Chapter 26

Pre-boss Fight – Muse: Assassin

Benezia Fight – Greg Edmonson: Cat and Mouse

A/N: Well, here we go. I said I'd get it finished this chapter, and I intend on keeping that promise. Assassins to kill, Benezia to fight…no time to waste!

Apologies for spelling mistakes if they exist. Haven't had time to check this particularly thouorughly.

I keep on glancing over my shoulder as we head down the winding corridor, curved walls bearing down on us as we walk. As much as I'd love to execute my plan now…that'd look hella suspicious on how I knew she was coming, and know she's an assassin. But the least I can do is at least hint at it…

"We're being followed," I whisper, causing both Garrus and Wrex to swivel around and give me an odd look. Hmm, that wasn't really hinting, more just telling them. Oh well. "Some asari's coming down here after us."

"So?" Garrus shrugs. "Maybe she just wants medical attention."

I raise an eyebrow. "I'm not in the habit of sneaking around when I need first-aid, Garrus. Call me paranoid, but we're being followed. I know it."

"You're paranoid," Wrex grunts, making me want to faceplam. Left myself so open for that… "Though you might be right in this case. I wouldn't trust anyone around here as far as I could throw them."

"You can throw pretty far," I point out.

"Just trying to use the idiom," he mutters. "Maybe the turian's right and it is nothing, but we can just keep one eye out. Better that than a knife in the back." Good, now the plan won't seem completely out of nowhere when I spring it…man, I hope it works! We head up to the med-bay door, which slides open…and the stench of death hits my nostrils, making me stagger back a little bit in shock. People laid out on beds, if not dead then almost there…weak groans filling the air. My God, what happened in here? I never did this bit in Mass Effect 1 so I've got literally no idea what I'm gonna see…

Garrus too looks amazed, addressing the one man standing over one of those affected. "Spirits…Dr. Cohen, I'm guessing?"

Cohen spins around quickly, looking at us accusingly. "What are you doing in here?"

"Helping," I smile reassuringly, stepping towards him as Garrus and Wrex follow. "Ventralis mentioned something about a cure? Did the rachni do this?"

"They're suffering from a toxin," he mutters, as all of our eyes narrow at the realisation the rachni didn't do this. So someone within the company must have. "It was an accident!" Cohen quickly adds, taking in our looks. "I have a non-disclosure agreement, I shouldn't be discussing this!"

I shrug. "You're the one who asked for help. So you're going to have to disclose, because we might just be able to help you."

"Hopefully our company finds our lives more valuable than their secrets…" he mutters. Probably not. "Mira, the VI for Peak 15, she handles security protocols for our experiments here."

"We met her," Wrex grunts. "Reactivated her on our way here. Not much of a conversationalist."

Cohen chuckles lightly. "I suppose not. I'm much obliged for you turning her back on, though. The automatic equipment wouldn't work until she came online. We lost the connection in the middle of an experiment, and…the quarantine failed. These three were exposed to a toxin we were working on." Ah, yes, a 'toxin'. How less specific can he be? The whole thing seems a bit fishy, if you ask me. Garrus's facial expression suggest he's thinking the same thing as me. Detective senses tingling…

"A toxin?" I ask mockingly. "You're going to have to do more than that, doctor. We're here to help you out, but you're going to need to help us first, alright? There's lives on the line here." I gesture at the toxin victims strewn out across the place.

"I suppose you have a point," Cohen replies reluctantly. Charm option succeeds! "Fine. It's a bio-weapon." Both my eyebrows go up with shock. Bio-weapon? Don't bring my mind onto Resident Evil in a place as creepy as this, not now! "Based on an exotic life form discovered on the frontier. They wanted something that could kill it, but there wasn't any profit in something that kills one species!"

"Apparently there's profit in one that neuters them," Wrex mutters, making Garrus sigh lightly next to me. Come on, man…

Cohen looks a little confused, then just continues regardless. "So we kept working on it, adapting it to affect more and more species. Phoros-B is highly infectious, but not contagious from person to person, like a bio-war attack without the pandemic spread on it."

"Oh, that makes it okay then!" I say sarcastically. "Are you fucking crazy? Bullets aren't contagious and they still kill a lot of people!"

"Militaries, governments, they'll get this kind of weapon one way or another!" he protests. Bullshit!

Garrus steps forward now, mandibles flared out in anger. "So that makes it okay to help them? To produce it first?"

"Hey, we're trying to limit the damage!" Cohen replies indignantly, then sighs deeply. "I know you can't see that. My notes and equipment are locked in the quarantine labs, Ventralis doesn't want to risk more contamination."

"We'll try and get them," I say. "But we're not doing this for you. We're making a cure for these people, not for your bio-weapon."

"Try and do something for them, please," he replies calmly. "It's not about the weapon anymore. It's about saving lives."

Wrex scoffs at him. "Like you care. We'll be back soon." With that, we brush past the scientist, and I don't even want to look him in the eye. Sure, he's just working for a company…but still, a weapon like that is fucked up. End of story.

"I'm not even sure about helping him," Garrus mutters as we head back up the steps, towards Ventralis. "What they were making sounds like an abomination."

"Must be bad for a turian to be saying that about a bio-weapon," Wrex chuckles. "It's like Ian said. We're not helping him, just the people it affected."

That asari just seems to have disappeared…presumably she's onto us now, or else she'd be trying to keep up her undercover identity. Maybe she's gone to get reinforcements, I don't know. Hell, I'm not even sure where she's going to jump us, and since my plan depends so much on placement I'm praying it's in wherever Cohen's notes are. We'll just have to wait and see. "It's not gonna help if Ventralis doesn't let us in," I point out. "Let's talk him around first. Wherever he is." I glance around at all the identical looking walls…yep, I'm lost. Curse generic looking environments!

"I know where we're going," Garrus chuckles. "Follow me."

So we do.

#########

"We need to recover that toxin cure," Garrus explains to Ventralis, as Wrex and I stand back a little bit, "but the area's in quarantine. We need you to let us in."

"As much as I'd like to help those guys, we can't risk contamination," the Captain replies wearily. "Sorry."

"The doctor says there's no risk of contamination," Garrus points out. "We're the ones at risk here, not you."

Ventrails nods his head impatiently. Obviously something on his mind…coughbetrayalcough. "You want to gamble your life, you're not under my command. I'll tell the guard to let you through, but he's gonna close the door behind you. Any anomalies, you're not coming out."

"Fair enough," Garrus nods. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," the captain sighs. "Go on, get out of here. We need to be prepared if the rachni come again." The turian looks a little bemused at Ventralis's brisk manner…but doesn't say anything about it, instead just heading back over to Wrex and I as we stride out towards the quarantine area.

"What's eating him?" Wrex asks, as we get out of earshot.

Garrus shrugs. "Asides from rachni, I don't know. Considering everything that's happened around here, I think he's got a right to be a little tense."

"I have a more sinister theory," I say cheerily. May as well try and get everyone as prepared as possible, considering I know what's most likely coming. "That man's on Benezia's payroll. For all we know, he's under orders to shoot us as soon as we get close to her. Maybe that asari is as well."

"You are paranoid today, aren't you?" Garrus chuckles. "Even for your standards. Then again, Shepard did say she didn't trust anyone around here. Can't say I do either."

Wrex laughs dryly. "Makes three of us. People on this planet don't know the meaning of the word honour." He's got that right, for the most part…there's like two nice people on Noveria. At best.

"Just watch your back," I say. "I mean, we should be doing that all the time…but now do it more. Watch your back more." I frown. "Does that make much sense?"

"No," both Wrex and Garrus reply.

"I thought so."

We approach the turian guard, who gives us a rather despondent look. That said, if I was standing by that door all day with rachni clawing at the walls, I wouldn't exactly be happy either. "Stop, you're not part of the crew here!" he says angrily, holding up a talon.

"Good work, buddy," I say impatiently, getting fairly sick of all the stonewalling around here. "I'm amazed they've got someone as sharp as you on guard duty." The turian just glares at me. "We've got Ventralis's permission to go in."

"He radioed ahead to say," the guard says, now sounding even more pissed off. "He also mentioned you've got to prove you're not contaminated before I let you out!"

Wrex shrugs. "Yeah, he told us that as well. Do you think shouting makes you intimidating?" The turian looks surprised, then slowly shakes his head. "Good," Wrex snarls, walking forward and through the doors as we follow close behind. "Because all it does is make you look like an idiot." With that, the door slams shut behind us, as we catch one last glimpse of the turian's angry face.

"Great," I mutter, as we walk forward. "Now he's never going to let us out."

"That door won't hold us for long," the krogan chuckles. "You and Garrus should be able to hack it, and worse case scenario I could just knock it down." Is it wrong that I'd like to see him do that? Take down a thick, metal door? Maybe something for later. Fortunately, the room is fairly small…with a desk, some vials and a computer up ahead. I see where this is going…

Garrus looks a little bemused as we walk up, and see the notes on the table. "Erm…no chance any of you have done any biochemistry?"

"I did law and economics," I chuckle. "But I vaguely remember some chemistry from high school. Considering he just sent us over here without much guidance, it can't be that complicated. Unless you're qualified, Wrex?"

The krogan gives me a funny look.

"I'll take that as a no…come on, Garrus, take a look at this stuff." So, the notes show all the different elements, along with their chemical formula…and the combinations that make the cure. Or should do, anyway. But there's a ton of different amounts, which means we've got to balance it…and I'm still not really sure what I'm doing. Though, there's one thing I can do…

The assassin. "Do you reckon that asari is still following us?" I ask, moving to the door and reaching down to my belt.

Garrus turns to look at me, notes still clutched in one talon. "Now that you mention it, probably. I…" his gaze suddenly shifts to the grenade clutched in my right hand. "I'm sorry, do you have a plan to go along with that grenade?"

"It's quite simple, mate," I smile, reaching over and sticking the grenade onto the wall, setting it to remote detonate. "Precaution. If someone comes in after us, we simply blow them away with this bad boy."

"A trap," Wrex nods admiringly. "Good thinking. Like a hunter." Oh, the irony…hunter becomes the hunted now, I guess. Anyway, back to that cure. I walk over to the table, and glance at the notes. I'm seeing the equations…but Christ, the guy hasn't even balanced them, presumably since he knew what he was doing. Which means I've got to do that, then manually recalculate the amounts because of it…

"You might want to pull up some seats for us, Wrex," I sigh. "Looks like we're in for the long haul."

#########

As it turns out, the long haul equates to about ten minutes. We all put our heads together, even Wrex reluctantly joined in, and managed to bash out what should be a cure. Garrus probably did best, working out fairly quickly which compounds made what, while I did most of the maths work and Wrex made the occasional darkly funny comment and kept asking what would happen if he drank one of the compounds. We've all got our skill sets.

The computer is finally done mixing the compound…and the feedback says we've got a match. "Impressive," Garrus nods, smiling. "We got it."

"Told you we make a good team," I grin, putting up a hand for a high-five, which Garrus goes for eagerly. It's so cheesy, but I love it! How many people high-five Garrus Vakarian? I turn to offer one to Wrex…and see the asari and two geth by the door.

Fuck.

Oh, wait, they're standing right next to my grenade. Panic over.

"I guess you're not here to high five and celebrate a job well done," I say, drawing a pistol as Garrus and Wrex do the same. "Even for the people around here, this takes hostility a bit far."

"That's right human, joke," she scoffs. "We'll see who's laughing after you're dead."

Garrus gives her a cold glare. "Who are you, then? A sleeper agent for Benezia?"

"Yes," she nods, grinning confidently. I slowly reach for the detonator on my belt, fingers closing around it and thumb hovering over the detonate button. "I was ordered to kill Shepard and her squad if the chance arose. Splitting her group up was a nice stroke of luck. Plus, none of you suspected a thing." Oh, we'll see about that…

"Hate to break it to you," I smile, bringing up the detonator in my hand. "But you aren't as stealthy as you think. This is exactly what we suspected." Her face shows shock, disbelief…and finally understanding, as she begins to flare up blue. Oh no you don't…

I stab down on the button, explosion knocking all three enemies off their feet and flying into a wall, where they lie still and broken after impact. It's good!

Wrex nods approvingly. "Not bad. Why did you wait so long, though?"

"Wanted her to know she'd been played," I explain, as I grab the cure from the computer. "A little sadistic, but satisfying as all hell."

"The look on her face was pretty priceless," Garrus admits, as we idly walk past the bodies and out the room…to see the turian guard who'd been shouting at us just a few minutes ago lying face down on the floor. Fuck, she killed him…probably didn't even have a chance to fight back. I mean he wasn't friendly, but still…poor guy.

"We should probably get that cure back to Cohen, quick," I sigh, feeling a little sad looking at the corpse. "God knows enough people have died for it already."

#########

"We've got your cure," Wrex grunts as we walk up to the doctor. "It was hard to make while we were dodging bullets at the same time, though."

"Wait, you were attacked?" Cohen asks, as I roughly hand the cure over to him. I know he wasn't behind it, but still. Bio-weapon research hasn't done him any favours. "I swear, I know nothing about that! I hate conflict!"

Garrus coughs lightly next to me. "Says the man doing bio-weapon research…"

"Look," Cohen explains, "the guards have been seriously on edge since you all got here. And I mean more than when the rachni got out. It seems to me like they were expecting you."

Wrex frowns. "That would explain why their captain is so angry. Still, are they going to be a problem?"

"There are more labs in the back that the guards won't even let me in!" he says. "Maybe they're hiding something. Look, I just want to help my friends. If you can sort out what's going on around here I'll do whatever it takes to help!"

"Is there another way into those labs, then?" I ask. "Maybe some maintenance tunnels or something?" Because if memory serves, there are…

"Yes, of course…I have a pass for them, actually," he says hurriedly, fumbling around in his pockets for a second before handing the pass to Garrus. "Thank you. For all your help."

Garrus gestures around the room at all the people. "Doing it for them. Thanks for the pass, though, it co-" The turian suddenly stops halfway through his sentence and holds up a talon for silence. Sure enough, I can hear some shouting from above, boots pounding on the metal floor…and gunshots. Even worse, the noises are coming closer to the stairs down into here. Shepard must have done something to piss them off…presumably by being alive.

"Hide," I hiss at the doctor, rushing up to the door and standing on one side next to it. It only sounds like one guy is coming down here…but my heart's in my mouth as the door slides open and he comes through, aiming his assault rifle straight at Garrus. I can literally see his finger tense on the trigger, as I reach up and plant my pistol firmly next to the side of his head.

"Drop it," I say calmly, ramming the muzzle in for effect. The guard looks despondent, but drops the gun to the floor, knowing he's done. "Now, what the hell's going around here?"

He spits on the ground vehemently. "Your Commander survived, that's what. The hot labs were filled with rachni that were supposed to take her down, but she comes back up the elevator. The contingency plan was shooting her and the asari, then taking care of you three."

"One person to take three of us?" Wrex asks. "I'm insulted!"

"It doesn't matter," the guard chuckles dryly. "We'll get you in the end."

"You'd be surprised," I mutter, then twat him around the back of the head hard with the pistol, knocking him to the floor unconscious. No point in killing him…besides, the headache he's gonna wake up with should be enough of a punishment. Cohen slowly emerges from the supply cupboard he was hiding behind, looking shocked at the guard in front of us. "You were right," I explain, looking up at the doctor. "They were against us all along. Think you can restrain this guy with something? We're needed back up top." Garrus and Wrex both grab their weapons when I say that. Time to rumble…

The doctor still looks shaken, but nods slowly. "I think so. I…I wasn't expecting this."

"Well, neither were we," Garrus says, heading for the door as Wrex follows close behind. "Shepard's up there. We need to go, now!" With that, the turian dashes upstairs, Wrex quickly glancing over at me as he sets off.

"I think that might be a bit more than professional concern," he comments.

I roll my eyes at him, then set off after Garrus.

#######

"I was wondering when you'd show up," Shepard says, raising an eyebrow as we all burst out into the main area, soldier corpses strewn all over the place. "You missed all of the fun." Fun just about covers it…the whole place has been torn up, chairs flung about the place, the dents in the walls and broken corpses below them, and I'm talking broken. Bordering on the unnecessary.

"You two did this all by yourself?" I ask, amazed by the sight. Moral of the story, don't fuck with biotics…

Both her and Liara nod, actually looking rather pleased with themselves. "They…were not a particularly good opposition," Liara admits. "Unlike those rachni in the hot labs we went to." She shivers slightly. "My skin's still crawling to think of them."

"Bastards led us into a trap," Shepard says angrily. "The hot labs were filled with those damn rachni things, then as soon as we come out we've got these bloody morons shooting at us. How about you? Manage to get anything vaguely constructive done?"

"Think so," I smile, as Garrus holds out the maintenance pass to her. "This might help a bit. Cohen gave it to us after we made him a cure for some toxin his workers were suffering from. Got to say, looks like you got the short straw here. All we did was some chemical synthesis then blew up an asari assassin Benezia had in the station."

The commander raises an eyebrow, grabbing the pass. "She had an assassin in here as well as all the heavily armed soldiers? No expense spared, eh?"

"I'm taking it as a compliment, that she sends that many people," Garrus chuckles. "We seem to have quite the reputation."

"You don't say…" Shepard mutters, as we follow her towards the doors into maintenance and through. "Looks like she's saving herself for the final fight, though. I'm not exactly mad about facing a matriarch." I can hear Liara gulp slightly next to me, presumably at the thought of what's waiting for us…so I glance over and give her a little smile, which she returns. God knows she needs it right now. Well, if memory serves, that final fight Shepard's talking about should literally just be around the corner…

True enough, after a minute or so of cautious walking and door opening, there's a small gasp of shock from Shepard as we all see an enormous rachni…which turns into a sigh of relief when she notices it's in a tank. Not the heavily armoured, lethal kind of tank, the research one. A rachni in a military tank…Christ, that's a horrifying though. Her Majesty the queen doesn't seem to take much notice of us though…but the asari wearing a long dress and frankly ridiculous hat next to it does.

"Benezia…" I hear Liara whisper lightly next to me. This ain't going to be pretty…

"Benezia!" Shepard shouts, moving up towards the asari as we all follow close behind. I remember this place, central raised platform with the ramp leading up to it, square walkway going around the edge of the room…and those four doors which I know are hiding an obscene amount of enemies. Plus a lot of obligatory cover. We've got a fight on our hands, that's for sure, and the rachni queen in the middle of it all makes everything oddly atmospheric, as she coolly observes the events unfolding before her.

"You do not know the privileges of being a mother," Benezia says slowly, turning to face. God, that's Liara's mother? Even though Liara's fairly good looking and Benezia is ugly as sin? Must have got it from her father… "There is power in creation. To shape a life, turn it towards happiness or despair."

Liara looks distraught, taking a careful step forward. "Mother? It's me, Liara!"

The matriarch just shoots her a scornful look, then glances towards the rachni queen. "Her children were to be ours. Raised to hunt and slay Saren's enemies." Benezia's eyes drift back to Liara for a second, and I can faintly see something flicker in her gaze…then nothing again as she addresses Shepard. The indoctrination isn't complete, so Liara must be having an effect, however slight. "I won't be moved by sympathy. No matter who you bring into this confrontation."

"Liara's not fighting for me. She's fighting for herself, not because I asked her to come," Shepard snarls.

"Indeed," Benezia chuckles. "What has she told you about me?"

"Enough," I shout back, after Shepard surprisingly falls silent. Huh. Benezia just keeps on laughing lightly, slightly dead gaze shifting onto me. Ugh, creepy.

"Go on, Liara," the matriarch says. "Tell me what you've said. To this human. To the rest of your squad."

Liara's shaking slightly as she looks up at her mother, voice cracking a little but remaining defiant. "What was I supposed to say? That you're insane? Evil? Give them notes on how to kill you? Ian's right, I've told them enough. You don't get to know."

"As you wish," Benezia mutters, then looks back at Shepard. "Have you ever faced an asari commando unit before? Few humans have."

"Have you ever faced your own daughter in battle before?" Liara shouts, taking another step forward. "You would actually kill me?"

"I should have been stricter with you," Benezia snarls, then launches an arm out. Oh crap, she does stasis on everyone at the start of the fight…I feel all my muscles begin to tighten, lock into place…

Then it suddenly breaks, and Liara strides past me, one arm up herself, biotics flared and fury written all across her face. "Too late for that now," she growls. Hello, bitch Liara…

Two extremely powerful biotics, facing each other down. And instead of just one door opening, all three waves are out.

Bugger. Garrus and I exchange a quick look, then glance back at the sheer amount of weapons being pointed around the place, that moment of silence before the fight begins. We both shrug, then dive for cover.

That movement makes the fight begin. The geth and asari commandos move forward swiftly, streaming fire at us extremely rapidly, bullets chipping and sparking all over the crate Garrus and I are huddling behind. From across the way, Shepard and Wrex are sheltered behind their cover, but only two geth are blasting away at them. Which means we're taking the brunt of the fire from…I poke my head out for a headcount, then quickly bring it back in as a sniper round flies just past my skull. Seven or eight enemies, by the looks of it, three commandos and some geth. I'll take those odds.

I blind-fire over cover, glancing over at the biotic battle raging nearby. Benezia shoots a swarm of blue bolts at Liara, who rapidly knocks them out of the way with her own then launches a warp at Benezia, who only narrowly avoids it. "Why did you do it, mother?" I hear her shout, then a small yelp of pain as Benezia's countering push hits her. No way I can risk shooting at Benezia without risking hitting Liara…and the bullets pinging past my shoulder remind me we've got problems of our own!

Garrus grabs a grenade of his belt next to me, hurling it over the cover without even looking and prematurely detonating it, sending a chorus of asari screams and geth screeches echoing around the chamber.

"You would not understand, child!" Benezia shouts back from across the room, but I chance a glance around cover again to check the grenade damage. I'm a little worried about Liara…but self-preservation comes first. It's not like I can do anything to help over there. I see one asari picking herself up the floor. Two of the geth have been turned to scrap by it, one commando lies dead…and I've got no idea where the other went, but I'm guessing over the edge of the walkway. Nasty way to go.

"Not bad," Garrus grins, eyes roving to his visor. "Quad grenade. That'll help out." Oh yeah, kill competition…

"How am I d-" I begin to ask, until some bullets chipping at my side cut me off. Oh, some bastard geth's gone round the side to shoot at me! I lift one pistol with two hands, for the extra accuracy, and plug it three times in the head. Fuck. Your. Life. Shields are still stable at 33%...and there's one cry from the remaining commando as Shepard and Wrex dispatch her, ironically, with biotics.

"Try me!" Liara yells, launching a barrage of attacks and pushing Benezia on the defence. Liara seems to have the upper hand, attacking the matriarch relentlessly…and it looks like Benezia is beginning to tire.

One more synthetic goes down from Garrus's sniper fire, now that we've got some room to manoeuvre and aim without being shot in the face. That leaves one geth, and four pissed off squad members.

It lasts around a second.

With one final shout of effort, I just catch Liara launch an enormous push at Benezia, who's defence finally breaks. With a cry, the matriarch falls down on the floor…power and energy spent. Liara walks over to her, the asari's shoulders heaving and chest rising and falling heavily from her exertion, but she's still got enough air in her lungs to talk as we hurry over.

"I need a reason," she says quietly, tone almost…begging. "Please."

"It is pointless," the matriarch replies, slowly rising back to her feet. "Saren is unstoppable." We all bring our weapons up to point at her…but Liara's standing in front and I don't think any of us would risk actually shooting, except maybe Wrex, so it's more for show than anything else. "My mind is filled with his light, everything is clear!"

Liara takes a cautious step back, eyes widening. "Then I have my reason. You're indoctrinated. What is he trying to achieve, mother? You're beaten here, but you can still fight the mind control."

"I will not betray him," she says, but her eyes flicker with recognition as she looks into her daughter's eyes. "I…you must…" She starts blinking rapidly, limbs shaking…then looks up at all of us, her gaze finally calm. Now, there's life behind it. "You must listen. Saren still whispers in my mind. I can fight it, but not for long. I managed to seal part of my mind away from the indoctrination, but eventually it too will break. I will turn on you eventually, but it would not be my will."

Liara takes a step forward towards her, eyes growing slightly moist, but Benezia holds up a hand to stop her. God, this is pretty emotional for me to just watch…I don't even want to know what Liara's feeling. "Don't, Liara, we do not have time," she says, face remaining calm but sad tone entering her voice.

"We need you to help us," Shepard says, finally intervening. "Can you tell us anything about Sovereign? Where did it come from?"

"I cannot be sure," she frowns. "The technology it uses is far beyond any species, even the geth. The longer you stay aboard it, the more Saren's will seems correct, making you sit at his feet and smile as his words pour into you. I thought I could resist, in my arrogance, but I was wrong. I was sent here to find the Mu Relay. Its position was lost thousands of years ago." This is almost it…the last bit of the puzzle we need before Virmire to work out Saren's plan.

Shepard looks confused. "Someone here had it?"

"The rachni used to inhabit that region of the galaxy," Benezia explains, talking faster now. She knows she's losing her fight against the indoctrination… "They discovered the relay, and they can share memories across generations." Huh, a bit like Protheans, I guess… "Queens inherit the memories from their mothers, and I took it from her. I…was not gentle," she adds, mournfully.

"Why the Mu Relay?" Shepard asks, her tone taking on a frantic edge. We all know we're fighting against time here, and if we don't get the relevant info…well, we're fucked, to put it bluntly.

Benezia opens her mouth to talk slightly, then suddenly stops, shaking her head slightly. Oh, come on, keep it together…she looks back up again, but her face remains softer than while she was indoctrinated. I whistle out a small sigh of relief. "He believes it will lead him to the Conduit. I would tell you more, but this is all I know. I have the information on an OSD…" she says, voice cracking. "Please, take it." Shepard quickly reaches over and snatches it out of her hands. Fair enough, since nobody wants to be right next to her when the indoctrination kicks in again…

"We need his destination," Garrus mutters. "This is good, but it's not enough."

"He did not say," Benezia gasps. Looks like it's time. I feel terrible just watching this, not being able to do anything… "I can't go much longer…his teeth are in my ear." Is that a term of speaking, or did Saren actually do something like that to her… Ugh, nonono, don't think about that! "Liara," she says, turning to her daughter, and I can see the tears in both their eyes. Shit, this is making me well up too… "I did not mean what I said before. I am proud of you, daughter, and I always will be."

"Mother…" Liara sobs, but we all know it's too late.

"Goodbye," Benezia says sadly, and shuts her eyes. When they snap open again, the dead look is back. "Die!"

Before I even have a chance to react, an enormous force smashes into my chest and sends me flying, arms instinctively curling up over my chest as I fly. Aagh, fuck m-

My back crashes into the railing, cutting off my thoughts completely as I slump to the floor face down, black spots dancing around the edge of my vision and thoughts beginning to blur. Oh, crap, I'm passing out…I faintly hear gunfire, and see Benezia finally falling to the floor at the edges of my vision. Oh, it's over already…the blackness is definitely encroaching in now. I'm pretty knackered from this mission, mind, maybe it's not a bad thing…I can't feel the pain from impact.

Then, just as the blackness almost takes over, I hear a faint note in my mind. Like a guitar being plucked, but slightly out of tune. It gradually gets louder and louder, then a melody joins in, a mournful choir humming a melancholy tune as the guitar continues to strum away, the single notes turning into chords. It makes me want to move again, lift up my arms and rise up, to say the words the song is hinting at…

I don't know what brings me out of it. It might be the particularly crisp C# the choir hits, maybe a wrong note played, but I can feel myself gradually coming back into consciousness. And what the song actually is. Oh my God, the rachni queen is inside my fucking head!

I'm not dead! I will through my mind. Get out! The song suddenly shifts key, jumping up as if with surprise, but still staying in. And with it, with my consciousness and thoughts returning, I feel a faint probing in my skull. It's trying to read my mind!

No! I mentally yell, and just like that the vision flares up. The burning images of Reapers, Shepard falling down on the battlefield…I haven't seen it for a while, and the intensity at which it comes back makes my head feel like it's splitting open. The song makes a discordant screech, the tune breaking up…and finally it's gone, leaving me staring at the cold Noverian floor and one hell of a pain in my lower back from hitting the railing.

"You okay? Ian?" I can hear Garrus shouting from next to me, as I roll over with a groan.

"Fine," I mutter, glancing over at the rachni queen…who's eyes are burning into mine. Fuck, how much does she know? The vision came up quick, so she'll only have got a glimpse at best…hopefully a glimpse won't be enough for her to work it out. "Just got my ass kicked with biotics, that's all. Back kills, but no lasting damage. I hope." I grab Garrus's talon as he heaves me up, and we all turn to face the rachni queen. Or rather, the possessed asari standing in front of Shepard. Looks like she found a different host…

"This one serves as our voice," the asari says, but it the voice whispers around the room as she talks. Or maybe it's just me. I can't tell. "We cannot sing. Not in these low spaces. Your musics are colourless."

"Great," Wrex grunts. "This is going to be a fun conversation."

Actually, I'm kind of curious to know what the hell she was doing in my head…but can't exactly ask that outright, because she might have seen something I'd rather she didn't mention…plus it'll make me sound weird. "Musics?" I ask, and the queen's eyes swivel on me, along with the asari's. The asari frowns, albeit very slightly.

"Your way of communicating is strange, normally, flat, doesn't colour the air… but yours is different," she says to me. "Still no colour, but you sing with an odd note." Everyone turns to look at me. Looks like she did only get a glimpse after all…enough to be suspicious about me, but not enough to piece together the full picture. At least, not yet. I need to say something, though, despite the really annoying position she's put me in…

"It's called a monotone," I finally reply, getting a little laugh from Wrex.

The asari shakes her head, moving on. Thank Christ. "When we speak, one moves all. We are the mother. We sing for those left behind. The children you thought silenced." I can see Wrex tensing as she talks…hopefully he won't blow her head off or something. That would be so like him. "We are rachni."

"Our kind sing through the touchings of thought." I know all about that now…still hard to think that thing was in my head. "We pluck the strings, and the other understands."

Like this, I hear the same voice whisper in my head, almost making me jump about a foot into the air. Thankfully, no-one registers my shock, too busy staring at the asari and queen. "She is weak to urging." You are not, the voice whispers, echoing around, but the connection has been made. I can't feel her presence in my mind, like the when I've melded with asari before, and like when she tried to take me over…but the voice still remains. We are not in your thoughts, simply speaking to them.

The asari continues to talk as she did in-game, explaining to Shepard about why her children became evil and killers...but she still whispers to me. God, I'm freaking out a little… We have seen some of your mind, the queen explains. I can hear faint music as she talks, which must presumably be being translated into words. You are different from any we have felt before.

That's crazy, I think back, but even my mental voice is wavering slightly. I really don't like this… What's so different?

Your memories. Your song. Only a glimpse, and we do not understand it completely, but there is something. Your secret, you do not want us to reveal to your friends. You are not completely of this universe's origin. Is there any real point trying to deny it? After all, she's seen things I can't make her unsee…

Maybe not, I shoot back, taking a quick glance around the room. The asari's still talking away, and nobody's looking at me. Don't want to accidentally give anything away with a facial expression… What else have you seen?

Nothing else that we understand. That may come in time, she answers. If it is your wish, we will not reveal your secret.

Really? Shit, what if there's some kind of condition behind this… Why would you do that?

You fight those who took our children, stole our eggs, turned them into beasts of war with no songs of their own, she explains, and I can physically feel her sorrow and anger as she talks. There is logic behind your decision to keep that secret, and we understand that. Consider it…our way of thanks. Fucking around with my head is their way of thanks, eh? Though, I guess I owe her a bit for that…

Thank you, I project back. So, what now? Do you stay in my head?

No, the connection is based on proximity, since your mind is healthy and well. Plucking the mind's strings is difficult the further the distance between us. Well, that's a hell of a relief. Your commander must face a decision. To release us, or condemn us to extinction. Either way, we will not linger in your thoughts.

Bloody hell, that's a relief… When must she decide, then?

Now. With that, the song dies in my head…and my mind is perfectly clear. I can still see the queen looking at me, but the rachni is addressing Shepard. If she releases the tank…my secret has no chance of getting out. Understanding in time, she said. Do I want her to understand? Then again, is it worth the extinction of an entire race because she knows something about me, that she promises to keep a secret? Rachni don't really seem the type to renege on promises…

"We stand before you," the asari's slow, stumbling voice says. "Will you release us? Are we to fade away once more?" My personal decision? I'm coming down on the side of release. I can't condone killing her…not a species that majestic, where we already have a connection. There's a risk involved…but an even heavier one if we don't have the rachni backing us up when the Reapers finally arrive.

Wrex seems to disagree. "There's acid tanks rigged up to that thing. Set them off. Millions of my ancestors died to put those things down, don't let them come back."

"Killing her consigns an entire race to death," Garrus points out. "Let the Council decide."

"The Council can barely make a decision about C-Sec policy, never mind genocide," I say. "It's up to you, Shepard. But I'm against killing them." Liara stays silent at the back…still looking saddened from Benezia's death. Then, she suddenly looks up.

"Enough have died today," she says quietly. "Let them go free." She's taking this hard…hell, of course she is! Can I really expect her to see her mother die then just go 'meh' and carry on? I should probably drop in and see her once we're back on the Normandy.

"Your companions hear the truth," the asari says simply. "You have the power to free us, or return our people to the silence of memory."

Shepard replies almost immediately, folding her arms and looking the asari dead in the eye. "I won't kill an entire species. You go free." Ha, she had her mind made up the whole damn time…

"Are you stupid?" Wrex shouts. "After everything I told you! Your people didn't fight those bastards, so maybe you don't get it!"

"They've changed, Wrex," Shepard replies calmly. "Besides, are we any better if we kill them all?"

The krogan just waves her away with a hand. "Do whatever the fuck you want." Wrex used the f word? "My people will clean up this mess later, just like we did for the salarians." Come on Wrex, have a little faith…wow, he is fuming. Muscles all tensed, huge frown on his face as he glares at the rachni queen. Great, this is gonna help on Virmire…

"You…will give us a chance to compose anew?" the asari says, voice taking on a tone of surprise. "We will remember. We will sing of your forgiveness to our children."

"Great. Bugs are writing songs about you," Wrex mutters. "Mark my words, you'll regret this." Shepard, thankfully, just ignores him, reaching forward and tapping the buttons to release the queen. No hesitation as she does so. Committed to her decision. Looks like she's been able to put that personal problem to one side…at least for now.

The hydraulics on the tank squeal as it rises up, the rachni queen taking one last look down at Shepard as her escape route finally opens. Then at me.

Thank you. Then the presence is gone again, and this time for good, as she leaps from the tank and away. That's another person who knows…or has a vague idea, anyway. Not good. Especially considering Shiara suggested I tried not to fuck up canon…

"What's so bad about having a song written about you anyway, Wrex?" Garrus chuckles, as we all finally turn to leave. And not a second too soon. I hate this bloody place, the fear, the cold, the bureaucrats… "I wouldn't mind." Wrex just grunts at him…but there's a small smile on the krogan's face as he does so. I can't imagine he's happy, but at least he's not going crazy. That would put the icing on the cake, wouldn't it?

"It was the right decision," Shepard says firmly. "We're doing an entire race good, and you won't have to clean it up, Wrex."

Liara nods along with Shepard's words, still looking sad, but expression softened slightly showing relief it's all finally over here. "I agree. The Council will make the final decision, I suppose."

"Looking forward to that," Shepard mutters, as we advance through the quiet corridors of Peak 15. I'm getting a nagging feeling saying that the queen finding out is gonna bite me in the ass…but I ignore it. Not much I can do about it anyway, short of finding the rachni homeplanet and killing her. Though I imagine I could probably recruit Wrex to help with that. "Come on, everyone back to the Mako. We're done here."

##########

Shepard suddenly brings the Mako to a halt on the road, literally just a few metres from the garage, cliff edge on our right. Huh? Are we out of fuel or something? Because that would be typical…

"You know what," Shepard says, addressing everyone from the driver's seat, "this whole time here, everyone's been taking from us. We've had Anoleis bothering us, Ventralis stabbing us in the back, assassin's in Peak 15…those evil rachni."

"So?" Garrus shrugs. "It's what we deal with. Why are you saying this?"

Shepard flashes him an evil grin. "Because I've got a plan at payback. The one thing they lent us, I'm gonna destroy." What's she talking ab…oh, I see!

I raise an eyebrow. "Destroy the Mako? That's immature, Shepard."

"I don't really care," she shrugs. "It's symbolic. Leave the Executive Board to foot the bill for a new one…it's like fining them for being pricks." Really? That's pretty much pointless…but actually fairly satisfying. Pretty convoluted revenge scheme, but it's the best we've got.

"Hell, I'm in," I say, as the rest of the squad nods from around the cockpit. Shepard pops open the doors…fuck, it's freezing! We should be able to last, though. Shepard takes off the breaks and then jumps out, as the tank starts rolling towards the cliff edge.

I look over at Garrus, just before it topples over. "How much do those things cost?"

"About 50,000 credits."

I whistle quietly. "I think that's a suitable fine. Don't you?" The Mako finally goes over the edge, as we all turn and walk the last few metres into the garage, and back to the Normandy.

"Absolutely," Garrus replies, shooting me a little grin as we walk into the warmth. Behind us, I faintly hear an explosion, presumably as the Mako hits the ground.

For once, however slight it might be, it's good to get our own back.

A/N: Hurray! It's finally over! So we can do more crew interactions next chapter, maybe the one after as well…then, it's time for Virmire. And all the epicness that involves.

Well, now the rachni queen has a vague picture of who Ian really is. Only time will tell if she manages to piece it together fully…and the repercussions that might have. But that's for much later.

Thank you for reading, reviewing…and I'll see you next chapter!