Shepard found a journal entry from Kenson when they finished the Project as the seeds of indoctrination started showing in her hesitation to initiate the Project. Unfortunately for Six's plan to try sneaking about, the first door Shepard unlocked had two guards on duty. They were quickly taken out but not before one of them signaled to the rest of the base of their early awakening.

Security must be scrambling to block their approach to the Project's controls. Though there were mechs in the med bay, Six mad sure they wouldn't be a threat by planting charges on the rack to wipe them all out. Seeing the need for stealth has long since past Six decided to detonate the charge now before proceeding to clear their rear before someone tried activating them remotely.

Hopefully this meant that the base would focus on trying to contain the two rather than trying to sabotage the Project. Six's main concern was on Kenson and how fanatical she seemed. Given her intellect, she may even set up a trap for them near the Project controls or something worse.

Six swiftly had Dot tap into their comm frequencies, "Thomas… Maxwell… Report!"

"Shepard is past them. All personnel, get in there!"

When they reached the next large module, the guards made a makeshift barrier using tables as a pair of guards opened fire as soon as the doors opened. Both of their shields were able to hold as they moved into the larger commerce area with shelves providing some cover as another group opened fire.

"Shepard's in the living quarters. Seal off Project Control!"

"Stop Shepard! Now!"

Six moved up to the next set of shelves, covering the right as Shepard cover left. Six was a little worried about the LOKI mechs shelved at the end of the hall, though activating the machines didn't seem like that was their priority. It was almost pitiful how tactically inept the Reaper indoctrination had made them. Regardless of it was something that Six and Shepard could exploit.

Six first tossed a grenade down the hall as Shepard targeted it with an Incinerate tech attack, detonating the grenade next to some of the guards. They swiftly moved up to finish off any stragglers from the blast.

The guard from the improvised barrier fell back before he could be flanked, "Shepard is tearing us apart!"

"Regroup!"

This one had some intelligence. He retreated not to flank, but as an attempt to halt their advance by welded the next door shut. Six put him out of his misery without him ever noticing as more guards entered the kitchen area. "Get in there! Use those flamethrowers!"

A squad of four rushed in, two flamethrowers blazing the air trying to stop their approach. Shepard threw out an Overload mine, disabling the two flamethrowers. Six immediately fired on their tanks to set off their fuel to eliminate them. The other two were just as swiftly eliminated before sweeping the area for anything useful.

Six found another recording, this one from another member of the Project who had growing concerns, "Kenson's acting strange lately. Like she doesn't care about the Project anymore. And I know I'm not the only one having those dreams. The Reapers are coming she says. But I'm not sure if I'm hearing fear or hope in her voice."

Shepard sighed, knowing that this could potentially have been avoided if the Reaper artifact had been secured differently. Six looked back, seeing how Shepard's posture exposed her doubts on the matter. "We can't change what happened here, and I don't think any amount of shielding could be strong enough to prevent this without exposing this base." Of course, saying that sort of thing doesn't always ease the burden of the mind who holds guilt over such matters. Six was mostly numb to the idea and could push most of those concerns to the side.

"Yeah, you're probably right…" Six was worried that Shepard may not realize the scope this war would eventually go. But right now, surviving and postponing the arrival was paramount.

Some of the crew was surprised how 'human' daily life for batarians were, minus the open use of slaves obviously. Even with the military secretly on high alert, it was uncanny for many of the humans. Jorge had seen this back home, the UNSC secretly trying to prepare something only to end up underprepared when the Covenant arrived. In truth Jorge knew that wasn't an accurate assessment to compare, even so none in this galaxy were prepare for the Reaper invasion or the lives that will be lost.

O'Brien was geared up, sniper rifle in hand as he adjusted the scope, "How bad do you think this Reaper invasion is going to be?"

"Covvies only wanted to wipe us out. The Reapers are going to try capturing and converting people." Cortez had been ready, seeing if the shuttle needed any more attention than it already has, "The psychological warfare alone is going to devastate these people. We gotta hope the Covvies here and that orb are creating a big enough fleet to make up the difference with how lax they've been in their defenses."

Jorge huffed, "Even if they do, there's gonna be plenty of fights for the likes of us. If the galaxy was smart, we'd be in high demand. Beyond that this is gonna be a rough war on everyone. Our biggest worry has to be the cold feet from the people who won't understand the scope of the threat immediately."

"The salarians and asari, I assume? Their nature as infiltrators and deal makers won't help them against an enemy like the Reapers. And they might not understand the full scope of the threat until it's too late."

O'Brien leaned back, "Not to mention the races that'll be useless in a fight…"

Cortez looked back, "Come on, if Wrex can get the krogan on our side that'll be a big help for everyone."

Jorge sighed, "For the ground, maybe, but the krogan are completely grounded. They don't have a fleet, no means of transportation without the aid of the other races. And their numbers are limited in comparison to the other races, even if they're more robust individually."

O'Brien sighed, thinking back on some of their Alliance operations, "It was fun, not having to constantly worry about being on the verge of human extinction."

Cortez huffed, "Like they say, back to the grind…"

Shepard and Six cut through two more squads of guards in two more rooms before finally reaching their goal. "Welcome to Project Control."

While Six kept watch of the area, Shepard interacted with the VI, "I want to activate the Project."

The monitor displayed the entire system as a number started to climb until it hit 304942, "Warning: Activating the Project will result in an estimated three hundred and five thousand casualties. Do you wish to continue?"

Shepard knew the batarian colony was big but being given the exact number was going to weigh on her shoulder. Seeing this, Six didn't hesitate and activated the switch. The thrusters outside activated, starting the asteroid's trajectory toward the mass relay. Six looked to Shepard, "If any repercussions come of this, the blame falls on me, not you."

"Hitomi…"

"You're a leader…I'm an assassin. You're more valuable to the public eye than me in the long term…"

The VI interrupted their heart to heart with a station wide alert, "Project activation in progress. Warning: Collision with mass relay is imminent. Begin evacuation procedures."

Even if it was futile, Shepard started an open channel for the colonists to evacuate, "Alert: All colonists living in the Bahak system. This is—"

Unfortunately, Kenson cut the channel, appearing on the monitor, "Shepard! No! do you have any idea what you've done? You leave me no choice, if we can't stop this asteroid, it must be destroyed!"

Six swiftly ended Kenson's call, using the VI to their advantage. "Provide Doctor Kenson's current location."

The monitor displayed a generator, "Doctor Kenson is traveling to the reactor core module."

Kenson smirked as her image returned to the monitor, "An eezo core meltdown should do it. Because of you, everyone on this rock will be obliterated!"

"Not if we get to you first." Six knew Kenson was stalling for a pair of guards to flank them, only to be greeted by a grenade at their feet. From the map data, Dot indicated the door they just opened lead straight to the reactor and Kenson.

It wasn't a long walk to the reactor module, no guards encountered yet. Though the moment they were within range, Kenson yelled at them from inside the reactor chamber behind the safety glass, "Don't try to stop me, Shepard I have to do this."

Shepard hoped there might be some way to reason with her, get her to see what the device has done to her, "I've already activated the Project. We can still escape this rock!"

Kenson turned away, leaning over the railing, "There is no escape. There's no redemption for what you've done." She then pointed at Shepard, "I will die never having seen the Reapers' blessings. And you will just die."

"Damnit Kenson!" Just as before, Six was watching their flanks as another pair of guards tried ambushing them only to meet a swift end. Yet again, they opened a path for Shepard and Six to get into the Kenson.

Six moved to the door they came through as Dot extrapolated, "They were attempting to engage the emergency locks to block our advance."

Meaning the rest of their path could still be open if they moved fast enough. The next door was completely locked down, but the elevator next to it wasn't.

It was a relatively short ride though the VI announced, "Safety protocols disengaged. Core temperature rising." That meant Kenson only recently arrived in the area and the engineer teams finished their sabotage.

Six quickly charged into the room first, surprising the team that sabotage the equipment. Six shoulder checked the first soldier she spotted, breaking his back against a railing as she shifted to bash the helmet of another. Shepard came in behind, disabling the engineer with an Overload tech mine with three shots to the chest.

While Six confirmed her kills, Shepard moved to a nearby terminal, hoping the VI hasn't been tampered with. "How do I stabilize the reactor core?"

Luckily the VI had not been tampered with, yet "All automatic safety protocols have been overridden. To stabilize the reactor core: Manually insert Cooling Rod A from this control station. Manually insert colling rod B from Control Station B. Doing so will stabilize the reactor core." Shepard immediately reinserted the rod, "Cooling Rod A reinserted. Reactor cooling process has begun." The core started to stabilize a bit, but they needed to get to the second cooling rod.

"I need more time. Get in there!" Kenson must be trying to do something directly to the reactor. Given how desperate she sounded things could get nasty quickly.

Shepard and Six moved on, finding another pair of guards trying to make a stand in an open hall. Without hesitation, Six and Shepard quickly took the two down before entering the next elevator that took them back down.

The next door was locked and entering the next room it became clear why. The next room was venting plasma from the core, probably an emergency measures the VI was taking to prevent the meltdown. Shepard accessed the console to shut off the venting, "Plasma venting aborted." Unfortunately, it would not last long, they quickly rushed through the area before the door locked behind them and the venting proceeded once more. "Plasma venting in progress."

With the VI's announcements across the area, it was not hard for the guards to find them. It was just unfortunate that one of them was utilizing a flamethrower and Six's quick sniping of the tank made it more dangerous when the tanks exploded.

Shepard swiftly ended the burning guards suffering before long, though as she did Dot picked up a new transmission from Kenson, "Shepard is in the maintenance area. Go!"

A squad of three was hiding among the pipes and tubes in the area, firing to try and pin them down early on. Unfortunately, the area itself was heavily laid with pipes and railing that hindered their attempts to pin the two down.

Behind them as the doors locked was another guard and a flamethrower user. In a few prior engagements against other foes, Six saw the strategic value of such forces, but here it felt more like they were throwing whoever they had available.

Shepard threw out a drone to start drawing their fire so the two could move and pick them off. That brief moment opened the first three to Six to rapidly get headshots through the back of their helmets. Shepard then overcharged the tanks on the flamethrower causing it to detonate, repeating the results from the prior pair.

As Shepard moved to try on the doors shut on her. Dot picked up a new transmission, "This is Williams. I've got Shepard locked in the maintenance area. Requesting backup."

Looking around the area they spotted a conspicuously placed explosive crate. Not needing to say anything, Shepard and Six carefully moved the crate out of the way so Six could move up and eliminate Williams to proceed.

When she found him, Williams was distracted with something on the console, possibly even in contact with a team already moving to intercept Shepard. He still hadn't noticed Six behind him, quietly getting closer to him and finish him off with her knife. She quickly tossed his limp body aside to access the console to lift the lock.

"Security lock overridden." Six still hates how the VI announces every little change to the system to everyone throughout the facility. At least Dot was intelligent enough not to make such blatant announcements over open channels.

What also wasn't helping was hearing the elevator opening as someone shouted, "Williams! We're too late!" Rather than even acknowledging their existence, or the pounding one of them did against the glass, Six turned invisible while walking away. This was a psychological tactic she picked up from her work wiping out bases and from the Sanghieili she has fought. It also gave Shepard an opening to take them down quickly with her drone assisting.

The two quickly rode the two elevators up before meeting heavy resistance with several crates and boxes used as makeshift barriers and cover. Shepard and Six didn't have much cover entering the area, but then again, they could work with what they had. Shepard immediately dove behind the closes crate for cover, deploying her drone to distract the guard in front so she could focus on the two using the makeshift barrier.

With how the enemy arranged the crates, it was used against them while Six pinned down any reinforcements and picking them off. Six was almost regretting that she left the Widow behind to just shot through the crates to eliminate the guards hiding. Some of the guards wised up and fell back to the barrier to try to focus on Shepard. After finishing the last fool trying to flank, and the motion tracker confirmed no more attempts, Six helped finish off the guards at the barrier with Shepard.

"Reactor temperature approaching critical."

After reinserting the first cooling rod it should have helped the reactor, but they were throwing bodies to counter their prior efforts. The sabotage team rushed out to try their hand to stop them. As tactical as it was for them to try to hold the door, again the fact that one of them had tanks to exploit made the group's formation flimsy.

Perhaps, and this was a stretch for even Six's expectations, they were using these lackluster formations to fight back against the indoctrination to give Shepard and Six an easier time. It'd be a nice fanciful narrative they might be able to excuse how so many Alliance soldiers were taken down like common mercenaries. Or more likely, that Six would believe, they simply have fallen so deep into the indoctrination that their tactical capabilities have diminished that drastically.

After the last defenders fell, Six quickly moved ahead to secure the area leaving the cooling rod to Shepard. "Cooling Rod B reinserted. Reactor meltdown averted. Core temperature dropping."

Kenson soon started yelling over the comms, "You've done nothing, Shepard! I can still override power to the engines! Try to stop me!" They could see her from the viewport, however what she was doing at the reactor terminal was difficult to see with their angle.

Either by design, or some weird fortuitus luck, there was an elevator taking them straight down to ground level. They both quickly rushed forth with weapons at the ready. Shepard already knew Six had little intention of letting Kenson live if she threated the reactor, so she had to step up first, calling out to the doctor, "Step away from the reactor."

Kenson slammed her fists against the console, "You've ruined everything! I can't hear the whispers anymore." Six was starting to wonder if the Reapers can selectively influence a person's mind like an addict desperate for their next dose. Unfortunately, now wasn't the time to analyze an enemy that wasn't in front of her.

Shepard slowly readjusted her position, making sure Six didn't do anything yet, "Turn around. Now!"

"You've taken them away from me. I will never see the Reapers' arrival." Kenson turned around, revealing, and arming a remote detonator in her hand. "All you had to do was stay asleep." Not even waiting Six took the shot, piercing Kenson's heart.

Kenson's defiance however didn't end with her death. Her reflexive reaction clenched her thumb, triggering the detonator, barely giving Shepard or Six time to react before the explosive knocked the two back.

Six had taken much heavier hits before, just the same her main concerns were Shepard and what damage the reactor received. After finally getting up and checking herself, Six moved to examine Shepard. Judging from the armor's condition she hadn't sustained any injuries from the shrapnel. And as much as she might complain about omni-tools dulling certain skills it did have its uses for onsite medical scans in a hurry.

No signs of any internal hemorrhaging. Everything else can be fixed back on the Normandy. With Shepard's condition established Six quickly rushed to the reactor. Everything she could see looked superficial at worse. Perhaps Kenson didn't have time to put the explosives at vulnerable areas. Regardless, the VI wasn't going on about any damage or imminent danger.

"Warning: Collision imminent."

There it was. They must have crossed a threshold where the VI would warn everyone to evacuate before the system's destruction. With some help from Dot, they found that the explosion seemed to have caused a power surge in the reactor which led to the engines propelling them faster than projected, the opposite effect that Kenson wanted. Six took a quick glance at a nearby countdown timer as she noted only a few minutes had passed since Kenson's explosive death.

This was no time to hesitate. They needed out of the system and fast. "Dot, how are comms?"

"Suit systems damaged. Omni-tool system incompatible. Recommend interacting with the console."

While the VI's continuously blaring about their imminent doom Six started her attempt to reach the Normandy. "Joker. EDI. Please respond."

"Communication system damaged."

"Figures."

"Evacuation protocols in effect. All personnel report to escape shuttles."

"Where is the closest evacuation point?"

The VI opened the doors, "Take the lift from this room to the external access. From there, proceed to the communications tower. The remaining escape shuttles will be located on the tower landing pad."

With this alarm suddenly going off there was a high probability that the remaining staff in the facility who weren't stupid enough to fight them were already heading to take every shuttle before we could reach them. Now to wake Shepard up since there was no way Six could carry her and deal with whoever was trying to evacuate. At least they were going to be next to a comm tower. They can call the Normandy even if they can't secure a shuttle for themselves.