Note - I would like to thank all of my friends from the Ashley boards on BSN for their support and comments... Special mention to AMW, Hellfire, Dahelraider, Cptdata, Clone, Ashi and ADlegend.

Chapter Three: Repel Boarders

A wave of biotic energy rushed through the room as the person that was once Magda Garrett threw ball after ball of energy against the meagre defences of Captain John Shepard, Lt Commander Ashley Williams, General Garrus Vakarian, Admiral Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, Admiral Stephen Hackett and what was left of the Marine contingent.

Husks charged again out... and they were forced down with a combination of rifle and pistol fire, their bodies were still twitching 'Corporal how many clips you got left' asked Ashley to the marine to her left, a swarthy marine replied in a slight French accent 'Twenty clips Sir' before passing one to Ashley who used it to reload the standard marine issue M-8 Avenger she obtained from the marine guard who had died from a biotic explosion from the Harbinger avatar moments after tossing it to the Spectre agent.

There was a locking sound as the spent heating clip was expelled and a fresh one was locked in 'We're pinned down skipper we need to get out of this room' she breathed heavily to Shepard. He turned and gave her a small smile 'No combat armour, limited firepower and a harbinger controlled construct... I'm open to ideas Ash' Shepard said warily as another crash of biotic force rocked the jury-rigged cover. 'He doesn't seem as powerful as your reports stated when you faced the collectors Captain' said a flagging Hackett in between breaths 'I guess a human doesn't have the same biotic potential than a Prothean does Sir' replied Shepard.

'Still doesn't answer the question how it took over Admiral Garrett or how these things got on board my ship Shepard' queried Hackett looking across to Garrus as the Turian sharpshooter fired his rifle in two quick successions taking down two husks – one straight in the chest and the other a clean headshot both husks being thrown back by the impact of the slugs hitting them at high velocity.

'We know that Cerberus had developed implants to mimic the indoctrination signal which were partly based on the collectors... maybe a side effect was it allowed the biological transfer of the reaper mind' hypothesised Tali 'Your saying she was a Cerberus mole then Tali?' said the low voice of Garrus 'She definitely seemed the type' Tali answered.

'The burning question is how Harbinger is still alive... we saw all the reapers destroyed and T'Soni's shadow broker team confirmed that Harbinger's corpse fell just outside London in the Surrey area' mentioned Ashley.

There was another shake as harbinger threw a kinetic blast at them 'Human you thought you could destroy us... we are so beyond your understanding as you are to the insects that inhabited your world' came the voice of the reaper known as Harbinger 'Ideas people?' hollered Shepard knowing that the barricade would not last long against this onslaught.

There was a sudden sweeping sound of whistling air and a crunching noise from the next room, the main door swept open as a tall woman with a sweeping pony tail and a low cut top which exposed a lot of tattoos rushed into the room followed by a small group of young people in alliance combat suits. 'Biotic Strike' came the order from the tattooed woman, the group of people quickly threw biotic energy through the air and directly at harbinger 'Suppressive fire' ordered Shepard as the team broke cover and all started firing at harbinger. There was a popping sound as the biotic barriers that protected the avatar of harbinger broke 'Focus fire, kill that son of a bitch' instructed the gravelly voice of Admiral Hackett.

The biotic armour that protected the reaper seemed to bend and buckle under the combined strikes 'Releasing control' said the beleaguered voice of Harbinger, there was a blaze of bright energy and the harbinger entity disappeared leaving the broken body of Admiral Garrett in its wake... her injuries extensive and struggling to draw breath now the only noise in the room.

Hackett got up and slowly approached Garrett lying in a shallow pool of her own blood, Shepard got up 'You Ok Ash?' he queried 'that's my line Skipper, I'm the one cleared for combat – how's the leg holding up and I'm fine?' answered Ashley as she gave him a smile 'Stiff, come on lets go thanks our rescuer' Shepard said motioning the small team of biotics that had come charging to their rescue.

'Impeccable timing Jack' called out Shepard warmly to the tattooed woman 'Shit Shepard, if you told me I'd be taking on old glowing eyes again I would have dressed up' replied Jack with a half mocking smile 'I suppose I owe you one after your Grissom academy escapade and for some reason Rodriquez seemed to get excited about coming to your rescue this time... I think she might have a crush on you Shepard... no accounting for taste' continued Jack as the young biotic called Rodriquez shuffled behind her teammate and mumbled something about just wanting to do her duty.

Jack left her squad and walked closer to Shepard, Ashley, Tali and Garrus 'its hell out there Shepard – husks have swept all over this deck and lost contact with the CIC, all outbound communication lines seem to have been cut haven't been able to get hold of Sanders' stated Jack in a low voice in order for her students not to overheard. 'How the hell they get on board' asked Garrus. Jack looked directly at the scarred turian 'not 100% sure how they originally got on board but on our way fighting here we came across rooms with dragon's teeth spikes like you used to see on the vids describing the Geth attack on Eden Prime, we were only supposed to come here for Sanders to evaluate the kids'. 'Damn I hoped to never see those things ever again' stated Ashley, Jack looked at her 'Sorry lady I don't think we have been introduced – the names Jack, a survivor of Shepard's little suicide squad' she said.

Shepard introduced them 'Jack this is Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams, Ash this is Jack one of the people I recruited to take down the collectors, she works for the alliance these days and trains the biotics out of the John Grissom Academy' Jack seemed to look at Ashley appraisingly 'So this is THE Ashley Williams... should have recognised you Shepard had this sappy picture of you sitting on his desk throughout the entire time I spent on the Normandy. Did you know he rejected mine and the Cerberus cheerleader's obvious charms, he preferred to sit in his office staring at the picture and reading old letters from you... was almost sad watching his puppy dog eyes especially after Horizon' said Jack in a challenging manner 'Perhaps he was after more than any port in a storm then Zero' replied Ashley staring directly at Jack.

Jack looked back and then started to laugh heartily 'Haha, good reply Williams – I could grow to like you... Just never call me Zero, its Jack!' 'Noted... Jack' stated Ashley looking at Shepard who had a slightly relieved look on his face. 'If you have quite finished trying to embarrass me and before Garrus cracks a bad joke go and secure the front passage we will be moving soon, we need to secure some armour, resupply weapons and try and make contact with the bridge or CIC' ordered Shepard as the Marine contingent, Jack, Garrus and Tali complied with his instructions.

'Staring at my picture is it Shepard?' teased Ashley as the rest of the team secured the door and scoured the hallway for anymore husks, Shepard looked at Ashley with a joking smile 'What can I say Williams you in full armour and hair up in a bun does it for me at least until I buy you dinner and get you in that tinskirt you promised long ago' he taunted before Ashley could retort Hackett called over 'Captain, Commander over here'.

Garrett was in a bad way, her skin was cracked and showing some sort of implant underneath glowing in the same ominous blue colour that the husks did. A small pool of dark blood had started to congeal underneath her as her breath rasped with each exhale of breath with a slight convulsion of obvious discomfort. Hackett had a first aid kit out and was administering some medigel to try and relieve her pain, she rasped to him 'Stephen... never...meant...for...this' 'I know Magda now hold still this should stop the pain' replied Hackett as he activated the medi-gel which absorbed into her open wounds.

'Cerberus approached us... what was left of alliance command still on Earth after the initial invasion' gasped Garrett as the medi-gel has it's intended effect 'said that they had cracked the secret of indoctrination and offered it to us... It worked the implant let me control reaper forces... saved lives' continued Garrett in a tired voice, her strength flagging. 'Had no idea about the reapers... would have never worked with them... I'm All... Allia' Garret's voice stopped suddenly unable to voice the words as her strength ebbed and then she was gone. Hackett closed her eyes and finished her sentence 'You were Alliance Magda'.

Hackett stood up 'what did you think Shepard' he said still facing the corpse of the recently deceased Admiral Garrett 'Can't imagine what she would have gone through on Earth, Cerberus took advantage of how desperate she was... what worries me is how she said Cerberus approached us. The majority of alliance command that were rescued now have senior positions within the fleet and if any of them have the implant as well...' Shepard said leaving the unthinkable unsaid.

Hackett stood for a moment absorbing the information 'We need to get moving Shepard... we need to get to the CIC and warn the fleet, your report on the collectors stated that Harbinger can only control one construct at once correct?' solicited Hackett 'Yes Sir he could now control someone else who had the Cerberus implant but he only ever showed the ability to control one at a time during my campaign against the collectors' replied Shepard.

'Let's get moving Captain, there should be an armoury down corridor 16 Delta where we can load up' instructed Hackett 'You heard the Admiral people' ordered Shepard 'Tali send your drone ahead to act as recon... Garrus I want you covering us, Marines stay with the admiral. Jack I want a mixture of offensive and defensive powers – barriers up first and then strike' there were a murmur of affirmatives, nodded heads and a few yes sirs.

'Where you want me skipper' queried Ashley, Shepard stopped for a second to take a breath as he was struggling to take a breath and his leg was feeling very stiff 'beginning to think the doc was right about combat duty Ash' he replied quietly. Ashley looked at him in concern 'don't push yourself John... your only three weeks post op it's a miracle you have come as far as you have' 'I'll be fine, I want you to assume command if I can't LC' reassured Shepard 'Aye aye Sir' saluted Ashley before in a louder voice saying 'Ok people, you have your orders lets go'.

They had fought their way to the armoury and encountered heavy resistance with husks trying to rush them but thankfully no other reaperised creatures. They encountered very few corpses but plenty of dragon teeth devices, Shepard surmised that Garrett had brought a few husks on board to force the issue using her implant not realising she was a puppet of Harbinger and from there they had created more and more husks until the security forces were overwhelmed.

Communications were still cut to outside the ship and no response from coming from the helm, CIC, Engineering or the secondary bridge but at least if the officer in charge followed protocol and flushed the deck to the vacuum they were now all in armour and could survive a decompression for a limited time. 'Elevators are out' said Garrus as he repeatedly pressed the call button on door, the two marines helped him force open the door the red circle on the door changing to green as it prised open.

It opened up onto a vast shaft dimly lit with red and amber blinking emergency lights 'How many floors up do we need to go' asked Tali to no-one in particular 'At least ten decks if we are making for the secondary bridge, twenty two if we head to the CIC' came the French accented Marine Corporal. 'Head to the secondary bridge and attempt to make contact with CIC or transfer ship functions to there, we need to contact the fleet and see what is going on. We may need to vent the ship if we have lost control of CIC' instructed Hackett.

Shepard looked at the shaft 'Ash?' he said as Ashley moved closer to him 'Don't even think about Shepard, there is no way you are going to be able to climb up ten or twenty decks in your current condition' Ashley said in her own direct manner 'I'm fine' Shepard replied but still breathing heavily as the exertions of the fighting through the deck was catching up 'No John, no you're not - you're not going that's final. You and the Admiral can stay here with a defence team, I'll take a team and secure the secondary bridge' Ashley said, pausing when she saw the look on Shepard's face 'this is the right decision and you know it skipper'. Shepard looked at Ashley he knew that look, her defiant she wasn't going to back down look as her brown eyes stared into his ocean coloured ones, he gave her a weak smile 'you have the ball LC run with it... but I don't like it'.

Shepard turned around and walked slowly to Hackett 'I think myself and you are not quite up to scaling an elevator shaft today Sir, I recommend Commander Williams to take a team and secure the secondary bridge we can hole up here with a defence team and stop the husks from following' Hackett nodded in approval 'I think my days of climbing through the bowels of a ship are behind me as well Captain, proceed'. Shepard turned to the others 'Ash - Take Garrus, Tali and Jack - secure the secondary bridge, restore ship communications if possible and get the lay of the land. If you are unable to get comms back up then see if you can restore the elevator so we can follow you up, Jack leave some of your team here for support; some extra barriers and ammo modding will come in handy'

'I'll look after them Jack' finished Shepard seeing Jack about to tell him anyway, 'not one scratch Shepard' warned Jack walking away and starting the climb up following Tali who had already sent her drone ahead and was keeping pace. Garrus and Ashley stood close to Shepard awaiting their final instructions 'Ash...' started Shepard 'If you tell me to be careful I will be tempted to...' started Ash before Shepard interrupted 'Actually I was going to tell you to look after Garrus the last time I left him to his own devices he pissed off every merc group on Omega and I had to come and save his ass' joked Shepard. 'Funny Shepard, you forgot to add the rocket to my face that your presence did not prevent... besides the last time I left you on your own you walked into a laser beam, got buried under rubble and your girlfriend had to come rescue you' teasingly replied Garrus, he got up clicked a button on his Mantis which folded back up as he holstered it 'I better get a move on will never hear the end of it off Tali if she reaches the top first'.

Ashley stepped into the shaft and put one foot on the rung, Shepard followed her into the shaft 'Hey' he said as he grabbed her free hand and pulled her into a deep kiss 'be careful' he said seriously as they parted from the kiss 'You too... I love you Shepard' said Ashley as her fingers entwined with Shepard's 'I love you too Williams' he replied looking into her eyes as he let go of her hand and Ashley started the climb.

'How much further Tali?' called out Ashley, they were in a long dark shaft that spanned the infrastructure of the ship very dimly lit with only blinking lights illuminating the area. Tali'Zorah was the furthest ahead occasionally checking her omnitool which tracked the progress of her combat drone that was floating above them 'Almost there Ash' called back the Quarian engineer and admiral of the migrant fleet. 'About F... flipping time' called out Jack 'Ah Jack how is that swear jar going for you, can you buy a new tattoo with it yet' joked Garrus 'Screw you Vakarian' came the almost good natured riposte.

'Noise down now' called Ashley as they reached the door, Ashley tapped her omnitool into override mode and held it against the door as the VI algorithms embedded in the tool started to override the door locking mechanism. Ashley made a signal to Garrus that the door was about to unlock, the Turian ex c-sec agent unholstered his gun and it expanded into the slightly battered but still effective sniper rifle, Tali locked a heat clip into her pistol a M-358 Talon she had liberated from a Cerberus Guardian a few months earlier and Jack pulsed with biotic energy.

Ashley unlocked the door and immediately raised her Avenger rifle to bring the scope to her right eye, there was no sign of any life and she entered the corridor. She stuck close to walls as she looked around poised to shoot any sign of husks... nothing, she signalled to the others 'No sign of anything Williams?' said Garrus as he joined her in the corridor 'No' she replied 'Tali Chiktikka telling you anything' she finished referring to the name Tali christened her combat drone 'No Ash other than a lack of power on this deck, I think main power is out'.

'Come on let's move, the bridge should be down this access corridor' said Ash tapping her omnitool which produced a three dimensional map that showed the Everest's layout for this deck. 'Right behind you Commander' assured Garrus as they marched towards the corridor in question.

They rapidly approached the access corridor and came across four glass panelled doors with the alliance symbol stetched onto it along with the word 'SSV Everest – Systems Alliance Navy, Secondary Bridge' the doors detected Ashley's alliance ID and opened automatically a VI voice sounded 'Logged – Secondary bridge in use, welcome Lieutenant Commander'.

The room was very much like the CIC on the Normandy except that the CO's station was closer to the Pilot, Navigation and Tactical stations and no raised Dias just the Captain's chair in the centre of the room.

Ashley sat in the chair and touched the omni-displays on the right hand side of the chair that then expanded to show her readings for the ship 'Main power was cut by main CIC just before an evacuation was sounded... but no life boats have been launched' said Ashley puzzled 'Tali see if you can restore power, engineering station should be over there' pointed Ashley to a small alcove to her left.

Tali set to work, occasionally tapping commands on her wrist tool 'Ash there is nothing wrong with main power it's just been locked out to all decks apart from deck one, I can't unlock it though it seems to need command grade authorisation' reported Tali.

Ash looked up and pushed a button which brought up the interface for the virtual intelligence that helped govern the ship 'This is Commander Williams, Unlock power controls and restore main power to all decks' the interface was a bright small ball of orange light which pulsed in reply 'unable to comply, lockdown initiated by Executive officer Captain Tarik' it said in a feminine voice 'Override on my authority as an agent of the special tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the citadel council' ordered Ashley 'SPECTRE authority confirmed, power controls unlocked – logging you out Lieutenant Commander' reported the VI after taking a brief moment to check security records.

'Tali restore main power... Garrus transfer bridge functions here and see if you can restrict command functions to this room until further notice, I don't like how the XO locked down the power' snapped Ashley in response to the VI's statement. There was sudden hum as power was restored and all the consoles along with the lights in the room came back to their normal illumination, Garrus sat down on the main operations console tapping out some commands 'Bridge functions transferred and I think I have locked functions to this room, I think we have to consider that the XO might have been controlled by Harbinger or part of Cerberus Ashley' he reported.

'Agreed' said Ashley 'Run a full ladar scan internal and external so we can what's going on and have we got communication back up?' Ashley looked back at Tali to answer the latter 'No external access, hard to pinpoint why but I have managed to restore shortwave communications Ash'.

Ashley hit a button on her Omnitool 'Shepard, come in – radio is back' she called, a small screen displayed on her tool and she could make out the fuzzy image of Shepard still looking the worse for wear 'So I can see Ash – good work, any trouble getting there?' he asked. 'Hell of a climb but no resistance encountered on route, main power had been cut to all decks apart from the bridge on the authority of the ship's XO. I suspect something big is going down John but external radio access is still out – currently running a ladar sweep to see if I can see how many husks or survivors we are looking at' described Ashley.

'Good work Commander' said a new voice, the lower baritone of Admiral Hackett 'See if you can track down any survivors and if you can send the lift down so we can join you', 'Yes Sir' replied Ashley 'Williams out'.

Ashley leaned back in her chair trying to relieve the ache that was developing along her neck 'I could really use some good news now Garrus' she called over to the operations station. A dutiful beep sounded informing them that the LADAR scan had finished collating the result of the energy pings that could be converted into accurate reports of objects; Garrus looked over the report 'Most of the ship has gone dark Ashley, parts of the ship seem to be exposed to vacuum – I would surmise when the ship was taken the officers that were not part of the coup tried to vent the husk effected areas'.

Ashley let the information sink in, trying to picture the desperation of having no choice but to send innocents to their death 'Anywhere that was not affected Garrus?' she inquired with a sharp edge to her voice. Garrus looked up 'there are pockets throughout multiple decks where ladar scans still show human life signs mostly concentrated on the main flight deck, engine room and the backup medical centre. Deck one seems to have been left untouched, there are a mixture of husks and humans in the main CIC, they will work out what we have done soon enough' finished Garrus.

'Well then let's give them something to worry about…. Have we got control over all bridge functions Tali?' asked Ashley with an edge of steel sounding in her voice 'Yes Ash but I'm not sure how long we will have it' responded Tali. 'Secure this deck and send the lift for Shepard, get me a shipwide broadcast link as well' ordered Ashley, Tali nodded 'Deck doors secured, only way onto this deck is now via the lift which is on its way down to retrieve Captain Shepard and Admiral Hackett, internal defences still not online but managed to erect some barriers incase the doors are breached. Comm line open…. Now'.

Ashley took a deep breath 'To all Everest crewmembers this is Commander Williams of the Normandy… Cerberus sleeper agents have assumed command of this ship and have allowed Reaper forces on board. We have temporarily assumed command functions and I am now unlocking all escape pods and shuttles – please evacuate the ship and head for the nearest vessel it is likely that Cerberus have taken other alliance ships and we need to warn the rest of the fleet – Williams out'.

There was a hiss as the door snapped open, Ashley and Garrus quickly drew weapons and aimed at the newcomer 'Nice speech Ash' said Shepard who was followed in by Hackett, the biotic students and the two marine guards. Ashley lowered her rifle 'what can I say John I was trying to channel my inner Shepard' she said half mockingly whilst smiling; Shepard had a bit of a reputation for morale boosting speeches. 'Not nearly long enough Commander' said Hackett joining in on the good natured teasing 'What is this pick on the recuperating soldier day' said Shepard with a quick grin 'Just a bit of brevity Captain' explained Hackett.

'Hey… someone on the horn…. Coming from engineering section' said Jack talking loudly over everyone else, there was a crackle coming from the intercom before a familiar voice said 'Williams you there?' Shepard strolled over to the console 'James it's Shepard, status report!'. 'Holed up in engineering went to debriefing then headed back to shuttle when lift went haywire and dropped to bottom deck. When we came too saw husks hitting us from all sides, hooked up with some marines and engineer crew... we've been here ever since trying to survive Loco' reported Vega.

'Any other Normandy crew with you James?' asked Shepard, 'I have Traynor, Joker and Esteban with me but Joker has fractured something possibly his hip on the lift crash and under pain meds, Esteban is suffering from concussion but other than that seems ok... Traynor is with one of the engineers trying to get external communications back up but she thinks the main antennae has been disabled and something is blocking all tightbeam transmissions' Vega said filling in Shepard on what had happened to his team.

'Are all of you safe at the moment Lieutenant?' asked Hackett, 'yes sir, lots of husks but not a lot else – creative use of barricades and turrets have turned the two main access routes into a kill zone and we are holding them at bay for now, not sure what they are after but they seem to interested in getting access to the primary maintenance hatches' Vega said to the Admiral.

Shepard looked over to Ashley and said in a low whisper as Hackett talked to Vega 'What could they want in the maintenance tubes? They already have the bridge and have taken out comms', Ashley pushed a few controls on the captain's console which brought up the ship schematics onto her omni-tool 'The tubes lead to the eezo cores but they are already cold as we are running on fusion power as the eezo was extracted and is being used to power the base on Luna but look at this' Ashley said pointing to a small tube that lead off the main maintenance route 'It would be tight but this leads to the main gun – its currently powered down as only the commanding officer or flag rank officer can authorise the VI to fire it but it could be possible to manually fire it if they jury rig it from the weapon maintenance console here' Ashley advised.

Shepard looked up 'Tali, Garrus – look at this' he called over Tali and Garrus and updated them on his and Ashley's theory 'It's possible but husks are rudimentary creatures not capable of the coherent thought to be able to do this, they must just be there to make a breach and then something else will fire the gun' Tali said adding her thoughts into the hypothesis 'Clever bastards Shepard but who will they target with the gun, we are in a low orbit the only thing they could hope to hit would be the citadel or the Ascension unless one of the Quarian liveships or Turian patrol ships have moved to patrol the new citadel orbit' finished Garrus.

There was a beep from the communications console, Ashley looked at it 'Communiqué from the bridge Skipper, Captain Tarik requesting to speak to senior officer' Hackett looked up 'Vega keep those husks at bay and tell Specialist Traynor restoring communications is top priority, Hackett out' Hackett walked over to the communication console and pressed a button – a hazy display showed a middle aged male officer with dark skin tones wearing the uniform of an alliance captain 'Admiral Hackett sir, the reports said you were dead' came the crisp tones in a slight Indian dialect of Captain Tarik, the Executive officer of the Everest 'Mo, what the hell are you playing at!' retorted Hackett.

'Making sure Humanity takes its place at the head of the table not becoming the playthings of the Asari and Turians' Tarik spat out 'Your an old alien loving fool... you served your purpose in united the alliance behind the reaper threat but your time is now at a end, we control the reaper forces thanks to Human Cerberus ingenuity. We now have an opportunity to take out the armed forces of the other races. We will take the citadel for ourselves...'.

'No Captain you're the fool, Earth suffered yes but so did Palaven, Thessia, Dekuuna... do I need to go on? We beat the reapers by combining the resources of the citadel races and together we will restore peace and something new will be forged from this war... stand down your husks Mohammed and I will ensure that you are treated to a fair trial' shouted Hackett.

'I don't think so Admiral... I am in control here; very soon I will gain full control of the main gun and start a little mini war. The Turians will retaliate and the alliance with its greater numbers will rise up against the turian 'treachery' and obliterate the alien fleets, Cerberus's vision will come to fruition at long last'.

'Did you not see what happened to Garrett Tarik?' said Shepard 'possessed by a reaper that survived all of you that had that implant can be controlled by Harbinger... you are not fighting for humanity you are being manipulated into destroying the alliance that has come within a cusp of destroying the reapers once and for all'.

Tarik's face turned into a sneer 'Shepard… the alien's little lapdog… Humanity's so called best, I saw nothing about any reapers but I was watching the admiral's life signs on the monitor as you and your lackeys killed her for doing nothing but trying to wretch control from the alien lovers and back to the Humans'.

'This is the way to do it is it Tarik?' replied Shepard his tone hardening due to the pro human rhetoric being uttered by the semi delusional captain 'Everything I have ever done since becoming a Spectre was to humanity's benefit… taking down Saren and Sovereign led to the alliance becoming a citadel council member over the heads of a lot of races more ancient and advanced than ours'. 'At the cost of how many human lives Shepard?' countered Tarik 'How many ships did we sacrifice to save the council and the asari flagship' Tarik spat out 'No Shepard… this is our time…. We will drive these aliens out…. Take their technology for our own and with the citadel in human control we will ensure humanity is the dominant force in the galaxy'.

Tarik continued speaking 'Your too late Shepard, when this ship fires its main mass accelerator cannon, it will signal our officers to take control of their ships and be ready for the turian/asari counter attack but your time is at an end…. Cerberus thanks you for your service as we freely admit we could have never taken the collectors on without you but the illusive man should have known you would never truly embrace our ideals…. Goodbye Shepard, Admiral Hackett' Tarik signed off with a salute.

'Shepard!' came an exclamation over the radio, it was Vega 'Mass Effect cores just came online…. They rushed us and I have engineers' dead, I think they might have remote control over engineering. Drive cores are online and mass effect shells have started forming in the accelerator ammo ports'.

'Lieutenant, are you able to move Joker and are you anywhere near an airlock?' asked Shepard an idea forming his head, he looked over to Hackett who nodded latching onto Shepard's thinking. 'Yes sir I think so on both accounts but the flight lieutenant is pretty doped up on pain killer meds, what did you have in mind?'

'Prep for zero G, I want you to head for the airlock and get to one of the drop shuttles on the port bay… I'm about to vent the ship whilst we still have some control' ordered Shepard. 'Commander… I mean Captain there are still alliance personal on the ship' said the protesting voice of Specialist Traynor over the radio 'Traynor… I have husks all over the ship, Cerberus operatives in control of the cic and are about to use the main cannon to start a massacre in the name of humanity. I have two choices overload the drive cores to destroy the ship which will take out most of our infrastructure on the moon as well as any support craft in orbit or I vent the ship to atmosphere which will kill anyone not prepped but the ship will be salvageable'.

Shepard paused to take a look around the room, Ashley squeezed his arm to show she supported him and put her helmet back on 'Ready when you are Shepard' said Garrus as he hit a control on his armour and a helmet extended from his back armour. 'Get it done Captain' ordered Hackett as he put on his helmet, the rest of the personal present followed suite.

'Traynor, I don't like it any more than you but I suggest if you are in contact with anyone on the ship to advise them to prep for zero G conditions and head to the nearest escape pod or shuttle as I am about the vent the ship to vacuum' commanded Shepard, there was a pause 'Yes Sir… we are heading for the airlock now, will radio when we find some transport'.

Shepard picked up his helmet, looking at the blood stripe red marking next to the N7 insignia; it was very apt today 'Everest access life support controls and vent the atmosphere across all decks' Shepard said addressing the VI of the ship 'Warning safety protocols prohibit such action' the virtual intelligence informed them 'Overide on my authority' said Hackett 'Logged commanding officer of the fleet deactivating safety protocols… life support disabled, barriers to vacuum disabled, gravity will deactivate momentarily, venting atmosphere in t-minus 10 seconds'.

'Activate mag boots' Shepard instructed, there was a swooshing sound as the magnetic mechanism in his armour boots activated and locked him to the floor, the barrier above the cockpit disabled and the glass sheet started to withdraw. There was rush of sound and air sweeping by them as it escaped into the nether and then there was nothing no sound as the entire room was exposed to the vacuity of space.

'Everyone ok?' came the voice of Ashley Williams who was leaning against the main bulkhead 'Feels like the morning after shore leave' muttered Garrus who had been knocked against a few consoles his voice had a slight metallic sound to it distorted by the need to communicate via radio 'I think we'll live Commander' said Hackett with a slight groan 'been a few years since I done zero gravity'.

'Was only a month or so ago for me' Shepard said with a trivial grunt as he staggered into standing position, 'Was it worth it?' asked Jack. Tali linked her suit to the bridge controls 'The whole ship was vented, no life signs on the bridge or much elsewhere but the vent has taken out some parts of internal sensors, I can confirm that the main gun has gone cold again'.

'Door seems sealed tight Tali?' Garrus said trying to activate the main entrance 'Standard alliance ship protocol' Ashley explained 'In a controlled ship vent, all bulkhead doors seal to allow the ship to be repressurised one section at a time'.

'Which means the way out of this room is..' asked Garrus 'is through their Garrus' Shepard finished pointing to the gaping hole in the cockpit where the barriers had dropped. Garrus looked up and turned to Shepard with a withering look 'I suggest we retire to a sun soaked beach and instead we are treading in zero G on the outside of an alliance dreadnaught?'.

'Aren't you having fun Garrus... we could hit omega and find a nice turian plague to infect you again or an army of collectors for us to fight through' teased Tali, Shepard grinned 'come on Garrus chin up, this will be just like..' 'Old times' came the chorus from Ashley, Jack, Tali and Shepard.

Garrus looked across at them in mock exasperation and walked over to the cockpit opening 'Ha, I think I need a new catchphrase then' he uttered as he disengaged the mag lock and floated up towards the gap in the hull 'Don't forget to calibrate your boots Vakarian' mocked Jack as Garrus floated up and landed on the outside hull 'Low blow Jack' said Garrus over the radio good naturedly.

Tali, Hackett, Jack and her team followed Garrus up, Ashley checked her rifle and ejected another heat clip 'You next skipper' she motioned towards the chasm above them. Shepard winced but as he was in full armour was not visible, the vent had disabled his leg brace and tendrils of pain were being experienced as he moved into position.

There was a click as the radio channel on Shepard's helmet went from the team broadcast to a private channel 'You're in pain' stated Ashley 'Never could hide things that well could I?' Shepard said with another slight grunt as he attempted to unlock his mag locks. 'Not from me' Ashley said as she bent down and hit the control Shepard had been reaching for and put an arm around to steady him, Shepard was unable to put any weight on his leg.

'There is no way you can trek across the hull like this, I take it the brace is busted' Ashley said in her normal blunt manner 'Yeah think the venting knocked it, the capacitor does not seem to be charging' replied Shepard 'I'll be fine, dial down the magnetic field to 40% and I should be ok Ash' Shepard said. 'Don't suppose we have much of a choice do we' Ashley said obviously not completely happy as she bent down again and amended the magnetic lock as requested 'you worrying about me again?' Shepard said as the pressure eased off his leg taking advantage of the weightless environment, Ashley stood up 'The career soldier part of me knows you're an N7 marine despite your injuries and you have come through worse but there is another part of me that is your girlfriend...man I hate that word doesn't seem to do justice but that part of me is scared your pushing yourself too hard... I don't want to lose you again John'.

Shepard reached out for her hand 'and you won't Ash... after all this is done well let's just say my galaxy saving days are behind me and I want to concentrate on what's important in my life and that's you but let's talk about this later' Ashley grasped his hand back 'I feel the same and yeah neither the time or place but we will finish this later marine' 'Count on it LC... but come on before Garrus starts getting snarky'.

They both disengaged their mag boots and rose through the rift; Shepard looked around as he hit the controls to lock him back to the hull. The stars were shining above him, the sun just shining its rays over the moon that in turn cast a silhouette over the Everest as they started their march towards the nearest shuttlepod.

'Shepard you there?' said a voice over the radio, 'James you all ok?' replied Shepard recognising the voice of James Vega 'Sure did Loco – managed to find a Kodiak, stay where you are we are en-route, We found some stragglers in escape pods but homing in on your radio signal now... I think'.

'You're not inspiring confidence James' Garrus commented dryly 'Come on now Garrus, don't be hating because I am saving your ass' came the retort from Vega. There was an additional shadow being cast over the ship as a Kodiak drop shuttle came down flying low... too low the shuttle scrapped against the hull, Ashley winced 'Oh God who is piloting that crate' she asked to no-one in particular but Shepard answered anyway 'I think we both know the answer to that Ash and it's not Cortez or Joker'.

The shuttle came to a shaky stop a few yards in front of them, there was a gasp of escaping air as the door slid aside 'Come on let's get going, everyone on board' said a voice over the radio which seemed to belong to an officer dressed in the standard armour of a flight lieutenant.

They all climbed aboard, the door slid behind them as the last marine boarded. A red lamp lit up to show that door was now sealed and room was pressurising, the lamp then turned green as the pressurisation procedure completed.

The officer who opened the door took off his helmet to show the face of Steve Cortez, he walked over to the boarders with a slight limp and saluted as Hackett removed his helmet 'Lieutenant Cortez sir – SSV Normandy' Hackett returned the salute 'As you were Cortez, have you injured yourself?' noticing the limp 'Nothing too serious sir some husks seemed to like me, pain meds mean I can't pilot the shuttle however'.

Shepard stood up and removed his helmet, he clapped Cortez on the shoulder 'Good to see you in one piece Steve, where's the others? 'Cortez gave him a weak smile 'Through their Shepard... glad you're here Lt Moreau is getting a little... Tetchy' he said diplomatically.

Shepard shook his head and opened the door to the inner cabin 'Shepard!' exclaimed Joker as he walked in, Lieutenant Jeff Moreau normally referred to as Joker was lying on the floor with two of his legs in a splint and what looked like a spinal board Dr Chakwas was attending him and administering some kind of drug intravenously. 'Someone, anyone take over the controls he flies like a drunken bull' Joker motioned towards the pilot station where James Vega was piloting.

'Come on Man it wasn't that bad' protested Vega, 'James you have hit the Everest twice, you are responsible for fracturing my other leg and the last shuttle you flew before this you flew into another shuttle... for the love of god will someone please fly this shuttle other than Vega' said Joker.

'Calm down Jeff' said the soothing tone of Dr Chakwas as she increased the flow of pain killers 'settle down Lieutenant' said the gruff voice of Hackett who had appeared in the doorway, he addressed Vega 'Up you get Lieutenant I will take the helm'.

Vega looked up 'Sir? Um are you um qualfi... I mean rated for um' Hackett looked at him 'Son I spent half of my career flying shuttles or fighters until the day my reflexes gave out and I was shunted into the bridge of a starship, now up you get'.

Vega vacated his station; Shepard looked at him 'You did good James' as he tapped him on the shoulder. Shepard sat in the navigator seat next to Hackett 'Hope we are not too late... Tarik did say they were waiting for a signal from Everest' he said quietly to his superior officer 'We will soon find out Captain, we will head out of the dark side of the moon and out of range of whatever blocker they were using to stop ship to ship communication'.

Shepard felt the approach of Ashley behind him 'Ash, get Sam on the radio I want to know the minute we are able to make contact with the fleet' Ashley nodded 'You got it skipper', she turned back to the hold 'Traynor take the comm station, see if you can get through the block we are going to head away from the Everest' 'Yes Commander' came the reply from the communications specialist.

'You know Shepard... I think this is the first time I have abandoned a ship like this' commented Hackett as he veered away from the Everest 'she is salvageable sir, the last time I abandoned ship she blew up and I died' mentioned Shepard. Hackett gave a short laugh 'That's putting it in perspective Captain' he said as his hands deftly moved across the controls 'You've done that before I see Sir' replied Shepard 'Once or twice Shepard... I started my career flying alliance transports and then shuttles before I fell into the Trident program' returned Hackett 'Took the fighter jock route to command sir? A dying breed these days' commented Shepard. 'Yes it is, most command grade officers now come via the marine corps these days... not that there is anything wrong with that yourself and Commander Williams have both proven that as well as Anderson'.

The shuttle moved out from the dark side of the moon as Hackett banked the Kodiak to port, Shepard looked up to see his home planet in the distance before it disappeared from view as the shuttle changed direction again heading away from Earth and to where the rest of the alliance fleet was positioned nestled in between the Geth and Quarian fleets just outside of Mars orbit. Whilst Shepard vouched for the geth the rest of Humanity still remembered Eden Prime and the human element of sword fleet was positioned where they could keep an eye on the artificial intelligences from Rannoch.

They had travelled far enough towards Mars to get a visual on the human fleet 'Starting to get comm chatter on alliance channels Admiral' called out Traynor in her oxford accented voice 'Good work Specialist' Hackett said, he turned to Shepard and murmured quietly 'Some of those frigates are slightly out of formation' 'yeah they are' Shepard agreed 'Mass effect cores look powered up' he continued glancing at the navigation panel 'They could turn and have a weapon lock very quickly if they are under Cerberus control' Shepard turned to Traynor 'Can you get me a tightbeam transmission to the Normandy without being detected?'.

'Encryption applied, connection established Captain' replied Traynor signalling to Shepard with her thumb up 'Normandy this is Shepard' there was a burst of static... 'Samantha can you clear this up' asked Shepard. Traynor started pressing buttons 'We are being jammed again... attempting to cut through it' there was a pause 'Got it but not sure how long'. Shepard opened the comm again 'EDI, Adams you there?' he barked 'Shepard, I am reading you but barely' said the synthesised voice of EDI 'Normandy is on lockdown Shepard on Admiral Wearne's orders, there is a blanket ban on all ship communication throughout the fleet but there have been a lot of ship traffic between certain ships, Engineer Adams was relieved of duty again on Wearne's orders'.

'Can you overide the lockdown' asked Shepard already knowing the answer 'Of course Shepard' came the expected response 'Do it, engage stealth drive and tell Adams to get back to his post... Cerberus are making a move and I don't want to get stuck on this tincan if it comes down to a firefight so get here asap' ordered Shepard. 'Lockdown overridden, bringing Tantalus core online, engaging stealth systems... locked onto your location Shepard ETA 3 minutes' EDI replied.

'Admiral Wearne, he was one of the admirals on the defence committee wasn't he?' asked Shepard looking at Hackett who nodded 'Admiral Thomas Wearne he was part of the defence committee and was assumed lost when the reapers hit HQ as only you and Anderson walked out of that meeting but he was found leading the resistance cells in Munich'.

'He was running scared before the reapers hit Earth and were taking out the colonies, a prime candidate for Cerberus to recruit' surmised Shepard 'Yes... he was well thought off by the German, French and Polish alliance resistance forces and seemed an ideal candidate to pick up the forces buffering the Geth but there is no way they have more than a handful of officers, I handpicked most of the command staff across the fleet following the disaster at Arcturus'.

'I think we have been spotted Shepard' piped up Traynor 'Frigate has turned on active sensors and Tridents have launched'.

'Open channel now Specialist' ordered Hackett, Traynor nodded and opened a communication channel 'This is Admiral Hackett to approaching fighter group, stand down we are carrying wounded and we are unarmed' there was no answer but static. 'We are being blocked again Sir, the last time I saw jamming like this was on Sanctuary' mentioned Traynor 'I will try and get through it but I don't think the radio equipment on here is powerful enough to break it'.

There was a lurch as Hackett took evasive actions as the fighter craft flew overhead 'They have weapons lock' shouted Traynor in a panicked voice 'Deploying countermeasures' stated Shepard calmly deploying decoy missiles to lead away and torpedoes that the fighters would launch. 'Taking evasive manoeuvres – everyone hang on' Hacker said in a slightly raised voice but still irradiating confidence and experience.

The Trident class fighters flew overhead looking to make another pass before they suddenly veered off. A large shadow started to appear and partially blocked out the light from the sun reflecting off the hull and they saw why the fighters banked away sharply, the cavalry had arrived – SSV Normandy SR2 an modified variant of the Normandy class Stealth Frigate. The Normandy's unique stealth drive had allowed to manoeuvre into a standing position between the enemy frigate and the Kodiak shuttle, the stealth drive did not make them invisible however and the trident pilots had noted her arrival and moved back towards the safety of their mothership.

Shepard's omnitool flashed as a familiar circle ball appeared EDI's avatar 'Opening docking hatch – med bay prepped for arrivals Shepard'.

'Taking us in' said Hackett, heading underneath the Normandy and then upwards into the descending main docking bay door. The teal shuttle came into the Normandy on a tight angle as the docking bay slid shut behind them; Hackett brought the Kodiak to a halt and powered down the engines.

The door slid open as Shepard walked out 'Garrus get to main battery – I want the main gun ready to fire ASAP. Tali engine room, Chakwas I need Cortez patched up and at the helm asap as I take it Joker will not be flight ready'.

'On our way Shepard' said Garrus as himself and Tali moved towards the elevator, 'I should have Cortez ready for duty as soon as I get the pain medication changed Shepard, count Joker out of this one however' Chakwas said then ordering crewmembers to help get a spinal board and transport to get Joker to the medical bay. 'Rest of you to your posts' said Shepard as he started limped towards the Combat Information Centre.

The elevator snapped open, Cortez walked out and moved quickly to the helmsman post 'I have the ball EDI but I'm a little rusty on starship piloting so feel free to nudge me when needed' he said to the AI.

Ashley walked over to the officer on watch post toward the bottom dais as Shepard took up the CO station, Ashley's fingers hit buttons on the controls 'Frigate is attempting to get active lock on us, Sound action stations' she ordered assuming the XO role in the lack of anyone else being qualified to do the job. 'Raise Barriers, go active sensors, stand by point defences' ordered Shepard as soon as Ashley started the ball rolling with getting the ship prepped for combat.

Hackett walked towards Shepard and then addressed Traynor 'Can you break through the jamming now Specialist', 'Already done sir with EDI's help' replied Traynor. Shepard addressed the communication pod and said to Traynor 'Sam broadcast this fleetwide' 'Channel open Captain' Traynor replied.

'This is Captain Shepard of the Normandy to alliance frigate approaching, you are attempting to get a weapon lock on us – clarify your intentions or it might have escaped your attention that the Normandy is an alliance vessel' Shepard stated boldly as he continued 'Or could it be that you are under Cerberus control, we have stopped your little coup attempt on the Everest – there will be no war today I'm afraid'.

Hackett nodded towards Shepard 'This is Hackett, Shepard is speaking the truth. Cerberus had moles planted in some of our senior officers namely the ones we left on Earth when the reapers first attacked and they attempted to take control of the Everest and start a war to wipe out our allies. They failed but at a cost, most of the crew on the Everest was turned into Cerberus controlled husks and is now adrift.

Hackett paused letting the information sink in 'I am calling on all alliance vessels, this is Admiral Stephen Hackett supreme commander of the alliance fleet and acting chief of state for the Earth Systems Alliance you are ordered to resume your assigned patrols and stand down all weapons, if your Commanding officer disregards this then I am authorising the Executive officers to place them under arrest and assume command – Hackett out'.

Shepard looked at Traynor 'Talk to me Sam' 'We have alliance ships asking for our status and affirming that they have not left their stations. Seven frigates and eleven cruisers are out of position but have come to a full stop and one dreadnaught the SSV Fuji ; I have Asari, Turian and Quarian forces asking do we require any assistance sir'.

'Thank them for their enquiry but tell them we have the situation in hand and they will be debriefed by myself as soon as possible Specialist' replied Hackett. 'They have a weapon lock now Shepard' warned Ashley 'Returning the favour, Garrus you got a firing solution' Ashley continued speaking over the intercom 'I have a weapon lock and optimal firing solution on the thannix cannon is acquired Williams' replied Garrus.

'ID confirmed on the Frigate – SSV Trafalgar, its Captain was KIA under sword fleet, currently commanded by a First Lieutenant Saul Grima' EDI chimed in 'Reopen the channel' Shepard ordered 'Lieutenant Grima this is an order from an superior officer – stand down now, Normandy has twice the firepower you have and is equipped with a Thannix Cannon, this is your last chance or I will open fire'.

There was a burst of static again before a voice sounded 'Normandy stand down this is Engineer Coltly, myself and some of the officers have arrested Grima and some other bridge crew, we are powering down the defence grid... please hold your fire'.

Shepard looked across to Ashley who nodded 'weapon lock has dropped, their sensors have gone passive and Guardian lasers are offline skipper', 'Return the favour Ash but keep point defences online' Shepard said quietly Ashley nodded again and carried out the order.

'Incoming transmission from the Fuji sir for Admiral Hackett' mentioned Traynor 'Put it through' ordered Hackett. 'Sir this is Major Singh, I had placed Admiral Wearne under arrest and assumed command as per your order sir when he refused to return to station but he activated some kind of implant and well he seemed to change... into well something else it didn't sound human'.

'Let me stop you there Major, an yellow explosion and he displayed biotic powers' Hackett asked, 'yes sir, myself and the other marines gunned him down – he left us no choice' Singh replied.

'Major, I want to make this clear you are to discuss this with no-one else – I will come to the Fuji and assume command, make sure you and your marines report to me the minute I arrive – Hackett out'.

Hackett turned to Shepard 'I'm heading to the Fuji, I need a contingent of your marines to accompany me until I know who we can trust again. Get in touch with Admiral Shepard and ask her to secure the Everest, I will get coordinate from the Fuji and begin a fleetwide screening of all command officers for any unnecessary implants'.

'Yes Sir' said Shepard saluting the Admiral 'Once we have finished the screening and I have debriefed our allies make your way to the Citadel as per your original assignment Captain' said Hackett as he left the CIC. Shepard looked over to Ashley 'LC – go down below and pick some marines to accompany the Admiral' Ashley saluted 'Yes Captain'.

'Open a channel to the Orizaba' called Shepard as Ashley left the CIC and joined the Admiral in the elevator.

Some many hours later... on the observation deck of the Normandy.

Shepard was standing by the main viewing window in his hand was a flimsipad containing the casualty reports from the infighting between alliance forces, not all of the Cerberus officers had surrendered peacefully and the ones that did had Harbinger taking control. It was going to be hard to keep a lid on this disaster he thought but mostly the thought on his mind was how many people had died on the Everest when he vented the ship, there were so many people unaccounted for.

They had started screening officers but the disclosure to the other races on how close they had come to a war and possible extinction had created some tension and Shepard was needed to head to the Citadel to try and calm things down, Normandy was scheduled to depart in the morning.

There was a swishing sound as the door opened and then closed 'Hey you ok?' said a voice as Shepard felt a hand entwining with his, Shepard smiled weakly and turned around to face Ashley 'I've had better days Ash' as he kissed her lightly on her mouth. Ashley let go of his hand and sat down on the sofa inviting Shepard to do the same, Shepard sat down next to her and for a few minutes they said nothing just staring at the stars as Ashley's head lightly rested on Shepard's shoulder.

'So...' Ashley said 'you need the pep talk about how you made the right call?' Shepard didn't say anything just gently squeezed her hand. Ashley continued talking 'It was not your fault John, blame Cerberus, blame the reaper... blame anyone but yourself. No-one else would have got us out of there alive and we managed to avert a civil war... That's good going if you ask me'.

Shepard replied 'On some level I know that, it's just I think I'm tired of all of this... Been fighting for so long not sure who I am anymore'. Ashley lifted her head up to look at him 'your still the same man I fell in love with Shepard... strong, passionate man, you care about people and most of all still with a great ass... I love you'

Shepard turned to look at Ashley 'You always know the right things to say for someone who claims she is not a word person... I love you too' Ashley smiled and pulled him closer 'Shut up and kiss me'.