GROAN

Shepard woke up in a daze. As her situation came back to her, she quickly got up from whatever surface she had been lying on, preparing to face the enemy.

To her surprise, the Reaper that was supposed to be floating in the sky was nowhere to be found. In fact, the sky itself was blocked by something.

'It seems I'm in some kind of medical tent...'

Before Shepard could ponder any further, someone entered the tent hurriedly. It was a Prothean. "Easy.''

The Prothean did his best to calm Shepard down, but she immediately asked, "Where is this? Did we win?"

While Samael had the serum, Shepard did not. It was normal for her to lose consciousness after the shockwave hit them, there was no shame in that. Now, she just needed to catch up on what had happened while she was out.

The Prothean doctor examined Shepard in less than ten seconds and motioned for her to sit. "I'll explain everything, but please, sit."

Shepard complied and fixed her gaze on the Prothean, silently urging him to tell her what was going on.

The Prothean did just that, '' It has been 4 to 5 hours since you passed out. You are in a medical tent in Illos, and yes, we killed the Reaper, but I would not call that a win.''

'' What happened?'' Shepard noticed the doctor's tone and was taken aback.

The Prothean doctor tapped his omni tool a few times and sent a message to Samael, then said to Shepard, '' I sent a message to your boyfriend, as he asked me to call him as soon as you woke up. He will tell you everything or you can just search for it yourself. Now, if you excuse me, I have many more patients to take care of.''

'' He's not my-''

The Prothean doctor didn't let her finish and left a bewildered Shepard behind. The commander still had many questions, but she would ask them when Samael arrived. For now, she would look at the news, to see what was up.

As the battle that was going to happen in the Citadel was known by all galaxy, news about it was plastered all across the internet, so it was easy for her to find it.

'' BREAKING NEWS: THE COLLECTORES ARE ON THE REAPERS SIDE! EXCLUSIVE FOOTAGE WILL BE RELEASED.''

Shepard filtered the old news and was shocked by what she was seeing.

She had heard about the Collectors before, a species almost as obscure as the Reapers. So seeing them joining the Reaper side was something really shocking. Not only that, but it also seems there are reporters filming everything.

Shepard had a new respect for whoever was filming it but was also sighing because of their recklessness. Even her crewmates there were in danger, imagine civilians.

But, she continued reading the news.

Then, the exclusive footage was released, showing the Collectors fighting in the Citadel and the army doing its best to hold them back. In those footage, it showcased a lot of Protheans too, fighting side by side with the C-Sec and LD army.

Shepard continued to watch more news, and time flew by.

'' BREAKING NEWS: THE COLLECTORS WERE RETREATING! MORE ON THIS SOON!''

Finally, she reached the end of the ones regarding the Citadel.

' We won there too, but the doctor's words still are on my mind...'

Just then, Samael, alongside Dr. Chakwas, entered the tent. '' Shepard.''

Both went to Shepard right away, '' Are you alright, commander?''

'' I'm doing fine, Karin. And you?''

Dr. Chakwas used her omni tool and only when she was sure Shepard was ok that she realize, '' Better now that you are up.''

Shepard smiled at her then looked at Samael, '' What did I miss?''

She noticed he also didn't have a good expression on his face.

'' A lot. Things will get more complicated from now on.''

Sheprad took a deep breath, '' Hit me with it.''

Samael did just that, '' We killed the Reaper but they achieved their goal. They sent a message to the rest of its fleet. We have 1 to 3 years max to prepare for them.''

Shepard sighed, ' Fuck.'

---

Soon after that, Shepard got out of the tent and went to check on her crew members, with Dr. Chakwas continuing on with her day, helping where she could. All of Shepard's crewmates were ok, with no one being seriously injured.

She also called Ash, Vega, and Jacob, and was relieved they were ok too.

'' After we deal with things here, there will be a reunion on the Citadel, with all species involved. We will plan everything there.'' Samael said to Shepard, as they walked around.

'' Good. How are your crewmembers?'' Shepard asked that, while Tali and Liara's well-being was on her mind.

Samael gave a geniune smile, '' Alive. But, the same could not be said about the rest of LD.''

A lot of good people died in this battle. Preventable death even. But, their sacrifices would be honored, one way or another.

'' My condolences.''

'' They knew what they were fighting for. No one who died today died in vain.'' Soon, both arrived at their ships. '' Rest for now. We will talk later.''

Shepard held Samael's arm before he left, '' ... Are you really ok?''

He smiled at her, '' I'll be when we kill the last one of the Reapers.''

With a nod, Shepard let him go and Samaael returned to his day. With nothing more to do, Shepard entered the Normandy and went to see Joker.

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'' Commander!'' As soon as she entered the cockpit, the pilot got up with some difficulty and hugged her, '' Glad to see you alive.''

'' You too, you too. A shame I didn't do much, unlike you!'' Shepard broke the hug and looked at her pilot with pride, '' I heard a lot about what you did. Good job.''

Joker puffed his chest, '' I am the be- one of the best pilots humanity has. I had help too, a lot of it.''

Shepard heard about his, Veronica and EDI's tales when she was out, walking around Illos with Samael. It was said their leadership was the reason they won, as they held back a lot of Geth in the air, not allowing them to land with more troops.

'' Good job, regardless. Now, how about you tell me how is your progress with EDI?'' Shepard smiled at Joker.

'' Commander!'''

Meanwhile, while Shepard was looking after her crew, Samael was doing the same.

When he returned to the battlefield after defeating the Reaper, he found the battle nearly over. The Geth had lost the moral support that Sovereign provided, along with its devastating beam attacks. It was only a matter of time before LD gained the upper hand, and they did so quickly.

Samael pitched in to help wherever he could while checking on his family. He found Liara, RR, and Tali safe and together. He embraced them with hugs and kisses, which they happily returned.

Not stopping for long, he continued to search the battlefield for survivors and his crew. With communications activated, it was somewhat easier to find each other, but for those trapped under rubble or in destroyed vehicles, it was more challenging.

Soon, Samael found Kasumi, Keiji, and Thane. Other than a few bruises here and there, they were okay.

Wrex, Javik, and Grunt were more than okay, they were chatting and destroying Geth's carcasses at the same time.

Since the battle ended, Samael had been making rounds around the battlefield, trying to save anyone he could.

FEW HOURS LATER

Now, it was time for a brief reunion with those in positions of power, mainly Wrex, Javik, and Tevos. They had a lot to discuss.

Samael entered the Phoenix and went to the bar, where he found Wrex and Javik waiting for him.

“How is Shepard?” While Wrex and Javik hadn't interacted much, if at all, with Shepard, they had heard about her and knew that Samael held her in high regard. In fact, he had stopped talking with them recently to go check on her when she woke up.

“She’s good. Now, how about we start that reunion of ours?”

“Let’s.”

Wrex and Javik knew they had a lot to discuss with Tevos, so they wanted to start sooner rather than later.

Soon, Samael made a call to Tevos, and the Councilor picked up. Behind her were the Matriarchs and Garrus. ''Hello."

"Hi. I wish we were talking in better circumstances, but I guess we don't have that privilege." Samael replied with a troubled smile.

Tevos scoffed slightly. "It seems every conversation we have revolves around some crisis."

Nonetheless, the Asari maintained a sense of hope, knowing Samael had a remarkable ability to turn situations around.

"What are our next steps?" Tevos asked.

Due to Samael's past actions, his words carried significant weight and momentum, perfect for a situation like this, where guidance was desperately needed.

"Not much has changed, but we will need to gather representatives from all species for a meeting. If they could hide before, they can't anymore."

Samael wanted to unite the galaxy, yes, but later, when things were more organized. But now, they didn't have the luxury of time.

Tevos frowned. "Even with everything that's happened, I doubt they will listen to us or cooperate. By now, all of them must be thinking about how to escape... fools."

It was somewhat true and not true at the same time. Not long ago, the galaxy had proven they could do better by helping Thessia. But now the situation was more serious, and no one knew how they would react.

Samael was aware of all this, but he had a trump card regarding the matter, one that he had started to build some time ago. "Then, how about we give them just that?"

Tevos noticed Samael's expression and connected the dots. "Project Andromeda?"

This revelation caused the other Matriarchs to react a bit, while Garrus, Javik, and Wrex appeared clueless.

Samael nodded. "We reveal it to them, saying that only those that helped in the war efforts, will have slots on the Arcs. We just won’t tell them exactly what we were planning from the beginning."

Wrex couldn't hold back any longer. As he watched the Matriarchs discuss among themselves, he asked, "What is Project Andromeda?"

While Javik and Garrus were more reserved than the Krogan, their expressions and body language showed they were equally curious.

As Samael explained the project to the trio, Tevos contemplated ways to 'explore' other species, all aimed at protecting the galaxy. After all, it was everyone's home.

At that moment, Benezia approached her. "Why don't you use what Samael just mentioned?"

Tevos glanced at Benezia, encouraging her to continue.

Benezia obliged. "I think it's a human expression: 'carrot and the stick.' It’s a way to make an animal follow a path toward where you want it to go. Samael has Project Andromeda as his carrot, now we just need to find ours."

Tevos thought for a moment and then had an Eureka moment. She looked at Benezia. "I could kiss you right now."

Benezia scoffed. "No, thank you. You're too troublesome for me."

Tevos proceeded to ignore her and turned her attention back to Samael. Just then, he finished explaining Project Andromeda to the trio. "How about we use the Council as bait too?"

Samael immediately understood what she meant, but for the sake of the others, he said, "Explain."

Tevos said, "While you will use Project Andromeda as bait, I'll do the same with the Council. The Turians and the humans have their place there already, but I think it's time to expand. Three Council members seem too few, don’t you think?"

Samael couldn't hide his smile as he looked at Tevos. He appreciated her business-minded approach. "For those species to have a chance, they must help us significantly, either with funding or something similar."

"Precisely! Hahaha!"

"Hahahahaha."

Wrex and Javik took a step back from Samael, a reaction mirrored by Garrus and the Matriarchs millions of kilometers away.

The Krogan whispered to the Prothean, "... They look scary."

Javik could only nod in agreement.

---

After that, it was decided that the reunion with representatives from the other species would take place a week later. This provided ample time for them to prepare the representatives they would send, clean the Citadel, and for Samael to do his part.

While one week might not feel like enough, it should be sufficient for Samael to accomplish his tasks. First, he planned to go to Virmire, as he was certain his plant friend, who had been kidnapped from Feros, was there. He would likely need to summon an Ardat-Yakshi to assist him, as his friend was probably indoctrinated.

'Saren or the Reaper has taken the Thorian, and honestly, that's the only place I can think of where it might be. He's a valuable ally and the last of his species.'

Samael wouldn't admit it, but he had a soft spot for the last members of endangered species. After Virmire, one of the first things, the second in his plan, he planned to save the Rachni Queen.

Thanks to the Shadow Broker's regular reports, which continued even amidst the Reaper invasion, he learned that some individuals had found something resembling an egg and sent it to Noveria.

This egg WAS the Rachni Queen, someone who could greatly benefit the galaxy if befriended. After that, he intended to send RR and EDI on a mission: to gather all the Geth under their banner.

While many Geth had aligned with the Sovereign, a significant number sought freedom. That’s where both of them would come in to recruit them.

Now, he had just finished sending a message to the Headmaster, asking her to send an Ardat-Yakshi to Virmire, and was ready to leave Illos.

Some personnel from the LD team, along with a few Krogans and even some Protheans, would remain on the planet for a while to ensure everything was in order. After all, Samael, when he presse the FUCK it botton after the attack on Thessia, had used the Shadow Broker to reveal the location of Illos, so a few oportunistc people might use this chance to try and take over the planet.

They would have a 'good time' if they did so.

Speaking of Protheans, now that the truth was revealed, that a lot of them were alive and not just Javik, thanks to the footage taken by a trio of reporters during the Battle of the Citadel,which showed many Protheans alive, they decided to become more visible to others.

What would come of this, no one knows.

By the way, the crew reunited, as they were all heading to the same place in a week. They decided to accompany Samael on his errands. Joker took a vacation, and someone from Shepard's crew would pilot the Normandy while he spent time with EDI on the Phoenix.

Samara, who had slain the Sovereign, chose to join them too.

Wrex and Javik sent their respective armies away. Samael, of course, recognized the contributions of everyone who participated in the war, rewarding them with a significant amount of credits—a small gesture to show appreciation for their help.

For those who died, their bodies would be sent back to their home planets and families, with LD providing full support until their families no longer needed it. This was another small gesture to ensure loyalty and demonstrate that LD/Samael cared.

Everyone boarded the Phoenix, chatting and making small talk. Soon, the ship took flight, heading to Virmire.