Log 12
Date: 17TH OCT 2186
Location: SEATTLE RUINS, WASHINGTON, USA
We managed to reach our base in Seattle without being spotted again. As we got closer to the center of the city we could see the scale of the devastation. For several square miles every single building and structure, anything at all in fact had been destroyed,. All that's left is a giant hole in the ground where the city once stood. That was the purpose of choosing this area as a base of operations, there was no reason for the Reapers to return here. No buildings left to destroy, no soldiers left to fight, no people left to harvest or so we want them to think.
It also reminded us that the losses we'd suffered in the last few days were nothing compared to what the Reapers were doing across the galaxy every day. These monsters, these senseless killing machines are burning our civilization, wiping it out wholesale. And it's not just out there either but on our streets, our homes. Just a few minutes ago I was told that three cities (Cairo, Hong Kong and Pune) have stopped checking in on the QEC, we have heard from them in over forty eight hours so at this stage we don't expect to. I often feel overwhelmed by the scale of this attack; the sheer number of wasted lives. Sometimes when I wake up I get a few blissful seconds before I remember the war and that virtually everyone I know might already be dead. I'm really not sure how I manage to carry on in those moments.
Daniels is just the latest casualty, one I deeply regret but who knows if anyone outside the small group I now interact with is still alive? Everyone I know off world now lives in limbo; the next report could easily be the one announcing their death so they are all ghosts to me. It's the not knowing, that's the worst part and not just the not knowing if loved ones are safe (though that hurts the most) but not knowing why this is happening. I think about that question a lot, what reason the Reapers might have for this brutal slaughter. I wrack my brains trying to find some motive for their actions in case in might lead to some way of ending all this but it just leaves me with a headache.
Still our fight is not hopeless and even the darkest night eventually ends. When we finally reached the base and I saw the Colonel, Xi Chan's team and dozens of others I remembered from the Vancouver bunker I felt that for the moment I'd finally reached the dawn. Once my squad and the Justicar's crew were settled in I went to speak with the Colonel again.
"Seems like a lifetime since Vancouver. How've you been holding up here?"
"For the most part it's been quiet. Aside from some local reconnaissance we've kept a low profile and the Reapers have left us alone. But my men aren't too happy about staying out of the fight for so long."
"Don't worry, I wasn't planning on suggesting we give up the fight entirely. We still need to slow the Reapers down."
"Actually I was planning something along those lines sir."
"I hope it's nothing like the General's plan, I think we've had enough suicide missions for one war."
"If we hadn't been betrayed then we-" Travis started to say.
"Colonel even if we hadn't been betrayed the Reapers would still have overwhelmed the compound. They must have been planning that offensive for days."
"If they could have beaten us before then why didn't they?"
"They wanted us to draw all the resistance in the area into one place. It actually made it easier for them to take the rest of the city."
"You think they had that all planned out?"
"Don't underestimate the Reapers again Colonel, ever. From the outset of this war that was our biggest mistake, even I made it."
"You were the one that warned us not to attack them."
"But I still made the same error as everyone else. I was so focused on their size and power that I forgot just how intelligent they really are. They've harvested this galaxy hundreds of times before our civilization ever existed and every move they make is carefully calculated to achieve that end more efficiently."
"Are you saying it's hopeless?"
"I've never said that and I never will, I'll fight the Reapers with my dying breath if I have to. Our job is simple, to acknowledge the enemy's full strength and to never stop trying to find a way for us to survive that enemy, even if it's just for one more day."
"And what are we holding out for? They'll still win in the end." I could see a sense of hopelessness in her eyes, one I recognized all too well. I gripped her shoulder and looked her straight in the eye.
"There's still a chance if we hold out long enough. I can't tell you what it is, that has to remain a secret. But believe me soldier there is still hope left, I promise you that."
She closed her eyes for a few moments, taking a deep breath but when she looked at me again it was with steely determination.
"Then we hold out, no matter how long it takes."
I nodded, I didn't blame the Colonel in the least for her attitude towards the Reapers so far. That was the fault of the Alliance Parliament and Council dismissing the warnings instead of telling their people what to expect. I was pleased to see that ultimately she was a soldier right to the end. It's exactly the kind of determination we would need if we were going to win.
"Thank you for your support Travis, your work in securing this base has been invaluable."
"Honestly it was nothing sir."
"I mean it, without someone I could count on stationed at this base I would've had to come straight here personally. Without you they'd be no resistance in Deming, I simply wouldn't have had the time to set it up."
"Thank you sir."
"I'd like you to call a full officer briefing for tomorrow morning and please let the Justicar know that I'd like her to attend. I'll share everything I can about the Reapers and then I'll want to hear the plan you mentioned."
"Yes sir, I'll start making the arrangements immediately, is there anything else you need?"
"I'll need access to the QEC device if possible."
"Of course sir, it will be made available to you."
"Dismissed Colonel."
After she left I reflected that away from the the domineering influence of General Coberg, Travis was an outstanding, if slightly nervous officer. I didn't exactly have her service record to hand but I suspected she'd served under Coberg's command for a substantial proportion of her military career. Most likely the General's leadership style put discipline ahead of self-reliance. Not exactly uncommon for a military that did no actual fighting but not ideal when facing the unfamiliar (like an invasion of flying death machines).
It would take time for Travis to completely shake this training off but I think being given her own command has begun to alter her perspective. Hopefully now that we've put the internal politics aside we can focus on our war with the Reapers. When I first arrived at the base I feared it would be like being back in Vancouver again but my fears have been allayed by the level heads in charge here. Even so there's still that concern about who the indoctrinated agent in Vancouver might've been. I'd really like to be able to trust the Colonel completely but with Daniels dead she is now the only person who had direct access to that communication array who hasn't been killed by the Reapers (other than myself obviously).
Later on I did get access to the comms and I was able to contact Commander Shepard for the first time since the start of the war. Shepard is still working on uniting the Council races in the fight against the Reapers despite substantial setbacks. The Council itself basically denied him outright which is predictable as ever. Just as Udina said the Commander decided the best way to proceed was to appeal directly to the leaders of each race and held a summit to achieve exactly that.
The Turian Primarch, Salarian Dalatrass and the leader of one of the most powerful Krogan clans (Urdnot Wrex, an old friend of Shepard's) all met with him aboard the Normandy. Unfortunately the meeting went much as expected with the Krogan Rebellions already dragged up within the first few minutes of the meeting as I heard it told. For once it was the Salarians and not the Turians who were taking the stronger stance against the Krogan. I guess that shouldn't be surprising given how bad things are on Palaven. By comparison the Salarians are much better off, Sur'kesh hasn't even been hit yet so they're far less willing to consider an alliance with their former enemy.
I have to admit I'm still disappointed at that. Salarians are known for their reliance on their intelligence networks. Normally I'd assume they'd gather extensive intel on every member of the negotiation before sitting down at the table. Maybe they overlooked Wrex because of their views of the Krogan in general as brutish thugs, not serious negotiators to contend with. It's a real shame given the huge amount of work Wrex has done in reforming Krogan society and ending the constant tribal wars that plague Tuchanka. If the Salarians had done their homework they might have recognized that they had a progressive leader and potential ally on their hands but instead their arrogance cost the Salarians dearly. Wrex outplayed them skillfully in the negotiations, securing an agreement for a cure to the Krogan Genophage with the blessings of the Alliance and the Turians.
The Genophage is the sterility virus developed by the Salarians to end the Krogan Rebellions. The concept was that the Krogan's natural birth rate was so unsustainable that it had to be limited to ensure Galactic peace. Once modern medicine unshackled them from high mortality rates it caused a population explosions and war inevitably followed. In peacetime it meant they had a constant need for new colony planets to support their population. When the need for territory lead to war it allowed them to replenish their units endlessly, giving them virtually limitless reinforcements. The virus attempted to reduce Krogan fertility to get their population under control and end their ability to wage war. It's one of the most controversial decisions ever made in Galactic history (not one that humanity was involved in I might add, we were still in the middle ages at the time).
The Salarians really weren't happy about the cure but they have so far permitted it to move forward despite offering no other aid of any kind (don't even get me started on that topic, it's not like the Reapers are coming for all of us or anything). The final agreement was that in exchange for the cure the Krogan would provide ground troops to help fight the Reaper forces on Palaven. And if all goes well the Turians will ultimately send their fleets to help retake Earth when the time comes.
'When the time comes' is becoming one of our favorite catchphrases and it terrifies me to think our fates rest on such slim chances. Still I was thrilled to hear the news and to hear all the progress the Commander has made towards achieving that goal. The Normandy is currently in orbit around Tuchanka where they're just making the final adjustments to the cure before they release it into the atmosphere tomorrow. The Reapers are present on the planet but only as a small scouting force for the moment. Only a single Destroyer has been spotted so far although it is guarding the facility that's the best option for dispersing the cure. I hope Shepard will be able to handle that challenge, though he's certainly faced worse before. From what I've heard he's been up against another enemy as well: Cerberus.
It's difficult to make sense of Cerberus's current actions frankly except to write them off as the kind of xenophobic fanatics they've never really seemed to be. Don't get me wrong, I've never approved of Cerberus's actions but in the past they've always been motivated by clear strategic goals. They claimed their focus was on uplifting humanity not attacking aliens.
That has changed with the outbreak of the war. They've recently started making several concentrated attacks against aliens (predominantly Krogan) with no explanation for their actions. Maybe the cure for the Genophage has them spooked but I suspect at least some of them are just taking advantage of the chaos to settle old grudges. You could debate the Illusive Man's motives for weeks if you felt like it but beneath him its a good bet plenty of his subordinates joined out of pure xenophobia.
We did also discuss a little of what's been going on back here on Earth. I could tell that Shepard's curious but so far I've tried to spare him the details (afterall its not like he can help us). Right now we need him focused on the job at hand; building alliances and killing Reapers. So I kept it light, mentioned getting 'a shuttle evac out of Vancouver' but left out the full scale Reaper invasion of the base I had been in at the time.
I am concerned about him as I watch him try to carry the weight of the entire galaxy on his shoulders (minus Earth of course, I like to think that one's on me). As I've said before you are required in principle to treat every soldier under your command as equally important but in reality you will always be closer to certain officers. It was true for Daniels and it is certainly true for Shepard. I'm not one for getting too emotional but after everything he has seen and done, I couldn't possibly be more proud of him. I've asked the Normandy's pilot Joker to keep an eye on him for me. The war will be long and he's likely to get the worst of it.