MASS EFFECT 3: ANDROMEDA SERIES
CHAPTER 36
Every muscle in Garrus' body ached from exhaustion; his adrenaline was pumping so hard. There were countless waves of Reaper ground forces and it seemed like the closer they got to the beam, the harder the enemies became. His shields had suffered greatly from a few encounters with Brutes and his head pounded from the piercing screeches of Banshees. Most of the soldiers that were escorting the tanks were killed without even a chance. Javik, Shepard and Garrus were barely holding on and a towering Reaper Destroyer was still blocking their path. The first missiles failed when the beam inteferred with the weapons guidance system. Just when they thought they finally received their break and a small reward from their effort. "We're down to two missiles…damnit!" Shepard pounded the tank's console with his fist. The holographic shape of EDI fizzled away.
"And we haven't even scratched it…" Garrus' voice cracked.
"Commander! Hammer's being overrun at every turn. Reaper ground forces are converging on your location. We're fighting our way to you. "Anderson came in through the comm. Garrus could tell that the man was panting, a sign that he was running as he spoke. "Hold on, Commander. Hold on!"
"Another wave incoming." The Turian repositioned his assault rifle. He heard the loud klaxon of the Reaper's siren as it moved towards the trio. How many were slaughtered a head trying to give he and his team passage? Was Andromeda among the fallen? He pushed his thoughts away. No…she was alive and it was up to him and the others to make sure it stayed that way.
"Hold on, everyone." Shepard let out a breath as he stared down at the Reaper incoming. A remembrance of Rannoch was not what he needed right now. "We can do this."
"Move your asses!" Sh'sk shouted to his squad as he grabbed Andromeda roughly and threw her over his shoulder. Zaeed and the others fled from their positions down the staircases. Confused, a Krogan stopped firing to glance over and was about to bark out to them, but a red hue filled him. Looking back, he wasn't given the opportunity to blink as he was vaporized to dust along with everyone else that was on that floor.
Andromeda could feel the heat from the beam bearing down on her as they fled to the lower level of the building. Jumping out onto the street, Sh'sk took shelter behind a wall and covered Andromeda with his body. Seconds later the bottom level singed with fire and what little remained of the windows broke apart.
Hearing the sound of several small fires crackling, Andromeda allowed herself to open her eyes and move away from him. Her ears rang from the explosion and she was shaking badly. Staggering, she looked around to see if there were any survivors. The Reaper's horn made Sh'sk grab her and shove her back down on the ground beside him. "Stay down!" He ordered.
Zaeed picked up his gun and peered around the wall to see the rest of his team a few meters away. The others were not so lucky and their corpses were strewn about near the entrance. Andromeda covered her mouth to muffle her cry as tears filled her eyes seeing the bodies.
The Batarians crouched down and hustled over to join up. "This is suicide! What the hell do we do now?!" Rosrak yelled a bit more loudly than Zaeed would have liked.
The merc gritted his teeth and was about to shout at him, but Andromeda grabbed his arm lightly and shook her head. She could see by the alien's hardened face that sorrow filled him and fear. "We need to regroup away from this place." She said in a hush tone, just in case any enemy troopers were lurking nearby for an ambush.
"No, our orders were to help Shepard and the others get to that beam." Zaeed protested.
"Repeat! The tanks are in place!" Coats voice came through on the comm.
Suddenly the Reaper sounded off again and the ground shook as it maneuvered. "Where in the bloody hell is it going now?" Zaeed watched.
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"Target locked! The Reaper is in range." EDI called out to the squad from her position on the Normandy.
"Let's blow this thing to hell!" Shepard activated the console and the tank shook as the twin missiles launched towards their target. Seconds felt like minutes as the missiles wailed through the air. Garrus tried to keep his attention focused on the Cannibals that ran at him instead of the missiles. The Reaper attempted to close its weak spot with its thick hull but for once the machine didn't move fast enough and the missiles found their target. The Reaper whirred almost like it was in pain.
Then out of nowhere several ammunitions launched near the Reaper hitting it from all sides. Explosions shook the ground and made Garrus lose his balance on the torched car he was standing on. He slid down the hood before regaining his footing.
Once the smoke cleared all that was left was the hollow metal. Nearly startling him, Javik came up beside Garrus silently. "Vengeance...ah, yes. "
"I'm sure your people would have loved to see that." Garrus remarked as he looked on.
Lowering his head, Javik closed his eyes for a moment. "I will not rest until every single one is killed. Let's move."
"So far, I have managed to take down Sovereign, a Reaper on Rannoch and now a Reaper on Earth. What's several thousand more?" Garrus chuckled.
"Nuh uh, Garrus. Technically, the Normandy took down Sovereign, you weren't there on Rannoch and I believe the missiles took down this one. "Shepard grinned as he turned to the sound of a vehicle approaching them.
"So all that gunfire I did against Saren, the Geth and the husks didn't count for something? Huh…I really need to talk to someone who is in charge about this." Garrus commented light heartedly. Javik laughed as he followed.
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Immense joy filled Andromeda as she saw the Destroyer class collapse down in the streets nearby. "They did it!" She exclaimed as she hugged Zaeed. Laughing, she clung to him. "Garrus and the others did it!"
"Ya, about damn time too." Zaeed smiled over to the Batarians who were congratulating one another.
"We are making the push towards the beam. All teams move in and give cover fire." Coats instructed them from the radio.
"You heard him… Let's move. We'll get there before they will." Sh'sk motioned them along.
Leading the way, Andromeda stumbled over debris as she quickened her pace to reach the beam. There, she would be reunited with Garrus and the others…perhaps even follow him. Zaeed eyed the beam as they got closer. "That thing is horrifyin'."
"That's how we stop the Reapers." Andromeda countered.
"I'm not goin' in it. You don't know where it goes…I don't want to come out as one of them," He spat at a dead husk body on the ground.
Andromeda froze from his words. Where exactly did the beam go? She wasn't given that part…all she knew was that they had to help Shepard and his squad get there. The unknown made her even more desperate in hoping that she would be able to join Garrus on perhaps this one last mission of his.
Tanks and soldiers lined the perimeter of the beam as if it there was an invisible fence in place. Far on the other side were a few vehicles and there stood Shepard, Anderson, Garrus, Javik and another Alliance soldier, staring off into the distance. A downward slope led towards the origin of the beam. Andromeda's eyes lit up with joy. "Garrus!" She cried out but it was no use. He was too far away and they weren't even looking in her direction.
"So what we do now? Run when they do?" Zaeed grunted to no one in particular.
"Fuck! Look up!" Sh'sk pointed towards the sky.
Looming down was an immense Reaper with four bright burning lights on the front almost like a face. The ground quaked when it came to a rough landing. It's body right behind the beam with its sights set on anyone who dared to set foot ahead. A horn from the beast blared loudly causing everyone to cover their ears to block out the sound.
Glancing over to see what the plan of action was going to be, a horrible vision was brought to Andromeda's eyes. With no signal given, Shepard and his team charged ahead towards the towering being along with other Alliance officers and tanks. "NO!" Her cry was drowned out as the Reaper known as Harbinger unleashed an attack on the charging forces.