Therum:
The Normandy was speeding through Hyperspace towards the Artemis Tau Cluster towards the Knossos System where the planet Therum was. The trip would take a long time since the Artemis Tau Cluster was on the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy. To pass the time, Shepard decided to know her crew better since the Normandy now had a full crew that was a mix of different races from the Republic. She had called all of the Officers into the Comm. Room which was just behind the CIC. More chairs had been brought in by the Protocol Droids which had also been brought on board at Arcturus Station. Eventually all of the Officers on board the Normandy were in the Comm. Room sitting on one of the chairs. The only Officers that Shepard knew where Pressly and Adams since they were on board during the mission to Eden Prime. There were now seven new Officers in the room and none of them were human but there were all Republic Species. There was a male Twi'lek who introduced himself as Supply Officer Zeplatuz. He would be in charge of the Cargo supplies that came onto the Normandy. He had a Wookie Assistance called Dikleorr or better known as Dik who was currently down sorting supplies in the Cargo Bay.
Then there was a common sight on Republic Warships which was a Chiss Officer. Some of the best Officers in the Republic were Chiss since out of all the Republic species, the Chiss had been a space faring species the longest and were skilled in combat. This Chiss was a male who introduced himself as Zitt'ozar'sruno or better known as Zitt who would be the Gunnery Officer on the Normandy so he would be in charge of the Normandy's weapons during space combat. Then there was the Normandy's communication Officer who would be needed to keep the Communications Array operational. This would allow the Normandy to communicate with other ships which was important in warfare. The Normandy's communication Officer was a female Togruta called Doka Phasa. After Docking at Arcturus Station, the Normandy also had new Protocol Droids and Astro-droids which were currently in the Droid repair zone and some crew members were assigned to keep these droids operational. They would be led by a female Rodian called Ci Chos.
The final three Officers in the room were Jass Gur, a male Kel Dor who was the ship's fuel officer and would handle the fuel situation and make sure the fuel flowed properly throughout the ship. And since the Normandy was a military vessel that would be sent on important operations, several soldiers had been assigned to assist. These soldiers were led by a male Zabrak called Verbro. There was also a female Mirialan called Pekue Bez who would be the Mako Driver for missions.
"Thank you all for coming" Shepard greeted them all "Now I'm sure that you've all been briefed on what our mission is before you were assigned on board."
Verbro spoke up "The Normandy has been assigned to stop a rogue Spectre called Saren." He stated "And we also have to stop his Geth forces."
"That's right" Shepard stated "Currently, we have no idea on where he is but we have an idea on where to find someone who does. I'll let our new Spectre ally tell us who."
Spectre Bau was also in the room and spoke up "Saren wasn't working alone. Audio footage found shows that an Asari Matriarch called Benezia was working with Saren and this Benezia has a daughter called Liara. That's who we are going to find."
"We currently have word that Liara is working at a Prothean Dig site on the planet Therum" Shepard stated "We're set a course and we are to located Dr T'soni and extract her from the planet for questioning. If she co-operates then we're fine but if she doesn't, then we have permission to stun."
"How will be leading the mission?" Pekue asked
"The dig site is located far from the Therum colony so we'll be taking the Mako." Shepard stated "I'll be leading the mission."
That shocked the crew members and Verbro spoke up "Commander, I don't want to disagree with you but the captain's place is one the bridge."
"Not this captain" Shepard stated "Driver Pekue will be with me since we'll need the Mako but we'll have to make the last part on foot so I'll be taking a team down with me."
"Who will go with you?" Zitt asked
"A report from Therum has stated that Geth have been sighted landing on Therum but away from the main colony. So I'll need some firepower. Ashley Williams and Kaidan Alenko will come with me since they're experience in fighting Geth. Since this involves the Rogue Spectre, our friend Spectre Bau will also come with us."
"The Mako can have eight people in it" Pekue stated "So far that's five of us plus an extra seat for T'soni. Is there anyone else who we'll be taking?"
"Since we're fighting Geth, it may be best to have a Geth expert with us" Bau suggested
Shepard agreed "Our Quarian friend Tali will come as well and we'll also bring Wrex. He is an expert soldier from what I've been told."
Verbro looked conflicted "Commander, I've brought several good marines with me for the Normandy. You can always use them as well."
Shepard shook her head "If there are more Geth here then I need you and your marines to protect Therum colony. We can't have another colony destroyed and Therum is a small colony." She then looked at Zitt "And since you're our Gunnery Officer, I need you to make sure our weapons are online for if we have to fight back with the Normandy."
"Understood" Zitt stated "I'll get to work on the guns right away."
"So do you all understand our mission?" Shepard asked and the crew nodded "Dismissed, we'll be approaching Therum in several hours."
...
Several hours later, the Normandy exited Lightspeed in the Knossos system in the Artemis Tau Cluster. The Artemis Tau cluster was on the edge of the Milky Way and had four systems, each named after an Ancient Greek state. The cluster was under Republic control but there were many Prothean ruins across the planets which interested historians in the Citadel and they were allowed to study these ruins but they had to obey Republic law and accept Republic protection. The Knossos system had 5 planets and two Asteroid belts; this system was named after the Ancient city of Knossos from Earth which was once a city in from the Minoan civilization. Every planet except for one was named after a place from the Minoan civilization.
The first planet in the Knossos system was known as Phaistos named after an ancient city on the island of Crete. This planet was a small terrestrial planet with an atmosphere of carbon dioxide and xenon. With a scorching hot surface made of sulphur, this planet is of little interest to anyone. Then between Phaistos and the next planet which was Therum, there was an Asteroid belt where miners from Therum were mining an Asteroid that had a large deposit of Platinum. The third planet was known as Zakros, a terrestrial world with a nitrogen methane atmosphere. The surface was made of thin water ice and would not support the weight of a landed ship so this planet was also of little interest. The next planet had a lot of interest but not for settlement, the planet was known as Armeni which had a thin atmosphere of krypton and xenon. But the planet seemed to be the home of an ancient space faring species called the Zeioph and there were many crypts buried below the surface. This led many Republic universities to lead archaeological excavations to research this civilization which meant there was more interest for settlement on Therum since it was the closest habitual world. The final planet was a small Hydrogen-Helium gas giant known as Archanes which had grown to become a fuel deposit for Therum. The second Asteroid belt was between Armeni and Archanes; Pressly reported that the systems had detected an anomaly in the belt so Shepard decided that she would check it out after their mission on Therum.
The planet Therum was the second planet in the Knossos system and the only inhabited one. Therum had a small colony with only 34,000 inhabitants most of which lived in the colony's capital city of Nova Yekaterinburg. Because the colony was small, it was not powerful enough to have a seat on the Senate and it was also of little importance due to its distance. Therum was rich in minerals which were often mined by corporations and rich in Prothean ruins which interested researchers and these factors had allowed the colony to grow when it was first founded in 2167 but this was where the Normandy's first mission was.
...
Shepard stood on the bridge as the Normandy began to approach the planet Therum where Luke was running a scan of the planet.
"Commander, our Scanners have detected Geth presence on Therum but away from the main city." Luke stated
"That's good" Shepard stated "Luke contact Doka, ask her if the Therum leadership have been informed about the Geth and ask them about Dr T'soni."
Then Doka's voice came over the radio "I already did Commander" she called "They are away of the Geth and are on alert but the military here is small."
Shepard looked at Luke "Tell Verbro to prepare his men to help defend the colony if we have to and get the shuttle prepared."
"Understood Commander" Luke stated and he left his seat to get the Shuttle ready for launching with the Marines.
Then Doka called over the radio again "Commander, Therum Council have informed me that Dr T'soni was in the colony but recently left for a Prothean ruin. I'm sending the coordinates to Joker."
Joker looked at the coordinates and sighed "Oh man!" he groaned "The coordinates are in an area where these a large number of Geth and near a lava flow from an old volcano."
"Then we'll have to take the Mako" Shepard stated and looked at Joker "Joker, tell Pekue, Wrex, Tali, Ashley, Kaidan and Bau to meet me in the Hanger."
"Will do Commander" he stated and then Shepard left.
...
Soon Shepard and the crew she had selected were down in the Normandy's hanger where they began to climb into the Mako. She then saw Luke along with Verbro and his marines getting into the Shuttle to head towards the main colony. As the Normandy began to enter Therum's atmosphere, main hanger doors began to open and the blue shields appeared where the Hanger doors had been. These shields were designed to stop enemy fire but allow the shuttles and Mako to leave. This meant that the crew did not have to empty the hanger each time the Shuttle or Mako had to leave.
Pekue sat in the driver's seat "Is everyone secure?" she asked as she turned the Maki's engines on "This is going to be bumpy."
"We're all secure here" Wrex stated
"Alright, here we go, launching now" Pekue stated and then the Mako began to move forward and out of the hanger doors where it quickly fell towards the surface. "Brace for impact" she called as the Mako got close to the surface and everyone held their breath as Pekue activated the jet fires which gave the Mako some lift as it landed hard on the ground where it bumped several times before stopping. "We're down, moving towards the Ruins."
Then Joker called over the radio "Commander, we're detecting a signal down in the ruins, but the road there has Geth all over the area."
"Good thing we brought the Mako" Shepard commented "Ashley, Kaidan, get on the machine guns, I'll handle the main turret." She looked at Tali "Tali, I need you to advisor on the different Geth here."
"Just shoot at them" Wrex stated "Most Gath have thin armour which this tank's turrets will rip through."
Tali sighed "The Geth Hunters have camouflage suits and have more armour than most Geth. The Geth Primes are the leaders but the large cannon will be needed for a Geth Colossus or a Geth Armature. And a Geth Juggernaut will be hard to take down."
"Just let me handle the driving" Pekue stated "You handle the shooting of Geth."
The Mako began to drive along the ledge which surrounded a large lava lake and when Geth were spotted, Ashley and Kaidan fired their guns at them and whenever one of the larger Geth units were spotted, Shepard fired the main cannon at them.
But then Joker called over the radio "Shepard you need to stop!" he called and Pekue quickly applied the brakes and the Mako stopped moving as it ran over a Geth trooper.
Shepard called Joker back "What's going on Joker?" she demanded
"Our scanners have highlighted a large Geth presence ahead in the one area plus they've set up cannons which will rip the Mako to pieces. Move back and Zitt's going to fire the Normandy's cannons at the area. Tell us when you're clear."
"Alright Joker, just make sure you're ready to fire" Shepard called back
...
Above Therum, the Normandy was currently holding position right above the area where the Scanners had picked up several Geth stationary cannons which they were preparing to fire. Gunnery Officer Zitt stood inside the Gunnery control rooms where all the controls for the Normandy's weapons were. There weren't many weapons on the Normandy because the Normandy was a Frigate but she still had weapons to defend herself. The Normandy had several anti starship cannons for fighting off enemy fighters and also several missile launchers. But the weapon that was being prepared was the main cannon, the Normandy had a powerful turbolaser cannon which was used to strike an enemy ship at a certain point and this cannon was below the Normandy's body.
"Do we have the coordinates Hadley?" Zitt asked
The crewmember in question, Richard Hadley looked at his officer "Yes we do?" he stated "The weapon is primed as well, we're just waiting for Shepard to get out of the way." As he was saying this, the main cannon were being lowered from its holding place.
Then Shepard's voice came over the radio "Normandy, this is Shepard, we're away from the area, and you may fire when ready."
Zitt turned to the crewmembers "You heard her, fire the cannon."
The Normandy's turbolaser cannon began firing several shots towards Therum.
...
Back on Therum, the crew in the Mako watched as the powerful shots came from the Normandy where they impacted on the surface and had to cover their eyes from the blast. When the blast cleared and they could see again, Joker called over the radio again "The scanners don't pick anything up in that area, the cannons are gone, you can carry on now."
"Right" Shepard responded and looked at Pekue "Carry on driving towards the ruins."
The Mako began driving again and passed the area where the Normandy had blasted and saw the smoking remains of the Geth Turrets and smashed pieces of Geth units. As the Mako came across more Geth, Ashley and Kaidan fired at them while Shepard fired the cannon at the larger units. Eventually they came close to the ruins but the path ahead was blocked by fallen rocks which may have been made by the Geth.
"Sorry Commander" Pekue stated "But you'll have to go on by foot from here."
"Alright" Shepard stated "Pekue, keep the Mako ready for when we return."
Then Shepard along with Tali, Wrex, Ashley, Kaidan and Bau exited the Mako and carried on foot.
"Careful Commander" Ashley stated "There may be Geth around here."
"Hold on" Bau stated as he pulled out a large Black Widow Sniper rifle which was one of the best Sniper Rifles in the Galaxy and one that only a Spectre could afford "Let me see" he knelt down near some rocks and looked ahead "I see some Geth Snipers keeping watch on that cliff nearby."
Shepard pulled out her own M-92 Mantis Sniper Rifle "We can take them out together" she stated and she knelt down and took aim "I'll take the one of the left, you take the one on the right" they both fired at the same time and took out the Geth straight away.
They quickly moved forward and weren't seen since they took out the Geth snipers which were the lookout. But they saw several Geth Soldiers and several small Geth turrets.
Tali had an idea "Shepard" she whispered so she didn't alert the Geth "I can hack one of those turrets and it will attack the remaining Geth."
"Do it" Shepard stated and Tali activated her Omi tool and one of the Geth drones suddenly began firing on the other Geth. Then Shepard's team came out of their hiding place and quickly took care of the remaining Geth.
With the Geth clear, they now had a path towards the ruins where Dr T'soni was. But when they arrived at the entrance to the ruins, Bau had a bad feeling "Something's wrong Commander" he stated "There should be more Geth here at the entrance to the ruins."
Then Ashley heard a noise and looked at a nearby set of scaffolding "What was that?" she questioned
But then they heard a rumbling noise and as they looked up, they saw a Geth Dropship drop more Geth units and one of them was a massive walker like unit.
"Colossus!" Tali yelled "Take cover!" the Colossus quickly began firing at them and they all took cover near a wall. But then a sniper shot nearly hit Kaidan and they saw a Geth unit on the roof of the scaffolding "That's a Geth Ghost unit, a stealth unit" Tali added
"I've got it!" Bau yelled and fired a shot from his sniper which struck the Ghost and destroyed it.
"Well done! Now take out that Colossus!" Shepard yelled and then they all began to focus their fire on the Colossus except Wrex who took out the remaining Geth soldiers using his Claymore Shotgun. Ashley and Shepard fired all the bullets from their Avenger Assault Rifles at the Colossus with help from Wrex and his shotgun. Bau used his sniper rifle and Kaidan used his biotics to throw junk at it. Tali wasn't much use against the firepower so she hid for the moment.
But no matter what they did, the Colossus wouldn't stop and it often just repaired itself "This isn't working!" Bau yelled and looked at Tali "Do you know a way of taking this thing down?"
Tali thought "You need to damage its armour" she stated "That's the best way to damage it."
"I'm on it!" Wrex yelled and threw a Grenade at the Colossus and when it exploded, it stunned it for a brief moment and then Bau fired his Sniper at the area where the explosion had damaged. The Colossus began wobbling before collapsing and the light in its head went down.
Ashley sighed in relief "Well now that's done, we should go find Dr T'soni."
"Agreed" Shepard stated "But tread carefully, we don't know what other surprises are waiting for us here."
"Dr T'soni might also be working with Saren and her mother" Wrex stated "She might have set the Geth up to stop us getting her."
"We'll just have to wait and see" Bau stated "Regardless, we need Dr T'soni alive."
They then entered the entrance to the ruins.
...
The ruins they were in didn't look like Prothean ruins, in fact, they looked more like an old mine.
"Are you sure we're in the right place?" Wrex asked
"This doesn't like a Prothean ruin" Bau added
Ashley looked around "This might have been an old mine until they tunnelled into some ruins" she suggested
"Ashley's right" Shepard stated "I see some ruins ahead but the way into them looks blocked by some kind of force field."
"Yes but by whom, Dr T'soni or the Geth?" Tali stated
Kaidan soon spotted some Geth and threw them over the balcony with his biotics "Something tells me that Dr T'soni is behind that barrier since there are Geth out here."
"They may be scouts however" Bau stated "But I think we're about to find out."
They went down an elevator to the next level down and soon arrived at the Prothean ruins where Ashley looked out two Geth Assault drones that were trying to break through the barrier. They then took another Elevator which took them deeper into the ruins. But it seemed that the Geth had attacked this place as the Elevator stopped working and they had to jump down to a damaged walkway.
It was then that they heard someone calling "Hello, can someone help me please?"
They quickly arrived in front of a barrier where they saw a young blue skinned Asari trapped in some kind of bubble. The Asari looked up and saw them "Can you hear me out there? I'm trapped, I need help?"
Bau looked at the man "Are you Dr Liara T'soni?" he asked
"I am?" the Asari stated "Who are you?"
"I am Spectre Jondum Bau" Bau replied "I was sent here with a team from the Republic to find you, we have questions for you."
"Wait!" Liara gasped "What do you need me for? I've done nothing wrong?"
"Your mother is working with a Rogue Spectre called Saren" Shepard stated "The council thought you might have some idea on what he's up to."
"My mother?" Liara questioned "I haven't been in contact with my mother in years. But my research may be why the Geth attacked this place; they may be after my research."
Tali looked at Shepard "Saren was looking for something called the Conduit" she stated "Maybe he thinks Dr T'soni knows where it is?"
"The conduit?" Liara questioned "I have no idea what that is. Look I can answer your questioned but you need to get me out of this."
Kaidan looked at Liara "How did you get trapped in there?" he asked
Liara sighed "It's my own fault, when the Geth first attacked, I activated the tower's defences, and I knew the barrier curtains would keep them out. But I must have accidently pressed something that I shouldn't and now I'm trapped."
"How are we going to get through this barrier?" Wrex asked "These barriers don't let anyone through."
Shepard looked over the barrier and saw an old mining laser "Maybe we can use that own mining laser to tunnel under the barrier."
"That might work" Liara stated "But watch out, there is a Krogan working with the Geth."
"Must be some mercenary that Saren hired" Wrex stated
"We'll get you out of there as soon as we get passed this barrier" Shepard stated
"Thank you" Liara stated "But please hurry."
Shepard and her team took another Elevator down to the bottom of the ruins and found the old mining laser and Shepard looked at Tali "Tali, you're the best at this type of work. See if you can activate it."
"Will do Shepard." Tali stated and then went onto the controls and began working on them to try and reactivate them. But then a sniper snot ricocheted off the laser which made everyone duck in shock.
"More Geth, over there!" Kaidan yelled
"I've got it!" Bau yelled and fired his sniper which took one out and Wrex took out the other.
"Hold on" Tali hissed "I've got it!" the laser then activated and fired a large beam which struck the ground under the laser and fired for several minutes until the beam ran out of energy and faded and left a massive hole under the ruins.
"That did it" Ashley stated "Now let's get Dr T'soni and get out of here."
The group went through the tunnel they had made and into the actual part of the Prothean ruins. Shepard was glad that Liara had reactivated the controls as this Prothean tower was massive and now the old elevator still worked even after 50,000 years. Soon they arrived back at the area where Liara was.
Liara was happy to see them "I see the mining laser worked" she stated "Now please, get me out of here before more Geth come. That control panel over there should shut down this containment field." Shepard walked over to the controls and pressed the button, then the energy bubble that held Liara deactivated and Liara dropped to the floor and pushed herself up "Thank you for that."
"Well, now that we've got our Asari friend, does anyone have an idea on how we get out of here?" Kaidan asked
"We can't go out the way we came." Ashley added "The elevator we took before broke."
"There is an elevator back in the centre of this tower." Liara stated "At least, I think it's an elevator. It should get us back to the surface. Come on." They quickly went to the centre of the tower where Liara looked at them "I still don't understand what's going on? Why would the Geth be after me and how is my mother involved?"
"Saren is responsible for a Geth attack on the Republic colony of Eden Prime where a Prothean beacon was recovered along with a Prothean Stasis pod" Bau stated
"A Prothean Stasis Pod?" Liara gasped "No one has ever managed to find one of them."
"Saren activated the Beacon and now has the information stored on it." Shepard stated "But I was also exposed to that beacon and now I have the information which shows some kind of vision. We can explain more on the ship."
"There is one thing we do know" Tali stated "Saren is looking for something called the Conduit. You're a Prothean expert so he may think you know where to find it."
"That's a good suggestion but Saren may have also wanted to use Liara to keep Benezia in line if she gets any ideas" Bau suggested
"The conduit?" Liara questioned "But I don't know..." before Liara could continue, there was a loud rumble and the floor began to shake.
"What was that?" Wrex asked
Liara gasped in worry "Oh no!" she gasped, "The mining laser must have trigged seismic activity here. These ruins are unstable; we have to get out of here now!"
The elevator was moving slowly "Can this thing go any faster!" Wrex groaned as the elevator began to move up.
Eventually, Shepard heard something on her radio and she activated it and heard Pekue calling out in a panic "Commander, what's going on, the ground is shaking here."
"We're suffering an Earthquake Pekue, get out of there, I'll contact Joker to pick you up." Shepard stated
"Alright Commander" Pekue answered back "But watch out, I just saw a shuttle land near the entrance to the ruins."
"Don't worry about us Pekue" Shepard responded "We'll be fine, we'll take that enemy shuttle." She then contacted Joker "Joker come in, these ruins are collapsing and Pekue's in trouble, pick her up, we'll be coming in using a Shuttle that a Krogan has been using."
"Alright Commander" Joker called over the radio "Just be careful."
The elevator carried on up the ruins but when they came to the top, they found a Krogan Battlemaster and several Geth soldiers waiting for them "Surrender" the Krogan demanded "Or don't, that will be more fun."
Shepard glared at the Krogan "We don't have time for this!" she hissed "Kill this bastard!" everyone got their weapons out.
...
Up above Therum, the Normandy's hanger opened and a special claw weapon was aimed "I've got a lock on the Mako" a crewmember called Zach Mathews stated
"Fire" another crewmember called Jennifer Goldstein ordered and the claw fired and attached itself to the Mako. Then the Normandy's controls began pulling the Mako back up with help from the Mako's vertical jets and the Mako was soon back into the Hanger "What about the Commander?" Goldstein asked
"They said she'll be coming in using a Shuttle."
...
Shepard and Ashley had used their assault rifles to quickly take out the Geth along with Bau and Tali hacked one of the Assault drones. But the Krogan was much tougher, their natural tough skin was hard to injure and most weapons were ineffective against him. Kaidan's biotics did no good either. But Wrex fared better since he was a Krogan too and knew what to do. He managed to knock the Krogan Battlemaster to the ground and punch him several times before shooting him in the head with his shotgun.
When the battle was over, Liara sighed "We should get out of here now before this place collapses."
"There's a shuttle waiting for us outside!" Shepard shouted now hurry"
The group quickly ran back the way they came along the platforms and up through the mine entrance but had to keep their balance as there were more shakes which nearly made them fall over the barrier. Shepard took the rear to make sure everyone got out. Eventually, they all made it back to the Shuttle that the Krogan had used "Does anyone know how to fly this thing?" Ashley asked
Tali sighed "I've seen one of these shuttles before, I'm not the best but I'm the only one who has an idea." Tali carefully activated the controls and the shuttle lifted off the group and headed back to the Normandy. As the Shuttle left Therum, the ruins collapsed into the group as a ravine was formed destroying the ancient ruins.
...
Later, they were all back on the Normandy and leaving Therum after Luke had returned with Verbro and his marines.
Shepard and the team she had taken down to Therum were not sitting in the conference room along with Garrus who had joined them for this meeting. "That was too close Commander, just a few more seconds and you would have been caught in that destruction. You're not trained to fight in exploding volcanoes, just for future reference." Joker called over the radio.
Liara was not amused "We almost died out there and your pilot is making Jokes?" she stated
"It's a coping mechanism" Shepard stated "You get used to it and it helps keep people happy and on mission."
"I see, it must be a human thing" Liara stated "I don't have a lot of experience with your kind of species Commander. But I am grateful you saved me, not just from the volcano but also from the Geth, if you hadn't shown up they would have killed me or dragged me off to Saren."
"What did Saren want with you anyway?" Bau asked "He seemed to think you were the key to this Conduit, do you know anything about it?"
Liara sighed "Not much sadly" she responded "I only know that it is connected to the Prothean extinction. That is my real area of expertise. I have spent the last fifty years trying to find out what happened to them."
"Fifty years?" Kaidan questioned "Just how old are you?"
Liara sighed "I hate to admit it but I am only one hundred and six" she replied
Ashley laughed "Damn, I hope I look good when I'm your age." Thanks to Chiss technology, humans now had a longer lifespan and on average could live up to one hundred and twenty years now on average but they still got very old at eighty years old."
"A century might seem like a long time for a short lived species like you" Liara stated "But among the Asari, I'm barely considered more than a child. That's why my research hasn't received the attention it deserves, because of my youth, other Asari scholars tent to dismiss my theories about why the Protheans vanish. There are many different theories about why the Protheans vanished but there is little evidence to support them. The Protheans left very little behind, it is like someone did not want the mystery solved, like someone came after the Protheans and cleansed the galaxy of clues. But here is the incredibly part, according to me research, the Protheans were not the first galactic civilization to mysteriously vanish, this cycle began long before the Protheans."
That confused Shepard "What cycle, what are you talking about?"
"The galaxy seems to have been built around a cycle of extinction" Liara answered "Each time a great Civilization rises up, it is suddenly and violently cast down and only ruins survive. The Protheans rose up from a single world to a galactic Empire which spanned the known galaxy but even they climbed to the top on the remains of those that came before. The Prothean's greatest achievements, the mass relays and the Citadel, are based off technology of great civilizations of those that came before. And then just like the species that came before them, the Protheans vanished and I have dedicated my research to find out why."
Shepard looked at Liara "I believe that the Protheans didn't just vanish but they were hunted down and exterminated by a race of sentient machines known as the Reapers."
"The Reapers?" Liara questioned "But I have never heard of them, what evidence do you have to support this?"
"On Eden Prime there was a damaged Prothean beacon which has imprinted a vision into my brain" Shepard responded "I saw the Protheans being hunted down by a race of machines that Saren seems to call Reapers but I couldn't quite understand the vision completely."
Liara gasped "I know these beacons; they were designed to transmit information directly into the minds of the user. Finding one that still works in incredibly rare but not as rare as finding a Stasis Pod like you told me earlier. I can see why the Geth attacked Eden Prime; the chance to capture one of these beacons is worth the risk. You said that you couldn't understand the vision completely; it could be because the beacon was damaged or because they were designed to work with Prothean minds so the vision will be unclear. I am amazed that you were able to make sense of it, I've heard stories of users of these beacons going crazy or have their minds destroyed, you must be remarkably strong willed Commander."
"This is all very interesting but it isn't helping us locate Saren or this Conduit?" Bau stated
"Yes, I'm sorry" Liara apologized "My scientific curiosity got the better of me. Unfortunately I don't have information that I can give you to locate Saren"
"I don't why Saren wanted you out of the picture" Shepard stated "But I think we'll be better off if we brought you along."
"Thank you Commander" Liara stated as she stood up "Saren might come after me again and I cannot think of anywhere safer than on your ship. And my knowledge on the Protheans might come in useful later."
"And her biotics will come in handy when the fighting starts" Wrex added
"Good to have you on the team Liara" Shepard stated
Liara smiled "Thank you Commander" she stated but then clutched her head "I'm sorry Commander, I'm feeling a bit lightheaded, I just need a bit of a rest."
"You should get some rest" Shepard stated and then she looked at the rest of the team "I need time to think about what we're going to do next but while we're here in the Artemis Tau cluster, I think we should finish off any missions we have here such as looking for Admiral Kohoku's missing marines. But for now, dismissed." Everyone left the room and went back to their areas while Shepard started to think about their next move, they had rescued Dr T'soni but Saren will still out there and they still had no idea on where to find him.
Chapter end:
Notes: Well another chapter completely and I've introduced the Normandy's crew. I have also rewritten the timeline and codex to introduce some new species into the Republic so you might want to reread those two chapters to see what I've introduced but they will be the only species I introduced until the Mass Effect 2 storyline. Next chapter will be a while because I am currently working on my other work and I'm going on holiday soon so you may have to be patient but I will try and update again before I go on holiday.
