Leena's POV

Shepard managed to find where Ann Bryson was and now we were currently on our way to the planet Namaki. Hopefully, we would find her before she ended up dead.

"So this dig sight may be under attack?" I inquired from the Commander.

"It's possible" Shepard replied. "EDI can you tell us anything else?"

"This is the main site of a series of excavations established under Dr. Garret Bryon, staff records confirm the project lead is his daughter Ann" the AI answered through the commlink. "She has recently uncovered another artifact possibly linked to Leviathan, the discovery has made the dig site a target"

"And this attack means those metal bastards are one step ahead of us" Cypher spat from his perch on my shoulder. His tail swished in agitation.

"That artifact she uncovered could be causing trouble we've already seen what they can do" Garrus added.

Cortez then alerted us we had hostiles and Shepard had him take us in as close as possible. Cortez drove the shuttle close to the landing platform and opened the hatch. Through the commlink, we heard Ann Bryson saying they were under attack. However, the connection was cut short when a group of Harvesters began to give chase. Cypher immediately flew out of the shuttle and transformed into his larger state. He unleashed his dragon fire on the Harvesters as Cortez got away.

We jumped off on a lower platform and got our weapons out. Immediately we got ambushed by several Husks and while we killed them Shepard told Ann to stay where she was and we would come to her. The scientist told us to take the elevator close by. Cypher was constantly flying around killing Reaper after Reaper while we killed any that got in our way.

Getting to the elevator was tricky since the site was unstable due to the attack. Cypher then chose to disappear and I had a feeling he was looking for Ann. My suspicions were confirmed when Ann said Cypher had landed where she was hiding and he continued to kill his prey with his flames. With the Metal Dragon protecting her Ann would be safe for the time being. It was a good thing he activated his illusion gift before beginning his killing spree.

The main route to the elevator was cut off so we had to take another route. Part of the route was a bridge and Garrus went to work on fixing the controls. Nearby was a mural of what looked like a Reaper with unknown races underneath it. The Commander and I provided Garrus cover while he worked on the controls and soon they were fixed.

As the bridge was lowered a f**king Banshee showed up and I shut up its ugly screeching by killing it with my Locust. We hauled ass across the bridge and resumed making our way to the elevator. But when we found it the damn thing was broken so Ann provided us with another way to get to her.

Like before the entire area was unstable and I hoped we found a way to get to Ann soon. Cypher swore over the commlink before calling a Reaper being every colorful swear word in the book before I heard him hiss out more dragon fire.

After what seemed like forever we found another elevator and we hurriedly took it to the upper level. Eventually, we found Cypher still spitting down Reapers with his dragon fire, and behind him was Ann Bryson still alive but her colleagues were dead.

"Dr. Bryson are you okay?" Shepard asked the scientist.

"Yes just shaken up" the human woman answered.

After helping her up we went back outside and looked around. For the moment it was clear but it wouldn't be for long. Cypher decided he would distract more Reapers and he took flight. Garrus then told Shepard to look at the mural behind him.

It was the same mural as before. Our next stop was to retrieve the artifact but we had to take cover when we got close to it. Some Reapers beings were acting odd with the artifact. Ann suddenly spoke in the same monotone voice we heard back on the mining facility.

"They've learned too well, the darkness must not be breached"

"Take that damn thing out!" Shepard shouted.

Garrus and I destroyed the artifact with a few shots from our guns. I then caught Ann before she could hit the ground and Shepard told Cortez to pick us up. Before Cortez could do this Cypher was quick to kill a Harvester. We also had shot down more Reapers creatures before hurrying into the shuttle and Cypher was quick to revert to his smaller form before flying straight into the transport himself.

"I need a damn nap" the Metal Dragon complained as the shuttle door shut and Cortez got us out of there.

Ann thanked us and sat down so she could catch her breath. She had regained consciousness shortly before the shuttle arrived.

"Leviathan took control of you, we had to cut off the connection before you got hurt" Shepard informed the scientist.

"I had a feeling that was the case" Ann responded.

"The Reapers are also just as interested in it too" I pointed out.

"Crap! Is my father okay?!"

"He's safe don't worry" Shepard reassured her. "But for his personal safety, he's out of this project, for now, if you could help us it would be appreciated"

"That's a fair point alright maybe we can find something in his office"

The Commander nodded and the next course of action was to return to the Citadel.