My computer gave me all sorts of trouble trying to get this chapter posted, but I triumphed eventually! I hope you enjoy! Also, fair warning, it gets a little gross this chapter. The Thorian creepers...well, they always creeped me out!
Oh, and huge thank you to all of you have favorited, followed, and reviewed this story. Reading reviews reminds me that if people want to read more, I have to write more :) It's a great motivator.
All copyright belongs to Bioware; I'm just taking a spin through their universe.
Chapter 25
The guilty researcher led them to a still operable VI, logging them in and babbling her way through an explanation. From what Shepard could gather from the scientific jargon Liara and Lizbeth were passing back and forth, the Thorian had been discovered beneath the Zhu's Hope settlement. It was an ancient life form, one that they suspected had existed since the time of the Protheans. It released spores into the air and produced some…interesting effects on humans.
"Wait. You're saying this plant can control humans? Make them serve it?" asked Shepard, her head starting to hurt.
"In a way. It influences their minds, their way of thinking. They become very protective. It's how the Thorian has managed to survive for so long."
"And ExoGeni was studying this? You let the people of Zhu's Hope breathe in that crap?" demanded Garrus, his blue eyes sparking with anger.
"That's why they seemed sick at the colony but also were continuing to put up a fight. They're being told to," said Shepard with horror.
"They were being studied to see how the Thorian interacted with another species. I don't agree with their methods!" Lizbeth insisted. "I fought my superiors and they threatened to sanction me. When the geth attacked, I tried to take advantage of the distraction to get a message off planet. That's when the geth cut power. They laid cables everywhere. I've been hiding ever since."
"I'll deal with ExoGeni when this is over," muttered Shepard. "We know that the Reapers are indoctrinating those who serve them. Maybe Saren is interested in the process; he might be afraid that he's next."
"I think Saren is likely already indoctrinated," mused Liara, her face a little darker at the mention of the topic. "It might have something to do with the age of the Thorian. If it has truly been here since the Protheans, it would be valuable, particularly if it's sentient…"
"Oh my God," said Shepard suddenly, her eyes wide. "The Mu Relay. Your mother couldn't give us the location. Do you think there's a way this thing could know it?"
"We need to find out," said Garrus, gripping his rifle tighter. "We should go, now."
"Saren's using the geth to erase all signs of the Thorian's presence, including the colonists and the company. He doesn't want anyone to find out what he's doing. We have to get through the barrier the geth erected," said Shepard. "Even you are not tall enough to lift me and Liara back up that stairwell."
"We could lift ourselves up," said Liara. "With biotics. These barriers will not allow for us to communicate with Joker."
Garrus turned slightly to look at Shepard. Her face tightened but otherwise there was no reaction. "If we don't get rid of the geth in this tower, we'll have a fight on both fronts. If these colonists have become protective of the Thorian, they will not want us poking around. I don't fancy having a rocket trooper at my back. We should get rid of the geth ship first."
Shepard nodded her consent, patting Garrus gratefully on his heavily armored back. "Lizbeth, show us where those claws are attached. We'll take it from there."
Getting rid of the geth was a lucky stroke of fortune. One of the claws had been shoved through an open doorway. The doors had been slightly damaged but that had worked in their favor. They would only close with a lot of pressure. With a bit of manipulation on Liara's part with the gears (while Shepard and Garrus held off a geth squad who were highly objectionable to their efforts), they were able to get the doors to slam shut. The groan of the ship as it shuddered and broke off the building was music to Shepard's ears. Trying to run past the shooting geth and out of the collapsing hallways was less fun. When the ship tore it, it took huge chunks of wall with it, exposing Shepard and her team as they rushed to rendezvous with Lizbeth and make it back to the Mako.
Garrus continued to enjoy running over geth as they made their way back to the colony. Able to finally reach them, Joker passed on in a slightly frantic voice that the colonists had decided to turn on the Normandy and the rest of the team left behind. "Let them hammer at the Normandy, they can't do any real damage," said Shepard.
"Tell that to my ship! My poor baby is getting pounded on!" replied Joker.
"What about us, Skipper?" asked Ashley over the comm, the sound of shouting echoing through the connection.
"What's your situation, Chief?"
"We were helping to get the water lines back on. Tali took Kaidan down to the main line underground. And the colonists just suddenly lost it. They started screeching and turned their weapons on us. Wrex and I made our way to the rest of the team but we're holed up in one of the trailers. I don't want to hurt them, but they want to hurt us!"
"I say we go out there and take them out!" argued Wrex.
"We don't have time for this!" snapped Shepard, real fear starting to uncoil in her stomach. "Ashley, are you still underground? Does everyone have their helmets or breathers on?"
There was a pause for a moment. "Once the combat started we put them on. What's going on, Shepard?" asked Kaidan, his gentle voice concerned.
"There's an ancient lifeform beneath Zhu's Hope. A plant called the Thorian. It's controlling the colonists by the spores they've been breathing in. I want everyone to keep their filters on at all times until we make it back to the ship. Stay put. We're on our way. No firing on the colonists unless you absolutely have to."
"We should drop Lizbeth off at the ExoGeni refugee site," said Garrus quietly. "No telling what we're going to walk into at the colony."
"We're almost there," said Liara.
But there was no peace there either. The sound of shouting greeted them when they reached the entrance. Shepard gestured for Lizbeth to stay back and then moved silently forward.
"You cannot seriously be considering this?" said a woman in disbelief.
"Shut up, Juliana! I need to think!" shouted the unmistakable voice of Ethan Jeong. Shepard frowned and peered around the corner.
The guards had left their posts by the entrance to surround Jeong. He held a gun in his hand, which he was waving wildly around as he read a message on his omnitool. Two more guards were holding Juliana Baynham and a half dozen others back, expressions of fury on their faces.
"You cannot purge a colony! Those are people!" yelled Juliana, shoving her face past the guard.
"They are an investment that has gone terribly wrong. The collateral damage is regrettable, but ExoGeni wants to make sure no trace of this gets out to the investors," replied Jeong, his voice calming to a cold tone that made Shepard's trigger finger twitch.
"And what are you going to do about us?" shouted another man. "Are we going to be written off as collateral damage?"
At a signal from Jeong, many of the guards raised their weapons and the unarmed men and women gasped. "The geth attacked you, as far as ExoGeni is concerned," said Jeong. "Dangers of living in a colony."
"All right, I have had enough." All eyes turned as Shepard strode down the walkway, her pistol raised and biotics glowing. Her helmet had been left in the Mako, leaving no room for imagination as to the state of her feelings. Her blue grey eyes shone with fury, the tightness in her face accentuated by the scars that lined her cheek and lips and the way her black hair was pulled back off her face. She looked like one of the ancient Valkyrie warriors of Earth.
The few guards who were stupid enough to raise their weapons at her were swiftly disarmed. A few shots fired at their feet made them jump; a few quick steps forward and Shepard hit a few sensitive areas, causing them to drop to the ground with a cry. Garrus was right behind her, his rifle trained on the disarmed guards.
Ethan Jeong raised his pistol next, somewhat shakily. The crazy look in his eyes did nothing to allay Shepard's worry that this was about to go in a very bad direction. So she struck at the only thing she could think of. His reputation.
"Liara, how much of that did you record?" she asked, staring Jeong down.
"Oh, I got all of it. It's been uploaded to the Normandy's computers and is ready for transmission to the Council," she replied from Shepard's right.
"I am out of patience with you and your entire damn company," said Shepard quietly. "Put down the gun and we can discuss whether your company's orders make their way to the Council. I won't let you hurt these people anymore."
"You're…you're bluffing!" Jeong screamed.
Shepard leaned forward. "Try me," she whispered, deadly quiet.
His shaky finger twitched and then pulled. The shot hit Shepard's shield barrier and deflected. She did not even flinch. Jeong dropped a moment later, his weapon clattering harmlessly to the floor.
"Mom!" Lizbeth's cry shattered the quiet as she rushed down the walkway to Juliana. Shepard slowly lowered her pistol, the blue biotics fading from her body. She did not feel triumphant over Jeong's death, or any sort of satisfaction. She shook her head slightly and turned away. "We're going to go deal with the mess your company made," she said to Juliana. "Hopefully we can save some of those poor souls before I send all your asses to trial."
"Commander, I understand your anger. But you also have to understand that we don't have the same information you do. Be careful where you place your blame," the older woman replied.
"I don't see the rest of the team who was working on the Thorian," said Lizbeth quietly. "I don't think they made it out of the Tower. I might be the only one left."
"What does the Thorian have to do with this? It's just a plant we discovered beneath the colony," asked Juliana in confusion.
"It's more than that, Mom," admitted Lizbeth. "It's controlling the colonists, and they're attacking the Commander's team. That's why the geth are here."
"We have to get to the Thorian. Is there any way to do that without hurting the colonists?" asked Shepard.
"We can use a nerve agent to knock them off," suggested Garrus. "Some of the grenades in the Mako are equipped with them."
"Just don't hurt the colonists if you can," pleaded Lizbeth. "We've caused enough harm to them."
"I'm well aware of that," said Shepard, gazing down at the crumpled body of Ethan Jeong.
The geth put up a bit more of a fight as they continued toward the colony. Alarms started going off in the Mako as a shot from an armature hit the side of the vehicle.
"Move this hunk of junk along, Garrus!" shouted Shepard.
"I'm trying," he replied through gritted teeth, coaxing the Mako forward.
"Commander, the colonists are getting worse," said Kaidan through the comm. "How are you holding up?"
"We're almost there," answered Shepard as she fired the main gun. "ETA ten minutes."
"Shepard, the main gates are just ahead!" called Liara. "They're locked. We'll have to manually open them."
"I got it. You two cover me," said Shepard, sealing her helmet and sliding toward the opening.
"Be careful," called Garrus. Shepard just grinned.
The sound of gunfire grew louder when she left the confines of the Mako. Shepard raced for the panel, skirting a sparking geth trooper. She almost did not notice the curled greenish-brown mass on the ground beside her. Her pace slowed as she reached it, her head turning to look back.
Her heart began to pound a little faster as the shape slowly unfolded upwards. The humanoid shape uncurled its long clawed hands; gaping indentations covered with green-stretched skin substituted for eyes. Shepard's stomach rolled over at the sight and she brought up her pistol, checking her shield generator to make sure it was still active. "Kaidan, are the colonists…all looking like colonists?" she asked, watching the creeper as it stood there, hands curling and uncurling.
"Umm, yes, Commander?" he replied, sounding confused. "They're angry but they're themselves."
"We have a problem," she replied.
Suddenly the thing in front of her shrieked, a horrible grating sound that jolted through Shepard's body. "Fuck!" she shouted, firing.
Though her shots hit the creeper in the chest and shoulder, it barely faltered. It lunged at her, digging its claws into her shoulder pads…and vomiting. An indescribable stench arose as the green bile splattered all over her helmet and the front of her armor. The alarms in her hardsuit began going off as the acid began to eat its way through, bypassing her shields.
"Goddamnit!" she shouted, completely blinded. She fired and struck out, feeling the creeper loosen its grip on her shoulders.
"Shepard!" Garrus and Liara yelled over the comm, but Shepard had no time to process them. She stumbled backwards, pulling up a barrier around herself as she removed her helmet. It dropped to the ground smoking. Her suit administered medigel to counteract the burn as bits of the acid dripped through the armor.
More creepers awoke from around her. "Shepard!" shouted Garrus again. She turned briefly to see him sliding out of the Mako, assault rifle in hand. "Toss them!"
Biotics lit the air as her hand moved. Two creepers fell over the edge of the Skyway. But two more charged. One dropped as Garrus unloaded round after round at the creature. The other came closer and closer. Shepard narrowed her eyes and fired and fired and fired. Just before it reached her…it exploded. The green ichor hit her face. She knew it was a stupid thing the moment she did it but Shepard could not help but gasp, inhaling some of the liquid.
Immediately her throat burned and she began coughing uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face from the force of the coughing. She heard shouting and felt an arm wrap around her waist as her knees buckled. "Liara! Get that door open now!" shouted Garrus. "Kaidan, the commander's down."
Shepard couldn't hear the response as she dropped to all fours, her body rejecting what it had just inhaled. "Just breathe, Shepard," said Garrus, patting her on the back. "It's going to be all right."
It took a few moments for her to catch her breath. "The helmets…stay on," she finally gasped.
Garrus breathed a laugh. "Yes, Shepard. Come on, let's get out of here before the geth decide to come and say hello."
Liara trotted back over to sling one of Shepard's arms over her shoulders. "What was that thing?" asked the asari, her voice tight.
"Something disgusting," responded Shepard, her throat raspy.
Inside the gate the trio collapsed for a moment. Shepard rinsed her mouth from the bottle Garrus offered her. Liara knelt beside her in concern, her large blue eyes examining the commander. "How are you feeling?" she asked.
"My hardsuit is pumping me full of medigel and stims right now, so it's hard to tell," she said with a grimace. "But I'd guess there are some burns on my chest and face. I feel sort of…hot. Sweaty."
"Your face does look red. Well, redder than normal," said Garrus, trying to hide his worry in a shrug. "Some of you humans can run kind of pink."
"You are flushed, Shepard. I'd guess your body is reacting negatively to the…foreign substance," said Liara, struggling to find a nicer term for 'vomit.'
Shepard shivered suddenly. "Dr. Chakwas can check me out when we get back to the Normandy. For now, we need to get our team out of Zhu's Hope and find this Thorian before Saren's geth can destroy it." She stood shakily, bracing herself on her knees. Liara and Garrus exchanged an anxious look. Pushing herself all the way upright, Shepard unholstered her pistol. "Let's get moving."
Garrus and Liara led the way, protecting the commander as they fought their way inside Zhu's Hope. Garrus lobbed the gas grenades at the colonists, knocking them unconscious. Liara held a few in stasis so they could sneak past, searching for the rest of the crew.
As they approached the trailer, the rest of the team entered the struggle, rushing forward to knock out colonists as Garrus threw the last of the grenades. There was a moment of silence as the last colonist toppled over into a limp pile. Then Shepard tilted over, catching herself on the side of the trailer. "Shepard!" exclaimed Ashley, rushing over.
"I'm fine," said Shepard, waving her off despite the fierce shivers racking her body. "Just, everybody keep your helmets on, all right?"
"You don't look so good, Commander," said Kaidan, coming over to help her stand up.
"This your way of trying to compliment a girl, Kaidan?" teased Shepard. The smile did not quite reach her eyes though, which looked exhausted and flat.
"We found a way underground," said Tali hesitantly. "We can go and report back what we find."
"I am not getting left behind," said Shepard stubbornly. "We go down as a team. I don't know what kind of resistance we're going to find. And if Saren is still down there…" The squad stilled at that, all except Wrex who clapped his hands together.
"If Shepard says she can fight, she can fight," he declared. "I spent enough time trapped in that metal box. Let's find this plant and kill it so we can get off this planet."
The group headed for the entrance Tali had discovered. Garrus hung back with Shepard, however, his expression hidden by his helmet. "Can I help you with something?" demanded Shepard shortly, trudging forward.
"Shepard, the Thorian's spores…" he said quietly. "You don't have a helmet anymore."
She only momentarily paused, then her jaw tightened and she continued walking. "Let's get out of here as quickly as possible then. I'm going to be a walking science experiment for Dr. Chakwas by the time we get back to the ship," she grumbled.
Thanks for reading! Reviews, questions, comments are appreciated! See you next week.