IV: HOLOCAUST - FINAL BATTLE

The following chapter outline details how the final battle, mostly centering around Priority: Earth, would have been handled.

Chapter 96: Stormwind:

Section 1:

Chapter opens from Shepard's POV. Onboard the McKinley, Shepard meets with the rest of the UGC Supreme Command. Fleet Admiral Hackett represents the Alliance, Primarch Victus represents the turians, Dalatrass Ledra represents the salarians, General Yelewa L'Yan represents the asari, Balak Uhtero represents the batarians, Wrex represents the krogan, She-Who-Examines-The-Ancients-With-Glee represents the hanar, Hedek Xelos represents the drell, High Judge Petozi represents the elcor, Cora Nor represents the volus, Han'Gerrel and Zaal'Koris represents the quarians, Pythagoras and Baltazar represent the geth, Shisk represents the vorcha, Bellerophon represents the Leviathans via one of their orbs, Javik represents the protheans, Aria represents all mercenaries as a whole, while Zaeed Massani represents the Blue Suns, Sayn represents the Eclipse and Gryll represents the Blood Pack and, finally, Captain Megtus represents the remnants of the Citadel Defense Fleet. When asked who the leader of the UGC is, everybody looks at Shepard, who simply coughs, shaking his head. Hackett states that it was Shepard who made the UGC what it was at that present moment, and that makes him the official Consul of the United Galactic Confederacy. With that in mind, Shepard turns to Captain Megtus, and declares that he is now promoted to the rank of Commodore, and that he will be put under the command of Prefect (equivalent: Admiral) Rellai Gupundas, commander of the Turian Twelfth Fleet.

He then orders a detailed report of the attack on the Citadel. Megtus goes onto state that a massive Reaper fleet, easily numbering in the hundreds, suddenly appeared through the relay and swarmed the Citadel before they knew what was going on. Matriarch Rear Admiral Ledanya, commander of the ARW Destiny Ascension and of the Citadel Fleet, immediately initiated the evacuation protocols put in place, but the Reapers were able to advance too quickly, and Megtus had watched from the bridge of his destroyer, THS Certitude, as the ARW Destiny Ascension was cut in half and destroyed almost immediately. Megtus had made the difficult decision of preserving the remaining ships, and ordered a tactical withdrawal; he noted that the Reapers seemed to ignore his ships entirely, only destroyed the rest of the Citadel Fleet as they got in the way. He had watched from a distance as the Reapers deployed troops all over the station, and within mere minutes, the Citadel Fleet had been obliterated, and the Citadel's exterior defense turrets had fallen silent.

Two hours later, and Megtus and his ships had watched with shock as the Reapers had begun to move the Citadel, continuing to watch as the station moved slowly to the Widow Relay, before transporting the Citadel to wherever the Reapers were taking it. Afterwards, after being contacted by Didact Aestus Veretar, he set a course for the Anadius system, ending his report. Shepard reveals that the Reapers took the Citadel because they are now aware that the Citadel is the catalyst; he last needed component of the Crucible. With the Citadel now in Reaper hands, it is unknown where they have taken it. Baltazar however notes that it is likely that the Reapers, knowing that the Citadel is their cycle's last hope of defeating the Reapers, would take it to the largest concentration of Reapers so as to defend it effectively. Victus remarks that predicting the concentration of Reapers in any location is foolhardy, as their presence around many worlds is sufficiently large. Hackett then interrupts to state that the Reapers have taken the Citadel to Earth, as that is where the largest concentration of Reapers is. He reveals that he knew this because the SIA have been keeping track of Reaper numbers, and that five days ago, half the Reaper forces present around Thessia and Palaven suddenly left, heading to an unknown destination; a day later, seven thousand Reapers entered the Sol System. Considering the total number of Reapers that entered and left the Sol system during the entirety of the war, that then brings Reaper numbers around Earth up to eight-six thousand Reapers, with a total of thirteen billion ground forces; more forces than is present on any one world in the galaxy.

Yelewa L'Yan, the asari general, asks how they could possibly manage to beat such odds, but Balak snarls, stating that he finds it fitting that he will finally get to fight his enemies while witnessing a battered and devastated Earth, throwing a grin at Hackett and Shepard, who promptly ignored the batarian. Pythagoras announces that they are being contacted via QEC, and when answered, they find Anderson behind the call; Shepard is happy to see the rear admiral. Anderson declares that the Citadel has just been detected entering Earth's atmosphere, confirming everyone's suspicions. Anderson also announces that the Reapers have been building somekind of structure the resistance called the Beam in London, and that the Beam suddenly activated when the Citadel entered orbit, theorizing that the Beam is somekind of transportation device leading onto the Citadel. He also states that the Citadel arms have been closed, making any attempt to enter it conventionally aside from the Beam is now impossible. He also states that Reaper activity in London has been heavier than anywhere else, and that four Reaper destroyers have been posted to the north, south, east and west of the Beam in a protective formation, with Harbinger overseeing the entire operation personally. With this in mind, it seems clear that the final battle of the war will occur on Earth. With that in mind, Shepard comes up with a plan, and presents it to the group. First of all, the Victory Fleet will be split into three divisions; Hammer, Sword and Shield.

Hammer will comprise of all ground forces, while Sword will be all naval forces. Shield will be a select amount of naval forces, perhaps a couple of fleets, assigned to defend the Crucible itself. Sword will enter the system via FTL so as to not be clogged up on the relay. Once having entered the system, Sword will immediately converge on Earth. Once in range of the Reaper forces, all of Sword will immediately open fire, with the opening volley hopefully enough to at least kill a hundred Reaper ships. Once Sword is engaged, all Hammer forces will be deployed via shuttles into London; they will need to be deployed at random, and nowhere near the numerous resistance firebases, so that the Reapers are not made aware of its position. Once on the ground, Hammer forces will approach the nearest firebases and stock up. Once arrived, Shepard will coordinate with Anderson on where Hammer will be deployed and how they will advance, but the primary objective must be reaching the Beam. Once at the Beam, whoever makes it must enter the Beam, reach the Citadel and find the arm controls. Once the arms are opened, the go ahead will be given, and Shield will enter the system with the Crucible. Shield will escort the Crucible across the battlefield and protect it until it connects with the Citadel. Once connected, the Crucible will be activated, and the war will be over. With this in mind, the group dictates which fleets will go where, and it is agreed that the batarians, the elcor T, V and Z fleets, and quarian patrol fleet will be given the honor of defending the Crucible, and will make up Shield. All other naval assets will make up Sword. Gerrel and Koris state that the right flank should consist of the Heavy and Civilian fleets, with a forward screening cover of fighters, interceptors and bombers; the UGC agrees, with Victus suggesting that the more fresh units should make up the flanks, and that with the quarians covering the right, the salarians, hanar and volus should reinforce the left flank. Dalatrass Ledra and Cora Nor agree, with Victus going on further to suggest to the asari that they, in addition to the turians, should spread their fleets along the center, and make sure their ships are spaced out several thousand kilometers so as to make them a less clustered target. Yelewa agrees, but goes onto state that their dreadnought task groups should be posted further behind the main line, and after peppering the enemy line with thanix and missiles, they should fall back while the cruisers and destroyers push forward, therefore ensuring the dreadnoughts are protected.

The geth announce that the reconstruction of the geth super-dreadnought has been completed, and that they have named it Legion's Gift. Shepard states that such a weapon is too invaluable to commit to the frontline and that, like the other dreadnoughts, should be deployed further back so that it can snipe at enemy ships further away. Baltazar and Pythagoras agree, and state that they will deploy their battleships and dreadnoughts to reinforce the weaker mercenary transports and dropships, and will provide cover fire for them when they eventually deploy to Earth's surface; the other geth ships will help the quarians enforce the right flank, and the other fleets will be further back, behind the dreadnoughts. Shepard asks Javik what he thinks of this strategy, and Javik smiles, stating that the most veteran of prothean admirals would be impressed, especially when facing an enemy such as the Reapers. Bellerophon states that Foehammer, its Reaper servant, will deploy its troops directly into London from orbit, but will otherwise mix in with the Reaper forces beforehand, wreaking havoc from within their lines when the fighting begins. However, this will require most of their power, meaning their effectiveness on the ground will be greatly reduced. With their plans made, Anderson states that this will be the greatest battle in galactic history; history will never see another battle quite like it. Hackett agrees, looking around the room, declaring that even if they are defeated, they will inflict enough casualties on the Reapers to make them think twice about the next cycle." A chorus of agreements sounds through the room, and Anderson cuts the connection, telling Shepard to hurry up and get to Earth so they can meet face to face. Hackett gives a speech to the Victory Fleet, which is a copy of his "Stand Strong, Stand Together" speech from the actual game. Before Shepard leaves, Hackett declares that the mission to the Beam will be called Operation: Stormwind, for they surely will bring a storm down on the Reapers.

Section 2:

Section is from Anderson's POV. Anderson leads a patrol through the wartorn streets of London, evading Reaper patrols whilst scouting out the main approaches to the Beam. At that moment, whilst on a rooftop, they bare witness to the arrival of the Citadel, the station appearing in the sky, assuming geosynchronous orbit over the Beam before initiating a connection. Harbinger then takes off into the atmosphere, replaced by a lone Destroyer-class Reaper in defending the Beam. Anderson, worried by this development, contacts Coats to inform him and then orders his men back to the firebase. Whatever the Reapers had been planning, that plan was now in motion.

Section 3:

Section is from Bailey's POV. On the captured Citadel, survivors of the attack huddle inside the Council evacuation bunker, with Bailey watching over them. Thanks to the Citadel Defense Militia Shepard had authorized, many civilians were able to be evacuated to safe havens across the Citadel during the Reaper invasion of the station. It is revealed through dialogue between Bailey and one of his lieutenants that the Council were killed during the attack, along with most of the militia and C-Sec: the Citadel Defense Fleet was wiped out, and the UGC forces deployed there were likely gone as well. Bailey tries to contact Kolyat, but is unable to get a hold of him. Bailey orders steady rationing of food supplies, and answers a series of questions from scared civilians regarding when they can leave. Bailey manages to calm the crowd, but orders his lieutenant to be careful.

Chapter 97: Mobilization:

Section 1:

Chapter opens from Shepard's POV. With the Victory Fleet assembled and departing for the Sol System, Shepard overlooks final preparations in the War Room. EDI tells him she will inform him of any status reports, and that he should go and spend what time he has left together with his wife. He agrees, and departs, grabbing Tali from engineering and going up to their cabin. Once inside, they land in bed, and make love one final time.

Section 2:

Section is from Joker's POV. Joker and EDI enjoy a silent moment together, where EDI finally proclaims her love to the pilot; Joker awkwardly reciprocates the gesture, and jokingly wonders whether or not the galaxy will legalize robotic marriages. The two joke back and forth, before deciding to run a check on the Normandy's systems, preparing the ship for battle.

Section 3:

Section is from Garrus' POV. After a few hours of passionate intimacy, Kasumi and Garrus lie in bed, terrified over what may happen in the coming battle. Garrus reassures her they'll be fine with Shepard leading them, but Kasumi isn't convinced, jokingly blaming Shepard for roping her into 'another suicide mission.' After checking the time, they decide to get dressed, readying themselves for the battle ahead. They help each other get dressed, Garrus with her ballistic uniform and Kasumi with his Terminus assault armor.

Section 4:

Section is from Liara's POV. Liara joins Samara in silent meditation, and both are shocked to be joined by Javik, who admits that he needs to forget the past and steel himself for delivering his vengeance upon the Reapers. Samara welcomes the two of them into her meditations, and the three proceed to meditate quietly for a few minutes. Liara and Samara sense Javik's dark thoughts, but instead of ignoring them, they decide to channel them, hoping to share his rage and use it.

Section 5:

Section is from Samantha's POV. Samantha stands over Kelly's coffin, which is lined up alongside Michel's and the coffins of the other deceased crew. She touches Kelly's coffin, and silently affirms that her death was avenged. Cortez hugs her silently as she weeps. She then returns to the CIC, and requests EDI help her to 'prepare for battle.' Samantha ends the scene by muttering, "Let's end these Reaper bastards."

Section 6:

Section is from James' POV. James spars with a punching bag as he channels thoughts of Keeling, realizing that what he had for Keeling wasn't love, but respect, reaching the epiphany that Keeling's story of overcoming her past and becoming what she needed to be had now inspired him to become an N7, and to overcome his emotional restrictions; he begins to punch the bag with abandon, getting angrier as he goes. Once he is finished, he finds an N7 Valkyrie rifle, a weapon he had procured from the armoury for himself. He muses that with this weapon going into battle with him, a part of Keeling will continue to the final battle.

Section 7:

Section is from Adams' POV. Gabby, Ken and Adams share a few cold drinks in the Lounge, while stargazing. Kaidan quickly joins them, and the four of them enjoy the stars together, pondering the future. Ken declares his intent to fight the battle on Earth, but Gabby simply remarks that he doesn't know how to hold a gun: Ken mutters that its the sentiment that counts. Adams tells both of them he'll need them to keep engineering in top shape during the battle, giving them a morale boost. They return to their stargazing in silence.

Chapter 98: Flight of the Valkyries:

Section 1:

Chapter opens from Jentha's POV. On the captured Citadel above Earth, an injured Jentha Renmark runs through a darkened Presidium with night vision goggles, cradling her injured side. Without armor, she is chased through the corridors by a squad of cannibals and huskified varren. She remembers how the Reapers deployed husk forces all over the station, and how the station's power had been cut to the screams of thousands of innocent people being slaughtered. Emergency lighting had switched on in critical areas, but that hadn't made it any easier. Most of her Blue Suns were now dead, killed by the husks alongside the majority of C-Sec. Jentha had eventually run into Bailey, another survivor of the attack, who had managed to reach the siege bunker meant for the Council and round survivors up inside. Ever since, Jentha had been running reconnaissance, trying to figure out what had happened. From what she discovered, C-Sec's disorganization had led to Jondam Bau, the only available spectre, being forced to escort the Council to the bunker. However, Jondam Bau had been killed by husks, and the Council were slaughtered shortly after; Valern, Sparatus, Tevos and Osoba were dead. Four-fifths of C-Sec were dead or converted, the entire station was covered in Reaper troops, and the only known survivors were in the siege bunker; and only a few hundred were even inside; everyone else was presumed dead. Taking a detour into one of the Keeper tunnels, Jentha managed to escape, only to run into a dead end. With no other choice, she tore a grenade from her vest and detonated it, blowing herself up just as the horde arrive, consuming them in the explosion.

Section 2:

Section is from Shepard's POV. Unable to sleep due to apprehension from the upcoming battle, Shepard and Tali talk quietly to each other, spending what little private time they have left trying to comfort each other. They finish by promising to never leave each other, and to stand beside the other 'till the very end. Soldifying this promise with a kiss, they proceed to make love again.

Section 3:

Section is from Anderson's POV. Anderson looks at the Beam through a monocular, silently wondering what the Reapers are using it for. He then notices the Reaper destroyer (now identified as Armageddon) protecting their side of the Beam, and their main obstacle to reaching the Beam. Turning to Coats, he informs them that all they can do now is wait for the Victory Fleet to arrive, and hope the Crucible truly is ready. Coats rates their chances as minimal to nothing, as the resistance, even when bolstered by Hammer, will be hilariously outnumbered by the three billion strong Reaper army. Anderson acknowledges this, but tells Coats that Shepard is a man of many impossibilities, and that if anyone can reach the Beam, its him. Coats is skeptical, but Anderson tells him that the men must believe victory is possible if they are to win; an army expecting defeat is just a mob, after all. Suddenly, a loud airhorn passes through the air, and Anderson looks back to witness as Harbinger takes off into the sky, blaring across London. Four other Sovereign-Class Reapers take off as well, and Anderson smiles. Coats asks what's happening, to which Anderson replies, "Victory has arrived," before ordering all resistance forces to mobilize. The time had finally arrived.

Chapter 99: And Our Foes Shall Tremble Part 1:

Section 1:

Chapter opens from Admiral Netanyahu's POV. Adina Netanyahu, commander of the Alliance First Fleet, watches tensely as the Victory Fleet rapidly approaches Earth, having entered the system mere minutes before. She notes how devastated and sickly Earth's surface looks, and that the Reapers seem to have kept Jump Zero intact, but converted it into a mobile battle station of immense size and firepower. She contacts Hackett, who orders her to maintain formation and keep on present course. On her scanners, she notes that the Normandy has point, leading the Victory Fleet towards Earth. She and her crew watch as the massive Reaper fleet assumes battle formations around Earth's orbit. They note that the Reapers total at 54,839 Sovereign-Class Dreadnoughts, 9,716 destroyers, 1,322 Tarantula-Class Troop Transports, 5,888 Raven-Class Swipers, 4,270 Scarab-Class carriers and 3,465 Atlas-Class megacruisers. Adina watches in horror as Jump Zero seemingly moves on its own, hundreds and thousands of Oculi erupting from its hull to fly towards the Victory Fleet. Adina orders battle stations, and laments to herself that the final battle is about to begin. Just as the Reaper fleet makes ready to engage them, Shepard gives the order to lock solutions and fire.

Section 2:

Section opens from Shepard's POV. Shepard, full of apprehension, watches as the Normandy rapidly approaches Earth, and the Reaper defenses. Joker informs him that Hackett has relayed command to the Consul, and that the Fleet will fire when ready. Shepard orders a status report from every fleet, and all fleets report in as being in formation and ready to fire. He orders Legion's Gift to focus their fire on Jump Zero in an attempt to immobilize it, while everybody else fires on the Reaper forces that are rapidly approaching. He notices the Citadel, sitting behind the Reaper lines and in orbit over Earth, a beam of blue light trailing from its bottom down into London. Without any further waiting, he gives the order to fire, telling the Fleet to "rip them apart."

Section 3:

Section is from Hannah's POV. Hannah Shepard orders her ship to fire, watching as its machine guns, missiles and MAC are joined by those of the rest of the Victory Fleet. She watches with glee, even as Admiral Arefyev stands behind her, as a dozen Reaper ships on the right flank buckle and are torn asunder by the combined fire, and hears numerous reports throughout the Fleet of confirmed kills. The Fleet continues to fire, slowly approaching the Reapers as they launch everything they have. Dozens more Reapers are destroyed or crippled as millions of Oculi charge forward. She hears her son order all Fleets to scramble all fighters and interceptors to intercept the approaching swarm, and as Arefyev relays the orders. Soon, millions of their own fighters and interceptors engage and tangle with the Oculi in battle, the brilliant display enough to make Hannah watch in awe, and for Phillipo to mumble, "Go get 'em, boys." The Victory Fleet continues to fire, managing to kill ninety more Reapers before they finally close ranks, slamming head on into the Fleet. Hannah orders for the Orizaba to hold back as ordered, and prioritizes fire on a nearby Scarab-Class carrier. Silently, she whispers, "Go get 'em, son."

Section 4:

Section is from Shepard's POV. Back on the Normandy, the ship cloaks as it dives inbetween the Reaper lines, narrowly avoiding three Sovereign-Class dreadnoughts as they stalked forward, their thanix cannons slicing through four Alliance heavy cruisers in casual strokes. Shepard orders Joker to get them to the surface, and for all Hammer ground forces to begin their approach towards Earth. As Shepard is leaving for the shuttle bay, Joker stands up, telling Shepard that serving with him has been an honor. Shepard tells him not to say goodbye yet, before saluting him. With that, the two part, Shepard towards the shuttle bay, and Joker staying in the cockpit.

Section 5:

Section is from Tali's POV. In the shuttle, Tali watches Shepard as he stands at the edge of the shuttle's hatch, air whipping at him as he looks down into the desolate ruins of London. Tali tells him that they have to focus, and that it can all be rebuilt with time. Shepard nods, grasping his rifle, before saying, "I'm not sad, Tali. I'm soaking it all in. I'm using it to fuel me. I'm letting myself see what the Reapers do to our worlds so that I can give them the proper goodbye when I send them all to hell." Tali nods, and the rest of the squad forms, revealing that Shepard has assembled the entirety of the available squad on the Normandy. Shepard orders Cortez to bring them into a clearing, and to deploy them there. Cortez lands, deploying the team as they gun down a squad of husks and cannibals with ease. They exit the shuttle, and Cortez takes off, only for a squadron of harvesters to suddenly descend on him. He shoots off, telling him that he'll shake them off and then come in for pickup. Shepard and his squad pick off the Reaper forces in the area, before having EDI scan the area for anything that could hinder Hammer's deployment. She states that the Reapers have no need for anti-aircraft defenses, and that Armageddon, the Reaper defending their side of the Beam, is their only defense against aircraft at current. Shepard nods, and tells her to send the all clear to Hammer. Suddenly, Cortez's shuttle darts up above, engine trailing smoke and flames as Cortez is heard over the comm desperately trying to regain control of his shuttle. Shepard widens his eyes as he watches four harvesters descend, Cortez seemingly unaware. He screams into his comm for Cortez to take evasive maneuvers, and the pilot does so. Cortez manages to return fire, blowing apart two harvesters before the third lands ontop of his shuttle, casually tearing off one of the back engines. The harvester then tosses the shuttle into the side of the building, the impact caving the front of the shuttle in on itself as it sits there. The shuttle then wavers, before falling from the building and landing in a heap on the bottom. Shepard runs over to the shuttle and rips the hatch off, but is frozen still when he sees Cortez's broken body against the console, his spine snapped and a piece of metal jutting through back of his head. Realizing he is dead, he closes the man's eyes before leaving the shuttle to inform the squad of Cortez's death. He mumbles a mourner's kaddish, taking off with the squad towards the Firebase.

Chapter 99: And Our Foes Shall Tremble Part 2:

Section 1:

Chapter opens from Primarch Victus' POV. Victus watches the battle onfold, the Reapers carving a path through the Victory Fleet, but not as effortlessly as they have in the past. He watches a Sovereign-Class Reaper destroy a turian carrier, only to be swarmed by four geth cruisers, and subsequently blown apart. A Reaper destroyer lands ontop of an asari destroyer with the intent of crushing it with its legs, but the destroyer detonates its reactor, destroying both the ship and the Reaper in the process. A tremendous explosion fills his vision, and he watches as Jump Zero, the converted Reaper battle station that had managed to snipe at and destroy at least nine dreadnoughts and fifty-three other ships, is destroyed, the main gun of Legion's Gift tearing through the station with ease, gutting the station entirely. Victus muses that victory seems certain, but that they must not ever underestimate the Reapers, and that the Victory Fleet was still vastly outmatched. Victus receives reports that numerous allied ships were caught in the station's explosion, including Osamu Nakumara's flagship, SSV Killimanjaro. Leaving the fleet in command of Didact Veratar, Victus leaves to get ready to lead the turian elements of Hammer down to London.

Section 2:

Section is from Kirrahe's POV. Kirrahe's shuttle descends into London, accompanied by a squad of his men from the First Infiltration Division. The shuttle quickly lands, Kirrahe and his squad disembarking to a chaotic scene as Reaper ground troops rush to swarm the landing Hammer forces. Kirrahe, links up with Captain Riley and 7th Engineers to push back against the Reaper assault. Riley is injured slightly, but otherwise the Reaper assault is pushed back, at the cost of half of the 7th Engineers and most of Kirrahe's squad. Kirrahe informs Riley that reaching Firebase Alpha is all that matters at the moment; Riley nods agreement, and orders the 7th Engineers to move out, while Kirrahe does the same with his 1st Infiltration Division. Together, they meet up with an armoured column consisting of the Alliance 69th and Turian 95th armoured regiments, and join them as they head for Firebase Alpha.

Section 3:

Section is from Grunt's POV. Grunt sniffs the air as he blasts apart a minotaur, as well as the two vampires accompanying it. Wrex joins him, using his biotics to clear the entire city block of a pack of Sirius'. Not long after, a massive krogan division marches through, charging on foot as their tomkahs provide armoured support. Marching further down, Grunt looks up to watch as entire squadrons of Mantis gunships fly over, accompanied by geth dropships, fighters and volus bombers. He watches as a line of geth tanks joins them, carrying geth and quarian troops. Together, they approach Firebase India.

Section 4:

Section is from Jack's POV. Jack sits in the back of an Alliance M41B Smoothhound armoured personnel carrier as it navigates an empty London street towards Firebase X-Ray. The hatch is open, allowing her to sit with her legs hanging out the back. Her students sit silently in the transport, with only two Alliance marines accompanying them. Behind them are several more Smoothhound APCs, all of them carrying the indoctrinated Cerberus soldiers left over from the assault on Cronos Station. Marching alongside are hanar, batarian, asari and elcor troops, along with the odd Blue Suns, Eclipse and Blood Pack merc. Jack just examines the landscape, noting the lack of sunlight due to the dark, black clouds that covered the city. Jack asks what is up with that, and the marine replies that atmosphere seemed to be affected due to prolonged Reaper presence, but that most of the scientists seem to believe that the Reapers also possess the ability to morph and change atmospheric compositions and weather conditions. Jack notes how absurd that sounds, and asks why the Reapers would even bother. The marine states that the scientists believe the Reapers changed the weather to a dark, gloomy setting so as to demoralize the resistance. Jack admits that the darkness is unsettling, as it feels like London is constantly shrouded in night. The marine elaborates that it does rain occassionally, but when it does, the rain is tainted with ash and soot, and is often warm or hot. Shaking her head, Jack simply looks up as the Beam comes into her sight, the clouds seeming to morph and warp around the beam where it pierced the sky, with the Beam itself occasionally pulsing brightly. Jack sighs, rubbing her head as she waits for the transport to arrive at the Firebase.

Chapter 99: And Our Foes Shall Tremble Part 3:

Section 1:

Chapter opens from Shepard's POV. Shepard and his squad arrive at the main gate of Firebase Alpha, shouting at the resistance soldier in the lookout tower to open the gate. The soldier refuses, pointing his gun at them as he says that he can't let them in. Shepard asks why, when the soldier replies that they could be indoctrinated, and that he isn't taking any chances. Shepard tells him who they are, but the soldier still refuses to open the gate, citing that they could be lying to get in. Shepard orders the soldier to get his superior, and he does. The sergeant, an ex-Sergeant from EUDF (European Union Defense Force), appears and looks over the group. He too refuses to let them in, and Shepard is about to contact Anderson when sounds of vehicles can be heard. Turning, they watch as the Alliance 69th and Turian 95th Armoured Regiments arrive, stopping at the gate. A turian marine jumps out, and salutes Shepard, noticing his rank. The turian asks why the gate isn't open, as to which Shepard remarks that the resistance refuses to open it. The turian orders them to, but the sergeant tells him to get fucked, and that they can't risk indoctrinated agents getting inside. Suddenly, a marine major appears, ordering the gate opened. The sergeant argues with the major, but is eventually shoved aside for Coats to yell in the lookout's face. The lookout, finally giving in, opens the gate, allowing the allied forces to march through. Shepard thanks the major, asking for his name. The major reveals his name to be Patrick Coats, saying its honor to finally meet the captain. Shepard responds with the same, and follows Coats further into the Firebase as the rest of the nearby Hammer forces pile through. As he is walking further into the firebase, he comes across a street sign that says "Shuttleworth Road." Shepard asks Coats just how far away from the Beam they really are, and the major states "far enough way to go unnoticed, but not for long." Shepard nods, and they arrive at the central headquarters of Firebase Alpha. Coats declares that seventeen seperate firebases have been established across the Greater London area, varying in size but all developed for one purpose; to house Hammer forces in preparation for inevitable assault against the Reaper ground forces in the No Man's Land. With that said, Coats tells Shepard and his squad that if they need to contact anyone at the other firebases, it can be done through the QEC inside, but to do it quickly. He salutes Shepard, telling him to head up to the HQ when he's ready, as the meeting will be soon; Coats then leaves. As even more Hammer forces arrive, Shepard turns to his squad and gives them a speech about how much of an honor it has been to serve with each and every one of them, and that no matter how tough it got, if he got to work with them again, he would do it again in a heartbeat. He addresses the odds of their survival, and notes that the likelihood of all of them surviving is little to none. He reminds them of all those who have died to get to this point; Ashley, Johnson, Pressly, Jacob, Mordin, Thane, Legion, Kal, Keeling, Kelly and Michel. More recently, they lost Cortez. He declares that more will certainly die, but never must they let up the charge and never must they stop. If a friend falls in battle, pick up their rifle; continue their fight. Finally, he tells them that they are the best family he could ask for. The entire squad cheers, and disperses. Holding Tali's hand, the two of them quietly walk into the QEC room.

Section 2:

Section opens from Jack's POV. After having a brief conversation with Shepard over the QEC at Firebase X-Ray, she returns to running last minute training drills with her students who, by now, are battle hardened soldiers. A resistance member tries to boss Rodrigez around, but some intimidation on Jack's part gets them to back off. Jack admits to her students that she's proud of them, and that together, they're going to kick a lot of ass. She admits that they're more than students to her: they're the children she never got to have, and represent the childhood she was deprived of by Cerberus. Rodrigez is the first to hug Jack, followed by many of the others. Jack, out of sight of the others, feels a single solitary tear slip down her cheek, but for once, doesn't have a vulgar remark.

Section 3:

Section is from Wrex's POV. He gives a grandiose speech before his assembled troops about krogan history, reminding them of the Rachni Wars, and how the galaxy needed them to fight monsters now, and that they're needed to fight monsters again. He points to their new rachni allies, a brood warrior watching them curiously, and orders his men to fight beside the rachni as equals in battle. The brood warrior pulsates, speaking with the voice of its queen, proclaiming its hatred of the 'sour yellow notes'. The rachni and krogan roar in defiance, with Wrex encouraging the uproar. After one final speech, he orders his men to begin mobilization, and watches with pride as his men proceed to mount Kakliosaurs, while others discuss tactics and coordination with another brood warrior. Informed Shepard is trying to contact him, he activates the QEC. Wrex replies, stating Grunt is hard at work organizing the distribution of weapons, armor and provisions when Shepard asks where he is. He remarks at the state of Earth, but says that there'll be plenty of room on Tuchanka for survivors, and a guard dog named Kalros. Wrex straight up orders Shepard to stay alive, stating "you did not do all this fighting only to die. True warriors get to live at the end, and you've got your fair share of living to do." He tells Tali to keep him alive, and salutes the both of them before the comm is cut. Wrex grabs his shotgun, and heads for his own Kakliosaur mount.

Section 4:

Section is from Shepard's POV. Both he and Tali hold hands once more and walk out of the QEC room and into the HQ, where Anderson is waiting. The two of them share a brief reunion before the briefing begins in earnest. Anderson informs them that the Beam is in Hyde Park and to reach it, they must cross the river Thames into the No Man's Land. Noticing Shepard's confusion, he explains that the entire area on the other side of the Thames is infested with Reaper troops, and that no organic life to their knowledge even exists there anymore; all resistance members operate on the otherside of the Thames. Reports estimate that the No Man's Land is swarming with tens of millions of husks, possibly more, and that they must cross 20-30 kilometers of streets to reach Hyde Park. Shepard nods, and Coats states that reaching the Thames won't be a problem, but traversing the No Man's Land will be a bloodbath, as they will have to fight through not only tens of millions of husks, but also find a way to take out Armageddon once they get there to even gain access to Hyde. ArchGeneral Corinthus, commander of the turian troops, firmly declares that staying put isn't an option, and that they all knew this would get bloody; Major Kirrahe agrees. Shepard nods, and says, "I worked temporarily alongside the Primarch's son, Tarquin, on Tuchanka to disable a bomb earlier on in the war. He gave his life to make sure that bomb didn't go off. You know what he said? Victory at any cost. So you know what I'm going to say now. Victory at any cost. We can fight and die, or we can sit here and wait to die. I'd rather go out fighting." Corinthus nods in agreement, as does Coats, who smiles, nodding. Coats simply replies, "No need to convince us. Every person in this room is ready to fight; they've been anticipating this day since you left. Its not a question of should we; its a question of how we can go about it." Shepard nods, and turns to Anderson, "I've got the forces, Anderson. Hammer is reporting in across all firebases; not unscatched, but seventy to eighty percent of the force will be intact enough to launch this assault. The Reapers have huge numbers, but we have the guns. My main concern is how we will get past Armageddon. He needs to go." Anderson nods, agreeing. He goes onto show them a detailed hologram of their battle plan, which involves their forces plowing through the No Man's Land, and getting within a kilometer of Armageddon. From that point, they will bring Armageddon in a similar way to how Shepard took down Oblivion on Rannoch; three task forces carrying mobile geth artillery will move into position. Then, Hammer forces will launch an attack on Armageddon from both sides, triggering the Reaper to enter attack mode and expose its eye. Then, all geth artillery will fire on the eye, destroying it and killing the Reaper. Once done, all Hammer forces will converge on the Beam in Hyde Park, secure the Park and then protect it while Shepard and his squad ascend the Beam onto the Citadel and open the arms for the Crucible to dock. The rest will then be left up to the Victory Fleet. All command officers present acknowledge their affirmation of the plan, and run off to assemble their forces. Shepard and Anderson share one final moment together, before leaving for outside.

Chapter 99: And Our Foes Shall Tremble Part 4:

Section 1:

Chapter opens from Shepard's POV. As Tali, Shepard and Anderson are walking outside, Garrus turns up, requesting to talk to Shepard. He acknowledges this, and Tali and Anderson walk off to continue preparations for the attack; at that moment, a gunship appears, deploying a squad of Eclipse soldiers. Shepard and Garrus share a moment (the one from the game), and swear to meet each other in the bar if they do not make it. With one final proclomation of "No Shepard without Vakarian", the two share a brotherly embrace.

Section 2:

Section is from Koris' POV. Back in orbit over Earth, the tide of the battle is shifting in the Reapers' favor. Koris listens to reports piling in from across the fleet, including one that states Admiral Adina Netanyahu's ship, SSV Aconcagua, has been destroyed by a Reaper destroyer. He quickly orders the Shellen to change course to assist the quarian left flank, which is beginning to fold to the Reapers. Just as their flank faces collapse, Admiral Chang Teoh orders his seventh fleet, as well as the sixth fleet, which is now under his command after Osamu Nakamura's death, into the Reaper attack. Only three Reapers are destroyed however, and the rest manage to inflict heavy casualities on the Alliance Sixth Fleet. Koris requests reinforcements from Gerrel, but the admiral is unable to send any due to focusing on keeping his own flanks from buckling. Nearby elcor and hanar ships offer assistance, and manage to kill several more Reapers back, but not before three quarters of the Sixth Fleet is decimated. However, Reaper reinforcements quickly swarm in, with thirty Raven-Class swipers and seven Sovereign-Class Reapers rushing to finish the job. To Koris' surprise, Teoh orders all ships in the area to retreat to a minimum safe distance, and orders his Seventh Fleet to fall back. Teoh then has his flagship, SSV Gasherbrum, meet the Reaper charge head on as Koris watches on. His dreadnought fires its entire payload of trinity-class nuclear warheads directly into the Reaper charge, managing to vaporize and twenty-two of the Raven-Class swipers, as well as destroying one Sovereign-Class, as well as crippling another. He then continues forward, and detonates the mass effect core of the Gasherbrum. The resulting explosion destroys the rest of the Reaper reinforcements, as well as consuming several more destroyers and a Tarantula-Class troop transport nearby. Koris sighs at the loss of life, but salutes Teoh all the same before having the Shellen reassume battle formation.

Section 3:

Section is from Shepard's POV. Shepard gives the speech (the one he gives to his squad just before the final battle in ME3) to the entire contingent of Hammer troops at Firebase Alpha, and afterwards, they begin to chant "Normandy!" loudly. Shepard, with Anderson, Coats and Corinthus at his side, then lead the Hammer forces through the gate as they begin their march towards the Thames river, his squad beside him as well.

Chapter 99: And Our Foes Shall Tremble Part 5:

Section 1:

Chapter opens from Grunt's POV. Grunt and his troops charge Reaper forces, taking them by surprise by opening with a barrage from their tomkahs. His troops, both mounted on kakliosaurs and on foot, easily slaughter the Reaper troops, Grunt tackling a banshee and ripping its head off. He watches as krogan forces march through, encountering no further resistance from the enemy. He looks up as a swarm of harvesters attempt to get the drop on the krogan, but they are engaged and taken out by geth dropships and Mantis gunships as they provide air support for the ground force. Grunt laughs and follows the krogan, geth and quarian units as they pass through, watching with an even larger grin as the mobile geth artillery cannon drives past, towed by a tomkah.

Section 2:

Section is from Anderson's POV. Anderson lies prone behind a piece of rubble next to Shepard, scouting out the Reaper forces ahead. The Thames can be seen dead ahead, but between them and the dried out river is at least a battalion of husks, cannibals, marauders, vampires, Sirius' and brutes. Anderson radios for all snipers (who are Kirrahe's STG) to pick their targets, and for the infantry to prepare for a push. He hands it over to Shepard, who opens up the attack by charging the husks with his squad, with the snipers in the buildings providing support. The husks charge Shepard's squad, and with that, Anderson stands up, grabs his vindicator rifle, and orders the infantry to charge. Human and turian infantry charge forward, with heavy gunners setting up HMGs and cutting down Reaper forces with heavy weapons. Using grenade launchers and rocket launchers, the infantry line easily crumbles the Reaper line, and Shepard's squad and the snipers help to push them back. With that, Anderson sends Coats the signal, and the human major deploys the vehicles. With turian Tyrant-class tanks and Alliance Makos helping to decimate the Reaper forces, the Hammer forces have no trouble in mopping up the rest of the husks. With the area clear, Anderson orders the rest of the vehicles to move forward, and for all forces to converge on the Thames. Anderson then watches as an Alliance M41B Smoothhound APC tows their geth mobile artillery piece down the crumbled road, hoping silently that the artillery will be effective.

Section 3:

Section is from Zaeed's POV. Zaeed shoves the dead body of a Blue Suns merc off of him, standing up as he recovers from a nearby blast. Turning to the battle site, he remembers that Reaper forces got the jump on them on ambushed them. Turning, he watches as seven Brutes tear apart an Eclipse and Blue Suns platoon, only to be cut down by six YMIR mechs. Elcor, hanar and batarian troops easily manage to hold off a Reaper charge, and Jack and her students have a field day providing support for a company of Blood Pack. Zaeed barks at the Blue Suns to reform their line and push back, and the Blue Suns begin to turn the tide, slaughtering the husks. Turning, he watches Sayn, the leader of the Eclipse, being cornered against the side of an abandoned tomkah. Before he can do anything however, Sayn appears to hack the tomkah's control, and has it accellerate forward. Zaeed watches with a grin as the vehicle rams into a brute, crushes numerous husks under its bulk, and then slams into a building, crushing the brute between it and the wall. The impact causes a huge section of the building to collapse ontop of it, crushing even more husks. Sayn kills the rest of the husks, and Zaeed compliments the salarian on his style. Sayn simply remarks, "Good thing the vehicle was there, yes. Probably would be dead if it weren't." Zaeed just laughs, before grabbing a Revenant from a dead Blood Pack krogan and spraying it into a group of berserkers, grabbing an incendiary grenade and tossing it through a nearby window where husks are crawling out. The explosion consumes the room and all the husks inside, and he rolls to the side as a chimera appears, and swipes at his face. He empties an entire clip into the chimera's shield uselessly, cursing. Jack yells at him to get down, and he does so in time to watch as a YMIR mech is picked up and thrown into the chimera, pummeling it into the pavement. Looking back, he sees Jack mockingly saluting him, and he shouts, "Fucking bless ya, you crazy bitch!" He rolls to the side to avoid a Brute's fist, and he grabs another incendiary grenade, wedging it into the side of the Brute's arm as it passes. He rolls away again as the grenade detonates, blowing off the Brute's arm, before a Blood Pack krogan bashes it aside with a krogan warhammer, roaring with anger as the two clash. Zaeed just laughs, standing up as the battle ends, watching the krogan with the warhammer finish the Brute off by crushing its head with his hammer. Zaeed asks the krogan's name, and the krogan glares at him, answering casually with the name Talyth Kar. Zaeed asks where he got the "fucking warhammer", and the krogan responds with a grin, "It belongs to my ancestors. You think its powerful now, you should have seen it when it was fully powered. The technology that powered it is gone now, but if I found it, this warhammer would be even more powerful." Zaeed states they'll need it, and turns to the rest of the forces as he sees the geth mobile artillery piece just sitting there. He orders them to get moving to the Thames, remarking that they "have a date with Harbinger that I don't want to miss. Its supposed to end goddam explosively."

Chapter 99: And Our Foes Shall Tremble Part 6:

Section 1:

Chapter opens from Hackett's POV. Hackett watches with awe as the battle plays out, watching the Victory Fleet and Reapers fight head-to-head. He also watches with restrained happiness as Foehammer and its Oculi slice through the Reaper forces almost effortlessly, killing them left and right with little to no effort, while its Oculus fighter cover shoots down the Reaper-controlled Oculi at a rapid pace. When he notices Reaper forces forming a defensive perimeter around the Citadel, he orders all available ships to focus firepower on splitting the Reaper line and opening a path for which the Crucible can cross. The McKinley fires half of its trinity-class nukes directly into the enemy perimeter, but only manages to take out three destroyers and a Scarab-Class megacruiser. He prepares to order the rest of the nukes fired, but instead orders Legion's Gift to focus firepower on the first four Scarab-Class megacruisers. Legion's Gift fires its main gun, managing to snipe and destroy three of them immediately. Before it can fire again, the fourth Scarab-Class megacruiser fires, and destroying three of his seven battleships. Hackett is about to order a retreat when Harbinger appears, and destroys even more of Hackett's fleet all by itself. Hackett desperately orders Harbinger to be fired upon, but Harbinger merely ignores Hackett's attacks, and destroys another nine frigates. Hackett orders a full withdrawal when Foehammer appears, accompanied by Gerrel's Heavy Fleet, the elcor flotilla and five geth dreadnoughts. Together, they tear apart the Reaper perimeter, forcing them into retreat. Harbinger and Foehammer battle one on one, but Harbinger ends up victorious, tearing about Foehammer with its "bare hands." Harbinger then retreats under the immense firepower, but not before destroying five quarian cruisers and one of the geth dreadnoughts.

Section 2:

Section is from Shepard's POV. Anderson and his forces arrive at the Thames, and Shepard notes just how suspiciously empty it is. Anderson states that the Reapers drained it to make it harder for resistance forces to cross. Shepard asks how they will cross, and Coats arrives, joking that they're going to do it the old fashioned way using makeshift pontoon bridges. A few minutes later, the pontoon bridges are fully deployed, extended and completed, allowing their forces to cross the river. Soon, all forces are across, and they continue their advance, watching as forces all along the line follow suit, with gunships and dropships simply flying overhead.

Section 3:

Section is from Wrex's POV. Wrex runs through various corridors of a side building, growling as he blasts away the occassional husk. Reaching the fourth floor, he readies a grenade launcher and looks down on the street below. A geth tank is capsized, with another having accellerated into a building, rubble collapsed around it and the main body flaming. Wrex remembers that a mass amount of Reaper forces had ambushed them after crossing the Thames, and that a pack of five Brutes had lifted up and capsized the geth tank. Vampires had swarmed the second tank, got inside and killed the driver, causing the tank to accellerate out of control into the building; chaos had ensued. The vampires and brutes were killed, but a massive horde of normal husks, well over a hundred, swarm towards Grunt's krogan, who desperately fight them off. Wrex takes aim with his grenade launcher and fires, the explosion tearing apart and killing dozens of husks, but barely stemming the tide. One of Grunt's krogan comes out with a flamethrower and flushes their line, but is eventually overrun and torn apart. Eventually, Wrex drops the launcher and uses his biotics to send the tidal wave of husks flying back. This gives the geth enough time to move in, with quarian marines in tow, to set up a defensive position. The husk horde charge again, still over a hundred strong, but are cut down by three geth juggernauts with spitfires. Quarian marines stand beside the juggernauts and pour fire into the enemy line, and the krogan quickly join them. Another geth tank moves up and fires, blowing apart even more of the horde; eventually, the entire horde is killed, giving the force time to breathe. Wrex rushes back down to ground level, and orders an assessment. Grunt states that a dozen of their krogan warriors are dead, as well as several quarians and geth, but the casualities are relatively light. Wrex asks if the artillery piece was damaged, and Grunt says it wasn't even touched. With that in mind, Wrex orders an all forward, and they press on.

Chapter 99: And Our Foes Shall Tremble Part 7:

Section 1:

Chapter opens from Anderson's POV. Anderson and his forces move through the streets, killing off husks left, right and center, although the enemy resistance is relatively light; this worries Coats, who states they are in the No Man's Land, and therefore the resistance should be non-stop. As if to confirm his suspicions, a massive boom can be heard ahead, and the entire convoy stops, much to Anderson's irritation. He demands to know what is going on, and watches as Coats climbs ontop of a turian Tyrant tank, doing so just as the turian gunner pops his head out to see as well. Coats looks down, and curses. Anderson asks what he saw, and Coats looks down to tell him that a building collapsed dead ahead, crushing two of their vehicles and blocking their path. Anderson orders Coats to tell the demolition team to clear a path, as they need to get moving and can't just sit here. Suddenly, a massive series of roars and screeches are heard, and they look up to watch as a swarm of a hundred harvesters descend upon their gunships, tearing them apart. The wing of one gunship is torn off, sending it flying off into a side street to crash. While the gunships are occupied, Reaper troops attack from all sides. Anderson and Shepard curse, and open fire on the flanking enemy. The battle quickly turns into a slaughter as Hammer forces become confused and disorganized, the enemy attacking from all sides. Anderson loses Coats in the confusion, and orders Shepard and his squad to fight their way to the front. The vehicles are abandoned, as they are nearly useless in the tight space. Anderson manage to run into Captain Riley and her troops, fighting alongside a company of turian marines. Together, they rally around the geth artillery piece, with Anderson ordering them to protect it at all costs. He is contacted by Shepard, who tells him that their position is indefensible and they are going to be overrun. Looking around, he watches as the other Hammer forces are gradually overwhelmed and slaughtered. He contacts Corinthus, who tells him that he's ordering a full withdrawal, and he's going to attempt to break through and link up with Hammer Sector Two. Anderson is about to order Corinthus to return when he watches the company of turian marines buckle and fall, a squad of berserkers and a swarm of vampires toppling and ripping them apart. Captain Riley orders the troops to hold, but Anderson finally makes the decision to retreat, stating that Sector One is finished and a lost cause. Captain Riley hesitates, and orders a retreat. Before she can complete her orders however, a Brute knocks her aside, causing her body to slam into the artillery piece and flop to the ground. As she tries to get up, the Brute pins her down by the legs, grabs her torso and then rips her in half. Vampires ensure the rest of Riley's men are routed, and Anderson sprints as he announces over the radio that he is declaring a full retreat, and for all forces of Sector One to scatter and regroup with Sector Two. Turning behind him, he watches as a trio of harvesters grab the geth artillery piece and turn it over, firing upon it. Eventually, the weapon is too damaged to function, and the harvesters fly off. Anderson curses, continuing to sprint. He finally notices Coats, caked in gore, and the two of them run down a side alley over into another street, escaping the Reaper ambush.

Section 2:

Section is from Shepard's POV. Shepard and his squad are fighting when he hears Anderson's orders to withdraw and regroup, and Shepard orders his squad to do as said. Together, they fight their way through the slaughter into another street. He decides that their best chance of reaching the Beam is to head their alone and undetected, and they continue forward, keeping to the side of the street.

Section 3:

Section is from Wrex's POV. Wrex receives the news of Sector One being overrun, and relays this to his men. Having recently beaten back a Reaper ambush of their own sector, and losing most of their kakliosaurs in the process, he tells his men to press on, but to double time it, and proceeds to contact Sector Three.

Section 4:

Section is from Kirrahe's POV. Kirrahe and what's left of his men run into Anderson and Coats, and Kirrahe asks for orders. Anderson states that they must continue no matter the cost, and reminds Kirrahe of the stakes. Kirrahe replies, "No need to remind me of the stakes. STG knows the score. I've said it before, I'll say it again. If you had ordered us to push forward, we would. If you ordered us to retreat, we'd ignore you and push forward anyway. Victory at any cost, admiral." Coats admits that he likes the salarian already, to which Kirrahe replies in kind, and the group continues towards the Beam, deciding to not link up with Sector Two out of fear of compromising their location as well.

Chapter 99: And Our Foes Shall Tremble Part 8:

Section 1:

Chapter opens from Jack's POV. Jack is still shocked over Sector One's destruction, but steels herself and tells herself that Shepard likely survived, and that now was not the time to lose hope. With this in mind, she notes how close the Beam is now, and she asks the asari commander how far they are to Hyde Park. She replies that they are two kilometers away from what the humans call Imperial College, which is apparently where Armageddon is. After one kilometer, Sector One was supposed to stop at Knightsbridge to set up their cannon. Sector Two is scheduled to stop at Thurloe Square to set up theirs and Sector Three, them, would stop at Ashburn Place and set up theirs. From there, all three cannons would have fired at Armageddon; now they only have two, lessening their chances of success. Jack mumbles about "no pressure then", and they continue forward. Zaeed orders everybody to stay sharp, before blasting away at a hiding sirius. After a while, Talyth Kar holds up his hands for them to halt, asking if anyone can "hear that." Zaeed asks what he is talking about, and is soon answered by a massive series of screeches that ring from dead ahead. Kar gives Zaeed a look, and the mercenary nods, saying, "Yeah, well I fucking hear it now." Grabbing binoculars, Jack watches as the grizzled mercenary looks dead ahead. Shortly after, he shouts, "FUCKING HELL!" dropping the binoculars, he turns to the entire force and orders all infantry to set up defensive positions, and for Jack and her students to prepare to provide biotic support. Kar orders his Blood Pack into position, holding his warhammer as he prepares. Jack orders her students into position, and looks dead ahead with wide eyes as she watches a literal tsunami of Reaper troops swarming towards them; thousands upon thousands of husks. Zaeed orders everyone to open fire, as does Jack. She watches as the indoctrinated Cerberus forces open fire as well. The fire barely makes a dent in the Reaper tide, and the Reaper troops soon clash with the Hammer forces. Kar holds off against two Brutes, and manages to prevail over them while Zaeed barks at the vehicles to charge forward to delay the Reaper troops. Jack shouts at Zaeed to not even bother, and tells him to bring the building down. Zaeed nods, and has the vehicles fire at the building. This works, and the building collapses onto the street, crushing all Reaper forces present and cutting them off. As the dust clears, Zaeed tells all forces to prepare to reroute, when Reaper troops suddenly begin to climb over the rubble. Zaeed orders them to abandon their vehicles, and to scatter. The asari commander objects, stating that if they leave the artillery behind, that'll leave only one left. Zaeed reasons that if they die protecting it, they'll lose even more of Hammer; something they can't afford. With that, he orders a full withdrawal, and they scatter; Jack and her students flee into a nearby building as the Reaper forces flood into the street. Reaper husks immediately locate Jack and her students and chase them into the building, which is the ruins of a supermarket. Once inside, Jack and her students desperately try to hold off the Reaper troops, Jack knowing full well they wouldn't be able to outrun them. With her students growing tired and less capable of defending themselves, Jack finally makes a decision to protect her students. She tells Prangley that he's in charge in, and for him to kick ass. He objects, but tells him that it was her honor to teach them, and that she expects them to kick ass in her honor. After a moment, Prangley gives in and he gathers the students as they run away. Jack continues to hold the Reapers off as her students escape. Finally, Prangley radios in to tell her they've escaped. A single tear trails down Jack's cheek, and she grins as she stands up fully, lashing out with biotics and biotically latching onto the supports of the building. She begins to mumble about how fucked the Reapers are, before concluding by yelling, "I AM AN ALL-POWERFUL BITCH!" She then snaps the supports with her biotics, bringing the entire building down ontop of her, crushing both herself and the Reaper forces that are inside.

Section 2:

Shepard and his squad fight through a series of apartments, eventually reaching Thurloe Square where Sector Two is supposed to deploy their artillery piece. Keeping to the sides of the street, they look up to see Armageddon looming next to Imperial College, the Reaper's eye scanning the city skyline for hostile elements. Shepard quickly orders Moses, Javik, Garrus, James and Samara over to the left side of the street to set up a defensive line using the wrecked skycars as cover. The rest of them; Shepard, Tali, Kasumi, EDI, Kaidan, Miranda and Liara set up on the right side of the street using similar parameters, careful to keep out of the eyesight of Armageddon as they wait for what's left of Hammer to arrive. Halfway through, Shepard is contacted by Zaeed to tell him that Sector Three is overrun; this means that Sector Two has the only remaining artillery piece. However, Zaeed has managed to reorganize surviving Blue Suns, Eclipse, Blood Pack, asari, hanar and Cerberus troops and will send the Blue Suns, Eclipse, asari and hanar to launch the diversion attack against Armageddon, as well as the remaining air support they have. He will send Blood Pack, now led by Talyth Kar, and Cerberus to Thurloe Square to help defend the area until Sector Two arrives to deploy the gun. Shepard nods, but orders Zaeed to not order the attack until they are ready. Before disconnecting, Zaeed informs Shepard of Jack's death, and that he is sending the rest of her students, now led by Prangley, to aid the Blood Pack. Shepard is devastated to hear of this news, but keeps it professional and channels the anger he feels regarding her death.

Section 3:

Section is from Zaeed's POV. Zaeed reassembles what's left of Sector Three to push through, but is faced with a renewed Reaper offensive. He uses the geth artillery piece to destroy a large swath of the incoming force, but they keep on coming. Just when it seems they'll be overrun, even with Jack's students unleashing their fury at their teacher's death, a flood of mercenary reinforcements, clad in Talon uniforms, appear and save them from destruction. Aria T'Loak appears, and sarcastically asks for Zaeed to hold his applause. Together, they group up and push forward, the tide of Reaper troops lowering somewhat.

Chapter 99: And Our Foes Shall Tremble Part 9:

Section 1:

Chapter opens from Anderson's POV. Anderson, Coats and Kirrahe's forces, having linked up with the remainder of Durand's unit (although Durand is dead), now push towards Thurloe Square, where Hammer's final attack on Armageddon is scheduled to occur. Arriving at Thurloe, they find the entire area being swarmed by Reaper forces from all sides. The group rush in to assist, with Kirrahe shouting for them to "hold the line!" Kirrahe and his men help Shepard's side, while Anderson, Coats and the rest of Durand's men aid Garrus' side. With their combined gunfire, they managed to hold off the Reaper forces, but the swarm begins to grow, as does the pressure, and ammo begins to lower. Suddenly, an airstrike from a squadron of geth bombers occurs, wiping out a large swath of Reaper troops, and giving the team a breather. Following the bombing, Blood Pack mercs led by Kar storm through, supported by Jack's students and Aria's Talons. Together, they force the Reaper troops on the left side to retreat. Meanwhile, the Leviathan-indoctrinated Cerberus forces arrive to push back Reaper troops on the right side, with four Atlas mechs setting up on the right, and seven on the left. Zaeed radios that his teams are moving into the Imperial College, and will be in position in ten minutes. Anderson acknowledges, and the fight continues as Reaper forces begin to consolidate once again on the left flank.

Section 2:

Section is from Koris' POV. Admiral Koris orders the Shellen back as Harbinger relentlessly assaults the patrol fleet. Eventually, Koris orders the quarian fleet to withdraw behind the geth lines as Harbinger'sassault is backed by fresh Reaper reinforcements, with most, if not all, of the patrol fleet decimated. Gerrel and Koris request a status report from both Victus and Hackett, and it takes a few seconds for either to respond. The elcor fleets have withdrawn to the secondary line, and hanar forces have suffered tremendous losses. The asari and turian fleets are providing cover fire for the retreat of the salarians, who have lost half of their dreadnoughts, and Aria's mercenary fleet has largely been wiped out. The geth have suffered the least losses, but have lost well over two fifths of their forces. The Legion's Gift has been forced to retreat numerous times, and it can't continue to do so; and despite all the Reaper's losses, they have barely lost even a quarter of their available strength. Veretar reminds them that their job is not to win the battle, but only to buy enough time for the Citadel to be opened and the Crucible deployed and activated; the Victory Fleet has no hope of defeating the Reapers single-handedly. Koris and Gerrel acknowledge this, even as Harbinger pursues the battered quarians. The salarian eighth fleet provides fire support for the retreating quarians, but only manages to kill one Sovereign-Class Reaper. Harbinger is forced to withdraw when the Legion's Gift fires its main gun at it, just barely missing. Harbinger falls back, allowing the quarians to turn back and help the salarians push the Reaper pursuers back. With the patrol fleet on the verge of complete destruction, and the Civilian Fleet's safety in peril, Koris makes a split second decision and orders the ship's entire antimatter warhead payload activated, as they have not used them yet. He then gives Gerrel complete command over the quarian military as he orders the Shellen directly into the Reaper formation. Despite Gerrel's objections, Koris simply states, "FOR RANNOCH!" before the Shellen reaches the heart of the Reaper battlegroup, detonating as the antimatter bombs go off. The resulting explosion consumes the Shellen, the entire Reaper battlegroup, kills five hundred other Reapers in the vicinity, as well as accidentally causing some collateral damage in the form of eleven salarian light cruisers and another dreadnought.

Section 3:

Section is from Tali's POV. The fight back in London becomes more gruesome as the intensity of the Reaper attack becomes greater, and the Hammer forces are whittled down. Most of the Blood Pack are dead, and the last of the elcor troops have been killed. Only one Atlas mech remains, and four fifths of the indoctrinated Cerberus soldiers are dead. Kar is battered and injured, but has managed to ruthlessly slaughter seventeen brutes, sixty vampires and a countless number of other husks, cannibals, marauders and berserkers. Tali stays put as she puts a shotgun blast into the chest of a banshee, killing the creature immediately, and allowing Tali a breather, the quarian being exhausted. Just as all hope seems lost once more, Grunt's laugh can be heard. Tali turns to watch as Grunt leads Sector Two's charge into the area, a massive "cavalry charge" of krogan slamming into the Reaper horde and beginning to slaughter them. Wrex quickly joins them with the rest of the krogan, as well as the geth and quarians. A company of geth primes move into position and begin blasting away at the enemy, doing so just as the last Atlas mech falls, and the last Cerberus soldier is killed. Quarian engineers move the geth mobile artillery piece into the middle of the road, and begin to set it up; Shepard orders Tali and EDI to move up to help them, while a geth colossus, and a trio of geth juggernauts, move into position to replace them. Tali and EDI do as told, and help the quarian engineers in setting up the artillery. She watches as five geth armatures take position on the left side, while a swarm of geth hoppers leap directly into the Reaper forces and wreak havoc. A geth dropship moves into a hovering position above, bombarding the Reaper husks from above, followed by a pair of Mantis gunships for the other side. The battle intensify as the Reapers send everything they have to stop Hammer.

Chapter 99: And Our Foes Shall Tremble Part 10:

Section 1:

Chapter opens from Shepard's POV. Armageddon tries to demoralize Shepard through taunts, but none of it succeeds. Armageddon tries to intimidate him by telling him that Harbinger is coming to kill them all, but Shepard once again ignores him and continues to slaughter the Reaper forces, even as they build in intensity. A squadron of Harvesters attacks from above, managing to tear the head off the colossus, but not before the squadron is skillfully shot down by the gunships and dropship. Even more harvesters swoop in for the kill however, and after the gunships score over a dozen kills, one gunship is completely overwhelmed and taken down, slamming into the street. The second gunship retreats out into the open, only for Armageddon to blow it up with its thanix. The dropship withdraws slightly and manages to shoot down the rest of the harvesters, but this allows the Reaper swarm more time to push forward. Two armatures fall to the onslaught, but the company of geth primes manage to compensate. Talyth Kar, after well over three hundred kills, is finally tackled to the ground by three brutes and gutted. Grunt and his forces kill them, and Grunt retrieves the krogan's warhammer, using it for himself. Wrex uses his biotics to keep the enemy at bay, but their line is weakening, and they cannot hold out much longer. Tali states they are almost finished, and EDI backs up this statement. Kirrahe asks how much more time they need, and Tali says at least five minutes. Kirrahe tells them, once more, to "hold the line", and that he will "buy them five minutes." With that, he grabs a grenade bandolier off a dead krogan, straps it to his chest, and sprints forward. He then grabs one of the geth tanks and drives it directly into the swarm. He tells them once more time to "hold the line!" before disappearing into the horde. Moments later, several explosions are heard, decimating the Reaper horde: attempts to hail Kirrahe are unsuccessful, and he is assumed dead. Five minutes later, the artillery is in position and ready to fire, with the cannon carefully locking onto Armageddon and taking aim. Shepard nods, and literally snarls at Zaeed to initiate the diversion. Moments later, tiny streaks of gunfire from both sides in the distance dart out at Armageddon, and obviously ping uselessly off its thick armor. However, the diversion is done, and Armageddon turns around, the plates on its front opening up to reveal its eye. Anderson barks at them to fire the cannon, and they do. A massive lance of purple plasma hurls out at Armageddon, striking dead center with its eye. The shot pierces its eye, guts the inside of the Reaper, and spits out the other side, completely gutting the destroyer from inside out. Armageddon collapses to the ground, toppling into the building to his right, dead. Shepard orders a status report from Zaeed, who says he's alright, but the Eclipse and hanar troops were likely all killed when Armageddon came crashing down. Acknowledging this, and everyone exhausted from the push, Anderson orders all remaining Hammer forces to link up and converge on the Beam, as time is running out. Anderson explains to Shepard that with Armageddon dead, the Reapers will know they are close, and will likely send everything they can muster to stop them reaching the Beam. With that in mind, Shepard knows full well that leaving their rear unprotected would be a death wish, and that they need to leave a group behind to defend it. With that said, he decides to take Tali and Garrus with him, and leave the rest of the squad with the geth and quarians to defend their back door. As survivors from Sector One arrive, he assigns the surviving Alliance, salarian and turian troops to also help defend the area from a rear assault. With that said, he, Tali and Garrus, along with Anderson, board a Smoothhound, while Coats and the others board the other transports and drive past Armageddon on their way to Hyde Park.

Section 2:

Section is from Hannah's POV. Back in space, Hannah Shepard is on the Orizaba, Admiral Arefyev largely barking orders in her ear. Hannah does her best to relay them to the remnants of Fourth Fleet, but receives no response. When asking why, Phillipo informs her it is because there is no Fourth Fleet anymore; its all gone. Hannah curses as she watches the battle unfold, and the Victory Fleet slowly get slaughtered. Suddenly, she receives news from Hackett that Hammer forces on Earth are making their final approach to the Beam, and that the Victory Fleet needs to hold out only a little longer. Hannah sighs in relief, mentally showing her pride in her son's achievement. Suddenly however, Hackett relays news to the Fleet that the Reapers are aware of Hammer's approach to the Beam, and Harbinger itself, along with a small contingent of three Sovereign-Class Reapers, have disengaged from the battle and are heading towards Earth at full speed; he implores any nearby forces to disengage and delay Harbinger before he can reach London. Hannah, seeing as her ship and several geth ships are the only nearby help, quickly seizes command from Arefyev, and orders the Orizaba to follow the geth ships into assuming a position between London and Harbinger; she will buy her son time. Arefyev is demayed at this point, and fruitlessly orders the crew to stand down; no one listens however, and they follow Hannah's orders. With the Orizaba in position with the geth ships, they open fire on the approaching Reapers. Legion's Gift manages to destroy one of the Sovereign-Class Reapers, and the geth ships finish the other two before being summarily destroyed. The Orizaba empties most of its payload, including its last two trinity-class nukes, into Harbinger, but it has no effect, and Hannah watches with relief as Harbinger barrels into the Orizaba, destroying the ship and killing all hands; Hannah, Phillip and Arefyev do not survive.

A/N:

And that...was the final battle. Sucks I didn't get to actually write it in its entirety, but there you have it. Lots of character deaths, but that's expected in the climatic battle of the story.

Next and final outline will be 'Resolution', and will obviously cover the events of ME3's ending, and the immediate aftermath of the war. The week after that, I will begin uploading the outline to V: Ultimatum (what I have of it), and then fill in the rest where I never finished.

Keelah Re'lai, troopers!