The Normandy was burning.
The blinking holo-panels in front of the commander's face spelled out doom for her ship. Massive hull breach in the bridge. Environmental controls failing. Evacuate.
Evacuate. It was the end of the SR1.
Paneling fell away, spitting wires swinging from the ceiling. Blood red flashing lights flooded every passageway. Every time a blast hit, the ship shook harder.
Like earthquakes. Spacequakes? Focus. Fuck.
She entered the emergency codes that would release the distress beacon. But she knew it was too late. Whatever was hitting them was hitting them hard.
"Commander!"
Jane turned to see Kaidan, armored and ready, his skin tinted by the hallway's crimson glow. His face was of stone and he was steady, even as the ship rocked. She focused on him, solid, dependable, even in the face of death. She mirrored his posture as she put on her helmet.
"The distress beacon is ready for launch." Let's hope it's not too late, she held herself from saying.
"The Alliance will come. We're getting everyone into the escape pods. But Shepard, Joker's still in the cockpit. He won't abandon ship."
Another blast threw them both off balance and flames exploded between them. Regaining their footing, Shepard grabbed an extinguisher off its wall mounting and went to toss it to the lieutenant. When she had turned around, he had already bridged the distance between them. Through his now secure helmet, she swore she could see those dark eyes narrow.
"I'm not leaving either," he said.
God damn you, Alenko. This was not the time for feelings, regardless of her own. She shoved the extinguisher against his chest and stepped away.
"Lieutenant, I need you to make sure everyone else gets loaded up and launched. I'll take care of Joker." The ships violent shaking seemed to widen the distance between them. She turned to the panel behind her to shut off the area's electricity.
"Jane...!" Kaidan called, reaching out. The commander hardened her voice as she gave up the task to simply rip the offending cords out of the wall.
"Kaidan go. Now!"
He stepped away hesitantly, then ran below to the crew deck. Shepard sighed and made her own way with quick and careful footing up the stairs to the CIC. As Tremors and terrible shocks ran through the floundering ship, attempting to trip her up - many nagging thoughts itched at the back of her mind. Who or what could have the power to both detect and destroy the most advanced ship in the Alliance fleet? The Reapers? The Geth?
Shit. Shepard ducked under a spout of fire - she didn't have time to stop and fix it. This ship is going to be unsalvagable, she thought grimly. She wasn't overly sentimental, but the Normandy had been reliable. State-of-the-art. An impeccable ship, and one she was starting to think of as home.
She felt the escape shuttles finally launch as she reached the Command Center doors, and with the safety of her crew in check, engaged her magboots and refocused on the mission: Get Joker. Get out.
A blast of wind rushing from behind her sped her exit from the gravity-control of the hallway and into the CIC before the door slammed to conserve air. A monstrous force had ripped the roof from the hull. Noise from the sirens and sparks stopped, and the heat of the fires seemed to evaporate as if she had plunged into arctic water. Shepard could see the bulk of the nearby frozen planet... It was a beautiful sight, if not for the debris of her ship and the bodies of her crew distracting her, weightless, floating in the cold vacuum of space.
One frustratingly slow and heavy step at a time led her to the bridge. She was relieved to see a spherical barrier was shining strong and bright, surrounding the helm in a protective shell of air and limited gravity.
Joker was there - swiping at his flickering holo-screens and only giving into frustration for a split second at a time before locking back into focus and continuing his frantic attempts. Shepard allowed herself to feel a moment of pity and sadness for her pilot before putting a firm hand on his shoulder.
"Come on, Joker! We've got to get out of here." He shook her off.
"No! Shepard, I can save her, I know I can. I won't abandon the Normandy!"
Suppressing a sudden surge of anger that pressed at a dam of a thousand emotions, Shepard pushed Joker's chair to rotate away from his console and looked him in the eyes.
"Jeff, we've lost her. It's over. I'm sorry. We. Have. To. Go."
Joker returned her gaze for a second, his own flurry of emotion passing over his eyes, and finally nodded.
"Yeah, okay. Help me up."
As Shepard reached out, another blast hit the Normandy, severing the bridge - a huge, bright laser that was closing in fast. Heart pounding, Shepard hauled Joker out of his chair and helped her disabled friend hobble into the helm's escape pod.
The intense beam hit the bridge once more and destroyed their little bubble of gravity, space's vacuum sucking the air and sending Shepard flying backwards, pulling her away from Joker and the pod. The world was spinning around her, But when she found her bearings, the bright, searing beam was between her and any chance of her own survival.
The eject console was to her left. She locked eyes with Joker, who was staring back with growing fear.
"Commander!" he yelled, his arm reaching out towards her.
She knew that if the beam got any closer to him, the pod's integrity would be compromised.
"Shepard! Fuck! NO!" Joker screamed, realizing what she already knew.
She activated the console. The doors closed, the shuttle left.
The hull exploded.
Commander Jane Shepard was listed Killed in Action 2183 CE by Alliance Military.