Mass Effect 3_Ari'iaana(Infiltrator)-Mars_Betrayal_Destruction_Ashley_Hurt

Mass Effect 3

Commander Shepard enters the Prothean Archives on Mars... only to be faced with someone she hoped she would never lay eyes on again: Illusive Man.

It seems time has not softened him - instead it has made him even more insane, dogmatic, and obsessed than he was before. Then Liara finds out the Prothean data they need is being erased. Ashley finds the perpetrator, but immediately gets taken off-guard and knocked down - with Shepard taking up the chase after her instead.

Dr. Eva Coré is faster and more capable than she seems - and she outruns Shepard with surprising ease. Shepard radios James to come and help, but as she gets to the roof of the Archives, Coré leaps into a Cerberus shuttle and gets away.

That is, until James nose-dives the shuttle straight into the Cerberus vehiacle, causing an enormous crash on the roof, and nearly killing them all in the process. The Cerberus shuttle is a ball of flames, but out of those flames comes the chilling site of Dr. Coré ... only it isn't her... it's a synthetic. An AI robot that's clearly flame-proof and hell-bent on killing Ashley.

Ash is picked up like she's nothing. The Coré mech slams her into the side of the Cerberus shuttle until she looks crushed. She crumples to the floor when the mech lets go - then the thing heads for Shepard. 

Taking it out with a few shots, Shepard orders James to take the mech, whilst she takes Ashley. The Normandy comes in just as the Reapers do, and they board the ship and leave, hoping that Ashley had enough strength and Williams stubbornness in her to survive her horrific ordeal. Shepard requests Joker take them directly to the Citadel for medical support, after which she takes a call from Admiral Hackett.

Shepard gives her report to Hackett, as does Liara. Once Hackett leaves, Liara approaches Shepard, who is in shock and shuts down - and shuts her out. Being the best friend that she is, Liara takes it in her stride, understanding Shepard needs space to wrap her head around all that has happened in just a handful of hours.

At the Citadel, Ashley is whisked away to Huerta Memorial Hospital. Commander (formally Captain) Bailey of C-Sec appears in lieu of the Council, explaining that they're "busy" but willing to see her at a certain point. 

But first... she needs to see Ash.

~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ 3840 x 2160 graphics settings ~ 1080p 60fps playback ~ 

Mass Effect 3_Ari'iaana(Infiltrator)-Mars_Ashley_Questions--Cerberus_Husk

Mass Effect 3

Ashley works out a way to get over to the other side of the tramway, when Cerberus blocks them out and Liara is unable to hack the system.

When she goes to open the helmet of a Cerberus corpse, she gets a horrible shock - the trooper inside was a husk... almost. She calls Shepard over to see, who is just as repulsed. Ashley uses this time to confront her former commanding officer to air a few more of her concerns about Shepard, which Shep tries to allay.

Whether it worked or not is unclear... but Ashley certainly doens't seem to have any concerns when it comes to fighting alongside her - and she's willing to give her the time to come to terms with everything and eventually move on.


~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ 3840 x 2160 graphics settings ~ 1080p 60fps playback ~ 

Mass Effect 3_Ari'iaana(Infiltrator)-Mars_Cerberus_Destruction_Infiltration

Mass Effect 3

Shepard and her original Normandy team fight their way through the Mars base to reach the Prothean Archives. There are many Cerberus troops, but given they had been fighting fluidly together as a team for a long while previously, they continued just where they left off - and Cerberus didn't stand much of a chance.

Every step they took showed the destruction caused by the Cerberus troops... and it gave Shepard a feeling of unease that there was something more disturbing going on that in initially looked like.

They managed to get open a door to get outside, but the storm was hitting and the sand was harsh. Luckily their armour barely felt it, although it was rather hard to see outside the helmet with it kicking up such a standstorm. It was also breaking up comms links, and What little she could make out of James' scattered message, she figured that he had already lost communications with Normandy.

Pressing on, they see the worst so far of what Cerberus has done - specifically Dr. Eva Coré. She had shot guards and opened the airlock to the mess hall, where everyone in there had suffocated within seconds once they had been opened. Liara felt sick - she had - vaguely - known the woman for a week, yet she had never picked up on anything that would make her seem like an undercover Cerberus operative, and blames herself for all the death that Coré caused, until Shepard speaks to her.



~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ 3840 x 2160 graphics settings ~ 1080p 60fps playback ~ 

Mass Effect 3_Ari'iaana(Infiltrator)-Mars_

Mass Effect 3

Shepard, Ashley, and James land on Mars. The first thing they see is Cerberus executing innocent workers of the Mars Archives... Clearly nothing had changed after she had left and headed back for the Alliance.

They get into the entrance to the Mars Archives and Shepard fixes the pressure. Ashley confronts her about her time with Cerberus, and what they wanted. As if she was still a part of them. She makes it clear - again - that it was just about the Collectors. Shepard shows her disappointment in her former Gunnery Chief, comrade,  and friend - she had actually hoped that Ash might be able to see past the temporary Cerberus alliance and realise what it really was... but it was probably something she needed some time one.

As they enter the Archives, there's a noise and a long, lithe blue figure pops out of one of the vents, destroying a few Cerberus troops who is after her with a Singularity and couple of bullets. Professor Liara T'Soni, former palaeontologist, current Shadow Broker, is a welcome sight to Shepard. She in turn is quite the surprise to Liara, amazed to see Shepard, and then also Ashley there on Mars with her. 

Liara catches them up on what is going on at Mars and why. What both she and Cerberus desperately want - a blueprint for a device that is capable of defeating the Reapers.

However, before more can be said, more Cerberus troops turn up. Shepard sends a very disgruntled James back for the shuttle, to be ready for an evac from the place, once they had what they wanted.

Cerberus, as usual, wasn't really up for dealing with the likes of Shepard and her crew - and this time she had her most experienced original Normandy Team fighting alongside her.

Once they were dealt with, they could concentrate on finding their way in to retrieve the plans and leave posthaste.


~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ 3840 x 2160 graphics settings ~ 1080p 60fps playback ~ 

Mass Effect 3_Ari'iaana(Infiltrator)-Vancouver_Normandy_Mars

Mass Effect 3

Anderson finds the radio from the gunship and waves Shepard over to cover him whilst he uses it to contact Normandy and Ashley. He just about gets out the distress signal and a message before that thing cuts out as well. Especially since more Reaper things had just turned up...

Fighting off the Reaper things was difficult - they just seemed to have a never-ending stream of them. They both run out of ammo... Then just in time, they hear what is in that moment a most welcome voice... Joker was here.

They see the Normandy, flying in, soaring strong, coming in to pick them up. Shepard tears towards it, sprinting as hard as she can. With a running jump, she makes it to the open door of the Shuttle Bay, where Ashley is waiting to help her on.

However... Admiral Anderson isn't coming. He refuses, insists he needs to stay, to lead a resistance, to help the people left behind. He also knows that it's only Commander Shepard who will ever be able to do the impossible and create an intergalactic army that will bring the Reapers to their demise. It is not he... He could never do it, and she needs to do it the same way she did before - in command.

Shepard's heart silently breaks as she walks away, seeing the destruction of that little boy she had been seeing all day... obliterated by one beam of the Reaper's laser points. Then she has to focus.

Unfortunately, the young Marine she has been left with isn't experienced enough in such matters - his previous deference and respect gone in the midst of being in a war zone - he argues with Shepard until she shoots him down.

Just then a call comes in from Admiral Hackett, who is now instead sending her straight to Mars and Liara T'Soni. Apparently, the Mars Archives have something they want, so they're on their way to get... whatever it is.

This was going to be a long fight, and now Commander Shepard steels herself for the first step in long game it will take to defeat them.


~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ 3840 x 2160 graphics settings ~ 1080p 60fps playback ~ 

Mass Effect 3_Ari'iaana(Infiltrator)-Vancouver_Escaping_AllianceHQ

Mass Effect 3

Unable to believe the level of destcution she is witnessing, Shepard is overwhelmed by the immense power of the Reapers, and how easily and quickly they destroy everything and anything in their path.

Heading inside, to the less-dangerous half-destroyed building they found, she notices the same young boy as had been flying the Normandy on his rooftop crawling in the vent. She tries to coax him out, but he disappears back into the ducts, leaving Shepard to follow Anderson to wherever he was going.

Frustrated and confounded, Anderson is angry and distraught about those being decimated and slaughtered out there - where they seem to have no power to stop them. He decides to send Shepard to the Citadel, asking her to go to the council and get help from the other species. She was a Spectre... perhaps in times like these it would mean something.

Just as they exit the destroyed building a Reaper lands right in front of them... and then take down a dreadnaught. The explosion throws Shepard around, then drops her down towards the bay and the water. She comes to a stop on ruined debris... probably only alive because she's about 30% regernerative cybernetics.

There are downed officers near where she lands, and just as she sees them, a whole bunch of Reaper... things... appear. Gruesome, twisted, horrible things trying to kill them. So she kills them first.

Helping to save the officer stuck beneath debris, Shep and Anderson move on towards the gunship, where they will finally be able to radio in for help.


~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ 3840 x 2160 graphics settings ~ 1080p 60fps playback ~ 

Mass Effect 3_Ari'iaana(Infiltrator)-Vancouver_Reaper_Invasion

Mass Effect 3

It's been six months... six months since Commander Shepard, formally of the Alliance Navy (before she died... and was resurrected), defeated the Collectors in an unprecedented suicide mission through the treacherous and unmapped Omega 4 Relay.

She was formally "Relieved of Duty", but at least no longer locked up in the Brig.

In the time she had handed herself over to the Alliance, she had been kept away from all contact, all news, all people. She saw virtually no-one but her handler -- Lt. James Vega. The young and... very... strapping soldier clearly suffered a serious case of hero-worship and was certainly in awe of her.

To him, she was an idol, a living legend, the First Human Spectre, an awe-inspiring soldier who had achieved the impossible so many times it was as if she was almost inhuman. She was "The Commander Shepard"... words that had now become a deeply respected moniker; no longer was it just simply her rank and name. With his exceptional respect, excessive formality, and excessive use of - unwarranted - protocol around her - it hardly took one to be Mordin Solus to work out that was just what he thought of her... but he was nice, and she liked him, so she's humoured him with it and let him be.

She had been away from everyone since she surrendered the Normandy to Admiral Hackett after the Collectors were destroyed. She missed them all, but especially Garrus - her best friend, her battlefield brother-in-arms, her best sniper (if you didn't count her...), her love. After losing Kaidan... killing him, sentencing him to death, to save others... she never guessed that she would not only die but then live to love again. 

She hadn't been softened by him, but she had become more slightly tolerant. Just about. She was a tough girl from the street, and she remained so - especially now. 

On this specific day, nice and pleasant, watching an adorable young boy"flying" his Normandy toy about on the roof of his building, she was surprised when her door opened unexpectedly. Everyone kept regular times with her, so this was a slightly unusual visit to be having.

The overly-respectful Lieutenant Vega is back, this time with a request for her to see the Defence Committee. Leaving quickly, they run into (now) Admiral Anderson... and the expression on his face tells her everything she really needs to know about this abrupt summoning:

The Reapers were here.

Before facing the Defence Committee, she is faced with something far more daunting - in fact, she would have absolutely prefered to take on a hundred Reapers before facing this... Before facing Ashley. Or Lieutenant Commander Williams, as she was now.

At least she was being pleasant - which was more than she expected from her, after what happened on Horizon. She isn't quite sure what to think or how to behave, except professionally. Her former Gunnery Chief had been under her command, had respected her, had eventually been her friend. But now... now she didn't know what Ash thought of her.

She then just about overhears Vega asking Ashley about her as she leaves... First, her thoughts were of affectionate amusement, that her awe-struck handler was almost just as surprised and honoured to meet one of her friends and former crew. But then... she heard Ash'es answer. After that, she once again just didn't know what to think.

But at least she didn't have to think about it much longer - this Defence Committee would now distract her instead with their twittering - something she could barely tolerate, and she wasn't interested in their politics, bureaucracy, and debates when real life went on beyond their closed doors.

Unfortunately, she received a rather bigger distraction than she had anticipated... This was the very moment the Reapers landed on Earth, in Canada, in Vancouver, and quite nearly in their office too.

It was only a moment before one of their lasers tore into the office. Realising what was happening just a fraction of a moment before it did, it gave her time to make it just out of the way of the worst of it. Around her and behind her, the Committee's large podiums went flying through their air, with the Committee still attached to them. She and Anderson were the only survivors because they were standing and over by the door.

Now it was starting.

And now... Now she was going to damn well finish it... 


~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ 3840 x 2160 graphics settings ~ 1080p 60fps playback ~ 

Mass Effect 3_Ari'iaana(Infiltrator)-Vancouver_Reapers_James_Ashley

Mass Effect 3

It's been six months... six months since Commander Shepard, formally of the Alliance Navy (before she died... and was resurrected), defeated the Collectors in an unprecedented suicide mission through the treacherous and unmapped Omega 4 Relay.

She was formally "Relieved of Duty", but at least no longer locked up in the Brig.

In the time she had handed herself over to the Alliance, she had been kept away from all contact, all news, all people. She saw virtually no-one but her handler -- Lt. James Vega. The young and... very... strapping soldier clearly suffered a serious case of hero-worship and was certainly in awe of her.

To him, she was an idol, a living legend, the First Human Spectre, an awe-inspiring soldier who had achieved the impossible so many times it was as if she was almost inhuman. She was "The Commander Shepard"... words that had now become a deeply respected moniker; no longer was it just simply her rank and name. With his exceptional respect, excessive formality, and excessive use of - unwarranted - protocol around her - it hardly took one to be Mordin Solus to work out that was just what he thought of her... but he was nice, and she liked him, so she's humoured him with it and let him be.

She had been away from everyone since she surrendered the Normandy to Admiral Hackett after the Collectors were destroyed. She missed them all, but especially Garrus - her best friend, her battlefield brother-in-arms, her best sniper (if you didn't count her...), her love. After losing Kaidan... killing him, sentencing him to death, to save others... she never guessed that she would not only die but then live to love again. 

She hadn't been softened by him, but she had become more slightly tolerant. Just about. She was a tough girl from the street, and she remained so - especially now. 

On this specific day, nice and pleasant, watching an adorable young boy"flying" his Normandy toy about on the roof of his building, she was surprised when her door opened unexpectedly. Everyone kept regular times with her, so this was a slightly unusual visit to be having.

The overly-respectful Lieutenant Vega is back, this time with a request for her to see the Defence Committee. Leaving quickly, they run into (now) Admiral Anderson... and the expression on his face tells her everything she really needs to know about this abrupt summoning:

The Reapers were here.

Before facing the Defence Committee, she is faced with something far more daunting - in fact, she would have absolutely prefered to take on a hundred Reapers before facing this... Before facing Ashley. Or Lieutenant Commander Williams, as she was now.

At least she was being pleasant - which was more than she expected from her, after what happened on Horizon. She isn't quite sure what to think or how to behave, except professionally. Her former Gunnery Chief had been under her command, had respected her, had eventually been her friend. But now... now she didn't know what Ash thought of her.

She then just about overhears Vega asking Ashley about her as she leaves... First, her thoughts were of affectionate amusement, that her awe-struck handler was almost just as surprised and honoured to meet one of her friends and former crew. But then... she heard Ash'es answer. After that, she once again just didn't know what to think.

But at least she didn't have to think about it much longer - this Defence Committee would now distract her instead with their twittering - something she could barely tolerate, and she wasn't interested in their politics, bureaucracy, and debates when real life went on beyond their closed doors.

Unfortunately, she received a rather bigger distraction than she had anticipated... This was the very moment the Reapers landed on Earth, in Canada, in Vancouver, and quite nearly in their office too.

It was only a moment before one of their lasers tore into the office. Realising what was happening just a fraction of a moment before it did, it gave her time to make it just out of the way of the worst of it. Around her and behind her, the Committee's large podiums went flying through their air, with the Committee still attached to them. She and Anderson were the only survivors because they were standing and over by the door.

Now it was starting.

And now... Now she was going to damn well finish it... 


~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ 3840 x 2160 graphics settings ~ 1080p 60fps playback

Mass Effect 3_Aura'anna-Menae_Primarch_of_Palaven

Mass Effect 3

Commander Shepard finally locates General Arien Victus... to tell him that now he has been named the new Turian Primarch of Palaven. Negotiating for Turian Hierarchy. Him... A Soldier. Off-Book, rebellious, passionate.

He's in shock... Even stunned. He would have imagined himself to be one of the last Turians to be appropriate to undertake such an enormous burden. But after speaking to Shepard, soldier to soldier, he accepts it - it was an opportunity for someone who knew what they were talking about when it came to fighting wars to be at the Galactical War Table.

It also means a clever out-of-the-box thinking war-strategist is in a position for negotiation with the (now other) leaders of the Galaxy. So he asks Shepard for the near-impossible... He wants the Krogan. To fight alongside them. On Palaven. When they're virtually arch-enemies. But Shepard doesn't say no...

Instead, she decides to work out how to go about doing it... because - soldier to soldier - she knows he's right.


~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ Recorded at 3840 x 2160 ~ 1080p 60fps playback ~

Mass Effect 3_Aura'anna-Citadel_Thane_Reunion

Mass Effect 3

At the Huerta Memorial Hospital, on her way to see Kaidan, Shepard is shocked to find Thane Krios right there, by the window, working out some basic moves.

Her heart doesn't know what to do - she cares for him, probably loves him, and there he is. Alive, safe, fairly well, and quite active.

But Kaidan... was just along the way... recovering. But Kaidan still wasn't happy with her. Probably would never really forgive her. So in that moment she is standing there she decides to embrace whatever time she has left with Thane and go and see him again. 

One more chance to see him, possibly before it was too late.


Kaidan was recovering and Thane was dying. One was barely speaking with her, and the other was in love with her. Somehow, that irony made things feel like things just didn't seem fair.


~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ Recorded at 3840 x 2160 ~ 1080p 60fps playback ~

Mass Effect 3_Aura'anna-Normandy_Dancing_With_James

Mass Effect 3

Shep heads down to the Shuttle Bay now EDI has been... settled... into her new role. Down there the finds Lt. Steve Cortez, Shuttle Pilot... and James, apparently. She likes Steve immediately - and it turns out he's as multi-functional as he is nice. As well as the piloting the shuttle, he maintains it, as well as maintaining the armoury, and is in charge of procurement, too.

After 10 years in the Alliance, he's got more than enough experience with just about everything, so Shep was happy they had such a great officer on board. She was also more than happy to see the Hammerhead was missing... and to find out it's now probably been destroyed by Reapers whilst it was being fixed up. It turns out he has rather a tragic personal story too, but she wasn't going to pry. Not this time, anyway.

After speaking with Steve, she notices the FENRIS mech wandering about that she had accidentally "fostered", after its owner left it aboard the ship. KEI-9 was interesting, kept to itself and cute in its own special way.

James is busy doing his infamous pull ups. Shep decides it's about time she disrupted him and goes to tease him about EDI and her new shiny robot body. Then she keeps on teasing him, mildly flirting to see what his response would be... unfortunately it didn't work the first time. When she asks about him, James then challenges her to "dance" ...

He calls her "Lola" right away after that. He wasn't about to admit, but if he was going to try and keep his self-respect and  punch "The" Commander Shepard in the face (or at all), he needed to try and stop seeing her that way. "Lola" was the first name that came to mind.

Once she takes him down anyway - despite his genuinely best effort - his idea of her changes. Quite a lot. She clearly had earned her stripes, and had taken him down before he had even noticed it. He also had a painful, bloodied nose to prove she was definitely even better in person than she came across in the news reports. Although he had seen her fight her way through the Reapers, going hand-to-hand and going down to her - whilst being reprimanded - was something else. Now she was more than just an idol and living legend - she was soldier who had earned his respect.

After the fight, he finds it easier to open up to her a little. Trying to be less formal, more friendly. However, he was not going to be telling her about what really happened to him on the Collector mission he was on... He had already said more than enough.


~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ Recorded at 3840 x 2160 ~ 1080p 60fps playback ~

Mass Effect 3_Aura'anna-Menae_Primarch_of_Palaven

Mass Effect 3

Commander Shepard finally locates General Arien Victus... to tell him that now he has been named the new Turian Primarch of Palaven. Negotiating for Turian Hierarchy. Him... A Soldier. Off-Book, rebellious, passionate.

He's in shock... Even stunned. He would have imagined himself to be one of the last Turians to be appropriate to undertake such an enormous burden. But after speaking to Shepard, soldier to soldier, he accepts it - it was an opportunity for someone who knew what they were talking about when it came to fighting wars to be at the Galactical War Table.

It also means a clever out-of-the-box thinking war-strategist is in a position for negotiation with the (now other) leaders of the Galaxy. So he asks Shepard for the near-impossible... He wants the Krogan. To fight alongside them. On Palaven. When they're virtually arch-enemies. But Shepard doesn't say no...

Instead, she decides to work out how to go about doing it... because - soldier to soldier - she knows he's right.


~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ Recorded at 3840 x 2160 ~ 1080p 60fps playback ~

Mass Effect 3_Aura'anna-Normandy_Primarch_Arien_Victus

Mass Effect 3

Shepard leaves the war room to head out to see Joker, when the ship suddenly shuts down, and he calls over the comms to her to head to the AI Core on Deck 3.

Shepard heads through the Med Bay to the AI Core, where Engineer Adams is already there, ready with another office and fire extinguisher. Steeling herself, Shepard opens the door and heads in, to walk into a room filled with fire extinguisher fog after the internal systems went off inside. Then through the fog... EDI's voice comes from the Dr Eva Coré mech. Apparently, now she's taken it over, after it tried to hack into her own systems... so she effectively "killed" it and took the mech over herself.

She seems to like it, because she's offering to use it to help Shepard as part of her team - the real ground team, not just as the Normandy. She's fully functional and now fully in control.

Shep, quite naturally, is quite annoyed at EDI for her behaviour, undertaking a system problem without authorisation - or even at least an FYI. After further instantaius diagnostics, Shep allows EDI to keep it and join them. So she heads to the cockpit to see Joker and fix the Normandy.

Joker is amazed by EDI's "transformation" - and clearly loves her "new, sexy robot body". EDI, however, would like to have more information from him than he is willing to talk about, joking with her instead. She turns to Shepard for help instead, and asks her interesting philosophical questions on things that - as an AI - she doesn't understand yet... Clearly interested in emulating human behaviour as much as possible now she (pretty much) looked and moved like one.

Shepard leaves EDI and Joker to it after answering her questions and heads back to the bridge. Sam Traynor informs her she has a message from Kaidan... much to her (disguised) immense relief. To her shock, she also sees that Udina has offered to make him a Spectre... It's not that she's shocked he chose Kaidan - he more than deserved it - it was that in such a time as this, Udina was even thinking about such things. She decides that heading to Huerta Memorial as soon as possible... although actually seeing him again made her feel things she would prefer to ignore... two of which were fear and nerves - two things Commander Shepard almost never felt.

Tearing herself away, she reads more awaiting emails, then heads to speak to Traynor again about the Normandy. Somehow, the Comms Specialist is more interested in the what was happening on Menae than in the ship shutting half of itself self down without explanation.

Regardless, there is something that Traynor would like to discuss with Shepard too - a distress signal from Grissom Acadamy... the very place that she had sent David Archer after rescuing him. It turns out that a Turian Evac Transport seemingly answers the signal, but Traynor had EDI analyse the signal and they found it was the same signature as the Turian signal that sent Shepard and her crew to a "deralict" Reaper, where they were ambushed and found out the Collectors were really originally Protheans.


~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ Recorded at 3840 x 2160 ~ 1080p 60fps playback ~

Mass Effect 3_Aura'anna-Normandy_Primarch_Arien_Victus

Mass Effect 3

Aboard the Normandy, Commander Shepard heads for the new Turian Primarch, who in turns actually apologises for Garrus abandoning them... Something about "Calibrations"... 

Somehow Shepard was not surprised.

Primarch Victus is clearly worried and distraught about leaving his men and the war theatre to play at politics and bureaucracy. However, he seems to take comfort in the fact that standing alongside him, as the most prominent figurehead of this war, was a fellow soldier. A sister-in-arms who understood what wars were really like. 


~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ Recorded at 3840 x 2160 ~ 1080p 60fps playback ~

Mass Effect 3_Aura'anna-Menae_Finding_General_Victus

Mass Effect 3

Shepard, James and Garrus head out to deal with some rather horrific Reaper creatures... transformed Turians. There are also everyone's favourites - the Husks... so the game is now on.

It doesn't take too long to get rid of them all. Shepard returns to the compoud, but only be to be told as she's headed in that the main barricade has been attacked and about to be breached. 

Shep heads up there to find the Turian soldiers who had been standing guard fallen in the battle - so she scrambles to the top and takes charge of the cool big gun and starts hacking up the Husks with the turret. James clearly enjoys himself fighting the husks from the taller vantage point - but Garrus isn't too enthusiastic. He never did like those pesky Husks very much.

Everything is going fairly well, relatively speaking... until the most enormously horrific thing, created by the worst of the Reapers' imagination, turns up - and knocks her off the barricade onto the other side.

James and Garrus go down after her and work to keep them all safe - and the Reapers away. Shep tasks herself with mainly trying to stay away from the Husks, but also trying to focus the most of their combined power on the Brute.

Once the Brute is down, General Corinthus is back on the line, letting her know that they still could not raise the new Primarch, Adrien Victus, on the comms. A (now former) Turian General, he is out fighting in the middle of the battles on Menae, and not all the channels are stable in the middle of all the fighting.

They go on foot, touring Menae, watching battles, Reapers slaughtering, Turian ships and soldiers going down to them. They find survivors and crash wreckage. They look over to Palaven... and Garrus can only see the area he was born an enormous burning a blaze of bright orange. He has a father and sister there... somewhere. But he has to be up in Menae fighting the big fights against forces that seem to be unstoppable.


~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ Recorded at 3840 x 2160 ~ 1080p 60fps playback ~

Mass Effect 3_Aura'anna-Mars_IllusiveMan_Kaidan_Attacked

Mass Effect 3

Shepard, Liara and Kaiden finally make it to the Prothean Data at the Mars Archives... and meet an old "friend".

After being horrified by what the Illusive Man wanted, they realise the data they need is being stolen. Kaidan finds Dr. Eva Coré stealing it. Shepard gives chase, but she makes it to a Cerberus shuttle. At the last moment, though, James brings in his Kodiak and slams into the escaping Cerberus shuttle.

The shuttle crashes in a roar of flames, the team barely managing to get out of the way in time. Out of the flames comes one figure... what was left of Coré comes out... as a mechanical abomination that immediately takes out Kaidan when he attempts to shoot her - it - down. 

The Coré mech slams him against the wall of the shuttle until he crumples onto the floor. Shepard shoots the mech until it drops, then rushes to get Kaidan, stunned and desperate, her heart in her mouth, not knowing what to think or feel as she looks at the man she once loved lying in a broken heap on the ground.

Scooping him up, she takes him aboard the Normandy, James following with the Coré mech. Liara breaks through her stunned stupor, convincing her to focus her mind and have them head for the Citadel for medical assistance.

On the way, Admiral Hackett calls the Normandy. Shep and Liara update him about what happened, and to inform him that Kaidan was injured and they were flying to the Citadel for medical aid.

Once there, a medical team is standing by to rush him to Huerta Memorial Hospital. Commander - formally Captain - Bailey is also there to greet them on behalf of the Council, requesting that she meet with them at the Tower once she is ready.

But first, she's going to see Kaidan.


~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ Recorded at 3840 x 2160 ~ 1080p 60fps playback ~

Mass Effect 3_Aura'anna-Normandy_Palaven_Moon_Menae

Mass Effect 3

Shepard, James and Liara head for Palaven's moon, Menae, where they're going to rescue the Turian Primarch from the threat of Reaper forces.

What they didn't expect was the extent of the situation there. The Normandy enters to a scene from intergalactic dogfighting hell, with Turian troops barely making a dent and the Reapers causing unimaginable destruction to all the ships around them. Palaven was lit up like a Christmas tree, the fires and destruction hugely visible from space as their shuttle closed in. It was Earth all over again.

The Normandy stealth systems got them into Palaven's orbit, where they then take the shuttle in to land. Presuming Garrus would also still be on there, fighting the good fight alongside everyone else, Liara and Shepard spared a moment of silence for their friend, wondering if he was going to be OK... or even still alive.

On the ground at Menae, the situation was worse than they thought. The moon was crawling with Reapers and their creepy ground troops. They enter into a scene of carnage and Reaper hell, immediately heading straight into battle with everybody's favourites - those damned Husks.

Once the Husks were dealt with, they head to the compound where they are to meet up with the commanding officer, General Corinthus.


~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ Recorded at 3840 x 2160 ~ 1080p 60fps playback ~

Mass Effect 3_Aura'anna-Menae_Garrus

Mass Effect 3

Returning from securing the Comms Tower and getting it working again, Shepard, Liara and James head back to General Corinthus to find out what he has discovered regarding locating a new Primarch.

Just as they get there, a new sight for sore eyes appears as if out of nowhere... Garrus Vakarian is saluted with the respect of a commanding officer by Corinthus, much to Shepard's surprise. But she's so glad to see her old friend, she doesn't give it much of a second thought right then.

The Turians then tell her they're now looking for an Adrien Victus as their new Primarch. Having seen him only that morning, Garrus had a vague idea of where to locate him so they prepared themselves to go and find him... until a Reaper Harvester shows up and sends some more Reaper troops down to attack them.

At the same time, Shepard is forced to deal with Joker, who's panicking over the Normandy and EDI behaving so erratically even he cannot work out the reason behind it. Shepard sends Liara back to see if her expertise might be of assistance, then goes off with Garrus and James to deal with more Reaper things.


~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ Recorded at 3840 x 2160 ~ 1080p 60fps playback ~

Mass Effect 3_Aura'anna-Normandy_Return_To_Normandy

Mass Effect 3

There was a Dream....
She runs - so slowly - through the darkest, blackest forest. The boy from Earth... he is there, crying... or maybe laughing... running away from her as she tries to chase him. Then he stops... Flames grow, engulfing him, burning, as she stares horrified...

And she wakes up. Disturbed. She moves around, gets up, decides to go back down to the bridge. However, there's a knock on the door before she leaves her bed. When she opens the door, Liara is there, ready with an update... of sorts. 

She speaks to her old friend, probably her best friend. The only person she can really trust - she loves Liara better than a sister, and she's more than relieved Liara was there when she woke up from that terrible dream. Comforted by her friend, she feels a better, especially about Kaidan.

Just then, they are interrupted by a new face - Comms Specialist Samantha Traynor. Liara leaves, allowing Shepard to speak to her. Sam introduces herself and her role aboard the Normandy - whilst it was in dry dock at any rate.


~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ Recorded at 3840 x 2160 ~ 1080p 60fps playback ~

Mass Effect 3_Aura'anna-Citadel_Council

Mass Effect 3

Commander Shepard goes to see the Citadel Council regarding the war, Earth, the Reapers, and what they have found on Mars.

Unfortunately, the Council - once again - isn't interested in anything they have to say. She's standing the same place where three years previously, she attempted to convince them that Saren was dirty and was behind the Geth attacks. Once again, they were ignoring the warnings, their intel, their expertise. Once again, they were only interested in themselves, in covering their own backsides... and not in ensuring the safety of the Galaxy. 

Shepard realises they need to work together to take on the Reapers. Even Udina realises it. The Council once again, just shoots them down. She watches them leave... but Udina asks for her company in his office. Udina is openly frustrated and appalled by their behaviour - but is quite helpless to do much at the moment.

At the moment, the Turian Councilor - Sparatus - enters and offers Shepard a "back door" into gaining what she needs to help her cause: To essentially bypass the council and go straight to the horse's mouth - the rulers themselves. In this case, the Turian Primarch himself might be made directly available to her - he's trapped on Palaven's Moon, and a rescued Primarch would probably be grateful enough to grant his saviour whatever they require.

As an interim token of support, they are reinstating her Spectre Status, allowing her access to the widest range of systems, gear, and carte-blanch in whatever she needs to do to get whatever task she needs done to be done.

Shepard also speaks further with Udina about their situation, and then goes to speak with Commander Bailey. Unfortunately, when she walks in she sees the last person she now wants to see - that damned reporter al-Jilani. The reporter walks out with yet another attack aimed at her - at least some things never change - leaving her to speak with Bailey and see how he's doing.

But the reporter's not done. Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani is ready, waiting to accost her as she leaves the Embassy level. As she's inundated by accusations, she resists the urge to hit her. Instead, this time Shep decides to use her - the reporter was everywhere, and that kind of exposure was just what they needed right now.

Shep reaches out to al-Jilani with honesty and sincerity - then implores the reporter to ensure that no one is given the chance to forget about Earth. Amazingly, the reporter responds well - showing her fear, thanking her, and effectively showing Shep her gratitude for her work.

James is standing closeby as the reporter leaves. Shep notices him staring out of the window, waiting for her. He's watching the Presidium, watching the skycars flying by... and he's disturbed by how quiet and calm it was there. The discrepancy between what they've just been through on Earth, and then on Mars, and what they are looking at right there, was too much for him to handle. The illusion of peace - and worse, the abject denial - was something he found too disquieting to manage. He leaves her there for the Wards, where the other soldiers were, and she stands alone at the window... not knowing what in the galaxy they were going to do now.


~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ Recorded at 3840 x 2160 ~ 1080p 60fps playback ~

Mass Effect 3_Aura'anna-Citadel_

Mass Effect 3

Commander Shepard hurries to the Huerta Memorial Hospital, at the Presidium, on the Citadel, to see Kaidan.

On her way through the hospital, she notices Dr. Chakwas speaking to Dr. Chloe Michel. After speaking with her, Shep invites her back to the Normandy, which the Doc takes up immediately and leaves to prepare to re-board Normandy again.

Shep then speaks to Dr. Michel about Kaidan. To her relief, Dr. Michel says his vitals remain strong and that she is optimistic about his recovery, even though he still remains unconscious.

With that in mind, Shep goes to see him. She overhears a couple of doctors talking about his condition... but that it seems his condition was now under control... after it being touch-and-go.

Taking a breath and preparing herself, she goes in. Lying on the bed, seemingly asleep... but unconscious... bruised, battered, crumpled... he looks like it could go either way. She speaks to him, imploring him to come back to her. Hoping that he could hear her. Leaving, she takes one more look at him from outside, then finally brings herself to leave him to the doctors' care.


~ Shepard overhears her first snippet of conversation from the Asari at the hospital who has clearly been somehow  traumatised by humans ~



~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ Recorded at 3840 x 2160 ~ 1080p 60fps playback ~

Mass Effect 3_Aura'anna_Vancouver_Finding_Their_Escape

Mass Effect 3

Commander Shepard and Admiral Anderson jump out of the window and escape Alliance HQ, running out into what's left of Vancouver.

Clambering over destroyed buildings and the ruination of the city, the two of them run and gun (and punch) their way out to somewhere where they can escape. It seems that Kaidan and James have somehow retrieved the Normandy and they have hope that it can come and get them. Unfortunately, the comms are down and don't work properly, so they need to find some way of communicating with Normandy for it to come and save them.

As they make it into the relative safety of another building, Shepard notices a young boy in the ducts... His expression... his eyes... they sadden her and break her heart. He feels there is nothing that she can do for him, and he vanishes back in.

She follows Anderson through the ruined building, almost falling off a beam as she does so. Back outside they're facing the Reapers again, then watch as it shatters and destroyed a freighter right in front of them. The explosion sends them flying down...  and Shepard presumes she's only survived thusfar because about half of her is actually specialised cybernetic implants.

Facing down more horrifically-weird Reaper things, they find a couple of officers, who point them towards the comms of a downed gunship after they help remove one of them from being trapped under a beam. Unfortunately, the path to the gunship was littered with more weird Reaper things, but finally, they took them all down.... and they found what they were looking for.

As Anderson rushes to find the comm box, though, Shep takes a moment to just look around her, take in the absolute destruction, the horror.

~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ Recorded at 3840 x 2160 ~ 1080p playback ~

Mass Effect 3_Aura'anna-Vancouver_Leaving_Earth_Normandy

Mass Effect 3

Anderson gets through to Normandy, but only just, and only for a few moments. He activates the distress beacon and hopes the Normandy can finds them with it.

More Reaper weird things arrive, and they're running out of ammo... but then the most beautiful sight... The Normandy appears in the sky and Joker's voice finally comes back over the comms. Shepard tears away, sprinting as fast as she can for the ship as it hovers and lowers the shuttle door. Out come Kaidan and an Alliance soldier to get them in and defend the ship - and Shepard makes a running jump for it. Kaidan catches her deftly and pulls her onto the ship. Pushing thoughts away of being on the Normandy alongside him again, she instead expectantly waits for Anderson to board the ship with her.

But he's not coming. He's going to stay and help the resistance. He needs to lead them - and he needs Shepard to do what she does best - getting the entire galaxy to work together to defeat a common enemy. She's done it before, and now he expects her to do it again.

She knows this. They've been through this before... when Anderson first handed her the Normandy after she had been made a Spectre. She doesn't argue... she knows what she needs to do now. She watches Anderson as they leave. Then the shuttles grab her attention... she sees the boy from the vents climbing onto one of the evacuation shuttles. Then she watches with a chill running through her blood as she realises the inevitable is about to happen... and as it leaves the Reaper lifts its beam and fires straight at them. The two shuttles explode immediately, with nothing left but fire and ash. 

With a heavy heart, she turns back into the Normandy... leaving Earth to its fate as she now went to fight for hope that these creatures would be sent back to whatever hell they came up from.

Inside the Normandy, Shepard is fixed on going to the Citadel for help. James forgets his awe and deference and is now ready to argue and fight with her - at which point she snaps back and pokes him, telling him off for wanting to go back, immediately putting him in his place for his insubordination - and ridiculous argument.

At this point, there's a transmission from Admiral Hackett, announced by Joker, much to her delight. Hackett wants them to go to Mars. Apparently Liara is there, with something up her sleeve that might help.

So now they're off to Mars.

~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ Recorded at 3840 x 2160 ~ 1080p playback ~

Mass Effect 3_Aura'anna-Vancouver_Reaper_Invasion

Mass Effect 3

It's been six months... six months since Commander Shepard, formally of the Alliance Navy (before she died... and was resurrected), defeated the Collectors in an unprecedented suicide mission through the treacherous and unmapped Omega 4 Relay.

She hasn't been idle. Despite being under house arrest, she had been retraining... specialising her Biotics, undergoing extensive retraining in advanced Biotic abilities to the point of being a newly-qualified Adept Class fighter. The extensive and singular use of Biotics also had the strangest effect on her - it turned her eyes the strangest shade of deep blue... But it wasn't much of a price to pay for having this immense power quite literally at her fingertips.

She has been kept away from all contact, all news, all people. She sees virtually no-one but her handler -- a Lt. James Vega. The young and... very... strapping soldier is clearly in awe of her. To him, she's an idol, a living legend, the First Human Spectre, an awe-inspiring soldier who had achieved the implossible so many times it was as if she was almost inhuman. She was "The Commander Shepard"... words that had now become a deeply respected moniker; no longer just her rank and name. With his exceptional respect, excessive formality, and excessive use of - unwarranted - protocol around her - it hardly took one to be Mordin Solus to work out that was just what he thought of her... but he was nice, so she's humoured him with it and lets him be.

She's been away from everyone since she surrendered the Normandy to Admiral Hackett after the Collectors were destroyed. She misses them all, but especially Thane, whom she cared so very deeply about. And then... there's Kaidan. Well, actually, who the hell knew about Kaidan after what happened on Horizon...

But now, quite suddenly, the overly-respectful Lieutenant Vega is back with a request to see the Defence Committee. Then she runs into (now) Admiral Anderson... and the expression on his face tells her everything she really needs to know: The Reapers were here.

Before facing the Defence Committee, she is then faced with something far more daunting - she would probably prefer to take on a hundred Reapers before this... She saw Kaidan. Or Major Alenko, as he was now. She isn't quite sure what to think or how to behave. She tries her best... but then, she receives a smile from him, which lightens her heart. Perhaps there was a chance to rectify what happened after all...

She also just about overhears Vega asking Kaidan about her... First, her thought was of affectionate amusement that her awe-struck handler was almost just as overwhelmed to meet one of her friends and old crew. But then... she heard Kaidan's answer. After that, she once again just didn't know what to think.

But at least she didn't have to think about it much longer - this Defence Committee could now distract her instead with their twittering. She was relatively mild-mannered and diplomatic outwardly to these people, humouring them in their politics and ideas, but that didn't mean she had to actually like it. She just knew and accepted this was how these things worked, and that it was best to stay on their good side, so she could get things done faster.

Unfortunately, she received a rather bigger distraction than she had anticipated... They may have all been there to talk about the Reaper invasion - but instead they ended up living it. This was the very moment the Reapers landed on Earth, in Canada, in Vancouver, and quite nearly in their office too.

It was only a moment before one of their lasers actually did make it into the office. Realising what was happening just a fraction of a moment before it did, it gave her time to make it just out of the way of the worst of it. Around her and behind her, the Committee's large podiums went flying through their air, with the Committee still attached to them. She and Anderson were the only survivors because they were standing and over by the door.

Now it was starting.

And now... Now she was going to have to finish it...


~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ Recorded at 3840 x 2160 ~ 1080p playback ~

Mass Effec_Ari'ianna_Sovereign's_Defeat--The_End

Mass Effect

The fight with... what was left of Saren... was hard-fought. Outside the Citadel's arms, the ranging war against Sovereign was destructive, decimating their own fleets. Regardless, Admiral Hackett orders them to press on and "Take that moster down - no matter the cost".

Shepard and her team keep hitting at the cybernetic Turian/Reaper hybrid attempting to kill them, coming close enough too many times. She keeps firing, keeps hitting at it, keeps running and gunning, keeps the pressure on, waiting for it to deplete and defeat it.

Finally... finally... the damn thing succumbs. Explodes. Finally dead. Outside, a change in Saren brings the fleets back in again. Its shields have been brought down, so they take their chance.

On Joker's command, following the Normandy, the fleets sweep in. They hit it with everything they have got... Finally, they destroy the Reaper Sovereign, too.

Unfortunately, the debris goes flying into the Tower, crushing everything in its path. Up there, what's left of the place is now smoke-filled with raging fires, covered in debris.

Captain Anderson and an Alliance officer find Wrex and Garrus. They're badly injured but alive. The last they saw her, enormous pieces of debris was falling right on top of her... they have no hope now. The look Wrex's eyes says it all when Anderson dares asks them of her fate.

Anderson helps them out of the debris... looking back... checking... so hopeful that his best office would pull just one more rabbit out of her hat. She defeated Saren and Sovereign... surely she could survive this as well?

He won't take his eyes away.. sweeping the area... hoping... refusing to leave. He knows Shepard. He knows she wouldn't just give in and die like this. He knows... he just has to wait.

Then... She's there. Limping, injured, but there. Smiling in the ultimate triumph of a battle hard fought, and hard won. She walks out of the ruins of her triumph and knows now what she set out to do she has now achieved.

It's finally over.


~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ Recorded at 3840x2160 graphics resolution ~ 1080p playback ~ 1080p 60fps ~

Mass Effect_Ari'ianna_Battle_of_the_Citadel--Saren

Mass Effect

Having defeated the Geth troops within the Citadel, outside the Tower, Shepard and her team find their way back into the Presidium Tower... and face the destruction left there.

They fight their way through the awaiting Geth and face the... creature... that was causing it all.

What was left of Saren Arterius appears, believing this was over, that they had won. But as Shepard speaks to him, she manages to get through to him, to override the power Sovereign has over him... much like with Matriarch Benezia. With a few minutes of lucidity, Saren takes matters into his own hands, and puts a pistol to his head.

He falls back, crashing through glass into the garden below the Council's podium. Shepard uploads Vigil's data and regains control of the Citadel. Shep manages to open the comms - only to hear a terrible distress call coming through from the Destiny Ascension... with all the Council members on board. Joker comes in to offer the Normandy and the Alliance fleets to save them - on Shepard's command.

Despite pushing back against her every move throughout the entire ordeal, Shepard was not about to sacrifice their lives - they were too important to the recuperation of the Citadel and continuation of relative Galactic stability. She didn't like politics, but she certainly understood it - they were needed, and she wasn't going to sit back and let them die.

She sends in Normandy and the fleets after them, opening the Citadel arms whilst Joker and his fleets drive the Geth away from the Destiny Ascension. Once the arms were open, the surviving ships of the fleet follow Normandy into the Citadel to deal with Sovereign.

Meanwhile, Shepard sends her team in to check he really is dead. But whilst they're checking on him, the implants that Sovereign implanted in him brings what's left of him back to "life" - creating a horrific part-Turian-part-synthetic hybrid to face down.

~ PC ~ i7-4790K ~ 16GB RAM ~ GTX 970 ~ Ultra High specs ~ 4K specs ~ Recorded at 3840x2160 graphics resolution ~ 1080p playback ~ 1080p 60fps ~