Well, it took some time and a lot of swearing, but I finished ME3! I already know that I'm altering the ending because honestly, WTF. I've done my research and even if I'd gotten it all perfect I would have had to alter it. That's all I'm saying for now. From this point out, if you haven't finished ME3 or started it, there will be spoilers. Please enjoy and as always, feel free to leave a review or a song I should use.
Inspired by Florence + The Machine's "Dog Days Are Over"
Dog Days Are Over
A year passed. The galaxy settled into a sort of peace and on Earth, Shepard settled into a semi-routine. She would do work, read, work out with Vega and the marines, shop for groceries every few weeks, and at night she would stare at the stars, hoping that Garrus was still out there waiting for her.
That is, until everything changed.
Erin Shepard stared out her window, a data pad she had been studying held loosely in her hand. On the lawn below a young boy was playing with a model of an Alliance cruiser. He came there most every day to play, and Shepard had somehow become attached. Something about his chocolate brown hair reminded her of a much younger self.
Abruptly the door slid open, causing Shepard to turn as James Vega snapped off a hasty salute. "Commander."
Turning from the window, Shepard sighed. "You're not supposed to call me that any more James."
"Not supposed to salute you either." He fired back, which brought a smile to Shepard's face. However, that smile didn't stay in place long as James went on. "We gotta go. The defense committee wants to see you."
Eyebrows arched, Shepard tossed the data pad back onto the bed. "Sounds important."
In the hall, everyone seemed to be moving with a nervous sort of energy. Carefully dodging around a few people, Shepard furrowed her brow. "What's going on?"
Vega shook his head. "Couldn't say. Just told me that they needed you…now."
Before Shepard could reply, her ocean blue eyes caught sight of a figure through the crowd. In his best dress blues, Anderson strode towards the pair, his deep gaze locked onto Shepard. Vega halted and snapped off a salute, but Shepard just felt confused. "Anderson?"
Taking her hand, the Admiral led her away from Vega. "You look good Shepard! Maybe a little soft around the edges. How you holding up since being relieved from duty?"
A pink flush crept into Shepard's cheeks as Anderson playfully poked at her abdomen. She was anything but soft and they both knew it. Anderson had always been like a father figure to the parentless Shepard, and this was just their own playful banter. She winked one brilliant blue eye. "It's not so bad, once you get used to the hot food and soft beds"
"We'll get it sorted out." Replied Anderson with a note of seriousness in his tone.
Together the pair moved into even busier corridors, and the brunette couldn't help but look around at the hustle and bustle. "What's going on? Why's everyone in such a hurry?"
"Admiral Hackett's mobilizing the fleets." Anderson muttered, his voice low and solemn. That was one thing Shepard always loved about her adopted father; he always told things to her straight. "I'm guessing word's made it to Alliance Command…something big's headed our way."
Freezing at the bottom of a flight of stairs, Shepard stared up at Anderson, all color draining form her cheeks. "The Reapers?"
With a shake of his head, Anderson turned back to her. "We don't know. Not for certain."
An old surge of frustration and anger surged through Shepard at this denial of what she had always claimed was true. "What else could it be?"
A wry smile flitted across Anderson's face as he looked down at Shepard. "If I knew that…"
Hands balled into fists, Shepard's blue gaze was hard. "It's the Reapers. And we're not ready for them. Not by a long shot."
"Tell that to the committee!" Quipped Anderson as the pair jogged up the remaining steps.
Behind his back, Shepard rolled her eyes, venom dripping in her voice. "Unless we're planning to talk the Reapers to death, the committee is a waste of time."
More officers were hurrying around as they continued on. Anderson's voice was one of reason when he spoke. "They're just scared. None of them have seen what you've seen. We've all reviewed your reports, seen the data you've collected, but it's all just theory to us. You've been there. In the trenches. Fighting them. You know what they're capable of."
Still seeking an outlet for her pent up frustration, Shepard glared at Anderson. "That why they grounded me? Took away my ship?"
Pulling to a halt, Anderson turned to face Shepard at last, his voice that of a parent trying to reason with a child. "You know that's not true. The shit you've done…any other soldier would have been tried, court-martialed, and discharged. It's your knowledge of the Reapers that kept that from happening."
"That, and your good word?" Shepard couldn't help but be a bit skeptical at this.
Still, Anderson's tone was nothing but sincere as he went on. "Yeah. I trust you, Shepard. And so does the committee."
Some of the venom drained from her tone, Shepard shook her head. "I'm just a soldier, Anderson. I'm no politician."
As the pair continued to move, Anderson scoffed. "I don't need you to be either. I just need you to do whatever the hell it takes to help us stop the Reapers!"
Together they entered a waiting chamber where a young Alliance officer waved them through as Vega rejoined the pair as they headed towards the committee chamber. "They're expecting you two, Admiral."
"Good luck in there Shepard." Vega called, offering a grim sort of smile.
"Shepard?"
Erin froze for a heartbeat at the voice that called her. While not nessecarily an unwelcome voice, it was one that had the usually unshakeable Spectre on edge. She turned, brows furrowed. "Kaidan?"
As Shepard approached her old biotic teammate, Anderson nodded at him. "Major, how'd it go in there?"
The dark haired biotic shrugged. "I can never tell with them. I'm just waiting for orders now."
Approaching once more the young officer motioned for Anderson to follow, so the pair set off again. As she passed Kaidan, he gave Shepard a small smile and a nod. Vega glanced between the two, taking special note of how Kaidan's gaze lingered on the Commander's retreating form. "You know the commander?"
A note of regret was unmistakable in Kaidan's voice as he replied. "I used to."
Within the committee chamber, Shepard found herself strangely at ease. She had no issues being in front of higher ranking officers, and between them and Kaidan, she would pick the committee every time. From where they were seated, the committee chairman greeted them. "Admiral Anderson. Shepard."
"What's the situation?" Shepard's voice was brimming with curiosity, not one to play around with small talk when there were Reapers on the way.
Taking a seat as an aide gave Shepard a data pad, the chairman seemed a bit forlorn. "We were hoping you could tell us."
As she looked over the data, another woman spoke up. "The reports coming in are unlike anything we've ever seen. Whole colonies have gone dark. We've lost contact with everything beyond the Sol Relay."
"Whatever this is," Continued the first councilor, his voice hushed, "It's incomprehensively powerful."
Old anger surging up her spine, Shepard lowered the data pad, blue eyes piercing. "You brought me here to confirm what you already know… The Reapers are here."
It was as if that one statement had power to freeze the whole room in its tracks. Shepard could feel their eyes on her, some incredulous, some disbelieving, but most were scared. At last the second councilor spoke. "Then…how do we stop them?"
"Stop them?" Shepard cast a quick glance at Anderson, who nodded as she went on, slowly approaching. "This isn't about strategy or tactics. This is about survival! The Reapers are more advanced than we are. More powerful. More intelligent. They don't fear us, and they'll never take pity on us."
Looking as though she were going to cry, the counselor shook her head. "But…there must be some way!"
Shepard glanced around. All eyes in the room were on her…a twinge of nerves shot through her before the Spectre spoke again. "If we're gonna stand any chance of surviving this, we're going to have to stand together."
"That's it?" Exclaimed the other counselor. "That's our plan?"
Before Shepard could respond with some choice words she learned from Jack, a communications officer stood. "Admiral, we've lost contact with Luna Base!"
Baffled, Anderson turned back to Shepard. "The moon? They couldn't be that close already…"
"How'd they get past our defenses?"
Shepard resisted the strong urge to roll her eyes and make yet another smart remark. It would seem that the year off duty was making the commander restless and agitated. Still, the communications officer cut her off. "Sir, UK headquarters has a visual!"
On the giant screen, snow obscured the picture momentarily before an image flickered in for a moment. An explosion rocked the camera and sent the officer on screen flying before cutting out. Quickly another image replaced it and involuntarily Shepard gasped. Great Reaper ships were descending onto London, with fires breaking out everywhere. Scenes of similar destruction were pouring in from across the globe.
As she stared in a sort of helpless horror, Anderson stepped back towards Shepard. "Why haven't we heard from Admiral Hackett?"
"What do we do?"
The question was asked with an obvious desperation. Finally, Shepard felt the weight of her role settle on her shoulders; humanity was looking to her to be their savior in their final hours. Striding forward, she pointed to the screen where a frozen image of a Reaper flickered. "The only thing we can. We fight or we die."
Anderson nodded, drawing level with Shepard. "We should get to the Normandy…"
That thought was cut short as a great metallic hum sounded from overhead. As the officers approached the great glass windows behind them, Shepard already knew what they were seeing. Even so, nothing could have prepared the brunette for seeing the great black claws of the Reaper descending from the cloud cover and smashing into the skyscrapers. A crimson red energy beam paved the way and Shepard's eyes went wide as realization struck. "MOVE!"
The blast caught Shepard and flung her into a bench. Rolling off, Erin stared at the ceiling before slipping out of consciousness. How long she was out, Shepard wasn't sure, but she awoke to Anderson calling her name. Quickly rising, she rubbed at her throbbing head. Anderson caught her hand and hauled Shepard to her feet. "Come on, get up. Here, take this. We've got to get moving."
Together they moved towards the shattered window while Erin checked the pistol Anderson had offered her. Meanwhile, the older man scanned through the frequencies, his voice urgent. "This is Admiral Anderson. Report in. Anyone? Major Alenko, is that you? What's your status?"
Once at the window the pair paused to see another Reaper descending upon the city. Shaking his head, Anderson stared out at the destruction, Kaidan still speaking in the communicator. "I can't raise the Normandy. You'll have to contact them. We'll meet you at the landing zone. Anderson out."
No words were exchanged, but the two soldiers knew that this was just the beginning. Together they leapt down , cautiously making their way to the spaceport where Kaidan would pick them up. Shepard smirked as husks fell quickly to her pistol fire. The pair moved into a demolished building for cover, but as she pried open a set of doors for Anderson to slip through, Shepard paused.
Slowly, the brunette made her way to the far side of the room and crouched by the vent. Inside was the child she had always seen playing in the lawn by her window. Now he crouched in the dim light, clearly afraid. Crouching down, she smiled. "Hey. It's okay…"
The child shuffled backwards, fear evident in his dark eyes. "Everyone's dying!"
Outside the Reaper's movements shook the building, which served only to spook the child more. Calmly, Shepard extended a hand. "Come here. I need to get you someplace safe. Take my hand."
However, the child didn't budge. "You can't help me."
"Shepard! In here!"
Erin glanced back towards Anderson, nodded, and looked back only to find that the child had vanished. Confused, she shook her head and jogged to catch up to Anderson. He was struggling with some downed beams and groaned as Shepard approached. "Aaaugh. This is a goddamned mess! Every minute these machines are here, thousands of innocent people die! I won't be responsible."
As he ducked through, Shepard paused and shook her head. "It's hard enough fighting a war. But it's worse knowing no matter how hard you try, you can't save them all."
"Exactly." Admitted Anderson as he picked his way through the rubble. "It's so fast…I thought we'd have more time."
Lifting a beam for Anderson to crawl under, Shepard sighed. "We knew they were coming."
On the other side, Anderson straightened. "And they still just cut through our defenses! We need to go to the Citadel… talk to the council."
Confused, Erin paused as Anderson inspected a narrow pathway. "The Citadel? The fight's here!"
Voice dropping low, Anderson didn't meet Shepard's gaze. "It'll be everywhere soon enough. You said it yourself; the Reapers will destroy everything if we don't stop them. The council has to help us!"
"You sure about that?" Quipped Shepard, her ocean blue eyes locked on the dark drop below as they edged along the wall.
"No," Admitted Anderson, "But you were a council Spectre. That has to count for something."
A sharp tremor rocked the building, and for one heart-stopping moment, Shepard wavered on the edge of falling in. However, Anderson reached out and yanked her back, offering a small smile as he did so. Shepard returned the gesture, her tone one of gratitude. "Thanks…I owe you one."
Once on firm ground, Anderson shook his head. "More than one."
As they kept moving, Shepard couldn't help but agree. It had been Anderson who had pushed her through to be everything she had become…he took her in when she had nobody, nominated her for the N7 program, and gave his support for her to become a Spectre. She owed him more than she could ever repay him for. Together the pair sprinted for the space port, cutting a swathe of destruction through countless husks that Shepard finally identified as mutated Batarians.
With the radio from a downed gunship, Shepard and Anderson were able to hail Kaidan and the Normandy. As the magnificent form of the Normandy swept in, Shepard took a running leap and stood in the cargo bay where Kaidan stood to help her aboard. He flashed her a small grin. "Welcome aboard Shepard."
With a curt nod, Shepard turned back to Anderson, who was still on the scrap of rubble. "Anderson, come on!"
The wind whipped Shepard's mahogany locks back from her face, giving her sort of a wild look. Anderson smiled sadly and shook his head. "I'm not going. You saw those men back there! There's a million more like them and they need a leader."
"We're in this fight together Anderson!" Cried Shepard over the howl of Normandy's engines. If it weren't for Kaidan and James standing right there, Shepard had half a mind to jump back onto the ground.
As though he could read her mind, Anderson smiled wryly. "It's a fight we can't win. Not without help. We need every species, and all their ships to even have a chance at defeating the Reapers. Talk to the council. Convince them to help us."
For the first time in three years, Shepard felt a note of fear creep into her voice. "What if they won't listen?"
"Then make them listen!" Roared Anderson, and at this Shepard had to smile. After all, she had learned how to shout orders from him when she was just a recruit. "Now go, and that's an order!"
A mischievous sparkle in her blue eyes, Erin stepped closer to the edge of the gangway. "I don't take orders from you anymore, remember?"
Anderson paused, then flung something silver at Shepard, who caught it almost on instinct. "Consider yourself reinstated…Commander. You know what you have to do."
Pride welled up in Shepard's chest as she looped the tags around her neck. "I'll be back for you! And I'll bring every fleet I can! Good luck."
The Normandy rose into the sky as smaller shuttles swooped in to claim survivors. Erin froze as she spotted the child from earlier stumbling near one of the shuttles. Across the great distance, her deep blue eyes met his sage green ones. Above, a Reaper emitted a deep bass tone which caused the child to cover his ears before a soldier ushered him into the shuttle. Heaving a sigh of relief, Shepard watched as the shuttle rose into the sky.
But relief was short lived. The Reaper's crimson red beam sliced through the shuttle, sending it careening into the water below with a blast of fire. With Joker at the helm, the Normandy soared out of the atmosphere, Shepard knew that they would be safe. As the boys moved towards the elevator, Erin closed her eyes, her hand unconsciously moving to the ring on her finger.
This was going to be a long war.
