IV: HOLOCAUST - THESSIA AND HORIZON PLOTS

The following chapter outline details how the Thessia and Horizon parts of the plot would have been handled.

Chapter 72: The Future Conquers the Past:

Section 1:

Shepard decides to hold a movie night with the original crew, where they watch the film "The Citadel", which is supposed to be a historically accurate representation of the Eden Prime War and the Normandy's escapades at the time. Shepard, Tali, Liara, Garrus, Kaidan, Joker, Chakwas and Adams all take time off to watch it; Kasumi manages to sneak in and watch it as well. The rest of the section follows with each crew member pointing out the individual things wrong with the movie, and everything they got wrong. After the movie is over, Kasumi decloaks and announces that a sequel is in the works titled "The Citadel II: Rise of the Collectors". They all sigh, hoping it gets cancelled.

Section 2:

Liara approaches Javik and she asks more questions about prothean history. Once thing leads to another, and Javik ends up touching the Echo Shard, where he is forced to live through his crew's deaths. The entire scene flashes back to the moment on his old ship, where he is forced to kill his own crew, who are indoctrinated. Back in the present, he lets go, and says that once the war is over, he will join his crew. Liara urges him to reconsider, telling him that the best part of vengeance is to witness what comes after, and she leaves. Javik ponders her words, wondering if she might be right.

Section 3:

James approaches Keeling, having cooked breakfast and wanting to share it with her. Keeling, finally warming up to James, joins him, and he talks about his uncle. She eventually reveals her mentor to have been Alec Ryder, the first N7, and that the many lessons he taught her still guide her life today. He states that he feels Keeling is not the person she pretends to be, and that the shell she has made will eventually crack to reveal the person underneath; he calls her beautiful, and states that he has grown to appreciate her. He moves in and the two of them kiss briefly, before Keeling pulls away and asks him to leave, pretending to clean her weapons. James leaves, and Keeling's shell finally cracks, and she weeps.

Chapter 73: Ratio Decidendi:

Section 1:

Once back on the Citadel, Shepard is immediately summoned by Councilor Tevos. In the spectre office, she explains that she has information on the Catalyst that she can't discuss in her office, and which is privy to only the highest levels of her government, with Sparatus. Osoba and Valern kept in the dark. She states that the Reapers have suddenly launched a simultaneous invasion of both Sur'Kesh and Thessia, and that for the first time in history, Thessia is being directly invaded. She explains that in the Temple of Athame holds the key to finding the Catalyst, and possibly the Catalyst itself. When Shepard requests further information, she blocks him, simply telling him to go to Thessia to find out for himself. Despite being skeptical of her intentions, he gives in, essentially desperate for information on the Catalyst, and leaves.

Section 2:

Hackett continues to overwatch construction of the Crucible, noting that it is almost complete, and all they will need is the Catalyst to complete its construction. He meets with Dr. Brynn Cole and Daro'Xen, who have been working together on the project. Daro'Xen expresses disinterest towards the Crucible, and refuses to work with the geth engineers assisting her own team. Hackett insists she work with them, reminding her that the Reapers don't care about her disinterest. Daro'Xen finally relents, and Cole reveals in private that she's skeptical of the project's success without the Catalyst. Hackett returns her fears, but tells her to complete it nonetheless. He leaves to get an update from Shepard.

Section 3:

James and Keeling share a moment together, where Keeling finally admits that James is a pretty decent guy and that she would like to know him a little more, and apologizes for her behaviour. James grins, and they kiss once more, for much longer this time; they get more intimate, Keeling working on his belt buckle. He stops her, worried about her experience with rape, but she states that she will no longer let her past determine her future. He smiles, and asks if she would mind quiet sex; she nods, and he picks her up and takes her behind a series of crates. Implied sex.

Chapter 74: Beauty and Blood:

Season 1:

The Normandy arrives over Thessia and deploys the shuttle, with Liara being distressed as she watches Armali being besieged by the Reapers. Javik orders her to get a grip, and to hone her anger to direct it at the Reapers. Keeling nods in agreement, backing up the prothean's statement. With that being said, the squad deploys and aids Lieutenant Kurin's platoon against a Reaper assault. Shepard eventually manages to convince Kurin to let them through the barricade, while Kurin directs them to seek support from Outpost Tykis, who were set up to defend the Temple, and the squad moves towards the Temple of Athame.

Section 2:

Later, during the fighting, they come across an asari justicar named Ramalya, who Samara greets personally. Together, Ramalya helps them get to the Temple. The eventually reach Outpost Tykis, only to find it overrun, with the last survivor barely holding out against the Reaper troops. Requiring air support, the survivor calls in Talon Four and Five, and the Mantis gunships quickly approach and rain fire on the enemy troops. Talon Four is shot down and killed, but Talon Five continues to take down harvesters and provide air support all the way to the Temple. Eventually, an Oculi appears and obliterates the gunship, but by this point the squad has already reached the Temple. Two justicars are required to access the Temple, so Samara and Ramalya use the consoles to bring the barrier down and let them inside. Ramalya remains at the entrance, keeping an eye out for enemy hostiles.

Section 3:

Once inside, Shepard has his squad spread out, keeping their weapons raised. Reaching the main statue of Athame, they find the slumped bodies of the asari scientists. Sighing, he searches their bodies and finds a datapad describing what the Athame Project was. The more he looked over the data, the more angry he got. Liara, noticing his anger, approached him, and at that moment he cracked, tossing the datapad away. He rages on about how the asari have been hiding it all along. Liara asks what he is talking about, when Javik interrupts her, raising his particle rifle and firing. Liara screams, as does Samara, as they watch the statue of Athame burst apart, but they do not assault Javik when they see what lies beneath: a prothean library. Javik frowns as he looks at Liara, shaking his head. Shepard reveals that the asari have had the library for thousands of years, and have been keeping it for themselves, despite the Citadel laws regarding the sharing of prothean technology. Javik realizes that this was how the asari managed to become so advanced. Liara is disgusted by her government's actions, and Shepard demands to know if Samara knew; the justicar admits that she did not. When Javik accesses the library however, the prothean VI named Vendetta is released, and they converse with it, with Javik convincing it to tell them where the Catalyst is. Before it can tell them however, it detects an indoctrinated presence, and enters standby mode. Turning towards the entrance, his squad is shocked to see a head rolling towards them. Landing at Shepard's feet, they see it is Ramalya's head. Looking up, they watch Leng casually walking towards them, cleaning his sword as he grins, Cerberus troops filing into the room around them as a gunship lingers at the entrance. Using a holodrone, Marcus converses with the Illusive Man, and they once again argue over who is right. Just as Shepard is about to convince him, the Illusive Man orders Leng to kill them and retrieve Vendetta. Shepard and his squad engage Leng and his forces. Shepard fights Leng first, followed by Javik, who is quickly defeated. Shepard engages him again, then James. Finally, Leng and his forces defeat his squad. James attacks Leng and just as he is about to be killed, Keeling intervenes, and Keeling spits in his face, calling him a traitor. The two then fight as the rest of the squad begin to fight back against Leng's ground troops, cutting through them. Surrounded by enemies, he orders his gunship to target the supports with missiles, and the Temple begins to fall apart as Leng casually retrieves Vendetta and moves to leave. Keeling engages him again, but Leng reminds her of her past, trying to distract her with memories of her rape, but she bites through it, and punches him in the gut (unbeknownst to Leng, placing a tracer on him), before being impaled through the chest. James watches as Leng pushes her off and then kicks Keeling down into the collapsing Temple, where she plummets to her death. James screams in rage, but is unable to reach Leng, and Shepard grabs him on his way out. The team escape the Temple as it fully caves in on itself, sealing Keeling's fate. The crew listen on the comm as Kurin's position is overrun, while the Reapers continue to burn Armali to the ground. Shepard, furious over their defeat, barks for an evac, the squad watching as Leng's gunship flies off into the distance.

Chapter 75: Games of Indoctrination:

Section 1:

Shepard informs the asari councilor of their defeat, and that Thessia has fallen. Tevos accuses him of failing his mission, to which he snaps back that had she told him the asari were harbouring stolen technology, he might have been more prepared. On this note, Tevos cuts the line, leaving an angry and saddened Shepard, furious at Tevos for the asari's deception and greed, but saddened by their defeat. He shrugs off Tali's attempts to reassure him, smashing his fist into the war room table as he snaps at EDI to assemble the squad. Samantha tags along, telling Marcus that she was able to pick up a signal coming from the Deliverance; a tracer attached to one of its crew. Shepard realizes that Keeling must have placed a tracer on Leng, and silently thanks her, feeling some of his anger dissipate as he swears to avenge the soldier's sacrifice. Samantha reveals that the ship has stopped over Horizon, with Leng's signal heading to the surface into a massive refugee camp called Sanctuary. Shepard nods, and orders the Normandy to head for Horizon at full speed; he wants Leng found and dead. He takes James aside afterward, and James argues for why he should be allowed to come down with him. Shepard offers no objection, surprising James, but the commander argues that he knows how much Keeling meant to James, and that if anyone should help to make Leng pay for his atrocities, its James. The marine thanks him.

Section 2:

The Normandy arrives over Horizon, and the squad (James, Tali, Samara, Kaidan and Liara) deploy in the shuttle into Sanctuary. Here, they find the entire facility having recently been attacked, with Cerberus forces looking decimated. Reaper harvesters fly around the facility, revealing that the Reapers must have found Sanctuary. Moving inside, they still encounter no resistance, with no sign of any of the refugees. Shepard surmizes that Cerberus attacked the refugee camp, and the Reapers followed them and harvested the entire population. Moving further inside, they eventually enter the main facility, where they see every single vidscreen has a recording from Miranda playing. On it, she reveals that Sanctuary is actually a Cerberus facility run by her father, Henry Lawson. She states that Cerberus has been luring refugees in for unknown purposes, and that whatever it is will be the true intentions behind Operation: Keyhold, which she had been investigating with the SIA before going lone wolf. Continuing to move through the facility in search of Leng, they find the laboratory of the facility, where they find that the refugees were hoarded into a "breeding" facility. There, Cerberus scientists proceeded to implant the refugees with cybernetics, followed by turning them into husks; the end product was the perfect soldier for Cerberus. Watching another recording left by Miranda only confirms what they now know; Sanctuary was, all along, Cerberus' source of troops: luring in refugees and turning them into foot soldiers for their army: that was the true purpose of Keyhold. Continuing further inside, killing the occassional left over Cerberus soldier, they eventually engage Reaper patrols. They find another recording left by Miranda, revealing that Leng had arrived at the facility to recover the information that her father had acquired. She plays numerous log updates from Henry's personal files, which reveal that Operation: Keyhold's true purpose, whilst providing Cerberus its army, was really intended to find a way to control the Reapers. Henry had finally managed to find a way to seize control of Reaper husks, but stated that applying that to the Reapers themselves was a massive challenge that simply wasn't surmountable. Just as the logs finish, Miranda in the recording is ambushed by Leng, and she flees. Shepard urges his squad to hurry.

Section 3:

Shepard and his squad rush up the tower to find Henry holding Oriana at gunpoint, with a wounded Miranda hiding behind a desk, having been shot. Leng is nowhere to be found, Shepard demanding to know where he went. Henry explains that Leng took the information and left, abandoning Henry to the Reapers. Shepard reasons with Henry, saying he will let him leave if he lets Oriana go. Henry agrees, pushing Oriana away, but keeping his pistol drawn. Suddenly however, Miranda stands up and biotically throws him backwards, throwing her father through a window to plummet below. From there, Tali manages to deactivate the signal jammer over Sanctuary, allowing Miranda's warning to be broadcasted across the galaxy. Before leaving, Miranda and Oriana request a lift. He agrees, taking them both to the Citadel, but convinces Miranda to stay with him onboard the Normandy. He angrily orders EDI to inform UGC Command of the atrocities committed on Horizon, and to send a warship to destroy the facility from orbit.

Chapter 76: Cheerleading Bosh'tet:

Season 1:

Kelly tells Shepard that Tali is in the lounge, trying to drink herself into a stupor. Heading there, he finds James pouring the quarian drinks, while chugging down a few of their own. Tali admits, drunkenly, how much she used to hate Miranda, but how much she now admires the woman, especially in terms of resisting her father. James reveals that he loved Keeling, and wished he had gotten more time with her: he felt like he was finally breaking through her shell to the person underneath. Eventually, the both of them have one more drink before Miranda joins them, having apparently heard everything. She thanks Tali for being honest, jokingly adding "even if you won't remember it." She then has a drink herself, before Marcus "escorts" Tali back to his cabin for sleep, but not before the five of them all share a drink in honor of "Keeling, cheerleading bosh'tets resisting their fathers and drunken quarians."

Section 2:

Anderson takes another look at the Beam, theorizing with Coats as to the structure's purpose, and why Harbinger itself was personally overseeing its protection. Returning to base, a recently attacked convoy returns to the firebase, with dozens of wounded. The convoy commander reports that massive Reaper troop numbers have been reported heading for London, with millions of husks being redirected to the city. Anderson concludes that, whatever is happening, it appears London will be the galaxy's final stand. He orders Coats to begin establishing firebases, and the major rushes off to make it happen, while Anderson decides to warn Hackett via QEC.

Section 3:

Garrus, Kasumi and James play poker, developing Garrus' and Kasumi's relationship further. Tali joins them, stating she is worried about Liara, who has isolated herself from the crew: she is taking Thessia's loss pretty hard. She and Garrus argue over who should talk to her when Shepard appears, stating he will. As he heads for her cabin however, he hears from Samantha that Liara has "confronted" Javik. Racing down to engineering, he finds Liara in the middle of shouting at Javik, and he calms her down, Javik surprisingly showing sympathy. He talks with Liara later, offering words of condolence and she thanks him. Returning to the Lounge, he informs them Liara will be alright, and they all sigh happily. - Down in the shuttle bay, James ponders over Keeling's death. He accidentally lashes out at Cortez, but apologizes afterwards. Cortez offers some advice on grief, stating how he too needs to say goodbye to his husband, Robert. The two of them promise to visit the memorial wall when they can, to finally let go and move on. James says he will attend, and that he will avenge her death.

A/N:

And there's both the Thessia and Horizon plots. Thessia was originally a two-parter, but I realized just how much of Part 2 could have been merged with Part 1, and just chose to make it one part. Keeling's death is a cornerstone in James' development as a character, and this sacrifice and its effect on him would have been expanded upon later in Ultimatum. And yes, I know Operation Keyhold's intent was pretty obvious given we've played the game, but its not like Shepard and his crew, in-universe, are going to know this. So...its treated as a reveal. Fight me.

It may seem like we're close to the end now, but guess what...nope! Next up is the Citadel DLC, or as I call it, the Clone Crisis arc. You're probably all interested to know how I would have tackled this part of the story. It'll probably be the longest of the outlines too, for reasons you'll see when its released.