A Brothers Duty - Mass Effect

by JustStartingOut

Shepard has always kept his personal life to himself. With good reason. A life working with the alliance was led by many guidelines. The responsibilities, and freedoms, of being a spectre started to blur those lines. This will follow a similar structure to the game but has undergone serious deviations. MShepXTali. I will be attempting to upload once every two weeks or monthly.

18. Cur

Vitus was kneeling next to the window, his attentive eyes watching the long stretch of bridge ahead of him. Since the Mako had rolled through, the Geth had been picked up by drop ships. Vitus knew that he and Cavius were lacking the firepower to take on the machines, so he let them leave without incident.

Cavius would occasionally reiterate his opinion of wanting the biotic off the team, Vitus eventually would simply stop responding to the repetitive nonsense. Happy to be afforded a small sense of peace when Cavius fell asleep with his back leaned into a corner. Vitus glad to have some silence for the time being.

Time would start to blur for the Turian, who sat in one spot for the majority of the time. Eventually, with lots of time and naught to do, Vitus would start considering if he should make a ration. The only thing stopping him were the chances he'd wake the fool that was asleep.

While tossing the idea around in his head, rapid, but distant explosions would echo loudly through the area. Catching Vitus' attention and waking Cavius up. Vitus leaned out the window to see the Geth ship falling from the building. The ocean of dust that it fell into stirred up slightly as the ship plunged through it.

"The hell was that!?" Cavius would push himself up from the corner as he spoke, looking around to make sure he hadn't missed something.

"The Geth ship, I guess the Spectre can get things done."

"Has the biotic come back yet? We've been here an awfully long time for nothing. We ought to go on our own, I bet we could find the thing without too much difficulty."

"Do you even know what you'd be looking for?" Vitus snapped at the other, his patience wearing thin from being with the idiot.

"The communications thing." Cavius was oblivious to the others tone, opening his omni tool to look at their briefing.

"And what does that look like?"

"Well, I'm guessing it's a big, computer type thing."

"Big… computer type thing?"

"Yeah, you know, a bunch of monitors and keyboards. Areas for people to sift through the communications."

Vitus sighed quietly and shook his head, looking back out the window. "Brilliant deduction, truly." Cavius finally realized that Vitus had been messing with him, closing his tool as he approached the window.

"Well then what is it?"

"A computer is hooked up to the system so that people can be given initial access, you probably need someone else that is hooked up to give you access. The station itself is a combination of computers and antennas."

"So… I was partially right?"

"No."

Cavius would let a quiet huff out as he walked away from the window. "Well, you know, so how about we go find it instead of-"

Vitesia stepped into the room, rubbing her hands clean with an old cloth. Tossing it to the side as she went to the window. "Got what we need." It was clear to Cavius that he wasn't the one she was addressing.

"Well that's good, the Spectre should be on his return soon and we have yet to get a sample."

"Would've been easier my way." Cavius muttered quietly to himself, going to check the door that the biotic had entered from. His comment being ignored by both the others.

"We might need the Spectre for a distraction, too many guns in the colony to just charge in. The colonists also have taken to disliking me."

Cavius noticed the blood on the old rag, but said nothing of it, instead turning to the thoughts to their task. "So? What are our orders? Can we finally get those idiot colonists out of our way and take what we need?"

"Do you listen to nothing?" Vitesia turned to look at the non biotic, her snide remark making Cavius's mandibles flare out. His mouth opened to respond, quickly closing shut again as he saw a stern glare coming from Vitus. There was a brief silence that took over the group, eventually Vitesia questioned Vitus on what the explosions had been. The two of them leaned out the window to view the building.

Soon, Vitesia was going over the plan again, making sure that Cavius understood. "Let the Spectre take care of the colonists, if we take them out and he finds out, he'll have leverage to boot us off the ship."

"And if we just went my way from the beginning, we'd be done before the Spectre made it back." Cavius would speak up at the end, making the biotic women sigh.

"Yeah, sure, but it'd be damn suspicious if all the colonists dropped dead while we're the only ones around."

"They wouldn't be suspicious of the Geth?"

"No, they've held out fine against them for days. The only thing that would've changed is us being here. If we'd been able to bring our own ship, sure, we could've gone your way."

"Fine, then we wait for the Spectre to get the civies out of our way." Cavius, who finally decided that their plan would have to do, went to sit and wait for the Spectre.

Tali spun a blue vial around between two of her fingers, not entirely certain how the cloudy liquid inside was supposed to help. Occasionally turning her attention to John who sat in the driver seat next to her. Silence had taken over the Mako for the ride back towards the colony. Shepard still unsure as to how he would handle the situation at hand

Subject it to heat and when inhaled, the gasses should kill the infection but not the host.

One vial worth.

Without explanation, John gave the order for Iromak to get an empty syringe from one of the several medical compartments, the Batarian putting it into a slot in the armor on his thigh. Soon, the Mako rolled up to the large door that kept the garage sealed. John and Iromak got out to look at the controls on the heavy door, the pair of them discussed their options for getting past it for several minutes. Tali eventually climbed out as well to follow after the pair and to see if she could help.

Several silent minutes passed as Helyt and Wrex awaited them. Vaay soon became curious of the problem as well, following after Tali and leaving Wrex to guard the Mako. The garage had been locked down, the heavy, thick metal would hold up to anything but the Normandy's guns; Shepard wouldn't take it to that caliber in case the colonists were within. The clearance available to their old Mako likely would've gotten them in, but it was in no condition to move.

When Helyt arrived, John quickly remembered where Vitesia had gone up. Stepping back to look up at the building while the others tried to figure a way through. Once he judged the distance, the Commander looked to Helyt, gesturing to the windows many floors up. "You think you can get up there?"

Vaay turned to look where he was gesturing, feeling a small lump developing in her throat as she looked at the height. "O-Oh… I don't know about that." She spoke quietly, but loud enough for Shepard to hear. The Commander turned to look back up to the window to consider his options.

"Hm…"

Shepard found his body start tingling, turning to look at the Commando in confusion. Feeling himself lifting into the air as a deep chuckle was heard from behind him.

Wrex.

"I'll get you up there Shepard."

"Hold-" Shepards statement was cut off as he was suddenly hoisted into the air. Feeling the wind tearing past him as the Krogan lifted him higher. Hitting the side of the building with a light thud, grabbing the window ledge with both hands. Pulling himself up and in, landing on the ground with another thud. Sighing quietly to himself as he pushed himself up, happy to have solid ground beneath him.

Taking a moment to look around the dusty, sun lit room before turning to lean out the window, swearing he could hear Tali shouting at Wrex. Turning back around to look for a way through the building, the only door available to him in the room. Stopping as his omni tool lit up, Wrex's voice coming in over it.

"At the window, Shepard."

John stopped, turning back and walking towards the window, a bit surprised at Wrex following him. Looking down at a plastic wrapper he had stepped on, not having noticed it before.

Trash?

John looked up as he heard the rapid talking of an uncertain Quarian. Dropping his rifle as he saw Tali approaching the window quickly, his hands moving up to catch her. The wind got knocked out of John as Tali hit him, both of them falling to the ground.

Tali spent the better part of a minute shaking her head as she clutched to John. Trying her best to steady her racing heart. "I-I… don't like biotics."

John found himself chuckling lightly at her statement, letting his hands fall away from Tali now that she was safe.

"I understand what you mean."

Tali found a deep warmth flushing through her cheeks after realizing where she was, quickly pushing herself up from laying on her Captain. Offering a hand down to help him up, but keeping her eyes averted from his. "Thanks… for catching me."

John found himself smiling up at Tali. Reaching up to take her hand, using his other hand to help himself as well, knowing the full weight of him and his armor would likely pull Tali off her feet. "Anytime."

Once John was back on his feet, he turned to grab his rifle with his right hand, picking up the wrapper in his left to look it over.

Turian MRE.

Litter bugs.

"And why did Wrex send you up here?" John crumpled the plastic up and tucked it away in an empty pocket so he could throw it away later. Starting back towards the door he had been approaching beforehand.

"I… asked him to." There was a slight hesitancy from the Quarian to answer, Tali having a strong feeling that he would've rather done this alone. John stopped at the doorway, poking his head into the dark hallway to look around before speaking.

"Well… stay close, keep your eyes open and keep your weapon at the ready, but no firing on the colonists." Shepard wasn't ecstatic about her joining him, largely because he wanted her to stay safe with the others; he certainly wasn't going to have her wait alone though.

Stepping into the dark hallway, John looked back and forth. The only light pouring in from a window at the end of the hall, right above a set of stairs. John started down the hall, each footstep carefully placed. Tali followed close behind John with her shotgun in hand, occasionally checking behind them for movement.

Their descent would soon halt as the available light would become sparse, forcing John to pull out a small, but bright flashlight from a slot in the armor on his thigh, setting it on the side of his rifle. Continuing their gradual descent, John finally spoke up in a hushed tone.

"So, what's the Commando been talking with you about? She say anything about the Turians?"

Tali followed close behind John, attempting to keep her steps as quiet as his. "No… She did seem curious about the Geth though, asked me a lot about that."

"Hmm…" Was all that the Commander would add, leaving Tali curious about his thoughts; prodding for answers after they went down a few flights.

"You don't trust her?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Why not?"

John stopped, contemplating how he should respond. His flashlight focused on the dusty floor several steps down. "You remember her file, right?"

"Yeah… What about it?" Tali couldn't hide the curiosity in her voice, stepping down to be on the step right behind John.

"Well, that puts her at nearly sixty years of work as a Commando, then her age is over two hundred years. Giving her more than ample time to refine her biotics."

"Yeah? So you're suspicious because of her skills as a biotic?"

"Kind of… I'm more suspicious because of her… lack of abilities." Even as he said it, the words seemed wrong. Giving him the feeling that something was off about his own suspicions.

Tali blinked a few times, soon turning to look at John with squinted eyes. "So… it's because she's weak in biotics?"

"You could go around to any Asari colony, anywhere, and find stronger biotics with much less training. It doesn't make sense, unless she's downplaying her own abilities."

John slowly continued down the stairs, looking around as he got to the bottom. They were close to the garage, he remembered passing through the area after checking on the colony. The only difference being that all the lights were now turned off.

Tali spoke up as another question popped into her mind. "But… why? What use is that to anyone?"

John nodded towards the garage, starting down the hallway before answering. "It helps make people underestimate her. If someone assumes she's a weak biotic, then they're much more likely to put themselves in a bad spot."

Tali thought of the story that Iromak had told her while in the hospital, smirking slightly as she followed him. "Speaking from experience?"

"With biotics? Or underestimating people?"

"Both, I suppose."

"Well… yes, on both accounts…" John stopped for a moment, looking behind to see if there was anything behind them. Turning his attention to Tali afterwards. "Probably more biotic experience than any non biotic should have."

Tali watched him with curious eyes for a moment, trying to figure out just what he meant. The thought was interrupted by rapidly approaching footsteps from the hallway behind Shepard. The Commander whirled around and raised his weapon to shine the light down the dusty hall.

What was approaching, he wasn't at all certain. It was a humanoid, two hollow sockets where the eyes should have sat. Its wrinkled, gray flesh had the distinct appearance of decomposition. Three shots from his rifle had the thing back peddling, only for it to catch its footing once again; beginning another charge towards the pair. Bringing its hands up to get ready to strike with its long, sharp claws.

Shepard opened fire again, Tali checking behind them to make sure they weren't about to get flanked before turning to help John. Once it was laying on the ground in a pool of green blood, John nodded towards where they had been going. "Come on, there could be more on the way."

Iromak sat on top of the Mako, his left elbow resting on his knee, his weighty pistol sitting in his right hand. Wrex was eating raw MRE's, waving Iromak off when he had attempted to offer the Krogan water. Vaay stood at the door, one hand supporting her, the other occasionally tapping at the controls of the garage door.

Iromak would observe the Commando for several, long minutes. Pondering as to what she could be planning, as she was tapping far too slowly to get in anytime soon. Eventually, pushing himself off the vehicle, walking over towards the panel that Vaay was fiddling with. Iromak stood silent as he watched her tinker. The Commando was trying to find a way to surpass or undermine the security of the door.

"Have you tried the secondary systems?"

Helyt's sudden jolt of surprise told Iromak that she hadn't been aware of him. The Commando turned her head to look at the Batarian. Turning her attention back to the panel before responding. "Yes… and the back up systems."

"No luck?"

"None…"

Iromak turned back around to keep his eyes on the highway behind them. Wrex was leaning against the Mako, seeming rather bored without something to fight. "Can't give your Turian friends a call? See if they're somewhere on the other side of this door?"

Vaay scoffed lightly, shaking her head at his question. "They aren't what I'd call friends."

Iromak turned his head slightly at the comment, stepping back so he could lean against the door. "Really? Then just what are they?"

Helyt shook her head as she once again failed to get the door open. "Rude, impatient, demanding… there's a few other words I could use."

"Sounds like you've spent a lot of time with them…" Iromak continued to gently prod her knowledge on the Turians to see what she knew.

"Enough to know that I should keep my distance from them when I can."

"Why is that?"

Helyt stopped her fiddling for a moment, turning to look at Iromak. "Rude, impatient, demanding, thought I covered that part." There was a tint of snideness in her response, getting somewhat annoyed by his vague questions.

Iromak nodded slowly, keeping his eyes on the road. "Yes, but how so? They just seem quiet to me."

Vaay returned her attention to the panel, occasionally looking at her omni tool that was linked with it. "Yeah, because you weren't forced to follow their orders… or sleep in the same area with them." Helyt added the last part on quietly, but loud enough for the Batarian to hear.

"Oh, so it's working on the Normandy then?"

Iromak had the distinct feeling that Helyt's head shaking was accompanied by an eye roll underneath her helmet. "No, working with the Spectre is a breath of fresh air compared to them."

The quiet hissing of pressure locks slowly opening made Iromak push off the door to stand clear of it. "Good job on the door."

Helyt was backing up slowly pulling her rifle off her back, the weapon sliding open as she readied it. "That wasn't me…"

Iromak would quickly turn and ready his own rifle at her statement, calling for Wrex to get to them. Iromak would tap Vaay's shoulder and gesture back to the Mako. Helyt following the silent order to take cover, Iromak followed behind her with his weapon trained on the door. The sound of a grumbling Krogan from within the Mako could be heard as the door started pulling open.

Tali was standing on the opposite side of where Vaay had been. John standing right behind her, his armor covered in a light layer of a greenish liquid. Several of the gray humanoids lay dead throughout the garage.

"Tali! Shepard!" The Krogan exclaimed as he climbed out of the Mako. "Enjoy the ride up?"

John could've sworn he heard Tali swearing under her breath, shaking his head lightly as he followed her out of the garage. "Not particularly, but it got the job done."

Iromak and Helyt would follow Wrex as the other two exited the garage. John and Tali would fill the others in on what little they knew of the feral beings that had attacked them, moving on towards the colony afterwards.

Shepard on the lead with Tali close behind, Iromak and Helyt behind them. Wrex watched the rear, although he often voiced his displeasure in it. Shepard wasn't confident in the Krogans ability to hold his finger off the trigger when they arrived at the colony.

Shepard would halt the group as they reached the bottom of the stairs that he and Tali had walked down. Gesturing Iromak up to follow him, noticing Tali was about to follow in tow. Stopping to face her as he shook his head. "Tali, I need you to stay here for a few minutes. Iromak and I are just going to check it out, alright?"

There was much hesitation from Tali, looking back and forth between the two. Knowing that Iromak wouldn't back her up on this no matter how she put it, eventually giving a short nod. "Fine, but if you're gone for too long, I'm sending Wrex."

Tali could hear Shepard chuckle lightly as he gave her a nod. "It's a deal." Shepard turned on his heel and started into the darkness of the hall, Iromak following right behind him.

Tali watched till he was out of sight, turning to go sit on the stairs for the time being, Helyt looking up and down the halls for a moment before also taking a seat on the stairs, a few steps lower than Tali. Wrex pacing up and down the hall slowly as he waited for the other two to return.

Tali would check her omni tool more often than necessary, waiting the minutes away in silence. She wouldn't hesitate to make good on her promise to send Wrex after him, but also didn't want the Krogan to charge ahead and give away where the two were. Vaay would eventually turn around so she could continue learning about the Geth from Tali.

Tali would eventually turn it around on the Asari, starting to pose personal questions to Helyt. All the headway that she could get on the subject being that Vaay had wanted to visit Thessia, the Commando falling quite silent after that.

Just as Tali was going to task Wrex with finding the Commander, rushed footsteps accompanied by the sound of muffled shouting echoed its way down the hall. Wrex and Helyt aiming their weapons down the hall as it got closer and closer.

John stepped around the corner first, pulling someone from behind, his right arm wrapped around their neck with his left hand covering their mouth. The person was kicking and struggling every step of the way, making it mildly more difficult; Shepard won the weight and skill difference though. Iromak followed close after John, keeping his attention on the path that they took to make sure no one followed.

Wrex and Helyt would lower their weapons as they saw the two approaching, Wrex taking a few paces towards them. "What's this? Gonna drag them off one by one?"

Shepard didn't answer, focusing on keeping the colonist held tight. Iromak passed the Krogan to ask Tali for the vial she had been entrusted with, the Batarian returning to help John once she pulled it from one of her many pockets. Iromak would thank her as he took it, stepping back over to John as he pulled the syringe from a compartment in his armor, holding it in his right hand.

Iromak removed the cap to the syringe before sliding it into the vial lid, drawing a small amount of the cloudy blue liquid into the syringe. Stepping towards the struggling colonist that John held still. With one smooth movement of Iromaks left hand, a small, burning red blade appeared from his omni tool.

"Make sure he can't move." Iromak made sure that John had him held adequately before moving the blade just below the colonists nose. His right hand moved forward to drip a few drops of the blue liquid onto the blade, a quiet sizzling sound as the drops burnt off into a gas.

The colonist had continued to try and struggle, it was a vain attempt though. Within just a minute the captive would ease his struggles before falling unconscious. Shepard slowly easing him down onto the ground, checking the colonists heart rate and breathing before giving a thumbs up to Iromak.

"One down…"

"Shepard." The burly voice of Wrex got everyone's attention, the Commander turning around to face the Krogan. "You can't seriously be considering doing this one by one."

"Considering, and acting upon."

Wrex chuckled lightly as he shook his head, starting down the hallway. "I'll show you how to handle this."

"No, Wrex." John turned to watch him, starting to follow after as he realized the Krogan had no intention of stopping. Speaking again once he was in stride with Wrex. "Wrex hold on, I can't have civilian casualties here."

"I know, I know. Alliance has always been picky about who does and doesn't get shot." Shepard kept questioning Wrex on how he would resolve the problem, the Krogan was vague at best, only saying that he'd show John 'a thing or two about handling delicate situations'. This inspired little confidence in the Commander.

Vaay watched the two walking down the hall, not wanting to get between their conversation, she turned to Iromak. "Should… we be following them?" Helyt turned to Tali as she spoke in case the Quarian knew the answer.

Iromak was moving the unconscious colonist onto the stairs, shaking his head as he stood up straight. "No, you two keep an eye on him in case he wakes up. I'll go see what John and Wrex are doing."

Neither of them seemed particularly ecstatic about staying put, both following Iromaks instruction though. Tali leaned on the wall while Vaay went to sit on the stairs again, keeping her eye on the slumbering colonist.

During their hiatus, Tali would slip the small metal drawing book out from one of her pouches. Flicking it open to go over her notes on the Geth, making a few more notes from her studies on the bridge. Helyt sat, leaned against the wall, her head against the wall.

Tali's eyes would occasionally flick to the Asari on the steps in front of her, finally deciding to ask the biotic a question.

"What is it like?"

Vaay's head pulled off the wall, turning around to look at Tali. "What?"

"Your biotics, what is it like to use them?"

Helyt's head would tilt to the side in a slight curiosity, turning her attention to her hands. "It's… kinda strange... I wouldn't know how to explain it honestly, it's not just thinking about wanting to stop something. In a biotics body, there are concentrations of eezo, usually referred to as nodes. The nodes must have an ample amount of electrical impulses sent from the brain to be able to use any form of biotic ability."

"That sounds a lot like thinking is exactly what you need to do." Tali would step over to stand near the stairs as she listened.

Helyt nodded at her statement, dropping the rock back down to her hand. "Yeah, but it's also about control over your muscles and your nervous system, add the strain of creating the fields. Anything big gets tiring quickly."

Tali would nod quietly, looking at her own hand, trying to imagine what the creation of an eezo field would feel like. The thought was interrupted by the sound of footsteps struggling their way down the hall, Wrex was the first to come into view. The Krogan pulled two people along, each in headlock under his arms, quite unphased by their attempts to get free; Shepard followed with one more, Iromak bringing up the rear, making sure no one was following.

"How'd you manage to get so many? They just charge at you?" Tali's joke posed a serious question, wondering as to how they managed to keep pulling people out of the colony.

While Iromak went to work on boiling the liquid on his omni tools blade, John answered. "Well, they weren't expecting us with the first guy. These three were pulled in with Wrex's biotics." Soon, they had another set of slumbering colonists. John left Iromak to help Tali watch over them, bringing Vaay along with him and Wrex to have additional biotics.

Iromak spent his time pacing up and down the hall, periodically checking the colonists' pulses. Pausing as he noticed the journal in Tali's hand. "Where'd you get that?"

Tali turned to look up at Iromak before looking back to the journal in her hands. "Oh, John's been letting me make drawings of the Geth in here, and notes… He's got a lot of little drawings in here."

"Yeah, drawing has always been something he enjoyed."

Tali spent a few minutes thumbing through the various drawings in the book. Iromak speaking up as she got further into the drawings. Stopping on a page that had a very rough sketch of the Normandy paired with some writing at the bottom.

Just another mission. January 6th, 2183.

"I'm surprised John is so open with you."

Iromaks voice pulled Tali's attention up to him, noticing that he was watching the pages she had been flipping through. "About… his drawings?"

"Well, sure, but I mean everything. He used to be a bit of a recluse."

Tali paused at Iromaks statement, tilting her head slightly as she watched him. "John? A recluse? I find that a bit difficult to believe."

Iromak nodded, turning his attention back to the halls. "Sort of, he just usually isn't so open with people he's met recently."

"I wouldn't say we met recently."

"No, but you two had met recently when you met me. If he's open about me, then you must have found out just about everything."

"Well…" Tali's uncertainty broke through in her voice, making Iromak all the more curious.

"Well? What is it?"

"John does seem to avoid the topic of the ship you two had… or… at least what happened to it." Tali closed the metal book over and slid it back into the pouch, zipping it shut to make certain it was secure.

"Ah." Iromak sounded like her words clarified something for him, falling silent afterwards as he turned his attention to the colonists on the ground.

"So…? Do you know as to why?"

"Why, what?"

Tali's short sigh was accompanied by the shaking of her head. It wasn't hard to tell by Iromaks attempted skirting of the subject that he wanted to avoid it, although it seemed different to John's blatant subject change. "Why doesn't he want to talk about the ship?"

"It… wasn't a good point in time. Those are generally subjects he likes to avoid, but just because he avoids it, doesn't mean he won't tell you."

"But what if I make him angry? If there's any chance of-"

"You won't." Iromak stepped up to the stairs where she sat, kneeling down to check the colonist who lay at the bottom. "I doubt there's anything you could do that would get him angry. Unless you're considering taking up slaving or slinging red sand, don't worry about him getting upset."

"Well, I never plan on heading down one of those paths. So there's nothing to worry about there."

"I figured you wouldn't."

After another small pause of silence, Tali posed a question to Iromak that had been hovering on the edges of her mind.

"If John doesn't trust the Commando, why bring her?"

"A fair question…" Iromak would ponder her question for about a minute before turning back to her. "Could be just seeing how she handles herself, could be seeing if she tries to sneak off somewhere. Any number of things, he very well could've just wanted a biotic on the team."

"Well, Kaidan or Liara could do that, or Wrex."

Iromak chuckled lightly at her comment, shaking his head as he looked up and down the hall. "He's got Kaidan on the ship to keep it safe, Liara is a civilian, and he wouldn't risk that. And for Wrex? Well, he seems like a bit of a wild card."

Tali nodded at his comment on Wrex, remembering the quick flight she had taken. Tali let a pause settle between them before speaking up once more. "Is that why he keeps me back here?"

"Because you're a wildcard?"

Iromaks comment got a light giggle out of Tali, shaking her head as she answered. "No, because I'm like Liara, he sees me as a civilian."

Iromak shook his head, turning his attention to Tali. "Someone has to watch the colonists, and neither of us have biotics. That's why we're here."

"Well, yes, sure. The thing is, he seems to always keep me back, he wanted me to stay on the ship, he wanted me to stay in the mako, both times. It's only when I insist upon going, does he let me go."

"Would you rather be in the middle of the fighting?" It was an honest question, but his curiosity was lost in the gruffness of his voice.

"I- well… No, but that doesn't mean I want to just leave him to jump headfirst into everything."

"I think you're forgetting something Tali…"

"And what is that?" Tali folded her hands together, tilting her head to the left in curiosity.

"It's his job to do that, both as a Commander and a Spectre. It's a naturally dangerous business."

Tali nodded at his statement, looking down at her hands. "Yes, I understand that, but that doesn't explain why he wants me to stay back."

"It does though. He wants to keep you safe."

"I can take care of myself." Tali felt almost like a broken record, not certain how many times she's had to say this now.

"He knows, trust me, he knows. It won't stop him from worrying about you."

Maybe he could stop worrying if he had a calmer job.

Tali tried to shake the idea from her head, but the thought proved to be stubbornly stuck in place. "You said that he doesn't like it, the Alliance, or working for its navy at least." The Quarian turned her attention back to the Batarian as she continued. "You got him out of the Alliance once by asking him, if it was that easy to get him to leave, why would he ever return?"

Iromak let out a long sigh, crossing his arms over his chest before responding. "Why are you asking me?"

"Because… I…" The few words were all she could manage, trying to figure out just as to why she was asking Iromak.

"Because you…?"

"Because I'd rather not push something he's uncomfortable with."

"Like I said, if he told you about me, I don't think there's much he won't tell you."

Tali paused at his question, remembering the feeling of standing at his door in the middle of the night. Thinking she was a fool for knocking so late, up until he answered. "He was drunk… and it was just after the mission near Terra Nova. It was more of an… accident that I learned about you."

"I'm not too surprised, he's kept his lips sealed pretty well since he went to boot camp."

"When he trained for the Alliance?"

Iromak nodded as he continued pacing back and forth, using his flashlight to look down the halls. "Yeah, the first place he was training at, he stayed for about a month before they had to reassign him."

"Why reassign him?"

"Well… long story short, part of the group he'd been training with caught wind of me. I don't know how, you'd have to ask John, but they decided to… teach him a lesson."

"Oh…" Tali's quiet response let Iromak know that she understood his meaning.

"Yeah. No one won that fight…" Silence settled over the hall, Tali spending her time twiddling her thumbs around each other. Iromak continued his quiet pacing, checking on the colonists every few minutes.

Just when Tali was about to suggest going to check on the group ahead of them. Slow, struggling footsteps could be heard scrapping along the floor, accompanied by quiet grunts and a light amount of swearing from an Asari. Iromaks flashlight revealed the Commando pulling two colonists along, each one unconscious.

Helyt stopped as the light turned to shine on her, turning around to face the two. "Hey…"

"Hey…" Iromak stepped towards the struggling Asari, nodding his head back towards the stairs. "Forget about your biotics?"

"No…" As Vaay stepped away, Iromak would take her spot, pulling the two people closer to the stairs. Leaning them against the wall before pulling out the syringe and lighting his omni tool up once more.

Tali watched the Commando, noting the slouch in Vaay's shoulders, her boots dragging slightly with each step. The Commando took a seat at the bottom of the stairs, slumping her body against the wall to support herself.

It took Tali a moment to summon the small bit of personal fortitude, hoping it wouldn't blow up in her face. "Are you alright?"

"..."

Vaay hadn't even moved at the question, waiting a minute for a response. When none came, Tali would reach forward to shake Helyt's shoulder lightly. The slight shake got Vaay to shoot up to an upright position, turning to look at the Quarian. "Yes? What?"

The confusion from the Asari was plain to see, even when she was wearing a helmet. "I was asking if you're alright? You seem a bit worn out." Tali let her hand slip from Vaay's shoulder as she spoke, tilting her head to the left slightly in curiosity.

"Yeah, yeah…" Helyt gave Tali a thumbs up as she turned around, rolling her shoulders back for a light pop. "Just tired…"

Iromak stood up once he was done with the colonists, starting down the hall that Helyt had arrived from. Stopping before he got out of earshot. "You need to get your blood sugar up, did you bring something for that?"

"Food generally wasn't allowed on my other…" Helyt paused, letting out a soft yawn that was accompanied by the shake of her head. "...assignments…"

Iromak nodded at her statement, continuing down the hall. "Well, John usually carries something, so I'll see if he has anything for you."

"No, you don't have to bother the…" Vaay was once again interrupted by a long yawn, by the time it was done, Iromak was out of sight and out of earshot. "...spectre…"

A soft, almost defeated sounding sigh arose from the Asari. Leaning forward to support her head in the palm of her right hand, the elbow of her right arm supported by her knee.

Tali made sure Iromak was well enough away to make sure he couldn't hear them before speaking. "Why do you refer to John as Spectre?"

"Why… wouldn't I?" Helyt shrugged, not having any real answer for Tali's question. "He is a spectre, right?"

"Well… yes, but I think he may prefer Commander to Spectre."

"What's the difference?" The curiosity in Helyt's voice was off put by the obvious fatigue she had been feeling. Dragging herself to sit with her back against the wall, turning her head to watch Tali.

"Well, Commander is his Alliance rank, while Spectre is more of a title given to him by the Council."

"It's a pretty big title… why wouldn't he want it?"

Tali's answer was a short shrug, leaning forward with her elbows pressed to her knees. "I wouldn't know, but if I were you, I'd just use his Alliance rank, rather than the Spectre title."

"That might be easy for you to say, it's a little tougher for me."

"Why?"

"Why…?" Vaay's confusion was evident, turning her head forward as she reached up to slip her helmet off, speaking again once it was sitting in her lap. "Because you're actually friends with him, you could probably get away with most anything on his ship. I'm here because the Council put me here, big difference."

"Well… have you tried being friends with him?" With Helyt's helmet off, Tali could see the bags that had been developing under her eyes. Starting to wonder how much of the Commando's exhaustion was from biotics.

"Have you noticed that he doesn't really want me to? That's… kinda what I meant when I told you, that I don't think the crew wants the extra firepower…"

"You've been trying to make friends with him?"

"Well…" Helyt paused for a moment, not wanting to answer; eventually giving a quiet sigh, giving a single, low energy nod. "Yeah…" The single word was choked up through a scratchy voice. The Commando quickly turned her head away from Tali, reaching up with her right hand to wipe something off her face. "I've been trying…"

Is she…

A soft, but telling sniffle could be heard from Vaay, followed by some light swearing from under her breath. The Asari quickly tried to wipe any evidence of tears away, keeping herself facing away from Tali.

She… really has been trying to connect with John?

Tali found herself without much that she could say. Eventually, putting out the only thing she could think of. "I…" Tali let out a quiet sigh, shaking her head. "I'll talk to him…" Helyt didn't say anything, finding it difficult to respond as she tried to compose herself.

The pair sat in silence for a short while as they waited for the return of the other group. Tali pulled the notebook out once more, continuing to flip through the drawings. Helyt decided to try and rest her bloodshot eyes while they waited, eventually, sleep lured her into a soft snooze.

Iromaks return was hushed by Tali holding a finger to the front of her helmet. The Batarian had brought a protein bar for the Asari, Tali holding her hand out for it, deciding that she'd hold onto it till Vaay awoke. Iromak handed it to her, then departed as quietly as he had arrived. Tali looked down at the bar, turning it over to look at the ingredients. Bold blue text catching her eye.

'The best choice for a worn biotic.'

Tali would look at the slumbering biotic, nodding to herself as she opened her omni tool.

A worn biotic indeed.

Iromak walked down the stone hall at a steady pace, finding John and Wrex repeating the 'application' method of the cure that had been working for them. Stepping over many colonists that were splayed out on the ground. John spoke up as Iromak reached them.

"How's it going back there?"

"Well…"

"Well?"

"The Commando fell asleep…"

Iromaks comment got Shepard to pause, turning slowly to face him. "Asleep?"

Iromak gave him a short nod, passing by the pair to peer down the hall that led to the colony. "Asleep."

"Huh…" John turned back to face the Krogan, who had a colonist under each arm. "You can put them down Wrex."

"Hmm? Oh." Two light thuds and the unconscious people were slumped onto the ground. John sighing to himself as he started to lay them out in the hall.

"Put them down, does not mean, drop them."

"They're fine, aren't they?"

"That's not the point Wrex, in any case, we need to go find out if we missed anyone. Come on." Shepard waved Wrex onwards, starting towards the hall that Iromak was watching.

"Haven't seen any movement yet, but I'm pretty sure there's a few more colonists left. Either hiding, or dug in somewhere inside the colony."

Shepard poked his head around the corner, watching for any movement. They had yet to find Fai Dan, or the three guards Shepard had first found when coming upon the colony. Tossing his options around in his head, not exactly liking their position.

"Alright, Iromak, watch these people. Wrex, let's go, and no headbutting the colonists, got it? I'm certain those other two will have a headache in the morning."

"Fine." The deep, begrudging voice of the Krogan made light reverberations off the wall as the two approached. Shepard and Wrex approached the opening slowly, the Commander happy that Wrex would at least follow his lead.

Several sets of rapidly approaching footsteps could be heard, rushing forward to try and get cover. Three of the gray humanoids rounded the corner before he got to the end of the hall, forcing the Commander to backpedal. Shepard had expected to be dealing with colonists, so his hands were free of his rifle. With the fast approaching threat, he drew his pistol from his hip and started firing.

The first one took two shots before getting slammed into the ceiling by Wrex's biotics. The Krogan almost ran Shepard over as he charged the other two with his bare hands, the first one getting crushed between the wall and Wrex. The second stabbed its long claws into the Krogans back, causing Wrex to let out a loud roar, although it seemed more in anger than pain. The large right hand of his swinging back to grab the head of the creature, slamming it into the wall with one swift swing; popping it like an overly ripened melon.

Wrex allowed the limp body to fall to the ground, stepping back as he kicked it onto its back. "Hope that wasn't a colonist." Wrex wiped the green blood covering his hand against his armor

"I doubt it, I'm pretty sure it's not human." Shepard gave a slightly winded reply, offering medi gel to the Krogan. Wrex only brushed it aside, stomping on ahead to the opening of the hallway. Stopping to scan the area for movement, clearly hopeful for more of the creatures to hop out at him.

A dissatisfied grunt arose from Wrex as he trudged forward. "What? Did everyone run away from the big bad Krogan?" Shepard followed a safe distance behind him, looking around with caution.

"Watch yourself Wrex, it could be a trap."

A loud scoff could be heard from the Krogan as he marched onwards, ignoring Shepards advice. "No trap can hold me."

Holding is not what I'm worried about.

The Commander let out a sigh, shaking his head before following in Wrex's footsteps. It wasn't more than the soft flapping of cloth in the wind, fluttering in the wind above him. Shepard turned on a dime, raising his pistol towards the area above one of the colony buildings.

It was too late, Greta Reynolds had jumped at John, shooting just as he turned. The first few shots were far enough away to be stopped by his shield, her last shot just barely catching the right side of John's helmet; the impact forcing his head to jerk to the right. The two collided, John dropping his weapon rather than use it on Reynolds. Shepard and Greta hit the ground with a heavy thud, both of them struggling over her weapon now. John had less leverage, but more strength, slowly getting control over the situation.

The Commander was about to pry the weapon from her hands, feeling a tingly feeling flood over his skin before both Greta and John froze in place. Wrex stepped up and chuckled lightly, shaking his head as he looked down at Shepard. "Maybe you should've taken your own advice."

Shepard glared up at Wrex through a cracked visor, speaking through gritted teeth. "Get. Her. Off." He would've spoken louder, but found Wrex's biotics had an iron grip across most of his body; finding it difficult to move even his jaw.

"Oh, what's wrong Shepard? Don't want Tali to see you under another woman?" John rolled his eyes at Wrex's comment, despite how right he had been. Wrex hoisted Greta up and off of him, the Krogan letting his grip on the Commander go. Starting to drag the woman off towards Iromak.

Shepard sat up with a light groan, looking around as he pushed himself on his feet. Once he decided that he was clear, John reached up to pull his helmet off, turning it to look at the damage. On the upper right side of the helmet, a deep gash was prevalent, much of the metal that had been protecting his right temple split off. John would run his thumb through the scar on the helmet, turning it over to look at the inside.

Another inch and I'd have bitten that bullet.

The sound of Wrex's approaching footsteps brought John back to attention, turning to look at the approaching Krogan. "Come on, we've got a few more to find."

Wrex and Shepard would cautiously scout out the colony, well, Shepard cautiously scouted, while Wrex entered every building as loud as he could, shouting at the top of his lungs to see if anyone within would offer him a fight.

To the Commander's relief, he found the remaining colonists before Wrex. Catching the first colonist in the middle of trying to use a long range rifle on the Krogan, the second had arrived while he was dealing with the first. Wrex once again halted the fights with his biotics.

With those two gone, Fai Dan was the only one left for capture, the only problem was that even after thoroughly searching the colony several times, he was nowhere to be found. Once he was certain the colony was empty, he'd contact Joker to have him land. Moving on to Pressly afterwards, having him relay orders to get Kaidan and Garrus looking for the leader in the area between the colony and the ship.

Shepard gave Wrex the order to go back and send Tali and Vaay forward before he got all the colonists into the same hall. John and Iromak patrolled through the area, the Batarian picking up the N7 helmet as he passed. Turning it over in his hands to inspect the damage, before Iromak could comment on it, Shepard waved him over to the lift controls.

"Come on, we need to find this Thorian… thing."

Iromak watched him walking towards the middle of the colony, shaking his head lightly as he followed up behind John. "Don't you want to go snag another helmet?" Iromak set the helmet on top of a crate in the camp, looking around them for movement while Shepard cleared the way to the Thorian.

"Well, sure, but I don't have another helmet on board. I'm gonna have to put in a requisition for one."

"You don't have a spare helmet?"

John shook his head, a slight smirk slipping onto his lips. "No, I figured that if I got shot in the head, I probably wouldn't need another helmet." Shepards voice was filled with sarcasm.

"Well that's what the helmet is for."

"Right, right." It wasn't more than a couple presses of a few buttons to reveal a stairway in the middle of the colony. Shepard stepped over, only to be immediately repulsed by the smell of rotting flesh that had been baking in a concrete hotbox for longer than Shepard cared to guess.

Iromak could be heard snickering lightly as he stepped up to where John had been going. "Bet you wish you had your helmet now."

"Oh, shut up."

Wrex had managed to awaken Helyt with his heavy footsteps, the Krogan relaying what Shepard had said. Afterwards, he'd start to drag the colonists that Tali had been guarding, forward to where the majority of the others were.

While the pair moved on to the colony, Tali would give the protein bar to the still sleepy Asari. Vaay gave her a quiet thanks before starting to eat, finishing the small bar quickly and slipping her helmet on as they arrived at the colony to avoid showing her tired eyes.

Tali found Shepards helmet as they were approaching him, the Quarian stopping to look at the damage on it. Helyt followed up with Tali, stopping to lean on the crate while she had the time to rest. Tali excused herself from the half asleep Asari's presence, walking over to speak with John, his helmet held in her hands.

"John?"

Both the attention of John and Iromak turned to her. Once Iromak saw the helmet, he silently departed from them, going to check on how Wrex was coming along.

"Yes, Tali?"

The Quarians attention flicked down to look at the helmet she held, deciding now was not the best time for her to approach the subject of him working in the Alliance.

"I- uh…" Tali started off quietly, turning to make sure that Helyt couldn't hear her before continuing. "I think you should send Vaay back to the Normandy, so she can rest."

Her comment caught John by surprise, turning to look at the Asari who sat against the crate. Speaking in a hushed tone to keep their conversation private. "Yeah… I heard she fell asleep back there, what's that about?"

"It looks like she hasn't gotten a solid night's sleep in days, would you send her to have a break?"

"I can't send her back without pulling Kaidan and Garrus back to keep an eye on her as well."

Tali turned to look at Wrex, who was pulling the colonists into one area. "Well, will you keep her up here at least? Have her stay up here while we go down to find the Thorian?"

"We? Oh no, you aren't going down there till I make sure it's clear. There's no arguing this Tali." Shepards voice had a very 'matter of fact tone' about it. Tali could already see in his eyes that he wouldn't budge on it.

"Well, in any case, you still didn't answer my question."

John had a slight curiosity evident in his eyes, his gaze shifting back and forth between the two. "You seem to be awfully concerned."

"And you aren't? She is part of your crew, isn't she?"

Shepard let a quiet sigh escape from his lips. "Technically, she's part of the Turians squad, the Council's squad."

"I don't think that's any reason not to care."

John reluctantly nodded in agreement. "No… I suppose it's not." He turned his attention from Tali to the Asari who sat against the crate.

Vaay's arms were crossed, her head nodding downwards slowly. The allure of sleep once again pulling the Asari into a quiet repose. Remaining that way until she heard approaching footsteps, her head jutting upwards to attention.

"Relax, Helyt."

Vaay would turn to face the Commander, seemingly forgetting to relax right after he recommended it.

"Spectre."

"Go around, check that the area is clear. Then return here to keep an eye on the entrance with the others, got it?"

"Understood." With a dragging nod, she would confirm that she at least heard him. Turning to start walking through the colony.

Shepard watched her go, noticing the drag in her steps. The sound of Kaidan's voice would pull his attention to behind him, spotting the Alliance soldier with the Turian in tow.

"No sign of Fai Dan. Think he's down there?" Kaidan gestured to the stairs as he walked up, wondering as to just what was down there.

"Could be, that's supposedly where this plant thing is. We get down there, churn it for mulch and be done with this."

"Sounds easy enough."

Once the colonists had all been secured inside a few of the buildings, Shepard gave out his orders. Iromak and Wrex would follow right behind Shepard, Kaidan would join them a minute afterwards to watch their backs. Leaving Tali, Garrus and Vaay to watch above.

Tali and Garrus remained at the top of the stairs. Garrus sat on top of one of the crates, tapping through his omni tool in a rather bored fashion as he was unable to access the net. Tali's attention would occasionally change from from the stairs to Vaay, who was wandering the colony in a slow fashion.

Garrus, out of boredom, started to ask Tali about the Commando and Turians, doing his best to find out if Tali knew more than him. Tali kept her lips sealed tight on the subject, saying that she only knew the Council put them on board.

In the short time the Turian had distracted her, Vaay had slipped out of Tali's sight. Leaving her to wonder just as to where the Asari had gone. Silence filling the air for longer than the Quarian found uncomfortable, the Commando remained out of sight and no sound came from the stairs below.

John seemed rather adamant on keeping me upstairs, so I'll see what Vaay is doing.

Tali began with where they had first entered the colony from, doing a zig zag across the colony in an attempt to find the Asari. Starting to check each building after she failed to find her in the open, finding only sleeping colonists in the buildings.

Tali had expected to find her trying to catch some shut eye while nothing was happening, now the Quarian was having difficulty finding her. Just as she was starting to wonder if she had snuck off to the Turians. Tali found a large stacking of boxes, just a few of them on the far right side had been pulled from the wall to create a path behind them.

Tali squeezed past the crates to find a half opened sliding door, the door on it had been smashed by something fierce and was now jammed halfway open. The only source of light was feeding in from the boxes behind her. She found the light adequate enough to see though, a long hall stretched out in front of her. Noticing bloody footprints from a Krogan, turning to look at the door behind her.

Was this the same Krogan from Exogeni's tower?

The thought was quickly pushed away as a quiet shuffling was heard behind her, quickly whirling around and drawing her pistol. Finding only the dark, empty hall behind her.

"Vaay…?"

Tali called out cautiously, unsure if this was even where the Asari had gone. Slowly, the Quarian opened her omni tool so that she could turn up her audio receivers, trying to discern if there was anything around from sound alone.

Just as she was about to turn it back down, the audible sound of panting began. Like someone had just finished a long run, quickly followed up by a gentle hushing. Tali would start walking forward cautiously, each step carefully placed to avoid making any sound of her own. Holding her pistol at the ready, hoping she wouldn't have to use it since her receivers were cranked to near max, knowing the sound may very well burst her eardrums.

Tali stopped at a set of open doors on either side of the hall, waiting for any sound to clue her in. Once again, the quiet hushing could be heard, followed by barely audible words of the Asari.

"Please be quiet?"

Tali turned to face the door on her right, bringing her omni tool up again to turn down the receivers. Stepping through the doorway with her pistol drawn, looking around the pitch black room. Finding overturned tables and boxes strewn about, dust covering everything in sight. Gradually, Tali made her way into the room, the faint purple glow of her helmet light providing the only light available.

"Vaay? I know you're-"

The sound of a badly muffled sneeze escaping from behind an overturned table told Tali just where Vaay hid.

"-here."

Tali stepped towards the table, gripping her pistol tight in her right hand. Peeking over the table slowly, a small, surprised gasp escaped from her lips as she found the Asari sitting cross-legged in the dark, a small figure in her lap.

"Uh- Hey… Tali…"

Almost halfway down the long, steep steps, Shepard and his squad's descent was paused. The Commander stopped to tie a rag around his face in a vain attempt to try and protect his nostrils from the putrid smell. Shepard wasn't even certain it helped, but continued with it on nonetheless.

Shepard took point as usual, his flashlight guiding their way down. Wrex was on his left, Iromak on his right, Kaidan following a few paces behind the group, his attention on the flat structure they walked inside. Making a few passing remarks at the flatness of Prothean architecture.

The last few steps from the bottom were covered in a thin layer of a grayish substance that was similar mold. Shepard testing his footing in the substance before continuing on. It wasn't more than a few steps before he realized that the substance had covered the floor within, finding his attention pulling up to the support beams that were likewise covered in the gray mold.

John's flashlight would shine to the bottom of a large, hanging mass in the middle of the room. Long, as well as short groups of tendrils grouped around the bottom part of it.

What.

Slowly pulling the light up to reveal the enormity of the mass that wriggled around in silence. Thick, supportive branches stretching out from the top of it to cling against various walls and beams for support.

The.

The silence was suddenly disturbed as a congestion of wriggling gray tendrils closest to them parted, a green Asari sliding out, covered in slime and dropping limp onto the ground.

Fuck.

It was a moment before the body kicked to life, the Asari pushing herself up to stand before them. Tilting her head around as if she was trying to pop her neck, the slime slowly trickling off to reveal a set of armor underneath. Which seemed normal till John noticed that her skin stopped where the suit began, giving an almost stitched appearance where the armor and her skin met.

The Asari spoke briefly, and what she said made John understand that the Thorian had to die, and it thought much the same about the squad that had entered the moldy hot box. The Asari proved a poor match for Wrex, Shepard and Iromak taking care of the gray humanoids that had been moving down to attack them.

While the Thorians beasts were effective at holding back John and Iromak. Wrex was a whole other fight for it, the Krogan charging straight into the thickest parts of the crowd. Swinging in every direction and killing with nearly every blow, Wrex quickly proved himself to be the driving force in their push up each flight of stairs. Kaidan kept a safe distance back, making sure nothing tried to flank the group.

The fight was a constant uphill battle in a literal sense, flight after flight of stairs that they'd have to push through. The first time that the green Asari made her re-entry, it startled the Commander, by the third time she arrived, he just became annoyed. As they got further up, Shepard recognized that the fight was going in their favor largely because of Wrex. The Krogan was in his element, heavily outnumbered and covered in the blood of his enemies.

On the rare occasion that Wrex would become dog piled by the grayish beings, Kaidan would be called up to use his biotics to free the Krogan. Just as Shepard thought the Thorian would never run out of bodies to throw at them, the numbers would start thinning out. The top few floors were nearly devoid of the beings as it had been throwing everything it had at Wrex with little effect.

While they had been traveling up, Iromak and John had been placing grenades along the support branches that held the Thorian up. A series of explosions ringing out and echoing off the wall, nearly deafening the Commander, who was really wishing he had a backup helmet. The Thorian, at first, barely moved, making Shepard believe they'd need more, all the way until it started slowly pulling loose. The sound of the snapping tendrils was all that accompanied the Thorians fall. Making Shepard wonder just how deep the pit went as it fell out of sight.

The sound of muffled shouting pulled the attention of both Iromak and John, the source appearing to be from underneath a thick coating of mold on the wall. Shepard took a few steps

towards it before an Asari tore herself free from the confines of the material, falling to her hands and knees as she gasped for air. After a lot of heavy coughing, the Asari would eventually be able to bring herself to speak, her voice shaky voice barely able to rise above a whisper.

"Th-Thank you…"

The Asari slowly pushed herself to stand before John and Iromak, rubbing her throat in an attempt to get the muscles readjusted to movement. Iromak offered her a small tube of water, which she took, grateful for the drink. Once finished, she would clear her throat, able to speak up at a normal tone now.

"Thank you. I thought-" The Asari paused as she looked at John, noticing the distrust evident in his eyes. "I thought I'd be stuck there forever."

"Just… how did you get there anyways?" John posed the question, his squinted eyes watching her closely for any movement to use biotics.

"I.." There was a clear hesitancy from the Asari as she looked between the Alliance soldier and Iromak, not certain she wanted to say.

"You…?" Shepard took a slow step towards the Asari. Both hands resting on his rifle, the barrel pointed at the ground.

After taking a slow breath, hoping that it would steady her nerves. "I arrived with Saren…"

"There it is." Shepard started raising his rifle, finding Iromaks hand sitting on top of it, holding it so the barrel pointed at the ground.

John turned to face Iromak, giving him a silent, questioning look. All Iromak gave in return was the small shake of his head. Shepard, against his better judgment, lowered his rifle slowly. Returning his gaze to the Asari, who stood steady at the idea of death, but had fear in her eyes all the same.

John would soon start questioning the Asari, who went by the name of Shiala. Finding that she was quick to offer up any sort of information he could use, not certain if she was earnest in her regrets of working for Saren, or simply just avoiding ending up on the wrong end of his rifle.

Shepard would fall quite silent when she offered him the cipher through a melding of their minds; At the question Iromak silently stepped away, going to aid Kaidan with securing the place. John hesitantly agreed to the melding for the cipher. Shepard did his best to silence his mind. Giving a short nod to the Shiala once he was ready.