UNC: Besieged Base

Biotic extremists have hit a research facility with a hallucinogenic drug and are using the scientists there as human shields. Shepard is asked to handle the extremists without any innocent casualties.

Acquisition
This assignment only becomes available when you hit 80% Paragon. Admiral Hackett explains the situation and sends you to the planet Chohe, in the Cacus system of the Hades Gamma cluster. The mission takes place at a Sirta Foundation research facility.

Walkthrough
When you arrive on Chohe head to the Science Base southwest of your landing site. Once you are inside it is strongly recommended that you save your game if you are going for a paragon ending and saving all the scientists. If you are not going for that ending still save because the fight can be difficult based on your difficulty setting and current level. To minimize casualties, consider switching your squad power usage (under Game Options &gt; Gameplay) to 'defense only' or 'disabled'. This will prevent your squadmates from accidentally using tech powers that injure the scientists. There are five scientists to protect in the base so watch your fire.

There are several biotics in the main chamber of the base, but some are waiting in the back tunnels and will only come into the main chamber once you get close enough, or you move out from the cover around the entrance to the room. While the biotics themselves are not a particularly difficult fight (they seem to use their powers less frequently than other biotic enemies), the mission is complicated by the presence of addled scientists who will wander into the line of fire and whom it is your job to save. There are also some containment cells scattered throughout the base which may explode when Sabotage or Overload are used. There will not be a notification of the number of scientists remaining. Only if one is killed will a notification show showing how many are killed.

A good tactic is to lure the biotics back out of the main chamber and into the tunnel to the entrance chamber to get them away from the scientists. The biotics will swarm the tunnel and this makes it very easy to eliminate them, and usually the scientists will not walk into that area. However just watch your fire just in case. The biotic leader has a habit of staying behind the barricade at the other end of the main room. So you have may have to go after him, but sometimes he gives chase. Unknown if this is a bug. Once they all have fallen you will get a message box displaying a message, see below for details.

Once the biotics are dead, look around the main chamber for a med kit on the pillar to the right of the main entrance, then head into the back rooms to gather three crates from each of the rooms. If they survive, the drugged scientists are... interesting to talk to. Once you are done, return to the Normandy and use the Galaxy Map to talk to Hackett and end the assignment.

When you get back to the Normandy, Hackett will give you his opinion on what happened. If you saved everyone and choose the paragon option Shepard will say that they are just doing their job. Hackett will replay that he "wish[es] that every soldier had [Shepard's] definition of "just doing their job".

Messages
"You've cleared the facility. The 'collateral damage' was heavy, but the Alliance does not negotiate with terrorists. 'Evolution of humanity,' huh? Those biotics didn't seem different from the other scum you deal with&hellip;."
 * Killing all five scientists earns 9 Renegade points and the following message:

"You've cleared the facility. Civilian losses were&hellip; tolerable. 'Evolution of humanity,' huh? Those biotics didn't seem different from the other scum you deal with&hellip;."
 * Killing 1-4 scientists will earn 8 Paragon points and the following message:

"You've cleared the facility. All of the civilians are safe-though still chattering to themselves and screaming at the garbage cans. 'Evolution of humanity,' huh? Those biotics didn't seem different from the other scum you deal with&hellip;."
 * Saving all the scientists will earn stunned congratulations from Hackett, 24 Paragon points, and the following message:

Enemies

 * Biotic Terrorist
 * Biotic Terrorist Leader

Trivia

 * During a Galactic News report in Mass Effect 2, the news anchor will announce that the Sirta Foundation never recovered from an attack on one of its facilities. No matter how many scientists the player saved, the news anchor will announce that Sirta will likely be shutting down. This may or may not be a bug.