Without hesitation, Alex activates Ren, his senses sharpening instantly. He feints to the left, and as the Krogan prepares to fire, Alex swiftly ducks and leaps to the right and jumps, landing on top of the container.
I can’t stay here, or they’ll all aim at me.
Casting Thundara at the Krogan, Alex effortlessly destroys his shields.
You have dealt 81 x 2 = 162 damage to Krogan
You have stunned Krogan
Alex immediately leaps down, drawing his [Executioner’s Blade R2] and activating Fire Sword, enveloping his weapon in a blaze of azure and crimson flames. He slashes with precision and strength.
You have dealt 132 + 79 = 211 damage to Krogan
You have crippled Krogan (left shoulder)
You have caused burn
You have caused bleeding
The Krogan roars in agony, his left shoulder and arm nearly severed, his body trembling violently.
Without pause, Alex slices at the Krogan’s right hand.
You have dealt 89 damage to Krogan
You have crippled Krogan (right hand)
You have caused bleeding
My luck is pretty good today! Poor Krogan.
Seeing the dying Krogan before him, Alex calmly aims at the Krogan’s thick neck and skillfully decapitates him.
You have dealt 99 x 3 = 297 damage to Krogan
You have killed Krogan
Alex stares briefly at the Krogan’s head, still glaring at him even in death. Then, he notices a Purple Chest appearing next to the corpse. Alex squints his eyes, as the chest has a bright Purple glow, unlike other chests he’s seen before.
This… feels like I’ve found something really rare… Anyway, I need to keep fighting!
Quickly drawing his [Brawler-Pistol] and [Enchanted Runeblade]
, Alex takes cover behind the large container. Leaning carefully to his left, keeping his body mostly concealed, he opens fire at the nearby Geth.I should help with the Juggernaut!
Alex fires rapidly at the Juggernaut. Despite many shots missing due to distance and the Juggernaut’s erratic movement, he gradually wears it down, ultimately causing it to explode into fragments, already weakened significantly by his teammates.
You have dealt 29 damage to Geth Juggernaut
You have dealt 34 damage to Geth Juggernaut
You have dealt 33 damage to Geth Juggernaut
You have dealt 26 damage to Geth Juggernaut
You have dealt 27 damage to Geth Juggernaut
You have dealt 32 damage to Geth Juggernaut
You have destroyed Geth Juggernaut
Alex then notices Wrex locked in fierce combat with another Krogan. Despite Wrex’s confident attitude, Alex decides to intervene. He rushes behind the Krogan, driving his blade into the Krogan’s helmet. Channeling Aura through his blade, he penetrates the Krogan’s heavy armor deeply into its neck.
Alex continues firing his pistol until the Krogan collapses to the ground, his eyes filled with hatred as they lock onto Alex.
You have dealt 26 x 3 = 78 damage to Krogan
You have dealt 44 damage to Krogan
You have dealt 41 damage to Krogan
You have dealt 46 damage to Krogan
With all enemies neutralized, Shepard calmly strides forward as if nothing happened.
“Let’s move, everyone! Hurry up!” she commands firmly.
Following Shepard further into the garage, they soon reach the entrance to the main facility.
As they venture deeper inside, the crew stumbles upon two hastily erected turrets—curiously aimed inward.
“Why are these turrets facing the wrong way?” Kaidan asks suspiciously.
“They want to keep their own people trapped inside as much as they want to keep intruders out,” Garrus answers grimly.
“Look, this place is sketchy. Prepare for the worst. We might encounter all kinds of monstrosities here, so stay extremely careful,” Alex warns, doing his best to keep his real knowledge hidden, as he lacks concrete evidence to support it.
I can’t act like a prophet, or they might mistrust me.
They continue onward, entering an elevator, and slowly ascend to an upper level of the massive facility.
“Where exactly are we going?” Ashley wonders aloud.
“There should be some kind of transport up here. This facility’s enormous, this is still the garage part of the complex, we are far away from the labs where the crucial research is happening, I think,” Alex explains.
“Really? I hadn’t noticed yet,” Shepard replies, surprise briefly flickering in her eyes.
“Commander, he’s right,” Tali interjects. “My scans show this facility is extremely large. I’m hacking into their systems now. We’re currently in the Garage, and we need to reach the tram to access the deeper sections.”
When the elevator finally stops, the crew is momentarily stunned by the scene before them. The part of the facility ahead is completely frozen. Clearly, structural integrity has been breached somewhere, leaving the area looking like the inside of a freezer, coated in ice and frost.
“How could this facility end up like this?” Tali asks, astonished. “Repairing damage on this scale would be incredibly expensive. This is unbelievable!”
They quickly navigate through the frozen hallway, emerging into a larger chamber where a small squad of Geth immediately spots them.
Garrus swiftly takes charge, expertly firing his sniper rifle at the Geth while Shepard and Ashley provide supporting fire with their assault rifles.
Alex fires several quick shots, striking a few of the troopers.
You have dealt 22 damage to Geth Trooper
You have dealt 32 damage to Geth Shock Trooper
It’s nice having endless ammunition!
With the Geth swiftly eliminated, the team regroups in the center of the chamber. The wind howls through the damaged station, and strange noises echo faintly through the frozen halls—unsettling mixtures of animalistic cries punctuated by a persistent, eerie buzzing sound. The sound waves pulse painfully, their ears hurting from the strange noise.
“Animals? Also, this place is completely wrecked! What the hell happened here?” Ashley exclaims, looking around in shock.
“Let’s move a bit. We’re standing right in the middle of the room—we’re easy targets here,” Alex advises cautiously.
It’s nerve-wracking if I more or less know what is about to happen!
“Move up the ramp towards that door, but don’t run. Check your surroundings carefully, and stay calm,” Shepard instructs firmly, quickly advancing up a makeshift ramp formed by accumulated snow toward the higher area of the vast hall. Finally, they reach the stairs and reach the higher level of the platform, where an elevator is visible at the very back of the large hall.
Suddenly, numerous small, vicious-looking bugs swarm out from multiple directions. They’re green-colored, each roughly the size of a human head. Some emerge from beneath the ground, while others crawl out from various rooms, the frozen doors wide open.
Alex observes them carefully, noting their four sharp legs, hard carapaces, and dangerous mandibles.
“These bugs—what exactly are they? I should examine how they—” Liara begins curiously, drawing a confused look from Alex.
Is she serious right now?!
“SHOOT FIRST, RESEARCH LATER!” Shepard shouts urgently.
Wrex immediately steps forward, blasting two bugs apart with his shotgun in a single powerful shot. He then mercilessly stomps down on a third, crushing it beneath his heavy foot.
Damn, he’s a badass.
However, the squashed bug bursts, releasing a cloud of toxic gas mixed with liquid. Fortunately, Wrex swiftly sidesteps, avoiding significant exposure.
“Keep your distance, and stay alert! We can’t risk getting poisoned up here!” Shepard commands.
Alex fires his gun repeatedly, missing all shots except one, but the squad rapidly dispatches the bugs since a single shot easily kills them.
You have dealt 76 damage to Rachni Worker
You have killed Rachni Worker
Suddenly, a massive creature charges out from an adjacent room, stunning the entire crew into temporary shock. It towers almost as tall as a human, sporting a grotesque appearance—brownish, with an elongated neck and two thin tentacles ending in lobster-like claws. Overall, it can only be described as a horrific-looking giant bug.
“WAKE UP, IDIOTS! SHOOT!” Shepard shouts, quickly regaining control over her emotions.
Liara, Kaidan, and Wrex simultaneously unleash powerful Warps on the creature, while the others desperately open fire.
You have dealt 61 damage to Rachni Soldier
You have killed Rachni Soldier
More Rachni Soldiers rapidly appear, flooding out toward the crew.
“Use biotics! They have no shields—biotics render them completely helpless!” Alex shouts.
Liara expertly places a Singularity at a nearby doorway, from where most Rachni emerged, capturing two Rachni Soldiers, while Shepard, Kaidan, and Wrex use their biotics to repel the remaining attackers, throwing them violently backward.
Alex continues firing relentlessly, easily striking the Soldiers as they come within his range.
You have dealt 61 damage to Rachni Soldier
You have dealt 63 damage to Rachni Soldier
You have dealt 64 damage to Rachni Soldier
You have dealt 57 damage to Rachni Soldier
You have killed Rachni Soldier
Garrus calmly aims with precision, sniping another Soldier and killing it instantly.
Spotting the airborne Soldiers trapped by biotics, Alex swiftly casts an AoE Fire spell.
You have dealt 33 x 2 = 66 damage to Rachni Soldier
You have dealt 31 x 2 = 62 damage to Rachni Soldier
They’re weak to fire—good to know.
The others quickly finish off the remaining trapped Soldiers, ending their shrieks of pain and panic.
Thanks to their biotic advantage and sheer firepower, all of the Soldiers are swiftly eliminated.
“What the hell were those things…?” Shepard mutters, worry clear on her face.
“Xenobiology isn’t my specialty. Maybe someone from the labs could tell us more…” Liara replies uneasily.
“If anyone’s still alive down there,” Wrex grumbles darkly.
“You know, I kinda like spiders,” Alex suddenly comments.
“Random comment, Kerber. Go on—what exactly are you getting at?” Shepard replies with a curious expression, while the others look confused.
“I once looked up space spiders, just for laughs. These creatures resemble spiders but seem closer to insects. You remember that fat Krogan statue on the Citadel? It was built to commemorate the Krogan contributions during the…”
“Rachni Wars!” Liara finishes his thought urgently. “Could these be… Rachni?”
Shepard appears deep in thought for a brief moment before shaking her head resolutely. “No point overthinking it. Whatever they are, kill them. Clearly, they’re responsible for the state of this facility. For all we know, it’s some insane experiment gone wrong. Focus on our mission—we’re here for Benezia and the Geth.”
The group swiftly moves onward, reaching another elevator that takes them deeper into the facility.
Tali quickly reads a nearby sign. “Central Station is ahead. This elevator leads there, and we have to ride it up. Seems like this is still part of the Garage area.”
“Good, let’s keep moving. The Garage is useless to us now. We need to reach the labs, deeper inside,” Shepard orders.
Tali continues reading, “From Central Station, we’ll need to take a tram to Rift Station, then finally proceed to the Hot Labs. That’s likely where Benezia is—deep within the facility.”
“Yes, the secrets hidden here undoubtedly lie in those labs,” Liara says with determination. “We need to hurry. Perhaps there are survivors!”
Ashley shakes her head, “These scientists are getting their Karma. Research like this should be forbidden!”
Alex can’t help but agree with her, but keeps his opinion to himself, only nodding at her.
“Let’s go, Ash…” Kaidan says, trying to calm her down.
They quickly step into the elevator, riding it up towards Central Station. Exiting, they immediately spot several more Worker bugs ahead.
Without hesitation, the team swiftly guns them down, popping them like balloons before the bugs can approach.
As they continue inward, the facility’s VI voice echoes again:
“Critical startup error. Virtual Intelligence user interface offline. Manual boot required!”
“Tali, you handle it. I’ll assist,” Shepard instructs. “We need to head down this platform to reboot the VI core.”
Tali nods, following Shepard down to the core. Several tense minutes pass before they return, Tali visibly pleased with herself.
“Good job, Tali,” Alex compliments her warmly.
“Easy!” she replies smugly.
Suddenly, a flickering, unstable red VI projection materializes before them—far more primitive and distorted than the clean and refined Avina on the Citadel.
We’re nearly done… things are progressing smoothly, but this isn’t a game. One mistake, and we’re all dead.