A/N: I have to apologize that the famous Extended Cut scene with the Normandy evac of injured Liara won't be included. While I liked it in the game, I wasn't certain there was much internal logic behind it. For one, the whole thing would have required significant time, which I really can't imagine them having at that point, with Harbinger constantly pewpewing at the Hammer forces. And while I like silly humor in my stories, I managed to successfully fight off the mental image of Harbinger being a good sport and standing there with a huge cigar in its firing chamber, taking a small ten minute breather for Normandy to swoop in, give Shepard and Liara time for more touching goodbyes and fly off again.
In the good news, it means that the Normandy won't somehow end up stranded on some garden world who knows where. I think I detest that nonsensical crap even more than I dislike the Star Brat.
Chapter 121 - The Suicidal Relay Charge
"Spirits, it looks like all the companies preceding us in this sector have been completely wiped out," Garrus curses, as the fourth wave finally hits the residential district, where the carcasses of the remaining buildings provide them with a semblance of cover. "I hope somebody is up there ahead of us," he adds.
"At least we heard from Shepard," Tali exhales in relief. "And I think that the lack of Reapers charging us probably means someone is still holding the fort in front of us."
"Or perhaps the Reaper forces have simply moved to another flank having destroyed our ground forces in this sector," EDI cheerfully offers, making both Tali and Garrus stare at each other desperately.
"EDI, you really need those optimism protocols installed," Tali finally sighs.
"What did Shepard say, exactly?" Garrus asks again, even if Tali has relayed everything almost word for word a few minutes ago.
"They are going to reach the Thanix missile firing range in approximately six minutes," the quarian repeats herself again, smiling inwardly, realizing that knowledge of Commander Shepard still being alive and kicking ahead of them brings great reassurance to everyone around. "There are still six surviving artillery companies from the third wave, which should be enough to bring down that destroyer."
"Shepard will do it, she will find a way," Garrus mutters under his breath, but his shoulders straighten noticeably and he grips his sniper rifle with increased fervor and determination from the news.
For a while, they continue their slow progress through the difficult terrain uninterrupted, until EDI speaks up suddenly. "Warning, friendlies ahead!" she informs the others, being the first one to rush towards the survivors of the third wave. The square before them seems to have witnessed a massive battle, the ground having become several feet deep pool filled with Reaper remains, here and there also a few dead Alliance marines and asari commandos.
"Isn't that..." Tali speaks up, surprised, pointing at a familiar figure ahead, slumped against the wall, cradling the still shape of an asari in her lap.
Garrus recognizes her too, even if her black and white form-fitting suit is almost unrecognizable under the blood and grime, her long black hair stained and forming an ugly, dirty mop. "You're right! It's Miranda!"
EDI is already well on her way towards the former Cerberus operative. "Miss Lawson," she speaks, having reached her former 'boss' on the Normandy. "Miss Lawson, you require medical aid."
Tali drops on her knees next to the injured human and quickly administers a large dose of medi-gel, watching Miranda's bleary eyes quickly snapping back to life as she shakes her head. "Miranda, it's me, Tali. Garrus and EDI are with me," she speaks quickly. "What happened here?" Tali asks, pointing at the asari, Miranda's arms still wrapped around her torso, even if the commando has been dead for a while now.
"So now the cavalry arrives... a bit late for her..." Miranda manages, it looks as if talking takes her immense effort. She reaches down and brushes her bloody, swollen lips against the asari's brow before lowering the dead commando on the ground. "Her name was Coreen Lemaes. I had never met her before... and she sacrificed her life to save mine. She died for the sake of a Cerberus cheerleader... what a laugh..."
"Former Cerberus cheerleader, Miranda," Tali reminds her, kindly.
"Yeah, Lawson, you already made up for everything at the Sanctuary, remember?" Garrus tells Miranda.
"We have more survivors here, but they are close to critical," EDI informs them, having made a quick sweep of the area. "They all need urgent medical help."
"Some of the commandos survived?" Miranda asks, looking surprised, but also relieved as she grabs Garrus' shoulder. "Help me get up and I can save them. Now!" she shouts, seeing that the turian hesitates, eventually pulling Miranda up.
Ignoring her own considerable and painful injuries, Miranda quickly sets to work, first on the young commando that she had helped earlier, removing the shrapnel from her leg. The maiden does not appear to have any critical injuries, except being heavily concussed and sporting some mildly severe burns, courtesy of harvester attacks. She is back on her feet soon enough, following Miranda around like a lost puppy, doing all she can to help her fellow commandos. In the end, they manage to get two more asari back on their feet and slowly moving behind the row of tanks, but not really being able to contribute in any meaningful way, except some wild and unfocused suppressive fire.
"So, what happened here, Lawson?" Garrus asks, as Miranda has joined them at the front of the company, looking almost like her old, confident self. "Most of the third wave are reaching the outskirts of the sector by now. Seems like your unit wasn't so lucky."
"Perhaps I should have remained with the Normandy after Sanctuary," Miranda offers a wry smile. "But I couldn't drag Ori into all that," she points overhead. "I had to fly into this battle on some old Blue Suns fighter that was barely holding itself together. And their ground team didn't fare much better, we must have been the weakest link in the whole third wave. After they were wiped out and I was left on my own, these commandos showed up... but eventually the Reapers just wore us down while we waited for support."
"Blame Anderson, not us, if it had been up to me-" here Garrus gets himself interrupted by a frustrated sounding Tali.
"If it had been up to you, you'd probably have gone in one of the first two waves, and you would have been dead by now," she sighs. "So I'm very glad that it wasn't up to you."
"And what about Shepard?" Miranda asks.
"They should be arriving at their destination as we speak, setting up artillery strikes against the destroyer," EDI informs them. "Our projected time of arrival is ten minutes, miss Lawson."
"Thank you, EDI," Miranda nods. "Well, let's hurry it up then, after all this I don't want to miss the fireworks."
"Whoa, didn't take her long at all to take charge, did it?" Tali whispers, leaning closer to Garrus, the turian's only reply being an amused chuckle.
"Have all the companies reported in yet?" Shepard asks on the comms, watching the engineers of the Able company beginning to prepare the Thanix missiles for launch. "Okay, got it. Shepard out," she acknowledges the brief reply from Major Coats. "The others still need a maximum of two minutes to set up," she tells to Liara and Aria, both plopped down heavily on the ground, taking the opportunity to rest.
"At least the attacks of their ground forces have slowed," Liara says quietly, sounding very exhausted. Blood is still soaking from somewhere inside her armor, forming a small blue pool next to her as she sits, the same goes for Aria, and Shepard is aware that she too has several wounds that have not been treated properly, all three of them already swimming in medi-gel, battered and bruised.
"How far do you think it is to that relay?" Aria asks, peering over the concrete slab, across the almost level field with only minimal cover provided by some crashed skycars.
"Less than a mile, I think," Shepard says, also looking ahead, a little concerned about the Reaper destroyer, wandering around the relay and occasionally firing its red beam of death and destruction in seemingly random direction. "We need to squish that bug before we even try to make that run, though. I sure hope you're both still capable of running," she adds worriedly.
"That's what we packed these for," Liara manages a weak smile, throwing a pack of stims to Morgan, then another one to Aria, the Pirate Queen scowling at the supplies and almost considering throwing them away, but then she reconsiders, possibly remembering about her many niggling injuries. "Don't use them until we have the command to begin the charge," Liara adds.
"Speaking of which, where are our promised fireworks, Shepard," Aria growls impatiently. "Tell those incompetent fools to hurry the fuck up!"
Shepard is about to make a sharp retort to Aria, when the commlink suddenly comes to life with a buzz and Major Coats orders them to get ready to fire the missiles the next time the Reaper can be seen priming its firing chamber for another attack. The wait is agonizing, and Morgan almost begins to think that the destroyer somehow senses that it is being targeted, knowing not to open fire, but then the familiar angry red glow starts to develop around its firing chamber and with a loud bang the Thanix missiles are launched, Shepard being able to count at least dozen of them, heading towards their enemy. Some of the missiles begin to sway oddly during their flight, as if some kind of interference is messing up with their targeting, but it cannot counter them all, and at least three or four connect cleanly with the opened firing chamber, just as the destroyer is launching the particle beam. Accompanied by resounding cheers of the attacking force, the destroyer slumps forward and then slowly collapses into a heap.
"Let's go!" Aria shouts, about to jump over the concrete slab and charge ahead, looking furious when Liara catches her hand and holds it firmly.
"Wait, I've got Anderson linking in on the comms," Shepard speaks sharply, forcing to cut off her own inward cheering. "We go on his signal, and that includes you too, Aria."
"Ah... fuck this," for a moment, Aria looks like she's about to dart ahead on her own, but then the asari reconsiders, slumping down in cover, uttering a stream of obscenities.
Shepard is about to tell Aria to keep quiet, but at that moment she hears Anderson's voice on the comms. "Coats, Shepard, good job everyone," he speaks. "Reaching your position in thirty seconds."
"Sir, shouldn't we go now, before the Reapers have react-" Shepard's words are cut off, as a malevolent, dark and chilling shadow suddenly falls all over them, the giant black shape landing just behind the relay beam blocks out almost every scrap of light. Standing as tall as the Sovereign, the Reaper capital ship simply looms there, as if inviting them to approach and challenge it.
"I believe you just learned about their reaction, Shepard," Anderson says grimly. "Hackett reported a while ago that Harbinger and several destroyers left the fight above... he didn't know where they were heading, but I understood immediately."
"Fuck... this is bad, this is very bad!" Shepard exclaims desperately. "Even if we have some Thanix missiles left, they won't do much to that sodding Harbinger!"
"That's correct, Shepard," Anderson continues on the comms. "We have only one course of action left before us. We throw everything we have towards the relay beam and hope that someone gets through before Harbinger kills us all."
"Has anyone ever told you how much your plans suck, David?" Shepard cannot resist the jibe, even if her heart is skipping and bouncing at the idea of making this incredible suicide run.
"Do you have a better idea, Shepard?" Anderson asks. Morgan remains quiet, biting her lip until it begins to bleed. "I thought so. We are waiting another two minutes for more of the last wave to arrive. Then we will begin our final attack."
"Copy that, sir," Shepard replies curtly, immediately switching to the comm frequency of the Normandy squad, trying to reach the others, lagging behind. "Garrus, where are you? You're going to miss out on the best part, buddy?"
"Managed to find some Reaper stragglers here, Shepard, just our luck," Garrus sounds very frustrated and angry. "In the good news, we found Lawson and some asari commandos. They're tagging with us, but since they're really banged up, we're moving slowly."
"Miri's alive? Thank the gods," Shepard breathes out a sigh of relief. "And what's your ETA?"
"Five minutes, Shepard," EDI replies.
"Oh, by that time we'll already be away, charging towards the relay and Harbinger sitting next to it, protecting the beam," Shepard lets out a dry chuckle, suddenly feeling strangely relieved with the knowledge that in a few minutes they will all be dead, turned to dust and ashes. "I'll be sure to reserve the best spots at that bar for us, Garrus."
"Keelah... Harbinger is here..." Tali joins in with a desperate cry. "It's not fair, it's just not fair!"
"If I reach the bastard, I promise I'll lodge a complaint," Shepard replies. "Hug her from me, Garrus, one last time. Just in case."
"Understood, Commander," Garrus replies grimly. "Good luck out there. We'll follow you as soon as we are able."
I almost want to tell him to grab Tali and get the hell out of here, but where would they run? Shepard thinks desperately. That little ship that could get lost has sailed... there is no retreat, not anymore.
"You two ready?" Morgan looks at Aria, then at a very gloomy looking Liara. "Oh, chin up, babe. We had a good run, didn't we? We nearly pulled this off, too. To fall just a sliver short... hurts, doesn't it?"
"We can still do it, Shepard," Liara says, quiet, subdued, but nevertheless determined.
"Foot race against Harbinger? I'd like to hope, but..."
"We can still do it, Shepard," the asari repeats stubbornly, before injecting herself with the stims, motioning for Aria and Morgan to do the same. "Believe until we're dead. While we breathe, we fight."
"T'Soni is right, I didn't come this far to stop, Shepard," Aria gives her a determined stare.
The stims in combination with the two asari expressing such faith in their success starts to slowly affect Morgan as well, making her forget all about their odds, once again bringing the objective of their mission back into the focus. Relay. Get to the relay. At any cost, get to that relay!
Anderson's order to begin the charge finally comes. The tanks advance first, the foot soldiers waiting for a few moments before leaving the cover and starting their mad dash towards the relay beam. They have gained perhaps a hundred yards at most when the Harbinger becomes aware of the movement, and the bone chilling thrumming sound of its death ray sweeps across the field, incinerating everything in its wide path.
Unlike in the case of the relatively smaller destroyers, Harbinger is able to fire its particle beam without any interruptions at all, and it sweeps across the battlefield, first aiming to target the tanks that have made the most inroads towards the relay, each blast of the beam taking at least one of the Mako's together with a dozen or so marines. Two from four of the Able company tanks have been destroyed already, the beam just narrowly missing Shepard, Liara and Aria, but many good marines running next to them have been vaporized, leaving behind nothing for burial, not even their tags.
"Don't run directly behind the tanks!" Shepard shouts on the comms, both to her group and Anderson, hoping that he will relay the information further. Fortunately, Liara and Aria are smart enough to have caught onto that already, running slightly behind Morgan. Despite the stims, Morgan is unable to run at full speed, the adrenal boost cannot overcome for the fact that some muscles in her legs simply are torn. Aria and Liara seem to be struggling behind as well, both running with a limp and wincing in pain.
At such close proximity to the particle beam, it is nearly impossible to dodge it if the Harbinger has already selected someone as its target, and the charge becomes a simple game of chance. The apparent leader of the Reaper forces, however, is very methodical in its attacks, removing all the tanks first, and now the beam shoots at another one of the Able company's vehicles, the violent explosion throwing it high in the air and over Shepard's head. Morgan continues to run like mad, knowing that she cannot stop during her charge, for the slightest hesitation could mean instant death, but suddenly, without even being able to see it, she simply feels that Liara and Aria are no longer running behind her. There is only the black smoking wreck of the destroyed tank behind her, where the two asari should be.
This sight does cause her to freeze in her tracks, despite her better judgment, as she switches on the comms. "Liara? Aria? Report... goddamnit, report!" she shouts. "Liara! Liara, are you alright, please report!"
"Shepard... I'm okay... I think..." comes the reply, but it is not the voice she is desperate to hear, instead it is Aria. "Damn, hurts all over... fucking tank buried T'Soni and myself, barely had time to put up our barriers, not that they did much!"
"Liara, what of her, do you see her, is she alright?" Shepard mutters frantically, continuing to move ahead, but without much focus or purpose, her attention solely on the wellbeing of her beloved.
"We're pinned under the tank... can't see much, got hit in the face... argh! Damn it, my eye, they took out my eye!" Aria screams on the comms, pain and anger in equal measure. "They... they will pay for this... T'Soni... I can touch her... seems out cold."
"Aria... so help me god, I'm going to..."
"She just groaned when I punched her, Shepard, she'll be alright unless that fucker fires on us again," if Aria's words are intended to bring reassurance, they fail horribly.
"That's it, I'm coming back for her," Shepard growls, stopping her run, about to turn back.
"No! No, don't you dare, Shepard!" Aria hisses. "You will keep running for the relay, you will get to the Citadel, do what the fuck you need to do, and you'll save Tevos and the girls. If you don't do that... I'm going to take my pistol and blow T'Soni's brains out, I swear!"
"Fuck... you wouldn't... fuck!" Morgan hesitates, unsure whether Aria is bluffing or not, then deciding that the Pirate Queen doesn't really have anything to lose anymore at this point, so she might as well be telling the truth. "Aria, you're a complete bitch, do you know that?" she shouts on the comms. "I'm running! You take care of Liara, you hear?"
"I will, just get going, Shepard!" Aria yells back.
Shepard's renewed charge proves very short-lived, however. The particle beam that now takes out the last of the Able Company tanks passes very close to her, the searing heat catching Morgan even despite her best attempts to dodge it. Her entire right side feels as if it has been dipped in boiling lava, the armor damaged from the brief impact, melting and cracking together with her raw and blistering skin now fused to the hardsuit, forcing her to scream in agonizing pain, the intense spike almost making her pass out. Screaming obscenities, tears streaming down her blood soaked face, Shepard pulls herself towards the wreck of a gunship ahead of her, with her last vestiges of strength throwing herself in the cover, resting with her back against the burned hull and continuing to time and time again cry out from the terrible pain of her burns.
"Has anyone made it through yet?" she hears Anderson's voice on the comms, just barely recognizing it, her senses too dulled from the pain.
"Negative, sir!" it sounds like the voice of Major Coats, though she is not completely sure. "We are not getting nowhere near! Permission to retreat and link up with the fourth wave?"
"Permission denied!" Anderson shouts, his reply predictable. "It's now or never, soldiers! We need to get to that relay, and we need to do it now! The fleets are counting on it!"
Well... I can hardly move... someone else will just have to do it, Morgan thinks, even as she begins to propel herself back to her feet, every little movement making her wince in pain. She grabs another pack of stims, injecting it without much thought about consequences of overdose, chuckling darkly as the conviction of her own inevitable death grows stronger again. It's not that far... she thinks, peering out from behind the gunship. There are some husks and marauders crowding the relay as well, but nothing too bad. Less than two hundred yards. Will probably take me thirty seconds or so, maybe more... damn, that's too much, the Harbinger will get me for sure...
As she is about to leave her cover and resume her stumbling towards the relay, the comm link comes to life again. She blinks her tired eyes, struggling to believe just who is trying to contact her. "Javik, you bastard... I know what you did to James... how could you?" she blurts out, not letting the Prothean say a word.
"Irrelevant. James had to be sacrificed. I had to slip away from the battle undetected, Commander," Javik speaks quickly. "I evaded the Reapers to reach the tanks of this Foxtrot Company. They were wiped out, but I managed to kill the remaining Reapers before they destroyed the tanks. I have six Thanix missiles primed to launch at the Harbinger."
"They won't even make a dent, you know that!"
"That is not my intention, Commander. But it might distract the Reaper long enough to give some of the troops time to reach the relay," Javik says.
Shepard ponders the idea quietly. "He will target your position, Javik. The chances of survival are... minimal," she finally speaks.
"Don't waste your time explaining the obvious, Commander," she can hear Javik snorting on the comms. "I am prepared to sacrifice everything to see the Reapers destroyed. Tell me that you are committed to do so as well, and I will launch the missiles."
"I am ready, Javik," Morgan replies without much thought. Farewell, Liara. Perhaps I can at least save this galaxy for you to be happy in, even if it won't be with me... that's not even important. Only you are. "You're a hell of a soldier, Prothy. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it."
"Appreciate it, Commander," Javik replies. "Now start running, you useless human! Launching missiles in five!"
Shepard smiles inwardly at Javik's final attempt to motivate her, jumping out of her cover well before the first missiles have been fired and beginning to charge. Harbinger is currently busy blasting something on the wing in which Major Coats is leading his attack, and it seems as if the monstrous capital ship is about to turn towards her, but at that exact moment, the first missiles reach the giant Reaper, managing something akin a light tickle through its impressive kinetic barriers, but it is enough to capture Harbinger's attention. The other missiles are well on their way by the time the Reaper opens fire at Javik's position, and Shepard hears a quiet grunt and sounds of violent explosions on the still open comms.
However, the plan appears to be working, Harbinger fires several more particle beams at the Foxtrot Company position and Morgan is already well on her way sprinting towards the relay, less than fifty yards remaining. Holding the Carnifex in her left hand and shooting wildly at the swarm or Reaper troops spreading loosely around the relay, she withdraws grenades with her right hand and tosses them at the cluster of marauders, watching with satisfaction as they drop like flies.
But even if the Harbinger does not manage to get a shot at her, the sheer numbers of the cannibals and marauders surrounding the relay prove too much for her. Harbinger's particle ray has not only ruined her armor, it has destroyed her field generator, meaning that her tech barriers have failed. She is completely defenseless against the barrage of shots, striking her chest, legs, barrage of bullets ripping her midsection open as she falls towards the relay, grievously injured, darkness taking her and she does not even feel her tortured body getting pulled into the relay and propelled towards the Citadel, in the sky above...