"How you liking that rifle?" Jacob's voice floated over to him from where the human was crouched.

Garrus rumbled happily as he popped the heads off of three collectors in rapid succession. "Oh, it'll do. It will do."

Legion looked at the sleek black thing in Garrus' hands, "Query. Where did you find the upgrades for that Widow?"

"You'll have to ask Jacob if you want him to take a look at yours. Massani, gimme three grenades, two o'clock." He grinned as the explosions went off. As they advanced along this route, Garrus hoped things were going as well on Shepard's end. He hadn't been too sure about the whole travelling in a seeker swarm filled tunnel with only a biotic shield to protect them plan. But maybe it's simplicity was its saving grace. Jack was strong, they'd make it. And Miranda was there too, for backup. Mordin had been sent with the crew they'd managed to save back to the ship. Garrus sent a thanks to what higher powers that might be listening that they were able to save the few they did.

"Taking point." Garrus pulled his assault rifle out and rushed the next area, dropping into cover just as a large group of the bastards flew in. "Grunt, take left, flank them from that wall, wait for my signal. Kasumi, go with him. Jacob, Legion, Massani, work your way right, draw their attention. We'll cover you from up here."

The collectors swung right to follow the distraction team, and Garrus and Samara and picked off the problematic ones. When the host of enemies had focused to the right, Garrus yelled to Grunt and Kasumi, "Now!"

Grunt charged their rear, followed by Kasumi who cloaked as she engaged them in melee. Between the three groups, they slaughtered the collectors in droves. Garrus spotted a large group of husks further ahead, and they had those shambling bags of trouble with them, "Scions! 12 o clock!"

They'd found the door into the area they were supposed to rendezvous with Shepard, but the enemy numbers were swelling. Garrus had the squad keep shuffling to avoid the shockwaves, but it was getting harder and harder to defend this spot. He radioed the other team, "Shepard! Do you copy?"

"I copy. What's your position?" They must have made it, he sighed in relief.

"We're pinned down at the door. Taking heavy fire." He blasted a husk point blank, then had to batter its buddy with his rifle stock. He groaned as he saw collector forces winging in behind them. They were in trouble if Shepard couldn't open the door soon.

"We're coming. Just hold on."

Garrus grimaced, letting his rifle spread the bullets around in a wild arc. His team was doing everything they could to keep this one area clear while dodging fire and shockwaves. He backed against the door and heard a muffled, "Get this door open!"

He flushed with relief. No sooner said than done and he almost fell backwards as the door slid open. Garrus took a step forward and yelled, "Everyone in!"

He laid cover fire while they scooted past him. Stepping slowly backwards, he looked over to make sure they were all there. Shepard stepped up next to him and he threw her a cheeky grin, she yelled, "Seal the doors."

The moment's distraction cost him though, as one of the collector's parting shots slammed into his stomach. He bent over, the wind knocked out of him. Strong hands lifted him up and he looked into green eyes, he choked out, "I'm okay. Just need a second to catch my breath."

Fear flickered on her countenance, then she straightened, thumping him on the shoulder. She lithely jumped up onto a platform, her gaze sweeping over them. Relief that they'd made it this far without losing anyone etched clearly on her face. "Thane. Garrus. You're with me."

The two men exchanged a nod before joining her up there. Garrus stood at her shoulder, as he'd done for so long now. He watched her shoulders tense as she prepared to give parting orders to her crew. This moment was why they had all come. The final push against these machines that were the vanguard for an invasion force the galaxy hadn't seen for thousands upon thousands of years. He moved slightly so he could watch her face as she spoke. She spread her hand over them like she was granting them a benediction, which they received in hushed awe, "The Collectors, the Reapers, they aren't a threat to just us. They are a threat to everything-everyone. Those are the lives we're fighting for. That is the scale of it.

"It's been a long journey...and no one's coming out without scars. But it all comes down to this moment. We win or lose it all in the next few minutes." Her love for them filled the air around them, making each back straighten, each chin lift. Softly she said, "Make me proud. Make yourselves proud."

Garrus dropped his hand on her shoulder, knowing Thane had mirrored him on her other side. Miranda gathered the remaining forces to guard the way in as the small team left to engage their final enemy in its lair, the floating platform dividing the forces physically, but not in spirit. They were all in this together, strongly standing in the face of this monumental horror as one.

"Assuming direct control!" Garrus growled in frustration as the trooper that he'd been about to headshot flew up into the air, light scoring tracks all over its body. He knew when it landed, it would be twice as hard to kill. Somehow, being possessed by Harbinger made these minions tough as hell.

He ground out from between clenched teeth, "I'm really getting tired of that guy."

Thane chuffed out a dry laugh, "I imagine so. He's the worst conversationalist I have ever heard."

"Preserve Shepard's body...if possible." In a blinding rage, Garrus poured all three shots in his clip into that monstrosity's skull, watching in satisfaction as it disintegrated under the onslaught. He ducked under cover as another possessed collector threw a ball of blue-black energy at him. It shouted in its hollow voice, "We are the Harbinger of your ascendance."

Platforms flew lazily toward them, every one full of enemy soldiers, every one of them capable of being transformed into that hated being, Harbinger. There seemed to no end to them. Thane, Shepard and he poured endless rounds into them, and they seemed to make no progress. Garrus narrowed his focus to just killing one after another, loading and reloading, diving and dodging like a man possessed. The time for finesse was past, this was just slaughter.

The blood frenzy lifted as he realized there were no more enemies to kill. The platforms made a long chain behind them, they were finally coming to the central chamber where he hoped this madness would end. He pushed a dead scion over the edge with his foot, then walked over to where Shepard and Thane were contemplating a terminal. She looked all around, "This is it. All the tubes lead to this spot. EDI, what do your scans tell you about what they're doing?"

"The tubes are feeding into some kind of superstructure. It is emitting both organic and non-organic energy signatures." Her next words were filled with awe, "Given these readings, it must be massive."

Garrus' mouth went dry as he stared up and up at the grotesque shape above them. EDI's voice floated over the comm, "If my calculations are correct, the superstructure...is a Reaper."

Shepard's gauntlet creaked as she clenched her hand tightly. Rage filled her face as she grimly said, "Not just any Reaper...a human Reaper."

His heart was pounding in his chest as he looked upon the future of them all. Worlds would empty of sentient life just to bring one, just one of these to life. He thought of the countless civilizations sacrificed over the eons for this...perversion of reproduction. There were hundreds of thousands of Reaper ships out there at the edge of the galaxy. The loss of life in sheer number was...innumerable.

He barely listened as Shepard and EDI hashed out theories, he was watching her hands more intently from where she stood with her back to them. They chopped through the air viciously. The anger surrounding her like a cloak was pounding against his senses, the sheer wrongness of it all was staggering. He felt a pressure on his body, a palpable force was being exerted on him. It radiated from her. Am I imagining this? What new madness is this?

Her voice rose like a clarion call resounding through this void, "This is ascendance?! That crucified obscenity is what the Reapers think we are and ever can be?! This how they create? Unconscionable."

Her voice dropped on that last word, becoming sorrowful, "This is not creation. Where is the joy in it?"

A power in her voice made him shake, both men swayed toward her. Abruptly, the sensation passed and Garrus gasped in relief. Then she turned her face to him and he was relieved to see how very mortal she seemed at that moment, like a silent hand had passed over them all. It left a chill in its wake. Shepard shook herself, then pointed out the tubes holding the Reaper fetus up, "Garrus, shoot those two tubes on my mark."

She drew her Mantis, indicating that Thane should draw his sniper rifle as well. The trio scoped in unison, the command fell from Shepard's lips softly, "Go."

Time slowed for him as he let loose a volley, barrel moving fractionally as he centered his crosshairs over the second tube. Both exploded less than a second apart, followed by the shattering of the other two. Thane broke the reverie, "Reinforcements."

They broke for cover, dancing with the enemy as they dropped in on their flying discs. With a deafening groan, the human-Reaper broke free of it's constraints and limply fell into the abyss below them. Shepard opened her comm, "Shepard to ground team. Status report."

"It's Jack. We're good for now, but we need to go soon." Her voice crackled.

Shepard glanced at Garrus, who nodded, "Get to the Normandy. Joker-prep the engines. I'm about to overload this place and blow it sky high."

"Roger that, Commander."

Shepard pulled the paneling open where EDI had recommended to place the bomb. She paused as Joker interrupted her, "Uh, Commander, I've got an incoming signal from the Illusive Man. EDI's patching it through."

Garrus' wrist pinged and he held up his omnitool in surprise. A few taps to access the link and a holographic projection appeared before them. This must be the Illusive Man. His eyes narrowed as he memorized that face, he had a feeling it would be cause for concern soon. Call it an intuition. The man's voice crackled through the interface, "Shepard. You've done the impossible."

"I was part of a team. Some of my crew gave their lives for this mission." A tiny curling of her upper lip indicated just how much contempt she had for the human. Inside, Garrus rejoiced. She would never be this man's puppet, she only allowed him to believe that he pulled the strings for a time.

The Illusive Man's shoulders slumped, "I know. Their sacrifice will not be forgotten. You did what you had to do, and you acquired the Collector Base. I'm looking at the schematics EDI uploaded. A timed radiation pulse would kill the remaining Collectors, but leave their machinery and technology intact."

He spread his hands magnanimously, his voice dripping reason, "This is our chance, Shepard. They were building a Reaper. That knowledge, that framework, could save us."

She slowly got up and turned to face him and with cruel amusement, Garrus watched the apparition take a step back from the implicit threat in her eyes. She stalked towards him, like a predator. Garrus felt Thane shiver next to him and looked over to see a flash of fear in the drell's large dark eyes. Not fear for his body, something else. Her voice was a deceptively gentle lilt, "They liquified people. Desecrated their flesh to turn them into something truly horrific. Tell me why we shouldn't destroy this place?"

The image foundered in the face of her rage, his plea impassioned, "A threat this big, your ideals go out the window. This station can help stop the Reapers, we have to use it. You know it's the right choice."

The look on her face said she knew no such thing, but as Garrus watched her consider the options, a tiny whisper of a thought that this decision wasn't really about the fate of the collector base trickled its way around the back of his mind. She echoed, "My ideals..."

The flame of rage died slowly in her eyes and she peered at him coldly as she said, "This...gift, as you think it to be, severs all my ties with you. Provided it is never turned against the people of the galaxy, I will turn my eye from you. But I will be watching."

Garrus dropped the link and the ghostly hologram disappeared. "Are we really saving the base?"

Shepard smiled cryptically, "There was nothing here left to save, besides our people. The Illusive Man will find this to be an empty gain in the end, I think."

He turned that puzzle over in his mind. The Illusive Man was gaining loads of Reaper tech, which could go so very bad later. If she wasn't referring to the base and its tech, then what did she mean? He watched her reconfigure the bomb, curiously. It seemed he would never understand her, her motives were magnitudes beyond him. That she was still a mystery pleased him, unaccountably. She stood and said to them, "Let's move. We have ten minutes."

A tremor ran through the deck beneath their feet. Garrus felt the icy fingers of premonition trail up his spine and he drew his rifle. Like a nightmare, the human Reaper rose above them, glowering with baleful red eyes at the small troupe. Shepard pulled out her particle beam cannon, sighting along it, firing it into one of those glowing lenses. Garrus watched energy gather at the thing's mouth and felt a flood of fear as Shepard made no move to find cover. He lunged for her, knocking her to the side behind some rubble just as the thing unleashed a beam that scorched the ground she'd just occupied. He hissed at her, "Now!? Now you want to be reckless?"

She patted his cheek as she got up, the monstrosity seemed to have dropped over the edge for now, licking its wounds maybe. "Just keeping you on your toes, Garrus."

"Spirits, woman, just watch yourself, please. I'm only one turian." He unloaded his clip into some incoming collector troops, knocking some out of the air before they could even land. He felt a little panicky flutter at the thought of how much time they had left, "Time?"

"Six and some change." Came her calm reply just as the Reaper reared up over the edge again. She stayed down mostly this time, popping up to strike at the things eyes. Six minutes, just six minutes, he attacked with renewed fervor, knowing that he had to get Shepard out of here. It didn't matter as long as he got her to safety.

Too much time later the Reaper finally fell for good, taking out the edges of the platforms they were on. Garrus felt himself pitch sideways and knew he wasn't going to make the jump. He slid closer and closer to the edge and craned his head about to try to catch a last glimpse of Shepard and found her sliding toward him, hand outstretched. No, no she'll fall, too. He yelled for her to leave him, but she couldn't hear over the grinding tumult around them. Garrus felt his legs slide over the edge and somehow, miraculously, she was there, holding him by one hand as he dangled over the precipice.

She pulled him up with a grunt, he scrambled back onto the platform with a shuddering gasp. An explosion below them signalled the final end to that aborted abomination. The concussion from the blast rattled all the platforms loose and the world tilted crazily, a sickening sensation in his gut told him they were falling, then there was a crash and he blacked out.

Garrus came to when someone lifted him up by his shoulder. Groggily, he looked down into Shepard's face. She was saying something...about helping Thane. He nodded and followed her to a fallen beam, the form of their friend trapped beneath it. He heaved the twisted metal up and dropped it to the side. Thane was breathing...good. Garrus reached down and picked him up by the front of his coat. No time for politeness, he slung the man across his shoulders. Joker's voice filtered into his consciousness, "Do you copy? Commander? C'mon, Shepard, don't leave me hangin'. Do you copy?"

She walked in front of him, "I'm here, Joker. Did the ground team make it?"

"All survivors on board. We're just waiting on you." A noise behind them had him spinning. A seeker swarm flew towards them. Garrus slapped the last few cobwebs out of his head and ran for it, pounding after the retreating Commander. Thane tapped his shoulder, "Let me down. I can walk."

"In case you haven't noticed, we're running. Sit tight til we get home, Thane." There was no time to set the man down. Adrenaline coursing through his veins made the drell seem to weigh nothing, a breath of pressure across his shoulders. He was hard on Shepard's heels. She was slowing, tapping at her comm link. Exasperated, Garrus stated, "And if Shepard doesn't get a move on, she's going to be joining you up there."

She ripped her visor off and chucked it over the side of the railing, "Fucking Harbinger was talking to me in my earpiece."

It seemed the entire base was chasing them up to where the ship waited. Joker opened the airlock, waving at them to hurry. He had a rifle and was shooting at the collectors that were fast gaining on them. Garrus leapt into the ship, relieved, dropping Thane unceremoniously on the deck. A loud crash behind him turned that relief into dread and he swung around to see the platforms that made a convenient ramp drop into the blackness below. He saw a grim smile form on Shepard's face as her pace didn't slacken, but increased. His stomach tried to drop out of the bottom of his feet. No it's too far. Jane!

Then she jumped, almost defying gravity as she flew over the chasm. It was a long heart stopping moment as she sped toward him. He'd just thought to hold his arms out when she slammed into him, throwing both of them on top of Thane's prone form. The drell groaned, "A little thought for my dignity, please. I am a dying man."

Shepard was off him in a flash, pounding after Joker as he limped his way back to the cockpit. Garrus stood with difficulty, pulling Thane upright, too. They supported each other across the threshold of the airlock, tossing an almost reproachful look at Shepard's back as they made their way through CIC to the lift. The ship tilted madly as Joker maneuvered them out of harm's way, Garrus and Thane staggered like drunks, arms over each other's shoulders. The elevator doors opened and they collapsed gratefully against opposite walls. As it descended, the base must have exploded, because the two men found themselves promptly off their feet again, and with a few new bruises. Garrus wrenched his eyes open to find Thane staring at him with a pained expression on his face. Garrus sighed, "Drink?"

"Drink." The drell agreed, closing his eyes again. Garrus also let his eyes drift shut, cheek pressed into the cool decking. They'd made it, they were alive. A short reprieve had been granted, the spirits were merciful.