Author's Note: I really hate Virmire and the choice it forces you to make. From the very beginning, I intended to settle this with a coin toss, but as I was writing this, I suddenly thought of a very touching way to honor the deceased teammate (you will have to read this to the very epilogue to find out how!), that would have only worked for one of them. Then I went ahead and did the coin toss anyway: it confirmed my earlier decision.
Chapter 4 - Tales of Sacrifice and Loss
The beautiful, lush, almost tropical looking world of Virmire at the first glance appears like a veritable paradise with its vast seas, snaking wide rivers and cascading waterfalls. But that first glance is very misleading. Commander Morgan Shepard sincerely hopes that true paradise contains considerably fewer platoons of angry geth.
There are some good news, too. For once, they will not be tackling impossible odds all on their own. A salarian Special Task Forces group is also taking action against Saren's operations on Virmire. Having fought through legions of geth, they arrive at the salarian base camp to receive situation update from the leader of the salarian STG, Captain Kirrahe.
Their plan is beautiful in its simplicity. Infiltrate Saren's research facility, employ a goddamn effing nuke and then get the hell out of there. It sounds straightforward... until the revelation is made about what exactly Saren is researching here on Virmire. The turian bastard has discovered a cure for genophage and is busy breeding an army of obedient, loyal krogan. Suddenly the idea of blowing up the facility and all its records faces a tough opponent. Wrex.
The large krogan is pacing angrily around the beach, shotgun in his hands as he occasionally launches a few slugs into the water to shatter an innocent cephalopod. The salarians wisely stay out of his way, as do all the others, except Shepard. Ignoring Ashley's warning, she approaches her squad mate. No, Wrex has become more than that, they have this... awkward sort of bonding, friendship between them.
She does her best to reason with him, trying to avoid violence. "Think about it, Wrex," she says. "This cure won't free your people. It just creates more slaves for Saren. I agree that the genophage is wrong, but this... this isn't the way."
Weapons are still drawn, tense looks exchanged. Finally the tip of Wrex's shotgun slowly lowers. "I don't like this, Shepard. It doesn't feel right," he growls. "You better be making the right call here."
"Trust me, Wrex, one day we'll take care of the genophage," Shepard promises, even if she has no idea how to fulfill such an oath. It is just a gut feeling. "And we'll do it in the right way, too."
Wrex nods before leaving, still upset, but visually calmer. As he retreats, Ashley is revealed behind his broad back, her hand still twitching on the holstered pistol. "I was ready to shoot him if necessary, Commander," she says quietly, looking at Shepard.
"I'm glad you didn't have to," Shepard replies, feeling exhausted, knowing how difficult this decision was for Wrex. If the fate of humanity was at stake in a similar situation, she is unsure of her own reaction. "Chief, there's been so much death and destruction already. If there is a way to avoid contributing more to it, we must always strive to do so."
"A noble ideal, Commander," Ashley nods. "Let's hope we can all continue to live by it." In silence they both return to the camp to finalize their attack plans with Captain Kirrahe.
The salarian forces are to be split into three groups to provide distraction, while Shepard leads her team inside to secure the facility. Kaidan goes with Kirrahe to provide communications between the squads, Joker and Normandy stand ready to quickly deliver the ordnance once the ground teams have disabled the AA guns.
Resistance is heavy. It is not just the geth and the krogan, there are also plenty of captured and indoctrinated salarians, Kirrahe's men they thought killed in action. Pulling the trigger on their friends is sapping the morale of the salarian support forces, but slowly and surely they advance, pushing inside the facility and starting to clear it from its defenses.
It does not take long for Shepard's team to make a shocking discovery. They have been fools to assume that it is Saren who has been indoctrinating the minds of everyone. Shepard finally makes the connection between her visions and the ship she has seen over Eden Prime. Sovereign is not simply Saren's flagship of mysterious origins, constructed by someone with access to more advanced tech than anyone in the galaxy.
Saren has merely been a tool all this time. Sovereign is the true mastermind behind these plots. Sovereign... is a Reaper.
The revelations they make are difficult to truly fathom and accept immediately, while in the middle of a dangerous, suicidal mission. So much of what the galactic civilization believes in, turns out to be complete and utter falsehood. The Citadel has not been built by Protheans, the mass relays have not been built by Protheans, these have always been facts beyond questioning. These mega-structures are in fact, legacy of the Reapers, left to be discovered by the space-faring civilizations of the galaxy. "By using our technology, your society develops along the paths we desire," Sovereign intones during their brief exchange. "We are the vanguard of your destruction," it warns, before terminating the communication.
There is little time to take in this information, however, as Joker interrupts them with a hasty warning. Sovereign is closing in on the base. They need to move fast, and quickly they resume clearing the path towards the breeding facility at the back of the complex. Their efforts meet with success and Normandy can finally land in the middle of the breeding facility. The nuke is carefully brought off board and prepped for use, when a disaster strikes.
Kaidan reports that his group is getting overrun by the geth forces, being hopelessly surrounded in one of the AA towers. His message is clear, they will not be making the rendezvous point in time before the bomb goes off. Unless someone can find a way to help him.
Ashley briefly stops tinkering with the bomb and looks up at Shepard. "I'll need a few more minutes to arm the nuke," she says. "Go, Commander, get the Lieutenant out of there."
Shepard nods and leads her team through the water filled trenches, walls lined with krogan breeding pods, towards the AA tower and Lieutenant Alenko. A geth dropship flies above their heads, ignoring them, and Shepard looks behind with worry, fearing the geth might be attempting to ambush Ashley and her support crew.
"Chief, there are some geth reinforcements heading your way," Shepard's fears become real as she hears Alenko on the comms, warning Ashley. "Be careful."
For a while there is no answer, only muffled noises. "Getting swarmed here-" finally comes the reply, through a lot of gunfire and static.
"Can you hold on?" Shepard finds herself shouting in the comm link, desperate to hear an acknowledgment. The reply isn't one she had hoped to hear.
"Negative," Ashley speaks, desperation seeping into her voice. "There are too many of them! I'm arming the bomb!"
"Shit! Don't do it Ash! That's an order!" Shepard swears, stopping on the path towards the AA tower. Continue or turn back. Continue or turn back. "Don't you effing dare to arm that nuke, Ashley!"
"I'm going to make sure this bomb goes off no matter what, Commander. It's the only way," Ashley speaks resolutely. There is a brief moment of silence. "There," the comm reopens. "It is done. Grab the Lieutenant and get out of here."
Kaidan's voice is clearly distraught over the comms. "Belay that, Commander! We can hold on here, go back and get Williams!"
Choices. Screw these choices. Damn them to the deepest pits of the Abyss.
"Alenko, radio Joker and tell him to meet us at the AA tower," she speaks slowly, hating every damning word.
I just signed a friend's death warrant. I decided who lives and who dies.
"It's the right thing to do, Lieutenant," Ashley says over the comms, silencing Kaidan's protests. "Commander..." her voice cracks slightly. "I don't regret a thing. It was a pleasure to serve."
"I'll make sure your sacrifice is not forgotten, Ashley," Shepard promises, crouching low and taking aim at one of Saren's krogan slaves, unleashing an incendiary round right through its reptilian head. She then whirls around swiftly, angrily punching an approaching geth hunter with the butt of her rifle, sending the surprised foe flying. "The family name of Williams has been redeemed by your heroism, Chief. Goodbye, and forgive me, my fr-"
Ashley interrupts her on the comms, but they can hardly hear anything through the fierce firefight. "Thank y-… Com-" the jumbled words are finally cut off with a grunt of pain and one final sigh, as the combined assault of the geth fire finally rips through Ashley's shields, bullets piercing armor one after another. The comm line falls silent and for a moment Shepard simply stands frozen in shock, before shaking herself back into the fight, remembering that their escape still must be secured.
Later, Shepard barely remembers the short confrontation with Saren, indoctrinated past the point of himself being able to recognize that he is utterly in Sovereign's grasp, after which SSV Normandy makes a break to escape the blast radius of the nuke. The blindingly white explosion almost catches them, violently shaking Normandy about. The blast takes with it the breeding facility and Saren's plans of raising his own private krogan army.
The goals of the mission have been fulfilled with aplomb, but the cost is such that nobody would dare to call this a victory. Not when the price to pay is the life of their friend, Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams.
Back on board of Normandy, Lieutenant Alenko is not handling the harsh reality well. "How could we just leave Ash behind?" he asks, wracked with survivor's guilt.
"My call," Shepard replies quickly. "I don't want you to even think of blaming yourself, Lieutenant."
"But if I had done my part, you would never have had to make that decision-" Kaidan protests, but Shepard cuts him off abruptly.
"What? You were somehow responsible for the geth suddenly directing large part of reinforcements towards your position?" Shepard's voice is angry and Kaidan shrinks back, a little surprised at her ferocity. "It was my decision, do you understand? Mine alone!" She takes a deep breath to calm down. "If that won't satisfy, then assume that I simply followed the military protocol. In cases like this, I am supposed to first lend my support to superior officer." From the faces of the others, it is clear that nobody believes her decision has been as simple as that, but they all remain silent.
Why did I really choose Kaidan over Ashley? What was the real truth behind the decision? Wasn't it because on some level I appreciate Kaidan more as a person, a friend? she continues to mentally whip herself, before finally becoming aware of a hand on her shoulder, gently shaking her.
"Commander?" Liara asks. "I have been thinking. Perhaps the beacon we found on Virmire might fill in some empty spaces in your visions? If you are willing to try?"
Shepard is not truly willing to try, not now. In truth, she has almost forgotten the partially destroyed beacon that Saren had locked away safely in his base on Virmire. But there is no real choice in the matter. If there is a chance to discover the location of the Conduit, they need to try. "You want to join minds again?" she asks. "Very well."
Hoping that Liara would not be able to sense the amount of guilt lashing her to pieces, they lock their foreheads again, Liara's hands on her shoulders. "Embrace eternity," they speak as one, bracing themselves for the joining of minds. This time it feels less taxing, she already knows what to expect, guiding Liara's probing presence to the newly deposited knowledge of the beacon.
In the end, they are both exhausted like before, but Shepard is acutely aware of the visions in her mind becoming clearer, starting to sort themselves into identifiable patterns. "By the Goddess, I think I have it," Liara says, having rested in her seat for a brief while. She closes her eyes and tries to concentrate. "It's like... a space chart, do you see it? If I cross-reference it with the systems beyond the Mu Relay, make adjustments for time period of fifty thousand years... just give me an hour or two, Commander," she rises, then stumbles and sits back down. "Or maybe a little bit more than that..."
"Don't overextend yourself, Liara," Shepard warns, feeling exhausted herself, both physically and mentally. "Everyone, dismissed," she adds, bringing the somber debrief to a close.