Mass Effect 3: A Different War

Part I

Chapter I: Arrival

Commander Jonathan Shepard glared at the world outside, his dark eyes piercing into the horizon – like a void gazing into the world - lost in thought. His muscular body leant over the window in front, the only means of connecting to the realm beyond his confinement, stiff and sore with the recent training. A mere thin glass was the only thing standing between him and the blue skies, the fresh air and freedom. He was annoyed and irritable, but beyond that… he was hopelessly frustrated. A sense of impending doom and solace kept him awake at night and he suffered the solitude he had to endure.

The waiting was the worst part. No matter how much he distracted himself by staying in shape, he knew he was supposed to be out there, coordinating the armies and species for the arrival of the Reapers. And yet there he was, stuck on Earth, a prisoner in his home-world… maybe it was the fact he was kind of living on solid ground, in a planet, that unnerved him the most. He had been a spacer all his life – through and through – and was unused to prolonged periods of time stuck with a distant horizon.

No, if Shepard was true to himself, he was mostly annoyed and frustrated by the fact he had been disconnected from the world outside, not the city of Vancouver, but the rest of the Galaxy. He was, much to his own agonizing pain, cut off from the woman he loved. If he was going to sit down and wait for the Reapers to come, at least he wanted to do so after seeing her face one last time if he could. Would she even be waiting for him to return?

Nine months… nine months since he had been forced away from her and from his own ship, the Normandy. Eleven months since he had gone through the Omega 4 Relay and captured the Collector Base, the key to the Reaper's defeat. Did he regret handing it over to the Illusive Man? Of course he did, the man was dangerous. But there was no other choice. Shepard, and the Illusive Man, knew that their time was limited and the Collector base could have vital information to fight the Reapers when they came.

Shepard sighed, grumpily turning away. He closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. The bloody Alliance and its Bureaucracy would be the end of humanity. How much he wished he hadn't been a self-righteous moron and avoided returning to Earth. It had been a mistake. He should have known better than hand himself over to the Alliance. Yes, he had destroyed a Relay in hopes of delaying the Reapers further, but everyone was none the wiser! After all, what evidence did the Batarians have that he, Shepard, had done it? An entire solar system had been destroyed along the Relay.

Shepard knew better. He grimaced as he went over to sit on his bed, facing the window. No, it wasn't Shepard the Batarians were blaming. It was the Alliance. They had caught Kenson and some of her men and they had given away that they were part of the Alliance, a covert-ops of sorts. It was hard not to, given how keen Batarians were to torture. Thus, what did the Alliance do? Point a finger to Cerberus and - who would you guess? - Shepard.

And that was when the sirens sounded. Shepard blinked, snapping his head at the locked door behind him. What was going on? He stood up, and tried to open the door. Confused, he looked around. An emergency? What could be happening? A fire? Shepard turned around, towards the window, only to freeze, fear pouring into his veins.

Across the glass, in the city beyond, a large shadow descended over the skyscrapers. It was like the daggers of the darkest evils descended upon Earth, arms spread to ravage the land. Like a monstrous nightmare, it landed as rays of red death swept below. The skies darkened, and another one of those things showed up. Burning comets started raining down on Earth, and a dark night descended upon humanity. They had arrived.

Shepard turned to the door, the desperate need to run beating in his heart. "Oy! Is anybody there?!" He cried out, punching the unmoving door. "Hey! Rivera? Li?" He called for his guards outside. "Is there som-"

Whatever he was going to say next died down on his throat as the entire building trembled and the air shook with the deafening thunder of a massive laser slicing the place in half. Shepard flew backwards as a shockwave caught him by surprise. His world froze as his mind caught up with the fact his feet was no longer touching the ground, only to slam with his back against the wall beneath the window to his room.

Shepard muttered, gritting his teeth, as he tried to stand up again. His face was burning as most of his muscles, but nothing appeared broken… at least with him. Had he been anyone else, he might have not been so lucky. As it was, he was thankful he came unscathed. His room… not so much. The door had been blown apart while the window had been shattered. Everything else had been toppled over by the shockwave.

"Damn it" Shepard hissed, standing up. He didn't stall. He hurried over to the now open door, only to wince as the corridor burned. There was no one there, at least no one alive. A soldier laid nearby as a limp corpse, a once innocent private by the look if it, in full uniform… probably a guard.

Shepard knelt over it and, hastily, tried to see if he was alive. He had no pulse. The Commander took a deep breath, staring into the burned face of the soldier.

"And so it begins…" he whispered morosely, studying the empty fiery corridor.

The Commander immediately when after the corpse's gun, thermos-clips and omni-tool. He was going to need them soon, probably. Armed and ready, he rushed away, trying to avoid the flames.

"Anyone here?!" Shepard called as he raced down the hallways. Was everyone dead? Or had people managed to evacuate?

He climb a flight of stairs downwards, pondering about his situation. A loud roar – the so familiar hum of a Reaper – alerted Shepard that one of those behemoths was over the building. That wasn't good. As it was, though, Shepard had a problem at the moment: he was lost. He didn't recall ever walking through the corridor he so happened to be. Thankfully, there wasn't any fires burning. Still, there wasn't a soul around.

The lights were dead, only emergency lighting working. Shepard carried trotting onwards, wondering where exactly he was going. In his mind, he had a plan: get to the Normandy and regroup. Staying on Earth, at the mercy of giant doomsday creatures was not wise. From the looks of it, though, he had first to find a way out of the offices he was going across. Damn he hated paperwork.

"Hello?!" Shepard exclaimed. How could it be that he was the only one who was alive? He came across yet another body, a young woman, but aside from that the place appeared to have been abandoned.

Thankfully, he managed to reach an emergency exit door and, before he knew it, he was blinded by freedom… no sooner he was able to make out what was happening in the world around him, he felt his heart stop. In what appeared to be a parking lot, he could only stare with growing dread as the city across the river burned. A dozen Reapers carefully tiptoes around in morbid delicate manner, frequently eradicating whatever meagre resistance they encountered under them with extreme deadly precision. It was fascinatingly frightening to understand the Reapers were leaving entire skyscrapers intact, and being extremely careful with their marching across cities. Heck, Shepard could barely see the extremely precise small laser they were using to attack selectively small targets, reducing collateral damage. This wasn't extermination… the Reapers were pacifying the entire city – preparing the population… for the Harvest.

Shepard shuddered, he had to leave. He had to get away from all of it. He needed to feel the protective hum of metallic floor underneath his feet.

It was the sound of gunfire that drew Shepard attention away from the horrid scene beyond. The Commander drew out his gun and, crouching just for the parked flying-cars around to cover him, navigated the place remaining unseen. The sound of Mass Effect guns shooting and the desperate cries were unnerving, yet too few. Whatever was going in, odds were not stacked in favour of the humans.

Screams and yells chilled his blood and he felt himself stiffen. He leant over to witness yet another nightmare. Prawling as a blood-thirsty pack, a group of creatures walked past the cars, bent over as if ready to lung at anything they deemed as prey.

Shepard knew those things… those Husks. Once humans, their organic tissue had been mostly replaced by synthetic cybernetics, making them little more than hollow shells of their former selves, zombies of sorts that served the will of the Reapers. These ones were much more advanced than those Shepard had seen. Their movements weren't as sluggish or dull and they had far more tenacity with each action. They had a lot more finesse than the ones Shepard remembered.

He had to act. He had to do something. Shepard gritted his teeth. He jumped out of cover, gun at the ready, and started shooting. The first husk to fall did so oblivious of its attacker. The other two quickly tried to reach Shepard, only for their heads to be blown apart one by one. Shepard glared at the fallen Husks.

Screeching. Shepard knelt down immediately. He didn't recall ever hearing such high-pitched shiver-inducing cry. He looked around, wondering where the source was. Shepard shook his head and moved on. He had to escape.

The Commander really didn't know what to expect when he walked out of the private parking lot and tried to search the main hangar where soldiers would be deploying – and where he would find an armoury. Thing was, all he needed to do was follow the sound of shooting. From a fair distance, Shepard could see what appeared to be a group of five soldiers, clad in the dark-blue armours, trying to shake off a wave of Husks. However, these Husks weren't the normal feral type. Rather, Shepard's eyes widened as entire squads of gun-holding Husks, with weaponry of sorts beyond Shepard's knowledge, firing upon the meagre resistance.

How had the Reapers deployed such troops? Shepard wasn't sure. He, however, moved over to a side of the road, between tall green bushes, to see the massacre. As expected, the Alliance soldiers were forced to retreat. The husks, though, didn't charge after them, but rather moved with a very calm fashion towards the position they had gained. As it so happened to be, said place was one of the base's hangars.

The Commander took a deep breathe as he carefully went towards the enemy. They were oblivious to his advance, their backs turned to him, as they secured the MAKOs parked in parallel rows. Thankfully, the Reaper ground troops slowly moved onwards, into the building looming over, leaving few to guard the MAKOs. Clearly, the Reapers priority was taking over the military base. When the bulk of the forces had left, Shepard counted the enemies left behind.

Ten Husks, three with those weird guns, the rest feral and growling. Shepard gulped. This was going to be one of his most stupid moves. However, he couldn't wait for more of their reinforcements. It was a pity he didn't have any comrades with him. With lethal accuracy, Shepard pointed his gun at one of the weapon holding Husks, only to blow its head off. Shepard was able to take a second Husk's head before they snapped their heads at him. By the time they started charging at him, Shepard had killed the three with weapons, leaving the feral ones to charge at him.

Commander Shepard was thankful his gun seemed enough to deal with the Husks. It wasn't surprising, considering the guard had been carrying a heavy gun. Still, Shepard was grateful and managed to find himself walking between the MAKOs someone with relief. The Commander's first action was to move over one of the dead soldiers and dragged him to the nearest space between two MAKOs, where he could be hidden. There, Shepard proceeded to take off armour pieces and hastily put them on, from the shoulder-pads to chest-piece. It was a rushed job and it would not give him a kinetic armour. However, it might offer some protection. The next thing was the soldier's rifle and helmet.

Fully armed and ready, Shepard looked across the parking lot for the tank-like vehicle. The large blast door at the distance suggested there would be more MAKOs inside and maybe engineers. Or perhaps not. Regrardless, Shepard grimaced as he realized he didn't know where to go.

Another screech. Shepard looked around, only to see one of the falling burning comets land right at the entrance to the MAKOs parking lot. In front of the Commander, Shepard was not expecting for a group of five Husks to drag themselves out of the blazing orange flames and towards the Commander.

Shepard managed to take them out quickly, before another of those things – those bags with Reaper minions – landed behind him. Shepard took cover, expecting more Husks, only to see a new type of Husk. Rather than human, their origin was clearly Batarian. The four eyes on them was a dead giveaway. Differently from Husks, however, they had their right hands chopped off, some kind of gun installed there instead.

The Commander was not expecting a gunfight with Reaper minions, and he was not comfortable with the fact he didn't have his armour, companions or any of his modified weapons. But his skills prevailed, allowing him to kill all five of those… those things. He rose to his feet and inspected the nearest body, taking hold of the dead man's sniper rifle and thermos-clips.

"Hh-e – oh? Any – eeh – there?"

Shepard frowned, knocking his helmet. Had he heard a voice? Probably through the channels, only riddled with static. He pressed a side bottom, opening a connection to whoever was calling.

"This is Commander Shepard, do you read?" Shepard replied. At the back of his mind he scolded himself. He was no longer part of the Alliance.

"Sh- rd? Com – er Shep – d?" The voice through the coms, a young woman by the sounds of it, called. It was hard to tell over the rough static.

"I can't read you!" Shepard shouted. "What's your position?"

"Sh- ello? SHHT – Hello? Can you read me?" The voice clarified through the buzzing. Indeed, it was a woman, one with a weird accent – but that was for another time.

"Yes, loud and clear!" Shepard sighed, relieved. He looked around, keeping an eye on his surroundings.

"Oh Thank God!" The voice replied with far more relief than Shepard. "I can't believe there is someone here! When that – that thing came down the sky I really thought I was a goner. Well, all of my team are gone so…"

Shepard gritted his teeth. Just great, a panicking person as the one alive with a radio. That was Shepard's luck.

"What is your rank, soldier? What's your position? We need to evacuate!" He interrupted the woman's drivel.

"Soldier? No, no, I'm just a Specialist – Communication Specialist Samantha Traynor" the woman spluttered. "I – I have no idea where I am! That laser killed everyone and destroyed hall the facility! I can't make heads or tails of the bloody ruins!"

Shepard felt like slapping his face with frustration. He needed to run yet here he was. As he turned around, standing, his eyes fell on the river.

"Specialist Traynor, can you get to the parking lot that faces the river?" Shepard asked.

"The park… yes! Yes I can!" She happily exclaimed. "On my way!"

Shepard trotted back to the parking lot. This time around, dozen of people were running and screaming around, mad with fear. Shepard eyed them carefully as they tried to find somewhere to hide or escape. They appeared to be civilians… maybe people who thought the Alliance facility could serve as a shelter.

His attention, however, was quickly drawn to more of those dropping pods. Just as he took cover behind some cars, more of the Batarian Husks started pouring in masse. With the Lancer rifle he had taken, Shepard managed to keep the pressure back on them, but he was just one man. After taking down seven of those bastards, more poured in as well as human Husks. Where the Hell were they coming from? Shepard didn't want to know.

"I need reinforcements!" Shepard yelled as he ducked behind cover, pressing a hand over the helmet. He must have looked ridiculous without the rest of his armour. The few pieces he had on made him look like something of an old vid. "Is anybody there?"

Shepard peeped from over cover, noticing a trio of human Husks fast approaching. He shot them quickly, a sense of satisfaction filling his stomach as he saw their heads blow up. His moment of victory was short-lived as a barrage of Batarian-Husk-fire almost got him. In fact, he could have sworn some of it had scrapped him. Glancing at his arm, he was rather taken aback by the glowing orange scar where one of the bullets had scratched him. What the hell...?!

"This is for Earth, Motherfuckers!" Someone cried out.

Shepard, surprised, turned to look to his left noticing a beefy man racing over to him just as the newcomer threw something at the band of Batarian Husks. A powerful explosion told Shepard that that thing so happened to be a frag grenade.

"Damn Loco!" The marine, clad only in a skin-tight Alliance shirt and pair of baggy pants, exclaimed as he knelt next to Shepard, panting. Between his hands was a shotgun. "Madre Santa!" He gasped, as he stared at Shepard "you are THE Commander Shepard!"

"Pleasure to meet you, soldier" Shepard huffed, taking a peek from over cover. More Husks were pouring into their position – both Batarian and Human. "Let's deal with those hostiles before we chit-chat soldier!"

"Sir, yes, sir!" The man yelled, face burning with passionate determination.

Together, with the newcomer, the parking lot became a battlefield. It was amazing what two hardened soldiers could achieve. Seeing a band of Batarian Husks crouching behind a car, Shepard took cover and nudged his compatriot.

"Do you have a grenade, soldier?" Shepard asked.

The other hand was panting heavily. "Yes, sir" he nodded.

"Light those four-eyed on our eleven o'clock" Shepard ordered. "Now!"

With that cry, Shepard used his gun to draw the attention of the hostiles, the other soldier threw his last grenade at the car. As Shepard had predicted, it did not only blow the Batarian husks, it also added the cars nearby into the mix.

"Let's move!" Shepard grabbed the soldier and dragged him out of cover, using the smoke and fire as a distraction.

"Where are we going, sir?" The bulky man asked.

"A Communication specialist was on her way here – we hold this position until we catch up to her" Shepard replied as they reached the end of the parking lot, closest to the building's entrance. "What's your name?" He queried.

"James Vega" the now-identified James, sweating heavily, replied. "What's the plan?"

Shepard was about to reply when he saw movement to their right. In an instant, his weapon was ready to blow up Reaper troopers. He paused, surprised, when a slim woman rushed out of the building. If James looked beat, Samantha Traynor looked like she had never raced before. With medium-length brown hair, and pretty face, she looked like she came from a warzone… which was likely the case. If Shepard had to guess, she had been close to the impact zone of the initial shockwave – the tattered clothes, bruised face and bloodied arm, filled with scratches, told the Commander all about it.

"I – you – God!" Traynor wheezed, trying to regain her breath. "We need to leave. The-the entire place is being overrun by – by…"

"Husks" Shepard interrupted.

Noticing that the parking lot was starting to draw the attention of many hostiles, he led the team away and to a side path that snaked across grass and ferns down to the river, hiding the three behind a wall of dirt and green. Shepard looked around. They were on a small open field next to the river. It was not a defendable position. His eyes fell on a platform over the water nearby, empty, with many crates. By the looks of it, the whole thing was a wharf for small boats, of which none remained. A pity there were none floating around. Silently, they walked crouching all the way there, hiding behind the ample cover they had – distancing from the burning Alliance facility.

"We need to call for evac" Shepard told the pair.

"Won't do, sir" James shook his head grimly. "No frequencies work. Something is jamming everything".

Shepard hissed. How couldn't the Alliance prepare for this? It had been years since the Attack of Eden Prime where Sovereign jammed all communications. Now? Now they were all helpless.

"He's right… and I don't think there is anyone to actually evacuate us" Samantha's pale scared complexion was all Shepard needed to see to understand what she was alluding to. She shook her head.

"Where's the space-port?" Shepard asked.

"Ehm…" James eyes went over to a nearby Reaper that so happened to be causing a myriad of explosion over ten kilometres away. "You see big ugly there? That would be it" he mumbled dubiously.

Shepard hissed. He turned to the soldier and Communication Specialist. "Damn it! We need to contact other Alliance forces and regroup! This is a mess" he growled.

"But how?" James asked. "We can't communicate with anyone – not with the jamming… and look at the HQ" He pointed a thumb at the still burning Alliance facility.

Shepard raised an eyebrow at Traynor. She looked back at him, blinking in surprise. "You are a communication specialist? You did manage to broadcast on some frequency – an Alliance channel" he recalled.

"I – I just cleaned the static, that's all" Traynor mumbled. "I am not a miracle worker! Besides, I am not a real expert. Doctor Lemont was the expert in my lab."

"Then we go find this Lemont and we have him open a channel" James decided as if it was obvious.

"He is dead!" Traynor retorted.

"Enough, both of you" Shepard grunted. "Traynor, I know you might not be the best of the best, but right now, all I need is for you to repeat what you did back when you contacted me". He took his helmet off, handing it over to a bewildered Traynor. "Use this helmet to set a frequency".

"I don't think that's a good idea, sir" James remarked. "I think all in that frequency are goners". His eyes widened with realization. "I have another idea, sir. I know this man – Esteban. He is a pilot, a shuttle pilot. He probably is around doing evacs as we speak".

Shepard nodded. "James, give her the link information, now!" He ordered.

A loud screech behind them made them shiver. Shepard turned to the frightened Traynor. "James, give her the intel she needs – Traynor, just do what you did before, alright?" He tried to sound calming, decisive, but at the moment, he wondered if his voice wasn't cracking with the stress.

Another screech, this time louder. "I think they know where we are!" James cried out, moving out of cover and shooting at the hostiles. Indeed, from the green fields came human Husks, rushing like mad dogs at them.

"Do your thing, Traynor" Shepard squeezed her shoulder, looking at her with confidence. She nodded back at him, determined. "James, give her the frequency and let's hold this position!"

Damn, he hadn't considered how little escape routes they had. Shepard did consider the river, but at the moment that was not advisable. Batarians and human Husks started appearing from all around, coming from the facility. In no time, the furious echoes of shooting feeling the field as shots were traded. James and Shepard were able to hold them back, but they were too many.

"I'm out!" James cried out, panicking.

Shepard threw his Lancer rifle at James, who stared at the Commander with confusion. Shepard pulled out his handgun. "Make every shot count!" He yelled back.

And yet that was not enough. More of the Batarian Husks showed up, gathering in force behind crate closer to land. Shepard proved he was an excellent marksman as with each shot one head of the Reaper forces, be it Batarian or Human, blew up. James wasn't that bad either, although the anxiety and distress were apparent on his movement, as well as exhaustion. The poor soldier looked like he had been showered with buckets of water.

"Any moment now, Traynor!" James shouted.

"I'm working on it!" Samantha replied at the top of her lungs.

Shepard cursed as his handgun hissed, sizzling with heat. There were no thermos-clips left. He activated his omni-tool, thankful it had an omni-blade. Soon enough, he heard the clatter of a rifle falling on the ground as James dropped a sizzling Lancer. The large soldier took his shotgun, grabbing it like a club. The two soldiers, their backs pressed on different crates, exchanged looks. With resolution in their eyes, they nodded.

"Hello? Hello?!" Samantha called, having established a link.

Shepard stabbed at the human Husk that leapt at him, before kicking it off and slicing the head of another one off. James roared as he slammed the butt of his shotgun on one of the Batarian husks that had walked too close to him. Their small moment of triumph was cut short as they were fired upon by a gathering mass of Batarian Husks.

"…Vega, is that you?" The trio heard coming from Traynor's omni-tool. "Thank God you are alive!"

"Esteban this is not the best time for your whining!" James shouted as he threw a human Husk, still flailing, at the incoming horde meters away. Shepard, on the other hand, was making quick work with those dumb enough to get to close to him.

"I'm locking into your position! Hold on!" The voice at the other side declared.

James sat down, exhausted. He was back in cover, and he was badly winded. There was also a long wound running across his chest where one of those Husks had sliced him. Blood trickled down on one eye and three scarlet diagonal lines glowered on his left cheek. One of the Batarian bastards had almost gotten him on the shoulder, if the scorched mark there and the way he held onto that arm was anything to go by. Next to him, Shepard was still at it, a pile of dead Husks gathering. The Commander went back to cover as the human Husks run out. The clattering of the enemy bullets replaced the once ceaseless hand-to-hand combat as Batarian Husks opened fire on their position.

"You alright there, James?" Shepard asked.

"Damn Loco, how you holding up like that?" The soldier replied faintly, his eyes appearing disoriented for a moment.

"Come on, soldier" the Commander told James. "We are almost there".

BOOM. Both Shepard and James leaned out of their cover, taking a peek, as a pair of explosions tore the gathered Batarian Husks to pieces. Their heads snapped overhead where an Alliance shuttle, with a pair of cannons at each side, rained fire on the Reaper minions. James and Shepard traded relieved expressions, grabbing their empty weapons.

With no Husks left standing, the shuttle hovered down, over the platform, a side door opening. The trio on the ground didn't need to be told what to do as they went forward. Shepard hurried over to James and helped him to his feet. In a matter of seconds, all three survivors were inside of the shuttle.

"Damn it is good to see you, Esteban" James wheezed as he leant over to the cockpit, his head looming over the pilot's shoulder.

"Didn't think I'd leave you, did you?" Esteban laughed. "Hold tight ladies, we are off!"

The shuttle lurched forward. Traynor, who hadn't been sitting, tripped backwards. Shepard, with his quick reflexes, caught her with one arm while holding to a hanger above with the other. James didn't even flinch, already holding to the pilot's seat. The Communication Specialist blushed profoundly as Shepard helped her to a nearby seat, thoroughly winded and embarrassed.

"What's the situation, soldier?" Shepard asked the pilot.

"It's Hell twice-over, sir" the pilot replied respectfully. "Any other survivors down there?"

"No" Shepard replied all too quickly. Even if there were, they were likely overrun. Too many husks had gone to them to have been occupied elsewhere… that and that initial laser appeared to have gotten a good lot of forces with one shot. Those Reapers really did have quite a punch.

"Where to?" James asked.

"I will fly over nearby" the pilot replied. "With any luck, there will be someone else there – maybe more troops".

"Fly us low, Esteban" James begged. "Don't want one of those big uglies on us".

"Don't wet your pants there, Vega" the pilot chuckled. "I doubt they can detect us. This shuttle is a stealth model – prototype tech. Remember about the thing I told you I was working on that I couldn't tell you? This was it".

"You stole it?" James laughed. "Darn, Estaban, I didn't know you had the balls to do it".

"I was the only person around – and it isn't stealing. It is safekeeping. Those things out there are destroying every ship in the air… or the ground" the pilot explain glumly.

"Reapers" Shepard stated. Everyone snapped their heads at him. Shepard glared at the door, knowing what the world outside looked like. "It's good you were around, by the way" he casually added to the pilot. "I'm Commander Shepard – or well, I used to be".

"You must be THE Commander Shepard, huh?" The pilot remarked chirpily. "Steve Cortez, nice to meet you – though I wish it was under better circumstances" he introduced himself. "Yeah, we all heard about you getting some kind of house arrest or something?"

"Something of the sort" Shepard grunted with disdain, glaring at the burning world across the viewscreen in front of them.

There was a moment of silence where no one knew what to say. What could they possibly say? The world was ending outside, the end of times was crashing upon humanity, and they were lucky enough to be somewhere relatively safe.

"Wait, I've got something here" Steve suddenly said. He pressed a few bottoms on his console.

"…is th – ody" *static* "-ard. Is any-" *more static*

"Traynor, you know what to do" Shepard turned to the woman behind him, who was already standing and hurrying over to the co-pilot seat.

"…I repeat, is anybody there? This is-" Shepard felt his heart skipping as he recognized the voice. He didn't even pause to hear what was being broadcasted. He leant forward, pushing James aside, and pressed on the console to reply.

"Joker, this is Shepard, where the hell are you?" Shepard felt elated even though his tone was almost reprimanding.

"Shepard? I knew it! I knew you could make it!" The familiar voice cried out in joy. "I'm on the Normandy and ready to pick up".

"Are you in the air?" Shepard asked.

"You bet I am" Joker scoffed. "Hold on tight, Commander, we are coming!"

Shepard grinned, joyous. Finally… good news.

The Commander felt more than relieved when he walked out of the shuttle, his feet touching none other than the cold metal floor of the Normandy. He took a deep breath of air. This was home… the Normandy. Behind him an equally relieved Traynor, James and Cortez trudged their way out, sharing a long, winded groan.

"Shepard?"

The Commander froze, eyes wide. He snapped his head at a side. There, barely a few feet out of the elevator to the hangar bay, was none other than Ashley Williams. Clad in some kind of custom uniform with a very short shirt and perhaps a bit too tight in all the right places, dishevelled and with her raven long hair messed up all around, she stared at him, shocked.

"Ash" Shepard whispered, smiling.

The two remained staring at each other, unable to say anything in pure awkwardness. The last time they had spoken, after all, things had been said… some of them rather nasty.

"Hey, Commander, where do you want us to go?" Joker's voice suddenly interrupted. What was with him and his knack to catch Shepard in such situations?

The Commander frowned, thinking long and hard. His compatriots, however, didn't really put much thought on that.

"Set course to Alliance HQ – there must be survivors there" Ashley decided.

"No, we came from there" James interceded. "It was hit right away – one big ass laser destroyed the entire place on one go, and that was before SOBs started pouring down on us".

"Yeah, and it doesn't look like the flood will stop" Steve nodded, rubbing the back of his head with discomfort.

"Th-then we should contact the USA Army" Ashley corrected, horrified by the news. "They must be regrouping".

"The R-Reapers are jamming all communications" Samantha replied, dubiously.

"Joker, take us to Mars" Shepard ordered.

"Mars?" Ashley and James asked at the same time, taken aback.

"If Earth fell, then Luna is down for the count too" Shepard explained. "Right now, we need to leave the Sol system and get to Arcturus pronto – right now we need to regroup before we try to do anything".

"Yeah, but why Mars?" Steve queried, confused.

"There are many Alliance outposts there – we need to evacuate all personnel before we leave" Shepard elaborated. "With any luck there will be soldiers there we can rescue".

"Wait, if the Reapers reached Earth…" Ashley bit her lower lip, pale. "Th-then Arcturus is probably gone".

There was a long pregnant moment of silence. While they still felt the horrible notion of so many people dead, the prospect of that notion settling in was much worse.

"If that is the case, then we go to the Citadel and link up with the Alliance representatives there. Right now, we are in complete chaos" Shepard sighed wearily. To the ceiling, he added "set course to Mars".

"Aye, aye" Joker replied.

Shepard took a deep breath. He turned to Ashley, who looked unsure and distraught. "I saw a Reaper trashing down the Vancouver space port. How did you manage to escape?" He wondered.

"Oh, the Normandy wasn't at the space port. It was on a separate dock. When we saw the first Reaper land, we simply took off" Ashley retold. "And just in time too. Had we stalled a bit longer…" she shuddered.

Shepard looked around the hangar, somewhat surprised by the lack of personnel. Actually, the entire place was empty. "I see you didn't get to evacuate many people" he remarked.

"No" Ashley admitted with guilt in his voice. "Most people weren't even around when the attack came. All we've got are a handful of technicians, Joker, two snot-nosed privates and Chief Engineer Adams – those were all the people who were at the hangar when the Reapers came".

"Damn… we can't leave like this" James commented. "There are people we could evacuate or something, y'know?"

"No, it is too dangerous" Shepard shook his head. "Besides, with any luck, we might fill the ship with people from Mars".

"I'm with Shepard on that one. The Martian settlements are sitting ducks for those things back on Earth" Steve admitted. "At least on Earth people have a chance to run away…"

"What's our ETA Joker?" Shepard asked at the ceiling.

"One hour and ten minutes" Joker replied.

"Alright, do we have any guns around here?" The Commander wondered.

Ashley sighed despondently. "Negative, Skipper. The Normandy wasn't even done with the retro-fits when we took off – and the guns are always the last thing we load up".

"Bloody bureaucrats" James snorted.

"It makes sense, though, doesn't it? Why have guns hanging outside the armoury for anyone to steal when the ship isn't even ready to leave" Ashley rebutted. James shrugged, somewhat convinced. "No one expected the Reapers to show up".

"Hold on a moment… retrofit? You retrofitted my ship?" Shepard frowned at Ashley.

"Ehm – well, the ship is no longer yours" Ashley mumbled, unwilling to continue. She did try to sound like the hard and stern military woman she was, but it was hard when facing down Shepard of all people.

"Oh, just great, so the Alliance didn't just lock me up for no good reason, they took my ship and messed up with it?" Shepard grunted.

"I concur" a synthetic voice resounded across the hanger, one that was feminine and somewhat attractive. "The main modification was the dismantling of the laboratory and conference room in order to fit the War Room".

"Good to hear your voice, EDI" Shepard replied with a grin.

"Likewise" the voice stated.

"Wait, did the ship's computer just…?" Samantha spluttered, baffled. She wasn't the only one. The people around were all shocked.

"EDI is a full-fledged AI" Shepard chuckled. "Don't piss her off, though. She has control of all our systems".

Ashley's mouth opened and closed as her wide-eyes stared into Shepard's. "A-an AI? What was Cerberus thinking?!" She exclaimed, outraged. "And control of all our systems? That's – that's…"

Shepard shrugged, walking over to the elevator. "Doesn't matter. EDI is a vital member of this ship – will this be a problem?" He turned to Ashley and the others.

"I – ehm… isn't this kind of against the rules or something?" James wondered, rubbing the nape of his neck with uncertainty.

"It is plain illegal" Ashley retorted. "AI are banned from Council space – and for a good reason".

"We both know Cerberus has a knack for doing illegal things. Installing an AI in a ship so happens to be one of them" Shepard sighed, really not wanting to break into an argument. "Let's have this discussion after we leave the Sol system, alright? First we need to see what we have and plan what we will do on Mars. Understood?"

"Sir, yes, sir" James and Steve saluted at Shepard. Samantha, looking a bit out of place and embarrassed, followed suit. Ashley looked at them, an eyebrow raised.

"I wasn't actually reinstated to the Alliance but I appreciate the formality" Shepard chuckled. "Alright, let's prepare for Mars… if we need to make a stop there, that is".