What did you do today in ME?

More of Ahmed Shepard from last Saturday:

1. It was off to Thessia to recover the artifact mentioned by the Asari Councillor. Unfortunately, Thessia was under heavy attack by the Reapers, so it made getting to the temple difficult. But when they got to the temple, everything just got even weirder.

First, some of the temple's relics illustrated ancient Asari goddesses who just happened to look a lot like Protheans. And if the ancient Asari goddesses were Prothean, then ancient Asari legends took on a whole other meaning. Liara was understandably overwhelmed and upset at the revelations.

Second, they found the scientists dead. But the scientists had died because their throats were cut, a clear sign the Reapers were not responsible.

After some investigation, they discovered that the statue of the Goddess Athame in the temple was actually covering a Prothean Beacon! Ahmed Shepard managed to get it working, probably because of the Cipher, and out popped a Prothean VI.

The Prothean VI was not able to tell them much when they were interrupted by Kai Leng, who put them in contact with the Illusive Man. The meeting did not go well, and the Illusive Man ordered Kai Leng to kill them.

Kai Leng was no match for Shepard and his squad, so Kai Leng had his gunship blow up the temple supports. With Shepard distracted, Kai Leng stole the Prothean VI and left.


2. Upset and wanting to turn Kai Leng's face into oatmeal, Ahmed assembled his crew for a debriefing. But some good news: Traynor managed to track Kai Leng's shuttle to Horizon, the location of Sanctuary. Strangely, the signal was being actively blocked. Giddy at the prospect of getting to gring Kai Leng's skull into dust, he ordered the Normandy to Horizon.

Still a little raw from 'losing' to Kai Leng on Thessia, an innocuous joke from Joker led to Ahmed yelling at Joker. Things only got worse from there.

Next he chatted with Garrus. Garrus asked him about the Salarian support, and if it had anything to do with Wrex's outburst and eventual death. Ahmed told him about the deal he made with the Dalatrass. Garrus then asked if Mordin went along with it. Ahmed couldn't answer, which was answer enough.

He went to go see Javik, only to walk into the middle of a shouting match between Liara and Javik. Javik was his usual 'charming' self, which set Liara off. She looked like she was about to biotically attack Javik, before backing down and walking away. Ahmed was a little disappointed that she didn't; Javik got on his nerves a lot. Liara sulked in her room, and Ahmed decided to give her a wide berth while she fumed.

Ahmed got a message from Kai Leng. Kai Leng said he would kill Ahmed the next time they met. Ahmed messaged him back:
"The next time we meet, I will shove my Omni Tool so far down your throat you will shit Omni Gel."


3. When they got to Sanctuary, they found Reaper and Cerberus forces fighting each other. Sanctuary was a mess. They quickly found that Sanctuary was a Cerberus front; it was actually a lab that used refugees as test subjects. The lab was run by Henry Lawson, Miranda's father. He was studying indoctrination and trying to find a way to control the Reapers.

By the time they got to Henry Lawson, Kai Leng was gone. But Miranda was there, still alive. Henry Lawson had her sister Oriana and tried to use her as a hostage to escape, but Ahmed convinced him to let her go, then Mirand biotically threw the man to his death. How do like those biotic enhancements now?

Miranda then told Ahmed she planted a tracer on Kai Leng, and gave him the tracking device. They used the tracker, along with other Cerberus data to pinpoint Cerberus Headquarters.


4. Before heading back to the Citadel, Ahmed scanned the rest of the galaxy, then rescued a researcher at a Communications Hub from attacking Cerberus forces.


5. On the Citadel Ahmed returned some packages to their waiting recipients, then met with some more squadmates on the Silver Sun Strip. The highlight: having fun with Miranda at a casino.

Ahmed: "We're just two friends out on the town. What's the worst that could happen?"

20 minutes later, Ahmed and Miranda stood in the middle of a wrecked casino, surrounded by broken tables, chairs, and gambling machines, explaining to the C-Sec officers that they didn't start the fight. (Spoiler: they totally started the fight. Spectre authority!)

Ahmed Shepard threw a big party at his new apartment for members of the Normandy SR-2, past and present. They all got drunk. They all danced; well, except Javik. According to Javik, Protheans only dance on the graves of their enemies. Well, when the war is over, there is going to be a lot of graves.

Then Ahmed upgraded a bunch of weapons. (just in case i ever play NG+)

From...uh... Tuesday I believe?!
"Hey Alec.
Yesterday we raided a Cerberus lab. Hackett had asked me to go there and collect some Reaper tech samples they presumably had there. The first team he had sent had to pull out soon after going in, so I didn't expect it to be easy. We took care of some Cerberus soldiers and found two samples located there before things got rather messy. More Cerberus troops came in and Steve had to leave the landing pad, while we fought Cerberus inside the lab. They came from everywhere, but we held up. I lost contact with Steve right after he told me that some of those bastards were after him. I don't think I have to tell you how that was not the most pleasant feeling. But he made it out, and we made it out too.
Sometimes I can't help but feel like a bloody idiot to risk this with Steve. We both lost so much, we both could burn so easily in this war again, but he gives me strength. He's giving me hope. I want to believe we can win this. I want a future for us, for everyone.
Steve and I spent the entire evening and night together after we returned from the lab, and I feel so incredibly good about us. I told him about my hopes, but also my fears, and I finally told him about you. About these dumb letters I write. At first it was strange talking about it, as I never told anyone. But Steve's the kind of guy that always has something sweet to say, that always makes you feel better about something. I'm so lucky to have him in my life.
And it seems we're not the only ones on the ship making good use of the time we have for now. I accidentally walked in on Ken and Gabby. Man, I'm so happy for these two. They deserve some happiness in this war. They're still so young, and incredibly brave. I hope they enjoy themselves to the fullest. But enough about the gossip on this ship.
There's something else that's currently on my mind. In the Cerberus lab we found two logs about the integration process of new Cerberus soldiers. Alec, I don't know what exactly they're doing, but they change people. Somehow they can turn them into obedient pets, suicide on capture. And now I can't help but wonder about what Dr. Cole had told me. Before they fled Cerberus, she and a colleague had worked on some sort of implant for humans. They had studied Reaper-to-Collector communication. Maybe it's a long shot, but after seeing the husk-like soldier on Mars... if this is really what's going on, we need to keep an eye out for Cerberus even more. I need to put an end to this. I don't know how, but I just have to find a way. This whole thing is such a bloody mess.
I'll keep you posted on our progress. I need to go to the Citadel to meet some people, but first we have to make another detour to a fuel depot. Something Hackett wants me to check out.

-Dee"

ME3MP adventures: Last night, I tried out a couple of new characters I have gotten recently. I played one round each with the Awakened Collector, Batarian Soldier, Cabal Vanguard and Phoenix Adept mixed with some other characters I already played. We extracted each time, though not everything was sunshine and rainbows My friend also tried Cabal Vanguard for the first time in the same round as I did, and of course we got Collectors. It wasn't pretty. Not sure I can ever like this character. Perhaps with another weapon (had the Piranha III on her and didn't really get along with this setup ). 2 more Gold rounds were cheesed as well and we extracted in all our matches, so that was a good session I'm already fond of the Phoenix Adept, something I didn't really anticipate, but that guy was fun!

She's a turian, so her weapon passives are better than average. Try playing her more like a soldier than a vanguard. Nightshade Blades are effective at medium range, so you could try her with an assault rifle rather than a shotgun. Spam Biotic Focus for survivability.  Keep Poison Strike for situational use, you can use it as a panic button for escaping, though I often get through an entire match as her without using it at all.

I played Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer on both Xbox and PC, and fraggle gets both the Cabal Vanguard and Awakened Prothean which i never got on either platform. Greeeat...

But as for what Ahmed Shepard got up to on Friday night:

Thanks to Miranda and some data from Sanctuary, the Alliance had pinpointed the location of Cerberus Headquarters. Time to go trick or treating!

Steve knocked loudly on the door with the Kodiak and Cerberus let them inside. The space station was decorated with the usual Cerberus decor: drab gray with the Cerberus logo plastered everywhere. They must have gotten a discount and bought everything in bulk.

Cerberus tried to kick them out, but you just cannot throw Ahmed Shepard out of the house once the party is started. And like any good party drunk, Ahmed started breaking stuff: he broke a few walls by throwing a fighter jet into it. Mister and Missus Cerberus would not be happy about that, but Mister Cerberus -- The Illusive Man -- is a pretty rich guy, so he can afford it.

Ahmed also poked around the house, and found a few interesting things, such as background information on the Lazarus project, EDI, Kai Leng, and The Illusive Man himself. Ahmed likes to eavesdrop, why wouldn't you expect him to snoop around things that aren't his?

And then finally Ahmed got what he was looking for: the Prothean VI. The Prothean VI informed Ahmed that the Catalyst was actually the Citadel, and the Illusive Man had told the Reapers about it (what?) and the Reapers had moved it to Earth (WHAT?). Ahmed was pissed at the news. And then Kai Leng showed up like and tried to pick a fight with Shepard.

"He told you not to overstay your welcome," Kai Leng said.

"And I told you I would ram my Omni Tool down your throat," Ahmed retorted.

The fight was swift and brutal. Ahmed finished the fight by feeding Kai Leng his Omni Tool through the rib cage.

Only thing left to do was head to Earth and end the war.

From yesterday:
"Hi Alec,
we're currently en route to the Caleston Rift. After EDI, Kaidan and I had secured and reactivated a fuel depot that Reaper troops had sabotaged in the Silean Nebula, we finally headed to the Citadel again. I delivered a few things and ran into Jacob at the hospital. He had written me earlier, but I didn't know he was still there. Man, he and Dr. Cole expect a baby! That was some surprise. I hope everything goes well. It's another good reason to win this bloody thing!
I also met up with some of my crew. I ran into James getting a tattoo. He made up his mind to join the N7 program when everything is over and made it official with this. I'm happy he considered doing it, I'm sure he'd get through this just fine.
I had dinner with Kaidan before meeting Miranda in one of the apartments. She had wanted to see me in person, and asked me for Alliance resources. She didn't want to tell me what she needs them for, but I did not leave her hanging. She asked for my trust, and I do trust her. I hope she finds her sister with it, as she seems to have a lead. I just hope she'll be alright. It worries me that she didn't tell me anything about what she's going to do, but... she has proven before she can take care of herself.
After that I went to see a Dr. Bryson. Hackett had asked me to meet with him, but things got rather crazy. I was curious what Bryson and his team had to do with the war against the Reapers. Bryson only could tell me that they were investigating rumours and stories of the Reapers, but before he could tell me more, his assistant shot him. Just like that. I overwhelmed him and called C-Sec. He acted weird and claimed he didn't do it. He was shocked to see Bryson dead, like he had been in some kind of trance during all this. EDI, who came by to help me, said it resembles indoctrination. It looks like she's right. The assistant told us that Bryson and his team had searched for a creature called Leviathan. That one of their researchers, Dr. Garneau, had send them an artifact to study. Before he could tell us more, he acted like he was possessed... different voice, different speach pattern. He warned us to not go further. It was pretty freaky. Then he lost consciouness.
We dug up some information in the lab and apparently this Leviathan has killed a Reaper before, so now I know why Hackett wanted me to chase after this lead. It might be dangerous, but anything that can kill a Reaper should be investigated. If we can find this creature and get it to join us... it would be another step towards winning this war.
EDI and I found some clues in the lab that led us to our current destination. We already know that the Reapers are after it as well, so they definitely fear it. I'll keep you posted on what we find. Fingers crossed this works out.

-Dee"

Pics!


ME3MP: Finished my 200 waves with the Asari Vanguard! I love this kit and I can't even say why exactly, haha. Also tried out the Geth Infiltrator for the first time, really liked it with the Incisor (just chasing some points, mahaha). Gave the Awakened Collector another spin and I'm more comfortable with him now than the first time. Overall it went very well, we also had a great random player on Gold vs Geth with a Drell Assassin. They were rocking this guy! I have the upcoming week off and might dabble in Gold a bit without my friends (or really, without cheesing ). I'm not very comfortable with Gold yet though, so... those poor people I'll join
Last night I also met up with stephenw32768 on the PS3 and it was a good session again (except that one Wave 9 fail and that we had Trollectors in way too many matches ). Played some characters that are not Lv20 yet to boost them a little and saw how to actually play the Cabal Vanguard well Nice!
That means I spent roughly 9 hours with MP yesterday... Should I worry?

At least you didn't die over and over like I did I mean, it's always a little tough to judge someone while concentrating on your own stuff, but I thought you did well

It is! I hope I can actually make some progress in SP in this week, but I fear I just have to play some MP too

"Hey Alec.
Damn it, this whole Leviathan thing is definitely messed up. We just left to get back to the Citadel. We didn't find what we had hoped for, so we need to search Bryson's lab again.
We tracked Dr. Garneau to a mining facility on an asteroid and Steve took us in. Reaper forces were already present, a sign they really follow Leviathan's path too. We got rid of them and entered the facility, but these people didn't seem to care there were Reapers at their front door. The whole thing was fucked up. They all talked like Bryson's assistant, with a calm and disturbing voice, warning me that we shouldn't be there. Bloody creepy, man.
I asked for Dr. Garneau, but of course no one said a word. We found him eventually, inside the med bay. I told him that we came to get him out and that I needed more information on Leviathan. When I mentioned the Reapers' presence he also started to act like he was possessed. It was Leviathan that spoke to us. I asked for its help, but Garneau broke out of his room and ran for the nearby mines. When we caught up with him he sat beside one of these artifacts that was in Bryson's lab as well, and he held a trigger in his hand. His last words before he blew himself and the artifact up were "Turn back". Yup, Leviathan clearly doesn't want to be found.
Honestly Alec, if I didn't think this whole thing is worth it I'd stop right here. But I can't afford to think like that. We need more allies.
Inside the mines EDI found the real Dr. Garneau, dead for some time. And now get this: the miners had been under Leviathan's control for 10 years. 10 bloody years! Those poor people. But we now at least know that Leviathan uses the artifacts as some kind of gate to take control of people. And the one in the lab on the Citadel is unshielded... We have to hurry and shield this thing right away once we get there. Luckily, Garneau found out how and left it in his notes.
Leviathan doesn't seem to indoctrinate like Reapers do. Once the artifact in the mines had been destroyed, it broke the hold over all the people on the asteroid, severed the connection right away. I still deem it dangerous as hell, but we will be cautious. If this thing can fight on our side, this makes for a really powerful ally.
Our only lead for now is to find Bryson's daughter Ann, which we found out about on Garneau's data pad. I hope she can help us find Leviathan once we track her down.
Alright, gotta go. More poker and drinks with Steve, James and Kaidan. Steve and I have a bet running if Kaidan manages to win against James within the next 3 games. Go Kaidan.

-Dee"

Pics:


ME3MP: Yesterday's session went very well again and we even didn't cheese a Gold match as much as we usually do. We played against Cerberus on Dagger and this map is rather big and Phantoms are a pain in the ass, so it was a little challenging making it work, but it went pretty well!
This morning I dropped into a random Silver match and got cooked twice inside the reactor in the same match

After taking a bit of a break from my trilogy run I jumped back into it tonight where Tracy visited Tuchanka and helped Grunt kill a Thresher Maw on foot and then helped Mordin track down a former colleague.

John Shepard, Earthborn/Soldier/Sole Survivor:

Freedom's Progress
- Stepped inside one building only to find three quarians standing there. One of them was Tali. The others drew their guns on me. They immediately knew we were with Cerberus, which meant something must have happened for people to recognize the logo when I didn't, though why a terrorist organization would even have an identifiable logo plastered all over their stations and ships is beyond my understanding. What I learned was the a quarian named Veetor had been on Freedom's Progress for his pilgrimage and was witness to the abductions, and also that he might have programmed the mechs to attack, thinking anyone present was the enemy. At least it wasn't a mech uprising. We teamed up to go after Veetor. Also found out that Cerberus had infiltrated the flotilla and killed quarians. Miranda tried to defend it but it wasn't sounding good. In line with Cerberus behavior, though.
- The plan went to hell when Tali's squad decided to run ahead to get to Veetor without us. Only Veetor had reprogrammed a heavy mech and it was tearing those quarians apart. Couldn't feel too bad for them, especially since Tali had stayed back. We made short work of the mech. While Tali tended to what survivors there were, I found Veetor. He was in front of a bunch of monitors. Once we got through to him, he pulled up security footage showing aliens called Collectors moving floating pods containing the colonists. There were also some kind of bugs swarming around them, which seemed to paralyze people. That's why there were never any signs of a fight. They simply froze in place and were taken away without a fight. Miranda wanted to take Veetor to be interrogated by Cerberus but I didn't trust them. We settled for the data on his omni-tool.

Lazarus Project
- I was convinced the Collectors were a threat and likely working for the Reapers. They had to be stopped. I asked about my old team but every one of them was otherwise occupied. Made sense that they moved on after two years. He provided me with dossiers on those he believed were suited to help. Then he showed me my pilot, which was none other than Joker. Joker had been grounded after the Normandy was destroyed and all talk of Reapers was hushed up. That was disheartening, and a reason why I might not be able to go to the Alliance for help. Then I saw the ship which we'd be flying. It looked like a larger version of the Normandy but hadn't been christened. I named it the Normandy SR2 and we were off. I didn't like that it was flying Cerberus colors but I didn't have a lot of choice in the matter. I was also stuck in a Cerberus uniform but planned to rectify that as soon as possible.

From Monday and yesterday:
"Hi Alec.
The past couple days have been absolutely stunning and mind-blowing. Bloody hell, we actually found Leviathan.
EDI and I first tracked down Ann Bryson at a dig site in the Pylos Nebula. When we arrived, the Reapers were already there in numbers, and unfortunately, Ann was the only one we got out of there alive. She wanted to help us, but I also had to break the news to her about her father. I wanted her to have a little time for herself, so we arranged a transport for her and met up at the lab some time later. Never easy to lose a parent. But I'd like to think her focusing on finding Leviathan did help for the time being. And Ann helped us immensely. She was the one who suggested to trace Leviathan's signal through the artifact in the lab, by letting it take control of her. Dangerous plan and I was reluctant to do it, but we didn't have much of a choice. We came this far and I wanted to find this damn thing.
It worked and Leviathan showed itself, EDI tracking its signal to somewhere within Sigurd's Cradle. We probably could've pinpointed its exact location over time, but I couldn't let Ann hold this connection any longer. Bryson's assistant is in a vegetative state thanks to Leviathan taking over.
We found Leviathan on a planet called Despoina. We sent down a probe to get a hold of its exact position and Steve took us in with the shuttle. There was water, nothing but water, and Leviathan hidden deep below it. Steve said the shuttle should manage the dive, but we didn't even make it to that point. A pulse hit us when we closed in on the water surface. Luckily there were some ship wrecks scattered around and we crashlanded on one of them. Steve did the repairs while we checked out the area. It was grim. We found bodies and logs which stated that the ship's crew was hit by the same pulse, trapped there. They starved on this ship, but not before apparently starting to eat each other. It was bloody disheartening to read all this.
Reaper forces showed up soon after and we fought them off until Steve was done with the shuttle repairs. He got it flying again and gave it a spin, but was hit by the same pulse again. We had to fight through the Reaper troops to reach him, and he had bad news. The pulse would hit the shuttle every time and he presumed that this was Leviathan's doing. We would never be able to get back to the Normandy if we didn't get rid of this pulse. There were some diving mechs around and yeah... that was Steve's plan. Not gonna lie, I was nervous doing this, but the alternative was to starve on this bloody wreck just like its poor crew. I had to find Leviathan.
It was a long way down and I lost contact with Steve in-between, but damn, I've rarely seen anything so stunning as down there. The ocean is a marvel. I wish I could've spend some more time there, wished the others could've seen this, but I had to press on. No time to waste. Soon I found our probe, and with it Leviathan. It looked similar to a Reaper, but it wasn't one. We talked. It told me about how we got into this mess, how Reapers came into existence. Way back in time they witnessed organic races develop synthetics, which in return always wiped out their creators. In order to stop this, they created an intelligence, an AI to find a way to preserve life at any cost. The intelligence gathered data, then turned on them. Slaughtered them and created the first Reaper out of them... Harbinger. No suprise now that Reapers can indoctrinate. And ever since, the Reapers harvest organic species, turn them into a new Reaper each cycle. I don't want to think about how many cycles there have been, how much pain was brought to countless species, turning them into these monstrosities. Bloody fucking mess.
At least I was successful in convincing Leviathan that if it didn't help us now, the Reapers would come to kill it and the rest of its species. They knew where it was hiding. That did the trick.
It was all Leviathan's fault in the first place that we're in this mess, but at least it's now fighting for us. I bloody hope it was worth it, but I have to believe it for now. Leviathans sure are no kind creatures, and they're dangerous. They were the apex race, all other species in their thrall. They made this intelligence to save their precious slaves. But there's no room for doubts now, I have to do everything I can to win. To fix their fucking mistake. What comes after... well, we'll see, if we ever get there.
For now we're headed back to the Citadel. I have to meet up with the asari Councilor and also deliver a few more things. I forwarded Hackett everything Leviathan told me about the Reapers and updated him on our progress. Glad I have time for a little breather now before we get to the Citadel. It's been an exhausting last few days. Not that the weeks before that have been much better. Snatched a bottle of Tequila for me and Steve to open up tonight. Gotta enjoy the little things whenever we can.

Talk soon,
Dee"

Pics:


Despoina was pretty tough this time Squadmates went down constantly and I died once during delivering the last battery. I was annoyed because I gel'd myself before it got too close, but it didn't work and I died anyway. The funniest part was that I forgot I could run with the battery because I was used to too much Pizza delivery in MP where running doesn't work (with a controller anyway). Oh well

Speaking of ME3MP:
Managed to carry one wave on Silver where my friends both bled out (strangely, a 4th person didn't join in this match, something that rarely ever happens). Nuked 3 Phantoms in the process but who cares Played Phoenix Adept and staying too close to those fuckers is not a good idea for me.
I also tried the Arc Pistol on the Drell Assassin and booooy, this was fun! Can't wait till I have upgraded this weapon (have it at V currently). It's amazing to use!

Heh, glad it's not just me who forgets to run with the battery for that reason

The Arc Pistol is one of the best weapons in the game (not surprising of course, given that it's quarian ). I'm personally reluctant to use it in Silver because it's so OP. Love it in Gold, though.