Chapter 9:

Extraction

If Estivus Erax was unwelcoming before they went into the bar, it now looked completely inhospitable. Rain pounded against the concrete and steel, making every surface somewhat slippery. Puddles collected in the sides of the streets, sometimes going ankle deep. Lightning dance in the night sky, casting an ominous blue flash of light over the city and occasionally threatening to strike close to any passerby. Thankfully, there were few on the street as most had gone home before the storm hit. But that was the best of the news.

From first glance, it seemed as though every Cerberus agent had converged onto the Alliance team's location. As soon as the trio left the safety of the bar, gunfire blasted toward them with a deafening roar. Shepard took cover behind a skycar, setting O'Brien down next to him and taking care not to aggravate his wound. He needed to get back to the Kennedy, and he needed to do it thirty minutes ago. With the scale of the Cerberus forces in the streets, getting to the ship was a long shot as it was, much less carrying a grievously injured soldier.

Callus seemed to notice this as well. "We'll never make it like this," he called out, returning fire to the nearest squad of troops. As two soldiers fell, the third and fourth pressed on harder than before, putting serious dents in the skycar Callus was ducking behind.

Shepard knew what he was about to suggest, but he immediately banished the thought. "We're not leaving anyone behind!" he yelled over the roar of gunfire and clap of thunder.

Callus sighed. Personally, he didn't like the idea of leaving a man to his death any more than Shepard did. But on the other hand, they couldn't hold out much longer. Leaving O'Brien behind would most certainly help them move faster… no. He couldn't allow himself to stoop to that level. No matter how easy it would make things, he would never become a monster. "I'll cover you; you move up and get to the next patch of cover."

Shepard nodded and hoisted O'Brien to his feet, crouching low to stay behind cover. As Callus popped up and fired, Shepard made a break for the next spot of cover, a metal table that offered just enough protection from Cerberus' continuing fire. He set O'Brien down and shot at the troops to cover Callus' advance, but the sheer number of Cerberus' forces were overwhelming. Goddamnit, he thought. This situation was spiraling downhill faster than he could climb. Once again he tried the Kennedy. "Shore team to Kennedy; come in, for Christ's sake!"

Finally, a voice cut through the static. "Good God." It was Anderson. "Lieutenant, is that you?"

Shepard laughed in relief. Across the street, Callus allowed himself the slightest of smiles as he shot down another Cerberus agent. "It's damn good to hear your voice, sir!" he called. "Situation's critical down here. O'Brien's wounded, and we've got more hostiles than we can deal with. We need assistance and we need it now."

There was a pause as Anderson was no doubt conversing with Captain Foster, trying to see the best way to help the squad out of the city. After a moment, Anderson came back over the radio. "Alright, Shepard, we're sending Riley and Dr. Thomas in the shuttle. Activate your PEB so we know where to send them."

Shepard nodded and activated his PEB and Callus did the same. It only took a few minutes for the shuttle to arrive and open up, Riley firing at the Cerberus troops. As the shuttle landed, Thomas jumped down, stumbling on the pavement. Shepard grabbed her arm to steady her, taking a couple of shots to his shields in the process. Thomas nodded her thanks and turned to O'Brien. "My God," she muttered. He looked horrible, blood staining his nearly every inch of his armor. His face was as pale as it death itself. The wound was closed due to the medi-gel, but that did little for the amount of blood that had been lost. "Help me get him on his feet," she told Shepard.

He fired a few more shots at the agents, now trying to flank the Alliance troops using the side alleys and rooftops, then took O'Brien's arm a third time, with Thomas on the other, and carried him to the shuttle. Riley continued firing on the troops as they climbed in, but Callus didn't budge. "Orion, let's go!" Shepard yelled.

Callus glanced in his direction, frustrated with his inability to finish this fight, and ran for the shuttle. As he jumped in, he tossed a glare at Riley. "Could your aim be any worse?" he asked, collapsing his rifle as the shuttle took off.

"Could your timing?" Riley shot back.

"Enough, both of you," Shepard intervened before the two soldiers killed each other. He turned to Michelle, who was tending to O'Brien's injury. "How is he?"

"The shot itself wasn't so bad. It's the loss of blood that concerns-." She stopped mid-sentence. Quickly, as though she was panicked, she pressed two of her fingers against O'Brien's neck. "No, nonononono." She pulled his chestpiece off and ripped his undershirt. She started pushing on his chest. "He doesn't have a pulse." She stopped her thrusts and lifted his head back to allow passage to his lungs, pinched his nose, and blew air directly into his mouth. After another blow, she resumed her chest thrusts, alternating between the two steps repeatedly for the next few minutes.

Shepard watched her for another minute or two, but he knew the truth. O'Brien was gone. "Dr. Thomas-," he began.

"Come on!" Michelle yelled, now pounding her fist into the soldier's chest. "Come on, Goddamnit!"

Shepard placed his hand over her fist, gently but firmly stopping her. "Michelle," he said softly, trying to keep her calm. She turned to him, tears in her eyes. "He's gone."

Michelle paused, the tears now streaming down her face. She buried her face in Shepard's shoulder and cried. Shepard looked to Callus, unsure of what to do. Callus looked away, himself unsure of how to comfort her. Finally, Shepard awkwardly wrapped his arms around her, letting her cry into his shoulder.


Shepard ran upstairs and into the last room on the right. Swift was there, along with three other Reds. "What happened?" he demanded.

Swift looked at the ground, where a body was laying with a bullet hole in its head. Michael Hollister answered, "Fucking turian broke in here. No telling what he would have done if I hadn't seen him."

Shepard glared at him. "Instead of, I don't know, kicking him out, or finding out what he did want?"

"Shepard-," Swift tried to intervene.

"No," Shepard interrupted sharply. "Goddamnit, what the fuck were you thinking?! The last thing we need right now is the cops on our asses. Do you know how much trouble you've caused?"

Hollister shrugged. "It's a fucking turian, Shepard. Who the fuck's going to miss it?"

Shepard stepped forward, ready to kill him, but Swift stepped between them. "Just stop, okay?"

He stopped and glared at her. "How many times are you going to let him pull shit like this?" he asked.

Swift didn't flinch. "I'm not about to start crucifying our own members, Shepard."

"For God's sake, can't you see how dangerous he is?"

"He's a member of the gang, and until he does something that warrants an expulsion, he'll be treated as such. Do I make myself clear?"

Shepard turned his glare to Hollister, who was looking completely wry. After a beat, he looked back at Swift. "Fine," he said flatly, turning to leave the group alone. As he left the building, he turned in time to see the turian dropping from the room's window, where three more members of the Reds carried it away to dispose of it. Shepard shook his head. Sooner or later, something would have to be done about Michael Hollister.

Author's Note: The next chapter will be up soon enough. At least, that's the hope. The last section of this chapter ended up coming into my head on the fly, so I apologize in advance for its randomness. Please remember to review and let me know how I'm doing. Also, I'm debating whether or not to continue this into the games, writing novelizations of each of them. Let me know if that's a good idea or not in your review, if you don't mind.