Prothean ruins were usually little more than husks with a bit of machinery here and there. They were like books so old they had to be studied with great care, lest the slightest wrong move destroy thousand year old information. To Dr. Liara T'Soni, they were often their own enclosed little world, a walled off section of the past in which the present had no place being.
Sometimes the present didn't agree. She'd had to deal with grave robbers, mercs, and pests like varren. But she'd never come across something that had overwhelmed her until she'd turned a corner and found herself staring at a robotic creature the likes of which she'd never seen in her one hundred six years of life. A creature she'd finally had to force her mind to accept was, in fact, a geth.
Her initial shock and fascination had quickly faded when she realized the entire ruin was overrun with them and her survival instincts had kicked in. She didn't know what frightened her more: the geth, the krogan leading them, or the fact he kept yelling at them to take her alive.
The krogan reappeared outside the barrier, leering in at her, and Liara flushed with humiliation. She'd been so excited when she'd found this area intact and even more so when she'd actually managed to get the technology working, identifying it as some kind of security device. The barrier it had put up when the geth had overwhelmed her had seemed like a gift from the Goddess herself right up until the point she'd found herself suspended helplessly in some kind of containment field. Now they couldn't get in but she couldn't move and the krogan, while furious at first, had soon realized that time was on his side. Eventually they would find a way in, and she couldn't do anything about it.
The krogan's scornful gaze turned away from her toward one of the geth. She guessed it was alerting him to something...somehow. She had no idea how the geth communicated with the krogan, she'd never heard them speak. Whatever it was, the krogan glared at her once more before moving away from the barrier, barking orders for them to head toward the surface again. He didn't look pleased at all, which was good news for her.
She hoped.
"Fucking creepy," Shepard muttered.
"Uh, Commander? You do see the giant geth tank thing we just took down behind you, right?" Ashley came up beside her.
Shepard didn't look up from the dead geth at her feet, one of many they'd just taken down. "That's dangerous, not creepy. This thing is creepy."
"I guess..."
"It hops." Shepard kicked it.
As they'd made their way to the ruins they'd come across even more varieties of geth than they'd found on Eden Prime. The one at Shepard's feet was definitely a new one. It moved so smoothly it might have been made of flesh and bone, bounding up and down walls around them with frightening speed.
Shepard looked back at the big four legged tank...thing. She had no idea what to call these, they were big and lumbering and had a lot of firepower. They'd been a pain in the ass on the drive over though she would be happy to inform Howard the Mako had performed wonderfully, particularly when Garrus had taken over the guns.
And thanks to big old ugly that had been dropped on top of them they knew they could take one down without the Mako. Not easily, but it could be done.
She tapped her comm. "Tali, you read?"
"Yes, Commander?"
"I got a new one for you." Shepard brought up a recording device installed in her omni tool and scanned the hopping geth's image, sending it back to the quarian on the Normandy. As more and more geth appeared, they'd taken to gathering intelligence for future reference, creating a database with more and more information as Tali was given a chance to study them. Their Chief Engineer, Adams, and Howard had both been raving about Tali almost from the day she'd joined them. There wasn't a machine she couldn't master, wasn't a program she couldn't understand, wasn't a system she couldn't get a feel for within minutes. She, in turn, was enraptured by the Normandy and spent most of her time in engineering and had become almost as much a fixture there as the drive core itself.
Or as Howard had put it: "Don't fret, Mother Hen, she's settled in and no one is going to give her any trouble. The engineers would tear them apart if Adams didn't get to them first."
The mother hen part was an exaggeration, of course, though Shepard admitted she felt a bit protective of Tali. Considering the circumstances when they'd found her, that was perfectly understandable, right? Right. Shepard wasn't overprotective, though. Tali could take care of herself, after all. She just, you know, needed a little help doing it once in a while. That was all.
"Amazing...they've developed so much and with such variety," Tali marveled as the images came through. "Bad for us, but amazing. I'll add this to my databanks and study it with the rest."
"Sounds good." Shepard clicked off and adjusted her visor, scanning around before signaling the rest of the team toward the platform the geth had dropped down to guard. If she'd read the maps they'd found correctly they should be right on top of the main ruins. She just hoped they'd arrived in time to save Liara T'Soni.
Although Shepard hated...hated...admitting that Udina had a point, his suggestion of finding Matriarch Benezia's daughter before Saren did was a good one. The presence of the geth here only proved Saren...or her mother...was after her.
Shepard had another, more self centered reason for wanting to find Dr. T'Soni: she was an expert on Protheans. Most of the articles Shepard had found doing research had been authored by her. Shepard was hoping the archeologist would be able to help her make sense of the images that still boiled through her mind every time she rested. It would have been maddening enough if she had a clear picture of what she was dealing with, but it was like trying to put together a puzzle she couldn't see clearly and didn't have all the pieces to. She felt the danger, but she couldn't make sense of it. Which was driving her out of her goddamned mind.
Probably literally.
Shepard shook that thought off, moving up the ramp. She motioned Wrex and Ashley forward as the doors opened to reveal a tunnel that sloped down into the ruins, while Garrus and Kaidan brought up the rear. Her muscles tightened a bit as they moved down, the heat and heaviness of the air closing around them like an echo of the layers of rock above their heads. It already made her twitchy, she couldn't imagine how the miners stood it.
The tunnel soon gave way to more open caverns with platforms, stairs, more geth, elevators and... "What the hell is that?"
Shepard moved up behind Ash, who was peering into a round, open room laid with tile that seemed incongruous with the rest of the area, surprisingly neat and almost clean, a glowing barrier blocking it off from the rest of the cavern.
"It must be the ruin. Look, the tunnel looks like it was formed around it," Kaidan pointed out.
"It looks like dead instrumentation. That's all most Prothean ruins have. I wonder what Dr. T'Soni is looking for here." Garrus gave the Prothean room a glance, an edge of suspicion to his voice.
Considering who Dr. T'Soni was related to and all the trouble Saren had gone through to get the last bit of Prothean technology they'd come across, that was a good question to consider. "I guess we'll find out when we find her."
"Yes, ma'am." The turian nodded politely. Shepard eyed him curiously for a moment before she hit the button on the elevator panel. Since they'd headed to Therum, his manner had become excessively formal and she didn't have the faintest idea why. He'd always been polite, of course, but he hadn't been that...rigid...on the Citadel. She could see why he might be that way with the crew, but Shepard had already seen the hot headed smart ass beneath all that reserve, there really was no point in pretending otherwise. Maybe it was a turian thing.
The elevator creaked and shifted as it took them to the next platform down and when it shuddered to a halt, a closer look revealed that both it and the platform outside it had sustained some serious damage recently. From the look of it, it had been some kind of fight...
"Uh...hello?"
She whirled around. It took a minute for Shepard to pinpoint where the voice had come from. It had an altogether strange quality that gave it a faint echo and yet it sounded muffled. She saw something glowing just below and moved down a broken walkway. Ash covered her as she picked her way down and she heard the others moving up behind her as she peered through the mass of wires and twisted metal. She blinked slowly. It was another of those round, tiled areas with a glowing barrier across its entrance. She had to move closer and squint to make out the figure- an asari -suspended in some kind of energy bubble beyond it.
"Could somebody help me? Please?"
Liara had felt a thrill of hope when she'd heard a woman's voice above her. She thought maybe another scientist from the academy or one of her colleagues from the Institute had either come looking at the ruins or looking for her.
But the woman that stepped up to the barrier was human. Liara blinked in surprise and spoke a bit more hesitantly. "Can you hear me out there? I am trapped. I need help..." Her voice faltered as a hulking figure came up behind the woman. A krogan.
"Dr. T'Soni?" The woman peered in at her and to Liara's relief, the figures gathering around the human were not geth, nor was the krogan the one that had been harassing her.
"Thank the Goddess!" Even to Liara her own voice sounded giddy with relief. "I did not think anyone would come looking for me. This thing I'm in is a Prothean security device. I cannot move, so I need you to get me out of it. All right?"
A turian stepped around the krogan and took a closer look at the barrier. The human woman moved along it cautiously, studying where it came out of the wall and floor. "How the hell did you end up in there?"
"I was exploring the ruins when the geth showed up, so I hid here. Can you believe that? Geth! Beyond the Veil!"
"Trust me, we can believe it." That came from another human woman standing a few paces off to the side.
Liara couldn't get a good look at her and couldn't interpret the tone to see if that rather intriguing statement was serious or not. She continued, deciding she'd find out later. "I activated the tower's defenses. I knew the barrier would keep them out."
The turian said something to the first woman, obviously the leader, that Liara couldn't hear.
"When I turned it on, I must have hit something I wasn't supposed to. I was trapped in here. You must get me out of here. Please." She couldn't stop the hint of desperation that edged into her voice.
"Calm down, Doctor, we'll get you out of there." The easy confidence in the woman's voice was a balm to her nerves after to much uncertainty throughout this hellish day. Or days, it was hard to tell the passage of time underground.
"There's a control in here that should deactivate this thing. But you'll have to find some way past the barrier curtain. That's the tricky part, the defenses cannot be shut off from the outside. I don't know how you'll get in here."
The turian straightened up and nodded, seemingly in agreement with her statement. He said something to the leader again too quietly for Liara to hear. The woman nodded, frowning and peering into the barrier again. "All right, let me take a look around and see what we can come up with."
"Be careful," Liara said anxiously. "There's a krogan with the geth. They have been trying different ways to get past the barrier."
The second woman said something sharply to the leader, who shrugged and jerked a thumb toward the krogan with them. He bared his teeth in what appeared to be a smile. Suddenly Liara wasn't so sure they were in danger from the krogan leading the geth. Maybe he was the one that needed to be careful.
The leader turned back to the barrier. "We'll be back, Kaidan here will keep an eye on things. Don't worry." She and the others disappeared down the platform.
The last of the group, a human male, moved up to the curtain and smiled reassuringly at her. "You really don't have to worry, you know." Gunfire reverberated through the cavern, the sound amplified by the rock. The man, Kaidan, turned and looked out tensely, his gun drawn, but apparently nothing alarming was happening because he turned back. "The geth have thrown everything they have at us so far and haven't managed to even slow her down yet."
"Who is she? Who are all of you? Not that I'm ungrateful you showed up." She might as well find out what was going on since he seemed to know a lot more than she did. She wasn't going anywhere.
"Her name is Shepard. Commander Shepard. She's a Spectre."
"A human Spectre?"
"They inducted her a couple days ago to deal with Saren and the geth...and your mother..."
"Saren." Anger swept through her at the name.
Kaidan nodded. "He attacked a human colony a few days ago with the geth. Shepard is leading the hunt to bring him down."
Thousands of questions buzzed through her mind but before she could voice any of them, a rumble shook the cavern. Kaidan grabbed a hold of the wall to steady himself and moved forward as a cloud of dust obscured the room beyond the barrier. He waved the dust away, peering over the edge of the catwalk. After a few moments he came back to the barrier. "Hang on, we'll be right up."
He disappeared before she could say anything and she was left blinking, baffled. After so much talking, the silence was deafening. She peered through the dust as it slowly cleared, starting to become anxious. Suddenly, there was a rumble of machinery behind her. She twisted her head back as far as she could as footsteps echoed on the tiles and the human woman- Shepard -stepped up beside her. Liara stared at her hard to make sure she wasn't some kind of hallucination. "How...how did you get in here? I didn't think there was a way past the barrier!"
"We used a mining laser to blast a tunnel into the room beneath this one. Thank Garrus, he's the one who found it." Shepard moved to the control panel. "We need to get you out of here before more geth arrive."
Liara nodded. "Yes, you're right. I've seen enough of them to last a lifetime. That button should shut down my containment field."
The other woman, she looked like a soldier or a commando, spoke up. "Wait, Commander. Her mother's working with Saren, remember..."
"No way to tell if she's on our side," the krogan rumbled.
"I am not my mother!" Liara snapped indignantly. "I don't even...I don't know why Benezia joined Saren in whatever he's doing. I don't want anything to do with that turian bastard!"
"If this is a set up, it's a ridiculously elaborate one," Shepard pointed out. "I believe her. The geth wouldn't be after her if she was working with them." She moved out of Liara's line of view. A soft beep was all the warning she got before the containment field vanished and she fell to the floor.
She sat there for a long moment, her limbs tingling, and slowly pushed herself to her feet. Her body felt heavy and slow and she stumbled a bit. Shepard reached out and steadied her. "All right, there?"
"Y-yes, thank you..." Liara brushed herself off slowly.
"Any ideas how we get out of here?" Kaidan came up beside Shepard and smiled at her. It made her feel a bit better. Despite the suspicion of the others, not all of them were wary of her.
She peered around Shepard. "That's the center of the tower, so the elevator should go all the way to the top. At least, I think it's an elevator." Liara edged herself around so she kept near the commander as they stepped onto the platform. She wished she could ignore the sideways glances she was getting. She spoke anxiously as the turian, who hadn't spoken a word, hit a few buttons on the panel. "I...I still cannot believe all of this. Why would the geth come after me? Do you think Benezia's involved?" That last thought made her stomach roll. Things hadn't always been warm between her and her mother, especially not in the last few years, but surely Benezia wouldn't have allowed geth to be sent after her. She wouldn't have deliberately put her daughter's life in danger. Would she? She looked at Shepard without thinking about it, looking for some kind of reassurance. The commander shook her head. "Saren is most likely the one who sent them."
"Saren is looking for the Conduit," Kaidan agreed. "You're a Prothean expert. He probably wants you to help him find it."
Liara wasn't quite certain she'd heard correctly. "The Conduit?" How did they even know about it? "But I don't..."
The elevator jerked slightly and an ominous rumble started from far below them. The krogan peered over the edge of the elevator platform. "What the hell was that?"
A really, really bad noise, that's what it was. "These ruins aren't stable. The mining laser must have triggered a seismic event."
"Ah...well, shit..." Shepard turned toward the panel.
The other human woman was already there. "Okay, yeah, can this elevator go any faster?"
Tremors were starting to roll up through the walls, making the entire tower shake. Liara lunged for the panel, seeing if she could hurry the platform up. "We have to get out of here. This whole place is caving in!"
"Joker!" For a crazy moment, Liara thought Shepard was talking to her then realized she was speaking to someone over her comm. "Get the Normandy airborne and lock onto my signal! On the double, mister!"
Liara heard a man speak through the soldier's comm. "Aye, aye, Commander. Secure and aweigh. ETA eight minutes."
Shepard looked around as a loud snapping sound filled the air and fissures began to form on the walls. "Uh, try and cut that down a bit..."
"If we die in here, I'll kill him," the krogan growled.
Shepard laughed suddenly. "Undead Wrex, now that is a scary thought."
The elevator soared upward and the tremors seemed to be chasing them, the violent sounds from below becoming louder and louder with every passing moment. Liara breathed a sigh of relief as the elevator groaned to a halt, settling into the center of a large circular platform at the top of the tower. She turned hurriedly and felt her heart stutter in her chest. That krogan bastard who'd been harassing her was blocking the entrance, running toward them with several geth at his back.
He bared his teeth at her as he came to the edge of the platform, his red eyes flicking to Shepard. "Surrender. Or don't. That would be more fun."
"You've got to be kidding me," Kaidan said incredulously. "This whole place is coming down!"
Their krogan, Wrex, let out a low chuckle. "Exhilarating, isn't it?" His eyes were gleaming.
Shepard glanced back at him and Liara saw, just for an instant, a strange, wild excitement in her eyes that said she agreed. Then it was gone, shuttered down.
The enemy krogan grinned. "Thanks for getting rid of that energy field for us. Hand over the doctor."
Liara glared at him. "Whatever it is you want, you're not getting it from me."
"I think the lady is saying she'd rather stay with us," Shepard said. She shifted her weight as another tremor ripped through the cavern, shaking it hard enough small puffs of dust and pebbles rained down onto the platform.
The krogan seemed to take no notice. "Not an option. Saren wants her. And he always gets what he wants." He turned toward the geth. "Kill them. Spare the asari if you can. If not, doesn't matter."
Shepard drew two pistols. "You heard the man, he wants to die." She fired.
Liara wasn't about to allow herself to be taken without a fight, earthquake or no. Her biotics flared as the battle exploded around her. A geth rushed her and she lashed out at it, sending it flying. An almighty boom came from Wrex's gun and the thing's legs shattered.
Liara had never been in a fight like this before. She was usually on her own which meant she relied on stealth attacks and using her knowledge of the area to her advantage. This dizzying collision of violence was making her head spin and it wasn't helped by the fact the platform was starting to sway beneath their feet as the cavern collapsed beneath it.
The turian was caught in a gunfight with one of the geth, the two firing at each other in attempt to take each other's shields down. Liara sent a warp field at the geth and it stumbled back, caught off guard. The turian pressed his advantage, using something on his omni tool to get the geth's shield. A well placed shot took it's entire head off. The turian turned toward her and started to say something, then paused, staring, as a crack appeared down the center of the platform, splitting the elevator in two. He shouted something that got drowned out in the sudden roar as the cavern started to tear itself apart.
Liara ran as more cracks appeared along the platform. There was a screeching groan as one side of it started to cave in. She scrambled up to the edge of the circle and turned. The human woman managed to knock a geth back enough it stumbled and fell into the chasm before she leaped away clawing her way up to where Liara and the others were. Shepard and the enemy krogan were on the other side of the room, battling as the ground cracked beneath them. He'd gotten up close to her and was swinging out, using biotically enhanced swings to try and take her shields down. Shepard was also glowing with biotics. She was dodging, trying to move along toward the exit as the squad struggled to get to her and take down the rest of the geth. The krogan landed a blow that should have brought her down but instead the biotic field around her flared oddly and held as she leaped away. Momentarily distracted, Liara tried to figure out what she was seeing. Something odd about that biotic barrier Shepard had around herself. It was almost like she'd...layered it. Laying a protective barrier in several levels over her armor and kinetic shields so when his punch landed it only broke through one layer. Which wasn't unheard of but she hadn't thought humans could...
She didn't have time to finish the thought. The far side of the room was gone, the walls starting to crumble, and the remaining floor was tilting downward. Shepard came sprinting toward them, keeping to the edge of the room. She leaped over a piece of collapsing floor and the krogan lunged forward, catching her ankle and hauling backwards. Shepard hit the ground with a grunt and twisted, kicking out at him. Both the krogan and Shepard skidded downward, the krogan losing his grip on her. Shepard lunged up and grabbed the edge but the krogan snatched at her leg again, determined to take her down with him.
"Shepard, hold still!" Kaidan skidded up to the edge ahead of Liara. If Shepard's display of biotic ability was impressive, then Kaidan's was awe inspiring. His arm tensed and he drew a rock almost the size of the krogan across the sinking floor. Shepard, clinging with the krogan still snatching at her, tried to stop herself from swinging as the turian ran to the edge and ducked down, reaching for her. He caught one of her flailing hands tightly in his own, giving her enough leverage to pull her foot free completely of the krogan's hold. Kaidan threw the rock downward past both of them with deadly accuracy, slamming it into the krogan. Knocked loose, he bellowed in rage and pain as he disappeared into the pit below.
The turian hauled Shepard up, his own feet starting to skid on the floor, and dragged her backwards. Shepard clambered to her feet and joined them as they all ran for the exit. Liara later judged they made it onto the catwalk leading up to the entrance with only seconds to spare before the entire tower caved in. Showers of rock, choking clouds of dust, and bits of broken machinery rained down on them. Liara kept her head down and kept running forward, upward and upward desperately as they hit the mining tunnel.
The air on Therum was hot and dry and stank of burnt rock and chemicals. And nothing had ever felt or tasted better to Liara as they burst out of the tunnel and ran to where a ship was waiting for them just above the surface.