From Ashes
Chapter One: Death of a Matriarch

A/N: Originally, I had decided to start this story at the end of the battle of the Citadel, but I've changed course slightly. I always found that slight surprise in the councilor's voice (when she identifies Lady Benezia) interesting. Anyway, enjoy, and as always, let me know if there is anything that requires clarification.

Anything to stop Saren… That was what she had told herself in the beginning. Eden Prime had felt like a shot of ryncol without the water chaser, and all she had to show for it was a warning that had been burned into her brain. Even with Donnel Udina and David Anderson backing her, it had seemed almost impossible to stop the "rogue" spectre. With only her lieutenant, Kaidan Alenko, and gunnery chief Ashley Williams, Shepard was left to chase down two leads.

The first, one of Anderson's, led her to Barla Von. The volus was a financial whiz and agent for the Shadow Broker; his intel led her to Urdnot Wrex. The second, suggested by Ash, led them to Garrus Vakarian; he had been the turian that had investigated Saren to begin with. With those two, they focused on a single target; Fist, the owner of Chora's Den had promised to get a quarian safe passage to the Shadow Broker, but he was instead turning her and her damning evidence over to Saren. The quarian, Tali'Zorah nar'Rayya, had data extracted from a geth memory core that linked the rogue spectre to the attack on Eden Prime.

After a conversation with Udina, they had gone to the council with what they had found, and though reluctant, the entire council had agreed that Saren had to be stopped. That had also forced the council's collective hand on the matter of Shepard's spectre candidacy. They had agreed to it, and she was sent to take Saren Arterius down. In the end, that had led her here, to the corporate capital of the galaxy; Noveria.

They had dealt with the more frigid climate of Port Hanshan; Shepard managing to broker a deal between Lorik Qui'in and Gianna Parasini. That had required talking Kaira Stirling down from shooting up the Synthetic Insights office. While she seemed to be a weapons-grade bitch, Stirling wasn't completely unreasonable. Qui'in had agreed to testify and that had led the undercover NIA operative to arrest Administrator Bel Anoleis. While in port, the spectre had managed to hack into Binary Helix' internet by means of Mallene Calis' cracking device. It had yielded little insight into what they would deal with in the Skadi Mountains. Shepard had then gotten means to depart the port and had made it to Peak 15.

Getting through most of Rift Station, Shepard, Liara, Wrex, and Ashley had managed to synthesize the cure that Zev Cohen had requested and were prepared to leave the quarantine lab when they were confronted by Alestia Ialis.

"Your mission ends here, Shepard."

"What the hell?" Ashley had already pulled her gun and had it aimed at the asari as she questioned her presence.

"Where's Ventralis' man?" Shepard had left her gun holstered but faced the molecular geneticist.

"I didn't exactly have permission to get in here, so the turian had to be… relieved of his post." Crossing her arms, Ialis waited as a small flank of geth entered behind her. "I was ordered to eliminate you, should the chance arise Shepard, and here you are… trapped in this lab."

"Do you really want to die here?" Wrex had withdrawn his shotgun and trained it on the taller of the geth units; high explosive rounds equipped. "One shot and they're gone with these rounds."

"You're a spy for Benezia." Still not drawing a weapon yet, Shepard stepped forward.

"I'm not the only one. Seeing as you won't leave this lab I feel no guilt in letting you in on that." Alestia glared at the four ahead of her, focusing on Liara. "You know, your mother didn't expect you here."

"Having not spoken for a few decades, I expect not." Keeping her responses short, Liara's eyes narrowed. "I don't expect you'd care to spend any more time in this frozen metal cage either."

"What?" That had thrown Ialis off and Shepard exploited it.

"You don't want to be here, and I have no intention of bothering with you." Motioning for Ashley to lower her gun slowly, Shepard went on. "How much is Saren paying you to die for him?"

"A decent amount-"

"Not enough." Wrex, catching on, spoke next. "Been a merc for longer than you've been alive and nobody could pay me enough to do this."

"Don't try and smooth talk your way out of this one, Shepard-"

"Actually, I could go either way." The spectre frowned as she crossed her arms. "I could just kill you and be on my way, but I'd prefer not to. You've got better things to do than waste time getting shot here, and I've got a mad turian to stop."

"Right. You expect me to believe you'll jus walk away and we'll both forget this happened. How closely related to a krogan do you think I am?"

"Wrex." Warning the battlemaster before he said a word, Shepard finished her thought. "Forget what? We're just having a friendly chat. Walk away and we're done. Don't and I can't promise you'll survive."

"And them?" Turning her head slightly, Alestia eyed the geth who were still armed behind her. "They aren't as accommodating as I am."

"Here's the deal, Doc." Ashley, while keeping her rifle lowered, spoke sharply. "You leave this hellhole and we deal with the flashlights, got it?"

"I like that one." Turning on her heel, the geneticist turned her head and cast a final look to the remaining organics in the lab. "Deal with them."

She had left the lab, and several gunshots later, Shepard and the other three had done the same. The geth shock troopers' metal corpses remaining within it. Returning the cure to Doctor Cohen, Shepard hd retrieved the maintenance pass and had made it to the larger lab, where Benezia had been waiting.

Confronting her, Shepard found it difficult to attack the matriarch directly; something was off in the way she attacked. Commandos and geth came at them in waves, but Benezia herself simply stood there with a powerful barrier; observing the battle with a stoic expression. With the last wave of geth, Shepard noticed the matriarch slip up. Her stance was altered, and she looked to be struggling to maintain her icy demeanor. Moving to get Liara's attention, Shepard saw that Liara already knew it. She had moved forward to speak to her mother directly, while Shepard, Wrex, and Ash finished off the geth.

"…You could not have chosen this path-"

"I chose it of my own free will, Liara; just as you have chosen to stand against me-"

"There was no choice, mother!" Biotics flaring slightly as Liara snapped at the matriarch, she didn't have to wait long before being joined by the rest of the squad. Wrex stood just behind her and to her left while Shepard and Ash stood beside and back to the right respectively. "You would never do this! You always spoke of galactic peace and prosperity, not radical change or extinction."

"I will not let you dissuade… I must…" Turning away from the four, Benezia had raised her hands to her head and gripped it in attempt to suppress what looked like moderate to severe pain. Shoulders shaking as she fought against it, the older asari finally straightened up. When she faced them again, her expression was distinctly different; desperate, her eyes were wide and held no traces of the rage they had before. When she spoke next, her tone was softer but matched her expression. "You must listen. Saren still whispers in my mind, but I can resist his compulsions briefly. Still, the indoctrination is strong."

"How are you able to break free of Saren's hold now?" Ash's skepticism got the better of her, and all involved could appreciate it. "Just a few minutes ago, you were ready to wipe out your own daughter."

"Your caution is understandable. I sealed away part of my mind when I realized what was happening; kept it hidden from the subtle effects of indoctrination so that when the time came, I could use it to stop Saren. It will not last long."

"So you could turn on us again." Wrex voiced Shepard's thought before she had the chance. Benezia confirmed it gravely.

"Yes, but it would not be my will. People are not themselves around Saren. They come to idolize him; would do anything for him. The key is Sovereign, his flagship."

"Sovereign isn't like other ships. Did the geth build it?"

"No. It is a dreadnought of incredible size and power; its technology surpasses that of any known species. The longer you are aboard, the more Saren's will seems correct. You sit at his feet and smile as his words pour into you…" Showing trace signs of minute pain, Benezia continued in an almost apologetic tone. "I thought I was strong enough to withstand it, but I was wrong; becoming a willing tool. He sent me here to find the location of the Mu relay. Its position was lost millennia ago."

"How does something that large and significant get lost?" Shepard had heard of space stations and orbitals getting knocked or propelled from their orbits, but a relay?

"Nearly four thousand years ago, the star nearby went nova and the shockwave propelled the relay out of its system without damaging it. Its precise vector and speed are impossible to determine. As millennia passed, the nebula created by the nova enveloped the relay. It is difficult to find any cold object in interstellar space, especially one swathed in hot dust."

"What led you to Noveria? Surely someone here did not find it." Liara, stepping forward slightly, kept a steady eye on her mother. "Otherwise they would have sold it and made quite the profit."

"Indeed, Little Wing." That got Shepard's attention as well as the others'. Liara, while comforted by the familiar nickname, suppressed a groan at it. "Two thousand years ago, the Rachni occupied that particular region. They have a unique ancestoral memory; queens inherit this from their mothers." At this next part, Benezia spoke regretfully. "I took the location from this queen's mind… It was the reason Saren orchestrated the breeding of the Rachni here. He assumed, whether due to Sovereign's influence or not I am uncertain, that this would be knowledge worth passing. When I found the location, I was not gentle in retrieving it…"

"How did the Rachni find the relay and why does Saren need its location?" Though the former was hardly relevant, curiosity got the better of Shepard. Liara seemed to be thinking along the same lines; nodding as Shepard voiced the question.

"They searched patiently." Turning slowly to look over the queen that was in the tank beyond the platform, Benezia explained further. "From what I gather, they are territorial creatures by nature; closing off ways of reaching their worlds. Knowing this, it is odd to think that the Rachni the salarians encountered were openly hostile and aggressive." Turning back, the matriarch answered the latter part of Shepard's query. "As for Saren's interest, he believes it will lead him to the conduit. I would tell you more if I knew. Saren did not share his counsel with me."

"You regret your actions here." Liara stated the obvious as she touched her mother's arm. "Don't let your efforts be in vain. Where is the Mu relay? Does Saren know of its location yet?"

"I was not myself, but I should have… been stronger." The secondary pause in her speech said enough. It wasn't a normal emotional break. "I transcribed the data to an OSD; take it." Handing off said OSD to Liara, Benezia spoke before turning away. "You must act quickly. I transmitted the data to him seconds before you arrived. He does not know the location of the conduit but he is actively searching. The relay links to dozens of systems."

"What will you do now?" Ash questioned the matriarch while keeping a wary eye on the Rachni queen as it shifted slightly in its tank.

"You have to stop me…" At first, the words didn't sink in, but as she continued, Shepard could hear Benezia's voice shaking; she was losing control. "Saren's teeth are at my ear… Fingers on my spine. I can't drown him out… I-"

"No!" Taking a more aggressive stance on the matter, Liara moved closer to her mother again after handing off the drive to Shepard. "Mother, don't leave! Fight its influence-"

Before anything else could be said, a last wave of geth and commandos flooded the lab. The former were eager to pull their triggers or charge against Wrex, but the commandos were slightly off. They had all cast eyes on the matriarch they had followed, and upon seeing her inaction against the other organics in the room, they did not raise their rifles. Ordering Liara to stay with her mother, Shepard and Ash joined Wrex in eliminating the hostile geth units. Only when the last ones fell did the three turn back to Benezia. She looked to be somewhat disoriented, but her speech suggested otherwise. They closed ranks around her, while Ash and Wrex kept guns trained on the commandos who still remained inactive.

"You will have to stop him, Shepard. He cannot succeed in bringing them back." Managing to remain in a standing position, Benezia leaned against the support strut behind her. "He claims they represent the order to our chaos, but he does not fully understand them…"

Though her injuries seemed somewhat mild to moderate, Shepard had a bad feeling as to why the matriarch was slipping away. Aside from the severe mental strain, there was a suspicion that Benezia had a contingency planned for a situation such as this. Seeing the matriarch move for her omni tool, Shepard called her on it.

"Don't. There has to be a way of reversing it-"

"No. I still hear their words… I am not fully myself and I never will be again." Whatever she had planned, she had done it. Shepard could see something was being released through her omni tool, and Benezia's knees buckled.

"Mother, I…." Not knowing what to say, Liara dropped down, catching her mother as she fell. Easing her to the floor, she was somewhat surprised when Shepard and Ashley knelt as well. "Don't Don't do this…"

"You have always made me proud, Liara." The hostility had completely vanished from Benezia's tone; even as she addressed Shepard in regard to the commandos, she seemed more relaxed, and knowing that, the spectre's heart sank. She didn't have long. "They will not attack. Unlike others, they were never within Sovereign's reach. They came here as my acolytes, not as Saren's pawns."

"They came here with the same purpose as Alestia Ialis."

"They did." Seeming to remember something, Benezia eyed the four carefully. "Avoid Ventralis. His orders were to kill you if you got too close. Pushed too far on stimulants, he and his people will not be reasoned with."

"They won't be harmed." Seeing an alternate exit to the lab they were in, Shepard hoped it led away, so that they could avoid the captain and his exhausted teams.

"Good night, Little Wing…" Addressing Liara again, Benezia's eyes began to close as her head fell against Liara's shoulder. "I will see you again… with the dawn."

"Mother, no-" It was too late, and Liara knew it. Gritting her teeth, she bowed her head. Shepard, standing slowly with Ash, saw a few glistening tears escaping the maiden's eyes.

Turning to Wrex, who was now looking at the queen, Shepard looked the creature over. She had seen its spawn running around this entire facility and had killed many of them, but what she wasn't prepared for was for it to assume control of a dying commando. She spoke, using the weak asari as a medium to deliver her message in a way that could be understood. The queen spoke of the Rachni from the wars, oily shadows in her dreams, and the sour yellow note that had influenced the past generation to go to war. She explained that her children were to be eliminated due to their inability to understand. Being brought up out of contact with the queen, they were reckless and wild; they could not be reasoned with or spared. After making sure there was no other way, Shepard was left with the choice of sparing or ending the surviving queen. In the end, she decided on the former. After releasing the queen, Shepard turned back to Liara, who had risen from her place by her mother. While the younger asari kept a straight face, her movements were rigid. Unfortunately, the time to deal with grief was not now nor was the place. Crossing the short distance and looking down at the motionless matriarch, Shepard nodded slowly.

"I'm not leaving her here." Kneeling to confirm her suspicion that Benezia was indeed dead, Shepard felt no pulse. Still, she performed a scan with her omni tool to be certain. There were no life signs.

"Skipper…" Ashley, who had joined her CO, spoke in a slightly uncertain voice. "Not meaning to be insensitive, but there's no way Joker can do a pickup in this storm. We'd either have to wait it out or get back to the main port. In that case, how do we explain coming through there with a well-respected matriarch's remains?"

"We don't." Liara answered this carefully as she looked around the lab. "Shepard, Captain Matsuo mentioned the shipping containers that the geth were brought here in. It is… terrible to think this way, but one of them could be repurposed for the time being."

"At least until we get back aboard the ship." Nodding in agreement, Shepard looked over the lab as well. There were several shipping containers scattered throughout the area. A few of them looked to be in decent shape, but the one that would be best suited was under a pile of smaller containers. A few of the commandos that had survived the last wave noted what was being said and immediately began using weak biotic fields to pull and push the crates away from the larger one that would have to do for a makeshift casket. Once it was clear of everything else, Liara used a pull field to send it drifting toward the platform she and the others stood on. Once there, Shepard and Ashley guided it smoothly to the ground by taking one end respectively and lowering it. Once the lid had been removed, the contents were cleared out. What looked like a few signal jammers and spare geth parts were all that remained. From the size of the container, the contents may have originally been a single geth Prime unit. Regardless, it didn't take long to have the entire thing gutted. Only then did Wrex carefully lift Benezia's body from its final resting place against the support strut. After a brief glance toward Liara, he lowered the matriarch down into the shipping container and after a moment, the lid was replaced and sealed.

"So, what do we do with the queen, Skipper?" That was a difficult one. There was no way of getting her out of Rift station without causing a stir; let alone Port Hanshan. From the context, the queen had simply implied releasing her and she would find her own way off of this frozen world.

"She'll find her way." The creature's sudden shift seemed to be a positive indicator, and Shepard stepped toward the panel that would either release the last surviving queen or it would vaporize her.

"So you're sure of this?" Wrex had the same concerns as Ashley had when Shepard had made her initial decision to spare the queen. "My people had to hunt them down and burn them out of their underground hives. You sure you want to take this chance?"

"All we can do is take her for her word, Wrex." Understanding the battlemaster and Ash's concerns, Shepard couldn't find it within herself to simply nuke the last surviving rachni. "It sounds like something forced them into attacking when the salarians discovered them." Though it didn't really translate well, the "sour yellow note" and "oily shadows" stood out in Shepard's mind. Looking over the panel, she moved to release the queen and as she did so, she turned away to lock eyes with the creature. "Just pray this doesn't start another war. You have a chance to change how the galaxy sees your people."

The commandos had assumed positions at each corner of the container, using well-controlled biotic fields to evenly lift the shipping container from the floor. Shepard heard the last queen take her first steps out of the glass containment, and turned to the back exit to the labs. There was no need to head out the way they had come. With Wrex and Ashley running point, Shepard and Liara bringing up the rear, and the commandos with Benezia's remains in between, they moved through the rear door. It led to some flights of stairs that brought them to the platform they had entered Rift Station from. The tram was still there, and Shepard motioned the commandos, Wrex, and Ashley ahead.

"Secure the transport. Liara and I will take care of the queen's drones in the hot labs." After Ashley and Wrex' brief nod, Shepard and Liara entered the door on their right and took the lift down to the rachni-infested lab. While moving further down into the ice, the commander addressed Liara. "That couldn't have been easy. How are you holding up, Liara?"

"I should move on, Shepard." The statement was filled with false strength, and Shepard could tell. Liara didn't let it last though. "I should simply remember her as she was and not as what she became…"

"There's a lot of things we should do, Liara." Reflecting on a few past events, Shepard spoke again. "I should have dealt with the loss of my father sooner, but I didn't. I didn't go to his grave until a few years after he passed. Don't just shelf this and think you'll get to it another day."

"I cannot deal with it now. Saren is still out there, and he has to be stopped." Feeling the lift slowing down, Liara straightened up from where she had been leaning against the sidebar. "I will deal with it though, Shepard. I know it proves destructive if left… unattended."

The door had opened, and they saw a man slumped over in a chair. Some of the other chairs and tables were turned over and there were acid burns in the tiled floor of the lab. Approaching him, they found that he was the only survivor, and he seemed surprised that they knew of the rachni presence on Noveria. The conversation didn't last long though. After he had explained what Binary Helix had done, Doctor Yarislev Tartakovsky stated that the only thing left was to initiate the "Neutron Purge". It was a way of bombarding the lab and killing all hostiles. Before he could move to do so, one of the queen's offspring attacked; spearing him through the chest. Killing the two hostile rachni, Shepard and Liara accessed Mira, entering Tartakovsky's authorization code to begin the purge.

After shooting their way across the confined lab, Shepard and Liara made it to the lift and used it to climb rapidly to the upper floor. They could feel the lab beneath them shaking as the purge was conducted, and the screeching of rachni drones could be heard through the walls. Only when they got back up to the main level did the two holster their weapons and leave the facility; departing on the tram back to Central Station.

The commute back through the mountains and into the garage was silent. The ground vehicle they had secured In Hanshan's garage was bigger than the mako, thankfully, and everyone was able to get aboard it for a single trip back. The garage itself was empty when they exited, and as they made their way down the stairs and back through the main port, the eight received quite a few looks. People that had once been stand-offish were now gawking at the armed commandos, spectre, and squad moving through the lower center of the station. Even a few of the turian guards lowered their guns and craned their necks in attempt to see just what was going on.

They reached the lift that would take them back down to the docking cradles where the Normandy was still waiting. Letting the commandos go first, Shepard stood by the wall, looking out over the station with a tired expression. This place, though it looked tranquil and warm, was colder than anywhere she had been. The temperature outside was irrelevant; corporate executives, hired muscle, and people like Saren conducting experiments here were what made this world so frigid. Ashley seemed to be thinking along the same lines as she cast a glance over the small waterfalls and rock formations.

"Place looks pretty, but these bastards would cut out your heart in a second if they thought they could make a few credits…"

"Nah. They'd hire someone to do it." Keeping the conversation as light as possible, given the subject, Shepard went on. "They wouldn't want to get their pressed suits stained."

"Like the krogan on the upper level in the bar?"

"Normally I'd take offense to that," Wrex stood with his eyes half narrowed as he faced the human soldier. "But I happen to know him. He's a sorry ass excuse for a krogan."

"And I was beginning to think they didn't have standards." Ash couldn't suppress a laugh as she said this. Wrex actually found it funny, which surprised them all.

"Ha. Krogan have standards. They may not have the quads to uphold them, but my people have standards, or at least they used to."

"Stick around long enough and they might again, Wrex." Liara, who had remained quiet since leaving Peak 15 addressed the krogan battlemaster. "Benezia used to say that the voice that is the most unappreciated is the one that needs to and will be heard. It sounds like you see a new path for your people."

"I did, before Jarrod changed my mind."

"Don't let that stop you." Seeing the lift returning, Liara made to enter it when the glass doors parted. Wrex, Ash, and Shepard followed close behind. Once they were secure, Ashley used the holo controls to send the lift back to the docking area while Liara finished her thought. "To say that it will be difficult is an enormous understatement, but like the Rachni, the krogan deserve a chance for redemption; to redefine their future."

"Benezia's philosophy?" Shepard had to admire Liara's words. She was right about the Krogan. Sure, some of them were just angry and selling themselves out as mercs, but what else did they have to do?

"Yes." Reaching the entry level to Port Hanshan, Liara exited the lift from the opposite side they had entered and moved through the narrow hallway to the lobby where she waited on the others before continuing. "She has… had an open mind about these things."

"Galaxy's lesser for her loss, if she thought like that, especially about the Krogan." It was one of the "nicer" things Wrex had said, and given the situation, Shepard was pleased to see the ghost of a smile that played at Liara's lips. Heading out to the docks, Shepard nodded to Captain Matsuo as the four passed by, and didn't miss the comment from Sergeant Stirling as they turned the corner.

"Eyes sharp, Spectre. Our paths might cross again someday."

Reaching the Normandy, Shepard found that the commandos had already boarded and were prepared to leave the ship and wait for transport. Waving that off, she mentioned that the Normandy would be headed for the Citadel anyway, so they might as well stay and catch transport from a more friendly station than this one. While Ashley, Wrex, and Liara headed for the comm room, Shepard mentioned to Joker where they were headed. She then joined them, Garrus, Tali, and Kaidan to discuss options.

They decided against moving through the Mu relay due to the lack of information. Clearly Feros was going to have to be their next location after docking at the Citadel briefly. Saren had gone there for a reason, and hopefully that would give them more leads as to why he was doing this and where he was headed. Only after the crew had been dismissed did Joker come over the comm and announce that there was a comm buoy nearby that could patch them through to the Citadel. Deciding on it, Shepard saw the holo projectors warming up as the connection stabilized. It surprised her when she saw the forms of David Anderson and Donnel Udina solidify, rather than the council members.

"Shepard, I hope you have good news. After the destruction of that ruin on Therum, the Council is wary of your actions." Udina's temper seemed to be at its usual half limit. "What did you find on Noveria?"

"Shouldn't I be discussing this with the council themselves, Sir?" Addressing Anderson, rather than Udina on this matter, Shepard saw the ambassador frown with contempt.

"They are caught up in a meeting at the moment, so we will have to pass along your report to them when they have adjourned." Anderson's calm tone seemed to infuriate Udina even more. He spoke with an indignation that was almost second nature to him.

"Did you find what Saren was after or not, Shepard? You don't have time to fool about with who speaks to whom."

"I found what Saren was after, yes." Forwarding the information on the Mu relay, Shepard didn't bring up the rachni or Matriarch Benezia's passing just yet. "He was looking for the Mu relay. It was lost for roughly four thousand years. What he wants its location for, we're not sure. I don't think he's even sure where he's going just yet."

"A lost relay… How did he find it and why was it missing in the first place?" Anderson's curiosity was expected, but Shepard wasn't about to discuss it all that much. She gave him and Udina the bare minimum as far as details were concerned.

"From what we found, a star went nova and propelled the relay out of its home system. Someone on Noveria came across its location and Saren came here to find it. He believes it will lead him to the conduit he mentioned in that data from the memory core."

"What is the conduit and-" Udina looked down at his omni tool in mid question and addressed the captain. "Anderson, finish this. I have a meeting to see to."

"Of course, Ambassador." Shepard could hear footfalls and the door to Udina's office closing as the ambassador left. Anderson wastedno time in getting to the point of things, though.

"The matriarch the asari councilor mentioned was reported to be on Noveria. Was she there, Shepard?"

"She was." Explaining more about the rachni and Benezia's involvement with Saren, Shepard finished her brief. "It's all we really know at this point. One thing though, Captain. Could you pass on a message to the asari embassy; let them know we are arriving with a few commandos and Matriarch Benezia's remains?"

"I will." Seeming to do it right then and there, Anderson addressed Shepard again. "How did it happen, Shepard? The councilor seemed surprised when she heard Benezia's voice on that recording. From what I've read on her, it was completely out of the blue when she left Thessia and joined Saren."

"She did it for all the right reasons, Sir. She got caught up in things beyond her control and couldn't stop him on her own."

"I don't think you need any more incentive to stop him, Commander."

"No, but I got it."