I woke up, opting to stare at the ceiling first thing.
Yesterday- a quick glance at the clock on my bedside table- yeah, yesterday, we'd gotten back onto the ship, Chakwas meeting us in the cargo bay. She'd walked beside Garrus, observing me, as I was using him and Tali for support.
Once in the med bay, I was guided to a bed. Laying down, I'd waited for her to do her scans. She eventually asked me, pointblank, what had really happened. My body was showing signs of stress close to the high gravity effects of Dekuuna on Elcor.
I'd let out a gust of air and just told her. "I stopped time."
"On Agebinium?"
"Yes and no. Everywhere. Only way to keep the balance."
She'd gone quiet a moment, they all did. I'd just kept my gaze on the ceiling. Waiting. I'd been fucking exhausted, and I'd just... given up. She'd either believe me or she wouldn't. All I'd wanted was to go to sleep.
"That must have come at a high price." She mused finally, breaking the silence. "Have you done this before?"
"No, I- I didn't know I could, honestly."
"Who is, or was, she? And your mother, as well."
"You've never heard of them. Anastasia Snow and Varvara Shepard, respectively."
"Your magic is in your blood?"
"Yep." I'd nodded, my eyelids growing heavy.
"Do you mind telling me more about you?"
And I'd just... word vomited all over the poor woman. Only the things Garrus already knew, but both Chakwas and Tali were thrown into the deep end without much warning.
"And I take wolfsbane because I'm a werewolf." An apologetic glance at the doctor. "Sorry I didn't tell you about that when I first told you about my meds, doc."
"I understand." She'd approached me, looking me over. "What can I do, if anything, to help right now?"
"I just need to sleep it off. That was... intense. Took a lot out of me."
"Well, you know yourself more than I do, but come back for a check-up later. No more than two days out." Stern at the end.
"I will, I will."
With that, I'd been given the all-clear.
And then, there had been the problem of me bring unable to move.
Garrus had let me lean on him, though a few steps in, my knees had buckled. Before I'd hit the floor, he'd caught me, the door sliding open as someone walked in.
Kaidan.
"Shepard?" He'd frowned at the sight of me, hurrying over. "What's wrong?" Pale when he'd reached me.
"I'm good. just need help getting to my quarters. Promise." I'd glanced at the turian, and he'd carefully picked me up. "Thanks."
"Let me help."
One on either side of me, the two women staying quiet, I'd been half-carried to my room. Where I'd promptly collapsed onto the bed and passed out.
Now, in the light of day, so to speak, I couldn't believe I'd just... told Chakwas. What was wrong with me? I'd gone ten years- ten years!- with only three people knowing and, in the span of less than a week, five more knew.
What the hell?
I shook my head, sighing, and sent a message to Joker. We were on our way toward Chasca a few seconds later.
After this mission, I needed to go back to the Citadel. Spend some time in the gym. I needed to unwind and clear my head. Maybe Persephone would be up for talking.
...
"For the last time," I whirled around, hissing at the men. "I'm fine." I faced Tali and Liara, donning my sweet voice. "Are you two ready to go?"
There wasn't much to find, after we'd been dropped. Three facilities, brimming with husks. The last location had all of their personnel files and some encrypted data about Cerberus. They really had been working with them. A sigh left me as I copied the data for myself.
What we did find, after we'd left the last building, was a pyramid with an empty survey trailer. Among the items left behind was a data disk, the likes of which I'd only seen once before.
"Liara!" I called out, grinning. "I've got something for you!"
She came over, while Tali kept searching for more useful things.
"Viridian?"
"Tada!" I held it out to her.
Her eyes widened and she let out an unladylike squeal. "A Prothean data disk! And it's so well-preserved." Eyes met mine. "When you're done copying the data for yourself, because I know you, may I have it?"
"Of course. I wouldn't have made a big deal showing you, if I wasn't going to hand it over." A motion toward the pyramid. "Looks like they were studying if it was related to the Protheans."
...
The balance beam had always been my favorite, out of everything related to gymnastics. I loved the bend of my body as I reached backward to touch the beam. How it felt to hold it while my legs were up in the air. And the jump off, before landing on the mat, felt like flying. The rings were third on my list, but only when I was spinning so quick it felt like I was suspended midair, and when I let go for the landing.
My second favorite, and what I was currently using, was the pole. The free-fall slide down, headfirst. Trusting yourself to be able to catch and stop before your head hit the mat. A calmness always swept through me when I was using it.
I was at the top of the pole, upside down, when I spotted Garrus, Kaidan, Liara, and Tali standing near the entrance to the gym. Spotting me, they all started to approach. I let my hold loosen enough to slide, and my body moved easily down toward the floor. I heard a shout and rapid footsteps. Stopping just short of the mat, I touched my palms against it and languidly folded myself over to land on my feet.
"What can I do for you?" I asked as three of them reached me. Only Liara was unaffected by my display, taking her time on the walk over..
"What can- Are you okay?"
"I do that all the time." I waved away Kaidan's words. "Why are you all here?"
"It's been two days since anyone has heard from you." The asari supplied. "Even Joker is worried."
I frowned. Had it really been two days? Huh. Guess I'd been on autopilot for longer than I'd thought.
A shrug. "Sorry. I'm almost done here, and then- How did you find me? This place is pretty out of the way from our docking bay."
"We also learned a research colony on an asteroid in the Asgard system went radio silent early this morning." Garrus said.
Grabbing a towel and wiping the sweat off my face, I slipped into a vision.
I-
I sprinted into the locker room, changing as quickly as I could. Snatched my gym bag, racing back.
"We've gotta go. Now."
Kaidan called out over comms for everyone to head back to the Normandy ASAP.
I stood by Joker, waiting until everyone was aboard. Then, I turned to him. "Get us to the Exodus cluster. Now."
"It takes us a half hour to clear their procedures, you know that."
I leaned over him, pressing the button that connected us to the control tower. "We're leaving. Now. Spectre Authority." I rattled off the code.
A moment's pause. Then-
"Authority recognized. You are free to go, Spectre Shepard."
"Get us out of here."
He muttered something about needing to remember that for next time as I walked away, going to my room to stow my things. Meditated on the vision, seeing all possible angles, until we arrived in the Asgard system. I went out to the CIC and picked Asteroid X57 as our destination.
Only a few minutes longer.
The VI system spoke up as I was about to step away from the CIC.
"Sensors reveal three fusion torches propelling Asteroid X57. At its current rate of acceleration, the asteroid will collide with Terra Nova in approximately four hours. Torches must be disabled to cease the acceleration."
It patched in a distress call right after.
"Hello? Hello? Can you hear me?"
"I hear you." I assured the woman, voice soft.
"They haven't found me yet, but I can't talk long. Please. Shut down the fusion torches, or we're all going to die."
"That's the plan. Sit tight and stay calm. Everything will be alright soon."
The connection cut after that, from her end.
I rushed down to the cargo bay, hopping into the mako. Everyone followed suit without a word.
After landing planetside, I pulled Kaidan aside. "When it's necessary, you're the leader. I won't be there, and you'll need to keep him talking. Can you do that?"
His brows pulled down, but he nodded. Not questioning it.
Turning to the rest of the team, I brought up a map of the asteroid on my omni-tool. "There's fusion torches here, here, and here. Tali, Ashley, Wrex. Take this one. Kaidan, Liara, Garrus, you guys are on this one. I'm going to head to the one here." The middle of them. "We'll meet back up here." I pointed to a spot that was by the third torch. "If a woman contacts you, keep her calm. She's one of the survivors." A glance around at everyone. "We don't have much time. Let's get to it."
We dropped off the first trio at their torch, with me exiting at the second. The third heading toward the final one.
Proximity mines littered the area between me and the facility. Which, even though I'd known about them, from the vision, they were still frustrating to get through.
Tali patched the call through to everyone.
"My name's Kate Bowman. I'm an engineer. I was part of the team assigned to bring this asteroid to Terra Nova. We were attacked early this morning by batarian extremists. I've been hiding since they arrived." A pause. "I think they know the torch went out."
"What do they want?" Ashley's voice filtered through.
"I don't know. But if this asteroid isn't slowed, millions of people on Terra Nova are going to die. If I find out anything I'll-" Noises bled into the call, sounding like footsteps. "I've got to go. Good luck."
Once inside the building, I came up against a group of batarians. Not having the patience, I cloaked and killed them while they searched for me, picking them off one by one, until I was the only one left standing. It was a simple thing to deactivate the torch fusion, a few keystrokes was all it took. Not very high-tech security, really.
I was about to head toward the exit, when Kate spoke directly to me now. I patched it through to the others.
"Are you there? You've got to hurry. You've really pissed them off. Their leader's setting charges everywhere. I think he's going to blow this whole facility."
"Get away from that." A new voice. One I recognized.
My eyes narrowed. I hadn't seen or heard him in the vision, but there was no mistaking it. Charn. What the hell was he doing here, with this lot?
"Don't shoot. Please."
"Who's shutting down the torches?" Another man demanded.
This one was unfamiliar, but it didn't matter. He'd die, just like the others.
Silence.
"I won't ask again."
Silence.
A gunshot.
I grit my teeth, glaring down at the floor.
"Find this problem and deal with it! And get her out of here."
The line went dead.
I sprinted outside, running toward the rendezvous point. The first group met me, and we reached it together. The third group hadn't come out yet, strangely.
"Hold tight." I cautioned. "I'm going to see what's taking them so long."
They were in a standoff with-
"Charn." I scowled, walking right up to him and clocking him. "What the fuck is this?"
He straightened, rubbing his cheek. "Viridian?" A sigh. "Hijacking this rock wasn't my idea. I'm just doing my job here. I signed on to make a little profit. A quick slave grab. Nothing more."
"You were supposed to be out of the slave trading business." I growled.
"No one wants to hire a batarian, least of all humans."
I pinched the bridge of my nose, before pulling up a few names on my omni-tool. "Here. Go see any one of these people, and they'll give you work. Honest work. They don't care what race you are, so long as you're willing to do the job."
I transferred the names and a few hundred credits to him.
"If I catch you slave trading again, I'll kill you."
His eyes met mine, nodding. "Not many people would give third chances. Especially a human to a batarian. You really are good people."
"Yeah, yeah. Just... get out, before I change my mind." I motioned for him and his men to follow me. "More of my team is outside, so I'll have to walk with you, or they might just open fire."
The others looked on as the small band made their way to where Charn had told me there was a shuttle bay. Something they'd found after taking over the asteroid.
"Let's get to that last facility."
When we reached it, everyone piling out, I made sure I was the last one left inside. Cloaking before exiting.
Kaidan was officially in charge, and he knew it, recognition showing when he realized I was nowhere to be found.
They took care of the enemies, I raced around hunting for bombs. These were actually a bit difficult to deactivate, requiring my hacking program.
I was on the last one, within earshot of the confrontation, waiting for the charge to turn off, when someone, the second male voice from the call, shouted.
"You humans." He was clearly, blatantly, ignoring the fact that there were only two humans among my team. "You're almost more trouble than you're worth."
Kaidan stepped forward. "Let the hostages go. You might just live long enough to explain yourself to the Council."
"I don't answer to the Council! Or to you." He sneered. "I'm leaving this asteroid. If you try to stop me, I'll detonate these charges, and your helper and her friends are all going to die."
"You can't really think you'll get away, not after what you've done here."
"This is nothing. You humans have done far worse to the batarians. We've been forced into exile. Forced to survive on what we can scrounge up. It's been like that for decades."
"These people didn't do anything to you." Kaidan crossed his arms. He was doing exactly as I'd asked- Keeping the man distracted.
"Didn't do anything? Aside from colonizing a world that could have been ours? Aside from using resources that should have been ours?"
A popup on my omni-tool told me the final bomb had been rendered useless. I let out a sigh of relief.
"We were left to defend ourselves. But the humans were stronger than us. We knew that. The Council knew that. But it didn't matter." He stepped forward, jabbing a finger in Alenko's direction. "It was you. You and your kind are the only reason we're in this position."
"And killing innocent people is the way to go about this?"
I snuck up behind the batarians, waiting. I was curious about the motivations that could have led to this situation.
"We had no other options. Sometimes, you need to get someone's attention before they'll listen."
I snapped the neck of the man standing just behind him, quietly guiding his body to lay on the floor. Not a clue anything was wrong.
"Is that was Elysium was? Attention seeking? When you got the attention you wanted, you fled. Like cowards. You started the battle, and we finished it. That's what happened. Now, you want to start it all over again? What, so you can run away again?"
Kaidan was pretty good with the speeches.
"You couldn't possibly understand... Actually, you just don't want to understand. And I'm done wasting my breath." I could hear the vicious smile on his face. "Now, if you want your friends to live, I suggest you step aside."
I kicked the back of his knees, watching as he fell forward, catching himself with his hands.
"What-"
I revealed, pressing the barrel of my pistol against the base of his neck. "You won't be walking out of here alive, I'm sorry to say. The torches are disabled, as are the bombs. There's no reason to let you go. I will ask, though, any last words?"
"How do you sleep at night, knowing you're the reason batarians are forced into exile? I hope your gods strike you down when you least expect it."
I laughed coldly. "My gods smile on me. I can't say the same for you."
And then, I pushed his head down, pulling the trigger, so the bullet went from the base of the neck through to the top of his head.
A man rushed into the large room, stopping when he saw us. Doubling over to pant for air.
"Simon." Ashley said, motioning toward him. "We encountered him at the first fusion torch."
"You did it. Another hour, and our course would have been irreversible." He'd finally managed to catch his breath. "I ran the numbers on my way over. X57 would have struck near the capital city. The most densely populated region. But that's not going to happen, thanks to you."
"Couldn't have done it without our commanding officer, Shepard."
"Thank you, Shepard." He looked around, frowning. "Is Katie in here? Is she all right? Is her team?"
"I saw them while I was deactivating the bombs. She seems alright. Just shaken up. The lot of them do."
His expression shifted again, bordering on hero worship. "Killing the terrorist and saving the hostages. Not many people can pull that off. Thank you. For my grandchildren's lives."
He made to search for the others, but I held up a hand.
"Hold on. Here." I pulled up the map on my omni-tool, showing him. "Here are the places where you'll find the bodies of your team."
"I- Thank you." It was more subdued this time, marking the locations on his own map.
A woman approached, glancing around at my team, before settling her eyes on me. "I half expected you to just let us die. Sacrifice the few for the many."
I raised an eyebrow. "I don't do that."
"Huh. You sound like my brother. He was always so stubborn. But always willing to do the right thing... no matter what."
That must've been who was shot.
"I'm sorry for your loss. I wish I could've saved him, too."
"It's not your fault. You did what you could. At least Aaron died in a place he loved. He was the one who convinced me to join the team here. Said it would be an adventure." A shake of her head, bringing herself out of her thoughts. "I- I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but I should see to Aaron."
"I understand. I'll get out of your hair."
"Thank you- huh. I don't even know your name."
"Shepard. Viridian Shepard."
"Thank you, Shepard. You're not exactly what I expected. Better than I could have hoped for. Thank you."
I watched as she turned around and headed back into the room she'd come from.
"Alright. Let's get back to the Normandy and-"
I swear to all the gods, people fucking knew and waited for me to be talking, before sending messages.
Oh.
"Benezia just landed on Noveria." My words were met by stunned silence, eyes shifting to Liara. She was pale. "Let's set a course for Noveria when we get aboard the ship."
