With the Normandy's course set for the Citadel, all that was left to do aboard was wait. Following the events on Mahavid, Shepard had made an effort to speak with as few people as possible concerning the details of Leviathan, not wanting to worry her crew more than absolutely necessary. However, despite her best efforts to keep quiet, small details about the Reaper killer still seemed to have seeped through the cracks of conversation with other members of her team, as more than once she found herself approached by a crew member asking her in a quiet voice how they would know if they were being influenced. She had quickly quelled their concerns by assuring them that it would be obvious, but even as they turned away, satisfied, Shepard could not help but worry that it might not be as black and white as she was making it out to be. If the TGI Mineral Works employees could go ten years without realizing they were indoctrinated, she had no idea how long it would take the crew of the Normandy to realize something was wrong before it was too late and they found themselves trapped in a similar situation.

Taking a much-needed break from rearranging her model ship display, Shepard made her way down towards the main crew deck, leaning tiredly against the side of the elevator as she watched the sleek white walls of the shaft slide slowly past the slatted panels of the lift. Letting out a soft sigh, she chewed distractedly at her lower lip, trying to keep her mind off thoughts of Leviathan as the elevator coasted to a stop, the green light beside the door blinking on again as the doors slid open for her to exit. Gardener raised a hand in greeting as she passed through the mess hall towards the gun battery, which she gladly returned before making her way down the long crew deck hallway towards the weaponry hub of the ship. The doors of the gun battery slid open easily to allow her entrance as she approached, and she casually made her way inside, tucking her hands into the pockets of her hoodie as she came to stand beside Garrus at the main console.

Garrus looked down at her, seeming at first surprised, but then satisfied by her presence, before turning his attention back to his work, not allowing himself to get too distracted from the task at hand. "Strange stuff, back on that asteroid," he commented, offhandedly. "We've seen indoctrination before, but… ten years?"

"Yeah," Shepard agreed, letting out a low, disbelieving breath. "Seems crazy."

"Leviathan had its own private army," Garrus said, seeming genuinely stunned by the whole affair. "You've got to wonder how much longer that would have lasted if we hadn't come along." He paused a moment, thoughtful, before finally letting out a soft snort and frowning a bit, discouraged. "Just when I thought we were getting a handle on Reapers, this happens," he added, shaking his head. "Maybe Leviathan's more than a bullseye. Maybe it's… something else."

"Like what?" Shepard asked, interested, turning to look up at him.

Garrus shrugged, out of ideas, before turning to look down at her again. "I don't know," he told her, honestly. "None of us does. And that's the scary part." He hesitated again, staring at her for another moment, watching her, as if expecting some sort of snappy response, some off-the-cuff, hard-nosed retort from the witty space commander. When nothing came, he frowned faintly, seeming almost discouraged, before turning his attention back to his work, but his attempt to distract himself was in vain, as he quickly turned to look back at her again before asking, tentatively, "Are you… feeling okay?"

At this, Shepard looked up again, surprised by the question. "Why wouldn't I be?" she asked, frankly, hoping to avoid answering the loaded question by simply working around it.

Garrus considered her answer, thoughtful, before finally shrugging again, seeming almost embarrassed to have asked. "I don't know," he admitted, trying not to sound as guilty as he looked. "I just… was worried, was all. Back on Mahavid, when you… got that… cramp, or whatever it was…"

"That's all it was, Garrus," Shepard assured him, putting a comforting hand on his arm. "It was just a cramp. Don't look too far into it. I'm fine, I promise."

"Okay," Garrus conceded, turning his attention back to his console again. "It's just I… I worry about you, you know? I can't help it. It's what boyfriends do."

"Okay, boyfriend," Shepard teased, pulling gently down on the rim of his carapace armour to get him to bend low enough for her to kiss him on the cheek. "Well, I appreciate the gesture, regardless. Even if it was just a cramp."

Garrus laughed, softly, a bit embarrassed by his own anxious fussing, before nodding agreeably and returning his attention to his calibration screen. "Okay," he told her. "I believe you." Having said this, he paused another moment, thoughtful, before turning to look over at her again, worriedly. "You would tell me if it were something more serious, right?" he asked, sounding uncertain again. "I know you're a big, tough hero and all… Commander Shepard, saviour of the galaxy, so you might not think your problems are worth worrying the rest of us about, but…" His mandibles shuddered, warily, before giving a telling, downward twitch. "I would never forgive myself if you got hurt because you thought I'd be better off not worrying about something," he told her, honestly, letting out a hefty sigh. "I can't stop you from doing whatever it is you decide is best for you, but…"

"Garrus," Shepard told him, cutting him off with a laugh as she reached up to take his worrying face in her hands, adoringly. "It was just a cramp. Okay? I'm fine." Smiling up at him, she ran the pads of her thumbs affectionately across the tough texture of his cheeks, causing him to give a soft purr as he reached up, taking one of her hands in his and pressing it against his face.

"Okay," Garrus agreed, softly, nuzzling his cheek into the palm of her hand. "If you say so."

"I do," Shepard told him, reassuringly.

The taxi ride back to Bryson's lab seemed to take much less time than it had the first time Shepard had gone there, if only because of EDI's presence to distract her from the fact that they were using the autopilot. The minute the shuttle touched down again, Shepard was out and on her feet, making her way directly to the room where the artefact still sat and coming to stand in front of the enclosure, staring hard at the glass-encased relic, her hands folded thoughtfully behind her. She turned her head at the sound of EDI's footsteps following her into the building, coming to stand dutifully behind her at the encasement, before returning her attention to the artefact and pointing to it, indicatively. "We need to shield the artefact they've got here right away," she instructed, matter-of-factly.

Moving in closer to the artefact, EDI peered in at the relic, processing, before pulling up her omni-tool function and nodding her head in agreement. "Using Garneau's data, I should be able to accomplish this without difficulty," she informed Shepard, openly. Typing a command into her omni-tool, she turned her head towards a nearby, single-button console jutting out of the laboratory floor nearby, and, as she looked at it, the button on its face lit up from black to red to green. As soon as it turned green, EDI glanced back towards Shepard, expectantly, and Shepard, seeing this, took a step forward, pushing the button and causing a blue-light honeycomb-pattern forcefield to flicker into life around the artefact, further shielding it from outside stimuli.

"Damn thing's been here the whole time," Shepard breathed, taking a few wary steps back away from the relic before turning her attention to EDI again. "Why weren't we affected?"

"Perhaps the amount of time spent near the artefact is key," EDI suggested, looking up at the forcefield, interestedly. "After a certain duration, it affords Leviathan an impressive mind control capability."

Shepard frowned, crossing her arms across her chest as she turned her attention back to the artefact as well, watching it keenly, as if expecting it to do something other than just sit there and shimmer. "I'd call it dangerous as hell," she commented, darkly. "Bryson's assistant tried to kill me."

"Perhaps Leviathan was controlling him to protect itself," EDI proposed, thoughtfully. "Diverting people away from its trail."

"Maybe," Shepard returned, still staring distractedly at the now field-enclosed artefact. "It just shows we don't know what we're dealing with yet."

"Despite the risk, this artefact remains our only link to finding Leviathan," EDI put in, turning her attention to Shepard now, her newfound enthusiasm causing Shepard to return the attention. "Perhaps we could find more information about it here in the lab."

Shepard paused, thoughtful, before giving an assenting nod in return. "Agreed," she said. "Bryson's team may have turned up something we missed. I'll look around."

"I will be here," EDI replied, turning her attention to the artefact once more.

The thorough search of the lab had turned up very little on the nature of the artefact, or the identity of the Leviathan. While Shepard had managed to find plentiful data on what the artefact was not – it did not emit energy waves, it was not Reapertech, and the project associated with it brought up no relevant current events – data on what the artefact actually was seemed to be scarce. The only promising lead she and EDI had managed to recover was a vid message from Bryson's daughter, Anne, informing him that she had found another artefact similar to Garneau's while working at a dig site in the Pylos Nebula. Her message went on to inform Bryson that she had been unable to contact Garneau, but that she feared the artefact had the ability to effect behaviour, and that he should shield the one in his office to avoid incident. The message ended abruptly with Anne announcing the arrival of Reaper forces and giving a quick location update, saying she was going to try to recover what data she could from being destroyed by attacking forces.

Leaving the shield up to protect the artefact while they were gone, Shepard and EDI had returned to the Normandy to set a course for the Pylos Nebula. Once there, it had taken only a minimal amount of scanning, along with the help of the coordinates they had taken from Anne's final message, for EDI to locate Anne Bryson's dig site on the surface of the planet Namakli. The drop-in was precarious, with Reaper forces attacking the Kodiak from every angle the instant it broke the atmosphere, causing Shepard and her team to have to jump for their landing. Shepard winced at the hard impact, gritting her teeth as she resisted the urge to clasp her hands over her abdomen in pain, but pushed herself determinedly back to her feet, shooting Liara a silencing look as she gripped her gun resolutely between her armoured hands, making her way to the head of the team and pushing herself towards the finish.

The ground rumbled threateningly under their feet as they made their perilous way to the dig site, Anne Bryson's voice crackling desperately over the radio the closer they got, informing them that one of her team was injured, and several more were dead. With Bryson's help, Shepard was able to finally find the elevator leading up to the tiny, one-room shelter where Bryson and her teammate were hiding, only to find that the last, injured member of the archaeological crew had also died trying to be a hero, leaving Bryson as the last survivor. Indicating for Bryson to come with them, Shepard took her outside the shelter, crouching low behind a rock formation to hide themselves from Reaper view until their rescue could arrive. Bryson visibly shook as she clambered over next to the Commander, curling up beside her against the boulder in a terrified bundle of nerves, her murky-grey eyes wide as she looked out over the war-torn carnage that had once been a well-esteemed archaeological forum.

"I was at another dig site when they attacked," Bryson said, her voice breaking, causing Shepard to look her way. "I got back as quick as I could, but… what's happening?"

"Shepard, look," Garrus suddenly put in, cutting her off before she had a chance to explain and pointing to something on the rock wall behind him. The image was of an enormous, Reaper-like entity, painted in primitive red and black, spreading what appeared to be its clawed legs out over a rapturous audience of humanoid-looking beings painted across the bottom of the rock face. Shepard and Bryson both stared, lost for words, before Shepard frowned, shaking her head and turning her attention back to Bryson.

"I'm not sure," she admitted, answering Bryson's question, causing the archaeologist to turn her attention towards her again. "But it might have something to do with those paintings. Is that Leviathan?"

Bryson faltered, taken aback. "Y… yes," she finally stammered. "Yes, we think so. It's… old. Much older than my father thought." Turning her attention back to the image on the rock wall, she pointed to another part of the painting, where a group of the crudely-drawn people were all turned in one particular direction, carrying spears, while another sat off to the side, tending to someone who seemed to be sick or otherwise incapacitated. "And there," she added, fervently. "As if the natives were under its power! Clearly a Reaper, but acting alone. Not like any Reaper we've seen before."

"Doctor, I understand you found something recently," Shepard told her, causing Bryson to turn away from the painting again.

"The artefact," Bryson offered, freely, sounding more and more excited, almost manically so, the longer she talked about her findings. "Yes, of course. Incredible. In fact, it's just ahead…" Here, she stopped, turning her head suddenly in the direction she had been talking about, as if realizing for the first time how dangerous a proposition this was. Taking her indicative lead, Garrus got to his feet, moving in a stealthy crouch towards the edge of the rock outcropping to peer around the corner of the foundation. Shepard was quick to follow, taking Bryson with her, with Liara pulling up the rear, making sure they were not being followed. "It may sound strange, but I'm certain it affects people," Bryson added, speaking in a much lower voice now as she sought to keep up with Shepard's broad steps. "Their behaviour. I've only had a short time to study it—"

"Not strange at all," Shepard assured her, keeping her eyes trained on the line of her weapon. "Did you find anything?"

"Not much," Bryson admitted, nervously. "But I did learn something about the energy it generates."

"Get down!" Shepard suddenly hissed, reaching out a hand to press Bryson back against the rock wall, hiding her from view. Ducking down against the wall as well, Shepard gave a heavy huff of breath, gripping her weapon tightly to her chest as she turned her head, peering around the side of the rock formation towards the open arena below. The momentary lapse gave her a much-needed moment to catch her breath, though the sight that greeted her from the dig site ahead was much less agreeable tradeoff. Three Marauders were huddled around Bryson's artefact, two of them inspecting it enthusiastically up close while a third stood to one side, eagerly absorbing some sort of electrical-looking power from its energy field. Shepard made a face, confused and disgusted, before ducking her head back around and turning her attention to Bryson again. "What are they doing?" she asked, her voice barely above a censorious whisper.

Bryson's eyes widened, intrigued, and she looked around the corner as well, giving a soft, audible gasp of breath when she saw what the Marauders were doing. "They've activated it somehow," she whispered back, returning to her place against the wall. "I've never managed anything…" Suddenly, her voice trailed off, the look of wonder fading from her face as her expression went slack, all the light leaving her eyes as she took a rigid step forward, and then another, heading towards the edge of the outcropping, as if not in complete control of her own body.

"Doctor!" Shepard hissed, taking a quick step forward and grabbing Bryson by the arm. Bryson did not even seem to notice, instead taking another determined step forward, dragging Shepard along with her as she stared unwaveringly out across the open dig site towards where the Marauders still stood, desecrating the artefact.

"They've learned too well," Bryson spoke up then, firmly, her voice harsh, nothing like the sweet, anxious tone she had been using before. As she spoke, a second voice began to overlap it, deeper, sinister, sounding eerily like the voice Shepard had heard Garneau use in the mining camp just before he had detonated the bomb that took his own life, and destroyed the artefact along with it. "The darkness must not be breached."

"Shepard!" Liara exclaimed, worriedly, rushing forward to help Shepard hold Bryson back.

Shepard grunted, digging her heels into the rock outcropping as she tried to pull Bryson back towards safety, but Bryson merely took another step forward, pulling both Shepard and Liara with her. "Take it out!" Shepard shouted towards Garrus, and instantly he grabbed his rifle from his maglock, aiming at the artefact, firing again and again until finally, the artefact shattered, bursting outward in an explosion of energy and knocking all the Marauders standing around it off their feet. As soon as the relic was destroyed, Bryson immediately dropped to her hands and knees, causing Shepard and Liara to tumble to the ground as well, no longer being pulled. Quickly, Shepard crawled over to where Bryson knelt, looking dazed and as if she were about to throw up on the spot. "Are you okay?" she asked, worriedly, placing a reassuring hand on Bryson's back. Bryson looked up, her gaze distant, startled, almost dizzy as she shook her head, staring around at her surroundings, unsure how she got on the ground. Pressing her fingers into her in-ear comm, Shepard reported, breathless, "Cortez, we have Anne Bryson. Need a pickup."

"On my way, Commander," Cortez returned automatically.

"Copy that," Shepard conceded. Then, allowing Liara to help her to her feet, she helped Bryson to her feet in turn, taking the younger woman by the arms and forcing the archaeologist to look at her. "You see the shuttle, you run," she told her, firmly. "Don't look back."

"Okay, yes," Bryson agreed, breathless, nodding enthusiastically.

Shepard looked up, seeing the shadow of the Kodiak skimming across the face of the rock formation, and turned, relieved, in time to see it come to a shuddering, braking halt just over the edge of the cliff. "Go!" Shepard pressed, giving Bryson a push in the direction of the shuttle. "Go! I'm right behind you!" Changing out her heat sink for a fresh one from her belt, Shepard clicked the sink in place, turning to cover their retreat as they made a beeline for the Kodiak. The shuttle hovered a foot or two above ground level, just far enough off the edge of the dropoff that its engines would not kick off against the rock outcropping when it retook to the air. Reaching the edge of the rocky ledge, Bryson took a running start, launching herself into the shuttle, followed quickly by Liara, and then Garrus. Shepard was the last to reach it, feeling a sense of panic at the sight of what would normally have been an easy jump for her, but now she was unsure if she could make it.

"Garrus!" she called, causing him to turn quickly at the sound of his name. Holstering her gun in the maglock at her back, Shepard held out her arms for him to take, and Garrus immediately complied, grabbing hold of her elbows and heaving her up and into the shuttle. He clutched her protectively around the waist as she pulled herself the rest of the way up, before watching the door of the shuttle shut securely behind them.

"Another cramp?" Garrus asked, worriedly, his voice low.

Untangling herself from his grasp, Shepard ignored his comment, instead turning her attention towards Bryson, who had settled herself into a seat on one of the shuttle's benches and now sat rigidly, her hands curled into worried, confused fists on each of her thin knees. "You all right?" Shepard asked, causing Bryson to look up immediately, her murky-grey eyes wide, surprised at having been addressed.

"Yeah, Commander," Bryson returned, haltingly. "I… I think so. I… blacked out."

Shepard nodded, understanding, tightening her grip on the overhead handlebar as the Kodiak gave a violent shudder, rocked by the shift in atmosphere. "Leviathan took control of you," she explained, gently. "We cut the connection before you got hurt."

"Leviathan, itself?" Bryson asked, amazed, her eyes widening eagerly at the thought. "That's… incredible."

"The Reapers seem as interested in it as we are," Shepard added, candidly, glancing over her shoulder towards the door of the Kodiak before returning her attention to Bryson and frowning faintly.

"Yeah," Bryson agreed, seeming suddenly less enthused as she leaned forward tiredly on her elbows again. "It certainly seems that way."

"We were hoping you could help us figure out why," Shepard informed her, frankly. "But… first, Doctor…" She paused, unsure how to tell Bryson about what had occurred at her father's lab. She had always been told that honesty was the best policy, but she still found that it was never easy delivering bad news, no matter how honest she was. "I have some… bad news," she said.

"Anne, please," Bryson corrected, eagerly, holding up a rectifying hand. "Suppose Leviathan has broken away from the other Reapers? Never went back to dark space? Like a rogue. Or even a defector!" Her eyes lit up with enthusiasm at the thought of uncovering the Leviathan's secrets, seeming to not even notice or completely ignore the grave looks Shepard and her team were giving each other as she spoke. "I have to call my father," she said, excitedly, looking around at all of them before reaching up a hand to activate her in-ear comm. "He'll want to know."

"Anne," Shepard sighed, kneeling down in front of her, resting one hand reassuringly on her knee while gently moving her hand away from her ear with the other. "You need to listen to me, okay? Your father…" Biting her lip, she stared into Bryson's face, seeing the joy, the enthusiasm of discovery, and knowing how quickly it would all go away once she told her the grave news. "…He's dead," she said, quietly, shaking her head as she rested her hands comfortingly on Bryson's knees. "I'm sorry."

Bryson hesitated, unsure she had heard Shepard correctly, before a frown began to creep across her features, slowly at first, but then entirely, her expression changing quickly from gleeful enthusiasm to utter, heartbroken shock. "He's… what?" she whispered, her breath catching in her throat as she forced the words out, needing to hear herself say them to even begin to believe. "Dead? He can't be dead…"

"We met with him, hoping to find out what he knew," Shepard told her, speaking slowly, still trying to figure out the best way to explain what had occurred. "Something… happened."

"Something… happened?" Bryson clarified, her frown deepening as she narrowed her eyes at Shepard, desperate for information.

"You're not the first to lose control," Shepard explained, giving a soft sigh as she slowly returned to her feet. "Your father's assistant… one minute, he was fine. The next…" Faltering, she looked at the ground, turning away from Bryson, coaxing herself to continue on with the story. No matter how hard it was for her to tell, she was certain it was even harder for Bryson to hear, but she deserved to know what happened, regardless. "He drew a gun on your father," Shepard continued, haltingly, forcing herself to speak. "I… couldn't stop him."

"I can't believe this," Bryson breathed, seeming lost, almost in a daze.

"We have to find out what's behind it all," Shepard told her, turning to look at her again, determinedly. "You're the only one who can help us." She paused, staring expectantly at Bryson, waiting for an answer, but when none came, she bent down again, looking up into Bryson's face. "…Anne?" she asked, gently, pulling her back to reality.

"I… I wanna see his office," Bryson stammered out, turning her attention to Shepard again, her eyes still glassy with shock as she spoke.

Shepard hesitated, considering her, before nodding and reaching out a hand to cover Bryson's hand, reassuringly. "We'll arrange for transportation and meet you there," she told her, gently.

"Hey Commander, need a hand?"

Shepard turned, surprised at having been distracted from her work, but gave a small, relieved smile when she saw that it was only Vega, standing in the doorway of Bryson's laboratory, peering in at her with a helpful, expectant smile. Letting himself into the laboratory, Vega looked around in wonder at the numerous oddities covering the lab from floor to ceiling as he made his way over to Shepard, tucking his hands into the back pockets of his military-issue pants and letting out a long, low whistle. "Some place Bryson has here," he murmured, coming to a stop beside the microresearch table and leaning distractedly against it. Suddenly he gave a yelp of surprise, taking a swift leap backwards as the reanimated husk head sitting in the middle of the table gave a territorial snarl, snapping violently at his hand before returning to its regular, inert state. "What the hell is that?" Vega asked, pointing at the disembodied head as he rubbed his other hand distractedly across his stomach, trying to calm his frazzled nerves.

"Please don't touch that," Bryson answered, quickly, turning to look at him now as well. "My father worked very hard to keep that head alive for his research. Antagonizing it only makes it harder to manage in the long run."

"That thing is alive?" Vega asked, startled, hurriedly retrieving the hand he had been using to point at it.

Shepard gave a soft chuckle, amused by the lighthearted back and forth. "What brings you down here, James?" she asked him, cordial despite the interruption. It was impossible for her to stay mad at Vega when she knew he only meant well in everything he did.

"Heard you're closing in on the Reaper killer," Vega answered, candidly, moving further down the table away from the husk head before leaning casually against the tabletop again. "Anything that can scare those bastards has to be worth a look."

"That's what I'm hoping," Shepard told him, giving a soft, anxious sigh, before turning her attention back to the artefact behind the forcefield, frowning and crossing her arms across her chest as she studied it, intently. "We didn't detect any energy emissions from the artefact," she admitted, turning to look at Bryson now, hoping for some explanation.

"But the Reapers were able to use the artefact to trace Leviathan somehow," EDI returned, observantly.

"My theory is that, most of the time, the artefact simply acts as a receiver," Bryson explained, her voice reedy as she stared intently at the artefact, a soft, frustrated frown creasing her plain features. "We'll only be able to trace Leviathan through it when it actively takes control of someone."

"As it did on the asteroid," EDI put in, helpfully.

"Right," Bryson agreed. "Unless it needs something, Leviathan doesn't bother communicating. I guess it and my father had something in common."

Shepard's frown deepened at this unexpected addendum, and she turned to look at Bryson, curious, but the archaeologist did not seem to want to look back, instead simply staring ahead at the artefact, studying it fervently. "Anne," Shepard told her, quietly, trying her hardest to be delicate. "I know this is hard, but if there's anything more you can tell us…"

"I don't think there's anything more I can tell you," Bryson informed her, frankly. "But maybe… I can show you."

At this, Shepard paused, taken aback by the odd suggestion. "What are you saying?" she asked, uncertainly.

Turning away from the artefact, Bryson faced Shepard, a look of determination on her face as she indicated towards the relic again. "The artefact only sends out a signal when Leviathan is controlling someone," she explained, fervently. "So let it control me. You could trace the signal."

"You mean let it take you over?" Shepard asked, disconcerted. "That's too dangerous."

"It's my call, not yours," Bryson insisted, taking an angry step forward. "You said I'm your last chance to find this thing—"

"We have no idea what will happen," Shepard spoke over her, cutting her off.

"If we wait, the Reapers will get to Leviathan first!" Bryson stressed, pointing again towards the artefact. "I'm the only one here who's spent enough time with it to do this. You're looking for something to fight the Reapers, Commander – I'm looking for the monster that murdered my father."

"We still don't know what we're looking for," Shepard countered, rationally.

"Then let's find out," Bryson pressed, determined. Pulling the chair used to interrogate Hadley over in front of the artefact, she sat herself down in it, folding her hands resolutely in her lap and staring at Shepard, determinedly. Shepard stared back, frustrated, pursing her lips as she shoved her hands into the pockets of her hoodie, out of ideas to deter her. The young archaeologist seemed resolute to find the Leviathan by any means necessary, but Shepard had seen enough reckless endeavours like these go terribly wrong to trust that this might be any different. Vega, until then content to watch from a distance, now moved up to stand beside the Commander, crossing his beefy arms across his chest as he stared at the artefact behind the shield, his amicable brow furrowing with worry.

"Commander," he spoke up, causing Shepard to look his way. "This thing we're doing with Anne… sounds dangerous as hell."

"Noted," Shepard returned with a sigh, before turning to look to her other side, where EDI stood at the main console, typing something into the controls. "EDI?"

"Energy signature locked in," EDI confirmed. "Waiting for activation."

Shepard nodded, turning her attention back to Bryson, who was staring at the floor now, her hands curled into anxious fists on her knees as Vega came to stand behind her, placing a large, reassuring hand on her frail shoulder. "You sure about this?" Shepard asked her, uncertainly, hoping to give her one last chance to bow out with dignity.

Bryson took a deep breath, inhaling sharply through her nose, before offering Shepard a curt, determined nod. "Yes," she answered, doggedly. "I'm sure."

"I'm gonna be right here," Vega assured her, giving her shoulder a quick, supportive squeeze.

"Okay," Bryson returned, appreciatively, her voice shaking with nerves as she turned her murky-grey gaze up towards Shepard, her expression set and determined. "I'm ready."

"James," Shepard said, her voice dark, causing Vega to look up, attentive. "…Drop the containment shield."

Just as Bryson had predicted, the Leviathan had channelled itself through the artefact, and by extent, through her, almost as soon as the containment field had dropped. The warning it had issued through Bryson this time had been simple, the same warning it had issued every time before, telling Shepard and her associates that the darkness could not be breached, must not be breached, or else dire consequences would befall them. Figuring that a full minute of this was more than enough for their purposes, Shepard had cut the experiment short, but, despite the small window of opportunity, EDI had still managed to track the signal coming through the artefact. Once they were certain Bryson would make a full recovery from her brush with indoctrination, they set a course for the Psi Tophet system, where the Leviathan signal seemed to be the strongest. Though EDI had not managed to narrow the Leviathan's location down to an exact point from the artefact's signal, Shepard figured it would take them enough time to reach the broader system that she could easily figure it out along the way.

The doors of the gun battery slid open easily as Shepard approached, but this time, rather than heading immediately to stand beside Garrus at his console, she paused, watching him work from the doorway. He seemed to be too engrossed in his calibrations to even notice her arrival, and so, quietly moving into the room, she let the doors slide shut behind her, careful not to let him hear her approach as she made her way up behind him. Biting her lip mischievously, she reached up a hand towards the side of his head where his eyepiece was perched, intent on seeing how close she could get before he noticed and objected. Her hand had almost reached the visor, her finger mere inches from impact, when he suddenly gave a soft little cough, clearing his throat knowingly. "You know I know you're there," he told her, causing her to quickly retrieve her hand with a tiny, embarrassed grin.

"Didn't think you'd be able to see me," Shepard admitted, tucking her seditious hand back into the pocket of her hoodie, trying hard to hide her cheeky disappointment. "I thought that thing only helped you see straight ahead, for aiming purposes. Figured it probably blocked out peripheral vision to help you focus better on the target."

"Not necessarily," Garrus answered, turning to look down at her now with a fond half-smirk. "And, either way, I've still got ears. You're not exactly quiet when you come around, you know, and I can hear the doors opening and closing just fine. I don't need peripheral vision for that."

Shepard faltered at this revelation, glancing back towards the traitorous doors, before turning her attention towards Garrus again and letting out a soft, disappointed laugh. "I always forget those things are there," she admitted. "Guess I've got worse spatial perception than you do."

"Debatable," Garrus returned, good-naturedly. "Though I've got help, so I have the advantage." Reaching up with one clawed hand, he tapped his targeting visor, before returning his hand return to his work console and continuing to type away. The two stood in silence for a long moment, Garrus concentrating on his work and Shepard watching him do it, before he suddenly cleared his throat again, softly, turning to look down at her once more. "Shepard," he told her, sounding almost hesitant to speak. "I… admit, I was worried about you on that dig site. Things got… pretty hectic. Not used to feeling like that… y'know."

"Aw," Shepard cooed, looking up at him, teasingly. "Careful, Vakarian, or I might start thinking you care about me."

"Well, I wouldn't want you thinking that," Garrus answered, playfully, giving another soft, deep chuckle. "But… well, I don't know. I guess it's to be expected." He paused again, thinking about it, before finally giving a shrug of his broad, armoured shoulders. "I guess… that's just what love does," he told her, truthfully. "Turns a guy like me into a nervous wreck with something to lose, and the aim to make sure he doesn't."

"Love?" Shepard asked, taken aback, trying to hide her nervousness at the use of the heavy word. "Who said anything about love?"

"Okay, then, smarty pants," Garrus teased, laughing lightly as he turned his attention to his work again. "Miss too tough for love. That doesn't change the way I feel. Nobody better hurt you… is all I'm saying." Lapsing into silence again, he stared ahead at his console screen, typing in commands as he came to them, watching the tiny white text scroll. Suddenly, he paused again, allowing the text to scroll, unchecked, before looking down at Shepard again, seeming to have something weighing on his mind. "Shepard," he said, speaking slowly now, causing her to look up at him, concerned. "I… wanted to ask you something. About that… baby. Our… baby."

Shepard blanched, feeling the sick sensation of her stomach rising into her throat, threatening to choke her on her own frayed nerves. "What baby?" she asked, forcibly casual, trying hard not to sound as startled as she felt. If Garrus knew about the baby, that meant someone other than her had told him about it. Her first, immediate thought was Javik, but she stayed determinedly quiet, hoping against hope he was talking about something else, anything else, other than the life she carried inside her.

"You know," Garrus reminded her, shrugging one plated shoulder, offhandedly. "The one you said you wanted. Back in the apartment, on the Citadel."

"Oh," Shepard returned, awkward, thinking quickly on her feet. "I… wasn't exactly being serious, Garrus. I didn't really expect you to remember that conversation at all… to be honest."

"I remember a lot more than you give me credit for," Garrus informed her, giving a soft, amused snort. He hesitated again, turning his attention downward, starting to fidget uncomfortably with his hands as he tried to figure out how to say what he was thinking. "Listen," he told her, haltingly. "I… know that we, the two of us, that we can't… have one of our own, but… if you wanted to have one, with, say… Vega, or… someone, as a surrogate of sorts…"

"Whoa, hey," Shepard stopped him, quickly holding up her hands and laughing nervously, if just a bit too loudly. "Wait a minute, whoa there. Who said anything about Vega?"

"Well," Garrus told her, giving a soft, frank cough of breath. "I hate to be crass, but… I know you, Shepard. When you say you're interested in sleeping with someone, you're generally… not joking."

"Be that as it may," Shepard conceded, trying hard not to let the hot, embarrassed blush that threatened to rise to her cheeks and ears show. "Aren't we getting a little ahead of ourselves? We should probably focus on not dying first before we start thinking of asking crewmates to donate samples to the Shepard-Vakarian baby bank."

"I guess you're right," Garrus conceded, nodding in agreement. "I just, you know… wanted you to know that I would be okay with it. And, I understand."

"You're okay with me sleeping with another guy to get pregnant?" Shepard asked, playfully, pressing her hands against his shoulder before standing on her toes to rest her chin against them.

"Well, yeah, I mean," Garrus stammered, flustered. "I assume you'd return to me at the end of the day. And the baby, it… it would be ours, not… y'know…"

"Garrus," Shepard laughed, gently, cutting his discomposure short as she took his clawed hand in both of hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Calm down. I'm just teasing you."

"Right, right," Garrus agreed, relieved, giving a soft, almost inaudible exhale. "It's just, I'm… I just… I don't know. I'm no good at these things, I guess."

"Well, I tell you what," Shepard told him, pressing his hand against her face and offering him a fond, comforting smirk. "If I ever decide I want to have Vega's baby, I'll make sure you're the first to know."

"Much appreciated," Garrus returned, chuckling fondly.

Dropping his hand away from her face, Shepard reached up to take hold of his cowl, pulling him down towards her for a kiss, but before she even had a chance to press her lips to his mouth, EDI's cool voice came on over the intercom, cutting the moment short. "Shepard," she announced, causing both Shepard and Garrus to look up, surprised at the interruption. "I have found something matching our trace of Leviathan on the planet 2181 Despoina. I have triangulated a lock on very near the exact coordinates of the signal's source."

"Fire a probe to the coordinates," Shepard instructed, letting go of Garrus' cowl and letting him return, slowly and disappointedly, to his full, straightened height. Turning her attention back to him, she let out a hefty, thwarted sigh, giving him one last, quick once-over, before propping her hands resolutely on her hips. "Time to suit up and head down," she told him.

"Time to meet Leviathan," he agreed.

Heavy, torrential rain pounded relentlessly against the exterior of the Kodiak, obscuring the forward-facing window and forcing Cortez to rely almost entirely on the navigation screen built into the dashboard to help him steer as they made their way towards the surface of 2181 Despoina. The rain on the outside of the shuttle sounded to Shepard like an endless barrage of gunfire, setting her teeth on edge and causing her hand to curl and uncurl anxiously at her side as she watched the navigation screen over Cortez' shoulder. She did not want to disturb him, especially while they were flying under such poor conditions, but she did very much want to know how close they were to their destination, and how much longer she would have to deal with the sound of the rain on the exterior of the shuttle before it finally drove her insane.

Most people found the sound of thunderstorms soothing, but for Shepard, they always made her nervous. She guessed it had something to do with being born and raised in space, where the sound of an oncoming, thunderous noise meant something far more ominous than simply a refreshing downpour to water the plants and make the roads slick for travel. She knew it was ridiculous to still hold onto that paranoia, even now that she was older and knew better what she was facing, but she could not help the feeling of dread that clawed at the pit of her stomach every time she heard a thunderclap approaching. "Cortez, what's the status on the probe we launched?" Shepard asked, hoping to break the uncomfortable, rainy silence that had settled over the Kodiak. The shuttle gave a rocking shudder as it hit a particularly strong gust of wind, rattling the crew around and causing Shepard to cling more urgently to the overhead handlebars.

"Tracking it now, Commander," Cortez informed her, deferentially. "I've confirmed that Leviathan's signal originates from this planet." Pausing, he turned, glancing back towards Shepard, before returning his attention to his controls. "I heard how, uh, Anne helped us locate it," he commented, haltingly. "It's pretty… spooky stuff."

"Makes you wonder what we're going to find down there," Garrus put in, worriedly, turning to glance towards Shepard before returning his attention to Liara.

"Bryson's team called it a Reaper killer," Liara added, pensively. "From what we've seen, it doesn't want to be found."

"It doesn't have a choice, we're here," Shepard told her, frowning and turning to face her crew again.

"Right, but then what?" Garrus asked, moving towards her across the Kodiak and taking hold of the overhead handlebar next to hers, rooting himself in place as the shuttle gave another rattle, causing Liara to grip hold of the edge of her bench, alarmed. "It plays pretty rough, and if it is a Reaper, I don't know that that's the kind of help we want."

"Nobody says we have to be friends with it," Shepard told him, reasonably. "But if this thing has the rest of the Reapers worried, then we need its help."

"Commander, new readings from the probe," Cortez called from the front of the Kodiak, causing Shepard to turn back towards him again, attentive. "It's narrowed down Leviathan's location. You're not gonna like it."

"Let's hear it," Shepard prompted, leaning keenly against the back of his chair.

"There's nothing but ocean," Cortez told her, showing her the readings on his navigation screen. "I show a concentration of structures floating on the surface, but the probe's giving us a signal below that. Way below."

"Underwater?" Shepard asked, frowning, taken aback.

"Looks that way," Cortez conceded. "The shuttle should still be able to reach it."

"That's possible?" Shepard asked, perking up in interest as Cortez began to type commands into his navigation console before pulling up a secondary screen and starting to type into that as well.

"Kodiak is spec'd to nearly a thousand atmospheres," Cortez told her, proudly. He paused then, considering a moment, before adding, a bit less confidently, "…though I've never actually tested that."

Suddenly, the Kodiak gave a violent lurch, pushed backwards through the air by an unseen pulse of energy, sending Shepard flying off her feet and back into the carriage of the shuttle. She barely managed to grab hold of one of the overhead handlebars before the Kodiak began to rattle violently, and then to stop completely, coasting to an abrupt halt in midair as its systems simultaneously blacked out, beginning a rapid, nosedive descent towards the watery surface of the planet. "Status!" Shepard insisted, climbing her way back towards the front of the shuttle and holding tightly onto the back of Cortez' chair, rooting herself in place.

"Some kind of pulse hit us!" Cortez reported, shouting over the earsplitting sound of the shuttle in rapid descent. "Systems are shutting down! Brace for impact!" Shepard gripped the back of his chair harder, gritting her teeth as Cortez pushed every button he knew to try to restart the system. Then, after a terrified, breathlessly taut moment, the Kodiak's system screens suddenly started flashing again, its emergency mode finally activating as the thrusters sputtered back online. The shuttle's panicked display screens flashed bright red warnings as the alarms beeped wildly, the shuttle itself coughing with effort as it struggled to stay functional against whatever had knocked out its systems. The Kodiak swooped clumsily out of nosedive, continuing on in an unwieldy, jerking descent towards the first available solid ground as the systems began to quickly burn themselves out in an attempt to re-establish connection with the mainframe.

The Kodiak shrieked against the wind as it peeled out of the sky, throwing Shepard and her crew to the floor as it made solid impact against the surface of one of the barges littered across the planet, crashing into the floating platform with an ear-rending thud. The shuttle skidded, metal screeching angrily against metal as it spun out across the slick surface of the barge, finally coming to a heavy, jarring stop against the far end of the structure, rocking once onto its edge before slamming back to the ground again, finally coming to a halt, blessedly right-side-up. Shepard looked up to see Liara crouched over her, looking down at her, worriedly, but she quickly brushed her aside, moving to the door of the shuttle and kicking it until it began to creak open. Prompting her teammates over to help her, Shepard pushed the Kodiak door upward, prying it halfway open before the mechanism jammed again, letting out a protesting spray of sparks to let her know it was not going to budge any more than it already had.

Giving a frustrated huff of breath, Shepard ducked under the doorway, sliding out of the shuttle and landing with a heavy thump against the wet metal surface of the barge. Pushing herself to her feet again, Shepard watched as Garrus and Liara followed suit, untangling themselves from the twisted metal of the Kodiak to join her on the open plain of the barge, looking out over the endless sea as the rain poured down, soaking them. "Everyone all right?" Shepard asked, squinting against the downpour as she gave her crew a quick, checking once-over. Glancing back towards the shuttle again, she made sure Cortez had managed to get out all right as well before turning her attention back to the barge, licking her wet, salty lips anxiously as she looked out over the hopeless landscape.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Garrus answered her question. He rubbed his aching head, letting out a soft, agitated sigh as he looked up at the rainy sky, nonplussed. "Not our best entrance, Shepard."

"How's the shuttle, Cortez?" Shepard asked, ignoring Garrus' comment to turn her attention back to the pilot.

"Checking now," Cortez returned, out of breath. "I'll see if I can get power restored."

"Copy that," Shepard answered, nodding affirmatively.

"Look at all this," Liara observed, stunned, moving over to the edge of the barge to look out over the open sea, where the barest edges of a countless number of wrecked spaceships could be seen jutting out of the choppy surface. "Whatever that pulse was, we're not the first to get hit."

"Could be Leviathan's last line of defence," Shepard suggested, moving up beside her to look out over the watery carnage as well. Just then, the sound of Cortez' defeated panting caused her to turn away again, looking back towards the pilot, hopeful, but Cortez only shook his head, wiping rainwater out of his eyes as he indicated hopelessly towards the Kodiak.

"No luck on the power," Cortez reported. "The whole shuttle's a mess, Commander. That pulse knocked it right out of the air. We're not going anywhere."

"Why not have the Normandy pick us up?" Liara suggested, turning to face Cortez as well.

"Same thing would happen to her," Cortez sighed, propping one hand defeatedly against his hip. "And the landing won't be as pretty. I'd say Leviathan has some sort of defence system in place."

"Then we aren't getting out of here until we find it," Shepard determined, resolutely. "So how do we do that?"

Cortez frowned, turning to look out over the barge, reaching up with one hand to rub thoughtfully at his chin with the pad of his thumb. "Well, you might be able to use a mech," he finally suggested, pointing towards a large containment structure marked Bay 06, where a bevy of heavy mechs could be seen through the bulletproof glass of the broad door, resting dutifully shoulder to shoulder, waiting to be used. "Those look like they should be rigged for diving."

"A… diving mech?" Shepard asked, sceptical, turning to look at him with a faint frown.

"It's a Triton model," Cortez explained, helpfully, holding out an indicative hand. "Military grade. Repurposed for deep-sea exploration. As long as the sea water hasn't corroded it, it should be good to go."

Shepard sighed heavily, crossing her arms as she turned her attention back to the mechs, still not entirely sure she trusted Cortez' assessment. It seemed a little too convenient that this abandoned barge just happened to have functional underwater mechs available, and though Cortez had never failed her in a pinch before, she had no idea how to tell an Atlas and a Triton mech apart, herself, and so had no way of knowing if he actually had any idea what he was talking about. Cortez seemed convinced enough about the mech's underwater functionality, but Shepard also knew that if the mechs ended up being regular models and she tried to drive one underwater, she would likely be dead in a matter of minutes, and everything they had learned about Leviathan up to that point would have been for nothing. "Well, if that's what we have to do, let's get started," she decided, nodding towards the mech enclosure and starting to make her way towards it.

"Hold on a second," Garrus stopped her, reaching forward to take hold of her arm. "Are we actually considering—"

"It's the only way," Shepard cut him off, a bit too sharply, turning to look his way again and pushing her soaking bangs out of her eyes. Garrus hesitated, taken aback, before finally letting go of her arm, allowing her to continue in the direction of the mechs. Shepard followed Cortez to a high step up, letting him help pull her up onto the ledge before they made their way over to the mech enclosure, pushing a button on the far side of the building and causing the heavy glass door to grind open.

"All right, Commander, I'll do a systems check and then you can head on down," Cortez told her, singling out one of the mechs and starting to examine its workings. Shepard nodded, standing by, using one hand to cover her eyes from the steady downpour of rain as she watched Cortez work on the mech, opening up its various compartments to poke around inside, ensuring it was safe enough for her to use at great depths. Hearing the sound of wet footsteps behind her, Shepard turned, glancing back, and saw Garrus and Liara approaching her, both looking worried and miserably wet. Between them, it was harder to tell who looked more concerned, though Garrus seemed to be considerably more effected by the rain. While the precipitation seemed to simply glide off Liara's finely-scaled skin, it pooled awkwardly in Garrus' armoured cowl, forming a shallow puddle around his neck as he cleared his throat to get Shepard's attention, trying hard to ignore his own pending discomfort.

"Listen, Shepard," he told her, fairly, speaking in a low voice so as not to frustrate her more than necessary. "I'm all for crazy ideas, but this one's off the charts."

"We've come too far to stop now," Shepard countered, shaking her head, causing the wet, stringy ends to stick uncomfortably to her face and neck. "The way home is through Leviathan."

"Okay, seals check out, oxygen pressure is nominal, systems are a go," Cortez reported, closing up the last compartment of the mech and dropping back down to the floor of the barge. "It's as ready as I can make it."

"Let's go," Shepard agreed, turning away from her teammates to climb up into the mech. The first step up was a high one, one she would normally have been able to manage with little to no effort at all, but now, even as she braced herself against the first handholds, it seemed to stretch upward forever. Biting hard on her lip, she pulled herself upward, giving a hefty, pained grunt of effort as she lifted her leg towards the first foothold, but, even with all her added effort, she was still barely able to even touch it. Cortez moved forward quickly, offering her a helpful boost, and, with his added help, Shepard managed to pull herself up onto the first foothold. From there it was an easy climb the rest of the way up into the mech, and she let out a heavy, satisfied huff of breath as she settled herself back into the seat, locking the crossing buckles in place before pulling down on the overhead bar and lowering it tightly to her chest. The bar pressed uncomfortably against her tender chest and stomach as she breathed, but she tried to ignore the painful sensation as she reached up towards the controls again, preparing to close the lid of the mech.

"Shepard," Garrus objected again, taking a step forward towards her, pleadingly.

"Garrus, I'll be fine," Shepard assured him, offering him an encouraging half-smile. Then, pushing the button to seal up the mech, she sat back again, her hands curling anxiously around the steering controls at her sides as she let the machine enclose her. "Closing hatch," she reported. "Engaging systems… ready."

"Testing comm link," Cortez conceded, opening up his omni-tool and pulling up a digitized video of her face inside the mech.

"I read you," Shepard confirmed, decisively. Taking a deep breath, she gripped the mech's hefty steering controls, turning the machine towards the edge of the barge before coming to a stop overlooking the dark, ominous open water. "Here goes," she told them, letting her breath out in a long, low exhale. "Commencing dive in 3… 2… 1."