Log 36
Date: 24TH DEC 2186
Location: TEMPORARY FORWARD OPERATING BASE, LONDON, UK
One way or another this will probably be the last entry I make in this journal. We're preparing for the final push, if we succeed then the war will be over. So I don't plan on retreating or falling back this time. This time we push forward until we win or we die.
After Shepard called yesterday we spent the rest of the day rounding up the rest of Coberg's supporters. It wasn't all that difficult in the end. The General had helpfully made a series of rapid promotions just after we left. Ironic that he should be the one best suited to clearing out our ranks but you set a thief to catch a thief I guess. We rounded them up quickly enough. I was more concerned with how we would justify the arrests but I was worrying needlessly. Without Coberg the indoctrinated agents became erratic, either going berserk or withdrawing from the world entirely like lifeless husks.
As for the General himself? I was informed that he died from his wounds around midnight. I felt ashamed at the news despite having suspected that's how it would end. I understand and even accept the reasons for my decision. But living with the decision? Well maybe it's too early to say. I think it will come back to haunt me but the price seems reasonable given the stakes.
I didn't sleep at all that night. I intended to (you can't win wars if you're half asleep afterall) but there was always just one more meeting, one last preparation to make. There are several Resistance cells around the globe that weren't able to make the journey to London. We're coordinating plans for them to act on once the fighting begins. Its doubtful they'll be able to help but the Reapers will be distracted during the battle which gives them an opportunity. They've planned out some ambitious raids and rescue attempts, a final effort to save as many lives as possible.
When dawn broke I was called down from my office. It was Coats, freshly returned from a scouting mission the General had sent him on to get him out of the way. From the look on his face I could tell I was about to receive some unpleasant news.
"What is it Major?"
"I'm sorry Admiral but the Citadel arms have closed."
I swore and raced outside to see for myself. Sure enough I could see the Citadel clearly now in the daylight and the arms were shut enclosing the whole station within.
"We have to find a way to get in, the Crucible won't be able to dock unless we do."
"Sir, the outer shell of the Citadel, it's impregnable."
"That might not necessarily be true," a familiar voice called out from behind me.
"Xi Chan," I shouted amazed to see the little Salarian standing again.
"You're a sight for sore eyes. What the hell are you doing out of bed?"
"Well I thought I was missing out on all the excitement," he said, giving one of his most endearing before becoming serious again.
"Can you see that light just below the Citadel?"
I had to squint, it was very faint in the light of the new dawn but I could just about make out what he was talking about.
"What about it?"
"It seems to be coming from a large structure built by the Reapers. To be honest we never paid it much attention until they parked the Citadel directly overhead."
"Any idea what it does?"
"Well I took a look at the data from our scans of the thing and couldn't make any sense of it. But logically I think it's likely that the beam somehow allows transport to and from the Citadel."
"Are you certain?"
"I can't be sure but it does tally with what the scouts have described. They saw the Reapers hauling cargo over to the beam, presumably for transport."
"What sort of cargo?"
"People," Xi replied bleakly.
I ordered Coats to report this development to Admiral Hackett. As he left we stood in contemplative silence for a time, just staring out at the massive space station hanging over the city.
"I'm sorry about what happened at the battle Admiral," Xi Chan said at last, breaking the silence.
"It wasn't your fault the plan failed. I'm sure the Reapers adapted to it the minute Coberg warned them it was coming."
"Well... It hasn't failed completely. Not yet at any rate."
I took a sideways look at him.
"What are you saying?"
"Only that I put all sort of things into that transmission. Big obvious stuff that would do a lot of damage quickly but lots of Trojans and Frankenstein virus's."
"A Frankenstein virus?"
"It's just something that builds itself out of benevolent code that's already on the host computer, very hard to detect."
"Are you saying Harbinger might still be affected?"
He looked up at me.
"I don't know anything for certain but there's still a chance it could flare up at a critical moment. I hope so, it would mean all those people didn't die for nothing."
"You're quite a remarkable man Xi Chan but you should still be back in bed."
"If you say so Admiral," he turned to leave.
"Actually, there is one more thing before you go. In case this doesn't go according to plan,"
"It will."
I shook my head.
"You and I know better than most how badly things could end tonight. If anything happens to me in this next battle, I want you to lead the Resistance in my place."
He turned around to face me, the shock evident on his face.
"But I always assumed Lara or the Major-"
"They'll be with me in the coming battle. Besides I always thought you were the right choice."
"Me?"
"You're intelligent, compassionate and resourceful. I couldn't have gotten half as far as I did without your help."
"Thank you sir. From what I've heard this is usually about the time humans say 'it's been an honor to serve with you'. And it has been an honor, I'm more proud of being part of this Resistance than of anything I've ever done."
I watched him head back to the sick bay while Lara approached from the other direction.
"I heard what you said. Making preparations in case what Daniels told us was true?"
"I think we both know it was."
"What do we do?"
I pointed up at the Citadel.
"I don't know about you but that thing up there decided my plans for me. I'll help them to deploy the Crucible while I'm still able."
"And after that?"
"Honestly I don't know, can't even assume there will be an 'after that'."
"Do you think... Do you think the effect might fade? If the Reapers are destroyed, I mean."
"Again, I just don't know the answer to that Lara. In my experience it's never quite that simple. But who knows? Maybe there is a way back."
"I will fight with you one more time Admiral. We'll make the Reapers remember the Resistance."
"Not to mention the Justicar," I replied.
To be honest I've thought a lot about Daniels final words. Maybe it was always foolish to think we'd be able to escape indoctrination entirely. We're all trapped on this world, with our metal overlords flying overhead broadcasting signals to make us turn on each other or submit. Well I'm setting personal concerns aside now. The hopeless situation, the difficulties we'll come up against even my own life, they're all irrelevant now. Tonight if we stop, hesitate or try to fall back everyone dies.
In many ways I find it liberating to cast of these concerns. Its a refreshing break from stressed months of worrying about every tiny detail. Now only one thing matters and any and all options to achieve it are on the table. The one and only thing I regret is Kahlee. I promised her a life on Earth with me after the war. Now the war might be at an end but I'm not sure if Earth, or I am in any fit state for what comes after. When I close my eyes I can see paradise, a small cottage somewhere sunny with her by my side. But that dream feels very distant from the ruined streets of London and I hardly feel worthy of it.
I'm looking out at those ruins right now. It's gotten dark now but I can still just about recognize the area. I grew up not far from here in fact I think I even walked down the street below me several times as a young man. So strange that we should choose to liberate this part of the city first.
Oh yes, I haven't mentioned liberating the city yet. To be honest it's less grand then it sounds. We hold a scrap of territory no more than a few dozen yards across but for the time being we're holding the Reapers at bay. It all started after Major Coats contacted Hackett about the Citadel beam. The decision was quickly taken to send reinforcements from the fleet to the surface, so we seized this small area to serve as a rallying point. From here we plan to make at all out assault on the beam and use it to get aboard the Citadel. If we succeed we can try to open the Citadel arms from within and end this nightmare. As expected the task is likely to be damn near impossible. The Reapers know about the Resistance now and will use everything they can spare to stop us from reaching that beam, hell there's even a Reaper Destroyer parked right in front of it. The rest of the fleet is engaging the Reapers en masse, which is the only reason they haven't crushed us yet.
Still we have a plan for ending the war which is far more than we've ever really had up to this point. We have a lot of reinforcements (the troops sent down to join us have been drawn from every race imaginable) although less than we'd hoped for. And last but by no means least Commander Shepard is back here on Earth.
He's downstairs right now, making some last minute preparations before we begin our attack. It's because of him that we've received so much help for this plan. While we've been fighting to hold our own down here he united the galaxy and brought every species in it to this one fight. Not of course to say that he's perfect, we did have to pull his boots out of the fire earlier this evening. I have to say I felt a lot of pride when I introduced him to Major Coats and the rest of the Resistance. It's only a shame that Lara and Xi were too busy to meet him as well.
The battle lines are set now and all the preparations I can do are done. I'm in the Command Center sitting in on a discussion about strategy but my concentration isn't entirely there, afterall at this point strategy is more or less irrelevant. Instead I found myself staring out at the Citadel and the beam, wondering why the Reapers had ever built it. Finally I began to see daylight (figuratively not literally), the Citadel is an egg. Or a womb or a Reaper shipyard if you prefer to call it that. Every aspect of its design suddenly made sense. The Keepers serving as a workforce to build the new Reaper. The arms that could close around the new 'embryo' and keep it safe until it was finished at which point the arms would open and a brand new Reaper would fly out. And the beam, a means of transporting the raw materials needed without risking anything as big as a ship getting inside. Maybe that explains the Reapers actions, the need to reproduce is at least an idea I can understand if not accept given the cost. It's clearer to me than the words of Daniels or Harbinger. If the Reapers serve some great galactic purpose I'm sure I'll never learn what it is.
But I'm letting myself get distracted with that and Shepard's just entered the room. There's one more thing I feel the need to say before I march into battle. I once trained under a Turian drill sergeant as part of a cross-species training exercise. That bastard pushed me past limits I didn't even know I had, humbled me too on more than one occasion. But there is one thing he said that really stayed with me. 'Every moment in our lives, good and bad comes together to make the man we are today. I suggest you wait to see how my training helps you before you complain'.
Not quite poetry but completely true and not just about my own life. We stand at a historic moment in history, the day the Cycle is broken having lasted millions of years. Every moment in history, the good, the bad, even the horrific came together to give us this one chance. I can't even begin to guess how many choices brought us to this moment but every one of them mattered. And to all those soldiers, on all those battlefields stretching back before this Cycle even began who contributed in some way, knowingly or not to this day I express my unreserved gratitude. I can only pray that my small contribution brought life and hope to those around me.
Now if you'll excuse me, we have a war to win.
End of Log
Author's Note: Actually Anderson it's not quite the end but you can expect the last few bits and pieces to be uploaded by the end of this extended weekend.
I'd like to take a moment at this point to thank everyone who's subscribed, favorited, posted a review or just simply read this novel, I really hope you've enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. It's been a rollercoaster writing this (my first proper novel) and I've done my best to follow the structure and tone of the Mass Effect 3 game wherever possible. My favorite scene will always be writing the interaction between Sheppard and his squad as they relaxed in Flux with Anderson.
Thanks Again.
Pyro