Chapter 9: Echoes of the Past
Bullets ricocheted off my shields. Belatedly, I realized the danger I was in and dove for cover.
I was back on Menae. Bodies were lying all around me. Palaven was still burning up above me. Garrus ducked down beside me. He waggled two talons at me, then pointed over to his left—where the bullets had come from. I raised three fingers and counted down.
On one, we rose up. Garrus's EMP fried the shields of the two Marauders trying to advance on our position. My plasma set them on fire. We raised our sniper rifles, aimed and sent a bullet through each of their glowing skulls.
Spotting another target, I highlighted him with my HUD before activating my cloak. Garrus gave me a bit of time to get into position before sending the Cannibal flying through the air with his concussive round. Before it could recover, I whipped out an omni-blade and decapitated the monstrosity.
We kept going for what seemed like hours. Garrus and Shepard—or Shepard and Garrus. The unstoppable duo. Cutting a swath of death and destruction throughout the battlefield. Nothing could stop us.
And then there was nothing left. Nothing but a lone husk running in the distance. It was so far away, my sensors couldn't pick it up. Just my ol' Mark-I eyeballs. I thought we should get closer before launching our attack. Garrus disagreed. He just raised his sniper rifle, aimed and fired. The husk froze, jerked violently, then collapsed like an obscene puppet whose strings had just been cut. I was about to compliment him when his eyes widened and he jumped in front of me.
Two loud shots rang out like thunder.
It might've succeeded if Garrus hadn't leapt in front of me. Raising my sniper rifle, I found the Cannibal who'd tried to shoot me. I shot it in the face, launched a fireball right into its ugly mug, then shot it again for good measure. Once I was satisfied it was dead, I whirled around and dropped to my knees. Frantically, I checked Garrus's vitals. They were strong. He was alive. He was okay.
"Thanks," I said, pulling him to his feet.
"Any time," he grinned. He pointed over his shoulder at the husk he'd shot earlier. "Pretty good shot, huh?"
"Real good shot," I complimented. "Don't think I could've gotten that."
Garrus laughed. "Damn. I thought I'd die before I heard you admit th—"
A wet spray hit my face. I instinctively closed my eyes and flinched. It was only when I wiped my face and opened my eyes that I realized it was blood. Turian blood. I looked around, then down at my feet.
Garrus stared up at me, his eyes dull and lifeless, a neat hole drilled through the centre of his forehead.
Raising my sniper rifle, I whipped around, panning left and right. Searching, desperately searching for the bastard who'd killed my squadmate. My friend. But I couldn't see him. I couldn't find him.
In the distance, someone started laughing. Mocking the futility of my actions. How helpless I was to stop the inevitable.
I woke up gasping for air. Tangled up in my bed sheets, now soaked through with sweat. I looked at my chronometer. 0137. I'd only managed to get a few hours sleep. If you could call it that.
Closing my eyes, I tried to rest. I tossed and turned, shifting around. Trying to find a comfortable position. After a while, I opened my eyes. It was 0141. Great. I closed my eyes again.
But I couldn't go back to sleep. Or wouldn't. If I did, would I actually sleep? Or would I have more nightmares? More reminders of all the people I'd lost. The people I'd failed to save?
The minutes slowly ticked by as I tossed and turned. 0220.
0231.
0258.
0306.
Finally, I gave up and staggered to the shower. Maybe a nice hot shower would do the trick. It didn't. I still wound up tossing and turning. I opened my eyes again. "EDI," I said aloud. "Where's Garrus?"
"Garrus is currently sleeping in his designated area on Deck Three. Would you like me to wake him?"
"No, that's all right," I replied. He was two decks below me. He was still alive. Closing my eyes, I breathed a sigh of relief and tried to get some sleep. After a while, I opened my eyes and checked the chronometer.
The time was 0346.
Great. (1)
I finally got up. Forced myself to endure an ice-cold shower. That only refreshed me for a few minutes. So I resorted to coffee. Black. Lots of it. Which gave me was a case of the jitters and a really desperate need to pee.
"Are you all right?" Miranda asked when I made my way to the shuttle bay.
"I'm fine."
I don't think she believed me, but she let me suit up in peace. I swapped the shoulder plating out for some gear from Armax Arsenal that I'd scanned on Menae. Supposedly, it has some VI-targeting software that would help ID enemy weak points. If it worked, I'd take it. Right now, I needed every bit of help I could get.
Once my hardsuit was online, I grabbed my weapons. I stuck with the M-4 Shuriken, just in case I had to whittle down some Cerberus goon's shields or came across some Cerberus sprinter. After some thought, I left the shotgun behind. It had saved my ass back on Menae, but it never really felt right. I eschewed our meager assortment of assault rifles and heavy pistols as well.
That left the sniper rifle. Specifically, the N7 Valiant. Yeah, Cortez had finally found it. Personally handed it to me after delivering a constant stream of apologies. Putting my chosen weapons down on the weapons bench in the Armoury, I began adding a few mods—all courtesy of the things I'd scanned so far and the Normandy's fabrication units. Gotta love technology. Best part: the jitters had started to settle down, so I actually had a chance of squeezing the trigger and not have my shots go wild.
By the time I holstered the Valiant, the rest of the team was there. Including EDI—after some discussion with Miranda, I'd decided to bring her along. Ideally, I'd bring her along on a simple mission first. Something low-key, low-risk. Ideally I would have done that with James as well. But I simply didn't have that luxury of ideal situations. Like I said, I needed every bit of help I could get. So I'd have to throw EDI in and hope for the best.
"All right," I announced. "We'll split into three teams. Team One will consist of me and Liara. Miranda and James will form Team Two, with Miranda as team leader. Garrus will head Team Three, with EDI backing him up."
I'd done some thinking during my sleep-deprived, coffee-fueled haze. Three teams of two would allow for more flexibility than two teams of three or one giant team of six. Every team had a leader with proven battlefield experience. Two teams had a biotic to provide some of that gravity-altering magic. Two teams had a sniper to take out long-range threats while his partner watched his back. If we managed to recruit some more people, we could consider something like two larger teams. But for now, this would do.
"Commander, we've just entered the Exodus Cluster. ETA to Eden Prime: five minutes."
"That's our cue," I said. "Let's go."
We boarded the shuttle. Cortez was already in the midst of his pre-flight checks and was clearing the shuttle bay. Five minutes later, we left the Normandy and headed down.
"Eden Prime," Liara said, a note of quiet wonder in her voice. "This is where it all began. Where the Prothean beacon gave you the vision that warned us about the Reapers."
"And where Saren launched his first major attack with the geth," Garrus added. He was sporting a new hardsuit decked in a camouflage pattern. Not quite the same as his usual blue, but it suited him. I wasn't surprised he brought up Saren. Back in his C-Sec days, Garrus was particularly incensed at his actions because he felt it put all turians in a bad light.
"And now with Cerberus here, Eden Prime's colonists are under attack again," Miranda frowned. "For one of humanity's first and most fertile colonies, the last few years have been… less than kind."
"Seems like more than a few years," I said.
"How bad?" James asked. "Back then, I mean?"
"Lot of dead civvies," I recalled. "Lost one of my men—Corporal Jenkins—to a geth drone. He'd grown up on Eden Prime. Going back… it was his first mission."
"Does returning to the colony cause unpleasant memories?" EDI asked, speaking up for the first time.
Yeah, but I couldn't let anyone know that. (2) "It's okay, EDI," I lied. "Jenkins was a good soldier. He'd be proud of what we're doing here."
"I hope the motivation is effective."
"I remember reading the reports while busting my ass on the Citadel," Garrus said, "trying to find evidence against Saren. Hearing that he'd attacked a colony while I sat mired in bureaucracy… that was a bad day."
"Yeah, that does suck, Scars," James agreed.
"You always did prefer a straight-up fight," I laughed.
"And you're always good at helping me find them," Garrus replied.
"Much to my eternal chagrin," Miranda murmured.
"Cerberus hit Eden Prime hard," Liara said, getting us back on track. "Whatever they found here was worth a major offensive."
"Do we know anything beyond Alliance Command's message?" I wanted to know.
Liara shook her head. "They killed everyone near the dig site. If there are survivors, they must be elsewhere in the colony."
"They're probably scared out of their mind," I said. "They deserve better."
"I know," Liara soothed. "The Alliance did what it could to evacuate colonists, but Cerberus came in so quickly…"
"If we find survivors, we'll do what we can," I decided. "For now, let's focus on securing the artifact. Do we know anything about it? Could it be part of the Prothean device? The one whose blueprints we found on Mars?"
"The Alliance didn't get any specifics about what Cerberus has uncovered," Liara replied. "Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Whatever it is, it's better off with us than with Cerberus."
I was happy to see that no one was giving Miranda odd looks as we openly talked about Cerberus. She hadn't made any effort to hide her past, but it seemed that—so far—no one was holding it against her.
Cortez piped up from the pilot's seat. "I'm bringing you in as close to the dig site as I can. No way we'll avoid detection, but you should have a few minutes."
No way we'll… getting up, I stepped into the cockpit. "I thought this thing was supposed to have stealth capabilities."
"Yeah, well…" Cortez pulled up a display and motioned to it as he talked. "We're emitting a lot of heat. Our thermal output's lower than the old UT-47s, but it's still way more than it should be. If we had access to a lab to run simulations and a full fabrication unit to build whatever we needed, maybe we could fix that. For now… it might be better to assume we can be detected as easily as any other Kodiak."
"Better that than operate under false assumptions," I agreed. "A few minutes, you said?"
"More or less."
"We appreciate any time you can give us," I told him.
"All part of the service, Commander."
I returned to the cargo hold and pulled out my sniper rifle. "All right, everyone. Get ready to move."
"Maybe we can get to the dig site before Cerberus knows we're here," James hoped.
"Not according to Cortez," I told him. "He seems to think we'll only have a few minutes before they swarm us."
"Aw, Esteban," James shook his head. "Always gotta be the downer. Oh well: more fun for us, I guess."
As Cortez slowed down and glided the last fifty-odd metres, I opened the hatch and took in Eden Prime. It was a bit cloudy and misty. Mountains stretched as far as the eye could see, covered in brilliant green moss, grass and trees. A river ran down, its silvery sheen gleaming in the dim light. If it wasn't for the urgency of the mission and the state of the galaxy around us, it would be a beautiful day. We hopped out and got our bearings. Miranda scanned the area. "No sign of survivors," she reported.
"Come on," Liara urged. "We need to find the dig site. Maybe we'll find survivors along the way."
"This was a beautiful colony once," I said quietly.
"It survived Saren," Garrus reminded me. "It can survive this."
"I grew up on ships," I said, as we followed a dirt trail to a small cluster of pre-fab buildings. "Lose one, you can always move to another."
Liara seemed to understand my turmoil. "But you'd still remember."
As we moved, I saw some of the Prothean structures that had been unearthed by all the digging. They looked like rhomboid obelisks jutting up. But another image came to mind. "Look at that," I said. "Bits of Prothean tech sticking out of the ground like an old bone."
Garrus turned to Liara, a twinkle in his eyes. "So Liara, ever dig up… what do humans call them?"
"A dinosaur!" James supplied. "Yeah, Doc: didja find any?"
"No," Liara replied. "Dinosaurs and other fossils would be palaeontology. I'm an archaeologist. I study artifacts left by sapient species. The two fields are completely different and…" she trailed off, coming to a sudden realization. "You were joking, weren't you?"
Miranda hid her smirk well. So did I, I like to think.
"A bit," Garrus admitted. "But at least you're catching on these days."
James threw his hands up. "Hey, I just like dinosaurs."
We shared a brief chuckle before I led the team into one of the pre-fabs. A quick search turned up some credits, a med kit and an interesting report on a datapad:
Processing Update
We've taken more able-bodied men and women from pacified neighbourhoods. The colonists generally have accepted the story that they have gone to perform tedious but safe manual labour in a Cerberus research camp on the other side of the planet, and when we increased food rations as 'payment for the work,' most of the complaints died down.
Maintain the story as long as possible. We don't have the manpower to fight the entire colony, and If these families knew they were never going to see their sons and daughters again, there's no way they'd cooperate.
I passed the datapad around. "This suggests how Cerberus has gotten so many troops," Miranda said. "They're not looking for extremists with pro-human sympathies. They're just apprehending people, upgrading and indoctrinating them with Reaper-inspired implants and sending them out."
Made sense, in a horrible sort of way. Use and manipulate humanity under the guise of helping humanity. It's the Cerberus way.
"Shepard, this data could help the colonists still alive on other parts of Eden Prime," Liara said.
James nodded. "Yeah, like the report said—if they knew what was really going on, they'd rise up in a heartbeat."
"But we'd need to get this intel to them," Garrus pointed out. "Cerberus will have gained control of the local comm channels by now."
"Using the Normandy, EDI and I can get this intel to Eden Prime's resistance," Liara said. "Maybe it will help them fight back against Cerberus."
"Do it," I told them. "Meanwhile, let's keep going."
The team left the pre-fab and kept searching while EDI did some computer magic. "There," Liara pointed. "That looks like the elevator leading down into the dig site."
"And we're still alone," Miranda added. "So far, so good."
Liara practically shoved me out of the way in her eagerness to access the elevator controls. "There's something already on the elevator," she told us. Her fingers, which had previously been flying over the console, slowed down. "Goddess…" she breathed, "that doesn't seem possible."
"Is there a problem?" EDI asked.
"It's not a Prothean artifact," Liara told us as the elevator platform rose up. "It's…"
The elevator platform came to a halt, hydraulics hissing away. "…a Prothean," Liara finished.
We stared at her, then back at what looked like a large black coffin. Or a stasis pod. "Like the Collectors?" Miranda asked.
"Or those bodies we found back on Ilos?" Garrus suggested.
"Like the bodies we found back on Ilos," Liara said, "but this one is alive."
"You're right," I said. "That doesn't sound possible."
"But it is," Liara said with growing excitement. "You saw those Prothean stasis chambers—we saw thousands of them in the archives on Ilos," she said for the benefit of EDI, James and Miranda. "The only reason they failed was a lack of power." She activated her omni-tool and began scanning it. "Cerberus found this one in an underground bunker. It still has power. He's been in stasis for the past 50,000 years. Waiting for us. Think of what we could learn."
Now more than ever, I was seeing the old Liara. Not the obsessed and vengeful Liara that had scared me back on Illium or the quietly determined one that I'd met on Mars. The quiet, inquisitive Liara. The one who got excited when talking about the Protheans. (3) "What can you tell me about them?" I asked. "The people, I mean, not the technology."
"Given your experience with the Prothean Cipher, you probably know as much about them as I do," Liara replied.
"And the rest of us?" James prompted.
"The Prothean Empire spanned the known galaxy," Liara began. "They uplifted countless other species to help them join the galactic community."
"By 'galactic community', you are suggesting that Protheans had a structure similar to the modern Council," EDI said.
"Yes, exactly. Their cultural and artistic expression is actually quite close to those of the ancient asari. And given their similar interest in helping other species, it's clear that they believed in inter-species cooperation."
"Your description sounds analogous to the asari," Miranda observed.
Liara paused, then shook her head in mild self-reproach. "I'm certain I'm colouring their culture with my own perceptions. (4) Whatever the Protheans were, finding one alive represents an incredible opportunity."
"Then it's a good thing we brought our Prothean expert," I said.
"I hope I can help," Liara said modestly. "If this single Prothean was sent into stasis, he could be the foremost scientist of his time… or perhaps the wisest counsellor. Perhaps he was a historian or—damn it!"
"Liara?" I prompted.
"Cerberus damaged the lifepod when they excavated it. The life signs are unstable."
"Nice to see Cerberus standards have slipped," Miranda sniffed. "Though the agents who recovered Shepard's body from Alchera were equally sloppy."
"We better get him out of there," James said.
"No, breaking open the pod would kill him. We have to find the command signal that ends the stasis mode. Properly." Liara did some more scanning before continuing. "We also need to figure out how to physically open the pod without doing more damage."
"No crowbars," James nodded. "Gotcha, Doc. So where do we start?"
"Cerberus took over the labs nearby to research what they found at the dig site," Liara replied. "That's likely our best bet."
"Alert! Incoming shuttle!" EDI announced.
We ducked as the shuttle swooped overhead. It came to a hovering stop above one of the buildings. I checked my chronometer: almost four minutes since we'd touched down. Cortez's estimate was pretty much on the money. "Everyone take cover," I ordered. Activating my cloak, I pulled out the Valiant. Time to take it out for a test drive. I aimed at the closest Cerberus hostile and opened fire. The first shot tore apart his shields. The second one drilled right through its helmet. Quick, clean kill. Minimal recoil. And I still had another shot left in my thermal clip. I don't usually go for multi-shot sniper rifles, but I might be willing to make an exception in this case.
Garrus zapped the shields from the second Cerberus agent. This one seemed different, though. It wasn't until I peered through my scope that I realized what was new: he—or she—had a sniper rifle. Before I could do anything, the sniper ducked down. Spotting another one, I reloaded a fresh clip and aimed. Two shots dropped him like a rock.
Miranda spotted the first sniper and hit her with a biotic blast. Liara did the same, with devastating results. EDI finished her off with a bolt of plasma. "Good job," I complimented everyone. "Let's get moving before more of them come back."
The first couple buildings we searched reminded me of Freedom's Progress and Horizon. Cozy. Recently-lived in. But startlingly empty. Back then, though, I was leading a squad composed in part of Cerberus agents investigating what turned out to be Collector abductions. Now, I was leading an Alliance-sanctioned squad against a Cerberus abduction.
History repeating itself? If so, I found it more than a little disturbing.
At first, we carefully sent teams forward one at a time, leapfrogging our way forward. As time progressed, I found myself pushing the squad forward. Was my haste unwise? Probably. Was it justified? Hopefully. I had to believe that this Prothean would be able to help us. I needed to believe it.
I opened the doors of another building. It looked like a house, or maybe a dormitory. Larger and more spacious than the other buildings we'd passed through. There were couches, sofas, bunk beds. Tables and chairs—one of the former bearing a mug of still-steaming tea.
We walked into another room. An ice hockey game was playing on a widescreen vid-panel. There was a small sofa table holding a thermos, a couple cups and a bowl of snacks. Another sofa wrapped around the table.
And there were three men and women. Slumped in various positions. I scanned for life-signs, but that was more out of habit than anything else. My fists clenched as I realized what had happened. "They were gunned down while having drinks and watching the game."
"God damn it," James cursed. "This isn't a military stronghold. It's somebody's home!"
"Just remember," Garrus told us, "we didn't kill these people. We're gonna shut down the bastards who did."
"Starting with the ones outside," Miranda said, pointing to the back door.
I waited until everyone was in position before hitting the door controls. The first guy we saw was a Centurion. Walking along, minding his own business… before Garrus zapped his shields. I set him on fire a few seconds later. Then James blew him to flaming chunks with a concussive round.
Then we all ducked as a whirring noise reached our ears, just before a withering hail of bullets cut through the air. "I'll hack the turret," I told the squad. "As soon as you have a shot, fire at will."
Soon enough, the air was filled with sparks, energy flares, flames and bullets. Desperately, one of the Cerberus guys threw down a smoke grenade to provide some cover. Unfortunately for him, one of the mods I added to my sniper rifle was a specialized scope that could detect hostiles through smoke.
Unfortunately for us, I was the only one equipped with such a gadget. So while I reloaded, the rest of the team just bided their time. We heard a lot of screams and grunts as the hacked turret killed a couple more hostiles for us. I lifted my sniper rifle again and fired at a Centurion. My plasma—coupled with Liara's biotics—finished him off.
That just left the turret, whose software had recovered from my hack, and one more Centurion. EDI zapped the latter's shields, clearing the way for me to take him out with a single head shot.
"Grenade!" Miranda shouted.
Sure enough, there was a grenade at our feet, courtesy of another Centurion. We scattered before it went off. Naturally, I wound up by myself. But I wasn't cut off from support—Miranda made short work of his shields before Liara summoned a singularity right behind him. He floated up into the air, legs kicking helplessly, before I put him out of his misery.
My HUD showed there were a couple more Cerberus soldiers heading our way. I waited until they got close before hacking the turret again, because bullets were scarce and hacking was fun. Well, for me. While they were distracted, I moved the other teams into new firing positions. Peering around a crate, I saw a lightly armoured Cerberus guy take something off his back. It looked like he was trying to set up… another turret? I don't think so.
Signalling the squad, we began targeting him with EMPs and bullets. Just enough to distract him and slowly whittle down his defences. I hacked the turret again so it could help us drain his shields. Then I activated my cloak.
Creeping up on him, I began laying on the hurt. Punch after invisible punch pummeled his scrawny frame. As my cloak wore off, I gave him a cold smile before generating an omni-blade. With a slashing motion and a hoarse shout, I cut his head off. Well, mostly. He wound up doing a 'Nearly-Headless-Nick' impression. (5)
That just left the turret. I hacked it again so it would stop firing. Then we began launching EMPs and firing bullets. Rummaging around, I saw a belt of grenades around one of the dead Cerberus soldiers. Grabbing it, I began hurling grenades to help things along. I also launched a couple fireballs, just for good measure. Eventually, the turret exploded.
Once the coast was clear, I looked down at my hands and the grenade belt they held. It was pretty light, actually. Lighter than the grenade launcher I used to haul around. Almost reminded me of the grenades I used to carry back when I was hunting Saren. I never really used them in those days. Never had a need. Now, though, I might need the extra firepower. And unlike the other weapons, this didn't seem to weigh a ton. Strapping the belt around my waist, I jogged towards the others. Sure enough, I could still run freely.
Liara was reading a datapad that she'd swiped from one of the Cerberus soldiers. Was she taking a page from my book and liberating some credits?
"There. That lab found footage of the Protheans. According to this datapad, Cerberus is studying it to find the stasis deactivation signal."
Guess not. Oh well. Baby steps, right?
We entered the lab Liara had pointed out. Lots of tables. Lots of computers. We split up and checked them all, but none of them had the footage we were looking for. Though I did manage to salvage some more equipment, so it wasn't a complete loss.
"Over here."
Miranda had opened another door that led to a small, enclosed room. The only things inside were a computer console and a large screen displaying a blinking red error message. I stepped into the room and activated the console. As the squad clustered around me, holograms began blinking on and off. They looked like graphs or readings of some sort. Nothing useful, though.
Stifling a growl, I hit a couple more keys. Still nothing. So I whacked a hand against the side of the console.
That did the trick. The error message disappeared, replaced by an image of another ground-based Reaper blasting Protheans into smithereens while columns of numbers ran up the right hand side.
Then I felt a sudden rushing sensation, as if I was being physically pulled towards the screen…
A leg of a Reaper stomped down, almost squashing me like a giant barely missing an insect…
I saw Reapers looming over a Prothean city, as large—or larger—than any of the buildings around them. They fired their weapons, over and over again, energy beams laying waste to everything they touched…
Then I found myself walking down the streets of that city. The sun was just setting. Everything looked… different. The streets, the buildings… it looked different. Alien. And yet, somehow, it also seemed so familiar. So natural. I looked at the person walking beside me—
—oh my God.
The person walking beside me was a Prothean. A living, breathing Prothean.
He had four eyes, just like the Collectors, except I could see an hourglass-shaped iris in each one. He also had three pairs of nostrils, which I didn't remember seeing in any of the Collectors. Then again, I was usually too busy shooting at them to notice. His head was similar in shape to the Collectors, though it didn't seem as elongated. His skin looked like a leathery carapace, blue-grey with some muted yellow tones. He wore a stylized hardsuit of overlapping plates. It looked kinda like the samurai armour I saw in a virtual museum way back when.
Then I looked down and realized I was wearing the same armour. I was… wow. No wonder things looked weird: I was seeing with four eyes. I was seeing things from the perspective of an actual Prothean!
Once I realized I was seeing through four eyes, everything around me seemed to straighten out. Like my mind had adjusted to the extra sensory input or something. This was… I couldn't really describe it properly. Saying it was 'amazing' seemed so… inadequate.
"I never thought our empire would fall," the other Prothean said in a heavily accented voice.
"It won't," he—well, I guess I should say 'I'—said firmly, my own words coming out with a similar accent. "We will sleep here until the Reapers return to dark space. Then we will rise, a million strong."
"For the Empire," the other Prothean intoned.
"For the Empire," I heard myself repeat. "Get to your stasis pod." I watched him depart before walking back the way I came. "Victory, broadcast the stasis readiness signal to all lifepods."
A third Prothean shimmered into view, its outline highlighted in green glowing lines. A hologram? Maybe. I somehow had the sense that it was some sort of virtual intelligence program. As I watched, a series of symbols briefly appeared. That must have been the command signal Liara mentioned. I did my best to commit them to memory before they vanished. Hopefully the others could help fill in any blanks.
"And the refugees who have yet to reach the bunker?"
Belatedly, I realized Victory was asking the Prothean—asking me, I guess—a question. The Prothean whose perspective I was watching from didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Their sacrifice will be honoured in the coming empire," I finally replied.
Damn. Seemed like I was witnessing a last-ditch effort by the Protheans to preserve what was left of their civilization in the midst of the Reaper invasion 50 000 years ago. Anyone who couldn't make it in time would have to be left behind. Harsh measures, but understandable, I suppose.
A loud explosion rocked the streets. Whirling around, I saw fire and smoke gush upwards. Out of the smoke came four Collectors. I felt myself reach over my shoulder and pull out a weapon…
A leg of a Reaper…
A Reaper looming before me…
Alternating images of a Reaper, flashing by so fast I could barely process it all…
Reapers touching down over a city, destroying everything in sight…
"OK, I think I've got the signal," I announced. "What about…
I trailed off, as I realized the rest of the squad was staring at me with blank looks on their faces. "What?"
"Wait, you actually got something from that?" James asked.
"You didn't?"
"No," Miranda shook her head. "All I saw was static. According to these files, Cerberus saw the same. Ever since they got here, they've been trying to make sense of it… without success. How did you—"
"The Prothean Cipher you received on Feros…" Liara interrupted. "It lets you see the images as a Prothean would. Understand their language." (6)
That would explain why the Protheans seemed to be speaking English. At least this time I didn't feel like my head was gonna explode. "Whatever it does, I saw a video. It looked like the final days of some Prothean outpost. Maybe their civilization…" I trailed off, recalling how vivid it was. "Anyway, I saw what they called a 'stasis readiness signal.' I think I can duplicate it to deactivate the stasis mode."
Emphasis on 'I think.' Thankfully, no one picked up on my doubt. "Then we just need to figure out how to physically open the pod," EDI said.
"Let's go," I nodded.
We made a bee-line for the next pre-fab. No Cerberus hostiles. Nothing related to the lifepod. But we did find a troop deployment update:
Local resistance is heavy in the south and west sections of the colony. We've pulled most of our troops from the north neighbourhoods to assist. All remaining troops in the north neighbourhood: continue standard patrol activities to maintain the illusion of a large presence in that area. If the locals knew we were understaffed, they could do some serious damage.
"I think the locals are about to find out where Cerberus is understaffed," I said, handing the datapad over.
"The more intel we find to help the colonists, the better chance they'll have," Liara agreed.
Liara and EDI quickly uploaded the intel while I found some salvage. Then we headed for the next building. We were halfway there before my sensors picked up targets. Using my HUD, I had Teams Two head through the building and Team Three go around it while EDI followed me up the ladder and onto the roof. Engaging my cloak, I spotted a couple hostiles milling around. I also saw what looked like an automated turret.
Time to pull out another toy, I decided. Activating my omni-tool, I sent over a sneaky little virus. The turret managed to reboot itself, but not before slaughtering the hapless Cerberus goon who'd set it up. Miranda and Garrus drained most of its shields with their EMPs. EDI raised her arm. "Wait, EDI: do you have an EMP generator in that mech?"
"Yes, Shepard."
"Hold off," I suggested. "The other teams can drain its shields. I want you to save that EMP in case anyone else comes along."
"Understood."
My caution was shortly justified, but it took a few seconds for reinforcements to show up. Plenty of time for us to whittle down the rest of the turret's shields with gunfire and blast through its armour with a combination of plasma and concussive rounds. Then EDI zapped the shields of the first Centurion who came along. Liara hit him with her biotics and I finished him off with a nice headshot from my sniper rifle.
Three more targets were in range. One was a lowly assault trooper. The other two were a pair of Centurions who were having a very bad day, considering they were getting zapped with EMPs, pummelled with concussive rounds and battered around with biotics. I rolled to a clear vantage point, cloaked and fired a round at the assault trooper, whose head obligingly popped like a bloody balloon. Raising my arm, I barbequed one of the Centurions. Then I reloaded and fired my sniper rifle again. One shot. One kill. Booyah!
Spotting another Centurion, I had EDI fry his shields before I sent a fireball flying into his face. The plasma wound up hitting an assault trooper as well. I aimed, fired…
…and missed! Scowling, I squinted through the scope. Fired again. Didn't score a kill, but I did hit him in the shoulder. The guy screeched to a stop and clutched his injured shoulder, giving me plenty of time to line up my sights on his head and fire. Third time's the charm, I guess.
By the time the Centurion showed up, we were all ready. The guy got such a barrage of EMPs, biotics and concussive rounds that it must have been a blessing when I sent a stream of plasma over to put him out of his misery. We waited for a full minute, but there were no more hostiles. So EDI and I descended to link up with the rest of the squad and we continued our search.
The first building we entered had a civilian casualty. Closing her eyes, I stepped over her and did a quick search. Nothing that a med kit that she hadn't gotten to in time. Damn it. The next building held a bank of computers. Much more promising, I thought. And boy, was I right:
Resistance Information Update
We've gotten word from our source within Eden Prime's resistance movement that we can expect an attack on our security centre between 2200 and 2300 tomorrow night. They're pulling in forces from across the colony—this gives us the perfect chance to destroy their leadership.
Once the attack is contained, allow Dr. William Cambiata to escape, firing near-miss shots to keep it realistic. He's given us good information, and with luck, the locals will see him as a daring hero and the only man to escape the Cerberus trap. They might even put him in charge!
"Perfect," Liara gushed. "This intel will give Eden Prime's resistance movement a real chance to push Cerberus out of their colony."
"Unless it's a trap," I frowned.
"Whaddaya mean?" James asked.
Miranda provided the answer. "Spelling out their plans in such detail? Explicitly naming the mole within the resistance? It sounds like a trap."
"Either that, or their operational discipline's a little sloppy," I added.
"Maybe, maybe not," Garrus argued. "We already suspect that their implants make them more willing to accept Cerberus commands. What if they also affect their ability to think critically and come to logical conclusions? Maybe they have to be given clear-cut orders."
"We don't know, but we can't take any chances," I decided. "Liara, EDI; upload the intel, but warn them that Dr. Cambiata may not be the only mole."
The door of the next building didn't automatically slide open. While I bypassed the locking mechanism, Liara and EDI finished transmitting the intel and caught up with an interesting bit of news: according to some files we uncovered, the building in front of us is a lab that found actual footage of the Protheans. Cerberus is studying it to figure out how to physically open the pod."
"Well, let's see what they've found," I said, as the doors slid open.
The room we entered didn't have anything beyond standard operating software. Hell, I couldn't find anything except a med kit that someone had placed outside. The next room, though, looked more promising. I reached over and activated the controls.
Again, it began with a big 'Error' message on one screen and a couple graphical depictions that blinked on and off. Then the screen with the error message disappeared, replaced by an image of another ground-based Reaper blasting Protheans into smithereens while columns of numbers ran up the right hand side.
Then I felt a sudden rushing sensation, as if I was being physically pulled towards the screen…
A leg of a Reaper stomped down, almost squashing me like a giant barely missing an insect…
Reapers touching down over a city—someone firing a weapon—the Reapers over the city again, laying waste to everything in sight—the images switched back and forth so quickly they blurred together…
Images of a Reaper stomping its leg down, Protheans firing their weapons and a Prothean staring me in the eye flickered by, cycling over and over again…
The Prothean I had seen earlier fired its weapon. Again, it felt like I was actually there. Like I was actually the Prothean. I was firing judiciously, sending a beam of emerald light blazing out towards the Collectors, but I had the feeling it was more to make every shot count than because of any limitation in ammo. Certainly every shot hit a Collector, sending them staggering, spinning around or collapsing to the ground with a deep chittering squawk.
But the Collectors kept coming. Kept firing. They were relentless, uncaring of their casualties. Despite my best efforts, I was forced to retreat. Out of the corner of my left eye—eyes, actually—I saw a fellow Prothean take a hit. He gave a single grunt before he fell.
Clenching my fist, I summoned a surge of energy—biotic energy. Channeling that energy, I lifted the lead pair of Collectors in the air before swatting them against the wall with a practised backhanded flick of his/my hand. A similar gesture sent another Collector into the opposite wall. This seemed so cool! OK, maybe not to a biotic like this guy. But it seemed pretty damn cool to me.
As I watched, though, the Collectors slowly picked themselves up. And more of them were coming. "Victory," I heard myself shout, "seal the bulkheads!"
The VI shimmered to life. "Acknowledged," it stated. Reaching down, I grabbed my fallen comrade and dragged him back. Another Prothean ran up and helped me lay down cover fire until the bulkhead doors closed. As the other Prothean leaned against the bulkhead in exhaustion, I ran over to check on the fallen Prothean.
But it was too late.
Slowly rising, I looked up. Plumes of flame roared all around me. Smoke billowed into the air. A few errant lifepods lay on the ground. My head lowered as I quietly asked "How many have we lost?"
"Reaper forces have destroyed approximately 300 000 lifepods."
Bending down, I reached down towards one of the lifepods. I pushed against a section of the lifepod. With a quiet hiss, a hidden panel opened. I watched carefully as the Prothean whose eyes I was seeing through pressed a certain string of buttons, committing the sequence to memory.
Another hiss heralded the opening of the lifepod. It bore a single occupant. His entire body—skin, armour, everything—was a charred, almost glossy black. His mouth was open, whether in a last breath or a silent scream I couldn't tell.
"A third of our people," I stated. I touched his dead comrade briefly before bowing his head in grief. Right, I remembered the Prothean say that his people would rise again 'a million strong.' Guess he literally meant this bunker was designed to house a million Protheans, a third of which were now dead. So what happened to the other 600 000? Why was this lifepod the only one uncovered?
The moment of silence—and my questions—did not last long. "Alert!" Victory announced. "North-side bulkhead cannot be sealed. Hostiles detected."
"Then all forces to the north!" I shouted. Motioning to the other Protheans, he led them to fend off the latest wave of Collectors. Their departure was interrupted by another barrage of images. Protheans fighting. Reapers advancing…
A small team of Protheans frantically firing as their doom relentlessly approached…
I shook my head and took a deep breath as the images faded.
"You understood that one too?" Liara asked.
"Yeah," I said. "I can definitely duplicate that to open the lifepod."
"I detect a marked increase of confidence in your voice, Shepard," EDI observed.
"This time, I was ready for the experience," I told her. "Makes all the difference."
"What was it like?" Liara asked.
"It felt… it felt like I was actually there," I told her. "Like I was seeing through the eyes of a Prothean."
"As fascinating as that sounds," Miranda hastily said as Liara's eyes lit up, "I'm afraid time is short. We need to secure the lifepod and release the Prothean. Then maybe you will have time to provide a more detailed account."
"She's right," Garrus agreed. "Work now, talk later."
"Of course," Liara agreed, any temporary disappointment washing away at the prospect of getting to meet an actual Prothean face-to-face. "It seems that we have everything we need to open the pod."
Naturally the galaxy's penchant for making my life miserable just had to reassert itself.
As soon as we opened the lab doors, we were greeted with the sight of a shuttle decked in Cerberus colours, its thrusters flaring in a hovering mode as it offloaded Cerberus troops. Liara deployed a singularity, which didn't actually catch anyone but did force them to move around. Between that and random cover fire, we were able to distract them long enough to set up.
I started things off with a fireball that became a miniature inferno, thanks to Liara. Miranda and James pulled a combo of their own while Garrus and EDI fried some shields. Spotting some furtive moment, I pulled out my sniper rifle. A lightly armoured Cerberus agent was trying to set up something. Maybe a turret. As fun as it was to hack turrets, it was probably better if it didn't go online in the first place. So I fired a couple rounds into his head.
Someone decided that they should really deal with the pyromaniac whose day job involves making heads go poof, because he—or she—lobbed a grenade my way. I dove out of the way and cloaked. There was a Guardian trying to sneak up, using his shield as protection. This time, I was able to line up a shot and fire through the small slit in the shield. He dropped it and tumbled to the ground. As Garrus drained some guy's shields, EDI finished him off with a quick burst of plasma.
I passed an assault trooper that was writhing in his death throes, courtesy of Miranda and James. No one else was around, so I scooped up some ammo and ran a quick scan. According to the readings, there were a few more hostiles up ahead, somewhere beyond the next building. I had Teams Two and Three sneak around to the left and right, respectively. That left Liara and I to go through the building itself.
The first thing I saw when I poked my head into the building was what a mess it was. There were so many broken pieces of equipment spread all over the floor. Shards of glass covered just about every surface. Good thing we were wearing boots.
Oh yeah: there was a turret pointing right at my head. I hacked it just in the nick of time. Hilarity ensued—well, for us. Activating my cloak, I charged into the building and found somewhere to hide. A Guardian was slowly advancing on Team Three. Two shots took care of that. Meanwhile, someone had set up another turret. Miranda dropped an EMP on it, EDI set it on fire and James blew it up. While I re-hacked the first turret, Liara summoned a singularity, which sent a guy somersaulting up into the air.
"No more hostiles," Garrus reported over the comm.
"Except the turret," Miranda added.
Right. It had done its job. I launched a fireball at the thing. Liara used her biotics to ignite the plasma with explosive results. Then we ran for the bridge. Which Cerberus had retracted. So we had to run around and climb a couple ladders to find another way across.
Using my omni-tool, I transmitted the command signal I'd seen earlier. "Done," I said.
"Perfect," Liara said. "It'll take a few moments for the lifepod to process it."
"We don't have a few moments," Garrus frowned. He had a talon pressed against his visor, which was undoubtedly giving him some unpleasant news. "Heavy Cerberus forces inbound. Looks like we've got a siege on our hands."
"Spread out and find cover," I ordered. "We can't let them get to the pod."
I dealt with the first two assault troopers, my sniper round killing one of them before my fireball set the other one on fire. Liara hit him with his biotics and that was that. Looking around, I saw two Guardians approaching. My first shot bounced off his shields. The second went through the slit and into his brain.
Out of ammo. I ducked to reload, fired some plasma and sniped another assault trooper. I ignored the Cerberus shuttle that was dropping off some more troops, as Miranda and James were doing what they could to keep them busy. Instead, I sniped another Guardian—I was starting to get better at finding the slit in their shields and firing through it!
A trio of assault troopers were slowly approaching us, though they were being slowed down by a steady barrage of biotics, concussive rounds and bullets. I thought about firing my sniper rifle, but I couldn't line up a clear shot. So I just fired off some plasma instead, which spread them out and slowed them down long enough for me to finally snipe a target. Several explosions rang out as the squad obliterated the other Cerberus hostiles with various combo tricks.
Meanwhile, I spotted another trooper climbing a ladder to the top of the building. Maybe he was trying to get a better vantage point. All I know is that he made himself a perfect target. So I fired my sniper rifle.
And missed! Had to fire again, then launched another fireball. Sadly, the guy was still crawling. Miranda had to finish him off. Not that I minded, but it shouldn't have taken that much work. I like to think I redeemed myself with the next lethal headshot, though.
Garrus and EDI seemed to be thoroughly occupied, so I moseyed over to see what all the fuss was about. They were trying to flush out another hostile, who had found a very good place to hide. I sent a fireball arcing over some crates and down on his head to give him an unpleasant surprise. Then I spun to my right, dashed forward and blew the brains out of yet another assault trooper.
Motioning to Liara to follow my lead, I headed towards one of the buildings, where a couple Cerberus goons were holed up. They had the entrance covered, but there were a few crates conveniently stacked up beneath one of the windows. So up we went. They were definitely not expecting me to say 'Hello' and set one of them on fire. They definitely weren't expecting the flames to expand into a huge conflagration, courtesy of Liara and her biotics.
While they were staggering around, I shot one of them in the back with my sniper rifle, charged forward and dispatched another one with my omni-blade. That left me exposed to the third guy, only he was busy blocking a biotic wrecking ball with his stomach.
No more hostiles here, so I ran a quick scan. "Clear," I reported.
"Clear," Miranda confirmed over the comm.
"Clear," Garrus echoed.
"Looks like we've got a second to catch our breath," I said.
"If anybody needs fresh clips or a bathroom break, now's the time," Garrus agreed.
Liara darted out to check on the lifepod. "Has it ended stasis mode yet?" I asked when she returned.
"Almost," she said.
Then the ground shook.
"Heavy mech!" Liara called out. "Don't let it get close!"
A second later, another Cerberus shuttle flew into view. No doubt that was intentional: either we would get so distracted by the heavy mech that we couldn't deal with the other, fleshier hostiles or we would get so hot and bothered by the Cerberus soldiers that the mech could flank us and rip us to shreds. "Liara; shuttle! Team Three; mech!"
She immediately deployed a singularity right inside the cargo hold of the shuttle. I launched some plasma. Then Miranda deployed her own biotics. Then James fired off a concussive round. This all happened within a couple seconds—snap, snap, snap, snap. They didn't stand a chance.
Meanwhile, Garrus and EDI had tried to drop some EMPs on the mech, with mixed results. I was about to join them and see what I could do; only my HUD started lighting up like a Christmas tree. "Keep an eye on that thing," I told them before running to the other side of the building.
I arrived just in time to greet an assault trooper. He was too close for me to line up a head shot, but a kill was a kill. James fired a concussive round at another trooper, who had been hit by Miranda's biotics a second earlier. I finished that one off. Spotting a third one, I killed him too—but not before he tossed a present our way.
"Grenade!" I warned. We managed to get clear before it exploded.
Back to the mech. Team Three was able to fire a few EMPs at it, along with a couple rounds of bullets, but it was still coming in strong. Lifting my sniper rifle, I peered through the scope… and was surprised to see someone glaring back at me. Right in the chest of the mech was a clear canopy made of some kind of transparent material—a cockpit of some sort for a Cerberus soldier. That mech was being piloted! (7)
I also realized how big the damn thing was. It was actually bigger than the YMIR heavy mechs I occasionally tangled with while prepping to take on the Collectors—and they were already pretty damn big. I fired my sniper rifle a couple times again and lobbed a grenade for good measure, lamenting for the first time the lack of a heavy weapon.
"Company!"
Leaving the mech to Garrus and EDI, I joined the other two teams, who were repositioning to meet our latest guests. Thanks to Miranda's warnings, we were ready when the troopers arrived. Liara set off my fireball while James combed off Miranda's biotics. As the troopers dropped, I snapped off a couple more shots at the mech, then checked my HUD. "Team Two, there's another hostile out there, besides the mech. You should be able to deal with him without any complications from the mech."
"Understood, Shepard."
That left Teams One and Three to tackle the mech. Several more shots finally took down its shields. I managed to fire off another shot, only to get hit with what felt like a skycar in the process. Ducking back, I checked my hardsuit. Shields down, minor crack. Nothing that it couldn't repair, so long as I exercised a little more caution. Peering around the corner, I saw that the mech had deployed smoke grenades to hide itself. Unfortunately for the mech, I could still target it—thanks to my scope. I fired two more shots, then hurled a fireball. "Everyone—fire at will!" I barked.
Without any more Cerberus soldiers to distract us, we were free to give the mech our undivided attention. We began sending balls of plasma and biotics at the mech at staggered intervals and various positions so the pilot couldn't figure out where to target. Concussive rounds and good ol' fashioned bullets were also fired for gits and shiggles. It didn't take long before the whole thing blew to smithereens. "Good job, everyone!" I complimented.
"Shepard—I've just got a signal from the lifepod," Liara announced. "The stasis mode has been successfully deactivated. You can open it now!"
About time.
I double-timed it to the lifepod, the rest of the squad close on my heels. We met no other opposition. Guess Cerberus was busy or something. Reaching down, I opened the hidden panel and entered in the command sequence, hoping to God that I hadn't mixed anything up.
With a hiss of compressed air, other panels popped open along the length of the pod. The top of it opened, splitting into two lids that swung outwards and down. "There. You've got it," Liara said, somewhat unnecessarily.
We all clustered around and stared down at the Prothean. He looked just like the ones I'd seen earlier, only slightly frosted. Patches of what almost looked like frost covered him from head to toe. Brr.
"Goddess," Liara breathed.
As we watched, the frost or whatever it was slowly evaporated. The Prothean's skin gradually shifted from a stark grey-white to the grey-blue tones I remembered. We kept looking at him.
…
…
"It may take him some time to fully regain consciousness…" Liara began.
"Or not," Miranda interrupted. We all quickly looked down. There was definitely some eye movement going on beneath those eye lids. All four of them. They slowly drifted open. Then closed. Opened and closed. Then they suddenly opened. The Prothean blinked furiously. Then he stared at us.
We all stared back.
Then his body flared with emerald light. With a grunt, he sent us all flying back. We tumbled in various undignified positions as the Prothean struggled to his feet. He swayed, tried to regain his balance, then sat down on the edge of the pod and tried to slide down. Instead, he lost his balance again and fell, barely catching himself on his hands and knees before face-planting onto the floor.
We all got to our feet at more or less the same time and stared at each other. The Prothean backed away and disappeared behind a stack of crates.
"Be careful," Liara warned as I followed. "He's confused!"
I went around the crates just in time to see him stumble and fall again. He got to his feet, took a step… and came to a sudden halt. His arms dropped and his mouth opened as he took in the view before him. I couldn't blame him: judging by what I'd seen, Eden Prime had looked very different 50 000 years ago. Heck, it probably had a different name back then.
"Hey there," I said.
He didn't hear me. Or acknowledge me. Or maybe he just didn't understand me. "Hello?" I tried again. Still nothing. I slowly reached out, intending to just tap him on the shoulder or something.
"Remember," Liara said in the distance, "it's been 50 000 years for us, but for him, it's only been—"
"—a few minutes!" I shouted.
I was back in the vision. Back in the body of the Prothean. The one whose eyes I'd seen through in those visions that had taught me how to deactivate the stasis pod and open it up. That Prothean was the one that Cerberus had uncovered.
I was back in this Prothean bunker, walls looming high into the smoke-filled skies. But things were different. I could taste the acrid smoke on my tongue. I could feel the heat pouring out from all the fires raging on around me.
And I could feel anger and frustration building up inside me as decades of work—all the desperate planning, sacrifice and loss my people had suffered—fell apart before my eyes. At the moment, that anger and frustration was focused on the VI before me. "No," Victory said firmly. "The bunker is falling. There is no other option."
"But there are pods online!" I protested. "Ready and waiting for soldiers. Soldiers that are still alive! They just need a few more minutes!"
"Their sacrifice will be honoured in the coming empire."
I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth as Victory threw my words back in my face. Had it learned that from me? Was I to blame? Or was it always so cold and ruthless?
"Preparing neutron bombardment. Get to your lifepod now."
That was all Victory. Stupid machine. Gritting my teeth, I glared at it helplessly before turning and running. Hating the machine. Hating myself with every step I took.
Sensing my approach, my lifepod hissed open. I carefully lowered myself inside and lay down. The lids sealed shut above me. "Neutron bombardment underway," Victory told me, its cold voice echoing out of the pod's speakers. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth as the neutron bombardment swept over the facility, its shockwaves making me bounce against the walls of my pod. I forced my eyes to open and stare at the lids above me, their dark metal lit up by the interior status lights. Dark and empty… like the future of my people.
"The bunker is secure, Commander Javik."
"What is left of it," I said bitterly. "A few hundred people. How am I to rebuild an empire from that?"
"Further adjustments may be necessary," Victory informed me. "The neutron purge compromised the facility."
"Clarify," I demanded, my eyes narrowing.
"Sensors are damaged. Several systems offline. Automated reactivation is not an option. You will remain in stasis until a new culture discovers this bunker. This may lead to a power shortage."
Oh no.
I lunged upwards, stopping myself just before my head hit the lids of my pod. My prison. "Do not shut off more pods!" I cried out, my voice equal parts despair and rage. "I need the few that are left!"
"Power needs will be triaged appropriately," Victory continued coldly, its voice completely devoid of pity or sympathy.
My head fell back against the walls of my prison. I could hear the internal mechanisms humming around me as they began activating stasis mode. Already, I found myself growing tired. Sleepy.
"You will be the voice of our people," Victory told me.
Darkness swallowed me. I could feel myself being dragged against my will into the empty void of oblivion. Before I surrendered to my forced sleep, I made one last vow. A promise that I swore with every fibre of my being:
"I will be more than that." (8)
With a flash of light, I came back. I was on Eden Prime. It was the future… no, my present. It was the future for the Prothean before me, who had dropped to his knees. I took a deep, ragged breath, shaken from what I had just experienced.
"How many others?" the Prothean—Javik—asked quietly.
"Just you," I said.
Javik made a noise, but stayed on his knees. Then something occurred to me: "Wait… you can understand me?"
"Yes," he replied. "Now that I have read your physiology, your nervous system. Enough to understand your language."
'Read?' "So you were reading me," I said slowly, "while I was seeing…"
"Our last moments," Javik finished bitterly. "Our failure."
"I saw what happened to your people," I said gently. "I know you must be grieving. But they didn't die in vain. They fought and bled and gave everything they had. My people are fighting, bleeding and dying right here. Right now. And I could use some of the determination your people showed."
Javik just looked at me, not saying a word.
"Shepard."
"Go ahead, Cortez," I replied, activating my comm.
"Whatever you did got Cerberus interested."
"Lock on my position," I ordered. "The LZ's clear for now." I looked around to find that Javik had turned around. He was staring at my squadmates, who had been approaching us. "Asari. Turian." He looked at me and added "Human." Then he shook his head. "I am surrounded by primitives."
Excuse me? Shoving that aside for the time being, I stepped towards him. "It's not safe here. We have to go. Will you join us?"
"You fight the Reapers," Javik asked, looking over his shoulder.
"Yes."
"Then we will see."
I extended a hand forward. Javik stared at it. He stared at me.
Then he walked away.
(1): It wasn't until I began editing these logs that I realized how much strain Shepard was under. It was quite remarkable that he held up as well as he did.
(2): Despite all the stress he was facing, I believe Shepard had come to terms with the loss of Jenkins on Eden Prime.
(3): I admit I had changed more drastically over that three-year span than in the previous century. It is understandable that other people may have been… confused by the apparent shift in personality.
(4): Little did I know how accurate that statement was.
(5): A minor character from the fictional 'Harry Potter' franchise that enjoyed a great deal of popularity in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.
(6): Not for the first time, I was amazed—and slightly jealous—of Shepard's experiences. To actually witness those final moments firsthand...
(7): We would eventually learn that Cerberus had designated this unit as an Atlas, which combined the armour and firepower of a YMIR heavy mech with the tactical superiority of a human pilot. The window consisted of a polycrystalline composite derived from a synthetic sapphire lattice composed with interlayers.
(8): Upon reviewing these logs, I have come to reassess my earlier statement. As envious as I was of Shepard's experiences, I cannot imagine how horrifying it must have been to watch the downfall of the Prothean civilization firsthand.
