Commander Shepard stared at the data on his omni-tool, trying his best to take in every word and diagram. Activating a weapon as powerful as the Crucible without fully understanding it could be disastrous, and the galaxy would be in bad enough shape when this was over without a malfunction or misfire. He was dimly aware that the Catalyst was still speaking, but he'd stopped listening after the AI had given him the data on itself and the Crucible. He had more important things to worry about.
Every ounce of energy and focus not spent on understanding the machine went towards the arduous task of simply keeping him alive. His body felt heavy, even with the charred remains of his armor removed. Every breath took conscious effort, and he could feel the blood gurgle in his windpipe. Many of his various implants had been fried, now contributing only to pain rather than the healing process. Most men would not be standing at this point, let alone analyzing complex schematics.
It was lucky, then that he was not an average man, but an N7 engineer. Understanding combat tech and functioning under lethal conditions were in his job description, and he soon found what he was looking for.
Shepard added "liar" to his mental list of the Catalyst's personality traits, right under prideful, traitor, and insane. What It had referred to as Its own three solutions were in fact functions of the Crucible, added through the cycles in the hopes that at least one of them would work and stop the harvest. Rather than abandon the original design in favor of new plans, it appeared those who modified the plans wanted to keep all options open. The current version of the Crucible was essentially three different machines in one hull.
And now it fell to Shepard to choose which was best for the entire galaxy. No pressure, he thought grimly.
Directly in front of him was a pale green beam. Simply stepping into it would begin a process that the Catalyst had called "Synthesis." Ostensibly, it would use a cybernetically enhanced organic as a template for all life in the galaxy, uniting them as one race by infusing organic DNA with synthetic enhancements and synthetic minds with organic understanding. Both the Leviathan AI and the notes in the now fully decrypted blueprint insisted this was the best option.
Actually looking at the devices schematics, it was clear that whoever came up with this plan was either insane or indoctrinated. Even if it were possible to do the things it claimed, the Synthesis component's only actual function was an oversized incinerator. he didn't even want to think about how much time and resources they could have saved by ignoring it.
The other options, however, showed promise. They both relied on the Reaper network. The Catalyst was its heart, and directly connected to every Reaper "ship" through an extensive network of advanced quantum entanglers. Each Reaper then had a range measured in light-years at which it could control ground troops and indoctrinated thralls.
The Crucible's original purpose, total Reaper destruction, was represented by a mass of red machinery to his right. If used, it would delete all reaper code within the thrall control range, then trigger a self destructive eezo chain-reaction reaction within the Reapers themselves. Curiously, the way to start the device was to shoot it. Then again, he supposed he could appreciate the desire to symbolically shoot harbinger and its ilk in the skull.
This was the most surefire solution, but came at a heavy price. All Reaper code included that within the Geth and EDI. It mattered not that they were independent of the Reapers, simply being in proximity would ensure their destruction, or at the very least severe mental trauma. Destruction would cost the Commander a dear friend, and the galaxy an entire species that had only just began to show its worth.
Additionally, due to the presence of the Catalyst, the Citadel was considered by the Crucible to be a Reaper body. The resulting explosion would almost certainly kill any survivors still left on the station.
That left controlling the Reapers. It appeared the Illusive Man had been correct. Using the blue console to his left, an individual could replace the Catalyst with their own mind. Though they could plan, react and,in the case of particularly old ones like Harbinger or Sovereign, even show hints of personality, the Reapers were not true individuals, but extensions of the Catalyst's will. Once a new being was in the AI's place, the machines would obey them as limbs obey the brain.
The indoctrinated Cerberus leader would have changed nothing by being in control, but Shepard could. But could he trust himself with that power? The Illusive Man had thought control was his destiny, and the pursuit of this goal had only turned him into a pawn himself. Shepard may not have been indoctrinated, but he was still mortal and therefore corruptible. How long could he expect to handle absolute power before he became just as monstrous as anything he'd fought?
The Spectre sighed, immediately regretting the action as his lungs struggled to refill. His choices were hypocrisy or genocide, and he didn't have long to decide. He changed programs on his omni-tool and began to record what might be his final message.
"This is Commander David Shepard, Council Spectre. I am going to attempt to gain control of the Reaper network. Its stupid, dangerous and it may not even work." he paused briefly to cough up an unsettling amount of blood. "If you manage to find this and the war is still going, it means I've failed. Ignore anything the Catalyst tells you and shoot the red console to kill the bastards directly. Also on this tool, you will find personal messages for each of my crew. Make sure they get them." His voice began to falter as sorrow welled within him, but he forced himself to keep going. "And Tell Joker I tried to save her. If this doesn't work, he'll know who I'm talking about."
"Finally, tell Tali I love her. I'd have never made it this far without any of the crew, but her especialy. Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, if I can't return to you in this life, I will wait for you in the next, and that's a promise." He had been trying to avoid thinking about her, knowing the tide of sorrow and regret it would unleash. It was entirely possible they would never see each other again. Even if they did he would be different.
Tali may have come to respect synthetics, but would she ever love a machine? Would she trust him when he wore the face of those that had slaughtered trillions? He looked once more at the path to his right.
No. Destroying the code was an insult to Legion's memory. It would kill the only thing that made Joker truly happy. It would cripple the chances of the galaxy rebuilding, especially Rannoch. He removed the omni-tool, placed it on the charred pile that could charitably still be called his armor, and hobbled toward the blue console.
Joker's fingers danced furiously over the Normandy's controls, and he knew something similar was going on inside EDI's brain. It was taking all their combined effort to evade the reaper beams filling the space around them. Ocasionaly they took a position to fire their own weapons, but aside from one lucky Thanix bolt to a lone Reaper's "eye," their assault barely even dented the barriers of the machines.
A voice unexpectedly arose from the comm unit. "All fleets, this is Admiral Hackett. The Crucible is armed. Disengage and proceed to the rendezvous point." Joker grinned with excitement and relief. It had to be Shepard. When the shuttle returned without him, most of the crew had assumed the worst. Then they heard he and Anderson had made it to the beam, but nothing since then.
Joker began typing the Crucible's coordinates. He felt a hand on his shoulder, but waved it off. The hand returned, more forceful this time. He turned to find it belonged to Kaidan.
"Joker, it's time to go." The Major's voice was firm, but calm.
"What are you talking about? The Commander needs a pickup, and I'm not gonna let someone else get credit for the rescue."Joker's carefree mask began to crack. "I won't leave him this time."
Kaidan nodded in understanding, but did not change his position. "We need to get to the fleet. Garrus is injured and Tali's unconscious. Chakwas needs help to stabilize them. If Shepard makes it out, he'll find us. Right now, we need to leave."
"Damn it." Joker was fighting back tears, but he knew Kaidan was right. "Setting course for the Charon Relay"
Shepard had faced pain. He'd been shot, stabbed, caught in explosions and been nearly devoured on Akuze. Hell, he'd died twice now, once to the vacuum of space and once a few seconds ago when the Crucible had broken down his body, cell by cell, to fuel the mind transfer. This was beyond all that.
The human mind was designed to accept small pieces of information, building understanding over time. Computers took it all at once. As the knowledge of countless races and the feeds of a million sensor suites tried to find a place in his mind, he could feel them slowly ripping it apart.
Fucking idiot, he cursed himself, this is exactly what happened with project Overlord. An organic brain could only process so much at once, and it seemed converting flesh to data didn't change that.
He had one last shot. If he could Isolate himself from the rest of the system, lock himself in a virtual box, he could remain there and work on a new solution, keeping his sanity in tact. It wouldn't be easy.
He had always been quick with computers, a fact that many on Omega were quite thankful for, but now he was working from the inside. That, compounded with the sheer amount of code, made the process agonizingly difficult.
Finally, he gained control. He gathered all the code that had been his brain, pushed everything else away, and locked himself out of the system. It had probably only been seconds in reality, but it felt like years from the inside. Feeling his thoughts clear, he began to think up a new plan.
It was clear direct control of the Reapers would not be possible without sacrificing his sanity. But if he kept himself isolated, he had no guarantee the Reapers wouldn't simply continue their last issued orders. It was a common feature in drones and mechs, and it was unwise to assume it would not apply here. Even running on fixed programming they could still very well destroy at least the allied fleets, and likely any planets they currently inhabited.
Suddenly, a solution occurred to him. There was no reason the new Catalyst had to be fully sentient. But a VI in charge of that many processes wouldn't be easy to build. Even for a simple combat drone, Shepard rarely started from scratch, instead using the latest version of a template he'd created back in the earliest days of his tech training.
But now there was no template, and next to no time, despite its slowed effects on a synthetic. But if I'm software too now...
Carefully, he reached outside his virtual panic room to retrieve data on a single subject. Even this limited contact made him start to lose cohesion, but he held together and returned with new knowledge.
Using all the understanding the Reapers had on the human brain, he created a program that would severely limit free will to the confines of specific goals. It was effectively suicide, but Shepard would gladly sacrifice himself if it meant the survival of all other sentient life. All he had to do was pull the metaphorical trigger, and they would all have a future.
As he faced the end, his thought lingered on the Normandy crew, past and present. His loss would pain his strange adopted family, but even Tali would understand his choice if she ever learned of it.
But they deserved more than that. He decided he had to at least try to give them something better. Using his last seconds, he compiled a final gift, hoping against everything it would be found.
Then all was darkness.
Due to its speed and position in at the edge of the battle, the Normandy was the first ship to get close to the Relay. It was also the first to see that the Reapers were headed there as well.
When the Crucible fired, it released a wave of blue light. It passed over the allied fleets with no effect, but every Reaper it touched immediately turned for Charon. Traynor sent a message to the fleets not to approach the rendezvous, while Joker and EDI pushed every bit of speed they could into getting to the Relay first. Turning around required slowing down, they would have to get to Exodus to change course.
The ship hit the relay before the Reapers, but as soon as they exited its mate, an explosion rocked the ship. The whole crew lost consciousness in a flash of blue as the ship spun through space, careening at FTL speeds toward a nearby planet.
The VI that had once been Commander Shepard now had total control of the Reapers. Free of the desire to understand, it could access the entire network. Without free will, it would not grow corrupt. It had orders, and would neither stray from them nor hesitate in their execution. It began to decide how best to carry out its tasks. Most related to rebuilding and recovery, but there was one in a category all its own.
Deep in the archives lay one large block of data it was forbidden to access. Though it had many programs capable of cracking the lock, its base code would not allow it. It would only open in the presence of a specific bio-signature, that of a young quarian Admiral.
It's finally done. The first chapter of my first multi-chapter fic. I know a lot of post ME3 stories start with the crucible, but due to the incredibly small amount of non-Destroy, non-Indoctrination stories, I felt it was necessary to begin here. Next chapter will pick up at the Normandy crash site, and will hopefully be up within a week. Please let me know what you think. As previously stated, this is a first for me, and feedback will help me improve.