Major Kyle is an Alliance Officer turned desperate cult leader hiding out in the far reaches of space in Mass Effect, the first entry of Bioware's award-winning science fiction RPG series. Hiding out in the backwaters of the galaxy, his cult of biotics has become a threat to the area, with several soldiers that were sent to negotiate with Kyle having gone missing, presumed killed by his followers.
Tasked with resolving the situation, and having a number of ways to go about it, finding and resolving Major Kyle and his cult are one of many things the player character needs to check off their to-do list as Commander Shepard. Here's how players can find Major Kyle and resolve his cult before things grow out of hand — unless players make the choice to do just that.
Updated January 18, 2023, by Jack Blundell: This article has been rewritten to better convey the necessary information to complete this mission, as well as updating formatting to me in line with current DualShockers standards.
Where Is Major Kyle?
You'll first be informed of Major Kyle's predicament by Admiral Hackett, who will call up Commander Shepard when they first enter the Century System in the Hawking Eta Cluster. Hackett informs the player that Major Kyle is suffering from severe and untreated post-traumatic stress, and he has opened a sanctuary-turned-cult for his fellow biotic-wielding humans, many of whom are openly ostracized from society for their unpredictable and destructive powers. Hackett tells Shepard to resolve this matter before a detachment of marines will have to be sent in, and that while Shepard has authority as a Spectre to do as they like, Hackett would prefer avoiding a massacre. If the player's Shepard has the Ruthless background in their character bio, then Major Kyle is also Shepard's former CO during the battle of Torfan, making this encounter more personal for Shepard's with that backstory element.
Head for Presrop, the moon of Klendagon, to begin your search for Major Kyle.
Dropping down to the planet on the much beloved Mako, players will find two buildings when approaching the compound. Head for the two-story building first, as the bunker is inaccessible. Approaching the bunker gives players a number of options, with only the peaceful speech options for asking to speak with Major Kyle resulting in a possible non-violent path. Threatening the biotic on the other side of the door or forcefully unlocking the door will make the NPCs inside hostile and turn the mission into a firefight. If going in guns blazing is how players intend to play this through, make sure to pack plenty of Medi-Gel.
Dealing With Major Kyle
If players used the correct speech options with the game's paragon or renegade system, or mentioned their prior service with Major Kyle with the Ruthless background, they can enter the underground bunker and make their way to him. If players fire on anyone or anything while inside, everyone becomes hostile to the player and their squadmates, forcing players to fire on all of them in a confined space. Approaching Major Kyle, a similar series of options is presented to the player as what was encountered with the locked building on the surface.
Major Kyle can be talked down with the right decisions in dialogue — if the player allows him some time to talk down his followers while Shepard and co. call for a detachment to come take Kyle and his followers into custody. Some players, depending on their mood about the mission or the potential of playing a violent renegade Shepard, may not wish to allow Kyle or his followers to walk away from their compound alive.
Major Kyle can admit to the fact he and his followers killed the previous two Alliance Officers sent to speak with him, claiming they would tear apart the family he's created here with his 'children.' If this — and the genuine danger that the cult of biotics present to the wider galaxy — offends or disgusts players, they are more than welcome to kill Major Kyle and gun down his supporters. The action is legitimized due to Kyle's recent behavior and Shepard's status as a Spectre for the Council.
Regardless of how players decide to deal with the cult, it'll go down as one of many achievements of Commander Shepard's career, as players take back off to the stars of the Mass Effect trilogy to pursue Saren, explore off-shoot and expansive DLC content, and prepare for the inevitable return of the Reapers.