"Any sign of movement? Lizabeth could still be in there! It's only been a few days." a female voice said over the radio. Static. "She's my daughter. I'll wait as long as I have to."

"The signal isn't very strong, but I think it's close by." Tali said.

Kryik sat silently. Survivors were not part of his goal. He was here to investigate the geth and take them out. Anything else was up to the colonists. He didn't like it, but if the humans weren't prepared to handle the trials of a new colony they should have stayed home.

"We can't waste time. They're alive, wherever they are. They're more likely to stay that way if we don't draw attention to them."

Tali was disappointed with his answer, but he was the one in charge. She nodded her acceptance and strapped herself back in, leaving her omni-tool tuned in to the frequency the survivors were using in case they said anything important.

"Shepard, get on those controls. Let's move." He ordered and took the main gun again.

He mentally kicked himself for getting distract by personal conversation. It hadn't cost them anything, this time. He couldn't let his guard down again. Not on a mission.

"I think I see movement..." Tali's radio picked up the woman's voice again.

"They must be close if they can see us." She said.

Kryik turned the gun to look around. He spotted some light coming from a supply shelter as Shepard rounded a corner heading up a ramp. It was probably the survivors. It wouldn't take long for the geth to find them there if they didn't cut off their com signal.

"Tali, can you send a reply?"

Tali tapped a few buttons.

"I can try, but it doesn't look like their equipment is receiving signals out side their network. I don't know why we can pick theirs up if they can't receive...".

"We can't stop. They're on their own." Kryik interrupted.

He turned the viewer away from the lights and back to the path in front of them. Tali turned off the radio. She didn't want to find out if the geth fond them. There was nothing she could do.

They emerged from the tower onto the skyway connecting to ExoGeni. It was littered with geth colossuses.

"Okay, Shepard. Run over the smaller ones and circle 'round the colossus like before. Do not get us hit this time!"

Shepard was taken back a bit by the sudden change in his temperament, but she didn't argue. She was glad Tali had interrupted her. What she was about to say would have been exceedingly embarrassing now. She had obviously been wrong about where she thought the relationship was going... way wrong.

The Commander allowed herself a satisfied smirk as the mako jerked and rocked over a couple geth. She imagined she could hear them crunching beneath the wheels. Forget the hover craft. Makos could crush things. Then the mako rocked for a different reason.

"Shepard! I said run over the troopers, not the colossus! Pay attention, solder, or the geth won't be the only thing you have shooting at you!" He shouted down at her.

She jerked the controls hard to port to avoid a blue energy blast from a colossus cannon. She mentally punched herself in the face for letting herself get distracted. She was a Commander, what the hell was wrong with her?

Kryik lined up the guns and fired the main canon. It was a direct hit, but not a kill. He ordered Shepard to make another pass. He didn't like having to shout at her, but she needed to clear her head. They didn't have the luxury of self indulgence right now. There was just too much riding on the mission and her evaluation to fuck it up over... He pushed it all away. Hard.

He lined up the shot and fired. The colossus crumpled to the ground in a heap of scrap. The same method worked on the next few, but it was close. Using the mako as a weapon was hard on the shields, but it was usually a one hit kill against a trooper. They made it through the bay doors at the end of the skyway. The mako was lightly damaged, but in tact. The run back may be just that, a run.

Kryik eyed the narrow opening into the closed off mako bay. He was sure he saw something moving in there.

"Everyone fall out, but keep your guard up. I don't think we're alone."