"Eternity is so beautifully cold.
I wonder if angels ever feel old.
Lost in your eyes, I'm stranded at sea.
You know you're everything to me."
Until the End – Quietdrive
Aurora fought through the fire and smoke making her way to the cockpit. Joker refused to leave? Bullshit, not if she had anything to do with it.
She coughed lightly, pushing the smoke out of her eyes the best she could. Kaidan had wanted to stay, to help, but she refused to let him. This was already dangerous enough, she wouldn't risk his life. No.
"I'm not leaving Shepard," Joker persisted without her having to say a word as she arrived in the cockpit. She coughed once more before narrowing her eyes.
"Don't be daft, Joker. You have your entire life ahead of you. I'm not letting you go down with this ship. I'm not letting you die on me," Aurora shot back at him, hoping that some part of her would get through to him. She'd already lost Ash, she couldn't… wouldn't lose another. He was too close to her. She couldn't go through that again. He glanced at the console of the Normandy once more before glancing towards her.
"Fine," he mumbled defeated. She heaved him out of his chair with every ounce of strength she had and brought him over to the shuttle. An explosion, fire, and the next thing she knew she was hanging on to the Normandy by only an edge.
"Rorie!" Joker shouted as she tried to swing herself back into the ship. She looked at his face one last time and frowned before pushing the button that sent the shuttle rocketing into space. The Normandy rocked again before she finally let go. There was a hole in her suit, somewhere. She could hear the air hissing.
She closed her eyes, trying to will away the noise.
Kaidan, please forgive me… she thought to herself. She knew oxygen was leaving her suit at a rapid rate, and though her lungs ached slightly she was still able to breathe. She was going to fade away slowly, painfully.
Tears stung her eyes. Her final moments on earth and he was the only thing that came to mind. Not her failed mission, not the fact that she was terrified of what was to come, only him. His eyes, his hair, and the beautiful times they shared.
I'm so sorry…
The lack of air attacked her lungs like a slow and vicious beast. Her lungs now truly ached for nothing more than air, but she couldn't breathe. She gasped, desperately trying to live. She wanted to live. Her life was slowly seeping out of her like the oxygen had from her suit. She felt herself being pulled. She cried harder, desperation and fear finally taking ahold of her.
And then she caught fire. Her suit melded together with her skin and she screamed louder than she ever thought conceivable. Horrific fear and searing pain took hold, and in her last moments she thought only of him.
I love you…