[A/N - Mass Effect: Exodus, is a crossover fiction between the universes of Mass Effect and Star Wars, and replaces the events of Mass Effect 3. There are slight deviations on both universe's canon, and any deviations will be thoroughly explained in story.

If you're looking for a story about the Empire nuking the Reapers, this isn't the story for you. Yes, I'm aware that technicality wise, the Reapers would pose little threat to the Empire, but I wanted to re-capture that sense of despair and hopelessness that the Reapers brought to the table in the Mass Effect series. If you don't wish to read about the Reapers being a major threat to the Star Wars universe, then don't read. Any reviews stating "No, the Reapers would be easily wiped out by a Star Destroyer" will be removed.

Let me know your thoughts on the first chapter, should I keep going, should I stop, what doesn't work, what does? All reviews and feedback are greatly appreciated.]

Book 1 - Revelation

Prologue

Gunfire, explosions, the roar of star fighters zooming overhead.

The booming growl of the Reapers.

A cacophony of screams was the symphony for the end of life, a fittingly horrible music to accompany this dark hour.

The events of months gone by had led to this moment, on the Core World of Corellia, where the combined forces of the Milky Way Galaxy stood beside the Galactic Empire and it's recent allies were making their last stand. All of their plans were set into motion, countless days of meticulous scheming and strategizing, every possible turn of events weighed out, but no amount of planning would ever prepare them for this.

Corellia's skies were thick with laser fire, TIE Fighters roaring through the clouds of ash and smoke, weaving in and out of the Reapers' death rays. Ground AA cannons fired, recoiled, and fired again. The advanced weaponry of the Galactic Empire were faring much better than the Citadel Council's counterparts had when Saren had led Sovereign in an assault on the Serpent Nebula, but the sheer firepower of the Reapers was slowly grinding down the resistance.

In the vast vacuum of space above, the star-strewn blackness was a hive of activity. Reaper ships crashed into the Imperial Destroyer lines, their vast metallic tentacles ripping apart the colossal Venator, Imperial-II and Victory-class star cruisers. Alone, the Empire would not have lasted long, but they were soon joined by the Turian and Quarian fleets, who had driven hard into the flank of the genocide machines. Again, though, despite superior numbers, the advanced shielding and firepower of the Reapers was slowly turning the tide.

On the streets of the transport hub and economic boom-city of Kor Vella, Commander Shepard was alone. Fire and destruction surrounded him, but the raging flames that tore through the spires and towers of Kor Vella was nothing compared to the inferno burning in the heart of John Shepard. Dashing through the ruined streets, the former Spectre couldn't help but feel that the end wasn't too far away. The squad of Storm Troopers which he'd led into the city were either dead or scattered, his squad mates were fighting alongside their respective races (either on the ground or in the skies), and Shepard was damn near out of ammo.

A pair of husks came shrieking out of a nearby building, their arms drenched in blood, and Shepard raised his assault rifle, everything seemingly in slow motion. The thundering reports sounded dim and far off to his ears, as three bullets plunged into the chest, throat and forehead of the first Husk, then the knees of the other were shot out from under it. When it hit the ground, it felt to Shepard as though someone had turned the sound back on, as the thundering music of battle washed over him again.

The creature crawled towards him, growling and shrieking, even crippled trying to get to the Galactic Hero. Shepard walked calmly over to it, face expressionless as he withdrew his pistol, squinting his eyes against the spray of metal and blood which was no doubt about to follow. Two pulls of the trigger at point blank range, and the Husk was little more than a pile of organs and tubes.

With no clear mission, Shepard continued his run, calling over the comm as he gunned down Husk after Husk. "This is Commander Shepard! Is there anyone reading me? I'm pinned down in Kor Vella, and need extraction!" He found himself sprinting down an alleyway, receiving nothing but static in response to his calls. That's when a Marauder burst out of a nearby doorway. Shepard raised his pistol again.

Click. Out of ammo. The genetically mutilated Turian spun on the spot, levelling its rifle at Shepard with a growl.

'If I'm going out now, I'm going out fighting' Shepard thought with determination, kinetic shields flaring, face set and grim, Omni-Tool lighting up around his forearm, a blade spinning into the ready position. But before he could charge, a single sniper report boomed down the alley, the Marauder's head exploding, blood, oil and sparks issuing from it's neck. The creature shook, then fell backwards, Shepard spinning around to face his saviour.

"Just like old times, eh Shepard?"

The Commander looked sharply up to a rooftop around 20 feet above his position, eyes falling on the last person he'd expected to see. "Garrus?" The Turian smiled, cradling his Mantis rifle in the crook of his arm, and he gave a single, curt nod. "What're you doing here? I thought you'd be with the Turians."

Vakarian crouched, placing a hand on the edge of the rooftop, and then allowed himself to drop off the edge, landing a few feet from the Commander, walking towards him with his usual cocky strut. "I started this war beside you. I tend to end it that way." The Turian had indeed come a long way since his humble beginnings as a C-Sec investigator, and it was largely thanks to the human standing in front of him. He withdrew his pistol from its metallic clip on his waist, holding it out butt-first to Shepard, mandibles twitching in a grin. "Besides, did you think I was gonna sit around on some ship while you were down here having all the fun?"

Despite the ongoing war, despite the constant explosions and the Reapers filling the skies, Commander Shepard, War-Hero, the first Human Spectre, accepted the pistol with a laugh. "You call fighting against hordes of genetically enhanced monsters on an unknown world in a far flung galaxy fun?"

"You know I do." Vakarian popped the heat-sink on his rifle, the gun whirring as fresh ammo clicked into the chamber. "Now c'mon, before those Imperial sons of bitches bag all the good kills. I need to add a Brute to my body count."

"You're crazy." Words really couldn't express Shepard's gratitude to have Vakarian here, at the end of it all. The Turian had been a part of his crew from day one, but aside from that, he was the closest thing Shepard had to a best friend. But they were beyond words now, both men knew what was about to happen, and how important it was for the other to have them there. "You got a plan or what?"

"Charge in, guns blazing." Vakarian said quietly, a gleam in his eye. "Take down as many of the bastards as we can. Shoot 'til we run out of ammo, then use our guns as clubs. After that, I'll race you to that bar in the clouds. How's that sound?"

"Perfect."

Before they could charge off towards the heart of the city, where the Reaper troops had been landing for close to an hour now, a voice crackled over the comm. "-nder Shepard, do… -ead me? This is Commander Rex of the Five-oh-first… -your location, comi.. –get you."

Shepard pressed two fingers to his ear, tilting his head. "Rex? I can't hear you; there must be some sort of jammer nearby."

A few moments of static followed. "-locked. On.. –way. Hold… -tion, repeat, h… your position."

A loud shriek filled the air, as a colossal winged shadow swooped over them. "Harvester!" Vakarian shouted, raising his rifle and firing into the skies.

"Move it!" Shepard grabbed Garrus by the arm, pulling him out of harm's way as the monstrous creature swooped again, broken glass raining down on them as the Harvester's wings tore through one of the buildings lining the alley.

The two soldiers sprinted back down the alley, thrown into an open doorway from a shockwave released from the synthetic beast. They clambered to their feet, bolting across the room they were in, out through a back door and into what looked like the ruins of a marketplace. "Guess we're even now, then?" Vakarian roared over the enraged shrieks of the Harvester.

"I don't think so! You gotta save me more than just once for our score to be settled!" Shepard fired blindly over his shoulder as they tore across the open ground, weaving in and out of levelled shops and stalls. The Harvester swooped low, knocking them both to the ground, their weapons scattered, as the winged monstrosity zoomed into the air, flipping over, then starting to plummet towards them.

Suddenly, three Ion torpedoes ripped through the air, crashing into the airborne creature, exploding in a bright display of blue against its metallic skin. The beast was knocked off course, one wing torn off, and a pair of LAAT/I dropships soared above, peppering the Harvester with laser fire. Shepard and Vakarian scrambled behind a crumbled wall as a final torpedo was fired into the shrieking mass.

One of the transports landed around 20 feet from the pair, and the soldiers got to their feet, walking towards it. The hatch slid open, and Commander Rex stood with one hand holding his blaster rifle, the other clutching the support rail. The 501st Trooper looked worse for wear, his armor blackened and cracked, helmet missing, but a grim smile was on the veteran's face. "Shepard, Vakarian." He said with a nod. "Need a ride?"

"Your timing is impeccable, Rex." Garrus replied, grinning. "Where're we going? Night-clubs? 5-Star Resorts? A day spa?"

"None of the above, I'm afraid." Rex stepped back, making room for Shepard and Vakarian to climb aboard, which they did a moment later. The door slide closed, and Rex banged on the wall three times to signal they were ready to depart. The dropship's engines whirred into life, and it lifted off the ground, dust scattering in the wake of its lift-off. "We're needed at Centrepoint Station."

"Centrepoint?" Shepard quirked a brow. "Did something go wrong?"

"Crews aren't reporting in." Rex sighed, his knees cracking as he took a seat on the bench beside all that remained of the 501st. "Last contact we had from them was two hours ago, they said everything was running smoothly, and that they expected all would be ready to go within the hour. But…" he shrugged, gesturing out of the window, jerking a thumb towards a Reaper around a mile away which was swatting TIE fighters out of the sky like flies.

"I see your point. But… How are we getting there? I can't imagine we'll be able to sneak through the battlefield between here and Centrepoint in this thing."

"I was hoping you could solve that little problem for us, Shepard." Rex glanced at him shrewdly. "Word is that the Normandy is the stealthiest and fastest ship in the Universe. Think she could punch a hole through the fighting?"

Of course she could. In Shepard's eyes at any rate, the Normandy was the best ship in this galaxy or the next. Not to mention that she had the best pilot the Alliance had to offer at the helm. Giving a sharp nod, Shepard pressed two fingers to his ear. "Joker, how you holding up?"

"Right now, I'm weaving in and out of enemy fire, trying to shake a bogey off my tail, and I just won my third round of solitaire." Joker replied almost immediately. "So, we're holding up just fine. You're missing cocktail hour though, Commander. Pina Coladas, Martinis, Margarit-"

"Not the time , Joker."

"Aye aye sir. What do you need?"

"Extraction." Shepard said, pacing around the room. "Get EDI to lock onto my position, the bring the Normandy in. We're in a transport ship, so we'll need to get in via the hangar."

"Got that, EDI?" Joker asked.

"Noted, Commander." Came EDI's reply.

"Alright then, step on it. Shepard out."

Not another word was said by the men in the shuttle, all of them deep in thought about what was to come. All of them, except Shepard.

His mind was on the past, the series of events leading up to this day. He already knew what he had to do now, so he took a moment to reflect on the last few months, and how it had all began. Thinking about it now, he realised what a far-fetched and crazy story it had been. Shepard would have scarcely believe it himself, had someone been telling it to him.

It had all started with a discovery.

[A/N: As before, let me know what you think so far. Chapter 1 is already underway, and will be completed within 3 days (if not less). So leave a review, let me know your thoughts.]