Author's Note: 17986 gave me this idea. See reviewing and messaging me really does help, and your ideas could end up in With Lions. Exciting stuff people, also the person who proofreads With Lions is leaving for a couple of days, so you probably won't see an update until Monday or Tuesday of next week.
Chapter Thirty Six: Traitor
"What?" Shepard stood by the couch in their Thessia hotel. His voice was easy and teasing, like it always was.
"Why do you always have to have the vid screen on?" Liara grumbled. She was looking for something to eat in the rather spacious and modern kitchen. It was the usual soft curves all asari appreciated, and reminded her of her mother's estate.
"Sorry, did I wake you up?" Shepard sounded guilty, and Liara immediately regretted saying anything. The fact that he dodged her question didn't escape the asari's keen mind. Shepard almost never says anything about himself. Liara was coming to the conclusion that talking about himself is an automatic suspension to the bare plain of vulnerability, at least in Shepard's mind. It's always there, a sort of restraint that always hangs over him. His question is a perfect example of this, he pushes away any questions about himself, and redirects it to someone else's needs.
"Only a little and you still didn't answer my question," she stood back up and gave Shepard the best smile she could muster in the morning.
"Silence is the unknown," Liara hopes she imagines the sadness in Shepard's voice.
"Shadow Broker, your search parameters regarding Commander Colt Shepard, and the SR-2 Normandy have been activated. The SR-2 has been put into emergency lockdown for unknown reasons," Glyph was hovering by Liara's head pulling her from difficult memories.
"Glyph, can you please try to access the Normandy's interior cameras," Liara was now typing furiously, trying to access anything from the Normandy.
"Certainly Shadow Broker. I have a feed from the Mess Hall where there are major disturbances," one of Liara's screens changed from agent reports to a live feed.
…
"...So then it turned out that it wasn't a peanut," Shepard was explaining to a group including Doctor Chakwas, Tali, and most of the engineering department. They sat in the Mess Hall having lunch together. The majority of the crew was having lunch, and the Mess Hall was filled. It was the day after the suicide mission, and everyone was reveling in the fact that it wasn't suicidal. Shepard had allowed everyone to have a lazy day.
Chakwas was laughing extremely hard, and about to reply when something whizzed by Shepard's head. A second later a bullet grazed the side of his head. "Everyone get down!" Shepard screamed.
"Initiating emergency lockdown," EDI's voice sounded over the intercom. Red emergency lights started flashing. Shepard pushed as many people he could under their table, and then leaped on top of it. Jacob stood behind the counter of the kitchen.
"What the hell Jacob, was that you?" Shepard was now producing a biotic barrier. Blood trickled down his face, just missing his eyes. Instead of answering him, Jacob continued firing shots at Shepard's biotic barrier. Shepard didn't have any weapons with him, so he gathered biotic energy in his fists.
He jumped off the table and threw a warp at Jacob, which he dodged. They were circling each other now, their movements were feral. Papers were whipping around, being pulled in by Shepard's barrier. He tried to make it as large as possible so he could protect the people behind them. The sheer size of the barrier started pulling anything loose towards it. The people who had been enjoying lunch earlier were under tables now, since no one here had biotics or weapons. No one expected to be attacked at home.
Jacob threw a warp at Shepard that was easily deflected by his barrier; however, he kept throwing them. Since the barrier was so large it was too thin to block continual hits. One of the warps was weakened, but made it past Shepard's barrier, and hit his left arm. This sent Shepard's legs sliding back a couple of feet until he hit the Med Bay's wall. A horrible crack resounded through the Mess Hall when Shepard's left arm was hit, and it hung uselessly beside his body. Shepard roared in pain and anger.
"You're dead, you sad excuse for a human biotic. I hope you like being fucking turned into juice, because once I'm done with you, everything that's left will fit into a coffee cup," Shepard screamed at Jacob. He started a biotic charge and in a second was at Jacob's location. He hit the other man so hard that he flew back into the metal cabinets behind him. The doors of the cabinets were ripped off their hinges, and the sound of the impact reverberated throughout the Normandy.
…
"EDI what is going on?!" Garrus was in the main forward battery. He was peacefully calibrating a huge-ass gun when a red light had started flashing. He had tried to open the door, but nothing happened.
"Deadly force is being exchanged in the Mess Hall, and anything deemed deadly aboard the Normandy is on automatic emergency lockdown. Every room has been locked down, and will only be opened when Commander Shepard deems it safe," Garrus grew even more concerned when he heard a huge crash.
…
Shepard then picked up Jacob with his biotics, which incapacitated him. Jacob's gun fell to the floor. Shepard slowly increased the pressure of biotics on his body until Jacob was panting for air.
"Shepard, you made a mistake destroying the Collector base, and an even bigger one abandoning the Illusive Man. He gave us mountains of supplies and funding, and now you expect to be able to just freelance without any funds," Jacob yelled at Shepard.
"So you were going to shoot me?" Shepard knew all along that there was something wrong with Jacob.
"With you out of the way, Miranda would've been the Commanding Officer, and we would've gone back to the Illusive Man. I don't have a problem with you Shepard, but we needed Cerberus to get anything done," Jacob was a little hard to hear while he was encased in biotics.
"Do you know what happens to people who betray me?" Shepard asked, increasing the biotic pressure around Jacob. At this point Jacob speaking was not possible. "Let's just say that's not a pleasant experience." Shepard folded his fist entirely, which made the biotics around Jacob crumple on him. When Shepard released his biotics, a puddle of bones and bodily fluids spilled onto the floor.
Exhaustion and pain from his left arm made Shepard take a knee. His head was bowed as his mind tried to sort through everything that had just happened. He had basically just liquefied one of his subordinates.
"Commander Shepard, can I lift the emergency lockdown? My sensors are indicating that the threat has been eliminated," EDI asked.
"Lift the lockdown, I've taken care of everything," Shepard looked down and realized he was kneeling in a pool of blood. He didn't know if it was Jacob's or his own.
"Shepard," Chakwas' voice was right above him. "Do you think you can make it to the Med Bay?" When Shepard looked up he saw everyone who was in the Mess Hall hidden behind tables, standing and looking around dazed. Miranda had appeared out of her XO cabin, Garrus was running towards him from the main battery.
"No, I don't think I can. My biotics just wiped me out," Shepard could feel that he was leaning back against the Med Bay wall. He started getting tunnel vision.
"Come on Shepard, stay with me. Try not to pass out. Garrus get over here and talk to Shepard!" Chakwas yelled. Shepard turned his head towards his left arm and saw bits of metal, and what he thought was bone poking out. Blood and clear liquid seeped out from where his skin was broken.
"Hey Shepard. Tell me about Rosebud. How's she doing?" Garrus' face was hovering right in front of Shepard's line of vision. He could see people's faces behind Garrus. "Come on Shepard, answer me!" Garrus was yelling in his face.
"I don't know... what?" Shepard didn't know what was happening anymore. "We have to defeat the Reapers! Did you enjoy your vacation, Kaiden?" Shepard saw ten Kaidens in front of him. They were all asking what his name was. Wasn't Kaiden dead?
Shepard tried to scramble backwards from the ghost, but something stopped him. He summoned his biotics, but someone yelled in his ear to calm down. A million whispers entered his mind. Some asked what happened, others were in disbelief over Jacob's death, and others were yelling about blood loss, transfusions, and confusion. Shepard fell into unconsciousness.