Bloodied Shoulders

“Never too late, as they say. But rules have not always been my strongest suit.” His mandibles twitch, the expression in his eyes warm and smiling. “I imagine that’s the case with any Spectre, all things considered. I can teach you plenty of very useful talents to have, Shepard, but decorum really depends on the Spectre.”

"I reckon it's a good thing you're a Spectre and not a C-Sec officer then, hm? So what is your strongest suit?" Shepard's mouth pursed, then quirked to the side in a grin at his response. "There's a time and place for decorum. I wouldn't be supposed to learning a few new tricks from you--if you're ah, offering."

   The warm tinge of pink over dusky skin isn’t hard to miss. It’s more apparent in humans than in any other species, and he’s learned to recognize the convoluted range of expressions aliens tend to convey in the seconds it takes them to regain composure. He’s familiar with the physical reaction, blood rushing, pupils dilated, but the emotion that inspires it isn’t so easy for him to discern.

Embarrassed that she was slow on the uptake, or that he was flirting with her?

She smiles, and he has his answer. 

"You aren't? Funny, you were supposed to teach me, once. But I guess that would've made you a bad influence." Her arms cross, and she leans against the adjacent wall, smirking, but otherwise at ease. His laughter causes her to reciprocate, but her own is more a soft, amused breath than anything else.

He manages a laugh, despite his best efforts to keep a relatively neutral countenance. She’s contradicting herself, and damned if it wasn’t—well, endearing. Somehow.

He didn’t expect the spike of fear. Nihlus had forgotten what it felt like, admittedly, and so the force of the emotion careened into his chest like a physical blow, poison that soured his blood and boiled up the marrow inside his bones. Toxic. Disgraceful. Snap out of it.

It didn’t last very long, a millisecond within a second, and then it was gone, drowned out by alarm and the powerful need for action.

He wasn’t the type to let his guard down, three years of constant vigilance until the prudent paranoia felt as common as breathing. But he had been too late in spotting the blade-swinging enemy that had materialized seemingly out of nowhere, like some deadly apparition.

Living up to its name, he supposed.

His feet were already moving to aid the Commander, rifle raised, but he couldn’t get a clear fatal shot, not with Shepard in such close proximity. Nihlus knew well and good that he was an exceptional marksman, but that certainly didn’t give him the right to be reckless.

Not with her life on the line.

The Phantom needed to die.

Every second wasted with her meant reinforcements were bound to gather where they stood, if the Cerberus soldier was given even a moment of peace to reach for her comm. He supposed they were lucky the Phantom had not fled to warn the others, instead. 

He aimed low, for the legs, non-lethal but certainly capable of wounding. One, six, ten bullets peppering the area around the Phantom’s feet, keeping her busy, a diversion more than a shining example of his aim.

Drowning. Weightless.

Her veins coursed with adrenaline, and her hearing was garbled as she danced away from the Phantom's blade. Shepard's shields crackled and flared as they took a hit by one of the Cerberus assassin's palm blasts, and the Commander dodged and sidestepped and traded bullets for time. The biotic amp located in the base of Shepard's skulls seemed to burn and cook; overheating, and making her biotics completely useless until it cooled down. 

Winter heard the resounding shots then, delivered by her fellow Spectre to help take the heat off her. The Phantom spun away, graceful, untouchable, still alive. She just needed more time, just a little bit more and her amp would be ready.

One of Nihlus' shots struck the Phantom in the leg then, breaking past shields and causing her to stumble. This was Shepard's chance, and she took it. She threw down a stasis bubble, then turned to Liara. 

"T'Soni, now!" 

The archaeologist turned Shadow Broker delivered a warp, setting off a biotic detonation so strong that it caused Shepard to stagger back. The Phantom crumpled in on herself from the sheer force of the explosion, but that wasn't enough. 

Winter stood to her full height then, teeth bared in a snarl as she used her biotics to yank the Phantom to her, wreathing her in biotic fire. Shepard's amp warmed, and she delivered a biotic throw--one final detonation, one that sent the Phantom careening away until slamming against one of the walls of a prefab unit. Limp. Dead.

It was messy, and it was ugly. But Shepard couldn't afford any chances.

She turned then to face Liara and Nihlus, giving a bright smile to them as a means to say 'everything's okay.' Taking out two energy bars, Winter made her way back to them before tossing the second energy bar to Liara.