Part 8

Warning: May contain foul language and scenes some people may find upsetting.

Thomson awoke on the floor of Presidium Commons. Someone was looking down at him. Someone with long dark hair.
His vision cleared. It was Ashley Williams - the woman who he and Renswick had seen before they had fought the mechs. Renswick had said that she was a Spectre.
"Hey," she said with a smile, "At least someone made it."
"... What happened?" Thomson moaned. He remembered something hitting him in the head and the pain that accompanied it, but nothing more. That was it.
"Cerberus attacked the Citadel," she started to explain, "An assassin killed the Salarian councillor but luckily because of Commander Shepard it is back under our control. The rest of the councillors are safe. Udina isn't, but that's another story."
"What happened to Udina?"
"I kind of well... shot him. He was working for Cerberus. He was the reason why they attacked."
"... No. They said they were here for me... but they left me... why would they do that?"
She shrugged, "I think you were dreaming."
"No... I wasn't dreaming. Renswick and I saw Kai Leng, the assassin... Renswick? Where's Renswick?"
"Who is Renswick?" Ashley asked him.
"My friend. The one who I was with when we met on the stairs."
"I don't know," she said, "I haven't seen him... there was a report that they took an Alliance soldier and a Quarian captive on a shuttle but I think that's just a rumour."
"... Fuck!" Thomson growled, "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"
"What?"
"Cerberus have captured my girlfriend and my best friend! Fuck!"
His Omni-tool beeped. It was a video message.
He started playing it. It was from Emi.
After the first sentence he was staring in disbelief. After the second his chest started aching as the Quarian broke his heart. The third made tears well up in his eyes. After the message had played fully he was crying.
What they had... it was special to him. He had known her for only a few days but he loved her more than anything. But it was clear that she no longer felt the same way about him. He could no longer fight the Reapers. He could no longer fight Cerberus. He had nothing to fuel him. Nothing at all.
She was like his life-blood. She was what had kept him going since they had met. He had never experienced a broken heart but all he felt was sadness and pain.
He had trusted her. And she had betrayed him. But she couldn't ever do that... Even when the Cerberus people had threatened to torture her if she told him who they were - she did. She put her life on the line to tell him the truth and then she just betrayed him like that. She didn't even tell him face-to-face, she used a video message via his Omni-tool. It hurt. Nothing had hurt him more in his entire life. Not even the gunshot wound - the physical pain - he had once suffered whilst fighting the Geth was nothing compared to the pain he felt inside.
But he still loved her. He was sure he'd never stop. Nothing could change how he felt about her, but it was obvious that the same didn't apply to her. She had fallen in love with someone else. It was her decision who she was with, so he guessed he didn't mind the fact that she was with someone else. He wanted her to be happy, even if he was not part of her happiness. But she had hurt him. More than she could ever know.
At least she was...
No. She was not safe. She was in London - the Reaper battleground. She was definitely not safe. Being on Earth put her in the most danger in the entire galaxy. He had to go and try to change her mind. The Commander - whoever he was - was her decision if she wanted to be with him. But he could not stand her being in danger. No matter how she felt about him he still loved her. He would do anything to keep her safe.
That meant he'd have to go to London.
"... I'm sorry," Ashley began, "Maybe the report was inaccurate... Is there anything I can do?"
Thomson shook his head, wiping tears from his face, "No. This is something I have to do myself."

The crew of the SF-2 Falcon was down to half capacity. Despite Aquila Felis' and Doctor Lament's best efforts, several of the major crew had died. Aquila was crying when he made his way back to his ship and Lament had a look of sadness in her eyes.
Thomson felt equally sad. But it was passion that fuelled his heart. Passion to get Emi to safety.
"Max," he barked into the communicator, "Get this ship down to London. Now."
"Captain..." Max countered, "Earth is-"
"I know what it bloody is. Just get down there. Get the crew on board and go to the Mass Relay. If we're not there within an hour I will personally come up to the cockpit and fly this frigate myself. Got that?"
"Yes Captain."

There was no way Cerberus could have known that he and Renswick were going to come through that door. No way at all. They would have not known the way they were going - they weren't using one of the main entrances. And yet their plan was executed perfectly. But they still left him. Why?
The more he thought about it - the more it didn't make sense. Only a day ago Emi had been telling him how much she loved him. She hadn't had time to meet someone else... Most of the time she had been with him, anyway.
Maybe the report had been accurate. Maybe Renswick and Emi had been taken by Cerberus. Maybe they were the ones responsible for the video message he had received. Maybe...
Something else that didn't make sense: Emi had said "keelah se'lai" at the end of her message. She had told him what it meant when they were on Earth - "by the homeworld I hope to see you one day", or something. He didn't fully remember, but it was something like that. She wouldn't have said that unless she did want to see him. Maybe...
There were too many unknowns, but he didn't care. He'd walk in, rescue her and Renswick and kill anyone who got in his way. That was a good plan.
"Beginning deceleration," Max pointed out over the intercom.
The truth about FTL travel was rather simple. Once you hit light-speed you remained like that for half the journey - the other half being the slowing down stage so you didn't hit your intended target and shatter into a million pieces. That meant they were close to Earth.
He moved to the cockpit of the SF-2 and looked out of the window as planet Earth appeared directly in front of them. A mass of blue from the sea, green from the land and red from the many fires that raged across the surface in the major cities across the world.
"If you remain in orbit," Thomson said to Max who was controlling the Falcon with an array of holograms, "Then we'll take the shuttle down and you can stay here until I call."
"Who are you taking with you?"
"I'll get the remaining crew into the CIC. Then I'll take volunteers only. People who don't want to come will not be of use."
"Good plan. I'll use the intercom right away."

"Friends, comrades and crew members," Thomson began, "As many of you are aware, we are in Earth's orbit. The reason is entirely personal. Emi'Derik - my girlfriend - is at danger. And so is Renswick who many of you know too. This is not an official Alliance mission and I do not expect any of you to volunteer for this. As everyone knows, the Reapers are in control of Earth. It will be hard to get in - if not impossible. And then there will possibly be Cerberus operatives as well. But any help would be appreciated.
We have been underestimated. The Falcon was pushed back beyond the front line after it was flagged as useless in the fight against the Reapers. Cerberus and the Reapers themselves have clearly marked us as not being a threat. They question what we are made of. They question what we are capable of.
So I say we show them. We show them what we're made of. We show them what we are capable of. We will land on Earth. We will rescue Renswick and Emi'Derik. We will return alive and damn anything that gets in our way.
We are the weakest Alliance Frigate in the entire galaxy. We were left weakened by the attack on the Citadel. We are under-crewed. We have limited weapons. But that will not stop us. We will rise against our enemies and show that the Alliance was wrong: we are capable of fighting. We are capable of winning. And we leave no one behind. Not a single person.
So do any of you volunteer to be a part of a potentially and most likely suicidal task to rescue two single people?"
Doctor Lament's hand shot up, "I do. I saw what Cerberus did to the people on the Citadel. I want some revenge."
The squad who had blown up the Cerberus starship also raised their hands.
Aquila Felis - the nurse who he and Renswick had found on the Citadel steadily rose her hand, "... I think I'd like to help. And so would Butterfly. I talked to Emi when she was in the hospital. She is a nice person and she does not deserve what had happened to her. So if you're taking a team in I could provide medical assistance along with Doctor Lament."
"Hey," Lament grinned, "I'll be fighting too. Not just providing assistance. That's not my style."
Bob smiled at her, "Combat medic."
"More of a get-out-of-the-way-unless-you-want-to-get-shot-in-the-face medic," answered Lament.
"And just so you know," Thomson said, "The loyalty of those who have not volunteered will not be questioned. Nothing will be held against you. Those who have volunteered, get your armour and weapons and go to the shuttle. We leave in ten minutes."

The volunteers were already armed and waiting for him when he got to the shuttle. Lament carried a pistol and "Bob and the gang" carried M-8 Avengers. Aquila was unarmed, but her combat drone floated at her side. They were all wearing the black and blue armour that marked them out as members of the SF-2 Falcon and breather helmets. There was a gentle hum from their shield generators.
The door to the shuttle hissed open and swung down and they boarded the vessel.

The small shuttle hovered a metre or so above the ground and the door opened, revealing the skyline of endless ruins and black Reapers that massed along the horizon. Big Ben had collapsed by now - and had crushed several buildings as well as the Houses of Parliament. And still black smoke drifted into the atmosphere.
Thomson took several moments to look at the horde of Husks that were slowly advancing towards the shuttle.
"Let's go."
They jumped down from the open shuttle and landed one after the other in a crouch on the dusty ground. The shuttle zipped away back towards the Falcon, leaving the small group alone in a world full of Reapers.
"Do you know where you're going?" Lament asked Thomson.
"I have absolutely no idea. But let's take a look around."
"Uh..." Steve said, "I hope you understand that there are Husks coming towards us."
"Yes, I do. Get into a defensive formation."
The group moved into a v formation with Thomson at the tip. Husks flooded into the small open space they had landed on and they immediately began firing. Rounds from their rifles - and in Laments case, her pistol - flooded the air between the two groups and stopped the Husks in their tracks. No matter how many there were of them, they were being held back by the impenetrable wall of gunfire.
Before each of them had emptied their magazines, the Husks were laying dead a few metres away from them.
"Ok. We split up," Thomson advised, "One medic per group. Bob, if you lead Fred and Aquila that direction..." He pointed at a road coming off at a ninety degree angle to where they were, "... Then I'll lead Lament and Steve towards what remains of the Houses of Parliament. We need to scout the area and see if we can find anything."
"And what if we run into an ambush or something?" Steve asked.
"We'll radio in and get the other group to find us. Do a counter-attack on the Cerberus or Reapers or whatever the hell we run into."
"It's... an interesting plan," Lament pointed out, "Full of holes and unknowns but I guess I volunteered so meh. I think you've been blinded by desperation to find Emi and Renswick and as far as I can tell that has had a bad influence on your decision making and plan making skills."
"Then what do you suggest, Doctor?" Thomson asked.
"Let them come to us. Let them reveal their position. Scare them out of hiding."
She took a heavy black pistol from her belt and aimed it at the sky. She pulled the trigger and sent a red flare screeching through the air between the two routes Thomson had planned.
"Congratulations," Thomson grimaced, nodding towards the white smoke trail that pointed towards their position - like a giant white arrow in the sky, "You have just revealed our position. Nice plan."
"With respect, sir," Lament sighed, "Just shut the hell up and watch."
There were movements in the streets below. One group seemed to be mainly white, and the other group black. The white group - Cerberus - seemed to be coming from the mostly fragmented Parliament whilst the black - the Reaper ground forces - seemed to be on the street he had told the secondary group to go down. Both were moving towards a junction where the two streets met in the middle.
"Good work Doctor," Thomson told her, "If we survive, we're all going for a drink in Purgatory and the first round is on me."
She nodded, "I think at least the first five rounds, to be honest."
"If we move to the junction and try and hold the line then I will go into the Houses of Parliament and try and find Emi and Renswick. Just radio in if you need help and I'll be as quick as possible. Then once we've got them with us I'll get the Falcon to come and pick us up. Lament, Aquila, if anyone gets injured then you need to help. If I can help it I will not lose anyone on this damn mission."
"Are you sure going in by yourself is a good idea?" Aquila asked.
"To be honest?" Thomson answered, "No. But the landing zone needs protecting. Just trust me. We won't survive unless you all protect this area. I need to get in there, now."
"Good luck," Lament said with a nod, then started shooting her pistol at the Husks and Cerberus troopers that were advancing towards them. The soldiers returned fire with their semi-automatic rifles to the group scattered across the landing area to find cover behind the ruins of walls.
Thomson did not, however. He ignored the gunfire and advanced, shooting two Cerberus soldiers in the head and taking down a Marauder with a thrown biotic warp.
"Stay here!" he shouted and dived to the side to avoid a grenade which exploded behind him, throwing up debris and shrapnel that scattered across the floor.
He shot another soldier and avoided the claws of a Husk. It growled at him, blue synthetic eyes empty and lifeless. He ducked underneath another swing and shot it in the head with his rifle, firing from the hip.
Thomson waved his hand, throwing the remaining Cerberus soldiers off their feet using his biotics. He used the distraction to spin around and help the rest of the team to hold the Reaper ground forces at bay, before beginning to advance towards the ruined Houses of Parliament.
Gunfire filled the air and the troopers were taken out by the team that was protecting the landing area so they could get back to the ship once he had rescued Emi and Renswick.
Thomson quickly reloaded his M-8 when it clicked empty and sustained firing, killing the last of the Cerberus troopers who had come out to meet them.
He nodded at the rest of the group and then sprinted down the street leading to his target. There was plenty of debris underneath his feet - so much that sprinting hurt - but he ignored the pain and focused. He dreaded to think what Cerberus would have done to Emi. Hopefully she was alright.
As he reached the entrance, he saw movements to his left. He raised his rifle and aimed down the sight.
There was a fight between a human teenager and a Husk. As far as he could tell, the Husk seemed to be winning. It was on top of the teenager and pinning him down to the floor whilst desperately trying to claw at him. The teenager already had several cuts on his face and chest.
Thomson didn't dare shoot. They were too close together for him to be able to shoot accurately without hitting the teenager. So he started advancing to try and get a better shot.
The teenager's Omni-tool lit up and an orange combat drone - similar to the one Aquila had - appeared behind the Husk and a flash hit it in the back. The creature spun and sliced its claws at the combat drone, dissipating its weak shields. It flickered before deactivating.
The Husk turned back to the teenager, just to get shot in the chest by a pistol. It rolled off him, some sort of blue liquid leaking out of its body. It tried to stand up but Thomson shot it in the head.
"Who are you?" Thomson asked the teenager.
"My name's Herring," he answered, "Herring Oswild. Who are you?"
"Lt. Thomson. Alliance Navy. I'm here to rescue some of my friends from Cerberus. I have some people from my ship defending the landing area up. We can take you back to the ship. You could help our team. The more we have defending, the more chance we have at success."
"Ok, I'll go and help. Good luck. Cerberus are bastards, and so are the Reapers. Damn Reapers. I'm glad to be getting away from this planet."
"So will I be when we go. Stay safe Herring."
Herring jogged up the slight incline Thomson had just run down, passing the dead bodies of the Cerberus soldiers.
Thomson meanwhile pushed open the main doors to the Houses of Parliament, which were still intact though burned and broken slightly. He saw a flash of white armour so lashed out with his foot, catching a Cerberus soldier in the stomach. It hurt his foot, and the soldier only staggered, but it put enough distance between them for him to fire shots off from his rifle.
When the soldier dropped, his gun clicked empty. And he had no spare magazines so he switched to his pistol instead.
An electric sword flashed in front of him and he dived out of the way to avoid the blade that was being held by another Cerberus shock trooper, who was using it as a melee weapon. Thomson threw the soldier against the wall with his biotics, then ripped him apart at a molecular level.
He used a shockwave - probably the most powerful one he had ever conjured - to kill three more soldiers who were approaching him from down a corridor. It sent them flying backwards, straight through a wall.
"Emi?" he called.
No answer.
He ran up a staircase whilst calling her name. He must have passed a hundred doors and checked every single one - no sounds of movement and no other Cerberus soldiers. He felt like he and Emi were a million miles away, even though they could have been only a matter of metres.
"Oh god Emi where are you..." he mumbled. Even though the Houses of Parliament were big, his voice echoed. Something must have happened to her. He felt fear rising in the pit of his stomach. Fear and pain.
"Thomson in here!" he heard Renswick shout as he passed a heavy brown door. He spun to face the door and then kicked it in. It flew off its hinges and he ran into the room.
"Emi!" he yelled as he saw her familiar Quarian mask.
"Thomson!" she cried, throwing her arms around him, "Oh keelah I'm glad to see you..."
He hugged her back, tightly, "And I you. What happened? What did they do to you?"
"... I'm so, so, so sorry about that message I didn't mean it at all please forgive me they made me do it..."
He kissed her mask, "Don't worry. I know."
"Good to see you again, old friend," Renswick grinned, "And not bad timing, either."
"And why is that?" Thomson asked, a smile also playing on his lips inside his helmet.
Renswick's face changed, "Because now I get to kill you both."
He raised a pistol.