EPISODE II

Trial by Fire

Ahsoka Tano gritted her teeth as she was jarred by the Mako impacting the ground. Therum was an incredibly hostile planet that reminded Ahsoka of Mustafar given that it was more or less completely lava. The fact that anyone would come here to study anything seemed absurd at first but then she remembered that people actually lived on Mustafar and figured that she couldn't really judge.

"First time in a Mako?" the large, reptilian-like creature sitting opposite of her, Urdnot Wrex, asked with what seemed to be an amused grin.

"Yeah. I've only been in a vehicle that has wheels a couple of times. Don't you guys have repulsorlifts?" Ahsoka asked.

"What are repulsorlifts?" Tali'Zorah asked from her seat beside her.

"It's a device that produces an antigrav field. Lets things float."

"Oh, we have something like that, yes. We use them for aircars, mostly."

"Why not use it for this?"

Ashley Williams was the one to answer, "We've tried it in the past but anything armored enough to be useful in a fight was too heavy to get far off the ground. They were useless in rough terrain. Slow as hell, too."

"Contacts!" Garrus Vakarian called out from his seat in the turret followed almost immediately by the loud report of the Mako's main gun. What followed was a relatively brief exchange of fire as Shepard took evasive action. Ahsoka couldn't see what they were fighting but the experience was all too familiar to her even if the report of the main cannon and the turret was completely alien.

"Might be your first time in a Mako but this sure as hell isn't your first fight," Wrex commented after Garrus gave the all clear.

"It's not. I fought in a war before coming here."

"Really now? For someone who's seen war, you sure are lacking in scars to show it," Wrex said as he gave her a once over.

Looking down at herself, Ahsoka noted that she was comparatively underdressed. The only other person in the vehicle that wasn't wearing full armor was Tali and even she was wearing a full body suit and helmet. Compared to them, she was practically naked in her dark gray sleeveless shirt and gray-white leggings as well as burgundy boots and fingerless gauntlets.

"That's thanks to bacta tanks. Bacta's a gel-like substance that helps with healing basically everything."

"Bah. Scars are a badge of honor. They show that something tried to kill you and you didn't let it. I'll never understand why so many other species are obsessed with hiding them."

Tali looked like she had another question but, before she could say anything, Shepard called out, "Cut the chatter! We're coming up on a geth stronghold! The main gate's too heavily guarded so I'm going to find us a way around! Williams, Wrex, I want you two to hit the ground and provide fire support when I give the signal!"

"Aye aye, Commander."

"About time I get to have some fun."

A few moments later, the signal was given and the two of them were out. Ahsoka waited patiently, taking the moment to meditate and still her nerves, until the all clear was given.

Shepard stepped out of the cockpit with his rifle at the ready, "The gates are locked down from the inside. We can't get the Mako through. Garrus, you and I are going to hit the forward gatehouse. Tali, you and Ahsoka take the other one. I want a clear path in case we need to come back. Alenko, you take the turret. Let's move, people!"

Ahsoka disembarked from the Mako with Tali and was immediately hit by a wave of intense heat. It wasn't as bad as it could have been since there were no lava flows nearby but it was still highly uncomfortable and she was immediately sweating.

As Garrus and Shepard went toward their destination, Ahsoka and Tali went toward theirs, Tali having something called a shotgun that seemed to be a bit like the scatterguns from her galaxy in her hands while Ahsoka had her lightsabers at the ready but not ignited. The two were quiet and alert as they made their way across the compound, littered as it was with the bodies of mostly white bipedal droids that Ahsoka could only assume were the geth.

Ahsoka couldn't help but find the situation with the geth to be a curious one. They were clearly droids and most of them vaguely resembled the B1 battle droids with some of them looking a bit more like B2s but the curious part was that she hadn't seen any droids aboard the Normandy. They clearly possessed the technology to make them so why not? This wasn't the time or place for such questions, though, so Ahsoka just filed it away for later.

Coming to the gatehouse, the duo cautiously entered, on the lookout for any lingering geth. The interior was very plain; just a medium sized room with a single walkway that ran the interior and two large pillars in the middle, but those pillars meant that they couldn't see the other side and the geth being inorganic beings meant that Ahsoka couldn't sense them. They were only a few feet inside the building when one of them rounded the corner, weapon raised.

Almost immediately, Ahsoka reached out with the Force and pulled the machine toward them. Before she could ignite her lightsaber to cut in half, though, Tali brought down her shotgun and fired off two quick blasts in the center of its chest, the first dropping its shields while the second tore clean through.

"Sharp reflexes," Ahsoka complimented Tali once it was clear that there were no others.

"Thanks. My reflexes have always been pretty good. What was that, though? It was like you used biotics but there was no blue glow," Tali asked as they made their way further into the room.

"That was the Force. Among other things, I can use it to manipulate objects from a distance."

"I'm really going to have to ask you about that once we get back to the Normandy."

The rest of the room proved to be free of geth and it wasn't long before they reached the control panel to the gate. A quick hack later by Tali and the gate was open.

Once back aboard the Mako, the group pressed on. A bit of fighting later and the Mako once again came to a halt.

"This is the end of the line for the Mako. It can't make it through the pass and there's no way around. Tali, Garrus, Ahsoka; you're going with me as we press on to the objective. I want the rest of you to stay and guard the Mako. We'll need it for extract," Shepard ordered as he came out of the driver's compartment. At once, everyone assented and began filing out with Kaiden Alenko staying behind to man the turret.

"I'm on point. Garrus, I want you on overwatch with that sniper rifle. Tali, Ahsoka, you two be ready for anything," Shepard ordered as they made their way through the small pass.

The ground rose steadily as they went, the mountain cliffs on either side forming a natural path toward the summit where the prothean ruins awaited. Out of habit, Ahsoka reached out with the Force to try and get a feel of the situation. She could sense more life beyond what she expected but there was no hostility or any real emotion; local wildlife, if she had to guess. The emotions she was getting from her teammates were interesting, though. Both Shepard and Garrus were tense but perfectly calm like still waters that held a great beast underneath. They reminded her of the various clone commanders she had served with; unwavering and determined. Tali, meanwhile, was nervous. Her body language was controlled but she could feel the quarian's anxiety through the Force.

"Relax," Ahsoka said quietly after moving to be a bit closer to Tali. "Everything's going to be fine."

Tali seemed to give the other girl a sidelong glance but it was hard to tell through the smokey visor. "What are you talking about? I'm perfectly fine."

"Your emotions betray you. Try not to worry about the future. Just be in the moment. This isn't anything we can't handle."

Tali nodded slowly before taking a slow, deep breath. As she breathed out, Ahsoka could feel the quarian's anxiety lessen slightly. It was a start but Ahsoka couldn't blame her. From what she could tell, Tali was still inexperienced and even she had been anxious during her first big mission and that was with years of Jedi training. If she was this controlled now, she would be fine in the future.

"Contacts!" Shepard cried out as he fired off a burst from his rifle before rushing to take cover behind a large rock. Tali immediately followed suit while Garrus fired off controlled shots from his sniper rifle while slowly making his way toward cover.

Ahead of them was a squad of geth, mostly of what Ahsoka was assuming was the standard variety. While her teammates took cover and began returning fire, Ahsoka's Jedi training and years of experience on the battlefield took over. There was a sharp snap-hiss of energy as dual white blades sprung into existence before Ahsoka took off in a burst of Force speed.

The shots of the nearest geth went wide, whizzing through the area in the spot Ahsoka had been just moments ago. Before it could so much as twitch, Ahsoka was on it, her lightsaber cutting through its torso like it wasn't even there. She then flung herself to the side in roll to avoid another burst of fire before leaping toward her attacker and bringing down both blades to cut off its arms, the followup rising diagonal strike cleaving it in two while she reached out with the Force using her other hand to crush another geth between the rock it was using for cover and the wall of the cliff.

A red colored geth came out from behind cover wielding what looked to be a rocket launcher. Shepard's cry of warning was unneeded, however, as Ahsoka tilted back just enough to let the rocket harmlessly sail by before reaching out with the Force to snatch it out of the air before it could strike Garrus' cover and redirecting it back at the trooper, taking out both it and the other geth standing near it. A burst of fire caught her in the side but a flash of blue surrounded her, her kinetic barriers holding firm, and she didn't have to respond as her attacker quickly dropped once its head was vaporized by Garrus' sniper rifle.

With the battle now over— the rest of the geth had been taken out by others, Ahsoka deactivated her lightsabers and returned them to her side as the others approached.

"Everyone okay?" Shepard asked. Once everyone replied in affirmative, he continued, "Holy shit, Ahsoka. I thought going into a gunfight with just swords was crazy but that was amazing! I could barely even see you!"

Ahsoka smiled at the compliment. It was always fun hearing the reactions of people seeing a Jedi fight for the first time (not that she was a Jedi anymore, she reminded herself bitterly). "Thanks. I was a bit sloppy, though. That last burst shouldn't have hit me."

"Hey, that's what shields are for," Garrus said with a bit of amusement. "Besides, you saved me from having to find new cover. I'd say that's a fair tradeoff."

"Still, try to be more careful in the future. Those shields won't stand up to everything and won't last forever. When we get back to the Normandy, we'll have to do some drills and work out signals for you. Having an allied melee combatant in the middle of a firefight isn't something they trained us for," Shepard said.

"If it's us you're talking about, I think she'll be fine. Even with the speed she moves at, we're both good enough shots that she won't be in any danger of friendly fire," Garrus remarked.

"Maybe so but I'd still rather have and not need than need and not have. I don't take chances with the safety of my people. Let's keep moving. We're almost there."

There was more opposition on the way to the ruin's entrance but it wasn't anything too strenuous. Some geth had tried to take cover behind metal plates with viewports cut out but they were quickly dealt with by either a crack shot from Garrus or by Ahsoka simply ripping their cover away or crushing them beneath it using the Force. Some others also tried to gain the advantage with the high ground and those Ahsoka mostly let Shepard and Garrus handle. While the geth weren't nearly as dangerous as a Jedi, she knew just how foolish it would be to try and jump to their level.

After a few minutes that felt much longer than they actually were, the group finally reached the entrance just to find one last major challenge.

"Spirits! It's an armature!" Garrus cried out when they spotted the massive, four-legged machine at the far end of an alley between the scaffolding on the cliff wall and what appeared to be a very large door leading to a mineshaft.

"Take cover!" Shepard ordered and, for once, Ahsoka did so. Aside from the armature, there was a small contingency of geth troops supporting it as well as one other that crawled around on all fours and bounced between the ground, the walls, and the large catwalk overhead that connected the two structures.

"Focus on the troops! We need to take them out first so we can concentrate on the armature! Tali, can you hack that hopper?" Shepard barked out as he fired off a burst of rounds from the rock he was hiding behind.

Tali sat down her shotgun as her omnitool flared to life. A few seconds of frantic typing later and her reply came, "Negative, Commander! Its systems are too advanced for my hack!"

"Damn! Ahsoka, what about you? Can you do anything?"

Ahsoka shook her head as she peered around from behind her cover to hurl a nearby rock at one of the open geth troopers. "Sorry, Shepard! It's too fast and too erratic for me to get a hold of it!"

"I'll try to catch the thing in a lift! When I do, Ahsoka, you hold it in place and Tali takes it out! Garrus, switch to your rifle and give me cover fire!"

Once Garrus switched weapons and started laying down a steady stream of fire, Shepard popped out from behind his cover to get a bead on the hopper. When he got a good read of its movements, Shepard lashed out with his biotics, the blue glow of mass effect fields appearing in the space that the hopper quickly occupied. The second that it stopped moving, Ahsoka reached out with the Force to slam it into the ground where a quick burst of fire from Tali's shotgun took it out.

The second the hopper was down, Tali was forced to reach out and yank Shepard back down as a shot from the armature's assault cannon soared through the air were his head had been. Shepard gave the quarian his thanks before readying his assault rifle and adding his fire to Garrus'.

With the regular troops now starting to thin out, Ahsoka took a moment to reexamine the battlefield as an idea slowly started to form in her head. "Shepard, do you think you can draw the armature underneath the catwalk?" she called out.

Shepard shot her a glance, "Probably. Why?"

"I have an idea!" Offering no further explanation, Ahsoka used the Force to leap onto the top of the building she had been using for cover.

Shaking his head, Shepard called out "Garrus, cover fire!" as he pulled out a tech grenade. Once Garrus was firing, Shepard hurled the grenade and detonated it when it reached the area between the armature's hind legs. While not doing much damage, it was successful in throwing the large machine off balance as Shepard switched to his shotgun and threw up a biotic barrier.

Charging into the fray, Shepard blasted another geth trooper with his shotgun before pulling out a second grenade. Just before the armature could get a bead on him with its machine guns, Shepard went into a baseball slide and slid under it, slamming the grenade onto the rear of its chassis as he passed. His barrier flared but held as he was hit with rifle fire from another geth but Tali's overload took it down before there were any problems.

Now on the other side of the armature, Shepard got back up and started sprinting away toward the cliff, blindly firing his pistol behind him as he went. Once a safe distance away, he triggered the grenade and turned around, dropping his pistol to ready his biotics. The armature stumbled forward from the explosion and then slid nearly an entire meter forward as Shepard put everything he had into a throw.

Now that the armature was under the catwalk, Ahsoka sprung into action. Igniting one of her lightsabers, she slashed through the top half of where the catwalk was connected to the building before sprinting to the other side in a burst of Force speed. She leapt the last few meters and slashed at the top of the opposite side before landing and using the Force to rip the now weakened catwalk off the structures and slamming it into the top of the armature. The machine's optic winked a few times as it struggled to get back up before finally sputtering out.

With combat finally over, Ahsoka jumped back down to the ground as everyone regrouped, Garrus and Tali having to climb over the wreckage of the catwalk. Shepard was the first to speak, once again asking if everyone was okay, but was interrupted by Garrus before he could continue after everyone replied.

"That was both the stupidest and most awesome thing I have ever seen," Garrus said with a wide smile on his face.

"It was certainly risky but I won't argue with the results," Shepard said, looking over his shoulder at the crushed remains of the armature. "Good work, all of you. If we can keep up this level of teamwork, the remaining geth won't stand a chance. Tali, I want you to get a scan of that hopper's hardware. When we get back to the Normandy, I want you to try and find a workaround for its defenses."

"On it, Shepard. This platform is unlike anything we've seen before. It seems like the geth have evolved in the last three hundred years," Tali said as her omnitool sprung to life and she made her way over to the leaper's remains.

"So, Ahsoka, was everyone who fought in that war you mentioned as crazy as you or are you just special?" Garrus asked.

Ahsoka blushed slightly, "I wouldn't say I'm special but my tactics were considered unorthodox even by Jedi standards."

"What's a Jedi?"

Ahsoka made a face as though she had just tasted something sour, "A Jedi is a member of the Jedi Order. They were keepers of the peace and defenders of justice in the Republic. All of them could use the Force like I can."

"Is the Force the thing that lets you jump around like a madwoman and throw things with your mind?"

"Among other things, yes."

"Spirits. And there's an entire group of people that can do that?"

Ahsoka's expression fell as she remembered sensing all of the Jedi dying off. "There was," she said in a quiet voice.

Before anyone could comment further, Tali spoke up, "All done here, Shepard."

"Alright, let's move out, people!"

OoOoOoO

Ahsoka wasn't entirely sure what to expect from prothean ruins but what they found was certainly interesting. After a walk down a very long mineshaft, they came to a series of catwalks suspended above a large cave system. On the far side was a solid wall of nearly smooth metal interrupted by a column of small, empty rooms.

"I've never seen a prothean ruin before, besides the Citadel," Garrus commented after they took out two geth sentries.

"What are the protheans, anyway?" Ahsoka asked as she peered over the railing to see more scaffolding and catwalks below.

"They were a race of sentient beings that existed roughly fifty thousand years ago. They're the ones who built the Citadel and the mass relays," Tali explained.

"Fifty thousand years… That's older than even the Galactic Republic. What happened to them?" Ahsoka asked as they entered an elevator.

"The Reapers wiped them out. Our primary mission is to hunt down a rogue Spectre named Saren Arcturus. He's using a Reaper ship to find something called the Conduit. No idea what that is, though," Shepard answered as he rotated his shoulders to work out some kinks.

"What are the Reapers?"

Shepard gave her a sidelong glance before saying, "That's what we're trying to find out."

Any further conversation was halted as the elevator came to a stop. The next catwalk was much like the first with only two aerial drones as opposition but those proved to barely be a distraction as Ahsoka simply grabbed one with the Force and slammed it into the other. The next elevator ride proved to be more problematic, however, as the mechanism died part way down.

"Great. Let's hope there's another way out," Shepard commented dryly as the team jumped down the last meter or so to a ruined catwalk this time.

"Um… Hello? Could somebody help me? Please?" they heard a young female voice call out. It was slightly distorted but a quick glance to their right revealed another of those small rooms but this one was blocked by a blue forcefield. Inside was a young woman that looked surprisingly like a blue-skinned togruta to Ahsoka but with oddly shaped montrals. She was suspended in midair by what seemed to be another kind of forcefield.

"Can you hear me out there? I'm trapped. I need help!" she said as the group approached.

"Are you okay? What happened to you?" Shepard asked as he stowed his rifle.

"Listen. The thing I'm in is a prothean security device. I cannot move so I need you to get me out of it. Alright?

"I was exploring the ruins when the geth showed up so I hid in here. Can you believe that? Geth! Beyond the Veil! I activated the tower's defenses. I knew the barrier curtains would keep them out. When I turned it on, I must have hit something I wasn't supposed to. I was trapped in here. You must get me out. Please." Ahsoka found her speech to be somewhat awkward once she could understand it. She didn't seem to be purposefully rude but that 'please' sounded tacked on like she remembered that it needed to be said.

"Your mother is working with Saren. Whose side are you on?" Shepard asked pointedly.

"What? I am not on anybody's side! I may be Benezia's daughter but I'm nothing like her! I have not spoken to her in years. Please. Just get me out of here."

"I'm not sensing any deception," Ahsoka provided. The girl— Dr. Liara T'soni, apparently— looked confused at Ahsoka. It was then that she remembered that Shepard said that he could understand her because they translated her language from her ship's computer first. Ergo, what she had just said would sound like gibberish to anyone outside the crew if Ahsoka didn't use the Force to make herself understood.

"You can do that?" Shepard asked as he looked back to Ahsoka. At her nod, he continued, "Alright, then. We just need to figure out some way past this energy field."

Ahsoka ignited one of her lightsabers, causing the others to jump in alarm, and approached the barrier before giving it an experimental tap with the blade only to find it immediately repulsed. "I don't think we're going to be able to just force our way past," she said as she shut down her lightsaber and returned it to her hip.

Liara looked very interested at what she just saw but set it aside, "It's a prothean barrier curtain. Your weapons will be useless against it. Even that strange one."

"We'll find some way to help you," Shepard reassured her.

"There is a control panel in here that should deactivate the thing. You'll have to find some way past the barrier curtain. That's the tricky part. The defenses cannot be shut off from the outside. I don't know how you'll get in here."

"Ahsoka, can you do anything here?"

Ahsoka shrugged, "Maybe. If there was a physical switch or button then I could but you guys seem to use holographic interfaces for everything. Would destroying the control work?"

Shepard repeated Ahsoka's question for the benefit of Liara who immediately looked panicked. "Please don't! If you do, I'll be stuck in here forever! You should be careful when looking for a way inside. There is a krogan with the geth. They have been trying different ways to get past the barrier."

"Alright. Thanks for the heads up. Let's get searching, people!"

Leaving Liara for the time being, the squad moved on down the catwalk to the base of the cave floor only to immediately come under fire from yet more geth. "Garrus, overwatch!" Shepard called out as he vaulted over the railing and sprinted for cover behind a large machine, Tali and Ahsoka just a few steps behind.

As opposed to the restrictive terrain of the catwalks above, the floor of the cavern was more wide open and littered with rocks and machinery as well as hexagonal barriers placed by the geth. As Shepard and Tali opened fire, Ahsoka examined the battlefield. Most of the geth were at the opposite end of the cavern and attacking with long ranged weaponry that was putting the team at a severe disadvantage. While Garrus was proving himself to be a highly capable marksman and Shepard wasn't a bad shot himself, Tali's shotgun had limited range and Ahsoka was, naturally, a melee combatant.

Given this, Ahsoka started to push forward near one of the walls, bursting from cover to cover with the Force. The geth immediately took notice but the others seem to have caught on to her plan as any that turned their attention toward her were almost immediately taken out.

Once at the back of the cavern near some tents, Ahsoka burst out behind enemy lines and ignited her lightsabers, the geth snipers taking aim with a speed only machines and Jedi were capable of. Ahsoka was ready for them, though. The two closest to her were sent flying with a Force Push even as she tucked into a roll to avoid the shot of another. Coming out of her roll, she took out the legs of the one that shot at her before coming up with her other saber to cleave it in two before using the Force to hold the torso in place to block yet another shot. There was a burst of something from one of the other geth followed by a wave of blue washing over her as her shields fell but she ignored it in favor of launching the torso into it.

Ahsoka twitched to the side just as another shot rang out but she was too slow as a round glanced across her left arm. Pushing past the sudden pain, she rushed forward and brought the geth that shot her down with a spinning slash before using the Force to fling one of the metal crates into the last one near her.

By the time Ahsoka was finished, the others had taken care of the geth closer to them and they all met up near the center.

"Anyone hurt?" Shepard asked, as was now customary.

"Just a scratch," Ahsoka said, rotating her left shoulder for emphasis.

"'Just a scratch', she says. Any deeper and the muscle would have been torn," Tali chastised as she stowed her shotgun and reached into one of the many pouches on her suit to pull out a tube of some sort of clear ointment. "Hold still."

Ahsoka suppressed a wince as the cold gel was dexterously applied to the wound. "What's that?" she asked.

"Medi-gel. It'll seal the wound against infections and help speed up the healing process, among other things," Tali said as she finished applying it and put the tube away, wiping the excess off on her pants leg.

"Now that the geth are cleared out, we need to find a way past that barrier," Shepard said, jerking his head back toward where they came.

"That machine right there looks like a mining laser. If we can activate it, we might be able to make a tunnel that leads behind it," Tali suggested.

"Doing that might also bring the ruins down on top of us," Garrus pointed out.

Shepard scanned the area, taking in everything available before coming to a decision, "Tali, see if you can get the mining laser running. Garrus, Ahsoka, let's comb the area and make sure we're not missing something."

A few minutes later, everyone gathered back at the mining laser after having found nothing but some supplies.

"It looks like the geth had the same idea we did. This mining laser was already being used to burrow into what appears to be another entrance lower down," Tali reported as she turned away from the machine's controls.

"Fire it up," Shepard ordered with a nod. "Once that thing goes off, we need to double time it. I don't want to be anywhere near here if Garrus turns out to be right."

Tali started up the firing sequence and there was a pulse of red light from the machine not long after. Once the beam died down, they all looked into the hole to see another one of those small rooms but this one actually led somewhere. Heading inside, they found that it led to a large tower that seemed to span most of the structure and what looked to be some sort of console.

Without needing to be told, Tali approached the console and worked on it for a few moments before the ground beneath them started to rise. A few moments later, they were now on the other side of the barrier where Liara was still being suspended in midair.

"How… how did you get in here? I didn't think there was any way past the barrier!" Liara said as she turned her head as much as she could to try and see them.

"We blasted through with a mining laser," Shepard answered.

"Of course. Yes. That makes sense. Please… get me out of here before more geth arrive. That button over there should shut down this containment field," Liara instructed. Shepard did as he was told and Liara was freed, grunting as she landed on the ground.

"Any idea how we get out of this place?" Garrus asked as Liara stood up.

"There's an elevator back in the center of the tower. At least, I think it's an elevator. It should take us out of here. Come on!"

"Can you use one of these?" Shepard asked as he pulled out his pistol and handed it to Liara.

Liara cautiously took the offered gun, "Not very well but I was instructed in the basics."

"Good enough. Let's go!"

As the quintet made their way to the center of the tower, Liara spoke, "I— I still cannot believe all this. Why would the geth come after me? Do you think Benezia's involved?"

"Saren's looking for the Conduit. You're a prothean expert. Obviously, he wants you to help him find it," Garrus answered.

"The Conduit? But I don't—" Whatever Liara was going to say was cut off as the entire structure started to shake.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Tali said warily.

"These ruins aren't stable. The mining laser must have triggered a seismic event," Liara explained.

"Dammit, I was right. I hate it when I'm right about bad things," Garrus said.

"We have to hurry! The whole place is caving in!" Liara said as she made her way over to another console and activated it.

"Joker! Get the Normandy airborne and lock in on my signal! On the double, mister!" Shepard said as he held up his hand to the side of his helmet to activate his comms.

"Aye aye, Commander. Secure and away. ETA eight minutes," Joker replied.

"Alenko, change of plans! Prepare for immediate extract!"

"Roger that, Commander."

The entire group was on edge as the elevator slowly started to rise, the ruins around them sporadically shaking. As they neared the top, Ahsoka's eyes went wide as she palmed her lightsabers and Tali raised her shotgun toward where the exit would be.

"What's going on?" Shepard asked as he raised his rifle despite his confusion, Garrus doing the same.

"I sense great hostility from something nearby," Ahsoka explained as she gave Tali a critical look.

"I… always had a sixth sense for danger," Tali explained somewhat hesitantly. "There's something dangerous waiting for us."

Before any more questions could be asked, the elevator reached its destination and the group was met by a krogan flanked by several geth. Shepard waved his hand at his team to signal them to hold fire as the others approached. The geth and krogan had their weapons drawn but not raised.

"Surrender. Or don't. That would be more fun," the krogan said.

"In case you didn't notice, this place is falling apart," Shepard pointed out.

"Exhilarating, isn't it?" the krogan replied nonchalantly. "Thanks for getting rid of those energy fields for us. Hand the doctor over."

"Whatever it is you want, you're not getting it from me," Liara said defiantly.

"She'll stay with us, thanks," Shepard said while giving the krogan a sardonic wave.

"Not an option. Saren wants her. And he always gets what he wants. Kill them. Spare the asari if you can. If not, doesn't matter," the krogan ordered the geth. And like that, the battle began.

Seeing as how the elevator platform was severely lacking in cover, Ahsoka knew that this battle would be more difficult for her companions. For herself, however, this proved to be a great advantage for it also meant that the enemy couldn't hide behind cover, either. Seeing that one of the geth was colored red and that the red ones usually had rocket launchers, Ahsoka immediately lashed out with the Force to slam it against the wall before igniting her lightsaber and hurling it at the machine, the blade easily piercing through its chest and into the wall behind it. This happened at the same time as Tali blasted another geth with a fireball-like projectile from her shotgun.

Gunfire erupted all around Ahsoka after that and she let the Force take over to keep her safe. The biggest issue Ahsoka was facing was that the guns the people here used were similar to the slugthrowers from back home. This meant that trying to deflect the fire from them would only result in molten metal striking her rather than a solid object. Thankfully, Ahsoka's preferred fighting style of Jar'Kai tended to involve more fast paced movement and she was knowledgeable enough in Form IV, Ataru, to make up for the deficits that her primary style of Form V, Shien, had in this situation.

As Ahsoka, Garrus, and Tali took care of the geth and Liara took cover behind one of the consoles, occasionally taking potshots with her pistol, Shepard engaged the krogan with his shotgun. Shepard's biotic barrier flashed from the impact of rounds against it but he gritted his teeth and held firm as he let out a torrent of return fire. The krogan eventually got close enough to forgo his gun and charge at Shepard, swinging his rifle like a bat with a primal roar, but Shepard ducked under the swing and fired another blast from his shotgun into the krogan's stomach.

The krogan was staggered by the blast as his shields flashed but pressed his assault, lashing out with a devastating headbutt that caught Shepard in the crown of his head and sent a spider web of cracks through his helmet as he fell to the ground. The krogan then raised his assault rifle to try and finish him off but Shepard quickly rolled out of the way to avoid the rounds before lashing out with his biotics to send the krogan staggering backward.

Rising to his feet, Shepard leveled his shotgun at the krogan's head but had his aim thrown off as the krogan fired at him first, Shepard's barriers flashing as they fell. Before the krogan could finish Shepard off, he let out a scream of pain as Tali's shotgun blast caught him in the side. Now able to aim, Shepard added his own fire to Tali's blast, catching the krogan in the chest. The krogan was a testament to his species, however, as he charged through the blast toward Shepard. Shepard tried to back up but the krogan was too quick and plowed into Shepard with a shoulder charge that pinned him against the wall.

"Shepard!" Tali screamed out. Acting through the will of the Force, Ahsoka sent out a telepathic command to Shepard before hurling one of her deactivated lightsabers at him. As the krogan reared back to punch Shepard, Shepard held his hand out and caught the thrown lightsaber before immediately thumbing the ignition switch. There was a sharp snap-hiss and the krogan came to a halt as a blade of pure plasma shot through his neck. With a jerk, Shepard pulled the blade through the rest of the way and let out a breath of relief as the krogan's headless corpse fell to the ground.

The group barely had time to catch their breath, however, as the sporadic shaking became constant and they saw rocks start to fall on the other side of the entranceway to the ruin's interior.

"Move! Move! Move!" Shepard yelled as he took off in an immediate sprint, the rest of his team right in front of him. The ruins were caving in completely now and more than once they had to dodge out of the way of falling rocks and jump over broken bits of catwalk. Shepard was slow, however, both due to being further away than the others and due to the pain in his chest from where the krogan had slammed him against the wall. The others turned around as they reached the mine tunnel and watched as a large rock slammed into the catwalk in front of him. The impact tore away the metal he was standing on and they could only watch as he started to plummet.

"SHEPARD!" Tali screamed out as she sprinted back toward him and thrust her hand out. Everyone watched in amazement as Shepard's plummet was halted almost as soon as it began and he was pulled toward the quarian and into her arms. Ahsoka stared at Tali in wonder but immediately put it aside as more of the cavern started coming down. With Shepard and Tali now back with the rest, they resumed their sprint back to the surface and caught their breath as the Normandy hovered in the air nearby.

Between ragged breaths, Tali was staring at her trembling hands. "What— What was— What did I—"

"Tali," Ahsoka said gently as she placed a hand on the quarian's shoulder, amazement sparkling in her eyes. "You can use the Force."

A/N: I was tempted to be coy with Tali being able to use the Force and put the reveal off until later but decided against it. Not only would it be pretty obvious, it would just limit me for no reason. I can do a lot more by getting it out of the way now. Also, a fair chunk of the dialogue is lifted straight from the game and it made me realize how stilted and awkward it can be. Going forward, (as in, starting in Episode V), I might just ignore copying the dialogue unless it's really important and instead just take the gist of it and do my own thing. It'd definitely be a lot easier.

This story can also be found on my AO3 account of the same name. I highly recommend you read it there since I'll actually get notifications when you leave a review and I can do more with the formatting.

As a last note, this work is inspired by the "Razor's Edge", trilogy by Tairis Deamhan (you can find it in my favorite stories). Their trilogy is a novelization of Mass Effect 2, Lair of the Shadow Broker, and Mass Effect 3 and it is exceedingly good. I cannot recommend them enough.

Until next time!