MASS EFFECT 3: ANDROMEDA SERIES
CHAPTER 37
FINALE

"Look at the size of that thing…" Garrus' nearly choked on his words as his avian eyes lifted up at the massive Reaper known as Harbinger. It seemed like the height of the mechanized being went through the clouds beyond what he could see.

"This is it." Javik narrowed all four of his eyes as he shifted the weapon in his hands.

"Shepard, we have to get to that beam or we lose Earth," Anderson urgently coaxed over to his friend.

"We'll lose Earth and the rest of every planet in the galaxies…today we stop them. I'm tired of playing this game with Harbinger." Shepard slid down the hill first and regained his footing, charging ahead. Without hesitation, the trio followed. Javik and Garrus were seconds behind their commander.

Up ahead from all sides, tanks and men were joining them, trying to give Shepard and his team the safest passage possible. Turning his head, Garrus lost sight of Anderson and Coats. He figured they took up another flanking position and the Prothean was a few inches ahead of him on his left. "I can't believe I'm doing this…" Garrus huffed under his breath. His mind flashed to when they charged through a fleet of Geth on Ilos trying to get to the relay…at least then he was in the Mako. He almost wished to be in a tank right now instead of being exposed. But this was no Geth they were up against…it was a damn Reaper! A loud churring came from Harbinger and then a red beam lashed out cutting a tank in half to Garrus' right. All the crew died instantly and the tank stopped dead, burning. Then another beam came…then another…slicing through the tanks like hot butter and evaporating any poor soul that didn't jump out of the way. The ground shook from the explosions, causing Garrus to stumble as he ran forward.

All four glowing spheres stared straight at Garrus as if Harbinger was looking directly at him. Shepard zigzagged trying to make himself a more difficult target for the Reaper and Javik and Garrus followed suit as best as they could. It was hard to anticipate the commander's moves and even more difficult to anticipate where Harbinger would strike next. His feet pounded the ground as he pumped his legs harder as they came closer and closer to the beam. It felt like they were almost going to make it, but then that's when a tank flipped up straight ahead and was flying right towards him!

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"Give them hell!" Zaeed called out to the remainder of his squad as they began their assault against the approaching Reaper horde.

"Once more into the fray…" Andromeda gathered dark energy and yelled out as she launched a biotic shockwave attack towards the approaching banshees. Sh'sk did the same, staying right by her side.

The Banshees placed up a barrier quickly diverting their fire and screeched again. The Husks groaned as they ran towards them, their fingers waiving through the air as they were trying to slice anything in their path with their fingertips. "Come and get me, you bitches! Old Zaeed is not going to die here!" Zaeed yelled as he opened fire from his assault rifle and quickly mowed down an approaching group of Husks. Their limps sheered clean from their bodies causing them to slump down to the ground with emotionless faces.

Andromeda took aim with her pistol and nailed a few Cannibals in the head bringing them down instantly and then caught one Husk in the arm as he leaped towards her. The impact knocked the Husk off course, but as soon as his feet touched the ground, he slid and pounced. He latched onto Andromeda's arms, gripping tightly as his face moved closer trying to bite her. Stumbling from the assault, Andromeda turned and twisted to try to get him free just enough to aim her gun. The husk seized the opportunity and released one hand and swiped at her face. His claws digging into her flesh just below her right eye. She cried out from the pain and felt the hot sensation of blood dripping down.

"Andromeda!" Sh'sk charged to her aid and swung submachine gun like a club knocking the Husk clean off of her. The Husk wouldn't let go of its prey so soon as it on the him, but before it had a moment to get any closer, the Batarian swung again catching the husk right in the cranial with it. The skull fractured revealing the blue light circuitry inside and then brain matter dripped down onto the ground along with the motionless body. "You okay?" Sh'sk asked her as he kept his eyes down on the husk before them.

Panting, Andromeda wiped the blood from her face. "Yes. Thank you."

"Come on girly…come to old Zaeed…" Zaeed popped in a fresh thermal clip as he saw one of the Banshees stalking towards him. A deadly purple aurora hovered around the reaperfied Asari as she inched closer…step by step. Feet apart, the Banshee reared back and howled again…that's when Zaeed opened fire.

Javik and Garrus jumped opposite sides away from the burning inferno. The tank hit the ground hard and combusted into flames throwing pieces of hot metal everywhere. Several pieces fell onto Garrus' body burning his flesh while pieces of shrapnel scraped him. His body burned from the immense pain from everywhere. "Get up…this is nothing compared to Omega." A voice spoke in his head and he instantly went to stand up but quickly slumped back down. Assessing the pain, he figured that he must have either fractured a bone in his left leg or severely twisted something. Gunfire continued to sound all around and the roaring engines of tanks charged ahead. The noise bled into his thick skull. Suddenly he felt someone lift him up, it was Shepard. He maneuvered Garrus over to the knocked over tank and helped him back down.

The burns were starting to cause Garrus to go into shock and he felt his body trembling uncontrollably as he sat there. He turned his head to see Javik squatting down beside him, the Prothean's body wasn't nearly as burnt but blood trickled down his face to where he was victim to the explosion as well. Shepard tapped his comms, "Normandy, do you copy? I need an evac right now!"

"Damnit, Shepard, I'm fine…" Garrus winced. He wasn't about to put the commander's life in jeopardy over his petty injuries.

"You are not fine, Turian," Javik answered for him. Explosions rocked them against the tank a bit and Garrus could hear the garbled sound of Joker's voice over the comm.

Moments later the Normandy's engines thundered above, Garrus lifted his head just as their blockade took an attack on the other end shoving the tank into them. All three nearly fell to the ground as the Normandy's massive white feature loomed in front of them back in the direction from where they came. Shepard pulled Garrus' arm over his shoulder and began to hurry him and the Turian over to the ship's lowering ramp. Javik followed along limping a bit himself. Alliance soldiers armored and equipped rushed out to cover the group and give the charging armies some refreshed bodies. "Here take him," Shepard yelled out loudly over the Normandy's noisy engines to Javik who ran up the ramp first. The Prothean turned and reached out to help Garrus further up the ramp.

Once after feeling the man let him go, that's when Garrus realized that he was out of the fight. For the first time of his life on Shepard's team, he wasn't able to go on. Shepard would have to go on without him and to make it worse, alone. Setting his jaw, Garrus pivoted on his foot to face the exhausted looking man before him. "Shepard-"He started but the war ahead drowned out his voice.

"You gotta get out of here," Shepard yelled to the pair who looked at him stunned as he stepped back down the ramp.

"And you've gotta be kidding me," Garrus angrily said back. He looked at his friend almost hurt.

"Don't argue, Garrus," Shepard's voice was tough, but it wasn't a command, it was more of a request. Although his face was cold as steel during battles, his blue eyes betrayed him. Fear consumed him. It was nothing like the Turian had seen before.

"We're in this till the end," He tried to step forward but Javik's grip remained.

"You're in no condition to keep fighting, get to the med bay." Shepard replied, this time it was like an order. Shepard was now the commanding officer once again.

Garrus just had about enough. He reached out again trying to grab onto Shepard's arm. "You can't do this solo-"

Shepard barked, "That's an order, Garrus." He turned to look away and Garrus' eyes followed the gaze. Harbinger, oddly had stopped firing and almost seemed interested in on the scene that was taking place before him. Only then it occurred to him how much of a sitting target they were and the Reaper was holding back. What was he waiting for? Shepard turned back around and motioned Javik with his arm frantically as if he was reading Garrus' mind. "Go! Go!"

Defeated, Garrus slumped down his arm and watched helplessly as his friend ran ahead with the remainder of the tanks towards the beam. The ramp began to rise up severing his view until he couldn't see anymore but the backside of the ramp.

Dr. Chakwas and her med staff was already there waiting for them in the cargo hold. "Let's get you two to the med bay, stat." She reached under Garrus' arm to help him walk while her associates assisted the Prothean who waived them away.

"I can walk, humans. " Javik snapped as he hurried his step in front of them. His eyes dark. Watching him ahead, Garrus knew why…he too would have to sit this one out and vengeance would no longer be his.

"Where do you hurt, Garrus?" Chakwas asked as she grunted trying to shift the weight of the Turian to where it was easier for her. One of her staff members noticed this and ran up under Garrus' other arm to level the weight bearing.

"Everywhere…but primarily my leg. I think I broke it," Garrus clenched through the pain as he tested his leg by trying to put weight on it.

"If it's a clean break then I can set it…I'll x-ray it once we get you secured." Chakwas commented.

"I need to get into communication with Zaeed's team." Garrus added. He wasn't about to let Andromeda be down there squaring off with the mother of all Reapers...or father for that matter.

Getting him into the elevator, Chakwas finally replied back, "We lost communications with all our ground forces once Harbinger landed near the beam. "

The Banshee screamed in pain as Zaeed and the Batarians relentlessly struck it with their gunfire. The concentrated attack was bringing down the shields and soon the strikes were breaking flesh all over. Once last scream broke through the Banshee's lips as it crumbled up into a black dust. Zaeed cheered, "Alright! Let's take care of the rest of these fuckers."

Andromeda, meanwhile, was targeting a group of Cannibals, keeping their focus on her to give the rest of her team a chance to take down one of the Banshees. She switched from her pistol to her biotics and a few singularity attacks made their kills easier. The lingering Reaper forces and Banshee were a bit away but closing in. This gave Andromeda a moment to try to see what was going on with Shepard's team. She thought she heard the sound of a ship approaching close to their location but the Banshee's screams drowned out the noise. Dread filled her as she saw Harbinger lifting up from his position and disappearing into the black sky. All around the beam were charred tanks, and slain men…some only parts. It looked like a sea of corpses and torched Earth. "No….no…" Andromeda's eyes filled up as she stumbled forward to make her way down the valley.

A Banshee scream came up from behind her. However, she stayed focus on her task at hand. She needed to get to Garrus. He had to be alive! Just as she was about to jump down the hill to search, Zaeed grabbed her around the waist and pulled her towards him. "Where you goin, darling?"

"I need to find Garrus! They may be hurt down there!" Andromeda wiggled through his hands.

"Are you bloody mad? Those things are going to be on us!" Zaeed pointed to the nearing party of Reaper ground forces which had grown. Now Brutes were lining up the rear. Their task was to kill what resistance was left.

"We've got incoming!" Sh'sk yelled out to the pair. Zaeed cursed and released Andromeda to take aim with the wave of Husks coming towards them.

Andromeda looked again down where the ghostly beam was. If Garrus was hurt…but their team was dwindling. If she left, the others wouldn't stand a chance. Biting her lip, she looked back them who shot at the attackers in unison, all looked to be exhausted as if they were fighting for weeks nonstop. Looking again at the beam, Andromeda moved back near Sh'sk and placed a new clip in her pistol. "Let's take these sons of bitches down."

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"What do you mean we lost contact with Shepard?!" Ashley yelled at the Normandy's pilot as she listened in on their comm chatter.

"I'm saying that no one knows where Shepard is and if he made it to the beam." Joker frustratingly flew the Normandy up into the Earth's atmosphere to avoid any possible targeting by Harbinger. He didn't know if the Reaper would target their ship or not. It was strange that suddenly he would leave the battlefield.

"Try Anderson." Ashley huffed impatiently.

"I did!" Joker snapped angrily. "He's not answering either."

"Damnit...I knew I should have went with him instead." Ashley stormed out of the bridge and towards the ship's elevator. Shepard usually went on a few solo missions…some when she wasn't around like on Aratoht and that went badly.

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Javik sat on the far table in the med lab with his face turned towards the wall, brooding. Liara was the first of the teammates to greet the pair while they were being examined. "I can't even imagine what it was like down there…" Her blue eyes compassionately looked at the two: Garrus who was being scanned by Chakwas and Javik at the far side of the room.

"When are they going to let me go back down there?" Garrus asked out to no one in particularly as he shifted where he sat. "If you splint my leg, I think I can still snipe some of those bastards."

Javik sighed from where he sat. "Turian, do not be foolish. What good are you when you are limping around down there?" His face was still looking at the wall. "We are stuck here and the Reapers will win…If it was my cycle, there would be no retreat until every Reaper had fallen."

"Oh that's right…Shepard told me," Garrus spat coldly. "In your cycle, you coward in a stasis pod."

Jumping down quickly to confront him, Javik bared his teeth. Liara jumped in between the two, anticipating a biotic attack from the Prothean. "Enough! We shouldn't fight like this."

"Liara is right," Chakwas added as she placed down her scanner. "You both are lucky to be alive and after a few hours I can release you both from medical care."

Javik scoffed, "I am fine and I do not need a doctor to tell me when I'm fit for duty."

"Did I miss something?" Ashley cocked her head as she entered the med lab to see Liara standing tensely between Javik and Garrus.

"Maybe…" Liara sighed with relief. Another person to keep the peace she hoped. "Has there been any news on Shepard's location?" She changed the subject thoughtfully.

"I was about to ask you guys the same thing. What the hell happened down there?"

"You too, Ash?" Garrus sighed hard as he rubbed his head with his hand. "Did they reach Zaeed's team?"

"No…but the other ground teams are picking up again. They may be out of range."

Andromeda didn't know how long the fight was lasting, it felt like hours but she knew it couldn't have been. Her body ached from exhaustion and she tried to pace her breathing so she would be able to launch more biotic attacks if need be. "Watch that damn Banshee!" Zaeed called as he saw the hellish form walk towards them. The one eyed merc was unable to provide any fire from his side due to the Cannibals and Husks that continuously poured their way. He took a second to look over at Andromeda who was fumbling to switch out her clip. Her fingers were showing the signs of exhaustion. They couldn't keep fighting like this. "You got it?"

"Yeah," Andromeda popped it in. Her blue eyes looked at him with worry.

"How many clips you got left?" Sh'sk came to her side.

"Two. You?"

He looked over to his left to take mental note of one clip left. "Two myself," He lied and tossed her the last of his supply. "Take this one. That should make us even." Andromeda stashed the clip in her belt and nodded her head. "Stay down."

Andromeda watched nervously and then returned her attention to the Cannibals. The Banshee howled and unleashed a biotic attack that stunned Zaeed and the others. The creature hissed and leaned down to pick up her prey. "Zaeed!" Andromeda yelled as she turned her gun and shot the Banshee in her arm. The Asari recoiled and angrily wailed at Andromeda and launched a sphere that bounced against the concrete barrier that Andromeda took refuge behind. The Banshee moved towards Andromeda like lightening in fury.

"Don't think so…when did I say you could leave?" Zaeed fired his rifle and struck the Banshee in the leg. This infuriated her even more and she was up on him within seconds.

"Look out!" Brath shouted as he shoved the man to the side and was grabbed by the Banshee instead. She hoisted him up with the Batarian kicking his feet away, struggling from her death grip. Using a powerful reave attack, the Banshee dropped her prisoner, and his body slumped on the ground in an awkward position, dead.

Zaeed's face gaped in horror. "Son of a-"His words left him.

The coal black Banshee eyes fell upon her next two victims. "Don't even!" Andromeda screamed as she launched a warp attack. The reaper's minion's barrier protected it and the Banshee let out a hiss as she moved closer towards Andromeda's direction. Gritting her teeth, Andromeda raised her pistol and opened fire, desperately trying to bring down the shields.

Finding his courage once again, Zaeed did the same, striking the Banshee on the backside. Prator followed suit. The Banshee wailed and lifted her arm to throw out another orb, but the continuous hits were too much for her. She howled just as she evaporated into black nothingness.

Peering out into the black deserted streets of London, Andromeda was relieved to see that they may have a few moments of rest before the next wave would come and most certainly it would. The reaper forces were relentless and as long as organics plagued the streets, they would not rest. She moved over to join the others. Zaeed's jaw was clenched as he looked down hard to the fallen Batarian who gave his life for him. The Batarian's lifeless eyes stared up at them all, his mouth still slightly open as if he was trying to scream from the pain. His counterparts remained solemn behind Zaeed. "The bastard gave his bloody life for me. " Zaeed growled. "And I use to think these four eyes were nothing but god damn terrorists…"

"He was my brother…" Prator spoke up. His voice strong. "We barely made it out of Khar' Shaan. "

"Where in the hell did Shepard go?" Zaeed whirled out angrily. "I told him I didn't want another suicide mission."

"I don't know…this whole place fills dead." Andromeda looked towards the ghostly beam and could only hear the distant sound of gunfire behind them in the city. She felt like they were the only ones left this close. But close to what?

"Piss on him," Zaeed spat as he went to close the Batarian's eyes with his hand, but one of the others stopped him.

"Don't…his soul needs to leave his body through the eyes." Sh'sk stopped him.

Not even replying, Zaeed withdrew his hand and stood back up. "We should probably rejoin the others-"

A deepening roar broke the silence of the alleys interrupting the man and two Brutes lumbered towards the location followed by another wave of monstrous Cannibals and vicious Husks. Some Marauders took up the rear. "Another wave…" Andromeda looked on, exhausted.

"We are going to run out of ammo soon." Zaeed noted, then chuckled. "This maybe it for old Zaeed."

"No," Andromeda shook her head. "We are going to do this…just make sure your shots count."

The two Batarians exchanged glances, then Prator spoke up. "If we stay together, we'll be killed for sure. I will lure the blunt of the forces away including the Brutes." Without pausing for a reply, he jumped over a concrete slab and took off running in the direction of the Brutes.

Andromeda could hear him crying out for his homeworld, Khar 'Shaan as he took the charge. "Garrus, where are you…" She thought as she stared at death in the eye.

Suddenly a horn blared loudly, and deafening. Off to their left, blocks ahead but closing in was a Reaper! Then another landed, but started to go in another direction. She could see tops of more Reapers that were flooding in on London's streets. "Oh my…" Andromeda felt a cold chill pass through her. Suddenly there was a quick whishing sound and she felt a piercing pain in her chest near her shoulder joint. She cried out and the force of the shot knocked her down onto the ground. The Marauders were moving ahead, their mechanized voices whirring with their guns poised. Andromeda clutched at the wound as blood oozed out and soaked her hand with the sticky liquid.

More gunfire whizzed over their heads as Sh'sk kept low to see to her. "Stay down and keep pressure on that!" He moved back around to return fire, hitting one of the Marauders in the head.

Going into shock, Andromeda felt her body trembling as she desperately tried to push down on the hole. Her other hand went to lift her pistol. She shifted her body away from Sh'sk to give herself more room. Husks roared as they took them by surprise. Taking quick action, Andromeda nailed one in the head just before it had a chance to leap onto Sh'sk's back. More husks were crawling over burnt cars as they ran towards them, so many that Andromeda lost count of them! There was no way that they could take them all on!

Garrus held onto the back of Joker's chair nervously as he stood behind the pilot listening to Alliance comms and staring out the window where Earth was spotted in flames. "Too much like Palaven…" He mused and twitched his mandible. As soon as Chakwas gave him all the clear, much quicker than she probably would like, he limped his way from the med lab to the bridge. His questions poured out like a flood…where was Shepard? Where was Andromeda? No one knew anything.

Hackett's voice filled the comm, breaking their eerie silence. "All fleets, the Crucible is armed. Disengage and head to the rendezvous point."

Joker's fingers dashed across the control panel of the ship, plugging in the new jump coordinates. However, he hesitated on hitting the command to do so. Ashley came up from behind, startling the two and could see the Crucible begin to erupt into explosions. She moved past the Turian and tried to get Joker's attention. If they didn't leave now, the Normandy would not survive. As much as it pained her like the rest of the crew, they had to leave Earth and more importantly leave Shepard.

Joker shook off her hand angrily and returned to his work. Garrus noted that the pilot was desperately trying to engage a comm scan.

Ashley exchanged a silent look with Garrus. Hackett's voice came back online. "I repeat," His voice more firm. "Disengage and get the hell out of here!"

The Admiral's order seem to make Joker move his fingers faster as he went to different systems of the Normandy. Watching the ordeal, pained Garrus. "Jeff…" Ashley placed her hand lightly on his arm this time. It was the first time in years that anyone called him by his real name and not his call sign. Joker paused and his arm slumped down. "We need to go…" The brown haired woman urgently said.

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"Damnit…" Joker's voice cracked and the ship shook as one of the explosions from the Crucible rocked the vessel. Looking away, he hit the jump command. The Normandy turned and began to accelerate faster in a direction taking them further and further away from Earth. The other fleets did the same, and hit the hyper drive.

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Frustrated as she watched death approach, Andromeda rapidly opened fire from the gun's chamber, nailing as many husks as she could until she heard the sickening sound of the pistol clicking. It was out.

Zaeed yelled out in rage as he unleashed his own wave of onslaught against the Reapers with his rifle.

Suddenly, the sky broke out in a fiery red and Andromeda could feel an unknown force sweep all around them. The wave of energy totally evaporated all the swarming Reaper forces around. The low sounds of the Reapers reached their eyes as the tall beings swayed from side to side before collapsing to the ground. Stumbling, Andromeda kept her wound clutched as she stood on her legs to get a better view of what was going around. There was no more sound of gunfire and the sky's dark clouds began to depart revealing a pretty deep blue. The Batarians' voices rose in a cheer nearby.

"Well I'll be damned…" Zaeed smiled.

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The Normandy shook as it raced through the blackness of Space with looming energy pursuing them greatly. Ashley strapped herself in the co-pilot's chair since EDI was helping out with the system alliance officers and Garrus clutched tightly on the back of Joker's chair. Alarms rang throughout alerting different systems' failures and the bogey behind them. "We're not going to make it!" Ashley screamed.

"Yes we are!" Joker yelled.

No matter how fast the ship went, they were no match for the wave and it consumed their ship. They had traveled so far and fast that Garrus lost track of what system they were in. The Normandy's alarm rang louder and more alarms sounded. "I'm going to have to put her down," Joker gritted his teeth as Garrus felt the ship tugging from their control. The Turian noted that one of the main stabilizers was probably impacted from the burst.

"There is a planetoid up ahead!" Ashley read the instrument displays in front of her. "What class is it?"

"I don't think it really matters right now because we are going there!" Joker plugged in the new coordinates. "Damnit…I'm going to have to do this old school."

Garrus' eyes became wider as he saw the planet becoming closer and closer. The ship rocked as it struck the atmosphere and then terra firma showed up. Luscious tropical trees were everywhere. It almost reminded him of Virmire. "Here we go..." Joker pointed the nose down. Garrus closed his eyes and prayed to the gods for the best.

After the ship landed, Joker opened the door first and went down the steps, shielding his eyes from the brightness of the planet's sun. The roaring sound of waterfalls were close by. The pilot limped over to take a better view of their surroundings. It was far prettier than what could be said of his beloved ship. Two of the main thrusters were partially broken off and the back end was charred, but any landing you can walk away from was probably a good one or so one his instructors said back in the day.

Garrus was the next to follow out then behind was Ashley. The planet was unknown to them for now, but it seemed to be habitable.

The trio didn't get to enjoy too long when Traynor's voice came from the doorway. "Joker!" Her face filled with terror.

"What is it?" Joker started to limp his way back to the ship.

"It's EDI…" Traynor's eyes were filling up with tears. "She went offline and she's not responding..."

"No…" Joker's words left his mouth and he started to limp faster towards the stairway. "EDI!" He yelled for her as he went inside the ship.

Garrus and Ashley looked at each other puzzled, and then they could hear Joker frantically shouting commands to officers. Something was very wrong…

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"We are re-entering the Sol system, sir." An officer snapped to attention as he delivered the message to Admiral Hackett.

The admiral solemnly looked down at the datapad. "Any news from Shepard or the Normandy?"

"No, sir. The Crucible's discharge must have knocked the Normandy off course and we haven't made contact with Shepard since the destruction of the Citadel. Reports show that the mass relay is severely damaged and non-operational. We suspect additional relays are the same. If the Normandy-"

Hackett raised his hand to silence him. "If the Normandy is out of our system, then they may not be able to return for awhile." He finished the sentence. He shook his head and looked at the huge holo display of Earth. Indicators lit up the planet revealing different status reports. "I want the best teams working on restoring usage of the relays. The rest of us will head back to Earth and see what we can salvage." The officer saluted dutifully and pivoted just so in his heel before moving off with the order.

The grey haired man sighed heavily as he looked at the planet. "This victory belongs to each of us, every man, woman and child."

"Sir?" One of the radar officers spoke up from his position.

"What is it, Lieutenant?"

"Comms are lighting up. The aliens in our fleets are wondering how they can get back to their homeworlds."

Hackett could hear that a Asari commander was desperately asking why she may not be able to get Thessia for awhile. "Tell them, that we will assist them momentarily after we arrive at Earth." The Admiral chose his words carefully, not wanting to offend their alias, not too soon after the battle. Diplomacy was still a key issue and tensions were going to remain high for awhile. The Reapers may have been gone but the calamity was still there.

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Back at base camp, Andromeda was greeted by Major Kirrahe and the rest of the surviving Salarian team. Zaeed, Prator and Sh'sk were off to the side, bragging on how many kills they had. "You look like you have seen some battle," The green skinned Salarian smiled as he motioned to the wound that was being cleaned by one of the medics.

"Hurts like hell," Andromeda winced from the cleaning.

"I'm sure Vakarian will be proud." Kirrahe beamed.

"Is he here?" Andromeda's voice perked up.

"No," He sighed. "My men arrived here an hour or so before you did. Heard that Vakarian and the Prothean were picked up, he was wounded, but nothing too serious I suppose. After the Reapers were wiped clean, we haven't heard from the Normandy or the fleets."

Andromeda hung her head sadly. "Garrus…" She kept her jaw tight, she would not shed anymore tears, and she would remain strong for him. Her mind flashed to their last goodbyes, Garrus mentioned about them having children together and all she could do now was see herself with Garrus with a small human child with them or Turian.

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Epilogue…

Repairs were complete of the Normandy's structure and initial diagnostics were being performed. During that time, a small memorial service was held for EDI. Her lifeless shell remained down in the med lab just where the body that she overtaken was first found. A more permanent place would be for her on Earth when they arrived back, Joker was promised. The witty pilot was not himself since they arrived, he remained solo and quiet. Though when forced to engage in his conversations, Garrus noted that he tried his best to become upbeat but it was folly. No one could explain why EDI's systems went offline and an overhaul was done on the Normandy with the techs that they had to give them full access to the ship's systems to help their navigation back to Earth or to the Alliance fleet. The conclusion was the wave of energy that struck the ship may have shorted out something. Ashley assured Joker that once they were able to get more adequate staffing that perhaps they could fix EDI.

Comms were still down so that meant Garrus was unable to get any communications from anyone outside the planet. They had no idea what fate befell Earth, but he hoped for the rest and maybe Palaven survived. Not knowing was killing him and he often found himself walking a perimeter around the ship. A nagging voice continuously told him that Andromeda and the others were dead but he would not hear of it. "If she made it past Saren, then she is alive." He told himself.

Liara found the Turian outside that day as she stood on top of the stairway. "Garrus," She called to him gently. "They are ready."

"On my way."

Everyone was gathered outside the elevator on the third floor of the ship. The ship was hushed and only the sound of electronics beeping softly could be heard. All eyes fell upon the wall of the ones that were lost. Garrus read some of the familiar ones: Thane Krios, Mordin Solus, Kaiden Alenko, and now in the center was Admiral David Anderson. He really didn't talk to the man while he was working with Shepard on the Citadel in the fight against Saren but he remembered how Shepard talked of him. He could see just how he was on his last trip in London. The older gentleman with dark skin definitely had the respect of anyone he talked to. He stared death right in the face and did not hesitate to join them on their final run even though he was out there fighting day and night after Shepard left Earth the first time. A few nights on Menae drained Garrus, he couldn't even imagine what mindset Anderson had, but if it was weak, he did not show it.

Ashley stood in front of the group, her hands clutching at the name plate she held. Her back was to them, but they all knew whose name it was. She stepped forward to the wall. Her shoulders squared, her head held high. She would do this as if this was her duty. Pausing, she looked back down at the name plate and ran her fingertips across the letters, Garrus saw. A sniffle echoed through Tali's helmet. Joker reached up and placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. Ashley pressed the name plate on the wall so it stuck then stepped back for all to see. It read, "Commander Shepard."

The ship remained silent for several moments till finally Joker wiped his eyes. "Let's get the hell out of here." He turned and limped towards the elevator. The others mumbled their agreement as they parted ways to deal with their mourning in their own way.

Liara lingered nearby and grabbed Garrus' hand and squeezed it gently. "She's alive, Garrus. We will find her."

No words were said from the Turian.

The restoration of Earth took place immediately and the streets filled with Alliance soldiers and volunteers who were looking for survivors; their utmost goal.

Andromeda along with Kirrahe kept their focus where she last saw Shepard and the others. The beam was gone, but it's haunting image still remained in her head. Piles of debris were all over. It was hard to navigate through. The air smelled foul with the scent of death and rotting flesh. Being more limber, the Salarian team jumped up on a pile and began to lift pieces off one by one while Andromeda searched around for anyone she could assist, but all around were dead bodies.

"Men, over here!" Kirrahe called out ecstatically as he began to throw pieces of huge concrete to the side. His hands moving so fast, he was like a machine. His Salarian compatriots joined his side and worked around him. Andromeda began to climb up to help, but not as fast as they did.

A faint groan could be heard from the rubble inside. The green tone Salarian smiled widely and reached down and began to lift their first survivor from the debris. Andromeda strained her head to look.

THE END