From Ashes
Chapter Five: Sovereign's Warning
A/N: This one's a long one, all. I figured I should do at least one novel-like chapter, eh LordTicky? Enjoy while I begin chapter six: Costly Escape
Making her way back to the tent where the salarian captain was speaking with his men in low voices, Shepard wasn't surprised to see a few other salarians whispering about the confrontation with Wrex. The krogan had every right to want the best for his people; from what he had described in regard to the genophage, the krogan were suffering greatly. Clans battled it out for the fertile females and the right to breed with them while they still faced the possibility of stillbirth. Even with new krogan born, their lands were taken and they were practically confined to their home system. Those who wished to make a life fo themselves were usually hired guns or simply cannon fodder for mercenary groups' defensive strategies.
"I'm amazed he listened to reason."
"Have you heard of a krogan that has?"
"I suppose there is always a first."
Those were simple bits of conversation that went in one ear and out the other as Shepard approached Ashley, Kaidan, Liara, Garrus, and Tali. Hearing footfalls behind her, she assumed Wrex had followed. Once she had made it back to the main tent, the spectre cleared her thoughts of the personal matter that had just passed and kept an eye on the salarian captain who seemed to still be speaking to his top commander and lieutenants. There was still a good bit of ground to cover while the sun was high, and they needed a plan to do it.
"You alright, Wrex?" Kaidan voiced the question that seemed to hang in the air between them all. "That couldn't have been easy."
"Doing what's right for my people will have to wait until this mission ends." Wrex said shortly as he holstered his shotgun. "These krogan are traitors to my race if they follow Saren."
"Glad you're still with us, Wrex." Ashley surprised them all with this remark. "We'll need all the heavy hitters we can get to kick Saren's turian ass."
"I'll take that as a complement." Wrex managed a grin while his eyes still held the same burning intensity as before. "He'll pay for tempting my people with false hope."
"It is a pity that the geth have fallen into the same trap following Saren and Sovereign." Liara mused. "It seems that they are merely pawns in the grander scheme o things."
"They always were, in a way." Tali added. "To my people, they were created for tedious tasks and labor that my people either could not or would not do. Now, they are the same for Sovereign."
"Commander, I don't mean to interrupt, but I'd like to thank you for handling that situation." Kirrahe interjected. He had stepped away from his men and had come down the ramp to join the seven that were at the base of it. "Entering Saren's base and flattening it will be hard enough."
"I take it by that you have a plan." Shepard crossed her arms and regarded the salarian with interest.
"Of sorts…" Kirrahe nodded with the corners of his mouth slightly moving upward. "Our drive core can be converted into a twenty kiloton ordinance; crude but effective."
"I like the way you think, Captain." Ashley added. "Drop that nuke, and the entire place is gone."
"Unfortunately, the facility is too fortified for an orbital drop." Kirrahe frowned genuinely. "We will need to place it in a precise location. We will need it on the far side of the facility. Your ship can drop it off, but first the base must be secured."
"Infiltration and sabotage." Shepard supplied.
"Precisely." Kirrahe nodded. "Although we do not have enough men for an all-out frontal assault, I can split my remaining men into three teams and you can lead a shadow team into the base as well to neutralize any ground defenses and disable their AA guns."
"And your teams?" Garrus asked almost skeptically.
"We will hit the front of the facility and hold their attention while the shadow team cripples the facility from the inside." Kirrahe addressed the turian before moving back to Shepard. "With that in mind, I have a difficult request of you. I need one of your people to accompany me to coordinate the teams."
"We'll need someone who knows Alliance communication protocols and who is familiar with tactical analysis and strategy." Shepard looked from Kaidan to Ashley.
"I volunteer, Commander." Kaidan offered.
"Same goes for me, Skipper. I've been on the ground in situations like this and have a good grasp on field tactic." Ashley was next to speak, and Shepard was inclined to agree.
"With all due respect chief, you have had more experience with tactical explosives than I have. I think you'd be better suited for the bomb." Kaidan responded.
"Why is it that when someone says "with all due respect", it usually means "kiss my ass"?" Ash retorted. Kaidan looked as if he were at a loss for words, so Shepard spoke first.
"Cool your jets, both of you." Addressing the captain again, she kept her tone even. "Who would best suit your needs, Captain?"
"Either of these two will do well, Commander." At first, it didn't seem the conversation had fazed the salarian at all, but there were minute traces of amusement for those who knew where to look. "Both seem willing and ready to sacrifice their lives if necessary, but if we are lucky, such sacrifices will not be required."
"Chief, go with the captain. Lieutenant, I want you on that nuke."
"Understood, Commander." Both responded.
"I will have the ordinance loaded onto the Normandy and will brief you on its detonation sequencing, Lieutenant." Kirrahe addressed Kaidan with this.
"Thank you, Captain."
"Are there any questions before we begin?" This question was posed to the seven as a whole.
"Shadow seems clear enough." Shepard said simply. "What will the other teams be called?"
"Aegohr, Mannovai, and Jaëto." Kirrahe said stiffly. "They were the names of our first three colony worlds. They are at the heart of salarian territory to this day. It will remind my men what is at stake and keep us focused on what we are aiming to accomplish here. They must have a personal connection to this mission if we are to have any hope of success."
"Alright." Ash looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'll have to remember that."
"We will infiltrate the base and disable any internal security while you handle the front of the facility." Shepard went over the basic plan again. "We'll need a layout of the base before we proceed."
"Certainly." Kirrahe pulled up a layout on his omni tool, which he forwarded to the others. "You will infiltrate iere and disable their defenses. Afterwards, head to the breeding grounds at the heart of the facility." He made a note of where the breeding grounds were before moving on. "Once there, retrieve any information you can find and wait until the bomb is delivered."
"Once there, we'll place it by the geothermal taps and defend its position." Shepard nodded.
"We will attempt to assist if we get that far, but don't count on it." Kirrahe said gravely. "After the detonation sequences have been triggered, bug out and attempt to escape the blast radius."
"The Normandy will be picking me up, but how will your people get out of here alive?"
"We will attempt to break for the outskirts and attempt to find cover. With luck, we will reach safety with minimal casualties." Kirrahe said this with an automated tone, but there were traces of doubt. "If we do not make it out, we will be remembered as martyrs for a greater cause…"
"Hopefully it won't come to that, Captain." Ashley added.
"Agreed." Shepard didn't like the odds, but at this point, that couldn't be dwelled on. "We are ready when you are, Captain."
"Very well. If you will excuse me, I neeed to prepare my men. If you are in need of supplies, you can speak to Commander Rentola in the tent nearby."
"Understood."
"Well, this is it." Ashley said as the salarian walked back toward the tent where his men were gathering. "Don't do anything reckless while I'm gone, LT…" She paused as she joked with Kaidan. "You too, Skipper."
"Don't worry. This will be done, and we'll all be fine." Kaidan said optimistically.
"I know, it's just…" The chief struggled with her words as she thought on the spot. "Good luck out there to all of you."
"Not much for it, but if there are any, let's hope the spirits watch over us all." Garrus offered. "We'll need it."
Keelah Se'lai." Tali nodded.
"We'll get through this." Shepard wanted to agree with Kaidan's thoughts of success. "Find strength where you can and don't let doubt hold you back."
"Aye aye, Skipper." Seeing the salarians moving toward them, Shepard motioned for the others to follow her up the ramp so that they could let the captain address his men. Kirrahe stood at the top of the ramp as well with his hands behind his back.
"You all know the mission and what is at stake." He began in a simple tone. "I have come to trust each of you with my life, but I have also heard murmurs of discontent. I share your concerns. We were trained in espionage; we would be legends, but the records are sealed." He had descended the ramp now and stood a few feet from his men now. "Glory in battle is not our way. Think of our heroes: a silent step who defeated an nation with a single shot, or the ever alert who kept armies at bay with hidden facts. These giants seem to give us no solace here, but they are not all that we are: Before the network, there was the fleet. Before diplomacy, we were soldiers." He had begun to slowly pace before his men now. "Our influence stopped the rachni, but before that we held the line. Our influence stopped the krogan," Shepard took a second's pause to look at Wrex before she returned her attention to the captain. "But before that, we held the line. Our influence will stop Saren!" He stopped in the center again to face his teams directly. "In the battle today, we will hold the line!" Turning back to Shepard and her crew, Kirrahe spoke in those same even tones again. "Good luck, Spectre. I hope we meet again."
"Likewise, Captain."
While the others checked their loadout, Shepard had a word with the requisitions officer on her ship and Commander Rentola. The salarians were low on ammunition and shield packs, so she managed to re-supply them with what they would need in the upcoming op. Weapons that had been damaged or overheated during the initial assault on Virmire from the salarians were repaired or swapped out for spare Alliance gear. Finally, when all else had been dealt with, Shepard's squad stood awaiting orders. Turning to them all, she looked over each in turn.
"Liara, Wrex, Tali, I want you on the ground with me. Garrus and Kaidan can make sure that ordinance is prepped. I know that if anyone can make sure this thing takes out his entire facility, it's you two."
"We're on it, Shepard." Garrus nodded. "If there's nothing else good out of this op, we can at least make sure Saren doesn't salvage anything from here."
"Good. Load up the mako as well. We'll go on foot." Shepard motioned to the tank. "There's no way we'll get that thing through these winding pathways without attracting too much attention."
"We'll handle it, Commander. Good luck out there." Kaidan said as he headed for the mako.
"Keep her safe, Joker." Shepard said over her comm to the helmsman who was no doubt listening in. "Ash, no heroics, understood?"
"Yes ma'am. I've got the captain's back. We'll see you on the other side."
Once final preparations were complete, Shepard, Tali, Wrex, and Liara headed for the opposite side of the salarians' camp. This was the most direct route to Saren's facility that wouldn't involve any real combat. When clear of the prefabs, the spectre's comm chimed.
"Comm check." Kirrahe's voice came through the channel clearly. "Do you read me, Commander?"
"Loud and clear, Captain."
"Good. We're ready to begin our push. We'll try to make it up to the AA guns, but it might be up to you to finish them off…" Shepard and the others took a few steps forward before he continued speaking. "And Commander, if you find any way to undermine their defenses, we could definitely use the help."
"Copy that. We'll look for anything that might draw their attention elsewhere to keep the heat off. Shepard out." Moving through the winding waterways and rock formations, Shepard could see a listening post ahead. Built to ensure no one approached the facility, there were a few geth troopers and a prime near it. Pulling back for a moment, she motioned for Liara to move ahead with her to lay down singularities to distract the geth long enough to mask their approach. When the biotic fields were up and the geth were trapped within them, Tali and Wrex moved in to finish them off with shotgun blasts and AI hacking. The prime, while hardly effected by the singularity, was rendered useless by Tali. Shepard and Liara targeted it while Wrex took out the other troopers.
"Shadow is on the ground. I repeat, Shadow is on the ground. Chief Williams with Aegohr team. Mannovai and Jaëto teams, move!" Kirrahe's orders came over the comm while Shepard headed for a console.
"Mannovai is under coordinated crossfire. Check for long-range turrets helping the geth target." Ashley's words made Shepard look up. This was what she was looking for. Tali had seen where she was headed and moved to assist. Looking over the quarian's shoulder, Shepard could see that Tali was scrambling the geth's communications. Within seconds, they were disrupted. As they moved on from this listening post, the captain's voice came over the comm again. "Something has scrambled their targeting. Chief Williams, take the heat off Mannovai!"
"Understood, Captain. Aegohr team, flank them!"
Seeing a waterfall on the left, Shepard motioned for the others to follow, once they had descended from the listening post. There were some medium sized rocks ahead, and they would offer just enough room to take cover and scout the area. Dropping into the cool sand beside their CO, the other three checked their thermal clips and Tali scanned the area. Sure enough, there were three troopers and a few bombers before they would reach the next post. Retrieving the pulse rifle, Shepard aimed a few choice shots and took out the bombers first while Liara used a stasis field to keep the other geth occupied. This left them wide open for Wrex and Tali to take them out. Wrex detonated the stasis field with a well placed throw and Tali finished them off with pistol shots to the head.
"They're calling sat strikes! Jaëto, watch out for comm stations! Chief Williams, Aegohr team, do you see anything?"
"Negative, Captain. Still searching. Mannovai, you're all clear."
"Copy that, Williams. Thanks for the help."
"Enemy sighted." Wrex managed before the rocket trooper at the second listening post fired. "Engaging!" He moved forward and charged the rocket trooper. This knocked it clean off its feet and into the rocky water below. From there, he shot it at point blank range with his shotgun. "Takes care of that. More below." They moved around the post and began taking out all of the troopers and the prime that had come out of the surrounding alcoves. Tali used AI hacking to force the geth to turn on one another, and Shepard focused on the prime with Wrex and Liara. When the area was clear, Wrex called it. "We're clear."
"Copy." Looking around, Shepard saw that this post was what Kirrahe had been looking for. Aiming the pulse rifle again, she fired at the base of the tower. Firing weakened the structure's integrity and it collapsed. "Captain, we've disrupted their satellite communications. That should put an end to the sat strikes for now."
"Understood. Appreciate it, Shadow."
Pushing past the listening post with the destroyed satellite uplink, they took a series of catwalks through narrow rock gorges. There were a few troopers at different intersections, but they were an easy mark. Ashley's words as they approached the outskirts of the gorge got everyone's attention.
"Enemy flyers heading for perimeter stations to recharge. Time to bunker down before they head back. Heads up, Jaëto. They're headed your way."
"Copy that, Aegohr. Take cover!" It was Commander Rentola who spoke now.
"Shepard, the recharge stations!" Liara had rounded the corner first and saw large machines on the outermost platform. "They have not yet arrived."
"Take them out." Opening fire on the machines, they were easily destroyed when hit in the right places. While Tali scanned the last one before Wrex destroyed it,, a whirring filled the air. The flyers were coming from the base ahead. Their guns were blazing, and a few of them were engaging their last rockets. Shepard managed one last command before they were bombarded. "Barriers up!" They focused on the flyers and ducked for cover in the catwalks when in need of a reload. Using singularity fields for cover, Shepard and Liara made sure the flyers couldn't get through while they all let their shields recharge and checked thermal clips. Finally, Shepard holstered her pulse rifle and withdrew the shotgun she had so far neglected. Waiting until the last two flyers were in close enough range, she hit them with a blast that sent one shattering to pieces and the other smoking as it fell into the rushing sea below.
"Area clear." Tali said as she turned back toward the new path that led to Saren's base. "There are others ahead."
"Take it slow. We have no idea what's waiting for us up there." Shepard managed as she reloaded the claymore. Looking back to the few flyers that were on the platform still, she shook her head. "Bastards cost me a young marine."
"The corporal, Leroy Jenkins, from Eden Prime?" Liara asked. "I remember Ashley mentioning him in conversation."
"He stepped into a small swarm of them and they ripped right through his shields." Shepard nodded in response to the question. "He was looking for real action and found it the hard way."
"These flyers are far more advanced than those that we encountered before." Tali thought aloud. "We saw some of them in the Armstrong nebula, but they were not quite so accurate."
"This seems to confirm my thoughts…" Liara quipped. "The geth working with Sovereign are more advanced than those who are not."
"Are you suggesting that there are two different factions?" Shepard asked as they headed for the base. "Some are working with the reapers and others aren't?
"It is possible." Liara managed as she ducked behind cover. A krogan and two rocket troopers were firing on them now. "I'll discuss the details in a moment." Laying down a singularity down, Liara drew out a prime and another krogan. They had been behind one of the geth's kinetic barriers. Once out in the open, everyone opened fire on them while Tali hacked the prime and took temporary control of its pulse cannon. She used it to keep the charging krogan from getting too close. It was at times like this when Shepard regretted not getting the M98 Widow from the weapons locker. There were three in stock, and Ashley had secured one of them. A rifle would do well here with the krogan at bay. When the area was clear and they were headed down into the sand again to enter the facility from a lower entrance, Kirrahe's voice came through again.
"Sounds like Shadow is getting close. Hold the line, men. Hold the line."
"This is my kind of vacation…" Wrex said while Tali worked with the door to unlock it. "The beach, lots of scenery, and lots of killing…"
While Shepard couldn't keep the grin off of her face at Wrex' comment, she thought back to what Liara had said before. "Liara, you said something about geth not following Saren."
"I did." Leaning against a wall, Liara pulled up a scan of one of the geth they had encountered on Noveria and of one that they had seen on Solcrum back in the Armstrong Nebula. "There are significant differences in their base technology alone. Even some of their structuring has changed."
"Liara is right." Tali took a moment to look over the scans as well. "There is substantial rewrite of some of the geth's core processes, or at least the one working with Sovereign. If this is true, then there are two factions as she suggested: One follows the reapers while the other has motives of its own. Regardless, if both are against organics, then we are in trouble."
"That will be something to worry with when this is over." Wrex managed. "For now, we need to make this place level with the ground."
"Agreed. Move out." Shepard headed through the door that Tali had unlocked, and found that they were in a drainage area. Water was flowing rom within the base and out through grates nearby. Pressing forward, they came to another door, but this one was unlocked. When it opened, they found themselves in a room with a set of stairs, two salarians, and a control panel as well as another door.
"Salarians…" Liara muttered as they entered and approached with caution. "The captain did mention that he lost some men." Without warning, the salarian raised his head and came at them in a mad dash. Eyes blank, he raised his fists and acted as if he were going to strike. Tali shot hm before he got the chance. When the other one staggered down the stairs and came at them as well after hearing the gunshot, Shepard shot him and Liara finished her thought. "It appears to be more indoctrination… My concerns are growing in regard to this place. What else were they hoping to accomplish here?"
"Not sure, but I think we know what happened to Kirrahe's men now." Shepard managed as Wrex approached the terminal at the top of the stairs. "What have we got, Wrex?"
"We've got access to base security. We can disable alarms from here… might even be able to trigger alarms on the other side of the facility to draw off the opposition. We'd be free and clear, but it might be too much for the salarian teams to handle."
"Just disable the alarms. We can deal with any remaining enemies inside. Ash and the captain have enough to deal with without being bombarded." Stepping away from the console, Shepard led them through a doorway, up some stairs, and into a room with one more salarian in it. Shooting him, they proceeded up more stairs, and found themselves in what looked to be a holding cell. Several salarians were in locked cells looking blankly out, but there was one who came to one of the doors as they entered. His eyes were wild but not blank like the others. He seemed fidgety.
"What do you want? I already told you everything! I…" He stopped for a moment and blinked. "Who are you? Alliance right? I knew someone would come… They tried to break me, but it couldn't… I shut it out-"
"Hang on, Soldier. I need to know what unit you came from." Shepard said calmly as she stood in front of the cell. "How did you get here?"
"Private Menos Avot of the third infiltration regiment STG, Ma'am. Captured while on reconnaissance six days ago. Glad to answer, Ma'am…. Never any questions from those bastards. Just whispers, poking, and cutting… I'd do or say anything to get some payback… That's not too much to ask is it? A little payback?"
"What did they do to you, private?" Shepard asked this with a sinking feeling. She knew it was indoctrination, but there was still a sliver of hope.
"Excessive experiments or something… Constant whispers testing my shortening temper… Who knows! I just need out… I need to get out…"
"Something is not right here, Shepard." Liara warned.
"If we leave him here, he's as good as dead." Shepard muttered more to herself than as a response.
"Yes… Leaving me here would be bad… Very bad. This place is too small and the whispering just won't… go… AWAY!" The salarian shouted in frustration. "I really need out… Need it to be quiet. Let me out."
"I can't take that chance." Shepard finally resigned herself to what she already knew. At this point, however, Menos became angry.
"Can't take that chance… No chance… I have to do what it says." Looking thoughtful for only one second, the salarian raised his head and his eyes were narrowed. "Let me out! I need out! Let me out! LET ME OUT!" He ran at the door before Shepard could stop him, and when his head hit it, it split open; leaving a bloody trail as he slid to the floor of his cell.
"I am thankful my mother was not reduced to such a state…" Liara sid as they headed out of that room and down a set of stairs. The next room held a lift, two doors and a salarian. Wrex shot him while Shepard headed for one of the doors. Going down another flight of stairs, they found a second holding cell below. This one had many salarians just sitting in their cages with a mindless expression. They looked completely docile. The one Shepard took notice of was standing but hadn't approached his door. He called ot to them cautiously.
"Hello? Can anyone hear me out there?" He was in the far left cell. When Shepard and the others approached him, he stepped toward the door slowly. "Well, you're not a geth, and you're not wearing a lab coat… I suppose I'm glad to see you. Lieutenant Ganto Imness of the third infiltration regiment; captured while on recon. I assume that you are with the fleet that was called in to destroy the base?"
"The message was unclear, Lieutenant. I'm Commander Shepard of the Normandy. I'm the spectre the council sent here to investigate. All they received was static. The fleet's not coming."
"I see…" Looking thoughtful Imness nodded slowly. "Then you must be the infiltration team. I know the captain; I've worked with him before. He will want this place destroyed." Motioning to the cells on his right, the lieutenant continued. "My team was altered; turned into mindless husks. We knew about the breeding grounds, but the indoctrination is a much greater threat."
"We've seen the effects of indoctrination to a point." Shepard's thoughts went back to Benezia.
"Even ran into one of yours in the other holding cells." Wrex finished. "A private, Avot."
"Menos Avot…" Ganto shook his head slowly. "They took him and the rest of my team first. They wanted to make sure the most valuable was left for last. I knew the captain's procedures and train of thought. I was more valuable. It's horrifying what they're doing. I watched good people turned into mindless husks… Others died during the experiments. I envy them."
"Can you tell us anything about the experiments conducted here?" Tali asked while looking at the other salarians in the cells. "What were they hoping to accomplish?"
"They wer studying indoctrination symptoms, progress. Saren uses it to control the geth and his victims, but I don't think he fully understands it. I don't know much else… I just saw what it did to the others; turned them into husks…I can't end up like that. Please, let me out."
"You seem to have a good grasp of the situation." Liara commented. "Have you heard the whispers that Menos Avot mentioned?"
"I haven't, but I know they did. They talked about them, talked to them, even agreed with them at some points." Imness shook his head.
"I'm letting you out, Lieutenant. There are some weapons in the room we just came from. You can arm yourself and get off this rock with u when we flatten this place."
"Thank you, Commander." When he was free, the lieutenant joined them, and the five proceeded back up the stairs and into the room with the lift. Imness armed himself with a rifle and pistol from the arms locker nearby. Once he had replaced his shield capacitor pack with a fresh one, they entered the lift ad headed up. He spoke quietly as the lift ascended. "This is taking us to the breeding facility. I saw it once when I first got here, but I know Saren had a personal lab somewhere as well." Sure enough, when they exited the lift a few short seconds later, a krogan raised a shotgun and questioned them.
"Who are you? Where is Saren?"
"He's not here." Wrex answered promptly. "He lied about a cure and then went on the run when we showed up." The krogan ecame hostile, and Wrex pressed the shotgun he held against the krogan's crest as he charged. With one loud shot, the other krogan fell with his head cracked open. The machines around them bore husks rather than krogan, and they were waking up. A few choice shots from the salarian lieutenant had them taken care of, however.
"Nice shot, Lieutenant." Shepard commented as she examined a console. "Looks like whatever information on a cure Saren had was erased."
"I'll make sure of that." Tali said as she sabotaged the console. It started smoking while she did the same to the other machinery around the room.
"Nowhere to go but that way." Wrex pointed to the door in the middle of the room. When they headed out, they crossed over a catwalk and were faced with another building. There were also two rocket troopers there to meet them. Taking them out, Shepard approached the door and it opened. Inside was another lab, but this one looked to be more research-based rather than the last one where there had been machines to study genetic data and beds that would house krogan so that they could be experimented on. After a few steps, Shepard spotted something. She could see the pale teal crest of an asari as she knelt behind a desk at the far end of the room. Wrex and Imness ejected their thermal clips and loaded fresh ones. That was all that it took to trigger a reaction.
"Please, don't shoot!" The asari stood slowly and had her hands out so that they could see she wasn't armed. "I'm not armed. I just want to get out of here before it's too late…"
"Relax. We won't harm you." Shepard motioned for the others to lower their weapons. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
"Rana Thanoptis, neural specialist. I was brought here to assist in Saren's research a few weeks ago."
"By choice or by force?" Ganto Imness spoke while keeping his weapon lowered to the ground.
"I wasn't given a choice. Originally, I worked with an outside contractor that hired out to Binary Helix. Next thing I know, I'm on a ship being taken to this place." Rana managed while keeping her eyes on their weapons. "We've got to get out of here before it starts effecting us."
"You mean the indoctrination." Imness suggested.
"Yes. You're one of the captured salarians, aren't you?" At the lieutenant's nod, she continued. "I recognize the uniform. They brought in several of your people as test subjects… I'm sorry."
"I envy the ones who died." Ganto said flatly.
"Indoctrination doesn't just effect prisoners." Rana said sadly. "Sooner or later, Saren will want to dissect our brains as well."
"I thought this was a breeding facility." Wrex interjected.
"Not this level. We're studying the effects Sovereign has on organic minds, or at least that's what I was told. Saren kept us in the dark as much as possible."
"You helped him, and you don't even know why?" Tali asked.
"I wasn't given much of a choice." Thanoptis threw her hands up in frustration. "There was no negotiation. This position was a bit more permanent than I wanted." She looked to the door nearest the desk. "I can help you, though. The elevator behind me leads to Saren's private lab. I can get you inside." At Shepard's nod, the asari used her omni tool to unlock the door. "All of Saren's files and any of our findings here are behind that door."
"What exactly have you been researching? What are the means that Saren uses to control people?" Liara questioned.
"It's that ship, Sovereign. It emits a signal; undetectable but it's there." Rana explained. "Saren uses it to influence his followers; to control them. I've seen its effects. It's called indoctrination. Direct exposure to the signal-"
"Turns you into a mindless slave." Imness finished.
"Exactly, like the other captured salarians." Rana nodded. "Unfortunately, it isn't an ideal situation. There's collateral damage too."
"What do you mean by collateral damage?" Shepard wondere aloud.
"The signal is too strong. If you spend too much time around the ship, you start to feel it." Thanoptis said grimly. "Like a tingle at the base of the spine and neck; a whisper you can't quite hear. It tells you to do things, and you don't know why. You just obey. Eventually, you just stop thinking for yourself…" A chill passed through her, and all she could do was swallow hard. "It happens to everyone at the facility… The first test subject I was given was the man I replaced. I just want to get out of here before it happens to me."
"Tell me more about this signal."
"Signal isn't quite the right word… It's more of an energy field emanating from the ship…" That same uneasy expression that was there before returned as Rana continued. "It changes thought patterns. Over time, days, maybe a week, it weakens your will. You become easier to manipulate; to control, but it's a degenerative condition, though. There's a balance between control and usefulness. The less freedom a subject maintains, the less capable they become."
"Why is Saren studying this?" Wrex posed the next question. "Isn't he controlling it?"
"The signal comes from the ship. It makes everyone obey Saren, but I don't think he controls it…" She looked around as if to check to see if someone was watching or listening. "I can't prove it, but I think he's scared that it's effecting him too..."
"We're bringing this place down after we find what we're looking for. We'll make sure you get out safely."
"What? You're going to destroy it?" A panicked look came across the scientist's face.
"We have no choice." Shepard managed. "STG was sent here to investigate Saren to find out if he knew anything about a conduit. Any information here could cause serious trouble if left in the wrong hands."
"Saren was mentioning something about a conduit when he stormed through here the last time. He put a gun to my head and said if I repeated it to anyone he'd kill me."
"He won't have a chance."
"What did he say about this conduit?" Tali spoke as Shepard headed across the catwalk for the lift that would take them to Saren's personal lab. "Did he say where it might be or what it did?"
"No… He was just rambling to himself about needing to find it. I'm not sure if he was talking to someone or something over the comm, but he said something like "I know we're running out of time.""
"He's right, there." Wrex quipped "We've been chasing him all over the traverse."
"Soon, he'll have nowhere left to run." Shepard managed as they entered the lift and went up into the topmost part of the building. When the door opened, they were faced with an empty lab and a prothean beacon that was still functioning.
"Shepard, another beacon…"
"I know." Moving down one of the metal ramps, Shepard approached the beacon. Soft green light emenated from it as it had from the one on Eden Prime. "Is there any way we can get this thing out of here?"
"Not certain." Imness approached slowly. "There's no way to know what powers the thing, let alone if we can move it."
"Is that…" Rana stared at the beacon in sheer amazement. "That's like the one on Eden Prime that he kept on about."
"Unfortunately, the one on Eden Prime stopped functioning after I was forced to access it."
"It appears there is no way to transport it and still hav a chance to keep it functioning." Liara frowned as she approached it cautiously. This facility gives it power, ad if we were to move it, there is no guarantee that it could be restored."
"I'll see if I can access it and then we can go from there."An idea came to her before she made a move forward. Turning to the last of Saren's scientists, she addressed the asari. "You said you're a neuro specialist, right?" At Thanoptis' nod, Shepard continued. "See if you can take active scans while I access the beacon. I want to know what this thing is doing to me." Addressing Tali next, she went on. "Tali, if you can, record everything that happens here."
"I have been." Tali said with slight amusement. "Since we know that thee is no way to prove just what has been happening other than our word or experience, I have been actively recording this entire mission using background processes."
"Excellent." Shepard approached the beacon and just barely touched the controls. In that instant, it activated and a brilliant green light illuminated the otherwise darkened room. Pulled toward the artifact, Shepard felt every muscle in her body stiffen. Her eyes were forced to remain open, and destruction flashed before them. Tall insectoid creatures were running, screaming, burning… Giant metallic creatures came down from the scorching heavens; their angry cannons making fresh wounds in the world around them. Ships were fleeing but in vain; smoke boiling from the twisted metal that ramined of them as they were brought down. Then, there was silence as the world went black around her. Shepard was seeing the stunning glow of rotating rings and a powerful field. Feeling herself being pulled away again, there was a shining light from the spinning rings, and she could see it fully; it was a relay. In front of it was the glowing outline of a planet slowly eclipsing the relay's light until…
"Shepard!" Her body went limp and she crashed to the metal floor of Saren's lab. The vented metal almost cutting through her gloves as her hands stopped her chest and head from colliding with it. Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she managed to look back and see Liara's eyes on her. "What happened? Are you alright?"
"Fine…" Getting her barings back, Shepard stood slowly and faced the beacon again. It was back to its ambient green pulses rather than the light actively filling the room. "A little shaken up, but I'll live."
"Is this what happened when you encountered the other beacon?"
"Yeah…" Shepard shook her head to clear it and turned to face the ones behind her. "Just as strange and unfortunately, I can't describe any of it. It made sense while I was watching it, but it's like someone took what I saw and shattered it into pieces so that I can't make sense of it…"
"Unbelievable…" The neuro specialist's exclamation had all eyes on her. Activating her omni tool, the asari was reviewing the cordical activity and scans that she had recorded while the beacon was active. "Intense dreaming, or at least that's what it looks like here… but there's something else. Brain activity increased dramatically but returned to normal as soon as the beacon powered down… I've never seen anything like this before."
"What does it all mean?" Ganto questioned next. "What exactly happened when the commander engaged the beacon?"
"I'm not sure. I'll need time to study this and even then I won't really know. We have no idea how the beacons work or what they are capable of." Thanoptis mused as she pulled up a few other scans; this time of Shepard's entire body. "When the beacon was triggered, I decided to see what effects it had on your body as a while. Just from glancing at this, it seems as if the beacon kept your body from actively resisting it. Muscles tensed, heart rate accelerated, but everything else was rendered helpless… Similar to the body taking a generous amount of electricity."
"That's what it felt like…" Shepard's frustration with the inability to remember what she had seen had to wait. Wrex' voice made them all turn.
"Something isn't right." When all eyes landed on the krogan, he indicated something behind them on the upper level of the lab near the entrance. "I get the feeling something bad is about to happen." They were facing what looked to be an angry red holo form of something. Upon closer inspection, Shepard recognized it as the smaller form of that massive "mothership" they had encountered on Eden Prime. Heading back up the ramp, she, Tali, and the salarian lieutenant stepped toward it; the latter two actively scanning and recording as they went.
"You are not Saren." Its words made the air around them vibrate harshly.
"What is that?" Tali asked even as she scanned it. "Some kind of VI interface?'
"Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh…" It spoke again, and its tone was indifferent. "You touch my mind; fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding…"
"I do not think that this is a VI…" Liara said cautiously.
"There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own; you can not even imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension; I am Sovereign."
"It wasn't just some reaper ship Saren found…" The realization hit her like a charging krogan as Shepard stared at the holo form. "This thing is an actual reaper…"
"Reaper; a label given by the protheans to give voice to their own destruction." The thing that called itself Sovereign explained in that same indifferent tone. "In the end, what they chose to call us was irrelevant. We simply are."
"The Protheans vanished over fifty thousand years ago… You could not have been there, it's impossible." Liara exclaimed.
"Organic life is merely a genetic mutation; an accident. Your lives are measured in years, decades, and even centuries. You wither and die. We are eternal; the pinnacle of evolution. Before us, you are nothing. Your extinction is inevitable. We are the end of everything."
"Obviously, you are not the gods the Geth believe you to be." Shepard muttered. "You need an organic like Saren to do your work for you. Either way, it doesn't matter. There is a galaxy of races united that will face you."
"Confidence born from ignorance. The cycle cannot be broken."
"Cycle?" Wrex growled. "What cycle are you talking about?" Liara and Shepard shared a look at this comment, though. They had discussed the "cycle" that Liara had discovered; races being systematically wiped out with hardly any trace.
"The one where you wipe out all organic life and leave no traces behind." Liara said coldly as she looked over the holo interface that was Sovereign.
"The cycle has repeated more times than you can imagine. Organic civilizations rise, evolve, and at the apex of their glory 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."
"Why would the reapers create such things and leave them for us to find?"
"Your technology is based on that of the relays; our technology. By using it, your civilizations evolve along the paths we desire."
"You merely lead us along like varren on a leash." Ganto said disgusted.
"We impose order on the chaos that is organic life." Sovereign corrected. "You exist because we allow it, and you will end because we demand it."
"They are harvesting us…" Rana managed; her anger growing. "They allow us to develop along the path they want and then wipe us out…"
"Where did you come from? Who or what built you?"
"We have no beginning. We have no end. We are infinite. Thousands of years after your civilization has been eradicated and forgotten, we will endure."
"How many of you are there?" Wrex snarled.
"We are legion. The time of our return is coming; our numbers will darken the skies of every world. You cannot escape the inevitable."
"But why do you do this?" Tali questioned. "What do you want from us: slaves? Resources?"
"My kind transcends your very understanding; you cannot comprehend our existence." Sovereign's glow intensified as it spoke of the reapers. "We are each a nation; independent, free of any weakness."
"That doesn't answer my question. Tali snapped. "All you say is that you are above us. You do not explain what you need from us; what purpose we serve in your existence."
"It doesn't matter how much that thing avoids the question." Shepard said icily as she addressed Sovereign again. "You are merely a machine who depends on the survival of organics to ensure you continue to have a purpose. Machines can be broken."
"Your words are as empty as your future." Sovereign cut in. "Your time is limited. This exchange is over."
