"Commander, I am reading a signal. Must be our salarian infiltration team." Joker said.
"Check out those defense towers." Kaidan warned.
"Drop the Mako. We'll go in hot and take them out." John said.
"I'll get you underneath their radar, Commander." Joker said.
"Kaidan, come with me. Joker inform the others to gather in front of the Mako in 5 minutes." John said while leaving the cockpit with Kaidan at his toes.
As Joker said that he will avoid the enemy's radars, he flew the Normandy close to the ground and dropped the Mako in a secured place. "We've got a clean drop, Commander." Joker announced.
"Stay out of range and continue evasive maneuvers until I bring those AA towers down." John said.
"I know the drill. Meet you at the camp once those towers are offline. Joker out."
The planet Virmire is full of water. They even had to drive the Mako through water.
"Garrus you drive this time. I will handle the guns. Alicia try to locate the enemies on the radar, if it's possible." John said.
"Yeah, now I will show you how to drive. Watch and learn." Garrus said.
"It's not possible to track the enemies, Commander. They have some kind of jammer signals which is blocking everything." Alicia said.
"It's bad. We have to be extra careful then." Kaidan said.
"Garrus drive carefully. Don't get us killed." Tali warned.
"Hey, I am a professional." Garrus replied.
"Yeah, yeah I know how much professional you are." Tali shot back.
"How do you know? Huh!" Garrus said a little bit angrily.
John saw two of his team mates and friends arguing like children, so he put a stop to it. "Stop it you two. You are just acting like a child." John said.
"Tell that to Garrus." Tali replied glaring at Garrus.
"Enough. Let's go." John said. Liara hid her smile and just shook her head.
"What are you smiling at?" Ashley asked curiously.
"Nothing. It's nothing." Liara replied and sat down. Ashley looked at her strangely for few seconds and eventually sat down. Besides Liara, Wrex was tapping both of his knees with his fingers in frustration. He couldn't wait to get his hands on the enemy.
Garrus started the Mako and moved forward.
"Saren is sighted here?" Alicia asked.
"No. But whatever going on here is linked to Saren." John said.
"So, practically we are just searching for a lead to find Saren?" Garrus asked.
"Hmm." John said.
"Look out geth assault and rocket drones at front." Alicia warned.
John immediately fired the machine gun and took out the drones.
"Expect to face more of these things ahead." John mumbled.
"Yeah, yeah we know that. Nothing is easy when you are involved." Garrus commented.
John gave him a smirk which he returned.
Garrus drove the Mako forward and immediately attacked by the geth drones. John fired the turret to take those machines out but they had powerful shields for which even the turret took few seconds to drain the shield of the machines and completely destroy them. The time which the turret took to destroy the drones, Garrus had to dodge the missile attacks from the geth drones.
"This is getting annoying. How many more are there?" Garrus said to one in particular.
"It's just started." Alicia said.
At that moment Tali shouted, "Look out! Geth armatures."
True to her word there were at least five geth armature blocking their path. Garrus drove the Mako behind a large rock for cover. "Garrus get the Mako out from behind the cover for few seconds and as soon as I fire pull it back behind." John said.
Garrus nodded. He exposed the Mako to enemy eyes for few seconds. That was all the time John needed to fire few rockets at the geth armatures. Garrus instantly pulled the Mako behind cover.
"How many are still there?" Garrus asked.
"Two more." John said.
"I am driving straight while dodging the attacks, you do what you do best." Garrus said.
"Isn't it a bit too risky?" Alicia said in a concerned voice.
"I have faith in Garrus." John said looking at Garrus. "Let's move."
"On count of three. 3 …. 2…..1" Garrus mumbled.
John immediately rained hell on the armatures as soon as Garrus exposed the Mako and sped forward. Garrus had to dodge a few rockets since it took time for John tom penetrate the armatures shields and armors.
"Assault drones, sixty meters north-east." Alicia said.
"Spotted and destroyed." John replied.
"More drones approaching from north west with geth rocket troopers." Alicia warned.
"Spotted." John acknowledged.
"This will be one hell of a ride. Hold on!" Garrus said and rocketed the Mako towards the enemies. Garrus made the Mako jump, lean left, right to avoid enemy fires. They were busy taking out the enemies that surrounded them but they didn't notice a geth colossus was targeting them from afar.
"Phew! They are down." Kaidan said in relief.
"And it's all because of my awesome d… Ugh!" Garrus couldn't complete his joke as the Mako shook violently and his head got hit hard against the roof. Everyone else was thrown apart from their respected position. It was Tali who saw the danger first. The Mako's shield was down to five percent.
"Garrus get us behind cover. Now!" She yelled.
Garrus somehow pull the Mako behind a large rock and in the next second a large blue energy ball flew past them.
"What the hell was that?" Ashley said angrily.
"A geth colossus." Tali replied.
"Tali, you saw where is it?" Garrus said.
"It's out there somewhere in the north." Tali said.
"Yeah. We know that genius. But we need the exact position." Garrus said in irritation.
"Don't you think I know that Vakarian?" Tali glared at Garrus which he ignored and glared back at her.
"Here we go again." Liara mumbled shaking her head.
"Hey! Shut up you two." John slightly raised his voice seeing his friends acting like children. "This is no time to argue. Tali how much time will it take for the shields to reach above 90%?"
"About 30 minutes." Tali said still glaring at Garrus.
"Great. Now what?" Ashley said.
"Let's move on feet and turn those machines to trash." Wrex said bumping his fists.
"No Wrex. That's too risky and besides it will take a long time to reach the camp on foot. It's still a long way out." John stopped Wrex.
"So what can we do now, Commander? The Mako is vulnerable without the shield." Kaidan asked.
"We don't have a choice. We push forward with the Mako. I will drive." John sat on the driver's seat.
"I'll handle the guns." Wrex said pushing past Garrus.
"Hey! What…." Garrus tried to protest but Liara pulled him behind and forced him to sit beside her.
John knew the colossus' attacks are powerful but slow. He knew he can easily avoid its attacks. So like Garrus he sped the Mako forward and spotted the colossus at a distance. Wrex fired both the turret and the cannon on the colossus not giving it the time to repair itself. After the colossus was down they were ambushed by several geth troopers. John killed one by running the Mako over and Wrex took care of the rest. Later they found more enemies but they were also taken down without any casualties. Finally they were able to reach the AA guns without any further interruption.
"There is it." Wrex pointed out.
John took only Wrex, Tali and Kaidan with him, the rest of them remained inside the Mako. As soon as they climbed up the stairs they were assaulted by heavy fire from the geth troopers. Tali sent her drone among the geth and they got distracted for few seconds. That was all the time Wrex, Kaidan and John needed to push back their enemies. Wrex charged and tackled two geth at once. He finished them off with shots at their heads. Kaidan took down the shields of three with a heavy overload and John put armor piercing rounds in their bodies. There were more. Kaidan tossed a grenade at the geth who were hiding behind a cover. The explosion easily killed them but that wasn't the last of them. More came rushing out from the control room. Everyone open fired on them. John fired cryo ammo at the last two and made them freeze. Wrex charged and the impact broke the freezing form of the geth bodies into pieces.
"I think that's the last of them." Kaidan said.
They reached the control room and disabled the AA gun. Immediately they heard Joker's voice in the comm. "Commander, the AA gun is down. Meet you in the camp." Joker said.
"We will meet you there, Joker." John said. They turned to leave but then he saw Tali was tapping on another console.
"Tali what are you doing?" John asked.
"I can disable the geth jamming signal from here." Tali replied while tapping on the terminal. "Almost done….. There. It's done." She said in a satisfied voice.
"Great. Let's move." John said moving towards the Mako and the others followed.
AT THE CAMP
The rest of their journey to the camp was peaceful. After exiting the Mako, John saw a salarian military officer is standing in front of the camp. He slowly approached there with his team, "Are you in charge here? What is going on?" John asked.
"I am Captain Kirrahe, Third Infiltration Regiment STG. You and your crew just landed in the middle of a hot zone. Every AA guns within ten miles has been alerted to your presence." Captain Kirrahe informed.
"What are we supposed to do in the meantime?"
"We stay put until the Council sends the reinforcements we requested."
Ashley and Kaidan shared a look among themselves after hearing the Captain's words.
"We are the reinforcements." Kaidan said.
"What?! You're all they sent? I told the Council to send a fleet." Captain Kirrahe said outraged.
"We couldn't understand your transmission. They sent me to investigate." John replied.
"That is a repetition of our task. I lost half of my men investigating this place."
"So what have you found?" Kaidan asked.
"Saren's base of operations. He set up a research facility here, but it's crawling with geth and very well fortified."
"What's Saren researching?"
"He's using the facility to breed an army of krogan and something else."
"How is that possible?" Wrex interrupted.
"Apparently, Saren has discovered a cure for the genophage."
"The geth are bad enough but… with a krogan army he'd be almost unstoppable." John said.
"Exactly my thoughts. We must make sure that this facility and its secrets are destroyed." Captain Kirrahe agreed.
"Destroyed? I don't think so. Our people are dying. This cure can save them." Wrex opposed.
"If that cure leaves this planet, the krogan will become unstoppable. We can't make the same mistake again." Captain Kirrahe protested.
"We are not a mistake." Wrex spat out angrily and stormed away.
"Is he going to be a problem? We already have enough angry krogan to deal with." Captain Kirrahe asked looking towards John.
"He'll will be fine. I will talk to him." John assured the salarian captain.
"I'd appreciate that, Commander." He paused. "My men and I need to rethink our plan to attack. Can you give us more time?"
"Go ahead Captain. I'll come back soon." John said.
"We won't be long, Commander. In the meantime, if you need any supplies you can talk to Commander Rentola. He's in one of the tents nearby." The salarian captain then walked towards his men.
"Looks like things are a bit of mess." Kaidan said. Others also joined the conversation, except Wrex.
"Yeah, I wouldn't be so worried if it wasn't for Wrex. He looks like he's going to blow a gasket." Ashley commented.
"You heard what the Captain said. A breeding facility for the krogan and something else. I am hundred percent sure that the krogan Battlemaster we encountered in Therum was born here." John said.
"More likely been made here." Ashley said.
"Whatever. But if my suspicions are true then we have a bigger problem. We saw how tough that krogan was. He took down all of us alone. And there also that fear toxin. I think it was also manufactured here." John explained.
"It seems to fit." Kaidan said. Others nodded except Alicia. She couldn't understand what they were talking about. Looking at her confused expression John told her what happened in Therum.
"Commander, how are we supposed to take them down? We couldn't even take a single krogan down last time." Ashley said.
"This is going to be a problem." Garrus said.
"Last time he caught us off guard. But this time we will be ready. Whenever you see a krogan in there concentrate all your attacks on him. Apart from this we don't have any other way to deal with them." John said.
"Perhaps we can sneak inside?" Alicia said.
"And how do we do that? They are bound to see us." Ashley shot back.
"Commander, I was talking with Captain Rentola a few minutes ago. He has tactical cloak in his store. We can use that to sneak inside." She offered.
"That will give us a lot of advantage. Take all the cloaks that are available." John said. Then he transferred the fund he got for the mission to Alicia's omni-tool. She walked away to buy the cloaks.
"This is indeed a good strategy." Kaidan agreed.
"I think I should go and talk with Wrex." John said.
"It wouldn't hurt. Well, it might, actually. Just do it carefully." Kaidan said.
"I'll be careful. But be ready just in case." John said.
"I'm always ready." Ashley said.
"This isn't right, Shepard. If there's a cure for the genophage, we can't destroy it." Wrex said when John approached him.
"I understand you are upset. But we both know Saren is the enemy here. He's the one you should be angry with."
"Really? Saren created a cure for my people. You want to destroy it. Help me out here Shepard. The lines between friend and foe are getting a little blurry from where I stand."
"This isn't a cure, it's a weapon. And if Saren is allowed to use 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. If you can't give me a better reason than this to destroy the hopes of my people, then I'm done with you."
"Wrex. Listen to me. These krogans are slaves of Saren. Puppets, tools to be used and discarded. Is that what you want for your people? And besides you saw the krogan we encountered in Therum. He wasn't really a krogan. Was he?" John reasoned with Wrex.
"No we were tools for the Council once. To thank us for wiping out the rachni, they neutered us all. I doubt Saren will be generous. All right Shepard. 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." Wrex finally calmed down. John clasped his soldiers in appreciation and left him there to give him some time alone.
He saw Captain Kirrahe is walking towards him. "Thank you for talking with the krogan. The assault on Saren's base will be difficult enough as it is."
"I assume that means you've come up with a plan." John said.
"Of sorts. We can convert our ship's drive system into a twenty-kiloton ordnance. Crude, but effective." Kirrahe said.
"Nice. Drop that nuke from orbit and Saren can kiss his turian ass goodbye." Ashley said in satisfaction.
"Unfortunately, the facility is too well-fortified for that. We'll need to place the bomb at a precise location." Kirrahe informed.
"Where do we take the nuke? And how do we get there?" John asked.
"The bomb must be taken to the far side of the facility. Your ship can drop it off, but we'll need to infiltrate the base, disable the AA guns, and pacify any ground forces first."
"You are not suggesting that we take them head on?" Kaidan asked.
"Of course not. I'm going to divide my men into three teams and hit the front of the facility. While we have got their attention you can sneak your 'shadow' team in the back."
"It's a good idea, but your team will get slaughtered."
"We're tougher than we look, Commander. But it's true I don't expect many of us will make out alive. And that makes what I'm going to ask is even more difficult. I need one of your men to accompany me. To help coordinate the teams."
"We'll need someone who knows Alliance communication protocols." John suggested.
"I volunteer, Commander." Kaidan said.
"Not so fast LT. Commander Shepard will need you to arm the nuke. I'll go with the salarians." Ashley said.
"With all due respect, Gunnery Chief, it's not your place to decide." Kaidan replied.
"Why is that whenever someone says 'with all due respect' they really mean 'kiss my ass'?"
"Who would be better suited to the mission?" John asked Kirrahe.
"Either of these two will do, Commander. Both seem willing to sacrifice their lives if necessary, though if we are lucky, such sacrifice won't be required." Kirrahe replied.
"Kaidan you are with the Captain. Keep it simple, understood?" John decided to send Kaidan because he was expert in biotics, electronics and combat and he can do real damage.
"Aye, aye Commander!"
"I will have the ordnance loaded onto the Normandy and brief your crew on its detonation sequencing." Kirrahe said.
John nodded. "Let's do this."
"Excellent, then if you'll excuse me I'll go prepare my team." Kirrahe said and went to give a speech to his team to motivate them.
At that moment Alicia returned. "Commander, there was only three cloaking devices in the store."
John thought for a few moment. "We can make it work. So here's the plan team. Kaidan going with the salarian team. Ashley you stay in the Normandy. The nuke is your responsibility. Now I, Tali and Alicia will sneak in with the help of cloak. Liara, Garrus and Wrex follow us from distance. We will clear the path for you. Join the fight when you see it's necessary. Otherwise maintain your cover. Our responsibility will be to take out the ground forces and disable the AA guns."
"Well this is it. Don't do anything foolish while I'm gone Ash. That goes for you too, Commander." Kaidan said.
"We'll be fine LT." Ashley assured him.
"Yeah I just….. Good luck."
"Is there something you wanted to say Kaidan?" John asked noticing his hesitation.
"It's just weird, going under someone else's command. I've got so used to working with you….. All of you." His eyes lingered on Ashley for just a second but none noticed.
"Don't worry so much. We'll see you on the other side." Ashley assured him again.
Kaidan turned towards John, "I, ah… I just wanted to say it's been an honor serving with you, Commander."
"It doesn't matter if we're not in the same unit, we're still a team. Watch each other's backs, keep your eyes open and fight like I know you can. We'll come out of this in one piece." John said.
"You bet, Commander."
Everyone was ready to get started.
"I need to visit the Normandy for a moment. Wait here." John said and walked towards the Normandy.
"Now what he is up to?" Garrus asked Liara who was standing beside him.
"Don't know. But whatever it is I know that he has a plan." Liara said.
Miranda watched him go. She couldn't help but admire the way he handled everything, the way he calmed down Wrex, formed a plan to infiltrate the base. She also noticed how he talks, moves and everything else about him. And his leadership quality is just more than admirable. He never tries to play as a leader or force his team to listen to his orders, they do it automatically. There is something unique quality he possesses. All of this quality was enough to enchant even the ice queen Miranda Lawson. She was thinking about him more and more for the last few days. She reminded him that John is still out there but this man somehow stole her heart without even trying to, just like John did so many years ago.
Then she saw him walking out of the Normandy with a black armor with red borders. He was looking more than handsome and at the same time dangerous too. From the corner of her eyes she saw Ashley gawking at him and she couldn't help but felt a twinge of jealousy at that.
"What's with this new armor?" Garrus asked when john approached them.
"Spectre armor. Wanted to use this for a long time." John said.
"You are looking good, John." Liara said with a smile. Tali nodded.
"It's true, Commander. You are looking….. Well, nice." Ashley said and tried not be too obvious. She just wanted to lunge at him and kiss him senseless.
No one noticed a particular someone was sending death glares at the women's back.
Captain Kirrahe approached them at that moment.
"Everyone is ready. I hope we will see each other again, Commander." He said shaking hands with John.
The salarian team followed Captain Kirrahe along with Kaidan. Ashley went inside the Normandy.
"Joker, stay put, until we disable those AA guns." John said.
"Aye, aye Commander." Joker replied.
"Comm check. Do you read me, Commander?" Captain Kirrahe's voice was heard in the comm.
"Loud and clear, Captain." John replied.
"Good. We'll start our push. We'll try to make it to the AA guns, but it might be up to you to finish the job. And Commander? If you see any way to undermine their defenses, we could definitely use the help."
"Activate cloak." John said to Alicia and Tali.
They did as they were told and they sneaked forward silently. They walked only few paces and saw geth rocket drones above their head but because of the cloak they blended nicely.
"Garrus, few feet ahead of you there are three rocket drones. I am leaving them to you. If we destroy it, the noise will probably give us away." John whispered in the comm.
"Not a problem, John. We will take care of the drones. Tell us when we can start moving." Garrus said through comm.
"I will. Hold on. Hostile spotted ahead. Three of them." John said.
"Shepard wait. See there." She pointed towards her right side.
There was a tower there. "I think we can disable their communication from here and disrupt their system." She said again.
"It will be Garrus' responsibility. We need to remain as quite as possible." John said.
The other two nodded in understanding.
"Garrus before you take out the drones, there is a tower at the north-east. Kill the hostiles there and disable the communication and their system." John informed.
"Consider it's done." Garrus assured.
The team slowly approached the enemies at the front. The geth didn't even notice them. They had already attached silencers to their guns and easily eliminated the three geth without any noise.
"Garrus, move!" John said.
"You got it, Shepard. Let's go." Garrus' voice was heard in comm.
The team slowly moved forward and spotted a few geth and a krogan. John pulled out his sniper. "Tali, Alicia take care of those geth. Hopefully one headshot from the sniper will drop the krogan."
They nodded and both attacked the geth at the same time with tech powers. John didn't wait. He made a large hole in the krogan's head with a single shot from his sniper. And his next shot took out the geth that was left alive.
"So far, so good." Alicia said.
"Communication disabled. Drones destroyed." Garrus informed through comm.
"Nice work team. Wait there." John said.
"Something scrambled their targeting. We've got a shot! Lieutenant Alenko, take the heat off Mannovai!" Captain Kirrahe's voice sounded over the comm.
"Shit, they are getting pounded. We don't have much time." Tali said.
"Right. Let's move." John said and they started moving again.
Once inside the facility John and his companions took out the remaining guards inside without further problems.
"Garrus, come inside the facility. We are in." John informed them.
"Right at you Shepard." Garrus said.
John's team moved forward and then they spotted few cells and inside there were prisoners. By the time they reached the cells Garrus arrived with Liara and Wrex. The prisoners were salarian. But only one of them seems to be in their right mind, the others just stared at them blankly. The salarian who was sane, informed the team that were captured while they were trying to investigate the facility and Saren was doing Sovereign's indoctrination tests on the prisoners. He also informed that there are other prisoners on the above floor. John asked Alicia, Tali and Wrex to go to the top floor and free the other prisoners.
Liara tapped on the terminal and the salarian was freed from his cell. But something strange happened then. John felt as if he had no controls over his own body. He moved towards the indoctrinated salarians automatically. It was like he was drawn to them. He tried to resist but he felt his arms were moving without his own accord and they were placed on the both side of the head of one of the indoctrinated salarians.
Garrus and Liara saw in astonishment when his body started to glow with biotics and it radiated a brighter light than before. They gasped when they saw the indoctrinated salarian's body also started to glow with biotics and suddenly the biotics disappeared. But the hollow look in the indoctrinated salarian's eyes disappeared.
"Wha…. What happened?" The salarian said after blinking his eyes for few seconds.
John stepped back from the salarian. He looked towards his friends with disbelief in his eyes.
"We think….. You just got cured from the indoctrination effects of Sovereign." Garrus said.
"How?" He asked.
"We really don't know." John answered.
Tali, Alicia and Wrex arrived with grim expression on their face.
"We can't save them. They were indoctrinated. They started firing on us as soon we let them out. They were beyond saving." Tali said.
"We understand." One of the salarian commando said.
John turned towards the salarians, "We are going to level this place. You need to get out from here. Now!"
"We appreciate your help, Commander." The salarians thanked them and ran away.
"We need to push forward." John said and started walking. He didn't looked at his team. He was far too surprised by what happened just a few moments ago. They encountered few geth and indoctrinated salarians and got rid of them easily. After few minutes they reached a terminal. Tali examined it, "We've got access to the base security. We should be able to cut the alarms from here. Might even be able to trigger alarms on the far side of the base. It'll clear the guards for us, but they might be too much for the salarian team to handle."
"Just disable the alarms. We can handle any guards inside." John said.
After some more fighting they finally reached an office where an asari was hiding herself under the table.
"Don't shoot! Please, I just want to get out of here before it's too late." She begged.
"I am not going to hurt you. Who are you?" John asked.
"Rana Thanopotis, neurospecialist. But this job isn't worth dying over. Or worse. You think the indoctrination only affects the prisoners? Sooner or later, Saren will want to dissect my brain, too!"
"Give me one reason I should help you." John replied calmly.
"I… I can help you. This elevator behind me goes to Saren's private lab. I can get you in." She walked towards the elevator and unlocked it for them. "See? Full access. All of Saren's private files. Are we good? Can I go?"
"I am going to blow this place to hell and gone. If you want to make it out alive, you'd better start running." John said.
"What? You can't…. but I'll never… Ahh!" She screamed in fear and ran away.
"You enjoyed that, John." Garrus smirked.
"So? What if I did?" John returned Garrus smirk with his own.
They took the elevator and reached Saren's private lab.
"Look a prothean beacon." Liara pointed out in excitement.
"It's the same like the one I encountered on Eden Prime." John said.
He slowly and carefully approached the beacon and when he was near the effect was the same as before. He was lifted off his feet and he could see the broken images that were transferring into his head. When it was over John fell on his knees. Alicia ran to him and help him on his feet. She looked at him with concerned eyes.
"I am okay." He assured her.
"John look there." Garrus pointed towards an interface where a large red creature was visible. They approached it. Now they realized it wasn't some creature, it's the Sovereign.
"You are not Saren." It replied in its mechanical voice.
"What is that? Some kind of VI interface?" Tali said.
"Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh. You touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding."
"I don't think it's a VI…." Garrus said.
"There is a realm of existence far beyond your own you cannot imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension. I am Sovereign!"
"Sovereign isn't just some reaper ship Saren found. It's an actual reaper!" John said.
"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."
"The Protheans vanished 50000 years ago. You couldn't have been there. It's impossible!" Liara said.
"Organic life is nothing but a genetic mutation, an accident. Your live s 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."
"Whatever your plan is, it's going to fail. I'll make sure of that." John replied.
"Confidence born of ignorance. The cycle cannot be broken."
"Cycle? What cycle?" Wrex asked.
"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."
"Why would you construct the mass relays, then leave them for someone else to find?" John asked.
"Your civilization is based on the technology of the mass relays, our technology. By using it, your society develops along the paths we desire. We impose order on the chaos of the organic evolution. You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it."
"They're harvesting us! Letting us advance to the level they need, then wiping us out!" Alicia said.
"Where did you come from? Who built you?" John asked.
"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."
"Where are the rest of the reapers? Are you the last of your kind?"
"We are legion. The time of our return is coming. Our numbers will darken the sky of every world. You would not escape your doom."
"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 not even alive. Not really. You're just a machine and machines can be broken." John replied coldly.
"Your words are as empty as your future. I am the vanguard of your destruction. This exchange is over." Immediately the interface exploded and Joker's voice was heard in comm, "Commander? We got trouble!"
"What is going on out there, Joker?" John asked.
"That ship, Sovereign? It's moving. I don't know what you did down there, but that thing just pulled a turn that would tear any of our ships in half. It's coming your way, and it's coming hard! You need to wrap things up in there…. fast"
John urged his team to move. They took the lift and found the AA guns controls. They disposed of the enemies guarding it and quickly disabled it.
"Let's head to the breeding facility." John said.
A FEW MINUTES LATER
They reached the place where Normandy landed after taking down several enemies in their way. They saw the nuke was being carried down by Normandy's crew. Ashley was there too.
"Bomb is in position. We are all set….." Ashley's words were cut off as the comm chattered.
"Commander, do you read me?" Kaidan said in comm.
"The nuke is almost ready Lieutenant. Get to the rendezvous point." John ordered.
"Negative, Commander. The geth have us pinned down on the AA tower. We've taken heavy casualties. We'll never make the rendezvous point in time." Kaidan protested.
"Get them out of there, Joker. Now!" John shouted in the comm.
"Negative. It's too hot. You can't risk it. We'll hold them off as long we….." The communication scrambled.
"It's okay Commander. I need a couple of minutes to finish arming the nuke. Go get them and meet me back here." Ashley said.
"Up to the AA tower. Move!" John ordered his team and ran.
On the way they found several geth in their way. John's adrenaline kicked in. He rushed forward while firing and his team gave him support with bullets, biotics and tech attacks. When they reached the roof they saw a geth drop ship arriving.
"Reinforcements. We'd better hurry." Garrus said.
At that moment their comm chattered again. "The geth ship is bleeding geth all over the bomb site." Ashley said in comm.
"Can you hold them off?" John asked.
"There's too many. I don't think we can hold them off. I am arming the nuke." Ashley replied.
"What are you doing Ashley?!" John asked. His voice laced with concern.
"Making sure this bomb goes off. No matter what. It's done Commander. Go get the lieutenant and get the hell out of here." She responded back.
"Belay that. We can handle ourselves. Go back and get Ash." Kaidan protested.
John had to think. There's no way he'd let his friends die. He knew that in the battle sacrifices had to be made sometime. But he won't let them any of them die until there is breath left in his body. He is going to save both of them.
"Garrus, Liara, Tali, Wrex, Alicia. Go and get Kaidan and the salarian team out from there. Meet me in the rendezvous point. I will get Williams." He simply said.
"I am going with you, Commander. You may need help." Alicia offered.
John didn't want her to endanger herself. She is not a career military. But at that moment he didn't wanted to waste time over argument, so he agreed. "Very well, follow me Alicia." She fell in step behind him and the others moved towards Kaidan's location.
When they reached Ashley there were several geth along with two geth primes. A heavy overload from Alicia shook them and John threw a grenade at their feet when they got stunned. The explosion easily killed them. They thought they had done it. But no. They didn't. A sudden blast at John's feet threw him on the wall. The impact cracked his armor and he felt a sharp pain at his ribs. Alicia was also thrown away but she was not injured. John looked up. It was Saren. John pulled out his pistol and fired at him bit his shield easily absorbed it.
"I cannot let you undone what I've accomplished, Shepard. I cannot allow it. You saw what Sovereign is. Our end is inevitable. There is only one way we can save us and it's joining the reapers. It's the only way. I am trying to form a treaty. But you will ruin it all and for that you must die." Saren said.
"You are wrong. Do you really think that the reapers will spare us?" John asked.
"You must die Shepard." That was Saren's only reply.
John rushed forward towards him while firing his pistol. But it had no effect on Saren.
In answer Saren kicked him in the stomach and pushed him away. John groaned in pain. He saw Alicia approached Saren from behind and shocked him. He got stunned but only for a second. He recovered and backhanded her. She was thrown away and she crumpled against the wall.
"No! No!" John whispered.
Next thing he knew he was being dragged away by his throat. But his eyes were on her. He saw she lay there motionless. And then his fear took over. He closed his eyes because of the pain he was feeling in his heart.
"You are dead, Shepard." Saren mocked. But he let go of John when he opened his eyes. They were hollow blue and glowing. Within the blink of an eye Saren felt a punch on his jaw and he fell down hard on the ground a few feet away. He looked up in surprise. There, in front of him, a figure stood whose body was radiating biotics aura and his eyes were hollow and cold.
Behind Saren another figure moved. Miranda opened her eyes slightly still feeling the pain at her head and jaw. She tried to focus on what was going on. Her eyes widened in disbelief and also unbelievable joy, when he saw the figure standing tall a few feet away from her. All her doubts were gone at that moment. Now she realized why she felt that way towards him. Even if her brain didn't realize it but her heart knew it. There is only one man who can radiate such biotic powers and she knew him better than anyone. A tear dropped from her eyes in realization and happiness.
"John…." She whispered.
A/N: Well it's done finally. Phew! Please review.