Lombax Effect—Chapter 3

Ratchet and Clank had been waiting for almost two hours before they launched a distress beacon, hoping someone would pick them up and hopefully give them some answers about their current location. The two heroes were starting to slowly lose hope as time went by.

"How long has it been, Clank?" The Lombax asks while stifling a yawn.

"It has been two hours and seven minutes since the distress beacon was launched."

"Man, that long?" Ratchet decided to fiddle with the radio tuner to see if there were any music or news stations to listen to as they wait. When he got nothing but buzzes and static, he turned the radio off. "Why hasn't anyone found us yet?"

"I do not know, Ratchet." Clank answered solemnly. "Someone will eventually pick up our signal, and perhaps then we can learn where Qwark and Miss Apogee are."

Ratchet nodded to his friend, eyebrows lowered in concern. "I just hope Nefarious didn't get to them first..."

Meanwhile, on Eden Prime

Talwyn was trying to lead Shepard, Kaidan and Ashley through the grassy fields and to the spot where she woke up to see the mysterious ship she mentioned at their first encounter. Ashley had some questions about the type of species Talwyn was, but was cut off by her new commander when they were caught in another wave of Geth soldiers. By the time the field was clear, they found a shelter not far from the battlefield.

The gunnery chief, thinking there would be surviving colonists hiding inside, tried to open the door to the shelter, but it would not budge. She looked at the door and saw a small terminal to indicate that it was sealed shut. "It's closed. Security lock's engaged."

Talwyn looked at the encryption key for the door and then turned back to the woman in red and black armour. "There must be something that can unlock the door."

"I've got it," Kaidan volunteered. He walked past his commanding officer and the other two women before bringing up an orange object that lit around his left arm.

The Markazian looked to him with intrigue. "What's that on your arm, Lieutenant?"

"It's an omni-tool. I can hack through the security mechanism on the door and unlock it from there. But if I'm not careful, I'll have to override its system with omni-gel."

"I'm not sure my knowledge on technology would match yours, I'm afraid," the alien said with a nervous chuckle.

As Kaidan was hacking the door, Shepard had a question she was aching to ask Talwyn. "Miss Apogee, could I ask where you're from?"

"Uh, yeah, sure. I'm from the Cerulean Sector in the Polaris Galaxy."

"You're from a different galaxy?" Ashley asked in shock? "Commander, I know we use mass effect generators to travel faster than light speed, but this is unbelievable!"

"How did you get to this galaxy?" Shepard asked again before acknowledging the chief's comment.

"Actually, that's something I don't know. I was with a few of my friends and came across an old enemy of ours. He was going through this 'mass relay' station and we chased after him. After we got through, well... I think we might have gotten separated in the process."

Kaidan had successfully opened the door. "Looks like there's a lot to talk about back on the Normandy. Listen, mass relays are everywhere in this galaxy."

"Humans! Thank the maker!" a woman from inside the shelter called out in relief. She, along with a man beside her, came out from hiding. Both were clad in white suits with coloured lines around the torso and arms.

The man was quick to let the four in. "Hurry! Close the door, before they come back!"

"Don't worry," Shepard reassured them both. "We'll protect you."

The woman became more calm despite her partner's hysterical remark. "Thank you. I think we'll be OK now." She looked out through the nearby window then back to Shepard. "It looks like everyone's gone."

Ashley's eyes brightened slightly when looking at the white-clad woman. "You're Doctor Warren, the one in charge of the excavation. Do you know what happened to the beacon?

"It was moved to the spaceport this morning. Manuel and I stayed behind to help pack up the camp."

"Hold on a minute. You have a spaceport here?" Talwyn asked suddenly.

"Well, no, not really. It's more-or-less a transit area for monorails to transfer people to other areas around the colony. Who might you be?"

"I'm... Well, I'm not a human, but that doesn't mean I'm working for these dangerous robots."

"That's fine. You're with these three soldiers; it seems that anyone without a human on their side is a threat to the colony. When the attack came, the marines held them off long enough for us to hide. They gave their lives to save us."

"No one is saved. The age of humanity is ended. Soon, only ruin and corpses will remain."

Every woman looked to the man named Manuel. His comment obviously held great concern with a bit of delusional rambling mixed together. Warren was the first to ignore it, and then Shepard when she asked, "What else can you tell me about the attack?"

"It all happened so fast. One second we were gathering up our equipment. The next, we were hiding in the shed while the Geth swarmed over the camp. I even witnessed a lone synthetic who predicted the future."

"What was that synthetic talking about?"

"He... He demanded to answer him if there was a spaceport in the colony, but I said that there wasn't one. Then, he froze and... some pieces of audio started playing in his head—some people like Janice and Lance and ending up in a possibly drastic situation."

Talwyn was caught off guard when the names Lance and Janice were spoken. She had heard of those names before, but only from her two caretakers Cronk and Zephyr whenever they spoke about different types of technology they used before they were becoming "senile," as someone would say for someone getting old.

"That's really strange," Kaidan commented. "Talwyn, what do you make of this?"

She looked to the armoured lieutenant and quickly thought of an answer, trying not to make any implications that she'd been day-dreaming. "I think I know what Manuel might be talking about."

"You do?" the off-minded man asked.

The Markazian nodded. "Maybe this synthetic you mentioned was dropped off somewhere and he needed to find a way back to his station, or something."

I'll have to ask Talwyn more about that later, Shepard thought to herself. She faced Manuel once more, instantly changing the subject. "Did you notice a turian in the area?"

Manuel's frightful eyes were almost bulging out when the commander finished. "I saw him. The prophet, leader of the army. He was here, before the attack."

"That's impossible," Kaidan said in disbelief. "Nihlus was with us on the Normandy before the attack. He couldn't have been there."

"I'm sorry," Warren said. "Manuel is still a bit... unsettled. We haven't seen your turian. Manuel mentioned the synthetic earlier, but he was the only one who was it. We've been hiding in here since the attack."

"Can you tell me anything about the beacon?" Shepard asked.

"It's some type of module from a galaxy-wide communications network, remarkably well-preserved. It could be the greatest scientific discovery of our lifetime! Miraculous new technologies, groundbreaking medical advances—who knows what secrets are locked inside?"

"We have unearthed the heart of evil—awakened the beast, unleashed the darkness."

"Manuel, please! This isn't the time."

Talwyn took her turn to ask. "Warren, why is your assistant acting like it's the end of the galaxy?"

"You must excuse me, miss. Manuel has a brilliant mind, but he's always been a bit... unstable. Genius and madness are two sides of the same coin."

"I can imagine," the Markazian remarked in apparent agreement.

Manuel seemed to disagree, but not in the way that would strengthen an argument. "Is it madness to see the future, to see the destruction rushing towards us, to understand there is no escape, no hope? No, I am not mad. I'm the only sane one left!"

"I gave him an extra dose of his meds after the attack," Manuel's calm assistant assured.

Shepard had felt like time was quickly ticking away as she listened to Manuel's rambling, but she couldn't blame him—he may not be as sane as he claims, but at least it gave her an idea about the colonists' point-of-view on the attack. Soon, Shepard felt adrenaline heightening in her body. She had to hurry and catch up with Nihlus. "Manuel, I need to ask you something."

Warren shook her head. "It's probably best if you just left him alone."

There's nothing left from them. "Apogee, head back in front. Williams, keep your eyes out for more survivors. After our sweep's finished, take us to the spaceport."

"Yes, ma'am," the chief answered, taking out her assault rifle in case more Geth came close.

Nefarious spent his time talking about how he held a deep hatred towards his enemies while he, Saren and the Geth troopers were heading their way through a train transit. The Spectre himself even noted why he detested some organic species—namely humans—himself. Nefarious was a bit sceptical when he saw Saren murder a fellow Spectre named Nihlus, but the mad robot kept quiet about it. Despite his attempts to try and understand the Geth, the psychotic robot did not fall into the brink of his everlasting rage with glitches lurking inside.

"So, what are you looking for that can help you against these 'humans,' Saren?" Nefarious asked.

The turian didn't falter his pace but he was quick to answer. "There is an ancient beacon located somewhere in this transit station. The human colonists had uncovered it and believe it would give them acceptance to the galactic community. I, for one, wish to obtain whatever is held in the beacon and then destroy this colony before anyone else could learn of my—or in this case, our—plans. You can help me by eliminating anyone who would dare get in our way."

"Don't worry. I have a knack for annihilating imbeciles who believe they can stop me."

"You're in good hands, Doctor. Spectres are the top agents in the galaxy and they could plan anything without the need to negotiate to the public."

Before long, they reached a tall, metallic structure with a ethereal green aura engulfing it. Dr. Nefarious stopped in his tracks and stared at it in awe, an extremely rare emotion displayed on the doctor's cold steel face.

"There it is," Saren commented with determination. "The Prothean beacon."

Nefarious was immediately dumbfounded. "The what?"

"The beacon, created by the Protheans fifty thousand years ago. It is the key to searching for the Conduit. And once we find it, we will open the gates to the galaxy's saviours since the Protheans had disappeared fifty thousand years before this one." As he said this, Saren was walking closer to the beacon, then stopped as he saw the beacon's aura grow brighter.

"And what do those galactic saviours do, exactly?" Nefarious asked out of sheer curiosity.

"They cleanse the galaxy of all inferior beings existing in this galaxy. They are called... the Reapers."

As the four exited the shed, Talwyn looked up to a group of trees on a hill nearby, recognition kicking in through her mind. "Commander, this is it!" she called out as she ran up the hill. "That's where I woke up and saw the ship."

"And that was before you were attacked by the Geth, ma'am?" Kaidan asked.

"I think so. I remember where I was from the beginning and what I saw after I regained consciousness."

Shepard looked out from the top of the hill to see another empty field. Beyond that area was another covered in white pavement. This would most likely be the monorail transit Dr. Warren mentioned.

Suddenly, a loud rumbling noise emitted from around the colony, shaking the ground and catching the Markazian and three humans off-balance. As it became louder, a dark shadow appeared on the ground, until all four looked up to see the black, ominous ship Talwyn had seen. It was flying mid-range with red electricity emitted around the exterior.

Kaidan was the first to speak. "What is that? Off in the distance?"

"It's a ship. Look at the size of it!" Ashley exclaimed as she stared at the enormous ship.

"There! That's the ship I saw!" Talwyn called out, pointing to the black ship.

Everyone stared at the ship in awe. Talwyn was correct when she mentioned it being in the shape of a bug—it reminded Shepard of the cockroaches she once learned back at her old home on Mindoir when she was a teenager.

The red sparks covered the ship like bright ribbons with a lethal touch. The ship soon blasted off from the air and out into the red-lit sky, leaving nothing but a cloud of smoke and a noise that slowly died away in seconds. Shepard snapped back into her usual military form.

"Everyone, we need to focus on the beacon. If our attackers haven't taken it yet, then we still have a chance. We need to get the transit station. Move out!"