Bill here! I wasn't kidding when I said this next chapter would be full of killing. I had a lot of fun writing this one, and I'm sure you're going to have a lot fun reading it. This Chapter has the mission on Therum to find Liara. Leave a review if you liked the chapter. As always, Enjoy.
Chapter 12
The entire team was strapped into the Mako, the five point seatbelts sure to keep them stable despite any jostling experienced during the ride. Tali was sitting in the copilot's chair, working the Mako's computer, keeping track of the shields and power supply. Wrex sat in the gunner's seat, eagerly awaiting the appearance of anything that was made of metal and needed killing. Shepard sat in the driver's seat, awaiting contact from Joker.
"Alright Commander, we're coming up on the surface of Therum. I found a flat place that you can land the Mako on," Joker said on the comm link.
"Now, you're sure we can do this? Have you done this before?" Shepard asked worriedly.
"Sure Commander, I've done it a thousand times in simulations," answered Joker.
"This isn't a simulation, Joker," Shepard replied sternly.
"But I never got to try it because no one would volunteer to ride in the Mako to get dropped. They said something about not wanting to get crippled by the crippled kid. But this maneuver is as easy as pie, Commander, honest," Joker promised.
"If he messes this up, we'll be the pie in this situation, not that any of that makes sense," Garrus said glumly.
"Screw it, we'll try this out. But Joker, if you kill me, I'll come back to life and make fun of the way you walk," Shepard warned.
"Hey, not cool, I'm pretty sensitive about that…" Joker said jokingly. "Ok Commander, on my mark, three, two, one, Launch!"
The Mako shot forward out of the Cargo Bay, past the open door of the Normandy into the sky of Therum. Shepard gunned it; he did not want to flip while they flew to the surface, considering he didn't want to die, but also he didn't want to do so in a puddle of his own vomit.
The Mako flew out of the Normandy's doors, the thrusters kicking in to stabilize its descent.
"See how good the thrusters are in keeping the mako stable? We amped up the power but added some fuel regulators for better efficiency," Garrus bragged.
"Just wait till you see what we did to the gun, Shepard," Wrex chuckled evilly.
"Can we just focus on the mission for now, and not talk about the fact that we're falling possibly to our deaths?" Kaidan asked queasily, clenching hard on the arm rests beside him.
Ashley teased him with a sadistic look on her face. "Aww, is the Jedi not used to going on roller coasters? What's a matter, gonna hurl?"
"Williams, if Alenko throws up in here, I'm putting you on vomit clean up duty, got it?" Shepard said sternly.
"Aww, you're no fun, Shepard," said Ashley, disappointed.
"I'm no fun, am I? Well take a look at who decided to come out and play," said Shepard.
On the main screen, Shepard viewed the burnt rocky environment of Therum, red triangles lighting up here and there.
"We got Geth Armatures. Six of them, Shepard," said Tali.
The Mako stabilized, the nose pointed in the general direction of the Geth. "Wrex! Let them have it!" yelled Shepard.
"Ha ha!" Wrex yelled, firing off the Mako's cannon. The round shot over the Mako with a white line of smoke, in the direction of one of the red triangles.
"Five," Tali corrected.
Wrex let loose the Mako's machine gun, laughing as he did.
"Shepard, we got incoming fire, those rounds will sap our power supply, avoid them at all costs!" Tali exclaimed.
"Got it, taking evasive maneuvers," Shepard said calmly. He shifted the controls from side to side, the thrusters moving the Mako in a serpentine pattern as it continued its descent.
"I like how the thrusters are working out so far. Tell me if you want me to tighten or loosen the controls any, Shepard," said Garrus happily.
"Kinda busy right now Garrus, I'll tell you what I think later!" Shepard shouted as he scrambled the Mako's path as best as he could.
"Take this you oversized flashlights!" shouted Wrex as he continued firing off the Mako's cannon.
"Shepard! The Armatures have locked on to you! You got to take evasive maneuvers!" Tali exclaimed.
"I see them, Shepard. Do a barrel roll!" shouted Joker over the comm link.
"But I, ok then…" Shepard said. The Mako drifted to the left, the thrusters on its right side pushing harder for a moment. While the Mako was tilted to its left, Shepard fired off the left side thrusters, lifting it and spinning the Mako over its right side. Kaidan moaned terribly as the Mako twisted over in a complete arc, the Armature's rounds passing under the Mako.
"Aww yeah, Commander! Just like pilot school!" Joker shouted, clearly impressed.
"That one goes out to you Joker! Tali, how many Geth are left?" Shepard asked.
"Just one, Shepard," Tali answered.
"Wrex, how strong did you say the hull was?" Shepard asked.
"Strong enough to stay intact on impact with the planet if we didn't have thrusters. Can't say anything about everyone inside, thought," Wrex said.
"Good enough for me," said Shepard. He guided the Mako towards the final red triangle, dodging the shots fired from it. As they got closer to the surface, the Armature became much more visible, its metal carapace shining in the light. Shepard guided the Mako towards the final Armature's direction.
"Shepard, what are you doing?" Kaidan asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
"Trust me," answered Shepard.
"I do, but what are you doing, that seems very-" Kaidan began.
"It's too late to turn back now! Geronimo!" Shepard shouted.
Kaidan felt his body change, he no longer felt like he was falling, in fact it felt he was rising up for a moment. The moment was gone as the Mako fell back down again, cushioned by the thrusters, landing safely on the rocky terrain.
Shepard opened up the Mako's side door, letting Kaidan get out for some much needed air. Shepard stepped out of the driver's seat, walking over to where the last Armature lay, admiring his own work.
"I love the smell of pancakes in the morning," he said with pride.
Kaidan knelt down, vomiting as Ashley rubbed his back to comfort him. Kaidan raised his head to look at Shepard, wiping his mouth with his gauntlet.
"Did you, did you land on top of that, thing?" Kaidan asked in disbelief.
"I didn't land on it, I bounced off of it," Shepard corrected.
Kaidan put his head down again; suddenly the urge to vomit came up again.
"Tali, what's the Mako's condition?" Shepard asked.
"All nominal, Shepard. The kinetic shields took most of the blow. But please warn me before you something else like that, if I vomit I have to clean it out of my suit," Tali pleaded.
"Duly noted," Shepard answered.
"Commander, I'm picking up some strange readings. Really strange. Like, off the damn charts." Joker said.
"Well, we better get new charts then," said Shepard.
"That's most likely where Dr. T'Soni is under siege," said Garrus.
Shepard nodded. "Give me the coordinates, Joker, we'll check it out."
"Commander, are we there yet?" Ashley moaned.
Shepard clenched the controls in anger. "I swear to God, Williams, you ask me that one more time, you're walking back to the Normandy."
"But Commander, it's so boring back here," Ashley groaned.
A rocket exploded to the left of the Mako, rocking the truck's suspension system harshly.
"Geth detected in the formation ahead. They're up on that ledge!" Tali shouted.
The Mako's machine gun went off. "Damn it! The Geth are protected by those walls!" Wrex cursed.
"It's no good, Shepard, they have the high ground!" Ashley shouted.
"Hang on!" Shepard shouted. He turned the controls to the right, hard. The Mako swerved and drifted into a narrow path.
"Let's see where this leads," Shepard said with a smirk as the path dipped down and then rose up at the end. The Mako flew out of the tunnel, directly in the middle of the camp. Every Geth in the area turned to the newly arrived metal contraption.
Shepard gunned it, moving the Mako as fast as it could go in the circular area, sending dirt and metal items flying. The Mako drove in circles, sliding on the loose gravel, throwing up a cloud of dust that served to obscure the Geth's sight. As he drove in circles, he could hear the bumps and crashes on the side of the Mako, Geth shock troopers who didn't move out of the way fast enough.
The Mako slid to a stop as Shepard pulled the latch, opening up the side doors. "Garrus! Ashley! Suppressing fire! Wrex! Light them up!"
"Right!" said the aforementioned in unison.
The sides of the Mako lit up, the muzzle blasts from the cannon combined with the fire from open sides made the Mako into a shining hunk of mechanical death. If Geth could feel horror, they would certainly feel it now, as Shepard began to drive the Mako in circles again, smashing anything that was in its way.
Kaidan unhinged his seat belt, fed up with the constant assault on his stomach, which was now doing back flips.
"Kaidan, what the hell are you doing?!" Ashley asked as he unhinged himself.
"I'll be back," he said as he stood up in the Mako. He jumped like a superhuman, leaping out of it with a biotic jump, charging the various shock troopers that were still active.
"He's got a streak of badass in him, doesn't he?" Garrus asked.
"A bit, maybe," Ashley said slightly concerned.
A blue ball of light could be seen, presumably Kaidan, as he jumped from Geth to Geth, knocking them out with his biotics. Ashley watched it with fascination until she realized she was still in the middle of a firefight. She pushed the butt of her assault rifle familiarly against her shoulder, lining the sights over the flexible flashlight neck of a Geth, compensating for both the movement of the Mako and the bumpiness of the road. She squeezed the trigger, the flash light exploded into pieces, making Ashley smile. I had forgotten how fun it was to shoot things. I feel like I'm back at boot camp, she thought.
The battle didn't last long, between Wrex on the main cannon, Ashley and Garrus shooting anything Wrex didn't, Kaidan ripping apart Geth with his biotics, and, of course, Shepard doing donuts in the middle of the area, sending any Geth in the unlucky enough to get hit flying away in pieces. Ashley even felt sorry for the Geth, as she looked at one that had its legs torn off, its arms still trying to crawl to safety. Not that sorry, you metal prick, she thought as she filled the back of the torso with holes from her gun.
Kaidan walked back over to the group, breathing heavily.
"Well, look who's here, Mr. Biotic Superman," Shepard chuckled.
"Call me what you will, but give me a candy bar, I'm starved," Kaidan replied.
Shepard laughed. "I can relate. Here, you definitely earned this."
Kaidan caught the bag Shepard threw at him, hearing it crinkle as he gripped the package. He brought the bag close up to read the beautiful caption that read 'Trail Mix, Alliance Issue'.
"Sweet mother of god," Kaidan said as he ripped open the top of the bag, pouring the contents directly into his mouth.
"Alright, let's get that gate open. Wrex and Tali, check in that building, Ashley and Garrus, check over in that one. Kaidan you can take a breather for now. How are we doing on our distance from the target, Joker?" Shepard said with a finger to his ear.
"Almost there, Commander," Joker answered.
"Can you convert that to meters, Joker?" Shepard asked sarcastically.
"2500 meters, Commander. Like I said, almost there," Joker replied.
"See, now I believe you. The last three times, I didn't. Any reply from the distress signal?"
"Not that I, oh wait, here's something. I'll put it on, Commander."
A young woman's voice came onto the Comm Link; Shepard recognized it from the distress call.
"Hello? Hello? Who is this?" the woman said.
"Hi, this is Commander Blake Shepard, Spectre of the Citadel Council. I've been receiving distress calls coming from this area. Am I speaking to Dr. Liara T'Soni?"
The voice was hesitant at first. "Yes, yes you are. Umm, w-what may I ask would a Spectre want with me?"
"Well first off, I would want to keep you and your team alive. How is the condition of your team by the way? Any injuries?"
The woman grew silent, and when she spoke, she did so with a solemn and quiet voice. "No, no they're not, I'm the only one left."
"We're going to get you out of there, ok? Can you tell me where you are?" Shepard asked.
"Somewhere deep in the ruins, I'm not sure where. I'm, I'm trapped, I hit something I shouldn't have and activated some sort of Prothean security device. I, I can't get out."
"Alright, we'll find you and get you out of there."
"All due respect, I sincerely doubt that. Please, there's no point in coming down here for me. The Geth in the area are far too dangerous to venture down here for one person."
"All due respect, I don't think you know what the hell you're talking about. And I've got five other people up here that would say the same thing. Sit tight; we're coming to get you."
"Ambush!" yelled Garrus.
A rocket flew over the heads of the team, the six people ducking low to the ground. Another rocket hit the ground to their right, exploding way too close for comfort.
"Garrus! Ashley! Suppressing fire! Wrex, get Tali and Kaidan behind that rock! Let's move people!" Shepard barked out commands, ducking every time he heard an explosion.
Ashley fired her assault rifle, if not to hit something, then to give cover. She looked through her scope, her vision turning red, lining up the humanoid figures that flashed the familiar pulse rifle muzzle blasts. She shot and moved, slowly making her way over to the rock where Wrex had taken Kaidan and Tali. She could hear shots right behind her, sensing Garrus as he moved, following his lead.
Shepard tracked the line of fire from the rockets, looking around to trace back where they came from. His eyes found a ledge with several black figures on it; he unfolded his rifle and tore down three enemies. Shepard flinched instinctively, and then heard the loud crack of another sniper rifle, his kinetic shield disappearing.
"You cocky son of a bitch," Shepard muttered, his eye going into the scope, placing the crosshairs over a Geth sniper. He fired; blasting through the Geth's pulse rifle all the way to its armored head, shattering it. Shepard grinned, his grin falling as he saw a gray metal beast unfold before him. The head opened up, a glowing blue light, fixating directly on Shepard. The head grew brighter, almost as if to intensify its gaze.
"Geth Armature!" Shepard yelled.
Shepard ran, pushing Garrus and Ashley into the cover Wrex had chosen, behind a rock which served as the only cover in the clearing. The three fell behind the rock, an enormously loud crash behind them as the Armature fired where Shepard had been standing. There was steady staccato of machine gun fire hitting the rock they hid behind as the team reassembled themselves.
"Everyone ok?!" Shepard yelled over the loud noises of the battlefield.
All five nodded. Garrus slipped out to fire a burst from his assault rifle, quickly sliding back behind cover as a rocket exploded on the other side of the rock.
"How many are out there!?" Shepard yelled to Garrus.
Garrus shook his head. "Too many!" he said back.
Shepard activated his tactical cloak, his form disappearing. He walked out from the cover of the rock, quickly running out of the way of any gunfire directed at the team. He looked around the terrain, assessing the situation. The area was flat, from the rock his team was hiding behind, to the narrow gap that forced Shepard and company to go on foot. This is a perfect place for an ambush, he thought. Five, six Geth, one Armature, and two of those froggy jumpy Geths. God, those things look weird!
Shepard ran back over to the rock, sliding behind it as the Armature fired another shot of blue energy.
"Alright! Here's the plan," Shepard said as he uncloaked. The five people looked at their commander as he materialized from thin air. "We got six Geth troopers, three of them have rockets, there are two of those frog Geth, and I think you all know that there is an Armature out there! First things first, Tali, can you hack that thing?!"
"Yes, Shepard!" Tali replied. Another explosion from the other side of the rock as the Armature fired another shot.
"Good! Wrex, I want you to run over to our right and draw their fire! Garrus and Ashley, pop out from cover on both sides of the rock, take out as many of those rocket launchers as you can! Kaidan, find those creepy looking flexible little pricks and smash their flash light heads open! And Tali, hack the shit out of that Armature! Let's hurry up and get back to the Normandy, I hear we have Sloppy Joes for lunch!"
With that, the team went into action. Wrex ran across the field, firing his shotgun at the Geth, all six of their heads turning to follow him. Two of their heads exploded as Garrus and Ashley rounded their cover, assault rifles spitting death. The armature turned to the two gunners, the eye aiming directly at them until a spark of electricity arced along its head, its shields draining. Tali tapped furiously on her Omni Tool, as the Armature's weapons malfunctioned.
Shepard dived to the left, rolling over his shoulder back to his feet, raising his rifle and splitting a Geth in two with one shot. Another Geth took notice, firing a rocket his way. Shepard cringed, but there was no explosion, only a stationary rocket wrapped in blue energy. Kaidan flung his hand at the Geth that fired it, exploding in a shower of fire.
"Looks like I owe you one," Shepard said with a smirk.
"We'll tally it up later, see who owes who," said Kaidan, grabbing a hold of the Geth hopper mid jump with a biotic grip. Shepard shot the hopper in the head, the pieces falling to the ground.
"Geth down, Commander!" Ashley said.
"Alright, everyone fire at the Armature!" Shepard yelled.
Five streams of gunfire hit the Armature, its shields gone and its weapons disabled. Tali continued tapping on her Omni tool, tying down the Armature with her hacking. After a few seconds, the armature broke open like an electric piñata, crumbling apart as it did. The group cheered.
"Well, that was easier than I thought it would be," Garrus said.
"I'd still prefer using the Mako," Kaidan said.
"So now you like the Mako? And I thought you said it was a 'grey dented piece of crap'?" Garrus asked.
"That was before we almost got blasted by that Geth Armature. They always went down so fast in the Mako," Kaidan answered.
"That's Krogan engineering, if there is one thing a Krogan read a book to do, it's to blow something up," Wrex added.
"I still think we could've driven through that slit in the rocks. Maybe if I gunned it hard enough, used the thrusters a bit, maybe soaped up the sides of the Mako," Shepard theorized.
"I know that you're joking, Shepard, but I still think you'd actually try it," said Garrus.
"Hey, you never know until you try," Shepard shrugged.
"Yes but I'd rather not have to walk back to the Normandy after you impale the Mako on those rocks," Garrus said.
"We'd probably have to tie a cord from the Mako to the back of the Normandy and tell Joker to gun it," included Ashley.
"All I'm saying is that if it wasn't for Tali's hacking, we'd all be dead right now," Shepard said.
Tali wringing her hands together nervously. "Well, I do what I can…" she said shyly.
Shepard wrapped an arm around Tali's shoulders, hugging her cheerfully. "And what you can is save my ass! And to think I was worried about how you'd do on your first combat mission," Shepard laughed happily. "Alright, enough ass kissing, a little more ass kicking. Let's find this helpless doctor of ours and leave this charred rock of a place."
The team walked down the stairs of a narrow tunnel that led down to the Prothean ruins. As they walked, Shepard spoke.
"Hey, you what I would love to do in this tunnel?" he asked.
"I'm going to regret this, but what?" Garrus reluctantly asked.
"Slip and slide. I'd get some plastic, some hoses, maybe some sheets of foam, and make a ramp at the bottom with a cushion to land on at the end," Shepard described.
"Of course you would, Commander. I swear, you're like a kid sometimes!" Ashley complained.
"Say what you will, but when we're done with this mission, all you'll have are your words, and I'll have a big ass slip and slide. And I won't even let you have a turn," Shepard warned.
"So, 'slip and slide'?" Garrus asked.
"Think of a plastic sheet with a water hose on it on a hot summer day. Now imagine running and sliding headfirst across it. Now imagine doing it when you were twelve," Shepard explained.
"That actually doesn't sound half bad. Palaven gets really hot sometimes," Garrus said approvingly.
"Do you 'slip and slide' a lot, Shepard?" asked Tali.
"When I was a kid. Every summer me, my mom, and my dad would go to the beach by the Navy base. One year the other kids had this thing I had never heard of, a 'slip and slide', and they looked so happy running and sliding across it like penguins, so I joined in." Shepard sighed happily. "It was a nice summer."
"Sounds like a lot of fun," Tali said.
"I remember when I got my first shotgun. There were dead pyjaks everywhere. Good times…" Wrex said nostalgically.
Shepard smiled. Wrex says the best things, he thought. As they neared the bottom of the stairs, he saw something move.
"Movement," he said to his team behind him, drawing his pistol.
The figure moved again, and Shepard fired, shooting it down. He ran down the stairs, jumping the last four steps and landing athletically on his feet over the body of a dead Geth trooper. He kicked it, just to be sure.
The rest of his team came down the stairs behind him.
"Weapons out, there could be more around here," Shepard said.
The group stood on an elevator as it moved down into the ruins. Tali looked at the unearthed architecture with interest. All along the side of the metal wall were openings, possibly hallways, but they all had a blue shimmering wall of energy at their entrance.
Tali cocked her head to the side in wonderment. Are those energy walls on for a reason, or were they just always on?
The elevator shuddered to a stop, much too high from the ground floor. Tali saw that the railing supports at the bottom were mangled.
"Everyone off!" Shepard yelled, leaping out from the elevator onto nearby scaffolding. The rest of the group followed, but as Tali prepared to jump the elevator gave out below her.
Tali felt herself fall, instinctively closing her eyes. She heard a crash of metal on the ground, but for some reason she was unharmed. She opened her eyes slowly, feeling a grip on her wrist.
"Gotcha," said Shepard, holding Tali's wrist with his left hand. Tali looked baffled at Shepard as pulled with his left arm, reaching over to her forearm with his right.
"Here, grab onto my back," said Shepard as he pulled Tali's hand to his shoulders. She grabbed onto the armor plate on his back, and once she did, Shepard reached down, wrapping around Tali's hips.
Tali jumped at the feeling of Shepard's arms at her hips, as he pulled her up by her waist. Tali rolled onto the scaffolding floor, pushing her body up with her arms to her feet. She looked over to Shepard, seeing his legs wrapped around a vertical piece of railing on the side of the path. Quick thinking, she thought.
Shepard got up, dusting himself off.
"You ok?" he asked Tali, his eyes shining a vibrant color of blue.
Tali felt her face go hot, her pulse rise as her heart struggled to keep up with her brain's command for more blood. She turned away, unable to look directly in his eyes, or anywhere around his face for that matter.
"Yes, umm, I'm fine, thank you, Shepard," Tali managed to say.
"Good catch, Commander," Ashley complimented.
"Hey, when you agree to serve on a crew with Blake Shepard, you get the full deal, none of this half price half ass nonsense," Shepard said.
Tali looked over the edge of the scaffolding, down to where the elevator lay in pieces. That's where I could have been, laying on the ground, bleeding to death. An arm gripped her firmly, making her jump again.
"Let's not have you looking over edges, please; I'm in no mood for heroics. Well that's not true, but you know what I'm saying," Shepard chuckled.
Tali nodded silently, still deep in thought. He saved me; I could be dead right now if it wasn't for Blake. And he pulled me up like I weighed nothing.
She followed Shepard and the group as they walked down the makeshift metal stairs.
A voice called out, soft and feeble.
"Hello? Can somebody help me? Please?" a woman said.
Shepard looked around, finding an Asari woman floating in mid air. She was surrounded by a blue ball of energy, behind a wall of the same type of energy.
"Can you hear me out there? I'm trapped, I need help!" the Asari said.
"We can hear you. What's your name, maim?" Shepard asked.
"T'Soni. Dr. Liara T'Soni. I'm one of the Prothean researchers excavating these ruins," Liara answered.
"Nice to meet you in person, doc. I'm Commander Blake Shepard," Shepard said with a grin.
"Yes, I remember our talks earlier. I don't suppose you could help me out of here?" Liara asked.
"Well what exactly is going on? What are you trapped in?"
"Some sort of Prothean security device. The device can be shut off over here, but I can't move."
"Alright, we'll get through that wall then. Just sit tight for now."
After half an hour of experimentation, biotic tapering, and shotgun blasts, and the team was out of ideas. The blue wall of energy was solid, showing just advanced the Protheans were in their time.
Shepard looked around, a large mechanic contraption catching his eye.
"Tali?" he asked, eyes still stuck on metal object.
Tali walked quickly over to where Shepard stood. "Yes Shepard, what is it?"
Shepard pointed at the thing. "What is that?"
Tali followed the line made by Shepard's finger, her eyes fixating on the object in question. "I don't know, Shepard. It appears to be some sort of mining laser."
Shepard turned to look back at Tali. His face had a mischievous grin on it that Tali knew was trouble. "Mining laser, huh?"
"You found away past the wall! Please, push that button and free me!" Liara said.
"In a moment. First, tell me about Benezia," Shepard said.
"Benezia? I have not seen or heard of my mother for many years. We're not exactly on speaking terms. What sort of business do you have with her?"
"Well, how about we save that for when we get back to the ship?" Shepard said. He walked over to the terminal, pressing the bottom to release Liara from the trap. She landed on her feet, struggling to stand up.
Garrus caught her before she toppled over, gently supporting her with an arm under her shoulders.
"I'm sorry; I have been in there for a long time. Truth be told, Commander, when we were talking, I thought that you were just a figment of my imagination. You can imagine my surprise when I saw you in person. How, may I ask, did you get past the barrier?" Liara asked.
"Oh, you know, just a little resourcefulness, a little ingenuity," Shepard said vaguely.
"We blasted through with a mining laser," Tali blurted out.
"Of course, the mining laser," Liara said thoughtfully.
Ashley leaned close to Shepard, whispering so only the two could hear. "What if she's a spy sent by Saren? She could still be loyal to Benezia."
"If she's a spy, she's a terrible spy, and I don't think she would've been trapped in the ball just for theatrics. Way too venerable for a trap," Shepard replied.
The whole ruins shook, a loud moan echoing through the caverns.
"What the hell was that?!" asked Kaidan.
"That laser must've triggered a seismic event. We have to get out of here!" said Liara.
"On the double. Let's move!" shouted Shepard as they ran for the lift.
"Surrender. Or don't. That would be more fun."
The large Krogan Battle Master spoke with apathy. He did not seem to care about the lives of Shepard and his team. He stood gripping his shotgun, flanked by two Geth shock troopers and a Geth rocket trooper. They seemed to be following the Battle Master's orders. Garrus noted another Geth hiding far across the tunnel, possibly a sniper.
"In case you didn't know, this place is falling apart," Shepard pointed out.
"Exhilarating, isn't it?" the Battle Master answered, taking a couple of steps forward. "Thanks for getting rid of those energy fields for us. Hand the doctor over."
Garrus stepped forward, the full intention of rushing the Krogan fresh in his mind, but Shepard stuck out an arm to stop him. Garrus turned, surprised, looking at Shepard as he closed just one eye momentarily, blinking it. It was an odd gesture, something Garrus didn't understand, but it showed that Shepard had something in mind. He looked down at Shepard's hand as it gripped his. Strange, I don't seem to feel his grip for some reason.
"Why are you here for Dr. T'Soni?" Shepard asked, turning back to the Krogan Battle Master.
"Saren wants her. And he always gets what he wants," answered the Battle Master.
Shepard smiled a large and dopey smile. Garrus looked strangely at him, unsure of what he was thinking. He blinked, and Shepard wasn't there anymore. Garrus looked around him but Shepard had disappeared. A loud bang of a sniper rifle went off, along with splatter of blood on the floor, the crack of bone, and a squealing from an animal Garrus had never heard of. He turned to where the sound had come from, to where the Krogan Battle Master had stood.
Key word: had.
The Krogan now lay on the ground, orange blood covering his face, a sizable crack in his head plate around a hole that had appeared in it. Shepard stood behind where the Krogan had stood, sniper rifle at hand, the edge of the barrel smoking.
Garrus wasted no time gawking at what Shepard had just done, drawing his weapon and firing at the remaining Geth. The rest of the team followed in suit, the three Geth were felled quickly.
Garrus replaced his assault rifle, drawing his sniper rifle instead. He took aim at the crates where he last saw that Geth sniper. Come on you metal piece of…
The Geth popped his head up, and when he did, Garrus fired. The shot went through the Geth's trigger arm, into the 'chest' of the Geth. It fell back into pieces. Garrus let out a sigh of relief.
"Joker! We need extraction. Lock onto my position and get over here, fast! Let's go people! We got to move!" Shepard yelled.
"Wait! Aren't you going to kill me?" the Krogan said hopefully, his brains visible through the hole in his skull. Even with such a wound, the Krogan could still speak, still think, and with proper time to heal he could possible come back to be a threat.
"No. You aren't worth the bullet. Now come on!" Shepard commanded.
The ruins creaked, the sides of the walls loosening dust and small rocks, heralding the inevitable collapse.
The team ran through the ruins, along the scaffolding and cat walks, all the way back to the narrow tunnel with stairs they had climbed down. Shepard got their first, stopping to check and see if everyone was getting out. The last person in line was Dr. T'Soni, and she stumbled at the foot of the stairs. Shepard wasted no time helping her up; instead he lifted her with his arms under her knees and behind her shoulders. He powered up the stairs, taking each step two stairs at a time.
His legs burned, lactic acid filling the muscles in them. The little voice inside of Shepard's mind complained, telling him to stop, to slow down. The little voice told him that he couldn't make it even if he tried, that he should just give up. Shepard told that voice to shut the hell up.
Opening his mouth wider to take in more air, letting himself feel angrier, increasing the adrenaline in his body, Shepard sprinted up the stairs, fully intent on reaching the top.
Get it up, Blake, get it up, you can do better than this. Shepard closed his eyes, gritting his teeth, focusing all his might into his legs. He imagined them as pistons, pushing his body upward with large powerful strides. You feel no pain, no fatigue, no illusions of failure. All you see is the goal in front of you, nothing else. You are the wolf.
Shepard reached the top of the tunnel, the light spilling into his eyes as he opened them. It was like seeing the gates of heaven after taking a tour in the pits of hell, the light and the sky illuminating in such a brilliant way.
I am the wolf.
The Normandy floated nearby, dropping altitude slowly.
And there is my flying castle, Shepard thought. He realized he still had Dr. T'Soni in his arms; she was curled gently in his grip. He set her down on her feet, supporting her as she stumbled in her stance.
"Are you alright, Doc?" Shepard asked.
"I'm fine, maybe I need some rest. You, on the other hand, should be exhausted, carrying a person in your arms while charging up those stairs like that. Are you sure you're ok?" Liara asked worriedly.
Shepard felt winded, but he knew the recovery speed of his body, and he was sure he would catch his breath within seconds. He shrugged at the question. "I'm pretty used to this sort of thing."
He helped Liara move as he walked her closer to the rest of the crew. "Is everybody alright, nobody hurt?" he asked.
"We're fine, Commander. More importantly, how the hell did you pull that disappearing act on us?" Kaidan asked.
"Indeed. One second you were there, another you were gone. It was like you teleported," Garrus described.
Shepard shrugged. "It was easy. I used my cloak to walk around that Krogan while he was talking."
"But, but you were standing right next to me. You kept me from attacking him," Garrus said with disbelief.
"That wasn't me, it was just a projection. I bought this device on the Citadel that projects an image of myself. I can talk into the microphone on my omni tool, and the VI handles all the facial movements and gestures. I made it grab you to keep you from spoiling my plan. Once I had my position behind him, I whipped out my sniper rifle and shot him point blank. I'm glad the shot took him out of the fight, he looked tough to me."
Garrus looked stunned. "But you were right next to me, when did you?..." He trailed off into his own train of thought.
"It was interesting what you did though, Shepard," Wrex said.
"Why's that?" Shepard asked.
"The greatest insult a Krogan can give to another Krogan is the insult of not killing them. It is a gesture that says 'your life is not worth the price of one bullet'. In doing so, you may have provoked an agony unparalleled by anything in that Krogan's life. You stole his honor, Shepard. I must say, I'm impressed," Wrex smiled evilly.
"He sacrificed his honor by working for Saren. He must've died down there too," Shepard said.
"Good riddance," said Kaidan.
"Let's get back to the ship; I wasn't kidding about those Sloppy Joes."
To Airam, my cheeky little companion.