Borrowed plot material - The Perfect Weapon - TheScreamingViking
.
.
"It didn't make any sense, Shepard. None of this. They knew about the Crucible - how could they not - yet they did almost nothing to slow its creation."
"Those aboard the convoys destroyed would disagree."
"Paltry excursions that in the grand scheme of things amounted to nothing. Tuchanka, Rannoch, major theaters in this war, but the Reapers sent only a single Destroyer to each. Tactically, these actions make no sense. They allowed their enemies to band together, they allowed their enemies to create a weapon with the capability to destroy them, and they let the hub of the galaxy remain a refuge for civilians. Why?"
"Because they're focused on the major planets. Their goal is-"
"How quickly did the Batarians fall? So quickly that the news of their destruction arrived at the same time as the Reapers did. As terrifying and devastating as this war is, to them it is anything but. They aren't fighting a war, Shepard, they are harvesting their grain."
"What does that have to do with the Crucible?"
"The Reapers, the entity that has systematically wiped out countless societies, indoctrinated entire species to their will, let a weapon be passed down from generation to generation that could defeat them? In the thousands, tens of thousands of times this cycle has repeated, they never discovered its existence?"
"It didn't have to be passed down by every cycle... it could have only been..."
"He's indoctrinated, Shepard. We can't trust anything he says."
"Then you are already lost, Asari. You should have been lost for months now. As long as I knew about the Crucible, so would have the Reapers, yet they have done nothing."
"You don't know where it-"
"WHERE IT IS?! You think I would invest so much in the acquisition of the Prothean VI without first knowing the Crucible's location? You think the endless resources you poured into it couldn't be tracked? Open your eyes doctor. I let you create it because I believed it had a different use... to control the Reapers."
"Believed? What changed your mind?"
"The VI."
"It showed you it was impossible?"
"The opposite, Shepard. Layer by layer I delved into its database, and its information showed me my goal was possible. I could modify the Reapers, I could control them, I could use them to bring humanity to the... It was too perfect. What better way to bring the people of galaxy to their knees then to have them pour their resources, their hearts and souls into a project that will lead to nothing? The Crucible is a tool of the Reapers. Shepard, I apologize for what I have done. I know what I was used to do. I was misguided, controlled... indoctrinated, but know I only did what I have done because I believed it was for the betterment of the human race. They are in your hands now."
The Illusive Man lifted his handgun to the side of his head and pulled the trigger.
.
.
"Shepard?"
"What is it?"
"Liara asked for us. Apparently she's accessed the Prothean VI."
"Good news?"
"She wouldn't say, but given that she came to me in person, whatever it is seemed like something she wanted kept private."
"... Ok. We'll wait till after dinner. My cabin, bring a chessboard."
.
.
"It's all there - instructions on how to use the Crucible against the Reapers. The Citadel itself serves as a catalyst, multiplying the energy of the Crucible and launching it through the entirety of the Mass Effect Relay system. Simulations predict the complete destruction of Reaper forces."
"See, a few hours ago that phrase would have filled me with hope. Now after what the Illusive man said... it all just sounds..."
"Too good to be true?"
"I didn't want to say it. What's our move Shepard?"
" ... "
"He was indoctrinated."
"And he knew it. He wasn't wrong, Liara, none of this makes any sense."
"... We've invested so much into the Crucible... I don't think we could survive the abandonment of it."
"We bring it to the Citadel and the Reapers'll have us in a pretty tight spot. The Lion's share of our refugees and military power in the same system? We'd be laying ourselves out for the Reapers to hammer us flat."
"We can't abandon the Crucible. It's too much of a symbol by this point... even if there's a chance it won't do anything, doing nothing with it will cause us to tear each other apart."
"The Illusive man was right, the Reapers aren't fighting a war. Every engagement has been us reacting to something they have done. Even when we secure a victory, they do nothing in response. We have to make them react, have to do something to elicit a response."
"What did you have in mind?"
"Evacuate the Citadel."
"Oh... Well... now that might work."
"It would also reduce the risk of bringing the Crucible into the system if it comes to that."
"About the Crucible... Liara, do you think the Shadow Broker is up for a challenge?"
"I'm afraid I don't like the sound of that..."