Chapter 2 - Misgivings
Shepard stood in a conference room aboard the SSV Orizaba, the flagship of the Alliance's fifth fleet, waiting for the arrival of Admiral Hackett. The battle to destroy the Cerberus fleet and Cronos station had concluded with Cerberus thoroughly routed. Cerberus had been surprisingly strong and well equipped, but not to the point of being able to directly challenge the Alliance Navy. Forced into a direct confrontation, Hackett had used the information obtained from the Cerberus general, Oleg Petrovsky, and focused overwhelming force on the organization destroying the Cerberus station and fleet with minimal damage to the Alliance forces. Shepard knew preparations were already being made to rendezvous with the forces of the other galactic powers with the goal of moving the Crucible to the Citadel, now located in the Sol system. Shepard was filled with greater and greater misgivings regarding this plan, despite all the work he had done to ensure the Crucible was built and readied for use. He intended to give voice to those misgivings with Admiral Hackett. But before he could do that he had another task to complete. One that should be relatively simple to carry out, but filled Shepard with even greater anxiety. He checked for the thousandth time that the Prothean VI, Vendetta, was active, hidden, and able to communicate with him through the communication device in his ear.
The whoosh of the automated door announced Admiral Hackett's arrival. Shepard turned and saluted Hackett as required, but also out of genuine respect for the Admiral. Shepard stood tense as Hackett greeted him distracted as he waited for a judgment that would either bring intense relief or signal the possible end of hope for saving the Galaxy.
"No indoctrination detected", Shepard heard quietly in his ear. Shepard let out a breath he did not realize he had been holding and visibly relaxed. This had not been missed by Hackett.
"Is there something you would like to say, Commander?", Hackett asked. "Your request for a face-to-face meeting was unusual enough, but you've gone from anxiety to relief in the time it took me to cross this room. Now would be a good time to explain what is going on".
Shepard considered for a moment, but quickly realized his best bet with Hackett was honesty. "My apologies, sir, for the inconvenience. It is important that I discuss concerns that I have developed regarding our use and deployment of the Crucible and", Shepard paused and took a breath, "I needed to confirm that the commander of Alliance forces had not been indoctrinated". Shepard stood silent waiting for Hackett's response to this statement.
Hackett stood silently for a few moments as well, his brow furrowed in thought. "What on Earth would cause you to suspect me of indoctrination?" Hackett asked, genuine confusion in his voice.
"I absolutely mean no offense, sir", Shepard replied. "No one has done more than you to protect the Alliance and fight the Reapers. But, we know how insidious indoctrination can be and, if I may speak freely, sir?"
"Of course", Hackett replied.
"You have been determined from the moment it was discovered that the Crucible is the only way for us to defeat the Reapers. As I stated, I have been having more and more concerns regarding the Crucible. If those concerns are even partly correct, then pushing for the Crucible's construction and use could be in the interests of the Reapers. This would be consistent with indoctrination. An individual convinced of the rightness of his actions while in reality serving the Reapers".
Hackett stood thinking. "I'm certainly relieved, Commander, that you consider me free of indoctrination, but I would be interested in how you came so confidently to that conclusion".
"Of course, sir. Vendetta, please show yourself to Admiral Hackett".
A green VI, Prothean in appearance manifested. "Confirming, no indoctrination detected", Vendetta intoned.
"Vendetta was in the possession of the Asari, though I don't believe they were aware of his existence. When Kai Leng", Shepard hestitated, "defeated me on Thessia, he obtained Vendetta for The Illusive Man. Vendetta had the information that the Citadel is the Catalyst and indicated it would help us to link the Crucible and the Catalyst. This was how The Illusive Man learned the Citadel was actually the Catalyst. The Illusive Man gave this information to the Reapers resulting in them moving the Citadel to the Sol system, to Earth."
"So you're telling me this VI can identify indoctrination just by interacting with someone?"
"Yes, sir. I confirmed it with the Prothean in my crew. Javik indicated that late in their war, after the Protheans had come to realize the true danger of indoctrination, they were able to build VIs that used a refined form of the Prothean ability to sense information about individuals to be able to detect indoctrination".
Hackett rubbed his chin in thought. "So, we could copy this VIs code and use it to quickly detect indoctrination throughout our forces?"
"Unfortunately, no. The hardware the Protheans used was built to use the ability they possess to learn information at levels beyond our capabilities. Javik explained that while we could copy the code, without Prothean hardware the VI would lack the ability to detect indoctrination".
"Damn. You really had my hopes up for a moment, Shepard. Do you trust the accuracy of this VI".
"Yes, sir, I do trust Vendetta to accurately identify indoctrination. It stated that Kai Leng and the Illusive Man were indoctrinated. I trusted it enough that before I requested this meeting I performed a walkthrough to check on the status of my crew and, happily, Vendetta did not detect any indoctrination". That had been more than a relief for Shepard to know that the crew he trusted, the woman he loved, were not under the mind control of his deadliest enemies.
Hackett continued thinking for several seconds before suddenly changing topics. "Despite your earlier praise, Shepard, you are the one who has done more to fight the Reapers than anyone, myself included. You recognized the Reaper threat before we knew what Sovereign was and you bought us time to prepare for the arrival of Harbinger. Every time we have been slow to listen to you, either the Alliance or the Council, it has cost the galaxy in lives and destruction. That's why I am making the time to hear your concerns. I've learned the price of not listening. So tell me, what are these concerns you have regarding the Crucible."
Shepard exhaled and gathered his thoughts. "Sir, I had my doubts about the Crucible from its discovery, but, despite my efforts to aid in its construction, these doubts have mounted as this war has progressed. I believed it strange that we found it at exactly the moment we needed it. That could be a result of desperation as Liara once told me, but my concerns have grown. Despite our efforts at concealment, I find it difficult to believe that the Reapers are unaware of the massive construction project it represents. I was being approached by people on the Citadel offering assistance with the project. We've recruited vast numbers of individuals to work on it. The Reapers have to know of its existence and location. Why would they not attempt to stop its construction? Why would they not move to stop us now that The Illusive Man has told them what we intend? Not only that, but as far as I know we still have no idea what the Crucible will even do, other than release an enormous amount of energy. Everything about this feels…off". Shepard came to a halt and realized everything he had said had spilled out with him barely taking a breath.
Admiral Hackett stood thinking. "Is that why you came in here believing I might be indoctrinated?"
"Yes, sir, again with my apologies. You have devoted enormous resources to the construction and deployment of the Crucible. You've stated repeatedly that we cannot beat the Reapers in any other way, meaning we have all our eggs in one basket. If the Crucible is not the answer then we have no alternative. We lose and the galaxy dies. That's why I had my suspicions regarding indoctrination".
"I hear your concerns, Shepard. Every concern you've mentioned has been considered by the scientific staff and military advisors I have available. You ask why I believe we can't beat the Reapers conventionally? Every analysis leads to that conclusion. That means our only chance is to fight them unconventionally. We've considered multiple options, but none give us any hope apart from the Crucible. All the available information indicates the Crucible is the only path that gives us even a slim chance for victory, so we could not very well divert resources to other, unpromising avenues. The information indicates it will generate enough energy to destroy multiple Reapers if we can deploy it correctly. The Protheans seemed to think it would do the job and we're having to trust that they knew what they were doing even though they were apparently never able to deploy it. From what you are saying, the Prothean VI standing right here was designed to help ensure the use of the Crucible. I understand your concerns, Shepard, but the die is cast. We know the Reapers are aware of our plans and have moved the Citadel to Earth. They may not know the specifics of the Crucible or may be arrogant enough to believe it is not a threat. They may be hoping to destroy our combined forces in one battle. Regardless, we are committed to this path. The Reapers could change their strategy and come after us at any time, so we must act. We are launching our attack on the Reapers and bringing the Crucible to the Citadel in less than a day. Trying to change that now would sow confusion and doubt and fracture this alliance. In fact, Vendetta, do you detect any sign of indoctrination in Commander Shepard?"
"No indoctrination detected", replied the VI. It had not occurred to Shepard to question his own mental state, but it was a shock to have it questioned and relief to have it confirmed to be his own.
Shepard frowned, but began to affirm that he would follow his orders, but Hackett interrupted. "You're a good soldier Shepard. I know you would follow what orders you're given. I haven't been shy about claiming you for the Alliance when it was to our advantage and calling you an independent Spectre when circumstances called for it. We are proceeding with the Crucible plan, but I respect your ability to tear apart a problem and find solutions in the moment. You have very little time, but if you can come up with contingency plans or identify a problem you can address then I want you free to act. I am officially detaching you from the Alliance fleet. You will not be committed to our order of battle and will have the freedom to deploy your ship and your people in whatever way you believe is most helpful to defeating the Reapers. I do expect you to support the efforts of our combined fleet and keep me informed regarding any plans you make".
"Of course, sir. Thank you for the opportunity to investigate this further. I will support the fleet and inform you of any new information or ideas I come up with".
"One final thing, Shepard", said Hackett. "Your use of the VI to covertly investigate indoctrination was smart". We don't have the time or resources for an extensive investigation, but I want you to repeat your trick when we arrive at the rendezvous point for the combined fleet. I will arrange a final face-to-face meeting of the fleet commanders. I want you there to repeat what you just did here. I want to make sure that there is no indoctrination present in the leadership that will be commanding the attack on the Reapers".
