A/N: Sorry this took so long. A huge Thank You to Vorcha Girl for the review on the last chapter as well as for your improvements on this chapter. Enjoy the chapter!
Bioware owns Mass Effect.
Chapter 14. The Thorian
After a short break back at Zhu's Hope they were on their way again. Shepard talked to Fai Dan again briefly, as well as the unfriendly rent-a-cop Arcelia. As they exited the garage in a Mako to head for the ExoGeni headquarters a Geth Dropship appeared and dropped two Geth Armatures in their path. Nick unceremoniously rammed the first one and it toppled over the edge of the skyway, while Wrex gunned the second one down with the cannon. The same fate awaited a number of smaller geth in their way.
Now, they were thundering along the skyway, stopping every now and again to take out pockets of geth hiding in storage rooms. After clearing one such storage room Shepard looked around, frowning. At first she thought the desolate appearance of the colony had something to do with the geth, but as they walked back to the Mako she realized the rubble was older.
"You know, if there was a competition for the 'Crappiest Colony in the Galaxy' this colony easily reaches the Top Ten. This place is a shambles." She gave some rubble a disgusted kick.
"Maybe it's due to the geth attack?" Kaidan ventured. Not that he believed it. There was moss covering some of the rubble, and Shepard had been on edge since reaching the colony. Granted, it wasn't a very welcoming place and it had a distinct air of ... wrongness to it. He tried and failed to think of another word to describe it. Kaidan was just as aware as she was that something was horribly off here, but he wanted to cheer her up.
Nick snorted and shot a look at him. "Alenko, don't insult my mental capability. Or yours."
He blushed. "Sorry, Commander."
Her gaze softened, as did her tone. "I really appreciate what you're trying to do, but this place," she swung her arm in a wide motion, "is so obviously neglected it is sickening. Why anyone would want to live here is beyond me. I'd rather live on the dingiest freighter."
"Says the spacer."
"Shut up, Alenko." Nick grinned at him as they mounted the Mako again. It was nice to see her grin. Maybe she was a little bit cheered up.
Wrex shook his head behind their backs. Sometimes he just didn't understand humans. They certainly didn't rely on all their senses, otherwise everyone should have noticed by now that the air smelled of sex as soon as Shepard and Alenko were in the same room. Not that it really mattered as long as they kept their heads in the game.
As they drove on they caught fragments of a radio transmission, heavily scrambled by interference.
"...might still be alive!"
Try as he might, Kaidan couldn't get a clean fix on it. "Sorry, Commander, I can't pin down the source. My guess is we're heading for it, though."
"Well, then I suppose we'll find out if we go on." Shepard put the Mako in gear and stepped on the gas.
They encountered a number of geth as they continued down the skyway; usually Geth Troopers accompanying a Geth Armature, and the occasional Rocket Trooper. The skyway was in such bad shape that large slabs were strewn across their path, making it difficult to navigate the Mako smoothly, but on the other hand this also offered ample cover while dealing with the geth. As they passed through a gate they heard another transmission.
"...hear a vehicle...doesn't sound like geth."
Shepard slowed down for a moment, she could see one ramp leading down, and another ramp leading up. She decided to go to the higher level. No sooner had they gone up the ramp when a third transmission could be heard.
"They passed right by us. Thank God."
Nick slammed on the brakes and put the Mako in reverse. They were going to talk to these people, no matter where they were. She drove the Mako back to the lower level, parked on the lower ramp, and they disembarked. As they walked down the ramp they saw makeshift barricades and a group of refugees. Two of them, a man and a woman, were obviously arguing about something.
"I told you they weren't geth!" the woman exclaimed. The man scoffed. Shepard ignored him and walked straight to the woman who introduced herself as Juliana Baynham, and the sour-faced man next to her as Ethan Jeong. Juliana Baynham proved to be a rather good source for information. After speaking to her for a few minutes Shepard inquired after the broken transmission they had overheard.
"Is somebody here missing? We caught snippets about somebody possibly still being alive on the radio," she asked.
Juliana Baynham nodded. "Yes, my daughter, Lizbeth. She was working at ExoGeni headquarters at the time of the attack. Would you look for her when you're there?"
"The place is overrun, she's probably dead by now," Jeong said in an unfeeling voice.
Shepard ignored him. "We'll look, and if she is alive we'll find her," she said simply.
Kaidan wished he had as much confidence as he heard in Shepard's voice. He was afraid that Jeong was more than likely right, even if that meant agreeing with the highly unsympathetic man. But, as Shepard had said, they would look.
Shepard turned to go when Jeong spoke again. "Just remember you are only there for the geth, not..."
Nick stopped dead in her tracks and turned around. She walked slowly towards Jeong, reminding Kaidan of a wolf on the prowl. Jeong suddenly looked apprehensive.
"I'm not interested in your company secrets, Jeong," she snarled. "So why don't you just shut the fuck up and let me do my job?"
Shepard turned away from him and walked to another man waving at her. He turned out to be a freelance scientist by name of Gavin Hossle working for ExoGeni and he wanted help recovering his data from the ExoGeni headquarters.
After stating that it was way too dangerous for anybody to go there, but that they shouldn't have any trouble, Kaidan couldn't resist a remark, "Well that's comforting. Certain death for some, fine for us," he deadpanned.
The corners of Shepard's mouth twitched.
They returned to the Mako and continued on their way towards the ExoGeni headquarters, fighting more geth on their way. Finally they came to a section that was not accessible by Mako, and they were forced to continue on foot.
"I sure hope we're not too far from ExoGeni HQ," Shepard said as they disembarked the Mako and engaged with a number of geth.
Once the geth were disposed of they looked around. The surroundings looked as though they had seen better times. Nick threw an annoyed look at the geth remains, and headed for a locked door at the end of the room where she waited for Kaidan to override the lock. The door opened to reveal a deactivated armature. Shepard peeked into the room and shook her head.
"Doesn't look like we'll get anywhere going this way."
When the barrier at the other end of the room proved impervious Kaidan sensed Shepard's frustration even before she turned around. The set of her shoulders gave away the tension, and it seemed to roll off of her in waves. Wordlessly she turned around and led them to a gap dropping several feet into another passageway.
They entered a large cavern as a single shot rang out, and Shepard's kinetic shields crackled. She looked down and back up to see a woman holding a pistol advancing slowly on their position.
"I am so sorry! I feared you were geth or more varren. I didn't hurt you, did I?" the woman began nervously.
Nick didn't answer the question. Instead she asked some questions of her own and was mildly surprised when the woman introduced herself as Lizbeth Baynham. She had stayed behind to back up data and then found herself trapped by the energy field. Lizbeth also told them about a special plant ExoGeni was studying on Feros, the Thorian, and that the geth were responsible for the impenetrable barriers blocking their path. She was fairly certain that the geth were there because of the Thorian. There was a certain amount of relief palpable when Liz Baynham offered Shepard her ID card granting them access to restricted areas.
They just turned to go when a pack of varren attacked. The usual combination of biotics and arms kept the varren in check, and they took their leave from Liz Baynham. They crossed through the cavernous room and used the newly acquired ID card to pass through a door leading to a stairwell.
As they climbed the stairs they heard a clearly exasperated voice. "Stupid machine!"
They ascended the last flight of stairs and found themselves face to face with an angry krogan. He charged at Shepard but didn't get very far as Kaidan Lifted him and Wrex and Shepard shot the floating krogan repeatedly with their shotguns.
"Nice biotics, Alenko," Wrex rumbled.
"Uh, thanks," Kaidan answered, keeping his eyes on Shepard who had now accessed the VI the krogan had been talking to. He walked slowly closer when he saw Shepard curl her fingers into a fist. As he came closer he heard the VI speaking.
"Species 37 is located within the substructure of the Zhu's Hope outpost. The Thorian is a simple plant life-form that exhibits a sentient behavior uncommon with other flora. Through dispersion and eventual inhalation of spores it can infect and control other organisms, including humans. The Zhu's Hope control group has yielded interesting results. Before sensors were offline almost 85% of all test subjects were infected."
Shepard let out a huff. "You bastards. You knew the colonists were getting infected?" She sounded as angry as he felt. He wondered if the colonists of the outpost had been in any way informed about their situation. Probably not.
"It was deemed necessary to assess the true potential of Species 37," the VI answered.
"Of course it was," Shepard muttered. Then she continued asking as many questions as she could think of concerning the Thorian. How big it was, how it controlled people, its intelligence, exact location. She tried radioing the Normandy to warn them about the mind-controlled colonists but the energy field blocked any communication. It was apparent they had to get rid of the force field first.
They moved out and came to a room with two Geth Shock Troopers which they quickly took out. The massive claws of the geth ship were hooked into the building, and it seemed to be using it as an anchor. Somehow they had to release these claws, but how could they cut the power?
They moved on. After cleansing another room of several more geth, they headed up a flight of stairs and encountered three more Krogan. Again, with Kaidan and Wrex's biotics, and Shepard and Wrex's shotguns, they didn't have much trouble defeating them. Kaidan Threw them back forcefully while Wrex Warped them and they used their weapons to finish them off.
Shepard investigated the little hallway with its consoles, one of which belonged to Hossle. Sometimes you get lucky, Kaidan thought as they headed back down through the hallway and down the stairs. They passed through the room where they had fought the geth earlier, and came to another stairwell. The way down was blocked, so up was their only option.
A large cavernous room opened in front of them, filled with a number of geth. Once they were disposed of with a combination of Kaidan's tech attacks and the others shooting, Shepard motioned for Kaidan to override a console. It revealed information about an infected colony on Nodacrux. Shepard pulled the info onto her omni-tool and they continued up onto a walkway. They came to another claw and Shepard looked over her shoulder at Kaidan.
He shook his head. "Same as before, Commander. We don't have the ordnance to blow this claw. We have to keep on looking."
On the other side of the walkway another formidable number of geth awaited them. After fighting their way through Shepard again signaled for Kaidan to decrypt the consoles, and again she uploaded the information onto her omni-tool.
Kaidan looked around. "Interesting. This looks like some kind of containment lab."
"Whatever you say, Alenko," Wrex rumbled.
Shepard grinned at the krogan. She looked back at Kaidan, who had his omni-tool out again and she laughed as she watched him for a moment.
Yep, tech nerd.
Kaidan gave her a bewildered look. "Commander?"
"Nothing, Lieutenant. Carry on."
"I guess that console there controls the shuttle bay doors. Maybe we can use it to dislodge one of the claws?" Kaidan ventured, still slightly puzzled by Shepard's laughter.
"You might be right." She smiled at him as she walked past and his heart fluttered. Shepard noticed a repair note pinned to the console stating if the pressure was within a range of thirty-one to thirty-four the doors slammed down with enough force to shear through a metal beam. "Yes, I think you are right."
She walked to the valves and selected the valves necessary for the pressure to be within the critical range, then she activated the shuttle bay doors. There was a satisfying crash as the shuttle bay doors slammed down and severed one of the claws, and geth ship fell.
Wrex laughed. "This is my kind of mission. Kill a bunch of geth and end everything with a big bang!"
"Glad you enjoyed yourself, Wrex." Shepard grinned.
The energy barrier had dispersed now that it no longer had a power source, and they heard Joker frantically hailing them over the comm:
"I repeat, Normandy to shore party. Are you reading? Anyone there? Normandy to shore party. Come on, Commander, talk to me!"
Joker informed them that the colonists had turned hostile. Shepard told him not to panic, the colonists couldn't do any real damage.
"We're on our way back. Just sit tight."
"Uh, aye-aye, Commander." Joker did not sound reassured.
Shepard turned to her shore party. "Let's get back to Zhu's Hope and find the Thorian."
They met Lizbeth Baynham on their way back to the Mako and Shepard confronted her with the knowledge they had gained through the ExoGeni VI. Nick listened to Lizbeth's explanation quietly and even let her accompany them back in the Mako as she claimed she wanted to help undo the mess.
Joker comm'ed them again, informing them about increased geth communications.
Shepard sighed. "Looks like we might as well get rid of these synthetic bastards on our way as well."
The geth arrived in force. Nick swore in the most colorful language Kaidan had heard from her so far as they found two Geth Armatures and two Juggernauts in their path. She wove back and forth, dodging energy blasts and rockets, as Wrex tried to get a good fix on the geth. As soon as the first Armature was down she careened into the second one, conveniently running over one of the Juggernauts on the way.
They continued across the skyway and as they drew near the weigh station they heard fragments of radio chatter. No sooner had Lizbeth heard her mother then she demanded they stop the Mako. They had barely stopped when she jumped out. She would have run off but Kaidan put a hand on her shoulder. Lizbeth turned to him with a puzzled expression. He released his hold as soon as she stood still, but she continued to look at him.
"Not so hasty," Shepard said, nodding at Kaidan acknowledging his quick reaction and drawing Lizbeth's attention to her. And away from Kaidan. "We don't know the situation, so we don't just rush down there. Try to stay in cover."
Lizbeth diverted her eyes from Kaidan to Nick and nodded. "Of course. I hadn't considered."
A short while later Kaidan couldn't believe what he was witnessing. Shepard was actually convincing Jeong that purging the colony as ExoGeni wished would be a waste. He wasn't surprised that she was against purging a colony, oh no, he was surprised that she didn't just knock Jeong out. Or shoot him. Kaidan was certain she found the man just as revolting as he did, and Shepard had little patience with people she didn't like. Instead, she played the charm card and in the end Jeong agreed with her.
Who wouldn't?
Kaidan returned his attention to the on-going conversation between Shepard and Juliana Baynham. The ExoGeni scientist recommended using a nerve agent to neutralize the colonists.
"Like a gas grenade!" Lizbeth suggested in an excited tone.
Shepard pursed her mouth. "Releasing clouds of nerve gas doesn't seem like a particularly good idea. We would get caught in it as well."
Juliana Baynham waved her concern aside. "It's not like it's weapons-grade. The insecticide we use in the labs contains trace amounts of Tetraclopine, a neuromuscular degenerator. If their nervous systems are already weakened, it may act as a paralyzing agent."
"We could use concussion grenades for distribution, Commander." Kaidan let her know.
Shepard dipped her head in acknowledgement. "Okay, sounds good. We'll give it a try. Lieutenant, Wrex, equip all our grenades with the nerve agent," she ordered, then walked over to Gavin Hossle to give him the OSD with his data.
They left, but before they got very far in the Mako they came across more geth. Kaidan found himself grinning as Shepard ran over a Juggernaut in order to plow the Mako into yet another Geth Armature. It appeared to be a rather safe and effective tactic.
Or maybe Shepard enjoyed running the Mako into things.
"No time for play," Shepard muttered as the last Geth Armature collapsed.
As they drew close to the garage of the Zhu's Hope outpost, Shepard slowed the Mako and then stopped. The garage doors appeared to be locked. They exited the Mako only to find themselves face to face with a zombie-like creature. Kaidan Threw the creature back as it advanced on them, and Shepard and Wrex pulled their shotguns. Their shots hit true and the creature exploded. Nick jumped back in disgust to avoid being hit by the chunks flying towards her. The stench that assailed their senses was nauseating; a sickening combination of vomit and the sweetish fetidness of decay.
"What is that?" Kaidan asked. "It's not human."
"I have no idea." Nick wrinkled her nose. "Usually in a case like this I would say wipe everything out, but I said I would try to save the colonists. And that's what we'll do. Don't shoot the colonists, even if the Thorian makes them shoot at us. We either take them out with the gas grenades or knock them out in close combat. These ... creepy Thorian thingies we blast to hell and back, though." She started to order them to grab their breather helmets when she remembered this Mako was not the Normandy's Mako, and that there weren't any helmets to grab.
Shit.
Kaidan and Wrex nodded in affirmation, and Shepard went to the door's console. As soon as the door opened they saw about a dozen Thorian Creepers in the garage, and a couple of colonists behind some barricades. It wasn't often that Shepard missed her assault rifle but now she wished she had taken it along. Her HMWSG was definitely the best on the market at the time, but suddenly she wished she had more than six shots before it overheated.
These thought flashed through her head as she shot the first Creeper; once, twice, and with the third shot it collapsed. She backed up as another Creeper closed in on her from two o'clock, and fired a shot at it with every step she took. Nick cursed as she waited for her shotgun to cool down. She quickly swapped her Tungsten rounds with Shredder rounds. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a flash of red, and two more Thorian Creepers collapsed. Kaidan aimed his pistol and shot both repeatedly.
Finally, her shotgun had cooled enough, and she focused on the next Creeper which Wrex Warped; it's health was low, and it dropped after one shot.
Six down.
The remaining Creepers were caught in an onslaught of biotics, shotgun fire, and Kaidan's tech attacks. Once the last one fell they made their way towards the barricades. In order to save grenades Shepard engaged in close combat, slamming the butt of her shotgun in the first colonist's face, as did Wrex.
Kaidan paralyzed the last two with a well-placed Neural Shock.
Before accessing the elevator, Shepard turned to Kaidan. "I've meant to ask before, but this ... tech attack where the target glows red, what is that? I don't think I've ever seen anyone use it before."
"It's a Neural Shock. It paralyzes the target, and if you are well-versed it also induces toxic damage. Some sentinels and engineers like to use it," he answered, sounding a little surprised.
"Some, you say. Well, you're the first I've ever seen using it. But by all means, use it more often! It sure as hell seems effective! In combination with your biotics it seems almost perfect for finishing off these things." There was a light shining in her eyes as she looked at him, and Kaidan felt pride – and something else – spread through him at the thought that Shepard found him that capable.
They knocked out a number of colonists and dispatched even more Thorian Creepers by the time they reached the heart of the outpost. Kaidan and Wrex both Threw back the advancing Creepers at the same time while Shepard tossed a grenade to take down several colonists. It was a rather lucky throw. She stormed forward, slamming her rifle butt in another colonist's face as she rounded a corner.
They went into cover to catch their breath before advancing on the three Creepers lurking on the walkway, and two hostile colonists hiding behind barricades. Shepard considered tossing another grenade, but decided against it.
She looked at Wrex and Kaidan. "Ready? Lieutenant, can you place a Neural Shock smack-dab in the middle of those Creepers as soon as they ... wake up?"
Kaidan risked a quick glance at the Creepers; they were positioned rather closely. He nodded.
Shepard turned to Wrex. "Wrex, as soon as Alenko lets loose his tech magic, you and I will sprint to those barricades and knock out the colonists." She took a deep breath and pulled a face at the smell of decay. "On the count of three. One. Two. Three!"
They left cover, and the Creepers instantly began to rise. Kaidan threw the primed tech-grenade with skill, letting it explode in mid-air between the Creepers, dropping them before they had advanced as much as two steps. No sooner had the Creepers fallen when Shepard and Wrex sprinted toward the barricades at the other end of the walkway and knocked out the colonists.
Again, they paused as Shepard gave them a quick run-down on the tactics she wanted to use. There were at least half a dozen Creepers left, and behind them, almost in a half-circle, were barricades behind which the colonists had taken cover.
"Alright. Those Creepers are too far apart for Alenko's Neural Shock. Here's what we'll do: I'll run as fast as I can past the Creepers, straight for the barricade at two o'clock, and deal with the colonists. Then I'll work my way around counter-clockwise. Meanwhile. I want you two to attend to the Creepers. As soon as you get rid of them, you join me knocking out the colonists - if I haven't managed to do that yet, that is."
Kaidan and Wrex confirmed they understood the plan.
It worked almost perfectly; at least Nick's part did. Kaidan and Wrex found themselves facing considerably more Creepers than the six they had seen from the end of the walkway. Nick joined them to finish off the last Creepers, then activated the freighter crane controls. The crane lifted a segment of the freighter, revealing a stairwell leading to a sub-level of Zhu's Hope.
They headed for the stairwell but hesitated as they heard someone approach; Fai Dan walked towards them, obviously in pain.
"I tried to fight it, but it gets in your head. You can't imagine the pain," he forced out through clenched teeth. "I was supposed to be a leader. These people trusted me." He pulled a pistol, pointing it at Shepard. They all raised their weapons, but did not fire. "It wants me to stop you … but I ... I won't." With considerable effort he held the pistol to his own temple. "I won't!"
They watched helplessly as he pulled the trigger.
Shepard grimaced, then she turned back to the stairwell. "Let's go."
They went down several flights of stairs until they came to a passageway. As they walked through the passage Kaidan whispered, "Okay, by the numbers. We just have to find... to find ... What ... is ... that?" His voice trailed off as they entered a large cavern.
In the middle was a pulsing, throbbing mass with large, succulent tendrils protruding from its ... body.
They gaped at it in awe for a few seconds and then Shepard slowly started moving forward again, her eyes trained on the Thorian. "Well, fuck-a-doodle-do. That doesn't look like any plant I've ever seen. This may be ... problematic."
"Maybe we should've brought heavy weapons?" Kaidan suggested.
Nick snorted. "Nothing is ever easy, Alenko."
As they drew closer the throbbing and pulsing increased into rhythmic spasms. Considering this was supposed to be a plant, it had a strange-looking body orifice and out of this orifice dropped a humanoid body in a spray of ... amniotic fluid? Kaidan blinked. It was an asari body, to be precise; a green asari body.
The asari clone – that was the best description in Kaidan's opinion – began speaking, her unblinking gaze fixed on Shepard. He stirred uncomfortably.
"Invaders! Your every step is a transgression! A thousand feelers appraise you as meat, good only to dig or decompose. I speak for the Old Growth, as I did for Saren. You are within and before the Thorian. It commands that you be in awe."
"You gave something to Saren. I need that." Shepard held her head high. She was not someone to back down.
"Saren sought knowledge of those who are gone. The Old Growth listened to flesh for the first time in the long cycle. Trades were made." The clone continued, "Then cold ones began killing the flesh that would tend the next cycle. Flesh fairly given! The Old Growth sees the air you push as lies! It will listen no more!"
"I won't let you keep your thralls. Let the colonists go. Now!" Nick took a step closer, determination shining in her eyes.
The clone's eyes widened. "No more will the Thorian listen to those that scurry. Your lives are short, but have gone on too long. Your blood will feed the ground and the Old Growth!"
The asari clone flared, but so did Kaidan and Wrex. Their combined Throw sent the clone over the precipice. Suddenly the creepers that had been resting awoke and attacked, and a door opened, through which more creepers came. Kaidan noticed some tendrils of the Thorian appeared to be nodes of sort and he called out to Shepard, telling her of his observation. Nick pulled her sniper rifle in a quick, fluid movement and dropped on one knee. She let Kaidan and Wrex deal with the creepers while she zeroed in on the node. After two shots the node was still intact. Nick waited for Bessy to cool down and shot a third time. The node exploded and a cry of anguish escaped from the Thorian.
Wrex laughed. "It sure felt that! We shoot a few more of those things and down it goes!"
They made their way up a flight of stairs and carefully passed two resting creepers. The creepers awoke as soon as they had passed. Wrex Warped both and shot them with his shotgun. Meanwhile more creepers advanced from the front, including another clone. Kaidan let loose a Neural Shock and Threw the advancing creepers back, then he fired his pistol rapidly at the asari clone.
"Wrex!" Shepard called out to the krogan. "Assault rifle!"
She may not have a weapon with a high fire-rate, but Wrex did. Yes, she had her pistol, but she wanted at least one weapon in use with an even higher rate of fire!
They came to another passageway leading up, and found another node guarded by a large number of creepers. As soon as they drew near the creepers woke. Again, Kaidan Threw them back. Wrex used another Warp and fired his assault rifle at them while Shepard shot a number with her shotgun. Then she shot the node. It exploded in a spray of chunky bits which flew through the air. They passed the remains of the node as another screech rose into the air.
They approached another gateway and more creepers started pouring towards them. Nick threw a grenade in their midst and they stumbled. Another grenade. The last creepers dropped.
After fighting off this wave of creepers and the asari clone, they passed through the gateway. They found themselves on a gallery surrounding the Thorian, and Nick spied another node at eleven o'clock. Again, she pulled her sniper rifle and dropped on one knee. As soon as she fired the first shot the creepers guarding the node awoke. A second shot, a third – and the node exploded. And with it, most of the creepers.
They continued to climb higher, fighting off yet another wave of creepers and destroying another node. Kaidan felt his amp burning as he Lifted a group of creepers. The splattered corpses of the creepers covered the ground, making it slippery. The stench of the creepers, as well as a carrion-like odor that wafted through the air every time a node exploded, assaulted his senses. He wondered briefly how Wrex was faring; the krogan had a much more sensitive sense of smell.
After a seemingly endless number of creepers they arrived at another stairwell. The assaulting creepers here seemed to be more resilient than before, and it was a hard work getting up the stairway. Perhaps they were drawing close to their quarry?
They moved forward, over the gallery, and saw another node. Shepard instantly shot at it, ignoring the advancing creepers. Kaidan and Wrex did their best to keep the creepers at bay with everything in their power, focusing on the asari clone first. But this time there were too many.
One of the creepers grabbed a hold of Nick just as she went to fire the final shot to destroy the node, and spewed a vomit-like substance at her. She punched it with a strangled cry, trying to back away from it. Suddenly it exploded, covering her in a spray of goo. Panting heavily she turned and saw Kaidan lowering his pistol.
"Sorry, Commander. This seemed the safest option, but I'm sorry about the mess," he said quietly.
She gave him a weary smile and wiped her face. "It's fine. You did the right thing."
With that she turned away again and fired at the node. As soon as the node was destroyed the Thorian screeched again and they noticed its weight pulling at the remaining tendrils. One by one they ruptured and finally the main body of the Thorian fell into the abyss.
A/N: I hope this wasn't too much action and fighting. Reviews are very welcome. I would love to hear your opinion!