Double Surprise! Check the last chapter if you haven't.
Recap: "We should get going." She said walking towards the facility. Wrex followed after her.
Back with Shepard
Shepard had made it to the t-junction that led to the facility and where Tali and Wrex were before he felt the electric signatures go out. Only the biotic and a lone electric signature remained.
'Seems they didn't need help after all.' Shepard thought before walking towards the facility.
"Air help has not materialized! We may be getting some help from Shadow." Kirrahe voiced over the radio. Shepard 'awed' in understanding. That's what those were. Geth Flyers. Destroying those will give Kirrahe's team an easier time. He made it to the final t-junction where he met up with Wrex and Tali.
"Nice work taking out the flyers, you two." Shepard said as he got out his Master HMWA. They nodded.
"Yea, it was pretty easy." Wrex replied. Shepard smirked at him before walking ahead. They got to the door before Liara and Garrus came up behind them.
"What took ya?" Wrex asked.
"The path Shepard told us to go on turned out to be one big circle." Liara said. Garrus nodded.
"Yes, we ended up going further back than where we started." Garrus said.
"Sorry guys." Shepard replied. They just waved it off as if to say it was fine.
"Shadow team must be getting close. Hold the line, men! Hold the line!" Kirrahe voiced over reminding them not to waste any time. They walked through the door and came to an area that lead to a three doors, each having a security console.
"Tali." Shepard gestured to the console.
"I'm on it." She said walking up to the console and began typing on it. After a minute of waiting she started talking.
"We've got access to base security. We can put cut the alarms from here. Maybe even trigger alarms on the far side of the base. It'll clear the guards out for use, but they might be too much for the salarian teams to handle." Shepard didn't hesitate.
"Just disable the alarms. We can handle any guards inside." Tali typed and the doors red lights turned green. With this they've taken some heat off Kirrahe's team. Their task should be much easier now. They walked in and were met more geth, but were surprised when salarians started attacking them as well. After killing them they all moved on.
"Salarians? The captain mentioned he had lost some men. It appears to be more indoctrination at work. I am beginning to wonder about the purpose of this place." Liara said.
"Maybe this place is where Saren is using indoctrination to build his army?" Garrus suggested.
"Possible, but we'll need to see more of this place first to find out." Shepard replied walking up the stairs before being attacked by a geth juggernaut. The entire team concentrated all their fire on it before it fell to the ground, riddled with holes. They continued through halls before passing some cages underneath.
"Hello? Is someone out there?" A voice spoke from below. That sounded like a salarian voice! Shepard looked at the cages and noticed salarian silhouettes inside. They had to find a way down. Moving into the next room, they were attacked by two more salarians who were easily dealt with.
"Give a little ground Williams. We don't want them to bunker-up. Draw them out." Kirrahe said. Sound like things were going over well with them. They walked through a door that led down towards the previous they had been in. Walking inside, Shepard saw that one cage held one salarian while the other held multiple ones.
"Well, you're not a get and you're not wearing lab coats. I guess I'm glad to see you." The lone salarian said as they walked up to his cell. "Lieutenant Ganto Imness of the Third Infiltration Regiment, captured during recon. I assume the fleet was called in to destroy the base?" Ganto asked.
"The transmission wasn't clear. The fleets not coming." Shepard replied.
"I see. Then you must be the infiltration team. I know the captain. He will want this facility destroyed. My team is altered, indoctrinated." Ganto said looking over to the next cell. "He knew about the breeding grounds. But the indoctrination is a greater threat, and far more terrifying."
"The ability to bend the minds of others." Shepard said making the salarian commando look back at him.
"I watched good people reduced to mindless husks. There wasn't anything left. Others died during the experiments. I envy them." Shepard glanced at the salarians in the next over before looking back at Ganto.
'What was Saren researching exactly?" Shepard asked.
"He was studying the indoctrination itself. Symptoms, side effects, everything. I'm not sure he even fully understands it." Shepard thought it over. The more and more he heard this, the more and more he believed that Saren was a puppet, but where did he find this power?
"I don't know much else. I just saw what it did to the others. Turned them into empty husks. I can't end up like that. Please- let me out!" Ganto begged. Shepard focused on realized by now that even though he wasn't in that form of his head still hear whispers. They were very low, barely recognizable almost needing to strain just to catch it, but it was there. He could hear it on the other salarians, but not on Ganto.
"I'm opening your cell, but then you're on your own." Shepard unlocked the door.
"Don't look back and hope to outrun the blast, hmm? A better chance than I had before you showed up." The door opened. "Thank you human and good luck. You'll need it." Ganto ran out of the room. The group walked to the next cell.
"These are docile. There minds are gone." Garrus said.
"This is no way to treat a prisoner. Kill the, sure, but to leave them like this..." Wrex said looking at them in a rare moment of pity.
"Open the doors. Give them a chance to outrun the blast." Shepard ordered.
"Are you sure Shepard? At best they might hurt themselves. If there is any sense left in them, they might be directed to harm us." Garrus said looking at the cell. Shepard looked at them and could hear the whispers, but there was no threat from the salarians. Nothing.
"Let them out. They won't hurt us." Shepard said. Garrus unlocked the door and it opened. Nothing happened. The salarians just stared at them as if the nothing had happened. The group slowly walked away and back up the way they came. They got near the elevator and entered it before going down. Once it stopped, they exited it to find themselves in a lab. Shepard took note of the husks that were being analyzed.
"Intruders! Get the guards!" A nearby scientist yelled out. The scanners stopped, releasing the husks. The husks ran at them. Shepard took out his Master HMWSG and began firing, followed by the rest. The scientist picked up a pistol and began firing at them. Shepard used his omni-arrows on the scientist, killing her. Once the husks were dead, they heard a krogan voice.
"What is going here? Where are the guards? Where is Saren?" Shepard looked and saw a krogan clad in white. He looked at Wrex.
"What do you know? A krogan scientist." He said with a grin making Wrex shrug. The krogan saw them and took out a pistol. Everyone pointed their weapons at him.
"No! Stay back! This is important work! This is the glorious salvation of my species!" The krogan roared before firing. Everyone shot at him and by the end of it, he was in pieces by how many times he was shot.
"Oh keelah." Tali said looking like she was going to hurl. Liara looked away as did Garrus. Wrex looked at Shepard who kept walking around until he found their main database. He immediately began hacking it with Isaac breaking down the firewalls.
"Shepard what are you doing?" Garrus asked having noticed him. Everyone else turned their attention to him.
"Trying to shed some light on what they found out. You remember what Lieutenant Ganto said. The indoctrination is the greater threat and personally, I couldn't agree more. Control the right person or people, and you can cause as much damage as any krogan army." Shepard said until it was done. Isaac was in and was already downloading any and necessary files.
"This'll take a minute. Go scope things out ahead." Shepard ordered.
"I'll stay here in case someone decides to come through the elevator we took." Wrex stated. The other three nodded and ran out the door to see what was next. Once the door closed on them Wrex walked up to Shepard.
"Did you find it?" Shepard's omni-tool beeped and stopped downloading.
"Yes. I'll analyze it on the Normandy to make sure it really is a cure. I get the feeling that it is more than that, considering." Shepard replied making Wrex nod. They left the lab and moved to where the others were. Once they caught up with them, they noticed the two destroyed geth.
"We were hoping you'd catch up." Garrus said.
"Sorry, it was a lot of data to go through. So we ready to keep moving?" Everyone nodded. They opened the door and when they entered the room, there was an asari hiding behind a desk. As soon as they got closer she got up and held her hands up.
"Don't shoot! Please, I just want to get out of here before it's too late." The asari said.
I'm not going to hurt you. Who are you?" Shepard questioned calmly, holstering his weapons. The rest of his team did a few seconds after him.
"Rana Thanoptis, neurospecialist. But this job isn't worth dying over, or worse." At Shepard's questioning glance she continued, "You think the indoctrination only affects prisoners? Sooner or later, Saren will want to dissect my brain, too!" That made him more confused.
"I thought this was a breeding facility." He stated back. Rana shook her head.
"Not this level. We're studying Sovereign's effect on organic minds. At least, that's what I assumed. Saren kept us in the dark as much as possible."
"You helped him and you didn't even know why?" Tali asked skeptically.
"I didn't have the option of negotiating. This position is a little more... permanent than I'd expected. But I can help you." She pointed to the elevator behind her. "This elevator goes to Saren's private lab. I can get you in." She walked to the elevator and swiped her card. The red light changed green as the console beeped in recognition of her ID.
"See? Full access. All of Saren's private files. Are we good? Can I go?" She asked walking back them. Shepard decided ask her one thing before he decided on letting her go or not.
"What were you studying?" He asked.
"We were studying Saren's ship, Sovereign. It emits some kind of signal. It's almost unnoticeable but it's there. It's called indoctrination. Direct exposure to the signal turns you into a mindless slave, like the salarian test subjects. But there's collateral damage, too." Shepard wondered what she meant by collateral damage.
"What do you mean by collateral damage?"
"Sovereign's signal is too strong. Spend too much time near the ship and you feel it. Like tingle at the back of the skull. It's like a whisper you can't quite hear. You're compelled to do things, but you don't know why. You just obey. Eventually, you just stop thinking for yourself. It happens to everyone at the facility. My first test subject was the man I replaced. Now I just want to get out of here before it happens to me." So that's what those whispers were. Then that means that whoever hears the whispering is in the presence of indoctrination itself, but if he could hear it why wasn't he compelled to do things?
"Tell me more about this signal." He ordered.
"Signal's not exactly the right word. There's some kind of energy field emanating from the ship. It changes though patterns. Over time- days, maybe a week- it weakens your will. You become easier to manipulate and control. But it's a degenerative condition. There's a glance between control and usefulness. The less freedom a subject maintains, the less capable it becomes." So basically the more controlled, the less useful it becomes. The less controlled, the more useful.
"Why is Saren is researching it? Isn't he the one controlling it?" Now was the time to see if he was right or wrong about Saren being the puppet.
"The signal comes form the ship. It makes us obey Saren, but I don't think he controls it. Not exactly. I think... he's scared that it might be affecting him. Indoctrination is subtle. By the time the effects become noticeable, it's usually too late." Shepard almost winced. So he had been right after all. Saren was another puppet. And Sovereign, the Reaper ship, was the master. A mere vessel still following its master's will for millennia caused all of this.
"I'm going to blow this place to hell and gone. If you want to make it out alive, you'd better start running."
"What? You can't... but I'll never...ahh!" Shepard moved aside as she ran out as fast as she could.
"I like the way you think Shepard." Wrex said as she ran out. They opened exited the room, moved across the walkway and came to an elevator. They entered and ascended higher into the facility until they came to Saren's private lab. They looked around and Shepard saw something familiar that caught both his and Liara's attention. An activated, intact prothean beacon. Shepard immediately walked forward to it and stopped just a few feet from it. He remembered when Ashley had gotten too close and it pulled her in. He also remembered the last it burned a vision into his head and how painful it was. But this time, he was ready. He had the Cipher this time. He walked up cautiously and stuck his hands out feeling for the pull. There was a beep and he felt a familiar force grab him and lift him up. The images came just like last time, but they didn't hurt and he could understand them better. Of death, of genocide. People where running from something, they were strange, had four eyes and mushroom-like shaped heads. Then he saw metal being welded to flesh. He could hear the screams of pain, horror and despair. A huge machine was present to see all of this. The machine that made them run away. The planet.
His eyes widened and the force left him. He fell to his knees, nearly gasping for breathe. He could hear the gunshots outside from the fight between the salarian teams and the geth. He got up unsteadily for a few seconds before righting himself. He stared at the beacon warily once more before turning around to face his team.
"Are you alright Shepard?" Liara asked with worry. He nodded.
"I'm fine. It wasn't like last time when I got knocked out. I actually understood it better. Let's get the hell out of here and nuke this place." He said before walking up the ramp. He noticed something red appear out of the corner of his eye. He walked to it followed by everyone else. The red took the form of a hologram of Sovereign.
"I get the feeling that something bad is about to happen." Wrex said. Just as Shepard stopped in front of it, a deep, robotic voice sounded out.
"YOU ARE NOT SAREN." As the voice spoke the hologram lit up with each word.
"I can't agree more with you Wrex." Garrus replied.
"What is that? Some kind of VI interface.?" Tali asked.
"RUDIMENTARY CREATURES OF BLOOD AND FLESH. YOU TOUCH MY MIND, FUMBLING IN IGNORANCE, INCAPABLE OF UNDERSTANDING.
"I don't think that is a VI" Liara said to Tali who nodded in agreement with her.
"THERE IS A REALM OF EXISTENCE SO FAR BEYOND YOUR OWN YOU CANNOT EVEN IMAGINE IT. I AM BEYOND YOUR COMPREHENSION. I AM SOVEREIGN!" The revealed AI spoke. Shepard's eyes widened. It all made sense now. Who else would follow the Reaper's will? How else could it enslave minds to follow its goals? How else could Saren have known about the Thorian's existence on Feros without accessing Exo-Geni? Why else would the geth follow Saren? Because of their so-called god being right beside him.
"Sovereign isn't just some Reaper ship Saren found. It's an actual Reaper!" Shepard said tensely, realization sinking in to him.
"REAPER? A LABEL CREATED BY THE PROTHEANS TO GIVE VOICE TO THEIR DESTRUCTION. IN THE END, WHAT THEY CHOOSE TO CALL US IS IRRELEVANT. WE SIMPLY ARE."
"The Protheans vanished 50,000 years ago. You couldn't have been there. It's impossible!" Liara voiced out in denial. Shepard merely closed his eyes in acceptance. It was possible for an AI. Even more so for one as advanced as the Reapers.
"ORGANIC LIFE IS NOTHING BUT A GENETIC MUTATION, AN ACCIDENT. YOUR LIVES ARE MEASURED IN YEARS AND DECADES. YOU WITHER AND DIE. WE ARE ETERNAL. THE PINNACLE OF EVOLUTION AND EXISTENCE. BEFORE US, YOU ARE NOTHING. YOUR EXTINCTION IS INEVITABLE. WE ARE THE END OF EVERYTHING." Sovereign rebuked.
"There is an entire galaxy of races united and ready to face you." Shepard shot back.
"CONFIDENCE BORN OF IGNORANCE. THE CYCLE CANNOT BE BROKEN."
"Cycle? What cycle?" Tali asked. Everyone wanted to know the answer to that too. Then Shepard remembered when they picked Liara up. She spoke of a cycle of destruction. About how the protheans weren't the first. How each time a great civilization rises it is violently and suddenly cast down. The Reapers were the cause of this cycle of extinction.
"THE PATTERN HAS REPEATED ITSELF MORE TIMES THAN YOU CAN FATHOM. ORGANIC CIVILIZATIONS RISE, EVOLVE, ADVANCE. AND AT THE APEX OF THEIR GLORY, THEY ARE EXTINGUISHED. THE PROTHEANS ARE NOT THE FIRST. THEY DID NOT CREATE THE CITADEL. THEY DID NOT FORGE THE MASS RELAYS. THEY MERELY FOUND THEM, THE LEGACY OF MY KIND." Sovereign answered. Something didn't add up. If they are such an advanced race, why create the mass relays and leave? Unless... they wanted them to be found!
"Why would you construct the mass relays, then leave them for someone else to find?" Shepard asked.
"YOUR CIVILIZATION IS BUILT UPON THE TECHNOLOGY OF THE MASS RELAYS, OUR TECHNOLOGY. BY USING IT, YOUR SOCIETY DEVELOPS ALONG THE PATHS ALONG THE PATHS WE DESIRE." So that was the game all along. Make the civilization rise and advance to a certain point before swooping in and cutting them down before they become too powerful.
"WE IMPOSE ORDER ON THE CHAOS OF ORGANIC EVOLUTION. YOU EXIST BECAUSE WE ALLOW IT. AND YOU WILL END BECAUSE WE DEMAND IT."
"They are harvesting us! Letting us advance to level they need, then wiping us out!" Liara gasped out in horrified realization making the others widen their eyes.
"Where did you come from? Who built you?" Shepard asked.
"WE HAVE NO BEGINNING. WE HAVE NO END. WE ARE INFINITE. MILLIONS OF YEARS AFTER YOUR CIVILIZATION HAS BEEN ERADICATED AND FORGOTTEN, WE WILL ENDURE." Shepard scowled at the hologram.
"You have a beginning. And everything that has a beginning, has an end. What do you want from us? Slaves? Resources?"
"MY KIND TRANSCENDS YOUR VERY UNDERSTANDING. WE ARE EACH A NATION. INDEPENDENT, FREE OF ALL WEAKNESS. YOU CANNOT EVEN GRASP THE NATURE OF OUR EXISTENCE."
"Where are the rest of the Reapers? Are you last of your kind?"
"WE ARE LEGION. THE TIME OF OUR RETURN IS COMING. OUR NUMBERS WILL DARKEN THE SKY OF EVERY WORLD. YOU CANNOT ESCAPE YOUR DOOM." Shepard took one step toward the hologram and gave it his coldest glare ever. His team shivering escaped his notice.
"You're nothing but a monster, clad in the body of a machine. And machines can be broken!" He snarled. The ancient AI stared at him, processing his being and words. This one was different from the rest. It was irrelevant, however. A unique organic was still just that, an organic. He will be broken before the time comes for the rest to return. But still, he is an impressive organic. A possible replacement for Saren.
"YOUR WORDS ARE AS EMPTY AS YOUR FUTURE. I AM THE VANGUARD OF YOUR DESTRUCTION. THIS EXCHANGE IS OVER." Sovereign's hologram disappeared. Without any warning, all the windows in the room exploded and fire could be seen outside.
"Shepard? We got trouble!" Shepard heard Joker over the radio.
"Hit me, Joker." Shepard said putting his hand to his comm.
"That ship, Sovereign? It's moving. I don't know what you did down there, but that thing just pulled a turn that would shear any of our ships in half. It's coming your way and it's coming hard! You need to wrap things up in there - fast!"
"This console is no longer functioning. Ideas, Shepard?" Garrus asked.
"We'll head to the breeding facility. Time to blow this place to hell." Shepard said motioning everyone to the elevator.
"Right. We'll met you there Shepard." Joker radioed. They took the elevator back down and walked to the walkway. A geth destroyer greeted them but Shepard was in no mood for it. He used overload on it and followed it up with a weak power strike. The destroyer was damaged beyond functionality.
"The geth are turning from your position, Jaeto. Looks like Shadow kicked a sensitive spot! Williams, head them off! Hold them here!" They heard Kirrahe shout over the comm. He was still alive so that meant the salarians were doing well. They ran through the security office and saw a walkway they hadn't noticed before. Running to it, they noticed three krogan waiting for them. Shepard and Garrus both took out their sniper rifles and shot one to death. Tali overloaded the second's shields while Liara biotically threw him off the walk way. Wrex charged at the third and knocked him off his feet. He finished him off with carnage shots. With those three dead they continued on through the tunnel and came to a few platforms that led them to the AA tower.
"That turret could punch some nasty holes in the Normandy." Wrex commented. Everyone agreed with him seeing the size of it. They walked forward only to run into a krogan and two geth hoppers. Wrex fired at the krogan coming to his level and used warp on him, but he didn't go down. The geth hoppers attacked the other four. Shepard had his pistol out and tried to shoot the hopper but it was too quick. He let adrenaline rush through his veins and the hopper seemed to slow down until it landed on the side of the wall. Shepard aimed but then he noticed its color. It was not the usual white but it was pitch black.
'Shit! A geth ghost!' Shepard thought before firing. The geth ghost had him targeted and fired. The hit went through his shields and grazed him as he jumped for cover. Some of the rounds hit the geth ghost in its leg making it only half as fast. Garrus quick scoped it once it landed after jumping from its previous spot. Tali merely had to hack the other hopper which she commanded to leap onto the krogan fighting Wrex. The krogan was surprised when the geth hopper leapt onto him and began shooting at him at pointblank range. He waved his arms around trying to reach the geth and began to stumble until he hit the rail and went over the edge, impaling himself and the geth on a sharp rock.
Shepard got out of his cover holding his side before applying medi-gel.
"The geth ghost get you?" Garrus asked.
"Managed to graze but nothing I can't heal from." He looked at the AA gun. "Let's go deactivate that tower." They walked to the tower before jumping for cover from rockets. Rocket drones had descended upon them. Shepard took out his assault rifle and fired at the two of them as Liara used stasis on them. They exploded soon after a few shots. Coming up to the tower they immediately noticed the console. Tali ran up to it and immediately deactivated the turret. They heard the elevator turn on begin working its way up to their level.
"Watch out! They have followed us up the elevator." Liara said taking out her karpov pistol. Wrex and Garrus took out their assault rifles while Tali took out her sokolov shotgun. Shepard held assault rifle out. Once the elevator stopped, it opened to reveal three geth troopers. They immediately fired on them before the geth could even get a single shot. Once the geth were dead, they the elevator down. As they descended Kirrahe radioed to them.
"Good work on the gun, Shadow team. Now it's our turn." They made it to the level they needed to be on and walked through the hall. Before they made it out of the hall they overhead Captain Kirrahe's voice through the comm.
"That's it. We need to clear the geth and set those charges." In the background they could hear gunfire. They opened the door to find tubes of some sort in a water room and two more geth hoppers which were stopped by both Liara and Wrex who lifted them and shot them down. Shepard looked at the tubes and couldn't help but be curious. He walked up to it and moved of some condensation that had gathered on the glass. His eyes narrowed seeing what was inside. An adolescent krogan.
"Looks like these are the breeding grounds." Shepard said aloud before hopping off it.
"charges set! Everyone bunker down! Bunker down!" They heard through the comm.
"We should hurry." Tali suggested.
"Yeah wouldn't want to miss all the fun now, do we?" Wrex said. Shepard nodded and continued on with them. The door opened and revealed a large empty space. They walked into the area and checked over every place that could hide something and found nothing. Looks like the rest had gone after Captain Kirrahe's group.
"Joker, the landing site is clear." Shepard informed through the comm. Joker's excited voice answered back fast.
"All right! Nice work. That's one less thing to worry about. Shepard, I'm bringing us in. I'll get as close to sight as I can." Within a few moments the Normandy was already in sight above them as she pulled in. Her bay doors opened up and Kaidan, along with several others were bringing the bomb out. They carried it all the way to the other end of the area, as close to the facility as they could make it. Once it was placed, Kaidan walked over to Shepard before put his hand to his ear.
"Bomb is in position, we're all set he-"
"Shepard can you read me?" Ashley's voice cut through. She sounded worried or anxious. Shepard put his hand to his ear.
"The nuke's almost ready. Get to the rendezvous point, Williams!" The sound of geth gunfire could be heard in the background of it.
"Negative, Shepard. The geth have us pinned down on the AA tower. We've taken heavy casualties. We'll never make the rendezvous point in time."
"Get them out of there, Joker. Now!"
"Negative! It's too hot! Can't risk it. We'll hold them off as long as we-" The line cut off. Shepard and Kaidan looked at each other.
"It's okay, Shepard. I need a couple of minutes to finish arming the bomb. Go get them and meet me back here." Kaidan said.
"Up to the AA tower. Move!" Shepard ordered his team who ran to the other door that lead to the AA tower with Shepard keeping up with them. Kaidan looked up as the Normandy went away before going to work on the bomb.
The team ran through another breeding trench. They made to the middle of it before two krogan burst through two tubes. Shepard had his omni-blade out and used it with a biotic strike on one krogan, uppercutting him. The blade went completely through his head from the force, instantly killing him. The other merely overwhelmed the other krogan with brute force. They continued on took the elevator down until it brought them to a terrace. The team ran to an area before a geth ship flew overhead. Shepard followed and saw that it was right over to where he left Kaidan and the bomb!
"Damn." Wrex mumbled.
"Reinforcements, we'd better hurry." Garrus said as it flew over.
"Heads up, LT. We just spotted a troop ship headed your way." Ashley said over the comm.
"It's already here. There's geth pouring all over the bomb site." Kaidan replied before gunfire was heard on his end.
"Can you hold them off?" Shepard asked as he raced trying to figure a way out.
"There's too many. I don't think we can survive until you get here. I'm activating the bomb." Shepard's eyes widened.
"Alenko what are you doing?!"
"I'm just making sure this bomb goes off. No matter what." A few seconds passed and Shepard could Kaidan grunting from trying to activate the nuke and not be shot. "It's done Shepard. Go get Williams and get the hell out of here."
"Screw that! We can handle ourselves. Go back and get Alenko." Ashley said back with a fire. Shepard was actually starting to sweat. Was he going to have to pick who lives and dies now? He- He didn't want too. He'd known Alenko for awhile. But then again he- he cared about Ash, greatly. As much as Lis in fact. He couldn't choose. He didn't want to leave either one of them behind.
"Go get Williams! It's the right choice!" He didn't want this to be how they part.
"Hell no! Go save Alenko!" He could real the pressure. It was becoming too much.
"SHUTUP!" He roared into the comm startling everyone listening. Hell, even the geth who were listening to it were somewhat stunned. Every one of his crew, not just his team, had been listening with ever increasing worry, but when Shepard roared into the comm they were downright stunned. Shepard never lost his cool and never yelled at anyone. It was always a stern, serious and commanding voice or an upbeat sarcastic voice. Wrex was actually afraid he may go into that form of his again.
Shepard was panting. He hadn't noticed until now but he was getting tired and that shout of his along with the frustration and stress were finally beginning to get to him. Then he remembered something. He had brought something that he had made onto the Normandy. It could save Kaidan!
"Joker!"
"U-U-Uh Yes Sir?" Joker snapped to attention almost. He had never heard Shepard act like this. He must have been really stressed out.
"Get me, Benezia." A few seconds later you could here Joker going 'go, go, go' to someone before Benezia's voice came over the comm.
"Benezia, go to the hangar bay and find a big black crate. On it will a holographic interface and input the code 4264766626. Joker open the bay door when she tells you too."
"I'm on it." Benezia replied.
"Got it." joker said before the line cut out.
"Kaidan, when the back up I'm sending get's there, haul ass over to where Ash is." Shepard ordered before he talked to Ashley.
"Hold on Ash."
"Shepard, I don't think I should leave the bomb-" Kaidan began to say.
"That wasn't a suggestion, Alenko." Came the growl over the radio.
"Yes Sir." Kaidan replied meekly before taking cover and tried to hold out against the onslaught of geth.
The team ran to the AA tower where Ashley was.
In the Normandy
Benezia had managed to get into the hangar and began looking for the crate. She looked and looked until she found it. It was pitch black and taller than her, not only that, but looked as if it could hold a person. She found the holographic interface Shepard spoke of and activated it.
"4-2-6-4-7-6-6-6-2-6" She pressed each number. The crate whirled and clicked before it opened up. She looked inside and saw... nothing. The crate was black on the inside too and nothing looked as if it were inside it. Wha-? This had to be the crate, right? It was the only one that matched the description and the code worked. Suddenly, two eyes lit up and a metallic boot stomped out of the crate making Benezia back up in fright. The being stepped out of the crate and Benezia was in shock and awe at it. She quickly put her finger on her ear piece.
"Mr. Moreau." She spoke for.
"Yes, Benezia?"
"Please open the bay doors." She said as calmly as she could. The thing was staring at her.
"Right." The Normandy hovered in place as the doors opened. The being turned to the open doors and sprinted out. Once it reached the edge it jumped off and the thrusters on its feet ignited along with the ones on its hands. The being flew straight to where Kaidan and the geth were.
"What the hell was that?!" Joker asked over the comm having caught a glimpse of the being as it rocketed toward the facility.
"Shepard's 'reinforcement'." She said breathlessly.
With Kaidan and the geth
Kaidan used the fuel tanks nearby to thin the geth forces but more and more just replaced them. It was losing a battle, but he had to trust Shepard as he did so many times before. Suddenly something burst through the geth ship and crushed a geth destroyer. The ship moved lazily to left and crashed into the side of the facility before landing on several geth troopers. The smoke encumbered whatever had caused the damage and the only thing Kaidan could see of it was its shape and blue lit eyes. The dust began to clear and sunlight gleamed of the being. The being was some type of robot. It was armored from head to toe and looked as if it were made stainless silver steel. On its chest piece was some kind of light and it was streamlined. The robot pointed a hand toward one of the geth and Kaidan noticed it had a smaller light in the palm of its hand. (A cyber cookie to the first one who guesses it!)
Out of the light a blast of energy fired out from it and completely melted a whole through the trooper. It raised its other hand toward another geth and did the same thing. The geth completely focused on the new threat. The robot used its thrusters to make a huge jump out of the line of fire before landing behind a geth. The robot grabbed the geth by its mechanical spinal cord and ripped it out before throwing the geth towards the rest.
Kaidan remembered Shepard's orders and ran out of the area to where the rest of the team was. One thing was for sure. They had to get Shepard into the Alliance. If he can fight this good and make something like, whew.
Back with Shepard and the rest
The group made it to where Ashley was held up. They had fought with the geth forces and were able to beat them back with relative ease. Shepard looked over the area to find that it was pretty shot up. Destroyed crates, walls riddled with holes, not to mention exploded tanks and fires. That was when he heard familiar sound. One that he hadn't since... Eden Prime. He felt a biotic signature at his back above. He turned to see Saren himself riding his hoverboard. Everyone else noticed him too and began to fire at him only for him to fire a biotic energy ball. Shepard jumped away from it time but the ball hit the ground where his team was gathered and it blasted them away. They were off the ground and landed hard enough to have trouble getting up.
Saren turned his attention too Shepard who was running for cover. He fired another ball at Shepard who jumped to dodge it, narrowly avoiding it. He tuck-n-rolled behind a crate for cover. Saren jumped off his hoverboard and landed on the ground with a thud before approaching Shepard's location. Shepard drew his pistol before getting out of cover and firing 3 times at Saren. His barrier blocked the round as if they weren't there.
"I applaud you Shepard. My geth were utterly convinced the salarians were the real threat. An impressive diversion." Saren spoke. Huh. Unlike last time actually sounded genuine.
"Well I can't take all the credit. It goes to men and women who participated in this plan." Shepard replied making Saren almost chuckle.
"Of course, it was all for nothing. I can't let you disrupt what I have accomplished here. You can't possibly understand what's really at stake." Shepard kept sensing his location and noticed he hadn't moved from his spot. He also was barely aware of the other biotic signature closing in on their location.
"The galaxy's at stake. Why are you doing this?" Shepard asked hoping to stall for time.
"You've seen the visions from the beacons, Shepard. You, of all people, should understand what the Reapers are capable of. They cannot be stopped."
"People used to believe that about the slavers. Look what happened to them."
"Do not mire yourself in pointless revolt. Do not sacrifice everything for the sake of petty freedoms. The Protheans tried to fight, and they were utterly destroyed. Trillions dead. But what if they had bowed before the invaders? Would the Protheans still exist? Is submission not preferable to extinction?" Saren asked, pacing as he did so. Both he and Shepard stared one another down.
"Do you really believe the Reapers will let us live?" Shepard asked as if Saren was a child.
"Now you see why I never came forward with this to the Council. We organics are driven by emotion instead of logic. We will fight even when we know we cannot win. But if we work with the Reapers, if we make ourselves useful, think how many lives could be spared!" Saren hesitated before continuing, "Once I understood this, I joined Sovereign, though I was aware of the... dangers. I had hoped that this facility would protect me."
"Your like every other poor bastard in this place. A tool Sovereign can use, then cast aside." Shepard retorted back. It was true. Now that he listened for it, he could hear the whispers on Saren.
"I've studied the effects on indoctrination. The more control Sovereign exerts, the less capable the subject becomes. That is my saving grace. Sovereign needs me to find the Conduit. My mind is my own... for now. But the transformation from ally to servant can be subtle. I will not let that happen to me."
"Why are the geth following Sovereign?"
"They believe Sovereign to be some kind of god. The pinnacle of their own evolution. But the reaction of their own deity was most telling: it is insulted. Sovereign does not desire the pitiful devotions the geth hurl at it. They are just tools, and no amount of belief on their part will change that. But as tools, they are useful. They will survive the coming invasion. If organic life is to survive, we must also prove we are useful. We must work with the Reapers."
"Tell me why Sovereign needs to find the Conduit. Tell me what it is. Maybe we can find a way to stop them."
"The Conduit is the key to your destruction and my salvation. Sovereign needs my help to find it. That is the only reason I have not been indoctrinated."
"Sovereign's manipulating you and you don't even know it! You're already under its power!" Shepard shouted. Saren shook his head in defiance.
"No! Sovereign needs me. If I find the Conduit, I've been promised a reprieve from the inevitable. This is my only hope." Saren said almost sounding dejected at the last few words.
"Together we can stop Sovereign. We don't have to submit to the Reapers. We can beat them!" Shepard said hoping what he says gets through to Saren.
"I no longer believe that, Shepard. The visions cannot be denied. The Reapers are too powerful. The only hope of survival is too join with them. Sovereign is a machine. It thinks like a machine. If I can prove my value, I become a resource worth maintaining. There is no other logical conclusion!" Shepard was getting angry at Saren now. this was the guy who became the best spectre? This guy who just gave up?
"You were a spectre. You were sworn to defend the galaxy. Then you broke that vow to save yourself!" Shepard argued.
"I'm not doing this for myself! Don't you see? Sovereign will succeed. It is inevitable. My way is the only way any us will survive! I'm forging an alliance between us and the Reapers. Between organics and machines. And in doing so, I will save more lives than have ever existed. But you would undo my work. You would doom our entire civilization to complete annihilation. And for that, you must die." Saren said before grabbing the geth pulse rifle on his back. Shepard pointed his Master HMWP at him.
"You know I managed to remove the indoctrination from Benezia right?" Saren froze at the statement.
"How?" He asked in shock.
"I honestly don't understand it myself, but I did manage it. She's on my ship right now as we speak. It's not too late Saren. You can still be saved." Shepard didn't lower his pistol. Saren stared at him for a moment before shaking his head.
"It doesn't matter. The Reapers will still come and even if you do figure out how to remove indoctrination from others, the Reapers will simply do it to them again. It is inevitable!" Saren pointed his pulse rifle at Shepard and began firing. Shepard ducked behind one of the crates before Saren stopped himself. Shepard fired over the crate before throwing a grenade. Saren jumped out of the way as it exploded Shepard ran at him and biotically pulled the rifle from his grasp. Saren got back up before slapping the pistol out of Shepard's hand. Both entered a biotic melee with punches and kicks. Saren ducked under kick before having his punch blocked by Shepard's arm. Saren used his other arm to strike Shepard who used the momentum to backflip and leap towards Saren, reverse elbowing him in the chest. Saren was pushed back a few feet before trying too punch him again with a biotic strike. Shepard caught his fist with a biotic reinforced hand before trying to stab Saren in the head. Saren caught him by the wrist and both tried to gain the upper hand.
"You've gotten better since last time." Saren noted still straining. This human was definitely different from the rest of his kind.
"Yeah, Spectre training helps a lot." Shepard replied doing the same.
"I thought I recognized some of those moves, but..." Shepard was suddenly kneed in the chin making him detach from Saren.
"That isn't..." Saren punched him in the face hard.
"enough..." Saren drew another punch and struck him again.
"to beat..." Saren uppercutted him.
"ME!" He threw another punch but this time Shepard caught it. Shepard backhanded him with an omni-tool fist. Saren felt the heat on it before Shepard thrust his open palm towards his chest, glowing with biotic energy. Saren was suddenly blasted back into some wreckage before getting back up. Shepard jumped to where his pistol had landed and grabbed it. Shepard aimed at to Saren too see he had grabbed his pulse rifle and was on his hoverboard again. Shepard ran to cover with Saren firing along trying to get him. One his rounds hit a nearby canister which exploded knocking Shepard off his feet. Saren jumped off the hoverboard and walked over to Shepard, discarding his rifle. Shepard got up and saw his team was starting to get back up before he turned and was grabbed by the neck by a clawed hand. Saren dragged him a couple of feet before hoisting him into the air with one hand.
Both glared at one another. An alarm went off far off away drawing Saren's attention for a second. It was all Shepard needed. He drew his fist back and when Saren turned to look at him, all he could see was a fist approaching at fast speeds. The blow was so hard he let go of Shepard and was knocked to the floor. His mandible and torso were hurting now, aching with soreness. He got up and looked at Shepard who was on all fours trying to get up. He had blood going down the side of his face and had a black eye forming. Something about Shepard looked familiar. He reminded of him of the human he met in the temple on Palaven. Just as driven he even looked somewhat similar to him too. Then he shook his head. No need to remember that day. He had to get out of here.
Shepard looked up to see Saren walking away to his hoverboard before escaping. Shepard tried to aim his pistol at him but his hand was to shaking from fatigue. He holstered it before trying to get up. With some difficulty, he had managed to on one knee. He tried to stand up and got to a wobbly stance before falling forward. A hand caught him by the arm making him look up.
"Kaidan." Shepard whispered. Kaidan Alenko smirked at him before place Shepard's arm over his head.
"You look like hell Shepard." He said.
"You took your time." Shepard retorted.
"Sorry. Ran into a few geth on the way over." Kaidan said as they walked to the others. The Normandy flew over them before hovering. The bomb's blaring became faster.
"Time to go." Shepard said. Everyone ran to the Normandy's opened hangar bay. A minute later, the Normandy was flying away from Virmire. The team had bunkered down in the hangar.
"Alright, everybody hang on!" Joker's voice said over the intercom. The Normandy zoomed away as the nuke detonated, leaving a big mushroom cloud. In the hangar of the Normandy, Shepard had a small smile on his face. His team was safe and they didn't lose anyone.
I always hated the fact you had to choose between Kaidan and Ashley. Always hated it. And to be honest I've only found a few that allowed both to live.
So tell me what you think.
Good?
Bad?
Review please. I hope you enjoyed it!