Recap: 'Hmph. Two can play that game.' He thought before grabbing her tight ass which she moaned out before resuming her attack on his neck. As Shepard felt them tugging his clothes his last thoughts of were how fun the next hour would be.
Now
It had been roughly an hour since Ashley and Liara had walked into Shepard's room. Inside, Shepard was putting his boots on and getting off the bed before leaning on the computer and looking at the two beautiful, nude women in his bed. Shepard was particularly pleased with himself by the content looks they had on their faces. Practically glowing really. Liara had managed to enhance it by melding all three of their of nervous systems briefly. Poor Ash could barely handle it since it was her first time with an asari in the mix.
Liara and Ashley managed to take turns which made it last longer, though there were definitely no complains coming from them or him for the matter. Especially not with all the positions they let him take them in. Movement caught his eye and saw Liara rousing from her peaceful slumber. She got on her elbows before raising into a sitting position, the cover falling of her bust. Shepard glanced at the revealed flesh before looking into her eyes.
"By the Goddess. That was incredible, Shepard." She said breathlessly. Shepard smirked.
"Ready for round two?" He asked with a grin. Liara giggled at him.
"Shepard!" She mockingly chastised which made him chuckle. Ashley woke up from their giggling and smiled at them.
"Well now. That's a whole new spin for 'on the floor and give me twenty,' hmm?" She prompted giggling at the end with Liara joining her. Shepard merely smiled as he joined the sound. Like music to his ears. He was suddenly aware of the wave of calm over him. He still remembered what they needed to do. What situation they were in, but he honestly didn't feel any dread like he had before. Nor was it as palpable as it was outside the room.
"Would you roll your eyes if I said this is the first time in months I've felt that all's right in the galaxy?" Shepard asked absently. Both women looked at him in shock before Liara blushed and looked away shyly while Ashley giggled again.
"Yes." She said, drawing out yes teasingly. The moment was broken by Joker's voice over the intercom.
"Bridge to Shepard. We're five minutes out from the Mu Relay." Shepard sighed, knowing that there was no getting back into the moment with that piece of information. Oh well, he just had to thankful he had it in the first place, he supposed.
"I had better go. Duty calls. You would not want to keep Joker waiting." Liara said putting on her uniform which was pretty fast. Before she walked through the door she stopped and turned to him.
"Shepard, whatever happens on Ilos, I just wanted to say... thank you. For everything." With that she walked out without waiting for his reply. Shepard looked at Ashley who already had her shirt on and was putting on her pants.
"Duty calls. Get up to the bridge, skipper. I've got other weapons to check out." Ashley said before she put her boots on. They both walked out of his room and made to where the stars met the elevator.
"Hey, Shepard?" Shepard had his foot on the first step as he turned to Ashley who was waiting for the elevator. She seemed to be much more nervous than just a few seconds ago.
"Yes?" He prompted.
"Whatever happens down there, I just wanted to say..." She paused before she smiling at him as if she just thought of something. "Wait. You know what? I'm not telling you. You want to hear this, you'll just have to come back to me." Shepard arched an eyebrow before smiling at her.
"Okay, but you have to be here for me to come back to." Shepard chirped before running up the stairs to the bridge. He could hear Ashley snort at his reaction on the way up.
The Normandy zoomed towards the Mu Relay, ancient but working properly. The vessel flew along the edge of it, dwarfed by its massive size. Passing the gyroscopic rings, a bolt of energy struck the Normandy, encasing the ship with a blue aura before it suddenly shot out and disappeared. Almost immediately, it exited out of the relay network in the Refuge System. Inside the Normandy, the cockpit was filled to capacity with Joker at the helm, Shepard right next to him on his left, Tali just behind Shepard, Liara to Tali's right, Kaidan behind Liara, Ashley behind Tali, and Navigator Pressly looking over a terminal just behind Ashley. Shepard was the only one suited up currently.
"Wow, so that's Ilos huh?" Shepard asked seeing the planet. Apparently, during the golden age of the Protheans, Ilos was a verdant world, dotted with the spires and arches of magnificent cities. Even casual observation showed this was no longer the case. Ilos has been devastated by means unknown, its entire surface changed to the color of rust. Shepard looked at the Normandy's analysis computer to see any other atmosphere showed heightened levels of oxygen. Even from this distance, Shepard could see the wildfires, presumably ignited by lightning strikes, burning on the dark side of the planet. This indicated that most - if not all - respirating animal life forms have died off. The analysis showed that the planets surface gravity was a comfortable 1.17 standard G's. Pretty close to Earth's own gravity.
That was when the Normandy's sensors picked up multiple ships orbiting the planet.
"Uh... Shepard? We've got company." Joker said as he quickly input some commands into his terminal and the Normandy began running silently.
"Have their sensors picked us up yet?" Liara asked in alarm.
"Stealth systems are engaged. Unless we get close enough for a visual, they won't have any idea we're here." Joker reassured as they came closer and closer to the geth fleet, no it was a flotilla. It was composed of a couple of dreadnoughts, but nothing else. Shepard wondered where the rest of the fleet was. Saren had to have had more than this much at his command. More for that matter, where was Sovereign? They weren't picking him up at all in space or on the planet below. They did, however, find Saren on the planet's surface.
"Picking up some strange readings from the surface." Pressly spoke as he continued to read over his computer.
"Take us down, Joker. Lock in on the coordinates." Shepard ordered knowing that it had to be where Saren was. Pressly turned to him.
"Negative on that, Shepard. The nearest landing zone's two clicks away." Shepard grit his teeth. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. Ashley turned to Pressly, her temper started to flare.
"We'll never make it in time on foot. Get us something closer!" She ordered with her voice rising.
"There is nowhere closer! I've looked!" Pressly shot back with equal temper. Shepard thought it over. If there was nowhere the Normandy could near Saren, then maybe...
"Drop us in the mako." Everyone turned to him before looking at Pressly who hadn't taken his eyes of the screen. Pressly shook his head.
"You'd need at least a hundred meters of open terrain to pull off a drop like that. The most I can find near Saren is twenty." Ashley gasped at the amount of space while Kaidan's eyebrows rose in surprise.
"Twenty meters? No way we can make a drop in there" Kaidan said, dismissing the idea immediately.
"We have to try." Liara urged.
"Find another landing zone!" Ashley ordered Pressly who turned to look at her.
"There is no other landing zone!" He stressed back. Shepard was getting annoyed at the argument brewing. He couldn't think of what to do.
"The descent angle's too steep!" Tali said, trying to back up Pressly.
"It's our only option!" Liara urged again to Kaidan.
"It's not an option! It's a suicide run! We don't-!" Kaidan began to argue before he was cut off by someone no one expected to talk.
"I can do it." Everyone looked at the helmsman.
"Joker?" Shepard prompted. Was Joker bluffing or was he being serious?
"I can do it." Joker repeated. Shepard nodded seeing the resolve in his friend. He turned to his teammates.
"Gear up and head down to the mako. Tell Wrex and Garrus too." He turned back to Joker as everyone nodded and did as they were ordered. "Joker. Drop us on top of that bastard!" Shepard turned around and followed after his team. The Normandy flew down to Ilos, bypassing the geth flotilla without any resistance whatsoever. Straight for the coordinates. Joker took of his cap as he sweated slightly. This was going to rough.
On Ilos' surface
The time had come. It had taken a few days to get things up and running again, but the geth had done it. The systems in the area were rebooted and working within acceptable ranges. Now was the time to activate the Conduit. Now was the time for the Reapers to come back. Saren felt no doubt at all that this would work. He was deadly on his own. With Sovereign and the geth, he was a force that could take worlds. With the upgrades given to him by Sovereign... he was near invincible. A part of his mind suddenly flashed and remembered the human, Shepard. The one human who seemed to have garnered the galaxy's attention. Even gaining the attention of Sovereign himself.
He had hoped that Shepard would come here. So he could battle him and test his new abilities. To him, Shepard was the only fitting opponent. He tried to test his abilities on some of his forces, but they never really lasted long, save for the last few cloned krogan he had and even then they never got close. But Shepard hadn't arrived. Was he too afraid? Or was he delayed by something? It matters not, for in the end, the Reapers would come anyway and Shepard would be unable to stop them. No matter what abilities or resources he has at his disposal. He ordered his geth troops to follow him to the Conduit. A whole battalion consisting of troopers and armatures walked alongside him as they made their way to the tunnel that leads to the Conduit.
Sovereign had already left Ilos to begin the first phase of their plan along with most of their forces. The scant few that were left here with him were to be the infiltration group and to make sure no one would be able to follow them. He briefly looked at the statues and wondered what the Protheans were doing here. Was this place suppose to be one of those universities of various arts? Hmph. Perhaps if the Protheans spent less time on art and actually submitted to the Reaper, they'd still be alive today. But it so too late for them. Millenia too late. All that could be done was try to broker peace to the machines now. He suddenly heard the sound of a starship closing in. Saren turned around quickly and saw the SSV Normandy diving at him. So that's how they got here. Believing that they'd crash right at the entrance, Saren turned to order his geth.
"You two keep moving. Inside. Now!" He ushered motioning to the door. He spotted a mako fly out of the ship's cargo hold. So that was his tactic, eh? Clever, but risky. Saren backed up, getting inside of the tunnel as the door began to close. Just before the ancient doors sealed, he saw the mako land. The mako's cannon fired at the door. The mass accelerator slug slammed into the door, scorching it, but it was otherwise undamaged. Some of the blast slipped through and struck Saren causing him to be pushed back. He staggered back for a moment. One of the geth came up ready to apply some medi-gel just in case their prophet had ever been injured. Before it reached however, Saren been chuckling. That chuckle turned into a cold, almost maniacal laughter until he calmed himself.
Saren gave a turian grin as he held up his arms and flexed his talons. Yes, he could certainly feel his new power now. He wasn't damaged at all! His barrier took the brunt of it and even though it was a relatively smaller amount, it was the equivalent to being right near an impact from the cannon fire, which would incinerate most opponents, shielded or not. His barrier was only half drained as well and already returning quickly to full power! He didn't have any plans to take a mako round head-on, but this power was amazing! Now if only he could further test his powers. He turned and began walking down the tunnel. The geth fell in line behind their prophet, ready for their gods' return.
Outside the tunnel
"Dammit! I almost had him!" Ashley cursed as they got out of the mako.
"Don't worry about it, chief. You might have scared him or even wounded him." Kaidan said optimistically with everyone but Shepard agreeing. Shepard was too busy sensing Saren's new power. His biotics were much stronger then last time. Before, he was around Benezia's level, but now... It felt like he was sensing New Growth again. That was a fight he wasn't looking forward to having. Tali came up to the door and studied it.
"We have to get inside this bunker before Saren reaches the Conduit!" Liara said trying to use her biotics to wrench it open. The door didn't even make a sound. Tali shook her head.
"There's no way we're getting past this door with brute force." She said making Liara stop.
"Saren found a way to open it. There must be some kind of security override somewhere in this complex." Garrus deduced.
"We're gonna have to find some way to get it up and running again." Kaidan stated before Wrex cut in.
"I know this is important, but I think we're gonna have company." Wrex nodded to behind the mako and the team saw multiple geth troopers coming towards them. Shepard took out his assault rifle, as did Ashley. Kaidan and Liara took out their pistols while Wrex and Tali took out their shotguns. Garrus took out his sniper and quick-scoped one of them before everyone converged to a choke point. The mako obviously wouldn't fit through it so they would have to find the override on foot. The team managed to destroy all the geth before walking out only to be attacked by more geth, this time with armatures. The troopers were mopped up easily but the armatures were a bit of a pain to deal with. Once one was weakened though, Tali hacked it and turned it on the other. The armature stood no chance against all of them alone. Once it was destroyed Tali made the hacked armature self-destruct before they moved on.
Knowing that they had a lot of ground to cover and little time, Shepard split everyone into pairs while he did things alone.
"Tali, go with Wrex and check that way. Kaidan, you and Ash check that way. Garrus, you take Liara and go down that way. I'll go straight ahead to see if there's anything that can help us. Move out!" He ordered before going to his intended destination. On the way he overheard the comms.
"Found a deactivated elevator over here." Kaidan spoke which you could here a loud bang in the background followed by a groan. Apparently Ashley just tried to hit to make it work.
"Nothing but geth terminals down here. Tali's trying to hack them see if any of them are the override." Wrex spoke into the comm.
"Only geth this way. Garrus above-! Good shot." Liara spoke as gun fire was heard in the background followed by the unmistakable sound of a sniper round going off.
"It's clear over here now. Nothing but geth bodies." Garrus spoke into the comm. Shepard followed the path full of vines before coming to a courtyard. He quickly noticed geth terminals leading down a narrow path. He gripped his Master HMWA, ready for the synthetics. He carefully walked along the path, sensing for any geth until he came to a downhill slope. He saw a geth destroyer accompanied by 3 troopers. He threw a grenade at the destroyer before gunning down two troopers.
The grenade destroyed the destroyer's shields and even damaged its mechanical frame, but the synthetic was still moving. Shepard turned his fire on the destroyer which finally collapsed. The third geth trooper came up on him, but he used overload on it before turning his gun on it and filled it with holes. He made his way down and walked forward coming to a more designed area that had pillars. Shepard climbed on to it before he was beset by geth hoppers.
He used singularity to trap all three of them, switching to his Master HMWSG and gunned them, still floating in midair. He saw an active elevator and signaled for his team.
"Got a working elevator over here. Come to my position." He ordered into the calm. A series of affirmatives came through. He waited a few moments before everyone arrived. Garrus looked at the elevator.
"This place still has power. Must be running off its own generator." He stated.
"I bet this is the command center for the entire complex. Saren's troops must have sealed the doors from here after he went inside." Ashley replied as everyone got in. The elevator descended down smoothly despite its years of inoperability.
"We will have to figure out how to disengage the security lockdown if we want to get inside the bunker." Tali said as the elevator took them deeper and deeper until it stopped. The door on the other side opened and everyone got out their weapons. Shepard looked over the edge and saw a corridor leading to a larger area. He could sense multiple electric signatures in that direction. He signaled his team to be quiet as they crept through to the area when Shepard saw the geth. Apparently they had been noticed. Not only that but Shepard noticed that there were 4 armatures under repair. Seeing this, he sprinted to one as gunfire erupted. His team had no idea what he was doing before covering him as the geth tried to shoot him. Shepard shot back a little before making it to the armature repair station.
Dodging accelerator rounds, he had Isaac hack the terminal and activate the armature with a little modifications added. The armature stood up and looked at the team.
"Shepard! Why would you do that?!" Ashley yelled at him, thinking he had made things more difficult for them. The entire team seemed agree with her... until the armature turned on the geth and started firing. Suddenly, the 3 other deactivated armatures reactivated and began firing on the geth. The team stood by stunned and relieved, or in Wrex's case, disappointed, as the pressure was taken off them and on the armatures. Shepard fired at the geth with his following in. The geth were destroyed easily. With their job's done, the armatures collapsed as Isaac released control of them.
"Ok, I take it back. Nice one, Shepard." Ashley said.
"Thanks." He replied before going on ahead. Everyone followed after him. Shepard noticed the tunnel leading further in, but was curious about what was up the stairwell. Shepard sent Garrus and Wrex to investigate the tunnel. He waited for them to inspect before going up.
"Nothing but an online elevator. Controls aren't working for some reason." Garrus said as they came back. Shepard nodded and walked up the stairs. Everyone followed him as he came to a new room.
"Search this place." He ordered. Everyone fanned out, going over the room.
"Nothing but geth terminals and ancient security panels on this floor." Kaidan stated.
"Not a damn thing up here either." Wrex called from the top before coming back down. Shepard looked around and noticed a slight blinking on one of the panels. He approached it.
"Come. Saren already has a head start. We have to go find him before he reaches the Conduit." Liara urged as everyone made for the door.
"Unless he's already found it. Then we're just walking into a trap." Garrus quipped.
"That's a chance we'll have to take." Ashley spoke as she walked alongside him. Tali noticed Shepard hadn't moved.
"Shepard?" She asked causing everyone to look back at him. Shepard was staring at the panel. The blinking light was green and barely noticeable. Shepard reached up to touch it. The panel lit up with a green holographic terminal. A pedestal beside it lit up with an orange light. It looked like it was supposed to be an some kind of person, but it was so corroded that there was no humanoid shape, just merely a lot blurs and orange calibration rings.
"Hold on... something's happening." Kaidan said. Everyone listened for it to say anything. After a few seconds a voice was heard.
"-too late... unable to... invading fleets... no escape..." Shepard heard the damaged hologram sputter out in-between spurs of static.
"Sounds like some kind of message. But I don't recognize the language." Wrex said making Shepard look at him in confusion. Why hadn't Wrex understood it? Shepard was able to easily.
"It is probably in Prothean. This recording must be 50,000 years old. No wonder we can't understand it." Liara stated disappointedly. Shepard turned to her.
"The message is all broken up, but I understand some of the words. It's a warning against the Reaper invasion." He stated. Liara looked at him with a gleam in her eyes. Oh boy here we go.
"Of course. Between the beacons and the Cipher, an understanding of the Prothean language would have been transferred into your mind." The damage hologram continued on before she could say more.
"-ot safe... seek refuge... -side the archives..." Bursts of static made it difficult to understand.
"What's it saying? Can you make out anything useful?" Ashley asked as she looked from the hologram to Shepard. Shepard merely kept his eyes on the hologram.
"-alled Reapers... the Citadel... overwhelmed... only hope..." The static continued through the message before Shepard pick out the words again. "act of desperation... the Conduit... all is lost." Shepard noticed the voice changed somehow. Whether it was a new person or the audio was getting worse, he did not know.
"It said something about the Conduit but it's too degraded to help. We should go." Shepard said shaking his head negatively. Everyone walked out of the room. As he left he could hear the hologram add one last thing, "cannot be stopped [static]... cannot be stopped...[static]"
The group walked back to the elevator only to encounter a slight problem.
"The elevators offline!" Tali said looking at the elevator's console. Shepard groaned.
"Let's check the other one. They walked back to the security room and down the tunnel to find the elevator open.
"Well, that's convient." Shepard said as everyone got in. The elevator took them up. Ashley and Kaidan noticed where they came out of.
"So that's why the elevator wasn't working." Ashley muttered, her foot still sore from kicking it earlier.
"Who votes we take the vehicle into the creepy underground bunker?" Kaidan asked once they got back to the mako to find the bunker door opened.
"Good idea. The firepower will come in handy." Wrex said nodding. Everyone piled in and drove down the tunnel. The angle changed from steep to flat with a minute and the mako drove on what was water.
I have spent my life studying Protheans, but I never dreamed I would discover anything like this! This bunker might have been the last refuge of their entire species. Just imagine what mysteries it might hold. Imagine what secrets it might reveal!" Liara said excitedly as she looked at the surroundings they passed.
"Hey! Try to remember why we're here. Saren, the Conduit, the fate of the entire known galaxy?" Ashley snapped. Liara looked embarrassed at the admonishment.
"I am sorry... I was swept up in the moment. I just hope we have the opportunity to study this place in detail after this is done."
"We'll figure that out after we stop Saren." Shepard said as he continued to drive.
"You know, I'm surprised we haven't run into trap by Saren and his geth yet. Maybe they were in too much of a rush." Wrex commented noticing the quiet of their surroundings outside the mako.
"Maybe we haven't run into it yet." Tali suggested. Wrex grunted in agreement as the mako dipped down until she righted herself again and a flat surface. That was when they noticed some things sticking out of the walls. There many tubes, more than a hundred of them, sticking out of slots in the walls.
"What are all those things on the wall? Some kind of containers?" Garrus wondered aloud.
"They look like stasis pods. The Protheans probably tried to keep themselves alive through cryogenic freezing. Something must have gone wrong though. This bunker became their tomb. Those pods are dead as well as anyone inside."
"All of them? There must be hundreds of these pods. What was Saren expecting to find here? There's nothing left but corpses." Ashley said until Shepard slammed on the brakes and hit the thrusters, narrowly dodging four rockets.
"Fire right at the edge!" He exclaimed. Ashley did so and she saw four silhouettes light up in flames.
"Good eyes, Shepard."
"Good shot, Ash." He replied back before driving again. They seemed to be getting deeper and deeper underground the further they went. That was when they came to a third chamber. This time it was shorter and at the end of it, Shepard saw something in the distance. He drove up to it only to se it was some kind of force field. As soon as he stopped another one activated right behind them!
"What's happening?" Tali asked nervously.
"It's a trap! Saren must have set an ambush!" Kaiden said as he jumped the gun. Everyone got ready for a fight, but after nothing happening for a few minutes they relaxed.
"I don't think Saren's behind this." Wrex said. Shepard nodded before spotting a doorway on the side.
"Liara, Garrus. You're with me. We're going to see if we can't shut this off." Shepard said getting out of the mako along with Liara and Garrus. He turned to the still opened mako. "You guys stay here and make sure nothing happens while we're gone."
"Be careful." Ashley said making Shepard smirk.
"Hey, it's me." He said walking backwards with his hands up before turning around.
"That's why I said be careful!" She shouted after him as they left. Shepard laughed at her reaction before finding Liara and Garrus by an elevator. They entered and pressed the controls. The elevator descended down at a faster rate than the previous ones had.
"If this was a trap, Saren would have already sprung it. He's not behind this, who is?" Liara asked. Garrus shook his head.
"I have no clue. Let's just hope whatever it is, it's friendly." He replied before the elevator stopped. The door opened to reveal a room. It was considerable smaller than the previous rooms they had been in, but that wasn't the only difference. The room had multiple pods out, looking as if all of them had been opened. What dress Shepard's attention the most was the activated hologram in the middle of the room. Shepard walked up to it, holstering his gun.
"You are not Prothean. 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." A voice echoed in the room. Shepard knew it was the hologram in front of him and from the way his teammates were looking at it, they too were able to understand it.
"Looks like some kind of VI program. Pretty badly damaged." Garrus stated eyeing it.
"I do not sense the taint of indoctrination upon any of you. Unlike the other that passed recently. Perhaps there is still hope." The VI contemplated. Shepard arched an eyebrow at it. If hadn't known any better he would have thought it was an AI with that last line.
"This is incredible. An actual Prothean VI, and I can understand it!" Liara nearly gushed as she tried to keep herself in place.
"I have been monitoring your communications since you arrived at this facility. I have translated my output into a format you will comprehend. My name is Vigil. You are safe here, for the moment. But that is likely to change. Soon, nowhere will be safe." The newly named Vigil spoke.
"Are you some sort of Artificial Intelligence program?" Shepard asked.
"I am an advanced non-organic analysis system with personality imprints from Ksad Ishan, chief overseer of the Ilos research facility." Vigil replied. Oh. Well that would certainly explain the aspiration of hope. Shepard remembered the reason they came down here in the first place. Obviously, Vigil's doing.
"Why did you bring me here?"
"You must break a cycle that has continued for millions of years. 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 as it has been with every civilization that came before us. 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 horizon. When the Citadel relay is activated, the Reapers will pour through. And all you know will destroyed."
"How do the Reapers survive out in dark space?" Shepard had seen Sovereign first hand, but he had difficulty believing any machine, even one like Sovereign, managing to survive for so long out in pitch black void.
"We have only theories. The researchers here believed that the Reapers entered prolonged states of inactivity to conserve energy. This allows them to survive 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." That was another that Shepard didn't understand. He understood that the Citadel seemed similar to a mass relay, not only that but it was nearly in the middle of the relay network. The thing he didn't understand was that in all the times people have lived on it in the cycles, you'd think someone might've noticed it was a relay!
"How come nobody ever noticed the Citadel was an inactive mass relay?"
"The reapers are careful to keep the greatest secrets of the Citadel hidden. That is why they created a species of seemingly benign organic caretakers." Shepard realized what Vigil was talking about now. "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 no other species will ever discover the Citadel's true nature. Not until the relay is activated and the Reapers invade." Shepard closed his eyes and sighed. The Reapers deception was ingenious and horrific once he realized what state the Citadel was in when they left.
"The Reapers can wipe out the Council and the entire Citadel fleet in a single surprise attack!" He said in realization. Liara gasped while Garrus grunted at the news.
"That was our fate. 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, cutoff from the others. 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." Shepard shuddered at that. It was truly the perfect trap. Taking the seat of power not only crippled the Prothean Empire, but also gave the Reapers the means to know where to go and what they were facing. Shepard then remembered when he spoke to Saren on Virmire.
"The war was lost. If you had surrendered, they might have let you live."
"No offer of surrender was ever given. Our enemy had a single goal: the extinction of all advanced organic life. Through the Citadel, the Reapers had access to all our records, maps, census data. Information is power, and they knew everything about us. Their fleets advanced across every settled region of the galaxy. Some worlds were utterly destroyed. Other were conquered, their populations enslaved." Shepard winced. That couldn't have been good. Vigil continued you on.
"These indoctrinated servants became sleeper agents under Reaper control. Taken in as refugees by other Protheans, they betrayed them to the machines. Within a few centuries, the Reapers had killed or enslaved every Prothean in the galaxy. They were relentless, brutal and absolutely thorough."
"I don't understand. Where did the Reapers go after they conquered your people?"
"Our world were stripped bare, harvested by the indoctrinated slaves. Everything of value-all resources, all technology-was taken. Certain that all advanced organic life had been extinguished, the Reapers retreated back through the Citadel Relay into dark space, sealing it behind them. All evidence of the Reaper invasion had been wiped away. Only their indoctrinated slaves were left behind, abandoned. Mindless husks no longer capable of independent thought, the indoctrinated soon starved or died of exposure. The genocide of the Protheans was complete." Shepard felt even more appalled by the Reapers now. He knew they could indoctrinate people. He knew they probably used them to destroy their enemies, but they enslaved an entire galaxy! And then completely wiped out the people utterly, leaving them as only a distant memory! And the Protheans weren't the first. They've been doing this for millions of years now! Shepard gritted his teeth to keep himself from snarling. All that pain, all that slaughter and death. And all for what?
"What do the Reapers get out of this? Why do they keep repeating this pattern of genocide over and over?" He wasn't aware he even asked the question allowed until Vigil answered him.
"The Reapers are alien, unknowable. 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." Shepard would've disagreed with that statement if there wasn't some truth to it. After all, there would be plenty of time to look into the Reapers after Saren was stopped.
"You said you brought me here for a reason. Tell me what we need to do."
"The Conduit is the key. Before the Reapers attacked, we Protheans were on the cusp of unlocking the mysteries of mass relay technology. Ilos was a top secret facility. Here, researchers worked on a small-scale version of a mass relay. One that linked directly to the Citadel: the hub of the relay network." Liara gasped as Shepard's eyes widened at the implication.
"The Conduit is not a weapon. It is a back door onto the Citadel!" She said making Garrus look at her shock. Shepard's eyes narrowed. If that was true then how...
"How did you manage to stay hidden?"
"All official records of our project were destroyed in the initial attack on the Citadel. While the Prothean empire came crashing down, Ilos was spared. We severed all communication with the outside and our facility went dark. the personnel retreated underground into these archives. To conserve resources, everyone was put into cryogenic stasis. I was programmed to monitor the facility and wake the staff when the danger had passed. But the genocide of an entire species is a long, slow process. Years passed. Decades. Centuries. The Reapers persisted. And my energy reserves were dwindling." Shepard closed his eyes, knowing what Vigil was going to say.
"How did you survive?"
"I began to disable the life support of non-essential personnel. First support staff, then security. One by one, their pods were shut down to conserve energy. Eventually, only the stasis pods containing the top scientists remained active. Even these were in danger of failing when the Reapers finally retreated back through the Citadel relay."
"There were hundreds of stasis pods out there! You just shut them down? You killed them?" Liara said in sadness. It was obvious that this was getting to her. But in all honesty, when facing extinction, sometimes the most hated things, the most terrible things have to be done.
"You couldn't let everyone die. Better to sacrifice some so others could live." Shepard said.
"This outcome was not completely unforeseen. My actions were a result of contingency programming entered on my creation."
"I bet they didn't tell the 'non-essential' staff about this contingency." Garrus said with snort. Vigil continued on, not acknowledging the turians input.
"I saved key personnel. When the Reapers retreated, the top researchers were still alive. My actions are the only reason any hope remains. When the researchers woke, they realized that the Prothean species was doomed. There were only a dozen individuals left, far too few to sustain a viable population. Yet they vowed to find some way from returning. A way to break the cycle forever. And they knew the keepers were the key."
"I still don't fully understand what's going on here. Why is Saren trying to find the Conduit?"
"The Conduit gives him access to the Citadel and the keepers. The keepers are controlled by the Citadel. Before each invasion, a signal is sent through the station compelling the keepers to activate the Citadel relay. After decades of feverish study, the scientists discovered a way to alter this signal. Using the Conduit, the Conduit they gained access to the Citadel and made the modifications. This time when Sovereign sent the signal to the Citadel, the keepers ignored it. The Reapers are trapped in dark space." Shepard's eyes narrowed. Then if Sovereign is using Saren then...
"Saren must have some kind of plan to undo everything you did."
"The one you call Saren will use the Conduit to bypass the Citadel's defenses. Once inside, he will transfer control of the station to Sovereign. Sovereign will override the Citadel's systems and manually open the relay. And the cycle will begin again."
"I'll take Sovereign down... somehow." Shepard said with some doubt coming in. He didn't know how, but there had to be a way.
"There's a data file in my console. Take a copy when you go. When you reach the Citadel's master control unit, upload it to the station. It will corrupt the Citadel's security protocols and give you temporary control over the station. It might give you a chance against Sovereign."
"Wait. Where's the Citadel's master control unit? I've never heard of anything like that." Garrus said trying to figure it out. Uh oh. If Garrus, who has lived on the Citadel doesn't know where, then they were in trouble. Luckily Vigil had an idea.
"Through the Conduit. Follow Saren. He will lead you to your destination." Shepard nodded feeling the countdown to armageddon already starting.
"Saren's got enough of a head start. Grab the data file and let's go!" He ordered before turning around. Garrus nodded and approached the console and downloaded the file before walking after him.
"Shepard, are you sure? Who knows how much longer Vigil will be here? Even now the projection is weak. This might be our only chance to speak with it- our only link to the knowledge of the Protheans! It is the opportunity of a lifetime!" Liara said getting in front of him. Shepard turned to the VI and saw she was right. Vigil was beginning to wink out of existence. Soon he wouldn't be able to activate himself and he'd be lost forever. Shepard looked back at Liara and knew why she was doing this. This was probably the only thing that'll give her solid answers to the Prothean civilization, but...
"Liara, I know how much this means to you but we need to go. Besides, I don't think Vigil can tall us much more than we can already figure out." Shepard said as he began walking away.
"The one you call Saren has not reached the Conduit. Not yet. There is still hope if you hurry." Vigil called out before his projection winked out. The group walked into the elevator which traveled back up. Midway through, Liara started talking.
"All their culture, all their advanced technology, and the Protheans were taken in by the Reapers, just as we were. They failed." She said despondently while looking at the ground. A three fingered hand landed on her shoulder causing her to look at Garrus.
"The protheans did not fail. They gave us a chance. It falls to us to make the most of it, so I suggest we hurry." Garrus said just as the elevator stopped. Shepard smirked as the door opened.
"Couldn't have said it better myself, Garrus. Let's go!" They ran into the mako with the rest of team asking what they found. They replied that they would explain it on the way before Shepard gunned it forward. As they went forward Shepard radioed Joker to meet up with the Alliance Fleet.
On the Citadel: Presidium
People were going about their day-to-day things. Some were relaxing and admiring the Relay Monument. While some people were a little nervous about having the entire Citadel fleet in orbit, most managed to ignore it. Suddenly the Relay Monument's rings began moving. Everyone looked at it in surprise and wonder. What was going to happen. That question was asked more and more as the core lit up inside the rings which moved faster. The core flashed and multiple geth flew at everyone. In midair, the geth fired on everyone, killing most and wounding some. Saren came out next followed by more. A massacre began as the sounds of gunfire and the screams of innocent people filled the Presidium. Saren pointed to the Citadel Tower.
"Seize Citadel Control!" He ordered before taking out his geth pulse rifle.
At the same time with the Citadel Fleet
The Citadel Fleet had been stationed in orbit of the Citadel for a few days now and hadn't slouched on their vigil yet. The Citadel was not in a state of emergency, so the Council was on the station still in talks and doing their jobs. So the fleet prepared itself for when relay readings detected a large force coming. They tightened formation and were about to send the order for the Citadel to seal itself, they saw the force that came out.
A ship they had never seen before flew out. It was massive. Larger than any ship, even the Destiny Ascension. What was worse was the fact that it was surrounded by three dozen geth dreadnoughts! The fleet tried to open fire before they were barraged by cannon fire from the dreadnoughts. Several cruisers were immediately destroyed by the attack while some were scathed but holding. The fleet returned fire, but it did little against the geth forces. The super-dreadnought hadn't even fired at all and instead took the mass accelerator slugs head on. It wasn't even remotely scratched.
Geth fighters were spotted closing in and fast. Turian fighters flew in to intercept them. The fighters clashed with the turians taking losses faster than the geth. The geth consensus gave the fighters coordinated attacks and dodge capabilities that the turians couldn't match with. Seeing this, Matriarch Lidanya moved to one of her navigator, away from a console as it sparked from the damage the ship had taken.
"Activate the defenses! Seal the station!" She ordered. Her navigator, another asari, shook her negatively.
"The arms aren't moving! Systems not responding!" Matriarch Lidanya steadied herself as the ship shook from the impact of a particularly strong mass accelerator impact. The ceiling above her sparked from electrical strain.
"Abandon the Citadel! Evacuate the Council!" She ordered to her navigator who nodded. The navigator activated the link to Citadel Control.
"Citadel Control! Citadel Control! Do you copy?"
In Citadel Control
"Citadel Control! Citadel Control! Do you copy?" The speaker sounded out in the control room. Purple blood pooled around it, flowing out of an asari with a gunshot hole in her head courtesy of the geth behind her. Said geth turned around and saw its prophet walking through the doorway further up the the Tower. Soon. Soon their gods would present and their dream will be realized.
Back on Ilos with the Team
After gunning the mako through multiple parties of geth troopers and a Colossus, the team finally saw the Conduit.
"There! The Conduit! It's incredible!" Tali exclaimed upon seeing it.
"We don't have time to admire the view. We have to get through that relay... and these geth aren't going to make it easy on us." Ashley said seeing the colossi down next to the Conduit.
"Not only but... It's closing!" Shepard said seeing the Conduit's rings start to slow. He hit the gas and mako flew to the Conduit. Thankfully everyone was strapped in so all they felt was the force push them back in their seats. The mako bounced and shook as it hit the ground in front of the Conduit. The geth colossi fired on it even as Shepard never took his foot of the accelerator. He glanced at the mako's HUD to see the shields had been depleted and now the mako was taking direct damage.
"Hang on things are gonna a little rough!" Garrus yelled as a piece of the mako broke off.
"We're not gonna make it!" Tali yelled as a tire blew out. The Conduit's rings slowed more and more and the core grew darker and darker.
"We'll make it!" Shepard yelled as they got within 20 meters of the Conduit. Another tire blew up.
"WE'LL MAKE IT!" He roared as they got right to it. The Conduit covered the mako with element zero energy before it shot her straight up, before finally powering off.
Oh my God! My head! Take it from me, you potential writers. Don't try to write over 5K words in a day It'll make your head hurt.
Now please tell me your thoughts on this! We only got 2 maybe 3 more chapters till this story is over.
Favorite, Follow and Review. Till next time!