Author's notes: Hi there everyone, welcome to back to Chapter 53 of Reunited. Yeah I can't believe it myself, this fic is almost at its end. I want to thank each and every one of you for your support, and I especially appreciate the ones who've left constructive criticisms for this fic and for all the support shown to this fic thus far. If any of you have suggestions on what I could write in future chapters please don't hesitate to PM me. As usual, here's the link to my account: members. Adultfanfiction profile. Php? No=1296890817&view=story (just remove the spaces between the periods and you'll get there).
"Anderson. I'm guessing you didn't call us back to have afternoon coffee with you."Megan greeted her mentor as she walked into Admiral David Anderson's office with her wife, noticing that Major Kirrahe was already comfortably seated in one of the plush leather office chairs. "You're right Shepard. We just got a big break from the Shadow Broker. If his info is right on the money, then we may very well get rid of Kai Leng and finally get back that Prothean VI. Worst case scenario, we'll be rid of a major Reaper troops conversion factory on Earth's doorstep, bringing us a little relief when we liberate Earth."Admiral Anderson said excitedly as he seated himself on his luxurious office chair.
"I see. How'd you know it was the Shadow Broker who gave you this intel?"Miranda asked blandly, knowing full well about Anderson's past dealings with the former and now deceased Shadow Broker, as well as Liara. "A…known associate of the Shadow Broker passed it on to me."The admiral hesitated a little as he replied. "Right. I don't know why I brought that up, it doesn't matter now. So, what's the info that could possibly save us all?"Miranda asked inquisitively, eager as her redheaded wife to know.
"We have a possible fix on Kai Leng's location on Camala, right on the doorstep of Alliance space. We've confirmed that most of the Reaper ground forces on Earth were shipped from there. It seems like Kai Leng is staging his ops from that location. Now it's a good bet that he's got that Prothean VI stashed away in that indoctrination camp. Now, we're not screwing around on this one, so we'll be sending you in alongside 9th, 205th and 60th Armored Divisions alongside 40th, 75th, 79th and 81st Infantry divisions, organized into Task Force Maverick. All of Detachment 6 are already on the ground, feeding us live intel. The SSV Marie Curie and its supporting fleet will be on standby to provide close air support when you need it."Anderson replied as he projected several holos for Megan and Miranda to browse through.
"That's a whole lot of firepower. Are we a hundred percent certain that the VI is there if we're going to commit that kind of firepower?"Miranda asked. "There is no 100 percent guarantee LC Shepard. You should know that very well. However, this is the only and the best lead on where Kai Leng is and where that damned VI may be. So we're committing fully to this. No stepping back, there's only stepping forward."The admiral replied. "So this is our best shot of winning this war. I guess we don't really have much to go on."Miranda sighed. "We don't. Putting that aside, this is the plan. As you can see, the entire conversion camp is a whole damned industrial estate. Best guess is that Kai Leng is housing the VI in this main office block here."Anderson highlighted a large office block on the west side of the estate.
"You'll take Detachment 6 and the STG teams that Major Kirrahe has managed to gather alongside your ground team to infiltrate and storm that block first. The Curie will provide close air support to distract the Reapers from you guys and once you've secured the VI, give Armored and Infantry the green light to wreck the place and you will extract while they're busy smashing the Reapers' faces in. Any questions?"Anderson finished. "Sir, can I green light the tanks the minute we're in the building? Chances are that the Reapers will probably start swarming the building the minute we hit the compound."Megan asked, giving an appreciative nod to the salarian major as he'd kept his promise of bringing in some of his fellow STG operatives when needed as he simply smiled.
"I'd prefer that you guys grab the VI before rolling in the heavy tanks to avoid any damage, but it's your call Shepard. I'm putting you in charge on the ground. The carrier group and the troops are ready when you are. That's all. Now go out there and win this thing for us, Captain."Anderson finished as all of them saluted him. "Yes sir. Well Miri, time to call everyone back."Megan said as she headed out of the office with her wife and Major Kirrahe in tow. "Unfortunately. If the intel is spot on, then cutting the shore leave short is more than worth it though."Miranda said as she quickly typed out a recall notice to the all the crewmembers and sent it out.
6 hours later
"Still one bloody monumental task, if you ask me. I don't even know how they're going to keep the Reapers at bay. As in the gigantic squid ships, not the little grunts."Thomas exhaled hard as he sipped on his mug of tea. All members of the Normandy's ground team were in the war room, just having been briefed by Megan on the op. "Our ion cannons have been reported to be highly effective against Reaper ships. The geth modifications to the base weapon have been reportedly even more devastating against Reapers, Sovereign class ships included. The ships of Curie's fleet are all armed with geth modified cannons. Speaking of geth, Admiral Anderson has just informed us a little while ago that the geth are sending a dreadnought battlegroup along with ground forces to help us out on this op."Miranda spoke up.
"Geth? Well damn that's great. Who invited them to the party though?"Ashley wondered. "Probably the quarians, but all that matters is that they're there and they're there to assist us. Any more questions before we hit the planet? I don't want any fuckups in the op."The red headed Spectre asked one more time as everyone shook their heads. "Alright then, I trust each and everyone of you to get out of there in one piece and on your own 2 legs. Good hunting crew. Dismissed."Megan concluded as everyone started to stream out of the War Room, save for Garrus and Kirrahe. "So...this is that one big push huh?"Garrus drawled as he observed the tactical holo of the AO. "Yes. If the Shadow Broker did come through, then we could very well end this bloody war. If he didn't, then...at least we eliminate one of the biggest Reaper indoctrination facilities near Alliance space."Miranda chose her words carefully.
"It's hard to lose in this situation. Either way, we'll still benefit from this operation regardless of the intel."Kirrahe spoke up. "You're right Major, but for me, any outcome other than the retrieval of the Prothean VI is a mission failure."Megan replied as the salarian major nodded slowly. "I can get behind that Shepard. Let's end this war fast."Garrus agreed resolutely as Miranda turned off the hologram and they left the war room. It seemed like everyone on the ship understood how critically important this mission was, as the CIC was deadly silent as opposed to the usual buzz of chatter. Everyone was at their respective stations, hard at work analyzing the status of the Normandy's barriers and studying the target among the many things being done in preparation of the mission ahead.
Jacob slapped a fresh thermal clip into his X60 Harrier battle rifle while nodding his head in tune with a rap song while Kirrahe gave his X90 sniper rifle a final check before loading in the thermal clip. Megan strode into the armory, where almost all the crew were gathered in full armor and loading up their weapons. She went over to the rack, where James handed over her usual X7 Valkyrie, S7 Piranha and S5 Phalanx. "Yo Lola. Everyone's already got their game faces on for this one. We're finally getting one step closer to taking Earth back, right?"The hulking lieutenant asked. "You're goddamn right. We've delayed that one step for far too long."Megan replied as she put her weapons down on a workbench beside Arthur and Nicole before grabbing some thermal clips and loading up.
"I hope we see Kai Leng there so I can kill the bastard painfully once and for all."Arthur spoke up as he checked the optics of his X7 Valiant sniper rifle. "Oh I have the perfect fantasy in mind. Art and I both gut him like an animal, then we hack off his limbs, then have a quick victory kiss over his dead body."Nicole smirked, slowly twirling her katana after holstering her X25 SMG. "That's pretty metal, except for the kissing part. But I still like it though."The Chinese man grinned as he holstered his sniper rifle on the clips on the back of his armor. "Oh shit, what the hell have I gotten myself into this time?"Megan teased as she checked her shotgun one last time before clipping it onto her belt. "Don't worry Shepard, we'll let you hit the fucker with a biotic charge first before we gut him and chop off his limbs."Arthur chuckled.
"10 minutes till you drop! Make your final preparations now!"Miranda yelled over the chaos in the shuttle bay as everyone holstered their weapons and boarded the 2 shuttles. "Hey babe. I'll bring back a banshee's head for you."Megan grinned at her wife as they kissed. "You're not a Viking Megpie. Come back to me after this, hmm?"Miranda smiled as she cupped the redhead's cheek. "Don't worry babe, I plan on claiming you as my own property once I'm back."The Captain winked, kissing the back of Miranda's hand before boarding the first shuttle. "I'd be disappointed if you didn't Megan."Miranda smirked as the shuttle doors closed. "See? I knew you were Megan's bitch all along."Oriana giggled as Miranda turned to face the younger twin. "Please, Megan's my bitch. Everybody knows that."The older brunette snorted as the shuttle engines fired up.
Soon, the shuttles rocketed out of the Normandy and were on a fast track to the drop zone. There was no talking as everyone already knew their roles and the order of engagement. Everyone fastened their helmets and made sure their tactical HUDs were functioning well way before the shuttles landed. "Alright we're here! Everybody out and good luck!"Steve yelled over the whine of the engines as Megan, Garrus, Javik, Jade, Viktor, Thomas, Legion and Nyla quickly jumped out from the shuttle. Next to them was Major Kirrahe's team jumping out of the 2nd shuttle as both shuttles quickly flew away. "SSV Curie, this is Spectre 1-1. Do you copy?"Megan tested out the connection to the massive Alliance carrier as they began moving forward to the insertion point and linked up with the STG teams that were expertly camouflaged in the bushes
"We hear you Captain Shepard. This is Rear Admiral Natalia Gutierrez, skipper of the SSV Marie Curie. We're standing by to provide CAS on your go."The skipper confirmed. "Solid copy Admiral. Thanks for the assist."Megan radioed back. "Well, we're here and the insertion point. Damn that hole looks bigger down here than in the images."Jacob commented as they took a brief moment to survey the large section of wall that had been demolished by explosives. "Heh, that's what she said."Danner snorted as some of the team began chuckling. "Stay sharp and stay quiet. I want complete silence until we've taken the VI."Megan shushed her team as they moved forward, Reznov silently taking down a commissar that had its back turned towards them with a brutal neck snap.
Jacob yanked a cannibal towards himself before impaling its skull on his combat knife while Javik slammed a trio of cannibals against the side of a prefab with his biotic, reducing their heads to a pulpy mess. Nicole decloaked right behind a scion and after a few vicious slashes of her katana later, the Reaper troop fell bonelessly to the ground while Megan used her biotics to charge into another commissar that was turning around, forcefully stabbing the reaperized turian with her combat knife in the throat as it died wordlessly. Even though the team was racking up a massive amount of kills, they were still completely undetected as they silently moved through the shadows.
"Alright, just 200 metres more down this road."Jentha whispered quietly as the squad and STG teams split into 2, one swiftly crossing the road and going down an alleyway on the opposite side while the other element continued down the road, concealing themselves from any enemies on the road thanks to the dense shrubbery that lined the road. Both elements silently dispatched scores of Reaper infantry before they finally came to the building where the VI was supposedly stored in. However, a scion saw Garrus, who'd been caught out of cover awkwardly as he tried to rush forward. "Oh shit!"Garrus cursed as he dodged the explosive shockwave that the armored husk while a warp from Nyla and a reave from Megan detonated on the scion, leaving it nearly destroyed before a quick shot from Legion's Javelin downed it.
"Move in on the objective! Go loud! Go loud! Task Force Maverick, move in!"Megan barked as she unholstered her X7 Valkyrie, putting down fire in the direction of a group of advancing cannibals and commissars, killing a cannibal and hitting a couple of other Reaper troops as Reznov stood in the middle of the street, pouring fire from his X77 Typhoon on the squad, decimating them in short order and giving the rest of the ground team enough time to breach the complex and enter inside, followed by half of the STG operatives and all of Detachment 6 while the remaining 30 members stayed outside to draw some attention away from the main force. The interior was a blur and cacophony of gunfire and biotics as the teams engaged the Reaper troops inside in swift and brutal CQB.
"I want all snipers at the windows stopping anything from coming near this building!"The STG detachment's commander, Captain Seylk, yelled as all the snipers found themselves a window each. "Reznov, James, get to a window and start blasting incoming with your airbursts! Now!"Megan yelled as she struggled with a commissar before she blasted it backwards with a biotic infused punch, finishing it off with a few blasts from her Piranha shotgun. Nicole was in her element, slashing apart Reaper husks with grace while Arthur was liberally hosing down husks with his X60. Jacob tossed a grenade into a room full of husks, grinning widely as he heard the explosion and the splattering of flesh across the walls before he swung into the room with Verlus and Jentha, the trio putting rounds into whatever was still moving.
They split into 4 teams, each taking a different stairwell as they proceeded to the server hub which was on the 3rd floor. Each team cut down dozens of enemy troops in the stairwells and it got so congested to the point where the advancing parties were tripping over piles of dead Reaper troops. Finally after savage fighting, the teams led by Megan and James reached the server room first as the other 2 teams led by Ashley and Samara were bogged down on the 2nd floor. "Stack up and breach. I want 2 flashbangs out into the room and then we take it fast."James issued orders as Megan approved with a quick nod. Legion hacked the electronic lock on the door and as soon as it opened, Nicole and Verlus tossed in flashbangs and as soon as they heard the bangs, they stormed in, quickly cutting down the commissar and cannibal inside the server room.
"Clear!"Susan reported as they started to locate the Prothean VI and the remaining 2 teams joined them. "Over here. I sense it."Javik called out from one of the larger server hubs as he retrieved an OSD and placed it on a nearby table. It activated and Vendetta appeared again. "Online. Security breach detected. You are attempting to recover me from indoctrinated forces?" The VI asked. "Yes. We need to know what the hell the Catalyst is right now!"Megan snapped at it as the building shook. "Captain, you need to get the package and get the hell out of this place! Harvesters are starting to pay too much attention to us, and those indoctrinated elcor are too bloody accurate for my liking!"Thomas yelled over the radio as the cracks and booms of sniper rifles echoed in the background. "Give me a couple more minutes! We just found the VI!"The redhead replied.
"Security protocols have been overridden. I will comply. The Catalyst enhances dark energy transmissions and coordinates the entire mass relay network. In your cycle, it is known as the Citadel. The Catalyst is the Citadel."Vendetta answered as a few sharp intakes of breath were heard. "Son of a bitch. It was right under our noses this entire time."Jentha gasped at the revelation. "What? How…never mind. So the Crucible and the Citadel together can stop the Reapers?"Megan asked incredulously. "That is correct." "But wasn't the Citadel built by the Reapers to begin with?"Ashley asked, confused. "Exactly. I dunno about you people, but using Reaper tech to kill the Reapers is a heavy risk."Verlus trailed off, wiping away some cannibal gore that had gotten onto his armor.
"The plans for the Crucible were passed down to us from the previous cycle and countless cycles before that. At some point, possibly during the Inusannon cycle, the Crucible plans were adapted to incorporate the use of the Catalyst. Presumably, the Crucible alone was not sufficiently powerful to defeat the Reapers."Vendetta explained in detail. "So we use their own technology against them."Erin concluded. "Precisely." "Dammit, if you'd told us about this sooner, we could've planned for this. Fuck, we could've ended the war by now!"Megan yelled, growing increasingly incensed. "It was feared that if the Reapers were aware of the Catalyst's intended use, they would retake control of it. I am programmed to withhold that information until the Crucible is complete."Vendetta explained placatingly.
"The Crucible is completed. Let's get that thing to the Citadel and end this."Megan ordered as she turned around, ready to exit the room. "That may no longer be possible. The one who broke through my security protocols, the one you call Kai Leng, has already informed the Reapers of our purposes. They are moving to retake the station." "Then the Citadel is in danger. The Reapers will gain control of it."Erin said. "We were going to face the Reapers head on eventually, so it doesn't really matter where it happens. We're going to end this war."Megan growled, a sinking feeling in her stomach. "I hope you find success."Vendetta bade farewell as Javik picked up the OSD and slid it into a pocket of his armor.
"SSV Marie Curie, do you read me?" "We're here, send your fire mission orders, over."The skipper of the massive carrier replied to Megan's hail as the teams walked out of the server room and heard the sounds of tanks and armored vehicles rolling down the avenues and firing their weapons along with the chatter of small arms. "We need airstrikes at grid sectors 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16, how copy, over?"Megan sent the strike coordinates as everyone hurriedly exited the building, covering each other as teams leapfrogged back to the extraction point while the other teams covered them until the armor and infantry units rolled up to relieve pressure of the Normandy squad and the STG teams, holding their ground to let Megan and her comrades fall back.
"We are geth aboard our dreadnought. Please evacuate the industrial complex. We will destroy it with our ion cannon to facilitate mission success with a minimal amount of organic casualties."A robotic voice intoned over the entire radio net of everyone on the ground. "Task Force Maverick, pull back to your rallying points now!"The commander of the task force, Major General Toshio Ozawa, ordered as the infantry pulled back first, covered by the armored units before they switched roles. "Jester Company of 114th Battalion is clear! We're the last ones out!"Someone yelled over the radio, presumably a tank commander as the background was filled with the sounds of a tank engine roaring.
"Affirmative. We confirm that there are no more friendlies in the effective area. Firing ion cannon."The geth informed as one by one, seven beams of bright white light hit the ground to form a circle before they started to rotate and draw closer to each other, melting everything in its path before creating an 'eye' where everything started to melt from the intense heat. The beams ceased before one gigantic bolt of brilliant white light hit right in the center of the 'eye', vaporizing everything within a 5 kilometer radius, effectively destroying the entire Reaper indoctrination camp. "Holy shit, dude! That is a thing of beauty!"Michael crowed upon seeing the destruction while they waited for their shuttles.
"Damn. We just need to box the Reapers into one confined continent, get a few of these bad boys up, and bam…we win."Garrus guffawed as everyone save for Megan and Erin expressed their admiration of the destructive power of the ion cannon the geth had improved on. "Everyone, we need to get to the Citadel now! The Reapers are heading there and we're way behind them! We cannot let them take the Citadel!"Megan yelled into her radio, which was transmitting to everyone in the assault force. "What?! Copy that Captain, we're headed there as soon as our fighters are home."Admiral Gutierrez gasped. "We understand. We will get to the Citadel as fast as we can. We have already notified the Consensus about the situation and all geth fleets are moving on the Citadel at maximum speed."The geth dreadnought spoke up.
The shuttles picked up the teams and sent them back to their original ships. Megan didn't even bother removing her armor and weapons before rushing to the vidcomm room accompanied by Miranda. Campbell and Westmoreland were torn between wanting to stop the redhead for a proper security check and letting her through, but a stern glare from Miranda convinced the guards to let them through without incident. "EDI, patch me through to Hackett."Megan snapped impatiently as she crossed her arms, waiting for the call to connect to the Admiral. "Sir, we've recovered the VI, which has told us that the Reapers are moving in on the Citadel as we speak thanks to fucking Kai Leng. Most importantly, we've learned that the Citadel is the Catalyst! We need to get the Crucible to the Citadel, ASAP!"Megan spoke in a hurry as the Admiral nodded and held up a hand.
"Slow down Shepard. We already know about the Reapers moving in on the Citadel. Any and every fleet we've got that isn't engaged by the Reapers right now is headed there at full speed. I've already notified the Council Defense Fleet, the turians and any other race that has a half decent ship to send against the Reapers. Did I hear you right about the Catalyst?"Hackett asked incredulously. "Yes sir. The Prothean VI finally gave us the missing link. It was the Citadel all along."Miranda spoke up as Megan nodded. "Son of a bitch. Head there with your ship Captain. All hands are to be on deck for this one. Good hunting Captain. Hackett out."The holo of the Admiral disappeared as Megan and Miranda turned to each other. "Joker, set a course for the Citadel at full speed."Miranda ordered over the intercom.
2 agonizing hours passed during the transit to the Citadel, and the ground squad that had gone on planet on Camala were all seated around the armory, their weapons and armor still with them as they fidgeted impatiently while the others were busy gearing up. "We're at the Citadel now-holy shit. It's a mess out there."Joker spoke over the intercom as Megan and Miranda, who were already fully armored up looked at the scene from the cockpit. There was a massive battle between an assortment of turian, human, asari and geth ships slugging it out with a few hundred Reaper destroyers and about 3 dozen Reaper dreadnoughts alongside Reaper troop ships.
"Goddammit, most of the Citadel Defense Fleet is gone."Megan cursed as she saw the remnants of the fleet gather around the flagship of the Fleet, the asari dreadnought Destiny Zenith, sister ship of the destroyed Destiny Ascension. "And the Zenith is pretty much dead right now. Thank God for the geth and their superior guns."Joker commented as a geth cruiser threw itself into the line of fire between a Reaper dreadnought and the crippled asari ship, blown apart by the laser that shot out from the Reaper. However, this bought enough time for a geth dreadnought to fire upon the Reaper with its main mass accelerator cannons along with the ion cannon, which sheared the Reaper into two with a massive explosion.
"Well that was impressive. Take us in as close as possible to the Citadel Tower and drop us there Joker."Megan ordered as Joker pulled the Normandy into a tight turn to avoid a stray round fired off by a Reaper destroyer that was completely obliterated by a pair of turian cruisers backed up by an Alliance dreadnought. "Little too close for my liking there. Bringing this ship in hot."The pilot replied professionally as he engaged the thrusters, pushing it to top speed. "Miri, who are you gonna take with you to get our family?"Megan asked her wife. "I'm going to be taking Susan, Verlus and James with me. Do you have enough people for the assault on the Citadel Tower?"Miranda answered. "Don't worry, we can handle it. You focus on getting dad, mom and our children to safety."The redhead answered as women embraced before they headed to the shuttle bay.
Less than 5 minutes later, Miranda's fire team was on one of the shuttles as they raced towards the Lawson penthouse in Tareyla Towers. "It's clear to land on the roof, miraculously enough. But I'm going to do a little clean up first…"Bethany, who was piloting the shuttle, informed the team over the radio as the autocannons on the Kodiak began thundering away at the assortment of Reaper troops on the lawn. On the holo screen inside the Kodiak, the team could see the troops on the ground getting blasted apart by Bethany's gun run as she made a quick pass. "Set us down behind that cooling tower. Verlus, get on the machine gun and cover us while we rush the entrance."Miranda ordered.
The second the shuttle landed, Miranda, Susan and James jumped out with their weapons at the ready as Verlus busied himself covering the roof access. "Verlus, we have you covered, move up!"The brunette Sentinel radioed as the turian Spectre complied, getting off the chaingun and joining the trio in record timing as Bethany flew into a holding pattern. "I'll take point."James offered as he burst into the stairwell, his Typhoon locked into his shoulder as he cautiously made his way down the stairs sweeping for targets while Susan followed behind him closely, her Tempest SMG ready, followed by Miranda and Verlus took up rearguard. "2 more floors down, it's the second one on the left."Miranda spoke as she saw the board reading '114th Floor' next to an exit.
They reached the 114th floor and exited, only to find eerie silence greeting them. "I don't like this at all…"Susan whispered as Miranda scanned her retinas at the door to her father's penthouse. The doors slid open to reveal that the penthouse was completely empty and silent. "James, Verlus, cover the windows and door."Miranda ordered as she opened the panic room to reveal her father, Carla and her children inside. "Mommy!"Zachary and Tabitha cried out in relief as Miranda appaeared. "Hey, is everyone alright?"She asked as she hugged her children quickly. "We're fine. Dammit, I knew we shouldn't have stayed on the Citadel."Aaron sighed as he stood up, pistol in hand as gunfire started up outside.
"They're here, they're here! We gotta go, now!"James yelled as he hosed down the first waves of husks alongside Verlus. "C'mon, let's go now! We have a shuttle waiting!"Susan urged as everyone made for the door, Verlus and James in the front liberally cutting down any enemies while Susan and Miranda had the family between them, picking off any stragglers or surprise visitors that popped up. "Spirits, they're here in force!"Verlus snarled as he cut down a few cannibals with his Phaeston assault rifle. However, a cannibal managed to get a burst off at the group before Susan flung it out of the window with her biotics, and seeing the cannibal taking aim, Aaron grabbed both of his grandchildren and hugged them close, using his own body as a shield as the rounds impacted straight into his back as he slumped to the ground.
"Dad! No!"Miranda screamed, rushing to his side as Susan unleashed a biotic shockwave that sent all the Reaper troops flying everywhere. "Make sure the kids get out safe. I love you Miranda. I'm sorry."Aaron gasped out before his head slumped onto the floor. "No! Please, don't do this…"Miranda sobbed as she lifted him off her children and applied medigel to his wounds, but to no effect. "I'm sorry honey, but he's gone."Carla spoke up through her tears, clutching her terrified grandkids close to her. "You're right, let's get out of here before more husks come. Bethany, land the shuttle on the roof now. We're coming up."Miranda said through gritted teeth as she picked up her father's corpse and followed behind Verlus and James, who were rushing up the stairs.
They got to the shuttle without any further issues and it quickly lifted off, heading back for the Normandy. "Hey LC, I'm sorry about your dad. If I'd been a little faster on the trigger…"James started. "It's alright James. Nobody could've seen that coming. Thank you all for coming with me to extract my family. You could've refused and gone with Megan to the Citadel Tower instead."Miranda said sincerely as she hugged her children close to her. "Of course we would've come with you. Family is the most important thing, especially in this kind of war."Verlus spoke up. "Exactly. Plus, I couldn't rescue my family back on Earth and it tears me up inside, so if I have a chance to rescue someone else's family, I'd gladly do it."Susan agreed.
"Thank you. If you hadn't come…those beasts would've gotten to us."Carla shuddered as the shuttle raced back to the Normandy. "Carla, we're going to drop you and the kids off on the Normandy. You'll be safe onboard."Miranda said as Bethany many the final approach to the Normandy, which was lurking outside the docks. "Where're you going?"Carla asked. "I'm taking my team back out to the Citadel Tower. That's where the fight is right now."Miranda replied. "Mommy's going back out there to save the good people?"Zack asked unhappily. "Yes Zack. Mum has to go back out there to help save the galaxy. I'll be back, I promise."The brunette promised, kissing his forehead as the shuttle docked inside the Normandy.
While Miranda was away saving her family, the Normandy flew through the Presidium, racing towards the tower. "I've got a call? From who?"Megan wondered as she picked it up. "Shepard, it's Thane Krios."The raspy voice at the other end of the line spoke. "Thane. Where are you? Still in Huerta Memorial?"The redhead asked. "No. I'm sneaking my way past Reaper troops in the Presidium, trying to reach C-Sec headquarters."The drell assassin replied. "Can you get to the Citadel Tower instead? That's the place where we're going to end the war." "As you wish Shepard. Then I shall see you there."Thane disconnected the call. "Megan, you should get down to the shuttle bay now."Oriana told Megan as the Captain broke into a fast jog from the bridge to the lift.
"We're in position! Bag a few Reapers for me down there!"Joker wished them luck as the team jumped from the open shuttle bay door onto the observation deck of the Tower. "Man, now I'm starting to remember why I hate wearing helmets. Fuck these things."Jentha complained as they moved in, encountering a weird mix of C-Sec officers, turian Blackwatch, asari commandoes, salarian STG teams, Alliance Special Forces and other military groups inside the tower, protecting it and the terrified civilians who'd smartly made for the tower the minute bullets started flying about. "Hey, it's Shepard!" "She's here? Man this must be big!" "We got direct orders from the Councilors to protect this tower at all costs and now she's here? This must be it!" Several soldiers said as Megan approached a turian general.
"Captain Shepard! I'm glad you're here, we're holding out against the Reapers but we're close to getting overrun."The general exclaimed as he stared intently at his holographic battle screen, showing the positions of his troops. "Alright team, I want everyone at a window and shooting those incoming bastards. Viktor, take Danner, Jacob, Javik, Nyla and Jade with you to the ground floor and help to shore up the defensive lines there."Megan ordered as everyone nodded, knowing full well what had to be done. "Sir, did anyone tell you about why we need to hold this tower and what we're using it for?"The Spectre asked as her team scrambled to their positions. "Yes. Councilor Anderson told me about how this is the fire control point for the Crucible, as crazy as it sounds. We're holding out until we can get the Crucible here."The general responded.
"That's about right. We-incoming! Get down!"Garrus yelled as everyone hit the floor when a pair of harvesters swooped in, firing rockets at the tower and destroying the huge window panels as it dropped off some troops into the tower. "We've got a breach!"One Alliance operator yelled as they quickly cut down the cannibals and commissars that the harvesters dropped off. As if planned beforehand, 3 more harvesters flew in through the huge breach and dropped off their cargo of Reaper troops and began firing rockets at the troops, killing a good few who didn't manage to get to cover in time. "I'll be damned if I die to these bastards now!"The general snarled, firing his pistol at the husks and cannibals.
One more harvester flew in and dropped off a lone figure before quickly flying off. The figure walked up with an arrogant swagger that Megan and her team couldn't mistake. "Kai Leng. I will fucking kill you!"Megan snarled as she opened fire at Kai Leng, who casually raised his hand to generate a kinetic barrier around himself as he fired his assault rifle at some surrounding troops. "This motherfucking piece of shit is mine!"Arthur roared as he emptied the thermal clip of his X7 Valiant into the indoctrinated assassin, who stopped in his tracks under the weight of fire thrown at him. Nicole snuck up on him and slashed at him with a mad fury as he blocked her attacks with his rifle before tossing it aside and drawing his own katana.
"You fools again. Ready to die for real this time?"He sneered as he began sparring with Nicole, the blonde barely keeping up with him as Arthur jumped in, delivering an almighty kick to Kai Leng's unguarded side as the assassin went flying. Recovering with surprising grace, he rolled and got to his feet quickly, wheezing from the kick. "Like my welcome back present, you bastard?"Arthur growled as Megan joined in with her combat knife drawn while everyone else focused on the harvesters. "Trash talking? Now we're having some fun."He smirked as he lashed out at Megan, who deftly dodged his katana and made a swipe with her knife, narrowly missing him as Nicole charged him, taking his attention away from the redhead.
They fought for what seemed like an eternity, and all were worn out. Kai Leng, even with his Reaper augmentations, was no different. Suddenly, a blur of green and black smacked into Kai Leng, sending him sprawling to the ground as the other figure began pummeling him before being thrown away. "Thane! Are you alright?"Megan asked as she rushed to his side, helping him up while Arthur and Nicole continued to fight the indoctrinated assassin. "Yes, I will be alright. He is much stronger than he looks."Thane grunted as he took a wicked looking knife from a dead turian Blackwatch operator. He then jumped back into the fray with Megan, and Kai Leng was distracted by their arrival as well as the destruction of the second last harvester.
The distraction gave Arthur an opening as he slashed his knife deep into the back of Kai Leng's left knee and straight out as he screamed in pain, dropping to one knee as Nicole's katana slashed into his ribs and was stuck fast. Megan followed up with a vicious stab into the center of his chest, cutting off his windpipe and Thane delivered the coup de grace with a stab into Kai Leng's throat. He could only let out a gurgle as the life drained out of him and the Reaper augmentations failed him, blood starting to flow out of his wounds as he slumped to the ground lifelessly. "Fucking finally! Good goddamn riddance."Nicole cheered breathlessly as she yanked her katana out of her arch nemesis.
"Feels good, huh?"Arthur gasped a final explosion and howl of wind signaled the death of the final harvester. "We did it Art. Killed him together and in pretty good fashion I'd say. He ain't going anywhere this time around."The blonde ninja laughed as they embraced. "Thanks for the help Thane. I can't believe 3 of us couldn't kill him. But then again it's awesome to see a master drell assassin in action again."Megan thanked Thane, gasping for breath as she did so. "Captain! Shield Fleet is here and they're deploying the Crucible!"The turian general yelled, clutching a shoulder wound as he tapped away at the console on the Councilor's podium. Thanks to Vendetta's direction, the engineers had finally realized that the docking point was to be with the Citadel Tower and had designed it to accommodate.
"Docking in 3…2…1-there we go!"The general grinned widely as the entire tower shook with the impact. "Hang on, we've got a Prothean friend here who will help us to fire the thing."Megan muttered as she placed the OSD containing Vendetta atop the console. "Connecting with Citadel. Starting override protocols, preparing to assimilate Crucible to Citadel. Standby."Vendetta intoned as the console began to flash as whirring could be heard over the gunfire. "Crucible successfully integrated into Citadel systems. Powering up. Estimated time till ready to fire: 90 seconds." "Hang on for 90 more seconds, everyone!"Megan yelled into her radio as they waited impatienty.
"Ready to fire in 3…2…1…Crucible is at full power. Press the green button to fire Crucible at your command."Vendetta informed about an eternity later as a glowing green button appeared on the console. "We're getting pushed back! This position cannot be held!"Reznov bellowed over the radio, somehow managing to be heard above the gunfire as the general nodded at Megan. "Everyone get down, I'm firing the Crucible!"Megan yelled into her radio as she hit the green button as hard as she could. There was a huge ball of brilliant white light gathering at the business end of the Crucible as it fired, the beam headed straight for the Mass Relay. The Citadel then began to shudder and all the power systems started to fail…
Final notes:Never thought I'd get another chapter out, did ya? Well, Happy New Year, and happy new chapter! So I've finally decided that there will be one final chapter (the final battle) and an epilogue, so thank you all for following and reading this saga over the years! And in other news, it's almost 5 years since Mass Effect 2 came out. Nuts, right? As usual, leave a review before you go, and Happy New Year!
