Finding a way: Mass effect 3

Mars - part 2

His voice took on the tone of someone obsessed to the point of insanity.

"Earth is being destroyed and you're making some sick twisted power play to control the Reapers?!" she said incredulously.

"I don't expect you to understand and I certainly don't need your approval."

"Just give me the data and let me destroy them," she said decisively. "You brought me back because you know I can do it!"

He felt his spirits lift just hearing her conviction and remembered why he had stood by her against Saren and Sovereign to begin with.

"I brought you back because you were an effective tool. A means to an end. But now you've served your purpose, and like the rest of these relics your time is over."

"Liara," she ordered. He was three quarters of the way around the room and was able to see her move toward the consoles at Aubrey's command ready to extract the data they had come for. His eyes kept scanning the area as he moved forward.

"Don't interfere with my plans, Shepard," the Illusive Man said menacingly.

"Oh, I'm not going to just interfere," she replied, her voice hardening with her threat. "I'm going to stop them entirely and then I'm going to end you."

"Aubrey!" Liara said, "The data is being erased!"

"What?! How?"

"It's local...someone nearby is uploading and then deleting it."

Just as Liara's words reached him he spotted movement from an alcove and rapidly approached. The doctor they had seen execute the soldiers in the security feed was rapidly moving her fingers over a console with her omni-tool up.

"Freeze! Step away from the console!" he ordered, moving closer. She slowly started raising her hands. "Now!" he ordered, taking another step toward her. With blinding speed, she turned and knocked his weapon aside before kicking him back and into the wall. She took off running.

Dammit! he cursed himself internally, while calling to Aubrey, "Commander! She's got the data."

He heard a muffled curse from her as she took off after Dr. Core and he pushed himself to his feet, running after her. He had forgotten how fast she could be as he pushed himself harder to catch up.

They ran through the corridors and out an airlock onto the top of the building, trading some shots back and forth. Dr. Core managed to keep ahead of them and a Cerberus shuttle came into view trailing her and looking for a spot to pick her up.

"James, do you copy?!" Aubrey called over the comms. The reply came back garbled. "Cerberus has the data! Get the Normandy down here ASAP!"

They climbed a ladder onto a wider portion of the roof that would allow perfect maneuvering and landing for a shuttle.

She's going to get away, he thought, unconsciously slowing down just a bit. But Aubrey redoubled her efforts and closed the distance. Her biotics started to flare to life around her as she attempted to grab the doctor in a mass effect field to keep her from jumping into the waiting shuttle. The distance was too far and they watched as the shuttle door closed and it started to ascend.

"Not so fast!" Vega's voice came over the comms as the Normandy's shuttle came out of nowhere and clipped the side of the Cerberus shuttle causing it to spiral back towards the roof and right at them. Without a second thought, he biotically threw Aubrey forward and clear of the falling craft. He turned and made it two steps before the crash and small explosion of the shuttle behind him knocked him through the air to land in a painful heap surrounded by flaming debris.

He pushed himself up to his hands and knees and looked for Liara, who had been behind him, closer to where the shuttle had crashed. She lay dazed on the ground to his left with some pieces of the hull pinning her legs.

"Kaidan!? Liara?!"

He turned to Aubrey's frantic call and signaled that he was alright before going to help Liara up. He pulled the debris off her and got her arm over his shoulder to support her.

"We need to recover the data," she said resolutely trying to steer him toward the burning, twisted mess of what was left of the Cerberus shuttle.

"You're getting to be just as stubborn as Aubrey," he joked, continuing to move toward their shuttle that James had landed.

The clang of metal from behind them made him turn in time to see the wrecked door of the shuttle fly off its hinges and a robotic Dr. Core emerged.

Holy fuck! She's an android! He barely had time to register the thought before he pushed Liara behind him and brought up his pistol and a barrier. Despite point blank range and hitting her several times, she rapidly closed the gap, smashed her fist straight through his barrier and closed her hand around his throat after knocking his gun aside like it was a toy.

"Augh," he choked as black spots danced at the corner of his vision.

"Let him go!" he heard Aubrey yell from behind him. "NOW!"

Instead, the android turned and slammed him back against the side of the shuttle several times. His head rattled inside his helmet and he felt his nose gush blood as it slammed forward into the face shield. He vaguely heard Aubrey's shout of anger and the sound of bullets from her rifle before darkness claimed him.