Chapter 24:
Showdown

The entire base was in chaos. Cerberus troops ran from one end to the other, trying to locate the intruders and take them down as quickly as possible. A group rounded a corner and spotted the biotic and the turian, opening fire immediately. Alenko raised a barrier to block the bullets while Callus overloaded their shields. Their weapons overheated and their shields destroyed, they were easy pickings for the duo. The squad dispatched, Callus and Alenko moved onward, reaching the extraction point. Neither Shepard or Anderson were there, but two Cerberus guards were.

Callus reacted quickly, holding his arms out to his sides and allowing an omni-blade to extend from each of them. He swung at one of the guards, catching his left shoulder, sending him straight into a warp from Alenko which took him out. The other one was quicker, taking out a baton with an electrified end and swinging at Callus. The turian ducked under the attack and stabbed the guard'a leg with his left omni-blade, then brought his right blade into the guard'a jaw, killing him instantly.

"Shepard!" Alenko called into his radio as the fight ended. "We're at the extraction point. Where are you?"

"We're pinned down about halfway to the point," Shepard replied through the radio. "We'll get there as soon as we can."

Alenko dropped his arm and looked at Callus. "Should we go get them?" he asked.

Callus shrugged. "Might as well."

Turning from the door leading to the landing pad, they ran back for Shepard and Anderson.

Shepard grunted in frustration as his gun overheated. Two of Hollister's squad had gone down easily, but it seemed like he had an endless supply of reinforcements. Across the hall, Anderson glanced out of cover only to have to duck his head back to avoid losing it to Hollister's shotgun. Shepard checked his rifle and saw that it was cooled down again, then turned from cover to fire. Three Cerberus agents immediately opened fire on his position, doing serious damage to his shields before Anderson could get their attention.

Hollister turned to fire on Anderson again, but Shepard was able to suppress him long enough for Anderson to get back in cover. As his rifle overheated again, Shepard shook his head and ducked back into cover. They couldn't keep this up for much longer. Checking the Cerberus armor for anything useful, Shepard found three grenades. Thinking quickly, he activated all three of them and threw them out into the corridor near the attackers. Hollister noticed the grenades a moment too late and threw up a hastily-made barrier before they exploded, killing the squad and sending him out the window.

Shepard stood and looked for more hostiles, Anderson following suit. When no one shot at them, Shepard jerked his head toward the far hall. "Extraction point's this way, sir," he said to Anderson.

"Lead the way, Lieutenant," Anderson replied.

Shepard nodded and ran forward, gun raised in case of any other hostiles. Internally, he wondered about Hollister. Had he survived that fall, too? He doubted it. It was a damn miracle (or lack of one) that he survived the first one. Finally, it was over. Now all he had to do was get Commander Anderson out of there before the thresher maws materialized out of nowhere and killed them all.

Rounding a corner, Shepard and Anderson ran straight into Alenko and Callus. Lowering his weapon, Shepard sighed. "I thought we were meeting at the extraction point," Shepard pointed out.

"Figured you'd need some help," Callus replied.

"Well, we're in the clear. At least for now. Let's get the hell out-." Suddenly, a strong tremor made the group lose their balance and they fell to the floor. The tremors continued for a moment, then ceased suddenly.

Alenko frowned as he slowly stood. "What was that?" he asked. "An earthquake?"

It was then he noticed that Shepard had gone extremely pale. The lieutenant shook his head. "Worse," he said after a moment. "Much worse." Me and my big goddamned mouth, he thought.

"We need to go," Anderson agreed.

Getting their bearings, the squad ran for the extraction point. Partway there, Shepard noticed something out of the corner of his eye. The base's command center. "Hold up," he said to the others, who stopped and looked at him quizzically. He stepped into the command center and walked to a terminal.

"What the hell is he doing?" Alenko demanded.

Anderson didn't know for sure, but he had a feeling about what Shepard might be up to. "Just let him be, at least for now."

After a few moments, the trio heard loud cursing coming from the command center and looked to see Shepard driving his hand through the glass of the terminal. "Fucking bastards!" he shouted. Anderson knew exactly what he had found. Evidence that Cerberus had led the thresher maws to the Akuze colony. That they had planted the beacon for the Alliance to come running to. That the maws had killed everyone in the unit that arrived ready to help people.

Everyone, that is, except Shepard.

He walked up to the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Come on," he said gently. "Let's get going."

Shepard nodded and turned to leave with him, but suddenly he was tackled to the ground by Anderson, moments before bullets began shredding the area around them. Ducking behind the console, Shepard and Anderson were defenseless from the onslaught of the new attack.

"What the hell is this?!" Shepard shouted.

"Gunship!" Anderson replied, drawing his shotgun.

The gunfire stopped for a moment, then a voice ripped through the air, violent and angry. "SHEPARD!" Hollister yelled.

Shepard shook his head. What did it take to kill him?

The hail of bullets continued, chipping away at the cover in the command center. Shepard knew that time was running out for them. He needed to take that thing out. Eyeing Alenko from across the room, an idea hit him. "Alenko!" he yelled over the gunfire. Alenko looked over at him at the sound of his name. Shepard jerked his head toward the window, and the gunship. "Think you can get a barrier over that window?"

Alenko looked to the rather large window and frowned. What was the lieutenant planning? "Not for long," he replied warily.

Shepard nodded. "I don't need long. Just put it up on my mark." Alenko nodded, and Shepard prepared himself for the stunt he was about to pull.

Anderson was even more concerned. "What he hell are you up to, Shepard?" he demanded.

"Improvising," Shepard replied. Another moment passed, and the gunship's chain gun overheated. "Mark!" he yelled, and Alenko popped out of cover and extended a barrier over the window. When Hollister began firing again, the shots hit the barrier. Alenko immediately began struggling to keep the barrier up against the gunship's onslaught, but he knew he had to keep trying.

As soon as the barrier had gone up, Shepard leapt out of cover and began sprinting toward the window, toward the gunship. Immediately, Hollister turned his attention to the running lieutenant. Alenko's struggle was getting worse as more and more bullets hit the barrier. But the gun was firing so many rounds, it was about to overheat. The timing would have to be exact.

As Alenko's barrier faltered, the gun overheated, and Shepard leapt out of the window, soaring through the air briefly before landing on the gunship, his weight bringing it down a bit. Activating his omni-tool, he placed it against the glass of Hollister's cockpit. "This time," he said as he activated the overload module Callus had given him, the same one that had brought down the Atlas mech on Altakiril, "STAY DEAD!" he yelled. Sparks began flying on the gunship and it started spinning. Shepard moved to jump back through the window, but the ship's spin threw him off guard and he fell to the bottom of the ship, where he grabbed onto the fin and held on for dear life.

The tail of the ship crashed straight into the building, hurling debris at the rest of the squad. They took cover, but a small chunk of it was able to hit Anderson in the head, knocking him unconscious. Alenko noticed the unmoving figure of Anderson and ran to his side, quickly grabbing the commander and dragging him to safety. Callus hoisted him onto his shoulders and motioned for Alenko to follow him. "Come on," he said. "We'll meet Shepard outside."

The gunship began descending rapidly, minimizing Shepard's options. A fall from this height could break a bone at the very least. And if he was still clinging to the ship when it hit the ground, he'd be dead. Sighing, Shepard decided to take his chances and let go. He fell two stories before landing on the ground. Transferring his momentum into a roll, Shepard quickly got out of the way of the gunship. But he was still a bit too close to it. As the ship hit the ground, it exploded, sending Shepard into the nearby wall and knocking him unconscious.