Thrall

Shepard tore open the Mako's hatch, an orchestra of pained howls and shrieks close behind him. A terrified Lizbeth cowered in the corner of its interior, a wide-eyed terror on her face as the team climbed aboard and closed its hull. "Stations!" Shepard ordered as the team fumbled over one another and Lizbeth to attend to their duties.

The sound of flesh slamming against steel rocked the tank while the husks that followed impotently threw themselves against its armor. With a few keystrokes and inaudibly barked commands, the rover came to life—its screens now displaying the mutilated creatures that were attempting to overwhelm it. Williams guided the cannon back and forth, trying to shake one of the husks from its bulk as Tali engaged the tank's barriers. The husks sizzled and flinched at the shields when they made contact and Shepard gunned the Mako back out onto the skyway, sending several of the creatures flying and others beneath its tires.

"There's only three seats!" Lizbeth complained as she sat cramped on the metal plates between Tali and Shepard.

"Just hold on to something!" Shepard yelled as they sped away from the building, more husks giving pursuit to no avail. "And for the love of God, don't touch any buttons!"

Traversing the skyway, more platforms and armatures came into view on their way back toward ExoGeni. "Geth contacts ahead!" Williams said from the gunner's nest. "A whole lot of them, too!"

Tali chimed in from the rear of the tank. "The geth probably perceive us as a threat now. They'll—"

"Don't jinx it!" Shepard and Williams recited once more.

With the husks far behind them and the geth drawing ever closer at the fore, Shepard pushed the Mako as fast as it would go. "Tali, I want everything we've got in the shields. Cut everything but weapons if you have to."

"On it," Tali complied.

"Chief?" Shepard looked up toward the gunner's nest, a face of anticipation meeting his gaze. "Make a path."

"Roger that," Williams grinned, bringing the cannon into line with the bulk of the geth march.

Williams let loose a volley from the Mako's mass accelerator, the shot piercing the geth line and sending more than a few of the humanoid platforms flying in multiple pieces. The sound of the cannon rearming resonated through its hull. Another shot fired, and then another, each blast sending a few indicators on the chief's HUD blinking out of existence. The geth's fire ricocheted off of the tank's barriers as Shepard plowed the rover through their ranks. Its shields flickered as the quarian compensated, several shots impacting hard on its hull. A handful of the armatures attempted to hit the team with another EMP, but the commander managed to evade their shots and crush a few of the machines in the process. Before long, the battalion was in their rear view mirror, scattered and confused. They didn't give much chase, instead continuing their march toward ExoGeni. Tali's station read critical in several places and the tank would need some repairs with all the fire it took in such a brief period of time, but it was still moving.

"Choke on it!" Williams cheered, turning the cannon toward the rear and continuing her fire until the geth disappeared on the horizon. Shepard resigned himself to silent agreement with a smile.

Ms. Baynham was less enthused. "Who the hell are you people?" she asked from the floor of the rover.

"Not Colonial Affairs," Shepard jibed. "Mind explaining why people were trying to bust into my ship?"

"I told you!" Lizbeth insisted. "It's the Thorian! It can compel its thralls to its defense."

"You failed to mention it wanted a starship," Williams said.

Lizbeth nervously darted her eyes between the crew. "The colonists were never hostile before the geth arrived," she explained. "We were studying the spores, not the creature. Maybe it wanted to find a way off the planet after it knew it was in danger!"

"Well it sure as hell won't do that on my ship," Shepard shook his head, guiding the Mako now leisurely through the skyway. "How do we get it out of the colonists' heads?"

Lizbeth only grew more defensive at the request. "Why do you think I was trying to contact Colonial Affairs? I don't know!"

"Bringing more people here seems like a bad idea," Tali said. "We don't even know if we're infected, or the rest of the crew back at Zhu's Hope."

"They aren't," Shepard ended the quarian's speculation, albeit unconvincingly. "And if we were, I doubt I'd want to set it on fire."

Lizbeth nodded. "It takes days of exposure before the Thorian can exert control," she said. "But the more time you spend in the colony, the closer you'll get."

Shepard's radio buzzed with a static-plagued voice once more. "Commander, do you read?" the lieutenant's voice came through.

Shepard cut their conversation short with a wave of his hand, turning his attention to the radio. "This is Shepard. What the hell is going on?"

"The colonists ran us out, sir," Kaidan said. "We took a few hits, but nothing serious. I don't know what's gotten into them."

"We're en route from the ExoGeni building with a survivor," Shepard acknowledged. "What is your position?"

Kaidan's voice was strained and he sounded out of breath, but he answered dutifully. "We're on the move toward a position not far from the colony. Picked up a distress transmission not long after we left. ExoGeni survivors by the sounds of it—must've been jammed before you took down that ship. Transmitting the coordinates on a secure frequency."

"Got it," Shepard said. "We'll meet you there." True to his word, Kaidan's coordinates appeared on the Mako's unhindered telemetry shortly after he disconnected and the commander plotted a path through the skyway. He turned back to Tali with a smirk. "See?" he said. "They're fine."

"It sounds like they've been shot," Tali rebuked from her station.

"Everyone here has been shot," Williams added, scanning the horizon for any more trouble.

"That's fair," the quarian conceded.

###

Kaidan was leaning heavily against whatever handholds he could find as he and his team approached the distress coordinates. Garrus, Wrex and a handful of the ship's compliment took point, crossing off the skyway and into what must have been a prothean parking structure or pit-stop of some sort. They were led from and eventually beneath the skyway's catwalks into a solidly enclosed yet spacious hovel. A light orange flickering glow was visible from around the corner and they could hear sounds of dispute as they made their approach. Weapons at the ready, Garrus guided the team into the camp, its occupants startled at the sight of him and even more by the krogan at his side. The camp wasn't nearly as well-fortified or supplied as Zhu's Hope had been, some tents and tables scattered haphazardly and illuminated by a few floodlights and barrel fires. There were less than a dozen refugees here, bruised and covered in the dusts that churned throughout the world. Only one of them was armed, with a light pistol no less, and he brandished that pistol clumsily.

"Stop!" the armed man ordered as the team came fully into view. "Don't come any closer!" Garrus and the marines stayed at alert. Wrex stood casually, recognizing that the man's pistol wasn't nearly powerful enough to hinder a krogan.

Kaidan pushed his way to the front of the group, assisted by Dr. T'Soni. "It's okay," he said. "My name is Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, Alliance Navy. We aren't here to hurt you."

An older refugee stepped forward, dressed in a frayed labcoat. "Ethan, put down the gun!" she scolded the armed man.

"Don't tell them my name!" Ethan hissed. He clearly had no idea how to use the weapon he was handling, but the safety was off and the weight it put on his hand would indicate that it was loaded. "They've lied to us before!"

"Jesus, Ethan," the woman insisted, forcefully taking the barrel of the man's gun and pointing it toward the ground. She turned to the lieutenant, disheveled but otherwise more welcoming than her counterpart. "I'm sorry, lieutenant. Things have been crazy here. Mr. Jeong is just trying to be careful in his own way." She dropped the man's last name with an ounce of spite for his reluctance.

"We understand, Miss…" Kaidan led.

"Juliana Baynham," she introduced herself with an outstretched hand. Kaidan took her hand briefly, showing his wounds with a wince at the motion. "We worked in the ExoGeni building before the attack. We tried going to the port for help but they killed three of our people."

"We still work for ExoGeni," Ethan interjected. "And that building is still corporate property."

Juliana rolled her eyes. "Ignore him," she said. "Middle management." She pointed cautiously to the lieutenant's bleeding shoulder. "You're injured. Is there anything we can do?"

"Not for me, but a few of my people could use medical attention," Kaidan beckoned several of the marines forward. "Nothing too serious. Scrapes and burns. We can get by."

She waved several of the survivors forward. "We have some medical supplies left," she said. "Some of my people can tend to your wounded."

"My people!" Ethan insisted. "And those supplies are for them. I'm sure the Alliance has better accommodations aboard their ship." He didn't say so directly, but his tone doubted whether they were truly with the Alliance.

"Unless you're going to shoot me then shut up, Ethan!" Juliana ordered. How they survived this long was a mystery, but there weren't many of them left now. She drew closer to Kaidan while the wounded personnel were shown to their modest accommodations and the rest of the crew secured the hovel's entrance. "Lieutenant," she chose her words more carefully. "My daughter left our group a few days ago." Her eyes were tearing up, but she maintained a strong face throughout. "She was going back toward the tower. If she…"

"We've been through this!" Ethan interrupted. "There's no way she—"

Kaidan raised a hand before their dispute descended into fisticuffs. "Our commanding officer is coming here from the ExoGeni building as we speak," he said. "He said they have a survivor with them. That's all I know."

"A survivor?" Juliana's eyes lit up with hope.

"You people went to the headquarters?!" Ethan spoke, incensed. "That building is private property of the ExoGeni Corporation. Everything inside company property! I have the authority to—"

Kaidan raised his hand once more, eyeing the man's pistol in unison with the pair of turian eyes alerted by the shouting. Disarming a panicked man wasn't such an easy proposition without casualties. The time would come when Jeong had to be dealt with but, until then, escalating his panic would only get someone hurt. "We don't give a damn about your company secrets," the lieutenant said. "Calm down and take your friend's advice." He raised his rifle to readiness once more and slowly limped back toward the exit from the skyway. "We're going to take overwatch until they arrive. Keep your heads down and stay quiet."

The bleeding had stopped, but Kaidan was still acutely aware of his wounds as he handled his weapon. Liara's apologetics hadn't stopped, but the lieutenant figured she could be of more use in an active role than she had been simply begging pardon like a broken record. She was a better biotic than the lieutenant by miles and, despite the lack of training, she could handle a weapon pretty well in a pinch. The commander might have had choice words about giving her a weapon, but the commander wasn't there after things with the colonists went south. Kaidan didn't like the idea of putting a civilian in a frontline fight, but she was still alive and less shellshocked by the ordeal than he would have imagined. Garrus' snarking had also ceased since things started spiraling out of control, maybe calling on some of that famed turian discipline. Wrex, on the other hand, just seemed to be getting bored as they watched the road.

"He's trouble," Garrus said as the lieutenant took position by the door.

"He's not our problem," Kaidan said. "The commander gets here and we all go back to following orders."

Wrex spat on the ground, his posture characteristically brazen and blind to any defensible position. "What, don't like being in charge?" he said.

"Not when I can help it, big guy," the lieutenant faked a smile through the throbbing in his arm and his splitting headache.

Garrus nudged him with an elbow. "Well, we made the right call, for what it's worth," he said. "The right human call, anyway."

"What's that, 'don't kill civilians,' then?" Kaidan joked.

"'Retreat,'" Garrus returned in kind.

Kaidan chortled lightly through the discomfort. "Remind me why we brought you along again?"

Garrus chuckled. "My good looks and roguish charm."

"So not the jokes." Kaidan shook his head.

The skyway was quiet for a time. Juliana and Ethan argued incessantly, mostly regarding the former's daughter, and were only quieted down at the insistence of Wrex's considerable person. More time passed, more than it took the geth to adjust the last time, and not so much as a tumbleweed moved through the ancient streets. The colonists likely knew their position considering the survivors' transmission. The lieutenant's best guess would be they would be gearing up for their own siege after the geth had been taken care of once and for all. Until that point, the looming threats on both horizons ensured their mutual safety between two enemies. Eventually, the Mako rolled into view, exiting the skyway and gliding slowly down toward the camp. Seeing the squatters, Williams exited the tank first, followed by Tali and someone who looked to be a younger version of Juliana. Shepard exited last, locking the hatch and leaving the tank to its relative safety outside the hovel.

"Sir," Kaidan gave a half-hearted salute.

Shepard caught up to the rest of the rover's team, waving off the lieutenant's salute and stopping at the threshold of the camp. "Report," Shepard said bluntly.

Kaidan looked back toward the refugees, squinting slightly with the pressure in his skull. "We count nine ExoGeni survivors plus our compliment," he said. "We're just licking our wounds and waiting for the other shoe to drop."

Some of the refugees curiously approached the group, including their bickering leaders. Shepard took note of them. They were in no shape for a fight. "We've got a rough plan in place," he said. "Just need to secure the tools and get everyone in position."

Before the commander could explain any further, Juliana's voice echoed excitedly from behind them. "Lizbeth?" she called out, meeting eyes with the lab tech. "Lizbeth!" she shouted as they recognized run another, breaking from their lines and embracing one another at the threshold of the camp.

Lizbeth cried softly, relieved. "I'm sorry!" she said. "I shouldn't have gone."

The team noted as Ethan made his approach. "No, you shouldn't have!" he said coldly, pistol still in his grip.

Juliana didn't need to fend him off this time, the lieutenant stepping between their family and their aggressor. "Just back off, alright," he ordered. "You aren't helping anyone."

Shepard took place alongside the lieutenant, Tali and Williams joining them as well. "Why is he armed?" he asked quietly.

The man's hearing was better than his trigger discipline. "Why am I armed?!" he waved the gun erratically. "I was the only one here looking out for our interests!"

Lizbeth broke the embrace with her mother and turned an irate eye to the man. "Ours, or the company's?!" she shouted, setting the man aback. "They know what was going on!" she pointed to the commander and his cadre. "The spectres know what was going on!"

Ethan raised his weapon on the crew once more, wildly brandishing it between Kaidan and the commander. "You said you were Alliance!" he accused. The rest of the crew readied their own weapons in response. Wrex stood tall beside the commander while Williams quietly stepped to the side, getting an angle on the panicked man. "What the fuck are you here for?!"

Shepard held his hands out plaintively, content that the rest of his people had the weapons thing covered. "Calm down, friend," he pleaded. "You don't want to see where this is going."

"Fuck you!" Ethan declined, his hand shaking under the weight of the gun.

Sounds of trepidation came from the rest of the survivors as they retreated back into their camp. Juliana remained with her daughter, joining the commander's plea. "Ethan, please," she said. "They're going to kill you!"

"Shut up!" he waved his gun briefly toward his former coworker. The commander attempted an approach, but the man turned the gun back on him before he could make his move. "I don't want to hurt you, but I will!" he said. "We are not going to prison for this!"

"'We', or you?" Lizbeth prodded. She wasn't helping the situation as the man turned back and forth between his betters. "You're the only one left who saw the whole picture."

"Just shut up!" Ethan insisted. He was on a hair's trigger. He wouldn't get more than two shots off before he would be disarmed, and his weapon wasn't powerful enough to breach the team's shields. The real concerns were the civilians. The weapon might not have been military grade, but it was designed to kill quickly and brutally all the same. Why ExoGeni would equip their research stations with such armaments was questionable at best, but the company's shady disposition was clear by then.

"Remember our talk about plans?" Shepard muttered to the lieutenant.

Kaidan nodded. "Hope you've got a good one."

"Good is a strong word," the commander said. "Hey!" Shepard drew the man's attention, earning a view of the gun's barrel for his trouble. "That's right," he said. "Keep it on me, right here," he tapped at his chest. "I'm the spectre that's going to turn you in, not them."

"Like hell you are," the man growled through his teeth.

The commander took a step forward as Kaidan carefully guided Lizbeth and Juliana away from the scene, keeping an eye on the exchange all the while. "I'm going to send a report directly to the Citadel Council," Shepard threatened, ensuring the gun stayed trained directly on him while Williams continued her move toward the man's flank. "They're going to put you in a dark hole and they're going to forget you ever existed."

The man gave no response, breathing heavily through his grimace. Sweat dripped down his hand as Williams quietly positioned herself behind him. Shepard took another step forward, earning either a warning shot into the stone floor by his feet. The rest of the survivors jumped at the sound, but the crew was convinced to hold their fire at Shepard's gesture. He took another step forward and the man took a step back, inching closer and closer to the chief.

"Or maybe they'll just throw you to the batarians," Shepard persisted as he pushed forward. "Let them cut on you until they realize you aren't worth a damn to anyone."

The man stepped back. "I swear to God," he insisted. "One more step and I will kill you!"

Shepard stopped, crossing his arms and giving a wink to the chief. Before Ethan had a chance to react, the butt of William's rifle met the back of the man's neck with a dull thud, sending him tumbling onto the stone. Shepard moved quickly to kick the weapon from his hand as Williams put a boot firmly on the man's back and tied his hands. The commander checked for a pulse to find panicked but present signs of life. He'd have one hell of a headache when he woke up, that much was certain. Once he had been properly restrained, the two dragged the man to the corner and laid him against a wall, ensuring there was nothing he could latch his trembling hands onto before they left him to his slumber.

"Psycho," Shepard said dismissively. "Thanks for the help," he turned to Williams with a lopsided smirk. "Didn't know if you'd catch on to the plan."

"Plan?" Williams retorted. "I just wanted to shut him up."

The commander returned to the refugees with open arms, head held tall. "Ladies and gentlemen, I am Commander Shepard," he said in his best showman voice. "And we're going to be saving your lives today."

###

Shepard crouched on the skyway overlooking Zhu's Hope, Garrus and Liara at his side. The colonists were spread thin again without the crew's assistance. Most of their militia was concentrated on the geth front with Fai Dan, Arcelia and a handful of sentries guarding the central building beneath their crane. They had been especially twitchy every time someone ventured too close to that building and the commander's money was on their mind-controlling tree being somewhere below. There had to have been a passageway somewhere beneath, else there would be no point in covering it up with the pre-fabs, and he was hoping they left some way of getting in discretely. There were numerous catwalks and alleyways leading around the colony—too narrow for a significant force to march through, but enough for a small team to reach the heart of the port undetected. Normandy had taken telemetry of the area and had revealed another longer path back toward the main docks, which the bulk of the stranded crew and refugees took. They would never get to the colony through the front door without casualties on either side, but opening up a second front from the direction of the docks could distract their forces long enough to get inside.

"What's the word?" the commander spoke into his wrist.

Pressly's voice came through the radio, much clearer than it had been in the wake of the jammer's destruction. "They're throwing everything they have left at Zhu's Hope. Looks like they're making a suicide-run."

"Think they'll break the line?" the commander asked, concerned.

"Eventually," Pressly answered. "And they probably will once we open the second front."

Shepard sighed. Colonial casualties weren't an option in his book, but the geth would have other ideas once things were in motion. "As soon as we're inside, I want you to lay down as much fire on the geth line as you can."

"Excuse me?!" Liara's joined the discourse. "I thought we talked about destroying any more relics!"

Shepard shook his head and rolled his eyes. He spoke deadpan. "It's that or a whole lot of innocent people die, doctor," he said. "Take your pick." She didn't respond.

"We'll get things underway on this end," Pressly confirmed. "Normandy, out."

The geth forces were visible now, approaching from further up the skyway. Pressly hadn't exaggerated. They had a significant presence left even without their ship, but not enough for a sustained siege. They were going to throw themselves at the colony until none were left standing—a fact that Tali had confirmed with her recently discovered data. There wouldn't be another retreat. The commander and company moved quietly into the catwalks around the colony, waiting for the action to start. Liara was nervous, but she had steeled herself well. Garrus surveyed the situation calmly through the scope of his rifle. An assortment of makeshift tools lined their belts, flammable concoctions scraped together from whatever supplies the refugees had left to take. They would move at the sight of the flare. Everyone else had orders to go radio-silent after visual contact with the geth had been made, and they were well within view now as they charged Zhu's Hope with no regard for their own synthetic lives.

"You two ready?" Shepard turned to his cadre.

Garrus nodded. "As ever," he said.

Liara nodded in unison, but she seemed more apprehensive than the turian. "Let's just get this over with," she said.

Shepard agreed. "I want barriers the second they spot us," he pointed a thumb to the asari, "if they spot us." He tapped the stock of Garrus' rifle for emphasis. "And if they do, I want suppressing fire only," he said. "No casualties." Garrus complied silently but wholeheartedly.

The geth's fire echoed throughout the area as they finally began their assault. The colonists defended their home admirably from what the team could see. Their precision and coordination made a sick sort of sense now, their strings being pulled by an alien puppeteer. It only served to make the pantomimes of normalcy they'd displayed early all the more unsettling. The geth fell left and right, but a horde of humanoids, husks and armatures followed in the wake of the fallen as their limp forms crumpled at the foot of the colony's fortifications. Shepard intently watched the horizon toward the docks on the colony's undefended flank. Normandy had reported its would-be hijackers had returned to the main settlement following the ship's departure, but Shepard could only hope the crew's compliment could slip by unnoticed.

As if summoned by his hopes, Shepard witnessed a single red flare rocketing into the sky as it had done when they arrived. Before his heart could give another beat, the ground shook as a volley from the Mako ripped through the colony's flank. Wrex stood atop the tank boisterously, firing his shotgun wildly into the air and shouting for attention. The Normandy's marines took place and fired intentionally off-center, enough to draw the colonists' ire, as the distraction team made as much noise and ruckus as they could muster. The colonists scrambled, and those guarding the central building scattered to secure the second front. The geth paid no mind to the interruption, failing to react in any way, but the colonists seemed to lose their calculated composure while they desperately repositioned themselves.

"Now!" Shepard said.

The trio bolted through the catwalks and into the colony, Shepard at last managing to keep pace with the turian. They entered Zhu's Hope quietly, obscuring themselves from view by crossing any cover they could find. The colony had deteriorated significantly since their last visit. Its infrastructure had been completely repurposed, water-lines shut down, homes cannibalized for scrap metal and munitions stockpiles barren. The team breached the heart of the colony unnoticed and approached the central square, its last remaining building standing as a testament to what lay below. It had once been secure but, with the wild fire from the geth and Normandy teams coupled with the loss of power, its security measures were trumped by simple turian claws at its doorframe. Garrus forcefully pulled the door open, revealing an ancient prothean chasm with a crumbling stairwell leading below the pre-fab's torn floor.

Fai Dan rounded the corner painfully, his movements deliberate and forced and a pistol in his hand. Seeing his approach, the team steeled themselves at the edge of the chasm. The bureaucrat didn't have his attack dogs at his disposal anymore, but one pointed shout would surely call them. Shepard stood his ground with his team, attempting to ward off his encroaching gait by brandishing his rifle. The man did not stop, pistol at his side and joints locked as he moved.

"It wants me to kill you," Fai Dan grimaced through his teeth, "to defend our home."

"We can end this!" Shepard said.

The man's strings were being pulled against his volition, pistol raising slowly but aimed at nothing in particular. There was a dedication in his eyes as he fought the whims of the behemoth below. "I won't do it," he growled, struggling to place the barrel against his temple. "I won't!"

Shepard could only reach out impotently as Fai Dan pulled the trigger, his body falling lifelessly to the dusty stone. Lizbeth hadn't elaborated in any significant detail how this supposed mind-control worked, but the commander's suspicions had been correct. There would have been something left to save. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything left of Fai Dan beyond a corpse and whatever memory the colonists could keep of him. But that would only happen if the rest could be saved. The commander looked back into the chasm and wordlessly led his team down into the decrepit maw beneath the colony.

The sounds of gunfire and strife grew muffled as the trio pushed further into the underbelly of the world. As they proceeded, they could see fleshy tendrils and nodules along the walls at an increasing frequency. Some of the nodules, translucent and bloated, could be seen to contain bodies—recognizable colonial garb in a few and other, more strikingly and unrecognizably alien remains in others. A few bodies had been dumped down here, likely of colonists that had resisted the lure of the spores. Slow growths were forming around them, set to consume them over time as had been done to the others. The place was a nightmare, pulsing, breathing, and shuddering slightly with each blast above.

They entered an open chamber like an artificial ravine, a mix of terror and awe at what they found. The tendrils all led to a central point—a fleshy, swaying mass of glistening tissue looming above the pits below, suspended by thick and horizontal roots. More tendrils spewed out of what would have been analogous to a head in an anthropocentric view and it hovered large, pressed through the stone ruins in its slow and steady growth. It shook and growled at their intrusion with all its tendrils and nodules quivering throughout the underworld.

Shepard looked above with a raised brow as he realized hedge clippers wouldn't exactly do the job. "That's not a tree," he muttered at the sight of the creature.

"Goddess," Liara said with an ominous reverence. "I guess we know why the protheans left."

The Thorian shook and spat violently, and pair of feet descending from its 'head,' curtained by smaller growths and tentacles. Another asari form dropped heavily to the ground, drenched in the creature's sputum and sheathed in a quality armor that looks to have been only slightly digested. The asari rose to her feet with a dead stare, her skin a sickly green and the tattoos on her face warped. Her eyes were sunken and expressionless, but she yet stood effortlessly as she stepped forward from the creature. She observed the team with senses the creature must've lacked, surveying their weapons and physique, analyzing their threat.

"Invaders," the asari accused unblinkingly. "Your every step is a transgression. A thousand feelers appraise you as meat, good only to dig or decompose."

Shepard returned her stare defensively, his team carefully spacing themselves out around the chamber. "Who are you?" he asked.

The asari's head snapped in the commander's direction, locking eyes on him. "I speak for the old growth, as I did for Saren," she answered, subservient to the creature. "You speak for the flesh. Your words are worth even less trust than those of the steel."

"What are you talking about?" the commander questioned, still unsure of who precisely he was speaking to. "What did Saren want from you?" He kept his distance.

"The old growth has been deceived before!" she continued. "The old ones let the growth be. The new ones offered promises of cooperation. They return with fire because of you! They are liars and betrayers!" Her deadpan voice turned spiteful, the creature shuddering with each syllable. "As your corpses rot, the old growth will outlast your treachery!"

"Enough of this crap," Shepard said as he raised his rifle, hopefully for the last time on this god-forsaken world. "Release the colonists, let us all leave, and nobody has to die," he commanded. He didn't intend to extend a second offer.

"The old growth will not make the mistake of trust again!" the asari refused.

Shepard turned his attention away from the thrall and back toward the Thorian. Taking a makeshift grenade from his belt, he shouted to his fellows who had positioned themselves around the creature's hanging throne. "Light it up!" he said, throwing the grenade against the bulk of the behemoth. The device shattered against its hardened dermis, catching ablaze with a spark. Liara and Garrus threw their own, engulfing the creature in flames as it let loose and alien scream in unison with the thrall. It shook as it burned and the others threw more fuel onto the fire.

Wordlessly, the thrall threw Shepard back with a pulse of biotic power. She had retained the innate abilities of the asari, judging by how hard the commander hit the back wall, but she would have someone else to contend with. Liara matched her offense before the commander could be dealt any more damage, drawing the thralls attention. Out of grenades, Garrus fired in quick successions into the Thorian's roots, sending chunks of its hardened flesh and sputum flying with each burst. Shepard joined the fire as he stood, eventually sending one of the tendrils writhing away from its anchor and back to its master. The creature fell slightly, grasping with its other roots to compensate, while Garrus continued cutting through its supports.

The thrall attempted to charge Dr. T'Soni, but Shepard clothes-lined her mid-sprint and put a great deal of effort into restraining her. It took the both of them to keep her on the ground as she attempted to biotically push herself back on her feet. With a third root cut, the creature heaved and swung into the wall, the its last roots creaking and tearing under the weight of the monstrosity. When the last of its anchors snapped, it fell, consumed in fire, down into the chasm below. If there was anything left of the geth cruiser, it would have its quarry when the Thorian's bulk finally hit bottom. The thrall struggled and cried out at the creature's demise, as though her true love had been murdered. When the creature far gone from view, she calmed and sobbed into the stone. The remainder of the creature's tendrils shriveled and receded away from the chamber.

Shepard tied her hands much the same as Mr. Jeong, for whatever good that would do against a biotic, and sat her up at gunpoint. She was unresponsive and uninterested in any further conflict. "You think it's dead?" he asked.

"As close to dead as we can make it," Garrus shrugged. "What about her?"

Shepard looked at the thrall, now pitiable in her dismay. She'd mentioned Saren and she seemed to have a sense of what was going on. They needed answers. "Keep an eye on her," he ordered the turian. "Give her some time." The muted sounds of conflict above had receded the moment the creature fell. Judging by the earlier blasts, Normandy had mopped up what remained of the geth force. The only question that remained was the colony. The commander stepped away from the thrall and toward the tunnel leading to the surface, Liara in tow. She seemed perturbed by what had happened, but at least she looked to him without blame in her eyes.

"What happened to her?" she mused in his direction, fearful of whatever skeletons Saren still had in his closet.

"That's what I plan on finding out," Shepard said. He placed a hand on her shoulder, a far cry from how he'd been when they arrived on this feral world. "Thanks for watching my back, doctor."

Liara shrugged. "Well, I guess I volunteered," she said. "I'm starting to regret that." She stood quietly for a moment, as if she wanted to say something. She received a curious look, urging her to come out with it. "I recognize her," she said. "She's wizened and, well, green, but I know her."

Shepard looked serious at the statement. "From where?"

Liara bowed her head. "She's one of Benezia's personal guard," she said, "and one of her oldest friends."

"Does she recognize you?" Shepard asked.

Liara was unsure. "I don't think so," she answered. "I was a lot younger the last time we met, when my mother left."

The commander tried to sound understanding, but pried further. "Any idea as to why she would leave her best friend to that thing?"

Liara didn't make eye contact, shrugging as she looked over to the woman weeping in the chamber. "I don't know, commander."

Realizing it was hardly the time, the commander left her to her thoughts, bringing up his radio and breaking the silence. "This is Shepard," he said. "Report."

Pressly's voice came over the comm. first. "The geth have been routed, sir, and Normandy is in the clear."

Joker's voice followed. "Thanks to yours truly, of course," he said. "Hey, just throwing it out there, but maybe we should change the locks. You know, just in case a bunch of zombies try to steal the ship again."

Shepard rolled his eyes, unamused. "Joker, get off the net."

"Aye aye," he complied.

Kaidan's voice rang through next, the sounds of shuffling feet in the background but, thankfully, no gunfire. "The colonists are laying down arms, commander," he confirmed. "They're a little worse for wear and a few of them are crying like we just ran over their dog, but they're in one piece."

"Copy," Shepard acknowledged. "Do a full sweep and head-count. I want that place locked down before we bring Normandy back ashore."

"Wilco," Kaidan complied.

Shepard returned to the thrall, who had calmed down considerably and was now giving a look of complete confusion—as though she didn't even remember what she was crying about in the first place. Garrus gave them some space as the commander knelt down, meeting her now animated gaze. "What is your name?" he started slow.

She stuttered slightly, like she'd forgotten the sounds, looking between her captors. "Shiala," she finally answered curtly. There was fear in her voice, either of the team or of the creature whose remains still littered the chamber. "My name is Shiala."

"Do you work for Saren?" he continued.

"I…" she started, before resigning to an affirmative and shameful nod. "He left me here."

"Why?" Shepard pressed.

A remorseful, stigmatic expression crossed her face. "It was a trade," she said. "I translated for the Thorian, gave Saren what it knew, and it kept me in its thrall."

"Saren would do that to his own people?" Liara muttered from behind.

Shiala shook her head. "I volunteered," she said.

Dr. T'Soni was in disbelief at the notion. "Why would you do that?" she derailed the interrogation. "What would possess you to do such a thing to yourself?" Her voice was accusatory in its tone.

"You don't understand," Shiala grumbled before looking back to the commander. "It's his ship—the Sovereign," she explained. "You think he's a madman when you hear him out in the real world, but once you're aboard that ship…" She trailed off, trying to find the right phrases. "It's like every word he utters is a revelation of truth."

Shepard arched his brow, looking around at the Thorian's dismembered tendrils. "Something to do with these spores, I assume?" he guessed.

Shiala shook her head. "Just what we convinced ExoGeni to take interest in. We weren't here for them. That thing was nothing compared to the Sovereign," she denied. Her use of the past-tense was comforting, considering the ambiguity surrounding the creature's status. "When it was controlling me, it was by sheer will. But the Sovereign coerces you, makes you think differently, makes you want to do anything Saren tells you."

"If not the spores, then what?" Shepard insisted. "What did he come here for?"

Shiala seemed unsure of her own loyalties between three parties all vying for her compliance. She hedged her bets on the commander, for the time being. "The Thorian is old," she said, present-tense. "Older than the protheans. Older than whatever came before the protheans. And it remembers."

"So you translated its 'memories,' then?" Garrus interjected, earning a nod from the woman.

"What do you mean, you 'translated' them?" Shepard asked.

Liara stepped forward. "The Asari are an empathic species," she explained. "Through surface nervous contact we can 'read' others, even other species. It's essentially a connection between two minds." The commander seemed unconvinced, but she continued. "It requires a strong understanding of the partner to discern any of their thoughts clearly, and an even more comprehensive bond if you want anything specific." She looked down to the liberated thrall. "But I'm guessing with the spores, you already had that."

Shiala nodded surreptitiously once more. "We—" she stopped. "He needed a way to understand the protheans. Language, culture, mathematics, cartography, all things the galaxy still doesn't fully grasp." The commander gave a look to the archeologist, who reluctantly corroborated the woman's claims. "He needed a cipher to understand the message in the beacon. The Thorian was here during the protheans' rule. It consumed their people, subjugated their minds. It understood them. I gave the cipher to Benezia."

"And she passed this cipher on to Saren," Shepard finished the statement, to which Shiala silently attested. He scratched his chin in contemplation, or maybe just trying to talk himself out of any more bad ideas. He'd seen the message too, but it was still just flashes of broken sounds and images that pervaded his nightmares. One thing was for certain: Saren had more figured out than he did, and they just killed one of their only leads. He sighed heavily, failing to convince himself otherwise. "Do you still have this cipher? Can you still communicate it?"

Shiala looked at him suspiciously, much the same as Liara and Garrus soon looked to him when they realized what he was asking. "I do," she answered cautiously. "I don't know how well I can communicate it, but—"

"Give it to me," Shepard cut her off.

"What?!" Liara protested. "You cannot possibly be serious."

Garrus furrowed his plated brow. "Yeah, this has 'bad idea' written all over it in twelve different languages."

"If Saren needs it, so do we," Shepard argued. Looking back to Shiala, he gave her a more understanding look. "You know what he's done as well as I do. You know he has to be stopped," he said. "Can you try?"

The liberated thrall sat speechless for a moment, contemplating her own survival and perhaps striking a deal. But she'd been Saren's victim already, and she'd spoken the truth about his methods. Alive or dead at the end of the day, she knew he needed to be stopped far better than the commander even grasped. "I can," she agreed. "I don't know how much of it you'll understand, but I can try."

"Do it," Shepard ordered. Shiala acquiesced, gently placing her fingers across the commander's temples, thumbs on his forehead. He tensed at the touch, but so far she hadn't tried anything hostile. She took a deep breath and told him to relax, closing her eyes and telling him to close his. He complied and silence enveloped the chamber. He waited for what seemed to be an eternity before growing impatient, cracking his eyes open and ready to give up on the entire idea. He soon wished he hadn't.

He could see the vision vividly again. Old words, now screaming with significance, flashed through his mind. He could see flesh entwined by circuitry and steel, rows of teeth gnashing through an entire civilization. He didn't have the words to describe the rest—strange amalgams that made the Thorian seem mundane by comparison. He could see the faces of an empire's denizens falling amidst fires and debris, one by one—the extinction of an entire people, completely alien to him but strangely familiar. He heard the Thorian's greatest fear, howling from the void of space. He could feel the blood running from his nose, but his mind was trapped in the vision's embrace. A world came into view across an orange sky, a single moon in its orbit. The image tasted bittersweet. One word raised itself above all the others: Reaper.

Shepard fell back, pushing himself away from Shiala as she released his mind, a solid look of fearful reverence claiming his expression. Liara pulled the woman further away as Garrus rushed to the commander's aid. He wiped the blood from his nose and waved the turian off. It would be a long time before he felt okay again, but he wasn't dead and he got exactly what he'd asked for. Shiala looked to him with knowing eyes as he surveyed the room. Ancient glyphs and runes carved into the ruins now looked familiar, if still illegible.

"It may take some time," Shiala said as Liara released her grasp. "I know I didn't understand it at first."

Shepard heaved, half-ready to vomit onto the stone. He replied through heavy breaths. "You do now?"

"Some," she said. "And so do you."

"The Reapers," Shepard answered her unspoken question.

"We need to get you to sickbay," Garrus interrupted, pulling the commander to his feet and keeping him steady with an arm across his shoulder. "Spirits know what the hell she just did to you."

"It's fine, Garrus," the commander assured him. "She kept her word."

"He's right, commander," Liara said. "We should get you back to the ship." Though he was prepared to argue, Shepard caved. His knees weak, Garrus helped him stand as they readied themselves to return to the surface.

"And what of me?" Shiala begged. "Do you kill me now?"

Shepard gave a gesture of ignorance, unrecognizable to the asari. "That depends, I guess," he said. "What will you do if I don't?"

Shiala hadn't actually considered it. She thought for a moment, weighing her options and observing the carnage of the chasm, bodies of resistant colonists visible at its entrance. "Bury the dead," she answered, "for what we did."

"Well, I'm sure the colonists could use a hand," Shepard groaned. "But I'm not going to be the one to make that call." He pointed a thumb toward Dr. T'Soni, setting her aback as much as Shiala. "When we get up to the surface—and back to the rest of my people—I think my associate would like to ask you some questions," he said. "She can shoot you or let you go if she wants. I'm done with this pissant world."

At that, Shepard and Garrus left toward the surface. Liara shook herself back to her senses and guided the restrained Shiala close behind them, weapon in-hand for safety's sake. For her part, Shiala complied wholeheartedly. The doctor wasn't sure if that meant she regretted what she'd been involved with or if she simply didn't care anymore. There likely wouldn't be any satisfactory answers to be gained from her, but it was a chance at finding out just what kind of nightmare Benezia had become involved with. Liara wasn't sure which road she would take, but as her pity for Shiala grew, so did her anger at Benezia.

###

"I'm fine, doc," Shepard insisted, slapping the light from his eyes.

"You are not 'fine,' commander," Dr. Chakwas scolded. "This is the second time you've been in my infirmary after some mind-control nonsense." She punctuated her words unsympathetically. "Sit. Still."

"We weren't on the planet long enough for the Thorian to take control," he continued, though complying with her request for stillness for fear she would get the syringe. "And aside from the headache, I'm no crazier than before I had the vision." The doctor was not buying it, testing the dilation of his pupils for the third time and nearly blinding him in the process. "I've got to report to the Council, I've got to call Admiral Hackett and I've been in my suit all day, if you catch my meaning."

Chakwas glared at him through the ophthalmoscope. "If you don't stop complaining, I will catheterize you." Shepard held his arms up in surrender.

Kaidan leaned over from one of the beds, wounded bandaged and head swimming in painkillers. "I mean, how desperate is it, sir?"

"Not that desperate," Shepard chuckled. His jovial mood was quickly displaced as he saw another man in the bed behind the lieutenant's, lying motionless and face obscured by the privacy curtain. "Who is that?" he asked ruefully.

Chakwas leaned over her shoulder momentarily before resuming her examination. "Corporal Jenkins," she answered. "Someone thought it would be funny to dismantle his barrier generator for spare parts."

Shepard swallowed hard. "I wasn't informed of any other crew casualties," he said, holding his breath as he awaited an answer.

Chakwas let him sweat for a moment—yet another reminder that she would not be trifled with. "There weren't," she answered. "He didn't take a scratch. When he got back aboard Normandy, however, and realized his barriers had been broken the entire time, he fainted."

"Jesus Christ," Shepard exhaled in relief. "You almost gave me a heart attack, doctor."

Chakwas grinned vindictively. "Short of that, to my great dismay, I can find nothing wrong with you," she said. "Physically, anyway." She finally let the commander stand, relatively clean bill of health intact. "However, I am going to restrict your duties until we reach Noveria," she ordered. "Get some rest, commander. That's an order."

Shepard put an arm back through his jacket and redressed himself quickly. "Sorry, who's in charge of this ship again?" he joked.

Chakwas shook her head. "For all intents and purposes, Navigator Pressly," she gave back. "Lieutenant Alenko should be fit for duty again by the time we arrive, but I would advise against any heavy lifting for a few weeks at least."

"Ouch," Shepard waved to the lieutenant still lying in bed as he made a B-line for the door. "Sorry, buddy," he said as he abandoned his comrade to whatever sinister machinations Dr. Chakwas had in store for him.

Kaidan waved lazily, the other hand over his eyes. "Nice knowing you, sir."

Shepard left as quickly as he could and started climbing the stairs up toward the CIC. He wasn't sure what Liara and Shiala had talked about, but they were both still alive when the Normandy departed. They didn't stay for the funerals but, last they saw of Shiala, she was dragging bodies from the underbelly of the colony back to the surface. She did so alone. They had spoken briefly to the Baynhams before they departed and, by the sounds of it, the ExoGeni refugees planned to stay and help the reconstruction of Zhu's Hope. With the geth force obliterated and Alliance aid on the way (including a prisoner transport chartered for one Ethan Jeong), the colony might just pull through. Arcelia didn't speak a word and the rest of the colonists had little thanks to give with all things considered. They cremated Fai Dan's body shortly after they were given way to run the colony again.

Shepard crossed the CIC and into the briefing room, the door sliding open to admit him and revealing the rest of the ground team in addition to Navigator Pressly. Their eyes turned awkwardly in the commander's direction, concerned they had stepped on his authority by proceeding without him. To be entirely fair, Chakwas had instructed them to proceed with the debriefing in the commander's absence, but it was hardly the commander's choice. Awkward coughs filled the silence before Pressly spoke.

"Commander," the navigator greeted. "We were just wrapping up the debrief."

"Oh, don't mind me," Shepard crossed his arms and leaned against the bulkhead. "Do your thing."

Pressly sighed and turned back to the rest of the team. He stared blankly for a moment before standing. "On second thought, we were done," he said. "Dismissed."

The rest of the team remained seated, craning their heads in Shepard's direction for approval. "You heard the man," he said. They stood and shuffled out of the room, Wrex having his usual troubles fitting through the doorway and halting traffic before he finally managed to squeeze through. They didn't say much on the way out. A few of the marines expressed their get-wells, earning themselves a death stare as they left.

"Chakwas said you're on restricted duty," Pressly said plaintively. "Just so you know: if you've got any notion of mutiny, I'm behind you."

"It's fine, Chuck," Shepard alleviated the older man. "Anything I need to know?"

Pressly shrugged. "They weren't too happy about doing a debrief without you," he answered. "Didn't really get much out of them. They're all glad things didn't get as ugly down there as they could have, but I don't think Wrex was satisfied with the amount of bloodshed."

"Figures," Shepard rolled his eyes.

"For what it's worth, you made all of us up here proud, commander," he said. "Things could have gotten nasty in Zhu's Hope real quick. We're glad they didn't."

"Thank Kaidan," Shepard deflected. "He made the call when they turned."

"Still," Pressly snapped a salute before he departed. "We did a good thing today, commander."

"Damn straight," Shepard said as he saw the navigator out.

Alone, Shepard gave himself another moment, wincing at the new crick in his back. Get shot point-blank: check. Get thrown into a brick wall: check. Get mind-probed twice: check. He dreaded whatever injury their next destination would deliver. He twisted his torso, eliciting several loud pops from his spine—a decision he instantly regretted. After a few more moments of maskless grimacing, he approached the comm terminal and tapped at it until the its holographic projectors sprang to life, awaiting a connection. He tapped his wrist and beckoned the pilot.

"Joker," he called.

After a few moments, the pilot's voice came through the line. "What can I do for you, commander?" It sounded as though he was eating at his station, something for which he'd been reprimanded multiple times. Shepard didn't have the patience to address at the moment.

Pinching his fingers across the bridge of his nose, Shepard spoke. "I need a connection to the Council," he said. "Patch me through."

Joker complied, the projector's standby replaced by the interstellar equivalent of being put on hold. "Have fun," he said before closing his line.

The commander leaned heavily on the rail overlooking the projectors, waiting impatiently for the connection to go through. The Council certainly took its time, but he could hardly complain. It was difficult enough to get Udina to commit to being in one place at any given time, let alone three incredulous councilors. After a good period of time passed, the images of the councilors finally blinked into view one at a time, Sparatus being the last.

"Commander," Tevos greeted. "We've heard troubling news from Feros."

"We just departed, councilor," Shepard nodded. "The full brief should be on your desks soon."

"We've heard reports that you found some kind of life form down there," Sparatus added, "and then killed it."

"That was going to be in the full report," Shepard said, "but the Thorian had enslaved the entire colony. The ExoGeni corporation had orchestrated some kind of experiment at Saren's behest. We had no choice but to kill it in order to free the colonists."

"Of course you had no choice but to save a human colony," Sparatus accused. "I wonder if you would have done the same for any other."

"I would have," Shepard answered pointedly.

Valern cut the diatribe short before it could descend any further. "We're just concerned about the implications of eradicating a newly discovered species, commander," he said. "For all we know, that was the last of its kind. Whatever could have been learned from it was lost."

"One of Matriach Benezia's personal guard had been enthralled by the Thorian," Shepard added. "I was able to glean some information from her on Saren's motives through that—" he stuttered, waving casually toward Tevos, "uh, asari thing."

Tevos stared in anticipation. "And?" she asked. "What did you discover?"

"He's been trying to decipher the message we both received from the Beacon on Eden Prime," the commander explained. "It's still fuzzy, but I know it involved the protheans' extinction—I'm guessing at the hands of these Reapers that Benezia mentioned in the recording."

"More about this vision?" Sparatus scoffed. "You granted one of Benezia's people access to your mind. Have you considered the possibility that Saren is playing you, commander?"

"It's the truth," Shepard argued. "And it's still the same vision I saw on Eden Prime."

Tevos raised a hand, silencing the debate in Valern's stead. "Whatever Saren's motives may be is immaterial at this juncture," she said. "Have you found any indication as to his whereabouts?"

Shepard nodded. "One of my people managed to scrape the geth network for data," he said. "We still don't know where Saren is, but we've made a connection between Benezia and Saren's holdings on Noveria. We're in transit as we speak."

"This is good, commander" Tevos reassured. "Follow this trail carefully, and do not concern yourself with Saren's motives. Even if these 'Reapers' are a genuine threat, they will be stopped at Saren's apprehension all the same."

"Understood, Councilor," Shepard acknowledged.

Sparatus crossed his arms as the other councilors signed off. "And try not to wipe out any more species this time, yes?" He gave the commander no chance to respond before abruptly cutting the connection.

Shepard groaned at the aches in his chest and back, stretching once more as he stepped away from the terminal. "Asshole," he grumbled.