Drain Brameged Inc. proudly presents
A Mad-Hamlet Production
Blue: Cerulean: Two
It always started out the same: A dead woods wreathed in fog. Flickering through the trees shadows wound there way to nowhere; gathering in clearings to let accusatory whispers echo between broken, dead things; words from the dead to the dead. Whispers for her alone.
And she ran.
The weight of her battle armor, the shifting of the weapons on her back- these provided no comfort. Some inborn, absolute belief told her so and no conviction she dragged from the depths of her mind would assay it.
And she ran.
She ran after the boy. The boy who continually ignored her calls, her pleas, her desperation. He ran, contrary to all instinct, toward the blood red light. The light that roared. A baleful thing, slanting between gnarled branches to color dying earth and there the shadows would gather. They would soak up the light, savor it, thrive in it!
And she ran.
It ended as she knew it would, as it always had, as it always had too.
It ended in a clearing; there the boy knelt, none the worse looking for his exertions and as she ran closer, her hand outstretched to pluck him from danger, the earth trembled, throbbed; the light roared, undulating in rage and he looked at her. His eyes were not accusing, nor filled with hate; they told her that he was lost but she was not good enough to find him. She would never be good enough.
He burned.
She turned to shield her face, the flames leaping for her, to burn away her illusions and leave nothing but the failure she knew she was.
'Not a failure.'
The words drifted through the woods on a wind that, in the dream, felt like spring. She heard the sound of running water.
Shepard opened her eyes; she was lying on her side, the way the night had begun when she and Liara had lain down together. They had fallen asleep where they lay, as they lay. Liara's face filled her vision; at rest, at peace, her breathing deep, steady, a rhythm of perfection if only for a moment. Shepard's eyes narrowed a bit- Liara smiled a small, satisfied smile but did not awaken.
Shepard relaxed, wondering if Liara had touched her dream. She felt...good actually, more than just a little bit tired still, but whatever bleak feelings the dream might have stirred up had been tucked away by those simple words- regardless of where they had come from. Shepard closed her eyes to get, what she knew would be deep, restful sleep.
And the alarm went off.
Shepard groaned and pulled her pillow over her head, trying to will the alarm off by sheer mental stubbornness. The mattress rocked gently beneath her, Liara waking up. There was a gentle tug on the pillow which she resisted; another tug, with more force this time, still she fought back. Liara sighed, a gentle hum filled the room and the pillow was torn from her hands and landed in the corner of the room. Without opening her eyes Shepard said, "biotics are cheating."
Liara chuckled, Shepard's skin prickled, she could feel the asari's body heat as the other woman bent closer to her, then her hot breath was tickling Shepard's ear and Liara whispered, "Not ever a failure, love. Not ever."
Later they cleared the breakfast dishes together. Shepard washed, Liara dried. It was drudge work, easy, repetitive and comfortable; neither seemed to need to say anything but whenever they made eye contact one or the other would smile, the other soon following, giving into an irresistible compulsion. Shepard would hand Liara a dish, the asari would dry it and place it in the proper cupboard. It felt good.
They finished the chore and went to get themselves ready to face the day.
Shepard opened the bathroom door, she could see the asari's dark silhouette through the frosted glass and it gave her ideas, ideas she had been too tired, to empty the night before to follow through on. "Liara," she called.
"What is it?" Liara asked. Shepard could imagine the water running over that blue skin, rivulets beading, flowing, sliding across curves, valleys, contours that-
"Another shower then, a cold one this time," Shepard muttered to herself.
"I didn't hear you," Liara called out.
"I said, do you know where you put my dress blues?"
The glass door open a bit and Liara poked her head out, "Your formal uniform? It should be in with your other things that I had brought over from the Normandy. Why?"
"We have to go to high command," Shepard answered.
"Did you get some sort of communication?" Liara's brow knit.
Shepard crossed the bathroom, and kissed her between the eyes. "No, but they will; I'm sure someone, somewhere is upset at my exit yesterday; better to go to them first."
"Best defense is a good offense?" Liara smiled a bit at her own joke. "Something like that?"
Shepard pointedly angled her neck, stretching to peer through the tiny opening in the glass door to get a better look. "Something like that," she agreed obviously staring.
"Shepard!" Liara exclaimed and pushed her human's face away and slammed the sliding glass shut.
Chuckling, Shepard turned to leave when she heard the shower door slide open, it banged on the bathroom wall. There was Liara, hands on her hips, standing just a little bit straighter than was necessary. Shepard paused mid-step. "All you have to do is ask," Liara said quietly and even through the sound of running water the Spectre could hear her clearly both the words and the meaning behind the words.
"I'll-" Shepard's tongue just flopped around behind her teeth, a panicked signal from her mind and she managed to breathe, "Wow."
Laughing, suddenly shy once again, Liara covered herself with one arm and slid the door shut.
With more than a little bounce in her step, Shepard went to look for her dress blues.
They were in the third box down, she had had to go through the other two which had held only a small part of her beloved movie collection. She was focusing on digging through the carefully folded clothes and did not hear the other woman come in.
"I can't believe you made me watch this," Liara said crouching down next to her; she was only covered by an orange towel. In her hand she held a hard copy of one of Shepard's movies.
"Whoa, what? That's a classic!" Shepard protested. She plucked the data file from the asari's hand and carefully put it back in the carrying case. "They don't make films like that anymore."
"Something I'm sure many would agree is a good thing," Liara added. "Evil Dead 2? Really? As if the living were not troublesome enough."
"Ash is a god, do not question the Ash," Shepard said defensively.
"Life is not an entertainment product," replied Liara; Shepard tried to peek under her towel.
"All the time," Liara amended clutching the towel to herself firmly.
Sighing Shepard conceded the point with a nod and started putting on her dress blues.
Liara watched closely, it was always an odd transformation to see. As Shepard slipped on the pants and buckled the belt around her waits, her bearing became stiffer, less relaxed. When the last button on the jacket had been closed the lines around her mouth were firm. The easy smile that was so beguiling now tucked neatly away somewhere in her mind. The boots came next, polished to a fine shine and glowing in the sun light from the nearby window; Shepard stepped into them and stood at attention. The gentle humor in her eyes now suffused, subsumed by pride and steel.
"Ready?" Shepard asked.
Liara waved at her towel with one hand.
A sliver of humor shown forth, "Well, it'd be an attention getter," Shepard grinned. "I'll be out front."
A few minutes later Liara emerged from the bedroom; Shepard was sitting in one of the chairs, looking out the picture window that decorated the front wall. She glanced up at Liara and said, "Before we go there's just one more thing."
With the comfortable weight of a side-arm at her waist Shepard approached the massive building that was Command Headquarters. It towered overhead, several dozen stories tall. All four walls, heavy concrete with narrow windows, slid upwards at a very gradual angle giving the building a massive pyramid appearance. The flattened roof at the top had twin heavy AA Guns scanning the skies and small shuttle craft arrived and departed from the twin landing pads between them at regular intervals. The couple arrived in front of the comparatively small glass doors on the ground floor. It took only a moment for the scanner in the door to verify Shepard's ID with a DNA scan and the doors opened automatically.
Beyond a small archway a huge front hall took up the first ten floors of the building. Balconies ran along the inner wall around the circumference every floor up and at the far wall two glass elevators moved steadily, transporting soldiers, officers and other staff to this office or that one. The main floor was decorated with large trees that lined the walls. Round tables with relaxing looking chairs around them dotted the main floor. Some were occupied, others waited to be used. A large desk in the middle of the room was labeled 'Information' and behind it Shepard could see several harried looking low ranking soldiers.
Everywhere the room thrummed with activity, with hustle and bustle as hundreds of people did what they had to do, as fast as they could, absolutely convinced that the entire galaxy hinged upon their take-of-the-moment. Behind the information desk Shepard spotted a black, granite wall. Gold lettering at the top spelled out 'Ad Perpetuam Memoriam' and under those words she could read the names of ships. Ships that she surmised had been lost to the enemy, to the Reapers.
Shepard stepped under the arch which glowed red, a clear barrier descended quickly blocking Shepard, a quiet tone sounded which brought a security agent around a corner. He was examining a data pad as he approached, the familiar blue of his uniform was offset by the black, light armor he wore on which he carried stripes designating him as a sergeant. He held out a hand, palm up. "I'm sorry ma'am, no weapons are allowed inside regardless of rank. If you'll just hand over-" he glanced up from his pad. "Omigod! Commander Shepard!" He stiffened to attention and snapped off a razor sharp salute.
"At ease, Sergeant," Shepard said, returning the salute. "I'm looking for the admiral's council?"
"Yes ma'am," the sergeant replied crisply. He tapped a few keys on his Omnitool, Shepard's glowed as it received a data packet. "I've uploaded directions to your O-tool, ma'am. I've also given you priority so you can go right in."
"My companion as well?" Shepard asked, indicating Liara with a nod.
"Of course, ma'am," the sergeant replied. He reached over, waved his hand in front of the barrier, there was another pulse from his Omnitool and the barrier rose silently.
"Have a good day, ma'am," the sergeant said with more than a touch of deference in his voice.
"Sergeant?" Shepard said. "You forgetting something?" Shepard held her pistol out to the sergeant. The man flushed.
"Of course, ma'am, sorry ma'am it's just..." he stopped and stood there awkwardly then after a moment he took the offered weapon, tapped a key on his Omnitool and stepped back and made another salute. "Ma'am", he said again, his voice and posture professional. "It's an honor."
"Thank you, sergeant," Shepard replied. "The honor is mine."
They stepped under the arch and were making their way in the direction of the information desk when Shepard heard someone applauding behind her. The security guard was standing in the open doorway clapping his hands as loudly as he could. He started right at her. Other people, attracted by the noise, noticed her as well and they started applauding. People came to the balconies to look down into the plaza to see what was happening, heads bent as people whispered and every where more and more people realized who was there and joined in the applause. It roared across the open space, hundreds of people, of professional soldiers standing, applauding one of their own; one who had done her duty!
In the middle of it all, surrounded by smiling, approving, faces full of gratitude and pride, Shepard felt very small.
The weight of Liara's hand on her shoulder comforted her. She stepped forward and held up her hands, the applause continued, thunderous, overwhelming; she waited, hands upraised. Slowly, over minutes that felt forever, the applause died. Where the noise had filled the room the silence suddenly made it feel cavernous.
A voice behind a sea of faces shouted, "Speech!"
Another shouted, "Striptease- ow! Hey!"
The chuckles rode across the hall like wind over grass. Shepard smiled a little, shaking her head then when she was sure she had the full attention of everyone in the room she came to attention and saluted. She saluted them, all these men and women who served. She saluted them then, honored them from one soldier to another. She brought her hand down smartly, turned on her heel and faced the memorial. Pulling herself even straighter Shepard slowly brought her hand to her brow in another formal salute and stayed there.
There was a moment of quiet then the hall rang with the sound of thousands of pairs of boots striking the ground at the same time as every member of the Systems Alliance there turned as one and raised their hands in salute to echo Shepard's.
You've done good, child. You've done good. I'm proud of you.
To herself Shepard whispered, "Thank you, sir."
Her eyes fixed straight ahead Shepard shouting into the quiet, "Always faithful!"
Hundreds of voices replied the oath, "Semper-fi!"
Shepard brought her hands back to her sides, turning to face everyone there.
"Thank you," she said to the assembled room. "Please, return to your duties." and just like that, the moment was over. The rumble of people doing what was expected of them, perhaps a little louder, a little more animated, suffused the room.
"Shepard- I," Liara's face was glowing. Pride? Adoration? "That was amazing,"
"I'm nothing special," Shepard replied, she nodded in the direction of the monument. "They gave up everything. They sacrificed all they had for the cause. I didn't."
The asari's hands suddenly were gripping Shepard's shoulders fiercely and the Spectre felt herself being pulled around forcing her to stare into two, angry, brimming eyes.
"It was not for lack of trying, Shepard!" Liara hissed. "The ones who died did not do so so you could convince yourself that they received the real reward. What you did was special, you are special but besides that you are alive! Now, start acting like it!"
Shepard blinked, a surge, an impulse seized her to brush Liara's hands from her shoulders, tell her to mind her own business- that she couldn't possibly understand but... She did. Shepard opened her mouth, closed it again and said, "I'm- I'm sorry. I'm – I've been so wrapped up in- You're right, Liara. You're absolutely right."
And with that said she stepped forward, cupped the asari's face in her palms and kissed her. It was their first kiss since the hospital and it was searing. Liara's hands slid over Shepard's shoulder and changed from a fierce grip, to an equally fierce embrace. And they stood there, surrounded by all the other men and women of the System Alliance locked in a kiss, reaching, tasting and a deep ache that they both had carried without realizing it released a bit, a knot coming just a tiny bit-undone. Passer-byes stared, some smiled to themselves, there were more than few wolf-whistles; perhaps even an angry mutter or two.
The kiss went on.
Slowly, reluctantly, they separated. Liara nuzzled the palm of one of Shepard's hands with her cheek, "This is very unprofessional," she said. "I want more."
Shepard laughed, released Liara and tugged at her own jacket until the lines were once again crisp and neat. "Come on, someone is going to start applauding again," she said offering her elbow to her partner. "Let's go see what those admirals want then get the hell out of here. I feel a little like living some more," and more of her believed it now than earlier.
Liara's smile matched her own, "Damn right."
"Remind me to smack Garrus, would you?"
The outer office to the Admiral's council was manned by a single lieutenant behind a cramped desk, drowning in paperwork and a tired looking holographic interface. The walls were the same white as the plaza, decorated with paintings of different naval vessels of the past. Shepard recognized all of them, including one tucked in the corner with the title 'Normandy SR-1'. As the two women entered they unlinked arms; when he spotted them the lieutenant leaped to his feet and saluted.
"Ma'am, it is short notice but the admirals are ready to see you now," he reached under the desk and pushed a button. The heavy metal coated doors at the back of the room swung inwards. Returning the salute, Shepard than nodded in thanks and headed through the doors. The chamber was near identical to the one in Vancouver when the Reapers had first attacked. A large half circle dais with the admirals behind it and at their backs several story tall narrow windows framed a view of the city and harbor stretching away to the horizon.
There were four people seated at the risen platform, three men and one woman. Shepard recognized Admiral Hacket and Admiral Mikhailovich, the other two were unknowns. Despite knowing two of them, and having come to trust Hacket himself, Shepard felt herself begin to scowl. With effort she smoothed her features. Liara slowed her steps and halted a few feet behind the Spectre who moved to the center of the room where she came to attention and saluted the current leaders of the System Alliance.
"Commander Shepard reporting," she said, looking straight ahead at nothing. "Ready to submit my report, Admirals."
The older soldiers stood up as one and raised their hands in salute. Only when Shepard returned to full attention did they themselves lower their salute, as if to a superior.
"It's good to see you, Commander," Admiral Hacket said sitting back down. The other admirals did as well. "I was pleased to hear you were back on your feet and our own assumptions," here he stopped and shot a glance at the other admirals, "were mistaken."
"Yes sir," Shepard replied, her voice carefully neutral.
Turning to the rest of the board Hacket continued, "I know you've met Admiral Mikhailovich," the weathered, but younger looking man besides Hacket nodded at Shepard, "this is Admirals Chase."
Admiral Chase was a heavy set woman, handsome her features stiff, her jaw set in firm resolution. Short, dark hair curled tightly against her skull with grey strands starting to appear at the temples. Heavy brows cast her eyes in shadows which were offset by her far to pale skin; her expression was not hostile, nor particularly welcoming. She acknowledged the introduction with a perfunctory nod.
"And this is Admiral Sandoval," finished Hacket. Admiral Sandoval was a polar opposite to Admiral Chase; his skin was a ruddy, healthy red, and weathered. He appeared to be in his mid-sixties with laugh lines around his mouth and and the slight wrinkles in the corners of his eyes that did not make him appear so much as old, but content. Where the other admirals were also sitting straight backed in their seats he was leaning forward, his elbows resting on the large table, relaxed, pleasant. He gave Shepard half a smile, touched two fingers to his brow in another, more casual salute and replied, "Ma'am."
"Admirals," Shepard said in return. She turned to Liara who was, for her part, standing silently, clasping one hand in her other. "This is my partner, Doctor T'Soni."
Admiral Chase spoke up, she had a heavy, powerful voice. Quite deep for a woman, "With all due respect Commander Shepard, but this debriefing will most likely be including classified material; I think it would be best if Doctor T'Soni waited in the outer-office."
Liara smiled at Shepard a bit and turned to leave, Shepard reached out and gently took one of her asari's hands in her own then locking eyes with Admiral Chase said in response "I don't."
Admiral Chase stiffened, Liara's eyes widened and her mouth started to open as if to protest but one look at Shepard and it snapped back shut. Admiral's Chase's admonishment was swift and lined with steel, "Commander! I was merely being polite but make no mistake that was an order and if you feel the need for me to make it official than consider it so."
"Order away," Shepard said back to the admiral. "Doctor T'Soni will remain here."
Hacket raised a single eyebrow but remained silent, Admiral Sandoval sat back but also said nothing. Admiral Mikhailovich hadn't moved at all since he had sat down.
"Doctor T'Soni has been fighting beside me since I first became aware of the Reaper threat," Shepard continued. "She was also there at the final push; she has seen things and been a part of this from beginning to end. Her perspectives and contributions to my final report are essential. I vouch for her completely."
"That is beside the po-" Shepard cut Admiral Chase's response off at the knees. "I'm also aware that the a critical reason why I am still alive to actually give that report is because of Doctor T'Soni's...because of Liara's intervention on my behalf at the hospital yesterday."
"So," and Shepard put just the right tone of her voice so her next words held the unspoken message 'you can kiss my ass', "With all due respect, Admiral, you'll have to forgive me if I'm reluctant to be separated from her."
Admiral Chase flushed and opened her mouth to retort; Admiral Mikhailovich started to laugh. The laugh grew louder in volume and in strength until the man was almost out of breath. His laughter began to die away and he wiped at his eyes with one hand. "I told you it was as bad idea to assume Shepard wouldn't wake up," he said to the room in general. "What was my exact quote? Oh yes, 'there's no way this is going to come back and bite us in the ass.' or something along those lines."
Admiral Chase spun to face him, "This is gross insubordination!" she hissed, her face now a deep purple.
"Juliet," Mikhailovich replied gently. "Shepard saved every sentient creature in the galaxy and we tried to reward her with-"
Hacket stood up, "Thank you Peter, Juliet," he turned his attention to Shepard. "Commander, in all honesty you are owed a serious explanation but the fact of the matter is we were not expecting you for some time yet. That you are here does you credit but the board has some issues to be resolved and preparations to make. There are things you need to know, Commander and so we ask that you indulge us."
"Sir?" Shepard asked.
"Well, if it'll help consider these suggestions, not orders," Hacket smiled a bit. "I'm prepared to give you that much leeway," his smile vanished. "For now."
Shepard let go of Liara's hand and snapped to attention, "Sir!"
Admiral Sandoval spoke up, "There's a lovely terraced coffee shop outside the plaza. Why not take the lovely Doctor for an early lunch," now it was his turn to smile, wide, open, friendly. "Again, just a suggestion."
Shepard nodded, "Yes sir," she nodded to them. "Admirals."
As she walked away with Liara right behind her Hacket said, "We'll contact you when we're ready Commander."
They were seated at an outside table. The terrace was enclosed by a wall of tall hedges on three sides, the fourth leading back into the cafe and from there to the plaza. The small round tables, made of filigreed metal modeled after the twisting and binding of natural vines complete with leaves, were painted white reflecting the sunlight filtering down through the clear blue sky overhead. Shepard sat relaxed, her legs crossed, one hand curled around her cup of coffee which steamed, its vapors curling upwards; Liara's hands were resting on the table top, her own drink ignored beside her and observing Shepard who had unbuttoned the top button of her dress blues which Liara knew was Shepard giving herself permission to let go a bit. The asari broke the silence first, "What was that all about?"
Shepard shrugged, "Pretty much what it sounded like and like what I said before. I feel like living."
Liara cocked her head to one side and rested her chin on one palm, staring at her human, "You're telling me my kiss inspired a minor revolution?"
Shepard grinned at her and took a sip of coffee, grimaced and set it back down. "A little revolution now and then is good for the soul," her expression turned serious. "I meant what I said, Liara. I don't trust them-"
"Even Admiral Hacket?" Liara asked.
"I honestly don't know," Shepard answered. "But I have another reason." She leaned across the table and took her asari's hands in her own. "We've been- I've been-" she started over. "I've loved you practically since we met, or at least thought, which was terrifying, that I could."
"I'm glad your fear was weaker than you," Liara replied, squeezing Shepard's hands.
Shepard winked, brought Liara's hands up to her lips and kissed them, nuzzling the smooth blue skin with her cheeks she continued, "But that was nearly six years ago; in all that time how much of it have we had with each other?"
Her asari frowned a little in recollection, "Not enough."
"Probably less than six months, Liara," Shepard answered. "I'm tired of it. I'm tired of having some mission or obligation get in the way. We had to set each other aside," Shepard began ticking off on her fingers. "First, for Saren, than the Collectors; after that I was essentially imprisoned for half a year and then along come the Reapers. We deal with them and, whoops, I'm flat on my back for another two years. I wake up, hurray!" Shepard flung her hands up in the air, a sarcastic parody of jubilation. "Now, nothing is between us, I can take the time, we can take the time to deal and finally- finally be with each other and they want to send you out of the room for security," she swept her hand in a savage slicing gesture. "That is not happening!"
"Yet," Liara bit her lip. "We knew all this going in. I don't want you getting into trouble on my behalf."
"Your behalf is the only reason to get into trouble," Shepard countered, again kissing her asari's hands before released them and sitting back. "And we did do everything, I'm done."
"You're also a Spectre," Liara pointed at Shepard. "They don't retire."
"They'll make an exception then," Shepard replied picking up her coffee. She squeezed her eyes shut, grit her teeth slightly and took another sip. A shudder passed through her. "Hell, this is terrible coffee," she paused, then rolled her eyes. "Oh my god, I'm actually feeling nostalgic for awful coffee."
"Been there," said someone from behind them.
"Done that," said another from the same direction.
Shepard turned to look over her shoulder. Stepping out from under the awning that lead to coffee shop proper were two people. The one in the lead was a tall woman, with long brown hair. She wore the standard jacket and pants of an alliance lieutenant-commander. Walking with a delicate, shuffling step beside her was a young man, his five o'clock shadow matched the dark brown hair peeking out from under the ever present baseball-cap that no one had ever seen him without. His informal overalls were the right color, and the insignia on his shirt marked him as a flight lieutenant. They both stopped a few feet from the table and snapped to attention, offering a professional salutes.
"Ash-" Shepard bit back the informal greetings. Rising to her feet she accepted the lieutenant's salute and returned it, "At ease," she said. When both the newcomers had settled into parade rest Shepard extended her hand to the lieutenant-commander who took it and before Shepard could react she was pulled into a fierce embrace from the other woman.
"God damnit, Skipper," the woman said pounding Shepard on the back. "You did it."
"Thanks- ow, Ashley. But you know it- crap that hurt!- was a team effo-please stop that."
The lieutenant-commander stepped back and looked Shepard up and down. "I've been waiting to thank you for nearly two years, ma'am."
"Aww, hugs over already?" asked a male voice. "So much for my Vaenia flashback."
"And there's the bad news," Lieutenant Ashley Williams said turning to the man in question. "Joker followed me home, do we have to keep him?"
Jeff "Joker" Moreau rolled his eyes, gave a casual salute, touching two fingers to the brim of his cap, than backed away two steps, palms out, "No hugs, I'm fragile."
Now it was Ashley's turn to roll her eyes. "Your girlfriend is an AI partially uploaded into synthetic flexible poly-alloy body."
"Well yeah," Joker replied. "But she has variable density settings now. Your just jealous her weight loss and gain are essentially an up and down button on a remote control. If she had one, which she doesn't and neither of us are thinking of- ever."
The lieutenant-commander glared at Joker and shifted her attention to the asari. "Liara, good to see you again."
"Hi Doc," Joker waved.
The asari smiled in greeting, "Ashley, Joker, good to see you both. Though I am surprised. I thought you were off on assignment."
"Finished em'," Joker replied taking a seat. Lieutenant Williams turned her chair around and straddled it, resting her forearms on the back of the chair. Shepard sat back down, picked up her spoon and handed it to Ashley.
The lieutenant's raised her eyebrows. "Skipper?"
"We had a deal, Lieutenant," Shepard said. "Time to live up to your end of the bargain."
Ashley visibly paled, "Oh lord, please no, ma'am. It was a...I was joking. Trying to, uh, inspire. For morale that sort of thing."
"Right," Shepard said, still holding out the spoon and grinning like a fiend. "And since I survived the war and-"
"Uh," Joker interrupted. "Speaking of surviving, I heard some weird rum-"
Shepard cut him off with a glance, "In a minute, Joker. I've been waiting for this moment. LT?"
Muttering angrily Ashley stood back up, snatched the spoon out of Shepard's hand, held up and mumbled something.
"What?" Shepard said, her grin now vulpine. "I didn't hear you. Do it right."
Ashley snarled, "Alright, alright."
Shepard cocked an eyebrow and the lieutenant amended, "Alright, alright, ma'am." Then taking a deep breath the young lieutenant-commander held the spoon over her head and said very loudly, "Alright you primitive screw-heads, listen up! This...is my boomstick!"
Shepard flung her head back, laughter bubbling richly, clearly like a bell, "Oh god," she gasped doubling over, clutching at her ribs. "That was perfect. Ash does Ash! Long live Ash!" then she dissolved into a fresh fit of giggles again. Ashley herself, apparently struggling to keep her face set in a scowl, and losing to smiles, tossed the spoon on the table and sat back down.
Joker leaned toward Liara and muttered audibly, "The commander didn't accidentally take too much prescription medication today did she?"
"She's not on any medication, Joker," Liara replied seriously. "My best guess is they've gone mad."
"Army of Darkness," Ashley grumbled. "From the commander's,' and she made air-quotes. "Collection."
Having regained some composure though still wiping at her eyes Shepard gasped, "Also known unofficially as Evil Dead 3."
"They made three of those things?" Liara gaped. "What is wrong with your species Shepard?"
"Twentieth century movies," Joker groaned, smacking himself in the forehead with the heel of one hand. "I might have known."
"Yeah," Shepard said, sitting back.
The conversation lulled into a companionable silence. The four of them sat at the table enjoying the mid-morning sun. The heat of the day had yet to make itself known and a cool air was blowing in off the ocean while wispy clouds gave just enough diversity to the sky so as to prevent the blue from being oppressive, taking the edge off the harsh sunlight. The coffee was forgotten and inside the cafe the servers, having developed the proper instincts to serve the rank and file, did not intrude to see if anyone wanted a refill. They sat, enjoying the rare opportunity that presented itself- all of them were in a brief time of actual peace and they were sharing it with those who knew its true value: Others who had gone with them into battle.
There were so many words that could be said to express the feelings they all had, descriptive terms, jokes or endearments to voice the bond no bloodline could ever reproduce, but there was no need. At just the right moment, not too soon to interrupt the peace yet not too long so the silence became awkward Shepard said, "Here we are."
"I'll drink to that," Joker said. "Well I would, if I had a drink. And it was the right time of day for alcohol," he scratched his chin in thought. "I've never felt comfortable with any hard stuff until the evening anyhow."
"I feel the same way," Liara said. " About seeing us, together. It'd be good to see the others as well. I know Garrus is still here and he has reason to believe Tali will be coming today; he hasn't contacted me today though."
Shepard pushed her coffee cup away from her, "There are so many others and..." she hesitated. "Those who will never come back."
Everyone was quiet for a moment remembering the members of 'their crew' who had been lost over the years.
Joker leaned his chair back on its rear legs and gazed up at the sky, "It works better with a toast but- Hell with it," he tossed off a two fingered salute to the heavens. "To absent friends."
The others echoed the sentiment, "Absent friends."
"Am I included in that?"
The woman who sat down at the table was dressed in a black suit; the leather hugging her curves that she herself would have described, without even a hint of arrogance or error, perfect. Black hair fell in graceful curves to her shoulders framing a stern, perfectly proportioned and utterly lovely, if somewhat closed, face.
Her arrival had been done in absolute silence and was so unexpected that Joker lost his balance and began to fall backwards with a startled, "Shi-"
The biotic stasis effect snapped around him and his chair, freezing him in place.
"That was unintentional," Miranda Lawson said to the others. "I'll take care of it," she moved around behind the frozen Joker then with a blink the stasis effect popped. She caught his chair with a single hand and eased him back upright."
"Thank you," Joker said. "Not cool with the whole 'startling me so I fall over backwards and break several bones, again', but nice recovery. Seven out of ten."
"Miranda," Liara nodded in greeting.
"Liara," Miranda smiled gently. "How goes business?"
"Well," Liara replied. "Though, as always, with more emphasis on assistance rather than profit."
"Hmm," Ashley grumbled, flicking a strand of her brunette hair out the way. "So the alliance has let you in despite the whole 'used to work for Cerberus'? angle Miranda?"
Miranda's smile turned predatory as she faced the other human Spectre, "Ah, but I did brilliant work for Cerberus. Any complaints Commander?"
Shepard grimaced, "I've a bias, Miranda. Bringing me back from the dead sort of puts a spin on a perspective."
"Oh, I don't know, Shepard," Miranda moved to stand over the commander. "You could always go racing off looking for the last big fight. A blaze of glory as it were."
Shepard's gaze slipped from Miranda to Liara who was looking back at her steadily, quietly watching the conversation. "No," Shepard shook her head slightly, a tiny smile curving at one corner of her mouth. "I'd never want that. I want to come back from any fight. That's why it should be done in the first place, the only reason to fight; to protect what you love."
Miranda stood silently, "Yes," she finally agreed. "That's how I knew you'd come back, I was absolutely positive you'd walk out of that hospital after probably punching someone."
"Not this time," Liara murmured. "I got to do the punching. I guess the staff remembered that and kept a low profile when we left."
Miranda chuckled, hands on her hips, she faced the entire group, "As much as I'd love to hear the story I do have a job. Yes Ashley-"
The woman in question stiffened slightly, "That's Lieutenant Commander Williams to you."
Miranda accepted the rebuke with a nod, "My apologies Lieutenant Commander. As I was saying though, yes, I work for the alliance as a civilian in a probationary capacity and on that very topic," she focused her attention on Ashley and Joker. "Regarding our earlier discussion, how goes the prep?"
Joker sat up, pushing the brim of his hat back a bit, "If the powers-that-annoy think it's necessary than we're ready to go when the word is given."
Ashley nodded, "I'd have to say all that's needed is the final go-ahead. Though optimal results are impossible to know for sure, a lot of it will depend on the principle."
Miranda made a note on her Omnitool, "Noted, I'll pass that along. Her attention shifted over to Shepard, "And for you Shepard, a note- apparently one of my duties is now playing messenger- The admirals are ready for you rejoin them. "
Shepard stood up, "Let's get this over with; I don't suppose any of you have free time in the near future. I want to hear everything about how who's getting on with what and where."
Ashley saluted and Joker repeated his casual two fingered touch to the brim of his cap, "We'll see you soon, skipper." Ashley said after Shepard had returned the salute and the two of them, Joker still shuffling his steps carefully, left the cafe.
"What about you Miranda?" Liara asked as she stood. "Will we be seeing you again?"
Miranda folder her arms and took a step back, "We?"
Liara hooked an arm through Shepard's, "We," Shepard confirmed.
Miranda nodded in approval, "Good," she turned and walked away.
"You never answered my question!" Liara called after her.
"Be careful what you wish for, Liara," the words came drifting from the darkness of the interior of the cafe.
Liara's features turned pensive and she glanced at Shepard, "That was...odd."
Her human shrugged, "You heard that conversation she had with Ashley and Joker; something's going on and I'm sure somehow we'll be dragged into it."
"Not if I have something to say about it," Liara gripped Shepard's arm fiercely. "Shall we?"
Shepard sighed, gave the asari a peck on the cheek, "Only with reluctance," then reached up and buttoned the collar of her dress blues.
They were halfway across the plaza moving toward the board room before Shepard's instincts began to buzz.
The first real tickle was as she passed the information desk; where there had been two male privates bludgeoning through paperwork and hassle there was now one man and one woman, both blondes, their bearing and focus more the hallmark of professionals than green-behind-the-ears recruits; then out of the corner of her eye she noticed the the secretary on the second floor that she had glimpsed at earlier was now a brunette. Automatically she screened the seething mass of soldiers moving through the plaza and took in other differences. The guard by the door appeared stockier than he had before, his stance wider and centered, the group in the corner that had turned and listened to her before was gone, replaced by a man and a woman engrossed in their magazines in fact...
Shepard did a casual three-sixty look around and idly noted that not one person in the plaza had been there earlier. She was about to think on it further when her adrenaline level spiked and she stood stock still. Her eyes widening she fought to keep the flutterings of panic in her stomach under control.
Liara having noted Shepard's glances came up beside her, "What is it?" she said under her breath.
Shepard swallowed with difficulty, "Everyone's different."
The asari glanced around again, "I don't understand, how are they different? It appears to me that everything is normal enough."
"No, Liara, you don't understand," and Shepard had to take a deep breath to keep the fear out of her voice. "Not one person who's here right now, not on the entire first three floors and in the entire plaza was here twenty minutes ago. Not one drone, not one office worker, not one secretary or any of the employees in the cafe we just left. They're all new."
"How can you possibly tell?" Liara demanded.
"Because I remember!" And the shuddering in her voice was audible-she cursed inwardly. "I can remember perfectly Liara; I remember every face, every body- everything. That's not the same guard at the door; his hair color is the same but he's at least one centimeter shorter than the guard who let us in and three pounds heavier. Trained in combat too." She nodded at the blonde behind the information desk. "She's been trained, sniper I'd guess. See those calluses on her hands? Everyone here has seen combat Liara, everyone. There's not a single paper-pusher here."
"Shepard-" Liara began.
"I remember everything, Liara!" Shepard clenched her hands into fists to keep them from shaking. "What's wrong with me?"
Liara moved closer, taking Shepard's left fist into her hands she uncurled her human's fingers and interlaced her own, squeezing gently. "Nothing," she breathed. "Not a thing in the universe."
Shepard forced her feet to move, ignoring the part of herself, the solitary part, that told her to pull away from Liara. "Let's get this over with."
As they entered the outer-office the lieutenant didn't even look up from his screen, just buzzed the door and nodded them through.
This time the admirals did not rise when Shepard entered; they were speaking quietly to each other. Sandoval was gesturing with particular ferocity, punctuating his statements by jabbing his finger at Admiral Chase's face not three inches away. As the door hissed shut behind the two women Admiral Hacket noticed them and cleared his throat. The other admirals stopped their conversation and rolled their chairs back to their original places behind the raised table.
In the time since Shepard and Liara had been gone a second table had been brought into the room, it was plain, oak with retractable legs turned to face the higher table where the admirals sat. The chairs in front of the new addition looked flimsy and uncomfortable. Shepard stepped up behind the leftmost chair and saluted. The admirals snapped off brief salutes of their own, quick and to the point, far briefer than before.
"Back to the old ways," Liara whispered seating herself. A slight nod was Shepard's only response as she herself sat down, pulling the chair closer to the table and resting her arms atop it.
"Welcome back, commander," Hacket started. "I think the first thing to do is address the elephant in the corner."
"I sometimes find your languages idioms to be a major headache," Liara muttered out of the corner of her mouth.
"Are you referring to the board's orders to the hospital to have me killed?" Shepard asked in a clipped voice.
Admiral Chase sighed loudly, "That is a misnomer, commander. They were a termination order of autonomic brain functions; according to the best professional evaluations over a very long time of investigation and care it was the belief of everyone that you were in a persistent vegetative state."
"A state that also had every automatic life function working perfectly," Liara replied. "Including digestion, respiratory, and the nervous and musculature systems."
"Doctor T'Soni," Admiral Sharp replied putting extreme stress on the first syllable of doctor. "You are being allowed to remain as a courtesy to the commander; you are guest- do not abuse that position or you'll be asked politely to leave."
"That's enough," Hacket replied quietly. He rubbed at a spot between his eyes without thought- something he had probably done constantly over a lifetime. "Your point is well founded Doctor T'Soni, the debates over the decision grew quite heated as I'm sure you can imagine but we're not here to go over old ground. Commander Shepard?"
"Sir," Shepard replied, snapping the word out.
"The board here, representing the entire current leadership of the Systems Alliance would like to offer you an official apology. We acted hastily and with poor judgment. For that we...for that I am sorry," Hacket looked away.
Admiral Mikhailovich continued, "Quite simply we made a mistakes; perhaps we listened to the wrong experts, perhaps we've been too far from the front lines; I do not know, 'it seemed like a good idea at the time' is a vapid excuse, Commander. We wronged you, I wronged you...not for the first time...I deeply regret it. My apologies."
The two admirals turned to look at Admiral Chase; the fierce scowl on the woman's face had not diminished since Hacket had shut her down minutes before, she closed her eyes, inhaled through her nose and let it out slowly. Opening her eyes she looked at Shepard, "Commander," she paused, pursed her lips for a moment, nodded to herself and said with deliberation. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."
Shepard felt Liara's muscles tense, without making any visible moves she brushed her leg gently against her asari's, Liara glanced at her, her eyes burning and brimming at the same time. Tears and biotic fire warred within that stare- Shepard shook her head a fraction on an inch. Liara blinked, her mouth worked, lips twisting in distaste she replied with a miniscule nod. Shepard turned her own attention onto Admiral Sandoval. He was opening staring at Admiral Chase with a slight frown then noticed Shepard, his frown changed to a large toothy grin, "I'm not apologizing," he said. "I objected to the whole crazy idea from the beginning, never changed my opinion either."
And the bottom dropped out of Shepard's stomach.
As the sourness spread through her guts the significance of Sandoval's words hammered open horrifying certainties. The board operated under a simple three-fourths majority system until the full government could be restored. If Sandoval had voted against the proposal to terminate her life that meant the other three had to have voted in favor of it...that meant that Hacket had- Cool skin, soft pressure enclosed her hand, the one that had been curling into a fist, nails digging into the hardwood surface and- carving deep furrows in the wood?
Again panic blindly shattered around the inside of her throat, roiling and burbling at the back of her mind and Liara squeezed, hard. Shepard turned and met her asari's gaze, blue eyes, set in blue, sea blue, ocean blue, cerulean bridged that space that separated them and yet Shepard felt, knew, understood the meaning. She rallied herself around that reminder and constant, centered herself and relaxed her fingers, instead of carving up the tabletop she returned Liara's grip.
"Okay?" Liara mouthed the words with almost no movement, this time it was Shepard's turn to nod a fraction. She focused back on the admirals, took a deep breath and stood up.
"Thank you, sirs," she was ready to leave, ready to leave and get out- she needed a vacation; no, they needed a vacation, a long one- second star to the right and straight on till morning, they needed it, needed, needed, needed it! The thought scrabbled inside her head, scratched, worries, nibbled and clawed like a mouse behind drywall. "Is that all?"
"No," Chase replied. "Please sit down."
Shepard was ready to go another round with the admiral simply on principle, but again, she rallied what control she could manage, nodded to the admiral, "Aye ma'am," and sat back down.
Hacket took up the baton again, "What you're about to see is classified, Commander. Doctor T'Soni your assistance was instrumental in the fight against the Reaper and you have proved your trustworthiness but it must be understood the nature of the following information. Is that clear?"
They both nodded; Shepard remembered the black wall sweeping across the cerulean sea.
"The alliance that you built Shepard has held during your...uh...absence. Members of all the galactic races continue to work with each other as never before, it is because of that and what little we have acquired from the Reapers that reconstruction has been faster than any believed possible," Hacket touched a corner of the haptic interface hovering to his left, the holographic display turned blue in one corner as an acknowledgment.
Three large holo-screens appeared behind the admirals, at the same time heavy shutters slid over the tall windows darkening the room for easier viewing. In the right most screen behind Hacket a graph appeared with a line increasing in angle only slowly across the graph before turning sharply upwards nearly three quarters of the way across the graph.
"As you can see in the first graph," Hacket gestured at the screen. "Initial estimates had it that it would take nearly five hundred years before the galaxy had even recovered by sixty percent. After that was done it is believed the last forty percent would have been completed in half that time, but still, not an easy task and those are under optimal estimations. However, happily this time, it appears the experts were wrong again."
Now the leftmost screen focused; again it was a graph but in this case the line's angle of increase was nearly at forty-five degrees from the beginning and his almost one-hundred and eighty vertical less than one-half across the graph.
Hacket turned in his chair to face the new screen, "With the recovery and utilization of the Reaper nanite technology, plus the cooperation of all the races, it is now estimated that fifty-percent recovery is possible in under two-hundred years and after that mere decades to finish the job- and that's just based off our current understanding of Reaper-Tech. Should we have more major breakthroughs, who knows?"
"That's good to hear, sir," Shepard replied, still with her fingers twined with Liara who was gently rubbing her thumb over her human's. "But what does that have to do with me?"
"I'm getting to that commander, I want you to have a basic understanding of the situation," Another poke at the haptic interface activated the middle screen which began filling with images.
Here a protest with the protesters holding anti-alien signs, the protestors were Hanar.
There a field of emergency shelters burning to the ground while around the buildings batarians wept and a figure being lead away by law enforcement officials; his angry eyes staring at the camera- a human.
Another photo of the bodies of Blue Sun mercenaries being patrolled by the a combined force of krogan and human soldiers; twisted wreckage in the background smoldering in front of a setting sun.
An asari stared sightlessly at nothing, the walls behind her body scrawled with words of hate and rage, written in her own blood, the image causing Liara to look away in disgust. And more images, freeze frames, news stills, victims, villains, conquerors and conquered, just and unjust, slavers and liberators on and on.
"This is just a sample of the crisis that have come down while you were indisposed, Shepard," Hacket said. A gesture and the record vanished. "Despite all of that, or maybe because of it, the alliance has held. Or maybe it was because you had something to do with; people from all races, Hell, everyone everywhere knows of you Shepard. Don't tell me you haven't met The Flock, yet."
"I'm...not sure, sir," "Shepard hedged, uncertain. "There were some people who started babbling crazy talk when they saw me."
"Sounds like them," Hacket replied. "The Flock are essentially people who have taken a page from the Hanar- the idea that the Protheans, aside from being a long extinct hyper-advanced race, were also divine being responsible for the creation of life- only the Flock have decided to paint their ideas in a thick coat of crazy."
"Sir?" Shepard said politely.
"They think you're a goddess," Sandoval's mirth seemed to infect every syllable. "You're The Shepard, Shepard. They're The Flock."
Shepard, who prided herself on her self-control, felt her jaw flop open, "That...that's the dumbest crock of shi- er...that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard...sir."
"I fail to see how something that is common knowledge can be classified, admirals," Liara spoke up, her husky voice penetrating even as it was quiet.
"You're quite correct, Doctor," Hacket replied. "A bit of a tangent, illustrating a point. Suffice it too say Shepard, despite these events, they have, in the large term, had little effect on the solidity of the alliance, that was until roughly ten months ago."
Again the senior admiral gestured at the interface and the central screen burst into life once more. This time the images were far fewer, but more terrible for it. What looked like dozens of buildings were either rubble or well on their way in each one. Shepard could recognize the design, they were military issue rapid-ensemble quasi-permanent structures, standard issue for System Alliance divisions at distant outposts. She also noted the landing pads that were ablaze with the short-range fighter craft reduced to slag.
"Whatever hit them, did it so fast they never even got off the ground," she muttered to herself then in a louder voice she asked. "Pirates?"
"That was our initial guess," Admiral Mikhailovich answered, his hands were still folded on the tabletop. Didn't this man ever move? "But the extreme precision, utter ruthlessness and, above all else, the complete lack of either missing personal or hardware precluded that idea. To make matters even more unpleasant there was never any signs of the hostiles. No bodies, casings, or even blood, no burn patterns from landings, not even atmospheric magnetic traces to even give us an idea of the size of the enemy ships involved."
Admiral Chase flicked her hand through the interface of her own Omnitool, scanning several reports, "All the attacks were on human depots or outposts. Advanced guard stations, military operations to re-start either lost, abandoned or, miraculous, newly discovered colonization opportunities. The response was textbook; anti-alien sentiment began to climb, Pax Terra, the spiritual successor to Terra Nova which imploded politically after the alien alliance reclaimed earth, went ballistic and though their leadership has officially disavowed it, intelligence is positive they're behind a string of hate crimes that started after the third outpost was lost."
"Wait," Shepard held up a hand. "This is all coming too fast- first, Pax Terra? And second, how did the public even know about the lost positions?"
Liara answered the first question, "Pax Terra are a human political group who have come to believe that all non-human sentient life is somehow responsible for war. Their belief is that if aliens are driven off earth and humanity itself withdraws from the galactic community an era of peace will come to your homeworld."
Shepard quirked an eyebrow, "That's even more idiotic than The Flock. Don't they pay attention to history?"
"Your species is responsible for three Evil Dead movies," her asari responded with a smile. Shepard winced. Ouch.
Hacket interrupted the two women. "In answer to your second question, commander, we didn't. Whoever destroyed them released the information to the media. We had no choice but confirm their destruction and keep the media in the loop if we wanted to have any hope of winning this 'media' war."
More images appeared on the central screen. He continued, "As time past and we lost more and more positions without any progress in our investigation the alliance began to show cracks. Many suspected the batarians of having gone back to their old ways, piracy, slavery but their species is on the brink of extinction; turning every species against them would be suicidal and they didn't have the tech to pull this off. One meetings of all the races leaderships came very close to a fist fight with the krogans being accused of trying to trigger another war as means of expansion. Things looked bad until three weeks ago when our intelligence branch managed to recover this:"
Hacket punched in a code on the interface and the three screens blanked themselves out and a video record began to play, each screen showing different camera angles of the same military outpost. "This footage was recovered from the last attack at newly discovered garden world in the Hawking Eta cluster."
Three cameras showed a small UNC outpost from various angles. Shepard noted the organized pattern of pre-fab housing, the larger labs and two armories along with a hanger. Between the housing and the labs sat three pads upon each was a single short range gunship. Moving between the buildings, like tiny ants, she saw soldiers moving. Patrols on the perimeter, ground crews up to their elbows in one of the gunships, formation drills behind one of the hangers and smaller groups of soldiers, sitting, playing cards, doing exercises or jogging.
Hacket spoke, "The world, thus far designated UNC-HE-Alpha01, is in a relatively stable zone of space despite being near the galactic center. We had sent a recon force of five hundred soldiers and military scientists, complete with gunships and Makos. The voice you're going to hear is that of Private First Class Lyssa McGarrat."
Shepard listened as a young sounding woman could be heard.
"Sir? Ground radar is picking up an unknown signature, fast approaching from orbit."
There was a pause of several seconds, someone the microphone had not picked up must have been speaking than McGarrat was back, "No sir, no response to our hails or IFF signature that our systems have identif- Sir! Massive pulse detect-" her voice distorted into a feedback screech as snow disrupted the cameras.
"Long range communications is out, Anti-Air support is out, ground crews report all gunships disabled. Engieering says they're cannibalizing two of the makos to get the third up and running. Whatever hit us took out the bulk of our electronics sir, bogie is still on approach," an edge of hysteria was creeping into McGarrat's voice.
"They'll be on us- sir, we have eyes on target."
One of the cameras had changed its angle of observation now looking up into the sky. Shepard spotting it- a small ship, approaching at high speeds was centered in the view. As it got closer Shepard inhaled suddenly, "That's a Kodiak," she breathed.
"I don't recognize the colors," Liara said quietly.
The small ship was black with red highlights and a gold trim, an insignia was emblazoned on the side and Shepard stopped breathing entirely for a moment- eyes glued to the symbol. A black octagonal circle was split in half, the bottom middle acting like a fulcrum, or like the petals of a black flower. In the middle a small octagonal circle also was slit asunder, only blood red this time, jagged edges and points reaching outwards. The entire symbol, like the ship, was trimmed in gold.
"That," Liara swallowed. "That resembles the symbol of Cerberus. Only-"
"Broken," Shepard said grimly.
They lapsed into silence, the unknown ship looked as if it was going even faster as it approached. It roared past the outer-perimeter of the outpost at almost a blur not even slowing on its approach; as it passed over the exact center the pilot flipped the vehicle over sideways so it was perpendicular to the ground and opened the doors. From inside twenty figures, Shepard knew it was twenty, knew it was exactly twenty even at the speed they were falling, at a glance she counted twenty, plummeted to the ground. Before the question, 'What the hell?' could fully form in her mind the falling figures went into formation around a central form. As they fell toward the camera the unknown in the middle flung out their arms, there was another burst of static and the entire group was surrounded by a huge, green bubble of-
"Liara," Shepard whispered, her voice deadly neutral. "Are those biotics?"
The asari, one hand over her mouth, eyes wide was visibly trembling, "Goddess!"
"Shit," Shepard said. "I'll take that as a yes."
The bubble slowed as it approached the ground; exactly fifteen feet above the surface it vanished and those within fired jet boots landing easily. The outer circle, twelve in all, tucked, rolled and came up firing and again Shepard's heart stopped.
The soldiers armor was familiar; the colors were different- originally they had been white, with insignia and helmets black. Now the white was black and the helmets red; the only thing that remained from the original design were the slits in the helmets that glowed with putrid yellow light but that wasn't what drained the blood from Shepard's face or turned the blood in her veins to ice water.
The soldiers wearing what looked exactly like Cerberus trooper armor were firing their weapons at anything, and everything and whatever they hit vanished in an explosion of green fire. A UNC marine, wearing heavy combat armor came charging from one of the prefabs, his gun blazing. The rounds bounced off the unknown's shields, which flickered green; with an almost contemptuous effort the troopers casually moved his weapon left to right, the beam of his weapon slicing entire pre-fab buildings in half, flicked his fire across the marine and the soldier was gone, reduced to an ugly, scorched green stain in the burning earth.
"Particle rifles," Shepard said from between clenched teeth. "Those are Promethean particle rifles!"
END-Cerulean Two
AN: If Blue had a them song, this would be it: www(dot)(backslash)watch?v=hfelfyV8LwA