Eclipse Of The Heart

by Siha Krios

What if Nihlus Kryik didn't die on Eden Prime? Find out! A possible reality for the young Spectre as he must chase down the geth and Reaper threat w/his human protégée in tow. Will the student/teacher relationship blossom into something more?

8. Feros

Almost three hours after the ship left Noveria it was on it's way to Feros. Shepard donned her military issue casual blues as she waited patently at the top of the ramp in the debriefing room. Nihlus had just finished talking with the Council about their last mission. They were not happy about his decision to free the queen, especially the turian and fellow clansman.

Nihlus was frustrated with them. They didn't want to listen to all the evidence, and what he forced them hear they ignored and discounted. He'd never had this difficulty with them before. I am one of their best! Why do they doubt my word? They couldn't possibly retain any faith in Saren. It was possible that they were beginning to doubt his objectivity because of his relationship with Saren and the fact that his former mentor had tried to kill him. If that is true, why am I on the mission at all? He growled to himself before turning around and seeing Shepard by the doors.

"Shepard. Did you need something?" He snapped. He hadn't meant to. Shepard continued to walk down the ramp, unafraid.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. The Spectre armor and mask melted away in her presence behind the closed doors. "You didn't deserve that." He shook his head, then started pacing the room. "The Council won't believe anything I tell them about the Reapers! I can't believe they're so blind!" His mandibles flared with rage, his talons in fists at his sides.

Shepard wasn't sure what to do with an angry turian. Human men she could easily disarm, no matter the size. A turian however; their physiology was different, their center of balance much harder to gage. She watched him take hold of the railing by the console and squeeze it hard enough to leave indentions where his claws were. His strength both frightened her and roused her. She shifted her weight trying to push away the curious thoughts that came to mind.

"I just need to find more evidence, before it's too late." he resigned, loosening his grip on the rail.

He heard her light foot steps come up behind him. When she was close enough to touch him, he could smell her light, musky scent. She took hold and leaned on the rail next to him, looking at the imaginary projections of the Council he was glaring holes into.

"Dumb bastards. What do they know?" she said, waving a hand where they would appear, dismissively.

Nihlus shook his head with a light chuckle and grinned at her. She looked back up at him, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. How he wanted to taste that mouth, and so much more. His eyes darted to the human's hand as Sonya put her hand over his. It was soft and warm, strange, but comforting. Her fingers curled under his claws and gave a little squeeze. He squeezed back, taking her hand in his and turning to her fully. He searched her dark eyes for some clue as to what she was thinking.

Her free hand went to the bun and pulled out the band that held it there, letting it fall loosely around her shoulders. He let her take his other hand and guild the talons gently into her silken hair. Trailing her fingers up his arm to the softer leathery skin of his throat, she cupped a mandible. Sonya's eyes flicked to his mouth then back to his piercing green eyes.

Nihlus lowered his head toward her, tentatively nuzzling her forehead with his mouth. He closed his eyes and breathed deep the warm floral scent in her tresses. Her hand rounded his face and settled over the plates at the back of his head. He opened his eyes to gaze into hers, the dim light darkening them to deep wells of intrigue.

"Sonya..." he began, but didn't have a finish.

He felt a pressure at the back of his head as she brought his face closer to hers. Her lips met his mouth, hesitantly at first, then more assertively when he didn't pull alway. He brought their clasped hands to his chest and closed his eyes when she did, feeling the softness of her supple lips pressed against this more leathery ones. He welcomed her curious tongue when it came searching for purchase and greeted it with his own. Hers was much softer than his, but had a strange sponge like texture to his slicker, stickier tongue. It also did not seem to be as dexterous.

He wrapped his long tapered tongue around hers and held it hostage in his mouth, much to her surprise, and arousal. Sonya wondered what other tricks he could do with that skilled organ. That thought got her thinking about other organs he possessed. She felt a warmth not only in her face, but rising from her gut and spreading to her loins. Her heart raced and pounded in her chest. She took an initiative step forward, pressing her body against his. She was surprised to learn that even turian casual wear had some lightly protective armor in it.

He pressed her hand against his chest and embraced her with his newly freed arm. She moaned softly into his mouth. He purred back, releasing her tongue. She kissed his lips passionately, her tongue laying claim to the rough skin before her lips touched his. Her breathing became heavy. His own breath was deeper and laced with low, soft growls.

"Sonya..." He purred against her kisses, "I want you."

He was doing his damnedest to keep that very want from rudely protruding from it's protective folds and prodding her in the ribs.

" I want you, too" She admitted to him, as much as herself, her desire.

"We cannot be caught. It could undo us both and the mission." He purred against the smooth skin of her neck.

"Okay. Lock the doors," she panted.

His talons were quick on the controls, locking out anyone who might access the debriefing room. He wanted to tear the clothes off her body and let the shreds fall to the floor, but then what would she wear when it was done? He resisted the urge. Instead he found the hem of her shirt and attempted to remove it. In his haste he caught her skin with his claws. She inhaled sharply through gritted teeth.

"Damn," He swore. "I'm sorry, Sonya, I didn..."

"It's okay." She cut him off with her soft words. "I kinda liked it." She said playfully, a wicked smile on her lips.

His grin returned as he dropped the garment to the floor and took her ferociously in his arms, nipping at her neck.

She had to stifle a moan that threatened to be louder than it should. Her fingers found the hem of his shirt, but she wasn't sure where to go from there.

Nihlus felt her fidget with the fabric. He felt a nervousness settle in his gut in the center of the heat that was building in him. What if she is not pleased with my naked form? What if my alieness is repulsive to her? He released her to remove the clothing himself, mentally and emotionally steeling himself for her reaction. He took the initiative to remove his boots and pants as well. She did the same in a hurried, eager fashion.

When he stood up again she was in her full glory, as was he. He saw her eyes dilate in excitement. It gave him great relief and even greater pleasure to know that she was not repulsed by him, even more she seemed excited by his nudity.

He took a moment to look her over, as well as let her examine him. Her soft skin covered her body completely, like asari, but hers was pale and creamy. Her round breast were adorned in much the same way with pink, erect nipples. Her chest rose and fell with her heavy breathing. His eyes followed the curve of her hips and the 'v' that let to her sex. He could smell her so strongly now. His arousal hardened in him, begging to be released, to be allowed the pleasure the sight of her body promised.

"Where... uhm... where is your.." she was trying to ask a very awkward question.

"Turians keep there..mm... organ.. hidden and protected within their bodies." He felt clinical explaining his physiology.

"How... what makes it... come out?" Her face was turning bright pink with embarrassment.

The blush was spreading to her chest. He found it quite alluring, as well as her unusual bashfulness.

"You do." He answered.

He took her naked form in his arms, careful not to scratch her with the hook like spur upper center of his chest. Her soft body against his was unbelievably satisfying He found her mouth with his. The awkward tension quickly melted away. He backed her into the rails nearest the wall and, gripping her hips firmly, lifted her up onto them. It brought the scent of her desire even stronger to his nostrils. The moisture of his own need softened the protective, leathery folds. His arousal extended from him hard as stone, relieving him of the pain from the pressure of keeping it inside. He let out a low groan as the slick organ left his body.

"Oh, my god." Sonya gasped as she watched his turian-hood emerge and swell. "You're fucking huge! And ribbed!" Holy hell... She finished the sentence in her head, "and purple!" Sonya suddenly felt very nervous. Is he even going to fit?

Nihlus was a bit embarrassed by her reaction, but it did not dissuade his want. However, if she was having doubts, he didn't hand to push anything onto her.

"We don't have to do this." He was giving her an option out, wondering himself if she could accommodate him.

It wasn't something he has thought about. In the past, the few asari he bedded were previously experienced with turians. The topic was never a discussion.

Sonya looked into the bright green eyes of her potential lover. She could smell him, a little musky and earthy with a subtle hint of spice, like thyme. Something about him was irresistible. She wanted to try.

"I want to. I want you." She punctuated the statement by bringing his face to hers and kissing him intently. She spread her legs wide for his entry, hooking her ankles over the lower rail.

Nihlus took a step forward, bringing his hips closer to hers. The head of him found the bright pink flesh of her dripping, hot hole. He slowly pushed his way inside. She was so tight, he was afraid he would rip her. She clinched her teeth and a moan caught in her throat. Her fingers dug into his neck. He pushed a little harder to get the head in. He watched as the plump, fleshy folds spread around him then swallowed the throbbing tip of him passed the first 'rib', as she'd called his ridges. He nuzzled her neck when she arched her back, muffling her cries in her throat.

"Are you okay?" He asked in a low, rumbling purr.

His words reverberated through her. Her loins screamed their resistance to his intrusion. It had been a while since she'd been with anyone. The last time was when she first came aboard the Normandy as a lieutenant. She was young and horny. The weapons merchant was a little older and very attractive. He didn't refused her advances. It was awkward when she bought equipment from him now.

"I'm okay. Just take it slow..." she panted.

Nihlus responded by pushing another rib into her. The wetness from her body was pooling around her entry, trying to find a way out. A little would squirt out onto him when a ridge would pop inside. Her inner walls were already quivering around him. She held onto his shoulder for support with the other hand splayed on the ceiling above her head. She was constantly biting her lips and closing her eyes tightly as she could to keep the screams from escaping. Her moans and cries she tried to keep muffled with her shoulder sent tingles down his spine and through his body. Several minutes had passed and going slowly had only awarded her half his length.

"Sonya,"

"Uh, hu?" She moaned.

"I'm going to push myself the rest of the way in."

"No, no, no. You can't! I can't!" she pleaded. Her eyes opened wide with panic.

"It's been too long. The crew will suspect something is wrong, especially when they find the doors locked."

"Okay," She conceded. "Hold on." She prepared herself to take him in. "Okay."

Nihlus started out slowly, pulling out a little to disperse some of her natural lubrication. He cradled the back of her head and tightened his grip on her hips before thrusting himself completely inside her until the point of firm resistance. Her cervix.

"Ahhh!" A soft cry escaped her attempt to contain a scream.

Her back arched, thrusting her breasts into his face. She clinched her teeth against the scream that wanted to echo off the walls and dug her fingers into his flesh. The groan in his throat vibratred against her palm.

His tongue found her nipples and eagerly nipped at them. The blush it brought to the surface pleased him. His tongue flicked at them, eliciting soft whimpers from her. He forced his hips against hers, pushing hard against the barrier that impeded his progression.

"Augh!" She cried out, flashes of light blinded her.

She arched again. He held her head back with his talons tangled in her hair, exposing her neck to his wandering tongue. He could feel and smell her wetness leaking out around him and dripping down their thighs. No other lover had ever done that. His desire was a burning city.

He rolled his hips and she nearly lost her balance with the resulting shiver of bliss and pain that ripped through her. She flooded him with her climax and he hadn't even started pumping yet.

"Oh... god, Nihlus!" She breathed.

"Hummm..." He purred against her throat. "I am not a god... but I will accept your worship."

He began easing himself in and out of her, watching himself, watching her stretch around him. Her moans were soft stuttering cries. He purred and groaned quietly against her neck and chest. The talons gripping her hip wandered up her ribs and to her back, supporting her against his powerful thrusts. Her body quivered in his arms, the fingers of both her hands now clung to the frill across his shoulders. To see such a powerful and strong woman quivering at his touch, hear her moans in response to his passion, was taking him closer to joining her beyond the edge.

"Aw, fuck." She groaned.

She flooded him with another climax. She'd lost count of how many there'd been. Her thoughts were swept away by an ocean of ecstacy laced with pain.

Nihlus fought the urge to bite her, to claim her as his mate. He growled low in his chest as he pressed himself against her. She was so tight, and wet. The spasms of her sex around him, the shivering orgasms in her body, he wasn't ready to stop. He didn't want to. He pumped her hard and deep. Her cries and moans quieted to shuddered panting and whispers of his name. The intensity of the orgasms racking her body and mind numbed her to rational thought. His own lubricating fluid mingled with her release eased the friction of his rhythm. He quickened his pace. He was so close, throbbing. He could feel his release building up inside him, sending the telling tingle along his shaft to tickle the head. He pressed himself hard into her, crushing her breasts against his chest. His talons tightened in her hair and pierced the skin of her back, drawing droplets of blood.

"Spirits..." He breathed.

He nipped at the skin of her neck, resisting the urge to sink his teeth into her flesh. He groaned a moan into her ear as waves of ecstacy flowed through him. His body rolled against her, the spur on his chest catching her delicate skin. He took pleasure in her soft, complaining cries and whimpering moans.

"Stop." She pleaded softly. "Please... it's... too...uhh, ooh... much!"

He grazed his face over hears, letting her smell him, breath his breath. A natural aphrodisiac if she was turian.

"Stroke my fringe," he instructed with heavy breaths.

The delicate fingers of one of her hands released it's grip on his shoulder ridge and gently caressed the underside of one long fringe. It sent a warming chill up and down his spine. He rolled his head back, purring.

"Mmmm... Sonya." He purred again before abruptly burying his face into the curve between her neck and shoulder, pumping harder, deeper, into her.

"Auh, sto..op! Please... No more. I... can't.." She pleaded again, desperately, the intensity of his pleasure threading her sanity.

"Let go of your control." He growled. "Mmm...Just a little, ugh, longer."

"But I'll be, muh, to.. ahh, loud." She moaned.

"No, you won't." He said in a low, almost threatening tone.

Sonya relaxed her thighs that were tensed up against the rails. She took a deep breath then let it out, releasing the tension she held in her chest and throat to stifle the screams. Her breath came deeper now, less labored. She felt a hard thrust. At the moment the surrendering cry would have left her throat, the talons tangled in her hair pulled her head back. A sudden sharp pain ripped through her mind as he sank his teeth into the flesh of her neck, cutting of the sound.

The metallic taste of her blood on his tongue was all it took to send him blindly to his zenith. He did his best to keep his growl low, and quiet. The rush of fluid from his body filled hers. The flood of pleasure and relief left his knees weak. He leaned hard into her, forcing her to hold them up with her legs braced on the rails, her hands against the holo projecter. A few seconds later he managed to regain control of his limbs. Reason and logical thought returned gradually to his mind, floating up through the haze. She was panting heavily in his arms. Her breath soft and warm on his face. His hardness involuntarily pulsed inside her. Her body tensed and she arched into him, moaning.

"Oh, godddd, Nihluss." Her lips quivered.

He caressed his face over her chest, nuzzling her breasts and hard, pink nipples. He was waiting for his organ to soften a little and recede back into him. He lightly wondered what they would do about the hot, sticky mess that would flow out of her with he wasn't blocking the exit with his shaft. In hind sight, something he should have considered before ravaging her. He loosened his talons in her hair, gently cradling her skull in his palm. Tears wetted her cheeks. Her lips were red, her face flushed from their passion. He took her mouth in a kiss, holding her tightly to him. She was too weak to struggle, to resist his probing tongue.

It took a little longer than usual for the recession to occur. He held her panting and quaking his his arms until he could leave the hot, swollen pinkness that was now almost a plum. He helped to to the floor, where she collapsed. Her clear cum mingled with red blood and his creamier fluids poured out of her onto the carpeting. He instantly knelt by her side with a tender talon on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly.

He worried he hurt her worse than he thought after seeing the blood. He examined the bite on her throat. The under weave of her armor would cover it. The punctures were small enough, they may not be noticed by the crew if she was careful.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Help me into a chair," she nodded.

Nihlus lifted her up in his strong arms and settled her down gently in the nearest chair. He brushed her hair out of her face with a tender touch. He used his tongue to clean off the tiny drops of blood that dotted her neck.

"I'll put some medi-gel on it when I leave." She assured his unspoken concern. He nodded, his mandibles fluttered.

"I'm sorry. I got a little carried away..."

"It's okay. Just be a little gentler next time." She said softly, interrupting him.

Nihlus' mandibles fluttered again. He was ashamed of his loss of control. Angry at himself that he'd hurt her. He should have know better. He tore his eyes from the wound on her neck and stood to dress himself.

Sonya sat with her eyes closed, her head resting against the back of the chair, consciously trying to slow her heart rate and her breathing. Nihlus couldn't help the grin that spread his mandibles. His release was still leaking out between the red and swollen lips of her sex.

"How are we going to clean this up?" She asked.

"I have no idea." Nihlus chuckled.

"Great." She mumbled.

She watched him from the leather seat while he dressed. Eventually she got up to fetch her clothes from the floor. She untangled her tank from the casual blues. It seemed she was going sans tank today.

They left the debriefing room together. Leaving separately would look more suspicious. If they left casually, professionally, together it didn't look so odd. The time spent inside could be interpreted as a long meeting with the Council. Except Joker. Joker would know when the Citadel stopped transmitting, but that didn't mean they didn't have their own conversation about the mission or her evaluation for Spectre status. Shepard was more nervous than Kryik about the solidity of their story if the subject came up.

Feros was a purply-blue planet floating in space below the Normandy. The color reminded Shepard of something else just as purple, and throbbing, as she looked out the window of the cockpit. Her knees threatened to give way, suddenly weakened by memory. She steadied herself against the door way.

"You alright there, Commander?" Joker teased, smiling to himself. Maybe she did get into the jumps as much as he did after all.

"I'm fine, Joker." She said with a tone that meant 'don't fuck with me'.

Helmsman Moreau decided it was healthier to let it go, for now anyway.

"Of course, Commander. We're approaching Zhu's Hope. Initiating landing vectors."

Joker brought the Normandy into dock as smooth as butter on a baby's butt. The port was empty, bleak. A human male was waiting for the team at the other end of the walk way. Kryik, Shepard and Tali made their way toward him.

"We saw your ship." He greeted the odd trio. "Fai Dan wants to speak with you immediately. The geth are preparing another push. Fai Dan is preparing our defenses, but he needs your help. Please, up the stairs past the freighter."

"I'm here to investigate these geth attacks. Is there anything you ca..." Kryik was cut off by Shepard as she shouted,

"Look out!"

Shepard slammed her back against the concrete wall for cover as a blast from a geth blaster exploded into some crates near the colonist. A bit of shrapnel spun through the air and buried itself in the man's neck, severing his spinal cord. He died shortly after.

Kryik threw himself to the same wall Shepard had sought cover against, using his body to shield her from the blast. Kryik's shields took most of the damage. Shepard looked up into his white face with some surprise. She was capable of taking care of herself. She didn't want sex to change his confidence in her abilities. Still, it was awful sweet of him to be so heroic. She nodded her appreciation and left the safety his shadow to find Tali.

The turian looked after her for a second. He thought the feelings he was having would fade after mating with her, like a stress relief, but instead they were stronger. A round hit his shields, reminding him he was still in battle. He pushed the thoughts and emotions back into the box where he kept the part of him that was Nihlus and became Spectre Kryik. He returned fire.

The quarian had been thrown several feel back behind some crates. Shepard ran over to where she lay, trying to sit up.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yes, I think so. I'm not detecting any suit ruptures." Tali replied.

"Good, 'cause we've got company and they don't want tea." Shepard quipped. She wasn't sure, but she thought she saw Tali giver an amused smirk.

There were four of them. Kryik had already taken out the first two. The others hid behind crates near the stairs. Kryik was taking cover behind some crates on the opposite wall. Shepard took position where the wall cornered. Shepard pulled the pin on two grenades with her teeth. One for each geth should be plenty to take them out.

"One away." She tossed the first one. "Two away." She tossed the second.

Both landed within an acceptable blast radius. Tali stayed behind her, pistol at the ready.

"Suppressing fire!" Shepard shouted, as she leaned out of cover enough to fire off some shots.

Kryik's rounds joined hers. Seconds later the grenades did their job. Bits of geth flew into the air and over the side of the walkway. Making sure everyone had tungsten or warp rounds equipped before leaving the ship, just in case turned out to be a good idea. My notorious instincts were right again...

"We need to get to the settlement." Kryik said, looking across the way at Shepard. She nodded and took the lead.

There were more geth in the stairway. The kind that stuck to walls like tree frogs. She hated that kind. Shepard switched out her pistol for a shot gun.

"More likely to hit the target," she said when Tali looked at her with a cocked head.

Shepard smiled to herself when the young quarian also selected her shot gun after the explanation.

A few minutes later they found the colony, such as it was. The guards held the entry behind walls of concrete, probably once part of buildings. There were no welcoming committees only suggestions from the guards as they passed as to which of their problems the newly arrived solders should tend to next. Or complaints about the gun fire. Kryik got a strange feeling in his gut, like something wasn't right. Something that was not the geth.

They found Fai Dan on the other end of the small complex. He was talking with an armed female. Neither looked too happy.

"Spectre, I'm glad they finally sent someone to help us." Fai Dan greeted the turian.

"You're a bit late, aren't you?" The woman asked accusingly.

"Arcelia!" Fai Dan chastised her. She barely reacted. "Sorry, Spectre." Fai Dan turned his attention back to the turian. "Everyone's on edge since..."

"Watch out!" Shouted Arcelia Martinez. "We've got geth in the tower!"

Geth were attempting to infiltrate through a small door way around the bend.

"Protect the heart of the colony!" Fai Dan shouted.

Kryik took cover next to Shepard behind a concrete barrier. Tali was on the other end. Kryik thought it odd that Fai Dan was particularly worried about the center of the colony. He mentally stored the information away for later reference when they weren't under fire.

Shepard noted the small landing that the geth were filling into from the stairs in the tower. She pulled the pin and two more grenades and threw them unceremoniously into the door way, successfully destroying the incoming geth. She left cover to investigate the rest of the tower. Kryik was close behind her followed by Tali.

They found a geth ship dropping reinforcements. This is going to be rough. They fought off three waves of geth before the ship left. Kryik absently taped Shepard's wrist.

"That was too easy." Kryik said.

Shepard nodded her agreement. "Why didn't they fire the ship's guns? There must be something here they need intact."

Tali began to wonder why she was even on this mission. The two of them seemed to be handling things just fine on their own.

"That's something we need to find out." Kryik said, and lead the team back down to Fai Dan.

"The tower is secure thanks to you and your team." Fai Dan greeted them again.

"Do you know what they want?" Kryik asked Fai Dan.

"Go ask them yourselves, if you want to know." Martinez spat.

Kryik gave her a hard look, knitting his brow.

"We don't know what they're after." Fai Dan interrupted Martinez before she made things more difficult for him. "They came, they attacked us, that's all we know. Their main base is at the ExoGeni Headquarters. A good place to start looking if you want answers."

"How do we get there?" Shepard asked, stepping up beside Kryik the way she was making a habit of doing.

Kryik didn't mind. He never did. If she had been anyone else he was sure he'd put them in their place with a harsh reminder of who was in charge, but Sonya; It was as if she was supposed to be there, asking his questions when he was tired of talking, giving the answers he didn't feel like giving. And now there was something else that enhanced whatever it was that was between them. The intimacy that comes from sharing ones body with another. It had only been once, but he felt something more than he had before. Something unique.

"They skyway leads directly to ExoGeni Headquarters. You can't miss it." Replied Martinez.

Fai Dan added, "Of course there's an army of geth between here and there. If you can take them out, maybe I can get this colony operational again."

"Good. Thank you for your cooperation." Kryik nodded to them and left for the tower.

He took noticed an elevator in the hall when returning to Fai Dan before. He was going to find out if it lead where he thought it did.

Another mako. Didn't anyone have any other idea's for armed and armored transportation? Maybe something that hovered instead of bumped around doing almost as much harm to the passengers and driver as the things it's iron hide protected them from. Shepard sighed as they approached the tired looking vehicle in the bay area. There were a few guards stationed above the motor pool that watched with quiet murmurs as the the team made their way down the steep decline to the tank.

"How far do you think it is to the other towers?" She asked the question to anyone who felt like answering.

"Maybe twenty kilometers." Kryik responded.

Tali wanted to rubber her face in her hands out of frustration. Not being able to do so irritated her even more. She knew the answer because she downloaded an area map from the ship before leaving. It was exactly thirty-one point seven kilometers. It would take them approximately one hour to get there if they plowed through whatever stood in their way. But did anyone care what the quarian had to say? No. She was here for her 'expertise' on the geth. That's it. Damn bosh'tet turian. Taking a deep, filtered breath, Tali did her best to calm herself. Loosing her temper and her focus wasn't going to help anyone. She climbed into the mako after Shepard and strapped herself in for the ride. Shepard was at the controls and Kryik took the gun. She caught a strange look that passed between them. She wasn't incredibly familiar with facial expressions of either spices, but it was defiantly not the same professional exchange of soldiers that the rest of the crew that passed between them. She decided it wasn't any of her business and focused her attention to the display console of the area map she projected from her omni-tool. Maybe she could find something useful on the way.

The skyway ride wasn't as abusive as she thought it was going to be. Of course they weren't running over rocky terrain at full speed to check out an anomaly on a map either. Just the occasional bump from running over some debris or geth trooper. There were a few spots along the way when Tali alerted them to a possible weapons cache and they proceeded to clear the area to check it out. Most of what they found was useless, but they salvaged parts or precious ammo. There was a close call when a colossus managed to take down the mako's shields. Kryik landed a lucky shot and destroyed the offender before it destroyed them. He argued that it was skill, but Shepard rolled her eyes at him with a teasing grin. They were fortunate to find shelter in a tower of ramps leading to a higher skyway to make repairs.

"Stay on guard. I don't want a few repairs to turn into a massacre." Kryik ordered.

The two women nodded and climbed out of the mako. Kryik admired Shepard's hind quarters, the armor accenting it's shape, tempting him as it slid over her curves as she moved to exit the tank.

Tali and Shepard crawled under the mako to check systems and weld things back together. Kryik stood guard. His natural desire to protect made the task a simple one. What was more difficult was the natural desire of his loins stabbing at his trained mind to take Shepard behind some rubble and make her his.

He stole a glance down at the feet poking out from under the vehicle. They were unmistakably quarian. Not the feet he wanted to see.

"Okay, Tali. Get in the mako and run the diagnostics. Radio me out here if you find anything." he said.

"Right, that way we're not both climbing in and out wasting time." Tali said as she wiggled out from under the mako.

Shepard wondered if it was a quarian thing to state the obvious as she wiggled out the other side. She rounded the corner in time to see Tali disappear into the shadows inside the tank. She took a few strides over to where Kryik stood.

"What's the status?" He asked, knowing full well the answer.

"We're running some diagnostics to make sure we won't blow up when we start rolling." Shepard replied, almost playfully. She rubbed her neck absently where he'd bit her.

Kryik sighed when he saw her touch her neck. His mind had not been in complete control at the time, but it didn't matter. He should have been more gentle with her. He closed his eyes for a second, regretting his actions. "I'm sorry." He said softly, his shoulders dropping a slightly. "I should have maintained more control." He shook his head. "It won't happen again."

He felt an armored hand on his arm, urging him to turn around. When he did her face was staring up at him, her brow furrowed and a soft smile on her lips. There was kindness in her eyes.

"That's not what I want, Nihlus." She said, shaking her head. She was a little confused why he had brought up the subject.

"What do you want?" He asked her, his defenses lowered by the sound of his name of her lips.

His heart suddenly fluttered in his chest, his blood rushed in his vines. He was nervous about her answer. How canthis little human woman effect me so?

Sonya flexed her fingers. She knew what she wanted, but can I tell him? Does he have feelings for me or was it just sex for him? Sure, we're friends... of a sort, but was that as far as it went? Her heart pounded hard in her chest, echoing in her ears. Her mouth suddenly felt dry. She lamented the circumstances for her confession. She ran her tongue over her lips.

"I... "

"Shepard, all systems are go, but there's something I think you and Kryik should hear."

Tali's voice came over the com, interrupting Shepard.

"I've picked up a radio signal on my omni-tool. I think it's survivors!"

The two slipped back into soldier mode, reluctantly, but with the ease of familiarity. The ran to the mako and climbed inside.

"Any sign of movement? Lizabeth could still be in there! It's only been a few days." a female voice said over the radio. Static. "She's my daughter. I'll wait as long as I have to."

"The signal isn't very strong, but I think it's close by." Tali said.

Kryik sat silently. Survivors were not part of his goal. He was here to investigate the geth and take them out. Anything else was up to the colonists. He didn't like it, but if the humans weren't prepared to handle the trials of a new colony they should have stayed home.

"We can't waste time. They're alive, wherever they are. They're more likely to stay that way if we don't draw attention to them." he told them.

Tali was disappointed with his answer, but he was the one in charge. She nodded her acceptance and strapped herself back in, leaving her omni-tool tuned in to the frequency the survivors were using in case they said anything important.

"Shepard, get on those controls. Let's move." He ordered and took the main gun again.

He mentally kicked himself for getting distract by personal conversation. It hadn't cost them anything, this time. He couldn't let his guard down again. Not on a mission.

"I think I see movement..." Tali's radio picked up the woman's voice again.

"They must be close if they can see us." She said.

Kryik turned the gun to look around. He spotted some light coming from a supply shelter as Shepard rounded a corner heading up a ramp. It was probably the survivors. It wouldn't take long for the geth to find them there if they didn't cut off their com signal.

"Tali, can you send a reply?"

Tali tapped a few buttons.

"I can try, but it doesn't look like their equipment is receiving signals out side their network. I don't know why we can pick theirs up if they can't receive...".

"We can't stop. They're on their own." Kryik interrupted.

He turned the viewer away from the lights and back to the path in front of them. Tali turned off the radio. She didn't want to find out if the geth fond them. There was nothing she could do.

They emerged from the tower onto the skyway connecting to ExoGeni. It was littered with geth colossuses.

"Okay, Shepard. Run over the smaller ones and circle 'round the colossus like before. Do not get us hit this time!"

Shepard was taken back a bit by the sudden change in his temperament, but she didn't argue. She was glad Tali had interrupted her. What she was about to say would have been exceedingly embarrassing now. She had obviously been wrong about where she thought the relationship was going; way wrong.

The Commander allowed herself a satisfied smirk as the mako jerked and rocked over a couple geth. She imagined she could hear them crunching beneath the wheels. Forget the hover craft. Makos could crush things, she thought happily. Then the mako rocked for a different reason.

"Shepard! I said run over the troopers, not the colossus! Pay attention, solder, or the geth won't be the only thing you have shooting at you!" He shouted down at her.

She jerked the controls hard to port to avoid a blue energy blast from a colossus cannon. She mentally punched herself in the face for letting herself get distracted. She was a Commander, what the hell was wrong with her?

Kryik lined up the guns and fired the main canon. It was a direct hit, but not a kill. He ordered Shepard to make another pass. He didn't like having to shout at her, but she needed to clear her head. They didn't have the luxury of self indulgence right now. There was just too much riding on the mission and her evaluation to fuck it up over... He pushed it all away. Hard.

He lined up the shot and fired. The colossus crumpled to the ground in a heap of scrap. The same method worked on the next few, but it was close. Using the mako as a weapon was hard on the shields, but it was usually a one hit kill against a trooper. They made it through the bay doors at the end of the skyway. The mako was lightly damaged, but in tact. The run back may be just that; a run.

Kryik eyed the narrow opening into the closed off mako bay. He was sure he saw something moving in there.

"Everyone fall out, but keep your guard up. I don't think we're alone."

Kryik wasn't surprised to find a few more geth inside the bay. There was plenty of debris and rubble for cover. He scaled the mountainous pile of rock and concrete just inside the door way to take cover behind a partial wall of stone that rested atop the mass, providing cover fire for himself all the while. In that moment he was leaving Shepard and Tali to their own devices. Shepard would need to be able to rely on herself if she was to be a Spectre. She had yet to do that. Even during the Blitz she had been part of a team. That may not always be the case. He had not been as hard on her as he should have been, distracted by irrational thoughts and feelings that he should have ignored. Not any more. He had to be the Spectre. Nihlus had no place on this mission.

One of the geth flew over Shepard's head. She didn't even see it and kept firing at the troopers that were flanking her position. Kryik took aim and fired, exploding the light source on it's 'face'. He watched Shepard slam her back against the partial wall she and Tali took shelter behind to finish off the hopper. His brow knitted. Maybe she wasn't ready. If he hadn't takin the shot, she would not have lived to complete the mission. It was an unacceptable failure, his as well as hers. He should have been focusing on her training.

Kryik bared his teeth in anger at himself, firing a series of rounds into one of the troopers advancing on Shepard and the quarian. One was on the ridge above them, moving in for the kill. Kryik equipped his sniper. A shot strait through the head should damage it's sensors enough to disable it. He lined up the geth's main light in the sights and pulled the trigger. His aim was true and the geth slumped to the ground. A hopper flew over head. Kryik dropped the rifle and tucked into a roll a few feet from his previous position, avoiding the deadly laser. He pulled his pistol from it's clip and fired. He missed his aim, but hit the target. The hopper leaped to the ceiling. His aim followed firing successive rounds. He was quick, but the hopper was quicker. He threw himself out of the way of the laser, landing on his back and firing at the geth. A direct hit to the main body disabled the geth's motor functions. It fell to the mound of rubble below. Kryik regained his feet and trained his weapon on the enemy. He fired a shot into it for every step he took toward it. When he was satisfied it wasn't getting back up he turned his attention to the gun shots echoing from Shepard's position.

Kryik made his way quite nimbly over the scrap and stone in time to see the last trooper fall to the floor at Shepard's feet. She had left cover to take the last one out at the top of the ramp that lead to the upper level. She was a little rough around the edges, but when she focused, she had the makings of a great Spectre. She turned around to survey the battle field where Tali was scavenging the fallen geth for parts and information. Her eyes fell on him from across the bay. His attempts to close his heart to her faltered then. As hard as he may try to keep her out, she had already found her way in. It was up to him to have the strength to focus on the mission.

"Tali, have you found anything we can use?" He asked as the group came together at the bottom of the ramp. He avoided eye contact with Shepard. That seemed to be his undoing.

"No. I wasn't fast enough to access the memory cores before they were flashed," she told him. Her shoulders hung with her own disappointment.

Kryik looked up to the door way that would have lead into the ExoGeni Headquarters building. It was blocked off by a geth force field. It wasn't likely they were going to be able to shoot through it.

"We have to find another way in." He said, looking at Tali.

She felt useful again. He was talking to her instead of Shepard. This was her time to shine. She smiled behind her mask at the handsome turian.

"There's a drop at the top of the landing." Shepard stated.

Tali's hope crumbled. She mentally swore at Shepard for stealing her spot light before she'd had the chance to sing.

Kryik walked up the ramp without responding or even a acknowledging that Shepard had spoken. He would deal with her ire later. He found the drop. It would be a one way trip. He didn't hesitate to make the jump. The walls were taller than he was by almost his full height. He walked toward the opening at the other end. Behind him he heard Shepard and Tali drop down to follow him.

Kryik heard the explosive sound of gun fire to his right just before his shields phased as the bullets failed to penetrate. He drew his weapon and took aim at his assailant, expecting more geth. Instead he saw a human, a female. She wore a tech's uniform.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I thought you were geth or..!"

"Who are you? What are you doing in here." Kryik shouted. He was in no mood for civilians with guns.

"It's my own fault," The woman sighed as she holstered her weapon. "Everyone else was running and I stayed to back up data. Next thing I knew the geth ship latched on and the power went out. I was trapped. I tried to get out, but the way was blocked."

Kryik put his gun back on it's clip. Behind him he heard Shepard and Tali do the same. He felt a heat on the back of his head. He rubbed his neck, the skin was cool. He glanced behind him. Shepard's eyes were narrowed hard at him. Yep, ire. Just what I needed, a pissed off female.

He turned back to the woman.

"Yes, we encountered the energy field. I'll find a way to take it down. The geth are here because they want something. Tell me what the geth are after." He said sternly, his brow knitted and his mandibles pressed tightly against his jaw.

"I don't know for certain, but I'm guessing they're here for the Thorian." The woman replied reluctantly.

"Thorian, what's that?" Shepard asked as she stepped up beside him.

He mentally smiled to himself at her quads. She was brave for assuming her place, considering how harsh he'd been since making the repairs to the mako, or stubborn. He liked both.

"It's an indigenous life form. ExoGeni was studying it." The tech answered.

"Why were they studying it?" Shepard asked.

"I can't answer that. It's a top secret project. I shouldn't have told you it exists!"

"I need to know where it is, and you're going to tell me." Kryik growled, taking a threatening step toward the woman.

She backed away, nearly tripping over some rubble.

"Now."

"I.. I can't say... Look, shouldn't you be trying to find a way out of here?" She desperately asked the turian towering over her.

His intensely green eyes bored down into her as if he would pluck the information from her brain with his glare.

"Here, take my ID. It will get you passed any locked doors. The geth were laying power lines. I think the geth ship is powering the field..." Her hand was shaking as she relinquished the pass to the talons of the alien.

"Stay hidden until the field is down." He ordered. "Find a hole to cower in." He mocked as he turned away.

There was a small door on the other end of the under structure they were in. He make steps toward it. He cocked his head when he heard Shepard's voice.

"Thank you for your help."

Then hers and Tali's foot steps followed him. He opened the door to reveal a stair well. A deep voice echoed in the space. Not Saren's.

"Stupid machine!"

Kryik started up the stairs, weapon drawn. Shepard and Tali followed his lead.

"Access encrypted files."

The team rounded the first landing.

"No, I don't want to review protocol."

"I am unable to comply. Please contact your supervisor." A synthetic voice replied.

"Damn it! Tell me what I want or I'll blast your virtual ass into actual dust!"

"Please contact your supervisor for a level four security exemption, or make an appointment wi..."

"Stupid machine!" the deep voice shouted.

Kryik mounted the final landing to see a krogan attempting to interrogate the AI hologram.

"If there is nothing else, please step aside. There is a que forming behind you for the use of this console." The AI politely informed the krogan, effectively ruining Kryik's plan of a surprise attack. Stupid machine.

The krogan turned out to be a biotic. Shepard managed to dodge the warp blast by ducking back down the stairs. The krogan came charging out of the room. She sent her own warp field in blaze of blue. The krogan's feet stumbled, but he didn't fall. Kryik took the opportunity to take cover in front of Shepard, blocking her aim, and fired on the fallen krogan.

Tali picked herself off the floor. The turian was shooting at the krogan who was now on the floor. She pulled a grenade from her belt and pulled the pin, tossing it at the krogan as she ducked into the stair way.

"Hit the ground!" Kryik shouted.

The grenade exploded sending bits of rubble and krogan flying and splattering the walls.

Kryik shot the quarian a stern look then nodded. She wasn't positive, but she was pretty sure he'd just complimented her. She smiled behind the mask and followed him to the console.

Shepard lagged behind, glowering at the back of Kryik's head. He had consistently chastised her or ignored her at every turn. Now he was complementing the quarian while blocking her shots. If it was because she politely told him to be more gentle with her human form and that had offended him, well, he can go to fucking hell.

"ExoGeni Corporation reminds all staff that the discharging of weapons while on company property is strictly forbidden." said the AI. "Welcome back research assistant Elizabeth Baynham. What can I do for you?"

"That must have been that tech we found." Tali chimed.

Kryik ignored her. He didn't need irrelevant data that was useless as well as obvious.

"What information was the previous user trying to access?" He asked the AI.

"Patching data. The previous user was attempting to access details on the study of subject species thirty-seven; the Thorian."

"What did you tell him?"

"I was unable to provide the previous user with any relevant data. Aside from lacking proper access, there has been no new data on species thirty-seven. All sensors monitoring the observation post at Zhu's Hope have been inactive for several cycles."

"Zhu's Hope?" Shepard stepped forward.

"Species thirty-seven is located within the substructure of the colony."

She looked up at Kryik. Her wrath aside, and whatever was up his butt, this was important. Not only was it probably what the geth were after, but it was a danger to the colonists.

Kryik felt her eyes on him. He wanted to return her gaze, to take her in his arms and tell her he would take care of everything. He wanted to be a hero for her sake, to sweep her off her feet riding into the heat of battle and come out with her impaled on his blade, so to speak, but he kept his face stern and his glare on the holo, hardening himself into the Spectre he needed to be.

"Tell me everything you know about the Thorian." He ordered the AI.

The Thorian was a sentient life form, able to control other life forms through the dispersion and inhalation of spores. ExoGeni was studying the effects and speed of infection. The entire colony was an experiment. That was why they had acted strangely. Kryik suspected it was also why Saren was after the creature. He had to destroy it.

"We should warn Joker." Shepard suggested.

"Joker," Kryik activated his com. No response. "Come in, Joker." Still no response.

"The field must be blocking the transmission." Tali offered.

"We have to take out the geth ship to lower the field. Let's move." Kryik ordered.

The AI went into stand by mode.

Kryik almost always kept his cool under pressure. Panicking wasn't going to help them. Neither was loosing his temper, he reminded himself. He made a mental note to apologize to Shepard when they were back on board the ship.

Part of the building was on fire. The fire prevention walls blocked off the passages to halls that were in flames. At the end of their path they found two geth, kneeling in front of some sort of light. He signaled to Tali and Shepard to focus their fire on the one on the right and he would take the left. They nodded their understanding in unison.

The 'praying' geth survived long enough to stand before falling to the floor. Whatever they were seemingly worshiping was housed behind the claws of the ship that anchored it to the building. Large power cables ran out from it through the walls. They didn't have the fire power to knock it loose. They had to find another way. Kryik jumped down to where the geth had been kneeling, his team following suit. He eyed the brightly glowing sphere they had been kneeling before. He tried to shield his eyes from the light, but had to look away in the end.

Tali said something about the geth finding some sort of religion to Shepard. Kryik didn't buy it. They were synthetic life forms. They didn't have a spirit or a soul. They were hardware. He kicked one out of his path as he headed for the doorway behind him. Down the hall a through a few geth, they found the other side of the field blocking the door way. To the left was a passage, to the right; stairs. Kryik went with his instincts to go left.

Down the tunnel, up some more stairs, around a corner, Kryik began to doubt his choice. He treated every bend in the path like a potential ambush. He'd decided that this was the last corner. If there was nothing there, they would double back and take the other route. The geth ship was blocking the scanning sensors on his omni-tool, so he used basic techniques that had been mostly done away with. Too many soldiers overly relied on their tech to get them through a mission. Saren had taught him that. Saren had also taught him to never to let anyone in. A lesson, in hind sight, that he should have taken more heed of. It had almost cost him his life.

Then he thought of Shepard. She was working her way in whether he let her or not. Whether she was trying or not. He felt a strange ache in his chest, almost making it difficult to breath. He glanced behind him. The two solders with him had their backs to the wall, weapons at the ready. He caught Shepard's eyes. He felt sucked into them as if they were black holes. He could tell she was angry with him, but behind that there was something else. That 'something else' was what was throwing him off, killing his game. He needed to get to the Citadel and talk to Captain Anderson, or even the Consort. Someone trust worthy either by word or by contract to get his head strait. It was obvious he was incapable of doing it on his own.

He closed his eyes and turned his head away from her. It seemed the easiest way to pull himself from her gaze. He focused, pushing the thoughts and feelings away. He took a deep breath, opened his eyes and peeked around the corner. Geth. Lots of geth, and some sort of mobile consoles. He returned to cover and nodded to his team, signaling the presence of the enemy. They had their plan. He leaned out and took the first shot.

It truly was a lucky shot. One round one kill. His target hit the dirt, alerting the others to the intruders. Shepard moved in around him, taking cover behind a concrete barrier. She didn't ask questions about why it was there. No need to look an act of god in the mouth.

Kryik saw her ignite with blue flame before she popped up and sent the geth hurling through the air. The blast wasn't as strong as it had been when she saved Liara. Maybe it was more of an emotional response than actual control her her power. He would have to keep that in mind when rewriting his evaluation/recommendation. He and Tali used the opportunity to fire at the geth while they were helpless in the air. When they crashed into the wall and fell to the floor they didn't get up

There was an odd bridge flush to the wall that lead over a tall divider to the next room and another claw keeping the geth ship secured to the wall. It was griping the building through an open docking hatch.

"We need to find the controls the that hatch." He pointed out.

Tali had an idea of what he was thinking. "It looks like this used to be some sort of cargo bay that ExoGeni converted into lab spaces. The controls should be near by."

Shepard rolled her eyes. The young quarian's habit of stating the obvious was really getting on her nerves. She tried to be patient. May be a cultural thing. Living behind a mask can't be easy.

There were far fewer geth on the other side of the bridge, but one was a trooper. Tali attacked with an overload burst from her omni-tool. It stalled the trooper long enough for Kryik to cripple the other geth with two well placed shots where the legs connected to the body. He finished it off with a armored boot to the head.

Shepard covered his back, taking aim at the recovering trooper. Tali offered distraction fire while Shepard toss a grenade and found cover. Kryik barely made it behind a concrete wall before the blast went off. He rounded the corner and fired several more rounds into the dying geth, mandibles tight along his jaw stream lining his face.

Shepard found the sight rather alluring. She had to remind herself that she was pissed as hell at him. However, she wasn't the only female in the room to find the battle hardened turian appealing. Tali was free to let her face show every bit of her lust for the turian. No one could see it behind the mask. It was one freedom she had that others did not. Not exactly a fair exchange for all the things she couldn't do, but it was something. She wondered what he smelled like at that moment, what his plates and skin would feel like. What it would be like to hold his hand in her similar one, to kiss him.

"Tali, we may need your help."

Kryik's voice cut into her wandering thoughts like a knife. She was standing idle while he and Shepard were trying to figure out how to maximize the closing power of the bay door with out over heating the system. She felt her face bloom with heat. She quickly examined the controls and did a few calculations in her head before coming up with the correct sequence.

The bay door slid up in one swift movement, effectively cutting the claw from the ship with an explosion of sparks and quickly dying fire. The building shook. Dust and debris littered down on them from above. Kryik braced himself against the machinery. A loud screeching sound threatened to deafen them. Other loud explosions were heard above and below them. The other claws were breaking loose from the building. The structure shuddered harder each time a claw loosed. Tali lost her balance and fell to the ground with a harsh grunt.

Shepard stumbled in her attempt to maintain an up right position, falling against the chest of one surprised turian. His arm clasped around her reflexively, securing her to him. For a brief moment their eyes locked. He saw her anger melt a way and that 'something else' shine through like the light of the sun, warm and comforting. He felt himself press his mouth to her forehead for a second before a violent shudder forced him to turn his attention to re-securing his grip on the console. The gesture was lost in the chaos.

Finally the building was still. Dust filtered down through the air, then a loud crash shook the structure from it's base. Kryik tightened his grip on her shoulders until the shaking subsided enough for them to stand without falling. Shepard helped Tali to stand. Residual tremors trembled through the building as they ran back to the doorway. The barrier wall dropped. Lizabeth stood waiting for them just outside the entrance.

Kryik steadied his steps, his long, quick strides brought him nearly toe to toe with her before he pointed a threatening talon in her face. "Your employer has much to answer for." He said with a low, deadly calm.

Lizabeth nodded her head in agreement, to afraid to speak.

"I repeat, Normandy to shore party, come in." Joker's voice came over Kryik's com. "Normandy to shore party. Is anyone there? Come on, somebody talk to me!"

Kryik glanced over to Shepard. She brought up her omni-tool.

"Joker, it's Commander Shepard. We read you. Is everything okay?"

"We're in lock down here, Commander. Something happened to the colonists. They're banging on the hull, trying to claw their way inside the ship. They're freaking out!"

"They can't do any real damage. We're on our way back. Hold your position and don't let them in, no matter what happens."

"Uh, yeah. Okay. Well, we'll just wait right here for ya, Commander."

Shepard's omni-tool bliped out. She looked back to Kryik, who was still staring down Lizabeth.

"You knew what they were doing. Why didn't you stop the tests?" Shepard moved in.

"I... I... I wanted to..." She stammered under Kryik's glare. "B.. but they threatened me, told me I'd be next! When the geth attacked I stayed behind to send a message to Colonial Affairs. I was going to tell them where to find the Thorian, but the power cut before I could send the message. I.. I never meant for this to happen!"

"How do we get to the Thorian." Kryik growled.

"It's blocked by a freighter. The colonist covered the entrance just before the geth attacked."

"Normandy to shore party."

It was Joker again.

"What is it?" Kryik answered.

"We're getting a lot of geth com chatter. Looks like they're headed your way."

"Thanks for the head's up Joker." Shepard answered.

"You heard the man, move out." Kryik ordered his team. "You," He turned back to Lizabeth. "You can walk."

"What? We can't just leave her here." Shepard protested.

"Can't I? She allowed experiments on her own people, on your people, Shepard, that took away the freedom of their minds and control over their own bodies. You don't think she should pay for that?" Kryik shouted at her, the talon now in her face.

"She did what she could." Shepard defended her.

"No, she didn't. If she disagreed with them so much she would have found an aggressive solution to stopping the tests, just like I'm going to do."

He brushed passed Lizabeth, almost knocking her to the ground.

"Let's at least take her out of here, we can drop her off with the other ExoGeni survivors." Shepard suggested.

"There are other survivors?" Lizabeth asked excitedly.

"We heard them on the radio on our way here." Tali answered.

"My mother could be one of them. Please, take me there. Take me to them!" She begged the scary turian.

Kryik didn't turn around. He stopped long enough to consider what Shepard had said.

"Fine." He said over his shoulder and kept walking. "We can drop her off. I'm not going to 'hold her hand', as you say. She goes down alone. Whatever she finds is her problem."

Shepard bit her tongue. There were so many things she could say right now, none of them leading any where friendly. She grabbed Lizabeth by the arm, hard, and practically drug her to the mako, shoving her in with a rough push to the buttocks.

"You can strap yourself in." She said in a low tone.

Shepard didn't like the girl any more than Kryik did, knowing what she helped ExoGeni to do, but she wasn't going to leave her behind to be slaughtered by geth. What she liked even less what Kryik's reaction. She was upset that he was willing to leave the girl behind and equally impressed that he was just as upset about the experiments as if they had been turian subjects. She loved and hated him in that moment.

Tali strapped in next to the new passenger. She studied the girls face for a second before Shepard lurched the mako around to the bay doors.

"Hold on." Tali warned the human. "It's going to get a little bumpy."

'Little bumpy' was a gross understatement. The geth that were left had reinforcements. They would be lucky if the mako wasn't in flames halfway to the colony. Shepard drove the mako hard and fast down the skyway, using the jump thrusters liberally to avoid as much impact on the shields as possible. They wouldn't get a chance to let them recharge. Kryik initially intended to take out as many of the bastards as possible, but after the first few thruster jumps, he just held on to the gunners rail supports for dear life. The woman was crazy and he was pretty sure he was falling in love with her considering how crazy she made him. He couldn't even focus on the damn mission longer than an hour without thinking about her. The thought renewed his frustration and ire with his own failures.

Tali clung to her seat as tightly as she could, certain they would go careening over the edge when Shepard missed the skyway. She wasn't sure what was worse; the feeling in her stomach that made her want to loose her lunch, or the barely controlled drifting skids the Commander performed around the corners going down the ramps.

"... anybody. Is there anybody picking this up?" the female voice from before came over the radio.

"Get away from that radio!" a male voice this time.

"Is that.. mom?" Lizabeth asked no one in particular.

"This is Juliana Baynham at Feros colony. Please, help us." the female voice came again.

"That's my mom! Stop! Stop the rover!" Lizabeth cried.

Shepard skidded to a halt at the bottom of the last ramp and hit the door release. Lizabeth was our and running before Tali could unbuckle herself.

"What are you doing, Tali?" Kryik snapped.

"We're not going to just leave, the woman said they needed help."

"I said we were dropping her off. We have to get to that Thorian." Kryik glared down at her. "Unless you want me to go down there an start exacting justice on the ExoGeni CEO's and lab techs, I suggest you follow my orders."

Tali kept her mouth shut and clicked her buckle back in place. Shepard hit the door controls again and the hatch sealed shut. The closer they got to possibly catching up to Saren, the more agitated the Spectre became. She understood it was partially a personal vendetta. She didn't blame him.

Shepard hit the gas. If Saren was with the Thorian, she wanted to get to him just as bad as Kryik did, only for different reasons. She gave a moment of thought to the memory of Nihlus after speaking with the Council about Eden Prime. The long quiet they shared by the lake on the Presidium. She wondered if that had been a funeral of sorts for whoever Nihlus had been before the betrayal. He seemed, to her, to be slowly becoming the thing he was hunting. It scared her.

The mako skidded to a flaming stop a quarter of a kilometer from the Zhu's Hope bay doors. There was something sitting near the door controls. Kryik couldn't make it out, but it mattered very little. They needed to get out of the tank before it cooked them all alive, or exploded.

"Move, move, move!" He shouted as he dropped down from the gunners seat.

Shepard was already out the hatch and moving down the skyway toward the hanger. Tali's safety restraints were malfunctioning, preventing her from escaping. Kryik pulled out his combat knife to cut through the straps and drag her from the mako. Tali thought the blade was more like a short sword. The elaborately vicious looking turian blade was nearly 45 centimeters long.

"Watch the suit!" Was all she could think to say when the blade cut through the straps with an unsettling ease.

Kryik didn't respond. He lifted her out of the seat and carried her out of the mako, planting her feet unceremoniously on the ground a few meters away from the tank. He didn't even ask her if she was okay before looking ahead to find Shepard. The Commander was nearing the bay doors.

"Move." He ordered and sprang into a sprint after Shepard.

Tali looked after him, dusting herself off. She had no intentions of running after Shepard, or anyone else. Her pride was wounded by having to be rescued and her feelings were bruised by the turian's obvious disinterest in her. She did jog down to where they were. She didn't want to appear insubordinate. She couldn't help but notice throughout the mission that the turrian touched the Commander for a split second in some way before speaking to her. Whether it was a light touch to her wrist, or briefly grazing the back of an arm, or some other 'accedental' touch. It was clear to the young quarian that his 'interests' lay elsewhere.

Shepard and Kryik neared the object by the door controls. It was grey and had thick vines or arms draped under it. When it moved they both pulled their pistols. It uncurled on it's feet from its oddly fetal position. It looked almost human, but with claws for fingers.

"What the hell is that thing?" Shepard asked.

It turned its head to look at them when she spoke, then slowly made steps toward them.

"I'm not..." Kryik started to answer.

The thing broke out in a dead run, charging at them and uttering a low guttural sound.

"Fire!"

He didn't have to tell her. Their rounds were joined by Tali's as she ran up behind them. It took several critical hits before it fell. Kryik kicked it a few times to be sure it wasn't getting back up. Green goo oozed from the holes in it's body.

"Whatever this was," He said coldly, "It wasn't human. There are bound to be more. They cannot be allowed to survive."

"What about the colonists? They will try to stop us from reaching the Thorian." Shepard said.

Kryik didn't look at her. She wasn't going to like his answer.

"We can't let anything stop us, or anyone. Try to spare them if you can, but do not hesitate if the objective is threatened. More lives than those here depend on the success of our mission."

Shepard knew he was right, but she didn't have to agree.

Kryik hit the controls. The door lifted open with the whine of servos and popping and creaking of the warped metal. There was a small battalion of the bizarre creatures waiting for them.

"Too bad the mako's toast. Could have used the main gun." Shepard thought.

She switched out her pistol for the assault rifle and loaded the shredder rounds. She pulled the trigger. The rounds tore through the plant-like flesh easily enough.

Tali loaded her shot gun with shredders, following Shepard's example.

Kryik hid behind the door way, catching the ones that survived Shepard and Tali's fire, which weren't many. He saw the armed guards waiting for them by the elevator. They had to have been effected by the Thorian, because they weren't helping. He wasn't sure how they were going to get past them without killing them.

Eventually the last creature dropped, gushing green ooze. Tali was pretty sure she'd never be able to eat nutrient past again, or anything green.

Kryik didn't hesitate to run up the ramp, firing at the guards. He hoped they would scatter, but the Thorian's control was too strong. Each of them fell before a single round bounced off his shields. Shepard ran up the ramp.

"What are you doing?" She shouted. "Those were innocent colonists! We could have pushed through them to the elevator, knocked them unconscious, anything but kill them! Our shields would have held!" She was almost screaming at him.

Kryik couldn't look at her. He reloaded his gun.

"We don't have time to play nice, Shepard."

"We don't have people to spare either. You're no better than Saren if you think gunning down victims of the very thing you seek to destroy is an acceptable sacrifice for the good of the whole."

The thought had come tumbling out of her mouth before she was aware she was saying it, but she did't regret it. She wasn't about to let him continue like this. She had never been afraid to freely give her opinion to anyone in her life. Not even on Earth. She earned plenty of beatings for it too, but that didn't stopped her. The look in Nihlus' eyes when she compared him to Saren made her blood run cold. She did her best not to let the effect show, steeling herself for whatever came.

Tali was in shock. She stopped in her tracks halfway up the ramp, staring at the mad woman who just provoked an already agitated turian. Not a good idea, no matter whatever feelings he may have for her.

"Oh, keela..." She muttered.

Kryik's blood boiled in his veins. How dare she compare me to Saren... that traitor! He What right does she have to rebuke me? I am the right hand of the Council, free to do as I saw fit! Use whatever means necessary... He blinked at himself, realizing what just went through his head. Maybe she's right. The revealation made him focus on her face and not the anger that blinded him. He could see the effect his rage had on her as she stood not more than two meters from him, defiant and ready for whatever shit storm may come. She had quads. She had one hell of a spirit. What am I going to do with her? The answer floated in the back of his mind like the memory of a dream that the dreamer isn't sure he had.

Kryik didn't reply. There was nothing to say. He walked over to the elevator and hit the call button. The doors slid open and he stepped inside, keeping his gaze away from Shepard.

Shepard had no choice but to follow him or stay here and die fighting off geth. Tali walked past her, pausing to look at her and shaker her head in the slightest manner. She wasn't sure if the quarian was disappointed or impressed. Either way she didn't care. Nothing was going to change her mind about the dead guards.

They rode the elevator in silence. Now they were solders, fighting side by side because they were assigned to the team, not because they wanted to. When the doors opened the unit shot down more grey creatures. These got back up.

"They must be stronger the closer they are to the Thorian." Tali suggested.

Kryik nodded his agreement.

There were colonists hiding behind a barrier at the top of the stairs and more things at the bottom. He thought about what Shepard had said. If he wiped out the colony he wouldn't be saving anyone. He didn't want to loose his sense of right and wrong. He couldn't let himself become like Saren. He'd disagreed with his mentors tactics when he was his student, and he wasn't about to give in to them now.

"Don't fire on them. Tali, toss a grenade to the lower landing. We'll run through the rest."

"Aye, aye sir." Tali acknowledged him. "Sir, I have a flash grenade."

Kryik's brow lifted with a smidgen of surprise.

"Good, we may need it."

Tali smiled behind her mask.

It took two grenades to stop the creatures on the lower landing. The resulting goo made it difficult to move quickly without falling. Their shields took little damage from the firing squad of the two at the top of the stairs. Unfortunately, The entry to the colony was blocked by more creatures and colonists. There was precious little cover.

"Take out the creatures first." Kryik ordered. "Shepard, disable them with a biotic attack. Then we'll run past them."

Shepard was glad to see he was't going to just gun them down. It appeared that calling him out had gotten some sense into him. Shepard and Kryik focused their fire on the flanking greys. Tali took the point. They were lucky that there were only three. Shepard ignited into blue flame, shooting a wide arch of blue power toward the colonists. It knocked them down with out doing too much harm, but they were recovering quickly.

They ran passed them, one got off a shot at Tali's back before Shepard thew him back to the ground, knocking the wind out of him. She used the attack again when their progress was impeded by more colonists at the end of the walkway that lead around the main building.

"Tali, scan for the entry and find the controls for that crane!" Kryik shouted at her and pointed with his chin to the crane. "Give me the flash grenade!"

She passed it off to him like a baton in a relay race, then took cover and activated her omni-tool. Shepard took cover beside her to provide fire power. Kryik took cover behind a barrier after incapacitating the previous tenant with a rifle butt to the face. He loaded his pistol with explosive rounds.

"Now, Tali!" He shouted into the com at her as he fired at the greys, spilling green goo on the ground when their heads exploded.

He was glad that it only took one round per grey. The specialized rounds over heated his weapon with every shot, taking time to cool before he could fire again. Time was something they always seemed to be short on when it was most needed.

Tali fingers flew over her omni-tool.

"I've got it. The controls are directly ahead. The entry is under the pre-fab center left of our position."

"Get ready!" He replied.

He pulled the pin and tossed it over the barrier toward the largest mass of colonists. He ducked and closed his eyes. He could see the flash even through his thick lids. When the light subsided he vaulted the barrier and ran for the controls. Seconds later Shepard and Tali were by his side. The blinded colonists lay on the ground clutching at their faces and moaning. The controls were simple enough. The pre-fab was in the air and Kryik was eyeing the hole in the ground when he heard foot steps. Instinctively, he pulled his gun and aimed it in the direction of the sound. His team followed suit and fell in behind him.

Fai Dan came around the corner, dragging his feet, struggling against each step as if he were being pulled.

"I tried to fight it," He was saying, grabbing at his head with one hand. "But it gets in your head! You can't imagine the pain. I was supposed to be their leader."

Fai Dan's hand was shaking, moving toward the pistol on his hip. Kryik eased pressure against the trigger on his own.

"These people trusted me."

The pistol came up, pointed at Kryik, but Fai Dan didn't fire. He seemed stronger than the rest. He was still resisting total control of the Thorian.

"It wants me to stop you, but.. I... wont."

The gun moved shakily away from its intended target to the head of the man wielding it.

"I won't!" Fai Dan shouted in defiance and pulled the trigger, the muzzled pointed at his own head.

Shepard turned away. She couldn't look. She didn't want to see Fai Dan's brain matter scattered on the ground or the hole in his head. She'd seen her share of it from far more deserving men. Shepard headed down the concrete steps ahead of the team without looking over at what remained of Fai Dan.

Tali followed slowly behind. She had never seen a suicide. To see one committed in front of her so they could complete their mission left her feeling hollow.

Kryik stood silent, respectful of Fai Dan's sacrifice. He was an honorable man. An honorable human. He would remember him.

The crypt like under structure was dimly lit by make shift lighting along the floor. Around one corner a fire burned with an oily light. There was a strong smell green smell and the scent of earth and stale petrichor. The walls were dry, but the faint drip of water echoed through the space.

"We just need to find this Thorian creature and find out what Saren wants with it." Tali narrated their journey.

Shepard was strongly considering getting the girl a diary so she could write this obvious crap down instead of spewing it on them every time there was an uncomfortable silence.

"We need to put a few rounds in it." Shepard spat back at her.

Kryik said nothing. He was focused on reaching the creature, half hoping Saren was down here with it.

The team rounded a corner that opened up to a cylindrical chamber. Halls open to the would be empty center spiraled up the sides of the walls. Hanging from tentacle like extentions was a large, fleshy, bulbous mass with a kind of 'face'. Long stringy vines hung from where one might expect a mouth to be.

"What the hell is that..." Shepard trailed off. "That does not look like any plant I've ever seen."

"This may be... problematic." Kryik mumbled.

He took a few steps toward the Thorian. The floor vibrated beneath his feet when a low rumbled moved through the air.

"Was that... did the Thorian make that sound?" Tali asked.

The mass pulsed steadily with a wooshing sound. Kryik was pretty sure it was breathing. Water, or slim dripped from the stringy vines. Upon closer inspection he saw tentacles lines with suckers around the mouth area. The Thorian groaned again and the mouth fluxuated. Something was coming out of it. He backed away, pistol drawn.

What came out was not what he expected. It was an asari. A green asari, with silvery eyes that seemed dull despite their shine. And she was nude.

It took Kryik a moment to steady himself. She had just been 'birthed', so it seemed natural that she was in the buff, but nothing prepares you to see a naked, green asari spat out of the mouth of a giant, ugly plant. He did like the green better than the blue though. The darker green of her nipples stood erect on the soft surface her her breasts. She seemed really angry for someone who just came into the world.

"Invaders! 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."

He was in awe alright, but not of the Thorian. She had mentions Saren, and that shook him from the hypnotic distraction of her form.

"Saren. Whatever you gave him I need." he told her.

"Saren sought knowledge of those who are gone. The Old Growth listened to flesh for the first time in the Long Cycle. Trades were made. Then cold ones began killing the flesh that wold tend the next cycle. Flesh fairly given! The Old Growth sees the air you push as lies! It will listen no more."

"Give me what I need and I will strike back at the one who betrays." Kryik said with venom, curling a fist in the air.

"No more will the Thorian listen to those that scurry. You're lives are short, but have gone on for far too long!"

"So much for diplomacy." Shepard grumbled, and dove behind a pillar for cover.

"You're blood will feed the ground for the new growth!" The green asari shouted before a powerful burst of energy exploded toward them in a chartreuse light.

Kryik let his shields take the first hit, firing his assault riffle into the flesh of the nude female. The rounds tore the strange green flesh from her body. Her head was ripped from the neck with a strange wet sound and the thing fell to the floor.

His eyes darted to the Thorian. It was in the process of birthing another asari, this one the same as the last; a clone. His line of sight followed the tentacles that attached it to the walls. The nearest one clung to a wall through a nearby door way. That was the key.

"We're going to dislodge it from the wall," He shouted. "Fire your weapons at the nodes connecting it! Use shredders!"

More greys uncurled from behind walls and pillars. Others slid out from eggsack-like structures on the walls near the nodes. It took a lot of fire to break through the strong fibers that held the Thorian suspended. Each node that was destroyed pulled a rumbling screech from the Thorian as it sagged down further toward it's doom. Every clone they killed was replaced by another. The green clone fired another crippling blow. Kryik barely dodged the blast before returning fire from behind a pillar. Tali and Shepard picked off the creepers. They were weakening as the Thorian lost its grip on the walls. They were hurting it.

Another clone appeared just as the last one went down. The Thorian was trying to double up on them. Kryik saw the clone charge into the room, aglow with a sick light. Shepard ran from cover toward the last node, firing her weapon, determined to end this battle. Kryik and Tali provided her with cover fire. With a last final effort the clone released another arch of energy before it's head exploded. The blast was headed strait for Shepard. Kryik knew her shields were too low to handle the attack and he was too far ways to knock her out of the path. Without another thought he turned and fired at Shepard's feet. He hit her in the leg and she fell. The certainly fatal blast passed mere centimeters over her body and sliced an attacking creeper in half. The last rounds from her gun severed the final node as she fell. Her suit was already appliying medi-gel.

The scream from the Thorian as it plummeted to it's demise shook the walls. Seconds later they heard the squishy splat of impact.

Kryik ran over to Shepard where she lay on the ground. "Shepard!"

"Damn! That was close." she huffed.

His mandibles slid away to expose his needle like teeth in a grin. She looked up into his eyes, a silent thank you translated in her gaze. He nodded and helped the soldier to her feet.

Nearby another fleshy pod on the wall tore open. The team readied weapons. What was birthed was not a creeper. It looked like another clone, but this one was blueish purple and clothed.

"I'm free!" The asari breathed.

She looked up at the aliens before her with their guns pointed at her.

"Please, I'm not going to attack you! I'm not a clone." She said, holding her hands up in surrender.

Kryik nodded to his team and they lowered their weapons.

"I suppose I should thank you for releasing me." She said, lowering her hands.

"How did you end up a prisoner?" Shepard asked hoarsely.

Shiala was a follower of Benezia. When the Lady matriarch joined Saren so did she. When Saren sought the Thorian, she was traded for information the Thorian had. Once he had it, he tried to destroy the Thorian. He failed and fled.

"Saren knows you're searching for the conduit. He knows you're following his steps. He attacked the Thorian so you could not gain the Cypher."

"The Cypher?" Kryik asked.

"The beacon on Eden Prim gave one of your human team members visions."

Kryik shot Shepard a look. He was not happy that she with held this information from him.

"But the visions are unclear, confusing. They were meant for a Prothean mind. To truly comprehend them you must think like a Prothean. You must understand everything about them. The Thorian was here long before the Prothean's settled this world. When they died he consumed them and their knowledge became a part of it. I was able to meld with it and gain the cypher. I passed the knowledge to Saren in the same way."

"Shepard is the human who carries the visions." Kryik gestured with a sweep of his talons. "Give her the Cypher. Saren must be stopped."

Shiala nodded her agreement and approached the Commander.

"Kryik, I'm not sure I.."

"You don't have a choice." He interrupted her. His stern glare bored into her.

"Try to relax. I won't hurt you." Shiala said calmly. "Take deep breaths. Let go of your physical shell."

Shepard cocked a brow at that. Her nervesness grew.

"Reach out to grasp the threads the bind us one to another. Every action sends ripples across the galaxy. Each idea must touch another mind to live. Each emotion must mark another's spirit."

It was Kryik's turn to cock a brow.

"We are all connected. Every living being united in a single glorious existence. Open yourself to the universe and Embrace Eternity!"

The asari's eyes went black. Shepard felt another mind within her own. The gruesome images she experienced from the beacon came flooding back, but now there was more. Thoughts, feelings, a sense of a history that wasn't hers. She could almost understand the screams now, recognize the faces of the fallen. Her mind was not hers alone anymore.

Shiala backed away from her. Shepard felt strange, disoriented. The look on the asari's face suggested she felt similarly. A few silent seconds crept by before Shiala spoke.

"I have given you they cypher, just as it was given to Saren."

"Are you alright, Shepard?" Tali asked

"I'm okay.. I saw the vision again, but it was different. It still didn't make any sense."

"It will take time for your mind to process the information." Shiala said. "You have been given the experiences of an entire civilization."

"I changed my mind, I don't feel well." Shepard said.

Her head was pounding again, her vision was blurred. The pit in her stomach was now a nauseous, churning ball. She felt faint.

"We can't spend any more time here." Kryik stated. "We have to get back to the ship, and back on the path that follows Saren."

"I wish you good fortune." Shiala said. "I will stay here and help the colonists recover, if I can."

Shiala watched as the attractive turian caught the swooning human and lifted her into his arms. She saw the flash of emotion that passed over his features as he looked at the woman's pale face.

"I also offer a gentle word," she added. "Listen to what the spirits tell you. Do not betray your own heart."

The asari gave him a knowing glance. Kryik nodded to her, searching her face with his intense eyes. He wasn't sure what she meant, but he would remember her words.