Chapter 11: A new "Project"

(Undisclosed location):

Operations chief Ashley Williams had just returned from leave when she got to Arcturus station. Not even an hour later she got her new orders to be on a shuttle to an Alliance research base. She wasn't told much, nothing at all in fact. Only that it was of the utmost importance that she get on a shuttle. It was a two day flight from Arcturus to the base. When she got there she knew why this was a secrete.

The docking hanger was dark, the only light came from the flickering lamps dangling over the soldier. When she landed she was greeted by a woman she met before, though the last time they met it was on a much colder climate. "I know you. You're that internal affairs agent from Noveria aren't you?"

"Gianna Parasini." She greeted. "I here you've made a bit of a name for yourself since all those years ago."

Gianna walked on to the door on the far side of the hanger, Ashley followed. "So why are you working here?" Ashley questioned, being suspicious of the corporate agent.

"I don't work here." Gianna answered quickly, an uneasiness could be heard in her tone. "I supervise at the prothean research site on the other side of the planet. I actually try not to be here unless I'm called by Captain Anderson or Doctor Sanders ."

Ashley wondered why she was so quick to respond. Gianna didn'tseem so easily shaken. What was going on here that makes her so nervous. "Captain Anderson is here?" Ashley asked as the heavy doors opened. Alliance soldiers lined the corridor leading to a single door. Ashley tried making eye contact with them, their faces were like stone. They appeared to be just as on edge as Gianna.

Gianna put her hand on a control panel. "You'll see for yourself." Gianna Parasini, Noveria representative and liaison officer between New Project base and Operation second coming. Access approved. An automated voice said. The door swung open.

Ashley followed her in. "So is this all gonna remain all mysterious or am I going to get answers?" Ashley impatiently asked.

Gianna didn't turn around. "Take a look." She pointed at a glass window that followed the same path at the hallway. Ashley walked over and was shocked at what she saw.

"Oh my god!" the room below was full of stasis pods containing husks, some looking as if they belonged to different species. "Whats going on here?" Ashley stepped in front of Gianna.

"On that level their experimenting the brain patterns of indoctrinated slaves. Husks I think their called." She answered. The expression on the soldier in front of her demanded more. "Look Doctor Sanders and Anderson can explain, their two levels up."

"I hope so Parasini."

Level 2:

The last level of the base was significantly smaller than the rooms Ashley saw on the way to the second level. Other rooms had teams of scientists studying strange artifacts and others seemed to be performing surgery on the corpse of what seemed to her to be the remains of a collector. This room housed monitoring equipment, data bases and other devices that Ashley wasn't even going to attempt to guess their purpose. She wanted to know what was happening here.

"I'm glad you could make it Williams." Ashley recognized that voice. It was authoritative and echoed in her mind when ever she heard it. It was Captain Anderson. She saluted the officer in front of her.

"I'm sure you already seen some of the goings on here chief?" He asked, returning the salute. "I'm sure you have some questions."

`Damn right I do!` Ashley thought. "I'd like to know whats going on Captain? I hear you retire from the council and now I find you here."

Anderson sighed. "Its... complicated Williams."

"It doesn't have to be David." A woman's voice added. A large screen in the front of the room appeared. The voice belonged to an older blond haired woman of normal height and build for a woman her age. In the back ground a large object could be seen in the back ground, pulsating some kind of energy. She looked towards Gianna. "Thank you Gianna for escorting chief Williams to the New project base."

Gianna nodded. "Not a problem."

The doctor looked back at Ashley. "Excuse me chief Williams, I'm Staff Lieutenant Kahlee Sanders. I'm a computer and systems technician with the Alliance. Some might go as far as calling me an expert on synthetic intelligence."

Ashley nodded. "I'll start with this projects goals." The Lieutenant cleared her throat. "We are studying Reaper indoctrination and technology. Our mission is to learn their motives and ultimately defeat them. And before you ask, we ship in new personnel every month to avoid the affects of indoctrination."

"That's fine and all, but isn't the extinction of all organic life fairly clear cut? If you don't mind my saying ma'am?"

Sanders put her fingers through her hair, shaking her head. "We're starting to think its more complicated than that. Why would a race of machines want to exterminate all life in the galaxy for seemingly no reason? What purpose would that serve?"

"I can't say I know ma'am."

"There is something more to this cycle of extinction than we know. And I think it may have something to do with the collectors targeting human colonies and dark matter build up." Sanders added.

"How is any of that related? And whats this about dark matter build up?" Ashley asked. Some what skeptical of the claims being made.

Sanders seemed to has lost patience. "Gianna could you please explain to chief Williams?"

Ashley turned to the internal affairs agent. "A firm affiliated with Noveria recently found a prothean ruin with a working prothean V.I."

"Like the one on Illos!" Ashley interrupted.

"Yes. And on the other side planet a Reaper artifact was found, and since the Alliance has rights to this planet we contacted them with our findings. They've been funding this project and scientists from Noveria have been working at the prothean sight."

"What did you find?"

"That the cycle of extinction isn't as simple as we once thought it was." Sanders answered. "Every fifty thousand years the Reapers destroy all advanced life in the galaxy. When this cycle starts they pick out a race they believe has the most potential and turns them into slaves. Much like the protheans that were turned into collectors."

Ashley wasn't sure what to make of all this. When she arrived she expected an ordinary mission and not a galaxy shattering revelation."How does all that relate?"

Sanders exhaled. "Its just a theory, but as far as we can tell this is the Reapers have some idea of saving what they would call "a worthy species", from a galaxy wide extinction event. You see chief we don't think they just need the Citadel mass relay to get into the galaxy. We think they need it to control the relay network."

"Think of the citadel as a giant restart button for the relay network." Captain Anderson included. "After using the mass relays for a period of time dark matter begins to build up and age stars rapidly. Some how they can reverse this dark matter build up and prevent stars from getting old."

"Then why not just warn the galaxy, instead of wiping us all out?" Ashley asked desperately.

"We don't know." Sanders answered coldly. "But we do know that the attack at Arcturus and the the random colony attacks were only a distraction. They intend to use the Citadel relay to bring the rest of their fleet in and begin the cycle anew."

AN/ So I've met my quota of two chapters a week. I'm not sure I'll up date again this week. (depends on the kind of feedback I get.) But if we all remember Shepard was last seen in the Perseus Veil, aiding the quarians against a Reaper attack. I haven't decided if I want Tali returning to the ship or Legion coming aboard or the both of them staying on Rannoch. (I gotta figure that out)

Anyway as always thank for reading!