History Fanfic / CatalystExe

What follows is a story focused on the depth of emotions, the difficulties of being an artificial life, and [[EverythingIsOnline why networking everything]] is a ''[[WhatAnIdiot horrible idea.]]''

--->"Yes, yes," Saren waved an impatient hand... In his defense, losing a trainee to that mess would have been an embarrassment.

--->'''Fear detected. Disable? Katrina'''
* TheDreaded: To Shepard, Saren, Benezia, and the rest of his crew: [[spoiler: Veto]]. Shepard, a hardened war hero, goes ballistic upon seeing that even [[spoiler: calling in the ''Normandy'' to bomb the facility on Ilos]] had not been enough to kill it. Saren, upon hearing the news, immediately wonders what it would take to finally kill [[spoiler: it.]] He decides that a big enough nuclear bomb would do the trick, and that if even ''that'' didn't work, that he'd just attach engines to the planet and [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill ram it into the sun.]]
--->The [[spoiler: AI, Veto,]] dropped in on the call.
--->"Still alive?
--->Shepard went berserk. "We fucking ''killed you –''"

* ThinkNothingOfIt: Zigzagged. Shepard got a medal after the Skyllian Blitz, and he doesn't even know where it is. He also got a couple dozen letters from children that he saved from slavery. [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments He framed each and every one.]]

Unfortunately, while [Rebecca] is busying preparing for the invasion of Ilos, Commander Shepard and his noble team of soldiers are off trying to prevent the apocalypse, under the guidance of his [[AlternateUniverseFic Spectre mentor, Saren, and accompanied by veteran Asari Matriarch, Benezia.]] Even more unfortunately, when [Rebecca] finally leaves Ilos, she has not realized that this world is not the same as the videogame of her memories, and leaves [[TheSociopath Veto]] in charge of the [[DeathCourse fully armed and operational facility.]]

--->'''Fear detected. Disable? Y/N'''

* ThinkNothingOfIt: Zigzagged. Shepard got a medal after the Skyllian Blitz, and he doesn't even know where it is. He also got a couple dozen letters from children that he saved from slavery. [[HeartwarmingMoments He framed each and every one.]]

* HeroicComedicSociopath: Veto, full stop. As a V.I. designed solely to control defensive fortifications against an invading army, Veto lacks many of the basic functions of other V.I. Veto will gladly interrupt [[NoSocialSkills whenever Veto feels like it]], [[PsychopathicManchild delights in causing explosions and destruction]], and at one point starts [[BodyCountCompetition counting points out loud for [Rebecca]'s kills,]] much to her irritation.

* RedEyesTakeWarning: Veto's avatar is a single glowing eye. The mere sight of it freaks Miranda Lawson out, after the first time she met Veto.

* HeroicComedicSociopath: Veto, full stop. As a V.I. designed solely to control defensive fortifications against an invading army, Veto lacks many of the basic functions of other V.I. He will gladly interrupt [[NoSocialSkills whenever he feels like it]], [[PsychopathicManchild delights in causing explosions and destruction]], and at one point starts [[BodyCountCompetition counting points out loud for [Rebecca]'s kills,]] much to her irritation.

* NoodleIncident: Saren has saved Shepard's life five times, including an incident with asari commandos and "that one drugged Hanar on Illium", as well as a vague mention to a [[MythologyGag drell assassin.]]

* HeroOfAnotherStory: Due to Commander Shepard having Saren as his Spectre mentor, he never has a reason to recruit Garrus, as Saren is capable of filling both their roles in the squad with his experience and knowledge of technology. When the [[spoiler: invasion of the Citadel kicks off, Garrus takes charge of the C-Sec HQ and rushes to acquire non-networked firearms.]]

* FlatWhat: Saren, upon hearing that [[spoiler: Veto is still alive after the Normandy had bombed it's facility into rubble.]]

* BigBad: [[spoiler: Inverted. It turns out that[Rebecca] is the BigBad of this story, due to being an altered version of the Catalyst designed to fix the failures that the original Catalyst created: the Reapers themselves.]] [[spoiler: Up until she dies at the end of the invasion of the Citadel, that is. She got better.]]

* RedEyesTakeWarning: Veto's avatar is a single glowing eye. Miranda ''freaks out'' when she see it again, after escaping Ilos.

--->"Yes, yes," Saren waved an impatient hand... In his defense, losing a trainee to that mess would have been an embarrassment. "I remember."

* AdaptationalHeroism: Saren and Benezia haven't been indoctrinated, so they are not the enemies.

* TheDreaded: To Shepard, Saren, Benezia, and the rest of his crew: [[spoiler: Veto]]. Shepard, a hardened war hero, goes ballistic upon seeing that even [[spoiler: calling in the ''Normandy'' to bomb his facility on Ilos]] had not been enough to kill it. Saren, upon hearing the news, immediately wonders what it would take to finally kill [[spoiler: it.]] He decides that a big enough nuclear bomb would do the trick, and that if even ''that'' didn't work, that he'd just attach engines to the planet and [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill ram it into the sun.]]

* ThinkNothingOfIt: Zigzagged. Shepard got a medal after the Skyllian Blitz, and he doesn't even know where it is. He also got a couple dozen letters from children that he saved from slavery. [[HeartwarmingMoments He framed each and every single one.]]

* ThinkNothingOfIt: Zigzagged. Shepard got a medal after the Skyllian Blitz, and he doesn't even know where it is. He also got a couple dozen letters from children that he saved from slavery. [[HeartwarmingMoments He framed each and every single one of them.]]

* FlatWhat: Sheppard, arriving to [[spoiler:the exploding Ilos.]]

* DeathCourse: Ilos, after [Rebecca] and Veto fortify it to prevent Saren from accessing the Conduit. While it succeeds in preventing both the Heretic Geth and Shepard's team (with Saren in it) from doing so, the fortification change Ilos from a decrepit ruin into a cross between [[VideoGame/{{Portal}} Aperture Labs]] and [[TabletopGame/TombOfHorrors the Tomb of Horrors]].

What follows is a story focused on the depth of emotions, the difficulties of being an artificial life, and [[EverythingIsOnline why networking everything]] is a ''[[TheLastofTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers horrible idea.]]''

* DeathCourse: Ilos, after [Rebecca] and Veto fortify it to prevent Saren from accessing the Conduit. While it succeeds in preventing both the Heretic Geth and Shepard's team (with Saren in it) from doing so, the fortification change Ilos from a decrepit ruin into a cross between [[VideoGame/Portal Aperture Labs]] and [[TabletopGame/TombOfHorrors the Tomb of Horrors]].

* BigBad: [[spoiler: Inverted. It turns out that[Rebecca] is the BigBad of this story, due to being an altered version of the Catalyst designed to fix the failures that the original Catalyst created: the Reapers themselves.]] [[spoiler: Up until she dies at the end of the invasion of the Citadel, that is.]]

Hosted originally on [[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/catalyst-exe-me-si.260924/ Spacebattles,]], it is also hosted on [[https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/catalyst-exe.3322/ Sufficient Velocity]] and [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9457632/1/CatalystEXE Fanfiction.net.]]

* BigBad: [[spoiler: Inverted. Amusingly it is [Rebecca] who is the 'former' BigBad of this story, due to being an altered version of the Catalyst designed to fix the failures that the original Catalyst created: the Reapers themselves.]]

* HeroOfAnotherStory: Due to Commander Shepard having Saren as his Spectre mentor, he never has a reason to recruit Garrus or Tali, as Saren is capable of filling both their roles in the squad with his experience and knowledge of technology. When the [[spoiler: invasion of the Citadel kicks off, Garrus takes charge of the C-Sec HQ and rushes to acquire non-networked firearms, sending officers to go find Tali and get her assistance with the technology.]]

Hosted originally on [[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/catalyst-exe-me-si.260924/ Spacebattles,]] and also hosted on [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9457632/1/CatalystEXE Fanfiction.net.]]

* TheDreaded: To Shepard, Saren, Benezia, and the rest of his crew: [[spoiler: Veto]]. Shepard, a hardened war hero, goes ballistic upon seeing that even [[spoiler: calling in the ''Normandy'' to bomb his facility on Ilos]] had not been enough to kill it. Saren, upon hearing the news, immediately wonders what it would take to finally kill [[spoiler: it.]] He decides that a big enough nuclear bomb would do the trick, and that if even ''that'' didn't work, that he'd just attach engines to the planet and ram it into the sun.

---> ''The [[spoiler: AI, Veto,]] dropped in on the call.

'''Beware, story spoilers below!'''

* BigBad: [[spoiler:Inverted. Amusingly it is [Rebecca] who is the 'former' BigBad of this story, due to being an altered version of the Catalyst trying to fix the fuckups her past existence helped create. Those things known as the Reapers.]]