Mass Trek

Chapter 13: The Thorian

Shepard and Wrex descended the stairs that ExoGeni had cut into the rock floor descending into the tunnel, weapons at the ready. Shepard lit the light on her rifle to light their way, and Wrex did likewise on his shotgun. As they descended, the walls went from being bare to being covered in tendrils, which in the darkness and lit only by their lights, appeared as slithering masses. Shepard squashed a tendril of her own, one of fear, that threatened to rise in her heart. She always had a problem with masses of creepy crawlies. She popped the visor down over her eyes, which enabled her to put the available light to good use. The small computer in her helmet changed the polarity of her visor and the tunnel lit up before her in detail.

After they descend over a hundred meters, the tunnel took a turn and opened up into a cavern. There, in the middle of the cavern and suspended above a massive pit, was the ugliest thing Shepard had seen. It was suspended by thick roots."

"Shepard to Normandy."

"Pressley here, Commander," came the slightly garbled transmission. "We're barely reading you."

"I believe we've found the Thorian."

"Acknowledged, Commander," Pressley replied. "The Doctor has beamed down with Alenko and Williams. She's looking over the colonists now."

"Understood. I'll remain in contact while I can. Shepard out." She stepped forward in front, or she assumed she was in front, of the Thorian. "I am Commander Shepard of the Federation Starship Normandy."

The Thorian shuddered, started dripping liquid, and made a squelching sound. Then, without further warning, an orifice rimmed with tentacles opened and spat out a green woman. Shepard's first impression was that the woman was an Orion, but realized the woman was an Asari. The Asari looked up, her eyes alight with the same glow as was in Fai Dan's had been. And just as angry.

The Asari pointed at them. "Invaders! Your every step is a transgression! A thousand feelers appraise you as meat, good only to dig or decompose!" She lowered her arm. "I speak for the Old Growth as I did for Saren. You are within and before the Thorian. It commands that you be in awe."

Wrex harrumphed. Shepard held up a hand to silence him.

"What did Saren want of you?" Shepard asked.

"Saren sought knowledge of those who are gone," the spokeswoman explained. "The Old Growth listened to flesh for the first time in a long cycle. Trades were made, then cold ones began killing flesh that would tend the next cycle- flesh fairly given. The Old Growth sees the air you push as lies and will listen no more!"

"We're not like Saren," Shepard explained. "I am part of an United Federation of Planets that seeks out undiscovered life and civilizations-"

"No more will the Thorian listen to those that scurry!" The green Asari declared. "Your lives are short but have gone on for too long! Your blood will feed the ground for a new growth!"

The Asari lit up her biotics and slammed Shepard against the wall. It was only years of training that kept the rifle in her hands. Wrex lined up a shot with his shotgun on the Asari and blasted her off into the abyss. He ran to her position.

"You alright, Shepard?"

"Fine," She replied as she got up. "The armor kept me from being injured."

"Weapons off stun now?" Wrex asked.

Shepard shot a creeper's head clear off. "Yes, Wrex. Set to kill."

Wrex laughed. "Finally." He turned around and fired his shotgun into the mass of creepers that was approaching them. "HAHAHAAAAH!"

Shepard followed the Krogan and shot at creepers that tried to flank Wrex. Wrex had mentioned that he was a biotic, and he certainly liked to show off his skill.

"Chakwas to Shepard."

"I'm a little busy right now, Doctor."

"I figured as much from the sound of weapon fire, Commander," Chakwas replied. "The colonists up here are going nuts. If it wasn't for the restrains Williams insisted we bring, they'd be all over us.

"Commander, these people are being controlled against their will. My tricorder scans show that they will suffer irreparable brain damage if they remain under the influence of this thing for much longer."

"Understood," Shepard replied. "Shepard out. Wrex! Can you see anyway to take this thing down?"

Wrex blasted the last creeper in the wave and looked up. "This root seems to be a weight bearing one."

Shepard traced the root with her eyes all the way back to the center mass of the Thorian. She pulled out her tricorder. "It's a neural node as well. Take out enough of these, it might release its hold on the colonists. Good work."

Wrex aimed his shotgun at the root and fired. Most of the node shriveled before their eyes, some parts disintegrated, and all liquid present vaporized. The Thorian gave what could only be described as a hideous screech.

Shepard scanned again. "There are a few more of these. Let's see if it decides to negotiate before we knock them all out." Shepard looked down the slope and saw that another Asari had been spat out.

"I'm willing to stop hurting the Thorian if it will be willing to listen to us."

"The Old Growth sees the air you push as lies and will listen no more!" The Asari repeated as she ran up the slope and charged her biotics.

Shepard landed a blast to the middle of the Asari's chest and dropped her. "Let's take out another, Wrex," she ordered.

Shepard and Wrex fought their way to anther node and destroyed it, and again she tried to reason with the Thorian, with the same result of non-compliance. Again, she orders Wrex to destroy a node. Still, the Thorian would not negotiate and insisted on killing them.

On the fourth node, the Thorian gave another screech, and the root snapped. Dust filled Shepard's vision. When the dust cleared, Shepard rushed to get eyes on the Thorian. When she reached a spot where she could get a clear view, she saw that the Thorian had fallen into the abyss, and a normal, blue Asari was on the ledge where the green ones had previously landed.

Shepard and Wrex ran to the Asari. Shepard slung the rifle onto her back and leaned over the Asari. "You alright?"

"I... I think so."

"We have a doctor on the surface. We'll get you to her. What's your name?"

"Shiala. I serve... heh... served Matriarch Benezia. When she allied herself with Saren, so did I."

"Let's get you to the doctor."

"I have to tell you. Saren was looking for something. A Cipher. The Thorian gave it to him. I have it now."

"Let's get you to the surface first, then we'll see about that cipher," Shepard insisted.

~Mass Trek~

"Commander, how did the rescue go?" Anderson asked over the secure channel.

"The entirety of the colony was under attack by the Geth," Shepard replied. "We destroyed the cruiser that was the source of the attack, discovered that an entity called the Thorian had infected the entire colony with spores, which enabled it to control them. I'm sending what information ExoGeni had on it."

"How did you get your hands on that information?"

"Being a Spectre has its benefits. Once the colonists were safe, I returned to the ExoGeni facility and used my authority to convince the building's VI to give me unrestricted access. I downloaded everything I could before the ExoGeni personnel returned and tried to stop me."

"How did you save the colonists?"

"I had to kill the Thorian. Apparently, Saren broke the agreement between them and poisoned its mind against anyone who might come and try to attain what it gave him. The Cipher."

"The Cipher?"

"The visions the Prothean didn't make a lot of sense because I didn't have any understanding of Prothean culture. The Cipher gave me that."

"How did you get it?" Anderson asked.

"One of Benezia's commandos, Shiala, was more or less sacrificed to the Thorian. She was literally inside the entity, which produced clones made of plant matter to speak with us. Through those clones, which have all the abilities of the original, Saren gained the Cipher. Doctor Chakwas gave the okay, having studied up on the Asari abilities. Shiala gave me the Cipher."

"She volunteered?" Anderson asked. "She must have been pretty mad at Saren."

"She is," Shepard confirmed. "There's also the colonial vessel that was destroyed. I had Alenko take a team to rescue a survivor that was still onboard."

"And how is that survivor?"

"Still unconscious, but he's not all that we brought back."

Anderson leaned closer. "Oh?"

"The IHC has basic cloaking technology. Enough to fool the Citadel vessels, but none of ours. Alenko team brought it back for analysis."

"That's explains why they've had great success against the Batarians," Anderson muttered.

"And that's the last of the important details," Shepard announced. "Other than the colonists are in a debate right now."

"What about?" Anderson asked.

"Several topics. Appealing to the Federation for membership. Leaving the Feros and settling on a Federation world. To sue or not to sue ExoGeni." Shepard leaned in close. "There's not a lot of them, sir. They could use some help."

"I'll send the Isaac to deliver some supplies," Anderson replied. "And you better get back to finding Doctor T'Soni."

"Something come up, sir?"

"Udina's been acting really smug. I don't like it. Makes me think something is up."

"I'll get underway as soon as possible, Admiral."

~Mass Trek~

As soon as the Icarus was inside the Mora Nebula, Jarvis ordered the vessel to decloak and send out a specific hail. He then ordered all stop and to wait.

"And what are we waiting for sir?" Major Donner asked.

"Our escort," Jarvis explained. "They'll ensure we are who we say we are and then ensure we aren't being bugged or traced. Once they are satisfied we aren't going to be a threat to their security, then we'll be escorted inside."

"What is inside, sir?" Donner pressed.

Jarvis didn't answer his XO. Instead, he leaned back in his chair and waited.

Suddenly, a few frigates decloaked, followed by a trio of destroyers, a pair of cruisers, and a battleship. The battleship had a primary hull composed of a large sphere with the vessel's nacelles sweeping back from the sides and a secondary hull sweeping back from the ventral side that looked like the back half of a kayak.

The officer at the science station turned to him. "Sir, they've begun their scans. They've also locked weapons on us."

"As to be expected," Jarvis replied.

"I don't recognize their particle weapons, sir. They look to be some form of disruptor weaponry, but I can't get a good enough reading to confirm."

Jarvis turned in his seat. "Belay those scans."

The science officer pressed the commands to cease the scans. "I apologize, sir," the young lieutenant proffered as Jarvis turned back to the view screen.

"Sir," the communications officer called out. "We're receiving instructions to proceed directly ahead at one-quarter impulse."

"Helm, follow those instructions. Proceed when ready."

The Icarus proceeded forward at the slow speed while flanked by a cruiser and destroyer while the rest of the fleet cloaked once again. The vessels passed by and, on occasion, through dense clouds of gas. After half an hour of travel, the nebula clouds gave way to a large, clear pocket devoid of gas due to the presence of a gas giant planetoid at the center. And in orbit, a large number of ships, a sizable shipyard, and a strange alien vessel.

"What is that?" Donner asked.

"The colonies' biggest secret, apparently," Jarvis replied.

Donner looked over the alien vessel. The design was unfamiliar. The vessel appeared to have been built for war- a war that must have been more harsh than anything he had seen before. The vessel appeared to have been gutted, apparently in a single slice by some unbelievably devastating weapon.

There was only one reason that the colonies would want to keep this ship a secret from the rest of the galaxy, especially for the amount of time that it would take to build all those shipyards, the ships they had produced, and the new weaponry the ships were equipped with.

The ship was Prothean.