Authors note: I'm happy to have this chapter out of my life...don't get me wrong I like it the content is fine but wow...I had such a tough time figuring out how to write this and not regurgitate the game. Feros really isn't a spectacular mission anyway but I went a different direction and follow someone else. Its a little shorter than the rest of my chapters but I think y'all will enjoy it.

Ipander: I know you've been patiently waiting for this. Sorry it took so long.

Thank you for all the reviews, favorites, and follows. Please enjoy Chapter Eight: Feros.

Mass Effect
"Foreign Relations"

Chapter Eight: Feros

Feros was lush and green, and at one point, a thriving Prothean metropolis. Nearly 2/3s of the planet was covered in crumbling Prothean ruins with numerous skyscrapers reaching far into the sky, all connected by a series of skyways. But it wasn't always. If the archaeologists and anthropologists were to be believed, who've spent enormous amounts of time on the planet studying the ruins and barely scratched the surface, Feros had been inhabited for over 100,000 years and used to be very cold. From the way the Protheans had constructed certain buildings and the aqueduct systems told scientists that the climate required some extra measures to get fresh water to the cities. Feros' climate had warmed some allowing for dense vegetation at ground level below the buildings and skyways.

Zhu's Hope was a colony, if you could call 300 people a colony, set up in a tall stable skyscraper that seemed to be at the center of what was left of the metropolis. There really wasn't much to the colony, just a connection of prefabs and repurposed ruins along the skyway and closer to the ExoGeni science base.

The colony had been attacked repeatedly by Geth which, until Sidda showed up, was a complete mystery since Zhu's Hope had no tactical value or resources that the Geth would need. It was Saren, there was something on this planet that he wanted and judging by his behavior so far he was hunting Prothean relics. Whatever the Conduit was it had to be Prothean and everything was beginning to show the Reaper theory was true.

Cerrus didn't like Zhu's Hope and it wasn't because it was a human colony, something was off about this place he just couldn't put his finger on it. The people, the vibe, hell, even the buildings were making him very uncomfortable. It may have sounded odd to anyone else but Garrus confirmed it also before he took off with Sidda and Wrex on a safari across the skyway but this place smelled strange.

Sidda left Cerrus in charge of helping the colonists clean up from the attacks and prepare for any others. Zhu's Hope was a mess, its defenses were in shambles and guarded by civilians, no power, no water, and very little food. Tali was a big help, after a lifetime in the Flotilla she could jury rig anything and make it work and Liara and Kaidan were proving useful as well helping tend to any wounded.

Cerrus couldn't shake the feeling that something on this planet was very, very wrong. It didn't thrill Ashley that Sidda left him in charge but he was there to do a job not win a popularity contest. He may not have been the most agreeable person in the galaxy but when it came to doing a job he did it, grudgingly maybe, but he did it. No matter his views or feelings on humans he recognized when innocent people were suffering and the protector in him trumped his racism. He'd already argued with the Chief twice about moving supplies from the Normandy to the colony and swore that if he had to do it a third time he'd wring the scrawny Hispanic's neck.

Cerrus moved through Zhu's Hope's center compound keeping his eyes open trying to get himself settled. It really didn't help that the Humans here were even less keen on seeing him then he was at the seeing them. Arcelia was especially hostile toward his 'help', another Human with a grudge against his kind. It wasn't like his didn't share the distain but he bit his tongue and did what Sidda had asked and helped rebuild the colony's basic support.

With the exception of the grudging truce and still very shaky alliance he had with Sidda the only Human on board he didn't want to outright kill was Kaidan. The Biotic was quiet, did his job, and for the most part he only spoke when something needed to be said. Dr. Chakwas was another that he didn't mind but he could count on one hand how many times he'd actually spoken to her outside of helping soothe his burns. On the other hand, Joker pushed his patience farther than anyone ever dreamed and Ashley…Ashley he'd just as soon drop off a cliff but he'd settle for the Skyway.

His current saving grace was Tali. Liara was a sweet young Asari maiden but she was far too naïve for his taste and he was floored that Nov hadn't given up his endless chase for the Commander when presented with Liara. Tali may have been young but she was smart and resourceful. He truly enjoyed being around her. He looked her up and down as he rounded the corner, she had offered to help with the power situation and honestly she was the perfect person to fix it. She was on her knees in the dirt intently working on the main power junction. The Quarian had been jury rigging stuff for most of her life and this was no different. The conduit she was working on hummed to life and he heard her give it a pleased grunt.

"Nice job, Tali." He praised and she looked up at him as she snaked her small hand inside the exposed junction.

"Hmm?" she replied confused as to what he meant then quickly connected the dots. "Oh, thanks…I took one of the Mako's spare power cells; it was close enough to the older system they're using. It should make it easier when they find more."

Cerrus nodded impressed with her knowledge; honestly he should have expected that. Tali could fix damn near anything, the one person he'd ever met that could give Nov a run for his money. "At least it's one problem fixed. This colony's a mess." He said offering his right hand to help her up from the ground.

Tali accepted his hand and Cerrus easily hauled to her feet. "Still leaves them without water. I don't know what the problem is but I know I can't fix it from here." She stated brushing the dirt from her clothing and looked up at him, there was something bothering him and she could see it.

"What's wrong?" she asked and Cerrus sighed.

Cerrus looked down at her then over his shoulder scanning the colony quietly observing. "Something's not right here, Tali."

Tali looked up at him then over to what he was looking at then back to him. "What?" she asked and the Turian sighed sounding frustrated.

"I don't know…I can't put my finger on it." He stated with a frustrated growl. He'd gone soft surrounded by Humans and Asari, he missed the Lante and the highly trained and attuned people he'd worked with for so long. What was it about this place? "It looks wrong, smells wrong, feels wrong…I don't know what it is."

Tali had to agree with him, not merely to make him feel better but she noticed the odd behavior of the colonists too. "Yeah…people are acting strange…even for humans." She stated and he snorted.

"Sounds like something I'd say." He muttered and she giggled.

Tali didn't have a problem with Humans, she didn't have much experience with them and she'd had more bad experiences with Turians, but she could tell Cerrus' issues were personal. "What do you have against them?" she asked and Cerrus paused with heavy sigh.

"That's a very long story." He said and turned to face her. "I'll tell you some other time."

"Captain." Kaidan called and motioned for him to come over.

"Let me know what you need to fix the water." He said to Tali and walked away toward Kaidan to find out what he wanted.

Tali's eyes lingered on the big Turian as he moved away from her, Fleet and Flotilla stirred her love of Turians long ago but most she'd met didn't treat her as well as Garrus and Cerrus did.

There was still no contact with Sidda's team and that worried Kaidan, Cerrus wasn't as worried about it but it did nag in the back of his mind. She'd left him in charge but he wasn't gonna go charging after her because she wasn't sticking to the timed schedule. If there was one thing he'd learned about Sidda and actually respected was her ability to handle just about anything, it may not have been smooth or without heavy tweaking to the plan but she always figured out how to accomplish the mission.

"Where are you going?" Tali asked as she spied Cerrus walking past her checking the Crossfire as he walked.

The Turian paused and looked over at her and shifted his direction toward her to talk to her. "Going hunting." He stated and Tali watched him switch the ammo mod from his favored armor piercing to a sledge round. "Varren trouble, apparently." He stated though he didn't sound overly impressed with the issue, Varren were a formidable foe but not something that required the skills of an Operative like him. "You wanna come?"

Tali's smile was hidden by her mask and nodded. She wasn't really a hunter but she liked the idea of spending more time with him. "Sure." She stated and he could hear the smile in her voice.

"Alenko," He called as Tali checked out her shotgun the same as he did. "keep an eye on things here, we'll be back. Anything happens let us know."

The tunnels were as unsettling as to be expected, Cerrus moved with purpose practically daring any issues to show themselves. He really didn't like to slink around as he preferred to tackle things head on; there was a very good possibility that loose Geth were down here though most of them chased after the Mako as Sidda sped across the Skyway toward the Geth ship.

"So…I heard you used to have a mate." Tali broached, and Cerrus paused mid step looking down at her unsure how to respond to that. The first response that crossed his mind was the one he usually resorted to, hostility but he stopped himself. He let out an uncomfortable sigh and nodded as he kept moving.

"Yes…I did." He answered and couldn't help but sound uncomfortable.

"What happened?" she asked even though something told her not to press. She wanted to know him better, to understand him and maybe curb the hostility he carried.

Cerrus stopped completely, seven years later it still wasn't easy to talk about. "She died." He stated and turned toward her. "Can we not talk about this now?" he asked but didn't want to make her feel bad about asking him personal questions. "Later…I promise on the Normandy you can ask me anything you want and I'll be happy to tell you but…"

Tali still felt like she over stepped a bound but he never seemed angry or upset to her. She immediately began to stammer and ducked her head away and walked ahead of him. "Sure. No problem." She stated and Cerrus studied her as she moved in front of him.

"I'm distracted enough as it is." He muttered quietly.

Hunting Varren wasn't tough and really didn't take two people to do so, Cerrus easily headshot the Alpha that was giving their hunter so much trouble. He tapped the animal with his right foot satisfied with how dead it was and glanced over to Tali crouched down by a defunct military grade APC that was probably 10 years old. He snorted to the Quarian still scavenging for parts it was probably a habit for her and even more so now that she was on her pilgrimage.

"Finding new toys?" he asked as she gave a triumphant 'ah-ha' to a piece she pulled from the nose of the machine.

"You bring me to the nicest places." She giggled enjoying having the opportunity to flirt with him.

Cerrus made his way over to her with a bit of a swagger as Tali would call it. He scoffed to her statement and shook his head. "Believe me, Tali; I'd take you somewhere a hell of a lot nicer than this."

She liked the sound of that and stood coming to his chest nearly a foot shorter than him. "Hmmm…anywhere specific in mind?"

Cerrus looked down at her. "Silversun Strip has a nice fish place." He stated and Tali giggled.

"Fish? You like fish?" she asked with an obvious smile.

"My favorite." He replied. "You?"

Tali collected the bulky components under her arms and shrugged. "As long as it's sterilized." She stated feeling butterflies in her stomach at the idea of going on a date with Cerrus.

"Next time we're on the Citadel it's a date." He said and found that a bit easier then he remembered. Asking Anara out was nerve-racking as hell. He felt the same nerves here but he wasn't nearly as babbly as he was then.

Tali was thankful for the mask that hid the rush of blood filling her cheeks. Cerrus was everything she'd ever dreamed of but she sensed that she needed to be cautious with him; he'd been through enough already even though she wasn't clear on exactly what that was.

While they were down in the tunnels Tali convinced Cerrus to stick around a little longer to see if she could fix the water problem the colony was having. The tunnels weren't safe or secure or even really stable and Cerrus didn't want to be down there, and even Tali didn't want to be down there but she felt completely safe with Cerrus standing guard as she rummaged around the networks of water lines.

Tali sifted through the dirt and rubble trying to access the ancient water line setup by the Protheans over 50,000 years ago. The colonists had figured a way to tap into the intricate system to pump water from Feros' poles but it was old so at some point during the fighting it got switched off, damaged, or just simply malfunctioned. Now, once again she was down in the dirt trying to sort out the problem.

Cerrus kept a watchful eye as the tunnels officially creeped him out. Too many things could go wrong down here, too many ambush sites. His watchful eyes were hidden under the guise of casually leaning against the wall like nothing was wrong.

"This is ingenious really." Tali stated. "The Protheans created such a sophisticated aqueduct system it can draw water from the poles to anywhere on the planet. The fact that it still works is amazing." She added but when she heard nothing from him she stopped talking about her fascination with the system. "Sorry." She said quietly looking up at him.

Cerrus looked down at her sharply not sure why she apologized. "Sorry about what?" he asked and she felt a little nervous at the idea that he tuned her techno babbling out.

"If I'm boring you." She replied.

Cerrus shook his head. "No. No. You're fine. I just don't see what's so damn fabulous about a dead race."

That was a common sentiment. "Hmm… I think it's amazing. If their tech can still function thousands of years later there's hope for us." She said and Cerrus said nothing but understood her point. The Quarians got a bad rap among the galactic community. They created a true marvel but were on the wrong side of it when it backfired. It was bad enough that they were driven from their planet, the only planet that can adequately support their biology, but they were considered the trash of the galaxy. It wasn't fair.

A heavy clunk brought Cerrus off his train of thought as Tali finished working her magic on the water pump. It hummed to life and once more the little Quarian impressed the hell out of him. "There…it's working…until someone breaks it again." She said and Cerrus snorted.

"You are impressive, do you know that?" he stated but his tone wasn't sexual and he didn't even mean it that way. "I thought Cal was impressive when it came to this stuff."

Tali smiled and shrugged. "From what I've heard maybe he is." She replied and collected the power cell and components from the APC again.

Cerrus shrugged a maybe. "At least you're better looking though." He said out loud and slammed his eyes shut with a sigh in response to his own blatantly forward comment that just slipped out. "What do you say we get back to the creepy and strange human colony?"Cerrus stated quickly, barreling past any reaction she may have had to his words.

Tali snorted shaking her head. "You really don't like humans." She commented. She'd heard his compliment but it didn't take a genius to realize that Cerrus wasn't entirely comfortable with flirting so she didn't press him on it.

That was true but it wasn't the reason he said that. "It's not that…just something doesn't feel right." He felt a wave of relief hit him as she either didn't hear his blurted compliment or was kind enough not to twist him further.

She understood his concern and moved past him. "Thank you for the compliment, by the way, it's nice to know I'm better looking than Nov." she stated and Cerrus dropped his head sharply.

"Yep, she heard it." He thought to himself and followed her out.

On the way back through the tunnels Cerrus paused as his keen eyesight noticed someone at the far end of the corridor beside what Tali called the 'maintenance access' tunnel.

"He wasn't there before." Tali stated and Cerrus focused on him but he grunted a response.

Cerrus' suspicious guard went up since this person wasn't there on the way in. He didn't like it. "Get behind me." He stated and Tali didn't argue.

Cerrus moved at a steady pace closer to the man that obviously saw them both coming. He made no attempt to run or attack. His behavior was erratic though, he paced and rubbed his head a few times but aside from that there was nothing overly threatening about him.

"Are you okay?" Cerrus asked but his tone wasn't warm and concerned. It was merely a question that was required of him to ask.

"You're not from the colony…never thought I'd see a Turian and a Quarian here." He stated looking Cerrus and Tali up and down.

"What's your name?" Tali asked looking him up and down as she moved next to Cerrus.

"Ian. Ian Newstead." He stated seeming nice and not a threat but Cerrus didn't trust him, he didn't trust anyone really, but for a guy alone in the tunnels away from the rest of the colony in the middle of a Geth siege acting odd…. trust was not the first thing Cerrus thought of.

"What are you doing down here?" Cerrus asked, not interested in beating around the bush. "Shouldn't you be up with the colony?"

"You don't want to be down here. Trust me." He stated and Cerrus leveled a suspicious gaze to him.

"We have weapons, you don't, why are you down here?" Cerrus asked again as his tone got a little more aggressive.

"You think the colony's safer?" he asked and then screamed in pain as his right hand went to his head. Cerrus put his left hand on Tali's shoulder and pulled her back away from him. Ian doubled over in pain and screamed loudly like he was trying to fight off familiar pain. He started to laugh as the pain subsided. "Oh, that was a good one…very firm."

Tali narrowed her eyes behind her mask and then looked over to Cerrus for a second. "What's wrong with you?" she asked and Ian righted himself.

"Just incurring the master's whip." Ian replied and Cerrus eyed him, even more suspicious now. The way he worded that was worrisome.

"What master?" Cerrus asked quietly, the suspicion in his voice was readily apparent.

"The Geth are a thorn in the side of-…" he began and screamed again but longer this time. Cerrus was trying to figure him out. "It's like running through a thorn bush…" he struggled. "the harder you fight the-…AHHH!"

Cerrus was observing, contrary to popular belief he wasn't just a superior soldier, he was very good at observing behavior. He had a knack for understanding behavior both Turian and alien. That was one reason why he was so good at figuring out when an attack was coming and when someone was lying out their ass. This man was exhibiting behavior that made him nervous and it also gave him insight into why this colony felt so strange.

"Tell us what's wrong." Tali stated feeling helpless and wanting to do something for the man in obvious agony. "We can help you."

"Talk to Fai Dan…" he replied and screamed again then laughed maniacally to ease the pain. "don't trust them though…the master-…" Ian screamed louder and dropped to one knee. He grabbed his temples with both hands and screamed louder just before collapsing to the floor with blood draining from his nose.

Tali looked at Cerrus whose confused expression mirrored her own and she moved next to the collapsed figure activating her Omni-tool to examine him. "He's dead." She said after a minute. "What was that all about?"

Cerrus began to figure this out; Ian exhibited the behavior of extreme psychosis mixed with a little mind control. "We gotta go."

After speaking, or rather listening, to Ian Cerrus finally realized just what wasn't right. They seemed like they were being controlled by something and if that was the case it didn't bode well for the outnumbered members of Sidda's secondary ground team.

"Shepard, do you copy?" he asked but received the same dead air as he had before. After a few more calls there was still nothing. "Joker, do you copy?"

"Go ahead, Captain." Joker replied.

"Raise Shepard if you can, we might have a problem in Zhu's Hope….we're on our way back up. Lock down the Normandy and do it discreetly and quietly."

Cerrus quietly called the team together doing his best not to look even more suspicious then a single Turian in an all human colony already did.

"I think these people are being controlled." Cerrus stated quietly as they were doing their best to stand far from the colonists.

"Controlled by what?" Ashley asked in a tone that was almost a sneer.

"See, that, I don't know yet." He stated

"Then how do you know?"

"Because Tali and I just had a very strange conversation with a colonist down in the tunnels." He said trying to stifle his irritation with Ashley. "These people are definitely being controlled by something…I can feel it."

Ashley rolled her eyes but Kaidan spoke up next. "So what are you thinking, Captain?" he asked. He didn't care that he answered to a Turian, Cerrus knew what he was doing, he wasn't friendly about it but he knew his job.

"I'm thinking we need to incapacitate these people." He replied but aside from kicking the crap out of everyone he didn't know any other way. "Quickly."

"A medium setting on neural shock should knock them out without hurting anyone." Kaidan suggested.

"A stasis field could work too." Liara added.

"Okay," he said with a nod. "Neural Shock and Stasis it is then. Force is a last resort, I don't want to hurt them but do it if you have to."

"Hold on. You're not even sure. You just want to attack these peop-…" Ashley began but felt his big left hand on her upper chest as he sharply pushed her back into the piping she was standing in front of.

"I am tired of this, Chief." Cerrus growled trying to keep his temper in check and not give too much indication that there was a problem to the outside observer. "Do as you are told. Incapacitate them…I don't want to be overwhelmed if I'm right about this."

Kaidan didn't want to land on the negative side of this but the question begged to be asked. "What if you are wrong?" he asked but unlike Ashley, Kaidan's tone was a respectful question.

Cerrus released Ashley but his ire but was still frustrated with her. At least Sidda knew how to listen and in the end they managed to put aside their differences and work together. "Then Shepard will probably kill me and the rest of you have nothing to worry about."

Kaidan and Cerrus made an efficient team, to avoid the Omni-tool cooldown they alternated. Cerrus didn't want to hurt anyone especially since their behavior wasn't their fault. They were going for a quick surprise attack but the damn Salarian merchant let the cat out of the bag and they had a minor skirmish on their hands now.

"Fai Dan, don't do it!" Cerrus shouted leveling his rifle to Fai Dan.

"Drop the weapon." Kaidan added also aiming his pistol at him.

"I can't." he struggled. "The Master says…"

Cerrus saw this going badly. "Don't think about the master, Fai Dan, fight it. Drop the weapon."

Fai Dan's hands shook violently as he aimed the gun at the struggling man. "I'm sorry…we didn't know."

"Don't raise that arm." Cerrus warned as he saw Fai Dan's right arm start to come up. He wasn't going to risk his life or Kaidan's and would shoot him if he had to.

"Fai Dan, drop the gun." Kaidan stated again having the same thought that Cerrus had but Fai Dan didn't heed the warning from either of them.

"I'm sorry." He said again and aimed the gun in one swift motion at Cerrus.

Kaidan squeezed the trigger and sent around into Fai Dan's head. Cerrus glanced over to the Lieutenant impressed with him. "Damn it." He cursed quietly and Cerrus made his way over to Fai Dan's body.

"Nice shot, Alenko." He stated but his compliment rang hollow for the biotic. He didn't like killing and especially since Fai Dan really didn't deserve it.

"Yeah…" Kaidan replied and turned away from Cerrus and Fai Dan's body before returning back the way they came to see if the others needed help.

Sidda surveyed the minor damage to the Zhu's Hope compound as she, Garrus, and Wrex ventured back from their trip across the Skyway. Dr. Baynum and her daughter were the last in as Sidda noticed the remaining colonists bound and unconscious on the floor in the center of the compound. She narrowed her eyes to the idea that Cerrus figured out they were being controlled by the Thorian and took obvious action. Liara and Kaidan were busy making sure everyone was still breathing but it appeared the less lethal approach worked.

Her eyes found Cerrus leaning against the crane console with the best 'too cool for school' expression and body language she had ever seen.

"So I take it you found the problem." She asked and heard a slight snort from him.

The Turians arms remained folded across his chest as Tali worked on the crane to move the wrecked ship. "I found something." He replied. "Ran into someone who was a little…off in the tunnels and his behavior suggested that someone or something had control over people."

Sidda nodded and looked around more than a little surprised with the soldiers powers of deduction. "How many dead?"

"Fai Dan." He replied with a sigh. "He didn't give us much choice. No reason to kill the rest once they were unconscious."

"Well done, Cerrus, I'm impressed." Sidda stated and really was impressed with the anti-human Turians restraint of late.

"That's not to say that some aren't injured…a few resisted…heavily." He added glancing to Kaidan who was tending to Arcelia.

Sidda's attention shifted to what Tali was doing. "Dr. Baynum says the creature is under the colony."

"I figure that they were defending this for a reason." Tali stated.

"You're right," Julia stated. "they put the ship over the entrance to protect it."

"How can a damn plant do this to people?" Sidda asked and the simple answer was: it was sentient.

"The Thorian is an ancient creature…Saren wants it for something, Commander." Baynum stated and Sidda grumbled to the 'no shit, Sherlock' comment.

"Alright, Garrus, Wrex…lets go see what the deal is with this thing." Sidda stated and the trio disappeared down the access tunnel leading to the underbelly of the colony.

Fifteen minutes had passed since Sidda embarked on her search for the Thorian, Cerrus was right, something was controlling the colonists but he never thought of a damn plant being responsible. He got the full low down while listening to Baynum talk to Liara about it all and it was enough to make his head spin, too much science…he was never good with science. Zhu's Hope was relatively quiet even with a few colonists stirring from their impromptu sleep. Cerrus eyed Kaidan as the medic tended to Arcelia. They both missed with neural shock and the feisty woman went after Cerrus with a vengeance causing Cerrus to put render her unconscious with a solid hit from his Crossfire. Kaidan had stepped up and did what needed to be done in putting down Fai Dan. Cerrus would have pulled the trigger just as quickly but Kaidan beat him to the punch.

The peace was interrupted by Sidda all but demanding help in taking care of a damn plant, sounding more like a shriek then a calm request. Not only did she ask for more help but also extra firepower in the form of industrial strength 'Round Up'. While the joke was lost on Cerrus, Kaidan laughed for about 5 minutes and informed his fearless leader in no uncertain terms that the pesticide wasn't in the Normandy's armory. Cerrus and Kaidan leapt to the task and left the rest to keep watch on the colony.

All laughing ceased when Kaidan and Cerrus found an enormous, damn near Normandy sized sentient plant had indeed taken up residence beneath the colony's heart. Kaidan's eloquent 'Holy Shit' was followed up by Cerrus' favorite curse word of 'Fuck' as the fighting commenced. The plan to kill the Thorian boiled down to the basic 'drop it from a great height' by destroying the arms that anchored it in place and let it fall down into the endless pit below.

So the simple plan of find the arms and blow them up was hindered by a green Asari clone, apparently. Cerrus had never seen or heard of a green Asari…too bad Nov wasn't here he'd probably try to charm her into submission. The other hindrance came in the form of creatures that looked like Husks but worse. When they got within melee range the creatures disgustingly vomited out toxic green goo that Kaidan took right in the face not once but twice. Twice he got hit by the stuff but he kept going. The biotic was tough; Cerrus admitted that, tougher than anyone gave him credit for. Disoriented and vomiting up the goop that got into his mouth he nearly shot Cerrus in the confusion but instead of Cerrus being pissed he grabbed him by his armor and helped steady him.

By the time the Thorian fell into the abyss Kaidan could barely walk, he was so disoriented and dry heaving from the idea of the stuff being on him and in his mouth. Wrex was covered in the stuff too but the Krogan was immune to its toxicity. Cerrus had some on the right side of his face but managed to skitter away when Kaidan got hit the first time. The only ones that were clean, to a point, were Sidda and Cerrus. Sidda had the clone's blood on her from the up close kill that she'd used to blow her head off.

"Kaidan, are you okay?" she asked as the medic's hands shook violently as he rummaged through his kit to find the toxin neutralizer that did a good job of stemming most any toxin.

Not in the slightest. "Yeah." He managed in a lie finally finding what he needed to help fix the problem. He hit the button on the end of the pencil sized tube and a long big gage needle appeared. With a growl of pain, disgust, and a stifled dry heave he slammed the needle into his left thigh through the flex part of his armor.

A disgusting sound from the far wall was heard drawing Garrus' attention. "Hey, Sid…" he began and gestured to the 'birth' of what they thought was another damn clone.

"Jesus Christ, not another one." She cursed as the sac dropped an Asari with deep purple skin.

"I'm not gonna be able to sleep for a week, Commander." Garrus stated obviously disgusted by what he's witnessed.

"Kinda reminds me of Krogan births." Wrex stated as the Asari stretched out to her full height.

Garrus groaned. "Yeah, I really didn't need to know that."

As the Asari moved closer to them Sidda raised her rifle. "That's close enough." She stated. "What are you?"

"Please, I mean you no harm." She stated. "My name is Shiala…thank you for freeing me from the Thorian."

"You look like the clone." Sidda questioned as Cerrus took up a defensive position behind Sidda and in front of the still disoriented Kaidan.

"I was given to the Thorian as compensation for what Saren was looking for." She stated and Sidda allowed herself to lower her weapons knowing that the others with her would cover her well enough.

"What did he want?" Sidda inquired.

"A cipher…a way to comprehend the information received from an ancient Prothean beacon." She explained and Sidda studied her trying to figure out if she was lying. "The Thorian is an ancient creature, it's been around for several millennia it sends its spores out to learn and do its bidding and in doing so it absorbed the mind of a Prothean."

"That's what Saren wants with it…" Cerrus stated from behind. "the cipher to translate what's in his head."

"And he left you here?" she asked.

Shiala nodded. "The Thorian gave me the cipher and I gave it to Saren but once he was finished with me he gave me to the creature to do with what it will." She stated. "A clone to work and extend the reach."

"Can you give me the cipher?" Sidda asked and Garrus' head snapped toward her.

"Commander, no." he stated and Sidda waved him off.

"I have the same information Saren does…but I don't understand it." She stated and Cerrus shook his head not liking the idea of trusting her at all.

"I could." Shiala stated and that's when Cerrus had to chime in.

"Why are you helping? You worked for Saren and he left you here. Who's to say it's not a trap to kill us?" Cerrus questioned his tone harsh toward the Asari.

"I followed my mistress, Matriarch Benezia…I was sent with Saren to aid in his search for the Thorian. I never thought Saren would freely, carelessly pass me off after I'd outlived my usefulness." Shiala explained. "Saren has a way of getting people to bend to his will; his ship Sovereign is eerie in that it speaks to you…changes you."

Sidda had made her decision. "Give me the cipher." She stated and the boys didn't like that, not even Wrex.

"Commander, no." Cerrus stated. "She could kill you or hurt you."

"I can't do this without it." She replied her tone indicating that her mind was made up. "Do it."

Cerrus readied his pistol, he didn't care what Sidda said if it seemed that she was in danger he'd take that damned Asari's head off. He felt helpless, all of them did, there wasn't anything to do when Sidda again 'embraced eternity' with an Asari to scramble her mind yet again. Her body went rigid as Kaidan finally made his way to his feet well enough to observe what was happening, it reminded him of the first time they encountered the beacon on Eden Prime. It wasn't a pleasant exchange if the grunts and pained noises from Sidda were anything to go by.

Cerrus gripped his Brawler tighter unsure of what to do. He knew damn well that if she was hurt by something he could have prevented Victus would mount his head on a spike in the CIC. That being said he felt helpless to what he was witnessing. Strangling his pistol grip as Sidda let out a scream and collapsed to the ground unconscious, his ire turned to the Asari he did not trust.

"It's done." She stated breathing hard for doing nothing at all.

"She's alive." Garrus stated as Kaidan slowly moved to do his job.

Cerrus quickly examined the situation and found the only thing that rubbed him the wrong way was the Asari. She couldn't be trusted, an agent of Saren and or Benezia and he wasn't about to leave her to roam the colony, they had enough to worry about if what Baynum said about Exogeni was true. He went with his instincts and fired a shot to her head killing her instantly. It was sudden enough even Wrex jumped and Garrus needed to plucked off the ceiling.

"What the hell!?" Garrus exclaimed. "What'd you do that for?"

Cerrus eyed him, surprised at his fellow Turian, for a Cop he was certain Garrus had better sense than that. "Please tell me you didn't trust her, C-Sec." he stated and Garrus glowered at him. He still had a sense of duty to him and just capping off people wasn't something he had gotten used to just yet.

"Could have warned us…" Wrex muttered. "my ears are ringing now." He stated without an opinion of what Cerrus just did. He was thinking about it too but the Turian beat him to it.

"Let's get her back to the Normandy." Kaidan said and was starting to feel a little better himself but still felt as sick as he'd ever been. He found a new planet he absolutely hated. "I've had enough of this planet." He stated hearing various members snort their agreement. He regretted that he couldn't be the one who gallantly carried Sidda back to the ship, again, this time it was Garrus…and if he wasn't careful someone was gonna have to carry him. He wanted to sleep for a week trying to get all that shit out of his system.