Shepard's team had advanced through the ruins and were fighting in another vast courtyard riddled with natural trenches and ground deformations, they had been ambushed by Cannibals and a Brute supported by two reaperfied rachni that were pushing through an archway in front of them. Shepard had split his team in two separate squads; Garrus had taken Vega and Grunt with him on a flanking maneuver while Shepard had brought the rest up to a platform in an attempt to trap the Reapers in a kill zone. The Cannibals had been quickly and promptly taken care of, but the Brute pushed on through the gunfire supported by one of the rachni turrets who bombarded the platform and Shepard's squad. The other rachni bombarded Garrus' squad who was behind a large fallen column.

Shepard and his squad was bunkered down behind a low wall up on the platform; the wall wouldn't support them for much longer as the incoming rounds from the rachni was tearing away at the rock, and the hulking Brute was slowly moving through the courtyard towards the platform with intent on getting up there and killing the squad. The creature was almost impervious to the small arms fire from Garrus' squad and they were also unable to get enough rounds down range because of the second rachni engaging them.

Vega, seeing his friend and Commanding Officer under siege, dropped his Valkyrie-rifle on the ground and reached for his disposable missile launcher. With a flick of a switch he turned off the guidance system and dared the explosive rounds from the rachni. He aimed through the sights and gauged the Brutes advance and launched one of the missiles and darted back to cover when the explosive rounds came to close.

The missile sped through the courtyard, leaving a smoke trail, and it struck the Brute in the upper body. The high explosive warhead ripped apart the body and the large creature fell to the ground and made a guttural sound is it died on the path near the platform.

Vega exclaimed enthusiastic as he holstered the missile launcher and retrieved his rifle from the ground, "Yeah! That's how it's done!"

Garrus called into his mouthpiece, "The Brute is down, Shepard!"

"Roger, let's get these rachni as well!"

Grunt had reloaded his Striker and peered out of cover and fired at archway were the two rachni was located. His explosive slugs ripped apart the sac on the one that targeted the platform and the small creatures poured out. The injured rachni turned to the column and continued its relentless firing, prompting Grunt to head back to cover.

Grunt exclaimed, "We got their attention!"

Because of to the lull in the bombardment of the platform, Shepard's squad could now return fire again.

Shepard ordered his followers, "Let's take them out!"

The squad rose from cover and fired their weapons and unleashed biotics down the archway, both Shepard and Zaeed hurled grenades at the targets and the rachni was quickly overwhelmed. Garrus' squad quickly joined as well and the two rachni were duly killed. All enemies were down.

"Targets down!" Garrus called out.

Instead, Grunt continued fired several explosive slugs were the rachni had been, killing the small crawling creatures. He chuckled, "Now they're all dead."

"Sound off people!" Shepard ordered.

The squad reported in and with the exception of some burns and dented armor everyone was alright.

"Good, let's link up."

Shepard walked down the path with his squad and was soon joined by Garrus and the. They quickly reloaded their weapons.

Slowly and steady the ground began to vibrate, shaking the courtyard ever so lightly. A rumbling noise increased as it got closer to their location.

Vega said flustered, "Anybody hear that? It's a, um... It's a tremor, that's what it is... I'm fairly alarmed here."

The rumbling sound increased and the shocks became more violent as dust and gravel rained down from the overpass and walls. It wasn't as violent as those they had experienced in the catacombs and the squad could still remain on their feet.

"Yeah, Kalros is back," Garrus pointed out the obvious.

Shepard radioed, "Wrex, Kalros is on the move!"

"I know! We're close to your position, just worry about getting out of there right now."

"Any ideas?"

"It looks like there's a bridge up ahead, try and get to it. The bridge connects to a ceremonial monument leading out into the wasteland, we can pick you up there."

"Understood."

Vega asked incredulous, "Wait? What? We're going out into the dunes? Were this worm lives?"

Wrex countered casually, "Didn't say it was going to be easy."

Garrus chuckled, "Damn Krogan."

Suddenly Joker's voice cut into their radios, "Commander? We got a bit of a problem."

"What else is new?" Shepard asked sardonically.

Joker didn't sound optimistic, "A Reaper Destroyer got through the fleets and it just destroyed the cannon-base and is heading towards the battlefield. ETA is 5 minutes. Joker out."

Shepard sighed, "Copy that."

Shepard motioned for his team to follow and they began traversing the courtyard towards the archway.

Wrex pressed, "That means you've to move it Shepard!" By now Wrex had evidently dialed into the radio channel to the Normandy.

Liara said glum, "Dealing with the Reaper when we get there will be another matter entirely."

Wrex's voice was heard again, "Yeah, we got some ideas on that- What?"

The krogan stopped in mid-sentence and there was a slight moment of pause.

Eve chided, "Not now Wrex! The Commander has enough to worry about."

Shepard's team cleared the archway and headed into another courtyard.

Shepard leaned out from behind a wall and swept the courtyard through his weapon scope and asked, "What's going on?"

Wrex grunted, "Some crazy idea we can talk about later. Find the bridge and the ruins leading out of there and we'll pick you up."

Shepard assured, "We're on it Wrex."

The pause in combat gave Grunt a few moments to take in the scenery in front of him as they continued through the courtyard. He had never been at the City of the Ancients but had heard stories about it during his continued initiation rites for Clan Urdnot after he had left the Normandy. He had grown an interest in the krogan history, past the slanted views of Okeer and found it interesting.

Especially the wars.

Until taken in by Wrex he hadn't cared much about anything but violence. But now? The honor of commanding his own troops, Wrex's best unit, was unmatched.

He was the krogan future.

He had a purpose.

When he first set foot on Tuchanka he had considered the planet barely worth standing on. He couldn't understand how other krogan revered it as much as they did. But now he was proud of the planet which he called is home. And the Reapers were invading it. He could focus his rage on the invaders. There were a lot of good fights to come.

They found a passageway leading the bridge Wrex had mentioned. The squad passed two krogan statues under the overpass at the beginning of the bridge. They were now outside the City of the Ancients, the tall walls towered above them and the bridge led out to a giant ruin, a memorial for fallen krogan.

Shepard led them on to it, but sudden violent vibrations shook his team and the bridge.

Wrex called out over the radio net under duress, "Shepard! Kalros is moving under the dunes towards the bridge! Get down so we can get to the Shroud!"

Shepard stumbled but remained on his feet. "Yeah, we noticed that!"

Underneath the bridge the three Tomkah's sped by, the gunners in the two trailing vehicles fired the multi-barreled weapons at their rear.

From underneath the sand the giant back fins of 'the mother of all thresher maws' shot through the ground, shaking the immediate area violently. Kalros pushed on, chasing the krogan trucks, and passed through the bridge without much care, the sheer force of the giant creature broke the bridge in half creating a gap.

Shepard and his team watched in fear and astonishment on their part of the bridge.

Wrex shouted, "We're breaking of, we need to get away from her before we can pick you up!"

Mordin interjected worried, "Kalros' territorial instinct confirmed. Problematic!"

"She's not gonna get us!"

The trucks accelerated away and continued firing their weapons, but the explosive rounds didn't even make a dent on the giant creature's exposed back. The violent quakes subsided slightly as the trucks and Kalros got further away.

"Christ that thing is huge!" Shepard exclaimed as he watched the three trucks drive away through the ruins and the dunes below with Kalros trailing them. He had clearly underestimated the size of it.

Even Grunt was taken aback by the enormous sight of the 'mythological' beast.

Vega said in a low voice, "Now I'm kind of glad we're not in the truck."

"Things just keeps getting' better and better isn't, Shepard?" Garrus said sardonically.

Zaeed Exclaimed, "That's a big fucker, Shepard!"

"Let's not linger. We've to push on," Miranda urged taking in the enormity of what was happening.

Liara watched the as the back fins of the thresher maw disappeared past the memorial. She couldn't believe what she was seeing and she only muttered, "Goddess."

Wrex's voice was heard again, "Shepard go on ahead and we'll pick you up on the other side of the memorial ruins. We'll try and shake this thing and find you!"

"Copy," Shepard responded and pressed on over the bridge with the others. At the far end was the gap made by Kalros and they leaped of one edge to the other to get over the bridge.

Mordin had fear in his voice, "Thresher maw is getting closer!"

Wrex growled, "Tell me something I don't know!"

Shepard led his team past two giant krogan statues into the vast memorial structure. They passed through a passageway down a stair case into a courtyard surrounded by even larger krogan statues.

Mordin pointed out under hardship, "Metal in truck and excellent supplement for maw's diet."

Liara stated unamused, "This planet is one giant deathtrap."

Garrus chuckled, "And the thing is, I bet Wrex thinks this is exciting."

Miranda muttered, "Exciting is hardly the word I would choose."

Grunt growled, "And what is it not to enjoy? Big things to kill and violence. It can't get any better!"

The team cut through the courtyard as fast as they could and hurried up another flight of stairs coming up on a platform with a small obelisk-like pillar in the middle. The platform extended into a much larger platform of obelisks, krogan statues and fallen columns.

Arriving on the large platform of statues, Shepard's team was attacked by a group of Cannibals lead by Marauders.

Shepard called out, "Contact up front!"

The hostiles began open fire at their direction and everyone darted to cover behind the base structures of statues and pillars.

Grunt leaned out of cover with his Striker and fired several explosive slugs at a Marauder but the shields were still protecting it and the Marauder merely staggered from the hits. A tech attack from Miranda drained the creature's shields and Grunt fired several more slugs which duly killed the creature, and Grunt returned to cover to reload his powerful weapon.

Garrus said, "Looks like another shooting gallery. What was it you said James? Shooting fish in a barrel?"

Garrus fired his assault rifle in short controlled bursts at a Cannibal and killed the creature with a concussive micro-grenade from the underbarrel grenade launcher. He quickly switched targets and fired at a Marauder but only managed to drain the Reaper's shields before he had to turn to cover and reload his rifle.

"You got that one right, Scars!" James shouted back after killing a Cannibal with an explosive micro-grenade from his Valkyrie's underbarrel grenade launcher.

As part of their standard repertoire of attacks, Liara unleashed a singularity at a gaggle of two Cannibals and moments later the unstable dark energy matter detonated by a warp from Miranda.

On their right flank Shepard and Zaeed wasted no time and hurled a grenade each down range behind a base structure of a pillar, the grenades detonated and killed a Marauder. Retrieving their rifles the two soldiers fired in controlled bursts at whatever targets they saw popping up from behind cover.

Their earpieces came alive and Mordin's rapid voice was heard, "Shepard! Wrex busy driving! Are you still alive?"

A triangulated cross fire from Shepard, Zaeed and Garrus duly killed the last Marauder. The Cannibals were on their own.

"Yeah, we're alive. We encountered creatures inside the memorial," Shepard answered as he reloaded his rifle behind cover. "What about you?"

"Alarmed yet entertained. Kalros is quite persistent."

If it had been under different circumstances Shepard would have chuckled at Mordin's scientific mind, but he had other things to focus on.

From behind the statues and pillars a group of Husks emerged and rushed towards Shepard's team.

Garrus warned, "Watch it! Incoming Husks!"

Shepard's team spread out amongst the cover and counter-attacked the Husks with a combination of biotics and gunfire, the impressive volley of fire quickly negated the Husks.

Shepard turned his attention to the last remaining Cannibals on the platform. Focusing his fire at them he absentminded heard Wrex's and Wreav's voices bickering over the radio net to close the formation but Shepard didn't give the chatter any attention as he was pushing adrenaline through his body. He methodically fired in controlled bursts and reloaded his weapon before it overheated.

Zaeed killed the last remaining Cannibal with a concussive micro-grenade from his rifle's underbarrel grenade launcher.

"Target down!" Zaeed growled satisfied.

Silence spread over the platform and the only thing heard was the howling wind between the ruins.

"Clear?" Liara asked scanning the area in front.

"Possibly." Vega answered.

Shepard gestured for Zaeed to follow him and they moved slowly forward and cleared the pillars and structures where the last targets had been seen.

Shepard informed, "Yes, all clear."

Wrex growled, "Shepard! We've almost lost Kalros, get down from the memorial and we'll pick you up!"

Shepard ordered, "On me!"

The rest of the team acknowledged his orders and darted away from cover and quickly joined up. Shepard turned around and walked over to the edge of the memorial ruins, it was a small drop to the dunes below and he heard the big engines of the three trucks getting closer.

Around the corner of the memorial the convoy of three Tomkah's emerged and fanned out, providing cover with their cannons.

Wrex barked out orders, "Shepard, got over to the lead truck! Wreav, keep an eye out for that maw!"

Wreav growled, "Make it quick Wrex! We're exposed!"

Wrex drove the Tomkah closer to the platform as Shepard rushed out to it. Behind him the others dropped down from the platform and ran towards the truck. The hatch opened and Garrus was the first one inside. Shepard stopped by one of the large wheels with his rifle at the ready, scanning the platform they had come from.

Shepard gestured and shouted for the others to hurry, "Move it!"

One by one did the team crawl into the truck.

But Kalros was back. A violent tremor shook the ground and the surrounding ruins. It front of Wrex's truck sand, dirt and rocks erupted from underneath and moved at terrifying sped towards the convoy. A loud rumbling and high pitched wailing was heard. The beast's back fins shot through the ground past Wrex's truck and the beast's giant mouth consumed one of the trailing trucks in a whirlwind of sand.

Zaeed was the last one who ran past Shepard, "Fuck me! Did yew see that?"

Shepard growled, "Get in!" and followed the mercenary through the hatch and quickly discarded his rifle on the floor and turned around to lock the hatch behind them. Twisting the handle of the locking-mechanism counter-clockwise the hatch sealed them in.

Shepard barked to Wrex, "We're in, GO!"

Wrex pushed the throttle forward and sped away from the ruins towards the Shroud. The surviving Tomkah followed suit as the giant thresher maw focused its rage on the truck and tore it apart.

Eve asked from her seat, "What about the others?"

Wrex grunted as the Tomkah bounced across the dunes, "No way they survived that. And Wreav was in that Tomkah and he was always a pain in the ass anyway. Now let's finish this, there's a cure waiting to be delivered."

Kilometers away from the City of the Ancients the ground battle raged on. Despite Reaper reinforcements, the Krogan Horde had pushed through and cleared a path near the Shroud but had still not secured it. But for the moment the Reaper ground forces hadn't reached it either so both forces was at a stalemate fighting a ground battle not unlike the trench war of World War One.

The krogan had brought with them self-propelled howitzers which supported the offensive. The krogan fired the heavy rounds over the Horde at the enemies and pounded the ridgelines as the Horde pressed on. Human and turian fighter and strike fighters, assisted by UAVs as the krogan lacked any kind of forward observers, launched heavy air strikes against the Reaper ground units. Despite heavy anti-aircraft presence, the allied air strikes fared well, launching their stand-off missiles far away to minimize casualties.

After hundreds of kilometers of hard flying, the Destroyer touched down on the battlefield turning the tide for the Reaper ground forces. Its destructive main weapon fired relentlessly at the Horde which made it possible for the Reaper creatures to push through towards the Shroud. The smaller sized Reaper was more agile than its larger brethren and proceeded to attack the incoming air strikes with impunity and destroyed several human and turian fighters with its energy weapon. With the combined presence of anti-aircraft fire and the Destroyer, the human and turian fighters and strike fighters had to rethink their strategy.

The Destroyer turned around and began walking towards the Shroud and the ruins surrounding it in the distance.

Wrex snarled under his breath. He'd just been informed by his ground commander that the Reaper had arrived and attacked the Horde and effectively halted its advance. The Horde was now bogged down in fighting the enemy ground forces as they had gained the advantage after the Destroyer had landed.

He led the other Tomkah onto a path and took a right turn towards the vast courtyard just outside the ruins near the Shroud which was active and was constantly dispersing air particles.

Wrex said, "Shepard, the Reaper is here now. Moving towards the Shroud...and us."

"Oh great." Shepard murmured sardonically from his seat.

His team had easily fitted inside the large krogan truck and had taken a few minutes of respite since surviving the city of the ancients.

Liara pointed out dejected, "We don't have a plan for this."

Vega agreed from his seat, "I hope someone has a plan B."

But Shepard hadn't. The fleet was tied up in fighting the Reapers in space, hopefully ensuring that no other landed near the Shroud. Now that would be disastrous. The only thing he could come up with was to redirect air strikes against the Destroyer.

The Tomkah quickly came to a halt.

"We're here." Wrex informed and removed the driver seat's military style seat belt, with seat and shoulder straps that meet in a buckle with a rotating release. He rose up to exit the vehicle.

Shepard's team, Wrex, Eve and Mordin exited the Tomkah and gathered nearby. The krogan driver and the gunner remained inside the truck. The second Tomkah drove up and stopped behind Wrex's, a small group of six heavily armed krogan exited. Shepard noted that Grunt walked up to them and they greeted each other.

Garrus sighed as he glanced at the ruins, "I know we've beaten the odds before..." He turned to Shepard, "But now I'm not so sure."

In the distance they heard the harrowing electronic noises emitted from the Reaper.

Wrex thundered and turned to Shepard and Garrus, "We're not back out now this close. We're curing the genophage no matter what. Everything my people will ever be depends on it."

Shepard said, "Alright then. We need to call down air support to get rid of that Reaper, because that's all I can come up with. The fleet is busy keeping the rest of the Reapers at bay."

Wrex gestured at Eve, "Eve came up with a plan actually. It's crazy!"

From the other Tomkah, Grunt and the four other krogan walked over to the main group.

Shepard glanced at Eve, "So what is the plan?"

"We summon Kalros to the Reaper."

"The gian' sandwawm that tried ter eat us?" Zaeed asked dubious.

"Will that even work?" Shepard asked curious.

Mordin chimed in rapidly, "Strategy already formulated Shepard. The Reaper needs to be distracted from the tower while cure synthesized. Released."

Eve nodded, "Legends say she's the mother who all thresher maws are spawned from. Tuchanka is as much her home as it is ours. She'll defend it."

"If Tuchanka has a temper, Kalros is it. Nobody's ever faced her and survived the encounter."

"I know we've done some crazy stuff in the past, but this tops most if not all." Shepard said apprehensive. Getting mixed up with a Reaper and a giant thresher maw this close didn't seem like a recipe for survival.

"And going head-to-head with Sovereign wasn't?" Wrex challenged.

"For most of that he was outside the Citadel tower while we were inside it," Garrus pointed out.

Wrex gestured and asserted, "This is the only way to get to the Shroud and release the cure. There's no other choice."

"I'm still not sure how we summon Kalros." Shepard said and gauged the two krogan in front of him for an answer.

Eve explained, "The Shroud was built near this arena which is devoted to Kalros' glory." Eve gestured at the ruins on their left, "It was believed by the salarians that the mere presence of Kalros would scare intruders away."

Mordin nodded, "Evidently it appears to have worked." He turned around and walked a few meters away from the group and glanced at an entrance further down a slope. It was the laboratory facility which connected by an underground tunnel to the Shroud itself.

Eve continued in her calm demeanor, "There's a so called maw hammer, the largest in existence. Activate it and you'll summon Kalros. That should at the very least distract the Reaper."

"Just like my rite Shepard." Grunt said from behind. The young krogan of course referred to when they had summoned a thresher maw of their own to fight during his initiation with Clan Urdnot.

"We still need it destroyed. If it attacks the Shroud we're doomed." Shepard said and glanced at the giant tower in the distance. "I have no idea how much punishment that tower can take, but even one of these...small Reapers can pack a punch."

"Then we need air support." Garrus said. "If we're lucky and enough ordnance is dropped on it, the Reaper might go down."

Mordin turned and walked up to the group again, "Meanwhile I'll synthesize the cure. The laboratory is nearby."

Shepard turned to Grunt and his entourage, "And these guys are...?"

Grunt exclaimed proudly, "Members of Aralakh-company, part of my own personal squad. They're tough, think they're invincible, Reckless but effective. They fought the Husks in the Hollows when the clans tried to gain entrance."

Shepard nodded, extra firepower was always good, "If they're half the soldier you are we might get out of this one alive."

Grunt chuckled guttural and reached for his Striker.

The ominous noises of the Reaper crept closer.

Shepard turned to Wrex, "Okay. Let's do this right and make sure we all get out of here alive. This will be one hell of a story to tell."

Wrex cut in, "Shepard, wait." He took a step forward his friend and said honestly, "I want you to know, that no matter what happens here today you've been a champion to the krogan people, a friend of Clan Urdnot...and a brother to me." Wrex reached out and proudly shook Shepard's hand. "And to every future krogan born, they'll know that Shepard means hero."

Shepard was once again flustered by the praise from his krogan friend and was thankful for his helmet.

Wrex slapped Shepard on his armor clad shoulder and declared, "Now let's show them why!"

Mordin interjected, "Agreed. We've to hurry. Will take Eve to the laboratory and begin synthesizing the cure."

"Will you need backup?"

Mordin shook his head, "No Shepard. Move quicker if we're alone, plus there should be containment shields protecting us."

Mordin gestured down the slope to the entrance of the laboratory on the side of ruins.

Eve gave Mordin an acknowledging nod and the two walked down.

Shepard said as the salarian and krogan walked away, "See you on the other side Mordin."

"Stay alive Shepard, will have cure ready." Mordin informed as he and Eve continued down the slope. The salarian scientist checked his weapon.

Shepard and his team augmented by the krogan vaulted over a barricade and fanned out over a courtyard of barricades and broken columns, surrounded by krogan statues, ruins and an overpass above them.

Shepard radioed, "EDI, are you busy?"

The AI chimed in, "We're currently engaged in battle but I have processes ready to assist."

Christ, but with Joker at the helm they should be fine, hopefully, Shepard pondered before he said, "Connect me to the Armstrong."

"Right away Shepard. Stand by. Logging you out."

A few short moments later a woman's voice was heard, "Spectre 0-1, this is Overlord, send traffic."

"This is Commander Shepard, we're currently moving on foot towards the Shroud. The Reaper Destroyer is inbound and possible ground forces as well, we're in need of CAS."

Shepard and the others methodically cleared the courtyard and Shepard took cover behind a crumbled rock. The others set up defensive positions around the courtyard.

Behind the second planet orbiting the sun, Kanin, the 1092 meter long supercarrier SSV Neil Armstrong (CV-7) was positioned far from the battle. Human supercarriers were the size of dreadnoughts and were sleek and elongated in general shape but were not aerodynamically shaped like frigates because dreadnought-sized ships were so large that it was impossible to safely land them on a planet.

The carrier's CIC saw a flurry of activity as CIC technicians at their stations were busy running the air war on the planet and supporting the fleet battling in space.

A young Serviceman First Class CIC technician, a woman, informed, "Captain, our fighters took a severe pounding when that Destroyer landed, we're regrouping and rearming but it will take some time."

Behind her the commander of the Carrier Strike Wing, Captain Gertzen, walked by. A burly South African in his mid forties with a crew cut and donning a flight suit.

"What's going on, Serviceman?" Gertzen asked.

The Serviceman pressed a button on her interface and muted her mouthpiece, "Sir. Spectre 0-1 requests air support to the Shroud but all our fighters and strikers are heading back to re-arm."

Gertzen nodded, "Keep me posted."

He turned and quickly headed over to a row of computer terminals nearby staffed with UAV operators.

"Guys, get me eyes on the Shroud."

"Yes sir." One of the operators said and steered his unarmed recon UAV towards the target and zoomed in with its powerful cameras. Despite being kilometers up on the sky they received close up imagery of the Shroud and the ruins on a monitor. Down there somewhere was the Spectre and his small team.

Gertzen had been briefed earlier, along with the ship's commander and the rest of his staff, about the plan for the now ongoing battle. Rear Admiral Santini had pressed that all that mattered was releasing the cure and supporting Commander Shepard. Gertzen knew that if they failed, all the casualties they had taken in the battle would be for naught and an alliance between the humans and the turians and krogan would not happen.

On the monitor in front of him he saw the bulky mass of the Destroyer moving closer, it fired its main weapon at the Horde and it's vehicles as it traversed the battlefield. It was under a kilometer to the tower and if the Reapers managed to destroy the Shroud...

Gertzen didn't even want to contemplate that thought.

The Captain ordered, "Keep an eye on that Reaper and inform me if anything happens."

"Yes sir," the operator said.

Gertzen hastily turned back to the CIC technician communicating with Commander Shepard, "Who can respond to the CAS request?"

The Serviceman browsed the air-tasking order on her monitor, "Eh...Dragon 4-1, six F/A-60 Raptors sir, they are prepped and ready, on their way to Tuchanka but they're tasked to support the Horde."

Gertzen ordered, "We need air support, and we need it now. Roll in Dragon 4-1 on the Reaper target at the Shroud."

"Yes sir," the Serviceman responded and punched in a button to connect to the strike fighters. "Dragon 4-1, this is Overlord, stand-by for re-tasking, how copy?"

The pilot responded, "Overlord, this is Dragon 4-1, send traffic, over."

The Serviceman began navigating her computer and transferred mission information over the data-link, "Dragon 4-1, you are being re-tasked to support Spectre 0-1, this will be a danger close fire mission at Kill-Box One Alpha. Friendlies in the area. Contact Spectre 0-1 on approach. Engage Reaper."

"Overlord, Dragon 4-1 copies."

"Copy that Dragon 4-1," the Serviceman replied. She turned to face her Commanding Officer, "Sir, Dragon 4-1 is inbound."

"Have another strike ready to launch and patch me through to Spectre 0-1 on my earpiece."

The Serviceman pressed a button, "You're patched in sir."

"Commander, this Captain Gertzen, you've a flight of six that will support you. ETA..."

"ETA 10 minutes sir," the CIC technician quickly interjected.

"Dragon 4-1 will be on station in 10 minutes Commander."

Gertzen heard Shepard's stressed voice in his earpiece and gunfire in the background, "Copy. Thanks Captain. Shepard out."

In the ruins, Shepard's team had been ambushed by an advance group of Cannibals and Marauders which had infiltrated the ruins; they had pushed through the krogan lines and closed on the Shroud.

Shepard had darted over to cover as he had been talking with the Armstrong and was reloading his weapon. The incoming fire from the creatures had quickly overwhelmed them and they had all quickly scurried to cover trying to return the fire. Vega was behind the column as well and tried to peer out of cover and fire at the Cannibals but the heavy incoming fire forced the Lieutenant back behind cover as bullets rained down on their position.

Shepard glanced around the corner of the fallen column and saw Wrex and the other krogan on the far side of the courtyard near a ramp leading up to the overpass above them. It would be the perfect vantage point for an attack from above.

Shepard cried out into his mouthpiece, "Wrex, take your team up the ramp and attack the Reapers from upstairs!"

"Lucky for you I'm here to handle the Reapers, Shepard!" Wrex growled enthusiastically and ordered Grunt and the other krogan soldiers from Aralakh-company to follow him.

The eight krogan darted over to a fallen column and used it for cover as the Reaper creatures laid down suppressive fire along the part of the courtyard where Shepard and his allies were.

Vega leaned on the rock with his back and asked, "Commander, do you have a plan to get out of here?"

Shepard exclaimed deadpanned, "James, I'm a professional!"

"That's not a yes." Vega stated concerned.

"It's not a no either. I'm making this up as I go!"

Vega chuckled humorlessly, "That was what I was afraid off."

Vega pulled out a grenade from one of his pouches and threw it over his head, hoping it would cause some casualties on the side of the Reapers, but the grenade bounced of a wall and exploded harmlessly behind the creatures.

On top of the second floor of the overpass, Wrex and the Aralakh-company emerged with their weapons and fired down at the Reapers behind cover on the opposite side of the courtyard.

Wrex cried out as he fired his shotgun, "I AM URDNOT WREX AND THIS IS MY PLANET!"

The powerful rounds from the wide assortment of infantry weapons wielded by the krogan riddled the attacking creatures and stopped their attack on Shepard's team.

The pause in the attack from the Reapers gave Shepard's team a moment to counter attack and they emerged from behind cover spread over the courtyard and opened fire at the hostiles. With use of small arms fire, heavy weapons fire and biotics the Cannibals and Marauders was soon decimated.

Wrex looked down on Shepard, Garrus and Liara; his former team mates from their days in hunting Saren, and growled spiritedly, "That's why I love hanging out with you guys! Why shoot something once when you can shoot it 46 more times!"

Garrus chimed in tongue-in-cheek, "And that's the moment when the universe ran out of ammunition."

Shepard surveyed the courtyard; a collapsed wall on the opposite side blocked their way forward. They had to take the overpass to reach further into the arena and the maw hammer.

Shepard looked up and chuckled, "Good job. We're coming up, the way forward is blocked!"

"Got it!" Wrex called back.

Shepard was joined by the others and they headed towards the ramp.

Mordin chimed in and informed, "Shepard, we're in luck. The laboratory had the original genophage strain. Preparing the cure now."

Shepard acknowledged as he led his team up the ruin, "Hurry Mordin, we've engaged Reaper creatures and the Destroyer is getting closer."

"Understood. Dispersal of cure problematic if the Reaper isn't destroyed."

"Yeah, and we're on our way. There'll be an incoming air strike in..." Shepard glanced at his omni-tool and the chronograph, "6 minutes. Hopefully we can destroy the Reaper in a combined strike if Kalros fails."

With Shepard in the lead, his team and the krogan pressed on through the ruins and down another ramp which led into the vast devastated courtyard of crumbling pillars and raised platforms with ramps leading up and down adjacent platforms. In the distance was the shroud tower, and Wrex had explained that halfway there extended a platform on the far left were the controls for the maw hammer was situated on a raised square stone on the end of the platform.

The massive structure of the maw hammer itself was located out in the desert not far away from the arena. It resembled the tall spire which had called on the creatures during Grunt's own rite. Three towering spires encased a giant keystone on a large platform, and above it was the hammer itself, a long rod connected to a mechanism which would strike the keystone when activated and summon Kalros.

At least that's the plan, Shepard mused.

Entering the arena Shepard was hopeful as they were 150 meters from the controls.

The frightening noise from the Reaper crept closer and it towered above the ruins in the distance. Shepard could see it getting closer to the arena and the Shroud.

Liara gasped by the sight of the Destroyer, "By the Goddess, in front of us."

Vega sighed dejected, "Look at that, it's Earth all over again."

Shepard ordered, "Then we better hurry, on me people-!"

Gunfire from Reaper creatures stopped Shepard in mind-sentence as he instinctively ducked for cover when the rounds went above his head. Groups of about a dozen Cannibals and Marauders had converged on the arena and darted to cover behind columns and rocks which dotted the adjacent courtyard as they fired their weapons.

"Contact, take cover!" Garrus cried out and quickly took cover.

Shepard and the others fanned out and took cover across the crumbled columns and barricades in the courtyard below as the creatures continued their assault. Shepard and his allies peered out of cover and returned fire the best they could. In the distance Shepard saw two Brutes emerging as they charged the ruins behind the Cannibals and Marauders.

"They brought back-up, two Brutes incoming at our 12'o clock people!" Shepard called out.

Wrex growled from behind cover, "We need to push on Shepard, we've to reach that control!"

A gaggle of four Cannibals broke cover amid the suppressive fire from their brethren as well as from the Marauders. The group darted over to some columns nearby to try and flank Shepard and his allies. The huge Brutes pushed on despite being fired upon by Grunt and his Aralakh-members with their heavy weapons.

Shepard saw the moment of the Cannibals on their flank and barked out orders, "Grunt, I need heavy weapons on the left flank or they'll break through! Garrus, break out your Krysae! Zaeed I need you with your sniper rifle as well!"

Grunt turned to four of his squad-members and directed them two the left flank of the barricades were the large group had taken cover. Garrus and Zaeed did as they had been ordered and quickly retrieved their rifles to provide accurate marksman fire.

The rest of the shooters were directed to use their small arms, and biotics, to keep the enemies at bay and to neutralize as many as possible before anyone could push through to the hammer control, the kill zone in front of them was too dangerous to traverse.

Outside the arena the Destroyer stopped and turned its attention to the Shroud and folded away the large plates to expose its beam weapon. The Reaper fired its weapon at the mid-section of the Shroud, blowing away chunks of its structure but it was still standing strong and still functioning.

Shepard saw what was happening with the Shroud and was frightened. The tower couldn't be allowed to be destroyed. Shepard was about to break cover and run through the kill zone despite the large concentration of enemies to call on Kalros when a voice was heard in his earpiece.

"Spectre 0-1, this is Dragon 4-1. Six F/A-60's, ordnance to follow; four Rapier missiles and eight GBU-110 bombs per striker. We're on station and awaiting tasking"

Thank god! Shepard thought.

Shepard quickly remembered Vega's service record and that he had completed a five month air controller course and was qualified to direct virtually any combat fighter within use of the Citadel races against land targets.

Shepard ordered, "James! Talk to the pilots! They need to attack the Reaper!"

"You got it Shepard!" Vega responded from behind cover and dropped his weapon and accessed his omni-tool.

Six delta-winged, twin engine, two-seat, Alliance Navy F/A-60A Strike Raptor multi-role strike fighters flew high above the wastelands and raced closer to the Shroud. To the east of the Shroud was the battlefield and explosions could be seen on the ground as well as in the air.

The Weapon Systems Officer (WSO for short, pronounced 'wizzo') in the back of the lead strike fighter had his head down over his displays and was busy with setting up weapons and acquiring targets. In the strike fighter's internal weapons bay each strike fighter carried four AGM-229 Rapier stand-off missiles with unstable dark energy in the warheads and also eight GBU-110/B Viper Strike small-diameter precision guided bombs.

A distressed Vega was heard on the radio channel, "Dragon 4-1 this is Spectre 0-1. 9-line as follows; IP Alpha, 2-7-0 degrees, 10 kilometers from target. Target elevation 1-5-0 meters, target is a Reaper. Target location west of Shroud. Friendlies 300 meters west. Egress south."

The pilot responded, "Solid copy Spectre. Read-back; target elevation 1-5-0 meters, target is a Reaper and is located west of the Shroud. "

"Acknowledged. You're cleared hot!"

"Dragon 4-1, rolling in."

The weapons officer slewed the radar and the onboard targeting camera to the target. He glanced at the camera image of the Reaper on one of his displays and informed his pilot, "Weapons armed. Target acquired."

"Copy. Dragon flight, engage."

The six human strike fighters flew in a spread out formation and the pilots opened the weapons bay to expose their payload. The Rapier missiles were dropped a few meters below the strike fighters so the rocket engines could fire safely and accelerate the missiles away from the strike fighters at a tremendous speed towards the Reaper.

"1, weapon released."

"2, weapon released."

"3..."

Vega called out as he was receiving information from the strike fighters, "Shepard, missiles on their way, TOT 20 seconds!"

"Understood!"

Inside the arena the heavy fighting continued, the two Brutes had pushed through the courtyard below and had headed up the ramp. But a combination of weapons fire and biotics from the entrenched team behind the columns and barricades had managed to defeat the Brutes. The krogan on the left flank engaged the flanking Cannibals which were quickly killed as they lacked the support from the Marauders which commanded front line units in the courtyard.

The Destroyer, sensing that the creatures below was being overwhelmed by the organic forces turned from the Shroud after having fired a second devastating round into the tower moments earlier. The Destroyer fired its beam weapon on the left flank of the defending team, a powerful explosion rocked the platform and burst through the ancient krogan ruins which fell down and killed a squad of four krogan, exposing it to a counter-attack from the Reaper creatures. Six Marauders below quickly darted from cover to cover to attack the exposed flank.

Shepard shouted, "Wrex, Grunt, protect the left flank!"

The two krogan quickly hurried to the left flank, now buried amongst rock, metal and rubble.

The lead pilot reported in, "First wave on approach."

The screeching sounds of low and fast flying missiles were heard. Smoke trails streaked overhead as the first missiles of those two dozen fired began impacting the Destroyer on its large body. The powerful missiles blew of chunks of armor plates from the Destroyer, exposing its interior. The 160 meter tall machine staggered from the explosions, and it emitted wailing electronic noise at the impact of the missiles. The Destroyer folded its protective plates over its energy weapon to shield it from the missiles.

Vega exclaimed enthusiastically to the pilots, "Good effect on target!"

Shepard called out as he had ducked down from the incoming fire, "James, the Raptors need to clear the arena from the creatures."

The lead pilot watched the carnage unfolding through the targeting camera on one of his displays. The missiles, which arrived in several waves, struck the Destroyer and kept it from re-attacking the Shroud or the friendly forces on the ground.

Vega informed the pilot, "Dragon 4-1, we need you to clear the arena for us. One strike fighter, one bomb. I need a read-back."

"Roger, one strike fighter, one bomb. Standing by for brief." The lead pilot acknowledged.

Vega continued, "You are cleared to attack the arena. Attack north to south only, about 300 meters west of the Shroud there's a friendly force bunkered down. Enemy ground forces is occupying the courtyard between the friendly team and the Shroud. The bomb blast needs to be focused within the walled ruins of the arena to contain damage to enemy forces. Egress east."

"Dragon 4-1 copies all, we're rolling in hot." The pilot said. He wasn't too thrilled to drop ordnance that close to friendly forces. Nor was he thrilled doing a bombing run that close to a Reaper.

The pilot rolled his strike fighter in the direction of the Shroud and sped away while the other strike fighters continued their missile attacks.

"4-1, this is 4-2, we're high cover on you."

A third pilot chimed in, "Second wave on approach."

The other five strike fighters were firing their last missiles at the target and remained in a pattern nearby.

The systems operator of Dragon 4-1 in the backseat designated the target with the use of the powerful radar they had, mapping the arena he could acquire a highly detailed birds-eye view of the arena. The Weapons Systems Officer slewed the camera to the target area and designated a point in the arena where he could discern the Reaper creatures through the FLIR camera.

Most of the friendly troops nearby had locator beacons which sent out their position which made it easier for the pilots to discern between the hostiles and the friendlies.

With a final target check, the backseater updated the targeting information and the pilot had an updated and precise point of attack showing up on his heads-up-display in front of him.

Racing towards the ground the pilot aligned the strike fighter with the targeting reticule on his HUD and pressed the weapon release button on his flight stick and a single bomb was dropped. The pilot pulled up as hard as he could and turned away from the target and the Reaper. He silently prayed that the bomb would hit its intended target and not the friendlies.

The bomb impacted in the middle of the arena, sending sand, rocks and debris into the air as it detonated with a loud explosion, the blast was contained within the walled ruins of the arena and it didn't spread in all directions and those creatures at the point of detonation was obliterated instantaneously. Shepard and his allies had been well outside the kill radius and as they had remained behind cover of columns, barricades and rocks they survived the blast.

Shepard quickly peered out of cover and surveyed the platform below them through his weapon scope, the dust settled and he couldn't see any hostiles. He was thankful for the noise dampening technology within his helmet, but his ears was still slightly ringing after the explosion.

That bomb might have done the trick, Shepard mused. He looked up and saw the Destroyer in the distance; the final missiles impacted the target and it seemed as the Reaper was slowly regaining itself from the attack.

They didn't have much time and Shepard was unsure if the tower could survive a third attack. Blocks of the building fell down but the construct was still releasing the air particles to purify the planet's atmosphere so it was still operational.

For now.

Shepard called out, "Is everyone alright?" He surveyed the platform and noted to his relief movement all around the ruins they had taken cover at.

Garrus reported in his trademark deadpanned voice, "Fine here...mostly."

"I think so." Liara responded startled and picked herself up from the ground and leaned on the column.

"Miranda here. I'm fine."

Shepard heard the guttural chuckle of Grunt. He clearly enjoyed the air strike.

Soon all survivors had reported in.

Shepard ordered, "You are all staying here, I'll head for the hammer controls."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Are you nuts?!" Garrus protested as he regained his composure behind his column.

Miranda called out equally as perplexed from her side of the platform, "Shepard!"

Vega, who had been busy calling of the strikers and ordered them to a holding pattern, shouted, "You got to be kidding me Loco?!"

Wrex wasn't as concerned and quipped, "Why do you always get to do all the fun things, Shepard?!"

But Shepard didn't respond and vaulted over his barricade and ran down the steps of the ramp to the platform below. More voices were heard in his earpiece but he mentally blocked them out.

The Reaper emitted a deep ominous noise again, but this time it didn't sound like the wailing sound it had emitted during the missile strike.

Shepard ran through the courtyard with his weapon in hand and quickly jumped over the dead and dying creatures which riddled the ground. He hooked a left and found the ramp leading up to the platform which extended itself out from the arena and saw the controls to activate the hammer. He stopped and made a quick sweep of the platform and the courtyard he just ran through, he didn't see any target, or any of his friends that could have foolishly broke cover to follow him. He turned to the controls again and pushed the square button down.

Shepard watched as the maw hammer in front of him in the distance rose up a bit before it fell down on the keystone of the structure, a loud strange noise was emitted and sent out a powerful vibration throughout the immediate area calling for Kalros.

"Mordin, the Hammer has been activated! How's the cure coming?"

Mordin's distressed voice was heard, "Almost finished! Eve's vital signs dropping! Trying to compensate!"

Out in the fringes of the arena ruins, Kalros' giant body pushed effortlessly through the rolling dunes, tons of rocks sand erupted around it. The thresher maw was drawn to the vibrations of the Hammer.

Shepard turned from the Hammer control and ran the length of the platform, but one of the Reaper's legs crashed down on the courtyard which had been devastated by the bomb, its claw-like grips took hold of the ground.

Shit! I can't go that way!

Shepard looked up above him; he was right under the Reaper which emitted its harrowing electronic noise. It had turned its attention away from the Shroud.

Does it sense Kalros?

In his earpiece he heard Miranda's worried voice, "Shepard! What's happening?"

"I can't talk right now! Kinda busy!"

A high pitched howling was heard throughout the dunes followed by heavy vibrations as Kalros got closer, charging the Reaper head on. The Destroyer fired its energy weapon directly at the thresher maw but the giant beast pushed underground to avoid the red beam and disappeared for a few seconds before it once again erupted from the ground. Rocks and sand followed in its wake as it roared, the four tentacles surrounding it's mouth spread wide as it latched on to the base of the Reaper, right above the its energy weapon.

The Reaper frantically fired its weapon in an attempt to hit the thresher maw's belly, but the heavy beast overwhelmed the machine which stumbled under the weight of the maw and continued to fire the beam aimlessly at the arena below, damaging or destroying the age old ruins. Large blocks of the buildings fell to the ground and Shepard ran of the platform to the wide courtyard and tried to run away but the beam cut off his path ahead and he had to dive for cover behind a barricade.

The giant body of the maw came crushing down on the courtyard with a loud crash, sending dust, sand rocks and gravel flying through the air as its weight destroyed everything underneath. The path to the Shroud had been demolished and had dropped down. The maw's body was lifted off the ground as the Reaper continued its struggle to get rid of Kalros. The ground vibrated by the struggle and a mechanic wailing was joined by a howling whine.

Shepard darted forward through the arena towards the Shroud, despite the destruction it was the fastest route there. Shepard leaped of the ledge and fell down on the crumbled path below leading to the Shroud as the behemoths continued clashing near the Shroud. Shepard took ground and scurried to his feet and dashed forward to a bridge which connected to the damaged path.

The Destroyer braced its legs on the ground by gripping with its claw-like extensions on the legs. It reared violently to force Kalros of its own body by slamming it into the base structure of the Shroud. Metal and rocks was ripped of the structure. The maw landed on its back and let out a high pitched cry as its mouth and tentacles let loose of the Reaper. It used the end of its giant body which was still underground and retreated back to its safe haven below the surface, dodging the relentless fire from the Reaper.

The Reaper turned around with its back to the Shroud and braced itself anticipating a new attack from the front. The ground vibrated again as Kalros re-attacked but this time it came at the machine's right side. The maw erupted from underground with a high pitched howling, it turned its body in a loop and this time struck the Reaper from above, slamming it into the ground, latching on with its mouth and tentacles. The Reaper fired its weapon into the ground by the action and Kalros forced the Reaper down its side with a loud crash and curled its vast body around it and slowly pulled it down underground. The Reaper emitted a mechanic and electronic wailing noise as it was pulled down. In a last ditch effort to struggle free from Kalros it fired its weapon into the curled body but with no effect. The ground vibrated as the maw and its prey disappeared underground in a shower of sand and rocks.

Shepard had been standing on the remains of the bridge connecting to the base structure of the shroud and Kalro's arena and had seen the entire spectacle unfold in front of him. A surge of relief shot through his body and he took a deep calming breath.

Shepard radioed the others, "I'm heading into the Shroud to meet up with Mordin. Double back to the vehicles and we'll join up as soon as we've dispersed the cure."

Miranda shot back, she was equally concerned and relieved at the same time to hear Shepard again, "Shepard, are you alright?"

Shepard faintly smiled as he dashed across the bridge, "Yes I'm fine Miranda. I'll see you soon."

Mordin ran down the corridor of the underground tunnel which connected to the base structure of the Shroud. He arrived at a large locked door. He activated his omni-tool and the highly advanced hacking program hacked the door interface and a few moments later the door opened with a hiss.

He pulled out his weapon and swept the immediate area, he was inside a large hall with two rows of workstations and an elevator in the far end. He looked up and as the hall lacked a roof, crumbled and burning chunks of the Shroud fell down from high above, some landed outside while some landed in the hall.

Mordin had successfully completed the final steps in creating the cure and luckily Eve had been strong enough to survive the procedure.

They were so close!

Confirming that there were no threats around he darted over to a workstation and holstered his weapon. Mordin began typing on the keyboard, the cure was ready and loaded in to the Shroud's dispersal machinery and he needed to prepare the final leg of the cure dispersal. The battle against the Destroyer, and its subsequent attack on the tower itself, had caused severe power fluctuations in the Shroud's intricate systems and he needed to ensure that the systems were properly ready. They likely only had one shot at this before the tower overloaded. And to say nothing about the structural damage which had been caused.

Mordin noted movement by the entrance and saw Shepard emerge with his rifle, but he quickly holstered it when he saw Mordin.

Shepard ran down the stairs to the hall below and stopped at Mordin.

Shepard spoke through his voice module, "Is the cure ready?"

Mordin continued typing frantically on the keyboard and spoke rapidly, "Yes. Loaded for dispersal in two minutes. Procedure traumatic for Eve but not lethal. Glad we kept Maelon's research data, otherwise outcome could have been worse."

"Eve's okay?"

"Indeed. She turned back to the waiting trucks. Her survival fortunate, she's has...'radical' ideas for the future krogan. She is a beacon of hope for all krogan and will stabilize government if Wrex get any ideas. Good match, promising future for the krogan."

A table-size chunk of the tower fell down on the far side of the hall with a loud crash.

Shepard jolted back and instinctively sheltered his head with his arm and cried out surprised, "Damn!"

Mordin gave the crash a cursory glance before he turned his attention to the computer, "Control room on the top of the tower." Mordin gestured at the lift nearby, "Must take elevator up."

Shepard lowered his arm and looked up at the tower. He then glanced at Mordin and asked incredulous, "Wait, you are going up there?"

Mordin typed the last line of code and turned to Shepard and explained, "Yes. Almost finished, but manual access required. Have to counteract STG sabotage. Ensure cure disperse properly."

Shepard began protesting, "But this whole thing is collapsing, there's got to be another way!"

Mordin turned around gazed upon the tall tower as debris was raining down and explosions could be seen were the Reaper had fired its weapon, "Exactly why I need to hurry Shepard. Remote bypass impossible. STG countermeasures in place. No time to adjust cure for temperature variance."

Mordin looked down on the floor and shook his head glum.

Time is of the essence, if cure is not dispersed soon the tower will be destroyed and there will be no alliance between turians and krogan. No alliance against the Reapers. All life as we know will be annihilated.

Mordin turned to Shepard and declared vigorously, "No. No other option. Not coming back. Suggest you evac structure. Explosions likely to be very problematic."

Mordin turned and hurried to the elevator at the far end of the hall.

Shepard darted after and protested, "Mordin! No!"

Mordin stopped right outside the elevator and turned to Shepard. The salarian implored, "Shepard. Please. Need to do this. My project. My work. My responsibility."

My redemption. No regret. Lived a good life despite ambiguity regarding the modification project. A good way to go out, good use of my last years; mission against Collectors, aiding the war effort, creating alliances. Saving a proud race. Saving the galaxy.

Mordin retrieved his SMG from his magnetic weapon strip on his hip and handed it to Shepard, "Won't need this anymore. Good gun. Served me well this battle."

Shepard glanced at it before he quickly holstered it to his right leg magnetic strip.

Mordin took a deep breath, "Would have enjoyed running tests on sea shells."

Shepard shook his head glum, but Mordin was unable to properly see his facial expression. Despite the brutality of war, Shepard likely had a hard time watching another friend walk to his death.

Mordin said, "Regret that I was unable to assist Ms. Lawson further. A noble task, giving prospect for life. Would have liked to see outcome."

Shepard looked up.

The salarian continued with a faint smile as he wore no helmet, "Left OSD with thoughts on her predicament. Also a datapad for you with recordings and writings from me. Some of my older works, merely for entertainment purpose, but entertainment sometimes useful. Both can be found in infirmary. OSD is in a sealed envelope, the password is the four first numbers in the mathematical constant pi without the dot."

"I'm sorry Mordin. You've been a great friend." He extended his hand.

Mordin took a few steps forward and shook it, "I'm not. Had to be me. Someone else might have gotten it wrong" He took a swift breath, "It's been an honor knowing you..." Mordin smiled and said, "John."

"The honor's been all mine."

"Good luck, but with your flair for destruction Reapers should not be a problem."

Mordin gave Shepard one final nod and swiftly turned around and entered the elevator. He hit the interface and turned to Shepard as the two glass-encased doors closed. The elevator began its ascension and Shepard disappeared below him. As the elevator cleared the base structure Mordin could clearly see the rolling dunes and the wasteland of Tuchanka.

The sun was setting and in the distance he could see the bright flashes of explosions as the Horde fought the Reaper ground forces. In the skies above he could see human and turian fighters unleashing their ordnance on the enemy. Mordin was proud; the alliance between the races was in the making, human, turian and krogan fought next to each other against the Reapers.

The elevator traversed the length of the Shroud and arrived at the top. The doors slid open and Mordin rushed out.

A computer voice called out, "Warning temperature malfunction detected."

Fires was raging inside and at the far end of the room the computer system flashed warning messages from the tower's systems failing due to the structural damage.

The computer voice repeated its warning message.

An explosion erupted from a server farm on Mordin's right side and he shielded his face with his arm from the explosion and debris flying. Mordin arrived at the console at the far end near a panel of winows overlooking the wastelands. Mordin began typing on the keyboard to counteract the STG sabotage. He began singing a patter song to keep his mind focused on the task at hand and not at the raging fires, warning messages and explosions.

"Hmm, hmm, hmmm, I've studied species turian, asari and batarian..."

He gave the monitor quick glances as he typed feverishly the line of codes needed to bypass the sabotage so the dispersal could be properly initiated.

Unsurprisingly to Mordin he had successfully adjusted the temperature variance.

The Shroud's computer voice announced, "Temperature now within acceptable range. Dispersal commencing."

At the last words of the VI, Mordin looked up and smiled victoriously. He had succeeded. They had succeeded. The genophage cure erupted from the tower, a cloud of white substance spread in the atmosphere, and the winds of Tuchanka would take care of the rest. Every krogan on the planet would be cured.

Mordin took a deep breath and savored the moment. He had redeemed himself. The proud krogan race was saved, a new era and a chance at defeating the Reapers was at hand. He remained in the middle of the room, glancing out at the wastelands outside the windows.

"My xenoscience studies range from urban to agrarian, I am the very model of-"

The air was blanketed by the white-colored cloud of the cure and an explosion on the top of the tower erupted. Shepard was standing outside the Shroud looking up at the tall tower. The white substance in the air was raining down, they resembled snowflakes. Shepard reached out and several 'flakes' landed in the palm of his glowed hand and was absorbed by the fabric.

Behind him, the two Tomkah's they had left on the opposite side of Kalros' arena drove up and stopped nearby.

Miranda was the first one out of the hatch. She dashed forward to Shepard and hastily embraced him

She cursed through her voice module relieved at seeing him, "Damn you! Don't ever do that again!"

Behind his face plate Shepard smiled at her possessiveness. He assured her, "I'm alright."

Miranda let go of him and looked around them and then at Shepard, "Where's Mordin?"

Shepard shook his head and looked up at the tower and said glum, "He had to manually release the cure from the control room."

Miranda followed his gaze and looked up the Shroud.

She said, "I'm sorry."

Behind them, Wrex and Eve had exited the Tomkah and were also looking at the spectacle unfolding in the sky, the krogan race was saved.

The return drive to the Hollows had been done mostly in silence. The Shroud had collapsed some time earlier, but the genophage cure was in the atmosphere and was spread by the wind across Tuchanka. Despite the damage to the tower, they had succeeded.

Shepard had radioed Joker for an update on the space battle, and Joker had explained that with the last Capital Ship destroyed the allied fleet was now battling the last remnants of the Destroyers, and no other Reapers had come through the relay. On the ground the Horde pushed forward assisted by the air support provided by the humans and the turians.

Wrex led Eve and Shepard into the Hollows. The rest of Shepard's team headed towards the waiting shuttle outside.

Wrex reflected, "It was here, long ago were my father betrayed me. His followers attacked us. He tried to kill his own son." Wrex pointed at the end of the platform, near the guardrail at the edge, "So I had to kill him...right over there."

Shepard walked past Wrex and glanced at the platform. He remembered the story Wrex and told him three years earlier. How Wrex had killed his father with a blade.

Wrex declared, "That was what the genophage had reduced us to as we saw no other way. We were animals. But you changed that today, Shepard."

Shepard turned to Wrex, "I wasn't the only one."

Wrex could see, and appreciate, the support from the other races which had secured the release of the genophage this day, "No, but it was your influence Shepard."

Eve promised, "Now we will fight for our children, not against them." She said sad, "It's just a pity Mordin had to die."

Shepard nodded, "Yes, he was a good friend, but it was his choice, He knew what he did. This was what he wanted, curing the genophage."

"We'll name one of the kids after him...probably a girl," Wrex chuckled, "Making babies again will be fun and I'll do my part in getting our numbers back up."

Shepard grinned behind his face plate.

Eve ignored Wrex's comment and walked up to Shepard and said appreciatively, "But we can thank you Commander, and your companions. And all those who fought with us today."

"What of the fighting still raging?" Shepard asked.

"In their invasion of Tuchanka this can still be a blessing Shepard," Wrex said, "It can further solidify Clan Urdnot's standing, but also that the war is now our problem as well. The Reapers came here and they will pay for it. We will rally the other clan's around us. We're off to save the turians now, since apparently they forgot how to hold a gun. The turians, and the humans, will have the support of the krogan Shepard."

Shepard nodded; things were finally going in the right direction. "Thank you Wrex. I knew I could trust you."

"You really came through for us. I'm proud to call you my friend." Wrex asserted, "And when you are ready to kick the Reapers off Earth, you let me know. The krogan are back in business."

Eve shook Shepard's hand, "It's been an honor meeting you Commander. It's gratifying to know there's a friend to the krogan out there. And know that Urdnot Bakara calls you her friend."

"Of course...Bakara. It's been my pleasure. So what will you do now?"

"I will rally the clans in the Kelphic Valley and spread the hope that has been given to us. We're free now, Commander. I will speak to them and make sure this gift is not squandered, there's a lot of work to be done. Thank you for all you've done for us Commander."

"Of course." Shepard turned and glanced at Grunt standing near the burial shrine, "I'll go and have some words with Grunt before we leave."

Bakara nodded.

Shepard said, "Good luck to both of you in reshaping the krogan."

"This has been the defining moment in krogan history. The battle of Tuchanka will be remembered by the krogan and battle songs will be sung about you Shepard."

Shepard said modestly, "No need for that part."

Wrex chuckled as Shepard took his leave and walked over to Grunt.

Wrex whispered, "I told you we could trust him."

"Indeed."

Shepard stepped up next to Grunt and patted him on his shoulder, "What's up Grunt?"

Grunt turned to Shepard and said in glee, "That was a good fight Shepard. And there's more to come. Aralakh-company will be kept busy against the Reapers. I can't wait!"

"Good to hear. Wrex mentioned a while ago that you were leading your own men. Going from tank-born to a member of Urdnot and your own command is quite a feat. How did that happen?"

"It wasn't easy. Being tank-born didn't come with any favors, I had to prove myself fit for command. When Wrex put together the company he needed someone to represent the future of the krogan, and he picked me. With completing the Rite of Passage I was now an equal. But the company respects me; it took a few scars to earn my place with them."

"I gather you had to learn what it was to be an Urdnot after leaving the Normandy."

Grunt nodded, "Yeah, learned the hard way with blood and pain. I made mistakes but I excelled."

"How was Aralakh-company formed?"

"It means eye of wrath. The name for our fierce sun. Wrex hand-picked the best from different clans to show what a united krogan could do. We're the strongest. One of our first missions was against a colony attacked by batarian pirates. We crushed them."

"Doesn't surprise me. It was good seeing you again Grunt. Keep doing what you do best."

Grunt chuckled guttural at his Battlemaster's praise.

After the last Reaper Destroyers had been defeated, the allied fleet regrouped near Tuchanka, poised to attack if more Reapers poured through the relay, but none come. Sensing it was clear, Shepard and his team returned to the Normandy, they were exhausted after a day of hard fighting. But the battle raged on against the creatures on Tuchana and the two allied carrier still provided support for the krogan advance to rid Tuchanka of the Reapers at the battlefield.

The Normandy had docked with a turian dreadnought, and Shepard and Miranda was outside the airlock in the CIC, still in their combat armor as they had just recently arrived with the Kodiak. They were to say their goodbyes to the Primarch as the mission was a success and Victus was to return to his forces to lead them against the Reapers.

Victus arrived, escorted by Garrus, and the two turians was walking down the corridor outside the cockpit. The Primarch was carrying a duffel bag in his hand.

Arriving near the airlock Victus said appreciatively, "Commander. I thank you for your hospitality and for what you've done. Urdnot Wrex sent me a message earlier and has pledged his support. As soon as the transport convoy arrives they will start ferrying the Horde to Tuchanka. And Commander, you kept your part of the bargain and I'll keep mine, you will have the support of the turians. The turian Hierarchy will be there for Earth."

The two men shook hands.

"I appreciate that Primarch," Shepard said sincerely. "I'm glad we can help each other, it's the only way we will defeat the Reapers."

Victus nodded, "That much is certain Commander. The victory here today, both human and turian fleets working together, gives me hope that we can defeat the Reapers. A lot of lives were lost here, but we gained a huge victory against the machines. I will have several dry-dock ships sent to the Crucible-project and assist with its assembly."

"Thank you Primarch," Shepard said.

Victus turned to Miranda and they shook hands, "It's been an interesting experience meeting someone who worked with Cerberus once, Ms. Lawson. Not what I expected."

Miranda faintly smiled, "Of course Primarch I can understand that."

"May the spirits watch over us all," Victus said and walked over to the airlock and left the Normandy.

Garrus looked at Shepard, "I'm spent. You must be exhausted."

Shepard nodded and let out a tired sigh, "You can say that again. I've to report to Admiral Hackett. Maybe after that I can take a shower and get some shut eye."

"Yeah. You will need a clear head for what will come, no room for mistakes." Garrus said glum, "And Mordin dying... just wish we had all come home."

"I know. But he wanted that...his redemption."

From the cockpit Joker called out, "What is the next stop Commander?"

Shepard turned to face Joker, "I don't know. I'll talk to Hackett. No Reaper ships around?"

Joker turned his chair around, "No, everything is in the clear. The carriers are still launching missions against the Reaper ground forces though."

Shepard nodded, "Understood."

Joker boasted, "I got two Capital Ships, Commander!"

EDI quickly chimed in, "Not quite Joker. These victories were shared with several other ships."

Joker snorted, "Well our rounds delivered the killing blow!"

"Not according to my combat telemetry."

Shepard chuckled tiredly, "It's a good thing we have her checking your ego."

"Whatever." Joker said annoyed at EDI.

"But you did good Joker. Keep it up."

Joker nodded pleased, "Yes sir."

EDI chimed in, "Shepard, considering the fuel and weapons spent, and the need to discharge the ship's static electrical charge, I recommend that we venture to the Seventh Fleet's Auxiliary Flotilla and dock with one of the mobile service, repair and refit stations before we leave."

"Go ahead," Shepard replied.

Joker acknowledged, "I'll undock from the turian ship and get going."

"Good."

EDI quipped, "I will make sure Jeff doesn't launch any suicide missions."

"Sounds like a plan," Shepard chuckled.

Shepard and Miranda left with Garrus trailing and they headed down the corridor in silence and into the CIC, the atmosphere was clearly spirited as the CIC technicians talked about the battle the allied fleet had just won.

Arriving near Traynor's workstation, Shepard stopped and said to Miranda, "I'll just report in to Hackett and I'll see you upstairs."

Garrus brushed past them and headed for the elevator.

Miranda nodded, "Of course, Shepard."

Shepard gave her a nod and disappeared to the guard station checkpoint.

In the QEC-room, Shepard had just connected to Admiral Hackett and the connection was being processed and finished.

"Commander that was one hell of a thing you just pulled off. Curing the genophage. I never thought I would see the day. And the victory against the Reaper invasion force? We've won a few skirmishes here and there but this shows what we can do if we work together against the Reapers. Although I advice against bravado at this point."

Shepard nodded, "And Wrex has pledged his forces to help the turians. And the Primarch has also pledged his forces to the war."

Hackett nodded, "This is indeed great news Commander. But the salarians aren't with us. Too bad, they'll regret this. Let's hope we won't need them. "

Shepard snarled, "Fucking isolationists. Sitting on the sidelines while humans and turians are dying trying to fight the Reapers."

"The Dalatrass called me earlier."

Shepad was surprised, "She did?"

Hackett nodded, "Yeah, yesterday. She wanted me to order you to cease any efforts to deploy the cure."

"And what did you say?" Shepard asked curious.

"That I defer to your judgment. And that it was the only way to secure an alliance with the krogan and the turians. She wasn't too happy about that though."

Shepard snorted and shook his head but regained his composure quickly, "Sir, I recommend to have the Seventh in system for a while so the convoy ships can be protected if the Reapers return."

Hackett nodded, "Yeah, I agree. Your AI has done a great job in organizing the ships to ferry the krogan to Palaven. I'll talk to Admiral Santini when I'm done talking to you. Now with the turians and krogan aboard maybe we can start being on the offensive a bit. I'm going to ask the turians to spare ships and forces to defend Noveria, its research facilities and staff is important."

"Of course sir. And give the Admiral my regards, the fleets did an admirable job. Any orders, Admiral?"

"Well, we're currently working hard to evacuating worlds, like Elysium and Eden Prime. The local forces at Elysium are being augmented with a Task Force from the Second Fleet and numerous colony ships to assist with evacuations, and I'd like the Normandy to act as an early warning asset and monitor the relay and the fringes of the system from any incursion. It's not a sexy job, but it would free up ships to assist in the evacuation, and the Normandy is the closest Normandy-class ship."

"Copy that, sir, we'll replenish the ship and leave as soon as possible. We'll drop some TopSats in the system so we can monitor a large swath of space." Christ, Elysium. Haven't been on that planet in…ten years.

Normandy-class ships carried fifteen stealthy Tactical Operational Satellites (TopSats). They were football sized satellites which were ejected with cold gas so the ship's position wasn't exposed. The satellites were instrumental in reconnaissance missions and could intercept communications, transfer data, establish makeshift communications to coordinate space and planetary forces, make detailed planetary scans, record real time footage and detect, track, catalog and identify artificial objects in space.

"That's exactly what I need you to do, son," Hackett replied satisfied.

Codex entry: Churchill-class Supercarrier

The Churchill-class supercarriers, an integral part in Systems Alliance power projection, is a class of ten element zero-powered starships in service with the Systems Alliance Navy. They are constructed by the United Starship Corporation and the lead ship of the class is named after the 20th Century British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill. With an overall length of 1092 meters it's currently the largest ship class of the Systems Alliance Navy and even eclipses the Kilimanjaro-class heavy dreadnoughts and the Raider-class assault carriers with 92 meters. The ships are numbered with consecutive hull designations between CV-1 and CV-10, and each numbered fleet is assigned one supercarrier. The hull designation is a carryover from Earth navies and C means carrier while the V comes from the French verb voler (to fly).

After the 2148 Mars discoveries and inception of the Earth Systems Alliance a powerful navy that could project power had to be built up consisting of various ship classes to complement each other. The Churchill-class was drafted by the newly established Systems Alliance Navy which would be able to provide air/space support in defensive and offensive operations against enemy ships, space stations and hostile worlds utilizing a large Carrier Strike Fighter Wing, orbital kinetic bombardment satellites and batteries of long-range missiles. The lead ship, SSV Winston Churchill (CV-1), was released from the United Starship Corporation's Martian shipyards in 2154 and was commissioned with the First Fleet where it saw action against the emerging threat of human pirates and insurrectionists brewing in the newly discovered star systems of the ever expanding Alliance Space. In 2156 the second supercarrier, SSV Benjamin Davis (CV-2) was launched and joined the Second Fleet, was the first supercarrier to engage aliens during the First Contact War.

The ships are predicted to have a service life of 50 years and the SSV Winston Churchill (CV-1) is slated to be decommissioned in 2205 and be replaced by the planned Catherine-class supercarriers named after the famed Catherine the Great, the most renowned and longest-ruling female leader of Russia during the 18th Century. The Catherine-class lead ship is slated to enter service in 2194.

The two first Churchill-class ships, the Churchill and the Davis, are powered by two Mark 1 Bechtel nuclear fusion plants, although they were soon deemed power inefficient and too costly to power the drive cores of large warships and were replaced by the Mark II Bechtel beginning with ships constructed from 2158 and onward, earlier warships had their Mark 1 plants modified. For faster-than-light speed the class is equipped with the same Alectrona drive core found in dreadnoughts and assault carriers, and dozens of powerful Orbital Maneuvering and Attitude Control emergency thrusters are installed across all sides of the hull which, when mixing trihydride tetrazine and hydrogen peroxide, can blast the massive ship in any direction to avoid incoming fire.

The Churchill-class are elongated in shape with sleek and flat surfaces but have no aerodynamic properties like smaller frigates because massive sized ships are so large that it is impossible to safely land them on a planet. The mass accelerator cannon is visible as a bump on the bow, and the aft's most recognizable feature are the central massive antiproton thruster and the two smaller thrusters below it. Like other dreadnought sized ships, Churchill-class supercarriers have two meters thick layer of Titanium-A armor and a powerful kinetic barrier system which allows them to sustain far greater damage than any frigate or cruiser. The hull is embedded with thermal superconducting radiators to more efficiently transfer the heat generated during regular operations and combat in space.

A crew of 7000 supports the embarked Carrier Strike Fighter Wing consists of 288 manned and unmanned atmospheric/exoatmospheric vehicles such as fighters, bombers, strike fighters, electronic warfare strike fighters, dropships, aerospace early warning and control vehicles, tactical refueling vehicles and multirole drones. Also embarked on a supercarrier is a single Marine Expeditionary Unit of over 2700 Marines with main battle tanks, howitzers, infantry fighting vehicles and a small Marine Wing Detachment of 48 atmospheric/exoatmospheric vehicles, thus a supercarrier can launch limited ground operations and boarding operations against uncooperative starships and space stations.

In addition to the A/X vehicles, the primary armament is a 500 meter long cruiser-rated Mark XI Nerio Medium Coil Mass Accelerator Cannon, thus a supercarrier is not classed as a dreadnought. Secondary armament are 26 missile pods containing 50 Mark-99 Sunburn anti-ship missiles per pod (total: 1300 missiles). Tertiary armament are two dozen VI-controlled M700 Kickback 70mm point-defense mass accelerator autocanons on the hull. Two hundred Mark-97 Zeus orbital kinetic bombardment satellites are used for precision planetary bombardment, and the supercarriers also carries an unknown number of Mark-102 Theseus-class nuclear missiles.

The unit cost for a Churchill-class supercarrier is about 8.5 billion in FY -85 credits.

Ship of the line:

First Fleet: SSV Winston Churchill (CV-1), commissioned in 2154.

Second Fleet: SSV Benjamin Davis (CV-2), commissioned in 2156.

Third Fleet: SSV Sun Tzu (CV-3), commissioned in 2158.

Fourth Fleet: SSV Galileo Galilei (CV-4), commissioned in 2160.

Fifth Fleet: SSV Albert Einstein (CV-5), commissioned in 2162.

Sixth Fleet: SSV Stephen Hawking (CV-6), commissioned in 2164.

Seventh Fleet: SSV Neil Armstrong (CV-7), commissioned in 2166.

Eight Fleet: SSV Joan of Arc (CV-8), commissioned in 2167.

Ninth Fleet: SSV Amelia Earhart (CV-9), commissioned in 2169

Battle Fleet: SSV Jane Austen (CV-10), commissioned in 2171.

Codex Entry: F/A-60A Strike Raptor

The Lockheed Martin F/A-60A Strike Raptor is a two-seat, tailless twin-engine vertical and/or short take-off and landing atmospheric/exoatmospheric multirole strike fighter featuring a delta wing construction with limited light speed capabilities. It was developed for the Systems Alliance Armed Forces and is currently employed by the Navy and the Marines. It entered service in December 2170, replacing the Airbus Defense and Space F/A-52 Super Starfire. The Raptor's combination of thrust-vectoring nozzles, stealth, aerodynamic performance, and situational awareness gives the strike fighter unprecedented combat capabilities and maneuverability.

The F/A-60A was designed in the mid 2160's for stealthy long-range high-speed interdiction, relying on self-escort to fight its way to the target and return to its base. It has been deployed in military operations across the Milky Way and during these operations the F/A-60A has carried out planetary deep strikes against high-value targets, anti-ship missions, combat air/space patrols, and provided planetary close air support for allied troops. The F/A-60A has not been exported to any alien governments.

The F/A-60A backseat is equipped for a Weapons Systems Officer (WSO for short, pronounced "wizzo") who works the myriad of weapon systems, coordinated systems with other platforms, electronic warfare systems, mapping of the battlespace in real time, and directs unmanned/robotic platforms. Both the front and rear cockpit has four displays and the workload between pilot and WSO is interchangeable which also allows the WSO to fly via the flying controls in the back seat.

The entire cockpit, as with other A/X capable fighters, can be ejected from the body of the airframe allowing the crew to escape catastrophic failure. The sealed escape pod will send out its location on encrypted Alliance military channels for Search and Rescue teams to find. In atmospheric conditions small emergency thrusters and a chute will be deployed to allow the escape pod a safe descent to the ground.

Both pilot and WSO uses helmet mounted display systems which mean that the F/A-60A does not need to be pointed directly at the target for weapons employment to be successful. The A/X-vehicle's sensors can track nearby A/X-vehicle, spaceborne vehicles and aircraft from any orientation and provide information to the crew through their helmets. The radar is capable of executing simultaneous air-to-air and air-to-ground attacks and provide high resolution ground mapping at standoff ranges. Threat detection systems includes radar, infrared and laser. The F/A-60A has a countermeasures dispenser and can self-protect jam against threats.

The F/A-60A is capable of carrying most of the current weaponry employed by the Systems Alliance Armed Forces as well as the latest fuselage mounted targeting and navigation pods. The F/A-60A has one single M200 Stinger 20mm mass accelerator autocannon (1000 round ammo block) embedded in the right wing root with the muzzle covered by a retractable door to maintain stealth.

The F/A-60A can carry weapons and additional fuel cell tanks across eight external hardpoints on both wings and one single missile-only hardpoint on each wingtip. There are two small bays on each side of the fuselage, clear of the external fuselage maneuvering thrusters, with a single missile-only hardpoint per bay. There is also a large bottom fuselage weapons bay with 6 internal hardpoints for various weaponry and fuel cell tanks. Carrying weapons only within the internal weapons bays maintains the F/A-60A's stealth and minimizes drag in atmospheric conditions. Weapons launches requires the bay doors to be open for less than a second and hydraulic arms pushes the weapons clear of the weapon bay to reduce vulnerability to detection and to deploy missiles during high speed flight.

The F/A-60A was designed to be highly difficult to detect and track by various sensors. For instance the radar cross-section was reduced by airframe shaping and use of stealth ablative coating. Other design measures are decreased radio emissions, infrared signature and acoustic signature. The flat thrust vectoring nozzles reduces infrared emissions to mitigate the threat of infrared homing missiles. Additional measures to reduce the infrared signature include special paint and active cooling to manage the heat buildup from flight.

An electronic-warfare variant, the EA-60B Growler, with limited strike mission and self-escort capabilities, entered service in 2175. The EA-60B replaced the Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation EA-53A Aurora.

Quotes; Jurassic Park, Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Transformers (2007).

Edited 2013-04-16: Changed Vega's talk on to the fighters to reflect an actual "9-line brief" for Close Air Support.

Edited 2013-10-02: Added additional dialogue during the carrier scene as well as during the air strike.

Edited 2015-01-17: Changed the FB-60 designation to F/A-60 instead.

Two of Vega's lines are from the Citadel DLC (+ Shepard's response of course).

One of Wrex's lines is from the Citadel DLC.

One of Garrus' lines is from the Citadel DLC.

One of Mordin's lines is from the Citadel DLC.

Callsign from COD: Modern Warfare 2.

F/A = Fighter Attack

9-line = standardized 9 lines of information relayed to pilots.

IP = Initial Point; reference point from where to begin the attack.

TOT = Time on Target.

The F/A-60's I somewhat based on the proposed FB-22 Strike Raptor (which got cancelled, it was supposed to be a bomber version of the F-22) and the proposed F/A-XX (or Next Generation Air Dominance). Sleek futuristic fighters. The concept pictures look cool.