Relay travel was the fastest mode of transportation in the known universes. FTL in this universe involved reducing the mass of the craft to the point that Einstein's famous equation could be subverted, but the relationship could only be realistically changed so much by the technology at hand, and so there was a top speed associated with a ship of any given mass and drive core size. In Jorge's home universe, the slipspace drive required much, much more power than any possible reactor of ship size in this universe could produce, but the gains were exponential: a slipspace drive could travel in days what would take the Normandy weeks.
Both modes of transportation paled in comparison to the relays. A gigantic slingshot of unheard of power, relays required seconds, even for the longest of journeys. Hundreds of thousands of light years, that would take mass effect drives and slipspace drives centuries, could be traversed nearly instantaneously. Further, because of the unique properties of relay travel, relays could pass a ship through matter, completely unharmed. Indeed, a cosmic coincidence had a red hypergiant in direct line of one of the most lucrative trade routes in Asari space, and there had never been an incident.
So it was that, to Jorge, the scenery out the front window went from the greens and greys of the dead Prothean world of Ilos to the colors of brushed steel and blinking lights of the populated Citadel in the blink of an eye, despite the fact that the station was on lockdown, and that the Citadel was on one side of the galactic core from Ilos.
This scene was quick to change; the relay preserved forward momentum, and as such they shot into the air and outwards. The jets flickered, showing their damage, and the mass effect core churned everyone's stomach as the automatic systems tried to right the IFV. They overcompensated and Jorge and company were treated to the sight of the ground and a very surprised group of Geth, right before the Mako plowed into them both. The jolt was massive, so much so that he heard one of the straps on the cargo netting that secured him to the IVF rip. He reacted quickly, grabbing onto the krogan with an iron grip and securing several loops of netting and his machine gun with the other.
The Mako bounced, though everyone within the craft heard one of the battle-damaged springs give way under the strain, before flipping onto the starboard side. The small eezo reactor finally gave up the fight and gave out, causing the haptics and lights to flicker and die. A moment later they came back a dull red as the Mako continued to skid on its side; the emergency batteries had engaged. Then the battered IFV hit a wall, jolting everyone and everything not secured; Williams, who had slid forward before grabbing onto Jorge's boot in time to get tumble-polished, dropped to what used to be the roof of the Mako. Jorge and Wrex, unsecured as they were, also found themselves in a heap on the starboard roof of the vehicle.
Groans echoed from everyone at the rough treatment, though Wrex instead growled and tore Jorge's anchoring arm away. Jorge let him as he unwrapped the now mostly snapped cargo straps from around his arm, bracing himself in an awkward push up position to do so.
"Jorge, get that door open! Everybody out and alert!" Shepard ordered.
Jorge grabbed the door and pulled. There was a shriek of metal before it gave way after he applied a bit more muscle, sliding it into the bulkhead as it was designed only with the application of his enhanced strength. It opened to the sight of concrete, debris, and a hole small enough that he wouldn't be able to get out. Fortunately, a little muscle took care of that as well, and Jorge immediately scanned the surroundings.
They were on the Presidium, near the artificial lake that the Ambassador's office overlooked, only now it looked more like a warzone. Chunks of concrete had been shot or blasted off in various places, the debris strewn about the area. There were no civilians to be seen, though bodies among the wreckage indicated the fate of some unfortunate souls. The lighting was not the bright white of simulated sunlight, but the slowly strobing dull red indicative of emergency power. Avina, the asari-modeled Citadel VI, stood sputtering and flickering at her terminal.
Last but not least were the Dragon's Teeth, a body impaled upon each spike. Husks in the making. That, and the occasional splatter of white hydraulic fluid, or the metal body of a Geth, gave only one culprit: Saren. He had beaten them there, by what appeared to be a significant margin.
The rest of the team spilled out as Jorge kept a careful eye on the Dragon's Teeth. They spread out, with Shepard and Garrus heading for Avina.
"The Pres-Presidium is experiencing-experiencing problems across the entire level. All non-essential personnel must evac- evacuate immediately," Avina said in a pleasant voice, only glitching out a few times.
"C-Sec override, 516-sa-ksih," Garrus spoke.
"Citadel Security override accepted. Wel-Welcome, Officer Vakarian. How may I assist you?" Avina asked.
"We need the current location of Saren Arterius," Shepard spoke.
"Saren Arterius is currently in the elevator to Citadel Tower. Warning: Saren Arterius is wanted for treason by the Council and is considered armed and dangerous."
At the VI's announcement, everyone looked at the elevator that they had happened to land in front of. A still functional sign showed the destination: Citadel Tower.
"Well that's convenient," Williams muttered. Jorge grunted in response.
The sound of metal on metal brought everyone out of their reverie; the Dragon's Teeth were lowering, and the newly huskified creatures impaled on their spikes were twitching in preparation.
Jorge didn't wait to open fire, nor did the rest of the team. Only one of the four made it off the spike, and it fell quickly to the overwhelming firepower it was subjected to. They didn't even need an order to pile into the elevator to the tower. And what a pile it was; Jorge and Wrex alone would have put the elevator over its limit if it hadn't been designed to take Elcor. Squeezing in another five humanoids made the space very cramped indeed.
The elevator lurched to a start, the beginning of a nearly five minute journey from what Jorge remembered from previous visits. Apparently Shepard remembered it as well.
"Tali, Garrus, any chance we can make this thing go faster?" Shepard asked.
Garrus shrugged helplessly, but Tali managed to squirm her way through to the control panel. The Doctor and Williams pressed back to try to give her some room as the quarian set to work on her omni.
Four minutes into the ride, Tali had had some moderate success and they were further along than they would normally have been. It was still much slower than Jorge would have liked. Saren must be nearly to the Council Chambers by now, though if that was his final destination no one knew; the master control for the Citadel could be anywhere, and even Vigil had not known. Only Saren knew where it was. They could only follow him and hope that they managed to blow through however many Geth he had brought with him-
The elevator jerked to a stop. Everyone turned (as much as they could) to look at Tali, who began cursing in Quarian. Her three fingers danced over her omni tool, but she seemed to grow only more frustrated.
"Shesh-tet! That bosh-tet just shut down all Citadel-controlled transportation systems station wide, and I can't override it!" she shouted angrily.
"How long?" Shepard asked.
"Give me a supercomputer and we might get it moving again in an hour," Tali replied tartly.
Partway through, the elevator had transitioned from the interior passages to an exterior runway up the tower, allowing them to see the into the empty space of the interior of the Citadel. Shepard looked out that window now, and Jorge could practically see the gears turning in her head.
"Then we go outside. Everyone suit up!" Shepard ordered.
For Jorge, this wasn't a problem. For most of the others, that meant getting their collapsable helmets out and putting them on, a thirty second process. When everyone was done, Shepard gave the signal, leveled her pistol at the glass of the elevator, and fired. The glass shattered at the impact and the vacuum of space immediately sucked all the air out of the elevator car, rocking everyone.
Shepard was the first out, moving from the gravity of the elevator to the zero-gravity exterior easily as her mag boots locked on to the surface of the station. Tali and Wrex also moved out with an ease that showed experience in zero-g conditions, Tali with such fluidity that Jorge had no doubt she had done this many times before. Williams and Vakarian showed their rust, but moved about with the practiced motions that showed clear training. But Liara...
A century old and a scientist, Liara was a potent biotic but it appeared she had never had zero-gravity training before, and it showed. She stood at the edge of the elevator, peeking over the edge uncertainly. He could imagine the expressions of concern, or perhaps even terror, on her face as she looked out into the massive void that was the interior of the Citadel.
"Commander," he called over the radio. "We have a problem."
Shepard turned back to look at the lift. *Liara, have you ever had any zero gravity experiences?* her voice asked, calmly yet firmly.
Liara's radio clicked on, and Jorge heard her breathing far faster than normal. *I-inside a ship, once...* she stammered out.
He saw several of the other team members convulse, or make gestures, either in frustration or mirth, but either way they were smart enough not to do so over the radio. Liara appeared not to notice, no doubt still overwhelmed by the sensation of spacewalking. Nothing but a few centimeters of armor between yourself and the all encompassing void, where you would continue to float forever if just one mistake was made...
Space was no place for the faint of heart.
"Commander, we don't have time for this," he said softly over the radio. He didn't mean to sound harsh, but it was true. They still had a kilometer to traverse to get to the tip of the tower where Saren was.
*I don't intend to leave Liara cowering in an airless elevator for however long it takes us to get them running again, if we even can,* Shepard scolded. *Liara, listen to me. We need you to be brave. We need you to come with us. I promise you, we'll keep you safe, and we won't let you drift off into space.*
Stomping her mag boots along the surface, Shepard approached the bottom of the elevator before kneeling down and holding out her hand. Perpendicular as she was to the shaft, this resulted in her looking 'up' towards the asari, while simultaneously offering her hand towards the asari's boots.
She was frozen for a moment, looking at the outstretched hand. Then she slowly, ever so slowly, bent shakily down and grasped Shepard's hand.
*There you go,* Shepard coaxed. He could practically hear the soft, comforting smile that was no doubt on her face. *Now, on the count of three, you're going to put one foot out here, then the other, okay? One... two...*
*Enemy contacts!* Williams called out.
Jorge wasted no time. He was past Liara and out the elevator into space in under a second, grabbing the bottom lip to swing himself into contact with the floor. He landed and readied his now weightless machine gun just in time to see the remnants of frozen atmosphere drift away from the other elevator shaft, and a geth attempting to cross the small maintenance walkway and take cover behind a support buttress. The rest of the team had already opened fire, and Jorge did as well.
The geth attempting to cross the corridor was quickly destroyed. Its shields failed, and then multiple rounds blasted through the geth carapace in eerie silence, spraying white globes of geth hydraulic fluid into space before finally causing the geth to go limp. It drifted bonelessly, ragdolling on feet still magnetically attached to the corridor floor. Another geth peeked out from behind the column. This one was smart enough not to stay in the line of fire; unfortunately, this attracted both Wrex and Williams with their shotguns. This geth was literally blown away, pinwheeling into the depths of the station.
"Commander, we need to move," Jorge pushed.
*Jorge, get over here.*
He obeyed immediately, stomping his way back to the elevator where Shepard had managed to coax Liara onto the side of the station, where she was hanging on to Shepard for dear life. Shepard flashed him three fingers; switch to channel 3.
*Jorge, I need you to look after her and take her with us.*
"Commander..." he trailed off. Liara was a rookie in a bad situation with nowhere else to go, and it was only getting worse with the addition of hostiles. The best solution would be to keep her in the elevator, out of the line of fire, without any chance of drifting off into space, and most importantly out of the way of the team.
*Jorge, we aren't leaving her here. Now, you are the only one here that has the patience to stay with her, the ability to teach her enough not to get herself killed, and through all of that still remain combat capable even with an asari attached to your hip. That means you're responsible for her, alright? I don't care how far you fall behind us, but Liara comes through the airlock with us at the end, are we clear?*
The channel cut to static, Shepard had switched back to the team channel. Jorge frowned as he did the same.
*- and Jorge is going to look after you, alright?* he caught the tail end of Shepard's reassurances.
*O-okay, Shepard,* Liara replied in a small voice.
With slow and careful movements, Shepard took one of Liara's hands, and put it onto Jorge's much larger arm. With a nod of her helmet, she slowly let go of Liara, then stomped her way over to the squad, leaving Jorge and Liara alone at the foot of the elevator.
"Doctor T'Soni, please switch to channel 3," he said over the comms. Her fingers shakily activated her omni, switching over channels. Immediately he could hear her faster than normal breathing- no doubt she was hyperventilating.
"Deep breathes. In, and out. In... and out..." he said over the comm. Over the course of a minute, her breathing slowed with his gentle words.
Inwardly, Jorge was annoyed. He had advised against bringing amateurs along for this very reason. Sure, Tali had proven him wrong on all counts, but right now Liara was proving him unfortunately right. She was an archaeologist and Prothean expert, she had no business performing zero-g maneuvers while Geth were shooting at her, and she had no training on the matter. Now all she was was a burden on the team, at best a disoriented non-combatant to be protected and at worst a hazard to everyone around her. Now Shepard had just committed the best combatant on her team to babysit an amateur in over her head at a time when they no doubt needed him the most, blowing through whatever resistance Saren through their way.
Still, it wasn't his call, it was Shepard's, and if she wanted him to be the Doctor's personal escort, well, he'd make damn sure she got where she needed to go. Even if he had to tie her to him and drag her.
Hmmm...
"You alright?" he asked as Liara rose shakily to her feet.
*Ye-yes,* she stammered out.
"How's your stomach?"
*Strange. Queasy,* she admitted.
"Throwing up won't do you any good. If you feel like you're going to throw up, stop moving, take deep breaths and calm yourself," he advised. Jorge carefully set his machine gun aside, leaving it floating just within reach, but out of Liara's reach. Now with both hands free, he disengaged the magnetic lock on his pack and swung it around, before opening a smaller compartment near the top. It always paid to bring rope, or in this case, a safety line.
"Rule number one, sudden and forceful movements are bad. Keep calm, and make slow, deliberate movements," he told her gently, hooking his pack back on. A quick movement had one end of the safety line attached to his armor. "Rule number two, always keep one mag boot on the station at all times, unless I tell you otherwise." He measured out three meters of line, hooking it back through his armor to get it to the right length. Ready now to hook it to his charge, he held up her end of the safety line at her eye level. "And rule number three, this safety line is your life. Do not, I repeat, do not take this off unless I tell you to," he emphasized. With careful efficiency, he clipped the safety line to her armor and tested it. It held.
What followed after was the shortest course Jorge could get away with on moving in zero g in mag boots. It took certain technique to be able to walk in mag boots along a surface, technique that wasn't necessarily intuitive. He skimped quite a bit and even so the instruction took nearly ten minutes of time, but at the end, he was at least satisfied that Liara would be able to get herself to an airlock by herself if she took it slow and remembered everything he said.
Now, satisfied that Liara would at least survive if left to her own devices, Jorge checked his objective marker and the rest of the squad's position. As expected, they were a significant fraction of the way to the airlock. Unexpectedly, they were further along than Jorge had estimated. Still, this did not change his intended method to catch up.
Liara didn't like it. Not one bit.
*Are you certain this is safe?* she asked him again, even as she anchored herself.
"Yes, Doctor," Jorge replied easily. He rotated gently, assuring himself that Liara was holding on tight enough.
The plan was simple: zero gravity offered more modes of transportation than walking. Liara would hang on to Jorge, on his back, and Jorge would propel them through the maze of crossbeams, supports, and structures like a swimmer through water. No mag boots required. Still, for the uninitiated, it would likely be a terrifying experience; one wrong move, one wrong push, and you would be sent out into the inky blackness of space, waiting to see if your air ran out before your sanity. For Jorge, on the other hand, this was business as usual. Operations in space had been given the same attention as all other aspects of the training he had received, and he'd even gotten to use some of it relatively recently during combat operations on Reach, with far higher risk- after all, with the Citadel locked down as it was, there was no true risk of drifting off into the infinite depths of space.
Jorge grabbed his weightless gun, then walked to the nearest buttress before deactivating his mag boots. Then, with a few precise movements, he launched himself down the hallway like a bullet. Liara whimpered as she clutched his backpack, bulkheads flying past at a speed far faster than a beginner had any right to be moving. His target was unmoving, and he grabbed the final bulkhead one-handed before using it to propel himself in a new direction.
This continued for two minutes as they passed the silent carnage wrought by the rest of the team; a geth, upper half missing, lower legs still mag-locked to the surface of the tower. A Juggernaught, the unmistakable size and red paint identifying it, hooked to a bulkhead, chest riddled with holes. More surprisingly, or perhaps not given that they had just come from Virmire, a Krogan, globules of orange blood silently floating off into space, the body still. The floating husk of a Geth dropship with numerous destroyed platforms on the area below it.
His HUD indicated his allies were no more than a hundred meters away; switching to the team comm with a thought, he rounded one of the last bends before they would come into sight.
*Wrex, keep your head down, those rockets will hit if you get out of that trench! Garrus, Williams, take out the far turret with snipers, Tali, hack the near one!* Shepard barked.
*Yes Commander!*
*On it!*
*Aye Commander!*
Rocket turrets? It appeared they weren't slowing the team down much, but still, it was a heavy handed response to infantry. An ineffective one; Jorge rounded the final corner and shot towards the the rest of the team just as the last turret exploded in a silent conflagration.
"Coming up on your rear, Commander," he warned them.
*And Liara?* she asked questioningly as she turned.
*Here,* Liara squeaked over the comm.
Jorge reached the end and the turn off just as the rest of the team did, stopping himself before reactivating his boots and walking normally once more.
*Only you Jorge, I swear...* Williams commented.
*Isn't that what you humans call a... puppy-back ride?* Garrus asked questioningly.
Williams and Shepard snickered at that, but not one member of the team stopped moving. Jorge fell into easy step on the right side of the little informal formation, Liara still clutching his pack in a death grip no doubt. It would be faster this way.
*Piggy-back ride, Garrus, close, very close,* Shepard corrected. *Turians don't give their young rides like that?*
*Well, some of the pyjacks on Palaven do something similar, but the cowl and hump kind of prevent it for Turians,* Garrus replied. *We kind of-*
"Krogan, Commander," Jorge cut him off. Having rounded the next bend, they could see two krogan and a geth destroyer waiting for them. Jorge had already opened fire, the machine gun near eye level as he fired over Williams' head. The krogan turned, as did the destroyer, and all began to charge at an incredibly reckless pace for zero g, firing all the way.
*Wrex,* Shepard called out, sounding almost bored.
Said krogan glowed blue before thrusting one hand out low and then lifting it high, the biotic mnemonic for Lift. Both krogan were enveloped in the blue light before they made the fatal mistake of continuing forward in the biotic field; with one shoe off the station, the lift overcame the limits of the other boot, sending both krogan careening off into space under the influence of the lift.
*Garrus,* Shepard called out.
The destroyer's shields shimmered under the weight of fire being brought to bear on it, and the overload finished the job. A moment later, it jerked heavily off to one side- Tali, with the sledgehammer rounds from her shotgun no doubt. One foot came off the deck, and it became nothing more than Swiss cheese before it could correct that. The team hadn't even broken their stride, much less lost their barriers.
*Juggernaut,* Garrus called out. Indeed, a Juggernaut and two geth assault platforms had rounded the next bend. The juggernaut fired a rocket at the group.
*Tali, Garrus,* Shepard called out, even as the team was maneuvering to let the rocket miss. Compared to the instantaneous speed of mass accelerator rounds, rockets were incredibly slow (they seemed slower than the Jackhammer rockets Jorge was used to from his home universe), allowing the team enough time to maneuver out of the way. Perhaps, on a less disciplined or less experienced team, the rocket would cause someone to panic and make a fatal mistake in zero gravity, but not here.
Simultaneously, Garrus and Tali thrust out their omni tools, launching their tech attacks. The Juggernaut was hacked, and turned on the nearest assault trooper even as one platform suddenly found its weapon overheated. Followed by overloads, all three were quickly vulnerable, and with Wrex's warp on the Juggernaut, all three were just as quickly reduced to floating scrap from the veritable arsenal of firepower arrayed against them.
The unguided rocket sailed by, missing the entire team by a margin of feet. The team hadn't even stopped moving forward.
*How are you doing back there, Liara?* Shepard asked in a kindly voice.
*Dizzy. Sick,* she replied in a small voice. *Are we there yet?*
"One hundred meters to go," Jorge replied. Poor girl. Everyone got space sickness their first time out, no exceptions, though there were some lucky souls out there that only had it mild. Jorge himself had not been one of them, only time had seen him lose his reaction.
The team rounded the corner to find a few geth platforms setting up temporary kinetic barriers as shields in a desperate attempt to stop them. It didn't work. Those, it appeared, were the last obstacles that had to be overcome before the team reached the airlock. Where, upon reactivating the atmosphere and gravity, Liara dropped the two feet to the ground, wretched her helmet off, and was violently sick all over the floor.
"Feel better?" Shepard asked sympathetically after the poor asari was done vomiting. Jorge meanwhile, was quick to sever the tie between him and Liara, now that they were no longer spacewalking.
"A little."
"Think you can stand?"
"Y-yes."
With the airlock now open, everyone was keen to get out of the little decompression chamber, considering it now had a small layer of asari puke on the ground. This let them out where the elevator let out; the guest entrance to the Tower.
The geth were once again attempting to fortify their positions when the team stormed out the airlock. Jorge immediately locked on to the nearest enemies and opened fire, the machine gun thundering now that it was back in atmosphere. The one he targeted didn't stand a chance as the heavy rounds ripped it apart in a matter of seconds. The rest were taken down mere seconds after his.
"Wrex, Jorge, on point, blast us through, everyone we need to get to the control console where it is now! Move!" Shepard commanded.
Jorge rushed to the first flight of stairs with Wrex even as geth opened fire on them from the higher vantage point. Shots pinged off his shields, the golden spiderweb emerging even as he simultaneously returned fire and advanced. Beside him, Wrex had wrapped himself in a biotic barrier and advanced just as quickly. Both behemoths advanced past the makeshift barriers to the tower fountain, which was also in the process of being fortified, and continued to draw fire away from their teammates.
Jorge's shield collapsed from the weight of geth fire directed at him, but he merely tightened his stance to protect his vulnerable head. He wasn't worried. Not as the geth fire slackened as his teammates took advantage of his and Wrex's distraction to blow the platforms to sparking pieces. The last fell behind the metallic makeshift barricade even as the team continued forward towards the Council seats... and the Master Control Console for the Citadel. Where Saren was no doubt waiting.
Everyone let Shepard take the lead, spreading out as the ascended the final stairs. Jorge came up and spread right, watching for any sign of Geth, or for Saren.
The scene had changed, from when he had been here witnessing the Council with Shepard. The lighting, obviously, now muted and slightly red-backed by the emergency lighting instead of bright mains. But now, in the center of the inset garden one floor below, the glass covered one that the Council petitioners would stand on, was a haptic console. The Master Control for the entire Citadel. It didn't take many guesses to know who had been using it, or what he had been doing with it.
A red blip appeared on the motion tracker, just behind the console.
Saren rose on a personal grav platform, glowing the telltale blue of biotics as he swept his arm from one side of the room to the other.
The results were immediate. Every team member was blown off their feet as though hit by a grenade, flung backwards, in some cases down the stairs. Even Wrex was knocked back, his heavy form thudding as he slid down the stairs. Jorge himself teetered, off balance even as the he depressed the firing stud. He regained it quickly, but it appeared that Saren had been anticipating him specifically; no sooner did he regain his balance than the turian thrust both glowing blue arms out, sending a blue ball of force at the Spartan.
He tried to dodge, tried with Spartan reflexes, but the ball tracked him as though it had a mind of its own. And then he too was blasted off his feet, like a brute Chieftain had punched him in the chest.
He heard laughter as he shot back to his feet.
"I have to admit, Shepard, I thought you and your friends weren't going to make it in time," the turian chuckled, pistol out but held in a safe direction.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Shepard replied guardedly, cautiously standing to her feet, weapon ready. Saren laughed again.
"You're too late. In a few minutes, Sovereign will have full control of all Citadel systems. The relay will open. The Reapers will return," Saren gloated.
Jorge, unwilling to waste any more time, opened fire.
"No they won't!" Shepard shouted at the same time. She opened fire half a second after him, and the rest of the team, half a second after that.
The platform jerked as though it had a mind of its own even as Saren leveled his pistol at Tali and fired. His shots were fast and accurate despite the dodging that even Jorge was having trouble with, forcing Tali to dive for cover in moments.
Saren threw out his hands, then threw them up, sending Williams, Wrex, and Shepard floating into the air. To their credit, they tried to fight back, but without firm hold, all they managed to do was set themselves spinning in the lack of gravity as they continued to drift higher.
"That's enough out of you," Saren said predatorily, turning to face Jorge. His omni-tool activated sending a tech grenade screaming out towards the Spartan. It detonated with a small amount of force, something easily ignorable, and Jorge kept firing. After all, he had taken specific steps to prevent his gun from succumbing to the effects of a Sabotage attack. Saren looked startled, but then his face became angry and his body glowed blue, sending another wave of force at the Spartan, causing him to stumble to his knees, his gun off target. Rifle fire peppered Jorge, collapsing his shields quickly- the impacts registered far, far higher on the damage scale than anything except Covenant plasma. Unwilling to pit his armor (most specifically, the vulnerable helmet) against one of the best SPECTREs ever appointed and his insanely powerful rifle, Jorge dove down the stairs, out of range for the moment.
Saren shifted fire onto Liara, who barely managed to put up a powerful biotic barrier in time to soak the damage, and when it became clear that the young asari was focusing completely on the defensive, Jorge heard Saren shift concentration to Garrus. The turian was quick to get out of the way.
His shields beeped, signalling the return to full strength, far faster than any kinetic barrier in this universe. Jorge stepped up the stairs again and began moving right as he fired, loosely keeping in mind the location of some solid-looking steel pillars for cover in case Saren once again decided to focus him. His shots for the most part missed, partially due to the mobility of his target, partially due to his modified gun. For now, Saren was ignoring him.
Muffled thumps sounded as Shepard and the others lifted fell nearly three meters to the ground as Saren focused upon Garrus for some reason. Shepard and Wrex changed that with a biotic push and a sniper shot that managed to connect, causing Saren to shift fire to the krogan. Wrex had no doubt been anticipating it though, and his biotic barrier was ready.
"Tali! Garrus!" Shepard called out. Overloads splashed against Saren's shields, and his rifle overheated. He was about to use more biotics when the blue glow cut off- a damping program from Tali, no doubt.
"Wrex! Liara!"
Both the biotics glowed the telltale blue as Wrex warped him while Liara simultaneously threw a singularity at him. The singularity unfortunately missed, but the warp hit as Shepard, Jorge, and Williams continued to hammer the turian with what gunfire they could connect. A moment later, that became easier, as a tech grenade finally forced the damn platform into hover in a single place. Saren's barriers sunk like a stone.
Blue biotic fury exploded out from Saren, knocking them all back.
"I will not fall to you, Shepard! I am better than you, stronger, faster!" Saren grabbed the geth assault rifle off his back, eyes only for Shepard. "Sovereign did not chose me to receive its gifts so that I could fail it!"
"Receive its gifts?!" Shepard shouted back.
"Implants, Shepard. Flesh and machine, stronger than both," Saren replied as he squeezed the trigger.
No wonder he's so accurate while on the dodging platform, Jorge thought. The platform dodged Shepard's return fire, it was working again. His gun heat index neared warning levels as he continued to try to pelt the erratic flying turian with bullets. He ignored it. Saren's shields still hadn't fallen.
"You let yourself get implanted?! You're insane!" she shouted back over the massed gunfire.
Saren spared the time to create a powerful biotic barrier, then unleashed a flurry of biotic and rifle fire that sent Liara and Williams to cover. Jorge's gun was well the red zone now, but he refused to let it cool off, instead pulsing it to try to prevent it from melting down completely. Even his mighty gun was only marginally effective against the reaper enhanced barrier that was darting around the room like it was having a seizure. If they wanted to kill Saren, they were going to have to get him under their combined sights and pray.
"Dammit! Biotics, get him off that platform!" Shepard roared as she took fire and was forced to hide.
The krogan threw a ball of force at Saren, and it miraculously hit- but it did not unseat him. Still, he hung in midair, unbalanced, for nearly a second, at a critical time.
Sensing that this may be their only chance, with Saren's shields weakened from the near continuous fire of six separate guns, tech attacks, and biotics, everyone poured everything they had into that one window. So many shots and tech attacks hit his barrier that the blue of deflections obscured him from view. And then, just as he appeared to be righting himself…
Jorge saw it fly across his field of vision; a small disk, perfectly thrown. A grenade. One that was equipped with a high explosive, from what he remembered of the weapons bench. Shepard detonated it with perfect precision, just far enough outside the barrier to activate them and bring the maximum force to bear upon the wavering barrier. And so Saren's Reaper enhanced protections fell.
He looked almost bewildered, for the quarter second before the mass of fire concentrated on him hit. Almost as if he couldn't comprehend how his barriers had fallen, how he had failed. Then a wall of sand grains accelerated to ludicrous speeds hit him. His armor stopped some; others hit his prosthetic arm, doing little to no real damage; but the rest...
Saren's body jerked as round after round penetrated his body. Tali's hammerhead rounds and Jorge's machine gun rounds had the most visible effect, even though he managed to stay on the platform as though he was mag-locked to the damn thing. Satisfied that Saren was dead, Jorge let off the trigger, letting his poor abused gun begin to cool. The others stopped firing as well, no doubt as convinced as he was that Saren was dead.
They were all wrong.
Jorge watched in disbelief as Saren moved, his breath sounding wet as his lungs filled with fluid, and drew himself up, leaking blue blood from every hole within his armor. He straightened, or tried, but in the end could only manage a hate-filled hunch-backed stare at Shepard. Blood leaked from his mouth as he opened his mandibles, but any words were lost as he coughed.
Shepard calmly took out her pistol. She aimed it carefully; and then, pulled the trigger.
And Saren fell.
-{[]}-
Almost done. I made it to the ending there and just couldn't write anymore, couldn't think of a way to continue without a scene change or chapter split. So here we are.
Don't know when the next chapter will be out, haven't started it yet, but for those who know what is coming... expect it. And don't expect Jorge to breeze through it, just like he couldn't against Saren here.