Chapter 11: I'm Sorry
Things were quiet between Shepard and Tali the day following the Pilgrimage gift. It was almost a relief when the Council contacted Shepard with a new lead on Saren. Virmire. A beautiful planet covered in seas and lush archipelagoes. This was where Saren's base was located. A Salarian STG team was sent here but was unable to send a clear message back. Upon arriving just showed just how bad the situation was.
The Salarians were trying to call for an armada. Saren found a cure for the genophage so he could breed an army of brainwashed Krogan. Even though Shepard believed the Krogan should be cured of the genophage, but in Saren's possession, it was a weapon of unparalleled power. A weapon that must be destroyed.
Wrex disagreed. Threatening violence if they destroyed the cure. For the mission to proceed, Shepard would have to speak with him. Calm him down. And that's where he finds himself, dreading speaking to the Krogan Battlemaster and convincing him to destroy the cure to the plague that inflicted his people for centuries.
Wrex was rightfully pissed off. He took out his shotgun and fired a round into the water. Its roar echoed throughout the area. The feel of the area was tense.
"This isn't right Shepard!" he bellowed. "If there is a cure for the genophage, we can't destroy it."
"I know you're upset, but we both know Saren's the enemy here."
"Really?" he remarked. "Saren created a cure for my people. You want to destroy it. Help me out here, Shepard. The line between friend and foe are getting a little blurry."
"This isn't a cure!" Shepard argued. "It's a weapon! And if Saren is allowed to used it, you won't be around to reap the benefits. None of us will."
"That's a chance we should be willing to take. This is the fate of my entire people we are talking about here, Shepard! I've been loyal to you so far. Hell, you've done more for me than my family ever has, but if I keep following you, I need to know that we are doing this for the right reasons." Wrex pulled out his weapon and aimed at Shepard.
This caused the soldiers in the area to tense up. They didn't really know what to do. Ash who was keeping an eye on them with her scope of her weapon. The situation was expected to become violent. No one expected what came next. Shepard, instead of pulling out his weapon, took a step forward allowing the shotgun barrel to press up against his chest. Too close for the shields to protect him.
"Are you insane?" Wrex said.
"I don't point weapons at my friends, Wrex. These aren't your people. They're slaves of Saren! Tools! Is that what you want for them? Your race was tools for the Council once, and they thanked you for winning the Rachni war by sterilizing your race! You think Saren will treat your people any better?"
Wrex stared him in the eyes. Thinking over what he said. In an action that calmed everyone in the area, Wrex lowered his weapon. "Y-You're right. You've made your point. I don't like this but I trust you enough to follow your lead. Just one thing; when we find Saren, I want his head."
"Thank you, Wrex," Shepard said.
He started to walk away but Wrex had one last thing to say.
"Oh, Shepard."
John looked back.
"It took a quad to do what you just did. I rarely see that type of bravery, even among my own people. Just saying you have my respect."
Shepard was walking to the camp when he felt a smack across the back of his head. He looked back and saw a pissed-off Ash. "What the hell were you thinking?" she yelled.
"I wasn't about to pull a weapon on him, Williams," he replied. "Wrex is reasonable."
"He pulled out a weapon on you."
"Because he felt like we were betraying him and his people. Would you honestly act any differently if you were in his position?"
"I guess not, but that was a huge chance you took with him and the shotgun. He would have killed you if he pulled the trigger."
"I was confident I could reason with him."
"With all due respect, sir, that was too much of a risk. You're just damn lucky that Tali didn't see what you did. She probably would have killed you."
Shepard sighed. "That she would. Let's just move on. It looks like the Salarian Captain has a plan."
VVVVVV
An assault team and an infiltration team. That was the plan. Kirahe's group was split into three squads that would attack the front of the fortress. To further add to his plan, Ash was sent with them for assistance. Kaidan was in charge of setting the bomb that would be placed inside the breeding facility. He was a Sentinel with technical training so it made sense to have him set the bomb up. Liara and Wrex stayed behind on the Normandy. Liara was still emotionally distraught over her mother's death and Shepard didn't want to bring her into battle right after what she had been through.
Wrex was oppose to staying on the Normandy but was convinced to stay aboard since he would be needed to help drop the bomb off at Kaidan's location. This left Shepard with Garrus and Tali in his squad.
Despite the odds, the attack was going exactly as planned. The majority of the Geth were fighting the Salarian group while Shepard's team moved in through the back. Along the way to the facility, they sabotaged the Geth to make things easier for the Salarian group.
The fight was brutal. Variety of Geth, Krogan and Indoctrinated Salarians stood in their way to the control terminal they needed to shut down. The three worked together with great unity. Tali took care of any Geth resistance and Garrus finished them off with long range sniper attacks. Shepard would use pull frequently to make the gun fight easier for Garrus and Tali.
Their infiltration eventually brought them to an office where an Asari was cowering.
"Please don't shoot!" she begged. "Please, I just want to get out of here before it's too late."
"I'm not going to hurt you," Shepard assured her. "Who are you?"
"Rana Thanoptis," she answered. "Neurospecialist. But this job isn't worth dying over. Or worse. You think the Indoctrination only affects prisoners? Sooner or later, Sare will want to dissect my brain, too!"
"Wait, I thought this facility was for breeding Saren's Krogan army."
"Not this level. We're studying Sovereign's effect on organic minds. At least, that's what I assumed. Saren kept us in the dark as much as possible."
"You helped him and you don't even know why?" Garrus exclaimed.
"I didn't have the option of negotiating," she defended herself. "This position is a little more... permanent than I expected. But I can help you. This elevator behind me goes to Saren's private lab. I can get you in." Rana walked over to the access panel next to the elevator and entered in a code. She walked back over to Shepard. "See? Full access. All of Saren's private files. Are we good? Can I go?"
"I'm go to blow this place to hell and gone," Shepard replied. "If you want to make it out alive, you might want to start running."
"What?" she gasped. "You can't... but I'll never... ahh!" Rana went into full sprint out of the room.
"You enjoyed that," Tali joked.
They went through the door which opened to a short walkway. They walked across and entered the elevator. It took a few moments for the elevator to reach the top. For Saren's private lab, it was fairly small. It was two levels, with a platform that stretches out over the second. On the second level they saw the beacon.
"Look Commander," Garrus pointed out. "It's another beacon, just like the one you mentioned about on Eden Prime."
Shepard turned to them. "Both of you stay here. I don't want this beacon harming either of you."
The two nodded. Shepard walked towards the beacon. This device had a holographic display, unlike the one on Eden Prime. Based purely on guess work, Shepard touched the display and turned a couple of dials. Energy burst from the beacon and lifted him off of the ground. Tali glanced away not to watch.
Images flew through Shepard's head. It was clearer though. It was also less strain. The message cut out and dropped Shepard to the ground. He struggled to get to his feet.
"You alright, Shepard?" Garrus asked.
"I'm good," he groaned. "We should head to the AAtower..." Shepard quieted as he looked up. Garrus and Tali looked up as well. Red displays appeared in front of the platform. It warranted a look.
They walked up to the second level of the room and approached the display. A holographic representation of Sovereign appeared before them.
"This does not look good," Garrus muttered.
"You are not Saren," it declared in a deep, mechanical tone. Its voice seem to send shivers down Shepard's spine. It was... unnatural.
"Is this some kind of VI interface?"
"Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood. You touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding."
"I don't think this is a VI," Tali said.
"There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own you cannot even imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension. I am Sovereign!"
"Sovereign isn't some Reaper ship that Saren found," Shepard concluded. "It's an actual Reaper!"
"Reaper? A label created by the Protheans to give voice to their destruction. In the end, what they choose to call us is irrelevant. We simply are."
"Protheans vanished 50,000 years ago," Garrus argued. "There is no way a ship could last that long!"
"Garrus," Shepard said. "These aren't regular ships."
"Organic life is nothing but a genetic mutation, an accident. Your lives are measured in years and decades. You wither and die. We are eternal. The pinnacle of evolution and existence. Before us, you are nothing. Your extinction is inevitable. We are the end of everything."
"There is an entire galaxy of races united and ready to face you."
"Confidence born of ignorance. The cycle cannot be broken."
"Cycle? What cycle?" Tali asked it.
"The pattern has repeated itself more times than you can fathom. Organic civilizations rise, evolve, advance. And at the apex of their glory, they are extinguished. The Protheans were not the first. They did not create the Citadel. They did not forge the mass relays. They merely found them, the legacy of my kind."
Shepard was genuinely confused by that confession. "Why would you construct the mass relays, then leave them for someone else to find?"
"Your civilization is based on the technology of the mass relays. By using it, your society develops along the paths we desire. We impose order on the chaos of organic evolution. You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it."
It made sense. Also explains how the Reapers were always winning. The races that ever developed in this galaxy always relied on the relays for technology. And because of it, they've always developed in basically the same general direction as any race before it. The races never develop faster than what the Reapers could predict.
But this is different for Shepard's galaxy. They didn't have mass relays or element zero to achieve FTL travel. All of his galaxy's technology is based on their own knowledge and experiments. Both galaxies may still have a chance.
"They're harvesting us!" Tali gasped in terror. "Letting us advance to the level they need, then wiping us out."
"How many left are there of you kind?" Shepard asked. He knows that his galaxy fought and won against them before. With heavy costs. But what if that wasn't even an attack fleet. What if that was just simple scouts.
"We are legion," it answered. "The time of our arrival is coming. Our numbers will darken the sky of every world. You cannot escape your doom."
"Where did you come from? Who built you?" It's a machine, so it had to have been created by something, someone.
"We have no beginning. We have no end. We are infinite. Millions of years after your civilization has been eradicated and forgotten, we will endure."
"What do you want from us? Slaves? Resources?"
"My kind transcends your very understanding. We are each a nation. Independent, free of all weakness. You cannot even grasp the nature of our existence."
"You're nothing but an aging warship. And ships can be destroyed!" Shepard roared.
"Your words are as empty as your future. I am the Vanugard of your destruction."
'Vanguard?' Shepard thought. The lone Reaper that got away! This was it. Shepard tensed up in anger, knowing that this was the monster that attacked his galaxy 50000 years ago.
"This exchange is-" An alarm went off in the room. Several red panels appeared between Sovereign and Shepard's squad. "Alpha Energy detected? Impossible. No creature in existence, or ever existed, that possesses..." Sovereign trailed off to process that thought. "Artician!"
"You know what I am?"
"The race that killed many 50000 years ago."
"Your kind attacked my galaxy and threatened the Rak'en with genocide. The Articians were not going to stand by and allow you to do that!"
"Your species and every species in your galaxy will face the same fate as every race in this realm of reality."
"We nearly annihilated your entire fleet when you attacked! How do you expect to face us now?"
"While many were lost in the fight, we still attained victory. Your technology. We have become more powerful because of it."
"This isn't a war you're going to win, Sovereign." Shepard walked towards the hologram. "You and your kind are not just facing off against this galaxy. You're going to war against two realities! Two Galaxies! When your fleet comes, the races of my galaxy will join forces with this galaxy. We will fight and defend this galaxy with our lives. As the Tiven'Vian of this age, I will lead us to victory and your reign will end."
"Foolish organic cretin," it said in its mechanical monotone voice. "We are many. We are unstoppable. The cycle will not be broken."
The hologram blinked out. Right after an explosion went off which shattered the windows of the lab.
"Commander?" Joker called out over the comm. "We got trouble!"
"Hit me, Joker."
"That ship, Sovereign? It's moving. I don't know what you did down there, but that thing just pulled a turn that would shear most ships in half. It's coming your way and it's coming hard! You need to wrap things down there fast!"
"Where to from here, Shepard?" Garrus asked.
"We head to the breeding facility," Shepard answered. "Joker can pick us up after we set the nuke."
The group went back into the elevator. There were still stunned from the conversation.
"S-So the Reapers remember your race," Tali said.
"Yeah," Shepard said. "My race destroyed at least a hundred of them, so they should remember us."
"But Sovereign said they took your technology," Garrus muttered.
They exited the elevator and moved towards the AA tower's control terminal location.
"One Reaper escaped from the war," he replied. "We couldn't translate its language properly so all we could tell was that it called itself, 'a Vanguard.' Sovereign. That was the one who escaped. With it was a lot of our technology."
"So the Reapers may be even more powerful because of their interaction with your galaxy," Tali pointed out.
Shepard pulled two Geth over the railing next to them. He used slam to send them straight towards the ground. "Yes. But it's not like my galaxy's technology had just stood at a standstill for the last 50000 years. We've grown stronger."
Garrus and Tali moved methodically using overloads to disable or stun any Geth that got in their way.
"So what did happen during the war?" Garrus asked as he sniped a Hopper Geth that was clinging to the foundation of the fortress wall.
Shepard lifted two explosive tanks biotically and flung them towards some drones flying towards them.
"About a hundred of the Reapers appeared over the Rak'en homeworld. The Articians were alerted to the situation when one of our probes detected the massive energy signature. Our fleet made haste to the Rak'en homeworld to save them from extinction. By the time we got there, the Reapers killed a billion Rak'en."
"Keelah," Tali gasped. "And your race just came to save them?"
"We Articians do what's right. No matter what. It's in our blood. When we saw the Rak'en were under attack, we came without a moment's hesitation. The battle was brutal. We lost tens of thousands of soldiers fighting them. That was just under two hours. In the end though, we were victorious. We destroyed all but one. We spent decades looking for it, but we never did. Until now."
The three approached the turret terminal. Shepard deactivated the defenses. The Geth tried to ambush the three, but failed miserably as they were cut down almost immediately upon revealing themselves. They took the elevator up. Ash shouted something about charges being set over the comm. It was hard to understand with the gunfire in the background. The elevator doors opened to a passageway with the ground completely cover in inch-deep water. Three Krogan appeared behind the support structures and immediately started charging at the three.
Shepard used pull to lift the three from the ground. The momentum still carried the three towards their group. Garrus took aim at the one of the right and fired a round in his head. Tali fired her shotgun at the one on the left and blew his head to pieces. Shepard used throw on the last Krogan and sent him flying about a hundred feet into the air. It was not going to be a soft landing.
"Charges set!" Ash yelled over the comm. "Everyone get low! Now!"
The sound of an explosion rung throughout the area. The three approached the blast door which opened upon their approach. Shepard's squad moved into the area. Ran down a slope towards a pillar at the back wall.
"All right! Nice work!" Joker congratulated. "That's one less thing to worry about. Commander, I'm bringing us in. I'll get as close to the site I can."
John, Garrus and Tali stood there in the water as they watched the Normandy come into sight. The ship hovered over the platform near the edge of the area. The cargo bay door opened revealing Kaidan, Wrex and a crewmember. The crew member went ahead of the two and waved them over. Kaidan and Wrex lugged the bomb towards it designated deployment. The two approached Shepard.
"The bomb is in position," Kaidan said over the comm. so the Salarian team could hear. "We're all set here."
"Commander, do you read me?" Ash asked.
"The nuke is almost ready. Get to the rendezvous, Williams," Shepard answered back.
"Negative, Commander," she said back in a stressed tone. Gunfire could be heard over the comm. "The Geth have us pinned down on the AA tower. We'll never make the rendezvous point in time."
"Get them out of there, Joker!" he ordered.
"Negative!" Ash yelled. "It's too hot! Can't risk it. We'll hold them off as long as we can-" She was cut off.
"It's okay, Commander," Kaidan said to him. "I need a couple of minutes to set the bomb. Go get them and meet me back here."
"Good idea." Shepard looked to Wrex. "Care to join us Wrex?"
"I thought you'd never ask," he said.
"To the AA tower," he announced to his squad.
The approached the opposing blast doors. It led to a passageway similar to the one they used to enter the area they were just in. Three Krogan and several Geth charged towards them.
One of the Hopper Geth leaped towards one of the supports in the passageway. It blew apart in half before it could reach its destination. "One shot!" Garrus yelled while lowering his sniper rifle.
"Bet you can't do that again!" Shepard dared.
"Challenge accepted!"
Wrex used pull to lift two of the Krogan off of the ground allowing for Tali to fire her shotgun into the two floating targets.
Shepard took out his pistol and fired round after round at the last charging Krogan. The Krogan shrugged off the rounds like they were mosquito bites. Shepard decided to meet him halfway and charged as well. Shepard aimed for the lower section of the Krogan and tackled him. He launched the Krogan over himself, turning the Krogan's momentum against him. He spun around and fired his pistol as fast as he could into the Krogan's head as he flew over him. The Krogan fell to the ground with his face gone.
Shepard looked up to see a Hopper fly towards him. Before he could react a shot ran through the area. The Hopper was shot through the eye, directly down the middle, splitting it in half. Both halves missed the Commander. He looked to Garrus who looked very proud of himself.
The squad moved to the elevator and went up to the walkways above the passageways. They moved forward, but saw a Geth dropship fly over head.
"Reinforcements!" Garrus called out. "We better hurry."
"Look out, LT," Ash warned over the comm. "We just spotted a Geth dropship heading to your position."
"It's already here!" Alenko said. "Geth are moving in from all directions."
"Can you hold them off?" Shepard asked.
"There's too many," he answered. "I don't think we can survive until you get here." There was a pause. "I'm activating the bomb."
"Alenko, what are you doing?" Shepard demanded.
"I'm just making sure this bomb goes off, no matter what. It's done, Commander. Go get Williams and get the hell out of here!"
"Screw that!" Ash countered. "We can handle ourselves. Go back and get Alenko."
"Fuck!" Shepard growled under his breath. 'Not another life. Goddamn. There's only the logical choice. How many can he save?' "Williams, radio Joker, and tell him to meet us at the AA tower."
Ash breathed a reluctant sigh of disapproval. "Yes, Commander. I..."
"It's the right choice," Kaidan reassured the two. "And you know it, Ash."
"I'm sorry, Kaidan," Shepard apologized. "I had to make a choice."
"I understand, Commander. I don't regret a thing."
Shepard looked to his squad. "Let's move it. If we don't save Ash, then Kaidan's sacrifice will have been in vain."
They went through the door on the walkway. Inside was an elevator which they entered. The elevator took them to the top of the AA tower where Ash and the Salarian team were in a heated battle with a dozen Geth.
Garrus took the right flank and covered them with sniper fire. Wrex let out a roar and charged forth against one of the Geth destroyers.
Tali used overload of a small cluster of three Geth shock troopers which short-circuited them. A Geth Destroyer charged at Tali readying to fire its assault rifle at her. Tali crouched down to dodge its fire. She activated her omni-tool and sabotaged its weapon. The Geth was helpless before her. Tali used the butt of her shotgun and smacked its head. The Geth tumbled to the ground and tried to get back up. Tali fire a round through its back exposing its internal circuits. The Destroyed tried to crawl away, but Tali reached in through the hole she created and pulled out a handful of wires and circuits. The Geth fell limp on the ground.
Nemain's blade sliced through the neck of a Geth Destroyed rendering it blind. Shepard twisted the blade and struck down vertically. The Destroyer split apart in half. Sparks flew from both halves. A Shock Trooper tried to sneak up against Shepard from behind. He spun around to face the Trooper. Blue energy surrounded his right arm. Shepard stabbed the Geth through the chest with his arm. It looked at his arm and then at Shepard almost like it was in disbelief. John pulled his arm upwards ripping the Geth's right shoulder away. He spotted Ash and the Salarian team taking cover at the back of the area. Shepard attempted to reach them but was cut off by a warp attack.
Saren flew in on a hover platform. Shepard fell back towards some cover while firing back with his pistol. Tali, Garrus and Wrex took cover as soon as they could. Saren fired another warp blast, but Shepard dodged it by rolling into cover. Saren jumped down from his hover platform and landed on the ground with a thud. Shepard quickly popped out of cover and fired several rounds at Saren. His barrier blocked each round. John went back into cover.
"This has been an impressive diversion, Shepard," Saren congratulated. "My Geth were utterly convinced the Salarians were the real threat. 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."
"Why are you doing this, Saren?" Shepard demanded. "Why are you working with Sovereign?"
"You've seen the vision from the beacon, Shepard. 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?"
"Do you honestly believe the Reapers will let us live?"
"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 what if we worked with the Reapers—if we make ourselves useful—think how many lives could be saved. Once I understood this, I joined Sovereign, though I was aware of the... dangers. I had hoped this facility could protect me."
"You're afraid that Sovereign is controlling you."
"I've studied the effects of indoctrination," Saren countered. "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."
"Sovereign has already made you his slave!" Shepard roared. "Can't you see that?"
"No! Sovereign needs me. If I find the Conduit, I've been promised a reprieve from the inevitable. This is my only hope."
"You claim that organics rely on emotion than logic so explain this to me! In the millions of years the Reapers have been at this, you think you're the only one to make this pact? You think you're so special that you, only you, came up with the idea to ally with the Reapers? I bet you, you're just the latest servant in a long line of servants who tried allying with the Reapers. The Reapers don't make allies! They make slaves. That's exactly what you are. Sovereign will use you until the Conduit is open and then turn you into a mindless husk!"
"Y-You're wrong! As long as we are useful, we will live! By working for Sovereign I'll guarantee that."
"You were a Spectre! You were sworn to defend the galaxy. Then you broke that vow to save yourself!"
"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 our entire civilization to complete annihilation. And for that, you must die."
Shepard and his squad rushed out of cover and fired everything they had at Saren. Their weapons managed to take out his shields, but Saren roared and an energy wave emitted from him. Shepard dug his sword into the ground to keep himself in place. Garrus, Tali and Wrex were sent into the crates from the blast. They were okay, but dazed from the attack.
Shepard pulled his sword out of the ground and charged forward at Saren. Saren lobbed warps at Shepard as he charged. With Shepard's fast speed, he was able to dodge each attack. When he got in close, he used throw to knock Saren off of his platform. Saren growled as he got quickly to his feet. He was fast. Before Shepard could react, Saren had him by the throat and dragged his towards the edge of the area. Saren lifted him off of the ground and held him there.
Saren's grip was intense. Shepard could only conclude that Sovereign added some enhancements into Saren.
Saren was about to strike, but the facility alarm went off. This grabbed Saren's attention for a split second. As he looked back, Shepard punched him in the face. Saren lost his grasp and rushed back to his hover platform. Shepard tried to aim with his pistol, but blood was still rushing to his head and he couldn't aim straight.
The Normandy roared as it flew in to land. Shepard waved for his team to rush in. The cargo bay doors opened allowing the Salarian team, Ash, Tali, Garrus, Wrex and finally Shepard to get inside. Joker didn't wait for the cargo bay doors to completely close before flying away. Shepard rushed to a view port to watch the explosion take place.
"Alright everyone, hang on!" Joker warned over the ship's speaker system.
The explosion went off, taking a large chunk of the area with it. Shepard couldn't help but feel like he betrayed his long time friend, Kaidan. Just left him behind. 'Damn this,' he thought to himself. 'Damn Saren! Damn Sovereign! Damn the Reapers! Kaidan deserved better than this. Instead I just left you there. Kaidan... I'm sorry.'