The Normandy reached earth, the acceleration of the mass relay wore of and suddenly they were surrounded by uncountable spaceships. The fleets of all races, from Krogans to Turians had successfully gathered.
Shepard felt proud and breathless for a moment and even Joker seemed muted.
Then Shepard looked at the planet in the center of it all – Earth. Destroyed and dying as it was.
The Reaper army surrounding his home and killing thousands by the minute.
"Commander? Admiral Hackett wants to speak to you."
"I am there in a second." It took him another moment to stop staring at the horrors beneath them, then Shepard turned away and crossed the Combat Information in a rush before entering the Conference Room.
The unsteady hologram of Hackett appeared and his tired voice greeted him.
Shepard saluted. "Sir. What is going on? Any way to connect the Citadel to the Crucible?"
"Only if the wards are opened. And we have no contact to the Citadel right now." He looked faint, Shepard noticed.
"So what can we do?"
"Someone needs to get aboard the Citadel and open the wards manually from the headquarters of C-Sec."
"Is that even possible?"
"We hoped you'd find a way... You found one to enter the Geth Ship..." He had lost his authoritarian attitude and seemed almost pleading.
"EDI and Joker will find something. There must be some way."
He quit the conference and allowed himself to catch breath. If that damned ship did not open, it was over now. Earth would be lost, Every organic, sophisticated race would be lost.
The sad image of EDI entered his thoughts. The KI standing in the Streets of a destroyed City, searching for Joker. Well EDI would survive. But he could not stand the thought of leaving her behind alone.
He returned to the bridge. "Joker. EDI. We need an entrance to this thing." He pointed towards the Citadel, hovering beneath the Normandy.
"What the hell? Commander! You can't be serious.", Joker cursed, but EDI seemed to understand. "As long as it is closed, it is of no use, right? There must be some way. Probably some pipe for trash or even escape capsules. At least the council would certainly have something like that. I will contact the Geth. They might help me search and compute this. Please wait a moment."
She seemed frozen a couple of minutes. Longer than she used to need for such things.
Shepard found it hard to breath and stand still waiting for the crucial information.
Joker seemed similarly tensed. He had stopped working on the navigation console and stared at his girlfriend. His large, brown eyes even larger right now.
Finally EDI turned her head.
"I found something. As I predicted, there are emergency exits near the embassies. They are very small though and even if you can land there, you'd still have to get inside. It's not like we could operate the airlocks or anything."
"We will find a way. Joker, bring us closer to the Citadel. Make good use of this Stealth Reconnaissance, which is written on just anything aboard. He tried to smile encouraging.
Joker nodded, but he had become pale.
"Cortez? Can you hear me?" He activated the communication device. "Get the shuttle ready as soon as possible! I am with you in a moment."
"Yes, commander."
"Alenko? Vakarian? At the shuttle bay!"
When he reached the fifth deck, Cortez seemed perfectly ready.
"Nice work, Cortez."
The soldier nodded proudly. Vakarian and Alenko arrived a few moments later.
"Commader?", the Turian asked.
"We are entering the Citadel. I hope EDI has sent you the data..." He looked at Cortez.
"Yes... It won't be easy. But the landing is possible. How we get inside..."
"We will have to blast our way inside. It is unlikely there are still people in the embassies. We have to try it. Once we are inside, there is another partition, which we'll be able to close. That must be enough." Shepard paused for a second. "Thank you for coming along. All the times. We might very well die on this mission. But we have to make it to the controls and open the Citadel. Otherwise everyone out there is lost... Otherwise everything was in vain..." For the first time in years, he was at a loss for words.
"Commander? We will hold the line. Every time. This won't be the last suicide mission for us!"
Shepard nodded thankful and they entered the shuttle.
"Good luck!" Jokers voice came through the speakers inside the vehicle. "Don't want to pile on pressure, but you really need to succeed!" He laughed but he sounded worried.
The shuttle started and left the Normandy.
It took only a couple of minutes, which they spent silent to get to the Citadel, than they stood up and left the shuttle not looking back at the war surrounding them.
The Team affixed the explosives to the airlock and tried to cover themselves.
There was not much space to do so and none of them got away without a couple of bruises, but the door was open and a dark corridor lay before them.
It was silent. The busy noise of the embassies was gone and only the low humming of the metallic structure and the few engines still running reached their ears.
Shepard signaled them to move on.
The embassies were empty. They could not see any bodies but it smelled of blood.
Shepard and his squad did not stop to invest the whereabouts of the ambassadors as much as it hurt him to think of all the good people who had served here.
Some papers lay scattered across the floor.
"How do we get to the C-Sec offices from here?", Alenko asked. The sound of his voice was tearing the silence.
"They are somewhere above us. We should not take the elevator. Who knows what's going on. But I think, there are some emergency stairs near it. EDI can you hear me?"
The communication device rustled a few moments, then EDIs calm and steady voice answered.
"Yes Commander?"
"Can you tell us, if there are stairs leading down to the bays and C-Sec?"
"One Moment, Commander."
Her voice disappeared. The Group continued to approach the elevator.
Something moved. They ducked behind a couple of plant pots decorating the corridor.
Close to the elevator doors there were Husks. The corrupted creatures seemed to collect the bodies of some people in a pile, likely preparing them to be transformed. A Keeper hurried between them, seemingly checking the progress.
"Shepard..." Alenkos voice trailed of. He looked pail.
Somehow the image of the friendly, welcoming Elcor in the shared embassy of the Volus and Elcor appeared in Shepards mind. It made him incredibly sad to think the warmhearted being was somewhere on this heap.
"Commander?", EDIs voice reappeared. "I have contacted the Citadel Fleet. The Stairs must be to the right side of the elevator, where the Office Suit is situated."
"Thanks EDI.", Shepard whispered. He shot a worried glance towards the Husks, but they did not seem to notice.
"How shall we ever get across the place before the Embassy Offices? There is no way we can hide..." Garrus watched the corrupted beings.
"I have no idea.", Shepard admitted.
"We can draw off their attention."
Shepard looked at Alenko. "That does not sound like one of your better ideas.", he told him.
"But it is the only possibility right now." Garrus seemed to agree with the major.
Shepard wanted to oppose, but he knew they were right.
"We will meet at the Purgatory?" He tried to smile.
"As long as you are not telling me to meet you in the Afterlife... Would have been a bad joke right now.", Alenko replied.
"Commander... It's been an honor.", Garrus simply said. Then the two of them split and took cover closer to the damned creatures. As soon as they opened fire on them, all hell broke lose.
Shepard left his concealment and ran for the Office Suit. The Husks took no notice but stumbled towards his two comrades. He forced himself not to look back.
In the back room of the Office Suit, invisible from the outside, was the door EDI had described. When he opened it, he looked at a small, steep stairway.
It seemed to take forever to get up to the bays. The moment he opened the door on that floor, the stink of blood hit him.
The bays had always been crowded. If they had not been evacuated before the citadel was taken over, probably hundreds had been killed on this floor alone.
He could not see any Husks or other corrupted slaves of the reapers.
They likely had only fully prepared for the fight with the united fleets, not for someone entering the citadel.
Shepard doubted that many knew, there was an exit besides the bays.
C-Sec was close now.
"EDI? Where will I find the controls for the wards?"
"Enter the offices. I will guide you through their security system. The C-Sec officers who are on the ships right now have send me the instructions."
"Thanks EDI. You are the best."
"I know."
"Alenko? Garrus?" No one answered.
Shepard straightened his shoulders, though he felt like needing rest. And sleep. The C-Sec offices were around the corner, right in front of the elevator.
He jumped across the counter and made his way through the rooms, until EDI told him to stop and run the controls to his left.
The terminal was indeed very well secured. He had broken into more than one system, but he would have had to give in this time, if EDI and the C-Sec officers she talked to would not have guided him.
Finally a faint shivering grasped the whole construct and through the glass front facing the bays he could see the enormous wards slowly open.
They revealed the war outside of the construct and the earth, spoiled as it was now.
The Crucible leaped into view. It hovered in front of the Citadel, then slowly moved towards the center of the opened wards.
It took some minutes, before the Crucible connected with the Citadel. The whole station was hit and Shepard fell hard to the ground. He shook his head.
The Citadel seemed to hum now. "EDI, does it work?"
"The device has started to operate. No one knows what's going to happen next."
"Sounds good to me.", he answered tiredly.
Then a reaper appeared above the crucible. "EDI! What is going on there?"
"I have no idea, commander! They must have noticed what's happened."
"Will the whole thing work, before they can do something about it?"
"I don't know."
He let himself slip to the ground and stared at the giant creature. It seemed to hover right in front of him, casting a cloud over the Crucible.
The giant thing looked almost fragile next to the living machine.
"Joker? I don't suppose you can get us out this time..."
"Nope. I am sorry. It's been an honor to do so multiple times..."
"Shut up." He laughed weary. "See you aboard."
"Of course."
The horrifying creature opened it's arms and the familiar red beam shot towards the citadel.
Shepard opened his eyes.
Voices and hasty steps filled the stuffy air.
He tried to move his head, but was rewarded with a strong head ache. So he continued staring at the blank ceiling.
He was not in the C-Sec office. What had happened.
"Sir?" A high, worried voice. "You are awake?"
"Yes." His voice sounded rough. "Where am I?"
"This is the Amarra, sir. This is a Quarian ship. We took care of the survivors from the Citadel..."
"Survivors? What happened?"
"Don't you remember? Wait i'll help you sit up. You had a severe concussion..."
The Quarian woman helped him. Now he could see the room, he was in. It was obviously a medical bay. It was rather spacious and numerous beds lined the walls. Nurses hurried from one to another.
"You are listed as Commander Shepard. Alliance. Spectre. Is that right?"
"I... I think yes. Sounds good to me."
"We found you aboard the Citadel... You were dangerously close to where the reaper hit it."
"My Squad... The Normandy... What happened to the Reapers?"
"Everything is fine. Please don't get so agitated. You have been unconscious for several days."
He could not see her face through the suits mask but she sounded honestly worried. Then she took his arm and injected something.
He fall asleep immediately.
The next time he woke up it was more quiet.
After a few moments he felt like he could sit up. When he turned his head and panned the room, he could see, that most beds were empty. Only a few were occupied.
At first it seemed, as if everyone was fast asleep, but then he could see a nurse coming towards his bed. Considering her suit, she was the one, who had cared for him last time.
"How do you feel, Commander Shepard?"
"I think I am fine. What is your name?"
"Vaye'la vas Amarra, Commander."
"Can you tell me what has happened, after the crucible was activated, Vaye'la?"
"It sent a signal or so I was told. The Geth have analyzed it. It was a virus. Specifically designed for the Reapers. The Geth think it might be as old as the Reapers. Maybe their creators have installed it as a measure of safety... "
"How have I gotten aboard the Amarra?"
"We had shuttles search the debris of the Citadel for survivors..."
"The Citadel has been destroyed?"
"Yes. A Reaper hit it. The same moment they were killed I think."
"Are all survivors here?"
"As far as I know... It has been very chaotic since. Ships reporting back... Records of the fallen are being collected... Probably a few have been collected by other ships, but the Amarra was assigned to receive the majority of the people from the Citadel."
"But... If everyone is here... Millions must have died!"
"Yes... Some of the Ambassadors and the Council have been evacuated. And some citizens have escaped aboard the few ships, which were able to start before Husks and other corrupted beings took over." Her voice seemed strained. "Yes. Millions have been lost on the Citadel alone."
He tried to breath, but he felt unable to comprehend, what she had said.
"But...", she continued hesitantly. "Commander... There is something else..."
"What?", he asked wearily.
"The earth... Has been lost."
He could barely hear as she tried to explain, how the damages and the war had triggered an ice age. Clouds had cloaked the devastated planet until all light was gone and the cold killed those, who had not found a way to escape the apocalypse.
Noise filled his head and his vision blurred.
"Commander!" Afraid he might pass out, she shook him. It helped.
"Kaidan? Garrus? They were with me. Please! Have they been found?"
"Commander..." Vaye'la faltered. "Neither Kaidan nor Garrus are names in the files."
"But you didn't even check?" He did not mean to be rude, but he was becoming desperate for hope.
"You called for them, while you were sleeping..." Her voice sounded sad. "But I send a notice to the fleets, that you asked. You are a hero. When they heard you had survived, even the most hopeless seemed to gain back strength. They will do whatever they can. But it will take time. Please understand." She gently squeezed his hand, then stood up and with a determined voice told him, that he had to eat now.
Days passed and he wandered around the spacious ship. But the food tasted stale and though he had ultimately won the war, he felt like he had lost, what he had fought for. He only now realized, that it really had been his crew, he had wanted to safe.
Then, one day Vaye'la called for him.
When he entered the Medical Bay, she greeted him with a broad smile.
"Commander! A ship has just docked the Amarra. Come with me! You will want to meet the crew."
He straightened his back and shut out the gloomy thoughts. He had been honored by various high ranking members of various fleets. He could not care less.
He did not even really look, when Vaye'la vas Amarra led him to the Conference Room of the ship.
"Look at this mess. To think I saluted this picture of misery.", someone joked.
"That is no appropriate way to address a spectre.", a calm, female voice replied.
Then someone embraced him. He finally looked up and into the familiar face of Kaidan Alenko, who smiled at him with obvious relief. Joker Appeared behind him with EDI next to him. Then came Garrus and then...
He felt like he had been reborn. These were his friends, his love, his family
They were here. He had no more hoped for this. Now the hugs felt like a warm, cleansing shower.
And docked to the Amarra was the Normandy.
His freedom and home.