Author's Note: So here's the next chapter of this fic.
Disclaimer: I don't own Mass Effect.
If Today was Your Last Day- Part Three
Ashley raced back to where the Normandy was docked as rapidly as her legs could carry her. At least twice, she tripped and fell on the sidewalk, scrapping her knees. She would quickly inspect her legs to ensure they weren't broken, pick herself up and continue her sprint. She was panting by the time the ship came into view, her heart loudly beating into her eardrums.
"Are you all right Williams?" the AI inquired. "My scanners indicate that your heart beat is elevated above its normal rate. I would recommend rest and drinking plenty of water and other liquids."
Ashley admitted to herself that even after a month on the SR-2, the AI was disconcerting, and she still half expected it to murder her while she was asleep. "I'm fine. I just need to speak with Commander Shepard."
"I'll let Commander Shepard know right away," the AI replied politely. "The conference room is available if you wish to utilize it."
"No thank you," Ashley replied. "I can wait here."
Judging from the sweat Ellen emitted from her light brown skin, she'd probably interrupted her during an exercise session. Ashley smothered any misgiving regarding her request. Time was running out for Garrus, and every minute counted.
"EDI informed me you required my presence," Ellen said. "Is there something you need?"
"I hate to beg Shepard, but I received a distress call from Garrus, and it sounds dire," Ashley explained. "With your permission, I would like to attempt a rescue mission."
Apart from a raised eyebrow, Ellen gave no indication that this was shocking news. Then again, maybe she was used to fulfilling the entreaties of her crew. "Where exactly would this rescue mission take place on?"
"Omega."
"Well, since Lawson already informed me we have several new recruits to acquire there, it won't be out of our way," Ellen replied. "Besides, it would be excellent to have another old crew member on board whose loyalty lies with me rather than Cerberus."
Within the blink of an eye, Ellen was commanding Joker to plot a course for Omega, and Ashley prayed that they weren't too late.
…
Coincidentally, Garrus was unmasked as one of the potential recruits on the Illusive Man's list. Ashley vacillated between feeling relief that Garrus was meant to accompany them to battle the Collectors and disquieted that Garrus' performance as a vigilante placed him on the Illusive Man's radar.
The moment Garrus removed his helmet, Ashley ran into his arms and embraced him tightly. There was also a miniscule lifting of the weight of her persistent fear that he would perish here on Omega, and she'd squandered the opportunity to express her love for him.
"I'm glad to see you too Ashley," he said, his vocal cords rumbling with ecstasy.
"Now let's kick some mercenary butt together!" she declared.
"At least I'm excellent at ensuring you have plenty of opportunities to fight," Garrus wryly observed.
"Ahem, I hate to be the one to break up a touching reunion, but we kind of have three bands of mercenaries to take care of," Lawson interjected.
Lawson might be a buzzkill, but she did have a point. It was surprisingly easy to remember Garrus' fighting style and to compliment it; she enjoyed utilizing her skills in a fight, but Garrus' presence transformed the combat into a choreographed dance. The moment the rocket smashed into Garrus, Ashley yelled and dived to press her hands onto his chest, attempting to staunch the flow of turquoise blue blood. She zoned out of Ellen calling up Joker for a pick up.
The next thing she recalled was anxiously pacing back and forth outside the med bay. While Lawson departed to shower, Ellen hung around as if she was uncertain of leaving Ashley alone.
"So how are you and Liara doing?" Ashley queried for lack of anything better to ask.
"We're doing ok," Ellen replied. "I wish she was with us right now, but I understand she's a bit preoccupied with battling the Shadow Broker." She glanced at the door to the medical bay briefly before Ellen added, "Did you know about the Archangel thing?"
"Yeah, I knew," Ashley admitted. "Things weren't easy for any of us with the Alliance and the Council denying that the Reapers existed and crime running rampant on the Citadel. It was a struggle to persuade Garrus to stay in contact."
Just then, Dr. Chakwas appeared and motioned for both of them to join her. "I have some good news. Garrus' prognosis looks good, although he required some cybernetic implants. I will discharge him from the medbay within forty-eight hours, in order to allow his face to heal up."
"Thank you Dr. Chakwas," Ashley replied, before departing for her own bunk.
…
Ashley never believed she'd ever empathize with Miranda, but the situation with her younger sister Oriana altered that. It was clear that Miranda loved her sister as much as Ashley loved her sisters, and it was heartbreaking that Miranda believed she didn't deserve to interact with Oriana.
"It's like Tennyson said, 'Tis better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all'," Ashley argued.
"I'm fairly certain that this situation wasn't what Tennyson had in mind when he wrote that," Miranda retorted.
"At least give her a chance to get to know you," Ellen gently cajoled.
"Fine, I'll see if you Oriana wants to talk to me," Miranda said in defeat.
As the raven-haired woman sauntered over to her sister, Ellen and Ashley shared a smile.
…
When Garrus requested they take a team to deal with Sidonis, Ashley already possessed enough misgivings to invite herself along, and Garrus' rough handling of Harkin bothered her a bit, even if the man was a crook. Now Shepard was pleading with him not to take the shot, and she couldn't sit by and watch.
"Garrus don't do this!" she begged.
"What if it was the person who hurt 212?" Garrus countered. "Or one of your sisters?"
"I'm not saying I don't comprehend your reasons Garrus, I just want to point out that this won't fix anything. It won't bring back your team," Ashley replied.
Finally, after several agonizing minutes Garrus backed off. "Just go. Tell him to go."
Sidonis calmly complied, and Ashley exhaled a sigh of relief that they'd solved the problem without violence.
Garrus attempted to apologize as he climbed into the car, "Ashley I'm sorry for bringing up the 212. That was selfish of me."
"It's ok, and you're right. I don't know how I'd react if I could get a hold of the geth who massacred my teammates, but revenge doesn't really fix the underlying issues, and it just causes more pain and death."
"True," Garrus admitted.
Ashley reached out and grasped his hand gently as they flew back to the Normandy. At least, she hadn't lost Garrus to his quest for vengeance.
…
"Hey, could we talk for a minute?" Eric asked, checking to ensure Miranda was absent.
After completing several missions on the Citadel, Ellen declared that the rest of the day would be free, and quite a few of the crew took advantage of that. Ashley and Garrus opted to stop by a coffee shop Garrus used to visit while on lunch breaks at C-Sec. The coffee and scones were excellent, and Garrus decided to duck into the restroom.
Eric had apparently tracked them down, and after discerning that this must be serious for him to badger her for advice, Ashley responded, "Sure, what did you want to discuss?"
"It's about Cerberus. I was so grateful to them for rescuing me from the batarians that I never stopped to consider their more nefarious activities. But after seeing what happened to Jack, I can't suppress my disgust with what they've done, and I don't know if I can remain with them."
Ashley couldn't believe that she'd finally found her opportunity to persuade Eric, but she couldn't scare him off. "Then don't."
"What?" Eric inquired in confusion.
"After we defeat the Collectors, leave Cerberus," Ashley suggested. "It won't be easy, but you know your sister would support you one hundred percent."
Eric pondered her words for a couple of minutes before he replied, "I'll think about."
As Eric abruptly departed and Garrus finally returned to their table, Ashley reflected that Eric hadn't actually promised to quit Cerberus. But at least, it was a start.
…
When Garrus showed up in the starboard lounge, Ashley was already expecting him. The fact they were about to depart on a suicide mission via the Omega mass relay, with their chances of survival tiny, meant there were facts she needed to inform him of.
"I just got off having an e-chat with Sarah," she informed. "If anything happens, she'll let Mom and my other sisters know that I loved them and I fought the Collectors so they would be safe."
"Yeah, I left a message for Solana and my father," Garrus replied. "Hopefully, they'll get it if something happens."
"I'll make sure they do." It was surprising how much she trusted Garrus in a way she hadn't with her previous boyfriends.
"Actually, there's something I need to tell you," Garrus confessed. "I kind of feel like I'm falling in love with you and I'm wondering if you feel the same way."
"Yes, I do," Ashley admitted. "But there's something else I need to tell you."
"I am as you humans say 'all ears'," Garrus replied.
"Well, I was sort of in a time loop for a long while, and that's why I know things about you, Eric, and the others, because I lived through a portion of time over and over again."
"Wait was this around Virmire?" Garrus queried.
"Yeah," Ashley admitted. "I know it sounds crazy but…"
"We're going through the Omega relay that fight a bunch of creatures that are plotting to bring back sentient machines that are responsible for wiping out the Protheans," Garrus pointed out. "This almost seems normal."
"Ok, I get what you mean," she said.
The pair spent the rest of their time alternating between Garrus asking questions about the time loop and attempting to memorize the feel of each other's bodies against each other. It was the perfect calm before the storm.
…
Smash! Ashley nimbly dodged as a boulder the size of the Mako crashed onto the ground where she'd been just a minute earlier. Her adrenaline was running on overtime throughout their mission into the Collector's base. They'd already rescued the members of their crew who'd been abducted, although Ashley felt a pang of guilt that their efforts to rescue the missing colonists were in vain.
She took aim and bulls eyed another Collector before it could ambush Miranda, who gave her a curt nod, before returning to the fight. At least, Miranda and Ellen's biotics gave them an edge in the battle. The trio climbed up to a high platform that seemed to support a massive, mucous colored egg.
"What is that?" Ellen asked.
"I believe that would be what the missing colonists were processed into," EDI explained. "It's a kind of human reaper."
Ashley wanted to vomit the contents of her stomach, and the other two also sported similarly queasy expressions. Of course, the Illusive Man chose that moment to appear via hologram and strongly suggest they keep the Collector's base running.
"There's no fucking way we're keeping this base!" Ellen yelled.
"Miranda, how can you allow her to do this?!" the Illusive Man complained.
"On the contrary, I agree that the only ethical option is to blast this base to kingdom come!" Miranda retorted. "Consider this my resignation!"
"And you can go fuck yourself!" Ashley suggested before cutting off the channel. When both Ellen and Miranda glanced at her bemusedly she added, "I've been wanting to say that to him for a while."
Suddenly, the putrid shell cracked and a creepy fetus Reaper burst out. Miranda swore and Ellen instinctively launched a Singularity that failed to make a dent in the monster. Ashley aimed her rifle and fired. A weird slime like substance oozed out of a hole in the creature's body. Then, Ellen and Miranda launched a simultaneous biotic attack that appeared to catch the creature off guard. It seemed to take an eternity before the creature finally came tumbling down like London bridge, but not before sending the trio crashing down into darkness.
When Ashley regained consciousness, she observed that Joker was nervously attempting to contact them in order to ascertain around what time they would arrive at the ship. It was a desperate foot race to the Normandy against a swarm of bug like creatures that they fortunately won. Ashley's heart didn't cease thumping loudly until they escaped through the Omega relay and out of what was once the Collector's territory.
…
"EDI can you pinpoint Commander Shepard's location?" Ashley desperately inquired. She'd already been on pins and needles about Ellen undertaking this mission and was only assuaged that Ellen agreed to allow her brother Eric to accompany her.
"I'm sorry Ashley I can't do that," EDI deadpanned.
It was testament to her increased trust in EDI that the AI quoting 2001: A Space Odyssey didn't faze Ashley. "No offense EDI, but this isn't the appropriate time to be telling jokes."
"I agree," Joker concurred from his chair. "There's a time and place for cracking jokes Eeds, and now really isn't a good time."
"I was merely attempting to bring some levity to our current situation," EDI retorted. "I assure you that I am still scanning for Commander Shepard's presence."
Suddenly, an explosion emanated from the station, sending shockwaves barreling towards the ship.
"What the fuck was that?!" Joker exclaimed, perturbed that his beloved ship was in danger.
"I am ninety-nine-point nine percent certain that we have just pinpointed Commander Shepard's location," EDI declared.
That was the last time any of them were able to crack a joke given what transpired next, and for once Ashley was at a loss for words, quoted or otherwise.
…
"No, I won't allow anyone else to take the fall for a decision I made," Ellen yelled.
The conference room was crowded with Eric, Joker, and Garrus in addition to Ashley. Although, Garrus was technically only present to act as moral support for Ashley.
"With all due respect Commander," Ashley said. "But, all of us refuse to let the Alliance have you put to death for a choice you had to make."
"Eric," Ellen implored, attempting to shield her brother from the Alliance. Ashley would have probably done the same if it had been one of her sisters.
"I've decided to own up to my complicity in Cerberus's unsavory actions," Eric replied. "Maybe, the testimony I provide can give the Alliance an edge over Cerberus in future conflicts."
"Fine, and I suppose there's no point in persuading you to abandon ship Joker," Ellen said.
Joker shrugged. "I go where the Normandy goes."
"All right, I'll speak to the rest of the crew and ensure everyone who wishes to depart before our final destination is given a new identity," Ellen declared.
…
To say the Alliance was livid about Ashley's involvement in the Bahak system incident was a massive understatement. After a frustrating debate, she was freed, but informed that she must remain nearby in case they required her presence. Which, infuriatingly, mean she hadn't been able to see any of her family apart from attending Sarah's wedding (and she instinctively sensed she would have been barred from that if Admiral Hackett hadn't pulled some strings.) In addition, she decided not to contact Garrus as she suspected her mail was being read, and she wasn't in the mood to deal with judgmental politicians.
The only positive of her new arrangement was James Vega's presence, and the fact he was compassionate enough not to push for any details. They'd eat in the cafeteria at the Alliance headquarters, and sometimes James would coax her into browsing at a nearby bookstore for new poetry.
Kaidan was also present, having been promoted to Major. Unfortunately, any time she attempted to initiate conversation with him, Kaidan fled. She wasn't sure if this meant he felt guilty about his reactions on Horizon, or he didn't wish to converse with her at all.
Finally, the Alliance Command summoned her for a "meeting". Ashley crossed her fingers and prayed that they'd finally gotten their heads out of their asses, and realized that the Reaper invasion was authentic, and they required Ellen Shepard in order to eradicate the merciless machines. At least, Ellen and Eric both appeared to be unharmed. James gave her a nod, while Kaidan studiously ignored the entire group.
She ended up zoning out of most of the debate. It wasn't until, one of the assistants noted the connection with the Luna base short-circuited, that Ashley first sensed that the invasion commenced. The massive windows shattered in a shower of razor sharp shards. Instinctively, Ashley shielded her face with her arms. She winced as some of the glass fragments nicked her forearms.
"We've got to evacuate!" Anderson yelled over the din of invading Reapers.
Ellen nodded in affirmation, and the group began their egress from the Alliance headquarters. Ashley reluctantly armed herself with a gun pried from the corpse of one of the Alliance council's bodyguards. If she had to fight her way though Vancouver's skyscrapers, at least she was fighting alongside people she trusted. Ashley wasn't certain of their ultimate destination, until she spotted the Normandy hovering over their location. Then, they received the distressing revelation that Anderson wasn't going to accompany them off world, in spite of Ellen's pleas. James appeared to be perturbed about the situation too, but obeying orders from your superiors was how the military ran things, so they took off without Anderson and began the short trip to Mars to pick up data supposedly vital to vanquishing the Reapers.
…
"Out of the way!" Eric yelled frantically, causing Private Westmoreland to blanch white as a sheet and swiftly flee his ire. He'd been frantic ever since he, and Shepard returned from the mission to Mars with Kaidan terribly injured and barely clinging to life.
In fact, Ashley suspected that the former Cerberus agent may have developed feelings for Kaidan while incarcerated at the Alliance headquarters. "Take a deep breath," she advised. "Yelling at the crew isn't going to improve Kaidan's condition."
Eric sighed heavily. "I know, but it's hard feeling so god damned helpless right now. Do you know what I mean?"
Ashley nodded, recollecting her own frightened musings when Dr. Chakwas was patching Garrus up after his rocket incident on Omega. "Yes, I do Eric, and the best thing you can do is remain calm and wait for news."
Ellen Shepard entered the hallway with a perturbed expression emblazoned on her face. "Eric, if you keep up antagonizing the crew like this, I'll have to court martial you."
"I'll try to be politer," Eric replied.
"And get some sleep," Ellen advised. "You'll be useless in a fight if you aren't well rested."
…
Ashley barely suppressed her exhilaration at the opportunity to once again fight alongside Garrus, even if the situation was far from ideal. Not even struggling to make a dent in the massive harvester could mar the reunion. Ashley reloaded her rifle, and finally managed to bull's eye a weak spot that finally caused the harvester to slump onto the ground dead.
"How's your family?" Ashley inquired once the battle was over and the new Primarch was informed of his new position. "Have you heard anything from them?"
Garrus shook his head. "No, I haven't. The Reapers have done an excellent job in hampering most of our communications with Palaven, and I can't inquire about utilizing what channels are still open since relaying orders to the front is our top priority. What about your family?"
"All I know is that they made it off Earth safely," Ashley said. "I don't know how long it's going to take them to reach the Citadel provided their transport isn't annihilated by the Reapers. I'll keep your family in my prayers."
"Thanks, that means a lot to me even though I'm not normally the religious type." After that, they discussed what the other crew members from the first and second Normandy were currently up to, as well as poetry (Garrus had gotten into Tennyson and Langston Hughes). Merely being in Garrus' presence was a soothing balm to Ashley's worries, and she believed their chances of destroying the Reapers increased with Garrus on the crew.
…
When they arrived back on the Citadel, Ashley instinctively recognized that it was guilt that motivated her to visit Kaidan. Guilt over the fact that her suffering through the time loops hadn't prevented Kaidan from incurring serious injuries. Kaidan was awake when she arrived in his room and gave her a rueful look. Perhaps, he was reflecting on the less than complimentary words he'd exchanged with both her and Shepard on Horizon.
"Hey, Kaidan, how are you?" she inquired.
"I'm still a bit sore, but according to the doctors I'm on the mend," Kaidan replied. "Actually, I wanted to apologize to you for what I said on Horizon. Shepard gave me an earful when she visited about how the real person I need to make amends with was you. Plus, Hackett provided me with the details about your mission, and I recognize now how brave you were to infiltrate Cerberus."
"Don't worry about it Alenko," Ashley said. "I probably would have stuck my foot in my mouth and said far worse if our positions were reversed."
"Speaking of Cerberus, what do you know about Eric Shepard?" Kaidan queried, endeavoring to appear casual. "I'm still finding it difficult to believe that he and the Commander are related since they don't resemble each other much."
Considering that Eric was pale skinned with pipe cleaner straight brown hair and blue eyes, while Shepard's skin tone was a light brown, her hair was a curly brown that devolved into a rat's nest if she didn't keep it tightly braided, and her eyes were a hazel that flirted with green, Ashley had made the same observation in the past.
What intrigued her was that Kaidan appeared to be as fascinated by Eric as Eric was with the biotic. Perhaps, the engineer's budding feelings for Kaidan were requited. "Eric's a decent guy and he doesn't have any hang ups about aliens, apart from batarians. He still feels guilty about working for Cerberus even though he didn't participate in any of their heinous experiments," Ashley explained. "Why do you ask?"
Kaidan actually blushed scarlet as though he were a mischievous child whose hand was caught liberating cookies from their jar. "No reason, I was just curious about him and Shepard isn't exactly an unbiased source."
"True. So, I heard a rumor that Udina is offering to make you a Spectre?" Ashley asked, unable to suppress her envy. She'd managed to break the Williams curse and received several promotions as a result of the fight against Saren but becoming a Spectre was a whole new ballgame.
"Yeah, well a part of me thinks Udina only suggested it because he's hoping I'll be more docile and easier to control then Shepard," Kaidan stated, both of them aware that while Udina technically advocated for humanity, he possessed his own enigmatic agenda.
"Even if that's true, I'd recommend considering it. It would be nice to have more human Spectres, and with the war raging it's difficult to locate other viable candidates."
"Thanks for the advice," Kaidan replied. "I'll consider it before I make my decision."
After saying her farewells and admonishing him not to overdo his PT, Ashley strode down the stairs and almost collided with Thane Krios, a former crewmate and skilled assassin. Because of his former profession, she'd been initially wary of him before he'd been revealed to possess religious beliefs as strong as her own, and they had several interesting discussions regarding theology.
"Hi Thane, I didn't know you were staying here," she greeted him.
Thane gave her a wan smile. "Unfortunately, my Kepral's Syndrome has advanced to the point where I need to be near specialists, and my son and I decided that the Citadel was the best place. Were you just visiting Major Alenko? He's in my PT class, and I've had to counsel him to not overexert himself."
"Actually, I was wondering if Eric had visited?" Ashley inquired.
Thane appeared to be amused by the situation, and chuckled. "He visited me and then psyched himself out of visiting Major Alenko. I persuaded him that it might be good for both of them to chat and he acquiesced."
Ashley wasn't surprised that Thane had also taken on the task of playing matchmaker to Kaidan and Eric, since he did exhibit a romantic streak. She asked about his son's current status, and then departed, pondering how she'd gone from strictly abiding by the Alliance regulations to subtly pushing romantically interested people together.