Chapter 54: I had Your Six

"Talk to me, EDI." Shepard leaned against the interior of the AI core's doorframe, keeping the doors from sliding closed. She glanced at Legion's inert platform, curled in on itself on the floor. "Should I be getting the crew ready for the collectors to breach or are we good?"

"Legion and I have networked together in an attempt to better identify and isolate all signals capable of broadcasting our location." The blue hologram popped up and flickered twice before stabilizing. "There are defense mechanisms in place, and we are constantly battling attempts to seize control of our programing. I am sorry, Shepard, but I need to devote as much of my processing power to this as possible right now. I will notify you with updates when I am able." The blue hologram flickered again and collapsed, winking out of existence, before Shepard could apologize or say anything else.

"Either way, the collectors won't catch us off guard this time." Jane sounded so determined, Shepard almost believed everything might just go off without a hitch. "We're not going to leave this ship until we're certain it's safe, and EDI's already unshackled so if anything does go wrong, she'll be able to help defend the ship from the start."

"Yeah," Shepard muttered, rubbing the heel of her hand over her forehead. "Maybe."

She blew out a heavy breath and glanced at Lia, sitting at the back of the core, legs dangling over the edge of the bench with her shoulders slumped. The quarian shrugged before hopping down and walking over to stand in front of Shepard.

"How are you holding up, Lia'Vael vas Qwib-Qwib?" Shepard turned, draping her arm over Lia's shoulder, urging her toward the door. "Walk with me. Your AI boyfriend is out of commission, and you can't spend all of your time locked away in this tiny room."

"Legion is not my boyfriend." Lia giggled but did as asked, leaving the AI core and moving with Shepard through the med bay.

"Uh huh." Shepard snorted, flashing a smile at her. "You spend more time with him than I do with Garrus and Thane combined, and he's every bit as protective over you."

"The commander has a point, Lia," Dr. Chakwas said, the faintest hint of a smile playing at the corners of her mouth, gaze focused on her work in front of her.

Lia made a sound half scoff, half exasperated sigh and shook her head, making the doctor chuckle and Shepard grin. "He's … my best friend, like a brother."

"God, I hope you don't mean you let your brother play around in your suit," Kasumi said from her spot, propped up on one the beds.

Shepard let out a short bark of a laugh and shook her head. "Kasumi. No."

"Too much?" Kasumi shrugged, wincing a little with the motion, but still a smile spread over her face.

She looked better and better everyday, slowly easing the overwhelming guilt Shepard felt when she first found the woman pinned to the hangar wall, being tortured by Vasir, all for the sake of trying to get Shepard to surrender. Kasumi had been given leave to return to the hangar, to her own cot not far from James', but the thief chose to remain in the med bay for the time being. She claimed it was easier than going back and forth to the med bay every time she needed bandages changed or pain relief, but Shepard suspected Kasumi might never be comfortable in the hangar again. Really, who could blame her?

"She is looking better, but she's not going to be able to handle the collector base. We'll have to leave her behind. Shit, we might have to leave Garrus behind, too. Who will lead the second team? Miranda? James?" Panic started to well up, replacing the determination coming from Jane just a moment before. "Dr. Chakwas is probably going to try to talk us out of going, what with the way you've been lately."

"Doesn't matter," Shepard thought, "it isn't going to happen. There's no way we're sitting out on the collector base. We have to be there, it's as simple as that. The rest we'll figure out when the time comes."

"Keelah, you're all terrible." Lia shook her head, silver eyes rolling behind her mask.

"Alright, alright." Shepard steered the girl towards the med bay door. "Let's go check on Tali, she had a suit rupture while fighting off a husk that got too close."

"Then she's probably got an infection, I'm sure her suit sealed off the rupture and administered antibiotics." Lia shrugged. "She'll be fine in a few days."

"We need her to be fine sooner," Jane groused, slipping closer and closer to that dark place of hers; the place where reason and logic evaded her, leaving only fear and regret, twisting together to create an ugly, deep-seated madness. "We need Garrus to be fine sooner, too. We need him with us, and we can't afford to wait, not with the collectors going after Earth. This whole thing is going to hell."

Shepard nodded in response to both Jane and Lia. "I know."

"Then why are we going to check on her?" Lia waved a hand toward the port observation door as they passed the elevator.

Shepard hummed, pulling the quarian in tighter against her side and shaking Lia a little. "Because we love her, and I'm going stir crazy."

"What's 'stir crazy?'" Lia turned her head to look at Shepard, her eyes narrowing behind her mask.

"It means she's bored out of her fucking mind." Jack's sudden voice drew Shepard's attention, and she spotted the biotic rounding the corner behind them, carrying bottles of water. Jack stopped at the elevator. "She's not the only one."

"Oh." Lia cocked her head to the side. "I forget sometimes you're not all as accustomed to spending so much time on a ship as I am."

"Better than prison." Jack chuckled, pressing the elevator call button and turning her attention to Shepard. "I've got Garrus downstairs. Dr. Chakwas said he's okay to move around the ship, so he's helping me sort through some crap." She smirked, the side of her mouth lifting in a way that had emotions from past lives humming through Shepard's mind. "Don't worry, Alliance, I'll take it easy on him."

"What? Does she think she can fuck him better?" Jane gave the impression of rolling her eyes. "Oh, shut up, John. No one's saying anything bad about her. Garrus' heart is damaged, he shouldn't be exerting himself right now."

Shepard cocked an eyebrow, ignoring Jane's—and apparently John's—chatter. "Very easy, Jack. He hasn't been cleared for much."

"Yeah." Jack flashed her another smile as she stepped into the elevator, poking her head back out to add, "I've already been lectured by Dr. Chakwas on what he can handle, don't need to hear it from you, too."

Shepard sighed, shaking her head as the elevator door closed and turned her attention back to the port observation. She and Lia continued on, knocking on the door when they got near enough. A moment later, the door opened up to reveal Kal just on the other side.

"Commander." Kal nodded at her, tucking his hands behind his back. "Lia." He glanced over his shoulder at Tali, laying stretched out on the bed, her back turned to them. "Tali's resting, but she asked me to wake her up if you needed her for anything."

Shepard held up a hand. "No, don't wake her. I just wanted to check in on her. How's she doing?"

Kal waved his hand out toward the hall, and Shepard stepped back. He followed them out, letting the door close behind him. "Her infection is minor, but I think she's more shaken up than she's willing to admit." He relaxed his stance, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms loosely over his chest. "She said she nearly fell over the railing when one of those artifacts let out a blast, and she couldn't even see the ground below, she was so high up. She said Jacob saved her life. I guess I owe him big time."

She nodded. "James got back on his feet just in time for me to see Jacob pulling her back from the edge. I heard her scream when the blast hit," she said, suppressing a shudder, but still her voice cracked when she continued, "We've never heard her sound so terrified before. And considering some of the things we've faced … it's saying a lot."

"Commander, sorry to interrupt, but Kelly asked me to locate you since EDI's unavailable." Joker's voice came over the comm in the hall. "You've got an urgent incoming call from Admiral Hackett."

"The collectors arrived at Earth …." Jane's words sent icy tendrils of dread creeping along Shepard's spine.

"Thanks, Joker. Patch it through to my cabin, I'll be right up." She turned her attention back to Lia and Kal, forcing a smile on her face to keep from causing a stir. "Sorry, I've got to take this. Let me know when Tali's up?"

"Of course, Commander." Kal gave her a curt nod, the sudden alertness of the marine telling Shepard he'd come to the same conclusion as Jane. He pushed off the wall again, studying her, looking as if he'd spring into action if she only just told him what to do.

She forced her smile wider, hoping to put him at ease. There was nothing he could do, nothing anyone on the Normandy could do. She couldn't be in two places at once, it was either help defend Earth and risk being arrested, or stay clear and hit the base as soon as EDI gave them the greenlight. The Alliance could handle a couple of collector ships, and Fedorian probably sent a few extra ships, too. They'd be fine. Earth had to be fine.

She nudged Lia with her shoulder, keeping her gaze on Kal. "And maybe put this one to work so she's not moping around the AI core while Legion's helping EDI?"

Kal chuckled and dipped his head, despite Lia's huff. "I'm sure I can find something to keep her occupied." He turned opening the door, ushering Lia inside.

Shepard left them to it, making her way up to her cabin, the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach growing with each second. The call waiting flashed on the screen made by her darkened display case when she stepped inside. She stopped in front of her desk and connected the call, pulling in a slow, steadying breath. Admiral Hackett filled the screen, head turned as he talked to someone outside of her line of sight, his own cabin in the background. Shepard cleared her throat, bringing her hand up in a salute when the admiral turned to face her.

"Shepard." He nodded his head at her, and she dropped her hand. His tight lips and the severe set of his jaw made her stomach twist and turn, warning her things were far worse than she'd thought. "The collectors are attacking Earth," he said, cutting right to the chase. "I've got Councilor Anderson on the line, I'm patching him through."

Shepard swallowed back a mouthful of hot, sour saliva. She took a deep breath and nodded. A moment later, Anderson appeared on the screen, giving her a little bit of relief as some of the budding tenseness in her shoulders eased. She swore she'd kiss Grundan Krul the next time she saw him. There was a million things she wanted to say to Anderson, but it was hardly the time for friendly reunions. Still, he smiled at her, a knowing smile that said 'thank you, old friend', and she couldn't help but to smile back, dipping her head.

"Shepard, our weapons aren't doing much against these ships." Hackett's jaw flexed and relaxed before flexing again. "Primarch Fedorian has reinforcements on the way, and Admiral Zaal'Koris of the Migrant Fleet has reached out to me, offering quarian support … he said you urged him to stay focused on getting his people resettled on Rannoch, though … that's a conversation for another time. I understand how important a peace between the quarians and geth is, so I won't request their aid unless it becomes absolutely necessary. I need whatever you can tell us to help us fight this enemy, Commander."

Head swimming, Shepard leaned forward, pressing her palms into her desk and dropped her gaze. "How many ships are we talking about, Admiral?"

"Eight cruisers, at the moment, spread out. The appear to be prepared to hit every populated landmass. So far all we've really been able to do is harry the main ships and keep them from reaching ground with their shuttles." He shook his head when she glanced back up. "But it's not going to last long if we can't do some real damage. We're taking heavy losses, and their ship design is unlike anything we've ever dealt with. From what information we've been able to gather from the colonies attacked, and what you've provided us, we know these things can land on the planet itself if they get past us. As it stands, they're not close enough for our ground defenses to get a lock on without risking whole fleets."

"Eight!" Jane's shriek did nothing to help the situation, ramping up Shepard's adrenaline and carving a gouge out of her self-control. "How the hell did they get eight cruisers there? Our intel didn't cover that many. Grundan Krul had information on two, maybe three max, in the Attican Traverse." Jane's thought process stalled for a moment before rushing forward at FTL speeds, churning out every worst case scenario possible.

"Dear gods …" Shepard whispered, and then swallowed again before continuing in a louder voice, "If any of the ships in Fedorian's fleets have Thanix Canons, those are your best bet." Lifting a hand, she pinched the bridge of her nose, pain and pressure building up behind her eyes and at the base of her skull. "In the meantime, sir, I suggest coordinated, focused attacks with the GARDIAN turrets on the cruisers' weapons systems, thrusters, and engines. If you take out the thrusters, they may not land because they won't be able to take off again. You already know how devastating their weapons can be." She shook her head, a sad, slow gesture of regret, the her helplessness in the situation threatening to close her throat and steal away her breath. "I'm sorry, sir, there's not much more I can tell you. They design their ships so the most vital mechanics are internalized, but the GARDIAN turrets are able to do damage."

"I see. Thank—" The admiral flailed his arms as the entire ship shook around him. The screech of rending metal ripped through the speakers, lights flickering as sparks flew.

"Admiral!" Anderson yelled, leaning in closer to his screen.

Shepard's heart pounded in her chest, her voice lost in her throat as the room spun around her. Adrenaline coursing through her system left her limbs feeling numb, weakening her knees. Hackett's ship shuddered again, throwing the admiral out of sight.

"Sir, sir, we've been breached! The collectors have boarded the ship!" A voice yelled from somewhere off screen.

"Oh gods, they're going to take Hackett."

"Get to the armory, Salvatore." Hackett pulled himself back up, coming into view once more. "We're not letting these SOBs take a single one of our people without a fight. Go!" He waved his hand, shooing Salvatore away. "Anderson," Hackett said, turning back to the screen, righteous rage painting his face a fiery shade of red. "We need—"

The screen went black, cutting her off from both Hackett and Anderson.

"No! No, no, no. EDI!" Shepard spun, facing the AI's access node, the motion nearly sending her face first into the floor. "EDI, can you reestablish the connection?"

"Sh … rd-Co … an … er." Legion's distorted voice came through the comm, crackling as if she listened an old-fashioned radio, badly out of tune. "... unab … lp … counter …."

"Fuck!" Shepard yelled at nothing in particular, raking her hands through her hair. She opened her omni-tool, punching in the code to call her yeoman. As soon as Kelly's face appeared, Shepard waved a hand in front of the screen, slicing through the woman's cheerful greeting. "Kelly, I need you to try to reestablish the connection to Admiral Hackett, failing that, put me through to Councilor Anderson. Now!"

"Eight cruisers. We're going to lose Earth."

"Right away, Commander." Kelly jerked her head, letting her arm drop as she worked at her console. "I can't get through to Admiral Hackett, Commander. I think something's interfering with their communication's systems. I'm getting Anderson on the line for you now."

"We need to get to Earth! The collector base will have to wait." Jane barked out the words, anger and panic sending her careening closer and closer to the point of no return. "What's the point in rushing to destroy the base if they've taken Earth's population? You think they're just going to let everyone go again if their base is destroyed?"

"Thank you, Kelly," Shepard said before closing her omni-tool and turning back to the screen.

"Stop fucking ignoring me!" Jane yelled, pushing against Shepard's consciousness, a ploy to get her attention more than to take control.

"What the hell do you expect me to do?" Shepard yelled back, not bothering to keep her conversation with the voice in her head a silent one.

"I expect you to go tell Joker to hightail it to Earth." Jane fumed, her emotions flooding the barrier between herself and Shepard, drenching Shepard in a red fog, making her struggle to think straight. "Those are our people, we have to do something."

Shepard shook her head, trying to rid herself of the haze settling around her thoughts. The room spun around her and she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "I need to talk to Anderson. Just … just chill and let me talk to Anderson."

After a long, torturous moment of waiting, Anderson finally answered the call. Behind him, Valern paced the floor, which Shepard knew meant Tevos and Quentius wouldn't be far away. The salarian stopped, turning toward the screen when Anderson said her name. Valern frowned, coming a little closer to include himself in on the call, but Shepard ignored him for the time being.

"Anderson, I can't get Hackett back on the line. Their communication's systems are cut off." Shepard lifted a hand to rake it through her hair again, but when she saw how bad it trembled she shoved it back down to her side.

"I know, Commander. I've been trying to reestablish the connection from my end, too." Anderson shook his head, rubbing his hand over his brow. He turned, glancing over his shoulder when his door opened and Tevos walked in. Holding his hand up at the asari to ward off the million questions already forming on her lips, he turned back to the screen. "I've called the rest of the Council in, Shepard. I'm getting reports of more collector ship sightings, they're sending in reinforcements."

Shepard gripped the edge of her desk, holding on to it like a life preserver. She felt fairly certain just then, if EDI wasn't too busy to be monitoring her, the AI would be calling in every person on the ship with anything even resembling a medical degree. She'd be damned, though, if she left her cabin before she had eyes on the situation back on Earth.

The door to Anderson's office opened again, and Quentius stepped inside. The turian didn't speak, only approached the screen with a quite calm, taking up position next to Valern and tucking his hands behind his back. Tevos waved a hand in exasperation, but moved to stand on the other side of Anderson, casting a baleful glare at Shepard.

Anderson turned to address the Council, leaving the call open for Shepard. "Earth is under attack. I just lost contact with Admiral Steven Hackett as the SSV Buenos Aires was breached by collectors." He held up another hand, silencing them before they could respond. "Shepard provided Admiral Hackett with intel leading to the suspicions of an impending attack directly on Earth, and he had time to mobilize the fleets. Primarch Fedorian is already sending aid, having also been alerted to the possibility of an attack and wishing to mend wounds over this shit with The Dissension. The quarians, despite being in the middle of working out a peace agreement with the geth and reclaiming Rannoch—thanks to Shepard's efforts—have offered assistance, they're just waiting for us to give them the go ahead."

He shook his head, and Shepard bit her lip to keep from yelling at the Council, wanting desperately to tell them to get off their asses and do something. Anderson cleared his throat, tucking his hands behind his back. "Now, I know you're still gunning for Shepard over this leviathan thing, and I know I'm not your favorite person right now either, but I am still a member of this council, and the Earth Systems Alliance is still considered an ally, unless that's changed and no one's informed me. This attack is happening right now, not in the Terminus Systems, but on Earth. Can the Alliance count on its allies, the Council races, or do I need to turn to the quarians for help?"

Quentius flicked his mandibles and gave Anderson a quick jerk of his head. "I'll get in contact with Fedorian, figure out what he's already sending and see if there's anything else the turians can do to provide aid."

"Thank you, Quentius." Anderson nodded his head and then turned his attention to Valern.

"It would seem Commander Shepard has already made quite a few friends within the STG. I'll make a call, I'm sure they'll be more than willing to send assistance." Valern turned his attention to the screen, meeting Shepard's gaze. "This does not, however, resolve the situation for you, Commander. You are still expected to turn yourself in and face the charges brought against you."

"Earth is under attack, right now." Shepard leaned in toward the screen, jaw clenched so tight she could feel her teeth grinding down. "Right this very second, and I'm busting my ass to get things in order to take out the base of the assholes who are abducting my people and you're talking to me about bullshit charges? Are you fucking serious?"

"Commander!" Anderson spun to face her, leveling a warning look at her hard enough to cut through glass.

Shepard growled, her frustration with the Council—no, the entire situation: The Council, the collectors, the reapers, Jane and the others trapped in her head, just everything, the entire fucked up situation—the sound ripping through her larynx despite the look he gave her. Anderson blinked once and arched his eyebrows, the closest thing to shock and offense she'd ever seen on the man's face directed at her. She forced out a heavy breath and shoved herself away from the table.

Instantly, her heart beat so hard in her chest she thought it might explode, pain lancing through her head and down her spine, vision going dark. She gasped, the cabin air suddenly feeling bone dry and hot as all hell, as if she'd just stepped into a desert. She swayed on her feet.

"Dawn—" Jane's voice faded, shifting into nothing but static, an annoying fly buzzing around inside her skull.

"Shepard?" Whatever the councilor thought a moment before, concern filled his voice when he spoke, weighing his words down.

She shook her head, trying to bring her hand up to rub her eyes, but found she couldn't quite get her arm to cooperate with the gesture.

"Commander Shepard? Are you alright?" Tevos that time, a hint of panic in the asari's voice.

Shepard swayed again, trying to throw her arms out to catch herself, but instead, she stumbled, her shoulder slamming into the wall behind her before the side of her head banged against something hard and sharp. She hit the floor, or the floor hit her, she wasn't really sure anymore.

"Shepard! Shepard!" Anderson's voice gurgled, sounding as if the man talked to her from underwater, but it cut through the haze of pain, reaching her ears.

She wanted to tell him she was alright, not to worry, but she couldn't respond. She wasn't even sure if her eyes were opened or closed. Muscles spasming, sending fire washing over her from head to toe, her whole body started to twitch and shake, head bouncing on the metal beneath her.

"EDI! EDI, call Dr. Chakwas! Shepard? Can you hear me? Dear God, Shepard!" Anderson had never, not ever in all of her lives, sounded so truly terrified before. "EDI!"

"What—What's happening?" Shepard couldn't feel anything, and even though she thought her eyes were open, nothing but darkness surrounded her.

A dry, rough, cough of a laugh filled the emptiness. "If we're lucky, you're dying."

The voice, as much as the words, sent a warning alarm off in Shepard. She tried to move, to look around for the speaker but found the task impossible. No matter, something told her exactly who spoke and where she'd managed to find herself.

Someone snarled—Robert. Robert Shepard. "Fuck off, Ruby. Leave her alone."

Fear crept into Shepard's mind, scuttling along her nervous system like a cluster of spiders. Except just then, she wasn't entirely sure she had a nervous system. "No … gods, no. Jane? Jane what's happening?"

"I don't know, you overloaded, I guess." Something seemed to shift, and when Jane spoke again, she sounded somehow closer. "I can't even get through. We're all shut out. I think it means we're being sedated."

Shepard tried to swallow, the habit an old one, but completely ineffectual when she didn't even have control over her flesh. "Why is it so quiet?"

"Everyone's scared, ma'am."

"John?" Of course he was John. She knew it the split second before he spoke, as if she could feel his thoughts forming. Why'd she even bother to ask?

"Yes, ma'am. I'm here." He 'moved' a little closer to her, his voice sounding more solid and real, almost as if he'd leaned into the conversation. "Most of them are scared of you, the last time you came inside with us like this …."

She tried to suck in a deep breath, but she had no lungs to fill with air. "I killed some of them."

"And then, for shits and giggles, you killed off a few more." Ruby's voice filled with disgust.

"But some of you were already trying to kill me." As soon as the words left her nonexistent mouth, she felt the atmosphere shift, like a rabbit in the brush, suddenly becoming aware of a hawk circling overhead. Years of training and service fired off warning after warning, she'd just been dropped in the middle of enemy territory, wounded, unarmed, and quite possibly without backup.

"Nah, you've got backup, ma'am." John gave her with the impression of his hand on her left shoulder, his face flashing in front of her for the briefest of moments. "In here, you've always got backup."

She thought about her brow furrowing, because apparently, it was the best she could do. "What?"

"You don't have to say it for us to hear it, or feel it, or whatever you want to call it." Something shifted again, and Shepard could almost feel something brush up against her right side, like someone leaning against her in a show of support. In the half a second it lasted, she could see Jane, plain as day. "There's really no secrets in here."

"Brace yourself, ma'am," John said, and Shepard could tell he frowned, shoulders squared and blue eyes narrowed. "I can feel them moving in."

"When you wake up again, tell Garrus about this. Tell him I had your six." The fatalism in Jane's voice left Shepard more frightened than she'd been in a long time.

"I will, I promise. I—"

Something slammed against Shepard, images of a snarling Ruby filling her mind, pushing into her, flooding her with pure, unadulterated rage. In that instant, Shepard knew, as dangerous as she once thought Jane was, this woman, this Shepard, was far, far worse.

"Fight!" Jane yelled, and then Shepard saw Jane, too, wrapping her hand around Ruby's throat and tearing her away. "You have to fight them, Dawn."

"How? How the hell am I supposed to fight like this?" She barely got the words out before something else slammed into her: Michelle Shepard's fist.

Reflexes kicking in, her arm swung out, blocking another hit. She didn't know how she did it, it wasn't something she felt the way she would with flesh and bone, but it worked. Feeling another blow on the horizon, Shepard tried to block again, but nothing happened. The blow landed, feeling like someone punching their way right through her soul, overwhelming her senses with an utterly insane bloodlust not belonging to her, a need to fight for the sake of fighting, and then it disappeared again.

"Stop thinking about it and just do it." The man's voice seemed off, different somehow, like a distant echo, the memory of a sound. A face, darkened by the sun, hair bleached nearly white, with hazel eyes filled her mind, his name coming right along with it. He was Quinn Shepard, and she killed him to defeat Vasir. "No, I'm more alive than I've been since the day I emptied my clip into the Crucible."

Whispers of 'he's alive' and 'how' washed over Shepard, thoughts like lights flickering on and off brushed against her, but the angry swell of the tide carried them away. Ruby was at her again, and Shepard could see herself fighting the other woman, see her fists flying out to connect with Ruby's ribs. She felt herself duck out of the way of a punch, heard the click and whirl of weapons being drawn, and then somehow, beyond all reason, found her pistol there, waiting for her grip. To what end, though? She'd seen John put a bullet in Ruby's head once before, and the woman just stood up again as if nothing had happened at all. And just like that, with the one little doubt, the weapon vanished from Shepard's hand, and she found herself once again unable to move at all.

Ruby's hand closed around her throat, or what must've been her throat to her mind, and squeezed. Fingers, moving of their own accord, digging into the tendons and nerves in the crook of Ruby's thumb, destroying the other woman's grip, Shepard ripped the hand away. An eerie calm swept through her as she rammed her elbow into the other woman's nose. Stepping in behind Ruby as she recoiled, Shepard checked Ruby's shoulder, keeping her from turning before reaching around and snapping her neck.

When Ruby fell, dead for the moment, darkness surrounded Shepard again. She could feel the fight going on around her, though, hear the grunts and growls of people throwing their all into an invisible battle. Her reprieve lasted only a moment before she was tackled, thrown back into the place of otherness. Insanity—for there really was no other name for what Shepard felt the moment Sarah made contact with her—clawed at her mind, slithering and seeping through the cracks and filling the crevices. Terrified by the madness, Shepard flailed, throwing the other woman off her.

"You're not supposed to be here!" Sarah wailed, lunging at Shepard again.

Shepard felt her coming that time, her intent broadcast through thoughts and emotions, and Shepard threw herself into a roll, Quinn's instructions reverberating in her mind. She stopped thinking, and just did, drawing her pistol as she came out of her roll and fired, knowing it would hit Sarah. She stopped, listening, not to the sounds but to the thoughts, catching wind of two more headed right for her. She turned, firing twice more into the darkness, trusting her shots would find their marks.

Rage, twisted and snarled, red intertwined with the blackness of hatred boiled up behind Shepard. She tried to turn, but she was too late, the tangled mass of murderous intent was on her. Ruby. Fists slammed into Shepard's face, whipping her head from side to side. She knew, somehow, her nose was broken, the metallic tang of blood slick on her tongue, pooling in the back of her throat, making her choke, threatening to drown her. Without even realizing she intended to, Shepard's biotics sprung to life, leaping from her to wrap themselves around Ruby in a Reave.

She stumbled back, doubled over as whatever energy created her, left her, pouring into Shepard instead. Pulling herself into a crouch, Shepard sprung at the other woman, knocking her back to whatever served as a ground in that place, and slapped her hand down on Ruby's chest. And there it was, that thing, the spark right there, right within Shepard's reach, all she had to do was take it and make it her own.

A vicious grin spread across Shepard's face. "Die, bitch." She felt a part of herself wrap around the spark, and then she pulled, yanking it free of the mirage.

Ruby's mouth opened in a silent, pained gasp, her head tilting back in her agony … but then, as her body laid limp and started to fade, the light slipping away from her eyes, she smiled.