82 – Priority: Race Against Time (2)

Hours passed since the rescue efforts started but a few people, mainly the Matriarchs and Samael's & Shepard's crew, left the rescue efforts to talk about what to do next.

The meeting was occurring in a secluded spot inside a tent. They were all seated in what was a roughly made chair, around a roughly made table. Some of them, like Thane, who was one of the people who killed a lot of husks and Geth alike, and Grunt, who took most of the damage that was directed at the Matriarchs, were still using a few bandages.

The med gel worked on them, but they decided to heal at a normal pace, to maintain the stock.... ok, Grunt was just copying Thane because he felt the Drell looked cool.

Besides those two, only Samael was significantly hurt, having lost his left eye after a piece of debris pierced it. Clare and Chawkas even said that a few more inches deep, or a few inches to the side, and he was dead.

Samael started the meeting as soon as he realized everyone who should be there was there. He looked at his omni tool and started to say the data he was seeing, '' 1 million confirmed dead. In the past hours, with everyone's effort, we managed to find and rescue 1.4 million of the 5 million missing. There's still 3,6 million missing.''

The mood was heavy hearing that. They still haven't rested ever since the battle ended, and they helped with the rescue efforts, saving a lot of people, but hearing that, it felt bad.

They all used their specialties to save people.Samara used her biotic powers to the point of exhaustion many times, just like Liara. Kasumi used her slender physique to enter places others could not, and the AIs used all the tools they had at hand to locate others. Everyone helped.

So, hearing that there are still 2,6 million missing was a blow to them. They knew the chances of those people being alive were slim, but they could hope.

Tevos said after receiving a nod from Samael, '' The med gel in stock is depleted, and no way to know when it will be restocked. I recommend using traditional ways of healing others from now on.''

Silence dominated the room. It was bad news after bad news. The consequence of their defeat here would have repercussions that could last for a long time.

Also, the reason the Med Gel was gone so soon is that the Asari weren't preoccupied with war before, so their stock was small to begin with. After helping millions of people in just a few hours, in what could be considered a small battle, their stock vanished.

'' Anyone want to add anything about the situation?'' Samael asked. To be honest, the situation in Thessia could be considered 'good' by his screwed-up standard. If it was a full Reaper invasion, their loss would be in the billions, not millions.

Thane took the opportunity to say something while looking at the Matriarchs, '' The husks are a problem, not because they were strong, but because of their sheer number. I will be honest, I doubt we killed all of them. I ask you to maintain security high on the whole planet.''

The Matriarchs clearly already thought that out, and Benezia spoke for them, '' Don't worry, we took that into consideration and those who weren't helping to look for survivors, were patrolling the areas where the husks were seeing.''

Thane nodded at that, and Kasumi also added something, '' I also want to say something... I saw many Geth dropping small metal things on the ground. Based on what we know about them, I suspect it might be a Reaper fragment of sorts.''

As everyone knows, a small piece of Reaper tech, or fragment, was enough to indoctrinate others, so this was worrisome.

Tevos looked surprised by what Kasumi said, '' That's ... problematic. We didn't receive any report about that.''

Sure enough, the Matriarchs were checking their omni tool for any report that might contain any information about such fragments, but no such luck.

'' I saw by chance, so I recommend you to destroy ANY metal you find. I was waiting for a meeting to talk about this.'' Kasumi was one of the most affected by this battle. She and Keiji were recently recruited to the Phoenix and in their first mission, they already faced a war, the Geth and a Reaper. She was also alive because Saren went easy on her and his goal was the Beacon... if he was serious about killing, she would be gone by now.

Keiji was doing his best to calm his love down, and it seemed to be working.

Tevos thanked Kasumi and looked at Samael. He was the Reaper expert here, so she was looking for guidance on what to do next.

Samael sighed, '' This is worrisome. We can't know for sure where they dropped those things... There's only a few options on what to do, and one is worse than another.''

Benezia sighed and asked, '' What option save most lifes?''

Samael looked somber, '' Evacuate the areas where the Geth and Husks appeared... and then destroy everything.''

Everyone was shocked by what Samael was suggesting. They were talking about bombing the places, not something simple.

Shepard, who was quiet until now, inquired, '' Is there really no other way?''

'' Do you really think we have the manpower to search through all metal things we found or will find in the areas where they attacked? It's like trying to find a needle in the sand... This is the most 'secure' option to wipe out those Reaper fragments... Or we can hope it's nothing, but I doubt that.'' Samael was being honest, this was the best option.

Bombing every place the enemies passed or doing nothing and waiting to see if those fragments Kasumi saw, was nothing more than a ruse.

The Matriarchs also didn't have a good face hearing that. Not only there's still a lot of people missing, but now they have to bomb the places where they might be.

'' Also, regarding this new development, I recommend quarantining all rescue people... They might be indoctrinated.'' Samael knew it was a stretch, but they could not risk it, not now, not ever.

Of course, he now had a way to deal with the Indocrination, but the price those poelpe have to pay in order to survive was high. They would stop being themselves.

The Matriarchs all looked defeated, '' The situation is a lot worse than what we innitialy thought.''

Samael could only nod, '' As I said before, it is not feasible to search for all these Fragments, so bombing is the best option. And, a small piece of a Reaper is enough to indoctrinate someone, so if one of the survivors entered in contact with it ...''

Also, this was the first time Samael saw the Reapers using this tactic so soon in the timeline. Normally, they would wait until the end of the war to do so, as they were too proud to take pieces out of their body, but it seems things changed in this last cycle.

' It seems this last cycle of mine is filled with new developments...'

'' Are we even sure it's a Reaper fragment? It could only be something they dropped at random.'' Ashley tried to offer another point of view, but even she knew it was unlikely.

'' ... We can't risk it.'' It wasn't even Samael who said that, but Tevos, '' If one of the survivous were indoctrinated and they use their position to cause more destruction....''

She didn't say more but everyone understood. Ash sighed and said nothing more.

Still, bombing the places where there could be still survivous was out of the question for now, so after a brief discussion with the other Matriarchs, Tevos said, ''We will discuss this issue at a later date, taking input from the rest of our sisters.''

Samael respected them, but warned, '' Ok, but for now, tell everyone to destroy ANY kind of metal they find.''

They were already destroying all equipment that transformed others into husks, so this should not be a problem. It won't fix everything, but it was a start.

'' Will do.'' Tevos and the matriarchs touched their omni tool and sent messages telling the others to do just that.

'' Anything else?'' 

No one said anything, so Samael continued, '' Ok then. From now on, we will talk about what are our next steps, not only about Thessia but the whole galaxy.''

'' This attack was only the beginning but it showed the might of our enemy. Not only do they have the Geth on their side, but they are also strong enough to destroy a temple that stood tall for more than millennia and deal a blow to the Asari morale.''

'' They also have the Beacon knowledge.... with that in mind, their next target is most likely Illos or the Citadel.''

Samael didn't reveal about the Thorian who went missing, because it didn't matter. Most people there didn't really care about the steps it took for them to access the Beacon, only that they did.

'' ... Illos?'' There are murmurs among the Matriarchs after Samael dropped that name. Shepard's crew also was clueless about what that was.

Liara took it upon herself to answer, '' Illos was a legend, a planet that housed the last Protheans. It was considered a legend because the only way to access said planet was through the Mu Relay, which was also a legend. But-''

'' But LD found the Relay and then the Planet.'' Tevos had an ' I got it' face. Not long ago, Samael had told her about the Mu Relay location. She didn't send any team to check, because she had a lot of work, thanks to the Council matter. But she still remembered about it.

When Liara said that, all the scattered pieces of the puzzle connected immediately.

Samael had a neutral face as he said, '' Yes. LD already visited Illos ... and found not only a lot of Protheans infrastructures but Protheans too. Now, not only Javik but there's also at least 100 Protheans alive.''

That was a bomb to the Matriarchs. They always thought their guides were long dead, so when Javik appeared it caused a commotion among them. But now, it seems there's a lot more alive.

'' Were you going to tell u- the rest of the galaxy?'' Benezia asked in a quiet tone. She knew she, and her species, could not say much about withholding things from others, but she still had to ask, as the Protheans were that important to them.

'' Yes, but not now. I would let them establish themselves first, as they had woken up at a different time, and then reintroduce them back into the galaxy, but the attack took my plans out of its rails.''

'' ... Continue.'' The Matriarchs still had a lot in mind even after hearing that, but they knew when to stay quiet.

'' As mentioned before, in one of the Infrastructers in Illos we found the Protheans. But, '' Liara looked at Samael, '' I doubt the Reapers were interested in the planet that much. There's nothing much there.''

'' Vigil.'' 

'' That...'' Liara thought about it. It made sense. The VI had a lot of information about the Protheans and their plans. But still, why go after a VI?

There's a piece of the puzzle missing and Liara didn't know what it was.

Kayden inquired after seeing Liara staying quiet, '' Who is Vigil?''

'' Vigil is a Prothean VI that has a lot of information about the Protheans and what they did to stop the Reapers. We are still looking over the data it gave us, but it seems they made something that stops Reapers communications. What it was, we don't know, but we can't be sure the Reapers would be the same.''

Kayden nodded at the information and stayed quiet. The table was quiet, with no one saying anything. They were still trying to process what they learned.

Samael thought for a while, ' The timeline is already fucked... so telling the truth one more time will not hurt.'

'' ... I lied.''

Everyone looked at Samael, '' I just said we are still looking over Vigil data but we already finished it. There's a small Relay in Illos, one that sends you directly to the Citadel.''

'' ... So, if they go to Illos, they could also go to the Citadel. That's why two fronts.'' Tevos said that, but the room continued in silence after that.

'' Yes. By the way, before things get complicated, I would have never told anyone about this. No reason to, as those that knew would never use it.'' Samael said that last part to calm everyone down.

'' The only reason I'm telling you this is so that you can prepare.''

Safe to say, not everyone liked the fact Samael hid such things from them, but there's not much they could do about it. Everyone in this room had secrets they could not share, even more so the Matriarchs, so they didn't say anything.

'' You can say anything about what I did later, but for now, I will say the best course of action.'' Samael tapped his omni tool and sent the draft of his plans to everyone there. '' This is just a draft, so it's open for revisions. Read it and tell your opinions.''

No one delved too much into what Samael had hidden, their only reaction was what to do next. They started to read the plan.

It was divided into two parts. One of the parts was to send a few elites to Illos and the other part to the Citadel, to protect both places.

Everything in those plans was counting that the Reapers would only attack one of those two places. If they didn't...

'' Who wants to go where?'' Samael knew the best teams to send to each place, but he also didn't mind letting them choose. After all, they just need to win.

'' Where do you think the main fight will happen?'' Grunt asked in a not-so-subtle tone. It was clear to anyone that he wanted to be where the fight was.

'' Illos.'' 

That was what Samael thought anyway. Sovereign would only attack the Citadel directly if he was certain he would win... but, at the same time, he also only attacked Thessia because he was confident.

That made Samael pause. Weird things were happening in this last cycle, so a full frontal attack on the Citadel, without needing to go to Illos, might really happen. ' It seems I'll have to send more people to the Citadel.'

At first, after he received confirmation that all LD personnel gathered on Earth, he would send 80% of them to Illos and 20% to the Citadel. But now, 50 - 50 seemed reasonable.

Besides LD, he still has some support, like Wrex and his Krogan, and Javik and the Protheans. He didn't think it was necessary to change them, so he would not contact them for now.

'' Then, I want to go to Illos.'' Grunt was the first one to choose where to go.

In the meantime, the Matriarchs were discussing between them, and it seemed they reached a conclusion. Benezia was the one to speak up for them, '' All of us, minus Samara, would like to go to the Citadel. I hope you don't mind.''

Sure, the Matriarchs were strong, but Samael could win without their support. Before he could say anything, Tevos added, '' In addition, we would also use the Spectres to defend the place... Of course, if Shepard wasn't to go to Illos, I can make an exception.''

Shepard breathed in relief. To be honest, she was just like Grunt, she wanted to be where the fight was. She didn't like losing and she already lost once, and that was her limit. She would not lose from now on.

'' No problem. Anyone else want to go to the Citadel?'' No one from Samael's crew said anything, but a few from Shepard did. Just like the Matriarchs, they also discussed who to send and 3 people decided to go.

'' We decide to go.'' Ashley, Jacob, and Vega seemed determined to help. No one would admit it, but this defeat shook them to their core, and just like Shepard, they vowed to not lose again. So, they decided to go to the Citadel, just in case.

Samael was surprised by this group, but nodded, '' Good. The rest of us here will go to Illos and Defeat the Reaper there... They are cunning, so those who will go to the Citadel have to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.''

'' They won the first battle, thanks to their surprise attack, but now, we are ready. It won't be easy, but we will win, no matter what.''

Everyone nodded at what Samael said and seeing that there was nothing more to discuss, he said, '' Well, that was all. You are all dismissed.''

The Matriarchs, minus Samara, left the tent and went to help once more. Shepard's and Samael's crew stayed behind, clearly wanting to talk about something. Samara was staying behind for the same reason.

Samael noticed the worries in everyone's eyes, so he connected the dots, '' Don't worry, there has been no sightseen of the Reaper or the Geth close to Earth, or any colonies around.'' He looked at Joker, '' Even so, I recommend you tell your family to go to Earth. LD will arrange a place for them to stay... The invite is for everyone.''

While Samael wasn't 100% sure, he knew some of the members here had family that lived outside Earth, so he offered that to everyone here, not only to Joker.

Before he forgot, he also sent a message to everyone in Shepard's crew about this.

The only reason why he said that only to Joker at the beginning, was because, in past cycles, his family died in one of the colonies close to Earth, always by a Reaper attack. It was a helping hand to one member of his family.

The pilot looked relieved and touched by the gesture, '' Thank you.''

Other members too, looked calmer and more relaxed after Samael's invite and reassurance.

'' Now, you all stayed behind for a reason. Spill it.''

Samara looked around and noticed Shepard was going to ask, so she waited.

'' We saw a Geth in the place where you guys were at. Can you explain?'' Shepard asked with a worried gaze. She wasn't fearing for their lives, as they could handle a single Geth with ease. She was worried about their reputation, as being seen with a member of a species that just killed millions wasn't a nice picture.

Samael clearly wasn't taken aback by them knowing that. It wasn't like he was hiding anyway, '' Legion. That is the name of that Geth. He is the one who helped fight against other Geth. He is under LD now, so don't worry.''

Shepard nodded at that. She trusted Samael's judgment.

Samara interjected, '' But, haven't you said any machine would worship or be indoctrinated by the Reaper?''

Samael was proud that someone asked that. Sometimes, too much trust is bad, '' Machines are different from us but also some are different from each other. Legion is a special case, and from what we gathered, not every Geth went under the Reaper's control, so there that.''

'' Regarding the indoctrination, he didn't get close enough, nor entered into contact with a Reaper fragment as far as I'm aware, so he is good in that regard too.''

Samara nodded and had nothing more to say. She stayed behind to ask about the Geth, and she got her answer.

Also, Shepard waited for the Matriarchs to leave to ask that question because she didn't want the Asari to know about the Geth. She didn't know that Samael would have talked about it regardless, as Legion was trustworthy and he wasn't hiding the Geth.

Of course, the Geth reputation as a whole was at the bottom, but Samael's influence would deal with that.

Shepard and her crew got up and started to leave when Samara said, '' Commander, do you mind if I join you?''

The Asari wanted to know better the crew that was close to Samael's. She would do the same with his crew, but seeing as they were probably going to fly on the same ship when going to Illos, she could do that later.

Shepard looked surprised but nodded, '' Sure.''

That group then left and joined the rescue effort. This left only Samael's crew in that tent.

For some of them, it was the first time they saw him since their battle ended. They knew he was alive but wounded. Seeing his current state was a blow to them.

This was their captain, the one who in all situations had a way out. Even after fighting a lot in Omega, defeating Krogans left and right, he only had broken bones and a few bruises. Now, he had lost an eye.

That was a difficult sight for them. So, Jonh asked after a few moments of silence, '' How are you holding up?''

Samael was a little touched by all their worried gaze,'' I'm okay. Clare, Chakwas, and the Asari Doctors did a good job patching me up... And to be honest, losing an eye wasn't that big of a deal.''

He had lost things a lot worse in past cycles. This was the last cycle, yes, but he could live with one eye. '' As I have said before, the Reapers are the biggest threat the galaxy has and will ever face. Not only my eye, but I-we could lose things a lot more important down the line.''

Samael continued as he gave Liara and Tali a gaze, ''This first battle showed that we still aren't ready for them, as just one Reaper managed to defeat us, and it cost us dearly. Now, we will prepare more and better, so what happened here doesn't happen anywhere else.''

Conviction slowly started to return to everyone's eyes. Samael noticed that and nodded internally, '' Now, let's go and help.'' He got up, a gesture everyone in the tent followed, '' There's still a lot more to do.''

Grunt asked in a pitful tone, '' What if the Reaper and the Geth attack while we are here?''

Samael snorted at Grunt, as he noticed the battle-hungry look he had on his face, '' They are cowards. They won the battle but we eliminated at least 40% of its forces, without even being ready for them. Now that we know about them, we will be ready.''

Grunt looked happy after he listened he most likely would not lose the main fight.

Before leaving Samael remembered his crew once more, '' Remember to destroy any metal you find.'' He then dragged his tired body towards the ruins.

Samael and everyone else were tired. They didn't rest until now, because they knew every second counted when it came to the lives of the survivors trapped under something.

'' We can rest when we die.'' Samael said that and everyone had the same mindset. Even though he wanted nothing more than just lying down with Liara, Tali, and Shepard, he could not stop now. Because the moment he did would be the day when he had no more strength to continue.

Samael and his crew then joined the rescue efforts once more.