Whole, Part 2 (a Mass Effect fanfiction)

One More Impossible Task

The three of them fought their way to the missile control system. While Shepard and Javik covered him, Kaidan communicated with EDI, uploading the link so she could operate the missile systems from the ship, even as Joker piloted it through the fight far above their heads.

With her usual efficiency, EDI readied the missiles to launch, reprogramming the targeting system. Shepard hoped that would be enough to bypass the interference from the Reaper.

"At your command, Shepard," EDI's voice said in her ear.

"Fire!"

The missile launched—and missed.

"The Reaper is still too close. The ground troops will need to draw it away."

"Wrex! Get that Reaper the hell out of there!"

His voice came through the comm, the reassuring growl of a krogan about to do what krogans do best. "On it, Shepard!"

"We're about to have company. A lot of it," Kaidan shouted in her ear.

"Anderson! We need backup!"

"We're fighting our way to you. Hold on, Shepard."

She turned to see Reaper troops pouring out of every space she could see. They would do their best, but ... this time, her best might not be good enough. At her sides, Javik and Kaidan snapped new heat sinks into their weapons, readying them to fire.

Anderson's voice came through her comm. "Commander, Hammer's being overrun at every turn. We may not make it to you as soon as I'd hoped. Reaper ground forces are converging on your location."

"Tell me something I don't know. We'll hold," she told him. They would, because they had to.

And then, out of the smoke and the dust and the rubble came a single precision shot, catching a banshee between the eyes and putting her down. Behind that, a drone floated into view, taking out a knot of cannibals. Garrus, Shepard thought with some relief. And Tali. And with them, Liara.

"Now it's a party," Kaidan said, grinning at her, as the six of them formed a phalanx. The Reaper troops were not going to be able to take all of them. Not today.

As the others picked off Reaper troops, Shepard kept an eye on the Reaper. Slowly but surely, it was being harried until it moved. She didn't want to think about how many krogan were dying for every foot of movement. She didn't want to think about Wrex, or Grunt, who were sure to be in the thick of the fighting. They had all known what the cost could be today; they had all come to Earth ready to give their last breath, if need be, for the future of their people and the future of the entire galaxy. Now Shepard had to trust that if it cost the lives of the people she loved, it would be worth it.

Finally, the Reaper seemed to have moved enough. "EDI. Can we fire?"

After a moment the robot's voice responded. "The Reaper appears to be out of range. Give the word, Commander."

Shepard watched the Reaper, waiting until it opened the protective plates over its firing system. "Now, EDI! Now!"

The missile launched, and she held her breath, watching as it soared across the sky—and impacted right in the middle of the Reaper, where it was most vulnerable. It exploded in a glorious ball of fire. Shepard and her team cheered, and she could hear faint echoes of cheers from across the field of battle. Some of Hammer was still fighting, at least.

Another burst of fire from her companions, and the area was clear of Reaper troops. After a moment, they all took a deep breath, almost simultaneously, and leaned back against the tank behind them. They had made it another moment, another fight.

And in front of her, Shepard saw Anderson come around the corner of a building, with Coats and some other ground troops from Earth. She moved to greet him. "You're a sight for sore eyes."

"So are you. Glad to have you here with us at last, Commander. Thank god you made it."

"Glad to be here, sir. Same to you. It didn't look good, for a minute there."

"It hasn't looked good in a long time. But god, did you see the way that thing blew up? Finest sight I've seen in months."

Shepard smiled. "Nothing lifts the spirits quite like taking down a Reaper."

"You would know." He shook his head. "Unfortunately, it gets worse from here."

"Of course it does. Trouble with the Crucible?"

"Looks like we have to link up with it manually—that beam is coming from a central location, which is accessible now that the Reaper is down, but the Reaper troops are massing there, ready for the fight of their lives."

Shepard nodded. "Or ours."

"Ours, for certain. We have to get there and manually program the beam to work with the Crucible."

"Always something."

"If it was easy, it wouldn't be worth doing."

"Someday, I'd like to test that theory."

Hackett's voice came through Shepard's comm. "Admiral, Commander, if you can hear me, you have Reapers inbound. Repeat: Reapers inbound."

"Acknowledged," Shepard said crisply. "We'll be ready."

"How many missiles do we have left?"

"Not enough. Let's get to that beam."

"Right behind you, Shepard."

Shepard signaled to her team, glad to have them all with her. Together, the group of them had never failed yet. They weren't about to start today.

"Saddle up, everybody," Anderson said. "It's now or never. We're going in."

"Not without me, you're not." James Vega appeared out of the smoke. He had clearly been running hard to catch up, but was barely winded. "Took me a while to find you, Commander."

"Glad you're here, James. Now, let's blow these things out of the sky."

Anderson spoke into his comm. "Hackett, we're heading in."

"Acknowledged. The Crucible will be ready."

One more impossible task, Shepard told herself. One more, and then it would be over. Whatever the outcome, she could rest knowing she'd done all she could.

Just one more.