Chapter 35 – You Can't Win Them All
Large, sharp fangs. Long, thick claws. Lithe, muscled body. That was all Cortez could focus on.
Hardly daring to breath, Steve ever so slowly raised his rifle and reversed back to the hatch, trying not to make any sudden movements. With every drawn-out second, each protracted step, he expected the animal to pounce, his only thought to get out to where he had some space, because he didn't like the chances of his shots getting through that hide before its teeth got to him. He needed room to have a hope of evading this thing.
One more step backwards…. He was finally at the edge-
"Lieutenant. ETA?"
Kaidan's voice made them both jerk as it broke through the tense atmosphere, then the beast sprang at Cortez, who flung himself out and to the side.
Landing heavily on the ground that punished him with its harsh, unforgiving surface by cutting into his unarmoured body, Cortez heard the animal land as it narrowly missed him. Rolling and spinning, he saw it leaping at him again. All he could do was fire as he reeled backwards, trying desperately to get the shuttle between him and it, and losing his footing. Then a lucky shot struck one of its eyes, and it howled and writhed in mid-air, landing at Cortez's feet.
Launching himself off his backside, Steve raced round to the far side of the shuttle, his senses alert for any sound behind him. Only the sound was above him. Claws scraped on metal as the animal jumped up onto its roof and scrabbled for purchase on the smooth surface. Knowing every second counted, Steve hauled the hatch open, and had one foot up before the animal impacted with him. He was knocked onto his back, and before he could move away, its whole body landed on his, pinning him down.
Crying out as it sank its fangs savagely into his left shoulder, Cortez managed to get his rifle up, firing directly into its underbelly. Every hit made its clawed feet tighten on his body, piercing the flesh of his legs and chest. Growling, it shook its head, ripping a chunk of his flesh with it, but Cortez kept firing until his heat sink was spent and there was nothing but taunting, useless clicks.
In his pained state, it took a few more seconds to realise that the animal had sunk down on top of him, unmoving. Shepard….
It took all of his rapidly diminishing energy to heave the beast off him, and he nearly blacked out when he tried to move his damaged arm. Sweat was dripping from his forehead as he got to his knees, everything shaking with the trauma. Once on his feet he staggered to the shuttle, all but falling into it, and quickly closed both hatches. He didn't release his hold on the rifle until he was sat in the pilot's seat, engines on and shields engaged, some illogical part of his shocked brain having told him to hold on to the weapon, no matter how empty.
Lifting away was awkward with only one hand. Many would consider what he was doing bordering on suicidal. As far as he was concerned, there was no choice. Locking in the coordinates, he surrendered it over to autopilot just for the time it took him to slather on the medigel from the kodiak's medkit. Fighting unconsciousness, Steve knew he'd already lost a lot of blood. His actions were as sluggish as his thoughts. But he just needed to get to the others. After they were safely aboard, someone could take over….
The warning alarm jolted him, heavy eyes alert as the adrenaline kicked in. Flicking it off auto-pilot he could see the ground missile headed his way. He wouldn't be able to evade it in time.
His heart jumping in the face of his own mortality, Robert flashed into his thoughts, and instantly everything inside him calmed. His husband would be waiting….
Only the missile didn't get to him. A fighter swooped in and shot it down, right in front of the shuttle. Flying through the cloud of fiery smoke it had created, Cortez had a brief and subtle feeling of disappointment that quickly turned to renewed determination. He still had a purpose. Yet as he carried on, there was a pull of inescapable fatigue.
oOo
The Normandy was spiralling through the air, avoiding the heavy fire from the yahg ship. Joker had witnessed it perform a stunning manoeuvre that had placed it in prime position to destroy the PPP-enabled turian frigate, before releasing a pulse that had dropped the two accompanying shielded frigates instantly. Joker hadn't had time to lament the loss of life as the ships exploded, because the yahg ship was now doggedly hunting them.
Whenever he tried to switch their positions - turn the hunter into the hunted – the yahg ship seemed to anticipate it and manoeuvred in a way that made it impossible. Between that and the pulses that were keeping them on their toes, this wasn't going well.
Altair was glued to her screen, switching on the PPP just a fraction of a second before another pulse hit them, the ship only taking a couple of hits from gunfire until she'd called up the shields again.
"We have a small fire in the starboard cargo hold," she announced. "Automatic fire-suppressant systems are functioning. Shields at 79%."
Joker gritted his teeth. This thing was a major pain in the ass. The Normandy was the most impressive thing in the sky, and he was her top-gun pilot. There was no way some Leviathan-controlled hulk, who couldn't have even a quarter of his experience and flight-time, was going to get even one more strike on his girl. It was insulting. What's more, he didn't have time for this bullshit. The ground team needed him and right now he was far from where he should be.
Searching the surroundings, he suddenly veered into a canyon. He'd seen it from above just a few minutes ago, and its winding narrow crevice was perfect for proving he and his ship ruled.
Next to him, Altair chanced a glance at him, but she didn't question the death-defying move. That would have made him smile had he not had to fully concentrate. The vertical walls of yellowed and orange-stained rock were looming either side of them, leaving no room for mistakes.
"Leave the PPP on," he murmured, too distracted with keeping them from impacting the walls to think of raising his voice. "They won't get a clear line of sight in here."
Relieved to be released from her arduous task of pulse-spotting, Altair found that watching their flight through the canyon was no less stressful. The speed with which Joker was negotiating it was frightening, yet he appeared to weave the ship through the tightest of turns and the narrowest of gaps with apparent ease, all the while seemingly oblivious to the eruptions of heavy gunfire hitting rocky walls from the yahg ship's attempts to fire at them. The rear cameras gave her glimpses of the pitch-black ship, and its near-misses with the environment. She was certain it was going to lose very soon, hoping to see a massive explosion of yahg-ship hitting solid rock. It went out of sight again as Joker twisted into another bend, but when they straightened out there were no signs of the other ship.
"Joker. It's not there."
Without a word, he continued on until they exited the other side. Then he took the ship up and doubled back over the canyon, searching the skies. Nothing.
"Where did it go?" whispered Altair, like she might be heard.
"I don't know. Maybe they chickened out." He, like Altair, looked out uneasily, neither of them believing that. But the sky appeared empty.
When the screens beeped as scanners picked up several ships, they both jumped.
"Ally ships," Altair breathed out as the ships identities were transmitted across to them.
"Normandy, we've got your back," came a turian voice.
"Good to hear, 'cos we're heading back to the hot-zone and that yahg ship is proving elusive," informed Joker.
Already going in the right direction, the Normandy was now the lead as the others fell in behind her, and Joker hoped they weren't too late.
oOo
Inside the building, they'd formed an effective team, but were rapidly running out of heat-sinks and energy. Biotics were the most effective way of preventing both yahg and rachni from ascending the last flight of stairs, but even with Kaidan, Jack and Javik tag-teaming, they couldn't keep it up, the rachni were swarms that just kept coming. The others were doing what they could to take the pressure off but it wasn't enough.
Whenever they weren't quick enough to throw the rachni back, the acid sprays bypassed shields and barriers, burning through their armour. None of them were unscathed.
Then, Kaidan noticed that it was only the rachni attacking. Where were the yahg?
The answer came loudly, the ground shaking as something impacted the floor from beneath, cracking the thick surface. Then there were several hits all at the same time, at various places across the ground they stood on. The yahg were using heavy weapons to break through the floor.
"Holy shit!" voiced Vega. "This goes and we're bathing in the enemy!"
That image enraged Jack. Storming over to where Wrex, Knox and Javik were taking their turn at the top of the last flight of stairs, she shoved them out of the way, then gave an unrestrained, frustrated and furious shout as she sent a powerful shockwave down the flight of steps, effectively turning it to a slope of rubble. Then she stood there out in the open, like her anger alone was enough to deflect any projectiles. Kaidan yanked her back just before a stream of acid struck her, then sent the rachni that tried to climb the slope of rubble smashing into the floor and far wall.
"What the fuck, Alenko?" Jack raged at him.
Pulling back, and allowing Javik to take his place, Kaidan gave her an equally pissed-off look. "Find some control before you get yourself killed." Then he quickly cut her off as she was about to argue. "No, Jack. This is not a debate. Things are bad enough without you taking unnecessary risks because you've lost it. Rein it in. Let that anger fuel you, but never rule you. Are we clear?"
Jack's fiery eyes remained fixed on him, but he could see her calming, and she gave a tight nod.
Then Kaidan did what he'd done at every opportunity: check on Terra.
Gardew was currently sitting beside her, on watch as instructed, not just for Terra, but Coats, too; they didn't need a strike from behind. The salarian was a mess, his left side had taken a shotgun blast from a yahg, and it had been exacerbated by the following hit of acid. Their medigel had run out, even after using Terra's and Coats' supplies, and Gardew was in a lot of pain. Despite being conscious and incredibly focused for someone so injured, Kaidan could see the salarian was waning rapidly.
Another succession of impacts from below had Kaidan fighting for balance, and then the floor began to give way in places.
Asides from those at the top of the stairs, the rest of them leaped backwards, sticking closer to the edges where it was more solid, Kaidan hauling Terra back, Garrus dragging Coats, and Cael helping Gardew.
"Kaidan…" Garrus said, solemnly.
"I know," murmured Kaidan. They were out of time.
"Gen…General, I'm- I'm here," came Cortez.
Energised with hope, Kaidan didn't have time to question Cortez's obviously poor state. "We're on the top floor. Blow the rear wall, centre. Hurry!"
Not even wasting time on responding, Cortez did just that. The wall exploded inwards, rubble smacking into Kaidan's barrier.
"Go, go, go!" shouted Kaidan, allowing Vega to take Terra. There was no choice. He was team-lead and as such would be the last one on that shuttle. One by one his squad began to jump across the gap between the building and shuttle. Outside, Kaidan could see ally fighters and interceptors firing relentlessly at those below, keeping them from firing on the shuttle. Wrex and Grunt were leaping, the shuttle rocking as they landed, and knowing they'd be one of the last to leave, Kaidan checked behind him. Only Javik was left holding back the enemy with his biotics.
Standing in the hole Cortez had made, Kaidan could see through the collapsed floor to the yahg below. One caught his attention: the Sur'Kesh yahg. He'd memorised the image of that yahg from the salarians' files, but would have guessed it was the leader anyway. Everything about it screamed power far beyond those around it. It stared intently back up at him, unmoving but horribly ominous, and Kaidan noticed every muscle of it tensing. It was about to vault right up through the floor. They had to move. Now. "Javik!"
The prothean threw out one last biotic surge that flattened the rachni in its path and raced to where he waited.
More rachni were immediately swarming up, the yahg aiming up through the spaces in the floor, and Kaidan shielded them both from the shots.
Javik was leaping across to the shuttle, but before Kaidan could turn to follow, the Sur'Kesh yahg sprang up and landed in front of him. It went to swing at him, only to find itself fighting for balance and a firm foothold as the damaged floor tried to send it back down. That was an opportunity Kaidan couldn't ignore.
Calling up everything he had, Kaidan did something he'd never tried before but had seen Liara do once. He sent his energy up to the ceiling and then pulled down hard. Throwing himself backwards as the entire roof collapsed inwards, taking down the top floor and those on it, too, Kaidan was grabbed by Vega and Garrus. Knox slammed the hatch shut, and Cortez hurtled away.
"Head straight up," Kaidan called out to Cortez, immediately moving to crouch over Terra, his chest burning, and his head thumping. "Hackett's cleared the yahg ships. It's the only guarantee we can be far enough away from any artifacts."
"Got… Got it," stammered Cortez.
"Esteban!" James clutched at his friend as the man began to slump to one side, the shuttle keeling. Grabbing the controls to even them out, Vega was torn between looking where he was going as he aimed them up, and watching Kaidan and Garrus pull the now unconscious Steve from the pilot's seat to lower him into the small space left on the floor of the crowded shuttle.
Seeing the condition of Steve's ruined shoulder, Kaidan wondered what the hell could have done it.
"Attacked by local wildlife," guessed Bau. "Savage creatures. Fitting for yahg. Not so good for us."
"Looks like he's tended to the shoulder. Blood loss?" queried Garrus, looking at Cortez, whose uniform was almost completely covered in blood, though some looked darker than a human's.
Kaidan ran his med-scan. "His shoulder's not the problem," he said quickly, hurriedly extracting a field tourniquet from one of his pockets, aware that the shuttle's medkit was laying empty on the floor. "It's his leg. He's got an arterial bleed." He set to work on Cortez, wishing more than ever that they had medigel. "He probably didn't even realise because of that shoulder." Fixing the tourniquet in place to staunch the blood flow, Kaidan was keen to get Steve under Chakwas' care.
"Kaidan!" called Edi. "General Coats is waking!"
Kaidan swung to Coats but at first he still looked peaceful. Then Coats began to open his eyes, and everyone capable swiftly landed on the man.
"You will serve us or die," Coats sneered.
"You talk too much," grumbled Grunt, smashing his fist into the general's face.
With Coats out again, Kaidan could only stare at Terra. "Vega?"
"We're close to breaking the atmosphere, Loco," James called back. "She's gonna be safe."
That's when they were rocked by the pulse from the yahg ship that had crept up on them. Everything failed, and they began to drop.
O
Joker had spotted the yahg ship appearing behind the shuttle, and he'd immediately been thankful that he'd advised his entourage to focus on helping those on the ground, while he'd raced after the kodiak. It meant that, just as the yahg ship had been undetectable to the shuttle's scanners, so too had the Normandy remained unknown to the hunter.
There wasn't a damn thing he could do about the pulse that emanated from it, but he could at least finish it, and he took aim….
O
"We're going down!" announced James.
"No shit!" griped Jack, her hands splayed out against the hull.
"Hold on, guys!" Joker's voice was a welcome sound that preceded an explosion above them, the attacking ship destroyed.
"Woohoo!" celebrated James. "Got to love Joker's timing," he grinned, like they were already saved, even as he struggled with the shuttle.
Nevertheless, Kaidan couldn't have agreed more. There was optimism within the shuttle again. He looked at Terra, saw the movement beneath her eyelids, and everything seized inside him as fear surged back into his heart at the sight. Not now. Not now. Steeling himself, Kaidan clenched his fist, nausea gripping him. They were heading the wrong way. She wasn't safe from the Leviathans. He would have to strike her again...
"I'm trying to level her out!" gritted James.
They were plummeting fast, but all Kaidan could focus on was Terra.
O
"Oh my God!" cried Altair. "They're going to crash!"
"No, they're not," vowed Joker. He took the Normandy into a punishing dive, chasing the shuttle. "Jeez, that's poor flying," he muttered.
"They're falling!" gaped Altair.
"That's no excuse for bad handling," Joker stated. "No way is that Cortez piloting."
They were then passing by the shuttle, the ground rapidly approaching. Altair was gripping her seat, but Joker was nothing but calm. He had to be.
Swinging in front of the kodiak, the shuttle bay's ramp already open, his eyes went from one camera view to another, lining the ship up with the shuttle as best he could.
"We're running out of sky!" panicked Altair.
"Relax."
Initiating reverse thrusters for just a few seconds slowed them enough to swallow the shuttle. Through the internal cameras, Joker could see the sparks as the shuttle 'landed' and slid its way towards the back of the bay, and even though he couldn't hear the screeching of metal across the deck, he winced anyway.
It was a victory, but he held off the pat-on-the-back. Best to get the ship away from the ground first, and he accelerated his girl into a twisting curve that most engineers would say wasn't possible, or advisable. Joker sniffed at them all as he pulled it off, Normandy's nose pointed straight towards space.
"Wow," breathed Altair. "Officially: wow."
Joker just gave her a casual shrug. "Yep. That's me. In a nutshell." Inside, Joker was beyond relieved. For all his talk, he was never complacent about such things. Until he'd had them in the shuttle bay there was always the chance something could go wrong. He thanked… whatever, that this was another addition to his 'impressive deeds' list, and not a terrible loss. The damned Leviathans needed to die.
O
The impact had been jarring and painful, but no one was complaining. They were alive.
Garrus was up and hauling open the hatch, Vega hoisting up Cortez, and Cael helping Gardew, all headed to the medbay. Knox hesitated, then trailed the others morosely out of the shuttle towards the elevator.
Wrex and Grunt had chosen to stand just outside, keeping close in case Coats woke, while Bau went to sit himself on a crate. Jack however, didn't move – just sat and watched Shepard's face. She wasn't the only one. Garrus remained at the hatch, while Edi and Javik stood in place – all of them just waiting, motionless.
Kaidan was barely aware of anything but Terra, his own pain paled into comparison with his concern for her, and he remained poised over her. "Edi. Tell me we're out of range. That they can't get to her." He watched his wife's eyelids, the motion beneath them more frequent.
"The precise extent of the Leviathans range through the artifacts is unknown. I have, however, erected a field around the shuttle."
He made a face. A field he no longer trusted in. It wasn't enough.
"I have the IPD program, Kaidan," added Edi, softly, seeming to know he needed more. "It was how I knew General Coats was waking. I will know the millisecond the Leviathans have contact."
"What if a millisecond is all they need?" It wasn't a question he expected her to answer; nor did Edi attempt to. Instead, he waited, fist drawn back, just in case, ignoring his head as it relentlessly demanded a dark, quiet place to rest.
Garrus peered at Kaidan crouched over Shepard, tension oozing from his human friend, his face the picture of guilt and dread. To have to strike someone you love…. As unpalatable as it was to Garrus, he would have saved Kaidan that task if he'd thought for a moment the man would have allowed it. Garrus truly felt for him. A powerful race wanted his daughter dead and his wife would be effectively the same if the Leviathans got hold of her again. It scared the hell out of Garrus, too. These were the people he cared about most, and he couldn't lose them.
Noticing Javik shift slightly, Garrus saw the prothean's hand resting on his pistol. "Get out, Javik," he ordered.
Javik's eyes bored into Garrus'.
Wrex leaned in, assessing the situation. "You heard the turian. Leave."
Javik's hand lowered back to his side. "If it has to be done-."
"It won't," cut off Garrus, meeting that gaze and holding it until the prothean left.
Kaidan heard the exchange, but it didn't concern him. He trusted the others to have it sorted.
The handful of minutes that had passed since their landing, felt like hours. There was a part of him that wanted her to open her eyes. He needed to see her face as it should be, instead of the haunting, almost demonic distortion of his wife that clouded his mind, courtesy of the Leviathans. He never wanted to see her like that again. Then another anxious thought surfaced through his protesting brain. What if it was already too late? The last time the Leviathans held her mind, she'd fallen into a coma….
When she started to properly stir - eyes fluttering, body tensing - Kaidan was torn between relief and fear. She wasn't in a coma, but was she free?
"Edi?" Kaidan was breathing rapidly now, making his chest hurt worse, and the migraine was now threatening to shut his brain down, while his fist started cramping with the tension.
Then her eyes sprang open, and she gasped. Kaidan saw the awareness and panic in those warm eyes, along with pain, and he knew it was her. All he could do then was gather her to him in profound relief, the movement making him dizzy to the point of nausea, but he had to hold her. "Thank God."
"Rendezvousing with Hackett's fleet," advised Joker. He then added, with an overly-casual tone, "Anyone want to update me on, you know, anything – Shepard maybe – feel free."
"I will speak with Jeff," Edi said, leaving the shuttle.
Terra's body trembled beneath his like she was cold, her damaged arms loose at her sides. When she pulled back to look at him, her dazed eyes locked fearfully onto his.
"What did I do?"
oOo
The tendril that connected the Leviathans to Shepard had stretched as far as it could, so that even the distortion caused by the field, was no longer detected. She was beyond their reach, and so too Coats.
But the Leviathans weren't bothered by it. They would have her again, and they would reduce her mind to nothing as punishment. The great Shepard, Saviour of the Galaxy, would be an example of what happened to those who defied them.
The views from the planet proved that the resisting races had realised the futility of their attack as the few that had survived, fled.
All Shepard and her people had gained was data. The equipment would be replaced, the scientists were still theirs, the data would be restored from the memory banks of the Intelligence which had remained untouched, the artifact undiscovered. More yahg were already travelling here to replenish their numbers. The destruction of their ships was no matter – they would re-build. The prototype testing had proven they had already overcome the fields, and now all they had to do was make it wider reaching and constant. Soon they would also find a way to diffuse the threat of the child's spores.
They were the Leviathans. The apex race. And the lesser races had been taught.
oOo
Terra's arms were in agony and barely responding to her efforts to move them. Her head felt like it was split in two, and she had the double-vision to match. But she didn't care about anything other than what the hell she'd done in that time between the cold, suppressing onslaught and waking here, on the shuttle.
"It wasn't you," Kaidan murmured.
Jack took that moment to wordlessly launch off her seat and storm out, and Terra stared after her, worriedly. "What did I do?" she insisted, her eyes returning to Kaidan, then looking him over, registering the myriad of injuries he'd sustained. Had she done that? But then she saw his eyes were pinched, and he was trying to reach into his pocket, but seemed unable to co-ordinate. Migraine. She tried to reach the meds he was attempting to retrieve, but between her damaged arms and her unfocused eyes, it was useless.
"Damn it!" Terra hushed out. "Garrus, I can't- I can't administer his meds."
Garrus crouched down beside them. "Um… I'm not sure…"
"He needs Chakwas," she stated, saving Garrus in the process.
"I'll take him," said Grunt, hopping back inside.
"Easy, Grunt," ordered Terra, stopping the young krogan from simply throwing Kaidan over his shoulder. "Don't jostle him about too much. And he needs quiet."
Grunt began to carefully hoist him up.
"Terra," Kaidan blurted out, reaching almost blindly for her until she pressed her cheek into his palm.
"I'm right here."
"I'll make sure she follows you up to medbay," Garrus assured Kaidan, taking cue from Shepard's quiet tone.
When Grunt and Kaidan were out of the shuttle, Terra turned to Garrus and saw the same catalogue of injuries, appalled. "Did I do all that to you? To Kaidan?" She looked over to Wrex, never having seen so much blood on the krogan chief. "My God-"
"Don't look at me," huffed Wrex. "When I got to you, you were already passed out."
"We had one hell of a fight just to get off Parnack," Garrus explained. "As you can see, it didn't leave us looking too sharp. But we can get into that later. Come on. We all need to get to medbay."
Frustrated with his obvious attempts to distract her, Shepard looked around the empty shuttle, gasping as she realised Coats was laying behind her.
"We had to knock him out," said Garrus.
"Good old-fashioned punch from a krogan," nodded Wrex. "I'll take him up to the doc."
Terra supposed that explained her own aching face and skull. Never would she have thought she'd be grateful for someone decking her. Then she spotted the blood on the ground.
"That's from Cortez," supplied Garrus. "We think he encountered some kind of animal. He's in medbay as we speak, which is where you should be."
"Garrus, who did I hurt?" She went to grasp his armour but then inhaled sharply with the pain.
Garrus sighed. "You're just going to torture yourself over something the Leviathans did."
"Just tell her already," Wrex barked, impatiently. "Shepard's no turian in need of coddling."
Garrus frowned at the unhelpful krogan, then resigned himself to the fact Shepard wasn't about to move from that spot until she had the answers. "I'll tell you on the way to medbay," he bartered.
Satisfied with that deal, Shepard got awkwardly to her feet. "Whoa…" She swayed in place and Garrus steadied her.
"Careful. You took quite a knock to the head. I would tut and say that's what you get for not wearing your helmet, but thank the spirits you didn't."
Steadying herself, she began to head for the exit, Garrus on her heels, ready to catch her. She would have made a teasing comment about it had she not felt so raw, and her head not been throbbing mercilessly. Her arms felt like they'd been through a grinder, re-modelled, and re-attached, loosely, and the fact she had no recollection of what had happened sat heavily in her stomach.
Wrex fell into stride with them, Coats draped over one arm, and they gathered inside the elevator.
Shepard leaned her spinning head back against the cool wall and closed her eyes. "Don't hold back," she prompted.
Garrus sighed. "You probably broke Knox's nose; shot him in the leg." He indicated to the gunshot wound to his own shoulder when she looked at him. "The rest is from the yahg and rachni," he emphasised, as she once again scrutinised every injury he'd suffered during the fight. "You toasted Vega a little, too, and…then there's Kaid-"
"Admiral," interrupted Traynor. "I have a call from Admiral Hackett. Are you able to take it?"
Swallowing back the bile from what she'd done, even without knowing what she'd inflicted on Kaidan, Shepard focused on the call. "Yes. Send it to my cabin."
"Shepard," warned Garrus.
"Garrus," she retorted back. "I have to talk with my dad. He'll be worried."
"Do it on your omnitool. I told Kaidan-"
"I'll be there as soon as."
The doors opened on the crew deck.
"Here." Wrex handed Coats over to Garrus. "You take him." Then he stepped out before Garrus could question it, turning right.
"Go get seen to, Garrus. You too, Wrex," she called out.
"Ryncol," was all he boomed back.
Shaking her head, then regretting it as her head protested, she needed to know one more thing. "We didn't find any artifacts, did we?"
"No," Garrus said, regretfully adjusting his hold on Coats.
"What happened down there?"
"You and Coats were knocked out, and… we ran out of time. The rachni turned on the krogan, the other ally forces had to join the fight. Thankfully, we were already out of the tunnels by the time the enemy entered the buildings. Cortez picked us up, a yahg ship killed our systems, and Joker caught us before we hit the ground."
She processed that slowly, and emptiness enveloped her. "Go, Garrus. I'll be fine. The sooner I speak to my dad, the sooner I'll surrender to the doc's scrutiny."
"That's bordering on blackmail."
She didn't say anything at first. She had little left. Nothing had been achieved except death and pain. "Please, Garrus. I just need a minute."
He only hesitated a few more seconds before leaving her alone. The cab moved her up, Edi taking over control. Her feet were heavy as she traipsed out and into her room. Edi had the screen ready for her call.
oOo
The image of his daughter standing there was a wonderful thing.
"Terra, thank God you're alright." Hackett could see though that she was far from alright. She could barely focus on him, her forehead was knotted with pain, and she looked emotionally beaten.
"What's the state of the forces on the ground?"
He didn't blink at the business-like tone. She clearly needed to be the soldier. "I called a full retreat. Those left are being retrieved as we speak."
"How many survived?"
"So far… 160." The dismal number fell from his lips with the feeling of abject failure. 160 out of thousands. It was hard to take.
Terra stood there, saying nothing, and he was certain that number was repeating itself inside that head of hers.
"I have to go. Medbay," she explained, lifelessly. "I'll…check in with you soon."
"Take what time you need. Then we can analyse the situation. De-brief."
She signed off, leaving him bothered by her despondency. She'd break through it, he knew. She always did. But that didn't mean he had to like the fact she was there to begin with.
They were all licking the wounds of defeat.
oOo