Race to the Edge

by ZodiacBeast

John Shepard is a man shrouded in mystery. But with a possible appointment to the Spectres on the horizon he sees his chance to become something humanity has never had. In the dark corners of the galaxy a threat is rising the likes of which haven't been seen in 50,000 years. Can he stop the gathering darkness or will it once more succeed in swallowing the galaxy.

11. Chapter 11

I do not own Mass Effect

Warning: Strong Language and Adult Content

Chapter 11: The Skyllian Blitz

For as great a tragedy as the Skyllian Blitz was, there was one silver lining to come out of the event. The attack, and defense of the colony, gave humanity the first great spark in what would eventually become a beacon of hope for the human race. A Shepard to guide humanity from the shadows in the years to come.

The Skyllian Blitz marked the first in a long line of service related medals John Shepard would receive over the course of his life in the Alliance. His ability to take charge of the defending forces, as well as his fearsome skill on the battlefield, earned him the prestigious Star of Terra. One of the highest honors bestowed upon Alliance officers. Shepard's teammates, however, would receive their own accommodations, though these achievements were marred by…

"Life and Legend; Commander John Shepard", By Rania T'Vera. 2197.

-Line Break-

One would think spending the day fighting for your life would make time slow down. Make every minute seem like an hour. In reality, it's the opposite. The time seems to fly by. Thus, six-hours had passed in the blink of an eye. The momentum swung like the tip of a pendulum. The raiders would advance, forcing the Alliance forces to fall back, one block at a time. Then the momentum would shift. They would get reinforcements or manage to pick enough raiders off on the retreat to push forwards again.

He had been hearing rumors passed on to him every time he added a few more members to his fighting force that his fellow N7's were doing their jobs. Steve and Jake had done a good job handling the fight a few blocks over. So well in fact that they had managed to set up a wall of cars to use as a barrier. There was still a small squad over their but at this point it was target practice. They had moved on when they had gotten an SOS call from another part of the city being overrun.

Alex and Taylor had set up a defensible circle in the middle of the colony. Children, mothers, and those too old to fight were bring crammed into small shelters in the middle of the fort. Meanwhile anyone old enough that wasn't taking care of a kid was taking up weapons to either defend the fort or come out and reinforce the defense forces.

That had been the real turning point that had allowed them to hold out for as long as they had. The people of the colony were fighters. They knew what they were getting in to when they signed up to colonize new worlds for the Alliance. Nearly all of them had some kind of firearm they kept in case of emergencies and had some kind of experience with it. From what he had gathered from a few he had spoken to briefly, the colony ever offered firearms training to anyone interested.

Meanwhile, with everything that was going down inside the colony, the air above them wasn't any less chaotic. The Alliance ships that had been posted to protect the colony had been in the midst of an all-out aerial battle. Even if they were only holding back a fraction of the raiding parties, it gave them that much more of a chance of making it through this.

But, as previously mentioned, this battle was like a pendulum. And, unfortunately, the momentum was about to swing once again. And this time it would not be in their favor. The stream of raiders increased once again. This time by a much more significant amount than any point before. If Shepard has to guess, he was say a couple ships made it through their aerial defenses. It was time for another retreat.

Raising his voice just loud enough so his squad could hear him, he gave yet another command to fall back. He had a squad of twenty-one people by this time. By the looks of things, only six or seven were part of the defense force. The others were civilians who were, surprisingly, doing a pretty good job staying alive. The movement was simple, the majority of the squad would fall back a block while Shepard and a few of the soldiers stayed behind to lay down covering fire. Then, those that had already fallen back would lay down fire of their own to give the rest of them time to catch up. This process repeated itself again and again until they had either taken out enough enemy forces that Shepard felt confident calling for a change in strategy, or they made it to the center of the colony. If that were to happen they would either need to stand strong with some additional firepower coming from behind the fort or find a way to the other side where they could pick them off much easier. Thus far, it had not had to come to that. However, looking at the continuous stream of enemy forces pouring down the street, he guessed that time was coming.

"Hey, get on the fucking comm and get us some damn backup. We might even need on of the other N7's back here", he yelled to the soldier next to him. "Tell them to meet us at the fort in the center of the colony. We got a massive wave that's going to push us right back to them."

He saw a nod of confirmation before he was putting up his Biotic Barrier and rising out of cover to gun down another pair of Batarians that were getting much too close. A minute passed, and he heard the shrill sound of a whistle that signaled the first group was in position and it was time for them to fall back. He waited a second to collect his breathing before he gave a loud yell and they were off. This wasn't time for a jog or half-assed sprint. This was the time to haul ass and find a gear within yourself that you didn't think existed.

Again and again this process repeated itself. Both sides were sustaining casualties. The invading forces were slowly getting whittled down, though not enough to turn the tides. Meanwhile Shepard's squad had been cut in half. Of the twenty-one people he had, only 9 remained. The good news was they were within the striking range of the fort.

Looking upon it for the first time, he had to be impressed. They had taken various vehicles and broken scraps of metal they had found and fashioned a true fortress. They would be safe behind those walls to turn the tides of this battle. Twice more they retreated. At this point it was Shepard and one other person he didn't know the name of laying down covering fire for the other seven to fall back. The only good news was, seeing their fellow raiders get gunned down in front of them had slowed down the ones still remaining.

Finally, they could go no further. They were pinned back against the walls and knew they had to wait for a way to get back there. That way came minutes later. The fire coming from above them intensified, causing the advancing raiders to stop and dive for cover. At that time a series of ropes descended. The answer was obvious. If they wanted to be safe, they would have to climb for it. Three at a time he dismissed his squad up the ropes while he and whoever else was left continued their work on the ground. Some made it, others didn't. Gunned down while they were making their way up the ropes. Finally, it was just Shepard. Above him, he could hear Jake above him yelling for him. Where the hell he came from, he had no idea. His biotics were back. He had enough to produce a barrier that should be more than enough to get him up the ropes to safety. From there he could rest for a minute before he would have to rejoin the fight in another area. He still had no idea what was going on with the rest of the squad.

However, just as he was about to activate his barrier and make a run for it, he caught sight of movement out of the corner of his eye. And not the movement he had become familiar with. Turning, he saw a mother and her young child making a dash from a deserted building across the street to the fort. She must have stayed put or been on the outer edges of the colony when they had been gathering people to the center. Likely too scared to risk moving until she heard the gunfire getting too close. The woman appeared to be in her late twenties to early thirties while the child looked to be around 4 or 5. Shepard knew how slim the odds were that they would make it and he was right.

They were about twenty yards away when it happened. A hail of bullets came flying in their direction. At least three shots tore into the woman's back. She gave out half a strangled cry before she fell, dragging her child, whose hand was still clutched in hers, down to the ground. She was likely dead by the time she hit the ground. Probably wasn't a bad idea that she had taken her kid down with her. He might have gotten hurt otherwise.

And suddenly Shepard was left with a choice. He could turn around, climb up those ropes, and add that kid to the number of people he had watched die. Or, he could do the heroic, honorable thing that he usually tried to stay away from, and risk his life to rescue the kid. And suddenly, all those survival instincts that he had had engraved into his over the years were muted. He was on his feet and sprinting for the kid, Jake's voice echoing behind him. It didn't take long for his brain to catch up to his decision. And when it did, there was only one thing it was thinking.

'I'm a fucking moron'.

He could feel the shots whizzing through the air around him. Most were missing, though there were some that made contact. He could feel them binging off the barrier he had created. It was perhaps the longest 5 second sprint of his life, but he managed to reach the now crying child, sliding into the space next to him. One quick look confirmed the mortality of the mother's injuries, though he wasn't sure the child quite understood that. He kept shaking his mother's shoulders, whose glossy eyes stared at nothing. But he had no time to explain it to the child, nor did he have time to comfort the grieving child after he did so.

His barrier had taken significant damage from the mad dash he had made. It would take about a minute before his biotics had recovered enough to create another and there was no way he would survive the return trip without it. While he was thinking, he failed to notice the advancing raiders until one jumped on to a nearby car and trained its gun at him. Before he could pull the trigger, another shot rang out followed by the head of his would be killer exploding, followed by the body crumpling to the ground. Eyes following the shot, Shepard saw Jake and a small squad of soldiers had leapt from the wall and were working to beat back the enemy forces enough to give him a chance. Noticing the attention had shifted, Shepard checked his shields before grabbing the cowering toddler and making his move.

Even with the distraction, his shields did not last him back to the wall. He felt two shots penetrate his armor, on to the right shoulder and another to the same thigh. He felt the burn of his wounds but did his best to put it to the back of his mind, fighting through until he was back at the wall. Calling on his biotics, he used a modified version of a simple lift in order to throw the child over the fifteen-foot wall, where a fellow soldier caught it at the top before disappearing behind it.

"Shepard", he heard Jake call to him. Throwing the child had been a big effort and he had crumpled right afterwards. The lack of rest, not to mention the two injuries he had sustained had drained a lot of his strength. He felt his fellow N7 fragging his back behind a car. Not that it would matter. They needed to get inside the fort, but there was no way he would be able to make it up the wall. His shoulder was numbing and all the strength in his right leg was gone.

"We're not going to make it if we stay down here", he yelled back. "Get your squad back over it. I might be able to hang on long enough if you give me some support."

"No way Shep", the man responded. "Your hurt, which means I'm in charge now. We're going to attach one of the ropes to you so the people on the other side can pull you over."

He tried to argue, but the blood loss was making it very difficult. He had run out of Medi-gel hours ago, so had nothing to patch up the wounds. The world was growing darker when he felt the ropes being tied around his torso. The next minute he was being hauled into the air, and pained gasp coming with it. Finally, he reached the top and pushed himself over. There was a ladder waiting on the other side for him to climb down before he was being dragged to a medic. He was safely behind the walls, but it was only a matter of time before he would need to lead another advance.

-Line Break-

(Normandy)

"And that's what it was like being on the ground during the Skyllian Blitz", he concluded. He wasn't sure how long he had been talking, but he had gone through multiple refills if that was any indication. The following minute was faced with silence. No doubt they were unsure how to proceed after what they had heard. He wondered who it was that would break the silence. The answer turned out to be a certain Quarian.

"What happened after that commander?" She asked.

"The Alliance reinforcements finally arrived about an hour later", he responded. "They quickly turned the tide in the air. After that the raiders on the ground figured out they'd better split, quick. A lot got away, some didn't. I spent the next couple weeks recovering."

"What about the other N7's", Garrus asked. "What ended up happening to them."

Shepard was quiet for a moment. He had not seen the fates of his fellow N7's but he had heard the stories from those who had. There was no doubt they had performed admirably and saved thousands of lives with their actions, Jake had even saved his own. But, the thing about being selfless, it usually catches up with you.

"Well, I wasn't there so I can't tell you exactly what happened", he finally said. "But, out of the other five graduates I was there with, only one person was left besides me."

Again, silence reigned as they took the news in. As skilled as the n7's were, and they had Shepard's word that they were skilled, four of them had died that day. Ashley was familiar with the incident and had done some digging after being assigned to Shepard crew, so she knew they had died. But the records were classified as to who died or how many.

"How'd they die", she finally asked. Voice slightly shaky for reasons unknown to her.

"Jake died seconds after saving me and getting me over the wall", he replied. Apparently he was almost over when a raider got a good shot in. Right to the head, never stood a chance. As for Taylor, Alex, and Steve. They led a support group to try to retake the ground we had lost. Did a good job of it too until they ran head-first into an ambush. Taylor got shot but was still alive so Alex ran in to go rescue her. Wasn't careful enough, he ended up dying next to her. I think that's what he might have wanted. After he died Steven went nuts. Ran head first into the fight, ended up pushing them all the way back and out of the city before they Alliance reinforcements landed. He actually made it, though I don't think he wanted to."

"Why's that", Liara could not help but ask.

"Personal shit", he replied. "Lost his brother and the girl he'd been in love with at the same time. After that, not sure he cared whether he lived or not."

"Wait, I thought you said Taylor was with his brother", Kaiden asked. "Steve liked her too?"

"Yea", Shepard said. "What can I say? When you get a group of people spending a ton of time together over an extended period, shit gets messy. Especially when there's only one girl."

There was another awkward moment of silence. During which, Shepard was more than content to simply sit back and nurse his drink. Finally, Wrex was the one to break the silence.

"What about that quite kid", he asked. "The sniper?"

"Dylan? He managed to do a lot of damage from the sniper post he had set up. Eventually he got overrun. A raider group figured out his position and sent a squad to take him out. He was cornered, no way out. Managed to do a lot of damage before they finally took him out."

It had taken the Alliance two days to find Dylan's body. He had found himself a good, concealed post to do some damage. All three N7's that had died in the colony had been honored in the monument that had been built a year later, honoring all those who had fought and died to defend the colony.

That battle had also marked the first award he would see as a member of the Alliance. It had put him on the radar of the Alliance brass, something he had yet to get off of. Steven had been awarded the same honor, though he had gone on to have much less success. A string of disciplinary action had eventually ended his military career. Shepard had tried to keep an ear to the ground on him. He had heard that the man had become a mercenary with the Blue Suns. Though, judging by what Haliat had said, he would guess not anymore. He had likely already taken out his last remaining teammate from training.

"Well, if that's all for now, I think it's time for us to end this little meeting", Shepard declared. "You can take the rest of the day off. Get some rest, I'm expecting some news to come in tonight or tomorrow giving us our next mission. So, until then, enjoy your time off."

The room cleared out fairly quickly. Wrex was mumbling something about getting drunk in the hold. Liara was speaking to Tali about continuing her research in her quarters, while Ashley and Kaiden walked out together as well. The two marines had had a little too much to drink, judging by the way they were walking.

Having nothing better to do, Shepard decided to fill out his mission report for Anderson and Udina. He figured it was better to do it now, before Udina called and bitched at him for skipping his paperwork again. He had just about finished when he heard the door to his room open with a hiss. Expecting it to be Chakwas coming to yell at him for drinking on the job again, he turned towards the door with a retort already forming on his lips. However, it died before he could let it out due to the sight of the shy Asari standing in his doorway. She looked uncertain, so he nodded his acceptance at her entry, reassuring her enough to step in to the room enough for the door to shut behind her.

"Yes, Liara. How may I help you", he asked?

"I have been looking over the evidence you have collected regarding these 'Reapers'", she said. "However, there are some things I wanted to discuss with you. Seeing as you are the only person other than Saren to experience the Beacon first-hand."

"Sure", he responded. "I wanted to talk to you too. Seeing as you're the expert on past civilizations, specifically Protheans, there were some things I wanted to talk to you about. Why don't you go first?"

"Very well. Why were you so quick to accept the existence of something normally considered unbelievable? With nothing more than a threat and the memory of a Geth that was interpreted by a Quarian that you barely knew. Yet, you have staked so much on the belief of it. Why?"

Shepard paused to consider that. Because she was right, there still was no proof that these sentient machines existed. Or that Saren was going to bring them back to wipe out all life in the galaxy. Yet, whenever he considered the possibility, he was wrong, his mind simply rebelled at the thought. He knew they existed. Forget logic, forget evidence. He believed they were real because he couldn't not believe it.

"I think it's because of the Beacon", Shepard finally replied. "I may not be able to understand it, but on some level, I think it changed something in me. It imprinted this belief in me. So much so, that my mind rebels at the very belief that they might not be real. I think it might be the Prothean's way of ensuring their message would be heard and accepted. A backup in case things went wrong."

"I suppose it is possible", Liara conceded. "It would be like you witnessing an incredible event that no one else did, then having everyone tell you afterwards that it did not happen."

"Exactly", Shepard agreed. "I don't know if it was their attempt to ensure the message is accepted should they fall, and another civilization rise or what. All I know is what I feel. And unless we find some way to translate whatever message I received, we are always going to stumbling around in the dark. What concerns me is the way Saren is acting. If he got the same information I did, why does he seem to have such a better understanding of it?"

"He must have found some way to translate the message", Liara concluded. "Though I have no idea how he could have. The only way to translate a Prothean message is with a Prothean mind. Or, at least, someone that already had experience with a Prothean mind."

"Like the Reapers", Shepard commented. "If they really were the ones who wiped out the Protheans, they could have experience with a Prothean mind. All Saren would need at that point is to use one of the Asari's your mother has at her disposal as an intermediary. From the Reaper's mind to the Asari, then from the Asari to Saren."

"It is a good theory", Liara admitted. "Or, perhaps the Reapers were created with the knowledge of a Prothean mind. They were likely created by the Prothean's themselves. Just like the Geth were created by the Quarians, only they weren't able to escape like the Quarian's were."

"I'm not so sure about that", Shepard said, uncertainly. "At first, that's what I figured as well. The Reapers were a creation of the Protheans and eventually grew beyond their ability to control."

"So, what changed", Liara asked.

"What you said", he admitted. "About the galaxy being built on a cycle of mass extinctions. One civilization rises up before being wiped out. A pattern suggests common elements. Before knowledge of the Reapers, there was no connection between the Protheans and those who came before. But now…"

"We have a connection", Liara finished in awe. "If I understand what you are saying commander, the Protheans might not have been the first civilization the Reapers destroyed. This could be a remarkable breakthrough in our understanding of the past."

In spite of himself, Shepard couldn't help smiling a little. Really smiling. Not that smirk he always wore as a method of disguising his emotions. He just couldn't help it. She always seemed so dignified, if a little shy, in every other aspect of her life. But when she got talking about the Protheans or other past civilizations she lit up like a freaking Christmas tree. It was hypnotizing.

He vaguely recognized her saying goodbye and standing up to leave before his arm shot forwards. Fingers wrapping gently around her wrist to keep her in place. It couldn't have been enough to physically trap her in place, yet she stayed. He had no idea what it was, but ever since she had been in his head, he hadn't been able to get her out of it.

"Was there something else you needed from me, Commander?", She asked.

"Well, it's still early", he replied with a smile. "You could always stick around and keep me company."

"I suppose I could", she responded with a smile of her own. "However, there is also a new theory that I am looking forward to writing about."

Oh, he wanted her to stay. Despite her academic, good-girl attitude that she seemed to project, there was something mischievous in those eyes that intrigued him. He could probably get her to stay too. He had caught her several times stealing looks at him when she thought no one would notice. She was just as intrigued as he was. Still, if she was to stay, he wasn't sure he had the energy to take advantage of the situation.

So it was, with a regretful sigh, that he came to his decision. One he was sure he would kick himself for later.

"Unfortunately", he began, "as much as I wish I could ask you to stay, I'm still pretty beat from our last mission. Looks like you'll be getting some time to work on your new theory after all. However, I would love it if we could continue our discussion another time."

"Of course commander", Liara replied, a light blush coloring her cheeks purple. "I look forward to it. "

Not two minutes after she had left his room, the door hissing shut behind her, the commander was passed out on his bed. Even changing out of his clothes was too much effort, simply opting for striping himself of his shirt and pants, leaving him only in his boxers before passing out underneath the covers.

-Line Break-

He was still blinking the sleep out of his eyes when he walked through the door to the comm room several hours later. Joker has woken him minutes ago, letting him know that Anderson and Udina were contacting them. After a short stream of impressive cursing, Shepard had replied that he would be up in a moment.

"Alright Joker, I'm here", he announced. "Patch them through."

Seconds later the blue holographic forms of the human ambassador and long time military serviceman. Anderson looked friendly enough, but he oddly he always seemed to like Shepard. Strange, because he had never been given a reason to. Udina was also being his classic self. Stoic, unfriendly, whatever adjectives that can be used to describe your least favorite person.

"Shepard", Udina greeted, coldly. "We have some information for you. We have recently received word that one of our colonies, Feros, has gone dark in the Theseus system of the Attican Beta cluster. It may be Saren and his Geth."

"Or it may simply be some idiot knocking out their own communications and they're currently trying to restore it", Shepard commented, dryly. "Do you have any evidence that the Geth are involved?"

"Just before the colony went dark, they reported seeing strange ships in the sky", Anderson responded. "Even if it isn't the Geth, it could still be worth checking out."

"Alright, fine", Shepard said. "I'll take the Normandy over to investigate. I just hope your information is good."

Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait between chapters but college and real life continues to frustrate. Anyways, same deal as always. Continue to follow, favorite, and most importantly, comment. I want to hear from all you readers out there. Until next time, here's hoping that is not too far away, Thanks for reading. Have a great holiday season everyone.