Chapter 1 - The Shepard
There they stood on the brink of destruction. He breathed, with excruciating pain, through broken ribs, as he looked out over Earth's atmosphere and watched the annihilation of all that the galaxy had striven to accomplish. Sentients died by the hundreds of thousands as their star ships plummeted from the sky, as husks and other abominations slaughtered those fighting in London, as soldiers gave their lives in droves to push back the unstoppable might of the Reapers, as time to complete their final task was plucked from them by the hands of uncaring gods, as hope finally died at the impossible choices before him.
"No," he suddenly spoke. "I'm gonna end this war on my terms." Certainty stirred in his heart. He would not give into the whims of this thing.
"Then you will die knowing that you failed to save everything you've fought for." The hologram child delivered the sentencing calmly, lighting a fire in Commander Shepard. This- monster had killed his friends!
"I fight for freedom, mine and everyone's." Someone else could have gotten it wrong. "I fight for the right to choose our own fate. " Does this unit have a soul? "And if I die, I'll die knowing that I did everything I could to stop you." Guide this one, Kalahira, and he will be a companion to you as he was to me. "And I'll die free." I have a home. Come back to me.
"SO BE IT." Its booming voice shook the very air. "The cycle continues." The hologram faded from sight with its parting words echoing across the massive chamber.
The quiet closed around him as the strong light feeding into the Crucible shrank and then disappeared. His wandering eyes focused on an Alliance cruiser firing steadily at an approaching Reaper. The squid-like ship ignored the rounds and fired its main gun, super-heated liquid metal tearing through shields and snapping the vessel in half. The Reaper continued forward through the now-derelict craft and the explosion of its engine going critical.
Hundreds had been silenced on that ship in the time it took for him to take another shuddering breath. He had chosen and this was the consequence of his choice. He could suddenly feel the weight of the past five years. At the edge of his mind whispered the Cipher, countless voices whispering countless words. The people who had died under him, friends, comrades, loved ones, could be felt on his shoulders.
Mordin had sacrificed himself to fix his mistakes; Thane had used his life to make amends for the darkness taken out and the single light put in; Legion had decided to give himself up for his people, for the chance that they could become more than what they were.
Tali had decided to give them a shot. Amidst a struggle for survival, where any moment could be their last, they had let their feelings grow into something beautiful that had overcome even their biological differences. With all his heart he hoped that she would recover and find happiness, whatever may come.
Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes at her memory. I have a home. The tears stung his burned skin, the tingling on his face opening up the floodgates of his ruined body.
Burns, broken bones and the bullet wound clamored for his attention, screaming at his nerves and pulling him to his knees. He fought against the blackness that invaded his vision, clinging to life and knowing he had more to do.
He lowered himself to the ground gingerly. He would rest for a moment and find a way down to… to…
Shepard tried to raise himself up but his limbs gave out, sending him crashing to the ground as excruciating pain smote his body. He gritted his teeth, waiting for the fire to subside. Shepard prided himself on his honesty and he knew, as his cheek rested on the cold metal floor, that he would not be leaving the Citadel.
Regret filled him. Promises made that he wouldn't be able to keep, to friends both living and dead. Shepard closed his eyes, feeling numbness replacing the cold that had seeped in since Anderson's death. Weariness chilled him to the bone.
He could see a house. A sun sat above the horizon, its glistening rays shining upon a calm sea. Above the glittering mirror of water, the house sat at the edge of a cliff. It was simple, built from stone the same color as the surrounding area.
A slender figure stood in the doorway, violet skin visible around the clothes she wore, silvery eyes glowing through the sunset.
She held out arms to him, beckoning him closer. He could feel himself smile, the regret washed away by the woman he loved. He realized he could never force anything on her, on anyone. Just as they had chosen to be together, everyone had to choose their own fate. Not him.
He walked toward Tali, embracing her and resting his cheek against the top of her head.
He was home.
The Intelligence watched impassively as the corpse of Commander Johnathen Shepard cooled. The ravaged body lay in a pool of congealing blood, its mouth upturned in some sort of emotion.
The Intelligence had been certain the human would finally give it the answer to its eons-long directive but he had been incorrect. The cycle would continue.
It turned its full attention to the young races in orbit and on the planet. It directed its tools to continue their ultimate objectives, now. It was time to begin the harvest.
Author's Note:
Obviously the first submission was a jumbled mess but hopefully this rectifies the situation. Now I know not to copy and paste my submission while I'm on my phone. Lesson Learned.
Anyways. Comment, follow or let me know what you think. I'm always looking for feedback on, well, everything.
And don't worry, this isn't the end of the story.