Log 14
Date: 24TH OCT 2186
Location: SEATTLE RUINS, WASHINGTON, USA
It's been a week now since the meeting and I've spent all of it cooped up in this surprisingly small base in Seattle. A necessary precaution until we're certain the Reapers have given up hunting for me. Still it worries me is that I might end up spending the entire war like this. Last time it had only taken one glance to identify me as a priority target. Much as I hate taking a back seat role in our surveillance operations on the processor ship, I've become a liability on such missions.
Everyone now knows that bringing me along risks attracting Harbinger's attention (something we've all become keen to avoid). He, or rather it, has flown overhead a couple times in the past week but according to reports it's also been spotted in cities as far away as Paris or Beijing. Either Harbinger is staying mobile or people are getting jumpy. But I can't really blame them for that; word is spreading about how Harbinger deals with threats to its rule. Stories of how it broke the siege of Mexico City, or how one of its controlled puppets killed a Justicar in single combat (not Lara thankfully) shatter the resistance's confidence. We're all feeling Harbinger hanging over our heads these days, an oppressive force of nature trying to force our submission (in fact in many cities the message is that if you see Harbinger, run).
Still before I get too grim about our situation I should mention we've had some fantastic success stories as well. The resistance is now very much in full flow across the globe. For the moment it's mostly small scale, hit 'n run style attacks. No major victories to report yet but we're making our presence felt. We can't destroy the actual Reapers (apart from our one success in Vancouver) but any and all of their ground troops are fair game; even the massive Brutes and Harvesters can be brought down with enough conventional firepower. In one of our lighter moments we considered creating a medal for anyone who manages to bring down a Marauder being controlled by Harbinger. To Will's great pride we confirmed he would get one for blowing up that ship.
Nevertheless despite the victories the Reapers are still running riot across the whole planet, largely unchecked. I sometimes find myself worrying that by killing the ground troops we're just prompting the Reapers to abduct more citizens to replenish their ranks. Nothing we can do about that one unfortunately, the Reapers will keep making more troops whatever we do. So we fight on, try to free people where we can and take them somewhere safer while we wait until help arrives.
We've made some strong progress on our plans to attack the Reaper processing facility. We've learned (from the Alliance having destroyed a few of them) that the ship itself doesn't have the space to store all the people they're dragging over there. Most of the prisoners are stored in a well concealed (and heavily fortified) compound that the ship is hovering over. I have to admit in many ways I'm relieved. The idea of climbing aboard a Reaper ship even one that isn't alive doesn't appeal to me much. The compound I can deal with, its defenses are strong but at least we know what they are (more or less). I suspect the ship might just have a few more surprises waiting for us.
Even the base itself is a bigger target than anything the resistance has gone up against so far (except for the General who thought he could take on three Reapers at once). Essentially they just took over a convenient building and turned it into a fortress by throwing a large kinetic barrier over the entire structure. Then for good measure they installed a bunch of GARDIAN laser turrets around the perimeter. Such defenses are normally deployed on starships to deal with enemy fighters though their speed and precision would be even deadlier on the ground.
"So a direct assault would probably fail," Lara commented as we discussed the latest field intel.
"Well, yes frankly. We might be able to defeat the garrison defending the base but those mounted guns make that irrelevant. They have enough firepower wipe us out in minutes."
"Could you not arrange some sort of bombardment to destroy these cannons?"
I rubbed my eyes wearily, it had been a very long day already. Most of it had been spent in meetings on the QEC, advising and coordinating resistance attacks around the world. Lara was an experienced warrior undoubtedly (there wasn't anyone in the base that could match her combat skills) but her experience didn't cover this type of assault. Like most Justicar she was used to relying on no one but herself; certainly the order had never tried their hand at waging war before now.
"That kinetic barrier probably wasn't put there for fun. Given that it's Reaper technology I dread to think what we'd need to use just to make a dent in it."
"Have you been able to determine how the barrier is being generated?" Travis asked Xi Chan evidently hoping to move the conversation into more productive areas.
"Yes Colonel I believe I have," replied Xi Chan with justifiable smugness. In a short time the Salarian had become an invaluable member of the resistance. We had access to Alliance scientists via the QEC (when they weren't busy) who might surpass his technical knowledge but what set him apart was the way he looked at a problem. Dealing with an enemy of vastly superior technology he decided not to bother asking if the enemy could do something but to assume that they could and work out how he might attempt it in their shoes (not that they had shoes or even feet come to that).
He often maintained that there were only a limited number of ways of completing a task no matter how advanced your capabilities. For example he pointed out that the concept of weapons involving firing something really fast at a target had existed on Earth for at least the past 10,000 years and was still employed by most advanced race we knew of (the Reapers).
"Take a look at this. There's a particularly good shot we received yesterday," he said swiping through the images sent to us by our scouts. He stopped on an image on the ramp where people entered the ship for processing, it led into the compound.
"Ah here it is, now if I just zoom in... There. See? Power cables of some kind running from the ship, linked to an on-board generator most likely the ship's drive core."
"So we'd need to take out the ship to disable the base defenses?"
"Or infiltrate the compound and sever the connection from that end. I've added a rough sketch of the wiring map to what we know of the layout of the compound."
"How did you know where they would- Oh you just guessed again, right?"
"I estimated the most probable locations, it's really not that complicated once you start thinking like an engineer."
"So assuming we somehow get inside without being killed by the defenses what would it take to disable the base?"
"Given the resilience of most Reaper tech?" Xi Chan shrugged. "Personally I think we'd need a bomb of some kind."
"Is there any other way?" Asked the Colonel "I might have a way in for us but I doubt we'd be allowed to bring explosives with us."
"I'm not sure," Xi Chan admitted. "Without any knowledge of how it's protected all I can say is that we should definitely be looking to overdo it rather than risk coming up short."
"What about a powerful directed mass effect field?" Suggested Lara.
We all turned to face her and she simply shrugged in response.
"My biotics are capable of exerting considerable force. If we cannot smuggle in conventional weapons then surely we must rely on biological ones."
"Would that even work?" I asked.
"As we all know Asari, especially Justicars are incredibly powerful biotics. I believe Lara could exert enough force to cause some serious damage if her powers were sufficiently focused," said Xi Chan thoughtfully.
"Then that just leaves us with finding our way in, Colonel you said you had something?"
"We believe so, yes." Travis nodded. "We've learned that to bring in new prisoners a single human agent accompanied by some Husks for protection heads out to a pacified area. Normally they convince people to go with them willingly with promises of food, shelter and safety from the war."
"So the people just go walking into this slaughterhouse like cattle?" Asked Lara wonderingly.
"Most of them just want to get out of the war if they can, they never signed up to be soldiers but indoctrination undoubtedly plays a part. Not just in the victims,we're certain the agents they send out are indoctrinated as well."
"How does that help us?"
"We've noticed a flaw in their security, one of their agents has received too much exposure to the Reaper indoctrination signal. We think that within the next few weeks he'll regress to a mindless drone, the symptoms are already starting to show."
"Symptoms?"
"Inattentiveness, confusion, memory loss. We managed to observe one of his 'recruiting' sessions which he totally blew because he's so out of it."
I frowned, I could could see where this was going but it was still difficult to believe.
"Are you suggesting that we surrender to him? Let him bring us in?"
"Let him bring in Lara specifically. Given his level of confusion it may well be possible to make him mistake an Asari for a human."
"It's a very risky plan,-" I began but obviously Lara had already made up her mind. She stood up and announce that she would go.
"You realize you'd be walking into enemy hands? If you aren't able to disable the defenses we won't be able to help you get out of there."
"I understand Admiral and I expected no less. Your duty is to ensure the survival of the resistance; mine is to risk my life for the good of others."
Well I still wasn't happy about it but I grumbled my consent to the plan. In all fairness it may well have been one of the only ways to pull this off. The Colonel may have spotted the one drawback of the Reapers ultimate weapon. If used for too long indoctrination turned the targets mind to mush.
Next I had a surprise waiting for me, back at my impromptu office (honestly it was a bookshelf for a desk and a crate to sit on). A note had been left for me saying that Councilor Udina would like to speak to me on the QEC at my earliest convenience. I groaned slightly at that (OK maybe more than slightly). I could feel an already long day about to get much longer but against my better judgment I headed over to the comms room.
When his projection materialized in front of me it was obvious the war was taking a heavy toll on him. Appearance had been everything to this man, I can't remember him ever looking anything less than immaculate (even when I once knocked him out). Now standing in front of me he looked tired, his clothes old and shabby and most of all there was a haunted look in his eyes. Don't get me wrong here, I've not exactly been looking that great myself these days. The apocalypse takes its toll on everyone (occasionally I don't even recognize my own face in the mirror) but I never expected it from Udina.
"Thank you for taking the time to speak with me Admiral, I'm sure you must be busy."
The curt tone still remained intact but I heard more warmth in it than I ever had.
"To what do I owe the pleasure, Councilor?"
Udina sighed and rubbed his eyes out of tiredness.
"I just wanted to hear how the war is going down there on Earth."
Odd, he was still receiving daily data uploads from all the QEC's still on Earth. He probably knew more about the situation here than anyone besides myself but I humored him all the same.
"We're doing our best to hold out here, situation's pretty bleak but everyone's pulling together. We've got a big raid planned for tomorrow."
"I wish I could say the same up here, the Council's still blocking me every chance it gets and our colonies are busy looking out for themselves. But I will find a way to get help for Earth Admiral, I promise you that."
"No one doubts your commitment Councilor, I know you'll find a way if there is one. With the Commander's help of course."
"Shepard? A few years back I would never have believed a single soldier could have more of an impact than a veteran politician. You must be very proud of what he's achieved and how he's achieved it."
"What does that mean?"
"I know what you think of me Anderson, what they all think of me. Udina the politician, always more concerned with his own agenda than what's best for everyone else," he sighed heavily.
"I apologize for not believing you about the Reapers but what else could I have done? Your story always seemed... Impossible."
Udina apologizing for something? I started to worry he might be having a breakdown (well there is a war on, people have hit their limit under far less strain than he's facing). This would clearly need careful handling.
"Listen... Udina, I always understood where you were coming from. You might've grated my nerves sometimes but I appreciated your support while I was Councilor. I know you are doing everything you can, even if I haven't always approved of your methods."
"I just believe in doing everything possible in the defense of humanity. I hope history remembers me for what I tried to do but I imagine you and Shepard will be recorded as the real heroes."
"If you find a way to make sure that there is a history to be recorded, I'll make sure your name is remembered longer than Shepard's."
He gave me a brief smile (I swear I've never seen him smile before, I'm surprised it didn't hurt).
"Thank you Admiral, keep fighting on the ground, I'll do whatever it takes to bring help to you. Udina out."
The image faded and I was left thinking about what he said. We'd always had a long standing rivalry (you might've noticed it) but the war was washing that away. It's funny how difficult situations show you the people you really rely on. Maybe I didn't like Udina but I respected him and I was glad to have him fighting our corner now. Who knows? Maybe he really will be able to bring us in some serious help, god knows we could use it.
After that I finally heard some really good news, although it had given me more than enough worry over the past week. I'd already received a report from Admiral Hackett informing me of what had happened at the Jon Grissom Academy but he'd left out a key detail. Wait I'm getting ahead of myself again, the Jon Grissom Academy is an Alliance run special school for the brightest and best humanity has to offer. Our most gifted minds and promising biotics all got sent there. That is they were until Cerberus attacked the space station looking to press gang our best people into joining their cause. I knew from the report that Commander Shepard had gone in and rescued the students but it didn't mention anything about one the teachers, Kahlee Sanders.
I don't have many friends left that I know are still alive, not for certain anyway but Kahlee was more than that to me. After everything we'd seen and been through together, I often wondered why we'd gone our separate ways. Duty I guess but at that moment, hiding in some cramped bunker on an occupied planet facing death every day? Let's just say I was really hoping I hadn't left it too late. Days went by after the report from Hackett and I heard no word from anyone on the subject, had she been killed in the attack? I knew Shepard would've tried to save everyone but he was just one man whatever people might say about him.
When Shepard finally checked in, I can't say if I felt relieved or terrified at first. But he confirmed what Hackett hadn't, Kahlee had made it out of there alive. She's staying with the students from the Academy for the moment, duty first I guess just like me. And she had a message for me as well, apparently she told Shepard to ask me to 'stay alive'. Hmm, well the same goes for her but I hope I'll find a way of delivering that message face to face, if only through a comm channel. We could all still wind up dead tomorrow but today the war doesn't seem quite as bad as it used to. I'll have to figure out some way to thank Shepard for this one, it means more to me than I can say.