Just an idea that popped up while i was trying to update my other fic.
I didn't want to focus on the Suicide Mission too much as we already know what happens, so I skipped around. Hope that's alright. Enjoy!
"We'll be reaching the relay in fifteen minutes Commander." Joker's voice echoed through Shepard's quarters, silent and still save for the two figures lying on the bed.
"Roger that, Joker. I'll be up." Jack Shepard turned to his side, where an alien face watched him avidly.
"You should get suited up." He murmured, stroking the slender face of Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. He smiled at the last thought. Vas Normandy.
"Same goes for you." She whispered, slipping out of the covers and fitting herself with the suit lying on the ground. Shepard walked to his locker, and stared at the suit of N7 armor that he'd put on countless times before now. The past hour had been the best of his life- but the foreboding feeling of the mission before them slowly began to creep up his limbs. With slightly trembling hands he fitted himself in the dark armor still spotless and flawless, despite being thrust in a rain of bullets nearly every day.
Still staring at his hazy reflection, two slight arms suddenly wrapped themselves around his waist. "We'll get through this Shepard."
He gently turned around, once again looking into a masked face. He felt a twinge of sadness looking at her this way. Unable to speak, he merely nodded.
"I'll be in the engine room. Last minute calculations." Tali said, and with that, she slid away, leaving Shepard alone.
Shepard stood behind Joker as they inched closer to the Omega-4 Relay. The rest of the crew stood behind him, all of them silent.
"ETA?"
"Three minutes." Joker replied, his eyes moving frantically over the ship's statistics. Shepard turned around.
"Alright team, this is it." His eyes moved over the crowd- Miranda, Jacob, Garrus, Thane, Samara, Legion, Jack, Grunt, Mordin, resting for a few seconds on Tali. "We don't know what's going to be there once we go through the relay, so we best be prepared. Garrus, go man the main guns. Tali, keep on the shields. Jacob, I want you to watch the armor. If anything is off the slightest bit, I want to know. The rest of you, make sure you're prepared. This is the most difficult thing you will do in your life." He swallowed. "But we all have each other's backs. Clear?"
The crew nodded, and Garrus, Tali, and Jacob went to their stations. "Joker, we good?"
"So far, so good."
Shepard nodded in approval. "I'll be here."
For the era they were in, space travel was nothing new. An average person may make several in a lifetime, and the galaxy was no longer a mystery. But it never ceased to amaze Shepard- the sheer size of the universe, so many planets and stars, so many races and people. Back in the twentieth century, the term 'culturally diverse' just meant people with different shades of brown in their skin. Now it ranged from Humans, Asari, Turian, Quarian, Krogan, Salarian, and so on.
These thoughts came back to him as they passed the relay. Besides the fear churning in the pit of his stomach, it was like passing through a normal relay- the slight jump of the ship slightly throwing him off balance, the systems beeping to assure everyone that everything was in check.
Then Shepard looked out the shutters. Debris floated everywhere, empty shells of ships long forgotten, a dim light slowly illuminating the mysterious place beyond the relay. An entire new world never before seen by a living eye. But the stillness was soon interrupted- the automated defense systems the Collectors had put up sensed their presence.
"Tali, get ready." Shepard spoke into his intercom.
"Affirmative Shepard. Shields are up."
The firing had already begun. The ship was rocked with the shear impact of the collector beams. Joker systematically geared the ship to the left, trying to avoid the beams while putting the main guns in position.
"Tali, status report!" Shepard yelled amongst the din of the attack. Silence came from the other end, and his heart nearly came up his throat. "Tali!"
Like a godsend, her voice came through. "We're good, Shepard. They held up fine. As long as the armor holds up as well, we can use the Thanix to take them down."
"Looks like those upgrades were worth it," Shepard murmured. "Jacob, be careful down there. They're gonna hit again."
"Roger," Came the reply. "Everything all right up there?"
"Fine," Shepard said shortly. "Garrus, get the Thanix warmed up. We're gonna need it soon."
"On it." Garrus replied. Shepard could hear the hum of the cannon beginning to heat up through Garrus's intercom. Dear God, he thought, please let us make it. We've come to far to be taken down.
The beams hit them again, but without the shields to absorb the impact, the ship nearly flipped upside down. Several of the monitors near the CIC exploded, and Shepard nearly fell on top of EDI's terminal.
There was a moment of stillness when the attack stopped, but only for a split second. Garrus acted brilliantly- in that moment the Thanix attacked with an equally damaging blast. The explosion was deafening- it blew the other vessel nearly in half.
"The engine is overheating. We need to land soon or the ship might be permanently damaged." Tali spoke up.
"Joker?" Shepard's voice was desperate.
"Working on it Commander," He replied, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "Better get the team ready."
"I want the whole crew to assemble in the Com room." Shepard said. "I'll be there in two minutes."
"A lot of the systems are fried Commander. The only way we have even the slightest chance of getting out is if we crash land."
He swore under his breath. "Do what you gotta do Joker."
The crash landing didn't go horribly- at least they were all alive. Now they had to figure out how to storm the building. All they knew as of now was that they needed two teams and a tech specialist to go through the vents before they could plan how to go in deeper.
Shepard swallowed before he spoke. "Tali…you go through the vents." He said as he exhaled.
"Of course Commander." She replied, hitting her Omni-tool. Jack wondered if he was making a mistake, but she was arguably the best Tech they had.
"Miranda, lead the first team. Take Grunt, Jack, and Samara with you. You'll need as much force as you can get." He turned to Garrus. "Garrus, you, Legion, and Thane will provide sniper cover. Miranda's team will clear the way for you. Jacob and Mordin will come with me. Go as fast as you can; we can't afford to waste a single second. Clear?"
A chorus of voices echoed Shepard's.
"Then let's go." he said, holstering his pistol.
The entire battle was a blur. All Shepard could remember was a haze of gunshots, racing against time so the vents Tali was in wouldn't overheat, yelling commands over his communication unit, cringing as he heard sickening cracks and explosions, praying they weren't on his side.
But all of it was worth it when he got his crew back. Kelly, Chakwas, Kenneth, even Gardner- all of them were safe.
"A timed radiation pulse. It would get rid of all of the remaining Collectors, but the station would remain intact."
After the most brutal fight of his life, defeating a half-reaper for Christ's sake, the best reward would be to see this goddamned station blown to hell. But no, The Illusive Man had his own opinion about it. Shepard rubbed his temple in frustration, Tali and Miranda silently listening behind him after he switched squad members.
"Do it, Shepard. For humanity."
"No." Shepard couldn't believe it was his voice that came out.
"Shepard, try and under-"
"You've done nothing but keep secrets and exploit me. How do I know you're intentions behind this are really 'for humanity'?"
"Would I want anything else? Think Shepard, this isn't the hardest choice you've ever made!"
Kaidan's face flashed through his mind. A dead man's face. "No. I'm blowing this station to hell and beyond."
"Miranda! Do something about this!"
Miranda looked at Shepard uncertainly. "We should keep our relationship professional," he once told her, and like a fool she'd believed him. Only to find he'd gotten less than professional with Tali.
Despite that, she still had feelings for him. "Consider this my resignation." She said, her head held high. She glanced at Shepard, who nodded in silent thanks, and cut the connection.
Shepard set the bomb, which promptly began counting down, and looked at his two squad members, smiling.
"Run."
Woo Chapter one! The next one will be better for surely. Of course, you could always make it EPICLY better by reviewing...