Chapter 8 – Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Joker listened with an overwhelming sense of doom flooding through his system as Edi reported in to Shepard. The Leviathans had somehow found where Rorie was, and all their 'tools' were heading this way. Rorie tugged on his sleeve, and he saw the uncertainty in her face.
"I want to go home now," she murmured.
"Me too," he commiserated. Then her eyes were looking past him, skywards.
"What's that?" she pointed.
Following her gaze up, Joker's heart lurched. "EDI!"
It was a pointless attempt to warn her. There was nothing anyone could do to stop the artifact that had been dropped from high above. It emitted a pulse just seconds before it shattered on the ground a short distance from them. Rorie cried out as Edi collapsed to the floor in front of them with a hard thud.
Joker battled nausea. They had been depending on Edi to access that door. How the hell was he supposed to protect Rorie?
oOo
Shepard and Kaidan were no longer stopping to deal with any indoctrinated groups, their shields taking a few hits as they raced past them. Garrus was keeping pace, leaving Victus, Wrex and the others to deal with the colonists.
That long-ingrained soldier that Terra had once thought was all she could be before Kaidan entered her life and offered her so much more, was no match for the overwhelming maternal instinct to protect her child. "Joker. What's happening?"
The uncharacteristically long pause from the other end told her that Joker, her pilot who was capable of holding his nerve in the most dire situations, was struggling.
"It's Edi…. They sacrificed a damned artifact. Just threw it over! Shepard… I don't want to fail you!"
"You could never fail me, Joker. Cortez has to be close to you, and we're coming. Just hold tigh-"
Sirens rang out through her omnitool, and she could even hear them from where they were. "Garrus?" she shouted back, running down a flight of steps so fast it gave her a brief sensation of flying, her feet barely touching the ground.
"It's the detectors I placed internally. The indoctrinated have reached them, Shepard."
Her head was all over the place then. Panic threatened to derail her then and there. She'd never felt like this. Those times when she had feared for Kaidan were different. He was a capable soldier, and like her he could die in combat at any time. It was something she was, in some small part, prepared for. But Rorie was completely dependent on them for her survival, and they weren't close enough. Losing her baby would rip apart her heart and soul. She spared a glance at Kaidan, his face set firm, focused on where Rorie was. Was he drowning in turmoil, as she was? When her husband's eyes flicked to hers, she saw he was.
O
As if he wasn't feeling enough pressure, the added noise of the sirens did a jarring dance along Joker's nerves. They had to hide. Then he spotted that damn door. Could he hack it?
"Auntie Edi! Get up!" Rorie was lifting Edi's hand with her two, and shaking it.
Joker gently took her by the shoulders. "Rorie. We have to go."
Rorie's bottom lip quivered, and she pulled on Edi's arm as though to drag her with them.
Joker shook his head. "She's too heavy. We'll come back for her, I promise. Don't worry, we can fix her, but right now we need to get you somewhere safe."
It was probably unwise to give her an oath like that when he had no clue as to whether Edi could even be repaired. The thought that it was permanent filled him with sadness. Where Joker hid his, Rorie's face crumbled with her own distress, her eyes filling with tears at leaving Edi, and Joker silently cursed the Leviathans, hugging her close.
"Trust me?"
She nodded her head which she'd tucked under his chin, and Joker tugged her favourite soft toy from where he'd stuffed it into his trouser-leg pocket for safe keeping and offered it to her. Taking it, Rorie rubbed her cheek against its soft fabric, then held Joker's hand and did the same.
His heart did a somersault in his chest but he managed to give her a reassuring smile before heading for the door.
O
The walkway was beginning to feel never-ending to Cortez. When, finally, the glorious sight of Joker and Rorie came into view, his relief was short-lived.
"Enemy forces approaching, 12 o'clock," Knox warned.
Looking beyond Joker, Steve could see the group of humans - men, women and children – moving towards them, thankfully not quite in firing range.
"Joker!" he shouted out as loudly as he could over the panicked sounds of civilians who had no idea about the creatures that controlled those colonists with no interest in anyone else but one child.
Spinning around, Joker found them, and Cortez was pretty certain he was never going to see anyone look so relieved to see him. "Joker! Get to cover! Now!"
Not wasting time to assess the threat for himself, Joker hauled Rorie to the side but kept moving forward, aiming for an alcove where a sealed door was situated.
"Corporal?" prompted Steve.
Knox gestured to a large plant border that jutted out from a wall and into the centre of the concourse, just a short distance ahead of Joker's position. "That would offer us enough cover, and it would also funnel them."
Cortez didn't hesitate to run for it, Joker in his periphery trying to open the door, the first shots ringing out as the colonists got closer.
"Gabby. Please. Stay back," implored Donnelly, when they were all pressed into the cover of the waist-high wall.
"I know you're worried about me, Ken, but I'll be careful."
"We're in a gunfight! There's no being 'careful' in a gunfight! Think about-"
"She's here already," griped Knox. "Get over it and concentrate. Or do I have to do this all by myself?"
"How about playing nice?" complained Adams. "Have you never had anyone you care about?"
"Aye. We're engineers, not soldiers," defended Donnelly.
A lot more shots were hitting their area now, and Cortez wondered how the hell they were supposed to hold them back as he sent more dummy rounds over the heads of the approaching group. The indoctrinated colonists didn't even falter, striding confidently forward, led by the youngsters who shielded them. Steve could now make out the individual features of every one of them.
"We need to slow them down until Shepard gets here with the vials." Steve looked desperately at Knox, hoping the young soldier could give him some out-of-the-box suggestion as to how they were supposed to stop them without harming them.
Knox's face was severe. "I know exactly what to do." He moved to the corner of the wall and waited.
Staring at the back of an inert Knox, Cortez was getting antsy. "Corporal? They're closing in."
"They sure are," murmured Knox. As soon as the indoctrinated began to crowd together to navigate the narrowing walkway caused by the display of fauna, Knox acted, sending a concussive blast that landed in front of the children and knocked them all out with its body-hurling force, and not without injury. Then, ignoring Cortez's protests, he let loose live rounds into the adults until not one was standing and the artifact was in useless pieces.
Cortez was stunned at Knox's actions, rising up from cover to survey the macabre scene. Behind him, Adams was muttering under his breath something unintelligible, but the tone implied a disgust with the Corporal. Coming to his senses, Cortez stormed over to Knox and grabbed his shoulder to swing him round to face him.
"What the hell did you do!? The order was dummy rounds only-"
"Unless necessary," interrupted Knox, with no trace of remorse. "And the kids will be fine."
"After hospital treatment," Daniels retorted.
"They're alive, and so is the Alenko kid," stated Knox.
Steve ran a hand over his head, sickened. "This wasn't an offensive. Those people were being used as pawns."
"Didn't make them any less dangerous."
"The artifact was in the open. All you had to do was destroy that and these people would have been themselves again."
Another siren broke out and they all stared to see a new group of indoctrinated appear a ways behind them. While the others went to find alternative cover, Cortez ran over to the alcove where Joker was cursing at the door. Rorie was crouched down low, her back against the wall, with one hand and one toy varren covering her ears, and he crouched to straighten the cap she wore, then squeezed her arm affectionately.
"You're going to be alright, Precious. Joker?"
"I can't get through it, Steve," Joker answered, his voice breaking before he quickly cleared it.
"Keep trying. We'll hold them off." With that, Cortez ran up next to Knox, once again yanking the man around so they were face to face. "No live-fire this time. Are we clear? You follow orders, Corporal, or you stand down. Your duty to serve and protect applies to those people, too."
"Whatever. Sir," Knox retorted, with far less respect than was due.
Cortez didn't dwell on it. Knox's attitude was draining and he didn't need it. Shepard would deal with him. He checked his weapon was ready, and prepared for another onslaught.
oOo
The Leviathans were quickly losing their influence here. Their eyes, however, were focused. The child was within grasp, and only a few pathetic humans stood between her and their tools.
Then one mind returned to them from unconsciousness, a tool even closer. The body was considerably damaged but it didn't matter. The tool would move because they demanded it to.
oOo
"Damn it!" Joker yelled at the door, just refraining from slamming his hands into it, instead letting his forehead fall forward to rest against the cool surface while his heart thumped loudly in his ears.
"Uncle Joker?"
That tiny voice made him look down at his leg which Rorie had attached herself to as the shooting resumed. "It's okay, Pip-squeak. I'm not giving up."
"Say the magic words."
Feeling like an asshole, Joker blinked his discomfort away. "I can't… I- They don't…" He couldn't look into those big eyes and tell her it was just a made up story.
"Did you forget?" she asked, standing up, though keeping close to him as she turned to the door. "Open sesame."
Suddenly the door was unlocking, and Joker stared at it in shock.
Rorie bounced. "I'm magic!"
"I apologise for the delay, Jeff," Edi's voice invaded Joker's comm.
"Edi!?" he checked unnecessarily; it could be no one else.
"Yes, Jeff. I managed to transfer my conscious-self back to the Normandy 2.7 milliseconds before the pulse knocked out my shell's systems. It took time for me to re-gain access to the Citadel's internal network."
"You're forgiven!" he rushed out as the door slid open and he ushered Rorie through. That's when he felt something impact him hard in the back with enough force to knock him off-balance. Rorie screamed as he landed with a sickening crunch, a horrendous pain blooming at his back and throughout his bones. He fought to stay conscious with one thought: he had to move out of the way so the doors could close. He knew he was losing the fight as he began to lose his vision.
O
Like Terra and Garrus, Kaidan stared through his rifle scope at the scene playing out on the storey below and too damn far away to be able to help. Though his scope didn't compare to their sniper rifles, his still gave him the one thing he was desperate for: a visual on his daughter.
She was wearing the cap she'd been so excited about earlier, and Puppy was gripped tightly in her hand. The adrenaline that had flooded his system and got him this far was renewed at the sight of her, re-energising him for the last stretch. Even better, the door was opening and once sealed she'd be safe.
The moment Joker fell forward, blood coming from the gunshot wound in his back, turned Kaidan's blood to ice. His brittle friend would be hurting not just from the shot but the landing, and yet Joker was trying to move forward, Rorie kneeling over him, and though he couldn't see her face clearly, he knew she was crying.
Everything played out in a torturous slow motion as the indoctrinated man aimed his rifle at Rorie as she cried over Joker, unaware of what was about to happen. Cortez and Knox had both turned at the sound of the gunshot but Kaidan could see there was no time for them to react. He was paralyzed with the knowledge there was nothing he could do, and he felt insane with despair and devastation, certain he was about to watch his daughter die... helpless to do anything to stop it.
Then the back of the man's head was hit with a round that exited his forehead, and he slumped to the ground.
Kaidan sucked in a shaky breath, his body trembling with the fear and his biotics swirling uselessly. He knew he should feel sorry that an innocent man had to die, but he only found solace. He looked at Garrus as the turian lowered his rifle. "Thank you."
Garrus shook his head a little, subdued. "It wasn't me," he murmured, looking at Shepard.
Her sniper rifle was still raised, clutched so tightly in her hands that her fingers were white, and unlike Kaidan, her guilt was there for all to see. Kaidan moved closer, his hand carefully pushing her rifle down.
"Terra. You had no choice."
She slowly blinked, her eyes meeting his. "I know," she whispered.
Kaidan thought she looked haunted, and watched as she took a deep breath and activated her comm while resuming her run.
"Cortez. Retreat to the door. We'll deal with the colonists."
"Copy that," was the relieved reply.
As they raced on, Kaidan knew it was unlikely to be as easy a task as Cortez was hoping.
O
Steve hurriedly checked behind him, fearing for Joker, his heart breaking for Rorie as he heard her sobs, her head resting on the shoulder of Joker's now prone body.
Returning his attention forward, one thing was clear: they weren't going to be able to withdraw without sustaining injuries - only Knox had armour.
"Everyone retreat to that door. See to Joker and Rorie. I'll cover you."
That was when Gabby was hit with two rounds, just below her collar bone. Donnelly was straight there, pale-faced as she clutched her hands to the wounds.
"Go, now!" yelled Cortez.
Adams went to Gabby's free side and helped Ken haul her away. Knox, however, didn't move.
"I gave you an order, Corporal."
"They're nearly on top of us. The last person to leave is going to come under heavy fire, and I'm the one with armour."
Unable to dismiss the sense in that statement, Cortez nodded, clapped his hand to Knox's shoulder and made to move to the door, but he was hit in the shoulder, and went down to one knee with the pain. He heard Rorie scream again, and was horrified to see her running towards him before Adams could grab her. Steve caught her and yanked her behind cover. Knox was shaking his head in irritation. Adams and Donnelly had pulled Joker into the corridor where Gabby was also out of harm's way, but the doors remained open with Rorie on the wrong side, and they were readying their weapons again, prepared to re-join them. Cortez waved them back. It was senseless to endanger their lives further.
"To hell with this!" bit out Knox, and he swapped to live rounds.
This time, Cortez didn't say anything. Rorie's arms were tightly wound round his neck, and he hugged her back. Knox grunted as a round went through his shields and into his bicep, and he nearly dropped his rifle. That moment he wasn't firing had allowed two adults to rush forward, and before Knox had brought his gun up again, they were already pulling the triggers.
Knox expected to take some hits, but they were deflected as a biotic barrier surrounded him. Looking around he was surprised to see the blue aura emanating from the tear-stained little girl who they were all supposed to be protecting. The fact she was now sheltering them seemed surreal.
Though he was startled by Rorie's aid, Cortez didn't waste the opportunity. "Knox! Let's go!" With Rorie in his arms, her biotics crackling under his hands, they dashed the last distance into the passageway, the door locking behind them. He noted Knox didn't appear to have much faith in the door remaining locked, his rifle still trained on the door, and Steve was more than happy to let the Corporal exercise caution. He placed Rorie on her own feet but kept his arms around her, concerned by her pale face.
"Thank you, Rorie. But we're safe now, Precious. You don't need to use your biotics anymore."
Rorie looked back at him with tears falling down her face, and simply shook her head.
O
Shepard had seen her daughter bringing up the barrier that had allowed Steve and Knox to get to safety, and a huge surge of pride accompanied the fury and angst she was battling. With Rorie no longer at risk Terra could be the soldier again.
During their final run here, Hackett, Wrex and the others had all reported their areas clear. This was the last artifact.
Coming up behind the indoctrinated humans as they were focused on the door, Garrus threw his last vial, but suddenly the adults turned, saw it coming and ducked. The vial sailed over their heads and hit too far away to have any effect. Then they separated, standing in full view but now any vial thrown would only bring down one, and Shepard had the only vial left. Then the children were rolling the artifact further back.
Ducking down to re-think, Kaidan was ahead of her.
"Shepard. You can cloak. Use the last vial on the children and take out that artifact."
"Right," Garrus followed. "Without the artifact, the colonists will get their minds back."
"I'm going," and she activated her cloak, leaping over anything in her path to get as far as she could before her cloak ran out. With one vial, there were no second chances, and she wasn't stopping until she was right in their midst. Materialising just in front of them, all their young faces fixed on her. They ranged from about four to twelve, and the emotionless expressions were heart-breaking. She threw down the vial, ignoring the shots that struck her shields as her position was made known to the Leviathans, and she aimed her pistol at the artifact.
"Shepard."
She hesitated at the deep, resonating voice of the Leviathan, her eyes lifting from the glowing orb to the adults who dropped the weapons in their hands. Approaching the colonists from behind, Kaidan's biotics were ready for swift action, and Garrus' rifle was poised, neither of them believing that the Leviathans didn't have something planned.
"This was merely our first move. You thought you had prepared, yet we came closer than you ever expected. Despite your united front, you all failed to keep us at bay, for we are superior. We will have what we want."
Every one of the colonists spoke with the same voice, with the same words. It reminded Shepard of the rachni queen's use of the krogan unit on Utukku.
"Give us the child."
"No."
"If you continue to refuse, others will die in her place. We are the apex race and you are all our tools. Stop fighting the inevitable. Chose the one, or the many."
Shepard walked right up to the nearest colonist, her face close as she stared back defiantly into those stolen eyes. "You will never have her." The dark, angry intent of the Leviathans was reflected back at her, but she ignored the chill it gave her.
"So be it."
All the conscious colonists suddenly screamed out, clutching their heads, and Shepard spun and fired at the artifact to destroy the link. As it shattered, her shields only stopped some of the shards from hitting her, but she hardly noticed. She'd hoped that she was quick enough, but the colonists dropped to the ground, eyes open and as lifeless as when the Leviathans controlled them. Kaidan was running scans over them, but she knew she'd been too late.
Kaidan shook his head, sadly. "They're alive, but scans say there's no brain activity at all. We should get them to a hospital to be sure, though."
"I've already got medics on route for Joker and Daniels," Garrus said, jadedly.
Kaidan joined her as Shepard suppressed the guilt she harboured for her part in these people's ruined lives, and made her way to the door. They were both startled by the screams that started on the other side.
"No! Uncle Steve! Don't open it! They'll hurt you!" came Rorie's panicked voice.
The door unlocked automatically as they got to it, and Knox lowered his gun. The first thing Shepard noticed though, was that Rorie still had her barrier up around them all.
"It's okay," Steve was saying. "Edi confirmed it. It's over now."
"Rorie?" Shepard crouched down to her height, pained to see her daughter so frightened.
"Mommy?"
"We're here, baby."
"There's nothing to hurt you or anyone else, honey," assured Kaidan. "You can let go now."
She did, then burst into tears and ran into Terra's arms, her little cap falling off as the peak hit her mother's chest. Kaidan encased them both.
"Sweetie, you were so brave," Terra told her daughter, soothingly. "I saw how you protected everyone."
"Best barrier ever," agreed Kaidan, smoothing her hair.
Swiping her sleeve across her wet face, Rorie shook her head. "Uncle Joker's broken! He won't wake up! And we left Auntie Edi outside! And Uncle Steve has blood! And Auntie Gabby has blood! And Corpal Knox, too!"
"Sshh," Terra soothed. "The doctors are coming to help all of them." She watched Kaidan scanning Joker, a small wince making its way into the corners of his eyes. He applied medigel to the wound in their friend's back, but she noticed he did nothing else asides from typing into his omnitool. Then he checked Gabby.
"There's no damage to anything vital." Kaidan slathered on more medigel to Gabby's injuries.
"Thank heavens for that," Ken said hoarsely, as he let his breath go. "You and I need to have a serious talk," he added to Gabby.
"Uh oh," Gabby teased, though her pain was evident. "You being the serious one? I am in trouble."
"Don't make light of it, Gabby. Not this. Please."
"I'm sorry, Ken. I suppose it scared me more than I realised. Just needed some levity, you know?"
In response, Ken carefully pulled her into an embrace.
Then Chakwas arrived, pressing a quick kiss to the top of Rorie's head before hurrying to Joker's side, promptly whisking Joker away having already received Kaidan's preliminary scan report, and leaving the team of medics to tend to the rest of them.
"Thank you. All of you," Kaidan said, looking at each of them.
"Things would have been a lot different if you hadn't been there," agreed Shepard, her thoughts lingering on Joker, inwardly praying he would pull through.
"There's nothing I wouldn't do for that little girl," Cortez stated.
"Here, here," agreed Adams, Daniels and Donnelly nodding. "Who else would keep me on my toes?" he smiled affectionately.
"Aye. It's nice to have someone appreciate all the amazing things I know," Donnelly added.
"It's true," said Daniels, a little wryly. "She's the only one who will listen to anything he says."
"Can we go home now?" Rorie asked quietly, now calmer, though her body still hiccupped with the aftershocks of her distress.
Terra lifted her daughter as she stood up. "Yes, sweetie."
"I'm tired." Rorie's head rested on Terra's shoulder and her hand gripped Kaidan's fingers as he brushed her hair from her face.
"I know."
Satisfied that all her people were getting treatment, Terra carried Rorie out of the corridor while Kaidan had her little hand clasped in his.
Garrus finished speaking with his men and intercepted the reunited family. "Rorie. How are you feeling?" He angled his head to match her horizontal one.
"I'm hungry."
"Ah, well, that's understandable. Rescuing Alliance soldiers is hard work." He was pleased with the smile he received. "Shepard. What do you want done with Edi's body?"
"You can have it taken to Dr Cole," came Hackett's voice.
"Ganpa," Rorie yawned through her smile, her head not rising.
"Sweetheart." Hackett kissed her cheek.
"Mommy said I was brave," she said, only just above a whisper.
"You certainly were."
Her eyes began to flutter, and her toy fell from her finger-tips.
"Go take her home, Terra" murmured Hackett, picking up the toy and handing it to Kaidan. "You should both spend what time you can with her. The Council are bound to call everyone in again once the colonists are secure and reports are gathered."
Terra looked at the still bodies of the children being tended for injuries sustained during Knox's blast, and then at those she'd brought down herself through gentler means. "You'll make sure they're looked after?"
"Absolutely."
"One way or another, they've lost their parents," she said sadly, her heart aching over what they would go through when they woke.
Kaidan's arm came round her waist. "You know they'll be given the best care. It won't be easy for them, but they won't be alone."
Terra allowed him to propel her towards a sky-car Garrus had sorted for them, and by the time she was settled, Kaidan in the driving seat, Rorie was already asleep in her arms.
O
"Executor!" called an officer keeping an eye on the unconscious youngsters as the medics tended to them. All around, the adults were covered with sheets. "Some of the children are beginning to wake!"
On his way to a sky-car, Knox stopped mid-stride to watch as consciousness returned to a few of those he'd knocked out with his concussive blast. Within seconds he saw the disorientation and fear. He winced as he saw them searching their surroundings for familiar faces and finding none, not suspecting that those they sought lay under the sheets, dead by his hand. The guilt finally hit as they began crying out for parents they would never see again, and he turned away. As surely as the Reapers had taken away his family, so he had taken away theirs. Shepard was right - he hadn't cared and now he'd destroyed lives that were important to someone else; to these children. In shutting himself off from those around him, he'd become more like those machines. That realisation made him feel ill and ashamed.
"Good."
Knox looked up to find himself being scrutinised by the Executor, Garrus something – a close friend of Shepard's.
"That remorse you feel… it's what tells me you're not just some asshole who doesn't deserve to walk beside Shepard. I'm hoping you thought it was necessary at the time," he gestured to the lifeless bodies. "If not…well, that's something you'll have to learn to live with."
The turian walked away to deal with incoming reporters, leaving Knox standing there wondering how he was supposed to handle more innocent deaths on his hands to go with his family's. He looked down at the cap in his hands that he'd subconsciously picked up on his way out of the corridor. His only salvation came in knowing that they had succeeded in keeping the kid safe. Cortez had updated them during the shuttle ride, and it had seemed impossible at the time. Aurora Alenko - wanted by the race that created the Reapers because she held the key to preventing their control. Now he believed though. Finally, he had something to aim his anger at. The Leviathans.
oOo