Chapter 44
Backstage, Shepard walked by and forth next to the stage's entrance. She was next. She forced herself to stop pacing and leaned against the wall next to the glass emergency box – fire extinguisher, AED, biotic fire axe. The Summit committee had prepared for all the wrong disasters. What she really needed right now was to still be off stage, watching and ready.
James came up next to her. A slit of light crossed his face like a scar as he peered through the angled opening to the stage. He turned back to her.
"Where's Liara going?"
"What?" Shepard pushed in beside him. "Where?"
"She vamoosed. Looked in a hurry."
Shepard turned back from the stage light and tried her earpiece. "Kaidan?"
Nothing.
"James, give me yours."
"Sure thing, Lola." James put it into her hand. "Ain't working well. Something with that shield."
"Kaidan?"
Shepard waited for a beat. She shoved the earpiece back at James with a growl.
"Go see what's up."
"Aye, aye." James shrugged. "If it's just a bathroom break …"
"Something's up," Shepard said. "Kaidan looks worried."
James trotted away. Shepard peeked around the corner onto the stage again. Two human scientists walked over to the councilors and shook their hands one by one. The crowd applauded.
"Shepard."
Shepard whipped her head around with a frown. Aria smiled holding a glass encased plaque in one hand. The crowd of award winners were starting to assemble backstage. Alecia Mason drifted around in the back behind everyone else. Shepard's eyes moved back to Aria.
"Aria." Shepard glanced out at the stage again then turned back to her. "The Alliance and Council are sending ships to the Terminus System. I talked to some of the admirals about you and your mercs. It's a way home, and some work for once you get there."
Aria's eyes widened, but she didn't say anything.
"Well, get back to me." Shepard shrugged.
Aria put out a hand. "Consider it agreed then."
Shepard raised her eyebrows and grabbed Aria's hand.
"Let me talk to Major Alenko, but good. And congrats by the way." Shepard nodded to the plaque in Aria's other hand.
Aria's hand squeezed tight, a painful pinch, and her face soured.
"I traded a space station for a plaque. It's a proud moment."
Shepard tore her hand away and shook it. Damn. Strong grip.
"Still sore about Omega, huh?"
"Let everyone you helped throw you out on your ass."
Shepard narrowed her eyes. They were calling Shepard's name on stage. The human scientists from onstage slipped around her holding their plaques. Shepard's name boomed overhead again.
"No one screws with Aria," Aria said.
"Go, go, go." A backstage handler shooed Shepard onstage.
She stumbled out blinking into the stage lights. No one screws with Aria. No one screws with the Scorpion. The room echoed with clapping and cheers. Shapes moved dimly out beyond the lights. It sounded like people getting to their feet. The Councilors stood up from their table clapping her direction with smiles. Tevos cradled a silver medal in a glass frame – the Laurel of Apotheosis, no doubt. The salarian MC strode back to her.
"Come on," he said waving her forward.
Shepard snapped her head to the side and squinted for Kaidan. From the shadows at the edge of the stage, he peered back at her with a furrowing brow. Someone grabbed her arm. The Councilors had crossed over to her. Tevos leaned into her ear.
"What's going on, Shepard?"
Sparatus faced her and took her hand in a strong shake.
"Shepard. Something's wrong?" he said under his breath.
"Get everyone off stage," Shepard said. "Now."
Sparatus dropped her hand. Tevos swung away dropping the award. Under Shepard's feet, the floor turned blue. Shepard spun and flared a blue shield out from her hand blocking the Councilors as a wave of energy sizzled across it. The crowd erupted with screams, a cacophony of shouting, shoving, and stampeding feet. Gunshots echoed.
A bubble sparkled around Aria as she walked onstage. Lightening and blue pulses shot from her hands hitting all around. Shepard drew her pistol.
"Next to me!" she shouted at the Councilors.
Tevos and Sparatus pulled in tighter under her shield. Ilk stumbled back as burst of electricity exploded at his feet. Sparatus yanked him in closer. Aria charged them and slammed into Shepard's shield with a biotic kick. Shepard's feet slipped against the stone floor, and she flung a warp. It rippled over Aria's barrier. A shield bubble out around Aria, and she charged again driving her shield into Shepard's. Gunfire and biotic blasts sprayed off Aria's shield, and the councilors huddled in closer as Shepard pushed them back a step from Aria's onslaught. They nearly tripped over the salarian MC sprawled face-down behind them.
James barreled across the stage with his assault rifle firing. Aria flung a hand back at him, and he rolled as a electric burst hit the ground behind him. Shepard rammed her shield against Aria's, and Aria staggered back. Shepard opened a hole in her shield to press her pistol through and fired. Shots and biotic flashes were already hitting Aria's shield from the side as Kaidan and Miranda pressed their palms to the floor on either side of the stage. Flashes burst from the pistols in their other hands. Aria steadied her footing and grinned.
Screams rose in pitch from the audience behind Shepard, and she caught the movement of men bursting through auditorium doors and firing into the crowd. Mercs or Terra Firma she didn't know. C-Sec exploded through the crowd returning gunfire amid the stampede. Shots were coming from backstage too, and James swung around with his rifle amid shouts.
A static hiss crackled around the edge of the stage as the translucent field sparked with stray bullets from the auditorium. It rippled and popped, not meant for continuous fire, and with a clapping flash went out.
Aria's eyes flicked to the ceiling, and she reached out a hand, face contorting, and yanked it back as a fist. Metal tore somewhere overhead and screams rose to Shepard's left. Two massive stage lights ripped from the ceiling glowed blue suspended in the air just above the screaming crowd. Kaidan had his hand reached out toward them with a clenched grimace. Aria bellowed and reached her hand out again. Metal snapped and popped. More lights broke free, one after another dropped. The crowd wailed. Shepard threw a shaky hand out, but felt the lights already catching and lifting up. Miranda's hand strained out pointed at the audience, and she hollered at Shepard.
"I've got it!"
Shepard released the single stage light she was holding. Miranda held all four suspended in the air. The first two lights floated unsteadily in Kaidan's grip. Shepard reached out for one, but her fingers quivered and she stumbled as Aria rammed into her shield again. A tremor shivered in her bones, and Shepard locked her legs to hold Aria off. She couldn't have reached her biotic threshold yet to be fatigued.
"James! Shepard!" Kaidan hollered.
He caught Shepard's eye and tipped his head in the direction of the two suspended lights.
"Back! Back!" Shepard yelled putting an arm out and pushing the stumbling Councilors back to the edge of the stage.
James threw himself toward Kaidan and slid to his knees. He clasped Kaidan's shoulder as Kaidan swung his arm. Shepard pushed the councilors down under the bubble of her shield. The stage exploded in glass and metal. It burst against Shepard's shield and drove her to her knees as she gritted her teeth to hold it.
Miranda peeped up from the edge of the stage, palm still pressed to the stage floor, and barrier flickering over her skin from the spray of glass. James released Kaidan's shoulder, and the barrier Kaidan had extended over him fell away. Shots hit the stage from mercs in the auditorium, and Shepard bowed her shield over the Councilors to cover any side open side.
Aria lay on the floor near the fallen statue in the center of the stage. She sat up with cuts bleeding on her face, and her shield bubbled around her as Shepard fired her pistol. Aria ignored her and threw a hand out at one of the suspended lights. Miranda yelled, face pinching, and glared at Aria as the lights vibrated and broke glass onto the people below. Miranda's teeth showed as she concentrated on the lights and slowly lowered them, rattling under a tug-of-war. Three settled into the seats, and people shoved back. The last light broke free from the soft drop, and Miranda gasped. Aria's eyes shot to Shepard, and she yanked it forward with a fist. Shepard flung her hand up and knocked it aside. It exploded into the empty seats below the stage. Pieces of metal cut through Shepard's shield and one struck Tevos's shoulder. She hissed, holding it as blood seeped through her fingers. Sparatus and Ilk were alright, but wide-eyed.
"Off the stage," Shepard said and pointed to the edge of the stage.
Shepard held the shield up, legs shaking, and stood over them. Tevos hopped off the ledge still holding her shoulder. Sparatus and Ilk dropped down after her. C-sec and mercs exchanged fire, and Shepard motioned the councilors to lie flat on the floor.
"Miranda!" Shepard called.
Shepard's hand fumbled numbly at the edge of the stage as she hopped off. Her legs didn't catch her and gave out on her like rubber. Ducking from stray bullets, Tevos rushed to pull her back up and held her until her legs straightened. Shepard frowned at her tingling hands. Shepard pushed Tevos back to the floor, and frowned at her tingling hands. She slapped a palm on the floor and pushed outward with her barrier. Miranda and Kaidan's overlapping strands were too dense to weave through. Shepard caught Miranda's eye and gave a nod. Miranda's barrier released. Shepard's barrier shot out weaving through Kaidan's.
Mercs streamed onto the stage from the backstage entrances. Miranda put both hands on her pistol and shot one as he rushed her. Aria narrowed her eyes on Shepard and charged forward. James rushed in front and raised his rifle.
"Get them out!" Shepard caught Miranda's eye and dipped her head at the Councilors huddling under the edge of the stage at her feet. Miranda nodded. She skipped along the stage still firing at the mercs.
James yelled something, and Shepard's head snapped forward. Aria was nearly overhead. Shepard flashed a pulse of energy up at her. Aria's shields crackled, and she skidded back a step as James came up behind her and fired. Sparks burst from hitting the shield on her back. She swung and threw a flash of light. It hit James like an explosion. He flew across the stage and smashed into the back wall.
"James!" Shepard said.
He wasn't moving. Miranda gathered the Councilors under her own shield and hurried them down a side aisle. Aria flung energy at them. Miranda's shield flickered but held as they raced toward the doors.
"The Councilors!" Aria yelled at the mercs.
Mercs out in the auditorium's backrows turned their guns from C-Sec and the stage to Miranda. The barrier over Shepard's skin smoothed as the rifle fire shifted away. Mercs leaped off stage and tore after the Councilors as they disappeared through the exit. A merc looming over Kaidan turned to follow them. Kaidan shot him in the neck, and he fell forward in a spray of blood. Shepard turned her eyes from Kaidan and leveled her pistol at Aria. Aria grinned.
"Have you felt it yet?" Aria asked.
Shepard fired, but Aria held her shield with both hands. She advanced with a curl to her lips.
"Feeling shaky? Numb? Dizzy yet?" Aria said and pulled a needle out of her sleeve and threw it on the ground.
Shepard's eyes dropped to her shaky hands holding the gun. A crusty pinprick of blood stood out on her wrist. Shepard clutched the edge of the stage, legs tingling, and grappled to stay upright. She set her pistol against the floor and fired at Aria. Shots skidded off the barrier covering the floor at Aria's feet. The back of Aria's shield flashed with biotic attacks, but her eyes were fixed on Shepard. Shepard's pistol clattering against the floor, and she touched her earpiece.
"Miranda."
Nothing. Shepard vision swam, and she clawed at the floor as her legs buckled. Aria strolled up and kicked her in the face.
XXX
"No!" Kaidan raced along the edge of the stage trailing his hand on the floor.
Shepard's weaves through the barrier broke as her hand slipped off the stage and she fell out of sight. Aria spun on him. She was within tech-attack range now, and he raised his Omni-Tool hand and struck her barrier with frost crystals. Aria staggered back a step and threw a bolt of energy at him. It crackled along the barrier over his skin. He reaved her shield, thinning it. Aria backed away out to tech range.
"Only you and me now," she said and held up a hand.
Glass broke somewhere to the side, and an axe flew across the stage in a spray of glass shards. She snatched it out of the air.
"Is the barrier over your skin strong enough to stop a biotic axe?" She pointing the axe at his stretched-out arm touching the stage's floor.
She hefted the axe up and grinned. He tried to hit her with ice, but she was too far. He reaved her shield again. Aria reached a glowing hand out and pulled. Metal ripped behind him, and he turned as the front row of seats tore free. He stumbled sideways, hand still on floor, but it caught his leg against the stage.
Aria raised the axe overhead and charged. Kaidan tried to jerk free. He looked up as she brought down the axe. It nicked the side of Kaidan's hand as he yanked back. Aria slapped a hand to the floor with a grin, but it was still blue under palm. Her eyes widened. She followed Kaidan's eyes to something behind her. Thank God he'd seen her in time - Shepard clung to the edge of the stage, bleeding from the nose, with a palm pressed to the floor.
He didn't give Aria time to react. He slammed into her with a biotic throw, and the axe flew from her hand spinning across the floor. She fell to her knees just in front of him with her shield flickered. Kaidan pulled free from the chairs pinning his legs.
Aria's eyes burned on Shepard, and Kaidan grabbed at her feet as she stood. His fingers only brushed her heel, and he tore up onto the stage after her as she rushed at Shepard. Aria threw a warp at her. The barrier over Shepard's skin wavered.
The spray of ice from his Omni-Tool made Aria skid to a stop and round on him. An Omni-blade grazed his barrier, and he leaped back. Aria reached toward something with her hand and drew back sharply to pull it forward. He dodged as the axe clipped his arm and cracked the barrier over his skin. Aria caught it in her hand and slammed into him with a biotic kick. He stumbled back. With a burst of blue inertia, Aria hurled the axe at his face. It shattered his barrier, deflecting off the arm shielding his face, and slammed him into the floor. His head cracked on the stone, and it exploded in pain. He gasped for air as the world spun around him. A shadow fell over him, and a gun barrel filled his view. He drew in a sharp breath.
Blue light flashed, the gun barrel disappeared, and something slammed against the stage's back wall with a crack. The world floated under him, head swimming, and the tingling sensation of the barrier over the stage floor wink out. He tried to focus his eyes and pressed his palm to the floor. It turned blue again as he strained to extend his barrier out over the floor. Shepard's barrier over the stage was gone.
Aria lay in a heap at the base of a stage's backwall. She stirred. Kaidan bared down on his breath, still struggling to see straight, and pulled himself up. Keeping his palm pressed to the floor, he wobbled to his knee then toppled down again. He focused on his breathing and waited for the world to settle. The edge of the stage where Shepard had been was empty. The hall was empty now, it had to have been her to throw Aria.
Aria moaned and pushed up off the floor. Kaidan reached a hand out at her but lost his balance. He fell over still holding the barrier over the floor. Movement and voices entered the auditorium and echoed onto the stage. Kaidan squinted out at the rows of seats. Someone was coming. A group. Kaidan whipped his head to Aria, but she was gone. Garrus and Tali rushed down an aisle toward the stage. Miranda's voice was somewhere further off.
"Aria," Kaidan yelled. "She went backstage. Wounded."
Garrus clipped a quick nod and looked at Tali. They took the stage stairs two at a time and dodged around the corner to the backstage area.
"Kaidan. What happened?" Miranda called.
She rushed down an aisle up to the bloody smear on the stage's edge. Her eyes were fixed on something below though, and she ducked down out of sight. Kaidan crawled to the edge of the stage keeping his hand sliding along the floor holding the barrier. His weaves were getting wider. If Aria came back, she'd be able to find plenty of gaps to get to the floor.
He looked over the edge of the stage. Miranda hunched over Shepard with an Omni-light. She lay unmoving, blood covering her face, eyes still and closed. Breath rushed out of him. He'd rather have Aria's axe buried in his forehead than this again.
"Shepard …" he whispered.
Miranda glanced up at him.
"Is she …"
Miranda drew a needle back from the hollow of Shepard's elbow, and she stood. An empty vial rolled by her boot as she stepped over to him.
"Let me see you."
"Miranda, just tell me."
"Shepard?" Miranda glanced back at her. "She'll be fine."
Kaidan's chest loosened. He took a deep breath.
"I gave her the antidote," Miranda said. "I'm not sure how much of the poison she got, so I gave her the entire vial of binding agent. It's well over what she needs. Make her sick, but it'll work. See - her fingertips are moving."
Miranda grabbed Kaidan's face and shinned a light into his eyes.
"No protesting?" Miranda stood back. "You do have a head injury."
"I can't hold the floor much longer."
"Oh," Miranda said and put her palm on the floor.
Kaidan let it go. He dropped onto his stomach and peered over the edge of the stage at Shepard. Her eyelashes fluttered, fingers twitching. He eyes snapped open. She gasped. Miranda kept her palm on the stage, but hunched down to her.
"Slowly," Miranda said.
Shepard's voice came out grainy, and she cleared her throat. After a swallowed and looked at Miranda.
"Aria poisoned me," she said and tried to sit up on her elbows but fell back again. "I feel …"
"Give it a few minutes," Miranda said.
A sound drew Kaidan's attention, and he looked at the back of the stage.
"Miranda, James's moving."
Miranda pulled herself up onto the stage and almost stood. She frowned at her hand touching the stage.
"I'll hold it," he said.
Miranda nodded, lifted to her feet, and raced over to James. Kaidan pressed his palm to the floor and felt the strain deep inside as he pushed the barrier out. He looked down at Shepard. She gazed up at him.
"You look like hell," she said.
Kaidan grinned weakly and nodded down at her. "That broken nose suits you."
Shepard smiled bloody teeth. A commotion drew his attention to the auditorium's main entrance. Liara tore down the central aisle.
"Shepard! The nuclear warhead. It's on the Normandy."