Epilogue Addendum
"Of Man and Machine"
Malachor V was a planet that represented both life and death. It had been the end of the Mandalorian Wars, but where two Dark Lords of the Sith recognized their true calling. A new Sith empire was born, as was a Jedi Exile who would one day kill her master. An academy rose and men fell, leaving the planet barren until those tied to it by fate returned to change the fate of all mankind.
After Revan had been confronted by Darth Rex and the planet’s memory, Revan had been subject to visions that he had, at first, found perplexing. The visions were that if future events that he would play a part in and possibilities he could realize if he simply reached out and made them happen. In this manner, Revan saw a glorious ending for himself, one that placed him with no equal. He knew how to make it happen, and the first step was to return to the planet of life and death.
When the United Nations had sanctioned both himself and Rex to use the Federation’s discovery of interdimensional travel, they probably had placed too much goodwill on the pair who both were Dark Lords of the Sith. Though, whatever Rex had seen in his own visions, it had seemed to change him into someone else, a man who did not follow Sith principles. For Revan, it did not matter, for Rex’s only purpose at the time was to procure what Revan needed to set everything in motion. He would work with the man, creating their so-called “group opposing rampant evil,” at least until the apparent arch demon they both knew was coming was extinguished.
For now, Revan was alone, returning to Malachor V in order to change a boy’s fate. Or perhaps "aligning" a boy’s fate was a better way to put it. The destination, in particular, was the old Sith academy where he had fought the phantoms, down a deep hole in the planet to where the Force was strongest. Though most would not be able to withstand the power, Revan was stronger than most, so he descended into the abyss in order to find the boy he was looking for.
The boy should have been dead, but on the planet of life and death, things were not so simple. The power below was so great that it held the boy in its maw, keeping him in stasis. All Revan had to do was pluck him from his prison and bring him to the surface. The incredible power coursing through the planet only emboldened Revan as he brought the boy up from the abyss and into the light. When the boy was free, all Revan had to do was manipulate the Force into reviving the boy, sealing his fate.
“Your name is Elliot, yes?” Revan asked once the boy was awake. Elliot was still on the ground, blinking in confusion and trying to gather himself. He eventually sat up and looked at Revan. Probably too confused to say anything, Elliot just nodded. “You fell into the darkness and were left behind,” Revan explained. “I saved you, boy, for I saw something in you that I believe most do not.”
“Do not dare…” Having come to, Elliot’s first reaction was that of anger. “Do not think you can hold this over me. I do not enjoy owing others, nor do I plan to work for others.”
“Nonsense,” Revan said with a wave of his hand, “I have not revived you to put you under my thumb. I am here asking for your assistance. I believe a partnership between us would be to both our benefits.”
“A partnership,” Elliot said, almost spitting out the word. He got to his feet and stared Revan down. “What am I supposed to get from this partnership?”
“Besides being freed from that deep, dark hole?”
“...”
“Tell me, have your powers returned to you? I understand they were missing for a time.”
Elliot blinked and look down at his hands. After a moment, he let out a deep breath. “... Yes, but that does not mean--”
“I am prepared to offer whatever I have to for your assistance.” Revan then pulled out a vial of liquid from his pocket. “You need this, don’t you?”
Elliot only stared at the vial.
“Here.” Revan walked over to Elliot and handed it to him, then gestured for the boy to follow. “There is one thing I can offer that you might find particularly interesting.”
While Elliot begrudgingly consumed the liquid Revan had given him, Revan led him to his ship. Elliot seemed hesitant from this point on, but his curiosity led him to follow Revan into the ship and into the cargo bay.
“Full disclosure, I have stolen this device, but it is better in our hands than theirs.” Revan led Elliot to a bench where a white robe hid a rectangular object. He pulled off the robe, revealing a device.
“This is…” Elliot took a closer look, examining the device. “This was that virtual world. It is fascinating, I will admit, but I do not understand how it could be useful to us?”
Revan nodded to the device. “I’m sure you could find a way,” he said. “And even then, the technology could be useful for… other projects. That is if you are willing to come on board. If nothing else, perhaps the knowledge you could take from me, a man who now has the multiverse at his fingertips, and apply it to your own goals.”
Revan already knew what the conclusion to this conversation, as did he know what Elliot would come to develop using this technology. He had made the possibility a reality, having said what he needed to in order to get Elliot on his side. Of course, what Elliot feared of being under Revan’s thumb would be true in the end.
“... Okay,” Elliot said after a moment. He placed his palm on the device, staring at it. “But there is one thing I want to aim for first.” He turned his head to look at Revan. “Have you heard of the entities known as the Reapers?”
Behind his mask, Revan smiled.
***
In this universe, there existed an ultimate weapon, the plans for which had been developed over a number of civilizations. The weapon’s purpose was to destroy a threat known as the Reapers, a galactic force of immense and powerful synthetic creatures. This universe’s current generation had almost completed this weapon in order to combat the Reapers, but they had yet come to understand what the final piece was.
An ancient, giant space station known as the Citadel secretly housed an artificial intelligence that held control over the Reapers. The people of this universe would come to believe the artificial intelligence, called the Catalyst, was the final piece of the weapon, but in truth, it was the Citadel itself. This would come to light eventually normally, but Revan’s intervention would make it an impossible future.
Revan and Elliot had delivered themselves to the Citadel, in a location unknown to the millions who lived on the space station. The Catalyst had appeared to them as a hologram in the form of a young boy, declaring that the pair were unknown to the Catalyst, a development highly concerning to the artificial intelligence.
“In a way, we’re not supposed to be here,” Revan said, watching as Elliot walked past the hologram to access the computer controls behind him. “In another way, we were destined to be here.”
“... You have knowledge beyond my own,” said the Catalyst. “Such a complete anomaly as yourself should not be possible.”
“I suppose you didn’t know other dimensions existed,” Revan said, crossing his arms.
“That is… I would have to reassess for such a development. No previous cycle had ever--”
“I care little for the history of this universe or your part in it.” Revan looked beyond the Catalyst to eye Elliot. “We planned for this. What is the wait?”
“Do not talk to me like that,” Elliot said, moving to connect a cord from the console to the virtual reality device they had procured. “You would not want to piss me off.”
Revan shrugged at this. “Hm.” He looked to the Catalyst. “Your control over the Reapers will be ours once we control you. No amount of reassessment will make a difference. This is divine intervention. The course of this universe will be forever changed, just by the will of two individuals.”
Or just one, when you really thought about it.
“... Then so be it,” said the Catalyst, who then disappeared from view. He had been uploaded into the device successfully, it seemed.
Revan watched as Elliot tapped at the console, performing the final steps for the upload. The boy’s knowledge of biotech had been useful so far and would continue to be useful. Revan had no real for the boy once he made his next invention, but Revan knew that he could still be used as a distraction beyond that. Let him have the Reapers and let him have his virtual world, it would all come crumbling down in the end, leaving Revan holding all the cards.
“Once that is done, we can perform the next operation,” Revan said. Truthfully, without the knowledge he did have, Revan would have doubted how useful these Reapers truly were, but all in all, they were just a means to an end.
“Time to go,” Elliot said, having finished the upload. “I have seized control.”
“Very well.”
If only Elliot knew.
***
The Normandy’s excursion into new dimensions had ultimately not been too serious a blow to their effort in the fight against the Reapers. They had avoided Harbinger effectively and had returned to the fighting front to recruit both the Turians and Quarians to their cause. They had made a stop at the Citadel to pick up both Kaidan and Samantha, determined to continue uniting the universe while the Crucible, their ultimate weapon against the Reapers, was being built.
After a Prothean virtual intelligence had been stolen by Cerberus, Shepard and her crew had raced to rescue the VI in order to learn from it where the Catalyst, the key to the Crucible’s final construction was located. After recovering the VI, it was learned that the Citadel itself was the Catalyst, but the Reapers had learned of this and had apparently moved the Citadel to the heart of their war effort around Earth. With no time to waste, Shepard arranged to travel to Earth in order to eventually infiltrate the Citadel.
“Commander, there has been abnormal activity around Earth,” EDI said over the intercom. Shepard turned from her console in the war room and spoke back to the artificial intelligence over her communicator.
“Has there still been no word from Systems Alliance?” Shepard asked.
“No, not since before our mission to recover the Prothean VI. Our last report was that the Citadel was being moved to Earth’s orbit but there has been no response since we asked for confirmation.”
“So, the Citadel may not have been moved to Earth after all.”
“That is a possibility, though we will not know for sure until our arrival in Sol.”
“Very well.”
Shepard let out a deep sigh and turned to the holographic projection in the middle of the War Room that gave continual updates on the Crucible’s construction. The Crucible, and by extension the Catalyst, were the last remaining hopes for the galaxy. This likely final mission to recover the Citadel was all that was left to be done for them. They had to give it their all here and now to finish this once and for all. Hopefully, at the end of it all, they would still be standing.
She returned to her console as the Normandy completed its trip into Sol. However, a glitch in the holographic Crucible display caused her to look up. Shepard stared at the hologram, confused until the whole thing blinked off. She then felt a jolt run through the Normandy and found herself falling to the ground. “EDI!” she yelled, “what’s going on?!”
“There was unexpected debris at our destination, Commander,” said the AI. Shepard got to her feet and started making her way to the cockpit, but EDI continued. “Something has occurred during our time recovering the Prothean VI. The damage to Earth is… more excessive than anticipated.”
As Shepard reached the cockpit, other members of the crew joined her. They all got to watch a view of a very one-sided affair as the Reapers had seemingly decimated a large majority of the Systems Alliance war front. “Where is the Citadel?” Shepard asked, her hands shaking. “The Reapers--”
EDI, sitting in the co-pilot’s seat, rapidly tapped at the display in front of her. “There is minimal Reaper activity in orbit around Earth. Likely, they have already done enough damage so that resistance is minimal. This is probably why we have not received further word from the Alliance.”
“They must have moved the Citadel,” Steve said from behind Shepard. “And we have no idea where.”
“There’s more,” EDI said. Shepard wondered what possibly could make the situation worse, but EDI happened to provide it. “Reports from Thessia state that the Crucible has gone missing as well. The Reapers have taken it.”
Silence fell over the crew as the reality of the situation dawned on them. The weapon that represented their hope was gone. Systems Alliance was possible decimated. The Reapers had won.
“Commander, what will we do?” EDI asked.
Shepard closed her eyes. She was starting to feel sick. How could this have possibly happened? Where did everything go wrong? They were completely without hope now. The galaxy was doomed to become just another dead cycle.
That was, if Shepard gave up. She opened her eyes, knowing was not the time to roll over. She and her crew would fight until the bitter end if they had to.
"... We keep fighting."
This was not the end of the war, but the beginning of it.
"Of Man and Machine"
Malachor V was a planet that represented both life and death. It had been the end of the Mandalorian Wars, but where two Dark Lords of the Sith recognized their true calling. A new Sith empire was born, as was a Jedi Exile who would one day kill her master. An academy rose and men fell, leaving the planet barren until those tied to it by fate returned to change the fate of all mankind.
After Revan had been confronted by Darth Rex and the planet’s memory, Revan had been subject to visions that he had, at first, found perplexing. The visions were that if future events that he would play a part in and possibilities he could realize if he simply reached out and made them happen. In this manner, Revan saw a glorious ending for himself, one that placed him with no equal. He knew how to make it happen, and the first step was to return to the planet of life and death.
When the United Nations had sanctioned both himself and Rex to use the Federation’s discovery of interdimensional travel, they probably had placed too much goodwill on the pair who both were Dark Lords of the Sith. Though, whatever Rex had seen in his own visions, it had seemed to change him into someone else, a man who did not follow Sith principles. For Revan, it did not matter, for Rex’s only purpose at the time was to procure what Revan needed to set everything in motion. He would work with the man, creating their so-called “group opposing rampant evil,” at least until the apparent arch demon they both knew was coming was extinguished.
For now, Revan was alone, returning to Malachor V in order to change a boy’s fate. Or perhaps "aligning" a boy’s fate was a better way to put it. The destination, in particular, was the old Sith academy where he had fought the phantoms, down a deep hole in the planet to where the Force was strongest. Though most would not be able to withstand the power, Revan was stronger than most, so he descended into the abyss in order to find the boy he was looking for.
The boy should have been dead, but on the planet of life and death, things were not so simple. The power below was so great that it held the boy in its maw, keeping him in stasis. All Revan had to do was pluck him from his prison and bring him to the surface. The incredible power coursing through the planet only emboldened Revan as he brought the boy up from the abyss and into the light. When the boy was free, all Revan had to do was manipulate the Force into reviving the boy, sealing his fate.
“Your name is Elliot, yes?” Revan asked once the boy was awake. Elliot was still on the ground, blinking in confusion and trying to gather himself. He eventually sat up and looked at Revan. Probably too confused to say anything, Elliot just nodded. “You fell into the darkness and were left behind,” Revan explained. “I saved you, boy, for I saw something in you that I believe most do not.”
“Do not dare…” Having come to, Elliot’s first reaction was that of anger. “Do not think you can hold this over me. I do not enjoy owing others, nor do I plan to work for others.”
“Nonsense,” Revan said with a wave of his hand, “I have not revived you to put you under my thumb. I am here asking for your assistance. I believe a partnership between us would be to both our benefits.”
“A partnership,” Elliot said, almost spitting out the word. He got to his feet and stared Revan down. “What am I supposed to get from this partnership?”
“Besides being freed from that deep, dark hole?”
“...”
“Tell me, have your powers returned to you? I understand they were missing for a time.”
Elliot blinked and look down at his hands. After a moment, he let out a deep breath. “... Yes, but that does not mean--”
“I am prepared to offer whatever I have to for your assistance.” Revan then pulled out a vial of liquid from his pocket. “You need this, don’t you?”
Elliot only stared at the vial.
“Here.” Revan walked over to Elliot and handed it to him, then gestured for the boy to follow. “There is one thing I can offer that you might find particularly interesting.”
While Elliot begrudgingly consumed the liquid Revan had given him, Revan led him to his ship. Elliot seemed hesitant from this point on, but his curiosity led him to follow Revan into the ship and into the cargo bay.
“Full disclosure, I have stolen this device, but it is better in our hands than theirs.” Revan led Elliot to a bench where a white robe hid a rectangular object. He pulled off the robe, revealing a device.
“This is…” Elliot took a closer look, examining the device. “This was that virtual world. It is fascinating, I will admit, but I do not understand how it could be useful to us?”
Revan nodded to the device. “I’m sure you could find a way,” he said. “And even then, the technology could be useful for… other projects. That is if you are willing to come on board. If nothing else, perhaps the knowledge you could take from me, a man who now has the multiverse at his fingertips, and apply it to your own goals.”
Revan already knew what the conclusion to this conversation, as did he know what Elliot would come to develop using this technology. He had made the possibility a reality, having said what he needed to in order to get Elliot on his side. Of course, what Elliot feared of being under Revan’s thumb would be true in the end.
“... Okay,” Elliot said after a moment. He placed his palm on the device, staring at it. “But there is one thing I want to aim for first.” He turned his head to look at Revan. “Have you heard of the entities known as the Reapers?”
Behind his mask, Revan smiled.
***
In this universe, there existed an ultimate weapon, the plans for which had been developed over a number of civilizations. The weapon’s purpose was to destroy a threat known as the Reapers, a galactic force of immense and powerful synthetic creatures. This universe’s current generation had almost completed this weapon in order to combat the Reapers, but they had yet come to understand what the final piece was.
An ancient, giant space station known as the Citadel secretly housed an artificial intelligence that held control over the Reapers. The people of this universe would come to believe the artificial intelligence, called the Catalyst, was the final piece of the weapon, but in truth, it was the Citadel itself. This would come to light eventually normally, but Revan’s intervention would make it an impossible future.
Revan and Elliot had delivered themselves to the Citadel, in a location unknown to the millions who lived on the space station. The Catalyst had appeared to them as a hologram in the form of a young boy, declaring that the pair were unknown to the Catalyst, a development highly concerning to the artificial intelligence.
“In a way, we’re not supposed to be here,” Revan said, watching as Elliot walked past the hologram to access the computer controls behind him. “In another way, we were destined to be here.”
“... You have knowledge beyond my own,” said the Catalyst. “Such a complete anomaly as yourself should not be possible.”
“I suppose you didn’t know other dimensions existed,” Revan said, crossing his arms.
“That is… I would have to reassess for such a development. No previous cycle had ever--”
“I care little for the history of this universe or your part in it.” Revan looked beyond the Catalyst to eye Elliot. “We planned for this. What is the wait?”
“Do not talk to me like that,” Elliot said, moving to connect a cord from the console to the virtual reality device they had procured. “You would not want to piss me off.”
Revan shrugged at this. “Hm.” He looked to the Catalyst. “Your control over the Reapers will be ours once we control you. No amount of reassessment will make a difference. This is divine intervention. The course of this universe will be forever changed, just by the will of two individuals.”
Or just one, when you really thought about it.
“... Then so be it,” said the Catalyst, who then disappeared from view. He had been uploaded into the device successfully, it seemed.
Revan watched as Elliot tapped at the console, performing the final steps for the upload. The boy’s knowledge of biotech had been useful so far and would continue to be useful. Revan had no real for the boy once he made his next invention, but Revan knew that he could still be used as a distraction beyond that. Let him have the Reapers and let him have his virtual world, it would all come crumbling down in the end, leaving Revan holding all the cards.
“Once that is done, we can perform the next operation,” Revan said. Truthfully, without the knowledge he did have, Revan would have doubted how useful these Reapers truly were, but all in all, they were just a means to an end.
“Time to go,” Elliot said, having finished the upload. “I have seized control.”
“Very well.”
If only Elliot knew.
***
The Normandy’s excursion into new dimensions had ultimately not been too serious a blow to their effort in the fight against the Reapers. They had avoided Harbinger effectively and had returned to the fighting front to recruit both the Turians and Quarians to their cause. They had made a stop at the Citadel to pick up both Kaidan and Samantha, determined to continue uniting the universe while the Crucible, their ultimate weapon against the Reapers, was being built.
After a Prothean virtual intelligence had been stolen by Cerberus, Shepard and her crew had raced to rescue the VI in order to learn from it where the Catalyst, the key to the Crucible’s final construction was located. After recovering the VI, it was learned that the Citadel itself was the Catalyst, but the Reapers had learned of this and had apparently moved the Citadel to the heart of their war effort around Earth. With no time to waste, Shepard arranged to travel to Earth in order to eventually infiltrate the Citadel.
“Commander, there has been abnormal activity around Earth,” EDI said over the intercom. Shepard turned from her console in the war room and spoke back to the artificial intelligence over her communicator.
“Has there still been no word from Systems Alliance?” Shepard asked.
“No, not since before our mission to recover the Prothean VI. Our last report was that the Citadel was being moved to Earth’s orbit but there has been no response since we asked for confirmation.”
“So, the Citadel may not have been moved to Earth after all.”
“That is a possibility, though we will not know for sure until our arrival in Sol.”
“Very well.”
Shepard let out a deep sigh and turned to the holographic projection in the middle of the War Room that gave continual updates on the Crucible’s construction. The Crucible, and by extension the Catalyst, were the last remaining hopes for the galaxy. This likely final mission to recover the Citadel was all that was left to be done for them. They had to give it their all here and now to finish this once and for all. Hopefully, at the end of it all, they would still be standing.
She returned to her console as the Normandy completed its trip into Sol. However, a glitch in the holographic Crucible display caused her to look up. Shepard stared at the hologram, confused until the whole thing blinked off. She then felt a jolt run through the Normandy and found herself falling to the ground. “EDI!” she yelled, “what’s going on?!”
“There was unexpected debris at our destination, Commander,” said the AI. Shepard got to her feet and started making her way to the cockpit, but EDI continued. “Something has occurred during our time recovering the Prothean VI. The damage to Earth is… more excessive than anticipated.”
As Shepard reached the cockpit, other members of the crew joined her. They all got to watch a view of a very one-sided affair as the Reapers had seemingly decimated a large majority of the Systems Alliance war front. “Where is the Citadel?” Shepard asked, her hands shaking. “The Reapers--”
EDI, sitting in the co-pilot’s seat, rapidly tapped at the display in front of her. “There is minimal Reaper activity in orbit around Earth. Likely, they have already done enough damage so that resistance is minimal. This is probably why we have not received further word from the Alliance.”
“They must have moved the Citadel,” Steve said from behind Shepard. “And we have no idea where.”
“There’s more,” EDI said. Shepard wondered what possibly could make the situation worse, but EDI happened to provide it. “Reports from Thessia state that the Crucible has gone missing as well. The Reapers have taken it.”
Silence fell over the crew as the reality of the situation dawned on them. The weapon that represented their hope was gone. Systems Alliance was possible decimated. The Reapers had won.
“Commander, what will we do?” EDI asked.
Shepard closed her eyes. She was starting to feel sick. How could this have possibly happened? Where did everything go wrong? They were completely without hope now. The galaxy was doomed to become just another dead cycle.
That was, if Shepard gave up. She opened her eyes, knowing was not the time to roll over. She and her crew would fight until the bitter end if they had to.
"... We keep fighting."
This was not the end of the war, but the beginning of it.
