Thank you to Director57 for noticing I put Xaro'Den, not Daro'Xen. I knew I should have looked that up, but I was SO sure my dumbass had it right.
The Alliance ships Hackett provided had more than done their job, providing a damn near clear path for the shuttle to get to hangar ahead. After Cortez crashed landed the shuttle inside, Shepard rushed out, pistol in his right hand and left glowing blue with biotics. Garrus and EDI followed his lead, rushing behind him and taking cover against a crate near the shuttle. Gunfire had begun coming their way before the shuttle had landed, and continued as smoke began to block the vision of Shepard and his squad. "Garrus, pick off the hostiles on the second floor! EDI, flank to right! I'll try and keep their attention up the middle!"
Shepard's squad sounded their understanding, EDI taking off impossibly quick to the right, pillars and fuel tanks providing cover. Shepard threw one Cerberus soldier that had closed distance halfway across the hangar, and removed his assault rifle to begin firing. As always, Garrus was deadly accurate even with the smoke obscuring his vision, taking out two snipers and forcing another two to take cover. They made quick work of the soldiers on the ground, leaving only the two snipers up a ladder that were not giving them a shot. Shepard signaled for Garrus to keep his rifle aimed, and rushed up the ladder, EDI behind him. As soon as one of the snipers popped their head up to run, Shepard saw their head explode in a mass of helmet, blood, and skull. The other sniper tried a desperate charge, only to be lifted in the air by Shepard's biotics while EDI finished him off with a spray from her submachine gun.
A console was on the other side of a doorway, and EDI immediately went to work, typing away. "Hangar vent procedure in progress," she said, followed immediately by, "Disabled."
"Can you open the hangar doors!?"
"No. I can access their fighter launch controls." Down below, a ship rose from the ground. "Cerberus is aware their venting attempt failed. Reinforcements inbound!"
Shots immediately came their way, and Shepard and crew needed little effort to dispose of them. A larger squad attempted to stop them from reaching the rotation controls for the fighter, but they failed. Once the ship was facing the hangar doors, Shepard hurried down another ladder and launched the fighter, taking cover as it crashed into the doors, blew right through them, and imbedded deep into the station. There was no time to celebrate before a Cerberus heavy mech walked through the opening they had just created.
"Han'Gerrel's ships and the Geth have intercepted the Reaper force," Zaal'Koris informed Tali. "There are thirty Sovereign class capital ships, and another fifteen destroyers. Three other capital ships and five destroyers immediately broke away from the fighting and are heading towards Rannoch. They will be here in thirty minutes at the latest."
"Are our anti-aircraft weapons activated and functioning properly?" Tali asked. Koris nodded. "What about the shield generators?"
"Yes. Personnel is standing by and ready to activate at our command. We should probably tell them to activate now."
Tali shook her head. "Most the shields will only last twenty four hours, at most. Under heavy bombardment, they won't last more than twenty hours. Every minute counts. Tell them to activate, but not for another fifteen minutes. They only need five to fully charge."
"Are you sure," Koris asked.
"I spend weeks working on these shields. I know what I'm talking about." The words came out crueler than intended, but if the other Admiral was offended he did not act like it. Tali didn't particularly care at the moment. The moment was here, and all she could think about was the fight ahead. She had fought next to Shepard while they climbed side of the Presidium tower, the massive, ancient bulk of Sovereign looming ahead. She had been in the Collector Base when the human Reaper was destroying the platforms beneath them. She had watched as Shepard fought a Reaper destroyer on foot only weeks ago. Never had she felt so nervous, so scared, as she felt right now, in a bunker twenty yards underground, the large majority of the city's non combatants sitting thirty feet away, four hundred old men and women mixed with those too young to fight or crippled. Martin was among them, talking with other quarian children and somehow keeping a smile on his face. If the fight above ground went the Reapers' way, Tali, Koris, and the ten Quarian soldiers assigned to protect them were the only defense left for everyone else.
Tali's thoughts kept going back to the morning Shepard left. As hard as he tried to be the same confident leader he always was, there was no hiding the fear in his eyes, not from her. She knew him too well. Somehow, Shepard had managed to put on a brave face while saying goodbye to Martin, but the fear and uncertainty was there again when it was Tali's turn. There were no illusions in Tali's mind. She knew that there was a good chance she'd never see the man she loved again. If Shepard had to sacrifice himself to defeat the Reapers, he would. Whatever price he had to pay, he would. They were embracing each other as tightly as they could, when Tali pulled him off out of sight. She removed her mask not caring about the chances of getting sick, and kissed Shepard as passionately and lovingly as she could. If that had to be her last memory of seeing Shepard alive, then it was one she could live with, one she could remember fondly.
Martin laughed at something, the sound catching Tali's attention. There was no explaining how he was managing during all of this. Some ridiculous human characteristic that both he and his father had, she told herself. She thought about just what she would possibly do if Shepard did not come back. She did not know where Martin's mother was, had no idea how to get in contact with her. Not that she had any problem with having Martin in her life, but she had no right to keep the boy away from his mother. Tali shook her head, and cracked her knuckles. There was no time for all these thoughts right now. It was time to pay attention. Fifteen minutes had passed, and the shields would be activate now.
"That's the fucking human Reaper," Shepard gasped. "How is that even possible? I blew the Collector Base to smithereens."
"This does not appear to be the entire structure," EDI said. "Cerberus likely recovered as much as they were able to."
"Even more of a reason to stop these bastards here and now," Garrus chimed in.
They were disrupted from their thoughts by newly arrived Cerberus soldiers firing at them. On the narrow walkways crisscrossing beneath the hanging pieces of the human Reaper, there was little cover, and what cover their was provided little protection. Shepard shouted at Garrus and EDI to move forward, and they bulldozed their way forward, Shepard flinging bodies with his biotics off the walkways while EDI and Garrus fired unrelenting, forcing the Cerberus soldiers on the defensive. They steadily forced the enemies back, climbing up the ladders that brought them to walkways higher up.
When the flow of enemies finally stopped, Shepard looked to his right and noticed what appeared to be the "heart" of the human Reaper. Memories of the Collector Base came flooding back, of the tubes filled with the grey, processed remains of the tens of thousands of humans the altered Protheans had abducted. The soft sound of a body dropping onto the metal walkway barely registered to his hearing, followed by shouts from both Garrus and EDI warning Shepard of the approaching enemy. Shepard turned to face the Phantom, too late. A sword flashed in his vision, taking down his shields when it struck. Another swipe, and Shepard felt the sword dig past his armor into his flesh. Shepard fell backwards, and the Phantom lifted its sword to deliver a fatal blow. It never received that chance, a plasma burst setting the Phantom afire shortly before its head burst apart, splashes of crimson hitting Shepard's helmet and armor. Garrus offered his hand, and Shepard used it to pull himself up. "Let's move."
"Heavy fire at Outpost Harzel!" Koris said. "Outposts Vari and Land also reporting hostiles."
"Have the fleets provide cover!" Tali ordered. "Get reinforcements to Harzel now, our largest shield generator is located there!" Koris relayed the orders, desperation in his voice. That would be the last time she did not relay an order herself, Tali promised.
The Reapers had come into contact with the fleets protecting the space around Rannoch an hour and a half ago, the space battle only lasting an hour and costing both sides minimal casualties. The Geth had managed to take down two capital ships and a destroyer, while the Quarian fleet took down a capital ship themselves. Unfortunately, it had been at the cost of a third of their own strength. The Reapers had begun landing on Rannoch fifteen minutes ago, and were already inflicting heavy damage The shields were holding in the important locations so far, but Reaper ground forces were proving to be overwhelming.
"Tali, Zaal, Reaper ground forces are advancing on our position!" Admiral Daro'Xen said over the radio being used to communicate from the bunker to the headquarters housing the other three Admirals. "We need reinforcements!"
This is too much, Tali thought. They have no chance in a fight, not with most of their strength helping take back Earth. For a brief moment, Tali shuddered at the thoughts of all those who would lose their lives today. "We will send who we can, but the majority of our reinforcements are needed to protect the generator at Outpost Harzel," Tali said over the radio.
"We will make due, those shields are our top priority," Raan said. "How about the other outposts?" That horrible sound the Reapers made was loud and clear over the radio, followed by the sound of a laser firing.
"Making contact with hostiles, but holding. Some have still not encountered any hostiles, but likely will very soon."
"Outpost Tikra reporting hostiles," Koris said, right on cue. Also serving seemingly as an answer, the bunker shook from an explosion.
"Raan, Xaro, Han, we cannot defeat the Reapers, do not even try. We just have to survive until Shepard uses the Crucible. Hold out as long as is safe, and then retreat to the bunker. We will dedicate all the manpower we have to escort you."
"Roger that, Tali."
Sparks flew from severed cables in the ground, a few feet away from where Shepard was crouching, firing his pistol as quickly as possible. He sent an incinerating blast at one of the Cerberus soldiers running his way, and he was glad to have the helmet blocking the smell of burning armor and flesh. There was no time to stand around, as Kai Leng was again coming Shepard's way. Garrus and EDI were crouching in one of the areas where Leng had collapsed the ground, exposing the cables underneath. Leng was seemingly ignoring them, the assassin's focus entirely on Shepard. The Spectre would not have preferred it any other way.
Disposing of the second Cerberus soldier running his way with a biotic throw that slammed him into the wall, Shepard ran towards Leng, ducking under the sword slash aimed at his head. Leng's strikes were fast, precise, against anyone else they would likely find their mark. Not against Shepard, not now, not when the Prothean VI was right here, and Cerberus's demise was moments away. After dodging four slashes of the sword, Shepard delivered a punch to Leng's chest, sending the assassin in the air. He landed on his back a few feet away, and Shepard could see the fear on his face for the first time. Leng tried to run, only to find Garrus and EDI waiting for him, shooting his way. The assassin dove into cover, trying to regenerate his shields, but he was cornered now, with no backup. He dodged an incineration blast that came his way, and began running towards Garrus, the nearest to him. Shepard intercepted him, tackling Leng from the side and throwing him into the wall. Unloading his pistol in Leng's direction, Shepard watched with satisfaction as the last two shots produced spurts of crimson. Leng's mouth hung open as he slumped over.
Shepard hurried over to the terminal in the room, typing away furiously to bring the Prothean VI back. The soft clink of metal on metal came from behind, and he knew immediately what was about to happen. Continuing to work on the terminal, Shepard readied the VI. Before he finished, he heard as footsteps stopped behind him. The sword never reached its target, shattered into two when Shepard swung his arm with all his might and made contact with the gauntlets of his armor. Shepard's omniblade easily penetrated Leng's armor. He watched silently as the assassin let out his last few breaths, and died.
"Shields are down at Outposts Gral and Bikrun!" Koris shouted. "Enemies advancing on Outpost Tikra!"
"Damn it, get everyone left from Gral and Bikrun to Tikra, now!" Tali shouted back. Turning back to her own communicator, she relayed orders to those left from Outpost Harzel, telling them to hurry to the headquarters where the other three Admirals were still holding out. The Reapers had been systematic and brutal, their attacks accurately pinpointing everything the quarian and geth forces needed to hold. Only three hours into the fight, half the shield generators had been destroyed, all but five AA guns were useless, and half their outposts were abandoned, with the other half facing more and more opposition with every passing minute.
I have to hold on, Tali told herself. This was the moment where one proved their courage, when it was hardest to be so. The civilians in the bunker were deathly quiet, except for those who were crying. Tali noticed that Martin's face had gone pale, though he was trying his hardest to be brave himself. Luckily, the Reapers still seemed clueless as to the existence of their bunker and the other two bunkers where civilians were being kept. That would change if they could not at least slow down the Reaper ground forces. A loud knock on the massive metal doors that served as the bunker entrance startled everyone in the bunker, and made a few people gasp out in fright. Two of the guards called out the challenge, and were promptly answered with the proper password. They pulled the doors open, the creaking of the hinges echoing throughout the structure.
Three soldiers hurried inside and helped close the door afterwards. They rushed to Tali and Koris. "A group of twenty Cannibals is moving through the streets, with three Marauders at their head," a quarian in a red and blue exosuit, Len'Narto, reported. "No sign of any Reapers themselves. These are likely scouts."
"We must send a squad to meet them, they cannot discover this bunker!" Koris shouted in panic.
"No," Tali said calmly. "That will only attract attention. Right now they are looking for something important, they don't actually know if anything is here. If we engage them, they will know those soldiers were protecting something and we will have to deal with a hell of a lot more Reaper soldiers, and maybe a Reaper itself." Koris opened his mouth to continue, but Tali turned to Len and continued speaking. "Keep an eye out, but stay hidden. Do not engage the enemy unless your life depends on it." Len nodded, and led his squad back outside.
"Tali, we cannot risk them finding this bunker!" Koris said.
"Having our soldiers fight them only makes it more likely they find us, Zaal," Tali said as she walked back over to the communication equipment. "Trust me, I know how to fight Reapers."
For the first time in two days, Shepard was able to sit back and relax. Unfortunately, that only left him with time to think, and thinking was not helping him. Garrus, Ashley, Liara, even James had come up to his cabin at various points, all noticing Shepard's melancholy attitude and trying to cheer him up. He had calmly explained to all of them that he was fine, that he was only melancholy because of the downtime before they reached the Charon Relay. He was ready to end this war. The Crucible was ready, the Catalyst, or rather the Citadel, had been moved to Earth and was being used for some reason. Win or lose, the war would end in the next few hours.
Shepard thought about the revelation that the Citadel was the Catalyst. It would be a surprise if the Citadel had not already been proven to be nothing more than a death trap the Reapers had invented to corral the galaxy like sheep into a pen. It was only fitting that it would be the tool used to end the Reapers. The problem was getting on board. Another knock on the cabin door told Shepard yet another visitor was coming to cheer him up. "Come in," he said reluctantly.
Of all the people he thought might walk through the door, Javik was absolutely the last. "There are rumors that you are not fully focused ahead of this battle. No decision was reached on who should come talk to you. I decided to do it while they continue to bicker."
"Javik, there is nothing I need to be talked to about. I'm preparing myself mentally for the fight. It's not unusual for me, and I don't understand why everyone seems to think it is."
Javik showed no emotion, or if he was Shepard couldn't tell. "I have fought in many battles in my life. I was frozen so I could lead my people to victory in the future. I am an exemplary fighter amongst a species renown for fighting. Yet I have never seen a fighter like you. You have an ability to lead, an ability to inspire, that I have never seen. My people would not have lost our fight if we had you on our side. The galaxy you fight for will likely never understand how important you are."
"Why are you telling me this?" Shepard asked.
"Because I see the hesitation in your eyes. I see the fear. I see the longing for your mate, for your son. You must push such thoughts to the side. If you insist on keeping them, use them for nothing other than motivation. You have a chance to succeed where my people failed. You must do whatever is necessary to kill the Reapers."
Shepard said nothing, staring at the Prothean. Without another word, Javik left the cabin. Joker came over the ship intercom moments later, announcing that the fleets had all assembled, and the attack was ready to begin. Shepard breathed deep, and left to go arm and armor himself for the fight ahead.
Tali jumped, despite the explosion that shook the bunker being just one of many in the last fifteen minutes. All communication traffic had been quiet for nearly fifteen minutes now, and she had been sitting nearby, waiting for the next round of status updates to come in. The emergency lights in the bunker had come on about thirty minutes ago, after the main lights went out immediately following an earth shaking explosion. With no action, she was left to wonder where Shepard was, whether the battle for Earth had begun or not. Thinking over the Reapers' progress so far, and the manpower and capabilities left to their defense, it would likely be a matter of an hour or two before they could do nothing but hide and wait.
Tali found herself standing and walking over to Martin. For the first time, the boy appeared frightened. If Tali could see her face, she'd probably appear the same way. She forced herself to sound positive as she sat down next to the boy and said, "If only your father was here. He'd probably destroy all these Reaper ships by jumping in the air and kicking them." Martin laughed, as she hoped he would. "I know it's tough to stay positive right now, but nothing has happened so far that was not expected. We will be fine."
"How can you be so sure?" Martin asked. "Everyone else is so scared, even that other Admiral. What else can you do that you haven't done already?"
"We can hide, and wait. And I am sure we will be fine because I know your father will win."
"How can you know?"
Tali put one arm around Martin's shoulders, hugging him close. "Because you're father always wins. I have faith. You should always have faith in Commander John Shepard, because nothing but bad things happen to those who do not."
Martin rested his head on Tali's shoulder. "You're so optimistic. Is that why dad likes you? I would imagine that has to be one of the reasons."
"I don't know. I'll have to ask sometime," Tali said, laughing. "How about this Martin? You look tired. Go to sleep. I promise that when you wake up, the first thing you will see is me looking down at you, and the fight will be over. Okay?"
Martin did look very tired, and nodded. There were cots in the back, where a few others had already managed to go to sleep. Martin took an empty one, and his eyes closed immediately. Tali smiled, glad that she had been able to meet Shepard's son, and even happier that Shepard had chosen her and made the happiness she had felt over the past year possible. She quickly shook such thoughts from her head. She had just made a promise, and no bosh'tet Reaper was going to make her break her promise. With a newfound resolution, she marched back over to where Koris was standing. It was time to make sure they lived long enough to win this fight.
Action chapter! In case there's any confusion, all of this is happening at basically the same time. What will be left of Rannoch when Shepard uses the Crucible? Tune in next time to find out! As always, I appreciate any and all feedback.