No Super Smash 3DS for me. In fact, judging by the current state of the family's communal finances, I will likely never get it. Not even for Christmas.
In other news, Naruto has ended! I'm going to have to go back and redo some earlier Books' chapters and/or add some scenes to such, to account for differences in the Travels storyline (Kakashi has EMS, Might Guy is still his old self, Sasuke has no major problems with people and has developed feelings for Sakura but Sakura hates his guts and has unrequited developed feelings for Naruto) from the 'canon' timeline (Kakashi loses his Sharingan, Guy is wheelchair-bound for life, Sakura still pathetically pines for Sasuke).
Lastly: For this chapter, I had to use a guide by a different person than normal. This person, for whatever reason, chose to skip a lot of the 'wandering' and fights (as in, the video cuts/fades from the end of a conversation to the start of the next or the finding of an item or whatnot). Some things may be missing.
SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS
PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES
-CHAPTER START-
The Citadel, Dr. Bryson's Laboratory
The sky-car set down in the small yard/garden, and Shepard stepped out, making his way into the nearby lab. There were diagrams and machinery everywhere, and across the way Dr. Bryson was speaking to his assistant near one of the workstations.
"…I want you to match this against all known locations and update the map, and then contact the field teams for a progress report" he was ordering.
As the assistant went to carry them out, the doctor finally noticed the new arrival.
"Commander Shepard. We've been expecting you. Just a moment." He turned back to his assistant. "And Hadley, could you gather the Leviathan data for me?"
Dr. Bryson led Shepard into the neighboring room, with a galaxy map and other machinery, including several objects on display behind armored 'glass'. "Apologies, Commander. The rest of my team is out investigating leads right now. I'm Dr. Garret Bryson, and this is Task Force Aurora."
"What's your assignment?" Shepard asked as he looked around.
"Our mandate is to investigate legends, rumors… old stories about the Reapers before anyone knew they existed."
"That's an interesting goal, but is anyone doubting the Reapers exist these days?"
"The Alliance is still desperate for intelligence. Reaper motives, their operational tactics… anything that can give us an edge."
"And how did you wind up in charge?"
"When the rest of the galaxy says something doesn't exist, I take that as a chance to prove that it does."
"So you're in it for the challenge."
"For the truth. Even as late as 2148, humanity still thought aliens were a myth. That was within my lifetime. Once that 'myth' was proven to be reality, our entire history changed."
"Reapers were part of that reality, too."
"But even they have a history, Commander. If we can just uncover it, there may be a weakness we can exploit."
"I could've used your help three years ago."
"Yes" the Doctor went over to the galaxy map as Shepard looked at a datapad readout in the room's corner. "If people had paid more attention to your Prothean beacon, we might not be in this mess. But now, with new information we've uncovered, a breakthrough is near."
As Shepard's attention turned elsewhere, Dr. Bryson heard as his assistant entered from the other room.
"Hadley, did you get the data?" Bryson asked without looking up.
"No…" Hadley replied.
Immediately noticing something wrong with his assistant's vocal tone, Dr. Bryson turned and looked up… and froze in shock as he saw Hadley pointing a pistol at him, the man's eyes unfocused and almost black in color.
"You will not breach the darkness…" the man droned, a very faint and very deep second 'voice' overlaid with his.
Garret Bryson only had enough time to widen his eyes in shock as he realized exactly who – and what – was really speaking to him, before Hadley's body pulled the trigger. The doctor collapsed, a pistol round having torn through his heart; he would be dead in seconds. 'Hadley' then began to turn with gun drawn toward Shepard, but the Commander was already charging; Shepard threw his datapad at the man, knocking him off-balance for a split second, and then tackled him to floor. The man went still, apparently unconscious. Shepard keyed in his comm.
"This is Commander Shepard! I need C-Sec at my location now!"
"You shouldn't be here…" Hadley murmured in a monotone. "The darkness can't be breached…"
-Break-
Shepard paced back and forth in front of the assistant, who looked rather 'out of it' as he knelt between two armed Turian C-Sec officers.
"Transit records show his name is Derek Hadley" one officer told Shepard. "He's worked here for a couple months."
"Shepard!"
The Commander and the officers turned as EDI, Marie, and Eve entered the lab.
"I monitored a C-Sec alert from this location" EDI said.
"And we happened to be nearby when she did" Marie added. "You alright?"
"I'm fine" Shepard replied. "But I could use some help sorting this out. EDI, take a look through their files. I need to know what this task force was up to."
"At once" EDI replied, heading for a nearby computer terminal.
"H-Huh? What…?" Hadley finally stirred. "What's… What's happening?"
"You tell me" Shepard replied.
"I… I was gathering data when you arrived, and then… It was dark… and cold… and it felt like some sort of pressure was pushing down on and around me… like I was someplace else…"
"And then…"
"I don't know. A… gun was in my hand, I think? And there was a loud noise…"
"The 'noise' was you shooting him!"
The Commander pointed to the nearby body of Dr. Bryson. Hadley looked panicked as he scrambled over to his superior, frantically checking him but quickly discovering it was too late.
"Oh God, w-what… I didn't do this! I can't have! I would never! You have to believe me!"
"So someone else pulled that trigger, then?"
"I would never do this!"
"Commander," EDI chimed in, "this does resemble reports of Indoctrination."
"…Indoctrinated?" Hadley stood up. "Me?"
"To me," Marie replied, "it sounds like something possessed him, like straight out of a supernatural horror film, not quite like Reaper Indoctrination."
"What about that 'Leviathan' Bryson mentioned?" Shepard asked. "How does that tie in?"
"It's… some kind of creature" Hadley replied. "Our field teams have been tracking it." He gesture at one of the objects inside the display case behind him – a large, deep-blue sphere around two feet across, flickering with faint colors intermittently. "That artifact came in from our researcher, Garneau. He sent an audio log if you want to-"
Suddenly, Hadley cried out, falling to his knees and clutching his head in pain. After a few seconds, his arms went limp, and he looked up at Shepard and company with glassy black eyes.
"Turn back…" he spoke in a low, flat tone with a very faint deep reverb to it. "You must turn back…"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"The darkness canNOT BE BREACHED…"
Immediately after his voice became impossibly deep and rough, more like a Reaper's than anything else, Hadley's entire body gave a violent twitch, and his eyes rolled back in his head. Tears of blood came from his eyes, and blood also ran from his nostrils and ears, as he collapsed to the floor.
"Damn it!" Shepard cursed. "Officers, get him to the clinic!"
"…Too late, Commander" one of the officers replied, scanning the man with his Omnitool. "I'm reading significant intracranial bleeding and absolutely zero neural activity. He's dead, sir; whatever just happened must've pretty much fried his brain." He looked at Shepard with a worried expression. "Whatever the hell this 'Leviathan' thing is, sir, I'm thinking it really doesn't want to be found…"
"The 'supernatural horror film' feel of this whole affair is starting to feel a bit stronger…" Marie remarked.
"I hear that" the other C-Sec officer replied.
"Commander," EDI called from the computer terminal, "you'll want to see this. It's an outgoing message from Dr. Bryson to Admiral Hackett."
"Dr. Bryson," Admiral Hackett's voice came from the recording as Shepard, Marie, and Eve walked up, "do you have an update?"
"Admiral," the voice of the recently-deceased scientist replied, "the 'Leviathan of Dis' that we've been investigating – I think we're really onto something."
"Give me the brief."
"About 20 years ago, the Batarians discovered a Reaper corpse that had died in battle. They covered it up and denied it ever existed. But I'm intrigued by the larger implication…"
"…What could have killed a Reaper in the first place?"
"Exactly. That's the real Leviathan."
"It's worth pursuing. Continue your investigation and update me on your progress."
"There is also a follow-up message from a few weeks later" EDI said, pressing 'Play'.
"Admiral, the Reapers are shadowing my field teams, as if they're hunting Leviathan themselves. Whatever it is, I believe Leviathan is nothing less than a Reaper-killer – an apex predator – and it has them nervous. If we could just find it, imagine the impact on the war. I'm formally requesting assistance in tracking it down."
"You'll have it. This is now your top priority, Doctor. Find that thing."
"It appears we were meant to be that assistance" EDI remarked.
"Anything capable of killing a Reaper could do a lot of collateral damage" Shepard said.
"Yet given the state of this conflict, I believe the saying 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend' may be relevant."
"But we won't know unless we can find it."
"Bryson's assistant did say they recently received a log from their field researcher. It may yield more information."
"I think I found it" Shepard said, looking at a datapad near the glass wall. He grabbed it and set it to play.
"Dr. Bryson, it's Garneau. I'm sending you an artifact I found – about the only thing I found here, in fact. Maybe it's nothing, but I'd swear Leviathan came through here. I'm going to crunch some numbers, burn up the rest of this project travel allowance. Maybe I can project our Reaper-killer's movements. I'll check in when I get to the next site."
"Garneau appears to be our best lead to track Leviathan," EDI said, "but he does not state a destination."
"Let's focus on what he does say, then" Shepard replied.
"He mentioned extrapolating Leviathan's path."
"And crunching numbers. He wasn't flying blind; he had data."
"A significant amount of it, judging by this office."
"So how do we narrow it down?"
"Bryson and his colleagues apparently used a galaxy map search program in their hunt for Leviathan. It may help us locate Garneau."
The duo headed to the map and activated it, and nearly 20 different spots across the galaxy were highlighted.
"Does this tell us where Garneau is?" Shepard asked.
"No," EDI replied, "but we may be able to narrow down his location if we find clues he was using in his search for Leviathan."
Looking around, Shepard spotted an obelisk of polished black stone with bluish lines running up its sides inside the display-case wall. "Is that Prothean?" he asked.
"Yes" EDI replied. "I believe Dr. Bryson and Liara would have had much to discuss."
"Can you add a search filter for locations known to have Prothean ruins or artifacts?"
"Adding the search filter now."
As Shepard and EDI continued searching the office, meanwhile, Marie and Eve had found something else that had grabbed their attention. Now, the two girls stood side by side in front of this section's main table, silently exchanging worried and disturbed glances as they looked at the mounted Husk head sitting in the middle of the table.
"That's a… macabre trophy…" Eve said uneasily.
"Y-Yeah…" Marie replied. "What do you think the Doctor was using this for, anyway?"
"I dunno… Um, did it just move a little?"
"Don't even joke about that, T'Lesh. That's not a funny joke." Marie began slowly reaching a hand out, a finger extended and aimed at the forehead of the Husk head. "That's just too over-the-top; I know this whole thing kinda feels like a horror-thriller movie, but that w-would just be not very-"
The instant Marie poked the Husk-head, it shrieked long and loud. Marie and Eve screamed like little girls, leaping back and clutching onto each other, holding onto each other as tightly as they could as the hellspawn continued shrieking at them.
"Jesus Christ, what the fuck?-!" Marie said in a high and panicky scream of a voice.
"I knew it was a good idea to go to the bathroom before we came here" Eve said/whimpered, her voice trembling as much as her body.
Shaking his head as the girls got plenty more distance from the Husk-head while their hearts gradually slowed down, Shepard headed for a console in the corner of the room, bringing up a list of data.
"These are all murders in which the accused lacked a known motive and claimed memory loss" EDI stated.
"Just like Bryson's assistant" Shepard replied. "You think Garneau was following a trail of blackout crimes?"
"It is possible. We need to find data matching dates and locations for crimes of this nature."
"And here it is" Shepard said as he activated the other display to the right. "Can you filter for murders where the killer claimed memory loss?"
"Adding the search filter now."
The quartet moved into the other section of the lab, and their attention was first drawn to a large hunk of black metal held in a containment field.
"Is…" Marie started. "Is that a piece of-"
"Sovereign," Shepard replied, "'vanguard of our destruction'. …How's that workin' out for ya, big guy?"
"Hey, look!" Marie pointed at a fossilized skeleton being hung from the ceiling. "It's the Loch Ness monster."
"I believe it's a plesiosaur" EDI replied.
"Loch Ness monster is more interesting."
"'Interesting' and nonexistent."
Eve found and pointed out a series of pictures on the far wall.
"It looks like Bryson was tracking unexplained creature sightings" Shepard observed.
"The photographs have a trace chemical residue" EDI stated. "It may be visible under another light source."
Marie hit a nearby button, and a 'black light' was projected onto the wall, revealing diagrams and mathematical equations linking the various pictures.
"Bryson was not merely tracking sightings" EDI said, looking at the data. "He was attempting to extrapolate a course."
"And Garneau could've been following that course" Shepard added. "EDI, can you add a search filter for systems along that projected path?"
"Of course."
"What about this?" Marie pointed to a large rock mounted on a sturdy table, an inactive scanning microscope hanging above it.
"Meteorite fragment, maybe?" Shepard suggested.
"He was studying it as an object of importance" EDI said. "We should look more closely at a sample."
Shepard activated the scanner, and after a few seconds the data was displayed.
"Meteorite sample… with traces of element zero. Why would Leviathan need eezo?"
"While it is not consumed as fuel during FTL travel," EDI replied, "element zero will decay after several centuries of active use. If Leviathan is old enough, it would need to replenish its supplies."
"Okay. Can you give me a search filter for locations with element zero?"
"Adding it now."
On the other side of this section of the lab, there was another computer terminal, with another audio log:
"Sir, it's Bryson. We know the Reapers are after Leviathan. Studying Reaper hunting patterns could be vital to finding it."
"That data is classified 'top secret', Dr. Bryson" an Alliance officer replied. "If it falls into the wrong hands…"
"It won't. The data's encrypted. I'll keep the encryption key safe – close to my heart."
"Didn't he get shot in the heart?" Eve asked.
"I think he was being metaphorical" Shepard replied. "And what's closer to one's 'heart' than loved ones – friends, spouses, and family? Let's look around with that in mind."
On the table near the Rachni data was a small hand-drawn picture.
"By Ann Bryson," Eve read, "age 9."
"Records indicate Ann is now 28" EDI said. "She works for the Alliance. There is no trace of anything that might indicate a decryption key in this drawing, however."
Next they headed upstairs to search to more clues near Dr. Bryson's sleeping area. On one of his desks, they found an audio message:
"Dr. Bryson, per your request I'm clearing Task Force Aurora for intercepted Batarian communications regarding the Leviathan of Dis."
"Commander," a Batarian's voice was heard, "the dreadnought is in custody, but the Salarians may have surveillance footage."
"Our ambassador will issue a full denial" another replied. "Give me your preliminary analysis."
"Several million years old at least, and its technology outstrips anything on the Council."
"Excellent. Our scientists will work day and night to bring its secrets to the Hegemony."
"And that's how the Hegemony got sabotaged from within" Marie remarked. "Idiots messed around with a Reaper corpse."
"Not a corpse" Eve replied. "Reaper Indoctrination can't work if the Reaper is well and truly dead. It must have been in a dormant, 'brain-dead' state like the one you guys found over Mnemosyne."
"One concern, Commander. The real Leviathan of Dis, the thing that destroyed this ship, is still out there, unaccounted for."
"Irrelevant. The ship is our priority. And as far as the rest of the galaxy is concerned, there is no Leviathan of Dis. There never was."
On the nightstand nearby, they found another of Ann Bryson's childhood drawings. However, amongst the green of crayon-made grass, there was a greenish-yellow sequence of numbers – 65-81-6-97.
"I can use these numbers to construct a decryption key" EDI stated.
They headed back down to the last terminal, and EDI got to work on the encrypted datapad next to the monitor.
"Decryption complete; analyzing data… These movements do not match the standard invasion pattern. The Reapers are searching for something."
"And I'll bet Garneau used this intel" Shepard replied. "Can you make a search filter for it?"
"Of course."
The quartet headed back to the galaxy map, and began trying to narrow down the search. With multiple different search filters, there was a wide variety of possible combinations, none of which provided exact data. However, after several minutes of trial-and-error, the combination of filters "Creature Sightings", "Locations with Element Zero", and "Reaper Activities" finally pinpointed their goal: the Aysur system in the Caleston Rift sector.
"Alright," Shepard said, "let's go find Garneau."
-SCENE BREAK-
Caleston Rift cluster, Aysur system, Mahavid
SCAN: "Mahavid is a metallic asteroid in the very sparse Nahata Belt. It has a high nickel and iron content in the form of kamacite. The rights to mine Mahavid belong to T-GES Mineral Works, who sell their products primarily to the colonists of Arvuna. A close fly-by reveals light emanating from its facilities."
The Kodiak descended toward the asteroid, toward the mining facility that had element-zero barriers holding in atmosphere and generating artificial gravity. Aboard were Shepard, Liara, Javik, Thane, and Kaede K. from Sigma Team.
"We're about five minutes out now, Commander" Cortez reported.
"What exactly is on this asteroid?" Shepard asked.
"Mining facility – T-GES Mineral Works. It's a small operation. Could be a good place for Leviathan to hide."
"We've all read EDI's notes on Bryson's lab" Shepard said to his team. "Any questions?"
"Do we have any more information on what Leviathan could be?" Liara asked.
"Not really. We only know that it killed a Reaper."
"It's this 'Garneau' person we're here for" Kaede said.
"Right. If we find him, we might find Leviathan. …The doctor was right; anything powerful enough to kill a Reaper needs to be investigated. I just hope Garneau has the answers we need."
"I'm reading Reaper enemy signatures in the asteroid field" Cortez reported.
"Bryson said they were shadowing his field teams. If they're after Leviathan too, Reapers are a good sign."
"That's not something you hear every day…"
A few minutes later, the Kodiak entered the asteroid facility's artificial atmosphere, setting down on a small landing pad. The quintet piled out, weapons ready.
"Don't go anywhere, Cortez" Shepard said. "We'll grab this guy and be right out. Keep me updated on the Reaper situation."
"Yes, Commander."
The team got aboard a nearby lift, riding it down to the level with the entrance. Up ahead, trying to beat through a heavy door, was a Brute with two Marauder escorts. Shepard and Thane sniped the Turian Husks, and as the Brute turned to face them it was hit by a Stasis from Shepard, followed by three Biotic blasts from Thane, Liara, and Javik that triggered a compound detonation powerful enough to blow the thing open.
"Let's get Garneau before the serious troops arrive" Shepard said as he led the team down the path and up the stairs to the entrance.
"The people of this facility will be scared…" Liara said.
As they passed through the doors and into the waiting room area of the facility, however, they were met by the sight of a handful of workers and researchers milling about, some having discussions in quiet and flat voices.
"They should be panicked…" Javik murmured.
As the team slowly made their way through, every person stopped what they were doing and just… stared at them – no words, no major movements, no changes in facial expression, just blank, vaguely hostile stares, identical from every person.
"This is… unsettling…" Thane whispered.
"Yeah…" Kaede replied, covertly checking with a vector that her Sangheili Carbine and M90A shotgun were in place attached to her light armor's back.
The Commander walked up to the front desk, grabbing the attention (maybe) of the two men inside.
"I'm Commander Shepard of the Alliance. You just had Reaper troops attacking your front door."
"Are they still there?" the guard asked in a flat, near-lifeless tone.
"I've taken care of them for now" Shepard replied, feeling a slight twinge of suspicion.
"I see" the other guard replied in the same unnaturally dull tone as the other. "That will be all."
"…That will be…?"
The two men had already gone back to work on the console in front of them.
"…Hello?"
No response. Liara walked up and hit the "Call for Assistance" button, and the two men inside the security office looked up again.
"Yes, welcome to T-GES Mineral Works" the seated man droned. "How can we help you?"
"Yes" the other man said in an equally flat and lifeless voice. "For the tour, please sign in."
Shepard briefly shared a look with Liara. "You don't seem worried about those Reapers. You know something I don't."
"…T-GES Mineral Works is a small- to mid-level supplier of tungsten to the galaxy" the first man said, as if he were a recorded message.
"That's not what I meant."
"Are you familiar with the applications of tungsten?"
"I'm looking for a researcher named Dr. Garneau. He would've arrived within the last couple weeks. If he's still here, I need to speak with him."
"…We have no Dr. Garneau."
"Do you need so see a doctor?" the other guard 'asked'.
"How about I just go in and look around?"
"No. The access elevator is broken."
"And now… we're done. Step away."
"Step away. You don't belong here."
"Commander," Kaede leaned in and whispered in Shepard's ear, "I think it'd be a really good idea to stop trying to talk to them. This whole thing feels wrong. Let's go."
Shepard nodded, as he and his team stepped back. "Let's look around," he whispered, "carefully."
The quintet slowly and cautiously moved through the area, soon finding a repair-drone terminal. With the others clandestinely blocking the oddly-behaving miners' lines of sight, Shepard called out a repair drone and sent it to repair the elevator. They stayed close to the little construct, guiding it to the elevator and letting it do its work. After several seconds, the drone faded out and the orange holographic light on the elevator doors turned green. Approaching it, they found a security log listing elevator users in the last seven days; Alex Garneau was among the names. Quietly, they boarded the elevator, riding it up.
"The security log says Garneau has been here within the last week" Thane said. "Why would they lie to us about that?"
"No idea" Shepard replied. "Let's hope we don't have to look too far."
At the top, they exited the elevator and headed right through the doors into the 'Mineral Lab'. The door opened just as the shutters of a security office's windows straight ahead were lowering. They carefully made their way through the lab, passing humans, Asari, and Turians discussing bizarre things in hushed and inflection-less tones. A security terminal and map made up one wall, but access was restricted. At the far end, Shepard bypassed a door, and inside a group of scientists huddled around a galaxy map abruptly ceased their conversation and turned to stare at Team Shepard as one, the hologram changing to a red 'prohibited' triangle.
"Turn back. You don't belong here…"
Nevertheless, the people seemed to only react if spoken to, so Shepard was able to waltz right past them and bypass the door of a small storage room of sorts with no objections. Once inside with the door closed, the team found a datapad sitting on a crate, with an audio message on it.
"ATTENTION" the computer said. "COMM. SYSTEM IS OFFLINE. THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE WAS NOT SENT:"
"Bryson, it's Garneau. I've had to go into hiding, and I need you to come get me. I found another one of those artifacts here. They're more important than we realized. It's in the mines; here's the NavPoint. That's where I'll be. In case something happens, I'm attaching a passcode that I hacked together. It'll open any security terminal. Bryson… something is very wrong here. Please hurry. Garneau out."
"So he's still here" Shepard said. "Do we have that passcode hack?"
"Yes" Liara replied. "We just need to input it at the security terminal we passed earlier."
They headed back to the security terminal and map, and Liara punched in Garneau's terminal hack.
"A ship dropped Dr. Garneau off here a week ago" Liara reported. "It appears he had full access at one point before going into hiding."
"Hmm…" Shepard scrolled through the data. "'Unknown male was involved in an altercation in the mines'."
"That is where the 'Garneau' human was headed" Javik said.
"Looks like he was taken to the medbay. It's restricted to people with 'active patient file numbers'."
"I have the file number" Liara announced.
"Then let's go get Garneau."
The quintet moved further into the facility, following the map they'd read. At the doors to the medical bay, Liara provided the file number to unlock the doors, and they headed through. After a few turns and short hallways, they reached an area where two darkened smaller rooms faced each other with a hallway/waiting area between. Looking in through the window of the left-hand room, they saw a body lying on a bed, features obscured by the darkness.
"Is that Garneau?" Shepard wondered.
"I hope not," Kaede replied, "or we've hit one hell of a roadblock."
"If you are looking for Garneau," a voice came from behind, "you have found him."
The team turned around, to see a man inside the other darkened patient room.
"I am Dr. Garneau" he said, with the same flat, lifeless tone as the miners.
"I'm Commander Shepard of the Alliance. Are you all right?"
"…Yes. Only… I'm trapped in here."
"What's been going on in this place?"
"I was doing my research… until the incident."
"They attacked you."
"It's true. But, aside from my confinement, I'm fine."
"Bryson's research led me to you."
"Bryson sent you?"
"He's dead, Doctor – killed by his assistant."
"…I see."
"I need you to tell me everything you've found on the Leviathan. Bryson seemed to think it killed a Reaper."
"…It's a myth – a dead end."
"In your call to Bryson," Liara spoke up, "you mentioned an artifact."
"…I did? No."
"Yes, Doctor," Shepard replied, "you did. But now we've got Reaper forces attacking, so I need to break you out. We'll grab the artifact and go."
"Reapers… The darkness must not be breached…"
"The darkness…?"
Suddenly, 'Garneau' pounded a fist on the glass, and when he looked up his eyes were glossy black, and his voice was most definitely not his own.
"WHY DO YOU PURSUE ME?"
"Doctor?"
Another pound, and the grass cracked. "LEAVE THE ARTIFACT. YOU WILL NOT TAKE WHAT IS MINE."
"This isn't Garneau we're talking to…" Thane murmured.
"…You" Shepard said with realization. "You killed a Reaper. I need your help."
"YOU BRING ONLY DEATH."
There was a massive sound, piercingly high and bone-rattlingly deep at the same time, and Team Shepard staggered, clutching their ears, as the glass shattered into thousands of pieces. As they regained themselves, Leviathan's puppet leapt out and ran for it, locking the door in his/its wake. As Team Shepard gave chase, bypassing one door and then another, the power was cut to the facility, plunging everything into the dim red of emergency lighting. In the next room, Leviathan-Garneau locked the next door, the door to the mining sector, more thoroughly. However, there was a nearby ladder back up to the 'surface'.
As they exited into the outside area and slid down a ladder to the catwalks, a Harvester flew by overhead. Ahead, three Husks were scaling a wall; green projectiles from Kaede's T51 Carbine cut down two of them, with a particle-rifle blast from Javik taking out the last. They headed right, following the catwalk around the wall, and another trio of Husks tried to ambush them; a Biotic Throw from Liara launched them over the nearby edge to fall to their deaths.
In the next area, they caught sight of 'Garneau' running toward the mines, but before they could do anything Reaper drop-pods deposited four Marauders and a Ravager. Shepard took cover and readied his N7 Valiant, leaning out and sniping two Marauders, while Thane and Kaede used his M29 Incisor and her T51 Carbine to pick off the other two, and Liara & Javik bombarded the Ravager with Warp blasts until it fell. More Marauders attacked from up on the left-side balcony, but Thane and Shepard's sniper rifles quickly dealt with them.
Two more pods dropped in, depositing a pair of Banshees onto the battlefield. Shepard and Liara started hitting the closer one with Warps, Incinerates, and sniper & SMG fire, while Thane, Kaede, and Javik hit the farther one with everything they had. Banshee 1, stripped of its barriers, suddenly pulled a Biotic Charge that brought it close to the group, claw raised to slash at Javik. There was a boom, as a blast from Kaede's 8-guage M90A shotgun blew the monster's forearm off, making it briefly stagger back and giving everyone the opportunity to unload on it, concentrated fire to the head and upper chest bringing the creature down. Banshee 2 shrieked in rage as it closed in, flinging powerful unstable Biotic blasts. Warps from Liara and Thane took out its weakened barriers, and Kaede threw a plasma grenade that stuck fast to the Banshee's midsection; the ensuing blast blew a large, smoldering hole in the creature's stomach. Hissing weakly, the Banshee tried to charge another attack, but a snipe-shot to the skull from Shepard finished it off.
As they rushed across the area toward the door to the mines, another Ravager and a few Husks emerged to block their path. Kaede used her shotgun to deal with the human cyber-zombies, while Liara froze the Ravager with a Stasis attack, allowing Shepard, Thane, and Javik to bring it down with concentrated SMG and particle-rifle fire. As Shepard began bypassing the locked door, there was a sudden thud, and all the surrounding lights went out.
"I can see where the power lines are damaged" Liara said. "There's a repair drone here we can use." She called the little construct up from the nearby terminal. "However, the drone is damaged and running on reserve power."
As the drone began slowly moving out, the quintet followed it to the nearest damaged junction. While the drone worked to repair it, a Reaper drop-pod deposited two Marauders and a Ravager nearby. Shepard stripped one Marauders' shields with an Overload and then took it down with N7 Eagle fire, while Kaede and Thane focused fire to take down the other Turian Husk. Liara froze the Ravager with Stasis, and Javik hit it with a Warp that reacted with Liara's Biotic energy to form a powerful detonation that ripped the Rachni Husk open; the wounded creature staggered and stumbled, still trying to raise its cannons, until a shot from Kaede's carbine finished it off.
The drone finished repairing the first junction, and started slowly floating along toward the second. As Team Shepard moved to escort and guide it, another Ravager and a pack of Husks attacked. Kaede used her vectors to hack the melee-oriented cyber-zombies apart, while Javik threw a Lift Grenade to disorient and destabilize the Ravager, leaving it vulnerable to Thane's Tempest SMG loaded with shredder rounds, half a clip's worth weakening it significantly. An Incinerate from Shepard finished the Rachni Husk off. Nearing the second junction, two Marauders attacked, but Kaede rushed forward and use her vectors and shotgun to take them out and clear the path.
As the drone began repairing the second and final junction, the shriek of a Banshee rang out. However, by a stroke of luck, next to the junction was a charged and ready Reaper 'Blackstar' heavy weapon. As the Asari Husk stalked slowly in their direction, Shepard charged and fired the big gun. The resulting blast ripped the Banshee apart on a molecular level. Finally, the repair drone completed its task and de-spawned.
The team hurried back to the door to the mines, bypassing it and rushing through. Inside, they saw as 'Garneau' was climbing up some rocks toward the artifact – a shimmering sphere exactly like the one on display in Bryson's office. A handful of Husks were climbing up after him. Shepard used his pistol to pick off some of the Husks, and Garneau leaned back against the artifact, turning to face Team Shepard… and raising a hand with a detonator in it.
"TURN BACK!"
There was a massive explosion, knocking Team Shepard off their feet; the artifact was obliterated, as were the Husks and Garneau. As Shepard and company staggered to their feet, they felt dejected; they'd failed. While Shepard moved down to inspect where the artifact was, Javik moved to a nearby corpse – a man, not very freshly dead, with a datapad clutched in his hand.
"…Commander, come quickly" he said, looking over the datapad.
"What is it?" Shepard asked as he approached.
"That human was not the one called Garneau; this is. And he's been dead for a while."
"So… Leviathan can have Bryson killed, can take over this colony, and he can use people as puppets. Anything else useful?"
"Encrypted data" Thane replied as he had a look. "There is also a personal log with eight missed messages from Dr. Bryson's daughter, Ann."
The quintet were startled as the door opened, and turned to see as some of the miners entered; they looked disoriented and confused.
"Who… Who are you?" one human woman asked. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm Commander Shepard of the Systems Alliance navy. Are you all right?"
"I think so. I feel like… I feel strange, but… all right."
"Can you tell me anything about what happened to you?"
"Not really. I, uh, remember… It just seemed cold. I remember a feeling – cold and dark, with… pressure, I think."
"If dark was a feeling," a male miner chimed in, "that's exactly what I felt."
"Do you recognize this man?" Shepard gestured to the corpse.
"…I've never seen him before in my life."
"Someone here killed him."
"Someone here?" an Asari miner asked. "How is that possible? I'm so sorry…"
"That artifact…" Shepard gestured to the shattered remains of the sphere. "Do you know where it came from?"
"It came out of the mine" the male miner replied. "Right… Head office was supposed to send someone. That's about all I can…"
Shepard nodded, and called up his communicator. "Cortez, what's your situation? Can you bring the shuttle?"
"Affirmative. It's the strangest thing – couple of minutes ago, the Reaper forces broke off and left."
"Reaper…" the male miner said. "What's a Reaper?"
Shepard and Liara exchanged a worried look. "What year do you think it is?" the Commander asked.
"2176" the Asari miner replied.
"…2176 was 10 years ago."
At the miners' shocked reactions, Shepard turned to Liara.
"Let's arrange for these people to be evacuated into temporary quarantine."
"No memory of the last ten years…" the Asari replied. "They'll have a lot of catching up to do."
"And they won't be happy when they learn what state the galaxy's in right now."
"What happened?" the Asari miner asked, having overheard. "Is there another war?"
Kaede sighed. "They're called Reapers. They're gigantic and incredibly advanced synthetics from beyond the Outer Rim. They're trying to wipe out all advanced organic life… and they're succeeding."
"Khar'shan, Dekuuna, Earth, and Thessia have already fallen," Thane chimed in, "and Palaven & Irune can't hold out for much longer."
"Fallen?"
Thane sighed sadly. "The Reapers annihilated all military forces on those four worlds and their surrounding colonies, and are currently in the process of… depopulating them. The Turians have been fighting back to defend their world, but even they are being slowly but surely ground down to nothing. …Even if we win, there is a possibility that after the war, there will not be enough Batarians, Elcor, Humans, and Asari to repopulate their species. They wiped out the Protheans, and now they're here for all of us."
"The surviving Rachni, the Geth, and the Krogans have actually joined the galaxy in this fight," Liara chimed in, "but they're not enough. We're fighting a war for the very survival of all sapient life… and we're losing."
As the miners' expressions changed to horrified shock and despair, Shepard hung his head and walked away, ready to signal Cortez in.
-Break-
"It would seem Leviathan has the power to take down a Reaper," Javik mused on the shuttle ride back, "and possesses the ability to Indoctrinate."
"Could it be a Reaper itself?" Liara suggested.
"If it is a Reaper," Shepard replied, "then I want to know what it's up to. How long has it been out here, and more importantly, why? EDI, did we get anything from Garneau's notes?"
"They suggest that Garneau created a way to block the artifact's mind-affecting properties. The artifact seems to be the key."
"Agreed. When I head back to Bryson's office, I want you there. …I wanna know just what the hell these artifacts really are, and what they can do."
"They're powerful, whatever they are," Kaede said, "and dangerous."
"And we've got one sitting right in the middle of the Citadel…"
-SCENE BREAK-
Citadel, Dr. Bryson's Lab
"We need to shield the artifact they've got here right away" Shepard said as he and EDI entered the lab.
"Using Garneau's data," EDI said as she approached the artifact, calling up her Omnitool, "I should be able to accomplish this without difficulty."
After a few more seconds of work, the large red button mounted beside the glass display wall turned green, and Shepard hit it. A shimmering energy field of interlocking hexagons enveloped the artifact and the pedestal it stood on, and after a few seconds the mysterious sphere's shimmering colors faded, leaving it a dull metallic grey.
"Damn thing's been here the whole time" Shepard said. "Why weren't we affected?"
"Perhaps the amount of time spent near the artifact is key" EDI suggested. "After certain duration, it affords Leviathan an impressive mind-control capability."
"I'd call it dangerous as hell. Bryson's assistant tried to kill me."
"Perhaps Leviathan was controlling him to protect itself, diverting people away from its trail."
"Maybe. It just shows we don't know what we're dealing with yet."
"Despite the risk, this artifact remains our only link to finding Leviathan. Perhaps we could find more information about it here in the lab."
"Agreed. Bryson's team might've turned up something I missed. Let's look around."
"…This microscope, over here on the work-table. Anything useful about the artifact's structure?"
"It is not constructed of the same compounds used in standard Reaper technology. Beyond that, nothing of relevance."
Continuing their search, they moved into the other section of the lab, and on another work-table they found a datapad labeled "Project Information".
"EDI, what project was Garneau working on when he found the artifact?"
"Basilisk" the AI replied.
"Got anything on that?"
"Several ships, a mythical creature, a very dangerous apex predator native to Equestria, and a rare, mid-tier enemy type in the Galaxy of Fantasy video game. The latter possesses a gaze attack capable of triggering synched-animation kills. Player forums describe it as 'overpowered'."
"I meant the project, EDI."
"Oh. Then, no."
"There's gotta be something here on this artifact. What about the server?"
"Bryson's assistant wiped the office server and destroyed all backups, likely before killing Bryson. However, records show new messages on Bryson's personal comm. terminal upstairs."
"Could be worth a look."
The duo went upstairs, and EDI checked out the terminal.
"A message from Dr. Bryson's daughter, Ann" she said. "According to my records, she worked with her father."
EDI called up the message, and a tiny hologram of Ann Bryson appeared.
"I'm at the dig-site in the Pylos Nebula. Project Scarab paid off. I've got another artifact like the one Garneau found. I think it could be affecting people's behavior. You need to shield the one in your office. I tried to warn Garneau, but I can't get through. We've got Reaper scouts coming in toward the main site. I'm heading to the secondary base to grab what research I can."
"Ann Bryson was attempting to contact Garneau on the asteroid colony" EDI said. "She seems to know something about the artifact."
"She sounded worried."
"If Reaper forces were approaching, her concern was warranted."
"Let's hope we get to her before they do."
"She said she was in the Pylos Nebula. That cluster contains several systems with terrestrial worlds. I'll call up the cluster on the galaxy map. We may also search the lab for clues to narrow down her location."
Heading back stairs, they began looking around. Shepard went up to the eezo-laced meteorite sample.
"Any idea if Project Scarab involved element zero?" he asked.
"Unlikely" EDI replied. "We may learn more from the project's requisitions locker."
On a table nearby, there was a datapad showing Task Force Aurora's travel requisitions; Dr. Garneau had requisitioned a ship called the MSV Kirkwall for Project Basilisk, while Ann Bryson on Project Scarab had chosen the MSC Icarus.
"Ann flew out on a ship called the Icarus" Shepard told EDI. "Can you track its movements?"
"No. The Reapers have disrupted civilian comm. buoys. But we might learn more if we find the ship's specifications."
Across the lab, they found a terminal giving specifications for several ships, and among them…
"Here we go" Shepard said as he called up the Icarus' specs.
"The ship has enhanced electrostatic discharge cells" EDI observed. "They facilitate long-range FTL travel."
"So they jumped to the Pylos Nebula via mass-relay, then flew to another system."
"Yes. Otherwise, they would have chartered a less expensive ship."
"Okay. We can rule out that cluster's relay system."
Heading back to the section of the lab with the galaxy map and the artifact, Shepard found a hidden access card for the requisitions locker. Heading over to that and opening it up, they took a look inside at what had and hadn't been taken.
"Based on what Ann Bryson did or did not requisition," EDI said, "the dig site was arid but habitable." She walked over to the galaxy map, entering data. "And using that with the information on the Icarus, there is only one system with a planet that meets our search parameters."
"Let's go get Ann Bryson, then."
-SCENE BREAK-
Pylos Nebula cluster, Zaherin system, Namakli
SCAN:"An arid but habitable planet, Namakli was briefly colonized by the Pyrena Corporation, a consortium of Asari colonists and socialized Vorcha laborers. After an economic downturn, however, many Asari left the planet, and the Vorcha population kept growing to the point where they bred faster than could be educated. Soon they turned violent and uncontrollable, and the colonies essentially self-destructed.
Today, Namakli is a wasteland with little population, but Vorcha packs are scattered across the deserts. Settlers frequently run into these packs, discouraging recolonization. The lack of complex biota and scarcity of profitable metals drove the last few proverbial nails into Namakli's coffin: no one has stepped forth in the past few years with the will, the funding, or the firepower to establish a permanent colony."
The Kodiak descended, carrying Shepard, James, Kaidan, and an unexpected DDF volunteer: Spartan Will-043.
"Sir, we received reports of attacks on the scientists?" Will asked.
"Right" Shepard replied. "EDI, can you tell us anything else?"
"This is the main site of a series of excavations established under Dr. Garret Bryson. Staff records confirm the project lead is his daughter, Ann. She has recently uncovered another artifact possibly linked to Leviathan. That discovery must have made this dig-site a target."
"Yes, the attack means the Reapers are one step ahead of us. We need to pick up the pace. And since Bryson's daughter is our only lead, our objective is clear. …Cortez?"
"Nothing so far, Commander" the pilot reported. "If she's down there, she hasn't responded to our hails. Getting some strange signals, though; give me a minute."
"That artifact she found might have caused extra problems" Kaidan suggested. "Who knows what we'll find?"
"Agreed" Shepard replied. "Cortez, take us in closer."
The Kodiak accelerated, nearing the dig site. However, it was very quickly clear that they weren't along in the skies.
"Commander, there's a fuck-ton of Harvesters out there!" James said, looking at the display.
Moving in closer, the Kodiak hovered not too far from a landing platform, its hatch open to give the team a look at the people inside the dig-site's main 'office', including their MVP.
"Attention shuttle, this is Dr. Ann Bryson! We are under attack!"
"Alright," Shepard, let's get-"
Suddenly the shuttle lurched and moved forward & down, two Harvesters pursuing it.
"I can't get you there, Commander!" Cortez said. "It's too hot! Heading to the lower platform; hang on!"
The Kodiak could barely afford a second's worth of time to slow down enough as it passed a landing platform further down; Shepard, Kaidan, James, and Will leapt out, and the shuttle immediately shot off at full speed to try and evade the Harvesters chasing it. The quartet immediately hurried to get off the unstable platform as a couple of Reaper mortar shells landed around them.
"Hello?" Ann Bryson radioed. "Is anyone there? I'm coming down!"
"No, stay where you are! This is Commander Shepard of the Alliance Navy – it's too dangerous! We'll come to you!"
"Yes, okay! You should take the elevator up on the far side!"
The quartet moved forward, running through open-roofed buildings and jumping across gaps. Cannon blasts and Reaper mortars struck all around, damaging pre-fab structures and knocking them loose or out of alignment, creating a harrowing obstacle course of unstable structures that the team had to hurry across, over, and through. After they dropped down through a fallen building and came out onto a comparatively more stable section, they encountered their first resistance – a pack of Cannibals.
"Commander, they're swarming up here!"
"Can you find a place to hide?" Shepard asked as he used his SMG to gun down a Cannibal.
"I'll try!"
"Get there! Stay put!"
Will's MA5D assault rifle, loaded with shredder rounds, cut down two Cannibals fairly quickly, while a Biotic Throw from Kaidan launched two more over the edge, and James' modded M96 Mattock picked off the rest. As the team hurried forward, however, a Harvester took out the small bridge leading onward. Looking around, Shepard climbed up a ladder onto the roof of the structure they'd just passed through, using a Biotic Slam attack to kill the Husk up top and then hopping across the gap onto a stable portion of the cliff face. The others followed him along, and they reached a currently-retracted extendable bridge.
"The controls are broken!" Shepard said. "You three, keep them off me while I fix it!"
As Shepard put his engineering skills to work, a handful of Husks dropped in behind them, along with a Banshee. As James pulled out his shotgun and started blasting the Husks, Will readied the ARC-920 Railgun he'd brought along, pointing it at the Banshee and holding down the trigger. After a second of charging time, the weapon fired a magnetically-propelled explosive projectile that struck with great kinetic and explosive force, knocking the Banshee back and completely depleting its barriers. Another shot blew a large chunk out of its midsection, and a third blew its head off.
"Bridge is up!" Shepard said. "Let's go!"
The team hurried across the bridge and up a ladder onto another prefab structure's roof, crossing it and finally reaching the elevator. However, when they called it down, it was stopped by damage and debris.
"Ann, the elevator's blocked! Is there another way up?"
"I'll override the pod door near you! There's an access point above, Commander, but you'll have to climb to it!"
A nearby prefab pod's door opened, and the quartet moved in and through the structure. Across a gap and up some stairs, they encountered another Cannibal pack with a Ravager providing support fire from an upper level ahead. Will took out the Rachni Husk with a railgun shot, while a combination of Shepard's Singularity and Kaidan's Warp took out all but two of the Cannibals, which were in turn quickly gunned down by James. They crossed the area and climbed another ladder, making their way forward.
"Commander, my assistant Hopkins is hit! We're being cornered!"
"Stay hidden, Doctor!"
"We're trying, but there's too many! Hurry!"
Crossing through an open-roofed structure, they almost ran right into a pair of Cannibals. Will reacted first, the Spartan lashing out with a bone-shattering blow that sent one Cannibal hurtling over the edge, and then drawing his assault rifle and emptying a third of a clip into the other Batarian Husk at point-blank range. They continued up a little more, until finally reaching another traversable section of the cliff, bordered and 'roofed' by large, thick pipes. At the far end of the long, straight pathway was a Brute, the Turian-Krogan super-Husk snarling as it began stalking toward them. Shepard sent out a Combat Drone to distract and weaken the beast, and then the team started sending Warps, Incinerates, Carnage blasts, and railgun shots downrange at the monster. The Brute charged even as it took the hits, but succumbed to its wounds and collapsed dead mid-charge.
"Ann, are you still there?"
"We're barely hanging on! Hopkins is wounded! Are you close?"
"We're moving as fast as we can! Hang in there!"
At the end of the path, the overhead platform started coming down, and the quartet hurried across and onto a neighboring roof. Sliding down a ladder, they made their way through more prefab structures.
"No, no! Boyles, stay down! Oh, god!"
"What's happening?"
"Kirkwood and Boyles tried to make a run for it! The Reapers got them!"
"Don't move until we get there!"
Up ahead, there were two Cannibals ready to fire… along with a Harvester, flying in place and charging its head-mounted cannons. Will fired his railgun at the giant flyer's face, the blast taking out the eyes on one side of its head and blowing off a chunk of its face; the Harvester screeched and retreated, leaving the Cannibal pair to be cut down by Kaidan's rifle. Around the corner, a Ravager was frozen by Shepard's Stasis attack, allowing a frag grenade from Will and a heavy Reave from Kaidan to take it out. James took point through the next building, his shotgun blowing away two more Cannibals. Finally, after a ladder up and another down, they reached the elevator.
"Elevator's online" Shepard said as they boarded and activated the lift. "We're coming up."
"Please hurry. I think Hopkins is dead."
As the elevator reached the top, the quartet hurried into the nearby building, finding Ann kneeling by a bloodied body.
"He tried to run" she said. "I told him not to, but he wanted to help the others. Where did everyone go?"
"I'm sorry" Shepard replied. "They didn't make it, Doctor. I need you to come with me."
"Oh, god… Yes, of course."
The group moved on, Shepard on point and Will bringing up the rear, with Bryson in the middle. They walked along the cliff-side, looking out at the horde of Harvesters choking the sky.
"I… was at another dig-site when they attacked" Ann said. "I got back as quickly as I could, but… what's happening?"
"Hey Loco, look at this" James called.
On the cliff wall was a cave painting, showing primitive figures wielding spears dancing and kneeling beneath the intricately-detailed image of a familiar shape.
"I'm not sure why they're here," Shepard said, "but it might have something to do with these paintings. Is that Leviathan?"
"Y-Yes," Ann replied, "we think so. It's old – much older than my father thought. And there, as if the natives were under its power… That image is clearly of a Reaper, but acting alone. Not like any Reaper we've seen before."
"I think I see a couple line patterns and spiky bits that normal Reapers don't have" Kaidan added, looking at the painting. "A Command-subtype, maybe? Or an older 'model' of Reaper that's been phased out? Or hell, even personal customization on the Reaper's part?"
"Doctor," Shepard said, "I understand you found something recently."
"The artifact. Yes, of course. It's just ahead." She kept talking as they moved up again. "It may sound strange, but I'm certain it affects people – their behavior. I've only had a short time to study it."
"Not strange at all" Shepard replied. "Did you find anything?"
"Not much, but I did learn something about the energy it generates."
Suddenly, everyone dove into cover as they saw what was up ahead. Near the upper landing pad, the artifact sat against the cliff-face, with two Marauders kneeling by it and a third apparently linked to it by a tendril of energy.
"What are they doing?" Will whispered.
"They've activated it somehow" Ann replied. "I've never managed anythi-"
Suddenly, Ann began to stagger forward, toward the artifact.
"Doctor?" Shepard called.
"They've learned too well" the Leviathan spoke through Ann. "The darkness must not be breached…"
"Will!" Shepard shouted to the Spartan. "Destroy it!"
Spartan-043 nodded, and pointed his ARC-920 railgun at the spherical artifact. A magnetically-propelled explosive shell struck home, blowing the Leviathan sphere to bits and knocking the Marauders away. Ann collapsed to her hands and knees, shaking her head.
"Cortez, we need a pickup!" Shepard radioed. "We have Ann Bryson!"
"On my way, Commander!"
"Cope that. Ann, when you see the shuttle, you run and don't look back!"
"…O-Okay" the Doctor replied, clarity returning to her. "Right!"
As Marauders and Cannibals moved across the area to engage Team Shepard, a Harvester set down on the landing pad. While Kaidan and James handled the small-fry, Shepard and Will concentrated Warps, Incinerates, and railgun shots on the massive flyer's head. Precision shots took out its eyes, and it screeched while firing its head-mounted cannons blindly. Kaidan's Overload de-shielded Marauders for James' Mattock to cut down, and a grenade from the burly soldier took out some Cannibals. Cortez flew in and, seeing that the Harvester had been blinded, fired a barrage from the Kodiak's cannons at the creature's head. The Harvester's skull was blown apart, and the headless body toppled over off the landing pad, allowing the Kodiak to set down.
Everyone hurried for the shuttle, Will using his assault rifle to keep the remaining Cannibals back, and once everyone was aboard Cortez put the pedal to the medal, sealing the Kodiak up and rocketing away.
"You okay?" Shepard asked Ann as everyone took seats and caught their breath.
"Yeah, Commander" the woman replied. "I think so. I blacked out."
"Leviathan took control of you. We cut the connection before you could get hurt."
"Leviathan itself? That's incredible."
"The Reapers seem as interested in it as we are."
"Yeah, it certainly seems that way."
"We were hoping you could help us figure out why. But first, Doctor, I have some bad news…"
"Ann, please. Suppose Leviathan's broken away from the other Reapers? Never went back to dark-space? Like a rogue, or even a defector. …I have to call my father. He'll want to know."
"Ann, you need to listen to me, okay? …Your father's dead. I'm sorry."
"He's… what, dead? …He can't be dead."
"We met with him, hoping to find out what he knew. Something happened."
"Something happened?"
"That wasn't the first time we've seen what happened to you a little while ago. …Leviathan took control of your father's research assistant, Hadley, and shot him. When we tried to interrogate Hadley, the Leviathan threatened us through him, and then used its power to rupture every blood vessel and fry every neuron in Hadley's brain; he was dead before he hit the ground. I'm sorry, Ann; Leviathan murdered your father and his assistant. We recently discovered that it killed Dr. Garneau as well."
"…I can't believe this…"
"We have to find out what's behind it all. You're the only one left who can help us. …Ann?"
"I… I want to see his office."
"We'll arrange for transportation, and meet you there."
-SCENE BREAK-
The Citadel, Dr. Bryson's Lab
Arriving at the laboratory/office, Shepard and EDI found Ann sitting beside her father's bed upstairs, quietly shedding tears.
"Ann?"
"*Sniff* Oh, Commander. I'm sorry. Just… this is hard…"
"Of course. Are you all right?"
"Yes. …No. I don't know. My father and I didn't leave things in a great state."
"An argument?"
"Yes. It was trivial – a disagreement on how to file some of the specimens. I was mad about something else; I don't remember what. I took it out on him. *Sniff* So stupid…"
"I can come back later, if you'd like…"
"No, please" she got to her feet. "I'm okay. Seeing all this again… He was so obsessed – crazy sometimes."
"I didn't get a chance to know him."
"Sometimes I felt the same way. He was a great man, a pioneer. Be he could be distant. I felt like an inconvenience growing up."
"You sound angry."
"I was angry. Still am, I guess. …But sometimes, he was so full of stories he nearly burst. I loved that about him. It's why I signed up for this work. …I can't believe he's gone…"
"We'll figure this out."
"We have to. I need to know what's on the other end of that artifact – what he died for."
"We need your help. You're our last chance."
"You're right. Let me dig into my father's work to see what I can find."
"Ann… You sure you're up for this?"
"Yes. When Leviathan took control of me, I remember being somewhere cold and dark. …But my father taught me to never be afraid of the dark."
Shepard followed Ann downstairs, with EDI trailing behind. They stopped by the chunk of Sovereign.
"I'm still amazed your father got his hands on a piece of a Reaper" Shepard said.
"He was so excited" Ann replied. "Your claims validated years of work."
"Did you take appropriate steps to prevent Indoctrination?" EDI asked.
"Of course. It was thoroughly shielded, and we all had regular psych-evals. …Of course, thanks to the artifact, I'm Indoctrinated anyway, aren't I? Might as well be a Rachi drone waiting for orders from the queen."
"You studied the Rachni?" Shepard asked.
"I wrote my dissertation on them. My father thought it was a waste of time, but now… it might actually help us find Leviathan."
"In what way?" EDI asked.
"We think of the Rachni as telepathic, but… well, until the Dimensional Defense Force came on the scene I thought there was no such thing, and I know that it's not what the Rachni actually used. At short range, the queen uses pheromones to give orders. At long range, she uses an organic kind of quantum entanglement communicator. Whatever Leviathan does must be similar, entangling particles to stimulate neural activity. It uses the artifact to establish a connection, and then it controls the mind of anyone near it."
As Ann led them into the other section of the lab, they found someone unexpected already there.
"James?" Shepard asked. "What are you doing here?"
"I heard you're closing in on the Reaper-killer" James replied. "Anything that can scare those bastards has to be worth a look."
"That's what I'm hoping."
James nodded and turned around… and his eyes fell on the Husk-head.
"What the hell…? …Commander, you see this thing?-! This is great!"
James poked at the Husk-head, and then winced and drew his hand back after it bit him on the finger, hissing/screeching at him.
"…Hey, EDI. Husk bites… They don't turn you into a Husk or anything, right?"
"Only Banshees can make people into Husks directly," the AI replied, "and even then, only from Asari… Still, I recommend you apply medigel to prevent infection."
"Right… Hey, if nobody claims this thing, we could take it with us. Y'know, for research or, I dunno, whatever…"
He gave Shepard a pleading look.
Shepard sighed. "Alright. Just don't tell anybody. And don't let Eve see it; it scares her."
"Nice!" James had a big grin on his face. "Hey, you think Estéban would let me set up bowling pins in the cargo bay?"
Shepard shook his head, turning his attention back to the matter at hand. "We didn't detect any energy emissions from the artifact" he said to Ann.
"But the Reapers were able to use the artifact to trace Leviathan somehow" EDI added.
"My theory" Ann replied "is that, most of the time, the artifact simply acts as a receiver. We'll only be able to race Leviathan through it when it actively takes control of someone."
"As it did on the asteroid."
"Right. Unless it needs something, Leviathan doesn't bother communicating. I guess it and my father had something in common…"
"You said Leviathan's control was similar to a quantum entanglement communicator," EDI said, "which is untraceable."
"Yes, but this isn't a natural QEC. Leviathan has to send a pulse through the artifact to alter your mind and create the quasi-QEC effect."
"And that can be traced."
"Right, just like at the dig-site. The Reapers were tracing the signal by activating the artifact. …My father wanted to be at that dig-site. He was getting too old for long digs, but he hated being stuck in the lab. He nearly missed my graduation because he was on a dig – showed up still wearing his field gear. …God, he'd have hated dying here."
"Ann," Shepard said, "I know this is hard. But if there's anything more you can tell us…"
"I don't think there's anything more I can tell you. But maybe I can show you."
"What are you saying?"
"The artifact only sends out a signal when Leviathan is controlling someone. So let it control me. You could trace the signal."
"You mean let it take over? That sounds stupidly dangerous, Ann."
"It's my call, not yours. You said I'm your last chance to find this thing."
"We have no idea what will happen to you."
"If we wait, the Reapers will get to Leviathan first. I'm the only one here who's spent enough time with it to do this. You're looking for something to fight the Reapers, Commander. I'm looking for the monster that murdered my father."
"We still don't know what we're looking for."
"Then let's find out."
"Commander," James chimed in as Ann went to have a seat in front of the artifact, "this thing we're doing with Ann… It sounds dangerous as hell."
"Noted" Shepard replied. "EDI?"
"Energy signature locked in" the AI reported from the galaxy map terminal. "Waiting for activation."
"You sure about this, Ann?"
The woman took a deep breath. "Yes. I'm sure."
"I'm gonna be right here" James said softly to her as he stood behind her.
"Okay. I'm ready."
Shepard nodded, and James dropped the artifact's containment shield; after a couple seconds, the sphere's shimmering dull colors returned.
"Anything?" Shepard asked.
"Nothing yet" Ann replied. "…Wait" her body shivered, and James grabbed hold of her shoulders. "There's something. I feel a chill…"
"EDI?"
"No trace yet."
Suddenly, Ann began thrashing around in James' grip.
"Signal is tracking!" EDI announced. "Maintain connection."
"Turn back" 'Ann' warned. "The darkness can't be breached…"
"Listen to me" Shepard said. "I found you. And the Reapers are right behind me."
"You have brought theM. YOU ARE A THREAT."
"So are you. I've seen what you can do. The war needs you."
"THERE IS NO WAR. THERE IS ONLY THE HARVEST."
"EDI, do we have enough?"
"Partial lock" EDI replied. "Maintain connection to narrow the search."
"You heard her" James said as he still held onto the thrashing woman's body. "We got enough! I'm hitting the shield."
"…Do it" Shepard ordered.
James hit the button, cutting the artifact's signal, and Ann's body went limp. After a few seconds, she held her hand between her heads as she looked back up.
"Ann, are you alright?"
"Yes…" she replied. "I think so."
"EDI, did we get anything?"
"Yes," EDI replied, "but it will take time to search."
"Commander," Ann said, "I sensed something else: Anger."
"It knows we're getting close" Shepard said.
"I think it wants to kill you now."
"Not very often I meet someone who doesn't. …Now we just have to find the bastard, but we have no idea exactly where it is."
Ann shivered. "I just can't shake that feeling of dark and cold… and the pressure, pushing down all around me."
"…Wait a minute…" James said, his eyes going wide with realization. "Hey guys, what do you think when you look at a Reaper? What does the shape remind you of?"
He called up a hologram of a Reaper, and the other stared, trying to see what he saw.
"Squids!" James continued. "They look like giant metal squids! …And everyone we've talked to who's made 'contact' with Leviathan… they've mentioned cold, and darkness, and pressure. Now… where would a giant squid-monster hide that's cold, dark, and with lots of pressure?"
"…The deep ocean" Shepard realized. "EDI?"
"Within the search area we narrowed down," EDI said, "there is one planet that fits the parameters – deep ocean cover over nearly the entirety of its surface."
"Then that's where we're headed. Let's get back to the Normandy; it's time to pay Leviathan a visit…"
-SCENE BREAK-
Sigurd's Cradle cluster, Psi Tophet system, Despoina
SCAN: "This planet was only spotted recently by human space probes, and no records indicate it has been explored since. Scans indicate it is covered in an ocean of liquid water and has a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere. It is highly likely to have at least some photosynthetic life."
"Cortez," Shepard asked the pilot of the shuttle carrying him, Garrus, Tali, and Legion, "what's the status on the probe we launched?"
"Tracking it now, Commander" Cortez replied. "I've confirmed that Leviathan's signal originates from this planet. …I heard how Ann helped us locate it. It's pretty spooky stuff."
"What are we expecting to find?" Tali asked.
"Bryson called it a Reaper-killer" Garrus replied. "And from all appearances, it doesn't want to be found."
"It doesn't have a choice" Shepard said. "We're here."
"But after that?" Tali asked. "If it's a Reaper – even one that went rogue – do we really want help from something like that?"
"Nobody says we have to be friends with it, but if this thing has the rest of the Reapers worried, then we need its help."
"Commander, new readings from the probe" Cortez reported. "It's narrowed down Leviathan's location. You're not gonna like it."
"Let's hear it."
"It's nothing but ocean. I show a concentration of structures floating on the surface, but the probe's giving us a signal below that. Way below."
"How deep?"
"About 3,275 meters below the ocean surface. The Kodiak should still be able to reach it, though."
"That's possible?"
"To Kodiak is specced to nearly a thousand atmospheres… though I've never actually tested that."
"Guess we're gonna find ou-"
Suddenly, the shuttle lurched. In the troop bay, Legion briefly staggered.
"You all right?" Garrus asked the Geth.
"Yes" Legion replied. "All of my vital systems are properly shielded against electromagnetic pulses."
"Shit, some kinda pulse hit us!" Cortez shouted. "All systems are shutting down!"
"Unfortunately, it appears this shuttle is not."
"Everyone, brace for impact!"
Everybody got low and held onto something as the stricken Kodiak slammed belly-first onto the hull of a floating piece of ancient starship, skidding to a stop over several dozen meters. After a few seconds, the hatch opened and the ground team piled out, weapons ready.
"Everyone all right?" Shepard asked.
"My suit's intact" Tali replied. "Maybe a few bruises under it."
"How's the shuttle, Cortez?"
"Checking now" the pilot replied from the cockpit. "I'll see if I can get power restored."
"Copy that. We'll look around."
"It appears we were not the first to be stranded here" Legion observed, looking around at the long-abandoned makeshift settlements set in alcoves in the ship-hull.
"I recognize a few of these ships," Tali said as she looked out to see at some of the other half-submerged hulks, "but only from historical records. They're ancient."
They explored the immediate area for a few minutes, finding a few unsettling things – data-logs that hinted at deteriorating sanity, a few old skeletons, and at least a half-dozen of those spherical artifacts. Suddenly, however, they heard an unwelcome noise: a deep, rattling bass horn from the storm clouds above. Soon, a Reaper Dreadnought descended into view high above, and Husk drop-pods came raining down, dropping off Cannibals and a Marauder.
"Cortez, status!"
"Swapping out the parts, Commander! Hang on!"
Garrus' Phaeston and Legion's pulse-rifle opened up, starting to cut a few Cannibals down, while Tali sent out a Combat Drone to start bombarding the Husk-types with Incinerate rockets, and Shepard stripped the Marauder's shields and then took it out with his N7 Eagle. Basic Husks came charging in from across the ship, and Tali put her shotgun to use against them, with Shepard's Omniblade pitching in as well. Two Brutes joined the fray next; Shepard managed to Stasis one so that a headshot from Legion's M98 Widow could take it out, but the other one got close and made Shepard have to roll to avoid losing his head.
Then, the Kodiak lifted off again. Cortez used the craft's forward guns to tear the remaining Brute apart, and then turned them on the Husks and Cannibals, clearing most of them out as well. Some Marauders dropped in on the higher levels, but the Kodiak and Garrus made short work of them. But then, another pulse raced out; the remaining Marauders were de-shielded, while the Kodiak spun out of control and dropped out of the sky further down the shipwreck. The team raced for the area, seeing Cortez already exchanging fire with a few Cannibals, and a Biotic Charge from Shepard sent the Batarian Husks flying, the survivors being finished off by Legion.
"Shuttle's a mess, Commander" Cortez said as the team took cover with him. "That pulse knocked us right out of the air. We're not going anywhere."
"Can the Normandy extract us?" Tali asked.
"Same thing would happen to her, and the landing won't be as pretty. I'd say this is Leviathan's defense system."
"Then we aren't getting out of here until we find it" Shepard said. "So how do we do that?"
"Well…" Cortez looked over at a heavy mech that was inside a garage/bay door 'up' the ship. "You might be able to use that. Looks like it's rigged for diving."
"A diving mech?"
"It's a Triton model – military-grade, repurposed for deep-sea exploration. As long as the seawater hasn't corroded it, you should be good to go."
"Well, if that's what we have to do, let's get started."
"Shepard," Garrus spoke up as Legion took out a pair of approaching Husks, "are you actually thinking of…"
"First," Cortez said, "we'll need to restore power to get that cargo door open."
"How?" Shepard asked.
"These all Ballard-class ships are equipped with exterior power sockets. The use 'em for emergency repairs. We can strip the spare cells from the shuttle and use those for juice. Hang on, and I'll get you started."
After a few seconds, Cortez came out with a power cell. As Shepard took it and ran for the nearest socket, more Reaper troops started dropping in. Legion moved with the Commander, using his two Predator pistols to cover Shepard as he started transferring power into this area of the ship. This process was repeated twice more, Shepard running back and forth, dodging gunfire and Brute tackles. Finally, the cargo bay door opened, and Shepard hurried for the Triton, climbing in and booting it up. He used the Triton's heavy cannon to blow away the four Brutes prowling around, while the others finished off the basic Husks. With the area clear, Shepard walked the mech over to Cortez for a last-minute checkup.
"Shepard," Tali asked, "are you sure about this?"
"We've come too far to stop now" Shepard replied. "The way home is through Leviathan."
"Okay," Cortez announced, "seals check out. Oxygen pressure is nominal. Systems are a go. It's as ready as I can make it."
"Alright, then. Let's go."
"Shepard…" Tali spoke up. "Just…"
"I'll be fine, Tali. I promise."
The Quarian nodded, and Shepard sealed the Triton back up. After checking that systems and comm.-link were working, Shepard walked the Triton up to the edge, and jumped in.
-Break-
After a lengthy descent, Shepard finally hit the seafloor, 3.08 kilometers down. A quick check discovered that his comm. was being jammed. A flare was automatically launched from the Triton's right arm. Other than the flare and the mech's lights, there appeared to be a source of light deep in the caverns up ahead, in addition to a few bioluminescent jellyfish.
"Not sure if you can read me up there" he reported. "Looks like I've finished the major descent. Can't see much from here. Suit is… holding up. Emergency systems have come online. Life-support operational. Shutting down all non-critical systems to preserve power."
The Triton slowly made its way forward and down, gradually gaining distance and depth as it sporadically deposited flares to mark and illuminate its trail. At 3120 meters down, he came across a circular opening; the probe's readings were coming from down there. Steeling himself, Shepard made the jump, and made a lengthy drop that deposited him in a huge underground cavern with a sizable amount of light coming from below. Slowly he moved the Triton forward, passing by the probe that the Normandy II had launched. As he moved up toward a peninsular ledge, a mass of bubbles suddenly floated up from below the edge ahead, followed by…
"My God…"
The creature was enormous – a few hundred meters in size, with fins and spikes framing its grayish-black armored hide. Glowing light-blue eyes appraised him, as massive tentacles wavered below. It looked like a (comparatively) small organic Reaper.
"YOU HAVE COME TOO FAR."
"…I had to find you."
"THIS IS NOT YOUR DOMAIN. YOU HAVE BREACHED THE DARKNESS."
"You killed a Reaper. I need to know why."
"THEY ARE THE ENEMY – ONE THAT SEEKS OUR EXTERMINATION."
"But… I thought you were a Reaper."
"THEY ARE ONLY ECHOES. WE EXISTED LONG BEFORE."
"Then what are you?"
"SOMETHING MORE…"
Suddenly, Shepard was no longer in his Triton staring up at a giant ancient lifeform. He was standing in a dark void, the water beneath him acting as if solid ground. He was on his hands and knees, trying to regain his sense of balance, and of self.
"YOUR MIND BELONGS TO ME."
Shepard got to his feet, and found Ann Bryson standing right in front of him, staring at him with pure-black eyes.
"YOUR MEMORIES GIVE VOICE TO OUR WORDS" 'Ann' spoke. "YOUR NATURE WILL BE REVEALED TO US. ACCEPT THIS."
"The galaxy's at war with the Reapers. You defeated one. Why aren't you fighting back?"
"THERE IS NO WAR. THERE IS ONLY THE HARVEST."
"Then help us stop it."
"NONE HAVE POSSESSED THE STRENGTH IN PAST CYCLES." As 'Ann' vanished, an image of Derek Hadley appeared in her place. "YOUR OWN SPECIES COULD BE DESTROYED WITH A SINGLE THOUGHT." In an instant, the figure changed to the man who'd called himself Garneau. "BUT YOU ARE DIFFERENT. I HAVE WITNESSED YOUR ACTIONS IN THIS CYCLE: THE DESTRUCTION OF SOVEREIGN, THE FALL OF THE COLLECTORS… THE REAPERS PERCEIVE YOU AS A THREAT. AND I MUST UNDERSTAND WHY."
There was a 'flash', and Shepard was back in the Triton. A few seconds later, he 'returned' to the dark void.
"BEFORE THE CYCLES," the Hadley-form Leviathan said, "OUR KIND WAS THE APEX OF LIFE IN THE GALAXY. THE LESSER SPECIES WERE IN OUR THRALL, SERVING OUR NEEDS. WE GREW MORE POWERFUL, AND THEY WERE CARED FOR. BUT WE COULD NOT PROTECT THEM FROM THEMSELVES. OVER TIME, THEY BUILT MACHINES THAT THEN DESTROYED THEM. TRIBUTE DOES NOT FLOW FROM A DEAD RACE.
"TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM" it continued, periodically switching between its three human images, "WE CREATED A SYNTHETIC INTELLIGENCE WITH THE MANDATE TO PRESERVE LIFE AT ANY COST. AS THE INTELLIGENCE EVOLVED, IT STUDIED THE DEVELOPMENT OF CIVILIZATIONS. ITS UNDERSTANDING GREW UNTIL IT FOUND A SOLUTION.
"…IN THAT INSTANT, IT BETRAYED US. IT CHOSE OUR KIND AS THE FIRST HARVEST. FROM OUR ESSENCE, THE FIRST REAPER – KNOWN TO YOU AS HARBINGER – WAS FORGED."
"…Tell me about the Reapers."
"EACH HARVEST ENDS WITH THE BIRTH OF AT LEAST ONE REAPER. PERFECT IN ITS DESIGN, EACH FORMED IN HARBINGER'S IMAGE – OUR IMAGE. EACH REAPER HAS THE POWER TO INFLUENCE ORGANICS. OVER COUNTLESS CYCLES, THIS ABILITY WAS REFINED, PERFECTED, AND GAVE RISE TO 'INDOCTRINATION'."
"But what's the point of all these harvests?"
"THE INTELLIGENCE HAS ONE PURPOSE: PRESERVATION OF LIFE. THAT PURPOSE HAS NOT BEEN FULFILLED. IT DIRECTED THE REAPERS TO CREATE THE MASS RELAYS, TO SPEED THE TIME BETWEEN CYCLES FOR GREATEST EFFICIENCY. THE GALAXY ITSELF BECAME ITS EXPERIMENT, EVOLUTION ITS TOOL."
"Will it ever end?"
"I DO NOT KNOW. UNTIL THE INTELLIGENCE FINDS WHAT IT IS LOOKING FOR, THE HARVEST WILL CONTINUE."
"How did you remain hidden all this time?"
"OUR EXTERMINATION WAS NOT COMPLETE. SOME SURVIVED AND FOUND REFUGE IN THE DARK CORNERS OF THE GALAXY. I AM THEIR PROGENY. OVER THE CYCLES, THE THRALL RACES WERE CONTROLLED, REMOVING TRACES OF OUR EXISTENCE AS WE DIRECTED THEM TO. IN THIS WAY, OUR SURVIVAL WAS KEPT SECRET FROM THE REAPERS. TODAY, WE REACH OUT THROUGH THE FRAGMENTS AND WATCH FOR DISCOVERY."
"Fragments? You mean the artifacts we've found?"
"THEY PROVIDE A WINDOW INTO THE GALAXY – TOOLS FOR EXPLORING THE EVENTS OF THE CYCLE FROM THE SAFETY OF THIS WORLD. THROUGH THEM, WE WATCH, WE STUDY, AND REMAIN IN THE SHADOWS."
"You built that machine despite what you saw the other races experience. Why?"
"YOU CANNOT CONCEIVE OF A GALAXY THAT BENDS TO YOUR WILL. EVERY CREATURE, EVERY NATION, EVERY PLANET WE DISCOVERED BECAME OUR TOOLS. WE WERE ABOVE THE CONCERNS OF LESSER SPECIES. THE INTELLIGENCE WAS ENVISIONED AS SIMPLY ANOTHER TOOL."
"And now we all pay the price for your mistake."
"THERE WAS NO MISTAKE. IT STILL SERVES ITS PURPOSE."
"How did the intelligence defeat you?"
"TO FIND A SOLUTION, IT REQUIRED INFORMATION – PHYSICAL DATA DRAWN FROM ORGANIC LIFE IN THE COSMOS. IT CREATED AN ARMY OF PAWNS THAT SEARCHED THE GALAXY, GATHERING THIS DATA. THERE WAS NO WARNING, NO REASON GIVEN WHEN THEY TURNED AGAINST US. ONLY SLAUGHTER. ONLY THE HARVEST."
"What do you know about the Crucible?"
"…WE HAVE WATCHED ITS CONSTRUCTION BEFORE. IT HAS NEVER BEEN COMPLETED. THOSE WHO HAVE TRIED STILL FELL VICTIM TO THE HARVEST. ITS OUTCOME IS UNKNOWN."
"Okay… So you've made your points. Will you help stop the cycle?"
"I HAVE SEARCHED YOUR MIND. YOU ARE AN ANOMALY… YET THAT IS NOT ENOUGH. THE CYCLE WILL CONTINUE."
"No! You've been watching. You know this cycle is different."
"WE WILL SURVIVE. YOU WILL REMAIN HERE AS A SERVANT OF OUR NEEDS. THE REAPERS WILL HARVEST THE REST."
"If you release me, no one has to be harvested."
"NOTHING WILL CHANGE."
"The Reapers know where you are now! You can't just watch anymore; you have to fight! Even if you survive the battle today, the Reapers won't stop, ever. Release me, and we have a chance to end this once and for all."
After a few seconds, the Leviathan's avatar vanished, leaving Shepard alone in the voice. A short while later, all three avatars appeared at once.
"YOUR CONFIDENCE IS SINGULAR" the lead avatar spoke.
"I've earned it: out there fighting, where you should be."
"IT IS CLEAR WHY THE REAPERS PERCEIVE YOU AS A THREAT. YOUR VICTORIES ARE MORE THAN A PRODUCT OF CHANCE. …WE WILL FIGHT. BUT NOT FOR YOU, OR ANY LESSER RACE. WE WERE THE FIRST, THE APEX RACE. WE WILL SURVIVE. AND THE REAPERS WHO TRESPASS ON THIS WORLD WILL UNDERSTAND OUR POWER. THEY WILL BECOME OUR SLAVES. TODAY… THEY PAY THEIR TRIBUTE IN BLOOD…"
In a 'flash', Shepard was returned to reality, shaking his head as he found himself looking at three full-sized Leviathans. As warnings began to sound from the Triton's computers, he hit the commands to trigger the emergency thrusters. With a rush of power, the thrusters kicked in, rocketing the Triton upward, for the surface.
-Break-
Back on the floating shipwreck, the group turned from their hectic firefight against Reaper ground forces as the Triton emerged from the deep. Shepard opened the hatch and half-fell out, stumbling as he tried to walk across the deck. One of the two nearby Brutes spotted him and started toward him, the other following.
Suddenly, there was a pulse of power, and the nearest Brute's optics changed to a bright white. It swung its heavy claw at the other Brute, and began swinging at it. The other Brute fought back, the two titans wrestling as Tali ran over to Shepard.
"Cortez, what's happening?" she radioed as she helped Shepard walk toward where the Kodiak was setting down.
"I don't know what the Commander did, but the pulse is offline! We need to go!"
Garrus and Legion provided cover fire, gunning down approaching Husks, but most of the cyber-zombies now focused their attention on the Leviathan-controlled Brute. Everyone piled onto the shuttle, and it took off, heading skyward.
"Damn it! That Reaper's inbound!"
The Reaper Dreadnought was right in the ascending Kodiak's path, its main weapon glowing red as it charged. Suddenly, the powerful pulse from earlier shot out. The Kodiak was completely unaffected, but the Reaper's core consciousness was instantly erased, all systems shutting down. The now-lifeless 2-kilometer construct plummeted into the raging ocean, as the Kodiak soared upward.
"Shepard, wake up!"
Shepard finally came to with a jump, coughing as he unsteadily sat up.
"Are you alright…?" Tali asked.
"Yeah" Shepard replied in a rough voice as he got up and took a seat nearby. "Yeah, I'm fine. Hell of a headache."
"Keelah, don't do that to me! …What happened down there?"
"We found it. It's real… and a lot more than we ever imagined."
"So was it worth almost dying for?" Cortez asked.
"I don't know, but we proved it can't hide anymore… that it's a part of this war, just like us. And it's going to help fight."
"Sounds like a hell of a story, Shepard" Garrus said.
"Yeah. One for the history books."
-SCENE BREAK-
Normandy II, Deck Two, QEC Room
"Commander," Hackett said, "I've finished reading your report."
"The Alliance wanted more intelligence on the Reapers. I'd say we got it."
"Our people will be studying it for years to come. They're already calling it the Leviathan Codex. It rewrites galactic history as we know it."
"Whatever else it means, it tells me the Reapers had a beginning… and maybe now we'll give them an end."
"That's one way to look at it. I guess it's the only way. …Our fleets will be ready to attack Cerberus' headquarters tomorrow, Shepard. Got anything planned in the time you have left?"
"We're about to start the end, sir. My crew and I have been through hell, and now it's almost over. So before shit hits the fan, there's only one thing left for us to do:" He grinned. "Party."
"…One last chance to cut loose before we all dive feet-first into Hell, huh? Now that's an idea I can get behind. Enjoy yourselves while you can, Commander. I'll see you tomorrow. Hackett out."
-SCENE BREAK-
The Citadel, Shepard's Apartment
Next Morning
"What a night…" Shepard mumbled. "But look who's here."
"Keelah…" Tali groaned. "I'm going to be so sick…"
"Totally worth it?" Shepard asked as he sat up.
"I'll let you know. …Who put my suit back on? The buckles are all askew. And… when did I get an omni-tattoo?"
"Let's see if anyone else is up."
"I need to sit here for a while… try not to throw up… Ancestors, my head feels like someone's trying to pry it in two…"
Shepard got up and moved around the apartment, finding the various members of the Normandy crew past & present in varying states – Samara meditating by the mini-garden, Jack and Jacob working out in the weight room, James cooking breakfast while Ashley, Kaidan, Samantha, and Mordin hung around, EDI sitting with Joker near the TV that now displayed a huge group photo, Wrex, Zaeed, and Cortez lounging about in the living room, Thane, Miranda, and Liara looking out the window at passing sky-cars, Legion checking the extranet for the morning news, Grunt and Javik nursing hangovers like Tali.
"Where's Eve?" Shepard asked Garrus, who was having some water.
"You didn't see her leave last night?" the Turian replied. "After the group photo, and you helped Tali to bed, she headed out; I'm positive I saw her with Ruin, and I think they were holding hands."
"Ms. T'Lesh is currently back on the Normandy, Shepard" EDI reported. "She is waiting for our return, and she seems to be in an unusually good mood… well, good by her standards, anyway."
"Alright… Today's the big day. I'll give everyone half an hour to get back on their feet, and then pass out the antacids and let's go."
-Break-
Docking Bay D24
(MUSIC: ME3 Citadel OST – "Farewell, and Into the Inevitable")
As Shepard leaned on the railing, looking at the docked Normandy II, Eve came out and silently joined him, and the rest of the current crew soon emerged from behind.
"I guess shore leave's over…" Tali said as she took position beside him.
"At least we threw one hell of a party…" Shepard replied as she leaned against him. "Maybe the last one…"
"…No. No matter what happens, you'll find a way to do what's right… for all of us. …Serving on a human ship? I never would've guessed, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. We've had a good ride."
Shepard chuckled softly. "The best."
And so, the warriors of the Normandy boarded their vessel, ready to set sail for the start of the battle that would decide everything.
-CHAPTER END-
Next Time: The assault on Cerberus HQ. NOTE: I recently finally got my X-Box One, and will probably get The Master Chief Collection before the next chapter is finished, so expect a longer wait than usual.
