Horatio did not have a domicile to retreat to when C-Sec gave the order that all residents should return to their homes immediately. He did, however, have an office. As that office did not boast the structural weakness of a window, he felt content that he would be in compliance with the spirit of the order by remaining in his place of…well, perhaps not employ. The order that all residents should locate and carry their breathing apparatus did not add to Horatio's comfort levels. On the contrary, he felt something that might approximate anxiety. Apprehension.
He resisted the urge to see if he could discreetly poke around in C-Sec's systems to find out what was going on.
Suddenly, the klaxons began to sound, indicating emergency procedures. His telemetry indicated what was happening before the effects reached him: someone, somewhere, had opened the station—or, at least, this part of it—to space.
If he were an organic, he might have screamed, but being geth, the worst that could happen to him was to find himself floating in the void of space. Thankfully, geth installed into mobile platforms were fairly well-equipped for dealing with loss of atmosphere and/or loss of gravity.
The seconds ticked along, leaving Horatio's mind full of awareness that someone, a creature without heart, mind, or conscience, had just murdered everyone on the Presidium. He admired the efficiency; ethically, he deplored the action.
Not until the klaxons fell silent and the lights returned to normal did Horatio venture out of his office. The Embassy was empty, but in a state of incredible disarray, all manner of small and larger furnishings pulled out of position. But no bodies.
That was what struck him most, how clean it all was, how bloodless. For a few long minutes, Horatio simply stood in the empty embassy; he had never seen it so empty. Even at night, there were still diplomatic crews, even if Ambassadors and Councilors and their various aides and staff kept 'normal' hours.
Slowly, cautiously, Horatio exited the Embassy, and stepped out onto the Presidium.
It was the first little sign of hope: scattered skycars, apparently too big to be sucked out of the station…but that hope died when he realized none of the figures in the skycars were moving.
Vacuum, Horatio thought bleakly, and exposure to the ultimate vacuum. Skycars weren't rated for travel through space. He felt small as he considered the fact that he was the only survivor of an attack no one could fight. He had always felt enormous, especially compared with his co-ambassador Tali'Zorah.
If nothing else, geth were creatures of action. It made Horatio feel better to have some semblance of purpose. Part of him wanted to find the perpetrator, to put an end to this organic who didn't deserve the classification because it had no regard for how fragile and rare life was. Part of him was…afraid?
Afraid. Because while it had been jarring to become a singular entity after having been tens of thousands of programs, he had adapted. Now, he was truly alone, a single entity—as far as he knew—the only entity on board the entire station. The isolation was frightening.
It was better to move with purpose. Tali'Zorah served with Capt. Shepard. Capt. Shepard would know what to do, or advise him what he ought to do. Horatio made his way to the C-Sec headquarters, preferring to use their equipment to make contact rather than attempt it via his own hardware.
The sense of isolation was worse in the C-Sec headquarters. Computers still ran. Facilities still ran. Everything waited patiently or impatiently for people who would never come back to finish their tasks.
A surge of something terrible flooded Horatio's circuits, caused him to simply stop where he was. So many people…was this what Shepard felt every time she looked at a casualty report? How did she stand it? How did any organic stand it? This, Horatio thought bleakly, this was why war was so undesirable, why war was something to be avoided. So many dead, so many possibilities cut off, so many stories left un-ended, broken off mid-sentence.
The surge of resolution returned Horatio to motion. "Unit Horatio to SSV Normandy."
"This is EDI," came the immediate reply. "Are you secure?"
"I am secure. I think…I am the only one left. The Citadel has been vented. The organics are…have been rendered nonfunctional." The words cause a sensation which Horatio decided was pain. "I am the only one left," he said again, the immensity of the idea staggering to him.
"The Citadel is being taken to Earth," EDI explained. "The Citadel is the Catalyst."
"Affirmative." Horatio glanced around C-Sec. "There is no significant Reaper presence on the Citadel, yet. Possibly, only the organic who instigated this…atrocity."
"Target is identified as Jack Harper. Image incoming." An image appeared on the console, along with spotty personal information.
"Information received—" Suddenly, a jolt rocked the station and the communications line cut off. Hortatio knew why: the Citadel had just hit the relay and was now speeding towards Earth.
"Shall we isolate and destroy the target?" Horatio asked the empty room. All geth were capable of combat, and a Prime was particularly a combat model. Surely he could destroy the organic responsible. Surely…even though the instigator was organic, surely no one would lament that organic's death. Not after this…
…or would it still matter because it would be an organic killed by a synthetic?
There was no immediate answer, nor did Horatio expect one.
But it knew this: it could not simply stay here and wait forever. And when the Citadel did drop into the Sol System, he would have communication capability again.
The first thing Horatio did was arm himself. The second thing he began to do was to isolate exactly what had been done and where. To his relief, he discovered that although the Presidium had been fully vented, the Wards had not. Those had simply been locked down.