Feros
There were still a few hours to go until we reached Feros and I was up to my usual, checking in on the crew and making sure the work was getting done. Kaidan and Garrus had done a remarkable job on fixing up the Mako and Tali had used some of her Quarian know-how to boost its shielding capabilities. I found Wrex loitering around in the hanger and he beckoned me over to speak with him.
"Wanted to ask you something, Gardner."
"Go for it," I said.
"Where did you find out about that little trick? Levering the head-plate off a Krogan like that?"
"I don't really know. I'm sure I've heard Captain Anderson speak about it at one time or another. Why? You worried?"
"Worried? About fighting a Human?" the big Krogan chuckled, "never. All I'm saying is that I'd take a bit more care if I was fighting you."
Coming from a Krogan, that was a hell of a compliment,
"I don't ever want to go toe-to-toe with you, I wouldn't come out of that looking too pretty," I said cheerily.
"If you came out of it at all," Wrex added.
"Why the sudden concern for your looks Scott," Kaidan mocked, "nothing to do with our blue-skinned Asari friend would it?"
I looked at him and smiled,
"No. Just the increasing number of women on board mate. Ashley, then Tali and now Liara. We're getting outnumbered. Can't hurt to… well, not get in a fist fight with a Krogan."
"Smart man," Wrex finished.
I thought about going to check on Liara, but I found myself drawn through into the engine room first.
"How are you doing Tali? Not the kind of mission you're used to I suppose," I said to her sympathetically.
"Not really," she answered with a soft laugh. However, I could detect a hint of fright in her voice and so I took her aside,
"Are you ok?"
"I… I'll be alright. That's the first time I've been in a fight of that scale. I felt… scared. I'm sorry."
She sounded embarrassed, but I placed a kind hand on her shoulder,
"Tali, look at me." She raised her head, her eyes glittering at me from behind her mask. "I felt scared as well. There's nothing to be ashamed of. The point is that even with the fear you still carried on and did all that was asked of you, and more. You've proved yourself to me and the rest of the crew already! Hell, I bet even Wrex was scared for a minute there!"
Tali laughed,
"Thanks Scott. I promise I won't let you down," she said gratefully.
"I trust you Tali. I know you won't."
"The thing that really bothers me though is what is expected of me from the Fleet. I didn't… really live up to it."
"What's expected of you? And why especially you?"
"I'm the daughter of Rael'Zorah. Admiral Rael'Zorah."
"Royalty hmm?" I teased.
She laughed again,
"Shut up," she said in a girlish manner.
"Shut up…?" I leaned my ear in towards her.
"Commander," she finally said. I could not see through her mask, but I could tell she had a smile on her face again.
To finish the conversation on a serious note I told Tali,
"I think Admiral Rael would be proud of his daughter if she saved the galaxy from Saren, the Geth and the Reapers. Am I right?"
"Maybe. Quarian society is very insular since all the other races tend to treat us with mistrust, and in turn our only concern is the well-being of our own people. But… perhaps you're right. Thanks again… Scott," she said softly. She had gone through her baptism of fire and come out the other side a stronger woman for it. Although she had had military training on the Migrant Fleet before she was sent off on Pilgrimage, I could tell she just had a natural talent for combat. I made a mental note to nurture and encourage that side of her so that she could grow faster and see that she did it all herself; to be proud of herself for it.
I smiled and nodded and turned to leave, but I was certain that if I had turned back around, I would see Tali still watching me. However, I did not look back and headed straight up to Chakwas' med lab. The Doctor let me through to the ward room at the back of her lab where Liara had been resting for the last few hours. She was seated at a computer as I entered and stood to meet me,
"Commander? Are you here to check up on me?"
"Yeah. How are you feeling?"
"Still… exhausted I am afraid. I have said it before but thank you for saving me. I do not quite know how I could ever repay the favour."
"Helping stop Saren would do just fine Doctor. But I'd rather you were rested and back to yourself," I said.
"That would be best. I am sorry that I cannot offer more information on the Conduit, but my knowledge of the Protheans and my biotics could help your cause all the same, if you would allow me."
I was a little surprised by this offer to say the least,
"I wasn't really thinking of taking you into combat, Liara. Soldiery and archaeology are pretty different career paths."
"I understand. I could never have imagined anyone defeating that Krogan Battlemaster back on Therum, least not a human… I mean… um… no offense."
"Wrex did the majority of the work. But it's fine Liara, you're not Alliance. You can speak to me."
"Thank you, Commander. I know you took a risk bringing me onto your ship; your crew do not fully trust me. But if my mother is mixed up in all this, I need to help you."
She was becoming emotional, though she tried to hide it behind a stoic face. I could understand; the thought that her mother could be a threat to the galaxy, a traitor! I did not want to stress Liara out any further so I switched the topics over,
"Tell me about your work on the Protheans. Our Intel claims you're an expert."
"I have studied them without rest for almost fifty years. I have submitted papers on them and revealed many new things about the Protheans. But…"
"What?" I asked.
"My research has been widely rejected, mostly because of my age. By Asari standards I am barely considered past childhood."
"I know I'm not supposed to ask a lady her age, but how old are you exactly?"
"I hate to admit it but I am only one hundred and six," she said timidly.
""Only"? You look good for your age," I joked.
"I am still very young for my species, Commander. We can live to be over one thousand years old."
"I know Liara," I laughed, "I was making a wee joke is all."
"Oh," she cocked her head a little, "I am sorry Commander. I have not met many Humans in my travels. I am not used to dealing with your species."
"We're not so bad," I smiled at her, "don't confine yourself to this room Liara. Get out and meet with the rest of the team if you want to, it'll do you some good as well as them," I was friendly and calm with my words and Liara agreed to mingle with the Normandy's crew. A part of me could not help but feel that I was building the perfect team on my ship, a reassuring thought considering where we were heading to next.
As we approached Feros the scanners started picking up numerous Geth dropships and surface units focused around the Human colony of Zhu's Hope. There were fire fights raging all across the settlement, set amongst the ruins of ancient Prothean towers that still stood tall and proud. All evidence told us that the Geth were winning.
"Ground team equip yourselves and assemble at the airlock," I said over the intercom.
I took the elevator down into the hanger and saw my team in a flurry of organised preparation. Ashley had taken the liberty of kitting out Liara with armour and a pistol. Liara's real weapon was her biotics so excessive firepower was not necessary. That and the fact that she had no weapons training what-so-ever, if she lost control of an assault rifle one of our team could get a bullet in the back. I was already suited in my own armour and had my Mattock, Widow and Phalanx on my person and when everyone was ready, I led them back up to the airlock door just behind the cockpit.
"Any word on the status of the port Joker?" I asked.
"Still in colonist hands Sir, but their hold is… loosening."
I nodded and turned to the rest of the team,
"We land and reinforce the Zhu's Hope Garrison. We hold off the Geth and find out what they're doing here; what they're after. Protect who we can."
The team understood and they steeled themselves for what could turn out to be quite a battle. Joker guided the ship into one of the docking ports and we readied ourselves, the airlock opened once the Normandy was secure and I set out at the head of my team. A soldier from the garrison met us and guided us to Zhu's Hope which turned out to be nothing more than a few small pre-fabricated houses centred around what appeared to be a larger research complex. There were soldiers and colonists alike dotted around the settlement with weapons in hand, holding meagre defences and looking like shit. They were tired, scared and confused. Most of them stared at us as if we were Geth ourselves, their eyes bloodshot and intense.
"Why do I get the feeling we're not entirely welcome?" Ashley said out loud, simply voicing my own concern.
I was led to the leader of the colony, Fai Dan, who seemed to be the only one glad to see us.
"I'm glad to see some help finally arrive! Is there a fleet following you? Please say there are more of you coming!"
"I'm afraid not Fai," I answered sadly, "we were sent here purely to investigate the Geth presence. If we can hurt them we will, but we need to know why they came here."
"I wish I knew," Fai uttered dismally, "we don't have anything of any value here, especially not to the Geth."
Something told me he was holding out on me, but before I could ask him gunfire sounded from the nearest tower. An Alliance soldier came rushing over and updated Fai,
"The Geth are making a concerted effort on our main defensive line Fai, this time they might just be too much for us. Might be a good time to get your people out of here!"
I went up to the Sergeant and offered our guns,
"Take us to the defensive line Sergeant. We'll help you fight them off."
The Sergeant saluted and nodded before eyeing over my team; a Turian sniper, a Krogan with a shotgun out for blood, then the Quarian and the Asari. He would have had questions, but this was not the time to ask.
He led us into a nearby tower and we took an elevator up a few floors.
"We go down a hallway to a garage that links to the Prothean Skyway, it's a road that links a series of arcology towers like this one," Sergeant Walker explained, "that's where the Geth are pushing hardest. We have every other way into the colony locked down hard except for this one where it's been touch-and-go since the first wave hit us. If they break through from the Skyway then they'll be able to flood in and attack every position we have from the rear and flanks: We'll be finished."
We ran to the garage and immediately saw the hellish nature of the fighting. Bodies of soldiers were spread all around; the wounded being treated by medics and brave civilians who had volunteered to help. In the nearest corner, however, were the dead. They were laid out in ranks and covered with tarpaulins, the burns from the high energy Geth weapons still more than evident on the fallen men and women. There were dozens of them, and even more wounded.
"How many men are still fighting fit?" I asked Walker.
"Here, less than thirty. The other defences are stretched to their limits as well and can't spare anyone else. We had an artillery unit but Geth dropships made a run and wiped it out. No survivors."
"Ok, take me to where the defence is being run from and we'll dig ourselves in with you," I said.
Even as we left the garage to head up two more levels, the blast door that was keeping the Geth out took a heavy hit and sent many of the men scrambling.
"Geth Colossus firing directly on the door! We've got nothing to stop it!" A soldier shouted. I turned to Tali,
"Colossus?"
"Like an armature, but twice the size and about three times the firepower," she replied flatly.
"Yeah… we'll get Joker on that."
Walker led us to the command post that overlooked the Prothean Skyway all the way over to the next tower in the circuit, some four miles away. Down on the highway I could see squads of Geth manoeuvring and firing on the limited resistance being put up by the marines. Pointing at the far building I asked Walker,
"Is that where the Geth are staging their attacks from?"
"Yeah. About two days ago a Geth drop ship… I dunno… latched onto the far side of the building. It's not been seen leaving yet but the Geth seem to have sealed the whole place off with force fields of some kind. A lot of activity's been reported, but we have no idea what they're doing."
"Could they be searching for something?"
Sergeant Walker suddenly had a queer look in his eye, as if he did not like where this line of questioning was going,
"It was the headquarters for Exogeni on Feros. Major research and colonial development company."
I nodded and looked out at the Geth-infested building again; that was where we needed to go.
However, getting there at the current moment in time would be a suicidal endeavour. I gathered my team and gave them their orders,
"We need to get to the Exogeni HQ and find out what the Geth are after, destroy them if we can. But the colony won't be able to withstand another attack. We dig in and defend this position until there's a break in the Geth lines, then we go for the HQ."
My team was anything but an average squad; once we merged ourselves into the defence the Geth were ruthlessly driven back. Garrus and I sniped dozens of regular and heavy infantry units from our high up vantage point. My Widow rifle tore most of the regular Geth in half, and I even managed to stop some of the larger armature class Geth from advancing.
Kaidan, Ashley and Wrex joined the front-line defences and rallied the exhausted marines to them; their combat and leadership skills turning the tide in the favour of our side. Tali reconfigured a laser targeting device, previously used by the now defunct artillery team, to break through Geth jamming and enable us to identify targets for the Normandy. Liara used her biotics to form a force field around the one and only heavy machine gun position, making the gunner practically immune to incoming fire. The effect that our small team had on the rest of the colony garrison was apparent straight away; those that had been wallowing in despair or were almost crippled by fear soon stood up, dusted themselves off and re-joined the action.
For the rest of the day, we battled on and on, the Normandy swooped in from time to time and annihilated a target that Tali had painted with her improvised device. Even when night fell, I could see all the way along the highway as the fires flickered and danced with the wind. My shoulder was bruised from absorbing the recoil of my rifle all day, but many Geth had been destroyed in the process. The Geth assault eventually lost its momentum and died in the early hours of the morning, their metal corpses littering the ground below us.
I sat on watch from the sniper post while the other marines around me slept or had something to eat. My own team slowly trickled back to me and after talking to some of the colonist soldiers we gathered together. The soldiers of the group; Kaidan, Ashley, Garrus and Wrex all seemed to be fine, weathering the tiredness and strain as only soldiers could. However, Liara and Tali seemed to be utterly drained of all energy and sat very quietly together.
"This has got to be hard on them, Scott," Kaidan said to me, "they've both seen action before now sure, but this is a small-scale battle we're in now."
"I know. I'll go and talk to them, they'll be troopers like us soon if they decide to stick around long enough," I replied.
"You could offer them a raise," Kaidan joked.
Laughing as I strolled over to the Tali and Liara, I sat down between them,
"How we doing girls?"
"Not what I am used to. I am still getting past the shock, I think," Liara said slowly.
"Normally I'm happy to kill a few Geth… but that was a lot of Geth today!" came Tali's response.
"I know," I said softly, "the marines have set up a few watches so we can get some rest. I'm hoping to make a move for the Exogeni building tomorrow night if the Geth don't make an appearance, or if we've battered them when they do. We have to find out what they have come here for."
"Understood Commander, we'll be ready." Tali said confidently.
I stood to go but turned back and said,
"You both did a brilliant job today. Remember that. Liara; you saved the lives of a lot of marines at the barricades. And Tali; you see all the wrecked armatures out there? That was because of you. When the news channels report on the Feros colony being saved, just remember that you had a huge part in that!"
Tali and Liara both looked around at me, and I could see the encouragement had worked.
"Thank you, Scott." Liara said.
"How are they doing Commander?" Garrus asked when I parked my rear next to them again.
"They're going to be just fine, trust me," I said with a smile, "everything we're doing here matters, I just need all of you to know that! Especially you two," I motioned towards Garrus and Wrex, "you're putting your asses on the line for a Human colony. Thank you."
"We're all with you in this now Scott. I don't care that they're Human, I just wanted to fight for something that means something for once," Wrex said solemnly.
"Definitely," Garrus agreed, "you're the kind of man who can get things done. Saren's a danger to everyone as long as he's loose. I'll follow you to hell and back if I need to."
My heart was greatly lifted by my friends; to know that they believed in not only the mission but in me as well. From that moment onwards, I knew that I could count on them with my life, even after the relatively short time we had been together.
The team settled down to grab what sleep they could, all of us lying together. I had to give Wrex a kick in the side to get him to roll over and stop snoring, but once the din was gone, I was able to drift off. I occasionally stirred from my slumber as other soldiers moved around, but I soon noticed that the person lying next to me was none other than Tali. I took a moment to study her as she slept, breathing softly. I chuckled as I noticed that her mouth-piece was lighting up in time with her soft snores. She had impressed me in the short time I had known her. So long as I kept encouraging her, she would be a formidable force to wield against our enemies. And, hopefully, our working relationship would grow into a strong friendship in time.
Surveying the scene from the night before I realised that, together with the Zhu's Hope garrison, we had given the Geth a damn good beating. There was hope; not just for us but for the colony too. A small part of me had feared that in order to discover whatever Saren had his Geth searching for, we may need to abandon the colony to a gruelling fate. However, it was clear that the Geth focus seemed to be on the Exogeni building, so by assaulting the tower we were helping the colony anyway.
The day passed slowly. I kept a constant vigil on the Prothean Highway during all the daylight hours; all twenty-seven of them. Geth activity was minimal; a couple of snipers and scouts every now and then, but between Garrus, one of the marine snipers and I, they could not move anywhere without us putting them down. I commanded my team to get as much rest as possible before we set out that night, it might be the last chance for a few days at least. Once the sky was dark and obscured by the smoke of the previous days battle, I ordered the marines' commanding officer to open the main garage door and I led the Normandy team out onto the Prothean Skyway. Stealth was key to getting to the Exogeni building; one slip up and every Geth on Feros would know that we were out here, exposed and alone.
Our route took us along the walkways that were sitting precariously on the sides of the skyway, hundreds of metres above the ground below. It was our best bet for not being seen and we all moved in complete silence. I forbade radio contact between the members of the team in case it alerted the Geth; we would not last too long at all if we were caught out here. I took the lead and had Garrus and Kaidan at my back, their Omni tools at the ready. If we ran into a Geth scout or patrol and opened fire on them our cover would be blown, so my men had their Omni tools ready to disable any infantry with a heavy electrical overload in order to kill them straight away. We only had four miles to go, but naturally our progress was slow and hampered too often by debris and rubble. Several sections of the walkway had crumbled away over the tens of thousands of years that they had stood and we had to lift ourselves back onto the roadway, each pair of eyes furiously scanning for any Geth.
Through a mix of skill, luck and good judgement by the entire team, we made it to the Exogeni Headquarters. Our only contact with the Geth had been a single scout, which Wrex subsequently blew off the side of the skyway with a biotic blast. Huddled up against the outside of the ruined and blasted building we moved towards the garage door just in front of us and stopped. It sat open, as if the Geth never anticipated that any of the defenders would leave the colony to attack them. However, I was more than aware that the Geth never had to sleep or rest, but after a quick scan Tali assured me that there were no active units in the room. Cautiously we entered and made our way to the stairwell over by the far end of the room. From what the colonists and the marines had told us, each of the buildings along the skyway were identical in their construction and so we had a decent idea of the layout of the Exogeni building, but we still did not know where we even needed to go.
I led the team up one floor and found a room where we could stop and take stock of the situation.
"Ok," I started, "this is a reconnaissance op. We need to find whatever the Geth are here to find and deal with it quickly. Our targeting device has been jammed by them so if we find the Geth drop ship that's powering this place we need to find some way to destroy it ourselves, unless we can cut through the jamming. Tali says that we should look out for a small beacon and take it out. If we can have the Normandy giving us fire support and drawing attention away from us then we'll have a much easier time of it."
They all understood and were prepared to follow me.
I set out and we crept around the empty halls and over piles of rubble for what seemed like a few hours. We found very little, but I had become increasingly worried about the lack of Geth that we were finding. Every so often we would come across a small group of them huddled around what Tali told us was a Hub that the Geth used to communicate with each other at faster run-times and could reach out over a longer range. In this state, only the software form of the Geth was active and the hardware body was simply an empty metal shell, completely vulnerable. However, if we tried to destroy one of the bodies while it was hooked up to the Hub, every Geth in the system would be alerted.
"Why aren't we seeing more of them?" I eventually said, frustrated at our lack of progress.
"Maybe we killed more of them than we thought," Ashley said, "there were a hell of a lot of dead Geth back on the Skyway at our defence line."
She had a point and I nodded in agreement, but I did not feel any better for it. The doubt still gnawed at me while we softly stepped around this corner, searched that room, climbed yet another set of stairs. It was as I brought the team up onto another level that I finally heard something; a voice, a deep, angry voice grumping and moaning above us.
"Another Krogan," Wrex muttered. With every painstaking step I stopped to listen for anything useful the Krogan might be saying, but it was indistinct and garbled. But once I reached the next level I heard a great shout,
"Stupid machine! I'll blow your virtual ass into actual dust if you don't tell me what I want to know!"
A monotone synthetic voice answered him politely,
"I am sorry if I have caused you to anger. All information regarding Species 37 is withheld for executives with level 4 and above clearance only."
The Krogan put his head in his hands and yelled again,
"Stupid machine!"
That was when our cover was blown as the virtual intelligence spoke up again,
"If you are finished with this program then can you please move along. There is a queue forming behind you."
The Krogan turned around and saw me as I tried to dart back into hiding and blasted the pillar nearest my head with his shotgun.
"Come out here you little rat!" the enemy roared. Wrex answered him and leapt out at the oncoming Krogan with terrifying fury. A well-planted head butt and a pull on his shotgun trigger killed his foe with ease. However, Tali's Omni tool lit up with warnings and she suddenly announced,
"The Geth are coming back online! We need to get away from here."
"Keep going up," I told them and leapt ahead of them with my Mattock primed and ready. Two shots brought one Geth down, a burst from Ashley's rifle took out another. As we hurtled along a dust filled corridor, I heard the metallic noise of Geth feet coming from a turnoff to our right followed by a high-pressure hissing noise.
Just as I rounded the corner with my rifle raised, I felt a pair of hands grab me and yank me backwards. I collapsed on top of Tali who had dragged me backwards with all her strength just as a missile fired past where I had just been and smashed into the wall next to us. I shielded Tali from the explosion with my body while the rest of the team hunkered down and then gunned down the Geth rocket soldier as soon as they could. Garrus helped Tali and I up and I immediately led my troops through the hole that the Geth rocket had so kindly made for us.
Through the smoke and rubble, we emerged into a much larger room, almost like a loading bay. It had large bay doors on the outer wall, one of which had a dirty great clamp reaching through it from the Geth drop ship that hung menacingly outside. The room was laced with power cables running from the ship and spreading out in all directions like a web of thick, heavy wires. This was the power source of the Geth force fields, and there were only a few Geth to deal with. The combined firepower of all seven of us annihilated the enemies nice and quickly,
"Search the room, carefully," I said. We spread out and investigated the Geth bodies, investigated the terminals at the far side of the room and the Geth Hubs that were dotted around. While checking one of the Hub monitors, I located an encrypted file that seemed to be focused on the work carried out by the Geth towards self-improvement; including past and present projects.
"Tali," I said excitedly, "there's something here I think you'll find interesting!"
She came over and scoured the file, managing to break through some of the less encrypted data,
"This… is… incredible. I had no idea that the Geth had advanced so far! And…"
"Neither does the Migrant Fleet," I finished her sentence.
She looked at me, those bright eyes meeting mine, seeming so full of an almost juvenile excitement. I moved a little closer to her and said,
"Whatever's on it, it'll be valuable intel. I'm going to make a copy of this to upload to the Alliance. If you want your own copy to send to the Admiralty, I'll give it to you."
"Thank you, Scott! You have no idea how much this means to me. This will be more than enough to complete my Pilgrimage." Her voice was light and happy. But then she placed a hand on my chest and told me,
"But I swear to you: I'll see this mission through before I even think of returning to the Fleet. Saren and the Geth are a danger to us all."
"Are you sure?" I asked, "I'd understand if you wanted to go back to your people, it's got to be less dangerous than coming with me!"
Tali laughed, but then went silent as she gazed at me. She suddenly became aware of her hand lingering on my chest, but did not seem inclined to remove it. In a girlish fashion, she said,
"Maybe… I like the danger."
I smiled at her and returned to searching the room when Kaidan signalled me over to one of the Exogeni consoles. Garrus and Ashley were also there and were typing away and scrolling through the databases of several computers. Tali went onto another one and did the same while Wrex just stood and stared at the one nearest to him,
"Call me old… But I hate these things," he said bluntly. Kaidan typed furiously on the keyboard until he found what he was looking for,
"Got it! This controls the pressure systems for the bay doors. If I can just… there!"
The pipes around the room creaked, groaned and hissed when the bay door over the Geth clamp came hammering down and cut clean through the large metallic arm. The building shook, there came an awful grinding noise which persisted as the other clamps from the Geth ship began to slip and buckle under the increased weight put on them. Through the other open bays, we all watched with great satisfaction as the Geth drop ship fell away from the building and plummeted down to the ground far below; the resulting crash like thunder rolling across a great plain.
"I hope that ship was full of those Geth bastards," Tali muttered.
With the power cut the Geth hubs had shut down, locally wiping the individual programs and leaving the hardware bodies absolutely useless.
"There are a lot of power cables heading even further up the building, we keep going," I told everyone.
"Hopefully there's still a few more Krogan to fight," Wrex chuckled. Floor after floor was checked and cleared, a few Geth had managed to return to their bodies before we cut off the Hubs, but their resistance was limited. After going up at least ten flights of stairs I heard the scurry of feet running away from us and as I reached the landing, I saw feet flee around a corner to my left. Whoever the feet belonged to they were definitely not Geth or Krogan.
"Move fast!" I said to the team. I charged along after the fleeing individual and when I caught sight of my quarry, I saw a Human woman running for her life.
"Stop," I called out to her, "We're Alliance. We're here to help you."
She looked over her shoulder and saw me, there was a moment of consideration before she saw Wrex appear behind me and then she was off again screaming,
"No, no, no!"
She darted into a room and we followed close behind, coming to a quick stop when I realised that she had cornered herself in her blind panic. She huddled in the furthest corner of the room and her breathing was loud and shaky. I approached closely with my helmet off, allowing her a good look at me. In between heavy breaths she said,
"You said you were Alliance… but the Alliance doesn't recruit Krogan!"
"My name's Commander Scott Gardner," I said softly, "I'm Human Alliance and a Council Spectre. Wrex is part of my team. We're here to help the colony."
She did not seem convinced,
"And what about them?" she said pointing at the other non-Human members of my crew.
"This is Garrus Vakarian, Tali'Zorah and Liara T'Soni. Then there's Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko and Gunnery Sergeant Ashley Williams. We're all on the same team here. What's your name?"
Whether it was the names that helped or just the presence of more Humans, she seemed to relax,
"Lizbeth… Lizbeth Baynham."
I helped her to her feet and let her catch her breath. Once she seemed to have collected herself, I asked her,
"What are you doing in here Lizbeth? We were told that all the other Exogeni staff either ran for it or were killed."
Her head dropped and she nodded.
"When the attack hit everyone started evacuating. Some made it… others didn't. I stayed to backup data and hid in the ventilation ducts when those robots appeared. Then they put up those force fields. When I saw them go down a little while ago, I decided to make a run for it, but I ran into a group of Krogan."
I placed a hand on her arm,
"Where were the Krogan when you saw them? How did you get away?"
"I… just ran. I didn't know where I was going or what I was going to do, but I lost them somehow." She was getting quite emotional so I handed her my water bottle and an energy bar, it was the best I could do at that moment. I turned to the rest of the team,
"Take five minutes guys. Keep an eye and a gun on the door."
I took Lizbeth aside to speak quietly with her,
"Why did you stay to backup data? What was worth risking your life for like that?"
She remained quiet, but I knew she was holding something back. I had to take a more direct approach,
"Look Lizbeth. We're here to help against this Geth attack, but we need to know what they're after. Why are they even here?"
Her eyes flicked up to meet mine for but a second before they flashed away again. I moved around so that I was face to face with her; no way for her to avoid me,
"Lizbeth, if you're hiding something related to this Geth attack, then you're just as guilty as the Geth for what's happening to this colony. Zhu's Hope is under attack even as we speak and I don't know how I can stop it! If you know something… I need your help!"
I did not feel good about it, but the guilt trip that I laid on Lizbeth worked. She put her head in her hands,
"They're here for the Thorian."
I looked at her blankly; that word meant nothing to me so I kept eye-contact with her until she spilled more information to me,
"It's an indigenous plant life-form that's only been found here on Feros. It's one of a kind… and it can control the minds of beings that remain too near it for too long. They get infected by the spores it releases that makes it nearly impossible for them to resist the Thorian's commands."
I stared at her in horror,
"It's in Zhu's Hope isn't it. The colonists are infected aren't they," I said angrily. She nodded,
"It's underneath Zhu's Hope. One of the small research huts can be lifted by crane to get to it. The data I was backing up was proof that Exogeni was deliberately experimenting on the colonists. I couldn't be a part of it any more, knowing what we were doing, so I was going to expose them."
It was something at least, but I still needed more,
"The way that the Geth are hitting Zhu's Hope they don't seem to be too concerned about possibly hurting it, what do the Geth want with it?"
She was getting quite flustered now, but she told me everything that she could,
"It all started after that Turian showed up. Saren Arterius. He arrived with an Asari and went down to the Thorian before anyone could stop him. When he came back out, the Asari wasn't with him and she hasn't been seen since. After he was gone, the Geth attack started immediately."
Liara came over and knelt down beside us, her face flush with worry,
"This Asari… was she a Matriarch? What did she look like?"
Lizbeth closed her eyes and tried to remember,
"She… she was young, I think. Definitely no older than a matron. I don't know what her value was but the Thorian evidently kept her."
Liara seemed relieved that the said Asari was not her mother, but I had another concern,
"Is the Thorian a sentient being?"
"Yes, we think so. If it perceives you as a threat it will try to kill you. Any under its control will try to fight you."
"That includes the colonists at Zhu's Hope doesn't it," it was not a question. There was no way in hell I was turning my gun on the people of Feros, but we were without a doubt going to have to make it through them somehow to get to our target.
Gathering the team to me I explained the situation,
"We need to get back to Zhu's Hope as soon as possible. There's a mind controlling plant life-form living underneath the colony that the Geth are trying to destroy. If they're trying to destroy it then that means that there's something that Saren doesn't want anyone else to know about. There's a good chance that the colonists will try to stop us."
"What? Why?" asked Ashley.
"They're under the control of the Thorian. Exogeni deliberately allowed them to be infected by the Thorian's spores so they could study their effects. It must have allowed us to move freely before because we were here to stop the Geth; they were the main threat."
"Or we didn't spend enough time in the colony to be infected," Kaidan put in.
"Probably. So, we just blast our way through the colonists and do what needs to be done," Wrex said as he stood up to get moving.
"Absolutely not!" I growled, standing up so that the whole team could see me. "I know our priority objective is to find and stop Saren, but that doesn't mean that we should abandon people who need our help. We came here to help this colony, and that's exactly what we're going to do." I looked around at the faces of my team mates: Liara, Kaidan and Ashley were in agreement with me while Garrus and Wrex seemed unimpressed by the idea. With her helmet it was difficult to read Tali's expression, but the way her big eyes glittered at me I could tell she was on board with my opinion.
"No harm comes to the colonists. Understood?"
With Lizbeth in tow, we all made our way back down the interior of the building. We arrived back at the garage and made our way back out onto the Prothean Skyway. The chilled night air was a huge relief after the cramped and choking atmosphere inside the HQ. The Skyway was silent and the only sources of light were the last of the failing fires that littered the ground around us. Keeping a close watch on our surroundings as we went, we made it over the two miles of the Skyway without incident. Knowing that the colonists, including the marines defending them, would be on watch for us, we silently infiltrated our way through the main tower that stood above Zhu's Hope.
It was not easy to avoid the few marines that were left, Lizbeth's clumsy movements made every step that we took intensify far beyond my comfort zone. However, soon we were positioned just to the north of Zhu's Hope and began creeping in, all the time heading for the crane control console that Lizbeth directed us to. It was deathly quiet, not a soul to be seen as we moved along the short pathways of the small town. This fact did not, however, give any sense of peace or security; something was very wrong.
We reached the crane, my nerves verging on meltdown, and Lizbeth swiped her keycard to gain access to the crane controls. The machine came to life and Kaidan brought the hand gently down on top of the small research building and began to lift it. That was when I heard the shuffle of feet edging out behind me and when I turned, I saw Fai Dan stumbling clumsily towards me, almost as if he was being held back by invisible restraints. Then the pistol came out and with his shaking hand Fai Dan raised it at my head,
"It… it wants me to stop you!" He grunted. My team all had their weapons trained on Fai, but I halted them,
"Fight it Fai Dan. The Thorian can't control you, put the gun down."
"It gets right in your head," he breathed in hard, "you can't imagine the pain…"
He screamed in agony as he lowered the pistol a little. Then, with bloodshot eyes he looked right at me,
"It wants me to stop you… but I won't!" The barrel of the gun flew up to his temple, "I won't!"
Fai Dan fired the pistol and collapsed to the ground, the thick red liquid slowly seeping out of his head. I knelt beside him and looked at his face; the pained expression still there for all to see. When I turned to the rest of the team I announced,
"When we find this Thorian, we destroy it."
The crane had lifted the cabin off of the ground and I led my friends down the stairwell that had been revealed to us. The first thing that struck me was the smell; it was an earthy, dirt smell, but there was an old feel to it. There was a strong feeling of an ancient being, and it only intensified as we went further down the darkening hallways. As the darkness deepened, so did the suspicion that we were not moving unchecked; there was something watching us, stalking us. The Thorian knew we were coming.
"Ok, if you've got lights, get them on now," I said quietly. One by one Kaidan, Ashley and I switched on our head torches and surveyed our surroundings as best we could. Tali and Garrus had torches on their Omni tools and did the same, all of us together revealing a scene around us that closely resembled the most horrific sights in a horror vid. The walls were smothered in grime and moss, but much of it was rotten. Water dripped from the ceiling and the air was extremely humid, the earthy smell almost overpowering by now. But worst of all were the shadows; it seemed like something always dodged just out of view as our lights passed over towards it. That was when we finally saw it; the Thorian.
It was like an enormous, bulbous spore. Its roots spread from its bulky body and reached out around a tall, vertical cavern of which the roof could not even be seen by our lights. As we stared in wonder at this unique and incredible creature it began to groan and grunt, and I was sure I heard a sort of retching noise come from what would qualify as the Thorian's head. Several tentacles sprouted from the creature's head with what appeared to be a mouth in between them. With a grimace, I thought to myself that the mouth actually looked more like a huge vagina. If Ashley's sound of disgust was anything to go by, she may have reached the same conclusion.
As we looked on, barely keeping our last meals down, the Thorian's mouth/vagina opened wider and an Asari slipped out onto the ground. She was covered in a thick fluid that stank to the high-heavens. This strange Asari was stark naked and wore an aggressive expression as her eyes rose to meet mine.
"Something is wrong Scott," Liara said slowly, "she's… green."
"Be silent, being of blood and flesh," the green Asari yelled in a deep and malicious tone, "you stand before the Thorian! It demands that you be in awe."
From the shadows around her figures began to emerge and drift towards the Asari like a horde of undead. As the lights of my friends touched on the faces of this new threat, I suddenly realised that I had seen their faces before. These new arrivals were the colonists, their minds overthrown by the Thorian's grip and complete slaves to its will.
"I don't think we have a choice about killing them anymore, Gardner," Wrex muttered. I stepped towards the Asari and the Thorian, fists clenched and ready to reach for my gun,
"Let these people go, let them live free and no one has to die!"
"These creatures were promised to me in return for what was given," the green woman in front of me said, "they were promised, but the cold ones started killing those that belonged to me… betrayal!"
The Asari was shaking with fury, and behind her the huge form of the Thorian was growing more animated and irritated every second that we stood there until it cracked and made the Asari scream,
"All you creatures are capable of is lies. No more. Now you die!"
The green Asari powered up a biotic blast and caught me full on in the chest. I smashed into a pillar behind me, all the breath being knocked clean out of me in an instant. Garrus, Ashley and Kaidan gunned down the Asari before she could attack again, spurring the colonists to swarm towards us.
"Don't… shoot… any of them," I gasped as I raised myself back up onto my feet, "keep them back with biotics or disable them. No one… dies."
The others understood, even if not all of them were pleased about it, and they did what they could to hold off the attack. Drawing my pistol, I fired a load of rounds at the Thorian and some of the team followed suite, but it seemed to do nothing. Even as I watched the Thorian just seemed to heave and grunt again before spewing forth another Asari from its mouth. In the torchlight I could tell that this was exactly the same Asari that we had already killed just moments before. She assaulted our biotic barriers and tried to pierce through them, but Wrex broke out of Liara's protective field and blasted the green woman with his beloved shotgun.
Kaidan sent out a small shockwave of energy that knocked the colonists away.
"Go!" I ordered. The team took off after me as I ran around the chasm and started bolting up the stairs three at a time. When I came to the first of the Thorian's roots I once again unloaded my pistol into it, but again it seemed to be useless. Having had enough, I drew my Widow across my shoulder, placed the muzzle right onto the stem and pulled the trigger. The resulting boom almost deafened me, but the Thorian's stem was blown apart and a fierce screech rang out from the bulbous life form.
I turned the rifle on the Thorian itself but a hand grabbed me from behind. The colonist dragged me away and my shot wrecked a section of wall further up the empty, dark space. With the lights flashing from my team, it became confusing and disorientating all at once as hands grabbed me and punched me, tried to disarm me or even strangle me. I would just manage to fight one off when another would pounce on me and keep me pinned to the ground. The man on top of me was suddenly ripped off of me by Kaidan and after being helped back up I took off once again. Finding a clear spot, I aimed at the Thorian with my rifle and fired. The chamber lit up as the heavy calibre bullet left the barrel and smacked straight into the plant's body.
The Thorian wailed in pain again, but as far as I could see the bullet had barely made a scratch on it.
"We need to keep hitting the roots!" I shouted, "Kaidan, Wrex, Liara, keep the colonists off our backs. The rest up front with me, any roots you see; blast them."
Using their biotics in turn, Kaidan, Wrex and Liara were able to keep the colonists back without inflicting too much harm on them. Meanwhile, the rest of us were tearing our way up stairways and across landings blowing the hell out of any roots, bulbs and tendrils we could see. There were other colonists further up that we would run into, but a quick arm-throw or clothesline to knock them down proved sufficient enough to stop them blocking us. Tali used her Omni tool to shock some of them to the floor while Garrus was less subtle and gave them a good crack to the chest or stomach with the butt of his rifle.
Through the confusion of lights and the agonised faces of the Humans that came against us, we finally managed to tear the Thorian from the walls and from around the pillars of the room. With each shot fired from our weapons, the Thorian screamed and wailed, each screech threatening to wreck my ears. With one last blast of my Widow, all other noise was drowned out by the highest pitched scream I had ever heard. I could see the colonists collapse to the ground, hands gripping their heads and their bodies in absolute spasm. My comm sparked into life and I heard Kaidan say,
"Commander, whatever you've done it's worked! The Thorian's disappeared down the chasm, just completely gone."
"Are the colonists still fighting you?" I asked.
"No. Something's wrong with them. They keep screaming that something's still in their heads, making them fight us."
However, even as he spoke the colonists seemed to grow more restful and stopped writhing around before us.
"Yeah, it's the same up here, but they seem to be calming down. Confirm that the Thorian is dead and we'll meet you back down there. Head count, we still have everyone?"
One by one the whole team checked in, and I had a good look around me just for peace of mind.
Then, out of the darkness I heard another voice calling. It was muffled and strained, but also fearful.
"It's coming from higher up, Gardner," Ashley called out. I began moving higher up again as I contacted the rest of the team down below,
"See if you can do anything for the colonists and see them out of here."
Tali, Ashley and Garrus followed me up to where the scared voice was echoing out from, checking frantically with our torches until I saw a large sac on the far wall, something moving and struggling inside it. When I split it open a wave of gooey muck came spilling out and splattered all over my feet,
"Fuck sake," I muttered before I saw a body falling out of the spore. She was an Asari, and when I saw her face I noticed that she had the exact same features and markings as the green clones we had killed. This one, however, had to be the original as she was as blue as any other Asari and I was glad not to receive a biotic blast from her. She looked up at me and with a flicker of recognition spoke to me,
"Commander Gardner. You've rescued me?"
"Who are you, and how did the Thorian trap you like that?" I asked, still not sure how much of a threat this woman was to us.
"I am Shiala, a disciple of Matriarch Benezia. Or… well, a former disciple. She gave me to Saren, and in turn he sacrificed me to the Thorian in order to gain the Cipher."
"What's the Cipher?" Tali said.
Shiala stood up, as naked as her clones had been, but she did not seem to care and we kept our lights trained on her face.
"It is the knowledge, memories and very essence of the Prothean peoples. It makes you think like a Prothean, enables you to comprehend them as one of their own would. Saren needed it to understand the visions he had received from the beacon on Eden Prime, and I deem that you shall as well."
"So that's why he needed the Thorian, but why were his Geth trying to destroy it?" I asked.
"Saren is quick to betray, especially if it furthers his own gains," Shiala said darkly, "I was a willing servant when I followed Benezia to Saren's side. But we soon began to find that we came to agree with everything he said, believe everything he believed."
"Where is the Cipher now? Can we reach it with the Thorian gone?"
"It stands before you, Commander."
I looked at her a little confused,
"What do you mean?"
"I melded my consciousness with that of the Thorian and in doing so I drew out the Thorian's own knowledge and experience of the Protheans. It is even older than the Prothean Empire is; as they died off the Thorian consumed their bodies, their memories and genetic identity. Now with the Thorian gone, I am the Cipher."
I nodded and moved closer to her,
"I need that Cipher. Can you give it to me?"
"Yes," she said softly, "be still Commander, let go of your worries and stress. Let go of your physical shell and become one with the universe."
As she spoke, I felt a warm tingle spread across my body. I closed my eyes as Shiala placed her hands on my cheeks and whispered the last words to me,
"Embrace eternity."
The tidal wave of flashing images from the beacon thrashed about in front of me again, the death and slaughter were everywhere that I looked. I could not escape it no matter where I turned. Darkness and fire consumed planet after planet, I felt the heat and licks of the flames as if I were witnessing it first-hand. When Shiala released me, I stumbled backwards and fell onto one knee, completely exhausted and shaking. Tali came to my side,
"Scott! Are you ok? What did she do to you?"
"The Commander has been given a great gift," Shiala explained, "the knowledge and experience of an entire race. It will, however, take time for your mind to make sense of the information, as it will be for Saren also."
"Speaking of which," Garrus came in, "what do we do with you?" He slightly raised his gun towards her, "You said it yourself; you willingly served Saren."
"And then he gave me to the Thorian, all of his influence was replaced… I guess. I have given you the Cipher and, if you let me leave here, I wish to help this colony recover. Atone for my mistakes."
Shiala got down on her knees and put her hands on her head as if to surrender and I placed my hand on Garrus' rifle and slowly pushed it away from her. Talking was difficult enough, I felt like I was drunk and losing control of my body bit by bit. Finally, I managed to get the words out,
"You… free to… go."