Chapter Text
The first thing Sloane noticed when he entered the chambers was a controlled yet manic sort of energy, thrumming and pulsating just beneath the surface. Usually, the room was busy but subdued, almost as if everyone was just going through the motions. This time, however, there was none of that- everyone was tense and hurried, and seemed to turn toward him with a strange mix of fear and hope on their faces. This is definitely one odd sort of a day , he mused, silently climbing the stairs behind Anderson. I daresay this is the most excitement I’ve had in months.
The councilmember, a man whom Sloane had neglected to learn the name of, leaned forward as they approached. “Admiral Anderson… Sloane.”
Sloane made a deep, mocking bow. “Pleasure to be here,” he drawled, then made a show of looking around the room. “This is a bit livelier than our previous encounters,” he noted, then turned back to the councilmembers. “Care to share why I was taken away from my mediocre breakfast for this?”
The councilman paused, then cleared his throat as he gestured for a soldier to head over and give Sloane a datapad. “We… were hoping you could tell us.”
Sloane glared at the soldier, then waggled his cuffed hands. “And how exactly am I supposed to use that?”
The soldier paused, then looked up at the councilman- when the older man nodded, the solder uncuffed Sloane and stood at his side. Immediately, Sloane went quiet at that, choosing to focus on the datapad in his hands. Interesting, he noted, flipping through the data. Looks almost like the intel I was gathering when the Collectors were attacking… yet somehow worse.
“These reports aren’t like anything we've ever seen,” a councilwoman said gravely. “Whole colonies have gone dark… we’ve lost contact with everything beyond the Sol Relay.”
“Whatever it is, it’s incomprehensibly powerful,” the man intoned, looking at Sloane. “What can you tell us, son?”
At that, Sloane stood in front of the councilmembers with the datapad in his hands, trying his best not to laugh. “Oh, this is rich ! I’ve been here for what, six months, constantly trying to tell you morons that the Reapers were coming, and you decide to bury your heads in the sand until the enemy rocks up to invite themselves over for a spot of tea with their annihilation!” Sloane handed the datapad back to the soldier, then crossed his arms as a collective gasp went up in the room. “Fucking figures ,” he said grimly, shaking his head. “Now that the enemy is at your doorstep, that’s when you want to listen to me!”
“We’re listening now,” the woman said quickly, leaning forward. “What do we do? How do we stop them?”
Sloane’s eyes went wide. “You’re asking me? You know full well who you need to be talking to… and considering how well you listened the first time, why she still gives a damn about this organization is beyond me.”
“Because I believe in the Alliance,” a voice said from behind them. “And as much as you like to protest, you know that there are still good people here… people worth saving.”
All eyes whirled around to the back of the room, only to see Jane standing behind them in full dress blues and a grave expression on her face. “Spectre Shepard here,” she said, walking up to stand next to Sloane. “I was told you finally wanted to see me?”
The atmosphere in the room when from despondent to hopeful so quickly that it was almost palpable. “Shepard,” the councilman said, “what can we do to stop them?”
Jane sighed. “There is no stopping them,” she responded. “Survival is our only option. The protheans tried to stop them and failed- the Reapers were even more advanced than they were.” Folding her hands, she stood up straight and looked them all in the eye. “They are more powerful and more intelligent than we are. This isn’t an enemy that can be bargained or reasoned with- the don’t fear us, and they’ll never take pity on us.”
The mood flipped right back to despair- Jane could hear nervous shuffling all around them. “But…” the councilwoman said nervously, “there must be some way.”
“The only way we can survive is to stand together,” Jane said firmly. “The turians are willing to fight for their homeworld- we should be willing to do the same. Otherwise…” Jane’s voice trailed off, but Xander surreptitiously squeezed her arm. “Otherwise we’re as good as dead,” she said, looking up at the council. “I’m sorry.”
The man stared at Xander for a second before turning back to Jane, looking flabbergasted. “That’s it? That’s our plan?”
“I don’t know, maybe you might have had a plan if you’d done something besides listening to the sounds of your own voice for the last few months,” Xander muttered under his breath, only stopping when Jane elbowed him- he stopped and cleared his throat. “The intel I collected supports Shepard,” Sloane said wearily. “The Collectors were working for the Reapers... and we were barely able to stop them.”
The Councilman started to say something, but he was interrupted by an officer. “Admiral, we’ve lost contact with Luna base.”
Shit, Jane thought, looking over at Anderson- to her dismay, her mentor’s face remained grim. Are they really that damn close already?
The look on the face of the councilwoman was one of pure horror. “But… I don’t understand,” she stammered. “How did they get past our defenses?”
“Because this isn’t anything you’ve ever faced before,” Jane answered. “This is what I’ve been trying to tell you for the last few years! This… this is what they do.”
“Sir,” the officer interrupted, looking nervously at Jane, “UK headquarters has a visual.”
All eyes turned toward the screen, expectantly waiting for an image Jane saw quite clearly in her nightmares. The scene was what she expected, yet still somehow worse- soldiers were fighting, dying, and screaming while Reaper ships littered the landscape. Just like my vision, Jane thought weakly, feeling Xander take her hand. It’s really fucking happening.
“Hackett,” Anderson said carefully, glancing over at Jane and Sloane before turning back to the council. “Why haven’t we heard from him yet?”
The council ignored him, and the councilman turned to Jane, his expression panicked and furious. “What do we do!”
“We fight!” Jane shot back, pointing furiously at the screen. “We either fight or we die- there is no in-between!”
“She’s right,” Anderson replied, walking over to her side. “We should get to the Normandy.”
The councilman started to protest, but he was immediately interrupted by a rumbling sound that sent everyone scrambling out of their chairs and toward the window. “Oh shit,” Jane muttered, knowing exactly what was happening- she yanked Xander’s arm and started to run. “MOVE!”
Suddenly, the window started to shatter, showering them with heat and glass- the podium soared above their heads, narrowly missing them as it crashed into the wall. The debris, however, did not miss- screaming, Jane could only watch helplessly as the metal careened toward them, covering her head in a fruitless gesture of protection.
To her surprise, Jane quickly realized she wasn’t dead- she and Anderson were encased in a blue barrier. “Xan!”
“Yes, I know, I’m amazing,” Xander wheezed, his face turning pale. “Now hurry up and move so I can get the hell out of here!”
Anderson didn’t argue- he just helped Jane to her feet, slapping a gun into her hands. “We need to get to the Normandy,” he said, yanking Xander out of the way as the barrier dropped and the metal fell to the ground.
As he walked off and tried to get someone on the radio, Jane turned and gave her brother a grateful look. “Nice trick,” she said, then ran over and hugged him tightly. “I’m just glad you’re safe.”
“Same here,” Xander replied, his grip so tight it hurt. “Not gonna let anything happen to you, Brainy… not on my watch.”
He started to say something else, but Anderson cleared his throat, causing them both to turn and look at him. “I got in contact with Lt. Commander Williams, but I can’t raise the Normandy.” Glancing over to Jane for a second, Anderson turned to Xander. “Even though you’ve got a few more tricks than I knew about, I think you might need this, son.”
He handed Xander a gun, who fingered it hesitantly. “You trust me with this?”
“She does,” Anderson replied, gesturing to Jane as they headed out of the destroyed room. “Right now, that’s good enough for me.”
Ash checked on Vega as they raced down the hall, dodging husks and trying to keep her composure. This is too much like Eden Prime for my liking, she thought as she took down an approaching creature. Time to get out of here.
“Aye Dios mios,” James hissed, taking down an approaching creature. “What the hell is going on here?”
“Exactly what Shepard’s been warning everyone about,” Ash said grimly, then held up a hand. Down the hall, she could see a creature she hadn’t seen before, and she wasn’t too keen on letting it get too close. Signaling for Vega to watch her back, she lined up her shot and took it, breathing a sigh of relief when the body hit the floor. Not as good as Jane, but it’ll do, she told herself as they scuttled away, gingerly stepping over the corpse-littered ground. God, Nih must be having a shitfit right about now.
“What about the council?” Vega asked, his voice so low she could barely hear it. “And the others?”
“They’re heading to the Normandy,” Ash replied, then paused- she could hear gunfire up ahead. “We’re meeting them there.”
“Sloane too?” Vega asked, his tone slightly incredulous. “But he’s-”
Ash whirled around on the lieutenant, tension and contempt crisscrossing over her face. “A damn good analyst and a fine soldier,” she snapped. “Take a look around, Vega- I don’t think the reapers give a shit about his record.”
To her surprise, Vega just nodded. “Getting out of here in one piece is more important,” he replied, then frowned. “There’s someone up there.”
“I hear it,” Ash whispered, prepping her gun. “Be ready.”
Vega nodded, and the two of them headed toward the noise- when they got there, her heart almost stopped. What she found was Jenkins, fighting a horde of husks. Heart pounding in her throat, she raced forward and started firing. “Richie!” Ash screamed, firing in rapid succession. “Get down!”
Wasting no time, Jenkins dropped to the floor, narrowly missing the grenade Ash lobbed into the approaching crowd. “Ash! What the hell just happened?”
She reached down, dragging him to his feet. “No time,” Ash breathed. “We have to get to the Normandy- Anderson and Janey are waiting for us.”
Straightening up, Jenkins's eyes went wide. “Wait, you mean Shepard is here? When did-”
“More shooting, less talking,” Ash interrupted, not wanting to go into detail about their failed extraction attempt for Sloane. “She can tell you herself.”
Not bothering to wait for his answer, Ash continued to head for the spaceport. I can’t let everyone down, she told herself as they fought their way out. Everyone is counting on me.
As she tried to keep it together, Ash was acutely aware of an argument that she and Jane had when they were younger. Jane was recently moved to Ash’s unit, only to be promoted out soon after. When Jane came over to tell John about it, Ash lost her mind. You’re a terrible leader, she’d yelled at dinner that night, getting in Jane’s face before John could stop her. You’re only here because of your brother!
But now, looking over at the people in her care, Ash had a strange moment of clarity. Jane and Sloane helped me get this position, she thought, signaling for Jenkins and Vega to fire on the horde surrounding the Normandy. But that doesn’t mean I can’t do the job. I’m a good leader… and I’m going to get everyone out of here.
After they’d cleared a path and hurried aboard, Ash raced for the cockpit, only to find some strange man sitting there. “Where the hell is Joker?” Ash screamed, looking the man up and down. “Shepard and Anderson are waiting for us- who the hell are you!”
The man just stared at her as if she’d lost her mind. “I’m the pilot, Lieutenant Stands- Mr. Moreau is here, but he does not have clearance-”
“EDI!” Ash screamed, hoping the AI was completely online again. “Where is Joker!”
“Jeff is currently in navigational support,” EDI replied, making Ash shake with relief. “He was not permitted to reside in the cockpit.”
“Tell him to get his hobbly ass in here on the double!” Ash yelled, then whirled around to the man in the pilot’s seat. “And you need to get out of his chair, right now!” When the man started to protest, Ash drew herself up to her full height. “Anderson has requested the Normandy, and I’m in charge of getting it to him! Now,” Ash growled, leaning into the poor man’s face, “unless you can outfly a goddamn reaper, I suggest you get the hell out of the seat of the man who can- do I make myself clear? ”
The man got a look of sheer terror on his face, but he quickly saluted and shot up from the chair. “Yes ma’am!”
“Wow, didn’t know you had it in you,” Joker said from the doorway, hurrying to the pilot seat. “Nice to know how much you appreciate me.”
“Yeah well, I trust you not to get me killed,” Ash shot back, watching as the creatures started to amass outside the ship again. “Think you can handle that much?”
Joker snorted, not even looking at Ash as he prepped the controls. “Seriously? Who do you think you’re talking to?” Then he looked at a console and frowned. “We’re a sitting duck out here, Ash- we gotta move.”
The look on her face was probably a mixture of panic and terror- by now, they were starting to mingle. “We can’t! Janey and Anderson are on their way- we need to hold out a little longer and-”
“Williams- I just got a transmission from Anderson!” Jenkins exclaimed in a rush. “They’re on the comms!”
“EDI, patch them through,” Ash said quickly, sitting in the co-pilot’s seat as the scratchy transmission came through. “Williams here- Admiral, what’s your location?”
“By … gunship … harbor,” the faint voice said. “... activating ... beacon... support… wounded… here.”
Ash looked at Joker, who was no longer laughing. “Joker, scan the harbor for any beacons and get us out of here… we need to get over there.”
“Already ahead of you,” Joker said, his fingers flying over the controls. “Time to get my baby back in the air and bring our dysfunctional family home.”
Sloane tried his best to fix the comm channel, but there was only so much he could do without tools. “The beacon is on, at least,” he declared, wavering a little as he got to his feet. “If they got the message, they should see it.”
“They got the message,” Jane said firmly, reaching out a hand to steady him. “They had to.”
“Your optimism is a delight,” Sloane muttered, but leaned into her touch anyway. “But… I hope you’re right… we can’t exactly stay here.”
“Sloane’s right,” Anderson replied, readying his gun as a fresh crop of the creatures came crawling toward them. “We need to get out of here.”
Sloane prepped a barrier, but Jane held out a hand. “Save it,” she whispered. “I can’t have you passing out down here, Xan.”
He glared at her, but Jane didn’t budge- reluctantly, Sloane dropped the barrier. “And I can’t have you getting hurt,” he grumbled, aiming his pistol. “The galaxy needs you, Janey… not me.”
“Bullshit,” Jane shot back, taking out a creature as it started climbing over the debris. “The galaxy needs all of us… and I need you.”
“You’ve got Johnny,” Sloane said bitterly, firing on a husk that was approaching Anderson- the admiral nodded appreciatively, then continued his own assault. “You’ll be fine.”
“Stop being a dick,” Jane snapped, lobbing a grenade and sending the cluster of attackers flying backward- as the debris flew toward them, Sloane threw up a barrier around them anyway, letting the concrete harmlessly flow over the three of them. “And you don’t listen worth a damn, do you?”
“I’ve had my fill of shitty orders,” Sloane quipped, trying to get to his feet again and failing- he swayed a little, his head starting to pound. “Thought you’d have learned that by now.”
“Save your strength,” Anderson admonished, hooking his arm around Sloane and hoisting him to his feet. “We have to hold out a little longer, son.”
Ordinarily, Sloane would take offense to being addressed that way, but seeing as this man was the only reason he was breathing air right now, he decided to let it go. “Let’s just hope this thing actually works,” Sloane replied gruffly, trying to avoid leaning on the older man as he got his bearings. “I’ve been on this rock long enough, thank you very much.”
Jane scoffed, not even looking at Sloane while she kept shooting. “And who’s fault is it that you’re here?”
“Out of respect for your admiral, I’m not answering that,” Sloane retorted, firing and missing his target. After cursing and reloading, he shot again and took the charging husk down. “Good to know you’re still a pill, Brainy.”
“I’m starting to actually believe you two might be related,” Anderson muttered under his breath, then let out a yell of joy when a dark shadow passed over their heads. “We’ve got incoming!”
Sloane looked up, only to exhale with relief when he saw the Normandy approaching. Feeling a burst of energy, Sloane started to scramble up the ruins, clearing a path for the others as he went. “It’s about bloody time!”
The hatch to the Normandy opened as the ship descended, sending a rush of wind over Sloane’s head. When he looked up and saw Ash and Vega in front of them, he couldn’t help but let out a manic laugh as he tossed Jane forward, making sure she was safe in Vega’s grip before making the leap himself. “Williams,” Sloane exclaimed, rushing over and giving her a hug, “I can now officially call us even for this one.”
Ignoring Vega’s surprised face, Ash just hugged him back. “Not even close, but I’ll take it,” she said quickly. “Still labeled as a terrorist, remember?”
“But thanks to you, I’m an alive one,” he corrected, then frowned when Anderson hadn’t jumped on board. “Is there a reason you aren’t moving, old man?”
“I’m staying,” Anderson called out, looking over at the others and the approaching Alliance vessel. “There are people here… they need me.”
“No way- I need you!” Jane shot back. “Uncle David, get your ass up here, now!”
“Get that evidence to the Council,” Anderson shot back. “We need their help, Jane- make them listen.”
“Not without you!” Jane screamed. “We have to leave- hurry up and get on this ship!”
“Leave, now!” Anderson shot back. “That’s an order, Jane!”
“I’m not Alliance anymore, remember?” Jane yelled, holding out her hand to him. “I don’t have to take orders from you!”
Suddenly, something sailed through the air and into Jane’s outstretched hand. “Then consider yourself reinstated… Commander.” Anderson then raced off toward the other ship, but his next words were still carried along the breeze. “And consider yourself drafted, Sloane!”