Disclaimer: I do no own Mass Effect, I do not claim to own Mass Effect, I am only doing this for fun.
Author Notes: Here it is, another chapter. I want to wish my readers happy holidays and new year, albeit belated.
Episode 48: The Hidden Garden [Part II]
Shepard needed a moment to think. Did the Thorian have troops? Her paranoia-based danger sense was ringing in her ears. The being standing in front of her could not possibly be a real Prothean. Could he? Could any species exceed the Asari and Krogan lifespans forty-nine times over?
"How is this possible?" Liara breathed.
"You seek to destroy the Old Growth." The being stated. "You, parasites, seek to destroy that which is infinitely greater."
Shepard instantly did not care for the conviction in its own superiority. Still, personal distaste was not an excuse, and neither was whatever pretentions it made. She still had to take charge and make the effort at a peaceful solution, if only for the sake of saying she had. As inexcusable as its behavior was, its abilities were a part of its biology. She would not condemn it just because said abilities were not agreeable to her. She could even understand how if it did not harm its servants then strictly speaking it could be a form of symbiosis. However, if the servants were just slaves with no real free will of their own, it would make the Thorian a parasite. That was an important distinction.
She stepped closer, lowering her gun. "We do not have to fight. Let the colonists go, and we will all leave." She could live with merely evacuating Feros and ensuring this building was never visited again. The Thorian would never entrap another unwary person again. The Alliance would not have a problem with that, and the Council would probably cooperate as well. If the latter then told her to obliterate the tower, she would. Also, she would not have that decision on her conscience.
"The air you push carries only lies, parasite." The being replied. "Your kind have been here before. The Old Growth listened to Flesh for the first time in a long cycle. Trades were made. We gave them a sliver of knowledge, and they have not given us that which they owe."
Shepard blinked. What? Her kind? Who? Had ExoGeni conducted more than just illegal observational experiments? Or was the Thorian painting all sapient fauna with a single wide stroke?
"Who else was here?" Nihlus asked sharply.
"We do not care for their identity. They sought to understand that which they cannot fathom."
"It has to be ExoGeni, who else would be here?" Ashley asked.
Shepard wondered, who else indeed. The choice of words was quite curious too. Sought to understand? That which they cannot fathom? Was that its way of referring to research? Also, it sounded like there was a mutual double-cross. The Thorian likely thought whatever it provided would be meaningless. The recipients likely figured that out, ergo the lack of payment.
ExoGeni was the prime suspect, but definitely not the only one. They did not need a bargain, did they? They could already make long-term observations and collect samples. She made a mental note to floss ExoGeni's data later, just to confirm. As for the other possible suspects, Cerberus instantly came to mind, though she had no evidence to go on, just her paranoia. Ultimately there were too many unanswered questions to know anything for sure, and she doubted the Thorian would answer them.
"The Old Growth will listen no more."
A low pitched, moaning rumble echoed in the cavernous space, seemingly affirming the declaration.
"That's unfortunate," Shepard replied as she raised her gun. She really would have preferred not to do this, but right then the choice was slipping from her hands.
The being sneered and his whole body suddenly erupted with green energy. Shepard heard multiple weapons hum all around her. Then he raised his hand and the hair at the back of her neck rose straight up. Shepard lowered her finger to the trigger and squeezed. Sin barked, but the bullet did not penetrate. His hand began to close. "He's biotic!" Shepard called as she side-stepped.
"Sure, but not immortal!" Nihlus replied as he opened full auto fire.
The being wheeled, whipping his arm to the side, and a bright green flash of energy erupted from his arm with a cracking whomp. Nihlus' weapon cut out as he stepped out of the way in the last moment. Even then the shockwave barely missed his head. Shepard whirled and squeezed the trigger again, Sin barked, but again its bullet failed to penetrate. The moaning reverberating through the cavern grew louder and louder.
"Incoming!" Jenkins shouted.
Shepard glanced in the direction where Jenkins' call came from. Her eyes landed on the dozen humanoid figures that shambled around the corner on the far side of the chamber. None of them had any clothing, with black-brown skin resembled the Thorian's growth and not flesh. Worse yet, their faces were perfectly flat, without a nose, ears, eyelids, or lips. It was as if someone had animated a bunch of store mannequins. Then the leading creature raised its hands, each of its five fingers tipped by a sharp black claw, and its slit mouth opened wide to reveal a multitude of sharp black teeth. It uttered a thunderous shriek and charged right at the closest individuals.
"Shoot them down!" Shepard shouted as she reached for Dex.
Liara gasped loudly.
"Mistress!" Shiala called.
The archeologist raised her hand and her whole body flared, illuminating her immediate surroundings. She splayed out her fingers, and then suddenly closed her fist. There was a loud whomp as a singularity opened right in midst and above the horde. Its pull instantly stopped the charge, and hoisted the creatures off their feet, making them unable to do more than shriek.
"Don't fire. I will finish them!" Shiala announced as her whole body flared with her biotics.
"Your efforts are futile."
Shepard felt the hair at the back of her neck tingle and rise, and she turned back to the Thorian's spawn, only to see he was glowing just as brightly. "Haven't heard that before," she mumbled, unable to bite back the sarcasm as she raised her gun at his head. However, before she could fire, Nihlus stepped in and his rifle began beating full automatic into the being's center of mass. Garrus joined the fray a second later. The being's biotic barrier rippled and flickered with each bullet. The need to keep it up prevented him from attacking. Still, it was a good two seconds before the field lost cohesion. Shepard squeezed the trigger. This bullet pierced into his head, right between his eyes. Garrus and Nihlus instantly eased off the triggers. The being crumbled, lifeless.
Suddenly there was a loud whomp. Shepard turned her head on pure instinct, just time to see a periwinkle shockwave arc through the air toward the singularity, glowing like the naked filament of a lightbulb. The zombie creatures hissed, and the Thorian emitted a deep, thunderous rumble. The wave met singularity, clashed, and canceled it with an explosion, sending limbs and chunks of vegetable flesh flying every which way.
"Holy…" Ashley breathed.
Shepard took that moment to reload her gun. She could not say she was unimpressed right then. Her previous experience with asari, and especially huntresses had been colored by the sort that had abandoned discipline for a life of crime. That invariably made them sloppier, and being full of themselves made them underestimate everyone else. Myrix and Shiala were clearly disciplined and dedicated, and it showed.
The sound of fluids hitting the floor drew Shepard's attention away. The Thorian was drooling more of that milky-white fluid. Then the tentacles closed like a curtain, and Shepard knew what was coming. She raised Sin anew, level with whereabouts she thought the new spawn's head ought to be, assuming it was just as tall as the first one. She was done joking around with this thing.
The tentacles spread and a second being stepped out, identical to the first, down to the minor damage on its armor. A clone then? That was certainly rather interesting. Still, her finger began to tighten on the trigger. The second his head was clear of the tentacles, the gun cracked, and the bullet pierced between the creature's eyes even before he could realize the danger, or do anything about it. The Thorian rumbled, deep and long, and its whole frame seemed to shudder, as if it was incensed. Shepard lowered her gun slowly and looked up, "I gave you a chance at a peaceful resolution. You rejected it." She stated, a blunt constitution of fact.
The Thorian rumbled, seemingly in reply, but the oozing white liquid stopped for the time being.
Shepard would seize the opportunity while it was there. "Alright people," she called, louder and to the rest of the group. "Split up in groups of three. This thing is anchored to this building by those huge vines across multiple floors. If we sever them, it will plunge to the bottom of that shaft. That won't be good for it. Place your charges, and tell me. I'm the one with the detonator program."
"You got it, Commander." Kaidan replied. "Bravo, with me!"
"What's the plan, LT?" Ashley asked.
"We will head up and attach our charges to the top-most vines." Kaidan explained as he turned and made his way back in the direction they came from.
"Tali, Legion, you are coming with me. We will handle the middle floor. Is that acceptable, Commander?" Garrus announced.
"Good as any plan I could cook up," Shepard replied.
Garrus nodded, turned and followed Bravo's path. Tali followed him without hesitation, and Legion brought up the rear.
"Doctor T'Soni, Huntresses, please come with us," Shepard finished. There were three thick vines on this floor that she needed to asses. The closest was anchored to the center block's inner wall, almost right in front of her. "We'll start with that one." She announced as she holstered her guns and reached back to draw one of the charges she had stowed in her webbing. "Nihlus, watch my back. I can't shoot and rig this thing." Her free hand was already in her other pouch, pulling out a detonator, even as she started on her way toward the vine.
"You do not need to ask," Nihlus replied.
Suddenly there was a low-pitched moan. Shepard grinned, the Thorian was about to make its next move. It made her wonder, could the Thorian understand speech as-is? Then, if it could, was it capable of independent communication, or only through its spawn? She refused to assume they were actual Protheans, even if it was an easy assumption to make. It was easier to accept that the plant had stored away DNA and could then clone it. That seemed less farfetched than the idea that it could keep an actual Prothean alive this long.
She reached the vine and stopped, dimly aware that Nihlus was barely a step behind her, rifle at a ready. The space around the vine was dark, the walls and floor were completely covered with bio-material growth. The white hypha fibers dangled off the ceiling in vast quantities, resembling enormous webs made by prehistoric spiders. What really drew her attention was the enormous, dark-colored, cloudy pustule attached to the central block wall. It had a single vine coming from the top that arced across the wall and connected to the main vine. What more, its surface was covered in minute clear drops, which did not look like they were secreted, they very much looked like condensate. Except it could not possibly be, could it? It would require the contents of the sack to be quite cold in comparison to the air around the sack. That was simply impossible.
"Commander, you might want to see this." Garrus said over the comm.
"You see a giant growth full of fluid near one of the vines?" Shepard asked.
"Yes. I guess you are seeing this."
Shepard hummed, so she was not seeing anything unique. "Can someone give me an infrared scan? What's inside?"
"Already did it, Commander. I thought you'd ask. As far as Chatika can tell the contents is a liquid of some kind, and it is cold." Tali replied.
"Clarification: the fluid is one degree above the conventional freezing temperature of water." Legion added automatically.
Shepard blinked, stunned. The sack up there was cold? Because of her gloves being so heavily insulated, she would not be able to tell if the sack down here was also cold. But if it was at just one degree above freezing, then the condensate made sense.
"Cold is cold, Legion," Tali grumbled.
"Creator-Zorah, we calculated the probability of Shepard-Commander requesting further details to be sixty percent. Addendum: we theorize the liquid is cooled by artificial means." Legion replied.
"Just sixty?" Garrus asked, his voice rumbling with amusement.
"Eighty by my calculations." Nihlus slipped in.
"I am one hundred percent unamused." Shepard said with affected blandness. There were benefits for wearing a full helmet that did not let anyone see her grin. Still, she wondered. Why would the Thorian keep fluid sacks that cold? It was an expenditure of energy. What function did the sacks perform? She was no scientist, but she liked to think that she had a healthy amount of curiosity, and this was indeed quite curious. However, the odds of finding out were slim. Right then, trying to figure it out was a distraction.
"My apology, Commander." Garrus replied.
"No harm, no foul," Shepard replied. "There is another sack down here, and I think it's also cold. It's got condensate all over the outside. That's interesting, but doesn't help us. Let's get back on the task at hand." The last thing she wanted was more pot-shots aimed at her.
"Thank you! So… who is doing what?" Tali asked blandly.
"Tali can you mount the charges? Legion and I will keep lookout." Garrus stated.
"Yea, I will do that." Tali replied.
The silence returned. Shepard turned back to the closest vine. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Nihlus move past it, toward the opposite building corner from the one where they had come from. The darkness there was unbroken, but so was the stillness and the silence. Still, as she watched him for a long second, she wondered. Was Nihlus being over-cautious, or could he hear something?
"Commander," Jenkins began.
"Something wrong?" Shepard replied automatically.
"There's a sack of fluid up here too. But there's no condensate on it." Jenkins said.
"It's warm?" Shepard asked.
"I think so, yea. And it's also clear, I can see right through it."
"Ours is opaque," Garrus noted.
"Same here," Shepard agreed.
"That's… interesting. Well- maybe this one is just a fluid storage vessel, for leaner times." Jenkins murmured.
"That's a possibility," Shepard replied.
"Come on, Jenkins, we have a job to do." Kaidan said.
"Right, fine."
"Thanks, Kaidan." Shepard said as she ripped the detonator's isolation foil sleeve open and pulled the cigarette-shaped component free. At this point she would not be surprised if the Thorian was really a hodge-podge of fungus, fern, and cactus. Still, they had a job to finish. In her hands the detonator slotted into its place without resistance. She stepped up to the vine and began to push the charge's spread gripping claws into the mass. She doubted the vines would cut cleanly, but the heat and shockwave would still weaken their structural integrity. She would gamble on gravity doing the rest. After a final adjustment to the charge's claws Shepard stepped back and brought up her omni-tool to begin synching it up.
"Did you- Incoming!" Ashley shouted. Just like that gunfire erupted overhead, an Alliance assault rifle beating quick controlled bursts.
"What the- never mind!" A second weapon joined, beating rapid, spraying pattern.
"Commander, there are more of those human-shaped… things up here." Kaidan reported.
"Nothing we can't handle." Ashley added, louder than necessary, seemingly to hear herself over the din.
"Lieutenant, your three!" Jenkins shouted, his rifle pausing for a moment.
Kaidan grunted inarticulately and his comm caught a familiar whomp. Something shrieked. Shepard turned to follow the sound just in time to see one of the zombies come tumbling down. There was nothing to catch the zombie, so it went right into the abyss, and its shriek echoed behind it. A moment later the rifles cut out one at the time.
"That's what I get for becoming distracted." Kaidan muttered.
"Kaidan, please tell me that was intentional." Shepard said.
"Huh?"
"You sent that thing all the way down, and I did not hear it hit bottom." She explained. It had shrieked all the way out of her hearing range, a few seconds at least, that was some drop.
"Oh! Well, I could. But I'd be lying. I did not want to find out how sharp their claws are, that's all. Williams, Jenkins, cover me while I rig up charges."
"You got it," Ashley replied.
Shepard hummed, what was there to say to that?
The Thorian moaned. The creature's displeasure was clear for all to hear, but it was also a reminder to get back on track.
Shepard ducked under the vine she had rigged with explosives and started on her way toward the next. The first one was easy, but the second would be anything but. It attached to a massive, weight-bearing column, and the floor beneath it had been cut away, leaving little more than a half-meter ledge over a precipitous drop. Now knowing how far it went? It would be a blatant lie to say that it did not bother her.
"There. That's one charge planted." Tali announced.
"Well done, Tali," Shepard replied. She chose to take a moment to pick up the synch signal. No one needed to know that she was hesitating. Not that anyone would fault her for it. She sooner expected someone to try and stop her, or worse, volunteer to do it themselves. She would not allow anyone to volunteer for this.
"Shepard! I saw movement at the corner." Nihlus announced.
Shepard looked up just in time to see more zombies emerge from the dark. Before she could say anything, Nihlus laid into his rifle's trigger and the tracers began to fly, finding and digging into their targets, sending dark-colored fluids splattering. Myrix stepped in, her pistol popping with an easy rhythm and one by one the zombies collapsed, their heads perforated. As the final creature hit the floor, the Thorian rumbled long and low.
"Thank you," Shepard said calmly as she turned to the huntress. Shepard fully expected the Thorian to go down fighting. However with no shields or biotics to their name, the zombies had absolutely no hope for success with their suicidal rushes.
"You are welcome, Commander," Myrix replied.
Shepard reached in her pouch for a detonator.
"Shepard, get those charges planted. I will go and scout." Nihlus announced, "We do not want a repeat of that."
"Already on it," Shepard replied as she pulled open the foil wrapping and reached behind her back for the next charge.
"I will accompany you, Spectre," Myrix said.
Nihlus stared at the asari for a long moment, but then turned away. The huntress followed him without another word.
"I got the first of my charges up." Kaidan announced.
"Excellent," Shepard replied as she slotted the detonator into her charge and twisted it in. Within seconds she had the device ready to go, and then she moved toward the vine. The ledge was mercifully clear of debris, and with metal armature sticking out of its edge she knew it would hold if she took it nice and easy.
"Williams, Jenkins, scout ahead as well. Just in case." Kaidan went on.
"Roger," Ashley replied.
Shepard put her back to the pillar and took a deep breath. Then, as she exhaled slowly through her nose, she began to crab-step, feeling the ledge with her toes. In that moment she knew that Liara and Shiala were watching her, but she was glad to see that neither said a thing. She knew full well that if they alerted Nihlus, the chief overprotective teammate, she would never hear the end of this. This was not rocket science by any stretch of the imagination, but it was slow-going as she had to focus on not looking down. She did not want Nihlus throwing off her pace, or worse, startling her.
"Warning: approaching thermal signatures detected."
"I can hear them, Legion." Garrus said.
Shepard stopped where she was.
"Here they come! Protect Tali!" Garrus called.
"I don't ne-"
The rest of Tali's protest was swallowed up in a cacophony of loud shrieking. Then Garrus' rifle came to life, beating quick, controlled bursts.
"Creator-Zorah, stay behind our platform."
"Focus on them, not- watch out!" Tali's shouted.
One of the zombies shrieked particularly loudly, and Legion emitted a sound that was more geth-chatter than speech across the comm.
"You bosh'tet!" Tali called, the final syllable punctuated by a sharp crack from her shotgun.
Finally Legion's rifle kicked in, eclipsing Garrus' firing rhythm with sheer volume.
Altogether the gunfire could not have lasted longer than ten seconds, and yet to Shepard it felt like eternity. Her heart had lodged itself somewhere in her throat. The shrieking eventually died down, dissipating one voice at a time, and when the last zombie went silent, all weapons ceased cycling. The Thorian let out another growling-rumble, showing its displeasure. Shepard let out a breath she had held the entire time.
"Are you alright, Tali?" Garrus asked.
"Yes, I'm fine." The quarian replied. "Legion, I told you- Keelah! You're leaking!"
"What's going on up there?" Shepard asked.
"Shepard-Commander, our platform sustained minor damage. Addendum: the damage will not affect our ability to continue with overreaching mission objectives." Legion replied.
"Minor would be just a scratch to your finish, bosh'tet! Commander, don't listen to them! One of those things clawed at them, twisted one of the actuated plates, and nicked the neck cabling. I can see coolant. I will find and patch the leak, but that will take some time." Tali explained quickly enough to rival an eager Salarian.
"Legion will be fine, Commander. It is just one rivulet." Garrus assured, much calmer than the quarian.
"It still needs plugging!" Tali retorted, quick as a whip crack. "Before they lose enough coolant that their internals begin to overheat."
Legion emitted another burst of chatter, seemingly in protest.
Shepard could not say anything. She would not reprimand Legion for protecting Tali, and she could not fault Tali for her reaction.
"Oh hush you!" Tali mumbled. "And hold still! I swear, if you pinch my fingers-"
"We have not moved, Creator-Zorah." Legion protested quickly.
Shepard figured it was best she say something, before Tali worked up enough steam to start lecturing the geth. They really did not need that sort of thing on a shared comm link.
"Take it easy, Tali. You are worrying."
Tali made some sort of inarticulate sound at the back of her throat, "Garrus, I'll be able to walk around without my suit sooner than I'll worry about this Bosh'tet."
Garrus chuckled, low and rumbling, but it died down quickly. "Good. But while you're fixing them up, I will set up the charges."
"Sure, works for me." Tali mumbled. Her tone had changed, it was distant, evidence that she was already elbows-deep in the task.
Shepard grinned, she knew that Garrus had done that on purpose, and it was a good thing he did, as now she did not have to say anything. She took a deep breath, held it for a moment, let it out, and resumed crab-walking. Legion would be alright. Tali liked to grumble, but she was a very kind individual. Shepard was a firm believer in the old adage that actions spoke louder than words.
"Commander, I just set up a second charge." Kaidan stated, as if nothing had happened.
"Thanks," Shepard replied, as she made another sideways step. Then, one last step put her where she needed to be. The bottom of the vine was now about level with her head. She reached up slowly and pressed her charge to the biomass. It took some twisting and pressing, but eventually the claws dug into the growth deep enough to anchor the device in place. Shepard let go slowly and watched to make sure that the charge would not fall. She waited a good three seconds, but once she was satisfied, she started crab-stepping back.
"There we go," Tali said suddenly. "Once we're back on the Normandy I will replace that entire line and synthesize some coolant. As for the plate… there's a broken actuation rod. You'll have to fabricate a replacement before I can fix it."
"Acknowledged. We have immobilized the damaged components to limit further damage. You have our gratitude, Creator-Zorah." Legion replied.
"Yes, yes." Tali mumbled.
"Good timing, Tali. I just set up a second charge. Oh and Commander, the third vine I can see on this floor is unreachable. It is right over the well." Garrus reported.
"Two is good enough." Shepard replied. She needed something to concentrate on, to keep herself from rushing. She turned to watch the Thorian. The mass extending out from it was undulating ever so slightly, yet it did not seem capable of much more than that.
"There is one more I can reach up here." Kaidan replied.
"No rush, Kaidan. We will wait. Any more of those plant things?" Shepard replied.
"Not that I can hear," Garrus replied.
"None up here," Ashley announced.
Shepard hummed as she finally stepped off the ledge.
"Then I am lucky." Nihlus announced.
Just like that any thought of relaxing vanished. She turned to peer in the direction she saw the Spectre and the huntress vanish. Before she could say a word, the Spectre's assault rifle came to life, beating bursts of five to six rounds at a time with a split of a second between them. In these lulls there were the repeated pops of a handgun. The sound echoed down the corridors, reverberating in such a manner that she could not tell how far away the source was.
Shepard had to tell herself not to worry, and force herself to turn to the third vine that connected to this floor. It attached to another load-bearing column, but the floor under this one had been cut off entirely. That meant she would have to write it off. With Kaidan working on a third charge up above, this meant she would have seven in total. It was a good number. Had she been at all superstitious, she would have said it was lucky too. The end of this whole operation was within reach.
The silence returned all at once as the weapons cut out, and the Thorian emitted a deep, long rumble.
"That is the rest of them." Nihlus announced.
"I have the charge assembled, just give me a minute to get it into place." Kaidan said.
"As I said, take your time." Shepard replied. Hopefully the Lieutenant was not pulling some reckless stunt. She would not ask. Kaidan was capable and did not need her being a mother hen. He was also likely perfectly aware of her tendencies, it would explain the brevity of detail. When she looked back toward Liara and Shiala, hitherto the silent observers of the operation, she noticed that the archeologist was standing by the liquid-filled pod, seemingly inspecting it. Shiala was at arm's reach, her pistol out and glowing, ever the dutiful bodyguard. It looked like the huntress had done that plenty of times. Still, should Liara be that close to that pod? "Doctor, is something wrong?"
Liara hummed, "I thought I saw this pod move. But it might have been my imagination."
"The Thorian seems to be wiggling a little from what I can see," Shepard replied. Maybe the fluid was undulating with it.
"Ah, then maybe that was it," Liara replied. "I admit, I am hardly an expert on exo-flora, but I guess I was curious."
"No harm in that." Shepard replied. A flicker of light at the corner of her eye announced Nihlus and Myrix coming back. Shepard was happy to see that Nihlus looked no worse for wear, as if his second encounter with the zombies had been entirely one-sided in his favor. Myrix did not look affected either.
"There, the charge is planted and online." Kaidan announced.
"Thanks, Kaidan." Shepard replied automatically. "Suffice to say that since all the charges are in place, I want everyone back here before I detonate anything."
"On our way," Kaidan replied.
"We will be there in a minute, Commander." Garrus said.
Shepard hummed a quiet assent as she turned to her omni-tool to begin acquiring the synchronization signals from the charges above.
"How many do you have, Shepard?" Nihlus asked.
"Seven," She replied automatically.
Nihlus hummed low in his throat. Shepard looked up, Nihlus was about two steps away now, staring right at the last charge she mounted. It was blinking at them with a red status light, entirely impossible to miss in the relative gloom of the artificial grotto. She fully expected that Nihlus had figured out how that charge got there. She would probably hear about it later, but the job was done. She raised her left hand and patted his upper arm, turned away, and went back to connecting synch signals.
It took almost a minute for all the signals to report a solid connection, but they did, and now she just needed to press one more button and this situation would hopefully be resolved. There was just no way the Thorian could possibly survive a drop like that. Feros' gravity was one point one standard g, which meant the acceleration would be ten point eight meters per second. The Thorian was hardly something that could use air resistance to slow down.
Just then Shepard heard footsteps behind her and turned. It was Garrus, Tali, and Legion. Garrus and Tali looked like nothing had happened, but Legion's damage was evident for all to see. The bottom left emotive plate hung limply and out of alignment with the rest. Tali had found the damaged line and pulled it out, for ease of access, so it upset the otherwise orderly arrangement of cables and lines. The polymer suit sealant that she had cured onto the puncture also stuck out. The leaking coolant itself had run down Legion's neck and over their chest plating. Tali's attempts to wipe it off mostly just smeared it around. Not that any of it seemed to bother Legion the slightest.
"Just sign the adoption papers already." Nihlus said quietly, with a vaguely sing-song lilt in his tone.
Shepard gave him due stink-eye, but Nihlus just stared back, which meant he was probably grinning like an idiot right then, much to her annoyance. Admittedly, her glares were a lot less effective with a helmet in the way too. She decided to concede, just this once, because she wanted this whole thing over and done with. With an abrupt turn, she started in the direction of the stairwell door, "We need to put some distance between us and the charges. Around the corner here will be good."
"I am taking that as a victory," Nihlus murmured, practically rumbling in her ears.
"What's that? The first of how many?" Shepard's replied blandly.
"And just like that, it is gone…" Garrus rumbled, practically laughing.
Shepard would not be surprised if they started another of their arguments, she would not spare it a thought, her mind was already on the prize. The Thorian's ability to defend itself was pitiful. She stopped just around the corner, where there would be shelter from any flying debris. Her biggest concern was not even debris, it was the vines themselves. If they smacked into someone as they ripped free, they could easily kill. That and there were those fluid sacks. She did not want to end up covered in the contents.
She looked up just in time to catch Ashley and Jenkins step through the stairwell door, their rifles held relaxed, but still at a ready. Kaidan was two steps behind them. His gait was a little stiffer than before, and his shoulders were slightly more hunched. Just that told her that the lieutenant had to be reaching his limits.
The others gathered around, and she waited only long enough to allow Bravo to catch up proper. "Good, now that we're all here, I do believe it is time to end this." She glanced down at her omni-tool.
"I'm all for that." Kaidan murmured quietly.
Once Shepard was certain that nothing flashed to show signal loss she inched right up to the corner, put her back to the wall, and slammed her thumb into the detonate key.
The charges emitted little more than muted thuds. The Thorian roared, and the sound reverberated throughout the cavernous space for a good second before it died. Shepard looked down at her omni-tool and was happy to see seven detonation confirmations. She had heard the thuds from the lowest charges, but the rest was simply too far away. There were no shockwaves, no dust clouds, no shaking. The shaped charges delivered their force in a single direction, into the vines, right before the blow-back ripped them to shreds. Nevertheless, she waited another few seconds before she dared to peer around the corner, just in case.
The oversized plant was trembling, she could see it even at this distance. Then, quite suddenly, one of the vines somewhere above gave way with a resounding snap. The end smacked the Thorian over the top, causing the creature to sway. The movement stretched a number of other vines taut, and then a second vine failed and ripped free. The Thorian roared again as its whole mass jolted, stretching even more vines.
"I can't help but feel bad for it," Liara stated.
Shepard hummed a quiet assent. She would concede that much.
For a long second nothing more happened, and then a third vine ripped free and fell down. The Thorian was now sagging heavily on one side, stretching the remaining vines like the strings of a guitar. Ever so slowly the sagging became more and more pronounced as the vines stretched. Then the highest of these over-stretched vines gave way with a long series of quiet rips and snaps. The remaining vines were already at capacity, and when the whole mass came down, they instantly ripped. The Thorian roared one last time as it plunged into the abyss.
Shepard began to count the seconds. She reached fifteen by the time she realized that she would not hear it hit bottom. Annoying as that was, there was nothing else to it. She turned off her omni-tool. "Tali, I want your drone over that pit. Tell me what Chatika can see."
"On it!" Tali replied, her omni-tool rising as she spoke.
"This is officially going into the cleanup phase." Shepard announced as she rounded the corner, flicking her fingers in Nihlus' direction, a silent indication for him to follow. "Legion, get started programming another message burst to the Normandy. I want to give Joker a heads up that we're done here. But don't send it until I tell you to." She went on.
"Acknowledged." Legion replied.
Tali moved ahead, Chatika flying over her shoulder. A few seconds later, as soon as the girl finished inputting commands, the drone rushed forward. The little robot floated out right over the pit, rotated, and pointed its sensory suite right down. Tali stopped where she stood and looked down at the image the drone relayed to her omni-tool.
Shepard ventured closer toward the edge, stopping about a meter back and looked up to inspect the attachment points where the Thorian had been. It was just another precaution for her. She wanted to make sure that the weight-bearing elements had not been damaged in any way. "Anything, Tali?"
"Chatika can see it on the infrared, Commander." Tali replied.
"Any signs of life?" Shepard asked.
"Not that I can make out. But… it's not an animal. It does not have biometrics of the sort that Chatika could recognize. That said, it fell quite a way down and must have hit pretty hard… the profile is all spread out, flattened. I wish I could give you more but I'm limited by resolution at this distance."
Shepard hummed, "Flattened is good enough for me."
Suddenly there was the sound of something tearing and a loud splash of fluid hitting the floor. Shepard reached for Sin and turned. Her gun was up before she completed the turn. The sack near what had been the first vine she had rigged to blow had ruptured. She heard the whine of two weapons powering up. But neither that, nor the fluid was what drew her attention. Neither of those caused her finger to drop to the trigger either. There, kneeling right below it was a figure, hands flat on the floor, three fingers flexing and relaxing in turns. He looked exactly like the ones the Thorian had produced earlier, but he was gasping for air like a fish out of water. Suddenly his whole body flickered with a wan green glow, but an instant later it died, like a candle fizzling out. He screwed his eyes shut and shuddered.
"Another one?" Garrus asked.
"I don't know," Shepard replied. Was he another of the Thorian's servants? Was the Thorian not actually dead? Would they have to go down even deeper into the tower to finish the thing off? The questions raced through her mind like race-cars on a track. "I think we should let this play out," she added.
"Alright," Nihlus muttered.
The being looked up, ember-colored eyes instantly locking on Shepard. Her finger remained immobile on the trigger. His gaze slid down to the weapon. Shepard continued to watch. She would take a chance and wait this out, he likely would not be able to do much from his current position. Then he met her gaze again, and Shepard knew he was different. The previous ones were puppets on some very long, invisible strings. This one had an intelligent look in his eyes. Her gut feeling right then told her that he was different.
Then he placed one hand on his knee and rose to his feet, his gaze never leaving hers. Shepard kept her finger where it was. He made a single, unsteady step toward her. Shepard did not move. He made another step.
"Shepard," Nihlus warned.
"It's just him," Shepard replied. If he did anything she did not like, it would take one slight adjustment of barrel angle and a squeeze of the trigger. She just had a very peculiar hunch about this individual. He was just too different from the other two to be like them.
He advanced another step and slowly raised one hand, a finger brushed against the tip of Sin's barrel. Suddenly there was a flash before her eyes, for a brief moment the tower looked brighter, lit by artificial lights, walls inlaid with gilded detailing, and without the Thorian's remnants. The vision was so strong that Shepard could hear the warbling of a fountain somewhere in the distance. Two figures walked past them, talking in a language she could not understand, completely unaware of their presence. Then Shepard blinked and the vision vanished like a desert mirage. He stumbled away as his arm dropped to his side. Her gun remained perfectly upright.
When he looked up again, his mouth drew into a thin line, but then the expression relaxed, a moment before he spoke. "Impressive…. Commander."
Shepard froze, stupefied. This was not something she would have expected. Despite a heavy accent he spoke in English. His mouth made the motions, and she did not hear the faint artifacts of the translator.
"You may lower you weapon. I am in no shape to fight."
"Pardon me if I will not take your word for it," Shepard replied.
He took a deep breath, seemingly to steady himself. "Good. It would be foolish to do otherwise."
Shepard hummed. Had she just passed some sort of test?
"Are you a… Prothean?" Liara asked.
He turned to spare the Asari a look, but said nothing.
Shepard looked from one to other. Was there a language issue? Somehow he seemed able to speak English, but Liara would have been using her native language. Shepard's translator picked it up but if he had no translator, he would not understand. "She asked if you are Prothean," She repeated.
"I am." He replied.
Shepard lowered her gun slowly, watching his reaction the whole time. Whatever he was, she had been right, he was not one of the Thorian's servants. The pattern of speech was different. His very presence felt entirely different. There was a very natural sort of chill to him, a level of condescension that even the Thorian had not been able to muster.
"By the Goddess…" Liara breathed.
"Holy-" Jenkins breathed. "A… real Prothean?"
The corporal's question got a very real sneer from the individual in question.
Shepard thought it was best to step in, "It seems like our guest somehow… speaks English, my language. But he has no universal translator to understand anyone else. Not that I can understand how that came about."
"Primitives like you would not. Experience and knowledge create and leave biological markers upon you, and everything you come in contact with. I read that which is imprinted on your weapon, and through it, you." He explained blandly, very much talking down his non-existent nose.
Shepard chose to ignore his jabs and tone, because the substance of that admission was far more important.
"The ones you faced were abominations. The Thorian's detachments. Fashioned in my semblance. I will give you some gratitude, as you freed me," He continued.
"Some gratitude," Ashley murmured, quietly, and Shepard only heard it over her comm.
"You are… welcome?" Shepard replied. Should she be even saying that? He somehow managed to be both grateful and condescending at the same time. Normally that would have irritated her into becoming more than a little snarky in return.
"I will also thank you for killing the Thorian. Though I am to follow."
"No!" Liara called, "Commander! We can't let that happen! Surely there is something you can do. You must have medical staff on your ship!"
Shepard grimaced, did she have to play translator right then? And did Liara have to sound like that? "Yes, but…" How would it work when so little was known about Prothean physiology? It would take an actual miracle for Doctor Chakwas to identify what was wrong without a baseline. It would take a second for a medicine for that problem to exist, and a third for it to work on him. That is, if immediate medical evacuation was possible. She still had not heard anything from Joker. Did he even have that kind of time? The helplessness rankled, Shepard would have loved to help, but she had to be realistic, it might be that the only thing they could do was make his last moments comfortable.
The Prothean had leveled a scathing look on the young archeologist, the corners of his mouth drawing up to expose a multitude of fine, sharp teeth. "There is nothing you can do to help me. The Thorian kept the toxin in my body from showing its effects. Now that it is dead, the degradation cannot be stopped."
Shepard blinked up. A toxin? Was he a victim of Kryptin-8? If so, then that would mean it was meant to kill Protheans. But was he in fact talking about Kryptin-8? Or another toxin? "Would this be a neurotoxin normally suspended in krypton gas?" It was as delicate as she could phrase that question. Odds were Kryptin-8 was not even its actual name.
"You know of that vile substance?" he replied.
"Yes." They had to be talking about the same thing. She would assume they were. "Samples of it were found… well, I am not at liberty to say where, but those who found them developed a neutralizing agent that worked on an asari exposed to it. Perhaps it would work for you." Assuming she could get him on the Normandy in time, and that Doctor Chakwas could synthetize the agent. Still, she had to offer the possibility, the little glimmer of hope.
He glanced down.
Just seeing that gesture told Shepard enough. She felt her moment of triumph go up in flames.
"It might, but I know about the situation with your vessel. I do not have the time, and the damage the toxin causes is permanent. I already lost my biotics. My ability to read will soon follow. After that, there is only swift, painful death."
A metaphorical lightbulb lit up in Shepard's head, "You tried to attack me." It was a constitution of fact. What else would explain his earlier flickering display?
"I did." He replied with a faint grin.
Before Shepard could utter another word, Nihlus stepped in, shielding her with his form as he turned his shotgun at the prothean. Garrus mirrored him almost perfectly on her other side and turned his assault rifle at the prothean.
The Prothean smiled widely enough to flash all his teeth. "Stand aside, turians. I will not harm the one you deem… important now."
Shepard opened her mouth to tell him off, but suddenly she heard twin growls, low and rumbling, just at the upper reach of audible. Shepard looked from Nihlus to Garrus, had they really just done that?
The prothean's eyes narrowed and his whole body rippled with green energy, though this too fizzled out. The anger in his eyes only intensified. "I will say this again… stand down! You are very fortunate that I am incapable of putting you in your place right now."
"Enough!" Shepard ordered, raising her voice for emphasis as she set her hand on Nihlus' arm and stepped around him. "I don't know who you think you are, but I will not stand for you threatening my teammates." What else could she say right now? Somehow she doubted a blatant death threat would ever work on him, even if he had been hale and hearty.
The Prothean chuckled, "As you wish."
Shepard did not like his patronizing attitude right then. Where did he get the ego to be treating anyone like this? So much for being thankful.
Suddenly, his hand flew up to his head and his teeth ground together. A thin rivulet of red appeared, running down from one of his nasal slits. He lowered his hand and grimaced, "It is… starting. I do not have long."
All of Shepard's problems with him vanished like the mist. She could not hold a rotten attitude against someone who was dying, could she? There was even a possibility that his aggression was a symptom of the toxin's progression. She slipped Sin into its holster and approached him. "I know you said I can't help you, but is there something else I can do? Make you comfortable?"
The prothean shook his head in a stunningly human gesture. "Not for me. I am already dead. But you can do something for the others."
Shepard blinked, "Others?"
"I know you think there are no other Protheans. But… there was talk of ark colonies… of plans for what was deemed the worst outcome. It seems like the worst outcome indeed occurred."
Shepard had to wonder. Ark colonies? What did he mean by that? He was still speaking in English, and the choice of word could not be frivolous, right? "What… and where are these ark colonies?" Should she be asking that question even?
"I must show you." He replied. "While I still can."
Before Shepard could react, he grabbed her by the shoulders as his eyes closed. She felt the hair at the back of her neck rise.
"Shepard!" Nihlus shouted.
She heard his voice distantly, the world was already fading around her. "Hold fire!" she called into the ether as her vision went black. Then the tower manifested its full splendor. The fountain warbled louder, swallowing all sound, and now she could almost smell the water. Then, suddenly, the whole scene shifted. Shepard found herself in a dark room that looked like a command center of some sort. She was looking at a massive star-chart of the entire Milky Way projected on a vast screen. The chart was lined and marked with white, but the labels were in a language she could not understand. Still, she latched on to that image, seeking to orient itself. It took a few seconds, but eventually she found the relative location where Sol was, to serve as a compass. In doing so, she realized the lines matched major mass relay routes.
"Three ark colonies." The prothean's accented voice whispered in her mind, though it sounded as if he was whispering in her ear, while standing way too close. His presence felt like warm air moving over the nape of her neck. Her eyes stayed on the image. Red dots appeared on the chart, the first two in the Terminus, one vaguely close to the Five Kiloparsec Ring, and the other closer to the galactic rim. Finding those locations would not be easy. Then a third dot appeared, and Shepard froze to the spot. It was within Alliance space!
"Find them!" The voice ordered, stern and urgent, driving into her mind with force. "They may yet be alive. Find them!" A flash of insight flittered across her mind. An image of a vast space, filled to the brim with pods. Shepard understood. The ark colonies were great vaults that were conceived as a plan of last resort, in the event of the worst. This individual knew about them because he was a bodyguard for an important civil servant, and thus present at the meeting when the colonies were discussed. The thought of them brought him comfort in this final hour. She could not refuse this sort of request now, could she?
"Thank you."
Shepard wondered, how did one go about finding the vaults?
"You will need this too."
The star chart vanished, leaving only the void. Then suddenly Shepard heard voices. They bled in, one or two at a time, talking over each-other in a language she could not understand. It was like standing in an open-air market at the height of the day. Soon there appeared a rhythmic, musical lilt to the conversations. They faded in, played, and faded out, like clips in playback.
"This might be… uncomfortable. Your primitive mind is not designed for this…"
Then unexpectedly she began to understand. At first it was just a single word per clip, then it was two, and soon three. It continued like that, understanding coming one word at a time, until the conversations became clear as if she were a native speaker. There was a couple talking about dinner plans. Civil servants discussing construction projects. A mother chiding her child. An official making a proclamation. Lovers exchanging promises. And more, an infinite more. Soon the infinite became too much, the conversations began to blur on fast forward. Until it all stopped, as if someone had simply pressed stop. Then everything vanished, the feeling of the prothean's presence at her back disappeared.
Awareness of her actual senses returned all at once, and a hammering pain bloomed behind her forehead, spreading and wrapping right around. Soon, her whole head ached as if a jackhammer was going at it on her skull. As the world tilted, she was only dimly aware of staggering, but then someone caught her, she could feel their hands on her shoulders clearly. The prothean had stumbled back and dropped to his knees as his limbs began to tremble and the trickle of blood from his nasal slits increased. Shepard could not help but feel sorry for him. Preposterous as it was to think of, there was a sudden and inexplicable familiarity there. "Nabu."
He wiped at the blood with the back of his hand. "That is all… I cannot pass any more knowledge."
He no longer used English, but Shepard still understood him. What more, she knew what he meant. All previous ill will and dislike had dissipated. For whatever reason she could not fathom watching him suffer felt like she was watching a friend suffer. It brought back very unpleasant memories. "I am sorry." She lapsed to the same foreign tongue. Maybe that would be easier for him.
Nabu grimaced, "Your inflection and accent are atrocious. But it worked. Good."
Shepard slipped from the supportive hold without looking at who had caught her, stepped forward, and kneeled to be at eye level with the prothean. "Is there really nothing I can do to help you?"
"Shepard…"
Shepard heard Nihlus' worried tone, but she only raised a hand to wave him off. Her other hand remained in her lap, fingers curling into a fist. Nabu's head sunk lower, his chin now resting on his chest, and his bleeding had become profuse. His hands dropped limply to his sides, but his arms shook harder, seemingly far beyond his control.
"You already did." There was a new rasp in his tone. "You gave me…"
"No…" Liara moaned. In the next instant, the asari was kneeling on the floor next to him. However, Nabu did not so much as acknowledge her being there.
Shepard knew what was happening. He was fading right in front of her eyes, and right then, that hurt. It was an incorporeal pain that blotted out the physical thrumming in her skull. She could ignore the thrumming, but not the heartache. "I will find them, Nabu." He would understand the weight of her words. The strange familiarity had to be a two-way street. It was a promise, and she kept her promises.
Nabu did not reply. His muscles gave a single last spasm and then relaxed as his shoulders and spine hunched forward. The blood trickling from his nasal slits slowed, and then stopped. He stilled, seemingly sitting seiza. Then, ever so slowly, his muscles relaxed entirely and he toppled sideways. Shepard closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could feel the tears welling up, but she would not allow herself to cry. A moment later she placed her hands on her knees and bowed her head. This was how they showed respect to each-other. Somehow, it felt appropriate. She could allow herself that much.
"By the Goddess…" Liara uttered, low and mournful, her voice trembling.
"Shepard, are you-?" Nihlus asked.
Shepard dropped her hands to the floor and pushed herself up her feet. "I'm alright, Nihlus. I'm sorry to have worried you. The Protheans are… touch-telepathic."
Liara rose to her feet as well, her hands clasped before her, fingers trembling.
"Skipper… you were conversing in another language." Ashley stated. "That was not telepathy. That was something else."
Shepard sighed, "They read and impart knowledge via touch. He learned English… and he taught me his language in turn." Shepard knew how preposterous that sounded, but it was the honest truth. She could understand and speak his language. What more, she suddenly knew quite a bit about his culture. She was certain of that like she was certain that the sky on Earth was blue. "I am perfectly aware of the fact that it sounds preposterous, but it's the truth."
"Preposterous is… the first word I would use." Nihlus murmured. "I do not like this, Shepard."
Shepard could only contain her urge to grimace then, both at Nihlus' overprotective reaction, and the pain hammering in her head.
"Are you alright, Commander?" Garrus wondered.
"I'm fine." It was an automatic reply, and a blatant lie right then. She would not admit to having the mother of all headaches. Admitting to it, would be conceding defeat. There was still some details to square away. She could not afford surrendering to something as petty as a headache right then. "I want to give him what I can of proper funeral rites. They did not bury. They cremated."
"Yes! That's right!" Liara jumped in. "Commander, did you… did he give you anything else?"
Shepard hummed, how was she to reply to that? Yes, there was more, but did she want that known? She needed time to process, evaluate, and think. Only once that was done could she even begin thinking about what to do with the information she had.
"I do not think now is the time for that," Nihlus stated, harsher than strictly necessary.
"Oh… of course, my apology." Liara replied, stumbling as she went.
Shepard would take the cop-out that Nihlus provided. Did he know that she needed one? Well, no matter. She turned to Legion, "Legion, if your message burst is complete, you can now send it."
"Acknowledged," the geth replied.
Shepard hated this. She hated headaches. This was positively a repeat of what happened on Noveria, except worse. What was it that made telepaths give her a head-splitter every time? She glanced down at Nabu one last time. Why had she even promised to look for the ark colonies? Did they exist? Or did she promise to go on a wild goose chase? Some dark, deeply cynical part of her mind came up with a ready solution, the possibility that whatever he did, actually affected her thinking, drawing out the promise. Shepard shook her head to dispel that thought. He had been on the verge of death, why go through such a ruse? Why convince someone to do something, when one would not benefit from it? It just did not make sense.
"Transmission complete," Legion announced.
The sound of the geth's voice jarred Shepard out of her thoughts. "Thank you Legion. Alright… now we wait for our expected backup to arrive." She refused to doubt EDI. She would have found the messages in Legion's code, and relayed them to Joker. Backup was on its way. "However, before that, we need to come up with some way to transport a body up to the roof. I realize this will anger a whole bunch of individuals… those with a scary lack of scruples, morals, or ethics… but I will not allow Nabu to become some sort of posthumous science experiment. Am I making myself clear?"
"You will not hear an argument from me." Nihlus replied.
Shepard nodded. She knew that she would anger some, but only those who really needed brain dusting. Suddenly the pain in her head flared, sharp, and blinding. The periphery of her vision faded. Her hand snapped to her head before she could stop it, and she could only brace her body so as to not lose her footing.
"Shepard!"
Nihlus was at her side in an instant, hands on her shoulders.
"I'm alright." Shepard replied. The pain was ebbing, and the darkness at the edges of her vision dissipated. "Repeat of Noveria, nothing more…" Right then, she probably had it worse than Kaidan. "We need to make sure the colonists are alright." She wanted some fresh air, even if it was mostly the contained, filtered stuff out of the Kodiak's environmental controls. She still refused to breathe traces of the Thorian's spores, and it would take some time for them to dissipate.
"We can probably rig up a gurney if we use our emergency foil blankets and some of the rebar that's sticking out in places." Kaidan stepped in.
"I think we have a plasma cutter on the Kodiak. I'll go get it! I'll bring extra foil blankets too. Those things are not known for their tensile strength, and we'll need straps too." Jenkins said.
"Good thinking." Kaidan replied.
"Then I'm off!" The corporal made an about face.
"Wait! I'll go with you." Ashley called after him.
Shepard had to tune the rest out as the pain washed back in like an incoming tide. It seemed to follow a certain cycle. It crested within a good two seconds, resonating through her head. Like this, it was difficult if not impossible to think. She would have to let Kaidan run the logistics for the time being. It was time to seriously consider pain killers.
Author Notes: This chapter proved to be an absolute pain to write, not only was I totally distracted by stuff in real life, but I felt like I bit off more than I could readily chew. I needed to balance out so much, and I don't think I got everything entirely right. That said, those of you who thought the prothean was Javik, I'm sorry. Not yet. I needed to get the "cipher" squared away. We are officially moving into the final arc of the second season. Things are about to get… interesting.
General Notes:
Nothing worth mentioning…
Chapter Notes:
Nothing worth mentioning…