Chapter 26: Ghost Ship

The Illusive Man waited on his feet for Shepard to appear before him. "Shepard, we caught a break. I intercepted a distress signal from a Turian patrol. They stumbled onto a Collector ship just beyond the Korlus system. The Turians were wiped out, but not before they crippled the Collector vessel." TIM sat down in his chair and took in a puff of his cigarette. "I need you to board that ship and get some hard data on the Collectors. Find us a way to their homeworld."

"Hard to imagine how a Turian patrol took out a Collector ship."

"Reports indicate that the hull's intact, but all systems seem to be offline. They could be making repairs as we speak. I'm not saying it won't be dangerous, but we can't let an opportunity like this slip by."

"Alright, send me the coordinates and I'll check it out."

"Already sent. Once you're aboard the ship, establish an uplink with EDI. She'll mine their data for information regarding the Omega 4 relay. Good luck, Shepard."

The link disconnected.

"Coordinates punched in," Joker announced over the PA. "Let's go find us a Collector ship."

"I want Mordin and Miranda on this mission."

"Relaying orders," EDI said.

VVVVVV

After several hours, they found the Collector vessel floating in space. Several heavily damagaed Turian cruisers drifted around the dead ship.

"We have a visual on the Collector ship, Commander," Joker said as the Normandy made its approach.

"Very low emissions," EDI said. "Passive infrared temperatures suggest most systems are offline. Thrusters are cold."

Joker got a better look of the Collector vessel. "That thing is massive! How the hell did the Turians take it out?"

The Normandy closed in on the Collector vessel.

"LADAR scans do not detect any hull breaches on the side facing us. I detect no mass effect field distortions. It appears the drive core is offline."

The Normandy's spotlight turned on and scanned the hull of the ship as it drifted closer to it. The cargo bay doors of the Normandy opened allowing the shuttle to fly out. It flew towards the Collector ship and located an opening for them to enter through. The shuttle landed on the floor. Its door opened up and Shepard and his squad hopped out.

The inside of the ship was unlike anything they have ever seen. The architecture was organic or semi-organic. Mordin made note. "Unusual ship design. Hard to track lines, angles. Disturbing."

Fluids dripped from the cell of what appeared to be beehive combs. Miranda was more blunt about the ship's appearance. "Looks like a giant insect hive."

The moved forward into the dead ship.

"Penetrating scans have detected an access node to uplink with Collector databanks," EDI said. "Shepard. I have compared the ship's EM to known Collector profiles. It is the one you encountered on Horizon."

"Maybe the defense towers softened it for the Turians," Shepard suggested.

"Could find colonists on board," Mordin said. "If they are still alive."

They walked by some empty containers. "These are the same type of containers they used on Horizon," Miranda said observing them. "Only these are empty."

"Horrible," Mordin solemnly said. "Trapped in pods. Completely at the mercy of the Collectors."

The three came across a pile of bodies. The sight made Shepard remember his time as a child. The experiments he was subjected to and the aftermath of the Cerberus betrayal. Dead bodies everywhere, trying to consume the living. And then after slaying them, he and his soldiers would pile the bodies and set them on fire to cleanse them.

"Why would the Collectors leave a pile of bodies lying around?" Miranda asked out loud.

"Test subjects from control group," Mordin answered. "Discarded after experiment was over."

"There are worse things than death," Shepard said. He looked to Miranda. "Like being a test subject to twisted aliens." That last line had more meaning than what he was willing to let on.

"I know you're right, but that doesn't make me feel any better," Miranda said.

They continued inwards. More bodies littered the area ahead. Some mechanical structures jutted out of the wall. It was a slightly welcoming sight compared to the semi-organic substances they saw before. On the far wall, there were several containers with a terminal in the middle of them all. Upon inspection, they found, not humans, but Collectors in these containers.

Shepard approached the terminal and scanned it for data. The lights on one of the containers lit up.

"That's a Collector," Miranda observed. "Were they experimenting on one of their own?"

"EDI, I'm uploading some data from this terminal," Shepard said over the comm. "See what you can figure out what they were up to."

"Data received," she replied. "Analyzing."

Shepard walked over to the lit container and looked at the dead Collector.

"The Collectors were running baseline genetic comparisons between their species and humanity."

"We're they looking for similarities?" Shepard inquired.

"I have no hypothesis on their motivations," she replied. "All I have are the preliminary results. They reveal something remarkable. A quad-strand genetic structure, identical to traces collected from ancient ruins. Only one race is known to have this structure: the Protheans."

Shepard immediately took a step back. Miranda and Mordin were equally shocked at these revelations. "My god! The Protheans didn't vanish. They're just working for the Reapers now."

"These are no longer Protheans, Shepard. Their genes show distinct signs of extensive genetic rewrite. The Reapers have repurposed them to suit their needs."

"The Reapers didn't wipe out the Protheans. They turned them into monsters and enslaved them. Still... They're working for the Reapers now. And we need to stop them."

"They're not going to do to us what they did to the Protheans," Miranda declared.

"Then let's find what we need and get out of here before the Collectors come to salvage this vessel. Move out."

They continued down this walkway of hell. The three saw containers cover the ceiling. "Look," Mordin pointed out. "Up on the ceiling. More holding containers."

"There must be hundreds of them," Miranda said. "How many do you think are full?"

"Too many," Shepard answered.

"I detect no signs of life, Shepard," EDI said. "It is probable that the victims inside died when the ship lost power."

They moved forward down the corridor, eventually going up. This was when Joker chirped in. "Commander. You gotta hear this. On a hunch, I asked EDI to run an analysis on this ship."

"I compared the EM profile against data recorded by the original Normandy two years ago. They are an exact match."

"The same ship dogging me for two years?" Shepard asked. "Way beyond coincidence."

"Something doesn't add up, Commander," Joker said. "Watch your back."

The corridor finally opened up to a gigantic chamber with containers that covered the walls. The chamber went on farther than the eye could see. The three were in awe.

"Fascinating," Mordin gasped.

"They could take every Human in the Terminus system and not have enough to fill these pods," Miranda said.

"Only one conclusion," Mordin announced. "Collectors targeting Earth."

"Not if we stopped them."

"Look there!" Mordin said. "The control terminal."

"Where are the bodies of the Collectors?" Miranda thought out loud. "Careful, Shepard. Something doesn't feel right about this."

Shepard approached the terminal and activated his omni-tool. "EDI. I'm setting up a bridge between you and the Collector ship. See if you can get anything useful from the data banks."

A holographic panel appeared about the terminal. "Data mine in progress, Shepard," EDI announced.

The panel screen suddenly had static appear and showing an alert symbol. A shock and loud boom came from the terminal. Something activated. The pipes around them started to move.

"We're okay, Joker," Shepard said. "What happened?"

"Major power surge," Joker replied. "Everything went dark, but we're back up now."

"I managed to divert the majority of the overload to non-critical systems," EDI explained.

Shepard and his squad heard movement above them. They weren't alone.

"Shepard, it was not a malfunction. This was a trap."

The platform shifted and rose up. The platform spun as it did. "We need a little help here, EDI," Shepard said while his squad and he tried to keep their footing.

"I am having trouble maintaining connection," EDI replied. "There is someone else in the system."

The platform suddenly stopped rising and spinning. This caused Miranda to fall down and Shepard and Mordin to stumble. At the height they were at, they could get a good view of the area. Mordin went over to Miranda and gave her a hand getting to her feet.

The sound of an unknown mechanical device filled the area. A platform appeared from behind a stalagmite and flew towards them.

"Connection reestablished," EDI said. "I need to finish the download before I can override any systems."

"Then you better get it done fast, EDI."

"Commander," Xiltro chirped in after a long period of silence. He communicated to Shepard on a separate frequency. "Let me into the system. I can help EDI get through this process more quickly."

"Good to hear your voice again. You've been quiet a while."

"Well, you didn't really need my help too much, so I spend my time analyzing the data you gathered during your missions." The two platforms approaching their locations clamped down on their platform. "Fuck! Quick, connect me!" Shepard held his omni-tool over the terminal and a spark of green energy came from it. "Okay, I'm in. Hey, EDI. I'm here to help."

"Then you take care of security while I'll finish this download," she said.

"I'm on it."

Shepard and his squad took cover from the barrage of fire from the Collectors on the platform on the right.

"I AM ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL." One of the Collectors glowed bright yellow as the possession took place.

Mordin launched an incinerate blast at the Scion in the distance causing it to stumbled and fall off of the still moving platform. Shepard used a shockwave to rid of the regular drones on the next to them. The three refocused their attention on Harbinger.

"YOUR TIME FOR ASCENSION HAS ARRIVED, ARTICIAN."

Its barriers weakened from the onslaught of smg fire. Harbinger launched a warp ball at their position only to be dodged. Harbinger hopped over their cover and was right next to them. Shepard quickly pulled out Asha and stabbed it in the stomach.

"YOU ARE ONLY DELAYING THE INEVITABLE, TIVEN'VIAN."

The host disintegrated around Shepard's sword. Two more platforms flew in. They suddenly stopped in the air.

"I managed to gain some control over the ship's systems," Xiltro said. "Watch this."

The two platforms slammed into each other causing its occupants to fall.

"What the hell happened?" Miranda said as she watched the vent unfold.

"Like malfunction," Mordin suggested.

"I have completed the download, Commander," EDI said. "Please reconnect me to the terminal."

"You can pick me up as well," Xiltro said on the personal channel.

Shepard walked to the terminal and activated his omni-tool allowing EDI to connect to the terminal and for Xiltro to hop back into his omni-tool.

EDI's hologram appears over the terminal. "I have regained control of the platform, Shepard."

"I knew you wouldn't let us down," Shepard praised.

"I always work at optimal capacity."

"With help," Xiltro remarked in an aside.

The platform started to move. "Did you get what we needed?" Shepard asked over the comm.

"I have found data that could help us successfully navigate the Omega 4 relay. I have also found the Turian distress call that served as the lure for this trap. The Collectors were the source. It is unusual."

The platform landed next to a tunnel entranced and connected to the edge. "It makes sense that the Collectors would send the distress signal as bait."

"No, it's unusual, because Turian emergency channels use secondary encryption. It is present, but corrupted in the message. It is not possible that the Illusive Man would believe that the distress signal was genuine."

"Why are you so sure?"

"I found the anomaly with Cerberus detection protocols. He wrote them."

"He knew it was a trap?" Joker chirped in on the comm. "Why would he send us into a trap?"

Anger went through Shepard when he heard this news. He slammed his fist into his hand and roared, "That son of a bitch sent us right into Collector hands!"

"Foolish to trust Cerberus," Mordin muttered. "Mistake on my part."

"N-No," Miranda said. "T-There has to be another explanation. The Illusive Man wouldn't do this. He... he just wouldn't!"

Shepard walked up to Miranda and said, "You want an explanation? Here it is. You're not an operative. You're not a valuable employee. You are nothing more than an asset. One that will be thrown away when he sees fit. This is nothing more than typical Cerberus behaviour." Shepard glanced at the tunnel. "We don't have time for this."

"Commander, the Collector Ship is starting to power up," Joker said over the line. "You need to get out of there before their weapons come online. I'm not losing another Normandy!"

"I do not have full control of their systems," EDI said. "I will do what I can. Sending coordinates for shuttle extraction."

Shepard and his squad rushed down the tunnel to get out. They reach a fork in the road. "I am opening the doors on the right," EDI said. Right after the doors opened.

The three ran down a slope and entered a small area, where several Collectors came into view. Miranda used slam on one of the Collectors flying in. Its back broke over cover. Mordin used a cryo blast on the Collectors on the left freezing them solid. Shepard fired several headshot rounds from his pistol as they advanced.

They went down another slope to a new area with cover everywhere and a walkway to the left and an overlook on the right. A dozen Collectors flew in as they entered the area. One of them glowed brightly.

"YOUR KIND HAS FOUGHT US BEFORE, BUT WE HAVE GROWN STRONGER, TIVEN'VIAN."

"Take on the drones," Shepard ordered. "Make sure he can't take another host!"

Harbinger launched a warp in their direction. Shepard sliced in half with Asha causing it to dissipate harmlessly. "GIVE UP, ARTICIAN, AND YOU MAY EXPERIENCE ASCENSION."

The number of drones fell around them giving Shepard the chance to move in. One drone flew in only to get punched in the face by Shepard. Shepard pulled out his pistol and fired a couple of rounds in its face. Harbinger launched a warp at close range which caught Shepard in the chest making him fall onto his back. His shields took a heavy hit from that blast. He made a mental note to have this suit upgrade as soon as possible.

Harbinger walked up to him and looked down. "I CONTROL THE POWERS OF THE UNIVERSE, ARTICIAN. YOU MAY NOT BE OF THIS UNIVERSE, BUT YOU WILL FAIL THE SAME." He charged another special ball of biotic energy.

Shepard stabbed Asha right through its stomach and then pulled it upwards splitting its torso in two. Shepard got to his feet. His team jumped down a ledge at the far side of the room into a large open area with littler cover. A Praetorian flew in along with a few Collector drones and Husks.

Shepard sent in a shockwave to destroy the Husks. Mordin used a nerve agent on one of the Collectors freezing it in place. This allowed Miranda to use slam on the other Collector and direct its plummet towards the frozen Collector.

The Praetorian was still incoming. It charged up its particle beams and fired. The squad took cover and waited until its beams died down. They opened fired immediately on the monstrosity. The creature was starting to move up the ramp causing the three to move in the other direction for cover. The Praetorian moved again trapping them on the lower level.

"Thing's damn shields are thick," Miranda groaned as she inserted a new heat sink.

The Praetorian crashed down to the ground and screamed as its barriers went back up. The shockwave pushed Miranda away from her cover. The Praetorian's eyes glowed as it focused on Miranda.

"Miranda, look out!" Shepard yelled. He dashed and pushed her out of the way. The particle beam impacted him and quickly drained away his shields. The particle beam impacted his armour. The power beam managed to break away a part of his armour and hit his skin. Shepard screamed in pain from the attack.

"Commander!" Miranda cried out.

Green energy surged around his body. He recalled the lessons given to him by the Oracle.

VVVVVV

One year ago...

In the abyss...

"Next you shall learn about how to use some of your potential," the Oracle said. "The power that emerges when an Artician's Eli'Demi is harmed or killed. Calling upon this power is risky. If you use it for too long, it can take control over you. You can only use it sparingly."

"How do I call upon it, Oracle?"

"Remember your Eli'Demi. Think about what will happen to her if you fail your mission. If you fail her."

Shepard closed his eyes and let the images flash through his mind. The memories of seeing Tali get her stomach slashed. His teeth grit together. Soon other images flashed through his mind. Images of Tali being taken away by shadowy figures. A growl came from his throat. Of her getting impaled on a Dragon Tooth. Now the image of her Husk formed moving towards him.

Shepard roared as green energy surged around him. The energy slowly started to take form around his body as the demonic form he once took before.

"Do not let it consume you!" the Oracle yelled. "Remember what will happen if she dies, but remember why you are fighting! Remember what matters to you!"

"John!" Tali's voice went through his head. This snapped him out of the trance.

"I-I remember."

VVVVVV

Shepard got to his feet and formed the alpha energy around Asha. The Praetorian was right in front of them. Shepard roared as he swung his sword sending a pillar of Alpha energy right through the Praetorian. The creature split in half from the attack and then disintegrated. Shepard fell to one knee from the exhaustion.

"Commander, what the hell was that?" Miranda yelled.

Shepard struggled to his feet. "I-It doesn't matter. We need to get out of here."

They rush to the doorway on the right which opened in due part to EDI.

"You need to double time it, Commander," Joker reminded. "The Collector ship is almost online! I'd rather leave and not have the Normandy blown in half."

They three rounded the corner and saw a large horde of Husks running towards them. Shepard launched a shockwave to clear the way. They could hear more Husks coming to their location. They ran into the shuttle. Shepard stayed outside to kill any Husks that came at them.

"Shepard, I have no choice, we have to go!" Joker said.

"You heard him!" Shepard roared. "Go, go, go!"

They went inside the shuttle. The pilot flew the shuttle as fast as he could into the cargo bay of the Normandy.

On the bridge Joker activated the Normandy's thrusters and went forwards. The Collector Ship charged its particle beam and fired. Shepard ran towards the bridge and stood right behind Joker's seat.

"Get us out of here, EDI!" Joker demanded.

"Please specify a destination," EDI asked.

"Anywhere, but here!"

"Activating mass effect drives."

The Normandy jumped to a new location, leaving the Collector Ship. The new destination was quiet. Joker let out a sigh of relief. "That was too close."

"Good job, Joker, EDI," Shepard said.

"All part of the job," Joker said with a slight arrogant tone. He looked back and saw the damage on Shepard's armour. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Joker then noticed the blood that dripped from the armour hole. "Commander?" Shepard fell to the ground face first. "Commander! EDI, call Chakwas and Mordin! Shepard is down!"

"Sending message."

VVVVVV

Shepard was rushed into the med-bay and placed on the operating table. Chakwas and Mordin wasted no time in removing his armour. The damage became obvious. A section of his chest, roughly half a foot in diameter, was badly burnt with parts of his flesh torn away. Blood came from the wound.

"Hmm, badly burnt," Mordin observed. "Second and third degree burns."

"I'll get a pack of blood," Chakwas said. "Shepard always keeps a supply of his blood in case of injuries."

"Yes."

Chakwas pulled out the pack of blood from the med-bay storage fridge and hooked it against the wall. She cleaned an area of his arm and inserted the needle.

"Good. We must remove the burnt tissue. Skin grafts likely." Mordin sighed. "May be out of combat for a while."

The two spent the next thirty minutes cleaning Shepard's wound and removing the burnt tissue. His muscle was partially visible after the burnt tissue was removed. Mordin was just starting to scan the wound when green energy formed around the wound.

This cause Mordin's eyes to widen. "Fascinating." He scanned the energy that formed around Shepard's wound. It looked like a green mist with a faint light within it. Mordin scanned the energy. "I have never seen anything like this. Hmm. Energy unknown." Mordin then witnessed Shepard's skin tissue starting to heal over. "Incredible. Must make notes. Must..." He felt a hand on his shoulder.

Chakwas shook her head and said, "It would be in the Commander's best interest that you don't record any of this."

"Don't understand."

"I'm afraid I can't fully explain. But believe me..."

Mordin nodded. "Very well. Expect to know why eventually." He looked at Shepard's vitals and saw that he was stable. "Vitals are stabilized. We should cover his wounds with some bandages."

VVVVVV

Tali was reviewing the engine's output since they escaped the Collector Vessel. "How do your readings look, Gabby?"

"Everything is in the green," Gabby replied. "We didn't take any hits in our escape so I think we can breathe a sigh of relief."

"Uh, Tali?" Joker said over the ship's PA.

"Yes, Joker?"

"You should probably take your break now."

"Why?"

"Shepard... Shepard got hurt on the Collector Ship."

"What?" she yelled. "What happened?"

"Shepard took a particle beam to the chest. He's currently in the med-bay while Chakwas and Mordin try to heal him."

Tali looked to Gabby and Ken and was just about to ask if they had everything.

"Go!" Ken said. "You don't need our permission to be by his side!"

Tali ran as fast as she could to the elevator. The ride up to the third deck was painfully long. As the doors opened she ran around the corner and saw that the windows of the med-bay were tinted. Miranda stood outside of the med-bay.

"What happened?" Tali demanded.

"We ran into a Praetorian during our escape," Miranda answered. "It was about to attack me with its particle beam attack, but Shepard pushed me out of the way and got hit by it instead."

"You got him hurt."

"I didn't mean to, Tali."

"You Cerberus types destroy everything you touch. How much will you destroy before you people are satisfied?"

There was a look of shock on Miranda's face from Tali's outburst. "Tali..."

Tali collected herself and said, "I-I'm sorry."

Miranda placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. I know that you feel strongly for him. Shepard will pull through this. You just watch."

The med-bay doors opened up and Chakwas and Mordin walked out. Miranda and Tali approached them.

"The Commander is a very strong man," Chakwas said. "He's stabilized and will recover shortly. You can go see him now."

Tali hurried into the med-bay to see Shepard lying on the bed. Half of his body was covered by a blanket. The left side of his chest was bandaged up. He was asleep. Tali pulled up a chair and sat down next to him. She grabbed his hand and lovingly caressed it. "John..." she whispered.

Miranda checked his vitals. "His injuries are minor. He lost some blood, but other than that, he'll be fine."

Tali caressed Shepard's face.

"I'm curious," Miranda said. "Please forgive me for prying, but how did you two get together?"

Tali looked at Miranda. "We were friends for years. Eventually our feelings grew beyond that."

"I'm somewhat envious."

This caught her off-guard.

"You found a good person to love in this galaxy. Finding someone like Shepard is rare indeed. Especially the patience. But there is something that concerns me. Back on the Collector ship when we were pinned down by the Praetorian, something happened to Shepard. This green energy surrounded his body and his biotic powers skyrocketed briefly. In your travels, have you ever seen him do such a thing?"

"In desperate times, he has... tapped further into his own abilities," she partially lied.

"Interesting. I'll leave you alone with him. I have to file some reports." Miranda looked at Shepard again. "He'll be up in no time. I know it."

VVVVVV

The door of the med-bay opened up revealing Thane. "Oh, hello, Thane," Tali greeted.

"Hello, Tali. I wanted to come see how Shepard is faring."

"He's okay. We're just waiting for him to wake up."

"After all he's been through, he deserves some rest."

"We can both agree to that. He pushes himself so hard to help others. It is just unfair that this forsaken galaxy doesn't acknowledge that."

"He is called the Saviour of the Citadel."

"And looked what they did to him now. They left him for dead and buried his warnings. You can search the extranet for mentions of Reapers and all you'll find are conspiracy sites either in support of it or against. And the ones that are against the idea of the Reapers always have a picture of Shepard with a caption that says something along the lines of 'Heroic but crazy'."

"Hopefully once this mission is over we will have all the proof we need."

"One way or another, we will," Tali said.

VVVVVV

After the passing of several hours, Tali saw Shepard shift on the bed. He groaned as his eyes opened. Shepard looked to Tali sitting next to him. "Hey, Tali."

Tali hugged him.

"I'm sorry for worrying you."

"It's part of the job of being a galactic saviour," Tali joked. "You're okay now. That's what matters."

Shepard noticed the bandages on his chest. He peaked under them to see no wounds. Shepard removed them. Tali was surprised to see no scarring of his skin.

"Now if I recall, I owe the Illusive Man a piece of my damn mind for risking our entire crew."

"You give him hell, John."

VVVVVV

Shepard's hologram appeared before TIM. "Commander Shepard. It appears that EDI has pulled some useful information from the Collector Ship."

"EDI told us the distress call was a trap!" Shepard yelled at him. "You betrayed us. Just like I knew you would."

"We're at war! The Collectors are taking humans, and every minute we waste is one more we give the enemy to prepare."

"I know the stakes, but we're supposed to be on the same side, and I can't trust you."

"Without that information, we don't reach the Collector homeworld. And you and every other Human may as well be dead. It was a trap... but I was confident in your abilities. And don't forget EDI. The Collectors couldn't have anticipated her."

"You could have told me the plan. You say I'm important and that we're on the same side, but you sure do try hard to get me killed."

"I needed the Collectors to believe they had the upper hand. Telling you could have tipped them off in any number of ways. Besides. I wouldn't have sent you in if I didn't think you could succeed."

"No wink, wink, nudge, nudge? I don't risk people unnecessarily. There's always a way."

"You may not like to be on the receiving end, neither would I. But the facts are with me. As much as we try to avoid them, these decisions need to be made. But more importantly... it paid off. EDI confirmed our suspicions. The Reapers and Collectors use an advance Identify Friend/Foe system that the relays recognize. All we need to do is get our hands on one of those IFFs."

"And you have a plan?"

"Yes. It is still in progress. I will contact you when it comes to fruition. For the meantime, I suggest you tell your crew that I didn't risk their lives unnecessarily. It will make things easier going forward."

"EDI-tell the crew to assemble. We got a lot to talk about."

"Of course, Shepard," EDI chimed in.

VVVVVV

Jacob pushed himself off of the conference table. "So the Illusive Man didn't sell us out. Could have fooled me."

In the comm room was Shepard, Jacob, Mordin and Miranda.

"Lied to us," Mordin stated while pacing back and forth. "Used us. Needed access to Collector databanks. Necessary risks."

"Let's just hope this IFF works," Shepard sighed.

"My analysis is accurate, Shepard," EDI said. "I have also determined the approximate location of the Collector homeworld based on navigational data from their vessel."

A hologram of the Milky Way galaxy appeared before the five in the comm room. The reticle drifted across the hologram until it targeted the center of the galaxy. This surprised them all.

"That can't be right," Miranda said in disbelief.

"EDI doesn't make mistakes," Shepard countered. "The Collector homeworld is in the galactic core."

"Can't be," Jacob argued. "The core is nothing but black holes and exploding suns. There are no habitable planets there."

"Could be an artificial construction," Mordin suggested. "Space station protected by mass effect fields and radiation shields."

"Even the Collectors don't have that technology," Miranda said.

"The Collectors are just servants of our real enemy," Shepard said. "And we all know what their masters are capable of. The Reapers built the mass relays and the Citadel. Who's to say they can't make a space station that's surrounded by black holes. No wonder no one's ever returned from the Omega-4 relay."

"The logical conclusion is that there is a small safety zone that exists on the far side of the relay. A region where ships can survive. Standard relay safety protocols would not allow safe transport. Drift of several thousand kilometers is common and would be fatal in the galactic core. The Reaper IFF must trigger the relay to use more advance, encrypted protocols."

"And for the time being, we are waiting for the Illusive Man to come up with something. Until then, it is business as usual. Crew dismissed."

Miranda and Jacob left the room. Mordin approached Shepard. "Shepard. Since we have some time on our hands, I was hoping to get your help."

"Something wrong?"

"Yes," he replied. "An old assistant of mine has gone missing on the Krogan homeworld. I fear the worse."