Aftermath

Chapter 23

"Shepard?" The voice calling her name seemed very far away. It echoed, bouncing around in her consciousness. "Shepard, open those baby blues... come on Captain..."

As Shepard drifted towards consciousness she felt a sudden overwhelming need for oxygen. Without warning she rocketed into a seated position gasping for breath, glancing around frantically. Certain she was in the Keeper tunnel on the Citadel it took her a moment to register the fact that instead of dead bodies it was Traynor, looking alive but frightened, staring back at her. Another few gasps and it started to come back to her. Protheans!

"Liara?" she wheezed, looking questionably at Traynor.

"Here," came the weak call not far away. Liara was pushing herself up off of the volcanic rock floor, shaking her head as if to clear it.

"Are you alright? Is everyone alright?" Shepard asked. After receiving nods from Liara and Traynor she began to take in their surroundings. They were in a small room, not much more than a cave or alcove carved in the rock. The red dust they'd seen staining the ship was everywhere and covering them now as well. The space was warm, the heat coming through the rock and the little light there was came from the same green-blue lighting they'd seen in the tunnel flying in. They had been stripped of their armor and omni-tools, leaving them in their light cover clothing that served as the protective layer between suit and skin.

Shepard looked to the opening of the space they were confined in and saw that the exit was blocked by a slowly pulsing blue energy field.

"Any idea what happened?" Shepard asked. They were all seated on the floor now. No point in standing because of the low ceilings and the fact that there was nowhere to go in the small space.

"Some sort of electrical pulse weapon perhaps. It rendered us unconscious," Liara supplied.

"Did everyone else see hundreds of Protheans or did I imagine that part?" Traynor asked.

"I can assure you, that was very real," a voice boomed from the entrance.

Shepard's attention snapped to the blue energy field, now finding a large silhouette watching them. She pushed herself to stand as best she could, still having to duck her head against the low ceiling.

"I'm Captain Shepard from the..."

"I know who you are human," the voice said, filled with annoyance. "You and your companions."

Shepard's usual intimidation tactics were hampered by not being able to stand up straight as well as the fact that her head was filled with the dull roar of pain. "Who are you?" she demanded with as much menace as she could muster.

"That is of no concern to you human." The Prothean pronounced human with a great deal of distaste. "Your reckoning will be soon enough. In the meantime, you should be comfortable in this cave, primitives." With that he walked away and they appeared to be alone again.

A rumble echoed through the tunnels and made the ground under them shudder. The red dust rained down heavily before it all subsided.

Traynor wiped the dust off her shoulders, "Charming."

"I'd forgotten the obvious distaste Javick showed in the beginning for all of us primitives," Liara grumbled. "It seems these Protheans feel the same."

"If that ship originated from here, that means the Protheans are behind the Redeemer attacks," Shepard pronounced.

"It would make sense given the complexity of the encryption," Traynor speculated.

"But why?" Liara asked. "To what end?"

"That's what I intend to find out," Shepard rumbled darkly.