A/N: First of all, let me start this note with a sincere apology about this chapter. My dear and valued readers, there is no way you are deserving of this subpar quality of writing. This is a horrible and rushed chapter, and if I was not hurrying to be done with the ME1 part of this story and get on to the juicy ME2 plot, I would have probably split this into three longer chapters and given it the dialogue and characterization that it deserves. I promise that things will improve noticeably starting with the next chapter! Please don't give up on me yet, I can do much better than this. :(
Secondly, I wish to thank all those still reading and adding this story to favs, but especially to those reviewing. You guys absolutely rock. :) I also want to explain my personal take on reviewing. If someone reviews me, I will absolutely make an effort to review their stories in turn. With 50+ new stories posted here every day, there is no way to read and review all of them (all though I try to read and review at least some everyday), so I need to prioritize. Obviously, I will give priority to those who have shown kindness and effort in reviewing my stuff. :)
Chapter 6 - Sovereign's Fall
The situation around Ilos is much like they expected it to be. The geth flagships are there in force, but Normandy's stealth drive proves invaluable, and considering geth ships do not have windows that could provide for visual identification, they are able to slip past the defenses, approaching an unusual energy signature on the surface of Ilos. It can only be Saren with his ground forces, and Joker pulls off an ill-advised maneuver with Normandy, dropping the Mako almost on top of unpleasantly surprised Saren.
Still, the former Spectre manages to give them the slip, and they are forced to chase after him through the labyrinths of Prothean ruins, that are a powerful distraction for the Prothean expert in their midst. And when they discover the still active Prothean VI, Vigil, Liara is practically ecstatic, Shepard and Garrus are almost forced to drag her away forcefully, the asari eventually remembering their purpose for being here in the first place.
Not that Shepard cannot understand the temptation. Vigil reveals things that nobody has ever suspected, and the truth is not easy to accept on the spot. The cycle of elimination of all organic life has been ongoing for millions of years, repeating itself every fifty thousand years.
Citadel is revealed to be a trap, enormous mass relay that links to the dark space beyond the edge of the galaxy, where the armies of Reapers await patiently, ready to pour through. The role of the keepers of the Citadel is revealed as well. These quiet, unnoticeable servants have over the history of million years, held the task of masking the true nature of the Citadel, with the sole purpose of activating the relay when prompted to do so by their Reaper masters.
"That's why they have proven almost impossible to scan," Tali realizes, shaking her head.
But the ancient Protheans have managed to spoil the plans of the Reapers, even as they watched their cities burn, their civilization fall. The Conduit is the result of the work on a science facility here on Ilos. It is a small-scale mass relay, leading directly through to the Citadel. In the last act of defiance, the Prothean scientists went through the Conduit and made alterations in the signal that would be received by the keepers.
"I get it," Garrus nods. "When Sovereign sent the signal, the keepers didn't understand it. That's why the relay wasn't activated."
"And that's why Saren is seeking the Conduit!" Kaidan exclaims. "He's planning to enter the Citadel through the backdoor, take them by surprise and activate the relay himself! We need to hurry!"
And making haste is exactly what they do, Garrus driving the Mako through the trenches of Ilos like a turian obsessed, until they reach the Conduit. "It looks exactly like that small statue outside the Presidium Tower," Tali remarks with some surprise. The geth protect the Conduit ferociously and Mako is starting to catch flames under heavy fire, when they finally reach the conduit and instantly trigger the relay jump.
Moments later, Mako appears on the Citadel, emerging from what Tali had just described as a 'statue' of mass relay and then rolling over a pair of very surprised geth. They hastily abandon the damaged vehicle that soon becomes overtaken by flames and is destroyed in a violent explosion.
"Look!" Tali exclaims, pointing upwards. "They are already here!"
Indeed, above them the battle rages hard. The geth fleets have arrived, seemingly having taken the Council forces by surprise. The turian flotilla and the Council's flagship, Destiny's Ascension, try to rally, but they are slowly getting outmatched. And amidst it all, they can see that the arms of the great space station are slowly closing, about to seal the Citadel off. Only one ship makes it through inside the Citadel before its arms close completely. It slowly drifts towards the center of the station, starting to attach itself, like some sort of gigantic blood-sucking insect.
"By the Goddess, Sovereign is here," Liara shouts, wringing her hands. "Are we too late?"
"We must find Saren," Shepard says resolutely. "If we can stop him from opening the relay, perhaps all is not yet lost. Only one question remains. Where to look for him?"
Gripping his shotgun tightly, Wrex nods towards the elevator to the Presidium. "I'd wager he's up there," he says, grinning from the thought of upcoming carnage.
Smooth travel to the top of the tower is interrupted at about halfway, the geth becoming aware of their intentions and sabotaging the elevator. Shepard leads her team through maintenance shafts, across rooftops, losing precious time, but finally arriving at the top of the Presidium. Saren is there, still hurriedly working on the consoles, a few dozens of geth protecting him. A krogan airdrop takes care of a good chunk of them, Tali sabotages another few, turning them on their fellow synthetics, Liara and Kaidan's biotics and Shepard and Garrus' sniper rifles take care of the remaining stragglers.
Then it is Saren's turn, but still trying to punch in the last of his commands into the consoles, he cannot provide match to their skill and determination. As Wrex and Garrus drag Saren away, Shepard completely ignores his mad ramblings. The turian ex-Spectre is by now completely indoctrinated by Sovereign, not a single thought of his own remaining. She hurriedly starts to work on the consoles, following the steps that Vigil has provided for her back on Ilos.
As Shepard manipulates the station to slowly reopen its arms, with the corner of her eye she observes the brutal execution of Saren. Roaring in anger, Wrex tears off Saren's mandibles in a spray of dark-blue blood and gore, while Garrus unloads one shot after another into the still struggling body that soon stops moving. Liara and Tali turn away, disgusted, while Kaidan watches grimly. "I will not deny them their revenge," Shepard says, feeling Liara's questioning stare. "Saren could not be saved or redeemed, you know that. The turian inside that shell is long gone, erased by indoctrination."
"The Commander is right," Tali says, looking at the consoles. She reaches out and presses one of the buttons. "This should bring the communications back up."
The quarian is correct, the comm line immediately jumps to life and reports are flowing in. The Destiny's Ascension is in trouble, their kinetic barriers are down to forty percent and the geth are about to bring down the pride of the asari fleets with the Council aboard. Then there is also Joker's voice, filled with worry, asking them to respond. He reports that SSV Normandy is on standby together with the whole Arcturus Fleet under Admiral Hackett. They await orders, whether to move in immediately and save the Council, or wait for the station's arms to open and then hit Sovereign with all the firepower they have.
Once again, it comes down to choices. Choices that determine who lives and who dies.
"Don't throw away human lives for those ungrateful bastards," Garrus says, fuming in anger at the memory of Council's betrayal. "They stripped you of command, impounded your ship, and now they expect that you will sacrifice your own people for them?" Wrex nods in agreement, and she notices Kaidan nodding too.
"Don't do it, Commander," Liara shakes her head. "This is bigger than just humanity, you know that."
She is right, it is bigger than just protecting humanity's interests. And I have been betrayed by Udina just as much as I was betrayed by the Council, Shepard thinks. "If I sacrifice the Destiny's Ascension, yes, humanity might be running the next Council. But we would be lonely upon our throne, as the rest of the galaxy looks upon us as ruthless monsters, willing to sacrifice our friends, our allies, as long as it advances our own selfish goals. No, if I wish to serve the best interests of humanity, I must show mercy to the Council."
"Sure hope you know what you're doing, Commander," Garrus grumbles as she opens the comm line and passes her orders to Joker and the Fifth Fleet. As they watch the battle above the Citadel, human fleets quickly overpowering the surprised geth and allowing Destiny's Ascension to retreat to safety, she catches the warm smile Liara gives her, just one more thing that reassures her that she has made the right decision.
Besides, maybe the Council will be grateful and a bit more considerate when dealing with me in the future, she thinks, before mentally shaking her head. No, they probably won't, they're all politicians. Their gratitude comes with an exceptionally short warranty.
The Fifth Fleet is getting decimated by the solitary Reaper. Debris from the destroyed human ships rain down all over the Citadel, but Sovereign is also starting to feel the heat. It detaches from the Citadel and attempts to position itself so that it can fire on the Alliance vessels more effectively. In doing so, when turning, it briefly exposes its less armored parts, and Admiral Hackett employs a brilliant maneuver, sending in a part of his fleet that had been withheld this far, waiting for this very opportunity. To wild cheers of Shepard and her friends, Sovereign is wracked by explosions all across its kilometers long frame, and then it shatters, separating in thousands and thousands of pieces.
"You know, we might want to..." Shepard starts to speak, as she sees a particularly large piece of debris getting launched in the direction of the Presidium Tower.
"Move!" Kaidan yells, pulling Tali away to get her moving. The others react as well, trying to run as fast as they can, but then there is a loud crash as a part of Sovereign's carcass crashes through the windows of the Presidium level. The force of the blast wave knocks them all off their feet, rain of debris falling down and swallowing them.
As the dust clears, for a while there is no movement in the rubble. After several minutes, as the first C-Sec officers arrive on the scene together with Captain Anderson, a heavy piece of metal plating is lifted and thrown aside, as Wrex emerges from the wreckage. His armor is dented and there is blood seeping through its cracks, but the krogan seems pleased nonetheless. "This fight is worth a scar to remember it by," he says by a way of greeting Anderson, then turning around and starting to sort the wreckage, hoping to find more survivors.
Garrus crawls out next, limping, carrying Tali in his arms. The quarian is unconscious, but alive, and Garrus explains that he has been trying to seal a part of her ripped armor to try and isolate infection.
Kaidan and Liara are trapped under the rubble, but they are both very much alive and well, protected by a safe pocket created by metal constructions, creating a durable tent-like structure. Lieutenant Alenko is bleeding from a deep gash in his brow, and Doctor T'Soni does not seem to notice her severe bloody bruises as she rushes back into the pile of debris, trying to find Shepard amongst the wreckage.
They search for a good while, but with no results. Anderson's face has become very grim as he looks at Liara, but the asari is not about to give up. "Wait, be quiet please!" she suddenly exclaims, and the others obey all as one. There is a steady metallic noise, somewhere in the rubble, close to the point of impact. They rush towards it, but manage to get only halfway there when they see a large piece of Sovereign's hull suddenly separating from the rest of the remains and Shepard pulls herself free of the wreckage. Limping, armor torn above the knee, her left hand hanging limply at her side, her blood and dirt stained face beams in a smile. She knows they have won this battle... and even if the true war is yet to come, they will savor this victory.
Several days later, once out of the hospital, she is brought before the Council again, together with her squad. The Council members appear humble and thankful, for once not dismissing her claims about the Reapers. There seems to be no end to the praise for Shepard and her comrades, and inwardly the cynical part of her mind already wonders how long the Council will remember her actions.
There is something tangible for humanity on the whole, as well. A seat on the Council, and Udina's eyes light up in anticipation at the prospect of being humanity's first councilor. The other councilors turn to Shepard, asking if she has a recommendation for humanity's candidate. Shepard declines to answer. She dislikes Udina too much on personal level to recommend him, and she cannot bear to do this to Anderson, even though in her eyes he would be the perfect candidate. However, putting a fellow marine behind a politician's desk is absolutely the worst thing one can do to another soldier, so she stays silent. "Let the politicians decide," her words come swift and she turns away, not wishing to be involved in this decision.
There is only one thing Shepard asks of the Council, and they happily grant her request. She asks for one week of shore leave before she resumes her work as a Spectre. After all this, Shepard feels they have all earned a moment of respite, before getting thrown back into action. "Everyone, make your way down to the Flux," she tells her crew, faced with smiles and nods. "Tonight, the drinks are on me!"