Only Human
Garrus had waited for so long to see her again. And there she was. Shepard was standing right in front of him. Alive. Within reach. The barrel of his gun wavered. But he didn't lower it completely. There was something off about her. A darkness in her eyes, a dangerous edge to her posture. His breath caught. He couldn't look away from her.
"Careful," Samara said, her low voice only audible to Garrus. "She's under the influence of the Ardat-Yakshi. I don't think she recognizes us. She appears to be... hostile."
What have you done to her? Garrus wanted to yell at them. Kamala was grinning. Varick had been worried that the invasion wouldn't give them enough time to completely secure Shepard's loyalty, but Kamala wasn't called the Scourge of the Terminus Systems for nothing. Shepard was like clay beneath her fingers, yielding and defenseless against her will. The Shadow Broker had been extremely pleased with her work. Shepard's newly improved biotic powers, combined with the most advanced prototype biotic implant ever created, could almost rival that of the Ardat-Yakshi herself. Once the resistance from her former team was dealt with, there would be nothing stopping Shepard from being wielded as the Shadow Broker's puppet.
The yahg leaned back, watching the events unfold. He was uncertain of how Shepard would react to seeing her supposedly-dead team. But the Ardat-Yakshi had been thorough. Even as the commander stood facing the team she herself had gathered, those whose loyalty she'd fought so hard to win... the woman wasn't batting an eyelash. He wondered if she would even flinch when he ordered her to shoot them all.
Varick's hand never strayed far from his weapon. He'd seen how Shepard responded whenever he brought up that turian, Garrus Vakarian. If anyone could sway her back to the other side, it would be him. Varick signaled discreetly to Tayir. The two of them had been given orders only to draw their weapons in defense or when the Broker gave the command, but if either had a clear shot at Vakarian, they weren't going to hesitate.
"How do we get the Ardat-Yakshi to release control?" Garrus breathed back to Samara.
"You'll have to kill her." So be it.
Garrus approached about a meter closer. Shepard saw the movement and mirrored him, blocking his line of sight to Kamala. The Ardat-Yakshi was manipulating Shepard, using her as a meat shield. She knew that as long as the commander was in harm's way, Garrus wouldn't take the shot. Leisurely, Kamala closed the distance between herself and Shepard. "Intruders," she hissed into Shepard's ear. Her fingers twitched, sparking blue, and the commander drew her pistol. Kamala easily picked a target for her: Kaidan. "That human, there. He'll be the first to die."
It was then that the team realized their mission had just gotten a lot more complicated. Shepard wasn't jumping for joy at the sight of her rescuers. In fact, she was pointing a gun at them. Within the space of three days, their commander had undergone the most rapid and frighteningly severe case of torture-induced Stockholm syndrome. They'd battled their way through the castle and made it up to the prisoner's tower only to discover that their princess, their damsel in distress, was more interested in blowing their brains out than being saved. Of all the things to go wrong.
Kaidan faced Shepard, glancing at the rest of the team as they backed away from him. Slowly, he met her gaze. Staring over the barrel of a gun, she was a completely different person. The hardness in her jaw was no longer the comforting sign of a commander who knew her way around the battlefield; now, it represented ruthlessness, and the very real possibility that she was about to riddle him full of lead. The tension of her posture, muscles tightened like coils ready to spring, was a sign of unpredictability, not the quick reflexes of a soldier ready to act. The woman before him was a weapon. There wasn't a trace of familiarity in her eyes. Only a film of black haze remained, like a massive oil spill in a once-clear gray sea.
"Shepard," he said. The commander showed no sign of hearing him. They were separated by mere meters, and Kaidan might as well have been talking at a wall. "It's me. Kaidan." That got a rise out of her, unfortunately on the wrong end of the spectrum. She cocked the pistol. He shortened the gap between them even further. Behind her, Kamala shifted uneasily. The human was getting too close.
The rest of the Broker's forces, however, seemed intrigued by the exchange, taking their cue from the Shadow Broker's relaxed pose. They didn't see the infiltrators as a threat. In fact, they appeared almost amused by their arrival, as if they were providing excitement to an otherwise dull day. They were content to watch how everything played out.
They didn't consider Shepard's team dangerous. And that would be their downfall. Moving slowly so as not to attract attention to himself, Garrus equipped a concussive shot to his assault rifle. He knew that any other type of rounds wouldn't do much damage to a biotic barrier, but if he could get enough kinetic force to rattle Kamala's concentration for even a second, Shepard would have the opportunity to shake free of her control. More importantly, it might distract Kamala long enough for one of the others to take her out. As soon as Shepard realized whose side she was really on, Garrus and the rest of the team would get her out of there and make a speedy exit. And if that didn't work, they'd kill everyone in the room. The more Garrus thought about it, the more likely it seemed like the second option would come to pass.
That all hinged on Garrus being able to hit the Ardat-Yakshi. But the asari was doing a good job of hovering behind Shepard. There was no way he'd be able to get off a clean shot unless she slipped up and made a mistake. Garrus felt his heartbeat quicken. The gun pointed at Kaidan's face might as well have been a ticking time bomb. If Kamala didn't shift into range soon, Shepard was going to shoot her closest friends one-by-one, starting with Alenko. Garrus thought it was a safe bet that he wouldn't be too far behind. Come on. Give me an opening.
"She's messing with your head, Commander," Kaidan said, his steady voice softening, trying to get through to her. Garrus realized that he was moving in an arc around her. Kamala would have to choose whether she was going to expose her back to Shepard's team, or risk Kaidan's biotic attacks. Garrus's fingers flexed around his Vindicator. You've got the right idea, Alenko. Just a little further...
But before the angles had a chance to line up, Kaidan abruptly halted."Don't let them win," he said to Shepard, so quietly that not even Kamala caught all of it. That was when Kaidan realized that absolutely nothing he could say or do was going to prevent Shepard from pulling that trigger. So he took a deep breath and clenched his fists, eyes locked with Shepard's. Even as he saw her finger start to curl, the only thought racing through his mind was how much he wanted his commander to know that he still believed in her.
Boom. The sound of the pistol was deafening, much louder than it should have been. Garrus jumped. Beside him, he heard Liara gasp. Then, the characteristic ping of the round embedding in a sheet of metal across the room. What the... Kaidan wasn't dead. The bullet had grazed his cheek. He was extremely startled, but alive. He raised a gloved hand to his face, pulling it away red. Blood was running down the side of his face. He stared at Shepard in disbelief, who remained still as stone.
"You missed!" Kamala spat, her brow knitting furiously. Her eyes flashed darker than the blackest abyss of space, then her biotics flared up. Shepard jerked forward, as if on a string.
"Kill him," the Shadow Broker ordered from where he sat, his gravelly voice devoid of any emotion. But he knew something had gone wrong. Shepard had missed the shot. Purposely.
Kamala seized Shepard by the arm, wrenching her over to Kaidan. Dammit! The two of them were too close. And now Kaidan had been thrown into the mix. There was no way he was going to be able to hit Kamala. Time for Plan B. He tore his helmet off from the back, completely abandoning decorum. He just needed the Ardat-Yakshi to be distracted for a split second. That was all she'd need. Before anyone could stop him, Garrus wound back and chucked the helmet across the room.
He was sure it was going to nail Kamala right in the back of the head when it was stopped mid-flight, suspended by a halo of blue energy. Shepard turned, dark hair whipping back. Pistol still pressed into Kaidan's temple, she had somehow managed to catch the damn thing. Plan B was a failure. Shepard's gloved fingers balled into a fist. The helmet was crushed, crumpling like a wad of paper. Her murky eyes scanned the row of hostiles, searching for the source of the projectile. She immediately settled on Garrus.
She knows it's me. She has to. She has to know. There was a flicker of something in those discolored eyes. Hesitation. The helmet clattered to the ground, Shepard's concentration broken. The pistol at Kaidan's forehead went limp in her hand, its barrel slipping down to his neck. Her brow furrowed and for the briefest moment, Garrus saw that same shade of gray in his commander's eyes, a phantom of her old self briefly fighting to the surface. As quickly as it had come, it was gone. She seemed to snap back to reality, goaded by Kamala's poisonous words.
On the other side of the room, no one noticed Varick raising a sniper rifle, lining up the scope with Vakarian's now very exposed head...
Kamala gave the back of Shepard's neck a sharp yank, forcing her to look at Kaidan. The light in her eyes extinguished. Whatever chance Garrus had at getting her to recognize him had vanished. His heart raced, the insistent pounding making it impossible to focus. The irregular thumping quickened further still when out of the corner of his eye, he saw Liara and Miranda, of all people, silently coordinating a synchronized biotic attack. If they lashed out too soon, there would be no hope of sneaking off a concussive shot at Kamala.
The Broker's elite troops had abandoned their lax attitudes and were tensing for a firefight. The yahg was leaning forward on his elbows, lifeless eyes screaming for blood. The pounding in Garrus's head crescendoed, drums counting down the time Alenko had left. Garrus could make out the human's resolute expression beneath the swath of crimson marring his face. Shepard was about to finish him off. Miranda and Liara were on the verge of taking matters into their own hands. Unbeknownst to Garrus, a pair of cross-hairs were settling on the crest of his forehead. A slow smile spread over the Shadow Broker's alien features, a twisted grimace of triumph at the approaching success of his plan. The drums beat impossibly louder. Kamala leaned in to Shepard, whispering the kill order. She was out of reach. And Garrus was out of time.
The gunshot was a clap of thunder, explosive and powerful. The thought had barely occurred to Garrus before he made the decision. A miniscule shift in aim, and he pulled the trigger, sending a concussive round right in between his commander's shoulder blades. That single shot set off an unstoppable chain reaction, like so many dominoes falling into place. Kamala recoiled, suddenly exposed as Shepard's body slammed into the ground. Samara led the attack against the Ardat-Yakshi, flanked by Miranda and Liara. The Shadow Broker's agents opened fire on Shepard's team, sending them all diving for cover. All of them except Garrus.
He vaulted over an upright metal structure being used as cover by Jack, Thane, Zaeed, and Grunt. He had to get to Shepard. Drag her to safety before the Ardat-Yakshi or any of the other Broker agents got to her.
But Kamala had other plans. She swept away Samara, Miranda, and Liara with a single biotic push. Behind her, Kaidan was putting up a hasty barrier and sprinting towards cover, sustaining several hits from the Shadow Broker's agents. Garrus was about to put a burst of armor-piercing rounds in the Ardat-Yakshi's torso when suddenly, Kamala whirled to face him. She was wreathed in blue flame, practically consumed by the dark energy. She yanked the gun from his grip, nearly breaking his wrists in doing so. Unarmed against an asari commando, Garrus took what he felt was the only option left to him: he surged forth to tackle her.
The next thing Garrus knew, he was being thrown into the ceiling, his body no match for the biotic tsunami unleashed by Kamala. She brought him back down twice as hard, his armor doing little to cushion his landing. His spine connected with the ground, nerve endings flashing warning signals to his brain in frantic waves of pain. He gasped. Dark colored spots danced in his vision. He tried to roll onto his stomach, to reorient himself and get back on his feet, but before he could, the Ardat-Yakshi's foot came down hard on his throat. Her lips twisted back in a malicious grimace as she drove her heel onto his windpipe.
"You've changed nothing," Kamala snarled. "You can't beat me. She's mine now."
Varick resisted the temptation to put a bullet in Vakarian's head as he lay trapped beneath Kamala's feet. The turian had made a mess of their operations in Nos Astra, and there was nothing more that Varick would have liked than to exact his vengeance right then and there. But once Kamala had her teeth in him, he had no choice but to back off. Especially after spending all that time in Shepard's head, the Ardat-Yakshi had taken personal interest in Vakarian and that human, Alenko. Varick decided to let it go. He wouldn't begrudge her those kills. Besides, he had enough on his hands with the other ten members of Shepard's team. They were smart – as soon as bullets started flying, they'd taken to the nearest pieces of cover. Varick gritted his teeth. They might lose a handful of agents, but it would still only be a matter of time until they were victorious.
Even with the Ardat-Yakshi's heel threatening to collapse his airway, Garrus managed to turn his head to the side to catch a glimpse of Shepard. He spotted her limp form crumpled in a heap. A wave of adrenaline spiked within him. What if he'd hit her in the back of the head, shattering her frail human skull? Or perhaps he'd hit her right on the spine, paralyzing her. He bucked upwards in an attempt to throw Kamala off balance. She wasn't having any of that. Biotics charged, she clamped her vice-like fingers around his throat and lifted him up, dark energy constricting his limbs and keeping him several inches off the ground. The team shifted their fire to Kamala. But it was no use; a combination of suppression tactics from the Broker's agents and Kamala's own barrier prevented them from touching her.
"She begged for me to end her life," Kamala hissed, her words sharply becoming pointed daggers that dug into Garrus, twisting further and deeper. Her vicious sneer widened. "She surrendered. Completely."
Only a few meters away from where Kamala was choking Garrus, Shepard rolled onto her back. Her gray eyes blinked sightlessly up at the ceiling. She was vaguely aware of a battle raging around her, a storm of bullets and fire. But her mind was elsewhere: specifically, Omega.
A platoon of mercs lay in wait. No, a battalion. Ready to swarm the building where the next recruit had barricaded himself. Archangel, Omega's head vigilante. Chances of escape slimming. Go. Storm the bridge. Divert attention. Take out the other freelancers. They're only getting in the way. Look up at Archangel, nod to let him know he has back-up. But then... a blinding flash, a bone-shattering impact. A meteor? Thunder? Just a concussive round. He thinks we're here to kill him? Nothing's broken. Get up, get rid of the helmet. Kill the last of the freelancers and make it into the base. Climb the stairs and find him there. "Archangel?" Garrus. It's Garrus. Exhausted, worn-out, wonderful Garrus. Express elation at seeing him alive. Dying to know how he's been. Then, "You nailed me good a couple of times, by the way." "Concussive rounds only, no harm done." A slight tilt of his head. Amusement. "Didn't want the mercs getting suspicious." Oh sure. "If I wanted to do more than take your shields down, I'd have done it. Besides, you were taking your sweet time. I needed to get you moving." Need to get moving. Get moving... GET MOVING. MOVE!
Shepard staggered to her feet. At first, her thoughts trickled together like molasses, taking in her surroundings as if she'd suddenly woken from a long, restless sleep. Then, they burst forth from within her, breaking down the dam of uncertainty and shadow that Kamala had built. Her fists clenched. She knew what she had to do.
"Let him go!" The sound of Shepard's voice made Kamala's head snap to face her. Amethyst eyes blinked in shock. Her trophy was rebelling. This wasn't supposed to happen. Things were not going according to plan. With a mighty shove, the Ardat-Yakshi threw Garrus into the wall, the only sound he made a loud thunk. Shepard's chest was heaving. She didn't know if he was alive. But she couldn't break her focus. Not with Kamala turning towards her, eyes darkening like clouds gathering for a storm...
"You forget your place," she said. "Get back -"
"No." The gunfire had stopped. Everyone was holding their breath. If Kamala regained her hold on Shepard, the battle was lost. But if Shepard resisted her, they still had a fighting chance.
"Come on, Shepard," the Ardat-Yakshi said, her voice low and alluring. Those dark eyes threatened to swallow her whole. Shepard gulped, her breath coming in short, ragged gasps. "Don't forget your loyalties. Not now."
Loyalties. Shepard stared right into the Ardat-Yakshi's eyes. Stared right into the void. "I won't."
Kamala began to smile. Shepard took a step towards her. The team looked on in disbelief. Their commander couldn't be giving up. She couldn't. There was no way.
Energy flared to life around Shepard, igniting her in blue. A wave of her hand, and an enormous barrier formed that closed off half the room. Closed the Shadow Broker and his forces off from her, Kamala, and twelve of Shepard's closest friends. "I'm loyal to my team."
Behind her, she could hear the others readying their weapons, preparing to gun down the Ardat-Yakshi on Shepard's command. But before she could give the kill order, Kamala raised a barrier of her own, cutting Shepard off from her support.
"Just you and me now, Shep," Kamala said, pink tongue wetting her lips in anticipation.
"I'll kill you for what you've done," she replied.
"How will you kill me if you're kneeling at my feet?"
"You won't touch me," Shepard hissed, teeth gritted.
Blue waves rippled around Kamala as she manipulated the dark energy. Shepard's chin lifted defiantly. The Ardat-Yakshi raised her fist. "We'll see about that."
There was an explosion of biotics as they charged. It was impossible to distinguish one from the other – they became two swirling blue blurs in the center of the room, two galaxies colliding in a cosmic supernova of epic proportions.
Liara drew her pistol and fired several shots at the barrier that Kamala had put up to cut them off from Shepard. She thought she saw the Ardat-Yakshi cringe, like it was the very fibers of her being that Liara was pumping full of lead. She addressed the team: "Bring down the barrier! Now!" As long as Shepard was trapped inside that biotic bubble with the Ardat-Yakshi, there was no way the commander was going to make it out alive. She needed help. She needed her team.
Shepard staggered forward after being thrown back against her own barrier, her blue tipped hand reaching up to brush the implant buzzing at the base of her skull. Her body was working over time, burning what few calories that were left in her system like wild fire through a dried-out forest. She could barely keep up the barrier that protected her from the Broker's sudden onslaught of incendiary rounds. Kamala threw a warp at her; Shepard dove out of the way just in time, launching to her feet in a blaze of fury. One way or another, the fight was about to end.
Kamala easily dodged Shepard's throw field, twisting her lithe body out of harm's way. But she'd fallen right into the commander's trap: a biotic shockwave took her feet out from beneath her. Shepard seized her chance, pouncing on the Ardat-Yakshi and pinning her to the ground. She wound her fist back, but before she could deliver the killing blow, Kamala clamped down on her forearm, wrenching her to the side so she could gain the advantage. She wrestled Shepard onto her back. Her deft lilac hands move to crush her windpipe.
Garrus forced himself into an upright position. He could feel his throat bruising from Kamala's strangle hold. His armor's kinetic shields had sustained most of the damage from being thrown into the wall, but every movement had suddenly turned into violent, stabbing pain. Shadows started to creep into the edge of his vision, yet before he could black out, the suit administered a heavy dose of medi-gel, laced with enough painkillers to simulate a krogan's redundant nerve system. He lurched to his feet. The first thing his eyes fell on was the biotic bubble in the center of the room. And then, the Ardat-Yakshi with her fingers wrapped around Shepard's neck, eyes black as coal. She was trying to assert her control once more.
"Shepard!" he yelled. I can't lose her like this. I won't. "Shepard!" He drew his pistol and fired, joining the squad in their attempts to bring down the barrier and reach the commander.
Shepard didn't know if it was lack of oxygen that started to turn her vision dark, or if it was a sign of Kamala's influence overpowering her. Whatever it was, she struggled against it. Hard. But she could only hold on for so long; with all that she'd endured during the past few days, not to mention all the energy she'd already exerted trying to defeat Kamala... she'd reached her limit. She had nothing left. After all, she was only human.
But then, she heard Garrus calling her name. He'd come for her. Despite everything that the Shadow Broker had thrown at him and the rest of her team, he was still fighting for her.
Just as Kamala was sure she'd won, she felt Shepard surge upwards, throwing her off. The asari shrieked in pain when the back of her head snapped back and hit the unforgiving metal ground. She'd barely gasped her final agonized breath before Shepard was on top of her, driving her elbow into her chest to keep her down. Gray eyes like steel lances bore into her.
"You'll pay for all the pain you've caused," Shepard whispered. Her fist was raised above her head, pulsing with dark energy. In that last moment, Shepard saw the cloud of midnight ink disappear from the Ardat-Yakshi's eyes, the fuchsia color returning as Kamala realized what was about to happen. There was a flash of remorse, a flicker of regret in her hardened features. So Kamala's actions had finally come around to get her. Some part of her always knew that she would have to answer for her crimes. Tears shone on the Ardat-Yakshi's face. Her lips parted, sighing her acceptance. If anyone was going to serve her justice, of course it would be Shepard.
The commander did her duty as executioner and avenger. She brought her fist down into the Ardat-Yakshi's head, pulverizing her skull with biotic energy. There was a wet, crunching sound. Kamala Nasar was dead. After centuries of tormenting victims for the sake of her own power, the Ardat-Yakshi's lonely life had finally ended. A shudder wracked Shepard's body. She got to her feet unsteadily, one gloved hand reaching up to wipe at a splash of dark blood around her mouth. Exhausted, her barrier sputtered out. And upon realizing she was vulnerable to the Shadow Broker's attacks, she collapsed to the floor.
"Open fire!" Garrus yelled. The team did so, without hesitation. The yahg was getting to his feet. He smashed his own desk, roaring angrily as the pieces spun towards their cover. The Ardat-Yakshi was dead, but the battle wasn't over yet. Shepard was still in danger. Garrus had to get her to safety. "Cover me!"
He sprinted towards her, laying in a pool of the asari's blood, and picked her up by the waist without bothering to check if she was alive. She was much lighter than he was used to – maybe it was the effects of torture and starvation, or maybe just the lack of her power armor. Whatever the reason, he was able to haul her back to cover without too much difficulty. By the time they slid behind the square metal structure, his shields were completely drained.
But for that brief instant, everything was right again. On the dawn of the fourth day, Garrus and Shepard were, at long last, reunited. Kneeling there, he clutched her closer, tucking the crown of her head beneath his chin. As weak as she was, Shepard reached up to wrap her arms around his neck, pulling herself in to feel his skin against her forehead. She wanted to tell him that she'd thought he was dead. That she had never expected to see him again. She wanted to explain the bursting emotion she felt at the sight of him. At the sight of the whole team, coming to rescue her. As it was, she was only able to choke out his name. "Garrus." It somehow expressed more feeling than any other combination of words could have. Salty tears blazed down her cheeks, cutting a path through the mask of still-warm blood splattered on her face.
"I'm here." He tightened his hold on her. "I'm here, Shepard."
The pounding of the yahg's feet across the room and another fearsome roar made Garrus remember that the fight still had yet to be won. He had to get up. His work wasn't finished. With Shepard in the state she was in, he was still needed to lead the team. He called Kaidan over to coordinate.
"Stay with her!" he ordered. His biotics would give Shepard the protection she needed. It went unsaid that Kaidan would guard her life with his own. He handed Garrus his assault rifle. If he was going to face down the rest of the Broker's forces, the turian was going to need it.
Shepard couldn't let go of his arm right away. Part of her wanted to beg him not to leave her. What if he was killed by the yahg, who would no doubt be infuriated with him for ruining his plans? She bit her lip. She didn't' see herself walking out of the Shadow Broker's lair alive, not without him at her side. But she understood that if Garrus didn't take his place at the head of the team, none of them would be walking out alive. She seized him by the back of the neck and met his lips for a rough kiss. After what was barely two seconds, she pulled away and looked up at him, giving a single nod. He returned it, then got to his feet and joined Liara behind her piece of cover.
"They're at about half strength!" Liara informed Garrus, updating him on the situation. She launched a warp at one of the agents trying to flank them. He dove behind a metal column just in time. She cursed under her breath for wasting the energy. "We won't be able to make a real dent in them until we take out the Broker – watch out!" The yahg had procured a rapid-firing machine gun and was hosing their cover down. The two of them ducked into safety with milliseconds to spare.
Leaning back against their cover, Garrus scanned the room, checking the status of his team. There appeared to be two fatalities. Someone had dragged Kasumi and Jacob to the back of the room, mostly out of harm's way. Though if they were really dead, Garrus didn't think anyone would have jeopardized themselves for a teammate that was already gone. Spirits, please let them live. For the time being, his hurried prayer was all that he could do for them. He shifted his focus back to the main objective: taking out the Shadow Broker.
"Grunt, Liara, Miranda: concentrate your fire on the Broker. The rest of you, provide a diversion and get rid of as many agents as you can."
"Understood."
"We're on it, Garrus!" The end was in sight, and they all planned on crossing the finish line at full speed.
Garrus and Liara left their cover, catching the Broker's attention immediately. He swung the chain gun in their direction and sent a wide arc of gunfire swinging towards them. They split up, Liara running for a massive, sturdy console unit that bullets ricocheted off of, while Garrus dashed for one of the metal columns currently occupied by a Broker agent. He threw the black-clad agent out of the way with one hand, setting him up to be taken out by a clean head shot; somewhere, Thane was watching his back. Garrus reminded himself to thank the drell later if they both made it out alive.
The yahg gave the machine gun a moment to cool down, then started moving towards where Garrus was currently holed up. Liara seized the opportunity and launched a singularity at him. It didn't quite lift the yahg off the ground as she'd hoped, but it did cause him to lose his balance, making him wave around the enormous detached energy shield on his left hand.
"Quick, while he's vulnerable!" Liara alerted the others.
Miranda launched an overload tech attack and a warp in quick succession, but it wasn't enough. Garrus realized it was going to take a bit more aggressive approach. He signaled to Grunt, who was firing a concussive shot from his Claymore. The krogan bobbed his large head. He knew what they were about to do without having to be told. Garrus looked back to Liara. "I need you to hit him with a singularity again."
Liara nodded her affirmation, and it occurred to Garrus that she was burning through the last of her energy. All of them were. It was a miracle, a feat of sheer will-power, that none of them had dropped to the ground simply out of exhaustion. Almost there. We can do this.
Liara closed her eyes, resting against the metal construct for a moment as she gathered her strength. Every moment of the past two years of her life had been spent working towards that moment. She was going to be able to save her commander. To lay Feron's death to peace in her mind. To confront the Shadow Broker, once and for all, for all the lives he'd broken. Teeth gritted, Liara's eyes snapped open. She was ready to let the Broker taste her fury.
Hurdling over the construct unit, Liara braced her biotic power at her fingertips. The yahg whirled around to face her, predatory eyes narrowing in on his kill. But Liara was faster. A burst of energy left her, a vicious war cry ripping from her throat. The singularity found its mark, smacking into the Broker and leaving him open to attack.
"Now!" Garrus and Grunt sprinted from their cover, streaking towards the yahg. The suppression team hit the Shadow Broker's troops even harder, exposing themselves in order to give Garrus and Grunt's charge some chance at success. Before the Shadow Broker could shake himself free of the gravity of the infinitely huge mass, Garrus threw his weight right into the yahg's chest, sending the hulking creature stumbling. Grunt slammed into him from the side with all the force of a runaway train, flattening him into the ground. Garrus was about to unleash a a concentrated spray of fire into the weak spot at the yahg's throat, but as soon as his finger hit the trigger, the yahg darted out of the way, unexpectedly nimble.
The Shadow Broker regained his stance. Machine gun lost, he used the only weapon left to him: his strength. He braced the orange energy shield and charged at Garrus.
Kaidan had wrapped himself and Shepard in a barrier, making his way towards the back of the room to the largest piece of cover he could find. Shepard felt weak in his arms, her dead weight slumping against him. The moment they were out of immediate targeting range, he relaxed the barrier and let the commander lean on his shoulder. He caught his breath. There was no way she was falling back into the hands of the Broker now. All Kaidan had to do was make sure that she survived. He flexed his fingers inside his gauntlet, then gently searched her neck for a pulse.
Shepard responded immediately, suddenly seizing Kaidan by the arm and trying to wrench him away from her throat. She thrashed desperately for a painful moment before Kaidan was able to calm her. "It's me, Shepard! It's Alenko!" She froze, then whirled around to face him. Instead of relief on her features, Kaidan only saw determination.
"Watch my six." Her jaw was set, and there was fire in her steely gray eyes.
"No. You're hurt. We came all this way, Commander. I know better than to let you go!"
Her gaze rested on his mouth for a moment. Then, she looked up at him with a slight furrow in her brow. "Forgive me." She hit him square in the chin with a feisty uppercut, just enough for Kaidan to release her. She tore out of cover, streaking into a biotic blue charge. Out of Kaidan's reach. He wielded his pistol in one hand, a throw field in the other. No one was going to hurt his commander anymore. Not even herself.
Garrus and Grunt both had their shoulders pressed up against Shadow Broker's detached shield, thinking that maybe their combined strength would be enough to bring the yahg down. It wasn't. The shield was the Broker's ultimate defense. As soon as it fell, so would he. Their boots were slipping on the hard metal ground. Grunt bared his teeth. "PUSH!" The two of them gave a little slack before ramming themselves back into the shield. The Broker held firm. We didn't get this far to be undone by this ugly bastard. Another shove. Nothing.
A blazing blue comet jetted towards them from the other end of the room. Garrus thought fleetingly that Jack had smuggled in another heavy weapon and was coming to their aid with a missile launcher. Then, he heard the signature warble of biotics.
She crashed into the yahg like an asteroid burning through atmo and hammering the crust of the earth. Garrus and Grunt were blown back as the detached shield exploded in a burst of energy. Garrus skidded along the ground. He realized what had just happened. Spirits, just keep her alive for five more seconds. That's all I ask. I'll take care of the rest. But even five seconds might have been too generous.
Head thrown back, fists raised for an attack, Shepard faced the Shadow Broker. He was the one who had ordered all this. The reason she'd thought her teammates dead. There was no way he was walking away from the mess he'd created. Their gaze met for the briefest of moments. Shepard didn't hesitate to lunge.
The yahg had Shepard outmatched pound for pound. There was no mercy in his eyes when he struck her dead center, trifolds of teeth ripping into her torso. Her legs gave out, and she hit the ground with a muffled cry. But the Broker wasn't done with her yet; he scooped her up in one mighty hand, then threw her across the room as if she were nothing more than a rag doll.
"Shepard!" Liara screamed. The yahg's focus snapped to her. His angry bellow shook the room like a clap of thunder.
"This is the end, T'Soni." He watched the asari's face, waiting for that sweet look of defeat that was bound to sweep across her features at any moment. She was shaking, every muscle in her body pulled taut.
"Yes," she said, her voice low and clear despite her trembling. "Yes, it is." With the last bit of strength inside her, Liara brought her arms above her head, glowing blue. The yahg looked on in confusion. It was the first time he didn't know exactly what was going on in many, many years. But a second later, it hit him. Liara shattered the cryogenic capacitor in the ceiling, a cascade of burning ice engulfing the yahg.
An awful howling filled the room. Liara retreated from it, trying to extract herself from its path. "Get down!" Garrus was on his feet, the sights of his pistol centered on the yahg's enormous head. Cryo fluid ran down its face. Its mouth gaped, teeth flaring in an agonized roar. Die, you monster. He squeezed the trigger.
A bluish white explosion bloomed, sending shards of ice splintering in every direction. Garrus protected his face from the worst of the blast, yet he could still feel ice like heated knives piercing his underweave. He took one staggering step back. When he lowered his arm, there was no evidence that there had ever been a yahg in the room with them.
"Get to the shuttle!" The last of the Broker's forces were fleeing. Garrus raised his pistol, emptying his clip at their cowardly backs. Just before the shuttle doors slid closed, Varick whirled around to face Garrus, dark eyes gleaming malevolently. The thermal clip thunked out of his gun. The shuttle departed. Varick, the krogan, and at least two more of the Broker's troops escaped.
"We need to pursue!" Garrus wanted to make every last bastard who'd laid a hand on Shepard pay in tenfold. He took a staggering step forward. There was blood oozing into his underweave, from his old wounds reopening as well as more than a few new ones.
"Garrus." Liara's hand was on his shoulder, her expression tearful and anxious. With a gentle nudge, she directed his attention towards the whole purpose of their mission: Shepard.
Kaidan had sprinted to Shepard's side as soon as she'd hit the ground. He cursed himself for letting her distract him long enough to risk her life. "Commander!" She was on her stomach, trying to lift herself up on her elbows. A pool of red had formed beneath her. She couldn't even manage sitting up. But before she could sink back into the warm red puddle, Kaidan grabbed her by the shoulders, kneeling by her and pulling her into a somewhat upright position. "You're safe now, Commander."
Shepard winced, her breath coming in tortured whimpers. Her hand went to her abdomen, where the yahg's teeth had ripped into her. Kaidan had no idea how deep it was, but the gash ran the length of her ribs, ending with ragged holes poked around her hips. He waved his omni-tool over her frantically, applying as many doses of medi-gel as he had. But it wasn't enough to staunch the immense blood flow. Shepard's head tilted back, resting in the crook of Kaidan's elbow. "This hurt a lot less the first time," she said. Her teeth were no longer gritted against the pain. The crease in her brow smoothed.
"It's okay, Shepard." Kaidan slid his hand around to the back of her head, taking the strain off her neck. "Take it easy." He hadn't been there for her when she'd died on the Normandy. He didn't plan on making that mistake again. "It's all over now." He leaned over and sealed her lips with the kiss he'd never had the chance to give her on Nos Astra.
"Dr. T'Soni, we may have ourselves a situation," Miranda said, leaning over the master command console, a tone of urgency betraying her fear. Alarms were going off in every sector of the ship. Troops were radioing in to demand the Broker's status, and whether or not the intruders had been dealt with. Liara rushed to Miranda's side. The Shadow Broker's network was incomprehensibly vast. Data streamed in terabytes at a time. A moth beat its wings on the other side of the galaxy, and the Broker knew about it. There was something intoxicating about not only the volume of information contained within the consoles, but also the power it promised.
"Artemis Team, reporting in."
"Strike Team Zeta, awaiting your orders, Shadow Broker."
"We've got outages in sectors eight, nine, and eleven. Recommend course of action?"
Liara leaned forward. She knew what she had to do. "This is the Shadow Broker. Resume all standard operations. On-duty engineers, report to Quadrant Delta to deal with the power. I want a status report in the next solar day."
"Affirmative."
"Acknowledged."
"On your command, Shadow Broker."
Miranda slowly swiveled to look at Liara. At the new Shadow Broker. The asari's hands flew at the controls, slipping comfortably back into her role as an information broker. She wielded the various streams of data expertly, as if it had been tailored just for her. "I... I can help. There's another emergency shuttle docked at the Broker's private port. We can get Shepard and the rest of the wounded to the nearest medical facility!"
"What if she doesn't make it?" Miranda asked. She glanced over her shoulder. The crew had sprung into a flurry of motion, patching up the wounded and trying to prevent anyone from bleeding out. Miranda saw a pool of crimson beneath Shepard's inert form, spreading out in a web around Alenko. Garrus was hobbling over to her side. She caught a glimpse of Shepard's face. It was drained of color. She was losing blood. Fast. "Isn't there some kind of infirmary on this station?"
"Yes. But I don't believe it's fully equipped to deal with the extent of the commander's injuries. At this point, I'm not even sure we'd be able to stabilize her. But with the shuttle, we could fly her back to Nos Astra Emergency Trauma Center. She needs the best medical care available, and she needs it now."
"She won't hold out that long."
"She's just as likely to die on the operating table here without experienced doctors."
The two of them looked at each other. Their commander's life was hanging in the balance. A decision had to be made in a matter of seconds, or she would be truly lost to them.
"Garrus!"
They quickly explained the situation to him, as calm and collected as physically possible while Shepard was mere meters away, bleeding out. Garrus had seen first-hand the shape she was in; he was the best judge of whether she'd last the journey back to Nos Astra, or if it was better to hold her in the Broker's infirmary for a patch job.
If she died, it would be his fault. Everything would have been in vain. But if she lived, all the sacrifice and heartache would be justified. The whole mission came down to one decision: rely on the Broker's medical facility to get Shepard through, or risk transporting her to Nos Astra, where she'd surely have a better chance.
"Get the most severely wounded to the shuttle. As soon as Shepard's in, we're getting them out of here."
Miranda didn't question him. If Garrus thought the trauma center on Nos Astra was Shepard's best shot at survival, then she would do everything in her power to get them there. Without missing a beat, she mobilized Samara, Grunt, Zaeed, and Jack to get Kasumi and Jacob onto the escape shuttle. Liara remained posted at the Broker's console, getting the station back to some semblance of functionality so that her wounded teammates could flee in safety.
Garrus jogged over to where Mordin and Kaidan were bent over Shepard. The commander was motionless, the comforting rise and fall of her chest conspicuously absent. Her cybernetics glowed faintly beneath her unnaturally pale skin. "Heart rate slowing to compensate for blood loss. Clotting factors haven't kicked in – possible aftermath of prolonged torture. Multiple gunshot wounds, broken ribs. Detected hairline fractures around base of skull, near biotic implant." Mordin looked up from his scan. "Probability of death: extremely likely."
"Is it safe to move her?" Garrus demanded.
"This stage? Any movement would rapidly increase rate of blood loss. Intensify pain considerably."
"I understand, Doctor." Garrus blinked down at Shepard. She was so fragile. So dangerously close to being lost forever. So very... human. "Shepard: we're getting you out of here." The peaceful expression on her face shattered like a pane of glass as soon as she opened her eyes.
"I can't," she rasped. "Let me... just let me..."
"No. Kaidan, get her into the shuttle."
"But... Garrus, she's suffering. She's not going to -"
"That's an order, Alenko."
"Can't you see that she's dying?" Kaidan shot back. "We've done everything that we can. This is it for her."
The whole room went silent, as if time itself were suspended. The only movement was that of the dark red circle around Kaidan, Garrus, and Shepard growing steadily larger, pressings its borders out further and further. After battling through the hordes of Shadow Broker troops, losing Daryn and now possibly Kasumi, Jacob, Legion, and Tali, this was how the mission ended. It had all led up to this single moment where Shepard succumbed to her injuries and died in Kaidan's arms. That was all. The end.
"I can't accept that." Ignoring Kaidan's protests, Garrus bent down and gathered Shepard into his arms, lifting her out of the crimson pool and away from her would-be tomb. Garrus had no idea if they would reach Nos Astra in time, but there was no way he was going to let the lair of the Shadow Broker be her final resting place.
"I'll pilot the shuttle," Miranda said, jogging to Garrus's side. "Mordin: if you could assist with Kasumi and Jacob..."
"Yes, yes. Will provide medical support if possible."
Kaidan followed them onto the shuttle as well. He didn't think Garrus had the right to decide to move Shepard, potentially ending her life in horrible agony, but he had to be there if she... not if. When.
"We'll be back for the rest of you!" Miranda called to the rest of the team as she stood in the entrance port of the shuttle.
"Go – I'll watch over them!" Liara promised. Miranda met her eyes, then nodded once before disappearing into the cockpit. Grunt, Zaeed, Thane, Jack, and Samara watched Garrus carry their commander onto the shuttle, wondering if that would be the last time they would see her alive.
Miranda was in the pilot's chair in a flash, booting up the controls and setting the engine rumbling. She was no engineer, but she'd had enough field experience to know how to fly a shuttle. She tried not to think about what was going on in the passenger carriage. She didn't allow herself to consider that the Lazarus Project had been a huge waste. All she had to do was get them back to Illium. Simple.
Garrus was going to set Shepard down on one of the benches, but she grabbed the front of his chest plate in protest. "Don't let go," she whispered. "Not now." Garrus glanced up at Mordin, who gave a slight nod, almost as if to say that the best thing for Shepard at that point was just to make her comfortable. Carefully, he slid into the seat across from where Kasumi and Jacob's bloodied forms were stretched out.
"Never," Garrus said, his voice a low croon meant only for her ears. "I'll always have your six. You know that, Commander."
He wasn't sure if she'd heard him. Glistening tears spilled onto her cheeks. He pressed a soft, featherlight kiss onto her forehead. Somehow, her hand found his, slender fingers intertwining in an unbreakable bond. Her frame felt delicate and familiar against him, like two parts of a whole finally coming together.
"There's something I need to tell you," Shepard said. Garrus had to drag his eyes away from her mouth, which was smeared with blood. Her own, and the Ardat-Yakshi's. He felt his heartbeat quicken. The dark liquid trickling out of Shepard seemed to be growing cold. Kaidan was right: she was dying.
"What is it?"
"I'm sorry. I never meant for..." She paused, a small, hitched gasp escaping her.
She knows she's going to die. She's asking for forgiveness because she thinks it's her last chance to atone. "Hang on, Shepard. Keep fighting!"
"I love you, Garrus." Her eyes closed. Her muscles went slack.
"Stay with me!" He pressed his face against hers. He felt her breaths go shallow, then stop completely. "Spirits, Shepard, you can't leave. Come back! Come back to me!" Yet she remained unresponsive.
No. No.