The Vanguard of your Destruction: Let's Play Mass Effect!

[Melfice]

If writing LP's were a profession, you'd probably be a top-paid writer. (assuming you finished your LP's. VAMPIRE MASQUERADE, DFM. )

But no, seriously.
Top notch!

[DFM]

Eden Prime is a garden world. It was the first human colony established beyond the Charon relay and it became our flagship project, a model of sustainable, organized development. Kilometer high archologies tower over green pastures and sprawling orchards, a man made paradise on the fringe of space and a monument to our reach as a space faring power. Where the Council cowered at the thought of colonies so close to the chaotic and hostile Terminous systems, humanity planted its foot on a rocky world and turned it into a paradise. Then, alone, against an empire of raiders, slavers, murderers and rapists, we protected it.



Now an unknown enemy is striking it from the shadows and for once, I'm in exactly the right place at exactly the right time.



"We're approaching the first LZ, you're going to be splitting up into two teams. Nihlus will be your eyes and ears. He'll scout out ahead and tag anything at the dig site. You're the muscle in this operation, Commander. Move in, secure the beacon and radio for extraction."

Anderson is nervous, though you'd have to know him to see it. There's an edge to his orders, to each command her barks over the roar of the opening cargo hatch. I met the Captain two years ago, when he started overseeing the majority of my post-ascension wetwork trials. From that alone, I know it'd take a lot to make him nervous. Humanity's future in galactic politics for decades, maybe centuries to come, that might be enough.



"Good luck, Nihlus!" Jenkins is excited, too thrilled to be nervous.



"To you the same. I'll be in radio contact, Shepard. I don't think you could have asked for a better chance to prove your candidacy for the Spectres."

The Normandy slows to a halt thirty feet from the ground, and Nihlus disappears down the cargo ramp. His radio acknowledgment comes even before the frigate has begun to move again.



With Nihlus gone, I can actually ask the only question I've had from the start.

"All due respect, Commander, but why tell the Council about the beacon?"



"We're trying to build bridges here, Shepard. This technology could benefit every species in Council space and with the concessions they've made for us already, we owe them that much." The Normandy begins to slow, Joker announcing the approach of the second LZ. "Go in hard, Commander. Secure the beacon and radio extraction."

"What about survivors, Captain?" Alenko asks from behind me.

"Aiding survivors is a secondary objective. The beacon is your top priority."

"Understood, Sir." I reply.



"The misson's yours now, Shepard!"

The Normandy rears for a moment as we leap from the open cargo bay, the frigate already lifting off again as my feet leave the platform.



Feet on the ground. Always feels good to have your feet on the ground.

"Wedge formation, five meter spread. No one shoots until I give the order."

"Understood, sir." Alenko scans the horizon, the distant roar of heavy weapons fire drifting across the grassy fields. Civilians, even some marines, hate that sound. I love it. It's when the weapons stop that you've gotta worry.



"Oh, man... never thought I'd see the AA batteries lit up like that." Jenkins says, weapon lowered.

"You've been here before?" I ask as I start down the grassy slope.

"Born here. Paradise gets pretty dull after awhile, though. Thought the Alliance would be more exciting."

"I'll see what I can do about that."



"Hey, Commander..." Alenko raises his pistol to cover a gap in the rocks as we pass by. "...if it's not exceeding clearance, can I ask what you saw in that transmission? The Captain seemed a little... spooked and I haven't heard anything about who the attacker is."

"You ever read Lovecraft?"



I signal a halt as we near a twist in the path. The radio frequency begins to crackle and I can hear Nihlus' voice in my helmet.

"Lot of burned out buildings here, Shepard. Lot of bodies. I'm moving on to the dig site, no sign of enemy combatants yet."

"Keep me posted."



Wide path ahead, but there's a lot of cover. I signal Jenkins to take up a firing position near the south end, one that can cover the lieutenant and I as we leapfrog towards the top of the path.



He moves forwards without a word, and I can almost hear something humming underneath the distant sounds of war.









I signal Alenko into firing position.



Combat drones, a pair of them. Never seen the design before. I lean against a natural rock wall and line up my pistol shots, destroying one with a double tap as the lieutenant dispatches the other. Never seen drones take down personal shields that quickly.



"Area clear, let's grab Jenkins."



Jenkins isn't moving. Alenko checks for a pulse through the blood before closing the corporal's eyes.



"Ripped right through his shields, Commander. He never had a chance."

"Hope it was exciting." I press a finger against my helmet's communicator, glancing at the wide length of path we've yet to clear. "This is Shepard, Corporal Jenkins is down. We're moving on the dig site."

"I didn't turn up anything at the dig site during initial recon, but I'd like your team to clear it out and do a more thorough sweep. I think it may have been moved to one of the landing pads nearby. I'll radio you when I have more."

"Understood, Nihlus."

I remove my hand and motion Alenko forward.



Another pair of recon drones emerge from behind the corner of the path, both quickly dispatched.

"There must be a million of these if they're making a sustained attack on the colony. You ever seen them before?"

"No." Alenko responds. "Whatever they are, they're not from any council-certified manufacturer."

"Hold up..." I raise my hand, taking cover behind a low segment of rock. Kaiden follows my lead, ducking down under the same bolder. "You hear that?"

I lift my head just over the rock.







There's a horrendous scream as the spike rockets upwards.



"What... what are they doing?" Alenko whispers.

"Something I'm going to stop."



We open fire from behind our cover, the humanoids scrambling to find their own. Before they can bunker down, weapons fire opens up from the western precipice, cutting down one of the aliens and distracting its associate long enough for an easy double tap to its glowing skull.

I emerge from behind the jutting rock as a human shape in white Alliance standard armor slides down the side of the short cliff, standing on the grass near the bodies.




"This is Commander Shepard of the SSV Normandy. Name, rank and regiment soldier."



"Looks that way." I glance at the bodies by our feet. Mechanical. Never seen the design before.



She shakes her head, light reflecting off numerous cracks and splinters in her helmet.





"Your orders would have been to hold the beacon. Since you're still alive, I assume it's intact."



"Wonderful." Might as well see if she knows what these things are.



"I... think they're Geth." The Gunnery Chief says, clearly unsure.



"I don't know, Lieutenant, why would they show up now?" I turn back to the Gunnery Chief. "You're under my authority for the duration of this Op and lucky for you, we've had a squad opening. Take us to the dig site, Williams."





We press forward between the hills, remnants of lights and digging equipment littering the path around us. Hopefully whatever we saw in the video transmission hasn't had a chance to snatch the beacon just yet.

"Williams, you didn't happen to see a flagship leading the invasion, did you?"

The Gunnery Chief maintains formation, not once glancing away from her environment sweeps, even while she answers.

"There were dropships bringing reinforcements, I never saw where they were coming from. Any kind of flagship would have to be in high orbit if it was anything larger than a small frigate."

"Or it'd split open from the gravitational exertion." I finish her thought for her, more concerned than ever about the juggernaut we'd witnessed on tape. I'd been so caught up in the mission I never stopped to think that what I'd seen was physically impossible. To sustain a ship that size in atmosphere, it'd need mass effect generators the size of a world. Or at least a moon.

"Commander? Did you... see something? During the brief?" Alenko asks from behind me.

"No."

The dig site Williams points us to is in enemy hands, but only lightly defended. After clearing out a handful of the bipedal drones, we move forward to the site.



"I'm not seeing anything, Williams."





"No way to know." Williams responds. "If it was us, they probably took it to the archeological camp."



"Alright, let's get moving."

We march up an earthen ramp, smoke and eventually flames becoming visible on the lip of the looming embankment.





More of the mechanical spikes, these with corpses that look... wrong. Shriveled, gray husks of men lined in glowing blue circuitry. That doesn't make any sense, do the spikes turn the bodies into that?



There's a sudden whir of alien machinery as the spikes begin to retract, lowering the skewered bodies to the ground.



Alenko shouts above the noise, raising his pistol and firing as the husks begin to animate, lurching forward like an ancient zombie vid.





Williams exclaims alarm as she steps backwards, joining the Lieutenant in laying down suppressive fire. The first of the mechanized husks rapidly closes the distance between us, barely slowed by the heavy pistol and assault rifle rounds slamming into it.



I raise my hand, the familiar prick of a million different pins begins at the base of my spine, traveling up my arm.



The sensation is followed by the iconic blue tendrils of energy that accompany any mass effect field. With the flick of a finger, I turn the charge into shockwave the blows the husk twenty meters back, head over withered heel.





I finish it off with a blast from the shotgun, another cadaver emerging from behind a crate behind it. I twist the element zero inside me, releasing an unstable mass effect field like a fireball. It slams into the charging husk, tearing it apart from the inside like a fireball. The pins in my arm have turned to razors. Can't overuse biotic powers. Not if you're human, any way.



A shotgun blast finishes it, Alenko and Williams putting down an unseen third.



With the camp cleared of immediate threats, Williams notices the solid red panel on one of the undamaged trailer doors. If it's locked from the inside, there might still be people alive in there. I bash the lock open with the butt of my rifle. The door sparks and slides open, two terrified scientists cowering inside.














"Jesus Christ I didn't ask for your life stories. We're here to recover the beacon, there should have been a Turian scouting ahead for us, have you seen him?"



Manuel paces, shaking his head.

"The Turian... has been consumed by hatred, devoured entirely... only circuits and steel remain to keep his shell together."





"Is there at least something you can tell me about the beacon? Any clue what's inside it?"







"Aren't you Doctor Doom and Gloom." I turn to the only scientist who's actually lucid. "What about the attack? Gunnery Chief says they're Geth."

"It makes sense, from what little I saw of them." She replies.







"Yeah, that's not PTSD. What's going on with your friend?"









"We've stuck around for too long here, we need to hit that spaceport. Bunker down and keep a low profile, don't open that door unless you're sure it's human. If the enemy's already cleared this area they're not coming back unless something peaks their interest and between me and the beacon, they'll have a lot on their minds."

"Thank you." She replies, turning to attend to her stricken colleague. "Good luck, finding the beacon. And please... help as many people as you can."

The sliding door locks behind us as we step onto the charred grass.

"Commander..." Williams starts. "What was that about a Turian with you?"

"We have a specialist running recon, anything else you want to know is above your pay grade."

"Yes, sir." The acknowledgment is resentful, only slightly bitter.



We near a ridge, the sounds of battle becoming more sporadic. The only defenses left in the region must be hardened targets the invaders don't want to commit against. Luckily for us, the spaceport would definitely qualify as-



There's a noise that escapes my lips, it sounds almost like 'Oh' before it rasps to nothing.

"Jesus Christ, look at the size of that thing!" Williams exclaims, assault rifle lowering.



"It's leaving atmosphere! It must have the beacon." Alenko moves ahead of me, studying the massive ship. "What IS that?"

The fading roar of the launching ship is eventually drowned out by the mechanical whine of lowering Geth spires from the spaceport below, the marines stationed there the victims of a grizzly massacre.



The husks lower from their platform, Geth troopers moving for defensive positions. The mechanized undead charge in waves up the rocky hill, unfazed by the suppressing fire from Alenko and Williams.

"Nihlus! Nihlus, this is Shepard, we've just made contact with the enemy flagship near the western spaceport. Port is overrun, enemy entrenched. Clearing it out now, will radio if we need assistance."

There's no acknowledgment.



I lean forward, pulling my arm back as the familiar tingle begins to grow.



If Akuze didn't kill me, it sure as hell made me stronger.



Williams pours fire on the charging, stumbling horde, the Alliance issue M8 Assault Rifle doing little more than plinking away at their lifeless shells. I provide additional fire support whenever they move into range.



As the last of the charging husks is lain flat, Alenko turns his attention to the Gath troopers holed up near the top of the spaceport platform, glowing blue-violet and thrusting his right hand forward. A fuel crate is torn from its stand and flies into the cowering enemy, lighting up the air around most the station from the explosion and extended slow burn.



"Come on!" I order as start up the ramp, smoke rising into the red sky above our heads. "We might be able to find out where they were headed, or at least where the jammer is that's causing our communicator black-"



"Oh fuck me."

We approach the body, Alenko kneeling down and checking for... whatever it is you're supposed to check for to see if a Turian's dead.

"He's... gone, Commander."

"Fuck. Fuck, this went tits up, didn't it? We lost the beacon and Nihlus all in one go, sparkling fucking resume this'll make."

Williams raises her rifle towards a pile of shipping crates.











"Other one? What the hell are you talking about?"









"You mean it's still on the planet?"

"Probably, yeah. It's been hooked into the station's TSA grid. Most of that thing's still online and it's not reporting any thefts. Only thing it's not reporting."

"Alright, you find somewhere safe, we're going after that beacon."

"There's a few survivors at the survey camp." Alenko adds. "It's not far and the way should be clear. You might want to head that way for some shelter."

"Yeah... yeah thanks. I... I need to get out of here."

He ducks past us as the clanking of metallic feet can be heard laboring up the tram's exit ramp.





I love it when they try to engage at close range.





The clank of super accelerated carbon filings against re-enforced durasteel alloys is almost unmistakable and wholly underwhelming given the forces at work.

"For an almost mystical interstellar boogieman, Geth aren't very bright."

"With what they've done here, it doesn't look like they need to be." Alenko responds, fighting his way down onto the open air tram. An accelerated sniper's round from near the front of the train cuts through my shields like paper, slamming through my armored chest and stopping in my armored back. I stumble, taking rough cover behind the nearest seating guard.

"Commander!"



"I'm alright, Williams." It's a half lie. I'll be alright. Even though it doesn't feel like much after Akuze, I know enough enough about physiology that I'm not looking at a recovery nap. "The Geth are dug in all through the train, we're going to have to push forward deliberately. Nobody's losing Saren and nobody's turning into tram paste, alright?"

"Except the Geth, right Sir?"

"Right, Alenko."

"Commander, you're... you need some medigel, you're bleeding everywhere-"

"I've gone through worse." I reply, glancing down at the massive red hole in my chest and the singed edges of my reinforced armored suit.

"He really has." Alenko manages to add despite the fire raining down on him.

"Alright, Alenko's suppressed, we need to help him out. You ever work with a biotic before, Williams?"

"No, sir."

"Then you're in for a treat. I'll clear a path, you advance as far as you can." I say, leaning from behind the guard.





Needles in your arm are surprisingly good at distracting you from a hole in your chest. Geth are much thicker on the train than they were in the spaceport. Good sign we're on the right track.



Williams moves forward, downing trooper after trooper with three round bursts to their flashlight skulls. Calm, precise... deadly accurate. She should be doing combat drops, not stationed as garrison on a garden world. Eden Prime's warfare days were supposed to be long over, there's no reason for a marine of her level to be here.


Unless someone knew the Geth were coming.



We clear our way to the tram controls at the front of the train, my biotics disabling or distracting the Geth and Williams marksmanship putting them down. Alenko activates the tram, sending us towards the other end of the platform. Williams holds her rifle in one hand, supporting herself against the railing with the other. The skies are still red, but the scattered weapons fire has almost completely stopped. The Geth were pulling out.

"I knew that beacon was trouble." She says.

"I don't care how much trouble it's been, long as we get our hands on it." I reply, leaning against the edge of the tram as we rush forward. I wave my omni tool over my sizable bullet wound, application of medigel working almost instantly. The armor will still need repairs, and I still have a chunk of Geth metal lodged into my insides, but it'll keep everything from gushing out long enough to get back to the ship.

"Are you sure you're alright, sir?" Williams asks.

"You... do know who he is, don't you Williams?" Alenko hesitates, turning from the controls. "That's the Commander Shepard. Of Akuze."

"Of... Oh. Oh, Geez. I'm sorry, Commander, I-"

"Sorry for what? I'd worry if I saw someone take a sniper slug to the chest, too. Just... maybe not as much. I'm used to being around people who can take a pretty good beating."

"Hope I don't change that." Williams says, genuine and playful. There are a million jokes that run through my head, none of them, I decide, appropriate for the situation and context.

"Coming up on the second platform." Alenko says as the train slows. The first thing we see as we exit the vehicle is a large, cylindrical explosive.



"I'm picking up signatures from four other demolition charges on the platform. If these all go off, they'll wipe out half the colony." I glance upwards, a line of Geth troopers passing by towards sheltered firing positions. "They're trying to slow us down! Alenko, you disarm the bombs. Williams and I will clear the way!"

"Understood, Commander."

"Yes, Sir."



We clear the first bomb site and take up positions at the second as Alenko does his work.

"Second bomb is disarmed!"

"Good! Williams, get ready."



I lean outwards, tingling growing in my arm as I send the nearby trooper sprawling into a support column.



Williams follows me closely, the two of us alternating suppressing and targeted fire to great effect against the semi-intelligent drones. We reach the third bombsite and set up shop to provide covering fire for Lieutenant Alenko.



"Three down, one to go!"

"Again, Williams. Let's move."



"Moving, Sir. Nothing here. Area clear."

"Area clear, Lieutenant. Get on that last bomb."



"Charge disarmed."

I move towards a walkway overlooking the second half of the platform.



"It's there! The beacon's still there! Alenko, Williams, let's clear out these bastard's and get back our relic!"

The spires begin to lower, husks writhing on their metal teeth.



My biotics rip one of them off the spire and over the edge of the platform guardrail. Pins in your arm is worth it every time. Williams and Alenko are exchanging fire with at least two Geth troopers. Small force. Coupled with the explosion they'd planned on creating, they obviously either couldn't figure out how to access the beacon...



Or they'd already gotten what they came for.

The last of the rushing husks fall to our combined weapons fire, and Williams picks off the remaining troopers as they peek out from behind cover. It isn't long before I give the all clear.





















"Williams!"





I run towards Gunnery Chief Williams, towards the beacon. Got to get her out of there. Some kind of mass effect field is pulling her in. Whatever's happening, whatever it's doing, she might damage the beacon if she interferes with it. Good chance she'll get killed, too.



And we certainly don't want th-



Screams.



I see... a monster betrayed...



The blood machine. It's crushing them... it's squeezing their bodies together... pulp... running through its fingers... it screams with them...



Can smell their skin burning. The noise... it's everywhere... gets in your head... won't stop screaming.



WONT

STOP

SCREAMING

[Loyal]

Just like old times. It is good to have your LP-writing back in action.

[Krylo]

Goddamn but that is an ugly Shepard.

So so ugly.

Like one of those blob fish that live on the bottom of the ocean with their tiny black little beady eyes and slimy flesh.

That is what he looks like. Except uglier.

[Kerensky287]

I love how Kaiden spends so much time dead in this chapter. I mean, uh, pinned down or disarming explosives.

That's one of the more creative explanations I've seen for why he can't take a hit.

[Marc v4.0]

We can't all be handsome beacons of democracy and hope

[Krylo]

Oh god.

Is that. Obamashep?

Is he... is he Renegade?

I DEMAND THE KNOWLEDGE NECESSARY TO RECREATE THAT!

[Marc v4.0]

Using ME2 Face gen codes

221.1GW.RWW.W31.FDS.1DW.DW1.6JW.NFA.DS1.157.6

[synkr0nized]

You missed the shed where you can shakedown some scared farmers for a gun and some items before heading to Powell.

It's your first in-game opportunity to make use of super-goody/angry points.

I have been replaying this over break to show my brother, who went and bought the second game without ever having played ME.
It's too bad Vanguards don't get the charge power until ME2. So far it feels like I am playing an Adept that has a shotgun (hadn't done Vanguard yet and refuse to do soldier).

[DFM]

Really short update to show I'm not dead. Thinking of doing smaller updates (Bigger than this, but still pretty small) a couple times a week just so to avoid the humongous lulls

Well, holy shit.



I've had nightmares before. I've had bad ones. Most of the staff doctors say they'd be worried if I didn't. I watched fifty friends being ripped apart by monsters on a godforsaken ball of ice. Had a few nightmares about it. Been impaled by a Thresher Maw and then shaken off twenty feet into an ice sheet. Got some nightmares. Was crushed underneath a crumbling AA battery when I was sixteen. Nightmares. Two minutes before the concrete hit me, I'd been beating a surprised Batarian to death with an overheated Mattock still covered in pieces of my older sister.


Got a lot more nightmares from that.


This one, though... I don't even know what this was about.



I pull myself up from the medical bed, sliding my legs over the side. Head's pounding.



How much of that was even a nightmare?



"What's... what's going on? How long was I out?"

I hope it was goddamn all of it.



"Like total shit. How long was I out?"

Someone's in the medbay with us. Don't recognize her. Might be able to if I didn't have the world's worst hangover.



I start to force thoughts through the pounding walls of my brain. Shit. Shit the beacon was real. Eden Prime, Nihlus... Son of a bitch that was all real.

Alright.


It's alright.

As long as the beacon's onboard... the Alliance should overlook me destroying our shot at joining the galactic boys club and the Council should overlook their dead Spectre.

I completed the mission without the turian's support and despite overwhelming opposition. I should get a goddamn medal.

"Is the beacon alright?"

The doctor pauses, hesitating.

Oh god, no.

"The beacon... was destroyed, Commander."



Williams. From the 212. Are we on the Normandy?

She jumps in, doesn't hesitate to take the blame, even for something this big. This terrible.

"You..." I can't even find the words. A working Prothean artifact, destroyed. Humanity's chances of galactic acceptance, gone. A Spectre, dead. Our shining example of human power and ingenuity, in flames. "...you have no idea how badly you fucked our shit."

This can't be real. It can't be, it's a goddamn joke.

"Do you have any idea what this means? Any idea what you've done? We'll be lucky if we're all court-martialed!" She swallows, eyes locking straight ahead. A marine recruit facing a drill instructor. "We are fucked, Williams. We are fucked up the ass because you decided you couldn't reign in your goddamn curiosity."



I don't believe this.

"It doesn't matter why we lost it, we lost it." I turn away from Williams. "Jesus, do you really think the Alliance brass are going to overlook us when they need to explain to their Turian BFFs why a Prothean Artifact blew the fuck up under our watch? We're done. I'm done. Williams is sure as fuck done. We get to go down as the worst examples of humanity since the Shanxi garrison."

"I'm authorized to give you a sedative, Commander." The doctor says, folding her arms. "Whoever attacked Eden Prime more than likely rigged the beacon to explode, regardless of your presence. I'm sure both the Alliance and the Council will find the Normandy crew innocent of blame, my god, Commander, you touched down in the middle of a full scale invasion that existed solely to reach that artifact, that you retrieved it at all is worthy of a commendation, regardless of what happened after. Especially after the damage you sustained in the blast."

I rub my throbbing forehead. She might be right. Maybe the pain's just got me on edge.

"What damage?"

"Nothing you haven't suffered before, from your medical records. Physically, anyway. Sensors are picking off some unusual brain activity. Very... abnormal beta waves."



I slide off the table, resting against it.





I didn't even hear the door open. Easy to see how the Captain made N7, back in the day.









The two leave, and Captain Anderson waits until the door slides shut before he turns his attention to me.



"I've had worse. What's happened with the mission? Are we still on Eden Prime?"

"No, I've commandeered the Gunnery Chief."



The Captain pauses, folding his hands behind his back.



And I'm sure they won't like what they find.





"A hypothetical turian is a bigger problem than losing a Prothean Artifact?"







"Then he picked a hell of a masterstroke." The throbbing in my head is almost gone, replaced by sinking dread. "Are you sure he was even there? If he really attacked Eden Prime because he hated humans he'd have made off with the beacon and delivered it to the Council himself."

I rub away the last of my fading headache.

"I don't know what the beacon was, but during the flash..."





"Not the most encouraging news I could have heard, Shepard."











I don't believe this, the Council? When have they done anything for humanity?

Anderson senses my objection.



With his parting words, the Captain turns to leave.



The doors of the medical bay slide shut behind him, and for a moment, in the endless black death of space, I'm alone. Alone with my failure and looming consequences.



Tits.