"You did good son, you did good… I'm proud of you."
And with his final words, David Anderson was no more: Shepard was left alone at the end. He wanted to feel sorrow, to feel something, but all he could feel was numbness. Anderson had always been a surrogate father to him, Shepard's own having lived and died before he was born. He had taken care of him, looked after him even when the things Anderson was dealing with were far more important than that. Now he was gone, another casualty of a pointless conflict.
Shepard wished that Anderson's final, selfless words would bring him some comfort near the end of his own time, to make it feel like everything he had done had been worth it, and though he knew in his heart that Anderson was right, that he did do good, the losses suffered through it all were taking their toll. He just wanted the burden to end.
Blood continued gushing out from his abdomen. It wouldn't be much longer now.
"Shepard. Commander!"
More…They always wanted more. Hadn't he already done enough? Why couldn't they just let him rest? No… he had to snap out of this selfish, fatalistic train of thought. He was still a soldier until his last breath. There were still so many people left to help: Tali, Garrus, Ashley. They depended on him, and he wasn't about to let them down.
Desperately, painfully, he reached for his transmitter,
"I-uh, what do you need me to do?" He could barely gasp.
"Nothing's happening, the crucible's not firing. It's got to be something on your end."
Was he serious? Was this some sort of practical joke? After everything that happened Hackett was telling him that the Crucible simply wasn't working? Cursing himself for using up the last of his medi-gell, and summoning all the strength within him he could, Shepard began to drag his ragged, useless body over to the control console near him. His abdomen felt like it was on fire as he did so, the pain nearly bringing tears to his eyes. However, he simply did not have it in him to lie down and die, not with so much at stake.
After what seemed like an hour, he found himself only a foot away from the console, a blood trail following in his wake. The world was a blur to him now, and he knew for sure he had lost too much blood. He tried to drag himself another inch, but he could no longer see anything but blackness in front of him. He had failed, and now the rest of the Galaxy would soon follow him into the dark.
..
…
….
O
20 Minutes Earlier
"All forces converge on the Crucible, do not let it reach the Citadel." The booming voice of Harbinger sounded over the Reaper Battlenet. "I will deal with their ground forces personally."
Harbinger inwardly growled. Once again, the arrogance of his kind was costing them. The human led coalition was stronger than they anticipated, mainly due to the unlikely alliance that occurred between the Quarians and the Geth. Though he knew that this truce was only temporary, and that synthetics and machines could never coexist permanently, it still disgruntled him that for once he did not foresee even this temporary reprieve of chaos happening.
Now, those who they were trying to help were close to dooming themselves to a never-ending hell. If only there was some way to make them see? He scoffed at his own thought: It would never be possible for such simple creatures to fathom anything the Reapers understood. They would forever have to guide the organics themselves, whether they wanted or understood the gift they brought or not.
With three magnetohydrodynamic cannons, each capable of firing molten metal at incredible speeds, Harbinger easily cut through the puny forces the galaxy's coalition threw at him on his way to Earth. It didn't matter what race ships thrown at him belonged to or what their advantages over one another were, they were all equally shatterable to him. One dreadnought, a human one with a giant red dragon painted upon its smooth, top hull even attempted to ram him. Harbinger cut it in two before it could get close.
Soon he was slicing through the Human homeworld's atmosphere to a continent they called Europe, his sights on a large city on a North Western isle. There, the coalition had decided to send most of their ground troops. One amongst them was Harbinger's greatest foe, a human called Shepard. Through skill, bravery, and sheer this lowly beast had managed to destroy not one, but three of his kind, possibly more.
He who would challenge the gods.
Among his kill count included even a mighty vanguard, Harbinger's second in command; Sovereign, whose arrogance had gotten the best of him as well. Luckily, Harbinger knew better then to let this challenger go unopposed. He attempted to eliminate the mortal many times before, only to find that the man was practically unkillable. Even when he did manage to be rid of him, it seems death was only a temporary setback. Still, this wasn't the first time Harbinger had dealt with cockroaches. Every cycle had one or two, and in the end they'd be turned to dust like the rest. And now, it was time for this cycle's to be crushed.
Harbinger touched down near the beam responsible for transporting usable corpses up to Citadel, human ground forces already charging towards it when he arrived. For a brief second he contemplated simply shutting it off, but soon set the thought aside. He had more than enough firepower to destroy any opposition before it even got close. This was his chance to ensure Shepard would never annoy him again.
Lashing out with his beam weapons, he decimated thousands within a second. Tanks, troops, and light aircraft all fell before his might. With one of his 'eyes' below, those belonging to the Reaper ground forces, he found Shepard, targeted him, and fired. The human dodged his attack but the beam still hit close enough to fry his armor and set him ablaze. Harbinger watched, satisfied, as the human collapsed onto wartorn soil. He contemplated shooting him again, but did not want to waste when there were so many others drawing near. The human was surely dead.
After dispatching the rest of the mortal ground forces, Harbinger touched off from London. He felt no admiration, sorrow, of sympathy for those who he slaughtered, even Shepard. They were simply bags of flesh guided by simple thought processes and emotions. They didn't know the meaning of those words.
"I have eliminated the attempt to infiltrate the Citadel." Harbinger announced.
"Your attempt may have failed." Another responded.
For a brief second, Harbinger felt confusion before guiding his mind to the Citadel. He saw a scene through his most important indoctrinated agent's eyes, one who the organics knew as the Illusive Man. He was confronting Shepard and the human resistance leader. He managed to eliminate the admiral, but Shepard remained… and was convincing his agent to stand down. The scene flickered off and on as the conversation continued before eventually settling on being seen through a hazy gray transparence. The Illusive Man was fighting him…. and winning. Out of Harbinger's control a gun was brought to the head of his servant and fired. The scene went black.
"Destroy the crucible." Harbinger ordered.
Reaching orbit, Harbinger could see a massive sphere of ships surrounding the Citadel, layers thick. It would take quite a bit of effort to punch through, even with the primitive technology they were up against. Nonetheless, they had to find a way.
O
The Normandy rattled as it passed near an Alliance Cruiser whose reactor had just been breached, causing it to detonate in a fiery blaze. Joker cringed as he saw this, and with keystrokes at over 120 per minute quickly made a quick course correction, his face laced with sweat and teething with anxiety. He had never been in a battle this chaotic before, not even the first battle of the Citadel compared. All around him, fighters dogfighted and capital ships traded fire. There were so many different things to keep track of going on around him he felt like his head was about to explode. Luckily, the battle was almost over. The Citadel was open and the Crucible in place, now all he had to do was wait.
He was jolted forward suddenly. Something had impacted the rear of the ship. He took a quick glance at the sensors and saw two blinking red lights behind an image of the Normandy. He knew immediately what they were; Occulus drones, the standard 'fighters' the Reapers used, though they were anything but. The weapons on them could eat through the Normandy's shields in under ten shots, but Joker was not about to let them take them take them out.
"Going to do a Split-S, EDI!" Joker ordered.
"That tactic will not work. The drones have superior maneuverability." EDI said, her calm voice being in stark contrast to the situation.
Joker grinned, she didn't know who she was talking to. Though Normandy was a Frigate, Joker had a few tricks to give her the edge against fighters in a dogfight. "That's why we're going to use emergency thrusters. It should give us what we want!"
"Acknowledged!"
After a second, he had a command typed in. Two emergency and one normal thruster on the bottom of the Normandy near its tail blazed to life, sending her in a one hundred eight degree vertical U-Turn, taking it between a Turian Dreadnaught and a Reaper destroyer frantically trading shots at each other. The drones attempted to turn at the same rate, but were unable to do so. They were forced to take a wider arc, and by the time they had completed it the Normandy was way ahead of them. The Turians quickly caught sight of the drones and aimed point defense cannons. Twelve rapid-fire bursts of light sailed across space, impacted the drones, and ripped them to shreds.
"Hahaha! Take that you sons of bitches!"
A glance out the window cut Joker's celebration short. A Reaper destroyer was directly in front of them.
"Reaper warship off the bow." EDI announced.
"I see it EDI! Screw it, this one's ours!"
Two phalanx cannons popped out of the underbelly of the Normandy near its bow, blue wisps of light already accumulating in their barrels. They were ready to fire.
"Garrus, time to make those calibrations pay the hell of!" Joker shouted, punching the fire button.
Blue blazing streams of light cascaded across space before smashing into the hull of the hideous Reaper warship. As if they were god's welding torches, they quickly ate through the forward plating before hitting critical systems. The Reaper's insides erupted in a fiery blaze, cracking it into hundreds of pieces. Joker fired again, using his phalanx guns to clear a path through the debris. The Normandy sailed right through where the ship once was.
"Hell yeah! Thank god for these new guns."
"This is the Alliance Cruiser Stalingrad!" His radio squawked. "We've got drones all over us! Need immediate assistance!"
"Stalingrad, this is Normandy! We're heading your way." Joker replied. "EDI, show the location of her on the nava-comp."
EDI soon complied, and a flashing green dot appeared on a screen on his dashboard. It was under attack by ten smaller red dots, Occulus drones, and the same kind that Joker had evaded earlier.
"God I hate those things." Joker growled.
Joker quickly banked the Normandy towards his destination, sighting the Stalingard out of the bridge's windows. They weren't kidding when they said they needed assistance. Its hull looked like a mess, black scorch marks everywhere and plasma leaking from a few of its hull breaches. Cruisers weren't meant for taking out fighters, they only had a limited number of point-defense guns. If Joker didn't get the drones off of it, they would eventually be pinpricked to death.
"Normandy, this is Delta-1. My wing is clear to assist."
"Good to have you, Delta-1. Form on me! Let's rock these sons of bitches!"
"Roger that Normandy!"
Four fighters took up formation around the Normandy, two on each of its wings, the entire formation looking somewhat like an eagle if looked at from the top. They thundered towards the Stalingrad at maximum speed, and five drones turned to meet them, realizing the greater threat. A fury of red molten metal streams, phalanx beams, and mass-driver rounds crisscrossed before impacting their targets. Two fighters were taken out in blazing yellow blasts on Joker's portside, and the Normandy's shields flickered as three beams hit her. However, all five of the drones had become spacedust.
"Shields down to 50%." EDI announced.
"No time to recharge!" Joker said. "Let's give em hell!"
"This is Delta-2! We're taking the bastards near Stalingrad's bow!"
"This is for Jason and Maria, you assholes!"
"Roger that, Delta-2!" Joker said, sympathy laced in his words. He guessed Delta-1 hadn't made it. Another life snuffed out of existence in this cataclysmic battle. He quickly shook off his thoughts, returning his concentration on the drones.
It seemed they were more interested in finishing off the Stalingrad than turning to protect themselves, and that was what Joker was hoping for. The Stalingrad would be able to survive another five seconds, but the drones were about to be caught with their pants down. Joker locked his sights on three drones blasting away at the Stalingrad's stern, them easily dodging point-defense fire from their victim. He moved in at an angle that would take him towards the side of the cruiser, allowing him to be able to easily take out the drones without risking the ship he was protecting.
"Targets locked." EDI announced.
Joker nodded and quickly fired his weaponry. The phalanx guns eagerly blasted away, happy to have plenty of prey that day. In three shots, they enveloped the drones in the heat of a red giant and turned them to ash.
"This is Delta-2, targets eliminated!"
"Stalingrad here, you really saved our asses! We owe you one!"
"Any time, Stalingrad." Joker said.
Joker smiled to himself. They had lost two fighters, but their sacrifice wasn't in vain. The Stalingrad and its crew were safe. Still, he was growing frustrated. Why the hell hadn't the Crucible fired yet?
"Normandy, we have lost contact with Shepard in the Citadel." Admiral Hackett's voice announced over the intercom, answering his question.
"I knew Shepard would get it open! But what the hell happened?" Joker practically shouted.
"Unknown. We're sending a fleet of shuttles to try to activate the Crucible ourselves. There's also several shuttles heading up from Earth, their occupants wouldn't take no for an answer when I told them to stay put."
"Liara, Garrus and the rest? They're going to need an escort then." Joker said.
"That's what I was about to ask you to do. See them safely to the Citadel. Hackett out."
"EDI, pinpoint their locations on the NAV Map. Also, how did you not know about this?"
"My construct on Earth has been largely out of contact with the rest of the Normandy's crew."
"Well, damn, they could sure have used you on the Citadel. Ah well, let's smoke any Reapers trying to hold them back!"
O
Tali's shuttle tore through the Earth's atmosphere, a trail of fire in its wake. In the back with her sat Javik, Liara, and James Vega. They had just gotten the call a minute ago: Shepard had failed in his mission to activate the Crucible and they had lost contact with him. Someone in the fleet must have thought they'd want to know. Though she didn't and couldn't show it, having this lull in combat was not comforting to Tali in the least. It had given her time to think, and more importantly; worry. She hadn't heard from Garrus or Ashley since the charge towards the Citadel's beam had began. Mostly though, she was scared for Shepard, her Shepard. What had gone wrong up in orbit? What had stopped Shepard? Was he…
'No, do NOT start thinking that!' Tali's mind practically screamed.
"Forty seconds til orbit!" Steve Cortez announced. "Hang on; this is going to be one wild ride!"
"What is on your mind, Quarian?" Javik asked, glancing her way, "I can sense your distress."
Tali returned the glance, a confused expression crossing her face under the mask. Was Javik was actually taking an interest in her personal feelings or was it just another one of his ways of keeping her at her prime to take on the Reapers? After a second, she decided it didn't matter.
"Shepard." She said. "I'm worried about him."
"Were it so easy to kill him." Javik said, actually smiling slightly her way. "The Reapers would have done it already."
"I'm sure he's alright, Tali." Vega said with a somewhat forced smile. "Probably just has a messed up radio or something, or maybe the Reapers are jamming him."
"We'll find him." Liara joined in, placing a reassuring hand on Tali's shoulder.
"And annihilate the Reapers once and for all." Javik finished, his eyes narrowing.
Tali nodded, smiling slightly under her helmet. She was happy Liara was along for the ride. Ever since the start of their journey three years ago, she had always been like a sister to her. They'd stay up late at night, making girl-talk in Liara's quarters until one of them was too tired for words. Through this, she found they were surprisingly alike, though she found Liara to be a bit shyer than her. As for her other two companions, even though Javik was a total jerk and she barely knew James, she was still glad they had her back.
"Entering orbit now!" Cortez announced, followed by a gasp, "Holy Jesus."
After moving forward a bit to get a view out the shuttle's main window, Tali soon found what Cortez was gawking at: the sight of the century. Every ordinance in existence was being tossed about in the void before her, creating a dazzling, deadly light show. Two fleets were battling for the fate of the galaxy. Dark and Light had met for the ultimate showdown.
"Keelah." She whispered.
Cortez' radio squawked, "Bravo-9, this is Bravo-1. The rest of the flight is under heavy fire. Our fighter escort is down. We'r-
"Bravo-1?" Cortez said desperately. "Damnit. Bravo two through eight, do you read?"
"Bravo 5 losin-" The radio responded, before being cut off.
A few human shrieks came over the radio, followed by static, the last calls from a fateful trip. Tali winced.
"By the goddess." Liara said.
"Damnit!" Vega shouted.
"Bravo-9, this is Hackett. Your new call-sign is Bravo-1."
"Yes, sir!" Cortez responded.
"The Reapers had a lot more drones near the Citadel than we anticipated. However, you're getting a heavy escort. We're also dispatching twenty more shuttles."
"Thank you, sir!"
"Take us in as fast as you can, Cortez." Vega said. "There's some Reapers that need frying."
"For once, we're in complete agreement Vega." Cortez said, increasing the shuttle's thrust.
The shuttle was soon rocketing towards the Citadel through the fury of battle. Ships were trading fire all around them. A trio of Alliance fighters soared over top the shuttle being chased by two drones. Suddenly, the shuttle's computer let out a warning cry. Something was on their tail.
"Cortez?" Vega said nervously.
"Drone on our tail!"
The computer suddenly stopped whining.
"Wait… now it's saying there's a friendly."
The shuttle shook as something large flew over it. After a second, Tali could see a massive ship out the main window. It was frigate class.
'The Normandy'
"And you guys think all I do is sit around making smartass comments all day." Joker said. "I've got you covered, Bravo-1. Head straight for the Citadel."
Tali's dropship touched down on a lonely promenade. What was once a place of hussle and bussle and commerce was now just a lonely stretch of floor. Scattered about were personal items: suitcases, data pads, and such as well as a multitude of other pieces clutter. Evidently, many on the Citadel had gotten word of the Reaper's imminent attack: it seems there was some sort of massive evacuation. There weren't any bodies scattered about. Tali guessed they must have been taken by the Reapers. It was fairly dark, the only light coming from the group's gun- mounted flashlights.
"This is just creepy." Vega said, keeping his rifle trained forward.
Liara nodded, "I never wanted to see the Citadel like this again."
"Wish I was there and not here. I'd take the Geth over Reapers any day."
"They were no pushover, either."
A few screeches echoed from the darkness.
"Great…"
Into the lights of their rifles came a group of husks, followed by a few Marauders who quickly opened fire at the group. Tali and Liara immediately took cover behind a pillar supporting an upper balcony, while Javik and James, their adrenaline pumping, let the shots graze their shields as they returned fire with heavy ordinance. They managed to mow down a small number of Marauders as well as a few charging husks before being forced to take cover themselves. The husks were soon swarming the four from all sides. Tali raised her shotgun and Liara a sub-machinegun.
They blasted a blasted as many husks as they could while Javik and James reloaded. However, soon they were out of ammo themselves. Tali charged towards a Husk, making sure her rear wasn't exposed to Marauder fire. She slammed the butt of her shotgun into its half-mechanical skull, sending it spinning into the floor. Another Husk charged at her from the behind. She spun around to meet it, only to have it convulse and then collapse forward towards her. She stepped back, eyeing James holding a smoking rifle a bit away from her. She gave her a smile and a nod, and Tali gave him a thumbs up.
She looked over Liara's way, and saw her fighting off two husks at once. She hissed and charged over towards her before sending a kick towards the hind-legs of one of them, sending it falling down back-first. She then finished it by slamming the butt of her shotgun into its face, sending it sailing the rest of the way down before cracking into the floor. She looked back towards the other Husk, only to see Liara had already taken it down.
She glanced about briefly, and noticed no other husks were in the immediate vicinity. Javik was busy firing away with his beam weapon, and she heard the mechanical screeches of Marauders as they were taken down.
"The last of the Protheans has returned to the Citadel!" He growled, before finishing off the last one. Tali was glad he was on her side.
"Is that the last one?" Liara asked, panting slightly.
"Not sure, how far are we from Shepard?" Tali asked.
James pulled out a small datapad, "Good thing he had his locater beacon on. He's about a half-a-click away. Let's get to him before more of those bastards show up."
The group moved forward towards an elevator that took them up a bit. When the doors slid open, Tali gasped; Shepard was lying on a small circular platform, only a foot away from a control panel. The Illusive Man and Anderson were lying a bit a way.
"Damn that Boshtet!" She cursed angrily at the Illusive Man. "He did this!" In an instant, she was by Shepard's side. She was in panic mode, unable to think clearly before she remembered to check his pulse. He was alive.
Javik was quickly by her side too, only he wasn't interested in Shepard. He was frantically operating the console.
"My people will finally be aveng-"
"ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL!"
The entire group spun around. From the distance stepped a glowing, orange figure. It was a Collector, and it was armed with a very large sword, ordained with a form of ancient writing.
"That's Prothean writing!" Liara noted.
"Yes, and it tells me who this is." Javik spat. "That thing was my commander. He was always fond of that sword."
"I thought Shepard and you wiped out the Collectors," James said, looking towards Tali.
"Looks like we missed one." Tali growled.
"There won't be any for long." Javik hissed. "I will make sure of it."
"IGNORANT CREATURES OF FLESH AND BLOOD. YOU KNOW NOT WITH WHAT POWERS YOU TOY WITH. WITHOUT THE REAPERS, YOU WILL BE DOOMED TO EVERLASTING CHAOS."
"You don't get it, do you?" Tali practically screeched. "You can't just wipe everyone out for what might happen, not when there are people here who are busy enjoying their existence! Thanks to you, I may have lost something valuable to mine!"
"YOU CANNO-"
"Don't try to tell me I can't understand. I understand QUITE clearly. You say that Organics and Machines cannot coexist peacefully? Well look at the Geth and Quarians. We're getting along fine! Ignorance on our part is what caused the problem in the first place, and ignorance is something anyone can overcome!"
"THE PROTHEANS COULDN'T STOP US. YOU CANNOT STOP US. YOUR FATE IS INEVITABLE. YOU WILL FUMBLE IN IGNORANCE NO LONGER."
"We'll see about that." Tali growled. "Liara, get Crucible online. I'll handle this BOSHTET!"
"And so will I!" Javik growled. He began charging forward, firing his beam rifle along the away. Harbinger raised his sword, and glowing with energy it was able to deflect the beam into the wall of the hallway he was charging down himself. The glowing Collector brought its sword down towards Javik in a vertical thrust, but Javik managed to block it with his rifle, a magnificent clang echoing forth. This gave Tali just enough time to circle around the creature and send a shotgun blast after shotgun blast into the back of the creature's skull.
In response, the Collector brought all its strength down upon Javik, and sensing an opportunity sent a kick his way, sending Javik flying backwards. He spun around and blocked two more shotgun blasts from Tali before swinging his sword down towards her vertically. Tali dodged the blow with a roll before sending the butt of her shotgun into the side of the creature's face. She then jetted back ward began to reload. The creature charged towards her. Tali's eyes widened in horror as a horizontal swing came her way-
-Only for it to halt midway through and it was riddled with assault-rifle rounds and pummeled with a beam weapon.
"Suck on it you son of a bitch!" Vega growled.
"For the Empire!" Javik screeched.
Harbinger twirled around and flung his sword at Javik who quicky rolled to the side, dodging it, as Harbinger drew a Collector particle rifle and aimed at Liara. It had just brought its finger to the trigger when Tali sent another salvo of shotgun blasts into its back. Javik and James joined in, and soon the creature was being pummeled at all angles. After a few more shots, Tali's shotgun clicked empty again. However, she wasn't done yet. With a hiss, she drew her knife for the first time in years, and expertly flung it into the back of Harbinger's skull. The knife easily dug into it, and Harbinger was soon on the ground, the yellow glow about him flickering on and off.
"T-HIS CHANGES NOTHING. W—E WILL TEAR THROUGH YOUR FLEET BY T-THE TIME YOU-"
"I've got it!" Liara shouted. "The Crucible is activating!"
A hissing like noise followed by a high-pitched mechanical screech came from the Crucible. It was coming online.
"W-E WILL NOT SUB-B-MIT TO ORGANIC ERAD-DI-CATION. WE SHALL ME-ET AGAIN."
The trio of Tali, Javik, and James made their way to Liara's side. There, they watched as the Reapers disengaged from the battle with the fleet and began to flee. Their radios immediately went wild.
"What in the- they're retreating!"
"Hahahaha! That'll teach em to mess with Earth!"
"Don't stop shooting em! Don't let em get a chance to regroup!"
"Tracking… tracking… we've lost them. Looks like they just disappeared."
"This is Hackett, shut off the Crucible. We don't know if we're wasting our only shot at a shadow."
"Yes, Admiral." Liara said into her radio, her voice sounding stunned as anyone's. She typed a few more commands into the console, and soon the noise of the Crucible was silenced.
Tali squatted down next to Shepard, "He still has a pulse, let's get him back to the Normandy."
O
Shepard dreamed for an eternity. He was in many places, on Tuchunka with Mordin and Wrex, on the great cliff tops of Rannoch as he said his final goodbyes to Legion, a Geth of all things. Then he was on the Citadel next to a dying Anderson, saying his final goodbyes to him as well, and to everything else. Then, he was on Earth, fragments of a memory being played.
They were in the Reaper created crater in London… charging towards the beam of light.
The Demon that was Harbinger stood at the gates…
A furious barrage of lasers…
Screaming… yelling… chaos…
"ASHLEY!"
Darkness.
Suddenly, his eyes fluttered open. He was confused to where he was at first, but soon he began to recognize the familiar medical beds and other equipment kept in the Normandy's medical bay. Dr. Chakwas and Ashley Williams were there too, the latter sitting dozed off in a chair across the room from him and the former sitting in her usual position.
A few more seconds after gaining awareness, he immediately wished he hadn't woken up. His entire body ached with pain, and he felt dizzy as all get-out. However, the pain was lighter than it was on the Citadel, at least he didn't feel like puking this time around, though maybe that was because of the various medical tubes hooked up to him, most likely pumping him full of morphine.
"Shepard?" Dr. Chakwas said with a slight gasp. "Are you… can you hear me?"
Ashley's eyes began to flutter open as well at the sound of her voice, "Huh?" She groaned, "Is…" Her eyes turned to Shepard's. "Oh thank god!"
"The Reapers." Shepard managed to mumble. "What happened?"
"They're gone." Dr. Chakwas said with a slight smile, "Tali managed to start the Crucible's activation process. They booked it after that. Same for the rest of the Reapers in the galaxy."
"T-Tali did?" Shepard said, his voice between a mix of gratitude and pride. He immediately wondered where his favorite Quarian was off to.
"She did perfectly, Shepard." Ashley said with a smile, before Dr. Chakwas pressed a button on her communications pad. "Tali? I believe there's someone in medical who would very much like to see you."
In engineering, Tali did not waste any time uttering a word in response. She sped from her workspace in the engine room to the elevator ("What's got her in a rush?" Kenneth said.) and couldn't push the crew deck's button hard enough. Eagerly, impatiently she waited for what seemed to her the slowest elevator in the world to finally ascend to the crew deck before jetting out of it and rushing to the medical bay.
"Shepard!" She cried, bursting into the medical bay. Shepard greeted her with loving eyes as the two (Shepard rather painfully) reached to touch each other's hands.
"Hello there, Miss vas Normandy," Shepard said with a hoarse yet affectionate voice, coughing a bit afterwards.
"I knew you wouldn't leave me." She said softly, tears dripping from glowing white eyes. "You should know better than to play with a girl's heart like that; they said you might never wake from your coma."
Tali was literally one of the sweetest souls Shepard knew, if not the sweetest, though she was far from fragile. Despite everything that happened to her and her people, Tali still had this endearing quality of kindness that never seemed to let up, and to him that took fortitude. Shepard loved her for that, among many other qualities: her intelligence, her selflessness, her courage, and her conviction. All of these helped make her part of Shepard's heart and soul. If there was one thing about his relationship he didn't like, it was the thought that if he were to ever lose Tali to the many horrors of the universe, he simply would not be able to cope. He would be broken forever.
"Coma?" Shepard whispered. "How long have I been out?"
"Nearly a week." Tali said. "A lot has happened since you went under. I'm sorry I wasn't here by your side the whole time, I've just had so much to do with coordinating the Home fle-.. I mean, the Quarian fleet, and we've had with the sublight engines."
"I can't believe I've missed so much." Shepard sighed. "What's going on now?"
"Most of the non-human fleets have moved out of the system." Tali said. "However, much of the Quarian and Geth fleets have remained to help with humanitarian and reconstruction efforts."
Shepard was stunned by this statement. The Quarians had just retaken Rannoch, and instead of heading back there they were helping to restore Earth? And the Geth… they didn't know anything about humankind and didn't have guilty minds to please unlike when they helped the Quarians, and yet here they were with their old masters helping as they could? The Reaper on Rannoch was dead wrong, organics and synthetics had a future together, and in this case, perhaps organics could learn a thing or two from the Geth about selflessness.
Shepard shook his head in disbelief, "The Geth… are helping us with Earth, too? What about Rannoch?"
"Rannoch will be fine without much of the fleet's help. The Geth have done a wonderful job getting our infrastructure up and running. Hunger and housing are already not a problem."
"It's ironic." Dr. Chakwas spoke up. "The Quarians have always been looked down upon, and now it seems they are going to be one of the foremost superpowers now that this is all over."
"Yes." Tali said with a nod. "It's unfortunate so many worlds were hit so hard by the Reapers. Some may never recover."
"What about Earth?" Shepard asked.
Tali bit her lip under the mask, "It was one of the hardest hit, it seems. Over a billion were killed, and all of your major cities have… seen better days. I'm sorry, Shepard."
Shepard merely nodded. He was tired still, despite being asleep for nearly a week, exhausted even. He couldn't and didn't want to think about the implications of all of this, nor did he want to think about just how big of a number a billion was. All those lives cast aside, and all the families left to mourn them. It sent a shiver down his spine.
"I… need to get up. There has to be something I can help with." Shepard said with a groan, followed by another coughing fit. Dr. Chakwas gave him a scowling glance.
"I'm afraid you're going to need bed rest for another week." Dr. Chakwas said. "You've broken ten bones, have suffered from internal bleeding, you've lost a lung I had to clone and replace, and the massive amount of blood you've lost didn't do you any good either. I'm sorry, Shepard, but there's no way around it. You need to stay here. You were nearly dead when we brought you over, and I want to see that you don't return to that state."
"I can at least direct my crew." Shepard groaned.
"No, as I've said you need rest. You can't be dealing with the stress of command. Don't worry, though. Admiral Hackett put Garrus in charge of the Normandy, Shepard." Chakwas spoke. "He's been doing great. The crew really looks up to him: not bad for the first Turian in command of a human ship."
"Garrus is alright? He didn't return to Palaven?" Shepard said.
"No, he has actually decided to stay."Dr. Chakwas said. "They found him unconscious in the crater in London. Apparently, he didn't take the full force of what hit you. His injuries only took him out for a day." Dr. Chakwas opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something more, but soon closed her mouth with a stained look. Shepard wondered what it was.
Ashley soon followed up with,
"He said he wants to make sure you're fine before he leaves. Also said something about wanting to 'See if Shepard will have of a better chance at beating him at drinking than shooting' too." Ashley said with a slight smile. "Nice to see him out of the gunnery room for once, not that we need any guns calibrated anymore."
A voice sounded from the doorway.
"For once, I'm glad to say that nothing went to hell while you were out." Garrus said with a smile, leaning on the doorway to the medical bay. "Shepard, It feels like it's been forever."
"Right back at you." Shepard said, returning the smile. "I hear you've been running things around here lately?"
"Yeah," Garrus chuckled, "I just couldn't resist seeing what your chair felt like, metaphorically speaking of course."
"What about your job as advisor, though?" Shepard asked.
"Well, I was mainly an advisor about the Reaper threat, one that you and Tali took care of quite nicely. The Primarch's been handling things back on Palaven, and he promised to personally look into my family matters for me."
"How are they doing?" Tali asked. "I never did ask you about the update you got."
"Well the refugee ships they were on didn't have any problems, so they're safe and sound fortunately." Garrus said, before entering a sigh, "Still, so many others aren't so lucky, but at least they can find time to mourn now."
A beat.
"I knew we'd pull this off, Shepard. I never doubted you for a second."
"Having the best sharp-shooter I've ever known on my side sure made it easier."
"Well, someone had to watch your back. Though I'm glad it wasn't just me." He said, nodding towards Ashley, Tali and Chakwas.
Shepard grinned at that statement. He honestly couldn't have imagined getting through the whole mess without Garrus, and not just for his sharp-shooting skills. Garrus was one of the wisest people he knew, and despite all his years seeing the worst case scenarios, both on Omega and in C-Sec, Garrus still had this undying optimism about him. He never thought three years ago that his best friend would eventually be a Turian.
Another whoosh sounded as the Medical Bay door opened. Shepard craned his neck to see Joker and Edi walking in.
"Joker! Edi!" Shepard beamed.
"You really know how to scare me, don't you?" Joker said in a somewhat mock-angry tone. "I thought I'd have to start up another Lazarus project myself. You know, the next time you want to bull-rush a two-mile tall Reaper, ON FOOT, you can always ask for your buddy for some help, ya know, the one who flies a starship?"
"That'd just be unfair for Harbinger." Shepard said with a smirk.
"Yeah well…" Joker said, "I'm just glad you're alright."
"I am glad as well," Edi added. "The calculated odds for your survival were… bleak. Still, your record for beating the odds left me room for hope."
"I still can't believe I managed to survive it myself." Shepard sighed, visions of Harbinger's beam weapons tearing through soldiers still dancing through his mind. Still, for some reason he could only remember fractions of the charge to the Citadel's beam. He was somewhat grateful for that. "It was a hard fight… I saw a lot of good people die. I'm glad it's all over."
"And so am I." Liara said, entering the medical bay herself.
"Liara! I'd have thought you'd be heading back to Thessia by now." Shepard said.
"I am no longer planning on leaving." She said in a somewhat regretful tone. "I have volunteered to be on the team being permanently stationed at the Citadel. I also wanted to make sure you were alright."
"How are you holding up?" Shepard asked in a soft tone.
"I have… been alright. Thessia was hit almost as hard as Earth." She bit her lip, "And I lost someone on the Citadel."
Shepard nodded, an image of Matriach Aethya flashing through his mind, "I'm sorry, Liara."
Liara nodded, swallowing hard.
A beat.
"Well, looks like this is everyone." Ashley said. "Just missin-"
"Hey, sorry we're late," James Vega said, entering the medical bay Javik in tow. "This guy thought he could beat a future N7 officer in a shootoff."
"Hmph, you are lucky my rifle arm was wounded on Earth." Javik growled. "Still, your aim wasn't bad… for a human."
'Same old Javik.' Shepard thought with a slight smile.
"Glad to see you two are alright."
"Wouldn't want to keep your worrying now, loco." Vega said with a light smile.
"You as well commander." Javik said.
"Well, since you're all here." Dr. Chakwas said, opening up a 'medicine cabinet' that just happened to have two bottles of serrice ice brandy in it. She took them out as well as a stack of cups and began pouring drinks. "I think this is the best time as any for a toast, to all those we have lost."
Everyone got up to grab one, Tali poking a straw or 'emergency induction port' into her own. They formed a circle, part of it extending into Shepard's bed, so everyone could join in. However, one person did not.
Ashley Williams remained in her chair.
"Ashley, don't you want a drink?" Shepard asked her.
The rest of the group looked at him curious and somewhat concerned eyes. Shepard returned the look. Garrus and Chakwas looked especially pained.
"Shepard…" Tali whispered. "Who do you think is here?"
Shepard was more confused than ever. What was going on? Was he seeing ghosts?
And then he remembered…
Harbinger descended to the crater, slaughtering all in his sight.
Ashley and Garrus ran in front of him, screaming a battle cry as they charged the gates of hell.
A flash of blinding red… Garrus barely able to dodge an energy being, his armor melting off as he did so … Ashley was right in its path…
"ASHLEY!"
And Ashley screamed…
And Ashley ignited…
And Ashley disappeared…
The heat of a thousand suns had taken its toll…
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust….
"I'm sorry, Shepard." Ashley said with a remorseful smile. "I followed you as long I could… Please tell my sister I loved her, and that her big sis did all she could for Earth."
"Ashley…" He whispered, his expression sorrowful. His heart felt like it was twenty times heavier. All he wanted to do now was fall back asleep.
"Shepard… you've always been so selfless and caring, almost too much for a commanding officer. I know you blame yourself for every person you lose; please, don't blame yourself for losing me."
She gave Shepard a final wave and smile, and a blink later: she was gone.
"I'm sorry, Shepard," Garrus said. "Ashley didn't make it off Earth. They found her armor near me… but that was it."
He felt like Anderson had died all over again. Ashley was like the little sister he never had. She had her rough edges at first, but was able to change and adapt over time. And even when she still held onto her misconceptions, she was still had a kind, fiery spirit, and was never afraid to speak her mind. Shepard shook his head in disbelief, not taking his eyes off the chair he thought Ashley was looking out for him in. A small part of him wished she had been something other than a hallucination… perhaps she was?
"To Ashley," Liara said softly, move her glass slightly forward,
"To Mordin, Kaidan and Thane," Garrus joined in.
"To Legion," Tali said.
"And to all those long forgotten," Javik finished.
'I'm going to miss you, Ashley,' Shepard thought. 'And you as well, David Anderson. I'm sorry.'
They clanked their glasses together and drank in silence.