They moved quickly, disabling the defenses around the base, allowing Kirrahe's men a easier way to attack the base. They cleared their way into the base, letting go of some indoctrinated prisoners, and killing the few that dared attack them. Barging into a room they ran into an asari scientist who begged for her life, even giving them access to Saren's private office. Letting her go they made their way down into the elevator.
She shivered, she could feel a slight hum in the air as her biotics flickered briefly.
"You okay?" Garrus asked quietly.
"No. Something feels wrong here. I know this feeling..."
Rounding the stairs they discovered why.
"Emily, look over here. It's another beacon. Like the one on Eden Prime." Wrex pointed out.
"Oh. Crap." Was all Emily got out as the power of the beacon thundered through her body drawing her closer and lifting her into the air.
Blood. Death. Destruction. The end. The end...the end. The vision pounded into her brain.
It released her, dropping her to the ground in a crumpled heap. Garrus leaned down and grabbed her arm, helping her up.
"Look up there." Wrex pointed out.
"I get a feeling something bad is about to happen." He said as they drew closer to the strange image floating in front of them.
"You are not Saren." The voice droned out coldly.
"What is that? Some kind of VI interface?" Garrus asked curiously.
"Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh. You touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding." It continued sending chills down her spine.
"I don't think this is a VI..." Garrus commented again as he took a step back.
"There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own you cannot even imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension. I am Sovereign!" The voiced yelled out.
"Sovereign isn't just some Reaper ship Saren found. It's an actual reaper!" Emily exclaimed as fear sliced down her body causing her biotics to flair briefly again.
"Reaper? A label created by the Protheans to give voice to their destruction. In the end, what they choose to call us is irrelevant. We simply are." It continued coldly.
"The Protheans were around over 50,000 years ago! You couldn't have been there!" Garrus exclaimed.
"Organic life is nothing but a genetic mutation, an accident. Your lives are measured in years and decades. You wither and die. We are eternal. The pinnacle of evolution and existence. Before us, you are nothing. Your extinction is inevitable. We are the end of everything."
"There is an entire galaxy of races united and ready to face you." Emily said coldly as she planted a fist on her cocked hip.
"Confidence born of ignorance. The cycle cannot be broken."
"Cycle? What cycle?" Garrus asked again.
"The pattern has repeated itself more times than you can fantom. Organic civilizations rise, evolve, advance. And at the apex of their glory, they are extinguished. The Protheans were not the first. They did not create the Citadel. They did not forge the mass relays. They merely found them, the legacy of my kind." It answered.
"Why would you construct the mass relays, then leave them for someone else to find?" Emily asked as her headache from the beacon started pounding into her head.
"Your civilization is based on the technology of the mass relays, our technology. By using it, your society develops along the paths we desire. We impose order on the chaos of organic evolution. You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it."
"They're harvesting us! Letting us advance to the level they need, then wiping us out!" Garrus exclaimed as shock spread through the three of them.
"You're not even alive. Not really. You're just a machine. And machines can be broken!" Emily scoffed as she tossed her head.
"Your words are empty as your future. I am the vanguard of your destruction. This exchange is over." It said as the windows around them exploded.
"Come on! We gotta get out of here!" Wrex demanded as he grabbed Emily by the wrist and pulled her out of the room.
"Commander? We got trouble!" Joker's voice said suddenly.
"Hit me, Joker." she responded, placing her two fingers to her ear.
"That ship, Sovereign? It's moving. I don't know what you did down there, but that thing just pulled a turn that would shear any of our ships in half. It's coming your way, and its coming hard! You need to wrap things up in there - fast!" Joker said quickly his voice filled with panic.
"Let's head to the breeding facility, Joker can pick us up after we set the nuke." Emily said as they quickly made their way through the buildings clearing geth and krogan alike. She shared a nervous look with Garrus as they watched Wrex's reaction which thankfully didn't show.
They arrived at the site where the bomb was going to be placed, clearing it out of geth and destroying the fuel tanks that littered the way.
"The charges are set and ready. Everybody get low and keep your head down!" Kaidan's voice came from the comm.
"All right! Nice work. That's one less thing to worry about. Commander, I'm bringing us in. I'll get as close to the site as I can." Joker said via comm.
They took a step back as the Normandy circled around them and landed. Kaidan and a few humans quickly pulled the bomb and began to set it.
"Bomb is in position, we're all set he-" Kaidan said quickly but was interrupted by Ashley.
"Commander, do you read me?" Ashley asked.
"The nuke is almost ready. Get to the rendezvous point!" Emily ordered, exhaustion flickering in her voice.
"Negative, Commander. The geth have us pinned down on the AA tower. We've taken heavy casualties." Ashley barked out, fear and panic lacing her voice.
She froze, shock and fear rooting her in place as she debated on what she had to do.
"We'll never make the rendezvous point in time." Ashley continued her voice going husky as she fought back tears.
"Get them out of there, Joker! Now!" She barked out her voice going hard.
"Negative. It's too hot! You can't risk it. We'll hold them off as long as we-" Ashley said quietly.
"It's okay, Commander. I need a couple of minutes to finish arming the nuke. Go get them and meet me back here." Kaidan said softly, his eyes showing his own panic and fear.
"Up to the AA tower. Move!" Emily said as she took off running.
'No...no not this please...anything but this...' She begged mentally as tears slightly coursed down her face.
They raced for the AA tower, killing geth and krogan that got in their way. Fear and blood pounding into her head, along with the headache from syncing with the beacon.
"Damn. Geth are sending in reinforcements!" Wrex shouted out as a geth dropship flew over their heads.
"Lt. We just spotted a troop ship inbound to your location." Ashley said on the comm.
"It's already here and its bleeding geth all over the bomb site." Kaidan said quickly.
"Can you hold them off?" Emily asked as her voice filled with more panic.
'No...noo...' her mind screamed.
"There's too many. I don't think we can hold them. I'm activating the nuke!" Kaidan said as his voice hardened.
"What are you doing, Kaidan?" Emily demanded angrily.
"Making sure this bomb goes off. No matter what." He said softly.
Emily grabbed the banister in her hands, squeezing it tightly as her biotics flared to life allowing her to crush the pipe under her hand.
"It's done, Commander. Go get the Chief and get the hell out of here." He continued his voice still soft.
"Delay that. We can handle ourselves. Go back and get Alenko." Ashley said angrily.
"Alenko, radio Joker and tell him to meet us at the bomb site. I'm so sorry Ashley..." She said softly as tears coursed down her face.
"Yes Commander...I.." Kaidan said quietly.
"It's the right choice and you know it, Kaidan." Ashley commented as Emily looked at Garrus.
They ran back to the bomb site and started making short work of the geth that was dropped around them.
"Commander, you need to set the nukes and get out. We can't hold...Left flank, left flank! Suppressing fire! Suppress-" Ashley said in a panic filled voice before her comm unit went quiet.
'Nooooo!' her mind shouted as pain lanced her body.
Saren appeared out of nowhere, aiming at Emily and at the bomb. He dropped to the ground and marched towards Emily. She got up aimed her shotgun and shot him repeatedly only to be blocked by his shield.
"I applaud you, Shepard. My geth were utterly convinced the salarians were the real threat. An impressive diversion. Of course, it was all for nothing. I can't let you disrupt what I have accomplished here. You can't possibly understand what's really at stake." He said menacingly as his cybernetics glowed blue through his eyes, and parts of his body.
"Why are you doing this?" Emily demanded angrily, her shotgun held close to her as she watched Saren move closer to her.
"You've seen the vision from the beacons, Shepard. You, of all people, should understand what the Reapers are capable of. They cannot be stopped. Do not mire yourself in pointless revolt. Do not sacrifice everything for the sake of petty freedoms. The Protheans tried to fight, and they were utterly destroyed. Trillions dead. But what if they bowed before the invaders? Would the Protheans still exist? Is submission not preferable to extinction?" Saren asked as he began to pace back and forth.
"Do you really believe the Reapers will let us live?" Emily asked coldly as her attention remained focused on Saren.
"Now you see why I never came forward with this to the Council. We organics are driven by emotion instead of logic. We will fight even when we know we cannot win. But if we work with the Reapers-if we make ourselves useful-think how many lives could be spared! Once I understood this, I joined Sovereign, though I was aware of the... dangers. I had hoped this facility could protect me." Saren droned on still pacing back and forth.
"You're like every other poor bastard in this place. A tool Sovereign can use, then cast aside." Emily said her voice still cold.
"I've studied the effects of indoctrination. The more control Sovereign exerts, the less capable the subject becomes. That is my saving grace. Sovereign needs me to find the Conduit. My mind is still my own...for now. But the transformation from ally to servant can be subtle. I will not let it happen to me." He said as he stopped pacing and stared at Emily.
"Sovereign's manipulating you and you don't even know it! You're already under its power!" Emily exclaimed angrily.
"No! Sovereign needs me. If I find the Conduit, I've been promised a reprieve from the inevitable. This is my only hope." Saren mumbled to himself.
"Together we can stop Sovereign. We don't have to submit to the Reapers. We can beat them!" Emily shouted as she quickly moved closer to Saren.
"I no longer believe that, Shepard. The visions cannot be denied. The Reapers are too powerful. The only hope of survival is to join with them. Sovereign is a machine. It thinks like a machine. If I can prove my value, I become a resource worth maintaining. There is no other logical conclusion!" He exclaimed hotly.
"You were a Spectre. You were sworn to defend the galaxy. Then you broke that vow to save yourself!" Emily growled out angrily.
"I'm not doing this for myself! Don't you see? Sovereign will succeed. It is inevitable. My way is the only way any of us will survive! I'm forging an alliance between us and the Reapers. Between organics and machines. And in doing so, I will save more lives than have ever existed. But you would undo my work. You would doom our entire civilization to complete annihilation. And for that, you must die." He called out as he began to start attacking.
Emily growled low in her throat and ran towards Saren, her shotgun blasting and aimed for a fuel tank, causing her to get knocked back into the water. Saren made his way towards Emily and grabbed her in a choke hold, lifting her into the air. The alarm for the bomb sounded, distracting Saren momentarily as Emily cocked her shotgun and bashed him in the side of the face, causing him to drop her. He hissed and made his way to the hover board while Emily ran to Kaidan leaning against the bomb. She quickly picked Kaidan up and slung him across her back.
The Normandy quickly descended, opening the back port to quickly allow them to climb aboard.
"Bring him to the medbay immediately." Doctor Chakwas demanded as they laid him up on one of the beds.
"And you go to your quarters and don't come out till I check up on you. You're losing control of your biotics. Having both you and Kaidan in the same room is not a good idea." She continued as she gestured for Garrus to get Emily out of the room.
Once out of the room, Liara walked up to her and gave her a hug.
"Liara...you have to...you have to see the vision and see if it makes sense now."
"I don't know if that's a good idea..." Garrus nervously said while he looked from Liara to the determination glowing on Emily's face.
Liara nodded and walked towards Emily.
"Relax, Emily. Embrace eternity!"
The images flashed into her mind, pieces filling in more as blood, death and destruction flickered and hammered into her already battered mind. The last image of a Reaper flickered before her mind was filled with darkness.
"I recognize it. The Conduit is on Ilos!" Liara exclaimed as she realized what the vision was saying.
"We need to get to llos." Emily said from Garrus' arms as Liara leaned heavily against Tali.
"Bring her to the medbay. Garrus... my room please?" She said weakly.
Emily was still in shock which made her easy to lead back to her cabin where Garrus quickly stripped Emily out of her armor and tucked her into bed.
"Don't go please...?" She asked quietly as she wrapped her fingers around Garrus' hand.
He bit off a curse and nodded as he began unlatching his armor and settled on the edge of her bed wearing only his black skin tight under armor. She scooted to the side and looked at him imploringly.
"Fine." He growled out as he crawled under the blanket and wrapped his arms around her.
He shifted his hips away from the curve of her ass, knowing the way she kept moving would cause his lower plates to shift.
'Stop thinking about it. She's your friend's mate. Well almost his mate but you know they're close!' His mind yelled at him.
He resisted the urge to grip her side to pull her closer, but settled on gently nuzzling the back of her head.
The door whooshed open as both a tear streaked Liara and a quietly sobbing Tali came into the room.
"Is she okay?" Liara asked as she sat on the end of the bed.
"She's sleeping...but you two should probably keep her company." He growled out, his voice deep with hidden emotion.
Liara turned her blue eyes on Garrus, a half smile forming on her lips as her mind made the quick connection on knowing what bothered Garrus.
Hours later, Emily woke up in between Liara and Tali who were both curled up against her. She vaguely remembered them climbing into her bed comforting her when her emotions finally broke through and the three of them cried themselves to sleep.
She walked quietly past the empty mess hall and headed into Dr. Chakwas' office to check on Kaidan. He was sleeping in one of the beds with a blanket pulled up to his chest. His breathing soft and even. Quietly, as to not wake him, she sat on the side of the bed and lightly ran her fingers through his hair and down his cheek.
"Feel better soon, Kaidan." She said softly before padding back out to her room.
A/N: I wanna say thank you to my beta (who refuses to make an account on this site) for putting up with my constant spamming nudge him to read and edit this. Reviews are welcome and encouraged. 3