[Cinematic] The Hammerhead drives into the landing area of the Cerberus installation. A transmitter dish is clearly seen behind the base. Shepard and team exit the Hammerhead, and are immediately hailed over their radio.
Puzzle: There are three computers in here each of which is processing two different sections of Shepard's body. These all connect to the main machine. Shepard must find a unique combination (where each machine shows two "parts" not shown on the other machines) to rebuild a healthy model of himself.
After the player has soved the puzzle there is a gated section while the computer gathers and processes all the data. During this time the player must fight a wave of enemies. I see this lasting around 1 minute of spawns.
VO (VI): "Model is not complete, no transfer can be made"
"Model complete, rebuilding all data, this may take some time"
"Model rebuilding at 25%"
"Model rebuilding at 50%"
"Model rebuilding at 75%"
"Model rebuiling completed"
"Transfering model data to specified omnitool. Thank you and have a nice day"
The leaders of Earth have grounded you and are demanding you answer for his actions while with Cerberus. Alone in your "cell," you gazes wistfully at the idyllic view of Vancouver, Earth's gleaming capital city.
The hearing begins and your are summoned; escorted from you cell by an elite young soldier, James. On the long walk you are accompanied by your mentor and friend, Admiral Anderson. Just as you are about to enter the hearing, your old friend (lover?) Ashley/Kaidan arrives; but there's little time for reminiscing as you are whisked inside. James and A/K wait outside while you face your accusers. The hearing is a witch hunt; nobody seems interested in the truth. Even with Anderson defending you, it's clear the leaders won't listen to reason.
Before the trial can conclude, your warnings are proven true as earth is rocked by the advanced guard of the Reaper forces. Chaos ensues as you and Anderson attempt to rendezvous with the Normandy and escape the carnage. Your initial plan is foiled and you're forced to find a new pickup location. Meanwhile, A/K and James find an alternate route and reach the Normandy ahead of you. As Reapers forces bear down on you and Anderson, the two veteran soldiers stand back to back to repel the overwhelming enemy numbers. At the last possible moment, the Normandy arrives; Alliance troops poor out of the Normandy, you leap on board and encourages Anderson to join him. Anderson refuses -- Earth needs him here! He vows to stay and fight while Shepard searches the galaxy for a way to defeat the Reapers once and for all. In the midst of the battle, Anderson grants you access to all Alliance military facilities... including the archives on Mars.
As the Reaper forces converge, you, A/K, Joker, and James blast away in the Normandy and head for Mars in search of answers.
Tension on board the Normandy is high as your team races to Mars. James wants to stay and fight on Earth... and though A/K trusts you, they're confused about the need to go to Mars. But you have a plan.
The small team takes the shuttle down to Mars while Joker remains in orbit as a lookout. Shepard, A/K, James and the Alliance Multi-Purpose-Bot (AMP) exit on to the dusty surface of the red planet. After taking in the stunning vista, the team realizes something isn't right; the Alliance forces are absent. In their place are Cerberus operatives with an order to shoot on site. You dispatch the first few waves, but discovers that Cerberus has taken over and his Alliance Access only gets him so far.
The sudden and mysterious appearance of a blue alien on Mars is the key to their problems. Liara has a plan; your plan actually. It was her job to find a way in if you could not free yourself of your captors on Earth. With Liara's appearance, James is sent back to the shuttle while you and your old mates proceed to the facility. More Cerberus operatives appear, but they present little resistance, and you easly finds what your looking for; the prothean archive. Accessing the data proves to be more difficult. The information is being deleted. As you and Liara desperately try to stop the download they are confronted by the all too familiar visage of the Illusive Man. He's aligned himself with the Reapers, but wants the prothean data in case the deal goes badly.
A deadly Cerberus fembot is responsible for the data theft. She completes the download. you and your team must prevent her escape or risk losing the data. Amidst a blinding wind-storm of red sand they chase the deadly mech through the facility. Just when it appears the fembot might escape on a Cerberus troop ship, James appears; piloting the Normandy's shuttle on a kamikaze mission, destroying both ships and disabling the fembot. A/K reaches the mech first and attempts to recover the data; but the fembot awakens and critically injures A/K. As you and Liara face down a horde of Cerberus troops lead by the fembot, James appears from behind the wreckage. The odds slightly more in their favour, you and your team defeat the Cerberus enemies.
The Normandy comes to the rescue once again, warning of more Reapers enroute. The AMP drags the fembot onboard while you and Liara carefully retrieve their fallen comrade. With no clear plan and a critically wounded team mate, you are forced to make your way to one of the few places you still have friends... the Citadel.
You put the injured A/K in the care of Dr. Michel, who now has a clinic on the presidium. If Dr. Chakwas is alive, she comes to the clinic as well.
You meet with the council. They describe that the turian homeworld of Palaven is under Reaper threat. The turian councillor requests aid to recover their Primarch from a besieged moon over Palaven.
You return to A/K for to say goodbye. Dr. Michel offers to join the Normandy crew as ship's doctor. If Dr. Chakwas is alive, you can choose her instead of Dr. Michel to join you on the Normandy.
The Normandy flies up to the Geth dreadnought which is lightly damaged due to recent skirmishes. A badly damaged extended umbilical prevents proper docking, so Shepard is dropped off to traverse the umbilical and secure a way to dock and infiltrate the dreadnought.
You land on Rannoch and fight geth forces. They are still under Reaper control, but are less effective due to the loss of the dreadnought. EDI traces the Reaper signal, and the aggressive quarian Flotilla assaults the geth fleet instead of retreating. EDI finds the Reaper's location, and you destroy the multi-story Reaper mastermind, fighting in the Hammerhead, on foot, and even climbing onto the Reaper to deliver the killing shot. When it's dead, the geth become momentarily helpless, and Shepard decides whether to let the quarians destroy the geth or use the coded signal from the now-dead Reaper to bring the geth up to a true state of intelligence. Either way, you get the fleet you needs to retake Earth.
You receive a message from Liara's Shadow Broker networks. There is intel about a secret asari vault which holds an important Prothean artifact. It may be a component of the Bomb, so you should head to the asari homeworld to investigate.
The geth-quarian conflict has erupted into war: their fleets are battling each other for ultimate control of the quarian homeworld, Rannoch. Admiral Zaal Korris is shot down over Rannoch while carrying crucial military codes that will endanger the quarian fleet if found by the geth. You and Tali rush to the crash site to secure the codes. The intel is gone, but you find a trail leading away from the area. You and Tali track the crash survivor while fighting off waves of geth also seeking the codes. They find the survivor, admiral Zaal Korris himself, and evacuate him before they're overwhelmed by geth ground forces.
You hear from a quarian admiral that the geth have a planetary defense gun stationed in an ancient quarian city on the surface of the homeworld. The quarians can't bombard it without destroying their equivalent of Jerusalem or Rome. Within a few hours, the planet will have turned far enough that the gun can hit the quarian fleet and blast their ships out of orbit. You race down to the planet's surface where you finds the gigantic gun. It's too well-defended for a frontal assault, so you create diversions to bleed off the geth troops so you can slip on board and wreak havoc. In a daring commando raid, you cut off the geth reinforcements that would otherwise swarm him and reaches the main console. At the controls of the fearsome weapon, you contact the quarian fleet, who send you the coordinates to blow many geth ships out of the sky.
All geth but Legion have decided to ally themselves with the Reapers. Legion is now at odds with its own kind while still trying to end the geth/quarian war. Legion asks you to help it infiltrate a geth server hub and "free" some of its people from Reaper indoctrination. You fight through geth protecting servers on Rannoch, then plugs into the virtual world of the geth consensus with Legion. You explore a virtual landscape that looks like an idealized version of Rannoch, while interacting with geth as individuals instead of faceless monsters. Legion directs them to the Reaper's influence, which takes the form of a corrupted looking environment. After cleansing the Reaper "infection", Legion transfers millions of geth programs into its own physical platform, saving them from indoctrination. You and Legion come out of the virtual world in time to fight off a geth prime and escape to the Normandy.
You land and fight Cerberus through the streets of Eden Prime while terrified civilians hide, then meets up with PARTNER (who arrived earlier) just in time to see an explosion of energy coming from the Prothean ruins. When he arrives, the Prothean is standing in a crater surrounded by dead Cerberus agents. It kills the last Cerberus soldier and exits in a cool fashion. Shepard and PARTNER assume that the Prothean is a rogue Cerberus supersoldier created using the CATALYST. PARTNER goes after it, while you goe after the CATALYST.
After fighting Cerberus troops in the area, you find Cerberus video logs that show them opening a Prothean Sphere and finding the Prothean inside. The vid makes it clear that the Prothean isn't a Cerberus soldier. He's the CATALYST. Shepard follows the Prothean's trail of destruction, fighting Cerberus troops. You eventually finds the Prothean injured and exhausted, with PARTNER ready to kill it. PARTNER refuses to listen to your explanation and tries to kill the Prothean, and you have no choice but to kill him. The mission closes with you answering to the Council for "the attack on Eden Prime" and the death of the Spectre to the Council.
You need to gather more troops. You are told about that the quarians have attacked the geth. Tali and/or Legion contact you for a rendevous at the edge of geth space.
When the turian homeworld of Palaven comes under attack from Reapers an emergency summit is held on the Normandy to discuss a military alliance between turians, salarians, and krogan. A brief but hostile diplomatic meeting follows - the turians desperately need krogan assistance against the Reapers. But Wrex/Wreav balks - he says the salarians are secretly hiding krogan females who survived Maelon's experiments and are immune to the genophage. Wrex refuses to help unless these females are released and a cure is synthesized.
You break the stalemate and gets the salarians to admit they have the females. You are brought to their equivalent of "Area 51" - a secret military facility on Surkesh where five of the immune krogan females are being held. Once you take custody of the females, Cerberus launches a sneak attack and tries to thwart the alliance by killing them. A few females die (scripted) and you must lead the remainder out of the carnage to escape the base. All the while Wrex/Wreav is fending off further Cerberus incursions.
When you return to the Normandy, you are told that that there is a cure to the genophage on laboratory on Tuchanka. You should take the surviving Krogan females there.
A Turian Primarch mentions that if you are going to Tuchanka, there is a downed turian warship, and his son was onboard.
You take the Krogan females and escape to Tuchanka, where Mordin has a laboratory. Facing the possible end of the galaxy, Mordin's conscience can't rest until he has put the genophage to bed. He's ready to synthesize the cure, but the Reapers are alerted to the situation and move against Tuchanka, fearing a resurgent krogan. Amid the first wave of Reaper attacks on the planet, you are forced to divert to a location forbidden to all outsiders: the home of the krogan females. It's a vast shelter/repository dating back to Tuchanka's glory years. The riches and treasures of krogan civilization were safeguarded here during the nuclear war. Overhanging cliffs and natural rock formations protect the aging monuments of a forgotten city. With Reapers coming for them, the player must now travel to Mordin's lab via an ancient krogan tram/train system, safeguarding the surviving female krogan on a perilous journey through Thresher Maw infested ruins. Though decaying with age, the glories of the bygone krogan empire are in evidence all around them - their artistry stands as a visual testament to what the krogan could become again if the genophage was cured. At the same time, Wrex/Wreav leads a squad of his best warriors along the canyon rim to hold off Reapers.
Finally, you reach Mordin's laboratory with just one surviving female left. The lab is linked to the Tuchanka "Shroud" -- an atmospheric layer of particles designed to shield the planet from the ravages of the sun brought on by the nuclear war. A space elevator travels up to the Shroud's orbital platform where particles are dispersed. Mordin can use it to deploy the cure. Hunkering down inside the lab, Shepard holds off Reapers while Mordin works on the lone female to synthesize a cure in a climatic battle. The struggle ends by successfully luring a massive Thresher Maw to take out the Reaper boss. Once Mordin has the cure, he bids you an emotional goodbye as he brings the cure up the space elevator (ala Spock's death in Wrath of Khan). Mordin dies in orbit releasing the cure across all of Tuchanka. It's a profound moment of hope as krogan everywhere look to the sky, seeing a glittering mist that heralds their salvation. The genophage is no more.
On the Normandy, you learn from A/K's PARTNER that Cerberus has taken over the Prothean ruins on Eden Prime. They've found the CATALYST, and Shepard must get it before they can use it.
You have been told about a downed turian warship on Tuchanka, disabled by a Reaper in the battle with the Reapers over the planet. Crash-landed on Tuchanka's rough terrain, it is surrounded by Reaper ground enemies and running low on ammunition and supplies. One of the commandos on the ground is the SON OF THE TURIAN PRIMARCH featured in Genophage Mission One.
Landing behind enemy lines, you surprise attack from behind-- decimating key targets along the way.
After the rescue is complete, the TURIAN COMMANDER receives an update to his mission from the TURIAN PRIMARCH-"My son is a failure and an embarrassment, kill him." Shepard is now faced with a tense diplomatic situation and a difficult decision.
You are then asked to support a platoon or turian commandoes set to recover a turian doomsday device.
You are asked to support a platoon of turian commandoes sent to recover a turian doomsday device clandestinely planted on Tuchankan soil after the Krogan Rebellions. Originally planned to be insurance against the threat of the krogan should they again threaten galactic peace. Cerberus agents have located the device, created an armed camp around it, and are working to activate it against the krogan. You must engage Cerberus forces to provide a safe path for the commandoes. Upon reaching their target, you must choose to sacrifice turian commandoes in a last, desperate charge to quickly overcome tactical objectives and to gain the doomsday device intact for maximum benefit to the war effort, or order the commandoes to 'paint' the doomsday device from a safe distance for mortar bombardment, reducing causalities and gaining an ally, but collecting only raw materials.
The Reapers have found the rachni and established a breeding pit on an unexplored planet. A modified queen or Reaper-rigged surrogate is being used to produce Reaper-rachni troops to support ground forces. The krogan scouting team that confirmed the nest has gone dark. Occupied with the war against the Reapers, the krogan have turned to you and squad of krogan commandoes (led by Grunt) to take a team to personally confirm that only one queen exists and put an end to the spawning pit before the planet is bombarded. You lead your squad through a labyrinth of tunnels beneath the toxic surface alternatively fighting and avoiding swarms of converted rachni and Reaper minions. Upon reaching the spawning pit, you must decide between killing the imprisoned queen/surrogate, ending the threat of further Reaper-rachni troops or freeing it, gaining an ally, but sacrificing Grunt/commando who must die ensuring everyone escapes the planet.
The Prothean henchman needs to access an artifact kept in a monastery in the asari capital city on Thessia. It contains vital data about the Device. The artifact has also secretly given the asari an edge over other species for hundreds of years, though most people just think it's a religious relic. Problem is, Thessia is now suffering a full-fledged Reaper invasion. Shepard lands in the middle of a war-zone and fights his way through an on-going Reaper battle (think Baghdad shock-and-awe) to gain access to the monastery. With bombs still exploding outside, Shepard explores a portion of the massive religious temple and finds the relic hidden in plain sight in some sort of grand cathedral-style area. It's as if they built the temple around the relic.
The Prothean henchman accesses the artifact and goes into a trance while information is downloaded into his brain. But Shepard isn't the only one interested in this artifact -- Ash/Kaidan now steps out of the shadows accompanied by Kai Leng. With guns raised in a Mexican standoff, Shepard wants to know what the hell is going on. A/K says Udina has told her all about Shepard killing her partner on Eden Prime. Udina put her in touch with Kai Leng -- an Alliance intelligence operative who helped her track Shepard down. Kai Leng plays the role well, egging A/K on against Shepard (A/K has never seen Kai Leng before and doesn't know better).
Shepard must convince A/K he's not a murderer and that Kai Leng is the true enemy, or he'll have to kill her. With A/K resolved, Shepard then has an epic battle with Kai Leng and Cerberus reinforcements over who gets the Prothean (still frozen a trance). The war outside intensifies, with windows, roofs, walls, etc. blowing out in bomb attacks, giving a spectacular view of Thessia under fire. Kai Leng wins the fight regardless, sending Shepard crashing down through a stain-glassed window. The last thing Shepard sees before he blacks out is Kai Leng leaving with his new Prothean prize.
Back aboard the Normandy, you receive a message from Thane's son. Kolyat has received word that, at the request of Donnel Udina, the Citadel Council will hold a critical vote in 24 hours that will abandon the hanar homeworld to the Reapers in the name of protecting other planets. You need to get to the Citadel and get to Udina, one way or the other.
Kolyat has received word that, at the request of Donnel Udina, the Citadel Council will hold a critical vote in 24 hours that will abandon the hanar homeworld to the Reapers in the name of protecting other planets. He needs you to get to Udina, one way or the other. He brings in Kasumi (if alive) to help nab evidence from C-SEC headquarters he could use to blackmail Udina. You get in to C-SEC HQ, and finds the evidence being destroyed by a Cerberus double agent. Extracting the information from him, you discover that Udina is indoctrinated and will soon launch a coup d'état to overthrow the Citadel Council. You and Kolyat must now stop him through any means possible. Thane (if alive) is brought on board to assassinate Udina. Thane is weak from his disease, but is on heavy painkillers and determined to complete his last mission.
You, Thane, and Kasumi take on heavy security measures on their way to the Council Chamber in the Citadel Tower. Thane and Kasumi's presence helps you get past various puzzle obstacles. A short but brutal fight with Cerberus conspirators ensues when you secure a vantage point to take the target down. When Udina makes his move, you are there to reveal his crimes in front of the Council. Udina reacts by signaling an army of hidden Cerberus forces. In the climactic showdown, Thane uses the last of his strength to take out Udina. You give Thane the last rites he is too weak to say for himself, and Thane dies, his species' debt to the hanar repaid.
The grateful Council is now completely behind Shepard and give him their unconditional support.
*Note: Level is in Rough Pre-Narrative Playable State*
[Background] The Illusive Man offers to give Miranda's father the location of both his daughters, Miranda and Oriana, if the father supports the Illusive Man in this war by setting up, and running, a special facility to herd refugees from other planets to be handed over to the Reapers. The father agrees.
[Player information] Early in ME3 Miranda, if alive, sends an email to Shepard saying that she has learned her father and Cerberus are back in business. A second email is recieved saying that Oriana is in trouble, and that Miranda is tracking her down. After the email, we don't hear from Miranda again. After Cat 2, Shepard asks his crew for anything on Cerberus. Shepard is concerned because Miranda cannot be reached to talk about her father's connection to the Illusive Man. EDI/Liara finds lots of transports going to Cerberus controlled locations from a place dubbed 'Sanctuary'- a refugee camp built into a massive genetic research and production facility. The objective of this mission to get to Miranda's father- he has a direct line to the Illusive Man. Shepard needs to find the Illusive Man at all costs.
Liara (or Jacob, if he's alive) directs you towards an important asset in the bolstering of the device, ex-Cerberus scientist and Prothean expert KENESIA. Kenesia is also Jacob's beautiful ex-girlfriend.
When Kenesia experienced the Illusive Man's indoctrination firsthand, she fled Cerberus in the night. She now runs a secret, scientific enclave on a remote planet, having convinced many of the most brilliant minds in the galaxy to join her.
Knowing that the enclave is in immediate jeopardy, you rush to the outpost. You try to convince Kenesia that the colony's only hope is to evacuate. Kenesia resists, saying that nothing could make them abandon their ideals. You point to the Cerberus forces already amassing on their doorstep. When one of her colleagues is violently killed, Kenesia wakes to reality and agrees to the colony's evacuation. You and your team prepare a defense, while the enclave gets ready to evacuate. In the shadow of the coming battle, you and Kenesia (and Jacob if he's alive) talk about life, love and hope for humanity in the face of impossible odds.
Cerberus mounts a massive assault and the battle rages until the last living scientist boards a shuttle and leaves the planet.
You hear hate speech and misinformation coming from humans on the Citadel and traces it to a Charles Saracino, who is using the human-centric Terra Firma Party to put out Cerberus propaganda. After you turn the crowd against Saracino, Cerberus comes after you through people Shepard has helped on past missions. Working with Citadel reporter Emily Wong, you track the Cerberus assassins to a neighbourhood in the Wards where Cerberus has almost total control. (Roleplaying Plots 3 and 4)
You go into the Cerberus-controlled neighbourhood with reporters Emily Wong and Khalisah Al-Jilani recording your actions through a camera mounted on your armor. You question witnesses (who refuse to talk) and fight Cerberus forces while hunting for the assassin, and in the process catch Cerberus atrocities on live video. In the final area, you uncover horrible Cerberus atrocities before killing the assassin. The vids ensure that nobody on the Citadel will work with Cerberus.
