SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS
PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES
-CHAPTER START-
Realm ME-N7 – Petra Nebula – Vetus System – approaching Grissom Academy
CODEX: "The Jon Grissom Academy, founded in 2176, is the Alliance's premier school for young human Biotics. The institution is housed in a space station in orbit over the human colony of Elysium. Its main program, the Ascension Project, is designed to train and monitor young Biotics as well as help them integrate into society after graduation. Unlike the project's previous incarnation, Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training, or BAaT, the training is not exclusively military in nature. The academy also employs scientific personnel, including Dr. Kahlee Sanders, to develop synthetic intelligence systems and Biotic amplifiers like the new L4 implants."
SPECS: 1100m long, 375,000 metric tons
"And there's the folks who answered the distress call" Joker said as the Normandy II flew toward the large, silver cross-shaped station with a smaller, black-and-gold craft alongside it. "Cerberus heavy cruiser, and at least a dozen fighters on blockade duty. Too many for us in a straight-up fight. They must want this place bad."
"Receiving incoming transmission" EDI reported.
"Let's hear it" Shepard replied from his spot behind the two.
"SSV Normandy-2, this is Kahlee Sanders, director of Grissom Academy. We need immediate assistance. Cerberus is attacking the facility. They're after my students."
"This is Commander Shepard. We're blocked on a direct approach."
"I know. They've taken control of our docking bays."
"Any alternatives?"
"There's an auxiliary cargo port I could probably open…"
"Alright. We'll come in by shuttle and get your students out of there. Joker, can you give me a diversion?"
"Boy, can I!" the pilot replied with a grin, cracking his knuckles and getting to work.
A few minutes later, a UT-47A Kodiak shuttle departed from the Normandy II. As the little cloaked shuttle made its way toward the academy station, the stealth-attack frigate sprang into action, zooming down past the structure. The Cerberus fighters immediately broke off to pursue, as Joker made 'his' ship dance, nimbly dodging their shots and taunting them while stern-mounted point-defense guns sent a few shots back at the pursuers.
Soon, a quartet of people – Shepard, Liara, Javik, and Marie – were aboard Grissom Academy, cautiously moving down a hallway with guns drawn. As soon as they moved through the door ahead, they caught sight of two Cerberus troopers trying to open a locked door across the way, and a third trying to get into a server room to the side that had the door opened a crack. Shepard and Liara took out the two far Troopers with a pair of Warp attacks, while Javik used his particle rifle to bring down the third before he could react. With the way clear, Shepard moved up to the slightly-ajar door.
"Sanders," he said, "we're clear. It's me."
The door opened fully, revealing a woman with pale-blonde hair in an Alliance officer uniform, holding a shotgun which she lowered upon seeing the group.
"Commander," she said, "thank you. Admiral Anderson always said you were the best. And with Cerberus coming for my students, I need the best."
"How many of you are there?" he asked her.
"Fewer than 20" she replied as she headed over to a console. "Most were sent home when word of the Reaper invasion spread. But a few volunteered to stay. Some are prototyping tech for the Alliance. Others are Biotics; they've been training for military operations, working together as Biotic artillery."
"You said something about Admiral Anderson…"
"Yes. We met – God, what's it been? – 20 years ago, when he was a Spectre candidate. I was there when Saren betrayed him. David saved my life that day. He's a good man."
"He was on Earth when the Reapers hit. He stayed behind when I got off-world."
"I hadn't heard… We've been cut off from most news. He's alive?"
"Alive and fighting; he's currently leading the resistance movement."
"Good. If we get out of here… Well, just tell him to stay alive. For now, we need to focus on getting the students out; some of them are looking forward to contributing."
"A few months knocking over practice dummies can't prepare your students for war."
"Agreed, but the Alliance needs every resource it can get, and our students are unique… resources. They wanted to help. How could we say no with the entire galaxy falling apart?" Her attention was drawn as one of her terminals made a series of low beeps. "Hang on; I've been trying to get communications working."
"This is Froeberg! There are students trapped in Orion Hall! Cerberus has us boxed in; they're closing fast!"
"Orion Hall?" Shepard asked as he checked and readied his N7 Hurricane.
"Back out the door and down the hallway" Sanders replied. "I can get the door open."
"I'll bring them back here and we'll make a run for the shuttle."
"Thank you, Commander. I'll stay put. With luck, I can regain control of some of our systems."
The team moved on through the now-unlocked door, coming into a lobby; their destination was to the right, but straight ahead, on the other side of a thick glass wall, a Grissom Academy student was flailing and struggling as two Cerberus Troopers dragged him by the legs to the left, an Engineer following. The thick 'glass' withstood rounds from Shepard's pistol, but then Marie switched Charon to Annihilator-Bolt mode, charged a shot, and then injected a Magic Cartridge into it and fired. The resulting blast combined sonic force with rapidly-shifting positive and negative energy to obliterate the transparent barrier and knocked the surprised Cerberus personnel off their feet. Javik Biotically grabbed the Engineer into the air and then slammed him into the ground with instantly lethal force, while Shepard and Liara used their pistols to take down the two Troopers before they could recover their wits fully.
"Get to Sanders" Shepard said to the student. "She's back behind us, in the server room."
The youth nodded, climbing over the 'window'-frame and hurrying back the way Team Shepard had come. The team, meanwhile, moved through the right-hand door into another near-identical room.
"Attention all students," a man with a stuffy-sounding British accent said over the intercom, "Cerberus troops have taken control of this station. We have no desire to hurt you. Surrender, and you will not be harmed."
The next room was different, larger, and separated in parts. In the center section, two Cerberus soldiers were harassing a young man in the center of a Biotic Barrier.
"Railey Bellarmine," one Trooper said, "drop the barrier, now! Nobody's going to hurt you; the file says we need you alive. But your sister? She's optional. You give us trouble, we'll find her…"
Having heard enough, Marie fired a Concussion Missile at the back of one of the Troopers, blasting away most of his back armor and shoving him forward into the active Barrier, which rent at his armor and bounced him back to fall to the floor. Meanwhile, the other Trooper tried to turn and face the interlopers only to be frozen by Liara's Stasis, leaving him open to a few headshots from Shepard. The first Trooper, wounded, tried to stagger to his feet only to take a particle-beam to the head from Javik, putting him down. As Team Shepard approached, the youth lowered his Barrier.
"There may be more nearby" Shepard told him. "Play dead until it's safe, then get to Kahlee Sanders at security."
"Okay," Railey replied, "but my sister Seanne is out here somewhere, too."
"We'll find her if we can" Liara said.
The team hopped over into a classroom, passing through a short hall into another one, and they took cover as, on the far side, an academy student was gunned down mid-run.
"Watch the headshots!" a Cerberus Trooper was heard. "Orders are to take them alive!"
"Check the file" a second said. "Who was it?"
"Honaker. Some kind of math genius. Low priority."
"Good. No loss. Next time, remember to check the file."
Marie growled, readying Charon in Power-Bolt mode. As Cerberus forces – two Troopers and a Centurion – entered the classroom from the far side, Marie leaned out and fired a charged shot at one of the Troopers. At the same time, Shepard hit the Centurion with an Overload, draining his shields and making him stagger back at the same time the charged blast hit a Trooper in the face. Javik's particle rifle pushed the other Trooper back and burned through his armor, and a shot from Liara's pistol finished it. The Centurion tried to pull out and throw a smoke grenade, but a well-placed round from Shepard's pistol shot his hand off, and a handful of Hurricane rounds put him down.
"There are Alliance soldiers on the station now" the snooty-sounding Cerberus speaker said. "They claim they want to help you. But all they're doing is threatening your safety. Please don't risk getting caught in the crossfire. Surrender now."
The classroom led to a large multi-section lounge area, a few weapons and crates of ammo laid out on some of the seats. And in one corner of the room, the team found a girl, maybe only a little older than Marie, barely holding herself up on the floor.
"Stay back…" she said weakly. "I'll… I'll…"
"Goddess, she's bleeding" Liara said. "Shepard, we need to help her!"
Between the two of them, Shepard and Liara were able to get the girl patched up; in the process, they saw her nametag.
"Seanne," Shepard said, "can you hear me?"
"How do you know my name?" she asked.
"We saved your brother Railey. He's with Kahlee Sanders at security. Can you get to her?"
"Yeah… I just need to rest for a minute. Thank you."
The group continued on, and as they approached a door the Cerberus announcer came on again.
"Will someone shut him up?" Marie said, exasperated.
"There!" Javik pointed to a device with the Cerberus logo on it, hooked up to some cables running up to one of the speakers. Shepard pulled his pistol out and shot the device a few times, disabling it.
"Is this thing working?" Sanders' voice now came over the station's speakers. "Shepard, you're a miracle worker. Students, if you can hear me, this is Kahlee Sanders. I am still alive, and help is coming! Commander Shepard and an Alliance team are here to rescue us! Stay safe. Get to me if you can, or send me a message if you need help. I'm in the security station near the room where we had Holly's birthday party."
The team moved through the doorway and down another short passage, finally reaching Orion Hall. The room was wide open, with two levels, a control room of sorts overlooking from the second level. In the center of the room, several academy students were boxed in by Cerberus soldiers. However, amongst them was a figure who looked quite different – a woman of slender build, wearing dull-white pants and a 'shirt' of white bandages beneath a black leather jacket, her head shaved except for a 'stripe' of hair down the center that led into a high topknot/ponytail. Her body flared blue as she hit two Cerberus Troopers with a Biotic Throw that slammed them into a wall.
"Jack?" Shepard called out.
The former 'Subject Zero' turned to look in surprise, but had to quickly get back into the game as a Cerberus Atlas mech began trying to squeeze through a doorway, crouching down to fit through. Jack ran forward, sliding beside an academy student and bringing up a Biotic Barrier just in time to block a shot from the Atlas' cannon as it emerged through the opening. As the student ran, Jack stared up at the mech, Biotic power concentrating in her arms. Suddenly, a charged Wave-Bolt shot hit it from the side, weakening its shields and drawing its attention as the members of Team Shepard opened fire.
"Everyone, get down!" Jack shouted to the students. "This thing's outta your league! Shepard, keep it off us!"
Shepard and Marie started hitting the Atlas with Overloads and Wave-Bolt shots, trying to take down its shields with help from the team's weapons. Suddenly, across the room, Cerberus troopers emerged from another door, trying to get up the stairs to where the students were taking cover even as Jack fired Warps and Throws at them. Javik, realizing his weapon set was better suited, rushed over to engage them, blindsiding a Centurion with a Warp while blasting Troopers in the head with his particle rifle. He took position at the foot of the stairs, shooting and Biotically attacking any Cerberus soldiers that came in.
By now, the Atlas' shields were down, and the team dodged and moved between cover to avoid cannon-fire and the occasional rocket as they started using Warps from Liara, Dark-Bolt shots from Marie, and Warps & Incinerates from Shepard to try and damage the heavily-armored war-mech. Marie injected a Mana Cartridge and fired a Darkburst attack, the dark-energy 'rift' tearing at the Atlas' armor on a molecular scale, weakening and damaging it while also disorienting the pilot. Shepard then slammed into the unbalanced mech with a Biotic Charge, knocking it onto its back. He used his Omniblade to pierce through the cockpit canopy, and dropped a grenade in. He leapt free, rolling away just as the explosion gutted the Atlas from inside.
"Kahlee said she was putting out an SOS," Jack called out from above with a grin, "but I had no idea the King of the Boy Scouts would show up!" She then turned to her students. "All right, amp check! Prangley, those fields were weak! Cerberus isn't gonna lie down outta pity like that girl you took to prom. You guys grab juice and an energy bar; we move in five."
She leapt down to the first floor (using Biotics to slow her fall) and walked up to Shepard… and slugged him across the jaw.
"Damn it, how many times did I tell you not to trust Cerberus?-!"
"You're not telling me anything I haven't told myself, Jack" he replied, rubbing his face.
"Aw, you feel bad? Well, shit, I bet that's comforting to all the people Cerberus has killed."
"I'd forgotten how angry she was" Liara remarked.
"Whereas I barely remember you at all, Blue" Jack replied.
Liara allowed a tiny smirk. "Your real first name is Jennifer. I can find your last name, too, if you ask politely."
"…What."
"Liara's an intel broker" Shepard said. "A really, really good one."
"I guess so… Hey, Marie; still kickin', huh?"
"Yeah" Gamma-4 replied. "I was on Palaven when the Reapers rolled in; Shepard got me and Garrus out. We got Sarah and Asa, too; haven't heard from the others, though."
"Hmm…" Then, Jack turned her attention to Javik. "Don't think I've seen your kind before, but something about you is… familiar… Wait a sec; armor configuration, head shape, eye placement…" Jack's eyes widened. "Shepard, where the hell did you find a live Prothean?-!"
A few of the students listening in above gasped.
"Javik was in a stasis pod on Eden Prime" the Commander replied.
"There were supposed to be around 500,000 of us," Javik said, "but only the power supply of my pod survived the millennia."
"Damn… Okay, moving on, we got bigger shit to do; right now, all I care about is getting my guys out of here."
"Your guys?" Shepard asked.
Jack looked back at the students, a soft smile gracing her features. "Yeah" she said. "I guess so."
"I can't think of anybody who could care about them more."
"Well, I had some free time while you were off playing hero and making nice with the Alliance big-wigs. Alliance brass knew I helped you. They offered me this, and apparently the students responded well to my teaching style…"
"The psychotic Biotic!" Prangley said.
"I will destroy you!"
"Drink your juice, Rodriguez" Jack said. "You couldn't destroy wet tissue paper."
"Cortez to extraction team. The Cerberus cruiser is coming back."
"How long have we got?" Shepard asked.
"Two minutes tops, Commander. After that, there's no way we'll get past them."
Shepard looked back up at the students. "…Get out of here and back to the Normandy. We'll find another way off the station."
"Roger that. Good luck, sir."
"Shepard to Sanders: the students are safe, but the shuttle's a no-go."
"Understood" Kahlee replied. "I might know another way off the station, but I need station-wide camera access. Can you disable the Cerberus security override? It's routed through Orion Hall, so it should be nearby."
"How does camera access get us off this station?" he asked as he began searching the room.
"We need to reach the Cerberus shuttles. The cruiser won't auto-target friendly ships, which gives us a fighting chance to escape. Get me back the cameras, and I'll find you a path to the shuttles that'll keep Cerberus from boxing you in."
"Found it!" Marie said, standing by a Cerberus laptop in a corner. Liara was able to quickly hack in and disable it.
"You should have access now" Shepard radioed.
"Got it. …The fastest way is through the Atrium, but Cerberus has sealed the doors. You'll need to disable the magnetic locks. The overrides should be directly above the door."
Shepard soon spotted the door in question, down a short hallway that ran directly beneath the second-floor control room the students were in. Before heading up, however, he decided to check on Jack first.
"I have to say, Jack. You look good."
"Yeah, well… maybe some of your attitude rubbed off on me. I never had a family. And these guys… Anyone screws with my students, I will tear them apart."
"What's so valuable about these students?" he asked. "Biotically, I mean."
"Well, what's scarier than a pissed-off Biotic attacker? A whole bunch of them working together. It's like a Biotic artillery strike – any asshole gets in our way, we rip 'em to shreds."
"Doesn't that exhaust them?"
"Yeah, sure. But we've been working on conditioning, improving endurance. Whenever they complain, I tell them about the Collector Base – holding that damn Biotic bubble up against those bug things… I kept thinking, 'Damn, let the Salarian handle this! He can talk 'em to death!'"
"How are they handling the war?"
"How do you think? They're a bunch of teenagers. Until a few months ago, their biggest concern was getting laid."
"You don't think they're ready for war?"
"I don't think they have a choice."
"So… all this talk about Biotic artillery strikes…"
"It's great in theory. Maybe they'll get it together once they've seen some action."
"But…"
"They'd be better off as support" she admitted. "Put them in the back ranks, helping with barriers and shit. I don't know."
"Have you told them that?"
"No! They need me to believe in them. I did pick up a few things listening to your damned speeches."
"Alright. Stay close; we'll get you out of here."
Shepard and Liara headed up to the second floor, where the students were finishing up their rest and chatting with each other. A terminal was connected to a monitor showing the door below, and Shepard keyed the necessary commands in.
"That's it" Sanders radioed. "You should be able to force the door open now."
Soon, Team Shepard was at the door, while Jack and the students gathered a ways back, at the mouth of the 'tunnel' leading to it. Shepard used his cyborg strength to force the door open.
"Everyone be ready" he called back. "We'll go in first and draw their fire."
"We'll shadow you from the second level and hit those bastards from above" Jack replied.
"A wise strategy" Javik remarked aside to Shepard. "It will [AN: CANNOT FIND JAVIK DIALOGUE ON YOUTUBE OR GOOGLE]"
"Just time your shots and stay safe" Shepard told the group.
"All right," Jack said as she turned to her students, "I didn't bust my ass training you so you could die now. Keep low, and pick your targets."
"Students of Grissom Academy," the accented voice of the Cerberus commander said, broadcasting over the students' omnitools, "the station is sealed. The Alliance soldiers cannot save you. All they can do is get you killed. Surrender peacefully, and you won't be harmed."
"Asshole" Jack growled.
"Damn it," Sanders said, "they're messaging everyone. Students, switch your omnitools to privacy mode so they can't track you!"
"What if…" Rodriguez spoke up. "What if they're not lying?"
"You've already held your own against them" Shepard replied. "You've proven you can stand up to them! You've been trained by one of the best."
"Come on, Rodriguez," Jack said, "They're only asking nicely 'cause you scared them in that last fight. So take your balls outta your purse, and kick some ass."
"…Yes, ma'am"
Team Shepard moved on, sealing the door behind them and passing through the short hallway to reach the atrium. The greenery-filled area was crawling with Cerberus troops and hardware, including an Atlas mech down in the lowest section that fired a rocket up at the team; Liara hit the warhead with a Warp that detonated it prematurely, the concussion stunning a few Cerberus Troopers below it, leaving them vulnerable to fire from Javik. As Shepard and Liara engaged a few Guardians making their way up toward them, Marie rushed in, magic-propelled speed letting her bypass the foot-soldiers and make her way toward the Atlas. She used a Round Shield to block a shot from its cannon, and then charged Charon in Wave-Bolt mode, injected a mana cartridge, and fired a 'Wavebuster'. The stream of violet electrical energy completely drained the Atlas' shields and did some damage to its systems before cutting out, and the heavy mech fired a rocket at her. Marie rolled under the missile, running at the war machine as she switched Charon to Blade Mode, a triangular blade of violet magical energy forming from the barrel. She slashed at the Atlas' right leg, forcing it to kneel, and then she swung around & up onto its back. She cut a hole in the power core, and pulled a frag grenade from her belt, triggering it and shoving it into the opening. Leaping free, she flash-stepped back several meters just as the resulting explosion ripped the Atlas apart.
Jack's group arrived on the upper level, and started firing Throw and Warp attacks down at Cerberus' troops. Shepard hacked an auto-turret, turning it on the Cerberus Engineer who'd laid it down as well as his fellows, while Javik threw a Lift Grenade that hoisted two Guardians into the air, leaving them vulnerable to Liara's SMG fire. One of the students hit a Cerberus Engineer with a Stasis attack, leaving him helpless to Shepard's sniper fire, while Marie took out a Guardian with a charged Dark-Bolt shot from behind.
Team Shepard moved on to the other half of the room, just as many more Cerberus soldiers dropped in. Shepard and Marie took out a pair of Engineers, while Liara threw out a Singularity that snagged three Troopers; Javik then destabilized it with a Warp, the resulting Biotic explosion ripping the three hostiles apart. Jack and the students, meanwhile, continued firing Biotic attacks down at the Cerberus forces, some of whom tried shooting back whenever they could. Marie fired a Crossfire Shot barrage, the purple energy bolts curving around a pair of Guardians' shields to strike them from behind. A last wave of hostiles came from a door on the middle level, including a pair of Engineers who deployed a pair of turrets. Shepard hacked one turret, letting it and the other shred each other; the hacked turret won, though badly damaged and quickly destroyed by a Trooper. Javik's particle rifle burned through said Trooper's armor and chest, while Shepard used a Biotic Slam to take out one of the Engineers, and a charged Wave-Burst shot and Concussion Missile from Marie took out the other. Finally, the last two Troopers fell to Liara's SMG.
"Everyone okay up there?" Shepard called up.
"Rodriguez took one in the arm, because she didn't watch her barriers!" Jack replied, scolding her student."
"Commander," Sanders radioed, "I've reached the Cerberus shuttles without being detected. They know what we're doing, though. You need to hurry."
After catching their breath, reloading, and scavenging thermal clips from the dead Cerberus soldiers, Team Shepard moved through a far-side lower door, passing through a small lobby and entering a long hallway; further down, two Cerberus Troopers were camped out next to a dome-shaped energy field surrounding a pylon and three academy students.
"That's an impressive barrier, Octavia" one Trooper said. "Our file says you've been working on shield technology."
Seeing the perfect opportunity presented to him, Shepard readied his N7 Valiant, aiming down the scope at the back of one Cerberus Trooper's head, then the other. After going back & forth a few times to be sure he could pull the shots off, he fired; one Trooper's skull contents and helmet fragments scattered forward, the other's following a split-second later from the second shot. With the way clear, the team moved up to the barrier, weapons down.
"I don't know who you are," the young woman named Octavia said, "but stay back!"
"I'm Commander Shepard with the Systems Alliance. We're here to help."
"I didn't buy it from the last guy and I've got no reason to buy it now."
Suddenly, another of the students in the barrier – a young man with a shaved head, crouched down by the shield pylon's base – spoke up as he looked over the readouts.
"The square root of 906.01 equals-"
"30.1" Shepard finished.
The young man looked up, and Marie bit back a gasp as she remembered that face.
"Hello, Commander Shepard."
"David, you know him?" the third student asked.
"Yes" David Archer replied. "He rescued me from Cerberus, sent me here. He made it quiet."
Looking to each other, the other two students then lowered the barrier.
"You did a great job keeping yourselves safe" Shepard told them. "The Biotic students are up there" he gestured. "Stay close; they'll get you out of here."
"Okay" Octavia replied. "Uh… thanks."
As she and the other male student left, David got up from his work.
"I remember you" he said, looking at Marie. "You were part of the team on Aite. …Sorry."
"You've got nothing to be sorry for" Marie replied in a gentle tone. "None of it was your fault."
"Has Grissom Academy been all right?" Shepard asked him.
"Yes. …I've been counting."
"Anything in particular?"
"The number of days you lengthened my life." He turned back to look at a door other than the exit. "The security office; I hacked the lock. Lots of guns; they should help you. Goodbye for now."
As David went to follow his classmates, Team Shepard entered the security office, grabbing a few weapons and mods which Marie stored in her Device's standard subspace-storage 'pocket' for now. The team moved on, grabbing schematics for Biotic amp interfaces from a terminal along the way, passing through a lobby with damaged furniture arranged into a barricade. In the next room, they came out behind a Cerberus Engineer looking over an Atlas mech. Shepard snuck behind him and, in one smooth motion, wrapped his arm around the Engineer's neck from behind and drove his Omniblade through the man's chest. After tossing the dead man aside, he grinned as he eyed the ready and waiting heavy mech…
Soon, Team Shepard made their way up the stairs into the main hall, led by the Atlas which had its Cerberus logos covered up by projected-hologram Systems Alliance emblems. Shepard brought the heavy mech across the hall, firing its cannon at the few Cerberus soldiers firing up at the second level, where Jack was maintaining a barrier around the students.
"Head over to the shuttle, two-by-two!" Jack ordered them. "Prangley, Rodriguez, stay close!"
As students started heading back from the barrier and toward the hangar, Jack and the others maintained the Biotic barrier, covering the runners, while also firing Warps and Throws at the Cerberus soldiers beginning to file in from the other side of the hall. Liara, Javik, and Marie took cover, while Shepard's Atlas stood tall in the center, right below the barrier. Cerberus forces started coming in from the far left, and Shepard put his Atlas' cannon to good use, a single well-placed shot blowing a plate-sized hole through a fully-shielded Centurion's chest. Javik's particle rifle and Marie's Power-Bolt shots took out three more Troopers, while a combined Warp from Jack and Liara tore a fourth apart.
A second wave emerged from a door on the right on the first floor. Two Guardians' shields were useless against the power of the Atlas' cannon, while Liara tossed out a Singularity that snatched up three Troopers for Javik to gun down, and Marie used a charged Wave-Bolt shot and a pistol shot to the head to take out a Centurion. More Cerberus forces came in from the door on the second level in the far right corner, moving along the second-floor catwalk toward Jack and the students. Shepard fired an Atlas missile at the Centurion leading the charge, blowing him to bits, and Marie threw a few grenades up into the paths of the Troopers, killing three and wounding four more, making them easy pickings for Javik.
Another wave of Cerberus troops came in from the right and the far-left openings. At the same time, another Atlas stomped up from the path Team Shepard had used to get here. Shepard and Marie started firing rockets, cannon shots, and Super-Missile shots at it as fast as they could, and Shepard's Atlas' shields took a pounding as the Cerberus Atlas returned fire. Finally, though, the enemy mech was overwhelmed, a Super-Missile blasting a hole in its lower front that Shepard fired a cannon shell into, hitting something vital and causing the mech to explode. He then turned his Atlas' guns on the remaining Cerberus forces engaging Liara and Javik, taking out a pack of Guardians and Centurions.
"Okay, we're all clear!" Jack shouted down. "Get your asses to the shuttles!"
As she hurried off, Shepard disembarked from the Atlas, and he & the others hurried through the door. In the hangar, Sanders was working on a console next to a pair of Cerberus Kodiaks.
"Kahlee, how's it going?" he asked.
"Shuttles are unlocked!" she replied as the crafts' doors swung open, students beginning to pile in.
"Take the controls, and get the students aboard."
"Wait!" Jack said. "Where the hell's Rodriguez?"
The two of them heard gunfire, and hurried over to a thick window looking into a lobby, where Rodriguez ran into cover, three Cerberus Troopers chasing her and closing in.
"She needs covering fire!" Shepard started pounding at the glass with the butt of his Valiant.
"She needs more than that!" Jack replied, gathering Biotic power and then releasing it in a shockwave that shattered the window and knocked the Cerberus troops off their feet.
Shepard hopped over, grabbing Rodriguez and helping her to her feet, supporting her as they made a run for it. Jack fired a shotgun at the Cerberus troops, killing one, and then hurried behind them. They got into the last shuttle, bullets pinging off the sides near the doors, and the shuttle closed up and took off, making a hasty exit from Grissom Academy.
"Joker, we've flown out on a pair of Cerberus shuttles. Watch your fire."
"Right, I've got you on sensors. Should be just a minute."
"Thank you, Commander" Sanders said. "We'd have never gotten off that station if you hadn't come."
"Screw that" Jack replied. "We kicked ass! Next place we dock, you're all getting inked. My treat. What you guys want? Ascension Project logo? Glowing fist? Maybe a unicorn for Rodriguez?"
"Screw you, ma'am!" the young woman replied, still a bit out of breath.
"I can't believe we got them out alive" Sanders said. "I was going to suggest they stick to support roles. But perhaps they're ready after all."
Shepard and Jack looked to each other for a moment. "They're definitely ready," he replied, "but the Alliance needs them more in a support role."
"What?" Prangley frowned. "We trained for artillery strikes!"
"We don't need another artillery unit. We need stronger barriers for our front-line squads."
"This is bullshit!" Rodriguez exclaimed.
"Hey, if that's where they need us, that's where we go" Jack told them. "Besides, I'm sure we'll get some shots in."
"Commander, we've got a visual on you now. Preparing to dock. Hey Jack, now that you're military, you gonna wear a uniform? Or are you just getting the officer's bars tattooed on?"
"Shut up, Joker."
"…I expected something with a bit more bite."
"Jack promised to watch her language," Sanders replied, "in order to maintain the necessary professionalism we need from our teachers."
"What, does she have a swear jar or something? 'Cause I bet if we emptied it we could afford another cruiser."
"…Kids, cover your ears. Hey Joker, fu-"
-SCENE BREAK-
Normandy II, Deck Two, QEC Room
"Shepard" Admiral Anderson('s hologram) said. "Damned if you aren't a sight for sore eyes."
"Good to see you too, sir" Shepard replied.
"Sir?" Anderson chuckled. "I don't recall giving you permission to get all formal on me, Commander."
"Then I'm glad you managed to keep your ass alive, Anderson."
"That's more like it. Looks like you didn't waste any time getting to work. …I can only imagine what would've happened to those kids if they'd fallen into Cerberus hands."
"They're definitely eager to help."
"These students are some of the best humanity has to offer, and we're throwing them into battle. Goddamn it, I hate this war. …Hackett didn't mention in his report…"
"Kahlee Sanders is safe. She's with the recruits."
"Thanks, Shepard. When I heard about the attack… well, I've already lost a lot of friends."
"She asked me to tell you to stay alive."
The older man chuckled. "Did she now? Well… Thanks, Shepard. This might be the first good news I've heard all week. Anderson out."
The transmission ended, but before Shepard could even walk away the console began beeping again. He hit the button, and Admiral Hackett appeared.
"Shepard, there's been a development; I've got some good news."
"What's happened?"
"The Reapers attacking Sanghelios, Shakuras, and Midchilda have been repulsed, and the warp-rifts they used to reach those worlds sealed. The UNSC, the Sangheili Alliance, Valerian Mengsk's Dominion, Raynor's people, the Primal Zerg, the Protoss, and the TSAB are all free to commit their forces to the cause; they're just going to take a week or so to repair, rearm, and prepare, and then they're all planning on crossing over and doing what they can to help against the Reapers and Cerberus here."
"That's… great! I didn't expect we'd be getting their help so soon!"
"We need it. Also, not every one of their ships will be taking the full week. The UNSC and Sangheili are sending a fleet to try and aid Equestria, and the Starshot will be making for the Citadel soon; they'd like you to meet them there."
"Will do, Admiral. Thank you for this information; we needed a little good news around here."
"I'll keep you updated if anything else develops. Hackett out."
Shepard headed out of the comm. room, moving to check on Joker.
"Hey Commander," the pilot said. "So… Jack's an instructor now? I guess anyone who messes with Biotic kids gets turned into a stain on the floor. And ceiling. Ooh, and that was Cerberus attacking the academy. Man, that must've been like Christmas for her! Anyway, nice job on gettin' them out of there."
"They were throwing out some impressive Biotic power" Shepard replied.
"Good. We could use some heavy hitters in the Biotics department. It'll be good for them, too. Biotics face a lot of discrimination. Maybe if they save the galaxy, people'll get over their issues."
"I didn't expect you to be sensitive about that."
"Hey, I'm just tired of them stealing the spotlight from people with actual disabilities. I break ribs if I sneeze too hard. Being able to move crap with your mind is not a handicap."
Next he headed down to Deck Three, and in the Port-side Observation Deck he caught sight of Allers in front of her camera, a serious expression on her face.
"Breaking now: A city of four million, blasted from orbit. Adelaide, Australia is no more. New footage from Earth reveals the Reapers' plans to attack large industrial centers. Which cities are next? Find out, on the Battle-Space."
In the mess hall, meanwhile, he found Garrus finishing off a Turian candy bar. The old warrior sighed.
"Y'know, one of the worst parts of this war is watching the kids react" he said. "If they're lucky, they grow up thinking the galaxy is basically a decent place. Some rough parts here and there, but for the most part life makes sense. Now they find out it was all a lie. They wake up to see these things in the dark that want to destroy everyone they ever cared about. If they survive, there'll be a lot of angry orphans out there looking for answers. Anyway, it looks like we beat Cerberus again. Do you think the Illusive Man fires lieutenants over failures like this? Or just lines them up against a wall and gets it over with?"
"He won't be too happy, that's for sure" Shepard replied. "We deprived him of a lot of potential 'resources' from Grissom."
"I wish they'd had a Grissom Academy for Turians when I was growing up. Always wanted to learn how to paint. Now I mostly paint walls with Reaper blood; not the same, but… it's a living."
"Hey guys" Marie said as she walked up. "What's new?"
"Some good news for once" Shepard replied. "Sanghelios, Shakuras, and Midchilda have managed to push the Reapers out of their space and seal the rifts they tore."
Marie's eyes widened. "You're kidding. …T-The Boss might be okay?"
"The Starshot's going to meet us at the Citadel; we're heading there next."
Slowly, a huge smile formed on Marie's face, from the knowledge that a few more of her squadmates were probably okay. "I… I've gotta tell my sisters!" she shouted as she rushed off.
As Shepard headed back up to Deck 2 and up to the Galaxy Map, he noticed his private terminal had a few messages on it. Among them were a few from familiar people…
[AN: Cannot find transcript anywhere of "come visit me" emails from Ashley, Thane, and Miranda; sorry; will likely type out by hand in redo of this chapter next time I play through ME3 a few months from now]
-CHAPTER END-
Next Time: Back to the Citadel, to meet with friends, help a certain crime queen-pin, and track down a Big Stupid Jellyfish