A/N: Thank you Vorcha Girl, Impslave, Taikee, Jules Hawk, skywalker-hiddleston, jediserenity82, ela11 and ammythewolf for your reviews on the last chapter. They made my day as always!
Vorcha Girl - you're awesome. You know why!
And now, enjoy the next chapter!
(I just realized I posted the first chapter of The Long Road exactly one year ago. Wow.)
Chapter 32. The Battle of the Citadel
The Mako surged through the Conduit and arrived on the Citadel seconds later; bursting through the mass relay statue on the Presidium and flipping over as inertia shifted once more and the artificial gravitation of the Citadel took effect. Time froze as the Mako sailed through the air. Nick heard the blood rush through her ears and the vague sound of Garrus mumbling something under his breath. She turned her head to look at Kaidan; his eyes were wide as he held on with a white-knuckled grip.
The safety straps tightened, securing them in their seats as the Mako landed on its roof and skidded across the floor with an earsplitting grind of metal, coming to a halt against a low wall. Dangling in her harness Shepard listened to their heavy breathing filling the air. After a short pause she opened her safety harness and rolled out of her seat. She glanced at Kaidan and Garrus, and was relieved to see them doing the same.
Nick gathered her gear and checked if there was any damage to her weapons, paying special attention to her sniper rifle. With a satisfied grunt she acknowledged everything was still in order.
"Good to go?" she asked over her shoulder, one hand on the handle to open the Mako's hatch.
The two men shared a quick look.
"We're good to go," Kaidan confirmed.
With a nod Shepard turned her attention to the door and turned the handle. Nothing happened. She pushed as hard as she could, but the hatch didn't open.
"Goddammit," she groaned, running armored fingers through her hair.
Garrus and Kaidan joined her and they pushed together with all their might, tumbling to the ground as the hatch opened suddenly. They crawled out into smoke-filled air, the flashing alarms of the Mako replaced by those on the Presidium. It was hot and the acrid smell of fire was overwhelming, leaving a bitter taste on her tongue.
A quiet "Spirits!" from Garrus summed up her thoughts.
The Presidium was wrecked.
She turned towards the largest heat source only to see flames licking at the mass relay statue. No one would be using that anytime soon.
"What is this Kessel Run you were talking about, Shepard?" Garrus asked once they secured their vicinity.
The two humans laughed despite the havoc surrounding them.
"It's a movie quote," Shepard explained.
"A true classic," Kaidan went on. "Twentieth century sci-fi."
Nick looked at Garrus. "Once this is done we'll get everyone together for a movie night, but first we kick Saren's scaly ass."
Only moments later they heard ghastly moans filling the air and the scraping, shuffling sound of husks approaching.
Kaidan Threw the three monstrosities back forcefully, smashing them against the wall, limbs flailing.
"Nice job, Alenko," Shepard said. "Let's get to the Council Chambers." She gestured at the elevator.
It was ominously quiet in the elevator without the usual music or news broadcasts playing and Nick tightened her grip on her shotgun as the sounds of explosions drew closer. She swore as the elevator stopped abruptly and sparks suddenly rained down on them. With a frown she looked out through the windows and pulled on her helmet.
"Shit! I don't think this is going anywhere. Looks like we're going outside," she told them both. "Suit up!"
She aimed her shotgun at the glass walls of the elevator and shot. The glass cracked, but it didn't break.
"Step back," Kaidan said firmly.
Shepard stepped back next to Garrus and watched as he gathered his biotics. She would never cease to be fascinated by the way his biotics crackled and danced around him. The power of the Throw blasted the glass out of its holding and the backlash reverberated through the confined space of the elevator, nearly knocking them over. She braced herself against the wall before taking the lead again.
They stepped outside, their magboots securing them to the elevator's exterior while debris floated overhead. Kaidan's omnitool had the furthest range and he quickly gave her an update concerning the hostile force's location and they slowly stumped off in that direction.
Going was slow and they had to rely on their mag boots to keep them in contact with the strut. Each step in Zero-G was awkward; like wading through ankle-deep mud with the danger of floating away if you pulled too hard.
They made their way past braces and ventilation shafts into a maintenance tunnel, and a number of geth ground troops emerged from another elevator stuck in its tube. Kaidan sent an Overload into the geth, followed immediately by a damping grenade from Garrus. The tech explosion knocked two of the geth on the ground and the third ended up in Shepard's crosshairs.
They headed for the ramp at the far end of the shaft where they could see a geth dropship hovering over a plain with several inactive defense turrets.
"Alenko! Get that turret at one o'clock online. Vakarian, you take the one at nine o'clock!" she ordered, dodging incoming fire to reach the final turret.
Once the turrets were online Shepard focused on the geth forces that had been dropped topside, lobbing a grenade in the middle of a disoriented group. A flash of blue caught a geth destroyer charging at her and she risked a quick glance at Kaidan.
Her lapse of attention almost proved disastrous as two shock troopers appeared next to her. She slammed her shotgun into the first and fired at the second one, knocking it down.
Once the area was cleared of geth they continued on their way, encountering several krogan along with a geth destroyer. Kaidan managed to catch the destroyer and two krogan in a Lift and send them spiraling into space. The last krogan charged at them and barreled into Shepard, knocking her off her feet.
Winded by the hit she couldn't react quick enough to get her mag boots back on the ground and slowly she began drifting away. Dizziness and lack of gravity made her feel sick to the stomach. She caught a glimpse of the krogan, grinning as he aimed his shotgun at her, and she tasted bile rise in her throat as panic spread through her.
She was going to die here.
She saw the horror on Kaidan's face mirroring her own thoughts as she slowly revolved around her own axis trying to find something to hold on to. She was out of his reach and he couldn't catch her with his biotics as he had used them just seconds before she was been hit. He had the presence of mind to throw a Neural Shock at the krogan, stunning it for a moment while Garrus extended his arm and held his rifle out to Shepard. She grabbed hold of it, letting the turian pull her back to the ground.
"Thanks, Vakarian!" she said, her heart still hammering in her chest, almost drowning out the barking of Kaidan's pistol as he finished off the krogan. For a moment she had been certain that she was going to die. Nick sank down to the ground behind an air shaft and caught Kaidan's gaze as he kneeled down next to her.
Her comm clicked.
"You okay?" he asked softly over the private connection, amber eyes seeking blue.
"A little shaken, but other than that I'm all right," she answered with a small laugh. He ran a quick diagnostics with his omni-tool and the nodded and stood up again. They both glance at Garrus, who just smirked and turned away.
"Don't scare me like that, Nick," Kaidan went on.
"It's not like I planned it," she retorted and instantly regretted her sharp tone. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you."
Kaidan waved her apology aside. "It's okay." He looked around, stretching his hand out to her. "We should probably get moving."
She nodded and accepted his help to stand up, grasping his hand firmly before they continued on their way.
They raced up the stairs in the Council Chamber, fighting their way through the last geth forces between them and Saren. Shepard swore loudly at the large number of hostiles and lobbed a grenade at the nearest group.
As they ran up the final flight of steps they could see Saren in front of an active console. As soon as the rogue turian spectre became aware of them he stepped off the precipice. Shepard, Kaidan and Garrus skidded to a halt, keeping their firearms trained on the spot where Saren had disappeared.
A humming sound filled the air and the turian rose up from the lower level on the small hovering platform he had used on Virmire. He tossed a grenade at them and they scattered, diving into shelter. To Shepard's surprise no further attack followed.
"I was afraid you wouldn't make it in time," Saren sneered.
"Sorry, but there were a number of geth in my way that didn't get the memo about our meeting. And I asked them so nicely to stay out of my way," she called in return, annoyed at the smug sound in Saren's voice.
"Your sarcasm just shows your fear," Saren taunted. "I think we both expected to meet again for a final confrontation. You've lost, you know that. In a few minutes Sovereign will have control of all of the Citadel's systems and the Reapers will return!" His voice rose with confidence.
"Not this time," Shepard countered through gritted teeth.
Saren laughed, a cold, hollow sound. "You survived or encounter on Virmire through sheer luck. But now I am even stronger. I have been … improved. Sovereign upgraded me!"
Improved … upgraded.
Shepard shuddered at the implications. "You let Sovereign implant you? Are you fucking insane? Not that it's going to help you any. You're still dead."
Saren ignored her interruption and continued. "I should thank you, Shepard. I couldn't stop thinking about what you told me on Virmire about Sovereign manipulating me. About indoctrination. Sovereign sensed my doubts. I was implanted to strengthen my resolve! I have no more doubts. The Reapers need organics, you must understand that. Join us and Sovereign will find a place for you, too."
"That's fucking bullshit! The Reapers don't need organics. We're nothing but slaves to them and you've gone and collared yourself. Your implants are your leash. You just have as much freedom as Sovereign lets you have! It's an illusion," Shepard called back.
The rogue spectre hesitated slightly before he answered. "The relationship is symbiotic. Organic and machine intertwined; a union of flesh and steel. The strength of both and the weakness of neither! I am a vision of the future, Shepard. The evolution of all organic life. It is our destiny. Join Sovereign and experience a true rebirth!"
"You've been fooled, Saren. Sovereign will betray you. Once you are of no use to him you will be as mindless as a husk! I can stop the invasion. Step aside and let me take control of the Citadel."
"We can't stop it!" Saren shot back. "Not forever. You saw the visions. You saw what happened to the Protheans. The Reapers are too powerful!"
"That's what they want you to believe! Some part of you has to realize this. But you gave up instead of fighting back." Shepard took a deep breath and put all conviction she could muster into her voice. "Fight back now. You can still do it."
There was a brief silence. Shepard glanced around the corner of the half-wall she had taken cover behind and saw a range of emotions flicker on the turian's face; doubt, confusion and hesitation.
"Perhaps you are right," Saren said slowly. "Maybe there still is a chance for - " He made a strangled sound. "The implants … Sovereign is too strong. I can't … I'm sorry."
Shepard stood up, sensing a chance to convince him.
"No, it's never too late! Don't give up! You're a turian spectre, you don't give up! You can still redeem yourself."
They stared at each other. Saren dipped his head. When he lifted it there was a gleam of determination in his eyes. "Goodbye, Shepard. Thank you."
He held his pistol under his chin and fired.
They watched as the turian fell through the glass floor several meters below, breaking it and landing on the lower level with a loud thud.
Shepard ran toward the console, followed by Kaidan and Garrus. She held out her hand to Kaidan for the disk they had received from Vigil and inserted it into the slot on the control panel. Moments later she had control of the Citadel and opened a communications channel to hear a distress call by the Destiny Ascension..
"...the Destiny Ascension. Main drives are offline. Kinetic barriers at 40%. The Council is on board. I repeat, the Council is on board."
Shepard was about to answer the call when another voice came in over the radio.
"Normandy to the Citadel, Normandy to the Citadel. Please tell me that's you Commander!" Joker called.
"It's me or were you expecting someone else? My evil clone, maybe?" Nick responded with a grin as tension fell from her.
"We caught that distress call, Commander. I'm sitting here in the Andura sector with the entire Arcturus fleet - ," her helmsman informed her.
"I'm opening the relays," Shepard replied, punching in the command. Now the Alliance fleet could join the battle, but that was not her immediate problem. She waited for a moment until she heard Admiral Hackett order the fleet to protect the Council and then turned to face her shore team. "Let's go and check if that bastard is dead."
"That's a pretty daring order," Garrus remarked quietly. "A lot of humans might die."
"True," she heard Kaidan answer as they searched for the best way to the lower chamber. "But I think this might be bigger than just humanity."
Garrus obviously didn't agree. "That's why the admiral shouldn't waste reinforcements saving the Council. It would make more sense to hold them back until the Citadel arms are open and have them attack Sovereign."
Shepard cast a glance over her shoulder. "There are up and downs to both solutions. And I'm sure the admiral has run through both scenarios in his head while they were waiting for us to get to Citadel control."
They jumped off a precipice onto the artificial grass and walked gingerly towards Saren's lifeless body.
A rumbling sound filled the air, far off at first, but quickly coming closer. It droned in Nick's ears, accompanied by bursts of energy, bathing the chamber in reddish light, as the ground shook as though experiencing an earthquake. Nick stumbled and tried to find secure footing again as her eyes searched for a source. The energy bursts ran along the walls, danced over the decorative rocks on the lawn, and converged on Saren's corpse.
Her eyes widened in disbelief as she watched Saren's body levitate in midair while this energy ran along lifeless limbs. It seemed to coil tightly around the dead turian only to detonate, sending her flying against one of the pillars. The impact knocked the wind out of her for a seconds, her vision blacking out momentarily. She gasped for air and as her surrounding grew clear again she saw that the flesh had melted from Saren's limbs; no, not only limbs. She had a clear view of the Reaper technology he had been 'upgraded' with as she could see right through his ribcage.
To Shepard's surprise the reaperfied Saren leaped to the side and clung to the wall like a geth crawler. For a moment she stood there transfixed, until her reflexes made her dodge the energy beam he shot at her.
The smell of burned flesh lingered in the air; sickeningly sweet and acrid at the same time. Her tongue felt like a foreign object in her mouth sticking to the top of her gums. Her senses reeled as her mind took her back to Akuze.
… rolling out of the way as a jet of acid maw shot her way. Her sergeant was not so lucky; it hit him square in the face; his scream dying as the acid ate its way through his flesh, filling the air with a repulsive stench ...
Shepard clenched her eyes shut at the memory; frozen, unable to move as she huddled behind a rock for cover. Her nose filled with the pungent smell from Saren, enhanced by the olfactory memory of the stench of maw acid dissolving flesh in mere moments.
The rattling of Garrus' assault rifle and the slower barks of Kaidan's pistol brought her back to reality with a start. She broke cover, her shotgun at the ready, and fired at the former turian.
A flash of biotic energy surged past her at Saren, but the undead Spectre evaded it.
Kaidan didn't miss a target very often, but Saren moved fast. No living creature should be that quick.
They covered Saren in a hail of rounds, shooting until weapons almost overheated. Another wave of blue shot at the rogue Spectre and this time it hit. Kaidan immediately followed the Warp up with an Overload, catching Saren in an explosion, but still the turian crawled on, always heading for Shepard.
Shepard fired her shotgun one last time when finally, finally, he did not move anymore. Warily, she stepped closer and flinched when Saren's remains crumbled into ash. She looked up at Kaidan and Garrus and cleared her throat. "I think we're done here."
They climbed back up into the Council chamber over the gangway that had collapsed. It was the perfect ramp to get back into the chamber without having to climb as the only other way out of the lower room was blocked. The sound of the battle raging outside grew louder again up top as they heard blasts impacting on the station and the rumble of more fighting on the Presidium.
A series of explosions around the Citadel caught Shepard's attention and she turned to face the large windows. A large amount of debris floated through the space outside and just as she started to turn away a large chunk caught her attention. It whirled towards them at an alarmingly fast rate. Her eyes widened at the realization that it was going to crash through the Council chamber windows.
"GO!" she hollered at Kaidan and Garrus, who were standing at the bottom of the stairs talking. They faced her in surprise and before they as much as moved she heard the cracking of glass behind her. She saw a flash of wide-eyed horror showing on their faces and the next thing she saw was the floor reeling towards her at great speed and everything blacked out.
Kaidan groaned as he shifted against the weight on his lower body, small pieces of debris falling off of him. He pushed himself up and coughed as dust and smoke filled his nose and mouth, leaving a sooty, mineral flavor on his tongue.
"Nick," he whispered roughly as his eyes adjusted to the desolation surrounding him. Clouds of smoke drifted through the air and the Council chamber was lit by the wavering light of several fires. His gaze focused on the Reaper fragment blocking the last flight of stairs to the balcony on which Shepard had stood and his heart faltered.
He shuddered as he remembered that Reaper fragment hurdling towards her and then everything collapsing around them. His eyes fell on Garrus lying a few meters away from him. Kaidan struggled to his feet, ignoring the sharp pain that seared through his right knee, and stumbled towards his friend. "Garrus? Garrus, can you hear me?"
He activated his omnitool and began scanning the turian for injuries, always listening for a sound of Shepard.
There was nothing.
Garrus stirred and open his eyes, looking confused for a moment. The turian rose slowly to his feet, turning his head slowly from one side to the other and then looking at Kaidan. "Where's Shepard?"
Kaidan opened his mouth to answer, but the words wouldn't come out. His throat constricted and he felt he would choke if he said them out loud. He closed his mouth again and shook his head, turning away from his friend to scan the area once more, hoping to pick up the signal from her hardsuit.
A talon clasped his shoulder carefully and he turned his head just a fraction.
"Maybe her transmitter was knocked out," Garrus suggested, but Kaidan heard the quiver in his voice.
He swallowed and nodded slowly. "Yeah."
The sound voices and of debris being moved behind them caught Kaidan's attention. He turned his head towards the source and found himself face to face with Anderson, another Alliance soldier, and some C-Sec officers. He straightened up to salute, but the captain dismissed it with a wave of his hand as he scanned the area.
Kaidan watched Anderson grimace when he realized it was only Garrus and him, the disappointment in his superior officer's eyes evident at not finding Shepard with them.
"Lieutenant," Anderson asked after a short moment, "Where's the Commander? Where is Shepard?"
Neither Kaidan nor Garrus answered directly. Instead they gazed at the part of Sovereign that had crashed into the chamber. When Kaidan returned his eyes to the captain he saw the older man staring towards the gallery with a crestfallen expression. The captain cast his eyes toward the ground briefly and shook his head as he turned towards the exit.
They had gone maybe three steps when the sound of running boots reached their ears. Kaidan stopped dead in his tracks and looked back, not daring to hope. There it was again. And a shadow leaping over something. He and Garrus glanced at each other, turning around fully and taking a careful step.
His heart thudded in his chest as Shepard appeared, climbing over the detached limb of Sovereign lying in her path. Strands of hair had come loose from her regulation bun and blood was dripping from a gash on her cheek, but in his eyes she was beautiful. His face split slowly into his typical lopsided smile and his eyes met hers as she walked towards them with a limp, grinning widely.
A/N: Reviews are welcome :)