Author's Note: Hey there. I'm back, sorry for the long wait. Took me a long while to give writer's block a swift kick in the pants. Breaking the Exogeni base into two chapters. Then back to Zhu's Hope and off this annoying planet.

Enjoy!

Chapter Thirty eight

Stepping into the building from the garage Shepard looks around warily. "This screams trap. It's too silent. There's a Geth ship riding pillion on this building but not a single trooper anywhere around. This point of entry should be guarded. Where are they?"

Garrus steps up to clear the stairwell from the garage. "Not a soul in sight. You're right, this feels wrong."

Wrex pushes past them growling "Wrong or not, I'm going." He starts up the stairwell, striding confidently.

Shepard rolls her eyes and groans, then quicksteps after Wrex, taking point. "If we get shot, I'm not letting you take the bullet. We're a team." Wrex growls deep in his throat but let's her take point, drawing his shotgun and holding it ready. Tali falls in between Shepard and Wrex, her omnitool lit up and scanning. Garrus comes up last, sniper at the ready, head on a swivel.

Tali sharply taps Shepard's elbow about three floors up and says softly, "We've got someone above us. Heat signature reads big."

"Heat? Geth don't give off heat." She looks up at the ceiling, wondering who is right above them, friend or foe? "Alright, nice and easy, no sudden movements or sounds. Let's take a look, see what we've got. Garrus, swap places with Wrex, I need you on my six, in case he's not friendly. Wrex, stay back I need you to watch the stairs, incase we're ambushed." Garrus nods, him and Wrex swap places.

Easing up the stairwell Shepard keeps her eyes forward, trusting Garrus and Wrex to watch for any surprises. As she gets in sight of the target she signals her squad to hold. Standing at the top of the stairs is a Krogan, big and nasty, he's got both a shotgun and assault rifle strung across his back, and he's arguing with a VI avatar.

"Just tell me what I need to know!" He growls out.

"I'm sorry," The VI says in it's default cheery tone, "You do not have the proper security clearance. Please see HR for any inquiries."

"There isn't an HR left to talk to, and you won't be far behind if you don't let me in!"

"I'm sorry," The VI repeats, "You do not have the proper security clearance. Please see HR for any inquiries."

The Krogan draws his shotgun to blast the console, and it takes every ounce of restraint for Shepard to not shoot him first. As she raises her rifle, ready for him to turn around she hears the crackle of his radio coms, "..return to base, all scouts and sentries, return to base.." The radio crackles to silence and the krogan punches uselessly through the VI holo before storming off down an adjacent hall.

Shepard sighs softly and mounts the stairwell. She glances down the dark hall, listening at the fading sounds of the Krogan leaving. "All clear." She says, signalling her squad forward. "Wrex, keep an eye on that hall, in case he returns. Garrus, watch the stairs. Tali, see if you can help me with this VI."

The men fan out taking up their stations as Shepard and Tali approach the VI. "Requesting access to the previous inquiries." She states simply.

"Please state ID for clearance." The VI intones.

"Lizbeth Baynham." She says, hoping the girl's name alone will unlock the system, highly doubting it though. As the seconds drag by, the VI unresponsive, she signals Tali forward to hack it and gain access.

As Tali kneels beside the console the VI speaks up, "Access granted. Welcome back Ms. Baynham. How may I be of service?"

Shepard looks to Tali and back to the VI, "Give me access to the files pertaining to the previous inquiries."

"The previous inquiries were in relation to the Species 37 Project."

"Please define the Project, give me the information."

"Species 37 is also known as the Thorian. It is an ancient sentient plant dating back fifty thousand years at minimum. It has the ability to hibernate for thousands of years making exact age unknown. The Thorian is a unique creature with a massive sensory network. It releases spores into the air that allow the Thorian to control those who inhale them. These 'thralls' then tend to the Thorian and obey its will. The Thorian has a weave of tendrils that covers much of the surface of Feros with some sensory tendrils kilometres long, though in places they are gathered into nerve bundles or neural nodes."

"A mind controlling plant?" Garrus sounds incredulous. "That's ridiculous."

"Garrus, we came here in a spaceship, capable of jumping light years in nanoseconds, and we are fighting Artificial Intelligence robots. I'd say nothing is impossible anymore." She turns back to the VI, "Where is the location of Species 37?"

"Species 37 is located underneath the Zhu's Hope colony."

"Under the colony? You were using those people as experiments?"

"I am sorry, you do not have clearance for that information." Shepard looks to Tali and nods. As Tali approaches the console and sets to work sudden sparks flash out of the console and the VI flickers and goes out. The lights in the halls flicker as well, setting off sparks as the ground shudders momentarily.

"What the hell was that?" Shepard twists around to look back at her team, all have their guns raised and stances set, wary.

"Maybe the ship has decided to leave?" Tali says, "It would account for the power surge, and the tremors."

"Why would it suddenly decide that?"

"They found what they needed?" Tali hedges in.

Shepard sighs and starts down the hallway, signalling them to fall in. "If that's the case then I need to find it out too. What's here that Saren wants?"