+TOS+
(Eden Prime)
Shepard let out a curse as he and his small team rushed into cover of one of the outline buildings surrounding the dig site, the assault on the Cerberus forces was so far progressing according to the plan Primarch Victus had laid down but the enemy were not beaten just yet. Their landing had taken the enemy by surprise and with the aid of the biotic students led by Jack and Liara, they'd taken little damage as their forces had disembarked from the shuttles. Garrus had landed at a different location to advance on the hills surrounding the dig site so as to take out the Cerberus snipers and put their own in place, this had left him with James, EDI and several marines from the ship to try and take out as many enemy troopers as possible from the flank whilst Primarch Victus and the remaining troops engaged the rest of Cerberus's forces. He knew once Admiral Hackett and especially Udina and Sparatus learned he had allowed Victus to take apart in the battle, he was going to face a lot of heat, but it was not like he'd had much choice in the matter.
Victus had told him straight that he was going to take part in the fight leading the main body of troops and especially the small Turian force he had called in to help, his stance was non-negotiable, and he would not back down. He told him straight that when he planned a mission that might cost soldier's their lives, he would always be there taking the same risks as they did, it was a stance he could admire and respect but still he knew explaining this to his superiors was not going to be easy and to Sparatus acceptable under any circumstances. Hopefully Victus would aide in dealing with the blow back when it came, still with Victus leading the charge that at least allowed him to focus on leading his small team to take out as many Cerberus troopers as he could and find whatever it was the dig had uncovered and secure it. Of course, getting the other commanders to agree to take orders as well as follow a plan of a Turian had taken some doing, he had to make them understand everything they did now was to help not only Earth but the other species. That they could not succeed without them, in one case he had almost come to blows with Commander Arkwight who bore a grudge against Turians as his grandfather had died in the first contact war. Thankfully, the hard-headed commander had backed down not only due to who Shepard was and what he had done, but also from having the support of the other commanders.
He hated stubborn people who would not let go of long held grudges to focus on the here and now, that was one of the reasons humanity had had so much trouble been excepted into the wider community. They were arrogant and blind, holding onto to old grudges instead of working to improve how they were viewed by the various species in the galaxy. Arkwight was entitled to feeling some form of enmity for his grandfather's death, but he should never allow it to cloud his judgement in carrying out his duty. In fact, Arkwight's attitude kind of reminded him of Saren's cold cynical hated of humanity for what had happened in the first contact war, never even trying to look past those events to how humanity had changed and grown in the years since. An explosion brought him out of his thoughts and he slowly lifted his head to see two Cerberus troopers with a blast cannon, they seemed to be defending the building behind them for some reason.
"James, take four marines and go left I'll take Edi and the other three and go right and we'll flank that cannon and take out the guards and see what is in that building they seem to be defending" he said quickly coming up with a plan.
"You got it loco" James responded with a nod of his head before signalling four marines to follow him even as Shepard broke right with Edi and three marines tailing him.
Each group moved fast down the flanks keeping to as much cover as they could, the two Cerberus troopers had not noticed them yet, that worked in their favour especially as they turned the cannon away from them to rain fire on a group of alliance marines to the west. Before they could fire Shepard and his group opened fire on them joining a second later by James and his group from the opposite side, the two troopers were caught completely off guard and were riddled with blaster fire causing blood to spurt out of their armor before they fell dead.
"Sergeant, defend this building whilst we check it out" Shepard ordered as they moved in. "Use the cannon to pin down the enemy if you can, once we move on place some explosives on the cannon so we can destroy it and deny it to them" he added.
"Understood sir" Sergeant Eric Xavier responded. "Baker you and Thompson man the cannon, the rest of you cover them" he ordered his troops who all quickly moved to follow his orders.
Shepard slowly led EDI and James into the building once Edi hacked the door to find a huge computer screen at the end of the room with a hell of a lot of data on it, moving forward he soon noticed something familiar when he saw a diagram of a Prothean next to the data. What the hell had they found that had made Cerberus attack, it could not just be simple data, moving to the console after putting his rifle down he began to manipulate the keys. He was not prepared to suddenly feel as if he has been pulled into the computer, his body seized up and his eyes glowed green as images began to pour into his mind exactly like what the beacon had done to him three years previously. But even as the images began to fade, something new replaced it and he suddenly found himself elsewhere experiencing the life of someone else as if he were there.
+TOS+
(Eden Prime, secret Prothean Bunker, the Past)
Javik walked down the large bunker complex watching as his fellow Protheans entered their stasis pods, each one carried the hopes of their species surviving the extermination the Reapers seemed intent on carrying out. He had been chosen to lead this last hope, one thousand of their people would lie hidden in this bunker for centuries until hopefully Victory the V.I who oversaw the complex would revive them. They would awaken to a new era, one where whole new species would at that time control the fate of the galaxy. But he would ensure the Protheans would regain their status as rulers of the galaxy, their empire would rise once again, or he would die trying. A sudden explosion off in the distance of the south entrance made him frown, his frown deepened as Victory's holographic interface appeared looking very grim.
"Commander Javik the south entrance has been breached by indoctrinated forces, the breach must be sealed if we are to secure the bunker and enact our plan" Victory informed him.
Javik let out a harsh curse at the traitors who had exposed them before grabbing his blaster from a nearby table and rushing to the south entrance, several guards still waiting to enter their pods followed him intent on aiding him. As they reached their target, they noted the attackers were indeed former Protheans who had been indoctrinated and transformed by the Reapers, it was a horror to see what was been done to their people. Several of their guards already lay dead from trying to hold off the enemy, five four were still standing but been pushed back.
"Help them, drive the enemy back we must secure this exit if our people are to have any future" he commanded before opening fire.
The guards who had followed him did not hesitate to rush in and help their fellow guards, blaster fire echoed through the bunker as the battle for the south entrance began.
+TOS+
(Eden Prime)
Shepard staggered away from the console blinking wildly as his senses returned to normal, James moved to steady him, wondering what the hell had happened. EDI used her external senses built into the cyborg body she inhabited to scan the console for signs of enemy sabotage but found none.
"Shepard are you okay?" she inquired turning to where Shepard was leaning against the wall rubbing his eyes.
"I'm fine EDI, the cipher I gained whilst searching for Saren somehow interfaced with whatever signal this console is receiving" Shepard answered as he stood straight again. "I witnessed the past; I think I know what Cerberus maybe after and if I am right there is no way in hell we can allow them to succeed even more so as it pertains to the war" he continued. "Liara do you copy?" he stated activating his radio.
"I'm here Shepard, the battle is turning but the Cerberus troopers refuse to run" Liara reported. "They seem obsessed in driving us back, like they have no concern for their own lives if they succeed in achieving their objective whatever it is" she added.
"Liara listen to me, I think there is a massive bunker complex below Eden Prime exactly where the dig is located" Shepard cut her off before she could add anything else. "It was built to house Protheans held in stasis so they could survive the Reapers" he informed her. "That is what they are after, think of the monsters Cerberus could create with access to living Prothean specimens considering what they are doing to their own people" he.
"Shepard, how do you know any of this?" Liara inquired greatly interested even as she strengthened her barrier as another group of soldiers landed aided by Jack and two of her students.
"The cipher reacted to the signal the computer was receiving in one of the buildings Cerberus seemed most intent on keeping control off" Shepard answered.
"The cipher is somehow still reacting to Prothean signals when we believed it was only useful during the hunt for Saren" Liara mumbled aloud as her mind considered why and more importantly how the cipher was still active. "There is still much we do not know about the Protheans or their technology, but if you are correct there is a bunker with living Protheans held in stasis then we must ensure Cerberus does not a get single specimen" she stated refocusing on the topic at hand. "Do you know where exactly the bunker is or how to get in?" she inquired fighting to contain the sudden exciment she felt at the idea of meeting a real live Prothean.
She was in the middle of a battle for control of this planet, she did not have time to lose focus and allow her curiosity and desires to get the better of her. She had to focus on keeping their troops shielded as best she could, if her focus dropped it could cost the troops counting on her their lives or worse Jack or any of students could be killed because allowed herself to be distracted.
"No, I don't think I got the whole message the signal was relaying" Shepard responded. "There must be another uplink somewhere with the rest of the transmission" he speculated.
"You must find it then so we can focus a defence there" Liara told him. "I will relay what you have told me to Primarch Victus" she assured him before signing off and immediately moved to contact the Turian Primarch.
Shepard knew Liara was correct, he had to find that second console with the rest of the transmission this signal was putting out, they had to know how to breach the bunker before Cerberus could. They had to drive Cerberus out of the colony so it could be secured, then they could secure the bunker and whatever lay inside be it real live Protheans in stasis or something pertaining to the crucible.
"Ok Sergeant blow that cannon and lets move" he ordered as he exited the building with EDI and James close behind him.
"Yes sir" Sergeant Xavier responded and quickly clapped a stick of explosive to the cannon they had been using against the Cerberus forces especially if they attempted to retake the building.
They followed Shepard as he led them right of the building they had been in, once they were a good distance away, he pressed the trigger and almost smiled as the cannon exploded just as several Cerberus troopers rushed to reclaim it killing them all in a messy splatter of blood.
+TOS+
(SSV Normandy)
Joker ignored the shaking the ship endured as he brought it level with a Cerberus cruiser which quickly opened fire on them, the ablative armor they had upgraded the ship with during the Collector mission would easily absorb the fire for quite a while before they were in any danger.
"Lock onto them EDI and take them out" he ordered even though he kept his focus on his controls.
He was still getting used to been put in charge of the ship whilst the team was planet side, before during previous missions there had always been someone else who filled in as Shepard's second. First it had been Presley who sadly had died when the Collector's had destroyed the original Normandy, then Miranda had been in charge when Shepard left on a mission and she was not needed to be included in said mission. He supposed had Ashley not been so badly hurt by EVA she would have filled in as Shepard's second, now it was on him and he was determined to ensure the ship was still here when Shepard returned.
"Target locked" EDI reported easily able to handle the targeting and firing of their weapons should she need too; it had become far easier for her since Jeff had unshackled her. "Firing" she added.
The cruiser was rocked by their broadside and showing their armor was in no way in the same league as their own, a second barrage of fire from them ripped a hole in the cruiser and sent it into a tailspin. Joker forced himself not to react as he saw bodies fly out into the void of space, they were the enemy and more than that they had chosen to attack their own people even as they all faced complete annihilation at the hands of the Reapers. They did not deserve any sympathy, hell considering what Cerberus was doing to them, transforming them with Reaper tech perhaps they were doing them a favour.
"Joker, we have three enemy cruiser coming up behind us" Adria Newman one of the bridge crew reported over the comm.
"EDI pinpoint the closest allied ships so I can lead them straight into an ambush" Joker ordered as his fingers danced easily over the comm bringing the Normandy into a steep turn.
On his screen three dots showed up on his console indicating the closest ships that could help them, plotting a course he quickly brought the Normandy up and round shooting past the advancing cruisers who quickly banked and followed.
"Mason, contact the SSV Lionheart and inform them we are coming in with three enemy cruisers on our tail" he ordered over the comm.
"On it, Joker" Mason shot back from his position at the comm station. He worked quickly and was thankful the Lionheart responded almost instantly.
The Normandy flashed through space and then split left and the three enemy ships followed blind to the fact they were been brought straight into the firing arc of the Lionheart, the Voidslayer and the Nightstalker which instantly opened fire as the Normandy passed thus catching the pursuing ships in a hail of fire which instantly destroyed two and irreparably damaged the third. Before the crew of the crippled vessel could do anything in response, the Normandy swung back around and destroyed them with their Thanix particle cannon which rippled through their compromised armour and shields within seconds of striking them.
"Thanks Lionheart, we owe you one" Joker said over the comm with relief that the danger had passed.
"No problem, Normandy, glad to help" the response came from the weapons officer of the Lionheart. "But this battle isn't over yet, we still have a few Cerberus cruisers to deal with so let's get to it" he added.
"Roger that" Joker agreed as he readied the Normandy to turn back into the battle raging just to the left of them.
+TOS+
(Eden Prime)
Shepard ducked the wildfire from a group of Cerberus troopers who had caught him and his group almost by surprise, he let out a curse as he prepared to return fire. He glanced at the others and indicated to James to take some of the group and try and flank the enemy, James nodded and quickly moved to comply. EDI used the cyborg bodies stealth field to move to further cover and then opened fire killing two of the enemy troopers with shots to their heads, the others quickly dropped into cover. Shepard pulled his sniper rifle free and waited calmly even as the enemy's fire continued to fly over their heads, minutes passed by until suddenly he heard yelling as James and his group successfully attacked their flanks. Smirking he leaned around the building he was using as cover and brought his rifle up; he instantly found several targets trying to get out of James's line of fire. He opened fire as soon as he had lined up the head of the first target, the Cerberus troopers head exploded in a shower of blood and brain matter even as EDI and the rest of his team gunned down two more. The Cerberus troopers realised they had been caught in a pincer attack and were cut off from any routes of escape, Shepard reset his target and fired and watched in satisfaction as the second trooper fell as if he was a puppet. James and his team continued to fire into them sending more of them to the ground dead, EDI and his own time poured in their own fire and soon only two troopers remained, and Shepard easily sniped them both.
In the hills surrounding the dig and battle site Garrus and his own team had attacked the Cerberus snipers dotted around the area, each was alone and had no cover and thus were easy targets for him and his group. Whilst he did not question the easiness of their taking out and replacing the enemy snipers, he did question the oddness of them not having cover and thus ensured to have two soldiers guarding each sniper they deployed. As soon as he took his own position in the firing line, he fired on any target he could find. He easily spotted Shepard and his small team moving quickly towards the far distant building which was guarded by a full team of Cerberus troopers and a mounted blaster, he pushed his sights to their limits and opened fire killing the leader with a head shot that splattered his brains over his comrades. They panicked somewhat at the kill thus showing that even with the twisted experiments they had undergone they still had human emotions and reactions if stilted somewhat, he quickly lined up another shot and fired again.
Primarch Victus stood behind cover as the troops both human and Turian under his command fought to gain ground on Cerberus and were slowly winning said fight, his brief conversation with Doctor T'Soni had answered what Cerberus was after and it chilled him to what ends Cerberus would put any Prothean specimen they captured under. That they had experimented with Reaper tech on their own people was bad enough, he'd seen the reports and scans Shepard had shown him on what they had found on Mars and Grissom. It was horrifying just how far Cerberus had sunk, were they indoctrinated as believed or were they acting under their own thoughts which was even more horrifying. He'd seen plenty of horrible things in war, but nothing like what Cerberus was doing.
He turned to see the biotic students led by Jack and Liara pushing their barriers forward as they moved with the front-line troops, their flanks protected by the tanks Admiral Hackett had sent them. The sudden and unexpected deaths of many of the Cerberus troopers facing them made him believe their snipers led by Garrus had removed the enemy snipers from the overlooking hills and taken their place. So far everything seemed to be going the way he had planned it, but he knew better just how quickly things could turn against you in battle depending on the enemy commander if they had any.
"Primarch, this is Garrus" he heard over his comm. "We have taken the hill positions and taken up our own, I am using the troops you sent with us as cover for each of my sniper teams" Garrus reported thus confirming his belief.
"Good to hear Garrus, fire at will and try and locate Commander Shepard's team if you can" Victus responded.
"Already have, he's heading for one of most distant buildings which is heavily guarded, and I am already providing support as I can" Garrus shot back even as he heard the crack of his sniper rifle fire over the comm even as he spoke.
"That must be where the rest of the signal to get us into the bunker must be" Victus mused.
The sudden blast of a cannon made him duck as Cerberus tried to use what heavy weapons, they had left to push them back, but no matter what they used they could not bypass the barriers of the students aided by Liara and Jack who were according to Shepard and Garrus two of the most powerful biotics they knew.
"Push forward, all tanks fire on those heavy weapons" he ordered as he took in the situation and decided to try and end this battle as quickly as they could.
+TOS+
(SSV Normandy)
Joker watched as the space battle began to dim as the Cerberus cruisers and their crew were proving to be no match for the more experienced crews of the alliance and Turian ships involved in this battle, the Turians few vessels were fast and deadly and dealt a powerful salvo of death when their weapons fired. Which was no surprise given they were the most powerful and disciplined military around, still there were a few left over enemy ships left and they had to be dealt with quickly.
"Ok, EDI let me turn us around then target the next closest enemy ship" he ordered having gotten used to been the one giving the orders somewhat. "Fire when you have a lock" he added as his hands flew around his console.
"Understood Jeff" EDI responded and quickly set about locking up the next target.
Joker brought the ship around in a wide arc and then brought them level with another Cerberus cruiser which was trying to escape the battle zone, he watched as seconds later EDI fired their laser cannons first striking their engines through their already weakened shields and thus slowing them almost to a crawl. Then the Thanix particle cannon opened fire and split the ship in two, Joker ignored the disquiet he felt as he saw bodies floating in the void of space. They had chosen their side; they were the enemy and worse they were killing their own people whilst they were already in a war against the Reapers. He turned as he saw the Avenger and the Majestic come up on either side of the Normandy as they headed straight for three more enemy cruisers, seconds later he felt the ship shudder as the enemy opened fire on them, but their shields and armor held. He then noted three more Alliance vessels come up behind them and grinned, he levelled the ship at the middle cruiser and ordered EDI to fire. Caught in a pincer with nowhere to turn all three ships were turned to rubble within the span of a few minutes under the heavy barrage of six ships, he turned the ship sideways to easily avoid the other three ships coming in.
"How many more EDI?" he inquired.
"Only four on my scanners Jeff and have already been targeted by the Turians and two Alliance ships including the Lionheart" EDI answered.
"Looks like this battle is all but over, put me through to the Primarch so we can let him know the space battle is all but, in our hands," Joker responded with a nod of his head. "But make sure every ship in the fleet keeps an eye out for any Cerberus reinforcements coming in" he told her.
"Relaying news to the Primarch now" EDI stated.
+TOS+
(Eden Prime)
Victus nodded to himself as EDI reported that nearly all the Cerberus ships had been destroyed with little in a way of losses for themselves at least ship wise, Casualties however would be a different matter for both the Alliance and the Turian ships involved. Same for on the ground, whilst the biotics in their forces were ensuring the loss of life was slim there would still be many dead and wounded by the end of this day. He pulled up his own rifle and opened fire as his lines continued to advance further into the colony, Jack he noted was grinning as every now and then she unleashed a wave of destructive energy that ripped several Cerberus troopers into bloody chunks of meat. At the same time Liara unleashed a trinity of warps that sent more of the troopers spinning up into the air making easy targets for their own troops. Their actions were quick and in Jack's case brutal, he could see why Garrus had such high opinions of both women.
Shepard paused as the neared the building he believed held the other signal wavelength they needed to access the bunker; he could see several troopers defending it as well as a mounted blaster. He could also see several corpses littered around them just as another jerked sideways before falling dead, this told him Garrus, and his fellow snipers had completed their task and were now reigning death down upon the enemy. Still the battle was not over yet, reinforcements could easily turn the tide if they turned up.
"Ok James, we have to get into the building, and we need to do it quickly" Shepard said. "Any ideas?" he inquired at the younger man.
James looked surprised before having a brief look at the small force guarding the door even as sniper rounds reigned down on them, he looked around for a few seconds before looking upwards and grinning.
"We climb up on the roofs and use the high advantage to take troopers out quickly before they realise where we are" he suggested.
"Nice, I like it" Shepard agreed as it sounded good, and it showed James for all his bravado had a good head on his shoulders and could use it to plan effectively. "You heard him people, James you take EDI and two marines, and I'll take the others to the other building on the other side. We'll climb the labs and hit them at the same time from above before they realise what we've done" he ordered to his team. "Move now" he shouted as he dashed across the gap between the two labs just missing been shot by a quick reacting Cerberus trooper before he was hit by one of Garrus's sniper rounds.
They climbed the labs quickly and moved closer to the edge which overlooked the building they wanted to get into, the few Cerberus troopers left were all hunkered down trying to stay out of the way of their snipers and so far, it was clearly working, and that fact meant they also were manning the mounted blaster which made what they were about to do easier. He raised his hand so James could see him and counted down from three as soon as his last finger went down each team moved forward and opened fire. The Cerberus troopers were caught completely off guard and fell one after the other as they were riddled with blaster fire, one tried to reach the mounted blaster, but his head ruptured in blood as Garrus again sniped him from above. Minutes later it was over, and silence descended in area, they looked around to see the fighting was now only taking place near their landing site and he was certain Victus had the situation in hand. He jumped down from the lab followed by the rest of his team and the joined seconds later by James, EDI, and his own team.
"Ok same as before Xavier, you and the marines hold this point whilst we search this building and ensure not one of those Cerberus bastards get in here" he ordered turning to the sergeant of his squad.
"Understood commander" Xavier responded with a sharp nod. "Baker, Thompson back on the cannon, the rest of you take cover and watch out for any Cerberus troops coming our way" he ordered. "We have your backs commander" he assured Shepard.
Shepard entered the building first with EDI quickly following and James bringing up the rear, the place was exactly like the previous one with Prothean data flowing up and down on the screen. As before his body seized up and his eyes glowed green and more images poured into his head, as before as they faded, he felt like his mind faded to be replaced by something or someone else's.
+TOS+
(Eden Prime, secret Prothean Bunker, the Past)
Javik pushed his hand out and unleashed a powerful biotic blast that sent several of the indoctrinated Protheans flying backwards, their slumped forms once they fell to a stop were easily picked off by his fellow guards. He pushed forward followed by his few fellow guards, but he knew they were losing this fight, there were to many of these buggers getting in and as two more of his friends were dragged down, he began to fear they may lose everything they had hoped to accomplish. As he unleashed another biotic blast more guards turned up and managed to gun down enough of the enemy as to allow them to close the doors, he leaned against them and nodded at his fellow guards even as Victory appeared.
"We've sealed the door" Javik stated.
"Yes, but already more flood in from a weakened hole in the western sector, we cannot hold them by conventional terms and thus I must enact more a dangerous method" Victory retorted with a shake of his holographic head.
"Meaning what?" Javik demanded to know.
"A neutron bombardment, get to your pod commander now" Victory answered seriously.
"But what about the last group of sleepers meant to arrive?" Javik shouted in annoyance at their plan been altered.
"They will not make it and we can no longer hold the doors open even should they arrive; this bunker must be sealed now if our people are to have any future commander" Victor reasoned. "Now quickly to your pod as you will be the leader of any Prothean resurgence should it come" he commanded before blinking out even as Javik cursed knowing the V.I was right and hating that fact.
He turned and ran for his assigned pod area, he got there a few minutes later to see a few of his fellow guards also getting into their own pods. Nodding at them he jumped into his own and lay down knowing he was in for a very long sleep, who knew how long it would take the Reapers to finish off the last vestiges of the Prothean empire which ever parts of it was left as he was certain this planet was not the only place where his people survived. He had heard rumours of a secret science project on a planet called Ilos, but whether it held any truth he did not know.
"Neutron bombardment commencing" Victory announced as his pod sealed shut.
Javik felt the bunker shake as the bombardment rang out throughout the massive bunker complex, he closed his eyes and prayed for any of his people caught out in the open knowing they were doomed to die horribly as were those of the indoctrinated attackers. The neutron bombardment would see to that, minutes went by as he opened his eyes once more to stare at the darkness that surrounded him now that his pod was sealed.
"Bombardment complete commander, the bunker is now secured" Victory finally reported after what felt like hours instead of minutes. "All doors secured and all pods that could be are activated, however I most warn you that the bombardment damaged some of the bunker systems that deal with the suspension chambers and life pods, and I may have to reroute power as nessacary to preserve as many lives as I can" he informed him.
"WAIT" Javik shouted even as he began to feel the affects of the suspension process begin. "Do not turn off any more pods I will need them in the next cycle to rebuild our people" he raged.
"That may not be possible commander, but I will try" Victory responded sounding sad which was insane for an V.I. "Whatever happens commander your will be the voice of our people in the time to come" he stated.
"I will be far more than that Victory" Javik hissed as his eyes began to dim as the suspension process took hold. "I will be the voice of our vengeance" he swore before finally he could fight it no longer and he faded into blackness of an endless sleep.
+TOS+
(Eden Prime)
Shepard staggered back and dropped to his knees, this time the experienced had felt ten times more real. He took a few deep breaths before he stood back up and leaned against the console, James handed him a canteen of water which he eagerly took a gulp from.
"You ok loco?" James asked wondering what Shepard had seen.
"I'm fine, I have the complete cypher now to open the bunker, but we need to finish off the Cerberus troops here before we do that" Shepard answered. "We cannot allow even one of them down there, just in case they managed to steal even one of the frozen Protheans which may still be down there" he stated to which EDI and James nodded and they followed the commander out of the door.
The scene which greeted them was of a silent battleground, there was no more sounds of battle anywhere. They cautiously moved forward to where Xavier and his squad remained, he hoped the battle was over and every Cerberus trooper was dead.
"Report" he ordered making Xavier spin to face him.
"The battle is over commander, the last Cerberus troops who were fighting are now dead" Xavier reported. "None of them even considered surrendering, they just kept fighting even when they were down to the last few members" he added in confusion.
"Those experiments they've had done to them probably ensured they did not surrender" James mused aloud.
"More than likely that is something the Illusive Man would wish in his troops" EDI stated to which Shepard nodded in agreement.
He looked up as Primarch Victus walked towards them guarded by several Turian troops as well as Jack and Liara, he put his weapons away and waited for them to reach them.
"Primarch, thanks to you this battle is won but I would suggest we send out some searchers to ensure there are no left-over Cerberus troops on this planet" he said in greeting. "We cannon afford for them to get even one specimen from that bunker out of here, there is no telling what kind of monster they could create with it" he stated.
"Very well Commander I will have parties sent out to search as well as have our snipers try and spot any enemy movement from the hills, but do you honest believe there are live Protheans in this bunker?" Victus responded and ended with a question he really wanted answered.
"From what I saw in those visions thanks to the cipher reacting to the data coming out of the bunker, that bunker contained at least over a thousand or more Protheans perhaps even more than that" Shepard answered.
Victus raised his eyes in surprise at the very notion of such numbers still been alive, the Protheans were almost mythical in the here and now, nearly ever space faring face especially the council races owed some of their advances to Prothean archives found in ruins of what had once been Prothean cities. Many believed the citadel and the mass relays themselves were created by the Protheans, he himself had believed that fact as did many of his people. The idea of meeting a live Prothean had never entered his mind, the sad fate of some of their race been converted into the collectors had been a shock when Garrus had informed high command of this fact after he had returned from helping Shepard stop them from abducting the human colonies in the terminus systems.
"By the spirits so many" he whispered.
"This bunker was a last gambit for some of them to survive the annihilation of their race" Shepard told them as he looked around the area and wondered how big the bunker complex truly was and how much of it remained active.
"Can you get us into the bunker Shepard?" Liara inquired doing her best not to let her clear interest in see actual Protheans get the better of her.
"Not just yet, first we have to find the entrance that should allow me to access the V.I which is hopefully sill active in some capacity" Shepard answered as he headed deeper into the middle of the colony even as Victus sent out orders for teams as well as the snipers to do a full search for any Cerberus survivors and eliminate them.
They watched as Shepard came to a halt at a raised platform they had not noticed during the battle and placed his hand on it, instantly the ground began to rumble and soon it fell away to expose a large hole into the ground. A platform raised upwards with a pod on it, Shepard stepped forward and pressed several buttons on his omi-tool and sent the awakening signal. Seconds passed and then finally the pod sprang open even as a flickering V.I appeared before them, he looked them over before coming to rest on Shepard.
"He's alive but it will take time for him to fully come round" Liara said after a quick scan of the Prothean that was inside and it took her breath away to see an actual living Prothean before her.
"You are human and yet you carry a Prothean signal in your head that this facility recognises" Victory stated.
"I encountered two of your beacons three years ago, one here and the other on the planet Virmire. I also had a Prothean cipher in my head, which is what allowed me to make sense of the images I saw as well as access this bunker" Shepard explained.
"This V.I is far more advanced than Vigil" Liara couldn't help but note.
"Vigil was heavily degraded by the time we found him thanks to the passage of time and loss of power and whatever Saren and the Geth did to him" Shepard responded.
"You have met another Prothean V.I" Victory inquired with interest.
"Yes, on IIos, it was the sight of a Prothean scientist team that stayed hidden there and then used a small mass relay they built to get to the citadel and alter the keepers so as to keep the Reapers from coming in their usual method by taking out any central government on the citadel" Shepard answered.
Sudden movement from the pod made them step closer to it only to be sent flying backwards by a powerful biotic blast, instantly the soldiers moved their weapons to guard position as the Prothean stumbled out of the pod and wondered a few metres before dropping to his knees.
"Hold, he's still waking up and probably very confused right now" Liara shouted.
Shepard moved cautiously forward and placed his hand on the Protheans shoulder, his eyes again turned green but this time there was no images just a sense of information been exchanged.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Human, how did you find me" Javik demanded to know.
"We found the bunker complex during digging around where we found one of your beacons, I could access it due to having used both that beacon and another I found plus having a Prothean cipher inside me" Shepard answered surprised the ancient being understood him. "You can understand me?" he asked.
"Yes, now I have sampled your DNA and Language through touch" Javik responded as he slowly stood still looking around at the alien buildings he was surrounded by. He could also see spires from the Prothean city that had once stood here sticking up out of the ground, he closed his eyes and shook his head before turning to see that the humans were not alone. He noted other species he recognised, all of which had been nothing but primitives when the Protheans had been at the height of their power as well as at their downfall.
"Human, Asari, Turian" he noted aloud and shook his head again before finally noting the flickering V.I
"Victory you still function" Javik said in relief knowing if the V.I still had power then there was hope for his fellow sleepers.
"Barely commander, and certainty not enough to awaken the other cryo pods" Victory responded.
"How many are left?" Javik demanded to know.
"500 hundred out of the 7,000 that hid here" Victory answered sombrely. "As I told you before you went to sleep, the neutron bombardment damaged the systems dealing with the pods and the cryostasis process thus I've done all I can to preserve power as best I could by sacrificing those pods of less nessacary personnel" he reasoned.
"500" whispered Javik as a dark anger filled him at the loss of more of his people. "How am I expected to revive our people with so few?" he asked hollowly.
"Can you use power generators from other sources?" Liara asked gaining the attention of both Prothean and V.I.
"It would be difficult, but it is possible" Victory replied after thinking it over for a few minutes.
"Joker, are you there?" Shepard said into his comm.
"I'm here commander, the battle is over up here" Joker responded a few seconds later. "How are things down there?" he asked.
"We've won down here too, now listen we have some spare power generators on board correct and so should some of the other ships" Shepard responded. "I want them all planet side as quickly as possible" he ordered.
"Power generators, ok I'll see what we can dig up and have them brought down in the shuttles" Joker responded before signing off.
"We could look through the various buildings to see if the colony has any spare generators Shepard" EDI suggested.
"Good idea, we'll do that in a few minutes" Shepard said in reply. "We fight the Reapers; will you help us?" he said to the Prothean.
Javik instantly turned alert and stepped forward to meet the human face to face and stared hard into his eyes, he saw raw steel staring back at him but was it enough against the menace that had devastated his own race. He reached out and grabbed his shoulders and again used his senses to see what kind of man stood before him, he could feel the echoes of the Prothean beacons he had encountered as well as the cipher he had mentioned. He saw images of his various battles, the man before him was a warrior and a leader.
"You saw our destruction through the beacons you found but you did not prepare for the Reapers, why?" he demanded to know.
"I barely could make out what the images meant until I got the cipher and even after we managed to stop Sovereign and his pawn, the council and each of the governments involved refused to believe the Reapers existed" Shepard told him.
"Then communication in this cycle is still primitive" Javik spat. "Your governments and this council were foolish to dismiss the Reapers especially if they are here in force now" he stated coldly.
"You don't need to tell us that" James muttered with a glare which was not actually aimed at Javik.
"Even after we stopped well, I'm sorry to say the indoctrinated remains of your own people which we call Collectors last year, they still refused to believe anything we said or found to back up our claims and thus they wasted seven months I brought them when I destroyed a relay to stop them coming through early" Shepard replied with a disgusted look on his face. "Seven months they could have used to prepare and do their best to build shelters like your bunker to shield our people, but they would not listen any of them" he spat.
"All our governments as well as the Salarians were guilty of this" Victus could not help but put in. "We all failed to heed the warnings and we are paying for it now" he said.
"The lizard people evolved?" Javik said with amusement before it began to fade as he contemplated what the human had said about these Collectors been the remains of his race only indoctrinated.
"I think they are mammals actually" Liara found herself saying.
"They used to eat flies" Javik shot back before he focused on the more serious topic. "So, your leaders ignored you and allowed the Reapers to catch you all off guard and now you fight a defensive war, correct?" he asked.
"For now, we are hoping to build an alliance once we get back to the citadel and in concert with the Prothean weapon we are building we hope to take the offensive and destroy them" Victus said with a nod.
"Prothean weapon?" Javik said with interest.
"We found the plans in a data cache found on the planet mars and have started building it" Liara informed him before using her omni-tool to show him an image of the weapon.
"I recall hearing tales of such a weapon but as far as I know we never completed it" Javik told them.
"That is what we believed as well; I take it you know nothing about it then?" Liara inquired.
"I do not as I said it was nothing but a tale a myth in my time" Javik stated in reply. "If you fight the Reapers and are committed to that fight I will aide you, but first we must awaken what is left of my people" he insisted.
"And we will hopefully once the generators get down here or we find some among the buildings" Shepard assured him. "My name is Commander Shepard, and this is Primarch Victus the current leader of the Turians" he introduced himself and Victus.
"Both warriors and both leaders, and that is what will be needed to win this war if it is possible not politicians" Javik said before nodding his head in greeting. "I am Commander Javik, and this is Victory, the V.I in charge of the bunker complex" he told them.
"Ok we've got work to do, let's search these buildings for any generators we can find" Shepard ordered to some of the soldiers still watching him as well as his own team. "Jack, you stick with Victus along with his bodyguard just in case there are some left over Cerberus troops around" he added to which the powerful biotic nodded.
"We have our own indoctrinated enemies to deal with" Shepard said to Javik in explanation before moving off.
Javik watched them go wondering just how far the humans, Asari and Turians had come since the Protheans had fallen. Turning to Victory he began to try and find out just how much time had passed, and more to the point he tried to find out just how much time they had to save what remained of their people.