uhdnrt wrote...
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Sacrifice
inspired by NuclearBuddha and Goat_Shepard
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"It's ironic that it ends near where it began, isn't it?"
Tali looked up from where she sat, leaning against a wall in the council chambers. She nodded tiredly. She glanced up to see Garrus and Jack huddled on the opposite wall, the biotic tending to the turian's injuries.
They were all injured, to some degree or another. Shepard and Garrus worst of all, as they had been the ones to fight Harbinger's avatar. She could tell her friend would be lucky if they could use cybernetics to repair his left arm; not that it mattered.
They weren't getting out of here alive.
While the combined forces fought the reaper fleet, Shepard and his away team had stormed the Citadel to activate it's self destruction sequence. A sequence that would also end the Reapers - they were too tied to their technology after all. The Citadel had always been the key.
She was proud of her people, though. The quarians had worked around the clock for nearly a month with their newly freed fleet (Rannoch was being used to house their noncombatants, medical, and food production) to evacuate the Citadel. They had largely succeeded.
Then Harbinger and the Reapers arrived at the Citadel, intent on taking it. Harbinger had networked with the Citadel, and Shepard and his team had assaulted the Citadel to put a stop to it.
Tali was happy that most of the team would live. Everyone had a role, and had performed it admirably. Activating the necessary sequences, enabling communications, and disrupting the Reapers using the Citadel. All of the other teams had been confirmed to have gotten off the Citadel.
In the end, it came down to an assault on the main chambers to activate the self destruct. She would not leave her Captain. Garrus, Shepard's brother in arms, his rock, would not stay behind. Surprising everyone, Jack refused to leave the turian vigilante. It was a surprise, but Shepard had just laughed at the irony and welcomed her along.
And now it was over. They were cut off from everyone, the arms of the Citadel still sealed. There was no way out, even as the self destruct counted down. Still, they had won. She stood and limped to Shepard, hugging him tightly.
"I always new I'd go down fighting," he said with a sigh as he held her. "I am sorry I couldn't give you your happy ending though."
Tali shook her head. "I'm with you. That is all that matters."
"Love you Tali," Shepard said as he held her tighter. "I'm glad you're here with me." He glanced at Garrus. "You too, ugly. Couldn't have done it without you."
The turian laughed. "At least we go out with a bang." Jack nodded from her place at his side.
"Better this than all that **** we'd have to go through as 'heroes'," She said with a smirk.
"There is that," Tali agreed with a chuckle. The Citadel shuddered, once, then twice.
Shepard looked at all of them, before smiling. "At least it's done. We won, that's all that really matters." Everyone nodded as they waited for the countdown to finish.
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The Citadel shuddered again. A rumble, quiet at first, but louder as the seconds ticked by. Tali and Shepard looked at each other - they recognized that rumble anywhere. Letting each other go, Shepard moved to Garrus and gently lifted him to his feet.
"Masks on!" He urged to Jack even as he put the turian's helmet on. "I think our ride just got here!"
The rumble got louder. Suddenly, light poured in to the chamber from the large window as the
Normandy roared into sight. It's cargo bay opened and the hammerhead flew out, on a collision course with the council chamber.
The room shook as the hover tank shattered the glass, exposing the room to vacuum. It skidded to a stop and the doors opened, revealing The rest of the away team.
"Did you really thin we'd leave you to do the whole heroic sacrifice Commander?" Jacob asked as he helped the injured turian into the tank.
Shepard could only grin. The doors closed and the tank flew back to the
Normandy. As it shuddered to a halt, Joker's voice rang out from the comms.
"This is another one you owe me Commander."
Shepard laughed as his ship and his team soared away from the Citadel. He looked over at Tali. She was holding her hands to her heart, eyes locked with his. He walked over and wrapped his arms around her.
"Looks like we get our ending after all," he said as he gazed down into her eyes.
"Looks like it John," she said, relief and joy in her voice.
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fin.
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I never said it was done.