Book 1, Chapter 7 - Experimentation (Nodacrux / Chasca)
*****
Immediately upon leaving Feros, spending that morning enjoying breakfast with the colonists before departure, I inputted the destination of Nodacrux into the galaxy map. Joker did come on over comm, asking about Noveria, letting him know we had a couple of other assignments I wanted to deal with first before we headed there.
It would take a couple of days to get there, so on the way, I did my usual rounds. Pressly, who was now my XO, actually stopped me and apologised for his previous comments. He'd read my mission reports that I'd sent to the Alliance and the Council, and regretted what he'd said earlier about the non-humans that were now on board the
Normandy
. If I didn't know any better, he'd taken a real shine to Tali, realising how hard her life must have been but she was still infectiously enthusiastic about everything. He also appreciated the help Liara was trying to provide, and had even spoken with our recent recruit, Shiala. "That is one asari with a broken heart," he said.
"Imagine being chosen as an unwitting sacrifice by the women you have devoted yourself to. Little wonder she's feeling a little lost. I think joining us will help clear her mind. She now has a mission and objective she can focus on. My only concern is for when we eventually find Benezia."
"What will you do, sir?"
"I'd like to take her in for questioning. I think Shiala will want vengeance. Then there is Liara. I know their relationship wasn't great but Benezia is still her mother. Could Liara handle the fact one of us might kill her?"
"A tough decision, Commander."
"It is. Between you and I, it is one I'm not particularly looking forward to. And, thank you, Pressly."
"For what, sir?"
"For changing your opinion and admitting it."
"We never stop learning nor growing as people, sir. I can admit I was wrong."
Dinner that night was interesting. Feros was the first major mission we'd shared together since Liara had joined up, and I think there was now a real air of comradery being shared by those who joined me on the ground. I noticed Liara spent a lot of time talking with Shiala, perhaps trying to milk her for information, though I didn't think that would be a problem. Even Wrex and Garrus, a krogan and a turian who had spent a thousand years hating one another, seemed to be getting along, at least a little bit. I think they avoided politics, Wrex sharing stories of his life as a bounty hunter, Garrus of his life on the Citadel.
Alenko slowly opened up about his life, particularly regarding his time at BAaT, and I'll admit to feeling nothing by sympathy for him. He didn't want our pity, just understanding as to why he kept most of his history private, though admitted that it felt better getting much of it off his chest with his close companions. Dealing with her own grief, Ashley spoke of her time with the 212 and the friends she had made during her time with them. She met my eyes and smiled as she spoke. I simply hoped those good memories would help her going forward.
We eventually arrived in orbit around Nodacrux, Joker letting me know before we departed that there was a distress beacon, and that he'd drop us as close to it as possible. Piling into the Mako, I knew conditions would be cramped behind me with yet another person, though no-one complained, as I knew no-one would want to be left behind on the ship.
Upon landing on the planet, one would have seen similarities to Earth. Green pastures as far as the eye could see. Mountains that appeared to touch the sky. Fresh water coated as much of the planet as Earth. It looked and sounded idyllic. Of course, appearances can be deceiving and there was a major reason why no colony was established. Apparently the pollen that was spread across the planet could kill any human within seconds without a helmet. As isolated as the planet was, and the impossible conditions to build a colony, it was the perfect place for a secret lab.
Should have known we'd meet more of those creepy green creatures, no doubt the 'samples' sent by ExoGeni to Nodacrux being of the Thorian, and I dreaded to think what the former was up to. Any creepers we came across, I just ran over. No point any of us getting out just yet. The surprise was when we found isolated pre-fabricated units, and the creepers seemed to stick around them. I wasn't the only one thinking some rather horrible thoughts.
"You reckon those were people?" Garrus asked the question we were all thinking.
"What the hell are ExoGeni up to?" Alenko wondered.
"These fuckers are going to pay," Ashley growled.
I kept my thoughts to myself for now. The distress beacon was coming from the top of a nearby mountain, which required a search of a road leading up. I finally found one that meant a long drive but at least I wasn't just climbing up a mountain like a madman. More of those creepers were waiting, Garrus lighting them up with the machine gun. Once they were all dead, we piled out.
"Orders, Shepard?" Alenko asked.
"Kill the green creepy things. If we find humans, we'll find out what they know."
Entering the facility, we left our helmets on, just in case, and quickly found that the place was crawling with those creepers. With plenty of narrow corridors, we could use those as chokepoints, all of us now armed with shotguns, having learned on Feros that those worked best against them. Biotics also worked against them, Shiala giving us a glimpse of her power, even Liara making comment that I'd made the right choice in accepting her help.
Once I figured that we'd mopped up all the creepers, we searched the facility for anyone left alive. We eventually found a group of scientists in a barricaded back room. They appeared relieved for a moment before they no doubt saw the looks on some of our faces, and the fact we were still armed and didn't look like putting them away. One of the scientists stepped forward.
"Thank you for responding to the distress beacon. I am Doctor Ross, chief ExoGeni researcher at this facility. I will admit that we have been trapped in this room for days. We were starting to run short of supplies."
I gave a signal for my colleagues to holster weapons, though no doubt she noticed my shotgun remained out. "I want answers, Doctor Ross."
"About what?" she asked cautiously.
"I want to know why Thorian creepers have infested this planet. I want to know exactly what ExoGeni are up to on this planet."
She couldn't hide the surprise that crossed her face. "The Thorian? You know about it."
"I know everything that ExoGeni was up to on Feros. What they were doing to the colonists in Zhu's Hope. Yes, I know all about it, and that's why it is now dead." She sighed, and I could see some of the scientists behind her getting nervous. They knew they were either going to be arrested or shot. "Alenko, take the team, secure the other scientists. Doctor Ross and I will be having a conversation." Gesturing to a nearby crate, she leaned against it as I told her to come clean about everything.
"The creepers here were created using altered samples from the specimens on Feros. We discovered a way to turn them into docile, obedient servants. Everything was going fine until a few days ago. Then all of the creepers suddenly went berserk. Only a handful of us made it back to the safety of this room." She paused before adding, "I can only assume that you killing the Thorian severed the link they must have shared."
