…

"War is fear cloaked in courage."

(William Westmoreland)

…

UCV Saint Luke, November 20th, 11:38 AM, 2186

…

Sitting quietly in my quarters, I fidgeted with my omni-tool, trying to figure out what to say to Mara. I knew the risks going into this were higher than they have ever been before, but thinking it over in my head made it far more difficult to organize any coherent words. It was as if my mind was too overloaded to think of anything. I groaned, leaning forward with my head against my hands.

"This is a fucking nightmare." I exclaimed, a million possibilities bouncing around my head at the speed of light. The same thoughts must have been blue-shifted, because I couldn't focus on any of them.

I was anxious, waiting for Shepard's assessment to come in. His observations would determine our entire strategy going forward, and we'd be there on the front lines of whatever Cerberus was doing on the Citadel. Nearly everything that happened from this point on would be based on the decisions of one man. I respected Shepard and knew he was a great leader, but even with him in charge I couldn't help feeling this biting sense of anxiety.

I felt the ship shudder as we exited FTL, dropping back into normal space as we plotted our next route. With massive improvements to the Gravity Drive, mostly thanks to Sira and the help of the Geth, we could map out the most efficient routes in near real-time. It shaved hours off of a trip that would otherwise take the better part of a day.

My omni-tool suddenly began ringing, playing the "Gunbarrel" theme from Goldeneye again. Old Dan was calling, and at the seemingly worst time.

"What is it, Dan? You've called at a bad time." I answered, wanting to keep our correspondence as short as possible.

"Well, one, I think you'll want to hear this. Two, its really fucking important." He remarked in the usual tone he used whenever I was terse with him. "I just got out of a meeting with your friend Biss and the other leads. We've finished our preliminary tests on the Crucible's primary and secondary systems. As far as we can tell, it's just about ready to go."

"That's great, except for one problem." I immediately replied, feeling anger boil up in my throat. "We just lost contact with the Citadel, and we've discovered remnants of Cerberus are likely the ones behind it."

"Hm, does this have to do with Sovereign's A.I. core?" He correctly guessed, managing to surprise me. It was enough to get me focused just long enough to realize he must have known something.

"Yes… yes it does. That's why we're out here right now." I confirmed, nodding my head despite us not being able to see each other. "Why? Do you have any idea what's happening right now?"

"Well, no one really figured out what happened to the Citadel during the war. It had seemingly disappeared without a trace shortly before the Council homeworlds fell." He elaborated, clearly doing his best to remember as much as possible. "There were rumors, though. The most "credible" one came from this Batarian merchant called Marsh who escaped Omega's occupation and eventual destruction."

"Wait, slow down. What happened to Omega?" I refocused, knowing I was missing some information.

"Oh, right. According to Marsh, Cerberus apparently took over most of the station to use as a staging ground for mass salvage operations beyond the Omega 4 Relay. Something happened in the system not long after, and the station and everything in the system was destroyed." He went on, getting several of the puzzle pieces to fall into place. "I always assumed the Reapers had simply shut off the relay in the Omega Nebula to limit the number of refugees attempting to escape to the Terminus, but he claimed otherwise."

"Destroyed… destroyed…" I kept repeating in my head as I came to a horrifying realization. "Dan, the Omega 4 Relay is the only way to safely reach the Galactic Core, where that Collector Base used to be. If the relay was destroyed like the one in the Bahak system…"

There was a brief pause on Dan's end as he too came to a similar explanation as me.

"If it was destroyed, not only would it wipe out everything in the system, but it would also cut off the Galactic Core from the rest of the galaxy." He finished, mirroring my thoughts perfectly. "Not even the Gravity Drive could get you that far into the Core, there's too many gravitational anomalies and black holes. You'd never circumnavigate them in an Asari's lifetime, let alone ours."

"If Cerberus can take control of the Citadel with Sovereign's computer core… what's stopping them from moving it to a location where they'd be able to permanently isolate themselves? Like an Ark of sorts?" I theorized, thinking I may have figured out exactly what was happening. "Jesus, if they move the Citadel and cut it off from the rest of the galaxy, it'll render all our work with the Crucible worthless. There would be nothing to stop the Reapers."

I took a deep breath, thinking about the Queen's memory of the Director's conversation. That's why he was interested in mind control, especially in regards to the Citadel. They couldn't risk an all-out race war on the Citadel without damaging most of the station, so they were looking for ways to "pacify" the station's population. It all made sense now.

"I think it's time we start accelerating our plans. Relay this information on our high-priority channel, tell the Admirals what we suspect is happening." I remarked with a renewed sense of duty, standing up and holding my arm up properly. "If you think it's ready, tell them we're ready to begin the extraction process on Dholen, and that you have my full approval to go ahead with the planned operation."

"Planned? The plan seems a bit… up in the air right now." He remarked, getting me to roll my eyes.

"I'll send you updated information as soon as it comes in. The Crucible is you and Biss' responsibility now." I finished, knowing there was nothing else I could do on the other side of the galaxy. "Hopefully with some warning, one of the Fleets can cut them off before they reach the Core, or at least keep them from damaging the Relay."

"You do realize it won't take long for the Reapers to realize what's happening, right?" He pointed out, getting me to pace slightly in front of my bed.

"Yeah… if we're right, we'll only get one shot to do this." I remarked, knowing this was the all-in. "Tell Mara we're going to end this, one way or another. Good luck buddy."

"T-thanks. I'll do my best." He finished with a noticeable stutter, sounding far more like "my" version of Dan for a second as the line went dead.

I stood up and immediately left my quarters, running to the CIC. I was moving so fast that I could feel the air on the sides of my head going by. I didn't even bother acknowledging any of my crewmen as they flipped around to face me. I dashed into the CIC where Dixon and Jallere were discussing something around the center console. They both stopped when I ran in, looking sweaty and frantic.

"Sir, are you-" Dixon immediately tried to say before I cut him off.

"Have we received a signal from Shepard yet?" I quickly spoke, trying to catch my breath.

"No, we're still waiting." He answered with clear concern, looking spooked. "I do know Cerberus makes frequent use of communication jammers. He might have sent the signal, but we didn't receive it."

"That is a distinct possibility… we don't have a lot of time. Get the Discovery and Borealis on the horn." I ordered, getting him to jump into action as Jallere walked closer.

"I'm getting the sense that you know something the rest of us do not." She remarked, getting me to shoot my eyebrows up, pretty much admitting as much. "You carry yourself like a man with an objective."

"If Cerberus are moving the Citadel like we suspect, we might know where they'll try to take it." I answered in a lowered tone as Dixon nodded to whoever was on the other end of the line, handing the phone to me. "Michaels here. You two hear me?"

"Loud and clear, Admiral. What's going on all of the sudden?" Lenlo replied, getting me to breathe deeply.

"I've conversed with one of my colleagues, and we believe Cerberus might be attempting to move the Citadel to the other side of the Omega 4 Relay." I stated clearly, not wanting there to be any confusion. "If this is indeed their objective, then they might try to use Omega or another asteroid of similar size to destroy the relay, cutting themselves off from the rest of the galaxy. I want you two to go to the Omega Nebula and stop them in their tracks."

"That's one hell of a shot in the dark, but if you really think that's their plan, then we'll do it." He agreed, taking some of the weight off my shoulders. "We'll sync our drive with the Discovery and be on our way in five minutes."

"Thank you, Randall." I said, feeling relief wash over me.

"Don't thank me yet. We still have a war to win." He finished, getting me to smile as he closed his end of the line.

"We'll give them a black eye, sir. That much we can promise. Good luck." Lenlo also finished, filling the line with static as I put the phone down and turned back to Dixon and Jallere.

"Well, we still have a job to do. If the Citadel is still there by the time we arrive, we'll try to stop them in their tracks." I refocused, pulling down on the edges of my jacket. "Send the word."

"Sir!" Dixon saluted, moving to prepare a fleet-wide announcement as Jallere raised one of her "eyebrows", her entire expression shifting to one less serious and… strangely sultry.

"I must admit Admiral, in all my years I've seen very few who command such obedience from their subordinates, and have had the mental fortitude to peer into an Asari mind." She remarked, cracking a smile as she leaned forwards slightly in that tight suit of hers. "There are many women who'd consider such a thing… desirable."

"I appreciate the thought Jallere, but I'm a married man." I immediately denied, not nearly thick-headed enough to not see where she was going with her statement. "I'm perfectly happy with my wife and little girl."

"Oh? Well that's a shame. I do apologize for my… forthcoming attitude. It is a relic from my more hedonistic days." She remarked, sounding slightly disappointed as she put her "diplomatic" face back on. "She must be a very lucky woman, this wife of yours."

"We both are." I smiled, turning back to the holographic display. "Once this war is over, we're going to have more kids and start a company on Reach. It'll be everything we hoped for since the beginning."

She smiled, turning back to the display as we watched the Discovery and Borealis jump off towards the Terminus, our own drives spooling up as we prepared ourselves for the worst.

…

UCV Saint Luke, November 20th, 12:12 PM, 2186

…

I gripped the edges of the center console tightly, looking over at Dixon who was doing the same. We were only seconds away from dropping into Widow, where'd we find out if the Citadel was still here or not. Everyone was at their stations, wearing hardsuits and armed with weapons, ready for anything.

"Ten seconds." Dixon announced, looking up at me with the most serious expression I had ever seen. "You ready?"

"I was born ready." I nodded, hyping myself up as we dropped into the purple nebula, a few hundred kilometers away from the Citadel.

Like I had predicted, the station was sealed up much like it had been years ago at the "first" Battle of the Citadel. There was a fair bit of wreckage surrounding the station, though the majority of ships still appeared intact, including the Destiny Ascension.

"Hail the Ascension, I need answers." I ordered, getting my people into gear a split second later. I picked up the phone, hearing a connection almost immediately. "This is Admiral Michaels of the Confederation, do you read me?"

I got nothing but static on the other end, with occasional moments where it almost sounded like a voice.

"Clean up this signal!" I yelled, knowing we didn't have time to waste here. "This is Admiral Michaels of the Confederation, do you read me?"

"We read you, Admiral. Barely." Matriarch Lidanya replied, the commanding officer of the Ascension.

"We're here to help, commander. Please give me a sitrep of the current situation." I ordered, aware I was likely to hear something I wouldn't like.

"Cerberus forces attacked nearly two hours ago, taking control of the station. Several hundred ships were still inside at the time, but most were civilians. Commander Shepard's ship, the Normandy, arrived in time to make it inside, but we haven't heard anything from him since." She explained, sounding more than a little frustrated. "We managed to evacuate the Council in time, but all the Cerberus ships, at least those that survived, made it inside. None of our control-override commands have worked since the station was sealed."

"Listen Matriarch, I need you to move your forces away from the Citadel immediately, we have reason to believe Cerberus may be attempting to move it to the galactic core." I remarked, getting a pause on the other end. "It's a long story and I know it sounds crazy, but you have to trust us on this."

"...fine, we'll defer to your judgement. What's your plan then, Admiral?" She agreed, getting me to think hard about our options. I knew trying to crack the Citadel's outer shell would take too long, even with the particle lasers, and could risk civilian casualties. There had to be another option.

I turned to Jallere, suddenly remembering all that melted stone on Sythia.

"Jallere, how potent is Raloi acid?" I questioned, leaving the channel open. "How long would it take to melt through solid metal?"

"If concentrated on a highly specific location, a hole large enough to squeeze men and resources through would take a few minutes at most." She answered, getting the gist of my idea. "A few squads, maybe under ten."

"Matriarch, if you were to burn your way through the Citadel's shell in the shortest amount of time, where would you do it?" I asked, putting the phone back up to my face.

"Uh… I suppose the Tayseri Ward would be the best location, near the Presidium. Most of the ward is still damaged from the attack years ago." She suggested, creating a short pause. "By the Goddess, did you say Rachni?!"

"Like I said, long story." I dismissed, nodding my head to Jallere as she took a deep breath. "We're going to burn our way in and get as many people into the station as possible before it starts moving. We'll try to get the arms open and stop them if we can, but spread the word just in case."

"Understood Admiral. We'll maintain security until the arms are open again, and keep any curious parties away from you. Good luck." She finished, cutting the line as I turned back to Dixon.

"She seemed… surprisingly cooperative." He remarked, crossing his arms as I put the phone back on the receiver.

"Well, if we fail, it certainly won't be her fault. Ready 1st Platoon, two Cobras, and the ORIONs for a third. I'll be with the ORIONs." I refocused, flipping back around to face Jallere. "Are your forces ready?"

"They will follow my commands." She nodded as I did the same, taking another moment to breathe. "I shall direct them away from populated sections of the station."

"Fine…. Dixon, you're in charge. Let's go." I finished, walking towards the exit and making eye contact with Largos, standing at his usual guard post next to the door. "You wanna come along too?"

"It would be a great honor, Admiral." He agreed, bowing his head as he usually did.

"Good, the more the merrier. Grab your EVA gear, we're taking off from the starboard hangar in six minutes." I smirked, watching him dash out of the CIC towards the hangar. "I love that guy."

"Are you usually so liberal with your command style?" Jallere remarked, giving me an unsure look.

"I figured "why not" the moment I looked at him. The ORIONs have been taking up the spotlight lately, and you haven't seen what he can do in combat." I reasoned, knowing there'd be no point in keeping a warrior like him on the ship. "Besides, we have no idea what Cerberus might have brought with them."

"Experience has taught me to expect the worst at all times." She replied, sporting a surprising smirk as we walked into the elevator, hitting the button for the starboard hangar.

"Seems to be a universal thing at this point." I joked, unable to shake the bad feelings tingling the back of my head.

There had to be more to this than a simple Cerberus takeover. It was hard to believe they'd sacrifice everything for something this risky, something that could render our work with the Crucible worthless.

Walking into the hangar, I watched as 1st Platoon gathered outside their Cobras, waiting on my orders. It was still an awe-inspiring thing, knowing all these men and women were under my command.

"Alright people, I'm going to keep this short and sweet! Our new Rachni allies are going to burn some entry points into the Citadel for us, and we're going to go in there and kick Cerberus' ass." I yelled into my omni-tool to the hangar speakers, climbing up onto one of the crates. "It's likely they'll be controlling the station from Citadel Tower, so we'll have to find our own transportation on the other side. Secure your seals and be ready for anything. Good luck!"

Most of them cheered, raising their rifles into the air as Largos ran in behind us, pushing his mask on with as hiss as I turned back to Reegar and his fellow ORIONs.

"A bunch of heavily-armed soldiers crammed into some flimsy aircars? Not the safest idea, sir." He remarked as I narrowed my eyes, crossing my arms.

"I'm hoping it doesn't come to that, but thanks for the vote of confidence." I deadpanned, nodding towards Challenger 3 as 1st Platoon piled onto their own Cobras. "Come on, the clock is ticking."

"Yes'sir." He saluted, running up the ramp with the rest of his team following right behind as Jallere, Largos and I took up the rear. I hit the button for the ramp, taking a seat with my Pulse Rifle in my lap.

We all took off, flying in formation with one another as the Rachni ship took the lead, landing on the sealed station ahead of our approach. We all knew we needed to land and get inside as quickly as possible before it started to move. Inside we'd likely be safe, but out here, outside the influence of any inertial dampening or mass effect fields, we'd be smashed like bugs on a windshield.

As we landed, the Rachni had already begun melting through the Citadel's shell with their acid. Hundreds of workers had piled out of the ship, digging away at the hull as their larger soldier brethren continued to spit large globs of acid on top of the newly-formed slag. I walked out of Challenger 3, feeling my mag boots activate as I took a moment to admire the unusual sight before me. Well over a hundred ships above me, seemingly on their sides from this perspective, aimlessly hovering in space around me. With the background of the nebula, it was almost peaceful. That wasn't even mentioning the vast curvature of the Citadel itself, seemingly infinite in one direction, and falling off surprisingly fast in the other direction.

"Sir, we've got a breach!" Reegar pointed out, redirecting my attention to the jet of air now shooting out of the shell, ejecting small bits of dust and other junk out with it. That meant we breached a pressurized area, a very good sign.

"Everyone get ready!" I yelled over the radio, swapping my rifle for my Carnifex.

The hole eventually got big enough that people could fit through, but I knew that wasn't nearly enough for the Raloi or Rachni. It needed just a bit more.

"Come on, come on, come on…" Jallere repeated to herself, obviously anxious as the workers moved even faster, looking like little tiny paper shredders with how quickly they were peeling away the thick armored shell. Finally, enough of the shell was gone that all of us could easily fit through.

"All of you, get in there now!" I ordered, the Rachni being the first to go in, quickly followed by the squads of 1st Platoon. Soon, it was just the three of us and the ORIONs. "Shuttles, get back to the ship and await further orders! Jallere, tell the Rachni ship to get clear!"

"Understood!" She nodded as the workers quickly moved back into the ship, their jobs finished.

I hopped, through the hole, feeling my orientation immediately shift upside down, nearly getting me to fall on my ass as centrifugal force took hold. Inside the compartment, crammed with all my men, we looked around with our flashlights, seeing it was some kind of long hallway with pressure doors on either end. Based on the dead Keepers in the compartment, I guessed it was meant for them.

"We have a long climb ahead of us…" Son remarked, looking up at the structural girders holding everything together as a jolt could be felt shooting through the station, knocking some of us to our feet in the process. I risked a peek down through the hole the Rachni made, seeing the stars had begun to move in the other direction. A mass effect field shimmered over the hole as the hiss of air could once again be heard flowing into the room.

"We're on the move." I shook my head, barely able to believe how lucky we had been. "Alright, we'll split up into squads and look for a way up. It's possible we might lose radio communications, so one of Jallere's Rachni will be assigned to each squad so we know the status of each team. In the event we are unable to hook up with each other again, keep moving and head towards Presidium."

"Yes'sir." All four squad leaders saluted, each of them getting nods from me as we moved as the fifth team, the remaining Rachni acting as the sixth as they crawled up the supports to look for a way out.

We were incredibly lucky that they were here. We would have never gotten through that shell in time without their help.

We continued through the completely blacked-out Keeper tunnels, trying to find any sign of elevators, ladders, or even a ramp that led upwards. In this darkness it was hard to see anything, and it felt genuinely creepy, especially now that we were on the move outside. The two Rachni that had stayed with us hovered around Jallere, the *tink tink tink* of their legs hitting the metal floors unnerving me slightly.

"This place is like a maze." Jora remarked, illuminating more of overhead supports with the flashlight on her M-358 Talon, one of several thousand we recovered from Cronos Station months ago. "See those thicker supports further up? I think they're directly connected to the structure responsible for moving the Ward arms."

"Could we do anything with them to open the Citadel?" Jallere asked, holding her Carnifex tightly.

"No, due to the curvature of the structure and the magnetic seals, weakening the supports alone would never do the job." She shook her head as a loud crashing noise could be heard up ahead, getting all of us to raise our weapons towards it.

We quickly moved towards the sound, finding a section that had restored power. Two Keepers, bathed in red light, could be seen in the distance, pulling apart several electrical junctions and working on the wires. I breathed a sigh of relief, walking past them with my team into this new section. Maybe now we'd find some kind of elevator, even if it was a small one.

We walked into a large area, with darkness in the distance that stretched seemingly forever in both directions. At least it was now clearer where we were in relation to the direction of the station. Suddenly, gunshots could be heard further down the hall, with several distinct muzzle flashes.

"2nd Squad is under fire!" Jallere remarked, holding the side of her head as she focused on the Rachni for a moment. "Wait… it's not Cerberus. It's C-SEC!"

"Let's move!" I yelled, running as quickly as I could towards the gunfire as I breathed air into my lungs. "Hold your fire, hold your fucking fire! We're not Cerberus, I repeat, not Cerberus!"

"What!? Cease fire!" I heard a familiar voice shout, the gunfire stopping a moment later. I walked into the light of their flashlights, unable to see any of their faces.

"We're Confederation forces! We're here to help retake the station." I reasoned, my hands raised in the air.

"Well ain't that a surprise, heh." The familiar voice remarked, walking out where I could see him, revealing himself to be Commander Bailey. "Admiral… Michaels, I believe?"

"Bailey? What the hell are you guys doing down here?" I questioned, letting my arms back down to my sides.

"I was leading a team down here, tracking the source of whatever was jamming all inbound and outbound Council communications the last two hours. We found and disabled it, but before I knew it, everything had gone quiet on all our other channels, and my men topside had all stopped responding entirely." He shook his head, pacing slightly. "I sent a runner back up, and she reported that the Wards had gone dark, leaving only the Presidium and Citadel Tower lit with the arms themselves sealed tight. That, and the Cerberus ships and troops running around."

"What happened to the rest of your men?" I questioned, knowing this couldn't be all he had. "There are tens of thousands of C-SEC officers, aren't there?"

"There were. The "Council" sent out an emergency alert to all C-SEC officers, ordering them to report to their nearest station for emergency disaster response duties." He replied with air quotes, looking none too pleased. "When most of them had arrived, the stations were sealed by someone on the outside and the atmosphere was vented out into space."

He shook his head, running his hand along the side of his head.

"I'm sure there are plenty of survivors out there, but not nearly enough to mount an effective resistance, especially with communications down." He continued, trying to add that small little detail. "Between that and the power outage, most of the civvies are in a complete panic at this point. We've moved a few of them down here for now, but I just don't have the manpower needed to control the situation."

"Well, we're trying to get to Citadel Tower. We believe Cerberus is using a piece of Sovereign, that Reaper that attacked from a few years ago, to override and control all the station's systems from there." I explained, getting him to look at me with a confused look. "Know any ways we can get there quickly?"

"Well, there's a C-SEC station above us with the patrol shuttles still parked in its landing bay, but it's being patrolled by several squads of Cerberus commandos." He nodded, turning to look down the hallway. "There's a freight elevator over there that'll take you up. If you help us retake the station so I can regain access to our hard communication lines, I'll let you use the shuttles to get to the Presidium."

"Why just the Presidium?" Reegar asked, walking up behind me.

"The Tower was coated in point-defense guns after what happened a few years ago. Get too close, and they'll zap you out of the sky." He warned, shaking his head. "Might be smarter to fly in the Wards anyway, use the civilian transit tunnels. Those Cerberus ships have been knocking all transportation out of the sky."

"Understood. We'll clear that station, and you can help coordinate comms once they're back online." I agreed, offering a handshake which he immediately accepted.

"You're one crazy son-of-a-bitch, Michaels. Good luck." He smiled as I turned back to my men, happy to finally have some direction and an honest-to-god objective.

"Alright... let's retake that station and get ourselves some transportation." I ordered, getting my men to move behind me as we walked back down the way we'd come, finding the freight elevator in question. "Pile on, people!"

We all gathered aboard the elevator, a tight fit all things considered. I hit the button, the doors sliding down in front of us as we began ascending. As I watched the floors go by in the window, I couldn't help but feel a rising sense of dread, knowing the tight grip Cerberus now held over this station. If we didn't get this place unsealed, or if Lenlo and Randall failed to stop the possible plot in the Omega Nebula, the war was over and nothing we could do would save us. It was quite sobering, knowing that if just one of these factors failed, we were finished.

As we reached the top, revealing a cramped maintenance area filled with deactivated auto-loaders, we quickly fanned out, looking for any signs of trouble. Failing to find any, I opened the door to the public area, finding a burned out stall covered in papers and warnings, obviously a left-over from Sovereign's attack. I looked up, seeing the Wards through the repaired glass above us, completely dark aside from a few specks of light across the rest of the station.

This was going to take much longer than I thought.

…

A/N: Here's to the first chapter covering the Cerberus takeover of the Citadel. Hopefully it didn't feel rushed, I've been working hard to begin wrapping things up and as many of you have likely noticed at this point, this is the beginning of the end. Soon, we'll find out if Sean's efforts will make or break the war. Once again, I'd appreciate any feedback any of you have, thank you.