Kallini: Ardat-Yakshi Monastery

Asari commandos disappeared while answering a distress call sent from an Ardat-Yakshi monastery. Investigate the monastery, and destroy it if necessary.

Acquisition
After completing Priority: The Citadel II, the asari government will finally offer their support against the Reaper attack on Earth. After you finish speaking to Anderson and Admiral Hackett in the comm room, Liara will approach Shepard to say that some members of the asari government have sent her information about a distress signal, which several Asari Commando squads have disappeared while investigating. Although she says that the asari have not asked directly, the implicit message is that Shepard should help them. Your journal will be updated with the mission "Mesana: Distress Signal," but neither the journal nor Liara will have any helpful information.

Walkthrough
Though the mission's name suggests you should go to the Kallini system of the Nimbus Cluster, the monastery is actually in the Mesana system on the planet Lesuss.

On approach to the planet, Liara will reveal that she has just found out that the distress signal originated from an Ardat-Yakshi monastery, which is one reason the asari government was hesitant to give them any details at first. You can ask questions about the Ardat-Yakshi and respond how you will, then you will land at the monastery. Pick up the Assault Rifle Stability Damper mod to the left of the door, then proceed.

The elevator is missing, so you will have to jump across the gap and then slide down into the elevator shaft using the ladder on the right side of the platform. A squad member will comment on the noises you can hear as you reach the end of this platform and leap across the gap into a disheveled room. Explore the room to find a Pistol Melee Stunner and a Glyph upgrade ("Gallea's Electronic Signature") on the far left, a PDA on a table, a Sniper Rifle Ammo Mod and wall-safe credits in a chamber to the right of the entrance door, and, where you can't miss it, an asari corpse. A cutscene will play upon examination of the corpse wherein you discover that there is a bomb in the Great Hall of the monastery. Respond how you will, then you will find yourself facing into an open doorway.

Pick up the thermal clip if you need it. There is nothing else of interest in this room, so bypass the door and go on to the next room. In this room you will meet Samara, if she's alive. After the cutscene, turn right to find a PDA beside another corpse. Pick it up to garner 20 experience and the mission Citadel: Asari Widow.

Head out the door to the left, where a squad member will comment on the unlikelihood of this being a Reaper target. There is nothing of interest, so proceed down the stairs into the courtyard. You are safe for the moment and have time to find a few thermal clips, if you need them, but as you approach the other side of the space, a Banshee will appear for what is likely to be the first time in your game. They have both biotic barriers and armor, making Energy Drain, Overload, Incinerate, Incendiary Ammo and Warp some of your best friends. When a Banshee is on the field, your first priority is to stay far away from it, because it has insta-kill heavy melees, and it will target Shepard specifically. Even better, it has a version of Charge. Your one saving grace is its slow movespeed: it walks slowly, its version of Charge doesn't travel very far, and it only has one easily-dodged ranged attack.

After you have taken down the Banshee, several Cannibals will spawn. There is nothing but ammo to pick up, so refill your ammo and move on. On the other side of the door, a cutscene will play showing an Ardat-Yakshi, Falere, fighting a Cannibal. Either Shepard or Samara will defeat it, leading to a conversation about the Reapers trying to turn all Ardat-Yakshi into Banshees. Falere will ask you to save her sister, Rila, from the Great Hall. Respond however you wish, but no matter which option you choose, Falere will learn about the bomb and rush on ahead of you to save her sister by herself. Samara, if present, will chase as well, as Falere and Rila are her remaining two daughters.

There is a computer to the left of the door that can be examined for 20 experience and to learn that the leadership of the monastery considered the Reaper threat to be a rumor that they needed to protect the students from hearing. Proceed through the door to find several Cannibals. They will not notice you when the door opens, so you have time to coordinate an attack to take out at least one Cannibal before the fight actually starts. As soon as you attack, move into cover to deal with the rest of them.

There is a Disciple shotgun and a Serrice Council shoulder guard through the first doorway on your right, and there is a medical station at the far end of the same room. Go to the room on the other side of the walkway to access two computers, a wall safe with 5000 credits, and a weapon bench. You can then go down the stairs, where you will encounter another Banshee and several Cannibals. This fight is significantly more difficult than the first fight with a Banshee, because there are not a lot of options for cover until you take out some of the Cannibals, and the Banshee has a habit of following Shepard around. The engagement can be less hazardous if squadmates are told to hold position at the top of the stairs and Shepard retreats to join them when the enemies appear. Once it's dealt with, though, the grand staircase is a great place to defend from.

After you have defeated the enemies, refill your ammo and bypass the door. In the next room you will find an Assault Rifle Precision Scope up the stairs to the left and an asari corpse in the middle of the room next to some crates. Examining the corpse will result in a discussion amongst your squadmates about the unnecessary death at the monastery thanks to Asari High Command's decision not to evacuate when they first heard about the Reaper threat. Activate the elevator to reach the Great Hall. There is a medical station on either side of the stairs and in the center of the room just before the stairs leading up to the bomb. The bomb is on the far side of the room. There, Falere begs Rila to wake up, whilst Samara stands guard if present.

Clicking on the bomb will cause a cutscene where Rila will finally wake up, but unfortunately she will attack Falere, because the Reapers have begun to indoctrinate her. After Falere/Samara knocks her unconscious, Shepard will start to look for a detonator for the bomb, but before they can, two Banshees and a handful of husks will attack. Your best bet is to take out all of the husks before the Banshees make it across the room, then try and get your squad members to draw the attention of one of the Banshees long enough for you to take out the other one. Hopefully your squad will have the second Banshee's barrier worn down by the time you finish with the first, so you can all quickly take out the second one's armor.

After the fight, examine the bomb again to initiate another cutscene. Rila will find the detonator and insist that her family leave with Shepard while she stays behind and sets off the bomb. Falere will fight, but Shepard will drag her to the elevator. Rila will then be attacked by several Banshees, which she is unable to hold off. One will pick her up, presumably to complete the indoctrination process, but in a last show of strength, Rila will declare that the Ardat-Yakshi are not the Reapers' slaves and will press the button on the detonator. Shepard and Falere, who is pounding on the elevator doors when the explosion goes off, will make it outside, where you can respond to her anger and grief in the way you see fit.

If Samara is present, at this point she will note that the Justicar Code requires her to slay any Ardat-Yakshi living outside the monastery. To prevent this, she will commit suicide. Fortunately, she can be stopped with a Paragon interrupt. Falere declares she will stay in the monastery, and Samara joins the war effort. Whether she's present or not, you will then be given the decision to either let Falere stay on the planet, where she promises that she will not be alive if the Reapers come again, or to guarantee that fact yourself.

On the Normandy, the Asari Councilor will thank you for handling a "difficult and sensitive mission" and say that the next squad of Asari Commandos that high command was planning to send to the monastery has been sent to Admiral Hackett instead.

Enemies

 * Banshee
 * Cannibal
 * Husk
 * Marauder

Mission Summary
The monastery as been destroyed and Asari High Command has sent further aide to the Alliance.

Completing the mission results in:

° 12,500 credits in Alliance funding

° The War Asset Asari Commandos, worth 20 points

You will receive a note from Captain Coreen Lemaes of the Asari Commandos: