Wow, okay...so it's been a ridiculously long time. Thanks for the patience with me and I'm sorry it's taken me this long to update. I've been concentrating on my other fic only to let this one be overlooked. While I won't guarantee that it won't happen again I do still promise that this WILL get finished so bear with me.

As always, thanks to those who have left a review all those weeks and months ago. Be sure to keep leaving them, I love hearing what you guys think and am curious to know what you think about my approach and whether I'm fairly close in accurately depicting the various characters. Let me hear it.

Hopefully you guys haven't gotten tired of all the 'the ending should have been this' fics out there too. Cause this is yet another on.

A/N: Disclaimer: I don't own anything even remotely related to the Mass Effect Universe. I'm just here playing in their sandbox.

"Goddess," Liara whispered.

She may have been the first to say anything, but they were certainly all thinking it or something similar. The Citadel was awash in war and destruction, a pair of Reaper Destroyers striding slowly over a couple of the Ward arms the only obvious signs of the death and destruction besides the fires and flashes of distant weapons fire and explosions. With the influx of refugees that meant that tens of millions of humans and aliens were being systematically exterminated right in front of the group that had made it through the beam.

"It's worse than I imagined," said a very quiet Tali.

Ashley simply nodded.

"Alright." The group turned to look at Miranda, realizing the ex-Operative was scrolling through data on her omni-tool. "While I understand there are bound to be some strong emotions here," She pushed a hand through her matted, dirty hair, "we, unfortunately, need to focus. We have an important job to do here and are already behind." Then the brunette frowned, retracing her steps in the holographic data feeds as she looked something over for the second time. "That's...surprising." Her eyes flicked up to the others circling around her. "The C-Sec computers are operational and I've got a wireless link with their servers."

"Shepard," Ashley breathed.

Miranda arched an eyebrow and shot a glance at the Lieutenant Commander but quickly went back to work, keeping her head down while continuing to scan through the scrolling information. "Unknown," she responded. "It could be C-Sec officers still holding out, but there's no way to be sure. That area is fairly well overrun by Reaper forces from the look of things."

"What about security cameras?"

Miranda shook her head. "No good. There are over twenty thousand on the Presidium alone. Where do you suggest I start looking?"

Williams just grit her teeth and stared at the horribly gorgeous woman.

"Wait. Can you access Presidium scanners and track bio signatures with their equipment?" Tali asked eagerly, opening her own omni-tool. "That might shed some light on things. We might even be able to find the Commander and his team."

The former Cerberus operative didn't acknowledge her, but the feed switched over to a scan algorithm that she began immediately calibrating. Tali watched over her shoulder, her own omni-tool forgotten as she bounced on her toes.

"There," she finally said, just as Lawson completed her adjustments.

Tali cocked her head curiously...or at least with what Ashley thought was curiosity. Honestly, she'd never quite gotten the hang of reading Quarian body language. Not like Shepard. On the first Normandy she'd been distrustful and standoffish to the alien crew members for too long. A fact she regretted now when she saw the way Shepard interacted with those like Garrus, Tali, and Liara that had been there from the beginning.

The Lieutenant Commander actually had quite a few regrets over the last few years. Things she'd have liked to have done differently. Chief among them was turning Shepard down on Horizon. That was a wound that had yet to heal, made all the worse by the fact that it'd really been her doing that had driven him into the attractive arms of the man trap next to her.

"That's...that's a lot actually," the masked alien remarked, shaking her head. "I wasn't expecting nearly that many. We won't be able to tell who's who with that many humans running around. I guess the damage we're seeing isn't as extensive as it looks."

"But the readings are...off," Miranda added, opening a new window over top of the scan results and shaking her head. "Look, something's wrong. They're reading as human, but their life signs are nearly non-existent. Blood pressure, heart rate...they're all at levels more consistent with coma patients than someone alert and ambulatory."

"Cerberus," Liara said quietly. The entire group turned to look at the Shadow Broker. "The Illusive Man was indoctrinating his forces in order to build his army." She gestured to Miranda's omni-tool. "What if the indoctrination progressed rapidly in close proximity to actual Reapers? What if they're all now fully under Reaper control?"

From beside Tali the Turian Spectre's mandibles flexed in what Ashley took to be a sign of unease. "So, you're saying we're fighting the Reapers and Cerberus here? That the Illusive Man handed them another army?"

"It's possible."

"What about Krogan?" Both Miranda and Tali turned toward Ashley. It wasn't long until she realized the entire group was now watching her. Rather than fidget she set her jaw though and pointed at the woman's omni-tool. "Wrex and a group of his soldiers were with Shepard," she managed. "Right? Krogan are rare enough on the Citadel that a group of them might just stick out on the scanners."

Tali nodded as Miranda simply went back to her omni-tool. That she was doing the search at all was all the acknowledgement Ash was likely to get that it was a good idea. A second later though the brunette frowned. Behind her the Quarian did that same head cocking thing again.

"No good," Miranda said, shaking her head as she made another attempt. "We're being...blocked. The scanners are being fed a lot of garbage data to disrupt any accurate readings." Miranda finally gave up and looked at the others. "Either someone is trying to hide from us or they're trying to keep their presence hidden from someone else."

"EDI," Tali said suddenly and excitedly from her side. The bouncing only increased. "I saw her do something similar to Cerberus when they were trying to track the Normandy following our destruction of the Collector Base. She dumped half the extranet into their servers. That hasto be EDI. She's preventing the Reapers or Cerberus from finding them."

Ashley kept her features schooled, but inside something did a little flip for joy. Shepard was alive. He had to be. This was conclusive, right?

"Okay, so the Commander's probably alive and his team is likely still pushing forward," the Major said, echoing Williams' thoughts. "What else can you tell me from here though? We need to figure out how best to proceed. We're not gonna be able to help anyone if we can't meet up with them or wind up dead."

"Well, based on the motion trackers enemy units seem to be about as expected. Most are in the Wards killing or harvesting the remaining populace. What's left, while still vastly outnumbering us, are concentrated at vital points...the Presidium Tower, the Energy Distribution Centers, Life Support..." Miranda scowled and tapped something in, causing a red, blinking icon to appear. "Interesting. Logs show that all of the Presidium's security mechs have also been...activated. Transponders and feeds show they're actively engaged with a large number of enemy units outside C-Sec Headquarters."

"Sounds like our Shep's been busy," Kasumi said from...somewhere. Honestly, Ashley couldn't figure out how the tiny woman did it, staying so nondescript even when surrounded by people she wasn't actively trying to hide from. No wonder she was so successful at her trade.

Miranda arched an eyebrow, but nodded. "Yes, that would be my guess as well. It sounds like him." She turned toward Major Vasquez. "What do you think, diversion?"

Williams glared at the ex-Cerberus woman. Despite her Spectre status she was now technically the highest ranking military officer present. If this was any kind of normal military operation she'd be in charge, not the striking brunette and not the army Major. She needed to keep in mind what was at stake though. And who. She was just lucky to be in this position in the first place, best to just play nice and do her job.

Still, once again, it just had to be the ex-Cerberus operative and Shepard's ex-lover, didn't it?

For his part the other officer did meet her eyes for the slightest moment before reacting to Lawson, nodding as he hefted his rifle and looked on thoughtfully. "Seems about right," he finally said. "Engage the enemy with an expendable force and keep their attention somewhere you aren't. Besides, from what I know of him, I seriously doubt the Commander would even contemplate a full frontal assault on such an overwhelming enemy. Even with mech support. No, he's not at the Headquarters...at least not anymore."

"Well, primary objective is getting the Citadel arms open," Liara said from behind Ash. The Asari walked forward to stand more centrally in the small circle that had formed as the group worked through the problem. "If we're going to even make use of the Crucible that's gotto be his priority. We all knew that going in. That means we know his most likely destination."

"Agreed," said Vasquez.

Ash scowled. "So, that means what? The Presidium Tower? Following in Saren's footsteps...so to speak."

Miranda nodded, but said nothing, her eyes scanning back out the viewport overlooking the ongoing battles for the Wards. The whole group was silent for awhile...all likely realizing the monumental task still at hand. Making it up to the Citadel had been just the beginning and already they'd lost almost half their team.

"Bitch of a place to mount an assault," the Major finally remarked quietly. Beside him, the Asari Commando shifted nervously, reaching up to adjust the collar of her blue tinted armor. "Layered and elevated defensive positions as well as plenty of choke points. That's going to be anything but simple. Even for him."

"Shepard will have a plan," Ash replied without hesitation. Memories of his assault on the Citadel before...of their trek up the outside of the tower crossed her mind. Thoughts of what he'd told her of the suicide mission to stop the Collectors. He always came up with something. Always. "He'll have a way to get through," she reiterated. "He always does."

"And knowing him, it'll probably be something completely crazy and death defying," Tali murmured. Next to the Quarian Liara and Kasumi smiled faintly. "Andfull of explosions."

Vaquez just watched them for a second before crossing his arms over his chest. "So, how do we proceed then? We agree that we need to link up with Commander Shepard, but problem is...where? He could be just about anywhere on the Presidium at this point and trying to track him is pointless." He paused to let that sink in before glancing at Miranda. "The tower itself?"

Ashley just rolled her eyes squeezing her fist tight at her side.

The other woman considered the problem for a second before finally shrugging. "Unless we can establish radio contact, that's probably our best bet, yes. Logically he's somewhere between the Headquarters and the Tower. That gives us at least a rough estimate."

"Either way he's got a helluva head start on us," the Major commented. "We're gonna have to make up quite a bit of time if we're gonna lend him support."

Miranda's omni-tool sparked back to life, colored dots of enemy forces and mech units dotting an area Ash knew was the plaza outside C-Sec. "If we're at the same location the beam transported Shepard and his team then they're navigating around the Presidium counterclockwise. I'd suggest we go the opposite direction."

"Umm...you know that's the long way," Tali pointed out, her own omni-tool ablaze with schematics of the space station's central ring. "Right?"

Miranda nodded. "But with Shepard and the mechs engaged with the Reaper forces and drawing attention...hopefully..."

The strategic importance of that immediately hit Ash. "It'll be relatively undefended," she said, finishing the other woman's thought. God, how agreeing with her stung.

"Precisely."

More and more she was coming to understand how Shepard could have fallen for Lawson. Well, past the nearly perfect exterior anyway. It wasn't easy to admit, but she was brilliant. There really was no denying that. She was intelligent, deadly, capable, beyond beautiful...

Of course, none of that was exactly comforting. Now, if only something could be done about her personality.

He'd chosen her though. He'd chosen Ashley in spite of all that. She needed to keep that in perspective.

"You think we'll be able to cover ground faster in that direction," Liara was saying, her usually even, serene voice sounding strained. Miranda nodded again. Williams again begrudgingly had to admit, it made sense. Just as the Commander was likely trying to use the mechs as a diversion they'd use the security droids and Shepard's presence to make their own way to the tower. As much as she wanted to get back to him so it could be her watching his back the mission had to come first. If the Commander couldn't make it to the Presidium Tower then it would be up to them. She'd just have to put her faith in Garrus and Wrex until then...until they were reunited.

Like that would make things any easier to swallow though.

"Right," the Alliance Officer across from her said, shouldering his Argus. "Sounds good to me. At the very least we can be another distraction ourselves if we're not going to be able to link up. Goto, you're on point. Let's try and stay out of the central chamber as much as possible. And remember, we're trying to avoid firefights here so let's try and get around any enemy units for now. Clear?"

"Please," the thief said, smiling as she shimmered and disappeared. "Remember who you're talking to."

The road to the Presidium was slow going. Even with the security mechs waging a valiant, but ultimately fruitless battle far to their rear Shepard and his unit still had to be careful. One wrong move and Cerberus or the Reapers would know they weren't quite as contained as they were likely thought to be. If they did have to engage it had to be quick and decisive, preferably using Garrus or EDI to overload any units with the ability to communicate back with leadership elements first. Thus far they'd avoided Reaper units altogether. Under control through the Reaper signals meant that their ability to communicate was an unknown. For all Shepard knew merely being seen by a husk could be instantly relayed back to every other enemy unit in the area. That would certainly spoil their surprise attack and the mech's diversion really quickly.

At least Cerberus still seemed to seemed to rely on classic army communication tiers. Soldiers reporting to officers...in this case Centurions...and so on. Take out the more sophisticated comm suites of those units and you were generally going to be alright. Still, they reacted quickly once the firing began. Increasingly, they were also mixed in with Reaper units, a possible sign that the effects of indoctrination were taking further hold.

"Patrol incoming," Garrus said, quietly over the radio. "Forty meters out. Looks like a squad of Cannibals and a couple Ravagers. Recommend you find cover until they pass."

Shepard immediately held his fist up for the squad to hold before waving it side to side to signal them to disperse and seek shelter. He managed to drop over the nearest railing and into a lowered planter, pressing himself up against the smooth wall to remain hidden from view. The others were doing the same, spreading out and finding cover where they could to remain undetected. The Krogan generally found it a little more difficult than the rest.

By now they all knew to be patient and quiet. The first time he'd all but had to have Garrus put a round through one Krogan's eye when the giant alien seemed hell bent on engaging anything that moved. A quick and brutal conversation with Wrex seemed to have cowed him somewhat though. Of course, most species' conversations didn't involve bloodshed, but he wasn't about to criticize his old friend's means of motivation. Either way he hadn't tried to charge one of the enemies' roving patrols since.

Garrus was their guardian angel, trailing the assault team as he negotiated the roofs, maintenance catwalks, and machinery overhead all the while keeping an eye open for trouble. Already he'd spotted two Cerberus emplacements and three Reaper patrols. Archangel was back.

"Ten meters," he called out.

The hacking sound of a Cannibal could be heard soon, its guttural noises almost drowning out the skittering noise of the Ravager it was probably accompanying and the tiny insectoids that generally came along with the one-time Rachni.

"Shepard, hold position. Two meters and closing. Samara, you're clear. Ravager's have passed your location."

The skittering noise increased, sharp appendages clicking against the steel flooring as the patrol swept forward, still heedless of their enemy's proximity. Another ten seconds and they'd be clear, continuing on their way. Then the squad could move forward and get to...

Something...cloudy filtered into the Commander's consciousness. It swirled and shifted, ever at the edge of his periphery as the Reapers' creatures drew nearer, but never letting him concentrate on it or turn to find it. Shepard blinked and shook his head to try and clear the effect from his vision. He'd felt...this before, but it had been stronger then, more potent. This was something subtle, something unidentifiable, but something most definitely there. Like it was reaching out to find footholds on his brain...on his consciousness, but then receding before he could reach out and grab hold.

Shepard squeezed his eyes shut, flexing his hands as they felt the familiar textures and weight of the assault rifle in their grasp. Now was not the time to be distracted. He needed to be at his best and this fatigue or injury or...whatever it was could not be allowed to continue.

"Commander," Garrus radioed, clearing his vision and head instantly, "they're passing you. You'll be clear in a sec. Half a meter and...wait...shit. One of the little ones...the cockroach things is right above you. Its Ravager has come to a halt forward of your position, but it hasn't turned back."

The 'yet' that could have gone at the end of that particular sentence went unsaid, but hung threateningly over everything.

The Commander looked up to see the ends of a pair of long, thin antennas extend over the edge of the planter less than two feet above him, the sensitive apparatus twitching sporadically. Despite his helmet and breather he found himself holding his breath, waiting for the creature's head to come into view where it could actually see him. Once that happened, their stealth plan was essentially out the window. They'd be able to take care of this patrol with no problem, but that wasn't the point. They needed to remain undetected. If these things sounded the alarm then it would only be a matter of time before things got completely out of hand.

After a couple seconds of nothing further happening though he began to grow nervous about the walkway above him, shifting to get a better view of the still twitching antenna.

"Status?" he called softly, mindful that his helmet would block his voice from being overheard with the speaker off.

"Uh, no change," Garrus replied. "Most of the patrol's still proceeding on. No idea why this little guy is lingering, but I don't like it." A pause. "You know what happens if he sees you, right?"

"Yeah." The Commander nodded. The Turian was right. They needed to be prepared in case everything went up in smoke. "Okay," he finally whispered. "Garrus, if this goes south, you've got the Ravager."

"Acknowledged. Target acquired."

"And if this does happen I want it quick and clean. Let's try and prevent them from getting the word out and making things any worse for ourselves than they already are. Got it?"

The rest of the team quietly acknowledged the orders, readying to strike at a moment's notice from their unseen vantage points. Surprise would be total, that was almost a given with warriors the likes of those on his team. Everyone here save perhaps Jack's proteges were absolute surgeons at their profession.

Except maybe the Krogan. They were probably more like a freight train or mass accelerated orbital strike than a precision instrument. Then there was Jack. She was more a weapon of mass destruction than anything. But, they knew how to do their jobs and had Shepard's utter confidence.

No, it was the ever present threat of the unknown that worried him. Any slip-up, any round slightly off target and it could spell their doom in a situation like this. The fact that they could all wind up dead because of the actions of some giant curious cockroach did not elude him.

Shepard eased away from the wall the slightest bit to plant his feet and felt his amp begin to hum with power as he involuntarily began to biotically charge. It was a fight or flight response, his muscles tensing while his other systems readied for what they considered an inevitability. Even the eezo nodes took part, parting energy and linking with one another to maximize their efficiency so they'd be ready when the release of that energy was needed. It was a life saving reaction. One that had done exactly that on more than one occasion.

"If something doesn't happen soon we're gonna have to engage. We can't afford to just continue to sit here and be off-mission."

"Understood," Garrus replied, "but I advise you give it another minute. They still don't know you're there. Just another minute or two."

Garrus was the sniper. He was the one with the patience to sit by and wait for the right moment. Shepard had none of that. The tension of waiting was something he never enjoyed, before or during a fight. Granted, he realized the need for it. You couldn't win every fight with a gun or superior soldiers or tactics. No, sometimes in order to win you had to avoid the battle altogether. A war with the Reapers had taught that lesson all too well.

"Status of the rest of the patrol."

"To our rear. Twenty meters and growing. No joy on the other Ravager. I think...Hold," Garrus whispered suddenly from his sniper perch. "Movement. Second Ravager's turned. Several of its other little...bugs are heading away toward the rest of the patrol."

Above Shepard the antenna flicked one last time and then disappeared when the creature finally turned away.

"Last one's moving away. I think they're heading out."

The hum of biotics didn't diminish as it coursed down the Commander's spine and out along the spiderweb of interconnected tissues to the nodes themselves. He took a deep breath and tried to slow his pounding heartbeat down. So long as his adrenaline remained this high it'd probably continue until both bled off together.

Shepard let another shaky breath out, feeling the electric tingle on his skin begin to subside. He was lying to himself if he thought whatever that had been was fatigue. While it wasn't much, it was...familiar. He'd felt something similar in the ruins of London and when he thought he was speaking with some kind of holographic representation of the Catalyst.

"Grunt," Garrus announced over the squad channel, "you're clear. Enemy patrol to our rear, rearmost unit at a distance of fifteen meters and increasing. Recommend we move on out of the area at your discretion."

The Commander nodded, straightening his shoulders and taking a last deep breath before standing back up and leveling his weapon where a Reaper thrall had stood seconds earlier, scanning his immediate vicinity for anything that may have gone unseen. When nothing presented itself he scaled back up and over the steel handrail where Samara and Wrex were already emerging.

Both looked to him for direction.

"Garrus," he said, a headache firmly in place and throbbing behind his eyes, "get yourself to our twelve and push forward. I want an eye further out for us. Samara, you're on point. Take us out slowly."

"Have I mentioned that I really don't think I'm getting paid enough for this."

"Dude, you're gettin' fucking paid?"

Shepard shot Jack a warning look and went back to looking down his rifle's scope. "Garrus."

"Right. Sorry. Well, the good news is I don't think it's all the Reaper ground troops in the galaxy. The bad news...I think it's probably pretty close. Shepard, we're way outmatched here."

The plaza at the base of the Presidium Tower was a wide, open expanse known across the galaxy for its opulence. Richly planted with rare fruit and flowering trees and featuring elegant sweeping curves and expensive materials it was a crown jewel of the Citadel. Fountains cascaded down its multiple levels, cutting intricate weirs and patterns in the floor and walls. Above it, through a giant viewport in the cavernous space you could see the smooth spire stretching out toward the center of the Presidium ring. Usually the brilliant pinks of the nebula were also on display. Now it was just the closed Wards and the death and destruction being perpetrated within them.

The entire area was also absolutely awash in a mix of Reaper units.

"Give me the rundown," Shepard asked, still taking in what he could see from his position at the plaza's periphery.

"I'm showing barrier generators and Ravagers on the higher levels of the plaza. They'll be trouble with that kind of protection and putting concentrated fire down on any approach. Skirmish line of Brutes out in front at the base of the stairs. Let's say sixteen to be safe intermingled with more conventional units. A lot of conventional units. Plenty of other firepower to go around outside that though too. I'm counting Cerberus sniper units up high and a quick reaction force of Banshees. Put them at eight. Only good news I see is a lack of husks. Other than the Brutes and Banshees they don't have anything that'll want to get in close."

From beside Shepard, Jack snorted.

"Yeah," Garrus said, "I'll admit it wasn't much as far as silver linings go."

The Commander ignored the attempt at levity, holding his own rifle up to scan the enemy formations below them again. He didn't have the level of detail that Garrus' sniper rifle did, but it could still help him better scout the terrain and fortifications. He wasn't about to rely completely on anyone else's observations. Even if they were Garrus'. There was never an equivalent for first hand intelligence.

Unfortunately things really were as bad as his friend had reported. That was a lot to overcome. The Banshees alone could be a larger problem than perhaps anyone realized. True, they were already one of the Reapers' heaviest hitters, but the effect of the depressurization was an unknown for them. They knew the former Ardat Yakshi's utilized mass effect fields to float over the battlefield as they did. It was a byproduct of their warped, but powerful biotic abilities. The question though was whether those fields could withstand the kinds of forces his group were planning on putting on them. If they couldthen Shepard would have eight really pissed off, really powerful enemies to deal with.

A low mumble in his ear had him looking to his right, but finding nothing. His eyes continued to search as the noise appeared again, slowly becoming a groan emanating from both nowhere and everywhere all at once, reverberating deep in his ears. When he turned back to look forward the haze was back too, cloudy black tendrils pulling at the periphery of his vision and seeming to twist and contort the world he was seeing in subtle ways. Low, indistinct words began finally, speaking in a dialect Shepard had never heard before and couldn't understand. It continued, seeming to originate from within his own head as the blackness swirled and curled in front of him, growing slowly before receding and beginning again.

He wanted to rub his eyes. As though that would remove the apparition. Of course it was impossible with the helmet in place so he had to settle instead for shutting them again, trying to shut out the voice and tendrils as he focused on his friends...on his mission...on Ash. He could practically feel it now, worming its way around inside his head, trying to claw and find purchase. The Commander grit his teeth, fighting the creeping force as it continued to gradually recede into the recesses of his mind.

When he opened his eyes again the blackness was gone, the whispers dying off into the background noise as the familiar sight of the Presidium filled his view.

The knot of dread he'd beaten down back in London was back, digging into the pit of his stomach. This wasn't the way this was supposed to go. Wasn't the way he was supposed to go.

Either way, something had to be done. There was no way to deny that any longer. Wishing it away and closing his eyes wasn't guaranteed to always work and he could do far too much damage if he was to actually succumb. He couldn't just keep this to himself any longer, not when it could endanger his friends and allies. Not when it could potentially threaten the entire war effort and the lives of billions.

Shepard immediately thumbed the comm controls over to his friend's private channel. Long ago, when they'd been working for Cerberus and didn't know who they could trust or who was listening in he and Garrus had established their own, private frequency. It was a practice that had persisted ever since, though one that had gone more and more unused as the link to Cerberus had eroded away and disappeared.

"Garrus."

Judging by the pause on the other end of the line the Turian was caught a little off guard by the sudden change of frequencies.

"What's up," he finally asked. There was no humor or attempts at levity, not like there'd normally be. He knew if his friend was using this channel something serious was afoot.

"Listen, I'm gonna need you to..." Shepard sighed and glanced up in the general area where he knew his friend was positioned. "I need you...watching me. Carefully. There's something going on here and I can't have us fail because I'm compromised. This is way too important."

"What?" came the Turian's confused reply. "Compromised? Shepard, you mind explaining that one a bit?"

The Commander shook his head. "It's hard to explain. It's like...my mind is playing tricks on me. There's stuff in my peripheral vision, stuff that's not there. And...whispers. Garrus, I'm...I'm hearing things. Faint things, but they're there."

Shepard braced himself for the next part. He hadn't even dreamed of saying the word before now. Had hoped and prayed everything could be explained away by some other means. He had to face facts though. There really wasn't much left at this point and the mission had to come above his faith in his own mental fortitude and strength and ability to handle this on his own.

"I think it mightbe indoctrination," Shepard finally admitted. The intake of breath on the other end was about what he'd expected. "From what we saw back on the derelict Reaper and what I encountered with Kenson and her project team it seems to match the symptoms. I'm fighting it, but I think it's getting stronger. Garrus, we can't allow this to take me."

Garrus was quiet for a second, taking things in. "Is this the first time?" he finally asked, his voice calm and deadly serious. "With the visions I mean. All that stuff. How long's this been going on."

"No, not the first time," the Commander admitted. "I think I was fighting it in London too. After Harbinger's arrival...during that final push I had some kind of massive...hallucination. It was just so damn real. I don't know what I did or didn't do in the end, but I managed to break through somehow. I heard Ash calling and woke out of it. Hadn't felt it again since then...until we started getting back into close proximity with Reaper units. Until now I didn't know it might still be a factor."

"And do you think you're compromised?"

Shepard pursed his lips and stared out over the horde of creatures below them. He still had every intention of killing every last one of them. Still had the burning hatred and resolve to wipe the Reapers from the face of the galaxy. Mordin's smiling face flashed through his mind. Then Legion's solitary, emotionless ocular light. That was him. At least for now he was still him.

"No," he said. "I'm still here. I'm not gone yet."

"Alright then. Good enough for me."

"Garrus..."

"Listen, if it comes to that you've got nothing to worry about cause I won't let it happen." He didn't need to explain what exactly that would mean, but it was a far better alternative than becoming one of those...things. "But," the Turian continued, "how about we just finish this up and go home instead? Sound good? Make this whole conversation a mute point."

His friend's confidence made him smile a little. He put his eye back to his own rifle's scope, scanning the writhing mass below and picturing the alien doing the same nearby through his own sniper rifle.

"One of us finishes this," he said. "Got it? Garrus, no matter what, one of us sees this through. We do not let them win."

"Deal."

Thumbing back the tactical radio to the squad channel Shepard took a moment, breathing deeply and sweeping his view across the tiered plaza twice more. It still looked pretty dire, but somehow things felt just a little more...possible.

"Okay, we're gonna have to hope that a lack of gravity and a little explosive decompression thins them out a bit or it sounds like this is gonna be over real quick," Shepard finally said, pulling back from his scope and speaking to the entirety of his assault force.

"Roger that."

"EDI?" The chrome head of the artificial intelligence swung around to look at him blankly from several yards away. "Status on that?"

"I can initiate emergency venting within fifteen seconds of the command being given. Explosive depressurization will commence immediately. However, while I have overridden safety protocols in order for this to work, the pressure doors and artificial gravity systems will eventually recycle and reactivate. I cannot keep them open indefinitely."

The Commander shut his eyes in annoyance. He heard Jack growl something under her breath as well but ignored her. Because of course it wasn't about to be easy on them. Just once he'd like something to be simple. Simple was good. Simple would mean more people came back alive.

Shepard sighed and blew out a breath. "How long do we have?"

"Four minutes and fifty seconds until full systems restart."

"Okay. Well, that'll have to be enough then," Shepard said. "EDI, when the clock reaches four minutes I want you to give me a countdown. Call out five second intervals. At twenty I want everyone beginning to disengage and prepare for a retreat if we haven't made enough of a push. Rally point is this position. Agreed?"

He got a chorus of assorted grunts and noises of acceptance from the motley group of warriors.

The Commander sighed and thumbed his comms again. "Garrus, get back down here with us. Find a good vantage point, but I need you with the group once we start pushing forward."

"Roger," came the Turian's response. "On my way back."

"Same general template as before. Wrex, you've got the front line. Once we get moving keep pushing forward, but don't get away from us. Me and EDI will back you up. Biotics, divide up and take the flanks. Concentrate on supporting the main push, but you've got anything that tries to get around us. Primary targets are any Banshees and Brutes that survive the vent. Then work back to the Ravagers. Garrus, you've got anything that seems pretty nailed down when it all goes zero gravity. Concentrate on whatever isn't floating. Once gravity is reestablished, any remaining sniper units are yours."

A few seconds later the blue armored alien dropped into a prone position nearby, settling his Mantis on a stone to steady his aim and nodding to Shepard. Sending a silent nod of support back the Commander shifted, waving the rest of his team into position as he and EDI followed the massive Krogan down the rear of a crumbling restaurant once frequented by the galaxy's politicians. Most of its furniture was destroyed and little more than rubble. The doors and windows looking out on the wide plaza were blown out as well, their remnants littering the upturned tables outside. Silently...or as silently as two ton reptiles can manage...the Commander's team took cover behind the building's facade.

Across a passageway he could see Samara and one of Jack's pupils taking shelter in another shattered structure, the elegant Asari looking awkward in a full zero-grav battle suit with her face obscured by the mirrored viewport of her helmet.

Somewhere to their right Jack was probably looking equally out of place with none of her skin or trademark tattoos on display. It was a far, far different look than when they'd broken her out of that prison ship so long ago. One that wouldn't have been possible back then.

"Helmets on and pressurized," he commanded, checking the seal on his own visor and collar. Both registered positive. "And I want mag boots online as soon as I give EDI the word."

Shepard took one last look at the layout of his companions next to him before going over the battle plan in his mind. It was as good as he could do in the time he had. Daring, but solid. From here on out it was all up to the vent, his units' own skills and ability to work as a team and, hopefully, more than a little luck. Presently he checked his Vindicator before turning and nodding at the synthetic.

"Vent is a go. Commence sequence."

Her omni-tool lit up instantly as she began scrolling through command prompts far faster than a human ever could. It was almost dizzying the way her fingers danced over the holographic interface. "Emergency protocols canceled," she said, nodding back at him. "Depressurization commencing."

"Alright people, look sharp. Fifteen seconds."

Despite the lights being on, the plant life still looking relatively intact and pristine, and at least portions of the artificial sky still powered the Presidium was decidedly creepy. There'd been a fight here, cratered and bullet riddled building facades and vehicles lining the promenade the group was moving down. But there was a conspicuous absence of bodies. As in none. Somehow that was beyond disturbing. The complete absence of sentient life in a place that was normally bustling with activity.

Williams was following Mavia, the remaining Asari Commando, by about ten yards, her Avenger covering a portion of the group's right flank as they walked briskly through the ruins.

"Whoa." Behind Ash Tali stopped short suddenly, dropping her shotgun to her side from where it'd been scanning the empty, cratered cafe the spread out group had been passing. In a hostile environment like this when someone says something alarming like that you generally seek cover. Williams ended up behind a burnt out loader, scanning her quadrant for any kind of movement before glancing back at the Quarian. When she didn't move after a few seconds, still standing silently out in the open, Ashley risked it and darted out to her, keeping her Avenger high and trained on a second story balcony higher up the neighboring building.

"Tali?" she asked, sidling up next to her, but never diverting her attention from the surrounding buildings. There were just too many vantage points for her to drop her guard completely despite the fact that they hadn't encountered anything of note in nearly half an hour. When the Quarian still didn't react Ash nudged her with her shoulder. "Tali? Hey. Got something you wanna share with the rest of the class?"

The helmeted head finally turned, the luminescent eyes blinking rapidly as she focused on the Lieutenant Commander. "Oh. Yeah...uh...sorry," she managed, still sounding distracted. By now the Major had broken position as well to see what the disturbance was, jogging up to the two females. "We may have a problem. A big one. I'm just trying to..."

"Short version," the Major interjected, shooting a nervous look at the eerily empty buildings.

"Oh...right. Umm...so, I think the Citadel's losing atmosphere."

Both Ashley and Vasquez just stared at her. After a lengthy pause Ashley managed to simply ask, "What?"

Tali's omni-tool flickered to life as she typed away, her shotgun wedged under an arm. "My suit measures outside environmental conditions so that it can react to unexpected changes in pressure, temperature, gravitational forces, and so on. It was subtle," she explained, "but there was a measurable decrease in the gaseous makeup of the Presidium's atmosphere along with a corresponding drop in pressure a couple seconds ago."

The Major frowned, breathing deep as if testing the air. "Well, if it's tiny then why should it matter."

"Because that could mean a hull breach," Miranda interjected. Ashley made a face, not caring if the brunette noticed. When she'd made it to the impromptu meeting she didn't know, but damn if the woman didn't seem to be everywhere. It was really annoying. Tali nodded at her explanation though.

"But there's safeguards in place, right?" Williams asked. "Pressure doors and automatic shutters and stuff to prevent that. Every space faring vessel has them."

"And if they'd engaged then the drop I noticed would have immediately returned to baseline levels as the generators and scrubbers made up for it. But they didn't. That's not good. It means something bigger is happening."

"Like what?"

"I...I don't know."

"Alright." The Major turned and waved at the lone Geth platform that had managed to be included on the hastily assembled assault team, motioning for it to come over. "Perimeter up," he whispered into his comm at the same time. "We're working on something here."

Ashley still couldn't shake the uneasiness working with a Geth brought up in her. After Eden Prime she'd never have thought this possible. Never have believed that she'd be standing here next to one...one that talked no less...and discussing strategy rather than blowing its damn head off. Yet another thing that the Commander had done that was a miracle. Somehow the man made those seem almost commonplace.

"You heard?" the close cropped, career military man asked the sentient machine. It nodded once, giving away nothing. "And what's your analysis?"

"Creater Zorah is correct," it began. "Nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide levels have dropped by one point two percent. Atmospheric pressure is down a similar amount though there has been no additional change in the past several seconds.

"Suppositions?"

Its head flaps flexed into an expression mimicking something akin to thoughtfulness. "Insufficient data," it finally said. "The reason for the change is unknown. Warning." Its central eye irised open, the light flashing brighter for a second as the head flaps opened in surprise. "Gravity has dropped a quarter of a Newton within the Presidium."

"Gravity?" Tali asked aloud. Both Ash and the Major looked around curiously as though they were expecting to see furniture beginning to float nearby.

"Helmets! Now!" Miranda suddenly screamed next to Tali, staring at her omni-tool. Then she was scrambling for her pressurized battle helmet.

Williams knew enough not to stop and question someone when they were that frantic. Hastily she pulled her own from her lower back, clicking the pieces into place and settling it over her head. The seals were automatic, two green lights activating almost instantly as the pressure equalized and she achieved a positive seal with her suit. She turned to see the Major already in his as well with Liara snapping hers into position from across the promenade.

Williams turned to the other woman once she saw most of the other soldiers were set. Tali and the Geth platform hadn't so much as moved. "So, what the hell was..."

"C-Sec's opening the docking bay doors and shutting off the force fields with the safeguards disabled," she said, holding up her arm with the omni-tool still showing the C-Sec servers. "There wasn't any reason to check those systems before, but given the loss...well, it's happening."

"Keelah..." Tali whispered.

Vasquez darted over to Miranda to stare at the holographic display alongside the helmeted brunette. "Can we access the traffic control systems from here? Shut down the doors remotely?"

She shook her head. "I don't think you understand...it's all of them. Every last one. They're venting the entire Commons to space. We simply don't have time to try and access that many."

He just stared at her for a moment, his eyes hidden behind the polarized lens of his tactical helmet. Then he spun around. "Gravity boots. Now." Vasquez ordered the assault team before turning back to the small group.

Ash felt the thump of her own armored boots magnetize and achieve positive traction as another indicator light bloomed on her heads up display.

Now that sounded like Shepard. Blast as many of the Reaper bastards as possible out of the station entirely in one fell swoop. It made her smile. Only her Commander would dream up something that bordered on sheet lunacy yet was still tactically brilliant.

Equally as sobering was the realization that only having a Quarian along for the ride had saved them all a very similar fate as that of their enemies. Hell, they probably wouldn't have even made it out of the station before they'd either been suffocated or pulverized by all the flying debris.

"Cover," Vasquez was saying, one hand to his ear as the other was motioning the squad into a still relatively intact bank building.

The Turian Spectre was the closest, striding forward and kicking the partially broken door open where Mavia, the Asari Commando darted inside, her Disciple raised and scanning. Liara and the Turian filed in close behind, their weapons leveling out as they cleared the doorway.

"Everyone inside and outta the open," the Major continued.

Williams started when he laid a hand on her shoulder, looking back at his blank face plate. She'd remained where she was, unmoving and staring off in the direction they'd been headed. In the direction of the Presidium Tower. Already a wind was whipping up, something that was unheard of on the lower levels of the space station without the usual aircar traffic disturbing the generally still air. The echoing groans she could begin to hear promised more to come.

"We'll take cover," he told her, "and make a run for the Tower once the venting is complete. Okay?" Ash glanced up at him. "This is not over, but we need to get inside and off the street."

With one last glance in the direction where the massive ring curved up and out of sight she nodded and followed him across the small entry courtyard and into the bank.

All hell broke loose less than half a minute later.

A/N: Not necessarily action packed, but I think it's pretty obvious that the next one will be. Had to kind of link the groups somewhat and develop the story a bit. Can't just be one crazy gunbattle after the next. That's just bad pacing. Anyway...hope you enjoyed.