Wilhelm Osborne's Epilogue|Rachel Elizabeth's Epilogue

Several years after the end of the war; The Citadel

Osborne stared up at the upper levels of the citadel as he rode the elevator up, idly tapping the hilt of his Ion Blade on his side, he ran a hand through his hair before the elevator came to a stop, stepping off and walking along the ward until he reached a set of apartments, hitting the buzzer as he waited for a moment, a female turian voice responding. "Hello?" The biotic shifted on his foot "Hello Valonia, is Arglack home?" "Yeah, he's just on the patio, come on in." The door buzzed open, revealing Valonia Agonis, clad in casual civilian wear as her mandibles twitched "You look good Captain Osborne." The soldier bowed his head as he stepped in, giving a brief hug to the Turian, who returned it. "Please, I'm off duty, you know you don't have to call me by rank anymore." The turian gave a soft chuckle as she lead him through the apartment "I trust the prosthetics aren't bothering you too much?" "Nope, been tweaking them myself so they're performing better than ever." Osborne allowed himself a small chuckle as Valonia opened the door to the modest balcony, Arglack was seated on a chair, a glass of ryncol in his hand as he looked over the presidium of the citadel, he turned, a smirk forming as he stood up "Still alive then you tough bastard?" The biotic smiled, grasping Arglack's arm as he did the same, the two shaking as he took a seat across from the Krogan "After all we've been through, it'd be embarrassing to get killed by a few pirates."

The Krogan gave a hearty laugh as Agonis went back inside, the Krogan taking a sip of his drink as he looked over to Osborne "So you said you wanted to talk about something?" The biotic nodded as he leaned back in his chair "I keep thinking back to the assault on the Venir base...What Elizabeth said to us...what happened with Thatcher afterwards..." The Krogan gave a slow nod at that "It was a difficult time for both of us, after all we'd learned, and all we'd been through before and during the war..."

Osborne glanced to his left, watching an air car fly past as he nodded...

Several Years Earlier, Venir Command Base

Osborne loaded another thermal clip into his Avenger, glancing back as a few of his squadmates returned fire down the corridor. Shepard stood opposite him, utilizing the door frame for cover as he gave a hand signal to Osborne who nodded, biotics flaring as he threw up a barrier in the hallway, advancing forward as Shepard and Arglack advanced next to him, their weapons barking rounds out towards the Venir troopers, several of whom were cut down in seconds whilst the rest fell back down the hallway, barely reaching the next door as the last one caught a Valiant round in the back of the head, dropping dead. They reached a junction, splitting off in two directions as Shepard paused "Arglack, take Hoplite and clear the left passage, I'll take Raider and clear the right one, we'll meet up further down. No risks Operations Chief." The Krogan nodded as he gestured forward, the team forming up behind him as they eventually reached a large cargo bay door, which slowly opened enough for them to enter a large storage area just before the command center itself. Cargo crates and small barricades littered the room, with another large cargo door waiting closed on the far end of the bay. Arglack gestured forward, the squad fanning out with weapons raised as they scanned the room, motion sensors revealing no movement, and the only noise they could hear was the sounds of their boots against the metal floor.

"I guess I'm not really surprised you came this far." A woman's voice echoed over the PA system in the room, the marines halting and moving to cover as they scanned for targets. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you go any further than this." The doors at the far end of the bay opened up, a heavily armored and modified ATLAS Mech stepping through it, bringing it's heavy cannon to bear as it opened fire, several shells slamming into crates and barricades and forcing the marines deeper into cover as they returned fire; their rounds striking the tough shields of the exosuit. Osborne gritted his teeth, seeing the former Major Elizabeth piloting the mech as he flared his biotics, throwing a trio of warp spheres at the Mech, causing a small biotic blast that staggered it briefly, before Elizabeth brought the mech around, it's shoulder armour opening and firing off a volley of small, micro-missiles into the air that scattered around, several marines ducking behind cover as Osborne, Sysmod and Agonis caught some of the blasts of the micro munitions, their shields flaring and coming to the verge of breaking as they ducked behind cover. "That thing's tougher than a tank!" Grespring called out as he reloaded his weapon, Agonis coming up and firing off an Overload module at the Mech, it's shields flaring as electricity crawled across it's armor.

A blast of energy from Grespring's Vapor Cannon struck the mech, staggering it again as it's shields flared brightly, the heavy cannon turning to the side as it opened fire once again, Arglack shoving the marine out of the way as he took the mass-driver round head on, his shields breaking on impact and throwing the Krogan to the ground, his armor dented but no serious damage. Osborne and Agonis both ducked out of cover, a barrage of biotic and tech attacks flying into the mech as it's shields flared and broke, it's armor beginning to dent as the marines concentrated their fire on the cockpit of the mech, the glass beginning to crack as rounds smashed against it, before metal plating suddenly lowered from the top of the mech, covering the vulnerable glass armor as the shoulders opened up again, more micro-missiles flying through the air towards Arglack's group.

Osborne sprinted forward, biotics flaring as he threw up a barrier, coming to a halt between the mech and the marines, his blue biotics glowing brightly as the missiles slammed against the barrier, creating a cloud of smoke and fire that rolled across it, the biotic falling to a knee under the concentrated barrage, unable to hear the mech quickly approaching as it brought its arm around, slamming shoulder first into the barrier and shattering it, staggering Osborne back as the arm cannon came around, about to fire when Arglack rushed in from the side, Matyr fully charged as he fired a point-blank blast into the Mech, ripping open the front armor and staggering it back as Osborne got to his feet, Avenger brought up as he emptied the magazine into the hole, the shattering of glass a moment later as the mech began to beep loudly, smoke rising from the engine on the back

"Take cover, it's self-destructing!" Arglack grabbed Osborne, pulling them behind a container as Elizabeth ejected, rushing behind a barricade of her own as the mech exploded, fire and shrapnel filling the air as several side doors opened, groups of Venir Assassin mechs pouring in as one jumped over the container that Arglack and Osborne were behind, it's blades extended as Osborne threw a lash up, grabbing the mech by the neck and pulling it down towards him and Arglack, the Krogan slamming his helmeted head against it and embedding in the side of the container before bringing an omnibladed fist around and impaling it through the chest, the mech's lights shutting down. "More fragile than usual..." Arglack commented as he suddenly was hit by a blast of fire, staggering him back as he roared out, trying to put himself out as Elizabeth rushed through the smoke, slamming into Osborne and bringing and hard-light covered fist into his chest with surprising force, leaving a dent in the container as he fell to the ground, a quick kick following it up and sending him rolling across the floor.

Arglack turned to the new threat, drawing his hammer off his back and swinging it around in a wide arc, Elizabeth sliding under it as she brought her omnitool up, firing off another incinerate right into Arglack's helmet and staggering him back yet again as she brought her fist around, a batarian gauntlet deploying as Osborne raised his hand, a concentrated biotic barrier forming ahead of the impact as the gauntlet slammed against it, the blast of following energy was enough to shatter the barrier and force Arglack to take a step to steady himself before bringing his hammer around again, Elizabeth throwing up an omni-shield as she braced.

The Krogan hammer smashed against the shield, throwing Elizabeth off her feet and flying through the air as it shattered on impact, the old soldier slamming into the ground a few feet away as she rolled over, pushing herself to her feet as she drew her Talon, two rounds barking out from it as Arglack rushed forward, the first one striking his shoulder, puncturing his armour, the second one striking his forearm, causing him to drop his hammer as he roared out, continuing his charge as Elizabeth shifted on her feet, her batarian gauntlet deploying again as Arglack threw his weight towards Elizabeth, the former marine bringing her gauntlet in an uppercut and managing to strike the Krogan right in the chest, the Krogan sharply pulling back from the heavy strike as his chest plate dented, the air rushing from his lungs as Elizabeth brought her Omnitool up, about to deploy another tech ability as Osborne rushed forward, Ion blade raised with blue energy running along it as he swung, the former marine bringing up an Omniblade and parrying as she was forced onto the defensive by Osborne's assault, his blade weaving deadly blue arcs through the air as her Omniblade began to crack under the pressure, the Ion quality of his sword draining Elizabeth's shields at the same time. The two clashed, their respective weapons pushing against one another as Osborne gritted his teeth

"Still think you're in the right on this Major?" He threw his head forward, striking Elizabeth and staggering her as he brought a biotic covered fist around into her gut, a blast of biotic energy sending Elizabeth staggering back as her shields and tech reinforcements broke, the former marine reaching to her back as she drew an old Cerberus Shock baton, electricity running along the edges of it as she reset her Omniblade, rushing forward to the marine as she slashed with the omni weapon, Osborne parrying as she stabbed him in the gut with the baton, electricity running along the marine as he gritted his teeth, staggering back as she twirled the weapon in her hand, bringing it around and slamming it against the side of his helmet, throwing him to the ground, his sword clattering to the floor nearby as Arglack roared out, charging forward as Elizabeth turned, omnishield deploying as the Krogan slammed into her, throwing her back against a cargo container as she bounced off it, denting it and falling to a knee as Arglack brought his Claymore up, the barrel aiming right at Elizabeth's face as the former major looked up, panting as Arglack caught his breath as well. "Surrender. Now." The major paused for a moment, catching her own breath as a shot echoed out from the side, striking Arglack's weapon and throwing it from his hands, turning to the source as an assassin mech rushed forward, armblade deployed as it swung at Arglack, the krogan grabbing it's blade arm, tearing it out and impaling it through the chest before throwing it aside. He drew his locust of his side, turning down to the Major to see her gone, only for a Talon shot to ring out, striking the Krogan in the side and forcing him down to the ground. Elizabeth stepped forward, aiming her pistol at the Krogan's head as her aim faltered for a moment, before a shout of anger caught her attention, a whip of biotic energy striking her across the chest and staggering her back, before Osborne ran in, shoulder lowered as he slammed it into Elizabeth's chest, pushing her into the container and slamming her against it, the air rushing from her lungs as he reached up, wrenching her helmet off before bringing a biotic covered fist around, the marine major bringing her bionic arm up and pushing Osborne's fist to the side, barely missing her head as she brought a knee up into his gut, forcing him to take a step back, an Omni-fist coming around and striking the marine square in the jaw and throwing him to the floor. The former major stepped over Osborne as she picked up her Talon, aiming it down at the marine "I'm sorry, Wilhelm."

She slowly squeezed the trigger before a Mattock barked out two rounds, both striking the major in the back as they penetrated her armor, the marine stumbling forward as the trio looked to the source, seeing a female marine wearing battered Alliance Recon Armor lower an engraved Mattock, the names of long, honored dead along the sides of the weapon, her ocean blue eyes filled with sadness as she adjusted her aim, firing a third shot which struck the Major in the gut and caused her to stagger back into a container, falling to the ground as she grasped the wound. "It...Can't be..." Arglack said as the woman spared him a soft glance, walking over to the major as she knelt down. "It's over, mum. We've destroyed enough of our legacy as it is." The major gave a pained look up to her daughter, tears welling up in her eyes "Everything I did..." Anne Elizabeth placed a hand on her cheek "I know. I forgive you, mum, so does Emma." The major coughed out as the fighting died down, the soldiers finishing off the remaining mechs as Arglack walked over, looking down and kneeling in front of the Major as blood slowly poured out of her mouth, the former marine looking up to meet his gaze "Even with all that happened, I believed things could have been different, you'd come back, stay by our side as we try to bring Thatcher back.. but I was blind, wasn't I? You didn't have much of a choice, but in the end, I hope it was worth it.." Elizabeth coughed out, a weak nod following it "I'm sure...even you could relate to the feeling...of being able to hold your child in your arms once more, especially when they were taken from you..." Osborne pushed himself to his feet, retrieving his weapon and letting it fold up as he clipped it back to his side, looking over the exchange as it continued. Arglack stood silent for a moment before looking back towards her face, letting out a sigh "I've lost one of them back when we were still infected by the Genophage.. I held my kid in my arms as they didn't show any signs of life, and I would do anything to bring them back but.. I know I can't, so .. all that I could have done is to just move on." The major nodded "I wish I had been...as strong as you Arglack...You carried so, so much on your shoulders for so...so many years..." She coughed out again, holding her chest as Anne gently held her, one of the marine corpsmen coming over and doing a quick medical scan as they shook their head - There was no saving her this time. Elizabeth seemed to understand that as she wiped away a tear on her eye, looking up to the krogan "I'm sorry, Arglack...I'm sorry for everything that we put you, your family, your people...I'm sorry for all of it."

Arglack looks down, nodding as he spoke out "You did what you thought it was right.. and you could have shot me right there in the head, but you didn't.." Looking back up, his helmet folds back into his armor, him giving a slight smile, patting Elizabeth's shoulder "But you're going to see them again, we'll put an end to this mess.." Elizabeth weakly placed her own hand on Arglacks, smiling "Do me a favor...old friend. When you see Flynt...make it quick, he's gone through enough suffering as it is with that...madman of a father..." Her grip tightened for a fraction of a second before she leaned her head back, eyes fluttering closed as the corpsman's scanner gave off a solid, long tone, indicating that the Major was dead. Osborne bowed his head for a moment as Anne gently laid her mother's arms across her legs. Arglack let go of her grip once she fainted, the Krogan stared for some moments before looking over Anne, now placing his own hand on the woman's shoulder, in silence while letting her have her moment. The former marine said nothing, gently leaning into Arglack's grip before looking up "Thank you, Arglack. I'll see that her body is taken back to the fleet...you...stop my dad. Please."

"I will, this has gone on long enough.." Looking back towards Elizabeth with another sigh of his own "..Take her dogtags, or.. anything, bring her memory with you wherever you go." "I will. Always." The former marine gently picked up her mother, leaving the room towards the Alliance held territory as Osborne stood next to the Krogan, picking up his helmet. "End of an era...You ready to finish this?" He stood back up, holding his wounded side and clenching his eyes for a second, with a grunt and looking back towards Osborne "...I should be the one asking you that." Osborne gave a smile, putting his helmet on "Always. Right behind you Chief Arglack."

Present day...

Arglack tapped his glass as he nodded, letting Osborne speak "Do you think there was more we could have done? I mean Anne has already done quite a bit to make up for what her family did, she's served admirably during the cleanup campaigns and she's done a lot towards helping smooth over things...But do you think there was more we could have done with the Major? Tried to convince her, tried to save her even?" The Krogan shook his head "Maybe. But we did everything we could that day, she made her choice and stuck with it, and we both understand the reasons behind it." Osborne nodded solemnly as his omnitool beeped, the captain checking it over as he stood up, the Krogan doing the same "Well, I'd like to stay and chat for longer, however I have to attend a general staff meeting in half an hour, it was good to see you again old friend." The krogan offered a handshake, which the biotic accepted, before walking him out towards the door, opening it to reveal Anne Elizabeth, wearing a suit of new generation marine armour, the engraved Mattock on her back with her arms behind her back. Arglack gave her a nod, which the marine smiled and returned as the Captain said one final farewell to Arglack and Agonis, before walking away with Anne towards the Alliance embassy.

"Did you get the answers you wanted Wil?" The captain glanced at the Lieutenant, looking over the presidium "I suppose I already had them, I guess I just wanted to confirm it."

Anne smiled, nodding as she patted the biotic on the shoulder, the two of them climbing into a waiting air car as they shot off towards the embassy districts.

Aftermath

Captain Wilhelm Osborne and Staff Lieutenant Anne Elizabeth would go onto take command of the SSV Tokyo after recapturing it from the forces of Aria T'Loak and Omega, before spearheading an Alliance campaign to pacify the system for standing against the council. After several weeks of hard fighting, which included a successful invasion of Omega, which Alliance forces were able to take control of nearly 40% of the Omega Station, Alliance command and Aria T'Loak came to a compromise, ending in increased element zero shipments to the alliance and the establishment of a few recruiting posts on the station, in exchange for an end to hostilities and the lifting of the travel ban from Citadel races to the station as well as modernized mining equipment. The formal declaration was signed on behalf of the Alliance by Captain Osborne, whilst Aria T'Loak signed on behalf of the gangs and mercenary groups from Omega.

He would also eventually return the Raloian Emperor's Ion Sword to the Raloian people as part of their history, and, alongside several other 2nd MSRC veterans, attended the new coronation of the Raloian Emperor.