Mass Effect 100% Walkthrough Ep 16 – Citadel Lockdown

We’re close to the end of Mass Effect, but saving the galaxy apparently has to wait for a Council decision. Shepard returned to the Citadel with urgent news about Saren and Ilos. The response? Ground the Normandy.

That left us with unfinished Citadel business, questionable dancing and, eventually, a way out. We even investigated Cerberus before calling it a night.

🌌 About the Game

In Mass Effect, we play as Commander Shepard, leading an elite squad across the galaxy while trying to stop the traitorous Saren and his army. What starts as a hunt for one dangerous enemy becomes a struggle against an ancient threat to all civilisation.

Along the way, our decisions shape how we handle everything from galactic politics to personal problems. Sometimes that means a major firefight; sometimes it means trying to persuade someone on the Citadel to make a difficult choice.

🚀 Where We Are in the Journey

This is episode 16 of my 100% walkthrough, and we’re approaching the first game’s finale. We’ve followed Saren’s trail, survived Virmire and learned that the Conduit on Ilos could be central to his plans.

Shepard knows the Reapers are a serious threat, but the Council still isn’t convinced. Before we can head for Ilos, we have to deal with the Normandy being locked down—and I’m still determined to finish as much outstanding business as possible.

🔒 What Happens in This Episode

We started with Shepard reporting to the Council that Saren was heading for Ilos in search of the Conduit. Unfortunately, the Council wasn’t particularly interested in listening. They were convinced that blockading the relays would be enough to stop him, despite Shepard’s warnings about Sovereign and the Reapers. Udina sided with the Council, the Normandy was grounded, and we were effectively stuck on the Citadel. The Council even brought up the nuclear explosion on Virmire as evidence that Shepard wasn’t exactly known for being discreet. Considering everything we’d discovered, their refusal to take the threat seriously was rather frustrating. “All muppets” summed up my opinion of the situation nicely.

With the Normandy locked down, we had an opportunity to finish some outstanding Citadel business. I brought Tali and Wrex along while we explored the Presidium and Wards, searching for missing Keepers and checking which assignments still needed attention. Finding our way around involved plenty of map checking, backtracking and elevator journeys. At times, it felt more like an elevator simulator than a space adventure. At least the news reports during those journeys provided some interesting updates about events from our previous missions.

One of our first encounters was with Westerlund News reporter Khalisah al-Jilani, who wanted to interview humanity’s first Spectre. Her questions were clearly designed to provoke a reaction, particularly when she brought up Shepard’s loyalty to the Council, the Normandy’s human-and-turian development, and events on Noveria. We kept things reasonably diplomatic rather than giving her the confrontation she seemed to want. When she suggested that humanity had handed the Normandy over to aliens, Shepard reminded her who was actually commanding the ship. Later, we received an Alliance message praising how the interview had been handled, although mentioning Saren had apparently caused some political discomfort.

Back on the Presidium, we encountered Rebecca and Michael arguing about gene therapy for Rebecca’s unborn child. Rebecca’s husband had died from a hereditary heart condition, and Michael wanted the baby to receive treatment to reduce the risk of developing the same condition. Rebecca was understandably concerned about the possible complications. After listening to both sides, I encouraged her to consider the treatment, and she eventually agreed. It was quite a touching little assignment, particularly once they acknowledged how much the loss of her husband had affected them. I also mentioned that this decision gets some follow-up attention in the later Mass Effect games, which is one of the things I enjoy about the series.

We also caught up with Emily Wong, who wanted Shepard to plant a surveillance device to investigate concerns about overworked Citadel traffic controllers. Rather than secretly installing the bug, we returned it to her and picked up some Paragon points. Doctor Michel was having problems of her own, with someone blackmailing her over medical supplies she’d previously provided to clinics helping people in need. We confronted the intermediary responsible and put an end to the immediate problem. Michel was relieved, although the conversation also introduced another name, Banes, for us to investigate.

There were several other assignments to deal with. We informed a man that his missing brother had been killed by privateers and reported to Admiral Kahoku about the marines we’d discovered at a thresher maw nest. Their deaths were particularly suspicious because a false Alliance distress signal appeared to have been used to lure them there. Meanwhile, Nassana Dantius, an asari diplomat, asked us to investigate what had happened to her sister Dahlia. Apparently, Dahlia had survived a pirate attack and was being held by mercenaries. Nassana had already paid a ransom without receiving any confirmation that her sister would be released. We agreed to investigate the mercenary base without accepting her offered reward.

Of course, not every encounter was quite so serious. Conrad Verner, an enthusiastic admirer of Shepard, wanted a photograph of us posing with our gun. He was certainly an unusual character. We also encountered a Terra Firma politician hoping to use Shepard’s reputation to promote his anti-alien political views. I wasn’t interested in supporting that, so we declined. Elsewhere, we met Lieutenant Zabaleta, a troubled former serviceman who claimed to know Shepard’s mother and asked us for credits. His situation raised some questions that we’d return to later.

Eventually, we made our way into Flux, where Schells was looking for someone to test a device that could manipulate the odds on the quasar gambling machines. After hearing his proposal, I decided to hand the device over to the club’s owner instead. Schells wasn’t particularly pleased, but we received a few legitimate games of quasar as a reward. I had a go, explained how the game worked and managed to make a little profit.

Naturally, we couldn’t visit Flux without showing off Shepard’s dancing. The famous “Shepard shuffle” made another appearance, and it was every bit as impressive as you might expect. We ended up discussing whether Chrissy could recreate those moves during a Christmas papercraft unboxing. I’m not sure how that would turn out, but it would certainly be entertaining. I also pointed out that Shepard’s dancing gets better in the later games, although perhaps not by quite as much as you’d hope.

Throughout all this, chat kept us entertained with the usual mixture of conversations and distractions. We had some follows and a seven-month resubscription, which were very much appreciated. Chrissy was busy accumulating eggs, while other conversations included cuddling Gravy, someone playing with a kitten, and a LEGO stop-motion animation that was going to be shared on Discord. There was also talk about another game’s museum collection and various upcoming activities. Meanwhile, I was having a rather annoying time with my nose. The sneezing continued throughout the stream, leading to several tissue breaks and the suggestion that I might need to install a tissue directly into my face.

Before we could escape the Citadel, we also met Elias Keeler, an Alliance negotiator who wanted additional stimulants to help him prepare for negotiations with the salarians. Rather than help him obtain more, we persuaded him that he needed to deal with his dependency and seek proper help.

Eventually, we returned to Flux for the important conversation with Captain Anderson. He explained that the Council wasn’t going to change its decision and that reaching Ilos would mean disobeying orders. Anderson was willing to help release the Normandy, giving us a choice between interfering with Citadel Control or accessing Udina’s computer. I chose the ambassador’s computer, which seemed the more sensible option.

There was a slight complication when I tried to return to the Normandy beforehand to change squadmates. The lockdown was apparently being taken very seriously, because we weren’t even allowed aboard our own ship. Once Anderson put the plan into action, however, Joker was able to get the Normandy moving, and we finally escaped the Citadel. After all that political nonsense, it was satisfying to be back in control of the ship.

Rather than head directly to Ilos, I decided to use the opportunity to finish some of our remaining assignments. We travelled to the mercenary outpost connected to Nassana’s missing sister and cleared the facility. Unfortunately, there was now a fairly obvious problem with the assignment: having escaped the Citadel, we couldn’t simply pop back to Nassana to report what we’d found.

Our investigation into Admiral Kahoku’s missing marines also developed into something considerably more serious. Kahoku contacted us with information about Cerberus, a rogue black-ops organisation responsible for illegal experiments. The marines had apparently become involved in something they shouldn’t have, and Cerberus was determined to cover its tracks. There was also mention of a secret super-soldier project, which didn’t make the organisation sound particularly reassuring.

That sent us off to investigate several Cerberus facilities. After spending so much time talking to people on the Citadel, it was nice to get back into some proper combat. We had the usual journeys across planetary surfaces in the Mako, including plenty of bouncing around the terrain, before heading inside to clear out the installations. Wrex was particularly useful for dealing with anything that decided to attack us, while our trusty “god pistol” continued to prove its worth.

The facilities were full of unpleasant surprises, including rachni and husks, and the investigation took a darker turn when we discovered Admiral Kahoku dead. We continued to the final Cerberus installation and cleared the remaining enemies, bringing that particular investigation to an end. I also mentioned that Cerberus becomes much more important in the later Mass Effect games, so this is worth remembering as we continue through the series.

Before finishing, we followed up on Lieutenant Zabaleta by contacting Shepard’s mother. She explained that he’d suffered terribly following a traumatic slaver attack and suggested that he needed support from veterans’ services. Unfortunately, with the Normandy now outside the Citadel, there was no straightforward way to return and pass along that advice. It’s another example of how our decisions and timing can leave certain assignments unfinished.

By this point, we’d accomplished quite a lot. The Normandy was no longer grounded, we’d resolved several Citadel assignments, investigated the Cerberus facilities and made considerable progress towards completing the remaining side content. There were still a few loose ends, including some Keeper scans and conversations we couldn’t return to, but the main objective was finally within reach.

I saved the game with Shepard ready to head for Ilos, which means the next Mass Effect stream should bring us to the finale of the first game. We finished with a little conversation about upcoming Cyberpunk streams and helping Chrissy decide where her bonus eggs should go.

So, after plenty of political frustration, Citadel exploration, questionable dancing, Cerberus experiments and more sneezing than I would have liked, we’re finally ready to see how the story ends.

▶️ Watch the Episode

For the lockdown, escape and Shepard’s dancing, watch episode 16 here.

You can also explore the full Mass Effect playlist and my YouTube channel. If you enjoy the episode, leave a like, tell me your favourite moment in the comments and subscribe for more.

🔴 Join the Adventure Live

Even when we’re saving the galaxy, there’s room for chat tangents and Shepard’s dancing. Come join us live on Twitch or YouTube and be part of the conversation.

💬 Community & Links

Want to keep in touch between streams? Here are the places to find me, the community and my other projects.

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🛸 Free of the Citadel, Not Quite Finished

We ended with the Normandy free, Cerberus investigated and Ilos waiting. Some Citadel tasks remain unfinished, but next time should bring the first game’s finale.

Thanks for hanging out, subscribing and putting up with the sneezing. See you next time—and perhaps for better dancing.

— Dr Ravenholm