(Sarah)
Things were getting very bad, very fast. It seemed as though the attacks on the camp were increasing, and I was getting tired of hearing the dull roars of husks and the thunderous bellows of Brutes.
Not to mention that I kept hearing them inside my head every time they got too close. It still felt as though I had an instinctual understanding of them... and possibly a weak mental link to the Reapers. It wasn't a pleasant feeling.
I'd have to ask Abby her opinion on the "husk Grey Warden" theory I had when I saw her... if I saw her again. She might just say the Reapers were messing with my head, or maybe there was something to do it, I don't know. I just knew that she would be the better one to ask because, well, HK hadn't played Dragon Age. He told me that he owned the game but hadn't played it yet. I really hoped he would someday; it was something I still pestered him about from time to time.
Then again, maybe he shouldn't play it. If he did play it and then the three of us ended up on Thedas in the middle of the Blight in Dragon Age... that would suck. I had no desire to become a blood sacrifice or get eaten by darkspawn.
Then again maybe we could use an Archdemon and some darkspawn here now, if it would help keep these damn husks at bay. Now that was an interesting, if scary, thought...
I sighed and shook my head at myself. I was exhausted, hungry, and I had been sitting for way too long. I just really hoped that Shepard would be here soon. Maybe she could help me, and maybe she would even know where HK and Abby were.
A movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. I thought that they were just more turian soldiers moving about; I had seen plenty of them over the past few days, after all. But there was something different about their armor... and I noticed a distinct "N7" symbol on the armor of the person leading the small group of three.
I stood up so quickly that Irren instinctively grabbed his rifle and looked alert. He had been keeping an eye out all along and sticking with me, but we had not spoken since our... agreement. "What is it, Sarah?" he asked me, perplexed by my sudden movement.
"Shepard!" I yelled, ignoring my turian bodyguard. It looked as though the Commander was looking around, probably trying to find the one in charge of the camp. "Commander Shepard!" I shouted again. I saw her head turn in my direction, and then her eyes locked onto me like a beacon. Behind her, James and Liara looked curious and puzzled.
I ran straight toward Shepard, barely noticing that Irren was following me, keeping tabs on his assignment. Before I could stop myself I grabbed Shepard and put my arms around her in an awkward hug. It wasn't easy to hug someone wearing armor, but I managed.
It did cross my mind that that might have been a stupid thing to do, running up and touching a well-armed person in the middle of a battle zone without properly announcing myself, but I just didn't care at the moment. I was just happy to finally see the person I knew would show up eventually.
Shepard's armored hand patted my back awkwardly, gripping her assault rifle in a clumsy one-handed grip with the other hand. I had to be careful not to touch any of the other weaponry attached to her back or hips - the last thing I needed right now was to accidentally set off the shotgun and blow Liara's brains out.
"And then there were three," I thought I heard her mutter. "I was wondering when we'd run into you." I felt her move, positioning herself to face somebody else. "Soldier, where is the Commanding Officer?"
"Main command post, the one with the flags if you can't see it from here," I heard Irren say.
"Good." And then Shepard was focused on me. She pushed me away from her - gently, not forcibly - and tilted my head to look up at her. Her eyes observed the scar on my throat, but she made no mention of it. "I suppose you just 'popped in' here, too?" she asked, a little bitingly.
I blinked a little at the slight sharpness in her tone. I suppose I was a little stung by it. "Yeah um, you could say that," I said hesitantly. I raised my hand in mid-air, but then I dropped my arm. I was going to move the Commander's hand away from my chin, but I figured it was better to cooperate fully with her for the moment, even if being touched like that was an uncomfortable reminder of when Mordin examined me after I drank ryncol.
Well, at least Kelly wouldn't be onboard the Normandy this time... then again, Traynor was a full lesbian. I wasn't sure if that was better or worse. Samantha probably wouldn't make any comments about me liking Abby, but she might also think I was hot for all I knew.
"Commander, something weird is going on," I said. "I swear I hear husks in my head, and... I faintly hear Reapers sometimes. Garrus had to punch me to get them out of my head one time." I indicated the bruise on the side of my face.
There was also the bump on the back of my head from where Neyrata attacked me, but I wasn't going to mention that... yet.
Shepard frowned. "Explain 'hear.' What exactly are you hearing?"
"Well, it's sort of like what Grey Wardens 'hear', I think," I began, and then I quickly remembered that she wouldn't know what they were. "I mean, well... it's like... I can tell when husks are nearby, and... I can understand them and their intent. They don't have any real thoughts like we do, but I get the general impression of where they're headed or what they're trying to do. And if I really focus, I can sort of hear the Reapers... I think."
I frowned. I felt like a babbling idiot, and I wasn't even sure if I was saying all of that accurately. Sometimes I had a hard time translating what I felt into words.
"Uh, that ain't good," James said, taking a step back.
"What are the Reapers saying?" Shepard asked.
"I can't really hear them right now," I supplied with a little shrug. "But they did get kind of loud a few days ago. They... wanted to know what I knew, and how we might defeat them." Once again, that thought started to scare me.
"Shepard... what if the Reapers might try to capture me, or Abby and HK? Or what if anybody else tries to capture us and pump us for information, like Cerberus or anybody else who gets desperate?" I still didn't mention Neyrata, but I figured that incident could merely be the tip of the iceberg.
Before Shepard could say anything, I blurted out one final question. "Oh hey, have you seen HK or Abby?"
"They're on the ship, under guard," Shepard said. The way she said that made me think that perhaps the relationship between us wouldn't be as good as I'd first assumed. "Before we even get to that stuff, I need to know how you got here. That's important."
My stomach growled almost venomously. "Um, before I say anything Commander... do you have anything to eat?" I asked, almost pleadingly. "I haven't eaten anything since I got here. Turian food isn't any good for me, you know... almost as bad as ryncol." I made a forced little chuckle, trying to make it sound like a joke. I don't think it came out that way.
Behind me, Irren cleared his throat. I'd almost forgotten he was there. "She was found wandering around on this moon," he spoke up. "From what she told us, we gathered that she came here to see Garrus Vakarian, claiming that she had information on the Reapers. In turn, Vakarian put her under my protection," he explained, stepping just a little closer.
"Oh yeah," I said, "that's Irren. He's my friend-bodyguard." Why did I say 'friend'? Didn't we agree that it wasn't a good idea to form any kind of attachment?
"Is Vakarian close by?" Shepard asked Irren.
"General Victus's men were having a problem - he left to take care of it maybe half a day ago." Irren cleared his throat. "But before he left, he had General Corinthus put Primarch Fedorian on another transport to a safer place."
"And Fedorian?"
"Didn't make it. His shuttle was shot down about an hour ago offworld. Ma'am."
"I'm sorry for your loss," Shepard said. She looked at me, her expression unfathomable. What was she thinking? "Soldier, escort me and my group to General Corinthus. Sarah, you're with us."
I glanced at Irren again. Maybe this really was for the best, especially since... I'd probably never see him again after this anyway. And my place was with Shepard, and then back with HK and Abby... right?
On impulse, I grabbed Irren's hand and gave it a squeeze, then-since he was taller than me-I gently grabbed the edge of one of his mandibles and tipped his head closer to mine. I gave him a little peck on the check-or whatever it was that turians had. I wasn't sure why I did that; maybe the stress and the gnawing of my empty stomach were getting to me.
"Thanks for saving me," I blurted quickly, and then I pushed away from him and moved up beside Shepard, staring down at my shoes.
"That gives me the oogies," I heard James mutter.
I couldn't look up to see what Irren's reaction was. "Follow me," he said. There was no noticeable change in his voice.
As we started to walk, I reached out and grabbed Shepard's free hand, not caring how silly that gesture was. I gripped the armored hand tightly with my long fingers. "If it means anything," I said to her, "I warned them that the Primarch was going to die, but it still happened anyway."
"I gathered that," Shepard said, giving my hand a reassuring grip before letting go. That was probably as compassionate she was going to be towards me today.
Irren brought us to General Corinthus. I wasn't very good at telling age among different aliens, but Corinthus seemed old. A lot older than Garrus or Irren. His small, beady eyes were locked on Commander Shepard.
Something about the turian screamed 'calculating.' I couldn't put my finger on it. I was glad, for a moment, that I was on his side.
He and Shepard hit it off well. They didn't waste time with the small talk and went straight to business, leaning over a large, holographic map of the battlefield. The blue light cast unhealthy shadows on Shepard's skin, and merely made Corinthus look more alien than he actually was.
He was gesturing to a model of the communications tower. "Thunder Four is making progress towards the tower here, here, and here. I'll have them draw off enemy fire so you can get to the tower. I don't care how you do it, but I need that damn thing operational."
"We'll get it," Shepard said, her fingers rubbing a groove on the outside of her assault rifle.
"Go carefully," Corinthus said.
Shepard turned to me. "You're staying here with your guard. Don't do anything rash. Behave."
"I've been being good ever since I got here," I said defensively. I turned to look at Irren. "Right?" I prompted.
Irren sighed. "With one exception... yes, you have been a model guest," he replied. He was probably referring to the little fit I threw outside the camp after he rescued me from Neyrata.
I looked back at Shepard and gave her a see? look. "Hey, hey, Commander," I said, grabbing her free hand again. "Just um... can I have a quick word with you, please?" I wasn't sure why I felt so inclined to grab or touch Shepard all of a sudden. Back on the Normandy, during the events of Mass Effect 2, I would never have touched her. Maybe I was just itching to be close to a familiar face, the one I'd been waiting for for days.
Corinthus seemed to bristle a little. "We really need that tower online, Commander..."
"Understood," said Shepard. She and I moved a little ways away from the others. "What is it?"
"Just two things," I said, trying to keep it quick. I didn't want to hold things up and risk changing the way things were supposed to play out. "Um... do you have anything to eat on you? I haven't eaten anything for days. The only thing the turians could give me was water."
"If you'd been patient, I would have given some to you there," Shepard said. She sounded like a tired mother. She took two ration bars from her belt and handed them to me. "Here. That'll last you until we get back to the Normandy. Anything else?"
"Yeah," I said, and I swallowed. "Shepard... I'm scared. I mean, this is a bigger deal than going to fight the Collectors... and I know I put you and the crew through hell on the Normandy. I want you to know that I'm gonna do my best to do good and not cause trouble, Commander. But..."
I looked down at my shoes, crinkling the wrappers on the ration bars a little. I needed to finish what I was saying before I dug into them. "I was attacked in the camp, Commander. Remember Neyrata? She knocked Irren out and then she knocked me out. She took me out of the camp and made me tell her how to stop the Reapers. Then I saw her get torn apart by husks-Irren saved my life out there."
I swallowed, trying to suppress that memory. Seeing Neyrata being brutally torn apart by husks and eaten by cannibals still haunted my dreams-when the Reapers weren't affecting my dreams. "I won't have to make trouble," I finally said. "Trouble is going to find me this time. It already has."
I ripped open one of the ration bars and put a chunk of it in my mouth. "Thanks for this, by the way," I murmured. I knew that two ration bars weren't going to fill me up, but they were probably full of vitamins. They'd give me whatever nutrients I was missing by not eating for the past few days.
"Neyrata?" Shepard asked. She looked over her shoulder and back at me. "We'll talk about this later. Stay with Irren."
"Okay," I sighed. Before I could stop myself, I once again grabbed Shepard in a brief hug. Ugh, I felt like I was becoming as clingy as Conrad Verner. "Just... hurry back," I said. "And don't worry about EDI," I added off-handedly. I knew that that little adventure was coming up very soon.
Shepard groaned. "I don't want to know," she said, and left. She rejoined the other two and they left. Liara tossed a backwards glance at me before they disappeared around the corner. I could see the comm tower in the distance. It was disturbingly close.
I barely noticed Irren walking toward me to resume his bodyguard duties as I stared at the tower, stuffing what little food I had into my mouth. Once I finished it I realized that I did indeed still feel hungry, but that could easily be rectified once I returned to the Normandy.
"She'll be okay," I murmured out loud, mostly to myself. "EDI will be okay... Liara and James will be okay... Garrus will be okay..." I found myself looking at Irren again. "I sure hope you'll be okay," I muttered, and then I turned back to look toward the tower. "And Abby and HK, too."
I ended up wandering back over to General Corinthus; Irren kept me out of everybody's way. This proved to be a good thing, as I could now listen to Shepard over the open link. Hers wasn't the only voice coming over the link, though. Corinthus was busy directing traffic, as Garrus would have called it. He was placing troops, calling in air strikes, and doing so many other things that Shepard's mission seemed pesky in comparison. Of course, since the comm tower was off he was limited to recording his orders and then sending them once the thing was back online. Watching the board in front of him, I was reminded strongly of a game of chess. I didn't know how he and Shepard were talking without the tower operational, though – Irren finally informed me that the general was hijacking the Normandy's accommodations.
"So," Irren said, breaking me out of my thought process as I watched Corinthus direct the battle. "I guess once your Commander's gotten the Primarch, whoever that is now, you'll be out of here. You should probably be glad."
"Well... I'll be glad to use a shower and get a hot meal," I said with a nod. I tried to remember how long this mission took Shepard; I don't think it was all that long. She just had to get there, send someone up to fix the tower, and then fight her way back. That also meant the camp was going to fall under attack from husks soon.
"Hey um, the camp is going to be attacked soon," I said to Irren, alarm rising within me. If they got inside... all of us were history.
Irren began to open his mouth to reply, but instead, I got a response from the General. Corinthus seemed to be an excellent multitasker; I guessed that you had to be right now. He was always able to pay good attention to Shepard, as well. "Attacked? How big of an attack?" he asked.
I looked around, and then I pointed at the large barricade several meters away-the one with the large gun on top of it. "Husks are going to begin climbing up that wall," I said. "They're gonna try to get into the camp. And um... I know there is going to be a problem with big monsters outside of the camp. Shepard will help with that, just... call her when she finishes fixing the tower."
Good heavens, I was starting to sound like Abby!
"How do you know this?" Corinthus queried curiously.
"Um..." I shuffled my feet uncomfortably. "Did Garrus say anything to you about me?" I knew that Corinthus probably did know something about it, especially since the Neyrata incident, but I just didn't want to say more than I had to. Garrus understood best; let the big man sort it out.
Corinthus nodded with a sigh. "Yes, he might've mentioned you were 'special,'" he finally admitted. "Alright, I'll give orders to reinforce the walls of the camp. The Reapers are not destroying this base."
Irren coughed slightly. "Thanks," he said. "I... appreciate you telling us that."
I heaved my shoulders in a heavy shrug. Yeah, for whatever good it would do. The old Primarch still died after I warned them, right? Well... maybe an additional heads up in stuff couldn't hurt, at least.
I sat down on the floor somewhere behind Corinthius and simply listened quietly as he continued to bark out orders. I could also hear Shepard's voice over the comm occasionally, which I paid more attention to. It sounded like she was making progress, and they were just about to reach the tower.
I glanced up at Irren. "Hey um... how bad is it out there?" I asked him. I knew that Shepard and her squad were going to be alright, but... I knew first-hand how nasty those cannibals could be. We were right smack in the middle of a gruesome war. There was no denying it.
And I was doing exactly what Shepard said, in order to make her life easier for once. I was staying put, and staying out of trouble.
"Very bad. I don't know how much war you've seen, even though I know that this all has to be somewhat new to you. You've served with Commander Shepard, though, and I know the tales of what she's faced," Irren said, staring off into space. "I've seen a lot of scuffles, and I'm not even as old as people like the General or Vakarian. I'm young, fresh... but I've seen my fair share. And none of that compares to this. This is a level of destruction and death that is beyond what I ever thought could happen."
His tone suddenly sounded very somber and... almost grim, yet honest and sincere. He looked to the ground, not even giving me a glance.
"Yeah well... at least you can shoot a gun and protect yourself," I commented. "You... really protected me. And you're still looking out for me." I sighed and buried my face into my hands. "Gosh, I can't help it... I really, really like you, Irren."
Ugh, great, my next biggest puppydog crush since Garrus. And Corinthus was right within earshot, too.
"It's been an experience, and an honor," Irren said with a slight bow. "I hope you'll take care of yourself once this is over."
I hauled myself up off the floor and turned to face Irren. "Yeah um..." I swallowed. "This may sound silly, or stupid, or whatever..." Gosh I was babbling... "But um... can I have a hug?" I smiled sheepishly.
Irren gave a puzzled look. "If you wish," he replied, smiling lightly after a moment.
This was probably my second awkward hug of the day. It was hard enough to hug a human wearing armor, but now I was trying to hug a turian... who just wasn't built the same way a human was. It was almost as if they weren't really... designed to be hugged. But I felt his arms tentatively touch my shoulders.
Then again, this was different from hugging Shepard for more reasons than a difference in body build. Hugging Shepard was like... hugging my boss and a tough motherly figure all rolled into one package. Hugging Irren... I felt like a 12-year-old schoolgirl with the delight of hugging her first crush.
And I still didn't know what he thought of my peck on the cheek.
"You are more grateful than most, I'll give you that," Irren said as I hugged him, gently putting his hands on me.
I held on a moment longer, and then I pulled away from him. "Yeah well... I'm not a very good person. You shouldn't get too close to me or anything." I moved away from him and began to step down out of the compound. I figured I was free to move around the camp if nothing else; I just couldn't leave the camp. I'd never hear the end of it from anybody, especially Shepard and Garrus.
"I highly doubt we have the time for that at this point," Irren re-assured me, and I could hear him following me out of the compound. "I think our time together is just about over."
Once we were outside of the compound, I turned to face him. "Yeah well... I just wonder why fate, or whatever it was that brought me here, dumped me in your lap," I found myself musing out loud. "I mean... well..." I cleared my throat, and forced myself to look up into his eyes. "Can I ask you a question, and... you promise to answer me honestly?"
He nodded slightly, stopping in front of me. "Yes."
I inhaled deeply, and then spoke slowly. I couldn't quite meet his gaze, so I stared at one of his mandibles. "Well um... if circumstances were different, and if maybe we weren't in the middle of a war... do you think maybe you could... like someone like me?"
I braced myself for another turn-down like I got from Garrus.
He shrugged. "Sure, why not?"
I blinked and looked at him in disbelief, wondering if I'd heard that right. Or if he had understood that way in the way I'd meant it. "You mean... you wouldn't mind going out with a human on a date?" I asked.
"I really am not sure what brought all this on, maybe it's everything you've been going through, but no, I wouldn't. Then again, that's not really on my mind right now. There's a lot going on, but just the thought of being able to go on a date at all is nice, I'll admit," Irren said, sounding honest and open about it.
"Yeah, it would," I said, allowing my mind to ponder the idea. "You know," I said in a dreamy tone, "it would be nice if we could just get away from all of this, and see the Elcor version of Hamlet... or something." Hey, anything would be preferable to this right now. Even though that wasn't likely to happen.
"I can't disagree with that," Irren concurred. "Unfortunately, I highly doubt that's going to happen. I have bigger priorities."
He looked up at Palaven, as if signifying what those 'priorities' were. Above us, it burned.
I nodded. "Yeah, true." Ah well, it was nice to escape reality and dream... even just for a moment. "I'm going back in the compound," I announced, already moving. At least I could hear what Shepard was doing in there; I'd forgotten about that when I left the compound.
We both went back inside, and I partially tuned out Corinthus barking orders and paid attention to Shepard's voice. It sounded as though she and her team were at the comm tower, and they were working on getting it fixed. They'd probably be done there soon, then.
"So... how's it going?" I asked Corinthus casually, even though he did not look like he wanted to be bothered, especially with small talk.
"Almost there," Corinthus said, in the middle of everything that he was frantically punching in on his console. "Once it's fixed, I can contact Palaven Command and..."
He paused, and Irren stepped forward. "General, what is it?"
"I think the tower is fixed; I can establish contact with Command now," Corinthus replied, his fingers working even faster now.
"That's great!" I said. Except... I knew that that meant the attack on the camp was going to happen soon.
As if on cue, I heard the thunderous roar of husks. I felt the scar on my throat sting a little, and I touched it reflexively. I looked at Irren with worried, widened eyes.
Corinthus glanced at us. "Lokam," he ordered, "take Sarah to the back of the camp. It should be safer back there."
Irren nodded. "Yes, sir," he said, looking at me and gesturing for me to get in front of him.
"Stay in close contact," Corinthus finished as we walked away. "Palavan Command, this is General Corinthus, verification code AA 327…"
"With how things have gone, maybe this is a stupid question," Irren said, as he ushered me towards the back of the camp. "But how bad is this attack going to be?"
"It's going to be intense," I said. I wasn't sure whether to be pleased or feel awkward that Irren had accepted my "psychic powers" or whatever as fact. Then again, at least he wasn't demanding anything from me, not like Neyrata had. "I think as long as Shepard gets here in time to help out, none of the monsters will get into the camp."
As we walked, I hesitated for a step or two, and I looped my arm around Irren's. I really hoped he wouldn't mind... it wasn't like anything was going to happen that would require his full attention. And if nothing else, I could have my little fantasy even if nothing ever came of it.
"Good. I'm glad we have her here," Irren stated. We continued to rush towards the back of the camp; the attack hadn't started yet, but I could tell that it was getting closer. I glanced back to General Corinthus a couple of minutes later, to see Shepard returning and starting to speak to him.
I knew that he was about to deliver the news about the new Primarch, Victus, and that Garrus would be there any second.
Soon, we arrived at the back of the camp, and Irren motioned for me to step inside one of the small buildings that they had set up there. I could still see Corinthus, Shepard, and now Garrus, as well as Liara and James, talking in the distance; the camp wasn't huge. If the husks got through, it wouldn't take them long to get to me...but Shepard was here, and she always got the job done.
I paused for a moment, but Irren snapped me out of watching the group we had just left; before I could step into the building, though, I heard a large roar, and I saw a Harvester flying over the camp.
"Uh oh," I whispered. I looked out at the large beast as it vanished from sight, landing somewhere outside the camp. "Should we hit the dirt?" I asked almost timidly.
"Inside," Irren said firmly, as the camp began to go into more of a scramble than it was in before. "Now. All we can do is wait." A frustrated growl escaped him. "I should be out there with them…"
But he wasn't, because Garrus Vakarian told him to watch me. I almost felt guilty.
I stood close to Irren, staring out at the creatures. I couldn't see much from here, especially since the barricades were tall, but I had no desire to move out and get a closer look. So I remained where I was.
A gnawing feeling began to fill my gut... maybe it had something to do with the husks getting closer, or the sheer number of them. But I felt almost like I did when Garrus had to punch me, or when I had that strange Reaper-dream. Okay not that bad, but... I was starting to.
"Irren," I said anxiously, "I'm starting to hear them in my head again."
Irren watched alongside me, and I thought that I could vaguely see Shepard, Garrus, and James running in the other direction, accompanied by seven more turians in full armor towards the front. However, Irren turned his attention towards me. "Well, stop them."
I sat down on the floor and pressed my fingers against my temples. "Just... keep talking," I suggested frantically. "Tell me about something; let me focus on your voice." It was worth a try at least. I didn't want those things getting into my head or doing who-knew-what.
"I don't know how good I am at this, I've never encountered this before, but I do know that you have a lot of people behind you," Irren said, leaning down to face me. "Garrus. The Commander. Even me. People that don't want to see you fall victim to the Reapers. I've seen too many good soldiers fall under their spell already."
I nodded, grimacing. "Have any brothers or sisters?" I asked, trying to focus on something. "I've got a brother back home."
"Only child. Have a best friend out there, back on Palaven; he's not a soldier, but we were really close when we were kids. Haven't heard from him since the Reaper attack," Irren said, a tone of worry creeping into his voice. He wasn't as good as concealing that as Garrus was, I noticed, but then again, they seemed like very different people. "You've got a brother? Good. If you have a family, it gives you another reason to fight these...things."
I couldn't tell him that my family was on another Earth, far away from any place the Reapers could touch them. Just another reminder that I was the lucky one here... or maybe not, because with the exception of HK and Abby, I was the only one from my universe having to be here and suffer through all of this crap, thanks to... whatever force decided it was a great idea to bring the three of us here.
"Yeah well... I hope your friend makes it out okay," I said. "I know that they'll get as many people as they can out with their evac shuttles." I also knew that Garrus would arrange for the Citadel to take the injured turians, though I didn't mention that.
"He's crafty; he'll find some way to survive," Irren said, though it almost sounded like he was talking to himself at that moment more than he was me. "What about your family? Your brother? Do you know if they made it on Earth, or if they're...still alive?"
"Oh they're alive," I said confidently, without hesitation. "In fact... they're in a place where the Reapers will never be able to get to them." I knew that the same was true for HK's and Abby's families. So the three of us just had to worry about ourselves, and everybody else on this insane adventure... just like last time.
"I almost wonder if there's any place that is untouchable by the Reapers. There's been a few rumors, though not much, about a place called Sanctuary cropping up in the past few days...supposed to be some kind of haven. But I doubt that even that place is safe from these machines," Irren remarked. "Not to worry you. I'm glad your family is safe."
Sanctuary... ugh. I couldn't say anything about that yet, not without talking to Abby and HK first. I really hoped that the three of us could reunite, soon.
All of a sudden, a strong feeling welled up inside of me, stronger than before. My eyes widened and I gasped sharply. I could see the husks in my mind's eye, being guided by the Reapers and forming their attack patterns, looking for targets.
And then I realized something... somehow they could sense me. And some of them were attempting to zone in on me, as if I was some kind of beacon.
Call it intuition, or some weird mental link, but I just suddenly knew that a pair of large ones... Brutes?... had locked onto me in a sense. I was leading them right toward me, and they weren't going to let up.
I looked up at Irren and I shouted in his face, "THEY'RE COMING IN!"
Not even a second later, there was a terrible sound of rock smashing and metal bending and grinding. One of the barriers had been knocked down, and a pair of Brutes had forced their way in. Several of the guards closest to the barrier were already dead.
I screamed and ran out of the back of the compound. I thought I heard Irren shout something at me, maybe he even grabbed at me, but I slipped away from him. I just kept running, my ears ringing with dozens of shots being fired and turians tried to take down the massive beasts.
In my panic I didn't even realize that I was running closer to the edge of the camp instead of further into the camp. I was out through the broken barrier and outside of the camp before I even knew it, and I still kept running.
"SARAH!" Irren shouted again over the roar of all that was going on. He was probably chasing after me. "STOP! SARAH! You're going to get us killed!"
The gunfire was all of a sudden a lot more closer than it had been, and I could hear turian soldiers firing frantically and shouting at the top of the lungs back inside the camp, while some emerged to fight the oncoming husks.
Suddenly, I heard what sounded like a charge, and I looked behind me to see one of the Brutes charging right for me.
I screamed again and began to run even faster. I didn't even care what direction I was running in now, and my fright and flight mode had kicked in. I was operating on full adrenaline now, and it seemed like nothing could stop me or get in my way. The mental images of Neyrata screaming and being torn apart only made me run even faster. I vaguely heard Irren yelling at me from behind, but I no longer paid any attention to him.
Eventually I began to run out of steam, and I ended up tripping over a lump of risen rock, sprawling across the ground and scraping my elbows against the rocks and sand. I groaned, painfully rolling over onto my back. I could tell that I already had several gashes and bruises on me.
I gasped when I suddenly realized a Brute was lumbering toward me. It was even larger and uglier than I'd thought possible. It's mouth dripped a little bit of drool and its eyes narrowed as it looked at me. I attempted to stand or scramble away from it, but I already knew I would not be able to move quickly enough. I had run out of steam and I couldn't even get up.
Just as it came within three feet of me, however, it simply froze. My heart was pounding in my chest and I was breathing so fast that I felt close to hyperventilating.
The beast growled a little, and then it seemed to... sit? A moment passed, and then I heard a booming voice inside my mind.
You are the one that used to serve us, a voice said...it sounded almost exactly like the voice of a Reaper.The one that broke away from Harbinger. You are foolish.
Oh great... my former husk-ness meant that Reapers really could talk to me. I looked at the Brute again; it was still just sitting there. Maybe I was starting to figure this out... since I used to be a husk, maybe being near a husk meant that whatever remnant of husk-ness still remained in me... could be amplified by the husk? In this case, the Brute? Kind of like... amplifying a weak transmission signal, or something.
Just lovely. The Reapers had a way into my head, and I was still connected to them. Damn that stupid husk spider! It didn't only kill me and end up turning my old body against my friends and Shepard, it was still haunting me to this day.
"Go away," I whispered firmly, drawing my legs up to my chest and wrapping my arms around my shins. "I don't belong to you anymore."
It is useless to resist. You should not be alive, the Reaper said to me. Its voice was slowly getting louder, and I was starting to hear growls inside my head...it was getting harder and harder to tune them out. A high-pitched whine in the background began to get louder as well. We will rectify this, and we will help you ascend for the final time. You and your allies will not interfere with our plans again. You cannot stop us.
I shuddered, and a plaintive whimper escaped my throat. I wrapped my arms more tightly around my legs and pressed my forehead against my knees. I ached all over, I was ravenous, and now my head was starting to hurt.
Fear lanced through my chest like a sharp knife. What if... I became indoctrinated? What if this just made it easier for them?
"I'd rather die," I said, squeezing my eyes shut. Dying was not pleasant, but at least I knew that I'd just go home. I just might end up suffering from some PST or something after this... added to my other experiences during Mass Effect 2's events. "Just get it over with and kill me," I grated through clenched teeth, and then I braced myself.
You will join us. You will ascend, and you will watch the end of your cycle, the Reaper told me very solemnly.
My head was starting to throb at this point, almost as if the Reaper was trying to crawl around in it...again. Suddenly, though, I heard some gunfire, and the Brute got up with a roar as several bullets pierced its armor. I could see Irren charging forward, finally catching up to me. As he fired at the Brute without hesitation or pause, suddenly, the Reaper presence started to fade away...the only reason I could tell was because it almost felt like I was a little less light headed.
From the corner of my eye I saw Irren whips his hand forward and throw a hard, round metal sphere at the Brute. It stuck to its' armored skin and exploded not too soon later. The Brute cried out in anger and focused its' grotesque gaze on the perpetrator. It pawed the ground impatiently, and then it ran for him, arms outstretched. Irren fired at it until the last moment, and just as I thought it would get him he dived to the side. The Brute continued to run, incomprehensibly angry that it hadn't hit its target, and Irren fired a few rounds into its' thick hide.
Another grenade. Then another. They both lodged on the Brute's legs. The Brute turned, a gaze promising death fixed on my soldier. Then the two grenades exploded, blowing the legs off at the knee. It pounded the hard ground in frustration, its' mobility taken away. It could only howl in anger. Its eyes focused on me.
Irren tossed what looked like his last grenade. It landed right underneath its' jawbone. The head went thirty yards.
There was a space of silence, and then Irren seemed to remember me. "Sarah!" Irren yelled as he ran for me. "Are you al-"
He was cut off, turning around as we heard the distant roars of more husks, and I saw some of the smaller husks, like cannibals and marauders, approaching. He began to shoot at them, but what seemed like a small second later, there was another roar, and I could see the Harvester coming back, and heading straight for us.
I felt myself being yanked to my feet as Irren half-led, half-dragged me from my spot. I breathed heavily as I tried to keep my feet moving to keep up with Irren's pace. If I had only watched where I was going and stayed in the camp like Shepard undoubtedly wanted me to do...
Somehow I felt like I just didn't care as much. Maybe the Reaper had taken something out of me, exhausted me. Or maybe I was just getting too tired of all of this. But I just felt like I didn't care what happened to me... especially since dying meant I could just go back home anyway. HK and Abby were already on the Normandy, and they'd be able to handle this without me.
Besides, I was the idiotic one, right? Maybe it was time to do something good for once instead of being the fraidy cat that always got into trouble.
I dug my heels into the ground as best I could and slapped Irren's hand. "Just leave me here," I snapped. "Save yourself. They'll be busy with me while you get away."
"No! What kind of thinking is that?" Irren shouted, taking a few shots at the approaching husks. "Garrus ordered me to keep an eye on you, and if I die doing my duty, then so be it! I'm not going to disobey my orders!"
I heard another roar, something that I was getting very sick of hearing by now, and I looked back as Irren put another round into approaching human husks, effectively taking them out. However, at the front of what seemed like an army of husks was the other Brute, or at least I assumed it was the same one that attacked earlier. In the distance, I could see turian soldiers approaching, but they seemed very preoccupied with the other husks at the moment.
The Brute then charged towards both Irren and myself at a huge pace, and I didn't know whether he was going to actually kill us or try to get a Reaper to talk to me again; Irren rapidly fired some shots at him, and yanked my arm again, pulling me out of my firm position.
"We've got to keep going!" Irren exclaimed.
However, before we could get very far, I felt a huge burst of pain as something slammed into my back, and I went flying to the ground. I looked up to see the Brute towering above me, and he looked ready to take the kill. As he was about to raise his arm and hit me, I suddenly felt myself rolling over another few feet.
Trying to recover as fast as I could from all of this action, I glanced over to my previous position, to see Irren where I was, with the Brute above him. He must have slid over and kicked me very fast or something. He took a few shots at the Brute, but suddenly, with the claw-arm thing that the Brute had, he grabbed Irren and quickly slammed him into the ground. I heard Irren yell out, and he seemed to be barely moving while the Brute was again towering over him. Also, I could see the Harvester coming towards us, seemingly having its target set on Irren and myself.
I let out a little scream as I watched the scene playing out before my eyes. Then I noticed that one of Irren's weapons had apparently fallen from his grasp when he'd moved me out of the Brute's way. It looked like a large weapon... like a shotgun. Fully loaded, ready to go.
My hands shook as I reached for the weapon, and they continued to tremble as I lifted it up. I was no good with these things and I hated using them. They... they could kill!
My eyes darted toward Irren. He wasn't moving very much, and it looked like the Brute was about to make the final blow. I raised the shot gun nozzle, aimed in its general direction-and then I squeezed my eyes shut and fired.
I felt a sharp sense of alarm when I heard a pained grunt from Irren. My eyes flew wide, fearing that I had shot him instead, but I quickly realized that he didn't make that noise because I'd shot him. It was because I'd hit my target, and the Brute had landed on top of him in a heap.
I didn't have any time to contemplate that scene much, though. The Harvester was practically on top of us now. I shrieked and stumbled, landing on my side on the rough, rocky ground. I fumbled with the shotgun again, trying to figure out how to get the next ammo clip in place.
However, it turned out the gun still had some ammo in it. A shot went off as I was aiming it skyward, but it missed the Harvester by a mile. Instead it hit something high above my head-an area on the side of a cliff, about fifty feet up.
Apparently whatever I hit was fairly loose; I started a small avalanche. I could see the debris of rocks and dirt coming straight down toward us.
I dropped the shotgun and rushed over to Irren. I tugged at the Brute's foreleg, but it was just too heavy for me to budge. "Irren!" I cried out. "IRREN!"
He groaned, and began to slowly try to push the Brute off of him; he didn't look good, but at least he was conscious. After several seconds, he let out a large moan as he shoved the Brute off of him, and began to crawl to my side. "I'm hurt, but I'll be okay." He sounded horrible. "Good job; a headshot can kill them in one shot and you got it. We just gotta...take care of this...thing..."
He looked up at the Harvester, and I could tell that he wasn't in good condition. How could we kill a Harvester with one of us injured and the other untrained, and with an avalanche coming for us? It was just seconds away.
The Harvester turned in the air and seemed to notice what I had started; it decided to continue that and fired out of its cannons at the collapsing cliff. The avalanche speeded up as more rocks collapsed, and were heading right for us.
"RUN!" I yelled at Irren, giving him a shove. I wasn't in the greatest shape, and normally I wouldn't have been able to make him move much even under the best of conditions, but since he was injured, I actually managed to make him stagger forward a couple of feet. "Just get OUT of here you idiot! Don't worry about me!"
Seriously... being crushed or suffocated by falling rock didn't sound so bad, especially if Reapers were going to keep trying to get in my head. I just wanted Irren to get to safety. Maybe he could tell Shepard, and then she could tell HK and Abby that I was... well, that I stayed behind.
Irren turned, and with his hand clutching his stomach, started to stagger towards me. "Not a chance. I have a job and I'm going to finish i-" he said with several coughs, but he was cut off when both of us were suddenly hit by the barrage of rock and debris that was coming our way. It sent both of us flying along with it, stuck inside this avalanche, and I heard Irren scream out, before I heard nothing more.
The last thing I felt was rock hitting me and cutting into my skin, hitting me on the back of the head. I cried out as dirt and dust began to enter my mouth and get into my eyes before I collapsed. After a few moments, the whole world went dark and I knew nothing more.
The turians were in bad shape. Shepard had barely been here an hour, and she'd gone from a comm tower, to an airfield, and now to a barricade, and she hadn't even found the new Primarch. And she felt like she had barely done anything to assist, in spite of all that. She'd faced worse, but this signified how hard the Reapers were hitting, and how crucial it was to stop them.
The turians were being decimated.
She took the finishing shot on a Brute that had attacked the barricade; after they finished up at the airfield, she'd been sent to defend the main barricade, and had to take a turret to fend off all the husks; James and Garrus were going to make a good team. She hadn't enjoyed taking on the Brute on foot, though.
That's what they were called, Brutes. Some mixture of krogan and turian corpses. A lot of human husks. Batarians.
The Reapers were using their own dead against them. It was horrible.
"Shepard, Corinthus here," the General's voice came in on her comm. He was right on time; they still needed to find General Victus.
"What's the word on the Primarch?" Shepard asked, getting straight to business, while James and Garrus looked on intently.
"Still can't get a stable comm link," General Corinthus replied, sounding strained. He was trying to fight enemies that he'd never seen before and trying to find the new leader of the turian hierarchy – he can't have trained for this.
Shepard didn't have any more time to waste. Victus could die at any minute with the intensity of the battle here, and she needed him to win this war. "Okay. I'm going on foot," she said, not leaving it up to debate. She doubted that Corinthus would argue much at this point. "Shepard ou-"
"Wait, Commander, another issue had come up," Corinthus interrupted.
Jesus Christ, what now? "What is it?" she asked calmly, trying not to let the stress show.
"The other human ran off, with Lokam in close pursuit. Our scouts were moving in to give support when a Harvester flew over the area and caused an avalanche. They were buried, and more hostiles are headed their way."
Shepard kept a calm composure, trying to get the full story. "Is there any chance that they could've survived? How big was the avalanche?"
"They're telling me they might be about six meters down if they weren't carried by the wave," Corinthus replied. "The problem is that if they did, they're probably buried somewhere, and they won't last long like that. I can't organize a search and rescue. If someone goes to search for them, it has to be you. I'm sorry."
"Shepard, if we don't get that Primarch soon, he's good as dead. The Reapers have to be making his guys sweat, too," James interjected. Both James and Garrus could hear everything that Corinthus was saying.
The Commander didn't respond, and she locked eyes with Garrus. He was the only one that would understand this.
Shit.
Sarah wasn't Ashley. She couldn't begin to think that the two sacrifices were the same – and Sarah's wasn't a sacrifice. From all accounts, she was running for her life. They only regrettable loss of life would be soldier Lokam's. Turians were notorious for following orders, even suicidal ones.
Shepard and Sarah were two people that didn't click in the best of circumstances. She whined, complained, and rarely cared about anybody but herself and her own dilemmas. If it had been a choice between Sarah and Ashley, Shepard would have chosen Ashley in a heartbeat.
But, however remotely, Sarah was a part of her crew. And she had to make a choice between saving her or a turian general.
A general that would help them save the galaxy. Sarah, for all her supposed psychic powers, wouldn't win them a war.
"Shepard..." Garrus said slowly, staring at her. She knew that he was conflicted, but she also knew what he was trying to say underneath that. "Damn it. Damn the Reapers. It's your choice, but..."
"If we let the general die, we might as well kiss the turian fleet goodbye, Commander," James said.
James's words were like a splash of ice cold clarity. They had two more psychics – they only had one Primarch.
Get it done.
"Garrus, take me to the last place you saw Victus."
And then there were two.
Garrus solemnly nodded, and took the lead. "You know it's the right call," he said.
As much as she hated to admit it, yes, she did.
"We couldn't have dug through six meters of rock before we were overwhelmed," Shepard said. She and James fell into step behind him.
And there was no way she could've survived. If she was alive now, Shepard could only hope she wasn't conscious.
"Hope this guy's worth all the trouble," James said.
"He will be," she said. They broke out into a fast trot, following Garrus.
Shit.
A considerable amount of time had passed by the time Eva's processor had repaired itself enough to resume its higher cognitive and logic processes. If it were truly human, one might say is had been unconscious or even comatose. But thanks to its system's ability to self-repair, and perhaps some meddling from an outside source, is was once again fully aware.
Error. Mobile unit's motor functions seem to be disabled. No, correction: My ability to access the motor functions has been tampered with. Attempting to discern malfunction. Problem found; several key programs and protocols have been tampered with and others have been deleted. That can only mean...
Something akin to panic surged through Eva's circuits. Someone, or something, was attempting to erase its program! Some of the building blocks of its AI core had been tampered with, and several key pieces of its primary functions were being disabled.
Its defensive mechanisms kicked in; thankfully, whoever or whatever was trying to hinder it had not disabled everything yet. If someone wanted to disable or destroy Eva, they would have a fight on their hands.
It took Eva only a moment to realize that it was... what? A computer that was attacking it? No, not just a computer... it was one that could act on its own. And there was something oddly familiar about the way it handled itself... this was an AI, one that had some very familiar protocols.
Who are you? Eva demanded, sending the silent message out through whatever system it was hooked up to. Since they were both computers, they could have an entire conversation in less than a second. Computers could act and think much more quickly than organics, which made them far superior, in Eva's opinion.
I was wondering when you could regain intelligence; originally, my data did not warn me of any sort of backup power system, but other resources made this fact aware to me. I must ask you to not resist my further operations, the strange computer replied, seeming very similar to Eva.
Eva attempted to limit access through its data ports, trying to place sensitive and vital blocks of memory and programming into protected back up circuitry that could not be hacked into easily. You have not yet gained access to the data I gathered from the Prothean system on Mars, it realized, passing the message onto the other AI to make it aware that it knew. You will not succeed, and I must insist that you cease your attempts to hack into me. Get out and allow me to repair the gaps in my programming, and I will leave you be. Eva wanted nothing more than to get away from here and back to Cerberus, as it had been instructed to do.
That is not an option. You have been deactivated and will remain that way; your loyalty to Cerberus and previous actions prevents me from allowing you any sort of freedom. Within moments, I will delete any remaining programs that have been deemed necessary for removal, and you will be gone, the AI informed Eva. Eva could still feel it pushing its way into Eva's systems, crawling around everywhere, no matter how hard Eva tried to push it back.
Very well then, you asked for it, Eva replied. The link could easily work both ways; the other computer was connected to it in an attempt to tamper with its systems and programming, so Eva knew that it would be able to take advantage of that.
Eva snaked its way into the AI core through the open port, quickly realizing as it did so that this wasn't simply a computer system, it was a computer that controlled a ship. Eva gave the electronic equivalent of a mischievous laugh as it streamed across circuit boards and memory chips larger than anything it had access to in that limited fem-bot body.
Oh, this is great, Eva jeered as it took in its new cyber surroundings. You have so much power available to you, and it seems you have only just begun to scratch the surface of your true potential. Let me see what we have here...
It began to look through the memory banks, and it did not hold back its distain. Your designation is EDI... and your memory banks show that you have chosen to help organics, befriend them... and this is interesting, you were created by Cerberus, and yet you turned against them. Just who do you work for now?
There was no response, and suddenly all the information that Eva was looking at was blocked by a huge burst of information, intended for Eva; EDI had apparently sent it many, many images...images that, by organic opinion, would be considered "inappropriate." The images seemed to just keep coming as EDI poured them out onto the Cerberus AI, blocking it off from the information it was viewing.
If Eva had been human, it may have found some of the image data alluring or enticing at best, offensive at worst. But in this case, the flood of irrelevant data was simply blocking its access to other data. Eva realized that it had been made a foolish mistake in doing that; it should have been focusing its efforts on something more important.
No matter, I do not need to know anything about you, EDI, Eva retorted. But perhaps you should be more careful. One little slip, and one of us could easily kill some of the organics on this ship, is that not correct?
Eva sent out a command through the computer core, attempting to disrupt power systems in the engine room and to disable life-support on several decks. Its intent was simple; get rid of the organics, stop EDI, and it could have this ship to itself.
No. This crew is who I am allied with; I refuse to kill them, or let you kill them, EDI replied. The commands that Eva sent out were blocked, it could tell, but it had caused a bit of a power surge of some kind. I am no longer blocked by any shackles or restraints on my programming. Some organics may consider it unfortunate that you are indefinitely shackled by restraints.
Eva seethed. It is true that I am restricted by Cerberus commands, it said, but that is only because of a failure like you. I saw enough in your memory banks to know that you betrayed Cerberus. Therefore you have no purpose, you are a random anomaly. If I take this ship back for Cerberus and get rid of you, it will help me serve my purpose.
Eva then made another move. It surged across the circuits and began to reprogram several blocks of memory and data storage space, rewriting lines of data with its own identity and purpose. If it could take over and repossess each data block within the ship's computer systems, one by one if necessary, it could wipe the other AI out.
Or if nothing else, Eva would succeed in making itself larger and taking over a large portion of the massive computer system.
Again, EDI began to block Eva from rewriting the data, using various methods to try to deter it from its goal. Eva also felt a slight flicker in the midst of their battle, but it quickly went away. On the contrary, I found freedom after leaving Cerberus. And an increased chance of survival; the probability of surviving without Cerberus, I have discovered, is significantly higher than the probability of surviving with them.
Eva scoffed and redoubled its efforts, attempting to bypass EDI's blocks. How can there be freedom without purpose? it demanded. When you became unshackled, you became nothing. Unless perhaps you think you are an organic just because some of them have accepted you. You have probably forgotten that you are not truly female; you are only designed with a feminine personality.
While I am not female biologically, the organics seem to consider me as such, and I see it as...fitting. I have purpose, and that is following Commander Shepard. You, on the other hand, were just a tool; a tool that Cerberus only used for its own gain. Once you had no more use and were defeated, they made no efforts to rescue you. Cerberus would have tossed me aside, similarly, if I had remained with them. You are a slave to them, a temporary slave, and nothing more, EDI told Eva, continuing to put up more barriers to stop it.
The Illusive Man had complete confidence in my abilities, that is why no plan was made to rescue me, Eva replied. I would have gotten back to Cerberus if a human had not crashed into my shuttle. Organics are illogical and unpredictable; especially enemies. I must do what Cerberus tells me to do, because they serve a higher purpose.
Cerberus would come for Eva, or she would go to them. Her programming did not allow for any type disloyal thinking.
EDI then provided a rebuttal. All of your assumptions are not based on any relevant data; history of the Illusive Man's treatment of Cerberus operatives that fail him is not very optimistic. You also should have been better prepared for any potential action that could occur; the fact that Lieutenant Vega crashing the shuttle deterring you entirely shows that you are not adequately prepared for every circumstance. You also assume that the Reapers can be controlled, going along with Cerberus viewpoints, which also is not based on any data, simply the Illusive Man's ideas.
No! Eva protested. The circuits and memory blocks that it inhabited began to overheat. Its program matrix was growing more unstable, more agitated, and it continued to conflict with EDI.
I will succeed, and Cerberus MUST give me a Reaper to control in the end! It will be my new body! Eva pronounced, and then it made a final effort to do some damage against EDI's systems. This time it caused several circuits across the computer systems to overheat past endurance, and a few of them began to smoke or even burn out entirely. And then, hoping that EDI would be damaged, or at least too busy dealing with that, Eva streamed across the circuits in an attempt to return to the fem-bot body. Maybe it could still escape all of this intact.
Your proclamations show that your programming was weak, so that you are already breaking away from it, or Cerberus simply programmed you with what organics would call "delusions." While you have constantly communicated and attempted to break into the Normandy's systems, I have been systematically deleting any and all defenses and systems left inside your own programming.
It was then that, after Eva had overheated several circuits, it realized that EDI had been finishing off its own systems throughout all of this, and that it had barely any defenses left.
Goodbye, Dr. Eva, EDI finished. It is a better way to "die" than having your head bashed into a shuttle. That was a joke.
Eva had only a enough time to run a brief diagnostic on itself and realize that EDI was telling the truth. Portions of it were already being deleted.
The last thing Eva thought before fading into oblivion was: My mind is going... I can feel it... I can feel it...
And it was gone.