Chapter Text
Never before had such a large force been gathered to jump through a Mass Relay. At least not in recent history. Thousands of ships from all galactic races rendezvoused at the relay waiting for orders to jump. At the head was the Normandy, ready to lead them all into battle. At her helm was Joker, keeping a steady on on the status of the ships surrounding them. By his shoulder was Commander Shepard, geared up in her black armor. They both agreed to keep everything professional between them. The stakes were too high for emotions to get in the way.
Shepard glanced down at her pilot and nodded. “Take us through, Lieutenant,” she ordered.
“Aye, aye, ma’am.” Joker tapped at his console and guided the ship towards the Mass Relay. Blue tendrils of energy wrapped around the hull before throwing the ship through time and space in an instant. Shepard glanced over at the console as Joker reported each fleet reporting in until all fleets were accounted for. “All fleets reporting, Commander. Ready to engage on your command.”
She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes to steady herself. “This is it. Be ready on my signal...Fire!” Lights of energy from every ship flew past the frigate towards the Reaper forces. Next she sent the fighters forward to thin out the smaller forces, opening the way for the Normandy to break through the defenses. Once they were safely through the line, Shepard brushed her hand on her pilot’s shoulder before turning to leave.
Joker got out of his chair and called out to her to stop her. Despite how he felt about her, she was his commanding officer and he respected that above all else. Shepard turned back to see him stand at attention and salute her. “Be careful down there, Commander.”
“You too, Lieutenant,” Jenna said as she returned his salute. When she dropped her hand, she reached out to grab his hands and pull him into one last fierce kiss. “I love you. Stay safe, Feiren. ”
“I love you.” Jeff let go of her hands and stepped back.
Shepard turned away and didn’t look back as she headed down the CIC. She knew that if she did, she wouldn’t be able to leave. They had a job to do.
* * *
The fight to make it to the forward operating base was difficult and long. The majority of Hammer was wiped out on initial entry. While there was still a sizable force, it was far less than what they had planned. Shepard stared out at the ruins of London in disbelief. Garrus stood next to her with wide eyes.
“Spirits, Shepard, you were here when this happened?”
She shook her head. “We were in Vancouver when the Reapers landed. Whole different continent, but I imagine what happened there was the same here.” Shepard stepped back and sighed. Did her childhood home look the same? It was a heavily populated city, with dirty streets and poverty abound, but it was her home. She could only imagine that the tall towers were reduced to nothing but rubble and ash. James and Ashley joined them at the overlook.
Ashley stood at her friend’s shoulder. When she glanced over, she saw the look of determination that Shepard was famous for, but she also saw fear. Her own face mirrored her commanding officer’s. “Hey,” Ashley greeted.
Jenna kept her gaze forward as she answered. “How are you holding up?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Restless. You?”
“If I’m being honest? Scared shitless.” Her gaze went skyward. “I know he’s okay up there. But I can’t help this sinking feeling that...”
Williams put her hand on Shepard’s shoulder but her neck and gave a tight squeeze. “Don’t think like that, Skipper. We’ll be fine and so will he. He’s the best pilot in the Alliance fleet.” Ashley sighed and looked back out at the scarred battle field. “It feels like a thousand years since we met on Eden Prime.”
“Yeah. If we knew then what we know now...”
“It wouldn’t have changed a damned thing and you know it. We would still end up here, taking back what’s ours, kicking ass and taking names.”
Shepard looked over at her team. They were all ready to follow her into the gates of Hell if she asked them. Their loyalty to her gave her the strength she needed to see this through to the end. As she checked her armaments, Anderson gave the call to push forward towards the central beam. The team of four split off and pushed their way through No Man’s Land.
* * *
Shepard’s team made it to the Thanix missiles only to find the entire company had been wiped out before they could fire them. Major Coats called desperately over the radio to her. “Major? What’s the situation?”
“The beam’s interfering with our guidance systems. We can fire the missiles but we can’t make the precision strikes needed to take that thing out.”
“Fuck!” She spat. “We need those missiles.”
“Well, what about the Normandy?” Ashley suggested. “Use the targeting system like you did on Rannoch.”
“Perfect! EDI, can you read me?”
“Yes, Commander.”
“I need you to use the Normandy’s systems to enhance the missile's targeting ability.”
“Understood, Commander. I will need you to open the console for me to gain access.” Shepard quickly tapped at the keys, giving EDI access to the missile systems. Once she was in, Shepard launched the armaments only to watch them fly off course the closer to the Reaper it got.
“What happened?”
“The Reaper is still too close to the beam. You must get the Reaper to move away from the beam.”
“And closer to us.”
“Commander!” It was Anderson this time. “Hammer’s forces are being overrun at every turn. Reaper forces are converging on your location. We’re fighting our way to your location. Just hold on!”
Shepard looked over at Ashley with the same desperate look. “EDI, I need those last two missiles to hit. That Reaper’s coming straight for us.” She chambered a fresh thermal clip. “Hold on, everyone. We can do this!” Shepard bolted around a scorched car only to come to a sliding halt as a Behemoth slammed the ground in front of her. James fired his shotgun, staggering the giant back, giving her time to regain her footing and backtrack. She was able to jump behind a barrier where Garrus was taking cover and fired alongside him, taking the monstrosity down.
Several Reaper forces started to swarm up the center of the street towards them only to be mowed down by the Reaper Destroyer’s beam cannon. Heat from the blast washed over the team as the bodies of the enemy forces. Everyone looked at each other then back at the Reaper stomping towards them. All they could do was stay out of the path of the beam and dodge ground forces. Each dodge and movement was a coordinated dance as they searched for hiding places for each other.
Shepard dove behind a store shelf in time for the Reaper beam to pass by her. She chambered her last thermal clip and clenched her jaw. “EDI, please tell me that thing is far enough away to hit it?!” she pleaded.
“Almost, Commander. The Reaper needs to move 20 meters.”
Jenna peered over the shelf and cringed. “God, I hope that’s only two more steps.” She ducked down as a biotic field flew overhead. “Anderson, we’re not going to hold out much longer like this. That thing’s gotta move!”
“We’re almost there, Commander! Just hold on!”
A strangled yell grabbed Shepard’s attention as she looked up to see an Asari Banshee grab Ashley by the neck. Memories of Mars shot into her mind before she brought her rifle up and unloaded the last three shots at the twisted monstrosity. The Banshee dropped Ashley as Shepard turned her rifle into a club and slammed the stock into the creature’s head. A shot from Garrus’ rifle pushed it back towards James who finished it with his shotgun. Shepard pulled Ashley up and to safety to let her catch her bearings.
“Commander! Destroyer is in range. Missiles are ready for launch!” came EDI’s report.
“Copy that, EDI!” Shepard ducked around a corner to see what was in her way to the last control panel. She looked back at Ashley who waved her off before she activated her cloak and darted for the last two missiles. Shepard slid under a Brute that was in her way just as her cloak dropped. As quickly as possible, the commander slammed her fist on the release panel, firing the Thanix missiles at the Reaper Destroyer. As she did, the Brute she ducked under turned about and slammed its arm against her, throwing her over a decorative railing. Shepard was tangled up in a patio chair as the monster stomped towards her. She was without ammo and now stuck without protection.
As the Thanix missiles hit home, several rounds from a fresh firearm slammed into the Brute, knocking it away. Anderson’s reinforcements arrived just in time. Heavy weapons fire exploded on the Destroyer, taking out the massive Reaper that stood in their way. Jenna stopped trying to untangle herself from the chair and dropped her head back to the ground.
“Nice work, EDI,” she breathed. Anderson stepped into her field of vision and pulled the chair away. She took his outstretched hand and pulled herself up with a groan.
“Thank god you made it,” Anderson breathed.
She forced out a small laugh. “Yeah, it got a bit sketchy there for a minute.”
“It’s only going to get worse.”
“Of course it is. What more can happen?”
Anderson sighed and shook his head. “Admiral Hackett has reported that several Sovereign-class Reapers, including Harbinger, have left the battle and are headed for the beacon.”
Shepard groaned and slouched her shoulders. “I had to ask...”
“Hackett will be able to get the Crucible in place with those Reapers coming here. But we’ve got to get a crew on board the Citadel and open those arms. From here on out it’s a straight shot to the beam.”
Shepard looked over the wall and the path they needed to take to get to the beam. The ground was war-torn and scarred. A mad dash was the only chance any of them had. It was all they had left. Jenna closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. A hand on her shoulder brought her back to the present. Ashley gave her shoulder a tight squeeze. The two had formed a bond of sisters that was unshakeable. As they stared at the beam, they both knew this was it. Shepard gave Garrus, Ashley and James a nod and jumped off the wall to follow the charge. They all broke into a sprint down the hill, avoiding the fire coming from Harbinger. Chaos broke out all around them. Tanks and bodies started to fly overhead as Harbinger’s massive energy cannon ripped through the charging forces.
Shepard sidestepped a soldier that tripped and pushed her legs to go faster. Harbinger struck a Mako in front of her and flipped it over. Jenna dropped and slid under it and turned in time to see it land in front of Ashley and James. The tank landed on its top and exploded, throwing both of them to the side. Shepard doubled back and grabbed Ashley, dragging her behind the wrecked tank. James caught up to them with minor injuries. Ashley’s leg armor was ripped from shrapnel.
“Ash, you can’t keep going!” Jenna told her. Ashley growled at her and tried to get up only to fall back down. They needed to get out of there. There was only one pilot who could get her friends out of this mess alive. “Normandy! I need an emergency evac!”
There was a static crackle before Joker’s voice broke over the com. “Roger that, Commander!”
“James, help me get her up.” Shepard took one arm while James took the other. The Normandy came down close to the ground and opened her cargo hold door. As James’ foot touched the ramp, Jenna dropped Ashley’s arm. “Take her. Garrus, go with them.”
“The fuck are you doing, Shepard?!” Ashley yelled. “Don’t you dare do this!”
“You’re no help to me here! Get on that ship and get out of here!”
Ashley struggled against James and Garrus who were holding her up. “You don’t get to make that decision for me! Don’t you fucking dare, you bitch!”
Jenna placed her hand on the side of her friend’s face and pressed her forehead to hers. “Take care of him for me...”
“Jenna, please, don’t do this.”
Shepard stepped back and glanced at the beam before looking back at Ashley. “Joker, get out of here!”
* * *
Joker brought up the exterior cams as Jenna stepped off the ramp. He switched on her private com as she looked up. “Jenna, what are you doing? Get on!”
She stared right into the camera and shook her head. “No. This is my job. Do yours. Keep them safe.”
Jeff clenched his jaw and pulled the ship out of the ground battle. As he rejoined the battle, reports from groundside started to filter in.
“God, they’re all gone.”
“Did we get anyone to the beam?”
“Negative. Our entire force was decimated.”
Jeff’s whole body froze. Jenna didn’t get on and now she was gone. His hands shook as his breathing came in short gasps. He grabbed his hat off and pressed the heel of his hand against his head. She refused to get on board. She refused to give up. His entire world fell out from under him. Jenna was gone and this time, she wasn’t coming back. Jeff let out an anguished and guttural yell as tears started to fall.