You've found Rift Station held by the battered survivors of the science team. It's obvious they've had a bad time, and can't hold out much longer.
Alternative journal entry:
You've entered a sealed part of the station. Time to find out what's really going on here.
Acquisition[]
This mission can be acquired in 3 ways:
- By approaching the sealed-off doors at the restricted area of the Rift Station main level. A computer voice will alert you that the "Watchdog Protocol" is active.
- Being accosted by Han Olar after Alestia Iallis' attack during Noveria: Quarantine will update your journal if you haven't done the former yet.
- If you did Noveria: The Hot Labs first, your journal updates with the mission entry whichever way you choose to reach the Secure Lab as detailed below. The upper entry is gained if you went through the Restricted Area, while the alternative entry is gained if you went through the Ventilation Room via Scientist Barracks.
Walkthrough[]
In order to progress the story you'll eventually need to get into the Secure Lab. Consult the maps for both main and lower levels of Rift Station for directions and location labels.
Breaking In[]
One way is through the restricted area at the Rift Station Main Area.
This route provides extra fighting, though not particularly difficult, and accompanying extra experience and credits. Warning: If you do this, all Rift Station characters will react with alarm to your actions and will not transact with you again. No more shopping from Petozi, and you can never acquire nor complete Noveria: Quarantine upon turning everyone hostile.
Begin by hacking the door to the "Restricted Area" -- it's near the med bay, and has two Assault Drones guarding it. The drones will attack immediately - gun them down. Then, before entering the door, you have the option of returning to the room you just left and fighting the guards there. Also optionally, you can head all the way back to Captain Ventralis and dispose of him and his two henchmen.
Enter the door you hacked and fight your way through another series of guards along a corridor. In this S-shaped corridor on your map you may face up to 9 ERCS Guards, all toting shotguns and assault rifles, so expect engagements at close to medium ranges. There are numerous explosive containment cells you can destroy to damage (or kill) some of the guards. The area has both indestructible and destructible cover in equal measure, so you can prevent hostiles from cowering behind the brown boxes if the need arises.
The corridor leads to an elevator. Beyond the elevator is a technician kit and an upgrade kit on the floor. On your map there are two routes: to the Secure Lab, which is where Benezia is, and to the Ventilation Room, which is where you would have gone if you chose the sneaky route.
Sneaking In[]
- Main article: Noveria: Quarantine
Another way is through a maintenance back door at the Quarantine Lab. Approach Dr. Zev Cohen at the Med Bay, and after doing the Noveria: Quarantine mission for him ask for his back door pass. This is the most peaceful option available and results in relatively minor casualties.
Note that upon successfully sneaking in, you can still choose the alternative of fighting your way in for extra credits and experience.
Head back down past Han Olar and into the maintenance area, which looks like a cave. You will enter unopposed and without being detected, and will not provoke fights with guards. On the way there is a solitary Rachni Soldier, so kill it and enter the back door. The alternative journal entry above overwrites the first one once you reach the door.
When you walk through there is a secure storage locker (average decryption) on the catwalks. The room after this goes only two ways: to the Secure Lab, or backtrack to the mess hall via the Restricted Area elevator. If you wish to pick a fight with the guards above, ignore the Watchdog Protocol warning and take the elevator up. Otherwise, just loot the upgrade and technician kits before the elevator. Once you are done head back to the Secure Lab door and save your game before entering.
Ventralis and the Hot Labs[]
Now, if you decided to pursue the lead at the Hot Labs before dealing with the business inside the Secure Lab, upon your return to the mess hall Ventralis surprises you with treachery, revealing himself and the entire security force to be under Benezia's employ.
They're all shielded and fairly clumped together at the mess hall, so crowd control talents will put them down quickly. You are also fairly exposed despite the presence of cover, so retreating back beyond the door you came in to whittle them down is a viable solution. Of the four ERCS Guards with Ventralis, two wield the standard shotgun/assault rifle weapons, one has a sniper rifle/pistol combo, and one has a pistol only. Be particularly wary of surprise assassinations.
In this scenario, everyone in the facility is either out to kill you (the guards and drones) or absent (the other characters except Han Olar down at the Scientist Barracks). If you mixed the cure for Thoros-B on Noveria: Quarantine, you can't return it to Dr. Cohen anymore. You obtain additional combat rewards in this manner but at the expense of NPC presence. You may learn from Olar later that Ventralis had the most of the civilians killed to cover up Binary Helix's mistake with the rachni.
As before, you can reach the Secure Lab by going through the Restricted Area and the baddies there, and/or the maintenance tunnel next to the Scientist Barracks. The doors to both are already unlocked compared to the previous scenarios, with the same number of enemies and lootables on either route give or take a few things. If you decide on the maintenance tunnel path first, on reaching the Scientist Barracks you'll see Han Olar being threatened at gunpoint by an Asari Commando. After a short cutscene, you'll need to deal with the commando and the 2 ERCS guards there. If you decide on the Restricted Area first then backtrack via maintenance tunnel, you'll only see 2 ERCS guards at the Scientist Barracks, with no trace of Han Olar or the commando.
Fate of a Species[]
The mission ceases to be of relevance once you reach Benezia in the Secure Lab; see Noveria: Matriarch Benezia for handling the showdown with her. However, it is brought to the fore again shortly afterward.
When Benezia finally dies, move a bit closer to the Rachni Queen's tank. You will enter a conversation with the Rachni Queen through one of the dead commandos. The dialogue factors in whether you've dealt with Noveria: The Hot Labs yet or not. You can ask questions about her history and her plans if Shepard releases her. Now you have the ultimate choice: activate the acid tanks and kill off the rachni once and for all, or allow the Queen to leave and begin anew.
You get a cutscene showing your actions. The mission is marked complete when you reach a decision regarding the Queen.
Enemies[]
- Asari Commando (optional)
- Assault Drone (optional)
- Captain Ventralis (optional)
- ERCS Guard (optional)
- Rachni Soldier (optional)
Mass Effect 2 Consequences[]
If you freed the Rachni Queen, your attention will be called on Illium by an asari whose life was saved by the rachni.
Mass Effect 3 Consequences[]
If you freed the Rachni Queen, she will repay you with Rachni Workers as a War Asset (+100) if you still choose to save her in Attican Traverse: Krogan Team.
If you killed her in this mission then a new Queen called the Breeder will take its place. If you choose to spare the Breeder, it will initially provide the workers (+100) but will turn traitor later, resulting in the loss of the rachni assets (-100) as well as Alliance Engineers (-100).
Trivia[]
- In the scenario where you meet nobody but guards in Rift Station's main area, the journal entry for this mission still states you've found remnants of the science team even if you never saw them in the first place.
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