The queen's blood burst just beneath the skin, but not for anger. The entire purpose was for her quarry to raise a fight, to be defiant. And she took the excitement over her drones' demise as anticipation for the final encounter. But she still needs a way to elude the unforeseen foe.
The other Wraith look on and can see she is enthralled. But as they too feel the death of their brethren they have no notion of what could be the cause. One of the technicians breaks from his work and places a hand on the shoulder of one of the drones guarding her. They share each other's sense of confusion and the technician is allowed to pass.
He approaches her with a bow and she senses his presence and spins around without looking and plunges her hand against his chest and proceeds to feed against his surprised wails and his body crumbles into dust. She breathes with gratification and only now parts open her eyes.
The entourage look on in disbelief.
QUEEN: I am the last of the queens.
And a new Wraith shall be born
through me. Finish the preparations.
She marches away from them a pace.
The few remaining darts scream overhead.
QUEEN: It is enough.
Bring him.
In a blink the darts disappear over the horizon. The Normandy strike team has emerged from the hive and they are caught out in the open. The darts scan the desert with their demolecularizing beams and are narrowly destroyed in turn before they can pass over their targets. Silence falls amidst the crackling fires of crashed ships as the two humans, krogan and turian gather together. Then, faintly over the wind there comes the sound of one lone survivor screaming toward them in the distance.
COMMANDER: I think it's time.
The Normandy crew secure their helmets.
Garrus activates his omni tool.
Within the cockpit, the Wraith pilot witnesses four copies of the tracking signal split up. He only has a couple of seconds to make a decision while suffering from the incessant fire below. The dart banks away from the other three and activates a beam that envelopes Grunt before disappearing from sight with a clipped wing leaving a long trail of smoke to follow.
GARRUS: Hmmm... that could have been
his worst choice among the four of us.
COMMANDER: We still gotta get him out of there.
JOHN: Now we know for sure where they are.
The queen's eyes narrow in fury and she swallows at the sight of the lone aircraft leaving a trail right to them. She thinks to herself how it makes no difference if she has her prize, but then the matter of self-preservation is once more needing to come to the fore. The indignity of living so desperately.
The dart lays down its beam in their midst and crashes off in the distance. Grunt appears while still taking a couple of steps of his interrupted run before noticing his change in surroundings.
He remains conscious by virtue of his suit and turns around once to scan the Wraith.
GRUNT: All too easy.
QUEEN: He's the wrong one!
The stunner blasts dissipate harmlessly across
the armor meanwhile Grunt pours
shells into the circle around him.
QUEEN: Full power, you fools!
The ensuing volleys bring more concussive force to bear and the krogan armor dents in places from the shockwaves. Then a critical strike lands on Grunt's ribs and the offending Wraith's stunner is spent. Fighting to stand, Grunt still reflexively leans forward from the pain and rests a hand on a knee. The Wraith brings the pointed end of the stunner around and charges the krogan to spear him.
At the last moment Grunt leans back to raise the shotgun in one hand and blasts the Wraith dead in the chest. But then more in turns proceed to leap onto his back in a bid to pry open the armor with their hands. Grunt spins to try to get some off and also blasts away at those who have encircled him.
The Wraith close to fire pointblank and Grunt is put on his back, crushing one that was still there, but then more spring forward to pin him down and take his weapon. One of the technicians holding his arm takes notice of the controls for the omni tool and proceeds to activate the hologram. He makes quick study of the interface and inquisitively searches for what might deactivate the armor.
Then, with a space of three seconds between them, the Wraith begin to get picked off one by one. Soon, Grunt's opposite hand is free and he reaches over to activate the omni blade, which extends into the technician working over him.
While Garrus continues his snipping, the colonel and commander blaze a path to the gate. John takes up work with the DHD and breathes a wish that Rodney Mckay was in this predicament instead of him. Commander Sheppard looks on ahead to the mobbed krogan.
COMMANDER: Grunt?
GRUNT: Finish the mission, Sheppard.
I will not fall. And we can make it so
that none of our friends ever did.
GARUS: I got'em, Commander.
Cover the gate.
COMMANDER: Acknowledged.
He turns back to the colonel.
COMMANDER: How much time do you need?
JOHN: I think the Wraith had it about ready.
COMMANDER: Good. Then we just need to
hold here until...
Static
COMMANDER: Come again EDI?
JOKER: Reapers! She's saying
we got Reapers!
EDI: ETA one minute.
Prepare to activate the Stargate.
We're only getting one shot at this.
COMMANDER: Can you do it?
JOHN: Yeah. It's really easy to just dial up.
COMMANDER: We're ready down here.
JOHN: Behind you!
The colonel burns through
two drones running up to them.
COMMANDER: How much more
do you have of that?
JOHN: About half a clip.
COMMANDER: Keep close to the gate.
Commander Sheppard activates his omni blade and steps into the horde. A stunner blast narrowly misses the colonel. He turns and reflexively switches to single shot and fires. He hit the queen in the abdomen and she heals the wound immediately. John switches back again to the auto fire and empties the clip into the queen, which adds to her infuriation.
She throws the stunner into the dust and lunges with the feeding hand and baring grizzly stone teeth. John produces a knife to stab up into her palm and she surprises him bearing down against the blade.
QUEEN: I did not have to miss.
You will know who feeds upon you.
I will feed on the destroyer of Wraith!
JOHN: I don't have to miss either.
He produces his sidearm and empties into the queen. She staggers back with the knife still stuck in her hand. While he changes the clip she heals and dislodges the knife. She examines the wounded hand with satisfaction. And then the queen turns to study the knife up and down.
QUEEN: Perhaps feeding isn't the most
appropriate ending for you after all,
Major Shepard.
The colonel fires into the queen as she marches on ahead in unbroken stride. She buries the knife into his shoulder and throws him through the air to cause him to land on the handle a second time.
In his ear, John can hear EDI calling for the gate to be dialed, which he cannot answer.
John begins to crawl a little and looks up to see the commander fighting in tandem with the rifle and holographic blade and the colonel cannot make himself heard as to their predicament. The queen marches up from behind. John continues to crawl and has come alongside the two drones from before and surprised to spread his hand over a familiar form.
The queen is over the colonel now and hisses before attempting to take the wounded feeding hand and pierce her victim's back. As she bends down, he rolls onto his side and spears the queen with the stunner in his hands.
JOHN: It's Colonel.
She looks back in dismay.
JOHN: And that has to kill you.
The sound of the raging battle
floods back into his ears.
EDI: Where is the Stargate activation?
JOHN: It's no good. We missed the window.
COMMANDER: Dial somewhere to
get us out of here. Anywhere.
JOHN: I'm on it.
The colonel takes the stunner as a kind of crutch and begins to find his feet again after being thrown so high. He is absent minded to the fact of leaving behind red smears on the keys of the DHD and dutifully dials an address. The stargate activates with an added sonic boom overhead. All John can make out is a dark shadow that fills the sky.
A Normandy shuttle descends with a fire team that clears the area around Grunt and picks him up.
While the Wraith generally scatter there are a number of them who now flood toward the gate. Commander Sheppard falls back to where John rests faint against the DHD.
COMMANDER: Normandy, get the shuttles aboard
and get out of here. You'll never make it to us in time.
A red beam arcs across the sky and
something falls from orbit in a fireball.
COMMANDER: Normandy!
Commander Sheppard looks to the colonel and his HUD reports critical blood loss.
He proceeds to drag the colonel and walks backwards through the Stargate.
Her eyes need to adjust in the coming darkness. Insufficient, the commander switches the visor over to a nocturnal setting, but then soon discovers the mouth of the cave they have materialized inside of and switches back to standard. The shimmering light of the Stargate disappears and the commander forges back into the darkness for John.
VOICE: The Alliance has come a long way it seems.
COMMANDER: Who's there?
An old man appears at the mouth of the cave.
MAN: Did you come looking for me?
COMMANDER: Who are you?
MAN: I go by Shepherd Book.
COMMANDER: Another Shepherd?
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