Disclaimer: I own nothing not the characters not the setting not even the story.
Unexpected aid
Shepard, Commander in the Alliance Fleet even if he was currently suspended pending an investigation of his actions in the Bahak system, stood staring out of his quarters window, cell some would call it, over Vancouver the home of Alliance High Command. He watched a young boy in the roof garden of the neighboring building play with a model of an Alliance space superiority fighter, no doubt imagining all the grand adventures he would be having once he got his own fighter.
The door opened behind him and his guard a lieutenant James stepped inside. James was a rather short hispanic man who clearly spent far to much time in the gym working out, Shepard had often wondered is this was to compensate for something, what he would not care to guess. James saluted "Commander".
"You're not supposed to call me that anymore James." the Hero of the Skyllian Blitz replied.
"Not supposed to salute you either" James shot back with a complete lack of adherence to protocol. "We gotta go. The defense comity wants to see you" James continued.
Shepard was surprised "Must be important" he replied mirroring his thoughts. He threw the datapad, on which he was reading a rather bad 'Classic' science fiction novel from the twentieth century, onto the coffee table and followed the lieutenant out.
They hurried down the corridor the commander having trouble keeping up with the shorter man while dodging all the other people going about there business. "What's going on?" he asked, he hated being in the dark it was one of the character traits that kept him and his fellows alive when a dangerous situation 'ignorance kills' as his instructors used to say.
"Couldn't say. Just told me they needed you." James said as they kept moving until they spotted admiral Anderson walking purposefully towards them. "Anderson" Shepard indicating that he had noticed his former commanding officer and friend. "Admiral" James saluted the officer and taking up the trail position in the group.
"You look good Shepard." Anderson said shaking Shepards hand. "Maybe a little soft around the edges." jokingly patting the commanders stomach. "How are you holding op since being relieved of command?" he continued more seriously. The commander replied in proper military fashion "It's not so bad sir. once you get used to the hot food and soft beds." "We'll get it sorted out" Anderson replied "What's going on, why is everyone in such a hurry?" Shepard asked hoping to get some answers. As admiral Anderson replied Shepard could hear the change in his voice, that only those close to the admiral would have noticed, the admiral is worried he thought.
"Admiral Hackett is mobiliesing the fleets, I am guessing word's made it to Alliance Command. Something big is headed our way." Shepard stopped at that "The Reapers?" he asked even though he knew what the answer had to be.
"We don't know, not for certain." Replied Anderson.
"What else could it be?" Pressed Shepard. "If I knew that" Anderson said without finishing.
"You know we're not ready if it is them, not by a long shot." Was Shepards well considered reply.
"Tell that to the defense comity" Anderson said while moving up a set of stairs continuing there trip to said comity.
"Unless we're planning to talk the Reapers to death, the comity is a waist of time." Shepard was tired of bureaucrats and politicians in uniform getting in the way of him and people like him who are trying to do there job.
"They're just scared." Anderson defended "None of them have seen what you've seen. We've all reviewed your reports, seen the data you've collected. But it's all just theory to us. You've been there in the trenches fighting them, you know what they are capable of."
"That why they grounded me, took away my ship" the commander rejoined with some heat in his voice.
"You know that's not true. The shit you've done, any other soldier would have been tried court marshaled and discharged."
Shepard shifted under the rebuke, he had done what was necessary even if that cost millions of lives it saved billions and bought the rest of the galaxy time. That did not mean he liked it or that he liked being singled out no matter the reason.
"It's your knowledge of the Reapers that kept that from happening." "That and your good word?" Shepard asked.
"Yeah, I trust you Shepard and so does the comity."
"I'm just a soldier Anderson I'm no politician." was Shepards reply, he hoped Anderson did not want him to be the one to have to convince the military and civilian leadership of the peril they were in if this was the Reapers.
"I don't need you to be either. I just need you to do what ever the hell it takes to stop the Reapers." This statment did not fill the commander with confidence. In fact he was getting the sinking feeling that everything was about to be dumped on his shoulders, again.
Their little group passed through a set of sliding doors where they met a senior aid to the comity who was getting some information from one of the assistants in the outer office.
She turned before saying "There expecting you two, admiral." and leading the way to the comity chamber.
From behind the commander James said "Good luck in there commander" and shaking Shepards hand. As he was prepairing to goodbye to James and wish him luck, his name was called when he turned he saw Ashley Williams his comrade in arm against Saren and ex-girlfriend, a relationship that had been completely against regulations but dammit if being a SPECTRE meant anything then disregarding some rules was his right.
"Lieutenant-Commander" Anderson greeted bringing them both back to the situation at hand and out of there personal lives. "How did it go in there?"
"I can never tell with them." She said seriously "I'm just waiting for orders now."
"Admiral" called the aid reappearing out of nowhere. "Come on" the admiral tried to hurry Shepard along.
As the commander passed Ashley he noted the little smile she gave him and he remembered that smile from happier times. Moments later he could hear James asking Ashley "You know the commander?" When instead of answering in the affirmative she said "I used to." Shepard recalled all that had happened since those happier times and frowned.
Commander Shepard and Admiral Anderson entered the large courtroom that the comity was using. As the aid gathered up the admirals of the comity. Shepard wondered why a courtroom and not one of the fleet communications centers or even fleet command headquarters. Deciding that the comity must have already been here and not had time to relocate yet.
"Admiral Anderson, Shepard" greeted the Chief of Staff of the Fleet admiral Okulicki.
"What's the situation?" barked Shepard thinking if they did not have the courtesy to us his rank then he did not need to show them any either.
"We were hoping you would tell us." said the Chief of Staff.
A serviceman came up to Shepards right and handed him a datapad with all the latest contact and sensor information. He barely even glanced at the information the pad displayed before deciding that it was indeed the Reapers. While he was doing this Admiral Mckee, a usually rather severe woman who was now oddly subdued, began explaining the position and confusion of the comity. "The reports coming in are unlike anything we've seen. Whole colonies have gone dark, we've lost contact with everything beyond the Sol relay." "What ever this is, it's incomprehensibly powerful." Finished admiral Okulicki.
Shepard feeling all his frustration with the past six months and all the times before that when he tried to warn everyone and no one had listened he said "You brought me here to confirm what you already know. The Reapers are here." The atmosphere in the room tensed as they all stopped and shifted to look at Shepard and he could feel the palpable aura of fear run through them all.
Mckee visibly shaken asked "Then how do we stop them?"
"Stop them?" Shepard was incredulous didn't these people understand what this was? Best explain it to them, he thought. "This isn't about strategy or tactics, this is about survival! The Reapers are more advanced than we are, more powerful, more intelligent. They don't fear us, and they'll never take pity on us."
"But there must be someway" said an even more dismayed Mckee. The entire room looked to the Commander with hope in there eyes, surely the first human SPECTRE, the Hero of the Skyllian Blitz, the man who stopped the Collectors, would know what to do. He saw this and thought well time for one of my trademark hopeful and uplifting speeches. "If we are going to have any chance at surviving this, we have to stand together" "That's it that's our plan?" asked the Chief of Staff clearly he had been hoping for a bit more than some inspirational words.
Just as Anderson was about to say something about ending bureaucratic interference, the senior aid who had led them in, interrupted "Admiral we have lost contact with Luna base."
"The Moon they couldn't be that close already" "How did they get past our defenses?" was all that Anderson and Mckee could say.
"Sir UK Headquarters has a visual." said the senior aid as she switched one of the large screens from sensor telemetry to a camera shot of a Reaper descending on the city of Portsmouth, where the Headquarters was located, while preparing to fire its main weapon. The ominous red glow built for what seemed like eternity. When a streaking contrail impacted the Reaper which detonated and rained down burning debris and slag onto the city. Silence permeated the space in the wake of the Reapers surprise destruction.
"Sir!" an aid called, breaking the shocked silence, while she was listening to a report coming in over her headset. "The Moon has open fire?" she asked in a rather confused and questioning tone as if looking for conformation of what she was saying. "Good" called admiral Anderson, the first of the flag officers to regain his composure. "You've reestablished contact with Luna Base and they are in the fight?" The admiral guessed.
"Yessir, Nosir. I mean uhm.." "Well spit it out Chief." Anderson tried to push in the hope of getting something useful out of the NCO. "Sir, we have contact with Luna base and they say uhm.. well that the surface of the Moon opened fire and several ships have been launched from within the Moon, sir." the chief finished rather uncertainly.
A tech to the chiefs left suddenly spoke "I think you need to hear this Sirs." Then over the speakers all those present hear "This is the Utu class planetoid Dahak calling Alliance High Command. Do you require assistance?"
AN: Well I hope you liked it my little one shot of Mass Effect and Dahak or Empire from the Ashes whatever you want to call it. This is the first thing I have written and uploaded and I am looking forward to constructive criticism. I have no plans for more so if anyone wants to continue this or use the idea they are free to