» Mon May 14, 2012 8:50 pm [Now I haven't forced myself to suffer through the ending more than once, so this won't be insanely detailed, more of just an outline for an alternate ending that would have the emotional impact I felt the original was supposed to have.]
Admiral Hackett- "Shepard, it seems you've made more enemies than friends out there, I don't think we have the fleet to get the Crucible through. I wish we had more options."
Commander Shepard- "Maybe we do Admiral. The Illusive Man already informed the Reapers that the Crucible is the key to their destruction..."
Ad Hackett-"So they have brought the bulk of their forces to protect the Citadel, and keep the Crucible from making contact, which means we'll get hammered out there. How does this help us Commander?"
[these next lines would vary depending on whether or not Tali survived the suicide mission, so I'll just place the basic response]
Shepard- "Tali was investigating a a star which had fallen into rapid decay. She says that the cause was Element Zero being bled into the star from a ship in decaying orbit."
Admiral H- "I still don't understand how this helps us commander, and I don't like what this is beginning to sound like"
Shepard-"The question is Admiral, what are we willing to lose to stop the reapers?"
Hackett- "If we don't stop them, we lose everything. The stakes are clear."
Shepard- "I have a plan. But we will lose Earth, Mars, everything in the Sol system Admiral."
Hackett- "You want to cause a super-nova? Commander, you're out of line-"
[here a renegade interrupt would appear, if you do not hit it Hackett begins to question your sanity, but you can reach the same conclusion]
Shepard[interrupt]-"We lose Earth Admiral, or we lose everything, Those are the stakes."
Hackett-"... This is the only way, isn't it? Very well, what do you need us to do Commander?"
Shepard- "Exactly what we planned, move in with the Crucible, try to convince them we mean it. They move faster than our ships. If they figure out what we are doing they will try to get to the Charon Relay. We can't let them know."
Hackett-"Do you think the fleet should know?"
[here the player would choose between a few options, this choice would affect how many reapers hit the relay and escape]
Hackett-"What will you be doing? The Reapers know you're their biggest threat Commander, they will be watching any move you make extremely carefully."
[another decision, this time affecting how many friendly forces escape as well as affecting the final fight(You can stay aboard, tipping the reapers off and making the final encounter being fought inside Harbinger, or go to london, causing the reapers to focus on you when the fleet moves to escape. I will write the London ending first and add the Harbinger ending when I can]
--------London--------
[once again depending on whether or not tali survived ME2, if not this conversation will be with EDI]
Shepard [via radio]- "How much Eezo would we need to make it super-nova fast enough?"
Tali [via radio]- "It seems like a the amount within 2 drive cores would be enough, but they need to be... I guess overcooked would be the right word. We'll find a way Shepard, you just keep their attention on you. Keelah Se'Lai (if Love Interest) and Shepard, I love you."
[cue the ingame london sequence]
[Towards the end Shepard is bruised and bloody, still moving towards the beam]
Hackett- Shepard, we don't have much left, the Crucible wouldn't even function if we could use it now"
Shepard- "Tali! We're running out of time! we need a way NOW!"
Joker- "Commander, we found a way. Tali and the rest of the non crewman are being taken by shuttle to other ships. Remember how the Alliance Brass thought the Stealth Systems were a waste of money? Turns out thats just what we need to 'cook off' those cores. Plus we got a nice and shiny Tantalus drive core from Cerberus. With enough Eezo for two ships! And get this, EDI predicts that the Eezo will accelerate the Super-Nova to Faster-than-light speed! Great how things work out in the end eh Commander?"
Shepard- "Joker, no... There's gotta be something else... Some other way..."
Joker [somber]- "I've said my goodbyes commander. And I won't be going down alone. The ship crew wants to get as deep into the sun as we can, and that means everyone will need to be doing their damnedest to keep the barriers up as long as we can. Tell the fleet to withdraw. The last of the non essentials are away."
Shepard- "Admiral! Get everyone to the relay! NOW!"
Hackett- "What about you Commander?"
[depending on your personal history]
[colonist]- "I always wanted to be buried here... Too many familiar names on Mindoir"
[Spacer]- "I thought I'd go down with my ship, but it looks like I'll be going down with my planet"
[earthborn]- "This is... Home"
Shepard- Just promise me you'll hunt down every last one that we didn't get here, for all of us"
Hackett- It was an honor.
Shepard [an open com to all Earth defenders]- We are about to win this. But its going to take every last man here to do it. I'm sorry, I wish there had been another way... Any other way. You all sacrificed everything to save a galaxy. Every living being left in this existence owes you their lives, and they damn well won't forget it. We are sacrificing our home so that nothing has to face this threat EVER AGAIN. Each and every one of you is a legend. I'm proud to be here with you in our darkest hour. So let's show them that we won't let them leave! That this is our planet, and if we are going to lose it, we'll lose it on OUR terms. Commander Shepard, over and out"
[the camera leaves earth and enters the Normandy, heading straight for the sun and focuses on joker furiously scrambling in the cockpit until EDI takes his hand, and they kiss. Joker looks at the readouts one last time]
Joker- "I always thought it would be stairs..."
-------------------END---------------------
----edit----
Added a mention of the nova going FTL due to the possibility of the Reapers escaping otherwise. Thanks Subject M!
This is a copypaste from my post over at the Bioware forums, I thought any disenfranchised Mass Effect fans lurking here might appreciate it. And as always feel free to criticise. Oddly enough its my favorite piece I've written, I guess its because I gave myself the closure I desired.
