Log 9
Date: 9TH OCT 2186
Location: WELCOME, WASHINGTON, USA
The day after we arrived was about as good a day as I think we're ever likely to get until this war is over. There isn't much in the way of governance for a small place like this but a handful of people were nominated to hold a meeting with us in the town hall. The first thing we had to sort out was if we would even be allowed to stay here long term. Personally I was in favor of of it, the Reapers are focusing on the major cities, places like these will give us breathing room. A chance to maneuver and to act without being under constant threat of attack. Initially was worried that the people here might be reluctant to let us remain in fear of reprisals but I've been bowled over by the level of support they're willing to offer. With their help and local knowledge we've already been able to establish some patrols in the area and scouting of the nearby villages.
With the small group we have present (barely more than dozen men between myself and Major Coats) we'd have struggled to cover much ground but we've no lack of volunteers. People are really willing to do almost anything to help our cause but we've tried to keep them out of the fighting for the time being. Mostly the volunteers help track enemy troop movements and visit nearby settlements to get their support. About 50 from Deming, 100 from Maple Falls and we've been told we can expect more volunteers from a place called "Peaceful Valley" (which is apparently not so peaceful anymore, I had to send Major Coats with a squad to deal with reports of attacking Husks).
The danger is that the bigger this new resistance grows the more likely it is we'll attract the attention of the Reapers. At the moment it's likely there's far more important threats for them to focus on but if they do notice us, a single Destroyer could crush our entire group in minutes. We've seen a couple of them fly past in the distance already. It's always a tense moment waiting for them to pass us by but the people are coping. We could try to find a new underground base that's out of the reach of Reaper weapons (some of the lads joked about digging a secret mountain hideaway) but we'd end up under siege within a week. For now our best bet is to remain scattered and focus on trying to evacuate settlements before the Reapers reach them.
Our other major concern right now is access to supplies. The Reapers have actively targeted as much of Earth's existing infrastructure as they could (those of us they don't harvest are meant to starve I guess) and blockaded the entire planet. Out here in the sticks things aren't so bad (there are more supplies and fewer people) but in the major cities the news from the QEC sounds dire. Mexico City is the worst affected, reports indicate it fell under siege at the beginning of the war. That they've held out this long is impressive but stories of widespread starvation are a stark warning to any other cities thinking of following suit. As I said our own food supplies are holding up for the time being but sooner or later we'll have to move back into the cities to scavenge what we can.
Weapons are another story, we have a few spares that we brought with us (when we took inventory, I heard one guy had actually loaded himself up with enough guns to supply a small armory) but nothing like enough for all the new volunteers. Daniels is downstairs right now training some of the recruits in hand to hand combat but I'm not sure how much good that'll do against Reapers. Most of the weapons in the base ended up on shuttles that reached the rendezvous in Seattle. Until we can get over there we'll have to make do with what we've got.
After the meeting Xi Chan came to let me know he'd found a suitable communication platform for the QEC and managed to make contact with Seattle. The connection wasn't brilliant but I was pleased to see Colonel Travis come up on the display.
"It's good to see you sir, when your shuttle didn't arrive we feared the worst."
"We're all fine over here so long as no Reapers show up so we should keep this brief. Report on your position Colonel, is it secure?"
"For the moment yes, the city is mostly deserted but the Reapers have these new flying units-"
"That's what happened to our shuttle, any idea what they might be?"
"They look kind of like Harvesters, y'know those huge flying beasts from Tuchanka?"
"I thought the Reapers only chose sapient lifeforms to turn into soldiers?"
"Either they've always been able to do both or this is a change in their behavior."
"Well whichever it may be I just hope they never figure out how to convert Thresher Maws."
The Colonel paled at the thought, frankly I don't blame her. I really, really hope they never learn how to convert Thresher Maws.
"How are the techs getting along with the entanglement device?"
"They say they've managed to crack the codes for the Fifth Fleet, we were just about to test it when we received your transmission."
"Can you patch me through?"
"We'll try Admiral."
The line went dead and a few minutes later a blurry figure appeared on the platform. The distortion was so bad I couldn't make out who it was.
"Hello this is Admiral Anderson do you copy?"
There was some indistinct sounds coming through, mostly covered by static but then a small snippet managed to reach us.
"- don't have time for this sh-"
I smiled, it was Admiral Hackett's voice for sure, I turned to Xi Chan.
"Anything you can do to clear this up a little?"
"I'm working on it, keep trying to speak to him Admiral."
"Admiral Hackett, this is Admiral Anderson on Earth, I repeat this is Admiral Anderson, do you copy?"
"Anderson? Well I'll be damned, you're st-... Alive. Always knew you were a tough son of -..."
The quality finally improved and I was able to see him. I dismissed Xi Chan, thanking him for his work before turning my attention to the projection.
"It's good to hear your voice Admiral, what's the situation up there?"
"Not good. We're trying to engage the Reapers in every theater of war they enter but to be honest we're really only delaying the inevitable."
"Councilor Udina mentioned something about a weapon that could defeat the Reapers?"
"Shepard managed to recover the blueprints for the weapon from the Prothean Archives on Mars. We've just begun construction of what we're calling 'Project Crucible' but the designs are massive in scope. Realistically it's going to take some time for us to get the job done."
"Just between ourselves, do you think it'll work?"
"I can't say for sure but from what we've learned the Protheans poured most of their remaining resources into building this thing. They had to have thought it was going to work. And in any case the truth is we don't have another option, at least not one that I can see."
"I know the feeling, we've lost a lot of good people on the ground too. Has there been any word from Commander Shepard?"
"Last I heard the Commander was on Eden Prime."
"Where it all began," I said, remembering the day and sighing.
"It's horrible to think that the colonists rebuilt after the attack from Sovereign and the Geth just to have Reapers come in and tear it all down again."
"I agree with the sentiment although it's actually Cerberus that's taken over the colony. They showed up just after the Reapers rolled right through the system."
"Cerberus? What the hell would they want with a human colony?"
"We're not entirely sure, we think they might be looking for something."
I shook my head.
"Cerberus never seem to do anything that's clear cut or simple. To be honest I'm getting tired of endlessly playing catch up with them. We need to find a way to get some solid intel on what they're planning. Be one step ahead of them for a change."
"What're you thinking?"
"That I'd be surprised if there weren't at least some Cerberus operatives still active on Earth before the invasion. Maybe some of their financial backers as well. Since we're all stuck down here maybe I can do you a favor and round some up for questioning."
"I like it, I'll take any intel on their plans I can get."
"Send me all the intel we have on Cerberus. I'll chase up as many leads as I can."
"You've got it. In the meantime is there anything more the Alliance can do to help the people back on Earth?"
"Just keep fighting the Reapers Admiral. If you give them a tougher fight out there it might just take some of the heat off of Earth."
"You can count on it but I was thinking we could look at an extraction plan to try and get you off-world."
"My place is here, maybe I can't destroy the Reapers from down here but I can help keep the civilians safe. Although that said..."
"What is it Admiral?"
"There might be one more thing you can do for us."
I asked Hackett for the decryption codes for the QEC. We've already unlocked dozens more active channels since then. At the moment the priority is for the few remaining QEC communicators left on Earth. We've finally managed to start making contact with other countries around the world. Some of the communicators have been destroyed, buried under rubble or lost but every so often we get a response. I address each person we make contact with personally. Sometimes (well once or twice) it's the person originally intended to have access but more often than not it's a civilian or common soldier that answers.
I'm not discouraged by these setbacks. Even if the person I speak to is alone and thousands of miles away, I can still help to reassure them, to advise them on how to survive and find others out there. Eventually this communication network might be the backbone of a resistance network spanning the globe. If we can coordinate ourselves we'll find a way to keep resisting the Reapers to the bitter end. But for now it's a case of trying to get these communicators into the hands of people ready to lead their own resistance cell.
The day wore on and I stayed at the communicator, taking call after call to people around the world. Some I spoke to several times, helping them when they needed advise or guidance. Soon we had more calls coming to us than we were sending out but I was glad to be doing it. People needed reassurance, they needed answers (many didn't really know what was going on, several had never heard of the Reapers at all) and they all wanted was someone who could tell them how to move forward: where to go, what to do and how to survive.
I would also receive a few messages from outside the Sol system. Mostly it was requests for advise based on my past experience of the Reapers. There wasn't much I could do (how do you advise on beating something as strong as a Reaper afterall?) but I did my best and in exchange was able to slowly build up a picture of the war from what I was told.
The Terminus Systems are in shambles. Not overrun (yet) but with Omega captured by Cerberus and Illium now under siege by Reapers there is no leadership to direct a counterattack. The Turians are still preventing the Reapers from gaining full control of their space but there are fears they might soon abandon their protectorate race the Volus in order to better defend their own territory. The Asari and Salarians are keeping the Reapers at bay for the time being but they've still been forced to evacuate several colonies on their borders. As for the Alliance, well we're still in the fight but the enemy is picking off our colonies one by one. Despite the bad news I stuck with it into the small hours of the morning until thankfully I received a call from the Colonel volunteering to take over.
I was too tired to write anything that day but I found sleep impossible. When doubt takes hold of you it doesn't let go easily. Everything was going as well as I could've hoped for at this point: we'd made contact with survivors around the world, hundreds of people were volunteering to help out here. But I was, I am afraid that another Vancouver could still happen. The Reapers have changed the rules as I used to understand them and I can't guarantee anyone's safety any more. There are no lines of defense they can't breach, no where we can go that they can't get to. In all the wars and missions I've ever fought I've never felt so powerless to protect those under my command.
It's morning now and I have another day of sitting at the communicator trying to advise people ahead of me. As much as I appreciate how important this is I think I'll have to find an excuse to leave soon or I'll go stir crazy. Maybe I'll join one of the supply runs, should give me something interesting to write about (y'know, assuming I don't get eaten by a Harvester or something).