"You scared the hell out of me down there," he said. No anger, no accusations.

"I'm sorry," she replied. No argument, no defensiveness, she just accepted it.

He closed the distance between them, pulling her into his arms. "Don't do that to me again."

"I'm so, so sorry." She buried her face in his shoulder. "But I can't promise that. You know that."

Kaidan understood. She had a job to do, the ultimate mission. Stop the Reapers, save the galaxy. "Then promise me you won't do it unless you have to."

"It's so hard. It's like you said, I see what needs to be done and just do it. Damn the consequences. That's why I... thank you."

Kaidan took a step back, and folded his hands over hers. "I'm always here for you. Do what you need to do. Just be safe."

She planted a gentle kiss on his lips. "I need to go. We're hitting Cerberus HQ tomorrow; I've got things to prepare."

He smiled. "I'll be up later, then."

She shook her head. "Don't. I'll be busy. There's so much to do."

He waited until the door closed behind her. "I guess it's a date."

The sound of the door chime wormed its way into her head, past ship formations, troop numbers, and analysis of relative weapon strength. "Coming!" The door slid open to reveal Kaidan. Damn! Maybe she hadn't been too forceful in her refusal earlier, but she wasn't just being coy; she really did have work to do. "Kaidan, I told you..."

"Shh." He removed his hands from behind his back to reveal a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. "I thought you could use a break."

"I can't. There's so much to do." Yet her resolve was weakening with every second those brown eyes, smoothly muscled arms, and goddamned half-smile stood in front of her.

He pushed past her and moved backward into the room, brandishing the bottle and glasses as he did so. "C'mon, just a quick drink, then I'll go."

She sighed, but a smile spread across her face. She led him to the sofa and they sat down. Shepard waited until the drinks were poured, then pulled her legs up, resting them on Kaidan's lap. She reached for a datapad on the coffee table, but Kaidan grabbed her hand and pulled it back toward him. "There's nothing on those datapads that you haven't been over a dozen times already. You've done everything you could; I know that because I know you. You're ready for whatever Cerberus or the Reapers try to throw at you."

"And what happens after? I'm a warrior, it's all I've been since the day the batarians hit Elysium. I don't know if I can be anything else."

Kaidan took her hand. "You are capable of so much more than you know, Lis. Whatever comes after this, we'll find our way, together."

She didn't say what she knew they both were thinking, that they might not be together. That there was every chance that one or both of them might not make it through the last leg alive. Kaidan was right, there would be time for that tomorrow. Instead she drained her glass and turned to straddle Kaidan on the couch. "Well if that's all there is to it, then lets get to the real purpose for your visit."

He grinned back at her, baring his teeth ever so slightly. "Let's do that."

The space station housing Cerberus headquarters was massive, yet they were managing to navigate it with EDI's guidance. What might have been a maze of corridors and locked doors was turning into a fairly straightforward path toward the center of the base. Other than the expected defenses of course.

Shepard fought defensively, firing off shots from her pistol from behind a crate or doorframe or just around a corner. The Cerberus troops were nowhere near as deadly as a Reaper banshee, but the turrets they deployed could rip through her barriers like they weren't even there. She let Kaidan and EDI do whatever tech magic they did on the turrets while she picked off the engineers. But once the turrets were no longer a threat, she Charged into the scene to work her own magic.

"Shepard," EDI said, scanning a nearby console, "you may want to review the contents of this terminal while I attempt to open the next door. I believe you will find them of interest."

Shepard began to review the logs while EDI went to work on the door.

She shook her head slowly. "I don't think I ever realized just how bad it was, how far they had to go. Did they actually do it? Am I really me, or just some high tech VI that thinks it's Commander Shepard?"

Kaidan drew in close behind her and said almost in a whisper, "You're real enough for me."

Shepard smiled in spite of herself. All the doubt, all the fear and mistrust, but here, here where it really mattered, it was really over. She'd realized it before, of course, but he only confirmed it now. She started the next entry.

Shepard could feel the heat rising up within her. These were her friends, the people she'd come to care about, and he'd used them. It shouldn't have surprised her; the Illusive Man had used a lot of people and he didn't think twice about doing so. She'd realized that when he'd set up Kaidan on Horizon. But that didn't stop the anger she felt at seeing it spelled out so clearly in front of her. "He better fucking be here!" Biotic energy flared around her. "I'll stab him in his fucking face!"

She felt a hand try to rest on her shoulder. She tightened her biotic field, pushing it away. Pushing him away. He pushed back.

"Shh, you're runnin' a little hot, there, Lis. I can't let you keep going like this."

She understood. He wasn't going to let her repeat the mistake she'd made at Sanctuary. "Its just... I think of all the people he's screwed with, the lives he's ruined, and I just..."

"I know." He squeezed her shoulder as firmly as he could through the hardsuit. "And we'll get him. We've come too far not to."

Shepard walked confidently into the comm room, grateful to have something approaching good news for once. She activated the link to Admiral Hackett. "Kai Leng is dead. And we got the Catalyst data. It's the Citadel."

Hackett frowned and nodded slowly. "We suspected as much. That would explain why they took it."

"Took it? The Citadel? But how?"

"We don't know, but the Reapers have taken it to Earth. This is it Shepard. This is where it's all going to end, one way or the other."

"All that preparation, and we still end up going against the Reapers head-on."

"I know, and yet that's what has to happen. We have to do this now. It's the only way any of us is going to survive this. We rendezvous at Arcturus in twelve hours. Hackett out."

She met Kaidan on the observation deck, the blur of FTL streaking across the window as they sped across the cluster.

"I guess this is it, then," he said, not taking his eyes off the view. "This is what it's all been leading up to." He felt Shepard's hand slide into his and turned to look at her. "Are you worried?"

Shepard shook her head. "You know, the anticipation's always worse than the actual battle. And standing here on the doorstep, you're right. We've done everything we could. Now we just have to see it through. Let's just get there, and end it."

She relaxed into his embrace then, and in silence they continued to look out at the stars.

"Admiral on deck!" Shepard announced as Admiral Hackett boarded the Normandy. His shuttle had been waiting to dock as soon as they came through the relay. Joker, understandably, remained seated, but the rest of the crew rose and saluted the Admiral as he and Shepard walked down the corridor to the war room.

"Shepard," Hackett said, activating the holographic display in the center of the room, "here's our problem." The holo showed the Citadel, orbiting Earth as a long, closed tube.

"They've closed the arms," she observed.

Hackett nodded. "And we need them open if we're going to dock the Crucible."

"So what's our plan?"

Silently, Hackett headed into the QEC room, Shepard following. He tapped at the console until Anderson's image materialized in front of them. "Admiral," Anderson nodded in acknowledgement. "Shepard, we think we have a way to reach the Citadel. The Reapers have set up a device here in the city; similar to the conduit on Ilos from what we can tell. They're using it to ferry bodies up to the Citadel. But if we can use that to board, we should be able to get those arms open."

Shepard nodded. "That's what we gotta do, then. Get to that conduit, board the Citadel, and get that fucker open."

"Then if you have no further questions, Commander," Hackett said, "I need to address the fleet."

Never before have so many come together from all quarters of the galaxy. But never before have we faced an enemy such as this.

Shepard worked her way into armor that she'd shucked off mere hours before. She secured all the buckles and fastenings, checked the settings on her biotic amp and inserted it, and finally put on her visor. She examined her loadout: one lightweight Asari shotgun, complete with bayonet attachment, one heavy pistol with a scope in case she had need of distance work.

She looked across the armory at James as she made her way to the lift. Neither of them said a word, just nodded across the vastness of the shuttle bay. Nothing needed to be said; they were soldiers, and the battle was waiting.

The Reapers will show us no mercy, we must give them no quarter.

She stepped off the lift onto the crew deck and entered Liara's quarters. The Asari stood at her console, frantically entering information. "I'm coordinating with my government," she said, "to get the message pods distributed." The pods, their own version of the Prothean beacons, their hope for the next cycle, if everything went sideways today. Shepard stepped to Liara's side, put a hand on her shoulder, and pulled her into a hug.

They will terrorize our populations. We must stand fast in the face of that terror.

Her next stop was the forward battery, where she found Garrus and Tali standing together behind the Normandy's gigantic gun, their hands clasped together. On seeing the Commander enter the room, they tried to move apart, muttering excuses, but Shepard stepped between them, resting her hands on their shoulders, and smiled. "The Normandy's running at a hundred and ten percent. Wouldn't be fair of me to deny either of you a little break." She paused. "But it's time." Garrus laid a hand on hers, while Tali gave a single nod. They were ready.

They will advance until our last city falls, but we will not fall. We will prevail.

Kaidan met her on the lift as she re-entered to proceed to the bridge. Wordlessly, he reached over and grasped her hand, squeezing it gently but releasing it as the doors opened. He remained behind at the CIC as she headed toward the bridge, but she didn't feel alone.

"All fleets reporting in, Commander," Joker told her as she approached. "Ready to head through the relay on your command."

Shepard nodded. "Do it." She felt the brief gravitic distortion as the Normandy shot through the relay, then gazed through the viewscreen, marveling at the sight of thousands of ships jumping into place all around them. "Here we go."

She started to turn and head back toward the shuttle bay. "Commander, wait!" Joker called, hauling himself up from the pilot's chair and turning to face her. He raised his right hand into a perfect salute. "Be careful down there."

"We'll be fine," Shpeard said, returning the salute. "Stay focused. See you on the other side."

Each of us will be defined by our actions in the coming battle. Stand fast, stand strong. Stand together. Hackett out.

The FOB wasn't in much better shape than the rest of the city, but Anderson and his men had kept the location protected so far. She set the rest of her crew to find whatever tasks they could assist with as she consulted with Anderson and his second, Major Coats. "The beam is guarded by a Reaper destroyer. Any assault on the beam is pointless until we take that thing out." Anderson activated a holographic map and scrolled to that part of the city. "Now, we have trucks positioned along here," he pointed to a nearby street, "and the missiles onboard should have enough firepower to take out the Reaper."

"But," Coats continued, "the roads between here and there have been thoroughly destroyed. We'll need to split up, try to get through on foot. I'm glad you'll be joining us, Commander."

Shepard nodded. "I'm honored. But you've got a lot of good soldiers here. And I'd trust any one of them to see this through."

"Of course," Coats replied. "But it's more than that. Like it or not, you're a hero to these men and women. Don't discount the effect that can have on them."

Shepard nodded and turned to face the room, to see her team gathered, waiting for her orders. Waiting to hear what she had to say. "All right, team. This is it. The job in front of us isn't gonna be easy. But I have every confidence that you're up to the task. It's been a long road, and a tough one. But we are gonna end it right here. Today." She looked out to see the sea of faces nodding as one, confident that they would see this through.

"Okay, then," Anderson said, "we move in five."

Shepard met Kaidan's eyes from across the room and threaded her way through the crowd to meet him. "Hey."

"Hey," he replied.

They stood there for a moment, just looking at each other, taking in everything they could. Kaidan was the first to speak again. "This is it, Shepard. We both know the score. We both know this is-"

"Shh," she puts a hand to his face, brushing her thumb across his lips. Don't say it. We could both be dead now a dozen times over. This is no different."

"It is, though. Because this is where it all ends, one way or another."

Shepard nodded slowly. He was right, she knew. "So how's your squad? They ready?"

"They've been in London for the past few weeks now. They've been in the thick of things. They're ready." Kaidan turned and looked out at the sky, at the signs of the battle raging above. "I guess we're just old soldiers, Shepard."

She smiled. "Guess so."

"You know, it's funny. Messed up kid that I was, I never would have dreamed of the life I had. And I owe a lot of that to you."

Shepard stepped forward to stand beside him. "Now who's not giving himself enough credit?" She grabbed his arm and turned him to face her. "I didn't make you who you are, Kaidan. Neither did Vyrnnus. Neither did Conatix. You did that."

A small laugh escaped his lips. "Maybe I did."

"I hope you're ready, then. Because it's time to end this." Shepard began to turn, but Kaidan put a hand to her waist, pulling her toward him and pressing his lips to hers. She allowed herself one last moment to enjoy the sensation, to take in every taste, every smell of him, before breaking the kiss.

"Please come back," Kaidan whispered. "I can't lose you again."

Shepard turned away before he could see the tears in her eyes.