A/N: Ahoy, adventurers, and greetings from Cincinnati! Yes, I am now in Southwest Ohio at the moment, off to get a doctoral degree. Though, because of that, I will say this: updates may become very, very slow. Just a heads up for you guys: don't worry, though, I've got all sorts of goodies coming up in the story, so hopefully you'll be fine.

And one of those goodies happens to be this. What is "this"? Oh, you'll see. Stay tuned, patrons: this is going to get crazy!

Chapter Eleven

Jodie stood in the cockpit as they pulled into Feros' docking bay. Jodie was not part of the ground team for this mission, but nevertheless she thought she'd go out and see Shepard, Tali, Garrus, and Liara off onto the colony.

Feros was a human colony that Jodie had been briefed about. She had heard about the colony's rather unusual geography of nothing but skyscrapers as far as the eye could see, and in this event her curiosity got the better of her. As she saw the abandoned buildings and crumbling highways up close, Jodie could not help but stare in awe of what she saw. Aiden let out a single chirp of amazement, and Jodie looked on even as the ship pulled into the dock.

"Here we are," said Shepard as he tapped his foot against the floor. "Feros."

"I knew the protheans had built something amazing on this planet, but to actually see it..." Liara looked over at Garrus. "Where do you think the geth are?"

"Who knows?" asked Garrus. "I'm sure their little flashlight heads will point us right at them, though."

"Maybe," said Tali. "We should be careful, Shepard. I get a feeling about this place."

"I will be," said Shepard. He then looked over at Joker. "Joker, tell Kaidan and Ashley to be ready to deploy groundside." He then glanced over at Jodie. "Holmes, be ready to deploy with them."

Jodie blinked, looking at Shepard in surprise. "Uh, yes sir," she said.

The door to the airlock opened. "Good," said Shepard. "We're going to try to help the colony first, find out what is happening. As soon as I figure out where the geth are coming from, you'll be guarding the colony from any further geth attacks. In a place like this I don't expect the geth to sneak past us and attack, but you can never be too careful."

"You really can't, sir," Jodie agreed. She then looked at Tali and Liara. "Be careful, you two."

"Oh, and no words of encouragement for me?" asked Garrus with a fake-wounded body gesture. "I'm hurt."

Jodie chuckled, crossing her arms and looking at Garrus while shaking her head. "I'm sure you'll be fine," said Jodie. "You're the seasoned one of all of them, after all."

A grimace flashed across Shepard's face for a very brief second, but it vanished almost as quickly as Jodie caught it. "I'll see you when I give the word," Shepard replied. "Get ready."

The airlock door closed behind Shepard and his ground team, the decontamination cycle punctuating Shepard's order.

Joker nodded, turning his chair towards Jodie. "Well, you heard the Commander," said Joker. "And I doubt you're going to get any armor on while doing the sight-seeing in this area."

"I know, I know," said Jodie. "Heading down there now."

And with this, Jodie walked out of the cockpit, heading straight for the stairs that would take her to the elevator.

As Jodie fitted her shoulder guard onto her shoulder, Aiden clicked once.

"Hey Jodie."

Jodie looked up to see Ashley walking towards her, already fully suited up. Jodie smiled, looking at the gunnery chief with a smile on her face.

"Hey Ashley," said Jodie. "You ready to defend a colony?"

"Maybe," said Ashley. "It's going to be a little strange without Shepard there."

"Well, Kaidan's in charge, right?" Jodie asked as she closed the last clasp.

"That's true, but I think it'll still take me a bit to get used to taking orders from him," Ashley replied. "He's got big shoes to feel, even if it's something as simple as colony defense."

"Well, if the colonists are smart, they'll do what they can," Jodie replied. "And besides, Shepard's going to clear the colony before we even touch it."

"Also true," said Ashley. She shrugged. "But then, I guess I'm just being paranoid. I've got this feeling today is going to be a big day."

"Even just defending colonists?" Jodie asked.

"Even just defending colonists," Ashley replied. "It's just a feeling. Don't take it too seriously."

"Eh, hunches do sometimes have merit," said Jodie with a shrug. She bent down and attached her pistol to her hip. "Trust me, I've had a few hunches that I wish I had listened to. It... wasn't pleasant."

"More about your past?" Ashley asked. "Are you ever going to tell us your whole history?"

"Some day," she said. "Hell, for all I know it could be later to day."

Ashley chuckled. "Maybe," she said. "Come on, soldier. Let's get upstairs and wait for the call."

"Yeah, let's do that," said Jodie.

The two women then walked over to the elevator, the two of them quickly stepping onto it and taking it up to the crew deck.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen, this is your pilot speaking. If Lieutenant Alenko, Gunnery Chief Williams, and... um... Something Holmes would come up to the cockpit, I've got their tickets to the picture show. I managed to get them for half off."

Jodie snorted in amusement from where she sat at the mess hall tables. "Leave it to Joker to put it like that," she said.

"Well, that's the Normandy for you." Jodie and Ashley looked up to see Kaidan coming out from behind the displays he usually worked on. "Shepard goes on missions, Joker makes jokes..." He frowned. "This is a little different, though."

"Just a little," said Jodie. "You think we'll have to deal with too much resistance from the geth?"

"Probably not, but it can't hurt to leave us behind," said Kaidan.

"My thoughts exactly," said Ashley. "It'll keep the colonists calm, at the very least."

"It will," said Jodie. "And in times like this..." She bowed her head, closing her eyes. "I think they could use all the comfort they can get."

"Maybe," said Kaidan. "Either way, we have our parameters."

"That we do," said Jodie. "Well, let's get this over with, yes?"

"Right behind you," said Ashley.

The three of them then began walking out of the mess hall, walking straight over to the airlock.

Jodie walked out of the ship behind Kaidan and Ashley, her eyes widening at the decay all around them. From just walking around outside, Jodie could tell that Feros had once been a wonderful city to live. Its structures were grand, and what she had only gotten a preview of on the Normandy was incredible to behold up close. All the nooks and crannies seemed to breathe life. Jodie found herself awed by the wonder around her...

...and then her muscles tensed a little at how it was all rotted out, as nature and decay had taken over.

The effect was a little jarring. Jodie found herself placing each of her steps as she walked on the ground: something inside of her told her to watch her step, lest the floor underneath give way and she plummet who knew how many miles to her death. Even the fact that Aiden could protect her from such a fall was no comfort there. She found herself instinctively trying to avoid the foilage that had cropped up everywhere, fearing that it would crumble if she so much as brushed it lightly. Her eyes could only trail everything around them in wonder, thinking of how the protheans must have traversed such a space so many millennia ago.

It was such that she was caught off guard when they finally did arrive at the main body of the colony. Jodie was taken aback by the sudden transition to seeing a bunch of pre-fab facilities everywhere, and even more so when she saw the various humans milling about. The humans gave her cursory glances as they went about their jobs, Jodie greeting them with various nods. Jodie even swore she saw a salarian in there, checking stock on several items that were rather out of the wya.

And then, right in front of a barricade on the other side of the colony, was where Kaidan, Ashley, and Jodie saw Shepard with his ground team. Shepard nodded, and Jodie noted that Tali and Liara were both looking past the barricade for any sign of a renewed geth attack. Beside the commander, the three of them saw two humans, one a Hispanic woman and the other a rough-looking older man.

Kaidan nodded. "Shepard," he said, walking forward and nodding to the commander. "I didn't think the colony would be so small."

"Well, that's Zhu's Hope for you," said the rough man. He then leaned towards Kaidan. "Fai Dan. I lead this colony."

Kaidan nodded, extending his hand out. Fai Dan moved to shake it, Kaidan nodding politely and looking at the woman behind Fai Dan. "And who is she?"

"Arcelia Silva Martinez," said Fai Dan. "She's the security detail around here."

"You mean the rent-a-cop," Arcelia fired back.

"Arcelia, please," Fai Dan said. "You're probably the only reason we've survived this long. We all appreciate your help." He nodded to Kaidan. "You'll have to forgive Arcelia. She can be a little... uncouth."

"I gathered," said Ashley. She then turned to Shepard. "I guess we'll be reporting to these two?"

"Something like that," said Shepard. "They're the ones in charge of the colony, so if anything occurs, you go to them."

"Got it," said Kaidan. He then looked past the barricade. "Do you think there will be any more geth forces incoming?"

"We think the geth are coming in from further away," said Shepard. "But I think we should still leave you here. You never know if a geth dropship can come in to ruin your day back here."

"That's true," said Kaidan. "We'll hold the fort here, Shepard."

"Good," said Shepard. "Keep the colonists safe."

"Yes, sir," Jodie added, giving him a brief bow of her head.

After this, Shepard nodded, and then he turned back towards the barricade. He then walked on, leaving Kaidan, Ashley, and Jodie with Fai Dan and Arcelia.

Jodie nodded, looking over at Fai Dan. "So, is there anything you need?"

"We could run a few diagnostics," said Fai Dan. "Shepard took care of a few tasks for us, but he told us to leave the remainder to at least one of you when you got here. Of course, you can stay here and guard the colony, but-"

"Oh, no, that's no problem at all," said Jodie, stepping forward. "I can probably go down there and help." She then looked back at Kaidan and Ashley. "Right?"

"I guess so," said Kaidan, rubbing his chin. "What do you need?"

"Shepard went down to clear some geth from the tunnels beneath us," said Fai Dan. "He did a good enough job of it, but the water restoration is down there, and he said he could not wait."

"So you want us to restore the water," said Ashley. "You have any specialists on hand?"

"Macha Doyle is your girl," Arcelia replied, brusquely pointing at a rather young-looking blonde woman who was standing over by a one of the crates.

Jodie nodded. "You think she can accompany me down there?" she asked.

"Now that the area is clear of geth, I assume so," said Fai Dan. "Talk to her first."

Jodie nodded, looking at Kaidan and Ashley. "I'll take care of it," she said. "I'll rejoin you guys when I'm done."

Kaidan nodded. "Sure thing, Jodie," he said. "Just radio ahead when you're done."

"Will do," said Jodie with a nod.

She then walked right on over to Macha Doyle, her steps a little more secure on the aging floor beneath her.

"So this is it, hm?"

Jodie stepped down into the water treatment area of the colony, seeing little more than a few panels that were arranged just down the corridor. Jodie looked further down the corridor to see a bunch of geth "corpses" lying around everywhere. She shook her head, following Macha Doyle deeper into the corridor.

Macha nodded, brushing some of her blonde hair out of her face. "Yes, this is it," she said. "Just a series of panels all down here." She looked back at Jodie. "All we really need to do is open the water valves that the geth closed. Technically, anyone can do this. It was designed to be that way, you know?"

"I can certainly see that," said Jodie as she opened her omni-tool. Macha did the same, Jodie glancing at her and attempting to follow her lead as she stood in front of a panel a little further away. "Hm... It is pretty simple."

"Yes," said Macha. "I would've asked Shepard to do it, but he's in a hurry. Has to save the galaxy."

"I'll bet," said Jodie, glancing back towards the entrance. "Are you all right?"

"A little shaken, but I'm okay," said Macha. "Those geth came out of nowhere, and with so many forces, too."

"I'll say," said Jodie. "Do you have any idea why they might want to attack this place?"

"No," said Macha, moving on to the next one. "I have no idea."

Jodie looked over, raising an eyebrow. "Hm," she said. "Well, I guess we'll find out soon enough, yeah?"

"Maybe not," said Macha, looking over at Jodie. "It might be better not to know."

"Well, I think it would be better to know, but to each their own, I guess," said Jodie, looking away. Aiden chirped off in the distance, but Jodie paid it no mind. "So ExoGeni funded the colony here, huh?"

"That's right," said Macha. "They funded the colony. Why do you want to know?"

Jodie nodded as Macha moved on to the final panel. "I don't know how they could think of funding a place like this," she said. "I mean, no offense, but this place just looks like it could fall apart any second now."

"It won't fall apart," said Macha. "If it managed to outlast fifty thousand years of decay, it can probably manage several human lifetimes."

"Maybe, but that doesn't make me feel any more secure about it," said Jodie. She paused, her mind going into overdrive. "ExoGeni and the geth having an interest in this place... You know, something about it bugs me."

"There's nothing here," said Macha, her voice more monotone than before. "We're just a small colony. There's nothing remarkable about us."

Jodie frowned, looking back at Macha. When she did, she noticed that Macha's stare was completely blank, which starkly contrasted against her more animated nature from earlier. She noticed Macha's free arm twitch slightly, and it was only then that Jodie noticed just how tense Macha was. It was a wholly alien feel that she got from Macha, but the worst feeling was that Jodie felt as if she had seen this look before.

Upon seeing this, Jodie's breath hitched slightly, Aiden clicking somewhat in alarm. "Um... if you say so," said Jodie. She then chuckled nervously. "Are we done here?"

"Just about," said Macha Doyle. She then turned to the panel, and after a few seconds of tinkering with it, Jodie heard a rush of water from within the nearby pipes. "And we're done."

Jodie frowned. "That was quick," she commented.

"It was," she said. "We should get back."

"Yeah... Yeah, we should," said Jodie.

And with this, Macha and Jodie left the corridor underneath the colony.

As soon as Jodie emerged with Macha, she looked around her, her skin crawling from the way Macha had looked at her in the corridors.

She glanced back at where Kaidan and Ashley were, deciding to talk a walk amidst the colony. Jodie knew where to go if the geth came in again, and something about Macha's behavior had rubbed her entirely the wrong way. Memories of her first nights at Paul's ranch came back to her mind; all the uncertainty, all the warnings, everything about how she could never venture outside of the house at night, the way Paul looked at her as if beckoning her to never ask about what happened outside.

Jodie bit her lower lip, also remembering what she had uncovered on the night that her curiosity got the better of her. Ye'iitsoh, they had called it. It was a greater entity, one that Jodie would see a couple more times in her life. It was massive, and it attacked her as soon as she stepped outside. It had been big, and it was only after some spirits had chased Ye'iitsoh away that she was told it had been haunting Paul's family for a long time.

Of course, Jodie eventually put a stop to it. After all, it was always her.0

And thinking to her current situation, Jodie had reason to suspect that something was going on deep within Zhu's Hope. The whole situation just seemed too suspicious: the colony was otherwise unassuming, but then why would the geth take interest in it? There was also the matter of ExoGeni, given that Jodie was completely confounded as to why they would fund the colony. She knew something was wrong, but what exactly it was was something she could not put her finger on.

As she pondered this, she walked over to one of the prefab units. Standing by there was the salarian merchant Jodie had spotted earlier.

"Oh, hello," said the merchant. "I didn't see you walk over."

Jodie nodded. "It's fine," she said. "Um... So what sort of stuff do you sell?"

"Oh, just standard fare, really," the salarian said. "I'm more of a travelling merchant. I was just passing through when I got caught in the geth attack."

"You were, huh?" asked Jodie. "How was that?"

"Stressful," the salarian replied. "Most of my supplies ended up going to help the colony." He then glanced to the people around them. "Honestly, I think my arrival might've been good for them. My supplies are part of the reason they've managed to survive this long. That's always a good feeling to have."

Jodie nodded. "So you've just been giving them away, just like that?" she asked.

"Had to," said salarian. "These people were scared. Still are scared. You just can't charge payment to people like that."

Jodie smiled. "That's good," she said. She looked around. "You have any idea why the geth attacked?"

The salarian shrugged. "No," he said. "Neither does anyone else in this colony." He shook his head. "I don't know if I would ask, honestly. I mean, as long as the geth are attacking, why does it matter?"

Jodie frowned at the salarian's dismissal. "But doesn't it seem strange that they're attacking this colony?" she asked. "I mean, they're machines. Don't machines usually have an objective?"

"We don't know what it is," said the salarian, his voice suddenly emotionless and his eyes having a slightly visible glaze to them. "And we will probably never find out. It may be best to leave it that way. There are some things you don't want to know."

Jodie paused, feeling her skin crawl. "Um... I don't think..." she said, glancing to the side. "Are you sure about that?"

"Absolutely," said the salarian. He shrugged. "Anyway, I should probably take inventory on my supplies right now. You never know when people will need something."

Jodie nodded. "Of course," she said. "Sorry to have disturbed you."

"No no, don't worry about that," the salarian replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "It's fine. You should get back over there."

Jodie turned away from the salarian, her brow furrowed. She then walked away, slowly, glancing at all the humans around her. This was not a large colony, and yet Jodie felt like there were a thousand more eyes boring into her than before. The sensation made her skin crawl; there was just too much about this situation that was suspicious, and while Jodie was willing to give the villagers the benefit of the doubt, the way Macha had looked at her gave her serious reason for concern.

Aiden, you feel it too, right? she asked.

The entity chirped, and then Jodie nodded. She took a few more steps forward, and then looked up at where she assumed Aiden was.

Is... is there anything you can see around here? she asked. Anything they might've hidden from us?

Aiden grumbled softly, Jodie knowing he was deep in thought. As he did this, Jodie thought she heard the sound travel some distance around her, until she could barely hear it. Jodie looked at the pre-fab units around her, imagining Aiden checking every last one. She figured that Shepard had already gone through the colony, but a once-over with Aiden could do very little to hurt, she assumed.

She then heard a somewhat loud, but distant click. The torrent of clicks that came afterwards moved closer to Jodie, Aiden sounding all nervous.

Jodie looked up. So there's a secret passage under one of the pre-fab units? she asked. She nodded, resuming her walk towards Ashley. I see... What are they hiding down there...?

She paused, and then nodded her head. Well, Aiden, I think we better at least bring this up to Kaidan or Ashley, she thought. Come on. Let's go talk to them.

And with this, Jodie walked past many of the other colonists.

When she walked over to Kaidan and Ashley a few seconds later, she blinked in surprise when she saw three of the colonists talking to Kaidan. Ashley was still watching over the barricade, but Kaidan's attention was focused on fielding questions from the colonists. At least, Jodie hoped they were just questions. She had no idea if Macha had gone to them about Jodie asking too many questions, but if they did...

Kaidan looked over at Jodie as she approached, the Lieutenant nodding. "Oh, Jodie," said Kaidan. "There you are. I was wondering when you would come back from restoring the water with Ms. Doyle."

Jodie shrugged. "Sorry," she said. "I was off... sightseeing." She chuckled nervously, looking at the three colonists. "What're they here for?"

"Did you ask Macha Doyle anything?" asked one of the colonists.

Jodie blinked. "Well, I was just curious if she knew anything," she said. "You know, about why the geth attacked?"

"We don't know," said a second colonist. "Now stop asking. We don't have any idea why the geth would attack this place, and if we did we'd tell you. Now we have the geth to worry about, don't we? So guard us."

And with this, the colonists walked away. Jodie watched them go, noticing the positions they took. She found herself frowning, especially at the way that their walk seemed almost too calm and collected considering what they had said. She turned to Kaidan, and noticed that he seemed just as confused as she was. He frowned at the colonists before turning to Jodie.

"What was that about?" Kaidan asked.

"I don't know, but I don't like it," said Jodie. She then walked closer to Kaidan. "Look, there's something odd about this. I asked Macha Doyle if she knew anything about why ExoGeni was here and why the geth attacked." She shrugged. "I would understand if they didn't know, but the way Macha answered, and the way someone else answered when I asked them..." She shook her head, glancing behind her and leaning close to Kaidan. "There's something going on here, Kaidan. I don't know what it is, but I don't like it."

Kaidan looked at the colony around them. "Your concern is noted, Jodie, but I don't think we'll have to worry about anything," he said. "They're still probably in shock or something."

But Jodie shook her head. "I don't think I've known people in shock that act like this," she said. "It's like they're telling us not to look..." Jodie breathed in. Aiden, do you think I should tell them about the secret passage?

Kaidan looked around, seeing the way the colonists milled about. Jodie turned around as well, looking at the way the colonists moved around. Jodie then paid attention to the way some of them moved: a few of them had their glances trained on them, with some seeming to move around listlessly. There was one woman in particular who just stood around, moving in a somewhat robotic fashion. Kaidan frowned upon seeing her, and then turned his attention back to Jodie.

"Hm, now that you mention it..." Kaidan looked back at Jodie. "They have been moving in somewhat strange ways."

"They've been this robotic the whole time?" she asked.

"Well, no, but I think it's starting to look like it now," he said. Jodie then turned back to Kaidan. "Is there... anything else you want to tell me?"

Jodie frowned, looking up at Aiden. Aiden gave an assertive click, to which Jodie subtly nodded. She then looked over at the prefab unit for a few seconds, indicating it to Kaidan.

"I... There's something about that unit's location," she said. "I just... Call it a hunch, but I feel like there's something down there."

Kaidan's brows furrowed, and he crossed his arms as he looked at it. "How did you know that?" he asked. "And are you even sure about it?"

"No," said Jodie. "But my hunches are usually right."

"Well, we'll see," said Kaidan. "Your concern is noted, but until the colonists act I'm not sure what it is you expect me to do."

"Honestly, I don't either," said Jodie. "Just... be on your guard, Kaidan. I don't like this..."

Kaidan nodded. "Well, I can do that, of course," he said. "You be careful yourself."

Jodie gave a faint smile, though her eyes still shone a little with fear. "I will," she said. She then looked over at Ashley. "So, should we assume positions at the guard post?" Jodie asked.

Kaidan nodded. "Sure," he said. He then grabbed his pistol, motioning to the barricade with a tilt of his head. "Come on. Those geth might come from nowhere, you know?"

The Lieutenant then walked over to the barricade. Jodie followed, sparing one more glance at the colonists behind her. She watched them mill about, seeing how rigid their specific movements were. The whole thing left Jodie feeling extremely uncomfortable, a sentiment shared by Aiden.

Jodie then shook her head, shaking her limbs out. As she walked over to where Ashley was, an unpleasant feeling settled in her gut.

Aiden... just watch them, she thought. If they stir up trouble, you know what to do.

The entity released a rather resonant click, and Jodie instantly felt some small comfort at the fact that no matter what happened, Aiden would be keeping watch.

Some time passed, with no updates from Shepard and his crew. This left Kaidan, Ashley, and Jodie to hang around the barricade, sitting there waiting for a geth attack that they were convinced would not happen as time went on. After a while, Jodie had taken to looking up at the sky, wondering what Aiden was thinking. It left her lost in thought due to his silence, though Jodie attributed this to Aiden's vigilance. She shook her head, looking out to the landscape around Feros.

After a while, she found herself looking out at the scenery, her mind turning back to the decayed architecture from close to the nearby pre-fab unit. And it was as she looked at this architecture from a distance that she heard footsteps approaching her.

"Well, this is turning out to be boring," said Ashley as she approached.

Jodie nodded, before looking back at the architecture. "Maybe," said Jodie. "It's always uneventful right before things happen, though."

"You think so?" Ashley asked. "I was under the impression that everything sort of just happens, you know?"

Jodie shrugged. "Maybe," she replied. "I don't know." She then sighed, turning her complete attention to Ashley. "You ever wonder if there are any greater beings out there...?"

"What, like God or something?" Ashley asked. She chuckled. "Of course I do. And I think there are."

Jodie rose an eyebrow. "Whoah," she said. "I didn't think you'd be the religious type."

"A lot of people don't," said Ashley. "But think about it. We have all this vast expanse of the galaxy, with all kinds of species in it. How could God or some grand creator not exist in a place like this?"

"I don't know," Jodie replied. She glanced down at the ground. "I... I think there's something out there. I just wish I could believe it more."

Ashley frowned. "Believe it more?" she asked. "I don't know how God works, but... well, I feel like you believe him, or you don't. Doesn't really matter what book you use, but-"

"That's not what I'm getting at," said Jodie. "I just... I don't know. It's tough to explain, but I'm wondering what God would allow..."

"Pain and suffering? I don't know, but he did give us free will," Ashley said. "And really, you can't have good without something to compare it too, right?"

Jodie gave a sad smile to Ashley. "I guess that's true," Jodie replied. She glanced down at the ground. "I guess I'm just wondering... what would happen if that didn't exist."

"Well, who knows?" asked Ashley. "I don't think it's safe to say that things would be that different. I'd think about the only difference would be that a lot of good people wouldn't know who to turn to if they had problems. And when you have that going..."

"Maybe," said Jodie. She sighed. "I think I have an idea of how that works."

"Oh?" asked Ashley. She then crossed her arms, leaning against the prefab unit. "Do you feel like-?"

"Contact! We have a... contact?"

Jodie and Ashley paused as they heard Kaidan's shout. The two of them then looked at each other for a split second, before rushing toward's Kaidan's position. Jodie drew her pistol, and Ashley was in the process of drawing her assault rifle when they both made it to the barricade.

But what they saw explained how Kaidan's voice had taken a turn towards a more questioning tone. They saw a curious-looking humanoid, but there was something off about him. Jodie knew from the way that the being's skin was ashen grey that something was odd, but then she took note of the black trail that stood where the creature's eyes should have been. It shambled forward, seemingly guided by some otherworldly force. When Jodie looked beyond it, she saw another one of those beings shambling forward.

"What the fuck is that?" asked Jodie.

The being seemed to respond to this, turning its head towards Jodie. The second one turned towards her as well, and then they stayed absolutely still for a few seconds.

The beings then charged the barracks, rushing forward with incredible speed.

"Holy shit!"

As soon as Jodie shouted this, she brought her pistol up, firing right at the closer of the two beings. She shot it right in the shoulder, right before the thing was launched back by a biotic attack from Kaidan. The second one went down immediately with some assault rifle fire from Ashley. The two things had gone down in less than a second, but Jodie still found herself breathing heavily at the fact that the wounds produced almost no actual blood.

She looked at the beings, her eye wide. "What...?"

Kaidan stepped forward, looking down at the body that had just been shot down. "It looks like zombie..." he said.

Jodie and Ashley gave each other a confused glance. "Zombie?" asked Ashley. "That's impossible! What could cause something like that to appear?"

"It doesn't look natural, though..." Jodie then looked up past the barricade. "How many more of those things are there?"

"I don't know," said Kaidan. "But we can't worry about it now."

"Are they geth creations?" Jodie asked. "Because I can't think of why-"

"No no, it can't be geth," Ashley replied immediately. "I've seen geth versions of those things before. They did not look like that at all..."

Jodie frowned, looking at the two bodies as they began to lose mass. She frowned, seeing the way the flesh began to turn to dust. "And they decompose awfully quickly, too," Jodie noted. "What is-?"

And then, Aiden released an almost ear-piercing shriek. Jodie immediately turned behind her, noticing that all the colonists were beginning to move towards the barricade. She saw quite a few of them draw their weapons, and when she looked, she saw that there were more armed colonists than she had counted.

"Shit!"

Jodie tackled Ashley almost immediately, the two women flying behind a nearby crate just in time to dodge the first barrage of fire. Jodie barely had any time to look up again to see all the colonists there, before she saw some of them make a beeline straight for the barricade, some of them firing at where she assumed Kaidan was. She briefly thought she saw more of the lifeless things running out from somewhere behind the colonists, and that was all she could see before a barrage of gunfire forced her back into cover.

"What the fuck is going on?" shouted Ashley.

Jodie scowled. "I knew there was something strange about the colonists," she muttered. She then looked at the colonists again, before opening her omni-tool and bringing a hand to her ear. "Shepard! Shepard, do you copy?"

Jodie heard nothing but static for several seconds in response. She shook her head, looking over to Ash. Jodie waited a few more seconds, but there was no reply on the other end.

"Dammit!" Jodie shouted. "Shepard's not responding!"

"He's probably got his communications jammed," Ashley said, pulling out her assault rifle. She then fired a barrage, though Jodie did not hear anybody scream in pain. "Isn't Wrex on the Normandy though?"

Jodie nodded, scrolling through her contacts and selecting one before bringing her hand to her ear again. "Joker! Joker, please tell me you're getting this!"

"I'm reading you loud and clear!" he said. "Why'd you call back to-?"

And then, Jodie heard a dull thud from somewhere close to Joker. She jumped a little. "Joker, what was that?"

"I don't know, but it sounded like it was-" and there, Joker let out a loud gasp. "Holy shit, what are those things?"

"The white things, right?" Jodie asked. "Yeah, the colony just turned on us, and I'm not talking about the geth in this case. Can you get Wrex up there?"

"Well, you know how proud krogan are," said Joker. "Wave a fight in their face, and they're there in no time. I'll get him to you guys ASAP."

Jodie nodded. "Great!" she said. "Get him here fast!" She then cut the link quickly, opening another comm link.

However, before she could call Kaidan, she watched as more of those white creatures were blasted above the barricade. Jodie ducked down, cringing inwardly. Aiden chirped in confirmation, and Jodie found herself sighing in relief. She then looked over to Ashley as she sprayed some suppressive fire at the colonists.

Ash then ducked back behind cover. "These colonists don't look like they're in their right head!" she noted.

Jodie looked at the colonists. "We were sent here to protect them, right?" she asked. "So why did they...?"

"That doesn't matter," said Ashley. "I can't tell if they're being actively hostile. What do you think could've led to this?"

"I..." Jodie glanced to the side, looking at the colonists. "I don't know..."

Ashley looked around. "Maybe you were right to suspect ExoGeni's involvement after all," Ashley said. She then looked around. "What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know," said Jodie. "But I get the feeling they're not themselves. There was something in the way they moved! Like, they were going along with something! At least the ones I talked to! But I don't think they're doing this of their own free will!"

"Well, until I hear otherwise, I'm not trusting them with anything," said Ashley. She then patted her assault rifle. "I'm going to shoot to disable. "

As Ashley rose out of cover, Jodie slapped her hand on the assault rifle. "No, Ashley, don't!" Jodie shouted, quickly shoving the assault rifle down. "Don't shoot! You might kill them!"

"I'm going to shoot to disable," said Ashley. "There's a difference!"

"And you think they won't bleed out before we can make sure they're still alive?" Jodie asked. "Even if you don't shoot to kill, some of them are going to die if you do that! I can't let that happen!"

"Then what do you suggest?" Ashley asked. "We're outnumbered, we don't know when our back-up will arrive, we don't know what those white things are or who they're working for, and we'll be screwed if we stay here any longer! So do you have any brilliant ideas?"

Jodie's eyes widened as she heard this. For a second, all action seemed to stop, all kinds of scenarios running through her mind. She knew that Aiden could very easily help solve the colonist issue. It would not be easy, but she knew he would make it possible. At the same time, she knew it would require Ashley to find out about him before she was ready, and she knew it would apply to Kaidan since he was close by. Jodie had wanted to avoid such a scenario before then.

Her glance turned towards the colonists. But if I don't...

"I'm sorry, Jodie," Ashley said. When Jodie turned, she saw that Ashley's eyes were watering slightly. "I don't want to have to do this, but we don't have any other option."

Jodie then watched as Ashley raised her assault rifle. She took a quick glance at Aiden, and then back at the colonists, who stood there, acting more robotically than anything else. As they lined up to fire at them, she then glanced at Aiden again, her brows furrowing.

Sorry, Aiden, she thought, gritting her teeth in anticipation.

As soon as this thought left her mind, Jodie slapped her hand on the assault rifle, immediately pointing it at the floor. Ashley let out a cry of surprise as Jodie pulled her back under cover.

"Do you trust me?"

Ashley turned to Jodie immediately, an almost angry frown on her face. "Do I tr...? Jodie, this isn't the time to-!"

"Answer the question!" said Jodie, her voice harsh. "I have a way that can get us out of this without killing anyone!"

Ashley moved to retort, but upon seeing Jodie's concerned expression, she paused, her mouth still open. Her eyebrows furrowed, and then Jodie nodded.

"Look, I can get us out of this," said Jodie. "Hopefully. But first, I need a guarantee that you won't freak out, and that you'll listen to me when it's all over. Now, I'll say this again: do you trust me?"

Ashley paused, looking back at the colonists. After a single second, she turned, a determined look on her face.

"I do," said Ashley. She frowned. "But I don't see what this has to do with it."

"You'll see soon enough." Jodie then leaned back against the crate. Her heart pounded in her chest, thoughts of Ashley and Kaidan's reactions continually racing through her head. She knew she faced rejection and fear if she did it... but at the same time, she knew it was the only way to save everyone. Ashley was right about the situation, after all: if Jodie waited, she knew the results would be disastrous.

Aiden clicked gravely, the sound low and foreboding. In response, Jodie shook her head. Jodie then looked away from Ashley, expressly tilting her head up. "Go," she said aloud, not even bothering to use her thoughts to communicate with the entity. "Get us out of this, Aiden."

Ashley frowned. "Aiden?" she asked. "What are you-?"

A loud bang sounded in the area, and on Jodie and Ashley's watch, the barricade out to where the geth had likely come from exploded in towards the colonists. The cover was shattered, pieces of crates flying just about everywhere, with one intact crate slamming against the prefab building on the other side of the passage. Startled, the colonists ceased their fire, one of them getting knocked back by the debris. The debris settled quickly, though it left the colonists in a state of confusion.

Ashley's eyes bugged out, and Jodie looked at her to see the expression of shock she thought she would never see on Ashley's face. "Jodie... What was-?"

The door to the nearby prefab unit opened immediately. Jodie nodded, hearing the sound and pushing Ashley forward as she realized Aiden's probable plan. "Go go go go go!" she shouted.

Ashley stumbled at the initial push, but she quickly picked up to the fact that the prefab unit's door was open. Thus, Ashley rushed ahead of Jodie, the door closing behind them once Jodie was through the doorway. Jodie then looked back to the door, watching as the door panel flashed red before the light from the panel was entirely extinguished. Several bangs sounded from the door, but Jodie looked at the door, her fists clenching in resolve.

Ashley then frowned, looking at Jodie. "What the hell was that?" she asked. "What did-?"

Jodie turned, quickly walking to the other end of the prefab unit. "I don't have time to explain," she said. "We better get to the other side before they do. It'll be less pressure on Kaidan, and we can split off the forces, work our way from there. At least, that's what I think the plan is... I can't be-"

"No." Ashley paused, stepping in front of Jodie. "Jodie, what was that? There wasn't anything there, and then the barricade just blew open! How did-?"

"It'll take too long to explain," said Jodie. "I'll tell you when we're not being shot at by the colony we're protecting. But for now, I'm going to tell you that what you're about to see may creep you out. Don't be. He's friendly." She then paused, glaring at Aiden. "Usually."

And with this, Jodie walked past Ashley. Ashley stood there, a confused frown settled on her face. "He?" she asked.

"Yes, he," said Jodie. "Come on."

Ashley stood there for another two seconds, before shaking her head. She then rushed to catch up to Jodie, who took a position by the door at the other end of the pre-fab unit. Ashley joined on the other side, her assault rifle at the ready just in case. Before Jodie could react, the door opened, and then the two women dove into cover, Jodie diving into cover considerably closer to where she expected the colonists would appear.

As Jodie peeked out from behind cover, the colonists came around, taking positions around Ashley and Jodie. Jodie faintly noticed that some of the colonists hid behind the prefab unit that Aiden had pointed out earlier, and she noted that the salarian colonist was among them. There were three other colonists on the way there, all of them taking cover behind various crates. She assumed the remaining colonists were making sure Kaidan had no room to breathe.

She then looked up, glancing at Ashley. "Okay, Aiden, you know the score," she said. "Don't kill them, and make it quick so we can get to Kaidan." She then turned to Ashley. "Ashley, if any of those grey things show up, shoot them!"

Ashley nodded, though she still looked very confused. Jodie turned to the colonists in front of her, preparing her pistol just in case.

She then watched as the colonist closest to her popped out of cover, firing a few shots. Jodie grabbed her pistol, shooting wildly yet making sure to fire away from where she knew the colonists were. As she watched, the colonist closest to her was suddenly launched forward, tumbling over cover as he let out a loud cry. Jodie blinked, immediately seeing an opportunity.

Jodie then vaulted over cover. "Ashley, cover me!"

Ashley then sprayed some suppressing fire, Jodie rushing straight for the colonist. As the colonist got up with a confused look on his face, Jodie slid into cover right next to him, grabbing his head and hitting it against the ground for good measure. The colonist exhaled and went out like a light, but before Jodie did anything else, she felt at the colonist's neck, her fingers settling on his jugular.

Jodie counted to two before she felt a pulse.

Jodie nodded, opening her omni-tool and administering a dose of medigel to the colonist. "Hang in there," she whispered. "We'll save the rest of your friends."

She then turned her attention to the next closest colonist. Before she could do anything, though, she gasped at seeing some of the grey beings run at Ashley.

Jodie brought her pistol to bear, shooting at the grey creatures frantically. Before Jodie could take any of them down, though, something tackled her to the ground. As her pistol clattered a few feet away, something inhuman gave a long, airy exhale right next to her ear. She turned her head immediately, finding herself face to face with one of the grey creatures.

She let out a yell, immediately rolling over so the creature was beneath her. Before she could hit him and get off, however, the creature rolled back over so that both were out in the open. Jodie inhaled, watching as the creature opened its mouth. As its head moved towards Jodie's exposed neck, Jodie freed her right hand, the hand clenching into a fist as it hit the grey creature right where its eyes should have been. This did not deter the creature in any way, but Jodie found it gave her a little more room to maneuver.

She quickly hit the creature in its midsection, successfully getting it off of her. She then got to her feet, firing her pistol at the creature. She managed shoot it in the right shoulder, a quick headshot causing it to stumble completely backwards.

Almost immediately, Jodie was shot at by the colonists aiming at her and Ashley. However, Jodie noticed that the world had been tainted a flaming blue, this barrier. Jodie watched as the mass accelerator rounds bounced off of Aiden's barrier, Jodie looking around as the colonists continued pumping fire in her direction. She then nodded, looking around her as she quickly went and picked up her pistol.

"Thanks," she said.

She then turned and ran for cover. Aiden's barrier dissipated. She noticed that the cover she ran into had a still-conscious colonist on the other side. Without wasting any time, Jodie shot above cover, grabbing the colonist by the shirt. Startled, this colonist released her gun, looking up in shock as Jodie let out a lengthy grunt and pulled the colonist behind cover with her. Jodie then quickly punched the colonist in the face, the punch having enough force to knock her out.

Jodie then slapped her back on the piece of cover, looking over to see the salarian was joined by two other colonists. Jodie nodded, looking up at Aiden.

"Separate them," she said. "And then see what we can do."

Jodie then watched as the prefab unit the salarian and the other colonists were hiding behind jerked suddenly behind them. It did not really move terribly far, but it was enough to startle them away from cover. Jodie watched as they milled about, looking a little confused at what happened.

That was when Jodie saw the salarian's big eyes roll back into his head. However, the salarian remained standing, and he remained so in a position that was unnaturally still. Jodie nodded, hearing someone get pushed out of the way. Jodie acknowledged Ashley with a nod, before looking back at the three colonists in question.

And then, the salarian colonist moved forward. He hit one of the colonists with his pistol, sending him sprawling to the ground. Jodie took this as an invitation to vault out of cover, Jodie running over to both colonists.

"Hey, what the hell are you-?"

The second human colonist was then knocked out by the salarian colonist, the two colonists lying on the ground. Jodie then slid into cover, nodding at the salarian. The salarian nodded robotically, and then walked past Jodie.

Jodie heard some footsteps, and then looked over at the salarian. "Hey!" Jodie turned behind her to look at Ashley as she advanced towards the salarian. "Hey, why are you-?"

"Don't touch him," said Jodie, extending an arm out to stop Ashley. "If you do that, he'll go back to shooting us."

Ashley frowned. "And how do you know that?" she asked.

"Because that's how Aiden is," said Jodie. "If you touch someone he's... possessing, then he gets expelled from that person."

Ashley frowned. "Jodie, you..." She then stepped away. "What the hell is Aiden?"

"He's a supernatural entity," she said. "That's all I can tell you for right now. I'm going to have to explain it to Kaidan anyway, so let's just save him first and I can talk to you about Aiden all day."

Ashley nodded. "Fine," she said, her tone a little harsher than Jodie was used to. "But you've got a lot to explain."

Jodie felt a few chills run up her arms. Oh fuck, I think she's already judging me... "Y... Yeah, I do..." said Jodie, glancing down to the side. After a few seconds, she breathed in, looking to the other side of the prefab unit. "Come on. We better get Kaidan out of this mess."

And with this, Jodie followed the possessed salarian colonist, Ashley following with uncertain footsteps as Jodie pressed herself against the other end of the prefab building. And as Jodie looked at the backs of the remaining twelve colonists now firing where the barricade had once been, ideas began to form in her mind. Her fingers tapped against the prefab unit, and she looked at the possessed salarian.

"Okay Aiden, let's go," she said.

The salarian simply reached for something on his pocket, Jodie noticing that it was shaped like a disc. Jodie blinked, looking at it before turning her attention to Ashley as Aiden stepped out of cover slowly.

"Please tell me that's a flashbang," she said.

Ashley stepped forward, looking at the grenade in the salarian's hand. "It should be," she said. "These guys were prepared..."

"Yeah, looks like it," said Jodie. "What was going on here...?"

The salarian's arm pulled back as soon as Jodie said this, Jodie noticing that there was a light counting down on the disc of the grenade. The salarian pulled back, throwing the grenade at full force. It arced up very high, before landing right in the center of the firefight. Some of the colonists stopped firing upon seeing this, but Jodie ducked back behind cover and closed her eyes before anything else could be said.

And then, Jodie heard the incredibly loud bang. Jodie then nodded, rushing out of cover to see the smoke from the flashbang still rising. Some of the colonists were on the floor, looking stunned by the grenade. There were a few others that were quickly beginning to get their bearings, though, and Jodie knew it would only be a matter of time before the colonists were back on their feet.

Thus, she rushed out of cover, running quickly towards one of the colonists. She thought she heard the salarian hit his head on something hard for a second, but Jodie paid it no mind as she rushed forward.

As soon as Jodie rushed at one of the colonists, she grabbed his head, slamming it against the nearby crate. Jodie then turned, looking right at the colonist across the way. Said colonist was already aiming the weapon she held, but before Jodie could do much else the colonist's weapon exploded in a shower of sparks. The colonist dropped the weapon, letting out a scream as she grabbed her hands. Jodie nodded, turning her attention to a colonist that was getting up. Said colonist assumed a fighting stance quickly, though Jodie noticed that he was still wobbling on his feet. Her opponent lunged forward, throwing a punch at Jodie's direction: however, the punch was easily evaded, and Jodie grabbed his fist, dealing a karate chop directly to the side of the colonist's head.

As this colonist went down, however, Jodie was not quick enough to dodge the fist of another colonist that ran up to her. Jodie stumbled back, looking at the colonist. This one was much more alert, and Jodie was barely able to bring her arms up in time to deflect a second punch from that colonist. Jodie used the momentum from the deflected punch to spin around, catching the guy with a side kick that sent the colonist stumbling back. As the colonist stumbled back, she saw another colonist rush at her, this one brandishing a knife. Jodie waited, the colonist with the knife rushing closer and raising it.

As soon as the knife was swiping down towards her, Jodie brought both of her arms up, forming an X with them as she stopped the arm in its stabbing motion. She then kicked the colonist away, the colonist letting out a grunt as he dropped the knife. Jodie was quick to grab the knife in question, turning around and bashing the first colonist right on the side of the head. Following it up, Jodie then lunged towards the second colonist, punching the colonist right in the eye. This colonist stumbled backwards, and then Jodie followed this blow up with a jumping roundhouse kick to the head that certainly knocked him out.

She then looked behind her, nodding. Four down, she thought. Eight to-

And then she was knocked off to the side, looking up at a fifth colonist. This one had an assault rifle aimed right at her, and Jodie could barely react before the colonist fired. Aiden's barrier went up immediately, but it was only able to give Jodie enough time to roll out of the way before Aiden had to defuse the barrier. Even then, Jodie felt a sharp pain fly up her left arm, and when she looked down she saw two holes from which she bled.

Jodie gritted her teeth, not allowing herself to yell in pain. Instead, she pushed herself to her feet, and threw a punch at this colonist with her good arm. She quickly turned, kicking the assault rifle away from the colonist as he stumbled back. Before Jodie could do much else, though, the colonist seized up, and Jodie saw Ashley come up behind the colonist.

They then both sank behind cover, taking stock of the colonists around them. Ashley moved forward, applying a dose of medigel to Jodie's arm. "There, that should take care of it," said Ashley.

Jodie nodded. "Thanks," she said. She then frowned. "Note to self: Aiden can't deflect mass accelerator rounds at point blank range..." She then looked over to Ashley. "We're not out of the woods yet, though, so let's do this."

Jodie then slinked out of cover, moving again. As she did, she caught sight of Kaidan. The lieutenant had taken cover behind part of the wall, but he seemed unhurt. Jodie let out a sigh of relief, and for a second she swore she saw Kaidan's gaze connect with hers. She nodded, and then turned towards the remaining colonists.

"Okay, Aiden, let's do this," she said, cracking her knuckles as she advanced towards the remaining seven colonists.

As Jodie advanced, however, they heard a loud boom. One of the colonists was then exposed, the crate she was using as cover having been knocked over. Jodie quickly advanced towards this colonist, and was able to dispatch her with a tackle followed by a headbang against the concrete. Jodie then moved on, jumping up to dodge a pistol shot from another colonist. Ashley was right behind Jodie, however, knocking out this colonist with the butt of her assault rifle.

Jodie then ran to the next colonist, ducking under the colonist's wild swing of his fist. Jodie rammed into this colonist, looking into her eyes and briefly recognizing Arcelia. Arcelia, however, was prepared, and Jodie soon felt herself knocked back. Jodie quickly got to her feet, though, looking on as Arcelia aimed her rifle at Jodie. As she did this, though, Jodie nodded over at Aiden.

In an instant, a shower of sparks erupted from Arcelia's gun, and it was enough for Jodie to come in close. Arcelia, however, was not fazed, and so she managed to deflect Jodie's punch as she went in for the blow. Jodie was then thrown to the ground by Arcelia, though Jodie was able to roll back onto her feet. She heard several mass accelerator rounds get fired, but she did not see anything impact her shields.

She then got into a fighting stance, Jodie and Arcelia circling around each other. Jodie breathed in and out slowly to calm herself, looking at Arcelia with an almost apologetic look. Nevertheless, she concentrated on Arcelia, hoping for Arcelia to make the first move.

Of course, Jodie then heard a rather strange shoving sound from the side, and before she knew it one of the remaining colonists streaked past her vision behind Arcelia. Arcelia turned in surprise to look at the colonist, but Jodie took this as her opportunity. She then stepped forward, clocking Arcelia across the face. The blow sent her down to the ground, and Jodie immediately followed this up by knocking Arcelia out with an elbow blow.

Jodie then looked over just in time to see Ashley take out one of the few remaining colonists. As she looked to Ashley, the other two were floating above her, surrounded in the blue aura typified by biotics. Jodie briefly panicked upon seeing the colonists that high, and then Jodie watched as the two were released from their hold. The colonists thankfully did not fall too far, though the cry of pain they released was troubling.

Jodie immediately ran over to both of them, checking them both for a pulse. Thankfully, they still had one, so she took that as a cue to whip out her omni-tool and administer a dose of medigel. She did this for both, sighing in relief as she looked over to Ashley. They then turned to Kaidan as he stepped out from behind cover, looking somewhat relieved. He sighed, looking at both Ashley and Jodie.

"Well, that's a relief," he said. "I couldn't get a hold of Shepard at all. I thought the colonists were going to kill us."

Jodie nodded, before frowning. "Wait, where's Wrex?" she asked.

"Probably still by the ship," said Ashley. She then looked up. "And speaking of missing people, where's Fai-?"

"Right here."

All three of them turned to see Fai Dan there. Jodie gasped in shock at the fact that he was holding a pistol, but when she looked again, she saw that the pistol was shaking. Upon a more extensive glance, Jodie also saw that Fai Dan had tears flowing out of his eyes. They were not tears of sorrow, but tears of pain, and it was something evidenced by his bloodshot eyes.

"I... I c-can't resist much longer," Fai Dan said, his voice strained. "It... It's caused all this..."

"It?" asked Ashley. "What are you talking about?"

"Ex... Miss, you asked questions..." Fai Dan said, his voice shaking as he looked at Jodie. "There's something down below... Under one of the prefabs... It's... it's controlled our minds..."

Jodie blinked in shock. "Wait, what?" she asked.

"I... I can hear the voices..." Fai Dan then let out a scream of pain, falling right to his knees. Jodie immediately moved towards Fai Dan, looking him in the eyes. "They're... they're telling me to kill you. They told all the colonists that... But... But I can't..." Fai Dan then moved the gun, his arm shaking. "I won't! I won't let it control me!"

He let out a loud cry as he slowly brought the pistol up to his own head.

Jodie's eyes widened as Fai Dan placed the barrel of the pistol against his own head. She then looked directly at the colonist in front of her, shaking her head.

"No, no, don't!" shouted Jodie. She then lunged forward. "Don't-"

And then the pistol was yanked right out of Fai Dan's hand by an invisible force. The pistol clattered on the ground behind Jodie, Fai Dan looking on in surprise. Jodie looked up, and then nodded as she then lunged for Fai Dan. Jodie then looked down at Fai Dan as she hovered over him, preparing the finishing blow.

"I'm sorry," she said. "Hopefully, we'll have this problem all sorted out when you wake up. We'll look under the prefab unit..."

And with this, Jodie punched Fai Dan hard enough to knock him out. Jodie paused a few seconds, looking down at Fai Dan as he laid there unconscious. After a few seconds, she let out a grateful sigh, moving off of Fai Dan and rolling onto her back.

"Thanks, Aiden," she said. "I guess we really did do it..."

Kaidan then looked at Ashley. "Who's she talking to?" he asked.

"I have no idea, but this has become a problem," said Ashley. She then stepped towards Jodie, looking at her angrily. "Why didn't you tell anybody about this?"

Jodie sat up, looking at Ashley. "I... It's just that-!"

"Okay, I'm just going to start by saying that I won't take any bullshit excuses from you right now," said Ashley. "What the hell is Aiden, and why didn't you tell anyone about it?"

"Whoah, whoah, calm down Ash," said Kaidan. "What's this about Aiden?"

"You didn't think that pistol got yanked out of Fai Dan's hand by itself, did you?" asked Ashley. She then turned to Jodie. "You told me you'd explain it to Kaidan anyway. Well, there he is. So what is it?"

Jodie sighed, looking down at the ground. "Aiden... He's an... entity," she said, placing her hands in her lap. "He's supernatural, probably the spirit of a dead person. Even I don't fully know what he is."

Kaidan frowned, stepping forward. "Jodie, that's..." he glanced at Fai Dan's pistol where it lay over there. "What are you-?"

And then, Jodie's omni-tool beeped loudly, and the word processing program opened. There was a message on the omni-tool's word processor. Kaidan flinched, leaning closer to see the message that was prominently displayed:

"HI I'M AIDEN"

Kaidan frowned, before looking at Jodie. "Jodie, you're... You're psychic?" he asked.

"No, not in that sense of the word," said Jodie. "It's all Aiden: I just happen to be his... accessory." Jodie chuckled bitterly, before she shifted her posture so she was on her knees. "He's an entity that I've been tethered to since the day I was born. We can't be separated. And he..." She looked down, her eyes clouding up in shame. "He can do so much, Kaidan. He can possess people, he can heal people, he can give me visions... and you've already seen other things he can do. He's... He's-"

"Something that could affect the mission, sir!" Ashley interrupted. "She didn't tell anybody that information; how can we trust her? For all we know, she might be working for someone that isn't the Alliance! We know she can't be working for Saren, but what if she's working for someone else?"

"I'm not working for anyone," said Jodie.

"And how can we be sure of that?" asked Kaidan, also giving Jodie a suspicious glance. "I explained everything to you already, Jodie. I think you and I know that this that's just popped up is a big problem, and you actively hid this from us. How can we know you're trustworthy, and that you won't subvert the mission?"

"Because I could've kept Aiden a secret here and kept my cover," said Jodie, clenching her fists. "But I couldn't do that. Not with so many colonists that would've died." She then looked up at Kaidan, her eyes watering. "I... I can't let civilians die for my secret. That... that would be wrong..."

Kaidan's frown softened slightly upon hearing this, though Ashley still looked on with an angry expression. The three of them remained silent, the air thick with the weight of Jodie's admission. "Look, I know you probably don't trust me now," Jodie continued. "Which is why I'm telling you: I don't have any designs on the Normandy. If you can't trust anything else, trust me on that."

"Then why keep this Aiden thing a secret?" asked Ashley.

"Because-"

"Kaidan! Kaidan, are you there?"

Jodie, Ashley, and Kaidan all perked up, looking at Kaidan's omni-tool. The Lieutenant quickly brought his hand up to his ear, looking relieved.

"Shepard, finally!" he said. "The colonists turned on us, sir. I tried to hail you on the comms, but the communications were jammed."

"Blame the geth for that," said Shepard. "The colonists turned on you?"

"Yes, sir," said Kaidan. "We took care of it, though. As of now, they're all unconscious. We're getting ready to administer medical care to all of them."

"You did?" Shepard asked. "How?"

Kaidan looked over at Ashley and Jodie. Ashley's frown was plastered on her face, and by then she had holstered her assault rifle. As she crossed her arms, Kaidan then looked at Jodie.

Jodie was terrified. She had looked up for the first time since the conversation started, but Kaidan saw the way Jodie's pupils shrank. Her whole body was tense, and Kaidan could see her shaking her head. It was a frantic shake of her head, and after a few seconds, he saw her begin mouthing 'no' over and over, and Jodie nearly wanted to shout at Kaidan.

Please, no, don't tell him, she wanted to scream out. I can't have the Alliance knowing about me!

Kaidan looked at her for a few seconds, his expression softening considerably. His mouth opened for a second, but he closed it immediately as he looked away from Jodie. He then sighed, nodding.

"It was Jodie, sir," he said. "She's... she's really good at stealth. She managed to sneak around and take a few of the colonists out. Without killing them, of course. Let me tell you, she's something else."

Jodie sighed in relief. "I see," said Shepard. "I'll have to commend her personally when I get there. I thought that might've happened upon finding out what ExoGeni is up to."

"Really?" asked Kaidan. "What happened?"

"There's a sentient plant right under your feet," said Shepard. "It apparently releases a spore that allows it to control the minds of everyone around it." He then chuckled. "I guess I should roll out the banner for our new plant-based overlords."

Kaidan chuckled. "Maybe it won't come to that," said Kaidan. "Are you on your way back?"

"We just dealt with the geth here," Shepard said. "We'll be back shortly. Tend to the colonists, and then wait for us to get there. When I get there, you'll go back to the Normandy, all right?"

"Yes, sir," said Kaidan. "We'll wait for you here."

"Good," said Shepard. "I'll see you in a bit."

And with this, the comm link cut out.

Immediately, Ash stepped forward. "Kaidan, what did you just do?" she asked angrily. "Jodie's secret could be-"

"I believe her, Ash," Kaidan said. "I know you're worried, but she's right. She could have chosen to maintain her cover here, but she didn't. How many agents do you know would admit to something like this to save civilians?"

Ashley paused, looking at Kaidan. "That doesn't mean anything," she said. "She could be hiding her real mission still. You don't know that, sir."

"I don't either, but I think she would have revealed that by now," he said. He shook his head. "Look, I know you're concerned about the mission, Ash, but whatever Jodie is, I don't think she's a threat to the mission. I think we can trust her."

Jodie nodded, closing her eyes as she let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, sir," she said. "I just... please don't tell anyone. I can't risk that... I'll tell others myself, but please don't tell anyone."

Ashley frowned. "When Shepard finds out, he won't be happy, you know," she said, shaking her head in dismay. "And neither will most of Alliance command."

"Maybe," said Kaidan. "But if it won't threaten the mission, then I don't believe it will be a problem." He then turned to Jodie. "It won't threaten the mission, will it?"

"He won't," said Jodie. "I can make sure of that."

"Then I think that's that," said Kaidan. "If you have any other questions, take it up with her. For now, we should wait for Shepard."

"And Wrex," said Ashley. "Speaking of which, where is he?"

The three of them then looked around, seeing no sign of the big krogan anywhere. They then looked around for a few seconds, Jodie's shoulders sagging as they waited for an answer.

They got it a few seconds later when the big krogan walked around the prefab building by the barricade, looking quite pleased with himself. He had a few splatters of white on his armor and Jodie thought she saw orange blood trickling from one of his biceps, but otherwise the krogan looked sated. He then looked all around him, and his smile fell somewhat. He looked around for a few seconds, before turning to Jodie and Kaidan.

"What?" asked Wrex. "The fight's over already?"

"Unfortunately," said Jodie as she stood up. "I take it you took care of all of those white things?"

"Yeah," said Wrex. "They went down in one shot, though. Weak. But there were lots of them!" He then smiled heartily. "And with that many there, they put up a good fight."

"Glad to hear it," said Kaidan. "We're just waiting for Shepard to come back. Once there, we'll be heading back to the Normandy."

"Already?" asked Wrex. "That's disappointing."

"A little," said Ashley darkly as she shot a glare at Jodie and Kaidan. "A little."

Jodie sighed, shaking her head as she brushed some dust off of her armor. "Well, we've seen quite a lot of action today," she said. "I think you got in one good fight for the road, though, right?"

"Yep," said Wrex. "I imagine it'll be the kind of thing I'll tell the bartender if I ever get drunk enough to admit that."

"Maybe," said Jodie. "We should check on the colonists, make sure most of them are still alive by this point."

"Of course," said Kaidan. "Come on."

And with this, the four ground team members moved around the colony, checking on the various colonists and waiting for Shepard to finally arrive back from deep within Feros.