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Shepard is a genius, violent machine, ready to bring his boots down on the corrupt, the evil, and the genocidal machines. What inspired me to write him in such a manner was Thairon, the protagonist of my original story, Arrival : Ruptures. Comments, likes and reviews are appreciated. Here are the links for : AO3, Spacebattles, Royal Road and Webnovel.
—
Harsa System
The fleet transitioned into the system in parts. There was a maximum load the mass relay could handle. The Hierarchy fleet arrived first, followed by the Alliance. The geth, quarians, salarians, asari, and the rest followed.
"Shepard, the Reapers are holding steady in orbit," EDI reported.
"Uhhhh, we are getting hailed," Joker said, his voice wavering.
"By whom?" The batarians did not have the capability to reach out to anyone. It left one possibility.
"Harbinger, I think."
Shepard chuckled. Whatever trap Harbinger was about to set off, it wanted to gloat.
"On screen," he ordered. The holographic projection of the Reaper capital ship appeared over the galaxy map.
"Shepard," it said in that baritone voice of the Reapers.
"Cuttlefish," he fired back.
"You have accomplished what none before you have. It ends here." Harbinger said. It must have caused great pain to the machine to admit Shepard had fucked them over so far.
"Come and say that to my torpedoes."
"Your efforts in provoking us are futile. This exchange is over, as are you," the Reaper ended the call. The lights and holographic projections of the Normandy flickered before returning to normal.
"What happened?" he asked.
"The mass relay just released a pulse, and the rings are torn apart. The pulse scrambled our mass effect core," EDI explained. Which meant they could not go into FTL without fixing the cores.
"Shepard, I am getting anomalous readings from the system's star," the AI added, and it all made sense to Shepard.
"Fucking bastards," he grumbled. They were going to sterilize the entire system in a bid to kill the Unified Command Fleet.
"It appears to be going supernova," EDI said, echoing what he was thinking.
Hackett's form was projected over the galaxy map. "Commander, the Reapers are abandoning the system. We cannot go into FTL. If Harsa goes supernova, we are all dead."
With the fleets destroyed, the Reapers would have destroyed most of the galaxy's firepower.
"Send the emergency signal for wormhole extraction," he said.
"We already have, but we won't be able to save everyone. Harsa will destabilize in less than five minutes," Hackett responded.
Shepard rubbed his eyes. If the Reapers thought it would be that easy, they had another thing coming. "I have an idea, but I need to get close. Normandy's reflectors can't handle the strain."
"Destiny Ascension can. We will escort you, Commander," Lidanya said as her form appeared next to Hackett's.
"Thank you, Matriarch."
"Son, I don't know what you plan to do, but we will try to evacuate as many as we can." Hackett nodded, ending the call.
"Yes, sir."
"What is your plan, Shepard?" Lidanya asked.
"The black hole projector. I built it so the eezo at the core of the singularities will destabilize after a couple of seconds. However, if several merged, it can create a stable black hole."
"And absorb the expelled matter and energy rays," EDI summarized. It would be the radiation that would destroy the fleet, not the plasma. The black hole could absorb everything long enough for the fleet to evacuate.
"Exactly."
When the black hole consumed Harsa, Khar'shan would be doomed. The fleet, however, would have enough time to go through the wormhole.
Joker maneuvered the ship right under Destiny Ascension. As the pride of the Asari Republics, it was individually the strongest ship after Penumbra Apex. A pity that the Prothean dreadnought was not ready for battle yet.
Lidanya had diverted all available power to the reflectors. Even then, it wouldn't hold for long, so Shepard had to work fast. The Destiny Ascension, much like most asari ships, had two mass effect cores. While the pulse had disabled one, the other was still in working condition.
He boarded the shuttle, and the ship entered FTL the second he was aboard. Within seconds, the ship automatically came out of the FTL due to the destabilizing star. The shuttle took off again, standing at the edge of the reflectors.
Activating his anti-gravity generator, he gently passed the black hole projector through the field. Most of his body stayed inside to avoid the scorching sun.
He pulled the trigger. The black hole began to form between the interlocked claws. The mechanism slowly came apart like a maw.
The first black hole was launched, and he quickly switched out the power source. The second, the third, and the fourth black holes followed. The gravitational force of the star drew the merged black hole in, and the star stabilized for a second.
However, it would be followed by gravitational disturbances once the core equilibrium was broken.
He was back inside the Ascension, and they entered emergency FTL. Appearing in the middle of the fleet, he waited for a report.
"Shepard, the radiation spike dropped. We are safe, for now," Hackett's voice rang from his omni-tool.
"Our evacuation window will be short. We need to hurry."
"We will be out of here, son, thanks to you."
The more the black hole consumed the mass of Harsa, the faster the process became. Before the solar flares and lethal radiations surged again, the fleet had evacuated the system.
Hours later, Harsa collapsed into a black hole before the very sight of the people of Khar'shan.
—
The fleets evacuated to Sol, as it was the nearest location. The trajectory of the Reapers put them towards Artemis Tau. It would give them a straight shot at the Exodus Cluster and Hades Gamma.
The logical choice, if they believed the fleets were destroyed, would be the Exodus Cluster. The Reapers could spread and hit multiple population centers at once. Otherwise, they could go through Hades Gamma to hit the less populated areas and Rannoch.
However, the allied forces had the time to easily catch the enemy in Artemis Tau.
—
He was summoned aboard the Destiny Ascension again for the command meeting.
"Good work there, Shepard. Those pyjaks almost roasted us like varren meat," Wrex said, slapping him on the shoulder.
"Yeah, they are about to have a nasty surprise," he muttered. The fleet was intact, and the Reapers had no way of knowing it.
Their trap was perfect for the information they had. Too bad for the Reapers it did not include the wormholes.
Primarch Fedorian moved forward, holding his hand out. "Commander, you have done the impossible once more. You have our gratitude in the name of the entire galaxy."
"Thank you, Primarch." He took the hand.
"We agreed to move to Artemis Tau to wait for the Reapers. In the meantime, a last-minute issue arose," Hackett said, bringing out the image of a man in an Alliance research uniform.
"This is Dr. Bryson. He has uncovered important information on the Reapers that might directly affect the war. While the Unified Command heads to Artemis Tau, we want you to return to the Citadel and visit Dr. Bryson's lab."
Important information on the Reapers? Since they had time again,
"Yes, sir. We'll move out immediately."
"Godspeed, Commander."
He would also check whether the council had discovered anything regarding the station's inner layers.
—
"I can't believe the Reapers almost detonated a star to kill us all," Tali muttered between the heated kisses they were sharing.
Shepard twisted from where he was lying, throwing Tali on the bed. He pinned her arms up. "Not the dirty talk I was expecting."
"I don't know; it was a rather dirty move," she said, catching Shepard with another kiss.
Nothing like sex after almost dying.
—
Garrus nibbled on Hailey's ear as he tried to remove his armor. The supply closet was not the best location to spend quality time with your girlfriend. Since he didn't have his own quarters like Shepard, this was the best either could do.
His armor finally came off. Hailey wrapped her legs around him, and Garrus groaned. He didn't know what made him so attracted to the mounds behind the bra or the soft, plateless skin.
Or her hair, eyes, and every other part.
But he wasn't complaining.
"There we go," Hailey said with a singing voice.
"I am going to bother your brother until I get my own quarters," he muttered. He didn't want to make love to Hailey in a place like this. She deserved more.
"Now that sounds like an excellent idea," she replied.
Hailey unlatched her black bra, dropping it to the ground. He felt his throat dry up. To think this had started because she called him over a question on calibrating her rifle.
This woman would be the death of him, and he couldn't think of a better way to go out.
—
Citadel
"You know, I should get my own quarters," Garrus said. They had just disembarked and were walking into the dock.
"Why?" He had an idea why but wanted to confirm it.
"I am your second in command, and calibrating the forward guns all day is murder on my back."
Shepard stopped walking. He looked at Garrus with half-lidded eyes. The turian's mandibles twitched.
"You can have Miranda's former office," he said, continuing to walk.
Garrus took a second to follow him again. "That was easier than I thought."
"I had complaints about someone rummaging through the supply closets. These little accidents coincided with your and Hailey's break times," Shepard replied. He didn't want these two to be caught in the middle of the act.
His friend coughed. "You said it yourself, just a coincidence."
"Uh huh."
Once through the customs, he saw a familiar face.
"Samara? What are you doing here?" he asked. His former teammate was waiting near the skytaxi kiosk with two Asari maidens next to her.
"Shepard? I was merely taking my daughters, Falere and Rila," she gestured to the girls, "to see the Citadel."
"So you are the legendary Commander Shepard we have to thank for curing the Ardat-Yakshi?" Rila asked. Her stance was straighter compared to her sisters.
"He is." Tali crossed his arms, glancing at her boyfriend.
Shepard knew he was in trouble.
"We don't know how to thank you, Commander. Without you, we, and every other Ardat-Yakshi, would have been confined to the monastery forever," Falere said, bowing in unison with her sister.
"You are welcome," he said. The permanent smile on Samara's face was worth the trouble, though.
"If there is anything we can do for you, please don't hesitate," Falere offered.
"Thank you, but we have to be going," Tali intervened. She dragged Shepard forward by the arm, away from his adoring fans. With how forceful she was, Shepard knew she was scowling under her helmet.
He just kept silent and let himself be dragged along.
"Someone's in trouble," Garrus said, his voice too light.
"Shut it, Vakarian," he growled, playing along. Maybe that could distract Tali.
"Just saying."
"Oh, by the way, my father and sister are on the Citadel."
"Already meeting the parents? Would you like me to wed you two now?"
"Maybe after we deal with the Reapers? We can take an extended vacation."
"You two go ahead; I'll meet with the Council first."
—
"Anything I should know about your father?" Hailey asked as she and Garrus split up from Shepard and Tali. The rest of the team was given time off to destress.
"He is a bit old-fashioned. An ideal turian, as many would say," he said. The difference in their personalities had led to many clashes on how to get the job done. However, he would never deny the fact that his father made him into a great turian.
Hailey huffed. "A stickler for the rules then."
"He is, but don't say that to his face," he admitted. Having a son like him, a rogue who did not like following the rules when they were stupid, was hard on his father.
"Come now, he certainly can't do anything to the former chief advisor of Primarch Fedorian." She smiled. It was fun to tease Garrus with his former position, one that he only took out of obligation.
Garrus shook his head. "Considering he was the one that took me to Fedorian, he can."
It was a surprise for him when his father took him straight to Primarch Fedorian upon arriving in Palaven. Apparently, the Primarch himself wanted to meet the great hero that was Garrus Vakarian and had called his old acquaintance, Castis.
Standing before the quarters for VIPs, Garrus rang the bell.
His father opened it seconds later. Either he was excited to meet his son's girlfriend, or he was impatient for dinner. "Garrus, come in."
"Father," he said, entering first. Hailey
"You must be Hailey; welcome." Castis held his hand out.
"Thank you, sir." She shook it.
"Please, call me Castis," he said, gesturing her to come inside.
The atmosphere was awkward, but Solana, Garrus' sister, was quick to hug her and liven up the place. Apparently, Garrus never had any long-term partners before. His family was worried he would be alone for the rest of his life.
Though, things took a grim turn when Garrus revealed why they were at the Citadel and not at the war.
"Spirits. They tried to detonate Harsa?" Castis had seen many horrible sights in his life. Hearing that the genocidal machines had almost destroyed the
"Yes. Shepard used his black hole projector to stop the supernova. Though, the system has a black hole now," Garrus explained. The second the Reapers destabilized Harsa, the system was lost.
At least Shepard saved the fleets.
"And the batarians were just beginning to come around," Castis said. He had never liked the batarians. When the civil war ended with the emergence of the Batarian Republic, which was willing to play by the rules, he had been pleased.
"They still have the rest of the territory. The Reapers escaped to Artemis Tau without touching anywhere else," Hailey said. The batarians had lost much, no doubt about it, but they were not facing extinction.
"That is something, I suppose. What will you do now?" he asked.
"The Alliance researchers caught something. They think it's a rogue Reaper."
Castis would believe it after hearing the mess with detonating a star.
Solana intervened again. "Enough with you revealing secret information. How did you two become a couple?"
Hailey, as the better orator, took the reins. They hit it off when she was working with Garrus on the main guns of the Normandy. Garrus was a good teacher and an even better bantering partner.
Once the mission was over and they had split up, she had called Garrus to get his advice on calibrating her rifle. One subject led to another, and the two were speaking almost daily. Long-distance dinner dates had become a constant.
When Shepard sent the schematics of the wormhole generator to all the governments, Garrus had used it to visit Hailey.
Castis wasn't delighted with the blatant misuse of power.
"It pleases me to see you finally find a partner. I know your mother would feel the same." His father's words plunged the room into silence. The Vakarian family was about to reminisce about the lost member of their family, but Solana had a different idea.
This was a day of joy. Her mother wouldn't want them to be feeling sorry for themselves.
"Too bad you two can't have children. Where am I supposed to get nieces and nephews to spoil?"
Her words broke the tension again.
—
In the next chapter:
He had to report the situation to Admiral Hackett. Just as he was done, Joker entered the comm room. His pilot was shifty for some reason.
"Hey Commander, can we talk?" he asked.
"Joker? Sure, what is it?" he asked, gesturing to the seat opposite to his.
Joker sat down, fiddling with his thumbs. "You know how EDI and I are getting along really great, right?"
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