Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my MechWarrior/BattleTech - Mass Effect crossover.

Thank you for the feedback and support you have shown thus far. I really appreciate it.

Just so y'all now, I'll be gone for around two weeks to visit my relatives. In addition, I've managed to gain access to a better ISP (Internet Service Provider) than the one I currently have. As such, when I come back, I'll be able to really get to work. Once I finish with this crossover, and the other one I'm currently working on, I'll update the others that I'm doing. Thank you for your patience and support.

As always, leave a review and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the MechWarrior/BattleTech or Mass Effect franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of BioWare, Electronic Arts, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs, WizKids, Piranha Games Inc., etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.

MechWarrior 5: Heroes of The Inner Sphere OST - Annihilation Must Be Swift

SSV Normandy

Orbiting Tuchanka

September 18th, 2186

The interior of the Normandy was silent as everyone worked. Even the Element Zero core's hum was subdued as it allowed the Normandy to fly through space. Up in the Captain's Cabin, Shepard was holding a few photographs in his hands.

I'll miss Mordin, he thought to himself. He was a hell of a fighter… and a good man in the end. Wherever he is, I hope he's not only putting in a good word for us, but is also happy with what has happened. He smiled, before he put the photo, an image of Mordin examining his first 'Mech with an omni-tool, before standing up and moving towards the door to the elevator.

It seemed as though everyone onboard the ship was, in their own way, lamenting the loss of one of the best crewmates that the ship ever had. Entering the CIC, he didn't hear a peep out of anyone as he moved through the checkpoint and into the War Room. Entering the room, he found Victor Steiner-Davion standing at the console looking at a hologram of Tuchanka. Spotting Shepard entering, he said, "Shepard… for what it's worth… you have my condolences."

"I know, and thank you," Shepard nodded. "Thought you were excited yesterday. What changed?"

"Aside from me coming down from my adrenaline high, nothing," Victor replied. "Still, seeing the Krogan have a future once more really makes me feel good. I just hope that Daltrass that tried to convince you to do otherwise gets nailed to the wall with an LB 20-X."

"Same here," Shepard agreed. "Speaking of which, is there a QEC call for me?"

"Yeah," Victor nodded. "Hackett wants to talk with you, likely on the success of your mission."

"Alright," Shepard nodded. "And Victor? Thanks."

"Was the least I could do." With that, Shepard entered the QEC booth, while Victor went back to work.

Entering the QEC booth, Shepard found that the holoprojector was already active, with Hackett's image present and waiting. "Hell of a thing you've pulled off, Shepard," Hackett remarked. "Curing the Genophage? I never thought I'd see the day."

"Wrex has agreed to help the Turians, Admiral," Shepard beamed. "We should get their full support. As for the Salarians, we won't be getting any official help from them. The price for their support was far too high."

"I know, Commander. Victor Steiner-Davion sent me the full recording of your conversation with the Salarian Daltrass. I firmly believe that you made the right decision. I think she might not be in power for too much longer, if she is still in power that is. Either way, this is a big win for us, Shepard. Keep up the good work. Hackett out." With that, the hologram of Hackett fizzled out, while Shepard walked back into the War Room.

When he did, he found that Primarch Victus and Garrus Vakarian had entered the room during his brief chat with Hackett. Victus, while still hurting from the death of his son, looked more upbeat today. Looking at Shepard, he said, "Commander, Wrex has already started sending troops to Palaven. You've kept your end of the bargain, now I'll keep mind." Shaking Shepard's hand, he said, "The Turian Hierarchy will stand with the Alliance against the Reapers."

"I'm glad we can help each other out. It's the only way we'll defeat the Reapers," Shepard nodded.

"That much is certain. To that end, several dry-dock ships are ready to help build the Crucible. Garrus will coordinate them."

"Yes, sir," Garrus nodded.

"And when the times comes to deploy it, the full measure of our fleet will be there for Earth. May the Spirits watch over us all." With that, Victus walked away, while Garrus and the others clustered around the holo-table.

"I'll start managing Turian support right away, Shepard," Garrus informed the Commander. "You must be tired."

"I am," Shepard admitted, "but I'm not quite ready for sleep yet. Besides, it's only 1100 AM; I've got a long day ahead of me. Might as well get to it."

"Agreed," Victor nodded. "I know one thing for certain: not only are we going to be seeing a lot more Krogan around, we're definitely going to give the Reapers something to worry about. Besides, I also have good news, Garrus?"

"Oh?" Garrus arched a brow-plate as he said this.

"We've hammered the Reaper's forces over Palaven. The Tharkad and Mongoose had to retreat to the shipyard at the wormhole for repairs, but we've dealt significant blows to the Reapers. In addition, the Space Mines that we planted near the Relay are really earning their worth. Some Reapers tried to get through: they got their asses blown up. They'll definitely adjust for that, but we're already making adjustments to our plans based on what they're doing."

That prompted Garrus to smile. "It's good to see the Reapers getting their asses kicked for once. If this keeps up, then the Federated Commonwealth's going to have a very good rapport with the civilian and military population when this is all over."

"What can I say? You prove that you can get the job done right and people become happy with you. It's what my father's always done, and I certainly intend to emulate him there." The two shared a laugh, before Garrus left to coordinate the dry-docked ships.

Shepard would've left as well, except for the fact that he heard the QEC beep, indicating that another call was coming in. Again, he wondered, confused. What's going on now? Walking inside, he hit the call button, and was surprised to see the Salarian Councilor, Valern, appear on the screen. "Councilor?" he asked.

"Commander," Councilor Valern, "there is something we should discuss… if you are done rewriting history."

"I made my decision, Councilor," Shepard added coolly. "There's not much anyone can do about it now."

"Yes, we're going to have billions more Krogan in the galaxy. It's a good thing you saved my life, and brought along a faction that can help us, Commander. Otherwise… well."

"Oh?"

"I have concerns about Humanity's representative on the Council, Councilor Udina. My agents discovered that he's using his authority to move vast sums of money. For what purpose, we're not sure."

That had Shepard's attention. Something fishy is going on here. Verbally, he said, "If Udina's dirty, then we need to get to the bottom of this fast."

"Agreed," Valern nodded. "Come to the Citadel. We will review the evidence and discuss this in private." He was about to end the call when he said, "Oh, and one more thing, Shepard. The Daltrass that attempted to convince you to trick the Krogan has… resigned from her post. She will no longer be in the way."

Hearing that, Shepard knew what had really happened. She's been assassinated, probably on his orders no less. I guess 31st century politics applies to 22nd century politics too. "I see," he said neutrally.

"Indeed. Valern out." With that, the Councilor's hologram faded into nonexistence. Seeing that Hackett was available, Shepard decided to talk with him on what he had just learned.

. . .

It was the next day when they arrived at the Citadel in order to meet with Councilor Valern. As they exited the Mass Relay and approached the Citadel, Joker asked, "Alliance Control, this is the SSV Normandy. Are we clear to descend?" When no response came, he said, "Alliance Control, this is the SSV Normandy. We are headed to Bay-1, Zakera Ward. Are we cleared to land?"

When no answer came, Shepard, who had walked into the cockpit, felt a cold pit forming in his gut. Something's wrong, he frowned. Alliance Control always responds on the second or first query. This is not normal.

Joker felt the same, as he asked, "What the hell's going on down there? Even if there were a station malfunction, they'd have backups online. I've got a bad feeling about this."

"I agree," Shepard nodded. "Check emergency channels ASAP."

"Checking," Joker replied. After a few seconds, he said, "Hey, yeah! This is Joker." After seeing a line of text come up, he said. "Uh huh… That figures." Turning to Shepard, he said, "Commander, there's a communication from Thane. He says it's important. I think you want to hear this."

"Put him through," Shepard ordered.

A moment later, Thane's voice came in over the comm. What Shepard heard made his blood go cold. "Shepard, the Citadel is under attack! Cerberus troops are everywhere and they're in control of the docks!"

Shit, Shepard frowned. I knew that something was wrong. Clearing his mind of any panic, he asked, "Are you safe?"

"No. I had to evade their commandos at the hospital. I'm at a Presidium storefront."

"Anyone protecting the Council?"

"Yeah," Thane replied. "I just had a run-in with a man that was wearing armor of an unknown make. Showed me a symbol of a skull and stars inside of a diamond. He claims that he's from an organization known as MIIO. Says that he knows you for your right hook."

Hearing that, Shepard knew exactly who Thane was talking about. That's Sergeant Richards, he realized a moment later. During my training as a MechWarrior, Quintus had him improve my CQC skills in case someone hijacked by 'Mech. Guy was a hardass, but he knew CQC to a T. Even taught me how to use a vibrosword. "I know him," he added a moment later. "Where's he off to now?"

"Said he was going to look for the Council and keep them safe. He doesn't trust anyone aside from you and anyone that's worked for you before. I'm heading to C-SEC HQ right now. It's been compromised and C-SEC's response depends on it. As long as Cerberus has the headquarters, they have the station!"

"Alright," Shepard nodded. Keying his comms, he said, "Victor, did you get this?"

"Affirmative," Victor replied. "I overheard it on the 'com. I just sent an emergency QEC message to my father. He's diverted the Avalon from the front-line to the Citadel at flank speed. As for right now, we've got several DropShips coming out of the relay behind us. They're launching shuttles filled with troops and are heading to the Citadel at full speed."

That's a relief, Shepard thought to himself. "Alright. We'll suit up and head to the Citadel in the shuttle. Liara, EDI, Vega, you're with me. Victor, I need you to send a combat medic with us if anyone's injured." With that, he quickly raced towards the elevator. Time to save the Council… again.

. . .

For Bailey, it was nothing short of chaos as he, and multiple members of C-SEC, fought like mad to retake Citadel HQ and drive Cerberus out with their tails between their legs. Popping out of cover, he fired his M-8 Avenger at an Assault Trooper, holding down the trigger and fighting the recoil as best as he could. It took a few shots, but in the end, the Assault Trooper went down, blood dripping from holes in his bodysuit.

And I was looking forwards to another dull day, he grumbled internally as he ducked behind cover, before swapping out the thermal clip for a new one. Then Cerberus had to come around and fuck it all up. Where the hell did they come from, and how'd they take control of the place so fast?! It didn't make sense to him at all, and he figured that it was likely a mole working for the terrorist organization.

Peering up and out, he could see where most of the hostile contacts were. They were currently in the patrol skycar hangar, which had a central area for crates and skycars, as well as two wings for more. Ramps at the far end led up to the concourse, which led to a double-wide door that allowed further access into the building. Cerberus, currently, had control of the building, though Bailey was leading a counter charge to retake the building and to reestablish control over C-SEC HQ. After that, they could coordinate an effective assault against Cerberus.

Spotting a Nemesis, he watched as a blue dot traveled towards a Turian that was firing at a Centurion. "GET DOWN!" he shouted, tackling the Turian a second later. A shot rang out, and pain exploded in his right torso as he fell to the ground. Looking down, he could see a small trickle of blood beginning to come out. Damnit, he thought as he began to apply medi-gel to the affected area.

As he fought, he thought he heard a sound, like a shuttle approaching. He was about to get out when, much to his shock, brilliant emerald beams of light cut through the air, along with a loud, percussive banging. That's a machine gun, he realized, the sound bringing up memories of his dad teaching him how to fire an old, 21st century rifle he'd owned at the family ranch.

It was the Cerberus troops, however, that got the short end of the stick. Screams and wails of agony erupted from the opposing force as high caliber bullets and laser beams cut through them. A Nemesis screamed in agony as a .50 caliber bullet impacted her armor, with an earlier one having shredded her barriers.; blood erupted from the stump as arteries and veins were severed, while her severed limb was thrown to the ground. A Centurion was promptly cut in half by pulse lasers designed to ablate and damage vehicle armor.

Turning around from behind cover, Bailey looked to see who their rescuer was. Hovering in the air was what he initially thought was a Kodiak, but then he realized that it looked far too bulky. In addition, the thruster flames were blue-white in color, not the more typical yellow-white. Pulsing emerald beams erupted out of lenses, while blue-white muzzle flashes appeared from twin ports on either side of the cockpit. What is that thing, he wondered.

He got his answer once all the Cerberus troops had been slaughtered. The vehicle came over, before it's side door deployed. Five armed and armored individuals hopped out, though he could clearly tell that one was an Asari, while the other was a mech of some kind. "Who are you?" he called out. "Identify yourselves!"

"Commander Shepard," came the reply. "We're here to help retake the building from Cerberus. What's your SITREP?"

"It's really him," another Turian informed Bailey, having scanned the trio to make certain.

"Alright," Bailey grunted, the wound in his torso protesting his movement, even with the medi-gel he'd applied. "We were getting our asses shot off trying to retake headquarters. Cerberus took it in the first push. We gotta kick them outta there. Everyone in C-SEC's flying blind without the network!"

"Is this the situation everywhere?" Liara asked, her voice muffled somewhat by the helmet she was wearing. "Are the Councilors even alive?"

"They split up," Bailey replied. "I'll know more if I can access a terminal inside."

"Can you get us in?" Shepard asked.

"I'll get the door," Bailey replied, limping towards the door slightly, "if no one interrupts our push with a bullet this time." A moment later, he punched in a code, with the door opening up moments later. With a chime, the door opened, with the team proceeding inside, weapons ready.

They entered what looked like a receptionist desk, though it was clear the place had seen better days. Pockmarks and crater were present in the wall, and bodies were lying on the ground. "Damnit!" the combat medic with them grumbled. "They didn't make it. Fuck!" He kicked a dead Assault Trooper in frustration.

Bailey, grunting somewhat, sat down in a nearby chair, before getting to work at a nearby terminal. "Here we go. C-SEC network access, courtesy of Cerberus."

Normally, Shepard would've asked how that would've helped, but thanks to various jobs in the Inner Sphere that Mason's Cavaliers had undertaken, he knew that even seemingly unimportant information could really help make a difference. "Anything?" he asked.

"Cerberus has control of the main channels, but I can set up a new one," Bailey replied. "Without it, our people have no plan and no chance." As he worked furiously at the console, despite the pain he was in, his eyes widened fractionally at new information. "Hello…"

"What is it?"

"A warning from Councilor Valern. He's supposed to be here, meeting with the Executor. 'Be on guard – the likelihood of betrayal from within is high…' Not a lot else, but if he's inside…"

"Why would the Councilor be meeting with the Executor?"

"Usually, it means someone big's about to be prosecuted. I guess that someone had Cerberus friends. The Councilor will have a clearer picture… for all the good that'll do."

Shepard frowned, then made a decision. "Once Councilor's better than zero. Where am I headed?"

"The Executor's office is defensible," Bailey replied. "He may have gone to ground there when the shooting started."

"We're on it," Shepard nodded

"Just a sec," Bailey cut in. Using his omni-tool, he said, "There, now we can talk via omni-tool, or helmet communicator. Go!" With that, the team advanced, weapons at the ready as they moved forwards.

"Thane, did you hear all of that?" Shepard asked over the comm.

"Yes," Thane replied. "I'm nearing the building, but running is difficult. I'll try to get to you." The huffing and puffing that came over the comm clearly indicated that Thane wasn't having an easy time.

With that, they moved through a small chamber and into an atrium room, which had two planters that had sofas surrounding them. A door was ahead of them, while there was a stairwell that led to another large hallway on the left. Spotting a Cerberus trooper, Shepard raised his weapon, the newly designed Ceres Arms Striker Carbine, and fired. There was a loud roaring sound as the weapon fired, spitting the newly designed 7mm AP/D rounds towards a nearby Engineer.

The rounds, designed to penetrate armor and kinetic barriers, tore through the shielding, before cutting into the armor plate on the Engineer's back. While the first two rounds were stopped, the third one penetrated, tearing through the man's organs and out of his chest. The enemy Engineer gurgled, before slumping to the ground, dead.

Moving forwards, he pivoted to the left and spotted a pair of Cerberus Guardians advancing towards them. True to their purpose, both hostiles had large, composite shields before them, while a tiny slit allowed them to see through. They held Talon sidearms, designed to act as miniaturized shotguns.

At this point, EDI and Liara attacked. Using her biotics, Liara swept the Guardians up into a weakened version of a biotic singularity, tearing the shields away from the hostiles. This allowed EDI, equipped with an MP-20, to cut them down, the SMG barking loudly as 11mm rounds tore through the hostiles light armor. The other one fired his Talon, only for EDI's barriers to deflect the shots, allowing her to terminate the hostile quickly. "Got an engineer!" Vega shouted as he fired his M61B, cutting down a hostile engineer.

"Clear for now," Shepard noted. "Move up. Vega, you and I have point. EDI, Liara, provide support. Medic, if any of us go down, do what you do best."

"Affirmative!" the Combat Medic nodded. As he did so, he loaded his sidearm, a Pulse Laser Pistol, with a power pack, before slipping it into it's holster. "Time to go to work," he said under his breath.

An explosion rang out, blasting out the glass wall of a hallway above the door they were about to enter. Just as Assault Troopers came in, Shepard, having had his gun trained on the window, opened fire with his rifle. The carbine in his hands roared once again, blasting apart the hostiles, while forcing a few to retreat. To keep them from coming back, he fired the underslung grenade launcher. Screams erupted shortly after the grenade detonated.

"Troops in the lobby," Shepard reported. "They were dug in."

"I can see more through the security cameras. They're all over the station," Bailey added.

The medic with them, walking towards the corpse of a C-SEC officer, frowned as he examined the body. "This man was shot in the back of the head." Checking the other corpses, he added, "Scratch that, all of these people were shot in the back of the head. I smell a traitor at work."

"Same as Mars," Shepard frowned. "Cerberus sure likes sleeper agents." With that, they proceeded through another doorway and into what appeared to be a cafeteria. Spotting a Cerberus Guardian ahead, and an Engineer to the side, he quietly motioned to the others to take firing positions. Once they did, they opened fire.

The Guardian's head exploded before he had a chance to say 'knife', while the Engineer was staggered by a shot from Liara's sidearm. She was about to fire when a pulsing green beam of light cut through the hostile's head, blasting it apart. Turning around, she saw their Combat Medic wielding the weapon from his holster. "Nice shot," she remarked.

"Thanks," the Medic smiled. "I practice all the time." He was about to move when he spotted a Centurion aiming his rifle towards Liara. "LOOK OUT!" he shouted, firing his pulse laser pistol.

Whirling around, Liara watched as that hostile fell to the ground, dead. "Good catch!" she shouted as they began to advance.

Moving up, they saw an Engineer working at a nearby console. Raising his rifle fast, Shepard blasted the man, pumping him full of AP/D rounds and sending him to an early grave. "Excellent work, Shepard," EDI noted as she accessed the console. "It appears that they were attempting to scramble the elevator systems."

"Can you reverse it?" Shepard asked.

"Done," EDI replied. With that, they movd through the hallway and through the elevator door.

"Any survivors yet?" Bailey asked as the elevator began to ascend.

"None yet," Shepard frowned.

"Damnit. Keep looking. Also, I've got some reports coming in over the new channel."

"Oh?"

"Looks like you've got friends coming to help, Shepard. I'm getting reports of an armed military force wiping out Cerberus positions in various parts of the Citadel. They're identifying themselves as the 'Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth.' Know them?"

"Yes. They're allies, and they're here to help us fight against the Reapers and Cerberus."

"Alright. I'll inform all C-SEC agents that are still alive that the AFFC is on our side." With that, the elevator reached it's destination.

"So many lives given," Liara frowned as she saw the dead.

"Never gets any easier," Vega frowned. "Fucking Cerberus assholes! You'd think they'd know the meaning of decency. Guess not."

"I'm capturing images of the deceased," EDI added. "It may prove useful for motivating resistance or inclusion in future memorials."

"Humans have an expression EDI, 'It's too soon.'" Liara countered.

As they moved through the corridors, Shepard heard gunfire from up ahead. Moving through a door, he opened it, spotting a pair of Cerberus troops up ahead. Apparently, one of them still had some morality left, as he said, "You sure we have to do that? Without him, we'd never have gotten in."

"He's a liability, not an asset now," the other countered. They would've continued at length, were it not for Shepard firing his grenade launcher. Both Cerberus personnel screamed as an HE grenade exploded in their midst, tearing their bodies apart, while splattering the walls with their blood. With the hostiles down, Shepard and his team continued to advance.

Moving into another lobby, he said, "We should be getting close now."

"There's damage here," EDI noted, seeing blasted out windows and overturned tables. "We might be too late."

"Not if we move quickly," Shepard replied. As he swapped the nearly empty mag in his rifle for a full one, he could hear a reporter speaking over a TV. Apparently, the AFFC was making major progress, as they had retaken the central communications hub for the Citadel, allowing them to send out a distress signal to the rest of the galaxy. In addition, the reporter mentioned the AFFC using mechs, which he knew was actually Battle Armor.

"Sounds like the AFFC is kicking ass," Vega noted.

"They are," EDI confirmed. "In the past half-hour, the AFFC has neutralized 18 Cerberus holdouts and are currently assaulting 25 more. My projections indicate that at this rate, the AFFC will completely neutralize all Cerberus forces on the station."

"Now that's my kind of army," Vega smiled.

Just as they moved forwards, a trio of explosions, likely breaching charges, rang out. Cerberus personnel poured in from the hallways above, though Shepard could see that they were rushing, not moving into cover. "Should've taken cover, assholes," he growled as he opened fire, with the others providing support. Grabbing a grenade from a bandolier, Vega tossed it over cover, with an explosion ringing out seconds later.

The Combat Medic was also proving his worth. Popping out of cover, he fired his primary weapon, an M61B, at a Centurion, cutting through armor designed for bullets and not laser beams. The hostile crumpled to the ground, allowing him to engage a second target. Firing the grenade launcher, he blasted apart two Assault Troopers. "How's this for firepower, assholes?!" he shouted.

Within a minute or two, all hostiles were down, allowing the team to proceed forwards. Eventually, they reached a door, with a sign on the wall saying 'Executor's Office.' "Stack up," Shepard ordered. Once the team did so, Shepard, seeing that the door was locked, moved to place a breaching robot on the door.

Just as he did so, though, the door opened, allowing them to move inside. Inside, he could see a cabinet with what looked like a coffee machine, as well as a desk on the other side. A loud cough echoed in the room, with Shepard quickly advancing. Rounding the desk, he found a male Turian with sky-blue facial paint on his dark body plates. Blood was coming from a wound in his abdomen, with a small pool having formed around his body. "S-Shepard?" he asked, coughing loudly as he did so.

"Don't move," the Medic countered, taking out an Advanced Medical Kit that he had. Immediately, he got to work stabilizing the Executor's injuries. As he worked, he asked, "You know him, Shepard?"

"Yeah," Shepard nodded. "Virian Pallin. He was falsely accused of colluding with Cerberus. Bailey, however, found evidence that he was innocent." As the medic worked, he asked Pallin, "Where's Valern?"

"I-I don't know," Pallin coughed out, blood and spittle coming from his mouth. "I heard t-this loud bang, a-and the next thing I k-knew, someone s-stabbed me in the stomach. I-I was about to lose all hope of a-a rescue when y-you came." He coughed violently a moment later.

"Stay with me," the Combat Medic said to him. "I'm almost done stabilizing you." Pulling out a bag of dark blue blood, he said, "Good thing Garrus gave me his blood type, as well as medical files on you. You both have the same blood type by sheer coincidence." Exposing one of Pallin's arms, he quickly identified the correct location for an IV, and quickly jabbed the Turian, with the Executor giving a groan as blood began to flow into his body. Pulling out an injector, the Medic gave him a shot.

"T-thanks," Pallin coughed out, eyes filling with relief as painkillers designed around Turian biology flooded his veins.

"Shepard," the Medic said to him, "I'll stay here with Pallin. You get down there and find the Salarian Councilor."

Standing up, Shepard keyed his comm. "Bailey, the Executor's alive, but injured. In addition, we've got two dead Salarian bodyguards."

"Good to hear that Pallin's alive," Bailey noted. "He's a hardass, but the good kind. Keep searching. If you don't see the Councilor's body, don't count him out yet."

As he said this, Shepard thought he heard a sound. Looking to his left, he found that the sound came from a chair that had been pushed away by something. "Hold on a second," he told Bailey, before dropping down to the lower level. Actuators built into his heavy armor, along with shock absorbers, cushioned the blow.

As he stood up, he spotted it: a faint silhouette that was crouched underneath one of the longer tables nearby. Moving closer, Shepard watched as a shimmer of light surrounded the silhouette, with the light fading to reveal an older Salarian. "Valern?" Shepard asked.

"It's me," Valern nodded.

"You OK?"

"Yes," Valern nodded. A moment later, his eyes widened with concern. "Is Pallin -?"

"He's OK," Shepard reassured him. "He's currently getting medical treatment. We brought a Combat Medic."

Valern sighed in relief. "I hoped he had survived. I don't want another death on my conscience." Looking at Shepard he growled, "Damnit, Shepard! We should've listened to you earlier! If we had, we wouldn't be in this mess right now!" Taking a breath, he sighed and said, "Still, we can't mourn over what could've been different. We have to stop the bleeding right now."

"I agree," Shepard nodded. As he looked around, he felt the hairs on his neck beginning to creep up. I'm being watched, he realized. Raising his rifle, he calmly looked around.

His sixth sense proved to be correct, as he heard a thump from his left. Backing up, he pointed his rifle in that direction, just as a man came around the corner. The man was dressed in a black and yellow outfit, with a jacket over what appeared to be body armor, while identically colored pants and armor were over his legs. A visor was over his eyes, concealing his identities, and Shepard could see cybernetics visible on the man's face. A sword was in the man's hands, and he could see a weapon on the man's right thigh.

As soon as he saw the man, Shepard knew that he was going to be trouble. Keeping his carbine raised, he watched as the man began to create a glowing orb in his hand. "Don't even think about it," he growled. "You try anything, I'll blast you full of holes."

"Shepard, he's going to kill us all!" Valern gasped, panicked.

"Not if we have anything to say about it," Vega growled.

"I meant Udina. He's staging a coup," Valern added quickly. "He's got the other Councilor's now – to hand over to Cerberus!"

That told Shepard everything he needed to know. I knew Udina was dirty, he growled. I guess it's one more thing I can lump on top of that man. Seeing the others arrive, he said, "Four on one pal. It's over."

The man merely smiled, before he said, "No. Now it's fun." Just then, there was the sound of two weapons powering up. Looking behind himself, he found two hostiles, a Drell and a Human wearing body armor, pointing weapons at him. Reacting fast, he slapped the two men's weapons away, swinging his sword.

While the Human dodged the weapon, the Drell wasn't able to. He gasped as the sword cut across his belly as he twisted away, nearly causing a few of his organs to spill out of his body. The hostile smirked, moving in for the kill, only for a foot to slam into his face, knocking him back. The human, having come at him again, held his hands and arms in an odd pose, then the real fight began.

Shepard watched as the two combatants became a blur, with both men fighting to gain the upper hand. While the hostile was quite fast and well trained, the other human, likely an MIIO agent from the way his armor was designed, clearly had more experience fighting. For a few seconds, the two men were a blur as they fought to gain the upper hand over each other. The hostile, while quite good at CQC fighting, soon found himself on the receiving end, as he staggered back, blood seeping from cuts on his face, while part of his arms and waist had been gashed, despite armor being present there.

The hostile, realizing that he was outmatched and outgunned, quickly threw down a flashbang grenade, blinding the group for a moment. When the light faded, the hostile was gone, while the man that helped out the Drell was treating the latter's wounds. "Shepard, get to the VTOL immediately!" he man shouted. "I'll stay here with Thane!"

"Thane!" Shepard shouted, keeling down to the injured Drell.

"I'll be fine," Thane coughed out. "Go, Shepard. Save the Councilors."

Nodding, Shepard watched as a VTOL, a modified Pinto, hovered outside, allowing them to get in and quickly take off. I hope we're not too late, Shepard hoped.

. . .

Inside of an elevator car, Sparatus looked around as the elevator came to a stop. "Go!" he shouted, his sidearm out and ready as he and the others ran for the nearest door. Following them, he quickly caught up, despite wearing medium weight body armor.

Good thing I armored up when I heard that trouble was coming, he thought as he made sure his weapon was loaded for the fifteenth time. I was a soldier long before I became a politician. Still, I really wish I'd listened to Shepard earlier. I just hope that my backroom deals and covert efforts to help my species prepare was enough.

As he and the others Councilors ran outside, he spotted a Kodiak that C-SEC had sent, only to snarl when he found that it was in flames. "Spirits of air and darkness!" he snarled. "Can't we get a break?!"

Apparently, the Universe had decided to give him one, as he heard a strange sound. It was a dull thudding/thumping sound, like something was flying towards them. Looking in the direction of the sound, Sparatus watched as, much to his surprise, a rotary winged aircraft rushed towards them. As it did so, a pair of Cerberus shuttles came and opened fire on the vehicle.

In retaliation, the VTOL opened fire. Sparatus watched with surprise as four pulsing beams of emerald laser light cut through the air, while a quintuple of missiles shot out of a launcher. The first Cerberus shuttle was cut to splinters by the pulse lasers, while the second shuttle was blasted apart by powerful missiles. With the hostiles down, the VTOL landed, it's blades slowing down slightly as a door near the rear opened. Sparatus sighed with relief when he spotted Shepard running towards them. "Shepard!" he beamed. "Thank the Spirits!" When he saw the four man squad raise their weapons, he asked, "What's going on?"

Udina was the first to answer that question. "Shepard's blocking our escape!" he snarled. "He's with Cerberus!"

Sparatus, who had his own handgun raised, shouted, "Everyone calm down! I've got this. Keep calm."

"I can explain this, Sparatus," Shepard replied.

"Come on, Shepard," Sparatus frowned. "Gun drawn on a Councilor. It doesn't look good from where I'm at."

Following a motion from Shepard, the team lowered their weapons, with Shepard doing the same. "We don't have time to negotiate," he explained. "You've been fooled, all of you."

Just then, Valern came out. "Udina is behind this attack!" he shouted, pointing a finger accusingly at Udina. "He's preparing to hand you all over to Cerberus! I know, because I have evidence of his guilt!" He immediately produced an OSD. "Cerberus tried to kill me, but Shepard saved my life! Listen to me, if not to him!"

"We mistrusted Shepard before," Tevos agreed, "and it did not help us. If Shepard and Valern are saying this…"

"We don't have time to debate this," Udina growled. "We're dead if we -" Before he could move, he found Sparatus standing in his way, his sidearm, an extensively modified M-3 Predator, pointed directly at his chest. Both of the Turian's eyes bored into his own, and it was clear that Sparatus was angry.

"I don't think so," he said in a deceptively calm and collected voice. "Udina, please step away from the others."

At that moment, Udina realized he'd been made. "To hell with this!" he shouted, reaching for a concealed sidearm. Before he could react, Sparatus fired twice in rapid succession. Udina gasped, blood coming from his chest and stomach as he tumbled to the ground. Before he could reach for his concealed weapon, Sparatus fired a shot through Udina's head, ending his life instantly.

"I greatly preferred Anderson over you, you Spirits-forsaken piece of shit," Sparatus growled. "Now I realize that it was a mistake to allow you to be on the Council. Should've nominated Anita Goyle or some other human being." Lowering his sidearm, he put it away, just as the doors they had recently exited opened. Instead of Cerberus personnel, he watched as C-SEC officers, and armored humans he didn't know about, came out.

"Bailey?" Shepard asked. "How'd you get here so fast?"

"Courtesy of the AFFC soldiers with us," Bailey replied. Seeing Sparatus raise his handgun towards the newcomers, he said, "It's OK, Councilor. These are soldiers from the Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth. They're our allies; they came with Shepard."

"Shepard?" Sparatus asked.

"He's right," Shepard replied. Just then, he spotted a familiar face in the soldiers. "Victor?"

"The one and only," Victor Steiner-Davion replied. "I had Joker drop me off so that I could coordinate our forces on the Citadel. In addition, Shepard, the FCS Avalon has arrived. Cerberus had a cruiser, but we blasted it out of the sky. The Citadel is back in Council hands."

"What about Cerberus?"

"They were right here at the doors, but when we came along, we gunned them down like the rabid animals they were." To punctuate this, an AFFC soldier dragged out the corpse of an Assault Trooper. "The rest escaped into Keeper tunnels and maintenance corridors. I've got a task force hunting them down as we speak. Shepard just saved your asses, Councilors, once again."

Hearing that, Sparatus sighed with relief. Turning to Shepard, he said, "Then you have saved our lives twice now, Shepard. I owe both a personal debt and one on behalf of Palaven."

"You don't owe me anything, Councilor," Shepard shrugged. "Times like this, we stand together."

"Commander, do you have any idea as to why the Illusive Man would do this?"

"I do," Victor Steiner-Davion butted in. "I think Cerberus was attempting to, as we humans put it, 'cut the head off the snake.' By killing the three of you, he would be able to take over the Citadel and massively disrupt Shepard's efforts to get a strike force together for Earth. Plus, doing so would reduce the pressure on his organization. The only problem with that plan, however, is that he didn't expect the Federated Commonwealth to say otherwise."

"That makes sense," Shepard agreed. "That would allow him to run around willy-nilly without anyone being able to say a thing about it."

"Agreed," Victor nodded. "Councilors, if you would be so kind as to step aboard the Pinto, we will bring you to a safe location ASAP. We might've defeated Cerberus' main assault, but we still have to deal with the remaining pockets of resistance."

"That's a sound idea," Sparatus agreed, with the others quickly moving out.

(Author's Q&A)

For those of you wondering, AP/D is short for Armor-Piercing/Disruptor. It's a form of ammunition developed by Inner Sphere ammunition manufacturers in response to the proliferation of kinetic barriers.

raw66: An interesting idea.

Just a Crazy-Man: Agreed.

MarauderPrime12: Same here.

SulliMike23: Very true. The battle's been won, but the war ain't over yet.

Guest: Thank you.

82: I will. It might not be for a while, but I will. Patience, please.