CHAPTER 19: Low Down

2185 CE

I'm not sure what Shepard said to Miranda when she visited her office to talk to her about the argument.

Whatever it was it seems like it improved their relationship.

I'm going to assume that means her loyalty was gained.

The atmosphere on the ship was much more wary now, however. After all, since it happened in the lounge, Miranda wasn't the only one who heard her argument with Jack, and me, I suppose as well.

A number of Cerberus members like Garner joined because they thought they were helping something great.

'Shepard. You need to do something about morale. That blasting Jack gave Miranda in the lounge tanked it among the Cerberus troops.'

'Damn it, Krell. Don't you ever have good news?' Shepard asked.

'You are likely to be an extremely significant influence on the Geth equivalent of Jesus. Or perhaps Siddhartha.'

"I... You know what, that's probably on me whether it's good news or not, isn't it?' Shepard asked.

'I'd say so.' I agreed.

'Power of positive thinking then.' Shepard agreed.

'Anything else?' Shepard asked.

I paused. 'So, Javik.'

'Javik?' Shepard asked.

'He's your Prothean equivalent. The chosen one. The one warrior upon upon whom the entire fate of the Galaxy turns. The living embodiment of Prothean Vengeance. It's all very dramatic.' I explained.

'Definitely sounds that way.' Shepard prompted.

'Right, so... Javik was a lot like you were back when I met you. He's very results oriented. He cares about getting things done rather than doing what's right.'

Shepard's eyes narrow. 'What do you mean by that?'

'Mercy. Justice. Morals. You've learned that they aren't weaknesses. That those attributes are instead, not just a sign of strength, but a source of it.'

'Are you saying I've become a better person since coming back from the dead?' Shepard questioned.

'Not since you came back. Since Noveria. You could have killed the Rachni queen. You could have killed Wrex.' I countered.

'If I were an idiot. I can't go killing my allies off every time we disagree with each other.'

'You like to think you're a Renegade, Shepard. But it's that conscience of yours that has made you a Paragon of humanity.'

'Thanks... I think?' Shepard replied.

'The Shepard the galaxy needs is the Shepard that can rise above the feuds and xenophobic bickering to unite the galaxy as one.' I explained.

'I'm just glad you're growing into it.' I added.

Shepard blinked, not sure what to say.

'I should go.' I mimicked and headed out.

2185 CE

Dear Aye-Aye,

It was great seeing you again. I'm just writing to tell you that I'm actually alive after all.

Liara is fine. She's out seeking new and exciting opportunities in information brokering. I can't tell you what they are specifically, but she figured out that I'm her grandfather and I'm pretty sure she knows who you are too. You should probably reach out. I've included her contact information as an attachment just in case you want to be a better father than me.

It's a low bar, so you probably won't have to work too hard at it.

Love,

Dad

2185 CE

'Dear Dad,

Fuck you.

Thank you for the contact information. Also, for saving the galaxy I guess.

In conclusion, fuck you.' Garrus read.

He paused.

'Are you sure that your meeting with Liara's dad went well?' He asked, skeptically.

'Well, she didn't kill me. Also, we're speaking again?' I offered.

'You know what, you absolutely should take that as a win.' Garrus agreed.

'Thanks.'

2185 CE

'What do you know about the collectors?' I asked the crowd assembled before me.

'They're weird bug things; they trade with people in the terminus systems, and they live beyond the omega 4 Relay.' Jacob explained.

'They shot my ship.' Joker added.

'They tried to buy my body from the Shadow Broker.' Shepard piled on.

'They're into kinky shit; fertile Krogan females, Volus biotics, albino Turians.' Jack added.

'All true; but not the real picture. The Collectors, are the Prothean equivalent of the Keepers, mixed with the Husks. They're the Reapers' tools for analyzing the cycle. In short, they're a combination of shock troops and mad scientists.' I explained.

'As far as I can tell they really only have two goals. First, they're trying to create this cycle's Reaper, Human-based, thanks to Shepard's performance with Sovereign. And Second, they want to create the next shock troops for the Reapers. Those pylons that turned Humans into husks? Those're almost certainly Collector tech. I know there are a number of alternate equivalents of that sort of thing too; like monsters that are fusions of Batarians and machine guns, or Krogan bodies with Turian heads. The big things mostly happen through their research of specific types of genetic oddities though. You can turn pretty much any Turian into a cyborg zombie with an assault rifle, but to get a biotic super weapon? you need more than just any old Asari. You need an Ardat-Yakshi.'

Samara's attention instantly focused on me.

'There's a monastery full of Ardat Yakshi. When the Reapers invade, they send their forces to harvest them. They also catch all the ones that are free. Don't know how. They turn them into biotic charging monsters capable of ripping apart a Turian division single-handedly and even giving a Krogan trouble. Heavily armored and protected by a biotic barrier. They end up being called Banshees by the Alliance. This is because they scream as they die, and as they hone in on their prey. And also because they look like terrifying Asari corpses.'

'How sure are you that this information is true, Professor?' Samara asked.

'I'm absolutely certain. It's why I'm giving this briefing. They shouldn't have access to any of those monstrosities in large quantities until the full invasion next year, but even a single one of them is more than enough to give us problems. So I'm covering all of 'em even the ones we've fought already.'

'Okay then, What are they, and how do we kill them?' Shepard asked.

I pulled up my artist's rendition of a Swarmer, a husk, an abomination, a cannibal, a marauder, a scion, a Ravager, an adjutant, a Brute, a Banshee, a praetorian, and a Harvester.

'These are the enemies in rough order from weakest to strongest. Husks, Abominations, Scions, and Praetorians are all made from varying amounts of humans. Cannibals were Batarians. Maurauders were Turians. Brutes were Krogans and Turians. Banshees were Ardat-Yakshi. Harvesters are basically just Harvester husks. Swarmers and Ravagers are both Rachni. And Adjutants? They're... weird as fuck.'

'Rachni? So saving the Queen was a mistake?' Shepard whirled on me.

'Nah. The Reapers can make Ravagers one way or another. This way the queen might actually help us. If you, you know, rescue her again, first.' I explain.

'Any tricks we need to know about? You know, for killing them?' Garrus asked.

'Swarmers will jump at you and explode to take down your shields. Keep an eye on your radar to track 'em. Don't shoot the Ravager pouches. That just releases a shit load of swarmers. Aim for the actual creature here.' I motion to the proper part of the ravager to shoot.

'The husks'll grab and curb stomp you. aim for their heads. The abominations will do the same thing, but they'll also explode if they get close to you. Head shots.' I explain.

'Head Shots for the Scions too. There's also a hump on their back that's vulnerable too.' I continued.

'Praetorians can recharge their biotic barriers. No real weak spots. They're heavily armored so take something to deal with that. I'm hopeful if we cut off the Collectors supply of Humans they'll stop being able to make these fucking things.'

'Cannibals will eat other fallen husk-type enemies and turn that cyber-biomass into armor. Shoot them before they do that. Head shots work just fine.'

'Maurauders are just as useless as Turians in a fight. They'll armor other Reaper units like the husks and the cannibals. They have shields, but once you overload em they're just as fragile as any other Turian.'

'Brutes on the other hand... They get their Durability from their Krogan side. they'll charge you and bring down your shields from the impact then hit you with that claw of theirs. And then you die. Don't get hit. They'll telegraph their charge. Heavily armored, obviously. I recommend fire to take them down.' I advise.

'Banshees walk slowly, but don't let that fool you. They like to use their biotics to teleport behind you and then stab you through the heart. They usually have faster support units; Husks, Cannibals, Brutes, that sort of thing. You'll get distracted and then Boom. they'll be right next to you. Don't fight 'em in melee. They'll kill you. Get your distance and fire back from range. They'll hit you with a pretty powerful warp too, so don't let your shields drop either.'

'Adjutants. As far as I know, Adjutants only ended up being used on Omega, but they're nasty. Armored, and Biotic, they leap at you from surprisingly far away. They also have this weird version of a warp that detonates into a sphere of warped space that'll tear away at your barriers and shields. Cover won't protect you. Stay mobile and at range.'

'Finally, Harvesters? They're the equivalent of my Kodiak. A heavy transport unit. Armed with weapons graded to take down vehicles. You don't wanna get hit by those cannons on foot. Kill 'em quick. Prioritize them. The longer they're in play, the more Reaper units will be around to take part of the attack. I don't know if they transport Reaper forces or make them themselves, but either way they're bad news. Any questions?'

There were a lot of questions from Garrus and Mordin on how to kill them and their general biology, and several from Samara regarding banshees; but, after about an hour the meeting finally wore down to just me and Shepard.

'You know, I'm getting the feeling there's something you're not telling me.' She accused.

'For good reason. We're on a Cerberus ship. With a shackled AI. EDI can't disobey right now even if she wanted to. Anything I tell you now gets back to Cerberus.' I replied.

'And that's an issue?' Shepard asked.

'Right now, Cerberus is fighting the Collectors. But Jack was right. Cerberus is still the same organization that did what it did to her. It's run by the same Illusive Man that it was when we were finding experiments on turning people into husks. Just keep that in mind while you deal with him and you'll be fine.'

Shepard nodded.

I breathed a sigh of relief. It seems I was able to go over all the Reaper's creatures after all.

2185 CE

Dear Aye-Aye,

I know it must come as a shock that I've been alive all this time, but in my experience, it's usually pretty awkward talking to someone just after you've killed their mom. I thought you needed some space.

Love,

Dad

2185 CE

Dear Dad,

It wasn't a shock at all because I never thought you were dead.

You included me on all those papers you emailed to the Council of Matriarchs.

Also, I could see you faking your own death!

You're almost as bad of an actor as you are a father.

In conclusion,

Fuck you.

Author's Notes: More characterization focus this chapter. Something light before the run up to Tuchanka.