Judy, along with Nick and a number of other Normandy personnel got the bomb ready to destroy Saren's base. "There, this close to the bases geothermal taps. This baby will do decimate this place into a crater." Judy said gleefully.
"Judy! We're pinned down at the AA Towers!" Ashley Williams said over the com channel.
"Well that's unfortunate, because this bomb is going to take a while to arm properly." Nick said.
"Just leave it to me... I'll get Ashley and the girls out of the water." Judy said boldly as she un-holstered her weapon. An assault rifle, and charged in the general direction of the AA Towers.
"Judy! I know that you're tough! But this breaks every sensible rule in the SA Field Manuel!" Davies said over Judy's comm channel as she engaged Saren's forces.
"True, but I'm not going to allow anyone on my team to die! And I'm not going to have a repeat of X57!" Judy answered as she fired on Saren's forces.
"Ah... well that reminds me of something I've been working on since then. I managed to get my hands on some Hahne-Kedler combat mechs. Some FENRIS, some LOKI's, and some YMIR's, all for something like this." Davies explained.
"When did you get these?" Judy asked.
"Never mind that, I am deploying them to the bomb sight now." Davies explained, and over Judy a geth dropship flew overhead towards the bomb site. "Well... speak of the devil. Judy, just keep moving and stop for no one. After we can safely get the bomb set up, and the AA Towers are silenced. We skedaddle."
"Roger that!" Judy said as she ran to an elevator.
XXXX
Judy exited the elevator, and fired on the geth that were attacking the salarians and Ashley, Liara and Tali. "Commander! How are you here?" Kirrahe asked.
"I ran! Now shut up and keep shooting!" Judy said curtly as she turned the tide of the firefight. Eventually, the geth were all destroyed. "We're clear," Judy said as the last geth fell. "All clear." She said.
Then without warning, Saren, riding on some manner of hover board, fired on Judy and her teammates. Forcing them into cover as the rogue turian Specter fired biotic attacks onto them. Saren jumped off of the board.
"I applaud you, Hopps. My geth were utterly convinced that the salarians were the real threat. An impressive diversion... especially for such a CUTE rabbit." Saren said, Judy snarled at his 'cute' remark. "Of course, it was all for nothing. I can't let you disrupt what I have accomplished here. You can't possibly understand what's really at stake."
"Try me cockatrice, despite the stereotypes rabbits are a LOT smarter then we're given credit." Judy said curtly with her pistol at the ready.
"You've seen the vision from the beacons, Hopps. You, of all people, should understand what the Reapers are capable of. They cannot be stopped. Do not mire yourself in pointless revolt. Do not sacrifice everything for the sake of petty freedoms. The Protheans tried to fight, and they were utterly destroyed. Trillions dead. But what if they had bowed before the invaders? Would the Protheans still exist? Is submission not preferable to extinction?" Saren pontificated.
Judy scoffed. "Buddy, if I submitted the first time someone threated me. I'd probably be dead over a thousand times over. And do you really believe that the Reapers would just let us live if we did?"
"Now you see why I never came forward with this to the Council. We organics are driven by emotion instead of logic. We will fight even when we know we cannot win. But if we work with the Reapers—if we make ourselves useful—think how many lives could be spared! Once I understood this, I joined Sovereign, though I was aware of the... dangers. I had hoped this facility would protect me." Saren explained.
Judy chuckled to herself. "And you only just now realized you're as much a tool as everyone else you dragged here. Something, some-ONE for Sovereign to use until it can't use you any longer!"
"I've studied the effects of indoctrination. The more control Sovereign exerts, the less capable the subject becomes. That is my saving grace. Sovereign needs me to find the Conduit. My mind is still my own... for now. But the transformation from ally to servant can be subtle. I will not let it happen to me." Saren rambled uncertainly.
Something then clicked in Judy's mind. "Wait... your already indoctrinated anyway! It's manipulating you, even as your babbling about just giving up to the Reapers!"
"No! Sovereign needs me. If I find the Conduit, I've been promised a reprieve from the inevitable. This is my only hope." Saren said in desperation.
Judy then felt sympathy for the indoctrinated turian. "Saren... we don't have to surrender to the Reapers. It's possible to beat them." She said, in a vain attempt to sway Saren.
"I no longer believe that, Hopps. The visions cannot be denied. The Reapers are too powerful. The only hope of survival is to join with them. Sovereign is a machine. It thinks like a machine. If I can prove my value, I become a resource worth maintaining. There is no other logical conclusion!" Saren responded.
"This is pathetic," Judy said in disgust. "You were a Specter! Now your rambling in defense of genocidal monsters to try to save your own hide!"
"I'm not doing this for myself! Don't you see? Sovereign will succeed. It is inevitable. My way is the only way any of us will survive! I'm forging an alliance between us and the Reapers. Between organics and machines. And in doing so I will save more lives than have ever existed. But you would undo my work. You would doom out entire civilization to complete annihilation. And for that, you must die." Saren said, still attempting to rationalize what he was doing.
He then engaged Judy and her team. It was grueling fight, Saren even grabbed her by the throat, lifting her up.
"You want... you want to know something cockatrice?" Judy said defiantly as Saren's hand clamped around her throat.
"What?" Saren said coldly.
"Even rabbits... have... TEETH!" Judy roared as she bit into Saren's wrist. Causing the hardened turian to shriek as the rabbits buck teeth dug into his flesh.
"GET OFF OF ME! GET OFF!" Saren shouted as he removed Judy. And made his way back to his hover board.
Then the Normandy flew overhead. "Davies!" Judy said over the com channel.
"The bomb is set to detonate, my mechs are defending it. Now move your fluffy tail back onboard!" Davies said as the Normandy's boarding ramp opened. Judy, her teammates and the salarians hastily went up the ramp.
XXXX
"Well... that was hectic. Was that mission hectic to anyone else?" Nick said as the squad members sat in the briefing room.
"It was a tight situation. But sir, you saved the whole mission." Ashley said.
"I just did my job... and we all proved our mettle on Virmire." Judy said, with a look of tired pride on her face.
"Still... you were AMAZING down there Carrots." Nick said.
"Excuse me. But I think I may have an idea," Liara said.
"The floor recognizes Dr. T'soni." Judy said sardonically.
"The beacon you found in Saren's base, it must be related to the one from Eden Prime. It may have filled in the blanks of your vision. I might be able to finally rationalize it." Liara explained.
"You want to do that... 'Embrace Eternity' thing again? Well if it means finding the Conduit, I'll try anything." Judy said as she and Liara stood up, and approached each other.
"Relax Commander, embrace eternity!" Liara said as she and Judy melded. Eventually, Liara stopped. "Wow... that was so intense. The images... I'll need a moment to collect myself."
"And as per usual it makes no sense to me. Did it mean anything to you?" Judy asked.
"Near as I can figure, it's some type of distress call. Sent across the Prothean Empire to warn of the Reapers. Obviously, it was too late and... and there were other images of a place I remember from my research... Ilos! It was the planet Ilos. That's where the Conduit is! That's why Saren even wanted the Mu Relay." Liara said.
"Forget it T'soni, it's in the Terminus Systems. Nobody there likes the Alliance or Specters." Tali said.
"Then let's set a course for Ilos." Judy commanded.
"What? Commander, Saren would have the entire planet blockaded. You'd need a fleet to... to... sorry Commander." Liara said as she held her head. "The joining is still... exhausting for me. I should return to Dr. Chakwas." Liara said.
"You do that, everyone. Dismissed." Judy said.
"Well... there's a comm bouy-"
"What do you think Joker? The Council would probably just praise me for destroying a krogan breeding facility anyway. Not even acknowledge that the Reapers are even be real." Judy said curtly.
XXXX
Judy had made her way to Davies quarters. "Davies... you doing okay?" Judy asked.
Davies was sitting by himself. "Keeping in there, your referring to Saren's rambling, and Sovereign aren't you?"
"Yeah... kind of heavy stuff, for some time I figured the Reapers were synthetics that the Protheans created that turned on their creators." Davies said as he stood up. "But the fact that there not only REALLY ancient, but the majority just sleep in Dark Space for the next great galactic genocide. And Saren... he seemed convinced that he was doing the right thing. Not even ranting about galactic domination, or a word about what happened that made him hate mammalkind as much as he did."
"Yeah... it's beyond messed up what was down there." Judy mussed.
"That it is... but one way or another. We will stop it! Now, do you want to get in some gaming? It'll be awhile before we get back to the Citadel to get the fleet to Ilos." Davies said.
"Bro... I've spent much of today trying to keep my team from dying in one way or another. I could use something to unwind... and gaming with you would be all too perfect." Judy said as she sat down in front of Davies game console. "Only I get to pick the game this time."
"Fair enough," Davies said as Judy started the console up. "Now this is a newer console that lets you play with the omni-tool... wait... you seriously want to play Tetris?"
"Yes... or are you afraid to loose?" Judy said with a determined look on her face.
"Sure... why not?" Davies said reluctantly as the two rabbits started to play.