AN: Due to school and other delays this is the unedited chapter. Please excuse any blatantly bad grammar/spelling mistakes. When my Beta, Rafen Ventris or I get a chance we will clean up the chapter and update it. I felt that waiting a month and half was to long and I am sorry of the delay.

Chapter 13: The Stage is Set

As the Normandy enters the range of a COMM Buoy the communication panel next to the map beeps and turns on. Shepard's gaze flicks down in its direction. "Commander, we have a priority notice from the Council to return to the Citadel. Apparently you managed to convince of Saren's threat and now they are forming a large joint-species fleet to go after him," says Joker.

Shepard's tried features break into a predatory smirk, "Finally. Joker get us to the Citadel, I want the Normandy at the head of that fleet."

"Aye Aye commander." With that the link is broken and the Normandy drops out of FTL and heads to the nearest Mass Relay. A blue-white flash occurs and the Normandy is heading toward the center of the galactic government. As the Council slowly gathers its strengthen Saren and his spies have not been idle. He has added another three dozen ships from the various pirate, slaver, mercs, and other factions that hate the Council. This armada is currently orbiting the planet Ilos, its system edge, and the nearby Mass Relay. His forces efficiently search for the Conduit. His doubts that Shepard has planned in his mind have been brutally expunged by Sovereign. By installing more extensive cybernetic implants Saren is now a hybrid. A husk with the ability to think on its own with its own creativity but one that can be overridden and controlled when necessary.

In the central spire of the Citadel, sits the representatives of the three most powerful species in the galaxy. The asari in the middle, mediators. The turians stand to the left, they are the military might. The salarians to the right, the eyes and ears. Before them stands the newest species, humanity. The look up at the three aliens and gaze into the heavens that they dominate. As the Council looks down at these upstarts, they worry. Humanity has down more their short time on the galactic stage that the Council feels the need to constantly remind them that they are new to the galaxy and have no claim to it.

As the Council prepares its statements, Udina turns to the armored human and begins, "Good job Shepard. Thanks to you, the Council's finally taking real action against Saren!"

Councilor Tavos of the Asari interjects, "The ambassador is correct. If Saren is foolish enough to attack the Citadel-as you believe- we will be ready for him."

Councilor Sparatus chimes in, "Patrols are stationed at every mass relay linking Citadel space to the Terminus Systems."

Shepard scoffs at the notion, "You think a blockade's going to stop him? He's on Ilos looking for the Conduit right now! What are you doing about that?"

Councilor Valen replies, "Ilos is only accessible through the Mu Relay, deep inside Terminus Systems, Commander. If we send a fleet in there, the only possible outcome is full-scale war."

To which Udina adds to, "Now is the time for discretion, Commander. Saren's greatest weapon was secrecy. Exposed, he is no longer a threat. This is over."

Shepard disbelieving the same bullshit, "One ship going into the Terminus Systems won't start a war. I can be discreet."

"Discreet," shouts Sparatus, "You caused a large section of a planet to be destroyed. You are a full scale war waiting to happen."

Tavos wanting to calm the air, "You have served us well but Ilos requires a deft touch. We have the situation under control."

Shepard retorts, "Saren's greatest weapon is the Conduit. He is going to find it on Ilos."

Valen dismisses the notion, "Saren is master manipulator. The Conduit is just a distraction from his plan to attack the Citadel."

Shepard continues, "What about the Sovereign?" He is the real threat, Saren is just a pawn of the Reapers."

Tavos replies, "Only you have seen the Reapers. And only then in visions. We won't invade the Terminus Systems because of a dream."

Shepard angrily replies, "If Saren finds the Conduit, we're all screwed! We have to go to Ilos."

Sparatus speaks in a patronizing tone, "Ambassador Udina, I get the sense that Commander Shepard isn't willing to let this go."

Taking his cue Udina turns to Shepard, "There are serious political implications here, Shepard. Humanity's made great gains thanks to you. But now you're becoming more trouble than you are worth. It's just politics, Commander. You've done your job, now let me do mine. We've locked out all the Normandy's primary systems. Until further notice, you're grounded."

Shepard outraged, "You bastard. Saren is coming and when he gets here I will be here to stop him. Try not to get in my way."

Over his shoulder Udina says, "I think it's time for you and your team to leave. Commander this no longer concerns you. The Council can handle this. With my help, of course."

In a rage Shepard leaves the Council chambers. He thinks that those fools deserve the fate that is coming to them. He is trying to save them all and they ignore him and take him off his mission. The one thing that has helped him through his life, the mission, the sense of duty. His honor was questioned and tarnished by a bunch of weak politicians. They only care about themselves not the galaxy or humanity. He needs to find someone who can recognize the threat of the Reapers. He punches the bulkhead of the Normandy as he slumps in defeat. The comm clicks and Joker delivers a message, "Commander I have a message from Anderson, it sees to meet him at Flux."

He rises slowly his anger subsiding. He turns to his locker, the door hisses open and his weapons and armor extend on hydraulic arms. He slowly dresses. Like a robot; boots. greaves, are fastened to his lower body. His chest plate molds to his upper body, the arm pieces extend down his arm. He shoves his fingers in his gloves and they seal with a hiss. Assault and sniper rifle are affixed to his back, shotgun to his lower back, and his pistol to his hip. He grabs his helmet and places on his head. Over the inter-team comm he says, "Garrus, Tali, Wrex suit up and meet me by the airlock in five minutes." He clicks the comm as he hears the chorus of agreements. The team assembles in the airlock and waits for the VI to cycle them through.

"Decontamination in progress… Decontamination in progress… Shore party away, XO Pressly has the deck," says the mechanical voice of the Normandy's VI.

The team moves straight to Flux to find the Capt. Waiting for them at a table. Shepard moves to the seat opposite his old friend as the rest of the team forms a living shield, so their conversation can remain private in the crowd night club. "I'm glad you came Shepard," starts Anderson, "I heard what happened."

Frowning Shepard leans forward his armor scraping on the table replies, "They pulled me off the mission. Just like they forced you to give up the Normandy."

"I know. I'm sorry. I wanted to warn you, but there was no way to get a message to you before you docked." Anderson continues his body language screams I got a plan, "I know you're pissed off right now, but you can't give up. They all think this is over, but we both know it's not. You have to go to Ilos. You have to stop Saren from using the Conduit!"

"There is only one ship that can get me into the Terminus Systems undetected, and she's grounded," retorts Shepard.

"Citadel control's locked out all the Normandy's systems. But if we override the ambassador's orders we can get them to bring the Normandy back on-line. You can be in the Terminus Systems before anyone even knows you're gone."

"If we steal the Normandy, you're the one left holding the bag captain."

"If Saren finds the Conduit, Life as we know it is over. The Reapers will destroy us. Humans, asari, everybody! You're the only one who can stop him, Shepard. So I'll do whatever it takes to get you on the Normandy and off this station."

"You have the upmost thanks and respect from me and my crew captain. I won't forget this."

"I can unlock the Normandy from one of the consoles in the Citadel control center. You'll have a few minutes before anyone realizes what's happened."

Interjecting Garrus makes a valid point, "That's a restricted area patrolled by armed guards. How are you going to get in?"

Anderson glancing at Garrus dismisses the concern, "Leave it to me. Just make sure you're in the Normandy when the systems come back on-line."

Shepard agreeing with Garrus, "Too much risk, plus you are going to get yourself killed. There has to be another way."

Leaning back and going over his options Anderson comes up with a viable alternative, "Ambassador Udina issued the lockdown order. If I can hack into the computer in his office, maybe I can override it."

Tali nervously questions the wisdom of that plan, "Umm…" wringing her hands, "He's not going to let you waltz into his office and use his computer."

With a slight smile Anderson looks at the young Quarian, "Hopefully, he won't be there. If he is, I'll just have to think of something."

Shepard's eyes narrow, "Udina won't let this slide, Captain. You'll be charged with treason either way. Try Udina's office, it will be safer and then easier to manage the fallout."

"Yeah that sounds good," replies Anderson, "The Ambassador has this personal." As Shepard stands and leaves Anderson asks if he is ready. Offering his hand both warriors shake further cementing their ties of brotherhood.

"Yes and good luck Captain."

"Same to you Shepard. Now get your ship and tell Joker to stand by."

Both groups leave on heads to the Presidium the order to C-Sec. As Shepard and his crew wait impatiently for the elevator to ascend Anderson his just arriving at the Embassies via air-car. The air-lock cycles the shore party through and Shepard's orders everyone to immediate launch and combat stations. As the crew rushes to prepare for a combat departure Shepard stands in the cockpit behind Joker staring at the blacked out controls waiting.

Anderson strolls into the ambassador's office, face set in a grim determination mixed with anger. The door hiss open and he steps inside. Udina looks up confused, "Anderson? What are you doing here?" As Udina begins to wonder what is going on, Anderson walks right up to the man and slugs him across the jaw knocking him cold. Pushing Udina out of the way he leans over the computer and disengages the lockout. Back on the Normandy the screens flicker to life, the drive core surges with power, and the docking clamps are released with a hiss of hydraulics.

Reacting instantly Shepard orders, "Let's go. Get us out of here Joker. Now!" As Shepard heads aft, Joker's eye tack in the status of the various drive system at a glance. His hands fly across the controls and the Normandy rapidly breaks dock and begins an end run to the relay. Outrunning any of the confused patrols they are enveloped in the blue energy of the relay and hurled through space. Destination Ilos, mission stop the Reapers and delay the invasion so the galaxy has more time to prepare.

Shepard in his cabin pulls up all of the data he and Liara have collected on the planet, "In the golden age of the Protheans, Ilos was a verdant world, dotted with the spires and arches of magnificent cities. Even casual observation shows this is no longer the case. Ilos has been devastated by means unknown, its entire surface changed to the color of rust. The atmosphere shows heightened levels of oxygen. Wildfires, presumably ignited by lightning strikes, can be seen burning on the dark side. This indicates that most –— if not all — respiring animal life forms have died off. Like the ancient human city of Troy, Ilos is a world known only through second-hand sources. References to Ilos have been found at several other Prothean ruins, though direct study of the world is unlikely to occur. Ilos lies in a remote area of the Terminus Systems only accessible by the legendary Mu Relay. Four thousand years ago, the Mu Relay was knocked out of position by a supernova and lost. Since then, Ilos and its cluster have been inaccessible. Occasionally, a university will organize an expedition to chart a route to Ilos using conventional FTL drive. These never get beyond the planning stages due to the distance and danger. The journey could take years or decades, passing through the hostile Terminus Systems and dozens of unexplored systems." In other words they are flying into the unknown to confront the greatest threat to life in this galaxy with no intelligence other than his visions and the grim determination that was forged in the crucible of war. Just like Torfan Shepard thinks, the mission is all that matters and so are the sacrifices that are made in its completion.

Now all the Normandy has to do is deploy its team down the surface so they can deal with Saren once and for all. Over the comm Shepard has his go to team get ready for the drop, "Wrex, Garrus, and Tali suit and be sure to pack have on weapons and supplies we don't know when we will be returning to the Normandy." He closes the link after he hears a chorus of yeses. He goes to his arms locker as Joker gives him a thirty minute warning and gets his gear and plenty of different weapon mods so he can swap his set on the fly. With that down he heads down to the CIC and mentally prepares himself for the combat ahead.

After they leave the relay the system they notice is crowded, Sovereign is floating majestically amongst dozens of cruisers and frigates and a geth dreadnaught. With this power the Citadel Fleet will be hard pressed to stop them. "Joker once we hit the ground I want you to leave and warn the Alliance, have them mass their ships as close to the Citadel or at her if possible. The Council will need the help." That help has been waiting patiently for days, ready for the trap to be sprung and the prey destroyed.

Joker has the Normandy running silent and easily slips through the blockage. Pressly manning the sensor suite reports, "We are picking up some strange reading from the planet's surface."

Shepard smiles, he has his target. "Take us down Joker. Lock in on those coordinates."

Pressly objects, "Negative on that commander. The nearest landing zone's two klicks away."

Ashley helping Pressly plan the mission dismisses it quickly, "They'll never make it in time on foot. Get us something closer."

Pressly shouts back, "There is nowhere closer! I've looked!"

Shepard knows that risks are part of job and he is confident Joker won't left him down, "Drop us in the Mako. Joker can hit anything with this ship. I trust him completely." Seeing Pressly about to interrupt Shepard continues loudly, "Those are my orders and they are final! Now find us an open stretch on ground!"

"The most I can find near Saren is twenty," replies Pressly hiding his frustration and anger.

Before the rest of the team can interject Shepard silences them with a glare and turns to Joker, "Honest answer can you do it?"

"I can do it."

Shepard turns and heads to the Mako before he leaves the cockpit he says over his should, "Joker drop us right on top of the bastard!"

The Normandy sails gracefully and quickly through the void. It slips into the atmosphere like an assassin's dagger. In the ruins below Saren is marching down a broken roadway with an escort of geth walkers and soldiers. Hearing a high pitched wind he looks up and in angered disbelief sees the Normandy swooping from the clouds like an eagle poised to strike. Pointing to his rearguard he commands them, "Move faster. Inside. Now!" Like the eagles talons the Normandy pulls up sharply and out darts the Mako, its thrusters blazing in the reddish sky. It lands and skids to a stop right in front of the closing blast door.

Leaving the Mako the team moves up to the locked door. With a gesture they spread out and provide security. Tali exclaims through the team comm, "We have to get inside this bunker before Saren finds the Conduit! There is no way we're can blast our way through. We have to find the security systems so I can deactivate them."

Garrus still glued to his scope scanning, "Saren found a way to open it. There must be a security override somewhere in this complex that Tali can hack into. I could give it a shot be she's got me outclassed commander."

"Enough talk we have to find another bunker with power. Let's stop wasting time, there are idiots to kill and a galaxy to save," growls Wrex.

Looking around the team sees an opening in the pillars behind and start to move in that direction as geth pour out of the gap. Shepard runs to the mako as the rest of the team takes cover. He swivels the main gun and opens fire. The crackling of the machine gun is accompanied by the roar of the cannon. Geth forms crack and crumb underneath the onslaught, after a few hundred rounds they stop and the team moves up into the weathered vine choked ruins. Moving into a cluttered courtyard the attack from all sides. Wrex snaps a barrier protecting the team from their opening salvo. Forming a circle Garrus and Tali send wide area overloads and sabotages at the geth paralyzing them for a short period. With the fire stopped the team returns it with interest as they use overkill and carnage to devastate the attackers. The first skirmish ends with a dozen dead grunts as the team spreads out and slowly moves up.

Rounding the first set of stone blocks a pair of armatures open fire from across the courtyard. The team scatters into to cover. Pinned behind several large blocks that quiver with each siege pulse impact Shepard swaps out his weapon mods on his sniper for a pair of rail extensions and a high explosive ammo payload. Garrus does the same except installs a tungsten mod instead of the high explosive. "Tali use overload to weakening their shields, Wrex I want to rush to the next line of cover on the left, and Garrus we are going to focus fire on the left target. I'll shoot first to weaken or drop its shields then you take the kill shot." The team moves to their positions and tenses. Wrex reinforces his shields with a layer of biotic energy while Shepard and Garrus activate their assassination modes. On Shepard's command they execute. Arcs of lightnings hit the geth causing them to be stunned as they open fire at Wrex. The few machine guns that hit bounce of his shields staggering the warlord. Shepard fires and the explosive round knocks out the shields of both walkers. Garrus fires two quick rounds and the shred their internals before he ducks back into cover to let his vent the heat. The walkers crumple and the team moves on as their sensors are knocked out by jamming.

Heading down a flight of stairs the team is now underneath the courtyard, several sappers and stalkers shift around the tangled roots of ancient trees and husk like statues. Volleys of shotgun fire quickly put an end to their jamming. Moving deeper into the ruins the shade just increases and deepens the sense of darkness and despair that hugs this world. It is a relief to be back into the sunlight even though the geth are now shooting at us. The team spreads out and proceeds to overlap their firing fields and power usages. Shepard and Wrex keep the geth back as Tali uses her tech skills to sow confusion in their ranks. Garrus has his eye glued to his scope and picks off high threat targets with ease. Coming across another bunker the teams enters the elevator in its center and descend to a security station.

The station overlooks a courtyard filled with a geth fire team and a prime. Two overloads and warp slam into the massive bipedal walker. It staggers and is forced back by Shepard using overkill on his AR with sledgehammer rounds. The rest of the geth advance and begin to drain the shields of the team. They squad uses their rapid recharge and return fire as Shepard continues to fight the prime alone. Garrus tries to suppress the rocket troops in the windows but is hit by a stray missile and thrown into a wall breaking his arm and bruising several ribs. Tali rushes over to Garrus as both Wrex's and Shepard's shielding fails and their armor starts taking hits. Wrex not caring about the stinging pain of half-wounds he has already received charges into the geth tearing them apart bare handed.

Shepard and the prime trade round after round both of their armors weakening. Shepard's breaks first, he takes a round to the leg and shoulder forcing him to his knees in pain. Ignoring the growing blackness on the edges of his vision he draws his shotgun and fires off a carnage round and it hits the prime right in it's weaken torso, tearing the mech in half as the round explodes. As Wrex continues his rampage Tali has stabilized Garrus and given him a wake up stim and moves on to Shepard who is struggling to stay conscious. Applying medi-gel to the wounds and giving a standard combat drug which is a mix of pain-killer, anti-viral/bacterial, stimulant, and coagulant Shepard's wounds close and he snaps back to alertness. Tali then plugs the holes in his armor with omni-gel as a temporary fix. As they shuffle into the bunker, the teams takes this opportunity to rest as Tali hacks the security systems.

Standing before the console her omni-flashes as she hits various buttons. The green hologram on the central pedestal flickers and dies. "All right," says Tali, "Security system down. Let's go, Saren already has a head start. We have to find him before he reaches the Conduit."

Garrus chimes in from his window firing position, "Unless he's already found it. Then we're just walking into a trap."

"It doesn't matter if he has it or not," growls Wrex from the door, "Saren has to die. If its trap that means we don't have to chase him anymore."

As the team makes ready to leave Shepard notices a VI trying to send a message. Going over to the interface he hits a few buttons that stand out to him on the keyboard. The VI sends its garbled fifty thousand-year old transmission, "Too late… unable to… invading fleets… no escape… the message just devolves into static."

Garrus remarks, "That sounded like some kind of message. But I don't recognized the language."

Shepard turning to leave the room, "I understood it. It was a warning about the Reapers." The VI manages to transmitted more of its stored data, Shepard provides the translation, "Not Safe… seek refuge… side the archives. Called Reapers… the Citadel… overwhelmed… only hope… act of desperation… the Conduit… all is lost. We done here let's go." The team leaves and heads back into the courtyard to begin their trek back to the Mako. Once they reached the IFV they continue into the complex. They bunker contains hundreds of stasis pods that are overgrown and out of power. The wonderment of the place is quickly melted in the face of Geth weapons fire. They come upon an energy field that stops all forward movement. Seeing a side passage the team investigates hoping to find a way to turn off the shield.

They are greeted after a short elevator ride with a platform with another interface on it. A functioning VI turns on and starts, "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."

Garrus sheathing his rifle, "Looks like some kind of VI program. Pretty badly damaged."

The VI continues, "I do not sense the taint of Indoctrination upon any of you. Unlike the other that passed recently. Perhaps there is still hope."

"This is incredible. An actual Prothean VI, and I can understand it!" exclaims Tali.

The VI speaks, "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."

"What do you want us to do?" asks Shepard.

"You must break a cycle that has continued doe millions of years. But to stop it, you must understand or 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. The Citadel however 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 be destroyed," replies Vigil.

"How come nobody ever noticed the Citadel was an inactive mass relay?"

"The Reaper are careful to keep the greatest secrets of the Citadel hidden. That is why they created a species of seemingly benign organic caretakers. 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."

"How do the Reapers survive out in dark space?"

"We have only theories. The researchers here came to believe the Reapers enter prolonged states to inactivity to conserve energy. This allow them to survive the 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."

"The Reapers can wipe out the Council and the entire Citadel fleet in a single surprise attack!"

"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, cut off from the others. Easy prey for the Reaper fleets. Over the next decades, the Reaper systematically obliterated our people. World by world, system by system, they methodically wiped us out.

"Was surrender even an option?" asks Shepard

"No offer of surrender was ever given," replies Vigil, "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 date. Information is power, and they knew everything about us. Their fleets advanced across every settled region of the galaxy. Some worlds were utterly destroyed. Others were conquered, their populations enslaved. 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." Replies Vigil

"Where did the Reapers go after they conquered your people?" ask Shepard.

"Our worlds were stripped bare, everything of value; resources, technology was taken. They then left through the Citadel relay, back into dark space leaving no trace of their passage."

"How do we stop them? Tell me what I need to do." Orders Shepard.

"The Conduit is the key," replies Vigil his form flickering, "Before the attack, we Protheans were on the cusp of unlocking the mysteries behind mass relay technology. Ilos was a top secret facility. Here researchers worked to create a small-scale version of a mass relay. One that linked directly to the Citadel. Over the course of centuries we hid, trying to outlast the Reapers. Power supplies where almost entirely depleted when they left. The few dozen survivors vowed to stop the cycle and they knew that the keepers were the key."

"The keepers?" asks a confused Shepard.

"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 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."

"That's why Saren is needed, he can gain control of the station by using the Conduit!" remarks Shepard. His team behind him stiffen with the grim knowledge of the impeding apocalypse.

"Yes, agrees Vigil, "The one you call Saren will use the Conduit to bypass the Citadel's defense. Once inside he will transfer control of the station to Sovereign. The Reaper will override the lockout and manually open the relay. The cycle of extinction will begin again."

"How do we stop them?" asks Shepard, his voice has a brittle edge of desperation.

"There is 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. You will gain temporary control over the station. You will have a chance against Sovereign. Follow Saren through the Conduit and will have the opportunity to stop him."

"Saren's got enough of a head start. Grab that data file and let's go!" orders Shepard.

"The one you call Saren has not reach the Conduit. Not Yet. There is still hope if you hurry." With the message sent and the data file given Vigil winks out of existence. Shepard and his crew rush back to the Mako, the energy shields have drop and the way is clear.

A race against time the Mako drives through the winding the trenches, swatting aside the pitiful attempts to stop them made by the geth. The ride is wild, the crew is bouncing along the artificial river as Garrus swings the turret back and forth engaging the rear guard of the Geth army. Every second is precious for the fate of the galaxy rest on their actions.