"It's too dangerous. We need to find somewhere else." Garrus cut off Pressly's panic, but the XO shook his head wildly.

"There is nowhere else! I've searched everywhere. That's the only viable drop spot within miles of Saren. The structure is too large."

"Twenty meters isn't enough. The descent angle is too steep." Tali's voice chimed in on the argument, stepping up beside the turian. "Making that sort of a drop isn't possible."

"It's a suicide run. It isn't an option." Garrus confirmed, and he shot a glance towards Shepard as the commander braced himself behind the co-pilots seat.

The turian was obviously waiting, hoping he would agree, but Shepard remained silent and breathed deep. Why can't it just be fucking easy? Just once? He wanted to disappear back into his cabin, back to an hour ago when Ash was there with him. When everything was right. His eyes took in the planet's atmosphere and his fingers clenched the chair. It was pretty big fucking chance to take with all of their lives, but he knew they didn't have a choice. Saren was here already, making his way to the Conduit. They didn't have time for a detour. They had to take a risk. And if anyone could get them in… He glanced at Joker, the pilot's eyes reviewing the monitors, a seriousness on his face that was foreign.

Sure, now he learns to shut up.

"It's our only option." Shepard growled. "He's down there already, making his way to the Conduit. We don't have any time to waste. We'll have to risk it."

"Shepard, that's risking everything. We crash into that building, and he's definitely getting to the Conduit." Garrus let his mandibles droop and he shook his head. "I don't think it's a good idea."

The Spectre met the turian's uneasy gaze. His reservations were reasonable, of course. But what else could they do? Let Saren introduce Sovereign and his friends to the galaxy while they road tripped around Ilos? No. He wouldn't let that happen, he couldn't. It was more than just duty now. It wasn't just rage driving him forward, it wasn't his need for revenge. It wasn't even just his constant, irrational will to protect. It was this want, this desire to live and see what tomorrow had in store. It was foreign and terrifying, and it had been so long since he last felt it that it was almost unrecognizable. But for the first time in the long time, he had something on the horizon. He had someone to come back to.

He had her.

And no matter what, he had to make sure she would have a future, too. Her future – and everyone else's - was dependent on getting to that Conduit, on stopping Saren. It was worth any risk. Shepard pulled away from Garrus' stare and looked back to Joker, and the pilot met his gaze steadily.

"I can do it." Joker's voice was confident, void of any doubt, and Shepard nodded before pushing himself back from the seat.

"Alright, we're heading down to the Mako. Try to avoid pissing off the Reaper while we're gone, Joker."

"Wow, awesome advice." He drawled, Shepard leaving the cockpit with Garrus and Tali in tow. "I expect that medal when you get back, Shepard!" Joker shouted after them as they crossed the CIC.

"You're sure about this, Shepard?"

"We have to do it, Garrus. Whatever it takes, remember?" They rounded the corner, exiting the stairway to the second deck and boarding the elevator to the hold. The rest of the team would be waiting as he instructed, hopefully already geared and ready. Saren wasn't getting away. "This was never bound to be easy, and if it goes anything like the last couple weeks have, this will be the least of what we face. But if Joker says he can make the drop, he can. He's the best damn pilot I know." Shepard eyed the turian carefully, and Garrus did the same to him. There wasn't doubt in his eyes, only that same calculating look he seemed to save just for the commander. He was still assessing, still trying to find some clue to Shepard's reasoning. Still, even now, it seemed like he was trying to take something away from this. The scrutiny made him uneasy. "Hopefully, he'll drop us right on top of the bastard. Save us some fucking time."

Garrus nodded, apparently accepting Shepard at his word, and his mandibles fluttered as he chuckled. "Spirits, that would be a nice change of pace. But who knows? Luck has to turn in our favor eventually, right?"

Fat fucking chance.

The elevator doors opened and Shepard didn't respond, finding his team assembled before the Mako, geared up and ready to go. They all looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to order them forward. For him to tell them to finish this. His chest constricted with the old, familiar panic. What if he couldn't? Why the fuck would he be able to? He was the last one that should be leading this team. He was a fucking basket case. He wanted more, but he didn't deserve it. His career was blend of his fuck-ups and death. Only a reputation for being difficult to kill and good aim had gotten him into the N7 program, and who the fuck knew what they were thinking with the Spectre status. He had done nothing to deserve this command, this team. Nothing to deserve her. All he was good at was getting other people killed. It was the only way these things turned out.

But her warm, steady brown eyes found him as his hand combed through his hair. Her brow arched, taunting him, her lips pursing with impatience. There wasn't any fear in her eyes, only strength, only a challenge. He knew from that look that she wasn't about to put up with any of his shit – all of the doubt, all the fucking guilt, it wasn't important now. The mission was important. She cocked her hips to one side, her arms crossing in front of her chest, and her eyes were lit with the words he had become too used to hearing from her.

Don't be an idiot, Shepard. We're getting through this.

The commander stepped forward. "Status?" Garrus and Tali headed towards their lockers, retrieving their weapons quickly and falling in with the others.

"I've updated your overload sequence, it should allow for easier use and a more powerful shield disruption." Tali's voice was eager as she stepped forward, seeming to remember her work. Shepard glanced at her in surprise. "I adjusted my own as well. I'm testing a sort of jumping sequence that is weaker but should, theoretically, be able to stun multiple geth by crossing platforms." The commander gaped at her. I said get ready, and she fucking got ready. "I've also developed a drone I believe should help us draw away some fire. She doesn't do much more than act as a distraction, but I didn't have time to add a weapons suit."

"She?" Garrus was mimicking Shepard's expression, looking at the quarian like she had grown a second head.

"Yes, she." Tali crossed her arms, her posture becoming about almost as defiant as Ashley's. I knew they were spending time together, but damn. He glanced at the soldier, and she smirked, eyes alight with pride. "I'm still working on a name."

"Right, well…" If her upgrades worked even half as well as she was describing, it would give them a huge advantage on the ground. Shepard grinned at the quarian. "Damn. Good job, Tali. You're brilliant."

Tali squeaked something gratuitous and backed into the group, twisting her hands in embarrassment. Garrus' brow plates were still raised in wonder of the small quarian.

"Alright. Ash, how are weapons?"

"Ready, skipper. Spares loaded into the Mako." She reached behind her and grabbed his rifle. The thing was shining. Shepard smiled as she handed it to him - holding the gun was oddly comforting, reassuring. He brought it up to his eye to look down the scope, checking the alignment. As a rule, he cleaned his own gun, but as he brought it back down his brows raised in appreciation. She knew what she was doing. "As you can see, I also took the liberty of polishing your gun." Ashley's voice was low and husky as her lips curled into a smirk.

Shepard cleared his throat, glaring at Wrex as the krogan let loose a low chuckle. "Thanks, Ash. It looks good. I should have you do this more often." The krogan's chuckle became a full, grinding laugh. Ash winked and leaned back against the vehicle, and he took a deep breath. Damn. "Garrus? Mako is ready to launch?"

"It's good, Shepard. Not going to be for long if you plan on driving – "

"I do."

The turian sighed, resigned. "Well, it's good for now."

"Liara, did you bring down the supplies from the Doc?"

"All of our suits have been loaded with maximum doses of medigel." The asari confimed.

The commander nodded. "Good. Everyone ready?" There was a string of nods. "You all know how this goes. The stakes might be higher this time, but we damn well know how to fight geth by now. Don't let their shields recharge, hit vital areas only. The fuckers don't care about loss of limb. There'll be krogan as well – do not let them charge you." Wrex offered a toothy grin in agreement. "This is going to be fast and hard, but I don't want losses. Amp up barriers and keep your shields. No one is left behind today." He growled, finding Ashley's eyes again. She held him there. "Load up!"

"Shotgun!" Ash didn't waste a beat, grinning as Wrex let out an irritated grumble. She climbed into the Mako, the others following close behind and taking their seats in the back of the packed vehicle. The krogan sat hunched on the floor, and Shepard clambered over him to the driver's seat, Garrus taking up his place on the gun. The commander rolled his eyes at Ash as she grinned at him, her eyes eager and determined and ready for a hell of a fight. His doubt ebbed away as he settled in his seat, hands grasping the wheel. Brandy eyes dared him forward, and her strength was infectious. Shepard drew in a breath.

"Joker, ready?"

"Ready. Don't go and get yourselves killed, things are just starting to get interesting."

"Joker." Shepard growled. Ashley groaned in exasperation.

"Right. Commencing countdown. Launch in 10, 9, 8…"

xxxxxxx

They were falling.

"Brake! Brakebrakebrake!" Ash screamed, her confidence vanished as she grasped the controls in front of her.

"Garrus, shoot that son of a bitch!"

"Shepard! Brake!" Garrus joined in her shout, though he did let off a round as they fell from the sky. The Mako hurtled towards the earth, and Shepard let it, his hand over the thruster control. The doors were closing, he'd have to gun it, but if he used the speed they already had…

"We can make it!"

"Brake right now!" Ash shouted again, and Shepard snarled. It was too tight. He turned on thrusters as they crashed to the ground, then pounded his foot on the brake. They slid forward towards the door just in time to see the goddamned rogue Spectre vanish as it closed.

"Goddamnit!" Shepard spat. How the hell that turian always managed to slip away, he had no idea. It was infuriating. "Fuck!" Ashley was glaring at him wide-eyed and flushed, as if her life had just flashed before her eyes.

"At least we didn't crash." Garrus muttered drily.

"How do we get past this goddamn door?" It was a barricade – a huge wall of stone that he doubted they could simply blast through with the Mako's gun. Where the hell is a mining laser when you need one?

"There should be an override, probably farther back in the facility. This is fascinating, such well-preserved Prothean architecture." Liara murmured, looking up from the back of the Mako. "Truly fascinating."

Shepard's hand tugged at his hair in exasperation. "Liara. Where would we find an override?"

"Well, I don't know exactly. But it should be fairly obvious – a control room, something of the like. They will have centered their controls in a large, defensible building, not unlike our own species."

"Tali, you get those schematics Pressly sent you?"

"Yes, Commander. I'll look for something." The quarian snapped at her omnitool, her three fingers typing wildly until she brought up a holographic display. "I think it must be this. We'll have to go on foot, but it's the only structure matching Liara's description. And… I think there's some sort of comm signal coming from it. It's too weak to pick up."

"Then that's where we're going. Come on, pile out. There are still hostiles showing up on radar, so check the perimeter – he definitely left some guards." Shepard drew his rifle as they jumped out of the tank.

They moved quickly into the complex, he and Garrus taking out outlying geth with efficiency while Ashley and Wrex took down those who got too close. Tali fired her shotgun intermittently, pausing only to raise her omnitool and stun a group coming up on their flank. The machines were falling apart around them.

The blood pounded in his ears, washing away any trace of apprehension. This was what he knew. The thrum of battle fell over him – run, aim, breathe, shoot. Again and again. Shots flew by them, but none hit with any consequence. In that moment, they were unstoppable. He grinned down his scope as a geth's light was smashed by his bullet. Then another. Then…

An explosion rang to his right, and he rolled to cover. "Fucking rocket launchers." He growled, peeking back towards the approaching synthetic as it towed its heavy weapon – until his eyes found Garrus. The geth was taking aim, the turian's focus still down his scope, facing the opposite direction. "Garrus! On your six!" His rifle flew up as he shouted. He took the shot, but the geth had already fired. "Duck!" Garrus dove to the side quickly instead, and the pillar he had been standing behind exploded. Rubble crashed around him as he fell. Shepard's throat tightened, his eyes narrowing. "Garrus? You good?"

The turian pushed himself up, rock and rubble falling from him as he stood. He shook himself off lightly and his mandibles flared in a grin as he darted to Shepard's side. "Almost took a rocket to the face there." Garrus chuckled, pulling out his rifle and taking aim. "That could have been messy. Might have given you a chance, though. I know it's hard being around someone so damn gorgeous all the time."

Shepard snorted. "Can't make you look any worse than you already do, buddy." They both let loose a round, and two geth crackled and fell. "Alright, move up! We're almost there!" The others fell back in as he rushed forward, Tali's drone floating slightly ahead to distract any waiting geth. Unfortunately, the thing waiting dispatched it immediately in a ball of light.

Well, fuck.

"Get down! In cover, now!" Shepard shouted and dove behind a ledge, another explosion close on his heels. There was a tremor as the colossus took a step forward. Somehow, the damn things always seemed a lot bigger outside of the Mako. "Take out its shields!" Tali nodded, sending an overload towards the machine as he did the same. It fizzled, blue light dancing over its body, but remained otherwise unaffected. The rest of the team took turns firing rounds and dodging the colossus' retaliation as it continued pounding forward. Liara grunted, stumbling as its attack grazed her leg, but sent a warp back at it that crackled its shield. "Liara?"

"I'm fine." She said quickly, her submachine gun firing a rapid succession of shots.

"Its shields are down!" Tali shouted. Shepard nodded.

"Ash, grenades!"

"On it!" She pulled two pins and tossed, the grenades colliding with the machine's hide. The plating buckled, some fell away, but it just continued forward. God fucking damn it.

"Shepard."

"Wrex?"

"We need to take it out. Before it comes close enough to cuddle."

"Have any suggestions?"

A toothy grin spread across the krogan's leathery lips. "One." He stood, and with a ferocious roar, charged forward.

"Wrex! Get your ass back here!" Shepard snarled, aiming and taking a few shots at the colossus' head. The krogan was making a straight line to it, and he collided with one of the synthetic's legs with a crash. Holy fuck.

"Holy shit." Ashley muttered behind him, echoing his thoughts.

"Cover his ass!" Shepard fired another round as the colossus teetered, struggling to balance on three legs. Wrex fixed the problem, charging another leg with the same gusto. The team fired shots at the machine, which had begun to smoke, and fell to the ground with a crash. "Wrex, clear the blast zone!" The krogan lumbered back towards them, but not fast enough. He flew forward with the explosion, hitting the ground with a thud. Fuck! Shepard ran forward, his eyes taking in the krogan heap in front of him. "Wrex?" There was no answer, no movement. "Wrex, are you good?" Shepard's hand came to his head. Oh, fuck. The giant was so still at his feet. His heart quickened. "Wrex?"

"Shepard."

"Wrex?!"

"Stop acting like such a princess."

"But you…"

"Just demonstrating the benefits of a redundant nervous system, and showing you all how to really take down an enemy. None of that dancing around the sidelines shit you two pyjaks love." Wrex waved a stubby hand towards him and Garrus. The turian's mandibles fluttered in amusement.

Shepard rolled his eyes. "Right. Come on, this should be it." He glanced at the large building before them and moved forward. They made their way up a few levels before coming to an overlook, a set of panels scattered around the room. The lights on them were still lit, and static buzzed from what he figured was a communication device. How is this all still on? Fifty thousand years, and it's still operational? "Liara, is this what we're looking for?"

"Yes, I believe so. Let me…" She moved forward, her hands busying themselves with the controls. Ashley caught his eyes, and he knew she was thinking about the last time she handled a Prothean security system. Shepard sighed, but to his surprise, a rather promising green light appeared. "There. That should do it. The door will be opened now."

"Good. Great job, Liara. Let's move." Shepard turned, walking back towards the exit. Almost there. They should be able to make better time on the way back, get in the Mako, and haul their asses to Saren before he got to the Conduit. They needed to.

"Shepard, wait. There's something here." Tali spoke up, and he turned back with a frown. The comm panel had lit up, emitting some sort of garbled holograph. The static had turned to something else, and he heard the beacon's screech in his ear. Saw the flash of destruction. His fists clenched.

"The Citadel… overwhelmed… only hope…"

"It just sounds like static, Tali. And some kind of old broken message." Ashley approached on his right, giving the quarian a quizzical look.

"I think there is words in there. Maybe Prothean? I thought, maybe the Commander, because of the beacons…" Tali trailed off, glancing at Shepard. He stared at the holograph.

"Of course. The Prothean language would have been imprinted along with the Cipher!" Liara gasped. "Oh, how fascinating. Can you understand anything, Shepard?"

"Act of desperation… The Conduit…all is lost."

"Shepard?" Ash stepped closer. He couldn't pull his eyes away from the distorted image.

"Cannot be stopped… Cannot be stopped!"