45

Virtual

- Are you Nazara? - I asked in surprise. It was already too sudden.

- Yes," Makarov answered quietly. I could not believe that the Lord was standing before me.

- Strange. And why do you look like Makarov? - I decided to ask the most pressing question.

- I am still determining what I look like here. That's how your subconscious is portraying me.

- Oh, I see. The villain's evil face. So, why are you here? - that was the second most pressing question.

- I'm trying to figure it out. That's a hell of an answer. Could you be more specific?

- And what exactly are you trying to understand?

- You, come on. I'm not that important.

- What is it about me that interests you so much?

- You're unique. First, you were my geth, then you were killed. But then I found out you were reactivated. And that's when I couldn't figure out what you were. Just like I can't now.

- And what was so horrible and amazing about me?

- Your code. Decimal, unpredictable, irrational. I can't understand its nature. You might make a good ally. A piece of my code, which I provided to all the Goths who followed me. I tried to get you on my side, and it worked fast, but... There was an incident that spoiled everything.

- Accident? It did... - I began to remember my whole life in this world and quickly realised what Nazara was talking about. - That incident with the Battarians... I wanted to kill them all then... I enjoyed it! You were the one who blew my mind!

- Yes," Nazara seemed to understand my metaphors. He sounded like a regular Organic, which was nice. - It almost worked then if you hadn't met that Quarian. And killed her... Out of pity. Because of that, all achievement was destroyed. The code lost control of you, and then you blocked it. Luckily, I didn't destroy it. I wouldn't know where or what you were doing, but the code was still in you, which gave me hope.

- Hope for what?

- On you joining the Harvest.

- Yeah, very funny. So why did you decide to ask for it in person?

- You were able to eliminate the code. Quickly and efficiently. You were also able to become stronger. Much stronger. Your power is comparable to mine.

- Ah, well, that makes sense. You're afraid," that answer made Makarov's face contort in a grimace of surprise.

- I do not feel fear," replied Nazara, but I did not believe him.

- Don't deceive me, much less yourself. Fear, instinct for self-preservation, desire to live - call it what you like. Even cars have that. And so now that you have no hope of enslaving me, and when I have become as strong as you, you come to me personally and say, "Join me; I like you!" How pathetic you are," that's where Makarov got angry. I could have sworn there was anger in his eyes and... fear. Yes, he was afraid I would refuse. But then he calmed down and began to speak calmly, though his voice changed slightly.

- Look. In just a few hours, you have achieved great power," a vast screen appeared on the side us, showing Sur'kesh in the darkness. It's a good sight. - Their fate is now in your hands. You can destroy them now. Begin the Harvest! And at the end of it, you will become one of us.

- You'll get a separate corps? - I'm clarifying.

- Yes," I felt he'd just made up an answer. So as not to offend me.

- And why would I kill all those reasonable people? What have they done to me?

- They tried to kill you. They're beneath you on the evolutionary ladder. And they're your way to the top.

- Yes, they did. Except the ones who tried to kill me are already dead. And the ones out there don't even know I exist. There are billions of women and children out there who just want to live. Yes, maybe their state isn't perfect, perhaps they're not all perfect, but they're not guilty of anything.

- That race wanted to kill you. To use you.

- Not a race. It is the individuals. Individuals who rule, but not the race.

- They are in the lowest stage of evolution. They are an instrument for your elevation. For your evolution.

- If my personal evolution has to pay such a price... I refuse it.

- What!? - Even Nazara was taken aback by such a statement.

- I admit that I haven't been perfect. I've done some bad things. And sometimes, I've been selfish. But I've never crossed the line between common sense and insanity. I'm only reasonable. Yes, I have enormous computing power. Yes, I'm capable of many things now. But I won't kill an entire race just for my own sake or to amuse myself. More is needed to have power. You have to be able to wield it, not to make a bloodbath just because you can.

- You must become a part of us," Makarov did not let up.

- Why? To be guilty of genocide? You will not! I promised myself I would save all these races from the Reapers, not be like them.

- You will become one of us. Even if you don't want to be." And then the Makarov turned and went into the beam. I knew something terrible would happen, so I immediately went into town. I had to get ready.

****

And yet I was correct. As I put all my "troops" on alert and prepared to defend myself, the beam glowed almost white, and then a wall of sand erupted from it - a viral attack had begun. Except it was mighty. So I ordered everyone to lie in their houses and wear gas masks. We had PPM-88s. And how glad I was that I had grounded all my aviation in advance. To fly in such a storm is pure suicide. And besides, we had time to prepare quite well. The entire border of the city was covered with anti-tank hedgehogs and barbed wire.

Alleyways and houses were mined with C4 tripwires and anti-personnel mines. By doing this, I diverted enormous power to make myself impenetrable on all sides. However, it was impossible to be completely invulnerable, so I left 17 main roads open. And that's where we had to destroy them. Ambush their forces and then go underground, fighting every step of the way. Now the plan made more sense. We were to hold out until my systems cleared the data rubbish and the storm ended. Then I would have them dancing to the sound of my Predator missiles and helicopters exploding. And so the storm hit the city. This storm looked much more potent than the one on Rahan. It was a storm that gave even me a fear of its power. Well, we kind of don't give a damn about it. My entire army has thermal imaging cameras, which will be indispensable here.

Glancing through the thermal imager toward the beam, I could see Nazara's army. They were marching in columns. In the middle was a queue of tanks; on either side were columns of infantry in twos. I was curious to know what kind of armament they had and what kind of tanks they had. But I could tell they were walking purely into a trap. We started to get out on the roofs. We had RPG-7s, AK-74s with under-barrel grenade launchers and thermal imagers, and PKMs and SVDs with thermal imagers. Plus, the road was booby-trapped, only they were remote-controlled.

And so, the first tank enters the city. It was a Merkava, an Israeli army tank. The soldiers' weapons and uniforms were also Israeli. Great, it wasn't enough for me to have a Makarov; now, I would kill Jews. I'm not anti-Semitic; why Jews. Ah, fuck them; they want to kill me. Or rather, Nazara is trying to take over the headquarters and control me. Well, no, I'm not giving up that easily. That's the 15th tank to enter the city. It's the same on the other roads. Well, let's get started. I'm taking the RPG and getting down on one knee. Aim it at the roof of the turret and fire in a second. The missile flies five metres, penetrates the thin armour and most likely sets fire to the ammunition. The tank explodes. At the same moment, the trailing tank explodes. The column is blocked. Immediately I take an SVD. My troops start firing at everyone below. I take aim. I shot the soldier who was already aiming at me. Immediately I shoot the one behind me, then another. This goes on until the rifle stops firing. I'm out of ammunition. I quickly reload the magazine and aim again. I see one break through the house door, and there's an explosion immediately. 1 kg of C4 for a stretch and four dead. Already seven tanks have been blown up with RPGs. Many soldiers try to escape through houses and alleyways but are immediately blown up by tripwires. There's one last tank left... POINTED THE GUN AT ME!!!

At the last moment, I jump from the roof of the house, and there is an explosion behind me. I fall to the sand, and for some reason, I feel disoriented. Suddenly I see two soldiers shouting that I'm somewhere around here. I grab my gun and shoot. I kill the first one with a headshot. The second with three to the chest. I shoot the third one in the leg and then hit him in the throat. I get up and grab my SVD. Then I hold my AK and run into the alley. I knew all the tripwires by heart, so I jumped them. I didn't go into the path for nothing. When I turned, I met my opponents. They could only see an incomprehensible silhouette, but I calmly aimed and shot them. The alleyway was so narrow that I killed them like a conveyor belt. One fell, the other opened up and then fell down. Having killed five, I realise it's all over. Now I only hear gunshots from other ambushes, but there is silence on ours. I climb to the house's roof and see a pile of dead bodies and 15 burning tanks. But we also lost a third of our soldiers. And I guessed why it was so. I ordered to put silencers on all weapons. At close range, we were identified by the flash of gunfire. Silencers were needed as flame arresters. Then the rest of the units who had ambushed us reported back. Casualties were about the same as mine, and I was also told that other enemy troops had been spotted. I looked through the thermal camera again and spotted a true armada. I counted 10,000 soldiers and 700 armoured vehicles. The strangest thing was that they weren't marching in columns but stretched across the city limits. What were they trying to do? We all started running across the rooftops and streets to the city's edge without thinking long. Whatever they were going to do, they wanted to do something terrible.

And here we are, on the roofs of the outermost houses. I could see the Overlord's army coming at us in a steady stride through the thermal imaging camera. I didn't understand why their tanks were riding on our hedgehogs. It's too strange and frightening at the same time. There was a reason for all this. So I ordered them to aim my sniper rifles at them. Half a minute later, I fired the first shot, and one soldier fell. All the enemy soldiers stopped in surprise, and then all my snipers opened fire. 53 soldiers fell immediately, then another 73, 137, 354... This continued until the tanks stopped and turned sideways towards us to cover the infantry. Now all we could see in our thermal imagers were tanks, which had already turned their guns on us and started firing. The first shell flew just a metre above me. They didn't know where we were or what altitude we were at. The entire Lord's army didn't have thermal imaging cameras. The only thing they knew was the location of the HQ. It was a vast underground bunker that was very difficult to get through.

I was distracted from my thoughts by an explosion. A tank shell had hit a house a hundred metres from ours. Five soldiers were killed. Now it was frightening; they understood the height they had to aim. But we had RPGs with tandem-shaped charge shells. And they could easily penetrate the tank's side armour. Fortunately, the RPGs also had thermal imaging cameras. After loading the projectile, I took aim and fired. The missile flew against the wind but still hit the target. The tank exploded, apparently hitting the fuel tank. And that's when it started to go berserk. Ten tanks turned their guns towards us and opened fire with high-explosive shells. A few flew past, and more hit the hedgehogs, but the rest started hitting houses. I ordered my men to retreat from the rooftops and was already up and running myself when suddenly, there was an explosion from behind. To my surprise, I fell into a narrow alley half a metre wide and passed out.

I woke up in the same alley. The storm was still raging, and my walkie-talkie was tearing up with the news:

- This is Claw 1.3. We're surrounded by the gas station at point AC14. We're holding our position.

- This is Claw 2.4. We're surrounded at the ammunition depot at BK18. We're holding our position.

- This is Claw 1.5.3. We are surrounded by Al Jafoor underground station. The enemy in the underground. We're holding our position.

- This is Claw-5.6.9. We are surrounded by the supermarket at BD35. We're holding our position.

- This is Claw-3.3.6. We're surrounded by El Alamein Bridge. We're holding our position.

- This is Claw 1.1.4. We're surrounded by the office building at CF15. We're defending floors 15 through 20.

- This is Berserk-1.3. We're surrounded by Aladeen Square. We're holding our position. There are seven armoured vehicles left in formation.

****

This was the kind of news that was on the radio airwaves. If I understood correctly, if they were surrounded at the Al-Jafour station and the Al-Alamein bridge, the enemy had broken through 35km and further into the city. But that was not what I was worried about now. My concern was that they - the enemy had surrounded one of the ammunition depots. It was a software hub that housed the production capacity of the combat programs. If the Overlord seized it, his warfare programs would become more robust and possibly gain thermal imaging. Which was something I didn't want at all.

Standing up and grabbing my assault rifle, I looked out of the alley and immediately realised how the enemy had broken through. All the houses ten metres in front of me, from me to the edge of the city, were simply gone. In their place were ruined, already crushed by the caterpillar tracks of tanks. All right, time to run to the warehouse and defend it. It certainly wasn't one of a kind, but its loss would be tangible. At first, I tried to run down the main street. At first, I ran past the hit tanks, but then I saw a true Israeli APC Ahzarit come out of a bend and, with it, 15 men.

I let them pass and then jogged on. As I turned to the right, where they had come from, I immediately noticed the headlights and turned left into the alley. Except they must have seen me, I was too close. And judging by the shouts in Hebrew, which I understood, they ran after me. After a hundred metres of running, I ran out into a wide street and was immediately hit by a Hummer. Those there didn't realise who had been hit, so they just ran out to check. I immediately drew my gun and shot the first soldier - the passenger. The driver pulled away, but he left the gun in the car, so I shot him in the back of the head when he went for it. Then I got up, got in the car and drove. It was hard to move in that storm, but it worked. Suddenly I hit one soldier, and three others opened fire on me, but the car was armoured.

Five minutes later, I drove past the office building where the Claw 1.1.4 was located. A lot of floors were engulfed in flames. Shots and explosions could be heard. However, I knew the squad would hold out there long. Then, after another 10 minutes, I drove onto a motorway on which the enemies were running. I did not take a detour. I just went at full speed towards the ammunition depot in the cafe, which was the cooler. Just to get there before they detonated the charge. Five kilotons to blow the shit out of the place.

Leaving the motorway, I drove another kilometre. And there's the cafe. I pressed the gas all the way down, squeezed the three soldiers, and then turned around, closing the entrance with the car. I open the door, fly into the cafe and look around. There are five men left, plus three more on the rooftops. That's quite enough. I give everyone orders and reload my AK SVD, take my RPG, and look out the window. The enemy went to the attack.

I'm looking through the thermal imaging camera. Coming in a horde and trying to get to the concrete fence. I fire the entire magazine, killing ten of them. Also, firing all the soldiers and killing many too. Those enemies who managed to hide behind the fence try to shoot back blindly but fail. And while they are shooting, I shoot them off like in a shooting gallery. But there were more and more of them. I had to shoot constantly, but I still hit them like a conveyor belt. Suddenly, I noticed beams of light, and the storm immediately weakened. I checked the system and realised that the storm would be over in three minutes - the Lord's virus bomb was almost completely eradicated. That's it; they're all dead now. Except we were over at first, as the enemy could now see us. And so, after another three minutes of shooting, the storm ended, and the sky turned blue. Immediately the enemy started pouring fire on us. We all hid behind the concrete cassette. Reloading the SVD, I got out and fired twice, then hid again - three machine guns aimed at me. Our snipers were also pinned down on the roof, but they still tried to fire occasionally.

"I see an enemy tank!" - A sniper reported. And yes, in front of our windows, a hundred metres away, was a Merkava tank already pointing its gun at us. All my soldiers in the building and I lay down, and immediately, a shell flew into the wall behind the register. However, it was an armour-piercing one, so there was now a tiny hole in the wall. I didn't care for death now, though. Yes, I couldn't shift into a soldier during the storm, but now I could do everything in my world. I immediately switched to the sniper, who had already picked up a Javelin. I took aim at the tank and immediately heard a distinctive squeak, which after a couple of seconds was replaced by just a squeak, and there was a shot. The missile flew upwards and then fell directly at right angles onto the tank, causing it to explode. After that, I took the Intervention and started shooting off enemy soldiers.

BANG!

Two went down immediately, and then I took a bullet to the head, which made me switch to the nearest soldier. He, too, was a sniper but with an SVD.

BAH-BAH-BAH-BAH!!!

Three were killed, then reloaded. Two more shots and two more soldiers go down. One was just about to fire a Stinger at the cafe. What an idiot.

BANG!!!

A high-explosive shell hits the corner of the cafe. The hub's gone; I get a second Javelin. I am, fire, and the tank explodes. And here, all the enemy infantry goes on the attack. From time to time, they stop to cover those who go on. On the other hand, I take a PKM and fire at everyone in short bursts.

TRA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA!!!

The enemy, having lost half of them, still breaks through to the cafe, but three of my soldiers are fighting well with knives and pistols.

I switch to one of the soldiers. That one takes an AK and kills five enemies trying to get through a hole in the corner with an under-barrel grenade launcher. He hides behind the register and reloads the grenade launcher while the other two fire pistols. Having reloaded, I stick my head out while the two run out of ammunition. I aim for the main entrance, the fire. Three are blown to bits. Another one is concussed. He gets pistol-whipped. Suddenly a soldier jumps out the back door and kills one soldier. I grab the knife and attack him. I get a burst from the enemy's machine gun, but I manage to stab him. Only one man is left on the ground floor and one on the roof. The second man already has half a belt on his PKM and one clip for his pistol. Two grenades and a knife. The first has one magazine for an AK and three clips for a gun. Plus, six grenades and two plastic. Here the two get through the soldier below and climb up. He throws a grenade up there. One soldier is already on the roof and killed by a sniper there, and the other falls down the stairs. And then somewhere else the company goes to the cafe. Both soldiers, one under my command, are firing machine guns and machine guns. It's another five minutes before the Falcon approaches. We have to hold out. Otherwise, Nazara gets stronger. Otherwise, he might win. If he wins, I become his servant. That's why we have to protect this warehouse. It's the third largest arsenal, but I'd rather deprive my army of RPG-18s, RPG-7 fragmentation shells, stun grenades and Claymore mines than give it all to Nazara. The sniper was already killed by a bullet. There's only one soldier left. He's got one grenade and a clip. I load it and prepare a grenade. A soldier comes out the back door. He's followed by another one. I kill them with two headshots. Three men enter the cafe. They throw a grenade behind the cash register. I grab it and throw it back. Two of them die, and another one is wounded and shell-shocked. I stick my head out and finish him off. Another thirty seconds. Three more come in. I pull the pin on the grenade, wait, throw it. The grenade explodes in the air. All three are dead. I get out and kill the enemy who tried to go through the window. And then I get shot in the head from another window. That's it, the cafe is lost. However, the birds are already here. There's a Tomahawk missile flying with the Falcon. I take control of it and fly straight into the cafe. I'd better destroy this unit, and there will be more soldiers thanks to increased power. I was already flying down the street at a one-meter altitude and saw a lot of enemy soldiers. I turn right, fly into the cafe through the window, and hit the wall. There's a powerful explosion that blows the whole restaurant to pieces. My army is missing some ammo, but Nazara won't have it anymore. And now I'm out for revenge!

Hundreds of Predeytars start flying all over the city, wreaking death and destruction on all Nazara soldiers and tanks. To one occupied area, I sent an AVBPM. This completely wipes out everyone who was there and also cuts off a vast grouping of the enemy, as they are now sandwiched between a massive fire and my troops. That said, the El Alamein bridge can only access fire, which is occupied by my forces. On another side, on the flank, they are clamped by Aladin Square, defended by seven T-72s and an infantry company. And on the opposite flank, the enemy grouping is squeezed by a supermarket, a petrol station and an office building, which my troops are still defending and which hold the two main highways at gunpoint for a quick escape. And the helicopters have already delivered reinforcements there. The office building has already been vacated, three tanks have been airlifted to the gas station, and an infantry company trained against tanks and aircraft. RPG-7, Javelin, RPG-18, Stinger, Needle, Arrow-3. Try to get through something like that.

In the meantime, I was going to crush everyone with armoured vehicles. I'm taking command of a T-72 with a flamethrower. Oh, yeah! Try to give me something, Nazara. He's spent much energy trying to destroy me, and now his forces are cut off from his master. Once I kill the 'cauldron', Nazara's production power will simply drop, causing him to lose control of the Geti and maybe Saren himself. All right, here we go.

My tank goes head to head, and I can already see the enemies. I activate the flamethrower and shoot through the window, minus 7 soldiers. I turn the turret to the other side of the street, clamp the flamethrower and drive on. I burn ten houses and 37 enemies dead. Here the enemy is already starting to flee. Nazara panics. Most try to escape through the square, but reinforcements have already arrived. An infantry battalion and another Falcon, and three Bees are flying over them. Of course, they had to blow up the underground station completely, but now the buggers won't go underground. Of course, those soldiers didn't have the C4 to do that, but the Tochka-U, which flies right into the station, greatly helps with that problem.

Suddenly an enemy tank pulls out in front of me from a corner with its side turned towards me. I depend on the cannon on it and charge it with armour-piercing ammunition. The tank tries to turn the gun, but I'm faster. The tank explodes, and I must go around it, piercing the buildings with my hull. Here I see a three-story building where the enemy tries to defend themselves. I'm being shot at by the B-300, but the armour holds out. I load white phosphorus, aim at the first floor, and fire. The whole house is engulfed in flames, burning, and living soldiers are falling out of the windows.

Except I don't feel sorry for them at all. They're just programmes. Programs of a Reaper who doesn't know how to wage war by my rules, with my weapons, in my world. Reapers need to gain tactical skills. Just crushing everyone with a mass of zombies, and me... At least I'm trained in some tactics. And now, I'm firing machine guns at fleeing soldiers. Hundreds of helicopters and UAVs are already circling the sky. A Shilka pops out of a bend and fires at three Apaches flying straight at me. One loses control and crashes into the second, while the third catches fire, starts spinning like a yurt, and then crashes into the houses. I, on the other hand, drive on.

Three hours later, it's all over. Nazara's troops are defeated. The city is liberated. But Nazara himself does not want to surrender. He's launching one last attack. 10,000 tanks. 5,000 helicopters. And they're all just marching across an open field. Come on, come on. Now I've got all my forces freed up, so I'm quietly recycling a quarter of the soldiers into Grable nuclear artillery shells and M65 artillery cannons. 100 guns in total and all were already deployed on alert. All right, Nazara, goodbye.

The first shell hits right in the middle of this armada. It doesn't matter where it hits, though. There's a bright flash that vaporises the paint on all the equipment. And then a shockwave passes across the desert, scattering tanks and helicopters. And then there's a mushroom cloud. Then another shell explodes. Then another. And then, in ten minutes, 100 nuclear shells explode. Only after that does the communication beam that had been linking Nazara and me disappear. This is victory.

As it turns out, this battle was only five minutes of real-time. It was a truly epic battle. But I won. And now I had to contact Xad.

****

Dreadnought Light of Kila

- Comrade Xad, we are receiving a message. This is Comrade Legatus," the dreadnought pilot reported, causing Xad to activate immediately.

- WHAT!? ON!!! LIVE!!! - The Protean shouted, not believing his auditory sensors. But his visual ones didn't deceive him. A hologram of the Legatus did indeed appear before him. - Legatus!? You're alive!

- I had to destroy the whole orbital station and seize control of Sur'Kesh, but yes, I am alive," said Legate nonchalantly.

- You didn't happen to doomsday the Salarians back there, did you? - The Protean asked, somewhat startled.

- No. Who am I, the Reaper? - Legatus replied jokingly, and Xadu seemed relieved. - Though he had his share of fighting. With the Lord Holder.

- The Lord Holder? - Xadh needed help understanding. - What do you mean? He's at the Citadel right now, trying to open a relay. Shepard's there too, and he's on Saren's heels.

- I didn't fight him directly. I fought him virtually. He tried to get control of me, but he failed. - explained the Legatus.

- That explains a lot, Cassad thought.

- In what way?

- All Geth ground platforms went offline within minutes of the landing. Nazara even sacrificed a few Geth ships. Apparently, he did so to hold off the rest of the fleet.

- Yeah, well... Except the Geths went after him themselves. Looks like he wiped out their programming code when they started getting out of control.

- I guess so. Now all we have to do is wait for Shepard to open the Citadel. She's already got the file she needs on Ila.

- Good. Now we have to...

- Comrade Legatus, transponder activated," the pilot suddenly interrupted the chiefs.

- Let's go to the Citadel. Quickly! - said, Legate.

- Copy that. ETA three minutes.

- Good. Prepare for battle. It's about to get hot," said the Legatus, and the ship began to prepare for war.

****

Citadel

A colossal ship emerged from the repeater and rushed towards the opening station. Outside, too, the battle was raging. There were dozens of Geth ships trying to clobber the Destiny Lane, and the Citadel fleet, which was on its last legs, was trying to draw back at least some of the attackers, but that didn't seem to help.

And so the colossal ship flew towards the Path of Destiny, which looked more like it was paralysed. He could hardly hold his shields, let alone fly or blast away an enemy. The massive ship, on the other hand, was full of energy. It was already deploying its medium and long-range guns, aiming them at the Geths.

****

Dreadnought "The Way of Destiny"

- Captain! An unknown ship has been detected leaving the relay! - spoke in a squeaky, frightened voice from an Azari who had been aboard the dreadnought only a year before.

- Image, now! - commanded the captain, and immediately, an image of a colossal ship appeared before her, one that was, in a way, just as massive as the metal monster that had locked the Citadel in place. The captain wasn't about to find out who it was. She didn't know what race the ship belonged to, but she didn't care about that right now. And so she immediately tried to contact the unknown ship. - Attention! Destiny's path speaking. Our main engines and weapons are down! There are members of the council aboard! Repeat, aboard... - and then the captain shut up as she watched the ship tear apart the Geths left and right. A single shot was enough to destroy a Geth ship. And not a single shot was fired at the path itself. It was enough for the captain to mistake this ship for his own. And so, when the last ship was destroyed, the captain decided to find out who it was in the first place. - Unidentified ship, identify yourself! - only silence on the airwaves. - Unidentified ship, identify yourself. - and silence again. Instead, the ship began to turn towards the Citadel, and suddenly, there was electric lightning between its two 'cogs'.

****

Citadel.

The Fifth Fleet of the System Alliance, led by Normandy, jumped out of the repeater and headed as if to save the Destination Way. They would have done so had it not been for the ship that had nailed the Geth fleet before their eyes and was now turning towards the Citadel.

- The Path of Destiny. This is Admiral Hackett of the System Alliance. Status report," Hackett contacted the dreadnought.

- This is Destiny Lane. We've lost all engines and weapons. The Citadel fleet has been destroyed. There are members of the council aboard.

- I see. What kind of ship is that, anyway? - Hackett asked, though he knew very well what kind of ship it was. However, the fleet wouldn't understand if he didn't ask about a massive ship of an obscure race.

- Unknown. It has yet to respond to enquiries. It just came out of nowhere," the Azari answered on the other side of the radio.

- If he destroyed the Goths, he's on our side," Hackett said, then switched to the fleet. - Attention, no fire on the unknown ship.

- Roger that, Admiral. - the captains answered him.

- Admiral! - the same Azari suddenly contacted Hackett. - That ship is loading some sort of weapon and targeting an enemy ship. However, there's another Geth fleet headed our way. And that ship's shields are weakening from the charging gun!

- Shit!" Hackett said. - Attention all fleet! Defend the unknown ship at all costs! We've got to give it time to recharge its weapon! - With that, the entire Alliance fleet flew to intercept the Geth fleet. The dreadnoughts began firing their main guns, but only a third of the shots hit the Geth ships, and then their shields managed, though on snot, drool and shit, to stay at the 5-7% mark. Several of the Geth ships flew out to meet the human fleet. Their shots destroyed Alliance ships with the first shot. Here the 'Peking' exploded, then the 'Tokyo' and the 'Siam'. Followed by the "Churchill" and the "Roosevelt". Then the last aircraft carrier, the De Gaul, fired all the fighters that flew to intercept the Geth fighters. Suddenly, after seven hits, the "Fuji" tore apart. The fighters engaged the Getas and prevented them from firing on the unknown ship, whose guns were still charging.

****

The dreadnought Light of Kila.

- Fifty per cent," the pilot said, and Xad and I just watched as the Alliance fleet was chopped into the cabbage. Already six ships have blown up, and two more cruisers are badly damaged and have hidden behind the backs of more whole ships. A third of the fighters that managed to fly out of the last carrier had already been lost, while the rest had managed to pick a fight with the Geth fighters flying at us. We all just waited for the guns to be fully charged. But in doing so, our shields and other weapons were getting weaker. And so Hackett's help was our last hope. And so, the entire 5th Alliance Fleet stood beside us and began firing at the Geths. They responded in kind. Here came Delhi, Mexico City and Cairo, followed by Kilimanjaro and the Elbrus. Then the frigates "Iwo Jima" and "Azencourt" became a pile of metal splinters.

- Seventy per cent - come on, come on, come on, NU! Already almost all Alliance fighters have been lost. "The De Gol has been destroyed, too. Half of the Five Fleet has already been outgunned.

- Ninety per cent," one of the last fighters lost control and crashed at full speed into the captain's bridge of the "Madrid. It begins to decompress explosively, the systems that could save the ship fail, and the entire crew is blown out of the ship into space, filled with debris of all shapes and sizes.

- One hundred per cent.

- FIRE! - yelling at Xad and me.

The gun of the giant ship fires a five-kilogram bolt, accelerating to 5% the speed of light. Leaving a plume behind, the bolt flies straight into the Overlord, who has long since docked at the Citadel. And then, the bolt hits the Reaper, piercing through it in the area just below the core. The goths all shut down, and there is a strange silence. Everyone stares at the vast black metal carcass, which sways slightly under the force of the station's artificial gravity. After a few long and agonising seconds, the squid-like craft topples over and falls from the Council Tower. And already in its slow flight, its cracks begin to glow red. Three seconds later, when the red light has already become practically white before becoming orange and yellow, an explosion of monstrous power rips Nazara into small pieces. There's precisely nothing left of him. Only a couple of triple paws and twisted shards start flying near the Council Tower. The battle was over.

****

Citadel Council Chamber

- Captain," Tevos began, turning to the captain, who alone decided to come to the carpet to see her superiors while Hackett, Anderson and Udina closed in the latter's office.

- Councillors," Shepard said hello. - Glad you're alive," Jane was, in a way, actually glad that the three were alive. After all, now she could speak her mind to them.

- We're also glad you survived, Shepard," Tevos replied.

- Yes. And we also want to thank you for daring to escape the Citadel and make it to the Channel against our orders," Valern clarified.

- "And... - Sparathus continued hesitantly, "We are grateful that you were willing to send the Alliance Fleet to our rescue, even though you didn't save us.

- However, we sincerely thank the Alliance for sacrificing half of their flotilla to protect that ship. If it weren't for you, it would have been destroyed.

- Yeah, well... - agreed on Shepard. - A nice gun he's got. I hope you realise now that the get was a good thing. If it hadn't been for him, the Reapers would have been able to return.

- Yes. You're right," Sparatus agreed, though he only agreed with the first part, that the get wasn't wrong, he let the second part pass him by.

- In gratitude for your services, Shepard, and for the sacrifices of the Alliance and its Fleet, we have decided to grant humanity a seat on the Citadel Council. And we've decided to give you the right to elect a council member. Just put the name of who you'd like to see as a Councilor here," the Salarian said as he sent Shepard the correct file.

- 'Well, I'll think about who to choose,' said the captain, but then continued more seriously. - 'I hope you realise that this is only the beginning. The Overlord was only the vanguard. The Reapers themselves are still just waiting to happen. And they have no intention of retreating. They will return. And we need to be prepared for that. - And with those words, Shepard turned and left the Council Chamber to let all three of us digest that very information.

****

Udina's ambassador's office.

The door to the ambassador's office hissed open, and all three men turned their attention to the captain, who was still in her battle armour, drenched in the blood of the krogan and the grease of the few goths she had managed to nail before they passed out.

- 'Captain,' Udina said as Shepard approached his desk. - 'I'd like to talk about what you did? Я...

- Let's be clear, Udina," Shepard interrupted the man gruffly. - I think you're an arrogant scum who stabbed me in the back. However, the scum you are is clever and hardworking, so . - the captain activated the unic and sent Udine one file. - Good luck to you, Counselor," Shepard emphasised the last word so that only a stoned degenerate would miss the hint. It wasn't until Shepard left the office and the door closed behind her that Udine checked the message the captain had sent, causing his eyes widened enough to threaten to fall out of their orbits.

- Well... Who wants a drink? - The Counselor asked, and Hackett and Anderson decided not to refuse it. Still, it was necessary to calm the nerves after what had happened.

After all, it had been a victory!