Chapter Eight: They Must Grow Them Bigger Here
"This place is a mess," he couldn't recall if this was the third or fourth time, he'd said that since arriving in the small colony of Zhu's Hope. Within the first two minutes of being off the Normandy, a group of geth had attacked—killing the citizen who had been sent to greet them. The colony was in absolute shambles; broken support beams and collapsed stone fixtures made walking in a straight-line nearly impossible. The water line had been shut off, the generator was dead, there was no food, and of course waves upon waves of geth that kept descending from the colony's tunnels to assault the colonists. The people weren't soldiers and they lacked military training resulting in terrified persons using the surrounding wreckage as barricades and waiting for the next onslaught. There was one phrase that he kept hearing repeated 'I don't want to die'.
Aside from the geth and their unknown want to continually harass the colony, the residents were acting strange (stranger than you would expect from people under attack)—from a salarian who would barely speak to them, others who quickly lost train of thoughts and frequently repeated the same things, to a woman complaining of illness and pain and yet when Garrus had scanned her, nothing had presented itself. At first, he thought he was the only one to have noticed these eccentricities and he mentally cursed himself for analyzing a group of people who were going through hell when the Commander herself mentioned it to the colony leader, Fai Dan during her second time speaking to him. He brushed it off to the strain everyone was under but some of the words he spoke and the way he said them had Garrus second guessing that.
"What's the plan, Commander?" Williams asked as Shepard excused herself from Fai Dan and the woman at his side.
"I say let's split into two groups; Tali, Garrus, and myself will head to ExoGeni. I want the rest of you to head into the tunnels and clear the geth out as well as see about finding any solutions for the water, food, and electricity issues." They all nodded their understanding of assigned tasks, expect for Wrex who grumbled a bit about being sent on errands rather than getting to be 'where the fun is'. Shepard ignored this and motioned for everyone to head out. Fai Dan had told them that the geth seemed to have made ExoGeni (the company that funded and employed the colony) headquarters their base and it would be the best place to start in search of the answer to why the geth were so set on attacking Zhu's Hope. They needed to take the Prothean Skyway to get there: a long, winding section of highway, a remnant now from a time when the long gone Protheans had occupied Feros.
Upon exiting the elevator to the skyway, they heard the sound of gunshots. There were some colonists fending off attack from a couple geth drones, the shots consistently missing their marks. Unlike the settlers, the three of them dispatched them in a single shot. "Into the Mako, Garrus I want you on the guns," Shepard said, jogging down to the road. Great, here we go. He hadn't nearly done enough work on it in his mind, but it would have to do. Inside was as he expected, cramp and he had to hunch forward to keep his head and fringe from scraping against the roof. The Commander took the wheel, and Tali sat in the passenger seat while Garrus was perched in the lifted position behind them, eyes focused through the weapons system's scope. "And now to the geth base," he declared as the engine roared to life, "not something an intelligent mind expects to say." Shepard hit the gas but nothing happened causing her to fumble with the controls. Does she even know how to drive this thing? It had never once occurred to him to doubt her ability to operate it. The vehicle suddenly lurched forward causing the front of his head to slam against a portion of the jutted roof, while she gave a triumphant 'there we go!'.
The rover set off at a steady (steady, not quick) pace along the skyway which was just as badly damaged as Zhu's Hope; protruding and uneven pieces of cement along with the obstacle of fallen debris something the Mako was definitely not built for—maneuverability.
"I'm surprised the colony held out as long as it did," he muttered, rubbing his forehead as Shepard attempted to drive the machine up and over a large lip. She floored it, only to slam on the breaks when it quickly crossed, the back half momentarily attempting to take flight.
"These people are brave," Tali started, her hands grabbing at the dashboard for security as the wheels raked over an uneven stretch of road. "But the geth are relentless. My people…know this…better than anyone!" she managed to say, her voice wavering due to the constant jostling from a deluge of bumps. A noise sounded then. Garrus lifted his Omni-tool to find that it was a radio channel coming in and out of wavelength.
"The last batch went south. What are they looking for?" a voice said.
"I'm picking up a comm signal. It's too weak to pinpoint, but there's definitely someone out here," he told them, watching as Tali began typing away at her own 'tool in an attempt to clear it up.
"Look alive, Garrus," Shepard spoke and ahead of them was a blockade of geth from rocket troopers to even an Armature. His hands gripped the triggers of the cannon and he began firing as Shepard attempted an evasive maneuver from the onslaught of rockets and pulses. Only it didn't quite go as she planned, resulting more in them turning sideways and inching forward a few feet, only to do the same thing in reverse. Trying his best to ignore whatever it was she was doing, he fired at will with the machine gun through the line of troopers, using the cannon on the armature and in a few hits, it went up in smoke.
"Okay, I think we're good," he announced when he was positive that nothing out there was still standing.
"Any sign of movement? Lizbeth could still be in there. It's only been a few days," a female voice spoke over the communication line as they began moving again.
"More chatter, Commander Shepard. I still can't get a fix on the location," Tali stated.
"She's my daughter. I'll wait as long as I have to." The vehicle continued, entering a tunneled area.
"We've got movement…some kind of vehicle. Not one of the geth."
"They must be close enough to see us," Garrus deduced aloud and the Commander immediately brough the rover to a grinding halt, jarring the occupants once more.
"Dealing with the geth is more important," Tali attempted as Shepard turned off the engine and hopped out.
"I guess we're following then," he sighed and gingerly extracted himself from his seat.
It hadn't taken long to investigate. It was another group of people who had found a small area to bunker down in. These were the ExoGeni researchers and scientists, and of course they had no idea what the geth were after. The Commander had assured that she would get rid of the geth problem while one very vocal man, who for some odd reason hadn't taken too keenly to the idea of their assistance, made sure she knew she was to just remove the geth. What had he thought she was going to do? Find a bunch of company secrets and sell them? It was clear that even humans mistrusted each other. There had also been a woman who expressed concern for her daughter who was still somewhere in the building. Shepard had promised to get her out if she found her, but Garrus was a bit doubtful on how well she'd be able to keep that. It seemed she felt an obligation to help people, he didn't know if was her Alliance training or just her own altruistic nature which had him begging the question—what did she do when she failed to help someone? Perhaps she never had, and he hoped he wouldn't then be around to see the first. They hadn't been back in the Mako long before coming across more geth and once they were finished with, they reached the end of the road—figuratively.
"The geth certainly don't waste time moving in." It was impossible to go further in the Mako as before them were giant concrete slabs of varying debris, leaving only an opening large enough for someone on foot to go through. Just beyond it was ExoGeni and their scanners were lit to the max with enemy presence. Garrus thought he could see through the gap, the red beam of geth snipers.
"Resistance will be extremely heavy once we are inside." The Commander nodded her agreement with Tali's remark.
"Garrus, I want you to fire through that opening, provide some distraction while Tali and I get into position on either side."
"You've got it." At her command, Garrus fired the cannon straight through the breach before immediately following up with the rapid fire. As he did this, both women jumped from the Mako and ran to either stretch of wall. He let loose another blast from the mass accelerator and witnessed the human and quarian both peer around and let off a couple rounds at the geth that were just past them. In a few minutes they had slightly lowered their weapons, and Shepard signaled for Garrus to join them. Inside the area was wreckage and rubble, not unlike everything else they had so far seen.
"Commander? Alenko, here. We've got the water line back on, and found solutions for the generator and food shortage. We're heading now to take out the geth transmitter."
"Good job, Lieutenant. When you're done with that, head back to the Normandy and wait for further instructions," she spoke into her comm.
"Aye, aye ma'am."
"Well, it sounds like if we get the geth stopped the colony actually has a chance of recovering." His saying of the words caused an expression of relief and agreement to cross the Commander's face while he himself didn't quite know if he believed them. In his mind, no matter what was done, after this it would be time to abandon ship—or planet as the case may be. To the left of them, the entry into the facility was blocked by a strange blue energy field that wouldn't allow them to pass. Their only option in was a broken downward staircase—the problem being they wouldn't be able to come back out that way. I guess we're doing this, he thought as the Commander hopped down, followed by Tali. It led out to an area that must have once been some sort of garage access. There was water runoff, leaving shallow pools as well as more piles and piles of rubble and wreckage.
A gunshot sounded then, followed by a female swearing. All their weapons raised they looked to see a woman exiting from around a corner, and she lowered the gun in her hands. "I'm so sorry. I thought you were the geth, or one of those varren!" she exclaimed, her face panicked.
"You're safe now," Shepard told her, lowering her weapon which caused him and Tali to do the same. Something told him this was the daughter of the one researcher. When asked why she was there, she told them that she had stayed behind to back up data and when a geth ship latched onto the building, the power went out and she was left trapped.
"we'll get you out as soon as we find out what the geth are after."
"It's not the geth, it's the energy field they put up. They don't want anyone else getting access to the—!" she immediately clamped her mouth shut, her eyes alarmed over having almost shared something she shouldn't have. Garrus really hoped that the girl would be easy to convince into spilling the secret, he really wasn't in the mood to beat a confession out of her (he doubted the Commander would appreciate it).
"I'm here for the geth. It's very important I find out what they're after," Shepard's tone was firm and relatively convincing in an assured way.
"I don't know for certain, but I'm guessing they're here for the Thorian," she answered quietly. Shepard glanced back at either him or Tali for an explanation, causing Garrus to shrug in response.
"Thorian? What is that, exactly?" Tali inquired, her voice perked in interest.
"It's an indigenous life-form. ExoGeni was studying it." Leave it to shady companies to always find a way to get everyone killed all in the name of science. Shepard asked her where she could find this Thorian but the young woman said she wouldn't be able to say as long as the geth were around—another person tasking them with ridding the settlement of the machines. She believed that the geth ship that had attached itself to ExoGeni was powering the energy field and without getting rid of it, they wouldn't be getting out of there any time soon.
"Here, take my ID. This should get you past any locked doors." She handed the card to the Commander and as they turned to leave, they were set upon by a pack of varren—ferocious beasts that humans compared to 'dogs', originating from the krogan world Tuchanka, and like everything that lived there they were savage. Whoever was the genius who decided to take them off-world must have lived to regret it as these hardy animals could survive about all environments and reproduce anywhere. Shepard tossed a grenade towards those furthest away and he let off rounds into the ones nearing him with snapping jaws. Tali turned out to be extremely proficient with a shotgun, and whether it was varren or a geth, when something approached her, the firing of her weapon met its target and resulted in an explosion of sorts in the form of guts (or synthetics in the case of the geth). When all the varren lay dead they found their way into ExoGeni through a door on the opposite end, heading up endless rounds of staircases and tunnels, ready to dispatch of any geth that would dare cross their path.
To everyone's surprise they ended up coming across a rather infuriated krogan attempting to retrieve information from ExoGeni's virtual intelligence, who charged at them only to fall dead at Shepard's feet. "ExoGeni Corporation reminds all staff that the discharging of weapons while on company property is strictly forbidden," The VI politely voiced. With the ID on Shepard's person it recognized her as 'Research Assistant Elizabeth Baynham'.
"What information was the last user attempting to access?" The Commander inquired.
"Fetching data. The previous user was attempting to access details on the study of Subject Species 37, the Thorian." It seemed that Elizabeth Baynham had been correct in her initial assumption that the geth were after the Thorian. It had to be the only thing of worth here. She commanded to be told everything the krogan had and the only relevant information it repeated was that an observation post at Zhu's Hope had been inactive for quite some time.
"what does Zhu's Hope have to do with the Thorian?"
"Species 37 is located within the substructure of the Zhu's Hope outpost," the program answered. He glanced to Tali whose mask was turned in his direction.
"Do you think the colonists know?" Garrus once more shrugged in response.
"Tell me everything you know about the Thorian," Shepard demanded.
"The Thorian is a simple plant life-form that exhibits a sentient behavior uncommon with other flora. Through dispersion and the eventual inhalation of spores, it can infect and control other organisms, including humans. The Zhu's Hope control group has yielded interesting results. Before sensors went offline, almost 85% of all test subjects were infected." Control group! It was all just some experiment, and he hoped that the colonists had agreed to it but that skeptical side of him told him not to be so stupid.
"Are you saying ExoGeni knew it's people were getting infected?" It seemed Shepard was thinking the same as him.
"It was deemed necessary to assess the true potential of Species 37."
"No wonder they were behaving so strangely," he grunted.
"Your pilot should be warned," Tali said, clearly thinking of the others who were bound to have returned to the Normandy by now.
"Joker. Come in, Joker," the Commander attempted through her comm, "damn it. That field's blocking us."
"We need to drop that field and get back to Zhu's Hope," Garrus insisted causing the human to nod in agreement. Dropping the field ended up being a bit more difficult than one would have originally thought. Through the use of enormous mechanisms Tali referred to as, 'claws', the field was being powered by the geth ship itself and they didn't have nearly significant firepower on hand to provide enough damage to get the claws to release. They had to look for another alternative, and in their search, they came across countless geth—including two strange ones who were bowing before an odd glowing orb that they had set up in a small room, as if practicing a religion.
"the geth blur the line between organic and synthetic life. It's natural to assume they seek understanding from a higher power," Tali had said once they had killed the two and he'd asked her about their peculiar behavior. They found their solution in a rather large chamber but it had been swarmed with geth. Garrus had let loose with his assault rifle, briefly pausing to set off a sabotage on a shock trooper and to overload the shields of another. Tali continually hopped out of cover to fire with her shotgun, used a damping on one geth and hacked one near the back that caused it to begin shooting at its own comrades. The Commander was glowing blue in a barrier, her biotics—dark energy generated from element zero nodules in her body tissue—flaring in the use of a lift that set geth adrift midair, which Garrus quickly terminated, as well as multiple throws at any that began to come to close as she stormed into the throng, her gun a blaze. Once all the geth lay dead, including a destroyer who had tried to rush the Commander, she managed to use the controls of a shuttle bay door to dismember one claw—which thankfully, took the rest of the ship with it.
"I hope that ship was full of those geth bastards," Tali's voice was low as she spoke.
"Keep your guard up. There still might be a few geth inside the base," he told her.
"I repeat, Normandy to shore party. Are you reading? Anyone there? Normandy to shore party. Commander, talk to me!" Joker's voice was staticky through their comms originally, before eventually clearing up and coming in full effect.
"Is that you, Joker? What's going on over there?"
"We're in lockdown here, Commander. Something happened to the colonists. They're banging on the hull, trying to claw their way inside the ship. They're freaking out!" Something told Garrus that Joker was more worried about any damage done to the ship rather than his own person.
"They can't do any real damage. We're on our way back, just hold your position," she responded. With the energy field down, they were able to escape the facility through the entrance they had originally seen and they found Miss Baynham waiting for them. Before they went any further Shepard had required answers from her, which she had relented and gave. According to Elizabeth, the Thorian was located beneath Zhu's Hope and had unique mind control capabilities which was what ExoGeni and undoubtedly Saren was interested in. Joker chimed in once more to warn them of geth heading their way, and the four of them piled back into the Mako to head back to Zhu's Hope.
It took Shepard a few attempts before she was able to fully turn the vehicle around and once again it was a very bumpy and jerky ride (Garrus had made the decision to attribute it to the 50,000 year-old skyway rather than the Commander's driving) and every couple stretches they came into contact with the forces of geth that Joker had warned them about. As they neared the area where they had originally come in contact with the ExoGeni scientists and researchers, they once again heard their radio chatter—specifically in the form of a woman asking for help.
"That's my mom. Stop! Stop the rover!" Lizbeth shouted and Shepard immediately yielded causing his head to once again smack against the protruded roof. As soon as we get back on the Normandy, I am fixing you. He shot daggers at the piece of metal while rubbing at his forehead plates, as if he could somehow scare it into submission. In the meantime, Lizbeth had run from the Mako and down the slope towards the space that held the group of people.
"We could keep going," He muttered aloud, glancing to see the Commander already moving to get out of the vehicle.
"Get used to it, Garrus," she answered with a hint of droll.
"Yes, Commander," he breathed and followed her lead with Tali close behind.
He didn't know how she'd done it. Really, it shouldn't have worked. He'd had his pistol ready, prepared to take the shot the moment he undoubtedly saw coming, all of his C-Sec training preparing him for the standoff that would only end in civilian casualty unless he, a security personnel made sure it never got that far. "Commander?" He quietly asked.
"Hmm?" She kept her attention on the task at hand, driving the Mako (which definitely needed her full attention) but still nodded for him to speak freely.
"How did you know that would work?"
"With Jeong?" She clarified, briefly looking back at him which caused her to swerve, their bodies jostled. Perhaps it would be better to ask her later when there wasn't the risk of her driving them off the side of the road and plummeting to their death. He opened his mouth to tell her not to bother, when she continued. "It was clear Jeong was a business man—a sad attempt of one, mind you. His only interest was saving his own hide, which meant looking good for his superiors. He wasn't a killer, and he clearly didn't have the stomach for wiping out a colony, no matter how small, so it wasn't hard to see that he just needed a little added incentive to do the right thing."
"Right thing as in 'milk it for all it's worth'," he surmised. She gave a slight laugh, glancing back once more in surprise over his use of the human expression.
"Exactly." When they'd gone after Lizbeth, they'd found the researchers in quite a debacle as the head ExoGeni Feros researcher, Ethan Jeong, had received orders to purge the colony, ExoGeni clearly trying to bury their dirty secrets before they could be uncovered, not unremorseful to the lives that would be lost. Jeong was on the verge of a massacre, him and his guards being the only ones with weapons they would have slaughtered the other researchers who were apposed to it. Somehow though, Shepard had been so nonchalant when she's spoken to him, saying things such as the 'inherent potential' in the colony and the 'promotional opportunities' things that had of course gotten Jeong's attention. He came around quite quickly to this idea of thinking, the only problem being the colonists back at Zhu's Hope who were under control of the Thorian. They came to the conclusion that if they, Shepard, Tali, and himself, killed the Thorian the colonists would be freed from its control, and that was exactly what they were on their way to do.
"Commander!" Tali exclaimed, causing the woman to whirl back just in time to hit the brakes before she slammed into the closed shutter. Garrus was prepared this time for the momentum and ducked his head, only he must have miscalculated trajectory or something as without the force of contact, he flew straight out of his seat nearly landing in the laps of Shepard and Tali.
"Easy there, Garrus," the Commander laughed while Tali emitted a surprised, 'keelah'.
"Sorry," he muttered mortified and abashed while trying to right himself as quickly and gracefully as possible. He witnessed the look exchanged between the human and quarian followed by quiet chuckles. You're not going to live this down any time soon.
"We'll get out here," Shepard said, regaining her composure and military-leader mentality.
"Look," came Tali's voice once they were out of the Mako, turning their attention to some strange grey creature curled up just in front of the panel to open the shutter. Shepard stepped towards it, their weapons raised as well as her own and as soon as she reached a certain proximity it unfolded itself. It was humanoid in nature but resembled more of a mutilated and rotting corpse, lacking any eyes and at the end of each finger were long, thick claws. It ran at her, arms flailing and she let off a round into its head. Surprisingly, it kept coming, causing them all to fire until it crumbled in a pool of greenish bile.
"What was that creature?" he questioned in disgust. "It certainly wasn't human." The Commander merely shook her head in response, perplexed.
"No hitting the colonists, even if the Thorian makes them fire on us," her voice had become adamant and authoritative, along with the look in her eyes. "That's what the gas grenades are for." The Baynhams had come with an alternative to killing the colonists, they had provided them with a nerve agent that could be equipped to their grenades, one that would only affect those whose nervous systems were already weakened due to Thorian spores.
"Very well, Commander. Let's go," he said as she handed him a couple. When the shutter opened it revealed that the bay they had originally started out from, was filled with the grey life-forms. All folded up, all motionless and inactive. The ones furthest at the back jumped to their feet first and began their strange quick trod in their direction. Opening fire, they found that they were quite durable as even after a couple slugs were in one, they still moved as if they hadn't been affected. Garrus let loose with his assault rifle, but found he wasn't getting the amount of damage he'd prefer. Taking the sniper rifle from his back, he aimed it and couldn't help but feel an assurance as it fell into place against his shoulder—his eye syncing up with the scope. His finger laced around the trigger and he aimed, hitting his target. The head burst open, the body collapsing—High Explosive Rounds were the way to go. The 'creepers' continued as one fell, another 'awakened' and took it's place in the throng. The Commander released some throws and lifts that seemed to also be quite effective. Before long the bay was slick with green muck but Garrus' shields along with Tali's and the Commander's were fizzling.
He looked around to see the damage was being done by a group of colonists, hunkered down near the elevator, firing at them.
"Let's move!" Shepard yelled, her arm flinging out as she lit herself in a barrier and then sprinted head on. She tossed out a couple of the grenades and with a flash they released the toxin that caused the colonists to drop to the ground—alive but incapacitated. They were met by the same resistance back in the colony. A couple more hordes of the strange creatures along with the humans who fired at them, their minds no longer their own. Tali and Garrus took care of the creepers while Shepard zipped around knocking the colonists out with the gas grenades. She was determined to keep them all alive, but it was a dangerous task as she kept having to run straight into open fire, continually re-applying her barrier. He didn't know much about biotics, especially when it came to them with humans, but he believed that wouldn't last long.
The three of them met back up, taking cover behind one of the buildings. They were at the last stretch, the controls to the cargo blocks were just past them and underneath those blocks was the entrance to the Thorian's lair. Shepard was panting, her omni-tool raised to apply medi-gel. Her left arm had a gash on it, red soaking through armor that had been shot clean through.
"Your shields down?" It was a stupid question, of course they were down seeing as she'd been shot. She nodded all the same though.
"It's just a graze," she assured. "but my amp's burning, take out the last of those…things and I'll be ready." He nodded, leaning out of cover to fire his rifle. Bullets whizzed past him, as well as the stray one that managed to hit his shields but always in a non-vulnerable location—these colonists still weren't the best shots. A bunch of creepers attempted to swarm them, he fired as quickly as possible so they wouldn't be overwhelmed but he could feel his weapon continually climbing towards overheating. The last one as it got close, he hit it with the butt of his gun and once it fell down, Tali finished it off. Shepard flew out then, moving in a circular motion around the colonists that were left, sheltered behind some crates. There was a flash and the humans collapsed, the gunfire silencing. Garrus took the controls while Tali went to make sure Shepard was alright, keying for the cargo to be moved.
The crane did as it was told, and it revealed a large opening with stairs leading downward. He took the liberty of scouting the first couple feet but then stopped to wait for the others. Tali came next, followed shortly by Shepard with the announcement that Fai Dan, the colony leader, had taken his own life. They started deeper into the tunnels, Garrus finding an odd stench in the air—it reminded him of mold and decay. "All right," he said while trying to become adjusted to the smell. It was becoming stronger and a light was brightening ahead of them. "We just need to find this creature and determine what it…." He couldn't think as they entered the large cavity of stone architecture. "—what it…," he repeated, his mind fumbling for a coherent thought. His mandibles had flared and they stayed that way for much longer than should have been physically possible. Before them was something of enormous mass. It was bundles of oddly colored tendrils of varying sizes and shapes, alien in nature (to a degree he had never fathomed). It somewhat resembled if an elcor and hanar had a love-child that then was mutated beyond all recognition and grew to massive size. "This was not covered by my training manuals." It was the first fully formed sentence he could think to say, his head still very much wrapped in disbelief and shock.
"Keelah!" Tali was exclaiming with an awe-ridden breath.
"that does not look like any plant I've ever seen." The Commander was wide-eyed, the attempt at calculations and planning going on inside her head, evident on her face. "This may be…problematic." That was when the dangling parts closest to them (also the thinnest compared to the rest of it) started to squirm as liquid dripped and an opening atop spat out a green asari—green!
"Invaders!" her voice bellowed as she stared at them menacingly and undaunted. "Your every step is a transgression. A thousand feelers appraise you as meat, good only to dig or decompose. I speak for the Old Growth, as I did for Saren. You are within and before the Thorian. It commands that you be in awe!" What is happening? I'm a C-Sec officer, what am I doing here? It was at this moment that Garrus truly realized just how unqualified he really was for what was occuring. Unqualified? Who would be qualified for this! One thing was plain though, if he lived through this no one would ever believe him.
"You gave something to Saren. Something I need." When the Commander spoke, that stern and formidable tone had returned to her voice and her face had become hard and unfazed. Is she not seeing what I'm seeing? How is she so calm? He glanced in Tali's direction for validation of his scrambled mind but her helmet made her impossible to read.
"Saren sought knowledge of those who are gone. The Old Growth listened to flesh for the first time in the Long Cycle. Trades were made. Then cold ones began killing the flesh that would tend the next cycle. Flesh fairly given!" Garrus pushed past the panic inside and forced himself to focus on the words that were being exchanged, to understand their true meaning. Okay, knowledge of those who are gone—the Protheans. Saren made a trade. Cold ones have to be the geth. "The Old Growth sees the air you push as lies! I will listen no more!"
"I won't let you keep your thralls. Release them," Shepard took a step forward, her eyes aflame. "Now!"
"No more will the Thorian listen to those that scurry. Your lives are short, but have gone on too long. Your blood will feed the ground and the new growth!" This isn't good, he thought just as the asari procured a shotgun. Garrus' instincts immediately took over, and he used a Sabatoge on the weapon that kept it from firing, allowing the Commander to take her out. From behind they heard the strange sounds of the creepers encroaching.
"Look for a weakness!" Shepard yelled as she used a Lift. They'd shot through all those that had begun to surround when Tali called out.
"Over here, Commander! Definitely something different in this area." Stretching out from the wall was a large, pulsating node that was attached to the Thorian. They started shooting but this seemed to only waken more of the creepers, causing them to swarm. Garrus threw down one of the grenades without thinking, only to be pleasantly surprised when the gas caused them to explode. He added his own slugs to the node and seemed to burst within, turning black in color as a horrifying screech sounded.
"We've stung it! I'm sure of that. We need to find more of these…things," he declared to the nods of agreement from the two women.
"Come on, let's hur—," The Commander began only to stop as she released a sigh and rolled her eyes. Coming towards them was another green asari and more of the Thorian's creepers. "It's never easy, is it?" she huffed before the three of them threw themselves into the fray.
The sixth neural node they fired upon was the one that did it. The tendrils had become unattached and with it the Thorian fell to its death. Serves it right to spend its life hanging over a chasm. The three of them seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief, it had become quite tedious taking out creeper after creeper, who had managed to get far too close for Garrus' liking on multiple occasions. His armor was stained with the green vomit they expelled, which while it burned straight through shields thankfully didn't do the same with his garb. The odd green asari had also been tiresome as they continually kept reappearing (whether through regeneration or production he didn't know) and using biotic throws that toppled you. The only slightly amusing thing had been the Commander's frustration over it as she was the one who seemed to always be targeted with it. Shepard's face changed to one of alert which nearly made Garrus groan at the realization that this undoubtedly meant they weren't doubt. He followed her line of sight to see she was looking to one of the pods that lined the walls, only this one was moving as if something was trying to wrangle free.
The sac opened, and out tumbled a violet-skinned asari—something far less abnormal. "I'm free," she said the words quietly at first, as if testing to see if they were true. "I'm free!" her voice rose to an exclamation as she looked to the three of them. "I—I suppose I should thank you for releasing me."
"Is everything alright? Are you hurt?" Garrus commended the Commander for that being the first thing she asked.
"I am fine. Or I will be, in time. My name is Shiala. I serve—I served Matriarch Benezia. When she allied herself with Saren, so did I. Benezia foresaw the influence Saren would have. She joined him to guide him down a gentler path. But Saren is compelling. Benezia lost her way."
"Are you saying Saren can control minds?" Shepard's tone was alarmed and Garrus felt his mandibles tighten at the suggestion.
"Benezia underestimated Saren. As I did. We came to believe in his cause and his goals. The strength of his influence is…troubling." Shiala's words did not soothe him.
"She tried to manipulate Saren, but in the end her plan backfired," Tali simplified and Shiala nodded.
"Asari Matriarch's are among the most intelligent and powerful beings in the galaxy. How could one fall under Saren's control?" This information was casting a bleak outlook in Garrus' mind and based on Shepard's expression, the same for her. Shiala went on to tell them that Saren had an enormous ship called Sovereign which he could use to indoctrinate people to his will. She said that she'd been a willing slave to Saren who needed her biotics to communicate with the Thorian and that he then offered her in trade.
"Saren's pretty quick to betray his own people." Shepard folded her arms tightly across her chest in an irked fashion.
"He was quick to betray the Thorian, too. After he had what he wanted, he ordered the geth to destroy all evidence of its existence. Saren knows you are searching for the Conduit. He knows you are following his steps. He attacked the Thorian so you could not gain the Cipher."
"What's the Cipher? And why did Saren need it?" Shiala's answer stemmed from the beacon on Eden Prime that had given Saren and Shepard visions. The visions were apparently meant for a Prothean mind which meant that they were unclear and unable to be comprehended to a turian and human. The Thorian had watched and studied the Protheans when they'd been alive 50,000 years ago, and 'consumed' those that died—they were a part of it.
"So, the Thorian taught Saren to think like a Prothean? How?" Shepard intently asked while a chill crept up Garrus' spine. He didn't quite like where this was going.
"The Cipher is the very essence of being a Prothean. It cannot be described or explained. It would be like describing color to a creature without eyes. To understand, you must have access to endemic ancestral memory. A viewpoint spanning thousands of Prothean generations. I sensed this ancestral memory—the Cipher—when I melded with the Thorian. Our identities merged; our minds intertwined. Such knowledge cannot be taught: it simply exists," Shila spoke solemnly.
"I need that knowledge to stop Saren!"
"There is a way," the asari's voice grew quieter, Garrus deciphering uncertainty in her tone. "I can transfer the knowledge from my mind to yours, as I did with Saren." Oh no. Garrus opened his mouth to voice his own concerns, he didn't think this was the smartest (or safest) plan but the Commander had already nodded in approval. "Try to relax, Commander." Shiala stepped towards Shepard and he was suddenly reminded of Sha'ira on the citadel. What is with asari and the Commander? "slow, deep breaths," she told her calmly while the woman's eyes fixated on the human before her. "Let go of your physical shell." Shepard's eyelids fluttered closed, her head nearly bowing as she exhaled and her stance slightly softened. "Reach out to grasp the threads that bind us, one to another. Every action sends ripples across the galaxy. Every idea must touch another mind to live. Each emotion must mark another's spirit. We are all connected. Every living being united in a single, glorious existence. Open yourself to the universe, Commander. Embrace eternity!"
With that last exclaim the asari's eyes turned all black as the pupil swallowed the entire eye—they began rapidly moving in a synchronized motion with the eyes of the Commander whose also were dancing beneath her closed lids. Garrus and Tali both studied Shepard's face, the way that it was creasing some moments as if in pain, her brow furrowing, tightening, and she flinched. Her body gave unconscious shudders and jerks as if what ever she was witnessing and being succumbed too was extremely unpleasant. In the back of his mind Garrus couldn't help but see the contradiction in that as melding with an asari had always been described as one of the most euphoric things one could experience but the Commander's reactions showed that this meld was anything but.
Just like the snap of a ripcord Shiala's eyes returned to normal and Shepard's flashed open. They both stood there in silence for a moment, whatever they had just witnessed washing over the both of them. "I have given you the Cipher, just as it was given to Saren. The ancestral memories of the Prothean's are a part of you now."
"Are you alright?" Garrus inquired of the Commander. He was briefly tempted to reach out and place a hand on her shoulder, she seemed a bit unsteady on her feet, but he thought better of it. "What just happened?"
"I saw…something. It still didn't make any sense." Her response sounded distant.
"You have been given a great gift: the experience of an entire people. It will take time for your mind to process this information."
"We should get you back to the ship, Commander. Medical needs to know about this," he told her.
"I am sorry if you have suffered, but there was no other way. You needed the Cipher. In time, it will help you understand the vision from the beacon." Before they could completely leave Shepard had to decide what to do with Shiala. When asked, the asari said she wished to help the colonists due to the role she played in their suffering. This response must have pleased the Commander as she let the asari leave with her life. Back up on the colony, the colonists themselves had returned to normal with the death of the Thorian. Shepard had managed to keep them all alive, with the exception of Fai Dan, and the group of researchers on the skyway had made their way to Zhu's Hope. There was declarations of gratitude, many people attempting to stop the Commander to thank her for help and to speak with her and being the kind woman she was, she gladly did so but Garrus could see strain on her forehead and temples—the Cipher had taken a toll and she needed time to rest and recover, something it was clear she wasn't about to get.
Kaidan, Ashely, and Wrex joined them from the Normandy. Wrex once again complained over having missed the fun as Tali launched into great detail telling them what they had discovered at ExoGeni and then the encounter with the Thorian. Garrus didn't listen though, he continued to watch the Commander for any sign of distress, any indication that she was reaching her limit. He was beginning to become uneasy as she persisted to speak with each individual in the line that had formed around her. This couldn't be healthy, she was one person and she needed some space—that was clear to him, why couldn't it be clear to all these other people?
Finally, he could take it no more. He went to interject, to tell the humans to release her but just as he neared them, she turned to him, setting that grey gaze on him. Her eyes conveyed a message—a warning. Don't you dare, they said. It was as if she said the words aloud to him. She hadn't done this for praise, she wasn't listening to their appreciations out of vanity, she was still serving them. They needed to feel that they had been heard—by the Alliance, by the council even now that she was the first human Spectre. She was showing each person that they were valued and important to her. As long as there were people needing something from her, the Commander was going to give as much of herself as was physically and mentally possible, no matter the state she was in. Garrus found it extremely honorable and he admired her for it, something he was freely able to admit within to himself—but it also, pissed him off.
A/N:
So this chapter ended up being much longer than I had originally thought it would...oh, well-Feros done! Hopefully the other missions won't be so long and I hope it didn't turn out boring.
-ES