Time to Fight a War

by CaedmonCousland

Commander Shepard was a soldier, possibly the best soldier humanity ever produced. However a mere soldier doesn't save the galaxy. Soldier, Spectre, Leader, Peacemaker, Negotiator, Savior. He was all of these. Good, because it will take all of his numerous talents to combat the Reapers…And more. Thankfully he has made numerous friends to assist in that regard. Mass Effect 3.

Like many others, I was rather unsatisfied with Mass Effect 3. I wasn't as unsatisfied with the ending as some people, but I wasn't happy and I believe there were several missed opportunities. I finally found the determination to try and do something about that. This isn't as ambitious a project as some of my other plans, only encompassing Mass Effect 3, but I think it a good project to cut my fanfiction writing teeth on and hopefully entertain some readers.

Just some quick information about Shepard. He's largely a paragon, but has some badass renegade moments, like headbutting krogan. Around 90% paragon, and 10% renegade. He's a vanguard, but with a bit of tech expertise mixed in. He's Earthborn, and both a War Hero and Ruthless. His appearance isn't totally important. I'll be trying to avoid describing him, but if I do then he's around two meters tall, has deep green eyes, and pale blonde hair. Not a fan of default Male Shepard…It's not at all because I'm a tall blonde with green eyes. Nope.

As for romance, I'll be trying to avoid much romance in this story. I have two story types. Serious, and fun. This is meant to be a 'Serious' story, focusing on story development. Fun stories are meant to be entertaining for myself over giving a good story for readers. Sixteen years old here, and thus rather indecisive and thinking about ladies and sex a bit too much. If I tried to give a good romance angle in this story, I probably couldn't decide and would cave to a desire to just have Shepard get all the girls for a harem ending. Since I don't want this story to have any 'teenage fantasy' elements, I'll be doing my best to avoid romance altogether. Sorry if that disappoints anyone, but I can't help it.

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"We've got our own problems, Councilor. Earth is not in this alone."

"But Earth was the first Council world hit. By all reports, it faces the brunt of the attack."

"By your reports…"

"The reports are accurate. Earth was attacked—by the Reapers," the argument was cut off by that statement from a deep voice. The council consisting of some of the most powerful individuals in the world turned to watch as a soldier walked onto the platform before them. Although to call him just a soldier would be a vast understatement. Commander Shepard wasn't just a soldier. Anyone had to acknowledge that. The Council watched, riveted, as he continued, "And it's just the beginning. We need your help. Everything you can spare."

Shepard watched as predictably it was Tevos, the asari councilor, who was the one to respond, "Each of us faces a similar situation. Even now, the Reapers are pressing on our borders. If we lend you our strength to help Earth, our own worlds will fall."

Udina, the human councilor, was the one to butt in, "We must fight this enemy together!"

Considering Udina hadn't ever been one to particularly advocate cooperation between the races, it was easy to see how the fall of Earth had affected the man.

Unfortunately, the devastation the Reapers had already visited upon the galaxy worked in opposite ways too, as the salarian councilor, Valern, demanded in exasperation and slight fear, "And so we should just follow you to Earth?!"

Thankfully for Shepard, Sparatus, the turian councilor now spoke up in a more professional and measured voice, not a surprise as arguably engaging in war was the specialty of all turians, "Even if we were to unite our fleets, do you really believe we could defeat the Reapers?"

"I don't know," Shepard admitted, clearly surprising the Council. He quickly continued in a determined voice, "What I do know however is that our chances are better together than separately. If we scatter and act only for our own benefit, we will lose. That was the plan of the Reapers in the original place. Capture the Citadel, shut down the mass relay network, and thus divide the galaxy so that we can't combine our strength together to combat them. They want us to be divided so that they can take their time, to defeat and harvest us all one at a time. The classic divide and conquer. Three years ago we gained an advantage over the Reapers when we foiled their original plan. To not take full advantage of that now will only be to the benefit of the Reapers."

Shepard's carefully rehearsed speech seemed to actually get them to think. Smiling a bit at that, Shepard continued while waving Liara forwards, "Neither do I expect you to follow me without a plan."

Liara stepped up in her white and blue bodysuit and announced, "Councilors…we have that plan. A blueprint. Created by the Protheans during their war with the Reapers."

Sparatus quickly queried, "A blueprint for what?"

"We're still piecing it together…" Liara admitted as she used her omni-tool to display a hologram of the device before continuing, "But it appears to be a weapon of some sort."

"Capable of destroying the Reapers?" Valern asked.

"So it would seem," Liara said simply.

"The scale is…it would be a colossal undertaking," Valern observed in disbelief as he looked more closely at the schematics from his perch.

"No. I forwarded the plans to Admiral Hackett. The remnants of the human fleet are already gathering resources to begin construction," Shepard told them.

Liara also pitched in, "Our initial calculations suggest it is very feasible to build."

"If we work together," Shepard felt it necessary to add. He was still a bit sceptic of the machine seemingly able to neatly destroy the Reapers, but he was willing to give it a try if nothing else. A bit of hope and an overarching plan could only be a good thing, and spun the right way could tempt otherwise on-the-fence elements of the galaxy into action.

Shepard clearly wasn't the only one suspicious of the sudden solution to the Reapers, as Tevos quickly pointed out, "Have you considered that the Reapers destroyed the Protheans? What good did this weapon do?"

"It was incomplete. There was a missing component. Here. Something referred to only as the Catalyst," Liara informed them before continuing, "But they ran out of time before they could finish building it."

"Do you really believe this can stop the Reapers?" Sparatus asked, clearly asking Shepard.

"Liara believes it can work, and that's enough for me. We aren't in a position where we can turn away possible solutions," Shepard declared resolutely. "And while I haven't always agreed with Udina, he's right about this…we need to stand together. Now more than ever…The Reapers won't stop at Earth. They'll destroy every organic being in the galaxy if we don't find a way to stop them."

The Council looked at each other thoughtfully in response to his words. Valern was the first to act, shaking his head slightly. Shepard's heart dropped.

Tevos now told him in an apologetic, 'reasonable' voice, "The cruel and unfortunate truth is that while the Reapers focus on Earth, we can prepare and regroup."

Valern looked about to say something, but Shepard cut him off by deadpanning, "No."

"Excuse me?"

"No."

"What do you mean 'no'?" Tevos asked, seemingly bewildered.

"I'm saying I blatantly refuse to accept such an imbecilic and outright dangerous decision," Shepard bluntly exclaimed.

"It is not within your power to rebuff our decision," Valern quickly asserted.

"But it is to tell you what a colossal mistake you are about to make," Shepard raged, raising his voice in a way uncharacteristic of the man well-known for his ability with words and overall charisma. "What you aren't doing isn't merely a military blunder, but will lead to a widespread military disaster for the entire galaxy."

The Council clearly wasn't happy by his tone or words. Sparatus quickly scolded, "Watch your words, Commander."

"Punish me afterwards if you wish, but until then you will listen to me. You owe me that," Shepard insisted, unyielding as he stared down the Council.

The Councilors glowered a bit at him for using his having saved them at the Battle of the Citadel as leverage, but Shepard took their silence as a reluctant acknowledgement of his words. He quickly took the opportunity to make his case.

"I've constantly been analyzing the actions undertaken by the Reapers to figure out their motivations, and hopefully discover a weakness in their overall strategy or capabilities. I've believed I've found something. The Reapers don't have ground troops of their own. We've never seen purely reaper soldiers that didn't derive in some way from an organic being, and no organic being, even biomechanical husks of organic beings, can survive the period between harvests when the Reaper's are shut down in dark space. I also very much doubt Reapers are willing to mine the resources necessary to create mechanical platforms like the Geth. They need to convert the organic beings of each cycle into their ground troops. After all, ships alone can't harvest the number of people necessary to create new Reapers. They need us in order to wage a ground war. Population centers where they can convert organics in sufficient numbers to wage a ground war against the rest of the species."

"When this is taken into account, everything the Reapers have done so far has been done for logical and clearly understandable reason. They hit Khar'shan first, taking advantage of the political isolation of the batarians and the refusal of the Hegemony to admit weakness. We can also conclude that numerous high level batarians were indoctrinated, based on what we know of the disorganized response against the Reapers and their taking of the Leviathan of Dis in 2163 that was clearly an inert Reaper. By studying it, who knows how many of their people were indoctrinated, thus allowing an easier taking over of batarian space. It was obviously the most vulnerable target," Shepard explained. He then used his omni-tool to project a hologram of an eldritch monstrosity before continuing, "This is a converted batarian, already referred to by human soldiers as 'Cannibals'. These constituted the majority of the reaper ground forces that attacked Earth by a large amount. In capturing Khar'shan, the Reapers had gained control of the population base needed for them to start building up their ground forces. Forces that helped take Earth in their blitzkrieg attack. Earth was the obvious next target as not only is human territory closest to batarian territory, but humanity has the smallest military, in terms of both ships and ground forces, of the Council races. It was the most vulnerable next target for them. Not to mention the Reapers have also shown an inordinate amount of interest in humanity through their actions with the Collectors and their attempt to build a human Reaper. Now with Earth under their control, they'll start the production of husks."

Shepard now looked at Sparatus as he asked, "Taetrus has already fallen, but I have no doubt the great number of husks were involved in the ground invasion. Or am I wrong?"

Sparatus admitted reluctantly, "What information we have does seem to indicate the presence of husks alongside these 'cannibals' on Taetrus."

"And I have no doubt converted turians are starting to make an appearance on the battlefield," Shepard pointed out. "Do you not see? For all the force behind their attack, the Reapers have been focusing not on destroying our fleets, but on capturing large population centers to begin the creation of the ground forces necessary to overwhelm our troops."

"You make several assumptions, but your overall theory is sound," Valern admitted. "However you've yet to make your point on the relevance of this information."

Shepard thought the consequence of this information clear, but he needed to remember that Tevos and Valern were politicians, not soldiers.

"It means the reaper ground troops will be increasing in strength proportionally for every population center they capture. Every race will provide a different form of husk, with different strengths and role in battle, and every day they control those population centers they'll be converting millions of our people into their forces to use against us and solidify their hold," Shepard explained. He gestured to Sparatus as he continued, "I can understand why the turians are holding back their forces. Taetrus has fallen, and Palaven is probably under attack by this point or about to be. The asari or salarians though. Do you not understand?! If you aid us now, then you could possibly tip the scales and ensure the Reaper's don't capture certain colonies and planets, weakening their ground forces overall. You could also potentially slow or impair their processing centers, doing the same. If you sit back to 'regroup and prepare' though, not only will human and turian forces be ground down due to your lack of support, but when they attack Sur'Kesh and Thessia it will be with a force consisting of numerous forms of husks in overwhelming numbers. The more time the Reapers have population centers, the greater they will become. That is the fact of the matter. The choice before you is to fight now with human or turian allies while the Reapers are still building up their forces, or 'regroup and prepare' before fighting a flood of Reaper troops by yourselves."

"Intimidation tactics now, Commander?" Valern asked in annoyance.

"It isn't intimidation tactics, Councilor. It's fact. The Reapers are more advanced than us. More powerful. More intelligent. They won't show mercy, and they won't stop till all advanced life in the galaxy is wiped out. We can only fight them through numbers. By combining our fleets, and not giving them the chance to create enough ground forces. Our only chance is to band together, and throw everything we have at them. If we give them even an inch, they will use that to take a mile. If they take a mile, then we are already lost. Thus we must fight them for every inch. Palaven, Earth, even Khar'shan. We can't allow them any of them. We must fight them now or they'll destroy us later. 'Regroup and prepare' will not work."

"Commander, you must understand something," Tevos quickly told him with a rather distressed look on her face. "We are merely the representatives of our races, not their leaders. Even if we believed your arguments and wanted to support you, we can't give you the fleets and armies you want. Any commitments we make for our races' forces mean nothing if the military leaders aren't willing to back them, and with our people scared our military needs to reassure them. Sending our forces to other fronts and leaving our own worlds vulnerable isn't how to do that. Our generals and admirals won't move unless they have a clear war strategy. That requires information of enemy strength, coordination of allied forces, and time to strategize."

Valern quickly added, "We are convening a summit among our species. The military leaders of our species will be there to decide upon a general war stratagem. They are the ones you need to convince, for they are the ones with the control of the fleets and armies you desire."

"I'm not an idiot, councilors," Shepard quickly replied bluntly. "I understand the limits of your positions. You are representatives, not dictators. You can't grant me your militaries with mere words. I do not expect that. What I do expect is the full measure of the support you can give me. You've denied the existence of the Reapers, and that denial is costing us now. I've been right all along. You know this. So support me now, trust that I'll do everything in my power to defeat the Reapers. Get me every ship, every soldier, every scientist, and every engineer you can rustle up for me. Gather all the resources you can give me. I'll take it all, and put it towards the war effort. You say your military leaders won't move unless they have a clear war strategy. I'll give us a strategy, and with your support it will form the basis of the galactic alliance we'll need to even give the Reapers pause. If that isn't enough, help me with your political influence and knowledge of your leaders. I'll do whatever is necessary to get them to throw their support into the fight. I'll collect ancient matriarch writings, evacuate persons of interest, assist them in critical battles, locate important resources, transport important objects or information, I'll even save a cat from a tree if it gets me what we need to fight this war. It all depends on you helping me here and now though."

Shepard lowered his head deferentially as he said openly, "Three years ago I sacrificed human lives to save yours because I trusted that your support would be crucial in the future. Well, now it is crucial…So trust in me this time…Please."

The final please really seemed to hit them for its sincerity. For all the trouble they gave him, Shepard had never regretted saving the Council. The loss of all the lives it took always weighed on him, but he always knew after finding out about the Reapers that it was only through cooperating that they might survive. Sometimes to form alliances, you needed to both be the one to first extend the hand of friendship and also bear the burden of sacrifice it sometimes takes to prove your sincerity. It wasn't easy, but it was important enough to do it anyways. On some level they had to understand his sincerity, as they seemed conflicted from his impassioned speech.

"Shepard, you have to understand what you are asking of us. The fate of the galaxy depends on us winning…no, surviving this war," Tevos stated in an uncertain voice only rarely displayed by the asari matriarch.

"Do you truly believe you are capable of doing this, Commander?" Valern asked.

"He isn't alone in this, Councilors," a feminine voice interrupted suddenly.

Shepard grinned as he commented, "A lot of people seem to forget that it wasn't just you, Councilors, who I saved three years ago."

"Matriarch Lidanya," Tevos uttered in shock.

The commanding officer of the Destiny Ascension walked up to the platform Shepard and Liara were standing on to address the council. She was tall for the asari, standing almost 170 cm, and currently dressed in the leather bodysuit popular in the asari military. Her vivid red facial marking contrasted with her bluish-purple skin tone, and her large brown eyes were fixed on the council.

"I apologize for the abruptness of my appearance here today, but I didn't have the proper time to give advanced warning. The Ascension only just returned to the Citadel. I had hoped to return at the same time as the Normandy, but the Ascension and her patrol fleet entered combat with the Reapers. Between the damage accrued by our ships and the necessity of ensuring the Reapers couldn't ambush us, I couldn't move with as much speed as I had hoped."

"You entered combat with the Reapers?" Tevos demanded in surprise.

"What exactly happened, Matriarch?" Sparatus took over. "The Ascension went out on patrol with a good portion of the Citadel Fleet several days ago. When news of the Reaper invasion spread, it was expected that you'd be returning to reinforce the Citadel. Yet this is the first we've heard of you."

Lidanya didn't bat an eye at the questioning, instead straightening to present as confident an image as possible as she answered, "When the blackout occurred from batarian space and the talk of refugees fleeing an invasion reached my ears, I took the Ascension and a significant ship presence to that sector of space as a heavy scouting force to evaluate what was occurring. This put me close to human space. I picked up Alliance calls for help during the Battle of Earth. As the Citadel Fleet is able to respond to calls for aid by our allies, I did so. I reinforced Alliance forces in the Arcturus System. While unfortunately I was too late to save Arcturus Station, I was able to assist Alliance forces in the system. We also made a brief attempt to assist Earth. Regrettably, in the face of the Reaper force invading Earth we were forced to save what we could by fleeing. After ensuring the Alliance fleet was safe for a time, I returned here with all due haste. When I learned of your session with Commander Shepard, I hastened here in order to lend my own support for the Commander."

"You aided humanity in the Battle of Earth without our approval? Why are we just learning of this?" Valern asked in surprise.

"Yes, as is in my power as Commanding Officer of the Citadel Fleet. As I said before, the Citadel Fleet is able to respond to calls for aid from our allies without permission of the Council if it is deemed by the Commanding Officer that waiting for it is detrimental to the safety of our allies," Lidanya answered calmly. "As for why you did not receive notification of this earlier. The Reapers appear to be making it an objective of theirs to destroy any comm buoys they come across. I was already on my way to the Citadel by the time we came across any. When I filed my report, I received news that you were in session with Commander Shepard to discuss the Reaper invasion. Thus I hurried here. My report of the events that occurred are waiting for you in your offices."

"We shall discuss your actions later after we have gone over said reports," Tevos quickly stated. She looked between Lidanya and Shepard as she continued, "You said earlier you came here to declare your support for the Commander?"

"Indeed," Lidanya said simply. "Not only do I have a debt to pay to the Commander, but I participated even if in a periphery role during the Battle of Earth. I witnessed the sheer power of the Reaper armada that took Earth, and it is my professional opinion as a naval officer that it dwarfs any one species' navy. The only realistic option that could give us the chance to compete with them is through the combining and coordination of our fleets. The Commander also sees this, and thus it is only logical that he and I support each other. Not to mention the Commander is the most experienced in regards to battling the Reapers, has a record demonstrating by far the most success overcoming reaper forces than anyone else alive, and is a galactic hero respected by many of numerous races. Utilizing that reputation to draw support for a galactic alliance, and his experience and combat experience in combating the Reapers to aid in the guiding and success of that alliance seems the clear action to take. Thus I, Matriarch Lidanya, as Commanding Officer of both the Destiny Ascension and the Citadel Fleet, hereby officially declare my support for Commander Shepard in regards to combating the Reaper invasion. The Citadel Fleet will join him in this fight."

"That is beyond your power to give, Matriarch. The Citadel Fleet is under the control of the Council," Sparatus quickly denied.

"Under times of peace, that is so. However when faced with a threat against the entire galaxy, the Commanding Officer of the Citadel Fleet gains the power to use it as they deem necessary against the threat. As the Reapers are clearly just that, I can lead the Citadel Fleet against the Reapers unilaterally as long as I leave a designated minimum defense force for the Citadel," Lidanya explained coolly.

"You will be leaving the Citadel vulnerable," Valern quickly reminded her. "The Reapers already attempted once to take the Citadel. If they see an opportunity to do so do you not believe they will take it, and in doing so gain the ability to shut down the mass relay network? Are you really willing to risk such a crippling blow to our infrastructure?"

"I did indeed consider that, councilors," Lidanya retorted before countering, "However with the forces I saw arrayed against Earth there is nothing to stop the Reapers from taking the Citadel. The entire Citadel Fleet couldn't stop them. The only reason they haven't yet is due to their dedicating of resources to population centers and building up the ground forces necessary to take our planets as the Commander attested to. Thus I have come to the conclusion that the best defense is a strong offense in this case. By assisting the forces already combating the Reapers, we can hopefully tie up enough of their resources in other theaters of war to ensure they can't take the Citadel."

"Matriarch Lidanya shall be coordinating the allied naval forces," Shepard announced, deciding to reassert himself in the conversation. "As fleet command and naval strategy aren't the greatest in my repertoire of skills, it is only right for me to give the responsibility to another. The Matriarch is the obvious choice, she is experienced and already commands a multiracial fleet."

The Council seemed taken aback by the unexpected alliance that had just been revealed to them. They also clearly had little idea on how to react. Finally Tevos said as she massaged the bridge of her nose, "Clearly the Council needs time to think and absorb everything you have told us. We shall dissolve for a recess."

As the council moved to leave, Udina spoke up from his stint of silence, "Shepard, we need to talk. Meet me in my office as soon as you can."

Shepard nodded in acknowledgement, even though it looked like Udina didn't even notice. The human councilor was clearly apocalyptic over the Council's inaction in the face of the Reaper invasion and the fall of Earth. Shepard could definitely understand. While his preparations and plan seemed to actually have borne some fruit and swayed them a bit, the fact that he even had to do all this was a source of annoyance.

A galactic invasion, and some people are still tempted to bury their head in the sand and hope everything turns out okay. Even those in power…Maybe even particularly those in power. They're the ones that have to find some way to defeat the seemingly unbeatable Reapers after all.

With the Council gone, Shepard turned and said in a more relaxed tone, "Thank you, Lidanya. Your appearance couldn't have come at a better time. They're scared, and so your support of me both put more weight behind my plan and forced them a bit as their own forces are leaving them if they don't support me."

"No need, Shepard. With the Reaper's coming this is the best option available," Lidanya replied, a smile replacing the professional expression she had while addressing the Council.

"If only everyone saw it that way, we'd be a lot better off," Shepard remarked with a sigh.

"While not at all an unpleasant one, this was still a surprise for me," Liara finally broke in, breaking her spell of standing back, observing, and thinking. "I thank you for your assistance, matriarch, but this doesn't strike me as a spur of the moment alliance."

While Liara's voice and mannerisms were as perfectly polite and dutiful as they needed to be for a maiden talking to a respected matriarch, Shepard could pick up a hint of irritation from her due to his familiarity with her. Clearly the Shadow Broker didn't like being surprised in such a fashion.

"It wasn't," Shepard admitted. "After the Battle of the Citadel, I knew we needed to start preparing for the Reapers. When the Council appeared reluctant to acknowledge the true threat, I started to bypass them by contacting others with the power and authority to make the changes. Matriarch Lidanya was one such contact."

Lidanya now took over, looking at Liara with a level of seriousness that proved she understood Liara's importance in this war due to her knowledge on the Protheans and relationship with Shepard, possibly that she even knew her status as the Shadow Broker, "I only survived the Battle of the Citadel because the Alliance sacrificed ships and lives to save the Ascension. I saw Sovereign in action, and knew it wasn't of geth design. When Shepard contacted me afterwards and explained all he learned of the Reapers, I understood the true threat. As horrific as the Reapers seemed, it all fit together too well with what we know of the galaxy and the development of our civilizations to be brushed off. While we couldn't fully reveal the existence of the Reapers due to the sheer panic inducing and destabilizing effect it would have had on the galaxy, we did start making preparations for the inevitable discreetly. Shepard's death damaged that effort, as it was he who had uncovered the Reapers and was our only source to directly talk to them, but we still each tried to do our part to prepare."

"Once Cerberus revived me, I contacted Lidanya and several others in secret when we came to the Citadel," Shepard added. "I managed to subtly divine that the Illusive Man didn't know of our covert efforts to prepare for the Reapers in my first few conversations with him, far too sanctimonious about being 'the only ones prepared to fight the Reapers' for him to know others were preparing as well. I made it a point to prevent any Cerberus personnel or EDI from catching on. Always worked through intermediaries, used public messaging terminals, and met personally. Things of that nature. I knew if the Illusive Man learned there were plans occurring in the background both to prepare for the Reapers and that he didn't know about, he'd stop at nothing to uncover them and plant his own sleeper agents in them to influence them. The man is a megalomaniac after all, and considering what the Illusive man did and said at the Mars Archive, it's a good thing I did hide it from him. Who knows how much he could damage our work since he is dabbling in reaper tech and is probably indoctrinated? I also left final instructions before turning myself into the Alliance, knowing I'd be on lockdown for the foreseeable future."

"I remember during the beginning of my stint as an information broker that I came across many pieces of info like that, but I assumed they were merely reactionary to the Battle of the Citadel and the threat of the Geth. With the Council and everyone else in power denying the existence of the Reapers, I didn't dare assume otherwise," Liara reasoned while shaking her head in self-consternation. "And since the Normandy was impounded, I was focused on tracking down Prothean information on the Reapers. For me to have such a blind spot…It seems I still have much to learn."

"It's a good thing to know our efforts were successful. We did our best to disguise our efforts from everyone. We didn't want indoctrinated agents to infiltrate our defenses, and we didn't need our efforts hampered by politicians complicating the issue," Lidanya told her before elaborating, "My contacts in the Republics and myself managed to get asari shipbuilding productions increased under the reasoning of needing to replace our losses during the Battle of the Citadel and to ensure the asari didn't lose any power after humanity gaining a council seat. Most major asari worlds have new planetary defense cannons, and all have been bolstered by AA guns. Purely 'for defense'. We also started preparations for the eventual '8th Wave of Colonization' for the asari. New housing has been built on our outer colonies and supply stockpiles increased, to more easily handle the refugees about to be displaced by the war. Antimatter productions stations have been built around stars outside typically traversed sections of space to set up an infrastructure for future colonies. A bit unwieldly to resupply our warships from so far out, but at least our warships won't run out of antiprotons for combat maneuvering considering how the Reapers are targeting more central and well-known fuel facilities. Asari R&D budgets tripled after the Battle of the Citadel, and every ship in the asari navy has undergone refits and upgrades, 'to match the geth capabilities displayed in Sovereign'. Personal weapon and armor reserves were increased, to hopefully arm everyone willing to fight. Most analysts who connected our efforts likely believed the asari were trying to assert our dominance after humanity gained a council seat. After Shepard informed us that the Reapers had reached the Alpha Relay, we knew we had only months before the invasion. Once news of the blackout from batarian space occurred, the entire militant political faction of the asari started mobilizing. It's a small fraction of the asari, but they're ready to move against the Reapers."

"We also tried to prepare the other races," Shepard said. "We lacked any high level allies in the turian Hierarchy, but there are advantages to a militant meritocracy like the Hierarchy. All we had to do was give them plans to develop superior 'Anti-Invasion Defenses for Turian Space' and even though they didn't believe they'd be invaded, they still underwent the changes as a matter of principal. Not as extensive changes as the asari underwent, but hopefully together with the turian military and their militant culture it will give the Reapers pause."

"The salarians were unfortunately a dead end. The salarian political system is nearly incomprehensible to non-salarians, and doesn't lend well to outsiders interfering in its internal politics. The best we could do is hope the salarians made changes of their own to not fall behind the asari or turians, since they undoubtedly detected our increased militarization."

"The Alliance was both easier and worse. While I had high ranking allies in Anderson, Hackett, and several others, Udina and the Parliament discredited my statements on the Reapers," Shepard said with a frown before shrugging and continuing in a forcefully optimistic voice, "Anderson tried to improve relations with the other species, hoping to make it easier for the galaxy to unite against the Reapers. Admiral Hackett focused on replacing the losses our fleets suffered in the Battle of the Citadel. There were several other preparations they managed to implement. Communication methods on Earth were supplemented and reinforced, to coordinate resistance of Earth in case of a Reaper invasion. Since any attack on human worlds is likely to end up flooded by husks, shotguns were placed in storage to arm civilians. Pistols as well. Best we could do with untrained civilians. Underground shelters and secret underground military bases were built on Earth. There's no way for things on Earth to be anything but horrific right now, but hopefully Anderson will find a few more tools at his disposal than there would have been. Whether it will make a difference or not against opponents like the Reapers…I'm not sure."

"It's already made a difference," Lidanya reminded him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "The Citadel Fleet came to the assistance of the Alliance. It may not have saved Earth, but lives were saved. The Reapers clearly weren't expecting it."

"That is the hope," Shepard admitted as he straightened. He then fixed Lidanya with a grim look as he asked, "We haven't gotten to discuss the Battle of Earth. I know it's bad, Earth fell, but how bad was it? What happened precisely?"

Shepard only really had his own perspective on what happened so far. Hackett's messages had been broken up when he told Shepard to go to the Mars' Archive, and the two only talked briefly after the mission. Hackett had asked about the data, Cerberus, and then sent Shepard to the Citadel to get help from the Council. Hackett had been too busy dealing with the fallout from the Fall of Earth for anything but a brief status report.

"I admittedly don't know," Lidanya confessed. "I placed the Citadel Fleet in a sector of space that would allow us to respond to any Reaper attack in a number of critical systems, and we picked up the Alliance calls for aid. I acted immediately, and moved to the Arcturus System. By the time I arrived the majority of the Reaper force had passed through the Charon Relay to the Sol System, and the force still present had broken the Alliance naval formation protecting Arcturus Station. Arcturus Station was destroyed before I could do anything, and the Alliance fleets were trying to reform while fighting to clear a path for retreat. The Reapers were moving to trap them, but thankfully the Citadel Fleet came out in a decent spot to screen their ships and catch the Reaper ship in a crossfire. Admiral Hackett adapted very adeptly, stopping the retreat and counterattacking the Reapers. Managed to take out several Reaper capital ships, but the rest of the Reaper force turned around and fled as soon as the tide turned. Clearly the Reapers aren't interested in fighting to the end in battles not favoring them, especially when additional Reaper forces are just a relay jump away."

"Admiral Hackett and I agreed to pursue them and hopefully reinforce Earth. We went through the Charon Relay, and found ourselves near the Alliance First Fleet battling another Reaper force. This force retreated even sooner. While the remnants of the force that attacked Arcturus had joined them, they couldn't match the combined Alliance and Citadel fleets. The First Fleet joined us and we moved to Earth, but the Reapers had already turned a good portion of their forces around to meet us. We had to decide whether to try and fight our way to Earth or flee and preserve our forces. Admiral Hackett gave the order to retreat. The sheer firepower the Reapers had arrayed against Earth made any victory impossible at the time, and even if we fought to the end we'd likely only alleviate the Reaper invasion of Earth for several hours. As cruel as it sounds, preserving our naval forces for less doomed battles was more important…I'm sorry."

Shepard quickly shook his head with a grimace as he told her, "Don't be. You did all you could. This has turned into a war of attrition. Saving your forces was the smart choice."

The words tasted like ash as he said them. Saving naval forces for less hopeless battles was imperative. He knew that. However Shepard remembered the shuttles carrying civilians and the small boy being blown out of the sky by the Reaper destroyer, and knew defenseless men, women, and children were dying on Earth every second that high ranking military officers were debating on what battles they were willing to fight.

Lidanya crossed her arms as she continued apologetically, "I'm afraid I can't give you much more than that. Admiral Hackett and I only really sent messages about movements and what we were going to do. Neither of us had the time to discuss what had happened before I arrived. The Reapers didn't seem interested in anything but a cursory pursuit, obviously Earth was the prize they sought. I helped escort the Alliance fleets till I was sure they were safe from a Reaper counterattack for a time. I then hurried back to the Citadel as I said before, and hurried here when I heard you were appealing to the Council."

"I see. I guess I'll have to wait till I can get an update from Admiral Hackett," Shepard begrudgingly said. It wasn't like knowing would make any real difference for the people trapped on Earth, but Shepard still felt uneasy without knowing the full situation on what occurred.

"Good luck with that. Unfortunately, I must get back. I really did come here before doing anything else. Need to take an accounting of the damage the Citadel Fleet sustained, and coordinate what asari forces are mobilizing. Don't worry though. We'll be ready to throw everything behind you Shepard when you make a move," Lidanya informed them.

"I think I'll accompany you, Matriarch, if that is okay. I believe I can assist in the coordination of the asari forces, and possibly even influence a few more matriarchs to mobilize," Liara announced while looking at Lidanya questioningly.

"I'm sure you will be of great assistance."

Yes, Lidanya definitely knew Liara was the Shadow Broker.

"Alright. I have to meet with Udina anyways," Shepard told them as well. "Do what you need to. We'll have a discussion in two hours, review what forces we have available, the current situation of the war, and come up with a general plan of action for the foreseeable future."

The three nodded and split up.

---

Somehow Shepard beat Udina to his office, despite the discussion he had with Lidanya and Liara after the Council session. He moved over to the councilor's desk and leaned against it as he waited. For several minutes he used his omni-tool to check developments and considered his next moves. Finally Udina entered.

"They're a bunch of self-concerned jackasses, Shepard," Udina declared as he strode into the room, clearly not as interested in controlling himself in his office as the council chambers. Looking out the window, he continued furiously, "We may have a spot on the Council, but humanity will always be considered second-rate."

"They're scared and facing a threat they don't know how to fight," Shepard said conciliatorily.

"You mean they're scared, and looking out for themselves," Udina retorted.

"Our people are scared, and we're looking out for them as best we know how," a voice interrupted the discussion.

The Spectre and Human Councilor both turned to see the other three members of the council enter the office. Shepard quickly nodded, "Councilors."

"Shepard," they returned.

Tevos of course was the first to step forward and start talking, "It seems you continue to surprise and annoy us, Shepard. I've got several hundred messages from part of the asari military preparing to move, and from the conservative and centrist factions demanding I reign them in."

"I've never been good at keeping my head down, Tevos," Shepard replied with a grin. As much as Shepard and the Council clashed professionally, he was actually quite close to them in private. He'd even call them his friends. That mattered little in the world of politics, but it did mean that private meeting were far less proper than public ones. They were also far more likely to give him their personal support during a private meeting than in the Council chambers, where they were acting as the representatives of their people over individuals. "You didn't realize that the Alliance wanted me to be a Spectre just as much to get me out of their hair as to advance humanity politically."

Udina, not exactly friendly with either Shepard or the other members of the Council, quickly cut in, "Is there a purpose for your coming here, councilors?"

"Indeed there is, Udina," Sparatus quickly told him sternly.

Valern quickly explained, "Matriarch Lidanya's declaration on her support of you on top of every other event of the war has left much in chaos. Not something we can sort through before you no doubt leave to the front. Thus we needed to at least update you on our decisions. It is also best that this is done in private until we can set things up for a public announcement."

"You win, Shepard," Sparatus announced. "We have mistrusted you before, and it has only been detrimental. We'll give you what support we can."

Valern stepped forward and said as he worked his omni-tool, "The Salarian Third Fleet is the Union's standard fleet involving interspecies military campaigns, it is the fleet I have the most authority over. It is yours…can't get you more. The dalatrasses keep strict control over the salarian military. The Reapers have struck the first blow against the galaxy, and thus gained the initiative our military typically depends on. Combined with their seeming avoidance of salarian space so far, it will be difficult to convince the dalatrasses to commit additional forces elsewhere. I'll start trying to push for it, but unlikely to be enough. If I have any opportunities for you to gain salarian military support, will inform you."

"Thank you. I'll make sure to pass along any military intelligence to hopefully convince the salarians the Reapers can be beaten," Shepard said as he looked at his own omni-tool to review the files Valern sent him detailing the forces available to the Salarian Third Fleet.

Truthfully, Shepard wasn't expecting to get much more than that. The salarians had a formidable military, larger and more technologically advanced than Alliance forces, but limited in a way. Salarians almost religiously focused on intelligence gathering and preemptive strikes during times of war. They preferred to have their wars won before they begin. Against the Reapers, who were almost incomprehensible in both technology and motive while also having launched several crippling strikes against several different species in a blitzkrieg, such a military philosophy was lacking. They'd turtle up in the face of the Reapers, and only a significant achievement could tempt the salarians to attack.

Not to mention the salarian government was near incomprehensible due to their different biological functions compared to humanity, turians, or asari. 90% of salarians were male, since females laid clutches of eggs unlike mammalian species. Salarian leaders and politicians were almost exclusively female as well, Valern being a rare exception. Females weren't placed in risk, and so weren't allowed in the military. Thus the entire salarian leadership consisted of civilians. Not the best choice for leadership during a war. Shepard was charismatic and not a bad politician himself, but salarians had always been something of a weakness for him. They just…thought differently. All species had their own mental quirks, but salarians were in an entirely place compared to humans.

Tevos now stepped forward and told him in an exasperated tone, "Truthfully, I really don't have a choice here. Lidanya and most of the militant faction are moving regardless of my position. The only choice I had was whether I would support or hinder their efforts. As Sparatus said though, we have discounted you before and it hasn't ever gone well before. Thus I have little choice here."

"The militant faction has managed to gain control of the Asari Second and Sixth Fleets, alongside their accompanying commandoes and huntresses. They are already mobilized and ready to move once they receive orders," Tevos informed him as she too transferred files detailing the exact composition of said forces. Shepard smiled a bit. While the Asari Second Fleet was a low mass fleet favored by the asari, mainly composed of frigates and fighters, specialized in anti-pirate action and outer colony defense, the Asari Sixth Fleet was the largest heavy hitting force the asari had. It had more dreadnoughts and other high mass ships than any other in the formidable asari navy.

It was better than Shepard had expected as a start for asari support. While nowhere as difficult to influence and comprehend as the salarian government, the asari were a decentralized people. They were called the Asari Republics, plural, for a reason. The entire asari civilizations was made up of hundreds of small, nominally independent republics. The asari governments functioned by means of an e-democracy. Every asari had a voice, and legislation was constructed over months of debate on forums. Asari matriarchs only had power through the influence they wielded over younger asari due to their experience. Even 'Asari High Command' was less a political body as it was a collective of influential commandoes, naval officers, and politicians who used negotiation and debate among themselves to decide the preferred course the asari should take, and then used their influence to try and get the rest of the asari to decide it was the best course of action as well. This unfortunately made them slow to take action, and slow to adapt as their long lifespans mean asari instinctively prefer long periods of observation and discussion. Such a quick response for the asari was an unexpected advantage.

Generally humans were taught the asari had three general political views. The militants, who urged greater asari militarization and involvement in the galactic community, centrists, who preferred utilizing non-military methods of increasing asari power and influence, and the conservatives, who prioritized galactic stability over all else. Simplified to the point it could practically be called wrong, in many ways centrists and conservatives were aligned except on a few points, but enough to get the general picture of asari politics. Right now the militants were the ones ready and willing to provide military aid to the other species, but militants only represented a small portion, between 10-15%, of the asari people. Still enough to gain control of two entire fleets, but Shepard would at least need to sway the majority of the centrists, the largest asari political faction, to gain the support of the majority of the asari military. It wouldn't be easy to convince scared asari to attack instead of defend, but it would definitely be worth the hassle if he managed it. The asari military was the most advanced in the galaxy and composed of twenty 'official' fleets along with more 'unofficial' local fleets, only the turian military had more sheer firepower at their disposal. Getting even half of that would easily surpass the entire Alliance military from before the Fall of Earth.

Shepard finally summarized his thoughts out loud, "More than I expected to have at this point, and a good base to work from in gaining further asari support."

"Yes, I would hope so," Tevos stated. "Since we've already decided to support you in hope you somehow manage to pull us all through this, I shall be assisting in the politics to gain the support of more of the asari. They'll definitely need some successes as a proof of concept for your war strategy. No centrist, much less conservative, will dedicate forces to fight a battle they don't judge at least a decent chance to win. Considering the Reapers have so far appeared unbeatable, it is your job to prove they can, Shepard. They can be convinced to support in less direct ways though. That's what I'll be focusing on for now. I'll try to get as many asari scientists and engineers working on the Prothean device once construction begins, and I'll also be procuring as many resources as possible. Any other opportunities that appear to gain asari support in any fashion I'll pass along."

"I hope you understand the faith we are placing in you, Commander," Valern reminded him. "Every soldier and ship we sent to you to throw at the Reapers is another ship or soldier not defending our worlds…Let's hope you can pull of another miracle, Shepard."

"You need not worry, Councilors," Shepard quickly declared as he straightened and insisted, "I have no intention of losing. I refuse to believe the Reapers can't be beaten if we all work together. I refuse to believe the situation is hopeless. I will defeat the Reapers. We, will defeat the Reapers."

"We pray you prove correct. We really do…Good luck, Shepard," Tevos said sincerely before leaving with Valern following her.

That left only Sparatus left. The turian councilor looked at Shepard as he admitted, "Commander. I can't give you what you need. The Reapers have attacked Palaven in force. Reaper troops are already on the ground, and our fleet is taking a beating. I do not have the authority to divert forces to other theaters of war, or represent the turian people in supporting a multiracial alliance."

"If you don't, then who does?" Shepard asked, already predicting where this conversation was going.

"The Primarch of Palaven," Sparatus said simply. "The Primarch of Palaven is the highest position in the Hierarchy, and with almost the entire turian military dedicated to defending Palaven, the office's influence hasn't been higher since the turian expanded beyond Palaven. Primarch Fedorian was the one to call the war summit, but…we lost contact with him when the Reapers hit Palaven. The war summit won't proceed without him, and the turian military will be out of reach for you. The Normandy is one of the few ships that can extract Primarch Fedorian undetected."

"I already said I'd do whatever necessary to unite the races against the Reapers," Shepard quickly cut in. "I'll get the Primarch to safety. Give me what information you have available, and the Normandy will move out as quickly as is feasible."

Sparatus moved over to the screen on the wall as he explained, "Our latest intelligence says the Primarch was moved to a base on Palaven's largest moon. Unfortunately, that's all I can give you. The situation at Palaven is rapidly changing, and more precise intelligence isn't remaining accurate for long. The rest is up to you, Commander."

"I'll do my best to make sure it is enough."

Sparatus moved to leave the office at that, business done, but paused at the door as he added, "The Council has also chosen to uphold your Spectre status, Shepard. Good day, and May the Spirits watch over you."

Shepard turned to Udina, who had clearly known better than to interject in the conversation that amounted to Shepard being given the support he had been aiming for. Shepard cracked a smile as he remarked, "That went well."

"It's a start," Udina grunted out, although he looked more pleased than his pessimistic words would imply. Moving to sit at his desk, he continued, "I'll start talking to others in the meantime. See if we can't get this war summit moving and drum up more support. Move things along. We'll need more though."

"I'll get more. I just need more time. For now this is a good base to work off of," Shepard reasoned.

"If you take too much time, 'I just need more time' will be an epitaph on the mass grave of eleven billion," Udina declared grimly, and rightfully so. "Until Earth has been saved, we can't be satisfied with 'it's a good start'."

"I know," Shepard grunted seriously. "I know what I'm going to be doing, but what will you be doing?"

"Humanity has created some goodwill in the galaxy. Now we cash in our chips," Udina claimed. "I will get what funding I can, what materials I can, and spread the message: Help the humans, help yourselves. I'll institute a draft in our colonies, and order all civilian ships armed. Work on the Prothean device will be around the clock."

"Any news from Earth?"

"There is constant news…all of it bad. The Reapers are destroying satellites, and the old nuclear silos…along with everything else that could help. I've received news that a sufficient, if not ideal, communication network is set up. Quantum Entanglement Communicators and other more complex communication systems have been set up that together with old radio waves are enough for…adequate coverage. It is little help when a destroyer is about to destroy the building you're nesting in, but at least they know what is going on and can talk to each other."

Shepard nodded at that, choosing to look at the upsides. Their preparations have made things slightly easier for those left stranded on Earth.

The two talked a bit more about the loss of the Alliance Parliament with Arcturus Station, but afterwards they quickly departed. Unlike with the other councilors, Shepard had never been friends with Udina. While more often than not their motivations aligned more than Shepard's with the other councilors, that couldn't stop Udina from viewing Shepard as merely a soldier or stop Udina from rubbing Shepard the wrong way with his general personality.

---

"Commander, Udina updated me on your meeting with the Council. Seems you managed to sway them," Admiral Hackett commented as the two talked over the quantum entanglement communicators.

After departing from Udina's office, Shepard hadn't stayed long on the Citadel. He'd already visited the comatose Ashely in Huerta Memorial Hospital before the Council meeting. In the process he'd met with Doctor Chakwas, who had apparently come when she heard a member of the Normandy had been injured. Chakwas had been largely sidelined by the Alliance after Shepard turned himself and the Normandy, and Shepard had happily offered her the position as Chief Medical Officer on the Normandy. While he was sure someone of Chawas' skill and experience could do some good in the labs, Shepard was willing to be selfish in this regard. The only person Shepard would trust more in the Normandy's med bay might be Miranda, and that was only because she literally brought him back to life and no doubt knew every inch of his body more than he himself did. Despite that though Chakwas had always been one of Shepard's most consistent friends and comrades, and was every bit as important to the team as Joker or Garrus in Shepard's mind.

Shepard ended up hurt a lot after all, and he really needed someone capable of putting him back together.

He had done a few things before returning to the Normandy though. He'd checked in with Commander Bailey to get an insider view on the Citadel. It was also nice to simply converse a bit with one of his more prominent acquaintances, even if they largely talked about the war.

He also perused the Spectre Offices. Unfortunately there was little there that helped him. While he'd built an extensive network of contacts as a Spectre through his extensive achievements and unique Spectre resources, basically everything had been frozen when he'd been arrested. So his network had been downgraded to a few VI automatic search engines until he managed to contact and reactivate the other parts. He'd sent a few messages to start that, but it would still take days or weeks until he got anything but a few rather broad pieces of info. He did learn the Migrant Fleet was making suspicious movements to gear up for war. He hoped it was to fight the Reapers, but he had a feeling not. As much as Shepard valued Tali as a companion, he'd never been particularly impressed by Quarian long term plansAn advanced people don't wander the galaxy in starships for three hundred years unless they choose to. The trial he'd helped Tali in only reinforced his skepticism of quarian politics and general mindset. Shepard had also donated all the minerals and credits he gathered during his hunt for the Collectors to the Alliance to aid in rebuilding the fleets before turning in, so he lacked enough resources to buy the Spectre-quality equipment there. No doubt that wouldn't last for long. Shepard always had an absurd luck in finding valuables that combined with his scavenging nature meant he was always quick to stock up.

His asari contacts still told him a number of matriarchs were still baffled he somehow stumbled upon over a dozen writings of Matriarch Dilinaga within several months, when they had been lost for millennia.

Until his absurd luck got him somewhere, he'd have to rely on what he currently had available. Not a difficult task as he'd already pulled strings to ensure the Normandy was reasonably well stocked, as opposed to several other adventures where he seemingly had to start with basic equipment, and Shepard had always had a few favored weapons that he tinkered with constantly over switching equipment entirely. Still, it would certainly help once he got the resources to upgrade and mod his armory at will.

Afterwards he'd been stopped by Khalisah al-Jilani, who basically tried to conduct an aggressive interview demanding answers over his leaving Earth. He'd managed to calm the woman though, and did his best to give her some hope. It seemed to have worked. He'd also overheard a conversation from a volus talking about a prothean obelisk being lost in the Shrike Abyssal. A few questions had gotten Shepard the information necessary to retrieve it in the Normandy when an opportunity arose.

Otherwise the only real important event to happen on his way back to the Normandy was being approached by Diana Allers. She was a reporter from Alliance News Network who wanted to report from the Normandy itself. Shepard wasn't particularly keen on having a civilian reporter aboard the Normandy, but he fully knew the power a couple of interviews and carefully selected news being aired could have. He'd made plenty of sacrifices before to gain an advantage, and so he allowed it.

Plus, the Normandy was operating on a skeleton crew currently so it wasn't like there wasn't enough room.

Once back on the Normandy he had taken a quick nap. It was interrupted by nightmares, but at least it was something since Shepard hadn't slept in over twenty-four hours before that. A quick talk with Specialist Traynor, an R&D Communication Specialist that had been on the Normandy when the Reapers attacked, had acquainted him with any modified portions of the Normandy. The War Room and extensive communication systems would be critical since the Normandy was likely to prove the hub of a developing multispecies alliance if Shepard succeeded. The armory was better positioned to equip outgoing squads than the Cerberus layout, as Cerberus was more focused on anti-boarding operations, and Liara had wasted no time setting up everything she needed to run the Shadow Broker network from the Normandy in the XO room.

Finally Shepard had the meeting with Lidanya. The two had discussed what was currently happening with the war as the Reapers focused their assault on Palaven. They'd then discussed what forces they had available, where they could best be put to use, and how they could generate more support against the Reapers. They'd collaborated it all and came up with, what they believed, a decent starting point for a counterattack.

Which led to now. Shepard was now giving a progress report to Admiral Hackett.

"It wasn't easy, sir. We presented them with a lot of unknowns, and a lot of bad news. They were scared and looking for concrete solutions, not theories."

"Theories are all we have right now."

"I know that, Admiral, but they're expected to act only on concrete problems with low risk solutions. Longshot plans against an enemy we don't understand is the opposite of that," Shepard said sensibly. "Obviously that won't work here though, there won't be any simple measures to defeating the Reapers. It took a bit of effort to convince them of that. A bit of shouting, a monologue or two, Lidanya's support, and some emotional blackmail, but I managed it. The Council is offering their unofficial support, and will help me through official channels as soon as things are sorted."

"Whatever you did, it was worth it. I've read over what forces they've contributed. Not as much as I hoped, but admittedly more than I expected of them," Hackett claimed. "Matriarch Lidanya's support has already paid dividends. Alliance losses during the fall of Earth would have been far greater without her bringing reinforcements."

"I know it's probably not what you wish to think about, Admiral, but have you pieced together how the Reapers assaulted Earth?" Shepard couldn't help but ask.

"It wasn't a particular mystery. They forwent any real strategy in favor of attacking with speed and force too much for us to possibly defend against," Hackett claimed with a frown as he cupped his chin. "The Eighth Fleet was the first to engage them. Our deep space scouting force created with the military buildup several years ago, the Eighth was sent to check what was happening in batarian space when it went dark. When the Reapers attacked, they tried to stall them. Against the full force of the Reaper armada though, they might as well have been a gnat. A screening force was sent to occupy them while the rest went right past, and eventually the Eighth was forced to flee to Ontarum. I've sent the Second Fleet to reinforce them there. With the losses of Earth and Arcturus Station, the communications hub set up on Ontarum has become a strategically vital outpost for coordinating Alliance fleet movements. They'll hold the Kepler Verge for now while receiving crucial repairs."

"They entirely bypassed the Sixth and Seventh Fleets at Terra Nova and Eden Prime respectively. By the time they received news, the Reapers had reached Earth. By that point I knew we needed to preserve our forces for our counterattack, and ordered them to hold position."

"It was at Arcturus Station where we clashed with the Reapers again. The Second, Third, and Fifth Fleet were all positioned to make a stand and buy Earth time. The Reapers merely sent a screening force led by a dozen capital ships to hold us off, and allow their main force to bypass us. We couldn't blast our way through."

"The First Fleet had been patrolling the Earth-Charon-Arcturus route, and didn't have time to rendezvous with us at Arcturus. They hit the Reaper hard as soon as they came out of the relay, but as with the other cases the Reapers appeared unbothered by the attempt to hinder them. They sent another small screening force, and then continued to Earth."

"The Fourth Fleet had no hope. Fulfilling its role as guardian of Earth, they were trapped between Earth and the Reapers. Even if they were willing to abandon Earth, they would have had to bypass the entire Reaper armada. While the Reapers were more concerned with taking Earth than destroying our ships, they wouldn't let such an opportunity pass them by. To the best of my knowledge, the Fourth Fleet has been annihilated in its entirety."

"I suspected as much. I saw enough fighters and gunships over Vancouver to imply the Fourth Fleet tried to send most of their smaller craft to assist in the ground war instead of in the air," Shepard informed. He then frowned as he added, "I also saw the SSV Elbrus, sir. It was pushed into the atmosphere and attempted to ram itself into a Reaper capital ship, but was destroyed before it could."

The SSV Elbrus was an Everest-class dreadnought constructed in 2157, and served as the Fourth Fleet's flagship. Its loss not only decapitated the leadership for the Fourth Fleet, but also meant they lost their largest and most powerful ship. Shepard vividly remembered the scene of its destruction. Whether it was a maneuvering mistake, a result of Reapers pushing it, or a strategic sacrifice, the Elbrus had been forced into the atmosphere. Dreadnoughts can't enter gravity wells, Eezo cores merely reduce a ship's mass and a dreadnought is so large that even reduced by 99% it totals tens of thousands of tons at the least, too much for any traditional thrusters to allow a ship to land without extensive damage to its landing area. However dreadnoughts can briefly function in a gravity well by overcharging their engines and thrusters. The engines would melt eventually and there would be no chance of getting back into space, but it was enough to allow some last minute maneuvering. With the old Everest-class dreadnoughts not compatible with Thanix Cannons, the Elbrus' main gun lacked the firepower to be anything but an annoyance to a Reaper capital ship by itself. The Elbrus tried to at least damage the capital ship by ramming it as its last act, but failed when the Reaper destroyed it while it was still several kilometers away.

Shepard tried not to think it might be indicative of their entire struggle: Humans desperately willing to sacrifice everything to defeat their enemy yet ultimately falling short.

"A shame, but not a surprise," Hackett admitted. "Regrettably, far from the worst thing that has happened in this war already. As soon as the Reaper armada passed through the Charon relay, the screening force occupying our force in the Arcturus system counterattacked. The capital ships broke our lines, practically ignoring our attacks, in favor of moving to destroy Arcturus Station. At that point I knew we had no chance of holding. I started repositioning to flee, but the destroyers were already moving to box us in."

"I hate to admit it, Commander, but I was already contemplating needing to leave the Second Fleet behind to buy the Third and Fifth time to escape. The Second was the most damaged, and would have needed the most time to escape," Hackett confessed with a pained grimace before brightening slightly, "That's when Lidanya and the Citadel Fleet appeared. Caught the capital ships in the midst of destroying Arcturus Station in a crossfire. I had all ship open fire as well, and we actually managed to hurt them. Four capital ships went down, and a few more damaged. The destroyers changed trajectory to cover the capital ships as they moved through the Charon Relay."

"This was the first sign the Reapers could be beaten I'd gotten, and I intended to milk the advantage of it and the reinforcements to the fullest. Admiral Lidanya agreed and we followed them through the relay. The force engaging the First Fleet fled rather than get caught in a crossfire. When the First joined us, we had almost a thousand ships total between us and the Citadel Fleet," Hackett explained, a blank look in his eyes that showed he was reliving the memory. "It wasn't enough though. There had to have easily been over a hundred Reaper capital ships, just in space around Earth. Easily dozens more descending into the atmosphere to bludgeon our ground forces that would have been recalled in case of a mass counteroffensive. We couldn't defeat those still in the air, much less the reinforcements. We would have inflicted casualties, but lost far more ourselves. I had to give the order to retreat to fight another day."

"It was the right decision, sir. You couldn't win that day. You might another," Shepard said reassuringly.

"Maybe so, but the justification for the decision sure doesn't make me feel better about making it," Hackett retorted.

Shepard lowered his head, feeling his own guilt over being safe on the Normandy while that boy's shuttle was lost. He then whispered, "Yeah, I understand that feeling, sir."

"I know you do, Shepard. It's always what made you so good at everything you put your mind to…you know the cost of failure. This is most certainly a failure for the Alliance and humanity as a whole," Hackett said. "It still could have been worse. Lidanya's aid with the Citadel fleet was invaluable. The entirety of the Second Fleet, and a good portion of the First Fleet owe her their lives. With her assistance we also managed to do some damage to the Reapers. It didn't even seem to faze them, but…I just presided over the most devastating defeat in human history…I have to look at the upside."

"I understand, sir," Shepard said as he considered what he had learned. Rather what he expected to be honest. The cycle wouldn't have been going on for near a billion years if the Reapers didn't have overwhelming force on their side. Combined with superior tech, and Shepard was only glad he stopped Sovereign three years ago and prevented the relay network from being shut down. If galactic civilization was split into many different pieces with no one being able to aid another…the war would have already been lost. They would never have stood a chance if the Reapers poured through the Citadel as they typically did each harvest.

If nothing else, Shepard had to acknowledge the brilliance of the Reapers trap. They remove even the slightest chance of failing in their first, surprise strike.

However, they had stopped Sovereign. They did have the Citadel, and the relay network. They still had a chance.

Shepard wasn't going to allow that chance to pass him by.

"Enough about how the Reapers beat us. We need to focus on returning the favor. What's your plan, Commander?"

Shepard straightened as he clarified, "The Council has given us what direct support they can at this time, and with their indirect support for the future…It won't be enough. I need to gain the allegiance of the leadership of each race. Thus I'll be appealing directly to that leadership. At the same time, Matriarch Lidanya and I shall be using our gathered forces to strike against the Reapers wherever possible. We don't have the time to conduct two different campaigns, one to fight back against the Reapers and the other to unify the galaxy. Thus we'll do both at the same time. The Normandy and my team shall be conducting precision strikes, while our gathered forces shall be hitting the Reaper forces in the general area. This will not only draw off reaper forces from our objective, but also hopefully disguise our true purpose from the Reapers with the chaos large scale battles cause. When we don't have a clear objective on building our forces, we'll be using what we have to the best effect possible. When we aren't utilizing our forces personally, we'll be spreading them out to the places they are most needed."

"That won't be easy, Shepard. Not everyone is like you, able to charge into heavy combat time after time without fatigue or stress weighing you down. Casualties and damage sustained in battle will impair fleet movements, making it damn near impossible for a regular naval force to keep up with the Normandy. Even if you manage it, you run the risk of straining the force with battle fatigue," Hackett pointed out critically, playing devil's advocate.

"We know that, sir," Shepard answered coolly, Lidanya and Shepard already having considered this. "It sure as hell won't be easy to achieve multiple complex objectives in unison and at such a pace as I usually operate at, but both Lidanya and I believe conducting a high speed multipurpose campaign is the only viable method of combating the Reapers. We need to gather a force on a level never before contemplated much less achieved, defend crucial areas of interest, deploy enough forces to contested territory, and win enough victories against the Reapers to halt their advance in a timeframe of before they totally cripple the economy and infrastructure of the galaxy. That won't be done through conventional or safe tactics. Only a series of successful high risk, high reward counterattacks will be enough to give the Reapers pause."

"I understand your thought process, Commander, but I have to question it. High risk, high reward unconventional tactics are immensely useful when used properly, but they aren't how you wage a war. Conducting a series of such maneuvers is just asking for trouble. The consequences of a single failure would be catastrophic, and might put an end to whatever cooperation between races currently exists," Hackett said thoughtfully. "I saw the Reapers. The entire force that took Earth. I hate to say it, Shepard, but we can't beat them conventionally."

"If you believe that sir, then why are you arguing to fight them conventionally?" Shepard boldly challenged.

"I'm not suggesting we beat them through conventional tactics. I'm suggesting we stall them through conventional tactics. Bog them down in messy ground wars, field all the forces we can to slow them down, hit them across every theater of war to buy time, and use everything at our disposal to decipher and construct the prothean device. Once it's completed, we pool all our resources for a giant armada to deliver it where the Reapers are most vulnerable," Hackett argued firmly. "That's how you use unconventional tactics, Shepard. Sparsely, at the most opportunistic times. No offense, Commander, but you don't understand that because of your sheer capabilities. You are consistently part of high risk high reward operations because we know that if anyone can get them done, it's you. It's your modus operandi…but other people can't do that. Such a war doctrine will fail, not through your leadership or your plans, but through its infeasibility for the common man. An essential part of planning a war is acknowledging and accepting the limits of your forces."

"I understand what you are asserting, sir, but maybe that's exactly what we need. The Reapers plan based around what they estimate to be our capabilities, just like you said we need to do, but people can achieve more than what they normally can if you trust in them and give them the proper motivation," Shepard passionately argued right back, remembering all the cases of just this he has witnessed through his life. Wrex went from a fatalistic mercenary to arguably the most progressive krogan since the Rebellions. Liara went from a socially inept and isolated researcher to the Shadow Broker. Shepard himself had once been a homeless orphan in Moscow's slums, and now his words and actions affected things on a galactic level. He only achieved this far through people like Anderson believing in him.

"The Reapers are a threat against every person in the galaxy. If we can give them hope that this enemy can be beaten, they'll fight with every scrap of determination and passion they have for the survival of themselves, their families, and their people. Far more than they would for a war concerning politics," Shepard said confidently. He then used his omni-tool and sent Hackett a series of files. "Meanwhile Lidanya and I shall be doing our best to make sure our forces are rotated out to ensure mounting casualties, damage, and strain won't hinder our campaign. We are literally planning around the expectation that more and more forces join us. If they don't we've already lost the war anyways. We'll conduct a series of battles, and then send the majority of our forces to other, less intensive fronts. They'll, hopefully, be replaced by future reinforcements."

Seeing Admiral Hackett still skeptical, Shepard continued, "I acknowledge that you don't want such a campaign, sir. This isn't an acceptable strategy in an ordinary war, but this isn't an ordinary war or foe. We need to pivot and face them from another angle, sir, not head on. That's what they want. The Reapers have never failed to defeat us when we used conventional tactics. It took us following Saren through the Conduit, and regaining control of the Citadel right out from under Sovereign to allow us to beat it. Only precision strikes worked against the Collectors, and it took undergoing a perceived suicide mission to bomb their main base to hell. I had to blow up a mass relay and an entire solar system to delay them for several months. That's a pattern. Conventional tactics don't work against them, sir. You are right in that we can't fight a war through unconventional tactics, but we can strike with them as often as possible and as hard as is feasible. That is what Lidanya and I are going to do. You do what you do best, sir, and fight them conventionally on every other front. We'll support you as much as we can. Everything we don't need will be sent to you."

Hackett's face was still as stoic as always. Even Shepard felt himself feeling nervous. Shepard wasn't a person intimidated by anyone or anything, but the person arguably closets to doing so was Admiral Steven Hackett. He wasn't a man easily swayed, and Shepard knew the plan he and Lidanya came up with had more than a few holes.

It would be both devastating for the war effort and personally embarrassing if he failed to gain Alliance support.

"I don't like it, Commander. Everything I've learned from near forty years of military experience tells me your strategy won't work," Hackett said stiffly. Shepard's disappointment was cut short when Hackett slumped over a bit and admitted, "But you are right in that this war won't be like anything we've experienced before. Maybe you are right in that we need to pivot and look at this from a different angle. You've never failed to deliver before, Shepard, and you have shown the most success against the Reapers. Maybe it's luck, skill, or maybe it's that bit of eccentricity you've always had that gives you a different perspective. Regardless, it seems as good a base to stage a counterattack as anything else we've got…You've got my support, Shepard."

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate it," Shepard said in relief. He however quickly grimaced as he continued, "Because we need it…now."

"What for?" Hackett asked, once again the very image of a tough military officer.

Shepard quickly opened his omni-tool and transferred files containing the plans before explaining out loud, "It was Primarch Fedorian who called for the war summit, but he went dark several hours ago on a turian moon when the Reapers hit Palaven. If we want turian support, we need to retrieve him. That will be our first stop. The Normandy will move in to extract him while our gathered forces hit the Reaper forces from behind and reinforce the turians."

"And what do you need from the Alliance?"

"Ships, sir," Shepard quickly answered. "We don't plan to make this a prolonged engagement. We go in, hit the Reapers as hard as possible in the shortest timeframe possible, and then extract ourselves before they can counterattack. The more force we have in the initial strike, the better it will go for us and the worse for the Reapers, sir."

Hackett looked at Shepard hard as he asked, "Do you realize what image that will send to humanity, Commander? Earth has fallen! If I send forces to back the turians…that will not go over well."

"I understand that, sir, but I still believe it to be a necessary act. We aren't going to win this war by thinking as individual species. Earth is out of our reach for now, Palaven is not. We need to attack wherever we can, not where we wish to," Shepard argued, refusing to relent to the harsh words. Softening, he added, "It will also send a message to the entire galaxy, and builds goodwill. If the Alliance sends forces to help the turians even when Earth has fallen-"

"Then the turians might send help in return to humanity even with Palaven under attack," Hackett pieced together.

"Exactly, sir," Shepard said with a nod. "However it has other benefits as well. If 'former enemies' like humans and turians can cooperate with each other even when their worlds are under attack, then it will hopefully influence the other races. While some will no doubt write it off as acts driven by desperation due to being under attack, others will find themselves questioning whether they can remain on the sidelines when their worlds are secure if those whose worlds are under attack can still find it in themselves to assist each other. Building this alliance means not only achieving victories, but also building up an image and reputation. Of a multispecies alliance that is thinking of the war effort as a whole instead of the perspective of a single species, and will aid whoever they can, when they can…Sometimes you have to make a sacrifice now for a favor in the future, sir. Unfortunately, it has fallen on the Alliance to make the first sacrifice in the name of the war. That doesn't make it any less critical."

"…This is exactly why the Alliance put you forward as a spectre, Shepard. It's too goddamn annoying having someone so good with words around making you face the harsh reality and make the tough decisions," Hackett grunted, but quickly sent him files and explained, "I'm sending you the Sixth and Seventh Fleets. They weren't hit by the Reapers, and all other Alliance fleets need to make repairs before engaging the Reapers again. Not our heaviest fleets, but all I can feasibly loan to you."

"Thank you, sir. We won't have them long. This is going to be a quick engagement. They'll hopefully be returned to you in a few days, with minimal casualties and a few reaper kills under their belt," Shepard replied.

"Let's hope so. Lord knows the Sixth and Seventh are chomping at the bit, after being blatantly ignored by the Reapers," Hackett told him. "Let's hope your plan works, Shepard…Everything is riding on that it does…Hackett out."

Shepard felt his shoulders slump as the hologram of the Admiral disappeared. While the meeting had gone as well as he could have reasonably expected, it still left him with a weight in his gut. Those words. The Council had said something similar as well. They were betting everything on him. While Shepard had felt the burden of saving the entire galaxy during the hunt for Saren, this was on a different level. No longer was he a commander commanding a single frigate. He was now making plans with admirals and generals, convincing them to make risky moves that could cost millions of soldiers their lives, affect the fate of entire planets, and almost certainly doom the galaxy if he proved wrong and failed.

A lot of pressure was an underestimation.

Still, never let it be said Shepard was too scared of failing to make decisions and take risks. If you were faced with a challenge, a high cost of failure only made it more imperative that you buck up and face them with every ounce of will and determination you had within you. With those thoughts running through his mind, Shepard straightened and started moving and planning.

It was time to fight a war.

---

Well, there's my opening chapter. I think it gives you readers a basic idea of my general plan. I'm going to be focusing on the overarching war aspects in this story. While the game did a great job of making Shepard affect the fate of the galaxy, fundamentally it was a story of a single ship affecting the galaxy. We left it all to Hackett to make the broad strategies against the Reapers, and had to read about the major battles in the codex. In this story I really wanted to give more time and thought into these aspects of the Reaper War, and see how someone like Shepard could influence it.

In that regard, I made a few changes. My Shepard was a bit more of a planner than the games give you the option of being, as shown by him having already made allies and plans for when the Reapers arrived. Matriarch Lidanya was the central piece in my plan. I think she's an underused character. After all, you save her and her entire crew too alongside the Council. As the commanding officer of the greatest ship in the galaxy, and the flagship of the Citadel Fleet, I thought it safe to assume that she was an influential figure. If I was Shepard after the Battle of the Citadel and figured the Council would be either reluctant or ineffective in preparing for the Reapers, she'd be one of the first I'd go to. So she'll be playing a pretty large role in this story.

I also adjusted the Council a bit. They are almost always portrayed terribly in fanfiction, and I understand why. In the games they are portrayed as ineffective and narrow-minded at best, dismissive and blatantly foolish at worst. I however assume that to be a game mechanic to make Shepard's actions even more important. Realistically, these people rose to one of the highest and most scrutinized positions in the galaxy. Fools don't do that. So while I couldn't completely change their previous canon actions, I could change them enough that a compelling argument would be enough to sway them. I also gave them several reasons for why they might have acted as they did. Announcing the existence of the Reapers would be massively destabilizing and panic inducing. They are also merely representatives of their races, not their leaders. Sparatus doesn't have the power to command the turian military, which was why gaining the support of the Primarch is so important. Thus they really have to act in line with what those leaders would allow and agree with, or end up being replaced.

So several points I want to talk about at the beginning of this story.

I want more types of reaper forces in this story. I'm thus asking some of you readers to contribute. I definitely want a salarian husk, a pure krogan husk, and a drell husk. I also hope for an asari husk for when an asari doesn't have the ardat-yakshi genes, a vorcha husk, maybe a volus husk, and an elcor husk. The games had a limited amount of husks, essentially missing some types that logically should have appeared during the war. If you have an idea, give me a physical description, combat niche it would fit in, and potential nicknames.

This story will be focusing on non-canon battles. Sometimes I'll be describing certain scenes from canon that are changed or I just like, but largely I'll be merely summarizing what occurred. I think it's safe to assume you guys played the games and thus know what occurs in canon. There will be several battles I portray that didn't occur in the game, or I feel could have been done better. Example, I'm definitely doing a Second Battle of Elysium, where I'll be fleshing out a bit more of Shepard's career and giving Jack a bit of screen time. There might be others of a similar nature.

Now other preparations Shepard made for the Reapers will come to light in later chapter. Don't expect miracles though. Shepard and his allies could only do so much. So don't expect him to have managed things I view as infeasible. Like potentially stopping the Cerberus attack on the Citadel. No matter how logically stupid it was, for Cerberus to have managed what it did means that was a brilliantly planned and executed operation. It isn't like that Shepard or his allies, who were focused on the Reapers, could have caught onto such a well done plan. In fact, expect some of Shepard's decisions to make things worse in some areas. Every actions compels a reaction.

Finally, a little fun fact for you. My original story plan actually had Hackett revoke his support of Shepard during that final strategy meeting. I thought it would be a fun twist. Shepard gains Council support, but loses Alliance in the process. After all, in the games Shepard just gathered support and sent it to Hackett to use as he wished. In this story, the overarching alliance against the Reapers is being built around Shepard to use his reputation as a hero and his experience against the Reapers to the fullest. Thus Shepard and Lidanya are the chief strategists, and in doing so could make plans Hackett didn't agree with. I thought it was an entertaining idea. It would change Shepard's reactions, and those he is trying to recruit. I could have even added an entire non-canon arc where Shepard had to do something huge to regain Alliance support, just like he had to for the turians, krogan, quarians, geth, etc. I decided against it on a whim when writing the scene. Tell me what you guys think though. Do you think it would have been an interesting twist to the Mass Effect 3 storyline?