The lights in the ventilation shaft leading into the AI core turned off at the halfway point, plunging both Gilda and Fluttershy into darkness. It didn't matter much for either of them as both of their armour sets activated some sort of night vision.
Gilda was getting jumpier the closer they came to the core, her visor didn't tell her anything about the area around her since the security office couldn't tap into any drone-feed of the machines around the area. Fluttershy on the other hoof was completely calm, following Gilda closely and covering her as best she could with the new rifle she'd been given.
“This is it,” Gilda whispered, pointing at a vent cover. Her visor wasn't showing any way they could get closer by utilising the vents. “The rest will be open space right up until the AI itself.”
“Perfect,” Fluttershy said and pressed herself against the grate to push it out so she could advance but halted. “Look, Gilda, you don't have to follow me in here, it'll probably be really dangerous and you're not used to this kind of warfare.”
“Whatever this kind of warfare is, I'm pretty sure I'll have to learn it sooner rather than later anyway. Besides, what would the others say if they heard a pony went towards danger and a griffon didn't?” Gilda smirked, her bravado flaring up.
“Alright then, keep close and make sure you listen to any orders I give.” Fluttershy pushed against the grating and with some help of biotics ripped off the covering. The two of them immediately sprung out with their rifles raised to engage any threat.
The chamber they'd jumped into was rather large, machinery lining the walls of it and a combination of cables and tubes running towards a central node. Fluttershy quickly studied the central node, seeing frost on some tubes and machines. Though most of it seemed neat and well constructed some of the cooling system looked out of place, their components looking as if they were ripped from other sectors.
"The odds of you succeeding here are less than one percent, isn't it easier to just give up?" the Central node blasted through the speakers of the chamber, the humming of drones coming from all sides as they were rushed by a group of the smaller ones.
"Too bad! I like those odds!" Fluttershy roared as she grabbed the drones in her biotics and smashed them into each other. The pegasus rushing forth at the massive installation that kept the AI going. "And to be honest, I think you're lying about them anyway!"
Gilda, still surprised by the aggressive move, started running after Fluttershy and tried to keep up. More big drones started to flood into the chamber, explosions from incoming fire peppering the walkways the two were running on.
"Gilda, Keep them from reaching me!" Fluttershy shouted as they got close to the main machinery. The griffin came to a skidding halt, taking cover behind some metal barriers and lining up shots at the drones as best she could. She had to be really careful as each time she peeked out the drones would land a hit on her shields, missing not really being in the books for these particular drones. Fluttershy meanwhile stood with her wings spread in front of the central node, biotics lit up as she strained badly pulling on every single cooling pipe that looked to be added later,
"What are you doing?" the AI asked, sounding a little confused. "My systems are reinforced, you cannot harm them that easily."
"Fluttershy! Not to be a downer but we don't have long!" Gilda shouted from her cover. The helmet of her armour in her claws as it smoked and was warped from an impact, blood trickling from a cut on her cheek. "Let's just say I don't think I can peek now without losing my head!"
"You can still surrender your command privileges, Gilda, I would leave the two of you alive out of gratitude." The Central node proposed. A screen lit up next to the Griffin with a claw-print on it.
"DO NOT TOUCH THAT SCREEN!" Fluttershy roared as her biotics pulsed even brighter, one of the cooling tubes making a harrowing sound as the ice broke off it and it was squeezed shut. The entire AI core cycled briefly, adjusting for the lack of cooling, the drones similarly had a moment of pause in their fire and even bumped into each other. Gilda noticed this and immediately took the opportunity to shoot a couple of the larger ones before diving in cover again.
"Wasn't planning to!"
"HOW!" The central node roared, a barrage of drone fire hitting the cover Gilda was situated behind as it reassumed control. At that moment another pipe buckled inwards, cutting off another feed of coolant. "STOP IT!"
Fluttershy didn't even blink as the AI started to panic, another coolant pipe following the second as she focused more and more power on them, consequences after be damned. The drones that were advancing on their position also suffered, their coordination becoming less coherent and some even started firing on themselves though they were swiftly taken care of.
"How many more of these pipes do you think you can handle before you overheat?" Fluttershy asked through gritted teeth, another pipe buckling under the biotic assault.
"MORE THAN YOU CAN DESTROY BEFORE I KILL YOU!" it roared in reply.
"Oh really?" Fluttershy grinned. "How much coolant are you re-routing through other pipes to compensate for the loss of coolant then?!" The pegasus crushed a final pipe with a grunt before changing her tactic. Instead of trying to crush the remaining ones she sent alternating mass effect fields at them, the pipes already being under pressure bursting at the points where Fluttershy damaged them.
"NO-O...O-..." The AI voice stuttered and died, red lights starting to flash all throughout the chamber. The drones that were attacking them all just stopped and hung around as they seemed to be rebooting.
"Re-assumed control... Warning, temperature spike in core detected. Evacuation recommended." The VI's voice came through the drones. Fluttershy, heavily panting and sweating, joined Gilda at her cover.
"Get onto one of those heavies, Shy!" Gilda exclaimed, taking the VI's advice and winged it up onto one of the machines. Fluttershy was a little more hesitant but seeing Gilda not being blown away by the drones helped out and jumped on another one. "Get us out of here, VI!"
The drones turned and fled, a large group of the rest doing the same as the heat in the room started going up rapidly. The base rumbled for a bit as they managed to leave the chamber, doors slamming closed behind the pair to trap the encroaching heat.
"AI core meltdown complete, assessing damage... A report will be filed to your quarters."
"My quarters?"
"Later. We should get back to Griffinstone and inform your clan to get more claws in here." Fluttershy groaned, her wings spread a little as they ached badly.
"Right, get the others up to speed and find all the stuff in here," Gilda nodded. "VI, can you get us a way out of this place?"
"Transportation will be made available in the hangar."
This lives‽ Nice short chapter.
As much as I hate seeing a Child of Man (or Gryphon in this case) having to be put down, this ***** had it coming. I am curious if we'll ever find out if she went rogue on her own, or if she was Indoctrinated.
IT LIVES!!!
...Ok, see ya next chapter. Eager for more.
I was hoping for a Luna and Samara romance.
Nice to have a save point before crossing the boss battle threshold, especially if you can back out, heal grind and reequip before returning. If you cantand haventdone all the side quests etc, well, you better be good, or not mind replaying the last stages to get that last hit in before the boss takes you down instead?
VI can use distributed processing to handle the base, where the normal coreAI cant any longer?
Woo cant wait for more, but at the same time the closer we get to the start and then end of MEEK3 the more i am sad to see what will happen, and if you also end up showing us videos of the actual deaths Like Mordins for example i am gonna be so sad.... i do hope we can save most if not all of the cast but still that's the whole point of ME3 was Sacrifices to Destroy/Control the reapers or Fuse all races with Synthetics.
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Could be interesting tbh..... and its probably a bit too late now but what if Luna was able to be with Jack, imagine how the two may slightly bleed off each other XD and sure in game as Shaperd, she's Straight so only Male can, but it has been said shes been with the other gender... and was even planned to be in game... though kind of went out the window do to backlash from Fox. shrugs
YOU LIVE!!!
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Well, the ending of ME3 was slapped together in haste in the last few months before release. This was confirmed about a year ago. The plot that was supposedly leaked to the world was actually the intended end. But EA didn't want the game's end to be telegraphed to anyone, so they required Bioware to change it. That's why the ending doesn't have the polish of all the other chapter ends, and also makes the major mistakes of introducing a new character in the last five minutes we're actually somehow supposed to give a damn about, and introduces three meaningless choices which don't serve the story at all.
In essence, the ending was whipped up by some executives at EA, without any peer review by whoever at Bioware designed these things. So all the hate ME3's multicoloured ending generated was entirely self-inflicted. While a part of me hopes they'll rewrite the ending for the Legendary remaster, I highly doubt it. Now that they've shot the franchise, they're going to make the corpse look pretty, and stubbornly insist they always intended it to look like this, rather than own up to what they did and fix it.
For a better ending for ME3, I use the Mass Effect Happy Ending Mod, which at least makes a game attempt to put together a proper reward for all the hours of work the players put into winning that trilogy. Now if only EA/Bioware would put the same effort into it...
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Yus!
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i mean yeah that is true, and even if the ending really is just a 'pick your favorite color' kind of thing, there is very small choice, also i never got to play the extended edition, so i only know what happens from the OG XD, also never got to play any of the DLC's so missing a big chunk of all that, anyways the choice to control, or Destroy reapers it had its.... ups and downs, control reapers and have them go away and slightly hope they dont come back, is what i think it was, while Destroy killed the Reapers but also all Synthetics like the Geth and EDI, meanwhile fuse(or whatever its called just made it so everyone is a cyborg in a nutshell and i didn't mind the choice tbh, but i can agree that ME3 could have ended much better, but hey this is Commander Applejacks story/version, so who knows what will be the ending.
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The extended version of the ending was IMHO, EA's way of telling us what they really thought of the Bioware fanbase. It adds an extra option to the end. If you basically flip the table and refuse to pick any of the other choices, the game cuts to an automatic fail, where you lose, and the galaxy is wiped out by the Reapers. It's just EA getting mad, throwing a tantrum, taking their money, and flipping us the bird as they walk off.
Outstanding chapter, glad to see this back! Gilda being a space marine spartan combo is sick too. Hoping that she joins Shy more often.
Glados, is that you?
Well Shit my choice would have been wrong in the security office...
EA - Eradicate Arts.
Without them the world would be a better place.
Wonder what the A.I.'s plans was after reaching freedom.
Equestrian A.I. is more advanced if Fidelis is mobil unlike the Griffon A.I.
That or the A.I. was not willing to surrender its assets.
Rather surprised it didn't made a mobil copy of itself.
Soma style!
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Is there a link you can offer to what was intended?
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Probably destroy all biological creatures.