosion erupted from the electrical systems above. "Unknown ship, it's tearing through the hull. Upper deck is lost." He curtly replied in a hurried tone.
Liara nodded, about to put her helmet on; her features flush from the adrenals undoubtedly coursing throughout her system.
"I've never seen anything like it, it's some form of high energy beam." She added.
Now equipping his own N7 armour, helmet included, Shepard pointed harshly at the two, hopefully keeping his cool.
"I want everyone out of here safely! Garrus, make sure anyone from the garage and drive core is evacuated." The lighting within the walls shattered, causing the Commander to shield his head out of reflex. "Liara, with me. I need help to stabilize these fires if we are to evacuate everyone in time, then I want you get out of here, understood?"
The two nodded, Garrus swiftly heading towards the elevator to the lower decks, several more crew members rushing past them. The Commander and Liara moved with purpose as he grabbed a fire extinguisher, tossing it at Liara to catch, pacing towards the command systems to activate the sprinklers that were not automatically online for some unknown reason. He typed several commands into the terminal, sending out a distress signal in hope that they would be found if the Normandy was destroyed.
"Will the Alliance get here in time?" Liara questioned while spraying the contents of the extinguisher upon the burning electrical devices. Despite her face being hidden by the armoured helmet, Shepard could tell the asari was scared; she was only a scientist, barely of adult age in terms of her species.
The Normandy lurched, causing Liara to stagger back, Shepard capturing her mid fall. Adopting a softer approach, he attempted to allow some form of hope to seep within his words, prompting the woman to stand, picking up the extinguisher that had fallen from her grasp.
"The Alliance won't abandon us." He spoke softly, now using the object as Liara stared at the ships commanding officer. "Did Joker make it out from the CIC?"
She shook her head, the flaming room reflecting within the visor of her head-wear.
"He's still in the cockpit, he won't abandon ship; I'm not either."
Grunting, Shepard stopped his attempts to quell several sparking wires that had burst forth from a sleeping pod. He turned to face the asari, stern features returning.
"You need to get to one of the pods, I'll rescue Joker from his own idiocy." When no reply came, the Commander abruptly pointed towards the elevator. "That's an order!" He snapped.
Seeming conflicted, Liara slowly nodded, turning heel to evacuate the Normandy, leaving the man by himself. Shepard peered at the back of her, sure the young asari had tears streaking down her cheeks, despite no visual evidence. Returning to finish the final stages of the evacuation through the command systems, he activated the launch sequences for the pods, priming the cockpits own to be ready for his arrival.
Withdrawing from the terminal, the vessel made another shudder, almost causing the man to topple forward, though he managed to keep steady from equilibrium. Shielding the helmets visor, Shepard moved past the licking flames that attempted to cling to his armour, sprinting swiftly upwards upon the stairs and straight past the still operational doors. A quick greeting of the void answered the entryway; the air sucked into the vacuum of space as the Commander walked into the CIC, his mag boot automatically activating, finally seeing the full extent of damage that occurred within the upper deck.
A bewildered stare plastered Shepard's features, his green eyes gazing upon an incredibly large gash in the right side of the Normandy's hull, trims of super-heated metal softly glimmering from the corners of the breach. The Galaxy map flickered, still operational despite the frigates state, though the slick designs supporting it and the navigation systems had been completely decimated.
Despite the destruction, an oddly calm and eerie view of an ice giant soothed the sight as he peered out past the vessel.
Nasty way to go...Sucked out alive.
Returning to his senses, Shepard slowly walked towards the cockpit; several chairs supposedly once bolted down to an operations terminal floated in his wake as the man gently brushed them aside, focusing upon the breathing of his amour's inbuilt air supply. Reaching the vessel's cockpit, signs of Joker still attempting to guide the ship were apparent, the man equipped with a breathalyzer mask as opposed to his typical hat. The Commander gripped the side of the pilot's chair as he intently stared at Jeff with an almost angry expression.
"You need to get out of here!" He barked at Joker.
Shaking his head, the pilot did not falter from his actions, typing continually on the omni-interface.
"No! I can still save her!" Joker snapped.
Batting the pilots hand away from the ship's controls, the Commander pointed to the viewing ports; debris lifelessly floating away from the Normandy.
"The Normandy's lost! Getting your sorry ass killed in the process is pointless!" Ignoring any reply, Shepard promptly clasped Joker's arm, hauling the man up from the seat to rest upon his own frame as he delicately guided them to the cockpits only escape pod.
"Watch the arm!" Jeff cried in protest, attempting a half squirm in hopes of returning to his seat.
"Getting a shattered arm is nothing compared to what will happen if we don't get the fuck out of here! Now lets move!" The two hobbled towards the docked pod.
Suddenly a sound from the pilot's controls erupted as they attempted to exit the cockpit. Looking back momentarily a large red flashing light signaled an incoming attack from the enemy vessel, both the Commander and pilot feeling the colour drain from their features as their pace quickened. An abrupt flash of light blinded them momentarily, the adversary's energy weapons cutting the far left side of the hull like butter once more, the beam coursing intently towards the two.
"Shit!" Joke crudely spewed.
Shepard decided that hobbling is unwise at this time, simply hauling Joker whole frame over his shoulder as he sprinted to the pod, smashing the access panel for the escape shuttle to open.
"I think you broke a rib...or five...Uhhhh." Joker wheezed.
Ignoring the man's protests, Shepard swiftly placed Jeff in the seating area of the pod, bracing his frame still on the outside for the man to hold on to while he strapped in; the Commander himself about to enter the shuttle. However, at the last moment Shepard grunts as he is harshly knocked to the side of the entrance, his helmet absorbing the impact of its frame as another energy beam erupts behind the pod, its power sending out a convulsion of invisible force. Half conscious, the Commander loses his grip, the mag boots unable to hold as he now drifts outward to collide with the access panel.
"Shepard!"
Regaining some composure, Shepard sees Joker reach to him though the man is restrained by the seating holds; the beams reflection visible in the breath mask he had equipped. Helplessly floating, Shepard stretched outward to brush across the panel's interface, the escape pod now closing as it launched its sequence. Moments later, the pillar of energy sliced through where the two had once been, causing a large explosion that flung the marine against an adjoining wall, his mind barely able to stop blacking out from sheer force while his helmet severely jarred sideways. Eyes rolling, he blinked rapidly attempting to regain his mind, seeing the damaged frame of the Normandy while drifting into the darkness of space. Flashes of colour expose themselves as the final beam causes the frigate to fracture in half, accompanied by a silent but concussive explosion, propelling the Commander outward and away from his ship.
The sound of ragged breathing is all that registers in his mind as his lungs sought air from the adrenaline surging within his body. Panic striking him, the unnerving audio of the internal systems registering a breach within the ventilation of his suit reveal themselves, his lungs now burning from lack of proper sustenance. Clasping at his throat, Shepard realized that the oxygen supply must have been damaged after crashing into the blockhead of the hull, a splutter escaping his lips as he struggles to swear profusely. Reaching for the wire at the back of his helmet, he attempted to stop the breach of air flow, to no avail. Now wheezing heavily, he felt a sense tightness expand inside his airways, his blood thinning as his hands helplessly grasps at his throat in some desperate form of help, an audible pain erupting in the chest and ears, his mouth becoming dry. He inhales continually, the sharp shooting pain filling his senses while peering outward to the starred void as his vision blotted, his conscious thoughts dimming before the tendrils of a cold grasp pulled at his mind. A strangled sound concludes his thoughts as the world was swallowed up in an untimely darkness, his eyes streaming with tears, the ice giant embracing Shepard's lifeless body as it hurdled towards its horizon.