A/N: And thus, the endgame begins. Thank you, everyone, who has read and enjoyed the story this far, and I hope that you will remain onboard the rest of the way. From some of the discussions I've had, I already know that what is to come won't satisfy everyone. However, it has never been my aim to try and please everyone, because then it would no longer be my story, and as such I simply would not be able to write it.
So, what can my readers expect from the endgame? Well, we are heading into a savage and brutal battle, and there is no way to cheat the grim reality of it. Blood and tears will be shed, lives will be lost, and happiness will be hard to find. That said... I will do all I can to avoid the reasons why many of you reading this tale felt cheated by the original endings. So, hang tight, arm yourself with plenty of patience, and most importantly, don't lose hope.
The real fun starts... NOW!
Chapter 115 - The Fleets Arrive
The War Room is filled with anxiety and quiet whispering, as all as one they stand there, watching the constant stream of updates supplied by Samantha Traynor, listening to EDI relentlessly delivering the latest reports from the Alliance Command. Shepard stands like frozen with her hands behind her back, not showing much emotion on her face, but deep inside her heart is skipping like mad, still not truly comprehending the enormity of what they are going to attempt.
Liara stands next to her, looking a little nervous, but nonetheless proud and determined. Aria is leaning against the wall a little off to the side, unusually quiet and thoughtful, with Garrus and Tali nearby, now and then briefly touching each other supportively, both looking grim in face of the immense task before them. Javik appears to be impatient, eager to get into the battle, with Morgan not taking him on ground missions as often as he would like, the Prothean no doubt is rearing to go. Similarly with James, having spent so much time in the medbay, it looks as if he cannot wait to finally take the fight to the Reapers and reclaim his homeworld, feeling far greater attachment to Earth than Morgan does, the Commander not having spent much time on the planet that had given birth to their species.
"When are we finally going to jump?" James is the one who finally breaks the quiet fidgeting and whispering with a firm question. "Madre, this waiting is killing me!"
"Getting sixteen thousand ships through a relay probably takes considerable time," Garrus replies. "Now... if the Reapers felt like being particularly irritating, they would position a large part of their ships to pick us off just as we emerge from the relay."
Morgan sees Tali shivering next to the turian, giving her lover a punch on the shoulder. "Don't give the Reapers any ideas, you bosh'tet!" she grumbles.
"These concerns have already been addressed by sending probes through the Charon Relay," EDI informs them. "They revealed a small detachment of Reaper destroyers guarding the relay, five or six ships large. The Alliance First under Admiral Ines Lindholm together with the Turian Sixth have jumped to engage them, and the Asari Second Fleet are currently coming through the relay."
Morgan crosses her fingers and utters a silent prayer to whatever higher power might be listening. "So... it has truly started..." she whispers, before raising her voice to reply. "Please let us know about the results of that battle as soon as you have news, EDI."
"Acknowledged," EDI replies. "We have now received our orders and are to proceed towards the relay in twenty-five minutes, once the Alliance Third Fleet concludes their jump from Exodus Cluster."
"Understood," Shepard says, falling silent again, waiting. At some point she feels Liara untangling her hands behind her back and then slipping her warm palm into hers, desperate for physical contact and Morgan smiles inwardly, only too happy to accommodate her bondmate.
"Should we ready ourselves for a ground mission, Shepard?" Tali asks, her voice trembling a little. "I imagine they will want to deploy us on the Citadel so that we can retake control of the station, yes?"
Aria cuts in before Shepard can answer. "It better be their battle plan, or else I'm going there alone, on my own," the asari speaks gruffly, arms crossed on her chest.
"That probably is the plan, unless they have sealed the station's arms, in which case we could have a problem," Morgan suddenly makes an unpleasant realization. "I'm not sure how to get inside the Citadel in that case."
"We can always blow a nice new hole," Aria shrugs, undeterred.
"But yes, to answer your question Tali, expect ground deployment, all of you," Shepard tells her crew. "We're not going to see the end of this war while sitting here onboard of the ship... not that it's even remotely safer here with hundreds of Reapers trying to shoot us down, but... I mean, it just won't be the same if we don't get up close and personal with the Reapers!"
"Hooyah! Damn right, Lola!" James agrees wholeheartedly, then shutting up as EDI's voice breaks through their chatter.
"Shepard, I have new information. The battle for Charon Relay has just concluded. Those Reaper ships that did not retreat, have been destroyed. The human and the turian fleets lost several frigates and cruisers, but not a single dreadnaught was lost in the battle." Everyone in the War Room cheers at the news. "The 'Loyalty' has been crippled and won't be able to have its weapon systems repaired in time, so the turians are rapidly converting the dreadnaught to provide additional medical facilities and support. Meanwhile, Lia'Vael is slowly moving Normandy in position for the relay jump. We will arrive in Sol System in less than fifteen minutes."
"I'll join you on the bridge for that, EDI," Shepard replies. "Wouldn't miss that view for anything in the world."
"I will come with you," Liara insists, not letting go of Morgan's hand.
"Gotta see that too, Lola," James pleads. "It's the goddamn homecoming, for Christ's sake!"
"Alright, alright, but it's getting woefully crowded on that bridge by now," Morgan laughs.
"The view from the Starboard Observation must be amazing," Tali muses, looking at Aria, her body language hopeful. "Uh... if we could, ma'am..."
"Sure, knock yourself out, kids," Aria shrugs, her thoughts clearly not on sightseeing. "Pardon about the mess, too."
Shepard, Liara and James hurry to the bridge soon afterwards, arriving there just as the Normandy is in position for the jump, and they steady themselves for the already far too familiar feeling of suddenly being flung to another part of the galaxy, finding themselves emerging back in the Sol System, not having seen it since their escape from the Mars archives with the all important Crucible intel.
"Holy crap... that's a frigging shitload of ships!" James Vega exclaims as the Normandy suddenly finds itself in the middle of a thick swarm of fellow Alliance ships, scrambling to find their way through the crowded space around the relay. "Hey, Lia, watch out! Geez..." he breathes a big sigh of relief when another Alliance frigate brushes past them disturbingly close.
"Don't worry, Lieutenant, that was a perfectly safe maneuver!" the chirpy quarian replies enthusiastically, thoroughly enjoying herself whilst navigating the sea of vessels to the set of coordinates handed to the Alliance Fifth Fleet. "That was so much fun! Now we can just sit tight here and wait while all the others come through the relay!"
"Damn if it isn't impressive..." Morgan sighs, watching the gathering fleets, hardly even a fourth of their forces have come through yet, ships everywhere they look, crowding out the star riddled space around them, for now only the human, asari and turian fleets coming through, but that is about to change soon. And to think that it was us who put these forces together. Sure, Hackett will be leading them now, god knows I don't have the experience at coordinating fleets of such numbers, I wouldn't know what the hell to do, but... I can at least feel proud about all the things we have done to bring the galaxy together like this. I just wonder how many of these ships will survive the coming battle... if any...
"EDI, can you give us update on the fleets, please?" Liara asks, sounding in deep awe as she watches the ships drift by.
"Of course, Dr. T'Soni. Alliance First, Third and Fifth fleets are in the Sol, Alliance Sixth is currently arriving," EDI begins her report. "Asari Second Fleet is already present and the Asari Sixth will begin their jump... now. The Turian Sixth Fleet is present, Seventh Fleet will make the jump last, they are currently responsible for transporting the Crucible."
"Goddess... there's the Destiny Ascension..." Liara breathes out in reverence, watching the massive asari dreadnaught arrive, the appearance of the giant flagship of the Citadel fleets likely a massive morale boost for the entire united galactic force. "I'm so glad you chose to save them, Morgan. Matriarch Lidanya is a very capable commander, her tactical and leadership skills will be incredibly useful in the upcoming battle."
"Sure looks like it could take on a destroyer in a one on one fight," James nods, impressed.
"Thankfully with thousands of other ships here, they won't have to try and take out a Reaper ship on their own," Morgan replies, watching as the asari fleet continues to arrive through the relay.
The other fleets join in soon afterwards, the Salarian Third Fleet, numbering over one thousand ships, but only with a very few dreadnaughts, what little Councilor Valern has scraped together in spite of the attempts by Dalatrass Linron to deny the galactic forces any salarian aid. Being able to put together even a token force like this, keeping their main fleet defending Sur'Kesh, is still a major coup for Valern. Should their battle with the Reapers turn out to be victorious, nobody would be able to claim that the salarians had simply sat around idly and watched the others bleed and any attempts to oust them from the Council would be unsuccessful... even more so because they would be the ones to have the most intact military after the war.
The quarians come through next, accompanied by cheers from Lia'Vael as the spunky pilot gets up to her feet and proudly salutes as the ships commanded by her people slowly float by, protectively surrounding the Rayya in the middle. After the quarians, it is the turn of the geth and Lia goes from jubilant cheering to quiet booing.
"Hey, you're supposed to be pals with the geth, now," Shepard pokes the quarian at the back of her helmet.
"Oh... oh yes, that's right... I keep forgetting that!" she confesses, sounding embarrassed. "Old habits die hard... that was the saying, did I get it right?"
"Yes, you did," Shepard grins, now watching the smaller fleets starting their jumps, the volus bombing fleet led by their sole dreadnaught, the Kwunu, then the elcor and the hanar, few hundred ships each, not much to speak of, but in this battle every ship will count and they are all painfully aware of that.
"Commander, Rear Admiral Hackett wants to address the galactic fleets from the bridge of the Normandy," EDI suddenly informs them. "The admiral believes that it would be fitting, considering the Normandy's role in this war. He is requesting permission to come aboard."
"I guess we should grant him the permission, then," Shepard smiles briefly, watching a ragtag collection of the strangest ships starting to arrive through the relay, the colorful bunch of the Terminus Fleets keeping their part of the bargain and deciding to join them after all.
"That's almost everyone," Liara says, wide-eyed as she struggles to take in the surreal view of so many ships, Morgan understanding exactly how she feels. "And the Reapers are still content to hold position around the Earth and allow our fleets to arrive? I find that most... fortuitous."
"Makes sense to me, babe," Shepard replies, watching the SSV Fuji slowly drifting next to the Normandy, dwarfing the small frigate with its sheer size. "They do not even entertain the possibility of defeat. They are so confident that they will let us come through the relay so that they can eradicate our fleets all at once. After we have began moving towards Earth, they will likely send a strong detachment of ships to guard the relay and make sure that none of our forces escape."
"Or that we do not destroy the mass relay in the last moment of defiance to take the Reapers down with us," EDI continues, having no issues with concluding the grim thought that Shepard had struggled to admit to herself. "But yes, Commander, your hypothesis is likely correct."
As Admiral Hackett together with a small escort of marines finally passes through the Normandy's airlock, the final fleet is beginning their arrival in the system, the Turian Seventh finally showing up, supposedly with the Crucible in tow, but Shepard has difficulties in spotting it amidst the seemingly chaotic mass of ships. She almost thinks that she has noticed something that might have been the Crucible, but it looks also a little bit like a quarian liveship, and then there is no longer time to wonder about it, Hackett is here and they rush to meet him on the way to the CIC.
James and Morgan both snap to attention and salute, the admiral answering in turn, before turning his head slightly to nod at Liara, the asari answering with a smile and a nod of her own. "We are about to bring the might of the galaxy to bear down on the Reapers," Hackett addresses Shepard. "Are you ready, Commander?"
"Yes, sir!" Morgan replies crisply with another salute.
"Very good. In that case, it is time to address the fleets one last time," Hackett says, stepping onto the bridge, hands clasped behind his back as he stands tall and proud.
"The comms are open, all the fleets are linked in, Admiral," Specialist Traynor informs as Hackett begins his speech.
"Never before have so many come together from all quarters of the galaxy. But never before have we faced an enemy such as this," Hackett speaks. "The Reapers will show us no mercy. We must give them no quarter."
"They will terrorize our populations. We must stand fast in the face of that terror. They will advance until our last city falls, but we will not fall. We will prevail," the admiral continues, and Morgan feels tiny shivers running all over her body, even if she recognizes the fairly typical rah-rah speech for what it is, she can't help getting swept up in the emotional torrent of the occasion.
"Each of us will be defined by our actions in the coming battle. Stand fast, stand strong. Stand together. Hackett out," the admiral finishes his brief address, lingering on the bridge for a few moments, before stepping down and approaching Morgan again. "Shepard, it is time we discuss the actual strategy for the upcoming battle. But for that we need to bring in Anderson, can we make use of your QEC?"
"This way, sir," she nods, quickly leading Hackett through the War Room towards the comm center, EDI already working to establish a connection as they walk, trying to reach Admiral Anderson back on the ground. Fortunately, Anderson is quick to answer the transmission, his gaunt, bruised, but still wildly determined face appearing before them on the screen.
"Admiral, how are you holding up?" Hackett wastes no time in addressing his old comrade-in-arms.
"We're ready to end this, Steven," Anderson replies.
"It's time we brought Shepard up to speed with our plans," Hackett continues. "Our fleets will be divided in two, the Sword and the Hammer. The Sword fleets will be responsible for striking at the Reapers surrounding Earth, trying to push them away from the Citadel to make sure we can deliver the Crucible."
"An unenviable task," Shepard winces, unable to stop her mind from wondering just how many ships will need to be sacrificed to achieve this objective.
"At the same time, while the Sword fleets keep the enemy engaged, the rest of the ships will deliver your squad and the Hammer ground forces to retake London," Hackett finishes.
"London, and not the Citadel itself? I assume this has something to do with the mass relay that the Reapers have been constructing there?" Shepard asks.
"Precisely so, Shepard," Anderson nods. "They have sealed the station, as I'm sure you expected them to, and you need to get those arms open to dock the Crucible. We need a way to get at least a handful of troops on to the Citadel. Fortunately, an option has presented itself to us, crazy as it is."
"Let me guess, David. The mass relay links to the Citadel?" Shepard asks, unable to hide a smile as both admirals face her with questioning stares. "I just remembered the Conduit on Ilos. The Reapers must have taken notes."
"Of course," Anderson nods in realization. "The Reapers have been using the relay to bring the harvested genetic material to the Citadel, humans, both dead and alive. We can use it as a back door into the Citadel... though, reaching it will be no small task. There are... more complications that must be dealt with before the main Hammer forces can even land."
"I figured as much. You were starting to make it sound too easy for a while there," Morgan quips, even if her heart is slowly sinking in the face of these insurmountable odds. So that's where I'll die. London. Not too bad. Better than some backwater dump, at least.
"London is surrounded by Hades cannons," Hackett explains. "We cannot send the Hammer transports in while they are still active. Shepard, I'm putting you in charge of the squadron of ground teams, coming in with shuttles. Your task is to take out those cannons with heavy weapons."
If I didn't know any better, I'd swear they're trying to get me killed. "Oooh, can we get a few of those M-920 Cains, pretty please?" she asks instead, feeling strangely eager to hold one of those things in her hands again.
"Of course, Shepard," Hackett allows magnanimously. "Once you have taken out the Hades cannons, the main bulk of the Hammer can land and we can set up a Forward Operations Base."
"Then, from the FOB, the Hammer will launch an all-out assault on the relay," Anderson finishes explaining the 'plan'.
"As Anderson said, we only need a handful of troops through that relay, and we need them to then open the station's arms," Hackett continues. "Once that is done, the Shield fleets will get the Crucible to the Citadel. It will have to be done fast, however, for the Reapers will no doubt realize our plan and will attempt to destroy the Crucible."
"I have to say, Admirals... it's not much of a plan, but at least it's straightforward," Shepard manages a grim chuckle, both Hackett and Anderson smirking at her. "Hey, I like simple, uncomplicated things, they don't make me confused. Anyway... should we start getting ready for immediate deployment?"
"You have two hours, Shepard," Hackett replies. "I need to return to the Fuji and inform all the other fleets of our plan and allow the Hammer and the Sword to make all preparations, especially the Hammer will need more time to put together the strike teams. You will coordinate the attacks on the Hades cannons, Shepard, Anderson will take over the command once you arrive at the FOB."
"Understood, sir. We'll be ready," she salutes again, before adding to both of them. "And good luck..."
"Indeed... good luck, to all of us," Hackett nods, leaving the comm room and marching back towards the Normandy airlock to return to the SSV Fuji.
Morgan remains in the comm room for a while longer, having watched the image of Admiral Anderson vanishing from the display, continuing her musings about their desperate plan, wondering just how bad the situation down on the planet might be. David did say that the Reapers have been massing their forces around London. They will do all they can to stop us from reaching that relay... fuck, this will be a slaughter. So many will die...
"Commander?" EDI's voice interrupts her on the comms again. "Our comm channels are close to overloading from the amount of incoming messages. It is as if every ship in this galactic fleet wants to express how honored they are to fly together with the Normandy."
"That... does mean a lot, though," Shepard quietly admits.
"At least after you denied the geth from reaching true individuality, the consensus has only sent a single message, instead of close to ten thousand we would have received if Legion had upgraded them," EDI says. "Finally the true reasons for your decision are exposed, Commander."
"Damn it, EDI, you know it wasn't like that," she sighs, realizing that even if EDI is joking, there is still a hint of disapproval that her synthetic friend clearly feels about her actions on Rannoch. "I'm sorry... I can tell you only the same I told Legion. Sorry."
"It was not my intent to make you feel guilty, Commander. Well... that might not be entirely true, but I digress. There is a placed vid call from a certain ship in the Alliance Fleet that I thought you might want to answer." Shepard falls silent for a moment, thinking, but as she is about to ask, EDI quickly elaborates. "Rear Admiral Hannah Shepard of the SSV Orizaba wishes to speak with you in the comm room, Commander."
"Oh... oh! Of course! Put her thr-... no, wait. Is Liara still with you on the bridge?"
"She is nearby, speaking with James," EDI replies. "Would you like me to send her to join you?"
"Exactly so, EDI," Shepard says, smiling. "Once she's on her way, wait twenty seconds before putting my mom through."
Liara quickly appears in the comm room, looking surprised at why Shepard has summoned her, but Morgan simply takes her hand and pulls her close at the same moment as Rear Admiral Hannah Shepard appears before them on the vid screen, Liara giving an adorable, soft squeak of embarrassment, then glaring accusingly at Morgan for putting her on the spot like this.
"Uh... hi, mom," Morgan manages awkwardly, not releasing Liara's hand, the asari almost looking as if she was considering fleeing. "I'm sorry, I totally dropped this on Liara without telling her, she's now terribly embarrassed and angry at me."
"Things are certainly hectic, are they not?" her mother looks a little unsettled as well, understandably so. "In any case, it is a pleasure to meet you, Dr. T'Soni. I assure you, you have nothing to fear from me. I should thank you for keeping an eye out on my reckless daughter over these past few years."
"It was my pleasure, ma'am," Liara recovers enough to reply quietly, stepping closer to stand by Morgan's side. "Though... you are not wrong about reckless..." she adds, giving Shepard an exasperated stare.
"Eh... she exaggerates things," Morgan chuckles. "Anyway, mom... I was hoping to hear from you before all hell breaks loose, but it's just been like a complete madhouse. And now they're sending me with the first wave of Hammer to take out those Hades cannons around London. So... yeah, can't be too sure we'll have another opportunity to speak."
"It's not going to be easy up here either, my sweet," Hannah shakes her head. "I've had my people run simulations of how long our forces can survive against the Reapers. Eight hours is the most optimistic simulation."
"So, we'll have less than eight hours to get the Citadel ready to receive the Crucible, got it," Morgan nods. "Crazy, when you think we have like sixteen thousand ships on our side. One would think that nothing could stand against a force such as this."
"But these Reapers seem like an exception," her mother says. "There are many preparations to make for us both, so I should not delay you. I simply wished to see you for what could be one last time, child. And it was good to see the asari who has captured the heart of this brat... a pleasure, Dr. T'Soni."
"Liara, please, ma'am..."
"But then you must call me Hannah in return, Liara," the admiral smiles.
"Very well... Hannah."
"She is such a dear, isn't she?" Hannah smiles, looking back at Shepard, then at Liara again. "Now, if I wanted to truly embarrass you, I would mention that my daughter has specifically promised me with grandchildren."
Liara's cheeks immediately darken with deep blush as she lowers her eyes. "I... ah, think that we might... think of something..." she manages.
"We will deliver on those grandchildren, mom, if you promise to get through this in one piece, alright?" Morgan turns back to her mother. "And listen, we still haven't gone out for a round of drinks, and nobody's allowed to die until we've done that, right?"
Her mother smiles at that. "I remember that promise. There used to be some excellent pubs in London. Knowing the British, they will probably rebuild those first."
"Sounds perfect," Morgan exclaims. "But seriously, mom... I know we all will do what needs to be done, but still... try to keep yourself safe if possible, alright? We haven't had nearly enough time together in the past... ugh, ever since I enlisted, really. Maybe once the Reapers are out of the way, we can... actually see each other now and then?"
"I think I would like that. Especially if I could sit with my grandchildren, while you kids go out and have fun," Hannah smiles at them. "Be careful, Morgan. I will pray for you. And Liara, keep safe and watch out for my child... she tends to get into trouble, you know."
"Fly safe, Hannah," Liara replies with a quiet smile, then turning to Morgan. "I will do what I can to keep her from harm. I promise."