Chapter 7: Bad Dreams
"Quiet, please. Make it stop," the distorted voice yells at her through the pixelated image of a man's face. Bodies are piled everywhere, all around her and the keepers just keep working as if nothing is amiss. Wrex crumples, his eyes glazing over instantly as he hits the sand, water washing up to lick at his body before carrying his blood away back into the sea. The scream the reaper-disfigured asari banshee makes the hairs on the back of Shepard's neck raise. Shepard steps into a hot tub, sinking down next to a brunette woman before leaning in to kiss her. Saren's flesh burns away as energy courses over his body, revealing a twisted metal skeleton that scurries towards him on all fours. The ragged looking geth stands before her, a piece of her old N7 armor patched into its chest, "There was a whole." Tears fall down the drell's face, "Thane, be alive with me tonight." Shepard leaves Kaidan to die so he can save Ashley. Shepard opens the tank and the krogan inside falls to his knees as the synthetic amniotic fluid rushes out of the tank around him. The reaper is crouched down over him, the plates pulled back to reveal the red energy pulling and twisting inside as the weapon primes, preparing to fire a deadly beam that will fry him completely if he fails to paint the target before the weapon fires. Shepard guns the Mako, rushing forward past geth colossi towards a bright white light that she knows will take her to the Citadel. "Lots of ways to help people. Sometimes heal patients; sometimes execute dangerous people. Either way helps," the rapid speaking salarian said. Shepard orders the troops to hold back so that they can focus on the reaper, leaving the Destiny Ascension to be destroyed and with it all of the Council. One of the dead asari stands and stumbles towards Shepard, turning she speaks with a voice that isn't her own as the rachni queen speaks through her. Kaidan looks at her in disgust before turning his back on her and walking away. A green asari falls out of the sentient plant, unfurling her body as she stands upright to face Shepard. Shepard punches the reporter in the face. Shepard shoots down one of the grotesque reaper hybrid cannibals and another of its kind runs over and begins to eat the corpse.
"Commander. Commander. Shepard, hey. Commander, wake up!" Williams kicked the bed near Shepard's head.
Shepard bolted upright in her bed gasping for air, her eyes wild as she frantically took in her surroundings. Ashley stood two feet away looking down on her; the look of amusement on her face slowly gave way to concern.
"Sorry, ma'am. I didn't mean to startle you. Joker's been trying to raise you on the comm for a while now. When he couldn't get you to answer he sent me in to wake you. We've arrived at the Knossos system," Ashley said.
"Williams? Ashley, oh, uh thank you," Shepard managed to stammer out as she ran a shaking hand through her sweat soaked hair.
"Excuse me, ma'am, but are you alright?" Ashley asked raising an eyebrow.
"Just… bad dreams. More nights than not. I'll be fine, thanks Ashley," Shepard said
Ashley nodded her head and turned to walk away before saying over her shoulder, "Nice undies, by the way, ma'am."
"Williams," Shepard said in warning.
Ashley giggled and left the room. Shepard slid to the edge of her bed and put her feet on the ground. What the fuck was that? Memories. Already the images were fading from her mind. Shepard struggled to hold on to them, they were important, she knew it deep down. It all felt so real, but the harder she tried to focus on them the faster they slipped away. Shepard cleaned herself up quickly before donning clean clothes and leaving her cabin. She swiped some rations from the mess hall as she passed through, tearing open the package as she headed up the stairs and to the galaxy map.
Shepard started with the outermost planet, and worked her way inward across the system. Archanes. Nothing. Zakros. Nothing. Therum. Bingo. The scanners picked up something and the planet's reports showed several prothean ruins. This had to be the place. She hoped this was the place. There will be krogan, you'll want Wrex. She sent word to Garrus and Kaidan to suit up and meet her at the Mako. No, no take Wrex. Shepard left the CIC to suit up and then headed down to meet her team. Damn it.
They piled into the Mako and dropped out of the Normandy when Joker gave them the go ahead. The vehicle hit the ground and bounced on the shock absorbers for a moment. Shepard started to look at the scanners when Joker's voice came through on her suits comm system.
"Commander, I'm picking up some strange readings. Really strange. Like, off the damn charts," Joker said. "It looks like it's coming from an underground complex a few klicks away from the drop zone."
"Noted, thanks Joker," Shepard said back.
Closed mine entrances surrounded the drop zone, but Shepard didn't bother checking them. She knew that Dr. T'soni would be wherever the signals that Joker picked up were originating from. Shepard didn't have to go far to see that they were right next to a lava flow and it looked like the path they were going to have to take would keep them next to the molten rock. Large metal pipes were affixed to the side of the cliff to the right. It seemed like the bumpy terrain was conspiring against them, trying to force the Mako off the edge of the rock and into the lava. They followed the path along as it wrapped around and headed uphill.
Just as they rounded a corner, a geth drop ship flew overhead and hovered in midair. Two large, white, rounded objects fell from the ship and plummeted to the ground before unfolding themselves to stand up on mechanical legs. They immediately started firing on the Mako. Shepard swerved to try and avoid the balls of energy flying through the air but one clipped the back of the Mako weakening its shields. She pulled the Mako behind a ridge that provided some small cover. Shepard waited until the shields had regenerated, keeping her eye on the scanner to determine if the geth were getting any closer. They didn't seem to be so she put the Mako in reverse and crept out of cover long enough to line up a shot and fire the cannon before forwarding it back behind the rock cover.
Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. It was time consuming but she knew that it was the safest way to take the geth armatures down. Finally, when the second geth had fallen she resumed driving along the path until she reached their inactive mechanical bodies. She stopped the Mako and looked over the destruction, making sure the geth weren't going to get up again and used her omni-tool to scan them for tech information.
The path twisted and turned some more before narrowing out into a land bridge. Once past the bridge, the path sloped up and around. Her scanners were picking up a lot of enemy activity so she took it slow, creeping up the hill until she could get a visual on what was up ahead. It looked like there was some sort of blockade. She could spot turrets in the distance. She didn't think that they'd be able to handle taking that blockade head on in such tight quarters. Quickly she scanned the area around them for another path and spotted an opening.
"I don't think we can take that strongpoint head-on!" Kaidan yelled before he realized that Shepard had already figured it out.
They had to dodge some heavy weapons fire in order to get to the alternate path but they made it without a scratch… only to round the corner and come face to face with a turret. Using basically the same method as before, Shepard rocked the Mako back and forth behind cover taking shots at the turret until it was down. The turrets were far easier to take out, it would seem. Moving past the destroyed turret, they came to an opening and immediately saw several geth coming at them. These were mostly the shock troopers she had encountered on Eden Prime, though a few of them were a much larger version with rocket launchers. There wasn't room to maneuver the Mako the way she had with the turrets, and these geth were closing in on the vehicle. She pulled in behind an outcropping and jumped out of the Mako, gun ready.
It was a heated battle but they had a strong position with cover, the geth were forced into a tight area as they came after her team, making them a lot easier to pick off. She gave orders to focus on the rocket troopers seeing as they were the biggest threat. She made excellent use of Garrus and Kaidan's Sabotage capabilities as well as her own Warp, Throw, and Overload. She waited a minute to make sure that there weren't any geth on the other side of the blockade about to come through. She got back in the Mako and pulled it through into the opening. Another blockade was set at an angle to the first one. The immediate area was secure, for now so Shepard exited the vehicle to clear the insides of both blockade structures.
Once both blockades were clear and the far gate was opened, Shepard moved the Mako into cover next to the door on the first blockade. She ran inside and hit the switch to lower the gate before hugging the wall so as to not give the turrets a shot at her. She ran along the wall of the inner blockade until she was back outside and in the Mako. With the first blockade's gate rolled down, she was able to position the Mako to take out the three remaining turrets the way she had the last one.
With the area cleared of all threats, she drove out of the far blockade and back out onto the path. Rounding another corner brought them in sight of another geth armature. Having a proven tactic against them, she was quickly able to destroy it with the Mako's cannon. Another one a little further away was taken down just the same. And the ones up over the next rise. She didn't want her team getting bored, though, so when they came across some foot soldiers and rocket troopers with plenty of good cover they got out of the Mako to stretch their legs. Further up the way was another geth armature, and try as it might, it couldn't get a shot at Shepard and her team from its position. That was just fine by her, she was curious to see what it would take to down one of these things without the Mako. Turned out to be quite a lot, but completely doable. Good to know. A lot easier once you're better trained with the sniper rifle.
Just past where the last armature fell, a ramp took them up into a tunnel system. A couple more shock troopers met there end where the tunnel opened back up. This place was crawling with geth. Normally that would be a very bad thing, but she chose to take it as a sign that she was on the right track. Further ahead, the path twisted before opening up to another tunnel, and with another tunnel, more geth. She was losing count of how many they had killed already. Don't get cocky.
Shepard came to a dead end. They were going to have to leave the Mako behind and hoof it the rest of the way. There was a small opening between rocks that looked as if they were deliberately placed to stop vehicular travel. Shepard didn't like it, but she was out of options. Weapons out, they made their way forward on foot.
"Shepard, with this many geth, do you think we'll find the doctor alive?" Kaidan asked.
"Hell, with this many geth, I'm really starting to believe that the doctor might be working with her mother and Saren," Garrus said.
"Only one way to find out. Keep your eyes open," Shepard said.
They hadn't gone far when the combat scanner picked up enemy movements. Shepard put her back to a pillar and crept along until she could see that the coast was clear for her to bolt to another boulder. She heard the stuttering sounds that the geth made and crouched low, peaking around the corner she made out two of the rocket troopers. Her scanner showed two more in the area but she couldn't see them from her location. Using her marksmanship along with Garrus' Sabotage and Kaidan's Overload they took the rocket troopers down before moving to another vantage point. She laid eyes on a shock trooper and fired a shot, the foot soldier threw up some sort of barrier, but she kept shooting until the barrier fell. The geth was too stupid to take cover behind the rock while its barrier was still protecting it. Shepard retrained her weapon on the geth and took it down with three shots. There was only one more in the area and by her estimates and feedback from the scanner; it was behind that same rock as the last one. She darted forward, and put her back to the rock. She waited until she knew it was close and then popped out of cover, using a Throw on it before finishing it off with her pistol.
They pressed forward until Shepard spotted a clearing up ahead and ducked down behind a rock. A quick glance told her that there were more geth in the clearing. She could see a sniper nest built into the side of a cliff, and further past it in the distance a construct loomed in the sky. She couldn't tell from her current position what it was. Once she thought they had taken out all of the geth, Shepard made her way down into the clearing. More geth appeared and she had to quickly take cover again. She was starting to tire. She spared a look at Garrus and Kaidan. She couldn't tell if the turian was feeling the effects of exertion or not, but she could see it in Kaidan.
Pushing onward, they climbed the ramp cut into the earth. Soon, metal scaffolding, silos, and rafters came into sight. It looked like they were getting close. Just as they got to where they could see what had to be the entrance to the dig site, a geth ghost dropped from a rafter and scuttled low to the ground over to a metal sheet and climbed up the vertical surface; its sinewy body looking almost organic. A geth drop ship flew overhead. To your left, behind the metal sheeting. Go, go, go! Shepard darted behind the metal sheeting, knowing that the crates strewn about would not provide adequate cover, especially against the more mobile rocket troopers that just hit the ground. Armatures didn't seem to move around as much. She could use the cover to draw the smaller troops to her.
The geth ghost was hopping around from surface to surface. The damn thing was fast and didn't stay in one spot for more than a second, making it near impossible to shoot. They had to split their attention between the rocket troopers and the ghost until the rocket troopers were out of the picture. Finally she caught the ghost with a Throw and then as it tried to recover her team took it out. Shepard moved into a position where she could get a clear shot on the armature from cover. Working in tandem, they threw everything they had at the armature; biotics, tech, and good old firepower. They didn't escape unscathed, but Shepard was able to get everyone back on their feet and in fighting condition once the area was secure.
They cautiously made their way over to the ramp. The door opened up to a tunnel sloping downwards. Her scanner picked up enemy movement in the area and she had no cover in the tunnel. She moved slowly down towards the opening, peering into the room. There were paths cut into the earth with metal walkways filling in the gaps and creating bridges across the area. A geth shock trooper stepped into Shepard's line of sight. Without thought she fired her pistol until the geth crumpled. Two more came into view, already firing up at her team. She rushed down and out of the tunnel onto a metal platform to shoot down at the geth. The Armor Piercing III ammo mods they had on their weapons ripped through the geth better than anything else so far.
The walkway wrapped around the cavernous room; Shepard could see a blue containment field at the far side of the area next to an elevator. Shepard headed over to the field to be certain that there wasn't a way for her to lower the field from this side. Finding nothing, they headed to the elevator.
"I've never visited a prothean ruin before. Beside for the Citadel, I mean," Garrus said.
Shepard's mind went to Eden Prime and the prothean beacon. A shudder passed over her body when she remembered the images that the beacon shoved into her mind. The blood and the death. The monsters ripping apart the protheans. She could live a thousand lives and never get those images out of her mind. Hmph. Oh the irony. Shepard activated the elevator and it took them down seven levels – Shepard counted the strange tiled rooms that were on each floor as they passed them – before opening up on to another platform. They were immediately confronted by three geth assault drones. They dispatched of the drones before going to the next elevator. Four levels down and the elevator started to screech; sparks began flying off the console and Shepard braced for impact thinking that the whole thing was going to fall. Luckily, it managed to make it safely down the two more levels before stopping. They wouldn't be taking that elevator back up. The metal platforms in this area had collapsed, forcing them to watch their step and jump down to the platform below.
Shepard heard a woman's voice, "Uh… hello? Could somebody help me? Please?"
She spun around to locate the source of the voice and saw an asari floating in a bubble behind a containment field in one of those tiled areas. Liara… If you hadn't found me after the Collectors attacked my ship… if you hadn't given my body to Cerberus… would this still be happening to me? Shepard and her team moved closer to the field. The asari had her arms spread out to the side and didn't appear to be able to move. She wore a green and white lab uniform; similar in design to the one Dr. Chakwas wore.
"Can you hear me out there? I am trapped. I need help!" the asari pleaded.
"Are you okay? What happened to you?" Shepard asked.
"Listen. This thing I am in is a prothean security device. I cannot move, so I need you to me out of it. Alright?" the asari explained.
Shepard wasn't going to free this asari, who she believed to be Dr. T'soni until she knew where the woman stood. She cut right to the chase.
"Your mother is working with Saren. Whose side are you on?" Shepard demanded to know.
"What? I am not on anybody's side!" the asari sounded genuinely confused. "I may be Benezia's daughter, but I am nothing like her! I have not spoken to her in years. Please. Just get me out of here."
Shepard noticed that the asari didn't question who Saren was, or what exactly it was that her mother was doing with Saren. She didn't even question who Shepard was, or how Shepard knew that she was Benezia's daughter. Maybe she had already received news of the events on the Citadel. She wasn't completely sold on the matter, but she had to get Dr. T'soni out either way. If she was working with Benezia, Shepard needed to take her in to custody and interrogate her to find out everything she could about Saren and his plans to find the Conduit. If she wasn't working with Benezia, it didn't mean she'd be willing to help Shepard. Especially if it meant going into a battle against her own mother, but Shepard needed to try if Dr. T'soni was the expert on protheans that Udina and Anderson believed her to be.
"How did you end up in there?" Shepard asked.
"I was exploring the ruins when the geth showed up, so I hid in here. Can you believe that? Geth! Beyond the Veil!" Dr. T'soni said sounding excited even after having to hide from the geth and becoming trapped in the prothean device.
"I activated the tower's defenses. I knew the barrier curtains would keep them out. When I turned it on, I must have hit something I wasn't supposed to," a note of embarrassment crept into Dr. T'Soni's voice. "I was trapped in here. You must get me out. Please."
"We'll find some way to help you," Shepard said trying to calm the woman.
"There is a control in here that should deactivate this thing. You'll have to find some way past the barrier curtain," Dr. T'soni said. "That's the tricky part. The defenses cannot be shut off from the outside. I don't know how you'll get in here. Be careful. There is a krogan in here with the geth. They have been trying different ways to get past the barrier."
"Really could have mentioned that sooner," Shepard mumbled as she turned away from the barrier curtain to explore the area.
"First the geth and Benezia, now Saren's got krogan working with him too?!" Kaidan exclaimed.
"We should have brought Wrex," Garrus said.
I tried telling her that! She didn't listen.
Shepard grunted in response. Looking down over the edge of the platform they were standing on, Shepard saw some mining equipment down below. She thought there might be something down there that they could use, or maybe even another way through. She started to make her way down the ramp when she heard the unmistakable sound of geth. She checked her scanner and saw the red triangles on the screen indicating that there were in fact enemies present. Damn it, nothing is ever simple. Two shock troopers, a rocket trooper, and a sniper. She almost missed the sniper until she saw the glint of red coming from its red dot sight. Growing tired of playing games with the geth, Shepard rushed straight for the sniper getting in close and personal as she fired her pistol in rapid succession. The geth hit the ground before she had closed the distance.
Returning to the large piece of machinery she passed on her charge at the sniper, Shepard looked it over and realized that it was a mining laser. It was currently pointed at the earth just below Dr. T'soni. It was dangerous, but she didn't see any other way around. She hoped that the security device the asari was trapped in would protect her. Shepard opened the console and studied it for a moment before attempting to hack into the firing trigger. Let me. I know how to do this already. Let me. The voice inside Shepard strained and pushed, trying to take control of the situation as it had with the AI back at the Citadel. It pushed and prodded, struggling to be heard but all attempts were futile. What's different? Why can't I get through again? You're calm. That must be it. You're not full of fear like you were before. Damn it. Shepard got the laser to fire on her second attempt. The laser tore through the rock and dirt, ripping a hole in the ground. When the laser stopped, and the dust cleared, Shepard could see light coming through the hole.
Weapons readied, they headed towards the opening and stopped long enough to make sure it was stable before dropping down. A few feet in and the hole opened up into another room like the one Dr. T'soni was trapped in, marking another level to the prothean ruin. This one was opened on both ends, allowing Shepard to pass through to a large, rounded shaft. A platform extended from the tiled area and out to an elevator system. Shepard activated the elevator and it took them back up to where Dr. T'soni was. Shepard walked up behind the suspended asari. Dr. T'soni tried to look back over her shoulder but couldn't turn very far. When Shepard came into her field of vision she released a breath.
"How… how did you get in here? I didn't think there was any way past the barrier!" Dr. T'soni said.
"We blasted through with the mining laser," Shepard shrugged.
"Of course. Yes. That makes sense," said Dr. T'soni. "Please… get me out of here before more geth arrive. That button over there should shut down this containment filed."
The doctor couldn't point, but she was able to turn her head enough to look in the direction of the console. Shepard activated the console and dropped the containment field. Dr. T'soni dropped to the floor, landing on all fours. She stood and dusted off her hands as she turned to look at her rescuers.
"Any idea how we get out of this place?" Garrus asked.
"There is an elevator back in the center of the tower. At least, I think it's an elevator. It should take us out of here. Come on!" Dr. T'soni said.
Dr. T'soni led them back to the elevator platform that Shepard used to reach her.
"I – I still cannot believe all this. Why would the geth come after me? Do you think Benezia's involved?" Dr. T'soni asked.
"Saren's looking for the Conduit. You're a prothean expert. He probably wants you to help him find it," Kaidan said.
"The Conduit? But I don't know –," Dr. T'soni started to speak.
She was cut off when there was a rumbling noise and the platform they were on shook slightly. Everyone paused to look up and around the area, trying to pinpoint the source of the noise and movement.
"What the hell was that?" Garrus asked.
"These ruins are not stable. That mining laser must have triggered a seismic event," Dr. T'soni said.
She headed to the console, "We have to hurry. The whole place is caving in!"
Shepard activated her comm, "Joker! Get the Normandy airborne and lock in on my signal. On the double, mister!"
"Aye, aye, Commander. Secure and aweigh. ETA eight minutes," Joker replied.
"Not much margin for error," Kaidan said.
Dr. T'soni got the elevator active and they were on their way back towards the surface. The elevator came to a stop and a krogan appeared with a handful of geth in tow. Shepard held a hand out towards Garrus, halting him from drawing his weapon. She wanted to talk to this krogan before they had to kill him.
"Surrender. Or don't. That would be more fun," the krogan said.
"In case you didn't notice, this place is falling apart," Shepard said.
"Exhilarating, isn't it?" the krogan said with a smile before stepping down onto the elevator platform.
"Thanks for getting rid of those energy fields for us. Hand the doctor over," he said.
"Whatever it is you want, you're not getting it from me," Dr. T'soni piped up.
"She'll stay with us, thanks," Shepard said waving off the krogan's demands.
"Not an option. Saren wants her. And he always gets what he wants," he said before looking at the geth, "Kill them. Spare the asari if you can. If not, doesn't matter."
"Damn, it, I should have brought Wrex!" Shepard yelled as she ran for what little cover there was. Obviously.
She made heavy use of Kaidan's and her own Throw as well as Kaidan's Lift to keep the krogan off his feet as much as possible. Killing the krogan was top priority, there was nowhere to run to avoid his charge if he locked in on her and got close enough. Kaidan went down, Garrus was injured, and her shields were down before they finally took the krogan out. The last geth standing shot Garrus and he crumpled to the floor. Liara was hiding behind one of the supports, but Shepard saw her fling a biotic Throw at the geth. She could fight and she had been helping them. Good. Shepard finished off the geth while it was in the air. She used Medi-gel to patch up Kaidan and Garrus before they were all running for the exit. The barrier dropped as Shepard got near, a sign that the power was failing. The whole place was shaking and she could see areas of the ruins that were caving in fast.
They ran for it, dodging falling debris and jumping broken sections on the metal scaffolding. Shepard turned to look over her shoulder to make sure everyone was still with her. A large section of the ceiling began to crack and fall, dust raining down on the area just behind them.
"Move! Move! Move!" Shepard yelled to her team.
Shepard shoved Dr. T'soni ahead of her, she'd be damned if they didn't get the doctor out alive after all this. Finally, she saw the tunnel that led to the door ahead and pushed herself to run faster for the exit. Dr. T'soni opened the door and the group spilled out into daylight, rushing down the ramp outside. The Normandy hovered just above them. Shepard paused, bending down to put her hands on her legs and suck in some fresh air before heading to the ship.
With everyone on board, the Normandy took off while Shepard stripped off her armor and headed to the debriefing room. She called in the whole team for this. They all had a right to know whatever information Dr. T'soni might be able to give them. As the team was sitting down, Joker's voice came in over the comm.
"Too close, Commander. Ten more seconds and we would've been swimming in molten Sulphur," Joker said with his usual sarcasm. "The Normandy isn't equipped to land in exploding volcanoes. They tend to fry our sensors and melt our hull. Just for future reference."
"We almost died out there and your pilot is making jokes?" Dr. T'soni said from her chair.
Shepard still stood in the middle of the room with her arms crossed. She turned to look at Dr. T'soni when the woman spoke. Shepard wasn't sure that bringing the woman onto the Normandy was wise unless she was being secured for legal transport to stand trial at the Citadel, but the only other option at the time would have been to leave her on the planet to die in the eruption. It's Liara; you won't find a more loyal crew member.
"Joker pulled our asses out of there. I think he's earned the right to a few bad jokes," Shepard said defending her pilot.
"I see. It must be a human thing. I don't have a lot of experience dealing with your species, Commander," Dr. T'soni said squirming in her seat. "But I am grateful to you. You saved my life back there. And not just from the volcano. Those geth would have killed me. Or dragged me off to Saren."
"What did Saren want with you? Do you know something about the Conduit?" Kaidan asked.
"Only that it was somehow connected to the prothean extinction. That is my real area of expertise. I have spent the past fifty years trying to figure out what happened to them," Dr. T'soni said.
"Just how old are you, exactly?" Shepard asked.
"I hate to admit it, but I am only a hundred and six," Dr. T'soni confessed.
"Damn!" Ashley said. "I hope I look that good when I'm your age."
"A century may seem like a long time to a short-lived species like yours. But among the asari, I am barely considered more than a child," Dr. T'soni said. "That is why my research has not received the attention it deserves. Because of my youth, other asari scholars tend to dismiss my theories on what happened to the protheans."
"I've got my own theory on why the protheans disappeared," Shepard said.
"With all due respect, Commander, I have heard every theory out there." Dr. T'soni said dismissing Shepard. "The problem is finding evidence to support them. The protheans left remarkably little behind. It is almost as if someone did not want the mystery solved. It's like someone came along after the protheans were gone and cleansed the galaxy of clues. But here is the incredible part. According to my findings, the protheans were not the first galactic civilization to mysteriously vanish. This cycle began long before them."
The woman definitely liked to hear herself talk. Shepard wondered if she was always so dismissive and condescending. Shepard decided to use it to her advantage and get the woman to tell her everything she knew before Shepard showed her hand.
"Where'd you come up with this theory? I thought there wasn't any evidence," Shepard said.
"I have been working on this for fifty years. I have tracked down every scrap and shred of evidence. Eventually, subtle patterns start to emerge. Patterns that hint at the truth. It is difficult to explain to someone else. I cannot point to one specific thing to prove my case. It is more of a feeling derived from a half century of dedicated research. But I know I'm right. And eventually, I will be able to prove it. There were other civilizations before the protheans. This cycle has repeated itself many times over."
"If the protheans weren't the first, then who was?" Shepard asked.
Leviathans. They were the first to fall to the reapers.
"I don't know. There is barely any evidence on the protheans. Even less on those who came before them. I cannot prove my theory. But I know I am right!" Dr. T'soni insisted. "The galaxy is built on a cycle of extinction. Each time a great civilization rises up; it is suddenly and violently cast down. Only ruins survive. The protheans rose up from a single world until their empire spanned the entire galaxy. Yet even they climbed to the top on the remains of those who came before. Their greatest achievements – the mass relays and the Citadel – are based on the technology of those who came before them. And then, like all the other forgotten civilizations throughout galactic history, the protheans disappeared. I have dedicated my life to figuring out why."
"They were wiped out by a race of sentient machines. The reapers," Shepard said bluntly.
"The – The reapers? But I have never heard of – How do you know this? What evidence do you have?" Dr. T'soni sounded indignant.
"There was a damaged prothean beacon on Eden Prime. It burned a vision into my brain. I'm still trying to sort out what it all means," Shepard said.
"Visions? Yes… that makes sense. The beacons were designed to transmit information directly into the mind of the user. Finding one that still works is extremely rare. No wonder the geth attacked Eden Prime," said Dr. T'soni. "The chance to acquire a working beacon – even a badly damaged one – is worth almost any risk. But the beacons were only programmed to interact with prothean physiology. Whatever information you received would have been confused, unclear. I am amazed you were able to make sense of it at all. A lesser mind would have been utterly destroyed by the process. You must be remarkably strong-willed, Commander."
"This isn't helping us find Saren. Or the Conduit," Kaidan said.
"Of course. You are right. I am sorry. My scientific curiosity got the better of me. Unfortunately, I do not have any information that could help you find the Conduit. Or Saren," Dr. T'soni said.
"I don't know why Saren wanted you out of the picture. But I think we'll be a lot better off if we bring you along," Shepard said.
"Thank you, Commander," Dr. T'soni said as she stood and walked towards Shepard. "Saren might come after me again. I cannot think of anywhere safer than here on your ship. And my knowledge of the protheans might be useful later on."
"And her biotics will come in handy when the fighting starts," Wrex said.
"Good to have you on the team, Liara," Shepard said.
"Thank you, Commander. I am very gratef – whoa. I am afraid I am feeling a bit light-headed," Dr. T'soni said closing her eyes and holding her head.
"When was the last time you ate? Or slept? Dr. Chakwas should take a look at you," Kaidan said.
"It is probably just mental exhaustion, coupled with the shock of discovering the protheans' true fate. I need some time to process all this. Still, it could not hurt to be examined by a medical professional. It will give me the chance to think things over. Are we finished here, Commander?" Dr. T'soni said.
"We can talk again after you've seen the doctor. The rest of you… dismissed!" Shepard said.
"Mission reports are filed, Commander," Joker's voice said over the comm. "You want me to patch you through to the Council?"
"Patch them through, Joker," Shepard said.
"Setting up the link now, Commander," Joker said.
Holographic images of the councilors came into focus at the comm station in the debriefing room. Shepard stepped closer once the room was clear.
"We've received your report, Commander. I understand Dr. T'soni is on the Normandy," Tevos said.
Sparatus looked away from Tevos and turned his attention to Shepard, "I assume you're taking the necessary security precautions?"
"Liara's on our side. The geth were trying to kill her," Shepard said.
She was mostly sure that Liara was on their side, at least, but she couldn't show doubt to the Council. She is.
"Benezia would never allow Saren to kill her daughter," Tevos said.
Valern said simply, "Maybe she doesn't know."
"Or maybe we don't know her," Sparatus said. "We never expected she could become a traitor."
"At least the mission was a success," said Valern.
"Apart from the utter destruction of a major prothean ruin," Sparatus snarled. "Was that really necessary, Shepard?"
"The geth were crawling all over those ruins. We were lucky to make it out alive," Shepard said.
It wasn't as if she destroyed the ruins on purpose.
"Of course, Commander," Valern said. "The mission must always take priority."
"Good luck, Commander. Remember, we're all counting on you," said Tevos before they disconnected the call.
Shepard stood in the quiet debriefing room alone with her arms crossed. Her body felt weak and she was covered in dust from Therum. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, cringing as her fingers caused the fine grains of dirt to scrape across her scalp. She was trying to understand the chain of events that led to her standing where she was; a Council Spectre in charge of the Normandy, tasked with chasing down what might possibly be the galaxies most dangerous man and his asari matriarch sidekick before they found a way to bring back a group of sentient machines hell bent on wiping the galaxy of all civilization with the aid of the geth and now krogan, too. She only knew what the reapers were because a beacon left behind by a species that died out 50,000 years ago seared the images of their demise into her mind. A week ago she was enjoying shore leave in the arms of some man whose name she didn't even remember and admittedly maybe never knew. Sorry, can't help you there. She'd been through some pretty crazy shit in her life, but this really seemed to be the icing on the cake. And to top it off, she was starting to think she might be cracking.
"Uh, Commander? Everything alright in there?" Joker's voice came over the comm.
She turned and looked up at the camera in the debriefing room. Joker must have been watching her stare off into space. She gave the camera her best approximation of a smile.
"Yeah, Joker, just thinking," Shepard said.
She left the debriefing room to get away from prying eyes and made her way to her cabin. She knew Joker would be waiting for her to go to the galaxy map and type in the coordinates for their next destination but she needed a minute to herself. In her cabin, Shepard sat down and leaned forward putting her elbows on the desk and hiding her face in the palms of her hands. Her eyes stung with unshed tears. She wished she could cry, but she had forgotten how many years ago. She hadn't cried since she left Mindoir, but Shepard thought that if she could cry now maybe it would make her feel better. She had a galaxy to save, though, so going insane or not she pulled herself together and hit the showers.