Infinite Galaxy
Chapter 25
Booker, Anna, and Wrex returned to the Normandy before Shepard could finish his mission to save the asari diplomat's sister from pirates. Anna and Wrex were the first to climb out of the Kodiak and they were warmly greeted by Tali, who stayed behind. Anna hugged Tali and immediately told her about her experiences on Edolus. Wrex just nodded to the two girls and walked back over to his usual corner.
Booker and Cortez were the last to step out of the Kodiak. Booker realized that he had to give the grim information about the missing marines to Admiral Kahoku, but he would rather delay that information as long as possible since he took it as an opportunity to take a shower. He would've liked to talk to Ashley, but she wasn't available since she went along with Shepard to the Macedon system.
After Booker took a quick shower and a meal, Shepard returned to the Normandy. When Booker met up with him, Shepard was not in a pleasant mood.
"How did the mission go?" Booker asked warily not to encourage his anger.
Shepard looked at Booker like he wanted to hit him, but it wasn't Booker he wanted to hit. He was mad at someone else. "Remember that asari diplomat who had the sister that was kidnapped by pirates? It was a huge lie. As it turns out our kidnap victim was actually the leader of that very pirate gang."
Booker was quick to put the pieces together. "She basically used our Spectre status to help kill the diplomat's black sheep of a sister, didn't we?"
Shepard nods. "Diplomat or not, there's going to be hell to pay with Nassana." Then he takes a deep breath asks Booker. "So how did your mission go?"
Booker shakes his head. "We found Kahoku's men. They didn't make it."
"Damn." Shepard said.
"There's more." Booker added. "When we found his men, they were burned by acid. Then we were greeted by a thresher maw."
Shepard became stunned with Booker and tried to put his own personal frustrations in place. Then he replied after a moment of hesitation. "Wait, I had the Mako which I admit would've been better for you… but you only had the shuttle and…"
"I know." Booker raised his hands. "We had to improvise using my vigors and Anna's V.I. drone. I'll tell you the rest later, but after we killed the thresher maw…"
Shepard was floored as he interrupted. "You killed a thresher maw?"
"Actually Anna did." Booker said sheepishly. "Anyway, after we killed the maw we found a beacon sending a distress signal which was luring marines to that location which got Kahoku's men killed. Now I have the unfortunate task of spilling the news."
Shepard gave what Booker said some thought and nods. "If you want, we could contact him in my quarters. Away from prying eyes after what we have encounter in the last few weeks involving Cerberus."
"I'd like that." Booker nods and they shuffled to Shepard's quarters. "It could wait if we made a stop at the Citadel and I could tell him myself while you rip through that asari diplomat."
"Tempting." Shepard said. "But I don't want to keep finding excuses to constantly go to the Citadel, especially when time is the essence. Nassana can wait."
Booker nods and takes a seat on Shepard's chair while activating a long range comm channel while Shepard stood behind him. After locating Admiral Kahoku, he tries to call his attention.
A man answers the call without the video, just the audio. It was Kahoku and he sounds like he's been asleep sounding very hazy when he retorts at the other end of the channel. "Hello. Kahoku here."
"Admiral?" Booker replies. "Agent DeWitt here."
The Admiral perked up a bit when he heard that name. "DeWitt. Do you have something for me about my men? I hope it's something I can use, because for the last few days I've been staying off the grid and during that time the Alliance brass have been doing nothing but giving me the run-arounds."
This time Booker answers with a somber tone. "I have something about your men. We found them. They didn't make it."
Things on Kahoku side went dead silent. It was obvious that the man was surprised to hear the news about the loss of his men. Then his reply was plain and simple. "Then it is true. What happened?"
DeWitt didn't pull back any punches. "There was an emergency beacon being used. It was used to lure your men down to believe it was a rescue only to find out it was right smack in the middle of a thresher maw nest."
"Thresher maw!?" Kahoku swallows his own breath. "This confirms my beliefs. Cerberus is behind all this, because this shares the same pattern on Akuze. The colonists disappearing and then a group of marines following. They've been studying the patterns of the maws for a while and now my men have fallen victim to their monstrous studies." He pauses for a moment. Then he continues. "Right now I'm in hiding, but what I can do is send you these coordinates to one of their bases. I'll send it to you right away, but you will not hear from me in a while. DeWitt? Please take care and if you know the location of your daughter, keep it to yourself. Kahoku out."
Booker thought to himself on that last note I will keep that gem to myself then. Both Booker and Shepard didn't know how to respond to what the distinguished admiral said. Before a word could be spoken, Booker's Omni-tool called to his attention and showed him a variety of messages. On the very top was an unmarked message which was most likely coming from Kahoku. It was the coordinates he promised, a planet called Binthu.
After the two Spectres discussed their own missions over lunch, they determined to continue their mission to find Saren and set the coordinates to the colony of Feros. There have been reports of geth activity on this colony, which have been settled by a corporation called ExoGeni.
The Normandy headed to Feros. The colony is located in the Attican Beta nebula, inside the Theseus system, and it was a colony founded by the ExoGeni Corporation. Feros was founded as a pilot colony to explore the Prothean ruins that blanket two thirds of the planet's land mass. Much the visible Prothean ruins were skyscrapers that were tall enough peek above the clouds, because the clouds below trapped the dust and debris that littered the planet's lower atmosphere which made traveling to explore the planet's surface was impossible.
Some of the structures built by the Protheans looked as if the work had been incomplete, showing signs of exposed scaffolding on the top of certain buildings. It kind of gave the impression that the Protheans disappeared while in the middle of a construction project.
The colony's position was located on the top of one of these completed buildings and the docking bay on the side of the structure that was large enough for the Normandy to enter, but no one on board could tell if it was built by the Protheans or carved by the ExoGeni founders.
Shepard, Booker, Garrus, and Kaidan enter the port with their weapons drawn. They didn't know what was going to greet the four men. Their suspicions have put to rest when a man was waiting for them at the end of a long walkway. They approached the man and when they got a closer look at him, his clothes have been worn thin, his face was covered in smudge, and his eyes have the look of someone who has seen too many people close to him die.
The man held up his hand. "We saw your ship. Fai Dan wants to talk to you immediately."
"Who's Fai Dan?" Shepard asked.
"He's our leader." The man said. "He needs your help to prepare for the geth. They're making another push. Please. Up the stairs and past the freighter."
Before the man could escort the four to their main base, a stream of red energy flew from the other side of the walkway. The beam hit the man and his body became nothing but charred flesh.
The four drew their weapons; Shepard, Booker, Garrus, and Kaidan fired through the walkway, taking out whatever geth soldiers were in their way. It wasn't easy since some of the geth were using a shielding that would project a wall of energy that would give cover to the geth. Booker decided to counter the defensive act with his own shielding by using his Return to Sender to give cover to his squad.
After the geth on the walkway was disposed of, the four approached a doorway while Booker takes a big swig of his Tupari, which he has grown a taste for since trying it for the first time on Eden Prime.
"Booker." Shepard quietly crouched over from a doorway and whispered to Booker while finishing the Tupari. "How are you with a rifle?"
Booker gave a sizable grin to the Commander. "Better than average." Booker whispered back while taking out his rifle. "What's the target?"
"One of those geth clinging onto the walls." Shepard said.
Booker groaned while gazing down the scope of his rifle. "Ahhh, I hate that kind." He got on his knees and elbows while cradling his rifle. He crawled into the entrance of the stairwell. He used his natural senses to find where the sneaky geth would be hiding. After looking around his surroundings, he spotted one of the geth hoppers, which the team has named it, clutching onto the walls with its hands suctioning onto its surfaces.
Booker takes careful aim. Takes control of his breathing. Identify the target. The he squeezes the trigger. The bullet rips through the hopper's kinetic shielding and tears through the machine's vital components. The thing went from animated to limp in a matter of moments and lost control of its grasp on the side of the wall. The geth slumped forward and fell to the ground.
After the geth hopper fell, Booker continued to take shots at other geth with his rifle and the process took a few minutes. He takes another look around and found nothing left that could be a threat and the path has been cleared of any other geth. He looks back at the entrance and tells Shepard. "It's okay now."
Shepard stepped out into the stairwell and said to Booker while he stood up. "The rest of the colony is waiting for us."
Shepard, Booker, Garrus, and Kaidan continued their way to the colony when they came across a handwritten sign over the entrance called Zhu's Hope. The entrance to Zhu's Hope was either guarded by security officers or people who have never held a gun or a rifle in their lives. The mood of the colonist was downright on edge. When Shepard and his crew showed up, they didn't receive a warm welcome. The people guarding this colony had the attitude of an animal that had been beaten too many times and biting anyone that comes close, even when someone come offering, help.
Booker took a glance at these people and thought to himself. Can't blame them for being nervous. Some of these people probably never been trained to fight; now they're learning first-hand of the intensity of actual combat. To him this was what he remembered when the western half of the United States was being settled during his time when he served with the Army. This was the same mentality settlers moving from the East Coast to the west would have when they moved from a heavily populated area of the nation to a sparsely populated area that was filled with enemies all around them at all times. This reinforced his views when he saw some of the people sprawled out on the ground either suffering from fresh wounds or a casualty from previous assaults. Booker tried not to feel for the people here at this time and moment of their lives, but at the same time he felt a morbid sense of nostalgia for the time he spent in the Calvary. When he thought of Zhu's Hope, he suddenly realized that to Shepard and everyone else this was a warzone. To Booker this was home.
Shepard, Booker, Kaidan, and Wrex approached a human man and woman engaged in what sounded like intense planning, perhaps trying to figure the best way of maintaining defenses trying to make an escape into some form of shelter. As it turns out that the nervous man was the colony's leader, Fai Dan. He was talking to an exasperated woman named Arcelia Martinez. She was wearing a security uniform and holstering an assault rifle in her hand. Fai Dan was more pleased to see the Commander and his group as opposed to Arcelia's mood, since she was more upset with the long delay.
After learning that the water pipes were shut off, the food supply was running short, and the colony's generator needed a battery, the geth attempted to launch another attack on the colony. Shepard, Booker, Kaidan, and Wrex took the initiative and stormed the area where the geth were coming from.
Shepard led the group into what looked like a shelled-out courtyard. It resembled a courtyard, because of the open ceiling to allow sunlight into the crescent shaped room. It was from that open ceiling where a geth dropship was hovering overhead. This is where they were deploying their soldiers, making life for the colonists difficult. It was time to put an end to the geth's troop flow when Booker raised his left hand. He wanted to cause a little chaos among the squad of geth, so he summoned his Possession on one of the geth soldiers. The group held back and became amused to watch the one geth attempt to kill the other geth. The influenced geth unit managed to take out two of its fellow troops before being destroyed. The distraction was enough for Shepard's group to storm the courtyard and finish off the remaining geth. With the geth on the ground gone, they target the dropship which remains.
Booker unleashes his Shock Jockey while Shepard, Wrex, and Kaidan open fire on the dropship. The jolt of electricity comes pouring out of Booker's left hand and the stream of electricity flowed into the open port as the interior of the ship was consumed. The ship didn't explode, but the ship was disbursed in the electrical pulse. The ship flew away, but it didn't get very far. It was an educated guess that the ship lost its propulsion and crashed into the planet's polluted surface.
Shepard, Booker, Kaidan, and Wrex pushed through the corridors of the colony's maze of tunnels. They found more geth dug in these places and it would seem that they were intentionally cutting off the water supply to Zhu's Hope by shutting off the valves. It wasn't until after the group took care of the geth, they switched the valves back on.
After the geth were taken care of, the squad encountered a man lurking around in the shadows of this alien maze. The man wasn't in the best of mental health, because he kept mentioning about invoking the master's whip or trying to fight was like moving through a thorn bush. How the man managed to avoid the geth was beyond them, but it was clear that the man needed professional help. Shepard decided to tell Fai Dan about him when they got back to the colony.
When they entered a large room, evidence showed that the room was once used as a garage when they saw a damaged Mako burning in the corner. He drew his weapon out and signaled the other three to do the same. When Shepard crept closer into the room, he heard what appeared to be the hint of growling. Behind them were an inclined rising of stairs, possibly a type of seating which reminded him of being in a stadium. On top of the stadium type seating was another damaged Mako and next to the damaged vehicle was a group of varren looking at the group.
The varren attacked, but they weren't any match for four armed soldiers. Shepard and his squad took care of the varren and when they checked out to see if there were any more to shoot around the damaged Mako. When they made a closer inspection, Shepard found the Mako's battery cell was still intact.
Booker and Kaidan stacked the varren bodies in a row and Shepard took the battery cell while Wrex maintained guard if the geth were to show up. They made the trek back to the main colony and the mood of the people was looking much better; especially when the water valves were turned back on, the varren were killed and their meat can be added to the food rations, and the battery cell could be improvised to power the generator again. Shepard told Fai Dan about clearing out the geth pockets, turning on the water valve, killing the varren, and finding the battery cell.
When Shepard mentioned the man in the tunnels, Fai Dan just mentioned that the man was very troubled. It was Fai Dan's eye and facial movements that made Booker a bit curious to what Fai Dan really meant.
When Shepard learned about geth activity and more trapped colonists across what the colonists called the 'Sky Highway', Shepard decided to check it out. That was when Neo decided to have a little word with Shepard.
Shepard, Booker, and Kaidan took an elevator down to the main garage, where they were granted permission to take the last working Mako across the Sky Highway. The Sky Highway was probably a road at one point during the reign of the Protheans, but now it looked more like a scene from one of those post-apocalyptic movies Booker remembered watching provided by Pennyloafer back on Eden Prime during one of their many 20th Century events. The reason for this kind of thinking is for the account of the geth and debris from the recent battle all over this highway. Shepard kept a steady hand on the wheel while Booker kept a steady pace on the canon. Both men were extra cautious at this moment, because one false turn of the wheel or one misplaced canon blowback could result in either being blown up or driving this vehicle right off the road into a drop that's about ten thousand stories long.
As they approached the next Prothean structure, they could see the tracer rounds emitting from the many floors of the building. Colonists armed with heavy machine guns shooting at the geth on the ground and one large ship approaching. The ship was larger than the dropships they have encountered earlier. The ship looked like a large silver hornet without the wings. The sight of that image made Shepard pick up the speed. When the Mako came closer to the structure, they heard radio chatter. The chatter was acknowledging the Mako approach and they figured that there must be people trapped inside like the colony behind them.
Shepard, Booker, and Kaidan entered the structure and the radio communications got stronger as the female voice on the other end said. "We've got movement…some kind of vehicle. Not one of the geth." Kaidan managed to get a trace on the radio signal and stopped the Mako next to what appeared to be a sublevel ramp. Shepard, Booker, and Kaidan got out of the Mako and walked down the ramp. They can see light coming from the other end and he can hear the sound of people talking.
As the group approached closer, they can see men and women heavily armed and hiding behind makeshift barricades. The guards allowed them through and the trio was approached by another man, who quite possibly is their leader.
"That's close enough." The man said.
"Relax, Jeong." A middle aged woman came beside the man now known as Jeong. "They're obviously not geth."
"Get back, Juliana." Jeong turned his head, giving Shepard enough glance to see that they are not geth, neither colonists. "Who are you? What do you want?"
Booker wanted to strangle this guy already, but before he could say anything, Shepard just calmly said. "Commander Shepard. I'm here to remove your geth problem."
"You see?" Juliana smirked at Jeong. "You worry too much."
"And you trust too easily, Juliana." Jeong snarled back at the woman.
Jeong and Juliana talked to Shepard and explained to him about the geth situation, the people at Zhu's Hope, and Jeong was ranting on about the next structure over was property of ExoGeni despite the geth attacks.
Then Juliana looked at Shepard with widened eyes. "Commander, before you go…my daughter, Lizbeth. She's missing."
"They shouldn't waste time poking around." Jeong said. "We can do a proper accounting of our casualties after the geth are gone."
Juliana snapped back at Jeong. "That's my daughter you're talking about! She's alive! I know it!"
"Where is your daughter, Juliana?" Booker asked.
"She was working in the ExoGeni building when the attacks came." Juliana explained.
Jeong added with his pathetic attempt at sarcasm. "Oh yeah. There are several places she could hide. For a short time."
Booker takes a quick look at Jeong and realize that this is the type of man who would embrace the ideology of free enterprise…profit at any cost. This was the type of person Booker would've worked for during his time with the Pinkertons and this is obviously the type of person who would create a colony on top of the ruins of an extinct alien species with no regards to risk of human life and treat people like obstacles to the path of personal greatness.
Shepard comforted the woman before getting into an ethical argument. "If she's in there, I'll get her out."
When Juliana was relieved to hear his words, she just praised the Commander and then she would praise Booker after she learned that he was also a Spectre. When the three men got all the information they need, they went back to the Mako.
Shepard, Booker, and Kaidan continued their journey down the Sky Highway inside the colony's Mako when they saw the large geth ship attaching itself to the side of the Prothean structure, now converted into an ExoGeni office building. The ship that looked eerily similar to the ship that flew by before was latched on to the side of the building.
They cleared out another pocket of geth armatures and rocket soldiers on the road, blocking their way to the ExoGeni garage. Once they were inside, they scavenged for clues and possibly geth activity inside the shelled out building. Shepard didn't know whether the poor condition was due to the age of the structure or that evidence showed that there was a firefight was present here days ago.
They parked the colony's Mako and all three men stepped out to investigate the carnage. While the group turned around a corner, Shepard was greeted with gunfire. The group instinctively drew their weapons out, but stopped when the gunman was not geth nor was a man. The one shooting at them was a woman. The woman looked like a younger version of Juliana. That was when Shepard and Booker realized that this woman was Juliana's daughter, Lizbeth.
"Oh, my god!" The woman said placing her hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry. I thought you were the geth!"
"It's alright." Shepard relieved the woman and raised his hand to have Booker and Kaidan to lower their weapons. "I'm Commander Shepard of the Normandy."
Lizbeth talked about how she survived by hunting the varren and hiding from the geth, but then she mentioned about her research into a creature that is native to this planet called a Thorian. Lizbeth continued talking to the three men. "You can gather the information you need upstairs on the V.I. console. I have a card you can use." She handed a card to Shepard.
Booker decided to have a word with Lizbeth. "We have already cleared out some pockets already, why don't you wait by the Mako and we'll take you back to your mother when we find what we're looking for."
"I'll do that." Lizbeth said as she walked away.
Shepard, Booker, and Kaidan rounded a corner and found a flight of stairs. As they climbed to the top, the three can hear the grumblings of a krogan shouting.
"Stupid machine! Access encrypted files!" The voice yelled as the three moved closer.
The other voice sounds more like a computer responding to the angry krogan. "I am unable to respond. Please contact your supervisor."
When Shepard came to the top of the stairs, he found himself in a passage way and he could see a large krogan standing in front of an orange holographic image of a human. The krogan was trying to access information from the V.I.'s console without any luck.
Booker knew if Ashley were present there would be no doubt she would have made some pseudo-racist joke about krogan and technology. Hell, even he was thinking of the same thing but he couldn't think of a quick joke.
The exasperated krogan continue to threaten the V.I. "Damn it! Tell me what I want or I'll blast your virtual ass into actual dust!"
The V.I. was not being compliant enough to the krogan liking when it responded. "Please contact your supervisor for a Level 4 security exemption or make an appointment with…"
"Stupid machine!" The krogan yelled again.
Then the V.I. hologram said something that made Shepard want to shot that V.I. "If there's nothing else, please step aside. There is a queue forming behind you for the use of this console."
The krogan turned around to see Shepard, Booker, and Kaidan standing right behind him. The krogan drew out his shotgun and charged the three men.
Booker was quick on the draw as he knew the perfect remedy for a charging krogan who is most likely to be persistently drunk on bloodrage. He used his Bucking Bronco to stop the stampeding krogan. The krogan was lifted off the ground while Shepard and Kaidan opened fire on the krogan frozen in mid-air. The bullets tore through the krogan's armor and body.
As the spell wore off the krogan's body dropped to the ground and the ground shook when the massive body mass slammed on the ancient pavement.
Booker looked at the body and said. "Glad I still have a little power left." Then he pulls out a canister of Tupari and shows it to Shepard. He opens it and right before he drinks it he confesses. "It's my last can. I have to make those vigors count."
While Shepard walks over to the V.I. and tries to access the information from the computer, Kaidan told Booker. "I got some extra rations if you need it, Booker." Kaidan said as he pulls out a food packet made especially for biotics.
Booker raised his hand while quickly downing his drink. He tosses the empty canister aside. "You don't need to do that. You hold on to that."
Kaidan realized what was really going on. "Booker. I know what you're doing."
Booker glanced at the biotic and played coy with him. "What do you mean?"
Kaidan places the ration away and confesses. "You haven't spoken a word to me on this mission. As a matter of fact you haven't spoken to me since…"
"Since I caught you locking lips with Anna." Booker said in a deadpan tone with a hint of seething anger.
Kaidan didn't respond right away. When he did, he tried to smooth over Booker's rising bad mood. "I didn't expect it to happen. And I know she's your daughter and being her father you have a right to not like me. I like her a lot and… I mean she's special…" Kaidan realized that he's fumbling his words.
"Maybe we shouldn't have this conversation right now." Booker said.
Then Kaidan replied a little more boldly. "Maybe we should, because if we don't you're just going to find another excuse to avoid me during our off time." Then he moved closer to Booker. "I know you don't like me right now, but I just want to let you know that I know how important she is to you. She's also important to me. I'm not going to let anything happen to her."
Booker took a stern look at Kaidan and approached him. "I appreciate that, I really do. But if you hurt her, we'll have more than words to exchange."
Kaidan nods. "That's understandable."
After Booker acknowledges what Kaidan said, Shepard finished talking to the V.I. "DeWitt. Alenko. This V.I. interface told me about a something the ExoGeni Corporation has been hiding all along. There's a plant species called a Thorian which can control people. And guess where they've been holding the creature."
"Should I ask?" Booker takes a deep breath.
"Under Zhu's Hope." Shepard answered. "And the colonists are the test subjects."
Kaidan piped up. "That would explain the strange behavior. We should contact Joker."
Shepard nodded and opened a comm link. "Joker. Come in Joker." There was no response. "Dammit. That field coming from the geth ship is blocking us."
"We gotta take that field down and get back to Zhu's Hope. Fast." Booker said.
Shepard agreed and their first priority was to take that ship down. The first priority was to find where the geth ship was perched and try to stop its communication tampering at all costs. The three men located where the geth ship rested and they came across a massive opening. Tubes from the ship were pulled in through the wall openings to produce what appeared to be some type of feeding tube from the geth ship's power generator to download the information needed from the ExoGeni files and whatever they can get from the Prothean ruins.
Then they stumbled upon some geth kneeling before a bright light. Everyone knew what they were doing, they were worshiping.
"Are they praying?" Kaidan asked.
"It looks like it." Booker replied with a grim tone. "They think the Reapers are their gods and Saren is their prophet. Like any zealot they are willing to fight to make any kind of prophecy come true."
Right then Booker raised his left arm while watching the geth in prayer while Shepard asked him. "What are you doing?"
Booker takes a deep breath and summons one of his vigors. "This gives me an idea. Get your rifles ready, I'm going to try a vigor I haven't used yet."
"What are you going to use?" Shepard asked while making his target with his rifle.
"If these geth want the religious experience." Booker takes a deep breath. "I'll dunk their heads in water. This is called Undertow."
A massive stream of water shot out of his left hand in the form of an undertow current shooting a watery tendril at the three geth unaware of the attack. The water splashed all three of the geth soldiers and temporarily stunned them. The stunning was just a byproduct, because the real effect was the slight damage the machines took being drenched since it took down their kinetic barriers. This made the geth soldiers more vulnerable to be riddled with bullets as Shepard, Booker, and Kaidan fire upon the geth. It didn't help that the geth didn't have enough time to draw out their own weapons to defend themselves.
After the worshiping geth were taken care of, the three men continued through the corridors of the ruins where they ran into more geth. One room was blocked off by a glowing blue force field which according to Shepard is where the Thorian is being contained which also happens to be the exit out of this facility.
The next floor above their position was the same situation where the geth ship has clawed itself on the side of the building, but there was the matter of removing the remaining geth. Taking care of the geth on the upper floor wasn't easy but it was handled and it is on that upper floor where they came to a containment lab where a control panel was being used by the geth. When the three men inspected the functions a bit further, the control panel also controls the shutters and it just so happened that the geth ship was using its claws to attach itself to the side of the building using the windows to anchor its claws through its openings. Then they find a repair ticket tossed away explaining that the shuttle bay doors were fried again saying that the doors will slam shut if the PSI is in between the 31 to 34 zone with enough pressure to cut through metal.
All they had to do was figure out the right combination of controls to activate get the PSI between 31 to 34 and trying to figure out the combination is challenge enough. Booker quietly grumbled in frustration. "Dammit, Anna would figure this out in seconds."
After a couple of minutes of figuring out which controls was the right prescription for slamming the doors shut, they found the right combination. The pressure from the shutter doors was enough to cut through the claws. Without the claws, there was no grip and without the grip, the geth ship fell beneath the murky clouds.
After the geth ship lost its position, Kaidan said. "The field barring the exit will be down. Now we can deal with this Thorian creature." He then further examined the computer terminal next to the console which controlled the shuttle bay doors.
Then Joker's voice blurted through Shepard's comm link. "I repeat, Normandy to shore party. Are you reading? Anyone there? Normandy to shore party. Commander Shepard. Agent DeWitt. Anyone. Talk to me!"
Shepard responded. "We're here Joker. What's going on over there?"
"We're in lockdown here, Commander." Joker answered. "Something happened to the colonists. They're banging the hull, trying to claw their way inside the ship. They're freaking out!"
Booker made the response to what Joker described. "Joker, you have to keep those people out. You have to defend the Normandy at all costs. We just found out those people are under some spell by a creature ExoGeni has been hiding and they're not exactly acting like themselves." Booker knew this was a selfish demand of the pilot with a disability, but he wasn't thinking about the ship and its crew. He was thinking about Anna. Despite the fact that she is more than capable of handling herself in these situations, he was still feeling the fear only a concerned parent would feel.
"Um… okay." Joker said a bit apprehensively. "Maybe I'll fire a few warning shots. That should work."
It was at that moment they realize that they have to hurry back to Zhu's Hope. Booker walked over to Kaidan and pressed him to come along.
"Come on Alenko." Booker said. "We have to get back to the colony."
"Wait, I just found something." Kaidan told him. "Remember what you said about Cerberus a while back? Well I found some information about them that might interest you."
Booker realizes that time was of the essence, but he couldn't turn up an opportunity to find out what the human-centric organization looking for Anna is up to. He browses through the memo and copies it on his Omni-tool on his personal file.
Booker looks at Kaidan. "Thanks. Come on. They need us."
Shepard, Booker, and Kaidan returned to Zhu's Hope, with their weapons drawn. Shepard had a special gas grenade that will knock out any of the infected colonists that is under the influence of the Thorian creature. Lizabeth had concocted the gas grenade for such emergency ever since the Throian Lizbeth was studying was moved from the ExoGeni lab to Zhu's Hope and the colonists were the lab rats. Lizabeth's mother Juliana was working on the concoction in the form of a gas grenade. She had been working on making one since the Thorian creature was involved. Shepard kept what she simply dubbed as Anti-Thorian Gas Grenades ready.
When the Mako returned to the main colony, the garage door is locked. As they stepped out of the Mako, they were greeted by a ghastly humanoid creature. The creature was black and gray. It had no eyeballs where the eye sockets should be as it. It had a permanent grin as if it was meant to smile as it tore into the flesh of its victim with their elongated fingers which turned out to be claws as each claw tapered into a fine point.
"What the…" Booker muttered before the creature made a nauseating snarl. The creature pounced towards him as he quickly pulled up his left hand and gave the creature a taste of his Shock Jockey. The sickly humanoid stood in shock as it was covered in the electrical current.
Kaidan came around and unleashed a volley into the body of the creature using his side arm. The kinetic energy of the bullets matched with the pulsation of the Shock Jockey caused the creature to explode in a dark brownish sludge.
Booker looked at the sludge as Shepard came around the Mako asking. "What was that?"
"Hell if I know." Booker replied. "But whatever that was, I think I'm out of fuel for my vigors."
Then Kaidan walked up to Booker's side and took out the very same food packet he offered to him earlier while looking at the puddle of sludge. "You can have this."
Booker looked at Kaidan for a moment and then he reluctantly accepts the ration pack. Before opening the packet, he asks. "Don't you need it?"
Kaidan looks at the sludge and takes a whiff of the putrid odor of what was left of the creature. "Just take it. Besides, I just lost my appetite."
Booker opens the packet and begins to consume the food ration and immediately felt rejuvenated. Just as he could feel his powers surging through his veins, Shepard prepared to open the garage door and instructed them not to shoot the colonists since they were under the influence of this Thorian. However, they were allowed to shoot more of those creatures if they happen to encounter more of them inside.
Then Booker paused. "Maybe we can use my Undertow to stun the colonists. When they're stunned we can knock them out."
Shepard quickly acknowledged the suggestion as the door opened. "Let's do that. It can stretch out those gas grenades a bit."
The first sight they were greeted was an entire garage filled with more of these creepy humanoids. They stood up, emerging from their fetal position, and collectively gave the same sickly growl at Shepard, Booker, and Kaidan.
Shepard and Kaidan began firing at the creatures while Booker switched from his Undertow to his Devil's Kiss. He shrugged off the slight discomfort of switching two different powers and lobbed three fireballs in three separate directions. The fireballs ran through the monsters and many had caught on fire. It was strange, but it would seem the creatures were running around in confusion. Especially the creatures that were lit on fire, they seem susceptible to the effects of fire.
Booker spoke up. "Yep. Fire cleanses."
When the garage was cleared of those creatures, all what was left were darkish brown sludge on the floor and charred humanoid creatures. The stench was unbearable as it was similar to the combination of a compost heap and burning rubber.
The smoke coming from the charred corpses filled the garage where it made visibility limited. The lack of visibility gave the group an unexpected advantage as four armed colonists came storming into the garage from the other side. They didn't see Shepard, Booker, and Kaidan at first which they rapidly took benefit of the situation. Booker lined the four colonists in a row and before the Thorian controlled people could take aim with their guns; he blasted the nearest colonist with his Undertow. The effect stunned the colonist back and his body knocked back the other three hypnotized colonists.
Shepard quickly took out one of the gas grenades and sprayed the four colonists clumped in a pile. "Well so far it's going well. Just remember, we use the gas grenades on the colonists and kill those creatures."
"Let's call them creepers." Kaidan suggested.
Booker smiles for a moment. "Yeah. It fits."
Shepard, Booker, and Kaidan fought their way back to Zhu's Hope killing more creepers and rescuing controlled colonists. They discovered that using melee attacks to knock out the colonists worked just as well using the gas grenades. The rescue of the colony was successful and they found the location of where the Thorian is being held.
After Shepard used the crane to lift the obstruction out of the way, they were approached by the leader Fai Dan.
Dan was limply walking towards the group. It was a clear indication that he was not well. "I tried to fight it, but it gets in your head. You can't imagine the pain. I was supposed to be a leader. These people trusted me." He draws his pistol out of his holster.
Shepard, Booker, and Kaidan drew their weapons out.
Dan continued. "It wants me to stop you…" Then he places his sidearm to his temple. "But I… won't. I won't!"
Before Fai Dan could finish his sentence, Booker releases his Bucking Bronco power on Fai Dan. Being levitated caught him by surprise, but before he could figure out what was going on he takes a blow to the back of his head as Booker used the butt of his rifle to knock Fai Dan into unconsciousness. Fortunate for the man, the Bucking Bronco wore off as his body slammed to the floor.
Booker looked back to see Shepard and Kaidan looking at him. "I couldn't let him kill himself."
Shepard approached his fellow Spectre and pats him on the shoulder. "You did the right thing. I would've pegged you as someone who would've let him take his own life."
"Maybe your personality is rubbing off on me." Booker lightly laughed.
Shepard, Booker, and Kaidan made their weapons ready as they were walking down the stairs, ready to find out whatever this Thorian is. The three walked through the maze until they approached an odd looking object.
Kaidan just kept talking about what to expect. "Okay, by the numbers. We need to find… to find…" Then the group was lost for words, because they didn't know what they were looking at. "What is… that?"
Whatever this thing was it was large. It looked like the bulb of a plant and it was suspending itself using roots attach itself to the many level of corridors. It was in the color of tanned brown and slightly off with a green tint. It had a triangular face and tentacles coming out where its mouth would be.
Shepard looked up at what must be the Thorian. "That does not look like any plant I've ever seen. This may be… problematic."
Shepard and Booker slowly approached the creature. When they got a closer look at its mouth, the tentacles looked eerily like octopus tentacles, attached with its suction cups on the inside of the tentacles. Unlike an octopus, it only had five tentacles and the mouth kept dripping some thick secretion. Then something came out of the Thorian's mouth.
It came out feet first and it followed with a full body from the creature's maw. As the full body came into view, it was clear that this creature regurgitated an asari, but the only difference about this asari was her skin tone. It wasn't blue, light blue, or violet. This asari's skin tone was green. She wasn't naked either, she was wearing a full body suit what looked to be a piece of armor specifically designed to enhance biotic abilities.
The asari stood before the four men and she scowled at them. "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 responds. "You gave something to Saren. Something I need."
"Saren sought knowledge of these who are gone." The captivated asari said. "The Old Growth listened to flesh for the first time in the long cycle. Trades were made. Then cold ones began killing the flesh that would tend to the next cycle. Flesh fairly given! The Old Growth see the air you push as lies. It will listen no more." The asari narrowed her gaze at Shepard, Booker, and Kaidan.
Booker spoke up. "You're controlling these people and it's gone far enough. Let them go now!"
"No more will the Thorian listen to those that scurry." The asari said. "Your lives are short, but gone on too long. Your blood will feed the ground with a new growth!" The asari pulls out a shotgun and unleashes round after round.
Shepard, Booker, and Kaidan open fire while the green asari kept shooting. The asari was directly gunned down, but they didn't know was a few odd mounds on the ground unfolded and stood on two feet. Creepers. They all knew what to do as they cut through the corridors of the tower and what they notice is the creepers came pouring out from the pits and bowels of the area. The three men just unleashed a volley of endless fury on the creatures until they were nothing but a pulpy mass of green and brown slush.
Realizing what they have to deal with, Booker was wishing they brought Anna along. She could be a big help like bringing up a handyman, a patriot, or maybe create some phony geth to distract the creepers. She would even have an idea of what to do with the Thorian.
After the creepers are taken care of, Shepard took a look at the situation. Then Kaidan called to something of interest. "Here, Commander! There's a… node… or something. Worth looking at?" Kaidan was checking out what looked like the plant's root and it was attached firmly on the side of the ancient wall. It had a yellow and slight reddish color and it was pulsing.
Booker added. "Yeah! Maybe a jolt of electricity could do the trick."
Then Shepard takes a closer look at the node. "There's one problem. The skin is too thick and lightning will only slither off the surface of this node. Unless we could stick a lightning rod…"
Kaidan found a pile of pipes, which thankfully was all made of metal. Kaidan takes one of the pipes and lays the pipe next to the node. "Here's your lightning rod." Then the young biotic levitates the pipe then he throws the pipe into the node. The metal pipe impales through the thick skin and is firmly attached to the node. They can hear the painful shriek of the Thorian.
Kaidan makes his point to Booker. "If it's thick on the outside, then it must be soft on the inside. The metal pipe will act as an electrode and the electrical pulse will stream inside the Thorian's body, cooking it on the inside."
Booker replied. "So I suppose you need a bit of thunderbolt from me, right? Stand back." Shepard and Kaidan did as he told them to do as he conjured up his Shock Jockey. Right as he lifts his left hand, he was hit hard by a glowing pulsating blue field. "What the, hell!"
"Intruders!" It was the green asari again. She placed Booker in a biotic stasis field. "You are unnatural! You harness nature without the acquiescence of nature! You must all die!"
"I thought we killed her!" Kaidan spoke out as he ducked for cover.
"I guess the Thorian made another!" Shepard said as he too ducked for cover. "Hold on DeWitt! We'll get you out of there!"
Booker couldn't say a word. He was literally frozen from the head-down. He couldn't even speak or move his eyes. He hoped this biotic spell will rub off quickly. Shepard and Kaidan did what they could to distract the green asari as she tried to kill the two free men.
Booker could feel the bullets hit his stasis field until it failed. Then one shot struck him in the right shoulder. It was that moment he was able to speak again and fall to the ground shouting "Shit!" After he fell he absorbed the pain in silence. While laying belly first, he raised his left arm again only to summon another vigor spell.
The asari fired another biotic missile at Booker, but this time he was ready. He activated his Return to Sender and caught the biotic projectile right before he could be hit by another stasis field. Then he throws it back at her and she is engrossed by her own stasis field. Then Shepard and Kaidan bombard the asari with their rifles until she fell to the ground.
Booker stumbles up while holding his right arm after being shot. Kaidan pulls out some medi-gel to heal his wound. Then he looks at Kaidan. "Thanks and you're right. I thought we killed her."
Then Shepard made the connection. "I think this Thorian is capable of making a clone and that's what she was… or were." He finished his sentence while looking at the asari corpse.
Booker just calmly lifts his left hand and proceeds to use his Shock Jockey on the rod stuck in the Thorian's node and hopefully without interruption. "Alright, stand back. I'm going to give it a large dose."
A rather large dose of lightning bellowed out of Booker's hand and reached its target. The metal post absorbed the thunderbolt and suddenly something happened. The Thorian was shaking violently, so violently that the building's foundations was shaking terribly. The Thorian was pulsing unpredictably as its eye sockets exploded and its five tentacles shudder violently as its color turned black and smoke bellowed from the pores of its skin. It was then the Thorian lost control of its tentacles attached to the other nodes and the plant creature fell to the empty void below as it became nothing more than a smoking corpse.
"I think that was a little too much." Booker joked while the three men checked out the damage they did.
Before they looked for more evidence of their actions, they found another asari coming out of some sealant that must've kept her trapped by the Thorian. They shuddered when she showed herself, especially when she looked exactly like the other asari that was trying to kill them earlier. However, her skin tone was a violet-blue and she had a more pleasant appearance as if she were grateful.
"I'm free." The asari said. "I'm free. I… I suppose I should thank you for releasing me."
Shepard was now suddenly concerned for the woman. "I'm Commander Shepard and this is Agent DeWitt. We're Spectres. Is everything alright? Are you hurt?"
The asari replied. "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. I came to this world in search of the Thorian. Saren needed its knowledge. And he needed my biotic abilities to communicate with it. Saren offered me in trade. I was sacrificed to secure the alliance between Saren and the Thorian."
Shepard said. "Saren's pretty quick to betray his own people."
"He was quick to betray the Thorian, too." Shiala said. "After he had what he wanted, he ordered the geth to destroy all the evidence of its existence. Saren knows you are searching the Conduit. He knows you are following his steps. He attacked the Thorian so you could not gain the Cipher."
"What is the Cipher?" Shepard asked. "And why did Saren need it?"
Shiala explained. "The beacon on Eden Prime gave you visions. But the visions 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 part of it."
"So the Thorian taught Saren to think like a Prothean? How?" Shepard asked.
"The Cipher is the very essence of being a Prothean." Shiala said. "It cannot be described or explained. It would be like describing 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 ancestral memory, the Cipher, when I melded with the Thorian. Our identities merged, our minds intertwined. Such knowledge cannot be taught; it simply exists."
"We need that knowledge to stop Saren!" Shepard said.
"There is a way." Shiala said. "I can transfer the knowledge from my mind to yours, as I did with Saren. Are you the one who hold the vision of the Protheans?"
Then Booker raised his left hand with an extended index finger. "Uh, actually that would be me. I was the one who looked into the beacon."
Shiala turned her head to look at Booker. "You looked into the beacon?"
Booker knew what this could lead to, but there was no way around it. He confessed. "I did."
Shiala approached Booker while she relayed her instructions. "Try to relax, Agent DeWitt. Slow, deep breaths. Let go of your physical shell. Reach out to grasp the threads that bind us, one to another."
Booker knew he should warn Shiala about the other memories she's going to encounter while exploring his mind. However, he didn't have the emotional investment to warn this asari and not risk another situation like he did with Liara when she tried to mind meld with him. The other reason he didn't tell her about his other memories is that most likely that she's more experienced at these matters than Liara is.
Shiala continued. "Every action sends ripples across the galaxy. Every idea must touch another mind to live. Each emotion must mark another's spirit. We are all connected. Every living being united in a single, glorious existence. Open yourself to the universe, DeWitt." She tilts her head back and then she brings her head down with her eyelids closed. Then she opens her pitch black eyes. "Embrace eternity!"
Booker was bombarded once again with the images he dreamt about of flesh and machine merging together through pain and suffering. The gaping maw dripping mucous. Protheans being wiped out. And ending with an overview of the galaxy emerging a dark planet and from it the ship he witnessed leaving Eden Prime charging at him.
Then Shiala stopped. She was dazed after witnessing what she had experienced. It took her a moment to gather herself before she could respond verbally. "I have given you the Cipher, just as it was given to Saren. Then ancestral memories of the Protheans are part of your now."
"Are you alright, Booker?" Kaidan asked.
To Booker's surprise he wasn't feeling the pain of the implant like he did back on Eden Prime or the implanted knowledge of the Lutece's memory machine. This was much, much tamer in comparison to those two experiences. "Yeah. I'm fine. I just kept seeing the same thing I saw before. It still doesn't make sense."
Shiala told Booker and Shepard. "You have been given a great gift; the experience of an entire people. It will take time for your mind to process this information."
"I will." Booker said as he moved closer and asked quietly to Shiala. "Did you by any chance see anything else in my mind?"
Shiala didn't respond verbally, but made an affirmative gesture of some type. She was given the chance to help Zhu's Hope rebuild and she will assist in any way possible which includes helping Fai Dan recover from his experience and his attempted suicide to be free of the Thorian's control. Thankfully nobody remembers what happened when they were under the Thorian's control which also means that the colony has no memory of Booker using his vigors to subdue the population. The colony was grateful for Shepard and Booker's help and knew their mission was over as they boarded the Normandy and set off to the next mission, right after another dock on the Citadel to resupply the ship.
Before everyone was going into the comm room for debriefing, Booker received a message from his Omni-tool. It was from Shiala. It reads:
From: Shiala
Dear Agent DeWitt,
You asked me earlier if I had learned anything from our experience with the mind melding. I did see some things I did not understand at first, but it made some sense. The words Wounded Knee, Pinkerton Detective Agency, Private Investigator, Columbia, Comstock, and the words being uttered over and over again "Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt." I do not know what they mean to you, but they will come to light slowly to me as the process begins to fold as a result of the melding. When they do I will not tell anyone of what it means since they are your private thoughts and again you have helped me freeing me from the Thorian. I cannot thank you and Commander Shepard enough for your help and I will continue to help rebuild this colony.
I also learned about how you feel about your daughter and a woman named Ashley Williams. You care for both of them dearly and you must return the favor. They are special, especially your daughter Anna. I wish you well and let the Goddess watch over you and the women in your life.
Shiala.
Booker didn't know what to feel after reading that message, but he knew that maybe he should lighten up on Kaidan. He shouldn't stop her daughter from caring for another man as long as he returns the favor. Now he turns off his Omni-tool and heads for the debriefing.
Back on Feros, Shiala received on confirmation on her Omni-tool that Booker DeWitt received the message. She nods in approval and speaks. "DeWitt got the message." She turns her body around and continues to speak. "And I must thank you for explaining those images of his past life and I will do my part to never allow that information to be exposed. I must confess that I was surprised when I encounter you two when I arrived his mind."
Rosalind Lutece spoke first. "You were more capable of handling the images you witnessed than the last asari that peered through DeWitt's mind."
Then Robert added. "However, that is because the last asari was just an inexperienced maiden while our guest Shiala is an experienced commando. She is naturally accustomed to the trials and tribulations as a result of her duty."
"I must say that giving Mr. DeWitt the missing pieces from the Thorian will help in the process." Rosalind said.
Shiala became curious. "Yes, but what should happen now? I am just a commando. I do not know anything about building a colony."
Robert retorted. "Have faith in yourself. You would be amazed what one could do in the face of adversity."
It was Rosalind's turn. "Especially in the next two in-a-half years from now, your expertise will come into value."
"Two in-a-half years?" Shiala asked. "What will happen?"
"That's enough sister." Robert said. "You're giving away too much of the play as it is."
Before Shiala could ask any more questions, she was requested for help when someone sent a message to her by Omni-tool. She reluctantly excused herself and left the twins presence. "Excuse me, but Fai Dan is making a recovery and I have to update him what has happened."
After Shiala returned to the colony, Rosalind made her point. "The experience with the geth and the Thorian has galvanized the colony's resolve which will come useful in the time coming."
"It is a shame they had to kill the Thorian." Robert said. "Such a remarkable species it was."
"Indeed." Rosalind agreed. "To think what we could learn from what it knew, before humanity developed civilization."
"The music before we learned to speak."
"The formulas before the discovery of fire."
"The technology before the invention of the wheel."
"It's probably not all for nothing." Rosalind had an idea. "Now what we know of the Prothean beacon, with many thanks from our friend Shiala we now know more about certain areas we did not know before."
Robert looked at Rosalind. "Such as the whereabouts of the last surviving Prothean?"
"Indeed." Rosalind looks back at Robert. "What do you suppose we should do? Should we tell Mr. Shepard and Mr. DeWitt about the last living Prothean buried on Eden Prime?"
"I believe that might ruin the play." Robert interjected. "I mean he will be revived from his cryogenic slumber in less than three years anyway."
"But waking the last Prothean might give this galaxy the chance we need before the approaching storm." Rosalind told Robert.
"But sometimes it is when the storm hits is when we are at our best." Robert said.
"I believe we are in a deviation." Rosalind said. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Always." Robert produces a silver tray.
"Very well." Rosalind produces a silver coin. "Heads we wake up the Prothean early. Tails we allow the Prothean to sleep a little longer."
"Very well." Robert said as he laid out the silver platter and Rosalind flipped the coin.
The coin flips in the pattern of an arch and then makes contact with the platter. The two anxiously takes a glance which side the coin landed face first.
A/N: One last story before the New Year and I want to wish you all a Happy 2016 which happens to be my birthday on Jan 1.
So enough about me. Please review my chapter and tell me what you think and also tell me whether you want the coin to be Heads: Wake Javik up a little bit earlier or Tails: Let him sleep until the Reapers arrive. This will be all put to a vote for future episodes.
Thank you for reading,
unity9