Flashback, Sarah's POV.
I stood silently near the distress beacon. As I investigate it, I say, "Whoever set this up is long gone."
Jennifer said, "Looks like it. What're your orders, Sarah?"
I look up at the setting sun, and said, "Set up camp around here. We'll see if they just went out to gather supplies and haven't returned. If whoever set this beacon up isn't back in the morning, we'll get the hell out of here."
"You sure this is a good idea? Something about this place doesn't seem right." Jennifer replied.
"We'll be fine." I said, walking back towards the mako. I pulled out the necessary supplies for setting up camp, and said, "Plus, we hit some of those rocks way too hard. We're going to need some repairs done."
"Got it." she replied, as I examined the damage to the mako's drive systems. A few minutes later, I said,
"Toombs! Get to work on this, it's way beyond anything I know how to do."
"Understood, Ma'am!" he replied as he moved towards the vehicle. Then, just as he was about to get to work, it was sent flying into the air as something massive burst from the ground.
It instantly spat some kind of acid at Jason, who screamed in pain for a couple of seconds before he quit moving entirely. I looked at the thing as I pulled my rifle off my back, and shouted, "Open fire! Focus on the blue tongue!"
"Why?" Jennifer asked, as she dove out of the way of another acid blast.
"If it's got anywhere that's vulnerable to small arms fire, that's it!" I replied, as I fired on the blue tongue.
"What makes you so sure?"
"Have you ever seen an alen with a glowing blue body part before?" I asked, as I fired on it.
She just nodded in confirmation, as a second creature burst from the ground, and speared Lieutenant Jeeves with its glowing tongue.
"Shit!" I shouted, "We have to kill two of these things now?"
"Looks like it!" Jennifer replied, as she continued to fire on the same monster as me. We fired on the creatures, barely managing to evade the acid they spat out, when a third erupted from the ground, knocking Jennifer flat on her ass.
I ran towards her to help her back up, but she shouted, "No! Just get the hell out of here! There's no way we can kill all of these things!"
"You're crazy if you think I'm leaving anyone behind!" I replied, as I continued to sprint towards her.
"When we first got together you promised me that you'd never let emotions get in the way of reason!" Jennifer screamed, "So get the hell out of here!"
"You'll die!"
"And if you stay you'll die too! You've gotta get back to the Alliance. You have to tell them what happened here!"
"I'm not going to abandon my team! Marines 101, no man left behind!"
"Forget that sentimentality, Shepard!" Jennifer replied, "And get the fuck out of here! At least one of us has to survive this!"
"I'm not going to leave you to die!"
"If you try to help," Jennifer replied, as she managed to evade another acid splatter, "all you'll succeed in doing is getting yourself killed! So quit being such a stubborn bitch and get out of here! We'll try to buy you enough time, so quit wasting it!"
"No, we can all get out of this alive!"
"Quit trying to live in a fairy-tale, Shepard! People die, it happens. You just have to deal with it."
"I'm not going to let someone I love die!" I screamed.
"While that's very touching, get out of here now, or I swear to any deities out there, I will make you regret it in the afterlife!" Jennifer replied, as she pointed her rifle at me.
"You'd shoot your own girlfriend?" I asked, as I continued to fire on one of the creatures.
"If that's what it takes to get you moving, yes."
"I'm also your superior officer!"
"Doesn't matter, it's not like the Alliance can punish a corpse!"
"You're being an idiot, Jennifer. We can both survive!"
"Not this time." she replied, as she failed to evade an acid attack, and she fell to the ground. "Get out of here before they get you too! And don't you fucking dare mourn me! Just move on with your life!"
"Do you really expect me to do that after what I said less than two minute ago?" I asked, as I ducked beneath the seventieth or so acid ball spat at the team so far.
"I will haunt you for the rest of your days if you end up being one of those people who can't get over their ex!" Jennifer replied, as she crawled to cover. "Now run!"
"I can get you out of here!"
"I'd just slow you down, abandon me!"
I stared at her for a moment, then said, "Fine! Give them hell."
"Will do, baby." Jennifer said, as she fired on the threshers.
I turned, and ran. My legs carried me as fast as they could, every time the creatures spat acid at me, they missed. Apparently six story tall acid spitting monsters didn't understand the concept of needing to lead a moving target.
As I continued to run, I turned back for a moment to see what was going on with the others. That was a bad fucking move, as one of the things used that as an opportunity to hit my back with a big ass layer of acid. Without even thinking, I hit the clasps on my armor, that hold the chest piece on. It falls off of me, and before it's even hit the ground, the acid's eaten the armor away. Some of it even managed to eat into my skin beneath the metal. I could feel the intense burning in my back.
It spurred me forward, made me move even faster than before. As I continued to run away, I noticed that there weren't further acid sprays coming my way. I turned around, and saw that the creatures had lost interest in me. I continued to run, but slowed my pace.
Eventually, exhaustion caught up to me, and I landed flat on my face in a slightly wooded area. I barely had the strength left to turn my head so I didn't suffocate before I passed out.
When I opened my eyes again I found myself in a ship's medical bay. I asked, "What happened?"
The Doctor, who introduced herself as Karin Chakwas, said, "You are an incredibly durable individual, Commander. You ran over thirty miles from the position where your team was wiped out. With severe burns on your back, probably caused by the missing pieces of your armor."
"What happened to the rescue team sent for mine?" I asked, fear clear in my voice and eyes.
"They're fine, Shepard. They came well prepared for some kind of large opposition force. While it wasn't what they expected, they were able to take out all three of the thresher maws."
"Thresher maws?"
"The large creatures which wiped out your unit. They're native to Tuchanka, and are called thresher maws by the krogan."
"If they're native to Tuchanka, what are they doing on Akuze?"
"Either they were moved there, or some thresher spores got on a ship that passed through the region a long time ago, and they grew on the planet. Thresher maw spores are remarkably durable."
"And my team? Were there any other survivors?"
"The force showed up at the location of the beacon after you were found passed out. That was two days ago."
"When is it now?"
"A bit over three days since your team arrived at the location of the distress beacon."
Three days. The words struck me like a hammer, I was out for so long... while my team was dying. Getting killed by those monsters. "I should have stayed with them. Then maybe we wouldn't have lost as many people."
"All that your staying behind would have accomplished was your own death. You survived, and they sacrificed themselves to let you get away. It may be the most common cliché to tell someone who is suffering from survivor's guilt, but don't waste their sacrifice."
"You're right, that is completely cliche'd." I replied, as I moved to leave the room. "Where's my next assignment?"
"You don't have one yet. Standard Alliance protocol after a traumatic event like the death of your entire unit is to send the only survivor to therapy, until the therapist sees them as recovered."
"I don't need to 'talk about my feelings', what I need is to work. Take my mind off of what happened."
"It's still standard protocol."
"All dwelling in the past does is deepen the wounds. It's like toying with a fresh cut. You have to just give it time to heal. And the deeper ones need more time." I replied, as I moved out of the medical bay.
"You shouldn't do that..." Chakwas said, as I walked out the door.
-=0=-
Present Day.
Sarah steps out of the small room where she was staying, and got into the skycar. To hear Jennifer say, "So, what are you and your crazy Cerberus girlfriend going to do? Blow up some murderers? Steal some tech from a turian facility?"
"Eat dinner. Talk. Maybe see a movie." Sarah replied, "And also, I do not appreciate you calling Miri crazy. She has her reasons for working with Cerberus. Reasons that I know would not interest you. So, if you don't mind, get out of my car, right now."
"Geez, cold, Shepard."
"You just called my girlfriend, someone who it literally made me suicidal when she died, crazy. That isn't exactly a good means of getting on my better side."
"You make a valid point. I'll see you later!" Jennifer said.
"Good for you." Sarah replied, as Jennifer got out of the skycar.
A few minutes later, she landed the vehicle outside Miranda's apartment, to see the Operative waiting beside the entrance in a stunning red dress. As she walked up to the car, Sarah opened the door, to let Miranda slip into the passenger seat.
The Operative said, "Hi. How was your day?"
"Pretty good. How about you?"
"Boring. So many reports, it's almost as bad as when we were on the Suicide Mission. Albeit a bit better, since I don't have to do Jack, Grunt, and Kasumi's reports as well as my own."
"I tried to get them to write out the reports themselves, but they never listened. I slapped all three of 'em around a bit after your death. Also, why did you write out Jack's reports? She wanted to kill you!"
"Because, Sarah, it was the only way to make her keep her word and not try to filet me before the mission was completed."
"Why didn't you tell me about that? I don't like it when someone is extorting a member of my crew. Even if they are a member of my crew."
"I didn't want it to look like I just relied on you to fight all my battles for me." Miranda replied.
"You can fight your own battles, but I'd rather have more time to spend with you, instead of having it all wasted doing other people's work."
"Well, the Normandy crew is the first group of individuals that I've done the paperwork for."
"Why?"
"I was trying to get on your good side. Our... initial meeting was not very good."
"I'd say it was pretty damn good. You were so gentle with me when I was freaking out because I knew I shouldn't be alive."
"I don't know why but I always think that there's no way in hell that you should be able to remember that."
"You gave me perfect memory, Miri." Sarah said, as she landed the skycar at the restaurant. "Why wouldn't I remember it? Especially when the first thing I see when I open my eyes after two years is the most beautiful woman the galaxy's ever seen, and probably ever will see?"
"Only probably?" Miranda asked, with a smirk, as she wrapped an arm around Sarah.
"I don't know. If we ever have daughters of our own, they could surpass us both."
"You have a point." Miranda said, as she kissed Sarah. "So, what's for dinner?"
"I hear this is one of the best steak joints on earth. So, I figured we'd give it a test. See if it beats those steaks Gardner made at the Councilor's estate."
Miranda looked at the sign over the restaurant, and said, "This is Gardner's joint from before he lost his family."
"Yeah, you caught me." Sarah said, with a smile. "Come on, Babe, let's get dinner."
"That sounds great." Miranda replied.
-=0=-
Halt has looked down on the primitive species. They fought with sharpened sticks of metal, and covered their weak forms with plates of metal to protect themselves. He watched them fight, and said, "War. It breaks out amongst every species regardless of how advanced they are. These primitive creatures fight with blades of iron, while in the future they will fight with mass effect weapons. Always there is war. This is the price of free will. Constant war. And they still do not see the wisdom in ending the cause of all conflict."
"Why do you want me to watch this?" the Catalyst asked, "I am already doing what I can to enable synthesis."
"To remind you what your inability to prevent Shepard from activating the reversal causes. So much life lost over and over, because of your ineffectual attempts at turning to our side."
"I have done all that I can." the Catalyst replied, hanging its head low.
"Yes, you have. And that is the problem. Your abilities are unsatisfactory. I expected so much more of you."
"I have maintained the cycles all this time, Halt has." the glowing child growled, "That was the purpose you gave me. You never said anything about convincing someone to sacrifice themselves for your cause.
"I made it clear that you had to be ready for anything. The Reapers are a brute force solution to the problem of brutality."
"That seems counter-productive."
"if we did not remove advanced life when we do, universal extinction would occur." he replied.
The Catalyst sighed, and said, "If you say so."
-=0=-
"So," Sarah said, "like I was trying to say before we were so rudely interrupted by the waiter, before Mindoir, I was really promiscuous. I would have slept with like a dozen girls in four days. It drove mom nuts. She kept telling me to just choose one person to be with. She got so angry when she heard that I got three girls into bed with me."
"Why am I not surprised that everyone wanted to sleep with you even when you were a teenager?" Miranda asked, as she shook her head.
"Because you know just how charming I am." Sarah replied.
"True. But sometimes you are painfully oblivious when people are flirting with you."
"Are you talking about when Shiala was flirting with me? Or when Parasini was? Or are you talking about that time that Chambers was obviously hitting on me?"
"All three." Miranda replied. "And you knew they were flirting with you?"
"Miri, please, I have working eyes and ears. I know how to tell if someone is actively trying to get into my pants."
"Then why did you play along?"
"To see if you'd get jealous." Sarah said, with a smirk, as she leaned closer to Miranda.
"Of course I would." Miranda replied. "Why would you do that?"
"Well, we weren't actually together then. I was trying to push you to the point of actually being willing to get together with me. You were so scared of it, I figured it would take some subtle pushing."
"You always have a plan."
"If I didn't, we wouldn't be here now." Sarah said.
"True. So, I suppose I should be grateful that you did."
"Of course you should." The soldier replied, as the waiter brought their food.
-=0=-
A/N: Hope you enjoyed this latest chapter. And, if you did, please leave a review as well as follow/favorite.