MASS EFFECT
INFECTION
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Mass Effect and its entirety belong to Bioware.
CHAPTER TWO
It was hot today, as it was everyday on Therum, a planet whose equator was covered by active volcanoes and ruined architecture. Despite its hellish look, the planet masked a certain beauty. A beauty found only in nature, a beauty that can either give life or take it.
Liara T'Soni wiped the sweat from her brow with her un-sleeved forearm. Like many of the races on the galactic stage save the turians, volus, and elcor, her people had evolved from simple aquatic beings, into the form they posses today. A few traits had, however, carried on through the generations of evolution. Excreting body water to maintain a certain core temperature was one of the many 'survive or die' traits her people needed to survive the transition faze from water to land.
Standing from an assortment of ancient Prothean pottery, Liara brushed the volcanic dirt from her hands and gazed upwards towards the sun of the Knossos System as it struggled to bypass the dark clouds of ash rising upwards from their lava producing mountains, giving the blue sky a black and yellow contrast.
Liara took a moment to appreciate the beauty before realizing that her lab coat was now utterly drenched in sweat. Turning away from the star, the 108 year old asari maiden made her way towards the chain of prefabricated trailers the archeology team was using to store gear and give themselves a decent place to rest their heads at the end of the day.
Excluding her, there were ten other researchers planet side and another two in orbit waiting on the ship that the Council Reclamation Committee was generous to provide.
The Council Reclamation Committee was founded before the Rachni Wars and shut down at its start. Fifty years ago, at the war's official end, it was started up again with the new mentality of discovering and preserving artifacts left behind by the Protheans after their mysterious disappearance.
Liara was just entering her maidenhood when the war that nearly vanquished all life in known citadel space, ended. She remembered not too fondly of her mother, the now Matriarch, Benezia, leaving to help fight. As the Commander of an Asari Commando division it was her duty, but it still left a child alone without its mother and when that happens, all the duty in the 'verse can't fill the hole it creates. Liara learned early on that she would need to look after herself and it must have been that drive, that mentality where she could depend on no one but herself, that spared her from the pole or the gun that most maidens go to in there early years. Instead, she became the youngest Asari in four generation to graduate from the University of Thessia, an achievement that went sadly unnoticed or unappreciated by her mother.
"Liara!"
The voice or her colleague and most trusted friend, stopped Liara midway to her pre-fab. Looking back, she saw another asari racing up to her.
Once she had arrived, Liara could tell that her fellow sister was out of breath but at the same time eager to relay whatever was so important that demanded her attention.
"We… we found… the cave…"
Liara placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, "Calm down Shiala. Allow yourself to catch your breath."
Shiala smiled, "of course," she panted as she slowly gobbled down the water Liara had presented her with.
"Now tell what had you running up to me as if you were being chased by wild varren."
Shiala pointed in the direction she came from, "we found something in the caves. It's massive; I don't think I have ever seen anything like it."
Liara followed her green tinted friend. As she walked she idly wondered why some asari would change their skin pigment. She herself prided on her body's natural blue tone. It was a testament to how she overcame the racist taunts she had received as a child.
Liara was what some call, a pure-blood, meaning that both her parents were asari, although no one she would consider a friend would call her that to her face. The name never existed before the asari made contact with another space faring civilization. It was only after, when mating between races became common, that asari culture began to look down upon asari-asari breeding, stating that no new genetic material would be gained from the union.
Liara forced herself not to snarl. Breeding or mating, as the 'experts' would call it, was not for new genetic material or to give back to society. It was for love. Knowing what it meant to be a lover, one half of a whole, was what it was all about. Happiness was deserved by all and meant for all.
"I know that look," Shiala interjected, interrupting Liara from her thoughts.
"I'm sorry," Liara asked puzzled.
"You were thinking about him, weren't you?"
Liara felt her cheeks heat up and it wasn't from the lake of lava no less than twenty yards away. Not for the first time, Liara was regretting telling her friend from the university about her date.
Shiala and Liara first met in the University, both vying for the same top spot in class. Liara's motivations were more innocent than her fellow asari. She was simply naturally good at her lessons. Shiala however, was gunning for the new spot opening up in the CRC and wanted to give as good as an impression as she could. It wasn't to anyone's surprise that she and Liara would bump heads, calling each other out in the middle of class, getting into heated debates on why the Protheans had disappeared, etc…
Then, out of no where, Liara received a call from the CRC asking if she wanted a spot on their new field archeologist team. Liara quickly said yes, but not before brokering a passage for Shiala to come along as well, fearing that the young maiden might actually go ahead with her back up plan that involved enlisting into the nearest Asari Commandos.
When asked on her motivations, Liara simply uttered that Shiala had natural ability when it came to field work and that if Liara was to go in, she wanted someone who she respected and knew would have her back. Shiala was surprised at first but realized that out of her heated rivalry with Liara grew a level of mutual respect that she hadn't realized was there.
Remembering this, Liara smiled knowing she made the right decision as the duo arrived to a massive cave opening.
"Inside," Shiala instructed, allowing her omni-tool's flashlight to turn on, illuminating the dark enclosing spaces of the cavern.
The two traveled onwards for what seemed an eternity, Liara bumping her head, or tripping over some unseen stalagmites every meter or so. Soon it became too much.
"How much further?" she inquired.
"It's just up ahead," Shiala reassured, "trust me when I say you won't be disappointed."
True to her word, Liara was not disappointed. Finally clearing the cavern tunnel, the two asari came to a ledge over looking a great chamber buried under the mountain. Liara's jaw hung open as she took in the immense space. She was willing to bet that they could fit an entire Dreadnaught down there and still have room to move about. But that wasn't what held her interest.
It was the giant Prothean structure directly across from her.
The structure seemed to be a paragon of the Prothean engineering prowess. Even after 50,000 years it looked no worse for wear, even buried under a mountain of volcanic rock.
"The mountain must have formed around it over time…" observed Liara.
The building for lack of a better word was interspaced by oval, white tiled rooms that were illuminated by white florescent light. Below, she could see the three members of Shiala's team taking readings with their omni-tools.
Almost reading her thoughts, Shiala spoke, "the lights turned on by themselves. It was the damndest thing too. One second we were in the dark, using those high velocity torches, the next the whole structure lit up like a mass cannon. It was like the structure was reacting to our presence."
Liara was about to ask another question when suddenly her communicator began going off.
"This is Dr. T'Soni," greeted Liara.
"T'Soni, this is the Watching Eye, how copy?" was the curt reply.
Liara raised an eyebrow at that. The Watching Eye was the vessel that the CRC had loaned them and was waiting in orbit. Standard procedure had it so they would call in every week to check in. Liara was curious since their last transmission was only three days ago. In between messages they would retain radio silence to keep under the radar from pirates or slavers.
A small group of scientists would certainly be easy pickings.
"Go ahead Watching Eye, what seems to be the trouble?" Liara asked.
"Don't really know Liara," replied the communicator, "but we just got a priority one call from the Citadel. It seems that your presence is required at HQ pronto-like."
Liara scoffed, "did you tell them I happen to be busy? We just discovered something big down here and I can't just walk away."
The person on the other chuckled slightly, "yeah, I told them. But they said, I quote, 'it is going to be worth your while' or something like that."
Liara sighed. Just when she got a big break, the Committee was going to pull her away. Whatever it was it had better be worth it. Liara wasn't a violent person, avoiding confrontation whenever possible, but even patient people have their limits.
"Very well, when's the pick up?"
"The frigate, Thessia's Wrath will be here by the end of the solar day. I suggest you and Ms. Shiala get ready and packed."
And then the communicator was cut off. Liara turned to her friend.
"I'm guessing you heard that?" Liara asked.
"Yup," Shiala sighed, "too bad too. I was really curious on what secrets this place would uncover."
The two turned from their ledge and began heading they way they came. At first Shiala tried lighting the mood, talking about that new vid coming out called Fleet and Flotilla. She said that it was supposed to be good but she was rather looking forward to The Moon, which was about a small group of people trapped on a moon overrun by flesh eating aliens. Shiala admitted horror wasn't her thing but her favorite actress was in it and she was rumored to have a nude scene, which perked Shiala's interest immensely.
While Liara appreciated her friend trying to cheer her through witty banter, her mind was focused on other things.
Why would the Committee transfer her at a time like this? They had only been on the planet for a month. A normal expedition would last one to three years, depending on what was found. But even with only a month of digging, this place had proven to be a gold mine, not just in artifacts but the natural factor as well. This planet was ripe for colonization and since the CRC was the ones who discovered it, they could sell the rights to the Council Colonization Board which would in turn fund another expedition, then repeat.
Whatever had the CRC jumping nearly halfway across the galaxy just for her, must be important. Maybe it had to do with that-
A high pitched screech caused Liara's head to perk up, interrupting her thoughts. She knew that sound. Memories of her first expedition came flooding over her. The two asari shared a quick glance, their fears slowly becoming confirmed as more screeching and screaming began to fill the cavern they had just left.
The two turned on their heels and made a dash to the surface. On one occasion, Liara felt herself trip on an unseen pool off water, dripping from a stalactite hanging on the ceiling, only to find herself being caught at the last second by Shiala.
"Come on!"
The two ran faster. The sounds of screaming were soon overwhelmed by the murderous screeching and pitter patter of claws on rock. Soon it wasn't a far off noise. Now, it was behind them, and gaining.
Liara felt a wave of fear wash through her. She felt her heart rate quicken, her leg slowly becoming numb, and the sensation that her lungs were about to explode.
To this day, Liara would remain firm in that she had no idea what compelled her to turn her head and shine a light down the cavern tunnel. But she did just that and what she saw made her eyes grow wide in fear. She forced herself to ignore the pain in her chest and to quicken her movement.
"Shiala! They're-"
"I know!" interrupted the green asari maiden.
Finally, by the will of the goddess, a light appeared out the end of the tunnel. Judging by the burning sensation in her chest and the sting of her scuffed knee, Liara knew this was not the classic, light at the end of the tunnel, story associated with death but rather one of life. For once the two made it out of the cave, their odds of survival would increase dramatically.
The light grew closer but at the same time were the creatures chasing them.
Finally, like water bursting through a dam, the two passed the threshold of the cavern and into the light. But they did not stop running; they were not out of the woods yet.
"LICHEN!" Shiala yelled at the top of their lungs, alerting whatever personnel around to get the hell out of dodge, "get to the shed!"
Liara took another gaze upon the Lichen. Discovered back when it was just the Asari and Salarians occupying the citadel, the parasitic aliens were commonly mistaken for walking rocks. The creatures would hide in plain site, silently observing their prey. When a target would be selected they would give off a pungent pheromone to alert the rest of their hive. Although individually easy to kill, the fact that a hive of Lichen could number in the thousands would give anyone a moment of pause. The theory behind the Lichen appearing on a variety of diverse moons and planets was fairly similar to the Thresher Maws. Allegedly, they would laugh spores in the air, allowing the wind to carry them into the upper atmosphere. Those that broke the gravity well would travel until coming to a surface to thrive on. It seemed to be completely ridiculous and impossible, in Liara's opinion. The odds against something like that being successful were staggering. And yet, here they were. Nature had a way of defying the odds.
Liara, Shiala, and a couple Salarian scientists turned to their pre-fab settlement, just as a gruff turian stepped out with an assault rifle in his hands, blazing away on the horde.
The four ran past the turian, "Go, go, go!" he ordered, not ceasing to lay off the trigger. Now the area was ripe with Lichen screeching, the turian's rifle, the screaming of those unlucky enough to be behind the turian vigilante and the popping noise the Lichen made every time one would die.
Liara stopped at the entrance of the security trailer, a said excuse for a safe house in the event of a pirate or slaver attack since any determined enemy would break through easier than a hot knife through butter. She watched in horror as the Lichen swarmed the turian but soon switched to amazement as the turian's weapon overheated and he began using the weapon as a club. Liara remembered hearing that every turian had some sort of military training and were a highly disciplined race. There was a rumor that in battle you would never find a turian shot in the back. Whether that meant that they never lost or that it was concerning their martial discipline, she did not know. Whatever it meant it didn't account for shit when a swarm of Lichen were slowly eating you alive.
Liara slowly made her way from the pre-fab, Shiala standing at the door, her arm stretched out, begging Liara to come inside. But seeing an old turian stand his ground, sacrificing his life for people he didn't really know, made Liara angry. Almost as if her emotions manifest physically, a haze of blue biotic energy began to spiral around her. She stretched out her hand towards the horde and closed her eyes, uttering a short prayer to the goddess.
Her eyes snapped open and a wave of pure destruction flowed from her arm with the force of a level four hurricane. The first layer of the swarm was sent flying backwards. She let out another wave, and another, and another, drawing from every biotic nod and nerve ending in her body.
Just as her vision began to grow spotty, she felt someone join her side. In her peripheral vision, she saw Shiala standing next to her, arm set in a similar fashion as she too began to send pure biotic energy into the seemingly never ending wave of Lichen critters.
Finally, when it seemed as if the two could not continue any longer, the Lichen stopped advancing, preferring to stand just outside the two asari maiden's range, screeching in anger. Then, just as they appeared, they turned and scurried away.
Both asari rested their arms which had grown numb and needed a good massage, panting in exasperation.
"What…" was all Liara could utter.
"I guess even animals know not to stick their noses where it hurts," Shiala said with a bit of venom.
She looked over to Liara.
"So, how was your date?"
Author's Note:
Hello everyone and thank you for tuning in for another exciting chapter. Just a few things to point out…
Lichen are something actually mentioned in the game (ME1) when you visit the planet overrun by Rachni. The alliance soldier, after asking what happened, admits the worse they had to deal with before were Lichen, in a nonchalant manner. I assume, that it, whatever it is in cannon, would be not trouble for a group of well trained marines. But a group of scientists?
If anyone has a problem with my adaptation let me know or if you figured out what they actually are. If anyone had seen Apollo 18, the Lichen I have created are based in appearance to the creatures the astronauts find. If you haven't seen Apollo 18… spoiler alert! (a little late sorry)
To answer another question, no, this is not Mass Effect meets I am Legend although I am Legend (book not movie) and 28 days later have helped inspire me.
So if have any opinions or if you want to give me advice on how to make this better than feel free to let me know, even if this story is still in its infancy.
Tune in next time for Mass Effect Infection: Chapter Three!