AN: Soo, I forgot to push this chapter through last night when uploading everything, haha. Well, here it is: the final chapter. Words of wisdom: don't post when sleep deprived.

"Ready for the big drop, Crimson?"

"Locked and ready, Admiral," Riley answered.

"Dropping the pod in ten," Anderson said. "Batarians have already sent out the distress signal reporting their planetary defenses as offline. We estimate the Leviathans will strike in less than ten minutes."

"How's it looking out there?"

"Eye of the hurricane, Shepard."

A majority of the Council fleet had amassed in the Bahak system: turians, asari, human, and salarian, coupled with the added firepower of the batarians. While excessive for a Leviathan assault with a beast count of less than four, the majority of the ships weren't there to defend against just those creatures. They were there in case the plan failed. Two asari piloted Valkyries remained behind with the fleet, one piloted by the only asari Spectre he'd ever encountered and, while he respected her, he was also a little terrified of her.

"Good luck, sir."

Kaidan double checked everything one last time, running the numbers twice, ensuring everything checked out. The maintenance crews had worked over time to make sure all the ships were in fighting condition for the final assault, then the Valkyries had been loaded onto a cruiser with a modified hangar deck to accommodate Valkyrie deployment. It had also been hastily outfitted with GARDIAN defense systems, operating with a minimal crew. Just enough to keep the ship running because their plan didn't entail the cruiser coming back.

The conn pod holding mechanism retracted and his stomach lurched into his mouth from the freefall, though it was a much reduced freefall, before connected with the rest of the ship.

EDI flickered to life before them. "Initiating pilot-to-Valkyrie connection."

"Downgrading to standby," Kaidan said as Riley did the same.

Other Valkyries came to life around them forming a small knife fleet that would carry out the brunt of the attack while the cruiser carried out its mission. If there was ever a time to hope for minimal relay transit drift and good conditions on the other side, this was it.

He found Riley's hand in the middle and squeezed.

This was it.

She tugged on his fingers. Her eyes were dark and clear as she looked over at him and he could feel nervousness and adrenaline surging through her, though undoubtedly some of that was him, too. "My timing was always shit."

He grinned, a seed of warmth flaring deep within his soul because even though he could feel it through the bond, actually hearing it was a different beast all together and not something that could ever be diminished. "Yeah, well, I could have said something three years ago."

"We're a pair."

"Drift Compatible."

"Relay activation in progress!"

He crushed her fingers between his, refusing to let go until they'd crossed to the other side because for all he knew, this could be the last chance he'd have to hold her, even separated by armor as they were, and he wasn't about to waste that. Her return grip was just as fierce, the same thoughts burning in her mind like a supernova, feeding off his and now he could understand the intensity behind the asari mating ritual and why to date the only asari Jaeger pilots were married couples.

Because feeling the intensity of someone's emotions as they held onto you was enough to shatter the fabric of reality.

The cruiser sat on the 'back' side of the relay along with the Normandy, the Hastings, and the Ascalon, hidden from any potential corridor and ready to go through as soon as the Leviathans appeared, before either relay could return to starting position. The whole plan hinged on hitting that moment precisely right and so the natural choice to man the cruiser which would be calling the shots had been no contest.

The geth had attempted to stay outside of the war, believing the Leviathans to be after organics only. Until Rannoch had been assaulted and the geth suffered a devastating loss of programs before the quarians, of all people, came to their rescue as much for their home planet as to help the geth.

Last he'd heard, the geth and quarians had brokered a peace, if an uneasy one, providing mutual protection for each other because where the quarians had a massive fleet, the geth had superior technology.

"Shadow team executing maneuver."

He stared straight ahead as if he could bore through the hull of the cruiser and see beyond. "Ready to see the galactic core?"

"I was thinking I needed a bit more gravity in my life," Riley replied.

Then they were in the corridor, Valkyries confirming combat ready status, gearing up to launch as soon as the small fleet was through.

The tell-tale lurch shifting back into normal space came all too fast yet at the same time it'd felt as their position in the corridor had lasted too long, reminscent of the tail-end of a quiet note, lingering in the wind.

"Knife squad, prepare for hangar deck depressurization," the Captain of the cruiser alerted them. He released Riley's hand at last as they geared up the Valkyrie for combat. "Corridor drift 2300 K and increasing. Compensating against gravitational pull."

"Normandy to knife, your six is covered and you are clear for launch. Bastards didn't see us coming but their fleets are scrambling. I've got seven Leviathans on sensors already on approach. Two CAT fours, four CAT fives, and one CAT six."

"Alright, squad," Riley broadcast to the fleet, "Terra formation going out. Valkyries break off after tagging your beastie. Alenko and I have the CAT six. Our goal is to prevent the Leviathans from breaching our line and destroying the cruiser before it has a chance to do its job. Frigates will hang back to protect the Cruiser and secure a relay approach vector."

Kaidan inhaled deeply, filling his lungs as the apprehension grew. The moment was almost upon them. They'd laid down their bet and just needed to see if the dice would roll in their favor.

"Opening hangar bay doors."

"Let's move, people!"

They extended in their rigs, leaning forward, and propelled their ship out, flying to the forefront of the formation. The Normandy and the Hastings cut across their path, ensuring their departure was unhinded by weapons fire – and then they were out.

The CAT six led the counter-assault, followed by the rest. He could see more exiting from the massive compounds in the distance. Minutes before they arrived, at best.

No time to waste, he and Riley kicked off charing straight for the CAT six as the rest of the Valkyries picked their targets.

"Detecting an unknown weapon signature," EDI warned. A giant reddish orb brightened on the CAT six and Riley cursed as they pulled the Crimson sharp to port just in the nick of time.

"Disruptor torpedoes!" she shouted through gritted teeth. Target lock achieved and they fired, half of them making it past the Leviathan's defenses and scoring hits.

They didn't see the talon sweeping up beneath until it was too late and it smacked into the hull, throwing him against the constraints of the rig. He bit back a curse and they brought the ship about, recovering from the hit.

"Bringing the javelin online," he said and Riley nodded as they sped around the CAT six, using their speed and its size to their advantage.

He launched a volley as they circled the beast and clipped close to its core, scoring a direct hit that shuddered through its flesh and almost made him want to gag. Maybe if he hadn't seen some of the shit being a marine shined a light on throughout his career, he would have.

"The CAT fours are down! Converging on approaching CAT fives."

Riley grunted as they dodged another talon swing, the force of the maneuver thrashing them in their harnesses. "Charging thanix cannon."

It was a direct hit but the CAT six survived, shrugging it off as if the projectile had been made of water and not molten alloys. Its defense systems engaging with the Crimsons' as the GARDIAN fought off incoming attacks. EDI's added processing power improved their GARDIAN countermeasures but fighting against the CAT six still took out two GARDIAN lasers.

"Hull breach, port side, aft!" EDI shouted as the ship rocked from another hit. Kaidan felt the seals around his neck snap into place, switching them to suit air supply. "Engaging kinetic barriers, pressurization contained, but life support is compromised."

They dodged another attack from the gigantic red orb he'd officially labeled the giant laser of death.

"Striker Intercept requesting back-" the comm cut out abruptly and Kaidan swallowed and felt Riley compartmentalize. No time to grieve. Not when they were fighting for their lives and needed to focus all their attention on the battle at hand.

They could grieve for the dead later as they stood over hollow graves.

"Another CAT six imbound!"

Riley cursed. "Normandy, what's the ETA on the cruiser?"

Sensors showed the second CAT six heading straight for the cruiser.

"Four minutes, Major. Drift was worse than our initial estimates and we've got of firepower coming our direction, and more Leviathans on the way. GARDIAN defense systems on the Hastings were destroyed and the Ascalon's lost power to its thrusters. We really can't take that CAT six headed our way!"

"Sonofabitch."

"Chargin thanix again," Kaidan said, grunting as a near miss from a torpedo rocked their hull and tossed them in their rigs, "I've got an idea."

Riley looked at him, understanding and surprised.

Crazy Ivan. A move no frigate or warship had been able to pull off to date, but which the engineers on the Valkyrie project had seen fit to integrate into the Crimson Tactical. A maneuver they'd only performed once on their test flight nearly a week ago and hadn't done since because it blew through power and while they didn't have a lot of that to spare from damage sustained from fighting the CAT six, they didn't exactly have a choice if they were going to intercept the second inbound.

"Alright," Riley agreed. "Crazy Ivan."

They locked their hands together in front of them, queuing the maneuver protocol as they positioned themselves. Hoping the CAT six would take fall for the feint, not knowing that they could actually pull off something this crazy that only the advent of inertial dampeners allowed for human survival.

The CAT six, turning just as he'd hoped it would to follow their fake getaway, exposing its 'heart'. The spread their arms out and the thrusters reversed, the ship spinning around them and the conn pod rotating to accommodate the new position. Target locked and the CAT six didn't have time to react as the jet of molten metal shot straight through it practically point blank range.

"EDI, confirm kill," Riley breathed next to him.

"I am not detecting any life-signs or cybernetic activity."

They pushed away from the corpse and Kaidan brought up the visual feeds as they swung about, searching for the second CAT six

"Leviathan has breached the perimeter, heading straight for the cruiser!" Joker's shout filted through the comms. "We're in pursuit, but I don't think we can handle this guy on our own. We need back up!"

It filled him with no small amount of dread that Joker had sent the distress call and not Simmons, or even the Normandy's XO.

"Oh god, the CAT six just took out the Hastings!"

"We're hauling ass, Normandy," Kaidan answered. "Closing in on your position now."

They lost another Valkyrie by the time they intercepted the CAT six, tearing it away from the hull of the cruiser.

"Shepard-Major, the auto-pilot systems of the cruiser were damaged. This vessel will not make it to the relay without manual guidance. We are returning to the ship."

"No!" Riley shouted. "We can fly her in. EDI, what do you need?"

EDI flared to life. "I am having trouble connecting with the ships systems. The long range communications appear to be damaged."

"Then let's bring her in," Kaidan replied as they dodged another hit from the CAT six and retaliated with disruptor torpedoes.

"Crimson, we've got your back on this one," Butler said.

True enough, the Nova Havoc intercepted the CAT six, but not before a return blast from the CAT six's main gun shattered the thruster on the port side of the ship.

It wasn't a one-to-one connection like the Jaeger program, but the sudden disconnect to his left leg and the electrical shortage to his neural circuitry suit seared through to his skin, white hot pain screaming through his nervous system, vision fading and he was dimly aware of Riley screaming next to him, the hull of the ship creaking as they took more damage.

"Kaidan!"

He shook his head and stared down at his left leg, unmoving. Part of the armor blackened but his hardsuit didn't read any breaches and he heaved a sigh of relief.

"Kaidan, don't you fucking dare do this to me!"

"I'm here," he breathed, heavily. Medi-gel systems kicking and relieving the pain. "I'm here."

Relief flooded through the Drift, nearly overwhelming him, coupled with fear and tension and burning desire to see this through to the bitter end. Hanging on by a thread with the strength of a krogan warlord because they were gonna win if it was the last thing they did.

"I've established a connection with the cruiser, engaging flight control. ETA to relay impact, one minute. We must maintain control of the vessel to ensure target lock."

"And prevent the Leviathans from taking it out."

"You let us worry about that, Crimson, your hull is crippled as shit," Butler grunted. He could hear the sounds of their vessel taking hits and giving back in the background before the channel cut out.

Riley opened communications to the whole fleet. "It's time to get the hell out of here, people. One minute until the package hits the relay. Anyone left here is dead."

"Queuing mass relay transit," Joker said, "Just give the word and I'll open a corridor."

The countdown read fifty-five seconds.

"More CAT sixes inbound! We've lost Hurricane Danger and Raging Tide!"

They stared at the relay through the cracked viewscreen, eyes fierce and determined. As if they could make it move towards them with the power of their combined will.

Another Valkyrie was lost as the Leviathans closed around them. Clearly aware of the full intent of their plan. Not just some invasion to try and take out as many creatures as they could. Annihilation. Because they'd been left with no choice, no option but to partake on a suicide mission to the center of the galaxy and blow the relay.

Forty-five seconds and the Ascalon was destroyed.

"Joker, open-" the CAT six punched through the perimeter, swinging beneath the cruiser, "Shit! Joker, open the corridor and get everyone the hell out of here!"

Kaidan looked at Riley and nodded, eyes grim. Determined. Understanding.

Someone had to stay behind and make sure the cruiser hit the relay or everything they'd done would be for nothing. Another raid like this wouldn't work. They'd be done.

Nova Havoc flew straight into the CAT six before they'd had a chance to take the Crimson around for an assault. "We can hold them off a hell of a lot better than you can, limping as you are, Shepard!"

"Butler, what the hell are you doing?"

Thirty seconds.

"Clearing a path for you, what the fuck else does it look like? One hit from the CAT six, and you're done. We can take the hits. You can't. Now go!"

They locked eyes as Riley said, "Godspeed."

The rest of the fleet had already retreated. It was just them, the cruiser, and about a dozen Leviathans. He grasped Riley's hand as she bore the majority of their run to the relay, dodging whatever incoming projectiles the GARDIANs missed, a few of them connecting and more systems blew out, hoping that the ship was intact enough to survive transit. He focused on javelin fire, trying to keep the path clear while the Nova kept the cruiser safe just long enough to ensure impact.

They hit the relay with five seconds to spare on the countdown, the hull shaking and their seats tossing around. Never releasing her hand because they'd made it, even if that had come at a cost. Holding onto her because she was his anchor.

When they made it to the other side, unbelievably intact, still breathing, still whole against all odds because their structural integrity was way below standard parameters, they both heaved a sigh of relief. Their death grip on each other settling into something more comforting.

"Crimson," Anderson's voice filtered over the comm, and Riley laughed the kind of laugh you only hear when someone feels truly alive, "status?"

"Mission accomplished, sir."

She would have said more, wanted to say more, and he could feel it through the bond, but the sound of cheering and whooping flooded the comm.

They'd won.

Kaidan returned his gaze to Riley. "EDI, can you fly us in?"

"Yes. Disconnecting pilot-to-Valkyrie protocols."

He stepped out of his rig, disconnecting from the Drift as well. It was time to celebrate.