Disclaimer: See Chapter I - Beginnings

The Rift

Chapter XI

Misdirection From Both Ends

"Like hell we'll turn her over for that! She's been brainwashed! She's here as a patient, not a prisoner!"

"Nevertheless, Commander, she has been instrumental in Saren's activites. She needs to be interrogated as to Saren's current plans, as well as what he's really up to. Once you arrive here at the Citadel, we expect you to bring her to the detention center."

John scowled at the hologram of the turian councillor. "He's bringing back the Reapers, that's what he's 'really up to'." John gave the haughty turian a dose of his own air-quotes, earning what looked like a scowl in return. "And she was with him to try and figure it out as well. But she failed. She was indoctrinated." Shepard's gaze hardened at all three of the holograms in front of him. "She tried to kill me AND my team, including her own DAUGHTER! Right now, the only thing that's keeping her from tearing this ship apart is heavy sedation. And you want to wake her up to ask her a few questions?"

The asari councillor raised her hands in a calming gesture, once again trying to diffuse the situation. "Commander, please. We understand your feelings on the matter. However, we feel that this is the best course of action for the moment, at least until this situation with Saren and the geth has been resolved."

John grumbled under his breath. "Fine. When we get to the Citadel...I'll turn her over to C-Sec. But I am NOT going to be happy about it." The salarian spoke up now.

"Shepard, your personal feelings about this are noted. But we are giving you an order. Trust that we have the best interests of all parties involved by doing this. Lady Benezia is still an Asari Matriarch, and she will be treated with dignity and respect of that position."

"Yeah. Alright, Normandy out." John reached over and hit the diconnect button. Almost immediately, he raised his hand to silence the protests that began from both Anthony and Chakwas behind him. "Wait. Just wait a moment." He then reached over to the console, keying up the internal comm. "Joker?"

*Yeah, commander?*

"All stop. We seem to have suddenly come down with some engine problems. New drive core, prototype ship, all that good stuff. If anyone from the Citadel calls, that's the line you feed them, got it?"

*You got it, Shepard. I'll give 'em the answering machine.*

"Good." Shepard reached up and shut down the link, turning back toward Anthony and Helen. "Alright, then. That should give us a few hours." Anthony and Helen looked at each other for a moment, then turned back to the commander, each having a confused look on their faces.

"Sir...a few hours for what?" Anthony leaned back against the chair he was sitting on. Shepard grinned.

"The Council wants us to turn her over when we reach the Citadel. We have to figure a way to NOT reach the Citadel and still have somewhere safe to bring her. You two are my medical officers. Medical is the only way to give a good excuse to the Council for why we bring her somewhere else. Have at it."

Two hours later, the three still had gotten no further in their ideas. Dr. Chakwas excused herself to head back down to the medbay, to check in on Benezia and to give another dose of the sedatives, as well as to try and chase Liara back to the storeroom to rest, as she had been awake since before the Noveria ground mission. Anthony and John remained in the briefing room, looking over datapads and star charts. Anthony finally sighed and tossed the datapad he was holding onto a shelf.

"Alright, there's no good answer. Thessia is too far, Illium is too far, ALL the asari worlds are too far." Anthony looked over to the main star chart of the galaxy on the display screen, showing their current position and all planets that would be able to handle the matriarch safely in a hospital, none of which were closer than the Citadel. John let out an aggravated grunt, looking up to the display as well.

"No, there's always an answer. We're just not looking hard enough. Some planet or station somewhere has to be able to care for her. And NOT Omega. There's not enough ammo on board to clean that damn pit up." Anthony looked up again, raising his hand to the map.

"John...just look...there's no place else BUT Omega. Unless we turn around to Noveria again or if there's some kind of hospital still standing on Feros. The only two majorly inhabited systems that are closer to us than the Citadel." John looked up at the charts again, sighing after a long hard stare.

"Yeah...that's what it looks like." Shepard moved over to the console again, not noticing the look on Anthony's face, as if suddenly remembering something. Quickly, he went to another datapad, pulling up the mission brief on Feros. "I guess we set course for Omega, th-"

"Wait a sec!"

John looked over to Anthony, pausing before he hit the button to signal the new course to Joker. Anthony was staring down at the datapad before lowering it again, bringing a hand up to tap himself on the head. "Fuck, I'm thick! I'm damn old and thick! Head's too full of stuff, I need a bigger head! Why didn't I remember this already?" Looking back over to the main display, he walked over, pulling up the briefing on Feros. Looking back to Shepard, he finally noticed the strange look of confusion on his face. "Oh...sorry. Line from an old TV show back in my days. Doctor Who. One of my favorites. It just seemed appropriate at the moment, look."

Shepard looked up to the main screen, which was scrolling down to the very end of the brief. "The SSV Sanctuary will be standing by to assist in civilian casualties if necessary. Contact the Kilimanjaro battle-group if the Sanctuary is needed." John grinned as he read aloud, reaching over to pat Anthony on the back. "Alright then, Doctor Who. This will work even better than you think. Computer, give me a real-time connection to the SSV Kilimanjaro. Put me through to XO Shepard." Anthony blinked as the comm room dimmed slightly, the map in front of them being replaced by a hologram of a woman who looked to be in her late 50's. She started speaking before she even looked up.

*Shepard spe-..oh, hi, John.* The woman smiled warmly at her son, putting down a datapad she was holding. *I wish you would have called in an hour. I'm still on shift and don't really have time for a personal call.* John smiled and shook his head.

"Actually, mom, it's not just a personal call, but it's good to see you again, too. I'm actually calling about the Sanctuary. Something came up on our last mission, and I'm going to need them. We're about to have an unfortunate medical emergency." John grinned as he finished speaking, causing the image of his mother to roll her eyes at him.

*Why do I get the feeling that you're in way over your head, sweetie?* She almost immediately held up a hand to stop him from answering. *Wait...no, I'm not sure I want to know. Probibly classified, or something. Plus, the less I know, the less I have to lie later, right?* John nodded, grinning a little sheepishly.

"Yeah...something like that, mom. Your battle-group is closer to Noveria than the Citadel, right?"

*Of course. We're in the Exodus Cluster. Sanctuary just picked up some extra relief supplies from Arcturus Station, in fact. I'll send a message to their CO so they know to expect you.* Shepard nodded.

"Perfect. I'll set a course, and talk to my CMO about this medical emergency. See you soon, mom. Normandy out." The hologram faded and the lights came back up to normal. "Alright, Anthony. We've got some acting to do. Come on."

SCENE BREAK

Once again, the three holograms of the Council lit the far side of the room. "Commander, we were expecting-" The turian stopped in the middle of his sentence as the hologram scanner fully rendered the human they were talking to. Narrowing his eyes, he spoke again. "Who are you and why have you called us? This communications channel is reserved for Spectres."

Anthony stood a little straighter as he spoke, staring down the turian. "My name is Sargent Anthony Snyder. I'm the Normandy's field medic. Commander Shepard and Doctor Chakwas are currently unavailable, so they asked me to contact you and apprise you of the situation." The salarian looked up at this.

"Situation? What has happened?" Anthony took a deep breath, looking downwards slightly.

"I was the one who initially administered the sedative to Lady Benezia. Unfortunately, the combination of my initial dose as well as the drugs that have been keeping her sedated...well...they interacted badly. Her vital signs started to crash. We had to get her somewhere more advanced than our medbay or she would have died. We're currently docked with the Alliance hospital ship SSV Sanctuary. Shepard ordered me to let you know as a way of taking responsibility for it." The asari spoke up next. 'What the hell...do they plan this shit out so they can all talk?'

"And where is Shepard right now?"

"He and Doctor Chakwas are in the middle of transfering Lady Benezia to the Sanctuary. They're trying to stabilize her. Since they're some of the best doctors in the Alliance, they sent me to let you know what was happening, rather than let me get in the way. They're going to do the best they can to keep her alive. And before you ask, yes, they have experience with asari physiology." The three councillors looked back and forth at each other a few times. Anthony could see them talking, but apparently they had shut off their microphones for a moment.

After a minute, they faced him again, Councillor Tevos spoke up again. "Very well. While this is not...exactly as we expected, it seems that certain things can not be avoided. We expect Shepard to stay notified of her progress and to include it in his reports. Is that clear, Sargent?"

"Crystal clear, Councillor. I'll let him know." The three holograms winked out of existence and Anthony let out a deep sigh. Slowly turning, he made his way back out of the briefing room. As the door opened, he saw John leaning against the bulkhead on the other side of the hall.

"Well?" Anthony sighed softly, before cracking into a grin.

"They bought it. They're not happy about it, but they're trusting your judgement on this. And they want you to keep in the loop on how she's doing, and when you make another report, you keep THEM in the loop." Shepard smiled as well, walking with Anthony towards the rest of the CIC.

"Right, so they know I'm bullshitting, but they're not calling me on it just yet." Anthony nodded.

"Yep. Fucking politicians, eh?" Shepard nodded, taking his position at the galaxy map, activating the ship's intercom.

"Couldn't have said it better. Alright. All hands, prepare for departure from the Sanctuary. Joker, lay in a course with them for Feros. Geth are crawling all over the colony. Time to play exterminator."

SCENE BREAK

Ten hours later, the two ships exited the mass relay near Feros. The Sanctuary took up a position near the relay while the Normandy made a beeline for the colony. Liara chose to stay behind with her mother for the current mission, wishing to attempt an ancient asari healing ritual. The rest of the ground team took the time en route to the colony to suit up and assemble at the airlock.

"Alright everyone," Joker called back from the helm, "I'm not getting any traffic coming from the colony. Not even the automated landing beacons. So not only am I going to have to perform some exceptional flying, but odds are, the docking bay is crawling with baddies, as well." Shepard leveled a glare at Joker, then sighed.

"Just take us in, Joker. Nice and easy. Everyone keep your eyes open. Cover every angle, I don't want us getting taken by surprise here. And check your damn targets." Murmurs of acknowledgement sounded from the rest of the team as the Normandy slid smoothly into the dock. Automated systems brought clamps in to hold the ship steady, and after a few moments, the airlock door slid open, revealing a walkway.

Waving his hand forward, Shepard led the group out of the ship and out to the docks. Weapons were trained at all points for a few moments as the entire team moved onto the platform. After a few moments, once everyone had reported no contacts, Shepard stood and relaxed a little. "Alright, then. Put 'em down, but don't hang 'em up. Motion trackers out to full." As the team started down the dock, Garrus spoke up.

"Got a contact, Shepard. Three blips, one moving toward us." Shepard and the rest of the team raised weapons just in time for a colonist coming around the corner to be greeted with seven barrels pointed straight at him. He immediately crouched down, covering his head.

"Oh, God, please don't kill me!"

Shepard held up a hand, sighing. "Easy...we're not here to kill anyone. I'm Commander Shepard, Systems Alliance. We're here to take care of your geth problem. Can you three take us to the main colony?" The man looked up, a little confused.

"Three? But...Fai Dan sent me alone to-"

"Then get your ass over here and behind us!"

The colonist didn't need to be told twice, and scrambled to his feet. A moment later, he was thrown towards the team as a rocket exploded where he was cowering. Alenko managed to catch the man before he hit anything too damaging. A digital stuttering came from around the corner, followed by a pair of geth.

"Light them up!"

A symphony of assault rifle, shotgun, and pistol fire met the geth, causing the synthetics to shake as rounds tore into their torsos. After a few seconds, each of the geth fell, and the gunfire stopped. Shepard slowly stood and walked over to the two synthetics, keeping his weapon trained on them. Kicking each slightly, he then lowered his rifle, nodding to the team, who all followed suit. The colonist just watched in awe.

"Holy shit...umm...the geth...they're making...another push on the colony...we saw your ship...Fai Dan sent me to...to bring you back to the colony."

Ash looked over to the colonist. "Fai Dan...the head of the colony?" At the man's nod, she continued. "How do we get to the colony? It's probably best if you let us go first."

"Y-yeah, sure. It's just up the stairs over there. Fai Dan is usually on the other side of Zhu's Hope, over by the entrance to the tunnels and the skyway..." John nodded and looked over towards the stairs.

"Alright. We'll leapfrog up the stairs. Just in case any more surprises are up there. Tali, keep him company. Wrex, you and I have point." Wrex nodded and walked up front with his shotgun ready. At a nod, he and Shepard started their way to the stairs, the rest of the team following in a loose group, Tali and the colonist trailing behind.

Halfway up the stairs, a hopper made it's presence known with a round toward Wrex's shield. The krogan roared with rage, leveling his shotgun at the geth. It sprang away from the wall before he could fire, though. Shepard tried to follow it as well, but it's movements were too fast. Chips of stone rained down the stairwell from the missed shots, until a sudden blast caught the synthetic in midair, tearing the artificial muscle to pieces.

Shepard looked behind him, grinning a bit as he saw Ashley lower her shotgun, only holding it from the grip, the barrel glowing a dull orange. "What? You two were taking your sweet time." Shepard just shook his head, motioning to Wrex to keep going. They reached the top of the stairs with no more contacts, the guards behind blockades lowering their weapons when they saw the heavily armed non-geth team emerge into the light. Shepard looked around the colony a bit before turning to his team and giving orders.

"Alright, Snyder, we have a whole colony of victims here. Do your thing. Tali, give him a hand. Kaiden, you and Garrus take a look around, see what we can do to get these people up and running again. Ash, Wrex, you're with me. Let's go have a little chat with Fai Dan."

SCENE BREAK

About an hour later, the three teams met back up near the crane controls, staying far enough from the colonists to prevent eavesdropping, in case the prognosis for the colony wasn't that good. Shepard and his team looked a little worse for wear, as did Garrus and Kaiden. Anthony and Tali were both looking uneasy, though. Shepard looked back and forth.

"Alright, I'll go first. The and catwalks back there were crawling with geth. 'Were' being the key word, here. As long as nothing keeps coming across the skyway, they're good. Next up, Kaiden?" Alenko nodded, clearing his throat a little.

"Well, they definitely had some supply problems. Water was shut down, food rations were low, and there was a transmitter somewhere down in the tunnels for geth reinforcements. We got the water working again, cleared the tunnels, and found some varren down there that they can use to boost their food until more help arrives. I'd say they're solid, now." Anthony looked up as the rest looked to him, looking down at his omni-tool.

"Well, everyone...more or less is in pretty good health. A little malnutrition and dehydration, but now that supplies are good, that should take care of it. There was one woman in the ship, though, that struck me as odd. She seemed to be in extreme pain over something, but I couldn't find anything wrong with her. No broken bones, no nerve disorders...nothing." Garrus looked up at that.

"Actually...that sounds like that kook we saw down in the tunnels. Trying to tell us something, but every time it was like...well, if he was turian, I'd say it was like someone was ripping his mandibles off...I guess human would be ripping out those...'fingernails'?" Most winced at the thought, Anthony nodding.

"Yeah. Something like that. When I asked her husband, he wasn't exactly...forthcoming with information. Like he was trying to hide something, but not let me know it. Badly, I might add. Everyone else, too. A little evasive of my scans at first...something definitely feels off here, boss." Shepard sighed, looking around the colony.

"Right. Well, from what I got from Fai Dan, Exo-Geni Corp has a base of operations on the far side of the skyways. They have one Mako still working in the garage. It's an older model, though, so a few of us are going to have to stay behind. Ash, Kaiden, Garrus, that's you. Do what you can to give these people a hand. Wrex, Tali, Anthony, you're with me. Let's pay a visit to our friendly, neighborhood corporate backers."

The team split up, four heading towards the garage, and three staying with the colony. None noticed small surveillance cameras that had been set up around the open areas of Zhu's Hope, watching and logging their every move.

A/N: I think that's a record for me. Re-written in 4 days! Sorry about the delay, folks. As anyone here on the Eastern Seaboard north of Florida will tell you, that bitch Irene took us for all we had. I've been keeping my local files for The Rift on a network hard drive instead of my laptop, just in case anything happened to it. My laptop survived, the hard drive didn't. From now on, chapters in progress will be sent to the cloud. insert dramatic Windows-esque desk transformation here Anyway, that's first half of Feros down, as well as a bit of shenanigans with Benezia. Great word, that, by the way. Shenanigans.

Ok, a poll update and a friendly challenge. First, the poll. It seems there is one solid front-runner so far for the 'Take one for the Team' award. Damn, you all really want to see that person die, huh? Oh, well. Guess if someone's got to go, might as well be them. As for the challenge, it goes out to my fellow Whovians. Name the episode the quote is from and you get a digital cookie. Also, I might find a way to fit your username in somewhere. First one with the correct answer in the review wins. And since last week went all to hell, updates will be every other week from my mark. 3...2...1...Mark.