Shepard and Garrus dove behind a pair of pillars, moving from their crate as the YMIR heavy mech converged on their position. Garrus crouched down and looked at his sniper rifle. He flinched as the weapon sparked when he checked the ammo counter.
"I could use a weapon here, Shepard!" The Specter reached behind his back, grabbing his Incisor sniper rifle and tossed it to the Turian. Garrus began to prime his new weapon as he glanced over at his commander.
"I don't think we can take this thing head on at this range." Shepard knew he right, if they were to leave their only protection, the mech would either gun them down in seconds, or kill them both at once with a single rocket.
"Think dammit! you took on two of these in the factory district on the Citadel..." The Spectre peaked his head out of cover and glanced at the crane overhead.
"Garrus, when I tell you, shoot the cranes support cables."
"What are you gonna-" Shepard had already flew out of cover before Garrus could ask his question. The Specter ran to the side of the room and began to wave his arms up and down at the hulking machine.
"Hey! Over here!" he yelled. The YMIR turned to him.
"TARGET ACQUIRED." It readied its devastating chain gun just as Shepard dove behind another pillar. It continued to march toward him, unaware of the they had devised against it.
"Garrus now!" The Turian leaned out and with haste, sighted down his scope firing a single burst of rounds at the cables holding up the large circular magnet that was the crane. The Cables began to snap as the heavy mech continued its pace. Shepard leaned out from the pillar and gazed up at the giant magnet as it began to tilt.
"TERMINATE TARGET" The YMIR slowly charged its mass accelerator, ready to deliver the killing blow upon the helpless human. But before it could fire, Shepard fired one last burst from his assault rifle at the last two cables causing the crane fall straight down onto the YMIR mech. Upon impact the heavy mech's arm shot up and fired a rocket at the balcony behind Shepard which causing debris to fall all around him. Garrus watched in horror as his commander become encased under a pile of metal. He feared the worst.
"Shepard!" He yelled as he ran over to heap of metal. He began to lift the large chunks off of his friend and stopped when he saw a lifeless gloved hand.
"Dammit... Dammit Shepard..." He crouched down and gazed at the floor. Just then the motionless hand grabbed his own which sparked a new hope inside the Turian. Garrus pulled as hard as he could lifting Shepard up and out of the debris. Shepard leaned foward and patted his friend on the shoulder as he looked over at the crushed YMIR heavy mech, its arms sticking out from under the heavy magnet still sparking. The two came to a stop in front of the metal corpse to admire the sight triumphantly for a moment.
"So... Did I hear you quote Scarface?" He asked. Garrus began rubbing the back of his neck.
"Eheheh... Yeah, Joker got me hooked on that." Shepard simply smiled and shook his head, then directed his attention to the tram car at the end of room. "Come on buddy, we need to get to the bridge. Then we'll find the prick responsible for this massacre.
...
Tali was sprinting down a long corridor with Mordin right on her tail. Both occasionally looking back to fire a couple of shots to slow the march of the LOKI mechs behind them.
"Must find cover! Wave of mechs appears continuous!" Tali was still running seeming to completely tune out Mordin. She reached for her belt to grab a grenade and tossed it at the group of mechs behind them. She could see them being blown to bits by the explosion only to be replaced by another group emerging from the smoke.
"This isn't working Mordin! We need to find cover!" She yelled as they continued their pace. They ran past another hatch down the hall. Tali had noticed a control terminal on the side. She was praying there would be something she could do to slow the mechs whether it be to open a few airlocks, or simply lock the door. She took cover on the side of the door as Mordin kept running not noticing she had stopped behind him. Like an ace she activated her omni-tool and scrolled through the codes. She found exactly what she was hoping for. Mordin realized she wasn't following anymore and spun around as bullets wized past him.
"Tali'Zorah! No time to hide!" he said as he saw her crouched down near the wall controls. Suddenly a series of panels on the ceiling opened up revealing several small security turrets. Tali scrolled through a few more codes and the guns immediately began firing on the approaching squad of mechs, shredding them all in seconds. When the last mech fell to the ground, Mordin slowly walked back over to Tali.
"Efficient and decisive thinking Miss done." Tali stood up and smiled behind her face mask as she viewed the carnage in the hallway behind them.
"Security mechs always give their targets time to surrender but these ones immediately started shooting. Whoever reprogrammed them must still be on this ship." Tali once more observed the scene then continued to move forward.
"Come on, the sooner we restart the reactor the sooner we can get back to Shepard." she said as they pushed onward. They came to a service elevator about 40 meters down the next hallway and both stepped in. Mordin punched the controls for the reactor control room and the elevator began its descent. Tali loaded a fresh heat sink into her shotgun and Mordin proceeded to do the same with his SMG. A few moments later the elevator began to descend into a clear glass shaft where both Tali and Mordin were almost awestruck at what they saw. The reactor room was massive! So massive that three of the Normandy could fit in the room. They could both see the core in the center of the room which seemed to act as the foundation for the entire area.
The elevator reached ground floor where a balcony overlooked the core. A large console that Tali assumed was the main terminal could seen at the edge of it. The young engineer made her way over to the console and Mordin followed suite. She placed her hand under her chin as she took a few moments to examine the controls. It seemed rather complicated. This could take a while she thought. She placed her hands over the console and it flared to life causing her to jump in surprise.
"This is it! I just need a few minutes to hack through the firewalls and we can be on our way." She raised her arm and activated her omni-tool, scrolling through page after page of codes and tapping a few buttons on the terminal simultaneously. She finished her hack and was confused by the results
"This doesn't make since. The logs show that no one has deactivated the reactor and there's no obstruction in power flow or any damage to the core that I can see." She took a few steps back and folded her arms, stumped as to what could cause the reactor to shut down for no particular reason. She turned to Mordin to see him examining the power cell compartments on the walls opposite the terminal. They all glowed a bright lime green color indicating that each still had plenty enough to feed to core. But he noticed something odd. One of them was glowing blue. Mordin reached for the handle and twisted it releasing the round 12 by 6 inch container. He looked over it for a few seconds.
"Believe I found problem." he said. Tali walked over and grabbed the container to see for herself. She peered inside the small glass window of the power cell and was astonished to see thousands of tiny blue particles flowing in random undulation. She had never seen anything like it before.
"What is it?" she asked. Mordin took the container from her hands and ran his omni-tool over it.
"Does not match any known energy signature. Experimental power source found it seems." Suddenly a loud humming sound could be heard and the ships core began to glow brightly as power returned to it.
"This must have been what was interfering with the flow of power. But why would someone purposely sabotage the reactor?" she said. They observed the room for a few more seconds.
"Come on, we need to show this to Shepard." Tali said with a nod.
"Yes, commander's opinion needed." They both stepped back onto the elevator and just as it began to ascend, Tali's comm link activated and a static voice came through. "Ta...ali...do...read?" Tali jumped slightly.
"Shepard? Shepard is that you?" The static voice continued but sounded a little clearer this time.
"Tali, me and Gar...headed to bridge. Did you get...core...online?"
"Yes. We got the package too and we're on our way back." she replied.
"Good...meet you back...the ship. We're almost...the bridge." Shepard said, his voice still distorted by the static.
"Copy, be careful Shepard." she said, ending the transmission.
...
Shepard and Garrus stood inside the tram as it speedily made its way to the station closest to the bridge. "Commander, it's Joker. EDI's done what she can to compensate for the comm and sensor interference."
EDI cut in. "Commander, I'm detecting a single life sign on the bridge. I suggest you proceed with caution." Shepard and Garrus shared a quick glance.
"Payback time..." Garrus said priming his rifle.
"Copy that EDI. Shepard out." The tram came to stop and the two stepped out weapons drawn. They proceeded down a narrow hallway with a door at the end that read "BRIDGE." They stopped in front of it and Garrus proceeded to access the door controls.
"Someones sealed it from the other end. Nothing my little friend here can't fix." Garrus lifted his rifle and fired a slug directly into the panel. The hatch shot open and the two slowly walked into a pitch black room. Activating their flashlights, they began to scan the room.
"I think I can say from experience that nothing good ever happens in a dark room Shepard." Garrus whispered. Suddenly the bridge's window shutters opened revealing the light of the gas giant Ruam outside. The two directed their attention to the captains chair in the center of the room and could see the dark shape of a human sitting in it. The figure began to speak in a somewhat haunting tone.
"And God looked upon the earth...and behold... It was corrupt..." The man slowly began to turn around to face the two in his chair and continued. "For all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth..." Shepard and Garrus straightened their stances and with their weapons, took aim.
"Who are you and what have you done to the crew?" Shepard demanded. The man got up from his chair and took a few steps forward into the light where his face could be seen. He was human. Old. Wrinkles covered his face. His eyes were bloodshot. His hair seemed to be decaying as the gray strands covered his head in random spots.
"I...am the hand of God! And he demands that I destroy you sinners that stand before me!" the man said raising his open hands outward from his sides. Garrus reacted by sighting down his weapon.
"Righteous words coming from someone who slaughtered the hundreds of people on this ship." The man turned around to stare out the front windows.
"All sinners. Their deaths was the will of the Lord." he said as Shepard took aim.
"Then I guess the lord won't mind if I add one more to the body count." With that the Specter fired a burst of rounds at the man but they were deflected by the barrier that was erected in front of him. Caught off guard, Shepard lowered his weapon and his eyes widened in surprise. The man then turned back to the human and Turian.
"I will fulfill the Lord's wishes!" He sat back down in his chair and tapped a few buttons on the arm of the chair. The room lit up and a single door on each side of the room opened with two heavy mechs stepping out from each.
"Shepard, I think it's time for one of your brilliant exit strategies." Garrus said as his mandibles twitched. The two took a few steps back and then ran for the door. Just before it closed behind them, an explosion hit at the back of their feet causing the two to fall to the floor. Shepard got up first and helped Garrus to his feet and they quickly ran back to the tram car. As they stepped inside one of the YMIR mechs had emerged from the hallway and began unloading its chain gun at the tram car. The two ducked in cover as the windows all around them shattered from the laser fire. Shepard fired a few shots over his shoulder.
"Garrus, get us the hell outta here!" Garrus ran to the front of the tram car and punched the controls causing the tram to accelerate to full speed almost instantly, knocking him off his feet.
"Joker, prep the Normandy's engines! We're getting out of here!" Joker responded over the comm immediately.
"Roger that commander. Tali and Mordin just showed up. We're just waiting on you." Less than a minute later the tram came to a stop and the two stepped out into the very same room where their previous battle took place. They almost stumbled over as they halted to see four YMIR mechs at the end of the room blocking their exit.
They quickly dove for cover behind a crate as lasers wized past them overhead. Suddenly the ship began to shake all around them.
"The hells going on!" Shepard exclaimed. EDI then replied over the comm.
"Commander, someone has put the ship in a nose dive toward the planet-" Joker interrupted before EDI could continue.
"Commander, in four minutes the planets winds will rip the ship apart like tissue paper! We need you back here now!" Shepard peered out to view the mechs. A single slug barely missed his head.
"Easier said then done Joker." he said retreating back into cover.
...
Tali and Mordin were standing behind Joker in the cockpit listening to what was happening. Tali primed her shotgun and then headed for the airlock.
"I'm going after them!" Mordin grabbed her by the arm.
"Must advise against Miss Zorah!" Tali slapped his hand off of her and ran into the airlock. Just as it sealed behind her however, it opened again almost instantly and Grunt stepped in, grabbed Tali by the suit strap on her back and threw her back into the ship. Tali lifted her head up and looked at Grunt in shock as she laid on her back. The Krogan peaked over his shoulder and gave her a smirk. As the airlock sealed, Legion came running to Tali's aid. It proceeded to help her up,.
"We advised to crewman-Grunt that leaving the Normandy would be in direct violation of Shepard-Commander's orders resulting in disciplinary action. He did not comply..."
...
Shepard and Garrus continued to be bombarded by lasers and rockets. They thought for sure this would be their last mission; a simple errand would be their last mission.
"I pull my team through two suicide missions only to die on a baggage run!" Shepard thought to himself.
"Shepard..." Garrus began to take on a look of depression. Turian expressions were hard to read, but not for Shepard.
"If we don't make it out of this, there's something I need to get off my chest." Shepard was a little annoyed. He didn't want to acknowledge death as an option. After all, dying once was painful enough.
"What? Now? Put a lid on it Garrus! We're gonna make it!" He snapped. Garrus tried to think of a constructive way of saying it but decided that with only 3 minutes left to live, it would be best just to come out with it.
"I saw Tali naked!" The Turian blurted out. Shepard's jaw nearly hit the floor,
"You what!" Garrus winced a bit.
"If we had more time I'd explain it all to myself but for now I'll just leave it at-" An explosion blew their cover to pieces sending them both flying backwards with Garrus landing directly on top of Shepard. Two YMIRs approached and stood over them. Garrus' mandibles flexed wide open as he prepared for his hopefully not to painful death. Just then a large fist burst its way through the mechs chest causing it to fall to its side. Both were stunned at the sight. Grunt stood over the dead metal husk with a look of rage that neither of them had seen before. The other three heavy mechs turned and began firing their chain guns at the Krogan. He responded with a ferocious charge, his fortification acting as a shield against the slugs. He slammed into the YMIR causing it to fall over. He stood over its chest and fired a shot from his Claymore shotgun into its head destroying it instantly.
The other two mechs continued to fire but Grunt acted swiftly. He leaped high into the air and landed one of the mechs shoulders. He then took his shotgun and fired two rounds into each shoulder joint causing both of its arms to fall off. Wires dangled from the armless joints and sparked as Grunt put one last round into its head causing the body to explode just as he jumped off. The final heavy mech prepared a rocket for the Krogan. As Grunt saw it lifting its arm he looked at his shotgun only to see a piece of shrapnel stuck in the side of it. He dropped it and picked up the arm of the mech he had just destroyed. The final YMIR fired a rocket, Grunt did the same with the arm he now held and both shots collided at the center of the room exploding.
The heavy mech stared at the smoke of the explosion looking for its target just as Grunt emerged from the cloud and began to charge. Before the YMIR could react in defense, the Krogan held out his fist and slammed it into the YMIR's chest causing it to stagger and fall. It tried to pick itself up but Grunt was relentless. He jumped on top of it and began to beat it to death with his bare hands. When he had decided that the beating he delivered was sufficient, he stopped and stood over the corpse for a second then stomped one foot down on the heavy mech's head crushing it under his weight.
He walked slowly over to the human and Turian who were slowly rising to their feet and gave Shepard a blank stare. Shepard stared back for a moment then held out his hand. "Thanks..." Grunt took a step back.
"This changes nothing. If you were too weak to stand against these pathetic machines, how can you hope to best me in single combat?" Shepard's expression turned to anger but before he could respond Joker yelled over the comm.
"Commander, we got less than two minutes before we all turn into living smoothies!" Shepard forgot all about what Grunt said and began to run as fast as he could back to the Normandy with Grunt and Garrus on his heels.
"We're almost there Joker get ready to pull us out!" As they all were running down the corridors to the Normandy they heard a voice over the ships loudspeaker.
"This is not the end sinners! You will die! You will all die! For he will come for you! He will flay your minds until all that remains are charred corpses!" They all finally reached the Normandy and crammed into the airlock.
"We're in! Joker get us the hell outta here!" Joker's hands went crazy over the flight controls and ignited the engines.
"Hang on everyone! This ones sure to leave mark!" The Normandy detached from the docking cradle and sped away from the Bermuda that disappeared into the ocean blue gas clouds with its hull being torn apart by the gusting winds.
...
Inside the bridge of the Bermuda the man who had tried to kill Shepard, his love, and his friends could only watch out the front windows of the ship as he awaited his inevitable doom. "My life for you Lord... My life for you!" The last thing he saw was the glass shattering and the shards fly at this face before the ship exploded altogether.