By the time they got back to Lizbeth Baynham, Shepard reminded Garrus of a pressure bomb about to go off.

They were all tired and angry. With the geth ship taken care of, they made their way back down, picking off the remaining geth as they went. As it had been from the start of this mission, Tali was their savior several times over, her combat drone and her knowledge of engineering invaluable. Many a time had a squad of perfectly synched geth suddenly turned on each other at the quarian's behest or their shields suddenly failed in time for a well placed shot to take them down. Still, Shepard and Wrex had both taken bad hits at some point, although neither of them seemed to take notice. Shepard had smoking hole in her armor in the side but she refused to stop and look at it yet. Wrex had taken a direct hit from one of the larger geth that had busted his shields and sent him flying. Anyone else would have been dead ten times over but the krogan only seemed winded, applying medi gel to a few burns and moving on like nothing had happened, gruffly refusing any offers to stop.

It wasn't pain that made Shepard quiet, though. That quietness had started the moment the ExoGeni VI had explained what was going on at Zhu's Hope and had grown since they'd gotten rid of the geth ship. After Joker had gotten through, she'd gone absolutely silent except for the occasional order or comment. Her face carried and almost serene expression and her voice was utterly calm. But her eyes...

Garrus had been angry by the time the VI had finished telling them about the Thorian but he knew it was only a fraction what Shepard was holding back.

Shepard fixed her eyes on Lizbeth as she emerged from her hiding place, hurrying toward them. "There you are!"

She froze as Shepard spoke. "'The Thorian is a simple plant life-form that exhibits a sentient behavior uncommon in other flora. Through dispersion and eventual inhabitation of spores, it can infect and control other organisms, including humans." Shepard's voice took on a cold, vicious edge. "'Zhu's Hope control group has yielded interesting results. Before sensors went offline, almost 85% of all test subjects were infected'." She was quoting the ExoGeni VI and Lizbeth knew it. Her face went pale and her eyes widened. "'It was deemed necessary to assess the true potential of Species 37'."

There was a thread of burning anger beneath that cold voice and it stirred Garrus's own up. He couldn't wrap his head around the justification for it. Say what you would about the restrictions of the duty bound society of his people, those higher up held themselves responsible for those below them. ExoGeni obviously didn't see the colonists as anything but property.

Lizbeth closed her eyes. "They told me I'd be next. I-I was afraid. I wanted to stop the tests but they threatened me, told me I'd be next." She rubbed her hands over her face before she lifted her head and looked at Shepard. "When the geth attacked, I stayed behind to send a message to Colonial Affairs. I tried to tell them, but the power cut before I could send it. I never thought they'd..." Her voice caught. "I never meant for this to happen."

Garrus believed her. The VI's files had showed Lizbeth had protested and been put on probation and her stress and guilt showed clear. Shepard's expression had softened a little, her gaze fixed on Lizbeth's, assessing. She spoke again, her voice still quiet but the cold edge was gone from it. "Where is the Thorian, Lizbeth?"

"It's underneath Zhu's Hope, but the entrance is blocked. The colonists covered it with the freighter there before the geth attacked."

"Why would Saren want it, do you know?"

Lizbeth shrugged helplessly. "It must have something to do with its unique mind control abilities. That's what ExoGeni was interested in."

"I just bet." That cold anger was back but it wasn't aimed at Lizbeth. She paused, listening to something on her headset, probably Joker. Her face took on a grim expression. "We have geth bearing down on us. Come on, the Mako isn't far. Lizbeth, stay behind me."

"I think maybe they're a bit annoyed with us," Wrex said, bearing his teeth in a grin.

He wasn't kidding, either. They weren't fighting off the standard troops as they raced back toward the weigh station. The geth were only throwing the big guys at them, the heavily armored juggernauts and the big four legged ones Tali had christened 'armatures'. Even with Garrus at the guns and the Mako's maneuverability she wasn't able to avoid hits this time around. The Mako was going to need a good tidying up after all this was through. Howard was going to be babying it for weeks.

That thought made her stomach twist as she guided the Mako carefully back into the tunnels. She reminded herself for probably the fiftieth time that the colonists couldn't do much damage to the Normandy with what they had and they certainly couldn't get inside. She just had to figure out how to get them away from her crew without killing them. She'd already radioed Liara to see if she could put some kind of sedative together from what she had on the ship but that wasn't looking good.

"Shepard, I'm getting chatter over the radio, I think you should hear this!" Tali called.

"I guess they managed to get the outbound radios back up. Good they might be able to get help down here. Go ahead."

The quarian switched the speakers on. "...anybody. Is there anyone picking this up?"

Lizbeth gasped. "Mom?"

A harsh male voice suddenly broke in. "Get away from that radio."

The radio popped and static came over the line, making them all flinch. "...this is Juliana Baynham of Feros colony...Please help us..." There was a loud crackling sound and the radio went dead.

"Mom? Mother!" Lizbeth's voice rose in desperation.

"We're almost to the weigh station, sugar, just try and hang on there," Shepard said grimly. She had a feeling she knew what might have happened and felt rage twisting through her again, chilling her.

The whole 'sacrifice the few to save the many' declaration- a variation of which she was quite sure the ExoGeni executives had used to justify what they were doing -didn't sit well with Shepard. Not at all.

It used to, in those insane, blood drenched years leading up to her incarceration. She'd justified anything she'd done as long as it would get her closer to her targets, because once they were gone, so many would be saved.

It had cost at least two good men their lives, one by her own hand.

Collateral damage. Sacrifices. For the good of many.

She doubted the upper management of ExoGeni would ever be crippled by guilt the way she'd been.

In her years during service in the Alliance, there had been times when it simply couldn't be avoided. But she also knew that it was really fucking easy to sit there and deem it necessary when you weren't the one being sacrificed. And it got easier and easier the farther away you were. She'd been lucky. So far, she'd only seen the aftermath of a situation that had come down to that, she'd never had to make such a judgment herself.

She brought the Mako to a halt outside the weigh station. Lizbeth was out of the vehicle before she could warn her to look out for geth and she cursed softly, jumping out after her.

Lizbeth at least had the sense not to run into the middle of the room, hanging just out of sight on the ramp leading down. "What's going on?" she whispered. Shepard didn't answer her, eyes narrowed as the took in the situation.

Jeong was pacing back and forth, arguing with Lizbeth's mother. She counted three armed guards with ExoGeni armor, two of which had guns drawn. The third came forward and grabbed Juliana Baynham as she shouted at Jeong. "You won't get away with this!"

"Get her out of here!" Jeong was not in a good state. His movements were panicky, fluttering, like a moth trapped in a jar. He was obviously scared and out of his league, but he also had three armed guards at his bidding, and that combination made him very dangerous.

She was so focused on Jeong she'd stopped paying attention to Lizbeth, who exploded into the room with an angry cry as the guard dragged Juliana back. "Get away from her, you son of a bitch!"

Jeong spun around, his eyes bugging out. "Damn it! Come out where I can see you! All of you!" He obviously meant for it to sound strong and commanding but his cracked on the last couple of words.

Shepard signaled to the others to keep their weapons drawn and walked down the ramp slowly.

Lizbeth had drawn her mother back protectively. Shepard couldn't see herself, of course, but Lizbeth did. The commander came down the ramp slowly and stopped at the end, crossing her arms over her chest, her gaze on Jeong, ignoring one of the guard's motion for her to come further. The krogan and turian flanked her silently while Tali moved slightly off to the side. Lizbeth clearly saw the guards hesitate and she didn't blame them. The sight of those four was like a bucket of cold water. They were all ExoGeni employees, meant to keep peace on the colony. The four standing at the entrance were more dangerous- even standing still without their weapons -than any of the ExoGeni guards could ever be and they all knew it.

Shepard noted the glow of Tali's omni-tool, still activated though her arms were hanging loose at her sides, and applauded her silently. The guards were only focused on the guns.

"Hah...Shepard. Damn it! I knew it was too much to hope the geth would kill you." Jeong bared his teeth in what was more of a grimace than a smile. "I found some interesting facts about you in ExoGeni's database. I know what happened on Akuze. This doesn't have to end like that."

"I certainly hope not. Thresher maws are no fun, believe me," Shepard replied, deliberately misinterpreting. She kept her voice calm and her posture relaxed and unconcerned. The confidence was only half feigned. The guards were hesitating more with every passing moment. With luck and a bit of pushing, Jeong might do all the work for her. "There's no need for anyone to get hurt here, Jeong. Whatever the problem is, we can talk it out."

Jeong made a wild, jerking motion with his hand, shaking his head. "No, you don't understand. It's not that easy. Communications are back up. ExoGeni wants this place purged."

She'd thought she'd gotten her anger under control but she felt the sick throb of it start up in her head again.

"This is a human colony! You can't just re-purpose us like we were some kind of...of malfunctioning machine!" Lizbeth cried.

"It's not just you. There's something here far more valuable than a few colonists." Jeong sounded like he was parroting whatever he'd been told.

That cold, throbbing rage in her suddenly shifted into a sense of loathing so intense is shook her, forcing her to take a slow, careful breath before she spoke. "We know. The Thorian." She managed to keep her voice from shaking but some of the contempt she was feeling leaked into it.

Jeong glared at her, clearly not liking her tone, but Juliana spoke up before he could say anything. "The what?"

"It's a telepathic life-form living under Zhu's Hope. It's taking control of the colonists there. ExoGeni knew it all along," Lizbeth said.

For a moment, Juliana stared at her daughter in shock, then the implications sank in and she whipped around to face Jeong, an outraged expression on her face. "You. You won't get away with this!"

Jeong's face took on a closed, arrogant expression. "So you keep saying. But no one is going to miss a few colonists."

Pencil pushing little prick, how many times did your superiors drill that into you? You weak, useless, worthless excuse for a human being. She spoke sharp and fast, making the ExoGeni representative jerk in reflex. "We aren't colonists, Jeong. What are you planning to do about us?"

The guards tensed and looked at Jeong, who hesitated...a single moment of uncertainty he couldn't afford. One signal and Garrus and Wrex took the two armed guards out. Wrex simply shot one of them in the shoulder, his cannon of a gun blowing her backwards, hurt but alive. Garrus was more precise, shooting the gun out of the other one's hand. It all happened so fast the remaining guard, who had been watching over Lizbeth and Juliana, didn't even register it for a few moments. When he did, his hand jerked toward his gun and Tali held up her omni-tool in warning. He held his hands up in surrender, eyes wide.

Shepard took it all in and registered none of it, her eyes on Jeong. One of her pistols was in her hand and she didn't remember drawing it. She pointed it directly between Jeong's eyes as he reached for his own weapon. He froze, the whole world seeming to narrow down to just the two of them. Her eyes burned into his from inches away and she saw his face pale as he took in what he saw there. Saw how much...how desperately...she wanted to kill him.

She was glad later on that no one really understood the quick, savage battle she fought with herself.

Kill the fucker. That bloodthirsty, ice filled voice at the core of her hissed. Do it. He knew from the start. He doesn't even understand what the fuck the thing is, he's just doing what he's told. He's not even one of the people that decided this, just the one that covered it up. Followed orders. Does what he's told. He put the colonists at risk. He put my crew at risk. He's willing to kill us all. Why? Because he was told too and the moron can't do anything but what he's told.

He deserved to die. He deserved to suffer, the way those colonists he was so cavalierly ready to sacrifice had. And oh, how easy it would be. There was no one here who would stop her. One twitch of the finger and she'd have the sweet satisfaction of knowing he'd never bring harm to anyone ever again and the colonists lost to the Thorian would be avenged.

But you're not the one that will have to deal with the fallout, Shepard. The colonists will pay for it, not you.

She had years of training and experience layered over that violence now, and that discipline was what stilled her finger on the trigger. Made her speak in a rough voice. "Put your weapon on the floor. You might pull this off with colonists, Jeong, but I'm a Spectre. The odds are not in your favor."

Jeong swallowed. "A Spectre? That's a load of crap. There aren't any human Spectres." His voice was shaky. Surprisingly, his eyes flicked to Juliana and Lizbeth, searching for reassurance. "Right...?"

"Is that really a chance you're willing to take?" Lizbeth asked.

"I assure you, Mr. Jeong, she is the first human Spectre," Tali said from behind them.

"She is," Garrus confirmed.

Jeong hesitated for a moment longer but Shepard had clamped control over herself once more. He's of no use if he's dead.

He slowly knelt and put his gun on the floor.

"God, I know they were here. They have to be here." Juliana rummaged through one of the crates piled around the room frantically.

"I'm almost certain that killing the Thorian will be enough to stop the infection," Lizbeth said. She watched her mother anxiously. "I didn't add my research on that subject to any of the official files, for obvious reasons. Neutralizing the colonists should give you enough time to get down there."

Juliana let out a cry of triumph as she rose from one of the crates, holding several gas grenades in her hands. "Here they are! Launchers too!"

Shepard walked over and counted. She felt a surge of hope they might actually get through this without killing off any of the colonists. There were enough gas grenades for all four of them to use, hopefully enough to put all the colonists out long enough for them to deal with the Thorian. "Good." She handed the grenades out to the others. Wrex looked faintly impatient but he took them. Tali sighed in relief. "I'm so glad. It's not the colonists fault that thing has a hold of them." Garrus simply nodded, loading one of the grenades.

Shepard looked over at Jeong. "If you tell ExoGeni's men the geth killed the Thorian and they see the colonists aren't effected anymore, there won't be any reason to purge the colony, yes?"

"I think so. With the Thorian dead, there isn't anything worth the risk anymore."

"I'm sure you can convince them that purging the colony isn't worth the risk of bad press," Shepard said. The mildness of her tone only underscored the unspoken You'd better beneath the words.

He nodded, looking nervous.

"Thank you so much, Commander," Juliana said quietly.

"We'll be in touch," Shepard said as they walked back toward the Mako. She didn't deserve thanks yet, not until she knew for sure they could get the colonists of Zhu's Hope out of this alive.

She radioed ahead to the Normandy as she settled in the driver's seat. "Joker? Hang in there, we're on our way."