CHAPTER FIFTEEN
A World that's Absolutely Green
Feros was a young colony, just a babe when compared to Eden Prime. Settled by people chosen by the reputable ExoGeni Corporation, it was covered by an enormous megatropolis that was stationed high above the clouds, covering about two-thirds of the planet like a giant, metal heaven in the sky. It was almost beautiful if not for the immense drop. And the lack of fresh water sources besides the two poles. AND the unstable cities far below! AND the fact that the air was almost totally unbreathable what with all the dust kicked up from decades of crumbling infrastructure-y'know, actually, Feros was pretty freaking awful.
The good news was that the crew of the Normandy wouldn't need a helmet to go where they were going: to the small colony of Zhu's Hope that ExoGeni had founded, which was currently dealing with a surprise Geth assault. Not to mention the fact that since the people there had seen Saren himself present at the planet and had even caught footage of him, this was quite a good lead they couldn't afford to lose. It was also a good thing none of them had a fear of heights.
"I wasn't afraid of heights. Now I'm beginning to be afraid of heights." Ashley had to admit as Kaiden tossed a rock over one of the long stretches of bridge that led across the supertowers of Prothean design. He put his hand to his ear…nope. Couldn't even hear it hit the ground.
"We must be MILES up in the air." Shepherd admitted as he crouched down by the edge, Liara nodding slightly.
"We're in the outer edge of the ionosphere, over 75 miles up." She admitted, tapping into her omni-tool with an intrigued look. "I must say, its fascinating that these Prothean rules have held for so long! Truly a testament to their design. We can all learn so much from the effort they put in."
"You know the phrase "dead before you hit the ground"? Would that actually be possible if one of us just…jumped?" Garrus wanted to know, Tali crouching next to him and cringing as Wrex wisely stood by the MAKO and fiddled with his shotgun, adding a few Tungsten rounds for when they'd inevitably fight against the Geth. The dark skies of space above contrasted nicely with the soft, almost gentle white clouds below them, making the planet look almost peaceful high above the nigh-useless world below.
"Oh, there's not much oxygen up here, as you may have picked up on. Combined with terminal velocity you'd probably pass out and suffocate in midair if you didn't ignite from-" Liara began to theorize before seeing Shepherd was giving her a "please don't go on" look and shut up, nervously rubbing the back of her neck. "My apologies. I mean, yes, you would most likely be."
"Y'know, at the Citadel, I'd sometimes get to the top structures over the lake in the Presidium and I'd just dive on in with a cannonball." Nick admitted, putting a gauntleted hand on his chest. He almost felt bad there was no Omni-Tool anymore, but if it meant the Council couldn't spy on them, he'd just have to go without quick-draw instrumental abilities for his skills. He'd just have to make sure nobody shot him in the throat or lungs, that's all. "Any of you ever try that? Garrus?"
"I actually did try that once before when I was young and visiting the Citadel." Liara admitted with a nervous blush. "I executed a perfect dive. My mother was so impressed I not only survived but slipped so elegantly into the water I could have been in your human "Olympics" that she only grounded me for ONE week instead of two."
"We Krogan are all about the cannonballs." Wrex chuckeld as he patted his armored chest and grinned.
"Krogan can swim?" Garrus inquired. "For us Turians its more like elongated drowning."
"Oh, we can actually breathe surprisingly well underwater for quite a while." Wrex bragged with a beaming smile. "Why do you think my race loves fish so much? Especially when its fresh?"
"Ewwww. Remind me to never let you see "Finding Nemo". You'd probably start commenting on which of the characters would go great with garlic." Nick muttered, sticking his tongue out and shuddering as they made their way across the bridge and towards Zhu's Hope, an enormous elevator to the right of the colony, leading further higher and higher up the skyscraper the colony was built around. There were other bridges and roads interconnecting with the tower they were on, but as tempting as it might have been to try for a long jump onto one of them, you wouldn't make it. Not even in the MAKO.
But as they made their way towards Zhu's Hope, Nick couldn't help but feel genuinely worried. He'd noticed something that hadn't been possible before when he'd taken off his helmet back on Metgos. He had technically committed suicide to demonstrate how he somehow couldn't die. Yet before, that had been simply impossible. Killing himself was supposed to be the one thing he couldn't come back from. That was how the magic had always worked.
And it made him worry. What if Themis Nar'Varra had been right? What if there was something different about his powers now? If it could allow him to do something so dark as to casually kill himself to show off his powers…just what was so different about this realm that made that possible? What was wrong with this place?
Shepherd had other thoughts on his mind. An unease hung in the air like a phantasm following them around. He inwardly flinched as he kept walking, making their way towards a doorway as it slid open. Behind a close-cut human with light, brown-painted armor, they could faintly see large stairways made of crisscrossing metal and Garrus frowned, glancing about as the human approached. Seeing Garrus's discomfort, Shepherd gave him a look. "What is it?"
"I…I thought I heard something." He murmured.
"Fai Dan, leader of our colony, would like to speak with you." The lightly-armored, dark-skinned farmer admitted. "He needs your help to get ready for the Geth since they keep making pushes."
"Oh, of course we'd be happy to help. Its why we're here." Shepherd said, putting a hand on his chest. "Where do we go?"
"Just up these stairs behind me, past the freighter." The man said. "Tell him David al Talaqani sent you and that I'm doing a recon check of the outer perimeter just like he asked." He said as they headed for the stairs…
Just as several Geth shock troopers suddenly popped out from behind crates by the opening to the doorway, firing on them. Nick instantly grabbed the civilian and pulled him away to avoid a rocket trooper's missile as Tali began typing into her omni-tool before one of the Geth that was shooting at them began to spark and sizzle, Tali having hacked inside as Wrex's shotgun blast sent it flying. Garrus hid behind a large chunk of building that had long-since fallen off the walls of the skyscraper's interior as the others did the same, Shepherd holding his assault rifle up as he fired away.
The second and third Geth's heads and upper chests were swiftly blown off, the first Geth letting out a mechanical screeching sound before it shut down, Wrex shooting it into little chunks for good measure as they put their weapons away, Nick helping Mr. Al-Talaqani to his feet. "You alright, sir?"
"I've just been shot at, but all things considered, I'm FANTASTIC. You hadn't grabbed me, I'd be dead right now!" He admitted, giving the young man a big smile. "Praise Allah!" He proclaimed, grabbing the kid's hand and shaking it. "Oh, bless you, BLESS you!"
"Well, um…peace be with you too, I suppose." Nick admitted as they made their way towards the stairs, Shepherd pulling out a few grenades from his pockets and readying them.
"If we see any more Geth, I'm not taking any chances. I'm going to blow them into so many pieces, you'll need a tweezer to put them all back."
"We can bag 'em and tag 'em no problem." Ashley insisted, slamming her fist into her palm as Nick readied his pistols, twirling them slightly before sheathing them. They eased themselves deeper and deeper into the stairway before Garrus stiffened, eyes turning narrow, into dark slits.
"I heard it." He murmured. "A faint, metallic sound I've heard before. Those damn sniping things that bounce-"
"DUCK!" Kaiden roared out, his fist glowing with bright blue energy as he launched a wave of psychic might at a sniper on the walls, the thing bouncing away, its shot missing Garrus as he whipped out his sniper rifle and pulled the trigger. Unlike Kaiden, he didn't miss, the sniper's compatriots actually looking stunned as their comrade fell down, down to the last floor below with a horrific finality. Then the other two snipers bounced about like psychotic ping-pong balls, their faces glowing faintly as their blasted at the crew of the Normandy.
The crew hid behind the grated railings of the stairway, Liara's body glowing with psychic energy as Shepherd got an idea. "Kaiden, can you lift Liara up into the air?" He asked as the whirring noises of the Geth echoed through the stairwell.
Kaiden raised an eyebrow. "Are you suggesting what I think you are?"
"Two words, bub." Shepherd agreed with a big grin, giving him a nod as Kaiden clenched his fists tightly, Liara giving him a nod as his own pulsating blue energy grabbed hold of her. He launched her up and over the stairs as she spun through the air, firing off blasts all around in a scattershot fashion, the Geth being swiftly blown apart. Their assault had been swiftly brought to an end, Liara landing expertly on the floor below as she dusted herself off, Shepherd giving her a nod. "Excellent work."
"I hate those snipers. Their creepy croaking is so unnatural." Ashley muttered as she clung to herself and shuddered, shaking her head back and forth before kicking one on the ground, everyone heading past the fallen snipers, making their way up, up and finally into the colony of Zhu's Hope. It's central area was, to put it bluntly, a wreck. The main living facilities had been damaged by plasma fire, the small boardwalks were cracked, the crates and their contents that lined the area were partially exposed, and every single colonist was armed to the teeth and looked like they hadn't gotten any sleep in days. A visible, rancid funk was rising off their bodies as Shepherd sympathetically looked around.
"These poor people. How long have the Geth been here?" He asked of a nearby Salarian colonist who was looking over a datapad in one hand, a pistol in the other with a heavy rifle slung over his back.
"They've been at it for at least five days straight. Nobody's wanted to go to sleep. Worse still, some of us are sick. Ms. Blake can't even get out of bed and she's ranting heavily." He admitted as they looked inside the nearby living quarters, hearing a woman's moaning and groaning.
"Sweetums, please, you need to relax. We'll get you water."
"So dry all around me…so many scurrying things…get out! Get out! It hurts!"
"Oh geez…" Nick murmured. "Um, I'd better go try and help her. See if I can do what I do." He offered, Shepherd nodding.
"Kaiden, Liara, you two guard the back entrance we just came in, just in case more Geth pop up." Shepherd ordered the two as they quickly saluted and took off just as Nick headed inside to check on his "patient". "The rest of you, follow me." He said as they headed towards a dark-skinned man with a slightly narge nose and light, grey-and-red armor on his body. He had a sniper rifle slung over his shoulder and deep, intense eyes, and was currently ordering several colonists to take up position by an entryway. Obviously, he was in charge. "Fai Dan, I take it?"
"Glad to see they sent someone to help us. Even better to hear it's you, Commander." Fai Dan admitted, shaking his hand.
"A bit LATE, frankly." A woman in slim, black armor standing nearby grunted at them as she adjusted the sight on her own sniper rifle before throwing it over her shoulder and readying an assault rifle.
"Arcelia!" Fai Dan snapped before sighing, turning to the Commander. "Please, don't be too mad with . None of us have slept, and she's taken watch more than anyone else since the-"
"WATCH OUT!" Garrus roared, everyone diving away to avoid Geth fire as shock troopers advanced, a missile flying over Arcelia Martinez's head. Shepherd whipped out a grenade he'd been saving, launching it through the air at the oncoming Geth troopers that were trying to make their way through the facility that connected with the main colony. The ones at the front were blown into pieces in front of the elevator, the others firing away as Garrus fired back with Wrex concentrating as a blue aura of biotic might surrounded him.
Realizing what he intended, Shepherd nodded at everyone else and held a hand up. "Stand down, let him do it." He ordered, Wrex suddenly charging at the Geth, barreling into them with the force of a bus as the remaining Geth went flying like fragile twigs in a thunderstorm, smacking against the wall as Wrex grabbed hold of one of their compatriots and began to beat the others into chunks.
"You have a very effective crew." Fai Dan admitted.
"WHY ARE YOU HITTING YOURSELVES?! WHY ARE YOU HITTING YOURSELVES?!" Wrex cackled madly as Shepherd tried not to smile a little at this.
Meanwhile, Nick waved a hand in front of Ms. Blake's face, looking down at the bluish/silver-haired woman in confusion. She wasn't responding to him nor her husband. He'd asked Mr. Blake to leave so he could try a healing song, yet it hadn't worked. This didn't appear to be any kind of mental illness or something brought along by days of being awake and stressed out. This was all so odd. It was as if there was something unnatural in her head making her this way, yet it didn't seem to make sense. She looked just fine.
"Calantha. Where are you?"
"I…I'm underground. It's not right, its here, everywhere and yet not. Ohhh…" She moaned, holding her head. "…I…I'm sorry. I just…I need to think. My head hurts."
"The aspirin didn't help?" Nick sighed sympathetically. "Alright. Here. I'll leave some water here for you." He offered, taking a jug of water and a cup off the nearby shelf, pouring it for her and putting it by the small table to her side before exiting the facility.
Meanwhile, Liara and Kaiden were speaking to the guards at the back entrance, a bearded man looking over a datapad and murmuring worriedly. "Not enough food…just…just not enough. Ugh." He moaned, clutching his head. "And I got a pounding in my head like somebody took a sledgehammer to me. Oyyyyy."
"You need more food supplies?" Kaiden asked.
"And water. And power cells." The guard, Davin Reynolds, sighed before biting his lip. "Don't suppose you could help?"
"Of course. Whatever do you need?" Liara inquired, her face showing clear concern.
"Well, Macha needs the water pipes back on inside the tunnels, I could use some meat for all of us, and Ledra is trying to find some power cells for May. I think he's sweet on her." Davin admitted. Liara nodded, giving a nod to Kaiden as she went to join Shepherd and the others who were now speaking to Fai Dan, a Geth dropship racing off over their heads, clearly deciding to regroup since its troops were gone.
"You chased them off. Well done." He admitted, Shepherd noticing Nick's disturbed expression.
"What is it?"
"Ms. Calantha seems…off. In a way I can't help with." He remarked. "I'm not quite sure how to explain it."
"She's never had problems before. Is the stress that's doing it?" Fai Dan inquired.
"No, I…don't think so. Was there ever an incident in her past when she was, I dunno, buried underground or something? Trapped in an elevator or anything? She's talking like she had that kind of experience." Nick remarked, scratching his head.
"No. That is unusual." Fai Dan admitted.
"What's unusual is why the Geth are so interested in our colony." Ms. Martinez muttered, folding her arms over her chest as her short black hair seemed to bristle.
"Help me find what the Geth are after and we can get all of you out of here alive." Shepherd reasoned. "You'd sent data to the Council that Saren had come here?" He asked, Fai Dan handing them a few photographs.
"Yes, Ian Newstead had been on recon duty." Fai Dan said, gesturing at a green and tan-clothed man to their right who was nonchalantly sitting on a crate with an…odd, almost mocking expression on his face. "When he took these photographs of a team landing on the outskirts of the colony and making for ExoGeni Headquarters. Then the Geth swarmed it after they left and have been there ever since." The leader of the colonists admitted. "They're probably protecting something." He added with a nod. "Something your Mr. Arterius doesn't want found."
"Do you think the Machinist could be here?" Tali wondered aloud, her voice sounding intrigued. "He's commanded Geth before."
"I don't think this is his work." Shepherd remarked. "Just a gut feeling, really. I think this is something else. And we'd better get to those headquarters if we're going to find out what Saren wanted and why the Geth are here."
"Those Geth sure are a problem." Ian giggled out. "A real thorn in the side of-" He then flinched, clutching his head. "Dooody-doody-dooody-dooo! Heeheeheeheehee…"
"Something…wrong, Ian?" Shepherd asked, the others nervously stepping back a few feet.
"Aw, just invokin' ol' massa's whip! Don't beat me, massa! Don't beat the tired ol' body! Nooooo!" Ian laughed. "Its like running through a thorn bush! Heh. THORN bush-OW! OWOWOWOW!" He roared, clutching at his head. "No biting!"
"Please excuse Ian, he AND Ms. Blake are really not feeling well. Here, here's a map to their headquarters." Fai Dan said, giving them a small little data card that Tali entered into her omni-tool, a holographic display of Zhu's Colony appearing in bright blue as they stood around it. "Head up the elevator, make your way across the bridges for about two miles straight, then follow that pathway and you'll reach the heart of their headquarters. I don't know why they left so quickly after setting us up, frankly. You'd think they'd keep more people here than just a skeleton crew. But we haven't seen them ever since the Geth attack." He admitted with a sad sigh. "I'm worried they're dead, I want to go out to find them, but I need to stay here and keep my people safe."
"We'll keep an eye out for them." Shepherd reasoned. "But what can you tell me about ExoGeni besides the fact they funded you?"
"Its an interplanetary exploration and colonization company. They set up places for newcomers to live, we turn over any shiny things we might find." Fai Dan wryly remarked. "They're also studying the Ontarom biosphere, and are involved in a long-term plan to introduce water to the arid surface of Trebin. The whole "Genesis" treatment."
"God made it in six days, they wanna do it in six minutes?"
"No, five days, they keep bragging. Somehow they keep failing, though. I think they cut too many corners." Fai Dan chuckled, shaking his head back and forth, waving a dismissive hand in the air. "Their company is barely treading water." He added with a smirk. "Maybe if they didn't have a reputation for being such cheapskates!"
"You take care, Fai Dan." Shepherd said, giving him a salute before everyone turned and headed for the elevator, making their way up to the skyway as all of them readied their weapons. A few minutes later they'd reached the top, and had to duck to avoid a plasma blast from some Geth.
"Okay, that's it, I'm getting sick of Geth!" Ashley roared out, pulling out her own grenades and tossing them through the air as everyone ducked behind some ramparts to join some reconnaissance scout colonists. With a loud KRAKKA-THROOM, the geth were blown apart as Nick peeked his head over the top, glancing about.
"Yep. They're gone." He remarked, eyes widening as he stared down. "…helloooooo! What have we here?"
What indeed. There was a MAKO tank there, much to their glee, Shepherd turning to the recon colonists in surprise as his crew raced down to get inside the tank, thankful they wouldn't have to go through an army of Geth on their feet. "What's a MAKO doing here?"
"A gift from ExoGeni, sir." One of the colonists admitted. "But only a few of us were trained to use it and we're not about to, well, get out and use it on a suicide run to the ExoGeni HQ. We'd get creamed out there."
"Relax. Let us show you how its done." Shepherd insisted as he headed down the slopes to the tank himself, climbing in as Tali took the wheel this time, the ship squeaking about and then driving backwards, slamming into the wall. "Taliiiiii…" Shepherd moaned, Liara having landed face first on a fallen Wrex as he chuckled.
"Usually I have to pay fifty credits to get an asari to get this close to me." He wisecracked, gently helping her up, his voice playfully mocking as Liara rolled her eyes but giggled at this, Garrus taking the wheel, scooching Tali over.
"You still need practice. Let me try, Tali." He insisted gently, the MAKO making its way across the bridge just as a Geth dropship dropped down two Geth armatures in their path, Garrus getting a grin as he instantly fired off one of the cannons, the head of one of the armatures going flying as he then activated the MAKO's lift boosters. The tank went soaring through the air, crashing down atop the other armature before he took off, smirking proudly at what he'd done. "Please. You mechanical morons are going to have to try harder than that."
"The last batch went south. Whatever are they searching for?"
"Radio chatter?" Kaiden mused aloud, looking at the communication systems as he tried to pinpoint where it came from with a few switches of some buttons on the panel. "I can't tell exactly where its coming from."
Garrus, however, was just nonchalantly riding the MAKO over the many, many Geth troopers trying to keep them from getting over the bridge. He nonchalantly whistled, Nick holding up a hand to the side of his head, hearing beeps and pings being quickly silenced.
"Is it wrong that I feel good every time I hear them go 'CRUNCH' beneath our wheels?" He wondered aloud.
"Nope. I feel it too." Tali admitted as Garrus let out a laugh as they went flying through the air again, another armature being brought down like Goliath fighting David.
"Any sign of movement? Lizbeth could still be in there. Its only been a few days!"
"She's a mother." Liara reasoned instantly. "I know that kind of tone anywhere." The asari informed them all, leaning in close to the radio, a sort of staticy response being given back to the woman at the other end of the communication channel.
"And she's a human judging by the sound of her voice." Ashley added.
"She's my daughter. I'll wait as long as I have to!"
"Yep. Definitely a worried mother." Wrex agreed. "Ah, I wish mom had lived long enough to see me now. But she died giving birth to me." He admitted with a faint mournful air. "Oh, for the day of a Genophage cure, a day when that sort of cruelty never happens to another Krogan ever again." He remarked as their MAKO finally made it to the other end of the bridge and slunk inside of a miniature garage that connected the bridges together with other skyscrapers.
"We've got movement! Not a Geth vehicle either, what…who could it be?"
"Guess they spotted us. We're on the outskirts of their headquarters, so lets go say and say "hi"!" Shepherd chuckled as they finally parked the MAKO and exited the vehicle, heading down a long, flat ramp, seeing a large group of scientists and various guards sitting around a makeshift laboratory with old crates, tables, chairs and benches.
"That's close enough!" An Asian man insisted fervently, holding a pistol up before a purple, light-armored dark-haired woman whacked him upside the head, giving him a glare.
"Give it a rest, Jeong, they're obviously not Geth."
"Shut up, Juliana! You don't know what these people want!" Jeong muttered.
"What I want is to remove your Geth problem. The name's Commander Shepherd." Shepherd said, gesturing at his crew. "We're the Normandy Crew, here to help."
"See? You worry too much." Juliana remarked cheerily, extending a hand as Shepherd shook it. "Juliana Baynham. This is Ethan Jeong. We're so glad to see friendly faces. I thought we were the only humans left."
"Fai Dan and his merry men are still holding the fort, actually." Shepherd admitted.
"Hey! You said they were all dead, you asshole!" Juliana snapped at Jeong as he weasily flinched.
"I said they were probably all dead! I mean, we've been enduring a Geth assault for almost a week!" Jeong whined.
"We'll do all we can to help. The Geth are stationed up in ExoGeni headquarters, correct? Any idea why they're here?" Shepherd wanted to know, thoughtfully rubbing his chin as Jeong shrugged.
"No. And frankly, you'd better not go snooping through our computers for some kind of insider trading advantage." He added.
Shepherd snorted. "I don't give a damn about your dumb company secrets. But I understand you're missing your daughter? We heard you talking over the radio."
"Oh. Yes, I…" Juliana rubbed her hands together, her tone nervous and worried. "My daughter Lizbeth is out there, c-could you-"
"Of course we'll try to find her." Shepherd immediately said, giving her a pat on the shoulder. "We'll do all we can to help."
"There's several places someone like her could hide. For a short time." Ethan Jeong remarked with another shrug.
"…this is the first and only chance anybody in the pacifist lobby will get to convince me NOT to hit him." Shepherd immediately said, his tone becoming venomous as Nick held his hands up.
"Don't look at me. I don't think even Saren would make remarks like that. And he had a rather dark sense of humor."
"EEEK! Okay, okay, don't hit me, alright?!" Ethan shrieked, reeling back, holding his hands up as Shepherd snorted, looking around at the guards as they just cringed, rolling their eyes at this display of wimpiness. This was positively pathetic. Waving a dismissive hand in the air, our brave heroes made for the MAKO, heading up, up to the next floor to make their way across the skyway and deeper into ExoGeni Geth in their way were, of course, quickly proving no match, especially when Garrus was behind the wheel.
"The Geth should know better than to come inside when they're not invited." He mused as they finally exited the MAKO, Garrus hopping down and walking with the rest of the group towards the front entrance of the Headquarters, the wind blowing through the empty facility with an odd coldness. "Hopefully we'll learn why they're here."
They easily made their way past the door and down, down into a sharp drop, smelling something disgusting that infiltrated their nostrils. They all cringed, Wrex sticking out his tongue.
"Dead varren." He remarked as they slunk through the darkened ravaged facility, finally exiting the hallway and entering an enormous, destroyed hall. Huge chunks of the building had been blown open, enormous pieces of the ceiling had fallen down and all these bits and pieces were lying about, scattered all over the hall. Ashley saw it first, a dead, reptilian/dog thing with an enormous overbite and pale, glassy blue eyes lying dead in a pool of blood, and she nudged it with her foot,.
"Very dead varren." She admitted, everyone suddenly whipping out their weapons as they saw a dark-haired, greenish/brown dressed figure pop out of a nearby crack in the wall, Ashley getting an idea. "Are you Lizbeth?" She asked.
"You know my name?" The young scientist asked in surprise, lowering the pistol she had as the others lowered their weapons as well, Shepherd giving her a comforting smile and a nod.
"Commander Shepherd of the Normandy. My team is here to take care of the Geth."
"Thank goodness you're here. The power's out, the exit is blocked, and they've put up an energy field to keep others from getting access to…what they want." Lizbeth said, nervously biting her lip.
"What is it they want?" Shepherd asked, giving her a "Come on, just tell me" look, Lizbeth cringing as she folded her hands over.
"Um, well, you see, I think they're here for the Thorian. It's an indigenous plant lifeform here on the planet that ExoGeni was studying." The scientist admitted. "If we could get past that field, you could get to it and we could escape the facility. But I don't know how we can do that without getting rid of all the power cables they've set up. I wanted to try myself, but with all the Geth all around-"
"It's alright, we understand." Shepherd offered her.
"Here. Take my ID. It'll get you past any locked doors you might find." Lizbeth offered, handing her ID card to Shepherd as he turned to his group.
"Wrex, Liara, Nick, Tali, you stay here, keep her safe. Ashley, Kaiden, Garrus, come with me. We'll take care of the power cables. And, ah…your mother is worried sick about you." He added, Lizbeth breathing a sigh of relief. Thank goodness. She was still alive.
As Shepherd took off, Nick scratched his head, scrunching up his tie-dyed headband slightly before an idea came to him and he held up a deck of cards from inside his pockets. "Blackjack, anyone?" He offered.
"In the middle of a dangerous, Geth-infested facility?" Tali inquired.
"Loser has to take first watch, then second, etc."
"…fine by me." Wrex said with a grin. "I'm gonna make you lose the pants off your legs."
…
…
…
…Kaiden and Garrus took the back whilst Ashley and Shepherd had the front, assault rifles held high as they made their way through the foreboding hallways of the ExoGeni's bombed-out headquarters. A harsh, biting wind blew through the building, faint crackles and echoes of pieces falling apart drifting through the air as they glanced about, eyes peering, looking for any sign of geth. They were tightly wound-up at the moment, not willing to get caught inside of another dumb robotic ambush.
They made their way up a natural ramp, heading up a staircase that hadn't yet been destroyed as some water from destroyed pipes dripped down in the background in elongated "Drip-drip-drip's" before a gruff, annoyed voice rang through the air.
"Ya damn machine! Gimme the encrypted data! NO! I don't want to review protocol!"
"Krogan." All of them whispered at once, instantly recognizing the unique understone that Krogan had as they slunk up the stairs, inching along the high railings, closer and closer to where the voice was coming from.
"I am unable to comply. Please contact your supervisor." A bald-headed virtual-reality AI remarked, its almost skeletal form nonchalantly smiling at the frustrated, dark-armored Krogan that was jabbing an accusatory digit at it.
"Damn it! Tell me what I want or I'll blast your virtual ass into actual dust!" He proclaimed.
The VI was less than helpful. "Please contact your supervisor for a Level 4 Security exemption or make an appointment with-" It continued to speak in that cheery, almost mocking voice.
"STUPID MACHINE!" The Krogan groaned, holding his head in his hands, shaking it back and forth.
"If there is nothing else, please step aside, as a queue is forming behind you." The VI remarked, the Krogan blinking in surprise and turning around, seeing three humans and a Turian pointing their guns at him.
"Ooooooh, I've been itching to kill something since the minute I started talking with you!" He snarled at the VI before Ashley's pistol shot knocked the shotgun he was about to whip out out of his hand, and he howled, clutching at his blown-through palm. "You stupid bitch!"
"See now, that's just unneighborly. All we wanted was to borrow a cup of sugar." Ashley remarked as they advanced, the VI holding a finger up.
"ExoGeni corporation reminds all staff that the discharging of weapons whilst on company property is strictly forbidden-"
"Yeah, yeah, we know. Talk, krogan. What were you trying to get out of pink and stupid here?" Kaiden demanded, clenching his fist as the Krogan was lifted up into the air, growling angrily.
"The damn thing won't talk about the Thorian. The Machinist wanted me to access their files so I could erase them, make sure nobody else found out what we discovered." The Krogan commander muttered in an annoyed tone. "We didn't think to do it when we first came here, and the Machinist didn't want to ask those…zealots…to do it for him. Ohhh, no. I'm a Krogan so I'm more expendable."
"Zealots? Are you talking about the Geth? I thought they worked for Saren and for the Machinst." Shepherd remarked. "He seems to have a unique command over them."
"He does for quite a few of them, but there's others that don't want him going near them. You really don't think there's only one kind of Geth, do you?" The Krogan chuckled. "Saren and his crew are interested in the Reapers. The Machinist and HIS Geth are investigating dark energy. Their interests happen to align."
"Interesting." Shepherd mused, rubbing his chin. "Knock him out." He asked Kaiden, who slammed the Krogan into the wall, conking him out as Shepherd flashed Lizbeth's ID card, the VI scanning it. "Okay, VI interface. Tell me about the Thorian."
"Species 37? Of course. But I was unable to tell the previous gentleman anything and I am unable to relay any new data since the sensors monitoring the observation post at Zhu's Hope have been inactive for several cycles."
Shepherd's blood turned cold as Garrus gasped, Kaiden looking stunned as Ashley flinched. "You mean to tell us that this "Thorian" is…is it UNDER Zhu's Hope?" Shepherd finally managed to ask.
"Indeed. It is located in the substructure of Zhu's Hope. ExoGeni began studying it because The Thorian, though a simple plant life form, exhibits a sentient behavior uncommon with other flora. Through dispersion and the inhalation of spores, it can infect and control other organisms, including humans." The VI interface explained as they all looked around at each other. "The Zhu's Hope control group yielded interesting results. 85% of all test subjects are infected."
"The colonists could be under mind control?" Kaiden murmured. "That's pretty damn sick." He admitted. "This explains what was going on with Ms. Blake and Mr. Newstead. The thing's exerting its control over them and they must be fighting back. Ian almost gave it away. "Thorn bush"? Thorian?"
"We'd better contact Joker." Shepherd said, giving everyone else a nod as he tried to call up Joker on his omni-tool's communication channel, but a loud "KRRRT" told him that wasn't going to work. "Damn it. The field's blocking all communications. We need to get that field down."
"Wait. Shepherd, I just figured out something. Ms. Lizbeth has level four clearance. Very high. So why didn't she know what the Thorian could do?" Ashley mused aloud, Shepherd getting a worried look on his face as he turned to the VI.
"Tell me about Lizb-I mean, "my" personal files." He asked of it.
"You were sanctioned due to being marked as "combative" over the operations regarding the Zhu's Hope project, specifically regarding the handling of the infected colonists. As a result, you were tasked with monitoring the safety of the colonists fgor the duration of the observation."
"So she did know." Shepherd murmured softly. "Tell me what you can about the Thorian."
"Species 37 was discovered several weeks ago when a small team was infected with spores whilst examining ruins near the Zhu's Hope outpost. The outpost was quarantined immediately and study began. Within 21 days, 58% of all colonists exhibited altered behavior. Within 28 days, 85%. The creature is able to make its will known via immense pain if directives are ignored through the spores it sends out. Even minor thoughts of rebellion are punished. We have seen it views its thralls in a very utilitarian way. Care is apparently taken to avoid injuring them, much as a craftsman avoids damaging its tools. As long as no action is taken against the creature's objectives, the subjects are free to pantomime a normal existence until specifically tasked with something."
"Oh, how SWEET of it." Garrus wryly remarked. "I say we take some powertools to its face."
"We'd better get moving." Shepherd reasoned as they made their way across the upper hallway, over towards an odd, faintly-glowing room in the far back. Inching their way out of the doorway, they peeked their heads over a blown-apart chunk of ledge, seeing Geth were-
Well, the only way to describe it was that they were on their hands and knees, head bowed, evidently worshiping what appeared to be a segment of their ship that had attached itself to the skyscraper they were now in. They were utterly still and silent, a beautiful light shimmering from an odd glowing white orb "protected" by the clawed prongs of the ship, almost looking peaceful. For a brief moment, Shepherd felt a hint of regret for what he was about to do. It didn't seem right to shoot anything that had its back turned to him and, on top of that, was praying. But these things were trying to destroy the galaxy…and he couldn't let them get away with it.
He tossed a grenade through the air and it landed squarely on the middle Geth's back. The thing's head popped up, letting out a surprised mechanical whine before it and its two compatriots were blown apart instantly by the explosion, though the ship's claws remained.
"So they've hooked their ship to the skyscraper with these claws. Subtle as a boot to the face." Ashley remarked as Garrus approached the orb, looking it over.
"Its almost peaceful. Do you think they're using this room as a religious temple?" He asked.
"Well, if they're looking for God, I'd be happy to speed them on their way." Ashley remarked with a growl as they made their way through more darkened, ruined hallways. Chunks of wall had been blown apart and collapsed by the Geth assault, and they were soon finding themselves in another enormous room, with a huge section of ceiling having collapsed down, bringing a great deal of the wall with it. And, of course, more Geth.
The Geth weren't too happy to see them, immediately firing on the group but Garrus and Ashley pinned them down before Kaiden focused his biotic power, lifting chunks of wall up and through the air before firing it at the Geth, crashing them into chunks. Satisfied, Shepherd led his team up through yet another stairway. "I'm getting just as sick of stairways as I am of hallways." Ashley admitted before Shepherd held a hand up, seeing Garrus had stiffened again.
"I hear Krogan." He muttered as they poked their heads out from the doorway, seeing several Krogan in full body armor standing there, speaking to each other.
"He's not gonna like it."
"Barkam is in so much trouble. Taken out by Shepherd without even a fight?"
"Saren's gonna be mad."
"He was madder at Battlemaster Han for not taking care with Liara. Good thing they took care of him before Saren could."
"Did you hack their terminal, at least?"
"Yes, so this won't be a total failure. ExoGeni was experimenting with Thorian spores in a Nodacrux colony."
Shepherd's eyes widened as he nodded over at the others. They'd have to remember that, they thought to themselves as they all rose as one, guns held up.
"Stand down." He proclaimed, the Krogan's eyes widening.
"SHEPHERD!" The first gasped out, reaching for his weapon, only to be blown back by a combined shotgun assault from Garrus and Shepherd, groaning as he slid into unconscious, his two friends nervously holding their gauntleted hands up.
"Count yourself lucky we're going easy on you. Unless you want us to take care of you the way we did on "Battlemaster Han", you'll get out of here and take your garbage with you." Shepherd growled, gesturing at their fallen friend. "But first thing's first. Where's the nearest Geth ship claw?"
"Er…down the hall? There's two of them, in fact…"
"…two, you say?" Shepherd murmured, looking intrigued.
Meanwhile, Nick was moaning, holding his head in his hands, Liara smirking slightly as she waved her blackjack hand in the air, Lizbeth sighing as she hung her head whilst Wrex chuckled a bit, Tali moaning as she threw her useless hand down.
"I can't believe it. Blackjack AGAIN. I got the worst luck." Nick moaned. "Baby blue, you're taking us to the cleaners!"
"Heh. "Baby Blue". Gotta admit, you're really good at this." Wrex said, pointing at Liara as she blushed slightly, reshuffling the cards before Nick rose back up to take the next watch, guns at the ready. "You're like magic with these cards."
"I admit, I've begun to see little "tics" in your behavior. I can gleam when you're bluffing." Liara admitted with a nervous smile. "Except Tali."
"I'm just terrible at this." Tali admitted sadly. "I appreciate you taking the guard duty over me this round." She added towards Nick as he shrugged.
"Hey, anything for a friend. Besides, a gentleman is supposed to be always considerate of a lady's interests."
"Oooh, and here I thought chivalry was dead." Tali said with a slightly teasing tone, putting her hand on her chest and giggling a bit before suddenly the entire facility shook back and forth, Joker suddenly popping up over all their communicators.
"What the H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks was that, I just saw a Geth ship pop off that skyscraper you were on like a leech that got shriveled up by salt!"
"We cut through its claws using the shuttle bay doors they'd connected and we've destroyed the dampening field it had erected." Shepherd announced over the communication relay.
"You need to get back here, the ship's on lockdown. Just ten minutes ago something freaky happened to the colonists, all of them are banging on the hull and trying to crawl inside the ship!" Joker admitted.
"And I think I know why. Everyone, we need to get back to Zhu's Hope. The Thorian is underneath it!" Shepherd announced to the others.
Everyone immediately looked in Lizbeth's direction as she nervously gulped, Nick shaking his head back and forth.
"Ms. Baynam? I think you'd better start talking."
"Thorian? What?"
"It's a plant-based life form that can control people through spores. The whole colony's been infected for weeks." Shepherd added.
"Weeks?! You knew about this for weeks?!" Tali exclaimed. "You'd better have a good explanation you bosh'tet!" She snarled, pointing an accusatory finger in Lizbeth's face, clearly glowering through her face mask, Lizbeth bowing her head in shame. A few minutes later, Shepherd appeared with the rest of the group, making his way past the downed shield, face set like stone as he folded his arms across his chest.
"I'm not unreasonable, Lizbeth. But you'd better have a good explanation."
"I was scared. I wanted them to stop the tests, but they told me to shut it or I'd be next. So I tried to send a message to Colonial Affairs. They caught me doing it and that's when the Geth attacked, so I used the chaos to hide myself!" Lizbeth explained.
"You're lucky I believe you. Now tell me, the thing's directly underneath Zhu's Hope? How can we get there?"
"The colonists covered the entrance to the Thorian's lair with a freighter just before the Geth attack really got underway." Lizbeth remarked. "It probably wanted to make sure nobody could get to it whilst the Geth were around."
"Why would Saren want to talk to it? For its unique mind-control abilities?"
"I'd imagine so." Lizbeth admitted with a nod as Shepherd led her and the others out of the building, heading back for the MAKO. It wasn't long before they wre all tucked away inside the MAKO, crowded once again as Garrus took the controls and Tali manned the communication channel, listening for chatter.
"I'm getting a lot of Geth chatter. They seem to be considerably worried. There's something unusual out there that seems to have disturbed them. Worse still, I can't quite-wait." Her eyes narrowed behind her mask as she adjusted the communique controls. "I think I can get Ms. Juliana's channel again."
"Is there anybody picking this up?"
"Get away from that radio!"
"Oh no." Lizbeth's eyes widened in horror, hearing her and Jeong's voices. "Mom!"
"This is Juliana Baynham of Feros colony. Please, help-" Static cut her off again as Lizbeth clutched her knees, eyes wide in horror as Kaiden nodded firmly at her.
"Calm down. It'll be alright. We'll get your mother out of there." He insisted as they finally reached the connected garage, slinking down through the hallway, listening intently. They could hear raised, angered voices coming from inside the garage, Juliana practically hysterical in her accusations, Ethan Jeong's tone panicked and fearful.
"You're out of your mind, Jeong! You can't do this!"
"Everyone shut up and lemme think!"
"You won't get away with this!"
"Get her outta here!" Jeong snarled, waving a dismissive hand in the air, one of the guards grabbing Juliana by her arms, tugging her away from Jeong before she could punch him in the face. Lizbeth's face snarled as she rose up, diving forward.
"Get away from her, you sonofabitch!" She roared out, tugging her mother away as Shepherd's crew raced in, weapons held high, Shepherd aiming squarely at Ethan Jeong's head.
"You didn't see fit to tell us your company was using a giant plant monster to mind-control colonists!" He hissed quietly, his tone cold and furious.
"What? WHAT?!" Juliana murmured, glancing about before Lizbeth nervously rubbed the back of her neck.
"It's a telepathic lifeform living under Zhu's Hope. I…didn't tell you about it because I was trying to keep you safe." Lizbeth admitted. "I wanted to stop the tests but Jeong said "no"."
"Look, the company wants this place purged! The Thorian is more valuable than a few colonists!" Ethan whined, holding his hands up.
"A "few colon-" we are talking about human lives, you stinking slimeball!" Juliana snarled.
"So you keep saying. But nobody's gonna care about a few stupid-"
Nick had had his pistol out. He had been holding the gun carefully, Jeong not seeing he was a target, and now the medic fired, the shot blasting Ethan Jeong's hand clean off, the pistol the whining, corrupt scientist had had falling to the floor in a meaty "plop". Jeong howled, clutching his stump as Nick lowered his pistol slightly, blowing fake smoke off of it as Garrus and Wrex held their guns up at the guards, giving them a "don't try it" look. The guards all nervously lowered their weapons as Jeong howled and screeched.
"GAAAH! What!? What!? What was that?!"
"Well, my friend…that's a Paladin." Nick said triumphantly, Juliana hugging her daughter tightly as Shepherd gave Nick a surprised look. "Look, he'll live. And if he gets that hand into cold storage he can probably get it re-attached. But I have higher standards for scientists than I do for mercenaries." He remarked, glaring down at Jeong. "Jerks like you are what make people think scientists don't care about morals. You need to stop proving them right."
"I'm so sorry, mom. This is all my fault. I should have called Colonial Affairs sooner." Lizbeth murmured into her mother's shoulder as Juliana gently patted her daughter's shoulder.
"Don't you start. You do good work and you know it. Commander, I know you need to reach the Thorian, but the colonists would literally die to keep you from getting to it."
"Can't we somehow put them to sleep?" Liara inquired. "Perhaps a nonviolent solution?"
"We do have a lab here." Lizbeth remarked, quickly heading over to a nearby table and going through several cases before lifting up a small sealed vial. "Yes! Perfect! We have a nerve agent here that works very well. It's called tetraclopine, a neueromuscular degenerator If you applied it to your concussion grenades, you could make them into gas grenades."
"Wouldn't I get knocked out too?" Shepherd reasoned.
"Tetraclopine, is a neueromuscular degenerator. It was meant to work with another chemical that reduces people's nervous systems. But being exposed to Thorian spores for so long means their nervous systems are already weakened. Therefore, the gas will just be irritating to all of you, but paralyzing to them." Lizbeth remarked.
"Sounds like a good idea. We'll put them to use."
Some time later, all of them were making their way into the MAKO, heading once again across the bridgeway, heading right for the colony of Zhu's Hope. Shepherd had loaded up all his grenades with Anti-Thorian gas and all of them were on strict orders to be extra gentle, especially considering many of the colonists didn't have an ounce of armor on them. Yet as they approached the final metal doorway that would lead them back to Zhu's Hope, Garrus stopped the MAKO, eyes widening.
"Something is curled up in a fetal position in front of the door." Garrus murmured, bringing the MAKO to a halt as they climbed out, looking the greyish, almost slimy-bodied thing as it slowly rose up, letting out a soft moan. Its muscules appeared unnatural, stitched together with creeper-esque veins, it was as if a human had been turned inside out and dipped in a disgusting mockery of "all natural" materials. Fingers had become bony claws, eyes were sunken in and blank, hollow spaces, with rotting teeth in exposed mouths and faces like skulls that gazed darkly at them.
"What in the Hell?" Ashley murmured as the thing that was staring at them let out a growling groan, and then rushed forward at them. Tali whipped her pistol out, and a blast knocked one of its hands clean off, exposing ugly, pulsating greenish veins and muscle tissue within.
"That thing isn't even really alive, it's like, like some kind of plant monster!" She realized, Liara quickly pulling out her own pistol as she and Tali fired on the creeper-esque monster, turning it into a smoking, disgusting pile of greenish ooze that looked like a goblin would eat it for lunch, all of them grossed out by the display left behind.
"YECCCH. It smells like rotting veggies that got left in the fridge too long." Nick moaned, covering his mouth with his hands, practically vomiting on the spot as Garrus cringed.
"That…that THING definitely wasn't human. It must have been an entirely plant-based thing the Thorian made to try and defend itself, I'd wager." Garrus admitted.
"Just remember, don't hit the colonists." Shepherd insisted, waving a hand in the air. "Even if the Thorian makes them fire on us." He remarked, the others making their way up the natural ramp and towards the elevator, a few colonists holding their guns up. "Stand down!" He yelled out at them. "We just want to help you."
"You will stay back!" One of them roared out, firing his assault rifle at them as their shields held, Shepherd whipping one of the grenades forth. It sailed through the air, exploding in a greenish cloud of dusty substance as the colonists coughed and spluttered before dropping to the ground, paralyzed and unconscious as Shepherd breathed a sigh of relief. They worked. Thank goodness the grenades worked.
They made their way into the elevator, descending down to to the level of the colony, finding more of the Thorian's Creepers waiting for them, standing in front of the doorway to the colony, moaning like the disgusting plant zombies that they were.
"Uggghhhh…"
"Uhhhhhh…"
"Hurrrrrr…"
"Ohhhh, what an awful noise." Liara murmured as Nick grinned and cracked his knuckles, deciding to take care of this. "It sound as if their very lungs are filled with moss."
"Stand back, everyone." Nick remarked as he stepped out of the elevator, holding a hand up at the Thorian creepers as they turned towards him. "I heard somebody say "Burn, baby burn"! Disco Inferno! Burn, baby burn!"
With a hissing snarl, a blast of hot reddish/orange flame enveloepd the creepers as they screeched in agony, writhing on the floor having been alit with spontaneous flame. They dissolved away into ashes as a few colonists raced in, gasping in surprise. "What in the-"
Another gas grenade quickly sent them into dreamland as Shepherd and the others inched past, Shepherd carefully peering around the corner, seeing about five colonists standing behind some strategically-arranged blocks all in front of an enormous freighter ship.
"Yes, they're definitely protecting the ship. If we could move one of the thing's cargo blocks though, we'd have a way down and under it." Shepherd reasoned, readying another grenade and putting it behind his back, attaching it to the back of his belt as he walked forward, the colonists holding their weapons up as Shepherd put his gun down. "Relax, please. I'm only here to talk." He remarked.
"You should not be here. It is not allowed." The Salarian Ledra remarked.
"Relax, I've got approval. The Thorian should see me." Shepherd said with a calm tone, putting his hands up to show he was unarmed, then putting them behind his back.
"The Thorian has no desire to speak to those who scurry about."
"Oh, really? That's a shame. I think you might change your mind aftr a little nap." Shepherd reasoned, tossing the grenade he had behind his back right at them as it exploded in a haze of green, conking them all out as Shepherd triumphantly smiled before he heard the loud groan of more creepers, seeing them charging at him, letting out furious growls.
Garrus lifted his sniper rifle high, a blast blowing one of their heads clean off as Liara held up her shotgun along with Wrex, firing away at the creatures as Ashley added in her assault rifle barrage, Shepherd seeing the colonists approaching from afar. "Ah! Quick, put your guns away!" He yelled out.
"But the creepers!" Liara cried out, Shepherd tossing the last grenade through the air…
And as it struck the space between the creepers and the colonists and exploded, the colonists collapsed, unconscious, whilst the creepers exploded on the spot into disgusting greenish ooze, Shepherd's eyes widening in surprise. "That chemical must be very toxic to the Thorian and its minions." He realized aloud as they approached the freighter's outside control panel, lifting up one of its cargo holds. All freighter ships had cargo holds attached to the sides which could be lifted higher or lower in the air, and now with this one lifted up?
Success! A stairway leading down into the substructure of the colony, where the Thorian laid wait-
But there was a fly in the ointment. They heard a "pow" of a gun, and turned, seeing Fai Dan was cringing, walking forward in a herky-jerky fashion, his pistol held high as he tried not to raise it. The man was clearly fighting off the mind control as best he could, his face wracked with pain.
"Ian…wasn't kidding. I-I'm getting quite the mental cat-o-nine-tails from the Thorian!" He grunted out.
"I'm out of grenades!" Shepherd gasped, feeling around his equipment, cringing inwardly as the others held their weapons up, unsure of how to stop Fai Dan. Should they just blow the gun out of his hand? Take down his legs? "Fai Dan, calm down, we're going to help your colony, alright?"
"I tried to fight it, but it gets so deep inside your head." Fai Dan whispered. "I was supposed to be their leader. These people trusted me. Now it wants me to stop you. I-I can't! I WON'T!" He roared out, turning the black pistol away from Shepherd, Shepherd realizing what he was about to do.
"Nick!" He yelled out, Nick quickly clearing his throat. He had to think of something to put Fai Dan to sleep. Some way to knock him out!
The pistol was now at Fai Dan's head-
"Everything's gonna be alright, rockabye! Rockabye!"
Fai Dan collapsed on the ground, slumbering away, Nick breathing a sigh of relief as he clutched his chest, wiping his brow. "Oh. That was close." He murmured. "My mind almost went blank."
"He owes you his life. I was worried he was about to really do it." Shepherd admitted, a thought coming to him as he raised an eyebrow up. "Where we come from, our tale is a story to you. Tell me, do you know what was going to happen here?"
"I played through the first game, went through the first story. And Fai Dan would have died if I wasn't here. But even though I was here, Nihlus still died…Jenkins still died." Nick murmured softly as he bit his lip and rubbed his arm. "Its like this universe doesn't really want me to succeed. I have to fight for every tiny win I can help you guys get. I remember the Council does eventually believe you by the tale's end after everything they see. Everything you endure. And I remember a few other bits and pieces, but its been a few months since I finished it and I can only remember the really big stuff for the most part."
"How do we stop the Thorian?" Shepherd wanted to know.
"I don't know if we can just talk it down. I think we're gonna have to just kill it." Nick admitted. "I'd feel worse about it not for the fact the thing was enslaving people." He added with a dark growl. "That really, REALLY pisses me the hell off."
"I think I can hear it." Garrus said as he cringed, an ugly sound echoing up from the stairway below, like some giant, squishy, slimy thing breathing deep beneath. They all readied their weapons, descending down into the darkness as Shepherd led the way. That smell, that "Creeper Smell" was even stronger now than before, as Garrus shook his head back and forth. "Yeccch. It smells horrific in here."
"All we need do is find this Thorian creature and determine what it…" Liara began to say before she actually saw it, the first of them to truly notice it in the gigantic, circular lair where it had made its home. "What…it….can…this was not covered in my C-Sec training manuals."
It was a disgusting sight, to be sure. Tentacle-esque vines thicker than oak trees pumped into the thing's central body in the middle of a tower-esque structure built almost like a garage, with varying levels circling all around it. There were pod-like things hanging off the walls, not-yet activated creepers bowing before the Thorian and the beast itself was almost beyond description in how horrific and disturbing it was.
"My God in Heaven, its like a giant wart on the Devil's backside." Ashley murmured.
"Someone call Lovecraft. We've found Cthulu." Kaiden muttred.
"I think I'm goingt to be ill." Liara cringed.
"I KNOW I'm going to be ill, have you ever vomited inside of a helmet?!" Tali moaned, holding her stomach in disgust, trying to keep her lunch down.
"Sheeeesh. And I thought I was ugly." Wrex grunted.
"Ugly" was putting it mildly. The thing looked like a gigantic heart, suspended in the air by its thick tentacles, a horrific "face" of sorts at the front with ugly, veiny curves and "eyes". Tiny little eyes woven into the grooves of the enormous sockets, its skin armored and plated in a foul, greenish/brown color that looked like fecal matter, and then, of course, there was its mouth. It had a split-open mouth with sharp teeth with tentacles as "tongues" languishing out of it, and some kind of foul, unnatural liquid was sloughing out of the mouth as if it was a leaky, unholy faucet. The thing was visibly grunting, evidently raking notice of the as its tentacles spread out and it seemed to vomit out a woman. An asari with green skin and brown veins in a skintight outfit with an odd, unnatural gleam in her eyes as she rose up and stared at them, her tone having a vaguely authoritarian air to it as she pointed accusingly at them.
"Invaders! Your every step is a transgression! A thousand feelers appraise you as meat, good only to dig or decompose!" The Thorian's Thrall proclaimed. "I speak for the Old Growth as I did for Saren." The Asari said as she put a hand on her chest. "You are within and before the Thorian. It commands that you be in awe!"
"I'm feeling something, but I'm not sure I'd call it awe." Nick muttered. "My GOD, have you ever heard of "breath mints"?" He asked of the Thorian. "What have you been eating, trash?"
"I think "Soylent Green" here is people if you get my drift." Kaiden cynically mumbled, shaking his head back and forth, sticking his tongue out in disgust. "Its like a sociopathic, megalomaniacal venus fly trap."
Shepherd cringed, but composed himself. "You gave something to Saren Arterius. Something I need."
"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, as you can see." The asari thrall said, pointing at herself as Nick frowned.
"He gave up an innocent woman to you to get the information he wanted? Well, that's just…I mean…geez." He grunted.
"And then cold ones began killing the flesh that would tend the next cycle. Flesh fairly given! The Old Growth sees the air you push as lies! It will listen no more!" The thrall snarled.
"You mean the Geth that attacked the colony?" Shepherd reasoned. "Look, those "cold ones" are trying to take over the entire galaxy. Which includes your planet. We've driven them off and we're willing to let you have your planet back to live here in peace. But we want you to tell us just exactly what you gave to Saren, and to release your slaves."
The Asari thrall looked almost amused. "You seek to bargain for their lives? They are flesh to be used how the Thorian sees fit."
"You can't make people do things against their will! That's just not right." Shepherd snapped. "I'm asking nicely, but I'm only asking once. Let them go, tell me what I want to know and we'll leave you alone."
"I will not listen to those that scurry. Your lives are short compared to mine, but they've gone on too long." The Thorian remarked coldly through its Asari slave. "Your blood and flesh shall feed the Old Growth for decades to come!"
"Well. Tried to be nice." Shepherd sighed, Wrex shooting forward and HEADBUTTING the asari slave clear through the air. She let out a screech, slamming into the Thorian's face and sliding down, down before collapsing into a gooey, greenish, plant-esque pulp below as the thing visibly shook, roaring in fury.
"Had a feeling she was just like those creepers." Wrex remarked.
"Eww. Its like green jello gone bad." Nick muttered, sticking his head over the edge before dodging the tentacled mouth of the Thorian as it snarled and then spat out another asari just like the one before. "EW! It can make more!"
"I DIDN'T PARTICULARILY CARE FOR THAT!" The Thorian screeched out through the Asari as the Thorian creepers around them rose up, the group firing away at them as Shepherd raced off towards one of the enormous vines running through the layers of the lair, connecting the Thorian to the walls. An idea had come to him, and he held his assault rifle high, firing on the tentacle-esque vine again and again as the Asari glowed with biotic power, lifting Nick up into the air as he flailed about.
"Uh, can we, maybe, discuss this peacefully over a nice dinner of Miracle-Gro?" He cringed.
The asari thrall launched him through the air and into a pillar with a heave, Nick gasping in agony before his eyes blazed.
"Alright, you wanna play it like that, "Poison Ivy"?! Fine by me! I've got a crush! On you! I know you feel the way that I do!"
In a delightful bit of irony, vines erupted from the ground, enveloping the asari as the group began beating the Thorian creepers back, the vines squeezing the thrall tight as it glowered at Nick. "You. You use the Old Ways. The Sacred Skill. How many souls did it take? How do you have such might?"
Nick frowned a bit. "Old Ways? So others have used my ability before?"
"All are tied back to the expanse that threads through this realm as easily as my vines thread through this world. Even when dead they linger on through it. But ohhhh…to have one of your kind as a thrall, to return to my old strength!" The Thorian proclaimed, bursting through the vines as it grabbed hold of Nick again with its asari slave. "Claiming you would let me have a truly powerful thrall-"
It shrieked suddenly, the Asari reeling back, howling in agony. Shepherd had finally blown through the vine, and the Thorian shook violently in pain. "How dare you!" It roared out, Nick kicking the thing back as Shepherd raced back towards the group.
"The vines! They're holding the Thorian up! Destroy them and the thing collapses!" He remarked, all of them racing for the areas where the other vines were, Thorian creepers rising up with loud, hateful moans, racing forward with clawed hands held high. Nick whipped out his pistols, firing away alongside Liara and Wrex as Tali held up a shotgun with Ashley, firing upon their own vine whilst Kaiden, Garrus and Shepherd turned their assault weapons upon another vine, the "neural node" that connected the Thorian to the wall.
The Thorian screeched and howled, sending forth more creepers at them as the asari clone raced towards Shepherd, cloaked in blue biotic energy. It slammed into him, sending him flying before Kaiden thrust his fist forth, and it punched clear through the thrall's body collapsed into a gooey pulp. Garrus helped Shepherd up as another vine across the way collapsed, Ashley and Tali cheering before dodging the swiping claws of some Thorian creepers.
"Disgusting little things! You must die!" Another thrall roared out as it raced towards them, Garrus and Shepherd holding their shotguns up at their "neural node" and firing again and again. The thrall shrieked in even more agony, the Thorian clearly on its last legs as the others readied their weapons, aiming it at the last of the vines.
"Let…those people…go." Shepherd growled at the thrall struggled to get to its feet.
"You! You cannot do this! You are inferior flesh, you cannot deny the Old Growth! You are only suited to be slaves! This world is rightfully-"
"I gave you a chance." Shepherd spoke softly. "That's what people like me are supposed to do." He murmured, Liara pulling the trigger. An instant later, the last neural node vine exploded in a disgusting, pulpy mess like a garbage dumpster being blown apart, the Thorian letting out a howl of sheer agony, screeching in pain, the enormous beast now realizing it was dead meat. Or rather, a dead planet. The vines connecting it to the wall were gone and it now plummeted down like a stone into the expanse below, falling, falling, landing with a sqelchy, almost meaty "PLORP" sound as everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Until they heard another odd, squelching sound echoing through the air and turned, seeing something was emerging from one of the red, almost boil-esque pods on the walls, an asari with blue skin and oddly-familiar markings on her body-
"Wait. You're the Asari that that thing was attacking us with! But your body's all blue and normal." Ashley realized, looking her over with surprise.
"My name is Shiala. I was given to the Thorian for it to use as a servant and a mouthpiece. I'm finally free!" She realized aloud, looking down at herself, dusting herself off and cringing. "And UGH. I need a bath."
"You think you got off bad, you should see the other guy." Kaiden chuckled.
"I was serving under Matriarch Benezia and when she allied with Saren, so did I." Shiala admitted with a nod. "Benezia knew the influence Saren had and she was trying to guide him down a more gentler path. Despite how he cares for her, he's very compelling and…well, she lost her way."
"Wait. Are you trying to say Saren has mind-control abilities?" Shepherd wished to know, looking horrified as he turned to Liara, who looked genuinely concerned, all of them glancing about at each other.
"Benezia underestminated Saren just as I did, we came to believe in his cause and goals. I believe it has to do with that warship he travels in, "Sovereign". Something about it seems to make you more likely to listen to him." The asari Shiala sighed, wrapping her arms around herself and cringing with a shudder. "It "indoctrinates" people, as he put it. The process is subtle, it can take days, weeks, but in the end its absolute if you're exposed just long enough."
"My poor mother…" Liara murmured, Shiala's eyes widening in surprise.
"You're her daughter!?" She gasped. "Thank Goodness you're alive. She was worried about you. Even through the indoctrination she wanted to keep you alive." Shiala admitted.
"That's a comfort." Liara mumbled softly. "But we need to know what Saren wanted from the Thorian. Could you tell us that?"
"Saren used my biotic skills to communicate with the Thorian and once he had what he wanted he asked the Geth to destroy all traces it remained and for the Krogan he had with him to clean up any data ExoGeni left behind." Shiala remarked. "And what he wanted was the Cipher, a way to understand Prothean visions."
"The Thorian knew how to do that?" Shepherd wanted to know.
"Yes. It was here long before the Protheans were. It studied them. When they died, it consumed them. They became a part of it. Their knowledge, their history, their mindset. All that made them "them" was joined with the Thorian, including how to understand Prothean beacons and the visions they pass on."
"So the Thorian taught Saren how to think like a Prothean." Shepherd realized aloud. "How, though?"
"I can't exactly explain it. It would be like describing color to a being without eyes. To understand, you need to have access to endemic ancestral memory like the Protheans had."
"I thought ancestral memory was a disproven scientific myth." Kaiden remarked, clearly surprised by this. "I mean, that stuff is just supposed to be science-fiction nonsense."
"Not exactly. Things like bad smells and fears can, in fact, linger on within subsequent generations. It's not like a child would remember exactly where it's grandparent would stand, but if the grandparent had a fear of snakes and the mother did, the child probably would too. And Protheans, well, they could, in fact, pass down whole memories to their younger generations." Shiala admitted. "And this ancestral memory that is the Cipher is now part of me. I merged with it."
"Well, I need it." Shepherd remarked. "Can you transfer the knowledge from your mind to mine?"
Shiala nodded. "Yes, but you'll have to be very, very strong-willed to endure it." Shiala admitted. "I think it best we not do it here, either. You'll want to be relaxed for it…"
…
…
…
… "How is the child? Is…is it a he or a she?"
"He. And he looks beautiful."
Saren clutched the railing tightly, nervously biting his lip before slowly raising his head up.
"When I was able to see it?" He murmured quietly. "There's very little that can bring me joy now. But…but he did."
"New life is always beautiful to behold." The Machinist remarked. "You and her should be proud."
"I've got so much to tell him and yet such a short time to do so. I've got to get to work on making the recordings."
"And I'll get to work on the little "crib" for your child." The Machinist chuckled, Saren giving him a nervous glance.
"It won't harm him, will it?"
"The process is completely painless."
Saren nervously flinched slightly, but then nodded. "I'll go and speak to Benezia. We've much to discuss." He intoned before exiting the room, the Machinist turning on his communicator.
"I need to speak with the Collector General. We have to ready the project. Saren and Benezia have had a beautiful baby boy and we must ensure he grows up right."