Mass Effect - The Hospital

[Shepard]

I arrived at a Quarian hospital to see if Tali had recovered from a cold she had gotten recently. Once arrived, I decided to explore a bit before checking on her. I had a small chat with a friendly human mercenary commando in a briefing room of sorts and then moved on to the upper level. The latter was a platform overlooking the lobby, giving me a clear view of my surroundings. The glass walls that surrounded me let the sunset's light pour in, making for a quiet and peaceful atmosphere.

Of course, that was going to change.

I turned around and made my way to the elevator. Seconds later, I stumbled into a clear-visored Quarian examining dead Turian's corpse laying against a wall near a secondary reception desk. A group of other Quarians and Salarians were assessing the situation, working in seamless cooperation. Taking the matter seriously, I examined his body armour -- a familiar symbol was imprented on his shoulderguard, but it definitely wasn't Cerberus'.

Suddenly, an alarm blared through the building. For some reason, an evacuation was taking place. Offering to help, I decided to stay and help the remaining Quarian patients and civillians. The lobby now emptied, I pulled out my rifle and headed back up the stairs to the second floor platform, only to see two Turian commandos and an android opening fire on the remaining Quarian patients as they exited their rooms. Without hesitation, I killed the intruders and verified their armour: They all had the same emblem printed on their shoulderplates, as if they were part of some sort of death squad for hire. Their equipment was top-tier.

My somewhat peaceful dream rapidly shifted into a nightmare. I stood there for a brief moment, staring at the blood-covered walls and lifeless bodies that laid motionless on the floor. I couldn't believe my eyes. A familiar voice boomed through my earpiece, waking me from my morbid trance. "Shepard, what's going on?" Garrus said in a pressing tone. "Meet me in the lobby, I'll explain everything to you there."

Once regrouped, I took the time to explain the situation to Garrus and Kaiden who had arrived with him. I decided to divide and conquer: I would head up to Tali's floor and both Garrus and Kaiden would take the underground storage areas to kill the remaining mercs.

[Kaiden]

We both made it to the underground area. The infrastructure resembled that of a parking lot with a relatively large space and almost nowhere to hide. It was nearly empty, with the exception of a few trucks and the odd car. I opened up my Omni-Tool and set it to scan for any electrical and thermal signals in the area; anything that resembled a human being or a potential target would immediately get flagged. Seconds later, two targets appeared on the scan: A man with heavy armour and an LMG of sorts and a second soldier that I couldn't see with the naked eye.

Garrus took cover and opened fire on the only visible mercenary, but his bullets barely made a dent in his armour. In a flash, the second target appeared right out of thin air and prepared to strike me from behind. Garrus, aware of the uncloaked soldier, alerted me. In a split-second reaction, I ducked and hit him with the butt of my gun, turned around and prepared to put a bullet in his head as he stumbled back. As I pulled the trigger, he re-cloaked himself and my bullet hit the floor. Whoever this guy was, he was obviously a professional.

After running out of ammo and entering a fierce hand-to-hand combat with the ninja merc, Garrus got shot in shoulder and collapsed to the floor, grasping his bleeding wound. I sprinted over to Garrus' gun and used the remaining bullets to kill off the heavy. Garrus, now with an incapacitated arm, pulled out his pistol and shot the cloaked merc just as he was going to stab me. Thanking Garrus, I placed him against the adjacent car door and prepared to apply some Medi-Gel on his wound.

"You're going to make it, I whispered. Just stay with m--" Everything stopped. I couldn't speak, much less make a noise of any sort. Time froze for an instant, but it felt like an eternity. Time unfroze, as I collapsed to the ground, a gaping hole in the back of my neck from a bullet fired from across the room.

[Garrus]

Kaiden's body laid on top of me, his dead eyes staring into an infinite void. I pulled him off and took cover knowing that the shooter would be out for me next, but the latter had gotten to me first. I screamed in pain as the bullet tore through my leg, making me collapse for a second time. I wasn't going to die knowing that he was still alive. With all the strength that remained in me, I dragged myself over to my sniper rifle that I had left near the entrance, only to be brutally interrupted by the cloaked merc re-appearing right in front of my eyes, stomping on my hand.

And to think he was dead...

He pulled out his pistol, pointed it at my head and pulled the trigger.

[Shepard]

At last, I had found Tali. She was smart enough to have cloaked herself, but she recognized me instantly. I ran over to her and embraced her in my arms. Joker, finding a way to get through to me using my earpiece, instantly destroyed any hopes I had recently earned.

"Commander... Garrus' and Kaiden's vital signs..."

No. No, no, no! This couldn't be happening!

"They're dead."

I stood there, took a step back and stared out the window. I couldn't believe my ears... Everything seemed to fade away.

"Shepard, what happened?" Tali asked in a worrying, almost pleading tone. I couldn't bring myself to tell her. They meant as much to her as they meant to me. Seconds later, she caught on.

"Shepard..." she said, her voice trembling. I placed my arms around her and stared right in her eyes. She cracked and entered a sob, grabbing me with all her might.