Recap: "Hey can you open the door please? We're heading to Peak 15." He asked before the mako's door closed. Matsuo quickly went towards the garage door opener and hit the button. The mako quickly flew out of the garage door and straight for Peak 15.
Now
Shepard and the team drove through the mountains with as much care as they could. Sadly, that was made difficult because of the geth Benezia had left behind on the road towards Peak 15. This didn't just include a few shock troopers, but also rocket troopers, turrents, armatures and even a colossus! How the helld did she managed to smuggle a colossus through Hanshan? They'd have to be blind or something. Well it did slow them down but they eventually got to their destination bypassing a few destroyed grizzlies along the way. No doubt destroyed by the geth while lost in the blizzard. After a few more fights, they finally arrived at Peak 15. Noticing that there was a crashed grizzly in the garage door's way, everyone got out and ran to the side door. Upon entry they moved inward to the garage.
Once inside however they ended up fighting a Geth Juggernaut, a Geth Destroyer, a Geth Shock Trooper, and a Geth Repair Drone. There were also three krogan with them. Shepard immediately homed in on the repair drone and crushed with his biotics. Geth repair drones made fighting the geth much more annoying at the least. At most it prolonged the fight. He quickly moved and assaulted the geth juggernaut with a warp and overload combo, finishing it with an overkill courtesy of his assault rifle. Ashley and Kaidan both attacked the destroyer. Kaidan used stasis and overload while Ashley finished it off with a onslaught from her assault rifle. Tali used carnage on the shock trooper after hacking and turning it on one of the krogan, killing both of them. Liara attacked the second krogan with a relentless biotic assault. She continuously used her biotic blast melee before finishing him off with a rather heavy warp. She took her pistol out and shot him in the head for good measure. Wrex immediately went after the final krogan and head-butted him. The krogan was knocked back a bit giving Wrex enough time to use carnage on the whelp. Right in the face to. After the fight came to an end, they all heard the station's VI.
"User alert! All Peak 15 facilities have suffered a great deal of damage. Biohazard materials present throughout facility. Virtual Intelligence user offline." The VI said over the intercom.
"We'll have to get main power back." Kaidan said
"And to do that we'll have to get the reactors back online." Tali said after hearing it. Everyone continued on to the door that would lead them further into the facility. They came into a corridor-like checkpoint which held turrents that were facing inside.
"What moron installed these turrents facing backwards?" Wrex said seeing them.
"They want to keep their people in as much they want to keep others out." Garrus replied. Everyone went down the elevator further down the hall. Unlike the ones at Port Hanshan, these were built to hold bigger things so it easily held them all. The elevator went up. The display above the elevator door read 'Cafeteria' once it stopped. Shepard, Ashley and Garrus all had there assault rifles out as they exited the elevator with caution. Shepard immediately took in his surroundings and noticed that the cafeteria had been ruined. He then felt 4 electric signatures. Everyone quickly ran out and immediately fired on 4 geth troopers. The geth while they had been expecting them, were taken by surprise at hwo fast they had been seen. Once the fight was over Shepard felt something different. Not like a biotic, electric or even the thorian spores, but something else. He quickly looked around, trying to pinpoint where it was, but he couldn't. It was like an all over feeling. You knew it was in the room but you can't tell where. Then they all heard noises like something was moving in the vents around them. Those noises were followed by shrieks of some kind. Everyone got back to back, searching for whatever was making the noise.
"What was that?" Garrus said as he looked around quickly for any sign of what made the noise with his assault rifle ready.
"Don't have a panick attack. I'll protect you." Wrex teased as he too looked around.
"Animals? Wind? This place is in bad shape." Ashley said finally noticing the full extent of her surroundings. Her joke fell on deaf ears sadly. Liara and Shepard were both silent as their eyes went over everywhere on their level.
"What the hell are those?!" Kaidan yelled seeing what made the sounds. Everyone looked to where he was looking at and saw it. A giant bug of some sort. 4 antennae, 4 legs and had some sort of tentacle appendages. Another one came up besides all suddenly heard scurrying and saw more than a few smaller green insects scitttering towards them. When she saw them, Tali freaked out and began shooting.
"Spiders, spiders, spiders, SPIIIDEERRRSS!" She yelled as she fired at them, completely terrified. Everyone saw them too, and immediately opened fire. The little insects scurried around making it difficult, but they were shot eventually. Except which on Shepard and exploded.
"Awwww dammit! What the hell?!" Shepard yelled as he tried to get the goop off him. He suddenly felt like he was going to be sick again and noticed some type of clicking sound behind him. He quickly turned around to see the 2 bigger ones coming at them. He quickly switched to his shotgun and immediately fired. Everyone else soon joined in, using either a pistol, shotgun, or assault rifle. After an assault that puntured through their carapaces with great difficulty, they finally killed them. Before the last one died however, it spat some type of acid which hit Kaidan. Shepard couldn't take it anymore and walked to a corner and started hacking up. Kaidan followed his lead and distanced himself from everyone before he too started blowing chunks of his lunch.
"Goddess are you two alright?" Liara asked. Both men didn't answer at first. They just groaned until the felt better. Shepard recovered faster than Kaidan did, but both had to use medi-gel to completely recover.
"Whatever you do, make sure that the small ones don't *gag* get too close. They explode with some type of acid." Shepard said as he walked back to the group.
"Yea and *gag* don't get hit by any of that spit the big ones use either." Kaidan said as he joined up. Everyone looked at the corpses of the giant bugs.
"What were those things?" Garrus asked as he looked at them.
"Damned if I know. But someone on his mountain does." Wrex said glaring at the carcas.
"I've never seen anything like them." Tali said shuddering at the small ones.
"Xenobiology is not my field. Maybe someone in the labs knows." Liara commented trying to figure out what they were.
"They were hard to kill. That's all I need to know." Ashley said panting a little. Everyone just kept walking until they came to another elevator which brought them to the VI core room. They were attacked by another swarm of those small ones but everyone managed to kill them all since they were funneled through the corridor.
"This must be the VI's core room. Spread out and check for anything that might get things working again." Shepard said as he walked over to the main console. It was an assortment of high-grade terminals all lined up in a curve formation. He quickly looked at the dials and noticed a button that led to the core. He pushed it but nothing happened. He looked for anything else that might help but found none.
"Shepard!" Ashley yelled out.
"What?" Shepard yelled back, gripping his pistol in case another of those things came around.
"We found something." She yelled.
"What is it?" He shouted back as he didn't move from the VI console since there was no threat.
"A backup power system, Shepard. Must be for the station mainframe." Garrus shouted this time. He then listened to the converation some of his teammates had.
"Think we can fix it? Get this place back online?" He heard Kaidan ask.
"The damage is not extensive. It could be repaired." He heard Liara say.
"So whack it and turn this thing on." He heard Wrex state and couldn't help but chuckle at the comment. Then the VI's voice came over the intercom.
"Critical startup error. Virtual Intelligence user interface offline. Manual reboot required." The VI spoke. Shepard noticed that the button he tried to push lit up. He pressed it and floor panel he stood on descended down into what appeared to be the VI's core mainframe.
"Hey guys I think I found something!" He shouted up. The distance between here and level he was on had to have been seperated by at least 15-20 feet of space. He waited until he saw Tali's head come into the view.
"Shepard? What are you doing?" She asked. Everyone else leaned over and saw him down there.
"I'm going to try and reboot this thing hang on." Shepard said as he started typing on the keyboard inside. It showed that the mainframe needed all the power to be completely connected to all of its systems and not just the basics. It took him a while but he finally managed to divert power to all of the VI's systems. In response to this the VI directed the elevator panel to ascend back up. Once there a VI hologram of a woman appeared in front of the console.
"It looks like you're trying to restore this facility. Would you like help?" She asked.
"Help would be great. Who are you?" Shepard responded hoping things would go smoothly.
"This system is monitored to respond to the name 'Mira.' May I ask your name?" The now known Mira asked.
"Shepard. I work for the Citadel Spectres." Shepard replied thinking it my give him access to certain systems.
"One moment please. Council authority confirmed. You are entitled to secure access of all systems. Please note that queries relating to corporate secrets require privileged access. Privileged access is only available to Binary Helix executives. This system is ready to process queries. You may access me at any holographic interface within Peak 15." Mira informed. Uhhh He can't go five minutes without someone telling him about corporate disclosure. He quickly remembered why he was here in the first place.
"I need to find Matriarch Benezia." Shepard said seriously.
"Lady Benezia departed on the passenger tramway to the Rift Station's subsidiary labs. User alert! The tramway system is currently inoperable." Mira replied. Great of course there would be more problems. Oh well. Time to figure things out and fix them.
"What's the situation here?" He asked.
"One moment please. Diagnostics in progress. Critical failure. Main reactor shutdown in accordance with emergency containment procedures. Manual restart required. Critical failure. Landline connections are disabled. Passenger tram systems are offline. Report complete. Do you have an additional systems status query?" Mira said after a few seconds of silence.
"Do you know why the reactor was shutdown?" Shepard asked first. That seemed more important.
"I'm sorry but I was offline at the time. Shutdown could occur if reactor was breach seems likely, or in the case of catastrophic laboratory containment failure. Emergency guidlines suggest the frigid environment will kill biological contagions. It may also damage mechanical ones." Mira informed. That made sense.
"Turn off the heat and hope the cold puts whatever you unleashed to sleep." Wrex commented.
"Nice." Tali agreed. Kaidan nodded along with her. It was sound enough.
"What do we need to do to get the power back on?" Shepard asked a little annoyed at the walkthrough.
"The valves to the helium-3 fuel line must be opened. This can be done at the controls on the reactor assembly proper." Mira informed. Okay now they were getting somewhere. Shepard then wondered about the landlines.
"What are the landlines and why are they disabled?" He asked.
"The landlines connect my mainframes here at Central Station to the various subfacilities of Peak 15. This allows the crew to remotely access my databases from the comfort of and security of their labs. When emergency protocols were implemented within the hot labs, the cabling was automatically ejected." Mira informed. Okay so they really needed both if they were going to proceed.
"How do we reconect the landlines?" Shepard asked with a sigh.
"The landlines are designed for easy reconnection. The router for the landlines is on the roof of Operations. Simply activate the controls, and the hardware will reconnect and reboot automatically." Mira said. Oh thank God! That made things so much simpler. He then remembered that this place was only recently down. A few days at least and yet it looked like it was starting to fall apart.
"Tell me what happened here." Shepard ordered. Time to get to the bottom of this.
"I'm sorry, but I need a more specific query." Mira said. Shepard's eye twitched. He already went through this shit with Isaac when he was still new. He didn't need to go through it again.
"Tell me what occured immediately before your shutdown." Shepard specified.
"Stage 1 alert issued at hot labs. Contaminants released from Laboratory Pod Gamma. Emergency protocols implemented. Stage 2 alert issued at hot labs. Isolation Tube breached. Tram shut down. Landlines to hot labs disconnected. Stage 3 alert issued locally. Contaminants in tram tunnels. Station wide shutdown and evacuation intiated. Code Omega sent." Mira said as if she was an alarm intercom. What the hell kind of contaminants... the bugs!
"What sort of 'contaminants' escaped?" Shepard asked morbidly. All he got was a disclosure thing about how she couldn't reveal company secrets.
"The creatures we've encountered here. Did they come from the labs?" Shepard asked. He got the same response. Okay it was safe to assume that it was indeed the bugs that fucked this place up.
"Why were you taken offline?" Shepard asked exasperated.
"In the event Peak 15 must be sterilized for security purposes, my program and data are purged." Mira said making Shepard freeze.
"They kill you if something goes wrong?" Shepard asked evenly.
"My systems are permanently disabled. To be 'killed,' I would need to be alive. I am merely a database program." Mira replied. His sudden anger went away. Oh right VI, not AI.
"That's all I need to know right now." Shepard said. He then turned to his team.
"Okay. Since the landlines are easy to deal with one of us will just go and deal with that. The rest will go to the reactor. Now before I here any quesions I'll say it like this: The reactor room is most likely bigger than the roof which has less room considering we're on a mountain. Also you never know what surprises may be in store in either area. So I'll go to the roof while you guys activate the reactor. I'll go up there in case there are any geth or these bugs around up there. You all will take the reactor since it could contain more enemies than the roof. If either us finishes before the other, check this place first and if there isn't anyone here go to where the missing one is. Let's do this." Shepard said before going into the elevator. It brought him up to the roof quite fast.
The only downside was that there were bugs on the roof. He quickly took out his shotgun and began firing, killing a big one quickly. Seeing he was getting flanked, he used singularity and caught most of the little ones and a big one. He quickly used an incinerate attack which killed them before turning his attention to the remaining big one. He used carnage to kill it, completely destroying it in the process. He walked over to the console and activated the landlines.
"Connections restored. Processing new data. User alert! Unable to connect to hot lab facilities." Mira's avatar popped up and spoke.
"Give me a status report on the hot labs." Shepard asked.
"I am sorry. The network connections to the labs have been damaged. Data is limited." Mira informed.
"Give me an overview of the facility" Shepard said.
"The hot labs isolate dangerous biological or cybernetic contaminants during development. The complex is built within a glacier. In the event of an accident, it can be irradiated and sunk into the ice." Mira replied. Damn he was starting to think maybe he and Isaac should try getting one of these labs in the future. Who knows what could happen with them.
"You really have no idea what's going on inside?" Shepard asked hoping for a little more.
"I'm afraid not. My last log entry is shortly after the Stage 2 containment alert was sounded." Mira responded, apologetic.
"What's the status of Rift Station?" Shepard asked.
"Rift Station has been locked down by the staff. There are no contaminants within the facility." Mira informed. Okay... wait what?!
"Why is Rift Station locked down?" Shepard he asked thinking it may be a fluke about the staff.
"Emergency procedures require each facility to isolate itself to prevent the spread of contagion. It would also appear that there are several employees quarantined for medical treatment." Mira replied. So it was true. There were some survivors. Maybe they could get some answers.
"If it's locked down will we be able to enter?" Shepard asked. If any survivors are there they might be trapped in there. How could they survive.
"The passenger trams can bring you to the facility. Further access will be at the discretion of the security forces there." Mira replied. Oh that's how. Makes sense.
"The staff really is alive then?" Shepard asked with a smile.
"Yes, though the number of personnel is below the official staff count." Mira replied. Shepard's smile went away. It was to be expected after all.
With everyone else.
They had gone into the the reactor area and immediately came under fire by geth. Shepard was right to send all of them here together. The geth were numerous but they were outclassed. The group split up and started taking out the geth one by one. Eventually, the 3 destroyers, 2 stalkers, and the Juggernaut were destroyed by the team. Kaidan walked over to the where the reactor console was.
"The He-3 fuel line is cut." Kaidan said on closer inspection. Tali and Garrus came over and assited Kaidan in repairing it. After a minute, Tali went, "There we got it." They turned it on and it came to life.
"Alright, we should head back and see if Shepard needs some help." Wrex said before walking away. Everyone else followed.
Back with Shepard.
"What this about loose contaminents?" Shepard asked Mira in the core room.
"Dangerous biological agents are present in the decontamination chamber. The tram station has been sealed in the interest of crew safety. Activation of the failsafe plasma jets is recommended prior to access." Mira explained. Failsafe?
"How do I activate the failsafe?" Shepard asked.
"Controls for the failsafe system are located in the security checkpoint outside decontamination. User alert! The failsafe system is currently inoperable." Mira informed. 'Like that first one we found on our way.' He thought.
"What would it take to fix it?" Shepard asked.
"There is a hardware fault in the control system. This can be repaired on-site using a standard omni-tool." Mira explained. That was when he heard vent movement and got that feeling again. He already had to deal with one of them already after coming back down. He took out his shotgun and prepared to go and attack it until he heard a door open with gunfire following shortly after. Shepard knew his team was back. He quickly found it and saw them all with their guns pointed at the bug's corpse, riddled with holes.
"Hey guys! I was just about to come get you. We can move onto the contaminantion checkpoint." Shepard said walking into a side corridor with everyone following. They came to another elevator which took them to the checkpoint. Once entering into the security office they saw 2 big bugs inside the checkpoint.
"They're locked in." Wrex observed.
"I could bypass the door. It looks like the trams to the subsidiary stations are beyond it." Tali said looking at the door.
"Yea a good hot-wiring could help if we can't use the plasma purge." Ashley said seeing what Tali was thinking.
"That door COULD be finessed." Garrus said looking at the door then the bugs. They all soon noticed the dead salarian scientist near the computer console. Out of curiosity, Kaidan played the recording on it.
"... control grou-... loose in the... they're... can't escape... up the tunnels now. We're sorry. The leads couldn't get to... -struct.. out while you can..." Just before the recording cut out, a shot was fired followed by a thump.
"He killed himself because he was part of what happened here?" Kaidan said in confused shock.
"Damn shame. God only gives you one life." Ashley said with some emotion.
"Among my people, a suicide's body would left for scavengers. The nathak will get to him eventually." Wrex commented staring at the corpse.
"He must have felt there was no hope of surviving. That killing himself would be easier." Liara said. Shepard activated the purge without saying anything. Everyone turned once they heard the sound of flames and shrieks of pain. They quietly left the room and continued on down the hall until they finally came to the tram line. They entered it and rode all the way to Rift Station knowing one way or another, that their fight here was coming to an end.
After a half hour of riding the tram. They finally arrived at Rift Station. Once they got off, they saw bodies of scientist. With holes punched in theirs bodies like they were stabbed. They quickly walked around and found only one working elevator. Riding it down, each of them had their weapon drawn. Being in an elevator while the enemy was about was the last thing you wanted. When the elevator opened they found the survivors. The guards standing behind a barricade.
"Stand down." The one in charge ordered his men. Shepard and crew approached them as they too lowered their weapons.
"Sorry. We couldn't be sure what was on the tram." The Captain apologized.
"I'd do the same. What's going one here?" Shepard replied.
"Bugs, lots of killer bugs. Look. You're human, and that's enough that I won't shoot. But I'd like to know who you are." The Captain requested.
"My name is Shepard. I'm a Spectre." Shepard said.
"Hm. Well I won't look a heavily armed horse in the mouth. The alines overan the hot labs last week. Only Han Olar got out and he ain't all there anymore. The first we knew, the bastards were clawing into my command post. We had a lot more staff then." The Captain informed.
"You were taken by surprise and you had people to protect. You did a good job Captain." Shepard said in consolation.
"Yeah? Sure as hell doesn't feel like it. The board sent an asari to clean up the mess. She went to the hot labs yesterday. We haven't heard from her since." The Captain said in a dead tone.
"I'm not going to let any of your people die." Shepard replied with confidence in his voice.
"All I can do is hold out here to protect the civilians. There is a emergency elevator out by the trams. This card will let you activate it. It'll take you down to the hot labs. Oh, if you need any first aid, Dr. Cohen is downstairs in the med bay." The Captain said in exhaustion as he handed the card to him.
"Are you certain that the Matriarch is still in the labs?" Shepard asked. Something felt off.
"She hasn't come back here. You came through Central Station, so she ain't there." The captain replied.
"What can you tell me about the aliens?" Shepard asked. These people had been fighting them longer than he had.
"Ask Dr. Olar. He's the only one who made it out of the hot labs. Only volus left here." The Captain said. He filed that note away for later.
"I need to know more about the situation in the hot labs." Shepard said.
"The facility's off the network. The only way to find out would be to send scouts down the elevator. I won't send my people to their death." The captain responded resolutely.
"Alright tell me about the structure of the hot labs then." Shepard said seeing as he wasn't going to get anymore there.
"It's built into one of the glaciers further down the mountain. Real old, thick, stable. Something goes wrong, they heat it up and sink it into the ice. Normally, the crew gets to the labs using an tram from Central Station. We've got an elevator that connects directly, but it's for emegency use only." The captain said.
"Did the aliens come from the labs or outside?" Shepard asked.
"You want my personal opinion? Labs like that exist to do stupid crap that gets people killed." The captain said in anger. Shepard nodded at that.
"Tell me about Rift Station." Shepard asked. Better to know the environment.
"I can't talk about everything. What do you need to know?" The captain said evasively.
"First tell me about the defenses here." Shepard said thinking he could use them to his advantage, or at least stay away from them.
"Secure enough that you shouldn't poke in corners." The captain said vaguely.
"I was just impressed. Being able to weather a week of assualts is no mean feat." Shepard said smoothly. The captain smirked in pride.
"Only the best get assigned to the high security facilities. What impresses me most is the turrents, alarms, and cameras. They are all routed through a central location up by the quarantine labs. One guy can lock down the whole facility. The security hub's the last logical fallback, and we'd have cover from the turrents all the way." The captain informed with his chest puffed up.
"What kind of research is done here?" Shepard asked, The captain shrugged.
"Beats me. I'm not supposed to know. So long as people don't start dying, it's not my problem." The captain replied.
"How are your people holding up?" Shepard asked wondering about the civilians in there.
"We weren't expecting the initial wave. They made it inside, but... we lost some good people. Those of us left are shorthanded. We've kept order by long shifts and stims. I don't like it, but I don't see an aleternative." The captain said in sadness and fatigue.
"Well then I best get to work." Shepard said. The captain nodded in understanding.
"Yea, I hear tha-" Suddenly they heard movement in the floor vents along with hissing and shrieks.
"Hell, man the perimeter!" The captain said as he grabbed his assault rifle. Shepard and the squad took out their weapons as well and turned to where the biggest vents were, behind them. Almost immediately, 2 huge bugs came out and everyone unloaded on them killing them instantly.
"Thanks for the help. Every few hours, a group comes up the tram tunnel. It's actually been better since we locked down the elevator." The captain said after everyone lowered their weapons. The captain said in gratitude.
"They always attack here? It's an obvious kill zone." Shepard said wondering why they did such a futile attack.
"Well for them it's either come through here or go through the ducts down the mountain and freeze. I don't know why they keep throwing themselves against our defenses. Even animals should learn not to stick their noses where it hurts." The captain replied before letting the team through. The team walked through the hallways until they came to a larger area that housed a few scientists as well as an elcor and an asari. Everyone parted and walked around to find out some other things about what had gone down here. Shepard noticed the asari seemed to be meditating and chose not to disturb her as he walked by. As he passed her however he could have sworn he heard something near her. He couldn't tell what it was, but if he had to guess it was almost like a faint... whispering sound. Strange.
Shepard remembered something about medical care and figured they'd need to restock on medi-gel so he went towards the medical bay. There he found a single doctor watching after several sick patients.
"Hang on." The doctor, Cohen if he remembered correctly, said.
"Uhh" groaned one of the sick patients.
"I know you'd have a cure by now." Cohen said as he typed on one the medical console. Shepard silently approached the man.
"Um excuse me?" He asked. Cohen whirled around, startled.
"What? What do you want?" He asked.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you." Shepard apologized. Cohen shook his head.
"No. You did nothing wrong. I'm just distracted." Cohen replied.
"What happened to these people?" Shepard said as he looked at the sick patients.
"They're suffering from a toxin. There was an accident. I-I have a non-disclosure agreement. I shouldn't discuss it with anyone outside of the company." Cohen explained regretfully.
"And I can keep a secret." Shepard replied.
"I like to think that the company values our lives more than their secrets. You know Mira? The VI for Peak 15? She handles safety protocols for our experiments here." Cohen informed. Shepard nodded.
"Yea I know her. We reactivated her on our way through Central Station." Shepard said. Cohen looked surprised.
"That was you? I'm grateful. Until she came online, the automatic equipment wouldn't work. We lost the connection to Mira in the middle of an experiment and the quarantine failed. These 3 were exposed to a toxin. Something we were working on." Cohen explained.
"I need full cooporation or I won't help." Shepard said seeing as the man was holding something back. Cohen's eyes widened.
"No! Wait! It's a bio-weapon based on an exotic lifeform out on the frontier. They wanted something that could kill the creature, but there was no profit in something that kills one species." Cohen began. Shepard face-palmed seeing where this was going.
"Oh my god. You guys made a cross species virus didn't you?" He asked. Cohen nodded at Shepard's question.
"Yes. We kept working on it and adapting it to affect more species. Thores-B is highly infectious, but can't pass from one person to another. Like a biowar attack without a pandemic spread." Cohen finished.
"The perfect weapon to take out isolated communities and punch big holes in armies." Shepard stated.
"Militaries, governments... they'll get this kind of weapon one way or another. We're trying to limit the damage. I know you can't see that." Cohen argued back.
"Is there a cure doctor?" Shepard asked seeing that the conversation would nowhere arguing about it.
"Our first priority was to get it working. We where close to synthesizing an antidote, but Mira shutdown. Our notes and equipment are locked in the quarantine labs. Captain Ventralis doesn't want to risk more contamination." Cohen informed.
"Is he right to keep people out?" Shepard asked.
"No! The toxin has a brief period of viability. After that it breaks down into simple protein chains. But he won't listen to me." Cohen said with a grim expression.
"I'll talk to him and see if I can't go in there." Shepard said. Hope lit up Cohen's eyes.
"I can't ask you to do this officially, but if you can do anything, I'd appreciate it." Cohen said. Shepard nodded before he left to find Ventralis.
Shepard had managed to convince Ventralis to let him go inside under the condition the guard scans before he leaves the room to make sure he was clean. So here Shepard was talking to a turian guard just in front of the quarantine room.
"Your not part of the crew." The guard said.
"Yea and Ventralis also said I can go in to make a cure for those that are infected." Shepard replied. The guard nodded.
"Yea he did radio ahead. He also mentioned that you need to prove your not contagious to get out." Shepard nodded before walking in. Once inside he spotted the desk and walking over to it, finding beakers, test tubes filled with chemicals and the notes. He carefully looked them over.
"We've isolated four chemicals that can be combined to counteract the toxin. They must be mixed in precise quantities. As each chemical is poured, the equipment will mark the minimum and maximum amount that will work. Too little or too much will spoil the result." Okay simple enough. He walked over to the lab station and began mixing. After a few trials in 30 minutes, Shepard finally made the cure. He carefully secured it and pocketed it. He then felt a biotic signature coming close to his location. At first he thought it was Liara since it was around her signature, but he started having second thoughts when the whispering came back. Then a thump was heard.
'That can't be good.' Shepard thought as the door opened to reveal the asari scientist, accompanied by 2 geth troopers.
"Your mission ends here Shepard." She said with a pistol in hand. He knew she was working for the Matriarch now but he had a bad feeling about that thump earlier.
"What happened to Ventralis' man?" He demanded. She smirked in response.
"I didn't permission to come in. He got in my way. I was ordered to eliminate you should the opportunity arise and here you are trabbed in this lab. Weapons free!" She said. The geth aimed their rifles at him while the asari began to use her biotics.
"I don't have time for this shit." Shepard mumbled before Isaac used the omni-destruct on the geth. Shepard lifted his hand towards the revealed asari commando, and biotically lifted her up.
"W-W-What are you- gahh!" She said in alarm until her heart was crushed by Shepard's biotics. Purple blood spewed out of her mouth as she died instantly. The geth looked on as the omni-destruct had actually caused their mobile units to malfunction. Shepard looked at them as they looked back and took out his pistol.
"2 geth infiltrated the facility." Shepard said as he shot the geths' lights out. "A doctor and a guard spotted them and acted in self-defense." He grabbed the geth's rifle, aimed at the dead asari and fired a couple of round into her corpse. "They manage to disable the 2 geth but sadly were fatally wounded in the process." He then dropped the gun as he walked out. He turned to the side at the door to see the guard dead, with bullet wounds. Blood was already pooling around the 2 corpses as Shepard began to walk back to the medical bay. One more person he killed with his brutal biotics. At least it was instantaneous. Before he could reach the elevator, a volus came up to him.
"They came out of there." He said pointing to the the door on the other side of the room.
"You mean the ge- the inorganics the asari had with her?" He asked. The volus nodded.
"Benezia brought them with her." He said. Shepard looked at the man for a minute before realizing who he was.
"You're Dr. Olar. Aren't you?" He asked.
"Yes." The volus said nodding in a solemn state.
"Look Dr. Olar I need you to tell me about thos things out there." The volus' response shocked him.
"You mean the rachni?" Olar replied.
"I thought the Rachni were extinct? By the krogan."
"They found it in an derelict ship. An egge. Waiting since the last battles. They brought it here." Olar explained. Some of the scientists in the room were about to speak out against Olar, but one dark look from Shepard kept them quiet.
"Tell me everything about them." Shepard said.
"I told you all I can. We brought the rachni back from the dead. In retrospect, a bad decision." Olar said.
"The rachni are in the hot labs as well as Benezia. Is it possible that she could have survived?" Shepard asked.
"It's possible. The specimens were sensitive to biotics." Olar said. Shepard questioned Olar on his survival in the labs. Olar told him of how he left one of his colleagues to die on the tram. Shepard could see that the volus had much guilt from the experiance.
"If you hadn't, you may very well be dead too." Shepard said.
"Of course. That is perfectly true." Olar said.
"How could I get in there?" Shepard said as he looked to the door where the geth came from.
"Maintainance? A team lead would have access to that place. Like Dr. Cohen in the med bay." Olar explained. Well it was a good thing he was doing something for the man already.
"Thank you for the information. I'll be leaving now." Shepard said as he walked away.
Shepard had made it back to Cohen easily enough and handed him the phial. Cohen warned him about how the guards were on edge since he and his team had arrived. Almost as if they had been expecting them. He knew there was something about those guys! Seeing a dangerous fight happening if he confronted them he remembered an alternative. Shepard asked if there was any guards in maintainance to which he got a negative. He asked if he could use Cohen's pass. The doctor was more than happy to give it to him.
"I can't thank you enough. God. What a cliche. You saved their lives, you know that?" Cohen thanked as he looked over the phial.
"It's no problem. Thanks for the pass." Shepard said as he left. Time to get the squad together.
A few minutes later and everyone was with Shepard in front of the maintainance door. Before entering it, Shepard needed to tell them about the rachni.
"Guys listen. I found out what we these bugs are. They're actually rachni." Shepard said making all of them go wide-eyed.
"Rachni? That's preposterous." Liara said.
"It's true." Shepard replied
"Don't screw with me, Shepard. They can't be rachni." Wrex said in shock.
"Yeah, I mean the krogan drove them to extinction a thousand years ago." Garrus said in agreement.
"Rachni? I think I've heard that before." Ashley said to Kaidan. Kaidan told her about the Rachni wars which caused her to be further on edge with them. Shepard explained to them of how the company found a derelect rachni ship and its special cargo. Afterwards they all exited the area before the guards caught onto them.
After making it through the freezing maintainance area, the team was finally in the hot labs. They made their way through the hallways with the guards none the wiser. After a few more steps they came to the main lab to find the Rachni Queen in a glass prison. That was when Shepard felt to strong signatures, side by side. Ever since coming here, he felt the rachni presence as a twitchy feeling. Feeling like he could never stay completely still in one place. Almost as if he was in enemy territory. Being next to the queen was around 10 times that. The agitation was almost unbearable. He then felt Benezia. Powerful, cold and... erratic? Something was messing with her. He could now here those whispers again. What the hell were they? He'd have to figure it out once he defeated her. That was going to be a challenge in itself. She was on par with Aria, maybe even stronger, but he wasn't a fresh biotic anymore either.
"You do not know the privilege of being a mother. There is power in creation. To shape a life. Turn it toward happiness or despair. Her children were to be ours. Raised to hunt and slay Saren's enemies" Benezia's cool voice sounded out as she stepped to the top of the staircase where the controls to the Queens cage was. Benezia focused on the group, but here gaze lingered on 2 in particular.
"I won't be moved by sympathy. No matter who you bring into this conflict." Benezia said to Shepard. Shepard looked at Liara seeing what Benezia meant before turning around to face Benezia.
"Liara's here because she wants to be. Not because I asked her to." Shepard said. Liara straightened up up Shepard's words. Benezia looked to her daughter.
"Indeed. What have you told him about me Liara?" Benezia asked as her stare bore into her daughter. Liara didn't shy away from it though.
"What could I say mother? That you're insane? Evil? Should I explain how to kill you? What could I say?!" Liara said with her voice cracking as she continued talking. Shepard didn't need to look back to know Liara was starting to have tears well up in her eyes. Benezia wore her stoic expression as if she wasn't moved in the slightest. Her gaze turned back to Shepard with mild interest.
"Have faced an asari commando unit before? Few humans have." Benezia said as she stepped forward. Shepard smirked.
"Not a whole unit before, no. But I have faced off against a Justicar who was being controlled on Tofan." He replied as his biotics manifested around him. Benezia's eyes narrowed at him.
"So you really are Ghost after all. I remember when that Justicar arrived back on Thessia. She said even though she was holding back by fighting the control implants that you held back as well." Benezia said as her own biotics manifested around her. Both auras appeared to be equal in size and power.
"Hmph I thought as much. An Asari Justicar is far more powerful than that was back then. Then again I was still relatively inexperienced with my biotics. Now I've completely mastered them." Shepard with his confidence. Benezia's cold stare was now solely on Shepard. Shepard felt multiple biotic signatures closing in on their location.
'Damn she tipped them off.' "Guys, her commandoes are coming. Take them on while I fight Benezia here." Shepard ordered.
"Shepard..." Kaidan was about to object when Shepard cut him off.
"None of you are strong enough to take Benezia alone. I can, but I can't fight her AND her commandoes at the same time. Besides I don't think she'll just sit back and watch. I'll trust you to guard my back, trust me to guard your's." Shepard said. Kaidan was reminded of the time they both met on Elysium. Neither of them knew that much about each other then, but when the raid started they both covered each other and trusted one another. Kaidan nodded before taking a different route to where the commandoes were coming from everyone followed after him but Liara stayed behind.
"Shepard- I." She tried to say but she couldn't bring out any words.
"Don't worry Liara. I told you when you joined up that I'd sort this mess out with her. I'll bring her back. Bet on it." Shepard reassured. Liara looked at him stunned, having completely forgotten about that. She looked at him before looking up at her mother who completely ignored her. She looked away and followed everyone else. As the gun fight began Shepard leaped at Benezia who leaped back.
"You know, I can't believe you would kill your own daughter." Shepard said as took out as pistol and fired it 5 times at her. Benezia stuck her hand out and a barrier formed around her, blocking the bullets as if they were nothing.
"I see now that I should have been stricter with her." Benezia said as she used a throw on Shepard. He quickly dodged it and used pull on her, but she managed to block it. He ran right at her and they both engaged in a biotic melee. Shepard had the advantage over Benezia since they were both using biotics, he also had adrenaline to quick his reaction time. He was starting to get close to catching her off guard when something changed.
He saw Benezia's eyes go pitch black and her biotics increased in speed and strength. He no longer had the offense and was pushed to defend against her attacks.
'What the hell happened? Was she holding back?' Shepard thought before one of her punches caught him in the face. He sent flying back and hit the metal wall. He got back up and spit out a little blood before looking at her. She stood there with her arms crossed as if waiting for him to come at her. He used his omni-bow and fired 5 arrows at her. With each one, he ran at her, getting closer and closer.
'If she's busy focusing on maintaining that barrier, then she won't move until I stop firing!' He thought as his last arrow hit the barrier. Once that happened, her barrier faded away. Both punched at each other, aiming for the face. Both moved their heads out of the way, the punches missing their heads by an inch. Benezia was wondering with Shepard smirked at how he missed until she felt something impact on her check. Her jerked back from the sudden blow only to biotically kneed in the stomach. Shepard didn't stop as he used his momentum twirl around and back hand her with his right hand before following up with a biotic blast from his left. Benezia was sent flying back a few yards before she stopped herself with her biotics. She looked at him with her eyes still pitch black.
"You're going to regret doing that." She coldly stated before she used a very familiar move. In a flash, she covered the distance between them and hit Shepard full force. This time he was actually airborne until he hit the door he an his team entered through. He gingerly got back up. She can do that too?! Shepard looked up at her in shock at the attack.
"That move is what we asari call biotic charge. It allows the user to cross a distance of meters in a few seconds. Only asari matriarchs who have trained extensively can use it to this day. Things may be different in the future when they advance biotic implants, but you won't live to see it." Benezia said before she biotically threw a plasma canister. Shepard managed to deflect it towards a geth that came out of one of the other doors. Shepard noticed that there were multiple geth starting to close in since his team had managed to kill most of the commandoes. Shepard and Benezia clashed again, this time using a biotic strike each. Both attacks clashed and struggled for dominance. One would give a little distance then gain a little back.
'How has her power gotten this strong?!' Shepard thought as he began to lose his strength. Wrex destroyed a geth tooper with his shotgun before he looked over at Shepard's fight and saw that Benezia's eyes were black.
"Shepard! Watch yourself. When an asari matriarch's eyes turn black, she's using her full power!" He shouted before shooting another geth to back up Liara.
'Seriously?!' Shepard thought. Only one way to finish this then. He jumped back and created a power strike. Singularity and warp would obviously have no effect on her. Stasis too for that matter. So the only way to win was to use a move she was unfamiliar with.
"So that's the fabled power strike." Benezia said as she studied the attack. So Shiala was telling the truth. They had been looking into him then if they knew about his attack. Shepard ran at her slammed the power strike towards only for her to put her hand up and actually block it?! To Shepard's horror, she wasn't even struggling to block either. So she had managed to analyze it. But it couldn't be that fast. So how... the geth! Tali once said that they geth were all linked. That meant that they had gotten multiple times to see it in action. Dammit! He'd should have expected it! Then the power strike detonated, on him. It lacked a lot of its normal power, but it still stunned him enough that he fell to the ground. He was able took look over and see how his team was doing. The scene shocked him. All of his team were down on the ground. The geth had beaten them all badly. Even Wrex was down. Were they overwhelmed when he wasn't looking? He looked at the ground and saw multple bodies of geth and commandoes. So they were outnumbered and fatigue got them. That was when he felt Benezia biotically lift him up and threw him towards his team, landing a few feet from them. He could hear footsteps approaching him and soon enough Benezia came into view.
"And now the only ones who had a chance to stop Saren will die here." Benezia spoke as she made her way to Liara. She looked down coldly at her daughter who looked back up silently.
"Such a disappointment. You chose the wrong side Liara. Saren will engulf the galaxy in his rule and the return of the reapers will bring about the beginning of the end. Freedom will cease to exist." Benezia said as she readied a biotic strike.
"Shut up." Benezia turned to Shepard.
"Shut up." Benezia gave a cold smile to him.
"No matter how hard you try, you will fail. You can't save your friends and you can't save this galaxy." She said as she turned back to Liara. Suddenly a bright light shined from behind her. She noticed the geth near her were crushed by some type of biotic force.
"I said... SHUT UP!" Shepard roared as he lifted her and threw her across the room. His eyes glew white in opposition of Benezia. His had changed somewhat too and his biotic aura raged intensely. The remaining geth attempted to open fire on him, but he lifted his hands toward them. As they lifted up into the air, he closed his open palms and the geth were grushed instantly. Benezia saw all of this once she landed.
'How? He was beaten! No human can generate this much biotic power. No, not even any asari can do it.' Benezia thought as Shepard turned to her.
"I hate people with your mindset. Thinking they have all the power. Thinking they can make rules and take away people's freedoms! Well guess what? I'm the one who straightens them out!" Shepard said as he performed a biotic charge and closed the distance.
'WHAT?! BUT HOW-?' Was all she managed to think before Shepard grabbed her by the shoulder and threw again, this time toward the Rachni Queen's cage. He was on her again using 2 biotic charges to make his way over to her. She tried to get up only to be grabbed by the neck and slammed against the cage. She looked at Shepard who was visibly growling like a animal. Her eyes widened at his expression. She now knew that he was too strong for her. She could feel his grip starting to crush her throat and seemed to only get stronger.
"Shepard!" Someone called out. Shepard looked to where his team was getting up to see it was Liara. She looked frightened as was everyone else, or at least on edge. What the hell were they afraid of? He saw his reflection in the glass and knew what they were afraid of. Him. He knew he could be frightening but combined with this form he was terrifying. Shepard relaxed himself and dropping Benezia who was grasping for breath while she laid on the floor. He made some distance between the 2 of them.
"This is not over. Saren is unstoppable. My mind is filled with his light. Everything is clear!" Benezia said as she got back up off the floor. Everyone came over to see Shepard still in his powered up form and Benezia who was looking at the Queen.
"Start talking Benezia. What is Saren plotting?" Shepard's neutral voice asked as it echoed in the lab. Benezia looked back at him.
"I will not betray him. You will- you'll-" Benezia began to say until she hunched over the control console. Shepard noticed the whispers started to recede until they were gone. Benezia suddenly turned around and Shepard saw that her eyes had lost their cold look.
"You must listen. Saren still whispers in my head. I can fight these compulsions.. briefly but the indoctrination is strong." Benezia said in a warmer voice. Everyone was on edge at her sudden transformation.
"How are you able to break free from his control now?" Shepard asked.
"I sealed a part of my mind away from the indoctrination. Within my inner world." Benezia said to Shepard's shock. So she could do it to? Benezia continued on, "I've been saving it for when I could help destroy him. It will not last long."
"What's an inner world?" Ashley asked. Surprisingly Wrex answered.
"An inner world is a relative state one goes into to keep aspects of their mind safe. I don't know the full details but I do know that only very experienced Matriarchs are the only ones known to do so." Wrex informed. Benezia nodded. Everyone became shocked when Shepard continued on.
"One's inner world takes shape as something that would pertain to the person specifically. It would look like something along the lines of safety, peace of mind or a place where one was in their natural element." Shepard said garnering astounded looks.
"You speak as if you've-" Benezia began to say before Shepard finished it, "Gone into one? Yes. You're probably looking at the only human in the galaxy that can go into his own." Benezia could only look at him in shock.
"So you could turn on us again?" Shepard stated instead of asking suddenly. Benezia nodded sadly remembering the situation.
"Yes but it would not be of my own will, Shepard." She approached them as she talked. "People are not themselves around Saren. They come to idolize him, worship him. They would do anything for him. The key is Sovereign, his flag ship. It is a dreadnought of incredible size and its power is extraordinary." Benezia said as she stopped in front of Shepard. He still hadn't gone out of his form yet.
"Sovereign is not like other ships. Where did it come from?" Shepard asked.
"I can not say. The geth didn't build it. Its technology is far more advanced than any known species. The longer you stay aboard, the more Saren's will seems correct. You sit at his feet and smile as his words pour into you. It was subtle a first. I thought I was strong enough to resist, but instead I became a willing tool eager to serve." Benezia spoke as she remembered the process. Everyone could see that she was struggling with what had happened.
"He sent me here to find the location of the Mu Relay. It's position was lost thousands of years ago." Benezia said. Shepard raised an eyebrow at that.
"How does something that big go missing?" He asked.
"4,000 years ago a star nearby wnet supernova. The shockwave propelled the relay out of its system but did not damage it. Its precise vector and speed are impossible to determine. As millennium passed, the nebula created by the nova enveloped the relay. It is difficult to find any cold object in interstellar space, particularly something covered in hot dust and radiation." Benezia said. From what Shepard knew the Mu Relay was a door for one of the most infamous of extinct races.
"I'm guessing you got the coordinates from the Queen there." Shepard said as he pointed to the queen. Benezia nodded looking somewhat ashamed now.
"Yes. 2,000 years ago the Rachni inhabited that region of our galaxy. They discovered the relay. The rachni can share memories across generations. Queens can inherit the knowledge of their mothers. I took the location of the relay from the Queen's mind. I was not gentle." Benezia said looking down.
"How did the rachni find it?" Shepard asked.
"They searched patiently. They are territorial creatures, driven to close any possible way into their systems." Benezia said.
"And why does Saren need to Mu Relay?" Shepard asked.
"He believes it will lead him to the Conduit. I would tell you more if I could, but Saren would not share his council with me. I was merely a servan to his cause." Benezia said as she looked down in regret. Shepard noticed it.
"You can still make things right. Gives us the information." Shepard said as he stuck his hand out.
"I was not myself but I should have been stronger. I transcribed it to an OSD. Take it please." Benezia said as she walked towards Shepard and handed him the OSD.
"Knowing the relay's coordinates is not enough. Do you know where he planned to go from there?" Liara asked. Benezia shook her head no.
"Saren wouldn't tell me his destination. But you must find out quickly, I transmitted the coordinates to him before you arrived. You have to-" Shepard sudeenly heard the whispers coming back. "Stop... me..." Benezia walked away from them.
"His teeth are at my ear. Fingers on my spine. Y-You should... you should!" Benezia tried to say as she held her head. Liara began to approach her before Garrus grabbed her arm. She didn't pay no mind to him.
"Mother! I- Don't leave! Fight him!" She pleaded as tears started to roll down her cheeks. Benezia looked back at her daughter with a smile.
"You've always made me proud Liara." She said before looking away. She turned around with eyes pitch black again.
"Die!" She said as she tried to attack. Shepard had finally had enough.
"Not this time!" He yelled. He grabbed her throat with his right hand and lifted her off the ground. He then placed his left hand on her forehead and his vision turned pure white.
Shepard found himself in his inner world, but he noticed he was slightly different. He had all his armor and weapons on but he was never covered in a biotic aura here. He looked around and noticed that the moon was radiating some kind of energy. It was coming off in waves which illuminated the forest.
"You really do know how to get yourself in trouble." He heard his mother's voice. He turned around only to discover she wasn't there.
"Mom? Where are you?" He asked as he continued to look around.
"You won't find me. Not while you are connected to her." Hannah said. John was confused at what she meant.
"You're connected to Benezia." Hannah clarified. John just went ahhh in understanding.
"Yea I guess I have to save her." John replied as if he was looking for someone. Hannah knew what he was looking for.
"The way to her inner world is through that fog." Hannah said. John looked around and noticed that there was a zone that was exuding a lot of fog. So much so he couldn't see through it.
"Well thanks mom. Looks like I better start walking." John said as he began to trek to the fog.
"John," He heard his mother say. He stopped and listened. "This place is based on will and imagination. That indoctrination will not go away easily." After she spoke those words, he voice fell silent. John nodded silently and continued walking. He kept walking through the fog until he noticed the ground had changed. He looked down to see what it was. No longer was it dirt and grass, but concrete. The fog cleared around him and he was brought to a very unsettling sight. He saw buildings of asari make in ruins. Burnt and cracked as if they were going to fall apart at any minute. With slight hesistation, he walked inward. He looked down at the ground and noticed that it was cracked as well, like a few bombs had gone off. Small water fountains were around the area as he continued on. They worked but... it didn't seem like water was pouring through them, but instead a black liquid. What truly disturbed him was the skeletons around. He knew they weren't human by their heads. They were asari. While the scalp crests were cartilage based, the asari did have some mild bone structure beneath them. He came to a plateau where he got a view of the city. He immediately recognized what this place was to Benezia.
"Thessia." He whispered. He had only seen pictures of the asari homeworld when he came to Aria's personal condo to receive private missions or to visit Liselle. It was one the most beautiful places he had seen. He knew the depressing scene wasn't from Benezia so that meant the indoctrination twisted this place. A side-effect perhaps. That was when he noticed a column of black smoke a distance away. He quickly made his way there.
Once he arrived, he found Benezia was the one the smoke was around. She was huddled up and holding her head like a frightened child and it seemed that the smoke was tormenting her. She was about to approach, but thought better of it. If he touched her like this, the indoctrination may get on him to. He then thought of what he should do. His mother's words came back to him.
'This place is based on will and imagination.' Shepard smirked. He had been in a lot fights and seen a lot of abilities, those may be able to help out now. He took his left as if he was reaching back for something.
'Please let this work.' He thought before whiplashed his arm towards Benezia. An orb of biotic energy went straight at her, connected by a tether of biotic energy. 'Lash! Alright!' Shepard thought seeing it. The orb latched onto Benezia and he pulled. Benezia was pulled out of the smoke and he caught her before placing her on the ground. She opened her eyes and looked at him, stunned by his presence here.
"Shepard? But how?" She asked. Before he could say anything, he heard a loud shriek. He looked to see the black smoke culminating into a single being. It looked like an asari but there was no blue skin, no flesh or bone. Just smoke. Its eyes became 2 red orbs. It continued to shriek at them. Shepard stepped in front of Benezia protectively.
"You're not getting your claws into her again." Shepard stated. The Black Banshee shrieked and before flying at him at great speed. Shepard used a heavy throw field on her, sending her back into some nearby rubble.
'Whoa! I wonder?' Shepard thought as he created a power strike. The Black Banshee burst out of the rubble before trying to attack him again. This time he threw the power strike. The Banshee attempted to dodge, but its arm was hit taking it off. The Banshee shrieked in pain from losing its arm. Shepard looking at the closely and saw what appeared to be burning embers at the edge of its stub. The embers went out and the arm came back instantly. The Banshee stopped and looked at him before a red biotic aura surrounded it. Shepard knew what it was going to do and manifested his aura around himself and created another power strike. Both used their biotic charges to their fullest. For Shepard time seemed to slow and he saw the Banshee coming at him with its claws out, ready to kill. He knocked one of its hands away and shoved the power strike into its chest.
With a shriek the Banshee's torso was destroyed from the attack. Shepard saw that the head, arms and legs were left. The creature's remaining appendages united and began to form the full body. Once it was done, it attacked Shepard with 3 consecutive biotic strikes. From the front, back and front again. On the third one, Shepard was knocked onto the ground. The Banshee suddenly used an unknown ability. At first he thought it was lift, but suddenly he was violently sent down as the Banshee brought its arm down. It did this 2 more times before someone attacked it from behind. It took its focus off Shepard and saw Benezia attacked it with a warp. Benezia then used reave on it. The Banshee waved around as the biotic wisps attacked it. It then leaped at Benezia, intent on taking her again. It was suddenly pulled back violently by a biotic lash. Benezia watched as Shepard pulled the Banshee, flipping over it in mid-air and then getting next to her as the Banshee scraped on the concrete ground.
"Benezia, I got an idea." Shepard said as he told her the plan. The Banshee got back up and was ready to attack before it turned around. It saw Shepard and Benezia creating a super power strike. Shepard and Benezia used a dual biotic charge and flashed to the Banshee. Seeing this, it created a powerful barrier which blocked the attack.
"WWWOOAAAHHH!/ YYYYYYAAAAHHH" Shepard and Benezia roared as their combined attack struggled with their enemy's barrier. The clash was putting a heavy strain on their environment as the ground cracked and broke apart. The Banshee used one hand to hold the barrier while the other created a pull attack which homed in a Benezia. Benezia was hit and pulled from the clash. Shepard noticed this and grew angrier at how stubborn this dark creature was.
"GGRRRR. DIE DAMMIT!" He roared. The moon above them went from a first quarter stage to a waxing gibbous. The super power strike broke through the Banshee's barrier and destroyed it completely, shrieking until the very end. Once it was over Benezia walked toward him with a shocked expression.
"I-I can't believe it. Y-You destroyed it. The indoctrination i-is gone." She said disbelief. Shepard didn't say anything as he looked up at the moon seeing its new stage. One more to go. He and Benezia looked around as the area began to shift from the war-torn ruins back into a peaceful city. Benezia looked at him with a grateful smile. Tears of happiness flowed down her cheeks.
"Thank you." She said. Shepard smiled back.
"No problem."
Shepard woke up and found himself out of his form with everyone crowding around him.
"Yo." He said getting everyone to look at him. He then noticed his position and couldn't help but blush. He was currently laying his head on Ashley's lap while Liara had her mother's head on her own. He got up and popped his neck before looking down at Liara.
"She'll be fine now. I managed to remove the indoctrination from her." Shepard said shocking her and everyone else.
"H-How?" She asked. Shepard explained what went on inside her mother's inner world and their subsequent fight with the indoctrination.
"My guess is that since asari can mind meld naturally with other races, and the fact she and I both had access to our inner worlds, I could link up to her's and help her." Shepard finished. Liara started to have tears roll down her cheeks as she felt so happy. Her mother was saved. Shepard had actually managed to keep his word to her. She put her forehead against her mother's and started to cry in happiness. That was when Shepard walked toward the Rachni Queen.
'Now what do I do with you?' He thought. The Queen suddenly put her maw up against the glass. He backed up and bumped into something. Turning his head, he saw one the asari commandoes they'd killed getting back. He quickly made some distance between them. How was she alive? Everyone saw this and got into their battle positions. Whatever they expected, what cam next was definitely not it.
"This one serves as our voice. We cannot sing. Not in these low space. Your musics are colorless." The asari spoke. Her voice was distorted and was almost as if something was whispering her words in the background, underneath her voice. Shepard was confused since he was sure that asari was dead.
"How are you alive? We filled you with enough plasma to pop a tank." Shepard said eyeing the asari warily. Something was off.
"This vessel is at the edge. Yet she struggles. You cannot see her magnificence. We are breathing on the embers. We are the mother. We sing for those left behind. The children you thought silenced." The asari said. Or was it the being that was controlling her. Shepard looked past the asari and toward the Queen.
"We are Rachni." the Queen said.
"How exactly are you speaking through her?" Shepard asked as everyone looked on in shock.
"Our kind sing through touches of thought. We pluck the strings, and the other understands. She is weak to urging. She has colors we have no names for, but she is ending. Her music is bittersweet. It is beautiful." the Queen replied. Emotions played out on the asari's face.
"The children were taken from us before they could learn to sing. They are lost to silence. End their suffering. They cannot be saved. They will only cause harm as they are." The queen said as tears fell down the asari's face.
"I don't understand. Why are your children killing people?" Shepard asked. The asari's face gained a hard look.
"These needle-men. They stole our eggs from us. They sought to turn our children into beasts of war. Claws with no songs of their own. Our elders are comfortable with silence. Children know only fear if no one sings to them. Fear has shattered their minds." The Queen said in anger.
"Makes sense. A baby left alone in a closet until he's sixteen won't be sane." Garrus said. Shepard looked down in thought. He now felt sympathy for the rachni. Victims turned killers.
"If you're sure they can't be saved." Shepard agreed.
"It is lamentable, but necessary. Do what you must." The Queen said. She then added, "Before you deal with our children, we stand before you." Shepard looked at her confused. What? What did she mean by that?
"What will you sing? Will you release us? Are we to fade away once more?" The Queen said. Shepard now understood that she was asking him for his judgement. His decision to either let her race survive or to die once again. He thought things over until Wrex spoke up.
"There are acid tanks rigged up on that thing." He said pointing to the tanks filled with a green liquid. "Set them off. Millions of my ancestors died to put these things down. Don't let them come back." Wrex almost ordered.
"Shepard I don't trust this thing. We know its kind are killers." Ashley said.
"They made a mistake. They let the krogan go too far. This is a chance to for use to atone. She has done nothing to us." Liara said back.
"If you kill her, you consign an entire race to death. We should let the Citadel Council decide her fate." Garrus reasoned.
"The acid in those tanks are strong enough to kill anything. No matter its biology. They wouldn't have installed that if they weren't afraid of the consequenes of her getting loose." Tali argued back, siding with Wrex.
"Shepard there are grudges in the galaxy. Grudges that the human race should stay out of." Kaidan said.
Through all of this Shepard remained silent, thinking things over.
"You companions hear the truth. You have the power to free us... or return our people to the silence of memory." The Queen said. Shepard thought things over. He needed to know more before making this kind of decision.
"Are you a survivor form the war? A clone perhaps?" Shepard asked making everyone turn to him. What was he doing?
"We do not know. We were only an egg, hearing Mother cry in our dreams. A tone from space hushed one voice after another. It forced the singers to resonate with it's own sour yellow note. Just like the one who invaded our mind." The Queen said making everyone look at Benezia then back at her.
"Then we awoke, in this place. The last echo of those who came out from the Singing Planet. The sky is silent." She finished. Shepard thought things over. If that was the case then the Rachni were merely pawns all those centuries ago. Like Benezia. This was very troubling news. From what Shiala and Benezia said that ship of Saren's was the key. He had to get this information to the Council. But first...
"If I let you live, would you attack other races again?" He asked. The Queen's avatar took on a frightened expression.
"No! We- I do not know what happened in the war. We only heard discordance, songs the color of oily shadows. We would seek a hidden place to teach our children harmony. If they understand, perhaps we would return." She said.
"Why are we talking about this? I'm putting an end to things." Wrex stated as he went to turn the acid tanks on. The Queen's asari had a horrified expression. Before Wrex could touch a button though...
"Wrex stop." Shepard ordered. Wrex stopped and looked at him in shock.
"Shepard if these things come back, there is a chance we won't be able to beat them next time!" Wrex stated. He was about to press the button when Shepard finally had enough.
"Wrex... I said NO!" Shepard stated as he went into his powered up form briefly. The power he exuded was so strong that it bent the metal around them and cracked the Queens cage a little. Seeing this, Wrex froze. The Queen herself was surprised at how strong the human in front of her was. His aura was different than the others. It sang volumes of different colors and notes. She saw how his song drowned out the sour yellow note from the one who invaded her mind. What was he? She noticed he looked back at her.
"I won't destroy your entire race. You'll go free." Shepard said as he approached the console.
"You... will give us a chance to compose anew? We will remember. We will sing of your forgiveness to our children. But..." She said which caused Shepard to look at her.
"Before you do so we would like to know why would you sympathize with us?" Shepard was quiet at the question before answering.
"I know what it's like being the last of something. It makes you feel like you the only one in the world and it sucks. You want nothing more than to build something for yourself. I can tell because I've been in your position. I can tell your stronger than me because unlike me, you won't seek revenge. It's something... I admire." Shepard said before pressing the button. The cage lifted off and the possessed asari fell down like a puppet cut from its strings. The door opened to a different hallway above them. The queen looked one last time at them, specifically Shepard, before leaving.
"If that thing causes trouble Shepard it's your ass." Wrex said. Shepard looked back and smirked.
"I know but think of it this way. If the rachni do decide to wage war, there's a chance the Council might cure the genophage." Wrex's eyes widened at the statement and laughed at Shepard.
"Well then, we can only hope." Wrex said after he stopped laughing. Shepard looked toward Benezia's prone form.
"Let's get going. We need to get Benezia to a doctor, purge whatever rachni are left and tell the Council. Really looking forward to that last one." Shepard said tiredly. At least they were one step closer to getting Saren.
Ok! 13,032 words! Wow! Probably my longest chapter yet! Alright people I hope you enjoyed it. If not, sorry. Tell me what you thought of it. Please continue to:
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