"Ungh."

My daily morning routine. Muttering, wincing as my conscious began to wake, grimacing at the fact that I was cruelly being dragged away from my deep slumber. Ripped from the warmth of my covers. The last bastion of pleasure a man had before one's droll morning routine followed. The most awful feeling in the world really. And as I awoke this time-

Oh SHIT, I'm in jail.

With my last memory already at the fore of my mind, I immediately propped myself upright, before quickly finding myself physically unable to. In a quite familiar fashion, my arms and legs were currently locked in place to a chair. Though this chair was slightly more reclined than the last one I was bound in, and about twice as comfortable. A marked improvement surely. And then, as if they had been waiting for this exact moment to occur, the door to the dark lit room was suddenly opened. A lone Turian detective with robin blue tattoos on his mandibles and chin lazily sauntered in, and after seeing his face, I immediately relaxed, realizing things weren't as bad as they could be-

"Woah, hey Chellick! Long time no see man!"

"What...we've done this before have we? Already counting down the days until the next time you got to visit the Academy huh?"

-I had thought.

"...you don't recognize me?"

"I apologize. A lot of perps pass through here every day. To be frank, it's hard to keep track of all the ward rats I meet. Now-"

"What?! No dude, it's me! Shield! I helped you get those weapon mods remember!"

"..."

"From that Krogan Jax? So you could take Jenna off the case? With Garrus Vakarian, that one night at Flux? Remember?"

"...oh shit-"

The Turian immediately clicked something on his omni-tool, thrusting his claw away from the wall, apparently signaling to someone behind it. And that had me impressed. A one-way glass wall huh? That was pretty genius. C-Sec really was next level.

"What the hell are you doing here!?"

I snapped back to the angered Turian above me.

"Oh, well, uh...before this? I was kind of just minding my own business. Right up until some of your coworkers accosted my person. For no reason I might add. And then dragged me here against my will, and I'm pretty sure I've been unconscious-"

"You know damn well what I meant." He glanced at the wall, baring his fangs, before looking back down, hissing the next words that left his mouth. "You're being charged on several acts of terrorism and of impersonating an officer. Your equipment has been taken down to evidence. The Alliance already denies any affiliation with you, and of giving you any of the hardware we confiscated. And after checking the serial numbers on the explosives, they told us that they were all requisitioned by one Captain David Anderson several hours ago, who they're already attempting to track down, so don't try to go down that route either."

"...okay. That's real nice of you to tell me all that-"

"I'm only telling you all this because you're a friend of Garrus, and because I know Garrus wouldn't associate with a terrorist of any degree. So help me, help you Shield. In your best effort, attempt to explain to me what in spirit's name you were doing on the Presidium."

Well...he apparently didn't know said Turian very well since Garrus did just that with Cerberus in ME2... but I don't think disputing that presumption would really help my case here. And now that I found out he was batting for the right team, I decided to pitch him a straight one. Hit him with some knowledge.

"Alright Chellick...Saren is going to attack the Citadel any moment now, it's only a matter of time. And he's gonna do it on two fronts. A fleet of Geth ships are gonna come through the Widow Relay and attack the Citadel fleet while he assaults the Presidium himself with a ground army at his back."

"What?"

"Oh, right, I should probably explain this first. So, Commander Shepard, the Human Spectre, recently discovered that the Relay Monument on the Presidium is an actual mass relay, and that Saren's gonna use its twin on Ilos to bypass all Citadel defenses and attack-"

"That's why you were setting those explosives in the promenade? In front of the Monument? To stop his attack?"

"Yeah, that's right! Blast that bastard and his Geth to kingdom come as soon as they come through it. Ingenious, right?"

"...what happened to you Shield?"

"...you don't believe any of this do you."

"Hah, why would I? You're insane," he immediately scoffed.

Oh geez. So maybe I assumed wrong afterall. Darn.

"Yeah, okay, alright. You don't have me to believe me right now Chellick," I decided to reply. "I don't exactly know his time table, because I don't know how long I was out...but I can promise you it's going to happen any second. And when it does, I want you to come right back here and free me, because I'm the only goddamn person on this goddamn space station who can tell you where that goddamned Turian will be headed once he's invading with his army of walking lamps, and the only goddamn person who can help you stop him."

And while letting me finish my tirade, Chellick had already put some distance between us and was now putting a claw to his face, muttering to himself. Then the Turian quickly brought his omni-tool back online, clicked something, and proceeded to speak into it.

"Alright, relay to Special Response that the incident wasn't a malicious act of terror. The suspect's just mentally unhinged. Yes, call Doctor R'saye. I want it in writing. And transfer him to an empty cell until Lamont and the rest of his team get here."

Mentally unhinged? I might have believed that statement a couple weeks ago. And if a Human officer had been the one to say it instead of an alien. But I was in too deep at this point. Like I'd even accept that now. Mentally unhinged? Hah. As if.

I let out a laugh that caused the detective to look at me sadly.

But whether he believed me or not didn't matter. I was in C-Sec just like I wanted. Just not HOW I wanted. But technically, the point was moot, as I was still exactly where I wanted regardless. The plan was still on course. I just had to-

"Get him out of here."

-wait I suppose. And hope that they hadn't disarmed all those mines already. I mean there was only eight but you can't be too careful with those things. Ashley had also mentioned they were pretty finicky. Tended to explode if you looked at them funny. Oh right. I couldn't help but cringe as I remembered my skull banging into one when I clonked out. But anyway, if they HAD already defused them all...basically, I would be right back at square one. Except now I was locked in jail and unable to do anything about it. Soooo...this probably wasn't a highlight of my adventure. No, yeah, probably a low.

Chellick paid little attention to the two officers who now entered the room as he continued to speak into his 'tool. In a seamless transition, they undid my restraints, hoisted me out of my seat and were done omni-cuffing my hands before I could shout 'Sovereign's going to kill us all!', and then led me out the of the room. We went through some corridors, passed a couple turns, walked by some irritable Hanar preaching for free speech, and eventually, my escorts reached a quite solitary indentation in the wall.

They then pushed me inside, rather harshly I must say, and once I turned back around to face them, I found a glass wall already in place, separating me from them. And without another word, they left, failing to even give me a single goodbye in the process. I mean, you would have thought we were on Noveria with how cold they were. But you know what, if this was an all-time low for me, that means the only direction I could go from here is up!

Or down. There's always down you idiot.

But mostly up.

Yeah, that's the spirit.

Anyway, with a pathetic sigh, I decided to take a seat on the stark white nondescript shape jutting out from the cell's wall. And with time a plenty, decided to go over whether my plan had been the right move after all. Just as a thinking exercise for the future of course, as it was too late to do anything about it now. Though I just want to be clear, I could escape at any time. Probably. They had let me keep my omni-tool after all. Didn't realize it's destructive power I suppose. The fools. And they had let me keep on Harkin's uniform strangely enough. Probably just didn't want to undress me themselves. Could probably come up with some totally sick escape plan if I really wanted to...Yup. Totally could. If I wanted.

But like I was saying before...the plan. Right. As a rando, I wasn't allowed within a kilometer of the Citadel Tower. Avina had said it practically takes half a year for the little people to be able to just visit for a day. Let alone bring in a kiloton of ordinance with them. So couldn't stake out for Saren there. And the only people that would even believe my story and attempt to help were half way across the Galaxy. And even they were fugitive crackpots people refused to listen to too.

So, this really was the best I could come up with on short notice. Take precautionary measures, get some equipment loaned, scatter those mines around the Conduit, report them in, pretend I'm C-Sec, and then get into the Academy and grab the rest of the supplies that I hadn't gotten from Anderson once inside. Though the 'mining' part hadn't gone exactly as planned, at least I was here.

Now, I just needed to sit around until Saren made his big debut.

And hope I still had time to spare once-

A siren went off inside my cell. Throughout the corridor. Throughout the academy. Throughout the entire Presidium. It was loud. The blare of the horn pervaded my ears, my body becoming rigid as it registered it, and I came to realize that the alarm's purpose was unmistakable. But it had all happened quicker than I thought. Too quick. Ten seconds? Ten minutes? How long? How long had it gone on before the next part? Before the chaos? There had been the ruckus. Commotion outside my cell. Yelling. Yelps. Firing. How close had it gotten? How fast had it happened? How-

Red. The floor was red. The cell was red. Everything in eyesight was red. Red light was everywhere. Had life support been cut out just now? Was this emergency power coming back on? Everything had gone dark for just an instant before...and what had happened to the fire fight? How did it grow quiet so suddenly? Where were all the shouts from earlier? All the noise-

I fiercely pounded on the glass but no one came. I yelled and still...no one came. Then I panicked. I threw my omniblade against the glass barricade like a hammer, pounding it and pounding it, but with every strike sent its way, my hand was bounced back effortlessly, glass barely marred by the heat. After my frustration finally peaked, I stabbed my omniblade straight into the partition, and though I grinned as the point melted through, my smile quickly disappeared as I tried to move it. Moving it was like trying to stir molasses in a bowl of honey. I could barely leverage the blade from where it had been embedded. I had to disperse it just to get my hand free.

But I wouldn't be trapped in here. I couldn't be. What had happened to everyone.

Oh god, this had been idiotic. Why had I done this? Why couldn't I have waited? Where was-

A hand suddenly smacked against the barrier violently, causing me to leap back. The owner then heaved themselves into view, breathing irregular as their other hand clicked the cell's release button. A noticeable amount of blue was currently spattered across a black stripe. The academy's siren immediately growing louder as the glass partition was raised.

I then rushed forward to catch the Turian once he began tipping over.

"What happened? Are you okay?!"

Chellick groaned as he quickly brushed me off, stumbling backwards, deciding to support himself with the wall behind him instead.

"They...egh. Haa, haa...I'm...sorry. Mmph. I should of-"

"Shut up. We need to get you help."

"I already...got myself gel...it'll kick in soon," he panted.

"Then tell me what happened? What's going on?!"

He looked at me before sliding to the floor. "You already know."

Dammit.

The Turian took a moment before he looked me in the eye again. "They were fast...they...they hit us before we even knew they were here..."

"They attacked the Academy?!"

"They didn't care about C-Sec...mostly. Most got out before they really swarmed. No...it was Citadel Control they wanted...they destroyed any chance we had with...with communicating with the fleet. After that, they...they pulled out as fast as they came."

"...that's what she said," I muttered under my breath, panicked, mind absent of anything else as his words reached my ears.

Was it already too late? Did I really-

I quickly bit my tongue as Chellick suddenly grunted in pain, and after shutting my eyes in frustration, I decided to kneel beside him, to hear the words he whispered next.

"Saren was leading them. He...dammit. You...I'm sorry I didn't believe you-"

"Why would you?" I replied sadly, sporting a soft smile. "Just tell me where evidence is. I'll find my stuff and try to cut him off before-"

"That's right! You said...you know where they would be headed-"

"Citadel Tower. He's headed for Citadel Tower."

"Hmph...makes sense." He reared back his head, closing his eyes. "The radio chatter before comms went down said its access points were...where the heaviest fighting is. They're trying but...it sounded like Special Response was fighting a losing battle." Chellick grunted, suddenly pushing himself off the ground, refusing my help as I offered. "I'll take you to evidence. Just...follow me...and keep your eyes open."

The Turian was already standing tall with his firearm drawn again, soldiering back out into the crimson red corridor of the Academy before I had the chance to be the of voice reason. But all Turians had that strong sense of duty didn't they? C-Sec, soldier, or civilian. Didn't everyone always say they'd put the safety of society before the safety of their own lives? And in a scenario like this...it was what was necessary, wasn't it? As every one of them are forced to join the military, all Turians know that I guess. Know that sacrifice is necessary in war, isn't it?

Five Minutes Later.

Breathing still ragged, Chellick motioned to me as we neared the last corner, indicating to me that we had finally reached the room. Luckily doing so without incident. The only things we had encountered trekking through the hallways was the occasional body of an officer or Geth platform strewn across the floor.

The detective suddenly grimaced, mandibles flaring after opening the door to evidence, as he found several faces immediately turn toward us. But he had discipline. He refused to open fire, and so, had time to pull his gun away upon seeing that they were just a couple of teary-eyed civilians and officers. I honestly don't know if I would have been able to do the same.

"...are they gone?"

I immediately saw my trolley at the far end of the dark room, two crates still lying atop it. Chellick pointed to where it was, seemingly to tell me that's where all my stuff would be, before going on to answer the officer's question. I wasted no time in taking the long walk across the evidence locker to get to it.

The first crate was left like it was when I last saw it, lid nowhere to be found, a great, big handful of unset Mark 14's still remaining inside. But I wasn't currently interested in those. No, I pulled off the second crate containing my personal belongings instead. For this was the most important. I unlatched the cover and immediately slid the top off, hungrily reaching inside for its contents. I had felt naked without it. Just one stray shot in those hallways. Just one bullet. Without a hardsuit, without a kinetic barrier, it could have been over at any moment. Would be over. Everything would end. Without even being aware of what had caused it. Just like that, boom...I might never open my eyes again. And I shuddered to think of it now. I refused to go out that way. It wouldn't be fair to just have it end like that. After all I've been through, all I've seen. I've come too far for something as pathetic as that. I reached into the crate now, carefully lifting my onyx hardsuit back out. Because if I was going out, it'd be out on my own terms.

You could bet on it.

I stepped into the armor's black greaves and lifted them all the way up to my torso, nestling my boots into the armor's own snugly. It's armor plating was pulled over my head next, being sure to have my arms slide into its bracers. By snapping the latches underneath the ceramic breastplate, joining the two pieces together, the ensemble was finished. I then splayed my hand while pulling back my wrist, making the armor's gauntlet as snug as it could be. I redonned my omni-tool after that was done, which immediately lit up and displayed a message, registering that the suit's pieces were now conjoined.

This hardsuit's VI-

I entered 'approve' without hesitation. My body stiffened once I had, onyx suit just now sealing hermetically, the kinetic barrier activating, its internal parameters being set, Aldrin Lab software taking care of the rest. I then reached into the crate for my firearm next, the one from the very beginning. My trusty...Harpy right? That's what Gellix had called it hadn't he? No, yeah, Predator's were from the year 2185. There was no way I could have had one on me at the start. I had just been mistaken when I found out back on Eden Prime. But when every model of pistol in this galaxy looked the same, could one really blame me?

I immediately cocked the gun, ejecting the last thermal clip used, and holstered it at my side, pistol quickly retracting into a square for easy storage. Strap the rest of the spare thermal clips from Virmire to nocks in my belt. Shield Battery comes out of the crate next, and clicked in place too. Attaches to your back, right atop your generator. Adds more weight, but a good trade for the stronger shields. Found out kinetic buffers are just stims, not suit mods or anything fancy like that. But still useful regardless. Stims that your hardsuit 's VI automatically released when optimal. Increase reaction time, lessen pain, drugs are dope, etc. Anderson said you injected that thru a port in your shoulder. Suit would store it for you, so I did just that. Then came the cold-steel blade I had taken from one shady Turian several days ago, slid into a sheath I had fabricated for it back before Virmire.

And, after that...I had everything I had brought to this god-forsaken station.

I was ready.

But...one could always use more.

"Hey, Chellick...C-Sec wouldn't happen to have any scoped rifles or any other heavy hitting stuff in its armory would it?"

"We have access to some of the most sophisticated weaponry there is. It's what gives us our edge," he was quick to reply. My eyes then caught the large arsenal across from me as Chellick began to approach it. "But the armory is at the other side of the academy. So, we'll make do with what we have here." He then started sorting through them. "A few weapons taken off the Citadel's black markets. I don't think HQ will mind if we borrow some in our current situation."

The Turian, already looking a bit sprier than he did several minutes ago, medi-gel apparently kicking in, took down a particularly tricked out sniper rifle and tossed it my way. And as I caught it, I found the gun looking fairly familiar. Like I had seen it somewhere before-

"Armax Arsenal had a shipment stolen from their docks a couple weeks ago," Chellick replied, next moving on to open a metal container with several cautionary labels stamped all over it.

Armax?

"Customs and I actually just tracked down the thieves yesterday, operating right outside Martho district."

Armax...Armax...Ar- oh hey! That's right! This was that Punisher-series sniper rifle that Garrus was looking at back when Shepard first got her Spectre gear wasn't it?! I'll have to-

"And of course, that was partially thanks to you Shield."

"...huh?"

"After looking at those stolen mods you got from Jax, the techs found heavy traces of mytrokin on them, something Martho's known in abundance for. And after asking around, we quickly found where they were storing it all. Ended up booking the idiots with a simple sting."

"...oh. Oh damn. Glad Garrus and I were able to help you out then-"

"Yeah, anyway, that's why we have these currently on hand. Hope they're 'heavy hitting' enough for you."

I could not stop my eyes from widening once they witnessed the Turian pull two rocket launchers labelled ML-77 out of the shipping container, and begin to drag them along the room's ceramic floor. I had to say, just the sight of them alone really tickled my pickle. I got my hands wrapped around one as soon as I could, being sure to caress it gently as Chellick packed the other one into the empty crate on the trolley. The detective then brought over a few more stolen fire arms that we ended up just throwing in the crates haphazardly, before finally coming to an agreement that we had enough firepower to level a small colony. And after brushing our hands of the matter, the others arguing in the dark evidence locker soon took notice.

"What...what are you planning to do with all that?" a frightened woman was the first to ask.

"You're not going out there, are you? You're injured Chellick!"

"I'm fine Swann," the detective disagreed, hoisting an assault rifle over his back. "I've gotten worse wounds in spats with my mate."

"Were you even listening to the radio chatter? Where are you even planning to go? Those things are all over the Presidium Commons! We can't even leave the academy-"

"Not through the entrance, no," Chellick replied to the officer, already walking away from the shelves.

"...wait what? What are you all talking about?" I asked after hearing them, alarmed at the thought that we wouldn't even be able to leave in the first place.

Officer 'Swann' immediately turned to me, obviously intent on convincing us to stay. "Those bastards are crawling all over the Presidium! When those things first attacked, HQ immediately sent in teams to take it back. And they were all slaughtered before they even touched down! They're all over the grounds, you'll never be able to-"

"Which is why we'll be taking to the air," Chellick retorted, now urging me forward with the trolley.

"What?" the officer flatly asked now.

"I still have my private car out on the roof, and it should have been left untouched. After we load this up, we'll head straight for the Tower with it."

"Chellick, you heard the reports before comms went out right? Every single squad car that's skirted the Presidium's been shot down! They got guns trained on the air! You'll never make it-"

"-inside the Presidium. Which is why Shield and I will be taking a detour through a maintenance tunnel to the outside."

"...outside. Into the nebula. Where Citadel Fleet is currently engaging that Geth Armada? Chellick. I know you like to be outside the box but-"

"Technically, we'll be outside the Citadel."

"It's a figure of speech!" Swann shot back.

"I know," Chellick quietly chuckled from the doorway, before noticeably wincing.

"Hm...yeah, no, I kind of find myself agreeing with him Chellick. I think I like this plan less and less every time I hear more about it-"

"If Saren was heading to the Tower like you said, then he'll be halfway to the Council Chambers by now, even if he hasn't encountered any resistance. Heading straight to the top by air is the only option we have to beat him there. And it'll be the only way we'll get these weapons in the hands of Tower Security in time. Don't tell me after all this that you're bowing out now."

I gritted my teeth, turning away as his words reached my ears. Because he was right. Even if his plan was suicidally stupid. Despite what my wishful thinking would have me believe...the future wasn't written in stone. There was always the possibility that the Normandy might not have arrived in time at Ilos. That Shepard might not make it to the Tower. That Sovereign could win.

I looked down at my left hand, middle finger still noticeably missing from where Gellix had severed it. And I clenched the remaining ones I had tight. After everything I've been through...

Fuck that shit man.

I threw back my head and let out a sigh. Did I really have to remind myself exactly what the hell my name was again?

I decided to name myself Marauder Shield.

And Shield doesn't whine. Shield doesn't second guess himself. Shield doesn't think. Shield just does. Because Marauder Shield's a 100% certified bad ass motherfucker. And it's about time everyone learned that too. Including me.

"...heh. Just missing with you Chellick. I was wondering how I was gonna get up there with the taxis out...you know I'm with it ya bish."

"I'm sorry?"

"Ahem. What I had meant was that I'm in. Let's send these bastards packing back behind the Perseus Veil."

The Turian smiled at me before he passed the small group beside us, continuing towards the storage's exit.

"Even though you were alone, you were still willing to throw your life away, endure life in supermax, all just to protect this station. I didn't think you'd need convincing Shield."

Because yeah, I had enough of letting the universe make the key choices for me. I was the captain of my own ship. Master of my own destiny. Hell, why did it even take this long to get it through my thick head? This was the exact kind of adventure I had been eager for my entire life wasn't it? That everyone wished for? To be the hero of their own adventure? I-

Wait.

"LIFE?!"

"And if this all works out, I might just help you get that sentence reduced to several decades," the detective replied as he walked out the door. "Come on, the parking deck isn't too far from here."

"Chellick!"

Mind still wrapped around the fact that my shenanigans had consequences, I barreled out of the room with the trolley after him.

"God help you, you stupid bastards," Swann muttered behind me as the door's room shut behind us.

Despite my misgivings...there was definitely no turning back after this.

This would be the last mission.

It would all end today.

Fifteen Minutes Later.

"HOH SHIT!"

It would all end today. This view would be the last thing I saw. There was no coming back from this.

"OW," I let out as my head slammed into the window, sky car already beginning to spiral out of control.

"Come on! Hold! Hold!"

The Turian slammed at the controls as the sky car apparently became unresponsive to any of his commands. Like talking to the vehicle would even do anything. Then the car suddenly jerked upward, causing my head to next smash into the roof, but luckily veering us off our catastrophic course into the tower's infrastructure. Not due to anything the driver did however. Rather, I think it had just bounced off the hull of the Geth frigate in our way instead.

The sky car then stabilized once it finally acknowledged some of the fancy handiwork going on, and with control now returned, Chellick made the dubious choice of having the thing continue gunning forward at top speed. Even though the engines of the car were now audibly sputtering, obvious to every soul inside that it was struggling just to stay in the air, let alone continue our long ascent up.

"Why the hell did we take this?!" I decided to finally voice when I managed to overcome the fear gripping my body. "This thing's a piece of shit!"

"What?! The Tess Auburn 2166's a classic! You should thank your ancestors that you even get to ride in one. No, what you should really be asking is what in the world that Geth ship was doing to the surface of the tower," Chellick inquired, alarmingly ignorant of the car's state, deciding to instead take his eyes off the sky and look back over his shoulder at the stationary ship falling behind us.

Now, having seen the ship lowering something out of its bay, and with the meta-knowledge of another dimension, I intuited it probably had something to do with those Geth missile turrets you encounter in the final approach. The one you take after the elevators are shut down. Probably there to help protect Sovereign once the Reaper actually latches on to this thing. Damn bastahds. And those things used to always kill me in the game too, didn't they? Such nonsense. A one hit KO and Mission Failure if you even think of peeking your head out from around the corner, those huge ass turrets sniping you from afar, with giant rockets no less...I wonder how Shepard would fair with them...because hot damn, yeah, those things were always complete and utter bullshit-

"Watch it!" I quickly shouted, surprised to have noticed it first, bracing myself against my seat as part of the tower suddenly erupted in flame, exploding from a stray torpedo.

Pah he decided to say upon turning back around, having the sky car shoot right through the cloud of smoke, Chellick decidedly not giving a single flying fuck as we continued onward to infinity and beyond.

"No one likes a backseat driver Shield," he calmly replied, suddenly swerving the car around a piece of metal now jutting out of the tower.

"Gack-" I uttered in response as my head smacked into the window again, finally realizing that the seatbelts of the car did nothing. "Yeah...well...no one likes a driver who pilots like a gaping dickhole Chellick. I've seen cripples fly better than this-"

"Taking first for three consecutive years on the Tayseri Sky Circuit would say otherwise Shield. Navigating this sky is nothing-"

Both our heads then smashed into the dashboard as the back of the car was suddenly accosted by a great force. One that was particularly violent and explosive. And as the sky car immediately began to nosedive with its engines out of commission, I could only eloquently sum up the situation with-

"Oh SHIT!"

The driver of the vehicle was a tad more collected, deigning to simply yank up on the throttle. And shortly after that...cut the engine.

"Just in time," Chellick then incorrectly opined as the car began to plummet like a rock.

And a lot of things passed thru my mind while the vehicle was in free fall, with the Turian deciding death our only remaining recourse. I wondered what Anderson was currently doing now with the Presidium under siege. Where he might be, if he ever got in trouble with the Alliance for my mishap. If Shepard and friends had reached the underground bunker on Ilos and Vigil yet, if they were even on their way here. If they'd make it in time. Mass effect fields. How did they work? And of course, would dying in a fiery explosion be particularly painful? More painful at least than being mangled in a twisted metal wreckage?

These were the questions my mind decided to ask as we fell to our deaths.

But then...exactly not just that happened.

And I couldn't tell you how he did it.

But as the car was pulled upward, colliding with a tower platform below us, subsequently careened off it, sailed across a gap of empty space with an inordinate amount of hang time in the air, engines still smoking, and then land on a pad conveniently lying adjacent to the previous one, grinding to a halt rather slowly, and extremely close to its edge, hanging off it in fact, fairly precariously...

I could only blink in realization that we had come out of the entire thing unscathed.

And alive. Maybe.

I mean...I'd be fine.

After some therapy. Maybe.

But...yeah. I was never flying with this Turian again.

"Damn!" he was the first to say, already getting out of the vehicle to observe the damage. "...I don't think General Desolas will ever fly again after this."

"...you named your car General Desolas?"

"I know it's controversial. But he was a Turian War Hero. Always got the job done. Just like my baby here," Chellick quickly replied, patting the smoking car.

"You know what. Sorry I asked. Let's just go," I sighed, climbing out of the flaming wreckage next.

"You did good General. You can rest easy now."

After reactivating the trolley in the back, struggling to drag it out of the car, I decided to forego any response to that, deigning to simply get away from it. I was intent on making it to the Tower Entrance before Chellick found a way to get said 'General' back in the air. I rather be standing on my own two feet when I met my end, not trapped in a poorly crafted metal cage of death. And we really didn't have the time to waste either.

"Critical failures detected across all monitored systems. Please begin emergency evacuation," was the first voice that greeted us inside, Avina loudly repeating herself again and again and again as we hurried by. But we really didn't have time to indulge random NPCs, let alone mindless VIs. As I mentioned before, we were on a time table. Ignoring the program, Chellick quickly passed me inside the hallway, rifle already out, deeming it smart to scout ahead for us since my hands were currently preoccupied with pushing the work dolly.

And after some trekking, the Citadel Tower's stairwell was the last obstacle we really needed to clear. Knowing this, we made sure to book it the rest of the way. Chellick silently sprinting ahead as I carried the rear, pushing the trolley after him as fast as I could. Though the cart's mass effect fields were working their magic, the thing was still a pain to move up the insanely long stair case. And when I say insanely long, I mean INSANELY long. So much so that as we finally entered the room where decisions concerning the entire galaxy were made, my face was drowsed in sweat and eyes blinded by it, my legs too tired to even dodge the sudden hail of incoming fire that then came our way.

Chellick immediately rolled away from the side door we exited, taking cover behind a column, while I deigned to just duck my head and collapse behind the portable, yet very convenient, form of cover currently in front of me. And I guessed in spite of our quick shortcut, we had still been just a tad late.

Certainly not the best way to begin the final mission.

Codex Entry:

Tess Auburn 2166

The 2166 model year Tess Auburn received minor trim changes and additional standard safety features, including padded dash and ablative visors, platinum reinforced frame, as well as seat belts for the front and rear passengers. The 660 mid-trim level was dropped, leaving the 550 and 770 models for 2166. Available for the first time was a floor mounted six-speed manual transmission and a secondary dash-mounted tachometer for tertiary engines.

The classics received particular attention to the styling of the roofs for 2166. The two-door hardtop models received a rectangular rear window and more formal, angular "crisp-line" roofline that could be covered with an alloy trim. Classics had an optional trim- an outlined "halo" roof accent color. The X3M's roof area over the cargo compartment was at the same level with the rest of the roof, no longer dipped down as in prior years. This X3M model carried the Citadel insignia and now even featured 83 cubic feet of cargo space. Two wagon seating capacities were available as well: a standard two-passenger version with one-row of seats with a drop-down bottom-hinged tailgate incorporating a fully retracting rear window for accessing cargo, or an optional four-passenger version with two-rows of seats, with a left-side hinged rear door.

Currently considered a Collector's Item after the X3M's manufacturer collapse in 2166, making the Tess Auburn 2166 the last model ever released by Altakiril Air.

Author's Notes:

Mm mm mm. Look's like them Citadel Boys are at it again. Used to be that sky cars stayed in the sky, but not when them Citadel Boys are 'round. Saren's in Citadel country now.

And you thought I couldn't do it. That I'd never achieve it. But after all this time...I've done it. I affirm all letters of the alphabet have actually been used in an appellative action. So suck it haters! Weep over my mastery of the English language! And...wait what? This story has even reached 200 Favorites AND Reviews?! You guys :'(

Reviews:

0/0 - Shield's size is 30'' x 32''. And I don't know how you guessed it, but yes, I do plan to have ShepardxConrad be a thing. Over someone's dead body. Probably Conrad's. As for Connect Four with Wrex, I don't think Shield can even count that high, so I think a game between them would be over pretty quick.

ElvisFonz23 - And I'm glad you liked the chapter man! Your nice words always butter my biscuits. And if you think cliffhangers are awesome, then look forward to the next couple of chapters coming your way lol

Dekuton - I'll be frank. I really do not like it when OC's succeed at everything they do, and in fact, I detest it as much as I detest baby carrots. I mean there are several other reasons for all the failures but I'll save those for another time. And honestly, at this point, it just might as well be a running joke.

Rainy Fear - After reading all that, I'll be honest with you all here...no, wait, actually, scratch that, I won't. I'll also save that explanation for later. But like you were saying however, lack of planning really is Shield's kryptonite. Though I'll reiterate that flaw of his is what makes him so charming, interesting and extremely handsome too. You might look at him and see all his failures, his many, many, many failures, but I will ask you this...oh, tarnation. I forgot what I was going to ask. Oh well. I'm sure I'll remember eventually~

Toothless is Best - Oh, wait, that's right! I was going to ask why everyone's been thinking Shield was trying to blow up the CONDUIT?! Da Fuq? You can't destroy a Mass Relay like dat! Even the bite-size versions! I'm glad I was already intending to walk you guys through his thought process before all this confusion appeared. No, Shield was just trying to plant explosives on the walkway so that Saren and his Geth would blow up as soon as they teleported onto the Citadel. Blow up the Conduit? Haha, y'all crazy.

Pelican Whitestink - You right tho. Dude's got balls so big they'd make a Krogan woman gasp. And I don't know how you guys keep guessing where the story is going. But that's the plan. The Reapers can't reap through the Citadel if there's no Citadel to reap through in the first place *insert Roll Safe meme here*

Doctor 03/20 - But I love the taste of your tears :(

Guest - And I know! Which is why I had to add it as soon as possible. Will Shield ever learn which it is? No, no he will not. And you say that nothing changes saves for his mindset and other character's opinions of him?! What else is there that one can change?!

AJ - I love that you love this story and hope you will continue to write more soon!

Blind in a Butthole - And think I wouldn't respond to each and every individual review you submitted too bro? Think again. In order: True. He really should have died by Chapter 3. But there are no deaths as epic than the ones that happen under Shepard's command. Nuclear Blast? Exploding into fairy dust after saving a Doomed Race? Stabbed to death by a Space Ninja? All good ends. And Renegades are really the only option a Shepard can truly take, because how else could one genocide four different races in one playthrough? Duh. Shep might also be a prick, but she's OUR prick. And I don't care what you say about Space Racists (or Speciests), Humans R00L, Aliens drool. Fact. And I still can't believe there are people out there who never heard the Commander Shepard Song. It's depressing. And while your next comment is astute, I can tell you that once Shepard'd know the Broker wants Shield specifically, she'd then wonder why if everything he said had been false. And True. That he did. But...didn't Stupid Shifty Turian get the better of all of us in the end? Ah, you'll learn more about him later. Though by the time you read this, you'll have already learned about him several chapters ago. And in fact, you won't even see this until you finish another 20 chapters. Doh. Stupid review as you go along format. I wonder if I should go back and add this in to Chapter 23 for him then?

...no, you guys are right, that'd be too much work. I'm sure he'll be fine.

Gee willikurs. This story would literally be cut in half if you got rid of all these AN's. But of course, if that were to happen, then I would just go insane from seeing all the comments and being unable to reply to any of them. And I know you guys would all spiral into depression if you didn't get to see my various witticisms and totally hilarious jokes in them. I mean, that's the only reason you all really read this right? ...RIGHT?!

In the next chapter: The Closer is Close.

Tune in Next Time on Mass Effective: A Hero Made!