Chapter 37

The doors slid open to darkness. Elevator light spilled out illuminating the hallway. Shepard darted out the elevator. One thing about fighting in the dark, you didn't want to be the one standing in the spotlight. The starboard side of the hallway flashed with booms. Two shots struck by her feet. The elevator light narrowed as Shepard dodged the opposite direction. As it cut the hall off into darkness, she swung around the corner to engineering.

With the light gone, a bright veil blinded her in the darkness. She reached in front of her and touched the closed door to engineering. She wasn't getting that open with the power out. Shots burst in the elevator hallway, and an Omni-Tool light flared on. Shepard hunched low by the corner and watched the hallway floor as the light widened with approaching footsteps. Bullets spraying into the wall opposite her as she saw his legs. Shepard smashed into the light bearer's legs and tumbled him backward. She fired her rifle into him, and he staggered back before falling. Shepard stood and kicked off his light. The hall plunged back into darkness. Another rule about fighting in the dark, while you didn't want to be the one in the spotlight, you also didn't want to be the one carrying the spotlight.

Gunfire echoed somewhere on the starboard side toward engineering. She crept along the elevator hallway toward the shots. She raised her rifle blindly. Flashes of gunfire reflected on the hallway's windows overlooking the dark cargo bay. In the strobes of gunfire reflected in the window, Shepard could make out four men kneeling with rifles at the entrance to engineering. The door had been forced open. Return gunfire flashed deep inside engineering. Return fire. One of the attackers glanced back as if wondering about their fifth man. He turned back to fire into engineering.

Shepard sprang out around the corner facing them. The hallway lit up in riflefire as they struggled to get turn around. They fired at her, and she ducked back around corner as chips of metal flooring burst around her feet. Bullets tore apart the corner of the wall as she pressed against the wall readying her rifle again.

The hallway to engineering roared into life. Gunfire exploded in a well of flickering light full of yelling and slapping footsteps. Shepard darting a look around the corner but shots hit near her face. She pulled back and waited a second before trying again. She spun out leveling her rifle, but the engineering hallway had fallen dark. Low voices murmured.

"Adams?" Shepard whispered.

A hush fell over the voices.

"Shepard?" It wasn't Adams.

"James?"

The world burst to monochrome white as a light hit her face. She growled and shielded her eyes. Footsteps rushed down engineering hallway from engineering.

"You're blinding me, Vega!"

The light lowered as footsteps slowed in front of her. Someone grabbed her right arm.

"Ahh! Damnit!" She shoved the hand away with sharp breath.

"Whoa. Hey," James's voice said.

The white spots melted away from her vision. Faces circled around her.

"Vega, Cortez, Stofsky, Diaz, Tobin," Shepard said looking at each one.

Only five of them.

"What happened? You get hit, Commander?" James peered at her bloody shoulder.

"Yeah, I got hit," Shepard snapped. "How else you think I got a bullet hole in the shoulder?"

"Must hurt, huh?"

"Are you serious?" Shepard twisted to look at him.

"Just, didn't know you were hurt or nothing. You know, when I grabbed you."

Shepard let out a long breath and looked around at the face. "Okay. What's going on?"

Cortez and the others looked to James.

James answered. "Those Langley guys rushed us. Heard gunfire down in the cargo bay, then they came rushing out the elevator. Shot Adams. Some of the others too."

"Damnit." Shepard dropped her head.

"Hey, hey, hey." James stepped in closer. "They're all right though. I mean, Greg … he's pretty bad, but they're all alive."

Shepard snapped her head up. "Where are they?"

She should have kept some of the medigel. She hadn't been thinking.

"Back there." James motioned to the engineering room. "We were pinned down. Only had three pistols. You distracted them, and I thought we better take the shot."

"And the lights?" Shepard asked.

"Cut 'em," Diaz said. "Right away. Shuttle bay too. It disoriented them. There's a lot more just these ones we took out."

Cortez moved down to the corner and flashed his Omni-Tool light down the elevator hallway.

"There were more here," James agreed. "Left for some reason."

"I'm betting to the bridge." Shepard remembered the station soldier she'd killed in the elevator. He'd been on his comm. "They might be on the crew deck now."

"Searching for you?"

"Trying to lock down the ship," Shepard said. "They could've blown Joker to hell in the cockpit. I think they didn't want to hit the controls."

Cortez wandered back to them. "Then you're probably right, James. That's why we kept to the engine room."

"Figured a better chance of them not throwing in a grenade," James said.

Shepard nodded. "They didn't throw grenades then?"

"Either they don't have any, or they're being careful," James answered.

"I think taking out the crew is only step one in some bigger scheme." She hefted the rifle onto her left shoulder. "We need to keep moving. Are the injured out of the way? They'll be back."

James tossed Diaz the rifle he'd lifted off one of the attackers. He tipped his head toward engineering. Diaz nodded backing up, turned his Omni-Tool light on, and jogged to the engine room.

Shepard watched him go then turned back. "We'll retake the bridge. They've probably reclaim it. Got some of our people hiding under the floor."

James rounded the corner into the elevator hallway. Shepard backed up to watch him stand over the man she'd killed earlier. James hoisted up the man's rifle and turned to her. Shepard's eyes shifted to the closed door behind him.

"James, check Anchor. Cortez, Stofsky help him wrench that door open." Shepard turned to Engineer Tobin. "Anything you can do about shutting down the elevator? We need to slow them down."

Cortez and Stofsky rushed down the hall to help James force the unpowered door open. Tobin bent by the elevator and ripped off the cover to the control panel. Shepard flexed the fingers on her right hand with a cringing at the numb, fat, clumsy feeling. Diaz's footsteps pounded back from engineering.

"They're tucked away, Commander. Left them the rifle."

"Good."

"How're we getting to the bridge if the elevator out?" James grunted as he wrenched at the doors as they squealed apart.

"We'll—"

The elevator hummed.

"Commander." Diaz's eyes widened and he backed up.

Shepard grabbed Tobin's shoulder and shoved him toward James. Cortez and Stofsky had the doors halfway when James let go. He pulled the rifle off his back.

"That's good enough. Everyone in. You too, Vega," Shepard said.

Cortez and Stofsky squeezed through the crack in the doors. James followed. Tobin and Diaz scrambled to the door. Shepard put her back to them and backed up leveling her rifle at the elevator doors. Her team only had two rifles with half clips, a few pistols, no armor. They weren't winning this. The elevator doors whined open. Shepard fired as she slipped back through the crack in the door after Tobin. Light flooded the hall, and Shepard ducked back as bullets sprayed through the gap in the doorway.

"Anchor's gone," James said.

"Stofsky, open that hatch against the wall," Shepard shouted. "Then everyone down that ladder into the cargo bay. Go!"

Bullets tore apart the back wall. Shepard didn't even look around the corner as she angled her rifle through the door crack and returned fire. The hallway flashed with sparks and return gunfire. There only had to be six or seven of them left if she'd been counting right. James was beside her with his rifle and fired through the doorway just above her.

"James, get to the armory," Shepard said. "They've broken into it obviously. We'll take what's left. We need armor."

James fell back and followed Cortez down the ladder into the cargo bay. Shepard's rifle clicked. She scrambled up behind James as he lowered himself. She shoved him down the hatch slinging the rifle over her back. Footsteps rushed down the hall toward them. Someone shouted and something skidded through the doorway. It rolled across the metal floor.

"Down! Down!" Shepard stuffed James down with her feet.

She ducked below the hatch. The room exploded. Something tore into her scalp. Her right hand fumbled on the railing and her foot slipped. She barely caught the rung below kicking James in the head. He dropped himself down the railing and landed on his feet. A light shined from the windows in engineering that overlooked the cargo back. The light surrounded her as she slipped down the ladder. They were probably cursing. The light weakened as it followed her to cargo bay floor. She dropped staggering against a crate. The light turned away and shifted to where the elevator would be.

James was already halfway to the armory. The door hung open with a thin light illuminating inside. Shepard racing up behind James. A hot oozing sensation ran down the back of her neck.

"Take cover," she yelled waving at the horseshoed bank of consoles in front of the elevator. "Watch the ladder too."

They reached the armory doors. Shepard touched James's arm.

"If they take the ship, we need the distress beacon out there. I'll—"

The light in the armory moved, and Shepard's eyes grew wide. Anchor was armored as he stepped out of the armory. Shepard tore the rifle off her back. The clip was exhausted, but he didn't know that. Anchor had something in his hand. Shepard shoved James aside and pointed the rifle at Anchor's chest.

"Give me that shard," she said.

"Commander …"

"Give it to me, or we'll blow you away, Anchor."

James aimed his rifle at Anchor. Anchor's eyes widened through the plexiglass shield darted between them and to the men behind. The elevator hummed. Shepard stepped in closer raising the rifle to his face.

"Here!" he said.

He held out his hand as his eyes moved to the elevator doors. She lowered the rifle and touched the shard still gripped tight in his hand. James stepped in closer with his rifle. Anchor opened his hand then raising his palms up.

"I'm on your side," he said. "Just protecting it."

"You're lying." Shepard gripped the shard in her fist. "James, go."

James shoved around Anchor into the armory. Cortez followed on his heels.

"Your armor's in there," Anchor said to Shepard and nodded at the armory. "We all—"

The elevator doors opened gunshots exploded. Stofsky and Tobin stood up from the bank of terminals rapid firing their pistols. James ducked from the armory and slid clips spinning across the floor to their feet. Cortez threw out a rifle. The darkness flashed with gunfire. The floor exploded with bullet fire at Shepard's feet as men piled out the elevator. Anchor darted away. Shepard cursed taking a step after him. A grenade sailed in front of her, and she reeled back.

"Cover!" she yelled.

She slipped around a crate as it exploded rocking the ground beneath her. She shoved the shard in her pocket. She needed to get to the distress beacon. If could drift close enough to Gagarin to alert a ship, maybe the station itself. The Alliance needed to know if the ship was rogue. She squinted at the passageway in the corner of the bay near the shuttle. It was opposite the armory. The air strobe with gunfire and James threw a return grenade. Shepard bolted to the open passage.