*****A Cursed Existence*****

Entry 23: Plants and zombies, What Fun!

AN: Welp, this got delayed a bit longer than intended. Apologies, dear reader, for my procrastination. Hopefully I can make up for it by meeting or (even better) surpassing your expectations. Anyway, shall we?

Meanwhile, back on Feros…

Humming to myself while playing a random tune from my list of songs – it had something to do with rowing and as such I was fairly certain it was a shanty – I thought ahead to what I was about to do.

Hmm. The thorian. Obviously I'll need a colonist to be an intermediary, because I'd rather not become Shiala if I can avoid it. But who? The security teams are out. They're already twitchy without me trying to convince them to run straight into the monster's den. That leaves one of the regular colonists… Fai Dan maybe? He seems to be the most controlled of them, so it shouldn't affect him as adversely as it would others considering how far gone he is already. Not to mention that I already know he should remove himself from the equation later on, so no need to worry about loose ends.

Pondering it over more, and subsequently ignoring the bumps we ran over on the way back (again, the shocks on this thing are way too stiff) I eventually settled it in my mind.

Fai Dan it is!

…

…

…

"-ow can I help you, Miss… V'Seila was it?"

Huh. He actually remembered. Color me impressed.

"That's me. And correct me if I'm wrong, but you're Fai Dan, yes?" I asked him. The fact I already knew he was, was irrelevant, as I wanted to make it seem as if I remembered him too (which, technically speaking, I most certainly did).

"Indeed I am," he said with a small smile.

Getting right to the point, I nodded, giving him a smile of my own. "Good. I need you to come with me for a moment."

"What? Why?" was his response, suddenly looking wary. Which, to be fair, what else should you do when a mysterious alien woman shows up, immediately tracks down and talks to who should be your leadership, and follows that up by basically demanding you come with her? I had a simple response though: the truth. It had a funny way of getting people to do what I wanted, so long as I worded it correctly.

"Your ExoGeni overlords informed me about the thorian. And I want to meet it. You're coming with as a translator."

Shocked was the only word to describe his face after that. I subsequently felt a dozen pairs of eyes zero in on me from the colonists in the area, and were it not for the two security guards that were visibly wincing and twitching nearby, already holding their rifles, I would've just ignored them.

"Easy now. I only want to talk. I have no intention to harm it or you; I'm simply a curious traveler."

He twitched at that, squeezing his eyes shut and groaning lightly. "Wha… what did you want to talk to it about?"

"Things to come, that's all. Things to come, and… well, admittedly, ways I could take advantage of it, but who's to say I'd be the only one? The current cycle is nearing its end, after all."

He looked confused at that – well, confused and in pain – but the fact I hadn't been immediately shot proved that it at least put some thought into what I said. "I… it wants to know… how you know?"

He clearly had no idea what we were referencing, which was fine by me, but even still, I'd prefer not to let literally everyone know what was happening here, mind control spores or not, because at least some of them were going to survive after Shepard arrived… unless he just purged the place that is, which is admittedly a possibility. Perfect run Shepards were hard enough even if you already knew how to achieve them, requiring proper timing and as few misclicks as possible, never mind going in blind with what was an actual life or death situation. Real life doesn't come with a reload last save option.

Yet again deciding the truth would work to my advantage, I responded. "Because I've seen them. Waiting at the edge to start the harvest. If you want to know more, however, I'd prefer it to be face to… face? Frontal portion? Whatever term you'd use to describe it."

Fai Dan sat in silence for a good moment, which was as good a sign as any. Eventually he twitched again, and that was how I knew he was about to speak. "It will allow you to see it, but alone, with no weapons and without your machine."

Smart. It has a good idea of what I can do – at least it thinks it does – but Aena? She's a wildcard. Heh. That makes twice now I've had to leave her behind.

"Very well. Aena, stay here and wait for me by that stairwell," as I said it, I pointed at the stairs in the middle of the colony going down into the tower, as I knew that was the thorian's den. See, unlike the humans, I didn't expect backstabbing from the creature. Granted, front stabbing was still quite likely, but that was just a risk I had to take. "If I'm not back in two hours, or if any of the colonists attempt to destroy or deactivate you, you are to carry out Nightfall Protocol."

She went blank at that, staring at me for far longer than normal, but confirmed it regardless with a simple "Yes, Mistress." It's understandable. Nightfall was for if I was confirmed dead, and it essentially involved Aena wiping out anything in the immediate vicinity and attempting to locate my corpse and, upon doing so, starting the process of (hopefully) reviving me. If Cerberus was able to do it to Shepard, who was, as Jacob Taylor so eloquently put it, "meat and tubes," I'm pretty sure that outside of my corpse dropping from orbit and being turned into chunky salsa, I could at least be brought back in some capacity… hopefully. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if certain asari already took advantage of such a thing. Granted, Cerberus did say they had to use bits of reaper knowledge in their reassembly of Shepard, but come now, how hard could it be… right?

I almost have to ask myself again if this worth it… buuuut I am, once more, already too far to turn back now. *sigh* Oh well, nothing to be done. Besides, I've seen death through a hundred pairs of eyes, so if this is what does it to me? So be it.

Handing my pistol over to Aena, I turned back to my impromptu guide, who gave me a nod at seeing I was "unarmed." That settled, I gestured at him to lead on, not even caring about the other colonists anymore. They were either puppets or cannon fodder, and the man in front of me is the only one who should know my name anyway. Well, him and the tower guy who guided me in to land… and the ExoGeni director… and maybe those two guards I talked to… never mind that everyone here will probably remember that an asari visited them…

Note to self: wear the helmet next time instead. Well, at least when I'm talking with people I already know are mind controlled anyway. My most powerful weapon only works when they're not already enthralled by something else.

"Watch your step," Fai Dan warned me a few steps in, and already I could smell a distinct something that apparently didn't count as toxic, at least going off the fact it made it past my air filter. How, I had no idea, because dear GOD was it an offensive stench, but my thoughts on the smell were cut off as he continued. "These steps can get a little slippery. Almost fell on them myself a couple times."

Given that it seemed as if this was actually Fai Dan and not the thing controlling him, I gave him an appreciative nod. "Thanks, and will do. Here's hoping that smell will diminish a little the further we go…"

He nodded back, though he winced and I had no way to know at what. With that, we made our way deeper into the tunnels.

…

…

…

The smell did not, in fact, improve. Which, if I'm being honest, was probably why he winced…

"-ere we are. It's just beyond here, and is… waiting for you."

I didn't need to look to know he was grimacing at whatever sensations he was feeling right now. The closer we got, the more haggard he looked, so I guess being in the middle of the miasma was anything but pleasant for him. Granted, I had to fight the urge to gag every time I took a breath, and that was without counting the fact that the air was so thick with spores that I could see them vaporize against the ezo field every time I inhaled, so for him to simply breathe it in like he was doing? Somehow it didn't seem fun.

"Noted. Before we go… just know I am sorry that you had to come with. It wasn't my intention to be cruel."

It was the truth. But just because it was the truth didn't change the fact that I was most certainly being cruel here, essentially forcing a victim to be used as nothing more than a translator for the abhorrent monster that was his abuser. Needs must, however.

"I… appreciate the sentiment," was all he managed. Fair enough.

"Any advice before we go in?" I asked him, wondering if it would even allow an answer.

"Just…" he paused for an unusually long time here, eyes flickering rapidly before he gave a shaky exhale. "Just make it quick. It doesn't exactly enjoy speaking to us like this."

Not really having a response, I simply nodded, followed by gesturing for him to lead the way again. He did so. As that happened, however, I took a second to look around, and it didn't take long for me to regret I did. Hiding in the shadows were vaguely humanoid silhouettes, what were hopefully their eyes glistening back when I briefly shined a light on one, and that was when I saw it in full: a thorian creeper. And let me tell you: the game? It most certainly did not give justice to the truly disgusting thing I saw: a featureless pale green face marked only by a gaping hole where a mouth should've been and a pair of sunken, hollow eyes, thin legs partially bent even while standing that made them appear like snapped tree branches, arms unnaturally long and thin, ending in sharp, spiked digits that had a sheen of something over them, and it didn't take a genius to figure out it was nothing nice. It looked like a twisted cross between a dead tree and an emaciated zombie, and that was me being kind.

Goddess, is the urge to burn this place down to bedrock strong right now…

Shuddering briefly and trying to banish the image to the back of my thoughts, I went back to following Fai Dan. Thankfully, the next turn in the tunnel did in fact bring us into the thorian's burrow proper, as evidenced by the bioluminescent glow filling the chamber from various yellow sacks on the walls, along with the massive thing strung up in the center of said chamber, which turned its… head? To stare(?) at us as we entered. Fai Dan groaned loudly and stepped ahead of me, before he was almost directly in front of it. Granted, I'd rather look at him than the monstrosity's face(?) but that didn't make it any more pleasant when it gurgled something and the smell in the room noticeably became worse.

Have I mentioned that the game may have, perhaps, been unable to truly capture the unpleasant nature of the creature in front of me? Well let me say it again, and this time in a way that anyone could understand: it was fucking ugly as roadkill, and had a smell that matched.

Keeping these thoughts to myself, I instead decided to ignore the plant-thing for the most part and watched Fai Dan, expecting him to start the ball rolling. As I did that, I heard a pair of footsteps – at least, that's what I assumed they were given their roughly even gait – come up behind me and stop after a moment. Turning to glance at them gave me full view of a pair of creepers a short distance away, the gangly freaks no doubt close enough to be within striking distance if need be, and they were certainly no less ugly now that I could properly get a look at them.

"You may speak. The… Old Growth will listen to what you have to say," Fai Dan informed me, causing me to turn back and look at him, his voice completely emotionless were it not for the note of pain behind every word. Credit where it's due, though, he kept going with barely a twitch.

"Very well. You already know what I told you before, of the coming end of the cycle. And like I said earlier, the reason I know why is because I have seen it. The horde waiting at the edge, and anticipating the start of their purge. Now, I'm not sure what all you are aware of, but what I do know… is that you have been here for a long time. Furthermore, you have survived at least one of these cycles before; something that confuses, but simultaneously impresses me. Stop me if I say something you actually care about."

Given the fact it didn't respond, visually or otherwise, and the unfortunate translator didn't flinch as if being spoken at, I kept going. "That done with, it brings me to the reason why I wanted to see you. In the near future, someone else, a turian, will come seeking you out, desiring something from you. What I ask is that the next time you see me, I get the same thing he asked for, so long as it's something that can be given multiple times anyway."

"Why… should the Old Growth do such a thing?" Fai Dan ground out.

"What? Give something to the turian, or give that same thing to me?"

"Yes," was all he answered with, making me sigh internally.

Damnable fossil being unwilling to properly answer the question…

"As for giving something to the turian, I have no idea what he offers in exchange." A lie. He gave it Shiala, of who it cloned and turned into its personal guard and monologue giver. "Giving that thing to me, though… well, I can offer something in exchange as well. A guarantee to continue living."

There was a pregnant pause only broken up by the thing… shaking? I had no idea what it meant, but even Fai Dan looked confused. "It is… amused? That you think it would die. It asks how a less…" he paused mid-sentence and looked like he thought twice before saying whatever that was, "how you could even guarantee such a thing."

Here's where I had to get creative. I had very little idea what motivated this thing aside from continued existence, so I had no idea how it'd react. "A simple answer: alongside the thing the turian desires, I ask for a seedling of yours. From what I know of, you are capable of controlling your… guards from incredible distances. You could send one along with the seedling, and I would find you a distant world to reestablish yourself should the need arise. And if you think me a liar, you can snuff out the life of the seedling with but a thought, and lose nothing in exchange. Guaranteed survival where I and my mech would be the only ones aware of your location, all in exchange for something you would have already given out for what I assume to be less."

It paused for another long moment, but right before it could be awkward, Fai Dan spoke up. "Who is this turian, and why do you want what they want?"

Well. Suppose it can't hurt to reveal a few more of my cards at this point in the game.

"His name is Saren Arterias, a Spectre of the Citadel Council," Fai Dan's eyes widened at that, and I couldn't say I blamed him, though I had a feeling what I had to say next would be even more impactful than that. "As for why I want it too… I have reason to believe he is secretly looking into the prothean extinction. And I have it on good authority that whatever it is he's searching for, it could help locate a lost prothean world of immense importance to stopping the cycle."

Fai Dan, bless his heart, looked completely lost by the end, but the mere mention of prothean had him interested regardless. He knew he was being kept out of the loop, but he couldn't do anything about it. As for the thorian itself, it stared(?) at me for a moment before I heard the awkward shuffling of the creepers behind me, their steps steadily going further away. Once they stopped, Fai Dan spoke up again. "It accepts your proposal, and is curious to meet this 'Saren' you speak of. Though it… will add a stipulation of its own. Should this Saren come here, and you come after, the seedling will decide its own world to grow on. It would not do for… a new growth to be established in a subpar garden."

Blinking at the terminology, I nonetheless nodded in agreement. "That's reasonable enough. I can provide the means of transportation at least, and perhaps a list of known uninhabited garden worlds to give you a head start."

It rumbled at that, which I assume was its way of speaking, before Fai Dan responded. "Then it is settled. If Saren is to speak to the Old Growth, you will come afterwards to receive the same reward along with the new growth."

"Excellent. I look forward to… meeting such a fascinating creature such as yourself once more," I told it, doing a damn good job of sounding genuine, if I do say so myself. Suffice to say, 0 out of 10, would not recommend; the less time I have to interact with this accursed thing the better. Funnily enough, the only reason why I didn't ask for the prothean cypher directly was because I didn't know if it'd even work, given my being… well, me, never mind its thoroughly alien mind potentially interacting with my murder-bond in an unpredictable manner. Could I kill it with a bond? Potentially. I'm just as likely to have a mental overload from trying to absorb several millennia worth of memories all in one go, or even better, only give it a slight migraine, followed by its creepers suddenly having the urge to turn me into mulch to feed the disgusting thing.

Thanks but no thanks. I refuse to be fertilizer! Besides, I'm sure the Shiala clones will be far simpler to mentally consume than that thing will. Having life and thoughts measured in minutes, with no will of your own, why, it's basically just an organic machine at that point! And being a machine, they can be recycled by this freak of nature with no hard feelings from either side.

Unaware of the thoughts going through my head, the thorian rumbled once more, and rather than say anything, Fai Dan simply started walking back the way we came, looking decidedly relieved. "Follow me. It doesn't want us here anymore."

"Gladly," I replied, tacking on a mental, the feeling's mutual, you ecological reject.

The trip back up was thankfully faster than the one going down, and by the time we came out the other end, I had the undeniable urge to take a loooong shower back on my ship. Aena was patiently waiting for us at the end, and given the fact she wasn't coated in the blood of the colonists, I confidently assumed they hadn't tried anything stupid.

Well now. That went better than anticipated. I didn't even need to stay more than a day this time around! Right then, time to ensure no loose ends if I can help it.

Now that we were back on the surface, Fai Dan made to leave, but before he could, I got his attention once more.

"Before you go back to your daily life…" I said, watching as he froze up, and I was certain that was a muttered 'Oh fuck me,' I heard before he turned around to face me again. "This may go without saying, but what was discussed down there? It stays down there. While I doubt the thorian cares if you tell someone about the coming visitor, know that if I catch wind of it, and especially if I hear myself being related to it, I guarantee you… you will regret the decision to share."

Call me crazy, but I think I actually spooked him with that one. Maybe it was the flared biotics, or perhaps my voice dropping a few octaves, or the hefty dosage of my influencing ability focused on him and him alone, or even the pure black eyes coldly glaring at him. Hell, who am I kidding, it was all of the above. But, given the fact he was currently scared shitless, I'd say it worked.

"Am I understood?" I asked with an audible crackle of biotics thanks to the sudden static buildup.

"Y-yes, of course. I won't tell anyone, I swear!"

Relaxing the muscles related to my biotics, I felt the gathered energies disperse once more, my implant doing its job and quickly cooling off the related section of my brain. Fun fact: asari technically don't need implants to perform biotics, true, but like a nozzle on a garden hose, it most certainly helped control them.

Focusing on the mildly terrified man in front of me, I nodded and gave him a disarming smile. Though given what I'd just told him, it probably came off as, well, more a further threat than anything else. "Good. Now, enough of that, on to more pleasant topics. Do you drink?"

That threw him off to say the least. Good, because it was the point. "Drink? Drink… what?"

Sighing a little, I responded. "Alcohol. Booze. Spirits. Whatever term you want to use; do you drink it?"

He paused and gave me a look that was… well, confused is the only way I could describe it. "Yes?"

"What's your favorite type? Flavor, style, vintage, et-ce-ter-a!"

Maybe I should dial it back a little, because now he was looking at me like I was crazy. Which was ridiculous, and anyone who says otherwise is clearly a reaper plant. "Whiskey?"

"That could mean anything from human to turian to batarian; narrow it down, will you?"

"Um… Irish whiskey?" he answered uncertainly.

"Huh. Really? Damn son, didn't know you enjoyed the classics." There was that look again. Yeah, definitely going to dial it back for the next one. "Anyway, the reason I'm asking is because I'm a firm believer of fair trade. I know what you had to do just now was far from fun, so it's only fair I give you something to try and make up for it. Expect a case of Irish Whiskey to arrive before the end of the month, straight from earth too. Ah to hell with it, I'll make sure it's actually from Ireland while I'm at it; can't get more authentic than that even if it'll cost me a bit more. I wonder if I could write it off as investing in an ancient cultural heritage…"

That last part was more to myself than him, but he gave a shrug anyway. Probably the best response he could have had given the situation.

"One final thing before I leave."

I paused then, looking around at the settlement. Sure, the people here generally tried to ignore me, barring the especially twitchy ones that looked like they had no choice but to stare, or the younger ones that were probably still teenagers that managed to sneak a glance my way every now and then (blue space babe strikes again) but this colony? It was… lively. Maybe not overflowing with life, or bustling, and an undercurrent of strange tension could be felt thanks to the thorian's influence, but it was lively all the same. People going back and forth, carrying out their daily tasks as best they can, and living their (perhaps currently unpleasant) lives. It made for a stark contrast to what the place looked like in my memories. The excess of unknown faces being the most obvious difference.

"These are your people, Fai Dan. Yours and no one else's. Make sure to protect them, no matter what certain others may want, because they can never be replaced. Can you do that?"

Oddly enough, out of everything I'd said in the short time I'd known the man so far, that had him doing a double take. He then proceeded to look around at the colony same as I had just a moment prior, gaze eventually settling on a pair of young colonists helping an older looking man move an especially heavy looking crate. He stared at the trio for a moment before turning back to me with a sort of determination in his eyes. "I can. No, I will."

All I did was nod in response, giving him a calm but approving look. "Well, that was all I had. If we are to meet again, I hope it's under better circumstances."

"Likewise," he replied, and with that having been handled, we went our separate ways.

I could've stayed longer, but to tell the truth, seeing the ExoGeni headquarters, along with everything else here made me realize something I probably should've beforehand: who needs blackmail when truth can be just as dangerous? Stolen files are great and all, but they're already screwing themselves over with what's being done. Besides such, if need be, Mr. Smith's messages to me can be looked at as admittance to their less than legal activities.

Shelving that topic for now and heading back to my ship, there were a number of thoughts racing through my head. Honestly, the issue having been resolved so quickly was quite a nice change of pace, but it's not as if it just went away. Rather, it only opened up more options later on.

Well then. That could've gone better. Could've gone worse. Overall? I will happily take it. A source of information for when Saren arrives, an easy pathway into getting the prothean cypher, and a potential route to having fewer of the colonists die by warning the thorian of Saren's coming betrayal… hmm. That last one might result in the thorian not actually being killed by Shepard though. Or worse, it might see me as a threat if I let it know Saren intends to kill it. A simple warning that the reapers know of its existence maybe? Then again, how would I explain my own knowledge on what the fucking reapers know? I'm sure even it would be able to figure out the answer: indoctrination! Hmm… an issue for future me to decide on then. That seems fair.

Arriving at my ship, the two of us got in, waited for the decontamination procedures to be carried out at the airlock (call me paranoid, but I had it perform a second scrub just to be safe) and made to leave. Aena went towards the cockpit, but before she settled in, I called out to her. "I'll be in the shower, Aena. If I'm needed in the meantime, just let me know."

"Of course, Mistress." She paused then with an odd look on her face. "Excuse me though, Mistress, but what is our next destination?"

...wait, I never actually decided on that, did I? No, I'm pretty sure it was Eden Prime… right?

Standing there awkwardly for a few seconds longer than intended as I kept thinking about it, eventually I reached a compromise. "Just take us into space for the moment and head for the relay in the Hercules system. In fact, orbit the damn thing if I'm not back before then."

"Will do Mistress," was her chipper response, happy to be given a task to carry out. Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure she was a workaholic; well, that or extremely goal oriented. Honestly, it's probably a good thing she fills so many roles for me, otherwise she'd have probably gotten bored years ago. And a bored, mildly aggressive and remarkably creative AI in charge of most of my personal management? Well, that's just a recipe for disaster if I've ever heard one.

Putting aside thoughts of Aena related shenanigans, I went for the shower in my bathroom, stripped as soon as the door closed and made sure to bundle up the armor as best I could in the limited space, and allowed myself to relax if only for a moment. I could figure out where to go next after I made sure to scrub under my crest…

Welp. 23 done, which means 24 is next. Because ~ numbers! ~

In all seriousness, hope you liked this one. The thorian was… odd to try and find a plausible workaround for how it would communicate, but I hope the way I went with makes sense. Anyway, working on the next chapter as we speak. It uh… will be an interesting one to say the least. But I suppose you all will have to be the judge of that one, eh? Until next time, dear reader.