Virmire:
Shepard met with Bau in his quarters as he had just called her on her comm saying that the Council wanted to speak to her. Shepard entered the quarters and Bau contacted the council who appeared on holograms.
"Commander Shepard." Tevos greeted
"Bau informed us of what has happened on Mustafar and Pandora." Valren stated
"We failed to capture Saren and he has the second beacon but we know where he's going now." Shepard stated
"Indeed." Sparatus replied "In truth, you probably should have gone to this base first, it was doubtful you would have stopped Saren on Pandora since he had a head start. But hopefully you should find him on Virmire."
"Speaking of which, we have some information on that planet." Valren added "After Bau's report on Mustafar, we sent a small STG team to investigate. They informed us that they did find something big but then we lost contact."
"The information is troubling." Tevos stated "They said that a new faction has taken over Virmire, they were fired upon as soon as they entered the system. It's possibly the same faction you encountered on Mustafar."
"It could be this Cerberus group." Shepard stated "We were informed that they actually control territory but why they would side with Saren, I don't know, Cerberus is a pro human organisation."
"Whoever they are, they may be a threat to both us and the Republic." Sparatus stated "So as well as finding Saren, we need you to try and find any information on this group if you can."
"We'll do what we can." Shepard stated
"Very well." Tevos replied and then the holograms faded.
Bau looked at Shepard "I guess our mission to hunt Saren has uncovered a bigger plot." He suggested
"I fear you may be right." Shepard admitted "I don't like this at all, the beacon gave me a vision of something called the Reapers but it seems there is something else at work. Something that has been operating in the shadows."
"Well hopefully we can find more information on Virmire." Bau stated "We are in luck, I know the STG group they sent, they're the same squad I served in before I joined the Spectres. It seems I'll get to meet my old friend Kirrahe again."
"Who's Kirrahe?" Shepard asked
"He was one of my squadmates when I was in STG. We ran on many missions together before I joined the Spectres, I've recently heard he was promoted to Captain so it will be interesting to meet him again, he may have some information for us when we arrive."
"Any information is useful." Shepard replied
"Indeed." Bau stated "I'll see you later Shepard."
Shepard nodded and left the room, she had another destination, there was someone who she needed to talk to about what she had witnessed back on Pandora.
Shepard soon found who she was looking for; Kaidan Alenko was busy examining his lightsaber hat Ahsoka had given him. He still was getting use to using it as for a long time, he had used a blaster pistol and he still had some work to do.
Kaidan turned as he felt someone approach him; he had gotten better at using the force and turned around to see Shepard "Commander." He greeted "Is everything alright?"
"Everything is fine Kaidan." Shepard replied "It's just, there's something I needed to ask you."
"And what is it?" Kaidan asked
"Well, I know you were expelled from the Jedi Order but you know more about them than anyone else here on the ship along with the force." Shepard stated "But what do you know about Lightsabers?"
"A lightsaber is a symbol of the Jedi." Kaidan replied "Every lightsaber is unique to each Jedi, to be stripped of your lightsaber is a disgrace and shows you've been exiled. Some believe that only the Jedi can wield lightsabers but in truth, anyone can if you know how to wield them. Lightsabers are also powered by Kyber crystals, energy crystals which are sacred to the Jedi. Jedi younglings go on a pilgrimage to the planet Ilum to gain their first lightsaber crystal."
"How long have lightsabers been used?" Shepard asked
"I cannot say because I don't know for sure." Kaidan stated "The Jedi order goes back centuries but was mostly destroyed in a period forgotten and only recently began rebuilding. Why do you ask?"
"Well, on Pandora while Bau, Tali and me were exploring those Prothean ruins, I found this inside the ruins." Shepard replied and held out the lightsaber she had found.
Kaidan gasped when he saw the lightsaber "I have never heard anything about the Protheans using lightsabers. This could mean that the Protheans may have had a Jedi order of their own."
"And check this out." Shepard added and activated the lightsaber "What do you make of this?"
Kaidan was in even more shock "The violet blade of the lightsaber is one of the rarest." She stated "Jedi don't choose their lightsaber blade colours, the force in the Kyber crystal reacts to your force energy when you forge a lightsaber to decide the colour of the blade. In fact, the only Jedi I know who has a violet blade is Jedi Master Mace Windu, one of the highest ranked members of the Jedi Council. As for that crossguard, I have never seen any blade with that, it must have been a design from the Prothean Empire."
"When this is all over, we can find out more about this lightsaber." Shepard stated "I've got this feeling that there is more going on that just Saren."
"You may be right." Kaidan admitted "Ever since Feros and seeing Saren, I've had this feeling within the force that suggests that someone bigger is going on involving Saren, likely involving his backer. I remember stories told in the temple about an ancient group of force users known as the Sith. They were basically the opposite of the Jedi; they used the dark side of the force. Legends say that they built empires of their own that they would rule with an iron fist but in the end, their constant infighting would result in their downfall."
"Do you think this could have something to do with Saren?" Shepard questioned
"It is possible." Kaidan admitted "But I don't know for certain. Maybe some information we find on Virmire could help us. If the Sith have returned then I fear there may be a much bigger war ahead of us. Saren could just be a tool for a bigger player. We need to find out what we can."
"Then let's hope Virmire has the answers we're looking for." Shepard stated
...
A few hours later, the Normandy arrived at its destination. The Sentry Omega Cluster was a cluster of systems between the galactic areas known as the Terminus Systems and the Attitcan Traverse and the Hoc System was one of the systems in the cluster with five planets. While most planets weren't of much interest, the third planet, Virmire was a lush garden world that would have made an ideal colony with oceans and green forests which would have made a great place to live. However, it's position in the galaxy wasn't ideal. The Republic didn't have much control over this region and even through the area in the Terminus systems near Virmire was controlled by Aria T'lok, the Pirate Queen of Omega and a Republic ally, there was no guarantee that would last and so Virmire for now had been left alone by the Republic.
That had been the belief that Virmire was a garden world that no one claimed but it seemed that was no longer the case. Virmire was now surrounded with a fleet of warships, they looked similar to the Republic star destroyers but were still different.
Bau was on the bridge when he saw the fleet "These ships look similar to the ones we saw at Mustafar." He stated
"Then I guess it must be the same group." Shepard stated
"Take a look at that ship." Joker stated looking at one ship in particular, it had the same dagger shaped design but was even bigger at nearly 7 kilometres long and had two massive cannons underneath the hull. "That looks dangerous."
"That's bigger than the Destiny Ascension." Bau stated "Whoever these people are, they have to have a massive population to create ships like that."
"So they're dangerous." Shepard stated
"And there's another problem." Navigator Pressley stated as he entered the bridge "Our scanners have informed us that this fleet has some kind of scouting fighters flying around. If we try and pass this fleet they'll see us."
"So what do we do?" Shepard asked "The Normandy is a scouting craft, we can't go up against all that firepower."
"Well there is an area of Virmire that we can slip through and send the team down in the Mako." Pressley stated "It is quite a distance from the Salarian team through."
"We don't have any other choice." Shepard stated "Get the Normandy into position and get the team down to the Mako. We're dropping in hard."
...
Soon, Shepard got the team down in the Normandy. They would take both the Mako and the shuttle down when Joker was ready. Luke would keep some of the team back while Shepard made their way to the Salarian camp in order to make sure the area was clear. Scans had revealed that between the landing site and the Salarian camp were two outposts which had anti-aircraft guns. They would need to be taken out so Luke could fly the rest of the team in.
The Mako landed quickly and the shuttle landed soon afterwards. Shepard then selected the team to travel with him in the Mako. Shepard needed Tali for her Geth knowledge, Kaidan would come along as well along with Wrex. Bakira was needed for her explosives to blow the AA guns while Bau's sniper stills would come in handy. Liara, Ashley, Garrus as Verbro's squad would remain behind to guard Luke and the shuttle.
"I'll contact you when it's safe to move in." Shepard said to Luke
"Alright Commander, we'll wait here until it is safe to move." Luke responded.
Shepard soon had Pekue drive the Mako to their destination. The place where they had landed was an island so this base had to have been away from the main setup of whoever occupied Virmire. The path was a shallow river which had a few military bases set up with the AA guns that had to be taken out. They soon arrived at the first base which had Geth units waiting but also white armoured troops which they had encountered before on Mustafar. The fight at the first base was tough but soon, they were able to take out the troops and then Tali opened the gates to allow them access further upriver while Bakira set charges on the AA guns. The team returned to the Mako and began driving off and Bakira detonated the charges destroying the guns.
Pekue then drove further along the shallow river where Shepard had to man the cannon in order to take out a few Geth Colossuses and other Geth units. Soon they arrived at the second base and they did the same thing they did at the first. They took out the Geth and Bakira set charges to destroy the AA guns.
When the charges were detonated, Shepard contacted Luke "Luke, the cannons are down, it's safe to move in with the shuttle."
"Alright Commander." Luke responded "We'll see you at the camp."
...
The Mako soon arrived at the camp and Shepard's team left the Mako and made their way towards the main tent. The team Shepard had left with the Shuttle had already arrived and Ashley was talking with the STG commander who Shepard knew was called Kirrahe.
"So what are we suppose to do now?" Ashley asked
"We stay put until we can come up with a suitable plan." Kirrahe stated then he saw Shepard and Bau approach him "Jondum, it's been a long time."
"Too long Kirrahe." Bau smiled as he shook Kirrahe's hand "Let me introduce you to Commander Jane Alice Shepard of the Republic Navy."
"Nice to meet you." Kirrahe stated as he shook Shepard's hand "I'm Captain Kirrahe, third infiltration regiment STG. Well done in taking out those AA guns but I'm afraid that are more ahead at the main base."
"So what's the situation here?" Bau asked
"Not good I'm afraid." Kirrahe replied "This outpost is highly defended not just by Saren's Geth but by these troops who occupy the planet. We don't know who they are but they're well trained. We've already taken losses in several attacks by them. I've had to move camp all the time and we can barely sleep. We need to do this mission fast otherwise we'll be overrun and the Council can't send us any help here, not with that fleet in orbit."
"So what is this place?" Shepard asked
"There is no doubt that this is Saren's facility, we've intercepted some comms referring to him." Kirrahe explained "This is some kind of research outpost but it seems that whoever is backing Saren has developed a major colony here, on the mainland there seems to be a developed colony. As for this research base, it seems he's using to breed an army of Krogan."
Wrex who was nearby walked over having heard everything "Wait, how is that even possible?"
Kirrahe sighed "Apparently, Saren has access to some kind of cloning equipment, possible from his new allies. Whatever he has done, he has been using this equipment to breed an army of Krogan that are immune to the genophage."
"So Saren has developed a cure?" Shepard questioned
"Not exactly." Kirrahe explained "We looked at one of the Krogan that was killed during one of the assaults on our camp. He discovered DNA modification and some kind of chips in their heads. We can't be certain what Saren is doing but whatever he is doing is not good. If Saren has developed a cure then it could put the stability of the galaxy at risk. If this cure gets off this world then the Krogan may become unstoppable, we cannot make the same mistake twice."
That was clearly the wrong thing to say as Wrex didn't seem too happy "We are not a mistake!" he growled before marching off.
Kirrahe watched him leave "Is he going to be a problem?" he asked "We already have enough angry Krogan to deal with."
Shepard sighed "Let me go and talk to him." She said "I'll try and reason with him."
"You do that." Bau stated "I'll see what we can do about assaulting this base."
"We'll speak with my second in command Commander Rentola." Kirrahe stated
Kirrahe and Bau left leaving Shepard alone with Ashley and Kaidan "Looks like things are a bit of a mess." Kaidan stated
"Yeah." Ashley agreed "I wouldn't be so worried if it wasn't for Wrex. I fear he may blow a gasket."
"I'll go try and calm him down." Shepard replied "He may be a bit upset but he's a valuable member of the team. I don't want him risking the mission."
"Good luck Commander." Kaidan stated
Shepard nodded and walked off to speak to Wrex who was shooting his shotgun at the river. Wrex did look very unhappy "This isn't right Shepard." He stated "If there is a cure for the genophage then we can't destroy it."
"I understand that you're upset Wrex." Shepard reasoned "But Saren is the enemy here, I need you to focus on him."
"Really?" Wrex questioned "Saren has created a cure for my people and you want to destroy it. Remember what I told you, my people are slowly dying off, this cure could save my people. The lines between friend and foe are getting a little burly for me."
"This isn't a cure Wrex!" Shepard shouted "It's a weapon and if Saren is allowed to use it, none of us will be around to reap the benefits. You told me yourself that you know what Saren is like, when the Krogan outlive their usefulness, what do you think he will do?"
"He will kill us." Wrex answered "But that is a chance I'm willing to take. This is the fate of my entire people we're talking about." Wrex pulled his shotgun out and Shepard did the same with her Assault rifle. There was a standoff and Shepard saw Bau, Garrus and Ashley pull their own weapons out.
"Wrex listen to me." Shepard shouted "These Krogan aren't you're people, they're slaves of Saren. This breeding program doesn't sound like Saren's breeding these Krogan normally, I've heard Krogan can live for a few hundred years, Saren's hasn't had that much time to develop a Krogan army. From what Kirrahe said, he's created an army of clones brainwashed to do his command. Is that what you want for them?"
Wrex was quite for a few seconds and then he sighed "No, we were tools for the Council who used us to wipe out the Rachni and then neutered us all. And you're right about Saren, he will most likely do the same once we outlive our usefulness. You also recovered my family armour, you've proven to be a true friend to me. All right, I don't like this but I will follow you, just promise me that once we find Saren, we'll take his head."
"We'll get him Wrex." Shepard replied "Now we should prepare for this assault."
...
A little while later, Bau informed Shepard that Kirrahe was ready to speak with her "Thank you for talking down your Krogan friend." He stated "This assault on Saren's base will be difficult enough as it is."
"So do you have a plan?" Shepard asked
"Kind of." Kirrahe replied "Our ship is useless but we can convert the drive core into a twenty-kiloton ordinance. Crude but effective. My team are already in the process of preparing the explosive"
"Nice." Ashley stated "That explosive should be enough to blow this base."
"Unfortunalty this base is too well fortified to drop the bomb from orbit." Kirrahe stated "We'll need to plant it at a precise location."
"So where will we plant it?" Shepard asked
"The bomb will need to be taken to the far side of the base." Kirrahe explained "The shuttle can drop it off but we'll need to disable the remaining AA guns in the base and pacify any ground forces we find."
"Wait!" Kaidan stated "You want us to go in on foot? We don't have enough forces to do that."
"You're right." Bau stated "But we can work around that."
"Bau's right." Kirrahe replied "I'm dividing my forces into three teams and hit the front of the facility. You can take a shadow team in while most of the forces are distracted."
"That is a good plan for your team could get slaughtered." Shepard stated
"My men are tougher than we look." Kirrahe stated "While we Salarians are better known for our espionage, we can still fight but you may be right, I doubt most of my team will live but my men are with me on this mission. They know the dangers of this place and are willing to give their lives to finish the mission. There is one more thing, I'll need one of your team to assist in coordinating the mission."
"I volunteer commander." Kaidan offered.
"Kaidan I don't think that's a good idea." Ashley stated "I've got more experience in front line assaults."
"With all due respect Gunnery Chief, it's not your place to decide." Kaidan stated "Shepard, you need to pick one of us to go with Kirrahe and his team."
Shepard looked at his two teammates, both were skilled but Shepard knew who would be best at fighting in a frontal assault "Ash, you go with Kirrahe and his team but no heroics."
"Aye Commander." Ashley stated "I won't let you down."
"I'll have my team assemble the explosive and have it loaded to the shuttle." Kirrahe stated "Do you have any questions?"
"No questions, let's do this." Shepard replied
"Excellent." Kirrahe stated "If you'll excuse me, I need to prepare my men." He then walked away leaving Shepard behind with Bau, Ashley and Kaidan.
"Well, I guess this is it, the assault on Saren's base." Ashley stated
"This may be our chance to take him out once and for all and end his madness." Bau agreed
"Just don't do anything stupid while you're with Kirrahe Ash." Kaidan warned
"You don't need to worry about me." Ashley stated "It does feel weird going under someone else command. I've been with you since Eden Prime and now serving under someone else, it feels odd."
"I'm sure you'll do find Ash." Shepard stated
"I just hope that I can mend my family's image." Ash stated "Well, good luck to us all."
...
A few hours later, the team was ready. Kirrahe's team had finished assembling the bomb that was now onboard Luke's shuttle. Verbro and his squad mates would remain behind to protect the explosive along with Bakira. Ashley would be going with Kirrahe's team while Shepard would take a back entrance with her group.
Kirrahe can gathered everyone to give a speech to his men "You all know the mission and what is a stake." He spoke loudly "I have come to trust each and every one of you with my life, but I have heard of discontent and I do share your concerns." He then began walking side to side "We are trained for espionage, we would be legends but all the records are sealed. Glory in battle is not our way. Think of our heroes, the Silent Step who defeated a nation with a single shot. Or the Ever Alert who kept armies at bay with hidden facts. These giants don't seem to give us solace here, but they are not all that we are. Before the network, there was the fleet. Before diplomacy, there were soldiers. Our influence stopped the Rachni but before that, we held the line without the Turian military. Our influence stopped the Krogan but before that, we held the line until the Turians came. And today, our influence will stop. In the battle today, we will hold the line!" he threw his fist into the air and the gathered Salarians cheered. Kirrahe smiled at what he had done and he turned around to look at Shepard "Good luck Commander, I hope we meet again."
Shepard nodded "I hope so too." She said and then the teams went their separate ways to assault Saren's base.
...
Shepard's team made their way along the streams that would take them around to the back of the base then Kirrahe called over the comm. "Comm check, do you read me Commander?"
"Loud and clear." Shepard replied
"Good." Kirrahe called "My team will make our way to the AA guns but it might be down to your team to finish them off. Also, if you see any way to undermine the defences, we could defiantly use the help."
"I'll see what I can do." Shepard replied
"Good luck, Kirrahe out." Kirrahe said and ended the call.
The team carried on walking down the streams and could hear Kirrahe ordering his teams around. Garrus was the first to spot something that was important.
"Shepard, antenna ahead," he said "that means we near a communication tower."
"If we can take it down then it will disrupt communication throughout the base." Wrex stated
"Agreed, let's take it out." Shepard replied and the team quickly assaulted the small station. It was a tough fight with both the Geth and the troops but soon the area was clear and Tali shut down the communications.
"Now they can't communicate." Tali stated "That should help Kirrahe."
"Let's carry on further." Shepard stated
The team carried on further ahead and they also took out a satellite relay station for the Geth which would have made it more difficult for the Geth to fight and made it easier for Kirrahe's team. They then arrived at a set of walkways over a deeper part of the river where Ashley contacted them and informed then that some drones had been sent to a refuelling station. Garrus and Bau spotted the refuelling station and Bakira used a powerful rocket launcher to destroyed the fuel pods and create a massive explosion that destroyed the refuelling drones. After taking out more Geth, troopers and Krogan, the team soon arrived at the back entrance where Bau shot the two guards at the door. Garrus then went and was able to take control of the door controls.
"We've got access to base security." Garrus stated "I can disable to alarms on this side of the base. I may even be able to trigger alarms on the other side of the base."
"That will clear his part of the base out for us but it might be too much for Kirrahe's team to handle." Bau stated
"What do you want to do Commander?" Kaidan asked
Shepard thought about it "Just disable the alarms, we can handle what's inside."
"Good, I'm looking forward for this." Wrex grinned
Garrus nodded and he quickly disabled the alarms, this meant that as they cleared out each room, it would prevent anyone from setting the alarms off and sending more enemies to their location. Then they entered the door and were quickly attacked by a large number of Geth and white armoured troopers. The room they had entered had seemed to be some kind of storage room and after taking out the enemy, Liara found a map which showed that they would have to pass through a prison and several laboratories in order to reach the area to shut down the AA guns and allow them to fly the shuttle in to set the nuke up.
Just as they were about to head into the next room, they were suddenly attacked by a group of Salarians. These ones seemed to be crazy and tried to attack them with their hands or with small shards of metal, they seemed feral and they were quickly gunned down.
"Salarians?" Liara questioned
"Kirrahe did mention that some of his force had been captured." Bau stated
"They must have been tortured and became mad." Bakira stated "I've seen people go crazy when tortured."
"Whatever's going on here has to be stopped." Garrus stated
Shepard agreed and they quickly made their way through the base and as they went across a walkway, they heard someone call out. Looking down, Shepard saw a number of glass cages that held prisoners in them. They made their way down the stairs and saw a lone Salarian in one cage and a group of others in another cell. The grouped Salarians looked half dead and they eyes looking around without knowing what was going on.
Shepard approached the cell that had the lone Salarian in who looked relieved "Well you're not a Geth and you're not wearing a lab coat. So I guess you're not with these people."
"Who are these people and who are you?" Shepard asked
"I am Lieutenant Ganto Imness of the Third Infiltration regiment." The Salarian replied "Captured during recon with my team. As for who these guys are, I have no idea only that they're crazy and power hungry. They have to be powerful since they have a powerful fleet here and well trained soldiers."
"I'm Commander Shepard of the Republic and this is Spectre Jondum Bau." Shepard introduced.
"Well I'm glad to see that the Council got our warning." Ganto stated "This base has to be destroyed, not just because of the Krogan breeding but also because of the indoctrination."
"Indoctrination?" Bau questioned
"Yes, this research base is researching indoctrination." Ganto replied "I've watched good people turn into mindless husks, not just my team here but others. Some I heard were rebels fighting this new group on planets they control. The experiments I've seen are horrifying. This group has to be stopped. This base has to be destroyed."
"And we will." Bau stated "I can tell that you're mind is okay." He then unlocked the door "Run as fast as you can, this base will be destroyed."
"I'll try and outrun the blast," Ganto stated "I'm afraid there isn't much you can do for my friends. Good luck to you all."
Ganto then ran and Bau looked at the other Salarians imprisoned in the other cell and he was right, they all looked lifeless "I guess the best thing to do is just leave them." He stated "We can't afford to have them all run at us. Killing them would be a mercy but the explosion will be quick for them."
Shepard nodded and they left to carry on to the next room, they passed through another cell block where they encountered another captive Salarian called Menos Avot but unlike Ganto, he seemed to be suffering from mental issues and ended up slamming himself against the cell door where he cracked his skull. They then carried on up the stairs where they entered what seemed to be a laboratory; this was where the experiments were done. There were a few white armoured guards which were soon taken care off.
The guards were all dead but the room was not cleared as they soon heard a whimper "Wait, please don't shoot."
Bau looked around "Come out where I can see you." He ordered
The owner of the voice complied but what appeared was not what any of them expected, it was a slender white skinned amphibian alien that looked similar to a Salarian only much thinner "Please, you have to believe me, I had no choice." The female alien begged
"Who are you?" Wrex demanded
"My name is Nala Se." The alien said "I'm just one of the assistances here for the equipment."
"What kind of species are you?" Kaidan asked "You're not from the republic."
"I'm a Kaminoan from the planet Kamino." Nala replied "And no, my species are not from this Republic, in fact, my species are pretty much slaves of the Order."
"The what?" Shepard questioned
"The First Order." Nala replied "They're the order that control this place, the one who controls that massive fleet that orbits the planet. The ones who will soon launch a campaign of conquest across the galaxy."
"What do you mean?" Bau demanded
"The man who controls this base, Saren, he's close to finding something that will allow him to take out the Citadel in one go. I don't know what but his boss has been communicating with him." Nala stated
"And what of these experiments?" Shepard demanded "What's this about indoctrination and the Krogan."
"I don't know much about indoctrination but as for the Krogan, I do." Nala replied "Cloning is what my people do, we clone people."
"Wait, you mean you can create clones of people?" Garrus questioned.
"Yes, my people would take contracts from groups to create clones." Nala said "The First Order issued a massive order to create a massive clone army, that's what most of these troops are, they're clones that we grew. At first it seemed regular as the First Order seemed like a normal Warlord organisation in this region of space and they paid well. But eventually, they turned our own clones against us and pretty much annexed our home planet, now we're forced to create this massive army that the First Order will use for their conquest. Saren had me experiment with Krogan DNA to create organic tissue that didn't have this genophage sickness. That DNA was then used to create Krogan Clones who were immune to the genophage. Special inhibitor chips were used to keep them in line."
Saren headbutted her "Those were my people!" he growled "We're not animals you can experiment on!"
"Calm down Wrex." Shepard stated "She had no choice."
"Please, I just want to leave." Nala begged
"I can let you go but you will be coming with us." Bau stated "I'll need you to testify about this First Order, they're a threat to everyone."
"After everything they've done to my people, I will gladly bring them down!" Nala sneered.
Shepard looked at Garrus "Escort her back to the shuttle. We'll take her back to the Citadel to testify."
"Understood." Garrus stated and then he and Nala left. Shepard and the rest then carried on through the base.
The remaining members of the team carried on through the laboratory and saw the remains of Krogan and human clones who had been experimented on. They saw the cloning lab and could see just how fast Krogan could be created, this lab was small so not many Krogan were produced each time but apparently, other cloning labs on Kamino were much bigger and could produce many more clones which was worrying for both Shepard and Bau. Soon they passed over a balcony and entered another building which seemed to be an office and there was an Asari hiding behind a desk.
"Wait, don't shoot." She begged and Shepard realised that this was the same voice she had heard in the data recovered from Pandora. "Please I just want to get out of here before it's too late."
"Let's hear it." Bau stated "Who are you and why are you here?"
"My name is Rana Thanoptis, a neurospecialist. I was hired by Saren do handle work here but this job isn't worth dying over. I've seen the experiments on indoctrination, I was never told about them when I first started but once I was in this job, there was no getting out of it. You think this indoctrination only works on prisoners? Sooner or later, Saren will want to dissect my brain too. I've already seen what happens."
"Isn't this a breeding facility?" Kaidan questioned
"Is not just that, we're studying Sovereign's effect on organic minds." Rana replied "At least that's what I assumed, Saren kept me in the dark about this. I was with him when he recovered a Prothean beacon and had it brought here, this beacon provided important information for him."
"And where is this beacon now?" Shepard demanded
"Saren has it in his private lab just beyond this elevator." Rana replied and went over to the controls and unlocked them "There, now you can take the elevator to his private lab, I don't know for sure what he's doing but it can't be good. I just want to get out of here now while I still can."
"What were you studying?" Bau demanded
"As I said before, we were studying Sovereign." Rana stated "It's Saren's personal ship but there seems to be more to it like it has a mind of its own. Saren's new allies had it secured but gave it to Saren for his plan. It emits some kind of signal that Saren uses to control his followers, ensures that they do what he wants them to do."
"Just like he did with my mother." Liara realized
"I don't know how it does it though." Rana stated "Maybe there is information in Saren's lab. But it's dangerous, if you spend too much time near the ship then it destroys your mind and you stop thinking. My first test subject was the man I replaced and soon enough, I will share that fate. I have to get out of here now."
"But why is Saren studying this?" Kaidan asked "Doesn't he control this Sovereign?"
"The signal comes from the ship and makes us all obey." Rana replied "Saren doesn't control it completely but he has some control over it. Something to do with his new abilities he gained his new boss. I've heard some people refer to him as the Supreme Leader but other than that, nothing."
"Then I guess you're free to go." Shepard stated "And I would run as fast as you can as this place is going to be blown sky high."
"How can I outrun that?" Rana gasped
"Run as fast as you can." Bau suggested and Rana did just that and ran out of the door.
Following that encounter, Shepard and the team went through the door that Rana had unlocked and walked up a set of stairs to an elevator which took them up into the top floor of the building. This was Saren's private lab and at the back, they spotted something.
"Shepard, it's the beacon from Pandora." Liara stated
Shepard carefully approached it as she was cautious to avoid what happened on Eden Prime. This beacon seemed to be intact unlike the Eden Prime one which had been damaged at some point. There seemed to holographic controls at the bottom and Shepard was actually able to read the controls, it must have been because of the Cipher from Feros. Shepard was also able to figure out how to activate the beacon and soon, she activated the beacon. Just like on Eden Prime, the beacon glowed and pulled Shepard into the air and began implanting memories into Shepard's mind but as this beacon was intact, the memories were much clearer and soon, Shepard fell to the ground.
"Are you alright Commander?" Liara asked
"I'm fine." Shepard replied "I have the rest of the vision from the beacons. We can figure out what it means when we get back to the Normandy."
Bau looked back and widened his eyes "Shepard, you need to see this."
Everyone turned to see a large holographic figure appeared in front of them, it looked just like Saren's ship, the one they had seen on Eden Prime which had blasted through a Republic defence fleet with no effort.
"This is not good." Tali stated
"You are not Saren!" a voice growled.
"What is this, some kind of VI interface?" Tali questioned
"Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood!" the thing growled "You have touched my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understand! But you, you seem familiar to me, I just feel something similar with you but that does not matter."
Liara looked concerned "I don't think this is a simple VI."
"There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own." The thing added "I am beyond your comprehension. I am Sovereign."
"Wait, Sovereign is an AI?" Bau gasped
"I think it gets worse." Shepard stated "Remember the Reapers that were mentions, Sovereign isn't just some Reaper ship, it is a Reaper. The Reapers are giant self aware ships."
"More than just that!" Sovereign growled "The Reapers were a label created by the Protheans to give voice to their destruction. Our names are irreverent, we have one simple purpose."
"And what is that purpose?" Tali questioned
"To maintain balance in the galaxy." Sovereign hissed "To keep this galaxy alive and prevent all life from dying out. Purge the galaxy of all those who will destroy it."
"Purge the galaxy." Liara gasped "Then you wiped out the Protheans."
"To purge one species gives rise to a new one." Sovereign growled "This cycle has been repeated numerous times but our last cycle was different. We have a new purpose, the Supreme Leader has convinced me to help him bring order to the galaxy, his powers are unlike anything this galaxy has seen. Soon my brothers will arrive and they shall see the light of this power. I am the vanguard of what's to come and you cannot stop me or the dark." The hologram then faded.
"Just what was that?" Bau stated
"I don't know." Shepard admitted
"You know, after everything I've seen recently, I'm convinced that this First Order has something to do with the ancient enemy of the Jedi, the Sith Order." Kaidan admitted
"The Sith order?" Liara questioned
"The Jedi are the guardians of the Light Side of the force." Kaidan stated "The Sith are the warriors of the dark side. They use negative emotions to fuel their power, often very destructive. They were believed to have been destroyed many years ago but now, it seems there on the rise again."
"And I guess they're using these Reapers." Shepard stated
"If I had to guess, I'd say that this First Order plans to use the Reapers to help in their Conquest of the galaxy." Kaidan stated
"And after what we saw one Reaper do back on Eden Prime, they're a dangerous enemy." Shepard added
"This is going to be hard for the council to believe." Bau admitted
Then Luke's voice came over the radio "Hey Commander, we've got trouble?"
"What's wrong Luke?" Shepard replied
"That ship Sovereign, it's moving." Luke replied "I don't know what you did but it just pulled a turn that would have sheared any of our ships in half. It's coming your way, you need to wrap up things in there and fast."
Liara looked at the remains of the console "Shepard, this console is no longer functioning."
"We're done here anyway." Shepard stated "Let's disable those AA guns then plant the bomb."
The team nodded in agreement and they quickly went back the way they came.
...
After returning to Rana's office, the found the controls to lower a bridge to the next section and they began heading towards the main part of the complex, they passed through the main Krogan breeding labs which were being strongly guarded and they soon found the control tower for the AA guns. After a hard fight, Shepard and he team made their way up the elevator to the main tower where they disabled the guns. Tali smashed the controls to prevent the guns from being reactivated.
With the guns down, Shepard called for Luke to come with the Bomb and soon, the shuttle arrived. Kaidan helped Verbro set the bomb that had been fashioned from the remains of the Salarian ship's drive core and they set it in place.
"Bomb's set." Kaidan said to Shepard
Then Ashley's panicked voice came over the radio "Commander, can you read me?"
"I hear you Ash, what's wrong?" Shepard asked "The nuke is almost read, you need to get to the rendezvous point."
"Negative commander." Ashley called "We're pinned down at the AA tower and we're taking heavy losses."
"Hold on Ash, we're coming to get you." Shepard called and prepared to leave.
"Negative!" Ashley shouted "Just get that nuke set, we'll hold them off as long as..." then the radio went dead.
"Ash?" Shepard called "Ashley, can you hear me."
Kaidan suddenly fell to his knees clutching his heart and groaned "Shepard, I've sensing something dark."
Then a shadow fell over them and they saw the Reaper Sovereign flying right above them and it was huge, over two kilometres long and massive claws that moved around. This was Bau's first time seeing Sovereign since he had not been on Eden Prime and he was shocked at the size. Then something came down from the Reaper and slowly flew towards them.
It was some kind of hovering platform and riding it was a smirking Saren wearing back armour.
"So" he sneered "I see you managed to escape the capture. The Supreme Leader was not too happy about that."
"Who is this Supreme Leader Saren?" Bau demanded pointing a pistol at the Rogue Spectre.
"He is the one to introduced me to this great power." Saren smirked "He has shown me what true power is. Of course I cannot let you disrupt what I have accomplished here, you can't possible understand what's really at stake."
"All I can see is that you've betrayed your oath to the Citadel!" Bau stated "You've betrayed everything you've stood for to bring chaos."
"Chaos?" Saren questioned "The Council and the Republic are the ones that bring Chaos. They would go to war with each other and allow pirates to raid their lands. The First Order on the other hand will usher in a new age for the galaxy. Bring the galaxy under one rule."
"And kill countless people along the way?" Shepard hissed
"This is how Empires work Shepard." Saren laughed "Many die in wars but then an age of peace begins. The Protheans didn't build their empire peaceful, they probably wiped out whole species and yet we worship them like our gods, remembering all the good things they did. Join us Shepard, after all, it's in your blood."
"What are you talking about?" Shepard demanded
Saren laughed "You've still not figured it out yet?" he questioned "No regular person could have understood the vision from the beacons, normal minds would have been scrambled at the sheer power but you remained fine. It's because of who you are and your bloodline. Did your mother never tell you of your destiny. Surely you must have seen something different."
Shepard was at a loss, she remembered the vision she had recently seen on Pandora, was Saren right, was her mother hiding something from her.
"Don't listen to him Shepard!" Kaidan hissed "He's messing with you."
Saren smirked "Ah, the disgraced Jedi, my master warned me not to underestimate your kind but you're no match for me. After all, I kicked your asses back on Feros."
"You caughed us all by surprise!" Bau added "You won't this time." He fired a shot but Saren just deflected it.
"Face it Bau, compared to me, you have no real power." Saren sneered.
"Then I guess we'll just have to settle this the true Jedi way." Kaidan stated "Shepard, I'm going to need you with your new tool."
Shepard pulled out what she knew Kaidan was talking about "You sure about this?" she asked
"I guess we'll find out." Kaidan admitted and then both he and Shepard activated their lightsabers which shocked everyone who had not seen Shepard's lightsaber.
Saren smirked after a few seconds "At last, a fight that might be worthy of my time." He stated and activated his own red lightsaber which also had a second blade "I guess we'll see what you can really do." He lunged towards the two of them and they started duelling each other. Despite never wielding a lightsaber before, somehow, Shepard seemed to hold her own against Saren.
The rest of Shepard's team stayed back as they were afraid that they could hit Shepard or Kaidan if they fired their weapons.
Shepard and Kaidan attacked Shepard from two separate sides but since Saren's lightsaber had two blades, he could defend himself from two attacked. Saren also knew several tricks including flipping which caused him to kick Kaidan in the face stunning him for a brief moment and Shepard managed to protect him against a strike from Saren.
After a while of duelling Shepard smirked "So I see you two can fight well with a lightsaber." He sneered "But that's only part of this, how can do you two fair against the true power of the darkside." He place his lightsaber into his mechanical arm and used his other arm to throw a powerful blast of lightning at Kaidan who managed to block it with his lightsaber. Shepard charged at Saren but he blocked her blow with his blade. Shepard tried to push hard but Saren pushed back and was channelling his power through both his arms. Kaidan couldn't hold against Saren's lightning and soon the power overloaded and created an explosion which blew Kaidan back against the wall.
"KAIDAN!" Shepard yelled and ran towards her friend who was lying in a heap on the floor having been knocked out cold.
Saren laughed "This is touching." He mocked "I can sense your deep feelings for that boy. You've grown fond of him but guess what, Jedi are never meant to find love. They say love leads to the dark side. You should join us Shepard, together, we can lead this galaxy into a new age."
Shepard slowly stood up and narrowed her eyes "I'll never join you Saren." She reactivated her lightsaber "Now let's carry on where we left off."
Saren smirked "As you wish." He stated and the two of them began fighting each other again. Shepard seemed to do even better at fighting now and was able to block Saren's attacks. Saren was shocked at how skilled she was but smirked, he should have expected this after what his master had told him about her and who she really was.
The two of them soon locked blades "Your actions here prove nothing Shepard!" Saren spat "It doesn't matter what happens. Now I know the location of Conduit and soon, the council will fall. My allies didn't want to make themselves know but since you wiped out most of my Geth in the Armstrong Nebula, my master gave them to me for the attack. Soon we will be unstoppable."
"Not yet Saren!" Shepard hissed and then she forced herself forward which knocked Saren backwards. Then when Saren lunged forward, Shepard dodged sideways and swung her lightsaber upwards and sliced right through Saren's mechanical arm. Saren jumped backwards and groaned while Shepard smirked "Looks like I win."
Saren narrowed her eyes "You may have won this battle but you will lose the war." He thrust his arms out created a powerful shockwave which threw everyone back.
Shepard looked up from where she had been knocked over and watched Saren getting back on his hover board and was flying up towards Sovereign. Then Sovereign flew upwards away from Virmire.
Shepard ran over to Kaidan "Hey, are you alright?"
Kaidan groaned "I'm fine Shepard." He stated as he stood up rubbing his back "Let's finishing setting this bomb."
Shepard nodded and they went back to the bomb and Kaidan with help from Bakira began arming it. As Shepard watched, Joker suddenly called over the comm.
"Hey Commander, something's happened up here?" he called
"Have you been detected?" Shepard questioned worried that they could lose their ride home.
"No but suddenly the majority of the fleet in orbit suddenly just left the system including that massive Dreadnought. I don't know what you did down there but the fleet has left here along with Saren's massive ship."
Bau had heard everything "I don't like this at all. Just what is Saren doing?"
"Most likely heading towards the location of the conduit." Shepard stated "Joker, we're nearly done here, be prepared for a fast exit, we're blowing this base."
"Alright Commander." Joker replied and ended the call.
Then Bakira called "Alright, bomb armed. Now let's get out of here."
They headed back towards the shuttle and Luke was waiting along with Garrus and the Kamonian.
"What about Ashley and Kirrahe?" Liara questioned
"We're going to get them." Shepard stated "No one gets left behind." She then called Ashley "Ash, where are you?"
With Sovereign gone, the comms were cleared and Shepard could get through to Ashley who sounded relieved "Thank God Commander, we're getting pulverized out here. Kirrahe and a few others are the only ones left along with me. We're right outside the AA tower near a balcony."
Shepard looked out of the window and saw the fight "I see you Ash. Hold on, the Bomb's set, we're coming to get you." She looked at her crew "Luke, take the shuttle in as close as you can and then Wrex, Bau and I will lay out covering fire to allow Kirrahe and the others to board. As soon as they're on board, get us out of here."
"Will do Commander" Luke stated and he flew towards a nearby balcony where they could hear a fight going on. Looking out of the widow, Shepard saw Ashley, Kirrahe and a few others fighting against an onslaught of Geth and white armoured troopers. The Shuttle close to the edge so that the team could jump onboard. Luke quickly opened the automatic side door and slowly, the Salarian strike team made their way on board. The trip back to the Normandy would be crowded.
Ashley and Kirrahe were the last ones on board "All right Luke, get us out of here!"
Bakira then gasped in horror "Oh no, no, no, no, Oh no!"
"What's wrong?" Shepard gasped
"I've just lost transmission to the bomb." Bakira shouted "I can't remote detonate the explosive."
"Where's the bomb?" Ashley demanded
"Just down there near the cloning lab." Bakira replied.
Ashley looked at where the bomb was as the shuttle flew over and they could see Geth messing with the bomb. Ashley narrowed her eyes "Give me some cover." She stated
Shepard looked at her "Ash, what are you doing?" she question and then she gasped as Ashley jumped from the shuttle "Ash no!"
Ashley fired her blaster and attacked the Geth messing with the bomb. She looked at the explosive and saw that the transmission beacon for the remote detonator had been destroyed. "Commander, they've destroyed the transmission beacon, we can't remote detonate it. I'll have to detonate this bomb myself. Get out of here Shepard, one of us is not leaving here. Forget about me, just get out, where you're away, I'll detonate this explosive."
"Ashley..." Shepard quietly said "I'm sorry."
"I know." Ashley replied "Maybe this is my fate, I can redeem my family's name. The mission must be complete. Good luck Shepard."
Shepard looked down and looked at the team "Shepard, we'll always remember Ashley for her sacrifice." Kaidan replied
"She'll be remembered for this." Bau added
"Let's go Luke." Shepard stated "Ashley's staying behind to detonate the bomb."
"Aye commander." Luke replied sadly
The shuttle few away leaving Ashley behind as she fired her gun at Geth and troopers as they charged. She waited for the order to come and eventually it did. "Ash, we're away from the base." Shepard called "Do it."
"Aye Commander." Ashley replied "I guess this is goodbye." Ashley smiled as she pulled a lever which released the detonate button and then she gave one last sigh as she closed her eyes and pressed the button. It was sudden and Ashley didn't feel a thing as she was engulfed in a white light and then the explosion.
Shepard and her team watched the explosion which created a massive boom that they could hear it despite being far away from the explosion. They all bowed their heads in respect to their fallen comrade and Luke then quickly headed back to the Normandy.
Chapter End:
Notes: Well this took a while but it's finally done. My University work is finished for this school year giving me more time to focus on my stories. Here I've official named the group as the First Order since that name fits better than the Galactic Empire but again, it will be explained more in the next story. I also brought in Kamino as an occupied planet used to create the massive army and I've also brought in the Dreadnought from the Last Jedi but don't expect so many of them as I don't want the First Order to be overpowered. This Dreadnought is just something so the First Order can go up against the massive Asari Dreadnoughts which are nearly 5 km. I also gave Ashley a more heroic death rather than just being forced to get left behind. Not many chapters left in this story but once this is finished, I'll be taking a break to focus on other stories.