A/N: Oh look, it's been 3 months... OOPS. Anyway, now I have free time, I thought, "I guess it's compensation time for y'all..."

Please leave me a review. It's important for me to know if I'm still good or out of whack.

P.S. Congrats to iBayne for the completion of his exams and a 4-month long holiday. Here's to you, smart bastard.

Just in case you guys didn't know already, iBayne's the evil mastermind behind the evil story that is Galaxy At War: N7.

(I'm really just saying he's evil because he killed my character, Colburn on his first mission as a squad leader)

I do have another character who's been killing and injuring quite a few others in recent chapters of GaW (internet cookies for whoever can guess my character correctly). Check it out!


I first felt the impact of the Alingon's soil against my chin. My armour rattled as my body made contact with the ground, and I could practically feel the pain vibrate throughout the rest of my body.

My mind was blank, ears were ringing, vision blurry. My gloved fingers curled into fists as I tried to get up from the cold ground, but my legs protested by screaming in pain. I suddenly felt a strong arm lift me to my feet, and voila, I looked up to find Napier grinning at me.

"C'mon, mate. We ain't got all day." As he helped me towards cover, the software scored three headshots in succession without even looking. "That blast was pretty fucking powerful, eh? Bet it beats those puny C4s you got back home anyday," Napier said as he put me down behind a wall of metal crates.

"The stasis pod!" T'Soni suddenly yelled, to which a hail of bullets answered by flying towards her, but her timely-conjured biotic bubble stopped them from ripping her to shreds. Tazzik's men were already halfway towards their ship with Shepard's body.

I tried to suppress a groan as I tried to get up again, but the sharp pain in my leg made me land on my ass again. I stole another glance at the Salarian's goons, and they were only 15 feet from their ship's hangar, ready to close once the pod was safely in their possession. I looked around and found Feron distracted by three of the Broker's mercs closing in on his position, while T'Soni was busy with maintaining her biotic barrier.

"Damn it, they're gonna get away!"

"Get back to the ship with T'Soni and Feron!" Napier commanded. "I'll get Shepard for you!"

"How?!"

The software unexpectedly vanished before my very eyes, and then I heard a voice scream, "How the fuck did he get back there?! Shoot that fucker! He's got the pod!"

Did Napier just fucking teleport in front of me?

But before I could ponder what other secrets he had been hiding from me, I was treated to a heart attack as the software promptly reappeared about three inches in front of my face again. And accompanying him was a rather tattered and crude stasis pod. Based on the stench that was slightly wafting from the case, I wasn't sure if it was functioning properly, either.

"What the fuck, man?!" I yelled in his face, startled.

"I thought I told you to get back to the ship?! You're slower than a tea-bagging snail!" With an irritated grunt, he placed an arm on my shoulder, and I immediately found myself at the pilot's seat of Feron's puny ship.

"I don't know how to fly this damn thing!"

"Just talk to it! I have to go now! T'Soni ain't gonna survive down there unless I haul her sorry blue ass up here! Bring the ship closer to us!"

Napier vanished again before I could ask what he bloody meant by "just talk to it". My fingers fumbled with the control panel, but to no avail. Flying a skycar was one thing. Flying a teeny tiny spaceship that appeared to be on the verge of collapsing was a whole other universe.

I highly doubted Feron flew the damn thing by "just talking to it", but given the circumstances, I went "what the Hell'. The threat of dying in a videogame fire fight and never regaining true consciousness was a situation that could the world's toughest sceptic into it's biggest optimist.

"Uhh, ship, fly towards T'Soni," I said dumbly.

But surprisingly, the ship's engine miraculously started and it started taking off the ground, abet a little unstably. Napier must have worked one of his little secret magic tricks. I made a mental note to tie him up in a dark cellar and make him confess all of his tricks after all this shit was over. But in the meantime, I had to make sure we could all get out in one piece. We only had one stasis pod, and it was already occupied by Shepard's presumably half-decomposed corpse - not that I wanted to sleep in the horrible thing.

Through the glass of the ship's tiny cockpit, I could see Napier running beside a visibly exhausted T'Soni. The biotic barrier had clearly taken its toll on the Asari. Feron was also running, though he was lagging behind. Like seriously lagging.

"Hey, Kovac," Napier called out over the comm. I could hear the sound of a stray bullet hitting the nearby concrete in the background, in addition to T'Soni's panting. "Get your lazy ass hands workin' and give us covering fire!"

"Uhh, ship, show me the weapon controls."


Napier hoped the human was smart enough to figure things out.

"C'mon T'Soni, you're halfway there!" he encouraged, as he pick off a couple more of the Blue Suns with his Arc Pistol.

Teleporting would've been much easier, but then the software would have to wipe their minds, and because T'Soni and Feron were both programmed to be biotics, it wasn't going to be easy.

Damn programming.

Besides, an amnesiac T'Soni was just about as useful as a slug in the deserts of Mars - a dead slug, that is. Kovac would definitely need T'Soni's expertise and assisstance if he wanted to get out of the damn game with his brain intact.

As if on cue, the gun of Feron's ship started firing.

Well, at least he's not too stupid to operate a damn ship.

Half of the bullets lodged themselves into the torsos of the pursuing mercs. The remaining rounds embedded themselves into the ground dangerously close to where the lucky ones were still standing.

The ship's gun stopped firing, and began to descend onto the ground. The entry hatch opened, and Napier immediately saw Kovac standing, sniper rifle in hand. The infiltrator gestured for them to pick up the pace.

"Alright, move, T'Soni, move!" Napier hollered.

The Asari sped up, and the software threw a grenade behind them, barely missing Feron.

The damn Drell was still so much further behind them. There wouldn't be time to get the reptilian humanoid if he continued his walk in the park.

With a rather forceful shove from Napier, the spent Asari managed to climb onto the ship.

Yet another reason why scientists shouldn't be on the frontlines with a gun - they died rather easily.

Noticing that T'Soni was already inside the cockpit and Feron was busy pressing the trigger of his pistol, Napier contemplated teleporting towards the Drell.

But an unanticipated earth-shattering BOOM shook the ground beneath them, catching them off guard. Kovac stumbled dangerously near the edge of the ship's entry ledge, but thankfully regained his balance in time.

Amidst the chaos, the software identified the source of the tremors: shredder trigger mines, shot with mass effect-powered cannons, used similar in a fashion to how a 21st century bazooka was utilised.

He glanced at Feron again. The Drell had stopped moving, now hiding behind a waist-high block of steel. Five spent heat sinks laid on the ground beside him. The subtle look of worry on Feron's features told Napier the Drell didn't have any left.

Another two mines hit the ground around them and promptly exploded, releasing their built-in killer blades in all directions, hence their name. The slivers of titanium went past Napier as if he was a ghost, as expected. Kovac, on the other hand, had retreated into the safety of their ship.

And then something in the far distance caught the software's eyes - an anti-spacecraft cannon, rolling out gloriously as the seconds ticked.

"Alright, Kovac, you guys gotta go!"

"What about Feron?!" T'Soni questioned.

"I am immobilised. Perhaps it is my fate. Leave, do not wait for me."

"And I gotta take care of a damn cannon before it blows ya' blokes into fucking scrambled eggs!"


"Wait," I said, trying to suppress the panic building up inside of me. "Are you gonna fucking stay down there too?!"

Surviving in this virtual world without Napier? Really? Could I make it for two years?

"Of course I am!"

"Are you fucking out of your mind? What's gonna happen to-"

And then I heard his voice in my head:

I'm not gonna die, you retard! I'm a software for Christ's sake! Now leave before even I can't save your pathetic ass!

I stole a glance at T'Soni, who was now in the pilot's seat, her slender fingers flying over the holographic console.

Yeah, Napier definitely didn't say it over the comm.

Whataya think, punk? Now go!

As if knowingly, the ship started to lift off.

"I am... sorry... gentlemen. I will forever remember your sacrifices," the scientist said, her tone hinting slightly of regret.

"Just make sure you make it worth it," Napier said, playing along.

His acting skills were definitely worthy of an Oscar.

Feron didn't say anything.


The journey to our rendezvous point with Cerberus was awkward.

Very awkward.

A thick layer of heavy silence coated the air, the only audible sounds being the blips and beeps of the ship's controls. As T'Soni flew the ship, I made myself a little more comfortable by sitting in an empty spot on the cold metal floor, which was unfortunately right next to Shepard's slightly opened stasis pod. If I wasn't so tired and in pain, I definitely would've stayed standing.

Then again, I was in pain, and I was tired.

My mind couldn't stop thinking on what I should do for my next step. Live life as a bum until the software reappeared? Sign a two-year contract with Cerberus? To stay on Illium or return to the Citadel?

And then it hit me that I had never made a single decision ever since Napier arrived, which was like what - five minutes after I got stuck in the game? I was like the dutiful student, listening to whatever his mentor had to say, and learning whatever his mentor had to teach.

I let out a groan of annoyance.

Why does everything in this damn game have to be so freaking difficult? I'm going to sue the developers right after I get out of this horrid game.

"Were you two close?" T'Soni queried.

I jumped slightly at the sudden question, to which my leg retaliated by screaming in pain again.

"Uhh, not quite, in a way. I hate him with all my guts, but the man's saved my life more than once, and pretty much everything I know right now was taught by him."

"I see, I am sorry he is gone."

"Hey, don't be, Doc. He was an ass anyway."

Yeah, an ass who is also my babysitter.

"Nevertheless, I am grateful to both agent Napier and Feron. They were... heroic men. They have done this galaxy as great service."

"Yeah well, now let's hope Cerberus can deliver what they said."


Miranda Lawson waited patiently as she watched the worn ship dock, through the viewing window of the Lazarus Research Station.

And then she saw the entry latch open, and out came Dr. T'Soni, followed by agent Kovac, who was visibly distressed with having to carry a stasis pod.

Shepard's stasis pod.

"Assist them," the operative ordered.

Two of Miranda's subordinates quickly rushed forward to the pair and promptly took over.

"Congratulations, you have succeeded."

She noticed their grim faces, and only then did Miranda realise that the Drell and the other human weren't with them.

The operative felt obligated to offer a few words of condolences, but she knew better. Something much bigger was at stake, and a few sacrifices were definitely necessary. Acceptable collateral damage, the genetically-perfect woman deemed, in exchange for the safety of the galaxy.

"Send it to the lab for stasis reversal, quickly!" she ordered.

And so, the scientists scurried off with the damaged pod. T'Soni attempted to follow, but her legs gave way almost immediately. Kovac caught her in time.

"Do not worry, Doctor. We now have Shepard in our safe custody, and we'll bring her back. But for now, the both of you require recuperation, and we have made sufficient accommodations."

"But-" the Asari protested weakly.

"This is for the best, doctor. Please don't argue with me."


A/N: Please leave a review and let me know what you guys think!

Meanwhile, if you'll excuse me, I'll be moving on to chapter 11... It'll be out before my term break ends.

Promise (nope, not gonna break it this time)!