So, we got another update here. Written before ME3 actually was released.

Bioware owns everyone, but they lease them out from time to time.

Later that day, Ash sat alone in her cabin. The reports crawling across the screen on her OSD were the furthest thing from her mind. She had been with Liara and Shiala for most of the day at one of Liara's hidden offices, running some tests to see if Shiala's unique body chemistry could be used to help heal Shepard. While there were many promising starts, it would take some time to know if anything could be used. Shiala had offered to stay with them on the Normandy, in case there was any other way she could help.

Kelly had helped Shiala get settled in to the port observatory, which until a few weeks ago had been occupied by Samara. Ash had gone to medbay to see Shepard, and see if Doctor Chakwas had made any progress, but there was nothing new in his condition. After some time, the older woman had convinced Ash to try to get some rest, though it was proving to be a difficult thing to do. To try to bore herself, she had tried going over various reports that had gone neglected, but she still couldn't focus on them.

She was constantly going from her concern for Shepard to her worry about their mission. Since Shepard's collapse, they hadn't made any headway in finding a way to fight the Reapers. She felt pulled in different directions; on one hand she wanted to do everything she could for Shepard, and on the other she knew they still had to stop the reapers from invading. Logic dictated that she put the needs of the galaxy before the needs of Shepard, but her heart was having a tough time accepting that.

So lost in her thoughts was she, she barely noticed the door to the cabin chirp, until finally EDI appeared from the holoemitter built into the desk. "Lieutenant Commander Williams? Miranda is requesting entrance to see you."

Ash shook her head. "Oh, yes. Please, unlock the door, EDI."

EDI's blue avatar disappeared as the cabin door entered. Ash rose as her XO walked in. Ash noted that she was wearing what had become her default casual outfit of black pants and a gray tank top. Not a business visit then, Ash thought to herself. If Miranda was here as her XO, she would be wearing her black and white uniform. Ash motioned to the couch. "Sorry about that, Miranda, I was off in my own little world."

Miranda smiled as she sat down across from Ash. "Not a problem at all, Ash, I completely understand."

"Can I get you anything? Water? Wine? I know John has a bottle of the good stuff hidden away."

Miranda smiled a little. "No, thanks, I'm all set."

Ash sighed, regarding the former Cerberus operative for a moment. In the months that they've known each other, they had grown close, closer than Ash had initially thought they would be, all things considered. "Why do I get the feeling that I know why you're here?"

"Because you're an intelligent woman." Miranda paused for a moment, not sure of how to proceed. "Ash… I can only guess as to how hard this has been on you. I can't imagine what I would do if it was Jack lying on a bed in medbay. But… we need to get moving. We still need to stop the reapers, and we've been getting reports of strange signals being picked up all throughout the galaxy. I think we're running out of time."

Ash looked down. "I know. I guess this is why there are rules against fraternization. I haven't been able to think clearly since John went down."

Miranda nodded. "I figured that was why you pulled a gun on Aria. No one in their right mind would do that and expect to live."

Ash laughed lightly. "Yeah, I guess I wasn't thinking too clearly then. It worked, though, didn't it?"

Miranda smiled. "I guess it did."

Ash sighed, then stood up and began pacing in front of the fish tank. "Part of me is just so pissed off right now. I lost him once, got him back, and now I lost him again. And it's not like the attack on the Normandy,he's lying right there in med bay! I feel so… helpless. Knowing he's right there, but something's incredibly wrong… I don't know what to do. I know he wouldn't give up trying to save me, and I can't give up on him."

Miranda looked at Ash, regarding her for a moment. "Ash, if he doesn't wake up… he would want you to carry on, to continue the work that you started. We'll keep looking for ways to help him, but we still have a job to do."

Ash stopped her pacing and faced the fish tank. As brutal as it was to hear, she knew Miranda was right. She would have to put her personal feelings aside for now, and get back to work. They had little enough information as it was, and they were facing an enemy that was almost incomprehensible. She knew they couldn't delay any longer.

"You're right, Miranda. We'll have to do what we can for him… but we also have to do what we can for everyone else." Ash turned to face Miranda, her face as professional as she could make it. "Thanks."

Miranda stood and walked over to Ash. She could see the Spectre trying to hold back her tears. Every part of her wanted to reach out and embrace her, to tell her that John would be alright, but she didn't feel that she had any right to try to comfort her, especially since she had been the one to tell Ash that they had to put Shepard's recovery to the side.

Miranda nodded then went to walk past Ash. She was just reaching the door when the floor fell out from beneath her. Quickly recovering her footing, she looked to Ash, who was similarly getting her balance back. "What the hell was that?"

"I don't know. Let's get down to CIC."

When the doors opened after the brief elevator ride down to CIC, they emerged into a room full of chaos. Walking up to her and Shepard's terminal, Ash pulled up the ship's holographic image in the galaxy map to check for damage. "Kelly, what the hell is going on?"

The yeoman was already checking the various damage reports. "I don't know, ma'am. It's like the whole planet just shuddered."

Miranda ran over to one of the open terminals and patched into the local broadcasting systems, trying to find out what happened. "With our inertial dampeners on, the planet should be able to take a 7.5 scale earthquake without us feeling it. Something's happening."

"Uh, I think I know what's going on." Joker's voice came over the comm to the three women. "Patching through a feed from one of the local traffic satellites."

The holograph of the Normandy disappeared, and in its place was an image of Illium. "What are those ships burning into the atmosphere?" Kelly pointed to one of dozens of brightly glowing objects.

Ash and Miranda looked at each other. They already knew the answer. "Those aren't ships. They're reapers."

Immediately, a hush fell over the CIC. Joker pulled back the image, and they could see what they thought were dozens of reapers were actually hundreds, all entering the atmosphere. "Shit…" Joker's voice faded before he could say anymore.

Miranda snapped out of her reveille. "Ash, orders?" She looked up to see Ash staring at the image. "ASH!"

Ash blinked once, and then looked back down to her terminal. "We can't take all of them on. We have to go and rendezvous with the fleet, coordinate a counter-offensive. Joker, take us out of the world!"

"Aye aye!"

Almost as one, the entire crew snapped into action. As the Normandy flew up from the dock, Ash opened the shipboard comm. "Everyone, listen up. The reapers are here. We're leaving Illium to try to rendezvous with the fleet. In the meantime, everyone, brace for evasive maneuvers!"

Just as Ash finished speaking, Joker banked hard to port, sending anyone who wasn't already hanging on to something tumbling through the CIC. As the Normandy righted itself, Ash opened the comm to call the cockpit. "Joker, get us to the mass relay! We need to get to the Citadel!"

Not waiting for an answer, she continued looking at the displays. "EDI, how many reapers are we looking at?"

"There are three hundred forty-two in orbit. Fortunately, they are concentrating on the planet's surface itself, none are giving chase to any ships leaving. We should be clear as soon as we clear the atmosphere."

"Which we're doing… now." Some of the characteristic calm and bravado had returned to Joker's voice. "Plotting a course to the mass relay. ETA there is forty five minutes."

"Good Job guys. Let me know if anything changes." As Ash closed the comm, Kelly called over to her. "Ma'am, we're getting an awful lot of mayday calls from Illium. What should I do?"

Ash hesitated for a moment. Every part of her screamed to help what people they could. As a soldier, she couldn't wrap her mind around leaving anyone behind. But she also knew that to put up any type of fight right now would mean the Normandy would be destroyed, and any chance they had being lost. Feeling every bit the villain, she knew what they had to do.

"Close local comm channels. We can't help them if we're dead." Ash closed her eyes for a moment. Our Father, I know I can't help them all, but please… let me help some of them. Her brief prayer finished, she looked back to the terminal. "Kelly, I need to get through to the fifth fleet before we hit the mass relay."

Not getting a response, Ash looked over to the yeoman. She still had the Illium comm channels open on her terminal, with her hand pressed against her mouth as she heard the screams of people dying as they asked for help. Ash walked over, and closed the comm channels. Gently grabbing Kelly by the shoulders, she forced her to look into her eyes. Ash saw the panic and the fear almost taking control.

"Kelly, I need you to focus. I know a lot of people are dying down there, but a lot more are going to die if we don't do our jobs." After a moment, Kelly nodded. She blinked the tears that had been forming away, and breathed deeply.

"I'm ok… thanks. I'll get Admiral Hackett."

Ash nodded, confident that Kelly would be able to focus. Going back to her terminal, she called over to Miranda. "Miranda, damage report?"

"Minimal. It looks like most of the damage is internal, from supplies and freight not being secured. Minor injuries from being tossed around, but nothing major."

Ash nodded. It looked like they had made a clean getaway. "Lieutenant, I have the Admiral for you."

Ash opened her comm channel on the terminal, and Admiral Hackett appeared. "Lieutenant Commander, I hear you have some news."

"Aye, sir. The reapers are here. We just escaped Illium, and we're heading towards you."

"Negative. Stick to your mission."

Ash couldn't believe it. "But sir, we have to strike…"

"Williams, we've already gotten reports of other planets being hit. The Alliance and Council fleets are working to coordinate a response. In the meantime, we still need you to find us a way to fight back. You can't do that if you're flying point with us."

Ash knew he was right, though she hated to admit it. But she knew that they had the best chance of finding a weakness in the reapers. Their last good lead had been the lost protheans on the citadel, but after Shepard had been hit from that last beacon, they had been called away to help the Migrant fleet, where John had fallen. They would need time to figure out what their next move would be.

Time they didn't have. Looking back to the Admiral, she nodded. "Aye, sir. We'll keep you posted on what we find. If you need anything, let us know."

Admiral Hackett nodded once. "Try to stay out of the populated systems unless you have to. We have reports all the way from Omega to the Hawking Eta… to the local cluster. Be a ghost, that's an order."

Ash understood completely. If the reapers saw them, knowing that Shepard was on board, they were in trouble. Their escape from Illium had been luck, which they would have in short supply from now on. "Aye aye, sir."

"Oh, and Williams… if there's a sudden spike in transmissions from a certain Alliance frigate to civilian locations… I'll chalk it up to a systems glitch. Understood?"

Williams nodded. The Admiral was giving them his permission to try to alert their families, for whatever good that would do. More than likely to say good bye, but the gesture was not lost on her. "Aye sir. Thank you."

With a quick salute, Admiral Hackett disconnected the call. Ash stood there for a moment before keying her comm. She felt an intense cold in her bones, and she realized that she had run out of time and options. "Joker, change in destination. Take us to Omega, using the back roads. We need to stockpile some firepower."

"Omega, ma'am? What's at Omega? The fleet's massing at the Citadel."

"I know… we're not meeting up with them. Set course for Omega for now, I'll let you know if anything changes."

"… ok. Hitting the mass relay in twelve minutes, after that, we're three days away from Omega."

"Thanks, Joker." Ash closed the comm. She turned away from her terminal, heading towards the elevator. "Ash?" She heard Miranda call after her.

"Miranda, setup some terminals so that people can get messages off to their families. No live chats, we need to keep the bandwidth open, but they should have a chance to say what they need to say."

With that, Ash strode into the elevator, letting the door close behind her.

Ash took the elevator down to med bay. As she reached the crew deck, she was relieved to see the crew already in the process of cleaning up from their hasty escape from Illium. As she entered med bay, she was relieved to see Doctor Chakwas ushering her last patient out.

"Many injuries?"

The doctor shook her head. "Mostly just some scrapes and bumps. The worst was Engineer Donnelly, who dislocated his shoulder preventing Gabby from falling over the safety railing. Other than that, everyone's fine."

"Good. Doctor, if I could… May I have a moment alone with Shepard?"

The older woman regarded Ash for a moment, and then nodded slowly. "Of course, I'll be outside."

Ash watched Doctor Chakwas leave medbay before she went to Shepard's side. She pulled up a crate next to him, and took his limp hand in hers.

"Hey, Skipper. I don't know if you can hear me, but I needed to talk to you. The reapers are here. Be glad you missed the start of it all, though part of me was sure Joker's flying would be enough to wake you. I… I don't really know what to do here. We still have no way to fight back, and we're out of time. I wish I could just focus on helping you… but we have to try to help the fleets."

She looked down, and saw the ring on her finger that Shepard had given her. It seemed like forever ago, though it was only a few short months. "I know we haven't had much time together, and even less time talking about… us, but I promise you, I'll figure a way out of this, and bring you back to me. I lost you once, and I won't lose you again. But before I can get you back, I need to help others from losing their loved ones. I know you'd understand, but… God dammit, Shepard, it's not fair!"

She buried her face in Shepard's hand, feeling the tears flow. After only a moment, Ash lifted her head, and used her other hand to wipe her tears away. "Whatever happens, I will always love you. And if you don't get better to help me, I'll kick your ass."

With that, Ash stood, and leant over Shepard, placing a soft kiss on his lips. Sighing, she let go of his hand, and walked out of med bay. As she passed through the door, she saw Doctor Chakwas waiting for her. "Thank you, doctor."

"Anytime, dear Anytime."

Ash walked back to the elevator as the doctor went back into med bay. As the doors closed behind her, she hit the controls to take her up to her cabin. She was mentally making a checklist of things she needed to do, and there was one big thing that she had to do before she could truly get herself ready for what was to come.

As the door opened to the top deck, she walked over and into her cabin. She sat down at the terminal. She knew what she had to do, but had no idea how to say it. She had always considered herself an action person. She could never find the correct words for how she was feeling, though she had somehow gotten better at it since meeting Shepard.

She looked over to the picture frame on the desk. When she had come on board, she had seen that Shepard had kept a picture of her the entire time during his fight against the Collectors. After their reunion, they had replaced that picture with one of the two of them, taken on the Presidium on the Citadel. It was the day after Shepard had proposed, and they couldn't have been happier.

A long ways away from where we are now, she thought bitterly. She opened the terminal, and started a new video message. After taking a few breaths to steady herself, she hit the record button.

"Hey Abs. I had a moment, and needed to get a message off to you. You know I've been off on a mission, and I couldn't tell you exactly what it is… but I've been off trying to find a way to beat a threat that's trying to kill everyone in the galaxy. And I'm not exaggerating to make myself sound better, that's what it's after. Some worlds are already under attack. We're still trying to fight them back… but it's not looking good. I hope you guys are safe, and I'll do everything I can to keep you safe… but that might mean that I don't get to see you again.

"I don't know if I will be able to get another message off to you. I'm sorry that I let you all down. Shepard is… hurt, and I don't know if he's going to be ok or not. But I have to keep going, for you guys. So, I'll send you another message if I can… but… just in case, Abs, will you tell everyone… good bye, for me? I love you all."

Ash quickly hit the stop button, before she lost all control. The screen blinked with the message to either save or delete the message. Before she could think twice, she hit the send button.

Not allowing herself anytime to get caught up in her feelings, she kept going down her mental checklist. "EDI, can you do something for me?"

The AI's hologram appeared next to her. "Of course, Lieutenant Commander Williams. What do you need?"

"I need you to tell Garrus, Jacob, Miranda, Jack, Kelly, Liara, and Shiala to meet me in the briefing room in thirty minutes." She didn't name these people lightly. For the meeting she was planning, she would need people whose judgment she trusted, as well as those who she counted on for emotional support. Also, for what she had in mind, she would need the help of both asari.

"Of course. Shall I set a reminder for you?"

"No thanks, EDI. I'll be there."

As EDI's image disappeared, Ash could only hope that she was ready for what she knew she would have to do.

So, here we go, the start of the invasion. I'll try to keep up on my updates, sorry for slacking! As always, all reviews/comments are welcome!

Coming up next: Ash's decision, visions of the past... and the beginning of the end.