Chapter 21 - Chapter 21, The Mystery of Ilos

Here it is! What it's all been building up too.

Nothing more for to say, other than enjoy!

Chapter 21

The Mystery of Ilos

This was it. This was what it had all been building up to. The Mu Relay was within sight. The hanger bay of the Legacy was packed with Helldiver soldiers. Austin, Sarah, Alpha Squad and the rest of the Normandy's crew where currently stationed outside the Normandy's cargo bay ramp. On a high balcony in the hanger, General Zartrack stood overlooking the soldiers.

"I'll bet he's gonna do one of his speeches again." Said Dash.

"When has he never?" Ventra replied.

Sure enough, Zartrack activated a loud speaker and began to address the other Helldivers. All the Helldivers in the hanger turned to the General.

"Alright! This is it! Now you all know me and you all know why we're here, so I'll just say this as simple as I can. If it's our time to die, it's our time. All I ask is, if we have to give our lives to stop Saren and the Geth, then we give 'em hell before we do!" he said.

At the mention of the phrase "Give 'em hell!" everyone in the hanger bay cheered. The phrase had become well known as a motivational sign among the Helldivers.

"Now, report to your battle stations and prepare for impact! Let's take the fight to them!" said Zartrack.

All the Helldivers in the hanger began departing to their drop ships and others went to their fighters.

"Yeah! We're gonna fight, and we're gonna win!" Dash cheered.

The rest of Alpha Squad, along with Austin, all cheered with him and did a massive high five. Dash always did have the most enthusiastic attitude out of all of them. He was never afraid to speak his mind.

"God, I've missed you guys." Said Austin happily.

The Normandy was the first ship to leave the docks. Since only the Normandy had a stealth drive, the plan was for Austin and his team to sneak past the Geth ships and be the first to touch down on Ilos so that they could at least catch Saren. As for the Geth, the Helldivers would deal with them.

"Once you enter Ilos' atmosphere, we'll clear the relay and attack the Geth fleets." Came Zartrack's voice over the radio.

"Roger that, General." Said Austin "Good luck, sir."

"Give'em hell, Shepard!" said Zartrack.

The radio ended and the Normandy headed for the Relay.

"Ready, Commander?" asked Joker.

"Let's do it!" said Austin.

Once again, the Normandy was engulfed by blue energy and was shot forward at light speed. Finally, the energy dispersed. Before them lay Ilos, and with it, a Geth fleet. Sovereign though was nowhere to be seen.

"Commander? We've got company." Said Joker.

"Have their sensors picked us up yet?" Liara asked.

"Stealth systems are engaged. Unless we get close enough for a visual, they won't have any idea we're here." Joker replied.

"Picking up some strange readings from the planet's surface." Said Pressly.

"Take us down, Joker. Lock in on the coordinates." Austin ordered.

"Negative on that, Commander. The nearest landing zone's two klicks away." Said Pressly.

"We'll never make it in time on foot. Get us something closer!" said Ashley.

"There is nowhere closer! I've looked!" Pressly retaliated.

"Then just send us in the drop ship!" said Alaara.

"Too risky! Saren probably has some of his Geth watching the sky. The Hellhound isn't fast enough!" said Pressly.

"We've got no choice then. Drop us in the Mako." Austin ordered.

"You'd need at least a hundred meters of open terrain to pull off a drop like that. The most I can find near Saren is twenty." Said Pressly.

"Twenty meters? No way we can make a drop in there." Said Ashley.

"Ashley's right. If we try a stunt like that, we'll be killed!" Sarah agreed.

"We have to try." Said Liara.

"Find another landing zone!" said Ashley.

"There is no other landing zone!" Pressly shouted back.

"The descent angle's too steep!" Tali agreed.

"It's our only option!" said Liara.

"It's not an option! It's a suicide run! We don't-" Ashley attempted to say. But she was interrupted by Joker.

"I can do it." He said.

"Joker?" Austin asked. He had to be sure that the pilot knew what he was doing.

"I can do it." Joker repeated.

"Everyone, gear up and head down to the Mako. I'm not taking any chances with this mission. No one's being left behind here." Austin ordered.

All of Alpha Squad and the crew went down to the Cargo bay. Austin turned back to Joker.

"Joker – drop us right on top of that bastard!" he said.

Saren, the Terror Geth and his troops where making their way towards the Conduit. It would not be long now. The path ahead was clear and Saren knew that the Council where too cowardly to send a fleet after him. Suddenly he heard a noise in the sky. He and the Terror Geth looked up to see the SSV Normandy heading right for them.

"You two, keep moving!" the Terror Geth ordered to the last two Geth soldiers.

"Inside. Now!" Saren ordered.

All the Geth that hadn't been chosen to stay behind and guard the door did as they were ordered and quickly moved inside the bunker. Both Saren and the Terror Geth watched as the Mako shot out of the Normandy.

"Seal the doors!" the Terror Geth ordered.

The Mako landed hard against the ground and skidded to a stop. They were already too late though. By the time the rover's occupants began crawling out, the doors had sealed.

"So the council sent Shepard after all. Surprising." Said Saren as the Geth resumed their march to the Conduit.

"It won't matter. By the time they make it through, it will already be too late." Said the Terror Geth. "Then they will die like the rest."

"Nevertheless, have the Tunneler ready." Said Saren.

The Mako skidded to a halt just as the bunker sealed itself. With the path blocked, Austin, Alpha Squad and the rest of the team clambered out. Austin was now quite glad, and at the same time impressed, that the Mako had enough seats. They all walked up to the doors.

"We have to get inside this bunker before Saren finds the Conduit. There is no way we're getting past that door with brute force." Said Liara.

"Saren found some way to open it. There must be some kind of security override somewhere in this complex." Said Wrex.

"Then we will have to find some way to get it up and running again." Said Liara.

The entire group then took a moment to look at the sights that Ilos offered. Austin couldn't help but feel that Ilos had a very odd nostalgic feel to it. Alpha Squad didn't seem to show much of a reaction. But then again, they were all wearing helmets. Liara though seemed speechless at the sight.

"I never dreamed I would actually find Ilos." She said.

"It feels wrong to me that we're here. Millions of Protheans died here thousands of years ago after all." Said Sarah.

"We'll worry about disturbing dig sites later, guys." Said Austin. He then spoke into his wrist communicator. "General, this is Shepard, do you copy?"

"We read you Shepard. What's you're status?" came Zartrack's reply.

"We're on Ilos. But Saren's sealed himself in a bunker. We're working on getting it open." Austin replied.

"Copy that. We're clearing the Relay now. Once we've dealt with the Geth fleets, we'll deploy our forces. You're gonna need all the help you can get against Saren." Said Zartrack.

Austin ended the transmission and took out his rifle. All the others did the same.

"Come on. We've got some Geth to kill and a door control to find." He said.

"You haven't changed a bit, Commander." Said Kraan.

The mere second they left the Mako, they ran into Geth, and there were a lot of them. Fortunately, the Geth hadn't counted on there being so many of them. Within minutes, they had managed to gun down all the Geth and they proceeded further through Ilos. The next few hours or so was filled with nothing but gunfights as more and more Geth tried to stand in their way. They failed, obviously.

After a very long time, they finally reached what looked like some kind of control panel for the bunker doors. Austin walked up to the console and accessed it. After a while of using his suit to access the controls, he managed to get access.

"That got it. The path should be clear now." He said.

"Come. Saren already has a head start. We have to go find him before he reaches the Conduit." Said Liara with a real sense of urgency in her voice.

"Unless he's already found it, in which case we're walking into a trap." Said Wrex.

"Don't be so negative, Wrex. If he had this… Conduit, we would know by now." Said Sarah. The N7 marine was doing her best to diffuse the tension. Like her brother, she preferred to focus on the positives rather than the negatives.

Austin turned around to re-join the small army.

"Shepard is right. It is a chance we shall have to take." Said Garrus.

"Which Shepard, Garrus? There's two of us." Austin asked in a sarcastic tone. He hated it when this happened.

"Sorry… I meant your sister." Said Garrus.

"Why don't you just use his first name?" Sarah asked.

"Force of habit." Said Garrus.

As the group turned to leave though, some sort of hologram flashed into life.

"Hold on! Something's happening." Said Alaara.

Austin turned around and looked at the hologram. It wasn't clear what it was meant to be. It looked very badly damaged and extremely old.

"Too late… unable to… invading fleets… no escape…" he heard it say.

"Sounds like some kind of message. But that isn't any language I've ever heard." Said Leena.

"It is probably in Prothean. This recording must be 50,000 years old. No wonder we cannot understand it." Said Liara.

Austin as puzzled by this. It had been plain English to him. Was he hearing things?

"The message is all broken up but I recognize some of the words. It's a warning against the Reaper invasion." He said.

"Wait, you're saying you can understand it?" Ashley asked.

"How's that possible?" Ventra asked.

"Of course! Between the beacons and the Cipher, an understanding of the Prothean language would've been… transferred into your mind." Said Liara.

"I'm beginning to wonder what you've been doing with my brother." Said Sarah. But she meant it as a joke. Some of Alpha Squad giggled slightly. The sense of humour probably ran in the family.

"Not safe… seek refuge… inside the archives…" the message continued.

"What's it saying? Can you make out anything useful?" Tali asked.

"Fought Reapers… The Citadel... overwhelmed… only hope… act of desperation… the Conduit… all is lost!" the message finished.

"It said something about the Conduit, but it's too degraded to help I'm afraid. We should go." Said Austin.

A quick elevator ride took the group back up the level where the Mako had landed. Sure enough, the bunker doors had now opened. Then Austin's radio crackled into life.

"Commander, do you copy?" came Zartrack's voice.

"I read you. What's the situation, General?" Austin replied.

"The Geth fleet orbiting Ilos has been dealt with. We're dropping troops down on the surface. We've got your location on sensors, so heads up! Here comes the cavalry!" said Zartrack.

As the Arkane finished speaking, the sound of engines could be heard. The group looked to the sky and was welcomed by the sight of Helldiver drop ships and gunships descending. Some were carrying rovers, others carrying the crab walker tanks and others just carrying soldiers. As they touched down, Zartrack disembarked from the main gunship.

"Good timing, General." Said Austin.

"We're not about to let you have all the fun." Said Zartrack.

"So, who votes we take the vehicles into the creepy underground bunker?" Liara asked in joking tone.

"Good idea. All this firepower will come in handy." Said Wrex as he looked at one of the crap walkers.

With the Mako leading, the large convoy of Helldiver rovers proceeded into the tunnels. All around them was the massive Prothean architecture of Ilos. Despite that they weren't here under the best of circumstances, Liara was still speechless at the sight.

"I have spent my life studying the Protheans. But I never dreamed I would discover anything like this. This bunker might have been the last refuge of their entire species. Just imagine what mysteries it might hold. Imagine what secrets it might reveal." She said.

"Hey! Try to remember why we're here, Liara. Saren, the Conduit, the fate of the entire galaxy?" Sarah reminded the Asari.

"I am sorry, Sarah. I was swept up in the moment. I just hope we have the opportunity to study this place in detail after this is done." Said Liara.

"I'm sure we will, love." Said Austin. He didn't really care now whether the crew, his squad or his sister knew about his relationship with Liara.

"I would've thought Saren would've set some kind of trap or ambush for us. They've must've been in too much of a hurry." Said Wrex.

"Or we just have yet to run into it." Said Sandra.

The convoy moved deeper and deeper into the underground bunker. It was like a massive Prothean designed canyon. They couldn't help but notice the strange capsules sticking out of the walls.

"What are all those things on the wall? Some kind of containment?" Wrex asked.

"They look like stasis pods. The Protheans probably tried to keep themselves alive through cryogenic freezing. Something must've gone wrong. This bunker became their tomb. The pods are dead as well as anyone inside." Said Liara. There was hint of sadness in her voice.

"All of them? There must be hundreds of those pods." Alaara asked.

"What was Saren expecting to find here? There's nothing left but corpses." Ventra asked rhetorically.

After a long drive further through the Ilos canyons, the convoy did eventually find a few Geth. However they weren't much and where gunned down easily. Suddenly, they then found themselves blocked by some sort of orange shield. The convoy stopped.

"What is happening?" Liara asked.

"It's a trap! Saren must've set and ambush!" came Zartrack's voice.

However no Geth tried to attack them. They were all alone.

"I do not think Saren is behind this." Said Liara.

Austin couldn't shake the feeling that Liara was right. This was something else. He and the rest of the team clambered out of the Mako. A few of the HelldiverS, along with Zartrack, did the same. One soldier bravely touched the barrier. It didn't hurt him. But at the same time, it didn't let him through. Austin looked back and noticed that the way back was blocked too.

"Looks like we're stuck here." Said Zartrack. "No way will our weapons have any effect on those barriers.

Austin then noticed a door near the barrier. Zartrack noticed it too.

"Guard the convoy and keep the engines running! We'll be back." Zartrack ordered to the other Helldivers.

A brief elevator ride found the group in a large open room. In front of them was the same hologram that they had seen earlier. Austin walked up to it.

"You are not Prothean. But you are not machine, either. This eventuality was one of many that was anticipated. This is why we sent our warning trough the beacons." It said.

"Looks like some kind of VI program. Pretty badly damaged." Said Tali.

"I do not sense the taint of indoctrination upon any of you. Unlike the other that passed recently. Perhaps there is still hope." Said the hologram.

"Wait a minute. How come we can understand it now? Why isn't it speaking the Prothean language?" Ashley asked.

"I have been monitoring your communications since you arrived at this facility. I have translated my output into a format you will comprehend. My name is Vigil. You are safe here, for the moment. But that is likely to change. Soon, nowhere will be safe." The hologram replied.

"Are you some kind of artificial intelligence program?" Austin asked.

"I am an advanced non-organic analysis system with personality imprints from Ksad Ishan, chief overseer of the Ilos research facility." Vigil replied.

"Why did you bring us here?" Zartrack asked.

"You must break a cycle that has continued for millions of years. But to stop it, you must understand or you will make the same mistakes we did. The Citadel is the heart of your civilization and the seat of government. As it was with us, and as it has been with every civilization that came before us. But the Citadel is a trap. The station is actually an enormous Mass Relay. One that links to dark space, the empty void beyond the galaxy's horizon. When the Citadel relay is activated, the Reapers will pour through. And all you know will be destroyed." Vigil explained.

"How's that possible? How come nobody ever noticed the Citadel was an inactive Mass Relay?" Sarah asked.

"The Reapers are carful to keep the greatest secrets of the Citadel hidden. That is why they created a species of seemingly benign organic caretakers." Said Vigil.

"Wait a minute. You're talking about the keepers?" Sandra asked, a hint of shock in her voice.

"The keepers maintain the station's most basic functions. They enable any species that discovers the Citadel to use it without fully understanding the technology. Reliance on the keepers ensures no other species will ever discover the Citadel's true nature. Not until the relay is activated and the Reapers invade." Said Vigil.

"How do the Reapers survive out in dark space?" Dash asked.

"We have only theories. The researchers here came to believe the Reapers enter prolonged states of inactivity to conserve energy. This allows them to survive the thousands and thousands of years it takes for organic civilization to rebuild itself. But in this state, they are vulnerable. By retreating beyond the edges of the galaxy, they ensure no one will accidently discover them. They keep their existence hidden until the Citadel Relay is activated." Said Vigil.

"This means Reapers can wipe out the Council and the entire Citadel fleet in a single surprise attack!" said Austin.

"That was our fate. Our leaders were dead before we even realized we were under attack. The Reapers seized control of the Citadel and through it, the mass relays. Communication and transportation across our empire were crippled. Each star system was isolated, cut off from the others. Easy prey for the Reaper fleets. Over the next decades, the Reapers systematically obliterated our people. World by world, system by system, they methodically wiped us out." Said Vigil.

"The war was lost. If you had surrendered, they might have let you live." Said Liara.

"No offer of surrender was ever given. Our enemy had a single goal: the extinction of all advanced organic life. Through the Citadel, the Reapers had access to all our records, maps, census data. Information is power, and they knew everything about us. Their fleets advanced across every settled region of the galaxy. Some worlds were utterly destroyed. Others were conquered, their populations enslaved. These indoctrinated servants became sleeper agents under Reaper control. Taken in as refugees by other Protheans, they betrayed them to the machines. Within a few centuries, the Reapers had killed or enslaved every Prothean in the galaxy. They were relentless, brutal and absolutely thorough." Said Vigil.

"You said we were brought here for a reason. Tell us what we need to do." Said Austin.

"The Conduit is the key. Before the Reapers attacked, we Protheans were on the cusp of unlocking the mysteries behind Mass Relay technology. Ilos was a top secret facility. Here, researchers worked to create a small-scale version of a Mass Relay. One that linked directly to the Citadel: the hub of the Relay network.

"So the Conduit isn't a weapon. It is a back door onto the Citadel!" said Liara.

"How did this manage to stay hidden?" Garrus asked.

"All official records of our project were destroyed in the initial attack on the Citadel. While the Prothean Empire came crashing down, Ilos was spared. We severed all communication with the outside and our facility went dark. The personnel retreated underground into these archives. To conserve resources, everyone was put into Cryogenic stasis. I was programmed to monitor the facility and wake the staff when the danger had passed. But the genocide of an entire species is a long, slow process. Years passed. Decades, centuries. The Reapers persisted. And my energy reserves were dwindling." Said Vigil.

"You should have fought!" Austin objected.

"We were a few hundred against a galactic invasion fleet. Our only hope was to remain undetected. I began to disable the life support of non-essential personnel. First support staff, then security. One by one, their pods were shut down to conserve energy. Eventually, only the stasis pods of the top scientist remained active. Even these were in danger of failing when the Reapers finally retreated back through the Citadel Relay. " Said Vigil.

"There were hundreds of stasis pods out there! You just shut them down? You killed them?" Liara asked in horror.

"This outcome was not completely unforeseen. My actions were a result of contingency programming entered on my creation." Vigil replied defensively.

"I bet they didn't tell the "non-essential" staff about this contingency." Said Ashley.

"I saved key personnel. When the Reapers retreated, the top researchers were still alive. My actions are the only reason any hopes remains. When the researchers woke, they realized the Prothean species was doomed. There were only a dozen individuals left, far too few to sustain a viable population. Yet they vowed to find some way to stop the Reapers from returning. A way to break the cycle forever. And they knew the keepers were the key." Said Vigil.

"I still don't fully understand. Why is Saren trying to find the Conduit?" Austin asked.

"The Conduit gives him access to the Citadel and the keepers. The keepers are controlled by the Citadel. Before each invasion, a signal is sent through the station compelling the keepers to activate the Citadel Relay. After decades of feverish study, the scientists discovered a way to alter this signal. Using the Conduit, they gained access to the Citadel and make the modifications. This time, when Sovereign sent the signal to the Citadel, the keepers ignored it. The Reapers are trapped in dark space." Vigil explained.

"Saren must have some plan to undo that." Said Kraan.

"The one you call Saren will use the Conduit to bypass the Citadel's defences. Once inside, he will transfer control of the station to Sovereign. Sovereign will override the Citadel's systems and manually open the Relay. And the cycle of extinction will begin again." Said Vigil.

"There has to be some way to stop them." Said Austin.

"There's a data file in my console. Take a copy when you go. When you reach the Citadel's master control unit, upload it to the station. It will corrupt the Citadel's security protocols and give you temporary control over the station. It might give you a chance against Sovereign." Said Vigil.

"Wait. Where's the Citadel's master control unit? I've never heard of anything like that." Zartrack asked.

"Through the Conduit. Follow Saren. He will lead you to your destination." Said Vigil.

"Then we have no time to lose! Saren's got enough of a head start. Grab that data file and let's go!" said Austin.

Before they could turn to leave though, Liara stopped him.

"Austin, wait! Are you sure? Who knows who long Vigil will be here. Even now the projection is weak. This might be our only chance to speak with it, our only link to the knowledge of the Protheans. It is the opportunity of a life time." She said.

Liara did have a point.

"It might know something. Alright, ask Vigil what you want, but make it quick!" he said to her.

After a few long minutes or so, Liara had heard all she wanted from Vigil.

"The one you call Saren has not reached the Conduit. Not yet. There is still hope if you hurry." Said Vigil as it disappeared and the group headed back to the Convoy.

Sure enough, the barrier was now down. With no time to lose, the convoy sped through the Prothean canyons. All the while though, Dash couldn't help but enjoy it all. The race against time sense, on a mission to save the galaxy, and the fact that they were near the epic climax. At one point he couldn't help but chant "Helldiver victory!"

As the convoy neared the Conduit, more and more Geth were appearing. As they finished the last wave however, the whole ground started to shake and rumble. At the very back of the convoy, 5 massive mechanical tentacles suddenly burst out of the ground, obliterating the rear of the colony and sending others crashing into the huge chasm left by the arms.

"What the hell's going on back there?" Zartrack shouted into his comm.

There's something back here! We can't…" a soldier replied over the radio, but it was cut off before he could continue. Using the turret on his tank, Zartrack looked back. All he could see however where the remains of several destroyed rovers tanks and crab walkers. The convoy made a turn and there, right in front of them, was the Conduit. True enough, it was just a smaller Mass Relay.

"There, the Conduit! It's incredible!" said Liara as she admired the sight.

"I'm afraid we don't have time to admire the view, Dr. T'soni! We have to make it through, and that Geth isn't going to make it easy on us!" said Zartrack.

Sure enough, there in front of the Conduit, stood the Terror Geth. It growled as it saw the Helldiver convoy approaching and readied its plasma blaster.

"Hold on. They're only leaving one Geth?" Austin asked. "That doesn't make sense."

"Regardless of what they leave behind, that Terror Geth's standing between us and saving the galaxy. Helldivers, attack!" Zartrack ordered.

Some of the Convoy stopped and allowed some of the soldiers to get out so that they could fire on the Terror Geth. The Soldiers, the Tanks and the crab walkers all fired simultaneously. The Terror Geth however returned fire and also threw up its Omni shield. The whole battlefield became a blaze of gunfire between the Terror Geth and the Helldivers. Parts of the ground where blown apart by the plasma and explosions from the cannons littered the ground. Despite the Terror Geth's weapons however it was outnumbered one to hundreds, and it knew that. The Geth felt it was time to retreat. The Helldivers wouldn't be a problem. The Tunneler would take care of them.

As the Helldivers fired, the ground started to shake again, this time way more violently. Then they could hear the sound of heavy machinery and what sounded like some sort of drill.

"Does this planet have earthquakes or something?" Wrex asked as he still fired on the Terror Geth.

"Look!" Liara shouted.

All of the Helldivers looked. In the distance the Ilos towers where toppling over. Something massive was heading their way. Then Austin's hid lit up with a warning.

"Husk detected!"

A sudden realization came to Austin. No! It couldn't be. But his worst fears where quickly realised. The massive tentacles once again plunged right out of the ground. Then they were followed by a massive snake like machine body. It was covered in spikes, knifes and drills. The five tentacles also had saws and drills attached to them. The body also had another set of arms, but these weren't tentacles, they were actual organic arms. The five mechanical tentacles plunged into the ground and started to slowly lift the massive hulking body out of the ground.

The Terror Geth looked to the Tunneler it had just summoned. Just before the Geth vanished through the Conduit, it gave the order.

"Destroy them! Saren wants them dead!" it yelled.

The Terror Geth vanished through the Conduit and the Tunneler finished hauling its massive head out of the ground. Every single Helldiver stopped firing and stared in horroR at the massive husk. The tunneler roared and plunged back into the ground and started to move towards the army. Austin too was frozen with fear at the sight of the husk. He knew full well what this creature was, or had been. It was no normal husk… It was a Thresher Maw!

To be continued...

Next chapter: Wrath of the Helldivers

I'll bet you didn't see that coming did you?