Mass Effect 3 Walkthrough Part 14: Grissom Academy: Investigation Part 1

Specialist Traynor will pick up a distress call from the Grissom Academy after you begin to reconcile with the Krogan. Although it naturally seems that the Reapers have destroyed the Academy, since it sits directly in the path of their invasion, the plot thickens when you discover that a turian cruiser was assigned to respond to the distress signal, but in fact never did. As you approach the school, you will find that Cerberus has in fact attacked the school. Joker will offer to run a distraction while you fight on the ground.

You will meet Kahlee Sanders as soon as you enter the school. A group of soldiers will be attacking her. Kill them quickly and speak with her. She will mention Admiral Anderson during your conversation. Follow that lead and she will also give you a message to deliver to him. Otherwise, she will fill you in a bit on what has happened to the school. Finally, she will ask you to rescue some students who have been trapped by Cerberus in Orion Hall.

Head through the door. You will see a student being dragged away by one of Cerberus’ soldiers. In the next hallway, jump over the chest high wall to collect the Assault Rifle Stability Damper on the steps by the closed door. In the next room over, Cerberus will be attacking another student. Head into the next room and quickly kill the Cerberus soldiers inside. Talk to the student after they are dead. He will ask you to find his sister. Head all the way to the right to pick up a datapad, then continue onwards. Jump over the chest high wall to the classroom on the side and pick up the SMG Heat Sink sitting on one of the desks in the center. Turn and head down the hallway that is blocked at the end with rubble. An opening here will give you the chance to move into another classroom.

A bunch of Cerberus soldiers will enter the room in pursuit of another student. The student will be shot and Cerberus will focus their efforts on you instead. Kill the Centurions first, then pick off the remaining enemies with carefully placed shots. Head to the left to get back into the hallway that was blocked off by the debris. Along the way, search the red couch for the M-22 Eviscerator Shotgun. Head to the right to find the M-96 Mattock Assault Rifle on the second couch, along with the Mnemonic Visor armor and the sister that the last student asked you to search for. Speak with the sister to send her scurrying back to her bother. Search the locker next to where the girl was standing to find credits.

Move onwards down the hallway to enter Orion Hall. Here, the students will be making a desperate stand against the Cerberus forces. Just as it seems that the students are safe, an Atlas mech will burst into the room and open fire. Your squad will have to help the students survive the attack. Their health bar will be located at the top of the screen, and if it depletes, it’s game over. Focus all of your squad’s fire on the mech. Aim your own bullets at the visor of the mech, as this is its weak point. By hitting the visor, you can potentially damage the pilot inside and kill the mech faster. More soldiers will have  filed out by now, too, and will be firing upon you and the students. Use Biotics such as Singularity or Warp to keep the soldiers from hitting the students, until they are safely out of range. Kill the remaining soldiers and head over to the students to begin a conversation.

Ensign Rodriguez and Ensign Prangley will introduce themselves as the leaders of the students, unless Jack survived to the end of Mass Effect 2, in which case you will face a reunion with her. Allow the students to take a breather from combat while you head to the camera controls and set up a video feed to Kahlee Sanders, the woman you met when you landed. The camera controls will be located next to the door that the Atlas mech came through. You can also find a med kit across from the door. Head inside and examine the console to activate the camera controls and advance the mission. Head back to the students. Pick up a datapad on a chair, and then collect the override codes for the doors.

Head to the door override and look to the side to find the Assault Rifle Precision Scope. Pick it up and override the door. Head below the room you were just in and examine the following door. You will have to pressure it open. Here, you can either tell the students to take cover and prioritize their own safety, or to help you out in battle at the expense of their well-being. Soon enough you will face the consequences of your choice, as a large group of Cerberus soldiers will be waiting to meet you at the end of the area.

Numerous standard soldiers, as well as Combat Engineers and Centurions, will accompany an Atlas mech to attack you. Attacking head on is tantamount to suicide; the enemy forces are just too powerful, and can easily corner you thanks to their vast numbers. Instead, head upwards to fire down upon the enemies. A ramp to your right will lead you up to the balcony. From here, take cover on the side of the balcony and aim down to kill the Cerberus soldiers, starting with the pesky Combat Engineers and moving on to the Centurions before you fire upon the standard soldiers. Watch out for enemy reinforcements, who may emerge on the same level as you. If you told the students to stand and fight, they will take up positions higher on the battlefield and send their Biotics crashing down to aid you.

After you have killed the first two waves of basic soldiers, turn your attention to the Atlas mech. Kill it the same way you did the last one. At this point, take a moment to run around collecting the ammo scattered across the ground. You can find a med kit in the entryway to the corridor at the end of the room, and also a computer that you can examine to collect 3,750 credits. Take a moment to allow your Biotics to recharge and to reload your weapons. You have just won a tough battle, but you are only halfway through this mission yet.