This takes place after Shepard saves Doctor Kenson and they made it out of the Bartarian Prison.
...w...
Dr. Kenson and Shepard landed on the asteriod landing pad. He was more interested in their project after getting the details from her. If she did have the information to prove the Reapers were coming, this would help him with the Council and all the other people who did not believe him. He was impressed with the facility they built for this Project and was happy to get more details.
"Here we are. Welcome to Project Base." She smiled.
They exited the shuttle and Shepard kept looking around amazed with the facilities. His eyes then stared at a massive clock above the door reading: 2:03:25:22...21...20...
"What's that?" He pointed.
"That's our countdown to Arrival. When that gets to zero... The Reapers will have come."
Shepard knew the situation was serious but having a countdown. As Doctor Kenson explained the science behind how they came up with the countdown, they headed toward the artifact. He tried to listen but all he could think about was only having two days left before the Reapers would reach Earth.
"Leah?" He called but his comm wasn't working. "EDI?"
"One second," Doctor Kenson's omni tool came up. "...let me get the door."
As the door slid open, Shepard stepped back and gasped. The artifact was out in the open.
"Commander Shepard, I give you Project Rho." She proclaimed proudly.
"You have a Reaper artifact just sitting here... out in the open?!"
"When we found it, it showd me a vision of the Reapers' arrival."
"Kenson, this is not good." He stared at the massive artifact.
"Give it a moment, Shepard. It will give you the proof you need."
Suddenly a burst of energy almost knocked Shepard backwards. It felt as though fingers were trying to snake their way into his brain and flashes of images began. The images were clear as he saw Reapers making their way toward a Mass Relay. When the visions stopped he was exhausted and fell to his knees.
Shepard then heard Doctor Kenson give the order to fire on him. He stood on uneasy legs and tried to fight back but before he could call for assistance, he went down.
...w...
Leah was pacing in the CIC waiting for any news. It has almost been a full day and they have not heard from Shepard. He said if anything was wrong he would contact them but he hasn't even checked in and that had her worried.
"Try to meditate." Thane smiled.
"That was your method, not mine. I cannot sit quiet while Shepard is out there alone."
"He'll be fine, Leah." Garrus patted her shoulder. "He's a good soldier, Leah."
"I know he is but... when you are all alone and not checking in... people tend to worry."
"Joker, can we get an update." Garrus asked through the ship comm.
"...well..." Joker cleared his throat.
Leah's expression fell and she met eyes with Thane then Garrus.
"Well what?" She snapped.
"We've lost his signal." EDI answered.
Leah walked directly to the cockpit with purpose she was considering strangling Joker or breaking an arm, she'd figure that out when she got there. Both Garrus and Thane ran after her trying to get her to calm down.
"What do you mean you've lost his signal?!" Leah yelled at Joker as she walked into the cockpit.
"He was right there!" Garrus shouted.
"EDI, please find the Commander!" Joker was drumming away at the controls. "He was there then we lost communications."
"Just like that?" Thane asked.
"Yes. He was there then something happened..."
"Something happened!" Leah repeated. "So the Commander is out there alone and you LOSE him?"
"Leah," Thane pulled her to him. "...yelling at Joker will not aid him in finding Shepard."
"Do you think breaking a leg will aid him?"
"Leahala!" Thane scolded.
"Do you think Hackett knows where Kenson's base was?" Leah looked at Garrus.
"I don't know." He answered.
"There is an asteriod," EDI began. "...I am picking strange readings. The projected path from Shepard and Doctor Kenson's shuttle suggests this as a possible destination."
"Get me there!" Leah demanded.
"We can be there in a few hours."
...w...
Shepard strapped his armor back on after knocking out the guards and making a mech open his prison. He was even more angry because Kenson had him sedated for almost 2 days, they only had minutes left before the Reapers were coming. He heard Doctor Kenson call over the loud speaker for more guards because he escaped the Med Bay, then he heard a massive explosion behind him. The blast forced him down to the ground and his head was still fuzzy because of the sedation so the blast was no help. As the dust and debris cleared, he saw Leah and Garrus entering through the newly made hole in the wall searching for him.
"What took you so long?" He asked as he stood.
"You said you'd call." Leah winked. "Are you okay?"
He looked very beat up but Leah was too angry to worry about his wounds at this time. She wanted to go through that base and kill everyone person she found for hurting him but they needed to get Shepard out of there.
"Yea."
"Let's go." Garrus pointed.
"No." Shepard refused. "I have to go get Doctor Kenson. You two go back to the Normandy and have the team clear the landing area. She's been calling all forces to come stop me so we may run into a few people, I don't want you guys to get hurt."
"Are you kidding?!" Leah refused. "I will not leave your side!"
"Garrus, go. Leah is coming with me."
"Where are we headed?"
"Project control. If we come across some of Kenson's men, keep one alive to find out where it is."
"Copy that."
The two opened the door and ran out heading for the control center. There were a lot of security in the way but Leah and Shepard were able to shoot them down easily. For a security force, they weren't that good against these two. They did leave a few alive to get information from them. Some fought back, others didn't. After their interrogation, they traveled through several corridors and down a few elevators before entering a room with a massive computer.
"Is this it?" Leah asked.
"The guy you tortured said so." He chuckled.
"Welcome to Project Control." The computer stated making them stop.
"That was easy." Leah shrugged.
Shepard walked to the computer.
"I want to activate the project." He ordered.
"What project?" Leah looked up confused.
"Warning!" The computer stated. "Activating the project will result in an estimate 305,000 casualties."
"Shepard?" Leah shouted running to him pulling him from the console. "What are you doing?"
"The Reapers are going to come through this relay, Leah. We have to destroy it."
"What casualties is she talking about?"
"There is a Bartarian System not far from here. The Mass Relay will destroy it."
Leah looked away. She understood they needed to destroy the relay but killing 305,000 Bartarians to do it.
"Do it." She frowned. "We have no choice."
Shepard hit the button and the engines started making the entire room shake.
"Alert!" Shepard called. "All colonists living in the Bahak System this is..."
"Shepard!" Doctor Kenson stopped his transmission. "No! Do you have any idea what you have done! You leave me no choice. If we cannot stop this asteriod it must be destroyed!"
"Tell me where to find Doctor Amanda Kenson." Shepard asked the computer.
"Let's go get that crazy bitch." Leah cocked her pistol.
...w...
Kenson stood in front of the reactor. She was upset that Shepard put the asteroid on a collision course with the Alpha Relay but knew she couldnt stop it.
"Step away from the reactor." Shepard shouted.
Both Leah and Shepard kept their guns trained on her.
"You ruined everything!" She shouted at him. "I cant hear their whispers anymore!"
"Turned around. Now!" He ordered.
"You've taken them away from me. I will never see the Reapers arrival." She pulled out a detonator. "All you had to do was stay asleep. None of this had to happen."
"Kenson, you don't have to do this. We can get off this asteroid."
"No. We cannot." Kenson hissed almost pushing the button.
Leah shot her twice in the chest and once in the head, killing her. The ship VI kept announcing that the collision was imminent and they were getting closer and closer.
"Shepard, we have to go."
"Let's go."
...w...
Shepard and Leah ran to the landing area of the building and onto the landing pad of the asteriod. There were men on top still fighting so they had to take them down. After the coast was clear they ran to the radio tower wanting to call Joker. They didn't see the Normandy anywhere in sight.
"Shepard to the Normandy, do you copy? Can you hear me Joker."
"What the hell?" Leah cocked her gun and pointed it behind Shepard.
Shepard looked over at what Leah was staring at and there stood Harbinger before them as a hologram.
"Shepard, you have become an annoyance. You fight against inevitability." As Harbinger spoke Shepard walked closer to it and Leah searched the area for Collectors. "...your leaders will beg to be harvested."
"Maybe you're right." He stated making Leah walk up to him confused. "Maybe we can't win this. But we'll fight you regardless. Just like we did Sovereign. Just like we're doing now! However insignificant we might be, we will fight. We will sacrifice. And we will find a way! That is what humans do."
"Know this as you die in vain. Your time will come. Your species will fall. Prepare yourselves for the arrival." Harbinger was gone.
"Why can't the Council witness this crazy shit we see?" Leah asked.
"That's too easy." Shepard looked back at Leah and shrugged.
She laughed because that is only something Shepard would do. Anyone else would be running for the hills crying for their mothers after talking to a hologram of an alien hell bent on killing the human race.
"Commander Shepard, Normandy inbound."
"Let's go!" He held his hand out to Leah.
After a quick pick up, Leah and Shepard were back on the Normandy. Shepard bolted away from Leah and ran to the galaxy map hoping the Bartarian system would somehow make it out but what he saw was the opposite. He gripped the rails and leaned into them letting his head fall as Leah ran up. He was devastated that he just murdered 305,000 innocent people. Leah walked up the stairs and onto the Galaxy Map platform. Her hand ran up Shepard's back offering comfort but she knew it wouldn't help.
"Shepard," She pulled him to her. "It was the right thing to do. You tried to warn them."
"I know..."
"You really need to go see Doctor Chakwas."
"Yea..."
He walked away from her and headed down to the infirmary to get checked out.
...w...
Leah left Shepard alone wanting him to clear his head. After a workout and a sparring session with Grunt, she decided to head up to the Med Bay to check on him but stopped when she saw Doctor Chackwas standing outside.
"What's going on?" Leah asked after she approached her.
"Admiral Hackett came to see Shepard." She pointed.
"Admiral Hackett is here?"
Leah looked through the glass and couldn't believe she was seeing Hackett. It looked like they were in a very heated conversation but she didn't want to walk in there, she knew it wasn't her place right now. She watched as Shepard began pacing and looking at the ground like he was really disappointed. The two men then shook hands and exited the infirmary. Leah and Hackett met eyes and he smiled giving her a slight nod before leaving the Normandy. Shepard walked up to the two women and sighed loudly.
"What happened?" Leah asked.
"I'm going to have to stand trial for what happened."
"What?" Leah gasped.
"Shepard!" Doctor Chakwas gasped. "That is terrible."
"It's my fault." He looked at Leah then looked away.
"I will leave you two." Doctor Chakwas said meekly before walking away.
"John! You did nothing wrong!"
"When we're done here, I need to turn myself in."
"Do you realize what you are saying?"
"Leah..."
"No!" She interrupted him. "You'll be jailed or who knows what else! I...I just got you back."
"I know but... it's the right thing to do."
"Blowing up that Mass Relay was the right thing to do, John!" She shouted.
"You and I know that." He shouted back. "The shit we have seen has been enough evidence for us but we haven't been able to prove what we've seen."
"What good are all those fucking reports!" She still shouted not realizing she was now crying. "Why bother with them at all then! You humans and your stupid ass reports!"
"Leah," He walked up and hugged her. "...I know you're pissed but you have to understand. Hackett says the evidence isn't that damning against me."
"And if you are taken away from me... again?"
"Stop." He held her.
Leah pushed away from him and walked away getting onto the elevator. Shepard frowned and headed to the CIC for their next mission wanting to leave her alone. She just needed a few minutes to think about it and she would see that it was the right thing to do for the Alliance. He thought getting back into the swing of things would get their mind off what has to happen at the end so he decided that they needed to go after the Reaper IFF.
...w...
The team suited up and waited until they got to the derelict Reaper. Suddenly the Normandy began to shake and the rude got very bumpy. Shepard and Leah ran to the cockpit wanting to know what was going on.
"What's with all the chop, Joker?" Shepard asked.
"Doing my best. The wind's gusting to 500 kph. There's a second ship alongside the reaper. It's not transmitting any IFF, but the ladar paints its silhouette as geth."
"I guess we know why the science tea. Stopped reporting in." Leah added.
Suddenly the chop ended and it was smooth sailing.
"What just happened?"
"The reapers mass effect fields are still active. We just passed inside their envelope."
Shepard and Leah walked toward the CIC and smiled at the team.
"Are you guys ready for this?" Shepard winked.
