Location: Artemis Tau, Knossos System, Therum, Prothean Dig site
This rock is hot as hell. Couldn't the Doctor pick a planet which wasn't a fucking volcano to get captured, is that too much for me to ask? Not to mention the fact that for the past hour or so Nate has been piloting the Mako like a madman and I've been tossed about like a rag doll. The man has no control over this vehicle and the only person enjoying this was Wrex.
The worst of it came whenever he came up against a Geth Colossus and he was jumping up and down like a child. I was tempted to get out and fight it on foot if it wasn't for the fact it was surrounded by Geth. We were almost forced into the lava because Nate had to dodge the blast too, which was a wonderful experience since the heat managed to fry our barrier so after dealing with the Colossus we had to request an immediate pickup from Joker. He took the MAKO and we were now on foot.
"Learn how to drive that thing like a person or I'm never getting inside it again," I hissed whilst walking through the small opening.
"Lighten up Shepard! That was fun," Wrex chortled.
"Fun! I almost ended up as being served to the geth as grilled Shepard. Not to mention how long it's going take to fix the Mako."
"We couldn't fit through that tiny opening with the Mako. I can barely fit through it."
"That's enough you two. I want you to focus on the mission. The Geth could be anywhere so stay alert," Nate intervened.
Almost as soon as he said that we were under fire. "See what I mean," he hollered.
We all found whatever cover we could behind the rocks. "Shit, they've got me pinned down," Nate announced.
"I'll deal with it," I offered and ran out of cover. With my shields on I knew I was safe for about 10 seconds. That was enough time for me to hit one with the overload. "Garrus!"
"On it," on queue the Turian blew the geth to pieces.
The other geth pinning Nate down was distracted by Kaidan so I pulled out my omni-blade and jammed it into its neck so I could rip its head off. There was something really satisfying about doing that.
"HUNTER!" Nate roared at me. I took my pistol out and shot it as fast as I could, but it ducked and cloaked again.
I turned tapped my visor and set it to allow me to hear the high frequency sound of the cloak. "Got you!" I cheered when my omni-blade cut straight through its head. We managed to take out the rest with little issue.
"Clear" I yelled and it was reaffirmed by everyone present.
We continued further along towards a chasm which was unusually quiet. Nate led us forward, however when he was in the open a sniper's round ripped through his shield.
"FUCK my shoulder," Nate snarled through his teeth. He had his shoulder in a vice grip with his other hand. Even with medi-gel there's no way he'll recover before the geth get here.
"OK everyone take up a position! Garrus we can't get out there so long as those snipers are a problem. We have to take them out. Kaidan, Wrex make sure the other geth don't get near us. GO!" I ordered. To their credit, none of them even questioned my orders and did as they were told.
Okay now we have to find somewhere we can take aim. The problem was that there were only two vantage points, and from both of them the snipers had a clear shot at us. So we have to aim and fire pretty quickly.
I took out my Reaper V and hid behind cover. I had to wait for the geth to fire first so I would have five seconds to take aim and shoot. Here goes. Yeah! Scratched one… you have got to be kidding me. When I saw the laser, I had to get back under cover to avoid getting shot.
Shit the thing has a barrier. I really need to upgrade my gear when we get back. This advanced Alliance line isn't going to cut it anymore.
"Garrus, sit-rep."
He raised his hand at me telling me to wait a second, before he could shoot. "Yeah! Just took this one out."
"I need you to take out the barrier then I can finish it off."
He nodded at me and did as I instructed and we managed to take out the other sniper. "Let's move out!"
We all got out of cover with the exception of Nate, who was still recovering and we took out the remaining geth in the vicinity.
"Area secure."
"Good job Shepard," Nate praised.
"Thank you sir!"
Nate was being extra weary of any potential threat now. The Geth sniper could have killed him if its aim wasn't slightly off. I just couldn't picture Nate dying, even if he was faced with an entire Krogan hit squad, I know he'd survive. It's what he's good at; he's the ultimate survivor but he's never liked being called that. After what I saw him do on Elysium I was certain that he was invincible.
Eventually we managed to find the actual dig site. The Doctor had managed to dig pretty deep from the looks of things. We were headed to the entrance and like always something has to get in the way. The geth ship dropped off a few toys us to play with and a fucking colossus.
"Great now we're all pinned down," Kaidan grunted.
"Staying here isn't an option," Wrex growled whilst backing up. He had his shotgun aimed at the beams above us and started firing but there were no pieces of geth debris falling on us.
A geth landed on top of our cover and stared at us. Its head started twisting and its limbs were contorted in unnatural ways. The geth made a weird noise before jumping back onto the beams.
"FUCK!" Nate roared. "Wrex warp those beams. I don't want them used," he ordered when at the same time he was taking out his shotgun.
I took my assault rifle and tried to see if I could take out these stalkers. I started firing at one but as soon as it was hit it jumped away. It landed on the open space to the right of me so I moved to aim at it. Just before I left the crate, the Colossus' blast hit our cover and sent me and Garrus skidding along the floor.
"Shepard! Are you alright!?" Anderson barked.
"I'm fine. Will someone please kill that Colossus though," I yelled
"Can't do that until these little bastards are dead," Wrex added. Still firing his shotgun at thin air.
"Commander, how about we catch them in a lift field and the rest blast them to pieces?" Kaidan suggested.
"Good thinking Lieutenant. Let's do this!"
It was just as easy as they said. Nate and Kaidan would prevent them from jumping with their biotics and we would finish them off. Once we were done with the stalkers, all that was left to do was kill the Colossus.
"Any ideas? I'm open to just about anything now."
"Screw clever tactics. Let's just blow the thing to the void," Wrex recommended
"For once I agree with Wrex. Grenades seem like the best way forward," Garrus seconded
"Alright. Let's just hope this works. But first we need to get rid of its shields," after Nate said that another blast hit the block only this time it was just me who fell backwards. "Shepard, Alenko, Garrus I want you to overload the shields so Wrex and I can blow this thing to hell".
"Yes sir!" Kaidan and I responded.
Our main problems are getting in a position where we can aim the overload and getting close enough to actually hit the Colossus. We had to wait for its next blast and run as quickly as possible to get as close as we could. Luckily we managed to hit all our overloads. So now the easy part would come. Everyone on the squad took the opportunity to throw their grenades and since they were sticky there was no way the geth could run or fly away. At the end there must have been 15 military grade grenades on that Colossus when it blew up.
Location: Artemis Tau, Knossos System, Therum, Prothean Ruins
I hate going into situations where the enemy has the environment to their advantage. Those fucking Geth stalkers are jumping around like fucking kids, and since they scramble my suits sensors I have to take care of them first. Pinning down to one spot was impossible without overloading their circuits first so Rylee, Kaidan and Garrus were invaluable. Catching them in lift fields is incredibly difficult and it's easier to just catch them in an overload.
"Uh… hello? Can someone help me? Please!" a woman's voice called out. It was weak and slightly raspy, but still strong enough to be heard from a distance.
I jumped from the last collapsed walkway to where the voice came from. I found a sickly looking asari hanging in the middle of what looked like a stasis field. She looked dehydrated since her lips were cracked and swollen, her eyes were bloodshot and she was a bit on the skinny side and there were blue veins surrounding her body.
I'm assuming this is Dr Liara T'Soni
"Can you hear me out there? I am trapped. I need help!" she shouts out of excitement, in contrast to her previously raspy voice. I don't really blame her; it looks like she's been there for days. But we can't let others know we found her.
"Quit shouting. This place is crawling with geth," I urged before taking my helmet off, along with Rylee and Kaidan.
"Sorry I am a little… Look. My name is Dr Liara T'Soni. I am an archaeologist. Listen this thing I am in is a Prothean security device. I cannot move, so I need you to get me out of it. Alright?"
I needed to ascertain a few things first before releasing her. "Your mother is working with Saren. Which side are you on?"
She had a look of genuine surprise when I told her this "What? I am not on anybody's side! I may be Benezia's daughter, but I am nothing like her! I have not spoken to her in years. Please, just get me out of here," she pleaded. I doubt she's working for Saren, no one would put themselves in this sort of state on purpose and she seems genuinely afraid.
"How did you get yourself in this position?" Rylee asked
"I was exploring the ruins when the geth showed up, so I hid in here. Can you believe that? Geth! Beyond the Veil! I activated the tower's defences. I knew the barrier curtains would keep them out."
"That still doesn't explain how you ended up like that."
"Well this is a little embarrassing… when I turned it on, I must have hit something I wasn't supposed to. I was trapped in here. You must get me out please!"
"You shouldn't have been messing with technology you don't understand," I reprimanded.
"I wasn't going to let the geth capture me! Besides, I know how it works… mostly."
I had to roll my eyes at how childish she sounded. "So how are we getting you out of there?"
"There is a control in here that should deactivate this thing. You'll have to find some way past the barrier curtain. That's the tricky part. The defences cannot be shut off from the outside. I don't know how you'll get in here."
"Don't worry we'll figure out a way to save you," Rylee reassured
"Be careful. There is a Krogan with the geth. They've been trying different ways to get past the barrier."
My visor began flashing red which indicated a grenade was thrown or an RPG's been fired. "GET DOWN!" I bellowed.
I dived into the two closest people to me at that point, who were Garrus and Rylee. Wrex and Alenko managed to get down in time to see the RPG ram straight into the barrier curtain.
We all knew the drill at this point. Rylee and Garrus stay back as snipers, Wrex and I charge straight into the thick of things and Kaidan provided support for us from a further distance, so these skirmishes were becoming shorter and shorter. We were starting to find our rhythm and it was happening surprisingly quickly. Working with Wrex was incredibly easy, I knew he had my back in a fire fight and could hold his own so I wasn't constantly worrying if he was alright.
"Hey Commander I think the Geth were trying to use this mining laser," Garrus suggested whilst fiddling with the controls.
"That's not very smart, using a giant laser in the middle of a volcano," Rylee chuckled
"Well I'm not a very smart person. Garrus you think you can work this laser."
"Yeah just give me a minute to figure out the code."
"Do you really think this is a good idea Commander?"
"No I don't. But right now it's the only option available. This place is about to be crawling with Geth in ten minutes at best. So we need to get the asari out of here now,"
"Got it Commander," Garrus announced before drilling into the earth.
"It's too late to turn back now," I realised. Within minutes hole was deep enough for me to get to the level below and Garrus turned the laser off.
We ran to the elevator terminal and set it to go to the level above. The Doctor was ecstatic to see us. "How…how did you get in here? I didn't think there was any way past the barrier."
"Not important! Right now we need to get you out of here before the geth arrive."
"Yes, you're right. I've seen enough of them to last a lifetime. That button should shut down my containment field."
Garrus pushed said button and she dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes.
"Oof," she grunted when she crashed to the floor. Rylee rushed to help her to her feet
"Any idea how to get out of this place?" Wrex asked
"There is an elevator back in the centre of the tower. At least, I think it's an elevator. It should take us out of here. Come on," she tried to run but found she had no energy.
"You've probably gone days without food or water. I'll help you out of here," Rylee offered once again picking up the fallen asari.
"I-I still cannot believe all this. Why would the geth come after me? Do you think Benezia's involved?"
"She is involved," was all I said.
"Saren's looking for the Conduit. You're a Prothean expert. Obviously he needs your help to find it," Garrus added
"The Conduit? But I don't know-"
She was interrupted by a tremor which caught everyone's attention. "What the hell was that?" Wrex cursed
"These ruins are not stable. Whatever you did must have triggered a seismic event. We have to hurry the whole place is caving in."
"JOKER GET YOUR ASS OVER. GET THE NORMANDY LOCKED IN ON MY SIGNAL OR SO HELP ME GOD I WILL HAUNT YOU FROM THE DEAD," I shouted into my communicator
"Aye, aye Commander. Secure and aweigh. ETA 8 minutes."
"If I die in here, I'll kill him," Wrex mumbled. I think the person I'll get on with the best will be Wrex.
"We're cutting it close Nate," Rylee uttered.
When we finally reached the top level of the tower, a group of geth being led by a Krogan was fast approaching us and he had a sick smile on his face.
"Surrender or don't. That would be more fun."
"We don't have time to deal with this idiot. CHARGE!"
"I like your attitude," the Krogan praised before running towards me. However, Wrex blocked him off with a charge of his own. After that they started trading head-butts and shotgun whips. Let's just leave the Krogan to fight it out.
Rylee was standing in front of Liara protectively. She was going to have to protect the doctor otherwise this whole mission is pointless, so Alenko was backing her up. Which left the bulk of the room to Garrus and I.
I took out my shotgun since this needed to be done very quickly. I killed three of the geth before the thing overheated. That was when I started to use it as a bludgeon.
Rylee was providing me some cover from the bastards but that didn't last until the Krogan charged straight into me, sending me skidding along the floor.
"Dammnit!" I cursed.
Garrus kept him off me by spraying him with assault rifle fire. This provided me the opportunity to get up to my feet and find cover. Thankfully, Wrex took over from me and he warped the Battlemaster's armour and Kaidan finished him off with a warp of his own.
Immediately after the fight the room began to collapse and I realised we had to run. "EVERYONE GET RID OF YOUR WEAPONS EXCEPT YOUR SIDE ARM!" I ordered whilst running toward the exit. We needed to be as light as possible so we all threw our weapons down the abyss as we ran. This is going to cut it close.
Rylee handed Liara to me so I could carry her out. My biotic tether made the job a lot easier but I was incredibly lucky not to get hit mid-air by a big rock or walkway.
The doctor had passed out during the fight with the battlemaster so I had to wait for her to wake up again to see if it was possible for her to help me with the vision. I left her in the med-bay where the Doctor was currently running tests on her
Location: Artemis Tau, Knossos System, SSV Normandy SR-1
"Too close Commander. Ten more seconds and we would have been swimming in molten sulphur. The Normandy isn't equipped to land in exploding volcanoes. They tend to fry our sensors and melt our hull. Just for future reference."
"We almost died out there and your pilot is making jokes."
"Joker can be a real ass. But after saving our lives I think he's earned the right to a few bad jokes," I said.
"I see. It must be a human thing. I don't have a lot of experience dealing with your species, Commander. But I am grateful to you. You saved my life back there. And not just from the volcano. Those geth would have killed me. Or dragged me off to Saren."
"What did Saren want with you? Do you know something about the Conduit?" Kaidan asked
"Only that it was somehow connected to the Prothean extinction. That is my real area of expertise. I have spent the past 50 years trying to figure out what happened to them."
"How old are you exactly?"
"I hate to admit it, but I am only 106."
"Damn, I hope I look that good when I'm your age."
"A century might seem like a long time to a short lived species like yours. But among the asari, I am barely considered more than a child. That is why my research has not received the attention it deserves. Because of my youth, among other asari scholars tend to dismiss my theories on what happened to the protheans."
"I've got my own theory about why the protheans disappeared."
"With all due respect Commander, I have heard every theory out there. The problem is finding evidence to support them. The protheans left remarkably little behind. It is almost as if someone did not want the mystery solved. It's like someone came along after the protheans were gone and cleansed the galaxy of clues. But here is the incredible part. According to my findings, the protheans were not the first galactic civilisation to vanish. This cycle began long before them."
"Get to the point," I ordered. I could see in my peripheral vision that Rylee was pissed off at my crassness.
"The galaxy is built on a cycle of extinction. Each time a great civilisation rises up, it is suddenly and violently cast down. Only ruins survive. The protheans rose up from a single world until their empire spanned the entire galaxy. Yet even they climbed to the top on the remains of those who came before. Their greatest achievements-the mass relays and the Citadel-are based on the technology of those who came before them. And then, like all the other forgotten civilizations throughout galactic history, the protheans disappeared. I have dedicated my life to figuring out why."
Good god this alien can talk anyone's ear off. Jeez, all I did was offer to tell her what happened to the Protheans and she goes on some monologue like she's an actress in theatre; and she spouted it all with that same arrogance that all aliens possess.
"You're not much of an expert Doctor. The answer has been standing in front of you the whole time. The protheans were wiped out by a race of sentient machines called the Reapers."
"The—the Reapers? But I have never heard of—How do you know this? What evidence do you have?" she demanded. She was offended by my comments and she's showing some spine.
"There was a damaged Prothean beacon on Eden Prime. It burned a vision into my brain. I'm still trying to sort out what it means."
"Visions? Yes… that makes sense. The beacons were designed to transmit information directly to the mind of the user. Finding one that still works is extremely rare. No wonder the geth attacked Eden Prime. The chance to acquire a working beacon—even a badly damaged one—is worth any almost risk."
"But none of it makes sense so it's not very useful," I countered
"That's because the beacons were only programmed to interact with Prothean physiology. Whatever information you received would have been confused, unclear. I am amazed you were able to make sense of it at all. A lesser mind would have been utterly destroyed by the process. You must be remarkably strong willed, Commander."
"This isn't helping us find Saren. Or the Conduit," Ashley intervened
"Of course you are right. I am sorry. My scientific curiosity got the better of me. Unfortunately, I do not have any information that could help you find the Conduit. Or Saren."
I felt anger boiling up inside me. So this stop was a giant fucking waste of time and Saren could be on his way to the Conduit right now because I spent a week dicking around in Artemis Tau, looking for a useless fucking doctor!
"That's just fucking great. Back to square one," I grunted.
"Wait Commander, Saren my try another attempt at my life. I'd feel safer if you let me stay on your ship. Besides, my knowledge on the protheans might prove useful later," she reasoned.
"And her biotics could be really helpful in a fight. Come on Commander, you know she's right," Rylee backed Liara up. If she is working with Saren then I'd rather have her where she can be monitored. If not, then I guess I have a new crewmate.
"We've already got every other non-human species on board. We may as well add asari to the mix."
"Thank you Commander, I am very grateful…whoa I'm feeling a bit light headed."
"You should really get something to eat something Doc and get checked out by Dr Chakwas," Alenko suggested.
"It's probably just mental exhaustion, coupled with the shock of just discovering the Prothean's fate. I need some time to process all of this," she explained.
"I'd say it has more to do with the dehydration and starvation," I countered.
"I guess it could not hurt to be examined by a medical professional. It will give me the chance to think things over. Are we finished here, Commander?"
"Go get checked out. Williams, Shepard take her to the med-bay. The rest of you dismissed,"
The familiar quick shriek of the intercom rang through my ears "Mission reports are filed, Commander. You want me to patch you through to the Council?" Joker inquired.
"Why not? My mood can't really get much worse anyway," I drawled.
"I wouldn't be too sure. Setting up the link now, Commander."
Their holograms each popped up in front of me. Each stood proud and arrogant as they looked down at me. "We've received your report Commander. I understand, Dr T'Soni is on the Normandy," the asari councillor stated.
"I assume you're taking the necessary security precautions?" the Turian councillor said patronisingly.
God, I really want to punch this Councillor in the face, please grant me this opportunity at some point in the near future. Amen.
"Don't tell me how to do my job," I sneered
"You are free to act as you see fit, Commander. Our role is to offer guidance and advice."
"It's up to you if you're smart enough to listen," the Turian councillor sneered back at me.
I really want to tell him to go fuck himself right now, but I doubt that David would be too pleased. So I'm going to do what's best for me "Joker, lose this line"
I heard a sigh on the intercom "Communications cut Commander. Bet no one's ever done that to the Council before."
"I'm really glad I'm the first. It felt good."