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Chapter 9: Feros

Year: 2183CE

Location: Feros ExoGeni Bunker

One thing Shepard hated more than anything else was being threatened, especially by an idiot who dared to point a gun at her face.

"Stay back!" yelled Ethan Jeong, the representative of ExoGeni.

Shepard reached for her pistol and aimed it squarely at his brain. After fighting through a building full of Geth, Shepard was in no mood for any unneeded threats. As much as she was tempted to pull the trigger and be on her way to deal with a much bigger problem, namely a mind-controlling plant, she wouldn't allow herself to do that.

Blue eyes narrowed, gauging the situation quickly and quietly. There were four security guards, two on each side. Ashley pointed her rifle at the two of them nearby who wisely lowered all their weapons. Tali and Wrex's shotguns convinced the other two guards to stand down just as effectively. Kaidan and Garrus both had their weapons aimed at Jeong.

Shepard liked the odds and decided to let the situation play out.

"Why are you doing this, Jeong?"

"You found out our secret, didn't you?"

"The Thorian."

"It's over... It's all over!"

"It's not over until you pull the trigger. Put your gun down," said Shepard calmly.

"You're not supposed to come back!" Jeong said. "I guess it's too much to hope that the Geth in the headquarters would kill you. I know who you are. I did a background check on you while you were gone. You're that damn hero in the Skyllian Blitz."

Shepard paused for a second to consider her options. As much as she would usually avoid the attention she got from the Blitz, there were times when her reputation was quite useful in demoralizing her enemy. Why not played the cards she had dealt with to her best advantage?

"So you ran a background check on me? Then you should know I am capable of," said Shepard. "Wave after wave of batarian slavers attacking me for three days. But here I am, still alive. And now, there's only you against all of us. What do you think the outcome will be?"

There was an obvious flicker of doubt appeared on his face. "I... I've read all about you, Shepard. You're the hero type. You won't kill civilians!"

"You have been upgraded from being a civilian to a threat the moment you pointed your gun at me. Congratulations." Shepard made a show to adjust her aim. "I'll let you choose, do you want a bullet between your eyes, or one through your lung? One would kill you instantly, the other would have you choke on your own blood until you die. So where do you want it, Jeong? I don't miss."

"Come on, Shepard, just shoot already," said Wrex. "You can't be threatened by this pyjak. You have a reputation to keep."

"He's right," Shepard said to Jeong.

"I say give him a slow, painful death, Commander," Garrus suggested.

"I like the sound of that." Shepard smirked as she stared down the barrel of the gun pointing at her, so casually almost like the weapon was nothing but a toy. "Should I listen to him?"

Shepard watched as his face turned sickly green, his gun hand shaking vigorously. Panic struck in his eyes as he reconsidered his situation.

"Are you afraid?" asked Shepard. "This is probably the first time you have a gun pointing at your face. Welcome to my life, Jeong. Tell you what, we'll even the odds here. Just you and me. Lower your weapon, Lieutenant," she ordered then gave Kaidan a meaningful glance, "you don't need that."

Much to her relief, Kaidan caught on immediately. She recognized that familiar faint glow of blue pulsing from his hand right after he holstered his gun. "You too, Garrus."

Kaidan gave Garrus a nod when the two men exchanged a look. Garrus lowered his sniper rifle, but Shepard noticed the tip of the rifle barrel was pointing at Jeong's knee ever so subtly.

"Now it's just you and me. Lower your weapon now or I'll shoot. Make up your mind, I don't have all day. You have five seconds to decide or I'll make the decision for you. Five..." Shepard started taking sidesteps as she counted, allowing Kaidan to have a direct view of Jeong. "Four..."

"Three..."

The gun pointed at her face had started to lower in his shaky grip.

"Kaidan, now!"

Jeong was momentarily distracted by the confusion. Before he could even properly aim again, a sudden biotic force threw him across the room and slammed him against the wall.

Shepard turned to her lieutenant, beaming with pride. "Nicely done, Lieutenant. Glad you didn't kill him with your mind."

"If you wanted him dead, he'd be dead by now."

Her eyebrow raised with a smile remained. "Since when have you known me so well?"

There was a hint of satisfaction flashed across his face briefly. "How come I've a feeling you enjoyed threatening him?"

She gave him her most innocent look. "Me?"

Wrex kicked the pistol away and lifted up the ExoGeni representative by his collar. "What do you want to do with him, Commander?"

"The secret... it won't get out!" said Jeong with a renewed sense of confidence while struggling to free himself from the krogan's grasp. "The communications to the outside world has returned and our company is planning to purge the entire colony!"

"You asshole!" said Ashley, aiming her gun at Jeong.

"We are all going to die here," Jeong announced. "I don't care if you kill me now. I'm the only one with the code to communicate with our company. You won't stop the purge without me."

"Commander, I don't think he's bluffing," said Kaidan quietly, his brows knitted.

Shepard knew he was right. She had long learned that some battles couldn't be won with guns and bombs; they required a certain finesse. This was one of them.

"No one dies today," said Shepard, carefully masking her frustration and fear. "Wrex, put him down."

The krogan battlemaster dropped him grudgingly.

"And here I thought you were a smart man, Jeong," Shepard commented casually, even though she wanted nothing more than to punch that bastard's face. "You made two mistakes today."

There was a hint of confusion on Jeong's face. That was what she was looking for. "Wha-?"

"First, you threatened to kill me, that was a big mistake. And now, you did nothing to stop the purge. Not only do you have the colonists' blood on your hands, you let a golden opportunity slip right by you. And you call yourself the representative of ExoGeni? Shame, I would have done a much better job than you. Maybe ExoGeni should have hired me instead."

"What do you know about running a business?" asked Jeong indignantly. "You're nothing but a soldier!"

"Yet, this soldier could see an extremely profitable opportunity for ExoGeni, while you, the 'representative', completely missed it when it's right under your nose. What does it say about your ability to do your job?"

"Profitable opportunity?" Those two words caught his full attention.

Shepard scoffed and shook her head in disbelief. "Come on, Jeong, you seriously can't see it?"

"What?!" The man became more agitated by the mockery.

"This colony is a gold mine. Think about it. A human colony survived the Geth attack against all odds, the news would spread across the galaxy within one day. Feros would be the antithesis of Eden Prime, a beacon of hope for the rest of human colonies. It would be the new vacation capital in the galaxy because of its new fame and what it represents. ExoGeni could help colonists to rebuild and expand Feros, then build and run hotels and theme parks for the tourists." Shepard watched as Jeong's face lit up in realization. "Think about how much money you could make! But... too bad..."

"Too bad? What?" Jeong asked in alarm.

"You called for the purge already." Shepard shrugged. "Guess you'd rather die a failure than live as the hero of your company."

"No! It has to stop. I'll finally get the promotion I deserve with this proposal." Jeong rushed to the communication console.

Hook, line, and sinker.

Shepard let out a silent sigh of relief and briefly glanced at her team while Jeong retracted the purge order and communicated with his headquarters.

"Did she just...?" Ashley whispered to Kaidan.

"Yeah... she did..." he replied back just as quietly.

Shepard gave them a tiny smirk before turning her attention back to Jeong.

"The HQ loves this plan," Jeong announced in absolute delight.

"And the purge?" Shepard asked.

"Stopped, of course!" He scoffed as if it's the most ridiculous question in the galaxy.

"Good..." Shepard reached out to Jeong and grabbed an handful of his shirt to pull him close to her. "Normally I'll shoot whoever is stupid enough to point a gun at my face, but I'll let you slide this time for the sake of the colony," she said quietly with a deadly calm voice. "Make it up to all the colonists, treat them well and you'll have a lucrative business here on Feros. If I ever hear one single complaint from them about you or ExoGeni, I will come hunt you done. And this time, I don't let you choose where your bullet will be."

"...You...you can't do that!"

"Can't I?" A smirk slowly appeared on her face. "Didn't the extranet tell you? I am a Spectre. We operate above the law. The Council will thank me for cleaning house. Do you think they'll be happy to find out ExoGeni's keeping a Thorian in Feros behind their back, endangering the entire colony?"

His face once again turned into an interesting shade of green.

She released him and stepped back. "Play nice with the colonists and you'll never see me again."

"You let him get away too easily, Shepard," said Wrex. "Should have smacked his head against the wall a few times."

Shepard shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a softie." She was tempted to call Joker to bring in a security team to arrest Jeong, but she had a more urgent matter at hand. "We've wasted enough time here, we need to get back to Zhu's Hope."

"Wait, Commander," said Elizabeth Baynham. "Please try not to hurt any colonists. It's my fault, not theirs."

"Is there any other way to get to the Thorian without going through Zhu's Hope?" asked Shepard.

The younger Baynham shook her head.

"You could use gas grenades," Juilana Baynham suggested. "I have pesticide that would be strong enough to knock down those who are already weakened by the mind controlled. They wouldn't affect any of you."

Shepard considered for a moment. "All right."

"Let me modify the grenades for you."

Shepard turned back to her team. "Let's do this without shooting any colonist."

"Of course, Commander," said Kaidan.

"They'll be expecting us," said Garrus.

"Then let's hope the grenades work."