The Final Courtesy 1/2
anonymous
November 13 2012, 01:05:14 UTC
"Okay, on three. Ready?"
"Not really," James admitted, but he raised the rifle anyway, aiming it squarely at Shepard's chest. On Kaidan's right, Garrus did the same thing.
Shepard was regarding them with the attitude of a pissed-off commander watching her subordinates mutiny.
"Please listen to me. You're making a mistake, all of you."
She was calm-- well, not 'calm' per se, she was agitated plenty - but she wasn't scared. Not in the least, despite having several rifles pointed at her while being thoroughly tied to a metal cargo container. Or more like affixed to it. Handcuffs hadn't been enough to restrain her; they'd taken long metal bars and strapped them across her chest and legs, attached to the container with both bolts and welds.
Kaidan tried to put her voice out of his mind, her eyes gazing on him, on all of them, and just let it pass over him. It wasn't easy.
"One."
She'd stopped fighting the restraints, which was a good indication that they were actually strong enough to hold her. But... they couldn't keep her like that indefinitely.
"Two."
"Don't do this," she urged. Not pleaded - never Shepard. "I know you don't want to. Let's talk this over."
Kaidan drew a breath that didn't quite want to come. Tightened his finger on the trigger. Shepard's gaze left his, she was focusing on James. It should have made the next word easier, but didn't.
"Three."
One more forced breath. His hand on the gun was cold and clammy. It wasn't moving right. The trigger finger wasn't squeezing the trigger. He didn't know what part of his mind it was that had issued the refuse order against his will, but he was grateful. He couldn't. He just couldn't do it. His heart was pounding in his ears. And beyond was silence.
Silence.
Unfrozen after another few heartbeats, he was able to lower his gun, his arm feeling like clay.
Nobody else had fired either.
"Shit," James muttered, flipping the safety on and taking a walk to the back of the hangar bay. Garrus shook his head, looking like he was coming out of the same lethargy as Kaidan, and followed him. Kaidan looked at Shepard. She offered him a weak smile.
"Thank you."
He couldn't smile back. It would've just turned into a grimace.
The Final Courtesy 2/2
anonymous
November 13 2012, 01:09:10 UTC
Kaidan joined Garrus and James in a secluded corner, well out of her earshot.
"I'm sorry," Garrus said, looking everywhere other than Kaidan. "I just... whatever else, she's still Commander Shepard."
"I know."
James unleashed his uncorked, unspent energy through his fist against the bulkhead. "Dammit. Can't we just... I don't know, open the cargo door and space the whole bay?" Though he looked sick when he suggested it. Kaidan was about to object, but Garrus beat him to it, shaking his head decisively.
"Out of the question. Spacing is a cruel death. Even high traitors to the Hierarchy are shot in the neck before they're tossed out the airlock. And taking her first death into consideration, even if she's only conscious for some fifteen seconds, that's going to be fifteen seconds of pure torture."
"And being torn apart by bullets isn't?"
"It's mild, comparatively. An honourable death. And as long as we all fire at once," Garrus glanced at Kaidan, both apologetically and consolingly, "it will be fast."
Which had been the reason their original plan had been nixed. While Doctor Chakwas was confident she had the drugs on hand to kill Shepard, she was less certain she would be able to do it in a reasonably dignified manner. Shepard's Cerberus-enhanced body shrugged off toxins that killed most humans, and at an extremely advanced rate. To kill her they would have to continually pump her so full of drugs to overload her system that her body would be caught in constant convulsions as it fought to survive. And because she would process any painkillers the same way, they were looking at several long minutes of drawn-out agony.
It simply wasn't an option. Along with many other methods that also weren't. Like Kaidan could probably have snapped her spine with a biotic field, but just as he hadn't been able to squeeze the trigger earlier, he wasn't certain he could actually follow through with it.
Their best bet was their improvised firing squad. No one person to live with the whole guilt, no way to know whose shot it was that ultimately did the deed. And it had to be them, they'd all joined her out of a sense of duty, a need to do what was right. As grim as it was, this was just the final duty to her. Kaidan shrugged his shoulders to release tension, then looked at both Garrus and James steadily, searching for the words to help them. He didn't think there was anything that could help him except to have this over with. Their determination was going to have to help carry him.
"Try to keep in mind, this is as much for her own good as it is for ours. She wouldn't want to live like this. If... if we'd asked her before the end of the war what she would want us to do in this scenario, you know what she would have said."
It was the right thing to say. They all knew Shepard. They all knew she would have wanted this. Garrus nodded, decisive now. James double-checked his ammo, same as he always did before wading into the fray.
"Alright, jefe. Lets get this done."
They returned into the bay proper, walking in a somber formation.
"Are you ready to talk?" Shepard asked, sounding perfectly reasonable, as if she was the one in command of this situation too. He wondered how much she realised...
No. Bad thing to think about. Kaidan raised his rifle. Garrus and James copied him on either side. No hesitation this time.
"One."
"Wait. You don't understand. Let me explain." She must've sensed their resolve, there was a touch of desperation in her voice now.
"Two."
Shepard started fighting the restraints. "We have to ascend. The Reapers were trying to preserve us!"
"Three."
This time, Kaidan didn't freeze. To his left and right, neither did James or Garrus.
Re: The Final Courtesy 2/2
anonymous
November 13 2012, 20:21:07 UTC
this is OP, great plot! They won't let poor Shepard talk her way out and empty their magzines on her, wonder what she had done, after indoctrinated, to deserve this.
Re: The Final Courtesy 2/2
anonymous
November 16 2012, 12:01:05 UTC
A!a likes this theory. :D The one I worked with in my head was that she tried to restart a Reaper-making factory and turned some people into mush, but the exact details don't matter.
"Not really," James admitted, but he raised the rifle anyway, aiming it squarely at Shepard's chest. On Kaidan's right, Garrus did the same thing.
Shepard was regarding them with the attitude of a pissed-off commander watching her subordinates mutiny.
"Please listen to me. You're making a mistake, all of you."
She was calm-- well, not 'calm' per se, she was agitated plenty - but she wasn't scared. Not in the least, despite having several rifles pointed at her while being thoroughly tied to a metal cargo container. Or more like affixed to it. Handcuffs hadn't been enough to restrain her; they'd taken long metal bars and strapped them across her chest and legs, attached to the container with both bolts and welds.
Kaidan tried to put her voice out of his mind, her eyes gazing on him, on all of them, and just let it pass over him. It wasn't easy.
"One."
She'd stopped fighting the restraints, which was a good indication that they were actually strong enough to hold her. But... they couldn't keep her like that indefinitely.
"Two."
"Don't do this," she urged. Not pleaded - never Shepard. "I know you don't want to. Let's talk this over."
Kaidan drew a breath that didn't quite want to come. Tightened his finger on the trigger. Shepard's gaze left his, she was focusing on James. It should have made the next word easier, but didn't.
"Three."
One more forced breath. His hand on the gun was cold and clammy. It wasn't moving right. The trigger finger wasn't squeezing the trigger. He didn't know what part of his mind it was that had issued the refuse order against his will, but he was grateful. He couldn't. He just couldn't do it. His heart was pounding in his ears. And beyond was silence.
Silence.
Unfrozen after another few heartbeats, he was able to lower his gun, his arm feeling like clay.
Nobody else had fired either.
"Shit," James muttered, flipping the safety on and taking a walk to the back of the hangar bay. Garrus shook his head, looking like he was coming out of the same lethargy as Kaidan, and followed him. Kaidan looked at Shepard. She offered him a weak smile.
"Thank you."
He couldn't smile back. It would've just turned into a grimace.
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"I'm sorry," Garrus said, looking everywhere other than Kaidan. "I just... whatever else, she's still Commander Shepard."
"I know."
James unleashed his uncorked, unspent energy through his fist against the bulkhead. "Dammit. Can't we just... I don't know, open the cargo door and space the whole bay?" Though he looked sick when he suggested it. Kaidan was about to object, but Garrus beat him to it, shaking his head decisively.
"Out of the question. Spacing is a cruel death. Even high traitors to the Hierarchy are shot in the neck before they're tossed out the airlock. And taking her first death into consideration, even if she's only conscious for some fifteen seconds, that's going to be fifteen seconds of pure torture."
"And being torn apart by bullets isn't?"
"It's mild, comparatively. An honourable death. And as long as we all fire at once," Garrus glanced at Kaidan, both apologetically and consolingly, "it will be fast."
Which had been the reason their original plan had been nixed. While Doctor Chakwas was confident she had the drugs on hand to kill Shepard, she was less certain she would be able to do it in a reasonably dignified manner. Shepard's Cerberus-enhanced body shrugged off toxins that killed most humans, and at an extremely advanced rate. To kill her they would have to continually pump her so full of drugs to overload her system that her body would be caught in constant convulsions as it fought to survive. And because she would process any painkillers the same way, they were looking at several long minutes of drawn-out agony.
It simply wasn't an option. Along with many other methods that also weren't. Like Kaidan could probably have snapped her spine with a biotic field, but just as he hadn't been able to squeeze the trigger earlier, he wasn't certain he could actually follow through with it.
Their best bet was their improvised firing squad. No one person to live with the whole guilt, no way to know whose shot it was that ultimately did the deed. And it had to be them, they'd all joined her out of a sense of duty, a need to do what was right. As grim as it was, this was just the final duty to her. Kaidan shrugged his shoulders to release tension, then looked at both Garrus and James steadily, searching for the words to help them. He didn't think there was anything that could help him except to have this over with. Their determination was going to have to help carry him.
"Try to keep in mind, this is as much for her own good as it is for ours. She wouldn't want to live like this. If... if we'd asked her before the end of the war what she would want us to do in this scenario, you know what she would have said."
It was the right thing to say. They all knew Shepard. They all knew she would have wanted this. Garrus nodded, decisive now. James double-checked his ammo, same as he always did before wading into the fray.
"Alright, jefe. Lets get this done."
They returned into the bay proper, walking in a somber formation.
"Are you ready to talk?" Shepard asked, sounding perfectly reasonable, as if she was the one in command of this situation too. He wondered how much she realised...
No. Bad thing to think about. Kaidan raised his rifle. Garrus and James copied him on either side. No hesitation this time.
"One."
"Wait. You don't understand. Let me explain." She must've sensed their resolve, there was a touch of desperation in her voice now.
"Two."
Shepard started fighting the restraints. "We have to ascend. The Reapers were trying to preserve us!"
"Three."
This time, Kaidan didn't freeze. To his left and right, neither did James or Garrus.
Thirty shots later, it was over.
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They won't let poor Shepard talk her way out and empty their magzines on her, wonder what she had done, after indoctrinated, to deserve this.
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