Prologue VI
"Thank you. I think we'll be okay now. It looks like everyone's gone." The woman says.
"You're Dr. Warren, the one in charge of the excavation. Do you know what happened to the beacon?" Ashley asks.
"It was moved to the spaceport this morning. Manuel and I stayed behind to help back up the camp. When the attack came, the marines held them off long enough for us to hide. They gave their lives to save us." Warren explains.
"No one is saved. The age of humanity is ended. Soon, only ruin and corpses will remain." Manuel says in obvious distress.
"What else can you tell me about the attack?" Sampson asks.
"It all happened so fast. One second we were gathering up our equipment. The next we were hiding in the shed while the geth swarmed over the camp." Warren explains.
"Agents of the destroyers. Bringers of darkness. Heralds of our extinction." Manuel interrupts.
"We could hear the battle outside. Gunfire. Screams. I thought it would never end. Then, everything went quiet. We just sat there, too afraid to move. Until you came along." Warren continues.
"Did you notice a turian come through here?" Sampson asks.
"I saw him. The prophet. Leader of the enemy. He was here, before the attack." Manuel says.
"That's impossible. Nihlus was with us on the Normandy before the attack. He couldn't have been here." Sampson says in confusion.
"I'm sorry. Manuel's still a bit… Unsettled. We haven't seen your turian. We've been hiding in here since the attack." Warren explains.
"What about the beacon, what can you tell me about it?" Sampson asks.
"It's some type of data module from a galaxy-wide communications network. Remarkably well-preserved. It could be the greatest scientific discovery of our lifetime! Miraculous new technologies. Groundbreaking medical advances. Who knows what secrets are locked inside?" Warren says with great fervor.
"We have unearthed the heart of evil. Awakened the beast. Unleashed the darkness." Manuel rants in fear.
"Manuel! Please! This isn't the time." Warren chastises.
"What's wrong with your assistant?" Sapphire asks rather tactlessly.
"Manuel has a brilliant mind, but he's always been a bit… Unstable. Genius and madness are two sides of the same coin." Warren says hesitantly.
"Is it madness to see the future? To see the destruction rushing towards us? To understand there is no escape? No hope? No, I am not mad. I'm the only sane one left!" Manuel rants, starting to spiral.
"I gave him an extra dose of his meds after the attack." Warren explains.
"Williams, take us to the spaceport." Sampson says turning to leave.
"You can't stop it. Nobody can stop it. Night is falling. The darkness of eternity." Manuel says trying to stop Sampson.
"Hush, Manuel. Go lie down. You'll feel better once the medication kicks in." Warren says, pulling him back and helping him to lie down on the bed.
The team move on from the science camp, closing the door behind them.
--------------------------------
Nihlus slowly creeps through the abandoned spaceport before catching sight of a figure pacing out in the open.
Popping out from behind his cover he draws his rifle on the target before he lowers it in confusion.
"Saren?" Nihlus asks, causing the other turian to turn around, revealing extensive cybernetic modifications.
"Nihlus." Saren says in recognition.
"This isn't your mission, Saren. What are you doing here?" Nihlus says in confusion, coming closer to Saren. Stowing his rifle.
"The Council thought you could use some help on this one." Saren says, patting Nihlus on the shoulder before walking behind him.
"I wasn't expecting to find the geth here. The situation's bad." Nihlus says, staring at the damaged spaceport.
"Don't worry." Saren says drawing his pistol and aiming it at the back of Nihlus' head, "I've got it under control."
--------------------------------
A gunshot is heard off in the distance.
"Huh. What was that?" Ashley asks confused at the lone gunshot.
"Let's get moving. Hold on, what's that off in the distance?" Sampson says.
"It's a ship. Look at the size of it!" Ashley says in awe as that giant vessel in the video flies up into the sky with a black and red miasmic smog pouring forth from its engine.
The team makes their way down the hill toward the spaceport before several geth troopers come out and a number of husks begin to swarm towards them.
Gunfire fills the area as the husks are gunned down first before the geth are weeded out one by one.
The team searches the battlefield and finds another locked modular room.
"You're up, Sammy." Sapphire says standing aside while Sampson makes quick work of cracking the lock.
"E-everybody stay calm out there. We're coming out! We're not armed." A man says with panic in his voice and his arms out.
"It's alright. We took care of the hostiles." Sampson says.
"Those things were crawling all around the shed. They would have found us for sure. We owe you our lives." The man says.
"I-I still can't believe it. When we saw that ship I thought it was all over!" A female farmer says in disbelief.
"It showed up right before the attack. Knew it was trouble the second I saw it. So we made a break for the sheds." The man in front says.
"Tell me everything you remember about the attack." Sampson says, pressing them for more details.
"The three of us were working the crops when that ship showed up. We just saw it and ran. I don't know what happened to the rest of the crew." The first man says.
"They were by the garage. Over near the spaceport. Right where that ship came down. No way they survived." The second man finally speaks.
"You don't know that! We survived. If they made it to the garage, they could've had a fighting chance!" The female farmer argues.
"Do you know anything about the Prothean beacon they dug up?" Sampson asks.
"We're just farmers. We heard they found something out there, but it never really mattered to us. Not until now." The first man says.