Mass Effect
Back In Time
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Disclaimer; I do not own the Mass Effect series...
Author's Note; I had to kill Jenkins.
P.S. I am sorry, but it helped to further my plot. The addition that is coming in about five chapters.
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Back In Time
Chapter Twenty-One
The Colossus fell with a shuddering cry.
"We need to move," Shepard stated, nearly limping ahead of his companions.
Kaidan reached out, putting his hand on the Commander's shoulder.
"I know you're upset about Jenkins. Hell, we all are, but you can't let that drive you. You're injured. Let us take the reigns."
The Commander looked up to the sky.
"I can't lose anyone else."
"John, please. You can't help us if you're dead."
The Commander gave an audible sigh, before nodding. "Fine. Williams, take point."
"Yes, Sir."
Ashley led them through the ruins, abruptly stopping.
"Five Geth ahead. Take cover."
They did, Kaidan pushing John behind a rock.
The Lieutenant took his pistol off of his belt, leaning slightly out of cover to get a visual of the Geth.
They were walking, the unsteady mechanical shift from one foot to another as they made their way closer to where the group was hiding.
"I'll snipe them," Williams stated over the comlink, voice quiet.
"I've got your back."
"Where are you?"
"On your eight."
"Thanks."
There were a few moments before he watched Ashley pull her rifle over her shoulder, kneeling slightly out of cover.
One Geth fell.
The others turned back to see what had happened.
Another Geth fell.
The ones remaining whipped back, watching, waiting.
Then another fell.
The two Geth raised their guns.
They began shooting, one shot after another in Ashley's direction.
Every shot missed.
She aimed, and fired, leaving one left standing.
It wasn't long until they were alone.
"All clear," she called, standing up from behind her cover.
"No- get down. Snipers," the Commander whispered.
"Now what?" Ashley asked. "I don't want to be a sitting duck."
"Can you snipe them?" he asked.
"I can try."
Ashley laid her rifle back down on the ground, laying to look through the scopes.
"No guarantees that I'll hit him, Sir."
Beside Alenko, Shepard sighed. "You have to try."
"Yes, Sir."
Not even a moment later, he watched the Geth fall from his tower.
Then she turned her aim to the next tower over, shooting that Geth down as well.
"We're clear now?"
"As far as I can see," the Commander responded.
"Let's go."
Kaidan put his gun back on his belt before he stood.
He offered a hand to Shepard, whom just shook his head.
"I'm not a cripple."
The Commander clipped his pistol to his belt as he pushed himself off of the rock, grunting as the action was performed.
"I never asked if you were," Alenko stated as he helped the man the rest of the way.
"Maybe we should take the Commander back to the Mako," Williams stated.
"No," Shepard protested. "I have to be on this mission."
Alenko turned his gaze to Ashley.
"You put medi-gel on him, right?"
She nodded. "After I got the bulk of the bleeding down, yes."
"Painkillers?"
"No. There wasn't enough time."
He reached into his belt, sifting through the pouch to get to the syringe.
He stuck the needle into the area of the bodysuit, at the bend of his arm, that wasn't covered by the padding.
"We'll get you back to Chakwas."
"After the mission?"
"I feel as if this is one that demands your attention, Commander. Yes."
"Good."
.~*~.
As soon as the sparks started flying, the Commander stepped closer to the center of the elevator, nudging Ashley's shoulder as he did so.
"Excuse me, Sir… Are you afraid of elevators?"
The elevator abruptly halted, causing the group to fall.
They lumbered to their feet.
Ashley took a few cautious steps to the edge of the elevator, looking down.
The ground wasn't too far down.
She jumped.
It was a moment before she hit the ground, tucking her chin to her chest to let herself roll to her knees.
"Williams?" Kaidan called over the comlink.
She stood up, and took some steps away.
"I'm good. One of you go. Fast. We don't know how much longer the elevator will stay like that."
"Copy that. I'm sending the Commander."
Shepard jumped over the edge, first landing on his feet before falling to knees.
Ashley helped him up, pulling him away from the elevator.
"We're clear."
Kaidan jumped down, landing on his feet, taking a moment before he took the steps to them.
"Are we good?" the Lieutenant asked.
"Yes," she responded, walking away from the elevator, heading to a glowing blue wall that she saw in the distance.
Alenko laughed. "The paneling on the walls reminds me of the tiles on a bathroom floor."
A few minutes of a walk was needed to reach it.
"Hello? Is someone out there?" a voice tentatively called from the other side.
"Commander John Shepard, of the Alliance. Are you Liara T'Soni?"
From beyond the glowing blue wall, a girl was trapped in a ball that was suspended in the air.
"Yes, please get me out of here. I don't know how you can get in to get to these controls, but please…"
"Stay calm, Liara. We'll get you out of there."
"Please hurry. And be careful. There's a Krogan leading Geth squads. They're also trying to get in here."
"Thank you for the heads up. We'll be back soon. I promise."
"What now?" Kaidan asked.
"We get her out of there," was Shepard's answer. "You see that mining laser? It's angled just right to shoot off a beam to get us in there. Then we hit the switch and get her out."
"What after that?"
"We go back to the Normandy."
Simple.
They walked down several ramps to get to the dirt of the ground. The mining laser was nearby. Waiting.
"Commander?"
"Kaidan- I'm sure you can turn it on. Let's get out of the way."
She walked to where the laser sat, watching as Alenko hit a series of buttons.
A light on the panel flashed red.
"I might have to do some minor rewiring. It might take a minute."
"We might not have that long," Ashley stated, listening to a few barks.
"Varren inbound," the Commander called, raising his pistol.
Ashley was almost angry that she gave the thing back to him.
She raised her assault rifle.
Shepard was eager to fight. Too eager. Almost like he had something to prove by pushing himself way too far. He didn't know where to stop. Ashley was expecting him to drop to his knees, and stay there.
But he didn't.
He fired off rounds from his gun at the Varren, one falling on the ground at his feet before he decided to take a step back.
The next Varren had been near the heels of the last when it was thrown into the air with biotics.
The third Varren, Ashley had killed, herself.
"Alenko- do you have that laser ready?"
"Yes, I just have to connect these two wires… And we are good to go."
"Lieutenant, fire the laser."
"Firing."
A beam shot out from the laser, obliterating the ground in front of it.
The world shook for a few brief moments, yet when the ground settled, and the dust cleared, they were free to go.
"Come on," Shepard called, already making his way to the crater in the ground.
They followed; the group would find Benezia's daughter, whether she liked it, or not.
.~*~.
Liara hung her head.
The people said that they were there to rescue her, that they were there with the Alliance, but she couldn't be so sure.
She was afraid, but she couldn't turn away the people who offered to save her.
But what was saving? Were they just dooming her to the same fate, a worse fate, than she would have had if they had stayed?
What if they were going to sell her to Saren, just like the Krogan?
No- life isn't about what ifs. Sometimes, I'll just have to take some chances.
The confinement shook, as if the Goddess had decided to destroy her.
Taking chances, she wasn't used to; in her 106 years, she didn't have to take any life-threatening chances.
Her mother had never joined the man attempting to destroy the galaxy before.
Her mother…
"Liara," the man- Commander Shepard- spoke. "We're in. Now how do we get you out of there?"
She lifted her head to look at him, eyes skimming over his bad posture and torn chest-piece to focus on his eyes.
Even through the blue rays of the containment field, she could see the stress in them.
"Easy," she stated, drawing her focus away. "All you have to do is hit the switch on that panel, and it should let me out."
"Kaidan, is that enough for you to handle?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Commander- Wait," the woman called. "Are you sure we should let her out of there? She's Benezia's daughter. She could be on her side."
At her statements, Liara felt anger flood through her veins.
"I am not my mother!"
Shepard looked at Ashley.
"If she was on her mother's side, the Geth wouldn't be trying to take her to Saren. She would have gone willingly. Let her out of there, Alenko."
"Yes, Sir."
In a moment, the containment field blinked out.
Liara found herself folded up on the ground.
She looked up at the Commander.
"Liara. You have to get up. We are going to get you out of here."
"And then what?"
"You'll come onboard the Normandy, and see our doctor."
"And then?"
"Then we will kindly ask you to help us stop Saren. But we will not force you."
T'Soni summoned the strength she didn't feel like she had, pushing herself to her feet.
"There's an elevator at the end of this hall, if we can get there, it should take us to the surface level."
She led the group to the elevator, hitting the activation buttons on the panel.
Just as the elevator started to rise, the world shook.
"What was that?" the other man, Kaidan, was he, spoke, voice rushed.
For a human, he sounded nervous. He had the right to be.
"I think when we fired the laser," the Commander began, voice slowly fading.
"You triggered a seismic event," she finished.
The elevator continued to make its way upwards, not even giving a shudder, or a cry, or even a brief halt.
When it stopped, they were at the top.
And there stood the Krogan.
He pulled back his oversized lips in the mix of a snarl and a smile.
Liara felt fear; the tightening of the muscles in her stomach told her that she needed to run.
But she didn't.
The words that the Commander shared with the Krogan were nothing; it all boiled down to a fight in the end.
A fight that the Krogan ultimately lost.
"Let's go!"
They began running as fast as they could manage, flying over the ramps and walkways as the mine fell apart around them.
Shepard stopped, leaning back on the railing to let her pass.
"Go!"
Liara kept running, even though her legs had long ago turned to mush.
There was light- they were going to make it!
She listened as the walkways screeched as the rocks tore through them.
How loud it was- she needed to run faster.
So she did.
She broke out of the mines behind the others, finding strange joy as the hot air whipped in her face.
On the volcanic rock, far from the mine, she turned, only to see Shepard doubled over, holding his stomach.
"The medi-gel broke," he called, voice full of fear.
"Damn it Ashley!"
"I put it on exactly how you told me to!"
A ship flew into viewing range.
Liara had never been more grateful.
Or more afraid.