"If this was my last day alive, I'd actually like to remember it."
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The Husk behind Shepard erupted in crackling blue electricity and the Commander's armor triggered a blaring claxon, indicating his biotic defenses were dangerously low. The Vanguard grunted, turned, and slammed his fist into the creature's chest, sending half of it flying away with a blast of energy while the other half fell to the ground in a pool of black vitriol. The Marauder Shepard had been keeping pinned down with his shotgun took advantage of the distraction and began to fire at his exposed back, causing the Vanguard to send himself lancing across the battlefield in a biotic charge that took him to the center of a charging group of Husks. The humanoid creatures immediately turned towards Shepard, but as their claws reached out for him, his barrier exploded with a concussive wave of force that sent the aggressors flying through the air.
A bloated Batarian Cannibal raised the weapon fused with its arm towards the Commander while roaring violently, and the human soldier's shotgun replied in kind, its incendiary ammunition tearing the abomination's flesh from its bones. A second shot delivered a second creature to a similar fate, but the remaining Reaper fodder focused on Shepard's position, forcing him to once again will himself across the battlefield to land beside his initial target, and the Marauder screeched in anger before the Commander's backhanded strike took its head from its shoulders.
Shepard cursed, diving behind a fallen kiosk. He needed to move forward, but the Reapers were throwing soldiers at him just to keep him in place.
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"You obviously haven't seen Turians swim. It's a lot of flailing and splashing interrupted by occasional bouts of drowning."
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The Banshee scream was muffled by the barrel of Shepard's shotgun, which silenced the mutated Asari a moment later. Breaking free of the creature's death-grip, the Vanguard leaped away as the corpse erupted in a violent burst of energy. The biotic blast from a second Banshee clipped his shoulder as he dove and sent him flying through the air to slam against a concrete pillar. Dazed, the Commander only just avoided a second blast as he rolled to the side, only to have the pillar behind him explode as a roaring Brute charged at him. Desperately, Shepard immersed himself within his biotics once again and transported himself beside the second Banshee, shoving his Shotgun into the creature's side and pulling the trigger until the weapon ran out of ammunition. As the last shot ripped through the Banshee, the Brute slammed its fist against Shepard's back, sending him flying through the air.
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"Long range, I wrote the book. Nobody alive can do this - not even Commander Shepard. Give me a tough one."
Shepard tossed the container of cheap liquor back and forth from one hand to another, grinning devilishly at the Turian beside him. Garrus' eyes widened as the Commander's biotics enveloped him and only just got his weapon pressed against his shoulder in time before Shepard threw the drink as far as his powerful frame and biotics allowed him to. A couple seconds later the container exploded, and Garrus grinned at his companion.
"I said a tough one."
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Shepard roared, dodging to the side and slamming his fist against the Brute's arm as the lumbering behemoth swung at him. The combined momentum of the creature's weight and the Commander's attack threw the Reaper tank off balance and sent it crashing to the ground. Without hesitation, Shepard leaped onto the Brute's back and drove both of his fists downward, preventing the monstrosity from regaining its footing and crushing it into the ground. Before he could finish off his adversary, a mass-accelerated slug ripped through the Commander's biotic barrier as well as his armored shoulder. A moment later, Shepard had lanced once again across the battlefield, and grimaced through the pain as his armor's internal systems closed the wound and he regenerated his barrier.
If the Reaper forces' continuous cries were any indication, they still knew where he was.
"Commander, we need to get out of here," a garbled voice pleaded from his helmet's speakers.
"I'm getting Vakarian."
"He's dead, Shepard!"
"Then I'm getting his corpse!"
"Shepard? Shepard!"
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"Forgive the insubordination, but this old friend has an order for you... Go out there and give them hell. You were born to do this."
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The Reapers were closing in, despite his almost continuous biotic leaps towards the extraction point. A wall of Husks charged at him from the front, before slamming against the ground and broken pillars as he threw them aside with furious abandon. A single Marauder now stood before him and his destination, and Shepard roared as he charged the creature, lifting it with one arm as he carried into it the small clearing on the charred landscape. The roar of the Reaper's forces echoed from behind him, and as he turned and flung the Marauder towards the advancing monstrosities, and orb of biotic energy rushed into their midst from above. A muffled thud reverberated across through the air and almost the entirety of the approaching fooder were lifted bodily in the air. Shepard turned and once he had located the approaching craft, willed himself towards it. The shockwave of his and his cargo's arrival threw the Asari standing at the shuttle's entryway off balance for a moment, before she regained her footing and launched yet another biotic projectile down onto the battlefield. Shepard slammed his fist against the door controls, and the Asari stepped back as the entryway sealed itself.
"Hang on!" the pilot cried from the cockpit of the vehicle, and Shepard slid back as the Kodiak shuttle roared through the sky.
"Shepard?" the Asari asked quietly, leaning down beside the commander.
"I got him, Liara. I got him," he replied, his voice rough and broken. The Asari reached out and undid the clasps on Shepard's helmet, pulling it up over his head. The man's eyes were locked on the corpse in front of him, tears streaming down his face."I couldn't let them have him. I couldn't let them take him. He deserves better."
"He knew the risks John, we all do."
"I should have been there. I should have saved him. What the fuck was I thinking?"
"You were saving as many people as you could - you both were. He didn't die because of you, John, he died for the thousands you saved today, and the billions you'll save in the future."
Commander Shepard ran his gauntlets through his hair, shoulders shaking silently as he continued to stare at the corpse of his oldest friend and companion. Liara wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder, her own tears falling against his grime-covered armor.