Chapter 56
Administrator's Office – Virmire Compound – Virmire
Rana had been in a relatively good mood before the pictures on her desk fell over followed by the sound of an explosion so massive that it couldn't possibly have been an accident. She stood up as a secondary explosion followed, this time much closer and louder, causing her to stumble backwards as she almost lost her footing. She growled to herself as she shut down her terminal and closed it for transport. She had told that thick-skulled turian that not having a backup plan in case of invasion was a bad idea. But he had assured her that the facility was plenty safe from any pirates or raiders in the Terminus.
She stepped out from behind her desk and walked over to her safe where she began punching the code in before allowing the DNA and retinal scanners to take their samples. Once the device popped open, she grabbed her stacks of paperwork and credit chits, then rushed over to the desk where she pulled up a travel case and stuffed everything inside. Finally, she ran back to the safe and grabbed a pistol that was all that remained inside and began formulating a plan. She'd have to go through the labs, which might be a problem, as all the scientists and krogan seeing her flee might think she was a traitor.
She could go through Saren's beacon room behind her, but she hated that room. Not only did the beacon itself stand like a spire letting out a dull pulsing when it was activated that made her skin crawl. But she also knew that it was the room where Saren gave commands to the geth and his ship. It seemed very odd to see the holographic form of the ship itself instead of showing the pilot or comm officer or whoever was actually speaking to him. Whatever the reason, seeing him speaking to the ship itself gave her a sense of dread that made her want to avoid the room entirely prior to now. But it seemed like her only reprieve from being shot in the back for leaving, so she grabbed her travel case and moved towards the door.
Unfortunately, the loud sound of an explosion in the next room startled her. "How can they already be this close!?" she asked, looking over to the door to the beacon room. She began to run towards the door when all the sudden the gunfire in the next room stopped. She immediately knew she'd never be able to put the code in and get through without being noticed. Instead, she sprinted back to her desk and slid underneath it to try and hide her presence, clutching her bag to her chest as she peeked through a small peep hole at the door.
It slid open, but nobody came through and it closed again. Perhaps whoever had attacked were killed. Maybe the krogan were too much for them. Or maybe the two parties had killed each other. Either way, she wouldn't risk going into that room. She waited a bit longer before sliding out from her hiding spot to head for the beacon room door. Suddenly, she shouted in pain as the heatsink from her pistol popped out prematurely and landed in her lap. For some reason, it was sizzling hot and burned her through her smock causing her to crawl out from under the desk to get it off of her. But as soon as she did, she knew she had screwed up.
Out of nowhere, something impacted the back of her head, making her fall face first into the ground with stars in her eyes. Trying to get up, she felt something heavily push her back down by the back of her neck, nearly causing her to choke. She opened her eyes in a panic as she looked for whatever was doing this, but still saw nothing for a long moment as she began to hyperventilate. Finally, as if appearing from thin air, the form of a black armored soldier appeared, its cloaking fading. "Please! Please don't kill me!" she begged as she showed her hands with fingers spread wide.
"Give me your name and a reason why I shouldn't put a bullet in the back of your head right now," ordered the armored figure. From its voice, it was either an asari or human female, neither of which would make this situation easier to get out of. Her eyes widened as a massive krogan, another human-sized figure, a salarian, and a quarian stepped into the room as well. Her biotics may have saved her from a sole attacker if she had gotten a shot off, but that option had left now, and her only potential way out was to explain herself.
"M-My name is Rana Thanoptis! I'm a neurosurgical specialist!" she said as she closed her eyes.
"What the hell are you doing in Saren's cloning facility?" asked the krogan curiously as he tilted his head to get a straight look at her.
"I'm not here for the clones… though Saren did have me do some research into potentially stabilizing them after the DNA degradation. I was brought here to help him with his study on the indoctrination," she gasped out as the black-armored figure's foot began to press harder. "Please…"
"Tell us exactly what you know about this indoctrination signal," ordered the figure as they finally released her and used their foot to flip her over onto her back. She began to sit up when a pistol aimed directly into her face. "I didn't tell you to get up."
Slumping back down to the ground, she now got a better look at the crew. Through the visor of the white-armored figure, she could see that it was clearly an asari, while the black-armored one was confirmed as human. But her brain suddenly clicked all the pieces into place as she recognized the group makeup. "You… you're Shepard, aren't you?" she asked curiously as she looked back to the human.
The human's eyebrows furrowed behind her visor before she fired right next to Rana's head, scaring the biotics out of her and causing her skin to gently hum a blue color. "I asked you a question. You've got one more chance to answer it before I finish you, and then the rest of my job."
Nodding furiously, the scientist began spilling everything rapidly. "I'm Rana Thanoptis, and I was brought here by Saren to help him study the indoctrination signal! He wanted me to study the effects over time that the signal had on prisoners, and once they had fully succumbed to the signal, I was instructed to do studies on their brains!"
"Why?" asked the spectre threateningly as she knelt down and glared at the asari.
"I… I only have theories. But I think it was because he was afraid that he was beginning to succumb to the indoctrination himself! He always asked me about the test subjects only after I finished testing the turians. But I think he used multiple test species to try to throw me off," she said as her biotic glow died down again.
"So, they were correct in their assumptions…" said the armored asari as she placed her hands on her hips. "Saren is just another tool. But if even he's being controlled, then who is controlling him? Who is the mastermind behind all of this?"
"Whoever it is, they had to have given Saren his ship in order to get him under the indoctrination as well," said the quarian as she looked at Shepard.
"Yeah…" mumbled the spectre under her breath before she looked down at the doctor again. "How'd you get here?"
"I signed up to work for a Spectre. I got tired of lab work on Thessia, and Matriarch Benezia said she'd recommend me to a Spectre who was looking for someone with my skills," said Rana as she looked away bitterly. "Turns out the position was a lot more permanent than I expected." The asari in white armor sighed heavily and shook her head.
"So, you were taken just like the others," said Shepard as she eyed the woman. "You didn't think to try and fight your way out of here?"
Rana glared up at the human. "Look, I know what you're getting at. But not everyone is a Spectre. Not all of us can fight through an entire facility of krogan and geth and get out of the situation alive. Certainly not me. I've barely used my biotics outside of neural work in the three centuries I've had them. I wouldn't have made it to the front door before I was killed."
"You're still a coward for not trying," rumbled the krogan.
"Easy to say coming from a species with blood rage, redundant organs, and a redundant nervous system," he barked back angrily.
"Enough!" snapped Shepard, getting the asari's attention again.
"Spectre, please spare me. If…" she started as she looked up at the door. "If you do, I can let you into Saren's personal communications room! He has a beacon inside!"
The armored asari's head snapped towards her so fast she was surprised she didn't hear the pop of a vacuum forming in its wake. "A beacon? Intact?" she asked a little too eagerly.
"Yes… last I checked anyway. So, please…" said the doctor as she looked up at the spectre.
Shepard eyed her for a moment before nodding towards the door. "Open the door, then get the hell out of here before you get nuked with the facility," ordered the spectre as she finally stood again.
Rana slowly got to her feet then walked over to the door with her hands up. She saw the spectre look at the travel case for a moment before she turned towards the door and input the long-winded code. The door slid open, and she turned to them all with her hands up again. "Th-There."
Shepard grabbed the bag off the desk and threw it to her none-too-gently, then nodded towards the exit. "Everything's dead that way. I'd hurry if you don't want to join them."
"Right!" snapped the asari before turning and sprinting out of the room. She gasped in horror as she saw the carnage of gored krogan clones, dead lab workers, and annihilated geth strewn across the lab. She knew she had been in danger before, but only now did she realize how powerful a person this spectre was, and how easily they could have killed her. Covering her mouth, she made for the exit unaware of the smoke trailing from her bag.
Saren's Comm Room – Virmire Compound – Virmire
Shepard stepped inside the room and looked around. True to the asari's word, there was a walkway inside the room that had an intersection in the middle. To the right side of the room in a large alcove was another beacon that looked similar in structure to the last one she had encountered, minus the bullet holes. Shepard looked at Liara, who looked back and nodded. Reaching out, Shepard gripped Liara's hand. "You two stay back," she ordered as she reached back and locked her weapon onto her magnetic holder once more. The pair of them stepped within range of the beacon and it immediately lit up with green energy.
Shepard got goosebumps as she felt the same sensation as before, her body being pulled in regardless of resistance. Both of them were lifted together into the air, levitated like puppets on strings before finally their heads jerked back and their eyes widened.
Liara cried out in agony as the memories, fresh this time, were forced into her head. Shepard clenched her eyes shut as she finally saw a clear view of the vision she had seen before. This time there were no cuts or static. This time, it was fluid. Abominations filled her vision, created from the fallen. Machines filling their bodies with tech and making them attack their own. The vision switched to a hellish landscape with Sovereign hovering in the air and people charging against the abomination forces. Shepard and Liara both looked up at the colossal ship before its face lit up with a glowing red beam that scarred the ground and eventually swallowed them both.
The vision fluidly switched to an underground facility where they were fighting off the reanimated dead of their own kind. Shepard stared in horror as one of her own, wearing a face she knew very well reached out to her. The words it groaned out were haunting. "Kill… meee…." It wasn't long before they were both swallowed by the endless waves of animated dead.
The vision switched again, this time to a group of protheans working rapidly. They appeared to be in a lab that was highly integrated into a forested landscape. Shepard and Liara both screamed orders at the others as they looked up at a massive structure that they were building. It was a smaller, much more versatile version of a mass relay. They needed to finish it before resources ran out. Suddenly, the vision flew out from the lab to the world, its surface a rusted color; the plant life on the world free to grow as it pleased. They stared at the world for a long moment before it zoomed out even further to the system of three planets.
Finally, the vision zoomed back into the planet so far that all they saw was darkness. Then, out of the darkness appeared Sovereign again, its loud klaxon deafening their ears as it looked directly towards them. Then, the vision stopped. Shepard and Liara both fell to the floor as Tali and Wrex helped them back up again.
Shepard looked to Liara who nodded back. "That world… I know it! I've heard about it from other prothean writings from their High Command! It's called Ilos!" she shouted excitedly.
"Ilos? Do you know where that is?" asked Shepard, completely clueless about the planet.
"Ilos is a planet of many prothean scientific discoveries! The things we could find there could shake the Citadel," she said as she looked up at Shepard and nodded. "With the vision we saw and the information I've gathered from other dig sites, I can pinpoint its location beyond the Mu Relay!"
"Good," said Shepard as she looked up at the beacon again, its green energy pulsing gently. She turned away from the beacon and headed to the consoles on the opposite side of the walkway, activating them immediately. Several screens popped up as Tali stepped forward and began typing away at one of the turian-made keyboards while Shepard took the other.
The screens switched around as she tried to look for any information that could help them against Saren, and potentially anything on this key he was looking for. But suddenly, all of the data scrolling on the projected screens stopped. Tali and Shepard both stepped back as a holographic giant appeared before them in the form of Sovereign.
"Aww hells…" said Wrex as he glared at the holograph through his visor.
"You are not Saren…" said the figure in a dark and foreboding mechanical voice.
"Shepard… did that ship just talk to us?" asked Tali in bewilderment.
"Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh. You touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance. Incapable of understanding," it said in response.
"Shepard…" started Liara as she stared up at Sovereign's holographic form. "I don't believe Sovereign is Saren's ship." She looked down at the spectre who eyed her back. "I'm beginning to think we've found our mastermind."
Shepard looked back at Sovereign with a hard stare. "Who are you?" she asked none to politely.
"There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own, you cannot even imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension. I… am Sovereign," said the figure menacingly.
Shepard's eyes widened as she realized exactly what Liara meant. "Shit… Sovereign isn't some ship given to Saren to free the reapers; Sovereign is an actual reaper!"
"Reaper, a label created by organics to give voice to their destruction. In the end, what you choose to call us is irrelevant. We simply… are," it responded.
"Shepard, we've seen the vision. Sovereign's figure was there during the harvesting of the protheans!" she said as she took a step back. "It's true… it's all true."
Shepard turned back to the holograph and glared at it fiercely. "If you are a reaper, then what the hell are you doing? Why did you destroy the protheans?"
Sovereign responded back in the same dark voice. "Organic life is simply a genetic mutation. An accident. Your lives are measured in years and decades. You wither and die. We are eternal. The pinnacle of evolution and existence. Before us, you are nothing. Your extinction is inevitable. We are the end of everything."
Snorting, Shepard shook her head. "Whatever plan you've made is going to fail. I'm going to make sure of that myself."
"Confidence born of ignorance. The cycle cannot be broken," said the reaper holograph.
"The cycle. All of those civilizations, millions of years of progress, all destroyed," said Liara as she looked down at the ground in despair.
"The pattern has repeated itself more times than you can fathom. Organic civilizations rise, evolve, advance. And at the apex of their glory, they are extinguished. The protheans were not the first, they did not create the Citadel. They did not forge the mass relays. They merely found them. The legacy of my kind," said the reaper indifferently.
Shepard and Liara both stared at the holograph in incredulity as the realization of its words hit them. Liara was the first to speak, but Shepard had reached the same conclusion. "The Citadel, the mass relays… they left them behind for us to use. They were a trap. We played directly into their hands," said Liara with despair in her voice.
"Your civilization is based on the technology of the mass relays. Our technology. By using it, your society developed along the paths we desire," it said as Liara shook her head miserably. "We impose order on the chaos of organic evolution. You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it."
This time, Tali stepped forward, her voice shaking in presumably fear. "They're harvesting us! They allow us to get to the level of civilization that they need, and then wipe us out!"
Shepard leaned against the console as she stared down the reaper. "What is it you want with organics? You could farm the entire galaxy at your leisure for resources, but instead you use resources to lure us into this elaborate trap! Why!?" asked the spectre as she slammed her fist against the console.
"My kind transcends your very understanding. We are each a nation, independent, free of all weakness. You cannot even grasp the nature of our existence," Sovereign replied evenly.
Liara stepped forward next to Shepard and pleaded at the holograph. "Who created you? Where did you come from?"
"We have no beginning. We have no end. We… are infinite. Millions of years after your civilization has been eradicated and forgotten, we will endure. We are legion. The time of our return is coming. Our numbers will darken the sky of every world. You cannot run, you cannot escape the inevitable," it said menacingly.
Shepard finally stood, her hands at her side and a placid look on her face as she stared at the hologram. "I don't care how many of you there are. I don't care how old you are. I don't care how many civilizations you've slaughtered. Your reign of death and destruction ends with me," she snapped, getting surprised looks from her entire crew. Even Wrex had to smirk at her as she faced off against the reaper.
"Your words are as empty as your future. I am the vanguard of your destruction. This exchange is over," Sovereign said finally before the holographic reaper vanished.
Shepard snorted again before reaching back and grabbing her pistol. She activated her comm as the three with her followed her over to the rear entrance of the room. "Team Aeghor, what's your status?"
Ash's voice came over the mic first. "We're being pinned down! We cleared the LZ, but then they flew overhead and dropped an assload of geth on top of our heads! We're down two STG and still holding our ground, but we won't be able to for long!" The gunnery sergeant then yelled loudly as an explosion sounded over the comm. "Mess with a Williams again! Fuck around and find out you metal bastards!"
Shepard nodded gently and replied, "We'll be there shortly to help you clean up. Team Jaetor, what's your status?" she asked as she opened the door. Suddenly, the protective shield over the comm console exploded into the room, surprising them all.
Pressly's voice cut in over the comm. "Shepard! We've got trouble!" shouted the lieutenant.
"Pressly, what's the matter?" she asked as they headed out onto the outdoor walkway through the back door.
"Spectre, Saren's ship Sovereign just woke up and it pulled a turn that would sheer any of our ships in half! It's now coming towards the planet! We've gone dark for the moment to stay out of its view, but we don't know what Saren is up to so be careful!" said Pressly urgently.
"Shit…" growled Shepard as she quickened her pace.
"What's our orders, Shepard?" asked Wrex as he followed her at a jogging pace.
"We're going to help clear the landing zone for the Normandy! Team Jaetor should be finished by now. We'll give them the all clear to come and get the hell off this planet!" she shouted to the krogan. "Now light a fire under your asses because we're hitting them hard!"
STG Extraction Zone – Virmire Compound – Virmire
"Son of a bitch!" shouted the gunnery chief as she ducked behind the crate she was using for cover. She looked at her pained arm and saw a splash of plasma eating through the armor, heating it to very uncomfortable temperatures as her HUD flashed the danger of the suit breach in her face. Reaching up, she disabled the alert and pulled out a tube of medigel. Biting the cap off, she released the safety and jammed it into an opening in the armor where it could reach her seared skin and hit the plunger, feeling a slight bit of relief as the numbing agent in the strange liquid took her pain away.
Tossing the tube aside, she looked over at Spectre Casso and Kirrahe who looked back at her. Then she looked to her other side where Garrus lay with his assault rifle smoking. He nodded to her in respect as he popped his heat sink and rammed another one into the weapon. She reached up and saluted him in human fashion as she prepared her own battle rifle.
Peeking around the corner again, she saw the geth ship drop an armature onto the landing pad that they were supposed to secure. "Well fuck me. Seems like they took that comm relay destruction personally."
Even without the armature, there was a juggernaut marching slowly towards them with unbelievably powerful cyclonic shields that were too hard to get through to even damage it. She sighed to herself as she felt her demise closing in. "Shepard, I think this is it for us. You'll have to get Jaetor and find another way out before Sovereign gets here."
"Like hell it is, Chief," came the call over the comm before suddenly a loud mechanical clicking erupted all around her. Getting to one knee, she peeked around the corner again and sat in awe as she watched the geth surrounding the juggernaut suddenly turned and begin firing on it with their plasma weapons. It was seconds before the thing had practically melted into a puddle, its shields unable to stand up to so much fire, letting out a loud mechanical wail as it died. After the juggernaut had been finished, the geth all turned towards the dropship hovering over the platform and began firing on it as well.
The nose cannons on the ship turned and began firing on the traitors, destroying them as well. But not before the hacked geth had already damaged the engine on the vehicle, causing it to swerve away from the landing zone and fly away. Ash and Garrus both erupted out of cover, finishing off the remaining few geth that weren't killed by the airship. Liara and Wrex both appeared from cover as well, their biotic auras lit and lifting the armature off the ground. She didn't know how they controlled their biotics to the point where they didn't mix and explode, but she appreciated their skill regardless.
Both of the biotics swung and hurled the four-legged automaton over the balcony where it fell and splashed into the water below, sliding down the slippery shelf and sinking into the ocean. Shepard appeared again with her pistol ready and spun two fingers in the air as a rallying sign. "Landing zone is as clear as we're going to get it! Team Jaetor, you're clear to…" started the Spectre, but she stopped as she heard a loud incessant whirring noise. Raising her pistol again, she signaled them all to take cover.
Shepard slowly stepped towards cover as she scanned the area for the obnoxious sound. Out of nowhere, Saren appeared at the edge of the balcony, his body lit with biotics as he took aim directly at Shepard. Lashing out, his dark energy flew like a missile and exploded on impact. Shepard had thrown herself into a roll behind a cargo crate filled with god only knows what for the facility. She pressed her back against the crate, hoping it was too heavy for him to lift alone given its size. That didn't stop him from hitting it with a few more explosive blasts from his biotics, however.
Swooping down low, Saren jumped from his platform and landed on the ground, marching aggressively towards Shepard's location. She immediately stepped out of cover and aimed her pistol at him. "Don't take another step or I'll put you down like the mad dog you are," she growled angrily.
"You've been an impressive diversion, Shepard. You had all of my geth chasing you throughout the facility while your secret team snuck in the back door," said the turian as the sheen of a biotic barrier lit over his skin. Shepard knew it'd take more than her pistol to get through his shields and his barrier both. But her squad were also practically surrounding the former spectre. "Of course, it was all for nothing. I can't let you disrupt what I've accomplished here. You can't possibly understand what's really at stake," said Saren as coolly as if he were having a friendly chat.
Shepard made the conscious decision to lower her weapon and face off with him turian to human. "Why Saren? Why are you throwing away your loyalties to the Council, your loyalty to Palaven, and your own life to help them?" she asked seriously as she pointed in a random direction, knowing he knew who she was referring to.
Saren stepped closer, his arms out as if trying to appeal to her. "You've seen the visions from the beacon, Shepard. You, of all people, should understand what the reapers are capable of!" he said almost desperately. Then he shook his head. "They cannot be stopped. Do not mire yourself in pointless revolt. Do not sacrifice everything for the sake of petty freedoms. The protheans were centuries ahead of us technologically, and they tried to fight," he said as he eyed her sternly. "And they were eradicated."
"And?" asked Shepard as her brows furrowed. Her heart was pounding wildly as this was the first time her and Saren had ever actually come face to face. The last time they talked was through his holographic display in the Presidium Tower.
He looked at her oddly as Garrus spoke into her comm. "Shepard, give us the word and we'll fill him so full of rounds that there won't be anything left of him to bring back."
She ignored the offer as Saren shook his head. "Trillions dead, Shepard. But what if they had bowed their heads before the invaders? Would the protheans still exist? Is submission not preferable to extinction?"
"Oh, come on…" groaned Shepard, causing Saren's pacing to stop as he turned towards her fully. She gave him an annoyed glare. "You were the top Spectre to the Council?" she asked in bewilderment as he gave her a look of confusion. "You have to be smarter than this, Saren! You have to realize that the reapers are using you to get to the rest of us! Once he's done with you, he has no more use for you!"
Taken aback for a moment, he shook his head in annoyance. "Now you see why I never brought this to the Council. We organics are driven by emotion instead of logic. We will fight even if we know we cannot win. But, if we work with the reapers… if we make ourselves useful, think how many lives could be spared!" he almost shouted at her.
She reached up and rubbed the forehead of her helmet as her brows furrowed. "Saren, you know how long the reapers have been harvesting the species, right?" she asked, getting a curious nod from the rogue spectre. "In all those millions… potentially billions of years of the reapers' existence, do you think that never once did any of the species submit themselves to these monsters? Where are these organic subjects that the reapers allowed to live?" she asked impatiently. He simply stared at her silently. "No, it's not logic that's driving you, is it?" she asked as she stepped closer to him as well. "You've been turned."
"No!" he shouted at her angrily. Realizing his outburst, he calmed himself again and spoke evenly. "No. I have not succumbed to the indoctrination. I built this facility to protect me from it."
"But you're still afraid that it's getting to you," she said with a revealing stare.
"I've… studied the effects of this indoctrination. The more control Sovereign exerts, the less capable a subject becomes. It can turn an asari matriarch into a drooling husk should Sovereign will it," he said as he reached up and tapped the side of his head. "That is my advantage. I am too useful to it to indoctrinate. Sovereign still needs me to find the prothean key. My mind is still my own. I will not let myself become like them."
Hearing mention of the key, Shepard perked up slightly. "Why? Why does Sovereign need this mythical key?"
Purring, Saren eyed her dangerously. "That mythical key is the vanguard of your destruction, and to my salvation. If organic life is to survive, we must prove we are useful to the reapers."
Shepard's eyes widened slightly at his words. "You are indoctrinated…"
"Pardon?" asked the turian in annoyance.
"I just talked to Sovereign in your comm room back there. And it said the exact same phrase you just used. The vanguard of our destruction…" she said as she crossed her arms. "He's already in your mind."
"No… that's impossible. Sovereign needs me. It needs me to find the key. I cannot be under his thrall, or else the mission -" he cut himself off, shaking his head as if trying to rid himself of an irritating thought. "I prepared for this. I protected myself against this. This is our only hope of survival, and I will be successful, for all of us," he snapped at her angrily.
Shepard shook her head, giving him a pitiful look. "The greatest Spectre in the galaxy, reduced to this," she said, getting a growl from the turian. "What would Desolas say?"
Saren took a step back, as if her words were forceful enough to physically move him. His mandibles flared, and he let out a small keening sound through his sub-vocals. He looked at her, truly looked at her, for the first time their entire conversation. Suddenly, his anger flared, however, and he dashed forward as gunfire sounded. Throwing a high kick, Shepard tried to roll with it to mitigate some of the damage, but his kicks were powerful and left her arm sore as her pistol tumbled out of her hand. Saren reached down and grabbed her by the throat and brought her to her feet before dragging her to the edge of the landing. "You are a threat to the life of every organic being in the galaxy. You must be stopped."
A large shadow swept over the area as Sovereign darkened the sky above them. Saren looked up at the ship before turning back to the spectre in his hands. But his moment of inattention cost him as Shepard gripped his hands on her throat and jumped up, locking her legs around his arms before using her weight to flip him solidly into the container she had used as cover. Getting to her feet, Shepard homed in on Saren as she activated her comms.
"Joker, bring the Normandy in to evacuate everyone immediately. We only have minutes before Sovereign gets a bead on our location!" she shouted as Saren began to rise again. He raised an arm to block her blow, but her flying knee crushed his arm into his head and fractured his mandible, stunning him and causing him to gasp in pain. She then locked his wrist in her grip and pulled him over her hip, slamming him harshly into the ground before twisting his arm behind his back. "Saren Arterius, you are under arrest for treason by the authority of the Council Special Tactics and Reconnaissance and the Citadel Council. Given we're in the Terminus Systems, your rights are forfeit, so I'd avoid making any sudden moves."
Saren turned his head and glared at Shepard. Suddenly, the flying platform he had used to show up slammed into her back and bowled her over as the others ran out of cover to back her up. Saren took his chance and scrambled to his feet before diving over the railing of the landing zone, the spray of gunfire from her squad pinging off his barrier. Shepard dashed to the railing and saw him land on the hovering craft before he looked back up at her.
"Don't do it. You know he'll kill you, and then all the rest of us…" she said desperately, trying to appeal to any scrap of his own mind that was left. He simply stared at her for a long second, then sped off back towards the underside of the facility. "Dammit!" she shouted as her fist hammered the railing.
"Shepard! Are you alright?" asked Ash as she and Garrus approached with their weapons raised.
"I'm fine," she said sourly as she turned around. The loud woosh of the Normandy flying overhead gave her some relief as she activated her comm again. "Team Jaetor! The landing zone is green! You're clear to evacuate!"
"H-Hey Shepard…" Kaidan's voice came back with a groan of pain.
"Alenko? What's the matter? Are you alright?" she demanded.
"I'm gonna have to ask you to go ahead and get everyone off this rock…" he said, wheezing as he spoke through the comm.
Sub-Lab – Virmire Compound - Virmire
"What the hell are you talking about Alenko!? We're not leaving you behind!" came the shouts of the spectre over the comm.
Kaidan, now leaning against the bomb to keep himself upright, chuckled to himself. "I'm afraid you're going to have to, Shepard. We were attacked by geth through the ventilation system. They killed the entire team besides me and Rentola, and we aren't in any condition to move." He lifted his helmet and wiped the blood running from his nose. His forehead was sweating profusely as the environmental controls of his suit were burned out due to plasma impacts to his armor.
The burns to his body made it hard to move without immense pain. "Wrex, Ash, you're coming with me. The rest of you get on the Normandy…"
"Goddammit Shepard I said leave!" he shouted over the comm, cringing as the stinging on his neck fired up again. "Sovereign is coming down fast! If you don't go now, all of you will be dead!"
"Lieutenant…" started Shepard again, but it wasn't her who hurt the most.
"Kaidan'Alenko! I don't give a rat's anus what you say, I'm coming down to get you!" Tali shouted over the comm.
Sighing to himself, he leaned over to the console of the bomb. "Here, I'll make it easy for you," he said as he armed it and set the timer. "I've armed the nuke and set it for five minutes. It'd take you twenty to get down here."
"LT!" Chief Williams shouted.
"Spirits…" groaned Garrus.
"I told you, I'm coming down anyway!" Tali shouted again, her voice cracking in fear.
"Wrex…" the lieutenant said, a bit loudly to make himself heard over the chatter.
"Hmm?" asked the krogan.
"Tali gets on the Normandy. You understand me?" Kaidan said as he warped the console to make sure the bomb couldn't be disarmed. "No matter what happens, you get her to leave. That's my final request." He paused for a brief moment. "Please."
He could hear the heavy sigh of the krogan over the comm. "Fine."
"No! Let me go you bosh'tet! Get your hands off me!" Tali shouted as her struggle against the mercenary could be clearly heard, her voice now betraying her tears. "Don't leave me behind! Kaidan, please!"
"Thank you, Wrex," the lieutenant said, before turning his attention to his commander once again. "Shepard?"
"What is it?" asked the spectre, her voice wavering as she spoke.
"Thanks for taking me along for the ride. Had I known this would happen, I'd still go every time. All of you - Ash, Garrus, Wrex, Liara, Joker, the rest of the Normandy crew - and you, Shepard. I wouldn't have traded you all for the world. I got to do something; my life had meaning. Now do me a favor and kick Sovereign's ass to whatever hell it came from," he said with a solemn look on his face.
"I will, Kaidan, you have my word," Shepard answered.
His thoughts then turned to the person he'd most regret leaving. "Tali'Zorah nar Rayya," he said, a small smile forming despite his situation.
"What?" she asked through tears as she heard him say her name.
"Thank you, Tali, for everything. Thank you for being my friend, for staying by my side. Thank you for introducing me to your people." His smile grew as he remembered seeing her face for the first time, the first time they kissed and the flu it caused her afterwards. Her dragging him all over the Citadel, getting excited over every little new thing that her people had never encountered before. Watching movies, listening to music, going back to the pet shop three more times to look at the kittens. He wanted to remember everything they had experienced together, and he wanted to remind her of it too. Let those be the last memories she had of him, not this. "Thank you for everything, Tali. You gave me so much I didn't know I needed. I love you so much. Do you understand me?"
"KAIDAN NO-" she started to shout.
"Tali, please. I love you. Losing you is my biggest regret, but I'm thankful for the time we've spent together." He winced in pain as he shifted his weight, trying not to let it enter his voice. "You showed me so much I didn't know, Tali, and I will be forever grateful to have gotten to know you."
"Kaidan, I'm coming after you! I can do it, there's still time!" she answered.
"Tali…" he groaned as he shook his head.
"I love you, Kaidan'Alenko. Don't you dare leave me -" cried the quarian, her scuffle with Wrex still audible.
"I love you too…" He cut off the comms at that point, having heard what he needed to. He trusted Wrex to keep his word and get her off the planet before the bomb went off. He could rest easy.
Looking around the destroyed room, he spotted Rentola in the corner. The salarian commander's breathing was labored and his eyes had begun to film over as he stared at the human. "It is good… you got to say goodbye."
"You can't contact your team?" the lieutenant asked as he looked down at the counter and saw the four-minute mark pass.
"There is little that needs be said," responded the salarian before he coughed up a dark-greenish colored fluid. Kaidan wasn't positive, as he didn't know what color salarian blood was. But he was pretty sure this was it. "Please… I cannot move. Can you cross my arms?"
Alenko nodded, reaching up, he tore the armor off of his chest, leaving his sweat and blood-soaked under suit before ridding himself of it entirely. Free to move, he still winced in pain as he got to his knees and crawled over to the commander. Reaching up, he crossed the salarian's arms over his chest. Then, without even being asked, he turned and did the same for the others. Finally, he sat back against the bomb again and reached up to wipe the blood from a gash in his forehead that he didn't even realize he had.
"Thank you, lieutenant. It was… an honor… serving…" Rentola said through gasps. But it appeared that his body gave out before he could finish what he was saying.
"Anytime, Commander..." groaned Alenko as he too felt the shock of his wounds beginning to kick in. His eyes felt heavy, and his vision blurred as he gave in to his desire to sleep. His head slumped, his chin now on his chest as he gave himself to his fate. But he snapped out of his stupor as he heard the door slide open in front of him. "More geth huh?" he asked chuckling. "At least I'll be taking you with me. Keelah'selai you bastards…"
Cargo Bay – SSV Normandy SR1
"I said let go of me!" shouted Tali as the cargo bay door began to close. The ship lifted off the ground and began to fly away from the outer world. And as soon as the bay was secured, Wrex did as he was told and set the quarian on the ground. Immediately she lashed out and struck him across the face with a kick so powerful it made him stumble backwards. Despite her attack, he merely reached up and rubbed the spot gently before turning back to her, a solemn expression haunting his face.
"He was a good man," said the mercenary, getting a shocked look from Tali as he turned and trundled off towards his small corner of the cargo bay.
Ashley, with no tears, but eyes red and stinging approached her with her hands up. "Tali… I know it's…"
"Shut your mouth and don't you dare touch me!" shouted Tali as she pointed to the squad. Garrus, Liara, and Ash all got a face full of the quarian insult. "Cowards! All of you! We could have saved him, but you ran away!" she shouted, her voice so full of rage and sadness that nobody said a word.
Shepard approached Tali slowly as the quarian spun on her. "Tali…" she said as she reached up to remove her helmet.
"And you!" shouted Tali as she rounded on the spectre. "You were his commanding officer! How could you let him die!?" she erupted as she clenched her fists. "Please! We still have time! We can go back and get him before it's too… late…"
Shepard removed her helmet, and her face silenced the outraged quarian. Shepard looked up at her, her pale, freckled face soaked with tears and her eyes almost as red as Wrex's. Her breathing was shaky as she shook her head. "Please… if you're going to accuse someone, accuse me. It was my decision."
"Shepard… please…" said Tali as she reached forward and brought the spectre's forehead to her helmet. "Please don't take him away from me…" Suddenly, the ship shook and threw everyone off their feet. Shepard landed on her back and Tali on top of her. As everyone pulled themselves back to their feet, Tali stared down at Shepard from her dominant position as the realization of what the tremor in the ship was hit her. She leaned back, her legs straddling Shepard and let out a heart-broken wail of agony before raising her fists and pounding on Shepard's armor. "Nononononono…" she sobbed.
Shepard reached up and wrapped her arms around the young quarian, and Tali didn't fight it.
"Shepard," she cried out, softly.
"I know, Tali," she said as she comforted the quarian, gently rubbing her back. "I know." She knew that there was nothing more she could do to console the heartbroken woman. Finally, Tali collapsed into the commander's arms and sobbed as the Normandy flew away from Virmire - and from the love of her life.