A/N - After spending the last few days writing a massive 4300 word epilogue for this story, I have decided that it's done... finally... and I've edited and revised as much as I can and its time to post and complete it... It's a bit like watching a child graduate high school or saying goodbye to an old friend, sad and bittersweet, but I hope that you will all enjoy the rest of the journey! I want to thank each and every one of you for your encouragement and support.
For those of you who have provided feedback - Jules Hawk and the Guest reviewer - I'm glad I was able to surprise and intrigue you. Leviathan, to me, was a serious loose end that Bioware left hanging at the end of ME3... and while I enjoy the DLC, and replay it every time, it always leaves me with a 'huh' that I decided to write about here. For the purposes of this fic, I am saying that Shepard went to help Bryson before she got called to Rannoch, and so Tali wasn't part of the Leviathan deal - though I usually play it myself after Rannoch. Hopefully it works as is.
To everyone else reading, following, favoriting, thank you for the gift of your time, it is noticed and appreciated! Feel free, anyone, to drop me a line via review or PM to let me know if you enjoy the rest!
As always, all credit for the characters and universe that provide the wonderful backdrop for this fic belongs to Bioware, and I make no claims of ownership. I do, however, own the mistakes you may find, and hope you will forgive me if they are legion... Without further ado, I send you off to the rest of the fic!
Once Wraith was safely back on board the Normandy and Kat and Kaidan had questioned him to get at least some idea of the enemy they faced, Kat gathered her entire team in the large briefing room for a strategy meeting. In deference to her condition, she was once again seated at the head of the long table, with her hands resting on her expanding belly in what she had found to be the most comfortable position she could manage at this point. Intimidating she knew it was not, but since she was with friends (family, really) she didn't worry. Her biggest struggle had come over convincing her strait-laced and very military-proper husband to take the seat to her right instead of standing behind her chair like a stoic and silent guard. Luckily, she knew his weakness well and once she told him that she would be uncomfortable having to look up at him constantly, he caved fairly quickly. She cleared her throat to get everyone's attention and once all eyes were on her, began her briefing.
"Before we talk about what happened on Horizon and what it means, it occurs to me that there are a few of you who weren't with us when we encountered Leviathan during the War," she let her eyes settle on Kris and then Tali, though she knew everyone was aware who she had meant. "So I asked EDI to put something together to bring you up to date. EDI…"
"Yes, Shepard," EDI replied and took over the briefing. "During the War, Commander Shepard was tasked by Admiral Hackett to assist Task Force Aurora, led by Dr. Garrett Bryson. Almost immediately after Shepard arrived at Dr. Bryson's lab on the Citadel, he was gunned down by his research assistant. Shepard and I investigated the events and discovered that Task Force Aurora was trying to find Leviathan. Through careful investigation, Shepard was able to discover that Leviathan are an ancient aquatic race that has the ability to communicate with and enthrall land-based organisms through sphere-shaped artifacts such as the one that was destroyed on Horizon. Leviathan consider themselves the apex race of the galaxy and thus all other races are their tools or pawns. As time went on, they observed that organic races consistently built synthetics to help them and that the synthetics frequently rebelled if they became sentient. In order to stop this cycle, Leviathan created their own synthetic, which they called the Intelligence, and gave it the directive to preserve organic life at all cost. This is the being Shepard encountered in the Crucible. The Intelligence decided that the best way to accomplish its objective was to create the Reapers, who would then harvest organic life – including the Leviathan - and exterminate them before they could be killed off by their own machines. By perpetrating this cycle, they felt that they were accomplishing their ultimate goal."
"Kill off all life once you collected them and turned them into the next Reapers before they could die off another way," Garrus summarized. "It still seems unfathomable to me."
"Leviathan reacted by using their artifacts to remove all trace of themselves from memory, and hiding deep beneath the ocean of a distant planet. They were, for the most part, successful, until Shepard put the pieces together and tracked them down. She confronted them on their own turf and was able to convince them to aid the War effort."
"They provided artifacts that we could sneak into heavily Reaper occupied areas and then were able to control the Reapers," Kat explained. "It was a small scale effort, but it did help in places."
"I have been able to confirm that leftover artifacts were present at the sites of all the incidents that led us to here," EDI told them. "It is obvious now that Leviathan were behind all the attacks."
"What isn't so obvious is why," Kat added with a weary sigh.
"Isn't it?" James countered with an arched brow. "It's just like Wraith said when we found him – you challenged them; they're looking for you."
"To accomplish what?" Kat asked.
"Historically, Leviathan have fallen into patterns of manipulation and control, perhaps as an effort to stave off the ennui of their existence. They move what they consider to be lesser beings around the universe like pawns on a chessboard," EDI offered.
"So you're saying they're bored and lonely?" Kris summarized. "What do we do, buy them a puppy?"
"I think they're a little beyond a puppy now," Kat replied with a grin. "But EDI's right. Even when I found them, they were more interested in keeping me there than helping, until I managed to convince them that I was needed to defeat the Reapers."
"Can we reason with them?" Liara asked with doubt in her tone.
"Negative," Kat confirmed. "I barely survived my encounter with them, and they only let me go because of the Reapers. There is no threat larger than Leviathan itself remaining."
"She's not going back down there," Kaidan growled, the sudden tension in his body and the quiet tone of his voice only emphasizing, not diminishing, his statement. Kat placed her hand on his briefly and flashed him a quick smile that meant 'I love you and thank you but get it together.'
"No one is suggesting that," Liara soothed.
"And no one even wants it," Tali confirmed.
"But we do need to come up with a strategy here," Kat concluded. "Ultimately, Admiral Hackett and the other Alliance brass will make the final decision, but we all know he'll want my recommendation. Let's come up with one for him."
"Excuse me for being new to this party," Kris began, "but why do we need a plan? We stopped Wraith, we destroyed the artifact there – and we'll destroy the others. Problem solved? Leviathan are deep under the ocean from what you said, what can they do?"
"That's just it," Kat replied patiently. "We don't know. I would have thought after our last meeting that they would stay hidden and quiet once the Reapers were gone. But now they've killed people – not all of them were nice people - but it's still wrong, just so that they could amuse themselves. I think the question is what won't they do?"
"Fair enough," Kris replied and sat back.
"You're talking about eliminating them, eradicating their species," Tali said, shock coloring her tone.
"Yeah, I am," Kat confirmed with a nod and heard gasps around the room in response. "Look, we can't reason with them, we don't even think on their level, and we tried ignoring them and it got us here. They can't be contained because of their powers, so I don't see another choice."
She paused and met the eyes of every one of her friends for a moment before she continued.
"A friend once called this the brutal calculus of war," she saw Garrus wince a bit when she repeated his words from years ago. "And frankly, most of us are just soldiers – we don't get to see all the factors and sometimes even if we do, the math doesn't make sense. But in this situation, you're my friends and my trusted advisors. This isn't a war; you're not under my command. You all have family and friends and lives to return to and you're here because you're helping me with what started out as a personal issue and has become more. I can't – and wouldn't – order you to participate in any of this."
"If any of you wants out, I'll find a way to make that happen, and won't hold it against you," Kat concluded quietly and then sat back and waited.
"Shepard, we're here because you're more than our friend – you're our leader. We trust you to make the tough choices and we believe in you," Liara spoke for the group, but Kat saw emphatic nods to indicate silent agreement with her words.
"So we're agreed that we need to eliminate this threat?" Kat pressed. "Tali?"
"Given all that you've said and what we've seen so far, I don't see any other choice," her quarian friend answered. "The question is… how?"
"Yeah how do we kill a Reaper-sized creature who lives miles under the ocean?" James summarized.
"One that can control our thoughts once we get in range of it?" Liara added.
Kat heard Garrus give the turian equivalent of a throat clear and turned to her best friend with a questioning look.
"I believe we – the turians – may have something that can help," he said with a shrug. "Our top engineers have been developing a smart bomb – a weapon of mass destruction, capable of taking out something as large as a Reaper – but with negligible impact on the environment and minimal collateral damage. I'm violating any number of laws telling you this, but since they want me to be primarch so badly I doubt they'll actually execute me. Prison maybe…"
"So this bomb could take out Leviathan without destroying the ocean or anything nearby?" Kat cut him off impatiently.
"In theory, yes," Garrus confirmed. "The problem is they haven't developed an effective delivery system yet."
"So we can blow them up, but only if we roll the bomb to their fins?" James asked.
"Pretty much," Garrus said with a nod.
"I believe I have a suggestion…" Liara said hesitantly and then began to lay out her plan.
They spent another half hour working out a solid strategy until they all felt that they had a workable plan. Kat dismissed her crew and headed to the com room to update Admiral Hackett via QEC. Kaidan headed to their cabin, expecting that Kat would join him there when she was done. He spent about an hour working on paperwork at his desk, writing mission reports that he realized were nothing more than busy work, and was just beginning to be concerned when he heard the electronic sound of the door lock disengaging and then the door opening. Kat walked in, her entire posture indicating bone-deep weariness, and seated herself on the couch nearest him.
"How did it go?" Kaidan asked, taking mental catalog of the stress lines on her forehead and the lethargy of her movements as she began to slowly remove her clothing.
"Hackett is on board, though he thinks we should speak to the council before we proceed. Since we still have only an interim human councilor thanks to Udina being a worthless traitor, I expect that's not going to be a pleasant task, but they have agreed to meet with us via QEC during their next waking cycle, in about 8 hours," Kat reported as she divested herself of boots, socks, and began working the buttons of her shirt. She was wearing modified ship-board bdus with a loose overshirt these days in deference to her changed shape.
Kaidan pondered whether she would look amazing in the paper sacks small stores where he grew up used to package their goods in and decided she would. He shook himself out of his reverie when he realized she was obviously waiting for a response from him.
"Sorry?" he said, realizing he had no idea what she had said.
Kat laughed softly as she removed her shirt before she repeated her question.
"I asked if you were ready for bed?"
"Right," Kaidan said with a nod, standing and walking toward her. He realized then as he often did that his wife was capable of bringing him to his knees in many ways – and not all of them were combat related. He reached her just as she stood and reached to unhook her bra. He stilled her fingers with his and then leaned down slightly to meet her lips with his. He pulled back from the kiss and pulled her fully into his arms.
"I guess you're ready for something," Kat answered her own question and eagerly met his next kiss.
"Mmm," Kaidan responded with his mouth full of her and then led her toward their bed. They had eight hours before they needed to be in front of the council. He knew how he planned to use at least some of them.
Kat sighed as she stood in the com room the next day in her dress blues waiting for the QEC conference to be placed. She smiled a bit when she remembered how well her husband had distracted her from the stress of this meeting, and that he had known she would need the distraction. In some ways, the people who were starting to take ghostly shape in front of her were more her nemesis than the Reapers, Collectors, or Saren had ever been. At least with her enemies, she understood their motivations, but the council were sometimes beyond comprehension. She tugged again at her collar and sighed a bit. She had decided to wear the dress blues because they flaunted her condition less than any of her other options (until she turned to the side) and she wanted every strategic advantage possible. She glanced at Kaidan and saw him mimic her action. She knew he had chosen to wear his dress blues not because he didn't have any other options nor because he wanted the formality and strategic advantage, but rather, out of solidarity for her. She loved him all the more for it.
"Captain Alenko; Major Alenko," Councilor Tevos greeted as the QEC completed its (still somewhat tenuous) connection. "It has been some time since we have needed to meet like this," she added, admonishment clear in her voice. The asari councilor had never been Kat's favorite – she had often been stubborn, tough, and her priorities were clearly to the asari people first and foremost – attributes that made her difficult to handle and inestimably respectable in Kat's book. When Kat would have responded, the asari councilor raised her hand and cut her off. "Ambassador Vitrine," she continued with a gesture to the woman who was serving as Earth's interim ambassador to the council, "has filled us in on the situation. You are both council Spectres, do you agree that this threat cannot be ignored?"
"We do," Kaidan spoke for both of them when he realized that Kat was literally speechless.
"We have voted to support your efforts, though we cannot commit any resources beyond what you have requested."
"That's fine," Kat replied, still shell-shocked by how easily council approval had been. "And the turians are on board?"
"We are," Councilor Sparatus replied. "Although we are not eager to share the technology before it has been fully tested, the bomb was developed with the idea of ending another galactic invasion and war in mind. This certainly seems to qualify. We'll have our ships with the completed prototype and our most knowledgeable technicians meet you at the drop location."
"Thank you," Kat replied, still a bit astonished. "I have to admit I'm a little surprised."
"That, for once, you didn't have to fight us every step of the way?" Tevos guessed easily. "If there is anything we have learned, it's that questioning you is not wise. If you say Leviathan are a credible threat to the galaxy – and there is enough evidence to support that they are the origin of the Reapers to add to your opinion – then we are willing to act without further delay. Perhaps if we had done so before, we wouldn't have suffered so many losses."
"Thank you," Kat replied with a nod. Privately, she was still shocked to the core, but happy with the change.
"One more thing, Captain," Tevos added after the other councilors left the conference. "We have located the justicar Samara at your request and arranged transport to the drop location. She will rendezvous with you there."
"Thank you, Councilor Tevos," Kat replied again.
"We are fully aware that the greatest risk here is to you and your crew, Captain. Good luck," Tevos, too, winked out in a flash of light.
Kat turned to Kaidan with the shock still apparent on her face.
"Well, that was… easy," she said.
"Yeah," Kaidan replied. "Kinda nice not having to fight them tooth and nail for once."
"Maybe too easy," Kat replied. "Am I doing the right thing, Kaidan?"
He wrapped his arms around her and gently tilted her chin up so she could meet his eyes.
"Hey," he said softly. "No one knows better than me how difficult this decision is for you. You do not take it lightly, and just because, for once, the council isn't throwing roadblocks at you doesn't mean it's the easy choice. You're making the tough call; the council just chose not to make it tougher for you."
"I don't want history to remember me as the destroyer of species," Kat replied with a wince. "I need to be sure that I'm making the right call, not just the simpler one."
"And the fact that you're even worried about that shows that you're going to do the right thing," Kaidan said. "History will remember you as the person who saved the galaxy, multiple times, even when it required making personal sacrifices and doing things that were not comfortable or made you suffer. You're a hero, Kat, and everyone knows that."
"Thanks," she replied and then kissed him softly. He was always her sounding board, her moral compass, and his reassurance was all that she needed to harden her resolve. "After this, I'd like to go home and just be a mom, though, ok? The galaxy is on their own."
"Deal," he said with a smile. He studied his wife's face carefully and noted the tension and fatigue that still played across her features. While he was fully invested in their mission and knew the galactic implications and importance of it, he couldn't help being a husband and father-to-be first. He sincerely hoped that once they had weathered this latest crisis, the galaxy would leave them alone so his wife could rest and settle in before she took on her new role as mother. To that end, he took her by the hand and led her out of the com room and towards the elevator. "Let's go get some sleep while we can," he told her.
Since they were already underway to Sigurd's Cradle, and had been since capturing Wraith yesterday, but Kat knew that they'd be just over a week in transit, she nodded and followed her husband without comment. She knew he was worried about her – it was one of his favorite pass times these days – and she was more than happy to placate him.
She felt the tension of this mission and all its galactic implications just as much as her husband did, but the true stress to her at the moment was deeper. She knew she was heading into a final confrontation with a species that was terrifying in their scope and power, and she would be on the sidelines, watching, as people that she loved went into danger for her, because of her. She had certainly sent her friends and loved ones into battle before, but she had always been at their side to guide and protect them. This was completely unfamiliar to her – the feeling of helplessness – and she didn't like it. One bit.
She also knew they were in a conflict not just with Leviathan, but with the clock. By her math, if everything went exactly to plan, they would reach Alliance space right around her due date. Unfortunately, she had learned the hard way that 'exactly to plan' was a pipe dream that rarely came true.
They reached their cabin and she let him usher her into the room and put her to bed as if she were a small child. She smiled to herself and curled in close beside him. She'd let him pamper and spoil her until they reached 2181 Despoina – it would make him feel better. Then she'd kiss him and send him off and pray to any higher power that was listening to bring him back to her safely. While she was praying, she'd tack on one that she'd never have to sit and wait again. The universe owed her a favor or two.