Chapter 48: Broken Toys
The entire ship rocked, throwing Shepard from her spot on the couch. A heavy fog enveloped her mind, but it quickly burned away, replaced with the demanding thrum of adrenaline. She must've fallen asleep. Glancing up at Thane, when his hands slid under her arm to help her, she asked, "What was that? EDI! What was that?"
EDI didn't respond.
Jane stirred to life in Shepard's mind. "Is the ship under attack?"
"I don't know." Bracing herself against Thane's hands and the couch, she pulled herself to her feet and then rushed to her cabin's comm, ramming her finger against the button. "Joker! Report!"
"It's the Shadow Broker. He knew we were coming." Jane fumed, her agitation setting Shepard's teeth on edge. "We should've gone down there. This wouldn't have happened if we lead the team."
"Jane, shut the fuck up for a minute!" Shepard snapped, swearing if the woman were flesh and blood, Shepard would strangle the life out of her if she didn't listen. "Joker, report."
"Command—" Joker's voice came through the comm, broken by static and electronic distortions. "—track—thing—hull—EDI—"
"Joker, you're cutting out."
"—attack—"
She glanced at Thane and he nodded, already un-holstering his pistol to check his thermal clip. "We're on our way; see if you can alert the others."
This kind of thing exactly made her keep her gear in her cabin instead of the armory; despite Jacob's wounded pride. She cleaned and cared for her own armor and weapons. She earned her N7 rank with blood, sweat, and tears; taking care of her own gear was ingrained. She only let Jacob near her stuff when it needed major repairs. With Thane's help, she was suited up and ready to go in under a minute.
They left the cabin and she called up the elevator, taking it down to the CIC. Cerberus crew at all stations filled the deck with a flurry of activity, frantically working to keep the Normandy stable. Kelly rushed to Shepard's side, jogging to keep up as she shoved a datapad at Shepard.
She glanced at it just long enough to find a list of damage reports. "I don't have time to read, Kelly. Give me the highlights." She kept moving, handing the datapad back.
"We have a hull breach, Commander. Cameras are down in the lower decks, and EDI's offline." Kelly stopped as they neared the cockpit. "We're not sure yet what happened."
Shepard nodded, moving past the yeoman. "Thanks, Kelly. Get me Mordin and Jacob. Please." She stopped when she reached the cockpit, dismissing Kelly from her mind when she found Joker at the helm working just as furiously as the Cerberus crew in the CIC. "Joker, what's going on?"
"The storms were messing with EDI's sensors, but she was tracking something, might've just been debris. Can't say for sure, Commander, but a few seconds later something hit the ship and EDI went down. I got the last readouts from the Normandy's sensors, and they detected an explosion in the hangar." He spared a glance over his shoulder at her, his brow furrowed. "I don't think it was caused by a collision with debris. I don't see anything out there, but I think we're under attack."
Her heart skipped a beat. A hull breach was bad, really bad, especially if anyone happened to be nearby when it occurred. "Is the breach sealed? Is Kasumi down there?"
"I don't know about Kasumi," Joker said, running his hands over the holographic controls, "but as far as I can tell the automatic seals kicked in and are holding."
"Alright, I'm going down." She turned, finding Mordin right behind her and Jacob on his way. "You two, keep the CIC secure. Guard Joker, EDI's down, he's the only thing keeping the Normandy going right now."
"Yes, ma'am." Jacob gave her a quick jerk of his head in the affirmative and pulled out his pistol.
Mordin nodded, turning where he stood and put his back to the cockpit. He started changing out his ammo—probably for something unlikely to cause more damage to the ship in case he missed. She eased past her two sentries, and with Thane right beside her, she made her way back to the elevator.
After hitting the call button for the elevator, she activated her comm, hoping those of her team still onboard thought to activate theirs in the commotion. "Anyone got their ears on?"
"Shepard-Commander," Legion's calm, stoic voice was the first to respond, "EDI appears to be malfunctioning and we believe the Normandy has been breached. Awaiting orders."
"Where are you, Legion? Is Lia with you?" Shepard stepped onto the elevator, putting her hand against the door to keep it from closing until Thane followed her inside.
"I'm here, Commander." Samara's voice broke through.
"We are in the AI core, Creator Vael is with us," Legion said.
"Yeah, Shepard, I read you. We've got a problem down here." Zaeed's rough, gravely voice filled her ear. "I'm in engineering. Heard Gabby screaming. Put down a couple of the Shadow Broker's dogs. Gabby and Ken are asking for guns."
"Give them weapons, Zaeed. They know how to use them. Stay on deck four, keep it clear. Samara, meet us at the elevator." Shepard hit the button for the third deck. "Legion, you and Lia see if you can get EDI back online and protect deck three. Kasumi? Are you there?"
The radio remained silent.
Shepard took a deep breath, fear creeping along her spine, making her fight back a shudder. "Kasumi, if you read but are unable to speak, tap your mic twice if you can."
Shepard strained to listen; she glanced at Thane and could tell he listened, too. After a moment, two clicks passed through the comm. She let out a heavy breath. "I read you, Kasumi. One tap for no, two for yes. Do you understand?"
The elevator opened and Samara stepped inside. Shepard nodded her head to Thane and he hit the button for the hangar. Two clicks sounded in her ear.
"Good. Are you alone down there?"
One click.
"Are you injured?"
Two clicks.
"OK, Kasumi we're on our way down. Stay in cover if you can. Keep yourself cloaked. Alright?"
Two clicks.
Half-way to the hangar, the ship rocked again, the elevator grinding to a stop, and Shepard growled. "Damn it."
"Commander," Joker's voice sounded in her ear. "There's another breach, port side on deck four, and … I've lost contact with the ground teams."
"Fuck." She sucked a deep breath in through clenched teeth, feeling her pulse quicken in her throat. "Fuck" She slammed her fist into the side of the elevator. "Joker, the elevator's stopped. Can you get us going again or are we taking the emergency shaft?"
"One second." After a moment of silence, the elevator whirred back to life and Joker said, "Did that do it?"
"Yes, thanks, Joker. Tell Jacob I want anyone on the ship who can handle a gun armed."
"Sure thing, Commander. I'll let you know if I hear anything from the ground teams."
When the elevator started to slow to a stop, Shepard motioned to her team, urging them against the side walls. She checked her thermal clip and took cover just inside the elevator door. When they stopped moving and the elevator doors opened, she waited a second before peeking around the corner. Gunshots forced her right back into cover, but she saw enough to form a plan of attack.
"Thane, you go left. Samara, go right. There's cover on both sides. I'll provide covering fire. I spotted at least two humans, but count on more. They seem to be guarding the breach; starboard toward the stern." She activated her mic. "Kasumi, we're coming in hot are you in cover?" Shepard took a deep breath when she heard the two clicks.
Samar and Thane nodded their understanding, and Shepard gave the signal. She ducked out; opening fire at the two she spotted toward the back of the ship, giving Thane and Samara the chance to move to cover. As soon as they were secure, they returned the favor, giving her the chance to leave the elevator. She rushed out, letting her shields take a couple of hits from a third—a turian—she hadn't seen standing port side before sliding into cover behind a stack of crates. A moment later, he floated into the air, pulled in by Samara's biotics. Shepard took aim and fired, hitting him with incendiary rounds until he collapsed back to the deck out of her sight.
"Kasumi, can you get to us?" She bit back a curse when only one click came by way of response. "Are you starboard?" A little hope slipped in with the single click that time; at least Kasumi wasn't right next to the enemy targets.
With her back to the crates, Shepard inched her way around to the other side until she got eyes on the two by the hole in the side of the ship. She released a Pull, lifting one into the air but taking aim at the second, trusting Thane and Samara to take the easy shot on the floater. She only got one shot off—the downside of using a pistol to prevent stray bullets from ripping new holes in the ship—barely putting a dent in his shields before he took cover. Just as the first guy fell, a shuttle darkened the breach and several more poured through. One of which she immediately recognized.
"Vasir!" Jane hissed, rage flooding Shepard's mind.
She couldn't say she exactly planned on activating her Charge, but Shepard flew across the deck, slamming into the asari Spectre moonlighting as an agent of the Shadow Broker. It knocked Vasir back a few feet but left Shepard surrounded by enemy targets. Rounds tore through her shields, denting her armor. In a matter of seconds they'd rip though it, too, if she didn't move. She growled, slamming her fist into the face of another asari standing just a little too close, before rushing for cover.
"Go, find the geth and lock down the ship's AI before it comes back online. Vexer, Halina, get control of the ship. The baby Spectre's all mine." Vasir's mocking voice sent another flood of rage through Shepard, leaving her seeing red.
"What the fuck are you waiting for? Kill her!"
Shepard ducked out of cover, firing off two rounds at Vasir but the Spectre saw it coming, shifting into a streak of blue as she moved across the deck, avoiding Shepard's shots. Memories that weren't hers, and didn't seem to come directly from Jane, danced around the edges of Shepard's vision, filling in empty spaces with Illium architecture and non-existent rocket drones. She dove back into cover, shaking her head in a desperate attempt to rid herself of the hallucinations.
"The Broker wants her alive!" The asari Shepard punched in the face a moment before, yelled over her shoulder as she and the others made their way to cover. They reappeared briefly as they moved along the starboard wall toward the elevators. "And in one piece!"
Shepard hit her mic. "They're after Legion and EDI, they're going to try to take the ship."
"You should've come to Illium when I asked, Shepard." Vasir called out from somewhere port side. "I hear the Council wants you for treason, now." She tsked, the chiding noise echoing off the hangar walls between the sounds of gunfire coming from closer toward the bow. "They won't even care now, when I report you dead. No one mourns the dishonored."
Shepard caught a glimpse of the other Spectre changing cover and fired. Her shot missed, hitting the interior of the ship and ricocheting, lodging itself in a crate before bursting into flames, setting the crate on fire. "Shit."
Vasir laughed, taunting Shepard. "Try not to burn down your precious Normandy, Shepard. The Shadow Broker wants to add it to his collection."
A sudden, blue streak flew toward her, and Shepard barely had the chance to get out of the way, rolling across the open floor. Popping back up to her feet, she took aim, hitting Vasir once with an utterly pointless shot, deflected by the asari's barriers. Vasir charged again, forcing Shepard to keep moving. The sharp staccato of fire at the other end of the hangar told Shepard her team remained in the game, still fighting to defend the Normandy.
Back and forth, she went round after round by herself against Vasir, getting nowhere against the amped up biotic's barriers. Samara and Thane remained occupied at the other end of the ship, and she realized, some small part of her felt glad for it—she wanted to crush Vasir herself. Each missed Charge, dodged Shockwave, brushed aside Reave, and laughed off shot only pissed her off more and more until her blood burned in her veins. Jane's vicious demands for Vasir's blood did little to keep Shepard focused.
The asari Spectre didn't act nearly as concerned for the Normandy as her words might've suggested, because it didn't stop her from opening fire with her assault rifle, ripping holes in the ship's hull and a few times through Shepard's armor. The automatic shields worked over time, temporarily patching each new breach. She kept her system flooded with Medi-gel, took cover to let her shields restore when needed, and tried to keep a barrier in place with her biotics; but she was tiring and her biotics were better saved for offense.
"What's the matter, Baby Spectre, can't keep up with the real thing?" Vasir's laughter cut off abruptly. "Oh? What's this?"
Kasumi's blood curdling scream cut through the air, dousing Shepard's rage in ice water, her stomach slipping down into her boots. Throwing caution to the wind, all sense of self-preservation disappearing in a puff of smoke, she activated her Charge and rushed across the hangar toward the sound of Kasumi's suffering. Her Charge ended and reality slowed back to a standstill around her, leaving her momentarily disoriented. She strained her ears to listen, trying to pinpoint Kasumi's location without giving her own away. Hearing a pained whimper from her right, she pressed her back to a piece of machinery—a part of the coolant system, she thought—and edged forward until she could look around the side.
Kasumi sat slumped against the port side wall, pinned in place by a twisted chunk of metal; part of the hull blown off in the blast. It cut through her thigh and abdomen, trapping her in place while she slowly bled out. Her cloak must've failed her at just the wrong time, exposing her to Vasir.
The asari Spectre kept her gun trained on the thief, her boot resting against the hunk of shrapnel. She glanced up at Shepard and smiled. "Surrender, Shepard."
A movement in the shadows behind Vasir caught Shepard's eye, and only then did she realize the gunfire at the other end of the ship had stopped. Her relief must've shown on her face because a second later the other Spectre turned into a blur, streaking across the deck back toward the breach. Shepard didn't waste any time, kneeling down next to Kasumi. Then, Thane appeared at her side, standing guard over her while she had her back turned.
"Gods," Shepard whispered, her hands fluttering uselessly. "Kasumi, I can't take it out, not until the deck is clear. You'll bleed out before I can get you to Dr. Chakwas, even with Medi-gel. You've already lost a lot of blood."
"Too much blood, siha." Thane touched her shoulder. "We must get her help now, or not at all. I'm sorry."
"Aw, what's the matter?" Vasir cooed as if talking to a child. "Did one of the Baby Spectre's toys get broken?"
"Break her fucking neck!"
"Thane," Samara's voice drew Shepard's attention. The Justicar approached from the side, moving low under cover. "Take her to the med bay, I will stay with Shepard."
"You should've stayed dead, Shepard. Your team is better off without you. People die around you." Vasir paused, her voice sounding doubly amused when she continued. "Does your team know about Akuze? Jenkins on Eden Prime? Alenko on Virmire? Your choices get your teams killed. You even took a few of them down with you on Alchera."
Jane became a snarling, red tangle of rage in Shepard's mind. Voices of some of the other Shepards slipped through the link, each one filled with just as much crazed vitriol, making it hard for her to focus on anything but the throbbing pulse in her head and the desire to rip Vasir limb from limb.
"Shep?" Kasumi's weak voice snapped Shepard's attention back to the moment.
Shepard took a deep breath and shook her head, turning her attention to Samara. "No, you both go. He's going to need some cover. He won't be able to fight if he's carrying her, and she can't walk." She glanced up, meeting Thane's gaze. "I've got this bitch."
His face remained impassive, telling her nothing as his gaze swept the hangar before looking down at Kasumi and then Shepard. "Are you certain?"
"Yes. Go, get her to Dr. Chakwas. They're headed for the AI core anyway; Legion and Lia will need help." She turned her attention back to Kasumi, the woman's shallow, panting breaths and pale complexion not boding at all well for her condition. "Hang in there, Kasumi. This is going to hurt." She pushed herself to her feet, shoving the last of her Medi-gel into Thane's hands before moving away from her team.
She needed to keep Vasir away from Kasumi and the others while they worked to free the thief from the shrapnel and prepare her to be moved, and then she needed to cover them as they made their way to the elevator. A moment later, Shepard heard the screech of shifting metal, and Kasumi let out an agonized scream. The cold-hearted laugh of the asari Spectre echoed off the walls, making it difficult to locate the source.
Shepard growled, grinding her teeth together so hard she fully expected to crack a tooth or two before the fight was won. "Come out, Vasir. Time to stop playing games." She moved from cover to cover, peering around the edge before moving on.
Kasumi's screams died down, becoming soft whimpers. Shepard hoped it meant she was in less pain thanks to having the massive piece of metal excised and Medi-gel applied to her wounds instead of being because she simply didn't have the strength to scream anymore. If Kasumi died ….
Samara's voice filled her comm. "Shepard, we've secured Kasumi and are heading to the elevator now."
She lifted a hand to her mic. "I'll cover you." Moving to where she could watch and defend the elevator, Shepard took up position and prepared to hold her ground.
She waited, her gut telling her Vasir would Charge the others when they got out into the open, all but defenseless with the wounded thief. She listened, hearing the soft sounds of Samara's boots against the metal deck and her own breathing, heavy in her ears. She adjusted her grip on her weapon, and gave her head a little shake, trying to clear the red haze before Jane got it in her mind to push for control.
Then, she caught a glimpse of the telltale blue streak. Like a sudden flash of lightning snapping loose in her brain, something in Shepard shifted. She flung out her hand, distantly shocked when a biotic Lash unfurled, snapping through the air. Never in her life had she performed that particular biotic maneuver, yet there it was, grabbing the asari mid-Charge and jerking her toward Shepard; filling her with a euphoric rush.
It stopped Jane in her metaphorical tracks. "How … oh Gods, what did you do?"
Another shift ripped through Shepard like wildfire, and Jane let out a feral scream, pushing against her, but she pushed back. Throwing her hand out again, a biotic Slam lifted Vasir into the air before forcefully throwing the Spectre back to the solid metal floor of the hangar.
"Dawn stop! You're killing them!"
Realization washed over her, giving Shepard pause. These weren't her powers, which could only mean she stole them from the other Shepards. Cannibalizing them, as Jane called it … but Shepard didn't feel entirely sure she really cared. They're already dead, and she was fighting to save lives—real lives, not the restless undead—and their very existence might be killing her. Vasir pulled herself to her feet, stumbling, clearly dazed with her arm hanging a little limp at her side. Shepard fired on her, cutting through the last of her shield and sparking against her armor. Vasir ran, taking shelter somewhere behind James' station.
"Nice trick, Shepard." A quaver in the asari's voice belied the bravado. "When did you pick those up? They're not in your file."
"You're on the wrong side of all of this, Vasir." Shepard moved to cover, pressing her back to a crate. "The Shadow Broker is going down. He's crossed lines no one should, especially someone with that much power."
Vasir's laughter echoed off the walls, ringing hollow to Shepard's ears. "You work for Cerberus, Shepard! Don't pretend you don't know what lines Cerberus has crossed. Or did they erase all of it from your mind while they played with your corpse?" The sharp bark of Vasir's gunfire forced Shepard further behind the crate. "The Shadow Broker provides me with intel that saves people from organizations just like Cerberus. You don't get to judge, Shepard. You don't have the room."
"I know what Cerberus has done, and I'm already working to deal with them, too." Shepard peered around the edge of the crate, just barely catching sight of Vasir as she moved from behind James' quarters back toward the breach in the hull, disappearing behind one of the shuttle racks. "Neither of us has to die here, Vasir. The Shadow Broker will be replaced; you'll still be able to access Broker resources, you can still use the information to save people. Use it to help me fight the collectors—fight the reapers." She struggled to ignore the constant whispers in the back of her mind, violently shifting between cursing Shepard for hurting them and reminding her of how Vasir tried to kill Liara and couldn't be trusted … as if something the asari literally did in another lifetime carried more weight than what she did in the current one.
"Haven't you heard? The Council publicly denied your claims." Vasir scoffed, her voice dripping with mockery. "There is no reaper threat."
The bitch tore a hole in the Normandy, jeopardizing the lives of everyone onboard. She put men on Shepard's ship to try to capture her for the Shadow Broker—and for what? To be sold off to the collectors? They both had to know what the collectors were doing to the human colonies; what they'd do to her. How was it not worse than a failed assassination attempt on a former teammate—one every other Shepard already got revenge for?
She gritted her teeth, pulling a biotic barrier tight around herself. "You know damn well it's just a cover. Something they said to keep people from panicking."
Vasir wanted to take EDI and Legion to the Shadow Broker. What would he do with them? Tear the AIs apart; dissect them so he could replicate them? Sell them to the highest bidder? Shepard could feel Jane struggling to keep the other voices at bay. They pressed against her the same as she'd done to Shepard; loud and demanding, throwing Jane off balance as they tried to take control of the situation.
"Maybe, but what does it change, really?" Hints of doubt worked themselves into the asari's voice. "If the reapers are real and are coming to the Milky Way, they'll be here whether or not you're around. Isn't that what you've been saying all along? The greatest threat the galaxy has ever seen?"
The building pressure in Shepard's skull started to shift toward pain. "I have intel … we need … we need to work together if this galaxy stands a chance."
Could she, though? Let Vasir live and actually try to work with the other Spectre knowing what she came there to do? She didn't just want to capture Shepard, EDI, and Legion; she wanted to take the Normandy itself—what did she plan to do with all of the men and women who lived and worked on the ship? What'd she plan to do with the rest of Shepard's squad?
"Alright, Shepard. You want to talk about the reapers? Let's talk about the reapers." Vasir stepped out into the open, not at all very far away from the breach.
Shepard knew her team, and they'd fight to the death for her and the Normandy. What about the non-combatants? Dr. Chakwas? Joker? Gods, Kasumi was already on the brink of death because of this bitch.
"No." Shepard stepped out of cover. "I've changed my mind." She flared with biotic energy, more than she'd ever felt flowing through her. She activated her Charge when the asari sneered and lifted her assault rifle. Racing across the deck burned some of the biotic energy off, but still left more than she had any right to handle by the time she slammed into Vasir, knocking the asari back a little.
"Get the hell off my ship!" Intense pain blossomed in her skull, flaring bright white behind her eyes as something inside of her shifted again—another Shepard consumed. She bent her knees, launching herself into the air. Pulling every drop of biotic energy from around herself and from her barrier into her fist, she slammed her hand into the ground as she landed, sending out a Nova blast.
The shockwave picked Vasir up, throwing her through the air hard enough she ripped through the breach seals. Panting with exhaustion, Shepard stumbled to the breach and planted her hand against the ragged edge. She peered down through the blue shimmer of the seals and saw the asari's biotics flare and fizzle out again as she tried to slow her plummet toward Hagalaz' surface.
Putting her back to the wall, she slid down the surface until she could sit. The pain and pressure from her head dissipated, leaving behind an eerie silence. Somehow, she doubted things would stay silent in there for very long. She lifted a hand to her mic, ignoring the tremble of her fingers. "Hangar bay is clear, for now at least."
"This is Gabby, Commander. Engineering is clear, but some of them made it to the elevators and there's another shuttle circling the breach in port cargo."
"Grunt is going to be pissed." Ken's voice broke through. "That tank of his is mangled. Did he still sleep in that thing?"
"Be quiet, Ken. The tank isn't important right now," Gabby said. "We've got the deck covered, Commander. Zaeed is keeping the shuttle at bay with his grenades."
"Thanks for the update, Gabby. I need a report from decks two and three." She pushed herself back up to her feet, her head swimming and muscles feeling weak.
"Uhhh … we had some try for the CIC, but they didn't make it out of the elevator." Jacob's voice filled her ear. "I'm not really sure what Mordin did, but the elevator's out of commission."
"Only temporary," Mordin said.
She paused on her way to the elevator. "How temporary?"
"Will have fixed in moment."
"Make it quick, Mordin." She started moving again, taking her time as the hangar spun around her. "Third deck?"
"Sorry, Shepard." Lia's voice sounded strained. "We haven't gotten EDI back online, yet. Dr. Chakwas needed our help with Kasumi. Thane and Samara are outside of the med bay. There's a lot of gunfire. I think … I think some of the Cerberus crew are helping. I'm sorry, I can't look right now. Keelah, that's a lot of blood."
"I'm here, Shepard." The sound of Thane's voice filled her with relief; helping to cut back some of the tension Lia's last words left her with—even if only for a moment. "We've lost Goldstein and Rolston. I'm sorry; I couldn't get to them in time. Gardner's wounded but he's behind cover in the mess and I've stopped the bleeding. I believe other members of the crew have barricaded themselves in the crew quarters. There are at least three of the Broker's agents still alive, but they have taken up position further down the hall. We're unable to pursue them without leaving the med bay open to attack."
"Elevator ready for use, Shepard," Mordin said.
"Good. Thane, I'm on my way up." She hit the elevator call button. "Mordin, Jacob, figure out who up there you can spare and send them down. I want at least two pairs of eyes on the breach in the hangar, the rest need to be split between decks three and four if possible. We're kicking these assholes off our ship." She bit her lip, afraid to hear the answer but knowing she needed to ask. "Joker, any word from the ground team?"
"I'm sorry, Shepard." And he was; she could hear it crystal clear in his voice. "I haven't been able to reestablish contact."
She let out a weary sigh. "Keep trying."
"Aye, aye, Commander."
The elevator opened and Shepard stepped inside. She hit the button for the third deck before checking her thermal clips. She'd have to change to her assault rifle soon, like it or not. She needed to take it easy on her biotics, too. She touched her mic again. "Thane, are they port side or starboard?"
"Both."
"Alright, when the elevator opens I'm moving starboard," she said, hoping to put a quick end to it all. "I need you and Samara ready to cover my six, focus on those port side."
His response was immediate. "Moving into position now, Shepard."
The elevator door opened and she lifted her pistol, turning out of the elevator to her right, trusting Thane and Samara to have her six. She counted three, which left at least one at her back; Thane said 'at least three', but he also said they were on both sides of the hall. She leveled her gun on the nearest, a turian woman, and fired. Pushing the turian back, Shepard rushed for the safety of the wall, her shields taking damage as guns fired on her from both sides.
A moment later, biotics flew past her, lifting one of the Broker's agents into the air and pulling them out where Shepard could shoot them from cover. Two well aimed shots from her and a third—she thought from Samara—and the turian's lifeless body dropped to the floor. She turned, firing off a couple of shots at the asari, wanting to get rid of the biotic before she made use of her abilities.
She heard the elevator open again and called out, "Stay in cover, they're in the halls."
"Yes, ma'am. Burt Masters here. We're patched into the comms," a vaguely familiar voice said in her ear.
Shepard tapped her mic. "There's two starboard, asari and human. I haven't seen port side yet."
The sound of gunfire from the other end of the hall rang through the deck before Thane's voice came over the comm, "Port side is clear."
Shepard ducked out of cover again, firing twice more at the asari, but her shields where back up and it didn't do much good. Shepard's thermal clip was toast, and she felt like she might drop at any second. "I need to get Gardner to the med bay. Finish off these sons-of-bitches and sweep the deck. Check everywhere. I want the whole ship cleared."
She clenched her jaw, determined to hold it together. She had to. There were enemies on her ship and the ground teams stopped responding. Making her way behind the counter, she found Gardner propped against the ovens. His torn open shirt revealed he'd taken a grazing wound across his ribs, and he had a bullet lodged in his thigh. All things considered, he'd been damn lucky.
"Hey, Commander." Gardner flashed her a rueful smile. "Sorry I wasn't more help."
Shepard forced a smile on her face, feeling like if she heard one goddamn more 'I'm sorry' from anyone before the day ended, she'd completely lose her shit. She held out her hands, helping to get him to his feet. "You can make it up to me with a decent meal later. Come on, let's get you to the med bay."
He draped an arm over her shoulder and she slid hers around his waist, helping to support his weight while they made the slow walk to the med bay. Wisely, someone locked the med bay door, but it required Shepard to get Lia on the comm to ask her to let them inside. Shepard helped Garner limp his way in once the door opened, and led him to an empty bed before glancing at Kasumi.
Shepard let out a sigh of relief after seeing the thief's complexion looked far better than it did in the hangar bay. Legion seemed to be closing up the wound in Kasumi's abdomen with Dr. Chakwas guidance. Kasumi even gave her a weak smile.
Dr. Chakwas, on the other hand, took one look at Shepard and pointed to the chair. "Sit, now. I'll deal with you in a moment."
Shepard wanted to argue, insist there was still too much to do, but her whole body felt like she just trudged through sand at the bottom of the ocean. She eased herself down in the chair, her shoulders slumping beneath the weight of her armor. Her pulse pounded in her temples, and she lifted a hand to head. She really … she really … didn't feel so good.
"Shepard?" Lia seemed so very far away. "Dr. Chakwas, I don't think—"
The whole ship seemed to slump sideways, the floor rushing up to meet her as the thrum of her blood in her ears washed out every other sound. She hit the ground, the impact jarring her already fading vision. A very panicked looking quarian rushing to her side became the last thing she saw.