Chapter 5

(Cerberus Headquarters)

The Illusive Man stood listening to the scientists who were describing the next step in creating a new AI persona, this time however he intended to ensure there was no way for the AI to rebel against him. He would ensure that it would be loyal to him and Cerberus. So far what he had heard sounded good.

"You believe you can implant this new AI into an actual body, Doctor?" he inquired as he blew out a ring of smoke after a drag from his cigarette.

"Yes sir. It may take quite a bit of work and a lot of money, but I believe it is possible," Doctor Samuels stated with total conviction. "We've already got a workable design drawn up, the hardest part is downsizing the AI core we used for EDI," he explained.

"Just remember Doctor, we are not creating another EDI, but a totally new AI whose loyalty can't be changed," the Illusive Man pointed out with a grim tone which made the other man shake a little. "Other than that you will have all the resources and money you need, but I want to see results and soon," he told them. "We only have a short time before the Reapers finally show up, don't waste it," he warned before he turned and exited the room.

This new AI would be his second replacement for Shepard, Miranda and Jacob, and if it worked out a marked improvement on all three. The final model would have increased speed and strength, resilience to injury and a few other tricks he was thinking about. Yes, this would be a very useful creation once it was finished. Smirking he headed back to his office to check the latest reports.

+OS+

(Alliance Command, seven months later)

Shepard jerked awake as the nightmare faded, this time it had not been about the Alpha Relay, it had been about the attack on the Normandy by the Collectors even though he hadn't been there during it. It was his mind imagining what his crew and especially Kelly had gone through during it. He missed Kelly greatly, and the fact he had almost lost her during that event chilled the blood in his veins and made his mind show the worst things that could have happened to them had he not gone after them straight away. Getting up he moved to the window and stared out at the brightly lit sky, seven months of nightmares and arguments with the Alliance Assembly and still nothing had changed.

He had been fully relieved of duty, his status as a Council Spectre had been suspended although they had placed the destruction of the Alpha Relay under his Service as a Spectre hence the Assembly couldn't arrest him for it. It had been a surprising move from the Council, but a very welcome one. While they clearly were not going to back him up in front of the Assembly, they were at least hedging their bets and ensuring that should the shit hit the fan they could call on him. It was more than he had expected of them.

Maybe Anderson and Hackett were right and he had more support from them than he had believed. As he looked out of the window he noticed a young boy playing with a toy ship across from the command building, clearly the young boy had not a care in the world. Shepard envied him, and wished he could lose his burdens. The door opening distracted him and he turned to see James Vega enter. Vega had become a friend in the months he had been guarding him although he could tell there was something eating away at the Lieutenant, something he wouldn't say anything about.

"Sir," Vega said, snapping of a short salute.

Shepard snorted in amusement. "I was relieved of duty James, remember you don't have to salute me anymore," he reminded the man for god knows how many times now. "Or call me Sir," he added as he turned back to glance out the window.

"Sorry Sir, force of habit," Vega responded with a small grin. He had after a month or two decided not to hold what happened to him and his squad against Shepard, it wasn't like he had known what they were going through while he and his crew were hunting the Collectors down.

Still he felt the burning guilt of the choice he had made, still saw the colonist's faces in his sleep. They had trusted him and he had let them down, worse he had betrayed them by not even trying to save them. He had chosen the Intel, believing it was needed more to save the rest of the Alliance. It had been the right call according to the brass, they had even promoted him for his actions yet the feeling of betraying them never left him.

"Admiral Anderson wants to see you immediately Sir. I'm to take you to him," Vega reported once he had shaken the depressing thoughts from his head. "Something is up," he added.

Shepard frowned before he followed Vega through the door and into the corridor, immediately he could see people rushing around everywhere. Their faces showed panic, confusion and fear. This wasn't good he thought as he looked around. In his gut he already had an idea what was happening, but he tried to deny it as best he could. He followed Vega until they ran into Anderson who was giving some orders to some soldiers; the look on his friend's face said it all.

"Anderson," he called, gaining the man's attention as he dismissed the soldiers.

"Shepard, good let's go," Anderson responded as he shook Shepard's outstretched hand. "We don't have much time and the Assembly has demanded your presence," he told him as he began to lead them towards the Assembly's hall.

"Again? God damn it how many more times do they want to hear the same story?" Shepard asked with a flash of anger, forgetting what he already suspected was going on. Seven months of meeting the Assembly and telling the same tale and being dismissed only to go over it again had begun to grate on his nerves, hell in reality it had pissed him off to the hilt. They had wasted the time he had gained by destroying the Alpha Relay, they had done nothing but argue.

"Easy Shepard," Anderson responded, understanding his friend's angry. "This time is different I assure you," he told him. "Things have changed," he added and indicated the increased panic around them.

"It's them isn't it, the Reapers?" Shepard inquired, knowing it had to be them.

"We're not sure just yet," Anderson answered, unwilling to concede it was the Reapers just yet. Even knowing they were coming he still found it hard to think about them actually being here now. The last seven months had been some of the hardest and yet best of his life. His relationship with Kahlee was now firmly fixed. They had seen each other as often as possible which sadly wasn't much. But it was enough to know they loved one another and that was why he feared admitting it was the Reapers.

"Don't kid yourself Anderson," Shepard responded with a shake of his head. "It's them, I know it," he insisted. They came to a stop just outside the hall. Even here there was increased activity. Anderson moved off ahead after telling them to wait at the checkpoint. Vega, he noted, was looking around with concern as he took note of how many people were running around in panic.

"I sense big trouble on the horizon Loco," Vega muttered with a shake of his head as a sense of unease began to creep up on him.

Shepard just nodded in agreement although Vega didn't see it. Shepard turned back to the hall just in time to see an old friend come out. Granted the last time they had seen each other they hadn't parted on the best of terms, but seeing her right now made him smile. It made him remember their time on the original Normandy tracking down Saren. They had a relationship up until the ship had been blown up by the Collectors. He had died and she had mourned his loss in the two years he had been gone until he had been resurrected by Cerberus. When he had bumped into her on Horizon she had been at first happy to see him, but once it became known he was working with Cerberus that changed. She had become angry and distrustful of him almost immediately and nothing he had said could change her mind. He had left Horizon bitter at her distrust of him, but after thinking it over he had at least understood some of her anger at him but not all of it.

"Ashley," he called out and hoped this meeting would be somewhat less heated than their last face to face.

Ashley looked up at hearing her named being called. This stopped Anderson from finishing what he had been saying to her. She finally noted who was standing a few feet away from her and Anderson. Like on Horizon she felt multiple emotions rise up within her at seeing Shepard again. She had known he was being held on Earth, but she didn't have the guts to visit him. She was still unsure if he was really the same man she had known and loved before the loss of the Normandy. Could he be the same man after being rebuilt by Cerberus? She had been asking herself this question since seeing him on Horizon. Now face to face once more she barely knew what to say. He was greeting her as if their last conversation hadn't happened or at least that was how it seemed.

"Shepard, it's been a while," she finally replied as he moved closer with James Vega close behind.

"How've you been?" she asked slightly nervous at being this close to him again.

"Bored, angry and resentful," Shepard answered as he stared at the woman he had once loved. He was trying to see if Ashley still had any of her previous feelings for him, he still saw anger and uncertainty in her eyes, which did nothing to help his current mood.

"I'm sorry I didn't come and visit you Shepard," Ashley said, trying to sound sincere but knowing her voice was betraying her. "I've been kept busy," she added with a slight shrug.

"How did it go in there Lieutenant Commander?" Anderson asked before Shepard could respond, already sensing that things between the two former lovers remained frosty. And they had no time for an argument. They could have it out with one another if they lived through the next couple of hours.

"Not too good Sir," Ashley answered in relief that she and Shepard's conversation had been interrupted. "The Assembly is still trying to ignore all evidence that we are about to be invaded, but I sense there are cracks in their denial about the existence of the Reapers," she explained.

"I guess if they are breathing down our necks they can't deny their existence any longer," Anderson mused with a nod of his head. "Well we can't keep them waiting Shepard, let's get this over with," he said turning to Shepard who just nodded, knowing there was nothing he and Ashley could say to one another right now.

"Good luck Shepard," Ashley said, feeling like she had to say something.

"Thanks Ash," Shepard replied with a quick glance back at her before he entered the hall.

Ashley noted Vega was watching her rather closely and she frowned in confusion. "Something on your mind Lieutenant?" she inquired.

"You know the Commander?" Vega asked with interest.

"I used to," Ashley responded with a resigned sigh. "Before Cerberus got their hands on him, now I can't tell if he is still the same person," she admitted.

"I've only known him for seven months Mam and while I can't say I know him really well I don't think he has any loyalty to Cerberus," Vega told her. "I mean if he was loyal to them then why did he break away from them once the Collectors were dealt with? Why didn't he leave the Collector base intact like he was ordered?" he pointed out. "I mean he did blow it up to keep it out of their hands," he added.

"I know, I've read his report," Ashley replied, feeling all the conflicting feelings she had been feeling since his return once more surge to the front of her mind. "But for some reason I can't let it go Vega, I can't help but think that Cerberus did more than just rebuild him, that maybe they have some way to control him," she admitted with another sigh.

"He's had multiple medical scans and physical's since turning himself over to the Alliance," Vega shot back, not seeing why someone who had been friends with the Commander before his death could lack such trust in him now that he was back. "I think we would have found something, don't you?" he asked, but Ashley just shrugged noncommittally as she had no answer.

+OS+

(Cerberus Headquarters)

The Illusive Man looked up as the door to his office opened and Eva walked in, every time he saw her he couldn't help but smile at how well the project that had created her had worked. The new smaller AI core that was her brain was the pinnacle of AI science, and unlike EDI she was completely loyal to him. He had her model based on his late friend Eva Core; her loss all those years ago still haunted him. It was what had made him distrustful of all aliens and why he had created Cerberus to ensure they never destroyed Humanity.

"The Reaper invasion has begun," Eva announced without any infliction of emotion. "They all but wiped out the Batarians when they came through the Relay closest to their space, there are rumors some survived," she reported. "The Reapers are on a direct course for Earth, some are also heading for Turian space," she continued.

"We're ready for this, we've been preparing for the last seven months," the Illusive Man responded calmly. "I'm sending you back to Mars, we must recover that data T'soni indicated might be in the Mars archives," he told her. "If there is a possible way of controlling the Reapers or destroying them if needs be, then Cerberus must control it," he stated. "Go now before the Reapers reach the planet and take a small tactical unit with you to secure the archives," he ordered. "Make sure they kill T'soni," he added. The Asari was a dangerous enemy before she became the Shadow Broker, since taking that title she was an even worse enemy. And seeing as she was a big ally of Shepard's, having her eliminated would weaken Shepard and maybe keep him out of their way.

"Understood," Eva replied before turning and leaving.

Ever since Liara T'soni's first communication with Admiral Hackett about a possible way of defeating the Reapers, Eva had been on Mars, undercover supposedly as another scientist sent to help decode the archives. Cerberus easily faked her passcodes to get in. She had set up a friendly identity and easily made friends with the others working in the archives. Although T'soni was harder to read, she had no problems from the Asari while she worked. Now she had orders to kill them, and kill them and T'soni she would.

+OS+

(Alliance Command)

Inside the Assembly Hall Shepard stood beside Anderson as the row of Admirals took their seats and looked down at them. He could see the same panic and fear in their eyes that he had seen outside the hall. This really wasn't good. They couldn't afford to panic now.

"Commander Shepard we requested your presence here to verify reports that have begun to pore in from our outposts and colonies," Admiral McKenzie stated as everyone went silent. Shepard was handed a pad by a nearby Captain and he quickly scanned it, it didn't take him long to see that his fears were right, it was the Reapers. The war he had been warning about coming had started.
"You brought me here to tell you what you already know, but are too afraid to admit?" Shepard shouted at them, letting his anger lead him. "The Reapers are here, they have begun the war I told you was coming after I found the Prothean beacon on Eden Prime," he told them as he paced side to side, looking at each of the Admirals in turn. "I warned you and the Council of what I saw, of what was coming. I told you Sovereign wasn't a Geth ship," he continued. "But you didn't want to listen, too afraid to imagine such a threat could exist," he paused in his pacing as he locked gazes with Admiral Decker the senior Admiral present. "You wasted the seven months I bought us all by destroying the Alpha Relay, now the Reapers are here and we are not prepared," he stated coldly. "You threw away the sacrifices made in keeping the Reapers at bay, now you want an easy answer as to what to do, now that they are here?" he continued, his voice growing colder as he spoke.

"There is only way we might survive the bloodshed to come, and that is to bring together all of the other races into an alliance and stand as one against the Reapers," he boldly pronounced.

"That's it? That is your grand plan?" Decker inquired, ignoring the shots Shepard had taken at him and the rest of the command staff.

"It is the only way Admiral," Shepard shot back. "The last two times I've gone against Reaper forces I had a team behind me, and it was not sorely made of humans," he reminded them. "I had Asari, Turian, Krogan, Drell, Geth and Quarian's helping me," he vented, hoping to make them realize the truth of his words. They had to ally with the other races or there was no hope. Standing alone would only cause the extinction of their race all the faster. "I didn't care about their background, Assassin, Biotic, Thief, Justicar, Soldier, Vigilante, Cerberus, Mercenary, and Scientist as long as they were committed to the cause," he told them. "They stood together and they succeeded in stopping Sovereign and the Heretic Geth. They stopped the Collectors and for all their sacrifices they asked for little except for you to listen to the warning the Protheans left us and what did you and the Council do?" he asked sarcastically. "You ignored it as you've ignored everything me and my crew have tried telling you in the last three years," he spat.

"Enough Commander, we are not here for you to judge us," Decker shouted back, cutting him off. "We brought you hear to help us defend Earth," he stated.

"I've already told you what you need to do," Shepard began to argue back before he was cut off by a very pale solider running up to Anderson.

"Sir we have Admiral Hackett on comm 5," the soldier reported. "He sounded urgent," he added.

"Put it on speakers," Anderson reported with a glance at Shepard.

"The Reapers have broken through the first, second and third fleets and are heading for Luna," Hackett's voice stated over the comm. "There was nothing we could do to stop them, we've suffered almost thirty percent loss of our total ships and some have scattered elsewhere and it will take time to regroup," he continued. "I suggest full evacuation," he added before the line went completely dead.

"Sir all comm traffic has ceased," the solider reported. "Luna is dark as is all our other colonies," he stated with a look of total disbelief that was taken up by the Command staff.

The ground began to tremble around them as did the building itself, Shepard felt his gut reflex kick in. This was it, the assault on Earth he had feared for so long.

"They can't be here already. They can't have broken through our lines," McKenzie stammered, unable to believe this was happening.

Before anyone else could say anything they were all thrown forward as something smashed into the ground outside. Turning they stared in horror as a large giant machine shaped like a hand landed outside the building.

"Good god," Decker gasped as he took his first glimpse of the Reapers. He felt frozen as he saw another behemoth land behind the first. A blast of laser fire from the machine began to cut through the ground towards them, Decker's eyes widened in fear, but before he could order the room to empty the beam struck.

The windows were shattered instantly and two of the Admirals screamed in pain as the shards ended up imbedded in their bodies, they had only a few seconds to feel the pain as a second blast struck the room sending all of them flying.

Shepard and Anderson were also sent flying. Shepard just managed to avoid having his head taken off by a flying table. But another blast sent him into a nearby wall with enough to force to knock him unconscious, falling to the floor with blood running down his forehead. Anderson was somewhat luckier although he ended up cut by the flying glass. He looked around and noted all the bodies around him. Not one of them moved, letting out a groan of pain he pushed himself to his feet and began to check for signs of life. Outside he could see the Reapers destroying buildings all around them. It was a scene out of his worst nightmare. He found Decker sprawled over Admiral Jessop the man who had wanted to imprison Shepard when he returned to the Alliance, now both were dead.

"Shepard," he shouted as he looked for his friend. If Shepard was dead then they were in deep shit, only he had the clout with the other races to pull them into a functional alliance. He had friends and allies all over the place, friends who could help him form the alliance they needed if they would have any hope of surviving and beating the Reapers. "Shepard," he tried again.

Shepard let out a pained grown as he rolled over and slowly sat up, reaching up he felt his forehead and noted he was bleeding, but Anderson's shouts made him put that aside as he got to his feet. "I'm alive," he said finally with another grown.

"Good to hear it," Anderson said as he rushed over and handed him a pistol. "Here take this, we have to get to the Normandy and hope the shipyard hasn't been hit yet," he told him.

"Is everyone dead?" Shepard inquired as he looked around.

"I'm afraid so Shepard," Anderson answered as he looked sadly around the room. "We are in deep shit, with our High Command dead our forces are going to be in disarray," he warned him.

"Let's move," Shepard said as he ran and jumped out of the window and onto the nearby balcony. "We don't have much time," he stated the obvious.

+OS+

(SSV Normandy)

Joker worked tirelessly to get the ship ready to fly. The Reapers were on Earth just as Shepard had always warned they would be. But the invasion was far more destructive than he had ever imagined, he looked up as Ashley Williams and James Vega ran into the cockpit looking like they had been through hell. Their faces were caked in dirt and blood.

"You guys okay?" Joker asked as the two guards saluted the newcomers.

"Not in the least Joker," Ashley responded. "Get this ship up and running now," she ordered, her tone revealing the stress she was under.

"Already doing that, where's Shepard?" Joker shot back.

"We lost contact when the hall was hit," Vega answered with a shake of his head. "In the panic that happened once the attack started we were swept outside, from there we came here," he explained.

Joker glanced at him with a frown not really knowing much about the man, except that for the last seven months he had guarded Shepard's room at Anderson's orders. He seemed competent, but he didn't like the fact they had left Anderson and Shepard behind. He ended up glaring at Ashley who quickly took note of the fact.

"Easy Joker, believe me there was no way we would have gotten back into that room," Ashley explained as carefully as she could. "We came here first because if they survived the attack on Alliance Command they are going to need a quick escape route," she told him. "What's quicker than the Normandy?" she asked pointedly.

"I'm sure the Lieutenant Commander did what she believed to be the right thing in coming here Jeff," EDI spoke up, shocking the two guards who had long believed her to be a simple VI. "Plus she is correct, if Shepard survived he will need a fast escape and we are best suited for that purpose," she added.

Jeff let out an annoyed sigh, but knew EDI was right, so he let it go for now and concentrated on getting the ship prepped for takeoff. Ashley wanted to thank the disembodied voice, but stayed quiet; she didn't want to set Joker off again. He was one of Shepard's most loyal friends she knew, and considering her last meeting with Shepard she was betting Joker didn't feel all to favorably about her right now.

"Powering up now, I hope everyone back there is strapped in," Joker called out over the comm.

"Wait Joker what are you doing," Samantha Traynor shouted back in alarm.

"Err…I am executing the get the hell out of here maneuver before we get wiped out with the dock," Joker shot back. "Why do you want to be let out?" he asked sarcastically.

Traynor didn't respond as she held on for dear life as the ship pulled itself out of its birth and began to rise into the sky. This wasn't what she had been expecting when she had signed on for duty to help refit the Normandy. But considering what was happening outside on Earth, she was probably safer here than out there. She did her best to ignore the fact that millions of people were dying as they escaped, she hoped that there was some way to actually fight back.