With the Kroan dead, Alex realizes they have reached their goal.

Moving on, the crew sprints through the ruins of the ExoGeni HQ on Feros, finally reaching a long corridor overlooking a series of lower rooms connected by various stairways. The floors below are in disarray—once used by ExoGeni as their operational center, now a collapsed mess. Alex spots rows of ruined servers, shattered terminals, and debris hinting at what the facility used to be. However, a few computers and servers still seem to be operational. Most noticeably, the massive Geth Dropship from earlier is still anchored to the structure, its claws deeply embedded into the building’s walls, wreaking havoc on the integrity of the entire lower floor.

“Analyzing this ‘anchoring system,’ it should be enough if we just remove a single claw. That should make the ship drop, which would inevitably destroy it!” Tali concludes.

“Let’s get going then. First, we clean up the Geth, then we look for a solution. I see the last remaining Geth in the distance, beneath us! Get ready to fight! This place is far too cramped for everyone—we’d just get in each other’s way. Kerber, Garrus, Alenko, Liara—you approach from behind, run down the floor until the end, and make your way to the lower levels. Tali, Wrex, Williams—you’re with me. We meet up in the middle.”

“Understood, Commander,” Alex replies, rushing along the hallway with Garrus, Kaidan, and Liara right behind him.

They rush forward as quickly as they can, keeping close to the walls, so they’re not in danger of getting detected earlier. Finally, they arrive at the end of the long hallway.

Garrus raises a hand, sniper rifle at the ready, whispering: “Let me even the odds a little. Stay hidden!”

He takes a clean shot and downs a lone Geth Trooper. The Geth react, but haven’t yet located their attackers. Garrus calmly lines up another shot, this time eliminating a Geth Rocket Trooper.

A few Geth finally rush in their direction, ascending the stairs.

“Let’s do this, then!” Alex shouts.

With his [Enchanted Runeblade] in one hand and [Brawler-Pistol] in the other, Alex fires relentlessly at the Geth ascending the stairs toward them.

It’s over, Geth. We have the high ground… Bad time for jokes. But still—this works to our advantage if they’re dumb enough to come straight at us.

You have dealt 37 damage to Geth Shock Trooper

You have dealt 32 damage to Geth Shock Trooper

As the Shock Trooper reaches Alex’s position, he activates Thunder Sword and drives his blade into its chest compartment, causing it to collapse.

You have dealt 61 + 92 = 153 damage to Geth Shock Trooper

You have destroyed Geth Shock Trooper

Liara supports the group from behind, unleashing her biotics. She conjures a small Singularity, catching multiple Geth in its pull, suspending them helplessly mid-air.

Garrus and Kaidan fire Overload into the clustered enemies, disabling their shields. Alex notices their bad shape and takes the opportunity to cast the AoE version of Thunder, targeting the trapped enemies.

This should be enough!

You have dealt 32 x 2 = 64 damage to Geth Shock Trooper

You have destroyed Geth Shock Trooper

You have dealt 31 x 2 = 62 damage to Geth Destroyer

You have destroyed Geth Destroyer

You have dealt 33 x 2 = 66 damage to Geth Trooper

You have destroyed Geth Trooper

With the Geth forces thinned out, Alex charges down the stairs, the others following close behind. Liara uses Warp, tearing apart another Geth, while Garrus and Kaidan annihilate the last one with their pistols.

Alex finishes off a heavily damaged Geth Trooper with one last Thunder cast.

You have dealt 47 x 2 = 94 damage to Geth Trooper

You have destroyed Geth Trooper

“Good job!” Alex calls out.

That was much easier than I expected.

His eyes catch a server still intact in the far corner of the wreckage.

“Garrus, can you grab the data?” Alex asks.

“Roger, Lieutenant!” Garrus replies, activating his Omni-tool and beginning the download.

While Garrus works, distant gunfire rings out from the other side—Shepard’s team.

I need to trust her! She can handle herself.

A few minutes later, they regroup and move forward, data secured. Up ahead, two Geth come under fire from Shepard’s team. Alex raises his pistol and joins the attack. Liara, Kaidan, and Garrus follow suit.

You have dealt 44 damage to Geth Shock Trooper

You have dealt 41 damage to Geth Shock Trooper

Under the combined barrage of fire, the Geth quickly exploded into pieces.

The group then comes across a huge console, the use of which is not apparent at first.

If I remember correctly, this controls the shuttles outside the building! We can take down the Dropshit.

“Good job, Kerber! We obtained some data—how about you?” Shepard asks.

“We secured what we could as well, Commander,” Alex answers.

Alex goes on, “In any case, this looks like the Shuttle Control. If we activate it, it’ll probably sever the Geth claw holding the Dropship in place. I have no idea how to work this, though.”

“Heh. This looks simple enough,” Shepard says confidently.

Within thirty seconds, she triggers the Shuttle Control. A screech echoes through the building as the claw is forcibly detached. The massive ship lurches, losing its grip, and plummets down.

Fifteen seconds later—

BOOM

A massive explosion shakes the entire building as the Dropship crashes.

“We did it!” Kaidan cheers.

“Yes, let’s hurry back! That energy shield should be gone now,” Tali concludes.

The group rushes back toward the entrance, noticing the large energy field has indeed disappeared.

Suddenly, Joker contacts them through the comms.

“Commander, we picked up a massive explosion—it looks like it came from the Dropship! Respect for managing to take that thing down all on your own. This is almost unbelievable! Also, good news: the comms are fully operational again. But, Commander, we’ve got a serious problem!”

“What’s wrong, Joker?” Shepard asks.

“The colonists are rioting—they’re trying to breach the Normandy. Thankfully, we were prepared for something like this. We fired a warning shot to scatter them, but they’ll be back. We’re using tear gas to keep them at bay. I think the Thorian and its puppets realized the Geth ship’s gone and now expect you to come after them. ExoGeni has also managed to restore connection to its ground team.”

Damn straight we’re going for the Thorian now. This thing is not stupid.

“We’ll deal with them soon enough. Our gear’s in the Mako. Keep us posted,” Shepard replies.

“Careful on your drive back—I’m still picking up a few lone Geth signals. Looks like you really pissed them off. With no ship left, they’re going to block your way at all costs!”

“We’ll be fine. Garrus, hope you’re ready for more action. Looks like today will be a new Geth destroying high score,” Shepard jokes.

As they reach the entrance, they see Lizbeth, who has also made it past the now-disabled gate.

“Follow us into the Mako. We’ll take you to safety,” Shepard instructs as the crew rushes past.

With Lizbeth inside, Shepard—assisted by Garrus operating the weapons—drives the Mako back onto the Skyway. More Geth emerge from the ruins beneath them, opening fire.

“They’re endless! Let’s move on—we can’t take them all!” Shepard shouts.

Ten minutes later, they arrive back at the midpoint of the Skyway, where they had earlier met Jeong and Juliana.

Lizbeth suddenly screams, “Please stop! I need to see my mother!”

As the crew and Lizbeth approach, they hear Juliana and Jeong arguing.

“You can’t do this, Jeong! You won’t get away with it!” Juliana yells.

“Shut up! Guards, get her out of here!” Jeong screams—only for Lizbeth to rush toward her mother, shouting, “Get away from her, you son of a bitch!”

This is as stupid as in the game. Great. Our cover’s blown.

“Lizbeth!” Juliana cries, pulling her daughter into her arms. Jeong glares at Shepard and the others. “Damn it! Come out where I can see you! All of you!”

“Heh. Shepard. So you made it. Did you retrieve the data?”

Hmm… his attitude’s a little better than I remember, probably because we’re cooperating with ExoGeni. Must’ve heard from his corporate overlords.

“Yes, some of it. The entire place is destroyed—I doubt there’s much left,” Shepard replies. “Per the contract, I’ll transmit the data after the mission. Now tell me—what’s this ‘struggle’ you’ve started? Have you lost your minds fighting amongst yourselves in this situation we’re in?”

“I... we need to purge the colony,” Jeong says. “ExoGeni’s orders. The colonists are already rioting. You need to help us wipe them out!”

“Are you insane? This is a human colony—you want to kill them all?!” Lizbeth yells in horror.

“Stop! I don’t have time for your bullshit,” Shepard snaps. “We’ll make our way to the colony and do our best to save them. If that’s not possible… then they’ll die by our hands.”

“No!”

“You can’t!”

Both Lizbeth and Juliana scream.

“SHUT UP! The Commander will do her best. That’s all we can hope for!” Jeong shouts.

“We’re prepared for this situation. You stay put,” Shepard says coldly. “There are still a few Geth out there. Once we’ve dealt with the colonists—and more importantly, that damn Thorian—we’ll contact you. Help will arrive soon.”

Ignoring the chaos amongst the corporate employees, the crew reenters the Mako.

“Listen up,” Shepard announces. “Every one of you is more important to me than the entire colony. You’re all essential to stopping Saren. If we fail, the entire galaxy could be at risk. We’ll do our best to save the villagers, but I order you—do not risk your lives unnecessarily. Understood?”

“Yes!” everyone replies—except for Wrex.

“Fine…” Wrex mutters.

“Let’s distribute the equipment we brought,” Alex suggests.

“Yeah. We’ve got special grenades—should be enough to knock out most of the colonists.” Kaidan notes.

“A few stun pistols, too. They emit a wave similar to Geth tech—non-lethal, of course,” Tali says, with interest.

“Leave the grenades to me,” Shepard says.

“I’ll just knock them out with my fists,” Alex adds, cracking his knuckles.

“Good. We’ll be there in a couple of minutes,” Shepard says. “This lifeform—the Thorian—it’s intelligent, manipulative. It won’t go down easily.”

“It’s a shame we have to kill it… but it’s already caused enough harm,” Liara chimes in. “And the colonists—if they’re still under its influence, we must free them.”

The Thorian…. Maybe I should….  I have an idea.

Alex’s expression hardens, a sinister smile now visible on his face, as he bites his lips, trying to remain calm.