Aftermath

Chapter 2

Shepard dove and rolled hard into cover behind one of the smoking vehicles the Reaper had destroyed only moments before. Ammo check, only three thermo clips left. Explosions on the left and right. The acrid smoke and smell of burning flesh was suffocating.

Then suddenly it was over and she was mid conversation with Admiral Anderson.

"...have to make a run for that beam," he was saying.

She dropped to the ground and slid to avoid the flipping Mako. She glanced back looking for her team just in time to see Ashley and Liara dive out of the way a fraction too late. All thought of the Reapers abandoned, she backtracked as fast as she was able, climbing and vaulting off of the smoking hull that was once the transport vehicle. Blood. Liara's blood. Evac! Sudden calm looking into those blue Asari eyes she loved. "I am yours," Liara's voice.

The red light of Harbinger ripped past her. She felt the flash of intense pain. Blood. She could hear her own heartbeat louder than anything. The beam. She'd come so far, only a little farther then she could rest.

Another hard jolt to her battered body as she tumbled into a heap onto deck plating, surrounded by the stench of death. Overwhelming and suffocating. Bodies everywhere. Anderson. The Illusive Man, that stupid, arrogant bastard may have killed us all!

And then...

...quiet. The ghost of the boy from Earth ... only not. Far worse. Some ancient creature... an AI. The choice. Destroy. She had to. That's what all of this was for! The suffering, the deaths of millions, the sacrifice... Kaiden, Mordin, Thane, Anderson. It has to stop! She felt the weight of the pistol in her hand, so heavy.

Then fire...

###

Shepard bolted upright so hard she fell out of the bed and onto the floor, ripping free of medical leads and disturbing monitoring devices, causing the room to erupt into beeps and noises of protest.

When Oriana rushed in she stopped short at the sight of the empty bed. Shepard pulled herself up, blood seeping from a fresh gash on her head. She locked her fevered gaze on Oriana. "Are they gone?"

Oriana shook her head, at a loss.

"The Reapers," Shepard demanded, "are they dead?! Are they gone?! Did it work?"

Oriana nodded quickly. "Yes. You did it Commander. You detonated the Crucible and destroyed them all."

Shepard was breathing hard. She nodded and collapsed.

###

"...of all the idiotic things to do. She got out of the bed?! We'll have to restrain her."

"The hell you will," Shepard protested weakly.

The voice over the com paused. Oriana, standing just a few feet from Shepard's bed, glanced over, her face filled with concern.

"You tell Miranda if she wants to put me in restraints she can come here and try it herself. But it won't be pretty."

Oriana glanced at the com, and then brought up the display so Shepard could see it. The three-dimensional image of Miranda Lawson standing, arms crossed, stared back at Shepard.

"You couldn't just die could you," she said with a smirk.

"I blame you," Shepard tossed back, grimacing as she pushed herself up into a seated position.

Miranda actually smiled. "It's good to see you Shepard, conscious anyway."

Shepard paused, a pain in her left side suddenly acute. "Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?"