4 Moon Ghost

4 Moon Ghost

--> Our mission to find Saren and stop him from using the Conduit remains our primary goal, but I have other duties as well. I’ve received a priority message from Admiral Hackett. The central VI on Luna Base has gone rogue; seventeen marines were killed by automated defences before they evacuated. Fortunately the station is on a closed network, so the VI can’t spread, but that also means it’s immune to remote shut down. Hackett could of course order the station bombed, but has prudently decided to instead send in a team to shut it down from the inside. That’s where I come in. Clearly Hackett could have ordered in a different team, and is taking opportunity to touch base and confirm the loyalty of the first Human Spectre. I approve whole-heartedly. Setting course for Luna.

--> We've shut down the VI.

Technically it was a mission not much unlike another. Land, break through the security, clear out automated defences, and shut down the servers inside. But despite the heavy defences mobilized against us, we only faced one enemy; the silent program we'd been sent to destroy. The desolate and barren moon was completely devoid of life but for my team and the hostile intelligence that awaited us in the bunkers below the surface. As we shut down the last server, it broadcast a signal before losing power, a series of zeros and ones, which translated spell one word: “help.”

The mission is over, but I can't set this conundrum to rest. It seems the VI on Luna had achieved at least rudimentary independence and awareness, enough to react defensively when it thought it was under attack from the training exercises, and enough to call for aid when all other options were exhausted, even though it had no reason to believe anyone could hear its plea, or hearing would be inclined to heed. Is it possible the VI was not merely an intelligence, but a person? Was there actually a sovereign self with its own perspective, watching helplessly as the team of avenging marines carved through its futile defences? What if it was not a simple malfunction and cold self-preservation that caused the intelligence to kill those seventeen soldiers, but genuine fear? 

How self-aware are the Geth? Are they more than just super-smart killing machines? Is it possible they’re actual persons, not just a sophisticated program with a built-in survival instinct?

These are troubling questions, a mystery whose answer I cannot riddle out with the information at hand. Until further relevant intelligence is obtained, I have no choice but to shelve it indefinitely. The whole matter is unsettling, to say the least. I don't like leaving the matter undecided. It's like deliberately turning my back on an armed hostile.

Ashley Williams has raised the question of non-Alliance personnel being allowed free access to the ship. I’d already asked Alliance High Command what my orders were on the subject when we first left the Citadel. I was told that all other considerations are secondary to diplomatic principle. As the first Human Spectre, my first priority is to look good for interspecies relations. Security considerations are left to my discretion. Apparently, discretion is taking a backseat to diplomacy, and the security of Normandy’s secrets takes second place to being seen as open and cooperative. 
 

I disapprove on principle, but in this specific instance I do not personally think the three individuals in question pose a security risk. Tali is Quarian, and Quarians have not exchanged hostilities with anyone other than pirates since their war with the Geth. Theoretically, Tali could of course sell secrets from the Normandy, but I sincerely doubt her the type of person to be so underhanded. Garrus is a Turian, infuriated by worthless rules but eminently principled. He could reveal no secrets to his people that they do not already know, and would likely pull his fangs out before selling secrets to a third party. Wrex is a Krogan, a mercenary, and likely wouldn’t understand the specifics of the Normandy’s systems if I had Engineer Adams spell it out for him. Moreover, all transmissions from the Normandy are screened by ship systems, and the datacores of all memory storage devices brought on board are monitored. As matters stand, I do not think allowing these three individuals aboard the Normandy constitute a serious threat to security. Nevertheless, I applaud Williams stepping forward and bringing the matter to discussion.

Ashley Williams is a remarkable woman. Even aside from her service record and what I saw of her on Eden Prime, there’s something about her: the way she stands, the she walks, in everything she does, that speaks of a discipline beyond the requirements of the service. There is something about her of the uncompromising idealist, willing to do anything that her conscience demands of her. Her strong impatience for anyone who fails to do the same is tempered with the fiercest empathy for innocents I’ve ever seen. I’ve learned something of why she drives herself so hard. Her grandfather was General Williams, the infamous commander of the Alliance forces at the disaster of Shanxi. Detachments dispersed, constant bombardment, and communications severed, the unfortunate general became the first and only human officer to surrender to Alien forces. The Williams family has been living under what Ashley describes as “the Williams curse” ever since. Ashley’s father never made rank above Serviceman Third Class. He told Ashley “a Williams has to be better than the best, if only to avoid suspicion.” His daughter achieving the rank of Gunnery Chief may seem only due justice, if that, given her service record and technical scores, but it was not easily won.

Garrus Vakarian has asked a favour. He’s thinks he’s tracked down the ship of a black-market organ dealer of atrocious method who evaded him in the past. Apparently, he’s had no luck convincing his superiors in C-Sec to confirm his suspicions and arrest the suspect. I’ve promised him that if our course takes us in that direction, we’ll make a detour. If Saren were not actively pursuing who knows what plot as I record this, I’d give the order to make the diversion immediately.

--> I’ve located both Kahoku’s missing team and Gavin’s missing brother. Both parties are dead. The civilian freighter fell prey to pirates. The missing marines had been killed by a Thresher Maw lurking in wait next to a distress beacon. The Thresher Maw is now dead, but searching the distress beacon and the surrounding area revealed little. Something doesn't add up here. I suspect some foul play is afoot.

Alliance High Command has analysed the Geth intel, and mapped out the locations of four Geth outposts, located in the Gagarin, Tereshkova, Hong, and Vamshi systems. Moving to engage.

--> After long and tedious searching and fighting, the newly formed Geth outposts have been found and eliminated. They were being coordinated from a central base in the Grissom system not revealed in the initial intelligence. When the last Geth soldier fell, the base transmitted a signal back towards the Perseus Veil. It wasn’t a message, not exactly; it was footage of a Quarian singing. Odd, to say the least.

It is unclear if these five bases were merely intended to be surveillance stations, or if they were to be used to launch an invasion. Neither one is going to happen now. The bases and the Geth units manning them are now rubble, and regular Alliance patrols in that sector will alert us should they again attempt to establish a foothold.

In the last base we found a veritable treasure trove of intel, data on the Geth that may reveal how they’ve evolved since driving out the Quarians. Multiple Alliance Scientists assigned to decrypting the information have personally thanked me for providing them with the data. Tali will be taking a copy of the information back with her when she returns to her people. It may take years to decipher all of it, but when that does happen, I shall be most interested to read the results.

I am now faced with a decision. Do I investigate the rumours of Geth activity on Noveria, or do I track down Dr. Liara T’Soni? 
 

Whatever the Geth are doing on Noveria, it is almost certainly my solidest thread to Saren. On the other hand, Dr. T’Soni is Benezia’s daughter as well as an expert on the Protheans. She may be our swiftest lead to Saren, or may have nothing whatever to do with him. Even if she has been thus far completely isolated from her mother’s activities, and has no information on Saren, she might know something else pertinent to this investigation.

Given her location somewhere in the Artemis Tau Star Cluster, Navigator Pressly has narrowed down the search for the Asari doctor considerably. Considering her interests, she can most likely be found on the planet Therum in the Knossos system. The planet has a largely-intact Prothean ruin.

I’m ordering the Normandy to Therum. I may be off on a wild goose chase and wasting valuable time, but I have a feeling I’m not.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3 Feros

--> We’ve touched down on Feros. The colony here is down to a fraction of it's former numbers, constantly harassed by Geth attack, they exhibit strained and even odd behaviour. No one can tell me why the Geth are interested in the planet.

We've driven off the Geth attacking this outpost of the main colony, now we’re off to the main complex. Maybe the Geth forces there will be kind enough to inform us of their intentions.

--> The colony is secure, the Geth there destroyed, the remaining inhabitants safe and free from the Thorian. Apparently, Saren had come to Feros to negotiate with this Thorian, an intelligent plant being with insidious mind-control abilities and a lifespan stretching back tens of thousands of years, even back to the days of the Protheans. This unique and dangerous creature sat and observed the rise and fall of their civilization, gaining extensive knowledge of the Protheans, right down to their very thought patterns. It was this knowledge, the “Cipher,” that Saren sought in order to interpret and understand the visions in the Beacon, giving the plant in return one of Benezia’s handmaidens, an Asari named Shiala.

When he had gotten what he wanted, Saren left a detachment of Geth with orders to destroy the plant so no one else could attain its knowledge. The plant, which had already dominated the colonists nearest its neural center, used them, living and dead, as defence, first against the Geth soldiers, then against us. We only saw the corpses animate upon returning from defeating the main Geth hub in the colony. The colonists went berserk and fired on us. Had it not been for gas grenades provided by other surviving colonists hiding isolated and uninfected, I would have had no choice but to murder human civilians.

Despite precautions, I regret to report that one of the colonists died by my hand; a bullet intended for one of the many animated corpses instead struck the Salarian merchant, the only alien amongst the colonists. I know I should no more regret the death of one sentient being over another, but killing one of a kind out of many others makes the loss all the more sharp.

“First Human Spectre responds to distress call, saves Humans, kills only alien.” The media is going to love this.

Apart from the Salarian, and the colonists' leader who turned his gun upon himself rather than us, all infected with the spores of the now dead Thorian are alive, and once again free to think their own thoughts.

We also managed to save the Asari handmaiden held by the plant. Shiala had been the thrall and medium between the plant and Saren, but once freed imparted to me the Cipher willingly. She says that the effects will take time, but eventually I should come to understand more fully what it is the Visions say. Honestly, these confused and blurred glimpses of horror are not something I want to see more clearly.

Shiala holds no loyalty to Saren. She tells me that Benezia had joined Saren some time ago upon sensing danger in him, hoping to guide him down a gentler path. Instead, she and all of her entourage became his thralls. His ship, called Sovereign, has profound impact upon those near it, bending them to Saren’s will. The process takes time, days or weeks, but in the end is absolute. Even an Asari Matriarch cannot retain freewill. It is unknown if the process wears off given distance and time, or if Shiala regained her right mind because the Thorian had overridden the effects of Sovereign.

Asari Matriarchs are among the wisest and most powerful beings in the Galaxy. This power Saren has to bend even such a one as they to his will is a truly alarming thing to comprehend.

Can this possibly be a coincidence? Saren possess a ship with mind-controlling abilities and seeks out a plant that can do the same? What other undisclosed connections do these two have in common? Could this mysterious and powerful ship Saren possesses be as old as the Thorian, dating back to the Prothean era, perhaps even being a Prothean or Reaper vessel? Shiala says she has no idea who built the ship or how Saren came by it. Whatever its origin, this dreadnought is not Geth. Its make matches the design of no known species. Its weapons are irresistible, its defences nigh impenetrable. Clearly taking it on in a straight-up fight would be suicide. Any successful attempt against it would have to be covert. Given the information Shiala has provided, it seems reasonable to assume that a boarding party could raid the vessel without risking immediate domination.

The company that funded the Feros colony, ExoGeni, has much to answer for. They’d known full well that the Thorian was dominating the colonists, and had treated the whole matter as a science experiment. I make it clear in no uncertain terms in my report to Alliance Command that a thorough investigation and prosecution of the responsible parties is strongly recommended.

Despite her traumatizing experience, Shiala is surprisingly calm and rational, even serene.

She has chosen to remain with the recovering colonists. I wish I could do more for them, but I must away. Free from the plant being, they have declined evacuation, instead seeking to live their lives on Feros as best they can.

We've found several threads linked to the Feros incident. A shipment of human rations to an uncharted world, and sale of samples from Feros to a group referred to as Cerberus. I don’t have time to track down these leads, but hopefully my superiors can find someone else to investigate. Most ominous of all, we managed to salvage some intel from the Geth. It appears they may be establishing a foothold in the Armstrong Cluster. This information goes directly to Alliance High Command and the Citadel Council.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2 The Citadel

--> The Council has officially ordered investigation into Saren and the Geth and just as officially and quickly cleared him of charges. True, we didn’t have much preliminary evidence, only Pallete’s testimony, but they didn’t give the investigation anything like a reasonable time. Saren wasn’t even brought in for questioning, no attempt made to find him or ascertain his doings and whereabouts. He merely attended the hearing in holoform, scoffed at humans in general and Captain Anderson in particular, received his dismissal, and left. The Turian C-Sec officer assigned to his case, Garrus Vakarian, is furious. I’m going to try to find him and see what if we can dig up anything together. His superiors won’t tell me where he is, so it's time to get snoopy.

--> We've done it. We have the evidence we need against Saren. A Quarian pilgrim, Tali-Zorah nar Raiya, had heard of the Geth attack, and succeeded in stalking and disabling a lone unit. Amazingly, she also managed to salvage portions of its data core. In the data is audio recording of Saren speaking: “Eden Prime was a major victory; the Beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the ‘Conduit’.” A second, mature, female, voice adds “And one step closer to the return of the ‘Reapers’.”

  

According to the Geth memory logs, the “Reapers” were a race of highly advanced machines that hunted the Protheans to extinction and then vanished. We have no clue what the “Conduit” is supposed to be.

At first, I was inclined to suspect the “Reapers” a clever and convenient fabrication used by Saren to sway the Geth to his cause, whatever that may be (given his attempt to detonate explosives on the colony at Eden Prime, we can make a good guess). But the vision suggests otherwise. The name “Reapers” seems to fit with uncanny ease into the blurred glimpses of death and horror. I am convinced that these “Reapers” were indeed responsible for the death of the Prothean race, and that the Beacon held the story of their ghastly doom.

Captain Anderson again insists we disclose all of our findings to the Council. But there is no way they will believe this story about the Reapers. Hopefully, when the audio log passes survey for fabrication, they will finally admit Saren’s guilt. Then we can arrest him, interrogate him, and determine the truth of the matter.

--> Well, it's happened. I didn’t think it would actually come about, but the Earth Systems Alliance now has a Spectre. Me. When Saren’s guilt was officially established, the Council dubbed me a Spectre and tasked me with apprehending him. “All efforts will be made to bring him to justice.” In other words, send the human after him with a fancy title as compensation. I know I should be grateful, and I suppose I am. The Spectres are a highly respected and prestigious organization, and the honour has never been granted to a human before. Also, being a Spectre, I now hold nearly unlimited power to operate beyond the scope of the law, using any means I deem necessary to bring the guilty to justice. Answering only to the Council, I essentially have the power of judge, jury, and executioner. 

 

What a paradox. I’ve been given precisely the tools I need to hunt down and bring to justice possibly the most dangerous fugitive in the galaxy, and at the same time oppose and detest the power I now hold. I’m a soldier. I serve the Alliance, reporting up the chain of command to my superiors, bound by established law and regulation. But I am now also a shadow operative, answerable only to a small circle of interstellar politicians, and then only if I make an unavoidable nuisance of myself. So be it. I’ll take this boon and use it as best I may.

Predictably, the Council dismisses the Reapers entirely. An inconvenient truth if true, therefore it must be false.
 

Another stark change I must with regret set down; Captain Anderson has ceded command of the Normandy to me. Apparently the Alliance military is taking a back seat to politics and social signalling. Captain Anderson is taking this with supreme graciousness and self-control. Losing command of the Alliance’s finest vessel so soon and through no fault of his own is unwarranted. The Captain deserves better than to be shoved behind a desk. I owe it to him to ensure this is not wasted.

We have three leads on Saren. Aside from the attack on Eden Prime, we have reports of Geth activity on Feros and Noveria. There is also the possibility of tracking Benezia, the second voice in the recording. Benezia is an old and powerful Asari Matriarch. Our best link to her at this time is her daughter, Dr. Liara T’Soni. Dr. T’Soni may or may not be involved, but she’s an expert on Protheans, and may have knowledge relevant to this investigation. We still have no idea what the Conduit is or what it has to do with the return of the Reapers. Captain Anderson will try to dig up what he can in the Citadel archives, but it is highly unlikely he’ll find anything of use. This business of sentient machines wiping out the Protheans and vanishing without a trace is not substantiated by any official information. Dr. T’Soni has been out in the field for nearly fifty years, with little contact with official channels. If any recently discovered and unreported findings are in existence, they are likely in her possession.

Of the courses available, Feros should take priority. That planet holds a young and small human colony with no defences worth mentioning. If they’re under threat from the Geth, it's clear where I’m needed most.

I bumped into a salarian on the Citadel scanning the Keepers. Apparently these non-communicative creatures manage and maintain the station’s most basic functions and pre-date the Asari’s discovery of the Citadel. Everyone simply takes them for granted, no one bothers to ask why they tend the Citadel or where they come from. Are they a genetically fabricated maintenance race put in place by the Protheans? It seems the best hypothesis, but I don't like it. The matter strikes me as being too quickly glossed over. Should something happen to the Keepers, or should they suddenly decide to go on strike, it might take months to even years to learn how to fill their vacated role. In the meantime, thousands of lives on the Citadel could be lost for want of life support, and the station would be crippled and helpless. In my first extra-legal action, I’ve not only let the Salarian, Chorban, go free, I’ve even agreed to help him in his study of the Keepers. During my short visit on the Citadel, I’ve seen and scanned quite a few of these innocuous Keepers. Should Chorban’s study of the Keepers turn up anything useful, I’ll see to it that Citadel Administration gets the information. Chorban will of course remain anonymous.

I have other demands upon my attention beyond the mission to find Saren and the Conduit. An Alliance patrol has gone missing in the Strenuus system and the region is now declared restricted, Alliance ships forbidden access. As a Spectre, I’m the only option this side of several weeks negotiation for finding the lost marines. I’ve personally assured Admiral Kahoku on the Citadel that I’ll try to find his missing team. I’ve also promised a civilian merchant whose brother’s ship went missing that I’ll help if I can. I need to be three men with three ships. Maybe four.

We have three non-Alliance personel on board, all of them aliens. Garrus the Turian, Tali the Quarian, and Wrex, a Krogan mercenary who says he knows when something big is brewing and wants to be in the middle of it. If this big hulking fellow wants to make himself useful, I’ll take his help. Garrus has resigned his post in C-Sec for the chance to take down Saren “free from red tape.” Tali wants lend her aid on this important mission, and as she has already provided us with essential intel, I don't feel I can refuse her. I will, however, think twice before taking her directly into the line of fire. She’s earned the right to come aboard for the voyage and a front-seat view of the mission, but capable though she is, she’s still a kid, and shouldn't be thrust into the thick of danger. That business is for the Marines, the Turian agent, and the Krogan battlemaster.

I should analyse and map out my team, their abilities and qualities.

Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, Alliance Marine, a resourceful and multi-talented soldier with both technical and biotic training, highly professional and conscientious. 

 

Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, Alliance Marine, a tough and sharp straight-up fighter, with deadly aim and canny combat instinct, empathetic and opinionated.

Garrus Vakarian, recently detective of Citadel Security, an efficient and cunning marksman with hacking and technical skills, impatient and enthusiastic while understated. Resents excessive regulation, may require careful coaching.

Urdnot Wrex, Krogan mercenary, large and strong even for his kind, Wrex has an impressive record as an unstoppable killing machine, deadly with both firearms and biotics. For a Krogan he seems uncaricaturistically calm and reflective. Definitely one to keep a judicious eye on.

Tali'Zorah nar Raya, Quarian pilgrim, young and earnest, a brilliant technician with uncommon knowledge of Geth and their function and design, possesses unique combat hacking techniques tailored for targets with artificial intelligence. A bright and promising kid who really shouldn't be anywhere near the sort of danger we’ll be heading into.

This mission may determine the fate of the galaxy. The Reapers are no myth, the Beacon’s vision leaves no doubt of that. Whatever and wherever they are, Saren thinks he can bring them back. Why doesn’t really matter. It's up to the Normandy and her crew to ensure that won’t happen.

This is a race against time. Whatever the “Conduit” is, we have to stop Saren before he can find it. Whatever the Council says, the vision on Eden Prime leaves me in no doubt whatsoever. The Reapers destroyed the Protheans, and will destroy all of us if Saren succeeds.  The rest of the Galaxy won't raise a finger to save themselves.

Time to show them what Humans can do.

1 Eden Prime

--> I have been given the honour of second-in-command aboard the Alliance’s latest ship, an innovative development in military technology and strategy. Stealth and Recon 1, or the Systems Space Vessel Normandy, is a joint effort of the finest minds in the Alliance and the Turian navies. Her stealthiness and speed exceed anything to date, and should lay the groundwork for a promising new field of development.

The Normandy is indeed a prototype of ambitious design. Aside from visual contact, the Normandy is virtually impossible to detect unless she enters or drops out of light-speed. This inability to conceal arrival in any given system is a major weakness, albeit a theoretically manageable one. If the ship’s pilot can place the entry point within a masked area, such as a dust cloud or the blind side of a space body, maintaining the element of surprise is possible. Such accuracy, however, would require a pilot of extraordinary talent.

When I asked the ship’s pilot, one Lieutenant Moreau, about the feasibility of such a feat, he assured me with gusto that he was capable of pulling off “any stunt short of an Asari Shimmy with this baby.” Moreau appears solidly saddled with the nickname “Joker,” and he gleefully lives up to it. Let us hope he also lives up to his brag of skill. Captain Anderson assures me that, despite Moreau's borderline insubordination, he will prove himself worth his shenanigans.

Much as I appreciate the opportunity to serve aboard such a vessel, I am not entirely at ease. The Normandy combines Human and Turian technology, and funding from both the Citadel and Alliance, but is technically Human property, complete with Human crew and command, belonging to the Alliance Navy. Joining efforts to design and build the ship is one thing, ceding it without question to Humanity is another. Why? Do the Turians feel confident enough in their own ships that they feel at ease in helping Humans build the Normandy? Is it an open and honest gesture of good-will? Or will they at some future opportune moment attempt to lay claim to the vessel? They would certainly have a strong argument in such a case, and the result would be a political nightmare, to say the least. Maybe that is the point. Perhaps merely the possibility of such an inconvenience is enough for the Turian Hierarchy, a bargaining chip against the Alliance in the event of future dispute.

Perhaps I am too quick to judge, too hasty to see deceit and subterfuge. Or am I? The First Contact War was not all that long ago, only twenty-six years; can two entirely different species of warlike history so quickly make peace, not just within themselves, but with each-other? I hope so. It was fortunate indeed the Asari stepped in before the war progressed very far. Whatever the outcome and whoever the eventual winner, it is certain Humans and Turians alike would have fared ill indeed had hostilities been allowed to continue. Should future mishap or malice provoke another altercation, it may not be again quelled before too late.

But such grim broodings are beyond the scope of my knowledge. Of more immediate concern is the purpose of this, our first mission, the Normandy’s maiden voyage. Ostensibly we are merely to test the stealth systems and ensure that the ship performs smoothly, but I suspect otherwise. Even the crew are talking amongst themselves, speculating about our true intent and purpose. It is only natural the presence of a Turian Spectre would set tongues wagging. Officially, Nihlus is here to oversee the launch and first flight of the Normandy and report back to the Citadel Council. 

 

Hogwash. If a report on their investment was all the Council wanted, they could have sent almost anyone. Any individual with the proper security clearance would suffice, so why a Spectre? An agent of his calibre could disable the ship and kill half the crew before anyone was even aware of the danger. I know I shouldn't suspect ill of an individual who has given me no specific reason to distrust him, but nevertheless I’ve been watching him. I have an uneasy feeling he’s also watching me. If so, why me specifically? Captain Anderson is the more prestigious soldier, longer service record. What is the Turian’s purpose and how does it relate to our mission? If I have a weakness it is impatience. I don't like being kept in the dark. I informed Captain Anderson of my concerns, and have his private assurance that Nihlus can be trusted. I hope he’s right.

At least this assignment smacks of action. For too long lately, I’ve been commanding honour guards for dignitaries politicking on Illium. I suspect someone up the chain of command thinks they’ve been doing me a favour by assigning me cushy guard duty, perhaps as a reward for Elysium. I’ve tried to see it as a privilege, but it’s not why I joined the navy. The way I see it, a marine is best sent where he can apply his training, not standing around like a flower pot on display.

--> Distress call received from Eden Prime, our destination. Mission details finally divulged. We are to discreetly pick up an intact Prothean Beacon unearthed by the colony. Safe money says the dig was leaked. 

 

Intel is limited. Transmission from the squad protecting the Beacon was cut short, whether by destruction of the com or active jamming. In either case, no further transmissions have been received. All we know is that the marines there are under attack and taking heavy casualties. And something else. Just before the transmission cut out, the HUD camera from the soldier transmitting caught a glimpse of something in the sky above the colony. If pressed, I'd have to say it more closely resembled a great, black, hand than anything else I can bring to mind. Whether an incredible alien creature hitherto undiscovered or unregistered ship design or monster pulled from the shadows of nightmare I cannot say. We're moving in fast and quiet. We don't have the troop complement to cover the entire colony. I will deploy with a small team to secure the Beacon and find out what on Earth is going on. Hopefully we can avert disaster long enough for reinforcements to arrive.

In light of the emergency unfolding on the peaceful colony ahead of us and the unknown assailants that threaten the innocents there, another note I should make seems almost trivial by comparison. Nihlus is here for dual purpose: to ensure fair dealing and secure retrieval of the Beacon, and to assess my abilities for candidacy in the Spectres. It seems my actions on Elysium have reached even Turian ears. If Humanity gets a Spectre, that's one step from a seat on the Council. I'm honoured, but not altogether pleased. I will of course follow orders from Alliance Command and accept the position if approved, but I would far prefer not to have my loyalties and duty divided between my superiors and the Citadel Council. It may work out smoothly or it may not. I have no very great desire to become a political tool only to find myself falling between two stools.

Deceleration alert is active. We are about to enter sublight.

--> Mission failed. We saved the colony, but the crucial target is lost; the Beacon is destroyed. Corporal Jenkins and Nihlus are dead. The attackers were Geth. Why they have chosen to appear now after two hundred years of absolute isolation is unknown. Clearly they were on Eden Prime for the Beacon, but how in blazes did they find out about it? Is it possible they have allies among organics? If so, why were none present in force? I was expecting Batarian raiders, not killer robots. 

 

There was only one member of the attacking force that was not Geth. My team never caught sight of him. We only have one eyewitness, a dockworker named Pallete, who can attest to his presence. Nihlus had gone ahead to scout out the enemy’s position. Pallete, hidden amongst cargo crates, saw Nihlus let his guard down upon seeing another Turian who he addressed as Saren. Saren shot him in cold blood.

Saren is a Spectre like Nihlus. Why he has aligned with the Geth is unknown. What I do know is that Saren betrayed and shot Nihlus and tried to destroy the entire colony. He and the Geth must have gotten whatever it was they wanted from the Beacon, as they left it behind to be destroyed by the nuke-level charges they had set. We disarmed the charges, but the Beacon self-destructed.

I don't even want to think about the Beacon. I’ve had nightmares of my own, but the Beacon held something different. When I approached it, I was caught up and my mind filled with sights I can neither understand nor unsee. It was as though I found myself witness to all the horrors of a mass genocide in the space of a few seconds. When I came to my senses I was in the Normandy med bay, fifteen hours later. 

 

Captain Anderson insists the vision imparted by the Beacon be included in our report to the Council. But what are we to tell them? I can’t sort out in my own mind what it was I saw, much less deliver a comprehensive report. Such a vague and subjective story can only serve to weaken our case against Saren. Proving his guilt to the Council will be hard enough without discrediting our charges through mention of dreams. Incredibly, we have no security footage to recover from Eden Prime. All the security cameras at the space dock had their circuitry and software fried. Why would the Geth have bothered to wipe software record of their attack, given that they intended to nuke the entire colony and all evidence of their presence? The best guess we can make is that their ship, the shape we saw above Eden Prime, damages unprotected equipment automatically. If so, setting aside its incredible size, it will prove a tough ship to defeat.

A lot of people died on Eden Prime today. The squads guarding the Beacon, the 212 and the 232, leave but one surviving marine. Of the civilians at the Eden Prime spaceport, dockworkers, scientists, and others, most were massacred. And two soldiers died on my watch. Corporal Jenkins; bright-eyed and eager for adventure, he was gunned down by Geth fire almost as soon as we touched down. The poor chap would have done better to stay at home. He’s not the first soldier to die under my command and he won’t be the last. At least he died on his native planet, his feet firmly planted as he stood defending the ground he was born and raised on. Nihlus. Not under my command, to be sure, but he was an ally on the field. I regret having mistrusted him. He wasn’t Alliance, he wasn’t even human, but he was assigned to the field with my team and died. Would that he hadn’t insisted on moving ahead of us alone. Jenkins died in honest battle. Nihlus was betrayed. Both will be avenged.

The death count could have been much worse. Though the mission was nominally a failure, the entire colony would now be a smoking crater had we not intervened. That doesn’t negate the loss of the Beacon, but given a choice between the two, I’d lose the Beacon any day. We lost historical intel of unknown value. So be it. Our job is to protect lives, not increase our knowledge of Prothean technology and culture.

We have a new crewmember. Captain Anderson has reassigned the sole survivor of the 212, Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, to the Normandy. I've seen Williams in action, and she proves herself one of the most capable soldiers I’ve ever seen. A quick eye and a deadly shot, she will make an excellent addition to the team. It stands greatly to her credit that she survived an ambush that decimated her squad.

The Beacon, or what is left of it, is on-board. Citadel scientists will do what they can with it, but no one holds out much hope. In all likelihood, the best we can get from that heap of rubble is the mess sitting in the back of my mind.

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