Grissom Academy: Emergency Evacuation

Grissom Academy is under attack by Cerberus forces attempting to kidnap the students. Rescue the students and evacuate the station.

Acquisition
After completing Priority: Palaven, talk to Samantha Traynor and she will say that she was scanning Alliance comm channels and came across the message. She continues by saying that the Academy had requested evacuation and that a turian cruiser had been dispatched, normally no reason to worry. However, working with EDI, Traynor says that the signal was faked in a very similar fashion to what the Illusive Man did to Shepard fighting the Collectors a few months ago.

This is a timed mission. If you do not complete it in a certain period of time, it will no longer be available and considered failed.

Infiltrate Grissom Academy
Travel to the Petra Nebula, and enter orbit at Grissom Academy. On approach, EDI and Joker will note that there are too many Cerberus ships blockading the academy for the Normandy to either sneak by or win a direct fight. Fortunately, Kahlee Sanders, apparently the headmistress of the school, comes over the communications channel and agrees to open an auxiliary loading dock where you can land. After a cutscene where Joker creates a diversion so that Shepard and the squad can take the shuttle into the school, you will land in the docking area.

Kahlee almost immediately reports that she is trapped by Cerberus operatives. There is nothing of interest in this room, so move on to the door. Be prepared to fight immediately after opening it, because Cerberus assault troopers are waiting on the other side. After dealing with the enemies, examine the damaged door on the right side of the room (examining the door on the far side of the room will not yield any results at this point).

Inside you will find Kahlee Sanders, who has some flattering things to say about Shepard. She will inform you that there are less than twenty students remaining at the school, most of whom are either producing tech for the Alliance or are biotics in training for military service. If you ask about Anderson, you will find out that he and Sanders go way back to the time when he was a Spectre candidate. Proceed through the conversation however you see fit, but it will be interrupted by news of another Cerberus threat. At this point you will be booted back out into the corridor, and Kahlee will open the door on the far side for you.

You will immediately be greeted by the sight of Cerberus operatives dragging a student through a doorway. This is a background animation and cannot be interfered with. Do pick up the ammo on the couch, if you need it, then proceed. A Cerberus commander will come over the intercom informing students that Cerberus has taken control of the school, and they will be perfectly safe as long as they do not resist. Hop over the wall to the right to pick up the Assault Rifle Stability Damper.

Open the door and proceed through. When you round the corner on the other side of the room, you'll find two Cerberus assault troops talking to a biotic student who's surrounded himself with a barrier. Both troopers have their backs turned to you and are easy pickings; if you utilize your powers and weapon choices carefully, you can take them both out before they can react. Pick up the datapad (+1250 credits) on the couch at the end of the right side of the room. If you speak to the boy, Reiley Bellarmine, Shepard will tell him to play dead until the coast is clear then run back to Kahlee, and he will comply after mentioning that his sister Seanne is still inside the school. You'll have to jump over the barrier to proceed.

Examine the tactical analysis review (+20xp) on the desk ahead, pick up the SMG Heat Sink in the desk in the center of the room, and the personal log (+20xp) on the desk at the right end of the room. Then head through the door on the right and the next door, witness a fleeing student being gunned down, then take cover and wait for Cerberus operatives to come through two doors on the far end of the room. You can take down the Shield Generator to remove their primary means of cover. There will be one or two Assault Troopers, but the bulk of this unit is made up of Centurions with full shields, so plan accordingly. Go into the hallway on the left to pick up the M-22 Eviscerator. Head back across the room with the shields, and go on the right side of the couches to pick up the M-96 Mattock. Go right to open the locker (+1250 credits), then return back up that hall to pick up the Mnemonic Visor. Continue on to talk to the biotic student's sister; speak to her quickly, because if you stand around too long she will keel over and die. Return back down the right side hallway toward the openable door.

Orion Hall
As you approach the door, Kahlee will come through to tell you that she just received an emergency message from the students in the Hall. Before entering, take out the generator that is feeding power to the Cerberus logo above you. Kahlee will come over the PA and announce that help is here. You will enter to see the biotic students defending themselves from Cerberus Assault Troopers. If Jack survived the events of Mass Effect 2, she will be among them and will greet Shepard; otherwise, Ensign Jason Prangley will step up and take charge. In any case, Shepard informs them they are with the Alliance just before an Atlas breaks into the room. The students wisely decide to let Shepard handle it and retreat behind a biotic barrier; you must defeat the enemies before the barrier wears down. The Atlas is dangerous if you get in its line of fire, but it is slow and will not take any more interest in Shepard than in your squadmates. The Assault Troopers and Centurions in the middle of the room are much harder to avoid, because they are fast and will try and flank you. Set two people on the Atlas and the last one on the troopers.

After the battle, the students will say that their CO was killed, leaving Ensign Jason Prangley in charge. If Jack survived the events of Mass Effect 2, she will appear instead and berate Shepard for their involvement with Cerberus in Mass Effect 2. If you romanced Jack in Mass Effect 2, she will berate the Commander for leaving her instead, after which she will passionatly kiss him. Otherwise, the kids will ask for a few minutes to recharge, since they've been constantly fending off Cerberus operatives for hours. If Jack is not present, a student will ask if you ever forget the first time you kill someone, giving you extra Paragon or Renegade points.

Immediately after these conversations, Cortez will come over the communications channel to say that it's too dangerous for him to keep the shuttle docked. Shepard will order him to get back to the Normandy, then Kahlee will come through with some ideas about alternate ways out of the facility. Relative to where you came in, in the near right you will find a data log (+20 XP) listing Prangley as a high priority capture target and the Cerberus camera control. In the far back right you will find a med-kit (+100 XP). In the room with the students, you will find the Assault Rifle Precision Scope in the back of the room, and a datapad (+1875 credits) in the front of the room. Then go up to their balcony and open the door beneath them.

You can also speak to Jack for some dialog options if she is present. She will make references to the mission on the Collector base, noting how she held the biotic field together against the swarms if you selected her for that task during the suicide mission.

Exfiltration
Now is a good time to check if you have leveled up, if you have not done so up to this point.

Head back downstairs and to the door into the Atrium, located under the room you just left. The students will suggest that they follow a different route to attack Cerberus from above. Respond however you like, then get treated to the Cerberus Announcer telling the students that the Alliance soldiers are going to get them killed and that they should just surrender. Again, respond how you will, then move forward through the door.

The next room will contain the hardest fight yet. There will be an Atlas accompanied by countless Centurions, Guardians, and Combat Engineers. Just when you think that you're making headway, more waves of them will appear, so prepare yourself for a long fight. Fortunately, biotics students will help you with any enemies that stay on the ramp or high enough up on the stairs, but don't depend on them to do too much of the work for you. James is a very good choice for this fight because he has the only disable (Carnage) that isn't blocked by barriers or riot shields, which every enemy in this fight has. Equipping Energy Drain as your bonus power will also help you immensely.

It might be a good idea to just open the door and stand there, letting the first wave of Centurions and Guardians come to you. In this way, you can take out several enemies before the bulk of them engage you. It is best not to get trapped in the corridor with only the sides of the door for cover, so move out into the room once you take down the immediate wave of enemies that rush the door, but be aware that it will close and lock behind you. After venturing into the room, you'll have to move around from cover to cover in order to stay safe, because there are a lot of enemies and they will all try to flank you. Stay out of the line of fire of any turrets set up by the engineers and move around picking off enemies. There are Shield Pylons that you might take out to give yourself an easier time, but it is not necessary, so don't put yourself at risk to do it.

The courtyard is divided into two by a huge wall, and the Atlas is on the other side of that wall and cannot cross. This leads to a second possible strategy: if you turn right from the door you emerged from, you can head up a ramp to find a Cerberus shield pylon right next to said huge wall. This takes the Atlas out of the fight, and you can also defend from the high ground quite effectively. The only thing to be aware is that two Guardians will spawn at that high ground. If you live through them, the rest of the fight should be easy. Finally, take the Atlas out, because next you're going to his half of the courtyard.

After all of the enemies are down, replenish your ammo and move through the door on the lower level. Pick up the mission brief (+20xp) on the chairs on the left and the medkit (+100xp) on the right and any more ammo you need. Then use the computer on the left before the door (+3750 credits). If you had not leveled up earlier, check and see if you have now before moving through the door.

This is the other side of the room. There are one or two Centurions and Guardians and several Combat Engineers, but the bulk of the enemy force is made up of Assault Troopers. The biotics students will continue to help you, so head into cover and pick them off one by one. When planning your cover, be aware that enemies will be arriving over the wall and landing on the level above you. During the battle, one of the biotic squad, Ensign Rodriquez, will snag a round, but don't let the shouts for medigel distract you. She'll be fine anyhow.

Insanity tip: After opening the door and thus triggering new wave of enemies to appear, one can return to the first side of the room and no enemies will follow. This way enemies can be taken out relatively safely in a similar manner than the Atlas was taken out. Note however that there may be few (1-2) enemies and few Combat Turrets that might not be visible from the first side. So once you think all enemies are down and proceed to the second room (for the second time), be careful!

There is nothing of interest in the room, so after the enemies are down move through the door on the other side of the space and replenish your ammo, then head through the next door. Move up and take cover, because to your left two of the tech students are fending off two Assault Troopers with a shield. Take out the troopers, then go back towards the right to access a computer terminal for 4375 credits. You can now speak to Octavia, who is understandably distrustful of Shepard. You can either contact Kahlee to convince her that you're a friend, or you can shoot through her shield. However, if Overlord was completed in Mass Effect 2 and you followed the Paragon route at the end, David Archer will vouch for you, and unlock the door behind them, which contains another M-96 Mattock and a Sniper Rifle Piercing Mod. If not, make your choice, then head through the door and collect the Biotic Amp Schematics from the terminal on the right. Proceed to the next room and retrieve the Serrice Council Chestplate from the couch on the left. David has some extra dialogue should you bring EDI with you.

The next room has an Atlas and a Combat Engineer, but the Atlas does not have a driver. Pick up the med-kit (+100xp) on the couch on your right, and access the engineer's data log (+20xp) to find out that Rodriquez, the biotic who asked you about your first kill and got shot during the last major fight, is a high priority target for Cerberus indoctrination. Climb into the Atlas and head up the stairs to the docking area. There is an SMG Magazine Upgrade on the left bench of the entrance you came in, you can pick it up after the fighting. There will be many waves of Assault Troopers, Guardians, and Centurions, but you should be able to handle all of them from the Atlas. Just be sure to be near cover if your armor starts to get dangerously low, because you will want to evacuate. After all of the waves of ground troops are down, an enemy Atlas will come through the door where you entered.

Before you leave the academy, ensure you have picked up the SMG Magazine Upgrade. To retrieve it, head toward the stairs the enemy Atlas came from, and inspect the seats to the right of it for the SMG Upgrade.

Head through the doors to the shuttles. A cutscene will play showing the students and your squad rushing for the shuttle, where it is discovered that Rodriguez has fallen behind and is being pursued by Cerberus operatives. Shepard will attempt to get to her through the glass, but whoever is in charge of the biotics squad will smash the glass first and pick her up. If it's Jack, everyone gets out. If it's Prangley, he's shot and killed just before he makes it.

Once inside the shuttle, Kahlee Sanders will request that Shepard rethink having the students play a military role, especially if Jack isn't around and their instructor and their student leader are both dead. Make your choice, then you will automatically be returned to the Normandy for a video conference with Anderson, who will rage about the war and then ask about Kahlee. You will then receive 12,500 credits in Alliance funding.

Enemies

 * Assault Trooper
 * Atlas Mech
 * Centurion
 * Combat Engineer
 * Guardian
 * Turret

War Assets
By choosing "We'll use them as support.", they get rolled in with the Alliance 103rd Marine Division. This adds 50 war assets to the 103rd and earns you Paragon points.

By choosing "They're ready for battle.", will make them into a Biotic Company in the Alliance. This adds 75 war assets and gets you Renegade points.

In the Extended Cut, Jack's slide in the epilogue will be determined based on this choice. If sent to support roles, Jack will be shown back with her class. If sent to combat roles, Jack is shown mourning their loss at their gravesite, suggesting that they took heavy casualties on the front lines.

Citadel Spectre Terminal
You can authorize stationing and housing for the Grissom Academy students on Citadel. This upgrades the value of the Citadel Fleet war asset, which mentions that some of those students are taking over repetitive tasks which would normally be delegated to VIs, if the available VIs weren't already overworked.

Failure
As mentioned above, this mission expires after a set amount of time: if it's not completed before you complete three other missions or before Priority: The Citadel II (whichever comes first), it will expire. Aside from the obvious consequences of losing EXP, credits, the large number of weapon upgrades mentioned above, and the possibility of rekindling a romance with Jack if one was begun in Mass Effect 2, this will also have plot consequences: during Priority: Cerberus Headquarters, Shepard will encounter Jack, who was captured by Cerberus here at Grissom Academy and has been turned into a Phantom. Shepard will be forced to fight and kill Jack. Also, if you uploaded a character from the previous game and chose to send David Archer to the Grissom Academy in the Overlord DLC, you will meet Dr. Gavin Archer during the mission, Arrae: Ex-Cerberus Scientists, where depending on what you say he may or may not kill himself for not getting the chance to apologize for his injustice.

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