Citadel Archives: Escape

The culprit behind the identity theft is a clone of Commander Shepard. Find him/her before he/she escapes the archives.

Acquisition
Complete Citadel: Identity Theft II.

Preparation
This will be your first chance to confront CAT6 with your own choice of weapons and squadmates, not to mention wearing your armor. Be sure to check your weapons loadout as the game will have cleared your normal equipment selections. In terms of squad planning you should expect to see a LOT of shielding and some heavily armored targets. The various weapons/upgrades that "penetrate thin cover" will prove useful against the CAT6 Heavies.

Arrival
As the trio of skycars rocket towards the archives, Shepard asks for the best way in. Brooks says that they are below the wards and suggests a direct breach for maximum surprise. Shepard agrees. As they land over the archives, Brooks mentions that it might be hard to get in. James however says that wouldn’t be a problem and pulls out a bomb. After the blast, Wrex rushes in and everyone else follows.

After breaching a room, targeting lasers come in from all over, and everyone dives for cover. This is a fight that clearly CAT6 was unprepared for. Everyone starts shooting. Focus on the enemies on the ground as the ones upstairs can be taken care of by everyone else. Once the room is clear, someone appears on the catwalk holding Brooks hostage. They order everyone to drop their weapons or it won’t end well for Brooks, and hey, isn’t that voice familiar?

A Familiar Face
The figure finally steps out and what the world is going on?! It is Shepard! Well, it is in fact a clone that Cerberus grew during the Lazarus Project in case the real Shepard needed a new arm, heart, lung, or spare parts. However, the Illusive Man abandoned the project once he had the real Shepard. The clone remained in a coma until six months ago, right when Shepard was arrested. During those months, the clone learned to be human through the use of neural implants. During the conversation, you can advise the clone that it should be on the same side with you, or you can threaten it. Either way, the clone rejects your words, as it believes itself to be superior to you.

The clone then proceeds to go on and eventually say that people will believe that it is the real Shepard when the clone is flying the Normandy. Shepard calls the ship to lock it down, but the comm is blocked. Instead the clone calls Traynor to prep for emergency departure, using the codes Shepard just tried to use. It then orders its goons to execute the real Shepard and friends.

There is a quick renegade interrupt which will result in Shepard shooting the Citadel model above to bring it crashing down on the two troopers on the ground floor. It's okay if you miss it, because another one of your squadmates will do it for you. Everyone springs to cover, now fight your way out.

Stick to cover, but CAT6 is throwing everything they have at you so you are going to be on the move a lot. Keep to cover, stay focused, use powers, weapons, and anything to help. Stay out of the middle as you can be flanked easily. Try and move to a corner and use it to prevent flanks and get the drop on enemies. Generally sticking to the outer rim is a good way to go. The CAT6 Heavies you'll now meet for the first time are "all armor" and thus immune to most crowd control. They can be flanked or shot in the "mail slot" however; if you have an armor-penetrating weapon that also helps.

Find the Clone
Once every enemy falls, move to the doors as Shepard orders the teams to stick together and move up. Before leaving, grab the Shotgun Ultralight Materials mod and the medi-gel on the right. At the top of the ramp behind the door is a terminal with 3750 credits.

In the next room, a computer voice will tell you that you need Council permission to be in here, well forgot to get that, so just move on. Beyond the scanners is another medi-gel, clips, and a SMG power magnifier.

Entering the next room is clearly the main storage area of the Archives. The banter of the entire group is humorous but you need to keep moving. Shepard eventually calls Glyph, and after persuading it, it moves off to track the clone. At the other end of the catwalks, CAT6 soldiers descend and say that you are still alive. Big surprise your clone comes on the radio to say it needs more time to access the vault. Kill the two soldiers, and then step onto the platform, you are then lowered. Then step into the vault and you are transported inside.

Deeper into the Archives
In one of the alcoves is an M-7 Lancer assault rifle. This rifle does not use clips, but rather a cooldown system from the original game. It was apparently from the First Contact War, and now it will see use again. The vault opens into the next area and then you have to keep moving. Head up and to the right. More humorous banter follows and then more enemies. Apparently your clone still needs more time. Not as efficient as the real thing apparently. Kill the enemies, you should be able to deal with them all from where you are initially posted so just keep in cover and you should make short work of them.

More enemies will come up and now you will need to move. Keep to cover and move as the situation develops, using the tubes and the catwalks to flank as necessary. Once you move out of that area, you will get a communication that one of your teams is pinned down to the left. Move and flank the enemies and pick them off from above. Once they are all down, jump down and a cutscene will play.

Shepard sees the clone moving to flank and manages to get a few shots into the clone's side. Then Shepard runs down and covers the squad’s retreat up a ladder, Once everyone else is up, Shepard begins to radio for assistance, the rest of the team, now on the upper catwalk opens fire, ripping the enemies to shreds. Shepard then climbs the ladder, and tells everyone that they can’t be far behind and to keep the pressure up and they should get the clone.

Once you get manage to get control again, there is a video clip of a turian interrogation from the First Contact War, but the door you are looking for is on the right. Head through it and follow the catwalks. There is another video clip on the left where a krogan is demanding more territory and the start of the Krogan Rebellions.

When you emerge into the next room, move to take out any enemies in the immediate vicinity, then move to cover along the wall. Go ahead and do not turn to your right because you will be flanked instantly. Keep an eye on all of your flanks and keep enemies away from them because you will be flanked quickly. You are going to have to keep moving here to get the best cover and to keep enemies on you front or their flanks. During the fight there will be more banter amongst the team for some funny business, ending with Shepard asking if all of the comedians can actually start hitting something.

Once the place is clear, there is another historical vid on the left side walls. Shepard orders the other teams to keep pushing up. Watch the vid, grab ammo, and head through the door at the end to continue.

Reacquire Target
Moving through the next area, watch your right and front as two enemies will attempt to ambush you. Once they are down, grab the medi-gel in one vid areas, the active one is about Sovereign’s attack on the Citadel 3 years prior, and then move on. As the next fight starts, even Glyph gets into the action with the humorous banter. There are only a few enemies, but one is on your left so watch the crossfire and stick behind the wall so he can’t flank you.

Once the fight is over, Glyph comes to you saying it has found 18 previously unknown historical events. Shepard asks about the target, and Glyph says that the clone ordered it away. Shepard sends Glyph back after it. There is a terminal with 3750 credits nearby and a Sniper Rifle High-Velocity Barrel mod on the far right hand side of the room. Head over to the door and proceed. After the second door, there is a med-kit hidden between some boxes on the left. Grab it and proceed through the third door.

The next large room yields more banter, and the Atlas Mech on the upper level decides that it is too much to face Team Mako, so it drops to your level. Now it is your problem. Luckily there are no other enemies there so just focus on it and it will fall fast. It isn’t worth trying to hijack it since it can’t proceed. (Alternately, one can take one of two more cowardly paths. Merely running past the area before the Atlas mech drops will get an angry response from Garrus or Tali, or, if both are in the squad, a frightened response from Brooks. The other such option is significantly more boring, and involves slowly advancing only until one can see the shields/armor meter of the Atlas, sending one's squadmates back and away, and simply waiting, as the other fireteam will eventually wreck the mech.)

Once the Atlas is dead, grab the med kit at the base of the stairs and move along the catwalks. Glyph comes back to say there is a squad ahead “Razor Squad” that wishes to do bodily harm. Also, there is an elcor mating totem Glyph found to be interesting. Well, let's just return the favor to Razor and ignore the totem. As Mako and Hammerhead flank the opposition, Glyph tries to get them to stop, only to be shot at. Use the elevated catwalk here to your advantage and keep pushing forward. Enemies are quite easy to eliminate here, just watch for the snipers.

Once the initial group is almost dead, Razor Squad arrives and it is four heavies. Keep them flanked and watch for their guns as they can rip you apart very quickly. Move your squadmates to flank them, then light them up. Literally if you can. Because you will still have enemies from the initial group present, be sure to keep an eye on them as well. Once you are done grab the med kit on the boxes to the left and head through the door.

Eliminate the Target
In next room, everything suddenly gets quiet. Move along the path until you enter a large room and take cover. There are only two enemies to deal with at this point so they aren’t a problem. Glyph also has a message from your clone, not exactly a good one though. Once you have dealt with the two enemies look around for a terminal on the right side with 3750 credits. Further down you will find a Sniper Rifle Ultralight Materials mod in the middle and an  Assault Rifle Ultralight Materials mod on the left. There is a terminal with 3750 credits at the far end just past where the mods are located. The vids are again free to pursue. When you are ready head through the door where the opposition came out and up the stairs.

Shepard tries to radio the team and the radio is once again jammed. When you emerge, Mako is ahead and moves to make a path. You have to deal with two heavies and there isn’t a lot of cover to do it with. Once they are dealt with, advance and take out the three snipers to your right. When you are done, head through another door and up the stairs, but do not miss out on the vid showing the first discovery of the Citadel by the asari. Shepard tries to raise Mako and Brooks starts saying they are under attack, but can’t complete before being cut off.

Advance a little further and Brooks confirms that the clone is indeed jamming the radios. She says the rest have gone ahead to cut the clone off, but she has been hit again and needs help. If you wish to peruse the vid, feel free as it deals with the deliberations behind Shepard’s Spectre status, but there are no enemies so take your time. Head through the hallway and down the corridor. It takes a quick bioscan to confirm your identity, and then you get in.

I Should Go
As you step in head forward towards Brooks, but as you cross the plane, the vault's shields activate and seal you and your companions in. Shepard calls for assistance, but the clone makes an appearance. The clone says your companions are trapped in the iridium vaults, and then introduces Brooks, who in fact doesn’t work for the Alliance. Turns out Brooks isn’t even her name. She's in fact ex-Cerberus, the one who put together all of those dossiers a year ago for the Suicide Mission, but became disillusioned that Cerberus was looking to aliens for help, leaving as the Illusive Man descended into indoctrinated madness. She goes on to give what really happened at the sushi restaurant and at the party, while further revealing that she's the one who activated Shepard's clone six months ago.

Depending on your choice of dialogue, two paragon interrupts or two renegade interrupts allow you to threaten the two villains. In any case, neither Brooks nor the clone take you seriously. The clone uses the archives to update the handprint records, which can’t be accurately cloned, and then seals Shepard and the squad into the vault. The clone then departs for the Normandy, but not before taunting you with a familiar phrase "I should go."

Despite being sealed in the vault, Shepard appears more concerned about the way s/he has always said "I should go" and asks if s/he really sounds like that. One of the squadmates will confirm it. You can take the conversation where you want, but eventually one of your squadmates asks why isn’t Shepard more worried about their current situation, at which point Shepard calls Glyph to get them out.

Enemies

 * Atlas
 * CAT6 Heavy
 * CAT6 Sniper
 * CAT6 Specialist
 * Disruption Drone

Trivia

 * The "early religious artifact" from Earth, when viewed from across the room, is a replica of the Ark of the Covenant from the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark.
 * Hidden behind a crate of boxes in the room where Glyph tells you he has cataloged new items you can find a secret giftwrapped present.
 * In the room where team Mako begins to move ahead and you find the radios are jammed you can find a box of fireworks hidden behind some crates.