Chapter Sixty-Five

Shepard and Kaidan moved through the doorway and up a makeshift ramp towards Anderson's Alliance Command centre. The rumble of a large crowd and someone speaking grew louder as they reached the top.

Shepard paused, and looked down into a courtyard packed with Krogan.

Wrex was giving a speech.

"When the Rachni laid waste to the galaxy two-thousand years ago – when all seemed lost and the end was near – one word delivered the killer blow!

One word beat the monsters back to the abyss, and one word brought death to an enemy none dared fight!" Her friends voice resonated off the concrete walls, filled with passion and belief.

There was a hush, and Wrex seemed to swell before their eyes. "That word was… Krogan!" He bellowed at the top of his lungs, followed with a war cry that was echoed by the Krogan massed below.

The walls rattled and shook, and Shepard was filled with pride for her battle tested friend. He had come a long way from the jaded Bounty Hunter he had been when they met.

The howling stopped as Wrex continued. "And today, the Krogan rise again. Today, we forge a new path and join the galaxy as allies in victory! Today… we win our future!"

It was a hell of a speech and even Shepard's blood roared in her ears. Say what you would about him, Wrex had become a strong leader, and his people would follow him into hell.

With more war cries and howls, the Krogan began to disperse, meeting up with their battle units. Wrex turned and noticed Shepard and Kaidan behind him.

"Shepard. You did it."

She raised an eyebrow at him in question. "No matter what else happens today, you did what no one else could – you united a galaxy. That's a victory right there."

He grinned at her and reached out to grip her hand with his massive one "And don't worry, I know why you're going to win."

"And why is that, Wrex?" She asked quietly.

He leaned close. "Because you brought the Krogan!" He winked at her and roared with laughter.

Shepard grinned back. "I'm glad you're here to lead them Wrex, they couldn't ask for a better battlemaster."

"Yeah, someone's gotta be around to crack skulls. Bakara sends her regards by the way… she is already pregnant." Wrex grinned and Shepard was surprised at the tenderness in his eyes.

"Congratulations!" Kaidan thumped the huge Krogan on the back and he chuckled.

"Yeah, there are perks to being Clan Leader. Anyway, she is determined to name the first one Mordin… it's not too bad of a name I guess." The big Krogan grimaced and shrugged.

Shepards throat grew tight for a moment thinking of the Salarian Doctor. How he would have loved to be here.

The tightness eased and she grinned, picturing a Krogan named Mordin with an attitude like Wrex's loosed on the universe. She chuckled. "I think it's perfect."

Wrex's guffawed, and thumped her on the back. "Take care of yourself out there Shepard, and don't worry about us. The Krogan will still be standing when it's all done."

"I will Wrex… and you too." She hugged him, and turned to continue towards Anderson.

Kaidan saw a harried looking technician wrestling with a data pad and moved over to help.

Shepard smiled to herself, once a nerd always a nerd.

She noticed Javik standing in the shadow's and paused. She and the surly Prothean had had their ups and downs, and Javik had never truly clicked with the members of the Normandy… but Shepard was amazed at how far he had come.

And the Prothean knew better than anyone just how much was at stake.

She moved over to his side, and they stared at the massive beam lighting up London as it ferried troops back and forth to the Citadel for the Reapers.

"Commander." He muttered after a moment of silence.

Shepard looked at the devastation surrounding them. "Was it this bad in your time?" She asked softly.

"Worse." She inhaled, knowing that although it was ancient history for her, Javik had experienced the annihilation of his people what felt like mere months ago.

"I have been listening to the Krogan speak to his men." He turned to look at her as he continued. "In our cycle, the races never came together. There was no rallying cry." He paused, and several emotions flicked rapidly across his face. "I envy you."

He said it quietly, his voice held no bitterness.

Shepard was surprised. "Really? There's not much left out there."

Javik snorted. "The future is still out there. It is something my people could never say: there will be a tomorrow."

Shepard thought of the hundreds of thousands of dead, of the insurmountable odds stacked against them. "Only if we win today." She whispered.

He gave her a sad smile. "No one else has come this far."

She looked at him. The last of his kind. A true soldier.

"You did." He looked at her, startled. "You came a long way, Javik. Farther than anyone else here."

He grunted and tipped his head at her. "And I look forward to fulfilling my mission… but you are now the avatar of this cycle. The exemplar of victory. Not just for humanity, or turians, or protheans – but for all life. Every soul that has ever existed is watching this moment."

All Life. Fuck.

Shepard scrubbed a hand across her face, and huffed out a breath. "Well, no pressure when you put it that way."

Javik just looked at her, sympathy and determination in his eyes. "Do not waver. Victory is never won without difficult choices… without sacrifice." The protheans eyes flicked briefly to where Kaidan still stood with the technician, head bent as they work on whatever problem the marine was having.

Shepard felt fear seep into her head. "I know. I've had to make a lot of those."

Javik stepped towards her, and reached out to grasp her hand. He very rarely touched any of them, and Shepard knew it was a big step for the surly Prothean to take.

"There will be more." His eyes were pools of molten gold, and Shepard found the knowledge in them overwhelming. She had to steel herself not to break their eye contact. "But I know you will see this through for all of us—no matter the cost."

Images raced through her mind. Kaidan's face covered in blood. The boy from the shuttle burning in the dead forest, Ashley, Mordin, Thane… Staring into her own eyes as the flames consumed her.

She swallowed hard and nodded at him.

He passed her a memory shard, the last actual unbiased history of the Protheans. "Here. You will add to this. History will know what happened here. The last voice of the Protheans has spoken… all is as it should be."

She thought about refusing, telling him to keep it, but he dropped the shard into her hands and turned away. There were no words left to say between them.

She tucked the shard into her pocket and hoped she would be able to give it back to him when it was all over.

"Shepard?"

She turned. Kaidan was behind her, a look of concern on his face.

She shook herself internally, and ruthlessly squashed the voice in her head that said grab hold of him and run, universe be damned.

She reached out and gripped his hand. "Let's go"

They walked up another level and stepped into Anderson's command center.

EDI, Anderson and Coats were standing around a tactical war table, looking at the projected battle scenarios. Tali was off to the side, punching codes into her omni tool. She moved over to her quarian friend.

"Shepard. Are you holding up okay?"

"I thought I'd be asking you that question." She looked at Tali. The young Quarian had grown leaps and bounds since they first met years ago.

Tali tutted at her. "Shepard, I backed you when I was just a kid on her pilgrimage. I backed you when the Normandy was a Cerberus ship." Shepard grimaced and Tali cocked out a hip, crossing her arms over her chest. "What kind of friend would I be if I didn't back you now?" She reached out and poked Shepard in the chest. "And you didn't answer my question! Are you okay?"

Shepard sighed. "Seeing earth like this… it's brutal. But we are so close now. It means a lot to me that you are here. It has been an honor to serve with you Tali'Zorah vas Normandy." Shepard drew herself up and saluted.

Tali just pulled her into a hug. "You're my best friend. The honour is mine."

Shepard hugged her back, so tightly her friend squeaked.

They both had moisture in their eyes when they broke apart. There were so many goodbye's, so many things that she still wanted to say.

How many of them would come out of this? Shepard had thoughts the odds were bad when they hit the Collector base, but she had managed a miracle…she had gotten out without losing any of her team.

She knew deep in her bones that in this next fight, the odds were exponentially worse.

She was all out of miracles.

"Commander." Anderson called to her, and she pulled herself out of her head and stepped up to the table. Kaidan joined her and everyone else in the room moved closer.

"Admiral." She saluted him Anderson.

"Just going over the sitrep." He gestured to the table.

She nodded, looking down at the holograms on the table. "How does it look?"

Anderson's face tightened. "Barely fifty percent of Hammer has reported in."

Fifty percent… Jesus.

"Can we count on any more making it?" She asked, as Kaidan's face blanched.

Anderson looked at Major Coats, who shook his head grimly. The Admiral punched a command into his omni-tool, and other alliance leaders began to trickle into the room.

Once he was satisfied everyone who could be there was, Anderson scrubbed a hand down his face and looked around the room.

Coates brought up a holo of the beam, and the war strategy began.

"We fought hard to get here. But now the toughest part of our mission begins." He looked around the room, and everyone's faces were grim and resigned. "We've got to drive right through the heart of Reaper controlled territory, break past their defenses, and get to that beam."

"What kind of defenses?" Kaidan asked.

The map zoomed out, and Shepard's heart sank when she saw how far they would have to go.

"The entire area is crawling with Reaper forces, but our biggest concern is the Destroyer protecting the beam itself."

The map flicked and a showed a massive reaper squatting near the beam, watching over an expanse of ground with no cover. It was a killing field.

The sight of it filled Shepard with icy dread. The cold voice of the reaper that lay dying on Rannoch seeped into her conscious.

You resist. But you will fail.

"Can we bring in air support to deal with it?" Coats asked, snapping her back to the conversation.

EDI shook her head at the same time Anderson said "Negative. There's some kind of interference. We'll have to take it out from the ground."

She and Kaidan glanced at each other, their faces hard and emotionless. She knew thoughts of Rannoch weren't only on her mind.

"Now, they've cut a swath of no-man's land through the city. We'll have to cross that first…" Anderson continued to lay out the plan, passing out everyone's assignments.

Shepard's heart grew heavy as the room slowly cleared, leaving her team for last. She knew what her assignment was going to be.

"Shepard." Anderson looked at her, emotions flickering across his face before he slammed up his walls.

"Yes sir?" She straightened her back and looked him straight in the eye.

"I am sending you right up the gut, where the resistance is heaviest. Support the tanks as best you can, but stay alive. I need you for the final push to the beam." She let out the breath she was holding, then nodded.

He reached out and gripped her shoulder. "I'll give you a minute with your team."

He didn't need to say 'to say goodbye'. They both knew what he meant anyway.

Shepard swallowed, and nodded. He stepped out of the room, and her team came in.

Kaidan, EDI and Tali were joined by Javik, Joker, Vega, Liara and Garrus.

Everyone's faces were grey, and Shepard had to struggle to keep her emotions locked down and she looked at them. They would likely never all be in the same room again.

She took a deep breath.

"This war has brought us pain and suffering and loss." She bowed her head, and began to slowly pace back and forth before the war table. "But it's also brought us together—as allies, as soldiers… and as family." Smiles broke out on a few faces. "This bond that ties us together is something the Reapers will never understand. It is more powerful than any weapon, stronger than any ship. It can't be taken or destroyed."

She moved around the table, to stand before her team. "The next few hours will decide the fate of everyone in the galaxy. Every mother. Every son. Every unborn child. They're trusting in us… depending on us to win them their future. A future free from the threat of the Reapers."

Fists clenched and faces hardened. "But take heart." Shepard smiled. "Look around you. You're not in this fight alone. We face our enemy together, and together we will defeat them."

"I am honored to have worked with all of you, to have gotten to know you. These have been the best and worst years of my life, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Thank you… for coming with me for the ride."

She stopped, her throat tight. If she said anymore, she would crack and her emotions would pour out in a flood.

The silence was deafening. Everyone knowing this was their chance to say goodbye, and no one wanting to say it.

Kaidan stepped forward. "I don't have a glass, but here it goes anyway." He raised his fist. "To Shepard. May she continue to be the light to us in dark places…when all other lights go out."

The rest of the crew raised their fists, and chorused, "To Shepard."

She swallowed hard, and scrubbed a hand across her face. She exhaled in a whoosh, and the raised her fist with theirs.

"Let's go kick some ass!"

00oo00oo00oo00

Shepard watched the Normandy rise into the air with a lump in her throat. She had ordered EDI and Tali on board with Joker. Tali had wanted to stay on the ground, but Shepard knew if anything went wrong up there, Joker would need her expertise. There was no one better with the drive core, and EDI and Joker would have their hands full with the defense systems.

Javik had decided to go with Anderson's team, as they had few biotics and could be most useful there. He had said a brief goodbye to the crew and walked away without a backwards glance.

Shepard almost envied him his detachment.

That left her, Kaidan, Garrus, Liara and James for the run across no man's land.

"Watch your ammo and suit supplies, and grab more whenever you can. If you get hit make sure Kaidan or Liara notice, they have the heaviest meds. Nobody be a hero. We all need to be there to make the run to the beam. This fight will be hard, but that is where we are needed most."

They all nodded. They bristled with weapons, and could hear the howls of husks and the rat-a-tat-tat of assaults rifles begin to clash through the air.

"Ok, Vega and I are on point. Kaidan and Liara, don't burn yourselves out. Use lifts and stasis and leave Garrus the shots. Watch each other's backs, and be safe out there."

She took a deep breath and gave them the signal.

Then they were running.

The fighting was brutal. The minutes stretched into an hour. Shepard and her team constantly re-adjusted as tanks were destroyed, and other teams were pinned down.

They began to become numb to the voices on the comms, screaming for help when there was none to be had.

The death toll on both sides was staggering.

They moved into a courtyard, and scanned it. Everything was quiet.

Shepard and James jogged forward, then waved the others to come up with them.

"Damn" Shepard muttered as she looked for a path out and forwards. There was a long alley with a half fallen building at the end, if they scrambled up the ruins they could scoot around and get back on track.

She motioned for Kaidan, Liara and Garrus to sit tight and she and Vega silently entered the alley.

It was dark, but there were no doorways or windows for enemies to attack from.

They reached the end of the ally and James eyed the rubble.

"I don't know Commander, looks pretty-"

There was a roar and the wall next to them shuddered.

"Brutes!" Shepard heard Garrus yell, then the wall exploded.

"Go!" She screamed at Vega, hauling him back onto his feet as two massive brutes staggered through the ruined wall with a howl.

Vega began sprinting back to the others while Shepard backed away, peppering the massive beasts with her assault rifle.

Her skin tingled as a massive biotic attack went over her head and hit the brutes, slowing, but not stopping them.

One roared and began a lumbering run towards her. She kept firing into its face as she backed away and it got closer.

To turn her back and run now was too risky. There was a dull boom and the beast's head snapped back. Garrus had hit it dead in the face with a Concussive round, and it slowly crumpled to the ground.

She had reached the barricade and the others now, and between all of their attacks the other brute was taken down.

Shepard swiped a hand across her face and got rid of most of the sweat and dust. She glanced at her teammates, but everyone was unscathed.

She signalled Vega, and they once more headed down the alley.

The building the Brutes had charged through led them back to the path they had been assigned.

The moved through the building, snatching up any supplies they came across and then emerged back out into the street.

They moved in another couple blocks without incident, then paused.

The massive Reaper Destroyer was now only several blocks away from them, squatting amongst the ruins that had been London like a malevolent toad.

Shepard cursed. As long as it was there, there would be no moving forward.

"All units open fire!" An unknown Asari commando screamed through the comms, and the night was suddenly bright. Biotic attacks, grenades, heavy weapon attacks… you name it hit the destroyer, but nothing had an effect.

All her team could do is watch as its massive laser took out unit after unit once the allies attacks failed.

She leaned out from behind the building there were using for cover. She assessed the street.

Shit.

There was a tank with heavy artillery rounds stopped in the street, dead marines scattered around it. One of the teams that was responsible for firing on the destroyer hadn't made it.

"Goddess…" Liara whispered as they moved forward.

"Comm-" The coms crackled and cut out.

"This is Shepard." She barked into them.

"Commander Shepard. Do you read me?" Coats came through the crackling comm.

"Major? What's the situation? I've found one of the missile teams here… no survivors but I am in possession of the artillery."

They all crouched near the artillery tank, keeping an eye on their surroundings. Shepard signalled them all to suck down an energy gel and got Kaidan checking over injuries as she was briefed by Coats.

"Damn! The beam's interfering with missile guidance. We can hit the destroyer, but we'll never make the precision strike we need to take it out."

"Hold on Major." Shepard cut her com to him and swore. "Son-of-a-bitch." Shepard drew her brow's together as she tried to think of something she could do.

She raised her omni tool and pulled up a new channel. "EDI, can you read me?"

"Yes, Commander?"

"Any suggestions?" She didn't bother asking if the bot know the situation, she knew she was probably aware of every detail of what was happening on the ground and in the sky.

"I may be able to use the Normandy's systems to enhance the missile systems targeting capabilities."

She remembered Rannoch and the destroyed reaper in the dirt. "Excellent!"

"I'll need you to open a link to the Normandy from the missile system." EDI ordered her.

"On it." Shepard swivelled to look at Kaidan. "Kaidan, work with EDI and get these systems ready to roll. We'll cover you."

After several minutes of listen to Kaidan mutter and punch buttons, EDI came back through the comm. "That's it. I'll let you know when I've adapted the targeting systems."

"Good work EDI. Coats, you read me?"

"Yeah, I'm here Commander."

"We are working on a solution to your targeting problem. Sit tight".

"This is Admiral Anderson. The Reaper ground forces are making a push. Shepard, Coats briefed me on your position. Hold your ground. Protect those tanks until we can get a shot."

Shepard could hear the growls and roars of the enemy troops approaching. She gripped her assault rifle and waved James up beside her.

"You heard him people. Dig deep and buy EDI time."

The enemy troops poured into the street and then there was nothing to do but keep firing.

Kaidan and Liara worked off of each other flawlessly, coordinating their lifts and stasis' with such harmony there was almost never a pause in the crack from Garrus' sniper rifle.

The pile of bodies grew deeper as the minutes trickled by. Shepard kept pushing forward, ensuring she bought as much room for the others to work with as possible.

She didn't realise she was separated from James until she heard him yell.

She whirled and saw him vanish under a swam of husks. She couldn't fire without hitting him.

Fuck! A cannibal rushed her and she pulled out her shotgun, blasting it.

Vega screamed through the comms, and she rushed towards him. She could see flashes of his arms trying to beat them away, but there were tearing at him.

There were going to tear him apart before she could get there.

There was a flash of blue and the cluster of bodies around Vega were jerked away, the burly marine falling to the ground surrounded in a protective blue glow.

Kaidan had fired a massive reave, while Liara shielded James. The control needed by both biotics to pull something like that off was incredible.

Shepard's breath was ragged as she ran forward and dragged him away from the screaming, dying husk's trapped in the reave.

"C'mon Vega. Help me out here. You're too big for me to carry outta here." She urged him, trying not to let terror overwhelm her as she lightly slapped him.

He groaned and opened his eyes. The big Marine was covered in blood. The husks had torn at him like wild dogs, and he was covered in blood. Chunks of his flesh had been torn away where they had bitten him, one wound on his neck was particularly worrying.

"Garrus!" She snapped and the big turian darted towards her. He snatched up Vega and brought him back to the Artillery tank. As soon as Garrus set Vega down Kaidan immediately began patching him up, pumping him full of medi-gel and pain-killers

Shepard didn't want to think about what would happen if he couldn't get the big marine back in the fight.

"Liara, cover them while Kaidan works." She barked, and the Asari immediately took a shielding stance in front of the two men.

Shepard moved back to point position, where she had a clear view to the entrance of the street where the enemies had poured through last time. Garrus loped towards her and picked up James shotgun. She looked at him in shock.

"What? You think just cause I'm better than you with a sniper rifle it means I can't use a shotgun?"

As if to prove his point a swarm of husks came howling towards them, and he began to blast away.

The pile of bodies surrounding the tank when the enemies finally stopped attacking was massive.

Liara's nose was bleeding and she was clearly exhausted, but Vega was pale and back on his feet.

"I thought I lost you there for a minute Jimmy." Shepard gave Vega a quick one over, squeezing him gently on the shoulder.

He grunted and gave her a valiant effort at a wink. "Takes more than that to put me out of the fight, Lola."

Garrus snorted and Shepard chuckled. You could always trust Vega to lighten the mood.

She jumped when EDI came through the comms. "Commander. I have reprogrammed targeting. Missiles are ready for launch."

"Kaidan." She called, but he was already moving back to the missile control panel.

He punched a few commands into the system, then yelled "Firing!"

They all crouched and covered their ears as two of the missiles launched.

"Encountering interference." EDI called as they watched the missiles miss the massive destroyer and detonate harmlessly on nearby buildings.

"What happened?" Shepard yelled.

"The Reaper is still too close to the beam." EDI sounded worried.

"Shepard… we're down to two missiles." Kaidan's face was drawn. If they couldn't get this to work, it was over. No one would make it to the beam.

The Reapers would win.

"We haven't even made a dent." Liara said quietly. Garrus was crouched near Vega, cursing softly under his breath.

"You will need to allow the Reaper to move out of the beams influence…" EDI said, and Shepard closed her eyes.

"And closer to us." She finished.

Anderson came through the comm's, yelling over the heavy gunfire in the background. "Commander. Hammer's being overrun at every turn. Reaper ground forces are converging on your location. We're fighting our way to you. Hold on Commander, hold on."

The connection dropped.

Shepard closed her eyes and swallowed down her scream of frustration. There were five of them. Five against who knows how many.

Vega staggered to his feet, grabbing his shotgun from Garrus.

The big turian looked up and met her eyes. Shepard's blood ran cold at the look in his eyes.

Garrus pulled his assault rifle off his back, and checked it over.

Then he set his sniper rifle on ground, leaning it up against the tire of the artillery tank.

Shepard's breath caught in her throat. She must have made some noise, because Kaidan looked over at her in concern.

He followed her gaze and saw the rifle on the ground. His brown's drew together and his face was like a thundercloud. He marched over and snatched it up, throwing it to Garrus with a snarl.

"No. We are not done. Nobody's going to die here." Garrus held the gun for a moment, then strapped it to his back silently.

Liara's eyes were closed and she had her face turned up to the stars.

Shepard tore her eyes away from them and bent down to gather up ammo. Her eyes caught on something half buried under a rachni corpse at the front of the street and her breath caught in her throat.

000oo00oo00oo00

Kaidan started towards Shepard. His heart thrummed with fear.

He had seen the acceptance on Garrus's face when he had set the rifle on the ground. Kaidan had never seen the big Turian go into a fight without that rifle.

Never.

Kaidan was terrified of seeing it that same acceptance on her face.

The roars of reaper troops grew louder, and Shepard's back snapped straight. She was looking towards the front of the ally, and Kaidan began to jog.

There was the crack of a gun, and the first husk that rounded the corner's head exploded in a puff of mist.

Shepard launched herself forward at the noise like it was a starting gun in a race.

Straight towards the hoard of enemies pouring around the corner into the street.

His voice lodged in his throat, choking him. He flared blue and launched a massive pull, snatching those in the front of the swarm into the air. Shots from Garrus and James' assault rifles peppered the air as Shepard threw herself forward and slid into a pile of corpses.

Kaidan ran, launching another pull as the husks got closer to her. There were too many, and they were getting too close.

"Shepard!" He screamed her name.

There was a flash of light and he saw her arm raise. She had flung a grenade into them. She scrambled backwards, struggling to sling something over her back.

She ducked as the grenade went off and bits of husk blow everywhere.

She had a massive M920 Cain in her one hand, and she flung it behind her towards him as she scrabbled to pick something else out of the pile of corpses.

He ignored the gun and screamed her name again.

Several of the husks had reached her and she activated her omni tool, slashing at them wildly.

He launched a cryo-blast but couldn't risk attacking the ones closest to her.

Then she screamed. Not a scream of pain, or fear… but of rage.

And as she screamed a torrent of flames poured from her arms.

The enemies closest to her became pyres instantly. Howling in agony, they thrashed and set fire to the other troopers trapped next to them.

Kaidan knew in the back of his mind she must have found a flame thrower, but for a moment as he watched her through the swirls of flames, he saw her not as herself, but as something more.

Like a magical Phoenix, rising from the ashes to defeat everything…even death.

Garrus ran forward, shotgun booming and Kaidan leapt back into the fight, alternating between biotic attacks and his assault rifle.

Liara and James stuck close to the tank. Protecting the missiles and each other while he, Garrus and Shepard dealt with the brunt of the attack.

The flame thrower proved to be extremely effective, and took out huge numbers of enemies at a time. When it finally sputtered and died, Shepard was covered in sweat and soot, her eye brows singed and a triumphant gleam in her eyes.

She looked magnificent.

It had been 10 minutes and there was still no sign of Anderson.

"Is that the best you can do!" She screamed, chest heaving as the massive destroyer continued slowly towards them.

"Targeting is online! Reaper is within range." EDI called, and Kaidan tore his gaze away from Shepard.

"Shepard!" He yelled as he hoofed it back to Liara and James.

He glanced back and saw her tear her gaze away from the Reaper and join Garrus, following him back to the missiles. More enemies ran into the compound and she and the big turian ducked into cover and began to lay down cover fire. Buying him the time he needed to launch the missiles.

He reached the tank and punched the command into the computer.

The beam from the Reaper lit up the street with a red glow as it primed to fire.

Too slow.

The missiles launched, knocking him and Liara off their feet. The plates on the massive destroyer began to close. Seconds seemed to stretch out endlessly as he watched the missiles close in.

Then they were through, and there was a massive flash of light.

"Direct hit! It's going down!" Coat's screamed through the comms.

"Now EDI!" Shepard bellowed into the comms and shots from the Normandy slammed into the stricken reaper.

There was a massive explosion and debris rained down on them. Kaidan knew when the Reaper crashed to the ground from the shudders he felt, and the massive cloud of dust that boiled towards them, bringing visibility to zero.

He coughed and covered his face, then crawled out from under the edge of the tank where he had taken shelter from the debris.

Vega was half covering Liara who was down, cerulean blood pooling around her.

"Liara!" He yelled, and rushed forwards.

The Asari had been struck by a flying piece of metal and it was lodged through her upper chest, and she was bleeding heavily.

"Shit, shit, shit" he muttered as he jabbed her with a coagulant and began slathering medi-gel on the wound. It was very bad.

Garrus and Shepard scrambled up to them, covered in dust and grime, both looking battered.

Kaidan looked up at Shepard. "Liara needs to get out of here, she needs medical attention if we want to save her arm.

The metal was lodged between her collar bone and shoulder, gaping open like the mouth of a fish.

Garrus swallowed and looked pale. "Spirits."

"What happened? Did we get it?" Vega asked, slurring slightly.

Kaidan took a quick look at him, realising the big marine likely had a concussion and he had torn open the husk bite on his neck. Blood poured down his chest.

"Garrus, get pressure on that." Kaidan barked and the big Turian snatched up a medi-gel pressure pad and held to Vega's neck.

"Vega's done too" He said looking up at Shepard.

She looked stricken, her face white under the blood, soot and dust.

She swallowed hard and nodded at him, raising her comm.

"Joker, we need a medical evac immediately. Get down here before more forces arrive." Shepard ordered.

Kaidan knew they would have a small window in which a ship as large as the Normandy could get in and out without taking major damage or notice.

Right after downing the massive destroyer was it.

"Aye aye, Commander. ETA 3 minutes."

"Copy that." Shepard lowered her comms.

They hunkered down, and gulped water and energy-gels. Kaidan left Liara long enough to give Garrus and Shepard a quick once over, and ensuring they had only minor injuries returned to pumping medi-gel into Liara's wound.

The Asari would need blood fast if she was going to pull through.

There was a roar, and the Normandy burst through the dust to land near a pile of rubble nearby.

"Garrus! Go grab a stretcher!" Kaidan called and the turian loped away. He and Shepard stabilized Liara, and when Garrus returned and helped Kaidan load her onto the stretcher.

Kaidan and Garrus headed off to get her to Chakwas, while Shepard worked on getting Vega on his feet.

By the time they returned with the stretcher, the big marine was pleading with Shepard.

"I'm good to go Shepard, just give me a stim." Vega groaned as he staggered and tried to stay on his feet.

"No go James. I'm sorry. Even your thick skull has it limits."

Kaidan could hear the strain in her voice and knew that having Liara and James out of the fight was both a blessing, and a curse.

She would be happy knowing they were out of the thick of it and safe on the Normandy, but it drastically lowered their success for hitting the beam.

Kaidan knew that when James' head cleared, he would be furious he ended up benched.

Garrus and Kaidan got the burly marine onto the stretcher and carried him into the med bay.

Kaidan snatched up some supplies pressed onto him by Chakwas, then jogged back down the ramp to Shepard.

They were down to three, and how ever many troops Anderson and Coats had managed to pull through.

The three of them looked at one another, then turned to watch the Normandy rise back into the sky.

He reached out and grasped her hands, feeling her fingers tighten around his as the watched the ship disappear.

Kaidan watched as Shepard's walls came up, and the worry eased from her face to be replaced with determination.

He kept his eyes on her as Anderson called out and came jogging into the complex.

He kept his eyes on her as she released his hand and turned to greet Anderson, ready to lead them on to the final push to the beam.