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As the three of them watched breathlessly, a ball of light emerged from the Goddess Athame's hands and floated down toward them. It hovered in front of Shepard's face before forming itself into the hologram of a Prothean.
"Timescale established," it said. "Post-Prothean cycle confirmed."
"Like Vigil," Kaidan breathed. "On Ilos."
"I am called Vendetta; an advanced virtual construct of Pashek Vran." Before anyone could respond, the Prothean VI looked alarmed. "Reaper presence detected. This galactic cycle has already reached its extinction terminus." The image started to waver.
Kaidan stepped toward it. "Hold on a minute! We need answers!"
"To what question?"
"The Catalyst," Shepard said. "We need to know what it is so we can finish the Crucible." A sudden chill shook her, a momentary dimming of the lights, and she wondered what was happening outside the temple.
"Pashek Vran was the overseer of the project you refer to as the 'Crucible'. He died fighting the Reapers in the battle of Tranbir Nine. Your remaining time is also at an end."
"Are all Protheans so grim?" Liara muttered.
Shepard ignored her. "If the Protheans had the Crucible, why didn't they deploy it?"
"We were sabotaged from within," the Prothean VI explained. "A splinter group argued that we should dominate the Reapers rather than destroy them. It fractured our order of battle. Later, we discovered that the separatists were indoctrinated."
Kaidan sighed wearily. "Déjà vu, anyone?"
"Please." Shepard approached the VI. "There's still hope for this cycle—we've only just started to fight. We need to know what the Catalyst is. We're building the Crucible right now. There's still time to use it!" Another chill shook her, but she ignored it. Whatever was happening outside, it could wait.
"The Crucible is not of Prothean design. It is the work of countless galactic cycles, stretching back millions of years. Each cycle adds to it. Each improves upon it. Thus far, none have successfully defeated the Reapers with it."
"I know how to kill Reapers. Tell us what the Catalyst is, and I will use it to kill them all," Shepard promised. It really was terribly cold in here. And dark.
"Confidence alone will not defeat the Reapers," the VI said. "Though I deem your odds of success remote, I will not hinder you."
Relief filled her. After all this time, all the fighting and the death and the stupid time-wasting stumbling blocks, they could end this.
The VI went on, "I will interface with your systems and assist with the Catalyst to—" It stopped suddenly. The chill seemed to go away, the room to lighten. "Indoctrinated presence detected. Activating security protocol." And it was gone.
Behind it, a dark figure walked out of the sudden light from the headlamps of a hovering gunship. Blinking in the light, Shepard recognized someone she had been waiting to see again: Kai Leng. The man who had killed Thane.
Without a moment's hesitation, she pulled her gun and emptied an entire clip into him. But Kai Leng merely raised a hand, activated his shields, and stood there under her barrage of bullets.
"I see I have your attention," he said when she was finished. "Good. Someone would like to talk with you."
He raised a small ball of light in his hand, setting something to work within it, and within moments, they were facing yet another hologram, this one even more familiar. The Illusive Man.
Kai Leng walked away and lounged against a pillar, looking bored.
The Illusive Man's image came toward her, stopping just in front of her. "Shepard."
"Why are you here? How did you find this place?"
"The Archives. Or did your Shadow Broker miss that one?"
Liara breathed in sharply, leveling her gun at the hologram. "Show yourself. I promise I won't miss."
The Illusive Man brushed her aside as if she were an insect. "Stick to your talents, Dr. T'Soni. You've helped uncover the key to subjugating the Reapers."
Subjugating. Just as the VI had said. Control rather than eradicate. Sharply, Shepard said, "You mean destroying them."
"Damn it, Shepard! Destroying the Reapers gains us nothing."
"Tell that to the dead," Kaidan snapped.
The Illusive Man ignored him.
"It gives us peace," Shepard said, trying to reach the intelligent man she had once known.
"Think about it, Shepard! They're trying to control us. If they wanted all organic life destroyed, they could do it. There would be nothing left."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"I know them, Shepard! I know how they think."
"You mean, you know how they want you to think. You seem to have gotten a little too close to the enemy."
The Illusive Man frowned. His hand went to his head, as if it hurt. "No … No, what I'm saying is … is they've got it right. Yes. Why kill when you can control?"
"They can already control, and they do a lot of killing," Liara pointed out.
He ignored her, too.
"Stop this!" Shepard said urgently. "They're dragging you over to their side—their way of thinking."
"No! No, I … I just … see things … differently. Yes."
"If you truly care about humanity, and I know you do, stop fighting me! Join me. Together, the Reapers don't stand a chance."
The Illusive Man stepped back, frowning sharply. She had lost him. "Don't ever question my intentions. I've sacrificed more for humanity than you'll ever know. And don't assume you know me. My methods for dealing with the Reapers are simply more refined than yours."
He was indoctrinated. There was no longer any question about it. "You've forgotten everything you stood for. Cerberus was supposed to be humanity's sword, not a dagger in our back."
"Poetic. But as usual, you miss the point. The world's more gray than you care to admit."
Shepard tried one more time. She had to. "With the Prothean data in this beacon, I can end this conflict, once and for all. We can end this. You're either with me, or against me. There's nothing gray about that."
"No, I suppose there isn't." The hologram turned, and Kai Leng straightened up, immediately at attention. "Leng, the Commander has something I need. Please relieve her of it."
"My pleasure," Kai Leng said, looking like it really would be.
And the Illusive Man was gone.