Chapter 1- Discovery
Amelia Shepard
September 19th, 2186
2181 Despoina would've been a beautiful planet under different circumstances. Even though I had lived on a spaceship in one way or another for the last 14 years, it still reminded me of my childhood home, Mindoir, spending a day at the beach, watching the storms roll by, waves crashing roughly along the coastline. A bittersweet smile developed on my face; the pain of what happened on Mindoir had faded but wouldn't ever leave completely.
"Cortez, you're sure I won't drown in this thing?" I questioned, walking the mech close to the edge of the wrecked survey ship we had crash-landed on.
"Doing final checks now, Commander," Cortez answered, pulling out an omnitool and scanning over the old, creaky Triton. "Looks good."
"Ok. I'm going down." And with that, I plunged into the rough seas. The mech's weight made it sink quickly, light fading away as I retreated from the surface. The sheer darkness was unsettling, a space entirely devoid of anything except me, and it extended as far as I could see. It reminded me of suffocating over Alchera two years prior, not a pleasant thought.
"Com...n...r" The comm crackled in her ear before failing completely.
"Cortez! Talk to me…," After a moment without a response. "Great… we're doing great…."
As I descended further, I began to see lights generated by bioluminescent jellyfish, illuminating the cliff below me. My depth gauge read 3285 meters below the surface. "Not sure if you can hear me up there. It looks like I've finished the major descent. I can't see much from here. The suit is… holding up so far. I'm going to keep moving."
Movement from the mech was sluggish at best as I pushed the controls forward, dropping off another cliff, falling a few hundred more meters down, and landing hard on the rocky seafloor. I took a look around, seeing a strikingly beautiful mix of sea life and stone. "I found the probe."
As I neared the edge of the next cliff, there was another thud, but not one caused by the mech. Oxygen bubbles started forming very aggressively at the border, rising up and out of sight. Behind the bubbles, a very large figure emerged, looking distinctly like a Reaper but more organic. I watched as its body rose a few hundred meters until I finally saw its face.
"You have come too far." The deep, booming voice rumbled through me, akin to an earthquake. I heard the same voice during their search for Garneau and again in the lab with Ann Bryson.
"I had to find you," I answered assertively, packing as much force behind my voice as I could without shouting.
"This is not your domain. You have breached the darkness."
"You killed a Reaper; I need to know why."
"They are the enemy. One that seeks our extermination." The voice rumbled.
"But… I thought you were a Reaper."
"They are only echoes. We existed long before."
"Then what are you?"
"Something more…"
Suddenly, a blinding pain formed behind my eyes, and my vision waned. When I recovered, I was no longer in the mech at the bottom of an ocean but rather kneeling in an endless plain of ocean blue. Another human started to approach me; however, the booming voice continued from its mouth. "Your mind belongs to me. Breathe."
I got up and realized the human approaching me was Ann Bryson. "Ann? What's happening?"
Ann put a finger to her temple, and the booming voice continued. "Your memories give voice to our words. Your nature will be revealed to us. Accept this."
"The galaxy is at war with the Reapers. You defeated one. Why aren't you fighting back?"
Ann turned her back to me. "There is no war… only the harvest."
"Then help us stop it!"
"None have possessed the strength in past cycles." Ann disappeared, and the assistant from the lab walked up behind Amelia. "Your species could be destroyed in a single thought." Hadley's body instantly morphed into the man trapped in the med bay from the asteroid, the one who claimed to be Garneau. "But you are different. I have witnessed your actions in this cycle: the destruction of Sovereign; the fall of the Collectors. The Reapers perceive you as a threat. And I must understand why."
The endless plain disappeared, leaving me, now with a bloody nose, back in the mech, staring directly into the face of the Leviathan. And with a flash, I was back in the plain, seated next to Hadley. "Before the cycles, our kind was the apex of life in the galaxy. The lesser species were in our thrall, serving our needs." The cave painting from Ann's lab on Namakli appeared before Amelia. "We grew more powerful, and they were cared for. But we could not protect them from themselves. Over time the species built machines that then destroyed them. Tribute does not flow from a dead race. To solve this problem, we created an intelligence with the mandate to preserve life at any cost. As the intelligence evolved, it studied the development of civilizations. Its understanding grew until it found a solution. In that instant, it betrayed us. It chose our kind as the first harvest. From our essence, the first Reaper was created. You call it Harbinger."
"You built that intelligence despite what you saw from the other races. Why?" I asked.
"You cannot conceive of a galaxy that bends to your will. Every creature, every nation, every planet we discovered became our tools. We were above the concerns of lesser species. The intelligence was envisioned as simply another tool."
"And now we all pay the price for your mistake," I said, the disdain dripping from my words.
"There was no mistake. It still serves its purpose."
"How did you remain hidden all this time?"
"Our extermination was not complete. Some survived and found refuge in the dark corners of the galaxy. I am their progeny. Over the cycles, the thrall races were controlled, removing traces of our existence as we directed them to. In this way, our survival was kept secret from the Reapers. Today, we reach out through the fragments and watch for discovery. They provide a window into the galaxy. Tools for exploring the events of this cycle from the safety of this world. Through them, we watch, we study, and remain in the shadows."
"How did the intelligence defeat you?"
"To find a solution, it required information-physical data drawn from organic life in the cosmos. It created an army of pawns that searched the galaxy, gathering this data. There was no warning. No reason given when they turned against us. Only slaughter. Only the harvest."
"Tell me about the Reapers."
Hadley morphed into Ann before answering, "Each harvest ends with the birth of a Reaper. Perfect in its design. Each formed in Harbinger's image. Our image. Each Reaper has the power to influence organics. Over countless cycles, this ability was refined, perfected, and gave rise to indoctrination."
"But what is the point of all these harvests?" I asked, my frustration nearing its peak.
"The intelligence has one purpose: the preservation of life. That purpose has not been fulfilled. It directed the Reapers to create the mass relays-to speed the time between the cycles for the greatest efficiency. The galaxy itself became an experiment. Evolution its tool."
"Will it ever end?"
"Unknown. Until the intelligence finds what it is looking for, the harvest will continue."
"What do you know about the Crucible?"
"We have watched its construction before. It has never been completed. Those who tried still fell victim to the harvest."
"But what about the Crucible? Do you know what the Catalyst is?"
"The answer you seek lies inside the Citadel."
"Will you help stop this cycle?" I asked.
"I have searched your mind. You are an anomaly-yet that is not enough. The cycle will continue." Ann turned and began to walk away.
"No!" I shouted. "You've been watching. You know this cycle is different."
"We will survive. You will remain here as a servant of our needs. The Reapers will harvest the rest."
"If you release me, no one else has to be harvested. We have nearly completed the Crucible!"
"Nothing will change."
"The Reapers know where you are! You can't just watch anymore-you have to fight!" I pleaded. "Even if you survive the battle today, the Reapers won't stop-ever. Release me, and then we have a chance to end this, once and for all."
Ann turned her back to Shepard now and then disappeared completely. A second later, I was back inside the mech, looking back at the ancient being. Two more of its kind appeared on either side of it. With a flash, I was back in the endless plain with Ann.
"Your confidence is singular," Ann stated.
"I've earned it. Out there, fighting."
"It is clear why the Reapers perceive you as a threat. Your victories were more than a product of chance." Ann disappeared, and Hadley appeared behind me again. "We will fight. But not for you or any lesser race. We were the first, the apex race. We will survive." Hadley then disappeared, Ann reappearing in his place. "And the Reapers who trespass on this world will understand our power. They will become our slaves. Today they pay their tribute in blood."
Once again, the endless plain vanished, and I found myself back in the Triton four kilometers underwater, staring at three Leviathans. My head was pounding, as if the entire universe was stuffed into the space between my ears. Blood was pouring out of my nose like a faucet, pooling on my upper lip before continuing down to my chin and neck.
Alarms blared around me inside the Triton, high-pressure warning, low oxygen warning, and low power warning. I had to get to the surface before I was stuck here forever. I quickly backed the mech up, lining up a clear shot to the surface, and fired the rockets.
Garrus Vakarian
To say I was worried was an understatement, not for my own life but hers. It was trivial enough for Javik and me to hold off small waves of Reaper troops, but Amelia had been under for almost thirty minutes. "Javik, how are you doing on ammo?" I called over my right shoulder as I slotted another thermal clip into the Black Widow in his hands.
"Okay, for now, turian."
As if summoned by my worries, the sea exploded with a large orange and white mech, landing hard on the surface of the wrecked ship. The canopy opened, and Amelia spilled out, clutching her head. I quickly holstered my rifle and ran over to her, paying no mind to the two brutes standing no more than three feet away. "Shepard! Are you okay?"
"Yea… yea… I'm fine. Cortez, status." Amelia groaned, leaning heavily on Garrus's shoulder as they stood, clutching her head in pain.
"I don't know what you did, Commander, but the pulse is offline. Let's get out of here." Cortez answered back.
Amelia and I started shambling towards the shuttle as fast as she could, but thankfully the two brutes had begun attacking each other. We all piled into the shuttle, and Cortez took off.
"Commander! We have a Reaper inbound!" Cortez shouted from the shuttle's cockpit, swerving wildly to avoid the opening legs of the two-kilometer-long capital ship. Right as the Reaper was about to fire, a pulse swept over them, similar to the ones that knocked the shuttle down earlier, but this time, only the Reaper was felled.
"Amelia… are you sure you're fine?" I asked, the worry evident in my voice as I supported her, watching out the window as the Reaper sank to the depths.
"Yea… Just have a hell of a headache…." Amelia answered, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Thanks, Big Guy."
Amelia
"Commander, I just finished reading your report," Hackett said as the vid call began, uniform pristine and proper, arms crossed behind his back.
"The Alliance wanted more intelligence on the Reapers. I'd say we got it."
"Our people will be studying it for years to come. They're already calling it the Leviathan Codex. It rewrites galactic history as we know it. And now we have a chance to win this war, now that we know what the Catalyst is. This is a massive step in the right direction Shepard. Now I just hope that the Prothean VI Cerberus snatched on Thessia will be able to tell us how to use it."
"And what if Cerberus doesn't have the intel we need, or stop us from getting the intel?"
"Then we lead the fleets to Earth and take our chances. The fleets are ready when you are, Commander."
"We're ready, Sir," I answered back.
"I'll get the fleets mobilized. Hackett out."
-0-
An hour later, I had just gotten out of the shower, settling on the couch with a stack of datapads. There was a slight knock on the cabin door, "Come in." I called, not even looking up from the datapad I was reading.
Garrus walked through the door, wearing his rarely used civilian clothing, bringing a smile to my face that only my boyfriend could. "Do you know the best part about a battle that decides the fate of the whole galaxy?" He asked, plopping down next to me.
"Winning it?" I asked with a laugh, tossing the pad back onto the coffee table in front of me, my overdue reports forgotten.
"I was gonna say it's a good time to remind the people you care about… that you care about them." He placed a hand on my knee. "Want some company?"
A small smile crossed my face, "I love you, Garrus Vakarian."
"I love you too, Amelia Shepard."
A few hours later, I awoke with a start, taking short, sharp breaths. Garrus turned from where he was sitting at my desk, reading a datapad. "Bad dream?" He asked, standing and moving next to the side of the bed.
Amelia nodded, "You ever get them?"
Garrus hummed for a moment, "I tend to expect the worst anyway, so a bad dream is just a waste of perfectly good sleep. What's bothering you?"
"Can we ever be ready for something like this? Everything we've ever known… it's all hanging by a thread, Garrus."
"Yea. But the truth is, when hasn't it? Every fight we've ever seen could've been our last. Every bullet we've ever dodged could've been the one."
I laughed freely, the tension dissolved by his words, "There has been a lot of bullets. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Everything you've done already, just a little less stylishly," Garrus answered with a smirk, mandibles flared out.