Staying By Your Side

"It's the crew", Shepard yelled.

He looked into one of the pods and saw someone he didn't recognized. It was some woman. His confusion turned to horror as she began screaming. She was melting! She pounded against the glass begging for Shepard to help her but to no avail as she disintegrated into nothing.

Shepard turned to his squad and yelled, "Find a way to get these tubes open…now!"

Some slammed their guns into the glass and others frantically tried to rip the pods open. Tali saw Kelly in one of the pods and pulled on the pod with all her strength. She struggled as the door didn't seem to budge, but finally she heard the pop of the pods latch opening. Other pods began cracking open and one by one, members of the Normandy crew began falling out of them. Shepard and Miranda sprinted to the last pod, which was containing Dr. Chakwas, and began pulling on the door. After a few seconds of struggle, the door opened and Chakwas fell into Shepard's arms.

"Dr. Chakwas…are you alright"

"Ugh… Shepard? You came for us?"

"No one gets left behind."

"The colonist were… processed. Those swarms of little robots, they melted their bodies into grey liquid and pumped though these tubes."

"Why are they doing this? What are they doing with our genetic material?

"I don't know but I am just glad you got here before it happened to us."

"So are we."

Miranda interrupted, "We still have a job to do Commander…don't forget that."

"Miranda, I know you're hurting but I need you to stay focused."

"…I don't know if I can."

Shepard sighed and then contacted Joker, "Joker? Can you get a fix on our position?

"Rodger that Commander, all those tubes lead into the main control room right above you. The room is blocked by a security door, but there's another chamber that runs parallel to the one you're in."

EDI interrupted, "I cannot recommend that. Thermal emissions suggest that the chamber is overrun by seeker swarms. Mordin's counter measure cannot protect you against so many at once."

"Well…what about biotics? Could we create a biotic field to keep them from getting near us?

Samara answered, "Yes… I think it may be possible but I wouldn't be able to protect everyone. We might be able to get a small team through is they all stayed close."

"Then it's settled…Samara and I will take a small team through the seeker swarms. The rest of you will provide a diversion by going through the main passage. We'll open the security doors from the other side and meet you there.

"Who will lead the diversion team", asked Miranda.

Shepard thought about it for a second and decided that Garrus will lead the diversion team.

"You've got it Shepard. Decide who'll you'll bring with you and the rest of us will wait for you at the door."

Before Shepard could decide, Chakwas interrupts, "What about the crew Shepard? We are in no condition to fight."

"Joker, do you think I could get an evacuation from my location?

"We do have enough systems back online to do a pickup, but we'd need to land back from your position."

"We can't afford to go back, Shepard. Not now", Shepard exclaimed.

"They'll never make it without help and I came here to save the crew. I'll send some someone with them. Tali…I want you to go back with the crew."

"No, I can't do that Shepard."

"I don't want you to be in…"

"No Shepard! I'm going to stay by your side."

"I can see you won't change your mind…Miranda go back with the crew."

"What", she screamed. "Why should I go back?"

"Miranda, I can see you're not thinking clearly and I can't risk your emotions endangering the mission."

"But...", she paused, trying to hold back her tears of frustration. After a few moments she finally finished, "Joker…send me the location of the landing zone and we will meet you there."

"Now that that is out the way," Garrus announced, "who will be going with you and Samara?"

"Tali and Grunt, you are with me and the rest of you are with Garrus. Let's move out!"

The two groups split up. Shepard's group reached the chamber and saw the massive amounts of seekers swarms.

"Keelah, I hope this works."

"It'll work. They don't make biotics better than Samara." He turned to Samara, "Are you ready?"

"Indeed", she replied.

She created a biotic bubble and they made their way down the chamber. They were weapons ready just in cases some Collectors showed up. At that moment, they saw a Collector fly past them.

"Samara take cover, we'll get rid of the enemy hostiles." She took cover and then Shepard began barking our orders to the others. "Grunt concussive shot into that group of Collectors."

"Yes, battle-master"

"Tali, you know what to do. Send out your drones, sabotage their weapons, and drain their shields for me and Grunt."

"You've got it Shepard."

Grunt fired a concussive shot, knocking some of the collectors over the edge, and Tali's drone nipped at their ankles. Shepard, realizing he couldn't charge the enemy, began popping rounds from his pistol and using projectile biotics. They cleared the space and they moved forward. Shepard asked Samara if he could use her assault rifle for the time being. She nodded and Shepard pulled the rifle off her back. As they progressed further, a group of husks attempted to hassle them, but were met with a barrage of concussive shots, biotics throws, and shotgun blasts.

"Battle-master, something isn't right. It's too… quiet."

"I was thinking the same thing, but then again it could just be that the Collectors weren't expecting anybody to come this way."

Tali entered the conversation, "My Omni-tool can't read enemy signatures because of the biotic field. We should be prepared for an ambush."

"Noted…Samara, how are you holding up?"

"I don't think I'll be able to last much longer. We need to find the doors."

"Alright", he replied, "double-time to that door."

As they turned the corner, they were greeted by a small army of husks and a couple of scions.

"Get back", Shepard yelled as a scion's shockwave picked him off his feet and threw him back a couple feet.

"Shit that hurt…but that thing made one mistake."

A puzzled look came over the groups face.

"I was worried a shockwave would detonate the bubble… so now," he paused, as he began glowing blue, "I'm going to rip these things a new one. You two keep doing what you've been doing and I'll take care of the scions."

Grunt laughed, "Save some for me…my blood is starting to itch."

Shepard smiled and got back on his feet. He turned to Tali, "Be careful, my biotics don't discriminate between friend and foe."

"Don't worry, I don't mind looking at your backside", she replied with an innocent giggle.

He smiled again and turned to the army of husks, "Let's get this shit started."

Grunt fired the first concussive shot causing a group of husks to explode and Tali husks from charging them with her drones. Shepard holstered his gun and planted himself to the ground. With a sinister smirk, he stomped his foot and tore apart husks with a shockwave. He threw a warp sphere at one of the scions with one hand and a shockwave with the other. He began launching warp projectiles one after another. The scion didn't stand a chance against the barrage of biotics and quickly blew apart. While all this was going on, Samara continued to stumble forward so Shepard could get closer to his prey. Just as Shepard was about to obliterate the other Scion, he looked at Grunt and gave him the nod of approval. The scion broke into the bubble, which was the worst thing it could have done. Grunt rammed into it head first and began digging his fists into the scions chest. Shepard pulled the scion off its feet, dropping it to the ground. Grunt planted his foot on the chest of the scion and the other two joined him with shotguns in hand. The scion squealed but all it was given was three consecutive shotgun blasts to the head. As they stood over the lifeless scion corpse, they heard a thud. Samara had fallen to one knee and was barely able to hold up the bubble.

"Grunt on three, help Samara up. I'm going to get us the rest of the way."

"I can do it", Samara replied. "Besides, can you even create a bubble?"

Shepard smirked, "I guess we'll find out. You ready Grunt?"

"Alright, on your count Shepard"

"Ok. One…two… three", and as soon as he said three he focused his biotics into a bubble and they began sprinting down the hill. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

They charged down the hill until they crossed past the door. Once they passed by the door, they all collapsed to the floor.

As they lied there on the floor, Garrus came over the communicator, "Shepard, do you copy?"

"I copy. What's your position?"

"We're at the door. They've got us pinned down!"

"We're coming; just hold on! Tali, get the door open now!"

The door opened and the rest of the squad poured into the room.

"Seal the door!"

As the door closed, Garrus split in side. Shepard looked over and saw Garrus holding his gut.

"Garrus, are you ok?"

"It'll take more than a couple of bullets to put me down."

"Good," he replied. He then hailed Joker, "Joker? Are you at the rendezvous point?"

"I'm here, Commander. Chakwas and the rest of the crew just showed up."

EDI also replied, "Miranda's group just arrived. No casualties."

Shepard replied, "Good. Now let's make it count EDI. What's our next step?"

"There should be some nearby platforms that will take you the main console. From there you can overload the system and destroy the base."

"Commander, I got some bad news," Joker announced. "Hostiles massing just outside the door and it won't be long before they bust through."

Shepard turned and hopped on top of a platform. He turned to his squad, "A rearguard could defend this position and keep the Collectors from overwhelming us. Tali and Mordin will come with me. Everybody else stay back and hold this position."

Before Shepard could turn around, Garrus sarcastically yelled, "Speech!"

Shepard laughed but then a serious look came over his face. "The Collectors, the Reapers…they aren't a threat to us. They're a threat to everything and everyone. Those are the lives we're fighting for. That's the scale we face. It's been a long journey, and no one's coming out of this without scars. We've lost people today and we continue to fight on so they didn't sacrifice their lives in vain. It all comes down to this moment. We win or lose it all in the next few minutes. I couldn't be more proud of you all. Now let's go finish this."

The platform then ascends towards the main control room. Shepard turns to Tali and she hugs him tight and looks into his eyes.

"If we don't succeed, I just want you to know that I love you."

"I love you too, but we will succeed. I don't plan on letting you die in this place. Plus, I want to see what's under the suit again."

They break their hug and look out into the abyss of the base.

"Let's finish this."


To all those that continue to follow this story, I thank all of you for your patience. This was the hardest chapter for me to write because for the longest time I was thinking about the fate of Tali until I came to the decision of letting her live. I hope you enjoyed the story and I hope you stick with me until the end. As always if you enjoyed the story be sure to follow me.