A/N: Wow, been a long time since I last updated but here it is! I hope you enjoy it. There is a lot of switching between POVs and minor character death. You have been warned.
Elissa ran back to the crew, Cerberus were not going to harm them or anyone else, not while she was around. She could feel the eyes of her crew on her as she entered, she ignored the confused looks and instead focused on getting everyone ready, her first thought was buying the civilians more time. That would mean weapons and lots of them, so she started charging for the nearest workbench, her back turned to the crew as she barked orders.
"Vega! Get all the weapons you can find, incendiary devices, anything we can use," she commanded as she reached for her assault rifle on the workbench. "Miranda, run back to the civilians and make sure they're alright, if necessary prepare to evacuate them to the Normandy. Jack, Garrus, Steve, you're with me and Vega, grab a weapon and some ammo. Joker, get to the helm and be ready to leave at a moment's notice. Cerberus is here, people, this is not a drill!"
The crew stood there for a few moments just looking at her as if she had gone absolutely mad, the danger had still not registered in their minds. Elissa turned around, unable to believe that her crew was still just standing there. "Did I suddenly lapse into Japanese?" she demanded, her eyes flashing dangerously. "Move it!"
There was a flurry of movement then, each person trying to get to where Elissa had commanded them, only Joker refused to move from his spot. His eyes were trained on her turned back, he was not about to leave her willingly, he could not bring himself to.
"Joker, you need to go," said Elissa after she noticed that he was still where she had last seen him, his chair had not moved an inch.
Joker shook his head. "Yeah, that's not going to happen."
She did not have time for his usual stubborn attitude, but she was not going to get into a heated argument right now. "I need you at the helm now, you're the only one who can get us out of the fire." Elissa saw he was ready to argue but she cut him off. "I'm not going to argue this with you, Jeff, either you go or I'll make Cortez pilot."
"Fine," grumbled Joker, he moved his chair to her side, taking her hand in his and holding it with a strength she had not expected, "but you better get out of this in one piece."
Elissa leaned down and gave him a brief kiss. "I promise, now go."
Reluctantly Joker pulled away and headed for the elevator, he forced himself not to look back, if he did he would never leave.
She watched him go, her heart physically aching as she saw him leave, she might have promised him that she would come back in one piece she knew it was an empty promise. Right now she was preparing for what was probably going to be a hard won battle and there would be casualties, there was no getting around it, for all she knew she might very well be one of them. She was so absorbed in her thoughts she did not see James as he moved beside her, he was reaching for anything and everything that might be needed for this fight.
"I can't believe they're here," growled James as he stuffed some extra rounds in his pockets, his voice bringing her from her thoughts. "How did the pendejos know we were on Rannoch?"
Elissa was now throwing belts of grenades over her shoulders, reaching for her pistols and shotgun. There was no time for armor. "I have no idea, but I'm not about to let them harm innocent people, if they want a fight, I'll give it to them."
James nodded in agreement, he followed her lead and started grabbing whatever was within reach, a determined look fixed on his face. "Lets make them regret finding us."
"We will, Vega. I need to get ahold of the Quarians, they might be able to help the civilians on Sol base," said Elissa and she activated her omni-tool. "EDI, patch me through to Admirals Gerrel, Koris, and Raan. Also, monitor the Cerberus shuttles, let us know the moment the soldiers start their charge on the gate."
"Of course, Shepard," said EDI overhead. "Patching you through."
There was only a moment's pause before the images of the three admirals appeared on her screen.
"Commander," said Gerrel, "we were just about to contact you, we noticed a huge fleet of shuttles entering the atmosphere. Have you seen them?"
She sighed heavily as she stuffed another grenade into her belt. "I did, they're Cerberus shuttles and I can only imagine why they're here."
"Cerberus!" exclaimed Raan. "How can this be? We thought they were destroyed after you infiltrated their headquarters and the Illusive Man was killed on the Citadel."
Elissa rolled her eyes, she really did not have time for this bullshit. "I thought the same damn thing but if you have some other explanation for why there are dozens of shuttles flying in under Cerberus colors, I'm all ears."
Raan looked like she was going to argue but Koris stopped her. "This isn't the time to argue, Cerberus or not this is a threat to everyone on Rannoch. From what our initial intel has discovered, they appear to be readying for an attack against Sol base. What help can we offer you and your crew, Shepard?"
"Any reinforcements would be appreciated," said Elissa, grateful that someone was taking this threat seriously. "We're spread kind of thin out here, and we have civilians that need to be protected or evacuated. I'm not sure where Cerberus has landed or when they're going to attack but we need help, I only have about four people with me that are trained for combat."
"We'll do what we can," said Gerrel. "I believe Kal'Reegar is close by, I'll send him over as soon as we are able to reach him. Are you in a decent defensive position?"
"As far as I can tell, we should be able to hold the line," said Elissa firmly, she briefly remembered Captain Kirrahe and his long speech where he said the exact same phrase several times. "We can use the platform above the gate as our line of defense, the Normandy is in a key spot where if needed, we can make a retreat. I hope it doesn't come to that but it might. Our first priority though will be getting the civilians to safety, most are probably going to end up on the Normandy others will be evacuated to various cities on Rannoch."
"I'll see to the arrangements," said Raan, nodding for emphasis. "I will have our shuttles deployed as soon as they are able, just don't shoot them down when you see them."
"Fine, whatever," said Elissa, her temper and their time was getting shorter and shorter the longer they spoke. "Just do what you have to, I actually have something to do." She cut the connection and growled.
"Let me guess, they're about as helpful as the Council used to be?" asked James when he heard her growl.
Elissa gave a sharp nod, her jaw was set, she did not trust herself to speak not sure what would come out of it at this point. Instead she strapped a holster to her thigh and put a pistol in it, she had never gone into battle with so much fire power but she had a feeling it was going to be necessary. This upcoming battle did not sit well with her, she could feel her stomach churning with the same uneasiness she had when they were on the SR-1 when they were searching the Terminus, and she knew how well that turned out.
"Scared, Lola?" asked James casually as he loaded another submachine gun.
She was silent for a few moments as she loaded some back up clips, not sure what she should say right now, so she settled for the truth. "Damn straight," she said in a wavering voice. "This was the last thing I expected to happen."
"Don't worry, mi hermana mayor," said James kindly, reaching over and placing a hand on her shoulder in an effort to comfort her without making it obvious. "We'll get through this, we always do."
"I hope you're right, Jimmy," said Elissa, her voice full of uncertainty. "Still got my back?" She looked up at him and mustered the best smile she could under the circumstances.
He returned her smile. "Always, Lola."
"Hey, Shepard!" shouted Jack as she walked over, she too was draped in belts of ammunition with several guns strapped to her body. "Aren't we ready to go yet or are we taking our sweet time? I'm sure Cerberus is already at the fucking gates while we sit here and screw around."
"Cerberus is still two and a half kilometers away, Jack," said EDI overhead. "I would, however, suggest speeding up the preparation process so you are able to get the best position possible on the gate. There are only two ladders that lead to the top of the gate and you are carrying an excessive amount of weight on you even without your armor, so allowing for ample time would be in your best interest."
"Thanks, EDI," sighed Elissa, she pushed the clip into her assault rifle and was ready to go. "Guess it's now or never, people."
"Have some confidence, Shepard," said Steve as he approached, he had an assault rifle in his hands and some pistols strapped to his hips. Even though he spent most of his time as a shuttle pilot and rarely saw ground combat, looking at him now, no one would have ever guessed. Elissa was actually very impressed with how he looked, and under different circumstances she might have suggested he get a career change.
"Everyone ready to kick some Cerberus ass?" Garrus asked as he set his rifle, ready to fight.
Jack nodded, she looked the most enthusiastic besides Garrus. "Hell yeah, Vakarian! I was fucking born ready!"
"Come on, pendejos, let's go kick some ass!" shouted James, raising his gun in the air.
Standing there with her family-in-arms, ready to take on their enemy together, Elissa felt her confidence rebuilding itself. While they were about to charge into battle once again, they would not be alone, they would have the support of each other as they faced impossible odds though not for the first time. Knowing they were going to be by her side was enough for her to get through this nightmare, this had always been her way of getting through, having her family at her side. They ran from the Normandy and towards the gate, ready to take on Cerberus.
Joker sat at the helm, he had brought up several screens including the usual channels where the squad's armor feed would appear, so far there was nothing but that was only one of his problems right now. He was trying to get in touch with Miranda so he could forward her the information he had been sent by Admiral Raan, but for some reason she was not responding to his messages or the calls he was making to her omni-tool, and this was proving to be a hinderance since they were supposed to be coordinating evacuations together. "EDI, do you have any idea why Miranda isn't responding?" asked Joker as he cut the connection for the tenth time.
"I do not believe she has her omni-tool with her," replied EDI's blue orb, her body was still with Samantha on the shuttle. "I would suggest trying to contact Jacob and Doctor Chakwas, they might be more suitable for evacuating the base."
"Thanks, EDI, can you get them on the line?" asked Joker as he adjusted his position.
"Yes, just one moment," said EDI.
He did not have to wait long, less than a minute later he was connected to Jacob and Chakwas, neither of them looked particularly happy.
"I'm guessing you heard," he said, his voice flat as he spoke. They both nodded simultaneously.
"We heard the sirens and just saw Shepard with the others sprinting towards the gate, each one looking like they were a walking armory," said Jacob sternly. "Whatever this threat is, it has Shepard's attention now."
Joker sighed heavily, he did not want to tell them but knew they needed to know. "It's Cerberus, they're back. Shepard confirmed it and so did EDI, the shuttles have the same insignia we're all too well acquainted with."
Chakwas' eyes went wide and Jacob looked like the wind had been knocked out of him, this was obviously not the answer they had expected nor one they had anticipated hearing ever again.
"Are you sure?" asked Chakwas nervously. "Maybe it was a trick of the light or something, they can't possibly be back."
He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Doc, but neither EDI nor Shepard are ever wrong. Our priority is getting our families someplace safe, EDI's already informed me that the Quarians are preparing to help with evacuations but we need people in charge of this process. That's where the two of you come in, you are probably the most well organized, tactical people we have on the crew besides myself and Shepard.
"You need to organize the civilians into groups based on destination, I'll forward the list of places the shuttles will take the population I was given by Admiral Raan. One group needs to be for those leaving on the Normandy and they need to be only family members of squad members. We have limited space as it is and putting additional unnecessary people on board won't be doing us any favors. When you have the groups put together, put them in various safe locations around the base and forward the locations to the shuttles so they know where to pick them up."
Jacob nodded. "Understood, Joker. What if there is resistance from family members? What if they want to go with us on the Normandy?"
Joker took off his cap and ran his fingers through his hair, this was going to be one of those tough calls he hated being in the position of making. "Tell them while we understand they want to go with their family member, it is not possible at this time and if they don't leave, they'll have their brains blown out by Cerberus soldiers."
"Jeff!" snapped Chakwas. "We can't go around telling them that, it's insensitive and disrespectful. We need to keep them calm."
He pinched the bridge of his nose as hard as he could without breaking it, anger and stress bubbling up inside him like a volcano. "Look, we're about to be attacked by one of our worst enemies, we don't have the luxury of being absolutely diplomatic. If you don't like my phrasing, come up with your own but get the fucking message across that this is not the time to fuck around! They can bring a small rucksack of necessities but nothing more!"
"Alright, Jeff," said Chakwas gently. "We should get started, I already hear gunfire."
"Oh, and no crew members can leave with their families, we need all hands," said Joker sternly. Jacob and Chakwas both nodded.
"We'll see you after this mess is dealt with," said Jacob with confidence. "Taylor out."
"Chakwas out," said Chakwas.
Their lines went to static and Joker closed the screens. He fell back against his chair and started rubbing his eyes, no one was taking this threat as seriously as they should be and it was starting to piss him off. He shook his head, now was not the time to lose his temper, now was the time for calm heads and strategy. 'Time to find Hilary,' he thought to himself as he brought up the shuttle's communication's channel. "Normandy to Kodiak do you copy? I repeat, Normandy to Kodiak do you copy?" said Joker as calmly as he could. The last he had heard from his sister, she, Kolyat, Samantha, and EDI's mobile platform were flying over Rannoch on some kind of tour of the planet just before the Cerberus shuttles had entered the atmosphere. The line was still static even after a couple of minutes, this worried Joker a great deal.
"EDI, what's the Kodiak's status?" he asked, mentally kicking himself for not thinking of this sooner.
"Currently my mobile platform is assisting your sister in piloting the Kodiak," replied EDI. "The Kodiak is being fired upon by several enemy aircrafts though Hilary is doing an impressive job of avoiding the more deadly shots."
Joker paled, while he was glad they were not dead on the ground somewhere, he did not want to think of his little sister being caught in the middle of battle. "Holy fuck!" he shouted and with a renewed effort tried to get through to the shuttle. "Normandy to Kodiak, do you copy?! I repeat do you copy?! Hilary, answer me!"
"Jeff!" shouted Hilary, she sounded winded and terrified but she was alive.
Joker practically jumped out of his seat he was so thrilled to hear her voice again, while he might not be able to see her at least he had audio. "Hilary! I'm so glad you're alright! What the hell's going on up there? I need a status update right now!"
"We were ambushed by several Normandy class ships," said Hilary and Joker could hear the strain in her voice, she was trying to pilot and talk at the same time but the tasks were proving to be difficult to do simultaneously. "Nothing vital has been hit but we are taking some minor damage, we've somehow managed to avoid some of the more deadlier beams. Who are these guys, Jeff?"
"Cerberus," said Joker, by now it had become a mantra though not the kind that would calm a person down.
"What?!" exclaimed Hilary. "Are you fucking serious?!"
Joker nodded his head then remembered she could not see him. "Yeah, I am unfortunately. What's your current location?"
"Somewhere close to the main Quarian settlement," she said and he could tell she was saying it through a somewhat clenched jaw. "We're trying to get to the Normandy but we're in too thick, we might have to break from the atmosphere and meet up with you in space."
"Okay, that sounds like a good plan," said Joker calmly though he was screaming inside his head, his heart and mind fighting over what he should do. His heart was telling him to start the Normandy and go rescue her while his mind was telling him he needed to stay where he was so he could be there for the civilians and Elissa. Ultimately his mind won out, but not by his choice.
"Don't try to rescue us," said Hilary sternly as if she were reading his mind. "We have EDI with us so we should be able to get out of this alright, you need to stay and keep Lissa safe."
Joker laughed, he could not help himself. "We are talking about the same Commander Shepard, right? Besides that, why are you giving me orders? Shouldn't the big brother know what should or shouldn't be done?"
"Only when the big brother has his head on straight," said Hilary with a smile in her voice. "Please, Jeff, just stay put. We're going to be alright, I'll be home in time for dinner."
"You better, or I'll kick your ass like only a big brother can," replied Joker, he was smiling through the tears that were starting to form in his eyes.
Hilary's laugh came through loud and clear. "I will, Jeff. I'll try to check back in with you in ten minutes."
"Good girl, you remembered Mom's rule," he said as he wiped his eyes, now was not the time for tears. "I love you."
"I love you, too," said Hilary and then the line went to static.
Joker was silent for a few moments just staring at the screens as they flashed by, not really reading what they were saying, just thinking about his little sister and how much she had actually changed since the last time he had actually seen her. It was not only how she had physically changed but mentally too, she had matured so much in a year she was almost unrecognizable as the little sister that used to tag along behind him and ask more questions than he could answer. 'Now's not the time to reminisce,' he thought to himself and now he focused on the feed that was coming in. In the background he heard several grenades go off and he could only hope it was Elissa and the others throwing them and not receiving them.
Elissa climbed up the ladder as best as she could, EDI had been right about the extra weight being a huge factor in their speed, perhaps when they were on the platform they could take off the grenade belts and some of the ammunition. When she arrived at the top she surveyed their platform, it reminded her of the barricade she had protected on Menae during the war. There was a decent expanse of platform so they could spread out, there was a type of barricade put up that they could duck behind and use as a type of shield. What pleased her the most was this was the highest point on the base's wall and they could see a fairly long distance so whatever was coming for them would be seen long before it hit.
"What do you think, Lola?" asked James as he started taking off his belts of ammunition, setting them beside him, he had apparently found the spot where he was going to defend the base from and was making himself comfortable.
She started doing the same, picking a spot near the end so she could attempt some kind of flanking maneuver if needed. "It's not a bad spot, there are some weaknesses of course, such as the somewhat short barriers we've been given as a shielding mechanism with the gaps in between. I wouldn't mind a few crates, at least at the less protected areas at the end, but at least no one from the outside can enter without having to go through us and we have the high ground advantage."
"Blah, blah, blah," said Jack as she activated her biotics. "All that matters is we blow Cerberus to hell and do it before dinner, I don't think this is going to be a long, drawn out fight. At least, not if I have anything to say about it."
"Well you don't," snapped Garrus as he tested and adjusted his scope. "Shepard's our Commander and we follow her lead, she's in charge of this assault, not you, Jack."
Elissa swallowed hard as she struggled to put her adjust her assault rifle to fire incendiary rounds, she still had not told anyone about her dishonorable discharge from the Alliance but right now did not seem like the best time to mention it. "Our priority is getting the civilians to safety, not fully decimating Cerberus forces, for all we know this could be an army of mechs that can be easily replaced. We need to treat this as a defensive battle, not an offensive one, the Quarians are sending reinforcements so they will handle the offensive."
Jack gave a very audible sigh, showing her displeasure at this plan. "Fine, whatever. Just don't expect me to be happy about it."
"Since when are you ever happy, Jack?" asked Steve as he set up his position between James and Garrus. "Oh that's right, only when baby bunnies are being hunted and killed in brutal ways."
"You know, for being only a shuttle pilot, you certainly have a set of balls," laughed Jack. "I'm starting to like you more than I thought I would, Cortez."
"I guess I'd rather be your friend than your adversary," chuckled Steve as he handed some disruptor ammunition to Garrus.
"If you know what's best for you," said Garrus, glancing over at Elissa and winking at her.
She smiled back and then pressed her earpiece. "EDI, what's Cerberus' current position?"
"My scans indicate there are several dozen foot soldiers headed to your current position," replied EDI in her ear. "I have also detected several Normandy class ships orbiting Rannoch, currently the Kodiak is engaged in battle with them."
"What?!" exclaimed Elissa, causing the others around her to jump. "You mean the same Kodiak that is currently carrying your mobile platform, Sam, Hilary and Kolyat?"
"Yes, I do not believe there are any other Kodiaks active at this time," said EDI, she sounded almost confused by Elissa's questions but she did not say so.
A cold chill went down her spine, this confirmed her suspicion that they were not there to capture but to kill and they were not discriminating. "Keep the Kodiak safe, EDI, that's a direct order," said Elissa fiercely, there were too many important people in that Kodiak for it to be lost.
"Understood, Shepard," said EDI. "Good luck."
"Same to you," said Elissa and she let go of her earpiece. She glanced over and saw eight eyes on her, all seemed to be waiting for her report. "The Kodiak's under attack but it sounds like nothing serious has happened and EDI says the foot soldiers are on their way in massive numbers."
James whistled softly. "Damn, I think we're going to need more than just five people to hold this position, Lola."
She nodded, James was right, they would need the entire squad but that was out of the question at this point in time, they were divided between too many places for that to happen. "I agree with you," she said in her Commander's voice, "but that's a luxury we don't have right now, I'm sure if needed, we can call on some of the crew. Don't focus too much on what we are lacking, instead focus on making what we have work."
"Do we even know where everyone is?" asked Steve.
"I know Tali's safe," said Garrus, his voice becoming noticeably quieter. "Liara was in the ship with Talissa and Athyeta last I knew, the rest are pretty much here on the base just in different areas."
"And they need to stay there so they can help with evacuations," said Elissa sternly. "Our job is to serve as a means of giving the civilians enough time to get away from here while managing not to be overrun."
"Which is why you have us," said Steve, smiling at her. "You need the best at your side and that's exactly what we are."
James smirked at Steve. "You talk pretty big for a man who hasn't seen much action on the ground, Esteban."
Steve readied his gun as if he had been doing it for years. "I'm full of surprises, Mr. Vega."
"How about some friendly competition?" suggested Garrus. "The one who kills the biggest target wins and the losers have to polish his weapon and buy him as many drinks as he wants."
"I like the sound of that," chuckled James. "How about it, Esteban?"
"Sounds good to me," said Steve and he shook hands with Garrus and James to cement the deal.
Elissa smiled to herself, to anyone else this would have seemed incredibly unprofessional and like they were not taking the threat seriously, but she knew better. This was how they dealt with a difficult situation, they cracked jokes and talked down the threat as a way of calming their nerves. They had fought like this since the beginning, Garrus and Wrex having a similar competition whenever they went out to an extremely Geth filled area, this was just how things were done on the Normandy. It was not like they did not think the threat was serious, on the contrary, they knew exactly how dangerous this was. They were just trying to keep some humanity involved, otherwise they would just be killing machines merely following orders.
"Shepard, the Cerberus troops are closing in," said EDI from out of nowhere, causing Elissa to jump.
"Garrus," called Elissa, barely able to keep her voice from cracking with nervousness. "Check the horizon, EDI just told me the troops were closing in. I want to know what to expect."
The crew immediately looked over the barriers, even from their respective positions they could see the very large mass of what they knew were soldiers making its way towards the base. They were going to be at the gate in a matter of minutes.
Garrus nodded and positioned his sniper rifle so he could see through the scope while still being somewhat covered. "There appears to be two rows of Guardians in the front, assault troopers behind them, I see a few engineers scattered throughout. Centurions and Nemesis at the rear. They came to play, Shepard."
"And so did we," said Elissa firmly. "Dispense of the Guardians as quickly as possible, as they are right there in front. Don't worry about what's at the rear until they get closer to the front lines, keep an eye out for any incoming reinforcements for either us or Cerberus. As soon as you can see them beyond a mass of people, start firing."
"You got it, Lola," said James then he reached over and took her hand. "We'll win this, don't doubt that for a second."
Between the seriousness of his tone and the sincere look in his eyes, Elissa barely stopped herself from throwing herself into his arms and telling him everything she was keeping from them. She wanted to unburden herself but this was not the time or place, right now she needed to be Commander Shepard even if it was only in persona. "Thanks, Jimmy," she said though her voice cracked.
"I see the shields!" shouted Jack and she immediately started unloading her pistol.
Elissa rolled her eyes, somethings never changed and Jack's eagerness for blood was one of them. She took a deep breath and lifted herself from behind her barrier, she could see the white metal shields of the Guardians in the front, taking careful aim she fired through the thin slot. It was a direct hit. She knew it was when the man staggered backwards, opening himself up for a better shot which she took complete advantage of, firing into his chest setting him on fire. When he fell, it opened up an empty spot that exposed the sides of two Guardians.
"James!" she shouted and he knew what she meant. He took one of the Guardians and she took the other, they both fell before they could close the gap left by their fallen comrade. Jack used her biotics to knock shields out of the hands of a few Guardians, Garrus and Steve were quick to fire on the ones she exposed. They kept this pattern up, the five of them teaming up tactics in order to take down the front line, leaving one more line of Guardians left when they were finished, but what happened next made Elissa very concerned.
The mass of soldiers stopped marching when they came just about one hundred feet from the gate, the Guardians moved forward a bit more then stopped while the others spread out. They took cover behind various rock formations, making this even more difficult than it was initially going to be. When they were in cover, the Cerberus troops started firing at them, which her crew readily met and returned fire just seconds later, they were as ready for this fight as their enemy. She looked just beyond the Guardians and saw the engineers were already setting up their turrets, they were going to be in a group which would mean an unchecked group of weapons free to fire on the gate. There was only one way to make sure these never were given the chance to work. Ducking down behind her barrier, Elissa reached for a couple of James' grenades, being very careful not to let her bare hand be exposed too long as she moved it between barriers. When she had both grenades in her hand she quickly pulled them back to her side and then slowly glanced over her barrier to see where the turrets were.
With just a brief look she had a good idea where she would have to throw the grenades, she glanced over at James who was reloading his weapon and when he saw what was in her hands, he nodded. She was ready to toss the grenades. The rings were pulled and she jumped up from behind her barrier and tossed the grenades as quickly and accurately as she could without being shot in the process. They sailed through the air and landed right where she wanted just as she ducked down, the explosion shook the ground and she could hear the shrapnel landing all over the place. 'I hope no one was hit in the base,' she thought as she readied her assault rifle.
Jacob shook his head as he read the information Joker forwarded him, there were only three shuttles coming and they had a large group of people to get organized, this was not going to be easy. Especially since there was already gun fire being exchanged and the civilians were already nervous as it was. They had managed to corral everyone into the main building so at least they were together, various squad members were standing at the perimeter around the civilians who were sitting down at the tables, making sure they were not causing trouble. What needed to happen now was dividing the massive population up between those going on the Normandy and those leaving in the shuttles Raan was sending. He was not looking forward to telling them they were being divided up.
"Alright!" he shouted, trying to be heard over the murmur of the crowd. "Can I get everyone's attention please?" The room quieted and all eyes were on him. "Thank you," he said and then continued with what he had prepared. "Okay, we have only a few minutes to do this and I don't want to waste a second. As you know, we are under attack by Cerberus forces, currently Commander Shepard is engaged in combat with them. She has arranged for all of you to be evacuated to various places on Rannoch, but you cannot all go at once, you are going to be divided up into four groups. Each group will be accompanied to each safe location by two Normandy troops. When the shuttle arrives, you will get on without argument and be sent off to the various cities that have been agreed upon." He stared into the crowd and was pleased to see that no one looked ready to argue. "Group one, you are Tuchanka. Miranda and Kasumi are in charge of your group." Jacob motioned to where Miranda and Kasumi were standing together. "They have a list of people supposed to be with them, they will check for you and you will follow them to the area behind the hospital. Group two, you are Beckenstein, you will accompany Samara and Tali." The two of them waved their hands.
"They will be taking you to the far side of the base, they also have a list of names. Group three, you are Sur'Kesh, and you will be escorted by Engineer Daniels-Donnelly and Dr. Chakwas. Your safe point is here in the main building since this is the largest group and would be too large a target. Finally, group four, group Eden Prime, you're with me and Engineer Donnelly. You're being escorted to the Normandy."
"What?!" some of the crowd protested. "Why are they allowed to go on the ship?! Why do the rest of us have to stay on this fucking planet?!"
Jacob closed his eyes and tried not to lose his mind, he had expected this but he still was not thrilled to be dealing with it.
A man stood up on his chair and spat. "Looks like the Commander doesn't care about the rest of us, just her own fucking crew, personally I think this is just some sick joke!" There was a loud murmur of agreement.
"Look," said Jacob, exercising incredible patience. "I understand that you'd like to stay with your family members, but the Normandy is not able to accommodate everyone at this moment. The Quarians are more than capable of providing shelter and protection—"
"Fuck the Quarians!" shouted another man. "They've done nothing for us! I say we just stay here! I don't think Cerberus is really here, so we should just take our chances without their help!"
That was the breaking point. "Are you all fucking deaf?!" shouted Jacob, his biotics flaring as he spoke. "Do you not hear the battle going on just outside these doors? These people are here to kill you, not just scare you. All of you need to trust me and my crew mates to get you to safety. If you do not come with us, you will die! There is no getting around that."
This seemed to sway the crowd back over to his side, those with small children were clinging to them and husbands were stepping in front of their families as if to protect them from some invisible foe. "Now, I am forwarding you all the name of the group you belong to. Please go over to the group leaders and prepare to leave. Eden Prime will be leaving first, followed by Beckenstein, and then Tuchanka, Sur'Kesh you will be staying here like we discussed before. If there is any trouble, from any of you, all group leaders are allowed to use deadly force against you. Don't give them any reason to. To all group leaders, as soon as your group is safely with Raan's escort, you are to go immediately to the Normandy." The group leaders all nodded. "Those of you who are leaving the safety of the building have been paired with a biotic, they will keep you all enveloped in a large shield, do not leave the shield! The shuttles will park close enough you will still be safe as you enter. After Eden Prime leaves, wait five minutes and then Beckenstein will leave, and it will go like that until all that are supposed to be out are gone. Now, if there aren't any questions, Eden Prime, we're ready to leave!"
The room was suddenly filled with the sounds of people rushing around trying to get where they were supposed to be, surprisingly it only took a few minutes for everyone to get properly organized. Jacob looked at his group, it was made up of: his family, Garrus' family, Quaes, Hannah Shepard, James' family, Kal'Reegar plus most of the essential crew members such as Engineer Adams and Navigator Richard Hadley.
"Alright, let's head out," said Jacob hesitantly, his eyes resting on his sleeping son in his wife's arms. There was a lot riding on this mission to go successfully. Cautiously he opened the door and immediately activated his biotics to make the shield, shrapnel was raining down everywhere. His only guess was someone had blown something up in a spectacular fashion, he forced himself to leave the safety of the main building and guide his group out with Ken by his side. Jacob walked out maybe ten feet before he motioned for the others to follow him, they all rushed to the safety of the force shield before anything else could come falling down on their heads. They made their way towards the Normandy as quickly as they could while still keeping the group together, needless to say it was difficult to keep over a dozen people under a large dome of biotic energy. He was struggling a great deal to keep the strength of the shield up, he had never done one this huge for this long before.
"Just a little longer, Jacob," whispered Brynn in his ear.
He looked over and saw her smiling at him and he smiled back, that was all the encouragement he needed, biotic energy surged through his body and made the shield even stronger. They continued to walk towards the Normandy, all around them they could hear guns firing, grenades going off, smoke bombs hissing. This was turning into one helluva battle and while he wished he could be apart of it, Jacob knew his place was right where he was.
"Joker," he heard Ken say to his left. "We're within ten feet of the ship, prepare to lower the shuttle bay doors."
"Roger that, Donnelly," he heard Joker say in response and true to his word, Joker lowered the shuttle bay doors.
Jacob saw the door open and when it was nearly to the ground he dropped the shield and shouted. "Run!" The group took off and ran towards the ramp, while Jacob stayed behind to make sure nothing was going to come sailing at any of them, he was glad nothing did but his stomach churned when he heard James cry out.
His hand flew to his earpiece. "Shepard, what's going on over there?"
"James was shot in the shoulder," said Elissa, she sounded exhausted. "He's still able to fight but I'm hoping those reinforcements show up soon. How's everything on your end?"
"Civilians organized and en route to rendezvous with Raan's shuttles," he said happily. "Most of the crew and families are back on the Normandy right now, just waiting for the other members to join us, and that includes you."
"Not sure that's going to happen anytime soon, Jacob," said Elissa grimly. "Just get the people to safety, that's all that matter right now."
Jacob shook his head. "That's where you're wrong, Elissa. You're just as important and we need you with us. Should I send some help?"
"No!" shouted Elissa, nearly blowing out his eardrum even more so than the explosion that went off at the same time. "Sorry about that, just trying to be heard over the explosion. Look, I don't want anymore of my crew in harm's way, keep them all together and safe."
"Will do, Shepard," said Jacob reluctantly. "See you when this is over."
"Same to you, Jacob, Shepard out," said Elissa and her line cut out.
Jacob gazed at the gate with a sense of foreboding, something in his gut was telling him that he should be there with her not standing there on the ship, but his sense of duty to both his family and Commander was keeping him rooted to the spot. He was just about to turn into the ship when Adams came sprinting out loaded down with several weapons including an M-920 Cain and several belts of ammunition.
"Where the hell are you going, Adams?" asked Jacob with a raised eyebrow.
"To help Shepard! Someone has to!" he shouted and before Jacob could talk him out of it, he was already gone towards the gate.
"Good luck, Adams," he whispered as he entered the ship.
Joker was fidgeting like crazy, he had still not heard from Hilary and it had been twenty minutes since their original talk. 'God, I hope she's still . . .' he could not bring himself to finish that thought, he had to have faith that his little sister was still alive.
"EDI, what's the Kodiak's status?" he asked pointlessly. EDI had gone dark for several minutes now and that was worrying him to no end, because if EDI was offline then that probably meant something was wrong on the Kodiak. He took off his hat and balled it up in his fists, this waiting was infuriating, not only for her but for Elissa and the rest of the crew as well. While waiting for the crew was the norm for him, usually he was flying above trying to keep the ship safe while he waited for the ground crew to signal they were coming back. He hated waiting for them while on land, it was the absolute worst.
"Joker, all Normandy designated civilians and minor personnel are on board," said Jacob. "Well except for Adams, he took off to assist Shepard. Have you heard from Hilary?"
"Negative, she and EDI have both gone dark and I've been trying to reach them for the better part of twenty minutes," groaned Joker. "I'm going to try one last possible communication's sequence and if that doesn't work, we're going to find them."
"Sounds good, I'll be with Brynn and Nick if you need me," he said and the line went out.
Joker sat back in his seat for a moment before he brought up another screen and started inputting the sequence that would hopefully reconnect him to the Kodiak and ultimately his sister. He sat there for a few moments as he waited for the code to go through and when it uploaded he was rewarded with a loud panicked scream. Immediately he jumped up and tried to make contact.
"Kodiak this is Normandy, Kodiak come in!" he shouted desperately, waiting for a reply.
"Joker!" came Kolyat's voice and Joker was flodded with relief. "We've been trying to reach you but it appears all communications between ships are out on all of the major channels."
"I'm just glad to hear your voice finally," sighed Joker. "How's Hilary?"
"She's still piloting, you'd be proud to see her," said Kolyat with admiration in his voice. "More ships have entered the sky and prevented us from breaking free of Rannoch, we're starting to take heavy damage, we're going to need an evac here soon or we won't make it."
His heart dropped to his stomach. "Can you hold on a moment?" He did not wait for Kolyat to reply and he switched over to Elissa's channel.
"Elissa," he said, his voice cracking as he spoke.
"What is it, Joker, we're kind of busy here?" she growled and in the background he heard several shots being fired.
"Hilary and Kolyat are in trouble, I need to go after them," he managed to croak out.
"Then go," she said with conviction. "We can hold our own here right now, our family needs you!"
Joker nodded and was about to close the channel when he thought of something more to say. "I love you, Elissa Moreau."
"I love you, too, Jeff Moreau," she said and he could hear the smile in her voice before the line was closed.
He smiled to himself as he started up the Normandy, glad to feel the familiar humming of the eezo core enveloping him like a warm quilt. "I'm coming, Hilary."
"I'm out of grenades!" shouted James as he ducked down, his teeth clenched as he felt the pain in his shoulder. "Adams, do you have anymore?"
Adams shook his head before rolling him a couple of more clips. "Sorry, big guy, I'm out too."
Elissa silently cursed as she fired another full clip at one of the Nemesis as she jumped around on the rocks trying to get through to the platform they were one. Right now they were barely keeping the ever growing tide of Cerberus troops back and Joker's call about Hilary and Kolyat had not helped her concentration. "Where the hell is that backup Koris promised?!" she cried as she ducked down to reload.
"I'm not sure," shouted Garrus, he was currently nursing a burned mandible, an incendiary round had grazed his face but still left behind a nasty looking burn. "I haven't been able to reach any of the Quarian admirals and Tali gave me their direct channel. Hopefully they're on their way, I'm not sure how much more of this we can keep up. Especially now that the Normandy has gone on an emergency evac."
"It's a necessary evac," said Elissa, mostly to herself. "I just hope the other civilians are safely away from here."
"And that all of our crew is with Joker," said James as he tried to apply some medi-gel to his shoulder but he was shaking too bad to get a tight grip on the tube.
"Want some help, Mr. Vega?" offered Steve as he also ducked down to replenish his ammunition.
James shook his head and put the tube away. "I'll be fine, Esteban, just focus on those pendejos."
"Incoming shuttles!" shouted Adams and they all looked skyward.
Indeed there were several shuttles and as they neared the battlefield, Elissa's blood went ice cold when she saw the five Atlas mechs descend from the opened doors of the shuttles. The gun in her hand felt like it was made of solid lead, there was no way with their now very limited resources were they going to be able to take down all five Atlases. "Okay, we're going to need a new plan," she said as they all huddled together as best they could. "Anyone have any suggestions?" They were all silent until Adams remembered something he had in his arsenal.
"I have a Cain!" he exclaimed and the others turned to look at him. "If I can fire it at them when they are somewhat clustered together, I can set off a chain reaction that should blow up at least three of the Atlases."
Elissa nodded, it sounded like a good plan. "I'm glad I decided to let you stay, Adams. We can offer you some cover fire while we wait for the gun to charge." Then she looked at the rest of her squad. "We only have one shot at getting this right, don't screw this up! Adams, stay down until that gun is seconds away from being fully charged."
The others nodded and did not protest against the plan, of course they did not have any other option at this time. They all moved away from Elissa and back to their original positions, all waiting for the signal from her that would cue them to cover Adams. She sat there for a moment with a clenched fist waiting until Adams told her he was ready and she opened her fist and they all jumped up. They were firing as quickly as they could trying to hit as many heavy hitters that might take out Adams before the gun was even ready to fire. The longer they stood there, the greater the chance they had of being hit or blown up by the Atlases.
"Anytime, Adams!" called Jack over the noise. She looked and sounded incredibly exhausted which was to be expected considering she had been using her biotics before they had a chance to really cool down.
"Almost there," he said and then he jumped up without warning. He aimed the gun at a grouping of three Atlases when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye, glancing over he saw a red dot primed on Elissa's head and he knew what it meant. He dropped the Cain and moved in the path of the beam just as he heard the sniper rifle go off, he fell to the platform with a loud thud.
Elissa looked over and saw his prone form on the ground beside her. "Adams?" she said loudly and when she did not get any response she immediately knew what had happened. "Adams!" she screamed and went running over to him, cover be damned. She reached over and saw what had killed him, a direct shot to the forehead. Her vision blurred with tears as she looked at the dead remnants of a man whom had been her friend since the beginning.
James looked over and saw Elissa sitting down with Adams' head in her lap and then he looked up, catching the sniper just in time he fired one of his remaining shots and watched with perverse pleasure as the man's body tumbled down the cliff. He ducked down and army crawled over to where Elissa was sitting. "Lola, we need to get out of here!" he shouted as a missile went sailing over their heads.
She was not paying him any attention, her focus still on Adams.
"Elissa!" shouted James, and hearing her real name from his lips caused her to look at him. "We need to get out of here!" he repeated now that he had her attention. "Radio Joker and tell him to pull us out!"
"Not until those Atlases are cosmic dust!" she shouted as she wiped the tears from her eyes then she gently placed Adams' head back on the platform and reached for the Cain, it was now only half way charged and she started charging it up again. "Cover me when I jump up!" she told James and he nodded in response. "Steve! Radio Joker, tell him we need an evac!" Somehow he was able to hear her over the loud gunfire and missiles going off.
Glancing down she saw the Cain was now nearly charged which surprised her greatly considering how long they normally took to charge up. 'Must be Adams,' she mused as she stood up. She was beyond thrilled to see that there were three Atlases standing in a group together, to her it was a sign that Adams was again still with them and she fired off the Cain. It was a direct hit on the center Atlas, causing it to blow up spectacularly and it set off a chain reaction just as Adams had predicted. Inwardly she cheered as she dropped back down behind her barrier, but when she reached for her pistol she noticed she was completely out of ammo, and from the looks on the others' faces they were in a similar predicament. Now it was just a matter of waiting for either the end or their rescue.
"We did good, Lola," said James as he pulled himself over to her. "Saved innocents, kicked some ass, blew some shit up."
"Lost a friend," she said sadly, glancing over at Adams' body. "If this is the end, I'm glad it's with you."
"Don't say shit you don't mean, Lola, it won't win you any points," chuckled James, grimacing slightly as the vibrations from his laugh moved his bad arm.
Elissa laughed and sat there for a moment, wondering if this really was the end. Then she saw a very familiar sight descending in front of her. The calvary had arrived.
"Everyone, get to the ship!" she shouted as the shuttle bay doors opened to reveal Jacob standing there with a shield already prepped around the entrance.
Jack started to move but she fell on her face, Garrus scooped her up and supported her as they staggered into the ship, Jacob expanding the shield so they would be safe from enemy fire. Steve was next and he motioned for James to follow him but James waved him off.
"You go, I'll help Lola with Adams," he said but Elissa spoke up against him.
"No, go, I can carry him you can't with that arm," she argued and James silently agreed with her though she knew it was with great reluctance. She watched as he and Steve boarded the ship, standing on shaky legs she went over to Adams and picked him up fireman style. She started walking over to the ramp but she tripped and as she went to the ground she let go of Adams and he went tumbling over the edge. Her eyes were trained on his now broken body that was twenty feet below her, she wanted to retrieve his body.
"Leave him, Shepard!" called Jacob, his shield was being pounded by wave after wave of enemy fire. "We have to go, now!"
With a heavy feeling in her heart, Elissa tore her gaze from Adams and got back on her feet, running as fast as she could the rest of the way to the ramp that was now pulling away from the platform. When she got to the edge of the platform she jumped and managed to grab onto the edge of the ramp, she felt herself slipping but Jacob was there and pulled her up. They started walking up the ramp as fast as they could now that the barrier was down.
"Joker, Shepard's on board, get us out of here!" said Jacob as the ramp started to close underneath their feet.
"Roger that," she heard Joker say as she entered the shuttle with Jacob right behind her.
Elissa made her way to the others and collapsed to the floor, then she turned onto her back for a more comfortable position. Somewhere in the back of her mind she heard Jacob land onto the floor somewhere close by but her mind was far from the present state of things.
They had made it inside, the hard part was now over. Around her she could hear the heavy breathing of her squad mates, they had done amazingly well for having been caught off guard, which given how their missions usually went was pretty normal. She smiled to herself as she laid there on the floor of the shuttle bay when suddenly she felt pain coursing through her body, she lifted her head from the floor and tried to find the wound. The injury was on her thigh and she could see the bright green that indicated a polonium round. 'So they poisoned me,' mused Elissa as she put her head back down, even now she could feel the poison making its way through her body, slowing her heart beat, relaxing her muscles. For a moment she thought about calling for help but when she went to open her mouth and no sound came out, only then did she realize that her lips did not move. She was going to die here and she was glad for it.
The prospect of an imminent death made her senses highly acute: she could hear the different breathing patterns of her companions; Garrus' slightly harmonic, James' deep and steady, Jack's sounded close to hyperventilating, Jacob sounded very winded, Steve sounding completely exhausted; the smells of the room hit her like a ton of bricks, the oil from the shuttles, the faint smell of the polish they used for their armor pieces, and the very distinct smell of sweat and adrenaline. She was also very aware of everything touching her, it was the Normandy, her home and the shelter of her family. She could feel each spot where her home was holding her, embracing her, even the gentle hum of the ship's core was lulling her to sleep. Elissa was now one with the Normandy in a way she had never been before, it was if the ship seemed to understand everything and did not blame her for wanting to slip away. Elissa smiled again as she felt her heart slow down even more, in a matter of minutes she would be dead and free of this world, free to merge herself with the Normandy and be guided away. "Jeff," she whispered as she felt herself falling into the abyss.
