When Fates Collide

Chapter 16

~ ~ And Then There Were None ~ ~

The injured marine's glossy eyes focused on two more bodies rapidly approaching.

Liara was the first to ask, "How is she?"

Hurriedly removing the rifle strap so she could bandage the marine, Shepard answered, "I don't know but I need you two to keep those things off of us while I patch her up."

Garrus confidently said, "Copy that! I won't let any of those things get past us." as the brave turian moved behind another crate, taking aim.

Liara hesitated, concerned about her leader's safety.

Shepard turned and commanded the young asari, "Liara, go with him!" Seeing the worry sweep her blue face, Shepard spoke again in a calmer tone; knowing the asari would respond better if she felt Shepard had everything under control, "Go with him Liara. He needs you."

With a simple nod of acknowledgement, the prothean expert leapt from her crouching position and followed Garrus.

As the two aliens bunkered down behind several crates, the injured marine watched as Liara and Garrus expertly took down any further threats. Although Williams had read about asari in her galactic handbook from bootcamp, she had never really seen one in action. She was mesmerized seeing how easily Liara surrounded an object with incandescent blue matter for Garrus, who would then render it lifeless with a single shot from his sniper rifle.

"Marine, hold still!" Shepard all but yelled before she realized Williams was straining to watch Liara and Garrus in battle, which ended quickly under the superior fighting skills of their two alien squad members. The former Alliance officer could see the visibly impressed expression on the injured woman's face and tugged a little easier on the makeshift bandage, as she continued to try and stop the marine's wounds from hemorrhaging.

Using her bare hands to hold back the oozing blood Shepard ordered, "Garrus check upstairs for a first aid station or any medi-gel packs."

Liara came over and knelt at the marine's feet; panting slightly from the exertion of dealing with the last of the husks in the building after taking in a few deep breathes to recover. The asari offered her silent help with a knowing nod to her mock commander, and without another spoken word floated to her feet and was gone again.

A few moments later an exasperated turian jogged up to the two humans and reported, "All the doors on the upper level are locked or inaccessible."

Looking down at the wounded squadmember, Garrus offered a meaningful apology, "I'm sorry Williams."

A weak hand slowly lifted as Ash muttered, "You tried….thanks."

"Damn it!" grumbled the moppy headed soldier, "I wish Tali was here!"

Trying to help Garrus suggested, "I could call her."

The frustrated woman retorted, "No, there isn't time. I don't know how many more of those things are crawling around here. We need to get that Cerberus Data!"

Borderline angry, the redhead questioned the marine, "What the hell happened?"

Looking over to her weapon, Ashley hissed, "Damn rifle overheated!"

Just when Ash's health was really starting to fade; Liara rushed back to Shepard's side, "Here I found a first aid kit, but it only had two medi-gel packs."

Shepard snatched the med bag. "It will have to do."

The two aliens watched as with limited supplies, Shepard expertly patched up the bleeding marine. Barely inspecting her field medic work Shepard exhaled, "It will have to do for now." Pointing to the far wall Shepard informed the marine, "I'm gonna move you over there so you can sit up better."

Acknowledging the order, the marine lifted her arms and Shepard slid behind her, carefully dragging her body into the corner of the room behind two large crates. The stubborn marine barely moaned even though Shepard knew she was hurting like hell. Propping the younger marine against the wall, Shepard wiped her hands as if to say, "A job well done" then slowly knelt between the marine's legs and looked directly into her face as a silent exchange occurred between the two battle vets, from one marine to another: Williams knew what Shepard had to do; what must be done.

In her best authoritative voice Shepard spoke in a firm but caring tone, "I have to complete the mission. You understand that right marine?"

A painstaking nod shook the marine's head as she accepted her fate. Balancing her weight on the balls of her feet, the squatting squadleader slammed a fresh thermo clip in the marine's assault rifle and propped it up on her knee.

Studying the woman as she rose, Shepard took a deep breath and walked to the door, "I'll come back for you."

Ashley gave her a hesitant nod as she swallowed hard and gripped her rifle. The injured marine couldn't help thinking she would be left behind to die and just like Kaiden, it would be because of Shepard's orders.

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Just outside the entrance of the building Garrus quickly debriefed Wrex and Tali while Liara and Shepard made their way over to the mako. As Shepard turned to speak to the others, Liara saw the sadness in her green eyes but knew the soldier would stay true to the quest.

In a scratchy voice the former marine said, "Let's go. We have a mission to complete."

The drive to the last research station seemed to take forever over the perpetually bumpy terrain and allowed time for Shepard's mind to drift, instantaneously flooding with the countless marines she had to leave behind during the Skyllian Blitz in an all too eerily similar position; never seeing them again. Explosions, men, women and children screamed in her ears. The hell she went through, the countless lives she could have saved if she had only surrendered earlier; even though in the back of her mind she knew, the batarians still would have killed them just for sport. It was after all their nature. Just as it was her nature to try and save everyone she could, no matter the price. Hell, she had paid it once already with her life over one settlement. Why not again for the universe?

Her breathing became sporadic as more horrific images assaulted her mind. Her sole concentration was on the floor below her. Feeling like she was already barely hanging on; memories of the aftermath are what hurt her most. Knowing how hard she had tried to get free, how many lives she was able to save. Over 250,000 lives were spared as a trade off for her life; one simple N-7 marine. Yet, not one time did the Alliance or any other human or alien species ever try to rescue her. No word ever came, no ransom, no rescue.

Even after almost two years of intermittent torture, her captors couldn't break the marine; no matter what they tried. It wasn't until Shepard inadvertently overheard two batarian guards boasting when finally the young marine's will broke for good, "Not even her mother came looking for her and she's some high ranking officer on an Alliance dreadnaught." The last sane thought Lieutenant Katherine Shepard of the Alliance Fleet uttered before she snapped was, "Mom?"

Slowly becoming aware of her surroundings again, she felt a hand on her arm and looked up to see Liara's concerned face. She gave the asari a reassuring smile as she shook off the past and refocused herself. So many times she forced her mind to ignore her body, ignore her heart and again she willfully commanded herself like she had so many times before: Don't look back! Never look back!

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Dead silence crept over the large space making a shiver run up the wounded marine's spine. With steady hands, Williams gripped the handle of her weapon tightly. Her remaining senses gearing up to make her last stand. Her pulse quickened as she anxiously waited for her next target to round the corner. Seconds melted into minutes but still there was no attack. For a brief moment she actually wished something would have attacked; at least then she would know what to expect and be done with it. This waiting…. waiting for the unexpected was eating at her. Trying to remain calm she practiced her Alliance training by taking in several short breaths as sweat slowly dripped down her forehead. In her mind, she was able to push away the pain her body was experiencing and her desperate need to stay alive took over.

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Reaching the top of the plateau, the team once again scrambled out of the Mako. Working in pairs, with Garrus covering the rear, his sniper rifle in hand; they made their way past several more Dragon's Teeth just outside the entrance of the science station. When they rounded the corner of the building the team encountered another small horde of husks, however by this time, the squad was very familiar with how to deal with them and quickly put them to rest.

Glancing over her shoulder, even Shepard saw how comfortable Liara had become using her singularity to bring the enemies together allowing her teammates easy pickings. As the last few fell, Liara looked back to see the marine was smiling at her tactics. The human's smirk caught the young maiden off guard causing her to blush before she quickly moved with her squad mates.

Shepard stirred in her own thoughts for a moment then announced, "Great work guys! Now let's get inside!"

Tali turned around, "Wait… Shepard, I don't recall you taking a single shot."

Liara too cocked her head trying to remember when Garrus flanked the quarian, "Yeah, what were you doing back there?"

The only one who had enough nerve and was the biggest to get away with it suggested gruffly, "Napping?"

It was good to see her team of aliens had a great sense of humor, that rivaled only their fighting skills. True, their mock commander was holding back and never fired a single shot but neither was she napping. Being the master strategist that she was; she watched her team mold and come together as one cohesive unit, studying their unspoken commands to each other and how they maximized each of their unique talents, right down to the near virgin asari warrior. Scrutinizing every movement, every shot fired; Shepard reveled in the moment. She only wished such cohesiveness could be taught back at the academy, but as she observed her team and remembered a broken Ash in the other building it dawned on her: it was simply easier for aliens to work with each other. Humans were too prideful to admit they needed help.

A sly nod of her head acknowledged their playfulness before the former marine barked, "Tali security panel. Garrus, Wrex watch her back. Liara get by the door. If anything comes jumping out at us when Tali opens that door; I want you to push 'em back. Understood?"

The squad moved without a hint of protest, which again tickled the former Alliance Officer. It felt good to be part of a team. It felt good to be part of this team. It felt good to be fighting for the greater good; aliens at her side or not.

Slightly concerned over Shepard being cautious about what would be on the other side of the door when no such command came at the other two buildings, the prothean expert glowed blue and nodded at the young quarian next to her when Tali said, "On my count 3, 2, 1."

With all breaths held; the thick metal doors slid open…

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A sudden loud and clanking ruckus beside her caused the marine to jump as she fired a few rounds into the crate across from her, "Sweet Jesus!"

It took a few seconds before Williams realized it was only the ventilation system starting up. Exhaling deeply from the instant adrenaline rush, Ashley criticized, "Piece of shit ac unit!" angry at herself for being so startled from the system as she joked, "Sounds like it needs a tune-up."

When the dark haired woman's breathing returned to normal, her fingers uncurled from the weapon. Shifting her weight a bit to relieve her aching muscles, she suddenly felt very alone and very worried. With her only company the droning HVAC system humming its obnoxiously mesmerizing melody she wondered….What if Shepard doesn't come back for me? …. Fuck! What if she leaves me here to bleed out?

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Thankfully, to Liara's surprise, there were no husks ready to attack so the squad systematically cleared the first room, silently moving to the next on Shepard's hand signals alone. Feeling a little silly for being the only one glowing, Liara was about to lower her biotic charge when a wall of husks came out of nowhere and attacked. Without thinking twice, Liara summoned a massive biotic throw that created a wall of incandescent energy pushing all the husks back nearly 30 meters. It was all the squad needed to take defensive measures.

Kneeling at the momentarily weakened asari's side, Shepard started blasting away at the husks with her assault rifle allowing Liara time to regain her breath from the enormous push. This was the largest group of husks the team had encountered and they appeared to be more relentless. The squad leader speculated if she had been with any other team, including her fellow N-7 members, they would have been backpedaling into the entry room for better protection. For a fleeting moment, the human almost felt sorry for the husks as her team plowed them down like wheat.

Shepard could barely contain her pride as she watched Liara lift two creatures high in the air, where Tali and Garrus could each take the pot shot; killing them both. She was unable to see Wrex behind a rather large crate but she could see a flash of blue light followed by a stomping sound and she could have sworn she heard Wrex yelling in between stomps, "Take that you...slimy….ugly…motherless…son of a bacci."

When the krogan finally emerged from behind the crate, Shepard was the one who dared to ask, "Having fun were you?"

In a deep throated grunt that could have easily been mistaken as a challenge, Wrex scoffed, "You betcha, Shepard."

"Alright now that everyone is having fun, let's keep moving."

The squad quickly cleared the ground floor and all surrounding rooms. Upstairs they found a small room with a bunch of supply crates tossed about. It looked like it was where the scientists attempted to make their last stand.

Hovering over the room's lone indecipherable terminal Shepard asked, "Tali, can you hack this thing?"

Moving directly in front of the panel, the technical genius answered, "Certainly commander."

Glancing back at the quarian furiously typing, Shepard wondered if the young engineer had just made a Freudian slip or if it had been intentional.

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As abruptly as the air circulator came on, the lights of the warehouse unexpectedly went out, "Shit!" blasted the marine.

Only the faint glow from the exits signs illuminated the large space. Ash couldn't help but wish that the glowing asari was present. Anyone would be better than sitting here in the dark, she thought.

The last several weeks played back through the distraught gunny's mind…. Damn! If she hadn't been such a bitch to Shepard, the chances of the soldier coming back for her might be higher…

The marine's breath quickened and she wrapped her fingers so tightly around the rifle they went numb. Wild imaginings floated in the darkness, her pain beginning to win in the battle for her attention. The seasoned marine was slowly being taken by shock and delirious ideas began to cloud her thoughts. The woman's mind tortured her as she reflected back on all the wrong doings in her life. How she cursed the Alliance for sending her to Eden Prime. How she was forced to work with all those aliens on board the Normandy. How she was now taking orders from the Alliance's number one human fugitive. All of it was one great big conspiracy based on her family name.

Brooding, she secretly wished Shepard had shot her rather than leave her alone…..injured…. helpless…. in the dark … waiting….

The weakened soldier knew that damn Shepard was going to leave her behind. In the darkness she griped, "What is taking so long?"

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Inside the barricaded room, it only took a few moments before the ingenious hacker bypassed the heavily encrypted firewalls of the lone terminal. Shepard thought if she had still been in the business of bad, Tali would be her number one asset. Smirking, she pondered the damage the two of them could do together and chuckled as the quarian spun around, "Shepard, I'm in."

Stirring from her devilish thoughts Shepard commanded, "Tell me what you got, Tali."

The quarian's pronged fingers floated over the monitor before she started reading aloud, "I have accessed the station's main computer. There are notes here from the colony's leader. It states he had been dealing with a growing concern from his team over the latest shipment form Cerberus. They were instructed not to open the crates."

The quarian went silent as she continued to search for more data. Behind a deeply concentrated sigh, the feminine voice again rang out, "It states that the entire pioneer team is dead. As well as whatever sample was provided by Cerberus, which effectively murdered dozens of people."

The young woman turned to look at her leader, "Shepard, I believe they were referring to the Dragon's Teeth."

A knot formed in the human's stomach as Joker's plea rang in her ears, 'Shepard, Cerberus has hurt a lot of people to profit themselves. You have a chance to put a big dent in their plans.'

A sorrowful tone came from the young quarian's lips as she read the computer log, "No more husks...no more colonists..."

The eerie way Tali's voice trailed off sent a shiver up everyone's back and an order that sounded more like a growl erupted from the commander's throat, "Tali copy everything and destroy the whole system when you're done."

Happy to receive the order Tali answered, "Aye, Aye Shepard. Consider it done."

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A woman's voice boomed in the dark hollow space, "Joker! Have Dr. Chakwas waiting in the cargo bay when we get back. We have a marine down."

The groggy eyed marine thought she was hearing things when suddenly the bright lights came back on startling her, as the voices continued getting closer.

"What? You didn't think I was going to leave you here did you?"

Ash looked up surprised at the soldier who had strolled towards her. She was completely dumbfounded, my mind must be playing tricks on me she thought….there is no way….simply no way in hell…

Studying the woman towering over her, she began to spit damning remarks at her obvious hallucination, "You don't expect me to believe you are Shepard and you actually came back for me; do you?" She continued to eye her mind's apparition of the mock commander, "Ok, granted you look pretty good to be an illusion….I mean, I wished I looked that good in armor but besides that; there is no way Shepard would come back for me. She hates me. Now go away!"

She weakly swiped at the air as if she were swatting away a cloud of smoke, "You think I'm really scared of you, don't you? Just because you're all tough and what not, well I'm not afraid of you; now get the hell out of here and let me die in peace!"

Shepard peered down at her gunny chief, confused by her behavior.

"OMG …my nose feels like I have concrete in it and I'm trying to pull it out….OW!"

As the abstract words started flying out of William's mouth, Shepard rolled her eyes and bent to help the wounded marine to her feet as the rest of the squad hurriedly appeared from around the corner, having heard the gunny's statement echoing off the walls.

Pawing at the redhead's cheeks Williams slurred, "Are you real?"

The wobbly marine pushed the redhead off her once she had gained her balance, "Well, real or not….I'm not scared of you or your red hair. Sure asari might dig it but it's a mutation….you're a mutant! Besides, everyone knows Latino ladies like me are numero uno." the marine's uniform creaked as she motioned down her body as if nothing was wrong with her, "Sexxxxxyyyyyyyy Senorita!"

"Williams, I'm here to help." said the concerned squad leader.

"Sure you are!" quipped Ash, "What good is a hallucination if it can't offer false hope?"

A concerned quarian asked, "What's wrong with you Williams?"

"No, I don't want to eat your cake! And for the 3rd time, stop asking!" Ash frantically muttered

"Joker calling Commander Shepard," sounded in Shepard's ear piece. Happy for the reprieve, the marine answered, "This is Shepard, go ahead Joker."

Looking at the quarian at Williams's side, Wrex asked, "Any idea what is wrong with her?"

Equally confused, Tali answered, "I don't know. I am not familiar with this type of human behavior."

The mentally unbalanced marine tried to pace on her own, bad leg and all, as she muttered, "The cake! I know it's the cake's fault. I just knew the cake was a lie!"

Liara's head tilted to the side a few times before she offered her explanation, "I believe she might be suffering from severe neuropsychiatric syndrome with an acute and fluctuating onset of perceptual and cognitive deficits."

Tali stared blankly at the asari but Shepard had finished her conversation with Joker and heard Liara's answer so she explained, "Shock. She's delirious and going into shock."

A glare of seriousness covered Shepard's face as she stared at the injured marine; she was very familiar with this condition from her own personal experiences.

"Shock?" blasted Ash, "What is shocking is that you are leading this two bit mix of aliens unit."

All eyes focused on the spouting human.

"I know you left me here to die Shepard! Just like you left Kaiden to die on Virmire!" blasted the visibly disturbed marine, "Well you're not gonna leave me to die anymore!"

Seemingly looking even bigger than before, the battlemaster belted, "Quit your bitching Williams! It's glorious to die in battle."

Chambering a fresh thermo clip in her weapon, Shepard retorted, "Williams, you want some cheese with that whine?"

When the marine clumsily lurched forward, Tali was able to successfully remove Ash's weapon from her hands.

The squad leader whose patience was growing thin, stood with her arms crossed and shook her head as she informed the rest of the squad, "Joker said they'll be at the LZ in 10 and Dr. Chakwas is standing by."

A hazy eyed marine barked, "You were supposed to be part of the Alliance's elite. A Naval Officer in the N-7 program." Disgust filled the woman's voice, "I looked up to heroes like you. You let us all down. Not only did you desert your unit back on Elysium; you abandoned your entire species. What a coward you turned out to be!"

Fed up with the insubordinate's insulting remarks, Shepard confidently stated with a twinge of humor in her tone, "I'll shut her up!"

Ingeniously handing her assault rifle to Liara so the asari couldn't stop her with her biotics, the former C-Sec officer was the first to realize what was about to happen when he stammered, "Shepard you're the squad leader, you're not really gonna…."

The turian's large saucer eyes turned to the gunny solider and back to Shepard, "You're kidding right?"

Cracking her neck while rolling her shoulders, Shepard glared at the turian and defiantly asked, "Do I look like I'm kidding?"

Williams stared directly into Shepard's eyes and in a spiteful tone mocked, "Your own mother didn't think you worthy enough to save."

Faster than anyone could have expected, the hot tempered redhead backhanded the marine across the face so hard her head flopped to one side. No one moved as eyes raced between the two marines: one cracking her neck again, the other glaring back as she slowly licked the blood oozing from her bleeding bottom lip.

Reverting back to his cop persona the former C-Sec Officer protested, "In all my years on the Citadel I never broke the law, never, not once."

Although her expression was hidden behind the tinted mask, it was clearly evident by Tali's posture she was visibly taken by Shepard's actions.

An equally stunned asari stood in shock as she looked back at the woman she thought she had come to know,

"Was that really necessary?"

Quickly glancing back between the soldier and the asari, Shepard retorted with a smug smile, "No! But it sure felt good."

The prothean expert looked to Tali for support as she placed Shepard's gun on the crate behind her but the quarian had started giggling uncontrollably at Shepard's answer. She couldn't help it. The young engineer was a giggler at heart, and the crass statement only fueled her innocent laughter. The confused professor slowly rubbed her temple while her other hand rested on her hip. She could only shake her head in disbelief at the scene unfolding before her.

The former C-Sec officer crossed his arms, deliberating Shepard's spontaneous and rash action, "Well, it was efficient."

"At least she finally shut up, I'm starving and she's talking about cake….makes my hump itchy" grumbled the krogan.