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Shepard had firmly declined a leadership role in the ground attack. She was a fighter, not an admiral, and she had insisted the ground troops report to Anderson as they began to land.
And land they did, in numbers far greater than Garrus had anticipated. As impressive as the array of fleets in the air might be, there was something about seeing the troops on the ground that really spoke to what Shepard had accomplished. Turians, quarians, asari, salarians, batarians, elcor, volus, drell, hanar, even vorcha, all arrayed ready to strike at the Reaper troops. And, of course, the loudest of them all: the krogan. They were pumping each other up for battle. At the head, naturally, was Urdnot Wrex, his voice ringing out above the din. He was going to be hoarse tomorrow, Garrus thought, without letting himself speculate on whether Wrex, or any of them, would live to see tomorrow.
"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. One word brought death to an enemy that none dared fight. That word was 'krogan'!" The krogan troops—and a few of the surrounding forces—cheered that one. Wrex went on, raising his arms and banging his fists together audibly. "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!"
Garrus had to stop and think back to the taciturn, angry krogan he had first met on the Citadel all those years ago. Who would ever have imagined that creature could become the leader of his people, a true visionary?
Looking down at the small, indomitable figure next to him, Garrus amended the thought. Shepard had. She had seen the potential in Wrex—in all of them—and she had made each of them what they were today, given them purpose and drive and hope. Hope above all.
As if he could sense the direction of Garrus's thoughts, Wrex turned and grasped Shepard's hand, raising it entwined with his. "And we are honored to fight at the side of our allies, the humans, and to follow Commander Shepard as one of our own. An honorary krogan, fierce in battle and loyal to her friends as she is terrible to her enemies!"
The krogan cheered Shepard, too. As they damn well should, Garrus reflected.
"The krogan!" Wrex shouted again, to more cheers.
After that, he let his people go, his captains preparing their squads.
Wrex turned to Shepard. "You ready for this, Commander?"
"Are you, Wrex?"
He grinned widely. "You know it." The grin faded as he looked around him. "Earth always like this?"
Shepard winced. "No."
"Yeah, didn't think so. I have to say, it reminds me of home. I guess you'll be needing a new planet, too."
"Too soon, Wrex."
"It always is. Still … Tuchanka's always got room for you. And a guard dog named Kalros."
Shepard smiled. "My favorite thresher maw in all the galaxy."
"Shepard."
"Wrex."
"Don't worry. I know you're going to win today. You know why?"
"Because I brought the krogan?"
"Because you brought the krogan!" He took her hands, looking down at her with one of his rare serious expressions. "No matter what else happens today, no one else could have done what you did. You united a galaxy. You brought us all together here in this place with a single purpose. That's a victory right there." Wrex squeezed her hands. "And Bakara sends her regards. She's already pregnant." There was an odd mixture of pride and fear on Wrex's face. Garrus supposed it must be strange to contemplate fatherhood after such a long time believing it was impossible.
"I guess there are benefits to being a clan leader," he said.
Wrex gave him a broad wink, the pride mastering the fear. "You know it." He turned back to Shepard, letting go of her hands to bump her fists with his. "Now let's go kick some Reaper ass, Shepard!"
"I couldn't have put it better myself." She smiled at Wrex. Garrus could tell she was restraining herself from hugging their old friend only with difficulty. "See you on the other side, Wrex."
"Just try to keep up with me, Shepard."
She laughed, turning away from Wrex to continue her walk through the troops. It was interesting to Garrus how few of them recognized her at first, this little human in the battered white hardsuit, moving among them so quietly. And then someone in each group would nudge someone else, and the whispers would run through the troops, and eventually someone would stop her and ask if she was Commander Shepard, and then she would be surrounded by people eager to meet her, to talk to her in person.
"You know they're going to tell their grandchildren that they met you, right? This is going to be something they'll remember the rest of their lives."
"You'd think they'd remember the battle," Shepard said.
"They will—but what will bring the story together and give it meaning will be that before the battle, they met Commander Shepard, and she told them to have hope. To fight hard. To win. And that they couldn't have done it without her."
Shepard frowned. "But that won't be true."
"Won't it? It's true for me. And for Tali. And Wrex and Liara and Javik and Vega and …"
Holding up a hand, Shepard told him to stop. "Those are all people I know personally."
"Right. So you know what an effect you've had on them. You have no idea what effect you've had on the rest of the galaxy, on beings you've never met and will never meet. They're here because of you. They're alive, moving forward toward their future, because of you."
"I … That's a lot to put on a person."
Garrus nodded. "It always was. But you did it anyway. Zia?"
"What?"
"On behalf of the galaxy: Thank you."