The assault on Virmire hit a snag after dropping the improvised bomb at its designated spot. With Ashley and the Salarians pinned down by the Geth, Shepard was forced to leave Kaidan to defend the now active bomb on his own. Refusing to abandon her lieutenant to Saren's forces, she turned to Specialist Ryder at the ready.

"Ryder," Samantha Shepard said with the day's efforts having dragged her voice through the dirt. "Think you can cover Alenko until we get back?"

Scott scanned the surrounding structures until he spotted one tall enough for the job. Turning back, he replied, "Consider it done, Commander."

Ryder sprinted off towards a maintenance ladder leading to his vantage point. As he climbed, he could hear Shepard lead the rest of the squad onward. After a minute's climb, Ryder pulled himself to the top of the structure and readied his rifle on a small perch. Scoping in, Scott found Kaidan hidden behind solid cover.

"Kaidan, this is Ryder. I've got eyes on you from above."

"Ryder?" Kaidan looked around in confusion until he finally spotted the glint in the Specialist's scope. "This bomb is set to blow soon! Get out while you can!"

Moving his rifle down stream of the bomb's position, Ryder spotted and dropped two oncoming Geth troopers in quick succession.

"Funny." Scott punctuated with another round fired into a drone, sending it spiraling into a nearby wall in a ball of fire. "I was about to say the same to you."

"Someone has to guard this thing from the Geth!" Kaidan hollered while firing his pistol from behind cover. "We can't take the chance of it being disarmed!"

Ryder pulled the trigger another three times, forcing his rifle to cool down once the Geth juggernaut finally hit the deck in pieces.

"Do you have to be right on top of it?!" Ryder asked, venting his gun in frustration.

The Lieutenant must've held a small smirk as he replied, "It's working isn't-

An explosion rocked Kaidan from his safe spot and towards the bomb. His cover had been blown by a timely grenade and left him crawling backwards toward the bomb with one hand firing into the oncoming Geth.

"Kaidan!" Ryder called out as he waited for his weapon to cool.

Thinking quickly, Scott readied a grenade of his own. Charging the explosive with just enough biotic energy, Ryder skipped it into the distance. With his aim more or less on point, the explosive wiped a herd of Geth from the field. He repeated the idea with as many grenades as he had saved up by that point.

"Shepard!" Ryder chirped in over his comm unit. He was almost out of explosives and his rifle wouldn't do much to thin the growing number of Geth marching towards the bomb. "Kaidan's hit! Where are you?"

With his last grenade in hand, a stray Geth drone flew past him. As it went by it peppered his shields with a brief volley of gunfire. His shields held firm but the attack staggered him enough to drop the charged grenade. About halfway down his structure, the explosion went off and blew the supports clean off.

As Ryder went down with the structure, he could see Kaidan still firing at the Geth. Scott hit the ground, somehow avoiding the debris that rained down around him. His vision darkened from the impact and he could barely find his bearings.

"Shepard, we're out of time!" Joker yelled over their collective frequency.

Somewhere above him, Scott could hear the sound of Geth plasma fire hitting a biotic field. Soon after, he felt a pair of large, coarse hands saddle him onto a thick shoulder. He felt himself being moved as the sounds of battle echoed all around him. Suddenly, mechanical gears closed in around his senses as a new hand lifted his head.

"Ryder, are... there? Can... me?" The voice was dipping in and out as they addressed him.

The mechanical churning around him ended as he felt sunlight on his back. The sounds of battle faded away as the Normandy's engines overwhelmed his senses. His vision darkened again as he blacked out, succumbing to his injuries.


Without a measure of how much time must've passed, Scott felt his body start to stir from his slumber. Dressed back in causal fatigues, his muscles still ached underneath as they recovered from their recent trauma.

His eyes opened first, soaking in the sight of the med bay as he was lying down on his back. Chakwas was by her desk and by his side was Shepard, eyes cast down as she fiddled with her hands.

Ryder's ears appeared to have been undamaged as he recognized his voice as soon as he attempted to talk. "Sam?"

His redheaded Commander snapped to attention and got to her feet, hands at the edge of his bed.

"Easy, Scott. You're back on the Normandy." Shepard told him.

Scott struggled to sit up straight. The pain shooting through his spine sent him back down as he held in a groan.

"Yes," Dr. Chakwas confirmed from her desk. "And if you don't lie still, your wounds won't recover properly."

"That bad?" Ryder inquired.

"Not the worst I've seen but I wouldn't push my luck if I were you." Chakwas chided him but without her usual teasing demeanor.

"Doctor, could you give us a moment?" Shepard said as she crossed her arms.

Chakwas gave a polite nod, "Of course, Commander." She said as she walked out to the mess

Turning back to her downed squad mate, Shepard eased off the tension held up by her shoulders. "You scared me back there, Specialist."

"I didn't mean to worry you." Scott admitted as he tried to relax.

"I'm letting it slide on account of your stellar track record." Sam sat back down, visibly tired and on the verge of delivering what felt like bad news. "I wanted to debrief you myself."

"The last thing I remember was falling from that tower..." Scott tried to recall. "How's Kaidan?"

Samantha went quiet, steeling herself as she tucked a strand of hair behind her right ear. "Scott... We tried falling back but by the time we found you there were too many Geth and... Kaidan didn't make it."

"What?" Scott said as he tried to move again in vain. "No, I saw him, he was there. He was still fighting. I-I had him covered and..."

Slowly understanding what the Commander was imparting to him with her eyes, Scott stopped trying to rationalize it. Balling his hands into fists, Ryder fought off the tight strain in his chest and welling behind his eyes.

"I should've been down there, if I went down sooner and grabbed him-I could've- he'd be..."

"Ryder, what happened to Kaidan was my call, not yours." She said sternly, struggling to say her late squad mate's name.

Having the same conversation with Ashley was one thing but with Scott, Sam felt more than just professional concern. While unavoidable, Sam didn't wish the same trauma and guilt of outlasting your friends to stick to Ryder like it did her.

"It was my job to keep him covered while you went for Ashley and the Salarians." Scott relayed with his eyes unable to meet hers. "It's my fault-"

"It's your fault that an explosion knocked you from your vantage point?" Shepard pressed him. "Wrex and I carried you to safety and made the best of a bad situation on Virmire. It's Saren's fault, not yours."

"I'm here and he's not." Scott said. "How am I supposed to be okay with that?"

"You can't." Sam said as her hand touched his. "Scott, you did everything you could. Sometimes... we can't save everyone, no matter how much we wish or think we could."

Ryder nodded his head, agreeing but wishing still that he had done the impossible. "Sorry... You probably have enough on your plate without adding me into the mix."

Shepard felt his hand hold tight onto hers. She squeezed back, saying, "I know it's hard. Honestly, keeping you in the mix has kept me from overthinking this whole thing."

"How do you mean?" Scott asked.

"Kaidan was a good soldier and a friend. I've lost a lot of both in this line of work." Sam told him. "Talking with you helped me remember that doesn't have to define me. Instead of punishing myself, I can work toward honoring the ones we lost."

Ryder mulled over her admission, exhaling a long breath. "How do I honor Kaidan?"

Shepard locked eyes with him, her green eyes softly aware of how they pierced through him. "We finish what he started. We take down Saren and make the galaxy a bit safer."

Scott nodded along, his eyes staring back and swelling with determination. "I can do that... it just... still doesn't feel real... you know?"

"I know." Shepard assured him. "For now, just focus on getting better. We're going to need everyone at their best once we report back to the Citadel."

"The Council's ready to move on Saren?" Scott inquired.

"We'll see." Shepard tilted her head. "We've got a lock on where he's headed: a planet called Ilos out in the Terminus."

"That's a tall order." Scott replied with eyes widened. Then he shrugged and said, "But I'm ready when you are."

"Good to know." Sam managed a smile as she said it. She glanced back at the doors to med-bay. "There was one more thing."

"What is it?"

"Can you sit up straighter?" He confirmed, propped up against the back wall. "Put your arms out." She demonstrated and he followed along, holding his position while confused. "Maybe tilt your head to the side?"

As he finished doing as instructed, Shepard smiled. Satisfied, she dove in for a hug without warning. She nestled into his shoulder with her chin, pulling him into a tight embrace and refusing to let go.

Surprised but still melting into the hug, Ryder said, "Sam?"

"I'm just glad you're alive." The Commander confessed.

"Sorry, I'm pretty hard to get rid of." He teased.

"Good." Sam whispered.