//------------------------------// // Ilos - Relay // Story: Mass Effect: Element of Kindness // by CommanderApplejack //------------------------------// Chapter 48 Ilos – Relay [Apologize to Vigil and ask how to stop the reapers, I can come back later for answers.] 63% “I don’t know what ponies have done to the protheans, our history tells us nothing of your kind, but I can tell you for sure that if it happened now, we would help you out with whatever means we have available,” Fluttershy said with conviction. “But now we need to know how to stop the reapers. Even if you don’t want to answer my questions can you still give Shepard the means by which he can defeat the reapers?” Vigil stayed silent for a moment as if contemplating its options. “Inquiry, how far does your current history go back and what is currently considered advanced technology within your civilization?” the VI asked, surprising Fluttershy. “Uhm, our written history goes back just over a thousand years, back to around Discord’s time. Anything before that gets a bit murky because Discord destroyed and altered a lot of our written records. As for technology, Luna has been introducing airships into the Royal guard to allow them to quickly move around from city to city.” Fluttershy was unsure of why Vigil had asked his question but answered none the less. “Logical inconsistency, most advanced technology indicated is not advanced enough to get into space. How have you managed to come here?” “My friend found a ruin that housed a miniature mass relay. I accidentally got caught by it and sent to the Citadel,” Fluttershy quickly explained, Vigil staying silent to ‘think’ once again. “Your story is consistent with data. We suspected a breach in the Conduit’s network. This confirms our suspicion. The state of your species that you described suggests that your species was affected worse than our models suggested. Due to time constraints I will allow you to make a single inquiry.” What question does fluttershy ask? How is it that you know about my species? 10% Why are my kind considered traitors? 28% Fluttershy thought for a moment about what she would ask. She was extremely curious about the ponies back when the protheans were around, but the reason why they were called traitors was even more pressing to her. “Why did you identify my species as traitors in the first place?” “Your species had made a promise to ours that if we required aid you would assist. Ponies, unlike us, did not use the mass relay network as their main mode of transportation, as there is no relay in your home system. This meant that, when your species contacted ours, we had no means of locating your homeworld and instead of integrating ponies into the Empire, we established a pact. When the reapers invaded, the forces promised never arrived, this is why your kind has been designated as traitors.” Fluttershy, even though there was nothing she could have done about this, felt guilty about the fact her far ancestors hadn’t gone to help the protheans. “But now you must hurry, the one who passed before has yet to reach the Conduit. He will attempt to reach the tower at the base of the Citadel and transfer control of the station to Sovereign. If this is allowed to pass, the Citadel relay will be opened and the reapers will once more destroy all intelligent life. I have a program that will corrupt the Citadel’s security protocols. If the worst were to pass, it would give you a fighting chance against Sovereign.” Shepard’s Omni tool lit up as Vigil transferred the program to it, the commander taking a quick look at it to verify that it was transferred correctly. “Good, let’s go. We’ve given Saren enough of a head start.” “Shepard wait! Who knows how long Vigil will be here? Even now the projection is weak! Who knows what we can learn from it. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime!” Liara said with a tinge of panic in her voice as she couldn’t help herself from trying to make as much of the situation as possible. Her life’s work was researching the protheans after all. “I will provide whatever information I have available. My databanks however, are limited to information directly related to this facility and stopping the reapers,” Vigil informed Liara as her omni-tool lit up as well and received a couple of data files. “Thank you, Vigil,” Liara acknowledged gratefully, slightly jumping around as she scanned the little amount of data she had received. For the first time in the fifty years she had studied the protheans she had gotten straight data that didn’t require any interpretation. “You got your data, Liara, lets go!” Shepard said as he led the group back to the elevator and activated it. Up top the others were still covering the entrance to the elevator. The shield was already down, but they wouldn’t leave without Shepard. The commander ordered everyone back into the Mako and floored the accelerator. They were running out of time and couldn’t afford a careful approach to the Conduit. Charging forward, Garrus was firing wild shots at the geth they were passing, taking out groups of the machines every time he shot the main cannon while their fire bounced off the Mako’s shield. It wasn’t long before the Conduit came into full view, the miniature relay still standing proudly pointed at the sky. ‘Miniature’ was a relative term as it was almost twice as large as the one Fluttershy had seen in Equestria. “It’s incredible!” Liara said in awe as she got a good look at the relay. “No time to admire the view! The Conduit is losing power. We need to get to that relay!” Tali shouted as Shepard pushed the Mako to the absolute edge of its performance. Saren had left half a dozen geth Colossi behind which were happily firing their weapons at the Mako, its shields flaring and failing under the immense punishment. The vehicle shuddered from its armor burning off as it reached its final approach to the Conduit. “Nearly there!” Shepard shouted as the heat from the geth’s plasma bolts raised the interior space to an uncomfortable temperature. Fluttershy held on to her harness tightly as the Mako started being lifted into the air. She was the only one who had rode a ride through a relay without a starship before, and she wasn’t planning on passing out again. The rings within the relay started spinning at an increasingly rapid rate as the energy flared a final time. The critically damaged Mako was picked up by the device and hurled across the galaxy towards its final destination. The Citadel.