Chapter 1
The rubble crashes down, nearly crushing down on the small soldier. The platform is massive, but barely still together after the Crucible was activated. The small woman uses a biotic push to toss aside the debris, but still cannot completely free herself. Her armor is badly damaged, with her iconic red stripe barely recognizable from its wounds. She quickly reactivates her helmet, fearing the failure of the quickly assembled life support.
She activates her com link, giving her a direct link to the Normandy: "Shepard to Normandy, do you copy?" She is surprised to hear how stable she can make her voice sound, despite the fact that she may have just accidentally destroyed the way the galaxy functioned as she knew it.
"Normandy to Shepard; we copy loud and clear." She smiles slightly to hear Joker's voice back on the line. In the background she can hear another round of cheers from her on deck crew; that means that at least some of them had survived.
"Requesting medical extraction. Get me out of here." She says emotionlessly, taking advantage of the authority she had been using for the past few years.
"Medical extraction? Are you alright?" Garrus's voice crackles through the line with a level of concern in his voice that does not seem possible given the severity of his own injuries.
"I'll be fine, but I really rather not be stuck on this station when it deteriorates." Shepard applies her last Medi-gel, but it does not completely seal the gaping wound in her side.
"I'll go get you myself." Garrus declares. "We'll be there as soon as we can." It is not his call, but she knows that no one will fight him, not now anyways.
"Extraction en route. Expect pickup in eleven minutes." Edi's voice cracks through.
This confuses the Commander. The Catalyst told her that all synthetic life would be destroyed; this would have definitely have destroyed the AI. She cannot see any more signs of the Reapers, even though she was able to see the fleets fighting for their lives just moments before. The Reapers must be gone, at least in this nebula. But, the fact that the AI is still functioning indicates that the Catalyst must be wrong about at least a few things. For the sake of the status quo in the galaxy, she hopes that the death toll was simply far smaller than anticipated.
She uses the little strength that she has left to perform another force push to remove the rest of the debris off of her. She uses the pile beside her to force herself to her feet, even though she is sure that something is broken. She limps down the walkway to where Anderson's body lies; he cannot be left here alone after all that he did to give Earth a fighting chance. She plops herself beside him, struggling to adjust his form so that he would look less pained when he is brought home to be mourned by those who know the depth of his contributions. If she had enough energy, she would even fix the Illusive Man so he would look less pitiful than he was for no other reason than she knows that she rather not be known as a killer, but his is one life that she does not regret ending.
Shepard can hear the shuttle touch down on the edge of the station, exactly where she arrived hours earlier. She focuses her attention its direction to see which of her crew would be able to help her. She immediately identifies her favorite Turian's armor, but it takes her far too long to focus in on Tali's form behind him.
Garrus arrives slowly, hiding his new limp from her. He clearly had some treatment, but obviously left before it could be completed. "Shepard?" He calls for her, aiming to confirm her survival.
"Garrus." Her voice is weak, but she is sure that he can hear her. Tali rushes over to Anderson and confirms that he is dead, but slings him over her shoulders anyways.
"It's all over now." He says as he approaches.
It is not quite true; there is going to be fallout from the Reapers. Almost every nebula in the galaxy needs help rebuilding from the damage of battle. People are going to try to sell parts of the Reapers for years to come making a new set of illegal weapon trades to deal with. Krogan will need regulation with the new spike in population. The council is going to need restructuring. The Citadel is likely going to need to be completely rebuilt. But in a way, he is right. There is no longer a constant threat to end life as they know it.
Shepard struggles to remain focused on anything, so she fixes her gaze on his heavily scarred face as her vision begins to fade. The one face she knows better than her own, and the only Turian that she would ever invite into her cabin.
He applies another application of Medi-gel, but she is still in rough shape. He notices, but dare not comment. The Turian lifts her, putting an arm under her knees and the other beneath her shoulders. She appreciates how small she is in his arms and lets herself embrace the deep sleep that she desperately needs to recover.