Mass Effect Legends (OC Collab Story)

9: Normandy SR-2

Shepard is walking down the set of stairs to once again talk with the Illusive Man as the communication is set between them.

Illusive Man: "Shepard, good work on Freedom's Progress. The Quarians forwarded their findings from Veetor's debriefing. No new data, but it's a surprising olive branch given our history. You and I have different methods, but I can't argue with your results." He says with praise and honesty.

Shepard: "you ever think about playing nice once in a while?" She asks clearly judging him based off what Tali and the Quarians said about what Cerberus did.

Illusive Man: "diplomacy is great when it works, but difficult when everyone already perceives you as a threat. But more importantly, you confirmed the Collectors are behind the abductions." As Shepard immediately gets suspicious hearing this.

Shepard: "why do I get the feeling you knew about them already?" She asks annoyed with this.

Illusive Man: "I had my suspicions, but I needed proof. The Collectors are enigmatic at best. They periodically travel the Terminus Systems, looking to gather seemingly unimportant items or specimens. Usually in exchange for their technology. When their transactions are complete, they disappear as quickly as they arrived, back beyond the unmapped Omega 4 relay. Until now, we've had no evidence of direct aggression by the Collectors." He explains as Shepard has a lot of questions hearing this.

Shepard: "why is the Omega 4 relay unmapped? What do we know about it?"

Illusive: "only that no ship passing through it has ever returned." He retorts grimly. "Our best guess is that the relay reacts differently to Collector vessels, allowing them safe passage. If they can manipulate relays, that's just further evidence of the connection with the Reapers." As Shepard is satisfied with the answer for now.

Shepard: "any ideas on why they've shifted their focus to humans?"

Illusive Man: "if they're agents for the Reapers, it could be any number of reasons. Obviously humanity played a huge role in Sovereign's destruction. That might have been enough to draw their attention." But gets his biggest concern out out there. "what really concerns me is why they bother abducting the colonists. Once the humans are paralyzed, why not just kill them?" He asks as Shepard can't help but agree with the question.

Shepard: "what are the Collectors getting from these deals?" She asks curiously but the Illusive Man retorts saying the Collectors aren't forthcoming with their motives.

Illusive Man: "generally, they seek out species with rare genetic mutations or abnormalities. They pay slavers and Merc groups exorbitant sums to obtain these specimens and then they leave." While flicking pieces of his cigarette into his ashtray. "But they've never targeted a single species before. And the previous sample sizes were in the dozens, not the tens of thousands." He says as Shepard can tell he's holding something back.

Shepard: "you're holding something back. How do you know the Reapers are involved?" She asks wanting to know why he's so adamant about the Reapers being involved.

Illusive Man: "the patterns are there, buried in the data. The council and the Alliance want to believe the Reaper threat died with Sovereign. You and I know better. I won't wait until the Reapers are on the march. We need to take the fight to them."

Shepard: "if this is a war, I'll need an army. Or a really good team." She says whilst putting her hands behind her back as the Illusive Man says he has a list she can pick from. "Keep your list, I want people I trust, the ones who helped me stop Saren and the Geth."

Illusive Man: "that was two years ago, commander. Most of them have moved on or their allegiances have changed." As Shepard proceeds to ask about where her old team is till she gets it that they're not available.