From Ashes
Chapter Seventeen: The Battle of the Citadel

A/N: Sorry for my cruelty ;) I had to throw a good cliffie in there somewhere. Anyway, here is the next chapter. Same as before; I'm switching perspectives off and on.(And I hope I'm not the only one who wanted to tell Rear Admiral Mikhailovich to put a cork in it.)


"With all due respect Admiral, we need to spare the council!" Shepard objected; fists clenched as she stood there near the master control unit, she had other things to say to the admiral that had insulted her crew and ship. Instead, she swallowed her anger and tried for a more tactical approach; the entire time thinking of just who was aboard that ship.

"We cannot waste time and ships' firepower by going in for one dreadnought-"

"That one ship has more firepower than any of our dreadnoughts." Shepard pointed out. It was the only way to really change his mind. "The galaxy will need leaders they trust when this is over. If we leave them to die, how will humanity look in the eyes of the other races?"

"Like murderers." Ash muttered under her breath.

"Delay that order." This time, it was Steven Hackett that spoke over the comm. "All ships, move in; save the Destiny Ascension. We will focus our efforts on Sovereign when it is secure. I repeat: Save the Ascension."


"We can't take another hit!" The helmsman shouted as they were met with another barrage of projectiles from smaller geth ships. "Barriers are down to ten percent!"

"GARDIAN is coming back online, but-" The XO turned back to face the tactical terminal. It had begun to hiss and smoke violently when they had been hit.

"Hit the deck!" The turian councilor shouted. Everyone did; Tevos, who was closest, pulling the unconscious matriarch out of the way at the cost of being hit herself. The terminal and connected console exploded; sending hot plasma through the air. At that point, the tactical officer returned and seized an extinguisher from the wall to put out the subsequent fire and cool the unit down before cutting its power completely. Others on the bridge recovered and returned to upright positions; all but one.

"Good that I've got a medic on the way." The tactical officer managed as she transferred weapons controls to another terminal. "We'll need them." Activating her comm, she spoke clearly. "Doctor, we've got two down."

"On my way." It was assumed that was the medic that was mentioned speaking. "Status?"

"One suffering from electric shock, and the other…" The tactical officer took a close look while the two remaining councilors wore matching grim expressions; observing as well. "Plasma burns."

"Got it."

"Ma'am, it's the Alliance!" Lorena called. That attracted the attention of the XO and a sharp look from the salarian and turian councilors. It was true, the Alliance Fifth Fleet was surging toward them with the Normandy leading it. They were firing on the geth ships that were now hastily trying to scatter.

"Thank the Goddess…" The XO stood behind the flight lieutenant now; hands on either side of the top of her chair. "One more hit like that and we would have been done for." The relief in her tone changed to a more authoritative one. "Engineering, get on those repairs while we're not a target. I want engines and thrusters back online. Corporal, how are those guns?" She addressed the tactical officer who had taken up post near her.

"GARDIAN is back up, and I'm restoring power to the main gun now, Ma'am."

"When can I expect it to be active?"

"Ten minutes." The tactical officer said quickly. "Now that we've got GARDIAN back up we can do some fighting now, but nothing serious until our main cannon is back online."

"Do what you can."


Shepard waited in the tower for any news; her mind was focused on the dead turian near her again. The battle outside would be a welcome distraction. So far, they had come through the relays and gone to save the Council's flagship, but she hadn't heard anything else after that. The others stood around as well; some looking up and out while others were searching for an open comm channel. The arms of the station hadn't begun to open yet, but they were in the process of doing so.

"Skipper."

"Ash."

"You tried."

"I know." Shepard responded as shortly as possible. She didn't know how her voice would sound. Everything had led to this moment, and now she felt strange about the rogue spectre being taken out by his own bullet. Still, she had a job to do. Steeling herself, she looked back at the others who had come closer. "Make sure he's dead." She managed while keeping her voice level. Wrex and Garrus stepped forward, drew their pistols simultaneously, and fired.

"Yeah, he's dead…" Ash grimaced slightly as blood spattered the platform.

"Destiny Ascension, you are all clear. I repeat: Ascension, you are all clear." Joker's voice cut through the silence in the council chambers suddenly.

"Copy that, Fifth fleet. We appreciate it." It was a voice Shepard and the others weren't familiar with which was odd; seeing as they had met the commanding officer before. "Finishing up repairs. Once they are complete, our arm is yours."

"Shepard…" Tali, after gaining the others' attention with her uncertain tone, indicated the body near them. The parts of Saren that had been implanted by Sovereign were no longer simply glowing blue. They were sparking with an angry red energy.

"Fall back!" Shepard ordered, but the body had already risen into the air and had exploded. This caused the platform they were on to give way and for them all to fall down into the grassy field below.

Glass shattering around them as they fell through the decorative support beams, they just barely heard the strange spasmic screams coming from the flaming corpse of Saren as it fell. The armor had already been split apart by the initial explosion. Now, the skin was being burned away; the turian's innards smoldering and blood soaking the ground. Soon after, only the implants and bones remained. Hands that had been two fingers and a thumb were now four metallic claws extending far past the turian's natural reach. The heart of its ribcage glowed with that same angry red as before, and when the skeletal turian stood again, it marveled at its new appearance before leaping into the air and attaching to one of the beams nearby; Shepard and the others barely having time to recoer before it spoke in a scratchy voice reminiscent of Saren.

"I am Sovereign, and this station is mine."

"Move!" Shepard drew her gun again and put up her barrier as the turian husk leapt from one surface to another; almost like a geth crawler. "Take that thing out!"

While engaging it, no one was safe from the barrage of what felt like hot burst of projectiles coming from the being. It was clear that this was all Sovereign's doing; aside from its announcement, Saren was as good as dead before all this happened. The implants gave the husk more armor, agility, and accuracy. Shepard tried pinning it down with a singularity, but it easily evaded most biotic attacks. Garrus and Tali tried overloading and hacking its technology, and that hindered it for the slightest of seconds. In those moments, everyone else opened fire.


The fleets were now converging on the Citadel as its arms were opening. Some ships had already gotten in and were moving quickly to avoid Sovereign's attacks while taking shots at the reaper at the same time. The Normandy and some other frigates had been the first ones in; followed by a few cruisers as the arms continued to open. Dreadnoughts stayed back and took shots only when the arms had opened enough to avoid collateral damage to the Citadel. Unfortunately, those that got too close to Sovereign were hit immediately by its quickly priming main particle cannon. After the second ship was hit and severely crippled, a call came over the comm channels.

"We have to pull back. Sovereign is too strong!"

"Negative!" Admiral Steven Hackett countered. "Hammer that thing with everything you've got. Now's our chance to take down that monster."

A few dreadnoughts moved in to target the reaper, but the Ascension remained where it was. Its main gun priming. When it was armed, aimed, and finally fired, the resounding explosion got the attention of the reaper. It put up stronger barriers, and that didn't go unnoticed inside the tower.


"Down!" Shepard dropped to the floor to avoid the husk's targeting laser. It had gotten more aggressive and was spending more time on the ground. On occasion, it would leap at one of them; hoping to plunge its claws into their bodies. When it would, that left it open to attacks. The entire team had either shotguns or assault rifles out to do as much damage as possible. Shepard, Ashley, and Wrex got off a few headshots with their shotguns while Garrus, Tali, and Liara did the same with their rifles. Fortunately for them, Sovereign's time was limited; the husk finally took one too many shots and fell flat on the ground. Its remains burst into flames and continued to smolder.


That had an effect on what was going on outside. Sovereign's shields dissipated finally, and the entire ship pulsed with an eerie red light that broke off into fractals like red hot electricity. Ships moved away at first, but Joker's voice came over the comm.

"Its shields are down."

"All ships, move in." Hackett's followed. "Now's our chance."

"Is there a chance to lure it away from the station?" One of the turian generals voiced the concern. "When it goes, there will be massive damage and casualties."

"Coordinate attacks to avoid hitting the station. We can try to destroy the pieces before they make contact."

Ships fired, and a storm of bright projectiles illuminated the reaper even more as they made contact with it. The Ascension and other dreadnoughts sent large rounds tearing into the hull while frigates, fighters, and cruisers added salt to the wound and hammered them reaper emitted a harsh and rather ugly sounding groan as it took massive damage. The moment came however, when Joker led the rest of the smaller ships on a close range strike.

"Guard on my flank. We're going in!"

The cluster of ships headed for Sovereign. As the Normandy and others went for the heart of the reaper, it's firing chamber, the dreadnoughts continued to fire. Strike teams hit Sovereign hard, and it really showed. The ship was beginning to show signs of wear and tear. The hull was ablaze in some places, and there was no way for it to make repairs. Each dive bomb on the firing chamber was quick enough to prevent the reaper from priming it for any sort of attack. With another ear-splitting groan, ht began to break apart; its hull splitting, and ships managing to fire at its inner mechanics. The explosion that followed was deafening, It was as if in slow motion that Sovereign finally gave way It's hull shattered, and many pieces of it broke apart; ships racing to destroy them. There were pieces that fell away in slivers, but for the most part, the remains were large enough to do severe damage to anything that they collided with. Finally, one came down and got very close to the Citadel tower.


"Move!" Shepard shouted quickly as the debris blackened the view from the large and tall window ahead. "Go go GO!"

They all moved quickly; there wasn't much time or room to go anywhere, seeing as they had fallen within the oval enclosure below the council platform. A mostly hollowed out piece of Sovereign's aft end was rushing toward them, and when the narrow bulkhead shattered the glass between the council chamers and the open nebula, parts of it pealed away. Tearing down the upper platforms, it split into pieces; catwalks, bulkheads, glass, and other steel supports twisting and encaging them all as th debris came to its resting place. Shepard had just managed to avoid a few steel beams from the support grid above as it came down when she heard Wrex shout her name. Whatever he was about to point out didn't matter much after that; a twisted and heat-warped catwalk came crashing down and pinned her. Its heavy steel colliding with her shoulders, neck, and head. In short, Shepard was trapped and completely unaware of it; darkness met her, and she knew no more.


In the end, geth ships had either been destroyed, crippled, or they had retreated back through the relay and toward the veil in an attempt to preserve what resources they still had. Alliance ships along with the Citadel fleet were securing the area and destroying most pieces of Sovereign that came close to itting the station, but there were still some that got away from them. Onboard the Citadel, keepers and crews were moving as quickly as possible to bring primary systems back online. Power and environmental controls were the first; then came other systems such as C-Sec's network, Citadel Control, and so on. C-Sec was on the move searching the wards and presidium for those who had survived and those who had not, but there was one man who had assembled a team and was heading up in the lift to the council chambers. While most with him were human, like Eddie Lang, there were a few others that had gone up as well; like Cyrus Chellick. They had reached the top level and were emerging from the lift when the reality of the situation met them.

The lower part of the council chambers seemed to be more or less in good shape. Yes, there were parts of the bulkheads that were scorched, warped, and mangled. The fountain was no longer functioning, and there were signs of several fires that had been long burning. The upper part of the level was where the real chaos was. Twisted and half broken catwalks, glass shards, support beams, and pieces of the fragment of Sovereign that had impacted the level were scattered about in an iron obstacle course that also served as a maze. The further they went, the more lost they became. In some cases, the search party would run into each other and lose all track of where they had been. Some were cutting holes in the bulkhead with cutting lasers while others were moving pieces aside with their hands. Finally however, Lang pulled back a piece of the thinner metal and shown his torch through; he spotted the carapace of a turian with blue markings.

"Captain Anderson!" He shouted from his kneeling position. "I've found one of them. It's Vakarian."

"On my way." It sounded like David Anderson wasn't too far away. Within a few minutes, he was there. It wasn't just Garrus that was slowly making his way out of the hole he had been trapped in; Tali was slowly moving toward the humans from her place nearby. When the turian stepped out carefully, Anderson addressed him and the others that were behind him. "Take it easy. It's over." They still seemed wary of the situation. "Where are the others? Where's Shepard?"

"We got separated." Garrus admitted as he looked back toward theheart of the enclosure they had battled the husk-like version of Saren. "Everything was coming down, and…" He sounded slightly short of breath, but he pressed on. "And we just dicked for cover…"

"Sir," Chellick had ducked out from a large piece of Sovereign's interior that had remained mostly intact. "I found others over here."

Garrus and the others moved through the rubble in an attempt to get to the detective, who was working to cut into a heavier piece of steel that had bent into twisted confines. It was part of the walkway that led toward the council platform. Garrus and Anderson assisted, and they found Wrex and Ashley. Anderson questioned them; seeing if they were severely injured or if they knew where Shepard and Liara had ended up. Neither knew the latter.

"It was crazy, Sir." Ashley answered. "Everything was going to hell. Sovereign was coming apart, this level was coming apart, and there wasn't time…" She blinked; eyes roving the area around them in hopes to find any sign of the missing two. For a moment, she had been relieved to see Garrus and Tali, but the others weren't with them. "If Wrex hadn't been here, I would have been crushed." She turned to the krogan who was shaking his shoulders loose. "I owe you one, big guy."

"I'll remember that." Wrex replied gruffly as he searched the area as well. "I saw it coming down before they were hit." He addressed Anderson and Chellick. "Called out, but it was too late."

"Whereabout was it?" Chellick questioned. "What did it look like?" He assumed it was a piece of the smashed debris or even part of Sovereign's wreckage that Wrex had been talking about.

"Hmmm…" Wrex' orange eyes roved the surrounding area, and they narrowed on another piece of smooth steel. "There!" He used his good shoulder to push past some of the loose metal and jagged glass; the armor he wore holding up against it well enough in its broken down state. When he reached the piece of Sovereign's bulkhead that he had attempted to warn Shepard about earlier, he began pulling at one of the frayed ends. Chellick and Lang assisted by using lasers to cut away the stronger parts that were holding it on. They were all then able to rip the weaker inner layer of the bulkhead away. Immediately, they found the missing pair.

"Wrex." It was Liara who was nearest. She had a decent cut in the side of her crest and part of her armor was ripped away from what they could see. "Thank the Goddess…"

"Let's get you out of there, Doctor." Eddie Lang said, but Liara shook her head.

"I can't."

"What?" Garrus questioned as he, Tali, and Ash approached. He was walking with a bit of a limp.

"I can't move." Liara clarified; motioning toward a heavy beam. "It's crushing my leg."

"Shepard in there?" Chellick asked as he looked around for a good way to remove the beam.

"…Over here." At first it didn't sound like her, but as Garrus and the others crained their necks around the hole cut in the bulkhead, they saw what looked to be their CO's armored shoulder and gloved hand raised up slightly.

"Shepard?" Liara questioned with a slight hesitation due to pain. "I thought-"

"Here I thought I was…" Shepard cut herself off as she shifted slightly to get a look at where the voices were coming from. It was still too dark to see a lot where she was. "The only one awake and alert." She groaned in pain as she moved a bit.

"We'll have to cut them out." Chellick used his omni tool as Lang had earlier to shine a light back through the wreckage. "Too much in the way to try and pull them out."

"That," Shepard added in a tense tone. "And I don't think I want to lose a limb. I know something's pinned, but I'm not sure what; circulation's been cut off."

"I'll second that." Liara muttered.

For the next several minutes. Chellick, Anderson, and Lang moved through the debris and were cutting away everything that served as an obstacle as far as getting the two out. Others were already cutting or making a path back through to the lift so that everyone could get out after. Garrus, Tali, Ashley, and Wrex were led back through once this was done. It took time, but eventually Shepard and Liara were able to join them. Both had to have support from either Anderson or Chellick, but they were able to get through the wreckage; some of it was still burning or had just gone out. The others had refused to leave the tower until everyone had been freed of the rubble, and when all were on the lift platform, they headed back down to the presidium.

Emerging into the restored artificial sunlight, all of them were quick to throw their hands up to shield their eyes. Everything had been dark or remotely so since they had returned to the station from Ilos, and this was definitely an unpleasant change. Once their eyes had adjusted, they all could see that the once peaceful and beautiful inner ring of the station now had debris scattered sparingly throughout the level. There were also what looked like triage stations scattered in buildings and other areas that could accommodate them. Looking to her right, Shepard still saw the mako, but it was no longer on its side. It stood resolute but damaged near the support strut of the tower where it had fallen. Her eyes moved from it to the object that had brought them here. The relay monument, or the silent half of the conduit's passage, stood tall and still in its usual pristine pose. To those who didn't know, it was still simply a statue; never having been active at all.

"It's hard to believe, isn't it?" Liara asked with some effort; teeth clenching slightly as she stepped back down on a leg that was throbbing.

"Hard to believe that…" Shepard had to stop speaking for a moment; a stabbing pain coming from her ribs. She was sure one was cracked or broken, if not more. "That thing was active and the means by which we got here?" She clenched her free fist in attempt to keep herself from swearing. "Yeah…"

"What are you talking about?" Anderson looked from the mako to the relay monument. "You don't mean…" He trailed off, and Ashley confirmed his thought.

"That was the conduit."

The conversation stopped there, seeing as no one really was in the mood to talk much about what had just transpired; all were too wrapped up in their own thoughts to put any effort into it. Anderson led them around the presidium to a building that no one really recognized. It had once been meant for the financial district, but after many months of debate, it had been repurposed as a hospital for this level of the station. From what could be seen around, there were also medical stations set up all over the level to accommodate some of the minor injuries that people wre reporting. Shepard and the others were ushered in, were presented for scans to find their exact injuries, and were led off to be looked over. Garrus made mention of some turian generals that served with the Citadel fleet as well as other high-ranking officials that had been brought in. He even ran into his former employer; Executor Venari Pallin. The turian was sporting a terrible gash to the right side of his carapace as well as a badly broken leg.

It didn't take long for Shepard herself to be seen. The others were being led off as well, but a salarian had motioned for her to follow him. Skin a medium brown, he stood at average height and had eyes slightly less wide than the average salarian. Extending his hand, he introduced himself.

"Padok Wiks, Commander. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise." Shepard took his offered hand and shook it. "Is this place always so efficient?"

"Welcome to the treatment center for the elite, Commander." Wiks commented with a slight upturn of the lips. "Of course, I prefer fast pace and all that. Going slowly only makes it worse for the patient." He looked over the results of the scan a nurse had taken. "Aah, I see there are a few cracked ribs, at least one broken, and other contusions that we should be concerned with." He muttered to himself before addressing her again. "Tell me, are you feeling disoriented or off balance?"

"Not so much." Shepard admitted. "More pain tha anything else."

"Well then, let's get to work." Wiks nodded and set the datapad aside. "First we'll need to get that armor off." From then on, Shepard spent time working with the armor pieces and removing them. Some proved difficult due to the damage the hard suit took within the last several hours. It had been armor specifically designed by the Spectre requisitions office, so it had been tailored to take a beating if needed. Finally pulling off the last of the cracked chestplate, they could see the stain on the combat fatigues indicating that the broken rib had punctured the skin. There were also general abrasions and contusions that would have been considered normal for what she and her team had just dealt with. Wiks also pointed out that her left knee was out of joint. "Would definitely explain the slight lack of circulation." He commented as he checked it again. "Say when."

"What-" Shepard knew what he was doing the second he did it. He gripped the left knee and popped it back into place quickly. Pain was a given, but it was also a slight shock; like someone hit a "funny" bone in the leg.

"Best way, in my opinion." Wiks clarified with a slight smirk on his face. "Get it over with so that it won't smart so much."

"And what kind of doctor are you again?" Shepard asked with feigned frustration.

"Well, I did spend most of my earlier career working to… uplift other species." Wiks clarified. "Had to have an extensive medical background to do so." He went on. "Still work with STG."

During this, a few people rushed past the door; Wiks and Shepard looking outside as they did.

"-Got plasma burns and an electrical injury." One of the turians was saying.

"I'll take the plasma burn as soon as I'm done here." Wiks called out "I just need a moment." Returning to his work, he eased the bone back and worked around it carefully while Shepard watched the commotion outside. When he was done, he had the torso wrapped securely so that the broken or cracked ribs could reset; straightening up as he spoke again. "That should be all for now. A nurse will be in shortly to finish up."

"Thanks."

"Of course." It had been a few minutes after Wiks had left, and Shepard had pulled the uniform shirt for her combat fatigues back on and secured it when she saw someone outside. "Come in, Garrus."

"Shepard," Garrus started as he entered. "What's the damage?"

"Few cracked ribs and one broken. You?"

"Nothing a little medi gel and painkillers won't fix." The turian admitted. "Saw the ones they just rushed back here."

"Tough break." Shepard commented. "One had plasma burns and the other had been subjected to electricity."

"Didn't see who they were, did you?" Garrus asked casually, though it looked like he already knew.

"No."

"The one with the plasma burns," Garrus said quietly. "That was the asari councilor."


A/N 2: Starting work on chapter 18: A Matter of Time now. Thanks for reading, guys :)

Cheers!