Chapter 8

Two years later…

"Two minutes until we hit Palaven's relay," the helmsman called over the intercom to the 130 souls aboard the ship. Tadius looked over at Pvt. Cantor, who had decided to accompany them to Palaven on this run. This would be Tadius' third trip home since the reconstruction of the relay network. There was still a long way to go to getting things back to a semblance of what they used to be, but after so long, there was hope.

Garrus Vakarian stood on the far side of the ship, looking out the viewport as the transport ship dropped out of FTL and Palaven came into view. The last time Garrus had seen Palaven it had been burning, his last sight of it from the Normandy in the middle of the Reaper invasion. That was almost two and a half years ago.

Now, the fires were out, but he knew that things were still not at their best down on the surface. And how could they be, after the incredible destructive force of the Reapers had descended upon them? The Citadel had taken more than two years to fully recover from Sovereign's attack all those years ago; how long would it take to rebuild a planet?

The transport ship began its descent through Palaven's thick atmosphere, mass effect fields keeping the ship pretty steady as it broke through and fell into a ship lane above the capital city. Garrus sighed as he saw the state of the once proudest city on Palaven; rubble still lay everywhere, and less than half the buildings remained. Some were being rebuilt, clearly in the process of reconstruction while other areas were still being cleared of debris. Garrus shook his head; there was still such a long way to go.

The thrusters kicked in as the ship turned out of the lane, circling around the tallest building left standing before coming in for a landing. It was Espiritus Tower, the Tower of the Ancients, and the home of Palaven's ruling government for the last millennia. Garrus chuckled when he saw its tall gleaming silver spires, reminded of the human explorer Jon Grissom's famous statement regarding Palaven: Everything on Palaven is made of silver, except for the Turians; it is all too clear they are made of steel.

The pilot powered down the engines and the bay door opened, allowing Tadius, Cantor, Garrus, and the other passengers to disembark into the landing bay. Cantor looked around in awe at the silver spires and the construction all around them. Tadius came up behind him, taking in the view as well.

"First time on Palaven?" he asked jokingly, elbowing Cantor. Cantor laughed, getting the reference.

"Yes. Yes it is."

"Hell of a first impression, isn't it?"

"Your people are recovering nicely from the war. It won't be long until the Turian hierarchy is back to its old self."

"We certainly hope so, Mr. Cantor," said a newcomer. They all turned to see Primarch Victus approaching, his armor much cleaner than the last time they saw him. "Vakarian, Silhed. Good to see you both again," he said, shaking Garrus and Tadius' hand. "Why don't you all come inside? Councilor Sparatus is going to speak soon, and I am sure he will be glad to see you all beforehand."

"Maybe not all of us," Cantor muttered, shuffling his feet. Victus heard him and smiled.

"We try not to hold grudges, Mr. Cantor. Animosity is something we care rarely afford right now. Besides, I do not believe that an outburst two years ago is enough to put you on the Councilor's—how do you humans say it? Ah, yes—shit list."

This drew a chuckle from Cantor. "I will have to trust your judgment in that regard, Primarch. Lead the way."

Primarch Victus led them down the hall toward the elevators as dozens of Turians rushed back and forth about their duties. "I must say Primarch, I didn't expect the Tower to be in such good condition," Garrus said, marveling at the hustle and bustle around him in the tower.

"Neither did we, to be honest," the Primarch replied, motioning them into the elevator and holding up his hand to stop another Turian from trying to get on, "especially given the Reaper's tendency toward obliterating anything of cultural significance. It has become a beacon of hope to our people, a symbol of the endurance of the Turian spirit."

The elevator stopped at the top floor and Victus led them down another hallway toward the conference room where Sparatus was preparing to speak. "Reconstruction efforts have been mostly successful. We have put the death toll at around half the planetary population; the Turian Hierarchy survives."

"Half?" Cantor asked, shocked by the Primarch's words. "That's over three billion people, sir."

"I am painfully aware of that fact, Pvt. Cantor," Victus replied, approaching a door console. "But it does little good to walk around mourning in despair when strength is needed, now more than ever."

Tadius saw that Cantor was displeased, but the young human did not press it any further.

Just then, a large gunship painted with the markings of the 33rd regiment buzzed by, causing the glass to rattle. "What the hell are they thinking?" Primarch Victus growled, opening the conference room door. "They know they aren't supposed to run drills this close to the Tower."

They saw the room for a split second; a long table with ornate chairs, charts and schematics projected across almost every inch of wall, and two dozen Turians, a few Asari, and even two Krogan gathered around, talking and debating with Councilor Sparatus at the helm.

Tadius wouldn't remember later if he saw something suspicious, or if it was a gut feeling that he reacted upon. "Shall we go in?" the Primarch beckoned, stepping into the room.

"NO!" Tadius cried, lunging forward. The only one he was able to grab was Garrus, who stared at him with a dumbfounded expression right before a rocket burst through the window and exploded.

Screams and cries echoed through the air, everyone in shock of what had just happened. Survivors looked to the wounded, trying to count the dead and make sense of the attack.

But it was just the beginning.

Another rocket exploded against the side of the tower, shattering the glass and knocking Tadius to the floor, bringing Garrus with him. A barrage of machine gun fire ripped through the building, cutting down several Turians who were trying to escape the wrecked and smoldering conference room. Tadius saw through the shattered window the source of the attack; that same gunship that had just buzzed by moments before! But, why—?

His musing was cut short by another rocket to the side of the building, its impact causing the entire Tower to shake violently. "Stay down!" both he and Garrus shouted at Cantor at the same time, and the human merely nodded, face down with his hands over his head. Garrus and Tadius rushed forward toward the conference room, barely dodging another burst of gunfire from the ship.

"Councilor! Primarch! Can either of you hear me?" Garrus shouted over the sobs and crackling flames.

"Vakarian! Here!" came a croaking cry, and Tadius and Garrus rushed to Victus' side. Blood dripped freely from a wound in his side, but the Primarch was resilient. "This is nothing," he groaned, holding his hand tight against the wound.

"Where is Sparatus?" Tadius asked, trying to find the Councilor through the smoke and piles of bodies. Victus merely shook his head, pointing over toward the far side of the room. There lay Councilor Sparatus, eyes open in a never ending stare, vicious burns covering his body and bullet holes torn through his decorative robes. Tadius swore, but there was no time to do anything about it now.

"We have to get the Primarch to safety, immediately!" Garrus roared as another rocket threatened to throw them all to the floor.

"I will try and help any survivors here," Tadius replied, ducking down as the far wall exploded.

"No! I need you with me!"

"And I can't leave them!" Tadius shouted as the wind ripped against the exposed side of the tower. Garrus looked at him for a long moment, contemplating.

"Alright!" he finally shouted, helping the Primarch to his feet. "Do what you can. I will be back as soon as I am able!"

Most of the initial survivors from the conference room had either escaped or perished, but Tadius was able to find an Asari commando trapped under a beam, leg broken but otherwise uninjured. Tadius pulled the beam off of her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and supporting her while she tried to balance on her one good leg.

"Are you ready?" Tadius asked once she had become fairly stable, and she nodded vehemently. Together they hobbled out of the conference room and back into the hall. Tadius felt his heart sink when he saw that most of the wall had been blown away, and Cantor was nowhere to be seen. I hope he is alright.

Distracted for a moment, Tadius didn't see the gunship coming back around and bearing down on them. It opened fire, catching Tadius in the chest with enough force to instantly bring down his shields and knock him to the floor. The Asari commando was not so lucky, her barriers destroyed in the first attack on the conference room; the bullets ripped through her armor and sent her crashing to the floor. Tadius reached out to her and grabbed her hand as she sputtered and twitched, blood pooling around her. Soon she fell still, her eyes wide open just as the Councilor's had been.

"Enough of this," Tadius snarled. The commando's rifle had fallen a few feet away. Sliding carefully forward, Tadius grabbed the strap, easing it toward him. The gunship didn't see him apparently as it had begun firing into lower floors, surely cutting down people just trying to escape from the nightmare. Tadius extended the rifle, popping up to his knees and taking the shot.

The round ricocheted off the gunships shields, causing no damage but drawing the full attention of the ship to Tadius. Tadius only had a second to react as the gun of the ship began to spin, preparing to swiftly cut him down. He punched a button on the rifle and spun a dial to change the settings, firing off two shots in rapid succession. The first shot served to merely disrupt the shields, while the second shot punched a hole through the gunship's glass and its pilot.

The gunship immediately began to swerve out of control, spinning around in the air as alarms blared. Tadius ran as the gunship slammed into the side of the Tower and erupted into an enormous fireball, knocking Tadius to the floor as the Tower started to groan and shake.

Suddenly, a hand reached out and grabbed his, pulling him to his feet. Tadius had never been happier to see Garrus Vakarian in his entire life.

"Told you I would come back," Garrus said grimly, pulling Tadius along. They stumbled as explosions from the gunship rocked the Tower, and the building began shifting as supports gave way. "We're almost there. Got a shuttle waiting for us at the end of the hall. We've got this."

Tadius saw the shuttle, and knew they were out of time. Tables and chairs began to slide back down the hall and they ran, fighting hard against gravity as it tried to pull them down too. Tadius leapt from the building into the waiting shuttle, Garrus right behind him. The Tower shook violently as Garrus leapt, causing him to miss the shuttle, a hundred stories between him and the ground below…

Not today, however, because Tadius was there to lean out over the side and grab his arm, hauling him into the shuttle. Garrus thanked him, unable to believe he had just been snatched out of the air like that. He pounded on the side of the shuttle, yelling for the pilot to take off. The shuttle sped away, leaving the disaster behind as the Tower collapsed upon itself in an eruption of fire, ash and debris.

Espiritus Tower, the Turian beacon of hope that had stood for a millennium and survived a Reaper invasion, had fallen.