Chapter 13

Shepard and Ashley were doing their best, trying to drag a practically unconscious Anderson out of Exo-Geni, having to pick off the random straggling geth here and there as they went. Shepard tried to keep the pace quick, knowing Anderson was likely on borrowed time. "Come on, Anderson, stay with us." Shepard panted, the man's weight starting to exhaust both herself and the Chief.

"Yeah.." Ashley puffed as they slowly moved towards the exit, so close to the mako. Anderson was limp in their arms, his feet dragging on the ground, but you could hear the occasional sound come from his throat, as if signaling he was still with them. "Can't have a bunch of mercs run an Alliance ship, right, Shepard?" Ashley tried to joke.

Shepard glanced at her with an exhausted smirk before looking forward again. She lifted her assault rifle best she could, letting off a wild spray of bullets as a geth came popping out of some rubble. "That's right. You die on me and I'm taking that pretty ship of yours." She wondered if this was even helping him stay in the world of the living or not. She wondered if he even heard their banter, their attempts to keep his mind focused. Her only response from the man was a grunt.

"Oh my god, what happened?" a woman's voice rang out. Shepard glanced over her shoulder, as did Ashley, seeing Lizbeth Baynham running up to the trio. Shepard motioned for the woman to follow them, figuring they could at least drag her back to Zhu's Hope with them.

Shepard panted as Lizbeth quickly circled the three of them, attempting to help with Anderson, lifting his legs, but struggling as he was heavily weighted by his armor and equipment. "Oh you know," Shepard panted, but feeling some relief as the three of them carrying Anderson made the load so much easier. "Anderson tried to play tag with a rocket... He lost by the way." Shepard said sarcastically. Ashley gave the merc a look, not entirely caring for the joke.

They quickly made it to the mako, opening the side hatch. "Get him inside we can get a better look at his injuries. Williams, I need a med kit." Shepard began ordering as the three of them hoisted Anderson into the mako. Lizbeth and Shepard practically dragged the man onto a pull out medical bed from the inside wall of the vehicle, all but dropping him in the process.

Lizbeth got out of the way, sitting on a seat as Ashley rushed over to Shepard and the Captain with a field medical kit. "Where's the light switch?" Shepard questioned as she tore open the small medical box, looking inside for anything useful. Bandages, burn creams, more medigel... She continued to dig through the contents, finding gauze along with some anti-biotics and a few stim shots.

Ashley flicked the light on as Shepard grabbed a stim shot, a small packet of antibiotics and a handful of gauze. "Alright, get his mouth open." Shepard said ripping open the antibiotics package. Anderson's eyes were half lidded, as Shepard looked him in the face, Ashley moving to open his mouth. "Anderson, you with us?" Shepard asked. He weakly nodded. "Good, I'm giving you a couple pills, think you can swallow?" She further questioned. Again he nodded so she carefully tipped the pills into his mouth.

He struggled a little but managed to swallow the pills. "Alright, help me wrap this injury in case the medigel doesn't hold." Shepard said as Ashley nodded, watching Shepard place an ample amount of gauze padding over the decently sized wound. Shepard carefully wrapped the bandage around his front and back to hold the gauze in place, making sure there was enough pressure to slow any further bleeding.

She then pulled the cap off the needle, checking to make sure there was no air in the fluid. "Shouldn't we be giving him a sedative?" Ashley asked as Shepard did her best to roll up Anderson's sleeve since they ditched his chest plate further into Exo-Geni.

She shook her head as she found a vein and carefully guided the needle into his arm. Anderson grunted as she began to slowly pump his vains full of the stimulant in the syringe. "Nah, he has a better chance coming out of this if he gets some combat grade stimulants pumping through him. He can rest on the Normandy. Right now we need him to keep fighting his injuries until we can get shit under control here." Shepard said before pulling the needle out, using a cotton ball out of the medical kit, pressing down on the needle hole before wrapping it with a bit of bandage as well.

Once she was finished she stood up, moving to the driver's seat of the mako. "Ash get on the turret, Baynham... Please watch over him? We'll get you sorted when we're through this but for now we need to get back to the colony." Shepard said. Ashley muttered to herself about how quick Shepard was to take charge, but hopped on the turret anyway, activating the controls.

"Wait!" Lizbeth called out, getting up from her seat and pulling out a saddle bag, opening it up. "The colonists will be under Thorian control, you'll need these." She said as she pulled out a handful of grenades. Shepard eyed the objects and then looked to Lizbeth, silently asking for an explanation. "They're like stun grenades, they'll only stun the affected colonists... It's got to be better than killing them..." She said sounding unsure of herself in that moment.

Shepard actually smiled though, taking three of the six and attaching them to her belt. "Good thinking. Give the rest to Ashley." She said as Ashley looked between the two. "Lets try not to kill anyone unless absolutely necessary." Shepard said to Ashley who took the grenades and nodded her agreement.

Shepard quickly hopped in the driver's seat, getting herself strapped in as she flipped a few switches and pressing a few buttons. The vehicle was similar enough to other vehicles she had used from time to time that it didn't take her long to figure the thing out as she heard the engine roar to life. "Alright let's get back to Zhu's Hope and get this shit dealt with. The faster we move the better chances Anderson has." she said as she pushed the vehicle forward, the tires scraping hard against the road as they sped off.

Shepard did not take any chances, did not stop for anything. Ashley had a hard time keeping up with the merc as she sped passed the geth on the sky bridge. "What's the plan, Shepard? How are we going to handle the Thorian?" Ashley questioned as Shepard tried her best to keep control of the mako. She had to admit, this was a whole new beast to her as far as driving went.

Shepard never took her eyes off the road as she continued to maneuver passed obstacles and hostile fire. "Get to the colony, figure this Thorian thing out, get Anderson to the Normandy." Shepard said flatly, more focused on what she was doing, trying not to get everyone killed.

Baynham was in the back, a bit panic stricken as she clung to whatever she could as the vehicle bounced around wildly, but also trying to keep Anderson from falling over, the poor man groaning in pain. "Well that's highly detailed." Ashley replied sarcastically as Shepard rolled her eyes, spotting the colony entrance ahead.

When they got close enough Shepard applied the breaks, the vehicle coming to a rough stop before she powered it down. "Look, I'm no soldier, I'm just a merc. Winging it has always worked for me in the past. My main concern is getting your captain back to the ship before he bleeds out." She said sharply as she pulled her rifle off her back heading for the side door, Ashley hot on her heels. "Lizbeth, there's a radio up front, if anything changes with the Captain don't hesitate to call us. But please, stay in the mako. It will be safer and I need someone to watch him." Shepard said before hitting the door release button.

Shepard hopped out first, Ashley not far behind. "Why are you so concerned with the Captain, anyway? It's not like you're Alliance." Ashley questioned flatly. Shepard felt a prickle of agitation at the question as she turned to face the Chief.

"I get it, I'm a big bad merc." Shepard shot back, perhaps being a little too defensive. Still she held her ground. "You'll have to trust me if you want out of this alive, Chief. I may not like the Alliance, but I'm not heartless. Your Captain took a chance on me and my crew and I'll be damned if I don't return the favor." Shepard said sternly, her agitation showing.

Ashley's eyes went wide. "Whoa, I'm not trying to stir shit there, Shepard. I just didn't understand why you were taking the risk." Ashley said as they made their way around the mako now, moving to the garage door which was now locked.

Shepard sighed, trying to calm her nerves. "If the visions Liara has suffered from that beacon back on Eden Prime are legit, this mission effects more than just the Alliance, it effects everyone. That's my reason for getting your Captain out of this in one piece." She said, a little more calmly as she began to hack the lock.

Ashley could understand that, she supposed. But she could see that perhaps there was more to Shepard's reasoning than that. But she would not press it. The door sudden whooshed open, revealing a garage full of new creatures. Different from the husks on Eden Prime. They looked... Well almost like eaten away zombies, if either woman had to describe them. Awfully thin, their skin green and leathery looking as the groaned stood from their haunches, and already advancing on their position. "Ah, crap." Ashley muttered as Shepard already began to open fire on the creatures.


The pounding on the Normandy's hull was beginning to drive most of the crew mad. They were both nervous and agitated by the constant sound of it. There were security details posted on any possible entrance to the ship. Pressly paced the cockpit, eager to hear any news from the ground team, but also feeling like he was about to go insane from the banging.

Joker wasn't sure which was driving him more crazy. Pressly's insistent pacing just behind him or the colonists pounding on the outside of the ship. It took the Flight Lieutenant everything he had not to make some sort of snippy comment to the ship's XO honestly.

Below decks weren't going much better. Tali rang her hands together nervously as Wrex paced the cargo bay door, his shot gun still in hand. "Wrex, you're making everyone nervous." Garrus tried to insist to the old battlemaster for the hundredth time. Wrex grunted as he stopped for a moment, staring at the bay door.

"I'm itching to get out there." The krogan admitted with a toothy grin. "If only to just shut them up." He remarked as Garrus chuckled to himself.

He shook his head though as he heard the elevator door open, looking behind himself to see Kaidan and Liara come out. "Any word on what's going on?" Kaidan asked as Wrex already began pacing again.

Garrus shrugged his shoulders as he sighed. "I just know we're on lock down right now." He replied as Kaidan and Liara joined the turian and quarian, both watching Wrex pacing like a barely contained feral varren.

Kaidan perked a brow at the krogan. "Has he been like this the whole time?" He questioned curiously. Garrus gave a turian grin as he looked back at the krogan himself.

Tali finally spoke up, "When is he not like this?" She tried to joke, but her tone gave away her anxiety. She did not like feeling trapped like this. And the constant banging from the colonists outside was not helping her nerves any. Garrus rested his taloned hands on her shoulder, trying to calm her anxieties down. She let out a sigh.

"Hopefully this will be resolved soon." Liara then said, if only to keep her own nerves calm. She did not like this any more than the rest of the ship. Everyone could only nod in their agreement.


"Shit, Williams, get down!" Shepard hollered as she tossed the last of her three grenades from Lizbeth as the last colonists got the jump on them, firing guns at them. Ashley practically threw herself into cover as the colonists crumpled to the floor, unable to move after the grenade released the nerve agent. Shepard sighed in relief as Ashley peaked over her cover.

Shepard joined Ashley, offering her a hand up. "You alright, Chief?" Shepard asked as she double checked their surroundings.

Ashley got to her feet, brushing herself off as she nodded. "Yeah, I think so." She commented as Shepard made way for the console that would hopefully lift the structure up to reveal the hidden bunker they had detected on their omni-tools.

Suddenly the man who seemed to lead the colony, Fai Dan, came out of his hiding spot, gun leveled on Shepard. Shepard and Ashley both pointed their rifles at the man as he stumbled forward. "I've tried.. I've tried so hard." he said, his voice strained, the look on his face pained. "You can't imagine the pain." he went on as Shepard and Ashley never took their eyes off him.

"Come on, put the gun down. No one's been hurt so far, don't make that change." Shepard almost pleaded with the man. He kept stumbling forward however, his free hand gripping his wrist, looking like he was struggling. Shepard could only guess what he was struggling with if this Thorian could control these people.

He grunted as his arms visibly shook. "It wants me to stop... you.." he said, the pained look on his face only increasing. Shepard shook her head as she and Ashley stood their ground. Shepard didn't want to have to shoot him, but they were both out of the grenades.

Shepard tried to plead with the man again, "Put the gun down, Fai Dan. We can help you, just put it down." She practically begged him. Shepard did not like hurting innocents. She didn't want to start now.

He shook his head, almost forcefully. "I won't... I won't do it!" he suddenly shouted, seemingly gaining control of himself again, pointing the gun at his own head.

Shepard's eyes widened as she lowered her gun. "What the hell are you doing, don't!" She shouted as the gun suddenly went off. Fai Dan had shot himself in the head, dropping the ground. "Damnit!" Shepard cursed as let her hands drop to her sides, looking up, letting out a sound of anger and frustration.

Ashley felt bad for the man, now dead on the floor. "What now...?" Ashley asked as she couldn't tear her eyes away from him. She had never seen anyone... well kill themselves before. She couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt in her chest, but she also knew there was likely no stopping what just happened.

Shepard gained a snarling look on her face as she turned and marched with a purpose towards the new opening. "We find this Thorian and we kill the fucking thing." Shepard growled, knowing the man did not have to die. Ashley finally looked away from Fai Dan as she trotted after Shepard who was already descending down the stairs.

Shepard knew it was likely the only way Fai Dan was going to win against the Thorian control. But she was not going to let his death be in vain either. She just would not allow anyone else to fall victim to the Thorian again, it was as simple as that.

When Shepard and Ashley reached the bottom, Shepard's anger almost vanished instantly as they entered a large chamber. What was before them was much larger than she had imagined. "What the hell is that?" Ashley questioned, just as surprised as Shepard was.

Shepard readied her gun as she dared to step closer to the large plant-like creature. "This is going to be problematic..." Shepard muttered as the creature began to shake and... heave? Shepard almost felt disgusted as it suddenly spat out what appeared to be an asari. Ok, she was still angry over the death of an innocent man, but this was just getting weird.

Ashley seemed at a loss for words as well, bringing her gun up, trained on the asari as she slowly stood to her full height. Shepard noted that she was green in color, which was highly unusual. Most asari were blue, like Liara. If not, perhaps a light shade of purple, but this? "Trespassers. You are before and within the Thorian. I speak for the Old Growth as I did for Saren. It commands that you be in awe." the asari said, standing tall.

Ashley and Shepard afforded a quick glance to each other. "I don't know what the hell that thing is, but I will not be in awe over something that harms innocent people." Shepard shot back, feeling her anger from before returning.

The asari seemed unmoved by Shepard's words. "Fool, the Old Growth cares little for the concerns of flesh. You are meat, only good to dig and decompose." the asari stated. Shepard wanted to cut down the Thorian right then and there, but she knew she would need the information on Saren.

Shepard tried to take a steadying breath. "What did Saren want from you?" she questioned the asari, figuring that the Thorian was controlling her much like it did the colonists. Ashley only stood silent, gun still pointed at the asari.

The asari never even looked to Ashley, never seemed nervous. Somehow that unnerved the mercenary. "The Old Growth listened to flesh for the first time in a long cycle. Trades were made. But no more." The asari stated as Shepard perked a brow. She needed to know what Saren traded the Thorian and why.

She tried to put on a diplomatic tone. If only for the time being. "What trades?" She questioned as she looked up at the large creature, taking note of the appendages that seemed to connect to the walls, holding the Thorian in place over a large pit below.

The asari before them seemed to fill the air with a sudden sense of danger. "No more will the Thorian listen to those that scurry." She said before a biotic field shimmered to life around her. Before Shepard could even make a move to protect herself she suddenly felt herself get swept off her feet as a biotic throw connected with her chest. She flew through the air until she connected with the furthest was behind her, hard.

Her armor absorbed most of the damage but she could still feel the impact as it winded her before she fell to the ground in a heap. She could barely hear Ashley open fire on the asari as she desperately tried to refill her lungs with precious air, clutching at her chest as she writhed on the ground a bit in pain.

Suddenly Ashley filled her vision, tugging at her arm to get her back on her feet. "Shepard? Are you alright?" Ashley practically demanded as Shepard let out a hacking cough, still trying to recover from what just happened.

Shepard slowly managed to get back on her feet, with Ashley's help. "Remind me to never piss off a biotic." She hacked as Ashley smirked at her.

"Yeah, that tends to be a good idea, not pissing off biotics." Ashley joked as Shepard finally managed to take a few stable deep breaths. But her recovery was only just in time as snarls could be heard, the two women looking towards the entrance of a stair way, more Thorian creepers bolting into the room, coming right for them.

It didn't take long to dispose of the creatures as Shepard motioned them forward. They were frail, and went down without much effort. "Come on lets finish this." Shepard said as Ashley nodded, both of the women trotting to the stairs.


"It stopped." Wrex said as the the constant pounding on the outer hull finally went silent. The gathered merc crew looked to each other before looking back at Wrex. His shoulders drooped as if this news saddened him. Let it be known that krogan could pout if they so desired.

"The ground team must have done something to gain their attention?" Kaidan suggested as Garrus stepped over towards where Wrex was, pressing his ear against the bay door, as if trying to see if he could hear anything outside. But the ship's hull was thick, and anyone talking outside would not be heard no matter how hard he tried.

Garrus pushed away from the door with a shrug. "Maybe they just finally got tired?" he also suggested.

Liara couldn't help but check her omni-tool, feeling anxious to know what was happening out there. No new messages. Whatever was going on, Shepard must have still been busy. Liara was feeling anxious just sitting here, waiting to know what was happening. Part of her wished she were out there now. She did not know why the urge was so strong. But she tried to swallow it, ignore it.

"I just wanted to shoot something." Wrex continued to pout.


Shepard felt her exhaustion kicking in high gear. They discovered that not only could the Thorian exert control over people but the damn thing could clone asari as well. But they had finally managed to cut the creature from the walls, so to speak. It had plummeted to it's death, a deep screech emanating from the creature when it fell.

"Ground team, this is Pressly. The colonists have stopped attacking the ship, they just... Fell over, what's going on out there?" Shepard motioned for Ashley to take the call as she moved further up the passage way, finding an unusual growth on the wall.

Ashley lifted her hand to her comm as she looked behind them, making sure no more creatures were after them. "This is Chief Williams. It should be clear, the Captain is just outside of the colony's garage in the mako, he needs an immediate pick up." She said through the comms. "There's a civilian with him, she's harmless." She added.

Shepard dared to move closer to the growth, poking at it with the barrel of her gun. "Copy that, we're on her way." she could hear over her own comms. The growth seemed to move on it's own accord as Shepard quickly backed away from it, gun pointed at it. She hissed Ashley's name who quickly joined her, also raising her gun.

Suddenly a pair of hands shot through the growth, tearing a hole as an asari came spilling out of it. "Don't shoot.." The asari pleaded as she tried to gasp for fresh air. Shepard and Ashley exchanged looks as the asari slowly rose to her feet. She looked just like that clone. Only normal, and blue. "Please, I was... I was a hostage to the creature." she tried to explain, covered in slime, trying to wipe some of it off of herself.

"Who are you?" Ashley questioned.

The asari regarded the two women. "My name is Shiala. I serve... Served Matriarch Benezia. Please I must speak with someone, I have dire information the Council needs to know." Shiala went on, looking as though she could be telling the truth.

Shepard and Ashley exchanged glances one more time. "Pressly, once you have the Captain we'll need a pick up. We have an asari in custody who has information on Matriarch Benezia." Ashley said through her comms.

Shepard eyed the asari carefully. It was possible she knew Liara if she knew her mother. "You better be on the up and up." Shepard warned Shiala. Shiala simply gave her a confused look, but Shepard did not feel the need to explain herself further.


Whoop whoop. Another chapter down. And I think it's my longest one yet lol. I just felt like getting Feros all out of the way, I have some fun stuff ahead, or at least fun for me.

Until next time =D