The command deck of the Normandy was silent. Shepard and Liara stood behind Joker at the front of the ship, staring out through the extensive view-port.
The wreckages of the refugee vessels they had saved just days before drifted before them. Recognizable sections of the transport's hulls were few and far between, most of the metal having been ripped into random, serrated shapes by the familiar violence of battle. Frozen corpses clumped against the scattered infrastructures, barely visible against the star speckled emptiness of space.
"What... What happened?" Joker's voice broke the silence as he maneuvered the Normandy through the debris.
Shepard didn't respond. A moment later he felt Liara's hand find his own, and he returned her grip firmly, but didn't look away from the devastation before him.
"The signal is getting stronger, Commander," Edi's voice stated, the AI's voice subdued.
"Still think it's a message from Andromeda?" the Commander asked.
"I believe so. It is the same wavelength they have used to send us messages before, but significantly weaker. If I didn't know what I was looking for it's likely the signal would have been lost in the lingering radiation of the wreckages. I should be able to pinpoint its location-I have it. It appears to be the standard comm buoy."
"Why would Andromeda leave a message in all this? What happened to the refugees? If it was Reapers who did this why did they leave them here?" Joker asked, his voice growing louder and more agitated as his stream of questions progressed.
Shepard didn't respond. With his free hand, the Vanguard reached out and held Joker's shoulder lightly. The pilot of the Normandy turned to look at him and the next question in his eyes died before it reached his lips. Slowly, Joker turned back to the view-port and the debris it contained.
"The Reaper's didn't do this," he stated.
"Access the comm Buoy, Edi," Shepard said quietly. "Play it throughout the ship, the crew deserves to know."
"Yes, Commander."
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"I wish I had better news for you, Shepard. I wish I could tell you Andromeda was ready and you were cleared to join us. I wish... I wish things had ended differently, but...
"The refugees you saved were indoctrinated, Shepard. They turned against the retrieval team and took their ships. By the time secondary forces arrived, Andromeda had been compromised. We don't know how much information the indoctrinated refugees managed to relay before we destroyed both the transports and the retrieval ships, but we can't take any more chances.
"Andromeda is severing all outside contact. We're... we're leaving you behind. You and your crew are the ones most responsible for the continued survival of every Citadel Race, and your sacrifice will never, ever be forgotten.
"It's been a singular honor, Commander, and know we will do everything in our power to finish what you started. Hackett out."
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Shepard stared down at the deck of the Normandy. The steady throb of the ship's systems filled the silence of its crew completely as they all stood in a stupor of mixed confusion and horror.
"How..." Joker's voice was empty of his customary bravado. "How could they leave us behind? After all we did..."
"They had to, Joker. They couldn't risk it."
"Risk what?"
"Edi, are there any more messages on the buoy?"
"Yes Commander... but..."
"It's ok. Play it, it's better they know."
Hackett's voice once again emerged from the ships coms, and at the same time the Normandy's alarm klaxon burst to life.
A Reaper had entered the system.
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"The Council, such as it is, didn't want me to give you any more information, Shepard, but you deserve an explanation. You deserve to know why we had to leave you behind."
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Not a Reaper, Shepard realized as Joker reacted with trained composure, turning the Normandy away from the vast flagship and shouting commands to Edi over Hackett's voice and the blaring klaxon.
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"Two months ago we began to monitor the Normandy and the other support ships during their time in the drop-off systems. This was done at the request of the scientists researching the effects of indoctrination."
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It was Harbinger. The massive Reaper accelerated towards the fleeing Normandy, closing in slowly but surely.
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"Prolonged physical exposure to the Reapers and their technology is the catalyst to the indoctrination process. The more time spent near them... fighting them... the higher the risk of indoctrination becomes."
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A horrid lance of red energy streaked past the Normandy, only just missing the vessel as Joker continued to evade Harbinger's assault.
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"You fought them the hardest, Commander. The longest. You gave everything in the battle against them."
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Explosions tore through the Normandy as one of Harbinger's beams cut through the ship's engineering level. The vessel's inertial dampener's failed abruptly, and Shepard and Liara crashed against the command deck's view-port.
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"We have a chance at this, Commander. We can reach Andromeda."
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Shepard shook his head, his vision unfocused and one eye blocked by a steady stream of blood. He could make out Joker in the flight chair. The pilot had been kept in place by the chair's safety harness, but the momentum of the failed inertial dampeners had slammed him into the protective frame. Joker's breaths were short and ragged, the impact having shattered his brittle bones into pieces. He coughed once, blood flying from his mouth and nose, then slumped forward, his body still.
.
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"I promise you this, Shepard, I will pay the Reapers back for what was done to you."
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Liara was still.
The Normandy's klaxon had gone silent, as had the rest of the ship. The steady hum of the Normandy was gone. The hiss of air escaping into the vacuum of space had replaced it.
Shepard tried to reach out to Liara, but his body refused to respond.
Shepard tried to breath, but his body refused to respond.
Slowly, his mind faded to black.
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A voice, made of many and yet singular in power and resolve, greeted him there.
We are not finished with you yet, Shepard.
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