As Shepard sat and talked with her old friends, Liara and the rest of the crew sat nearby watching them. It was hard to admit how calm and cheerful she was, something that the crew rarely saw when she was not in her workshop. The crew smiled as well as they watched the commander talk to someone who knew the pain she had. Liara smiled as she turned to her food and continued to eat, something was nagging at her. She wasn't sure what but something told her that things were going to change.
After finishing, Shepard and her friends along with the young demi-asari exited the restaurant.
"So where are you headed now?" Zach asked.
"I'm heading back to my ship, I still have a job to do," Zenna said with a smile. "I'll keep in touch guy's," she then pulled her friends in and hugged them.
"You better," Yali said as the four pulled away and waved.
"Have fun?" Alenko asked as Shepard approached. "Yeah, they just want me to keep in contact,"
He nodded at that as Liara spoke up. "Before we continue, the Council want to talk to you commander, it sounded important,"
OOOOO
As Zenna walked into the comm room the holograms of the councillors appeared. "Commander, you took your time," Sparatus quipped. "I thought hunting Saren was important?"
"Do you know how many Chimera's there are in the galaxy?" Shepard asked shooting him a look that told him he had no right to complain. "Less than 200, so I apologise if I'm trying to help newly-made Chimera's adjust to their new situation,"
Sparatus visibly bristled at that but Trevos interrupted. "Enough, both of you. Commander, we didn't call you to comment about how you conduct your operations, we're here to give you information that maybe critical to capturing Saren,"
"I'll take all the information I can get," Zenna nodded.
"We received an urgent message from one of our infiltration regiment's in the traverse," Valern said.
Shepard just nodded. "I'm listening," she said calmly.
"We currently have several infiltration units scattered across the border regions of citadel space. This particular unit was gathering intel on Saren," he finished.
"Given your calling me, something must have gone wrong," the commander replied.
"Yes, unfortunately the message we received was little more than static. The team must be in a situation where they can't set up proper interstellar communications. But the message was sent on a channel reserved for mission critical communications. Whatever they were trying to tell us was important,"
"Maybe it's a cure to the virus," Zenna smiled before noticing the blank expressions of the councillors. "Human joke,"
"Anyway, considering your interests in Saren, we thought you might want to investigate. The signal came from a planet called Virmire,"
"Send the location, I've got nothing going on and this will be better than nothing," Zenna said.
"Good luck commander," Trevos added before the holograms went.
"Fuck them," Zenna muttered as she walked out of the briefing room. "Joker you got the location for this Virmire?"
"Yeah, just downloaded. You want me to se course?" he asked over the comm.
"You know it, and make it quick,"
OOOOO
After being dropped off by the Normandy and taking out the anti-air towers, the Mako drove up to the Salarian camp. The Normandy was nearby, forced to land by order of the local commander. Pulling up to a small sandbank, Zenna kicked open the door and climbed out, followed by a shaken Liara and Garrus.
"I will never get in a vehicle with you again," Garrus said. "That driving was abysmal,"
Zenna just shrugged and walked over to the campsite. Kadian was talking to one of the Salarian officers, but the commander didn't catch all of what the two said as she approached.
"Is there a problem here?" Shepard asked as she stood next to Kadian.
"I'm Captain Kirrahe, Third Infiltration Regiment STG," the Salarian said. "You and your crew just landed in the middle of a hotzone. Every AA gun in ten miles has been alerted to your presence,"
"So, what's the plan?" Zenna asked realising the problem that presented.
"We stay put until the council sends us reinforcements," Kirrahe said with an annoyed tone in his voice.
Zenna looked to him. "We are the reinforcements,"
"What?" the Captain asked his eyes widening looking between the demi-humans and ship. "I told the Council to send a fleet,"
"Your transmission wasn't clear, most of it was just static," Shepard replied. "The council sent me to investigate,"
"That is the repetition of our task," the Captain said shaking his head in annoyance. "I lost half my men investigating this place,"
"So, what have you found?" Ashley asked.
"Saren's base of operations. He's set up a research facility here, but it's crawling with geth, mercs and very well fortified," he responded not sounding pleased, something must have got him spooked.
"What kind of research?" Zenna asked.
"He's using the facility to breed an army of Krogan and Minotaurs," he replied as Wrex walked up.
"How's that possible?" the Krogan asked.
"Apparently Saren has discovered a cure for the geophage, and the demi-human virus," Kirrahe said causing all four in front of him to fall silent.
"He's found a cure for the demi-human virus?" Zenna asked silently.
"A cure for the genophage?" Wrex asked as well.
The genophage cure was something that Wrex could only dream of, but the demi-human virus cure was something else entirely. Humanity had dealt with the division with their race for at least 2 millennia. To change it now would cause more problems than it was worth, not to mention the ethical problems. Being a demi-human wasn't something that needed to be 'cured' it was just who you are. If was as if someone was saying that they could cure eye colour, or autism. Something that was so fundamentally part of you that you couldn't change it.
"We can't let these cures get out," Zenna said looking to the ground. "They need to be destroyed,"
Wrex looked to her to see her fist tighten. "You can destroy the demi-human cure, but I will get my hands on the genophage cure. If there is a cure for the genophage, we can't destroy it, and if you get in my way…" he let the threat hang in the air before walking off.
As he walked off, Zenna's eyes followed him. "Is he going to be a problem?"
"No," Shepard said as she looked up. "I'll talk to him, then we can get planning an assault,"
With that she walked over to Wrex who was doing some fishing with his shotgun. "If you are going to try and stop me you are wasting your time,"
"I know you're upset, but we both know Saren's the enemy here," Zenna said.
"Really?" he remarked. "Saren created a cure for my people. You want to destroy it. Help me out here, Shepard. The line between friend and foe are getting blurry,"
"This isn't a cure,"Zenna said calmly. "It's a weapon, and if Saren is allowed to used it, you won't be around to reap the benefits. None of us will, it's a red herring,"
"That's a chance we should be willing to take…" he was about to say but Shepard stopped him.
"How can be sure it is a cure?" she asked causing his eyes to widen. "Over the centuries people on earth have been looking for a 'cure' to the demi-human bacteria. But all they had was nothing, empty promises so that we could be used and discarded like tools. To them we were slaves, and the same is true of this cure. Is that what you want for them? Your race was tools for the Council once, and they thanked you for winning the Rachni war by sterilizing your race! You think Saren will treat your people any better?" as she spoke, she was clam, and didn't yell nor did she bring up her weapons.
But Wrex could fell the anger she was radiating. He admittedly didn't know much about demi-humans but it was clear that if the commander was being calm something has to have her on edge. He looked to her hands again, if her fists got any tighter, they would fall off. She was angry, but it was the sort of anger that one didn't yell out.
Wrex stared her in the eyes, thinking over what she said. "Y-You're right," he turned away from those feline eyes of hers. "You've made your point. I don't like this but I trust you enough to follow your lead. Just one thing; when we find Saren, I want his head,"
"Thank you, Wrex," Shepard said.
OOOOO
Kirahe's plan was to split his group into three squads that would attack the front of the fortress. To further add to his plan, Ash was sent with them for assistance. While Kadian had the job of looking after the bomb that was going to be placed inside the compound. Being a Sentinel with technical training so it made sense to have him set the bomb up. Liara stayed on the Normandy to help out as backup support. Tali was also on the Normandy to help with the bomb.
This left Zenna with Garrus and Wrex to infiltrate and deactivate the AA towers to allow the Normandy to fly in and drop the bomb off. Despite the odds, the attack was going exactly as planned. The majority of the Geth were fighting the Salarian group while Shepard's team moved in through the back. Along the way to the facility, they sabotaged the Geth to make things easier for the Salarian group. As the infiltration team moved though the facility, they eventually arrived at an office where an Asari was cowering.
"Please don't shoot!" she begged. "Please, I just want to get out of here before it's too late,"
"I'm not going to hurt you," Shepard assured her lowing her assault rifle. "Who are you?"
"Rana Thanoptis," she answered. "Neurospecialist. But this job isn't worth dying over. Or worse. You think the Indoctrination only affects prisoners? Sooner or later, he will want to dissect my brain, too!"
"Wait, I thought this facility was for breeding Saren's Krogan and Minotaur army," Garrus said.
"Not this level. We're studying Sovereign's effect on organic minds. At least, that's what I assumed. Saren kept us in the dark as much as possible," the asari responded
"You helped him and you don't even know why?" Wrex exclaimed.
"I didn't have the option of negotiating," she defended herself. "This position is a little more... permanent than I expected. But I can help you. This elevator behind me goes to Saren's private lab. I can get you in," Rana walked over to the access panel next to the elevator and entered in a code. She walked back over to Shepard. "See? Full access. All of Saren's private files. Are we good? Can I go?"
"Yes, but I'm go to blow this place to hell and gone," Shepard replied. "If you want to make it out alive, you might want to start running. MOVE!"
Rana's eyes went wide before she burst into a full sprint out of the room.
"That was cruel, Commander," Garrus joked.
After shrugging, they went through the door which opened to a short walkway. They walked across and entered the elevator. It took a few moments for the elevator to reach the top. For Saren's private lab, it was fairly small. It was two levels, with a platform that stretches out over the second. On the second level they saw the beacon.
"Look Commander," Garrus pointed out. "It's another beacon, just like the one you mentioned about on Eden Prime,"
Shepard turned to them. "Stay here. I don't want this beacon harming either of you,"
The two nodded and Zenna walked towards the beacon. This device had a holographic display, unlike the one on Eden Prime. Based purely on guess work, Shepard reached out and touched the display and turned a couple of dials. Energy burst from the beacon and lifted her off of the ground. Both Wrex and Garrus watched in awe. Images flew through Shepard's head. But they were clearer than last time. It was also less strain. The message cut out and dropped Shepard to the ground. She struggled to get to her feet.
"You alright, Shepard?" Garrus asked as he moved up to help her to her feet.
"I'm good," she groaned and shook her head. "We should head to the AAtower..." Shepard quieted as she looked up.
The two followed where she was looking. A red hologram had appeared in front of a terminal on the second level. After looking to each other, they walked up to the second level and approached the display.
"This does not look good," Garrus muttered.
"You are not Saren," it declared in a deep, mechanical tone which sent shivers down their spines.
"Is this some kind of VI interface?" Wrex asked.
"Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood. You touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding. There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own you cannot even imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension. I am Sovereign!"
"No, Sovereign isn't some Reaper ship that Saren found," Zenna said her expression darkened as she put the pieces togther. "It's an actual Reaper,"
"Reaper? A label created by the Protheans to give voice to their destruction. In the end, what they choose to call us is irrelevant. We simply are," Sovereign declared.
"Protheans vanished 50,000 years ago," Garrus argued. "There is no way a ship could last that long!"
"Garrus, these aren't ships," Zenna muttered. "It's an AI,"
"Organic life is nothing but a genetic mutation, an accident. Your lives are measured in years and decades. You wither and die. We are eternal. The pinnacle of evolution and existence. Before us, you are nothing. Your extinction is inevitable. We are the end of everything,"
"There is an entire galaxy of races united and ready to face you," Shepard declared despite trying to hold back her brevardo.
"Confidence born of ignorance. The cycle cannot be broken,"
"Cycle? What cycle?" Garrus asked.
"The pattern has repeated itself more times than you can fathom. Organic civilizations rise, evolve, advance. And at the apex of their glory, they are extinguished. The Protheans were not the first. They did not create the Citadel. They did not forge the mass relays. They merely found them, the legacy of my kind," the Reaper answered
But that just made Shepard more confused by that confession. "Why would you construct the mass relays, then leave them for someone else to find?"
"Your civilization is based on the technology of the mass relays. By using it, your society develops along the paths we desire. We impose order on the chaos of organic evolution. You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it,"
As much as she hated to admit it, it made sense. The races that ever developed in this galaxy would rely on the relays for technology. And because of it, they've always developed in basically the same general direction as any race before it. The races never develop faster than what the Reapers could predict. The galaxy was just a farm.
"They're harvesting us!" Garrus gasped in terror. "Letting us advance to the level they need, then wiping us out."
"How many are you?" Zenna asked.
"We are legion," it answered. "The time of our arrival is coming. Our numbers will darken the sky of every world. You cannot escape your doom," it said.
"Where did you come from? Who built you?" She asked trying to grasp at something, it's a machine, so it had to have been created by something, someone.
"We have no beginning. We have no end. We are infinite. Millions of years after your civilization has been eradicated and forgotten, we will endure," it countered.
She didn't know what kind of answer to expect, but it wasn't that.
"What do you want from us? Slaves? Resources?" Garrus asked.
"My kind transcends your very understanding. We are each a nation. Independent, free of all weakness. You cannot even grasp the nature of our existence,"
"You're nothing but an ageing warship. And ships can be destroyed!" Shepard roared.
"Your words are as empty as your future. I am the Vanguard of your destruction. This exchange of words is over," and the hologram disappeared as she ground started to shake.
"Commander I don't know what you did but that ship, Sovereign, is on the move," Joker said.
"Right," Zenna said as she grabbed her rifle. "Let's move,"
The three approached the turret terminal. Shepard deactivated the defences. The Geth tried to ambush the three, but failed miserably as they were cut down almost immediately upon revealing themselves. They took the elevator up. Ash shouted something about charges being set over the comm. It was hard to understand with the gunfire in the background. The elevator doors opened to a passageway with the ground completely cover in inch-deep water. Three Krogan appeared behind the support structures and immediately started charging at the three.
The lead one laocked hands with Zenna while the others focused on Wrex and Garrus, who split and focused on their own targets as several geth decided to barge in. Wrex charged in to a small group taking the krogan who was targeting him with him. Garrus however hung back and picked off the geth while throwing a grenade at the krogan who was targeting him.
As two focused on their group, Zenna headbutted the lead krogan causing him to stumble back. Despite the headache she now had, she moved quickly and kicked him in the gut. But he grabbed onto her leg and pulled out a shotgun. As he pulled the trigger, she kicked it to one side sending the round into the floor. But that caused he to fall to the ground in a heap to which the Krogan smiled. He drew a knife and was about to take a slash at her, but the minotaur was faster.
As he came in, still holding onto her leg, she backhanded him causing him to let get of her and stumble out of the way. She then tackled him to the ground before getting her own pistol and firing it into his back. At such a close range, his organs and shields did little to help as she opened up a hole in his side. Krogan were though, very tough that could survive what other races couldn't. Zenna knew this, as she armed a grenade and shoved it into the hole she made.
Pulling back quickly the Krogan had just enough time to stand before his insides painted the walls.
While this was going on, Wrex used the other Krogan's body to crush the geth in his path. He then threw the Krogan to the floor before pulling out his shotgun and ending him. Smiling at his kill he then turned to the group Garrus was taking on. They had hunkered down due to the turian's sniper fire. His smile widened as he cocked his shotgun and charged in.
"I AM KROGAN!" he declared as he slammed into the geth crushing them underfoot.
But he missed one which was about to whack him over the head with its arm, but before it could its head exploded. Wrex looked over to Garrus who had a smug look on him. Wrex smiled as well. He may dislike turians, but Garrus was someone who he could respect if not call friend. An explosion took them out of their thoughts as they turned to see a pair of legs fall to the ground.
The two walked up to Zenna.
"What happened?" Garrus asked.
"Opened a hole, stuck a grenade inside him," the minotaur shrugged.
Wrex just laughed as Garrus looked at the commander his eyes wide in horror. "Remind me never to piss you off," he said.
"Charges set!" Ash yelled over the comm. "Everyone down now!"
The sound of an explosion rung throughout the area causing them to stubble a bit. Not waiting around for more to come, the three approached the blast door which opened upon their approach. They moved into a wide area and ran down a slope towards a pillar at the back wall.
"All right! Nice work!" Joker congratulated. "That's one less thing to worry about. Commander, I'm bringing us in. I'll get as close to the site I can,"
Zenna, Garrus and Wrex stood in the water as they watched the Normandy come into sight. But something began to fire at them impacting their shields. The ship could pull back now as that would be the end of the operation. The three turned to where the fire was coming from to see five minotaur's with rocket launchers firing at the Normandy. Angered by this Zenna fired a few rounds to get their attention.
"Come here you clan-less heifers!" she yelled. "Fight like a minotaur!"
The firing stopped and the five made their way down onto the level that Zenna and her team were on. All five of them were irregular minotaurs and looked the same.
"You," one said. "Your minotaur?" he asked unsure of his words.
"I'm a taura," Zenna said looking from one to the other. "You?"
"We are minotaur," he said in a child like manor. "We don't know who you are,"
"Who do you work for?" she asked.
"We work for Saren," he said. "You don't, you don't follow Saren," he raised his gun. "You die,"
He didn't get a chance to pull the trigger as Zenna moved in and snapped his neck. Wrex and Garrus then shot the other two before they could react.
"What was that about?" Garrus asked. "I thought minotaurs had strong ties to one another,"
"These weren't minotaurs," Zenna said coldly as she turned to watch the ramp of the Normandy lower.
Kadian, Liara and Tali helped to bring the bomb down and placed it in the centre of the compound.
"The bomb is in position," Kaidan said over the comm so that the Salarian team could hear. "We're all set here,"
"Commander, do you read me?" Ash asked.
"The nuke is almost ready. Get to the rendezvous, Williams," Shepard answered back.
"Negative, Commander," she said back in a stressed tone as gunfire echoed over the comm. "The Geth have us pinned down on the AA tower. We'll never make the rendezvous point in time,"
"Get them out of there, Joker!" she ordered.
"Negative!" Ash yelled. "It's too hot! Can't risk it. We'll hold them off as long as we can-" she was cut off making the commander curse under her breath.
"It's okay, Commander," Kaidan said to her. "I need a couple of minutes to set the bomb. Go get them and meet me back here."
"Ok, let's move," Zenna ordered.
Moving over to a set of blast door that led to a passageway similar to the one they used to enter the area they were just in, the three began to make their way to the other side of the compound. But as soon as they entered three Krogan and several Geth charged towards them. One of the Hopper Geth leaped towards one of the supports in the passageway. It blew apart in half before it could reach its destination.
"One shot!" Garrus yelled while lowering his sniper rifle.
"Bet you can't do that again," Shepard dared.
"Challenge accepted!" he said as he took aim while Zenna and Wrex charged in.
Garrus fired taking out one of the geth while Shepard fired her pistol. Several shots landed on one of the krogan but he shrugged it off. It didn't have much time to counter her however as she soon stood in front of him and fired her shotgun at point blank range. His organs couldn't survive most of his organs being turned into liquid. She then fired at the geth trying to get a shot at her. Her shield went down forcing her into cover. Wrex threw the krogan he was fighting into the geth before throwing a grenade. It detonated killing some but not all. The ones that still stood Garrus took out.
The squad then moved to the elevator and went up to the walkways above the passageways. As they moved a sound made them look up to see a geth dropship fly overhead.
"Reinforcements," Garrus called out. "We better hurry,"
"Look out, LT," Ash warned over the comm. "We just spotted a Geth dropship heading to your position."
"It's already here!" Alenko said. "Geth are moving in from all directions,"
"Can you hold them off?" Shepard asked.
"There's too many," he answered. "I don't think we can survive until you get here." There was a pause. "I'm activating the bomb,"
"Alenko, what are you doing?" Shepard demanded.
"I'm just making sure this bomb goes off, no matter what. It's done, Commander. Go get Williams and get the hell out of here!"
"Screw that!" Ash countered. "Zenna we can handle ourselves. Go back and get Alenko,"
"Fuck!" Shepard growled under her breath. "Ash, radio Joker, and tell him to meet us at the AA tower,"
Ash breathed a reluctant sigh of disapproval. "Yes, Commander. I..."
"It's the right choice," Kaidan reassured the two. "And you know it, Ash."
"I'm sorry, Kaidan," Shepard apologized. "I had to make a choice,"
"I understand, Commander. I don't regret a thing,"
Shepard looked to her squad. "Let's move it. If we don't save Ash, then Kaidan's sacrifice will have been in vain,"
They went through the door on the walkway to a lift wich took them to the top of the AA tower where Ash and the Salarian team were in a heated battle with a dozen Geth. Garrus took the right flank and covered them with sniper fire. Wrex let out a roar and charged forth against one of the Geth destroyers. Zenna got into cover and set up two turrets to cover the teams. Once done, she moved to Ashley's position and forced on taking out the geth units.
Ash was hit in the side of her ribs, blood leaked from her. After taking out one of the geth, Zenna pulled out a medi-gel canister and injected it into the affected area.
"You ok?" she asked.
"Yeah," Ash grunted as the gel began to take effect. "Just didn't check my kills," as she said that the last geth fell.
Zenna then brought Ashely's arm over her neck and brought her up to her feet Ajust Saren flew in on a hover platform. Shepard fell back towards some cover while firing back with her pistol. Garrus and Wrex took cover as soon as they could. Saren, however, threw another warp blast at them forcing them into cover. Shepard got into cover as well with Ashely as Saren jumped down from his hover platform and landed on the ground with a thud. He then fired two rounds that destroyed both Shepard's turrets forcing Zenna to pop out of cover and fire several rounds at Saren. But his barrier blocked each round so she crouched back down into cover.
"This has been an impressive diversion, Shepard," Saren congratulated. "My Geth were utterly convinced the Salarians were the real threat. Of course, it was all for nothing. I can't let you disrupt what I have accomplished here. You can't possibly understand what's really at stake,"
"Why are you doing this, Saren?" Shepard demanded as she reloaded. "Why are you working with Sovereign?"
"You've seen the vision from the beacon, Shepard. You, of all people, should understand what the Reapers are capable of. They cannot be stopped. Do not mire yourself in pointless revolt. Do not sacrifice everything for the sake of petty freedoms. The Protheans tried to fight, and they were utterly destroyed. Trillions of dead. But what if they had bowed before the invaders? Would the Protheans still exist? Is submission not preferable to extinction?" the turrian asked.
"Reload," Zenna whispered to Ash before calling out. "Do you honestly believe the Reapers will let us live?"
"Now you see why I never came forward with this to the Council. We organics are driven by emotion instead of logic. We will fight even when we know we cannot win. But what if we worked with the Reapers—if we make ourselves useful—think how many lives could be saved. Once I understood this, I joined Sovereign, though I was aware of the... dangers. I had hoped this facility could protect me,"
"You're afraid that Sovereign is controlling you," the taura concluded as she looked around for a good position.
"I've studied the effects of indoctrination," Saren countered. "The more control Sovereign exerts the less capable the subject becomes. That is my saving grace. Sovereign needs me to find the Conduit. My mind is still my own... for now. But the transformation from ally to servant can be subtle. I will not let it happen to me,"
"Sovereign has already made you his slave!" Shepard roared. "Can't you see that?"
"No! Sovereign needs me. If I find the Conduit, I've been promised a reprieve from the inevitable. This is my only hope,"
"You claim that organics rely on emotion than logic so explain this to me! In the millions of years, the Reapers have been at this, you think you're the only one to make this pact?" Shepard counted trying to keep him focused on her while Garrus and Wrex repositioned themselves. "You think you're so special that you, only you, came up with the idea to ally with the Reapers? I bet you, you're just the latest servant in a long line of servants who tried allying with the Reapers. The Reapers don't make allies! They make slaves. That's exactly what you are. Sovereign will use you until the Conduit is open and then turn you into a mindless husk!"
"Y-You're wrong! As long as we are useful, we will live! By working for Sovereign I'll guarantee that," Saren said tying to counter the points being made.
"You were a Spectre! You were sworn to defend the galaxy. Then you broke that vow to save yourself!" she could tell that the conversation was ending so she braced herself for an attack.
"I'm not doing this for myself! Don't you see? Sovereign will succeed. It is inevitable. My way is the only way any of us will survive! I'm forging an alliance between us and the Reapers. Between organics and machines. And in doing so, I will save more lives than have ever existed! But you would undo my work. You would doom our entire civilization to complete annihilation. And for that, you must die," he took aim bit two rounds impacted his shields distracting him.
Seeing her chance, Zenna charged and managed to knock Saren off of his platform. The turian growled as he got quickly to his feet. Before Shepard could react, he had her by the throat and dragged his towards the edge of the area. Saren lifted her off of the ground and held her there. Saren's grip was intense, it was clear that this wasn't his own strength.
Saren was about to strike, but the facility alarm went off grabbing Saren's attention for a split second. As he looked back, Shepard punched him in the face. Saren lost his grasp on the minotaur and flew into the wall as he got up, he found his mandible was broken along with some of his teeth. Shepard managed to grab onto the ledge and pull herself up back onto the ledge as Saren got back onto his platform and flew off.
The Normandy roared as it flew in to land. Shepard waved for her team to rush in. The cargo bay doors opened allowing the Salarian team, Ash, Garrus, Wrex and finally Shepard to get inside. Joker didn't wait for the cargo bay doors to completely close before flying away. Shepard rushed to a view port to watch the explosion take place cursing the universe for the choices she had to make.