Jason 'Maverick' Harlow

Council Chambers - Citadel

August 22, 2183 - 23:11 hours

The squad all stood with their weapons aimed at the creature before them that was once Saren. The cybernetic skeleton glowed various purples and blues along its structure except for the ribcage and eyes that glowed dark-red from the Reaper's power.

Giving a loud, mechanical shriek, the Husk crouched and lept at the team with speed that surprised them.

Jason let the explosive arrow he had ready fly, the creature twisted to the side as the projectile flew right past it. Missing by only centimeters before hitting the far wall.

The creature landing on all fours before leaping up on to one of the walls of the chamber and scuttle out of sight. "What the hell is that?" shouted Garrus scanning the walls with his assault rifle trying to locate the abomination.

"I think Sovereign's controlling the cybernetic part of Saren's body. Kind of like the Husks we saw before." said Jane as the creature crawled along the wall and they all opened fire on it.

The red glowing Husk flung itself at them, everyone dove aside as it landed on the ground with a large impact and it started crawled across the ground like a spider. The team continued to shoot at it, but each round just barely missed the mark or bounced off of a red kinetic barrier that was around it.

Wrex charged it with his shotgun blasting. The Husk threw itself at the Krogan, flipping through the air and latching onto his hump. Claws racking across his armor and leaving deep gouges in the hardened material. "Get this thing off of me!" The Warlord roared trying to shake it off.

"Wrex hold still!" shouted Jason cocking his fist back. "Maximum Power." His fist connected hard with the creature's face sending it flying off of Wrex and crashing into the pillar behind them. The Husk flipped upright on the ground and started to crawl around again.

Liara fired singularity after singularity in an attempt to try and slow it down, but each biotic attack barely hindered it. Tali fired a barrage of tech attacks of various natures, the Husk's kinetic barriers sparked slightly when an overload struck it hard.

Jane and Garrus capitalized from Tali's attack and sprayed the creature with a hail of gunfire from their assault rifles. The rounds peppering the metal skeleton and causing a bit of damage as it scrambled back to get away from the assault.

It lept up and latched on to a wall again as red energy began to charge to its mouth. "Everyone get down!" shouted Jane. They got into cover just as a volley of energy blasts spewed from the Husk's mouth toward them. Raining down all over the area scorching the walls and floor on contact.

Jason stood and sprayed rounds everywhere with his assault rifle. The creature turned its head in his direction and launched a concentrated blast his way. "Maximum Armor." The blast connected with his chest sending the nano soldier into the wall.

Dazed, he picked up his dropped rifle and vented it. Jane lept over the fallen pillar next to him and pressed her back to it for cover. "This could be trouble." she said as she drew her shotgun and prepared for another attempt.

He couldn't help but agree as they attacked together.

X

Outside the tower, the Alliance fleet opened fire with everything they had on Sovereign. Hitting the Reaper with all they could throw at it.

The Reaper didn't seem to acknowledge the heavy rounds as they detonated off of its powerful barriers. Slowly, it lifted one of its tentacles and fired a bright red beam of energy that sheared through a nearby dreadnought and causing it to explode.

Sovereign opened the rest of its appendages and started tearing apart the other ships. Many attempted to back away from the deadly weapons only to fall to the same fate.

The Normandy flew by the wreckage of a nearby ship and just barely missing a beam fired from the Reaper. "Sovereign's too strong! We have to pull back!" shouted a commander from a nearby cruiser.

"Negative! This is our only chance! Take that monster down, no matter what the cost!" ordered Hackett as the fleet kept the pressure on.

X

Garrus swung his sniper rifle around and fired a round straight at the Reaper infused Husk. The creature jumped out of the way before going after the Turian, its razor sharp claws slicing the weapon in half before knocking him hard into the wall.

Spinning around, the Husk fired another barrage of energy blasts that forced the team into cover. Jane peered around and saw that Garrus was slumped on the ground unmoving from the attack. "Shit! Garrus is down, we need to take this thing down and fast!" she said standing and spraying bullets all over.

Jason drew his Hammer pistol and emptied the clip in moments. "It's gotta have a weakness!" he said reloading and emptying the clip again.

The creature crawled along the walls of the chamber, leaping at the team shrieking like a banshee as they threw everything they had at it.

Landing on the floor, Wrex fired several shotgun blasts into the synthetic only for it to fire a blast right into his chest. Scorching his armor and sending the Warlord skidding across the ground.

Tali threw another overload to take out its barriers and was successful, but she couldn't stop it from lashing out with a long metal arm and knocking her aside.

"Maximum Power." Jason lept into the air and slammed his fist down onto the Husk's spine. The creature shuttered from the attack, its head and neck craning in his direction as a large volt of red electricity shot from its mouth and struck him in the chest.

His HUD went crazy as his body began to convulse. "IF YOU WILL NOT SERVE US. YOU WILL BE DESTROYED." Sovereign bellowed as the power increased in intensity.

Jane kept the trigger of her rifle clenched until the weapon over heated. She then grabbed it by the stock and smashed it against the Husk in attempt to get it to release the nano soldier. A pulse of red energy shot from the synthetic sending the remaining squad mates flying back.

Jason tried to fight against the attack, but the energy was too powerful. "Warning: Energy Depleted. Multiple Systems Overloading." warned SECOND as the red power arced over his form.

'I have to do something! Anything dammit!' through his struggles, Jason clenched his fists as he fought harder against the attack.

That's when he felt it. The same feeling he got from that energy output that went through him back on Ilos. The same thing that Vigil gave to him before it shut down completely. "Adapted Xeno Energy Source Detected. Initializing..."

A bolt of green energy arced across his right arm, a second followed along on the left. In moments green energy danced along the surface of the nano suit and began to fight against the red energy invading it.

"Energy Levels at Maximum Capacity. Energy Levels Increasing Beyond Normal Parameters."Jason's HUD glowed green around the edges as his energy meter went off the charts. A green bolt shot out of his body and pushed against the red energy being controlled by the Husk.

The team watched wide eyed as the green bolt fought against the red one. The struggle of power was so bright they had to shield their eyes from it.

Focusing on this newfound energy, Jason dug down deeper and forced as much of it as he could to the surface. The bolt coming from him overpowered the Reaper-energy and struck the creature, causing it to shriek and scurry back out of range.

Jason landed back on his feet and stood straight, green power dancing all over him as he glared at the Husk. "This ain't over." he growled taking out his bow and going on the offensive.

Leaping back on to the walls, the Husk charged for another attack. But Jason was already on top of it. Firing a eezo arrow that struck it dead on and disrupted its concentration.

An explosive arrow followed, knocking it off of the wall as the nano soldier slid across the ground and delivering a thundering kick to the creature's chest and throwing it into the wall.

The Husk got back to its feet and lept at the Post-Human with claws ready to tear him apart. It was then a grenade flew in its path and exploded, causing it to go off course and crash to the ground. "You forget us?" said Jane leveling her assault rifle with the rest of the team standing with her weapons and powers ready.

Crawling back a few steps, the creature opened its mouth and fired a large beam at them.

Jason ran in front of the others, the green energy from before still charging his nano suit as the attack hit. Only this time he pushed it back with equal ferocity. "It's over Sovereign! Your genocide ends here!" he shouted as he focused on pushing more of the strange energy into the beam.

The Husk struggled, but met the nano soldier in a stalemate. "THE CYCLE CANNOT BE STOPPED. YOU WILL MERELY DELAY THE INEVITABLE. ORGANIC LIFE AS YOU KNOW IT WILL COME TO AN END."

The power gathering around the creature grew exponentially until it all exploded out around the room.

Unprepared for such an event, the squad was thrown about the chamber like rag dolls. Some hitting walls and pillars in their flight before coming to rest on the floor.

Jason groaned as he slowly got up. The energy around him dying slowly and his suit returning to normal from the super charge. Jane laid next to him unconscious as the rest of their team laid all over the place in the same state.

The nano soldier stood on shaking legs as SECOND spoke in his ear;

"Suit Integrity: 39%"

"Energy Depleted."

"Armor and Cloaking Abilities Temporarily Offline."

"Repairs in Progress..."

He was tackled by a solid form. The Husk crouched over him before slashing viciously with its sharp claws, leaving deep grooves and cuts in the nano suit's surface.

"Suit Integrity: 30%. Maximum Power." Jason raised his foot and kicked the creature hard sending it away and allowing him to get back to his feet. He reached for his weapons and found that his weapons had been fried in the energy burst, his bow laid on the other side of the chamber and his pistol low on ammo.

Bringing out his omni-tool on one arm and drawing his knife with the other. the nano soldier readied himself as the Husk gave a loud shriek before coming at him again.

X

Jane slowly opened her eyes. The smell of various things burning and the sounds of combat bringing her back to reality as she tried to assess what had happened.

Ignoring the pain in her head and chest, she pushed herself to her hands and knees before sitting upright. Wrex and Liara were in a similar state, but Tali and Garrus were still out cold. Checking her weapons, she found that the inner workings had been completely fried from whatever the creature did moments ago.

A loud crash made her head shoot up.

Jason was locked in hand to hand combat with the Reaper controlled Husk. Ducking and dodging around swipes and energy blasts as he tried to get some form of leverage over the thing.

He managed to catch the creature's arm and throw it over his shoulder. But the thing just twisted in the air at the last minute and righted itself before landing back on the ground and running back at him.

Wrex roared and charged into the fray. Ramming his bulk into the Husk and slamming it to the wall.

But the creature possessed a strange amount of strength as it fought back. Holding the Krogan a moment before slashing him across the chest and throwing him into Jason sending both crashing to the floor.

Jason got back to his feet and fired a cluster overload that hit its target. Completely frying the Husk's shields and giving him the distraction to run in and stab the blade of his hardened knife into it's ribcage.

The energy within the synthetic pulsed and the knife was sent flying away, burying itself into the nearby wall as a sharp clawed hand grabbed the nano soldier by the throat and began to crush it. "YOUR DEATH, WILL THE FIRST OF MANY, HYBRID." the Reaper bellowed.

Jane began to panic, looking around for something, anything she could use as a weapon...then she saw it.

A few feet away laid Jason's bow, the quiver of arrows nearby. She quickly scrambled toward them. Most of the arrows had been damaged or destroyed completely. But one remained in tact as she picked it up along with the bow.

Knocking the arrow, she held the weapon up and slowly drew the string back. Recalling the time Jason had shown her how to use it;

X Flashback: X

"How can this thing really be that effective? It's a little old for common warfare." said Jane as she and Jason stood in the Normandy's shooting range. The nano soldier holding his bow out to her with a raised eyebrow after hearing her statement.

"That's were your wrong. You see, even the old classics can be retro-fitted in with current styles. Not only that, but they can prove to be a huge asset as well." he said calmly.

"How so?" asked the Commander.

"Consider this. All kinetic barriers were designed to stop mass accelerated rounds, yes?" he asked receiving a nod. "Well, in most cases a barrier stops the round because of its velocity. Which is pretty damn fast with the mass accelerator drives in each weapon."

He held up the bow, "My bow doesn't use mass accelerator technology. The arrows travel fast with each shot, but lack the same velocity as a regular round fired from a gun. This low velocity makes it so that most barriers won't be able to detect it until after it's already hit the target. Basically, it can penetrate most barriers like they weren't there."

Jane was surprised. She never expected such a primitive weapon to have such an advantage in a firefight. "Mind if I give it a shot?"

Jason smirked before handing the weapon over along with a regular arrow. "Need a tutorial?"

The Commander shook her head as she stood at the line. "I've seen you use it, how hard can it be?" she knocked the arrow and drew the string back. But the sudden pull at the end made her lose focus and she let it go.

The arrow was released and hit the floor half-way down range and bounced a few times before coming to a stop.

For his part, Jason fought not to laugh at the honest beginner's mistake.

Drawing another arrow, Jane focused a little harder as she drew it back. A moment later she let it go, sailing through the air and burrowing into a crate that was behind the target and a foot to the right. "Dammit..." she cursed.

"Here." said the nano soldier taking another arrow and standing behind her. "You have to control your breathing with this a lot more than you do with a sniper rifle. Even the slightest shift will cause an issue."

Reaching around her and holding her hands as he helped her knock the new arrow. Jane found herself blushing at how close they were as he helped control her movements.

"Deep, slow breaths." he said in her ear as he helped her draw the string back smoothly. "Now, just before you let the shot go, hold your breath to steady your aim. But make sure you have your target lined up before you do." he coached while releasing her hands.

Jane followed his instructions as she looked down the sights on the bow, lining up the target down range as she held her breath and steadied herself. She then let it go.

The arrow whistled through the air before connecting with the target dead center.

"Alright!" exclaimed Jason clapping at the perfect shot. Jane beamed with pride, it felt like she was back in basic and hitting high marks on the shooting range all over again.

"Think I can get a little more practice in?" she asked looking over her shoulder at him.

"Can't see why not. Who knows, maybe you can out shoot me with this thing some day." said the Post-Human with a chuckle.

Jane raised an eyebrow, "You trying to over-flatter me, Jason?" she asked putting her hand on her hip with the other still holding the bow.

Jason made the perfect innocent face, "Would I do that?"

Rolling her eyes, the Commander took another arrow and knocked it. "Just watch, Harlow. I'll put you to shame with this someday." she said letting the shot go.

X Flashback End X

Jane took a few small deep breaths. Drowning out everything around her as she lined up her target. Holding her breath for that last moment, she prayed to every deity in existence that she would not miss.

She let the arrow fly.

X

Jason struggled in the Husk's grasp as his airways were blocked off. His vision swam black as he tried to think of a way out of this. "Warning! Vital Signs Dropping!"alerted SECOND as things got harder to focus.

Suddenly there was a small flash in his peripheral vision. The creature's head snapped to the side before it let out a blood curdling screech of pain. A lone arrow sticking out of its left eye socket as it dropped Jason to the ground.

Now free, Jason got his second wind quickly before taking out his omni-tool. "Time for something new." the device glowed a moment before it started to shift and change shape. A foot long blade the same color as the omni-tool itself sprang to life out of the device as the nano soldier stood ready.

"Omni-Blade Online." The Post-Human gave a battle cry as he charged forward. Driving the hard-energy blade into the Husk's chest while it was distracted.

"Go to Hell Motherfucker!"Jason shouted as he charged the nano suit's energy into the blade and forced it in deeper until it burst out of the creature's back. The Husk's shrieks came to an abrupt halt before Jason pulled the blade free and let the now lifeless skeleton fall to the ground.

The same red energy that had gave it life slowly began to eat away at the cybernetic components until nothing but a pile of ashes remained.

Deactivating the omni-blade. Jason took a long, deep breath before looking to his right to see Jane standing on the other side of the chamber, his bow in her hand with a relieved smile on her face. "Nice shot, darlin." he said making her smile widen.

The rest of the team slow began to come around and got to their feet despite their injuries. But before anything could be said the whole tower began to shake again. "Uh oh...what now?" asked Liara fearful.

Jason's eyes widened, "We should be getting out of here..."

X

Back outside, Sovereign suddenly stopped its attacks. Energy sparked around its form as it lost power before tilting to the side and falling off of the tower.

Joker flew the Normandy through the wreckage of several ships with what remained of the fleet as they observed what was happening. "Its shields are down! Now's our chance!" he shouted to the other pilots and commanding officers as he flew the ship high above the Reaper.

"Hit it with everything we've got!" ordered Hackett.

The fleet fired on Sovereign, the Reapers armor being punched into easily without its shields to protect it. Joker flipped the Normandy around from its high point and dove toward the Reaper. "On my flank! We're going in!" he shouted. When he was in close, he fired a torpedo and banked right.

The round struck the Reaper in its underbelly, ripping straight through its armor, through its mass effect core, and out its front. Sovereign shook from the attack before it's tentacles started to blow off and the machine began to implode from the inside out.

In one thunderous explosion, Sovereign blew up. Its parts flying across the Citadel as the deadly vanguard ceased to exist.

X

The squad looked up at the main window of the Council chambers and had seen Sovereign's demise. But now faced another problem as the Reaper debris was now heading straight toward them.

"GO! EVERYONE OUT!" Jane screamed as they all ran as fast as they could toward the other end of the level. Jason right at her heels as the wreckage began hitting the tower.

A heavy tremor caused the Commander to fall down the small flight of stairs leading out of the chambers. Jason looked back as several chunks of the ancient machine smashed through the windows. With no other options, he threw himself on top of Jane.

The wreckage crashed into the tower kicking up more dust and debris from impact.

X

A/N: Only one chapter remains of this part of the series, but fear not. It is still only just the beginning of this particular remake.

Finally coming soon folks!