Authors Note: I loved this chapter so much. I hope you do to too :)
Thank you to Impslave, for the review of the last chapter, you rock!
Chapter Thirty-Six
Shepard stood in the tiny, one room 'safe house' and looked out the window at a child playing on the grass a few stories below her. She had spent the last six months in this same room, other than trips up the hall to Alliance headquarters and to the rehabilitation center to work on her leg.
She lifted said leg and stretched it out before her. Chakwas had been impressed with how well her muscle function had returned, but Shepard knew the leg was significantly weaker than her other. She had been working with James Vega, the cheeky lieutenant Anderson had introduced her to when Wallace had died, everyday to build up her strength, both in her leg and her general conditioning.
Six months in a gym was not the same as field action, and she knew it showed, no matter how much Vega teased her about her 'guns'. She and the burly marine had hit it off extremely well after the first few weeks together. He had been a huge help in helping her get over the loss of Wallace. They had both been through terrible losses before, and had shared a more than a few shots to toast the fallen.
After everything she had been through, the high of seeing Kaidan's face… his actual face not a vid, then the sudden transition to seeing Wallace bleed out taking a bullet meant for her, had almost broken her.
Shepard sighed and moved to the computer terminal in the room. She didn't know why she bothered checking her messages anymore. She had barely heard from anyone on her team since she got to Earth, other than some weird ass Palaven flowers from Garrus after he heard about Wallace's death, and the random coded messages from Liara about what was happening in the world of the Shadow Broker.
Before the Normandy had left Omega, while Shepard was recovering in the Med-bay after Hackett had left, the team had mostly let her know their plans.
Jack had dropped off the grid, disappearing into Omega like a waif, while Zaeed had gone back to hunting for Vido. Grunt returned to Tuchanka to learn what it meant to be a full member of Clan Urdnot from Wrex. Kasumi had slipped away to the Citadel to find some new marks… and 'get into some trouble' she had smirked.
Thane was also on the Citadel to spend time with Kolyat, and take advantage of the excellent medical facilities in Huerta Memorial hospital. She hoped the Drell was doing well, and his disease hadn't advanced too severely.
Miranda and Jacob had slipped away into the bowels of Omega to hide from the Illusive Man. He wasn't very impressed with Shepard and her team's decision to part ways with him and blow up the Collector base. The two would need to stay way off his radar to remain safe. Mordin, as far as she knew, was back with the STG… but you never really knew with the wily Salarian.
Tali returned to the Migrant Fleet, catching a ride with Legion who was going to try and build a new consensus with the Geth regarding organic and synthetic cooperation. Samara had hitched a ride with them, wanting to check up on her other daughters after the loss of Morinth. Shepard hoped that is she ever crossed paths with the Justicar again, they would remain friends.
Joker had been taken in by the Alliance for questioning regarding his association with Cerberus, and Shepard hadn't heard anything from him either, except through Anderson who assured her the cocky pilot was fine, and not in jail.
Garrus… Garrus had gone to Palaven to scream at anyone who would listen that the Reapers were coming, and they had to prepare. It had been harder than Shepard liked to admit to say good by to him. He knew that she was going to be basically arrested, and was totally in favour of just taking off and becoming space pirates. It had taken everything she had to smile at him and assure him she would be fine, even though she wanted nothing more than to avoid the situation she was in now, and never leave the Normandy.
Shepard sighed and sat on the edge of her bed, rubbing her thigh absently. On the nightstand next to the bed was the photo of Kaidan from her cabin, and a miniature of the Normandy. She didn't know why she kept the photo. She hadn't seen, or heard from Kaidan since the day she landed, and she made eye contact with him right before Wallace died.
With everything the press was saying about her blaring from every news-stand in the Galaxy, she didn't blame him for staying away. She was Shepard, the slayer of innocent Batarians and traitor to humanity. Why would Kaidan want to be associated with her?
Anderson kept closed-mouthed about Kaidan as well, only letting her know that he was safe, and still working to prepare people for the eventual arrival of the Reapers. Nothing personal…she had finally just stopped asking. Shepard fought back the familiar rush of anger as she looked at the photo.
She hated herself for not be able to stop caring, as he obviously had. She wanted to take the photo and throw it against the wall, and rage and scream at the hand she had been dealt. Brought back from the dead to fight the Reapers…being on the verge of death trying to stop them invading the galaxy, only to rot for six months in this stupid room while the brass tried to swing it so she didn't look like the mass murderer she was.
She tore her gaze from the photo and looked over at the clock. Vega would be by soon to take her to the rehab center for her physical therapy. She loved sparring with the big marine. The first time they had 'danced' he had thought to go easy on her, most likely due to their not insignificant size difference.
His mistake. Shepard had wiped the floor with him, leaving him crying uncle and after that, their relationship evolved into the easy going banter and flirting they enjoyed now. She sighed, and put on her fatigues. She refused to wear so called 'work-out'clothes, preferring to wear her blue Alliance fatigues whenever possible.
She slapped a little make-up on, she couldn't afford to let the camera's catch her looking unkempt, or Hackett would give her hell. She had to look perfectly together at all times, lest the press go off on a tangent about her being a washed up has been that the Alliance had abandoned.
She had just finished with her mascara when the door opened with a swish, and Vega stepped through, giving her a salute.
"Commander."
She tutted him. "You're not supposed to call me that anymore, James." She was still technically not a Commander in the Alliance, not until the charges against her were formally dropped, which Anderson thought would be the end of the week.
"Not supposed to salute you either." He winked at her. Cheeky bugger.
"We gotta go. The defense committee wants to see you." He said, his tone completely serious now as he gestured to the door.
The defense committee? "Huh, sounds serious." She said, wondering why they all of a sudden wanted to talk to her now.
She followed James into the crowded hallway, and noticed that her usual armed guards weren't flanking them.
"Where is everybody?" She asked him.
"Short notice, they were getting chow. Anderson said we couldn't wait."
Shepard smiled slightly. It was the first time in six months she had been out of that room with out someone with a gun walking behind her.
James was walking quickly, and Shepard broke into a light jog to keep up. "Alright James, what's going on?"
"Anderson didn't say. He just told me they needed me to bring you…Now. He's been behind closed doors with Hackett all morning."
Shepard felt a knot clench tight in her stomach. People in the hall were parting, clearing the path for someone striding towards them.
Anderson. The older man was in his dress blues, the new stripes on his shoulders proclaiming his status as Admiral glinting in the lights.
"Anderson." Shepard stated. Less formal than James' "Admiral."
She stuck out her hand, and Anderson gave it a warm shake, followed by another for Vega.
Anderson gestured at her to walk beside him as he turned to go back the way he just came from, as James fell in behind them.
"You look good Shepard. Maybe a little soft around the edges!" He teased. She automatically looked down at her waist and scowled at him. Stupid treadmills…they just weren't the same.
He chuckled and continued. "How have you been holding up? I know its been a long road since you've been relieved from duty, but we are almost through it now."
"Oh you know… It's not so bad once you get used to the hot food and soft beds." She joked, earning a grin for the usually taciturn older man.
Someone bumped into her in the hall, muttering an apology and they continued on. It was getting more and more crowded, and people were rushing by with data pads.
"What's going on? Why is everyone in such a hurry?"
"Admiral Hackett is mobilizing the fleet." Shepard faltered at his words. "I am guessing word had made it to Alliance Command…Something big is headed our way."
Holy fuck. She stopped dead at the foot of the stairs, forcing Anderson to stop and look at her. "The Reapers?"
"We don't know, Shepard. Not for certain."
"C'mon Anderson! What else could it be?" James was looking at her with his mouth hanging open in shock. Apparently he didn't usually see subordinates 'pshawing' at Alliance Admirals very often.
"If I knew that…" Anderson trailed off, leaving her to interpret the rest.
"It's the Reapers. And we are not ready for them! Not by a long shot."
Shepard was horrified. They had locked her up for months, moths! When she could have been helping them to prepare. She had hoped that by destroying the Alpha Relay she had bought them years…instead it had been months. Months they had wasted, trying to determine what her punishment for saving billions of lives should be.
Anderson gave her an odd look. "Tell that to the defense committee." He said, turning and resuming his path to the defense chambers.
"Unless we are planning to talk the Reapers to death, the defense committee is a waste of time!" She said, not bothering to lower her voice. Vega muttered "Dios mio!" and hunched his massive shoulders.
"C'mon Shepard. They are just scared. None of them have seen what you have seen. You've faced down a Reaper, hell, you spoke to one! Then blew the damn thing up!"
Shepard smirked a little at that…it had been one of her better moments.
Anderson continued. "You've seen how they harvest us, what they plan to do to us. You know more about this enemy than anyone, Shepard."
Bitterness swelled in her chest, and the words boiled out before she could stop them. "That why they grounded me? Took away my ship?"
Anderson stopped dead, and whirled to face her, one finger jabbing her in the chest. Vega backed away hastily, looking anywhere but at her. "That's bullshit and you know it Shepard! The shit you've done? Any other soldier would have been tried, court marshalled and discharged."
She ground her teeth, hating the fact that he was right. She knew how much he and Hackett had been fighting to stop the brass from doing exactly that. She gave him a tight nod; all Anderson was going to get in apology. He took it and continued.
"It's your knowledge of the Reapers that kept that from happening."
She sighed, and laid a hand on his shoulder. "That, and your good word." He smiled at her, and they continued forwards, Vega jogging back towards them, now that he knew Anderson wasn't going to give her a smack down.
"I trust you Shepard. And so does the committee, although, it took them longer to realise it."
She still didn't see why he was taking her to the defense committee instead of the war council.
"I'm just a solder Anderson, I'm no politician." She pleaded.
He laughed at her. "Neither am I Shepard, but look what happened to me! I just need you to do what you do best. Do whatever the hell it takes to help stop the Reapers."
They moved up the final flight of stairs and were at the security clearance for the defense committee. A young woman with a data pad stepped forward and saluted Anderson.
"They are expecting you two, Admiral." She turned and proceeded to lead them forward.
Anderson and the aid moved ahead to speak to a captain Shepard didn't recognize. Vega touched her arm, and she paused.
"Good luck in there Shepard." He shook her hand, and gave her a cheeky wink.
"Jeez Vega… I'll see you soon. Try not to get into too much trouble without me." She laughed.
"Oh you know me…I'm a saint." The marine grinned.
She rolled her eyes at him.
"Shepard." A husky voice said, and the smile on her face died. Vega looked over her shoulder curiously, then gave a salute.
Shepard turned around slowly, her heart in her throat at the sight of him standing there with Anderson.
"Kaidan…" She said cautiously.
Her shoulders stiffened, and her legs felt like lead as she moved towards he and Anderson, her eyes locked on his face. He had put on some serious muscle. His back was ramrod straight, his hair slicked back off his face, with a dark stubble grazing his cheeks. His amber eyes were wary, but warm, as he looked at her, his eyes raking over her from head to toe.
She beat down the urge to throw herself at him and never let go.
"How did it go in there Major?" Kaidan tore his eyes away from hers and gave his attention back to Anderson.
"O.k, I think. It's hard to know. I am just waiting for orders now." He shrugged and returned his eyes to hers.
"Major?" She said softly.
He blushed, not enough for anyone to notice, unless they were very familiar with his face…as she was.
Anderson answered her query. "You hadn't heard? Shit, Shepard. I'm sorry."
She shook her head. "No…I hadn't. Congratulations." She offered.
Kaidan looked at her, his eyes apologetic. "I'm sorry Shepard. It's been…Well…"
He looked away, obviously trying to look anywhere but at her.
He was a Major now? And Anderson hadn't though to tell her? And Kaidan hadn't thought to tell her. She swallowed down the pain knifing her in the guts.
"It's ok. I'm just…glad I bumped into you, Kaidan." She cursed her traitorous heart for saying the words, wishing she could call them back. He looked shocked, then another expression crossed his face, but it was gone before she could recognize what it was.
"Yeah, me too." He said softly. His eyes searched her face, and hers, his. The air between them grew heavy.
"Admiral?" The aid returned, gesturing to the double doors behind her.
"C'mon." Anderson said, and nodded to Kaidan as he stepped forward toward the Defense Council.
Shepard cleared her throat and tore her eyes from Kaidan's face, following Anderson. As she drew abreast of him, Kaidan smiled at her. A soft, tender smile like he used to when they had stolen moments alone on the first Normandy. Before she could stop herself, she smiled back, then she was past him.
She beat down the inner version of herself that was howling at her to look back at him, to give him some sign of encouragement. With a ruthless stomp, she squashed the voice, and stepped before the Defense Committee.
They were in a huge room, with glass dominating the far wall, giving a spectacular view of Vancouver. The three committee members sat behind a large curving desk before the wall of glass.
"Admiral Anderson. Shepard." Said the youngest male committee member, nerves obvious in his voice.
Never one to beat around the bush, Shepard spoke up. "What's the situation?"
The oldest member was the one to speak this time. "Actually…we were hoping you would tell us."
She gaped at him in shock as an aid handed her a data pad. She looked at the numbers, a growing sense of dread building in her guts as the lone female committee member gave more details.
"The reports coming in are…unlike anything we've seen. Whole colonies have gone dark. We've lost contact with everything beyond the Sol Relay…" She trailed off, and the oldest committee member continued.
"Whatever this is… It is incomprehensibly powerful." His voice shook, and he was pale and sweating.
Shepards eyebrows drew together as six months of wasted time and rage built in her chest.
"You brought me here to confirm what you already know!" She spat. "The Reapers, are here."
Many of the aids in the room gasped, and more than one person shot a panicked glance at her, as though she were crazy. The members of the defense committee shared grim looks with one another, then shared a glance with Anderson, who nodded.
"Then…How do we stop them?" The woman asked weakly, her eyes begging Shepard to have the answers.
"Stop them?" Shepard repeated, disbelief at the woman's stupidity lacing her tone.
The fact that after all this time, all the evidence she had been trying to shove down their throats for years, and they still didn't grasp the fact that this was war on a scale they had never even heard of before made bile rush into Shepards throat.
Resisting the urge to leap onto the dais and strangle them all for the fools they were, she tried to explain, one more time, what they were up against.
"This isn't about strategies, or tactics. This is about survival. The Reapers are more advanced then we are. More powerful, more intelligent." Shepard walked forward as she spoke, until she was right at the base of the desk.
She made eye contact with each member as she spoke. "They. Don't. Fear. Us."
One of the aids stood off to the side, white as a ghost, looking as though she was going to be sick.
"The Reapers will never take pity on us." Shepard finished, driving the final nail in the coffin of denial they had built around themselves.
"But…There must be some way…" The female committee member said weakly.
Most of the people in the room were frozen, inching closer to Shepard and Anderson as though by their presence alone, they would find the answers they were so desperately looking for.
"There is." Shepard stated calmly. "Each of us has to be willing to die to save humanity." Gasps of shock echoed all around her. She looked around the room. "Anything less than that, and the Reapers have already won."
The oldest committee member was gaping at her in horror. "That's it? That's our plan!" His face was turning red, and Shepard knew he was going to scream his denial…that none of them really understood how it was going to be.
Before he had a chance, one of the aids called out to Anderson. "Admiral! We've lost contact with Luna base!"
And so it begins… Shepard closed her eyes and her fingers itched to hold a weapon.
"The moon?" Anderson explained, his brow furrowed into a deep frown. "They couldn't be that close already…" He trailed off.
"How did they get past our defenses?" The female committee member asked stupidly.
"Sir!" The aid called out again. "U.K Headquarters has a visual."
The blood in Shepards veins turned to ice as the massive screen began broadcasting that her worst fears had come to pass.
A lone marine stood in front of the camera screaming something they couldn't hear due to the static. Flames were billowing out from ruined buildings all around him, and Shepards heart began to pound as the familiar boom of a Reaper was heard in the background.
The signal from London went dead with a screech. Everyone in the room was instantly on their feet, staring at the screen in horror.
More images began to appear. All across Earth, at what looked like every major city, massive Reapers were landing. Red beams of destruction and death shot from the Reapers, tearing through whole city blocks, turning them to rubble. Snatches of video showing husks pouring from landed Reapers into the streets made Shepard feel nauseous.
The screen froze, showing a massive Harbinger class Reaper about to descend on what looked to be New York.
Anderson looked at Shepard, his face grey. "Why haven't we heard from Admiral Hackett?"
Shepard just shook her head at him.
"What do we do?" Asked a scared voice. The rage had faded from the oldest committee members face, and had been replaced with terror.
Shepard walked slowly up to the platform. "The only thing we can…We fight, or we die."
The Defense council sat behind their desk, horror and terror on their faces, unwilling to make a move, even now with the proof right before their eyes.
Anderson and Shepard shared a look. It was the kind of look that can only be shared by those who have gone through hell together. There were only three people in the galaxy that Shepard shared that with. Anderson, Garrus…and Kaidan. It was a look that said 'We need to get to the fucking Normandy. Now.'
The building around them gave a slight shudder underneath her feet, and Shepard looked towards the window in horror, as a familiar, haunting, boom resounded throughout the chamber. The council members rose from the desk on shaky legs and turned towards the massive wall of glass overlooking Vancouver.
"Oh my god…" the female council member said as the massive legs of a Reaper descended from the sky right in front of them.
"Move!" Shepard screamed as the red beam shot from the Reaper. She turned to run, and the room around her exploded.
She was blown backwards, crashing into a wall and bouncing off a bench to land flat on her back on the floor. The wind was knocked out of her, and, as she struggled to breathe, the screams of the people on fire filled the room. They were muted, as though underwater, and with the smoke and flames all around her, for a moment she was back on the Normandy; the air tearing from her lungs as she floated through flames and wreckage.
With a gasp, she sucked in a lungful of air, then another. Eyes watering, she raised a hand to her throbbing head, and it came away bloody.
"Shepard!" Came a voice through the fog, and she looked groggily around, her vision blurred.
"Shepard!" It came again, clearer. Anderson spotted her, and darted across the room, a gash in his cheek, and his arm blistered and burned. He reached down and pulled her to her feet.
"Shepard. Get up. Here take this." He pulled a pistol from behind his back, then bent down and took another off a dead guard by his feet. A quick glance around the room and she forced off the rest of the fog. A quick look around showed Shepard that no one else had made it.
Anderson moved to the door, but it was crushed and buried behind a mountain of rubble.
"We've got to get moving!" He said, heading towards the blown out window.
Anderson raised his comm. "This is Anderson. Report in. Anyone." Shepard did not have a comm, and could only hear Anderson's side of the conversation.
There was a moment of terse silence, then "Major Alenko, is that you?"
A gasp of relief escaped Shepard, and she clamped a hand forcibly on her pistol to stop herself from breaking down.
Kaidan was alive. He had been right on the other side of the door with James… God, she hoped James had made it out as well.
She barely suppressed her roiling emotions as she listened to Andersons one sided conversation.
"I can't raise the Normandy." Anderson continued with Kaidan. "You'll have to contact them…O.k… We will meet you at the landing zone…yes, Shepard is with me… Anderson out." He clicked off and looked at Shepard, his face grave and covered in ash and blood.
Shepard stood at the window, the horror of their situation hitting her fully, as she looked over Vancouver.
Debris from burning starships rained from the sky, while the massive Reapers landed and walked through buildings, their red beams obliterating anything in their path. There were bodies every where, and small gunships were desperately trying to do something, anything, to stop the behemoths invading them.
"C'mon, we need to keep moving." Anderson said softly, tearing his gaze away, and jumping from the ledge down to a balcony below.
The moved through a few balconies, jumping over fallen concrete slabs, then began to climb. After a few minutes they came across a dead marine, and Shepard took his comm, but it was damaged. She could only hear, not respond.
Anderson got Kaidan on the radio again.
"Major, do you read me? I am patching in Shepard."
"We are almost to the Normandy." Kaidan's voice filled Shepard's ear, and her heart leapt at the sound. He was panting, and she could hear gunfire all around him. "I've got Lt. Vega with me and we are taking heavy fire!"
Thank god…thank you. Shepard thought.
"Husks!" Anderson screamed and cut the call. They were scaling the building in front of them, and Shepard didn't even hesitate before opening fire.
She and Anderson continued forward until they hit an old balcony. They both fired a few rounds at a cluster of husks… then both ran out of ammo. They moved forward and Shepard used all her strength to bash her pistol into a husks skull, killing it.
Anderson did the same, and they stood there, panting as they planned their next move. There was a deafening boom, and a red beam shot from the Reaper nearest to them. They barely made cover in time. The glass from the windows next to them blew outwards, showering them with glass.
Shepard stood, and stepped through a window cautiously. There were no bodies, and she couldn't see anyone.
She moved ahead, calling out to Anderson. She pried open the doors leading to the hall, and Anderson squeezed through, turning back to hold them for her. She got halfway through, when a noise behind her made her pause.
She ignored Anderson's whispered. "Shepard!" And turned back to investigate.
Her pistol held out in front of her, she moved back into the apartment. She could hear someone's terrified breathing and whimpering, and crouched down to investigate a large vent.
A young boy was crouched inside, his blond air covered in ash, making is blue eyes appear startlingly bright in the dimness. For a moment, it was Lily looking up at her, her cornflower blue eyes begging Shepard to save her… then he was the boy again.
"Hey…It's ok." She said softly, dropping the pistol and gesturing unthreateningly with her hands out. The boy backed away farther, his eyes glassy with terror.
"Everyone is dying!" He whispered, tears pouring down his face. They left gray streaks through the ash, and Shepard just wanted to hold him, and wipe them away.
"Shhh… It's ok. I can help you." She whispered back. The building gave a shudder and he gasped, backing deeper into the vent until he was at the corner junction. "I need to get you someplace safe." She held her hand out to him., knowing he could bolt.
"Take my hand…" She whispered, giving him a soft smile.
He shook his head. "You can't help me…"
"Shepard! In here!" Anderson yelled, and she jumped, and whipped her head around to look at him. She looked back to the vent, ready to haul the boy out by force, but he was gone.
She half crawled in, but she was too large. She couldn't hear him. She cursed softly, and as the building shuddered again, she squeezed through the door to meet up with Anderson, giving a last look at the apartment for the boy.
Anderson had moved through the hall, but needed her help to shift the debris. Half of the hallway had collapsed, and it was a tight squeeze to get through.
"Anderson…" She started, planning to tell him about the boy, but was cut off.
"This is a god-damn mess!" He cursed, squeezing between a concrete slab and some rebar. "Every minutes these machines are here, thousands of innocent people die!" He made it through, tearing his dress blues into tatters. "I wont be responsible!" He hissed.
Shepard frowned at him as she followed his path through the rubble. "You're not responsible for the ones who die, Anderson. We fight for the ones left standing when its all over. The ones who have a future."
He wiped his brow. "Yeah… maybe your right. They hit so fast, I though we'd have more time."
They moved back and forth with each other, trading places as they held up rubble so the other could get through.
"We knew they were coming." Shepard puffed, holding up a metal beam so the larger man could squeeze underneath.
With a curse, Anderson popped free. "And they still just cut through our defenses!" He turned and looked at her, his face deadly serious. "We need to go to the Citadel. Talk to the Council."
Shepard looked at him in shock. "The Citadel? The fight is here, Anderson." How could he possibly think to leave, while their world was burning around them?
"It'll be everywhere soon enough. You said it yourself, Shepard. The Reapers will destroy everything if we don't stop them. The Council has to help us."
They made it through the last of the rubble, and emerged on a very narrow ledge several stories up. They would have to inch their way across to keep moving towards the Normandy.
Shepard gritted her teeth and began the slow sideways shuffle. "You sure about that?" She asked skeptically. The council didn't have a great history of backing them up when the Alliance said shit was hitting the fan.
Cough*Saren*Cough.
"No… But you're a council Spectre, Shepard. That has to count for something." He grinned.
She scoffed at him, and the building gave a massive shudder. Shepard's foot slipped and she pitched forward.
"Gotcha!" Anderson said, hauling her in by the back of her shirt until she was upright.
"Thanks…" She said, eyeing the un-survivable fall she had just avoided. "I owe you one, Anderson."
"Hah! More than one, Shepard." The older man teased as they made it off the narrow ledge onto another balcony.
They began the descent down in silence, until they came into view of the harbour and spaceport.
"Major Alenko, we are in view of the spaceport. ETA three minutes." Anderson said into the comm.
Kaidan's reply was frantic and loud in her ear. "This is the Normandy; we are taking heavy fire…My god… They are going to take down the dreadnaught! Joker! Evasive manoeuvers!"
Shepard looked up, and watched in horror as the Reaper sent a massive beam towards an Alliance dreadnaught in above them. It was a direct hit, but even crippled, the dreadnaught returned fire. She searched the sky, but couldn't see the Normandy through all the smoke and debris. Kaidan had sounded frantic…things had to be bad up there.
'Major Alenko, do you read? Major Alenko? Kaidan? Damn it!" Anderson yelled. "They are in trouble!"
The Reaper fired again, and this time the dreadnaught seemed to swell. Then it exploded. Shepard braced herself, but the shockwave slammed into her, and the walkway she was standing on collapsed.
"Shepard!" She heard Anderson scream, then she was rolling and tumbling down in a cloud of dust, towards the ocean. The walkway fell on an angle, supported by a downed starship. By the time Shepard crashed into the ground at the bottom, she was jarred and bruised as hell.
She lay totally still for a moment, then tentatively wiggled her arms and legs. Her weak leg trembled, but moved. Thankfully, nothing seemed broken. There was a crash, and Anderson fell with a thud beside her.
"Damn! I thought I could climb down, but the bloody ladder broke!" He groaned.
She just grunted at him, and got to her feet.
"Normandy? Do you read me? We are going to re-route. Do you read?" Anderson tried again.
Shepard's heart lurched in relief as Kaidan's voice crackled over the comm. They couldn't understand him over the static, but to just to hear him answer made Shepard's urge fight return with a vengeance. She and Anderson took off jogging again, and continued forward until they reached a downed Alliance gunship.
There were a few wounded marines that had survived the crash. Shepard and Anderson made sure they were stable and then checked around for supplies.
There was a satellite radio, apparently undamaged, laying off to one side. Anderson immediately moved to it, while Shepard took an assault rifle off a dead marine, swallowing down her rage at the senseless death.
"Normandy, this is Anderson. Do you read?"
"Admiral. What's your location?"
Shepard grinned at Kaidan's voice. It rang with authority this time. He sounded tired, but unhurt. Anderson shared a fierce grin with her.
"We are by a downed gunship in the harbour. I am activating its distress beacon. Send support, we've got wounded down here."
There's was a terrible squeal and the line cut out. Shepard and Anderson shared a worried glance.
"Damn it." He said softly.
"Let's hope that beacon does its job." Shepard muttered.
The words had barely left her mouth when an explosion went off behind them, and a wave of Cannibals appeared.
"Anderson, stay with them!" Shepard yelled, pointing at the injured marines. She leapt over some rubble to take cover closer to the shambling creatures. Round after round she put into the grotesque mutated Batarian husks, trying to get them before they could scavenge armour from the ones she had already put down.
"Shepard! I am out of ammo!" Anderson shouted, and she hesitated, looking down at her clips. She was down to two. She threw one to him, and jammed the other into her assault rifle.
She would take as many of these fuckers down with her as she could manage. "C'mon Joker…" She muttered, praying the Normandy would be able to find them…and that there still was a Normandy.
She fired her last round, and activated her omni-blade. She took a few deep breath's and refused to look back at Anderson, who was calling her name warningly. She stood, preparing to vault over her cover and rush the closest Cannibal, when it was blown away by gunfire from above.
"The cavalry has arrived!" Joker crowed in her ear as the Normandy swooped low overhead.
She whooped, and swung around to follow it through the sky. Her heart swelled in her chest at the sight of the beautiful ship lowering itself down to pick them up. It had been six long months, and she was just as beautiful as ever.
There was a huge rise lead upwards from the water, and she started running up it. "Let's go!" She called to Anderson, who followed her.
She reached the top of the rise, and the Normandy's ramp began to lower. Kaidan and James moved down to the edge, holding assault rifles and motioning her to jump aboard. She leapt, a huge effort in her exhausted state. She landed hard, her weak leg giving out, causing her to stumble into Kaidan.
He reached out an arm to steady her. "Welcome aboard, Shepard." His biotics flared, only slightly, against the bare skin of her arm. Shepard's stomach clenched. The last time she had felt Kaidan's biotics had been the night before Ilos…His amber eyes raked her face, and for a moment she could have sworn he was going to embrace her.
"Shepard!" He called. The Admiral paused at the top of the ramp, and Shepard turned to face him, breaking the moment.
"C'mon!" She said, as an Alliance shuttle landed behind him, and marines began to pour out to help the wounded crew of the gunship. Anderson's gaze swung to follow it, and he had a resigned, determined look on his face as he turned back to her.
"I'm not going."
She tried to find words, something to say to argue. He seemed to know it and gave her a tired grin.
"You saw those men back there. There are a million more like them, and they need a leader."
She shook her head at him. "We are in this fight together, Anderson."
He gave her a hard look. "It's a fight we can't win, Shepard. Not without help. We need every species, and all their ships to even have a chance at defeating the Reapers."
She knew what he was going to say and shook her head in denial. She was no politician.
"Go to the Council." He urged. "Convince them to help us."
James was looking back and forth between them, his mouth open. Shepard could feel Kaidan's gaze burning into her back. She stepped forward, right to the edge of the ramp.
"What if they wont listen?" She said, hating the tremor in her voice at the thought of leaving him here, while Earth burned and she escaped.
He grinned at her. "Then do what you do best, Jane. Make them listen."
She held the older mans gaze, all the things she wanted to say rolling through her mind. But her throat was tight and she wasn't able to get the words out. Anderson seemed to understand.
"Now go, Shepard. That's an order." His voice was soft, but there was steel underneath.
She smirked at him, the gesture automatic after years of banter and teasing. "I don't take orders form you anymore, remember!"
He reached into his pocket and tossing something at her. Years of training had honed her reflexes and she snatched it out of the air without even thinking about it.
"Consider yourself re-instated…Commander." He called. She looked down at the dog tags in her hand. Her face grew warm, and she blinked away the hot tears in her eyes. She hadn't had a set of dog tags since the Normandy went down. Liara had kept the originals…framing them after Shepard's death. She clenched them tight in her hand, hearing Kaidan's soft intake of breath behind her at the sight of them.
"You know what you have to do." Anderson took several steps back.
"I'll be back for you…and I'll bring every fleet I can." He nodded at her. "Good luck."
The tags cut into her palms as she squeezed them in her nerveless fingers.
"You too, Shepard." Another shuttle of Marine's landed behind Anderson, and he turned to meet them.
She backed up the ramp until she was next to Kaidan. She moved her head slightly and met his gaze, his eyes giving her the strength she needed to face leaving earth, and Anderson behind.
The Normandy's engines powered up, and they began to lift away. Shepard watched Anderson turn and jog down the ramp, helping the injured onto shuttles.
A few hundred yards away, more shuttles landed and several civilians ran out of a partially ruined building, calling for help. Marine's jumped down and began helping them into the shuttles, assaults rifles going constantly to keep the husks at bay.
Shepard moved, rushing to the edge of the docking platform with a gasp, ignoring Kaidan's hold on her arm to stabilize her as her leg wobbled under her.
The boy from the vent ran from behind some debris, his hands held over his ears against the noise.
The marines were firing at the husks, and didn't see him as he crawled into the shuttle, almost too small to make it by himself. Shepard strained against Kaidan's grip, willing the marines to hurry, to get out of there.
There was a deafening boom, and a Reaper turned to face them. As though it was happening in slow motion, Shepard watched the red beam target the ground and annihilate one of the shuttles. The boy seemed to pause in the doorway of the other shuttle, and look directly at her. Her heart in her throat, Shepard watched as the door closed; hiding him from her view as it lifted off. It rose, and had drawn almost level with the Normandy when the beam from the Reaper fired again.
The shuttle exploded, rocking Shepard backwards into Kaidan. She sank to her knees, Kaidan a silent, horrified presence behind her. She watched, as the debris from the ruined shuttle rained into the ocean.
Watched, as her planet burned.