The shuttle finally arrives at project base a good hour after leaving the prison on Aratoht. Her suit has done wonders to ease the adrenaline comedown, but Shepard still feels an achy nagging at the base of her skull. Almost done. Then I can get the fuck out of this system.
Doctor Kenson exits the shuttle, and as Shepard is about to follow, she sees a giant timer being displayed above the door.
"What's this?" she asks, pointing to the countdown.
"That's the countdown to arrival. When that gets to zero… the Reapers will have come." Shepard glances over and sees Kenson smiling. Looking back at the clock, a cold dread fills her.
"So you're saying that the Reapers will be here in two days? How do you know that's an accurate countdown?"
"It is." Kenson replies. "The artifact has been giving off pulses at definite intervals since we found it. The intervals have been decreasing at a steady rate. The artifact is reacting to the Reapers' proximity. In just over forty-eight hours, the pulses will become constant, and the Reapers will be here." She finishes, and the lack of fear in her voice makes Shepard's hair stand on end. There is something seriously wrong here. I know I've been right all this time, and I know the Reapers are coming. But I'm sure as hell not happy about it.
"You're saying the Reapers will be here in two days. There's no time to waste."
"Then let's show you that proof. If you'll follow me, Commander."
Shepard follows Kenson through the maze that is project base. There were a few people walking around, carrying what looked like documents or samples, but for the most part, no one was doing anything. They were all just standing around. A few sideways glances were thrown in her direction, but no one said anything to either of them. Something still felt off about this place. Her headache was getting worse as well. I swear, if I picked up some kind of disease from that prison, I'm going to be pissed.
"Doctor, I know you said you were just one button press away from activating the project before you were arrested, but are there any alternatives here? I don't know how keen I am on wiping out over three hundred thousand people."
"Commander, the Alpha Relay is the first step in entering the entire galaxy. If the Reapers make it through, they will be at Earth next, followed swiftly by every other system. It's an unfortunate reality, but the loss of three hundred thousand means the survival of billions. There are no other alternatives." Kenson replies with a clipped tone.
There was no way to refute the logic. Shepard understood the reality of situations like this, and she has made similar calls in the past. But regardless, she was still human. And that meant that tough decisions left a mark on her psyche. It added a brick to the ever-growing burden left on her conscience.
Lost as she was in her inner turmoil, she hadn't noticed that Kenson had stopped. She was standing beside a door, a peculiar smile on her face.
"Are you ready?"
Shepard nodded, and Kenson opened the door.
As it slid open, Shepard was bathed in a blue light that was emanating from an enormous artifact. Alien in its design, with blue lines stretching through each branch, it was emitting a low hum. Shepard felt instantly nauseous.
"Commander Shepard, I give you Object Rho."
"You have a Reaper artifact, just sitting here out in the open?"
Kenson stood beside her, arms crossed in front of her chest, just looking at the artifact. Shepard clearly saw admiration on her face. What the fuck is going on here.
"When we found it, it showed me a vision of the Reapers' arrival."
"Kenson. This is not good. You need to have this thing shielded."
"Give it a moment, Shepard. It'll give you the proof that you need." Kenson replied, disregarding Shepard's statement.
Alarm bells started going off in Shepard's head. There was no way Kenson and her team would not be indoctrinated after working in such close proximity to this artifact. Shepard's gut was telling her to leave, and fast.
Before she had a chance to move, a pulse shocked outwards from the artifact, and blue light washed over Shepard. It possessed enough force to knock her back, and in a split second, she was witnessing Reapers travelling through a mass relay. The vision was quickly over, and Shepard felt a pounding in her head so fierce she was sure she would black out. Her suit started transmitting warning signals that her heart rate was exceeding safe levels as she slowly started to fall to her hands and knees. Fighting the urge to vomit from the sudden spike in her adrenaline, she looked up to see Kenson holding a gun to her head.
Fucking fantastic.
"I can't let you start the project, Shepard. I can't let you stop the arrival."
Shepard could hear her speaking, but it was muffled, as though Kenson was talking to her through water. Another wave of nausea hits her, and her head threatens to split open. Trying to stand up nets her nothing, and she falls back to her hands. Glancing up to the left, Shepard notices that Kenson isn't paying attention to her anymore. We've only got one chance here Shep, so get your ass up.
Shepard swings out with her left hand and grabs Kenson's wrist, twisting it viciously. It causes her to drop the gun, and as bullets fly past Shepard's head, she drops to cover again. She watches as Kenson quickly walks out of the room, shouting at her guards to take Shepard down.
Well, this has just gone to hell in a hand basket. I am way too tired for this.
Disengaging her assault rifle from her back, Shepard gets to work.
The first few guards are easy enough to take out, her Avenger and incendiary ammo making quick work of them. But Shepard soon realizes that Kenson's team is much smarter, and has much better funding that the batarian guards did. Soon, she has flash bang grenades flushing her from cover, as well as engineers throwing all manner of tech attacks in her direction. With each shockwave and pull attack that she unleashes, her headache pounds harder. The artifact itself isn't helping; each time one of the pulses occur, Shepard is hit with more nausea and a headache so bad it makes her eyes blur. She can also hear the voice of Harbinger with each pulse. Its voice echoes through her mind, promising to spare her if she gives herself up.
"You know what Harbinger? I'm getting real tired of your bullshit." She yells as empties a clip into an engineer.
Pyros soon start coming in to join the rabble, and Shepard runs across to a raised section of the room. With her back covered, and a clear view of the battlefield, all she can do is hope that the cavalry runs dry before her biotics do. Throwing a shockwave into the mix just as a pulse is sent out causes Shepard to lose focus, and she takes a shot in the side. Her visor informs her that shields have dropped to 65%, and that a cocktail of various pain meds and medi-gel have been released. Her visor also informs her that there are approximately fifteen armed guards in the room with her, and about twenty on the other side of a door to the left.
As Shepard crouches behind cover, watching as enemies spill out from the door and the balcony above, she momentarily wonders if she'll make it out. I'm exhausted. There are thirty-five hostiles closing in on my location, and if that pulse goes one more time I'm going to pass out. There's barely any ammo up here, and if I'm reading it right, that's a YMIR mech on the other side of the door that will finish me off if these goons don't.
Well. Go big or go home.
Shepard inserts a new thermal clip, and pushes herself to keep going. Another wave of guards comes in, including the YMIR mech. Just as Shepard leans out of cover to unload on a pyro, a final, massive pulse shockwaves outwards from the artifact, and the voice of Harbinger echoes once again.
You will be the first to witness our arrival.
Brought to her knees, Shepard finally blacks out.