Chapter 4: Feros

Shepard had saved the struggling colony four years ago. The colonists under the control of a giant sentient plant called the Thorian attacked Shepard, but he'd managed to save the colony and destroy the Thorian without many casualties. More recently he helped the colony when he stopped some intrusive tests being done by a Baria Frontiers on Illium.

Shepard was in the cockpit, Joker had been trying to get a signal from the colony for the passed three minuets. "I'm not getting anything commander."

"Try it again."

Joker opened his mouth in protest, but stopped himself when he mad eye contact with Shepard. His face was knotted up with anger. "I'll... I'll try it again."

Shepard growled. "Just dock the ship."

The Normandy was docked at Zhu's Hope. Shepard took Tali and Garrus with him to the colony. The dock was eerily quiet. It looked the same as it did when Shepard arrived at the colony the first time. There was a faint smell of smoke and the air around them was warm.

"Shepard I'm not picking up any signals from the colony." E.D.I said over the radio.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Tali said, her voice shaking and griping her shot gun tightly.

Shepard was about to say something to ease the quarian's nerves when he heard a shuffling coming from up the stairs leading to the colony. Shepard aimed his Vindicator battle rifle at the top of the stairs, ready to fire.

"Shepard don't shoot!" A voice pleaded from around the corner.

"Come around slowly!" Shepard ordered.

A set of small green hands came around the corner first then the rest of a slender woman came around, her hands raised. It was Shiala, the asari commando he saved from the Thorian and helped on Illium.

"Shiala?" Shepard asked, curious as too the asari's current state. "Whats going on? Where are the rest of the colonists?"

"That's not important!" Shiala snapped. "I need to take you to the colony we need your help!"

"All right." Shepard answered calmly. His rifle no longer pointed at the asari. "Can you tell me whats going on?"

Shiala darted a glare at the commander. "There's no time let's go!" She shouted turning around, walking frantically up the stairs.

"Shepard something isn't right." Garrus noted.

"I know." Shepard said, signaling his team to follow him up the stairs. They continued up the series of stairs that lead to Zhu's Hope. Shiala who ran ahead and was nowhere to be found. The way she was acting caught his attention. She was hiding something.

When Shepard reached the top of the stairs he almost couldn't believe what he was seeing. Zhu's Hope was in flames. Bodies littered the ground, the corpses still burning were they fell.

"E.D.I give me some thing!" Shepard yelled desperately. "Tell me something!"

Shepard I'm getting geth signals coming from the main colony! E.D.I warned as the team stepped foot farther into the main colony.

"Geth what do you mean..."

"Geth!" Tali Shouted, pushing Shepard and her self into cover. A drop ship flew over head, firing at the team and dropping geth across from their position. Garrus was in cover behind a set of crates across from a fallen pillar Tali and Shepard were behind. Geth fired at the group, Garrus returned fire with his mantis sniper rifle, while Tali checked on Shepard.

"Are you alright?" Tali asked, shooting back at the synthetics.

"Tali I'm fine!" Shepard said shouting over gun fire. "You and Garrus watch my back!" Before Tali could protest Shepard had a biotic field enveloping him and before she could blink Shepard had bioticaly charged across the field.

Shepard across the field, assault rifle firmly in hand and a geth flying into a brick wall, turned to the three other geth. Two quick bursts of his rifle went right through the machine, the other two dropping his shields. Before Shepard could do it him self, the other two geth were being tossed bioticaly into the air. Not questioning it Shepard took the opportunity and fired at the last two synthetics.

Popping a heat sink, Shepard looked up and saw a beat up but not green asari leaning against the wall. Shepard ran to the asari, putting up his rifle. As he got closer he saw that this asari, much to his shock was Shiala.

"Shepard?" She coughed, struggling to breath. "What are you doing here?

"I could ask the same thing and why aren't you green?" Shepard asked, applying medi-gel to the commando.

"That would have been the Thorian you ran into." Shiala rasped, struggling to breath.

"Impossible I saw that thing die." Shepard dismissed.

"Before you killed it, it created another clone that escaped and started to control the colonists once you and the many Alliance personnel that came soon afterward theft. " She explained. "It's control over us got even stronger once the genetic screening by Baria frontiers stopped."

Shepard couldn't believe it. He thought he killed the Thorian but it only lived on to torture the colony for another four years. "Ok but whats with the geth?" Shepard questioned, the shock in is voice being apparent.

"The Thorian wants to get off this world and it believes the geth are the only way to do it." Shiala continued to explain, limping to the control panel, Shepard following behind. "They killed everyone Shepard... you..."

"Why would the geth work with the Thorian?" Tali asked, suspicious of the asari.

"And how are you not under the Thorian's control?" Garrus questioned, catching up with Shepard and Tali who ran ahead.

"When your ship landed you distracted it and I managed to break free." She answered. Shiala activated the control panel and opened the entrance to the tunnels. "Even now I'm struggling to keep control of my mind."

Garrus looked over at the asari suspiciously. "That's convenient."

"What about the rest of the colonists?" Shepard questioned, thinking it strange that he hadn't seen any other colonists.

"All dead... all of them. The geth murdered them all." She answered quickly, looking as if something was causing her some kind of discomfort. "That creature should be down... ugh... don't go..." Suddenly Shiala was looked as if she was in great pain, her biotics tossed ever thing around in her panic.

Shepard quickly pinned the asari commando to a nearby crate, his arm pressed against her throat and his pistol pointed at her head. "Shiala calm down!" Sheaprd barked.

"Shepard you have to stop that thing!" Shiala pleaded, looking to reclaim her senses.

"I intend to." Shepard assured, letting go of the commando and holstering his pistol. "Tell me what I'm going to find when I'm down there." Shepard ordered.

Shiala took a deep sigh. "More geth and... "

"Please don't say creepers." Tali groaned.

"Unfortunately the Thorian turned a few of the colonists into those monsters." Shiala explained.

"Keelah!"

"Wonderful!" Shepard said. Shepard armed himself with his shotgun and walked towards the tunnel entrance with his team

"Shepard let me come with you!" Shiala pleaded. "I can help you."

"How do I know you won't lose your mind again?" Shepard questioned, not trusting the asari. "Your useless to me if you can't control your self."

"The Thorian will be preparing to fight you." She explained. "And is a little payback to much to ask?

Shepard thought about it for awhile, he could use the extra help and if Shiala was volunteering then why refuse? But the Thorian could retake control of her at any moment. "It's too much of a risk."

Shiala took a deep breath. "That is your decision and I except it."

"Just be careful Shepard."

Horse Head Nebula: Minuteman Station

Miranda was finishing a report on new shielding designs she was got from the collector base, that she was going to give to the council. She hated working with the citadel, but she did because Cerberus couldn't fight the Reapers alone and partly because she made a promise to a certain Alliance soldier she would and mostly because Shepard would have wanted her to use the resources from the collector base for the "greater good". She thought about Shepard a lot lately. Spending two years of her life rebuilding him, Shepard taking the time out to help her with her sister and saving her from the reaper on the collector base. She'd much rather be on the SR2 with him, but Cerberus and the Council took all her time these days.

After she killed the Illusive man, she took control of all of the organizations operations. Which was much harder than she expected. She had to use a holo of the Illusive man for those agents that knew him by sight, most agents weren't taking kindly to the new direction and Miranda had to crack down hard on rouge operations before things got worse. She found leading the organization and deciding how to distribute collector tech to be very over whelming. She'd thought about asking Liara to take up some of the slack, but she wouldn't allow the thought to get any farther.

Miranda's monitor flashed in the corner of her eye, it was an alert she was getting from her secretary outside her office. "What is it?" She grunted, pushing the button to answer the call.

"Ma'am a three damaged Cerberus frigates docked about an hour ago."

"Why wasn't I alerted when they entered the system." She asked, not masking the annoyance in her voice.

"It didn't seem like a big deal." Her secretary replied. Before an enraged Miranda could berate the Cerberus operative a series explosions rocked the station. The shock wave knocked Miranda out of her seat, her head slamming against the floor.

The stations alarms blared. Miranda picked herself up and tried to get in contact with any of the stations personnel. She got nothing but gun fire and explosions in the back ground. She walked over to a locker across the room. As she slipped on some armor, Miranda was prepared for an attack like this and she wont run to Shepard for help. This is something she'd do herself.

End.