Chapter 14

"Okay," Ashley said as they reached the bottom of the stairs and headed down a corridor. "We just have to find this thing and put a few rounds into…into…" She trailed off as they saw a strange, bulbous mass hanging in a large cylinder of open space. "What the hell is that?" she asked shrilly.

Shepard's eyebrow was raised as far as it could go. "That…does not look like any plant I have ever seen," he said, unable to come up with a witty remark for once in his life. "This may be…problematic."

He stepped closer to the Thorian, and nearby tendrils moved. They twitched, coming closer together before an orifice opened. Like a profane birth, a green asari slipped from the opening, covered in the Thorian's stinking afterbirth. The oddly-colored woman looked at them viciously. "Invaders! Your every step is a transgression. A thousand feelers appraise you as meat, good only to dig or decompose. 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!"

Shepard stepped forward, glowering. "You gave something to Saren. Something I need."

"Saren sought knowledge of those who are gone," the asari said disinterestedly. "The Old Growth listened to flesh for the first time in the Long Cycle. Trades were made." Her eyes flashed with the plant's anger. "Then cold ones began killing the flesh that would tend the next cycle. Flesh fairly given! The Old Growth sees the air you push as lies! It will listen no more!"

Seeing that diplomacy seemed to be failing, Shepard let his own anger blaze forth. "I won't let you keep your thralls. Release them, now!"

"No more will the Thorian listen to those that scurry!" the asari puppet dismissed him. "Your lives are short, but have gone on too long. Your blood will feed the ground and the new growth!" She pulled a shotgun off her back, but Shepard's pistol was out in the blink of an eye. It roared once, and the asari's head ripped open, revealing it to be merely plant material like a creeper. Shepard and his team quickly turned to face several incoming creepers, cutting them down in a hail of fire.

Unsure of what to do next, they looked around, and Garrus spotted a doorway. He ran over and looked inside. "Shepard! There's something in here! Some kind of growth!"

The team looked, and sure enough it appeared to be an extremely thick tendril anchoring the Thorian to the wall. Shepard pointed at the bulbous connection point. "Take that thing out! Tali, Wrex, help me cover them from any creepers!" The pair drew their shoguns and opened fire on the creepers that awakened as the rest of the squad ripped the tendril apart with bullets. It finally tore away from the wall, and the Thorian let loose with a horrific scream of sorts.

"That pissed it off! A few more like that and it'll fall!" Wrex yelled as they charged up some stairs.

As they reached the top, a new surprise awaited: another asari clone. This one proved just how dangerous the Thorian's cloning ability was, as she opened up with biotics. Shepard grunted as a biotic sphere smashed into him, driving him back and knocking him to the floor. He saw creepers coming, but Wrex was suddenly in front of him, blasting the zombie-like plant creatures down. The asari clone peeked around the corner, but her head exploded as Garrus' sniper rifle cracked once.

They fought through the area, gunning down creepers and clones and cutting every tendril they could see until finally, with an unnatural screech, the Thorian could no longer support itself. It fell for what seemed like an eternity before a sickening sound, like an overripe tomato falling to ground, rose from below. Suddenly, all the strange sacs on the wall exploded. Bones, some human, some of other Citadel species, and some unrecognizable tumbled out of most of them along with noisome brown liquid, but from one fell an asari, very much alive. Although her skin was blue, her face and markings exactly matched the clones they had just been fighting. Shepard and his squad made their way over to her, guns still at the ready. She had, after all, been one of Saren's.

She shook her head before standing, looking at Shepard in shock. "You…freed me! I…suppose I should thank you for releasing me," she said, clearly somewhat confused from the ordeal.

Shepard decided to try being friendly first. "Is everything all right? Are you hurt?"

The asari shook her head. "I am fine. Or I will be, in time. My name is Shiala. I serve—I served Matriarch Benezia. When she allied herself with Saren, so did I. Benezia foresaw the influence Saren would have. She joined him to guide him down a gentler path. But Saren is compelling; Benezia…lost her way."

"That doesn't seem possible," Liara breathed, stunned.

"Are you saying Saren can control minds?" Shepard asked, somewhat hostile. It seemed almost like a cop-out answer.

"Benezia underestimated Saren, as I did. We came to believe in his cause and his goals. The strength of his influence is…troubling."

"No kidding," Shepard frowned.

Liara shook her head sadly. "Benezia sought to turn the river and was washed away."

"Asari matriarchs are some of the most intelligent and powerful beings in the galaxy," Garrus objected. "How could one fall under Saren's control?"

"Saren has a vessel," Shiala said quietly. "An enormous warship unlike anything I've ever seen. He calls it Sovereign. It can dominate the minds of his followers. They become…indoctrinated…to Saren's will. The process is subtle. It can take days, weeks. But in the end, it is absolute." She looked down, shame in her eyes. "I was a willing slave when Saren brought me to this world. He needed my biotics to communicate with the Thorian, to learn its secrets. Saren offered me in trade. I was sacrificed to secure an alliance between Saren and the Thorian."

Shepard shook his head. "Saren's pretty quick to betray his own people."

"He was quick to betray the Thorian, too," Shiala agreed. "After he had what he wanted, he ordered the geth to destroy all evidence of its existence. Saren knows you are searching for the Conduit. He knows you are following his steps. He attacked the Thorian so you could not gain the Cipher."

Shepard blinked. "What the hell is the Cipher? Why did Saren need it?"

"The beacon on Eden Prime gave you visions, yes? But they are unclear, confusing. They were meant for a Prothean mind. To truly comprehend them, you must think like a Prothean. You must understand their culture, their history, their very existence. The Thorian was here long before the Protheans built this city. It watched and studied them. When they died, it consumed them. They became a part of it."

"So the Thorian taught Saren to think like a Prothean?" Shepard said, finding some small amusement in it. "How?"

"The Cipher is the very essence of being a Prothean. It cannot be described or explained. It would be like explaining color to a creature without eyes. To understand, you must have access to endemic ancestral memory. A viewpoint spanning thousands of Prothean generations. I sensed this memory, the Cipher, when I melded with the Thorian. Our identities merged, our thoughts intertwined. Such knowledge cannot be taught; it simply exists."

"But I need that knowledge to stop Saren!" Shepard said intensely.

Shiala looked at him haltingly. "There…is a way. I can transfer the knowledge from my mind to yours, as I did with Saren."

Liara gaped. "Excuse me?!"

Garrus grabbed Shepard's shoulder. "While I think my concerns are a bit different from Liara's, I have to ask: are you sure about this, Shepard? We don't really know if she's on our side. Who knows what she could do to you?"

Shepard shrugged. "I have to try. If something happens, take her out and just keep working against Saren."

Shiala gulped when Shepard mentioned taking her out, but nodded firmly when Shepard turned to her. "Try to relax, Commander. Slow, deep breaths. Let go of your physical shell. Reach out and grasp the threads that bind us, one to another." Her voice became stronger, more like a chant as she continued. "Every action sends ripples across the galaxy. Every idea must touch another mind to live. Each emotion must mark another's spirit." She stepped ever closer. "We are all connected. Every living being united in a single, glorious existence. Open yourself to the universe, Commander. Embrace eternity!" Her eyes went black and the beacon's visions tore through Shepard's mind again, feeling somehow more excruciating than before. The destruction suddenly given more context. The annihilation suddenly of his own people.

And at the end, a shape, a ship that matched Saren's from his sighting on Eden Prime.

Shepard opened his eyes, surprised as he did not recall closing them. Shiala looked at him concernedly, as did his squad. He raised his head to indicate that he was fine.

Shiala nodded. "I have given you the Cipher, just as it was given to Saren. The ancestral memories of the Protheans are a part of you now."

"Are you all right, Shepard? What did she do to you?" Ashley asked.

"I'm fine. I saw…something. It still didn't make much sense, though."

"You have been given a great gift, Commander: the experience of an entire people. It will take time for your mind to process this information."

"You do not look well. We should get you to the ship," Liara said with a worried tone.

"I am sorry if you have suffered, but there was no other way," Shiala apologized. "You needed the Cipher. In time, it will help you understand the vision from the beacon."

Shepard nodded, but his stance became rigid and his voice harder. "Now that you're free of the Thorian, what do you plan to do?"

Shiala started slightly at his sudden change, but did her best to look him in the eye. "If you will allow it, I would like to stay here with the colonists. They have suffered greatly, and I played a role in their suffering. I would like to make amends."

Wrex laughed derisively. "Of course you would. And when you go back to Saren?"

Shiala bristled. "I will not return to him. I am free of his indoctrination. I see him now as the monster he is."

Shepard watched her closely, calculating from her body language, tone, and eyes. Finally, he nodded. "The colonists will need all the help they can get. They'll be happy to have you on their side."

Shiala looked relieved. "Thank you, Commander. May fortune smile upon you."

As everyone sat in the briefing room, Liara raised her concerns. "Commander, you look…pale. Are you suffering any ill effects from the Cipher?"

Shepard chuckled. "It did shake me up a bit."

Liara looked shy. "I…might be able to help you. I am an expert on the Protheans, after all. If I join my consciousness to yours, maybe we can make some sense of it."

Shepard shrugged. "Don't have any better ideas. Do it."

Liara stepped close. "Relax, Commander. Embrace eternity!" she said.

The visions flashed through Shepard's head again, just as painful as when he had received the Cipher. As they ended, he opened his eyes and saw Liara reeling. "That was incredible!" she said, stunned. "All this time, all my research…yet I never dreamed…I'm sorry. The images were so vivid. I never imagined they would be so…intense." She looked up admiringly. "You are remarkably strong-willed, Commander. What you've been through, what you've seen, would have destroyed a lesser mind."

Ashley rolled her eyes, annoyed with the way Liara was acting with Shepard. "C'mon, get to the point. What did you see?"

Liara looked momentarily surprised, as though she had forgotten anyone else was in the room. "The beacon on Eden Prime must have been badly damaged. Large parts of the vision are missing. The data transferred into the Commander's mind is incomplete."

Shepard sighed. "You sure you didn't come across any kind of clue or hint? Something we might have missed?"

"Everything I saw, you already know," she said apologetically. "You were right about the Reapers. The Protheans were destroyed by a race of sentient machines. I think it is obvious that there is a connection between the Reapers, the Prothean extinction, and the Conduit. But I did not see anything that would help us find it."

Shepard shook his head; another miss. "What's our next move?"

"I was able to interpret the data relayed through your vision. What there was, at least. But something was missing. Saren must have the missing information. Maybe he found another beacon. If we can find the missing data from your vision, I can—whoa…" she stumbled. "I am sorry. The joining is…exhausting. I should go to the medical bay and lie down for a moment."

"Dr. Chakwas should take a look at you," Shepard said concernedly.

"That will not be necessary," Liara said quickly. "I just need some rest. Somewhere quiet."

Shepard shrugged. "Okay. We're done here, team. Dismissed."

As the other filed out, Joker came over the intercom. "I've sent off the Feros report, Commander. You want me to patch you through to the Council?"

"Patch 'em through, Joker," Shepard responded, stepping to the conference area as three holograms flared to life.

Tevos was the first to speak. "Commander. ExoGeni should have told us about the Thorian. It would have made your job much easier."

"I hope you're planning to sanction them over their ethical lapse?" Shepard said angrily.

"The matter has been referred to the Alliance, Commander," Valern assured him. "It is just a pity you weren't able to secure it for study."

Shepard chuckled mirthlessly. "The Thorian liked to enslave minds. Anyone who studied it would have ended up as one of its thralls."

"Perhaps it's for the best, then," Tevos acknowledged. "At least the colony was saved."

"Of course it was saved," Sparatus snorted. "Shepard would go to any lengths to help a human colony."

Shepard bristled. "Being human had nothing to do with it. They were in trouble. I saved the salarian there, too. If that place was full of turians, I would've worked just as hard to save them!"

"Admirable," Valern said. "But sometimes Spectres have to make sacrifices. I hope you're willing to do that when the time comes."

"With all due respect, sir, if I was able to do it without sacrifices, then no sacrifices were required. If they ever are, I'll make them without hesitation," Shepard promised.

"Goodbye, Commander. We'll be waiting for your next report." With that, the Council's forms vanished.