A/N: All right, so we go through Feros and take out the Geth drop ship! Fun times abound with that, I tell you.
So yeah, there is more lampshading on Art's end. You know what I really hate in sci-fi fiction in general? How prone it is to secret experiments. I really don't like it when they do stuff, because I get the idea that it never turns out well. True, it's often more successful and less harmful in real life, but still.
So, anyway, let's get back to Feros. We've still got a second part with which to adventure around, right? So let's go!
Chapter 8: Feros Part 2
As soon as we get past where the barrier used to be, we see Lizbeth standing right by the Mako. Lizbeth obviously knew something about all this. And I don't like that one bit. I forget what her attitude is here, so...
"You're back!" she says. "I ran over to this thing as soon as the barrier went down. I assume this is yours?"
I cross my arms. "You assume correctly, Lizbeth," I reply, putting special emphasis on her name. "You've got a lot of shit to explain!"
The woman steps back a bit, such that her back is now against the Mako. "H-how did you know my name?" she asks.
"We ran into a VI on our way to the drop ship," replies Shepard. "It gave us your name from the ID badge. It also told us things about the Thorian that you were able to hear about before us. It sounds like they were performing some illegal experiments."
Like using humans as a control group, you bitch. I don't know how I managed to keep that inside me, but I know Shepard has to do most of the talking here. My grimace lets my great displeasure known, though. I mean, seriously, who the fuck does ExoGeni think they are?
"Oh..." said Lizbeth, looking down at the ground as she rubbed her chin. "Oh dear..."
"Start explaining," I say, my voice coming out much more hostile than I intended. "Or-!"
Shepard turns to me with a glare in her eyes. "Stand down, Serviceman," she commands.
Oh, shit. That glare is a little freaky. That's what I get for saying stuff out of line... "Yes, Commander," I reply weakly, taking a step back. I can feel everyone else glaring at me in derision. Shit, I let my feelings get the better of me...
Shepard nods and turns to Lizbeth. "Now, what did you know about this?"
"I knew everything," says the ExoGeni worker. "I had to, being a research assistant and all. But... I didn't like what they were doing, either."
Oh? Ah, yes, I remember now! Thanks for that bit of recap!
"That's why I really stayed behind," continues Lizbeth. "I tried to send out a distress signal, but I got cut off by the energy field. And then you came along, and..."
"I see..." says Shepard, crossing her arms. "This looks pretty serious."
Lizbeth shakes her head. "Again, I didn't like this project either," she says. "I actually kind of agree with the serviceman here; it's a lot of shit, if you'll pardon my language."
I raise an eyebrow at this. "Oh," I say, easing up slightly. "Seems you were very vocal about it, then."
"Got me suspended, too," adds Lizbeth.
At this, we all jolt. Me, more violently than the rest. Oh, shit, I should've remembered this! Damn it, my memory is better than this! Well... then again, I don't remember most side quests from many other RPGs anyway, so... I guess I can't be expected to remember everything.
"I'm guessing you'll want to help," says Tali, crossing her arms as we all look at Lizbeth.
The ExoGeni assistant nods at this. "Yes, I would," she says. "Maybe there's something I can do to help. Let me come along."
Shepard nods. "We have hostiles coming here anyway," she adds. "Not the brightest idea to leave an unarmed person here. Come on."
I shudder slightly as Lizbeth says something. I really don't know what she says. I'm just worried about the Mako. We don't have enough room for five passengers in the passenger compartment. And I don't know if the driver's seat allows for a passenger to help manipulate the cannon and the guns. Shit, I don't know what-
I feel Kaidan's hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry," says Kaidan. "She'll likely go into one of the seats in the cockpit."
Oh, okay. "That makes me feel a little better," I say with a slight amount of relief. "All right. Let's do this... I apologize in advance if I scream like a little girl."
Kaidan has to hold in a chuckle at this as we all board the Mako, getting into the shoulder restraints and hoping that all goes well on the way back. At least, I hope it won't be as bumpy as before. 'Cause that would be a major problem. Ah, well. Only two more trips on the Mako and that part of the mission will be over, so I shouldn't be complaining, really.
As we were heading back to Zhu's Hope, we got interrupted by a few radio broadcasts from the bunker that the ExoGeni survivors had come around. Lizbeth asked us to stop by the ExoGeni bunker, and so we got out of that.
And now, here we are, having just gotten here as Jeong moved to give the order to purge the colony and just before Juliana could be taken away by the ExoGeni goons. Now Shepard is standing there, talking down to Jeong. Juliana asked that some people talk to her personally while Shepard took care of that, so Liara and I elected to do that. Well, mostly on Shepard's orders, but still, I'm not one to argue with that since I'm afraid I'll really blow the lid off of everyone's expectations if I talk to Jeong. I realize from what I remember of the game that I'd hate his guts so much he'd be dead in two seconds. Shepard also handed our grenade supply to her when Juliana asked us to bring some grenades with us.
We then walk away from where Jeong and Shepard are throwing metaphorical pies at each other, and then I turn to Juliana.
"What's up?" I ask.
Juliana blinks briefly before resuming her perturbed look. "I'm concerned about the colonists," she says. "I hope you don't plan on killing them."
Liara and I look at each other briefly before turning back to Juliana. "I do not believe we were planning on that, no..." replies the asari first.
"And besides, it's not their fault that ExoGeni decided to do... well, you know..." I reply with a shrug. "If anything, I feel like killing the ExoGeni executives for allowing this to go down as hard as it has."
She nods. "Then please, I think I've found a way to save the colonists," she says. "That's why I need the grenades.."
I nod at this and then present them. "Why?" I ask. "Did you manage to come up with something?"
She nods at this, beginning to tamper with our grenades. "I developed a nerve gas that could be attached," she said. "I had my doubts about some of the things ExoGeni was doing, and I seem to have been right."
I smile at this. "It always pays to be cautious," I reply with a smile.
"So you think this might be able to incapacitate the colonists?" asks Liara.
Juliana nods at this. "Their immune systems are apparently weak," she says. "At least, that's what I can gather from the bits of Lizbeth's research I managed to get my hands on."
Huh, this is different from the game. "You mean you knew something of what the Thorian was?" I ask.
"I knew what it does," replies Juliana. "If I had known ExoGeni was using the colonists as a control group, however, I probably would have taken some kind of action sooner. I sometimes leeched off of what Lizbeth would tell me, anyhow. In hindsight, it was a good idea."
Huh, that detail definitely changed. I know that Jeong was the only one who was supposed to know about the Thorian of the group that had taken refuge in the bunker in the Skyway. That Juliana knew something about the Thorian is a bit of a curveball. That much is for sure. Although, honestly, this is really only the third curveball I've gotten. I'm surprised I haven't run into more curveballs, such as Garrus dying on a mission or something like that. It makes me wonder; how lucky does Shepard have to be?
Well... Nah, luck doesn't figure into it. She's Commander Shepard. In the game, there's the fact that the player character is always more powerful than just about everybody that's around, and that it's always up to the player to do stuff that nobody else feels like doing. And if not, they get the game over screen. It reminds me of when I was playing God of War 3, how I kept on failing on a few select fight scenes. But I kept on getting the feeling that Zeus was supposed to fall. So yeah, the player character by a rule is always invincible. And then in real life, she's just... awesome, I guess. Good leader, very charismatic... It's easy to see how she can convince people with so many conflicting interests to stay on the same ship. So she's a natural-born leader. I guess that works to her advantage. She definitely deserves that first human Spectre thing, too.
So, yeah... Games are a weird thing when your protagonist constantly has to win. And then being pulled into one...
Okay, that went way off topic. Back to what we were talking about...
"I am sure it was," replies Liara. "So hopefully this nerve gas will incapacitate them without killing them?"
"That is what I am hoping will happen," replies Juliana as she finishes tampering with our grenades. "Please, save as many colonists as you can."
I nod at this, taking the grenades back as I look to the older woman. Liara speaks up. "I wonder how negotiations with Mr. Jeong are going at the moment..." she comments.
As if on cue, we hear the sound of weapons coming out, and then a loud bang. I flinch as we turn around, Jeong falling to the ground and his gun clattering to the side. I blink as Shepard breathes in and out, the dead man seeming to stare up at the ceiling.
"Well, that answers that question," I comment offhandedly.
"This is a bad sign..." says Juliana. "This could mean that ExoGeni will pull out of the colony."
I blink at this. Okay, well, there's a bright side to all that. "Good riddance, then," I comment. "They better get the fuck out, then. Unless they want to incur the wrath of the populace for using the colonists as a control group without their knowledge and then trying to purge them when that oh-so-unpredictably went awry."
I feel Juliana's glare on my person almost as soon as I get halfway through my thought. Liara seems to disapprove as well. "Art, why the attitude towards ExoGeni?" she asks.
I shrug. "I dunno, Liara," I reply. "I hate it when people think they can just toy with other people in the name of 'something greater'. Whatever the fuck that means to them."
"Still, it is troubling that you hold such a grudge," she says.
I glance up at her, crossing my arms. Lady, when you've grown up with people constantly mocking your voice you learn to hold grudges really well. Especially when it starts fights with people who really should be more mature than that.
"I don't really care," I reply. "Next time ExoGeni gives me a product? I'm not paying for it. It's as simple as that."
"They could have helped the colonists rebuild," adds Juliana. "You won't give them that, at least?"
"Don't feel like it," I reply, shaking my head.
"Odd for such an optimistic one such as yourself," replies the asari.
"Well, what can I say?" I ask. "Uh... misguided corporations are one of the things I hate the most in this universe. And usually, they don't get to redeem themselves to me. Even if they do decide to play nice for everybody else. I just don't trust things like that. And I probably never will."
With that, I cross my arms and make it clear that I don't want to talk about the subject any more. As such, the two of them remain quiet as Shepard, Tali, and Kaidan all walk over to us.
So I handed my grenades to Kaidan and Shepard. They've got better throwing arms, and Kaidan has biotics, so they'll be in better hands to take care of the colonists. So they have the grenades, meaning that Liara, Tali, and I are left to shoot whatever else comes our way. Well, she doesn't think it'll happen quite like that, but I know better.
We're just getting back to Zhu's Hope on the Mako. Ah, dear, another bumpy ride of stuff. I swear, the Mako is like a Vekoma roller coaster. Looks fun to ride in, but when you step in your head bangs against the restraints thus taking all enjoyment out of it. Fucking Vekoma... I never thought I'd see the day where I'd be comparing a free-roaming vehicle to some European roller coaster manufacturer. And yet, here I am.
As I step off the Mako, I feel myself clutching at my head... yet again. Ugh... I swear to god, I am never boarding that thing again. At least, not while I'm around. Especially since demons are all around that thing. Ugh... Oh, great, another tangent that leads to a lyric from Sweeney Todd. Fucking...
Anyways, we step out, and there's something lying on the ground. Oh, shit, it's our first Thorian Creeper. It's curled up, grey sickly skin shining... wait, do I even want to use that metaphor? No, it's just fuckin' disgusting. All slimy and shit. And like something straight out of a zombie movie. and that thought is both depressing and disgusting. At the same time, miraculously.
I look down on it as everyone else looks at the object as well. We don't really need to talk to show our confusion over what it is. It's disgusting, it wasn't there before, and it's just sitting there... almost as if it's waiting for us to show up. This is not a good sign.
As we slowly approach it, I take out my pistol. Shit, this thing makes me wary. Shepard gives me a glance that I can tell is reproachful, but I gesture back to the hibernating creeper. I stand back a bit, and let the others approach. Just being overly cautious. I'm just being overly cautious... Yes, that is why my heart is beating at the speed of light and why I'm about ready to sweat enough to fill a whole milking bucket. Yeah, it's just caution. Even though I felt this way with my nightmares about Paranormal Activity.
And then, the thing jumps up and uncurls itself... And oh God! I always think that it's going to be easier on my eyes since I've seen the goriness in the game. But no, that apparently makes it worse! God... I guess the fact that games are all pixels has something to do with it. This is just... Ew! This is fucking gross! The muscles... Oh, God, this thing was rated M for a reason, wasn't it? Ugh, God...
As it lumbers towards us, we can all see that it means to harm us, as green stuff... No. No. I am not describing it. For the sake of my sanity, I will not! I take my pistol in my hands and fire almost blindly. And... yep, the gunshots are gorier on these things too. Fortunately, Shepard manages to get her gun and fire at the creeper. And then it falls to the ground dead. And that's gory too.
It's too much. I... I can't possibly be expected to...
"Serviceman, are you all right?" asks Kaidan.
I shake my head, moving to the Mako and taking a few deep breaths. "No," I reply. "I'm not used to gore like that..."
"Neither are we," replies the biotic. "What was that?"
"It seems to be a creatue made by the Thorian," says Liara. "We should be careful."
"Right," says Shepard. "Don't shoot the colonists. These will likely be a much greater threat to us anyway."
We all nod at this. Man, I don't think I need extra convincing to do that...
We advance towards Zhu's Hope afterwards. This is not going to go well...
So Shepard took the initiative to remove one grenade before we enter the colony. We've all agreed that if we see any colonists, we're going to incapacitate them first and then take on the creepers. It's actually a really smart move; get the colonists out of the way so they can't hurt us and we won't accidentally shoot them, and then take out the gore-fest stuff.
All right. Let's do this.
We reenter Zhu's Hope, and almost immediately we come under fire from a group of colonists over to the side. We duck behind cover very quickly, and I actually jump behind cover so hard I feel myself bounce off of it briefly. I look back to Shepard and then to the colonists as Shepard pulls the pin on the grenade and lobs it at the colonists. We wait for a few seconds as I change to a shotgun and we're satisfied when the grenade goes off. I see a gas come out of some color... wait, colored gas, it's toxic! Or, it should be anyway. Whatever it is, it's causing the colonists to slump down unconscious. It... seems to have worked, actually.
All right, colonists saved! Now... to the creepers.
I turn just as a few of them rise. I see one already heading for us. Wait... Oh, shit, there are tons more creepers here than there were in the game! Shit! It's like a miniature army!
Okay, Art, focus. And just pretend this is all pixellated. Okay, yeah, that's it. Pixellated will work.
I bring my shotgun up and start shooting at the Thorian creepers. I manage to shoot one's head off... and for some reason the gore isn't so bad this time aound. I see Tali do the same across the way, with Kaidan firing a biotic singularity into the crowd. All right, I think I can get used to this. Just focus Art. There are lots of creepers, and they won't go down by you thinking about it.
With this, I bring my gun back up and suddenly notice a creeper getting close to us, green vomit already flowing out of its mouth. I shoot it as fast as I am able, but it kind of misses. Fortunately, Shepard had brought out her pistol and was able to finish the thing before it could get to close. All right, no time to dwell on that. I return to the task at hand, seeing another creeper and shooting it as I see a biotic blast get charged from Liara, who is kneeling right next to me. The combined force takes it down.
Wow, I'm getting pretty good at combat. This is most interesting indeed.
Eventually, we manage to thin out the creepers in the room, such that we all manage to finish the last one off. Nodding to each other, we advance in the colony, Shepard preparing another grenade with the gas as we advance along.
After we wander past some part of that downed ship, we hear gunfire and duck down. Oh, hey, my shields depleted somewhat. Right, whatever. Shepard takes a look, and... oh, shit, one of the creepers is already standing up.
I look to Shepard, but she's already throwing the grenade. And if I remember correctly, she's made the right choice seeing as how the anti-Thorian gas is an instant one-hit kill for the creepers as well. If that detail carried over, that is. I'm sure it did, though.
And... I was right; as the grenade goes off, the creeper simply... dissolves? Huh, that's an odd detail. Kind of disturbing, but hey, what can you do? The colonists fall unconscious again, and then more creepers rise up all at once. Hm, I'm sensing a pattern here. The Thorian really is trying to stop us, I see. And it really is pulling all the stops to do so. Sentient plants are wierd like that. Especially when they have mind-control abilities...
Well, it shouldn't be too different from last time. So I bring up my shotgun and shoot a creeper in the head. And it disintegrates pretty quickly. Fun times abound with that, I tell you. Fun times abound. We fire shots and biotic blasts into the creepers, a few get close enough to almost vomit on us, but we manage to hold them back pretty efficiently. One actually managed to vomit close to my foot, but I managed to take it down before much more serious damage could be done.
This... Wow, I never thought I'd find combat enjoyable outside of pushing buttons on an interface. This is an odd feeling I'm getting. Maybe it's because I lose every fight I'm in, but... as I shoot down another creeper, I'm finding myself enjoying this a lot.
After a while, the creepers are thinned out again, and we move out slowly, Shepard preparing another grenade. I can imagine another rinse and repeat scenario here, and sure enough we get fired on by more colonists. We go behind cover and incapacitate the colonists. Yeah, yeah, can we just get to the part where we shoot the creepers?
Oh. Looks like my question was answered. I go off to kill some creepers, and things are all fine and well with that. Although, the fact that I don't find exploding heads disturbing is beginning to get to me. Yeah, this is disturbing. I'm becoming desensitized. This cannot be good for my already sick imagination. Damn the Saw franchise to hell!
Right. I shoot some, Shepard shoots some, Tali shoots some, Kaidan shoots and fires singularities, and Liara fires biotic bolts. So yes. This is us. And we're kicking ass.
We find more colonists and creepers a couple more times, but it's pretty much the same thing it's always been. So we just do the same thing again. Disable the colonists, kill the creepers, move on. It's the same thing, really.
Until we come across a crane. Oh, hey, there's a crane. And Creepers running around trying to keep us from getting to it. After Shepard disables the colonists that are there, she looks to me and then to Tali.
"Tali, get that crane activated!" shouted Shepard. "We might be able to make it lift something to go into the Thorian's lair! Art, go with her and cover her! We'll try to keep their numbers low from here!"
Okay, something interesing! I give her a thumbs up sign before turning to Tali. I look at her for a few seconds feeling her tell me to get ready. I take a breath, and nod.
With this, we both spring up from our cover, and we head into the massive army of creepers. We go about shooting the things, with their acid vomit nearly getting all over me quite a few times. It's kind of disgusting that. That much, I will concede. It only makes me happy that this will all be over soon enough. It's slow going to the crate, though, as more creepers just seem to come out of nowhere. These things just keep coming!
Eventually, we make it to the service crane. Tali and I start shooting creepers there, and some get pretty close. Oh, boy, one almost vomited on my leg. Yeah, time to shoot that son of a bitch. I do that, and I look to Tali.
"Get in!" I shout. "I'll cover you!"
The tech specialist nods at this and turns he attention into the crane. She fires off one more shotgun round before she gets into the crane. I step up after her as she closes the door, taking my shotgun as I fire one last round of it into there.
All right, time to pull another death-defying strategy. I store my shotgun, and as a creeper comes forward, I pull my pistol out. It moves to vomit on me, but it's so close I can smack it. So, I do that. Just in time, too, because it was just starting to vomit on me. Some of the vomit gets sent to the side...
And some of it falls right on my armor. And then there's a burning pain on me. Shit, should've remembered that the acid goes right past armor and does damage directly to the person. Ow, fuck! This really hurts! But, I can't let it get to me. Remember your promise to Ash. I bite my lower lip and bring my gun back up there, shooting the thing in the head a few times before it falls.
This gives me a little room to get out my assault rifle as I begin to hear the crane functioning behind me. And with this, I fire both weapons into the crowd. Ugh... if only I had places to lay down heat sinks. Then I'd get to really own these guys like Talahassee in that one part of Zombieland where he takes down an entire legion of zombies from within the confines of a box office in a carnival with only a pair of handguns and ammo that would likely run out fast. That would be fucking awesome. But... I make do with what I have. And that is bringing my assault rifle around in an arc with my right hand, finishing off any stragglers with the pistol in my left. Which, speaking of which, I have to take some getting used to the recoil mid-battle. Definitely not easy, but somehow I manage to do it. This manages to clear the crowd majorly, such that all the creepers are set behind or are caught in the fire from Kaidan, Liara, and Shepard. And that is a good thing.
It is such that I finally hear something get lifted by the crane behind me. Going off on this, I switch out my guns, and suddenly notice that reinforcements stopped coming. I grab my shotgun, and see that there are three enemies there. I grab my shotgun and shoot one in the head. I shoot another in the torso and then the head before a singularity from Kaidan takes care of the last one.
And after this, we all see Fai Dan run over to Shepard. Tali steps out of the crane, but Fai Dan is screaming something about pain and the Thorian and killing Shepard... And as soon as he finishes this, the poor bastard shoots himself in the head!
Whoah! Calm down, Fai Dan! We had gas that we could've used to save you!
"Jesus Christ on a pikestaff!" I shouted, jumping down over the biodegrading creeper corpses as I rushed over to Shepard. Tali followed me quickly, and then we were both by the commander's side.
"He told us he was in great pain," says Kaidan.
"Then why the fuck didn't you use the anti-Thorian gas?" I ask.
"He killed himself before we could bring it up," replies Shepard. "Either way, this is not good. He would have been able to greatly help rebuild the colony after all this."
We all nod our agreement to this statement, and I cross my arms. I look to the side to see the stairwell that Tali undoubtedly uncovered for us, and I gesture to it.
"Should we get going with that?" I ask, pointing at it.
"It's the only thing left to do around here," replies Shepard. "Come on."
With this, we enter the Thorian's lair. All right, this is where things will really go down. We'll kill the Thorian, save Zhu's Hope, and give a massive middle finger to ExoGeni. Really, the sons of bitches deserve it. That they do. And Zhu's Hope will be rebuilt, because we saved all the colonists except for Fai Dan. So there is hope for us yet.
We climb down a large set of stairs. It's rather long, and it is kind of dark, so we go about slowly. Eventually, we come to a rather large hallway. We're getting close. I can feel it.
As we leave the stairwell, we suddenly see something.
"All right," says Tali. "We just need to find this plant and detemine what it..." And here, we finally see the Thorian. Oh, boy, it's even crazier than seeing its pixellized version. Uh... wow. All those tentacles are rather disgusting, and it's sure as hell not a plant. And yet, it has roots in the walls. Brown roots. Probably since it never gets any sun. Yeah, this is a disturbing plant.
"What it..." continues Tali as we look at it.
"Keelah, what is that?" she asks, the fact that it really is a plant only now managing to sink in.
It's something, Tali. It's something. It looks more like a sheargrub rooted in the walls than anything. Wait... Aw, crap, I found a way to make Pikmin and gore mix together without the usual thinking outside of the cartoony visuals I tend to do with that game. Fuck my life.
Shepard gives it a very wary glance before continuing. "That does not look like any plant I've ever seen," says Shepard. "This may be... problematic."
I nod discreetly at this. Bite down on your lower lip, Art. I'm sure they've heard your voice enough times for one day. Especially a day filled with lots of death and destruction and things that are just too gory for words.
We walk forward a little bit towards the plant, and it starts to... breathe? Okay, this is definitely not like any plant I've ever seen. And something about seeing this in real life is infinitely unsettling. It's a breathing plant, for crying out loud! And it's all brown and stuff, which is usually what we would assosciate with dying plants. Shit, this is what The Ruins should have been about. At least Phelous would have fewer complaints about that movie if it was about the Thorian. It's seriously that creepy.
Oh, and now... oh, dear, it has what I can only call a vagina. Ew. And out of that vagina... it spits something out. Wait... a green-skinned asari clone. Oh, yes, Shiala. It's a little disturbing to see that, really. At least she's fully clothed.
As we step forward, the asari speaks.
"Invaders," she addresses us. Well, that's no way to talk to us! "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."
I give one glance at the asari. "Oh, I'm in awe all right," I reply. "If by 'in awe', you mean 'creeped out beyond all possible meanings of the word', that is."
"The Thorian will have none of your lip, meat!" says the asari. She doesn't shout it, but... shit, somehow it makes it more threatening.
"Right," I reply, holding my hands up. "Shutting up now."
The others give me a glance, shrugging their agreement. Or, I think it's agreement? I dunno. Either way, it's Shepard's turn to speak.
Shepard is to the point. "You gave something to Saren," she says. "Something I need."
"Saren sought knowledge of those who are gone," replies the asari clone. 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 to the next cycle. Flesh fairly given! The Old Growth sees the air you push as lies! It will listen no more!"
We all give each other another look, knowing what this means. Typical. I haven't even set my eyes on Saren yet, and I already know his tricks. In my case, it's from playing the game more, though. I mean, before I even entered the picture Saren had killed Nihlus on Eden Prime and sabotaged everything about Shepard's candidacy. Well, at least before we got Tali over to the Council. And then there was the whole Benezia bit. And then there was that one prequel novel where he killed a village full of innocents and then pinned it on then-Spectre candidate Anderson. And the Thorian is sadly only a minor transgression of his. Son of a bitch needs karma to come find him, right now.
Shepard replies in kind. "Give me what I need and I'll strike back at the one who betrayed you," she says.
"No more will the Thorian listen to those that scurry," replies the asari clone. "Your lives are short, but have gone on too long."
And with this, I hear the sounds of creepers heading to us. As well, the asari clone looks about ready to fight us as her hands glow blue. Oh, yeah, stupid me for forgetting she's a biotic. Wait... that means...
Oh hell no! I am not going to get my ass handed to me the way it was on Noveria. Fuck that!
I grab out my shotgun just as the biotic fires a singularity in Tali's direction. The quarian seems to buckle a little before falling to the ground. Oh, hell no, bitch! You did not just do that!
I rush up to the biotic and whack her in the face with my shotgun. I waste no time, cocking the thing and then shooting a shell directly into her stomach. Okay, don't stop there. She's a clone, it'll take more than one shot. Fortunately, the shell right into the stomach managed to disable the clone, so I aim the barrel at her head and pull the trigger. Okay, yeah, the gore is pretty bad. But hey, what can you do? At least she's dead. That much is for sure.
All right, the biotic is dead. As I see Tali get up, I see a bunch of creepers rush our position. I rush over to the quarian and offer my hand. She very willingly takes it as I fire my shotgun into the crowd of creepers. Kaidan and Liara are going crazy with the biotics here, and Shepard has her assault rifle out, so here we go with taking down the creepers.
And that... is pretty simple. There are about ten creepers swarming us right now. So I go right up to one and melee it before putting a shotgun round in its face. That takes care of that as I see another one run on over. Shepard takes care of one that's running towards me with an assault rifle, the thing going down rather quickly. I see Tali shoot another one with a shotgun, and I add to that with another shotgun blast on my own.
Wow... I'm beginning to feel the kind of rush of battle. Huh. I can see why the Greeks were so anxious during times of war. This rush actually doesn't feel too bad. It's actually rather fun once you can get past the gore factor and everything. It's certainly pretty cool, I guess.
Anyway, creepers arrive. I feel a push by my side, and then I see a creeper get knocked down right next to me. No doubt one of our biotics. I stomp on the thing's face... and find that its head implodes rather easily. Yech. And it's all blood and guts and all that nasty shit outside of my boot. Yeah, battle may be fun, but it's certainly much bloodier than it's portrayed in the game. I mean, true, the creepers completely explode when you kill them in the game, but seeing only parts of them explode is somehow more graphic; especially in real life.
Ah, well. Don't have time to think about that. There's another one right next to me. I cock my shotgun and shoot it, and then a singularity from one of the biotics takes care of it.
Oh, and I see the first alcove where the node is. All right! I think we can figure out how to do stuff to the Thorian! I blast a creeper in the face before jumping to the side to avoid the acid vomit that just then pours out of its mouth. Right. I think I should let them know my intentions.
"Hey, guys!" I shout out. "There's something over here connected to the wall. It looks like it could hurt this thing!"
The crowd is thinning out by now, so then Shepard is able to rush over to my spot as Kaidan follows her. He turns, fires a singularity, and then comes up behind Shepard as they both look on the node. The L2 biotic gives it a brief look before nodding.
"Yeah, that looks like it could hurt it," says Kaidan.
"Right," says Shepard as Tali and Liara both follow, supressing the fire of the creepers behind us. "Look out for more of these things and destroy them."
I nod at this and raise my shotgun. I then fire it once, as Shepard shoots it as well. Kaidan shoots his pistol for the first time I've seen him do it all mission, and then before long we see the node explode in... uh... what the hell is that fluid anyhow? Right, best not to think about it...
As soon as the node... explodes, for a lack of a better term, we suddenly hear something coming from the Thorian itself. As we see a bunch of creepers swarm our position, we hear something fall down.
Oh, great, it spawned another asari clone. Right. Time to take care of it, although I imagine it won't be as easy this time. I turn around as the group heads into a rather long corridor ahead of us. Kaidan also does the same. I look up to him with raised eyebrows.
"Figured you could use the help against the clones," he says.
Oh, well that's always good. "Thanks," I say. I raise my shotgun at this.
All right, there she is. She seems to be readying a biotic attack. Oh, hell no. Not if I can help it, bitch. I fire my shotgun once, but... Oh, shit, that didn't do anything. And then I feel every muscle in my body freeze up against my will. Oh, crap. I fall to the floor after this, immobile. Kaidan, do something! I hear gunshots from right beside me, and a thud. Oh, shit... Wait, Art, calm down, he probably just deposed the clone... Yeah, that's it. He deposed the clone.
I feel feeling return to my limbs, and then Kaidan yanks me up. Oh, shit, the clone is still standing. Shitfucker!
I grab my shotgun and raise it. Almost without aiming, I pull the trigger. I don't know how, but I managed to shoot the clone's head off as Kaidan lifts me off the ground and drags me. I find my foothold on the ground and run after him.
"What the fuck just happened?" I asked.
"You got disabled," he said. "You're lucky I managed to shoot at it. It probably would have done other things as well if I hadn't stepped in!"
"Right," I say, looking back to make sure the clone isn't following us. "Thanks for covering me! It's a bit hard to shoot at stuff when you can't move!"
"Just be careful," replies Kaidan as we rush to where Shepard, Tali, and Liara are. There... wow, the Thorian really isn't holding back. There are creepers absolutely everywhere. Oh, dear, it's almost like a zombie movie, only with a giant plant presiding over everything and not the T Virus or Trioxin or whatever the fuck caused the dead to rise in Night of the Living Dead.
Well, there's only one thing to do in a time like this.
Time to nut up, or shut up.
I cock my shotgun and fire at a creeper that is coming up to us. No time to concentrate on anything else. There's only, the zombie horde. I cock my shotgun again, and see a creeper rush up to me. I kick it before firing my shotgun at it. I manage to score a headshot with that as I see a singularity go off pretty close to my location. Thanks... uh... who fired that? Whatever. I cock my shotgun again and turn around. I see a creeper rushing up behind Kaidan. Not on my watch, bitch! I shoot the zombie in the chest with the shotgun, and it seems to coil back. Kaidan hears it, and grabbing his pistol he turns and fires at it with alarming speed. That takes care of that creeper.
And yet there are lots more coming where that came from. Kaidan and I seem to be left behind just a little bit. I can see Tali rushing to try to help us out, and so I try to thin the crowd out to get her to us. That... seems to work, actually. As I fire my shotgun into the crowd, I see the quarian rush over to meet us in the middle. She's firing her own shotgun as well, and I can feel some of the fire fly right past my ears. Okay, that could be troublesome. But hey, at least she isn't intending to hit me.
After a few seconds of me trying to clear the crowd, she finally joins us. And then, I see creepers all around us. I go crazy with the shotgun, firing it into the crowd of creepers and cocking it pretty much every time. I see a biotic singularity go off every so often as Kaidan, Tali, and I thin out the crowd. Somewhere, I can hear Liara and Shepard doing stuff, but I imagine their priority is getting over to the next node. Which they haven't quite done. So w begin to clear the room of all Thorian creepers as quickly as we can. It's... a pretty long process, but hey, what can you do?
We finally begin to make headway when I notice the crowd begin to dissipate. I remember deciding to forego the shotgun the rest of the way. Instead, I pulled out my assault rifle while kickin away a creeper. I then remember holding the trigger down for quite some time, the creepers getting caught up in sweeping fire. They don't go down as easily, but Tali catches on and starts firing her shotgun into the ones that I'm spraying with fire. Kaidan is right behind us, shooting and firing various biotic attacks at the other creepers in the area. And... well, if they get close enough, I just kick them. There was one that I kick that just explodes, leaving me dazed before I snap back into it with the sound of gunfire next to me. And so, I take my assault rifle and fire rounds into every other creeper.
And with this, the crowd eventually thins out as to be nonexistent, such that I can see Shepard has already found the next node. Tali takes care of one remaining creeper with her shotgun, and then we rush up to Shepard.
"We should be careful," I say almost as soon as I'm next to Shepard. "This thing will spawn another asari clone when you destroy this node."
Shepard nods, and continues firing into the node. Once it is destroyed, we hear a huge groan sound in the area, and then we hear a bunch of creepers come to life elsewhere.
"Get ready!" shouts Shepard, and we ready our weapons. I swap out my assault rifle for my shotgun, reloading quickly and looking out to see the asari clone rushing towards us. We also see the next crowd of creepers approaching us from there. I think I know what we're doing here.
And when Shepard gives the order to fire at will into the crowd, I happily oblige.
Okay, two nodes later and we're still going strong. We're ridiculously awesome, to quote a certain elf from Antiva. We've taken down a lot of creepers, kept some from vomiting on us, and taken down every asari clone that the Thorian has thrown at us. Oh, and we've taken down four of the five nodes needed to finally defeat this thing.
And so, we go into the room with the last node. I see the asari clone... in a different spot from where she was in the game, and there are no places that any creepers can possibly come from in front of us. So, I look to the clone as the others begin to flank the entrance. Shepard gives a look back and gestures to the clone as she fires off a biotic attack at the creeper crowd.
I nod at this, and hold my shotgun in front of me as the clone comes forward. I see her flash her hands, and... wait, is she telegraphing? Oh, shit!
I manage to jump to the side. Barely. I feel a warp bolt fly right past me as I look over. I cock my shotgun and fire, the bullet barely grazing the clone. Oh, dear. I roll out of the way of the next biotic attack. Personally, I don't know how the hell I'm managing this. I really don't. I quickly stand back up, only to fall back to the floor to dodge an attack. Ah, well, at least I'm on my stomach this time. This gives me good room to push off. So I do that, knowing I should stay away from the edge. I rush past the... er... root of the Thorian, ducking behind the node just as another warp bolt is headed in my direction.
And... the warp bolt hits the node. Well, there's no friendly fire protection in real life. It works both ways, bitch. I could just finish the node off, so I'll go ahead and try that.
I fire the shotgun into the node, and... it's still intact. Damn it! I can see the Thorian slowy begin to slide off, though, almost as if it's barely hanging on. It's having a hard time hanging on as it is, I imagine; now that it's only hanging on by one damaged root, I'm surprised it's standing as long as it has. Well, another shotgun round should do it.
And no sooner do I think this when I suddenly feel myself fly into the wall. I'm so shocked by it my shotgun clatters to the ground. I fall to the ground when this occurs, and... shit, must get shotgun! I grip my gun in my hands, and then I feel myself get lifted away again. Without thinking, though, I pull the trigger on my shotgun. And I don't know what the hell is going on... except...
Oh, shit, I'm gonna fly right over the edge! Fuck!
On instinct, I let go of my shotgun as I fly over the edge. I then see the root that the Thorian is holding on to. I take a hold of it to keep myself from falling out. Yes, falling out at this stage would be extremely bad. Shit... I'm dangling over here. I could just die, but then I wouldn't get to save Ash. So, no. I won't die just yet, thank you. I see the green-skinned clone peer over the edge, and I know I have to kill it. And so I grab my pistol as my shotgun clatters right by where the first asari clone was... well, birthed, I guess... And I don't even think about it before I aim.
Somehow, I get a perfect headshot right between the eyes. The clone falls down over the edge, and its body falls by the floor. It's not moving. At all. That should be a good sign, except that I'm still hanging on for dear life here! Shit!
I hear the sounds of gunfire die down ever so slowly in that corridor where I was attempting to kill the clone. Next thing I know, I see Kaidan peering over the edge. He looks back and shouts to Shepard, and the commander is looking at me as I carefully store my pistol back. Oh, dear. Trying to holster a pistol is not fun...
"I could use a little help here!" I cry out.
"I'm getting on it!" shouts Shepard in reply. "Just hang tight!"
Oh, great pun, Shepard. Great pun. "I already am!" I shout. "Move it!"
And I hang on to the Thorian root for dear life. Oh, dear, I really hope the thing can hold before Shepard can find a way to save me. I'm not dying on these guys just yet, after all. Just hang in there, Art. Things should be all right. They should be all right.
I look up to Shepard, and then down just below. Nothing there. I look back up to Shepard as she seems to gesture to me. Oh, dear, I have to climb? Well... I can't come up with a better option other than falling to my death, so...
Here goes.
Gathering all of my willpower, I slowly begin to crawl up. Okay. One arm up slightly. The other arm up slightly. Step up as well. Okay, move your arms again. And your feet. And your arms. And don't look down! I clench my eyes tightly as I move, not daring to see the ground below me. And as I do that, I slowly move one arm in front of the other repeatedly. You can do this, Art. You can do this. Move your arms. Then your legs. Arms. Legs.
Eventually, I suddenly realize that the root is... well, I'm not sure what it's doing. I know it's doing something, though. I open my eyes, and suddenly I find myself very close to where Shepard is. I stop briefly, surprised at this. I almost lose my grip on the root right then and there, barely able to believe my eyes. I pause there, and look to Tali and Liara, who are also standing by. I decide not to ask where Kaidan is. I imagine he's probably downstairs waiting to use a biotic levitation thing in case I lose my grip. Good thinking there, Shepard.
You're so close, Art. You can do this.
I bring my arms forward a little, and then bring my legs forward. I bring my arms forward one last time, and then Shepard manages to touch my forearm. I hear her voice encouraging me, although I can't make out words. Whatever. I feel her guide me along the root as I begin to get back onto solid ground. After around a minute of this, she manages to grab a hold of my shoulders, and then I feel myself get pulled in. I let go, and then I fall on my back onto solid ground just a few feet under me. I hear myself pant as Shepard lifts me to my feet.
"Are you all right, Serviceman?" asks Shepard.
I take a moment to breathe in and out slowly. I really need a breather after that. I mean, I was just hanging on for dear life, and now that I'm safe... I feel an odd tingling in my arm and legs. Probably from hanging on so tight. Shit... I need to gather my bearings. At least the creeper crowd doesn't have any more soldiers. I collect myself after about a minute and a half, and I nod.
"I'll live, at any rate," I reply. "Get that node destroyed."
Shepard nods to Kaidan as he enters the chamber we are at. The biotic takes out his assault rifle and aims at the node. He then fires a few rounds into the node, causing it to excrete its fluid again. And then, the root disconnects. There is a mighty reverberation in the air all around us, and then the ground beneath me shakes a little as the root begins to slide away. I watch, keeping my distance. I'm not gonna be taken by this Thorian thing.
There is a great crumbling beneath us. The level of noise here is great, so much so that I find myself covering my ears. Most of the rest of the quad has the same idea, although there isn't much Tali can do about that what with being in an enviro-suit. And so, the great noise passes as the root disappears from view incredibly fast. We hear it crash through a lot more things, and then the noise stops very slowly. Uncovering my ears, I move as close to the ledge as I dare.
Wow, it's a long way down now. The floor that the Thorian once stood over is now pretty much completely gone. Now, a black expanse meets my eyes where the plant creature thing once hung over. It's... pretty daunting, honestly. I'm the furthest away from the edge, actually; I'm not gonna risk falling over. We peer at this before finally walking away from the edge.
We look back to see a rather odd growth on the side of the wall. It's kind of reddish, but it looks like a remnant of the Thorian. After a few seconds, the red flesh dissolves, and then we see an asari fall out. Like the clones, but without the green skin. Actually, almost exactly like the clones, but without the green skin. She gives us slightly bewildered looks as we stand there.
Well... she definitely looks dizzier than she does in the game, that's for sure.
"Hey, you okay?" I ask.
The asari is quick to regain her composure though, and addresses me.
"I am feeling a little odd, but other than that I think I will be fine," says the asari. "Thank you for your concern, young one."
I nod in acknowledgement. Hm. Shiala is a really nice lady. I'll have to hope she lives.
"Who are you?" asks Shepard, getting more or less straight to the point. "And what were you doing in there?"
"I am Shiala," replies the asari. "I was a biotic in Benezia's service. I came with her when she went to confront Saren. We both came under the control of Sovereign."
"We ran into Benezia on Noveria," says Shepard, nodding. "She told us that his ship... indoctrinated her. She was able to free her mind from his control to tell us this, and give us the coordinates of a relay that Saren was looking for." That, and to give me the mystical orange paperweight that I still have no clue what it's supposed to do. But I digress.
"You did?" asks Shiala, her expression rising in anticipation. "Is she..."
I shake my head. "Unfortunately, no," I reply. "She's..." I turn to Liara, who's nodding softly. "She's dead, Shiala. It's a damn shame, too."
The biotic nods. "I see..." she says. "She probably could not have survived the indoctrination without dying first."
"Except something doesn't add up," points out Tali. "If you were indoctrinated... then why aren't you trying to kill us?"
Well, Tali... "I think the Thorian may have had something to do with it," replies Shiala. "Saren came here to find the Cipher. To get it, I had to bond with the Thorian. Somewhere in that bond, the Thorian took control and overrode Sovereign's indoctrination. And when you destroyed the Thorian..."
We see where this is going. I nod, although I'm not sure this was the explanation given in the game. Either way, it doesn't change what happened. "I see..." says Tali as she crosses her arms.
"The Cipher?" asks Shepard. "What is that?"
Shiala looked out to where the Thorian once hung in the ruins. "The Thorian was alive for many Prothean generations," she said. "I understood from Saren that there was a beacon on Eden Prime."
"Yes," replies Shepard, nodding. "I got a vision when I touched it, too. I couldn't make any sense of it."
"I would not be surprised," replies Shiala. "The beacons were engineered to work with a Prothean mind. Any other species would percieve it as something unintelligible. To make sense of it, one has to know how to think like a Prothean."
"And I'm guessing that's where the Cipher comes in," I comment, holding my hands together behind my back.
"Yes," replies the biotic as she looks back at us. "The Cipher was essential for Saren to understand the vision from the beacon on Eden Prime. The Thorian studied the Protheans, thus forming the Cipher. He used me to get what the Thorian wanted, and then tried to kill it."
Shepard nods, a frown coming across her face. "I take it he knows we're trying to find the Conduit?"
"Yes," replies Shiala. "I still have the Cipher imprinted into my mind, however. I can give it to you."
Shepard nods. "We need to find the Conduit," she replies, stepping forward. "Any help we can get to unscramble the image would be welcome."
Shiala regards this with a cool expression. "Very well," she says, stepping forward. "Relax. Breathe in and out slowly."
Kaidan looks to the rest of us leerily. I can't say I blame him; I'm one of the few who doesn't think girl on girl action is hot. Well, that, and I think I know how he feels about that. I shrug to him as Shiala rambles on and on about stuff that a yoga instructor would be talking about.
"Let her," I mouth to him. "We might not find the Conduit otherwise."
He nods and backs away. At this moment, I turn to Shiala just as her eyes go expressionless.
"Embrace eternity," she says.
And Shepard is stock still as... well, something goes on. Really, I don't know what's so special about the whole "embrace eternity" business anyhow. It just doesn't look as flashy without the odd, schizophrenic camera angles. It just doesn't. Ah, well, what can I do?
Shepard stumbles back when the deed ends. She brings her hand to her head, and instantly Kaidan is by her side. Well, I guess that telegraphs stuff. He really does seem to care about her in a more than just Commandery way.
"I'm fine, Kaidan," says Shepard. "The vision... it's still a little scrambled, but it's clearer now."
"I may be able to help unscramble it during the debriefing," says Liara as she looks to Shepard.
"That could be useful," replies the commander. "I'm sure it will take a little time, too."
Shiala looks to us. "In the meantime, there is just one more matter on my mind," she says. "My fate. You are working against Saren, no doubt."
I give her an odd look as soon as she finishes saying that. "Who said we're trying to kill everyone who serves Saren?" I ask.
Kaidan nods in agreement. "The Serviceman is right," he says. "I think it's pretty obvious she isn't under Saren's indoctrination."
Shepard looks back at Shiala. "What would you do if I spared you?" she asks.
"Help Zhu's Hope rebuild, of course," replies the biotic. "I imagine they must have taken the brunt of what I assume was a pretty bad geth attack. They could use all the help they can get."
Shepard nods. "Very well," she says. "I'll spare your life."
Shiala nods, having seemed to expect this. Or that she accepts it: I never killed her off, but I heard that if you do kill her she's all 'well, all right'. "Thank you," she says. "Let us get back to the surface."
"Yeah, let's," I comment as we begin to leave. "I've had enough of sentient mind-control plants to last me a lifetime."
Shepard chuckles and shakes her head. "You and me both, Serviceman," she says. "You and me both."
And with this, we exit the Thorian's lair.
We ran into Juliana and Lizbeth pretty soon after we exited the Thorian's lair. Juliana has a smile on her face.
"You saved the colony," she says. "And with the work that you've done for us, we should be able to rebuild very easily."
"We did what we could," replies Shepard with a nod. "Will you survive without ExoGeni there?"
The woman nods. "I'm sure we will," she says. "Either way, Lizbeth and I will be staying to help bring the colony back on its feet, without ExoGeni."
"Good," I reply curtly. "ExoGeni seemed to be doing more harm than good from the looks of things."
The others begrudgingly agree to this, although I think Shepard is most grudging of all. Can't say I blame her. If we had managed to talk Ethan down, ExoGeni would've helped the Feros colony get back on its feet. Unfortunately, it seems like Jeong was a little too trigger-happy for us.
Oh well. You can't have everything.
"Very well then," replies Shepard. "I think our business is done here."
"Thank you for everything," says Juliana.
We nod at this. "It was no trouble," replies Shepard. She turns to us as she says this. "Come on guys. Back to the Normandy."
And without question, we turn and head over to the Normandy. As I move along, I wonder. What would have happened if ExoGeni wasn't participating in amoral scientific experiments. I may never know the answer to that, other than things likely would have turned out very differently for us. I dunno. It's just... something about the whole secrecy of it bothers me. Especially how they covered everything.
I think the "this is black" analogy couldn't fit anything else better. It's secretive, it's amoral, it uses innocent bystanders who have no idea what the hell is going on to them... what else could I ask for?
Ah, I'm thinking too hard again. And now my head hurts.
Right. I'm going off to debriefing, and then I'm going off for movie night. It's Garrus' turn this time, and I'm sure he'll whip up something interesting, to say the least. We'll have to see what happens.