I do not own Mass Effect or any of the associated contact. Jagher Shepard is my Shepard and Fayelle Shepard is my friend's Shepard. This is a collection of moments set throughout the games. They're rated for language and violence mostly.
Mass Effect 2: Moments.
A Moment to Fall.
She knew she was done for.
You don't fall through space and live.
She was sure most of the crew had managed to get off the ship. She was sure that most everyone was safe. She had put Joker in an escape pod herself and she knew Kaidan had been running around the Normandy making sure everyone escaped. Most of her crew would be safe. They would make it home.
Not her.
Jagher had been pushed out of the remains of the Normandy by an explosion. She was tumbling through the black, stars faint points of light in the distance, the fires of her ship illuminating the space around her dramatically as she hurtled towards the planet below her.
It looked cold.
She was going to die, that much was certain.
Everything seemed to slow.
Jagher's body rotated, pulled by the planet's gravity and pushed by the force of the explosion and her green eyes caught sight of the Normandy. Or, what was left of it anyways. There was a sudden pain in her chest and her eyes started to itch. She couldn't be sure if it was emotion or if it was just the effects of open space on her fragile human body, but regardless she left herself cry.
Her thoughts were of the face she'd never see again. Her friends, her crew, her lover.
Joker and Garrus and Tali and Wrex and Liara: the members of her crew she'd traveled all over the galaxy recruiting, the people she'd saved and fought for and fought with. They were her friends, the people she trusted with her life.
Joker always had a sarcastic quip ready, and though he didn't always agree with Shepard, she knew he would have done his best to stand behind her no matter what. He had kept the ship flying.
Garrus had always had a story to share, whether it was insightful, funny, or comforting and he always had words of encouragement ready to give. He was a damn good shot and shared Shepard's love of the battlefield. Jagher had bonded with the turian. He had followed to hell and back. He was her best friend.
Jagher wished she had spent more time talking to Tali, learning all she could about technology and AI from the friendly quarian. She'd never met a quarian before Tali. The masked girl had been invaluable right from the beginning when she'd provided proof that Saren had gone rogue.
Wrex. He had begrudgingly begun to talk to her and learning the mind of a krogan was a rare opportunity. Jagher had found him interesting and a little scary, but he had had her back.
And Liara… well, Jagher could admit to herself at the end of her life that she hadn't always been fond of the asari, but she had helped decipher the prothean visions, leading the crew to the final confrontation so they could stop Saren. Jagher had never thanked her properly for that.
There were many other faces around the Normandy that Shepard would never see again, would never get to talk to or say thank you for their service, for their advice… Ashley's face flashed through her mind's eye and Jagher had to push it away. She couldn't think of Ashley except to say I'll see you soon.
And Kaidan. Kaidan. Jagher's core ached with the thought of never seeing Kaidan again, of never touching or kissing him again, of never holding him or being held by him, of never lying entwined as they spoke of anything that came to mind…
Fire consumed her body as she plummeted down to the icy planet, but she didn't feel the pain. Her thoughts were on Kaidan, on the way his mouth looked when he gave her that slightly crooked smile, and on the look he'd had in his eyes when he'd come to her quarters the night before they reached Ilos. She closed her eyes and remembered how she had felt when she'd kissed Kaidan for the first time. As the tears slid down her cheeks and almost immediately were evaporated by the heat of the fire around her, Jagher forced herself to think of the happy things surrounding Kaidan and not on how much it hurt to think they would never see each other again.
As she finally, blissfully loss consciousness in the upper atmosphere of the planet, Jagher was hoping Kaidan would be able to move on after she was gone, that he wouldn't let her death destroy him as well.
Author's Note.
This Moment still hurts.
Next Moment: A Moment of Emotion.