Running Silent:
Into the Breach
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An alternate ME3. Commander Shepard and her team are on the run from Cerberus and trying to make alliances before it's too late. In a galaxy with no reaper kill switch, how can they hope to defeat something so ancient and powerful? Their last hope is a desperate plan that may cost them everything. Shepard/Garrus, other side pairings.
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Disclaimer: This author in no way profits from the writing of this story. All characters, dialogue, or other referenced material from the Mass Effect trilogy belong to Bioware.
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Shepard stood between the shuttle's pilot and copilot seats, watching Thessia grow closer in the viewport. "Take us down carefully," she ordered O'Connor. "The Normandy can't give us support at this distance," she reminded him.
"I know the drill, Commander," he said. "No one will know we're here."
With a nod, Shepard turned back into the hold, looking over her team to gauge their readiness. Liara looked excited, Jacob eager, and Garrus focused.
"This is an amazing opportunity," Liara had said when they'd picked her up from the Shadow Broker base. "Almost no one gets access to the Temple of Athame except top government officials and her dedicated disciples."
Those 'disciples', Shepard had learned, were specially trained asari commandos whose lives were devoted to the protection of the temple. Shepard hoped the commandos would be strong enough to hold the line today.
"Listen up," Shepard said. "If all goes well down there, we shouldn't see any combat. The commandos in charge of the temple should keep them off us, but these homeworlds are crawling with reaper forces. Don't get cocky."
Jacob looked disappointed at the thought of no fighting, but Garrus, at least, seemed relieved. When Shepard looked back at Liara, the asari's demeanor had changed completely. She was staring out the viewport at Thessia below, her vivid blue eyes shining with unshed tears.
Shepard stepped up beside her and put a hand on her shoulder.
"I was so excited to come to the temple," Liara said softly. "I thought I could handle seeing Thessia like this. My home… I read the reports. I thought I knew."
"Seeing it in person is different," Shepard said, remembering their stop on Earth. She hated to imagine what it looked like now, when the reapers had had some much more time to wage their war. "You need to keep your mind on the mission, Liara. We're here to make it right." She looked at Liara until the asari met her eyes. "You good?"
Liara blinked back her tears and straightened her spine. "I'm fine," she said firmly. "Let's just do what we came here to do."
"Hailing the commandos now," O'Connor called from the cockpit.
"Unknown aircraft, identify yourself," came a staticky voice.
Shepard stepped into the cockpit. "This is Commander Shepard of the Normandy. I'm transmitting my spectre codes." She signaled O'Connor, who went to work at the controls. "Justicar Samara told you to expect me."
There was a long pause while they waited, and finally the voice returned. "Spectre codes recognized," the commando said. "We await your approach, Commander."
Shepard gave O'Connor a nod and he took them down, landing on the scorched lawn in front of the temple. They all climbed out, surveying the area. The commandos, in matching uniforms, had a perimeter set up around the temple, bolstered in spots by small mixed-species squads that Shepard knew must belonged to the Shadow Broker.
Behind them stood the temple with it's tall, swooping architecture and shimmering mass effect fields. More asari were seen near the temple, working on the building's shield engines and bolstering the barrier.
An asari approached as they unloaded the shuttle. "Commander Shepard?" she asked. "I'm Matriarch Evenya, keeper of the temple and leader of the disciples of Athame. Justicar Samara said it was of the utmost importance that we allow your entry into our temple. She said this could save Thessia." She paused, looking out over the destruction. "I would do anything to save my home, even allow a foreigner entrance into our sacred temple. I don't know how you got the respect of a justicar, but her word goes a long way here." She motioned for Shepard's squad to follow.
"How are your people holding up?" Shepard asked.
The matriarch sighed. "We are short on supplies," she admitted. "Those we send out to scavenge rarely return."
"We have some supplies on the shuttle," Shepard said. "I'd be happy to share what we have. It should give you a few more days of food and water at least."
"That is appreciated," Evenya said. "We cannot leave our post, but I dread the thought of my people starving to death. I cannot imagine that is the will of the goddess."
"You would starve before leaving?" Shepard asked incredulously.
Evenya paused to enter a code at the door of the temple. A barrier blocking the entrance shimmered away. "We swore an oath to defend Athame's temple with our lives, Commander. We cannot abandon it, no matter how dire the situation. Better to be dead than an oathbreaker."
Privately, Shepard disagreed. No temple, no matter how historic or revered, was worth this.
Evenya motioned them inside. "You will find the temple open to you. Please be respectful. I must return to my troops. Let me know when you are finished here."
"Thank you, Matriarch," Shepard said. "This means more than you know."
Evenya gave a slow nod. "Please, whatever your purpose, make it count." And she marched away to the front lines.
Shepard turned to her crew. "Alright people, let's go."
Jacob stopped her. "Commander, if I'm not needed inside, can I keep watch out here? Just in case."
After a moment of thought, Shepard nodded. "Keep your comm open."
She entered the temple slowly with Garrus and Liara following behind. It was a tall, cavernous space with light streaming down from distant skylights. At the apex of the temple was an enormous statue, perhaps four or five stories high.
"That is Athame," Liara said. "Carved when this temple was built."
Sunbeams shone down on the sculpture like heavenly light, bathing the figure in an ethereal glow. Around and behind Athame were swooping columns, curving from the ground to a distant peak far above.
The rest of the temple was filled with artifacts on pedestals and art on the walls. Liara pointed out ancient writings, busts of Athame's acolytes, and ancient art depicting the goddess. The sounds from the outside battle seemed muted, distant.
"But how do we find a prothean archive in this place?" Shepard asked.
Liara shook her head. "I do not know, but I suspect it is masked by the artifacts somehow. Let's look around."
The three of them wandered the temple, examining the artifacts and looking for any hidden buttons or switches.
"There's something here," Garrus called, peering at a pedestal with ancient tablets beneath glass. "My visor is picking up some kind of EM field."
"Look for a trigger," Shepard said as she came over, and the three of them began to examine it. As soon as Shepard's hand touched the information placard on the pedestal, it began to glow with a faint light. Their attention was caught by something lighting up at the base of the central Athame statue.
The three of them made their way to the statue, but couldn't figure out any way to trigger the neural link via the controls that had appeared at the base of the statue.
"We're still missing something, Shepard," said Liara. "I believe the archive must be shielded in some way. There must be more artifacts we need to get this unlocked."
Shepard turned to Garrus. "Keep scanning with your visor. I'm going to look around."
It was fascinating to see the ancient art, writing, and sculpture of the asari people. Growing up, she'd never left her home colony, and while life in the military had allowed her to see the galaxy, the truth is that she'd only seen a few select parts. Shore leave had been limited, and she'd been more interested in relaxing during her time off than exploring what the galaxy had to offer in terms of culture and history. If she got out of this war alive, she'd make a point of seeing everything she could.
The artifacts were curious. The older the artwork, the less the goddess resembled the asari. Shepard stood staring at a small carved figurine. Something about it itched at her memory. What was it that Athame reminded her of?
"Shepard! Over here," Garrus called, and she came running.
"Another one?" she asked, and he nodded. All it took was her touch to unlock it, lighting up the pedestal and the console at the statue's base.
"It's not complete yet," Liara called from the statue. "Maybe one more?"
This time Shepard followed Garrus as he made his way methodically down the rows of artifacts.
"Here," he said, and motioned to Shepard.
This time, not only did lights spring to life at the grand sculpture's console, but light shone out the top of Athame's head like a beacon.
"That did it," Garrus said, staring up at the beam of light as they moved towards it.
"Yes," Liara said. "I think it's ready." She hesitated, unwilling to get too close.
Shepard approached slowly and reached out a hand. When her fingers brushed the lights, she felt herself gripped by an invisible force that was both terrifying and familiar. It pulled her in, lifted her up, and dug violently into her mind.
Her body wanted to struggle, to scream, but she could not move. This was different than the beacons burrowing their message into her brain. It was different than sharing her vision with Liara. Liara had been gentle. This was vicious, savage, uncaring. Her mind was being ripped apart, her memories shuffled through by an indifferent observer. The moments stretched on like an eternity. And suddenly, it was over. She fell to the hard ground in front of the console, her limbs aching and trembling like she'd been running for her life. Her heart racing, stomach churning, head pounding. She felt… violated.
Tears formed in her eyes and she blinked them back, breathing slowly, trying to get her racing heart under control. Dimly, she realized there were voices calling her name, a hand on her back, fingers gently turning her head to meet a pair of worried eyes.
"I'm… alright," she managed to grunt out.
Her mate's eyes blazed with anger. "You are not alright," he growled. "Your heart rate is too fast and you're shaking all over."
She tried for a smile, but it seemed to come out as a grimace. "I didn't pass out, at least."
Garrus shook his head, exasperated. "Do you think you can stand?"
"Yeah," she said. Her head was still pounding, but the rest of her seemed to slowly be returning to normal. With Garrus's help she raised herself to her feet and looked at the console.
"Did it work?" she asked Liara.
The asari, examining the console, nodded. "Yes. The archive has adapted to your human physiology. We should be able to remotely link this to EDI to upload the database."
"You take it easy, Shepard," Garrus jumped in. "I'll work on getting the uplink to EDI. We both know you'd be useless at it anyway," he teased.
"Laugh it up, guys," Shepard said with another attempted smile as Garrus moved forward to work.
While he was busy at the console, Shepard slowly walked over to a carving of Athame she hadn't examined earlier. At first she'd thought the odd shape of Athame simply stylized, like ancient Egyptian art on Earth, but this carving put that theory to rest. It showed asari bowing down to a standing Athame, whose oddly shaped head and body were in contrast to the asari worshipping her. The asari looked normal. But Athame was different. Athame looked like—
"Enjoying the artifacts?" Liara said, approaching behind Shepard.
"They're… curious," Shepard replied, her eyes still locked on the carving.
"How so?"
Shepard gave a low hum. "In the newer artwork, Athame looks like any other asari. In the older work, she looks different."
Liara nodded. "The ancient asari believed the goddess Athame looked distinct from us. As time passed and the belief in goddesses became less literal, her artwork resembled us more and more."
"That's one theory," Shepard said, and glanced aside to Liara.
The asari crossed her arms and raised a brow, looking at Shepard with a wry smile. "And you've got a new one in the half hour we've been here?"
Shepard shrugged. "Doesn't Athame remind you of something else?"
While Liara frowned at the carving, Shepard pushed back at the memories that threatened to rush forward. It wasn't just the Collectors or the corpse they'd seen back on Ilos. It was a vision forced into her mind by a damaged beacon all the way back on Eden Prime.
A strangled gasp from Liara broke her out of her thoughts. "She looks like—"
"A prothean," Shepard finished for her. The two friends gazed at each other, Liara's eyes wild and disbelieving.
"This… this changes everything I know about our history," Liara whispered.
Shepard reached out a hand to comfort her friend when they were interrupted by a haunting screech.
On instinct Shepard reached for her SMG, looking towards the entrance.
"What was that?" Liara looked around, gripping her own weapon tightly.
"How much longer, Garrus?" Shepard called back.
"A few more minutes," he said, sounding distracted.
Shepard sighed. "Shit."
At that moment, Jacob commed from outside the temple. "Shepard! We're under heavy reaper attack! Doing what I can to help the commandos."
"We'd better get out there," Shepard said, moving purposefully towards the temple entrance.
Liara looked at her in concern. "Are you sure you're up for it?"
"I'll be fine," she said, ignoring her friend's worry. Most of her physical symptoms were fading, and as for the psychological fallout, well… she'd deal with that later. When there was time.
When they got outside, they could see the line faltering. "Go bolster the commandos!" Shepard ordered Liara. "I'll make sure nothing gets through to the temple."
Shepard traded her SMG for her sniper rifle and settled in near the entrance, firing on anything that broke past the asari.
"Garrus?" she called through the comm. "Really need you to hurry. We're under heavy attack out here." The shimmering barrier around the temple was faltering.
"Just a moment, Shepard," he called back, sounding harried. "Going as fast as we can."
Shepard fired and fired again, making sure nothing made it to the temple. And then she heard that scream again. Peering through her scope, she caught sight of something she'd never seen before. A twisted feminine form floated above the ground, surrounded by a wavering biotic glow. It was covered in the electronic nanides that all reaper creatures boasted, and its mouth stretched in a horrific scream.
It seemed the reapers had finally figured out what to do with the asari.
She fired her rifle and it glanced off the creature's barrier. Swearing, she watched it throw warping biotic fields to disable the commandos. The commandos, less surprised to see the creature than she, responded with a heavy biotic attack, depleting it's barriers enough for Shepard to get the shot. Unfortunately, two more took the place of the one they'd killed.
"Did they figure something out about the temple?" Liara asked through the comm, her breathing rapid with exertion. "Did we trigger something?"
"Possibly," Shepard replied grimly. "Or maybe they discovered who was at the temple."
"Goddess," Liara gasped. "We did this?"
"Too late for that, Liara," Shepard said warningly. "Keep your focus."
One of the wailing creatures broke through the commando line, crushing an asari in a biotic field. Concentrated fire from the Shadow Broker's people brought her down, but the hole in the line couldn't be plugged. A handful of husks and marauders pushed through and Shepard dropped her rifle to use her biotics. A wave of force pushed back the husks, giving the others time to shoot them down. Some tech-savvy troops overloaded the marauders' shields, and Shepard began targeting them with her SMG.
"Just finishing up, Commander," Garrus said through the comm. "A good thing too. If they know we're here…"
"That means Harbinger's on his way," Shepard finished for him.
"I'm on my way out," Garrus said.
"Good," she replied. "We need to get the hell out of here."
A shadow came over the courtyard and Shepard looked up. A sinking dread filled her. "Shit."
"Reaper inbound!" Jacob cried out. "We need a new plan, and fast!"
The ground shook violently as the reaper touched down. Shepard gazed up at it, her mind racing. There was no way they could take off with the shuttle now. Should she call in the Normandy for an orbital strike? But no, the reaper was too close. She'd kill them all doing that.
Still, she'd better warn the Normandy. "Joker, come in," she said, ducking back into the doorway of the temple. "The reapers know we're here. We're pinned down. Harbinger is likely on the way to this system."
She winced at the static in her comm, barely able to make out a voice in all the noise. The reapers must be interfering with communications. She only hoped EDI had been able to clear up her message.
Taking an earth-shattering step closer, the reaper's protective casing began to shift, revealing the bright red eye. "It's priming to fire," she called. "Everyone take cover!"
Garrus caught up to her in the temple's entrance, just as the reaper's beam began to cut through the landscape. It mowed uncaringly through reaper troops and commandos alike. Shepard's eyes widened as she realized it's trajectory. "O'Connor, get out of there!" she screamed into the comm, but there wasn't time. Before the pilot could react, the shuttle was shattered under the red fire of the reaper beam. A smoldering ruin remained.
"Damn it!" she said, slamming a fist into the temple wall. She commed the others. "I'm going to find Evenya. Meet me there."
The commando line was all but destroyed. Reaper creatures were all over. Shepard mowed down everything in her way, searching the commandos for Matriarch Evenya. She finally found the woman, bolstering a gap in the defenses and yelling orders to her troops.
"Evenya!" Shepard called, approaching the woman. "Our shuttle's destroyed. We need a way out of here!"
The matriarch shook her head. "We have none, Commander. I told you we intended to die defending our temple. It seems that is the will of the goddess today."
Shepard grit her teeth. "It's not my will to die here today!" she growled. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the reaper cut down another line of troops. They were running out of time.
"Ma'am!" A batarian in armor approached. "I'm with the Shadow Broker. We have shuttles on the backside of the temple. You're welcome to one of ours."
Shepard nodded and turned to her team. "Let's go," she ordered.
She barely slowed down as they fought through the reaper troops swarming in. Her barriers were taking a beating. Her team was taking fire. But there was no time to waste. She heard a cry from the commandos as a reaper beam destroyed the temple's barrier generator. Shepard barely glanced back. The temple was no use to them now.
They ran around the side of the temple, towards the peak where Athame's statue was housed. Where the archive had been. They came around the curve of the wall, and Shepard could see the shuttles ahead.
The low rumble of a reaper beam cut through the air once again. Shepard winced back from the bright light as it hit the temple's tower.
"It's going to fall," Liara said in horror.
"Back away!" Shepard ordered her team and they ran to get some distance from the temple. They all watched in awe and alarm as the peak began to fall. The temple that had stood for thousands of years crumbled. But all that Shepard cared about was the debris that had crushed the shuttles. Their only way out.
Still fighting off reaper troops, Shepard's mind raced for a solution. Was she going to die here on Thessia?
All she knew was that they couldn't stay here to be targets for the reaper's beam. She turned to her team with an order.
"Run," she said.
Liara looked at her in shock.
"Run!" Shepard ordered again. "Unless you want to stay on this kill field!"
Shepard turned towards some buildings she could see beyond the ruined temple, and ran.
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