The Normandy was buffed back into pristine order, the Tervho had received similar treatment so now it was time to finally end the Cerberus threat. C3 was patched to EDI as the Mandalorians planned out their assault.
"Alright people, this is going to be the second toughest fight we're going to face in this war. With EDI's intel however, this operation should run relatively smoothly like any other."
C3 was now projecting a hologram of a red supergiant and a space station safely orbiting it alone as Aay'han approached. "EDI has provided valuable intel from the memory core of the Eva droid. This station will be heavily defended with AA guns and fighters, not including any fleet defenses currently stationed in the system."
Kix almost laughed, "Which is why the Alliance and the Hierarchy are going into a joint assault against Cerberus. Turians got plenty of history with Cerberus too and we're going to kick the door in. We're not going to let the humans have all the fun. And to hell if you think me and my squadron of fighters are going to miss this action and rack up a few favors. Heh…my squadron…something I thought I'd never hear again."
"While Shepard is busy dealing with the Illusive Man inside, we're going to be inserting ourselves at this location," Mandalore was pointing at a small junction point on the station's hull.
"The demo squad and a group of Basilisks will deal with any turrets the cruisers and fighters don't take out."
"General, I'd liked to ask a favor of you."
Lissarkh looked to the hologram, "You wish for me to finish what I started with the assassin?"
Mandalore nodded, "He's been a thorn in our side for too long. They've done nothing to help against the Reaper threat other than to save themselves, and even that was beyond twisted. You're also one of the only individuals I know who can handle themselves with a blade and win against this faker."
Nyona was a bit skeptical, "Okay, we go in guns blazing and catch them with their pants down after the Alliance kicks them in the balls, what about internal defense measures or them blasting sections off after we breach? Or venting?"
Rang laughed, "Venting? We'll be the ones doing the venting to them. How else do you think we're going in, through the hangar?"
Dagger was rubbing C3's dome as she started to buzz and whirl, "Our little girl here has been loaded up with all of Cerberus' new encryption codes and defense protocols thanks to EDI. As long as she's with you, you'll make it."
Aay'han called out, "Any other concerns?"
"Extraction, sir? When should we pull out and how?"
"Good question Prudii." Mandalore glanced to everyone in the room, "We're pulling out as soon as the General has made contact with Shepard. Until then we cause as much destruction and kill as many bastards as we can. It'll be tight for Dagger to return from the Tervho for pick up, but we've done it before." The room soon fell silence until Mandalore clapped his hands, "Alright people, this isn't anything we haven't done before. We all watch each other's back, we don't do anything stupid, and we all make it through this."
As the Mandalorians prepared for the coming battles, Lissarkh conferred with Aay'han and Mandalore, "You do realize that we can't always keep everyone alive. I fear you will lose one of your people soon…"
"I know… it's something I've been dreading ever since I've gathered so many together. We've already lost Tare and the recon droids, I don't want to experience that anytime soon. But they trust each other, despite how they are sometimes, and they'll do everything to help. They'll have no regrets and they won't be forgotten."
She nodded to him, "And I will do everything within my power to reach Shepard swiftly and defeat Kai Leng, for good."
Many of the couples within the Tervho were given time for themselves, though operations remained combat worthy. When this final moment of respite finally ended, everyone was ready for the end of Cerberus and the Reapers.
The teams were getting their gear ready as Dagger's crew packed the Ne'tra Kyr'am with supplies. Now it was up to the Alliance and Hierarchy to give Shepard and the Mandalorians the opening they need to attack Cronos Station.
A message was received from the Alliance, the ship moved onto full combat status as every Mandalorian suited up in their combat armor. The Tervho was on route to the station and upon their arrival they found the three fleets completely engaged with each other, turian and human forces hammering hard against Cerberus while trying not to damage the station too heavily.
The Normandy was already on the scene as a shuttle left them to enter one of Cronos Station's hangars. "Alright people we're behind schedule so let's pick up the pace."
The Tervho flew past the station, gunning the defense turrets around the expected LZ as Basilisks and turian fighters were starting to flying escort. Three Basilisks and four fighters broke away to follow the gunship now as they did the approach.
"If things get too hot, clear out. We'll handle things."
"Don't know about you flyboys," Vren was flying closer to them, "but don't think we're going to let you have all the fun."
Everyone broke formation when the defense guns started firing their way. A few of the turian fighters flew across the arm of the station, dropping bombs to blast the area while the Basilisks torn into the guns on the side of the main section of the station.
The arm had been cleared and all that was left to do was breach into the station. Now for the fun to begin. "Scanning surface integrity… Bad news, looks like that bombing run gave the hull quite a pounding. I'm not sure we'll be able to have as many boots down there as you'd like without compromising the hull."
"That's where this comes in handy," Rang was waving a duck taped grenade and pipe bomb, moving to the doors. The door opened as Rang primed the grenade, "Fire in the hole!" he quickly threw the grenade to the hull, pounding the side of the gunship to signal they needed to book it.
Even the Basilisks pulled back as the explosion nearly took the section of the station off. A lot of equipment and plenty of bodies were sucked out before the emergency shielding kicked in.
The gunship swung back around, gunning through the shields to clear the rooms. With that clear for the moment, the Ne'tra Kyr'am pulled closer to the breach for passengers to easily jump onto the station. "Keep our asses safe Dagger." Swoop's seat lower as he got out to help with things in back. "Send a few to hell for me!"
The doors opened as C3 was the first one across, followed by Mandalore, Aay'han, Lissarkh, and the others. As soon as they were across Mandalore waved to Swoop, signaling they were clear. Swoop sealed the door and the Ne'tra Kyr'am pulled away.
Lissarkh activated her lightsaber, pushing into the station on her own. C3 had jacked herself into the closest, undamaged terminal to locate Shepard while Bev relayed the information. "Keep going ma'am, at the third intersection make a left then find your way down at least a floor."
Rang was inspecting the damage, "Man, they must have been working on something dangerous for my breach charge to do this level of carnage."
"Focus vode. We're far from able to lax."
Lissarkh was not trying to cut through the station with her lightsaber just yet, however as she continued something was wrong. "Beviin, there's a presence here…I've felt it before. Strong, overpowering, twisted…"
There was a rather unsettling pause before Bev responded. "It would seem that Cerberus salvaged more than what we had hoped from the Collector base. The unfinished Reaper we destroyed is among the salvage…"
Lissarkh had stumbled her way into one of the many observation decks to the Reaper's remains. She was upset at the sight, and the fact that Cerberus risked scavenging this kind of tech, especially with how it was constructed. She blasted the glass way before jumping out onto one of the walkways before using the Force to start crushing parts of the Reaper.
She started with the arms, ripping them off and collapsing as much of it as possible before dropping them. "Mandalore, get your people going now. The Commander is coming."
"Understood, ma'am. And General, stay safe…" Lissarkh activated her lightsaber as Cerberus troopers moved to stop her.
A phantom tried to use her sword against the Jedi, and she destroyed the weapon while simply blocking with her lightsaber. Lissarkh quickly sliced off her right arm before throwing her over the walkway.
A sniper was about to shot her, but was counter sniped by Garrus. "Amazing that this much actually survived…"
Lissarkh looked up, "There won't for much longer…" she threw out her arms toward the Reaper, concentrating as she tried to clasp her hands together and the entire frame started to quake now as parts of the Reaper collapsed in on itself.
"Wait…" EDI stopped her, "I can understand the desire to finish what was started in the Collector base, however our current objective is retrieving the Prothean VI. We need this walkway to reach the Illusive Man."
Lissarkh looked away, "Very well… it shall remain, for now. But when this base is destroyed, we will be certain to destroy that."
"Agreed. So let's keep pushing through."
Outside the station things were well under control. Besides Shepard's entry point, the other hangars had been destroyed and the autonomous fighters were mostly gone. The turian fleet was mopping up the Cerberus cruisers and giving the Alliance space to fire on the station, per Shepard's request. The Tervho bore her Mandalorian colors with pride as they helped wipe the remaining Cerberus ship out.
Mandalore and Aay'han weren't liking it. "This is the Illusive Man's stronghold…you'd think they'd have more defenses to hold this place."
"They don't have the weaponry we did advisor, but you're right. The Illusive Man would be fighting a lot harder than this."
"You're thinking he's baiting us?"
"His defense fleet is nearly gone, the station is in ruins, there's a Jedi and Shepard inside… He had to have known EDI would gain access to the latest encryption codes within the droid…assuming any of his men reported she was still 'active'."
Aay'han started shaking his head, "Maybe it's a sacrifice trade…giving up his base and men for a greater prize…"
Mandalore already figured, "Yeah… he knows what the Catalyst is. He's taunting us and probably already has it now or securing it."
Aay'han nudged Mandalore, "Sucks about being a tactician, we think about all of the outcomes, good and bad…"
Just as promised, after they cleared the walkway and reached the upper level, Lissarkh turned her attention back to the Reaper larva to crush it again. She easily mashed the head and ripped it off, though she was having some difficulty with the rest of the body. She wanted to use her lightsaber to finish it, but she had more important things to do.
They found a recording of the Illusive Man before going for a surgical procedure, however the vids of his so far didn't show any visible indications that anything about him had changed since Shepard last spoke to him.
Shepard's team slowly moved up to a door at the end of the hall, and yet Lissarkh just proceeded through without hesitation. "There is no one inside at the moment. Let us grab what we came for and go before reinforcements arrive."
The room was strangely empty, except for the panoramic view of the supergiant as the battle continued and the Illusive Man's chair with access to active holodisplays. Shepard paused at the QEC pad where his hologram must have stood before the Illusive Man during their temporary cooperation.
Shepard sat in the chair, accessing the files, "We need to locate the Prothean VI."
EDI moved to one of the displays, searching herself. There was a faint crackling sound before a glowing blue image formed behind them. "Shepard. You're in my chair."
Lissarkh sneered, "Says the human who has abandoned it and his fortress."
After dropping off the Mandalorians on the Tervho, Dagger's crew went back out into the fray to help pick off the fighters.
Mandalore and Aay'han rushed over to the CIC as the crew went to help other stations. "Prath how are we looking?"
"Fairly well. Shields are still holding. The Alliance has lost three cruisers and five frigates. The turians have suffered two carriers and eight frigates. Plenty of fighter casualties though the Basilisks have been doing well. We've nearly secured the space however we may be facing reinforcements soon."
"We've gotta hope Shepard finishes soon."
"Right, but until then we're taking a few Cerberus targets out. Aim for that frigate moving on the damaged cruiser. Disable their engines then pound away at every vital system until she goes."
Hioja handed Aay'han a datapad, "We've also intercepted a few Cerberus communication packages. From what we've managed to decipher they aren't really concerned with casualty numbers, simply holding this region of space."
Aay'han was all too familiar with this tactic. "Damn delaying sacrificial scapegoats. They're gonna fight to the bitter end out of orders."
"Just means we've got to fight smarter. Get me Admiral Hackett and the turian commander. We've got a few targets to coordinate against."
The Illusive Man still believed he was in the right, even with everything he had sacrificed to get here. He even attempted to convince them of the need of control by using Eva's body as an example, though Lissarkh quickly pointed out the difference in context.
With the Illusive Man's hologram gone, the Prothean VI turned to them, "You are attempting to recover me from indoctrinated forces?"
"Yes. I need to know what the Catalyst is."
"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."
"What?"
"The Catalyst is the Citadel."
Lissarkh let out an angry hiss, "We could have saved so much effort and lives if the asari shared this program with us sooner. But wasn't the Citadel of Reaper construction? Why would the Crucible's design incorporate it?"
"The plans for the Crucible were passed down to us from the previous cycle and countless cycles before that. At some point—it is difficult to pinpoint when—the Crucible plans were adapted to incorporate the use of the Catalyst. Presumably, the Crucible was not sufficiently powerful to destroy the Reapers."
EDI understood, "So we use their own technology against them."
"Precisely."
"Why couldn't you tell me this before?"
"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."
"It's as ready as it's going to be. Lets' get it to the Citadel."
The VI stopped Shepard, "That may no longer be possible."
"Why not?"
"The one who broke through my security protocols, the one you call the Illusive Man, has fled to the Citadel and informed the Reapers of our purposes."
"Damn it!"
"Then the Citadel is in danger. The Reapers will take control of it."
"They already have. The Citadel has been moved to the Reaper controlled space."
Lissarkh looked past the VI, "You seem aware of the Reapers activity. Where has the Citadel been moved to?"
"To the system you refer to as Sol."
"Earth."
"Correct. The Reaper forces will now consolidate power around the Catalyst and protect it at all costs. The odds of accessing it are remote."
"Don't count us out yet. We've come this far, and we'll finish this. We'll get the Crucible to Earth."
"I hope you find success."
"EDI, get me Hackett. He needs—"
One of the displays was shot. "Not so fast." Kai Leng was holding his hand out, the weapon in his palm having just fired.
"You…"
"He did warn you not to overstay your welcome."
Lissarkh lifted her arm as her lightsaber flew into her hand. "Come, assassin. Face me and we can finish what we started on the Citadel." She glanced back to EDI, "Continue with that message for Hackett. This shouldn't be long."
Kai Leng was showing off his left arm, shinning in the light, "I have to thank you for the upgrade. I'm now stronger and faster than ever before. And this time I won't lose."
"Your arrogance blinds you, human." Lissarkh activated the lightsaber's blade now, waiting to see her opponent's response. Kai Leng seemed to have learned his lesson from before, not underestimating Lissarkh however Leng snapped his finger as a group of Cerberus soldiers rushed into the room.
This caught them a bit off guard, however it wasn't enough as Garrus, EDI and Shepard focused on the new targets to give Lissarkh room. She deflected a few shots, just as Kai Leng was hoping for, trying to take her by surprise while defending herself.
He still did not know the extent of her true potential. Blocking one of the snipers, Lissarkh threw her arm out toward Kai Leng and sent him flying with the power of the Force. Kai Leng was pressed against the wall by an unseen power, as he tried to comprehend since his visor did not detect any dark energy or biotic amps from the Jedi before he was flung across the room.
As Leng continued to struggle he suddenly felt a burning sensation coming from his chest. When he looked down he found the hilt of the lightsaber stuck right through his heart. He looked up to see the Jedi holding out her hand, and after seeing her, the lightsaber pulled out of him and flew back to her hands. "Repent for the lives you have stolen and the deaths that could have been prevented…" Garrus and Shepard finished off the last of Kai Leng's reinforcements as his vision slowly faded and the lights on his visor shut down.
A/N: I never liked Leng and he deserved nothing less than what happened. He was a poorly cobbled together character designed for everyone to pour their hate toward for Thessia and nothing more.
