Mass Effect - A Hero Rises Ch. 06

Book 1, Chapter 6 - Colonial Affairs (Feros)

*****

To call the situation on Feros, and in particular Zhu's Hope, a clusterfuck would be a vast underestimation of the situation on the ground. To be honest, I wouldn't even know where to start. Actually, I do. Right after we'd stepped off the Normandy...

We might not have established communication with the ground but they knew we'd arrived, someone running towards us after we'd disembarked. Weapons were readied though I signalled to lower them as the human came to a stop. He introduced himself and told us their leader, Fai Dan, wanted to speak with us. Before we could even ask a single question, the geth shot him. I caught his body as my colleagues opened fire, moving him into cover before I joined in the fight. No idea how many geth there were, but we killed them all quite quickly.

By the time we were done, our greeter was dead, and that just put us all in a bad mood. But the geth now knew we were there and they sent numbers of them in our direction. The ancient ruins were falling apart, amazed anyone had managed to establish a colony, and the constant gunfire exchanged between our group and the geth probably didn't help matters. The geth had stronger units on Feros than on Therum, with geth that had rocket launchers at their disposal, and there were also these geth that seemed to leap really fast, and could hang from walls and ceilings. My biotic colleagues helped with them.

Just getting to the colony was a pain in the arse. By the time we walked into the middle of it, I think all seven of us was left wondering what the point of it really was and why they hadn't simply abandoned it. There was the wreckage of a freighter that acted as housing, plenty of tarpaulins and tents to provide shelter. There appeared to be little vegetation and I did wonder about a water source. A colony without water was doomed to fail.

By the time we reached Fai Dan, we'd barely exchanged greetings when the geth attacked in force again. I told the colonists to get to safety as the seven of us spread out and opened fire. Tali was raining tech attacks down on them, Alenko and even Garrus assisting her. Liara and Alenko were mixing up their biotic attacks, and I learned they could cause explosions at the same time. As for Ashley, Wrex and I, it was a shooting gallery. No idea how many of the bastards we left on the ground, but we took great joy in riddling them with many, many bullets.

We eventually moved into the tower, wiping out any geth resistance there, before moving our way through the ruins, the geth presence reminding me of cockroaches. They were absolutely everywhere and refused to die easily. I have no idea where we ended up, simply turning left and right until we were pretty much lost, but as long as we fought geth, we knew we were doing the job. As the geth fell and we cleared each section, we also sent any colonists we found back the way we'd come, assuring them the path was now clear.

Ending up in a dead end full of geth, I was left thinking this was their last stand, at least for now. There were all sorts of geth waiting for us, including an enormous fucker that Tali called a Juggernaut. Ashley and I sent grenades at it while Wrex thought charging it head on was a good idea. There were explosions around us as rocket drones flew overhead, Tali and Alenko taking care of them. Liara was in the thick of the action with her biotics, amazed at her skill, not as a biotic, but by the fact she was getting stuck in with the rest of us.

When the last geth fell, a dropship that had been resting above us immediately took off, making me wish I had some sort of missile launcher to take the ship down. However, that signalled the worst of it over, so I suggested we head back to the colony and ascertain the situation. I was thinking of an immediate evacuation, though assumed the colonists would want to stay and fight.

It was immediately clear that Fai Dan was a good man and cared for the colony and its people. But no-one could really explain why the geth were attacking. However, the geth had established a presence on Feros, using ExoGeni headquarters as their base.

"ExoGeni?" I asked. Never heard of them, glancing to see everyone else shrug their shoulders.

"It's the company most of us worked for before the attacks. They fund this colony," Arcelia replied, who seemed to be Fai Dan's number two, "The Skyway leads directly to ExoGeni HQ. You can't miss it."

"Of course, there's an army of geth between here and there," Fai Dan added.

"No problem. Every geth we killed brings us one step closer to finding Saren."

"Then maybe I can get this colony operational again."

"Having problems?"

He looked across my team. "I wouldn't know where to start. There are the mundane issues, like food, power and water. But then there are the geth in the tunnels. We believe they have a transmitter as their attacks always seem to be co-ordinated."

Turning to my squad, I suggested we could help the colony out first before moving on. I had Tali and Alenko assist with the power and water issues, and Wrex was happy enough to help regarding the food once he learned he could kill some varren. That left Ashley, Liara, Garrus and I to deal with the geth in the tunnels. It was another shooting gallery, and the bastards were guarding a transmitter. Liara offered to switch it off. Ashley and I simply threw a few grenades and blew the thing up.

Returning to the colony, Tali and Alenko had got the power on at least, noticing lights were now on in the freighter, and there were a few lights dotted around otherwise. I could see nearly all the colonists were exhausted, so offered to have my team keep watch for the evening so everyone could get some rest. Over a fire, I spoke with Fai Dan about Zhu's Hope and what life was once like before the attack. It seemed like many had been killed, and those left were the last hope it would survive. I offered to evacuate and, while thankful, he refused, stating the colony was his home and he would not go without a fight, willing to die for it if necessary. I couldn't help but respect the man.

I did ask about ExoGeni as well, but apart from the fact they bankrolled the colony, and were interested in various artefacts, no-one was sure why they were on the planet when they hadn't managed to find anything yet. I think there was more to it but I doubted Fai Dan or any of the other colonists would know, probably kept in the dark for a reason.

I took one of the later patrols with Alenko and Tali. The former kept to himself, which wasn't unusual, so I found myself chatting with Tali. She was still as excitable as her first day on the Normandy, and I could only compliment her for her bravery every time we fought the geth.

"There's a lot of hatred of the geth from my people, considering what they did to us."

"What did they do?"

"You don't know?"

"Quarian history isn't something we've been taught a lot about."

She nodded in understanding. "Fair enough. The easiest way to explain it is that the quarians made the geth, they were our servants but we also cared for them, then one day, they chose to turn on us, killed most of our people, and caused us to flee into exile. They now infest our homeworld while our people drift amongst the stars."

Sounded simple. Probably wasn't. But I wasn't in the position to argue. "Could you ever take your homeworld back?"

That made her laugh. "Shepard, we have fifty-thousand or so ships but most of them are either transporters or habitation ships. We have a heavy fleet, but it's not large enough to take on the geth. We would need the help of the Council to take our homeworld back, something they have never shown any interest in doing. They believe it is our fault, stripping us of our embassy and forcing on us a treaty forbidding us to attack them."

"Doesn't really seem fair."

"It isn't but it also prevents us from doing something completely suicidal. So now we just drift aimlessly. No quarian has set foot on our homeworld for three hundred years. No-one alive even knows what it really looks like. Everything was lost when we fled. Culture and history, gone in an instant. The only thing we've really kept alive is our language."

"Language is what binds many people on Earth together."

"You have more than one?"

"We use English as a global standard and is the language we use throughout the galaxy. But back on Earth, there are many local and regional languages."

Tali sighed. "If we had something like that, the rest disappeared a long time ago now. All we have left is Khelish, which I think was a major language anyway but... As I said, we lost nearly everything during our exodus."

"Guess I can't sit here and complain about anything now."

She gave me a look before starting to giggle. "It's not all bad, Shepard. Our hardships have brought us closer together as people. Everyone works for the benefit of the Fleet. We make do with what we have."

"Guess the Normandy is an upgrade then?"

"Shepard, it's so advanced, I still can't believe I'm on your ship most of the time."

"Adams speaks highly of you so I made the right choice."

"Can I ask a personal question?"

"Sure. About what?"

"Well, I'm sure you're thinking something about your past, or Elysium but... When Wrex asked you about that lady reporter..." I couldn't help but look at her in surprise. She seemed to notice and shrugged. "I'm a quarian, Shepard. Relations of that kind are practically impossible unless they take place in the right conditions."

"Do you really want to know?"

"I'm intrigued as I have a feeling Ashley was jealous, while Liara I think was... disappointed."

"And you?"

She just gave me a gentle push. "Behave, Shepard. So, did you have... you know, sex with her?"

"Why are you interested?"

"Because I'm not blind. You're a good looking man in addition to being undoubtedly brave and an all-round good man. So I assume there will be more than one woman who will want your company."

"Not to sound too arrogant but I think your last point might be right."

"Would you want to be with Ashley or Liara?"

"I'll be honest and admit that, apart from a little light flirting with Ash, I haven't really thought about it. Being involved with someone on the same ship is usually a no-no due to fraternisation rules, and I can just see it being awkward otherwise. Not saying no, but I'd rather keep my work and private life separate."

Thankfully she dropped the subject after that, and we were eventually relieved by Garrus and Wrex. Waking the next morning, the last thing to complete was getting the water running. Everyone pitched in to make sure all the pipes were connected with no leaks, and once we could turn on the taps and water was flowing freely, and more importantly was clean, we could focus on the next task at hand.

ExoGeni Headquarters was a fair distance away across the Skyway. Fai Dan nor anyone else could tell us if anyone had survived over there, and the only way to find out would be for us to head across and investigate. I gave the colonists our details so we could maintain contact as we headed up towards the Skyway. I was thinking it was going to a gruelling march across to the next tower, but I was pleased when we found an abandoned Mako. After carrying out a quick check to make sure it was still functional, the team clambered aboard and we headed off.

The geth knew we were coming, that same bloody dropship that had taken off earlier, returning to drop more troops and a couple of Armatures. Wrex suggested the same thing again, stopping as Garrus fired, Wrex, Ashley, Liara and Alenko popping out to provide ground support, using the Mako as cover.

I found the geth armed with rockets more of a concern, particularly those that had rockets that seemed to have some sort of guidance. I decided to show the geth, and my team, a trick or two with the thrusters. If a driver timed it right, it was possible to make the Mako 'leap' off the ground. I tried that a couple of times before one rocket impacted, causing our shields to drop significantly.

"Sorry," I muttered, glancing at Tali.

"Lesson learned, Shepard."

"Aye, stop showing off and just get the job done."

We ran into a few more Armatures, Garrus dealing with those, as those on the ground handled the troopers. I figured Alenko would be using his tech attacks, while through the small windscreen, I could see Liara using her biotics, watching geth be lifted into the air and practically float away, while one or two were lifted up then slammed into the ground. Knowing Wrex had some biotic talents, I figured he'd be doing that for a giggle.

I'm not sure how far we were across, but the radio had been silent except for our communication until we seemed to reach a building ahead. If others were trying to get in contact with us, that could only mean survivors. I stopped to let the others back on before we entered what looked like some sort of garage, heading down a couple of levels before I brought the Mako to a stop. Piling out, I suggested we stay tight but unarmed, not wanting to alarm the survivors.

Finding ourselves in a large room, there was a large gaggle of humans around. I noticed a couple of security guards, watching us warily. The rest simply looked exhausted and fed-up. A lone man, well-dressed and with a pistol in hand, approached us. I gestured for one or two people behind me to take out their weapons but stay loose.

"Who are you?"

I simply folded my arms and glared. "I could ask you the same question, considering you approach unarmed people armed with a weapon of your own."

"Could have been geth for all we knew."

I laughed, glancing left and right. "Weird looking geth."

One or two chuckled as an older woman approached us, practically barging the other man out of the way. "Don't mind him, he only cares about the company." Offering her hand, she added, "I'm Juliana Baynham. You are?"

Accepting her hand, I let her know who I was. "Commander Shepard. Alliance Navy, though also a Council Spectre. Don't think the news would have made it here." I followed up by introducing everyone else in my squad. "What's the situation here? Those remaining in Zhu's Hope had no idea if anyone survived."

"There are some still alive?" She made an obvious gesture at the other gentleman. "Jeong told us they were all dead."

I looked at him. "Didn't you care to check if that was correct? They could have used your assistance."

"What the hell could we have done? We're barely surviving here ourselves."

He made a good point so I let it go. "Okay, Juliana. Looks like you people need some help too. So what we're going to do is head to ExoGeni Headquarters and..."

"That is private property. You have no right..."

He was already pissing me off, so I clocked him across the jaw, putting him on the ground. "Council Spectre, in case you didn't hear me the first time. I go where I please." Looking back at Juliana, I continued. "As I was saying, we'll take a look around the tower and see what the geth are up to."

"While you're doing that, can you see if you can find my daughter, Lizbeth?"

"I told you she's probably..." He shut up as I sensed a couple of weapons were aimed at him.

"Just give me a reason, arsehole," Ashley stated, "Suits like you are the reason colonists in Zhu's Hope are left to suffer."

"There's always hope, Juliana. We'll keep an eye out for any more survivors. If we can find her, we'll bring her back."

"Thank you, Commander."

"Once we return, we'll escort you to Zhu's Hope and see what we can do next."

"Thank you again, Commander."

I moved the team away from the survivors, thinking I should keep a couple of people back. "Ashley, Alenko, stay here with them. Speak with the survivors, provide medical aid where required, and basically just keep their spirits up. You're in Alliance uniform so at least they won't be feeling abandoned now."

"Aye, sir," Alenko replied, both of them saluting and making their way towards Juliana.

I gestured for the rest to follow me and, once out of sight and definitely hearing, I brought them to a halt, dropping my voice. "Don't know what you're thinking but I think ExoGeni has been up to some shit here. Anyone disagree?"

"I suggest we look around, Shepard," Liara stated.

"I think I can hack into some workstations and terminals while we move," Tali added.

"Good. Garrus, Wrex, we'll just kill geth."

They liked the sound of that, so after a check of weapons, we moved on. Entering the building itself, we ran into a few geth, surprised to see them chasing after a woman. She slid into cover as we opened fire immediately, the geth turning towards us, though they wilted and died under our firepower. The woman looked up out of cover, saw us, and fired her pistol. At times like that, I'm glad we now have shield. She cried out in surprise, stepping out, realising we were human, and immediately apologising.

I waved away her concerns. "It's fine. I'm just wondering who you are."

"I'm Lizbeth Baynham. Who are you?"

"Commander Shepard. And your mother is worried sick about you."

"She's alive?" I nodded. "Thank god. I thought everyone was dead once the geth attacked. It happened so fast, I thought I would have had time to back up the data before they trapped me."

"Are there any other survivors inside?" She shook her head. "Okay, what are the geth after?"

She looked away, immediately uncomfortable with the question. "I don't know."

I heard Garrus scoff. Wrex muttered 'Well, that's bullshit'. "Out with it, Lizbeth. You're not only speaking to a Commander of the Alliance Navy, but also a Spectre." The eyes widened immediately and I think I even scared her. "I'm not going to do anything if you just tell me what ExoGeni are up to."

She sighed. "They're probably here for the Thorian, Commander."

I shared a glance with my colleagues. "Thorian? What the hell is a Thorian?" I wondered.

"You don't know?" I think we all shook our heads. "It's an indigenous lifeform native to this planet. ExoGeni has been studying it."

"Studying it? To what end?"

"To be honest, Commander, most of what you need is on the data I was backing up. I don't have it with me now. You'll have to clear out the geth and disable that barrier to get what you need."

"Right, the best thing you can do is try and make your way to the garage where the other survivors are. We'll clear out the tower, get what we need, and meet you there."

"Okay, Commander."

The geth had infested the tower. They were absolutely everywhere, and the five of us took great delight in wiping them out. We also came across a couple of krogan within, leaving those for Wrex to deal with. He seemed to take pleasure in gutting any krogan who dared face him in battle. Considering how ferocious he was, I already knew I would probably never be dumb enough to do that. He reminded me of a cat with a mouse, toying with it before making the killing blow.

As we made our way through the tower, we did stop at the occasional terminal, as the VI system within the tower was still working. Asking it questions, we discovered that ExoGeni had observation sensors monitoring Zhu's Hope. I wasn't the only one to question why ExoGeni would be monitoring a simple colony. That's when the revelation was made and those ExoGeni employees we had found would definitely be answering questions upon our return.

"VI, what does the Thorian have to do with Zhu's Hope?" I asked.

"Species 37, the Thorian, is located in the depths below the colony."

I felt the ice flow through my veins, my colleagues shuffling uncomfortably behind me. I knew some organisations could push the boundaries of ethics, but this was something else entirely. "This might explain their somewhat unusual behaviour," Liara stated quietly.