Chapter 48: Cry Havoc
Author's Note: Yes, that's right. After so many delays, my ME3 novelization is back on track! So sit back and enjoy the ride!
Apparently my subconscious felt it had been too long since I last had a nightmare, because that's exactly what I had when I nodded off.
It started with that kid. The one I saw playing on a rooftop the day the Reapers invaded Earth. The one whose innocence had been forever lost when the world he knew came crumbling down around him. The one who made it to a shuttle, only to have his hopes and life snuffed out at the last moment.
He ran silently through the forest, though I didn't know if he was running to something or from something. I found myself trying to pursue him, but my legs felt so heavy. I felt this.. resistance as I ran, like I was drowning in molasses. Yet the dead grey leaves had no problem floating through the air, held aloft by an invisible breeze I could not feel.
"Shepard," I heard someone whisper. I couldn't recognize the voice, but I instinctively knew it was someone who had died. Someone who should have lived. Someone who I had failed.
As I slowly chased after him, I realized how much space was between each tree. No real forest was that dispersed. Yet another sign that I was trapped in a dreamscape of my own creation, helpless to break free.
"Shepard-Commander."
Didn't need to guess who that was. I tried to muster more speed to catch up to the kid. Tried, but failed. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't go faster. I couldn't do anything to change what was happening.
"Shepard."
"Kalahira, mistress of inscrutable depths. I ask forgiveness."
It was Thane. Pleading to his gods, praying for redemption. My redemption. He had spoken these words on the Citadel with his last dying breath. Now he was praying again. Why, I wondered? What did that mean? What did that mean for me?
The kid was still ahead of me. So far ahead. But I could see… something else. Shadows. Silhouettes. Silent witnesses to the chase.
"Shepard-Commander, the geth only acted in defence after the creators attacked. Do we deserve death?"
Does anyone, Legion? Does anyone really deserve to suffer and die?
I found myself slowing down. Before I knew it, I was standing still. The shadows were all around me. None of them said a word.
One of the shadows walked forward. With each step he took, he became more solid. I soon realized that he was a human male, wearing standard Alliance fatigues. He crouched down as the kid ran up to him. The two of them embraced. Then the man looked at me.
I recognized him. It was like looking into a mirror. The man… was… me. I tried to join them. I tried to open my mouth. I tried to do something. But I couldn't.
In the distance, a lone bell rang out.
I stood there. Frozen. Helpless to do anything but watch as the kid and I went up in flames.
With a start, I opened my eyes. The forest was gone. The shadows were gone. The kid…
…
I already knew the kid was gone. He'd been gone for over a year now.
And I saw myself die. Or start burning without protest. What did that mean? Was that some sign of rebirth? Or a hint that some part of me had given up to the inevitable.
The bell rang again—no, it wasn't the bell. It was the comm. Someone was trying to contact me. Somehow, I already knew it wouldn't be good news.
Miranda joined me in the Comm Room, where Hackett was waiting to talk to us. After a brief exchange of greetings, he got right down to business. "According to our intelligence reports, Cerberus has aborted all current operations and withdrawn their forces throughout the galaxy."
Aw, crap.
It seemed like ages since we had last visited Horizon, and discovered that a so-called refuge known as Sanctuary was actually a Cerberus facility designed to transform unwitting civvies into Cerberus soldiers, while simultaneously researching ways to control Reaper forces. Kai Leng had spirited away key research data from the facility… but not before Miranda's sister placed a tracker on his shuttle. That tracker went straight to the Anadius system, deep inside the Horsehead Nebula. If Kai Leng had gone back to his master, then Cerberus headquarters was somewhere in that system.
Rather than launch an immediate direct assault, we had decided to whittle down TIMmy's forces by launching coordinated assaults on Cerberus operations in an effort to spread thin their resources, before attacking Omega, which they had conquered and turned into a staging ground. Things had been going reasonably well. Granted, there had been casualties, but we had been making progress.
This latest development, however, changed the game completely. "Do we know where they're heading?" I asked.
"Based on the data we picked up from your probes, they seem to be forming a new defensive perimeter within the Horsehead Nebula."
That would be the recon probes around the Horsehead Nebula's mass relay, before I dropped by Omega to wreak havoc, kick Cerberus butt and give it back to Aria. At a terrible cost, I reminded myself. "Clever," I conceded. "There are advantages to falling back. The Illusive Man has shortened his supply lines while forcing us to extend ours."
"And with a smaller perimeter, they're less vulnerable to hit-and-run attacks," Hackett concurred. "We won't be able to pick them off one by one."
"It's likely that the Illusive Man intends to fortify himself and rebuild his forces," Miranda said. "If so, he will be able to build more ships and brainwash more troops with impressive speed. Remember, he transitioned from a policy of covert operations to an all-out war footing within a year. He's done it before, he can do it again. If we leave him alone, he'll be free to create a new army, which he will unleash on the galaxy. And when he does…"
"Yeah," I agreed. "God help us all."
"It gets worse," Hackett said grimly. "We tracked Cerberus's movements as they retreated. Most of them moved through systems contested by the Reapers, which isn't unusual in and of itself considering how widespread the Reaper invasion has been. What concerns me is that several Cerberus vessels passed well within striking distance of Reaper ships… and they did not engage in any form of combat. As far as we can determine, the Reapers just let them pass."
A chill went down my spine. "So either the Reapers had a spontaneous—and systemic—fit of blindness, they didn't regard Cerberus as a threat... or now they're working together."
"Or Cerberus and Reapers have agreed to some kind of non-aggression pact," Miranda frowned. "Which is curious, as they never showed any signs of coordinating their forces or cooperating in any way. In fact, there have been a few documented cases where they actively opposed each other."
She was right. Tuchanka came to mind. (1) "Do you think the Illusive Man succeeded in finding a way to control the Reapers?" I wondered aloud.
"It would seem more likely that the Reapers got to him, given his increased interest in incorporating Reaper technology," Miranda replied. "Without further data, I really couldn't say."
"Regardless of the reason, the Illusive Man just forced our hand," I sighed. "We have to attack them to retrieve the Prothean VI they took from Thessia. And we need that VI if we are to have any chance of discovering what and where the Catalyst is."
"Agreed," Hackett nodded. "Bottom line: once we're committed against Cerberus, it won't be long before the Reapers take notice."
"And the Crucible?" I asked.
"Ready, except for the Catalyst, but there's no way to hide the ships we'll be sending at Cerberus. Once we attack, the Crucible won't stay safe for long. For all intents and purposes, an assault on Cerberus will be the first stage of our attack on Earth."
"What happens if Cerberus doesn't have the intel we need?" I pressed. "Or they stop us from getting it?"
"Then we lead our fleets to Earth and we take our chances."
Great. Sink or swim.
"But your intel points to Cerberus and the Illusive Man holding the information we're looking for. And… we have the element of surprise. Even if Cerberus knows about the tracker Miranda's sister planted or the recon probes you placed, they probably expect us to take a conservative approach. That we will monitor their movements, run simulations, discuss and debate the next move. If we strike now, while they are still organizing, they won't know what hit them."
"The Reapers and Cerberus started this," I declared. "Now we're going to end it."
"Well put," Hackett approved. "Which is why I'm assembling a task force consisting of the Fifth Fleet, the asari Second Fleet, the salarian Third Fleet and the turian Sixth Fleet. I'd like the Normandy to participate."
Interesting. Four fleets might sound like a lot, but there was no telling how large a navy Cerberus had put together. That being said, it made sense that Hackett wasn't willing to throw everything into this operation. Despite the gravity of the situation, he did have to keep the security of the Crucible in mind, not to mention the larger strategic picture. By leaving the bulk of the allied fleets out of the fighting, they would be at full readiness for when we attacked Earth.
What interested me was the composition of this task force. It would be easy to assume that this was just a PR move to include fleets from all four Council races in this operation, where politics trumped basic military considerations. On the other hand, Hackett was the fleet commander of the Alliance Fifth Fleet. If he was personally overseeing this operation, the Fifth Fleet would have to come along. It was well-suited to assume a wide variety of tactical roles, as was the salarian Third Fleet. The asari Second Fleet was composed of frigates and fighters, which would make them good for launching hit-and-run attacks, along with other quick manoeuvres. The turian Sixth Fleet was one of the few remaining formations that was more or less at full strength, and boasted the greatest number of dreadnoughts. In short, Hackett had undoubtedly weighed tactical as well as diplomatic necessities when putting together this task force, assembling an armada that was remarkably well-balanced and prepared for whatever the Illusive Man could throw at us.
And then there was the Normandy and her crew. "We'd be honoured," I said. "What are our orders?"
"Go to the Horsehead Nebula and perform a reconnaissance sweep of the Pax system before the task force arrives. Your probes suggest the vast majority of the Cerberus ships passed through to the Anadius system, but it's entirely possible that a few vessels were left behind to act as an early-warning system. Locate any sentries Cerberus may have placed and eliminate them or, if there are too many, report back so we can take them out together.
"Once the Pax system has been secured, we'll split into two formations. You will accompany the asari Second Fleet and the salarian Third Fleet to the Anadius system and confirm the location of Cerberus's base of operations. The asari and salarians will launch a diversionary attack on Cerberus while the Alliance and turian ships go around Anadius itself and hit them from the rear."
"You want to use the asari to goad them and the salarians to provide backup if things get dicey," I deduced. "If we can draw off enough of Cerberus's fighters and frigates, then their capital ships will be left vulnerable to a flanking attack—which is where the Alliance and turian ships come in."
Hackett gave me a nod of approval. "Once the fighting begins in earnest, you and your squad can board their main base of operations and secure the Prothean VI."
This was it. After all the desperate fighting and gathering of allies, we were going to strike back. To make Cerberus—and the Reapers—pay for all the blood they spilled and all the lives they took. All the blood and sweat and tears we had shed—it all came down to this. "It'll be our pleasure," I declared. "We'll set course for the Pax system immediately."
"Then I'll get the fleets mobilized. Hackett out."
Miranda turned to me as Hackett's holographic image disappeared. "I'll ready the squad," she said.
"And I better brief the crew," I returned.
I noticed a slight shift in the crew's mood as we approached the mass relay. They had always been skilled and professional, but things were different. Now we had a mission, one that went beyond sneaking into places we weren't supposed to go, inserting my squad and setting things on fire. This mission would actually call upon all of the Normandy's potential to observe, gather intelligence and launch attacks out of nowhere.
More importantly, this mission marked a major step forward towards the endgame. Everyone recognized the gravity of the situation. They knew the stakes. But they were up to the challenge. As I made my rounds, I noted that orders were passed along and carried out with calm precision. Every weapon, every console, every system was checked, double-checked and triple-checked. One power relay showed a fault, and Adams personally pulled away an inspection plate to diagnose the problem and replace the faulty component. Garrus was free to calibrate to his heart's content without any interruptions or teasing, particularly as the Normandy's weapons would have to function without his tender guidance when the squad attacked.
At last, we reached the mass relay and made the relatively short transit into the Pax system. A medium-sized system, it boasted four planets—including Noveria. Seemed like only yesterday that I had been chasing Saren to that wonderful corporate-owned iceball, only to discover they had resurrected a freaking rachni queen. More recently, I'd led my squad there to take out a Cerberus fighter base. For a moment, I felt the urge to drop by. It wasn't just to say hello and see if there were any familiar faces, mind you. There was the remote possibility that Cerberus might have left a few people there who might warn the Illusive Man of our presence—or paid off one or two disgruntled employees to do the same. But without any concrete proof, I'd have to go through a lot of corporate bureaucracy and red tape before starting any kind of search. We simply didn't have that kind of time. All we could do was scan the space around Noveria for any Cerberus ships, move on and hope for the best.
I took the elevator up to the CIC. "Report," I said to Traynor.
"We just dropped into the Pax system, Commander. Our arrival doesn't appear to have alerted anybody. We're beginning passive scans now."
Hackett's orders were to search the Pax system for any Cerberus ships that may have been placed on sentry duty. Ideally, we would take them out before the task force arrived, because that isn't the kind of thing you can hide. An active scan would probably pick them up, but it would also give away our position, which defeated the whole purpose of sending the Normandy in first. So we had to rely on our passive sensors to pick up any transmission, emissions or general activity. This meant a lot of standing around and waiting while the Normandy began systematically searching through the system.
We had almost finished scanning the Pax system when things got interesting. "Possible contact," Ensign Copeland reported. "Bearing: zero-four-five. Distance: two hundred million kilometres."
"What kind of contact?" I wanted to know.
"Unknown. Trying to isolate engine signature… sorry, sir. It's just too weak to make out one way or another."
Stepping up to the galaxy map, I tapped into the sensor readings and put them up on display. Sure enough, all we could get was a tentative sensor anomaly. "Helm," I ordered, "all ahead half speed, come left to bearing zero-four-five. Let's work this contact, people."
"Aye, sir," Joker said over the comm. You could tell how seriously he was taking this by the fact that he replied without his usual irreverence.
Slowly, we closed in. Copeland's fingers danced over his console, constantly fine-tuning and analyzing the sensor feeds. "We've got something," he said at last. "Isolating frequencies… got it! Contact—correction, two contacts, I repeat, two contacts. Bearing three-five-six. Distance: five hundred thousand kilometres. Looks like Cerberus frigates, sir. Signals are faint: they must be powered down."
Only two frigates? Standard Alliance doctrine allowed for frigates to operate in groups or 'wolf packs' of four to six to attack vulnerable targets. Mind you, these ships were patrolling, not attacking. And Cerberus had never adhered to standard Alliance doctrine. "Any sign they've detected us?" I asked.
"None, sir."
Perfect. "Keep plotting those contacts, Ensign. Transfer telemetry to Garrus. CIC to Main Battery: looks like we have company after all. Two contacts, tentatively iden—" I saw Copeland nod quickly and give me a thumbs up—make that positively identified as two Cerberus frigates."
"Receiving telemetry," Garrus replied. "Working firing solutions. GARDIAN lasers and Thanix cannons online. Javelin torpedo racks online. All weapon systems standing by."
"Acknowledged, Garrus. Shepard out." I reached over to the console and switched comm channels. "Miranda, we're tracking two Cerberus frigates. Closing to engage."
"Understood. The squad is assembled—minus yourself, Garrus and EDI, of course—and can gear up as soon as you give the word."
Well, then. There was just one more thing to do: "Red alert. Stand by to raise shields. All hands to battle stations."
The tension in the CIC gradually rose to a peak as the alert lights began flashing, then plateaued. All the training we had received was paying off. Every man and woman worked together seamlessly, receiving, handling and acting on data with perfect efficiency. I doubt the geth could do any better. (2)
I watched on the galaxy map as we closed in on the frigates. This was it.
"We're now within weapons range," Copeland announced.
"Patience," I advised. "Let's take our time and lock them in before we fire."
At last we got close enough. "Shields up," I barked. "Power to Thanix cannons."
"Targets locked," Garrus reported.
"Fire!"
The Thanix cannons released twin streams of blue energy, blowing the lead frigate to smithereens. (3) Only then did the other frigate register our presence. She made an abrupt turn to starboard and narrowly missed Garrus's next shot. Ignoring the muttered curse over the comm, I contacted Joker. "Bring us about. Attack pattern omega-four. Engage!"
"Enemy frigate is powering up her shields. Sir: she just fired a missile from her aft launcher!"
"GARDIAN system online," Garrus reassured us. Sure enough, the computer locked onto the missile and blew it to smithereens. I remembered that Adams and his engineers had recently upgraded the GARDIAN lasers to ultraviolet frequencies for increased power and range. Well worth any added maintenance that had to be done, I decided.
Meanwhile, we still had that frigate to deal with. "Garrus?"
"I have a solution. Firing now."
The second frigate blew up just as readily as the first one. I nodded in satisfaction before turning to Traynor. "Did either frigate get off a distress signal?"
"No, sir."
In other words, the first phase of our mission was a success: we took out TIMmy's sentries and they didn't even get off as much as a peep. "Stand down red alert," I announced. "Let's finish our scan, people. Then we'll report in."
We completed our scan of the Pax system without finding any more hostiles. Our next task was to signal the all-clear and rendezvous with the task force. Still standing by the galaxy map, I saw as the ships emerged from the mass relay one by one.
"This is Admiral Hackett of the Fifth Fleet," I heard overhead. "All ships, report in."
I ran a quick systems check, nodded in satisfaction when all the reports came in the green and waited for our turn to report our ready status. That took longer than you'd think—there were a lot of ships out there. Granted, Hackett probably didn't get a status from each and every individual ship. More likely each ship would report to a designated command ship, who would report to their own command ship and on and on. But still, it would take time.
"Asari fighter wings," an unknown female voice said over the comm, "break into squadrons and stand by to begin reconnaissance sweeps."
"Salarian scouting flotillas, move to rendezvous with your assigned asari squadron. Reconnaissance sweeps will commence when all ships report in."
"Turian ships," another voice ordered, "assume attack formation."
On and on the orders went as we got to work. Joining the asari and salarian ships, we made our way to the Anadius system. A small system, it boasted nothing but a MIIa red supergiant—of approximately 20 solar masses and 1500 times Sol's radius—and an asteroid belt. An unidentified space station lay hidden within the asteroids… or it would have been hidden were it not for all the ships milling around. Unlike the sentry ships we'd had encountered in the neighbouring system, these ships weren't making any effort to mask their engine signatures. Nor were they shy about exchanging a lot of comm chatter. And just in case the Normandy had trouble getting any sensor readings, we had an entire fleet of salarian ships tagging along—and intelligence gathering was their forte.
It quickly became clear that this wouldn't be a cakewalk. At full strength, the combined might of the task force would outnumber the Cerberus ships—barely. Right now—with only the Normandy, the asari and the salarians to strike the first blow—we were outnumbered about three to two, a fact we passed along to Hackett, along with the rest of our findings, via a tight-beam transmission.
Over an encrypted channel, we heard Hackett's next orders. "Hackett to Fifth and Sixth Fleets: cruisers and dreadnoughts to half speed; frigates: assume defensive screen. Prepare to move out on my mark. Second and Third Fleets: you are free to engage."
"You heard the admiral," a female voice spoke up. "Fighter wings: tactical pattern Lucen. First wave: prepare to engage the Cerberus forces. Strafe the enemy, then split into squadrons and return to the fleet."
Another asari reported in. "Attack fighters in Lucen formation. All other ships at designated positions."
"First wave, begin your attack. Fire at will!"
Well, the first wave didn't provoke any response. Hell, it didn't take out any ships. Neither did the second wave. Or the third.
By the time the fourth wave sallied forth, Traynor had a distinctly puzzled look on her face. "Commander," she whispered to me. "I hope I'm not out of line, but… I don't suppose you could… um, I'm not sure I… perhaps my lack of naval manoeuvres and general military knowledge is making itself known but …"
"You're wondering what the asari are up to?" I guessed.
"Quite."
"They're hoping to get some of the Cerberus ships to break formation so that they'll go after their fighters," I explained.
"Surely they won't fall for that. I thought the Illusive Man's troops were all brainwashed and reprogrammed. Wouldn't that extend to his naval forces?"
"It would. But there are still some people who joined Cerberus voluntarily. They could still have some measure of free will and independent thinking, in which case they might chafe against any orders to hold the line. If they get angry and frustrated enough with the asari…"
"…they might take the bait," Traynor finished. "Which would open a hole in the Cerberus lines we can exploit."
"Exactly," I smiled. "The longer we drag this out, the greater the chance that we draw some ships out of position—and the more time we give the Alliance and turian ships to move into position."
It wasn't until the ninth wave that we got a response. About half of the Cerberus fighters suddenly broke formation and went after the asari, along with a score of Cerberus frigates and three cruisers. "They took the bait," a male voice—presumably salarian—spoke with satisfaction. "Third Fleet cruisers, prepare to receive firing solutions and countdowns. Lock on your designated target and fire when the timer runs out."
The salarian fell silent, replaced immediately by the asari I heard earlier. "Asari fighter waves one through four; frigate wings three and six—maintain defensive screen around the fleet. All other ships: you are free to engage."
I made my way to the bridge. The galaxy map was fine and all, but I wanted some more detail. Joining Joker and EDI, I took in what I could see on the viewscreens and the telemetry readings being displayed on the computer monitors. The ninth wave had made it back—but not before six of the asari fighters had been taken out. The asari were now engaging the Cerberus ships.
Meanwhile the salarian ships were opening fire. It looked like the Third Fleet wanted to widen the hole created in the Cerberus lines. As I watched, several more ships were disabled or destroyed. The Cerberus ships closed their ranks, assuming a new formation.
And that was when the Alliance and turian ships arrived, seemingly popping up out of nowhere when in reality they must have made a short FTL jump through the system. I had to take my hat off—if I was wearing one—to whoever plotted that route. That was quite a feat of navigation to calculate a precision jump for two whole fleets without running into any gravitational bodies at all.
"Hackett to all dreadnoughts," I heard. "Target all of your weapons on the station. We have to take out the shields so Shepard can move in."
Which was why the Normandy wasn't diving into the fray just yet, in case you were wondering. Her primary role in this phase of the operation was to get my squad to the station. After that, she could join the fun.
"All other ships, open fire. Remember: Cerberus will be trying to drive us out of this system before we can establish a foothold. We won't let them."
I watched the ships—theirs and ours—move around, each designated by different shapes and colours. It seemed strange to see all those icons moving around on a screen like some video game. But this wasn't a game. This was real. When an icon disappeared, that was a ship being destroyed—and her crew losing their lives.
"We've got our foothold," Hackett announced. "Normandy, you have a go. Fifth Fleet, all forward! I don't want a single Cerberus ship in my sky when we're through." (4)
"Yeah, we've got a foothold," Joker snorted, "but it's not much. Commander, there are still a lot of ships between us and that station—not to mention all the fighters guarding the launch bays."
"Can you get us in?" I demanded.
Joker made a rude noise and gave me a cocky grin. "Hey, I got us to Ilos. I can do this." As if demonstrating his point, he dodged a barrage of gunfire from a nearby Cerberus cruiser, fired off a torpedo in reply, took out three Cerberus fighters… all while getting us a little closer to the station.
"Then make it happen," I said.
"Might be a bumpy ride, though."
Wonderful. "Do what you can."
EDI stood up from the co-pilot seat and faced me. "Shepard, the squad is assembled in the shuttle bay. With your permission, I will join them."
"Wait, w-what?" Joker turned around and stared at her. "Are you crazy?"
"I have been participating in every combat mission since I acquired control of this body. Why would this mission be any different?"
"Because this mission is going to Cerberus headquarters? You can't go there! They could have a virus or a kill-switch or…"
"This is the central point of operations for Cerberus," EDI told him. "They will have enhanced security measures. With my knowledge of Cerberus algorithms and this body's updated protocols, I offer the best chance to help Shepard succeed. Don't worry, Jeff. I will be fine."
"But…"
Unfortunately for Joker, he didn't have the final say. I did. "Head to the shuttle, EDI."
EDI gave me a nod, but she didn't leave immediately. Instead, she leaned over and gave Joker a kiss—on the cheek, probably to avoid blocking his view. Only then did she depart.
Joker struggled to get his emotions under control and succeeded. Enough to focus on the task at hand, anyway. "Fifth Fleet's cut through their lines. They're trying to regroup, but the asari and salarians are hitting their flanks, taking out any stragglers. And the turians are busy blowing up anything that looks like a command ship. Now's as good a time as any."
"Acknowledged." I leaned over and lowered my voice. "I know it hurts, not being able to go with her."
"Yeah, it sucks," Joker replied bitterly, before injecting a note of sarcasm into his voice. "Thanks for bringing it up."
There wasn't a lot more I could say. The squad was waiting for me. "The task force needs your help, Joker. The Cerberus ships have some upgrades that outclass standard warship specs. But the Normandy is the most advanced ship in the galaxy. Go do some damage."
"Got it."
I turned to leave the bridge.
"Hey… Shepard."
I turned back. Joker looked me in the eye. "Keep her safe," he said.
Reaching over, I patted the side of the ship. The ship EDI had made herself a part of. "Same to you."
The squad was already in the shuttle when I arrived. As soon as I sat down, Cortez sealed the hatch and directed all power to the engines. The shuttle lifted off the deck and blasted out of the Normandy like a bat out of hell.
I squinted as I took my first look out of the shuttle viewscreens. The station, and all the ships fighting around it, were mere silhouettes against the blazing sun. If it wasn't for the computer-assisted filters blocking the worst of the sunlight, my ocular implants would have been fried. As it was, I managed to make out enough detail to realize we were within a couple dozen kilometres of our target. Joker must have gotten us closer to the station than I realized.
With all the firepower Cerberus had to bear, they could have easily blown us out of the sky. However, we didn't take any fire whatsoever. It was possible that none of the Cerberus ships could see us. However, it was far more likely that they had more pressing targets to focus on and weren't able to lock on to such a small, manoeuvrable target. Ideally that would be what fighters were for, but any Cerberus fighters were engaged in a dogfight with their asari counterparts. So we were free to fly towards the station.
As we approached, I realized that we weren't slowing down. If anything, we were picking up speed. "We in a hurry, Cortez?" I asked casually.
"Hangar bay doors are open, but there are kinetic barrier screens up and running," he told me. "Probably intended to maintain atmosphere, but they're strong enough to stop a shuttle if it isn't going fast enough. Which reminds me." He reached over and activated the comm. "We're coming in hot," he told the rest of my squad. "Brace for impact."
I could see flickers of light as we made our final approach. It took a moment to realize that the lights were tracer rounds. Looked like Cerberus had arranged for a welcome party to greet us. Well, I was happy to return the favour once we arrived. That reminded me that maybe I should sit down and buckle up myself.
The hangar bay grew larger and larger. I could see inside now, see the long cavernous tunnel filled with equipment and supplies. And soldiers, of course. All the soldiers were firing, ignoring the incoming shuttle deadest on a crash landing. At last, even the most hardened, most thoroughly programmed soldier had to dive for cover. The shuttle broke through the kinetic barrier, but the resistance sent it spinning. Despite Cortez's best efforts, the shuttle belly-flopped on the deck. It spun around, knocking crates and hostiles in every direction. Eventually, the shuttle lurched to a stop.
Getting up, I joined the squad in the back. "Everyone okay?" I asked. My squadmates nodded. I hit the hatch controls and led them out.
"Cortez?" I asked. "You okay?"
"I'm fine. Just have some repairs to make here. Give Cerberus hell!"
"Copy that. Over and out."
As we made our way around the shuttle, I heard someone speak. Raising a fist, I motioned for the squad to halt. "One confirmed hostile team," I heard someone say, in the harsh, telltale rasp of a Reaperfied Cerberus goon. "We've got them locked in Hangar 16."
"First responders are in," a second voice, equally harsh, chimed in. "We have to assume termination."
"By the numbers," the first voice ordered. "Backup is inbound and hostiles aren't going anywhere."
That's what he thought.
"If need be, we'll just vent the damn hangar."
Okay, that didn't sound good. "All right, people," I told the squad. "Sounds like Cerberus wants us to stay put. Let's show them we have other plans. Weapons free."
Peeking out from behind the shuttle, I spotted three assault troopers closing on our position. They were outnumbered three to one. For a moment, I almost felt sorry for them.
Then I got over it and set the lead trooper on fire.
Liara immediately followed up with a biotic blast. EDI finished the poor sucker off with a single burst from her submachine gun. Team Two did pretty much the same thing with the second trooper. Team Three decided to go traditional and just hose the sucker down with lead.
Meanwhile, I was busy scanning the area. Someone had dropped a smoke grenade, which meant we probably had a higher-level officer running around. Sure enough, I found a Centurion. One shot took out his shields; the other went right through his head.
I led Team One forward, but my shields took a few hits. Looking around, I saw an assault trooper being pummeled by Team Two. Satisfied that they had that hostile under control, I found some cover and began looking for the next target.
Garrus found it for me. "Hell, they're bringing in mechs!"
He dropped an EMP on the Atlas, which Javik detonated with his biotics. Tali decided to stall the behemoth with her combat drone. Deciding that they couldn't have all the fun, I reloaded my sniper rifle, activated my cloak and began shooting. After a couple shots, I managed to drop the Atlas's shields and put a nice spider web in the pilot's window.
Then my shields crumpled in a flash of sparks.
Hastily ducking down, I saw EDI and Liara fire off an EMP/biotic combo. Apparently another Centurion had arrived, leading two more assault troopers. While Team Two handled the latter, the rest of Team One was showing the Centurion the error of his ways. I decided to emphasize my displeasure with my sniper rifle.
As I reloaded, my HUD picked up a new target: looked like a Nemesis sniper had joined the party. Clearly she wanted to get in on the long-range fun. Seeing that everyone else was still busy, I took out the enemy sniper myself before turning my attention back to the Atlas. By that point, though, Team Three had blown it—and the pilot—to smithereens, so I settled for taking out the Centurion.
"Security breach in Hangar 16," the VI said in a pleasant female voice. "Initiating Achilles Protocol."
"Shepard, Cerberus intends to vent the hangar bay!" Miranda interpreted.
Wonderful. Looking around, I saw reinforced metal doors closing over every exit… with the exception of the one with nothing but kinetic barriers between us and the cold vacuum of space. No doubt those barriers would go down the moment the hangar was sealed. "Can we stop them?" I asked.
"I can override the VI if I can reach an active console," EDI offered. "Try the upper level."
"Understood," I nodded. "Cortez, be advised that Cerberus is venting the hangar bay."
"Copy that. Sealing the shuttle now."
Miranda pointed me to a nearby ladder. As I led the squad over, I continued my conversation with Cortez. "Status of the shuttle?"
"Most of the primary systems are restored. Still have a few more repairs to make before she can fly again."
"Understood. Shepard out."
By that point, we'd made it up the ladder and were looking around. There was nothing but a few spare thermal clips to pick up.
The VI told us that our impromptu sightseeing jaunt had come to an end. "Hangar 16 secured. Engaging Achilles Protocol."
"Shepard," EDI warned, "we need to find a console and stop Cerberus from venting the hangar!"
Somehow, I refrained from replying that I'd figured that out. Instead, I stepped into some kind of office. There was a door at the far end and a large window that looked out over the hangar bay. More importantly, there were lots of consoles. "EDI?" I prompted.
I know I'm pretty good at entering commands and working my way around computers, but EDI put me to shame. I couldn't even see her fingers, they were moving so fast. "Hangar vent procedure… disabled," she announced.
"Good," I nodded. "Can you open the hangar? Maybe retract those doors?"
"No. However... I can access their fighter launch controls."
Under her command, a sleek fighter—sporting the typical Cerberus colours—rose from a hidden recess to the hangar. "If we can access the appropriate controls, we can point the fighter towards one of the doors and remotely activate its launch protocols."
In effect, turning the fighter into a makeshift missile. That's one way to blow the door open.
"Shepard, Cerberus is aware that the venting attempt failed. Reinforcements are inbound!"
We found cover just in the nick of time. The other door slid open and Cerberus troops stormed in. Liara and EDI took out an assault trooper while I sniped a Guardian right through his shield slit. Each of the remaining assault troopers were eliminated by Teams Two and Three.
As soon as everyone had reloaded, we went out the door onto a wide balcony overlooking the hangar. We had only taken a few steps when EDI spotted movement. "Another Cerberus team is inbound."
"I suspect they know what we're up to," Liara said.
"They're not stopping us now!" I insisted. "Weapons free!"
Activating my cloak, I raised my sniper rifle and started searching for the first hostile. Spotting a Centurion, I signalled Liara and EDI to take out his shields before I blew his brains out. Team Two did the same with a second Centurion. As for Team Three, they seemed to be pinned down by a Nemesis sniper. Leaning out, I fired a shot that overloaded her shields. More importantly, it distracted her long enough for Garrus to reorganize his team. Leaving Team Three to finish off the sniper, I took a look at the battlefield. Looked like the only other hostiles were a pair of Guardians, grimly advancing despite all the weapons fire they were taking. Reloading my sniper rifle, I took them out.
Once the coast was clear, we ran along the balcony into another room overlooking the other side of the hangar. EDI accessed one of the consoles there, pulling up the fighter rotation controls. "Overriding safeties," she told me. "The fighter should now launch toward the hangar door."
"Perfect," I approved. "Let's get down there."
Of course, it wasn't quite that simple. First I had to clear the balcony on this side of the room of hostiles… and thermal clips… and credits. (5) Then we returned to the lower level of the hangar. EDI made her way to the fighter's clamp release. "Launching fighter," she announced.
The engines of the fighter came to life. It quickly powered up, flew off the launch platform—straight into the hangar door. Miranda looked at the amount of destruction left in the fighter's wake, along with the numerous fires that had been ignited, and shook her head. "Impressive work, EDI," she said. "I'm sure Shepard would be proud."
Damn straight.
EDI was unfazed by the latest display of wanton destruction. "The central lab was located behind this hangar. I suggest we follow the fighter's path."
"Noted," I nodded. "Let's move." I stood up, sniper rifle still in hand, and moved towards the now-open door.
Then I heard a stomp. The reverberations through my boots. There was another stomp. And another.
And then the Atlas stepped out into the open, effortlessly navigating its way over and through the various infernos.
"Intruder alert: hostile forces have breached the perimeter. All personnel prepare for security lockdown. Repeat: hostile forces have breached the perimeter. All units respond."
EDI was right: TIMmy's goons definitely knew that we were still here. That being said, all we were up against was the Atlas—who had started pelting us with rockets—and a half-dozen assault troopers up on the balcony above us. "Liara, I want a singularity to draw out the troopers. After that, Teams One and Two target the Atlas. Team Three will deal with the troopers. Everyone got that?" I got a series of nods and thumbs-up. "All right. We go in three… two… one… go, go, go!"
"Research personnel: lock all terminals and destroy all data below Classification Level Epsilon."
I scurried forward, just as the Atlas fired again. The rocket missed, but the explosion took out my shields. Ow. It was worth it though, as now I was close enough to pick up the Atlas on my sensors and transmit its location to the others.
Raising my sniper rifle, I fired a shot right into the Atlas. Would've gone right through the pilot's head if it wasn't for the thickness of the canopy glass. Ducking down, I quickly assessed the battlefield. Three of the six troopers had been snatched up in Liara's singularity, which effectively took them out of play. Garrus and Javik were busy ripping apart the fourth trooper while Tali harassed the rest with her combat drone. Meanwhile, EDI had dropped an EMP on the Atlas. I leaned out from my cover long enough to fire off a stream of plasma.
The Atlas pilot deployed smoke grenades, but my rifle's scope was up to the challenge of piercing the gloom. Under my direction, Teams One and Two began hitting it with an alternating barrage of EMPs and biotics. I pitched in with shots from my sniper rifle, complemented by my cloak. In between shots, I saw that three of the hostile troopers had been taken out. Team Three was now picking off the guys still spinning in the singularity.
As the last trooper fell—literally plummeting to the floor below—the smoke cloud hiding the Atlas suddenly blazed with fire. I waited until the smoke dissipated, but it was clear that the Atlas was no more.
"Shit, was that all?" James grinned.
"That was the last Cerberus team in this area," EDI confirmed.
"Let's move," Kaidan urged. "Maybe we can catch them before they regroup."
"Agreed." I ejected the spent thermal clip from my sniper rifle and loaded a fresh replacement. Everyone else quickly followed suit. "Let's move out."
We had almost reached the door that the fighter crashed through when I heard someone speaking. I turned up the gain on my helmet's audio sensors.
"Talk to me!" an assault trooper demanded. "I'm hearing reports that they breached the door with heavy weapons!"
Eh. Close enough.
"Negative," another voice replied. "They rigged a fighter. Damn thing tore through half the facility."
Hee, hee.
"Finally stopped not far from Central."
"Shut the hostiles down before they reach the central lab!"
As I passed along the conversation to the squad, I tried to make it through the door. It quickly became clear that the flames were far too intense to make that a viable option. Looking around, I spotted two things: an M-37 Falcon assault rifle—which I promptly scanned—and a locked door. I caught EDI's eye and motioned to the latter. "EDI, can you get past it?"
"One moment." EDI did a cursory scan and analyzed the results. "Cerberus has updated their encryption. There may be a slight delay as I bypass security."
"Better get started then." As EDI began, I had another question: "How will Cerberus react to us breaching the door?"
Miranda answered that one. "If they are still following the same protocols that were in place when I left, they should be sealing off as much of the base as they can and blocking the most obvious routes to key areas of the station. Other sections will be fortified—mostly with heavy troopers, who will attempt to delay us while engineers set up turrets."
"Any more surprises like venting the hangar?"
This time, EDI gave the answer. Apparently she was up to the task of tackling electronic locks and answering my random questions simultaneously. "No. I am aware of this facility's safeguards and can counteract them. Cerberus can merely slow us down. And I can confirm that they are setting up fortifications and blockades per the protocols Miranda mentioned."
"Then it's a good thing you came along."
"Yes. Even with your hacking experience, there is an 80.59% chance that Cerberus would have vented the hangar."
Huh. "Thanks for coming."
"I am pleased to assist."
Our little chat came to an end as the locking mechanism disengaged. The squad quickly hurried through the door. "We must proceed through a sublevel to avoid Cerberus containment measures," EDI advised.
"Where do you think we'll find the Prothean VI?" I asked.
"The central lab," Miranda said decisively.
"It is the most secure area," EDI agreed. "It should be located at the heart of this facility. Once we clear the sublevel, we can follow the destruction left by the fighter. That will likely offer the most direct route."
Clearing the sublevel was easier said than done. No sooner had we descended the ladder into a dimly lit area strewn with pipes and waist-high cables than we were greeted with gunfire. EDI and Liara picked the closest assault trooper and tag-teamed him while I lined up a shot on his partner. I managed to blow his head off, but not before he tossed something our way. "Grenade!" I barked.
Teams One and Two scrambled out of the way. As Miranda dove gracefully for cover, she launched a fireball, hitting a third assault trooper that Kaidan had hammered earlier with his biotics. Meanwhile, Garrus was busy drilling a hole into another trooper's head while Javik and Tali ganged up on yet another trooper and I was taking advantage of my cloak to snipe the sixth assault trooper who was unlucky enough to cross our path.
Given the sheer number of troopers that seemed to be charging our way—one or two at a time—you can imagine my surprise when my sensors picked up the shield emissions of a Centurion. I tried to take out his shields with a sniper round but I missed. Yes, I can miss a shot now and then. I'm only human after all. Still, I had to make up for my error, even despite the smoke grenade he deployed, so I aimed and fired. My next shot overloaded his shields. My last blew his brains out.
Looking ahead, most of the hostiles were down. Teams Two and Three were easily dealing with the active threats. Maybe it was time to mix things up a little. "Miranda, Garrus: hold your position. I'll lead Team One around the side and flank them."
I'd only made it a few metres when I ran into a little problem. Or rather, the problem found me. "Sniper!" I snapped, recognizing the dancing red beam of a laser sight. "Get down!"
We scattered just before the Nemesis sniper—'cuz it had to be. TIMmy wouldn't let an independent sniper run around his super-secret lair of evil—fired. She missed. Engaging my cloak, I tried to return the favour. Unfortunately, she was moving too quickly and my shot went wide.
Thankfully, EDI had better aim. Her EMP drained a bit of the sniper's shields. Liara was about to follow up with her biotics, but was forced to switch targets as a pair of troopers barged in. While her biotics knocked one trooper for a loop, I blew the other one's head off… but not before he threw a grenade. Moving out of harm's way, I lit up the other trooper with some plasma.
As the trooper went boom, I got on the comm. "Ran into some resistance. How're you doing?"
"We are managing the situation," Miranda replied calmly.
"Managing so well we were wondering what happened to you," Garrus added cheekily. "Thought you might've gotten bored and nodded off."
"Tempting, but the locals here are really inconsiderate," I said. "Excuse me while I chastise them. Violently. Shepard out."
The head of the latest assault trooper to cross my path exploded in a satisfying burst of blood and gore. (6) The Nemesis sniper, on the other hand, was quite another story. She persisted in keeping her head down and shifting position so I couldn't acquire a shot. After a while, it became clear that something had to change. "EDI, Liara: this is what we're going to do…"
Spinning around, I centred on a new target—no, it wasn't a trooper. As the Centurion staggered back, my cloak disengaged. I fried what was left of his shields and let Liara rip him apart with her biotics. The Nemesis popped up, trying to take advantage of my supposed distraction to finally get the drop on me.
Little did she know she had finally fallen into my trap. While she was focusing on me, she ignored everyone else—including EDI. One wave of EDI's hand and her EMP went off, frying the sniper's shields. After that, it was child's play to put a bullet in her head.
"Clear," Liara declared.
"Clear," EDI echoed.
They were right. We were in the clear. But the gunshots told me the fight wasn't over. "What say we resume our original plan?"
The last batch of hostiles consisted of two Centurions and six or seven assault troopers. They'd found quite a nice set of cover to hide behind while they kept the rest of my squad at bay. Neither Team Two nor Team Three could risk advancing forward. It seemed they were at a standoff.
Or they were until I dropped a grenade in their midst. They were still crying out in shock when Liara pulled the troopers out of hiding and into the air with her singularity. It didn't take long to cut them down. I wound up finishing the last one off with a quick stab with my omni-blade.
"Nothing like a knife fight in an alley," James observed. "Damn, we sure put down a lot of their troops."
"Their intention is to delay us," EDI corrected, "not stop us."
"EDI's right," Miranda nodded. "Even as we speak, Cerberus engineers will be preparing an organized defence."
Maybe I should have been shocked that the Illusive Man could spend the lives of his men and women so casually. But I knew he would view them as nothing more than expendable assets. He treated all his underlings that way, even before he started using Reaper augmentations to turn helpless civvies into functional shock troops.
"Just like the Reapers did with the Collectors," Tali said in a subdued voice, "Turning victims into a private army. This is… awful."
"Yes," EDI agreed.
"This is why we're here," I declared. "It's not just about retrieving the Prothean VI. We're sending the Illusive Man and Cerberus a message: we won't tolerate this kind of crap. Not now. Not ever."
There was a ladder leading out of the sublevel, which we took as soon as everyone had reloaded their weapons. We found ourselves in a small room. There were a few shelves holding a variety of equipment, a nearby wall console and a locked door. EDI made her way to the latter and began hacking the controls. "We will be through momentarily," she assured me.
"Gotcha."
Meanwhile, Miranda had made a beeline for the console. "Shepard, this console has not been fully scrubbed. It contains data you may find interesting."
I joined her at the console. "What am I looking at?"
"Project Lazarus. Your… reconstruction."
Oh. Wow.
I joke a lot about having been brought back from the dead as a cybernetic ninja zombie. I joke a lot about looting items of interest and setting various targets on fire. I joke a lot, period. Partly because I gotta be me. But, if I am honest, I joke because it's a coping mechanism. It helps me deal with the overwhelming stress brought on by the sheer amount of crap that's thrown at me every single day. It helps me deal with life-changing decisions and galaxy-shaking revelations that have to be made because no one else will. And it helps me ignore the fact that I died.
Death is supposed to be a big thing. It's supposed to be final. An endpoint that everyone will reach. The ultimate fate that everyone will face. Everyone but me, apparently. And now I had the opportunity to see how that happened. Part of me didn't want to know. Part of me wanted to stay in blissful ignorance, insatiable curiosity be damned.
Somehow, despite all my conflicted feelings, I found myself reaching for the console and pulling up the first log entry. There was a room with various computers, two big screens and a holo-pad. A man—some scientist in Cerberus's employ, presumably—was talking to a holographic representation of TIMmy. "It can't be done," he said. "It's not a matter of resources."
"It's always a matter of resources," TIMmy declared with his usual smug confidence. "We're not losing Shepard."
"Sir. Shepard's body entered Alchera's atmosphere and experienced an uncontrolled descent into the ground. His circulatory system was basically ripped apart. Most of his organs have ruptured. Half of his bones are broken and the other half is virtually pulverized. And that's not discounting the fact that his suit's pressure seals were compromised upon his departure from the Normandy. He spent several minutes in the cold vacuum of space before crashing on Alchera—where he lay, exposed to all the methane and ammonia in the atmosphere—until the Shadow Broker's agents retrieved him. By this point, Shepard is clinically brain-dead. After that much trauma, that long without oxygen… I don't care how many resources we throw at this: we cannot overcome nature."
"Operative Lawson disagrees. She is now in charge of Project Lazarus."
"But…"
"My decision is final. I expect you to give her your full cooperation."
The screen went blank.
"I… I didn't realize it was that bad," I managed.
"I saw what was… left of you," Liara admitted. "I thought you knew. Are you all right?" (7)
"I'm still me," I said. I wasn't sure who I was trying to convince—me or my squad. "At least… I mean, I doubt I'd have been able to turn against Cerberus otherwise. I don't remember anything, though. Maybe they really just fixed me or maybe… I'm just a high-tech VI that thinks it's Commander Shepard. But I don't know."
"Need I remind you that I was in charge of Project Lazarus?" Miranda said sharply. "I am uniquely qualified to answer that question. And for the record, I refuse to say you were 'fixed'.
"Okay. So—"
"Project Lazarus had two goals: bring you back to life and restore your memories, experiences, morals and personality. I was chosen to lead that project because I had a proven track record of successfully completing assignments that anyone else would have failed. I was given the authority to acquire whatever personnel, technology and resources were required to fulfill those goals.
"Are all the tissues and organs in your body your own? Yes and no: we used customized compounds to regenerate what tissues and organs we could. The ones we couldn't salvage—because they were damaged beyond repair and exhibited severe necrosis to boot—were removed to make way for cloned replacements that were successfully transplanted them into your body.
"We did insert some technology. Medical nano-bots were injected to eliminate foreign elements such as bacteria or viruses while laying the foundation for new circulatory and neural networks. Certain implants were used to temporarily supplement or sustain your body until the cloned organs had been transplanted and could take over. Other implants had to be left because you simply couldn't survive without them—though they did dramatically enhance your abilities."
"'We can rebuild him'," I quoted. "'We have the technology'." (8)
"Something like that."
"So you rebuilt my body. How about my mind? My soul?"
"I'm not a theologian or religious authority, Shepard. All I know was that your brain was intact, though it suffered serious damage from oxygen deprivation. We wound up thoroughly mapping the neural architecture of your brain so we could reconstruct the areas that were irreparably damaged and ensure that your memories and experiences would be accurately replicated. Whether that made you you we couldn't guarantee. Not until we revived you. But we gave you the best chance we could.
"Judging from what I've observed since I was forced to prematurely awaken you, Project Lazarus was a success. Granted, several of your biological organs were replaced. Yes, your body has various artificial lattices and support structures—"
"Wait," I interrupted. "Just how much of me is cybernetic?"
"32 percent. Plus another 2 or 3 percent if you count myofibril bundles, artificial neuronal sheathes and other additions."
"So other than all those little gadgets and doodads, I'm still 'me'?" I pressed. "You didn't make a clone of me and download your best guess of my memories into my noggin?"
"That was our fallback option, though the primary purpose of the clone was for emergency organ harvesting." (9)
She says that so casually.
"Look," Miranda tried again. "Regardless of the details, the fact is you came back from the dead. It'd be surprising if it didn't mess you up a little. But for what it's worth, I think you're 'you.' The concern and compassion you have for others, your morals and beliefs in what is the right thing to do, your unquenchable curiosity, even your penchant for indulging in kleptomania on the battlefield—it's all still there. The essence of who you are is still there. As long as you have that, does it really matter that you don't have all of your original bits and pieces?" (10)
Everyone followed suit with a chorus of agreements. I have to say I got a little misty-eyed. "Thanks, guys," I managed.
With the support of my squad, I managed to play the second log:
"Tissue regeneration is proceeding," the scientist said. "The helmet kept the brain intact… for whatever good that will do."
"Lawson will find a way," TIMmy said confidently.
"Sir," the scientist sighed, "Shepard's an Alliance soldier. As far as he knows, we're a terrorist organization."
"Shepard's a soldier, Alliance or not," TIMmy replied. "He knows the Reapers are the real threat. He'll work with us."
"He really had you boxed in," Garrus said sympathetically.
"Every instinct I had told me not to trust Cerberus," I replied. "No offense," I added for Miranda's benefit.
"None taken."
"But I needed their help," I continued. "So I played along."
"You did what you had to, Shepard," Garrus reassured me, "and I was there with you through thick and thin. I was there when you played along. I was there when you stood your ground and refused to cross the line. As far as I'm concerned, your conscience is clear."
The third entry showed three people: holographic TIMmy, the scientist stooge from earlier and a woman also dressed in science-looking garb. "Project Lazarus is reporting neurological activity in the subject," Stooge said. "They're requesting more funding."
"Granted. Get me our potential recruits file. Shepard will be up soon. We need a crew."
"Our existing forces should be more than sufficient," the woman objected.
"No," TIMmy disagreed. "We need sympathetic faces. I need Shepard invested. Tap Kelly Chambers and recruit Donnelly. I imagine Miss Daniels will follow. We'll want some old friends as well. Contact Dr. Chakwas, and send me the psych profile on Shepard's pilot… along with a bottle of '47 Thessia Red."
Ah yes. Because underhanded plotting was best done with a glass of good wine.
"Impressive manipulation techniques," Javik offered.
"Populating the Normandy's crew with familiar faces and sympathetic figures was a smart move," I admitted. "Try to make it look like Cerberus wasn't so bad and maybe I wouldn't look past the façade to see the real Cerberus."
"At the time, I was pleased with the Illusive Man's selection," Miranda put in. "There were some… inflexible elements within Cerberus. I was relieved that I wouldn't have to deal with them, and the inevitable personality conflicts and disagreements that would arise. It was also understood that the crew composition was carefully chosen to improve the chances of winning Shepard over to our side. Obviously, that did not happen."
"And now we can show the Illusive Man the error of his ways," I said. "How's that door coming, EDI?"
"We are clear to proceed," she replied. On cue, the doors slid open.
I led the team through, pausing only to scan some hardsuit mods. As I lowered my omni-tool, Hackett contacted me. "Incursion team, what's your status?"
"We've cleared the hangar and are inside the base," I reported.
"Good work. Do you need some support?"
I considered his offer. Having extra manpower was never a bad thing. We could cover more ground, secure more territory, that kind of thing. But my squad and I had become a well-oiled machine, fully aware of each other's abilities, with an instinctual understanding of how to complement our squadmate's skill sets. That kind of operational efficiency would be lessened if we had to coordinate with an unknown variable like another team.
Besides, there was something fitting about our squad going it alone. "Negative. Keep the heat on. We'll find what we need."
"Understood. Good hunting. Hackett out."
(1): Shepard was referring to a mission where he assisted Lieutenant Victus—Primarch Victus's son—and elements of the Ninth Platoon defuse a turian bomb that had been secretly planted on Tuchanka. While they encountered resistance from both Reaper and Cerberus forces, there was one point where the two hostile factions attacked each other.
(2): An exaggeration, most likely, but an understandable one.
(3): Not exactly, but I suppose 'superheated molten metal shaped and accelerated by electromagnetic fields to relativistic velocities' does not roll off the tongue.
(4): A human phrase originally referring to the destruction of a vessel capable of atmospheric flight. While its use here is technically inaccurate, the intent remains the same.
(5): Some things never change.
(6): I would say Shepard needed professional help, but he was fully compliant in seeking therapy. Eventually.
(7): I regretted asking that question the moment the words left my mouth. It is even worse now as an editor and commentator, as I am more aware of the doubts that weighed down on him and the pressure he was under.
(8): A quote from the human vid series 'The Six Million Dollar Man,' about a human who was seriously injured and was transformed into a cyborg during the resulting operation.
(9): Details of this clone can be found in other extracts of Shepard's accounts and need not concern us at this time.
(10): Jacob made similar observations to Miranda during the early days of Project Lazarus, observations she clearly took to heart.