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"Are we really going to try this?"
"Yes."
"I mean... I'm not exactly against dramatics, but even this seems a little over the top."
"Liara thinks it will work, don't you Liara?"
"I agree with the plan in premise... but the execution... do I really have to yell at them?"
"Yes, you do."
"Hmm. Very well. Though if either of you breath a word of this to anybody..."
"The Shadow Broker, queen of the underworld and mastermind of the galaxy's deepest, darkest plots, screaming like a barbarian at a bunch of Reapers. Now there's a story even al-Jilani couldn't ruin."
"Very funny."
"Are the shuttles ready?"
"Yes Commander."
"Then let's get to it. We've got a show to put on."
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"It's working."
"Of course it's working. Liara, get ready to send them up."
"I'm not sure I can lift that many-"
"I am. We've practiced this. Just wait for my signal."
"Yes Commander."
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The Reaper forces willingly funneled into the kill-zone Garrus and Shepard created, and for good reason - they had the remnants of the Normandy's crew surrounded, with only a single way in or out. The entrance to the survivor's last stand was filled with the corpses of the bastardized races of Citadel space, but still the mutated legion pushed forward.
Suddenly, the defiant cry of a biotic pierced through the sound of battle, and the land surrounding the battered makeshift fortress glowed with the energy of an immense mass effect field. The combined Reaper forces began to lift in the air, and as they did, an orb of glowing energy burst through the entryway and streaked up into the sky, pulling the abominations with it and creating a massive singularity. Shepard appeared shortly after, and willed himself into the air, directly into the middle of the mass of floating Reaper soldiers.
In theory, this would work. He and Liara had spent years attuning their abilities with one another and he felt the familiar ripple of her singularity pulling against his barrier as he began to fall back to the earth. Practically, however, this maneuver would very likely kill him. There were worse ways to die, and with a roar, the Commander detonated his barrier, fusing its concussive energy with that of the singularity and releasing a tremendous biotic explosion.
The Reaper forces at the epicenter of the singularity were torn apart by the shockwave as it rushed through them and sent the remainder of the soldiers slamming down to the earth, spinning up to the sky, or flying away in any other random direction. For the next half a minute, the sky rained black vitriol and broken Reaper soldiers which hit the ground with wet, dull thuds.
"I think that might have gotten their attention, Shepard."
"..."
"Shepard? Shepard, are you-"
"Report."
"We're alright. Liara is passed out but I've got her. Reaper Harvesters are closing in on our position and-"
"My eardrums are completely blown out. I can't hear a thing you're saying - assuming you are saying anything..."
A moment later a message flashed across his visor. Liara unconscious, Reaper forces incoming, shuttles are away.
"Good. We'll hold this position until Cortez reaches the extraction point. We've got to keep their Harvesters distracted so the shuttles can escape."
Affirmative.
As Shepard read the word, the ground before him rolled forward and a gigantic creature emerged. Shaking the earth and rock off its body as a dog would shake off water, the unidentified Reaper monstrosity stood as tall as a brute, but twice as wide and long. The creature had a armored crest above what was likely the remnants of its face, and as its twisted maw opened wide Shepard felt its roar reverberate though his chest.
Brutes are half Turian, that must be a pure Krogan?
"It used to be. Keep the Harvesters off me."
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"Get a knife stuck in the right way, it'll pull that plate right of a Krogan's head. It's the best way to get a Krogan to talk - the threat of it drives them mad."
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Shepard pointed the fingers of his gauntlet straight out and drove his arm into the soft flesh he had exposed a moment earlier when he had ripped the armored plate from his adversary's head. The mutated Krogan's bellow burned through the Commander's chest, until Shepard clenched his hand and activated his biotics, sending a blast of gore bursting from the creature's open mouth. Immediately, the charging abomination fell forward, and its momentum sent the two of them slamming into the ground.
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"Shepard!"
"We need to move him Liara."
"I can't pull him out... His arm."
"There's no time. Get a dose of Medi-gel ready."
"What are you? Garrus don-"
"Stop the bleeding. We're getting out of here, now!"
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"Am I lighter?"
"Shepard. How are you feeling?"
"Like shit. How bad is it?"
"Well, I can't say it was my best work, but the cut was clean, should make the attachment of a prosthesis relatively simple."
"Maybe Dr. Chakwas can fix me up like she did your face. Do you think she carries anything in chrome?"
"Something that flashy? No, you'll get the regulation ceramics just like everyone else. I might be able to pull some strings and get you a prosthesis with three fingers like a civilized individual, but I can't make any promises."
"Damn, that could really add some class to my otherwise brutish exterior. Where's Liara?"
"Well she was asleep, but she had Glyph set to wake her when you came to, so she's likely on her way over right now."
"... How many did we save?"
"Enough... We can talk about Andromeda later. For now, take it easy."
"Is that an order from my attending surgeon?"
"You better watch it or I might decide to operate again."
"The Vakarians with a doctor in the family... your grandfather would be turning in his grave."
"Watch it Shepard."
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