Gathering Storm

Making our way to the nearest hanger on Cerberus Headquarters, we managed to get a ride from Steve after encountering only the meekest resistance. All the fight had gone out of the Cerberus soldiers and there was no reason to remain on the station any longer. As our shuttle departed, I heard Hackett give the order for all ships to blast the station into oblivion and leave no Cerberus presence alive. With my friends looking out of the viewport with me, we watched the impressive construct get slowly and violently ripped apart by the guns of our fleets. Ships from every species were there and jumped at the chance to dig their own claws further into what was left of Cerberus, sending the hated enemy to their grave. Only, I knew, the one major player was still at large and could have just snatched our only hope of victory from us. However, I kept this to myself as I saw the smiles on the faces of my friends as they watched the beautiful spectacle unfolding before them.

Once back on the Normandy, I congratulated my team for a mission well done and told the crew how proud I was of their performance. Joker got a special mention for the extremely high number of kills he had racked up while fighting in the space battle. Dozens of enemy fighters and a good few frigates and similar vessels had been taken down by my master pilot and our ship's incredible Thannix Cannon. However, as soon I was done with that, I headed straight for the war room and the quantum communicator. Admiral Hackett had to know what the Illusive Man had done and what had become of the Citadel as soon as possible so that we could put together a plan to get the Crucible to Earth. It was our only chance of winning this war and gaining a future that no sentient life had known in the galaxy for over a billion years. There was no doubt in my mind, as I placed the call to Hackett, that whatever we came up with it could only be a do-or-die mission.

I gave Hackett all the information that we had learned from Cerberus and the Prothean VI and had EDI upload it all to his systems. He knew as well as I that the only place to go from here was Earth, and that we had to move soon. The galaxy was in a deplorable state as the Reapers now had very firm control of almost every inhabited system, and those that they had not fully suppressed yet were under intense pressure. Earth was occupied and Humans being slaughtered or rounded up and harvested by the millions. The massive and valiant battle for Palaven was still raging on. Even with all the help from the forces of other species, the Turians were hard-pressed to counter any kind of assault from the Reapers. They could not hold out for much longer.

Reaper forces on Tuchanka had been reinforced and were combing through the ruins scattered across the nuclear wastelands and had the Krogan warriors bogged down in a vicious fight. The Reapers had finally landed on the Salarian home world of Sur'Kesh and had laid waste to much of the lush, jungle covered world while the Salarian population just began to taste what most other races had been suffering for months now. Thessia was in a similar situation to Earth, mostly occupied by the Reapers with only localised resistance movements that were beyond the aid of external forces. Khar'shan, the Batarian home world, had long ago been conquered by the Reapers and of all the species, it was the Batarians who were closest to total extinction.

The Volus home world of Irune had turned into a muddy mess of a battlefield as Turian and Krogan forces were sent to help the Volus defenders who largely depended on VI operated weapons because of their physical unsuitability to warfare. The Elcor home world, Dekuuna, had actually had little attention from the Reapers thus far as had Kahje, the home world of the Hanar and the Drell that lived there. Many supposed that the Reapers did not see these species as a major threat, but these races had not been idle while their planets had not been half-destroyed in the war. The Elcor had sent their fleet to help our alliance. While their combat capabilities were limited, the main strength of the Elcor flotilla was in their transport ships. Designed to hold entire divisions of massive Elcor warriors with VI operated weaponry mounted on their backs, these ships were invaluable for moving huge amounts of troops and gear quickly. With a relief effort for Earth bound to be our next move, these ships would be key to getting reinforcements to Anderson and what was left of the Alliance resistance down on the planet.

"Commander," Hackett said to me once my report was filed, "I've sent word to every single fleet commander to meet with us in the Pax system so we can plan our attack. They all need to know what's happening and that we need to get the Crucible to Earth as soon as we possibly can, before all hope of reaching the Citadel is lost. If there was a reason for everything you've done in this war Scott, this is it. I'll try to see if I can get Anderson linked in as well. Meet with me on the SSV Caledonia, bring your whole team with you as their knowledge and skills may help us."

"I'll be there as soon as possible, Sir," I said. Hackett was about to sign off when he hesitated and said,

"Rest well while you can, Scott… everything will be coming to a head soon and we need you at your best. All of us."

The comm shut down and I was left alone in the war room.

"EDI," I said, "I'm gonna have to lean on you here. I need you to take care of the Normandy yourself for a bit, I'm giving the whole crew some down time until we launch our operation. Give them time to… I don't know, take care of some personal matters."

"I understand, Commander," she said.

"You did a fantastic job on that station, EDI, I'm proud of you. Maybe I've not said it enough, but we owe a hell of a lot to you! You've saved our lives more times than I can count."

"Thank you, Commander. I consider you my friends and would gladly risk non-functionality for all of you. However, I am glad to have seen the end of Kai Leng," she replied, "and soon we will be able to make his master answer for his crimes as well."

I managed to laugh at that,

"I'm with you, EDI. I'm with you."

Which of Kai Leng's masters did she mean? The Illusive Man, or Harbinger?

Ironically, the Normandy seemed to be busier than ever before now that I had given everyone time off while we made our way to the assigned rendezvous point for our summit. The crew were going every which way as they sorted personal affairs, made calls to loved ones, or tried to. Some grabbed some much-needed rest and James had set up a poker game in the lounge with a few of his buddies. To mixed reactions, Javik decided that he would spectate. Liara was burying herself in her work as usual and I had to tell her to take some down time, prying her away from her computers and mountains of information that she felt she needed to sort her way through. Ashley, Garrus and Tali were taking a trip down memory lane as they went through all the insane missions that they had taken part in when serving on the Normandy. It was a story for the ages to be sure, to think what the men, women and machines of the Normandy had achieved and all agreed that there had to be a vid series about it one day.

For myself, I carried out a quick sweep of my ship to make sure everyone was alright and knew what was coming before heading up to my cabin and desperately trying to reach my family on the Citadel. I was holding on to the faintest sliver of hope that perhaps they would be alright despite the fact that the Reapers had the station. Maybe they were holed up in Anderson's apartment. Maybe the C-Sec forces, which had grown into an army itself since they had been caught short during the Cerberus Coup, were putting up stiff resistance against the Reaper troops that had been unleashed on them.

However, I received no answer from any of their private comm channels or from the apartment. I tried to raise Bailey at C-Sec, the Council and the Human Ambassador. Not one person answered. Sitting alone in the cabin, with only the faint hum of the Normandy in flight to be heard, I felt a sudden emptiness inside me. Everything told me to instantly fear the worst as all I could think was that my parents, the fantastic people that had raised me and seen me through my school years and emotional teens, were both dead. They had been taken from me by the Illusive Man and the Reapers.

Until now, I had not realised how much I had been keeping bottled up inside me. All the worry and stress about the fate of Earth, the rampage of the Reapers, all the politicking and trying to get all the species to work together, running the Normandy and all the pressure that the galaxy had placed on me to save them. Now my family. I broke down as I sat in that chair, sobbing uncontrollably for a few minutes as all my thoughts left me completely overwhelmed. Perhaps this was it. After all I had been through, right from the Batarian Slaver attack on Elysium and up to this moment in time, this was that one hill that I could not climb.

This was my breaking point, and I started to doubt everything that I had ever done. I analysed every situation that had ever led to one of my friends dying under my command and told myself that I should have been better, should have been smarter. Kaidan, Thane, Mordin and Legion had all died because of my ineptitude, because I was not quick enough or because I had not taken the time to find another way that could have saved them. Now I had left my family on the Citadel under the illusion that they would be safe when there was nowhere safe left in the galaxy. How stupid had I been? Everyone believed the Citadel to be the safest place and yet Cerberus, not even the Reapers, had almost succeeded in taking it.

In an effort to calm myself as my body continued to shudder, I headed to my bathroom and splashed my face at the sink, sending water all over the floor. Feeling the cold water against my skin did seem to bring me a sense of ease, but I felt like I needed to hold on to the sink just to keep standing as water dripped from my nose and my hair. My breathing was heavy. Trying to clear my mind, I simply kept meeting the same fog that stopped any kind of coherence of thought. It was infuriating as I felt utterly helpless at the mercy of my own mind. I needed to talk to someone before this tore me apart. I felt that I already laid a lot of my fears and worries on Tali. I knew that I could trust her and rely on her for anything, but to go to her while in complete meltdown was unfair.

That was when it hit me. I was not the only one with family on the Citadel. Ashley's mother and three sisters had escaped from Earth to the Citadel a few months ago, just before the Cerberus Coup had happened. Garrus' father and sister, who had a broken leg, had been evacuated from Palaven. And what of Sophie? Had she heard what had become of the Citadel? She and her unit had been called back from Ontarom to join the gathering force that would be tasked with retaking Earth.

It was widely known to all the races by now that Cerberus was nothing more than a smouldering ruin, but the fate of the Citadel and the Illusive Man's involvement was still being kept tightly under wraps. No doubt it would be pieced together by the ordinary soldiers and crewmen soon enough, as all communications with the Citadel had been cut. Any ships travelling through the Widow Relay would soon report the lack of the giant space station. Everything depended on us making our move soon before our fleets, soldiers and allies began to lose heart.

Once I had finally been able to compose myself and take on the appearance of a strong and reliable leader once again, I called Ashley and Garrus up to my cabin so we could talk in private about what had happened. Unsurprisingly, both of them were doing exactly what I was doing, pretending that they were alright and solely focused on the battle that lay ahead. However, realising that this was the wrong thing to do, I decided to be completely honest with them and told them of how I had almost cracked under the strain of it all not half an hour before.

Showing Garrus and Ashley that they were not the only ones suffering, I was glad when both of them set their tough fronts aside and opened up more. In this way, we were better able to hear the others' thoughts and fears, and better able to support them.

"I just never imagined that this could happen. I'm the soldier in the family, I'm the one who's supposed to be in the firing line so that they don't have to be." Garrus was solemn and his eyes staring at nothing as his mind dwelled on his family.

"Now the Illusive Man has just handed them all over to the Reapers," Ashley said, rage festering below her tough exterior. "I wanted to put a bullet between his eyes before but now…"

Garrus sighed and looked thoughtful,

"You remember how Thane told us about when he hunted down the Batarians that killed his wife? How much it affected him, even though he'd killed a thousand times before. His training taught him to kill quick and clean but when it came to them, he wanted them to hurt. He wanted them to bleed in front of him. That's how I feel about the Illusive Man right now."

"Get in line," I said.

"I know you hate me mentioning it, Scott," Ashley started, "but is there any part of you that regrets Cerberus bringing you back? It was the Illusive Man that wanted you back, after all."

I had learned by now that Ashley was more inquisitive about my ties to Cerberus than accusatory these days, which I much appreciated so I never felt defensive when asked these kinds of things any more.

"I'm not sorry I was brought back," I said, "but the only reason that the Illusive Man worked so hard and spent so much time and money on me is because he saw me as just another tool to add to Cerberus' arsenal. I think… I think that he thought that I would stick with Cerberus after the Collectors were destroyed, for some reason. Maybe he saw himself as the only chance the galaxy had against the Reapers? That's why he wanted me to keep the base intact."

Ashley looked surprised,

"I never heard that part!"

"That's because Scott blasted the thing into the nearest black hole and told the Illusive Man where to shove it," Garrus laughed. "Not exactly the kind of defeat that Cerberus is going to make known."

"Yet they still salvaged some tech," I pondered, "that's what those Cerberus scientists that we rescued on Gellix were all working on before they ran, the team that Doctor Cole was leading."

"It doesn't matter now," Garrus told me, "whatever they snatched from that wreck will have gone up in smoke like the rest of Cerberus."

"So long as the Illusive Man is alive, Cerberus is alive," I said. The Illusive Man had said that Cerberus was an idea rather than a physical entity. He was right.

"We'll get him!"

I could certainly say that the three of us were in better spirits after talking to each other, doing what friends do and being there for each other when they needed people to listen most. They were still off the clock, but I knew that they would be preparing every little bit of equipment that they had for battle before double checking it again. It was a way to pass the time and ease the strain, which I fully understood. It was three hours before we would meet up with the SSV Caledonia and all the remaining Powers-That-Be. They came in the form of the highest-ranking Generals and Admirals of the numerous military powers that were throwing their weight behind our alliance. It was quite the prestigious roster of personnel.

Tali arrived in our cabin and found me going over every detail of my official report on our mission on Cronos Station to make sure that every scrap of information was there for Alliance HQ to see.

"I bet it's a crazy read," my wife said over my shoulder.

"Not as crazy as it is writing it," I grinned and Tali laughed, "but then that's the same for every single one of these I've ever written. You ok?"

"I guess so," she said, "pensive for sure. The galaxy has never seen a moment like this in its entire history, and we're going to be right at the front of it! I'm sorry about your family…" she suddenly became flustered, "not that they're definitely… I mean…"

"It's ok, Tali," I stopped her before it became too much for both of us, "I know what you mean. They're not dead, they can't be!"

We sat quietly as I dwelled on my family and could sense Tali kicking herself for bringing it up. However, Tali continued to say,

"They treated me like a member of the family as soon as they met me. For a Quarian, it was unusual."

Somehow Tali had done it again, made me smile despite everything.

"They knew… they know how much you mean to me that's why. They see how happy I am with you and that makes you one of us in their books."

"One of the Gardners?" her eyes twinkled behind her mask.

"One of the Gardners," I repeated with a grin, "and that was before we had the Promising Bands."

"Well," Tali was being careful, "I hope I can tell them how grateful I am one day. And I am going to fight like crazy to make sure that happens. For you."

I took Tali in my arms and she nuzzled into my neck.

"What do you think Admiral Hackett and the other Admirals are going to come up with?" Tali asked.

"You tell me… Admiral," I poked fun at her. She giggled,

"Han'Gerrel is the representative for the Migrant Fleet in this alliance, not me. Though I suppose my voice could still carry some weight."

"Of course it does Tali. You're the one who originally wanted to get me involved in the campaign to get Rannoch back and that's what happened. They won't have forgotten that in a hurry. You're one of the Normandy team and have been for over three years now, and everyone on the Normandy is well respected. Everyone knows how hard we have fought for all their sakes. You're the best representative your people could have."

"Thanks, Scott," she said warmly.

"As for what the plan will be?" I continued. "It'll be a lot of discussion and plotting that boils down to "get the Crucible to the Citadel!"

"Have you seen the Crucible yet? Even the schematics?"

"I haven't seen anything of it since Liara originally showed the Council the blueprints that we recovered from Mars," I told her. That day felt so long ago now. I guessed that I had also pushed those early days away from my mind with the complete hopelessness of the situation at the time. Seeing Ashley get battered by Eva Core had shaken me up pretty bad immediately before that.

"Daro'Xen sent us all updates and even a holo of it," Tali said and she fumbled on her Omni tool to bring the image up for me to see. "See how big it is? Look at the Human Dreadnought next to it, it looks tiny!"

The immense scale of the Crucible was apparent straight away and I had to look long and hard at the holo for it to sink in. The operation to build our secret weapon was far bigger than I had ever thought possible as the Dreadnought looked like a mere frigate next to the massive, looming form of the Crucible.

"I'm amazed they could even get that done!" I said as I sat astounded. There was a certain majesty to the Crucible that could not be denied and for the first time, I longed to see it.

All this time, we had been chasing after the Catalyst or gathering allies to help us not only in the fight against the Reapers but also to bring resources and help build the Crucible. Yet it had never seemed truly real to me. It was just this unimaginable thing that kept cropping up in conversations or mission briefs, as if to bring some kind of arbitrary connection to all the different missions I was undertaking. I had gone along with the belief that we had to gather all for the Crucible because it was the only idea we had. Only now did I finally believe in the Crucible.

Tali, Garrus and I were on the bridge with Joker and EDI as we prepared to drop the Normandy out of FTL travel and link up with the enormous armada that was gathering around Hackett. I had no doubt that, around the rest of my ship, the rest of my friends and crew were clustering at any available viewports to be able to see the incredible mass of ships that we would be flying amongst. EDI's scans showed that, while there were still many fleets stationed at other relays around the galaxy that would join us when the operation was launched, the vast bulk were in the Pax System. Tens of thousands of ships from every race would be there to greet our eyes. Every single one of them ready to bring an end to the Reapers. Only at the very last second before Joker disengaged FTL did Liara join us as well, her curiosity getting the better of her.

The Normandy entered the Pax System at the coordinates sent by Admiral Hackett and dropped back to normal speed again and the billions of stars around us took shape again as light managed to catch up and overtake us. The nearest sun, Pax, was much dimmer than Sol and smaller, yet twinkled away peacefully as we checked around us. Then the first ships began to come into visual range as a wing of Alliance fighters saw us on their scanners and came to cruise alongside, escorting us into the fleet.

"SSV Normandy," a voice of the leader of the fighter wing came over the comm, "this is Captain Morales. Can you verify that Commander Gardner is aboard?"

"This is Commander Gardner. Run voice recognition protocol: Sierra Romeo six X," I replied, "requesting permission to dock with the SSV Caledonia."

There was a second of delay and I assumed that they were relaying it to Hackett.

"Permission granted, Commander. It's good to have you with us! Nice work bringing down Cerberus, Sir. You caused quite a stir with everybody. Don't be surprised if you get a lot of fans and well-wishers when you dock."

We all had a laugh and I thanked the Captain for the warning as the Normandy banked and headed for Hackett's flagship. As we progressed, I was blown away by how many ships we could see around us. I had never seen open space look so full as we passed warships and transports of every kind. From the sleek ships of the Alliance, the swept-wing look of the Turian fleets, to the curved and elegant designs of the Asari vessels. This was the first time that I had actually seen one of the angular and lethal looking warships of the Batarian Hegemony with my own eyes, and I found myself looking at them with admiration. Their appearance alone would make me question facing one head-to-head.

There were the mish-mashed ships of the Quarian Migrant Fleet, all looking different from the next from their constant upgrading and refitting with seemingly random assortments of parts. Yet I knew from my experience on and over Rannoch that they were indeed battle-worthy ships.

"That's the Rayya," Tali said excitedly as we passed the huge Liveship with its abundance of heavy weaponry fastened wherever a ship-to-ship gun could be situated. Passing her childhood ship filled Tali with memories and pride, preparing her to fight for the survival of her home, before Garrus pointed out another ship amongst the swarm.

"Last time we saw the Destiny Ascension she was pretty banged up!"

Over three years ago, the Destiny Ascension had held off the bulk of the Geth fleet at the Battle of the Citadel on her own before I called in the Alliance fleet to rescue her. She had dished out a hell of a beating to the Geth ships, but had certainly received one in return. Now, however, the incredible Asari Dreadnought was back up to full power with a few additions including extra Thannix cannons and extra shielding which would most likely make her the most formidable ship in our entire fleet. My mind was cast back to the Geth Dreadnought that Han'Gerrel had destroyed even as it was floating useless in space thanks to Legion. Now more than ever I wished we could have had that ship here now to join in our last ditched effort to rid the galaxy of the Reapers.

By the time the Normandy docked with the SSV Caledonia, my team and I were already waiting to leave at the airlock. Enthusiastic marines welcomed us aboard and they led us to the Caledonia's war room where Admiral Hackett and the leaders of all the other fleets were waiting for us. Going from the small, comfortable spaces of the Normandy to a ship of this magnificent size was initially a little strange to me, considering how long we had been staying on our own ship. With all the passages and corridors, it would have taken me a year to get to know my way around, but our guides knew the way and, on my insistence, avoided the areas most likely to be crowded.

Our guides brought us to Hackett's war room and let us inside, but did not follow. The doors clamped shut behind us and I saw a setup familiar to that of the Normandy's with work consoles in several concentric rings centred around a large strategy holo-table in the very middle of the room. There were big windows along the far side of the room and I could imagine Hackett standing there for hours on end watching the fleets gather and our strength build. The room was very dimly lit with only the glow of the console screens and the strategy board to light up the faces of those who stood around it with a calm orange hue.

There were nearly twenty figures standing quietly around the strategy console and I instantly recognised the biggest one as Wrex, representing the Krogan at our summit. One Asari caught me by surprise as I realised that I was looking at none other than Aria T'Loak. A summit meeting with the highest-ranking uniformed officers from government militaries was the last place I ever expected to see her, but she was part of our alliance. Upon reflection, however, she was more than welcome. Our final gambit would need some raw power and uninhibited rage added to the mix. But before there were any introductions, I heard a voice that made me feel relieved above all else and I saw, in holographic form, Admiral Anderson speaking to the other military officials. My team and I filtered in, and though there were a few nods of recognition and even a few smiles that said "job well done", everyone was concentrating on the conversation unfolding with David.

The call had obviously just started as we had entered and Admiral Anderson sounded quite perplexed about the sudden arrival of the Citadel over Earth.

"So why is it here? What's going on?" Anderson asked.

"The Citadel is the Catalyst," Hackett informed him, "and thanks to the Illusive Man, the Reapers are now aware that we know."

"And so they moved it here to protect it?"

"As far as we can tell, yes."

"So what does this mean for the Crucible?"

"We're working on that. But I'm afraid, Admiral, that our plan looks even more desperate now."

"Agreed," Anderson said quickly. "I'll rally my resistance in London. The Reapers have been preparing for something here, now we know what for. We've been scouting it out, trying to find out as much as possible."

"Roger that," Hackett nodded, knowing full well how dangerous any incursions into Reaper held cities would be. Anderson now looked around at all the other faces, and when he caught sight of me, a slight smile managed to find its way to his mouth.

"Well at least we'll be seeing you sooner rather than later," he said while still looking at me. He then looked at the others and added, "and believe me when I say how thankful I am to see all of you as well. There is only one way that we're going to beat the Reapers, and that is together!"

"You and Gardner get your lines from the same playbook?" Wrex chuckled. Fortunately, Anderson knew enough about Wrex that he took it as an acknowledgment of what he was saying rather than a slight on it.

"It's a good one," Anderson grinned at the hulking Krogan.

With Anderson up to speed, Hackett now took centre stage and addressed us all, including Anderson who remained in holo beside us.

"Our Sword fleets are ready to strike at the Reapers surrounding Earth. While they have the Reapers engaged, Commander Gardner and all Hammer ground forces can take London."

This was news to me and I spoke up,

"London? Why aren't we hitting the Citadel directly?"

Once again, all attention was drawn to Anderson as an Alliance tech brought up a holo of the Citadel, with the ward-arms closed around it.

"As you can see, the Citadel has closed itself since appearing over London. We need to get those arms open to dock the Crucible. However, London is infested with Reaper forces and surrounded by what we've been calling Hades Cannons, similar to Reaper destroyers except they're modified to perform the role of a planetary cannon. Hammer transports cannot land until those things are dealt with."

Hackett turned to me,

"You will lead a squadron of smaller shuttles. Infiltrate with a ground team to take out the cannons using heavy weapons. Hammer can land and set up a Forward Operations Base."

It was a sound tactic, I agreed. It was still fraught with risk. But, then again, anything involving the Reapers was guaranteed danger.

"So how are we getting to the Citadel from London?" I asked.

A new hologram beamed into life and I saw a trio of spires around some kind of energy beam.

"The Reapers have been using this portal to transport Humans, alive and dead, to the Citadel." Anderson said in a disheartened way. "From the FOB, Hammer will launch an all-out assault on the Citadel beam. Everyone who makes it that far will take the beam to the Citadel, then locate and activate the station's arm controls."

"Once we see those arms open," Hackett took over, "Shield fleet will escort the Crucible to the Citadel."

"Timing will be critical," Primarch Victus added, "even with all that we have gathered, we won't have enough firepower to keep the Crucible safe for long."

"Doesn't sound like it'll be as easily done as said," I found myself saying aloud. I thought I had made a mistake by voicing my concern in front of the head of every military in the galaxy. But, to my surprise, I saw a lot of heads nodding with me.

"It's desperate," Anderson said, "I don't even want to guess at our odds. But…"

"But this is the only plan we have!" Hackett snapped us all back to attention, such was the respect he commanded from all of us. "If we wait the Reapers bleed us slowly. Conventionally… we can't defeat the Reapers without the Crucible. Commander, get the Citadel arms open, whatever the cost. We'll do the rest."

"Yes Sir," I said.

Admiral Anderson signed off after that to start preparing his own forces for our bold campaign on Earth. As his image dissipated, I could only imagine what kind of hell was in store for him and the soldiers under his command. Alone, they would have to hold their own in a full-scale battle until the full weight of Hammer could be landed and join the fight. As for us on the SSV Caledonia, only the final details of our total fleet strength and the number of troops we could deploy to the ground war were being sorted out.

Our order of battle and which fleets would be responsible for being the heavy hitters at the centre of the armada was to be considered. Those who would take the flanks and who would contribute to Shield fleet was discussed at length. Who would be landed with the ultimate task of delivering our ancient super weapon to the battle at the critical moment?

As the debating went on, there quickly came the realisation that the transports, many of them massive Elcor ships, were of the utmost importance and they were given a defence fleet of their own, of which the Normandy herself would be a part. These ships would be delivering warriors of every race and ability to the beleaguered city of London and give us our best shot at reaching the Citadel beam. Without these forces it may not possible to get to the Citadel at all. Unfortunately, Sword fleet would barely be able to provide any supporting bombardments for the soldiers on the ground like I had had on Rannoch, as they would have to devote all their fighting power against the Reapers themselves. This meant that, once Hammer was on the ground, it would have to look out for itself. The situation never looked any less dire, but the concentration on everyone's faces as they worked out the details and planned every stage of the attack told me that not one person there was fazed by the stark reality of what we were going in to. There were no fall outs or raised voices, everyone knew what was at stake. This was victory, or certain death.

"What are the advance teams of Hammer using to take out the Reaper Hades Cannons?" I asked at one stage in the planning. Primarch Victus brought up a holo of a weapon which looked like a rather over-sized missile launcher.

"This is the M920 Cain. It was an anti-armour weapon in testing stages for the Turian military before the Reaper invasion started. We rolled it out when the enemy hit us and it proved quite effective… then the Krogan got their hands on some."

Wrex chuckled as he took over,

"My people have been making and stockpiling weapons or mods of incredible destructive power for a long time. Some of them were able to adapt the Cain with some of our mods which gave it a hell of a lot more power. Some Humans who were fighting on Palaven called it a "mini-nuke cannon"."

"Sounds good!" Garrus was impressed. Victus agreed and explained,

"We hoped that they could help us take down Reaper destroyers easier, but they are still impervious to such weapons. However, the Hades Cannons are not sentient like the Destroyers and don't have nearly the same kind of defensive capabilities. The Cain has killed several of them on Palaven, Tuchanka and Sur'Kesh. They will take them down, if you can get close enough."

The Rachni were another subject that was discussed during the long session. The Queen and her army of workers had been able to speed up the construction process of the Crucible immeasurably. While all were grateful to her for the tireless work of her offspring, the Queen had insisted that she take her army to Earth to fight as well. The Rachni army must have numbered in the thousands by now and the prospect of having them on our side, along with their strong Queen, boosted my spirits greatly.

When fighting the Reapers, our forces always had to take cover and endure fire-fights with weapon-wielding troops while also keeping an eye out for waves of Husks that would rush mindlessly into the whirlwind of bullets and swarm our men. We had had no answer to this tactic, until now. The Rachni drones could rush forward and overwhelm Reaper positions while our soldiers could pick their way forward and be able to engage their enemies without fear of a Husk charge wrecking their order of battle. Now, we had our own shock troops.

The final detail about our ground forces was a controversial one and not all were encouraged by the thought of using our most mysterious asset: Leviathan. Primarch Victus and the Salarian Commander-in-Chief of all their military, Marshal Nusorm Baelon, were adamant that they had teams already experienced in deploying the Leviathan's fragments ready to go. They could take several of the artefacts down to Earth to enslave Reaper troops to fight against their own kind. This had already been carried out successfully on Palaven and a few Turian, Asari and even Volus colony worlds. The joy on the faces of the troops when their Reaper enemies suddenly started slaughtering each other was a well-documented occurrence.

However, there remained a fear of the power that Leviathan wielded through these artefacts, as they were all aware of how the ancient beings were able to get inside the heads of anyone exposed to the fragments. Though being face to face with the gigantic being was quite something else and yet another thing that no one else alive had been through other than myself. It was actually only through my words that the summit eventually moved to use the Leviathan's potent weapons in our forthcoming battle. I made the point that, so far, the Leviathan was yet to betray the trust that I had showed to it.

"And you'll know if they're trying to take control of our guys because they'll jerk and shake like they're being possessed first," James offered up his own personal experience when he had seen Ann Bryson lose herself to the Leviathan. The combat effectiveness of the units that had been charged with taking these fragments behind enemy lines was highly commended. Having them, plus a legion of "friendly" Reaper troops, would be a big bonus for our forces who would need every edge that we could find.

Finally, after hours of debate and plotting the course for our last gasp assault, the summit came to an end as we all realised that we had gone over everything that we could and every species had had its say. The Geth Prime that was there had sworn that his newly sentient people would fight to the last to see the Reapers destroyed. Aria was keen to get moving so that she could finally go back to her throne on Omega without someone either trying to take her station, or wipe it out. Every species had its part to play and they were all ready to carry it out, for the good of the galaxy.

Javik had been asked time and time again for his own personal insight into fighting the Reapers as he had spent more time facing the metal monsters than the rest of us combined. I was worried that all they would get out of the blunt Prothean were sharp remarks and dismal speculations of how our "primitive" strategies would fare in our campaign. Yet Javik could not have been more helpful where he could, and any situations that he could not give a solid answer for he had better perspectives than any of us which would still help. The only thing left to do was give out the orders to all fleets and ground forces, then give the green light.

Before we all left the war room of the Caledonia, Admiral Hackett had more to say. He stood before all of us and checked every face with those stern, analytical eyes of his.

"Are you ready to bring the might of the galaxy to bear against the Reapers?" He asked us all with a raised, commanding voice.

"Yes Sir!" I answered and soon all the other Admirals and leaders followed. Hackett strode back and forward in front of us, yet he was controlled and confident as he walked.

"Never before have so many come together, from all quarters of the galaxy. But never before have we faced an enemy such as this. The Reapers will show us no mercy. We must give them no quarter."

His words were strong and spoken from the heart, in turn giving each and every one of us a feeling of inspiration and renewed faith in what we were about to undertake.

"The Reapers will terrorise our populations," he said. "We must stand strong in the face of that terror. They will advance until our last city falls. But we will not fall. We will prevail. Each of us will be defined by our actions in the coming battle!"

The Admiral, exuding a formidable aura as he paced before us, stopped and looked at all of us again. At least one representative of all the species participating in the final battle all standing alongside each other, prepared to give their all for the good of all. Hackett's final words applauded our new-found unity.

"Stand fast. Stand strong. Stand together."