Chapter 14
Telsakka Ruins Entrance – Therum
With the outpost out of the way, the remaining geth forces were little trouble. Despite their enormous power, the armature platforms that the geth had brought to protect the planet seemed very crude in their design, in that their aiming was little to worry about as long as they kept a certain speed. So, getting through the giant canyon that held the mining camp was little trouble at all.
Unfortunately, they had to leave the vehicle down the hill from the entrance, as the rock formation wouldn't let them through with a tank of such size. And as they took the rise towards the tube-like entry into the ground, they were surprised as a geth ship swooped in and dropped a massive armature that was near twice the size of the ones they had fought thus far.
"Fucking hell…" groaned Shepard as she and Ash dove behind thick, armored, mining crates while the machine unfolded itself. More geth could be heard dropping from the ship as well. Once she had settled behind cover, Shepard activated her omni-tool. "Pressly! Fire team! Respond!" Unfortunately, the only thing she heard back was static.
"What's the matter?" asked Williams through her helmet comms as she ducked back from attempting to take out the geth from her side.
"We've got interference. Something is scrambling our comms!" she said as she closed her omni-tool and raised her pistol to try and hold off the incoming marching machines.
Nodding, Ash started to look around for any kind of device that might be blocking their signals. But when she looked up, her eyes widened as she stared another geth directly in the face. "Uhh...Shepard?" she said apprehensively. Shepard looked over at her, then up where the woman was staring, and her own eyes widened as well as she saw a smaller geth, maybe about the size of a canine attached to the scaffolding above them. Unlike its brethren, its hands and feet looked remarkably more flexible than the average geth, with all of its fingers and toes secured to the metal above it.
Growling, Shepard raised her pistol, but the intrusive creature flew away faster than she could pinpoint it. "Garrus! You see the one hopping around?" asked the commander as she began to push the machines back again.
"I do, but he's too fast to hit! Anytime I zero in, he flies off again!" came the turian's call as he managed to take down another of the approaching machines with his sniper.
Shepard activated her omni-tool again, then opened the comms. "Williams!" she shouted as the small scrambler jumped back and focused its red glare on Shepard. Reaching up, just caught it just in time, stunning it and making it fall from the scaffolding as its systems locked up.
"On it sir!" shouted Ash as she jumped forward, held the creature down with a combat boot before blasting it to scrap metal with her shotgun. Suddenly, the comms on Shepard's omni-tool cleared.
"Pressly! Fire Team, respond!" shouted Shepard as the colossus blasted the crate they were standing behind. The force threw both Ash and Shepard forward, but both recovered quickly and returned fire.
"XO Pressly responding! What is it, Commander?" came the navigator's worried voice.
"A Geth ship just flew away from the planet at escape velocity! Make sure they do not leave the system!" she ordered before focusing on the problem at hand.
"Understood! Fire Team, prepare the Excalibur for-" said Pressly as he took charge. The connection went out as the commander focused on the giant metallic pain in her ass.
"Any ideas before this thing manages to blast through our cover?" asked Zellin in a rather displeased tone.
"Yeah! Did you bring your big gun again?" she asked sarcastically, knowing he left it on the ship as well. "Garrus, how many are left?"
"Five ground…" he said before his gun roared loudly over the sound of the return fire. "Four ground units." As he ejected his clip, he slapped in a new one before focusing again. "Shepard, if we take out the big thing's joints, we might be able to beat it."
"Good call. Ash, you cover me!" ordered Shepard as she activated her omni-tool again.
"Commander! Are you crazy? It's a warzone out there!" shouted Williams as she blasted the leg out from another geth who had gotten too close. The crawling drone was quickly finished as Zellin filled it with assault rifle rounds.
"You have your orders Williams!" shouted Shepard as the familiar sheen of her cloaking swallowed her and turned her practically invisible.
"Y-Yes sir…" growled Williams dejectedly as she took aim and fired at a nearby unit, causing it to duck behind its own cover.
When she slipped around the back of the heavily damaged crate, she found herself watching as supersonic, sand-grain sized metal flew back and forth across the field of battle, taking out shields and causing each of the remaining three units to duck until they were recharged again, leading to a nearly endless battle. Moving forward, she slid past the crane that was used for lifting the cargo out of the mine below and slipped silently around one of the geth who was currently taking cover behind another of the mysterious crates.
She knew that if she took out one of the geth, their interlinking intelligence would inform the others of her position. So, she ignored the robotic creature and began to pad her way over to the colossal armature. It was currently using small auto-firing guns to keep her team's heads down before blasting their cover with another highly concentrated bolt of plasma. Reaching up, she slid some of her explosives off her omni-tool before moving cautiously underneath its large frame. She had to be extremely careful, though. The monstrosity's armor was much too thick for her grenades to do damage. But if she placed them on the joins, she could easily take out the legs.
This came with heavy risk, however, as one slight movement while her fingers were near the joints could mean the crushing of every bone in her hand, or just shearing it clean off. Apprehensively, she waited until it was charging another blast of plasma, then reached forward and planted the device on its leg.
There was an old Yiddish saying back on Earth that said, "When men plan, God laughs." Shepard liked that saying until she found herself on the back end of it. As soon as the explosive was planted, the head of the massive geth swung down and stared directly at her cloaked form with its bright oculus.
"Commander! Get out of there!" shouted Garrus as he focused his fire on the armature, trying to get its attention. But it paid him no mind, and instead raised its massive leg. Shepard rolled out of the way just as it slammed the metallic, spear-like limb into the dirt. Lifting another, it tried again where it had seen her body impact the ground.
The last of the geth ground forces turned towards Shepard to help aid in her destruction when they fell to the dirt as the spectre, turian, and human all focused fire on their backs. With all of the soldiers out of the way, they could focus on the colossus that towered over Shepard. It continued to try and raise its large metallic limbs and crush the annoying human like she was an insect.
"Shepard, what the hell are you doing!?" asked Garrus as he focused on trying to blind the giant machine while Williams sprinted from her cover off towards the equipment area.
"If I get out from under it, it can focus on me with its auto-cannons and its plasma weapon! I'll be vaporized the moment I try to leave!" she snapped as she dodged another smashing leg. Suddenly, as if getting a bright idea, the colossus planted all four legs, then thrust its body downward. Shepard barely reacted in time by hurling herself out from under the massive creature, causing her to crash into the dirt, panting and sweating. Turning her head, she stared up at the large glowing eye that was now aimed directly at her. "Fuck…" she growled as her cloaking finally wore off.
Three of the four combatants widened their eyes as a loud clang echoed across the landscape. Shepard watched as the heavy hook from the mining crane smashed into the armature's head, sending its charging plasma blast smashing into a cliff and causing a small rockslide. Garrus looked over to find Ash sitting in the crane as it swung back around. "Shepard! Grab the hook!" shouted the gunnery chief through their comm.
Shepard rolled to her feet and sprinted towards the machine. Reaching up, she gripped the armature's protruding knee-like appendage and used it to launch herself up towards its neck. As the hook swung around again, she reached out and grabbed the heavy-duty metal snare before jamming it underneath the massive creature's head. "Ash, now! Lift!" Following her orders, the chief yanked on the lever that raised the hook and watched as the colossus went rigid. Shepard immediately slapped all but two of her explosives under its now forcefully extended head. Then, sliding down its back, she planted the remaining two on its autocannons before sliding off its back and hitting the ground in a roll. As soon as she hit the ground, she was up again and running. "Keep lifting Williams…" she said before finally turning towards the monstrosity again.
It was doing its best to break free, but the crane was lifting its front side off the ground entirely, making it near impossible for it to direct its fire. Shepard finally raised her omni-tool and activated the explosives. The blast sent its body crashing to the ground in ruin with its remaining weapons scrapped, while its head and now dim ocular light still swung from the crane.
Shepard plopped down on her backside, her breathing labored as she stared at the collective effort of her team. Dozens of dead geth platforms and one giant decapitated tank. "You alright Commander?" asked Zellin as he stepped up and held out his hand.
She looked up at him, then at his hand before sighing and gripping it. He yanked her to her feet. "No worse for wear. Come on, we've got a doctor to find," she ordered as she prepared her pistol again. Ash and Garrus both approached with their weapons ready, and Jane turned to the gunnery chief. "Good thinking on your feet Williams. You really saved my ass there."
"Thought you could use a lift," said Ash with an oddly cheerful tone, causing Shepard to chuckle as she moved towards the large entrance.
Telsakka Ruins - Therum
The wide, drilled out tunnel that led below the volcanic surface of the planet was empty of all life. Garrus and Ash both looked ahead apprehensively as they all expected the worst. But with Shepard leading from the middle, they made their way down the eerie tunnel and into an enormous cavern, likely big enough to hold an Alliance cruiser.
"Holy shit…" said Ash as she looked over the railing for the walkway they were now standing on.
"If we had fired from the Normandy, this place would be swimming in magma," said Garrus as he lifted his sniper up and scanned the room. Soon, his weapon fired, then fired again. "We got a few stragglers, but nothing major. It looks like the majority of their forces were above ground or are further inside the ruins."
Shepard took a look through her scope as well, seeing a large mining laser as well as tons of equipment for digging and packaging. As she scanned the massive room, she managed to spot something curious in her scope as Garrus fired off another two rounds next to her. Reaching up, she turned a small dilator on her scope, causing it to zoom in slowly as she focused on the glowing blue light. She smirked slightly at the site of an asari suspended in some kind of mass effect field. She didn't appear to be creating it herself. In fact, she looked to be struggling inside of the blue mass.
Lowering her weapon, she looked over to Garrus. "Any more ground forces?" she asked curiously.
"Negative Commander. At least, none that I can see from here," said the turian as he lowered his weapon.
"We can also breathe free in this environment. It appears that the mining team installed air filters, freeing the cavern from the normal sulfur dioxide you'd find on the surface," said Zellin as he reached up and deactivated his contained atmosphere. The hissing sound that followed blasted the vents in his armor clean of any grime they had accumulated on the surface.
Nodding, Shepard did the same, followed by Garrus and Ash as well. Soon, they were all breathing the atmosphere inside the cavern and saving their reserves, which might be needed later. The stench of the place was definitely one of decay and stagnation. Shepard snorted, wondering how anyone could learn to live with such a smell. Then again, she had lived most of her adult life voluntarily stepping into a gas chamber without any protection, as well as intentionally getting tasered and doused with CN tear gas.
Sliding her long rifle back over her shoulder to magnetically lock on her back, she took her pistol off her side and moved slowly down the walkway. The others followed, making their way to a small personnel lift that took them down to another walkway. After navigating the walkway, they came to another lift that carried them down to the ground floor. Once they finally set foot onto the solid earth, Shepard began to make her way towards the odd field.
Ash and Garrus both watched the east and west to her northern position, eyeing potential ambush spots closely while Zellin brought up the rear. When they finally reached the glowing blue field, Ash, Garrus, and Zellin all stared up at the asari curiously, noticing that she as suspended in some form of mass effect bubble.
As Shepard approached the blue field, the striking features of the blue woman immediately locked into an expression of worry. "Wha? Who? Who are you? What are you doing here?" she asked, the exhaustion in her voice apparent despite her worry.
"Calm down," said Shepard as she put her pistol away and held up her hands to show that she meant no harm. "Can you tell us who you are?" asked the human curiously.
"I am Doctor Liara T'Soni of the T'Lana Institute. Who are you?" she asked, her blue eyes scanning from the human woman to the others behind her.
"Are you stuck in there?" asked Ash as she tilted her head curiously and stared through the face shield of her helmet.
"I...I happen to be...suspended temporarily in this field," she remarked defensively.
Ash chuckled lightly. "Yeah, she's stuck."
"Look Liara, we aren't going to hurt you, alright. My name is Jane Shepard. I'm a Spectre, and I'm here…" started the commander, but before she could get another word out, the asari practically gasped. Shepard stared at her as the asari's expression grew to one of wonder.
"Jane Shepard! The one who activated the beacon on Eden Prime? You're that Shepard!?" asked the woman almost fanatically.
"All classified restrictions to the wind, yes. In any case, we're here because we need information from you. Now, why don't you start by telling us why you're trapped in this field?" said Jane as she crossed her arms.
Liara sighed and looked off to the side in irritation. "This facility was once a Prothean prison. Cells like this were designed to disable inmates and keep them separate without the risk of them escaping," she started as she crossed her own arms. "Prisoners were likely put into these bubbles, not only to protect everyone else from them but to protect them from the other prisoners as well."
"And?" asked Shepard, making it clear that she wasn't intending to fill any of the blanks in. She wanted the words from the woman's mouth.
Sighing, the asari finally cracked. "And, when the Geth began swarming the ruins, I activated it so that they wouldn't be able to get to me."
"You didn't consider that you wouldn't be able to get back out?" asked Zellin curiously as he too began to ask questions.
"Look, I had to make a decision. Either I surrender to the Geth and get taken who knows where to do who knows what or killed. Or I activated the cell and hope that someone received my distress signal and came to rescue me," she said, practically pouting at this point.
"And how long have you been in there?" asked Shepard as she reached up and took off her helmet for the woman to see. She wanted her to know she wasn't lying about her identity, hoping that it would garner some trust and speed their trip off the planet up.
"Approximately two days now. Luckily, I was able to grab my bag beforehand, giving me some food to help me last. Though the constant sight of the Geth outside of the barrier made sleep a little less of an option," she said, giving a surprisingly human-like worried expression.
"I see…" said Shepard as she looked down thoughtfully for a moment. Then she looked up with a hardened gaze again, making the asari apprehensive as she spoke again. "Do you know about your mother?"
Liara's eyes widened slightly at the question. "M-My mother? What does she have to do with any of this?"
Shepard sighed heavily as she stared the asari in the eyes. "I'm sorry to have to break this to you Liara, but currently your mother, Matriarch Benezia, is being charged with treason and is on the run from the Council. My main purpose in coming here was to find out what, if anything, you knew about her," said the spectre calmly.
But immediately Liara's face soured. Her eyes narrowed at Shepard and she crossed her arms again. "I haven't spoken to my mother in years. You'd have better luck asking one of her advisors who she gushes about so much," responded the woman with a snap in her tone.
"Ouch. Looks like we hit a soft spot," said Ash jokingly as she leaned against the wall next to the blue field.
"So, to clarify, you haven't had contact with your mother in how long?" asked Shepard as she accessed her omni-tool.
"Three galactic years and seventy-five days," she said, her tone no less frosty than before.
"Wow, counting the days. That must have been one hell of a fight," said Ash, who raised an eyebrow curiously at the asari.
"Do you know anything about Saren? Why your mother joined him, what their plans are, anything we can use to help find her?" asked Garrus as he stepped forward. But Shepard held up her arm, keeping them all back.
"Saren? I-I don't know that name. I don't know what my mother has been doing since we separated. I don't even know why she has been charged with treason!" she said, her worried expression now returning as she gazed down at Shepard. "You must believe me!"
"I do. Now, we need to get you out of here and get you to safety. So how do we turn this thing off?" she asked as she smiled up at the woman, getting a surprised look from her.
Ash, Garrus, and Zellin all looked at Shepard in awe, however. "Commander, you aren't going to just take her word, are you?" asked the turian as he stepped up next to her.
"Tell me Garrus, if you were working with Saren and his Geth, what reason would you have for then locking yourself inside a stasis cell for an undetermined period of time?" asked the spectre.
"Uhhh...I suppose you've got a point…" responded Garrus.
"I still wouldn't trust her completely Commander," said Ash apprehensively.
Looking up at the asari, Shepard pulled a pair of metal bangles off her back. "You don't mind, do you?"
Pouting once more, the asari looked away from Shepard. "If it's the only way I'm getting out of here, then I suppose I have no choice. But to put them on, you'll need to release the field. And I don't know how exactly you're going to accomplish that."
"What do you mean?" asked Shepard curiously. Upon further inspection, she did happen to notice that there weren't any consoles nearby.
"The access panel that was used to put me in here, and the one that will free me are behind me. And there's about six feet of dirt and rock between you and the other side. The only way you'll be able to gain access is to head back to the surface and somehow get the cargo lift doors open, then climb down the maintenance ladder," she stated, then went quiet as she heard a slow rumble.
The others heard it, as well as felt it. The ground began to shake hard enough to nearly throw them off their feet. "Shit! Commander!" shouted Ash as she pointed upwards.
Everyone looked up and noticed a large crack forming in the ceiling of the cavernous room. "Damn! We don't have time! We have to get her out of here!" shouted the woman as she looked around behind her. There was no way she would be able to get back up and open the lift doors built into the ground. They were thick enough to stop a shot from the 155mm on top of the Mako, so no amount of prying was going to get it open. Which mean that their only option was through the wall.
She spied the mining laser, biting her lip thoughtfully as she walked towards the large device. "Shepard, what are you doing?" asked Garrus curiously as he noticed her stepping away.
"Finding our way in," responded Jane as she stepped in front of the console on the device and activated it. Immediately, the tube-like metal cylinder that housed the laser rose on its odd, circular neck.
"You can't be serious Shepard! If you fire that thing in here, then the whole place could come down!" griped Garrus as he stood next to her.
"The cargo door upstairs would take a powerful explosive that we don't even have to get it open. And even if we did have it, the shock from an explosion that large would bring the roof down anyway. At least with this, we have some amount of subtlety. We can maybe get through the wall and get out before the place comes down," she said as she typed away at the panel. Suddenly, the panel turned green. Shepard aimed the laser directly to the left of the cell that Liara was trapped in. When it activated, the asari squeaked in surprise, then covered her mouth as if to hide it.
The laser began to shoot from the top of the machine before slowly rotating in a circle along its gyroscopic stand. In seconds, it had scorched circle into the earth through sheer power. Garrus looked up as the ground began to shake again, which made even Ash reach up and grab his shoulder for assurance. The split in the roof widened slowly, making each of them clench their fists as they watched the mining laser slowly burrow its way through the rock. And for agonizing minutes, they wondered whether it would get through at all before burning out. Typically, mining equipment like this had to rest for periods before being used again. Overuse caused them to overheat and even melt the equipment. But they didn't have the luxury of time.
Finally, after a few more minutes of waiting, the crash of stone could be heard from the wall. Shepard reached forward and turned off the laser, letting it sizzle and pop from the heat as she moved towards the rubble. As soon as she looked through the wide hole, her eyes scanned a small collapse in the structural weakness of the wall, leading to an entrance to the other side and causing her to let out a sigh of relief. "Let's go! We've got to get her out and get to the surface before this place falls!" she shouted as the rumbling returned.
The four burst through to the other side and immediately Shepard attacked the console. The technology she was looking at was largely unfamiliar to her. But, as she scanned the icons and symbols, she felt that they were somewhat familiar to her. "It should be the glowing symbol on the top left of the screen!" shouted Liara as she tried and failed to turn and look at them.
Shepard nodded and tapped the glowing emblem, and immediately the field vanished. Liara fell from mid-air and landed on her behind as the shaking started to worsen. "Let's go!"
The asari got to her feet before dashing towards them. "What's happening!?" she asked almost hysterically. "This place normally has volcanic activity, but never this bad!"
"From the looks of it, the Geth caused some structural damage to the facility when they invaded. Combine that with the fact that we just probably carved through a support wall, and you have a house of cards about to come down!" shouted Ash as they all gathered on the cargo elevator that led to the surface. Zellin activated it as soon as they were all aboard and it began to slowly lift them towards the surface, where the large metal doors were starting to open.
"B-But...my work!" shouted Liara, her expression looking like she was about to faint.
"Sorry doctor. If we could save it, we would. But right now, it's us or the ruin," said Shepard as she placed a hand on the asari's shoulder.
The woman looked devastated, but she put on a stern face and nodded. "I...I understand. It's just...painful to see it all go," said the asari mournfully as she raised her head to the now open sky.
"Shit, you're going to need a helmet," started Shepard as she reached up and began to remove her own black combat cover.
But Ash shook her head and stopped her. "No go, Commander. You need to ask her questions, and she needs to answer them. Neither of you can do that if you're breathing through a tube on the Normandy," she said as she reached up and pulled her own Alliance blue helmet off of her head. "Here kid, take care of it til we get back," she ordered as she jammed the military-grade helmet onto Liara's head and activated the environment seals.
"Williams, are you sure about this?" asked Shepard seriously as the elevator began to slow down as it reached the surface.
"No turning back now Commander. Let's just get to the Mako fast so I don't have to breath much of this stuff," said the gunnery chief, her speech already filled with heavy coughs as the thick sulfur invaded her lungs.
By now, the others had already activated their own environmental seals as well. Shepard finally activated hers as the elevator came to a stop outside of the cargo area where the remains of the geth still lay from their previous battle. "Alright group, let's move! You two, support Williams and make sure she gets back while I watch T'Soni!" she ordered, getting confirming nods from the others.
As soon as they were able to run, however, they were immediately stopped. A krogan with a small squad of geth was standing between them and the vehicle that they had arrived in. "Hand over the asari or this gets ugly."
"Looks like it already is," remarked Ash sarcastically as she wheezed.
Shepard and Zellin both moved forward, neither stopping for anyone. "Looking for a fight huh? This may actually be f-" started the krogan again, but he spoke no more as his body was suddenly lifted from the ground by a blue light. "What the hells…?" he asked as he tried to struggle. But when he spotted the asari who had just lifted him from the ground, he growled menacingly. "Bitch…"
Ignoring the insult, the doctor waved her hand and tossed the krogan over the side of the cliff where he bounced off of the rock and made a large splash into the molten rock, leaving screams in the ears of those still on land. Meanwhile, Ash and Garrus just stared in shock as both Shepard and Zellin moved like water while up close to the geth. The salarian ducked under a swing from one get and slid a blade he had pulled from his sleeve into the stomach, causing the automaton to start sparking. Its shields died, and he used its body as a shield to get to the next one in line, which fell after his blade found its core.
Shepard, meanwhile, shot one through the leg, before pulling it down and rolling over its back. Raising her pistol again, she aimed directly at another geth's head, bypassing its kinetic barriers, and blasting its ocular light out before turning the gun on the one she was holding.
"Maybe we should help?" asked Garrus.
Ash coughed heavily before moving towards the mako. "We'd probably do better to get the vehicle ready. Also, I'm suffocating. So quit gawking," growled thee gunnery chief.
"Right...sorry…" said Garrus as he helped her to get to the tank so that she could breathe filtered oxygen again.
After the rest of the geth were cleaned up, it was a mad sprint to the tank, then a rapid retreat before the ground collapsed beneath them and fell into a lake of magma.
Comm Room - SSV Normandy SR1
"How's she doing?" asked Kaidan worriedly as Shepard finally entered the comm room.
"Doctor Chakwas said she'll make a full recovery. She just needs a few nights on oxygen to make sure that stuff doesn't cause any complications," said Shepard, who had an appreciative look on her face. "I owe her." Inside the comm room, Garrus, Kaidan, Wrex, and Tali had already taken seats in one of the many around the edges of the room. At Kaidan's look of relief, Shepard looked around curiously and noticed one of the party missing. "Where's Liara?"
As soon as she asked, the door opened again and a confused looking asari entered the room. "I'm sorry I'm late Commander. I just had an interesting interaction with your pilot. Shepard, what is a clown?"
Shepard groaned and began to rub her head gently. "Don't ask. Let's just get the meeting underway, alright? We're on the way to the Citadel now and I still need some questions answered," said the woman as she finally plopped down into her seat.
The asari nodded and sat in her own, her posture almost impeccable. "What is it you needed to ask Shepard?"
"First, you said that you don't know anything about Saren or your mother, correct?" she asked, getting a firm nod from the asari. "That's very unfortunate…"
"Shepard, can you tell me what my mother has done to earn this charge of treason?" asked Liara, who responded almost shyly, as if she were intruding.
"Your mother was caught on film and audio assisting a rogue Spectre who betrayed the Council. On top of aiding him, it's believed that she helped coordinate the attack on the human colony of Eden Prime," responded Shepard as she let out a sigh. "I'm sorry to have to tell you that Liara. I know it can't be easy to hear that about your mother."
"It's...quite alright. Though it is confusing," she said, getting a curious look from the others. "While my mother and I have been at odds for years, it was over family matters. Matters which, looking back now, may have been easier to solve than either of us wanted to admit…" she said as she looked down at her hands. "Despite our fights however, she was always a good person at heart. So, to hear her participating in this is startling to say the least."
"Perhaps you didn't know her as well as you thought," said Garrus with his analyzing stare.
"Or maybe there's an explanation we're not seeing," responded Kaidan.
"Whatever the case may be, we're looking for her," responded Shepard as she stared between the other two, cutting off the banter.
"What exactly is Saren after? Why did he attack Eden Prime?" asked the asari with a worried expression on her face.
The others, Wrex aside, all looked between themselves before Shepard finally turned to her. "Doctor T'Soni, what do you know about the extinction of the Protheans?" asked the spectre.
Liara's eyes widened for a moment as she was put on the spot, but quickly she began to speak. And much to the surprise of everyone, she was very animated. "Oh...well, quite a bit I suppose. More than most I'd even say. See, I've been studying them for over fifty years now…"
Kaidan sat up and stopped her. "Wait...fifty years? Exactly how old are you?"
Her voice quietened a bit as she began to show her timid demeanor again. "I...don't like to admit it, but I am only a hundred and six years old."
"Wow, talk about aging gracefully," said Kaidan with a small smile.
"That may seem like a lot for a human, but in asari standards, I'm barely more than a child. Our kind can live to be over a thousand years old. Which makes me very young in asari society. That's why my work on the Protheans has been less than accepted unless handed in by my professor…" she grumbled as she spoke the last part. "Anyway, you asked about the Protheans, I know that they all went extinct all at once, so to speak. They didn't vanish, but they began to disappear over about a century. Which is much quicker than any natural extinction that we have on record."
Shepard nodded as she sat back and listened. "And have you formed any conclusions?"
"Well, this is only a hypothesis really. I don't have any data to confirm anything yet, but from the patterns I've seen, it looks like what caused their extinction was a war. If they were on a sole planet, it could be any number of things. Climate change, a plague, tectonic shifting, or anything of that nature. But the Protheans were an intergalactic species. Which means that whatever wiped them out sought them through their own relays. So, whatever erased the Protheans from the galaxy must have done so intentionally," she said, almost excitedly. Suddenly, she remembered where she was and looked up at Shepard. The commander wasn't sure if asari could blush, but she was certain that Liara would be. "Sorry, I really enjoy my work."
"That's quite alright doctor," said Shepard with a smile. "What if I told you I happened to have the answer to your questions up here?" she asked as she tapped her temple.
Liara's eyes narrowed suspiciously as her hands grasped the edge of her smock. "I would ask how it is that you know something that I've been searching for for over fifty…" she said, then stopped cold as the realization hit her. "The beacon on Eden Prime!"
Nodding, Shepard leaned forward and rested her elbows on her legs. "Despite what you heard; I never actually activated the beacon. It turns out that it was already on when we arrived, I just happened to get too close and it forced these images into my head."
"Of course!" snapped the asari as she scooted forward in her seat. "Most Prothean communication technology transfers the information straight into the host's mind. But most everyone who has actually received information from Prothean technology this way had their mind destroyed. Many never spoke again, and it's even killed a few instantly." Shepard cocked an eyebrow as the asari stared at her with a strange expression. "I have to say Commander, you must have an incredible will power in order to have withstood it with so few ill effects."
Suddenly, both of them were startled by Kaidan as he cut in. "Sorry, but I don't see how any of this relates to Saren and the Geth."
"It relates to the Reapers," said Shepard as she turned back to Liara.
"R-Reapers?" asked the asari curiously.
Clearing her throat, Shepard prepared herself to explain almost everything to the asari. "The beacon, as far as I can tell, was broadcasting a warning to the rest of the Prothean Empire about the Reapers. According to...some sources on the matter, they are a race of sentient machines that came into the galaxy, destroyed the Protheans, then vanished without a trace. And the visions I see are all images of what happened in that time."
"It's so strange. An invading force wiping them out makes absolute sense. But it also brings up the question as to why we've never found any trace of these machines. There would have had to be something, some kind of technology, bodies, destruction, information, something! Why is this beacon one of the only pieces of information we have?" she asked in frustration.
Shepard scratched her chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps that's the way the Reapers wanted it. To erase all knowledge of their existence so that we would never know that they're coming again."
"Again?" asked Liara in shock.
"I'm afraid so. The audio recording we have of Saren and your mother mentions that they are trying to bring back the Reapers," said the commander.
"But...if they're coming back again, does that mean that they've done it before? Were the Protheans not the first?" she asked as she reached up and rubbed her head. "I'm sorry, this is a lot to take in and I haven't had much sleep over the past few days."
"It's alright Liara. Take your time. We've got a few days before we arrive at the Citadel. You should see Doctor Chakwas just to make sure," ordered the commander as she stood. "The rest of you, dismissed. Get some rest. Joker, have Lieutenant Waaberi put me through to the Council."
"Aye aye, Shepard. Incoming Council now," said the pilot as the rest of them filed out of the room. Within a moment, all three of the Councilors appeared in front of her in holographic form.
"Shepard, we received your report on Therum. Is what's written here true? You left the Telsakka ruins in...well, ruins?" asked Sparatus as soon as he was able to speak.
Shepard eyed him sharply. "The geth had infiltrated the ruins and continuously dropped massive armatures on the surface, causing structural damage. It was going to collapse whether I showed up or not. I'm just lucky that I got there before Doctor T'Soni had to take a bath in the volcanic magma."
"Understood Commander," said Tevos, who stood in the middle. Sparatus looked at her before waving his hand dismissively. "Your report says that you have Doctor T'Soni aboard the Normandy. Is this true?"
"It is. After we freed her from Therum, we had a little meeting and I talked with her about what she knew. As it turns out, she knows next to nothing about Saren or her mother. According to her, they haven't talked for years now," said Shepard as she crossed her arms.
"And you believe her?" asked Valern curiously as he stared at her with his voluminous eyes.
"Whether I believe her or not is irrelevant. It should be easily verifiable given the amount of security that Matriarch's usually have on them at all times. Not to mention Liara works for the T'Lana institute as a primary archaeologist. All of her movements to and from the college should be easily traceable given the STG's resources Councilor," she said dutifully as she turned back to Tevos. "What I do know is that she's not a threat. When I found her, she took a huge risk to get away from the geth by locking herself inside a Prothean containment cell. If we hadn't come along, she may very well have starved to death in there before someone else arrived to free her. Or once the ruin collapsed, she'd have been killed by the volcanic overflow"
"Locking herself inside the ruins would be an unusual action for someone working with the geth. But then that begs the question, why did Saren send the geth after her in the first place? The information I shared with you about her was strictly between us. I shared it with nobody else aside from the other Councilors," said Tevos as she reached up and tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"Perhaps one of Shepard's human crewmates sent a message out?" offered Sparatus as he too began to ponder.
Shepard eyed him suspiciously, noticing that he called out the humans. Coming from him, that kind of opinion wasn't all that surprising. But what did seem unusual was going out of the way to accuse one of the humans as if he knew the turians weren't capable of such a thing. That meant she had some inspections to do. "The geth were already planetside when I informed them of the mission Councilor. So, I'm afraid your accusation is baseless," she said, getting a glare from the turian.
"Perhaps Saren, and her mother think that our young Prothean expert might have been able to help Shepard?" stated Valern confidently. "With Benezia knowing her daughter's wealth of knowledge about the Protheans, perhaps they thought that she may have some idea about what this key is that they mentioned."
Shepard and both of the other Councilors looked over to the salarian curiously. "I'll make sure to run that by her, Councilor. Thank you," said Shepard as she bowed her head towards him. Seeing the respectful gesture, he stood straight and blinked happily.
There was a moment of silence before Tevos looked over at Sparatus inquisitively. Shepard eyed them both as the turian councilor let out a sigh of irritation. "Shepard, I want you to know that despite my brash demeanor towards you since we first met, I do respect that you are doing a good job. I will try to be less...confrontational in the future," he said as he held his arms behind his back.
Her eyes widened at the claim, but she nodded in response. "That would be appreciated Councilor. I too will try to be less sarcastic in my responses," she said with a smirk.
"Noted," said the turian with his mandibles twitching.
"Now, since our discussion has finished, we would like for Spectre Zellin to report in as well. If we learn any more information that could assist you, we shall let you know," said Tevos as she bowed her head lightly.
"Thank you, Councilor," said Jane as she turned away to fetch the salarian.
Comm Room - SSV Normandy SR1
"Good to see you again Spectre," responded Valern as Zellin sealed the room.
Turning to the Council, the salarian stood before them with his arms folded in front of his lithe stomach respectfully. "Greetings Councilors. I am here to offer my report of potential Spectre Jane Shepard."
"I'm eager to hear your assessment of our shining newcomer," said Sparatus with a bit of amusement in his tone.
"Councilor, you just made amends with her. Let's not celebrate that by scheming against her," said Valern, who then turned to Zellin. "Well Spectre, let's have it. In your assessment of Jane Shepard, do you believe she is a good example of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch?"
Zellin thought for a long moment before returning the councilor's stare. "She isn't a good example…"
"I knew it!" said Sparatus confidently.
"If I may continue, Councilor?" asked Zellin impatiently.
"Apologies, of course," said the turian as he waved to the salarian to continue.
"As you know, Spectres are typically seen as those who hide in the shadows, those who puppet and manipulate events to their liking for the sake of galactic safety and security. Most work alone because the kind of work required by a Spectre can't be trusted to anyone else. My own work has had me in no less than fifty missions with the STG, and over half of that with the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance. In all of these missions, I did my job, and made the galaxy a safer place without anyone's help," she said, trying to keep his rapid speech slower so that he didn't outpace the other two councilors. "Essentially, Spectres nowadays are judged to be emotionless ghosts who will do a job and complete it at any cost. And the Commander is none of these things."
"If I'm to understand you…" said Tevos with a curious look on her face.
"Forgive me Councilor, but I wasn't finished," he said politely. She nodded, and he continued. "As I said, a Spectre is judged to be all of those things. But Shepard is none. She has a sense of morality towards her work that forces her to come up with inventive ways of getting a job done. At any point during the latest mission, any other Spectre, myself included, would have tried to use force to make the Doctor speak about her connections to her mother and Saren. Instead, Shepard used a more subtle touch and reached the same conclusion faster. In that same instance, she managed to rescue the asari, who could be a valuable ally in the future when encountering her mother. Most other Spectres would have left her to die once they had the information they needed."
"I think I see where this is going Spectre," said Valern as he folded his hands into his sleeves with a slight smile on his face.
"Essentially, Shepard would not make a good Spectre as they are defined now. But I believe she may be a new breed of Spectre." He cleared his throat gently. "I understand that someone needs to get their hands dirty in order for the galaxy to stay peaceful. I would never assume that all Spectres should be paragons of justice like in the vids. But I believe that Shepard's role in the Spectres is an important one. See, Spectres often abandon the idea of being protectors, and instead grow all too comfortable doing things as efficiently as possible, regardless of what that means to those they encounter. I believe she is not only an important figure among the Spectres, but a necessary one. One who, perhaps through exposure, can teach our organization to once again care about the people they were assigned to protect," he finished as he looked between all three of them.
"So, you believe that she will be a useful educational figure among the Spectres?" asked Valern with a curious smile.
Zellin looked at the salarian Councilor and blinked. "I can assure you that many in our order have gotten lost on our paths. We grow impatient and careless, often not caring for or outright betraying the people we work with if it means accomplishing our mission. In times past, I saw this as a necessary part of keeping galactic peace. Sometimes you have to burn down trees to make sure the forest thrives. But after working with Shepard, I've come to question if this is necessary, or even healthy. I saw her work with her team, teaching them and training them to be better. At first, they looked like a group of amateurs running headlong into battle and waiting to get killed. But after only a few excursions with her, I've seen changes in them, and would be surprised if they too didn't qualify for the Spectres someday."
Sparatus' mouth was hanging open while Valern had a smirk on his face. Tevos however, simply smiled and nodded to Zellin. "Thank you for your assessment. She must be something to garner such high praise from someone of your caliber."
"She is Councilor. As I stated, her morality lends her a perspective to solving a crisis that most Spectres I know have long left for the dead. Her combat skills alone would have qualified her for her position among the Spectres. Everything else I've given you is simply something to soak in before making your ultimate decision. And her team seems to be following in her footsteps," said Zellin dutifully as he looked over to the turian councilor's annoyed face.
"With the way you talk about her, you'd think you were in love with her," he griped in aggravation.
"Forgive me Councilor, but your childish remarks are unbecoming of someone of your position. One can have respect for someone else's work without the need for sexual gratification from them. Were you in my place during these last few missions, you would likely show her the respect she is due," said the salarian without an ounce of hesitation.
Valern sighed to himself as the other two councilors looked surprised by the spectre's barbed tongue. "And like that, this meeting is finished. Spectre, when you reach the Citadel, come to see me for your next assignment."
"Understood Councilor," said Zellin as he killed the comm to the Council, then left the room.
CODEX ENTRIES
Soak In | Culture | Salarian
Meaning to ruminate or think about. Similar in fashion to the human use of the word "marinate" in the same context, it comes from the long-standing cultural use of thinking pools, which are small pools of heated water that salarians use to help themselves think more clearly.