Me looking over all the accumulated notes and ideas for our post-Refusal fic: "This is gonna be a big story."
Me looking at the word count after assembling the various chapter 2 bits into an actual chapter 2: "16,435 words in two chapters. Yup. That's a big story."
Shepard returned to the group—barely. She looked stunned and had gone pale.
And as far as Oleg could tell, she hadn’t fired the Crucible.
“What is it?” he demanded.
“A trap,” she said with a shake of her head.
Oleg inhaled sharply but set it aside for the time being. “We have to get out of here.”
“The fleets too,” Anderson said. His voice was strained.
Oleg turned to look at Jack. He stood, braced against the console Shepard had used to open the Citadel’s arms. His shoulders were tensed and though he didn’t say anything, Oleg could tell he was still fighting.
Oleg thought quickly then hailed Hackett. He’d already thought of where to retreat if things went badly and sent the coordinates—along with how a team could extract them.
When he finished, he turned an assessing gaze upon Shepard. She was looking weaker by the moment and he suspected she was only still conscious by sheer force of will. Stubborn woman.
He turned upon feeling another’s eyes upon him and met Anderson’s look. “We have to get out of here,” Anderson said.
“I’ve told them where we are. Hackett will send someone.”
Three things happened at once before Anderson could reply. Shepard collapsed. Jack gasped. Anderson’s comm crackled.
“Oleg—”“Admiral Anderson?”
“Here, Joker. Are you our cavalry?”
Oleg left Anderson to deal with their rescuers—and Shepard—while he turned to Jack. “What is it?”
Jack shook his head. “Some things are temporary,” he said after a moment.
Oleg frowned and glanced at Anderson. He was still assisting Shepard. “How long?” he asked, turning back to Jack.
“Not long enough,” he replied through gritted teeth. “They’re unhappy with Shepard’s choice, if I had to guess.”
“Hm.” Oleg frowned. “I’m not leaving you behind.”
“You always were stubborn,” Jack replied. Sweat beaded on his brow from the effort and he closed his eyes, the strain in his expression deepening.
Oleg sighed as Anderson came over to them. Anderson gave Jack a concerned appraisal and frowned before turning to Oleg.
“Won’t be long now,” he said.
“Good,” Oleg replied shortly. “Shepard?”
“Stable but out. Blood loss. Went too long without medigel.” Anderson gestured with his head at Jack. “And him?”
Oleg’s jaw clenched at Anderson’s cavalier attitude. “He was your friend too—once,” he pointed out.
Anderson looked unimpressed with Oleg’s offense. “We have to figure out what to do with him. If he was able to warn the Reapers about what the Catalyst is…”
“Yes, yes,” Oleg replied testily.
They glared at each other. Jack sighed. “I am still here.” He paused. “For now.” He looked over at Oleg, and even the damage from the nanites couldn’t hide his exhaustion. “I will eventually lose this battle,” he said calmly.
Oleg recognized the tone. It was the one Jack used when he was explaining why his insane idea was perfectly sound.
Apparently Anderson remembered it. Before Oleg could protest he’d pistol-whipped Jack and caught him as he fell. “Help me,” he said with a grunt.
Obviously Oleg could do no less but as the two dragged Jack over to Shepard, he lodged his protest. “You enjoyed that.”
Anderson shrugged. “It was overdue.”
Oleg sighed.
They sat then as they waited for their rescuers. The viewports were open before them and they each watched the battle as the various fleets tried to flee. The retreat was going badly, Oleg realized.
“I wonder if we’ll ever see her again,” Anderson said softly.
Oleg glanced over at him questioningly.
“Earth,” Anderson elaborated. “Things were bad on the ground. I can’t imagine this will help.”
Oleg shook his head. “She’ll need rebuilding, but we will.”
“Oddly certain of you.”
Oleg ran a hand tiredly down his face. “Perhaps I’ve learned to have faith in Jack—and Shepard.”
“Really?”
The surprise in Anderson’s voice offended Oleg, at least until he remembered that communication had been sparse. And—he glanced at Jack—perhaps Anderson had good reason to doubt the sanity of someone who kept faith in a man who injected himself with Reaper nanites.
“Despite everything—yes,” Oleg replied at last.
They lapsed into silence a few more minutes before finally their rescuers appeared. A flurry of activity ensued as they planned and then made their way to safety.
“Get them to the medbay,” Oleg ordered. “I’ve had an idea.”
To his surprise, Anderson didn’t protest Oleg’s pulling rank. Jack and Shepard were taken away and Oleg made his way to the helm. “EDI,” he said, “I believe you can access the electronics in the area we just left, no?”
Joker spun around and looked suspiciously at him. “What are you–”
“It’s fine, Jeff,” EDI replied. She turned to Oleg. “I can, yes.”
“Send an overwhelmingly large–and I do mean overwhelmingly large–amount of dirty packets followed up by some good old fashioned electric pulses,” Oleg ordered.
EDI did as directed and as Oleg watched, the Reaper ships around them seemed to stutter. “It’s not much,” he commented, “but it should be enough to allow the fleets to retreat."
He turned and glanced at Joker who was looking at him with a newfound respect. “Get us out of here,” Oleg said. “I’ll be in the medbay.”
