Salvation: A Half-Life/Mass Effect Universe Fan Fiction

Disclaimer: This fan-fiction takes place after the events of both Half-Life 1 and 2 and its episodes, and jumps to the events after Mass Effect 1 and 2. If you have not played or beaten these games this fiction may not make much sense to you. Characters property of their respective companies, Half-Life created by Valve and Mass Effect created by Bioware.

Chapter 40: Downfall (Part III)

Fight and Flight

"EDI, squeeze a little more juice outta the engines, would ya!?" Joker ordered, as he worked his controls feverishly. "Bastard's hangin' on like a varren in heat!"

"All four of the ship's anti-proton thrusters are already operating at maximum capacity, Mr. Moreau..." EDI's holographic visage flashed in response, besides the helmsman. "Any further acceleration would be impossible without engaging the FTL drive..."

"I knew you were gonna say somethin' like that..." Joker replied, as he jerked his body left and right, matching the torque he put on the controls.

The entire ship rocked turbulently, as it banked back and forth at high speeds, with the Reaper in close pursuit. Down in the bowels of the ship, engineers Donnelly and Daniels worked tirelessly to ensure the ship's propulsion systems would not falter – a daunting task, considering the amount of exertion placed on them. Throughout the various decks of the ship, members of the crew worked feverishly at their stations; taking readings, adjusting systems, checking alignments, and analyzing data crucial to the Normandy's optimal performance.

The black hulled behemoth behind them, seemed to match the Normandy's every twist, every turn – tracing its every loop, following its every curve.

The entire ship suddenly swung around to the left, like a pendulum, as a crimson beam of light shot out, lighting up the sky, and grazing the roof of the Normandy's armor plating.

"EDI! Give me something!" Joker shouted, as the entire ship quaked fiercely from the Reaper's lightest touch. The cockpit was bathed in the brilliant red light spilling in from the outside, as the beam swished by overhead.

"Kinetic barriers holding at eighty-three percent." EDI replied. "No breaches, or significant hull damage sustained..."

"Can we take a direct hit?" Joker beckoned, before biting down on his lower lip, and jerking back on his flight controls, drawing the ship's nose straight up into the air suddenly.

EDI was silent for a moment, perhaps as she assessed some of her computations, as Joker suddenly thrust his controls forward, immediately forcing the ship to now shoot downward, in a steep arch.

"I do not think we want to find out, Jeff..."

"Argh, this thing's starting to piss me off!" Joker griped, as he continued his frantic, fruitless attempts to outmaneuver the leviathan – his forehead now glistening with perspiration.

"Hmm..." He uttered to himself, as spotted something in the window. "Alright, tall, dark, and ugly... Let's see how good you really are!"

Joker drove his controls hard to starboard, navigating the ship towards a gravitating field of terrestrial debris, orbiting around the larger planetary mass of Xen. It was a stream of thousands of floating asteroids, meteors, and other craggy bodies, circumnavigating the planet. Entire floating islands, and isles, massive in size - serving as their own ecosystems of Xenian life, completely unaffected by what transpired elsewhere. Many of the smaller chunks orbited around the larger masses, like moons, attracted to their own, individual gravitational fields. Some of the larger bodies even had strange, towering, pillar-like protrusions growing out of them, resembling horns or bones of some sort.

"Our kinetic barriers are not designed to withstand..."

"To withstand blah blah blah with debris that size, Jeff... I know..." Joker retorted, finishing EDI's sentence off for her in a highly sarcastic, somewhat annoyed tone, as he rolled his eyes. "We've been through this before, EDI! We'll just have to hope our upgrades hold out..."

---

A crossfire blazed across the skies. A tempest clash of fire, and steel. It was virtually impossible to discern where one fleet ended, and another began. Thousands upon thousands of ships, in a vast array of descendant designs, swarmed the skies like riled bees, defending their hive against intruders. Human built frigates. Turian designed Cruisers. Asari constructed dreadnoughts. A Quarian engineered Flotilla. And an armada manned by geth, that under any other circumstances, would have been seen as a hostile force, now allies against a common foe.

The havoc of the heavens cast its shadow onto the Earth, as balls of fire fell from the sky each time a new vessel was claimed by the Reapers - their blades of light continuing to decimate man, machine, and metropoli, alike. But through it all. Through devastation and despair, as the sun began its twilight descent on the city of White Forest, only to rise over a new, Earthly horizon - the fleets of the galaxy stood united in their first and final stand against this most ruthless, relentless of enemies.

"Incoming transmission from Urdnot Wrex, of the Bloodspear!" The Orizaba's CO called out, as Admiral Hackett peered through the forward windows, watching the flagship dreadnought navigate the chaotic, aerial battlefield.

"Put it through." The Admiral replied calmly, as he turned towards the communication terminal.

In the usual fashion, a beam of light shot out from the middle, slowly materializing and taking the form of a haggard, war branded, male krogan.

His eyes were a scarlet red, matching the red, boney plating on his head. His armor was silver and black. It was covered in scrapes, scratches, dents, and pock marks – telltale signs that it was no stranger to battle. Despite being worn, it was not unkempt. Much of it still glinted and gleamed in the light, as it was worn with pride.

Perhaps more damaged than the armor, was the krogan himself. He had multiple scars, both on the red osteoderm plating sheltering his head, and on his course, reptilian face. The scars themselves were old, and healed; serving as reminders of ancient battles long since waged, but their marks remained.

"Admiral Hackett..." Wrex began in a deep, gravelly voice, not uncommon among the krogans. But this one resounded with a profound level of acumen and sagacity. "I'm Urdnot Wrex. War chief to clan Urdnot, and Battlemaster of the Tuchanka Krogan Clans. I understand the Alliance is having some pest control problems..."

"Indeed we are..." Hackett replied, exhibiting a somewhat cheerful disposition, despite his natural apprehensions. "And these are the most stubborn cockroaches we've ever dealt with... But uhm..."

Hackett stopped for a moment, looking Wrex over, as the krogan's name suddenly rang a bell. He brought a finger up, shaking it as he pointed at him, and squinted his eyes.

"Urdnot Wrex... Wrex..." He continued, as he scanned his thoughts. "Y... You ran with Commander Shepard's crew a few years ago, didn't you? During the battle of the Citadel... I take it he's the one that contacted you?"

"Yeah, I ran with Shepard..." The krogan affirmed, bringing his attention back to Hackett, after having momentarily turned it away. "But he wasn't the one who contacted me. We were contacted by some glowing eyed human, with a cloud of smoke around his head. I'm actually surprised I haven't heard from Shepard, especially considering his vendetta with the Reapers."

"That glowing eyed human again..." Hackett uttered to himself, as he gripped his chin between his thumb and index finger contemplatively.

"Where is he anyway?" Wrex questioned. "We're not scanning the Normandy anywhere, and I would've expected him to be the first on the front lines. Unless he's already..." A solemn tone overtook the krogan's voice.

"No." Hackett abruptly interjected, as he shook his head. "No, uhm... We actually haven't heard from Shepard since the Reapers opened the Citadel. He's the one that alerted us to the coming attack, but... Well frankly, I have no idea where he..."

"Admiral Hackett, sir!" The tensely excited voice of his Captain interrupted him, as she briskly walked over towards him, barely able to hold back a smile.

"Where he is..." He finished his sentence before turning to face Donaghy. At that moment, the Orizaba's crew began to stand up from their stations, looking out through the windows in shock and awe, as they erupted into cheers and applause.

"What is it, Captain? Did we manage to take another one down...?" He replied, less than enthusiastic.

"No sir..." She continued gleefully, as the grin overtook her face. "We think they're retreating!"

"Retreating?!" Hackett exclaimed in disbelief, as he rapidly stepped around the krogan's projection and gazed towards the forward windows.

It was difficult to make out through the mayhem, but the news seemed to be true. Outside, massive silhouettes floated past the windows, seemingly ascending out of the atmosphere, towards the heavens.

"A few minutes ago, we picked up some strange radio interference across our entire communications network, worldwide..." Captain Donaghy continued, as the two stood looking out the windows, at the departing fleet of Reapers. "The quarians and the Citadel Fleet both confirmed picking it up as well. Shortly after, the enemy vessels started pulling out, into orbit. We think the interference was them communicating with each other to coordinate a retreat."

"A retreat...? Captain, these things have our entire global defense force practically at their mercy..." Hackett refuted apprehensively. "We've taken down... What was it. Five...?"

"Eight, sir." The Captain replied, her cheerful demeanor somewhat subdued by a stoic one, as she stood at attention and placed her hands behind her back. "Eight since the arrival of the geth..."

"Eight..." The Admiral nodded his head, and shrugged his shoulders in a cynical fashion. "Eight out of thirteen-thousand... And they're retreating...?"

"Perhaps they didn't anticipate losing ANY, sir..." Donaghy replied, somewhat reserved. "The Citadel Fleet, the quarians, the geth, and now the krogans... Maybe they didn't expect this kind of resistance."

Admiral Hackett was silent for a moment, as he appraised the situation. He turned his attention back and forth, from his cheering crew, to the bright face of his hopeful Captain, to the dark shadows outside the window.

"I know full well this isn't over yet, sir..." Donaghy continued. "It makes no sense for them to just up and leave, with no intention of returning. But perhaps they're leaving to regroup. Which would give us a chance to do the same thing. We could formulate a strategic defense plan. Maybe even evacuate people off world, to somewhere safer. Perhaps the Asari would be willing to shelter them on Thessia. It'd be the least they could do after we took in the refugees from the Citadel."

"I don't like it..." Wrex's gruff, creaky voice suddenly added, from his hologram - calling back both the Captain's and the Admiral's attention. "When you've got a foot across your enemies throat, you don't let him up just because he scratched your heel. They're up to something..."

"Uh... Admiral Hackett, sir!" Almost on cue, a jittery voice from a nervous crew mate called out, as the celebration abruptly began to die down. "You might wanna take a look at this..."

The Admiral sighed.

"I fear you might be right..." He replied to Wrex, smacking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, as a weary look came over his face.

"Keep me posted..." Wrex said, as his visage nodded at the human Admiral. "The Tuchanka Clans will be at your disposal. Wrex out."

Admiral Hackett nodded graciously at the old krogan. He then turned, and walked away with Captain Donaghy at his side as the projection dissipated.

"What is it, ensign? Report." Captain Donaghy ordered, as she and the Admiral approached the addressing crewman's station.

"Uh, it... Well it's strange ma'am..." The ensign replied in a baffled tone, as he studied his terminal.

"What's strange?" The Captain beckoned once more, in a firmer tone of voice."Out with it ensign. Report!"  

"Well... They ARE leaving Earth's atmosphere, and going into orbit..." The crewman continued. "But... They're not... leaving. It looks like they're just clustering."

"Clustering...?" Hackett uttered out loud, as he and the Captain shared a brief, worried glance.

"Clustering where, ensign?" The Captain queried.

"Well, all over the world, ma'am..." The ensign answered, as he summoned a holographic representation of the globe, on his terminal. "Or rather, above it..."

"See... Here!" He continued, as he pointed out a red mass on his terminal. "There's an accumulation forming over the South Pacific. About twenty-eight hundred miles off the coast of Chile. And over here..." He waved his finger towards another red blot, over a different part of the world. "There's another mass forming about thirty-two hundred miles off the coast of Japan. North of the Marshall Islands."

"Looks like there's a third cluster starting to form..." Captain Donaghy pointed out, as she leaned in, studying the ensign's read-out with a narrow gaze. "Right in the middle of the Indian Ocean..."

She stood back up, with a puzzled, yet fearful expression on her face, as she turned to face the Admiral.

"They're positioning themselves over our oceans..." She said with a grimace, reflecting the same dreading look in his eyes. "What the hell are they up to...?"

Hackett turned and looked down at the holographic map, watching as red streaks moved across the globe, gathering into massive blots, as if the Earth itself was hemorrhaging. "God help us when we find out..."

---

Mordin ran his omni-tool over Thane's leg, taking a plethora of readings, as the drell laid on the floor, breathing through his teeth, with his hands on his temples. His wound was no longer bleeding, and the gash had been coated with a thick, white, translucent substance.

"Good. Bleeding has stopped. Wound is sealed. No obvious sign of contaminants..." Mordin assured cheerfully, as he withdrew his arm and dematerialized his omni-tool. "Should take a few minutes for medi-gel to successfully bond to your flesh. And will need to apply ultra-sonic casting later. But overall condition, satisfactory."

"Then I must return to my duty..." Thane said, as he reached for Mordin's shoulder, using it for leverage as he began trying to pull himself up.

"No no!" Mordin forbade, as he restrained Thane, with a hand against his chest. "Medi-gel hasn't finished bonding. Weight on the limb would rupture the wound further. Mustn't use at least until have had a chance to apply casting."

Thane breathed heavily, as he sat partially up, resting on his elbows. He listened to the furious salvo of gunfire coming from the door, as he shook his head, and laid back down with a sigh.

Around them, the vortigaunts continued to work diligently at their inert stations, communicating with each other in their own native tongues, with a heightened sense of alarm and confusion.

At the entry way Garrus and Legion had rejoined the melee. They stood together with Tali, and Shepard, fending off the glowing eyed vorcha, while Jacob, Miranda, Grunt, and Samara took shelter inside, on opposite sides of the door. Jack stood behind all of them, with her hands aglow, poised and waiting.

"My shields are drained!" Tali shouted out, as she quickly retracted into the room, after monitoring her kinetic barrier gauge, drop down below eleven percent.

"I'm up!" Jacob announced eagerly, as he quickly popped up, and stepped out to take her place.

There wasn't anything to provide suitable shelter, between the control room, and the possessed, advancing vorcha. No walls, no debris, no defensive masses of any kind. Just a clear charge over open ground. Because of this, Shepard's team was using a rotating switch off system. Four of them defended the doorway, since it wasn't much wider than the width of about four people, while the others waited inside. When one of their shields was drained to dangerously low levels, they'd switch and wait for their shields to recharge. But with the amount of fire they were taking, coupled with their own limited numbers, and dwindling ammo supply – this strategy could only hold out for so long.

"Heads up!" Shepard shouted out, as the defensive line quickly took a step back into the confines of the control room.

The instant they did so, Jack stepped forward, her hands still ablaze in gleaming, blue fire. She threw her hands out in front of her, generating a biotic wall, sealing the opening. A booming explosion rocked the room, as a ball of flame erupted on the other side of the barrier. Instinctively, the others shielded their heads and faces, as they ducked down.

"I'm spent!" Shepard called out, as he noticed his kinetic barrier meter reading at eight percent. "Who's up?"  

"I am..." Grunt affirmed, with a bull-like snort from his nose, as he pumped his shotgun. He picked a spot, and lined up beside Jacob, Garrus, and Legion.

"Alright, I'm dropping it!" Jack declared, in a semi-fatigued voice, as her arms started to tremble.

The flame around her hands vanished, as they fell to her sides - concurrently causing the shimmering, blue barrier at the entry way to fade away, as the four stepped forward, and returned fire.

"Your turn, cheerleader..." Jack snickered, in a condescending tone, as she walked past Miranda, off to the right side of the entry way.

Miranda shook her head, and rolled her eyes, as she walked out – taking Jack's place behind the defensive line. Her hands lit up, as she stood patiently waiting, while Jack leaned against the wall, catching her breath, as she bent over with her hands resting against her thighs.

"The vortigaunts..." Tali motioned to Shepard, as the two of them stood leaning against the wall, on the opposite side of the door. She watched as the vorts worked feverishly at their consoles, yielding no activity whatsoever.

"They can't get the machine to work..." She continued, as Shepard joined her in observation. "It's been well over eight minutes. Do you think Dr. Freeman wasn't able to get it started...?"

A concerned look came over Shepard's expression, as he exhaled a deep breath, and shook his head.

"I don't know..." He replied. "He would've radioed us if it didn't work, or if something went wrong..."

"Maybe he's still trying..." Tali offered, shrugging her shoulders as she looked up at Shepard.

"Hmm..." He clenched his lips pensively, as he looked off to the side. Just then he raised his hand, and pressed two fingers against his ear.

"Shepard to Freeman. Do you read me?" He called out, as the thunderous fusillade of gunfire continued around them. He drew his hand away for a moment, waiting for a response, but none came.

"Dr. Freeman, come in. Do you read me?" He reiterated, as he pressed his fingers against his ear once more. But again, the only response he got was a teasing crackle of static.

He turned to Tali, with an even deeper look of foreboding in his eyes. "Why the hell doesn't he answer...?"

---

Gordon grunted and huffed, as he backpedaled frantically, with a metal monstrosity slashing away at him, with razor-sharp blades.

"Humph!" Clang... "Huah!" Cling... "Hrah!" Ping... Each time his crimson eyed pursuer raised its claws in an attempt to strike him down, Gordon did his best to deflect the strike with his crowbar, swinging it and batting away desperately. Hundreds of notches on his crowbar now exposed the gleaming, sparkling, iron beneath the tarnished surface.

As Gordon continued his desperate attempt at defensive swordsmanship, all the while retreating frantically, something suddenly took his legs out from under him. He toppled backwards, over a mangled corpse of one of the fallen husks. On instinct, Gordon turned his head away, gritting his teeth, and clenching his eyes, as he raised his crowbar over his face, protectively – expecting to be impaled any moment.

"Hmhmhmhmhm..." Gordon heard the same, dark, sinister laugh as before, causing him to open his eyes and look up. The mechanical menace simply stood, lording over him. Deviously fanning its hands out in a show of superiority.

Not wasting the chance, Gordon rapidly turned over onto his stomach, and scrambled forward, to his feet in a blur of motion. He swung himself around, not giving the creature his back for more than a second, and quickly backed away, panting heavily.

"Insects beneath our feet..." The monstrous voice reiterated insolently, as it watched Gordon squirm away.

"Alra!" Gordon called out in a pleading voice, as he gazed into the creature's demonic eyes. "Alra, please! If there's any part of you left in there, you have to fight it!"

His assailant stood silently, as if heeding the battered Doctor's words carefully.

"It's me, the Free Man, remember?" Gordon continued to entreat despairingly, as he patted his chest with one hand. "You have to fight it! These... These things! These are your oppressors. The beasts! Don't let them win. Fight it!"

With no marked, verbal response, the towering, mechanical, fiend suddenly began to channel a pulsating flare of red light, through its hand, arching out in all directions. Gordon's eyes opened wide in fear, as the creature suddenly raised its arm, and discharged a powerful jolt of crimson lightning, straight into the physicist's body. An attack similar to the ones used by the vortigaunts, only much more devastating.

"ARGH!!!!" Gordon cried out in agony, as his head jerked painfully back, as far as it would go. His teeth nearly cracked under the pressure, as he gritted them tightly - clenching his eyes, as the surge seized up his muscles. When it ended, Gordon collapsed onto his knees – his crowbar clanging loudly as it hit the floor. With a glazed over look in his eyes, he fell forward, flat onto his stomach, with a loud thud. He coughed, and gasped for breaths in heaves, as his assailant simply stood by watching – deriving a demented pleasure from his torturous handiwork.

"Pathetic..." Gordon heard the creature sneer mockingly, as he laid panting on the floor - his eyes nearly rolled back into his head, as he clung to consciousness. "Do you yet doubt the one, inescapable truth, human??"

Gordon closed his eyes, as he felt them grow heavy, and weary. The light slowly seemed to fade to darkness. He could feel himself begin to peacefully drift away, as the breaths he drew grew shallower, and further apart.

"Dr. Freeman?!" A voice shouting in his ear suddenly split his eyelids open once more. He batted his eyes around, as his breathing grew heavy again. "Dr. Freeman, are you there? Do you copy? Come on, Gordon. Respond!"

Gordon groaned as he slowly began to stir once more, the taste of blood prevalent in his mouth. Without placating Shepard's voice with a response, his armor plating scraped along the floor, as he moved his arms up, near his head. Although grateful for snapping him back from the brink of unconsciousness and beyond, he knew at that moment, that nothing he could say, could help him or his cause in any way.

"Little busy at the moment..." Was all Gordon could muster up, whispering it only to himself in a pained, throaty voice, as he planted his palms flat against the ground.

"Can you not see, human?!" The beast demanded again, this time with a newfound anger in its voice, as it watched Gordon start to push himself off the ground once more. "There is no salvation from us! There can only be salvation through us!"

"If you're so damn powerful..." Gordon questioned, on all fours, as he reached for his crowbar with a shaky arm, and pulled it over to him. He planted one foot on the floor, using it to push himself off the ground, from his knee. "Why haven't you killed me yet? Why haven't you managed to kill Shepard?" He demanded, as he stood firm, his eyes piercing with a jade fire.

"Solely for the fact that I take great delight in your anguish..." The Reaper's manifestation replied arrogantly. "But even I am growing tired of watching you writhe!"

Gordon raised his crowbar defiantly, preparing to defend himself, as the abomination charged him once more...

---

Twin beams of cerulean hellfire shot out from the Normandy's powerful Thanix cannons, obliterating a pair of meteoroids in the ship's path, as it blew through the ensuing debris.

Joker's eyes stared straight ahead, as he bit down on his lower lip – his concentration unflinching. His hands glided sensually over the controls, using a masterful touch. From the slightest motion, to the most abrupt turn, his every maneuver was reflected perfectly by the Normandy – a perfect synergy between man and machine.

The ship weaved through the terrestrial debris; swooping below meteoroids, gliding across islands, twisting around pillars. Meanwhile the Reaper simply seemed to plow through it all.

Just then, Joker jerked his controls to the left, as a blinding streak of red light shot forth, from behind them. The missed shot sliced through one of the towering protrusions, on a nearby floating isle, cutting it in half like a twig.

"Low bridge!" Joker shouted, as the pillar began to topple directly in their path. "Over or under, EDI?"

"I would strongly advise that you not..."

The ship's entire nose dove down, suddenly, abruptly silencing EDI, just as she began to formulate a response. The Normandy raced the falling pillar, as the ship swooped down at dangerously fast speeds. Moments before impact, the ship swept by, beneath the column, scorching the isle floor with it's back burners, and pulled straight up into the air, just as the pillar crashed into an eruption of dust and smoke.

"Yeeeeeeeeeaaahhhh!!!" Joker exclaimed jubilantly, as shook a firm finger at his radar. "Choke on that you bastard!"

"I would have suggested over, Mr. Moreau..."

"Heh, well I probably wouldn't of listened..." Joker replied, as he once again took firm control of his instruments. Just then, he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. In the distance to his right, two giant meteoroids, easily doubling the Normandy itself in mass, seemed to be on a direct collision course with one another.

Joker leaned into the curve, as he unexpectedly tugged on his controls, turning the ship to the starboard side – putting the Normandy on a path directly intersecting the estimated meeting point of the two  enormous rocks.

"Mr. Moreau, I highly recommend that you deviate from this flight path..." EDI urged, as the Normandy blasted forward, with the two colossal boulders closing in from above and below, like giant jaws. "The ship would almost certainly be destroyed, should impact occur..."

"Come on, baby. Come on. Come on. Come on." Joker uttered rapidly to himself, completely oblivious to EDI's warnings. He pushed the throttle ahead full, as the gap between the two rocks drew slimmer and slimmer. The ship's engines blazed, bathing the pursuing Reaper, in a gleaming, blue luminance, as it aimed a sinister tentacle forward.

"Come on. Come on, baby. Come on! Come on!! COME ON!!!" Joker continued, faster and faster, growing more and more anxious, and opening his eyes wider and wider with each utterance. As the jaws came down, the Normandy suddenly blitzed through the collapsing gap. Sparks flew, as its vertical stabilizer scraped just along the base of the massive meteoroid above, moments before the two slammed against each other.

"Hoooooo!!!!" Joker howled in jubilation, and relief, as he cleared the narrow opening. "I knew you could do it, baby! Daddy never doubted y..."

Joker's celebration was abruptly interrupted by a sudden thundering, as the onyx giant plowed through the two meteoroids, instantly turning them into floating piles of rubble, as a red beacon pulsated at the tip of one of its tentacles.

"That son of a bitch is cheating!" Joker shouted irately, as he studied the radar.

"Shit!" He abruptly exclaimed, as he quickly threw his hands back on the controls, and pulled up. The entire ship suddenly quaked ferociously, as the Reaper struck a major section of the Normandy's fuselage with a powerful, glancing blow.

"EDI! Damage report!" Joker shouted, as he desperately attempted to restabilize the Normandy, after being sent into a violent fishtail.

"Minor hull breach on the Captain's deck, and adjoining compartments." EDI reported, as the ship slowly began to straighten out. "Corresponding sections have been sealed. Kinetic barriers holding at forty-eight percent. No other significant damage detected."

"Oh well, sucks for Shepard..." Joker remarked apathetically, as he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Damn it, this is getting us nowhere, fast!" He griped frustratedly. "I can't out maneuver the bastard, and it's only a matter of time before it takes us down..."

"EDI..." He continued, still working his controls, as his pupils glanced over at her holographic visage. "I'm gonna try something... A little stunt I heard about back in flight school. If it works, I should be able to get some distance between us. And maybe even do a little damage in the process. But for it to work, I need you to do exactly what I say, exactly when I say it..."

"I trust you've successfully executed this maneuver before?" EDI questioned, with a bit of doubt in her synthesized voice.

"W....ell, no... I've heard about it..." Joker hesitated to reply, with a bit of nervous optimism.

"Heard about it executed successfully?"

"Well actually, the guys that tried it ended up..." Joker began casually, before abruptly stopping, and shaking his head with an angry sigh.  

"Look EDI, you'll just have to trust me! Alright?" He snapped, as he turned to glare at. "Now when I tell you that I want all power to the weapons, I mean ALL power. Shields, lighting, auxiliary life support, everything but the engines, and critical systems..."

"I cannot recommend this, Jeff." EDI objected. "Diverting all power from the shields would..."

"Whoa!" Joker suddenly yanked at his controls, rolling the Normandy to the left, as a beam of light sliced across the windows, right below the ship's undercarriage.

"Damn it, EDI!" He exclaimed angrily, watching his controls carefully, to remain evasive. "I just said you'll have to trust me!"

"Very well, Jeff..." EDI replied in a placid tone. "I will follow your orders, as per your instructions... I trust you."

"Thanks..." Joker abated, as he continued to navigate the Normandy through the endless stream of terrestrial rubble. "First, I gotta get outta this mess. I need a clear stretch of sky to spread her wings..."

He eased forward on the controls, driving the Normandy to slowly sink below the floating debris, and descend closer to the main, planetary surface once more.

"That's it, just follow the leader you ugly mother..." Joker uttered with contempt, as he watched the Reaper follow along closely, via his radar.

Joker maneuvered the ship around a few rocky peaks, and crags – eventually finding a long flat stretch; high above a wide, chasm-like gorge, that stretched far off into the horizon, like a long, straight fault line.

"Alright, EDI. Here we go..." He confirmed with a gulp, as readjusted himself in his seat, and torqued his neck around a bit. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be, Mr. Moreau..." EDI answered, exhibiting a bit of machine-like confidence.

"Okay..." Joker nodded at her, as he took a deep breath. "Stop the port side engines!"

Power to the twin engines, on the left hand side of the Normandy, was suddenly cut off, leaving only the starboard engines still working at full capacity, and forcing the ship to slowly veer to the left unsteadily.

"Port side engines full reverse!"

The same two anti-proton engines suddenly lit up again, shifting in exhaust direction. Instead of a slow, unsteady veer, the Normandy quickly began a rapid, one hundred and eighty degree spin.

"Full reverse all engines!" Joker shouted out a split second later.

The Normandy's starboard engines flickered for a microsecond, before being reengaged in full reverse, causing the entire ship to suddenly stop mid-spin. The entire ship trembled turbulently, as Joker stared into the Reaper's eye. He now piloted the Normandy face to face, or rather nose to nose, with the metallic titan, flying completely in reverse.

"We cannot maintain inverse propulsion, at these speeds, for long, Jeff..." EDI informed, as the ship continued to quake violently.

"I know! I know!" Joker affirmed apprehensively, as a bright, red light began to flare up outside, bathing the cockpit in a scarlet glow. "Just a few... more... seconds..."

Just then, Joker jerked hard to his right, as he yanked his controls in the same direction, nearly forcing the Normandy to swing into a frenzied, backwards, barrel roll, as the Reaper discharged its weapon. The beam sliced in a downward motion, as the Normandy just barely slid around it – rolling out of the way like the pendulum on a metronome.

"Now EDI!" Joker ordered, trying to steady the ship out, once he made sure they had cleared the laser. "All power to the forward weapons!"

A light blue wave of energy washed over the Normandy's outer hull, and quickly faded away. The lights in the cockpit, throughout the command deck, and across the entire ship suddenly went dark. Virtually every terminal on board, save for Joker's, shut down, leaving the orange glow, and the blue radiance of Joker's control console, and EDI's hologram, the only real, visible, light left on board.

"Suck on this, you bastard!" Joker shouted angrily, as he slammed his closed fist down onto his controls.

The barrels of the Normandy's twin thanix cannons immediately lit up, and erupted with a blinding ball, of boundless, raw energy. Their discharge rocked the entire ship, and the immense flash of light poured in through the windows, as the projectiles found their mark. The fore of the Reaper was suddenly engulfed in a torrential maelstrom of blue hellfire.

"All thrusters ahead full!" Joker shouted out, as a red, pulsating light began to shine through, from within the blue flame.

The Normandy's quadruple anti-proton engines suddenly shifted exhaust direction, propelling the Normandy forward with an incredible burst of speed. The sudden shift in inertia jerked Joker back in his seat, and likely knocked any poor crew member, foolish enough to be standing, off their feet. Joker leaned forward, and pushed up against his controls, tilting the Normandy's nose down, quickly maneuvering it beneath the Reaper.

"Divert power back to the shields!"

No sooner had a ripple of energy washed over the Normandy's hull, than a devastating beam of light sliced down on it, scorching across the rear of its fuselage, and clipping its starboard engines and stabilizers.

The Normandy plunged into a spiraling tailspin, as Joker wrestled with his terminal to regain control.

"EDI, how bad is it?!" He beckoned, mustering up every bit of strength he could to yank back on his controls, firmly.  

"Kinetic barriers depleted..." EDI informed, while the ship rocked back and forth turbulently, as Joker fought the downward spiral. "Hull breach on the command deck in sections four and six. Mass effect field generators offline. Engines three and four unresponsive."

"Switch power to the stabilizers to compensate!" He ordered, as the bobbing and weaving chasm, along the horizon in the window, drew closer and closer.

The ship's spin gradually declined into a fish tail, as Joker continued to tussle with his controls, but it was still descending at deadly speeds.

"We're coming in too hot!" He said through his teeth, as tried fruitlessly to pull up.

The light spilling in through the windows suddenly faded, as the Normandy sank into the cavernous rift. Joker vied for control, doing his best to avoid collision with the walls, as the ship continued to weave back and forth. The ground inside the darkness mired pit became visible, as the Normandy tussled around, like a leaf at the mercy of the wind. Just then, the ship's landing struts extended from the hull, as it seesawed a few feet off the chasm bottom. And they were snapped like twigs the instant the Normandy careened into the jagged, rocky, ground, nose first.

"UMPH!" Joker groaned painfully, as the powerful impact slammed him forward, out of his seat, and against his terminal. The entire ship trembled and quaked violently, as it scraped along, on a blazing bed of sparks. The entire right wing snapped off like plastic - engines, rudders, stabilizers and all, as the ship continued to drag along on its belly, before finally grinding to a smoking stop.

An alarm wailed, and red emergency lights came on, illuminating the Normandy's interior, as the bellowing sound of steel creaking, and bending could be heard. Just then, a malevolent figure cast its egregious shadow down into the pit. Smoke poured out, and orange flames shimmered from within, like a candle flickering in a dark room. Its work being done, the devil eyed Reaper abruptly proceeded away; departing to finish dealing with another little nuisance...

"Mr. Moreau, are you alright?" EDI's hologram questioned, a clear sense of concern exhibited in her robotic voice. "Mr. Moreau??"

Red emergency lights, throughout the ship, flashed on and off. Joker laid motionless on the floor, beneath his seat, and control terminal – his chest expanding and contracting imperceptibly. His hat had been knocked off his head, and had slid away near the airlock door. One of his arms laid flat, palm up, at his side, while his other was drawn over his chest. And his right leg was bent behind his left, in the shape of a figure four, as he laid peacefully.  

"...Jeff...?"

---

"We're counting eight clusters in orbit so far, sir..." Captain Donaghy stated, as she pointed at a large, holographic globe, riddled with infectious, red blotches. She stood along side Admiral Hackett, and a few key members of the crew, studying the globe in the Combat Information Center, at the rear of the bridge.

"There's one forming over the North Atlantic, between Portugal and the States." She began, pointing the area out, as the map zoomed in and placed a glowing, yellow marker on the corresponding congregation of Reapers.

"One over the South Atlantic, between Uruguay and South Africa." She continued, as the map proceeded to place the appropriate marker. "Another over the South Pacific, approximately twenty-nine hundred miles West of the Chilean coastline... One over the North Pacific, between Japan and the Marshall Islands. One eighteen-hundred miles due South of the South African coastline. Let's see... There's one above the Indian Ocean, twenty-four hundred miles South of Maldives. And lastly, two above the Arctic Ocean. One of them in the Nordic Region, between Greenland, Norway, and Iceland. And the other, North of Russia – just above the Siberian Island Archipelago."

Hackett exhaled an exasperated breath, through pursed lips as he stood starring at the map. "One over every major body of water..." He said to himself, as he studied their positioning.

"What in god's name are they up to...?" He questioned, somewhat rhetorically, as he furrowed his brow.

"Can't really say yet, sir..." Donaghy responded, as she joined him in studying the representation. "We know its a strategic positioning, with a very specific purpose. Each cluster contains anywhere from fifteen to eighteen-hundred vessels. And it's only a matter of minutes before they finish congregating."

There was an eerie silence among them, as they contemplated a plethora of possibilities. And for the Admiral, not a single one of those possibilities was optimistic.

"Perhaps they're preparing to start siphoning off our oceans, somehow?" She submitted, as she turned to look at the Admiral, who quickly returned her gaze. "Begin harvesting our resources...?" She said questioningly, as she shrugged her shoulders.

"But why now...?" Hackett asked in bewilderment. "Why not do that from the start...? Or wait until they've finished us off?"

"Whatever they're doing, it doesn't matter." He affirmed, waving a hand in front of him, as he turned to walk back towards the center of the bridge, with the Captain following at his side. "Order all fleets, all squadrons into orbit, to reengage."

"Sir, what if that's what they want??" The Captain questioned, with a fair amount of doubt and concern in her voice. "What if they're trying to draw us out, into orbit...?"

The Admiral stopped, breathing a sigh as he looked around pensively. "Then we'd be no worse off..." He eventually replied. "We were fighting a losing battle as is, and we can't afford to waste this opportunity, while they've ceased their attack. Send out the order..."

"Aye-aye sir." Captain Donaghy affirmed pointedly, as she stood at attention, and saluted her superior.

She turned around and quickly rushed off, towards the ship's communications officer.

"Admiral Hackett, sir!" Barnes shouted out anxiously, somewhat startling the Captain, just as she approached him.

"Oh... uh... Captain Donaghy, ma'am..." The young CO stuttered nervously, when he was unexpectedly greeted by her, as he slid his earpiece down around his neck.

"What is it crewman?" Donaghy demanded, when she saw the concern in his eyes. "What's the problem?"

Instead of taking his position at the center of the bridge, as he had intended, Hackett was coaxed over to the Captain and the officer, after having heard his name called out with such urgency.

"Uhm... We're picking up that strange radio interference again, ma'am..." Barnes replied, looking up at her as the Admiral approached. "A lot of it. They're definitely communicating with each other."

"Show me." Hackett ordered in a calm, yet firm voice.

Barnes opened his mouth as if to say something, but instead just sealed his lips, nodded his head, and turned back around to face his station. He worked his terminal for a moment, before a sudden, blaring noise shot out.

It was almost like a series of animalistic roars. Like a monstrous growling, or snarling, but with something different. There was a mechanical essence to this. It reverberated with a metallic and synthesized oscillation. The clamor resonated with the makings of a machine language, not all that dissimilar from geth's, and yet... monumentally different.

The nearby crew members all grew silent, as the chilling sound echoed throughout the bridge. Captain Donaghy felt as though the blood in her veins froze over, as a teeth rattling chill washed over her body. Hackett stood with his demeanor intact, however unable to help at swallowing a pronounced gulp, as he listened to the horrifying symphony of monsters.

"Can we tell what they're saying??" The Admiral inquired, as an icy bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face. "Can the computer decipher it?"

"No, sir..." Barnes stated adamantly, shaking his head slowly, with a look of dread in his eyes. "Not this... This isn't like anything we've ever seen, or heard before..."  

"Sir...!" The ship's nearby ensign shouted out, in a distressed voice, quickly grabbing Donaghy and Hackett's collective attention. "Their weapons are coming back online...!"

Taking a deep breath and not exhaling, Hackett quickly turned and took a few steps towards the ensign's station, near the center of the bridge. "I knew it..." He whispered to himself.

"Are they moving back into attack range?" He queried, releasing the breath he was holding in, as he came to stand beside the ensign.

"No, sir..." The officer replied, with a bewildered, yet frightened expression on his face. "They're not moving... And they're not aiming at our ships..."

"What...?" Hackett questioned, perplexed. "Well then just what the hell are they aiming at?!"

"Straight down, sir..." The ensign replied, in a somewhat gasping voice, as if he spoke while out of breath. "Towards our oceans..."

"God no..." The Admiral said in a hushed voice, as a clenching fear settled into the pit of his stomach. Immediately, his eyes opened wide, and his jaw hung open at the news. The same icy chill that had gripped Captain Donaghy moments ago now settled into his veins, as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and his arms swelled with goosebumps beneath his uniform.

"They seem to be charging their weapons for a powerful discharge..." The ensign continued, as Captain Donaghy came to stand beside the Admiral - sharing in his trepidation, as she took special care to heed the ensign's every word.

"Judging by the readings we've taken on their weaponry, the output capability is... tremendous..." The ensign furrowed his brow in stunned disbelief, as he examined his data. "At full power, these things are probably capable of discharging energy equivalent to anywhere from a fifty to a hundred megaton blast, EACH."

"My god..." Captain Donaghy uttered in shock, as a horrified look came over her. "If they all shoot at once... They'll generate a tidal wave that'll take out every coastal city on the planet..."

"No..." Hackett abruptly refuted, shaking his bowed head with a grimace, as Donaghy brought her gaze up towards him. "No Captain... A simultaneous discharge of that much raw energy... would submerge every land mass on Earth... There'll be nothing left..."

"How long until they fire?" Hackett demanded, raising his head back up, as the fear in his voice was somewhat masked by the stern presence of purpose.

"Hard to say, sir..." The ensign replied, frantically working his station. "Based on the data we've collected, if they wait to fire their weapons at topmost capacity..." He continued, working out some quick, fevered, calculations. "They'll likely reach critical charge within twelve minutes... fifteen at the most... And again, that's IF they wait for critical charge..."

"Send out an emergency evacuation order!" Hackett shouted in an outburst, not addressing anyone in particular, as he looked around at his crew. "Get everyone off the planet immediately!"

"Aye sir!" An obscure voice, on the bridge, called out, as the order was prepared to be executed.

"I want all squadrons into orbit, reengaging hostile forces on the double!" The Admiral continued to demand decisively. "Radio the Citadel Fleet, the quarians, the krogans, even the god damned geth! Get them out there hitting those bastards with everything they've got! Move people! We can't let this happen!"

"Aye-aye, sir!" CO Barnes affirmed stolidly, as the hum of the dreadnought's powerful engines kicked in below their feet. There was a sudden shift, as the Orizaba began making its way out of the atmosphere – the type of sensation a person gets when a fast moving elevator suddenly moves out of a stationary position.

"Sir, how many people can we possibly hope to get off-world in less than fifteen minutes...?" Captain Donaghy beseeched, in a quivering voice, reflecting a blend of sorrow, fear, and despair.

The Admiral quickly turned to face her, and the two locked eyes for a moment, before his eyes sank, looking away slightly, as he searched for an answer to appease her. "We save who we can, Captain..."

He released a long, drawn-out sigh, as he brought his right hand up, and rubbed his face in a downward swipe. He opened his eyes, noticing his entire crew around him working in a panicked frenzy. A sight reflected throughout every deck, on every ship, of every fleet, as they ascended into orbit, to launch a desperate, last stitch, campaign at thwarting the demon-eyed titans, and impeding the coming apocalypse.

In the midst of the calamity, Hackett stopped, and crossed one arm, while draping his hand over his eyes, and shaking his head.

"You were right, Erin..." He said in a soft tone, as he shook his head, while clutching his face. "How did I not see it?! You were right... you were right... you were right all along...!" His reiteration and despair garnered Donaghy's full attention, as she looked at him with a deep concern.

"Sir...?"

He drew his hands away from his eyes, as he looked at her, blinking rapidly.

"You said, you thought they were retreating because they didn't anticipate this kind of resistance from us..." Hackett continued. "You were right... They didn't anticipate this kind of resistance... So they want to end this quickly..."

The Captain furrowed her brow as she listened to the Admiral explain, slowly coming to the same, terrifying, epiphany.

"With Earth wiped out, there'll be nothing left here for us to defend..." His explanation continued, as a chill ran down his spine. "Then WE'LL be the ones forced to retreat. We'll be scattered... off balance... They'll divide us... Hunt us down... And eliminate us... species by species..."