Chapter 21: Blitzkrieg und Treu Verteidigung
"John, we need to talk."
"Not now, Tali."
"Yes now, damnit." she growled, dragging him from his place at the CIC to his cabin and locking the door. "John, you just… you murdered a man down there. Maybe he deserved it, maybe it was justified, but you still executed an unarmed man for no other reason than-"
"Than he tortured Toombs!" interjected Shepard. "He and his- his scientist buddies kept him in a cage! For years! I saw what they did to him, Tali. He was my subordinate, my squad mate, my friend, and those twisted FREAKS used him like he was some kind of lab animal!"
Tali paused for a moment as she considered how to address her closest friend. "Why?"
"I…" He faltered. "I don't know. But it doesn't matter."
"Yes it does, John." she replied quietly. "Whether or not he deserved it is beside the point." Shepard shot her a confused and angry look as she explained. "We don't know why those scientists did what they did. We'll never know, now that they're all dead. We know Cerberus is behind it, just like they were on Edolus, but we don't know who, or how, or why. More than likely, those scientists were nothing but pawns, just like Toombs. Because of what you did, the people who're truly responsible for what happened to him can wash their hands of this and walk away with no consequences."
Shepard withered as she spoke, unable to find a flaw in her unassailable logic. "You're right." he said simply. "I guess I should've looked before I leapt."
"That exactly my point, John. You never look before you leap. You detonated a tactical nuclear warhead on a colony planet because you didn't think first. You got your Spectre status stripped because you didn't think first. And now, you might never be able to get justice, true justice, for a man you call 'friend' because you didn't. Think. First."
As she punctuated the last words, Shepard shrank even further. "What can I do? I can't change who I am overnight."
"No." she admitted finally. "No, you can't. And in some ways, I almost wish you wouldn't. I meant it when I said I loved you as you were when… Well, the point is, I think Humans have a proverb for this: 'A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.' You just need to take that first step, John. That's all I ask."
"One step, huh?" he asked with a small smile. "How hard can that be?"
"Considering this is you we're talking about?" she said, rolling her eyes. "About as hard as your thick skull."
"That's impossible." he retorted automatically. "If my skull weren't the strongest material known to man, you'd have fractured it a thousand times over by now."
She only responded with a light rap on the back of his head.
"Commander, there's an incoming call from the Council."
"I'll take it in the briefing room, Joker."
He hesitated for a moment. "It's for Tali."
Shepard let out a grim chuckle. "Figures. I'll still take it in the briefing room." Shepard turned to Tali. "You ready for this, oh fearless leader?" he asked with a hint of sarcasm.
"I guess so." She took a deep breath to steady herself. "Let's go." It was a fairly quick trip to the briefing room for the duo, and when they'd arrived, a group of five holograms appeared in their usual place. "Councilors." began Tali.
"Tali'Zorah, Commander Shepard." replied Raan. "We've just obtained some vital information in your hunt for Saren."
Valern cast Shepard a disapproving glance as he elaborated. "Yes. We've received an urgent message from one of our infiltration teams in the Traverse. This particular regiment was gathering intel on Saren."
"Did they find something?" asked Tali.
"Unfortunately, their transmission was little more than static." replied the Salarian. "The team must be in a situation where they can't set up proper interstellar communications. For whatever reason, their QEC was lost or disabled. However, their message was sent on a channel reserved for mission-critical communications, so we know it's important."
"Salarian STG bit off more than they can chew, huh?" asked Shepard with a sigh. "Why does that not surprise me?" The moment the words left his mouth, Shepard knew he'd fucked up, and Tali let him know it too. The slap she delivered to the back of his head was strong enough to make his ears ring, and it sent him stumbling forward a step before he caught himself.
"Shut the hell up, John." she said tightly. "First step, remember?"
"Yes, ma'am." he replied, averting his eyes.
The exchange elicited a small round of chuckles from the Council, especially Hannah, who began grinning ear to ear.
Tevos spoke next. "Considering your mission, we thought you might want to investigate. Find out what happened to the team. The signal originated on the planet Virmire, in the Hoc System."
"We'll look into it immediately, Councilors." said Tali, turning to face them.
"The Council prefers not to become involved in the specifics of Spectre affairs. We only want you to be aware of all your options." said the Asari.
"Good luck, John." said Hannah. "We'll let you know if anything else comes up."
The moment the holograms winked out, Tali sent a second forceful slap into the back of Shepard's head, though he'd managed to brace himself for this one. "Damnit, John! We just talked about this five minutes ago!"
"I know, alright. I know. It just slipped out. I'm sorry."
Her anger faded slightly. "Well. See that it doesn't happen again." she said with a sniff. "Next time, I won't be so gentle."
"That's fine by me." he replied with a sly grin. "I like it rough." He managed to duck the slap she sent at him in response. "Apparently, so do you." he teased with a laugh. He continued dodging her blows, which came ever faster, and her face turned a darker shade of violet. "Sorry, Tali. You're gonna have to be a lot more flexible than that if you want to hit me." There was a beat. "You could ask Ash for advice in that department."
She finally gave up being subtle, and sent them both to the ground with a full body tackle, pinning his arms and inadvertently straddling him. The pair paused for a moment to catch their breaths, and when they did, Shepard gave Tali an appraising look, running his eyes down her form. The moment she realized the compromising position she'd put them in, she let out a small squeak, and nearly leapt off of his prone body.
"You… you big bosh'tet." she said panting.
"Hey, you attacked me." He donned another shit-eating grin, refusing to let up. "Not that I'm complaining, or anything. It's just that you got me all hot and bothered, and left me wanting more." She choked and sputtered, unable to form a coherent word, let alone a sentence. Her face turned so dark it was almost more black than purple. He finally relented. "Well, that was fun, but we've got work to do." He climbed to his feet, and then extended a hand to help her up as well. "I'll let Joker know to set a course for Virmire."
The trip to Virmire took just over three days. When the Normandy finally dropped out of FTL, they were met with a welcome response, as well as an unwelcome surprise.
"Commander, there's a signal coming from the planet." said Joker. "I think it's our Salarian infiltration team. They're transmitting rendezvous coordinates."
"Damn those are some heavy defenses." said Kaidan, moving to stand beside Shepard in the cockpit of the frigate. "Partial PRISM sat network, psy-radar, gap generator, and they've even got AA batteries all over the surface. The whole damn planet's a fortress. How the hell did the Salarians manage to get a strike team through that?"
"Very carefully, I imagine." deadpanned Shepard. "That damn psy-radar's gonna make this tough. Joker, can you find us a landing point for the MIAFV? I've got an idea."
"What's the problem, Shepard?" asked Garrus. "The ship's stealthed. We can just slip on by and chrono to the surface, right?"
"Unfortunately, no. The Normandy's stealth systems are composed of two parts: the first is a gap generator that makes us invisible to passive psy-radar. The second hides our EM signature from external sensors. Unless someone actually looks out a damn window from close range, they can't see us. However, if we use the ship's chronosphere, the active psy-radar they've got will pick us up for about ten seconds."
"Ten seconds?" he asked sounding puzzled. "So what? We'll be gone before they even know we're here."
Shepard shook his head. "Garrus, when the Hierarchy attacked Rapture during the Contact War, over half of a one thousand ship armada was destroyed in less than ten seconds by its' planetary defense grid. As small as it is, that PRISM defense net will easily vaporize the Normandy before she can so much as twitch."
Garrus' jaw dropped, his mandibles spread, and he gaped in unabashed shock at the revelation. "Ten titans-be-damned seconds?!" He shivered for a moment before composing himself. "Spirits. No wonder we surrendered so quickly. The Alliance could've overrun the whole damn galaxy in a few years with that kind of power."
"Not quite." replied Kaidan, trying to placate the Turian. "Keep in mind that they got ambushed by a waiting defense grid: a complete grid at that. Our ships don't possess anywhere near that kind of firepower. Even knowing what they were walking into, the entirety of the Alliance fleet couldn't break through the defenses in the Sol System. In truth, we've always been better at defending than attacking."
If anything, Kaidan's revelation just upset Garrus even more. "Your whole fleet?! So you're saying…" he paused for a moment before swallowing hard. "You're saying we never could've won the Contact War?" he asked dejectedly.
"There are no winners in Human wars, Garrus." explained Shepard. "Only survivors. That's been the foundation of Human military doctrine for over two centuries."
"I…" He trailed off.
"Look Garrus. It's not like we're interested in destroying the Council or the Hierarchy. One of Earth's greatest leaders, a man who died nearly a quarter of a millennia ago, once said that we should 'speak softly, and carry a big stick.' Basically, just don't mess with us, and we won't mess with you."
"Fair enough, Shepard." He brightened considerably. "Now, how do you plan on getting us to the surface?"
"We won't be able to get close enough to land with all those AA batteries down there. We'll come in low, in atmo, and approach tangential to the planet. We need to get close enough to chrono the MIAFV down to the surface while being far enough away to avoid PRISM fire and ack-ack. It'll be like threading a needle, but Joker might be able to do it."
"Might?!" shrieked the offended pilot. "Might my ass. I could fly this thing though a tailor shop without nudging a pin." he grumbled.
"Glad to hear it, Joker." said Shepard with a smirk. "And on the bright side, if you screw it up, we won't live long enough to regret it."
"Can we all fit in the MIAFV, Commander?" asked Kaidan.
"Not unless you want to be squeezed in there like sardines in a can. Remember how tight it was back on Therum? If we hadn't been half a minute away from being broiled by a volcano, we'd have been hard pressed to fit. Besides, do you really want to be cooped up in that damn thing cheek-by-jowl with Yuri?"
Kaidan let out a small shiver. "Definitely not."
"Didn't think so. For now, it'll be me, Tali, Ashley, Liara, and Wrex. You, Garrus, Yuri, Pluribus, and Nihlus can come down after we take out some of the AA batteries and open up a safe landing zone."
"Alright, we're gonna change things up a little for this one. Wrex, I want you up front. As heavily defended as the rest of the planet is, we've got no idea what's waiting for us down there. Whatever we find, you blow it up."
"Sounds good to me." replied the Krogan.
"Liara, I want you in the middle. I'm expecting heavy fire, so I want you on barrier duty for now. Don't stress yourself, but keep an eye out for anything that could do damage."
"I understand, Shepard."
"I'll take up the rear and deal with anything else. Tali, be ready to switch out with me if needed." She only nodded.
"Ash, you're driving again, and this time, no crazy stunts like on Noveria."
"Roger that, Skipper."
"Let's do this."
A few moments later, the tank appeared on the surface of the planet in a shallow lagoon, and began rolling forward. The first half kilometer or so was quiet, but the Geth on the planet soon made themselves known. A wave of rocket drones and assault platforms appeared, but were quickly eliminated by fire from Shepard's Perch. A second wave of drones and platforms soon followed, this time behind hastily erected omni-shields. They didn't last long either. Rounding a final corner, Shepard had just enough time for a single deep breath and widened eyes before the Tesla tower on the enemy fortification sent a blast of lightning into Liara's barriers, which immediately shattered from the assault.
"TESLA TOWER!" yelled Shepard, swinging his Perch towards the new threat. A Tesla tower could cripple the MIAFV with a single blast, and outright destroy it with two. The biotic barrier bought them a window of opportunity, but only a three second one. Shepard's well placed anti-material round blew a hole through the center support of the defensive tower, dissipating it's charge, and a moment later, Wrex's PRISM Cannon finished the job, vaporizing the structure at its' weakened middle.
A blast of lighting striking her barriers had put a massive amount of strain on Liara, and she swayed slightly in her seat as she recovered. "What was that?" she asked weakly.
"Fucking Tesla tower." answered Shepard angrily. "Where in the hell did Saren get the plans for one of those damn things? The Alliance might not use Tesla towers anymore, but the tech should still be classified."
"Why don't they use them?" asked Tali.
"PRISM towers have a greater range and lower recharge time." answered Ashley, a little out of breath. "Thank Christ for that. If that was a PRISM tower, we'd be dead."
Shepard let out a low growl. "However Saren managed to get ahold of Alliance tech, it's not good. If he's started outfitting his heretic Geth with our stuff, we're gonna have a hell of a time in this assault. And any others." He shook his head. "For now, focus on what's in front of us. We need to clear that structure and disable the AA battery it's connected to. Tali, Wrex, with me."
The trio quickly made their way through the small structure, eliminating a handful of platforms as they progressed. On the second floor, a small console controlled the activity of the AA emplacement for the outpost, and a quick hack by Tali put it out of business for good.
"You two, get back to the MIAFV and man the turrets." ordered Shepard. "I'll move out on foot and stick to the rock formations to scout ahead. If there are any more surprises, I'll let you know."
"Alright, John. Just… be careful, OK."
"I will, don't you worry about it."
Activating his chronosuit, Shepard appeared suddenly on the top of the rock formation the structure was built into. Peering over the side of the almost sheer cliff, Shepard saw a Geth Colossus waiting in ambush for the approaching vehicle.
"Tali, there's a Colossus around the next bend."
"Understood."
The moment the MIAFV rounded the corner, a beam of white light lanced out from it and blew a hole straight through the waiting Colossus. Shepard quickly moved on ahead, and radioed in the locations of a dozen platforms, half a dozen smaller walkers, and a second Colossus, all of which his team managed to eliminate with relative ease. As he neared the end of the rise, Shepard saw the telltale outline of a Tesla tower appear on a second fortification in the distance.
"Tali, there's another outpost and Tesla tower ahead. It's at your two o'clock, high. You'll be in range in about a hundred meters." The tank slowed in response to his warning, and crept up towards the defensive line. The biotic barrier around the vehicle increased in intensity, and the moment the tower was in range, a blast of PRISM energy blew it to atoms.
"Good job. Clear the structure while I go on ahead. I see snipers, so watch yourselves."
Shepard progressed beyond the structure, moving forward until he came to an open expanse of shallow water, with a large, building sized outcropping of stone in the middle
"John, it looks like I can access the controls to the psy-radar system from here. If I shut it down, the satellite network will be blind. I've also managed to knock out another AA battery, which opened up a small gap in their defenses."
"Good. Joker, you can start your approach now. The defense grid should be down in a minute."
"Roger that, Commander."
Shepard surveyed the area below with a trained eye, watching for further roving Geth patrols. At first, he didn't see anything unusual, but as the MIAFV came into view in the distance behind him, a nagging feeling appeared in his gut. There was something off about the area ahead, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Pulling out his sniper rifle, he peered through the scope, trying to get a closer view of the clearing below. A few seconds before the tank rounded the last corner, Shepard saw something inexplicable.
'The waves aren't breaking on that rock formation correctly. It's the size of a damn building, but it's like it's not… really…'
"DOOM FORTRESS!" bellowed Shepard into his communicator. The MIAFV came to a screeching halt just in range of the Mirage-concealed super-tank, and the massive triple blast from the Fortress's main guns obliterated the rock formation behind it, the massive, half meter shells passing directly though the spot the much smaller scout vehicle would've been, had Shepard not warned them. Unfortunately, what was left of the rock face immediately began to collapse towards the MIAFV, which barely survived the avalanche of boulders and debris due to Liara's barrier. The vehicle immediately went into reverse to escape being crushed and pulled a quick one-eighty, beating a hasty retreat.
While this was happening, the Doom Fortress began rumbling its' way forward, looking to destroy, it not outright crush, the much tinier tank. Knowing there was no way the smaller vehicle could win the David versus Goliath fight using normal methods, Shepard did something incredibly stupid. Scrambling to his feet, he quickly pulled out his Temporal Dislocator before activating his chronosuit and teleporting to a spot directly on top of the charging metal bunker. He activated the Dislocator the instant he arrived, and a familiar stream of chronitons emanated forth, slowly erasing the Fortress from existence. After nearly five minutes of continuous exposure, the super-tank vanished with a final flash, lost forever in the mists of time.
Unfortunately, Shepard hadn't had time to think about what would happen when his foothold in the sky suddenly vanished beneath him. The moment it did, he began plummeting to the shallow water below, and had just enough time to twist in midair and land on his back before he impacted the surface and his consciousness fled.
Pain.
The pain was followed quickly by an extensive mental litany of the vilest curses Shepard could imagine, in every language he knew, and even some he didn't.
"No offense Doc, but I'm really starting to loathe this place." he groaned as he opened his eyes.
"Then maybe you should be more careful next time, Commander." she replied.
"And maybe you should look before you leap, you big, stupid, thickheaded bosh'tet." scolded Tali, moving to stand over his prone form. Without waiting for a response, she bent down and wrapped her hands firmly around his head, pulling him into a long, solid kiss. She pulled away quickly before continuing, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "You just had to be a big, damn hero, didn't you?" She kissed him again, longer this time. "You charged a Doom Fortress by yourself." Another kiss, longer still. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Another, and she shook him slightly. "Do you want to die?" Another, and more shaking. "Do you want to leave me alone?" Another, and the shaking turned to trembling. "I won't let you." Another. "I won't." Another. "I WON'T!"
When she bent down for another, Shepard wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her into a strong embrace, returning the kiss fully. After what felt like an eternity and an instant, it ended, and Chakwas cleared her throat loudly, fighting back a massive grin. "Now now, Miss Zorah, I can't have my patient getting his blood pressure too high. The concussion he suffered still isn't fully healed."
Tali let out a long, exasperated sigh as she pulled away from Shepard. "Fine. We'll talk about this later, John." She winked at him slyly and donned a massive, knowing smile. "We'll talk long, and hard, and… privately."
Chakwas let out an amused snort before spinning in her chair. "Young people these days, I swear." she muttered.
"Now Karin, no talking about this, understand?" asked Shepard, a little breathlessly. "Doctor patient-privilege and all that."
"Of course, Commander. Whatever you say." she smirked.
Rising slowly from the bed, Shepard was assaulted by a familiar pain in his head. "What happened while I was out?"
"The Normandy landed and we made contact with the Salarian STG team. We're on the surface of Virmire, but we can't leave because of increased AA activity. The Salarian leader, Captain Kirrahe, is waiting to speak with you."
Shepard nodded, and the Quarian and Human pair quickly exited the ship through the cargo bay, before crossing the shallow lagoon towards the Salarian base camp. Ashley was conversing with one of the Salarians, who Shepard assumed was the leader, and most of his team members were milling about the area.
"Captain Kirrahe?" he asked, extending his hand. "Commander Shepard, ASV Normandy."
"Captain Kirrahe, Third Infiltration Regiment, STG." he responded, shaking his hand. "You managed to land in a hot zone, and every AA gun within fifteen kilometers has been alerted to your presence. I'm just surprised you made it past the outer defenses. Still, I guess you can help us hold the line until the Council sends us the reinforcements we requested."
Shepard quirked an eyebrow at him. "Sorry to tell you this, but we are the reinforcements. Your signal was garbled, and they sent us to investigate. We can request a task force, but it'll be four or five days before they get here."
"Investigate." he asked, clearly annoyed. "That's a repetition of our task. We'd need a sizeable fleet to break the defenses here, or a small army to assault the base. I've lost half my men investigating this place. And that delay is too long."
"Whoa, slow down. Walk me through this, step by step."
The Salarian sighed audibly. "Saren is using this planet as his base of operations. It's crawling with Geth, and extremely well-fortified. We need to destroy it as soon as possible."
"Is Saren here?" asked Kaidan.
"No, but he's using the planet as a research and development facility."
"Researching what, exactly?" inquired Shepard.
"He's using the facility to breed an army of Krogan."
"What?!" interjected Wrex, moving to confront the Salarian. "How is that possible?"
"Apparently, Saren has discovered a cure for the Genophage." replied Kirrahe neutrally.
"Fuck." muttered Shepard. "If Saren gets the backing of an army of Krogan, he'll be damn difficult to deal with, even for the Alliance."
"My thought exactly." replied the Salarian. "We must ensure this facility and its' secrets are destroyed."
"Destroyed?" growled Wrex. "My people are dying, you worthless little pyjak. You're not destroying anything."
"If that cure leaves this planet, the Krogan will be all but unstoppable. We can't make the same mistake again."
Shepard sensed a burst of white-hot rage from the Krogan Battlemaster, and he held out a hand to stop Wrex from doing anything rash. "The only mistake the Salarians made was not uplifting the Krogan's culture and society when they uplifted their military." retorted Shepard heatedly. "You turned an entire species into weapons of war. Pretending to be surprised when they continued doing what you taught them to do is the height of arrogance and hypocrisy."
Shepard felt Wrex's anger fade as he spoke, but Kirrahe's rose. "Is this going to be a problem, Human? Regardless of how you feel, the fact is, we can't allow Saren to possess such a dangerous tool as the Krogan. We've no choice but to destroy this facility."
Wrex said nothing, but slowly walked away to stand near the water's edge. He drew his shotgun and began sending blast after blast into the sea. Seeing him walk off, Tali turned to Shepard. "John, we need to discuss this. You, me, Nihlus, and Wrex."
"What makes you think you can make this decision?" asked Kirrahe heatedly.
Shepard's response was ice cold. "The fact I've got the starship, the tank, QECs, Alliance tech, two Spectres, ten tactical nukes, and psychic powers." He took a single half-step towards the Salarian, and Kirrahe took the same half-step back. "I'm calling the shots here. We'll talk this over, and let you know what we decide."
Waving for Nihlus to follow, Shepard and Tali made their way down the beach to where Wrex was blowing off steam, both literally and figuratively.
"This isn't right, Shepard." said Wrex, not even bothering to face him as he put another blast into the shallow water of the lagoon. "If there's a cure for the Genophage, we can't destroy it."
"Wrex, we can't let Saren use this to get an army of Krogan on his side. You know this." said Shepard.
"What I know is that my people are dying." he replied angrily. "I won't just sit back and watch it happen. They may've given up on themselves, but I haven't given up on them."
"Wrex, do you think this cure can save the Krogan." asked Shepard neutrally. "Because if you do, you're a moron." Wrex let out a low growl, but Tali cut him off.
"What he's saying is that Saren won't use the cure to save the Krogan. He'll use it to enslave them, and turn them into weapons, just like the Salarians. Given the choice, which would you pick: watching the Krogan race devolve into an army of mindless slaves, or go down fighting with your heads held high?"
Wrex's eyes narrowed. "You're trying to play to my Krogan spirit, Quarian." He growled, but then his face twisted into a fierce grin. "It's working. Still, there must be some way to avoid this."
Shepard hesitated a moment. "There is. I told you once that I believed the Krogan deserved a second chance. I still believe that." Wrex's grin turned into a smile, but Nihlus cut in.
"Wrex…" The smile was gone in a flash. "What happens when we stop Saren and the Genophage gets cured?"
Wrex mulled it over for a moment before he answered. "The clans start breeding again, in earnest. Give us a couple decades to rebuild our numbers, and we go on another rampage. Then, the Council and the Alliance step in and wipe us out, for good this time."
"Exactly." stated Shepard. "As much as I hate to say it, the Krogan aren't ready for the Genophage to end. They need someone to make them ready. We've known each other for a while, Wrex. We've talked enough and killed enough to be close to brothers, if not in blood, than in arms. If you want to fix what the Salarians broke, I… we're going to need you, Wrex. I need you to do the impossible: I need you to unite the Krogan clans and build a damn culture. Not an army, not a hoard, but an honest-to-god society, and I need you to do it from scratch, before the Reapers arrive." He paused for just a moment to let the words sink in. "Are you strong enough to do it?"
Wrex studied Shepard for a long while, his face and body language betraying nothing. Just as Shepard was starting to worry, Wrex let out a bellowing laugh and clapped him firmly on the shoulder, almost hard enough to buckle his knees. "That's a challenge worthy of a Krogan Emperor, Shepard. You're damn right I am."
"Good. Here's my plan: we go in, secure the base, steal whatever intel we can, deactivate the defenses, then blow the place to hell with a nuke. If we can get ahold of the Genophage cure, we'll take it, and I'll hold onto it, personally. When the Krogan are ready, it's yours."
Wrex nodded once. "Simple plan. I like simple plans. I'm in."
Nihlus interrupted. "Shepard, I know you think you're doing the right thing here, but I'm not so sure. You pissed off the Council by saving the Rachni, and if you do this, they may well put a warrant out for you."
"I know, Nihlus. Be honest with me: do you agree with the decision, or don't you?"
He hesitated. "I don't know."
"Admitting what you don't know is the beginning of wisdom, Nihlus. Second question: is saving the Krogan the right choice morally?"
"Yes." he answered instantly. "No species is deserving of extinction. Not the Krogan, not the Rachni, not anyone."
"Glad to see we agree on that. Final question: if the Council does put a bounty on my head, what will you do about it?" He didn't answer. Shepard waited for a minute to give him time to think, but eventually, it became clear he wasn't getting anything out of the Turian Spectre. Finally, Shepard let out a sigh. "I don't blame you, Nihlus. Whatever you do decide, I want you to know, I understand."
"Thanks, Shepard." He turned and began to walk away. After a few steps, he glanced over his shoulder. "And for what it's worth, so do I."
Edit: Just passed 25k views. Thanks all for reading.
Timestamp 4/22/2014