Mass Effect: Transcendence

Torsion

Torsion 

by writeowl

The blue reflection of the Citadel beam glowed on the massive underbelly of the Reaper as it descended from the clouds. Nearby, Alliance soldiers rushed forward over the blackened earth, followed by turian, krogan, and asari combat units. The Reaper wasted no time in attacking the advancing opposition. A turian vehicle thrust forward, skidding past the foot soldiers. The vehicle's track rolled through a husk horde, crushing and smearing them into bits of flesh ground against the rocks and dirt. On foot, Shepard wasn't far behind the vehicle. She bypassed a pile of debris, only to have a cannibal latch on to her arm. It yanked the assault rifle from her hand, but before she could respond, a krogan battle master rushed forward. In one swift motion, he head butted the cannibal and ripped its hand off. As fluid oozed from the cannibal's mangled arm, the krogan handed the gun to Shepard, cannibal fist still tightly wrapped around it. "I believe this is yours," he said, smiling.

Without warning, the Reaper's blast ripped through a tank in front of them, sending Shepard and the krogan reeling backwards.

"Shepard!" Thane yelled as he and Liara ran toward them.

"Come on! We're almost there!" she called back. As she and the krogan righted themselves, the Reaper blasted a Mako. The vehicle hurtled toward them, ricocheting off of the tank, tumbling end over end before it slammed into the ground like a javelin in front of Thane and Liara.

They stopped, looking up in surprise at the vertical Mako nearly at their feet. It teetered backward, and the Mako's shadow began to expand around them.

"Run!" Liara said. They leapt to either side, scrambling out of the way as the Reaper's follow-up attack pummeled the fuel core of the Mako, igniting an explosion. Shards of debris scattered. A piece of the vehicle's frame impaled a nearby soldier through the chest, while a large section of metal plating whipped through the air until it sliced through an asari, severing her at the torso.

Shepard sprinted back. Scrambling over the wreckage, she reached Liara first, whose clothing was splattered with her own blood.  

"I'm okay!" she said, waving Shepard off. 

Shepard kept going, running as hard as she could past the dead soldiers, dodging the others still running forward, until she reached Thane. 

"I'm fine," Thane said as she knelt in the dirt beside him. Besides a myriad of cuts all over his body, the top layer of skin had been burned off of his arms, and a piece of metal shrapnel was lodged in his calf. 

"I'll help you," Shepard said, draping one of his arms over her shoulders. Together, they retreated behind the cover of a disabled vehicle. She steadied Thane, gently helping him sit. 

"Don't move," she said to him. "Normandy! We need an evac. Right now!" she said over the comm. 

Thane gripped his leg. "I can make it." 

Liara crouched next to him. "Not this way. Stay still like she said. You'll only make it worse." 

"We're taking heavy - - " Joker said, his response garbled. Shepard asked for his position but got no response, only static. She looked up, searching for her ship on the horizon. Eventually, the Normandy appeared from behind, dropping her boarding ramp. 

"Come on!" Shepard said, helping Thane hobble toward the ship. 

As they boarded, she gave Liara his arm. "Here," Shepard said, "take care of him." 

Thane reached for her. "Don't do this," he said. 

"You know that I have to," Shepard said. 

"Not without me, you're not."