UNC: Rogue VI

Commander Shepard must disable an Alliance military VI on Luna, which has gone rogue and claimed the lives of several Alliance marines.

Successful completion of this assignment allows Shepard to learn a specialization class.

Acquisition
This assignment is triggered after reaching level 20 when next traveling to another system. Admiral Hackett will ask for Shepard's assistance in disabling a VI at an Alliance training ground on Luna, which is no longer responding to shutdown commands. The Local Cluster and Sol system will immediately become accessible.

Walkthrough
Travel to Luna (Earth’s moon) in the Sol system, Local Cluster. Consult your map to determine your location and route to the facility, and travel there. Be aware that there are two turrets on the rooftop of each of the facility's three bunkers. Attacking from a distance is advisable, as this increases the chances of being able to dodge the rockets. Alternatively, you can circle strafe around each set of turrets while firing.

Once you have cleared the rooftops, head down into any bunker and take out the flying drones in the second room. Your targets – the VI junctions – are located in one of the back rooms. Repeat this process for each bunker. Each time you take out a system, another defense mechanism is activated:


 * First Security Measure: Toxic gas is released.
 * The gas doesn't seem to do anything besides reducing the healing granted from First Aid. The VI junctions do inflict minor toxic damage on anything in close proximity, including the drones.


 * Second Security Measure: kinetic barriers are erected over each doorway and over each of the VI junctions.
 * Typically the kinetic barriers do not survive much damage before dissipating. One or two shotgun blasts will take them out. It is also possible to shoot over or past the kinetic barriers on the VI junctions to speed up their destruction, though you risk toxic damage if you stand too close.


 * Third Security Measure: More combat drones are activated.
 * These spawn in the computer room opposite whichever one you are in when you take down the first computer system. There are two rocket drones which can be dangerous in close quarters and should be handled first.

Once the mission is complete, you will be presented with a text dialog depicting the VI's final moments after which you will be rewarded with a specialization class.

Trivia

 * After the VI is destroyed, the terminals display the following message in binary, repeated over and over:


 * 01001000
 * 01000101
 * 01001100
 * 01010000

Converting the binary to ASCII reveals that the message reads 'HELP'.


 * The journal entry after this assignment entry hints that the VI may have been deliberately sabotaged to make it achieve sentience.

Mass Effect 2 Consequences

 * Miranda refers to this as the Hannibal system if you respond to EDI's introduction with hostility.
 * When discussing AIs with EDI on the SSV Normandy SR-2, it is more or less confirmed that the incident on Luna was in fact the result of an experiment in creating 'controllable' AI. Clearly things did not go as planned.