Part I
The Voice and Face of all Evil.
Chapter Two: the Scientists
Katherine Shepard sat up in her bed. She looked up towards her aquarium. The colored fish swam around oblivious to the trauma she had just gone through. Shepard thought about what it would be like to be an animal. She wouldn't have to worry about all the things she worried about. To her, it was a curse and a blessing to be intelligent.
Shepard finally got up. She stretched her muscles, except for her left arm which was set in a sling, her arm was fine but at the doctors request she had to were a sling to let the arm rest after being broken. She let out a yawn. She ran her free hand through her hair and looked over at the clock on her night stand. She had been asleep for less than an hour. She cursed herself for waking up. She had wanted to sleep the whole ride to earth but her body wasn't letting her. She walked over to her private terminal and opened up her email. She checked through it and after deleting junk mail and replying to message from Wrex, she closed the email. She walked around to her shower and turned the shower on. The water created a soothing sound as it rained on the floor. Shepard undressed herself and walked in. The warm water relaxed her tense muscles. She sighed and leaned against the wall. She couldn't believe the Catalyst was still alive. She gave a grim chuckle. He was a lot smarter than she had originally thought. He had managed to sneak into the Citadel as the Councils personal VI, then again he had hid aboard it for millions years before and no one he found him. Why should this time be any different? Shepard thought he was a clever planner. Sneak into the heart of the Galaxies diplomatic center and wait for the perfect moment to strike. Shepard wondered why he had waited till then. It didn't make sense. He could've killed them all when she was locked up so why didn't he?
Shepard shook the thoughts away and washed herself. The color of blood dripped off her skin. The doctor on the Normandy, Dr. Diaz, had managed to fix her up rather well. Her arm was fixed and set to heal, and her cuts were all cleaned up. For the first time in three years, since she had let the doctor on board, she was glad to have him. Most of the time he was a nuisance despite his medical expertise. Shepard was now glad she hadn't gotten rid of him earlier in the year when the chance had arisen.
She turned off the water and stepped out. She dried herself with a towel and picked out a new set of clothing. She threw the towel on the bed and pulled out a pair of jeans and a polo. The polo was black with the Alliance symbol stitched in right above her heart. She quickly out on some undergarments and her bra before slipping into her new attire. Once she was done she walked over to her armor locker. She looked through the locker till she found what she needed. She had stored an old omni tool, the one she had worn during the Reaper war, inside the locker. For some reason she had never been able to get rid of it and now she was glad she hadn't. She pulled the omni tool out and slid it into her arm. It took a few minutes but she powered it up, ran checks to make sure it was functioning, and set the time and date. She was happy to have the familiar feeling of it on her arm. She heard static on the intercom.
"Shepard, Admiral Hackett is on Vitcom for you." Samantha Traynor stated over the intercom. Shepard walked over to the intercom on her desk and pressed on a button to reply.
"On my way. Tell Lithyia to meet me there." She replied.
"Yes mam." Traynor replied a little to happily.
Shepard shook her head and headed to the door. The door slid open and she walked out to the elevator. She called the elevator and waited. She wondered what Hackett would say to her. Surely he'd already heard about the accusations against her. She wondered if he believed them. That's why she wanted Lithyia there. Having a councilor to back her up in case of the worst was always a good idea, well at least in diplomatic situations.
A ding signaled the elevators arrival and Shepard stepped in. She set the elevator for the command bridge and leaned back as the elevator doors closed and started its descent to the command bridge. Shepard went through all the info stored on the omni tool. Only stuff about the Reapers. What did she expect? It hadn't been updated in almost ten years.
The elevator stopped and the doors slid open. Shepard walked out and was somewhat shocked to see what was happening. Officers were running back and forth. Vigorous amounts of chatter were shooting off all over the place. Garrus was arguing with an officer. Tranynor and Liara were in a heated discussion. Ashley Williams was leaning against the wall watching everything unfold. Shepard was glad her friend was doing ok.
Shepard stepped back as an officer rushed past her and over to Traynor. The officers face was riddled with worry as he told Traynor something. Shepard wondered what had transpired in the two hours she had been asleep. Last thing she knew was that they had taken the Ouarian and Geth councilor home and were headed back to earth before they took Lithyia back to Thessia.
"Hey!" Shepard yelled forcefully. All the commotion stopped at the sound of her voice. Some of the officers looked at each other with frightened expressions. Liara said a farewell to Tranynor and walked over to Shepard.
"I know that look..." Shepard said sadly. Liara tried to give a smile but failed.
"Shepard the Citadels been lost completely..." Liara's voice was sad but Shepard could tell there was something else.
"I figured that would happen..." Shepard replied looking down.
"What else is wrong?" She asked looking back up at Liara. Liara sighed and made her way over to the galaxy map. Shepard followed. She watched as Liara pulled up the outer rim, the Geth and Quarian controlled space.
"As of four hours ago The Quarins and Geth have gone dark. No communication has been received from either group for the hour. But that's not all." Liara zoomed out of the outer rim and moved over to Inner Council space.
"Around the same time The Turians and Krogans have sent urgent messages urging for reinforcements. Their reports consist of the same parasite that attacked the Citadel. Wherever this parasite came from, it must have had inside help. The parasites ships are attacking from within Council controlled space. We haven't been able to pinpoint their point of origin, but what we know is that the ships as weapons they have aren't from any known species. Their ships are also frighteningly stronger then our own." Liara turned back to Shepard.
Katherine could feel all eyes on her. She felt speechless. This parasite was moving faster than even the Reapers. She stared at the Galaxy map. She prayed the Quarians and Geth were ok. She looked back up at Liara.
"Have the System Alliance, Salarians or Asari responded?" She asked with a firm voice.
"Systems Alliance has dedicated the fourth, fifth and six fleet to the Turian War front while the Asari have sent their front fleets to engage the parasite attacking the Krogan. The Salarains are currently strengthening their own borders and have sent ships to watch over the non council space. Batarians have responded and are currently mobilizing their entire war machine." Liara said. Shepard quickly ran over all the possible scenarios. She couldn't figure out how this parasite could've snuck up on them. Shepard looked around at her officers.
"All right everyone back to work. Liara come with me to the Vitcom room. We have a meeting with Admiral Hackett." Shepard stood up fully and walked away from the Galaxy map.
The officers slowly began to move again and were soon rushing around again. Shepard moved through the doors, stood in the scanner, the walked through the tech labs. She opened the door to the war room and walked in, Liara following close behind.
She passed by Garrus, whom was currently talking to an officer,and headed in the vit com room. Lithyia was already there and the two greeted each other warmly. Shepard moved past her and connected the Vitcom to Admiral Hacketts signal. TheAdmiral Appeared as a hologram and looked at the three before speaking.
"Well I can say I am glad you all made it out safely." The Admiral stated. His voice was old still and his appearance was slowing decaying. Shepard briefly wondered how much longer he would be fit to stay as an admiral.
"Admiral." Shepard said saluting.
"Admiral." Lithyia greeted warmly.
"Admiral Hackett." Liara said straightening her posture.
"At ease Shepard." The Admiral said with a smile. Shepard relaxed.
"Admiral I know you've probably heard about the accusations made against me but I can assure you I didn't do anything." Shepard said with a confident voice. Hackett chuckled at her statement.
"Shepard I didn't believe it for a damn second." He replied.
"Thank you sir."
"Your welcome but we have far more pressing matters at hand. I'm sure you have somewhat of an idea of what's been going on?" Hackett said losing his warm demeanor. Shepard and the others nodded.
"We know the basics." Liara stated. The Admiral nodded.
"Tell me what you know." Hackett said. Liara quickly explained. She told the Admiral everything she had told Shepard.
When she was done Hackett spoke again.
"We'll your information is accurate. Now what I can tell you is that Casualties are very high. Not as high as the Reaper war but at the rate they're climbing we'll pass those markers within the next month."
"By the spirits..." Lithyia gasped.
"It gets worse. As it stands the Turians have begun orbital bombardment of one of the infected planets. All of our quarantine measures are proving to be almost useless. Shepard honestly I don't know if we can win. Not without the whole Galaxy again. We need the Quarins and Geth. We need more men." Hackett's voice was drained. Shepard felt shivers run up her spine. She had heard this tone only during the Reaper war. She had hoped never to here it again.
"Its the Reapers all over..."Liara sighed.
"Seems like it..." Hackett stated.
" Now Shepard I have mission for you." He continued turning to the Commander.
"What's the mission?" Shepard asked.
"I need you to check on the Quarians and Geth. Find out what happened to the two. Also there's a scientist team on one of the planets in the Ouarian system. We need those scientists Shepard. They're the alliances top scientists and so far we've heard nothing from their ship escorts. I fear the worst but we have to be sure."
Shepard nodded.
"I'll get it done sir, but we have to take Lithyia back to Thessia."
"What's your current position?" Hackett asked.
"On route to Earth to drop off Councilor Jeffrey"
"Alright I'll send an escort to meet you at the relay. Once you arrive send the councilor over to the ship and quickly head to Thessia. Hurry Shepard every moment counts." Hackett said.
"Sir." Shepard replied. Liara stepped forward.
"Admiral may I ask What System alliance scientists are doing in Quarian controlled space?" Liara asked with obvious curiosity.
"They were studying Prothean ruins. And by ruins I mean a Prothean building buried beneath the surface."
"A temple?" Lithyia said in awe. Shepard could've sworn she was going to faint. She wondered why the Asari was so intrigued, then again it was the Protheans.
"Yes. We kept it a secret. We didn't want everyone knowing what we had discovered. The information was to be shared with The Quarians since the ruins in their home system"
"Liara nodded. After a few moments of silence Hackett spoke again.
"Alright well Commander good luck. Lithyia and Liara good to see you. Hackett out." Hacketts hologram faded away. Shepard nodded to the fading hologram and turned away.
She walked out of the Vitcom room and into the war room.
"Shepard I have a question." Lithyia said walking up behind her. Shepard faced her and replied
"Yes councilor?"
"I know its my duty as the Asari councilor to represent my people and its ideals but if I may could I stay aboard the Normandy? I feel like I'd be of more help here then I would be at home sitting behind a desk." Lithyias voice was full of hope. Shepard took a second to think about her offer. On one hand It would be good to have Lithyia on board. They would have political support and she was actually a decent fighter. On the other hand Lithyia would be in danger whenever they went on missions and Shepard figured her people wouldn't be to fond of their councilor flying around space with a new war brewing.
"Lithyia Im not sure if that's the best idea. Your people might not like one of their leaders running around with a fugitive, not to mention they might feel abandoned if you don't go home. A war is brewing and your people need you." Shepard told her with a soft voice. Lithyias nodded sadly.
"Alright Shepard. Its your ship and ill respect your wishes. However I expect you to keep me updated on everything. Ill try my best to stay in touch." The councilor said with kindness. Shepard was relieved. She felt like she just dodged a bullet.
Lithyia turned away and headed towards the Galaxy map room. Shepard followed.
"I'll make sure you are cleared of all charges in Asari space. You won't be a criminal to us but for the Turians and Quarians and I can't say."
"Thank you councilor." Shepard replied stepping into the galaxy room. The two headed for the elevator.
"Councilor I have a question." Shepard asked following her to elevator. She wanted to spend some time alone with her thoughts. She wanted to relax for a little. She had the uneasy feeling that she wouldn't get a chance to relax for a long while, but before she could go up to her cabin she needed to ask the councilor something.
"Yes?" Lithyia asked looking at her with curiosity.
"Why was my trial public?" Shepard asked. She knew trials weren't supposed to be public, well at least when the Council was the jury, so why was hers different?
"Trudeth thought since you are a public figure, one of great influence, it would be better to have a public trial. She thought it would be better for you if you had the support of the people. Originally she had thought you were innocent... I'm not sure what changed." Lithyias voice was full of confusion.
Shepard wondered why had Trudeths view of her changed? And so quickly too? Shepard felt a chill. She felt another presence in her head. One that was vaguely familiar and cold.
She was the easiest to fool... Ahh how easy your people are to corrupt...
"We'll it doesn't really matter now." Lithyia replied with a shrug. She pressed on the call button and waited for the elevator.
"I guess not..." Shepard lied. She knew whatever had happened to Trudeth had something to with the voice in her head. She just couldn't connect the dots. Her eyes widened when she finally placed the voice. She had heard it aboard the Citadel. After the Catalyst had gone crazy. She remembered the words it had said.
I am the monument to all your sins...
Shepard sat on her bed. She didn't remembered how she had gotten here. All she knew is that the lights were too dim and the room was freezing. She shivered and tried to stand up only to find that she couldn't move. Shepard glanced around. Her fish tank was completely empty. She was confused. Last she remembered her fish were all healthy and alive.
"Oh Shepard... How easy it will be..." A voice called out. Shepard had heard this voice before.
Two long dark arms reached out from the shadows behind her bed. The long fingers reached into her hair and began to twirl strands of her hair. Shepard shivered. She could feel the points driving into her skin. She remembered the fingers on Ashley. She wondered if they would hurt her too.
"How easy will what be?" Shepard hissed. The voice chuckled.
"Your leaders are weak and feeble minded... They care only for their own prosperity... How do you think it was so easy to corrupt that Salarian? She loved knowledge and she saw you as a small price to pay for all the Prothean ruins I offered her..." The voice replied. For some reason Shepard felt as if the body of the voice was standing right in front of her, but her room was completely empty except for her.
"You lie... The council is better than that..."
"Oh Shepard... Do not lie to yourself... They didn't believe you before... They were ignorant during the time of the Reapers and they almost cost the galaxy everything. Why would you defend them?"
"Because they're not all bad. They were just trying to protect their own people."
"And themselves..."
"Of course any one would've..."
"Ah but not you... Not him..."
Shepard raised an eyebrow. She didn't know who him was.
"I was ready to die for everyone..."
"Oh I know... But they weren't. Your leaders are too corrupted already. They will make deals and betray one another if it means their own survival. You will see...
"We'll beat you just like how we beat the Reapers..."
"But you never beat me Shepard." Another voice said. Shepard looked towards her door. The Catalyst was standing there. His hologram was a blood red.
"I was lurking the whole time and you never saw me... None of you. And by the time you did it was to late..." The Catalyst walked towards her.
"And I defeated them..." Another voice said. A green mist began to filter not her room. A series of pale and deformed tentacles emerged from underneath her bed and began to wrap around her body.
"Who are you?" Shepard yelled.
"I am the monument to all your sins..." The voice replied.
"Your the parasite..." Shepard gasped. The green mist, the tentacles, the phrase... It all made sense. Somehow the Catalyst had allowed the parasite on board the Citadel... And her ship!
Shepard was knocked out of her thoughts when the Catalyst laughed.
"You are trying so hard to figure out how I did it huh? It was so easy. When they made a VI it was rather easy replacing its mind with my own. They didn't even notice the difference so long as I did their work. Turning off and rewriting all the Citadels defense was even easier. Cerberus did it so I figured it how easy could it really be? It was verge easy." The Catalyst walked over to her.
The door to her room suddenly slipped open. Ashley Williams walked in. Shepard felt relived to see her friend. To see and friendly face, but when she got closer she noticed something. Ashley's eyes were red. Her skin looked like there were cracks in it. Her hair was a lot longer than Shepard remembered.
"Ashley?" She asked. Ashley laughed but it wasn't Ashley's laugh. It was dark and demonic. Shepard cringed.
She noticed something else. Everything behind Ashley was black. Shadows and darkness had covered everything. Two red eyes appeared in the darkness.
The voices all laughed together. Five different yet similar laughs. Shepard grabbed her ears. The laughs weren't loud or even annoying but they caused her pain. A high pitched whining filled her ears. Shepard began to tremble. She started to scream. She couldn't even her what she was saying. Shepard now able to move, fell to the floor wriggling from the sound, trying to claw the noise from her ears.
She looked up and she saw the ceiling was replaced by a blue sky. She reached for it but couldn't get it.
Suddenly the voices were quiet and the blue turned to a bright light. Shepard couldn't see but was able to make out five figures. Five figures in the light. Then it all went blank.
Twelve hours later. 1 day since the Fall of the Citadel.
Shepard shot up in her bed. She hadn't meant to fall asleep. She had only wanted to read a book while they were headed towards Quarian space. Apparently her exhaustion had gotten the better of her. She felt her heart racing and sweat was rolling down her skin. She was sweating a lot recently.
She looked around her room, searching for the Catalyst, the mist or the darkness. Nothing. She looked up at the fish tank and was relieved to see all her fish alive and well. Shepard noticed people in the room. She had been to preoccupied with the other things to even notice them at first. She glanced around. Liara, Garrus, Traynor, Joker, Legion and the doctor were all in her room. They were looking at her with frightened expressions.
"What?" Shepard asked. Her voice was shaking. She made the effort to clam herself down by breathing slower.
"You've been screaming and moving around for hours..." Garrus stated. Shepard could tell he was tense. His arms were crossed and his chest was high.
"Hours?" Shepard asked. Her voice was steadier than before, but it still had a slight shake.
"Yes. I've been watching you to make sure you weren't dying on us." Dr. Diaz said softly. She walked over to Shepard holding a black bag. She pulled out a thermometer and a stethoscope, the stethoscope was an advance model that could detect the slightest hint of any lung or heart trouble. The doctor placed the thermometer in her ear and waited for a few seconds till it beeped.
"Your temperatures fine. Now relax." The doctor got the stethoscope and placed it on her chest.
"Heart rates fine." She stated. She lowered the stethoscope and told Shepard to breath in and out. She moved the stethoscope around and after a few more checks she pulled it away and put her stuff back in its bag.
"Your stats are fine Shepard." She said with a weak smile. The doctor turned away and left the room, leaving only Shepard's friends with her.
"Shepard are you ok?" Liara asked sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Fine." She replied a little too shortly. Liara gave her a concerned look.
"Shepard the frequency of your voice and the irregular movements you were making suggest that you are not well. Recommended that you tell us the truth." Legion stated with his cold and still voice.
"Not gonna lie but you are pretty worked up." Joker said with raised eyebrows. Shepard glared at him before looking at her sheets. She ran her hands over her sheets. She wanted to tell them but she didn't what them thinking of her any differently because of it, even if it was just a nightmare. She took a breath and looked at Liara.
"I was in my room..."
Shepard leaned forward on the side of the war rooms holotable. They were set to arrive in Quarian space within two minutes.
She glanced over at Liara who was standing next to an officer talking to her about something Prothean related. Shepard had told her friends about the dream. Most of them had dismissed it as only a dream but Shepard couldn't shake off the memory. Something about it had felt real. Too real.
Garrus walked up next to her.
"ETA One minute." Joker announced over the intercom.
"Here we go." Shepard exclaimed.
"I'm not the only one who thinks that this is going to be one hell of a ride right?" Garrus said a loud.
"Well if we go by current rates of Casualties and the appearance of the parasite we could hypothesize..." Legion started. He was standing on the other side of Shepard looking at Garrus. Garrus held up a hand.
"Legion it was a joke." Garrus replied.
"Oh..." Legion said back looking at the Galaxy map. Shepard had to suppress an amused smile.
The ship shook very slightly as the it dropped out of the mass relay stream. The holotable began to flicker and a holographic image of the system appeared in front of them.
Shepard's heart dropped at the sight.
"Brace yourselves!" Joker yelled over the intercom.
The Normandy harshly swerved, barely avoiding a large chunk of debris. Debris floated everywhere. Parts of ships and bodies. The debris count was too high for anyone to count. They could only hang on as Joker maneuvered through the field.
The Normandy nose dived underneath a piece of Quarian ship. It was the front nose of the ship. Scorch marks littered the debris. The Normandy barrel rolled to the side avoiding the hull of another destroyed Quarian ship. A large chuck of a Geth ship floated in front of the ship forcing them to nose dive once more. The high pitched rings of metal on metal filled the air as the Geth debris scratched the Normandy's hull.
Finally the ship reached a clearing and Joker stopped the ship completely.
"What happened here?" Liara asked in complete awe.
"Judging form the debris I would say the Quarians fought against an overwhelming force and lost." Legion replied.
"The Quarians had the largest fleet in the Galaxy." Garrus stated looking at Legion.
"Had." Shepard said grimly. Everyone stated at the hologram. The debris was so plentiful that planet behind it was partially covered up from all of it.
"I can't believe this... How were they beaten so quickly?" Liara stated in shock.
"That's how." Shepard said with a firm voice. She saw what had destroyed the Quarian fleet. She was absolutely terrified on the inside but she couldn't let her crew see that. They looked up to her. She would never let them down. She couldn't.
The crew was silent as they stared at the reason for the Quarians destruction. A fleet of roughly a hundred thousand ships was stationed on the other side of the Quarian home planet. At the center of the fleet were several massive ships, sleek and bulbous.
"Those ships in the center... They're massive." Garrus exclaimed leaning in towards the hologram.
"Estimate puts them at almost thirsty kilometers long..." EDI announced over the intercom.
"Dear God..." Shepard muttered.
"They're more than twenty times the size of a dreadnought..." Liara stated. The entire room was silent as everyone soaked in the new information. Shepard bite her lip. She didn't know how she could tell Hackett that the largest fleet in the Galaxy had been destroyed.
While Shepard was thinking EDI spoke over the intercom.
"Commander we have an incoming signal. Audio only." The AI informed.
"Patch it through." Shepard replied. They waited a minute till the signal was patched through.
"Hello? Who is there?" A frantic make voice asked.
"This is Commander Shepard of the Normandy." Shepard replied standing up straight.
"Commander! Thank the heavens!" The voice replied.
"Solider what's your name? And where is your ship?" Shepard asked. She hadnt seen any intact Quarian ships since they had arrived in the system.
"I am Captain Milas Quartin of the Migrant Fleet. My surviving fleet is behind the fifth planet at the end of the system." The man replied.
"Captain where is your commanding officer?" Shepard asked.
"I'm... I'm in charge Commander. The Admirals... They're gone."'
"Captain what happened here?" Shepard asked urgently.
The man sighed over the coms.
"It was only a few hours after you brought our councilor back to Rannoch. We detected several ships appearing at the edge of our borders. We tried contacting the ships but to no avail. We sent in a few scout and diplomatic ships to meet the new arrivals. They never came back. We mobilized part of the fleet and sent them to investigate. A few hours later we received video feed. The video was only a few minutes long, but it showed thousand of ships, with weapons far more powerful than our own annihilating the fleet. By the time we had declared a state of emergency the ships arrived at the home system. The bulk of our fleet defended the planet for a while, but When we realized it was a losing battle, especially once we learned their numbers, we dedicated a few thousand ships to evacuate the planet. We tried to contact everyone, but we couldn't. Somehow the enemy managed to deploy a signal that blocks all of our long range communications. It was then the Geth arrived, or at least a part of their Fleet. They fought alongside us, they tried to help, but then the unthinkable happened. The Geths new home world was attacked. The Geth ships informed us of their impending doom. Our Admirals ordered a full retreat at that point. They ordered us to Turian space. That's when it happened. Another part of the enemy's fleet came out of the Mass Relay and attacked us from behind. Their larger ships tore right through our lines. We had to think quickly or we would all die. The Geth and Admirals came up with a suicide mission. They decided to ram the enemy fleet with half of our remaining fleet, and use that as a distraction so the other half could escape. The Admirals were noble and used their own ships to do it. They hoped their sacrifice would save us..."
"That's horrible..." Liara grieved.
"Indeed but they were desperate. They tried the plan and it worked. However what our Admirals didn't know was that the enemy had left ships to guard the Relay. A few of us managed to make it out before we were destroyed but now we can't make it to the Relay without being spotted." The voice informed.
"How many survivors are there?" Shepard asked.
"We have three thousand ships that managed to escape." The Captain informed. His voice was staticy.
"That's less then ten percent of the Migrant Fleet." Legion informed. The others ignored him. To them his facts were sometimes really negative.
"Do you have any surviving Geth ships with you?" Shepard asked. She needed all the facts to make a proper decision.
"Yes a couple hundred. I'm not sure how their home system fared. I pray the battle was not as hopeless as ours." The Captain sighed. Shepard thought about for a moment. She didn't have the resources or man power to effectively save them all but she had to try something.
"Captain Im sorry but there isn't much assistance we can offer, but if we can get to you, we could think of way to get all your people out of here." Shepard said. The Captain thought it over for a brief moment.
"Thank you Commander."
" be there In a few and You can come aboard my ship and we'll see what we can do about this whole mess."
"Agreed."
Commander Shepard watched as the Quarian Captain boarded her craft. He was rather small but his demeanor was one of command and she respected that.
Captain Quartin moved over towards Shepard.
"Commander you have my deepest gratitude. We thought the Galaxy had forgotten about us." The Captain said with a curt bow.
"They never forgot, things just got a lot worse out there." Shepard replied placing a firm hand on the Captains shoulder.
"What do you mean?" The captain asked.
"Did your councilor inform you about the Citadel?" Shepard asked. The Captain shook his head.
"He was only back for a few hours and he called a secret war meeting with the admirals but before they could inform us of anything the ships arrived. His ship was one of the first destroyed in the battle over Rannoch." The Captain replied sadly.
"Captain the Citadel has fallen. The Catalyst, the leader of the Reapers, is alive. He released some sort of parasite on the station. The station lasted only a few hours." Shepard said crossing her arms. The Quarain was speechless for a few moments.
"Impossible..." He whispered.
"No its possible. Now that parasite is attacking the Turians and Krogans."
"By the gods..."
"Its been a day and the parasite have already started a new war." Liara stated. The Captain was quiet again, he then looked up at Shepard.
"Commander I thought the reapers were defeated? How is their leader alive?" He asked.
Katherine shrugged.
"The same way he survived on board the Citadel even before the Reaper War. None of us knew he was alive till it was to late." Shepard explained.
"Then it makes sense how the galaxy was ambushed. The Catalyst must've let the parasite in somehow. He must've hidden them. He did a damn good job..." The Captain replied.
"No kidding." Garrus replied grimly.
"Captain I know you have a lot of worries right now but there was a team of scientists from the alliance somewhere on Rannoch. Do you know where they are now?" Shepard asked looking at the Captain closely.
"Ummmm... I heard something about a team of scientists getting lost after exploring some newly discovered ruins in the southern half Rannoch but I don't know anything else."
Shepard turned towards the hologram of the system. Something clicked inside her head.
"EDI can you pinpoint where the signal blocking all communications is coming from?"
"I can try..." EDI replied. "Give me a few minutes."
The group waited in silence, till The Captain spoke.
"Shepard what is your plan?" He asked.
"Well Captain for one those scientists are at ancient ruin on Rannoch, the enemy fleet is orbiting Rannoch and If my hunch is right then the signal is coming from Rannoch." Shepard explained.
As if on que, EDi spoke again.
"Shepard the signal is coming from the southern half of Rannoch on the far side of the planet. If I'm correct I believe that the scientist were there, seeing as there are several Prothean ruins that are catalogued in an underground cave nearby." EDI stated. Shepard grinned.
"Its to much of a coincidence that the signal is coming from the same side of the planet the enemy fleet is orbiting, and the same area the scientists were last seen. We're going down there." Shepard said as an order.
"Commander I mean no disrespect but we cannot wait. Every moment we do is another chance the enemy has of finding." Captain Quartin stated, urgency plaguing his voice,
Shepard looked at the Captain, and with kindness said
"Captain you've done an excellent job protecting your people. The best you could, but if the enemy wanted to they could've swept the whole system whenever they wanted and destroyed your survivors. There's a reason they're protecting the planet and where the signals coming from. That's why we have to go down there. If they what something that bad it could only mean trouble for us." Shepard's voice was firm yet soft. The Captain sighed.
"Please hurry commander."
The shuttle zipped through the clouds of Rannoch. It shook slightly as it hit the slightest amount of turbulence.
The shuttle passed over an area of green plant life. They were nearing the ocean on the southern half of the planet.
Shepard leaned against the wall and pressed on her communicator.
"Commander ETA one minute," Cortez announced over the comm.
"Alright, Legion stay with Cortez. Cortez I need you to stay at most two miles away. Their signal is jamming our long range transmitters and if we need evac I need to able to contact you." Shepard ordered.
"Yes commander." Cortez replied. Shepard released the communicator. She checked her weapons. Each was fully loaded and ready to go. She looked around at her squad. Garrus, Liara, a new N7 operative, and three other alliance marines were checking their own new N7 operatives name was Jacqueline Winters. She had been assigned to Shepard only a few months earlier. It was her first field assignment with Shepard. She had shoulder length blonde hair and green eyes.
Shepard felt the the shuttle begin to slow. She took a deep breath and relaxed. She dedicated all of her focus to the mission at hand pushing all other thoughts from her mind.
"All right men listen up. I'm not sure what may be down there but we can probably expect some of those parasites down there. They're fast, they're strong and they're hard to kill. Aim for the center of their chest to kill them and above all else watch each others backs." Shepard stated strongly.
The shuttle lowered down to a foot high hover above the grass. Trees and all sorts of various plant life surrounded the shuttle. Little scaly creatures scurried away from the shuttle. Bird like creatures flew away as the tree tops shook from the shuttles engines. The side door hissed as it slide open. Shepard jumped down and raised her weapon, scanning the surrounding greenery. The rest of her squad climbed down from the shuttle, each taking position around Shepard. The shuttle doors closed and the shuttle lifted off, flying out of the greenery and into the distance.
"Lets move. Single file. The ruins are only one hundred meters away." Shepard ordered over the com channel.
"Copy." Garrus replied. The group slowly made their way through the brush. Shepard climbed over a fallen tree. She saw a little scaly creature crossed her path. She tensed up waiting for an attack but the creature scurried away under a nearby bush. Shepard relaxed and continued. She stepped carefully watching her foot placement. She didn't want to get surprised by anything. The trees began thin out, and after ten minutes of walking through the trees and greenery, the group saw a clearing. Shepard steeped past the last trees and into the clearing. The wind was blowing softly, caressing her face with a gentle breeze.
"Nice weather." Jacqueline mumbled under her breath.
"Very." Liara replied.
Katherine looked in awe at the structure occupying a majority of the clearing. It was sleek and tall. Its design She slowed to a stop as the large shadow of the structure washed over the group. She let her eyes run all over the monument, observing every crevice, every corner. Shepard noticed the scientists camp in front of the structure. A large cavernous like opening leading into the structure, laid behind the camp. Shepard gulped. Something gave her an uneasy feeling about the beautiful structure.
"Well if there's one thing I can tell you, its that that is Prothean." Liara said taking a few steps towards the structure.
"Somethings not right about this..." Garrus said squinting.
"What do you mean?" One of the marines asked.
"This structure is huge... How did the Quarians or Geth never manage to find it?" Garrus asked looking at Liara.
"He has a point." Shepard said tightening the grip on her rifle.
"Its possible the structure was smaller and somehow the scientists managed to enlarge the structure." Liara said putting her hand on her chin.
Shepard walked towards the structure. She noticed patches of dirt around the edges of the structure. Katherine could see the walls of the structure covered in a light dirt coating. She motioned Liara over to her.
"What do you think?" Shepard asked.
"Hmmmm..." Liara hummed. She moved up to the structure and wiped her hand over the wall. The dirt came clearly off leaving a hand mark on the wall. Liara looked the structure up and down a few more times before moving back to Shepard.
"Well from the looks of it the structure must have rose up from the ground and seeing how easily the dirt is wiped off I'd have to say it came up very recently, otherwise even the slightest drizzle would've wiped the structure clean." Liara explained. Shepard nodded. Slowly the two made their way back to the group.
As the group awaited orders, Shepard studied the monument. She wanted to leave. Something felt off but she couldn't place it. She felt a coldness fall over the area despite the warm temperature. She didn't show it but chills ran up her spine as she stared into black void of an entrance. She knew she couldn't back away from the mission no matter what she thought.
"Alright check the camp. See if you can find anything that will help us figure our where they went." Shepard ordered. The group moved into the camp. Each person split up and walked around searching for any sort of clue. Liara began to mess with the computers and study the information on them. Garrus worked around in their tents looking for anything that could help the team find the scientists. Jacqueline studied the scientist equipment hoping to find something.
Shepard walked over to the structures cavernous entrance. She stood only a couple feet in front of it. She activated her flashlight. She looked inside and saw that The entrance became smaller as it went on leading to a door in the very back. She could see no way to open the door. She wondered if it was a motion activated door.
"Shepard!" Liara called out. Shepard turned her flashlight off and jogged over to her friend.
"What it is?" Shepard asked. Liara motioned Shepard over so she could she the computer screen.
"The scientists last entry say they were heading in this morning. Apparently the night before, I'm thinking about the time the fleet arrived here and attacked Rannoch, the structure began to rise up out of the ground. When they received reports of the ongoing battle there was an argument, some of the scientists wanted to stay others wanted to go. Those who wanted to stay did stay and they went inside. According to this journal entry that was eight hours ago... " Liara asked.
"So they have no idea the fleet was defeated?" Garrus asked.
"Probably not. I just wonder why they're not back yet." Jacqueline asked, skeptically looking at the structure.
"Probably got lost. It tends to happen. We'll find them." Liara replied shutting down the computer.
"Alright team." Shepard began standing up. "Lets go find us some scientists."
Shepard walked into an open room her light illuminating the room. It was square and dusty. The lights of her team filled the room as they too entered the room. Shepard walked around. She noticed the scientist equipment set up around the room but no scientists. She studied the floor looking for any signs of an attack but found nothing. She wondered where the guards were. She figured the enemy fleet would send down something to protect the source of the signal.
She studied the equipment. The few laptops and data pads gave off only the faintest amount of blue light.
She put her weapon on her back, the magnetic locks holding it in place and started messing with one of the laptops. She clicked around the files searching for anything. She found several files and documents about Prothean ruins and devices, and the meaning or value of them, but nothing on the scientists whereabouts.
"Shepard..." A soft voice called out. Shepard sun around. She saw Liara sanding on the far Side of the room next to a door. Shepard walked over to her. She noticed something about the door. It was strange even for Protheans. It was triangular. The corners of the triangle were smoothed out, and two lights lined the middle of the door. Shepard didn't see any visible way to open the door.
"Liara?" Shepard asked walking up next to the Asari.
"Notice anything odd...?" Liara asked looking at the door with quizzical eyes.
"Something's different about it but I don't know what..." Shepard said looking at the door. Garrus stood behind the two listening in.
"If I didn't know know better I'd say that wasn't Prothean at all." Garrus stated.
"That's because it isn't." Liara stated walking towards the door. She stopped next to a crate of the scientists equipment and grabbed a scanner. She studied the scanner and looked back at the others.
"And if these scientists were any good then they would've known too." She stated grimly. Liara walked up to the door and placed her hands on it. She grunted as she tried to push it open but to no avail.
"Guessing the doors not motion activated." Garrus chuckled. Liara glared at him.
"No its not, and from the looks of it an Omni tool won't open it either." Liara grunted as she tried to push the door open again.
"Garrus, Shepard, a little help." She called out. The two spectres moved over to their friend and pressed their bodies against the door. All three pushed against the door. Again they failed to move it. They tried several times, eventually the whole group of marines including Jacqueline joined them, but even with all the extra help they couldn't even budge the door. After several more tries Shepard gave up with harsh sigh. She walked away from the door and studied it again she felt a strange urge, as if she should give it one more try. After the group moved away from it, having given up after one final try, Shepard made her way to it. Something inside her felt warm as she approached it. She felt as if she had seen the door before as she knew how it worked, but she couldn't figure out where she had seen it.
Shepard pressed her hand against the door. She noticed something. The lights grew only the slightest amount brighter when her hand was against the door. She pulled her hand away and the moment her hand left the lights grew dimmer. Shepard stared at her hand, curiosity filling her body. The armor around her hand pulled back and revealed her hand in all its flesh. She pressed her palm and fingers agains the center frame of the door. Suddenly the lights grew brighter on the door, simultaneously turning a light blue. Five blue circles encompassed each of her fingers. The blue circles turned green. Suddenly the circles disappeared and the door slide open. Shepard stepped back quickly, clearly surprised. The group slightly jumped at the movement of the door.
"How did you get it to open?" Liara asked bewildered.
"Open sesame?" Shepard said unsure. She lifted her rifle and pointed it inward. Unlike the rest of the ruins the hallway before her was well lite with luminescent light on the ceiling above. Shepard took a few steps towards the hallway. The design was far different from any Prothean ruin she had ever seen, an unknown to her it was far different than any ruin even Liara had ever seen either. The sleek curves and smooth metal was far different than any design she had ever seen.
Katherine walked inside the hallway. She ran her hand over the wall. She looked around the hall on awe. She wondered what race built this. Even though they had built the rest of the ruins, She was sure it wasn't Protheans whom had built this hallway and whatever it lead too, but besides the Leviathans and Reapers she didn't know of any other ancient races.
"Its looks like the Protheans themselves were studying these ruins..." Liara said walking into the hall after Shepard.
"But who built them?" Garrus asked walking in after the two.
"Whoever did was obviously held in high regards by the Protheans. I mean they built a whole structure over this hall." Jacqueline said entering after Garrus.
"Question is did they ever figure out what this hall led too?" Liara asked as she examined one of the walls.
Shepard saw something out of the corner of her eyes. A small glint of light. If she wasn't in her exact spot looking in the exact direction there would've been no way she would've seen it. She bent down and picked up the fragile object. She looked over it in her hand and turned bak to the group.
"The Protheans might not have, but unless the Protheans wore glasses, I can tell you the scientists did." Shepard held up the pair of glasses in her hands. A small crack ran down the lens of one of them. Shepard turned away from them. She raised her rifle.
"Lets just hope they're ok."
Shepard stepped onto the bottom floor of a platform. The platform was the only way to cross the giant chasm in front of her. They had been searching the new ruins for half an hour and there was still no sign of the scientists. The further they went into the construct the more nervous Shepard became. It was too quiet and too peaceful in the ruins.
She had looked around the platform when they had first stepped onto it. It was floating in mid air, a huge chasm around it. The sleek walls and lights were out to far for her to even jump to. She looked down trying to see what suspended the platform but had found nothing.
"Whoever built this had a huge mastery over gravity and physics itself." Liara said with awe. Shepard nodded in agreement and looked around the bottom floor of the platform.
Her group was spread out over the two story platform. Liara and Garrus were with her on the bottom floor while Jacqueline and the other marines were checking out the top floor. Shepard noticed a pedestal with a blue hologram panel across from her. A pane of glass floor lined the way to it. She carefully set a foot on it. Once she was sure the glass floor was stable and would hold her weight, she moved freely over it and to the panel. Liara followed her freely while Garrus took it slowly, almost tiptoeing over the glass. He didn't feel safe stepping over a glass floor, especially with the endless looking chasm below them.
Shepard reached out for the panel. She pressed her hand against it. The platform jerked slightly as it began moving forward. She heard static over the comm.
"Shepard we have movement up here." Jacqueline stated over the comm channel.
"On my way up." Shepard replied. Before Shepard could turn around she heard a scream.
"Move!" She yelled at her two friends. The three sprinted to the top floor of the platform. They could here the sound of gun fire echoing throughout the chasm. Shepard vaulted over a barrier and onto the second floor. The top floor had an open roof and walls. Metal barriers and tall metal columns provided the only real cover. Shepard saw a marine in the middle of the floor, a huge hole in his chest. The hole was smoldering.
Shepard raised her rifle. She surveyed the area searching for an enemy. She saw Jacqueline crouched behind a barrier the other two marines behind a metal barrier a few yards away.
"Shepard get down!" Jacqueline yelled. Shepard didn't hesitate. She dove to the floor as a golden beam flew over her head. She cursed underneath her breath and rolled behind a barrier. She noticed Liara and Garrus do the same.
"What the hell was that?" Shepard yelled. She looked over the barrier and noticed the machine that had targeted her. It was floating and was made of three cylindrical shaped structures that seemed to only float around a center piece. She stared at it for a second partially awestruck by its design. She noticed the center piece beginning to glow gold. She quickly hid behind the barrier as a golden beam lanced over her head. Shepard's shields partially drained from how close the shot was.
"Jacqueline what the hell are those things?!" Shepard yelled. She popped out of her cover and unleashed half a clip of her Avenger rifle before being forced back into cover by another golden beam.
"I have no idea! They came out of nowhere!" Jacqueline yelled. Shepard gritted her teeth together. She watched Garrus and Liara open fire on one of the machines. Their bullets bounced harmlessly off its shields.
Shepard activated her AP ammo and vaulted over her barrier. She targeted the machine closest to her and fired. Her entire clip depleted as she drained the machines shields. She dove behind another barrier and reloaded.
"Any had any luck taking down their shields?!" Shepard yelled as she unleashed another volley on two floating machines. Her heart slightly sank. Their weapons were inferior to these machines. Their bullets were of almost no use.
Shepard counted a total of six machines. She felt disheartened. The machines were few but strong. They were to much for her team and she knew it. She had to find a way to beat them. She quickly came up with an idea.
"Target the one over me. Lets see if some combined fire can take care of our new friends." Shepard ordered over the com. She stood up and aimed for the machine right in front of her. The machine was targeting Jacqueline. Shepard opened fire. The machine jerked slightly, and turned back towards Shepard. Several more weapons opened fire. Bullets riddled the machine on almost every side. The machine fried at Shepard just as she had to reload. Shepard tried to sidestep. The golden beam melted straight through her rifle,barely missing her arm, and drained her shields halfway from the close contact. Shepard barrel rolled and drew her side arm. She opened fire on the machine. The machine turned back towards Jacqueline, its center piece beginning to glow gold. Shepard felt her confidence waning as the shields of the machines still held. Finally though the shields collapsed. The machine suddenly began to fly away. Shepard heard a scream and watched as a machine blew apart into several pieces from a sniper round. Shepard noticed another machine targeting her and managed to duck behind her cover before she got hit. She gritted her teeth as the beam flew over her. She looked up, remembering the scream from earlier and tried to locate the cause. She saw one of the marines bodies near Jacqueline missing their head.
"Shepard we need to go! Now!" Garrus yelled. Shepard looked over towards her friend. Garrus was holding up Liara. Liara was biting her lip and struggling not to cry. A large chunk of her shoulder was missing, the wound smoking.
"Shit..." Shepard cursed under her breath. She poked her head out from cover and immediately pulled back down as another golden blast shot over her.
"Jacqueline!" Shepard yelled.
"Yes commander?!" Jacqueline replied firing over her cover.
"Do you have an Attack drone?" Shepard asked letting loose a few shots at another machine targeting Garrus and Liara. The machine shot at Shepard instead forcing her to roll to another cover.
"Yes but I don't see how that's gonna be of any use here." Jacqueline replied.
"Program the drone to head out towards the machines. Tell it to fire randomly at all the machines." Shepard ordered. She continued to fire and duck at the machines. She felt her heart racing.
"Done!" Jacqueline yelled. She stood up and released the blue attack drone. The drone fired at each of the machines as it slowly flew into the open space between the machines.
Shepard watched as all the machines tracked the drone and faced away from her team.
"Down to the lower level! Quick!" Shepard yelled. She ran over to Garrus and Liara, and with the help of Garrus, hefted up Liara and made their way down stairs. Shepard heard the last marine and Jacqueline behind them. She heard the machines fire. She knew they had only a few seconds before the machines followed them down.
The group made their way into the bottom floor. Tactically it provided more cover for the group thanks to the closed walls and roof. The only way in was the ramp they had come down.
Shepard and Garrus quickly laid Liara against the back wall. The two drew their rifles and faced the way in. Jacqueline and the surviving marine took up position behind them. Liara drew a side arm with her good arm and aimed at the way in.
Shepard felt sweat building on her brow. Her finger twitched over the trigger. It felt like a eternity waiting for the machines. She knew they were going to die. She figured they could take down at least one possibly two of the machine but the rest would completely destroy her and her team. She could only pray their demises were quick and painless. She had never felt so helpless.
She heard a low rumbling. She saw two machines float in slowly. Her group opened fire. The machines, with a sudden burst of speed, dashed to the side letting in two more machines. The machines central pieces suddenly began to glow golden. Shepard drew her side arm with her left hand and held her rifle in her right. The machines golden pieces were bright and seconds from firing. Shepard felt her heart stop.
"Stop!" A synthetic peppy voice yelled. The machines held their fire. The golden lights on them disappeared as their weapons powered down. Shepard's held her weapons up. Her group had ceased its fire at the sudden demand. She sent a weary glance at Garrus.
Suddenly the machines turned towards the entrance. Another, different machine, escorted by two more of the ones Shepard had been fighting, entered the room. This one was circular with an artificial light as a center 'eye' in the middle of it. The machine glowed a dim blue color. It seemed to study Shepard and the others, moving from one to the other. Shepard wondered what it was doing but she never let her eyes wander away from the machines that had attacked them.
"Oh dear that's a nasty wound. Do not worry we will get that cleaned up." The new machine said looking at Liara. His voice was friendly and cheerful. Shepard found it strange for a machine to have such a voice.
"What are you?" Liara asked in shock staring at the machine with wonder.
"Oh where are my manners!" The machine said angry with itself. It floated away from Liara and in front of the whole group.
"Greeting! I am 248 Reluctant Promise. I am the monitor of this installation. These are my sentinels. I apologize for them attacking you. These are merely defensive sentinels and with the appearance of the Flood fleet above the planet they were ordered to shoot anything entering the facility on sight. Fortunately for you all I happened to see video of your fight with my sentinels. If I hadn't I would never have intervened and you more than likely be dead by now but that's not the case for you! how unfortunate it was your comrades didn't make it!" The monitor said cheerfully. Shepard found it sick that he was so nonchalant about the attacks, but for some reason she felt like she couldn't condemn him. He seemed like a child, like he didn't understand what the attacks had cost them, and her comrades, she figured were the scientists.
"Reluctant Promise I am commander Katherine Shepard of the Alliance. What's the flood?" Shepard asked curiously.
"Ah yes! The Alliance the remnants if the old UNSC." Reluctant Promise said with cheery attitude as he ignored Shepards question. Garrus was slightly irritated by his quick talk and high pitched voice.
"UNSC?" Liara inquired.
"Yes. United Nations Space Command or UNSC for short. They were one of the dominant factions of the Galaxy about 2.2653 billion years ago." Reluctant said quickly.
"Wait you said that the Alliance was the remnants of the UNSC?" Shepard asked pointing her finger at the monitor.
"Yes. And by Remnants I mean your technology is... How do you say it? Our of date? Haha. Out of date. Ahh" Reluctant laughed.
"Our technology's our of date? Do realize our firepower is now equivalent to that of the Reapers themselves? Not to mention our medical advances have increased lifespans almost fifty percent? Humans live to almost a hundred and fifty years now. The other races live even longer." Liara said obviously offended.
"The Reapers? Oh that sad excuse for a Galactic threat? Hmmm... My information is little on them but from what I can gather... their firepower was on the low side of UNSC weapons... Interesting they... Wait hold on..." The monitors voice grew low and alarmed. His blue light turned red.
"We must go." The monitor said worriedly. Suddenly the Sentinels, at great speeds, flew out of the bottom floor and off the platform entirely.
"Come quickly." The monitor stated. He hurried out after the sentinels. Shepard glanced at the others.
"Like we have a choice?" Garrus stated rather upset.
"Help Liara up and meet me up on the top floor. I'm gonna go talk to Mr. promise." Shepard ordered. She let out a nervous breath, though no one noticed, then followed after Reluctant Promise.
Katherine stepped out onto the top floor of the platform. Reluctant promise was floating at the far end of the platform, staring towards the entrance to the giant chasm, the way Shepard and the others had entered.
Shepard walked up to the monitor. She looked at it and followed his gaze. She saw hundreds of Sentinels heading towards the entrance.
"Where are they going?" Shepard asked with a firm voice.
"To deal with the Flood entering the facility. They must've followed you down here." Reluctant stated.
"Who is this flood?" Shepard asked turning towards him.
"A parasitic organism that's sole directive is to consume all life. They are more commonly know as the parasite." The monitor restated.
"They're here?" Shepard asked alarmed.
"Judging by your reaction you've dealt with them before."
Shepard nodded.
"It is logical to fear them. They are formidable. I mean they defeated my creators."
"Your creators?"
"Yes. The Forerunner."
"Not the UNSC?"
"No. But after my creators fall they handed down the Mantle to the UNSC and her allies. Together they defeated the Diadact and his allies and save style Galaxy."
Shepard wondered what the Mantle was but instead she asked "What happened to them?"
"The Parasite. But in all actuality there were multiple factions that were the reasons they fell..."
"What were the others actions ?"
"They are factions that have not been catalogued. But I can tell you together they made something so powerful the Reclaimers were defeated. "
"Reclaimers?"
"Another name for humans and the UNSC."
"So I'm a Reclaimer?"
"No. You are a branch of the true reclaimer race. There is only one reclaimer left."
"Where are they?"
"Outside the Galaxy."
"Outside?!"
"Yes. You see commander the Reclaimers had unimaginable power."
"So did the Reapers."
"Reapers? You keep referring to them. They were weak compared to the UNSC and Reclaimers, but now is not the time for discussion, we must leave quickly the parasite are coming!" The monitor turned away and floated towards the other end of the platform. Shepard followed. Her team trailed behind her, they had came up during her and the monitors conversation.
"Could that evil threaten the Galaxy again?" Shepard asked as the platform stopped, connected by a hard light bridge to large door in the wall. The monitor floated away towards the door ignoring her question. The group followed. The large door slid open. The group gasped at the sight before them. A sleek, graceful vehicle with wings and large engines stood in front of them.
"This is a Forerunner Firebird. This should be able to get past the enemy ships orbiting the planet and get us to safety." Reluctant stated.
"Us?" Garrus asked.
"Yes us. I must keep free of the parasites clutches or they will find the last reclaimer. He is our only hope."
"He?" Liara asked.
"Yes. He"
"Andromeda had fallen. The Milky Way is the only one left."
"Impossible..."
"I wish he was here..."
"He had the best luck out of all of us.. If only it hadn't run out."
"If only..."
Doctor Catherine Halsey to Admiral Hood.
A/n hey guys! Si hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Its a lot better than its predecessor... Sorry for that 2nd chapter. It was poorly done. It will be rewritten but I'm not sure when. Anyway hope you enjoyed! Review Please! Thank for reading and God Bless!