Well, chapter 3 is here! To answer a question raised by kill-phil about how TIM captured the crew, I'll just say I'll get to that later, but you can probably assume something Reaper related (yes, ambiguous answers, Bioware has taught me well *evil face*). Anyway, as usual Bioware owns Mass Effect, not me; so back to the fic, enjoy!

Ch. 3: Hope

Normandy SR-2

Garrus Vakarian

"How's Tali doing doctor?" Garrus asked Dr. Chakwas as they stood in the medbay. His own injuries had healed quickly, with the help of the Medigel, and he honestly didn't feel them anymore.

"She… sustained some very dangerous injuries, and she is out cold, but she should heal quicker than expected. Any normal Quarian would've died from her amount of infectant exposure but… well, Tali is no ordinary Quarian is she?" Dr. Chakwas said with a faint smile. Garrus could tell she had worked hard to save Tali, but he still needed to be sure.

Garrus looked at the door with a worried expression. "Can I see her? I'd like to make sure she's alright. Shepard would kill me if I let her die in the AI Core, or anywhere for that matter."

"No, you can't go in there Garrus. Her suit was badly damaged. We had to… remove a considerable portion of it." Dr. Chakwas said while looking to the left slightly.

Garrus quickly realized why he wouldn't be allowed in. "I understand. Doctor, can I ask you a question?"

Dr. Chakwas nodded. "Of course Garrus, tell me what you want to know."

"You said Tali isn't a normal Quarian, and I agree with you, but how does her not being normal make her not die from an infection that would kill any other Quarian?" He asked. "Not to sound cruel or anything, but what makes her special?"

Dr. Chakwas cleared her throat. "Well… Um… She has been… Well, exposed to a considerable amount of Human bacteria before and…"

Garrus grinned. "Are you saying Shepard… Spirits, Shepard saved her life again just by being intimate with her!?"

"You could say that, yes." Dr. Chakwas chuckled and put on another faint smile.

Garrus just stared at Dr. Chakwas for a moment, and then let out a chuckle of his own. 'Damn Shepard, you can save anyone by doing anything can't you?' He thought.

Then he remembered he'd probably never see Shepard again, and he stopped his chuckling and walked to the Gun Battery, because there were calibrations to do and he needed a little time to think on his own.

The Crucible

Admiral Steven Hackett

Admiral Hackett watched the screen, viewing the battle's progress. Despite combining the forces of all of the galaxies races, the Reapers, the ever efficient killing machines, were slowly pushing allied forces back. No reports from the Beam charge had come in, and the few images from Hammer looked grim. He heard an officer approaching, and the Admiral turned around. The officer handed Admiral Hackett a datapad, saluted him, and then went back to his station. Hackett looked at the report, and a hopeful fire gleamed in his eyes.

"Holy shit, they did it." Hackett turned on his fleet comm, as this was news everyone had to hear.

"All ships, this is Admiral Hackett. We've got confirmed reports that Commander Shepard and Admiral Anderson have both reached the Citadel. All ships cease offensive operations and converge on the Crucible. We need to protect it at all costs and buy them time to open the Citadel arms."

He shut off his fleet comm and heard several officers cheer at his announcement. He was filled with pride, but he knew there was still more to come. The Reapers would most likely notice the fleet's change of orders, but it was only a short time before they would notice the huge dark energy device moving directly towards the Citadel anyway, and they had to set up a defensive perimeter. The Crucible, no matter what it did, had to be protected, and had to connect to the Citadel if the nightmare that is the Reapers would ever be able to end.

London, Earth

Major Coats

Major Coats stood in the forward command center, commanding the remains of Hammer to stop the assault on the Beam. Several Sovereign-class Reapers had arrived shortly after Shepard and Anderson had gotten into the beam, and it looked like no one else was going to get through. The charge, however, had not failed, and everyone's morale had increased after Admiral Hackett's announcement. One thing disturbed the Major, however; Harbinger, the first Reaper to defend the Beam, had flown off towards the Citadel with a deafening cry of what he could only assume was anger, if the Reapers were even capable of it, after the other Reapers had arrived. The reports Coats remembered, from what seemed like a lifetime ago, said Harbinger had some kind of obsession with Shepard and was most likely trying to reach Shepard before the Crucible docked. Major Coats stopped himself from dwelling on this, and went back to coordinating Hammer's retreat, hoping to save as many lives as he could.

Normandy Sr-2

Garrus Vakarian

'We've got confirmed reports that Commander Shepard and Admiral Anderson have both reached the Citadel.' Garrus looked up to the speakers for a second, with his mouth gaping at the announcement. After a few seconds he shook his head and whispered 'Spirits' with what could only be described as a mixture of shock and relief. More determined than ever to get his calibrations done, and done right, he continued to work, thinking to himself, 'Is it even possible for Shepard to actually die?'

Normandy Sr-2

Jeff 'Joker' Moreau

'We've got confirmed reports that Commander Shepard and Admiral Anderson have both reached the Citadel.' Joker, who was busy piloting his favorite ship in the galaxy and fighting Reaper forces, hardly listened to Hackett's announcement until he heard Shepard's name. He put on one of the biggest smiles he'd ever had and looked over at EDI.

"Told you he'd save us all again EDI, time to pay up." He said with a grin.

EDI looked over at Joker. "Jeff, although I expressed my support for your casual gambling habits, I did not make any actual bets with you."

"I know EDI, but you said something about Shepard not being the hero this time." Joker explained.

EDI shook her head. "No, I simply stated the high improbability of one man saving all life in the galaxy three times."

Joker nodded. "Yeah, I know EDI, but you really shouldn't always believe statistics, especially when Shepard is involved."

EDI turned back to her controls. "I will keep that in mind, Jeff, now please blast that Reaper Destroyer to bits for me?"

"Yes ma'am!" Joker said enthusiastically while firing the Normandy's Thanix Cannon at a damaged Reaper Destroyer. The Destroyer exploded and Joker watched with satisfaction as another abomination blew to pieces in the dark void of space because of his ship. He then began moving the Normandy into its assigned defensive position around the Crucible.

Author's endnote: Aaaaand there it is, another chapter down! If anyone asks, yes I had to have Shepard save Tali's life again, it just feels right, and this way it almost makes you want to laugh a little. Wait, laughing in a time like this? You monster, I know, but just like Mass Effect there's going to be varying feelings throughout the story. One minute you think Shepard's dead forever, the next he's fighting the Illusive Man. One minute you think Tali could die from her injuries, the next your laughing at the implications of what actually saved her life. Anyway, just like before please follow, rate, review, bake me a cake, or whatever, and I hope to see you here for the next chapter! Who knows, maybe I'll actually get to the fight with the Illusive Man next chapter! Stay tuned!