Author's Note
Now that the Extended Cut is out, and my overall satisfaction with it, I have decided to make minor changes to the story to no longer take place following a alternate ending. This story now follows the Destroy-Live ending, with the only notable difference being that the Geth and EDI were not destroyed (ya, can't change that aspect and it messes with some future chapters.)
Another change is I have gone back and posted dates at the beginning of each chapter and whenever there is a leap of a day or two within a chapter. This is to make the passage of time a bit clearer and so I don't have to mention the time passage between chapters at some point in the story.
Another note I would like to address is the update schedule for this story. I plan to try and post a new chapter once a week. If I happen to write more then one chapter in a week I will still most likely continue to post one a week. This it to allow myself to get ahead in terms of completed chapters to allow for me to keep the 1-per-week schedule for some point in the future when I inevitably have less free time then a I do now.
Anyhow enough rambling, on to the story.
4/11/2210
Ria gazed out of the window as she drew closer to her destination, the small transport vessel that she and Laura booked passage on had exited the Charon Relay less than half a hour earlier. She glanced over at Laura, who sat in the seat to her left, the human dozing quietly as she had for the past few hours.
I probably should be trying to get some rest, given what we went through. How long has it even been since I last slept? Ria wondered. After the attack it hadn't taken long for the two to decide that they had to get the information about the attack to the council. Luckily most of the colonists had been unharmed in the attack and were grateful for their part in helping to drive off Cerberus. As a result they had agreed to help the quarian find passage to the Citadel.
Laura had insisted that she accompany her, with the rest of her fellow soldier having been killed she didn't even have a unit to return to. Besides, she had argued, she was the only other person who had heard the dying Cerberus agent's last words, and that Ria would need her testimony to convince the Council to listen to her claims.
Outside the window Ria caught a glimpse of gray and silver as the Citadel came into view, spinning lazily in orbit over the human homeworld. Looking at it one couldn't tell the Citadel had been badly damaged during the final days of the Reaper war, a result of the energy released by the Crucible. In the years following the war the now united races worked to rebuild the Citadel and the Mass Relays, to symbolize the unity and cooperation now found between them.
Construction had gone swiftly, mostly in part of the rachni and geth workers who could complete more in a day then what others could do in a week., the repairs finally being completed eight years after they began. Though repaired, the Citadel remained in orbit around Earth, since no clear way to move the Citadel to its original location in the Serpent Nebula had been determined. The newly reconstructed Citadel became to seat of power for the New Council, which had formed to include of quarian, geth, krogen, volus, elcor, and hanar representatives along with those that had made up the original council.
Ria nudged Laura to wake her as the ship moved in closer to the station and prepared to dock. "Wake up, we are here."
"Good," the marine yawned. "You think the council will listen to us?"
"They better. Lets hope they have become less dismissive since the war."
. . . . .
"What evidence do you have that proves the men who attacked Horizon were Cerberus agents, besides the words of one dying man?" asked the turian councilor, speaking over the confused jumble of questions the other councilors assaulted Ria with after she had finished her account.
"None besides what I've already said." Ria answered, shifting apprehensively where she stood.
"Which is inconclusive at best, its more likely they that they were simply a merc group." The turian answered, before she could open her mouth to speak.
"Agreed, we cannot take action simply on the dubious words of a dying man." the Human councilor agreed.
"You can't just sit there and ignore this! The colony was attacked by Cerberus, and they were there for a reason. They found something, a prothean relic; and we have no idea how dangerous it could be!" Laura shouted, her frustration apparent. "My entire deployment was decimated in this attack. Even if you won't believe it was Cerberus the people who did this are a threat."
"You forget your place, corporal; we have not yet recognized you to speak." warned the turian.
"She is however, correct in one regard." the salarian councilor broke in. "These attackers are indeed a concern, no matter their identity."
"Agreed." the quarian councilor said, speaking for the first time. "I recommend an investigation into this matter."
"An investigation, that's it?" Ria shouted. "Just like what was done with Saren twenty-eight years ago? Ignoring what I have said, just like you did with my father?"
"Calm yourself, Ria'Shepard nar Rannoch," The asari councilor said, cutting off the turian councilor before he could respond to Ria's accusations. "We have given you a fair hearing and are going to look into the matter as fully as we are able under the circumstances. In addition we will begin analysis of the data you recovered, to discover the identity and purpose of what was taken from the dig-site."
Ria dropped her head, realizing there was nothing more should could say on the matter.
Sensing the meeting had come to an end, the salarian councilor addressed Ria and Laura. "We thank you two for bringing this situation to the council's attention, you are free to go now."
Gaze still cast downward Ria bowed slightly, her fists shaking with frustration, before turning to leave. Behind her she could hear Laura's footsteps following close behind as they left the council chamber.
. . . . .
Even after they had left the council chamber sat silently for a long span of time, its occupants lost in thought. Finally the asari councilor spoke, breaking the silence. "They were right, you know. We cannot afford to ignore the possibility of Cerberus returning,"
The gruff voice of the krogen councilor grunted in agreement "Best course of action, it seems, is to send a spectre to discover the truth of matters."
"I will contact Spectre Alenko, he has more experience dealing with Cerberus than any of our other active agents. He would likely request assignment on this mission if we didn't choose him given his daughter's involvement in this matter." the turian agreed.
The asari councilor smiled, speaking again. "Councilors, a thought just occurred to me. Spectre Alenko is not our only agent who had family involved with this situation, someone who has even more experience with Cerberus than Alenko; and I think we can all agree there is no one better to take this mission."
. . . . .
Shepard gazed out over the city through the wide window, the streets beneath teaming with life as people went about their day to day life. A deep rumbling caught his attention, looking up as everything began shaking violently, the sky suddenly growing utterly dark. A deep reverberating sound shattered the air as shadowy shapes dropped slowly from the sky. Flashes of red light began to decimate everything in its path, the very earth split and torn asunder. Then the horrible red glow of their gaze fell on him, their thunderous sound almost resembling laughter. Crimson light streaked out, filling his vision as everything exploded around him. He found himself falling through blackness, the only sound now cries of terror and pain.
Suddenly he was on the ground, standing in a hellish war-torn landscape. He was now wearing battered and blood-soaked armor, a gun was clutched in his hands a he fought against seeming unlimited hosts of enemies. All around him soldiers of every race, one by one torn apart by twisted mockeries of organic life. Voices cried out to him from ahead, calling out his name. Running over a hill he could see Tali, Garrus, and all of his other friends fighting, surrounded by hundreds of the nightmarish swarms of enemies. He ran toward them as a massive black shape dropped down, a massive beam of light shot out to engulf them. The light filled his vision, their voices crying out his name before being cut silent.
Everything went utterly black, no-longer could any sound be heard. Suddenly a shadowy form began to take shape, a oily shadow somehow even darker than the utter black around it. The shadows took shape, forming an all-too-familiar form; utter dread taking him as two sets of golden eyes flared to life. From it came a voice louder than the loudest sound, filling with malice and utter-contempt. Fear and agony shot through him at every word it spoke, beginning to struggled as if to escape from unseen bonds. "You cannot escape us, Shepard"
Shepard bolted upright with a gasp, his heart hammering with such ferocity it felt as though it threatened to break free from his chest. He gasped for air, eyes darting for any sign of the attack he knew would fall upon him any second. Then remember where he was, that the Reapers were long gone, dead over twenty years past.
"Nightmare?" as soft voice asked from beside him. Tali was sitting up, reaching out with a uncovered hand to grasp his own.
"Yeah." Shepard whispered, his voice hollow. "It was of the Reapers, and the war... I watched as they attacked Earth, people dying all around me, all needing my help, but I couldn't save them." He trailed off, silent for a agonizingly long series of heartbeats before he found the strength to continue. "So much death and destruction, even now I can't escape it. Scars that not even time can ever truly heal."
"Shhhh" she murmured, cupping his cheek as her luminous eyes stared deep into his. "They can't hurt you anymore John, they're gone. You survived them,lived through what would have broken anyone else. You fought harder and did more than anyone else could, and survived to be able to experience the peace you helped create. Thanks to you the galaxy is free of the Reapers. Remember that no matter how dark the past remains, you have already conquered it."
A sense of peace and calm passed over him, the Reapers' shadows seeming to lift and fade away at her words. Leaning forward Shepard kissed her lightly on the lips as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling his lifemate closer to his side. "Here I am, the "great" Commander Shepard, needing to be comforted over a bad dream."
"How the mighty have fallen." the quarian teased as she drew in closer to him, savoring the warmth his body provided. "I will always be here for you, remember that." Tali murmured softly, slipping back into sleep.
Just as Shepard closed his eyes, a loud beeping shattered the quiet. Bolting upright once more, he rolled from the bed, grabbing his clothes from where they lay on the floor.
"John, is that?"
"The Council's emergency line, yes. They wouldn't contact me through it unless it was serious." Quickly pulling on his pants and a shirt, Shepard hurried out of the bedroom and into his office a the other end of the hall. Tali entered the room shortly after him, having slipped on a simple dress and her realk.
Moving to stand in front of the office's computer terminal, Shepard tapped a key on the holographic display before stepping back. The spectre waited impatiently as seconds crawled by before the image of the asari councilor appeared on the screen.
"Spectre Shepard." she replied in greeting.
"Councilor."
"I apologize for calling at this late hour, but a situation has come to light that could not wait."
"Must be serious if it couldn't wait until morning." Tali grumbled, annoyance clear in her voice.
"Admiral Tali'Shepard, I regret that I have to disturb you and your lifemate, but as I have stated; the matter could not wait." the councilor answered curtly, before she resumed addressing Shepard. "Yesterday we received reports that a prothean dig-site on the planet Horizon was attacked. While troubling we did not think much of it until more information was gathered. Earlier today we spoke with two survivors of the attack. One of whom was Corporal Alenko, who was part of the Alliance deployment to protect the site. The other was your daughter."
Shepard tensed at her words, having to use every ounce of his self control not to shout his next questions. "Is she hurt!? Where is she now?"
"She was unharmed and is currently on the citadel. However, her involvement in this matter is not the primary reason we have contacted you."
"Then what is?" He asked, growing annoyed with the roundabout way the asari was taking in approaching the topic.
"The identity of those behind the attack. Your daughter was able to question one of the men before he died. I believe it is best for you to hear what he said first-hand from the recording." the asari reached down and hit a key on her holographic display as she finished.
"Who are you, what are you after?" Shepard felt Tali grip his arm at hearing their daughters voice.
"It's too late for you. Once w-we have the Darkforge... No one... No one will be able to challenge us."
Shepard felt a chill run up his spine, an overwhelming sense of foreboding filling him as he heard his daughter ask her next question. "Who?"
"Cerberus." the man's words seemed the hang in the air longer than they should have, even after the recording fell silent.
"How?" Shepard finally asked. "We destroyed Cerberus over twenty years ago."
"It would appear that either the group was never completely destroyed and survived in secret all these years, or more likely has been reformed."
Shepard nodded in agreement "Either way Cerberus is a threat we can't take lightly. I volunteer to lead the a team to discover and stop whatever they're planning."
"This is exactly why you were contacted, Of all of our spectres, active or not, you have the most experience dealing with Cerberus than anyone else. I will be sending you all the relevant files of the dig-site and of any reports that could be connected to the attack. You will not be the only spectre assigned to this mission however. Spectre Alenko will be joining you,"
"It will be good to work with Kaidan again." He smiled.
"You will meet him at Arcturus Station in three days time. There you will link up with the ship and crew assigned to you for this mission, and travel to the citadel. The council is counting on you to deal with Cerberus before they can become a threat to galactic stability."
"Understood Councilor, Shepard out."
Shepard slipped into the chair at his desk as the call ended, a notice appearing on the screen as the files the councilor mentioned were transferred to his terminal. As focused as he was on reading the file, the spectre did not notice Tali slipping out of the room. She returned some time later, tapping him on the shoulder to get his attention before tossing him a pack loaded with equipment.
"You better look through that and make sure I didn't miss anything, we don't want to have to turn around and come back if we forgot something important." She said, setting a second similar pack at her feet.
He glanced between her and the bag, raising an eyebrow. "You're coming with? I wasn't aware you'd been invited." He asked playfully.
"Of course I'm coming, you big bosh'tet; was that even in question? I can't even imagine what would happen if I wasn't there watching your back." Tali smirked playfully, leaning forward to plant a kiss on his cheek. "Ria will be fine, I'm sure the council will try and make sure she does not get involved."
"Yeah, but knowing Ria... that's what I'm worried about."
. . . . .
Little could be seen in the dark, unlit room; the dim glow of a computer console being the only source of light. The room's only occupant was all but inadmissible in the gloom, his black and gray clothing melding him into the shadows.
"Report." came a voice from the console.
"The code-matrix has been recovered, but the other data was interrupted before the transfer could finish. It seems a young quarian on her pilgrimage named Ria'Shepard managed to gain access to the data."
"Ah yes, the adopted daughter of Commander Shepard. Where is she now?"
"She arrived on the Citadel earlier today. What should be done?"
There was a long pause before there was a reply. "The data miss Shepard recovered is only a secondary concern. Agents have already been dispatched to the Citadel for more pressing matters. However, as the data is at the same location, the possibility of recovering it should not be overlooked."
"Our agents on the Citadel might not be numerous enough to accomplish both goals."
The voice paused in thought before continuing, "I will put you in contact with mercenaries who would be willing to recover the data for us. That way if they fail we will not lose any more resources other than credits, which are easier to replace. Meanwhile I need you to go to omega and begin phase two of our plans. If the asset cannot be recovered there, then things become more...complicated. Do not fail me, Ghost."
"Understood."
The light of the console died as the call ended, plunging the room into complete darkness.