I do not own Mass Effect. Bioware does.
The instant Garrus and his crew finished spreading the Genophage treatment, they headed back to the Aran'tar to rest for a day. During that time, Mordin had the entire crew examined for any unusual symptoms.
"Strange. Signs of treatment present. Unforeseen symptoms aren't. Should be fine, otherwise," Mordin reported.
"That's all that matters, right?" Garrus asked, putting his shirt back on.
"Yes. In theory. Still, check in immediately if anything happens," Mordin had heavily checked the whole crew, finding that everyone present onboard during the leak had been affected.
Garrus walked to take his armor off at the lockers, meeting Robin on the bench.
"Should be fine, he says. Nothing apparent just yet."
Robin nodded and placed her hand on his.
"At least that would mostly put Mordin at ease," Robin mused.
"At least," Garrus agreed stripping off his chestplate, "but the absolute radio silence from the Citadel has me worried. Maybe we should bring in help before we head back."
"Huh?!" Robin warbled.
Garrus didn't respond, but he led Robin out of the lockers.
"While Mordin was checking on the crew, I've been trying to get a signal. There is just about no activity coming out of the Serpent Nebula right now," Garrus sighed.
He headed into his personal quarters with a datapad in hand.
"We should probably head in with the geth and quarians, just to be safe. If the Citadel is under attack, we can't afford to wait around with so many lives at stake."
"You don't think," Robin stuttered, "Cerberus got to them, do you?"
"If they are as desperate as they are, I wouldn't be surprised if this were some sort of last defiant act for them," Garrus groaned, "still, I had Tali contact Kal and the geth, get word to them to meet us up at the Annos Basin. Okeer also made a similar call to action with some of the clans back on Tuchanka."
Robin reached out and placed her hand on Garrus's palm. His eyes looked up to meet the young Shepard's.
"I hope the Councilors are still ok," Robin sighed softly.
"And I hope everyone else is okay," Garrus muttered as he tapped his forehead to hers.
After a few seconds of rest, Garrus led Robin out of his quarters and they made their way to the bridge.
"Sir, we are approaching the Annos Basin," the pilot reported.
"Good. Hold this position until sufficient reinforcements arrive," Garrus ordered.
The ship exited the relay, only to be greeted by the sight of geth and quarian vessels in formation.
"I think they're here already," Robin commented.
One of the quarian vessels hailed them minutes after they entered.
{Commander Vakarian?} Captain Reegar asked, {Tali informed us you were coming. So the Citadel is in trouble?}
"As far as we can tell," Garrus acknowledged, "the Citadel has never had a sudden drop in coms activity like this. You have more on the way?"
{We are part of this galaxy, dammit. This is our home, and I'll fight to make it a safer place. More of the fleet is still on it's way,} Kal answered.
Garrus nodded in acknowledgment. With the Citadel in jeopardy, the fate of the galaxy could most likely be at stake.
Still in the emptied hotel, Brendan was briefing the crew who were in fighting condition about the current plan for retaking the Citadel.
"Just to get the minor details out of the way, this is the main issue. The Galaxy out there doesn't have a clue what just happened on the Citadel, and we've got to take down this coup d'étate before it threatens any one else. The plan is simple. The jamming device will be near their point of insertion on the station and is supposedly lightly guarded. With help from Spectre Kryik, most of the kids will be disabling that. Saren and Miranda will be heading to the Presidium to break out the Council, and get them to a safe place away from Cerberus control. We'll be heading to Citadel control to open up the station arms and sabotage the controls to make sure they stay open. We have our jobs, people. Someone needs to stand against these bastards."
Filing out of the hotel, the group quickly dispersed across the station. Brendan and the team of marines he had close behind him mostly stuck to the back corridors to avoid the Cerberus patrols. Despite being few in remaining number, Cerberus did have enough personnel to form a considerable force, at least in comparison to the twelve marines stalking the wards. Gradually, they made their way back to the Presidium where the Citadel controls were located. They had yet to reach the controls, but Cerberus troopers stood in the way.
"Ahh, this is going to be a problem," Vega muttered to Brendan.
"We can't afford to stay quiet for long. Let's give them hell," Brendan ordered, jumping from cover.
It was still a ways to the controls, but it would take some time to open the gates, and someone would've been suspicious by then.
Kasumi scouted ahead for the group using her cloaking device. She took note of Cerberus soldiers corralling humans away from various asari, turians, salarians, drells, hanar and elcor while keeping their guns aimed at the aliens.
{That's a lot of hostages. Careful down there. I'd prefer if I didn't have to eventually rescue you guys too,} Nihlus warned the group over their omni-tools.
"Understood," Kasumi nodded.
Once Kasumi's group stopped at a corner, Kelly rested her back against the wall, resting until she heard a turian bickering with one of the Cerberus soldiers, which caught her attention.
"You really think that this is somehow going to work out?"
Peeking from cover, Kelly saw Sidonis with his hands behind his head and on his knees, chuckling.
"Your backs are to the walls and you have the attention of a lot of people. You aren't getting out of this."
"Shut up, skullface. We're the ones with the guns, you're the one on his knees," one of the Cerberus troopers growled at him.
Kelly stared intently at the Cerberus trooper and Sidonis before she turned her head towards Jack.
"Refresh my memory," Kelly whispered, "how do we help the hostages again?"
Jack caused both Cerberus soldiers to implode into bloodied, crumpled metal balls with her biotics.
"Problem solved. Help him up," Jack grinned.
Kelly nodded to Jack before she sprinted towards Sidonis, who gave her a confused stare.
"Are you ok, sir?" Kelly asked.
"Just a bit roughed up, that's all," Sidonis answered, rubbing his wrists as Kelly uncuffed him.
Once she finished, Kelly helped Sidonis stand to his feet while Jack, Kaidan and Ashley caught up with them.
"Sooooo, what's the plan?" Sidonis asked, checking the Cerberus rifle he salvaged.
"Disable the jamming device Cerberus brought," Ashley explained, "we've got to take it down if we're to send word for help."
Even while remaining invisible, Kasumi checked on the other hostages in the area no longer held down by gunpoint.
{You have a small patrol approaching from around the corner,} Nihlus informed, {they're carrying in crates of equipment. Looks like that might lead to where they've docked. I'll follow you that way.}
"What about other hostages?" Kaidan inquired.
{I'm sorry. As much as I want to help those people as well, we have to focus on getting that jammer down if we can call for any help right now,} Nihlus sighed with heavy dread, {we can start freeing them when we deactivate the jammer and send word out for help.}
"Right," Kaidan nodded, "we'll get to it."
The group narrowly crept around Cerberus soldiers watching over civilians of various races, huddled up into large crowds and forced onto their knees. Every now and then, the group would hear the sobs or pained wails of the captives. Each sound was a fight of its own, as the group was forced to stay low and keep moving along to complete the mission.
"Those poor people," Kasumi muttered to herself, as she watched another couple of soldiers shove a group of salarians into the mass.
They couldn't do much for now, so they kept moving forward. Approaching a large docking area, the group saw several Cerberus ships docked alongside each other with a small HQ set up near the middle. Slipping from the rafters above, Nihlus jumped down to meet the others.
"Hey, you guys seem to have done well getting through that crowd. Sorry we had to leave those people."
Kaidan nodded while he cracked his knuckles.
"I hope they won't have to suffer for much longer," Kaidan replied, "the jammer isn't far from here, is it?"
"Actually, it's just ahead. Help me clear the docks of the guards. We'll reconvene on the command center to disable it and send out a distress signal. Sound good?" Nihlus proposed.
The group split up and began to clear the docks, Nihlus and Jack clearing the most resistance of the course of time. There were also mechs patrolling the area, so Kasumi used her omni-tool to overload the mechs she passed by to the point they shut off. Kaidan and Ashley decided to go straight for the command center and disengaged the jamming signal. With the guards away from the post, they crept along, cut the signal, and hacked up the machinery to prevent future use.
"Nailed it!" Kaidan whispered in relief.
Kaidan and Ashley made a fist bump before they sent a message to Nihlus.
{Ok, we took out the jammer.}
{Good. We're finishing up with local resistance. I'll be there in a moment to help send that distress signal,} Nihlus returned.
Keeping low as they walked up to the command center, Nihlus got to work. Jack caught up a bit later than the others.
"Okay finished hiding the bodies," Jack informed, "so we're going to send for help or what?"
Quickly adjusting to the frequency of the Aran'tar, Kasumi quickly got the message out.
"Citadel Station to Aran'tar. We are currently under attack from by an all-out assault from Cerberus. Repeat, we are currently under attack from by an all-out assault from Cerberus."
Three men down. Considering how many in return they'd managed to kill, it was an impressive ratio as Brendan and his squad continued to rush through the station, past patrols and groups of hostages before the various people ran to safety when given the opportunity to do so. The deaths of those men did bear down on Brendan as the Cerberus troops just continued to rush on in. For every Cerberus soldier he did kill, another one took their place.
"You lobos are like lemmings with machine guns!" Vega taunted.
"There's the control room! Hurry!" Brendan ordered.
Brendan had managed to make their way to the Presidium and had ran around the ring almost entirely to the other side. At the other end was a tower integral with the wall.
"Dawkins! Hutch!" Brendan commanded, "get in there and start opening the station up and break something so Cerberus can't shut the station! Get going!"
Dawkins and Hutch sprinted into the tower without hesitating. All the while, Brendan and the others outside continued to hold their position until the job was done. Two more soldiers went down until Brendan could properly have the Cerberus snipers gunned down. Brendan cursed as he glanced at his downed men.
"Robin Hood, you hear me?" he thought to himself as bullets continued to graze by him, "oh, how I wish I could say one last goodbye to you, mom, and dad. I don't know if I'll live to see the end of today, but please be good. For my sake. Tell Garrus he has my blessing while you're at it."
Brendan gazed ahead with fierce flames in his eyes, aiming his assault rifle at Cerberus troops charging after him.
"Do I have regrets? Maybe a list, too many to count right now."
Brendan rolled and pushed James to cover as a shot whizzed by where his companion's head was.
"In the end, I barely feel them. I feel a slight sense of redemption and freedom in this final fight. It's liberating knowing how close I am to the end. We may not be the guys planting the Alliance flag in Cerberus' collective assholes, or the men who led the final charge. But in the painful and grueling end, all the pain washes away with the adrenaline. Clean the slate for a new start. For all of us."
Brendan lay down another sweep of gunfire on the next wave of Cerberus troops. Just as he was certain he would be killed on the spot, Dawkins and Hutch completed their task.
"Mission accomplished, sir! The Citadel arms are opening! We— shit! RPG!"
Hutch was barely able to escape, but Dawkins wasn't able to crawl out in time before the explosion consumed him with fire. Brendan turned his attention back to the increasing mass of troops before him. It would be a good fight.
Miranda and Saren were side by side, aware of the gunfire in the distance on the Presidium. The Councilors had been brought to the wards and were held captive, with the Illusive Man himself overlooking them. Upon gazing at her former boss, Miranda furrowed her eyebrows and clenched her fists.
"It doesn't matter how many more men you have to throw at the problem, commander. Get those arms composed again or this operation is for naught!" the Illusive Man barked.
The skirmish on the Presidium had generated quite a nervous stir among the remaining Cerberus troops. Similarly, the Councilors sat silently with their binds, cautious not to infuriate their captors.
"Y-Yes, sir," the Cerberus commander nodded before he was dismissed.
Shortly after, Kai Leng stumbled in.
"Sir," the assassin saluted.
"Leng. It's good to see they kept you alive. You'll be needed to keep the Councilors…safe for the time being. Its mission is critical for the preservation of our cause," the Cerberus leader greeted with a twisted smile.
"You got it, sir," Kai Leng bowed, "I won't fail you."
Miranda always hated the former N7. His unshakable hubris made Kai Leng intolerable amidst a normal conversation. On an agreed signal, the duo jumped from their hiding locations and began to gun down the guards around the room. With none other than the Council present, they were relatively liberal with smoke and flash grenades to help pave the way to protect the politicians.
"Arterius?!" Sparatus exclaimed.
"Is the Primarch all right?" Saren asked.
Miranda, amidst all the commotion, made a final attempt on the Illusive Man's life before he shut the door behind him. Watching the door close behind him with disappointment, she almost failed to notice Kai Leng leap at her with a sword.
"Leng," she greeted acidly, "had fun rotting in a prison cell?"
"Mr. Harper told me of your betrayal," Kai Leng snarled.
"I see you've taken to being the aliens' lapdog rather comfortably."
Saren had helped to gun down the last of resistance, before helping the Councilors to their feet. Keeping them behind him, he directed them to safety while he stayed to combat the Cerberus agent.
"You seem content with your place in the galaxy as well," Saren snarked.
Kai Leng leapt at Saren, but the turian Spectre blocked the assassin's blade with a biotic field.
"You think you have the capacity to go toe to toe with the likes of me, Arterius?" Kai Leng hissed.
"Considering you were just only brought out of prison, taking you down doesn't seem too rewarding," Saren returned, tossing the assassin away, "besides, I highly doubt your cybernetics will come to be very useful in this scenario."
Kai Leng struggled to get back to his feet, but soon, Miranda heard the roaring engine of the Aran'tar from outside. Kai Leng took the opportunity to knock Miranda off her feet while he was still down. Rolling on top of her, Leng was poised to plant his sword in her chest when Saren blew his brains clean out the side of his head.
"Jumpy little bastard, wasn't he?" Saren commented, helping Miranda to her feet.
Miranda slowly stood up, dusting herself off.
"Creepy one, too."
