A/N: All right. It's time for the final battle! To your stations, everyone!
Okay, so this is the Ilos chapter...
...before I get to it, some shameless advertising. One of the readers of Mass Vexations recently started his own self-insert story in the Mass Effect universe where he gets plopped two years before the start of the game. One stint with CSec later, and you can probably guess what happens. If you have any extra time, then I suggest you check out Masses to Masses by iNf3ctioNZ. It's a pretty fun read.
So yeah, after that bit of shameless advertising... I think it's time we got this show on the road. So from here on out, there is no turning back.
Move out!
Chapter 19: Ilos
The entire squad had gathered at the bridge. I see Kaidan there with a big smile on his face as I walk over there. I look to him, and then he winks with a happy twinkle in his eyes. So time in Shepard's quarters went well, I see... I guess that'll put my self-doubt at ease for now. Shepard joins us soon after, and then we're all looking there. Wow, I think this is the first time I've ever been in the same body space as Joker. This is troubling. Or hilarious. I can't decide which one it is.
No time to think about that. This is the final mission.
Well... I guess I can afford some fawning onto the planet itself. It looks like Mars from here... And it's so majestic. It's hard to believe this is the place where shit will really go down in a couple of minutes. But from here, it just looks so pretty... it's too bad the surface is a different story entirely. Just like Mars...
Huh, Mars. Oddly enough, that's where the tale of humans on the Citadel began. Fitting how the first part of Shepard's tale will start to end on a red mass that's kind of like it. And it still looks majestic.
Right. Time to focus on the mission.
"Uh, Commander?" asks Joker. "We've got company."
"Have their sensors picked us up yet?" asks Kaidan.
"Stealth systems are engaged," replies the helmsman. "Unless we get close enough for a visual they won't have any idea we're here."
"That's always a good thing, I guess," I point out. "What's going on down there, though?"
I hear someone say something behind me. Oh, heyo there Pressley! I almost didn't hear you there. When he finishes, I hear Shepard give the order to take the Normandy over to the coordinates in question.
"Negative on that, Commander," says Pressley. "The nearest landing zone is two clicks away."
Garrus shakes his head at this. "We won't make it there in time on foot," he says. "We need to get closer."
"There is nowhere closer!" says the XO. "I looked!"
Not hard enough, apparently. But hey, what can you do? Shepard gives Pressley a look before peering out were the Normandy can see onto Ilos.
"Drop us in the Mako," commands Shepard.
The XO gives us all a look of worry. "The Mako needs at least 100 meters of open terrain to make a drop like that," he continues. "The most I can find near Saren is twenty."
Yep, that is definitely a small space if I've ever heard of it. That... doesn't seem entirely possible.
"Twenty meters?" asks Tali. "How will we make a drop like that?"
"We'll have to try," I reply, looking out. "Time's of the essence here."
"Find another landing zone!" barks out Kaidan.
"There is no other landing zone!" say the XO back.
I shake my head. "Oh, Jesus Christ on a pikestaff," I reply. "Look, it's the only thing we have to work with."
"I agree with the Serviceman," says Liara. "It's our only option."
But not many of us are convinced. "It's not an option, it's a suicide run," comments Garrus. "We don't-"
"I can do it."
Ah, thank you Joker. This is the moment I've been waiting for. The cripple gets us all onto Ilos alive. I mean, come on, he's Jeff Moreau! If he says he can do it, he can do it. He takes back the Normandy SR-2 from the Collectors in ME2, he can do this.
"Joker?" asks Shepard.
"I can do it," reiterates the helmsman with stony certainty.
I look to the Commander as the entire squad stands there.
"Right," she says, turning to all of us. "Is everybody geared up?"
I see nods go around all of us. "Everyone's accounted for, Shepard," I reply.
"Good," she says. "I want you all in the Mako."
Wait, all of us? As in, the entire squad? All seven of us? So... we all go down there together?
"All of us Commander?" asks Wrex, mirroring my thoughts.
"Yes, all of us," she reiterates.
We all look to each other and shrug. Well, an order's an order, and we better follow it because we're racing against time here.
But for me, this is entirely unexpected. I expected her to pick her four most trusted. Mainly Kaidan, Tali, Liara, and Garrus, I would think. But no, Wrex and I also get to tag along. This... somehow makes this mission feel more epic than it did in the game. I mean, we're all going to try and stop Saren. We're all going down there. I'm certainly glad I built up our friendships; we could really use it. We've come so far as the crew of the SSV Normandy; here's the part where all that pays off. We win or lose it all in the next few minutes, and I'll be damned if we lose it all.
"Right," I say. "You heard the lady."
Eh... I might as well get a corny TV refrence out of the way. Okay, here goes...
"To the Batmobile!"
I get a bunch of confused glances as Joker snickers behind me. We don't get much time, though, for then I find myself running towards the elevators to the hangar. I look to the others as they come up behind me, and then we're all going straight for the Mako, making last-minute checks on our suits as we do so.
Damn, the Mako is crowded. I'm sitting in my usual spot with Tali sitting across from me. Wrex and Garrus are sitting behind the restraints, with the krogan holding onto Liara to make sure she isn't flying around everywhere. Kaidan and Shepard are both in the cockpit, so to speak. We sure filed in here fast. And then, we begin to feel the Mako fall.
Right, we're making the landing in three... two... one...
And the Mako comes to a stop. All right, landing accomplished. I glance to Garrus with a soft smirk as our restraints come undone.
"And you called that a suicide run," I said.
He blinks before the hatch opens. Right. We've come to that barricade that'll give us huge problems. I step out, assault rifle at the ready. My cloth is on, thankfully, and I look at the doors as Tali steps out behind me. Shepard and Kaidan come out, and we're all looking at the barricade.
"Well, we won't get too far," I say.
"Not with that door blocking it," says Kaidan. "How do we get in...?"
"There has to be a security protocol somewhere," says Tali. "Maybe I could hack it and get this door open..."
Wrex, Garrus, and Liara have all come to the other side of the Mako as Tali suggests this. I tilt my head to the quarian, and we're all nodding.
"Of course," says Shepard. "Everyone, follow me. We're going to find that security protocol. And we need to be fast if we're going to find the Conduit before Saren does."
"Then let's go," says Garrus.
With this, we all nod, and then we all look behind the Mako. We all agree that the opening there is likely where we need to go, and so we look to each other. A brief nod is the only communication before we rush into the opening.
As we go in... yes, there are geth coming to greet us. All right, we know what to do. I rush behind cover, Garrus coming by my side as the others scatter around. Coming out, I shoot at a geth with my assault rifle, the shields going down. Wrex rushes in and fires his shotgun at the robot that I've taken the shields of. He then rushes at another that Garrus helped take down as I come out of cover. I see another geth that Liara is launching a singularity at. As its shields go down, I fire my assault rifle at it, diving behind cover as it goes down.
Okay, so if my calculations are correct there will be quite the welcome party around here as we make our way to the securiy outpost. I reload as I see Kaidan, Shepard, and Garrus all rush out of cover to advance forward. Okay, this is getting pretty sticky pretty fast. I better do a double team.
I grab out my brand-spanking new pistol, giving it a once over. It was a little more powerful than the model I left on Virmire, but it'll do wonders. Won't we?
Anyway, I look out and see- well, what do you know? A lot of geth. I see Tali switch to her shotgun, and then a geth advances towards us. I peer out of cover and fire my pistol at the geth, its shields going down. As Tali comes around with her shotgun, I see Shepard rush forward. As Tali decimates the geth with her shotgun, I see Shepard lift another geth up off the ground. As it levitates up and I see assault rifle fire come at it, I give it one look before firing a very well-placed pistol shot into its head.
Okay... we're... not making much progress now. But we kind of are, as one of us is always rushing ahead. Okay... geth, geth... Oh, there's one! I shoot at it with my assault rifle. All right, and its shields are going down. This is enough for a singularity from what looks like Kaidan to finish it off, the blue glow emanating off of the geth as it stays still before falling apart. I look just to my right and see another geth rushing at us... with a rocket launcher!
Oh, Christ. I duck behind cover just as it fires a rocket at me. I sit there, and hear the collision of the rocket with the cover I'm behind, and the explosion knocks some dirt over me. Okay, just stay still and you should be all right... Okay...
I peer out of cover and see that Wrex has come in and whacked it with the butt of his shotgun. As I see him cock it and fire it, I look over. Seeing the coast mostly clear, I make a break for another piece of cover. As I do, I notice my shields taking a slight hit, such that they're almost depleted by the time I dive behind cover. I look out and see that there was a rather large geth standing there. Right... I should take it out.
I see Garrus out of the corner of my eye, and apparently he has the same idea I do as he fires at it with his assault rifle. I come out with my own, and almost as soon as its shields are down I pepper it with assault rifle fire. It's not enough to take the geth down, but by this time Garrus has had time to fire his rifle at it a few more times. It goes down pretty quickly as my eyes quickly scan the area. I see Liara running over there, and she's biotically lifting several geth in the air. Wrex is already busy with one as is Tali... so that means I get number three. And it's mostly clear, so I can run to other cover.
I grab my assault rifle, and prepare myself to run. All right... three, two, one, go!
And I rush out, holding the gun out at the floating geth. I shoot at it as I run. Okay, hold it like that... okay, that's good... I look up as its shields deplete. I take my handgun and fire several shots into the geth in question as then Kaidan comes in and fires at it once. The geth goes down in a heap against the ground as I settle into cover. I reload both of my guns and look over cover to see some more geth.
Okay, that's enough dual wielding... I put my pistol and assault rifle away. Okay... I think we're coming to that one area where the sniper rifle could come in handy... Yeah, I brought the sniper rifle with me this time instead of my trusty shotgun. Ah, well. No harm done, really.
I take the rifle and make sure the scope is aligned properly. When I see that it is, I rush out of cover, making sure to stay behind it as I look around me. Okay, it's a good thing this isn't an FPS. Because if it was, I'd always be looking through the scope. It was why I was such a terrible person with any recon units that were there. The scope always fuckin' killed me! I rush in, and as chaos billows around me I peer through the scope onto a higher walkway. Okay, I see geth there. Time to take them down!
I steady my hand... Okay, inner peace... Inner peace, Art, inner peace... Okay, and fire!
I pull the trigger, the recoil quite impressive as I let off a shot. The shot hits one of the geth there. Okay, it could take a few more hits to its shields. I fire a couple more times, the rifle fire taking it down as it runs across.
Okay, time to reload. I give a quick glance at the rest of the squad, which is now rushing forward. Tali is preparing her omni-tool for some hacking, and as they run forward I come up behind them. I'm sprinting towards them, coming up behind Wrex without even daring to look behind.
You know, it's amazing how far I've come. When I first got here, I would be out of breath from sprinting like that. But now that I'm more in shape... it feels kind of great. The thrill of battle keeps on calling soldiers to the battlefield, that much is for damn sure. I look up as soon as I can find cover. Tali is by my side as she hacks into a geth's network. I peer through the scope, and sure enough I see one of the geth turn on its own. I smile.
You sure know how to work your technical magic, Tali. Now to make it count... I take aim at another geth that I suddenly notice has most of its shields depleted. The rogue geth fires on it with its own weapon. Okay, time to finish it off! I fire a strategic sniper shot... and miss. Well, I have another try, so I quickly pull the trigger again. This time, it hits its mark, and I smile as I reload the sniper rifle.
Yeah, I'm definitely not as bad at this thing as I think I am. Thanks for the motivation, Ash!
I look through the scope and take aim at another geth, shooting at it and depleting its shields. I see Garrus has gotten the same idea, though, for I see the geth drop in a direction that indicates the rogue geth is not responsible. Speaking of which... isn't the rogue geth the only one remaining? Right... I look at it through the scope, take aim...
And watch as a biotic pull carries it above. Oh, Christ... Liara, Alenko, Shepard... No, just no. Gotta focus, Art. I take aim, and then I carefully calculate...
Of course, I calculate slower than Garrus, who takes a potshot at the thing. The geth falls to the ground useless now. I glance to the side where I see Garrus, and scowl slightly.
Right, time to switch weapons. I grab my assault rifle and hold it close to my person. I look behind us and see a door. Right, I think that's the way to the security station. I see Kaidan rush up to it, and he gets the door open pretty quickly.
Okay, I'll take it as my time to get in there. I rush over to the lieutenant, ducking behind cover almost as soon as I'm through the door. I realize that this is the elevator we're supposed to take down to the lower levels. I see everyone else clamber in ever so quickly, and then as soon as we're all in, Shepard presses the elevator button. The door closes, and then we go down.
We're left looking around. "This place must have its own power," says Liara. "The elevator would not be running for any other reason."
"This is good for us," I say. "At least we can get that door open."
"Let's just hope we can get to Saren in time," says Garrus, looking at a point beyond the ceiling of the elevator.
I can't disagree with that. I ready my assault rifle, knowing there will be a hell of a fight in the security station. I look to Tali and nod as she grabs her shotgun.
And as I glance to everyone else, I see a great amount of determination in the eyes of the entire squad. We can do this. I'm sure of it now, more than I ever was before. Before this day ends, Saren Arterius will have been brought to justice by us. We may be a bit late to stop damage from the Citadel, but we'll stop him and the Reapers. For now.
Because we have resolve. We can do anything.
After all, impossible is just a word people use to make themselves feel good about giving up, right? I know Shepard: we've done the impossible several times.
This time won't be any different.
The elevator door opens, and we all file out.
All right, so we kept the armatures intact. The armatures in the security station were a cinch to hack thanks to Tali's mad skills, and we managed to clear all of the geth out of the room.
And now, we're running around trying to find anything that can help us get the doors open. We duck into rooms. As for me, I know exactly where we're supposed to go... So Tali follows close behind as I peer over to an alcove.
As we move along, Tali looks to me, glancing around briefly before leaning closer. "Is it here?"
Hm? Is what here? ... Oh, wait...
"You mean that VI that tells us everything?" I ask.
She nods to this question. I blink, a slight frown on my brow as I shake my head. "We'll find it later," I reply. "It'll call itself Vigil when we run into it, and it'll know how to speak our language. Trust me on that."
The quarian leaves it there (good thing, too) as we look inside the alcove I remember from the game. I step inside, and look over. Sure enough, there's the console we need to activate. I glance to Tali with a nod. Her omni-tool lights up, and after tapping a few things on it, we look around the console.
"Any idea on how to open the doors?" she asks.
Oh, wait, I'm actually supposed to know that too? Oh, shit... "Uh... I just clicked on that to get that done," I reply. "No offense... But..."
Hm... I squint pretty hard, and then I point at something. It's an image, which is certainly better than nothing. "Maybe this might have something to do with it."
The quarian glances at the graphic briefly before nodding. She works on the console shortly afterwards, and before long we begin to hear a faint sound. I look to Tali with a nod as we hear this sound, and a short time later it cuts out. I hear some static on my comm unit.
"Okay, I think someone opened the doors to where we need to go," says Shepard.
I nod, bringing my hand up to the comm unit. "That would be Tali and I, Commander," I reply.
"Roger that, Serviceman," says the commander. "Meet with us out here and we'll head back to the Mako."
"Got it. We'll see you soon." With that, I cut the communication and stand at the console for a few seconds.
"Art?" she asks.
But her question doesn't need much more answering, for then a very damaged hologram comes up in front of us. It stands there, and then it garbles something... Shit, I just realized I don't have the Cipher. Shepard has it! Oh, well, I know what it's supposed to say anyway. It babbles incoherently at us, and it's not a language our translators can just pick up. Old Prothean language is old. Well, that, and it's damaged already, so that'll make translating on the fly impossible.
"What's it saying?" asks Tali.
"I don't know," I reply. "But if it's the same thing he was saying in the game, it's a warning against the Reapers."
Tali shakes her head at this. "The warning came too late..."
I nod, watching the hologram take a more serious, grim tone with us.
"Come on," I say. "Let's meet up with Shepard. We have to make sure the warning doesn't go unheeded."
The quarian nods at this, and then we both exit the room. Once there, we see the rest of the squad heading towards an elevator. Oh, hell no, you are not leaving us behind! Tali and I rush over to the others, who nod once we get there.
"You took a bit long," comments Wrex.
I glance to Tali before shrugging. "We ran into some kind of Prothean hologram," I say. "I couldn't understand it, and I doubt even Shepard could. It was really badly damaged."
The others nod at this as Shepard goes in after us. She closes the elevator, and then we're racing up over there.
"Anybody vote we take the Mako down there?" asks Wrex.
We all look to the krogan. Garrus blinks momentarily as he looks to the rest of us. Yeah, we'll need to take the Mako over there.
"We could use the firepower," says Kaidan. "We don't know what's waiting for us down there."
The commander nods at this. "All right," she says. "We'll take the Mako unless anyone has any objections?"
At this, we all shake our heads. And in the silence, it's agreed that we'll take the Mako down. Good to see we're all getting along here.
It'll help us in the long run.
And the Mako ride was... painful, as always. Good thing we boarded it quickly. It's a good thing, too. Also, the best thing about the Mako is that here we really only go in a more or less straight line.
That doesn't come without its ups and downs, though. Because it's still incredibly bouncy and stuff. So I'm just jerking up and down with the vehicle. I look over to Liara a couple of times as she jumps up and down with the rest of us. Wrex is doing a pretty good job of keeping her in place, I must say, although her hands are still incredibly white. Garrus and Tali don't seem to be doing much better behind their restraints.
And again, I'm thinking about Zero Punctuation. I wonder what Yahtzee would say if he were in my stead. He'd probably just ramble on about how this equals something obscene that I can't really think about.
I'm just glad it's not like a Vekoma roller coaster with curves, because that would be extremely painful.
We also stop a few times as Shepard does stuff. Oh, yeah, there are geth in this area. And they need to be shot down. So she shoots them down, and we keep going.
And then, after a few minutes, we come to a sudden stop. We look to each other before we hear Shepard say something about stepping out.
The restraints come up, and I rub my head again as I shake my head. "Well, I'm glad that's over with," I comment.
"So am I..." says Garrus. "Shepard is a terrible driver."
"Couldn't agree more," replies Wrex as Liara opens the nearby hatch.
I nod and do the same, Tali and I stepping out and looking to the right. Shepard and Kaidan both exited that way, and then we look upon something.
Wow, these tunnels are dark. They're even darker than they were in the game! Ahead of us, we see a red force field erected directly in front of the Mako. We all glance at this force field, and then I hear Garrus swear loudly.
"Shit, Saren must have set up an ambush!" says the turian on the other side.
I look up at the force field. It covers pretty much the entire tunnel, such that we can't get past. It's too big to belong to the geth...
"I don't think this force field was generated by Saren," I say, looking to Shepard. "Maybe there's somewhere close by that we can use to shut this thing down..."
The Commander nods at this. Soon after, we come around to the other end of the Mako, where the rest of the squad stands looking at the force field. Okay, there was supposed to be an elevator around here somewhere. So where... Okay, look for the switch... the switch...
I see Liara break away from the team momentarily. She examines the wall more carefully, and then she waves her arms.
"Commander, there's some kind of an elevator over here," says the asari. "Maybe we could find what is causing this force field down there."
"Got it, Liara," says the Commander. She turns to us and nods.
We don't need any more clarification to know to head down the elevator. I look to Tali, who I can feel gives me an uncertain look behind her visor. I nod once again to reassure her, and then we all follow the Commander to where Liara is standing. Okay, there it was. With the red slash-like thing on the other door of the elevator. I thought my memory was a bit spotty about the location of this elevator. The elevator closes shut as Shepard manipulates the panel, and then we're all going down.
I look to the window, seeing the scenery go by the elevator as we descend. Okay, this is a little on the creepy side. Seeing the glowing roots in Ilos is a little more unsettling than I thought it would be. My hand traces the window briefly, and I feel just the slightest chill from touching it. And yet, goosebumps shoot up my arm at this. Shit... this sense of foreboding... I know what's coming, but even knowing that I dread what waits for us below for some reason.
"I have studied the Protheans for decades, but I have never felt this sense of foreboding," says Liara. "What will we find down there?"
"It better be friendly," replies Wrex as the elevator slows to a stop. "We have enough enemies right now."
And then, the door opens. We see a walkway leading up to some kind of console, and my hand darts away from the window when I see this. All right, that's where we run into Vigil. We're almost to the end of the Ilos mission... After this, it's one more run on the Mako, and we're done both with exploring and with that god-forsaken vehicle.
The group comes forward with a bit of apprehension in the air. I can sense the trepidation from everyone except Wrex as we approach the console. We look at it briefly before approaching it. The console... wow, these Protheans must be really damn strange to have consoles like that with parts that spin in the air. It's a little odd, honestly, but hey, what can we do?
As we approach, we suddenly hear a voice. "You are not Prothean," says the object. All right, it's Vigil all right. "But you are not machine either. This eventuality was one of many that was anticipated. This is why we sent our warning through the beacons."
Kaidan gives it a look as he loosens up a little bit. "Looks like some kind of VI program," he says. "Pretty badly damaged."
Tali turns her head to face me. I nod, pointing at the console as it spins and turns. She nods in reply, and faces the VI. Yep, I think she got the message. Tali, meet Vigil.
"I do not sense the taint of indoctrination upon any of you," says the VI. "Unlike the other that passed recently. Perhaps there is still hope."
"It's a Prothean VI..." says Tali. "How can we understand it?"
"I have been monitoring your communications since you arrived at this facility," replies the VI. "I have translated my output into a format you will comprehend." Yay to instantly-translating VI's! "My name is Vigil. You are safe here, for the moment. But that is likely to change. Soon, nowhere will be safe."
Shepard shifts slightly as she looks at the VI. "Are you some kind of artificial intelligence?" she asks.
"I am an advanced non organic analysis system with personality implants from Ksad Ishen, chief overseer of the Ilos research facility," replies Vigil in that more or less steady monotone.
Shepard nods. "Why did you bring me here?" she asks.
The VI seems to hesitate briefly at this. Hm... that didn't happen in the game. It just explained itself away... "You must break a cycle that has continued for millions of years," it replies. "But to stop it, you must understand, or you will make the same mistakes we did. The Citadel is the heart of your civilization and the seat of government. As it was with us, and has it has been with every civilization that came before us." It pauses. "But the Citadel is a trap. The station is actually an enormous mass relay. One that links to dark space, the empty void beyond the galaxy's horizons."
Tali whips her head violently in my direction. I nod grimly as Vigil continues. "When the Citadel relay is activated, the Reapers will pour through. And all you know will be destroyed."
The quarian machinist seems a little unsettled by this. Can't say I blame her; I told her about it just before she gave me an instrument and my sketches. Shepard seems less convinced, however, and she shifts slightly, her arms coming to rest at her sides.
"How come nobody ever noticed the Citadel was an inactive mass relay?" she asks.
"The Reapers are careful to keep the greatest secrets of the Citadel hidden," replies Vigil. "That is why they created a species of seemingly benign organic caretakers. The keepers maintain the station's most basic functions. They enable any species that discovers the Citadel to use it without fully understanding the technology. Reliance on the keepers ensures that no other species will discover the Citadel's true nature. Not until the relay is activated and the Reapers invade."
"How do the Reapers survive in dark space?" asks Shepard once again.
"We have only theories," says Vigil. "The researchers here came to believe the Reapers enter prolonged states of inactivity to conserve energy. This allows them to survive the thousands and thousands of years it takes for organic civilization to rebuild itself. But in this state, they are vulnerable. By retreating beyond the edges of the galaxy, they ensure no one will accidentally discover them. They keep their existence hidden until the Citadel relay is activated."
Shepard's face scrunches in realization as we all know what this means. "If Saren activates the relay, the Reapers can wipe out the Council and the Citadel fleet in one fell swoop!"
"The perfect trap..." I muttered under my breath loud enough for anyone who cared enough to hear.
"That was our fate," replies Vigil, not caring to note what I said. "Our leaders were dead before we even realized we were under attack. The Reapers seized control of the Citadel, and through it, the mass relays. Communication and transportation across our empire were crippled. Each star system was isolated, cut off from the other. Easy prey for the Reaper fleets. Over the next decades, the Reapers systematically obliterated our people. World by world, system by system, they methodically wiped us out."
Slowly, a sense of dread comes over all of us. Wow... I've already heard this in the game, but the sense of dread of hearing it in the real world is more than I could've imagined it. Shit, this is serious.
And it's serious for the others, too. "This is horrible!" I hear Liara state.
"Surely there must have been survivors," says Garrus in disbelief.
But Vigil's reply is grim. "Through the Citadel, the Reapers had access to all our records, maps, census data. Information is power, and they knew everything about us," it says. "Their fleets advanced across every settled region of the galaxy. Some worlds were utterly destroyed. Others were conquered, their populations enslaved. These indoctrinated servants became sleeper agents under Reaper control. Taken in as refugees by other Protheans, they betrayed them to the machines. Within centuries, the Reapers had killed or enslaved every Prothean in the galaxy. They were relentless, brutal, and absolutely thorough."
We shake our heads at this revelation.
"This is horrible," says Kaidan, shaking his head at this. "Why would anybody completely obliterate the galaxy?"
"The Reapers are alien, unknowable," replies the VI. "Perhaps they need slaves or resources. More likely, they are driven by motives and goals organic beings cannot hope to comprehend. In the end, what does it matter? Your survival depends on stopping them, not in understanding them."
Actually, the more I think about it, the more the Reapers remind me of that guy from 12 Monkeys who went rogue and spread the virus that killed 5 billion people. I don't think anyone ever gave the reason why he did; it just sort of happened. He was going around in plain sight, and then in the last ten minutes, psyche! And then he's unveiling the virus at the airport in Philadelphia. Unlike Bruce Willis, though, this is something that we can change, mostly because it hasn't already happened.
I shake my head. "We're just trying to wrap our heads around what this could possibly mean," I say.
"Understandable," says Vigil. "The researchers on Ilos asked the same questions you are asking now."
"Researchers?" asks Tali. "What were they researching here?"
"The secrets to the mass relays," replies Vigil. "The scientists here were kept in cryogenic stasis until the Reapers left. The Reapers knew nothing of Ilos; the researchers destroyed any records of the Ilos facility ever existing, and so we were spared. I awoke them after a long time, and then they developed a miniature mass relay."
"The Conduit..." mentions Garrus. I look to the turian as he regards this with a grim nod.
"Exactly," says the VI. "The Conduit was a miniature mass relay that we developed to lead into the Citadel. The scientists went to the Citadel after it was created, and they managed to disrupt the Keepers' signals. This is how we have acted to stop the Reapers."
"It's up to us to do the remainder of it," says Shepard. "A lot rests on our shoulders."
"Much more than you would think," replies Vigil.
I sense the air go still suddenly, and then I turn to the others. I suddenly see that none of them are moving, even the slightest inch. Wait... I take my hand and approach Tali. Upon seeing this, I wave the hand in front of her visor.
She doesn't even flinch.
I let out a long sigh, shaking my head.
"Don't tell me you can stop time too..." I groan.
"I sense the mark of Prothean technology on you," says the VI. "As well, I sense that you are not of this universe."
Oh, Christ, more about this fucking paperweight? I pull it out of my pocket and flash it in front of Vigil. "You mean this thing that Matriarch Benezia was going on about?" I ask, pointing at it with a jerky movement. "What the hell is so important about it?" On that note... "And how the hell is it that certain people just so happen to be able to stop time with this thing to give me information that only I can hear for some possibly very contrived reason?"
"Prothean technology had a more... mysterious tilt when we had our turn," replies Vigil. "It was one reason why we were able to destroy the records of the station on Ilos. The device you have in your hand can do many things for those that know how to use it."
I blink, shaking my head. "Then why the hell is it that someone 'not of this universe' has to do it?" I ask. "Because I'm beginning to think that I'm also supposed to wait until the forest of Dunsinane moves towards the castle and I meet someone not of woman born for this device to be of any effect."
The VI pauses briefly before buzzing to life a little. "It is not that extreme," says Vigil. "You will hear more after you pass through the Conduit and take counsel with it alone. Either way, know that it must be used by people not of this universe, because those not of this universe will be able to harness its potential more effectively."
I roll my eyes. "Great, so I am like a chosen one," I groan.
"Not necessarily," replies the AI. I'm sure it's an AI now. "You may still die, but others not of this universe may take up the call. Perhaps even those of this universe can take it. However, it will be far easier for those not of this universe to learn to understand the device with the short amount of time we have to defeat the Reapers. Take the device, and guard it from the Reapers."
"Uh... it was inside a Reaper for 50,000 years," I point out. "If it really is Prothean technology, as you say. And since Benezia had it... Why the hell would you throw something into the enemy when you don't want the enemy to have it? What kind of strategic sense does that make?"
"Ah, yes," agrees Vigil. "And yet, you have not been affected by the taint of indoctrination. That device was constructed here on Ilos before the crew stepped into the Conduit. The one named Sovereign was still in the galaxy at the time. We took it to the Citadel and launched it where we expected Sovereign to be. It seems to have worked, as you are now in posession of the item. Our theories about technology contain one theory that says that any technology found in a Reaper is converted to serve the Reapers. And it seems our device is still intact. After all of those years, and after what I assume is a few weeks after obtaining the object, I gather not a single person you've encountered has acted strangely or had a leaning towards technology."
"That's right..." I say. "So..." I blink as I look at the device in my hand.
Wait... So if it was in a Reaper for 50,000 years... "So you're saying this could counteract the effects of indoctrination?"
"One of many things it may be used for if the keeper knows how to use it," replies the VI. "This is why it had to be in the heart of the enemy; it built resistance to indoctrination during those years. In the end, what does it matter? The fact remains it must be guarded. Trust only those you would trust with your darkest secrets to see the object."
I look at the thing before raising one of my eyebrows. Well... if that means what I think it does... Yeah, this device could actually do a lot. I don't know if I can keep it safe all the time... but I'll certainly try. And... well, at least I know what this thing is. Prothean technology that does stuff, one of which includes being able to repel indoctrination. So at least it's better than what I've got. And plus, I can tell Tali about its existence now! That's always a good thing.
"All right," I say, nodding and putting it back in my pocket. "I'll guard it well, Vigil."
"Very well," says the VI. Is that a hint of pleasure I see in there? "Is there anything else that must be asked?"
I nod. "How the hell did your people communicate that Benezia needed to give it to me? And how did they teach her to stop time?"
The VI is brief with its reply. "A vision," it replies.
I don't get to process this before suddenly I find myself back where I was before it all started. I flinch slightly, and then look at Tali. I hear Vigil speak, but I'm no longer paying attention. What the hell was that all about...? And why do I get the feeling it's never going to be mentioned again? I see the quarian give me a sidelong glance before I nod. I'm fine now... I don't pay attention as I think about what just happened between me and Vigil.
Oh, well. At least I have answers. I pat my pocket to make sure the paperweight device thingie is still there. The VI finishes speaking, and then I nod to Tali. We progress to the elevator and press the panel, our hearts heavy with all of this new information.
Especially me, since I got a lot more information than anybody else did.
When the elevator door opens after the rise, we're greeted with-
"Holy shit! Geth!"
I scream this as I jump behind cover in the most dramatic way possible. Almost instantly we're peppered with fire, everyone taking cover against the walls of the elevator. The rounds impact the other door of the elevator, sparks flying absolutely everywhere. Tali, Liara, and I are quick to react from the left side of the elevator, and I grab out my assault rifle and trade fire with the geth. I duck back behind cover as more rounds whiz through the air.
"Damn it!" shouted Kaidan as he fired a singularity into the crowd. "How many of them are there?"
"We can't tell from here!" I shout out as I come out of cover and fire my assault rifle.
"Neither can I," says Shepard. "Team, as soon as we get that hallway cleared, we're making a push for the Mako!"
Okay, I think I can do that. I look up at the ceiling... shit, I hope my shields hold... Otherwise, I'm fucked. I'm not going to die so easily now that I know I am kind of like a chosen one. Because whether Vigil wants to believe it or not, I'm still only just a man. Oh, well... I peer back out of cover.
Shit, this is bad. This wasn't like it was in the game at all! And now we can't get to the Mako... Christ, I hope we can get to the Conduit before stuff happens. Oh, well...
I fire my assault rifle in there as Tali cocks her shotgun. She fires it at the geth I was firing at, thus completely taking down its shields. Liara fires her pistol into the geth as the both of us retreat behind cover. I don't hear so much as feel it fall as Liara then launches something into the crowd. I guess it's a lift, I don't really know with the shower of bullets heading over there.
I see Shepard toss a warp into the crowd, and Wrex firing his shotgun in there as I reload. I shake my head at this, frowning rather loudly. I peer back out the corner... Oh, okay, the geth are already kind of beginning to thin out. This will do us wonders, I'm sure.
Just in case...
I fire into the crowd as well. I manage to drop a geth's shields, but I'm forced to retreat behind cover as my shields take a hit. Okay, they're not depleted yet. Good. I see Garrus peer out and finish the geth I was working on with his assault rifle. When I am good, I peer out and fire my rifle into the crowd, taking down a geth that Wrex had been weakening with its shields. Okay... I just hope-
I suddenly see something get tossed into the crowd of geth. It flashes briefly, and suddenly... Yep, it's a grenade.
"Fire in the hole!"
I hear Shepard bark this, and then I quickly go behind cover and squint my eyes shut. I hear the boom shortly afterwards, and suddenly I open my eyes as Kaidan and Shepard both create a biotic field around us.
"Move forward!" shouts the commander.
Ah, going with the seeker swarm strategy, eh? I see what you did there, Shepard.
I get under the biotic field, seeing the geth populate the area. Liara quickly comes in and augments to the biotic shield, and then Garrus, Wrex, and Tali all join me in providing suppresive fire for the geth. Yeah, this is a great idea, Shepard. It might not hold forever, but we'll do what we can.
Slowly, I advance forward with the rest of the shield. I switch out for my pistol, and fire at more geth. I see shields go down all around me as we advance, the bullets flying against the shield. A geth prime there gets its shields depleted by Tali, with finishing fire from me and Wrex. Geth trooper over there gets downed completely by Garrus. Liara, Shepard, and Kaidan strain to keep up the barrier as it gets pelted with more bullets and we slowly advance to the Mako. Okay... somehow one biotic can deflect seeker swarms, but three buckles under geth fire? Okay, that's a little uneven. Then again, it is two humans and an asari maiden we're dealing with; in the two successful cases, we're talking about a superpowered convict and an asari Justicar, so...
Wow, there are so many bullets... And the ripling against the blue force field is so beautiful I hesitate in firing for a few seconds, watching the patterns. The overlap is beautiful... Like ripples in a pond on a bright summer day. It's an astoundingly beautiful image, really. And I-
"Serviceman, what the hell are you doing?"
Oh, damn it, I got carried away. I look past the biotic barrier to a geth with a rocket launcher. Okay, time to test the rocket trick again...
"Sorry, Commander," I say, squinting as I wait for the right moment.
Okay... its finger is on the trigger... and...
Oh, shit, he already fired! Pull the trigger!
I do so, but it's a bit late; the bullet lodges itself into the rocket launcher and the weapon promptly explodes, and the geth's head gets blown off along with it. But it doesn't hit the rocket, which promptly collides with the biotic barrier. It fizzles out of existence briefly and our shields all take a hit. Liara is quick to erect another biotic barrier, but it barely holds under the multitudes of bullets that are there.
"Oh, damn it!" I shout, bringing up my firearm.
"Hurry Shepard!" says Liara. "I don't know how long I can hold this barrier!"
"Right," says the commander. "Fire!"
And all hell breaks loose. Kaidan and Shepard all bring out their guns and point them into the crowd as Garrus, Tali, Wrex, and I start finishing the rest of the geth. All around us, the synthetic beings start to drop like flies as we bring fire. Tali's shotgun takes a geth's shields down as Garrus drops it. I take a shield down and Wrex finishes it. We begin firing like this for every single geth we see. Eventually, we're making our way towards the Mako. Holy shit, there is a bit of a crowd here. I glance over my shoulder briefly to see about the force field.
Okay, the Prothean force field is no longer there. All right, we're good to go!
I turn back and fire my pistol at more geth. By the time there are a few left, I manage to get a spot behind the Mako to take cover from. Garrus follows my lead, and then the rest of the squad comes around as quickly as I can.
And then, right as Shepard and the others are about to dart behind it, the bullets become too much for Liara; the biotic barrier flickers, and then it fades out of existence. Liara falls down, but close enough to the side of the Mako Garrus and I are firing from to be able to crawl in there. Tali dives back and Wrex opts to fire a few shots into the crowd as Kaidan dives behind cover. A hail of bullets from some of the remaining geth are fired, and then shields are hit.
It's when we hear Shepard howl in pain that we know something has gone royally to hell.
Quickly, Wrex pulls the commander back into cover. We reconvene there as the geth fire at us, and then look to Shepard. She's bleeding from somewhere on her arm in two different places. And in the center of her hand, there's a pretty small hole. Wait... did a bullet...? Oh, shit, Shepard got shot! She groans in pain as Kaidan rushes over, applying medigel to the wounds.
"Oh, no..." says Kaidan. "This is bad!"
"You bet it is," replies Shepard snappily. "Damn it!"
Garrus looks at where the force field stood before Shepard got shot. "We need to stop Saren!" he says.
"But this is bad!" says Kaidan. "I don't know how to drive the Mako, and neither do most of the rest of us!"
I blink at this. Oh, shit... Oh no!
"We'll never make it in time!" exclaims Liara at this.
I hear them exchange some other yelling about the Mako. But... shit, this didn't happen in the game at all! Granted, specific injuries never happened, but still! Oh, Christ, time is running out, Saren is heading to the Citadel, there's nobody to drive the Mako, I only know how to drive this thing by holding spacebar and pressing a keyboard, and-!
Wait.
Did they ever describe the interior of the Mako in-game...? Oh, wait, I don't think they did... What if...? Yes... Yes of course! It's a long shot, but it's better than nothing at this point. Plus, if cars like the ones we have back home are still around in the 23rd Century in the Star Trek reboot, they may just have them here.
"Does the Mako have a physical steering wheel?"
I cut into the frantic conversation with this, and all eyes are on me. Kaidan gives me an odd look as everybody else looks on in surprise. Shepard shifts, her teeth gritting as the medigel helps her wounds out a little. They all look at me before Kaidan shakes his head.
"What does that-?"
"Yes, yes it does," says Shepard. "Why?"
Okay, physical steering wheel. "And does it have manual acceleration and braking mechanisms I can trigger with my foot?" I ask. "And gears? Does it have that?"
"Yes!" shouts the commander. Yes... there's a manual driving system! "I don't see what this-!"
"I can drive it!"
There is silence as Wrex and Garrus both give me an odd look before rushing to cover to take out the last remaining geth. Kaidan regards me with a shocked expression before Shepard nods.
"Yes, that makes sense, they still have cars on Earth," she mutters. "Yes... You're right. That's the best idea we've got." She nods to me as she stands up, her arm supported by Kaidan's shoulders. "Serviceman, you're taking the helm of the Mako. Choose your gunner, and let's get going."
"Commander, are you sure that is a good idea?" he asks.
The Commander glances at Kaidan sternly. "Did you have any better ideas, Lieutenant?"
His jaw works briefly before closing. He looks over to me as Garrus and Wrex come back behind cover. "Right..." he says.
I nod to Kaidan. "Make sure her wound is patched up before we get to the Conduit," I command. "She'll need it."
Kaidan nods as he grabs his weapon. I see him peer behind cover before disappearing from my line of sight with Shepard in tow. Liara follows him shortly afterwards as Garrus and Wrex both reload. I look to the two of them and nod.
"Garrus, Wrex, get in the Mako!" I shout.
But both turian and krogan are one step ahead of me as they step out of cover. This leaves me and Tali alone, and the quarian tilts her head.
"Don't tell me this is because-"
"Trust me, it's not just because of the game," I reply, going over to where the driver's hatch is on this thing. "I actually had to learn how to drive back home." I nod at her as she comes up behind me. "You try living in a world where the distances between places are an hour away if you drive!"
She seems to understand this. So then the quarian nods at this, and then follows me. "I'm guessing I'm your gunner?" she asks.
"Yeah," I reply, climbing up onto the ladder. "Now let's move! We don't have much time to waste!"
And nothing more is said as we quickly climb the ladder. I pull the Mako's hatch open, and then Tali and I both drop into there. Okay... the driver's seat is here, and the gunner's seat is there... I wonder how Shepard manages this thing when she's driving by herself. Okay, examine the area...
Okay, looks like this is electronically started. I look at the interface briefly before I see a button with a circle and a line.
...Christ, they still use that symbol for 'power on' in the future?
Right... nothing I can do about that. I press it, and then the Mako buzzes to life. Okay, the steering wheel is physical... I test my feet where they are to find that the brake and acceleration pedals are both physical, and I look to my right to see that the gear lever is holographic. All right, an all-manual interface! Well, except for the gears, but it looks easy enough to manipulate. Yes! The window's pretty clear, too, which will make my life easier. About the same view I'd get from a driver's seat on my version of Earth. Okay, awesome. Thanks, James Tiberius Kirk! As Tali sits down, the area around her seat lights up as she sees the guns laid out on a holographic interface. She looks to me, and I look to her. Okay, this will work wonders. But first...
"Tali, turn the cannon around," I say. "Make sure it's facing behind us."
At this, she seemingly balks. "Art, the geth won't come from behind!" she says. "We need to have it-!"
"It's not for the geth!" I reply. "What's Newton's second law of physics?"
The quarian gives me an odd look before looking back and reciting. "Every action has an equal an opposite reaction?"
"Exactly!" I say with a hand gesture. "Point the cannon behind us and fire continually! We need to build up speed here!"
"Oh... Oh!" Good, she's got it. "Right... I'll get to that then. If it even works."
I shake my head as I grip the steering wheel... Wait, I haven't driven in a while... Well, where we're going, we don't need rules, so I suppose it's all fine. I look at Tali as she calibrates the cannon in the requested direction before she nods to me.
"All right," I say, bringing my right hand down. I hit the pedal a few times and am greeted with the screech of tires. Okay... I can do this. Anything to save the Citadel. Shepard is out of the Mako. Now it's my turn.
I at least hope I won't be as bad a driver as she is.
"Let's do this!"
I shift into 'drive', and then I slam my foot on the accelerator. My ears are greeted with the screech of tires, and then we're off.
All right, cue the music for Ethan's first trial, and here we go!
I watch the path in front of it as we begin to head down the path. I look to Tali as she nods. We rocket down, and then she fires the cannon once behind us. I look over to the holographic spedometer, and see that we've just increased our speed a little bit. Okay, yes! Thank you, Maxwell Adams! Your Let's Play of GTA:Vice City is certainly helping to save the galaxy right now! I look down the path and suddenly see a few geth.
"Right..." I say. "Engage them with the guns!"
Tali's hands move on the control pad, and then we see the geth come out. The guns activate, and then I see the geth get dropped mercilessly by the geth's fire. All right...
Wait, this is a 90 degree curve, and we're still speeding towards it! Shit, how do we do this... how do we do this... Oh!
"Hang on to your seat, Tali," I say... Okay, gauge your distance... "This is going to be quite something!"
All right... Now!
I slam my foot on the brakes slightly, sending me into a jolt. Okay, let's see if this works in real life and with a tank. I then hold on to the brakes as I turn the steering wheel as hard to the left as I can. The vehicle responds appropriately, mostly throwing itself to the left as I grit my teeth. Okay... Screeching tires, and the curve is coming...
Okay, now!
I then slam my foot on the accelerator. I feel a slight pelt on the right side before we go rocketing back down the path, falling into a tunnel and going very, very fast. We mostly managed to avoid the wall, and we did a turn. Okay, it worked! We rocket down the path into a cave, Tali cursing out her shock before suddenly, I feel a little bump on the right side. Oh, shit, should've remembered that!
The Mako is then felt flying into the air as it flips around. Holy shit... we're doing a barrel roll! I see the world spin around us once, and all of a sudden I feel like I'm on Montu again, only this time trying to save the galaxy instead of having fun. Fortunately for us, the Mako lands on its wheels. It does bounce up to the left a bit, but the right wheels touch the ground soon after. Okay... the river is here. Just follow the river and we'll be good.
As I accelerate away from the landing zone, Tali turns to me for a moment. "What in the name of Keelah was that?" she asks.
I give her a shrug as I smile. "That is called the powerslide," I reply. "I learned about it in a videogame once. I never thought it could actually be done in real life, though!"
Speaking of which, thanks for the life-saving abilities, Mario Kart!
"Don't do it again!" she replies. "That was... painful."
I raise my eyebrows before concentrating back on the road. "I hope I don't have to!"
Right, back to the task at hand... Okay, giant root, cut under that and turn right... Okay, there are more geth here. Tali calibrates the main guns, and most of them go down without too much of a problem. Yeah, these geth are a pushover, really. She fires the main cannon again. Okay, the Mako's spedometer is moving faster. All right... Hm... Since the Conduit is a mass relay... And we disappear as soon as we hit it...
I look to the Spedometer. All right, we're travelling at a nice 44 miles an hour. We have a few minutes to get to...
"Tali," I say. "When you see the Conduit, I want you to fire off the cannon as rapidly as you can."
The quarian looks over to me. "Right," she says. "Of course. What would the optimal speed be?"
I grip the steering wheel as the Mako jumps slightly upon coming over to a downwards incline. I speed down it as I smirk.
"88 miles per hour," I reply. "Hang on to your seat Tali; this is gonna get heavy!"
We race down the incline, picking up speed as we see a bunch more geth. By now, the main guns aren't doing anything; we're beginning to ram into the geth with enough force to disassemble them rapidly. I hear Tali fire the cannon again, and then we pick up a little speed. Right, that brings us to... 54 miles an hour. Okay, stop thinking about the colored logs and just get to the point.
Okay... what now... Oh, yes, there's that one room with a bunch of geth in the game. But we're going to rocket right past that... I can sense it... the Conduit is close!
I then make a sharp turn to the right, the troopers bouncing off of us harmlessly as we suddenly turn to face a geth colossus. Tali lets out a gasp before quickly calibrating the cannon.
"Art, a colossus!" she shouts.
"I see it!" I reply. "Keep the cannon facing back! We're going to go right past this thing! And if it tries to attack us from behind, you know what to do!"
The quarian gives me an odd look before sighing and recalibrating the cannon. Okay... the colossus is firing a rocket... wait, shit, how do I-?
Oh, holographic interface button. I quickly press the jump button, and then I feel the Mako levitate off the ground. The rocket passes beneath us, and we barely survive a scratch. I look down at the ground as we hit it, and then the main guns fire into the colossus' shields. Okay, that should take care of it should it decide to attack us. Okay... S-turn in 3... 2... 1...
Now!
I quickly turn the wheel to the left, just grazing the side of the geth colossus as it fires another bolt of blue energy at us. This narrowly misses the back of the Mako as I then look to the path. All right, to the right now! I turn the wheel to the right, and then the Mako is rocketing dow the path again, the cannon facing behind us. I see Tali fire the main cannons again, and then we're rocketing back down the path...
"All right..." I say to myself. "I can do this... Come on!"
Okay, the path ahead curves around stuff a little... just dodge that, and we'll be fine. Okay, right stick to the right... Now to the left... Now to the right... I feel the Mako make a small jump as we do that, and I manage to right myself for dodging to the left as soon as I am able to. Meanwhile, we're still running over a few stray geth troopers. I concentrate as much as I can... Which is easier said than done considering how I'm trying to envision cars going in the other direction right now.
Right, don't think about that.
I swerve to the left briefly to dodge a piece of rubble, and then I see the river go to the right... Right, go to the right with the river. More geth keep firing things at us, and our shields are starting to drop... Oh, dear...
"Tali, make sure the shields are running at optimal capacity!" I shout. "The Conduit's going to deal quite a blow to them when we find it!"
"Of course," says the quarian. She calibrates a few things as the guns fire away, and then we see the shields go back up to full capacity. She gives me a look from where she sits, shifting uncomfortably in her seat as I position myself slightly to the left.
I take another look at the spedometer. Okay, 64 miles per hour. All right, we're making good on 88 miles per hour here! I shift gears to hopefully help it along, and I see the speed slowly begin to boost.
Another rocket trooper comes out to fire at us, but the main guns take out the rocket and the trooper in one fell swoop. As Tali fires the cannon again, I take a swerve to the right. We're still going fast as hell, but right now that's kind of the point. I turn to the left very quickly, and suddenly I can feel the Mako tilting to the side a little bit; just as well, too, for that meant we narrowly dodged a rocket that was heading towards us. I lean to the left a little bit to see if I can steady the vehicle, and sure enough it seems to work as the left wheels touch the ground again.
Okay, keep going straight... We see the rocket trooper that fired the rocket, but before long we run over that just as we have with the numerous geth. Okay, one more peek at the spedometer. 68 miles per hour. Wow, we're going really fast right now... Good thing I played through this at much slower speeds. I'd have a harder time knowing what's coming...
Speaking of which... I make a hard left turn again, and I look ahead of me. Okay, mostly straight corridor... Okay, that's a root I'm seeing in the shape of an arc, along with something straight and metallic shooting up out of the earth... Shit, I think we're close.
And sure enough, just as we hit a downwards incline, we see the light blue glow of the miniature mass relay that is the Conduit. Tali looks upon this in awe, and I've gotta admit, seeing the blue light is more epic than anything I've experienced yet. Okay...
"Art, it's the Conduit!" says the quarian.
"I know!" I say as we rocket down the incline. "Fire the cannon with all you've got!"
She nods at this, and then repeatedly fires the cannon. Okay, 70 miles an hour... Oh, come on! I shift gears again, and we pick up a little speed from this action.
Wait... doesn't the river curve a little? Oh, shit... Well, there's nothing I can do about that. Just keep going...
Tali continues firing the cannon as then four geth colossi come into view. Tali looks around at them as they begin to fire at us.
"Ignore them!" I shout. "We have less than 40 seconds before that thing closes on us!"
She nods and continues firing the cannon. Okay... We've just hit the squiggly part of the river, and we're at 78 miles an hour now. Okay... We've gotta go faster!
I shift gears again, and then we're rocketing over the terrain. By this point, we're going so fast that all we can do are small jumps. I hope everyone in the hold is doing all right for themselves. Come on... we're so close to the Conduit... don't fail me now, shields!
I look to the spedometer again as Tali fires the cannon. Okay...
"82 miles an hour!" I shout. Okay, we're almost there! "Keep firing, Tali!"
The quarian does as she's told, and we rocket over the terrain. Okay, 83 MPH... We're rocketing past the geth colossi, their cannons damaging each other.
84... The Conduit seems just a little brighter!
85... The colossi are damaging each other now, we're going so fast... So close...
86... The Conduit is getting ever closer...
87... We've just hit the upwards incline to the Conduit...
Tali fires the cannons relentlessly, as we race up the incline... Okay, so close...
88 miles per hour. And the Conduit is directly in front of us.
"Initiate the flux capacitor!"
Before Tali can ask my meaning, we see a spark light up around the Mako as it speeds towards the miniature mass relay. And then, we're enveloped in light as we rocket off of Ilos and onto the Citadel. The blue light all around us...
Holy shit... I did it... I actually piloted the Mako all the way to the Conduit... Holy shit... this is awesome! Yes!
"Ha ha!" I let out loudly, pumping my fist in the air. Tali seems to be getting in a good mood as she nods, her body language expressing a great amount of joy. All right, we made it to the Conduit! We're already halfway through the battle! We're doing-
The blue cuts away, and suddenly we see two geth colossi standing there, wondering what is going on.
Great Scott! I completely forgot about that!
"Brace yourself!" I cry out.
And the Mako collides with the two colossi, and a huge crash of metal is heard all around us as we tear through the colossi. The Mako makes a sharp deceleration as we crash into them, the holographic interfaces around us flickering out of existence as the metal dents and the windows break. We suddenly feel the Mako flip on its head, and then it's sliding away with the ground of the Citadel under our heads. Before we know what else is new we suddenly feel the vehicle hit something. This slows us all to a stop, and then we're left in a brief daze.
Oh, shit...
"Damn it!" I say, punching the air in front of my stomach. "I completely forgot about those colossi! Damn it, I need to think more 4th dimensionally!"
"Flux capacitor?" asks Tali.
"Uh... Back to the Future," I reply. "It's a human vid from the 1980's, and you totally need to see it one of these days."
"Right..." says Tali, unbuckling her seat belt and falling to the side. "Let's get out of here and make sure the others are all right."
I nod, unbuckling my own seat belt and falling to the side. "Yeah, good idea," I reply. I rub my neck as I look to the open windows.
Tali and I both crawl out of the wreckage of the Mako, and then look upon the Presidium. Well, at least we're in the right place. That's always a good thing.
Right... time to check on the rest of the squad. I stand up, holding my hands on my knees briefly to steady myself. I look down to Tali after I have my orientation down right, and then I help her to a standing position. We both look over to the Mako, and then we walk over to the hatch quickly. Searching the hatch, we quickly open it, looking inside almost as soon as we come in.
Garrus and Wrex both clamber out quickly, the krogan rolling on the floor as soon as he comes out as Garrus pulls himself upright. When he stands up, I think I see the smallest trace of orange blood, marred with medigel for safety. Liara is next, and as she steps out of the Mako she looks a little dizzy, such that Garrus has to catch her to steady her. Shepard is out next, and she's holding up her bandaged hand which fortunately looks in good shape. Kaidan comes out last, his black armor covered in Shepard's blood as he rubs his temples briefly before stepping out.
"Okay, so we know it's not Shepard," says Kaidan.
"I told you it was the vehicle!" shouts Garrus. "The thing is too springy for its own good!"
"Uh, guys, let's not worry about the Mako for a second," I cut in. "We've got a rogue Spectre to stop."
"This much is true," says Shepard, looking around. "It seems as if we're in the Citadel now. Nice work, Serviceman."
I nod in appreciation of this. Wow, Commander Shepard actually appreciates my efforts! Wow, this is...
...not going to end well if we don't find Saren.
"In the meantime, we still have Saren to deal with," says the woman as she steps forward, taking out her pistol with her good hand. "Let's go and stop him."
We all nod in agreement. Drawing our weapons out, I take one look at the Presidium where I hear the sounds of warfare going. Space is loud indeed...
Right. It's time to end this!