Legacy

The Geth had an extended network of scanning devices so LEGION along with AURORA managed to get the exact coordinates to arrive directly at the planet. However, Ann Bryson's digging site was swarmed with reapers, so LEGION advised for the Normandy to divert to Garneau's location. Instead, the Consular-Class ships arrived with the 501st for a hot extraction. Thanks to Ahsoka they managed to locate Ann pretty fast, but the ship couldn't land as close.

"Get us to that landing pad over there."

She, along with Rex, Echo and Fives managed to land on the pad, but Bond and Devil were less lucky as the pad began to collapse. Reaching out with the force, Ahsoka caught the females and levitated them up to her. "Keep moving!" Rex ordered. "Echo, Devil, you flank the General. I bring up the rear." The two gunners moved forward, mowing down every husk they had in sight. Then they spotted Cannibals over a dead body. Echo fired a barrage at the explosive barrels while Devil sprayed with her Quadpod at the Reapers. Climbing up a ladder to bypass a collapsed part, they jumped onto the cliff. "Damn, the bridge is down." Bond cussed. Echo and Fives looked at it. "We'll have it going. Just keep us covered." Just as the two ARCs worked on the Panel, a loud screech filled the area. A Banshee warped into the area. It threw a biotic sphere at them, but Ahsoka redirected it at a group of Husks with the Force. Rex, Devil and Bond opened fire at it. Wearing its barriers down, the laser tore through the synthetic organs. It collapsed and pulled itself towards Ahsoka who collapsed too, carding her head.

"IT HURTS!" Rex smashed the head into the ground and pumped plasma into it until it dissolved into ashes. "Echo, Fives, work faster!" he barked.

The two ARCs began to rip the console apart. After reconnecting the wires, the bridge began to rise. Echo lifted his minigun and sprayed laser at the incoming husks.

Bly fired precision shots while Galle laid down suppressing fire. Then Inc hailed them over the comms: "Commander we are in the room below you! Need help here!" Aayla reacted immediately. Cutting the cannibal in half she jumped back behind the two clones and pushed her lightsaber into the roof and ran around the two. "Brace for impact!" she shouted as she finished her circle. Dropping down they crushed a banshee under the heavy roof piece. Bly switched to his two hand blasters and fired at a barrier engine. A husk jumped him, but was removed by Ashley's precise fire. As soon as the fire died down another voice joined them. "About bloody time you arrived."

Out of a corner Bo-Katan along with her Night-Owls stepped out. "We were keeping them off our backs for a while."

"Hey guys, I found something!" Kaidan called them over to a console. They watched Miranda explain the purpose of the Sanctuary. "By the Force."

Aayla gasped. Miranda got attacked by Kai Leng mid-sentence. She got cut and was left before she picked herself up and struggled to the next medi-gel dispenser. She got a little to seal her wound, but the pool of blood was evidence of her loss. "We have to get her!" Ashley shouted. Aayla was fast to give orders. "Night-Owls, secure this position. Let no one follow us. Ash, you and Inc come with me. Kaidan, Galle, bring up the rear. Barr, take the jetpack and go outside with Bly." The clones nodded and changed the equipment immediately. Bly and Barr took off through the hole while the rest took the elevator.

The Shepards stepped onto the platform. The station was completely silent. Taking an elevator down, they spotted a brute trying to force the doors open. John rested his rifle onto a seat and aimed at the marauder. On his left Garrus did the same while Tali had their back along with EDI. Jane nodded at the two snipers. Two shots, and two heads rolled as the marauders collapsed. Jane surged forward and placed a biotic nova right into the brute's right arm. It blew off. The reaper turned around, but two precision shots curtsey of EDI with her heavy pistol blinded it. Jane emptied her clip into it as Tali fired an overloaded charge from her Geth-Shotgun. As if that wasn't enough, John and Garrus both fired at the brute's knees, forcing it down. EDI stepped forward and hacked the door. It opened, and they entered the mine. Despite the attack nothing seemed out of order. The workers were chatting with each other. Jane stepped to the information desk and, after not gaining the attention of the assistants, pushed the "Help"-Button.

"FREEZE!" Aayla shouted as they stormed the room. Henry Lawson was holding his own daughter hostage with his other daughter Miranda at gunpoint. "She turned my Ori against me!" Aayla held her lightsaber down. "Damn it, Miranda. There was a reason Shepard wanted you out of this." Kaidan cursed. Ashley aimed at Mr Lawson and so did Inc after swiping tablets from a nearby table to rest his bipod on it. Kaidan and Galle also entered, but their focus was more on the elevator and the second set of doors. "Release her." Aayla said calmly. Henry struggled. "No. Not after Kai Leng took all my research." The jedi enforced her presence with the Force. "Release her. Now."

"INCOMING!" John shouted as reapers descended through the shields into the mining facility. The others took cover behind panels and other structures. The largest threat were two banshees. They flashed around the area, not staying long enough to be hit. John got one in its head by luck as he aimed for a Ravager.

Bly watched from the outside. He had to take a detour to get to the window. He saw a man holding a young woman hostage. Most of the discussion was percettibile through Inc and Galle's comms and was disgusted by the man. Dead weren't justified by numbers. His patience broke. Time to end this.

Inc watched his commander outside. He fired a shot which took the pistol right out of Henry's hand. The man cried out and clutched his hand. At the same time Bly broke through the window, pinning him onto the shattered glass below him. Barr grabbed Oriana and gave a short boost on his jetpack which carried both of them over the controls behind Aayla. The jedi herself deactivated her lightsaber and ran over to Miranda and began to treat the Ex-Cerberus agents wounds. Inc dropped to his knees right beside her and unrolled his medi-kit.

Bond skidded the last meters on her knees and got behind cover. Firing at the last reapers in sight, she cleared the platform. The remaining unit caught up and they breached into the control room. "Ann Bryson?" The scientist was fuddling over a corpse. Echo checked it. "He's dead."

"We have to move." Rex ordered.

"Devil, Fives, protect her. Bond, Echo protect our flanks. Rexter, take point." Ahsoka said. The Captain opened the doors towards the cliff. Echo went through first and fired at the reaper. Ahsoka consoled Ann. "Anything you can tell us about this leviathan?"

Taking cover behind some rocks, Ann pointed at a wall painting. "We believe that they were worshipped. They were gods." "They?" the jedi asked.

Ann nodded. "It's a whole culture. We still try to understand them." Fives peered over his rock. Several reapers were standing around an orb. One was absorbing the energy from it. Suddenly, Ann straightend up. "The darkness cannot be breached." she said in a monotone voice. Rex grabbed her and pulled her back behind cover. "Damn, she's fighting me."

Ahsoka looked over to Echo. "Take them out!" The troopers nodded and opened fire. Slotting the reapers the orb burst out of existence. Ann shook her head. A harvester landed, but it was quickly taken care off as Hawk arrived with the gunship again. The turrets tore through the reaper. Shots bounced off the armor plating. "Hurry up! We're sitting ducks out here!" He hovered near them and opened the bay doors. The clones jumped up. Ahsoka grabbed Ann by her waist and used the Force to jump up. As the gunship pulled away, the Consular ships opened fire on the remaining digsite. The turbolasers tore into the cliff, burying reapers beneath them. Ann breathed to calm herself down. "I need to tell my dad about this."

Rex nodded as they established a link to the Citadel.

The Shepard twins fought their way through the mine. Garneau had a detonator. His back was against a familiar orb as he was surrounded by husks. "The darkness will not be breached." The explosion breached the artifact and the mist coming out vaporized the husks. Tali investigated a dropped Tablet. "Guys, that one wasn't Garneau. This one is." Around them the mine workers seemed to wake out of a kind of trance. "What happened here?"

John sighed. A long explanation was coming his way. Jane punched his shoulder. He rubbed it and pointed at the corpse of the doctor. "Do you recognize this man?" The worker shook her head. "Never seen him before."

Another woman rubbed her head. "It was so strange. Like I would never be happy again. So cold.. and dark..." A man leaned against a console. "Yeah, I know what you mean. If darkness was a feeling, that would definitely be it." He looked down at the site. "I remember that we found something. HQ wanted to send in a scientist." He spotted a deformed corpse. "What the hell is that thing?"

John glazed down. "That's a reaper." The Asari woman looked confused. "What is a reaper?" Jane looked at her brother. "What year do you think it is?" she asked. "2176."

John looked at her. "2176 was ten years ago."

Jane turned to Garrus. "We need to place them in temporary quarantine. They need to readjust. Try to locate their families." "It will be done, Commander." the Turian acknowledged.

The different groups returned to the citadel. The Brysons threw themselves into research. When the Shepards along with the Cobra leaders stopped by, they found father and daughter in a heated argument. "Complete non-sense! You will not risk yourself for this. This isn't worth it!"

Ann screamed back. "IF I DON'T DO IT, WE WILL ALL DIE! LEVIATHAN MIGHT BE OUR ONLY CHANCE!"

The spectators watched insults and arguments being exchanged. Then, Ahsoka stepped in. "ENOUGH!" she shouted. She pointed at the elder man. "You want to protect your daughter, I can respect that. But also respect that she makes her own choices." The jedi turned to Ann. "You need to understand that your father is afraid. If we loose you, it will be in vain."

Catherine looked at the artifact. "Ahsoka, could you help her mentally?" The jedi nodded. "Erik, how fast can we track the signal?"

Erik looked at the instruments. "The longer we hold the connection, the more precise I can pinpoint it. With the AURORA and EDI it should work to cover everything."

John nodded as he joined the Lieutenant on the console. Catherine got close to the artifact. "When it goes out of control, I will reactivate the shield."

Jane, Rex, Echo and Fives pinned Ann down onto the table. From what they had observed, the victims of Leviathan's control had sudden power spikes. The shield was turned off and Ann's eyes turned black. "The darkness will not be breached." she said in a low voice. Dr. Bryson kneed down next to her head. "We know you are out there. The Reaper are looking for you." Ann growled an inhuman sound. "They will not find us."

Erik and John were sorting through the data Aurora and EDI filtered. "Keep him online. We have the sector." John shouted. Dr Bryson nodded. "You have killed my assistant, why?"

"He was about to breach the darkness. The darkness cannot be breached."

"Pinpointing the system. Keep him talking!" Ann began to shudder with compulsions, but Catherine didn't activate the shield. "Are you a reaper? Why are you doing this? Why are you killing reaper?" Ann lashed out, but the ARCs kept her down. A crack sounded as one of her ribs broke. "We are above them. They are nothing like us."

Erik hammered a sequence of digits into the terminal. "GOT IT!" he shouted. Just as the thought crossed his mind, Catherine pressed the button and reactivated the shield. Ann slumbered down. Immediately, her father was hugging her. "Please Ann, no. Don't leave me."

The clones stepped back and looked onto the floor. Jane tried to console the doctor. Erik looked at Ann, scanning her. "I'm sorry. She is in a deep coma."

Rex looked around and spotted Ahsoka collapsed on the ground. "Soka? Please don't do this to me." ~I'm here Rexter. I have to help her. Don't worry. We will return. Find Leviathan and get him on our side. I can only protect her mind from his grasp.~ Rex nodded as he placed his love down onto a stretcher. He turned around to face them. "Do we have the location?"

John nodded. "I've uploaded the coordinates." Rex looked at the group. "Dr. Bryson, you stay here and make sure they get medical attention. Keep them together." No one disagreed. "Shepards, take the 501st with you first." He pointed at Erik and Catherine. "You follow us in the Red Montana." Immediately, everyone moved and got the ships ready. The Normandy was first to leave Citadel Space with the 501st on board.

Reaching their destination, they boarded the two shuttles and the larty. Heading down, they looked at the intel from the probe. "The signal is coming from below." Cortez told them that the shuttles were built to withstand the pressure but no one had tested before. Suddenly, a shock wave hit them. "EMP!" Cortez used the remaining control he had to crash onto a structure on the surface. The second shuttle T-boned them as James barely managed to land it on the edge. Hawk in the gunship was luckier as the wings provided extra propulsion. Skidding over the surface, he came to a stop right next to the two shuttles.

"Is everyone okay?" John asked. "All troopers accounted for and combat-ready." was the short reply from the trooper next to him. Forcing the shuttle doors open, they looked at the rainy area. "Looks like one of the old ships of the Ballard-Class." Steve commented. The troopers proved themselves battle-hardened as they immediately secured the surrounding area. Right next to them they spotted an abandoned camp. Mummified corpses were in the tents. According to Coric and Kix, the crew must have died decades ago. They spotted some artifacts that they destroyed to be safe from indoctrination. Suddenly, they caught a message. "Atten.. Rea... I..Com...ng. Souv...Ass." Rex cursed as they spotted the gigantic reaper breaking through the clouds. "They must have latched onto our tracking." Echo guessed.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious."

"Last time I checked, you were the captain, but I would accept the promotion anytime." The ARC shot back. Shepard radioed back. "Cortez, how are the repairs going?"

"We are recharging the gun ship with the shuttles' powercells. The reactor on it is working, but it would take too long to replenish the weapon system only by that."

The clones opened fire on the first incoming reapers. Husks and marauders were not a real problem. However, the three new brutes were. Even concentrated fire didn't really stop them. Chunks of metal and flesh were torn out of their bodies, but they continued marching. Behind them banshees were only waiting for the clones to run out of ammo. John spotted a lone mech. It was not fully charged but it had to do. Hacking his way through the rather old encryption, he seized control and remotely moved it forward to block the attack. Using both rocket launchers and the mass accelerator cannon, he cleared the brutes away. However, the concentrated attack by the brutes, followed by the banshees and cannibals, caused the old mech to stumbled and then collapse. "Keep shooting, boys!" Hardcase shouted as he opened with his minigun again. "And girls." Bond piped in cheekily.

Behind them Kix was treating Devil who had caught a bullet in her chest. Carefully removing the chest plate, the medic automatically opened the body suit. The woman made no move to stop him as he stared at her chest. Carefully he pushed one breast to the side to reach the bullet which had drilled itself right between her breasts. It had been stopped by the Sternum. He sealed it with a bacta patch and resealed her body suit. An explosion shattered a piece of the deck and Kix threw himself over her to protect her from the sharpnells.

Then shots rang out and rounds tore through the reapers. A mix of green laser bolts and mass accelerator rounds impacted the reaper infested area. "The cavalry has arrived!"