"Commander?" Kaidan glanced at the man driving the mako. "Did you squash a geth with a stolen mako?"

"Only because someone is having a little trouble with the gun." Shepard steered the mako around the remains of what had once been another mako.

"You noticed the blizzard, right?" Garrus shook his head, then hit the trigger for the missiles. "Heavy turret is down."

"Would that go into a report as a vehicle related fatality, or as use of heavy weaponry?" Kaidan looked over the sensor array. "More in the tunnels."

"That..." Shepard frowned as he brought the mako into the aforementioned tunnel. "Is actually a very good question."

"Geth are very pretty when they explode." Garrus shrugged, and pulled the trigger again.

#

Liara looked around. "Why are the turrets facing the wrong way?"

"They want to keep their people in as much as they want to keep others out." Kaidan narrowed his eyes.

Michael frowned. They'd run into fewer geth in the garage than he'd been expecting. He started to pull up his sensors when there was a strange banging sound from somewhere to their right. Weapons came up, but the sound did not repeat.

"Animals?" Kaidan looked around. "Wind? This place is in bad shape."

Ice and snow littered the area. It was possible something had gotten in. He was more concerned about what might have gotten out. They hadn't gone far when something jumped out at them. Strange tentacles attacked, swiping at them. Garrus was knocked off his feet, and the creature started to close. Kaidan and Michael fired simultaneously, blowing the creature back. "What the hell is that?" Michael looked at the remains. "Liara, any ideas?"

"Xenobiology is not my field." She shook her head. "Maybe someone in the labs knows."

He nodded, and offered Garrus a hand back to his feet. "Kaidan, tune your sensors to look for biologics and alert us if you detect any more of those things."

"Yes, Commander."

#

"It looks like you're trying to restore this facility. Would you like help?"

Michael nearly growled at the VI as he scanned the server. "How do I shut this thing up?"

"This system is monitored to respond to the name 'Mira.' May I ask your name?" The hologram's light flickered over the displays.

Might as well try the easy way. "Commander Shepard, Systems Alliance Navy."

"One moment, please. Service record confirmed. Due to the current emergency, you are entitled to Secure Access of all systems."

"That..." Michael sighed. "Takes some of the fun out of this." He quickly went through the list of what was wrong, and headed back up to the others.

#

More of the strange things attacked them when they went about restoring the damage. Kaidan looked at his medical scanner. The creatures had some kind of venom, but the medigel was able to counter it without trouble. He took a sample for Doctor Chakwas, just in case.

It didn't take long for Shepard to get the disinfectant system working. He hit the switch, clearing the passage of the creatures. Kaidan looked at his combat scanner. "There don't appear to be any on the tram, Commander."

"Alright." Shepard nodded to him. "Let's go find some answers."

#

They stepped off the tram to find armed men. The men lowered their weapons almost immediately. The one that appeared to be in charge nodded to Michael. "Sorry. We couldn't be sure who was on the tram."

"I take it you've encountered those things." Michael raised an eyebrow.

"Encountered, fought, seen men ripped apart by." He shrugged. "We're all working on stims." He sighed. "Look. You're human, and that's enough that I won't shoot. But I'd like to know who you are."

"Call me Shepard." Michael looked around. "I was sent to find an asari Matriarch."

"Benezia?" The man folded his arms. "Yeah. She came through here. The aliens overran the hot labs last week. Only Han Olar got out, and he ain't all there anymore. The first we know, the bastards were clawing into my command post. We had a lot more staff then."

Aliens? Interesting. Clearly not native, which mean the folks here were playing with something they probably shouldn't have been. "I'm packing fire and steel. They want to fight with claws and teeth, it's their funeral."

"You got my support." The man nodded. "The board sent an asari to clean up the mess. She went to the hot labs yesterday. We haven't heard from her since."

He started trying to get what additional information he could, and then there was a scuttling sound. He turned in time to see more of the creatures coming up from vents in the floor. With his team's firepower added to the soldiers, the fight was over quickly.

"I don't know why they keep throwing themselves against our defenses." The man shook his head. "Even animals should learn not to stick their noses where it hurts."

Michael nodded, and led his team on. When they were out of earshot, he glanced back over his shoulder. "That read off to the rest of you?"

Kaidan nodded. "He wasn't curious about what those things were."

"Which implies he knew." Michael nodded. "Keep your guard up."

#

A brief conversation with Dr. Cohen revealed this particular group of scientists were messing with more than one thing they shouldn't have been. It was always sort of interesting how genius came with a lack of self-preservation instinct.

Getting into the medical lab was easy enough, and it took Kaidan only a couple minutes to get the cure together. The problem turned out to be another asari. Well, and a couple geth troopers, but mostly the asari. A shot to the head solved the problem. Funny how often that tended to be true.

Hans Olar informed them that the asari and her group had come up from the maintenance tunnels. Five minutes later, Dr. Cohen had his cure, and Michael had a pass to said maintenance tunnels.

#

"Are you here to secure the station?"

Alright, one man, sitting alone in a dark room, in an area infested by monsters. Right. This wasn't going to be trouble at all. "If by 'secure' you mean 'shoot every monster I see,' sure."

"I am certain you are having strong feelings. But what has happened here, it is our fault. You understand?"

Yeah, that much he got. Michael nodded. "I understand that we'll be dead soon. Talk fast."

"Binary Helix found an egg. It was on a derelict ship, thousands of years drifting. This was rachni ship. Inside they find many eggs in cryogenic suspension."

Rachni. Those were rachni. Damn it, he should have brought Wrex along. The krogan was going to be pissed he missed out. "They brought it here to wake it up?"

"Binary Helix plan to clone rachni. Mass-produce them. Create an army. But when they get here, they find this egg is not a common rachni. It is a queen. After she lays eggs, they move her to Rift Station. They are thinking that without her, they can raise the babies to be obedient."

He was pretty sure he'd seen this vid. Everyone died. The same thing had happened in the sequels. Some people just never learned. "Well, this is fascinating, but we don't have time to chat."

"These rachni are beyond saving. It is a sad thing, but they must be euthanized. I am thinking that the neutron purge must be set off."

Rule seven. When all else fails, blow something up. "How do we set off the purge?"

"Arming controls are nearby. All you do is insert the key. Then I will give Mira destruct co -" The man looked down at a something emerged from his chest. Yep, he'd definitely seen this vid.

The rachni flung the scientist across the room. Immediately, Michael and his team opened fire.

#

Kaidan sighed, and stood back up. The doctor had been dead before he hit the ground. He offered Shepard a security card. "These might be the codes."

"Alright, let's find the Mira terminal and set off the purge." Shepard nodded.

"Hopefully, that will get enough of them for the survivors to make it to safety." Kaidan followed Shepard, with Liara and Garrus a pace behind. "Rachni?"

"I know." Shepard nodded. "I am not looking forward to telling Wrex we fought rachni without him."

"May I recommend doing so from a safe distance, Commander?" Kaidan smiled. "Such as about three systems?"

"Alright." Shepard stepped back from the terminal. "Neutron purge initiated." He pointed. "This is the part where we run."

#

Michael glanced over his shoulder. "Liara?"

She took a deep breath, and nodded to him. He returned the nod, and they headed into the next room.

#

The asari matriarch stood at the top of the stairs. She was dressed in severe black, and wore an unusual headpiece. Her voice was slightly strange when she spoke to them. "You do not know the privilege of being a mother. There is a power in creation. To shape a life. Turn it toward happiness or despair." Benezia turned to a being trapped in a glass cage. "Her children were to be ours. Raised to hunt and slay Saren's enemies." She took a few steps towards them, and her eyes went to Liara. "I won't be moved by sympathy. No matter who you bring into this confrontation."

"Liara's here because she's a member of my crew." Michael looked around. He saw no one else, but that didn't mean they weren't there. Something was jamming their scanners.

"Indeed?" Benezia gave a slight shake of her head. "What have you told him about me, Liara?"

"What could I say, mother?" Liara's voice was raw. "That you're insane? Evil? Should I explain how to kill you? What could I say?"

Benezia smirked. "Have you faced an asari commando unit before? Few humans have."

So much for diplomacy. "There's obviously no peaceful way to settle this."

"Indeed." Her biotics flared.

#

Kaidan got up a barrier just in time to block a crate Benezia flung at Shepard. Shepard retreated to his location, reducing the strain. On the other side of the room, Liara and Garrus quickly adopted a similar position.

The head of an oncoming geth blew apart, and Shepard lined up his next shot. Kaidan concentrated, creating another barrier to force the geth into a smaller area. Shepard was flinging a grenade into that area a heartbeat later.

One of the asari smashed her own biotic throw into his barrier, and Kaidan staggered backwards. Shepard rolled forward and drove his omniblade up under the commando's ribcage, sending blue blood spraying. Kaidan shook his head and flung out a wave of biotic energy, tossing the geth coming at the commander into the wall before taking aim with his sidearm. The other two asari commandos clearly weren't prepared for close quarters combat. Shepard hit one with the butt of his rifle, then simply headbutted the other before finishing them both off with two shots to the head each.

He regrouped with Shepard, moving in while Liara and Garrus provided cover fire. Liara tossed out a singularity to close off one of the doorways. Shepard tossed out a grenade as the geth attempted to come through the other, then he and Kaidan adopted a back to back position to finish clearing the area.

#

Benezia was slowly getting back to her feet. "This is not over. Saren is unstoppable. My mind is filled with his light. Everything is clear." She staggered slightly.

Michael wiped a bit of purplish blood off his face. "I expected better from asari commandos."

"I will not betray him. You will -" She started to turn towards him. "You..." Suddenly her voice and her entire body language changed. It was like he was looking at a different person entirely. "You must listen. Saren still whispers in my mind. I can fight his compulsions. Briefly. But the indoctrination is strong."

A trick? "How can he compel you? He's not even here."

"People are not themselves around Saren. You come to idolize him. Worship him. You would do anything for him." She shook her head slightly. "The key is Sovereign, his flagship. It is a dreadnought of incredible size and its power is extraordinary."

"The ship that attacked Eden Prime?" The one that looked like a grasping hand. "I didn't think anything that size could land on a planet."

"It has a very powerful mass effect drive. But that is not Sovereign's true power." Her hands started to shake. "The longer you stay aboard, the more Saren's will seems correct. You sit at his feet and smile as his words pour into you." She shivered. "It is subtle at first. I thought I was strong enough to resist. Instead, I became a willing tool, eager to serve. He sent me here to find the location of the Mu Relay. Its position was lost thousands of years ago."

This was... He took a deep breath. A lot of people were dead for this shit. "Tell me where the Mu gate is before I lose my temper."

"Of course, Commander." She approached cautiously, and held an item out. "I transcribed the data to an OSD. Take it. Please." He did.

Liara stepped to his shoulder. "Knowing the relay's coordinates is not enough. Do you know where he planned to go from there?"

"Saren wouldn't tell me his destination. But you must find out quickly." She looked down for a moment, then back up at them. "I transmitted the coordinates to him before you arrived. You have to stop -" She started shaking. "Me. I can't -" She clenched and unclenched her hands. "His teeth are at my ear. Fingers on my spine. You should -" She started moving away. "Uh, you should -"

"Mother, I -" Liara took a step towards her. "Don't leave. Fight him."

Benezia turned and looked at her daughter. Her face was warm and loving. "You've always made me proud, Liara." And then Benezia vanished once more. "-Die."

#

Shooting her hurt. It was an odd feeling. He'd just gunned down a girl's mother right in front of her. Despite it being the right thing to do, it still... Shepard shook his head.

Liara knelt at her dying mother's side. Benezia looked up at her daughter. "I cannot go on." Her eyes went to his. "You will have to stop him, Shepard."

He gestured to Kaidan, and Kaidan took out his medical kit. Perhaps there was something that could be done, though he doubted it. Michael looked down at her. "You're free of the 'indoctrination' again?"

"I still hear it. Like metal on metal. Squealing and reverberating." Her voice grew weaker.

"Mother..." Liara clutched her hand.

"Good night, Little Wing. I will see you again with the dawn." Her voice slowly faded. "No light? They always said there would be a-" Silence.

Kaidan looked up, and gave a shake of his head. Benezia was gone. The medic moved to Liara, and put a hand on her shoulder. Michael sighed, and turned his eyes to the creature in the cage.

#

The asari he had stabbed was back on her feet. Sort of. She moved jerkily, as if pulled by invisible strings. Right. Not creepy at all. Blood ran down her side. He stepped back as she went towards the creature in the cage. When she spoke, her voice raspy. "This one. Serves as our voice. We cannot sing. Not in these low spaces. Your musics are colorless."

Michael looked from the asari to the creature in the cage. Well. Shit. "Who am I speaking to here?"

"We are the mother. We sing for those left behind. The children you thought silenced. We are rachni."

He walked to the cage again, looking at the creature inside. It was different than the ones they'd killed earlier. "Did you order your people to kill the science team?"

"No. We were locked away here. The children are beyond our songs. They have been lost to silence." The asari didn't move, but the creature in the cage shifted to look at him. "You are not in harmony with those who hoped to control us. What will you sing? Will you release us? Are we to fade away once more?"

Kaidan's voice was quiet. "Commander. Those tanks on her enclosure? They're acid. Strong enough to dissolve any living creature. They must have installed them for a reason."

Liara shook her head. "They made a mistake. They let the krogan go too far. This is a chance for us to atone. She has done nothing to us."

"Liara's right." Kaidan nodded.

Garrus looked at them like they were both insane. He was pretty sure his own expression was similar. The asari spoke again. "Your companions hear the truth. You have the power to free us, or return our people to the silence of memory."

He'd done a lot of things but... "If I let you live, would you attack other races again?"

"No. We-" It hesitated. "I do not know what happened in the war. We heard only discordance, songs the color of oily shadows. We would seek a hidden place to teach our children harmony. If they understand, perhaps we would return."

"You could have calmed them if I hadn't set off the purge?"

"No. Our minds are not as yours. We can only learn to sing in harmony. Without a mother, children are lost to silence." The creature moved in the cage. "You should not sing of them in grey and violet. We would have stilled them ourselves."

That was... Good. Maybe. "Are you a survivor from the war? A clone?"

"We do not know. We were only an egg, hearing Mother cry in our dreams. A tone from space hushed one voice after another. It forced the singers to resonate with its own sour yellow note. Then we awoke, in this place. The last echo of those who came out from the Singing Planet. The sky is silent."

Michael glanced over his shoulder. Kaidan smiled at him encouragingly. He nodded, and turned back to the creature in the cage. As lines went, genocide was a damn good place to draw one. "I won't destroy your entire race. You'll go free."

"You will give us a chance to compose anew? We will remember. We will sing of your forgiveness to our children."

He touched the controls, setting the cage to release. The asari fell to the ground. The rachni turned back to look at them one last time before leaving. And as stupid things to do went, it was possible he'd have to go a long, long way to top that one. "Let's get out of here."

#

"What's our next move, Commander?" Ashley leaned forward. "Head for the Mu Relay?"

Michael shook his head. "The Mu Relay could link to dozens of systems. Unless we know exactly where Saren's going, we'd just be wasting our time."

"The commander is right." Liara nodded. "We cannot rush off blind. We still need to learn more about Saren."

"Who put you in charge?" Ashley glared. "Did the commander resign when I wasn't looking?"

"We're all on the same team here, Williams. She's just trying to help." He met Ashley's eyes. And she's just lost her mother, cut her some slack.

He saw Ashley give a slight nod at the unspoken part. "Sorry, Commander."

"This is a tough mission. We're all on edge. Everyone go get some rest. Crew..." He looked around at them. "Dismissed."

As they filed out, Joker's voice came over the comm. "Noveria report is away, Commander. You want me to patch you through to the Council?"

Might as well get the ass chewing over with. "Patch them through, Joker."

"Setting up the link now, Commander."

#

"Is this report accurate, Commander? You found rachni on Noveria?"

One of these days he was going to remember to look up their blasted names. He nodded to the asari councilor.

"And then released the queen." The turian councilor glared. "Do you have any idea what you've done? How many generations until they overrun the galaxy?"

"Three? No-" He shrugged. "Four."

"This is no joke, Commander. The rachni were one of the greatest threats the galaxy ever faced."

He 'accidentally' toggled the disconnect. Oops. Well, now when they chewed him out again, they'd have a reason. Never let it be said he wasn't helpful.

#

Kaidan looked up from the table where he was restocking his medical kit. "Commander." The pounding in his head was starting to fade, though not fast enough.

"Alenko." Shepard looked around. "Give me a sense of where the crew is at."

"Well, they know about the stonewalling you've had from the Council." Kaidan straightened.

"And what do they think?" Shepard raised an eyebrow.

He decided to go with blunt honesty. Shepard seemed to prefer it that way. "They're on your side. They're pissed about the resistance we're getting. Especially from 'our side.'" He sighed. "I'll have a better handle on all of it when my head stops hurting. Another L2 flare-up."

Shepard's face immediately grew concerned. "Anything I can do?"

"No, Commander. It'll settle down." He smiled. He shrugged. "It's rough sometimes, but they spike higher than a lot of L3s. I fared better than some."

He blinked when Shepard set a cup of coffee in front of him. "All you were tossing around down there, I'm not surprised. Nice work."

"Liara's having a rough time." He took a drink, and felt a momentary surprise that Shepard had actually remembered how he liked his coffee. "She's holding up though."

"She's finding out she's tougher than she thought." Shepard nodded. "Nice girl." He narrowed his eyes. "Take care of your head. We'll talk later."