I'll Find You
Chapter 7: Destruction (Phase 4)
Ashley Williams stood in front of the memorial wall on the third deck of the Normandy. The wall was one of the numerous add-ons provided during the Normandy's retrofitting during its six months grounded on Earth. The wall had been added at the insistence of Joker and with the support of Admiral Anderson. Apparently during the Collector mission, the mutated protheans had abducted the entire crew save for the snarky pilot. EDI had taken over all of the ship's functions in the interim, but to Joker it had been a very hollow feeling. The pilot had noted that if the ship was taken down during the mission, if was ever found, there would be no indicator of the people who had served on it. And with the Reapers looming, it had been a valid concern to Admiral Anderson as well.
Ashley increased her grip on the rectangular name plaque in her hands as she read over the names already placed on the wall. Several, like Charles Pressley, were crew members of the original Normandy who had perished during the first Collector attack. And a few others, like Kaiden, were squad mates who had fallen during their adventurers. And like the memorial wall on the Citadel, the list seemed to be growing almost every day. Ashley looked over some of the names and was ashamed to admit that she did not know several of them as well as she should have.
Mordin Solus, she had heard from Garrus and Liara, sacrificed himself to provide the genophage cure. Ashley would have never imagined a salarian doing that for the krogan. But on this ship, anything was possible. Garrus had also noted, with a sad chuckle, that Mordin had been the "very model of a scientist salarian", whatever that meant.
She had met Thane Krios during her time held up in Huerta Memorial Hospital. From what she could tell, he had been the quiet type. But they had shared a few conversations during their physical therapy classes. In some ways he was a bit awkward when it came to conversing, but Ashley could tell he was trying. When Cerberus came blasting into the hospital, the terminally ill drell sprang into action and Ashley saw where his true talent lied. Ashley had hoped to thank the skilled drell for giving her the time she needed to help patients escape and holding off the assault long enough for her to aid the council. But that bastard Kai Leng put an end to that idea. Ashley was glad she had been present to witness that slimy bastard get gutted by Shepard at least.
The latest name they had added, the geth Legion, Ashley had very mixed feelings about. On the one hand, geth in general just made her skin crawl. Especially after Eden Prime. When Shepard had first introduced the crew to Legion, Ashley had to resist the urge to empty an entire assault rifle clip into its torso. But at the same time, she could not deny the sacrifice it had made on Rannoch in the name of peace and the future of its, or rather his people. The fact that it had been Tali who placed his name said it all.
And just a few moments ago, they had just placed the newest name, Admiral David Anderson. When Shepard had her and Garrus evacuated from the battlefield on the Normandy, Ashley had no intention of staying on the sidelines. The second the frigate had broken the atmosphere, she had demanded Garrus take her straight to the medical bay for Chakwas to patch them up and return to Earth. She had ordered EDI to keep the life signs of the soldiers of Hammer squad on display throughout the ship.
But her wounds had been far worse than Chakwas could imagine. Even after the doctor had filled her up with most of their medi-gel and given her almost every pain killer imaginable, Ashley still felt like she was on fire. Garrus hadn't been in any better shape.
They could only watch as one-by-one the life signs of Hammer squad were obliterated, leaving only Shepard and Anderson. When both their tracers revealed they had made it up the beam, Ashley had been ready to join to them, wounds and debilitating pain be damned. Despite her enthusiasm, her body at the time just was not up to the task. Dr. Chakwas had even threatened to sedate her if she didn't agree to stay in bed.
Still, Ashley would have preferred to be completely numb and sedated rather than calm and lucid when she saw the pulse monitor of Admiral Anderson drop to nothing.
That agonizing sharp note had echoed throughout the ship, giving everyone a long moment's pause in disbelief. Admiral David Anderson, the Normandy's first captain, the most fervent support of Commander Shepard, and one Earth's greatest heroes, was dead.
Not too long after, Shepard's life signs disappeared completely. No drop in his pulse or heart rate. He had just vanished.
That had gotten Ashley out of bed.
The only thing that had stopped her from kicking down the door to the cockpit and turning the frigate around to find Shepard was the light show that had followed the commander's disappearance. The bright pristine light that had ignited from the Crucible had been both beautiful and horrifying as it slowly consumed all in its path. A few ships had tried to escape, including theirs but no escape was possible. The white light had engulfed them, sending the Normandy's instruments haywire.
Joker had tried to wrest some type of control from the ship but to no avail. Ashley had heard the crippled pilot frantically calling out to EDI for help, but the AI was non-responsive. Her new body had just sat there, her bright observant eyes now cold and empty. Before the crew knew it they had entered FTL speed with no planned destination. All Ashley knew was that they were heading far from the battle and Shepard.
Ashley had no idea how long they had drifted or how long they had wrestled with the instruments before Joker brought them in for a crash landing on an unknown planet. She was no tech expert but from what she had heard from Joker, Tali, Adams, Traynor, Donnelly, and Daniels, it was pretty bad. No long-range communication, weapons were offline, stealth drive shot, propulsion and flight stability heavily damaged.
But as Ashley stood before the memorial wall, all of that just seemed as far away as Earth was. The second human specter looked down on the next name they were about to add to the wall.
Commander James Anthony Shepard.
Ashley traced the letters engraved on the plaque and took a breath. The rest of the crew stood behind her in solemn silence as she finally approached the wall. This was it. He was really gone this time. Ashley could remember the first time they lost Shepard and the downward spiral she found herself trapped in afterwards. She had been lost, without hope, without faith. And now even with all that they had accomplished, she feared that it was all destined to happen again as soon she placed his name on the wall. She wondered just what the Alliance would do for a funeral this time around; once again they didn't have a body.
Ashley froze.
No body.
The simple phrase repeated itself over and over in her head at FTL speed it seemed like. Shepard's life signs didn't drop suddenly like Anderson's, his tracer had simply vanished. Conventional wisdom would dictate that perhaps it just got obliterated along with Shepard when whatever the Crucible fired had been released. But if that were true, rather than vanishing, the signal would have disconnected completely.
Maybe wherever Shepard ended up, his signal was blocked or disrupted. He could be trapped under debris somewhere back on Earth. Either way they didn't know for sure. Ashley couldn't count the amount of times some lunatic had declared Shepard dead during combat only for the skipper to get back up and kick his ass. She herself had lost faith in Shepard before and look how well that turned out.
Ashley gripped the plaque, unwilling to move forward.
It was slim reasoning, most likely derived from her attachment to the commander. Even if they managed to fix the ship and get back to Earth, what would be left to find? A mangled nearly unrecognizable corpse that used to be Commander Shepard?
Even so, shouldn't she cling to hope, however small? If nothing else by finding him or his body, Ashley would have the closure she needed to move forward once and for all.
She looked down again at the plaque and lowered it to her sides with a small smile.
It wasn't time to say goodbye. Not yet.
"Ashley…?" Liara said gently behind her. "Are you…or rather is this too difficult for you?"
"We'll give you your space if that's what you need," Garrus suggested.
Ashley turned to face them. "I want this bird in the air in the next few hours."
"For what purpose, dare I ask?" Garrus said, but from his eyes, he already knew the answer.
"We're going back."
OOOOOO
Admiral Hackett stared at the various status reports, progress bars, and map displays that kept popping up on his command screen. With each new report the sweat building underneath his ever-present cap grew. Hackett turned away from the screens to stare out the window of the command deck. The reports only confirmed what he already knew to be true. They were running out of time.
He had already sounded the retreat but since then only a good thirty five percent of their forces had managed to arrive at the rendezvous point. The Reapers seemed adamant on making sure that no ship escaped the inevitable destruction of the Crucible and the Citadel. And with both structures at ninety-five percent maximum input, it would seem they were about to succeed. Hackett gripped the sides of his desk, trying his best to hide his grimace. If laying down his life was required to put an end to this nightmare, so be it. He was a soldier; he had learned how to die a long time ago. But there were many in their forces who were not. And despite their declarations that they were willing to put down their lives, Hackett knew the truth. In truth, their non-military personnel were hoping to get out of this mess alive. And Hackett wasn't about to let them get blown into nothingness.
"Increase intensity on the Crucible turrets!" he ordered.
"But sir," an ensign said. "Won't that cut down on the built up energy the Crucible has been collecting?"
"I'm aware of that ensign," Hackett said with a nod. "But we need to give our ships more time to escape. Aim for the Reapers in pursuit of escaping ships and signal any remaining fighters to form a perimeter. If any Reaper force approaches blow them out of the sky."
"Yes sir!"
"Admiral Hackett sir, we have reports that the SSV Kilimanjaro has broken off from the retreat and is swinging back to the Crucible!"
This time the admiral's frown was on full display. "Patch me through to Rear Admiral Shepard immediately."
"Patching her through now sir, I can only give you audio however."
"It'll do, ensign."
"Rear Admiral Shepard reporting."
"Rear Admiral, what is the meaning of this?" Hackett said, wasting no time. "We need as many dreadnaughts as we can to cover the retreat."
"There are still a few stragglers on the Crucible; we're going back for them."
"How many?"
"One hundred and thirty five."
Hackett shook his head. "It's too big of a risk. The Reapers will overtake your position in minutes."
"Well then I guess that means we'll have to evacuate them in seconds."
"Hannah….!"
"Steven, don't," Hannah said. "It's what James and Anthony would do."
Hackett let out a sigh. Blind heroics must run in the Shepard blood. "Very well. I'll try to give you as much cover fire as I can. But I can only give you twenty minutes, not a second more. This thing is going to blow one way or another."
"I understand. Thank you admiral."
"Godspeed Rear Admiral Shepard. Hackett out."
Hackett clasped his hands behind his back and returned to the command screens. Outside his viewing monitor, the abyss of space lit up once more with the florescent light of the turrets. The rumbling of the recoil felt like a small tremor on the station. Hackett witnessed the white bolts of the turrets tear through the Reaper's armor while the ships of Sword entered FTL speed to reach the rendezvous point.
The aged veteran took a breath, seeing the Kilimanjaro bank and slowly make its way back to the Crucible. He glanced down at the input meter.
It had dropped to eighty-two percent.
An alert notification from his screen indicated that four Reapers were heading their way in response to their cover fire. It wouldn't take long before the input increased once more.
They were playing a dangerous game.
But one way or another, it would end today.
OOOOO
The trip up the beam had been one of the most unusual experiences of Samara's long lifetime. It was a strange sensation of both falling and flying at the same time. She had forced her eyes shut due to the overwhelming light that assaulted her. When she reached the top, or what felt like the top, the beam hurled her from its structure forcing the justicar to her knees. Samara shook her head several times before standing to clear any dizziness that lingered. Seconds later a chorus of grunting and cursing reached her ears, indicating that Zaeed had successfully made it up as well.
"Hell of an elevator," the mercenary muttered, using Jesse to prop himself to his feet.
"Indeed," Samara said, looking over their new surroundings. Save for a faded red light, this portion of the Citadel was pitch black. The justicar flared up her biotics to provide further illumination, allowing her and her companion to witness the countless corpses that lay before them. Samara's feeling of dread only increased as she watched the keepers move through the seemingly endless trail of death in their path.
"Fuck!" Zaeed exclaimed. "Is this the Citadel or a goddamn slaughterhouse?"
"We may be witnessing the true purpose of the Citadel," Samara noted. "If the commander still lingers here, I fear for his safety."
Zaeed growled before firing off an incendiary shot at a nearby keeper, killing it instantly. "Fucking abominations."
"Save your ammo, Zaeed," Samara said. "We do not know what further evil remains here. We must be cautious."
"Let's just find the Boy Scout and get the hell out of here. I'm gonna need some krogan ryncol after this."
"I fear escaping may prove to be rather difficult," Samara said. "Judging from these bodies, the Reapers did not build this structure with exits in mind."
"So it's a one way trip?" Zaeed spat. "Fine with me, I'll just make my own goddamn exit."
Samara nodded and began the trudge down the walkway. Zaeed activated the torch function on his rifle, allowing Samara to save her biotic energy. Despite the bodies and the keepers, the walk was strangely straight forward and uneventful. Samara had expected hordes of Reaper defenses impeding their path. Perhaps the Reapers were so confident that no being would it make it this far that they did not feel the need for defenses?
However, as they followed the path, the more Samara picked up on the sounds of gunfire and the screeching of the mutated asari she had encounter prior. The aged asari removed her assault rifle from her shoulder and activated it to its full length. She signaled to Zaeed that they needed to double their pace. The mercenary nodded and the two jogged the remaining distance, not sure what they would find.
But Samara was sure that she would not like the results.
OOOOOO
Jacob had long since run out of thermal clips. And his energy for biotics was dwindling as well. But despite all that, the former Cerberus operative somehow managed to keep his barrier active and provide Grunt with some biotic support as he tore through the human-reaper's reinforcements. The tank-bred krogan had run out of ammo as well, but that didn't seem to stop him at all. He rushed down the center roaring all the way, the hail of bullets and biotic attacks did not seem to register. He grabbed the first cannibal within reach and hurled it down the path, knocking into the banshee in the rear. The krogan hammered away at the remaining cannaibals, his short, yet strong arms, knocking the monsters off the path and into the abyss below.
The krogan slammed headfirst into the human-reaper hybrid, knocking the monster back several inches. The creature, undeterred by the krogan, swung its massive claws into the assaulting Grunt. But the tank bred caught the attack. But with his arms busy, Grunt had no defense against the double biotic attack by the two banshees. The young krogan soared through the air and slammed back into the control panel. The cannibals increased their fire on the krogan as they closed the distance between them.
Jacob quickly stood in front of Grunt and biotically grabbed at least five cannibals. The human thrust his arms forward, sending the monsters flying back down the platform. The action took the notice of the mutated turians who began hammering the human with fire. Instantly, Jacob's barrier went up, but the strain from the constant use had weakened him. It only took a few shots before his barrier failed and the bullets began to pierce his jumpsuit. Jacob dropped to his knees, his shields failing quickly.
Grunt rose and activated his fortification. The blue hue absorbed and deflected the attacks, but it could not stand up to another banshee blast. In seconds, Grunt was lying next to Jacob, struggling to rise again.
Jacob tried to do the same, but a gunshot wound on his side told him otherwise. Jacob dragged himself near the still body of Admiral Anderson and let out a pained groan as he made himself sit up. Jacob glanced down at his onmi-tool at the status of the Crucible's core.
Seventy-nine percent.
Jacob wanted to panic and wonder what went wrong. But it didn't seem to matter. Either way it was over. He saw Grunt finally rise, but his knees were weak. Blood, his own and his enemies, covered his body. And despite his active blood rage, the krogan's steps were getting weaker. He took a step forward only to drop to a knee.
The mutated monsters all aimed their weapons at the two former Normandy shipmates.
"This was the inevitable conclusion, human!" the Reaper hybrid exclaimed. "THERE IS ONLY THE CYCLE!"
Jacob gritted his teeth and forced himself to rise. He glared into the former Illusive Man and raised his middle finger as high as he could. "Just shut the fuck up, and let me die already."
"AS YOU WISH, HUMAN!"
Jacob shut his eyes and awaited the deafening sounds of gunfire.
But instead he heard the deafening sound of a widespread explosion.
The inferno blast knocked the human off his feet, making him slide into Grunt. Fire consumed a good portion of the cannibals and marauders, causing a panic amongst the mutated species. Azure blue engulfed the two brutes, forcing them off the ground and hurling them into the banshees. Both monsters tumbled down off the platform. Another inferno grenade consumed the platform burning what was left of the cannibals into ashes. Jacob heard the sound of rapid fire from two assault rifles digging into the remaining reaper-human hybrid. He glanced at Grunt who seemed just as taken aback.
The monster whirled around to face its new opponents only to be trapped in a powerful stasis field. Jacob, with Grunt's help, rose to his feet and saw their rescuers stroll down the platform.
"Well it would seem we arrived just when we were needed," Samara said in her typical tranquil manner. "What does that make us, Zaeed?"
"Big goddamn heroes!"
"So it would appear."
The aging mercenary tossed his final inferno grenade into the stasis field, igniting the monster trapped inside. Jacob could not look away as the former Illusive Man thrashed within the small entrapment. The beast's constant motion only helped to expand and spread the flame throughout its mutated body.
"Grunt, Jacob," Zaeed called. "Catch, finish the freaky bastard."
When Jacob saw several thermal clips slide across the floor to his feet, both he and Grunt scrambled for them and reloaded their weapons with an intense fervor. The moment Samara dropped the stasis field, Jacob, Grunt, and Zaeed all unloaded what was left in their respective weapons. The combination of incendiary ammo and Zaeed's inferno grenade burned through the hybrid's armor-like skin. A screech that almost made Jacob's ears bleed exploded from the creature's mouth as it struggled against the fire slowly consuming it.
It only a few seconds, what was left of its armored skin had burned away, leaving only charred flesh. The monster dropped to all fours, the eyes of the Illusive Man trapped in an expression of disbelief before finally withering away to ash.
A vague outline was all that remained.
Jacob dropped his gun and would have collapsed as well had Grunt not grabbed his shoulder.
It was over…and they were alive.
Zaeed nodded at them. "You two look like shit."
Grunt rolled his shoulders, doing his best to hide his more serve injuries. "Ah, nothing a huge bottle of ryncol can't fix."
"You read my mind junior."
Samara glanced at Anderson's body before turning to Jacob. "Where is the commander?"
"We got him out a while back. He's with Miranda and her team," he answered in between winces. "Now we gotta get the hell out of here!"
"Shit! That's right! This whole damn place is about to blow!" Grunt exclaimed, remembering the plan as well.
"Goddamn it! That's shit you tell someone beforehand!" Zaeed growled.
"Sorry, I was distracted by the giant human-reaper-thingy in my way!" Grunt shot back.
"Jacob, how much time do we have?" Samara asked.
Jacob activated his omni-tool and brought up the input percentage. Eighty-five percent, it read. And it rose with each passing moment. "Not a lot."
"That shiny blue beam is our best chance out of here," Grunt said.
"It may be only be a one-way trip you know," Zaeed said.
Jacob glanced at the meter again. Eighty-eight percent. "We don't have time to look for anything else. We're making for the beam now!"
"Let's hope our run for the beam is better than Hammer squad's," Zaeed said.
"Heh, I'm always up for more things to shoot," Grunt said, though his slower steps said otherwise.
Jacob was ready to fall in step when he glanced behind him at Admiral Anderson's body. Time was short. They had only a few minutes left before the station went up to smoke. And yet to leave his body alone in this place, seemed like a dishonor to the recently departed soldier. Dead or alive, Anderson deserved a better fate than to be left behind.
"Wait!" he called out to the small group. Despite his injures and fatigue, Jacob managed to hoist the deceased admiral onto his shoulders. "We're taking him too!"
"You want to take a bloody corpse with us?" Zaeed said. "He's literally dead weight!"
"I don't care," Jacob declared. "I'm not going to let the Admiral get blown to hell with the rest of these abominations!"
"Time is short Zaeed," Samara reminded him. "We do not have the luxury of a debate."
Zaeed shrugged. "Fine, bring the corpse. I ain't bloody carrying him though that's for sure."
"Let's move."
One last run, one last push and it would all be over. Jacob gritted his teeth and willed his body to move forward.
He had no intention of tripping at the finish line.
AN: Was watching a few episodes of "Firefly", "Game of Thrones" and "Breaking Bad" while writing this up. It really shows in certain areas. But hey, a few shout-outs never hurt any story. Thanks for reading, hope to see you for the next chapter.