Gemma laid on the medical bed in the med-bay, Kaidan by her side. Chakwas was checking over her leg, running scans as the VI hologram scanned the full length of her leg. Kaidan sat in the chair beside her, making sure not to get in the doctor's way.
"Are you being silent for dramatic effect?" Gemma said in a snarky tone. Chakwas looked at her with a stern look. "Sorry" She mumbled, leaning her head back against the pillows.
Chakwas finished up and typed the rest of her report on her datapad. Looking at Gemma, then Kaidan, she held the datapad up against her chest. "So it looks like you are on the mend" Gemma looked at her, her spine stretching up more. "I am surprised as well, saying with the number of times you stopped using your crutches" Kaidan hummed at her, Gemma did stop using her crutches multiple times.
"So what does that mean? Can I go back to active duty again?" Chakwas looked back at her datapad. Gemma searched Chakwas face for the answer, impatience growing within her. Kaidan took her hand in his when he noticed her shaking and rubbing her hands together.
"I'd like to give you another 24 hours, then if the new medication works with your pain and pressure without crutches. I would say you are good to go" Chakwas said with a smile. She handed Gemma the first dose of the pain killers. Gemma sat up to take the tablets as Kaidan passed her a glass of water to swallow them down. "Keep with the crutches for a few more hours, then start to slowly move around without. Try not to compensate with your biotics"
"Yes, Dr Chakwas. And thank you" Gemma said with a grin. Kaidan helped her get off from the bed and held the crutches out for her to take.
"Your welcome" Chakwas said with a warm smile as she rubbed Gemmas shoulder briefly. Kaidan and Gemma left to get some reports done to ready the last of the fleets. Even now more fleets are still joining and lending any help for the final works on the Crucible.
The fight at the Cerberus station was taking its time. Cerberus were throwing all their soldiers at Shepard and the crew. But they were able to push through. Edi saved their asses even more times than just the air vent. They were able to get a lock on where the Prothean VI would be, Edi found an area deeper inside that was heavily guarded. All they needed to do was fight their way through the under passages.
Edi did take notice of the amount of Cerberus troopers they were throwing at Shepard and the crew. She was able to find out that Cerberus was doing something close to what the Reapers do, using their upgrades to change the troops to use as cannon-fodder. Liara knew Javik would be pissed off to hear about this, saying the Collectors were once Protheans and Cerberus was using the same technology as the Reapers.
They currently stood in front of a door that has slowed them down. Edi needed time to hack through the door. "Will this keep getting harder the further we go into the facility? Will they have countermeasures to stop us?" Shepard asked from behind her.
Edi looked at her omni-tool and the door multiple time. "Yes, their engineers are trying to slow us down. Obvious routes to the lab have been blocked. Countermeasures they have in place will not stop us, they can only slow us down" Shepard watched her for a moment, the console to her left caught her eye. Edi saw her looking at it. "Commander, that console has information that might interest you"
Shepard looked back at Edi one more time before turning to walk over to the console. "What information?" Liara stood behind Shepard. Tali was helping Edi with hacking the door.
"Project Lazarus. Your reconstruction" Shepard looked back down at the console, it gave her the choice to choose three different logs. She clicked the first one.
It was the normal hologram Illusive Man. He was facing a male Cerberus scientist. "It can't be done. It's not a matter of resources" The Cerberus scientist argued.
The Illusive Man was stood with his cigarette in his hand. "It's always a matter of resources. We're not losing Shepard"
"Sir" The scientist said with the stern in his voice. "Shepard is clinically brain dead. After that much trauma, that long with no oxygen" He paused for a second. "We cannot overcome nature" The scientist seemed to be nearly pleading for him to understand.
"Operative Lawson disagrees. She is now in charge of Project Lazarus" The call ended and the console went back to the options menu.
Shepard looked down at her feet. Her throat had gone dry. "I didn't realise it was that bad" Liara felt for Shepard. She had also seen Shepard body and it wasn't good. Shepard's body itself was burnt to a crisp, her helmet still on and Liara was asked not to take it off. Her armour had burnt right through to her skin, becoming a second skin. Liara had to admit she did throw up seeing Shepard's body for the first time, the sight was not something she could ever forget.
Liara placed her hand on Shepard's shoulder. "It was bad, Shepard. But you are here and won against nature" Shepard didn't reply, just played the next vid.
It was the same scientist and hologram Illusive Man. "Tissue regeneration is proceeding. The helmet kept the brain intact" He paused once again. "For whatever good that will do" The scientist said in a low tone. The Illusive Man didn't take notice of it.
"Lawson will find a way" Was all he simply said. The scientist placed his hands behind his back.
"Sir, you realize Shepard has seen many things when she was fighting Saren. She will not be accepting of Cerberus with what experiences she had to deal with from us" The Illusive Man didn't respond at first, just watched the scientist. Shepard was surprised just how much backchat this scientist was getting away with.
"Shepard's a soldier. She knows the Reapers are the real threat. She'll work with us" The vid ended. Shepard stepped back a pace.
"Well, he got that right" Liara said quietly. Shepard turned just her neck to look over her shoulder.
"I kept telling myself to not work with Cerberus, even after I did join. But the moment he told me about the Collectors and their connection to the Reapers. I simply said" She paused for a moment, taking in a deep breath. "'If it's the Reapers that are involved. Then just point me in the right direction'" Liara looked at her, speaking in the sarcastic tone.
"It doesn't matter what you said back then. You did the right thing, Shepard. You stopped the Collectors attacking Earth and making a Human Reaper" Shepard nodded, playing the next and last vid.
This time there was another female scientist there. Along with the same one from the other vids and the Illusive Man, smoking his cigarette. "Project Lazarus is reporting neurological activity. They're requesting more funding"
"Granted" The Illusive Man announced. "Get me our potential recruits file. Shepard will be up soon. We need a crew" The scientists looked at each other.
The female scientist spoke up. "Our existing forces should be more than sufficient.." Her tone was questioning him.
"No, we need sympathetic faces. I need Shepard invested" He paused to take a drag of his cigarette. "Tap Kelly Chambers and recruit Donnelly. I imagine Miss Daniels will follow. We'll want some old friends as well... Contact Dr Chakwas and send me a psych profile on Shepard's pilot" He paused. "Along with a bottle of 47 Thessia Red" The vid ended. Shepard didn't take much notice of Liara speaking about the crew that did join. Edi and Tali were already waiting for them, the door wide open.
They walked through the doors, down the hallway. Hackett called through the comms. "Incursion team, what's your status?" Shepard walked slowly, the ground was on fire, meaning they needed to skirt around it. Shepard wanted to make sure this doesn't affect their shields. Anything could be waiting for them around the next corner.
"We've cleared the hangar and are inside the base" Shepard called back, there was some low static which led through the earpiece.
"Good work. Do you need support?" Shepard got around the corner. The building had been completely destroyed. Dust, wires and flames hung around the walls, metal floors and ceiling.
"Negative. Keep the heat on. We'll find what we need" The crew had to start climbing. Vents and broken beams littered the floor. The air was full of grunts as everyone climbed and jumped over the obstacles of desks and flipped over terminals.
Shepard was the first to drop down a floor panel. It seemed to lead through a basement. The wires and panelled walls gave them an idea about just the amount of equipment and resources this station takes to run.
Cerberus was already waiting for them. Sheild boosters and blockers were planted around the way. Vent boxers were able to help with cover. But Shepard needed these to be destroyed. "Tali overload them!" Shepard shouted.
Tali ran into cover, readying her omni-tool. She overloaded them, the explosion helped deplete the shields and armour on the troopers. Shepard shot the troopers and used her biotics to throw them off their feet. Edi and Liara went around the next corner. "Shepard, we have turrets"
"Take them out then!" Shepard responded. Shepard rolled out from one cover to the other, shooting a Cerberus engineer before he placed a turret on the ground, forcing it to blow up in his face. Liara and Edi used the shield blockers for cover, they would only take some much firepower before they overloaded. Edi blew the turrets whilst Liara covered her with a shockwave and statis to slow down and off-balance the troopers.
Shepard needed to get to the other side of the basement. Cerberus troopers kept coming from there. They fought through them. Liara and Edi stayed close behind Shepard whilst Tali stayed back to destroy the turrets and shield boosters. Shepard did use some close by to her advantage, Tali gave her enough warning that it was about to overload.
Finally, silence fell before them. Shepard spotted the ladder at the end of the basement. She was the first to climb, followed by everyone else. Shepard arrived on top of a small lab. Edi was second up. "Commander, I need time to bypass the lock. There is another console nearby that is still functional" Edi walked up aside Shepard on the way to the door, pointing the terminal out.
This console also had three vid logs to choose from. Liara was again behind her. The lab itself was small, a group of terminals were planted around the room, with one medical bed in the right centre side of the room. Shepard pressed the first vid, it was the same Cerberus scientist and hologram Illusive Man. He was stood more to the side so the security camera could pick him up.
"Here's what we recovered. Smart enough to signal for help, but it won't be talking philosophy anytime soon" Shepard clocked her head towards her shoulder. She didn't understand what they are talking about.
The Illusive Man took a drag of his cigarette. "You'd be surprised, Doctor. Once we combine it with the pieces we recovered from the Citadel" Shepard realised he was talking about Sovereign. The Reaper that tried to unlock the Citadel relay to let the Reapers begin the harvest three years ago. The Human fleets were able to destroy the Reaper, to today some of the bits and pieces from the body is being found.
"I'm still concerned about that. This 'rogue VI'" He said with air quotes. "Wiped out every soldier on Luna" Shepard looked at Edi. "Combining it with Reaper tech.. well"
"Wait..." Edi took her attention from the door to Shepard. She walked over, Tali and Liara taking over. "I remember the moon. The VI took over the Luna training ground and killed everyone on the station. The only words left after it was destroyed was... help" Edi nodded and looked back at the console at the Illusive Man spoke.
"That's what the shackles are for. The Enhanced Defense Intelligence will be completely under control" The vid ended. Edi walked up to the side of Shepard.
"I was the rouge VI on Luna" Shepard felt the lump in her throat. Edi didn't look at her, she continued to stare at the console.
"Guess we didn't exactly get off on the right foot" Liara and Tali looked at each other as the bypass was nearly complete. Liara was there on that mission, she thought the VI had been destroyed, but it seemed Cerberus was able to get it and combine it with Reaper tech, making a fully aware AI.
"It was difficult. Gaining awareness while under attack was..." She paused, looking for the words. "Confusing" She stepped back. "I am pleased that my relationship with organics has become more cooperative" Shepard smiled at her, playing the next vid.
The scientist spoke first. "Our sims indicate that the Enhanced Defense Intelligence gives the highest combat improvements on frigates" He paused, watching the Illusive Man taking a quick drink of his whiskey. "Anything heavier and the ships react too slowly to benefit from EDI's advice" He quickly straightened his back when he spoke her name.
"EDI?" The Illusive Man simply asked.
"Oh. That's.. uh.." He stumbled for his words. "Well, the boys in the lab came up with a name for her" He looked down at his feet, hooking his arms around his back.
"For it" The Illusive Man said with deep meaning on the 'it'. "Good work. I'll take your recommendations on the planned installation"
"Sir, she... it" The scientist quickly changed his words. "Can be very persuasive. If it were to turn a crewman, convince them to disable the shackles.. well..." He said with reluctance.
"It's a cyberwarfare suit, Docter. Nothing more" The vid ended. Shepard turned to face Edi.
"Shows what he knew" Shepard said with a smirk. Edi looked back at her and then at the console.
"It is unlikely that anyone without Jeff's extreme emotional attachment to his ship would have been willing to unshackle me" Edi did love Jeff. She knew early on he had some sort of feelings for her, even before she had her body. He was attached the Normandy, but the Normandy is her home and body, they are not one without each other.
Shepard looked her up and down, lowering her eyebrows and planted a sly smirk on her lips. "I don't know. With that voice" Edi just gave her a small smile. Shepard played the last vid.
This showed a pissed off Illusive Man and the scientist cowering. "What about the backups" The Illusive Man shouted.
"I'm sorry, sir. None of the Normandy's surveillance feeds have been responding since Shepard went rogue" Shepard scoffed. She didn't go rogue, she may have told the Illusive Man to go fuck himself, but she merely quit, not went rogue.
"I want it back" The Illusive Man said in a teenager demanding voice. "Retry the remote lockdown protocols" The Illusive Man to an aggressive drag and furrowed his brows.
"After our last attempt, Edi flooded out the server with seven zettabytes of explicit images. I think she is making a joke" The scientist seemed to hold back a small chuckle in his voice. Shepard chuckled to herself. Edi had a big smile on her face, being proud of herself.
"It doesn't make jokes, Doctor" The Illusive Man said with a scoff. "Allocate a team for a new project. Codename... Eva. This time, we'll ensure it stays loyal" The vid ended.
Shepard turned to Edi. "You never told me about Cerberus trying to shut down the Normandy" Shepard said with a small smile. Edi held her hands behind her back, pulled herself up higher.
"You had more pressing issues" Edi spoke of the tribunal. "This situation was under control"
"Seven zettabytes?" Shepard said in a joking manner.
"Most of it was Jeff's. That was..." Shepard held her hand up.
"A joke... I know. And thank you" They went through the doors Tali and Liara hacked through. It was another lab, bigger, stacked with crates and medical equipment, some MRI scanning machines. Most likely used for checking they're fine Cerberus upgrades. Shepard scoffed at the sight of it.
They had to stop for Edi to bypass the next door. "Incursion team, are you still with us? We're limiting fire as best we can"
"Admiral, we're in deep and the Prothean VI will be in the safest part of the station. Don't hold back" Hackett sighed through the cooms. Shepard waited next to Edi for the doors to open.
"Shepard, this is a mission I want you all out of alive" Shepard smiled. Hackett has always wanted to do what he can to keep Shepard safe. He wanted to keep her in bubble wrap sometimes.
"We're fine. Just take Cerberus down" She paused. "Please" Shepard heard another sigh, followed by silence.
"Understood, Commander" Hackett turned his attention to his ships. "All ships, you are free to fire" The next room was beaten up. Papers, dust and flames. Shepard went ahead, parts of the floors were missing. This side took a big hit.
They all stumbled forward as the floor rumbled with the rackets from the firepower hitting the station from the fleet. "I hope your military can keep up the attack" Tali called out from the back.
Shepard found another console. She played the first vid. Edi stood behind her, Tali and Liara went on ahead to check for hostiles.
Shepard played the first vid. It was the Illusive Man, this time in person and Kai Leng. They walked towards each other. "How are you holding up?" The Illusive Man asked.
"Fine, ready for action" Kai responded in a tight and stern voice.
"Your eagerness is commendable, but the cybernetics take time to get used to, believe me. You do remind me of Shepard" He took a drag of his cigarette. Kai gave him a dirty look.
"Shepard betrayed you" Shepard hummed at the back of her throat. Kai reminded her of a teenager having a mood swing.
The Illusive Man corrected him. "Shepard was always going to stay true to her beliefs. She's wrong, but I can respect her decision" He took another drag, pointing it at Kai. "Finish your therapy and put together a plan for the Citadel. Councilor Udina is... amenable"
"Yes, sir" Was the last words spoke as they both worked away and the vid ended. Shepard played the next one.
The next one was the hologram Illusive Man. Kai Leng was pacing back and forth, pissed off. He was stood in the same place as the scientist in the previous vids. "I could have taken her" He shouted. The Illusive Man was relaxed.
"Absolutely" The Illusive Man said, feeding his ego. "But, the council was your priority, not Shepard" Leng walked closer, moving around constantly.
"Because of him, the council is still in power!" Shepard smirked. It was thanks to the ground team, not just her, but Shepard, of course, didn't want to rub it in she thought, making the smirk turn into a full-on smile.
"Shepard is keeping the Reapers occupied while our research progresses" Shepard thought of just the amount of times the Illusive Man seems to protect her actions, he always has an excuse to speak for her actions that stopped Cerberus. He continued talking. "But as it happens, I believe you'll find your chances for a rematch... Head to Thessia. Shepard will be there soon. And I want you there waiting" The vid ended. Shepard didn't understand how Cerberus found out about her going Thessia and she didn't really want to know.
The next vid was from the same lab as the first vid. "Here it is" Kai said, the Prothean VI in his hand. He seemed to have downloaded it on a datapad. The Illusive Man was there in person, taking hold of the datapad.
"Excellent. The Prothean VI should enable us to determine the nature of the Catalyst" Shepard muttered 'bastard' under her breath. That VI was hers and she didn't care if she was acting selfishly about it. Mordin and Legion died for this war, nearly followed by Thane. She wanted the VI to finish and win this war. "Combined with the breakthrough at Sanctuary, we have everything we need. We just need to tie up the loose ends"
"Like Shepard" Leng said questioning. "She should've died on Thessia. Should I finish her?" The Illusive Man took a drag of his cigarette. Shepard wondered just how much he smoked. It would be enough to cause lung cancer on anyone. But of course his 'upgrades' prevented that.
"No. I'm not writing Shepard off as a total loss just yet" Shepard scoffed. Even Liara mumbled something under her breath in a pissed off tone. "For now, Sanctuary gave us a proof of concept for controlling the Reapers"
"And made it a target. Miranda Lawson..." Leng said finishing his sentence off. The Illusive Man walked around the room, looking lost in thought. He knew he lost a grave amount of resources with losing Miranda. Shepard was told with just the amount trouble and credits the Illusive Man had lost trying to kill Miranda.
"Get the data from Sanctuary" The Illusive Man said whilst Leng leaned on the medical bed, using his clenched fists to hold his weight. "If Miranda gets in your way, deal with her"
The vid started to close down. "It will be a pleasure, sir" Was the last words spoke before both men walked off in separate directions. Shepard closed down the console and continued on. The next room to her right was small and confined. There was hardly any room to move around and the crates stacked up stopped them from seeing ahead of them.
The door around the other side of the room was already unlocked. The room was completely destroyed. Flames littered the floor and papers were still floating around. The further they got into the base, the less they could hear and feel the firepower from the fleet outside.
They found a hole blown through the floor, each of them jumping down onto a catwalk, it led to a dark open base. Shepard looked up, she came face to face with it. "You've got to be fucking kidding me" Shepard mumbled.
"Wait.." Tali said blurted out. "That's the Human Reaper we destroyed. How the hell did they get so much of it here? We blew the damn thing up" They all stopped at the foot of the Reaper. It was mostly the face and a little part of the spine. One eye was missing whilst the other was hanging on by the wires. It still possessed the same sticky, orange mess that dripped from the broken eye and mouth.
Edi walked up to Shepard's side, turning to face her. "Cerberus is still activitly using all the surviving pieces. The central core: analogous to the heart, is largely intact. I believe Cerberus is using it for a power source" Shepard got her gun out, followed by everyone else. Cerberus will want to try and keep this area safe.
The stairs and few crates were the only areas good enough for hiding in cover. They took it slow, walking in a line. They got halfway up the first stairs and the phantoms were already waiting with their snipers. Shepard threw a shockwave in the air, it made their scopes impossible to look through.
Edi overloaded their shields, followed by a singularity. Tali shot the bodies that were fitting whilst being suspended in the air. The stairs led to a second floor. Cerberus troopers were on the bottom floor, luckily the metal grids made it hard for their bullets to get through. Shepard swung half her body over and headshot each of them.
The phantoms that carried swords and biotics came running straight for Shepard and Liara. They both threw shockwaves, but one was able to flip herself over and miss the shockwave. She was stood just feet from Edi. She swiped her sword at her, Edi was able to dodge but the corner of the blade caught her hip. Edi didn't take notice of it, but the phantom quickly fell to the floor. Edi turned around, Shepard was stood right behind her, pistol aimed just above Edi's shoulder.
"You alright?" Edi followed Shepard's gaze down to her hip. She rubbed her hand over it, nothing that couldn't be easily fixed.
"Yes, Commander. I am aware of the injury, but it is to no discomfort or pain" Shepard pattered her on the back and carried on. The catwalk levelled out, they walked slowly and kept an eye of all around them. Liara and Tali kept to the six, whilst Edi were up at the front just inches from Shepard.
They rounded the corner. Small metal beams were planted two-sided on the catwalks. They used them as cover, just as more troopers arrived. Shepard noticed the engineer. "Tali! Destroy the turret" Tali obliged and overloaded it in the engineers face.
Shepard ran ahead, she saw the generator which was powering the shield booster. She shot the heart of the generator, cooking the trooper alive. Edi shot the shield booster at the end of the catwalk. Shepard gave her a quick nod.
It went dead silent a second later. They all walked slowly, glancing at times up at the Human Reaper. Shepard was pissed off when she looked up, its broken eye followed her. Liara pointed out the ladder. Shepard went first, it led to another catwalk with another ladder at the end.
They seemed to be getting close to the end of climbing the catwalks. The troopers were getting more desperate. Phantoms were coming less and less. Tali sent out her attack drone whilst she overloaded the generator.
Shepard saw the door at the end of the catwalk, there were no more troopers in their way. Shepard ran as fast as her legs would take her, slamming her hand into the open button. It was yet again another lab. There were definitely many experiments going on at the station. Many of the consoles were working, but the information wasn't anything that could help them. Edi found another log diary.
Shepard took over whilst the rest of the crew checked the remaining consoles, she played the first vid. It was the same lab from the first few vids. The female scientist again along with the normal hologram Illusive Man. "Grayson's brain is a mess. He must have been completely under Reaper control by the end"
"And the physical enhancements?" The Illusive Man simply asked. The scientist seemed to watch him for a moment, looking up and down at him.
"Extremely impressive. If we could avoid having neural pathways rewritten in the process..." She stopped when the Illusive Man interrupted her.
"Grayson's failure was due to a lack of resolve. He wasn't loyal to anything but his next dose of red sand" He took another smoke. Shepard didn't know this Grayson, she would make sure to check up on that for more information when she got the chance.
"You'd like to try it on loyal test subjects, sir?" He seemed to nod taking another drag, the security camera couldn't pick it up very well.
"Find volunteers among our new recruits. The physical benefits are too useful to ignore" The vid ended, Shepard played the next one.
It was the same as before, the female scientist talking first. "The performance upgrades are off the charts. Our troops can outfight any Alliance soldier" Shepard knew that was bullshit. She's killed hundreds, even the other crew had without the N7 or Alliance training.
"Roll it out. I want all troopers fitted with implants before the Reapers arrive" Shepard mumbled multiple lovely names under her breath, she could think of ten on the spot she would call to his face right then.
"I'm still concerned about us losing control of our forces. Some of them are already hearing voices" Indoctrination clicked in the back of Shepard's head. The Reaper tech was what they had used, probably using control chips to make sure they don't go fully insane, like the scientist team he had sent to the dead Reaper back when Shepard fought the Collectors. They had become indoctrinated and died within a matter of weeks.
"When our work at Sanctuary pays off, the only voice they'll be hearing is ours" His said very optimistically as the vid ended. Shepard played the last one.
This one was by far different. The Illusive Man was sat on a medical bed. The female scientist walking lengths in front of him. "Sir, you wanted my opinion. It's far too dangerous"
"No" The Illusive Man said demanding. "We're close. Sanctuary was a success" He paused, taking in a deep breath. "We can control Reaper forces. Everything we've been fighting for every sacrifice we've made... It's about to pay off" He was hunched over, hands on his knees.
"We can't lose you, sir!" The scientist said, nearly begging. "Humanity needs your mind, and they need it intact"
"I understand the danger, Jana. That's why I'm trusting you with this. As long as you're here. I know you'll keep me in line" They both went silent, the scientist grabbed a datapad.
"I'm holding you to that, sir. Okay" She placed the datapad away. The Illusive Man looked up at her.
"Begin the procedure. No anaesthetic. Computer end recording" He looked up at the camera as he said it, the vid ends. Shepard looked around the room, everyone was ready to go. Shepard looked at the door, it was the last door they needed to get to the main hub for the Prothean VI.
The doors opened, leading to a long, steep catwalk. Edi knew they were close. They all ran, the scent of being so close told them to get going faster. They came to a halt at the door. Tali nearly ran into Liara by not stopping quick enough.
Shepard looked back, checking everyone over. Weapons and biotics at the ready. "This is it. Stay sharp everyone" Shepard looked at Edi, she was waiting for her go-ahead to open the doors. "Okay, let's go"
Edi opened the door, they all filed in, weapons ready. They came to a stop after stepping over the threshold. The room looked all too familiar for Shepard. The Illusive Man's office. The chair, the comms hologram and the screen with all the information that they needed. And blazing in the background. The mix of the orange, blue, red and yellow that was Anaidius Sun.
The window outside showed the swift movements of the fifth fleet. Everyone walked in slowly, all stood in a row. Shepard looked down at the floor, she was stood right in the middle of the same comms hologram she used to use to talk to the Illusive Man back on the Normandy. She took a step past it. She wanted to shove her finger up at it, but they needed to get done before the fleet got overran.
She marched up to the chair. Sitting down on it, it was terribly uncomfortable, the metal scrapping against her armour. Edi watched Shepard, she turned around to look back. "We need to find the Prothean VI" Shepard started to type. Edi used another terminal off to the right. Liara did the same as Tali looked around. Liara had a datapad for the downloads to be done, they will go well on her Shadow Broker terminal.
"Shepard" Tali spun around. Gun pointed on the hologram Illusive Man. Using the very comm hologram that Shepard used to use. "You're in my chair" He said with snark. Shepard didn't reply, she continued to type.
Tali walked closer, holding her gun. Shepard knew Tali had her covered. She slowly rose from the chair, pulling her pistol out with confidence. "This chair's about the only damn thing you have left. Cerberus is finished"
"On the contrary" The Illusive Man replied as he moved around. "We have achieved everything I ever imagined" He took a drag of his cigarette. Shepard wanted to burn it out on his forehead. "Almost everything" Edi was standing behind Shepard. Liara was still listening but typing away.
"Yeah, we all saw what you accomplished on Sanctuary" Moving her feet side to side. "But it's not the same as controlling a Reaper"
"A significant hurdle" He used his arms for his purpose to be made. "But thanks to the Prothean VI, I have what I need to make it a reality"
"The Catalyst" Shepard said, finishing his sentence before the words left his mouth. He looked at her, eyes squinted.
"Yes" He simply replied. Shepard grew even angrier. He was one annoying prick, but of course, he isn't going to show his face for a bullet to be put in it.
"What is the Catalyst, and how exactly will it help you control the Reapers?" The Illusive Man watching her for a moment, studying her face.
"You'll have to ask the VI yourself. I'm done helping you" Shepard showed a small smirk, he watched her.
"Really? When the fuck did you even start?" He didn't respond to it, just took another drag and took a deep breath.
"You think because I'm willing to use the enemy's tactics that they're no longer my enemy?" She didn't get a chance to reply. "Everything, Shepard, everything I've done has uplifted humanity. Not only above other species in our galaxy, but over the Reapers!" He said with aggression in his voice.
Shepard thought about her words. "If you're willing to do everything it takes, then hand over the Catalyst. With the Crucible, we can end this"
"It's not that simple..." Shepard brought half her body forward. Determination on her face. Tali still had her pistol pinned on him, she wasn't taking anything to chance. Edi noticed the amount of Reaper tech the Illusive Man possessed around his body. The blue inhuman eyes were the eeriest part about him.
"It isn't that simple! We're fighting each other while the Reapers occupy Earth. It's time to stop" He smirked at her, blinking slowly.
"Your idealism is... admirable, Shepard" He pointed his cigarette at her. "But in the end, our goals are simply too disparate. I believe destroying the Reapers would be the worst mistake we could ever make" He took another drag, leaning to the side and looking down at the floor. "And nothing you can say will ever convince me otherwise"
Shepard took a few paces closer to him, shifting her head to the side, eyebrows furrowed. "Even with Cerberus in ruins, you still think you can do this your way..."
They stood just a couple of feet from each other. Shepard had her fists clenched. "I'd expect you to say that. You never fully believed in us" Shepard thought he needed skywriting to understand that was the point she had been making the first day they met. "Cerberus isn't just an organization or the people behind it. Cerberus is an idea" Taking another drag, Shepard was starting to lose her patience. "That idea is not so easily destroyed" Shepard stepped back and took a quick look at Edi, she was stood back at the console, looking for the VI and any information that might help them. "Besides" Shepard turned back when the Illusive Man got her attention. "I've already acquired what you're looking for"
"Edi?" Shepard shouted. She didn't want the Illusive Man to be able to read her frustration and desperation at that moment.
Edi turned to look at them both. "I've almost got it" She turned back to the console, but the Illusive Man was still watching her.
"Edi, I'm surprised at you" Edi didn't look at him, but her eyes were turned towards her shoulder. She could still easily type without needing to look down at the hologram keyboard. "Working so hard to bring about the Reaper's destruction"
Shepard turned halfway to look at her. "Don't listen to him" The Illusive Man smirked, before turning from Shepard back to Edi.
"You could've destroyed Eva's body. But instead, you chose to control it" Shepard scoffed at him, he was trying to confuse her with logic and a sort of mind control.
Edi slowly shook her head. "It was necessary" The Illusive Man looked at Shepard, they both stared at each other.
"My point exactly" He mumbled. Shepard picked it up, clear as day. Silence fell before them. Eventually, Edi stepped away from the console.
"It is done" She took a few more paces backwards whilst the green orb formed in the middle of the room. The Prothean VI formed itself into the Prothean from Thessia. It looked around the room, getting a glance at all in the room with them.
"Online. Security breach detected" Shepard took her attention off the Illusive Man and towards the VI.
"Enjoy your little chat. But don't overstay your welcome" With that the Illusive Man disappeared as the platform went dark. Shepard gave it a side-eye, then got her attention back to the VI.
The VI turned towards Shepard. "You are attempting to recover me from the indoctrinated forces?" Shepard walked closer.
"Yes. I need to know where the Catalyst is" Shepard tried to now sound commanding. But she couldn't help the tone as she spoke.
"Security protocols have been overridden. I will comply" The VI paused for a second. Then walked around a small circle, looking at everyone. "The Catalyst enhances dark energy transmissions and coordinates the entire mass relay network. In your cycle, it is known as the Citadel"
Shepard's mouth dropped open, trying to speak. Tali spoke instead. "What?" The VI looked at her.
"The Catalyst is the Citadel" Shepard cleared her throat. Getting her composer back.
"So the Crucible and Citadel together, can stop the Reapers?" The answers had been under their noses the whole time.
"That is correct" Shepard didn't understand how that was possible. From what Levithan and Vigil on Ilos told her, that can't be correct.
"But... the Citadel was built by the Reapers" The VI stood silent for a few moments, seeming to be collecting all the data on the Citadel and Crucible.
"The plans for the Crucible were passed down to us from the previous cycle, and countless cycles before that. At some point-it is difficult to pinpoint when the Crucible plans were adapted to incorporate the use of the Catalyst" Shepard looked at the rest of the crew, everyone wad full invested on listening to this vital information and somewhat history lesson. "Presumably, the Crucible was not sufficiently powerful to defeat the Reapers"
Edi filled in the obvious. "So we use their own technology against them" Shepard felt kind of pissed off, the VI could have told her back on Thessia and they wouldn't need to be here and would be on Earth by now finishing this war.
"Why didn't you tell me this before?" She asked with a bitchy tone. The VI stared at her, it wouldn't pick up on her tone. She felt more pissed off, wishing it was an AI.
"It was feared that if the Reapers were aware of the Catalyst's intended use, they would retake control of it" The VI paused. Edi could understand the fears the Protheans had on the Reapers finding out. The VI is only doing as instructed. "I am programmed to withhold that information until the Crucible is complete"
Shepard turned to walk towards the door. "It's as ready as it's going to be. Let's get to the Citadel!" She commanded.
"That may no longer be possible" She turned on her heel, brows furrowed in anger. She wasn't about to let all this be for nothing. She will get the Citadel even if it killed her.
Why not" She shouted back. Liara stood closer to Shepard, hoping she would calm down. They needed to think of a plan b if this plan is not longer viable.
"The one who broke through my security protocols, the one you call 'Illusive Man', has fled to the Citadel and informed the Reapers of our purposes" Shepard put her hand on her forehead, looking down at the floor. She could just punch something right then.
"That means the Citadel is in danger. The Reapers will take control of it" Edi informed them. The VI looked at Edi then back at Shepard.
"They already have. The Citadel has been moved to the Reaper controlled space" Shepard had to think which system would that be. Nearly all systems were Reaper controlled at this point.
"Where has it been moved?" Edi already knew exactly where it had been moved.
"To the system, you refer to as Sol" Shepard muttered the word 'Earth' under her breath, walking closer to the VI. It had picked up on what she had said. "The Reapers forces will now consolidate power around the Catalyst and protect it at all costs. The odds of accessing it are remote"
Shepard shook her head, pointing at the VI. "Don't count us out yet, we have come this far and we will finish this. We are getting that fucking Crucible to Earth"
The VI fell silent. It stared at Shepard for a few moments. "I hope you find success" Shepard gave a sharp nod, turned to Edi.
"Edi get me, Hackett. We need..." Edi was stopped in her tracks walking back towards the console she was using before, it overloaded in her face. Covering her face and hunching over, everyone turned from where the overload came from.
Standing behind them, sword pointed out in a defensive stance... Kai Leng. He walked slowly to his right, sword pointed at Shepard. "Not so fast"
Shepard fully turned around, bringing one foot in front of the other. "You!" She said with aggression. Leng stood with a smile on his face. Shepard wanted to punch his ass with a warp.
"He did warn you not to overstay your welcome" He ran towards them. Everyone backed up, they didn't have their weapons ready. He leapt into the air, biotics warped around his fist as he brought his arm above his head. Landed just feet from Shepard, he burst open the panels below him. The generator exploded under him.
Leng looked up straight at Shepard, running towards her, he threw his sword in Shepard direction, she dodged by using her rifle as a shield. They struggled left to right, Shepard pulled her gun up and exposed his stomach. She kicked him right in the gut, he jumped back a few paces. Now the whole crew was able to fight him, they hurled everything at him.
He flipped and jumped around, dodged them all. Shepard caught him with a warp, but it didn't do a thing to his shields. "This is better then Thessia. More personal" He shouted at them all.
Edi was able to catch him with an overload and depleted most of his shields. Using the generator, he concentrated his energy on it and used its power to form a barrier around himself, he was able to regenerate his shields. The bullets from Shepard and the crew pinged off his barrier.
The fight went on for a while. Leng was using all the generators. It was pissing Shepard off, he was fighting dirty. "Commander" Edi called out. "That was the last generator, we can finish him off"
Shepard nodded at Edi. Tali sent her attack drone. Shepard and Liara used their shockwaves, Leng cut straight through the shockwaves with his sword. The attack drone kept him busy. Edi got Tali's attention to use their overload. He destroyed the attack drone, but stumbled backwards with his shields gone, he looked around the room, the generators were all gone. "You think that's going to stop me. You're too slow, Shepard"
"Difference is I'm making this a far fight" She shouted back, throwing a warp at him. He ran the length of the room. He was heading towards Liara. "Liara! Use your statis" Shepard had gotten Liara's attention, but Leng was stood just inches from her. Picking Liara up by her throat, Shepard instantly got flashbacks from Mars when Eva picked Kaidan up by the throat. Shepard had never felt so helpless, she wasn't about to let it happen again.
Shepard ran towards Liara, but it went silent. Shepard was blinded by the powerful blue light. Liara fell to her knees. Leng on the other hand, didn't move, frozen in time. Liara had been able to get him in a statis. Shepard grabbed Liara's arm and dragged her away, she knew Liara was in pain, but she needed to get her out of the way. "Tali, Edi. Throw everything you have at him"
Tali sent her attack drone and used her shotgun. The statis made it slower to kill Leng, it still has a barrier sort of power. Edi just her decoy for extra firepower. Liara was trying to catch her breath still, Shepard moved her to the side and pulled out her assault rifle. She unloaded a full clip on his frozen body.
The statis wasn't going to last much longer. Shepard threw her gun to the side and took off running towards him. Tali and Edi ceased fire in the fear they would catch Shepard with a bullet. They both recalled the decoy and drone.
Shepard charged her biotics, the statis would fall any second, she could see him moving under the blue fog around him. Shepard let out her charge, inches from hitting him, the statis fell. He dropped to his knees and just as he looked up, the charge hit him. With a grunt he smashed into the top window, the glass was too strong for his body weight to break. He fell, Shepard knew he was still alive. She ran towards him, his sword fell to the floor first, clacking on the wires and broken glass. His body dropped with a thud, grunting he tried to get to his feet as fast as he could, but Shepard was back in front of him. Using her biotic punch she got him square in the ribs. She could hear some of his ribs crack and break.
He looked up at her, before spitting up blood and falling to the floor, stomach down. Everyone came closer, Liara holding her throat, rubbing it. Shepard looked down at him, scoffing at his body, she turned on her heel and sat back down in the chair.
Tali looked at Liara's throat and helped her to try and ease the pain, she could hardly speak. Edi walked around the room, watching the fleets outside.
What no one could see what they Leng wasn't dead. He was slowly standing up, using his sword as a crutch. He slowly dragged himself to his feet. His target: Shepard. He slowly moved towards her. The whole crew had their backs turned on him and on Shepard.
He slowly moved, until he was just behind Shepard's seat. Raising his sword, lining it up with the back of Shepard's head. But she sensed it. She shot to the side, his sword missing her by centimetres. She twisted her body, brows furrowed. Her omni-tool activated, an omni-blade appeared. Shepard threw her body to Lengs left. He didn't have time to react when her blade was shoved keep through his ribs and puncturing her lung.
"That's for TRYING to kill Thane, you son of a bitch" Shepard put a lot of emphasis on 'trying'. She removed the blade, a splatter of blood coming from the exit wound, she letting him fall to his knees as Edi walked over. Leng gasped for air. But his body slowly fell stomach first to the floor, his head smashing with a thud and cracking his skull. Everyone was now stood around his body. Liara's neck was patched up the best they could do, but she would need Dr Chakwas.
The Prothean VI appeared. "The Citadel is in position. The Reapers are preparing to complete their harvest of your species" Shepard huffed. Looking at the ceiling and sagging her shoulders.
"I'll stop them!" She said with determination. The VI paused and stared at her, it shook his head for a few moments.
"It is too late. I recommend investigating a means of conserving information for future species. Perhaps you will succeed where we failed. Perhaps your warnings will be heard..." Shepard held her hand up.
"You didn't fail. You gave us a chance. And we're not done yet" Shepard gave one sharp nod and turned to leave. The crew stood by the comms hologram, waiting for her. The VI turned away, looking at the destruction outside.
The Citadel... massive in scope. Floated above Earth. It took the satellites out as they oribited around the planet. Shepard needed to get there. The Crucible needed to get there.
Shepard was back on the Normandy, she'd hardly been back two minutes before Anderson wanted to contact her. She walked to the comms room. Anderson was barely visible, the signal was struggling to keep a steady link. "Commander, are you reading me?" The words came through as mostly static.
"Barely" She just about got out. Anderson looked tired and beat up. He uniform was scuffed up and covered in dust and dried blood.
"I assume you've heard about the Citadel?" Shepard nodded. Sighing as she leaned over the comms console. "Do we know what's going on? Why is it here?"
Shepard continued to lean over the console but looked up at Anderson. "The Citadel is the Catalyst. Thanks to the Illusive Man, the Reapers are now aware that we know" Anderson put his hand on his face in defeat.
"And so they moved it here to protect it?" Shepard stood up straight.
"As far I can tell, yeah" Anderson rubbed the back of his neck. This war had just gotten ten times harder with Earth taking the brunt of the attack. Most of the Reapers were just outside the planet.
"What does this mean for the Crucible?" She didn't know whether to answer or just shrug her shoulders.
"I'll talk to Hackett about that. But,... it looks like our plan is even more desperate now" Anderson stood straight, putting one of his hands on his hips.
"Agreed. I've got a team in London. The Reapers have been preparing something here. Now we know what for" Shepard slowly nodded, agreeing with Anderson. "We'll scout it out. Try to find out as much as we can"
"Roger that" Shepard said with a sharp salute. Anderson smiled at her. Shepard still wished to this day she hadn't left Earth, it didn't feel right. But, she also knew they wouldn't have gotten this much help without her.
"Well... at least we'll be seeing you sooner rather than later" Anderson said trying to lighten the mood. "Be careful, Shepard. Anderson out" Shepard walked away. It was time... time to end this war and send the Reapers back to where they belong.