FicWad

Jack lied on the bed in the medical bay as Dr Chakwas tended to his wounds. She had told him that he had three cracked ribs and sustained damage to his stomach from Saren kicking him while he was on the ground. He also had a damage around his neck from the Turian bastard's iron like grip. While he was there he had been visited by Wrex and Tali, even Garrus who had managed to pry himself away from the Normandy's weapon systems.

But the one who had been there the longest was Arcee. She just sat there beside him and held his hand in support, to show that she was there for him. Nothing was said between them, as she knew Jack would only talk when he felt ready too. So she just stayed quiet and watched him as he lay there, dwelling on the recent events. But now even she had gone, and he was alone. The others had all said that it wasn't his fault with what had transpired on Virmire, but he knew different.

He was the Commander, the mission leader and the one responsible for the lives of all the crew on the Normandy. But this wasn't just about losing people though, because he also had lost friends. There was Wheeljack, who though Jack wasn't as close too as he was with the rest of Team Prime was one he could still call a friend. Then there was Miko, who had been there with Jack from the very beginning.

Though at the start she was irritating and hot headed, by the end she had grown into a confidant young woman with a brave heart who he was proud to call a friend, no not a friend but a sister. Then there was Kaidan who Jack had known since he joined the Alliance, he was a capable soldier and a very good friend. But now they were gone and Jack felt as if a part of himself was gone too.

The Commander had been so lost in his own thoughts that he hadn't noticed the doctor had finished.

"Commander you can get up now." she said as she looked over to him from her console. Jack sat up and swung his legs over to the side of the bed. He still felt sore, as he felt a part of his chest that was still bruised.

"Yes I repaired the damage, but the pain you are feeling should fade over the next few hours, so I suggest that you take it easy." she replied without even looking at him. Jack got off the bed and began walking to the exit.

"Thanks doctor, I'll take it under advisement." he said as he left the room. Chakwas just rolled her eyes before carrying on with her work, knowing full well that he would just keep on working despite what she said.

Tali and Arcee were working on the memory core of the Lithone beacon that they recovered from Virmire. The core was actually a green crystal, about the size a baseball. Hard to imagine something so small could hold so much information. The two were so fixated on their work that they did not notice the Commander entering the lab. As Jack watched them, he could see that they were suffering from their friend's deaths too, but had buried themselves in their work to stop them from thinking about it.

"So how is it going?" Jack asked startling the two women.

"Oh keelah, don't do that." Tali bit back as Arcee gave him a slight smile.

"Hey Jack, you okay?" she asked as the Commander joined them beside the crystal.

"The doctor gave me a clean bill of health." he lied hoping that Arcee couldn't see through his façade, but she just smiled at him and turned back to the crystal. Having felt like he just dodged a bullet, Jack looked over at the green rock.

"So have you guys figured out how to unlock this yet?" he asked.

"No, nothing we have is compatible with it, we have tried everything." Tali replied in an irritated manner.

"Well we have to find a way, because whatever Saren has planned, he will be executing it soon." Arcee said, her face having become stoic. She then looked at Jack and saw him just staring at the crystal.

"Jack, what is it, what do you see?" she asked worryingly.

"Doesn't it look familiar?" Jack asked as he opened up his collar and pulled out the matrix crystal which then grew to its natural size in his hand. Arcee looked at the matrix and then at the Lithone crystal.

"It looks an awful lot like the crystal inside the matrix." she replied as Jack picked it up in his free hand and held the two together.

"Jack be careful, we don't know what may happen." Tali warned as Jack closed his eyes and focused on what was in his hands. He then felt a strange warmth go through him, which made him open his eyes to see something he had seen before.

Jack was again standing in the ruins of the ancient Lithone city, exactly as he did before as hundreds of Reapers descended from the sky, blackening out the red hue it had. He looked around to see the bodies lying at his feet and what looked like the Lithone version of husks walking by him. They did not even acknowledge that he was there, almost like he was invisible. Then something got his attention in the sky above. He saw what appeared to be a star constellation. It's stars shining so bright that he could see them in the evening sky as the Reapers continued to rip apart the city around him with their energy beams. Jack then felt his eyes close again. When he reopened them he was back in the lab with a confused Arcee and Tali staring at him.

"Jack, you okay? You kind of zoned out on us for a moment." Arcee said with a worried expression on her face. Jack then placed the crystal back on the table and turned to leave.

"Wait Jack, your going to tell us what's going on?" Arcee pressed as she grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"I know where we have to go." He answered with a smile slowly growing on his face.

In the cockpit Jack, Arcee and Tali were standing over Hotrod as he searched through the ships star charts on his console.

"You sure you have that pattern right, because we have gone through most of the navigation data here." the pilot said as he continued to work.

"I am sure Hotrod, I saw it in a vision when I held the crystal." Jack replied.

"Maybe the crystal detected you were a Prime due to you holding the matrix at that same moment. The Lithone were similar to us Cybertronians, makes sense that they would use crystals to hold information. I wish I had thought of that earlier, but crystal storage hasn't been used since the beginning of the golden age." Arcee said with a hint of embarrassment. Jack though placed his hand on her shoulder and smiled at her.

"Don't worry about it, as you said the technology was before your time." he replied encouragingly. Then a loud beep came from the pilot station.

"Okay we have a match, its in the Refuge system, the planet….no it can't be." Hotrod said, his face looking shocked.

"Why, what planet is it?" Jack asked. Hotrod looked at Jack before composing himself.

"It says it is the planet Ilos, but that's impossible. It is a planet that was once part of the Lithone Empire before being ravaged by what we now know was the Reapers."

Jack looked over at the console.

"So that's where Saren is going then." he said.

"How do you know that Jack?" Arcee asked slightly confused by the Prime's confidence in what he just said.

"It's a feeling I have, I just know that is where Saren is going next and that we will find the conduit there as well." he said as he looked at his XO for understanding.

"Do you trust me?" he said which startled her before her face relaxed and she smiled back.

"Yes I trust you, partner." she replied warmly to him. Jack then turned back to Hotrod.

"Set course for Ilos."

Hotrod shook his head in response.

"Sir there is a problem with that. You see no one has been to Ilos in the last hundred thousand years due to a naturally occurring ion storm that surrounds the system." he replied.

"Well the Normandy is the most advanced ship in the Alliance, I think it is worth the risk if it leads us to Saren. So set course for Ilos, we will see what we can do to increase the ship's shield strength by the time we arrive." Jack ordered and the pilot nodded reluctantly as Jack joined Arcee and Tali and walked back towards the galaxy map. Arcee looked at Jack, she could tell he was still tired and needed rest.

"Jack I want you to take a few hours to rest." she said causing the Prime to look at her in shock.

"Arcee, are you ordering me to my room?" he asked, the surprise evident in his face. She looked at him concerned.

"Jack, I spoke to doctor Chakwas and she told me that you needed rest and so she gave me the authority to relieve you, knowing well that you wouldn't do it yourself. Now we wont reach Ilos for several hours, I suggest you rest for that time." she answered, crossing her arms, her face becoming stern. Jack shrugged and admitted defeat as walked off towards the elevator.

PRIME EFFECT

Jack had been lying on his bed for the last few hours and he had found his thoughts drifting back to his lost friends. He didn't want to dwell, he had hoped that he could just bury himself in his work, like the others were doing. But Arcee was right, he needed to rest and so there he was. The door chimed and he acknowledged it.

"Come in."

The door opened and Arcee entered his room.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" she said as she took a seat on the end of his bed. Jack sat up next to her.

"No, I haven't really been able to sleep, not since.." he trailed off as he looked out of the window. Arcee looked down at the bed. She knew this was a sore spot, but she had to get him through this when they needed him the most.

"I miss them too Jack, especially Miko and Wheeljack." she said, getting Jack's attention again.

"I know what you are going to say, but it was my fault and it is my burden to bear." he said, his voice cracking. Arcee got closer to Jack as she took his hand in both of hers.

"Jack, you are wrong in so many ways. Our friends chose their fate because they believed in you, in what you stand for as a Prime and as their friend..." she then looked him straight in the eyes.

"..and so do I." she finished, her voice sounding gentle and warm. Jack didn't turn away as he stroked her cheek with his free hand, making her close hers eyes as she enjoyed his touch.

"Arcee, with everything that has happened recently, the one thing I fear the most is losing you." he said watching her eyes widen in response.

"I couldn't go on if you weren't in my life." he carried on, his voice now heavy with emotion. Arcee put her arms around Jack and embraced him in a loving hug and spoke softly into his ear.

"Jack you will never lose me, not now or ever, because I love you." she whispered. Jack's eyes widened at Arcee's confession as he felt her sweet breath on his ear as he then turned to face her, their faces only inches apart now.

"I love you too, Arcee." Jack replied as the two closed the distance and kissed while the blue/white light of the hyperspace field illuminated his room through the window. Jack then laid Arcee on the bed as he leaned down over her and kissed her again with all the passion he felt for her. She smiled against his lips as his hand trailed down to her breasts and squeezed one gently. She moaned softly while returning the same passion into their kiss, intensifying it further. Her hands grabbed his shoulders and held on as he then wrapped his arms around her and lifted her onto his lap, allowing her to straddle him. She then undid and removed his shirt before leaving a trail of kisses from his neck then down his chest.

He in turn removed her top as he kissed her neck, making her shiver in his embrace. They then removed the rest of their clothing while never taking their attention away from each other as Jack then lied on top of her as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He looked down at her, Arcee was the most beautiful woman he had ever known and she was only one he could ever love. Having noticed his staring, she smiled back as she placed a hand around the back of his neck and gently pulled him down into another passionate kiss as she squeezed her legs around his waist.

He then pressed his body down and entered her, earning a soft moan in appreciation from her in return as Jack set a deep and steady rhythm with his thrusts. She had never felt such intimacy with another person at all in her life, not in the way that she and Jack were, here as they made love. She was totally in love with him and wanted to stay with him forever as she tightened her grip on his shoulders. Jack then quickened the pace and Arcee returned it in kind as she let another moan slip out from her lips as both of them came close to climax. Jack's vision then went white as he climaxed, followed by Arcee as they both tensed up and let out a loud moan before they collapsed into each others arms while panting heavily. They then just held each other close and looked into each others eyes before succumbing to sleep.

Jack was the first to wake as he looked down at the woman he loved as she lied on him, her head nuzzled against his neck. He turned to see her peaceful expression as her face was completely lax. But then she started stir as her eyes opened and looked at Jack, a smile gracing her lips.

"Hi." she said to him completely relaxed as she started to stroke his chest.

"Hi." Jack replied.

"By the All-spark Jack, what we just did was incredible." she said, making a wide but loving smile appear on his face.

"So were you Arcee." he said gently before they leaned into another kiss. Then Hotrod's voice could be heard over the intercom, interrupting them.

"We are approaching the Refuge system, senior officers to the CIC."

Arcee looked disappointingly at Jack.

"Well it was perfect while it lasted." she said coyly as Jack smiled back.

"It really was." he replied as they kissed again, this time it lasted longer.

They then broke off and sighed in unison before they reluctantly separated, got up and got dressed.

When they got to the CIC, they found Garrus, Tali and Wrex waiting for them at the Galaxy map. The Turian smiled at them.

"Finally, you two took your time." he said. The lovers looked at each other knowingly and then smiled back.

"Well we are here now." Jack replied as they walked up to the cockpit where Hotrod was waiting.

"Nice to see your up and about Commander." he replied, gaining a glare from Arcee which put the young Autobot in his place.

"So are we ready for this then?" Jack asked as Tali took a seat at the console next to the pilot.

"I have strengthened the shields as much as we can, but we will need to pass through the ion storm as quickly as possible." she replied. Jack then looked back to Hotrod.

"Well if your ready, then take us in." he said and Hotrod nodded as he fired the Normandy's engines and piloted the ship into the waiting ion storm. As the ship flew through the dense storm, electric blasts hitting the ship at every angle but being safely absorbed by it's shields. Each hit made the ship shake some what.

"Shield strength at fifty six percent." Tali responded as Hotrod powered the engines to full and pushed the Normandy through the storm and into the Refuge system.

"We are clear of the ion storm, and shields are holding." Hotrod said as Jack looked at his screen.

"Lets see what is out there." he said as Tali made a scan of the system.

"I am picking up a single Geth cruiser in the system, orbiting Ilos. No sign of the rest of the fleet or Sovereign."

Hotrod turned to them.

"I have already activated stealth mode, so the cruiser hasn't spotted us." he said as Tali completed a scan of the planet.

"Scans have found a number of shuttles on Ilos's surface around what appears to be underground entrance. Damn it." she said. Jack stood over her chair and looked down at her console.

"What's the problem Tali?"

She then brought up a map of the Geth landing zone.

"It seems the entrance is inside a canyon and is hard to reach, especially since the best LZ is several clicks away."

Jack looked down at the map and smiled.

"Then why don't we just drop and shock them." he said with a confident smirk. Tali and Arcee looked at him confused, so Jack decided to explain it.

"Drop and shock is an old Alliance combat manoeuvre, we used it back during the Turian first contact troubles."

Garrus then jumped in.

"I remember hearing about those."

Jack looked over to his friend.

"So you know what I am on about then."

Garrus nodded but the women were still confused. Tali held her hand up.

"Still waiting on an explanation here." she said slightly irritated by the two.

"Well, we'll have the Normandy fly down at full speed and when it reaches 600 feet it will release the shuttle which will drop down on top of the Geth so they wont know what hit them."

Arcee looked unsure though, turning her attention to the Prime.

"Jack, that canyon is barely wide enough for a shuttle to take such a risk."

Hotrod spun round on his chair to the group.

"Hey I can get you down there, definitely." he said beaming with confidence. Jack smiled back at him.

"Okay its settled, I want you four suited up and ready in shuttle one. Hotrod, when you are in range drop the stealth mode and blow that cruiser out of the sky and then make the descent. We only have one chance now to get to the conduit before Saren, lets make it happen." He said before turning around heading for the elevator.

"Aye aye Commander." the pilot replied before turning back round to his console. The others following Jack away.

As it approached the brown/yellow planet of Ilos, the Normandy headed straight towards the Geth Cruiser and dropped it's stealth mode as Hotrod activated the ship's torpedoes and cannons. As it got closer the cruiser noticed it and turned to face the Normandy, its own cannons turning to face the alliance vessel.

"Oh no you don't." Hotrod said as he fired the ship's torpedoes which flew away from the Normandy and to the enemy, exploding against the cruiser shields weakening them as they flickered around its hull. Hotrod then fired another volley which then broke through the ship's defences and exploded along its hull.

"Now take this." he said as he aimed the cannons at the cruiser's engines and fired, sending kinetic energy rounds which rained down on the enemy's engines causing it to explode. The Normandy then flew straight past and down towards the planet as the Geth Cruiser exploded, sending its debris in all directions.

At the underground entrance, Saren and Sideways waited at the heavy blast doors as the Geth troops surrounded them. Sideways activated his holo-tool and started hacking the door's locks.

"How long will this take?" Saren said irritated. The former con did not even bother to look up at him as he held his arm up to the door and watched the holographic hacking program spin around his hand. "Should only take a moment."

Then the Turian heard a noise, like a sonic boom in the sky and looked up to see an object far up in its yellow hue, but descending fast. He focused his eyes which then widened in disbelief as he recognised what it was.

"They have found us, get that door open now!" he spat as Geth centurions ran in front of the two taking defensive positions.

The Normandy was coming down so fast that Hotrod was continually having to adjust his heading as the ship battled against the G-forces pushing against it.

"We will be in range in 10 seconds, opening landing bay." he said as the door opened to reveal shuttle one ready to launch. The ship then burst through the clouds to reveal the ruins of once mighty city as the ship sped down towards it.

Down on the ground Sideways smiled as his hacking program worked and the blast doors opened to reveal a large tunnel leading into the darkness below.

"It's open." he said as he looked up at what Saren was watching and saw the Normandy getting ever larger as it closed on them.

"Get inside now and you shut these doors once we are in." Saren ordered the Geth in front of him which nodded in return.

PRIME EFFECT

The Normandy was now so close that Hotrod launched the shuttle which flew out of the landing bay at the same speed, as the Normandy suddenly veered away and headed back into open space. The Geth on the ground started to fire at the shuttle as it entered the canyon and flew straight at the blast doors which had started to close. The Geth troops didn't even move as the shuttle hit the ground with force and ploughed through them as it slid into the doorway before the blast doors closed and smashed into the walls of the tunnel.

On board the crashed shuttle Jack and the others picked themselves up.

"I think that was the worst landing I have ever experienced." Garrus said as he held his hand to his head.

"Open the hatch and secure the area while I check on the pilot." Jack ordered ignoring the Turian's moaning as he entered the cockpit and saw the body sprawled over his controls.

"Hey, you okay private?" he said as he placed a hand on the pilot's shoulder and pulled back, making the body flop back against his chair revealing his face to be covered in blood. Arcee entered the cockpit.

"Is he alright Jack?" she asked as Jack turned to her, his face sad.

"No Arcee, he is dead." he replied before looking back at the corpse.

"I am sorry, your sacrifice will not be for nothing." he whispered as the femme placed a hand on his shoulder.

"He got us down here, now its up to us partner." she said gently as Jack turned back to her, his face now determined.

"Let's go."

After they had left the shuttle wreckage and walked down the large tunnel, they came out into a large courtyard like area filled with statues of the Lithone. If the situation wasn't dire then he would have taken the time to look more closely at them. But before they could get any further in, Geth centurions appeared and fired at the team who took cover as the bullets flew over their heads.

"I'm starting to get sick of these things." Garrus shouted as the Acree and Tali fired back, taking out two of the enemies.

"Stop complaining Garrus and shoot already." Wrex shot back as he charged over to the next piece of cover, blowing away another Geth with his shotgun along the way. Jack vaulted over his cover and fired his pistol continually in a sweeping motion from left to right, hitting the four Geth in front perfectly in the head as he then brought up his energy blade and sliced clean through the mid section of the Geth closest to him, splitting it in half and its fluid spraying the floor.

"Show off." Garrus called back before raising his sniper rifle and exploding the heads of two Geth who were firing at them from high ground. Arcee and Tali finished off the last of the centurions as Jack and Wrex searched the last pieces of cover to find that there were no more enemies.

"Clear!" they both shouted back to the others who nodded.

"Okay, I think that's the last of them." Jack assumed before being hit in the back, making him fall to the floor revealing Sideways standing over him.

"Don't you know that it is the worst thing to say in a situation like this." he gloated as the others raised their weapons at him, Arcee in particular looking at the former con with seething hate. But Sideways didn't even flinch as he pointed his gun at Jack and looked back at them, a confident smirk on his face.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you..." he threatened them.

"...Not unless you want me to blow a hole in the back of the Prime's head."

Arcee and the others immediately lowered their weapons, Sideways noticing the concerned look on her face as his smile grew larger.

"Thank you, but anyway…" he said tightening his grip on the trigger, but suddenly flew forward as Jack swept the former con off his feet and kicked his gun away leaving the con to their mercy, as he raised his hands to them in a none threatening pose.

"I surrender, your not going to shoot an unarmed man are you." he pleaded as Jack looked down at him, with his gun aimed at his head.

"No, but she would." he replied as he stepped out of the way and Arcee fired three shots into the former cons chest. He gasped in pain as fluid spilled out of his wounds on to the floor, his body going limp as it too hit the floor. Arcee then stood over his body, her face stoic as Jack joined her.

"You okay?" he asked. She looked to him and smiled.

"I'm fine partner, its been a long time since I killed a Decepticon." she replied as Jack took her hand in his.

"Come on, we've got to move." he said gently as he then looked over at Tali.

"Can you stay here and see what you can find out from the Geth's memory core."

Tali nodded and started scanning the dead Geth with her Holo-tool as the rest walked down the corridor leading out of the area.

They then walked through to another area where they saw Saren and some Geth standing next to a large device.

"Saren!" Jack shouted as they started to run at him, but the Turian just smiled at them as the Geth closed the doors to the room he was in as a bright light filled it. Jack banged his first against the door in anger as Arcee immediately used her holo-tool to try and hack the door's locks.

"I'll see if I can get these to open, but we might be better of with Tali." she said as Jack put his hand up to his com link.

Tali was just finishing downloading the Geth corpse's memory core when she heard a noise behind her. She spun round, shotgun cocked and ready. But saw nothing in the empty room other than the corpses around her, until her gaze fell on something and her eyes widened as she gasped.

"Tali, come in, its Jack." came the Prime's voice over her com link. She then spoke back as she looked around the room in surprise.

"I have a problem up here." she replied.

"What kind of problem" he responded. She checked everywhere but still had no luck.

"Well it seems Sideways's body has gone missing." she responded, getting a shocked look from Arcee as Jack carried on.

"Well just get down here, we need you to hack this door that Saren shut."

The Quarian nodded and headed down the corridor toward them.

Once she had joined them, Tali had started to hack the door as Arcee paced back and forth, her face conflicted.

"How did his body disappear, I put three bullets in his spark chamber." she said angrily as Jack turned to her.

"Arcee, we can worry about Sideways later, but right now we have to stop Saren." he told her as the doors opened and Tali looked back at them smiling.

"Just how good am I?" she asked as Garrus patted her on shoulder.

"You're the best Tali."

They then entered the room, weapons ready to find that no one was in there. They all looked confused.

"Okay how does someone just disappear from a locked room." Wrex asked. Arcee shrugged as she looked around.

"We can ask him and Sideways when we find them." she replied with a slight sarcastic tone. But Jack's eyes fell on an object at the end of the room that looked eerily familiar.

"Hey, doesn't that look an awful lot like a space bridge."

Arcee joined him and looked at the object.

"Yes it does."

As the group gathered round it, they were then startled by a glowing humanoid hologram appearing before them.

"You are not Lithone, and I do not detect the taint of indoctrination on any of you, not like the other who was in here. Perhaps there is still hope."

Tali looked at it curiously.

"It looks like a VI program, a very old one at that."

"Jack stepped forward.

"Who are you and why can we all understand your language?" he asked as the hologram looked at him.

"My name is Arblus, I was created to give warnings along with the beacons that we planted around the galaxy for the next cycle to find. And I have been monitoring you since your ship got here and so translated my words into something you can understand."

Everyone stood around the VI as they listened to it.

"You are not safe here though, nowhere will be safe if something isn't done to stop them."

"You mean the Reapers." Jack replied.

"Yes, you must break a cycle of death that has gripped the galaxy for millions of years. But to stop it, you must first hear our story and so not make the same mistakes we did. The Citadel is the heart of the galactic society in your cycle as it was for us and every cycle before."

Garrus looked confused.

"What do you mean by 'cycle'?"

"A cycle is the amount of time it takes the species of the galaxy to evolve to a point before the Reapers return to wipe them out, but please do not interrupt me as time is short and you must hear what I have been programmed to say. The Citadel is a trap, it was created by the Reapers as a means to take control of the Space bridge network that the ancient Cybertronians created. So that they could enter our galaxy from dark space, the empty void between the galaxies and spread out to all the advanced species. They would also lock out the races from the network, effectively bottling them into their own sectors so that they could not mount a reasonable defence. We found this out the hard way when the Reapers took control of the Citadel and kept our colonies isolated. They then picked us off one at a time in a war that lasted one hundred years."

Jack looked at the VI.

"But have you must have found something that can help us now?"

The VI just looked at the group.

"We found out much later, too late to help us that the Reapers had indoctrinated agents on board the Citadel and helped a single Reaper called Sovereign to take control of it and allow the Reaper fleet to enter our galaxy."

Jack's eyes widened at the comment.

"Just like it has done with Saren now."

"Yes, the one that came through here before you. He is being used by Sovereign as a pawn. We had speculated that Sovereign is a lone member of the Reapers who stays in the galaxy and monitors the young species growth and decides when the time is right to wipe them out. But now I must tell you what we had planned towards the end. During the twilight years of the conflict we managed to build a small scale version of a space bridge that would join to the one on the Citadel, we had never figured out why it was there, but now it had become our only hope of regaining control of the Space bridge network and reorganising our forces. But unfortunately the Reapers arrived at this world and wiped out everyone here before we could do so. I deactivated all of this facility's systems to keep from being detected and sent out an adjusted warning to all the beacons in the hope that someone would find me and stop the Reaper invasion before it occurs." Arblus replied.

"So Saren found out about the Conduit, the space bridge here from the beacon on Virmire. And now he used it to sneak onto the Citadel." Jack replied.

"Yes that is correct. As we speak, Sovereign will be approaching the Citadel while Saren deactivates its defences."

Jack the activated his com link.

"Darby to Normandy, Hotrod you there?"

"Right here Commander." the Autobot pilot responded.

"I need the Normandy to send a high alert message to the Alliance and tell them that the Citadel is about to be attacked and send all the ships they can to defend it." Jack replied.

"Okay will do, do you want me to pick you up?" Hotrod said over the com.

"No, I want you to go to the Citadel and help in it's defence, we have found alternate transportation." Jack replied as the com remained quiet for a moment.

"Alright, will do. Preparing to leave orbit. Good luck Commander." Hotrod finished.

"You too, Darby out." Jack replied as he deactivated his com link and turned back to Arblus.

"Can you reactivate the conduit and let us through?" he asked as the VI looked on.

"Yes, I will activate it for you now." the VI replied as the conduit came to life and expanded a green vortex in front of them.

"I have noticed that you are a Prime, the first Prime my people have ever come across. Perhaps you are the one to end this nightmare before it begins. All you have to do is stop the indoctrinated agent before he gives control of the Citadel to Sovereign. Good luck." The hologram said before fading away in front of them. Jack then turned to his friends.

"Right, we know what we have to do, so move out." he told them, his face becoming stoic as they acknowledged and followed him into the large vortex before it shut down, leaving Ilos behind.

Meanwhile the Space bridge in the Serpent Nebula activated and a fleet of Geth Cruisers exited the event horizon in formation, along with the massive black form of the Reaper Sovereign as they moved towards the unsuspecting Citadel station.