Chapter 41: Come the Dark Night
Things were going so well. I had a day or so to relax and spend time with my crew—squadmates, colleagues and friends all around. A glorious period where I didn't have to shoot, stab or barbeque anyone.
Now things could change. Which was why I went shopping. Weapon mods for submachine guns? Check. Sniper rifle upgrades? Check. Presents for anyone on my ship who carried a pistol, shotgun or assault rifle? Check, check and check. Hardsuit modules? Check. From Kanala Exports to Elkoss Combine Arsenal Supplies, from Kassa Fabrication to Cipritine Armory, from Aegohr Munitions to Batarian State Arms—man, did I go shopping!
Oh it wasn't all for my instruments of bloody death. I bought some new fish for my aquarium. And model ships for my display case. 'Cuz a guy's gotta have his toys.
After putting my newly acquired pets in the aquarium—and hoping they wouldn't eat each other—I turned my attention to the model case. I was just deciding whether I liked the current arrangement when the comm came to life. "Commander," Traynor called out, "you have a priority call from Councillor Tevos."
"Councillor Tevos or the Citadel Council in general?"
"Councillor Tevos. She insisted on speaking to you personally over a secure channel."
Oooohkaaay... that was an unusual request. Usually the Citadel Council talked to me as a group. In fact, I could count on one hand the number of times that I'd talked to a single Councillor. And all our communications were on secure channels, so why would Tevos specifically ask for something that we would do anyway? Unless she didn't know—she was a politician, after all. "Traynor: patch her through. EDI, double-check the encryption."
"Acknowledged."
"Understood."
The holo-screen overlaid itself over my ships. Tevos's face popped up a second later. "Commander Shepard. I trust you are doing well."
"Well enough," I replied. "How can I help you?"
"Actually, I may be able to provide help of my own to you."
"Go on."
"I've received information from my government. It's too sensitive to discuss over the comm, even on a secured channel such as this."
"What about a meeting in person?" I suggested. "I'm already docked at the Citadel."
"Yes, that would be best, Commander. Send me a message before you dock. I'll wait for you in Councillor Udina's office. His former office, I should say."
Interesting.
After changing into my dress uniform, I left the Normandy and returned to the Citadel. I'd just gone through the Embassies a couple days ago, so I quickly noticed the one major difference: the security. There were C-Sec officers—mostly turian—everywhere. All armed, all on high alert. Clearly Councillor Tevos wanted to make damn sure that we weren't disturbed. Which meant this had to be big.
There were two more turian officers outside Udina's former office. One of them raised a hand to stop me. "This is a restricted area," he intoned.
Oh for crying out loud. "Commander Shepard, Office of Special Tactics and Reconnaissance," I snapped. "I'm here to meet Councillor Tevos upon her request."
"Do you have proof of your—"
The other officer rolled his eyes before dragging him aside. "Ignore him," he told me. "Councillor Tevos is expecting you, Commander."
I stepped inside to see tons of C-Sec officers tearing the office apart. All of them turian—did Tevos have a fetish or something? Speaking of which, I spotted her in the middle of the room, holding a datapad and talking to a senior officer. "I want all remaining files secured and marked for Tentron clearance only."
"Yes, Councillor."
That was when Tevos saw me. She dismissed him and turned towards me. "Commander Shepard. Thank you for coming."
"Councillor," I nodded, moving to join her. "Did you find something?"
"The Council has ordered a full review into Donnel Udina's activities," she explained, running a hand nervously over the datapad. "We're still piecing together his coup attempt."
And they just got around to searching his office now? Gotta love bureaucratic efficiency.
"But that isn't why I asked you here." She looked around and lowered her voice slightly. "The situation is growing urgent for my people."
One could argue that the situation had been urgent for everybody. Still, recent intel suggested the Reapers had broken through asari defences and reached Thessia, so maybe one could excuse those remarks. "So I hear," I acknowledged.
"We're aware your Crucible is still missing a key component."
"The Catalyst," I realized. Leaning towards her, I lowered my voice as well. "Do you know something?"
Tevos looked around again, quickly nodded and motioned for me to follow her. "Not exactly," she murmured as we walked. "But there is a… an artifact on our homeworld, Thessia, known only to the highest levels of my government." (1)
We emerged onto a balcony overlooking the Presidium. "What is it?" I asked.
"With any luck, it's a means to help you locate the Catalyst." She looked around for the third time before handing me the datapad she had been holding. "The artifact is kept in a temple located at these coordinates. I've ordered a scientific team to meet you there."
I activated the datapad, quickly glanced at the coordinates and shut it down. "If this artifact is so important, why keep it hidden?"
Tevos leaned on the balcony rail and stared at the skycars buzzing around. "Every species in the Citadel has its secrets, Commander. But this one, in the wrong hands, would upset the balance of galactic power."
Seriously? "The Reapers are doing that right now."
"Which is why I'm bringing this to you."
My eyes narrowed. Maybe this was what I needed—what the galaxy needed—but the timing just smacked of more power plays. "After stonewalling me, calling my character and sanity into question, refusing to back the Alliance's plan to fight this war and forcing me to spend far too much time and effort gathering allies the hard way. Why the sudden cooperation?"
"The Reapers' progress has changed everything," Tevos replied.
In other words, the asari thought this war would blow over quickly and they wouldn't have to lift a finger.
"The matriarchs are growing desperate. For the first time in our history, Thessia is vulnerable. Despite all our intellect and skill, we're outmatched by Reaper firepower."
Their hubris was also outmatched by Reaper firepower, hence the last-minute aid. "I'll do what I can," I said, keeping my gripes to myself.
"Whether you know it or not, you've become the sole ray of hope in a very dark night." She reached out and squeezed my shoulder. "Goddess be with you."
"Councillor." I gave her a nod before leaving the office and activating my comm. "EDI, recall all crew members from shore leave. Prep the Normandy for immediate launch."
Adams, Tali and the engineering crew pulled a rabbit out of their hat. (2) We made it to the Parnitha system in half the normal time.
As soon as we emerged from the mass relay, I headed up to the CIC. Reports were all well and fine, but nothing beats seeing things with your own eyes. Meanwhile, I sent word to the squad to head down to the shuttle bay and start gearing up. I also told Cortez, who was already down there, to begin pre-flight checks so we could leave as soon as possible. With that done, I stepped up to the galaxy map and took my first look.
Normally it isn't hard to find Thessia on the galaxy map. Along with a lot of helpful data appended to the little glowing orb. Like the fact that it's the asari homeworld. And it's known as the 'crown jewel of the galaxy.' Not to mention the 'apex of democracy' and the 'beating heart of galactic love.' Yeah, I know: the asari are many things, but modesty is rarely one of them—present company and Shadow Broker excepted. Still, they had reason to be proud: the Asari Republics had one of the lowest rates of war, disease, violent crime or famine. They boasted one of the most stable economies, backed by a network of wealthy colonies and countless eezo reserves.
And then the Reapers came. There were hostile blips representing various Reaper destroyers and capital ships all over the place, so many of them they almost blotted out Thessia entirely. I found myself holding my breath as the Normandy made its way through the Parnitha system. After all, if the Collectors could break through our stealth systems and locate us, the Reapers surely could. But we made it through unscathed. Guess the Reapers had bigger fish to fry.
"Commander, Thessia is under heavy attack!"
Stepping down from the galaxy map, I made my way forwards.
"There's Reaper activity across most of the planet." Joker told me as I strode through the CIC. I entered the cockpit… and stopped.
You get used to certain things when you look down on a planet from orbit. A twinkling network of city lights stretching out. Or maybe a lush expanse of flora, teeming with life. A stunning mix of land and sea, gently intertwined.
But not this time. All I could see was fire, spreading out and consuming everything in its path. Or smoke, billowing up and obscuring everything below in an opaque cloud. That was it. Fire and smoke. All across Thessia.
"What about the temple?" I asked. "Can you raise the scientists?"
"Negative. All channels are scrambled across the spectrum." He craned his neck and looked me in the eye. "The mission's looking really dicey."
Yeah, it was. More so than any missions in recent memory. Still, we didn't have a choice. Not with the stakes involved. "This is too important," I replied. "It's now or never. Alert Cortez and the squad. We leave in twenty."
Turned out Cortez and the squad had listened to my earlier orders. They had already finished their preparations by the time I got down to Deck Five, which meant they were waiting on me. Still, I'd done this so many times, I pretty much had it down to a science. Only fourteen minutes had passed by the time the shuttle took off and left the Normandy.
Liara found a seat next to one of the monitors, patched in the sensor feeds on Thessia from the shuttle and the Normandy, and watched them without saying a word. She hadn't spoken aloud during my preparations either. Mind you, none of us were feeling particularly chatty. We all knew the stakes. But for Liara… for Liara, this was personal. (3)
"Okay, do we have anything more on this artifact?" I said aloud.
Seeing how Liara was still distracted, Miranda took over. "The coordinates Councillor Tevos gave you are for the Temple of Athame. A historical site of great cultural significance, it's several thousand years old. And, for some reason, it is the recipient of government funding."
James scratched his head. "So? If it's got that much history and culture to it, why wouldn't the government give it funding?"
"Perhaps I should clarify," Miranda allowed, "the Temple of Athame has received classified government funding."
That put things in a different light. "Sounds like we're on the right trail."
"What if we're too late?" Liara asked, breaking her silence. "My people are dying down there."
"Which is why this mission is so important," I said. "Liara, can you tell us anything more about the Temple of Athame?"
"My mother took me there once."
"Benezia took you to this temple?"
Liara nodded. "I was just a child. I thought it was a history lesson, but now? Maybe there was more to it."
"What do you mean?" I frowned.
Lifting her arm, Liara activated her omni-tool. "I went digging through her old files. She had heavily encrypted records on this place, some dating back centuries. I still can't crack most of them."
Which said a lot, considering the resources she had at her disposal.
"Whatever's going on, it's well hidden."
"I remember your mother," Kaidan said, offering her a reassuring smile. "She fought indoctrination on Noveria when it mattered most, just like your people are fighting now."
"My mother fought, yes, but she also died there. What if my people face the same fate? What if Thessia faces the same fate?"
"Not for long," I declared. "We'll find the Catalyst and save Thessia. Thessia and all the other worlds out there."
Liara smiled wanly. "I hope you're right."
"Hey, buckle up!" Cortez called out from the cockpit. "This one's gonna be tight!"
He made a sharp turn left before starting to slow down. Opening the hatch, I took my first look at Thessia. Tall graceful buildings, curving up towards the sky—a sky filled with smoke and ash. Tracer rounds burned back and forth, heralding the gunfire that reached our ears. And there was debris and wreckage everywhere. Welcome to the crown jewel of the galaxy, people.
"This can't be happening," Liara cried out. "My home…"
"I know it looks bad, Liara," Garrus said, "but we can't just stay and watch. We're exposed up here!"
"Let's get down!" I ordered. "Weapons free!"
We found ourselves at the foot of a bridge, one reinforced with hastily-built fortifications. A smattering of asari soldiers could be seen—many surrounded by spherical biotic barriers. All of them shooting.
One of them saw us and lowered her rifle. "You must be Commander Shepard!"
Another soldier ran towards her. "Lieutenant, Outpost Tykis is running out of ammunition!"
"We all are!" the lieutenant said. "Tell them to make every shot count!"
Ah, the joys of war. Things like logistics and maintaining supplies are easily forgotten… until you start running out.
"Eastern perimeter reports they've been breached!" another soldier reported.
"Where are the reinforcements?" the lieutenant yelled.
The soldier shrugged and got on the comm. "This is Task Force Vendora: requesting reinforcements at quad zero-nine-one. Situation urgent."
While they were trying to deal with one crisis after another, I quickly looked around. Not just to eavesdrop on conversations, though I did hear one where a soldier had just been paralyzed from shrapnel. Not just to find some loot, though I did scan a visor mod. No, I wanted to make sure this location was secure. And, so far, it was. All the avenues of approach were blocked or covered. Anyone who wasn't reinforcing defences with biotic barriers were manning turrets or standing guard. They had done the best they could given the time and resources they had available.
The lieutenant turned to me again. "Commander, we heard—"
That was when a round whistled in and exploded. Screams rang out as asari went flying, several of them landing with wet, sickening thuds. Barriers began flickering like crazy. Worst of all, there was now a large hole where a previously smooth wall once stood.
"The barriers been breached!" the lieutenant yelled. "Commander, we'll talk later! Get on that gun up there and do some damage!"
I was already moving forward. "Team One, make sure no one gets too close to me. Teams Two and Three, keep the hostiles at bay until the asari can make repairs. Move!"
Hopping into the turret, I powered up the gun and aimed it at the closest Reaper barrier engine. The Reaper forces were bad enough without being buffed up. I quickly took it out and the Brute behind it.
"Enemy targets on the bridge!"
Spinning on the spot, I took out a handful of husks. But more of them kept coming. Even better, there was another Brute on the approach.
Miranda and Kaidan hit two of the husks with their biotics. James launched a concussive round, which landed with explosive effect. Seeing that Team Two could handle it, I turned my attention to the Brute and tore it to shreds. Then I saw a third Brute. I squeezed the trigger…
…and got nothing but an alarm. I'd run out of ammo. Quickly reloading a fresh clip, I emptied several rounds into the Brute, then swivelled the turret and helped out Team Three with a few husks.
"Shepard; Teams Two and Three will take care of anything crawling over the sides," Garrus shouted to me. "Focus up front!"
Right. That made sense, actually. They knew what they were doing and, unless they said otherwise, they didn't need me babysitting them. Better to concentrate the firepower I had at my disposal on taking out the Brutes before they got too close. Speaking of which, there were two of them charging in. I poured a stream of hot lead into one while EDI and Liara tag-teamed the other. Once I finished 'my' Brute, I switched to the second one.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw husks trying to sneak up from the underside of the bridge. Miranda and James took out one on the left while Garrus and Javik tackled another one on the right. Kaidan kept switching targets, only hitting each one with one or two rounds before moving on to the next. I belatedly realized he was using the cryo mod on his submachine gun to freeze the husks before they got too close, making it laughably easy for us to take them out.
"Team One," Garrus called out, "scratch what I said earlier. "We could use some help."
Turned out there were a ton of husks clambering onto the right side of the bridge. Kaidan went into a veritable frenzy, but he couldn't freeze enough husks to stem the tide. "Team Two, we got this. Liara?"
"On it, Shepard." Her singularity snatched up several husks who would otherwise be overrunning our position. Garrus, Javik and Tali began dealing with the husks who didn't get snatched up—until I began shredding them to glowing, twitching bits.
"Another Brute incoming!"
Well, guess I wouldn't be able to steal all of Team Three's fun. I reloaded the turret's ammo and swung it around. "EDI. Target the singularity."
EDI's fireball detonated the singularity, sending the husks flying all over the place. While Team Three and the rest of Team One went to work picking off the stunned Reaperfied zombies, I focused on the big ugly roaring and beating its chest. The chest that made a very big target.
This went on for quite a while. Shoot a Brute, check both sides to see if the husks broke through, mow down some husks as needed, shoot another Brute. Rinse, repeat. Never a chance to catch my breath. To assess whether we were making any progress. Just shoot, turn, shoot, turn back, shoot some more. With occasional pauses to reload.
And then the wave of husks and Brutes stopped. Aside from the lone straggler that came shambling forward, only to have its head blown off by Tali. We'd earned a reprieve.
I released my grip on the turret controls and stepped down. The lieutenant was still barking out orders. "I want that gunship prepped and in the air!" she shouted.
Another mortar round whistled in and exploded. The lieutenant pointed a finger at the breach that sparked that initial frantic firefight, one only covered by a lone asari and her barriers. "Plug that hole!"
"We're on it!" Two other asari lifted a large metal plate with their biotics and began moving it towards the gap. Tali and EDI moved to help.
"Someone get me a location on our snipers!" the lieutenant snapped.
"On it!"
With no other pressing concerns, the lieutenant tried to introduce herself for the third time. "Commander, I'm Lieutenant Kurin. We've been told to expect you. My orders are to hold this grid at all costs."
Yet another mortar round exploded, the reverberations rumbling beneath our feet. Two or three more flew in and hit the biotic barriers, sending the asari generating them to her knees. Kurin broke off and pointed at her. "Shore up the barrier!"
Only one asari ran forward. Everyone else was busy. Clearly, they were being stretched to their limits. Kurin confirmed that with her next words. "But our perimeter's collapsing and I'm getting my people out of here."
"This is important, Lieutenant," I said. "We need your help."
She threw up her hands. "Well, unless you can give me a good reason to stay, we're not dying for a field of rubble."
"What exactly were you told about me?"
Kurin gave me a bitter smile. "Nothing but your name. Mission details were classified."
Great. I'd been there before. "Which means you think you'll die here without knowing why," I sighed.
"Which means I know we'll die without knowing why," she corrected me.
"I know what that's like, being asked to trust the chain of command without any details."
"We're not even sure the chain still exists," she snorted.
"Well it does," I replied. "I wouldn't be here if it didn't."
"Then maybe you can tell me why it's so important to hold this position."
"Unofficially?" I asked.
We both knew what the official reason was, having just griped about it a second ago. "Sure. Unofficially."
"We're building a Prothean superweapon that will win this war. But we need a key component to finish it. There's a relic in the Temple of Athame that may have what we need."
"That's what this is about? One of our outposts has been trying to reach the scientists over there, but we lost contact." Kurin broke off and turned to the gunship. "Get that gunship moving! Now!"
The maintenance crew finished their repairs, hopped off and waved to the pilot. With a steadily increasing howl of the thrusters, the gunship took off and flew back to the front.
Then she turned back to me, a look of weary frustration and fatigue all over her face. "I'm sorry, Commander. If your relic has lasted this long, it can wait a little longer."
"Lieutenant—"
"I've lost enough people today," Kurin insisted. "I'm pulling the rest of them out. I mean, really? A Prothean weapon? The Protheans are gone, Commander. And so are we, if we stay here."
"No!" Javik cried out suddenly. Before any of us could stop him, he strode towards Kurin and firmly grabbed her by her shoulders. They both closed their eyes as he did his Prothean mojo.
…
"I sense you have the lineage of a leader," Javik declared at last. "A warrior's skill and cunning—they are strong in your genes. But you've grown tired of war, you're exhausted by defeat and now you worry you don't have the courage left to go on."
Kurin broke away and stumbled back. "By the goddess," she breathed. "Are you…?"
"A Prothean?" I nodded. "Yep."
"Find your resolve," Javik told her sternly. "This war can end if you do."
"As you can see, the Protheans are still here," I said. "With your help, we can finish the weapon they started to build. That's why you're here. That's why you have to hold your ground, just a little bit longer. 'Cuz if we get to that temple and find what we need, we could win this war!"
I had no idea if that was true or not. There were a lot of 'ifs' that I'd just thrown out. But judging by the change in her demeanour, Javik and I had broken through and convinced her. "All right, then," she said.
Kurin raised a hand to her ear and got on the comm. "This is Lieutenant Kurin! Hold your positions! I want a path carved to the temple!"
"We can help with that last part," I added.
She acknowledged that with a nod. "Outpost Tykis, we've got people coming your way!" She marched towards the barricade, a determined spring in her step for the first time. "Let's make sure the galaxy knows the war was won on Thessia!"
A chorus of defiant cheers came back from all sides. An asari lowered her barriers to let my squad through. I paused and looked back at Kurin. "Thanks."
"Make it count!" she replied, before the barrier was raised and the improvised gates closed. (4)
We found ourselves on the bridge. The picturesque scene of graceful buttresses soaring upwards on one side towards the beginning of a beautiful sunset was a jarring contrast to the debris strewn in front of us, the distant explosions reaching our ears and the Harvester slowly flying through the air.
"I was here years ago," Liara said quietly. "To see the city burning like this is…"
"It can be rebuilt," I interrupted. "Just worry about the next twenty meters—watch it!"
The rest of my words were cut off by a particularly intense explosion, one that sent tons of twisted metal crashing down right in front of us. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted another Harvester diving our way. We raised our weapons and prepared to open fire, only to lower them when a gunship—possibly the one Kurin had ordered into the air—drove it off.
"This has to end!" Liara insisted.
"Use your anger against the enemy, Liara," Tali called out.
"Anger can provide you strength," EDI agreed. "Organics are fortunate in this regard."
Ordinarily, I'd be thinking about the dark side at this point, but Tali and EDI had a point. (5) Right now, Liara was understandably distraught and distracted by the havoc the Reapers were wreaking on her people. She needed to channel her anger, let it motivate her to keep fighting, if any of us were to make it out of here alive. "Remember that," I said, "'cuz we've got hostiles up ahead."
There were a mix of Marauders and Cannibals up ahead. I quickly prioritized the former. "EDI, Miranda, Garrus—you're up."
All three launched their EMPs. Liara, James and Javik followed up with biotics and concussive rounds. In one single strike, we'd knocked out their shields. I took out one of the Marauders with my sniper rifle before issuing orders: "Staggered approach! Try to use cover! Team One goes first."
While Teams Two and Three continued their assault, I led EDI and Liara to some cover. As we opened fire on a Cannibal who was trying to snack on his downed buddy, I signalled for Team Two to head for an ad-hoc barricade about ten metres ahead. "Miranda, lead your team up. Everyone else—push them back!"
Kaidan used his biotics to rip apart another Cannibal before following Miranda and James. Actually, that was the last Cannibal—which left several more Marauders milling around. "Let's drop some more EMPs, people," I said. "Liara, hold back for a sec."
After another round of EMPs, we deployed plasma, biotics and concussive rounds to soften them up. "Now, Liara."
With a determined look on her face, Liara summoned another singularity. Most of the Marauders, having just lost their shields from our barrage, were sucked into its merciless pull. Only two were left standing, and they quickly got a lot of attention from the squad. A lot of lethal attention.
Then we turned on the half dozen Marauders spinning around in the singularity, picking them off with grim efficiency. "That was the last one," Miranda said.
"Then move!" I barked. "Get off the bridge!"
We double-timed it across the bridge and onto the other side, pausing only to restock on thermal clips.
"On that building!" Liara pointed. "We've got fire support!"
Looking up, I spotted a trio of asari armed with what looked like assault rifles. Any relief we felt was cut short when a Harvester crashed through and blew them to smithereens. "No!" Liara cried out. "Damn them!"
I ducked as a hail of bullets whizzed by. Looked like we had more hostiles. "Keep your focus, Liara."
"Those things are slaughtering my people!"
Reaching up, I yanked her down before any bullets took her head off and dragged her to the edge of the walkway. The rest of the squad were already there, firing back at the Cannibals and Marauders down below.
James clapped her on the back. "Then let's slaughter a few of them back." He waited until Miranda deployed her EMP at the closest Marauder before launching a concussive round. I dropped that beastie with one shot before letting loose with another fireball.
Liara steeled herself, nodded, then let loose with her biotics. The Marauder EDI had just targeted suddenly found itself without any shields. I quickly took out that one as well. The last Marauder was being handled by Garrus, Javik and Tali, so I took a moment to look around the battlefield.
Kaidan was once again using his cryo mod to freeze every Cannibal he could see. Anyone waiting for their biotics or omni-tool to recharge took advantage of the opportunity to shatter as many Reaper-sicles as possible. Before we knew it, we'd slaughtered every last one of them. Which left us with nothing to do but catch our breath, reload, and take in the horrific sight before us.
Everything was broken. There were piles of debris everywhere, full of metal, glass and dead asari. Here and there, the pavement was cracked. Fires smouldered and burned everywhere, as no one was free to put them out. They were all busy fighting. Bleeding. Dying.
"Teams One and Two, let's move forward," I decided. "Team Three, stay up here and watch our six."
That wound up being a wise move. We'd just lowered ourselves to the courtyard below and began our advance when Garrus hollered "Heads up! Drop pods inbound!"
"Scatter and take cover!" I yelled. "Watch the edges. Don't let them flank us!"
I cloaked and raised my sniper rifle, looking for a priority target. But all I could see were Cannibals. After a few seconds, I shrugged, centred my sights and picked a random hostile to take out. Behind us, Garrus was taking advantage of his vantage point to scope and drop as many Cannibals as he could. Tali kept them pinned down with her combat drone while Javik hit targets of opportunities with his biotics.
"More of them ahead," Kaidan warned.
Sure enough, we had more hostiles approaching our position. But I couldn't see any of them. Time to move up. While Team Two were pummelling the last of the drop pods' contents with biotics, concussive rounds and bullets, I led Team One around to the side. Sure enough, there were four more Cannibals trickling in. I shot one and ducked behind some plants to reload. Liara yanked the rest of them in a singularity, which EDI promptly blew up with her plasma.
Then a pair of Marauders arrived. Liara shook her head in despair. "They just won't stop."
"Neither will we," I replied, marking their position with my HUD before activating the comm. "Garrus, can you help a brother out?"
"Sure thing."
His EMP landed right on cue, followed by Javik's biotics. Then Team One slowly whittled them down with concentrated bursts of lead. Unfortunately, there were more Marauders on the way. "Anyone else want to help us out?"
"Team Two on the way."
Miranda—and her EMP—arrived just in time to greet the next three Marauders. They stood there, sparks flying off their shields, before Kaidan's biotics landed and sent them all reeling. James's concussive round finished off one, my sniper rifle took out another, and the rest of Team One eliminated the third.
"Clear," I called out after sweeping the battlefield. "Everyone reload your weapons. Team Three, join up with us."
A quick search dug up lots of thermal clips, some med-kits—which thankfully none of us needed—and a Hydra missile launcher. Holstering my sniper rifle, I snatched it up and checked its payload. One shot. I decided to take it with me, seeing how I'd probably find a use for it sooner rather than later.
"That door ahead looks like our way out of this mess!" Liara said, pointing off to our right.
"It's as good a way as any," Tali nodded. "We just have to deal with the husks, Cannibals and Marauders first."
Sooner it is. "Then let's clear the defenses," I replied, activating my cloak. I stood up, aimed at the mass of hostiles and squeezed the trigger.
The missile landed right in their midst and exploded. Before the smoke cleared, we were already launching a withering barrage of EMPs, biotics, plasma and concussive rounds. The hostiles quickly fell to our onslaught.
Leaving just one. "Caution: Reaper-controlled asari just ahead!" EDI warned.
If James wasn't holding his assault rifle, he might have thrown up his hands in disbelief. "Seriously? Is this Reaper central or what?"
Everyone switched to rapid-fire weapons and began whittling down the Banshee's barriers, one burst of bullets at a time. Unfortunately, this Reaperfied asari was quite aggressive, blinking forward despite all the gunfire we were pouring into her. Before we knew it, she was right behind us—barriers gone, but no less scary.
I lobbed a grenade before firing off some plasma. My fireball landed just after Liara and EDI pulled off a biotics-EMP combo. "Keep up the pressure!" I urged.
James and Javik raised their particle rifles and sent twin beams of jade energy pouring into the Banshee while Miranda and Kaidan let loose with more biotics and plasma. Switching back to my sniper rifle, I fired a shot. But she was still standing.
In the end, it was Garrus and his concussive round that finished her off. He lowered his sniper rifle and shook his head. "They really mean business, don't they!"
"Hope we don't run out of ammo," Tali agreed.
"All right," I said. "Let's get moving before more of them come back."
After reloading our weapons, we headed through the door and into the building.
The lights were out, either because they were shattered or due to lack of power. It was only the sunlight coming in through the broken windows that showed what a mess this place was. That and the occasional flicker of flame burning here and there. Fallen support beams lay twisted amidst piles of wreckage and debris. And the silence… you'd think you could hear gunfire or explosions in the distance. But there was nothing. Just a painful, oppressive silence.
I saw Liara looking back. At first, I thought she was making sure that no one was sneaking up on us.
"I still can't face those things… my own people."
That was when I realized she hadn't really come to terms with the idea that the Reapers could twist her people into such… mockeries of themselves. Maybe Wrex had felt the same way with the Brutes. Or Garrus with the Marauders—and, technically, the Brutes. It was a strategically brilliant move that helped them swell their ground forces while demoralizing their enemies on a psychological level.
I suppose after facing those first husks on Eden Prime, I… I wouldn't say I had gotten used to the idea, but at least I had more experience to draw upon. Not that any of that helped me come up with something to say.
In the end, I didn't have to. "When we fought the Reapers, they turned our children against us."
Liara looked at Javik with sadness. "I can't imagine that."
Maybe she couldn't, but I could. Those poor children were likely the precursors to the Collectors.
"They assumed we would hesitate to kill them."
"Did you?" I asked.
Javik's face grew still. His eyes contained a mixture of barely-contained fury and poignant sadness. "What answer would you prefer?"
"None," Liara decided. "Let's stop talking about this."
We made our way through the building. Aside from some salvage, every other room was the same. Damaged, broken and oppressively quiet. It was almost a relief to bypass the door and emerge into the madness once again.
"Above us!" Liara cried.
As one, we lifted our eyes. Our jaws dropped as we saw a Reaper towering over us. It was so giant, so massive, that it probably didn't even know we were down there. Why would it? It was like a titan of ancient myth, completely ignorant of the ants scurrying around below. Every step it took landed with a thunderous boom that we could feel beneath our feet.
"You never get used to seeing them," Miranda said, "do you?"
"I remember seeing one for the first time," Javik said quietly. "My people had stopped believing in devils. They changed their minds when the Reapers arrived."
"Growing up, my old pastor told me the night sky was chock-full of angels," James chimed in. "I'm glad he didn't live to see this."
If we stood here any longer, in awe and horror at the behemoth above us, we'd never get to the temple. Either because we'd be paralyzed by our own fear or because we'd be cut down by gunfire. "Enough chit-chat," I said with all the confidence I could muster. "Let's move, people."
Turned out we didn't get that far. Not because we were busy peeing in our pants. No, there were more Cannibals in our path. They didn't see us at first… until I blew one of their heads wide open with my sniper rifle. A split second later, Teams One and Two took apart two more with the usual bag of tricks. Javik sent one flying up in the air, where it hung momentarily before slamming back down to the ground. Garrus hit that sucker with a concussive round before it could recover. James just settled for mowing a Cannibal down with his assault rifle.
Kaidan was busy looking around for targets, which might explain why he was the first to see some friendlies: "Up ahead on the left—snipers on that balcony."
Liara sucked another pair of Cannibals into a singularity before looking. "They're asari. We might be able to reach them."
EDI blew up the singularity with another fireball while Miranda and James ganged up on yet another Cannibal. A few more shots were exchanged before the coast was clear. "All right. Team One, we're going to clear the courtyard up ahead. Team Two, take the left and make sure there aren't any more surprises. Team Three gets the right. We'll rendezvous by the rubble leading up to the balcony and say hello to those snipers."
For once, that wound up being mildly uneventful, if you ignore the sporadic explosions, constant gunfire and random blaring noises and foot-stomps of the Reaper. Team Three wound up finding some loot in the form of salvage, med-kits and weapon mods.
"Glad that Reaper didn't stop," Garrus said when we joined up again. "No thresher maws on Thessia."
"I don't care to repeat Rannoch," Tali agreed.
In hindsight, that might've been callous, considering that the Reaper would just move on to attack someone else on Liara's homeworld. But as self-serving as it might've been, I think we were all secretly relieved. Certainly no one was complaining.
As we began climbing up towards the balcony, we could see one of the snipers firing as fast as she could… right until a high-yield round flew in and exploded on top of her position. Any hopes that she survived were dashed by the conversation we overheard. "This is Specialist Cayla! Specialist Jineva was just killed by enemy fire."
"What about Shepard?" we heard Kurin ask. Boy, that comm must've been tied into a loudspeaker or something.
"No sign of him yet."
"What's your situation?"
"Enemy forces have tripled in strength. I'm cut off from Outpost Tykis."
"Understood. Maintain your position. Shepard will be there!"
"I'll do what I—" the sniper broke off as we finished climbing the slope of rubble and reached the balcony. "Wait, Shepard just arrived!"
"Team Two, cover the far side; Team Three, watch our six. Specialist Cayla? Commander Shepard."
"Watch your head," Cayla warned my squad.
"How long can you hold out?" I wanted to know.
"Now that you're here? As long as it takes!"
We moved up to the balcony. Teams Two and Three were already dropping EMPs on the Marauders swarming towards us. As they began to send biotic blasts and fireballs raining down on them, Liara and Tali deployed a singularity and combat drone, respectively.
Cayla fired her sniper rifle at the closest Cannibal, then ducked behind the balcony. Taking her spot, I started drilling holes in the heads of random Cannibals. "Can you really win this war?" Cayla wanted to know as she ejected a spent thermal clip.
Not wanting to throw off my aim, I took out an injured Marauder before responding. "We get to that temple and the Reapers are history."
"Then grab some gear over there if you need it and let's do some damage!" she shouted.
That could wait: there were still plenty of targets. I fired one more shot, taking out another Cannibal. "Nice shot," Cayla complimented me.
"Thanks." Now it was my turn to reload.
"This is a kill zone!" Javik said cheerfully.
He was right. With the balcony's superior elevation and the layout of all the buildings and streets, any hostiles couldn't help but be corralled into one avenue of approach. If the asari had more than one lone sniper holed up here, they could hold the Reaper forces at bay for a long time. For now, though, we were here to even the odds. "Just means you can't miss," I replied. "Don't let up."
Another wave of hostiles came in—husks mostly, with a smattering of Cannibals. We took them out, but a lot of them were sporting biotic barriers. Which meant… I raised my sniper rifle and began panning back and forth. Sure enough, there was another Reaper barrier engine. Three shots were enough to take it out, though that meant I had to reload again.
When I popped back up, EDI had just zapped a Marauder's shields. I took that sucker out before Liara could hammer it with her biotics. She paused, shrugged, and yanked a few Cannibals into a singularity instead. Miranda saw that, quickly conferred with the rest of Team Two, then blew up the singularity with a burst of plasma. That left Kaidan and James to strip a Marauder of its shields. I dropped that Marauder and the Cannibal right behind it. Out of ammo again. I ducked down to eject the thermal clip and load a fresh one.
All while the Reaper loomed over us, seemingly oblivious to the frantic firefight going on amidst its giant feet.
When I got back up, Teams One and Two were finishing off the Cannibals caught up in Liara's singularity, along with a few late stragglers that had just joined the party. There were two more Marauders, one who had just lost its shields thanks to Garrus and Javik, that were being distracted by Tali's combat drone. Garrus and I raised our sniper rifles in unison. One shot, one kill. And…
…
To my surprise, I couldn't find any more hostiles. I waited another second, then another. Nope, the coast was clear. "Everyone reload. Grab a quick snack or sip of water."
Taking their advice, I grabbed an Alliance-issue granola bar while looking at the supplies Cayla had mentioned earlier. I scanned an M-98 Widow—ah, the memories it brought back—and a sniper rifle mod before returning to the others. Cayla wiped the sweat off her brow. "That's the last of them. Get moving, Commander!"
"Towards the Reaper!" Liara said. When we looked at her in shock, she elaborated. "It's a way out of here!"
"And into something worse!" Tali pointed out.
"You suddenly feeling lucky, T'Soni?" Garrus agreed.
"No choice!" Liara returned. "Besides, the Temple of Athame is in that direction."
"Outpost Tykis isn't far from here," Cayla reassured us. "I can cover you!"
Well, it wouldn't be the first time my lack of self-preservation reared its ugly head. "All right. We'll go towards the Reaper and peel off the first chance we get. Keep your eyes and ears open and your head down."
Before we left, I turned to Cayla. "Good luck, Specialist Cayla."
"You too, Commander Shepard."
Turned out Liara was right. We only had to go through the field of rubble that all the Cannibals and Marauders charged through earlier, then take a left. A set of stairs slowly led upwards. Well, not so much stairs as staggered levels, each one taking a couple steps to cross. Between the gentle slope and the scenery, it was clear this area was meant for a more peaceful, tranquil time.
A time that no longer existed, thanks to the Reaper. Liara looked up at the Reaper, still oblivious to our presence, in despair. "This nightmare never ends."
"The hell it won't," I snapped. "We get to this artifact and we can all wake up."
"That would be a welcome change," Miranda said.
"For everyone," EDI added. "Synthetics included."
"Then let's get to the temple," Liara urged. "This can't be the last I see of Thessia."
With that in mind, we hurried up the slope. The last level sported a set of stairs leading to the top, with garden plots on each side. Just beyond, we could see a fire merrily burning away...
...and an asari running for her life. The whistling sound of a mortar round told us why.
The explosion sent her flying down the stairs. She landed with such force that the pistol she was holding flew from her hands and over the rail. Picking herself up, she shook her head, pulled the assault rifle from her back and hid behind some cover. We quickly ran to join her. "Watch it!" she yelled.
No kidding: another mortar round almost took our heads off. I glimpsed several Ravagers stationed up ahead. All those Reaperfied rachni-turned-mobile-artillery would explain the explosions going off around us. Shaking my head, I took a step towards the asari.
"Goddess, I hate this war," she groaned.
"You and me both," I commiserated. "My name's Commander Shepard. We're trying to reach Outpost Tykis."
"You're looking at it."
Aw, crap. "What happened to the rest of your squad?"
"They're all dead. We tried punching through to the scientists, but..." she trailed off and visibly tried to stop herself from crying. "I'm all that's left."
"What about reinforcements?" I wanted to know.
"We had gunships flying support, but things got too hot with that Reaper. They can't chance it."
"Hang on." I activated my cloak so I could get a better look at what we were dealing with. What I saw made me shake my head. There were at least a dozen Ravagers set up there, supporting twice as many Marauders. And they had the superior tactical position. My squad was good, but not that good. "We need to get to the Temple of Athame. I know it's rough, but I don't see another way in without their help."
"Have I told you how much I hate this war?" she asked. With a heavy sigh, she got on the comm. "Talon Swarm, this is Outpost Tykis! Is anybody left on this frequency? We are in need of immediate air support! Commander Shepard is here."
I saw EDI fiddle with her omni-tool. The sudden buzzing in my ear told me she was patching us into the asari's comm channel. To my relief, we got a reply: "Copy, this is Talon One. I'm on the way."
"Talon Five inbound."
Activating my cloak again, I took another peek. "Talon Swarm, this is Commander Shepard," I said. "We've got at least a dozen Ravager artillery and two dozen Marauders about fifteen metres from our position." (6)
With a mighty howl, the two gunships burst from the clouds and swooped overhead. "Ground targets confirmed. Weapons are hot." one of the pilots announced.
"Light 'em up!" the other pilot said.
Both gunships opened fire, pouring streams of bullets into the Reaper forces. Peering around the corner, we saw the closest Marauders being torn apart, presumably to prevent them from overrunning us, before the gunships switched to the Ravagers.
"Talon One, watch the jamming!"
Talon One didn't seem to hear her partner's warning. "Target acquired."
Then a burst of flame erupted from the tail of one of the gunships. "I'm hit!"
We watched, impotent and helpless, as the gunship began spinning around. "The stabilizer blew out!"
The gunship spiralled out of view, but the sudden quake beneath our feet told us what had happened. Beside me, the asari soldier closed her eyes in pain.
"This is Talon Five! Whatever you're going to do, you better do it now! More hostiles closing in!"
"Go, Commander!" the asari soldier urged. She bolted up the stairs and took up a firing position. "I'll cover you from here!"
"Understood," I nodded. "Okay, listen up! I'll scout ahead and assign targets. Be ready to move on my order!" Cloaking for the third time, I dashed forward. There was a nearby barrier engine that we'd definitely have to take out. Six, maybe seven Marauders. A freaking Banshee leering at my invisible mug. And a lone Ravager that must've survived the gunships' initial onslaught. Wonderful.
On the bright side, there was another missile launcher just a few steps away. "All teams; take out targets of opportunity! Weapons free!"
"Commander Shepard, I've got your back! Let's get you into that temple!"
With that, I began firing at the barrier engine. One shot was all it took. Then I hastily holstered my sniper rifle and scooped up the missile launcher. The bullets flying everywhere prompted me to retreat back into cover.
It seemed the Marauders were the more pressing concern, judging by the fact that my squad seemed to be focusing on them. EDI, Miranda and Garrus spread out EMPs to weaken as many shields as possible. Next came a cacophony of explosions, courtesy of the biotics launched by Liara, Kaidan and Javik. My explosion was a little more dramatic, thanks to the missile I fired at the Banshee, though it wasn't enough to take out her barriers. "Talon Five, wanna help take out that Banshee?"
"Copy that. Missiles are hot!"
As the gunship began firing missiles at the Reaperfied asari, I paused to see how the rest of my squad was doing. Kaidan had just zapped another Marauder's shields. As I pulled out my sniper rifle, James tagged that Marauder with a concussive round. Tali decided to stall the Banshee with her combat drone before joining everyone else in shooting every hostile in sight. Seeing how they had the Marauders well in hand, I began firing at the Banshee.
"Is that a Prothean I see down there?"
"Sure is," I replied.
"Never thought I'd see one in action. Looks like he knows what he's doing."
I'm sure Javik was happy to hear that.
The next missile finished off the Banshee, who collapsed and disintegrated with an unholy wail that chilled us to the bone. Quickly reloading, I began shooting at the Ravager. EDI and Liara joined in with plasma, biotics and bullets. Teams Two and Three decided to finish off the last of the Marauders.
"That's it for the missiles. Switching to the gun," Talon Five announced. "Commander Shepard, I've got the husks. Get your squad moving."
Sure enough, a bunch of husks came into view, only to get mowed down by the gunship. "Next time we go to war, maybe the Alliance can spring for air support," Liara suggested sarcastically. (7)
"I'll be sure to mention it," I replied dryly. "C'mon, people. Coast is clear. Let's move!"
(1): The existence of the artifact was such a closely guarded secret that none of my intelligence reports alluded to it. It was only after a more thorough analysis that discrepancies began to appear. (3): Readers will understand that I was more than a little distracted. Certainly I was upset when other homeworlds—like Earth or Palaven—were invaded by the Reapers. But this was (4): That was the last time Shepard—or any of us—saw Lieutenant Kurin. (5): A reference to the human Star Wars fictional universe. I believe the quote that would be most applicable is "Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."
(2): A human idiom used when someone accomplishes an amazing stunt or feat that was previously considered impossible.
(7): As Shepard recognized, my comment was in jest. In truth, the Alliance was stretched thin across every front. Many campaigns were being waged with minimal or non-existent air support, which naturally resulted in increased casualties.