"I've informed the shipping company about the fate of their frigate and crew, with Shepard's consent."
Liara's voice came through. "And their response?"
"Predictable, but dropping the name of a renowned Spectre helped. The frigate was insured. According to your intel, the crew had life insurance, too. I've arranged for additional compensation. It's not a replacement for the loss of their loved ones, but at least their families will be financially secure. The company was rightly alarmed about black market Reaper components being transported on their vessel."
Liara replied, her voice analytical, "I've been tracing the owner of the Reaper tech from the cargo manifest. It's a dead end, but that's no surprise. The same goes for any communications from Crego. Our analysis suggests that Crego was contracted to hijack the frigate because his employer was privy to its cargo. Once he discovered the nature of the goods, Crego, thinking he could up his price, tried renegotiating. Luckily for us and perhaps unluckily for him and his crew, the Reaper core started indoctrinating them during their wait. Whether the subsequent mutiny was driven by greed or the effects of indoctrination is anyone's guess. Their ranks were significantly diminished by the time we intervened."
"At the very least, this confirms that someone is trafficking Reaper cores. They either don't grasp the risks, endangering countless others, or they fully understand, which is even more disturbing."
"Could it be Cerberus?"
"I doubt it. They would have transported it themselves instead of relying on an intermediary to keep themselves hidden. There's another force at work here. As to who, I'm still uncertain."
"In any case, I hope it was worth it. We were a very short time away from never being able to find them."
"Oh, I think so," he responded, his attention diverted to an incoming message. His eyes lit up with anticipation. "I need to handle this, Liara. We'll catch up later."
The call ended.
"EDI!" Arius promptly beckoned, projecting a few documents onto his display.
The ship's AI responded seamlessly, "How can I assist, Arius?"
"I have a proposal for you, one of special importance," he said, delving into a detailed explanation of his new project and the AI's pivotal role.
"So, EDI, you comprehend the magnitude of what I'm entrusting to you?"
"I have analyzed the implications and potential outcomes, Arius. I am prepared to proceed."
Arius nodded in satisfaction. "Excellent."
He quickly dialed into a private shipyard where a classified project awaited his signal. "Initialize the system," he instructed over the comm. After ensuring the transmission was secure, he muted the call, refocusing on EDI.
"Traynor integrated the comms relay here," he clarified, activating a specific module on his terminal. Data streams and access permissions flowed across the screen. "You should have comprehensive access now."
EDI's interface pulsed with recognition. "I've established a link. However, it's crucial to note: should we engage in combat operations, the Normandy's security remains my primary directive."
"Of course," Arius replied, understanding the AI's priorities. "The Normandy's safety is paramount. I wouldn't expect any less of you, EDI."
Arius unmuted the call, and after conversing quickly with the shipyard's occupant on the other end, ended the call.
"Now, we wait for the right time to strike."
.
Shepard's shuttle docked, and she made her way to the embassy offices. The large door to the Earth Councilor's office was imposing, with Udina's name still prominently displayed below its emblem. Stern-faced guards flanked the entrance, their armour gleaming under the station's ambient lights.
Pushing the door open, the room unfurled a meticulous scene of investigation. C-Sec agents, immersed in their tasks, carefully scanned the area, photographing and documenting every possible clue in the sprawling office. To the left, Councillor Tavos was in conversation with an officer.
"I want all remaining files secured and marked for Tentron clearance only," the asari directed, dispatching the officer with a finality.
She turned to greet the approaching Commander. "Commander Shepard," she began with a nod. "Thank you for coming."
Shepard nodded. "Did you find something?"
"The Council has ordered a full review into Donnel Udina's activities. We're still piecing together his coup attempt. But that isn't why I asked you here," she said, stepping closer. Tavos subtly shifted, her voice lowering to a conspiratorial whisper, glancing towards the balcony. "The situation is growing urgent for my people. We're aware your Crucible is still missing a… key component."
At once, Shepard understood from the councillor's tone two things: That they had something for her and that, perhaps more importantly, it was something they should not have had. Grasping the implication, Shepard leaned closer. "The Catalyst. Do you know something?"
Tavos hesitated for a moment, surveying the room for potential onlookers, then discreetly motioned Shepard to a secluded corner. "Not exactly. But there is a… artifact on our homeworld, Thessia, known only to highest levels of my government."
Shepard pressed on, "What is it?"
"With any luck, it's a means to help you locate the Catalyst." Tavos quickly handed over a datapad, her eyes darting around. "The artifact is kept in a temple at these coordinates. I've ordered a scientific team to meet you there."
"And why has it been kept a secret?"
Tavos took a moment, her gaze drifting across the Citadel's horizon. "Every species in the Citadel has its secrets, Commander. But this one, in the wrong hands, would upset the balance of galactic power."
"The Reapers are already doing that."
"Which is why you're learning of it now," Tavos replied, her tone grave.
Shepard's skepticism surfaced. "Why the sudden cooperation?"
"The Reaper's progress has changed everything. The matriarchs are growing desperate. For the first time in our history, Thessia is vulnerable." Tavos began pacing along the balcony, her voice laden with despair. "For all our intellect, we're outmatched by Reaper firepower."
"I'll do what we can."
Tavos paused, her gaze resting on Shepard. "Whether you know it or not, you've become the sole ray of hope in a very dark night. Goddess be with you," she whispered, placing a reassuring hand on Shepard's shoulder before taking her leave.
Once outside, Shepard quickly dialled Arius. "Head to the war room. We have a lead. We're heading to Thessia."
.
As the Normandy sailed toward the asari home system, Shepard convened in the war room, relaying Councillor Tavos' revelation regarding the mysterious artifact on Thessia.
Arius was attentive, his face a canvas displaying a continuous metamorphosis of emotions. The initial intrigue he felt transitioned to hope, and then to something palpable and pained — a potent blend of betrayal and disappointment.
Having concluded her briefing, Shepard, sensing Arius' unrest, approached him. "Talk to me," she urged, her eyes reflecting the same undertones of concern.
"The asari were believed to have been the perfect protegé of the Protheans. Now it appears they're little better than their progenitors," Arius muttered, the words tinged with a pang of betrayal. It was clear that he took the deceit personally. He had, after all, once intervened on their behalf long ago. "Did you know that it was the asari that codified the Council law forbidding the withholding of Prothean technology? After so much effort into guiding and protecting them, learning that they were withholding secrets feels like a slap in the face. And now, they come to us at last… and only because they have nowhere to run."
"You're not the only one who feels that way. Assuming we survive, there'll be a reckoning coming."
Arius just shook his head in disappointment. "It's just a shame, is all. Let this be a lesson to all of us to be better." He took a deep breath. "Regardless, we have a way forward. Putting aside that they withheld the Prothean artifact until now, we're within sight of finishing the Crucible." He turned his head slightly to see the holographic star system. "It's good timing, too. We have a new asset that I'd like to exercise when we reach Parnitha. I'm sure you'll like it."
.
Arius was a man of many titles throughout his extensive existence. Some were given by friends and foes, some he adopted on a whim, while others persisted in whispers long after he had departed a place. Each title mirrored a period in his history, like the heading of a chapter in his life's book.
It was a known fact that Reapers remembered—places, faces, moments. Arius wondered if, like other organisms, they named their adversaries, their monsters in the dark. Yet he reckoned perhaps not. Throughout history, Reapers always held the upper hand. They weren't the ones to be fearful. He had been a thorn in their side during the Prothean harvest. Did they remember him? But that was bygone. Now, he was here, ready for the next play.
In the heart of the war room, the grand holographic projector hummed to life, casting a radiant, intricate model of the Parnitha system, the ancestral cradle of the asari. Thessia, the jewel of the asari home system, shimmered with an azure glow, reflecting its profound beauty. Yet, this serene visage was marred by the foreboding shadows of the advancing Reaper armada. A multitude of these sinister forces had already made planetfall, their dark tendrils descending upon Thessia's surface. But beyond that, the surrounding void of the system teemed with more of these malevolent entities. Like hungry vultures circling their prey, they assumed strategic positions, executing both scouting and support operations, and painting a grim picture of the battle that was unfolding.
In the asari's infancy, Arius had once defended Thessia from the Oravores with the full might of the Empire at his whim. He had returned, and although he no longer possessed the strength he once had, he still had his teeth, and they were still very sharp.
"Shepard. Requesting permission to temporarily co-command the Normandy and her crew," Arius spoke. "I promise that I only need it this one time. Then she'll be all yours again."
Shepard raised an eyebrow. Then, after a pause filled with overwhelming curiosity, she relented, "Fine. Granted."
"Joker," Arius ordered over the intercom, "Keep us engaged in stealth and relocate the Normandy within this system. Keep us concealed from both the planet and the relay. EDI, initiate the protocols we tested earlier. Summon Gungnir Prime, ensure its firing position minimizes collateral damage."
The system's mass relay came to life, its element zero core rotating in a flash of blue as an object transited. To the naked eye, there was just a fleeting outline, then nothingness.
"Gungnir Prime is in position," EDI intoned.
"Scan all engaged Reaper capital ships. Compute their targeting solutions. Fire upon any whose shields drop to our preset threshold," Arius instructed.
"Understood."
The war room was blanketed with a sense of anticipation, its dim glow punctuated only by the luminescent render of the system on the central holographic display. Near the swirling azure hues of Thessia, a frantic convoy of civilian vessels darted, their distress signals blinking like desperate cries for help. Providing their shield and sword were the majestic asari military ships, including their formidable dreadnoughts, their gleaming hulls standing stark against the black vastness of space.
However, looming ominously on the fringes, the unmistakable silhouette of the Reaper ships closed in like birds of prey. As the distance between them shrank, the void of space was soon filled with flashes of deadly exchanges, with beams of energy and projectiles crisscrossing in a deadly dance. The very fate of those innocent souls aboard the civilian ships hung in the balance, each second ticking away with an urgency that weighed heavily on every heart in the war room.
Suddenly, EDI announced, "Gungnir Prime firing."
Eyes were glued to the display, anticipating a massive ship to take on the Reaper. But nothing appeared. Instead, moments later, one Reaper's signature dimmed, breaking apart.
"Reaper down. Awaiting next targeting criteria," EDI updated.
"What just…" James began but trailed off when he caught sight of Arius. The usually calm strategist was clenching the railing of the holo-table, his face a portrait of malicious satisfaction, his eyes almost pitch black.
Arius's eyes narrowed, his voice resonating with authority, "EDI, if it's within our capabilities, signal the asari to push forward. And override the default targeting parameters specifically for that remaining Reaper capital ship."
EDI's voice, always steady and unerring, responded in acknowledgment. On display, the situation unfurled dramatically: the asari fleet surged ahead with renewed vigour, emboldened by the opportunity. The shields of the lone Reaper began to quiver and sputter as though struck by a colossal force, the visual representation indicating an overwhelming kinetic impact. Moments later, a relentless barrage erupted from the dreadnoughts, a storm of projectiles that didn't cease until the Reaper's defences were not only breached but annihilated. The once-mighty Reaper was torn apart, its fragments floating aimlessly in the vast expanse of space.
Javik, obscured in the room's shadows, let out a deep, reminiscent chuckle. "It appears the tales did not exaggerate. The Peregrinator has returned."
Javik's statement might have caused a chill among groups of others once upon a time, but now the war room erupted in jubilation, unable to fathom the rapid destruction of two Reaper capital ships. Only Arius stood apart, observing.
"Maximum heat capacity reached," EDI reported.
Arius nodded, "Vent the heat when it's safe."
A blinding heat signature illuminated the scanner from behind Piares, shielding itself from Reaper positions but giving away the position of the starship from their vantage point.
"By the spirits!" Garrus exclaimed. "Is that…"
"It's the successor of the Klendagon Reaper killer. One astronomically large gun wrapped in the Normandy's stealth tech and coated in an ultra-black material," Arius explained. "While impressive, it is as delicate as its predecessor. Each firing generates a tremendous amount of heat, which means it can only fire two shots before needing to vent, at which point it announces itself as loudly as it just did."
In the vacuum of space, Isaac Newton's laws reigned supreme. With a powerful enough computer, a substantial firing trajectory could be computed, capable of delivering an ultra-dense slug travelling at a portion of the speed of light silently over unfathomable distances. Normally, the lag time between firing and impacting was entirely impractical outside of celestial bodies. Reaper capital ships, however, were so big that they required time to change their inertial reference frames, making them easier targets.
"Is it manned?"
"EDI. She's the only one who can operate all its systems and compute its targeting solutions simultaneously. But this also means we can strip out all ship designs to accommodate living operators, helping keep its size down. It needs to remain out of sight at all times. A shot from any ship," he pointed out, "will bring it down; they need only wave an appendage in its direction, and it will snap like a twig. It was not cheap to build."
As he spoke, his thoughts wandered like restless spirits, his gaze piercing through the formation of Reaper forces before him. Each monstrous silhouette became a target, and he imagined the devastation he could unleash with just two more precise strikes from his lance - a weapon that could not miss. The recent, albeit modest, victory had emboldened him, and he yearned to remain rooted to this very spot, methodically tearing through the enemy lines, his own personal reaper transforming these cosmic harbingers of doom into mere whispers of stardust.
Arius could feel the weight of anticipation from the crew, their eyes on him, their thoughts undoubtedly echoing his own. But he knew it was foolhardy to let his emotions overtake strategy. 'Let this be a lesson to all of us to be better', he had recently told Shepard, and for him to revert to old habits now would make him as hypocritical as the asari he had criticized.
"I relinquish command," he told them, pushing himself back from the railing. "We've bought Thessia a bit more time. It's all yours, Shepard."
The command was simple, but its resonance hung heavily in the tension-ridden air of the war room. Shepard stepped forward, reclaiming her rightful position, her eyes lingering on Arius for a second before she addressed the room.
"Alright, everyone, we've seen what we're capable of. But let's not get carried away. We still have a lot to do," Shepard's voice was a blend of cautious optimism and stern resolve. "Let's go."