Our team finally faces the massive human Reaper. How will they hold up? Will Dani manage to keep herself alive or will she be the reason the entire team will perish? LOL! Read and find out XD
Suicide Mission: Big Frickin' Reaper
Dani stood close to Garrus and wrapped her arms around his thin turian waist. She hated to admit it, but she was scared to death for what they would find ahead. She knew he was furious with her and she'd probably pay for it later. Later - she only hoped there'd be a later. She'd gladly face his wrath if it just meant they'd have more time together. Seeking his support and comfort, she pressed her face against his armored chest. He offered her everything she needed when he wrapped his arm firmly around her and pressed her closer still.
"This is it," Shepard warned them. "All the tubes lead to this spot. EDI, what can you tell us? What are they doing?"
The platform moved sideways and then up a large tunnel.
"The tubes are feeding into some kind of super-structure. It is emitting both organic and non-organic energy signatures. Given these readings, it must be massive."
Shepard squinted his eyes when a large shadow loomed overhead. Garrus did the same. So did Dani.
"Shepard. If my readings are correct, the super-structure. . . is a Reaper."
It shouldn't be possible, but the AI actually sounded apprehensive.
"Not just any Reaper," Shepard replied grimly as the super-structure finally emerged in view. "A human Reaper."
Dani couldn't repress the violent shudder travelling down her body. It was a monstrosity.
When Garrus pressed her even tighter against him, to the point it was actually painful, Dani did not protest. Her eyes were focused solely on the abomination that met them. Like a moth mesmerized by the flame, right up to the point it got burnt to a cinder.
"Precisely," EDI agreed.
The vast metal structure resembled the remains of a human. It wasn't finished, but the enormous spine, ribs, arms and head were bad enough.
The platform carried them up and closer to that. . . thing. It hung suspended in the air, connected to four concentrated points where all the tubes joined together. It was still, motionless and had a damning smirk frozen on its skull.
When she sneaked a peek at Garrus, she found he was staring slack jawed at the proto-Reaper as well.
The platform halted against others. The tremor caused by the bump made Dani stumble against Garrus. For a moment he had trouble keeping his balance as well, but he refused to let her go.
The small collision had another effect as well, the metal shield casings around the four points connected to the Reaper slid up, revealing they were actually large injectors. The liquid goo inside. . . Dani pinched her eyes closed and another shiver racked through her. She could have ended up like that!
Liquefied, pumped inside that. . . that. . . Monster!
"It appears the Collectors have processed tens of thousands of humans. Significantly more will be required to complete the Reaper," EDI said, giving them the cruel stats.
Shepard glared at the lifeless Behemoth in front of them.
"What do the Collectors gain by turning humans into this. . . Reaper shell?"
"They may be facilitating the Reaper equivalent of reproduction. Or it may serve another purpose. I do not have the data to speculate further. However, it is clear that the Collectors are merely pawns. The technology and ability needed to create this Reaper is not their own. It is likely that different species construct each Reaper. In this case, the Collectors provide the labor."
"But, the Collectors were once Protheans, right?" Dani hesitated a moment. "I don't understand, why would they help the Reapers?"
"Because the Reapers subdued the Protheans long ago," Garrus said in disgust. "What we fought today, those were not Protheans. Not anymore."
"Correct, Officer Vakarian. Probabilities suggest they attempted to create a Prothean Reaper. And failed. Over time, they adapted the Protheans to suit their needs. Changed them. Turned them into workers. Tools for the Reapers."
"What a horrible fate!" Dani whispered.
"But why are they building it to look like a human? Why not build a Reaper that looks like Sovereign?"
"It appears that a Reaper's shape is based upon the species used to create it."
"So, Reapers don't look the same?" Dani ventured.
"I do not have the data to speculate further. My previous statement was merely a hypothesis based on available facts, it might not be the actual reason."
"Reapers are machines – why do they need humans at all?" Shepard wondered.
"Incorrect. Reapers are sapient constructs. A hybrid of organic and inorganic material. The exact construction methods are unclear, but it seems probable that the Reapers absorb the essence of a species; utilizing it in their reproduction process."
"If this. . . thing is not even finished. How. . . How many more humans –" Dani couldn't even finish her question. It was too horrific to even think of. She didn't need to, EDI understood her reasoning perfectly.
"Millions. Perhaps more. Impossible to know for certain. This Reaper appears to be in a very early stage of development. An embryo in human terms."
"That's an embryo?" Dani managed to say. "I'd hate to see what it'd look like fully grown up!"
"So, it's not alive yet? We can still stop it from being created?"
"The process can be stopped. But it's unclear exactly how much it has developed. I cannot, for example, tell you if it has awareness."
"If it has, we can't let it live, Shepard," Dani exclaimed. "It's. . . It's an abomination!"
"You took the words right out of my mouth, Dani," Shepard agreed. "EDI, how do we destroy this thing?"
"The large tubes injecting the fluid are a weak structural link. Destroying them should cause the supports to collapse, and the Reaper to fall."
EDI had barely spoken the words when the metal shielding of the tubes suddenly fell into place again, shielding the contents. When Dani looked up, she saw a platform moving in, bringing enemies with it.
"Give us a minute, EDI. We've got to take care of some old friends first."
"Enemies incoming, Shepard!" Samara called out."
Garrus immediately dragged Dani down behind cover and nearly flattened her to the floor.
"You stay back and keep yourself hidden, is that clear? If you disobey. . . so help me!" Garrus hissed at her. Dani was pretty sure he had no idea he was baring all his teeth at her in the process. She could see he meant every word he said, so she merely nodded in agreement. A low growl emitted from his throat before he released her and joined Shepard and Samara in the fight.
It turned out staying in cover was easier said than done. Harbinger joined his drones again and they fought more relentless than previous foot soldiers had. They didn't keep to one place or stayed in cover to protect themselves. No, they hurled themselves to battle, tried to flank Shepard, Garrus and Samara. And her. She had to move from cover to cover to keep herself hidden. She hated seeing how the others were fighting for their lives while she cowered away. It was shaming.
When the last drone possessed by Harbinger was destroyed, the metal shielding lifted again, as if the lack of his presence prevented the metal shielding from protecting the tubes.
"Shoot the injection tubes, Shepard!" Garrus cried out while lining a shot.
His shot was well aimed and the large tube exploded in millions pieces of glass. The structure whined as if in pain and the remaining protective shielding dropped back in place again. That could only mean one thing. . .
Dammit, another platform floating towards them, carrying more enemies. This time, the platform moved right next to where she was hidden. Oh God! Dani thought in despair while flattening herself against the cover she was behind. She had no weapons, no way to defend herself except for her gauntlets, but phasing through a shitload of seeker swarms had severely emptied the energy provided by the belt. Not to mention phasing Garrus a couple of times and a few Collectors. And that was not even counting the fact of how much of a strain it put on herself. The low energy and her fatigue, she had no idea how many more times she could phase before she would slip up and phase herself straight into a wall or something.
Garrus roared and drew their attention. While the Collector assassins jumped straight over the cover where she was hiding, they charged at Garrus, completely missing her. But Shepard and Samara were caught up in a fight of their own, leaving Garrus stranded fighting two Collectors at a time, on his own. She couldn't sit back and just watch him die, fighting for her. The moment she phased, she knew she'd have to deal with his wrath later. Well, she'd pick his wrath over his death any day!
The Collectors had driven Garrus in a corner. He was fighting for his life, refusing to go down easy.
His armor looked about ready to fall from his frame but he kept going. One Collector fell, but the moment he turned to the other, his assault rifle failed. Garrus quickly ejected a thermal clip, but he was too slow in reloading.
The Collector took aim and was about to fire when Dani phased through him and grabbed his weapon in the process. She immediately ducked behind cover again; a small gesture to appease Garrus but the heated look he sent her, right before he placed a few bullets between the Collectors eyes, told her she would be in trouble later. A lot of trouble.
Once the last Collector dropped down dead, Harbinger's influence gone, the metal shielding released again. Garrus yelled at Shepard to take a shot while he changed back to his sniper rifle again.
The small window of time was too short for Garrus to take a shot, but not for Shepard and his aim was true. The super-structure whined again when another tube splintered to pieces. Of course immediately another platform drifted into view, with more enemies to defend the proto-Reaper. The metal shielding snapped into place again.
This time Dani was in better cover, giving Garrus a chance to help out Shepard and Samara as all these assassins were protected by heavy barriers and armor as well. Samara was really helpful by taking out all of their barriers at once, so Garrus could destroy their armor with his heavy concussive shots, leaving the vulnerable bodies for Shepard to kill off. Another tube got shot and Dani had to repress the urge to gag when large blobs of human processed goop splattered all over her.
Only one more tube to go. The defenders were desperate to get rid of them, to save that last tube; they fought mean and relentless.
"I'm running out of thermal clips!" Shepard called out. Garrus immediately reacted and threw a couple in his direction, even though he was bound to run low on them as well.
Dani quivered behind her cover, the Collector rifle shaking in her hands. Did she dare? Garrus would chew her head off if she got wounded while trying to figure out how to shoot a Collector with their own weapon.
But, the moment inevitably came where she had to make a choice. Shepard, Garrus, Samara. . . they were all running low on thermal clips. The Collectors fought tooth and nail to protect the proto-Reaper. When the last body finally fell, the metal shield lifted, revealing the final weakness – the final tube, all guns needed reloading and there was such a small window of opportunity.
Dani could hear another platform approaching; soon her friends, her loved one, would be fighting for their lives again and she was afraid they would run out of thermal clips long before they'd run out of targets to shoot at.
She reacted on instinct and bolted from her cover. Long ago, he had attempted to explain her the basics. It was long before they'd been a couple, though the first stirrings had definitely been there. While she raised the alien rifle, her mind wandered back to that day. Her hands and arms had trembled, every nerve on end with Garrus standing so close behind her, his body practically pressed against her. She placed the butt of the rifle against her shoulder, like Garrus had shown her.
She nearly felt him standing behind her again. His hands – warm, strange and wonderful – helping her hold the rifle in position, his breath hot against her ear and tickling the hairs in her neck.
"Like this, yeah, exactly. . ." She heard him whisper. "Take aim, exhale and pull the trigger."
Dani did as the echo told her and the tube exploded to pieces while the force of the kickback threw her smack against a hard object right behind her. She yelped in pain and for a moment the world turned black. When she opened her eyes she saw the proto-Reaper lurch forward, its ugly skeleton head lulling down. One after one, the fastenings of the tubes fell apart, releasing their hold on the Reaper until it finally crashed down, taking the arriving platform with it.
Dani blinked a couple of times, her vision blurry and her head throbbing painfully. Still, she curved her lips in a wan smile. It was over.
Shepard and Samara stepped to the edge of the platform they were on and peered down the chasm or shaft, to make sure it was gone. Garrus, however, was with her in a heartbeat and boy. . . he didn't look happy at all. Without a word he pulled her up roughly. She yelped when a searing pain shot through her shoulder and then her head. The rifle clattered from her hands to the ground.
"Shepard to ground team. Status report," Shepard ordered somewhere near them.
"Jack here. I'm tagging them as they come, but feel free to call for an exit anytime!"
"Head to the Normandy," Shepard ordered her. "Joker – prep the engines. I'm about to overload this place and blow it sky high."
"Roger that, Commander."
Afraid to move with Garrus standing fuming next to her, Dani kept her eyes on Shepard while he pulled up one of the cores.
"Uh, Commander? I've got an incoming signal from the Illusive Man. EDI's patching it through."
Garrus' omni-tool started blinking and with a sigh Garrus punched in a code to receive the signal.
He headed to Shepard, but not without a last glare in Dani's direction. She gulped. Damn, he was even more pissed than she'd thought.
From a safe distance she saw the holoform of the Illusive Man appear.
"Shepard." The Illusive Man acknowledged Shepard. "You've done the impossible."
"I was part of a team. Some of them gave their lives for this mission."
"I know, their sacrifices will not be forgotten. You did what you had to do, and you acquired the Collector base. I'm looking at the schematics EDI uploaded. A timed radiation pulse would kill the remaining Collectors , but leave the machinery and technology intact. This is our chance Shepard! They were building a Reaper. That knowledge – that framework – could save us!"
"You can't!" Dani cried out when she realized the implications. "They liquefied people! Turned them into something horrible! I – could have been part of that. . . that abomination! You have to destroy it!"
"Dani's right. We have to destroy the base. Keeping it would be a final insult to the people who were killed to create this monstrosity."
"Don't be short-sighted," The Illusive Man chided. "You can't afford to let yourself be guided by misplaced emotions. Our best chance against the Reapers is to turn their own resources against them."
"I don't know," Garrus started. "What happened here was horrible. . . but we have to stop the Reapers. If we destroy this base, then all these people died for nothing."
"How can you even say that?" Dani looked up at him, her pain at his words causing her voice to tremble.
"I – we – were this close to being processed into that monster. A part of me would be in there, somewhere. And you would keep us like that? Keep me like that? Just to learn? There is no sense in the deaths of all these people, Garrus. Keeping the base for whatever sake gives their death no sudden meaning. They truly will have died for nothing if we allow this stain upon their memory to exist."
"Dani, I –" Garrus started, unable to meet her eyes.
"They were working directly with the Collectors," The Illusive Man pressed. "Who knows what information is buried there? This base is a gift. We can't just destroy it."
"This base is not a gift!" Dani's voice was quivering with emotion. "It's a curse. A place of unspeakable pain, fear and suffering!"
"Stay out of this! You're ruining everything!" The Illusive Man spat at her.
"You're completely ruthless," Shepard accused him. "The next thing I know, you'll be wanting to grow your own Reaper."
"My goal is to save humanity from the Reapers. At any cost. I've never hidden that from you. Imagine how many lives could be saved if we keep this base intact and use its knowledge to thwart the Reapers. Imagine the lives that will be lost if we don't."
"No matter what technology we might find, it's not worth it."
"Shepard. You died fighting for what you believed. I brought you back so you could keep fighting. Some would say what we did to you was going too far. But look what you've accomplished. I didn't discard you because I knew your value. Don't be so quick to discard this facility. Think of the potential."
"We'll fight and win without it. I won't let fear compromise who I am.
"Shepard, think about what's at stake. About everything Cerberus has done for you. You –"
Garrus broke the connection and even handed Shepard the device that would overload the core.
Shepard nodded at him and punched in the codes to activate the sequence.
"Let's move," Shepard ordered them all. "We've got twenty minutes before the reactor overloads and blows this whole station apart."
With those words he pressed the core into its station again. The moment they headed towards the elevator platform, however, the floor quaked and trembled, throwing them all off balance.
A gigantic robotic hand slammed upon the floor of the floating platforms making the floor tremble beneath their feet. Before Dani fully realized what was going on, the human Reaper larva heaved itself up from the depths below and took a swing at Shepard with its other hand. He ducked out of the way just in time.
Dani nearly died of fright when the two blazing red eyes settled upon her. Her knees felt weak like rubber. The Reaper opened its mouth where a whirlpool of blinding light started to charge up. . . something. An ominous noise rattled from its mouth, as if some massive weapon was powering up.
But all she could do was stare. Even though she knew she had to move – right now – she was frozen, rooted to her spot. Right before three massive bolts of pure power released at her, right before she was sure she'd die, something heavy crashed against her, toppled her over and held her pinned down.
"You sure you'd rather face the wrath of that Reaper than mine?" She heard a very familiar voice growl at her. Dani blinked a couple of times and looked up at Garrus' face right above hers.
"I – I thought I was going to die. . ." she managed to get out.
"Oh, don't worry, you still might!" he nearly snarled at her. "It all depends on how well you obey my instructions this time. Can you just listen for once and – stay – in – cover?"
Dani nodded quickly. Much to her surprise Garrus briefly touched his forehead to hers, and then he was gone, making up for lost time by aiding Shepard the best he could.
The moment it discovered it was under fire by three very determined warriors, the coward hid and stayed out of view for a while. Was it charging up or something? Dani wasn't sure. She only knew this wasn't over yet.
And she was right. It didn't take long before the Reaper suddenly appeared again. It changed its position somewhat and nearly threw the others off their game.
"Garrus, shoot at the eyes!" Shepard shouted. "It appears to be a weak point!"
Her lover wasted no time, loaded his rifle, took aim and discharged a heavy concussive shot.
The creature shrieked in anger and immediately hid from view again.
"Pick up any thermal clips the Collectors might have dropped, we're going to need them!"
Dani just trembled in her hiding spot. Nothing she could do to help out now. She had no powers, no battle skills at all. All she could do was pray this would be over soon! Time was ticking and she hated to be on this station when it blew.
The Reaper suddenly appeared at a different spot again and this time it waved it's barbed, unfinished, spine around like a scorpion's tail. Before she could react it smashed straight through the cover she was hiding behind, right next to her. She quivered, staring at the barbed end as it retracted. Just a bit more to the left, she thought. Just a few inches and she'd have been impaled.
She felt the claws of unadulterated panic get a grip on her. She tried to clamor to her feet, crawl away to find new cover, but her limbs were not cooperating and she flailed helplessly at the rubble of stone near her feet.
It was Samara who offered her a helping hand and dragged her to a safer place.
"Stay down," the Justicar ordered her. "The Reaper is weakening, it's light is dimming. It will all be over soon, one way or the other."
Samara jumped over the cover and darted away, leaving Dani stricken and not comforted at all.
To make things even worse, more drones were flying in while the Reaper kept discharging massive bolts of destruction at them or striking with its deadly barb whenever it could.
"Concussive shot ready." Dani could hear Garrus yell. "Shepard, Samara, cover me!"
The shot rang out with force, the monster shrieked and hid from view again, giving them a little leeway to get rid of the Collector drones. The last drone got possessed by Harbinger right before anyone could kill it and he shot a wave of destruction in Samara's direction. The force lifted the powerful asari from the ground like a leaf and smashed her against a wall with bone-crushing force.
She crumpled down and didn't get up again. Dani could barely repress a sob. Shepard and Garrus were now on their own, and while Harbinger finally went down, that fucking Reaper appeared again.
Well, she might not be able to fight, but she could help Samara.
Dani dashed from cover to cover, inching closer to Samara while the Reaper charged its bolts.
Careful now, not too rash. . . she didn't wear armor like the others. If she got hit by just the outfall of one of those blasts. . . it would be over in an instant for her.
A stray bolt made impact perilously close to her, making her bolt for the next cover. More drones were pouring in and she could hear another one of Garrus' concussive shots hit home.
When she finally reached Samara she applied the medi-gel directly in her system. Her startling blue eyes fluttered open and focused almost immediately on her face.
"I owe you a debt of gratitude, dear one. I will not forget." With those words Samara jumped into the fray of action again.
"You're life force is mine!" Dani could hear her shout before two Collectors, already stripped from barriers and armor, fell dead to the ground.
"Direct intervention is necessary."
The by now familiar droning voice of Harbinger put a scowl on Dani's face. Damn that bastard!
Samara and Shepard concentrated on Harbinger while she saw Garrus line up another concussive shot. His hands were calm and steady. His aim deadly precise. Dani held her breath in time with him and watched him release his shot. Her eyes darted to the Reaper and watched in awe as its skull exploded in flames.
It threw back its skull, cried in defeat, but even near death it refused to go down without one last strike. It slashed at the platforms with force, sank its sharp talons deep into the metal and dragged one platform with it as it fell down.
Dani's eyes widened with horror when she saw it was the platform Garrus had been standing on just the moment before and he was now skidding towards a certain death.
She acted on pure instinct, refusing to let him go without a fight, without trying. His wrath be damned. They were a team, meant to be together. In life. Or in death. She dashed over the side of her platform, the one adjoining his, dove belly down right after him and stretched out her hand.
Garrus saw her sliding towards him and a peculiar look passed his features. One she couldn't determine because she was a little busy trying to save his ass. He reached out to her while she skidded closer. She strained to reach him and managed to grasp his hand for an agonizingly brief moment before gravity pulled him from her again. In just another heartbeat he would fall of the edge, fall out of her life forever. Their eyes locked for the briefest of moments before he toppled over. The moment he did, she skidded to a halt near the edge, she strained herself and blindly grasped at the exact spot where Garrus had fallen from view. She cried out and relief nearly crashed her when she found her hand tightly grasped around his wrist, his fingers digging painfully in her flesh. She gritted her teeth; she couldn't care less. His weight threatened to pull her arm from its socket as he briefly dangled in the air while she tried to pull him up. He was too heavy for her and she could feel her ligaments tearing. He quickly came to his senses though and hauled himself up.
The moment he rolled them both to relative safety, the falling Reaper exploded somewhere below them. All the platforms got hit by the blast. Their alignment shifted, they fell apart and crashed down to the platforms below, taking everyone with them. The platform Dani and Garrus were on now tilted over to the other side and she felt herself plummeting down again. Just one breath later she felt two strong arms wrapping tightly around her, just as she saw Shepard and Samara rolling down ahead of her. She held on to Garrus for dear life, wondering for a moment if this would be the end.
Somewhere during the fall the platform stabilized, allowing them to get to their feet. Before they had time to ponder their next move, Dani gasped in shock when she saw one of the other platforms hurling towards them at breakneck speed. There was no time for anything. Not a look, not a touch, not a word, not a breath. In a single heartbeat, her world turned black. . .
Dani couldn't breathe. She was crushed and darkness weighed her down. The world slowly came back into focus though when darkness was pulled away from her, taking the weight with it.
She blinked a couple of times to get rid of the blurry vision obscuring her view. Garrus' frame loomed over her and she grasped wildly at his offered hand, struggling to pull herself free completely, struggling to get inside his waiting embrace as quickly as she possibly could. Only when his arms wrapped around her tightly, only when she could press her clammy cheeks against his cool armor, she finally felt she could relax a bit.
"Do you copy?"
Dani looked up when she heard Joker's voice crackling over the omni-tool.
"Commander? Come on, Shepard, don't leave me hanging. Do you copy?"
"I'm here, Joker," Shepard responded. "Did the ground team make it?"
"All survivors on board," Joker replied with a sigh. "We're just waiting for you."
The words barely came through over the omni-tool when Dani noticed several clouds of seeker swarms form right behind Shepard. The moment they heard their distinctive sound, they all turned around as one and started a run for their lives. Speaking through the cloud, they could hear Harbinger taunting them.
"Human, you've changed nothing."
Shepard and Garrus turned around to shoot at the swarm, giving Samara and Dani a chance to escape passed them. One look from Garrus told Dani she'd better keep running without objecting. And so she did. She forced herself to move forward as fast as her tired legs could carry her. She looked behind her, relieved to find Garrus not far behind.
"Keep moving!" he ordered her. "Don't look back, just keep moving!"
His voice carried all the authority of one over-concerned turian and it brook no disobedience.
"Your species has the attention of those infinitely your greater." Harbinger kept taunting.
They were running, trying to leave the base behind them, the taunts, the death and the destruction.
"That which you know as Reapers are your salvation through destruction."
Shots were fired far behind her. Dani didn't need to look to know that Collectors were hot on their tails. Nor did she dare to look, defying Garrus' last order.
Small explosions shook the ground, throwing Dani off her balance for just a moment. She dwindled briefly before throwing her last bit of energy in a mad dash for life.
The shots fired at them came closer and closer in range. Grenades exploded left and right of her, but every time she fell, she just scrambled to her feet again. She kept going. Simply trusting. Trusting that Garrus was right behind her, trusting that Joker would pull through like he always did. And of course he did. She could cry in relief when suddenly the Normandy soared into view.
The door of the airlock slid open and none other than Joker himself appeared, carrying a big badass gun, taking down any pursuers daring to harm them. She was nearly there. Nearly safe.
Dani could see Samara rush past her, taking the gap, jumping herself to safety. She smiled and readied herself to make the jump when a grenade exploded so close to her, it hurled her sideways. The flash of the bang blinded her, the force of it deafened her. Suddenly, her only reality was silence and a bright burning light in which she found herself all alone. All she could hear was the frantic beating of her heart and her breathing, fast and shallow.
She struggled to get up, but she had lost her orientation. Shapes and sounds blurred together. 'End of the line', she thought. She had been so close. So close, yet so far. Too far. When something heavy crashed against her back, launching her forward, she felt the cold swish of death rushing up to her. Death, it appeared, felt like countless hands pulling at her body.
Death had no sound and when something of a view spread out before her, she realized she was looking down from wherever you go when you die, witnessing Shepard's last moments. A sob tore away from her when she saw large metal beams crashing down. The support structure that had carried the platforms crumbled like an apple pie. One of them crashed the floating platforms that formed the only route of escape.
Shepard just kept on going, a desperate attempt to launch himself to safety. And Garrus. . . Garrus was nowhere to be seen. Maybe his body was already broken, crushed, deep below. Her personal hell was to see Shepard run, launching himself in the air; an impossible jump, an inevitable fall.
It just didn't quite happen like that. Death's hands pulled away from her, sound reached her ears again and the blurry edges of her vision retreated. She gasped, seeing Shepard hurtling towards her, his hand reaching out, his feet kicking the air as if that would gain him more momentum. At the last possible moment, she finally realized that what she saw was real and not some twisted vision.
She shot towards him, acting on instinct. So did someone else. Shepard threatened to fall just a bit short. She strained herself, her arm reached, she grasped, pain flared behind her eyes when she felt the sudden weight damaging her already tested muscles and ligaments further. She cried out in pain; the weight suddenly disappeared and someone else pulled Shepard to safety.
When she looked up, it was Garrus who bent down for her and picked her up to cradle her against him. All her senses shocked to bits, she just leaned her head against him and allowed him to carry her inside. Shepard was already on the move again, Samara hovering worriedly behind him.
Garrus stalked after them with long, powerful strides, strides no human could ever hope to make.
Dani watched Joker scramble to his pilot's chair as quick and efficient his brittle bones allowed.
"Detonation in ten, nine, eight –" EDI started to count down.
"Yeah, got the gist of it, EDI! Hold on!" Joker bristled.
While the Normandy cleaved through the air, still under EDI's control, Joker activated the manual controls and took over. They soared away from the base while Garrus carried her over to a window.
They silently watched the base erupt in flames and soon after it was torn apart in a giant explosion. The force and the sound of it catching up with them just a few moments later.
Dani could hear the engine whine and protest, even here from the bridge. Joker was siphoning every bit of available power to keep them ahead from the blast.
She could see tongues of fire reaching for them, but never quite catching them. They stayed ahead, barely out of reach, right until Joker was finally able to make an FTL-jump that finally brought them to safety.
"Well done, people," Shepard appeared just behind them. "Very well done!"
Garrus turned a bit and got himself a slap on the shoulder while Dani received a gentle kiss on her forehead.
"If you'll excuse me for a moment. I'm just going to have a little word with our friend the Illusive Man."
Shepard left them alone with a nod and without a further word, Garrus turned himself around completely and carried Dani away.
All hands were already busying themselves with damage control. There was a lot of damage.
It would take a while to get the Normandy up to her old self again; she needed a lot of work, more than just a little paint job. He quietly stepped over rubble lying in the way until the door of the med bay slid open and he gently settled her down. He nodded solemnly at Dr. Chakwas, then turned and left a puzzled Dani behind.
