Log 24

Date: 18TH NOV 2186

Location: VANCOUVER, CANADA

"Thank you Admiral. The data you've been able to recover from Cerberus it's... Well it's more than I could have hoped for."

I was up early on the day of the funeral, awoken by an unexpected QEC call.

"It's my pleasure, Miss Lawson. We've all got to help each other out at the moment. Besides I heard you played a small part in getting us the data about Serov in the first place."

"Only a very small part," she clarified. "Do you know if the doctor made it out alive?"

I shook my head.

"Can't say for certain. He was still alive when I last saw him but the Reapers were flooding his facility."

"Hmm. Personally he always gave me the creeps but enough of Cerberus, how is Earth holding up?"

"I won't lie, things are looking pretty bleak right now. Not to mention this funeral service, I honestly don't know if I can face it, we've lost so many good people."

"You'll find a way Anderson, you were always the best the Alliance had to offer. Well almost the best," she added with a smile.

"What about you?" I asked.

"Do I even want to ask how you managed to get access to a QEC?"

"Probably n-" A red light started flashing in the background.

"Actually I'd better go Admiral. Good luck on Earth."

"Miss Lawson where are you?" I asked but she was already gone, faced with more combat I assumed. I sighed, wondering who she was fighting at the moment (Reapers, Cerberus maybe Geth) and whether or not she would survive. I knew that by reputation she was tough but every fight these days seemed to take a few more people out of the galaxy. It wouldn't be long until there wasn't anyone left.

The funeral itself was even worse than I expected it to be. I know I was the one to suggest it, even now I think it was the right call but it wasn't an experience I'd ever want to repeat.

We held the ceremony about a week after I'd suggested it to give the units we'd left behind in Seattle a chance to be here. They arrived yesterday, relieved to see the rest of us were still alive after we'd disappeared. Looking at the men who've come back, there's a haunted look in their eyes. From what I've gathered so far they had a pretty rough time of it while we were held captive. For awhile they thought they might be the last of the resistance in the area. Reuniting our groups again has brought a real boost of morale to both sides.

Things have been fairly quiet while we waited for their arrival. Mostly my days were spent coordinating what's left of the global resistance. It's not looking good, the Reapers are pushing aggressively and some of the resistance cells have been forced to abandon their bases. It's causing us to be more spread out and as a result we've lost contact with some groups. Not enough QEC's to go around and using conventional comm systems causes the Capital ships to descend from orbit. Our best hope now as I see it, is to start thinking about concentrating our efforts into a single area. Some of the other leaders think the same but we still have to tackle the question of how to get there given how scattered we are.

The rest of my job is more local, using our limited scouts and patrols to keep apprised of what the Reapers are up to in the area. Mostly their urban actives have pushed out from Vancouver to other cities like Richmond which are too far south for us to worry about for the moment. They do have some presence outside the cities as well however, mostly in the form of patrols of footsoldiers looking for stragglers. We try to hit these as often as we can but sometimes they're simply too large (heard tell of a patrol of 10,000 Husks coming through once) or too close to our own base to risk drawing attention. So far we've managed to drag Reaper attention away from ourselves with a few well placed attacks.

Then we came to the day in question. It was raining even before we started. It's a cliche I know but in a way I think it's better. Makes it feel like a better send off, like the world understands that today is special. A day where it's OK to be grim and gloomy. The actual event was held outside, in a clearing in the woods just north of the city. No graves dug, we had no bodies to bury, instead a small mound was covered in little wooden markers each with a name carved into it. It was depressing to see just how many there were. At first we only wrote in names we could remember that didn't come back from our encounter with Cerberus. Then as word got out more and more people began to suggest names they wanted to pay tribute to. From our battles with the Reapers, the fall of Vancouver, the deaths in the initial invasion. Then friends and family lost in the war raging in the galaxy around us. A high tally in all and now all of them stood on the hill as reminders of past mistakes.

We all gathered to stand before the hill looking at all the markers. Someone from the resistance turned out to have been a vicar before the war so she stood at the front and said a few words. Then one by one people would come up and speak about a loved one or a friend they were saying goodbye to. The rest of us would stand and listen in respectful silence, often wrapped up in thoughts of our own losses.

As I walked up to the stand some of the names caught my eye as though accusing me. Maria? I'd taken her out of that police station to somewhere I thought she'd be safe. In reality I'd delivered her straight into what would become her tomb. Corporal Hetford? I pointed him out to Shepard and said men like him would need a leader, giving it as the reason I should stay behind. The man was dead less than two hours later. And Jeff, whose name I couldn't even spot among so many crosses, though it would haunt me forever. I just hoped I'd be able to have his courage.

I can't really recall my speech exactly. I praised everyone present for all their dedication to the cause and thanked those who were no longer with us for their contribution. I think I told them that no matter how dark things got in this war we had to hold on to moments like these because they were what really made us human. I hope so, it would've been a damn good line. After I had spoken Xi Chan stood up a gave a eulogy for cadet Monroe that Sarah had written but not felt able to read out.

We didn't manage to get to the next person because during the next transition Will started yelling and stormed up to the front. For a moment I felt a flash of irritation, anger almost at his behavior. His youth and grief could excuse a lot but I'd hoped he'd have been respectful today of all days. Instead he was flying into a rage, pushing people out of the way to get to the front. I was about to stop him when I spotted what had wound him up and my blood ran cold. I could see Jeff's marker now, over the left hand side but there was also a second name carved into it. The name of his wife and Will's mother.

I pushed through the crowd towards the front. By the time I reached it Will was screaming at one of the people on the stage while two men did their best to hold him back. Major Coats tried to intercede with little success.

"I'm sorry son but there's been no sign of her we just thought it would be best-"

"She's not dead! She's not!"

I finally managed to shoulder my way through the crowds and since Will was insensible at this stage I turned to Coats to make some sense of the situation.

"Is she? I mean, what happened?"

"Uh- no one's entirely sure sir. All we know for sure is she wasn't one of the prisoners we brought back with us. Maybe a cell got missed."

Could that be true? Had I left some my own people behind in our hurry to escape?

"Bullshit!" Will's voice cut like a whip as he focused on our conversation.

"No one remembers seeing mum at the prison or on the transports. She could have just got separated from us before the battle."

I glanced at Coats.

"Is it possible?"

He shook his head gravely.

"It doesn't seem likely sir. After you were taken our remaining squads swept the area for any survivors. They were interrupted by Reapers so maybe they missed something but well it just feels like a fool's hope sir."

"I know she's still out there," Will said looking at me beseechingly.

"We just need to keeping looking."

"If you're asking me to send out a squad. Look Will I'm sorry but our resources are stretched pretty thin-"

His expression instantly switched from hope to contempt.

"Fine then I'll go on my own."

"You can't, it's too dangerous," came back the automatic reply without bothering to consult my brain.

"You can't stop me Anderson. What're you gonna do keep me in chains as a prisoner for the rest of the war? Drag me along with the resistance from one battle to the next? That's what it'll take to keep me from leaving."

I could see it in his eyes that he meant it. Unless I kept him locked up I'd be lucky not to wake up with a knife to my throat. It wasn't an overreaction, not really. The kid was only seeing things in black and white right now. He wanted to save his mother and god help anyone that got in his way.

"Alright I can see there's no stopping you," I said.

"But I'd still rather not see you go without cooler heads at your side. I suggest having a few words with the Colonel about that after we've left."

I could hear a ripple of whispers running through the crowd after I'd finished speaking but it was Will that vocalized their concerns out loud.

"Left? Where are you going?"

"London," I announced. "Many of the resistance cells around the world want to focus their efforts on a single target and I have to be there to lead them. Any volunteers are most welcome to join us."

As I had somewhat expected I could still see a certain amount of concern in the crowd.

"Please do not worry, I will be leaving you in very capable hands."

"What about you?" A couple of voices in the crowd called out.

"My friends, after everything we have been through together I assure you that I will be okay on this journey. And when we are united we will find a way to get some payback for our fallen comrades."

A good speech I like to think given it was rather spur of the moment. Back in our 'command center' however my fellow officers didn't quite share the same optimism as my surprise announcement.

"It's madness. You can't go to London."

"I agree with you that it will be difficult but it's vital for me to be there in person."

"That's not agreeing with me I was saying you can't go."

We were in the reception area that had been appropriated by us as a meeting room. Several maps were spread out on the table (actual paper ones, Xi Chan had declared the computer systems here a lost cause) which Major Coats was studying. Coberg and Xi Chan were also in the room along with Colonel Travis and me who were in a bit of an argument.

Strangely enough Lara was absent as she had already agreed to accompanying me. Apparently the Justicar order had been considering trying to reunite themselves again even before the rest of us had. Although it was incredibly rare for the order to ever gather in one place Matriarch Ophelia had ultimately insisted on it (I think I offended Lara by assuming she was the head of the order. She insisted that all Justicar were considered equal after passing their training, Matriarch Ophelia was simply the oldest and most well respected in the order).

In theory our only task now was to work out how I was going to get there but it was proving to be difficult.

"You'd have to cross what, two and a half thousand miles just to reach the Eastern seaboard? And then you try to cross the Atlantic assuming you can find a boat and you get killed because there's at least 200 Reapers patrolling that area looking for ships. Sir."

"I know we've heard bad things about the Atlantic-" I began.

"Voyage of damned I've heard people call it," someone, possibly Coberg muttered.

"But it really as dangerous as they say?" I finished.

"Yes sir," replied Coats. "There's no cover out on the open water sir. Reapers use it as an easy way to restrict movement."

As the afternoon worn on it did seem increasingly hopeless. There was simply no way of going east that didn't end up in being captured or vaporized. Then Coats made a rather surprising suggestion.

"What about heading west sir?"

"That would be even further," I pointed out.

"I know that sir but if it might be much easier to reach the eastern most point of Russia than crossing the Atlantic. Once we're on the Euroasia mainland we can try to find a route westwards."

"It'd still take a very long time, which increases the risk of the journey not to mention the risk that we won't reach the city soon enough to make a difference."

"That might not necessarily be the case Admiral," Xi Chan interjected.

"Reaching Russia does open certain possibilities. Personally I would advise using the Zakhar Express Way."

"The what?"

"It was an old underground rail project, originally the vision of the then Russian President Zakhar Sokolov in 2098. The concept was a single line that ran across the spine of Russia. It was intended to replace the old Trans-Siberian railway system. The main line runs all the way from the Bering Strait right though to Oslo in nearby Norway."

I exchanged glances with the other officers in the room.

"Then why have we never heard of it?"

Xi Chan shrugged.

"The Project was scrapped in 2155 as skycars were proving a far more efficient means of transportation. I only know about it because it was a case study when I was learning Engineering at Moscow State University."

"So is there anything left that we can use?"

"The project was nearing completion when it was scrapped, apparently the cost of removing it all was so great it ended up simply being abandoned."

"And the Reapers don't know about it?" I asked somewhat skeptically.

"They may well be aware of it's existence but I suspect it would be considered a low priority given its disuse."

"And you think this will work?" I asked.

Xi Chan shrugged.

"If you have to attempt the journey then it's probably the best option available. At the very least most of the tunnel is too far underground to be targeted by Reaper ships. Should warn you however that some sections of the track run close enough to the surface to be targetable."

"If they know that we're even down there," laughed Coats. "I figure it's gotta be worth a look Admiral."

"Alright then, any ideas how we get to Russia?"

"Actually I might have an idea on that score," said Coberg.

"Just need to contact a few old friends."