Shepard had anticipated speaking with a 1,000-year-old survivor of the Krogan Rebellions - and a geneticist? That would have been something even if he didn't have info on the Collectors. His dossier had been the most promising, in her opinion. That's why the ensuing shit show that was Korlus was so depressing. They'd dropped into a war zone, where the Blue Sun's leader, Jedore, was screaming over the complex's speakers. Zaeed's subsequent complaining about the screaming, was nearly as bad as Jedore was herself. And worst of all she wasn't able to get to Okeer in time before Jedore fucking gassed him. At this point the Commander wondered if she wouldn't be just as excited to kill the Blue Suns founder Vido, as Zaeed would be - considering the amount othe gang that had been in her way.
All of that bullshit and what did she have to show for it? More bruising and a tank baby. Well, she found out that Kasumi was helpful at flushing enemies from cover. That was something, at least. She stepped forward and placed a hand on the cool surface of the glass. Inside the artificial uterus was a massive adolescent krogan - Okeer's purported perfect soldier. Shepard didn't remember having ever seen a Krogan without his crest grown in yet, but she suspected they weren't usually this muscular or tall at this age. He was orange with cerulean eyes, his scales were in pristine order. That was jarring - she also couldn't remember seeing any Krogan without scars or missing fingers.
"EDI, can you tell if he is aware? Can he see or hear in there?"
"Unlikely. Current neural patterns indicate minimal cognition. Barring ship-wide power loss, the nutrients would sustain him for over a year."
"Shepard, you really are fucking daft if you are thinking of opening that - a nut job of a krogan messing around with its head? It's just a killing machine." Zaeed spoke from behind her.
"I have to agree, Shep, even the AI wants you to keep him in there, telling you how long it can live without being prompted." said Kasumi.
"Your concerns are noted. My XO has already given me an earful. You can both return to your quarters, mission debrief will be at 0900 hours tomorrow," the Commander stated curtly.
She saw the two squad mates give each other looks before turning to leave. The old mercenary paused in the doorway.
The N7 sighed. "I'm not in the mood for lip Massani.
"I'm just down this hall you know, if you need me," he looked at the tank one last time before letting the door close behind him.
Was that worry? For me? Was that a bit cute? She shook her head. "EDI, how fast can you vent this room?"
"In 27.6 seconds Commander."
See? No big deal. She danced on the balls of her feet for a second, armor clanking.
"Okay, on my command only. Wait, we don't even have any clothing that will fit him, do we?" Shepard spoke.
"Operative Lawson secured a shipment of basic Turian, Krogan, and Salarian supplies along with dextro rations at the Citadel in anticipation of acquiring the candidates from the dossiers."
"Then we just need to get him some armor. Stand by for venting EDI, I'm going to open the tank."
"Cerberus protocol is very clear regarding untested alien technology."
"Yeah? Well Shepard protocol is if it's a killing machine then it's gonna be MY killing machine," She moved forward to study the holo grid on the front glass of the container.
"Very well Commander, the controls are online. The decision, and consequences are yours," the display flashed and turned green as the AI responded.
It took a few seconds to find the drain and release commands with omni-tool translation but within minutes there was a loud crash as the Krogan hit the ground, unceremoniously dumped by the retracting glass. He tried to suck in but gurgled and retched fluid from his lungs, pupils constricted. Once he was capable of taking great heaving breaths he looked around, caught sight of her feet, drug his gaze up to her's - his lips pulled into a snarl.
Uh oh.
Nearly as fast as she blinked, he smashed her into the wall and had her in the air, a massive forearm pressing into her throat. She was off the ground, and his large face was an inch from her own.
"Human, female. Before you die, I need a name." Wow, Okeer had taught him galactic common?
"Commander Shepard of the SSV Normandy," she struggled out.
"Not yours, mine." He blinked a large cerulean eye and glanced around the cargo room. "I know things… I've had training. But Okeer's words are hollow," he paused. "Warlord, legacy, grunt. Grunt was among the last... it'll do. I am Grunt," the great orange alien turned his head and regarded her carefully, eyes searching her face. "If you are worthy of your title, you could destroy me. Prove it," his arm sunk deeper into her neck.
Shepard dug the muzzle of the carnifex she'd barely managed to pull out into the soft flesh of his armpit - right where a redundant heart lie. He glanced down and a wicked grin stole over him.
"You breathe now thanks to my will. I could end you. But I want to use you to fight. You deserve better, you were bred for better than a tank or a lab."
"Human problems mean nothing to me."
"Human problems are nothing compared to mine. My enemies topple worlds, destroy galaxies - and they won't stop until they commit genocide of every single sentient being in ours."
His arm relaxed, and she dropped incrementally.
"That is acceptable… without a will of my own, any fight is as good as the next. If your enemies are as strong as you say, I will fight for you," he let her down and stepped back.
Grunt motioned towards her weapon. "Smart, Shepard. Extend one hand and arm the other," he snorted. "When I find a clan and a purpose that is my own, I will be happy to pit them against you." He turned and walked a few steps to the tank.
She caught sight of his stubby little tail as he moved and had to push the thought of, 'how hard would he hit me if I grabbed it?' way down and hide her grin. "Sounds like a date. Now I'm going to go find you some clothes and food. Stay here, I'll be back in a few minutes."
Shepard eyed the two men flanking her as she walked down the gangway towards the prison. This would be Grunt's first foray. Well, buying a prisoner should be simple but he did what she'd brought him for - look impressively intimidating in armor she'd purchased on Illium along the way. He looked green in untouched gear with a pristine shotgun, but she and Zaeed were scarred up enough to keep things civil. Hopefully.
A group of guards stood in a compact room before the station. "Welcome to Purgatory, Commander. Your package is being prepped, you'll be able to claim it shortly. As this is a high security vessel you are required to relinquish all weapons before moving further," spoke a helmeted Turian. Oh look, more Blue Suns. Everyone here was in Blue Suns Armor.
The N7 pulled her pistol and had it up to the merc's head before the rest pulled their assault rifles on her. "I'll relinquish one bullet. Where would you like it?"
A grayish brown plated Turian with no colony markings approached. "Everybody stand down," the guards obeyed. "Commander, I am Warden Kuril, and this is my ship. Your weapons will be returned to you. I'm sure you realize this is just standard operating procedure."
The cocking of her gun was her only answer. They had a stare down while the Warden tried to decide how serious she was. If Garrus had been here he would have had some mumblings about bare faces… she shook the thought from her head.
"Let them proceed. Our facility is more than secure enough to handle three armed guests. We are bringing Jack out of cryo. As soon as the funds clear, you can be on your way. If you'll follow me to out-processing, Commander."
"Relinquish your weapons they said… give them back at the end they said," Shepard plugged a merc coming up behind Grunt and took another shield hit from the sniper asshole up on the catwalk. She bent into cover to let it recharge. "You know, Zaeed, your Blue Suns brainchild here is starting to piss me off."
"OH, and your child is doing so good eh?" he pointed towards Grunt who was in the middle of charging a full group of soldiers with no shield up at all.
"Hey at least mine isn't trying to kill us." she grumbled.
"I'm not so sure about that," as he ran by her and pointed at his neck.
She sighed. How the merc had even noticed the bruise Grunt left on her was beyond her. She'd had her helmet off for about a tenth of a second in his presence. She launched herself over a crate, burying her omni-blade in the chest of an unsuspecting soldier.
Kuril had brought them to "out-processing" - a real fancy word for double-cross - since it was just the inside of a cell. The delusions of grandeur the Warden was suffering under were intense. She'd taken on a Reaper and lived. That he thought he and his prison full of Blue Suns could capture her was laughable at best - insulting at worst. And Shepard was feeling insulted. Curious though, who would pay that kind of money for her? Hopefully not the Alliance.
The Warden had stated earlier that Jack was dangerous, violent, and very powerful. He wasn't wrong, she was a tattooed human female, surprisingly, and it had so far been a sound plan to let her loose. Shepard and her team were just following the biotic's trail of destruction through the blaring alarms of the station. She made a mental note to not give Jacob so much shit during their next training session. If she was even a fraction as destructive as Jack it'd be worth it.
The Commander hummed in annoyance as she blasted two more soldiers off of her Krogan, then stopped to convey the benefits of the personal shield capacitor.
"Shepard, you'd better come see this," Zaeed rumbled over the com from where he had scouted around the corner into the next room. She moved up beside him, crouched behind some crates. "Looks like the idiot is hiding under a shield powered by three generators."
"Yeah with a fair regiment in here with him. Wait, he's wearing tech armor too. The absolute quad on this idiot! These damn Turians all think they are something after going through the Hierarchy military, and I've seen exactly one live up to his own hot shit delusions," she spoke.
"Heh, hope I meet him," Grunt said with glee.
"Me too. All right, you two go right - take care of all those mercs and that generator. I'll go left, get these two generators and we will meet up the middle." The three nodded at each other and moved.
The minutes dragged on as they plowed through the room. Kuril was up on a dais focused on her, taking sniper shots at her shields as she danced through cover, leaving bodies in her wake.
"Our generator is down, Shep," Zaeed called out.
Perfect, she only had one left. The N7 leapt over crates to surprise two remaining soldiers. She dispatched them and unloaded her shotgun into the power conduit in front of her. Kuril's shield fizzled away. Her smile was wicked. She reached out to see if she could pull him from his cover, focusing her gleeful retribution down into her core. Her biotics roiled around her form, but the Turian was still tucked up on the platform, unmoving. Her frustration peaked - a cry ripped from her throat and she moved - far faster than ever before. In an azure streak the Commander was on him, their impact was nothing but bright light and the armored Warden flew into the wall behind him with a sickening metallic sound. He left a small crater in the metal and his tech armor winked out. Shepard hauled him up by his collar and held him an inch from her face. The blow had dazed him, eyes unfocused.
"You could have had your money and lived, Kuril, could have kept your honor. Pay attention - this is what happens to anyone who fucks with me," she shook him once to wake him before bringing her omni-blade through his throat. The station's security alarms were still blaring even as the Warden lay at her feet. Grunt came trotting up with Zaeed behind him.
"We're done here, let's catch up to our new biotic friend," Shepard stood up, spattered with a bit of cobalt blood.
They found the tattooed woman standing in the gangway to the Normandy. She paced furiously, stepping over a few dead Blue Suns in the hall. Shepard had her two teammates hang back as she approached the biotic. Jack's attention was planted on the ship outside the bay window. She didn't seem to notice a merc coming down the hall toward them, or Shepard for that matter. As the merc came closer, the Commander's nerves had him within the sights of her pistol before the other woman reacted, and she downed him with two shots to the head. Jack put up two glowing fists, saw the dead soldier, and spun to face the Normandy team. Shepard quickly put her carnifax away and held up a placating hand.
"What the hell do you want?!" Jack fumed.
"I'm Commander Shepard, I came to rescue you."
"You must think I'm stupid, I'm not going anywhere with you Cerberus," the biotic's power spun around her form.
"I just saved your ass and I'm asking you to come with me. I've got the only ride off this shit hole station anyway, so think about your options."
"You want me to come with you? Make it worth my while," Jack turned and regarded the ship. "I bet you've got access to Cerberus databases on there. I want to see what they've got on me, get me into their information."
That was an easy decision. "Done. I'll give you full access."
"Then what are we standing around for?" With no ceremony, Jack headed up the ramp.
Shepard turned to Zaeed, "You know if she doesn't tear up my ship I might like her."
"Welcome to the Normandy Jack, I'm Miranda, Shepard's second in command. On this ship we follow orders," the operative began.
"Tell the Cerberus cheerleader to back off Shepard. I'm here for our deal." Jack interrupted.
She could already feel the fight brewing in the communications room, and the two women had only known each other for seconds. The Commander briefly made eye contact with Jacob standing behind them. "Miranda, relax. Jack, you can set up shop wherever you want, Jacob will show you the ship. I'm giving her access to Cerberus files as her condition for joining so get her set up with codes and a data pad," she turned to aim the last part towards her XO.
"Commander you can't," Miranda protested.
"I can and I will. Tim wanted me to recruit her. I'm sure he figured what that would entail. I don't care about Cerberus's precious secrets, I care about the Collectors. Make it happen," Shepard waved her out. Miranda expertly hid her disdain except for the tightness of her lip corner, but left.
As soon as the door closed behind her Shepard turned to Jack. "So what did they do to you?"
The tattooed woman chuckled bitterly. "Your employers are into some sick shit, kidnapping and torturing young girls for years gets them off. They raised me in a research facility. But I escaped, and they've been chasing me ever since. Fucking unbelievable they'd send someone to ask me for my help - but with those files I'll be making sure every last bastard that touched me is buried 6 feet under or hurtling through space."
"I'm not surprised. I've destroyed their experiments and facilities more times than I'd have liked. I'm no friend of Cerberus, but I will use them to fund this fight against the Collectors," Shepard answered.
Jack crossed her arms. "Collectors? I thought they were a myth?"
"I wish. They are the ones responsible for entire human colonies going missing. We are gonna figure out why, and stop them," Shepard folded her arms.
"Well, I'll kill whatever you want me to once I've got that data. Don't keep me waiting, Commander," the biotic turned to walk out with Jacob trailing after her.
Shepard came out of the com room, debated for a moment, then turned to go check in on Mordin. The door to the lab retracted to reveal no Salarian scientist at his usual station... she blinked. Huh. She poked her head in the door and to the left he was silently hovering over a plexiglass case.
"How are you doing Mordin?" she moved over to glimpse what he was so intent on. There was a large bug inside the case bouncing around the interior, trying very hard to get at the Salarian's hand that rested on the surface.
He turned to her. "Research progressing nicely. This is subject 001, calling it "seeker drone", one of a swarm set loose on Ferris Fields. Cerberus has provided samples. Drone is capable of putting organic matter into stasis. Fascinating. Explains no signs of struggle with missing colonists," one long finger tapped on the glass - it stirred the bug into revealing a long stinger and renewed its efforts to get to the scientist in a humming, bouncing, frenzy.
"Stasis... how is that possible?" she asked.
"Looks organic, but mostly technological. Perhaps species that has been repurposed by technology...still uncertain how it produces stasis like effect, so still uncertain on countermeasure. More study needed," he blinked enormous obsidian eyes at her with a lopsided grin.
She couldn't help but quirk a smile back. He was truly in his element. "Well, keep cracking at it Mordin. I'm sure you can figure it out. Will more samples speed you up?"
"Of course! More, always better. But this will do for now. Already have beginning of a theory," he motioned to many beakers and burners on the tabletop, titrating something into a viscous liquid. It was amazing how Salarian the equipment in the lab was slowly turning, and how similar their implements were to Human ones. Shepard clapped him on the shoulder.
"Great, send me a requisition form if you need anything else. And take a break now and then, okay? I heard you awake in here at 0300 the other day."
He looked aghast. "No time! Counter measures against Collectors necessary. Salarians only require an hour of sleep anyway. Now, must get back to experiment," he walked around to fiddle with some knobs on the apparatus on the table.
Obviously dismissed, Shepard strode out the other door into the CIC.
"Commander, you have new messages at your private terminal," Kelly Chambers announced as they made eye contact. The pep this woman had was second to none.
"Thanks Yeoman, at ease,"she spoke and moved to her terminal. Sure enough there were two good ones amongst the spam, one full of new dossiers from Tim and one from Aria T'Loak. Oh, boy. She took a minute to scan through the dossiers. One Justicar - what was that? And one assassin. Do-able, at least she knew what an assassin was. The Commander flicked the two messages to her datapad and moved to the elevator while continuing to read. The Asari's message was short and sweet.
Shepard,
The gangs are banding together to move on your boy. Best get here quick if you'd like a live body to fill your needs. Don't say I never did anything for you.
Well, shit.
She pulled his dossier back up as she passed through the mess towards the port observation deck. Hmm. Sharp Shooting do-gooder. Well, with the addition of Grunt and Jack, another sharpshooter would fill an invaluable hole. Worth the rescue.
"Joker, what would our ETA to Omega be from here?" she hit her com as the door hissed open to reveal Kasumi reading a book on the couch.
"About 42 hours, Commander," he answered.
"Set a course and pray, will ya Joker?"
"Sure Commander? What's going on?"
"We've got a Turian to rescue and if he is still alive in 42 hours, he'll be a worthy addition to the team. See if you can't shave it down."
"Roger that, Commander."
The thief was blinking at Shepard from under her hood. "What's up, Shep? Something I can help with?"
"Yeah, you ever hear of an assassin named Thane Krios in your line of work?" she asked from where she was leaning in the open doorway.
Kasumi looked thoughtful for a second. "I don't think so."
"Great, that means he is good at his job. Be prepared for a stop at Illium. I'm sure I'll need your expertise to find this guy," the N7 waved the datapad for effect.
"Well, if he does as many sit-ups as Jacob I'm your girl for sure," her eyes twinkled from under her headgear.
"Kasumi, what have I said about spying on Jacob while he works out?"
"How dare I not invite you?"
"Exactly."
Twenty four hours out from Omega found Shepard and Jacob doing burpees in the cargo bay while Zaeed and Grunt went over some teamwork drills in a makeshift crate obstacle course on the other side. She could hear the two men yelling at each other, which meant it was going well. She snorted to herself.
"Come on Commander, you are slowing down, you've got more than that," Jacob implored.
She shot him a look that told him exactly how she'd like to harm him. She didn't have more to give, as wasted to nothing as she was. A few seconds later and her right knee gave out on the squat up and dropped her straight on her face. She let out a clipped wail of frustration before turning around to lie on her back, chest heaving, sweat dripping. The Cerberus operative's face came into her line of sight as he bent over to make eye contact.
"Do you... have any idea... how hard... I'm trying... to not... punch you in the face," she gasped out between breaths.
"Well, we could move to sparring," he was out of breath and glistening too.
"No way, go get Zaeed - we've got at least a little sexual tension between us," she continued laying on the mat, black sports bra and leggings with her ponytail splayed around her.
"I didn't realize sexual tension was a requirement for sparring," he rested his palms on his knees.
"It's not, but it sure makes it more fun."
"I'm not doing anything with you until you get your muscles back Shepard. I only have a thing for women who can kill me," Zaeed yelled out with a laugh.
"Stop eavesdropping and get back to teaching our baby Krogan, old man!" she shouted back.
"I am no baby! I could kill you both!" Grunt roared.
"Yeah, yeah. You both need to put your money where your mouths are. Buncha blowhards. I wouldn't even need to break a sweat to teach you what an N7 can do!" she sat up on her elbows, but the crates hid her two teammates from view. Jacob was shaking his head.
"Oh? Wanna go Shepard? I could be convinced to make an exception and kick your lovely ass all over this bay," the merc's graying head poked up over the obstacle course. Grunt's guffaw echoed.
She gave him a not very prim middle finger. "I can take you any day, anyway, Massani!"
Jacob signaled a time out with his hands. "No, we've gotta get a move on to biotics Commander."
"Wow, are you a killjoy," she sighed. He shot a face back at her. "Fine, okay. Gimme one second though," Shepard stood and stretched before grabbing two hydropods from her pile of gear and jogging off towards the elevator. She sucked on one as the doors closed on Jacob's protesting. Well, it wasn't her first time to escape from his spartan workouts. She stepped out one floor up and saw him through the observation windows above the bay. He tilted his head up at her and tapped on his wrist. She held up one finger and headed over to engineering and down the steps into Jack's new hideout.
Jack was reclined on her cot, scrolling through a datapad. There were several more splayed about her. The two women made eye contact as the Commander came down the stairs, but the biotic flitted her eyes back to the pad. "What do you want Shepard?"
"Have you found what you are looking for yet?" she motioned to the pile of hardware and leaned against a desk to finish her last pod.
"Oh yeah, I've found all kinds of dirty little Cerberus secrets. Times, dates, names. Enough information to exact revenge for myself," Jack eyed her and leaned forward with her hands dangling between her knees. "I'll say it again, what do you want Shepard."
"Your help," she turned and stuck her fingers in her hair to reveal the amp installed behind her right ear. "This is new to me, a lovely upgrade from our dear Cerberus. I'm sure you empathize. But I wanna learn how to control it and Jacob is a shitty teacher."
The biotic stood and squinted at the implant. "Hell, they've got you an L5, and here I am just finding out they exist!
"And if you can help me figure this shit out, I'll have you in one by the time we get to Illium,"
Jack gave her an incredulous stare. "You realize they taught me through torture and starvation...right?"
"I'm a fast learner. Since you know exactly how NOT to teach, you'll be a natural," she paused. "I am interested to see your level of destruction with an L5."
"Well shit Shepard, let's get you casting singularities!" She bodily dragged the Commander back down to the cargo bay.
Jack turned out to be a great teacher. She immediately got rid of the stupid metal ball and between that and her "tough love" approach of kicking Shepard's ass up and down the bay - the biotic had her at least somewhat able to charge at will towards a target like she had at Kuril. It was sloppy sometimes, but the Commander had finally sent the punching bag off its hook and into the wall with her impact.
"Holy hell you might be getting it Shepard," Jack clapped slowly. "Now we should try a moving target. Hey, Krogan, you're okay with being thrown around, right?" She pointed to where he and Zaeed were standing, watching their training session.
Grunt nodded and walked over to where Shepard was laying and offered a hand. He pulled her up easily while Jack rearranged some cargo with her powers.
"Just go behind those crates and move from cover to cover. We'll see if she can get you. Ready Shep?"
"As I'll ever be."
She misfired a few times and slammed into the crates spectacularly. A nasty cut opened on her shin after one run in. Jacob held out a pack of medi gel. She took it and broke it open on the injury, using the edge of the package to smear it over.
"Just pretend he's Kuril or some shit. Nail his ass," Jack's voice reverbed through the bay.
That was easy enough with Grunt's taunting at her misses. Shepard caught him the fifth time though. The two collided hard, and it was all she could do to cushion her side of the blow - the Krogan sailed backwards and landed in a heap. It didn't last long - he was up and charging back at her gleefully. He approached with speed, and when he was close she braced her hands on his lowered head and vaulted over him easily. It took him a second to register what happened - his mouth was agape as he turned to stare at her. Zaeed and Jack were doubled over with laughter.
"Don't worry Grunt, I'll teach you all my tricks. Most Humans won't jump over you though," she reached to pat his shoulder. "Lets hit the mess for some food then I'll get my armor on and we will go over more team drills."
Was that… music? Her skin pebbled. The shiver started at her earlobes and traveled across her shoulder blades before hastily descending her spinal cord. She strained to make out the tapping piano, each chord familiar, but the arrangement escaped her. Shepard opened her eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling in a shadowed room. She blinked, trying to clear bleary fog from her vision. Whoever was playing the tune, was very talented. The melody was soothing. So much so that something else being in the bed with her didn't startle her.
In fact, it seemed normal. The surrounding sheets rustled, and a five fingered hand smoothed its way across her naked thigh and up across her stomach. She threw back the covers, and two recognizable brown eyes closed against the light.
"Ash? What are you doing here?" Shepard's voice sounded muffled to her own ears.
Her chief gunnery officer sat up and leaned over, her pressing one palm down into her right shoulder. "What do you mean 'what am I doing here', this is my bed Commander," the woman's long brown hair fell forward from where it had been tucked behind her ear.
Ah, the tune was Clair De'Lune. It clicked as Shepard stared into the soldier's eyes. She couldn't make sense of how she got here. Couldn't remember. Maybe it didn't matter. She threaded fingers into thick chocolate strands and pulled Ashley's face down to her chest. The officer tucked her head neatly under the Commander's chin. Shepard wrapped both arms around her friend tightly and nuzzled her nose into her mane. She smelled like Alliance issued soap. They both sighed contentedly as the piano tapped away.
She was here. She was warm, her skin silky under the N7s calloused finger pads. "Ashley, I'm so sorry."
"For what Skipper?" The officer's words were muffled but Shepard could feel her lips move near her collarbone.
"For leaving you behind. You deserved better. You still do," The stoic Commander's tears welled. "It shouldn't have been like this."
The brunette woman nodded slowly. "I know Skipper. But you got him, right?"
Shepard hesitated to answer. She did, right? She could remember the elongated techno skeleton of Saren laying crumpled next to her.
Something else was in the bed with them. She looked down at the top of Ashley's head. The soldier didn't seem alarmed as whatever it was moved along their forms under the sheets. Was the music playing faster? This time a three fingered hand yanked her bicep off of the soldier's back. Shepard cried out as it fisted, burying talons in her flesh. Saren's silver plates emerged from under the covers. He leaned over her the same as Ashley had, mandibles twitching. Shepard tried to buck away from him but the Gunnery Chief's weight was holding her down, eyes closed with a blissful look on her face. Shepard darted her vision back up to the Turian's visage. The oddly lengthy plates at his cheeks caught the low lighting in the room, making them resemble like knives.
"What's wrong Commander? Didn't I tell you you couldn't stop them? You can't run from them," His other long fingered hand was at her throat, squeezing. "I sought to save us, you see. I did the only thing I could. There are so very many of them out there, you know."
Shepard tried to scream, but could only get out a gurgle as he choked her. She scrabbled at his wrist with her free hand, Ashley's weight pressing her bodily into the mattress. Claire De'Lune was continuing in the background, faster and slightly off key.
"Shepard! Open the door!" A dual toned voice came from her right.
It was Garrus! She turned her head towards the door he was banging against, desperately trying to kick her legs out from under her gunnery chief.
Seconds passed slowly as her lungs burned, thrashing as little as she could against Saren's grip. She couldn't see over the edge of the mattress anymore, Ashley's form had pressed her down so far. There was a crashing noise, and the sound of splintering wood. Her sniper's familiar blue and black armored arm came into view, throwing Saren away from her easily. She grasped his hand, and he hauled her up. She stood staring up at azure eyes behind a glowing visor.
Garrus blinked at her. "What do we do next Shepard?"
What?
She turned and the bed was gone, replaced by the metal doors of a Citadel elevator. The Commander faced back around, to see twinkling shards of glass spinning off over inverted buildings of one of the wards far below them.
There was a sharp feeling of vertigo and her stomach flipped as she stepped out past the lip of the broken elevator glass to magnetize herself to the external tube. In front of her now was Sovereign, his titanic black form was hunched over the Citadel tower, many multiple legs gripping the structure. He was vaguely squid-like, save for one great red iris that bathed her in ruby light. Wrex and Garrus were on either side of her.
"Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh, you touched my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding." The Reaper's deep metallic voice boomed loudly, reverbing off the semi-closed arms of the Citadel, magnifying the sound ten fold. Shepard clamped hands over her ears.
The colossal machine floated down and smashed into the ward below them. "There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own you cannot even imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension. I am Sovereign!"
Shepard sucked in a breath as he moved toward them. "When the stars are right, it will awaken and rend space itself, so it may come forth and plunge us all into madness," she mumbled to herself as she leaned back to look up at the angles of his form.
Behind the creature, the SSV Normandy shot by them, guns blazing. It launched a warhead that slammed into the Reapers side, bathing them both in the bright white blast. The Commander was blown clear of the Citadel, spiraling through open vacuum.
The space station spun past her vision so fast bile rose in her throat.
It was then that the hissing began.
Shepard gasped awake in the darkness of her quarters.
