Chapter 5 – Ghosts

"Patrol Two checking in," a voice squawked out of Kaidan's comm. "No movement up here. Route to the skyway is still clear. Heading back to your position."

"Copy that, Patrol Two," Kaidan replied, checking the chrono display on his omnitool. It had been about two hours since Shepard's departure from the small cluster of prefabricated buildings calling itself the colony on Feros, and over an hour since her comm signal had gone dark – blocked by a jamming signal from the Geth ship she'd gone to destroy. She'd told Chief Williams and their Geth expert, Tali, to gear up and meet her at the colony's garage, then ordered him to divide the Normandy's marines into two patrols and make sure the Geth didn't bother the colony while she was gone. He wheeled around and resumed pacing from one side of the small open area where the stairs from the docking bay emptied out into the colony to the other, kicking impatiently at the same rocks he'd been booting around for the last hour. The female colonist working on the water mains nearby gave him the same sideways glance she'd given him every time he passed by, then turned back to her work.

The lieutenant and half dozen other marines of Patrol Two came around the corner of the central building that led to the upper and lower levels of the colony. "All quiet here, sir?"

"So far," he confirmed. "Patrol One should be back any minute now."

As if they'd heard their name called, Patrol One appeared. "Everything's clear down below, sir," the ensign in charge announced. "That one crazy guy is still wandering around, but he's not bothering anyone except the rats."

"Yeah, just leave him alone." During her first trip through the colony Shepard had found a lone man in the lower levels, blabbering nonsense and intent on not returning to the colony. She'd warned Kaidan and the marines to let him be with a can't-save-everyone shrug. "Grab some energy bars and take 15 to rest up. Then you'll switch routes and head back out." A muttered chorus of "Aye aye, sir," was the reply as each marine sat down on the most comfortable-looking patch of dirt they could find. Kaidan leaned back against a nearby barricade and reached for his comm switch. "Normandy, this is Alenko - any updates?"

"Not since the last time you called," Joker's voice replied with a sigh. "The Geth we can see are starting to move, but we can't tell where they're heading yet."

Kaidan glanced back up at the ruined Prothean skyscrapers visible on the horizon. If he squinted, he could just make out the curved hull of the Geth ship clinging to the side of the shortest tower. "Still nothing from the commander?"

"No," Joker snapped. "As soon as we know something new, we'll pass it on. Normany out."

Kaidan swallowed a sigh, turning off his comm. She'll be fine, he told himself once again. Except for a few quick recon missions, this was the first time she'd gone into fire without him by her side since she'd come on board. Ash is a hell of a soldier, and Tali can turn a Geth into spare parts faster than you can blink. He knew he should enjoy the relative peace and quiet of patrol duty, that he'd be back by Shepard's side dodging rockets and beating back husks soon enough. But he couldn't shake the fear that something bad would happen because he wasn't there with her, watching her back and making sure no enemy got close to her. She'll be fine.

"...say, I've been meaning to ask - have you gotten a good look at that Asari?"

"Nah, but I heard Chief Williams talking about her." Kaidan snuck a glance in the direction of the two voices - one of the younger marines and one of the older noncommissioned officers were sitting a few feet away, their backs against the water pipe. "She said those tentacles the doctor's got on her head instead of hair make her look like Medusa."

The older one laughed and shook his head. "Come on, man, you know the Chief doesn't like any of our 'special' guests. Besides, just think - no hair to brush out of your face when she's on top."

"Good point," the younger one nodded, grinning. "Hey -" he leaned closer to the sergeant, "Is it true an Asari can have sex with you just through her mind? Like, telepathically?" he added, failing to lower his voice enough for Kaidan to hear every word.

"Sort of. My brother hit the jackpot on one of the slots at New Vegas, then paid for a night with one of the Asari dancers there. He said..." The sergeant's voice dropped to a whisper. Kaidan leaned his head back against the barricade, not sure whether to be amused or concerned that Liara was still being talked about by the crew more than two weeks after her arrival.

"No way..."

"That's what he said," the older marine chuckled.

The younger marine let out a long breath. "Damn. Well, I need to start hanging around the mess more often. Maybe I can catch that Asari's attention"

"Don't waste your time," the sergeant said quickly. "Word is she's only got eyes for Shepard."

"Really?" The younger one laughed loudly enough to draw glances from some of his comrades. "Who'd you hear that from - the Chief?"

The sergeant glanced around nervously, waving the younger man closer to him so he could speak quietly. "No, somebody higher up. Only question is, are the feelings mutual?"

"Everybody up!" Kaidan shouted suddenly, jumping to his feet. He didn't bother to check whether the 15 minutes were up yet or not. "The Normandy says Geth might be heading this way, so let's mo-"

A loud boom suddenly echoed through the air. Kaidan glanced in the direction Sheaprd had gone – a large plume of dust and smoke was rising into the not-so distant sky. "Joker?!" he barked into his comm.

"What the –" the pilot called back. "Hold on!" Kaidan clenched his fists, trying to breathe through a sudden tightness in his chest. "The sensors are coming back online!"

"So what just happ –" Kaidan was suddenly grabbed from behind. Instinctively he twisted out of his attacker's grasp, ducking and using his body to roll the other person off their feet and slam them onto the ground. He scrambled back a few steps, grabbing his pistol and readying to fire. His attacker lay on the ground, dazed - it was the female colonist who'd been calmly working on the water mains nearby. What the...? Several more colonists shuffled into view from out of the central building, their faces as blank and unresponsive as if they were sleepwalking.

The ensign in charge of Patrol One raised his assault rifle. "Sir?!"

"No!" Kaidan shouted, pushing the rifle's muzzle towards the ground. "Back to the Normandy, now!" The ensign frowned, confused. "That's an order, Yamada!" This time the ensign turned away and began to run towards the stairs leading down to the docking bay. Kaidan hung back as the others followed, waiting until they were all behind him before throwing a biotic barrier across the passageway's narrow entrance. It wouldn't last forever, but it would keep the colonists trapped there long enough for he and his marines to get back to the ship. "Joker," he barked into his comm as started down the stairs, "What's going on?"

"Hold on – I've got the link with Shepard back up," the pilot replied. "Patching you in."

"Is that you, Joker?" the commander's voice crackled over the comm. The weight in Kaidan's chest lifted. "What's happened to you over there?"

"We're in lockdown here, Commander," Joker said anxiously. "Something happened to the colonists. They're banging on the hull, trying to claw their way inside the ship. They're freaking out!"

"Same thing up here in the colony," Kaidan added. "We're heading back to the Normandy."

"Copy that," Shepard said. "They can't do any real damage to the Normandy, so just bunker down. The Geth ship is out of commission, so we're on our way back."

"Uh…yeah. Okay," Joker sighed uneasily. "Normandy out."

Kaidan's comm blinked off as he reached the bottom of the stairs. All the other marines were gathered behind a large stack of shipping crates, heads down and guns drawn. "Get down, sir!" one of the corporals hissed. "They'll see you!" Kaidan crouched next to Ensign Yamada, who was clutching his assault rifle so tightly his arms were shaking.

The lieutenant from Patrol Two leaned over. "Should we take them out, sir?"

"No," Kaidan said emphatically, glancing in the direction the ensign's rifle was aimed. The few colonists who'd been in the docking area were, as Joker had said, banging on the Normandy's hull near the airlock door. They bore the same vacant, impassive expressions as their comrades back in the main colony. "Wait here," he said to them, creeping out as far from behind cover as he dared. Concentrate…gently…he felt the biotic energy rushing down his arm…just a tug… The biotic field enveloped them, lifting them slowly up before sending them drifting through the air until they were on the other side of the docking bay. His hand closed – the field vanished, dropping the dazed colonists onto the ground. He waved the other marines towards the Normandy, glancing back at the colonists to ensure they weren't getting up before scrambling after them.

Once back on board Kaidan headed straight for the cockpit. Joker was sitting in his chair, tapping impatiently at his display screens while Pressley stood behind him, arms crossed and scowling at the deck. "What's our status?"

"Shepard's on her way back," the lieutenant commander muttered darkly, "But something's got her held up."

"What is it?"

Joker shrugged, tapping harder at his screens. "Don't know. I heard her mutter something about 'corporate assholes' and then the assault vehicle stopped moving. Nothing since."

"Everything went to hell when that Geth ship hit the ground," Pressley added. "The sensors did come back online, but –"

Loud and rapid banging noises suddenly echoed through the command deck. Kaidan jumped back a step, grabbing hold of a nearby chair to keep from falling. "They're baaaaack," Joker sighed.

Pressley rubbed his hands together nervously. "The commander was right," he intoned, "We'll be safe in here. She'll deal with those colonists when she gets back." A particularly loud, metallic bang rang out – the colonists seemed to be attacking the ship with more than just their hands. "Let's, ah…let's get some marines up here," Pressley said softly. "Just in case."

"No need," Garrus' raspy voice called out as the Turian strolled down the deck, coming to a stop in front of the airlock. "I've got this covered."

"You C-Sec types couldn't cover a gnat's backside," Wrex's voice interjected. The ringing thuds of his footsteps marching towards the airlock drowned out the noise from the colonists. "Step aside and let a professional handle this."

The Turian's mandibles fluttered in annoyance. "I seem to recall managing to get in your way a few times."

"Only when I let you," Wrex smirked.

"Do you really think –"

"Shepard's on the move again!" Joker shouted from the helm. Everyone turned and moved closer to the pilot, listening intently to his half of the conversation. "Seriously? Assholes." A long pause followed. "Yes ma'am. We'll be waiting." Joker flicked the comm off and swung his chair around to face his audience. "She's inbound, ETA fifteen minutes. Give or take a few Geth. Says she's got a plan for the colonists, so our orders are to sit tight and…well, just sit," he finished with a shrug. Garrus and Wrex both snorted in disgust, each taking hold of their assault rifle and positioning themselves on either side of the airlock. Kaidan traded what-can-you-do? looks with Joker as he dropped into the nearest chair, while Pressley repeated Joker's shrug before starting to pace up and down the deck.

Silence quickly settled over the entire command deck, broken only by the sound of Pressley's boots drawing closer and then moving further away. Kaidan trained his eyes on the rectangular blip moving slowly but steadily along the line leading towards the colony. He kept telling himself not to worry, but each time a set of red blips converged on her position he found himself holding his breath.

Next to him Joker sighed and waved away some of his display screens – though the one showing Shepard's progress remained active. "So, Kaidan," the pilot asked quietly, "What was the deal with going back to the Citadel?"

"It was nothing, really," Kaidan said. "Just some questions about what happened on the Ontario."

"We all knew that already," Joker snorted, "But was that really it? No secret meeting with the Council, no rendezvous with another mysterious but helpful alien who'll be taking up residence in the cargo bay?"

Just a run-in with BTAS and a blackmail attempt by someone from Shepard's past. "That was really it," Kaidan replied evenly. She'd started to tell him not to say anything about either incident as they rode the elevator back up to the Normandy's docking bay, but he'd politely cut her off. "If you've got my back then I've got yours, ma'– Shepard," The small, grateful smile she'd given him in reply still lingered just behind his eyes.

"What a waste of time," Joker sighed. "Saren might not even need the Geth to slow us down if Shepard has to keep wasting her time on political bul–"

"Status update, Lieutenant?" Pressley's voice rang out from the other end of the deck.

Joker's head barely moved. "She's half a click out from the colony." A grim sigh rippled through everyone on the command deck as all eyes refocused on the display screens before them or the guns in their hands. Joker turned away and began swiping his hands over his controls as if he could simply click the blinking icon representing Shepard and drag her back to the Normandy. Even Liara's appearance on deck caused only a short burst of whispers that quickly faded into the unceasing pounding on the airlock door.

Kaidan was certain Joker had a dozen more questions he wanted to ask, but Shepard had kept the crew moving so quickly that it took nearly all their energy to stave off the fatigue and disorientation that blurred one mission or one day into the next. The moment their little detour on the Citadel had ended Shepard had pointed the Normandy towards Feros, and since then they'd either been under fire or on patrol. This pause, bunkered down and counting the meters between Shepard's position and the ship, was the first chance they'd had to put their thoughts into some sort of order.

Truth be told, Kaidan had just as many questions as the rest of them – more, even, since he'd been witness to the encounter with that 'Finch' who claimed to have known the commander when she was young. "He wouldn't have called me Shepard." Kaidan leaned back in his seat, staring down at his hands as if the answers would be written on his palms. No cheating on this test, he thought with a quiet sigh. If you want to know what he would have called her – and why – you're going to have to ask her. The sergeant's overheard speculation crept back into his thoughts, prompting a sharp glace over at Liara, standing silently at the back of the cockpit and twisting her hands togther as her eyes stayed glued to the vidscreen. All those questions she had for me about Shepard...were they really just to figure out how to get close-

"They're back inside the colony!" Joker called out suddenly. "Patching into the securecams!" A grainy, black-and-white image of the colony's central buildings appeared on his display – all the colonists were standing still, guns in their hands, facing an archway in the far corner of the screen. A dark-haired head peeked out from the other side of the archway – Ash – then vanished again. The colonists began firing at the space where Ash's head had been, but then an arm clad in camouflage-pattered armor appeared on the opposite side of the passageway and appeared to lob something small towards the nearest group of colonists. They looked down, confused, before a flash and a cloud of smoke obscured them from the camera's view. When the smoke cleared, the colonists were lying on the ground. Shepard's arm swung into view a second time, followed by a second grenade detonating in the middle of the next group of colonists. The smoke briefly hid the archway from the view of the remaining colonists – Ash and Tali slipped out and moved quickly to take cover behind some barricades originally set up to hold off the Geth. Shepard tossed a third grenade at some colonists trying to sneak up on their position from the side before sprinting over to join her squadmates.

It was a textbook-perfect demonstration of moving through a field of battle – neutralizing the nearest enemy position with a grenade and covering fire while leapfrogging from one set of cover to the next along a trajectory leading to the objective. As the last group of colonists slumped to the ground a swarm of human-like creatures surged out from one of the side stairwells, their bodies just as twisted and shriveled as the husks on Eden Prime. Shepard stood still, a wave of biotic energy gathering around her before shooting forward to lift the closest husk off the ground and send it flying back down the stairs. She moved behind another set of barricades as she regripped her pistol, and Kaidan watched the heads of several more husks snap backwards just before their bodies collapsed. Though the vid feed they were watching was monochrome Kaidan's imagination filled in the reddish highlights of her hair gleaming when she moved out from the shadows, and the sharp green eyes narrowing as she took her aim. God, she's... Just as she approached the stairs leading down to the docking bay, the last husks falling to a barrage of fire from Ash, his reverie was interrupted by a slight movement and a quiet clearing of the throat from just off to his left. He turned to see Garrus, the Turian's gaze locked as firmly on the vid screen as his own. "Not bad for a human with no exoskeleton," Garrus said, nodding with grim approval.

"Or a redundant nervous system," Wrex added, grinning. "Especially without a helmet."

Kaidan felt all the eyes in the room turn to him. They couldn't have known he'd wondered the very same thing, and worked up the courage to ask her about it just after the mission on Therum. It's because I'm her squad commander, he told himself. I'm supposed to know these things. "She doesn't like the way it feels," he shrugged, reluctant to divulge anything she'd told him in a private conversation, no matter how benign or business-oriented it might be. "Too confining, too restrictive of her field of vision. If she can breathe, she leaves it off."

"She still has her armor's kinetic barriers, right?" Joker asked, toggling through different securecam feeds as Shepard disappeared down the stairs. "I mean, if I threw a rock at her head it's going to just bounce off of her...right?"

"Yeah" Kaidan nodded. "It'll stop the low-grade stuff most mercs have, but the Geth weapons are another story." On Therum a Geth rocket had sliced straight through the barriers and so close to Shepard's head that it left singe marks in her hair. She'd laughed it off, saying if the Geth wanted to give her a free haircut she wasn't going to turn it down. When the look of concern on his face didn't fade she'd sighed, and reassured him that if she could make it through the Blitz with only her fatigues and a pistol - and no biotics - then a few Geth sqads were nothing to worry about.

Liara sighed. "That's quite a risk."

"She knows," Kaidan snapped, more sharply than he'd intended. Liara frowned and looked away. "She 's decided she can handle it." He turned his gaze back to the vid screen as Joker finally settled on a view of the entrance to the docking bay. No one spoke as they watched Tali's helmet peek quickly over the top of a shipping crate, followed by the camouflage-pattered arm rising up and lobbing one more grenade at the colonists gathered around the Normandy's airlock. The muffled sound of an explosion echoed softly in the corridor behind the cockpit, audible to everyone on deck because the banging on the hull had suddenly stopped.

The airlock door had never seemed to open so slowly as it did now. Shepard looked fine - no visible limp as she stepped onto the deck, no singed hair, no scratches or bruises on her face. "Is everyone alright?" she asked immediately, before she'd finished returning Pressley's salute, her eyes sweeping up and down the deck.

"Yes, ma'am," Pressley replied.

Kaidan thought he saw her shoulders relax a little as her gaze landed on him. "Both patrols made it back?"

"A few of the younger ones are a little rattled," he said, forcing his voice to stay calm despite his racing heartbeat, "But otherwise they're all fine."

"Good," she breathed. "Ash, I want you to go round those marines up, then head back outside to gather up the colonists. They should all be unconscious, not dead, but I don't know how long they'll stay that way. Lock them up in one of the colony's central buildings so they can't do any more damage. Then I want those marines back out on patrol in case the Geth come this way again."

"If they're busy fighting they're not busy getting scared," Ash grinned.

Shepard chuckled. "Something like that." She tilted her head at Liara. "Go with them. If the colonists wake back up we'll need your biotics to keep them under control." Ash and Liara eyed each other suspiciously for a moment before they both turned and strode away. Shepard watched them go, her lips pressed together as if she was weighing whether to say anything more, but after the door to the stairwell closed behind them she turned towards Garrus. "There's a small group of civilians holed up in a room near the top of the skyway. Tali can guide you back there. Take the rover from the main garage and bring them back to the colony."

"I presume you have a plan to turn the colonists uncrazy?" he drawled, his teeth showing in what had to pass for a Turian grin.

Shepard replied with a human one. "We're about to find out. Alenko, Wrex - you're with me."

Wrex laughed, brandishing his assault rifle. "Enjoy being an errand boy, Turian."

Garrus' eyes narrowed. "Or perhaps I'm trustworthy enough that Shepard doesn't feel she needs to keep an eye -"

"I'll get the ruler out later, boys, if it'll make you feel better," Shepard cut in, giving each a look that was half-warning, half-reassurance. "Right now we all have jobs to do." The Turian and the Krogan glared at each other for a few more seconds before Garrus turned away with an audible snarl and stalked into the airlock. Tali scrambled underneath the door to join him just before it closed. Shepard sighed and shook her head. "Pressley?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Get a hold of Deputy Undersecretary DeLeon, Alliance Colonial Affairs - and yes, I know what time it is on Arcturus," Shepard said just as Pressley was getting ready to speak. "Tell him you're calling for me and he'll wake up really fast. He's going to need to send an emergency response team here ASAP, along with his best investigators. They're about to have a mess on their hands." She turned back to Kaidan and Wrex. "You two ready?"

"Ready and eager," Wrex grinned.

"All set, Commander," Kaidan added quickly. "But shouldn't Tali be coming along with us? To help out against the Geth?"

"We're not going after more Geth," Shepard said, punching the buttons to reopen the airlock doors. "We have some gardening to do."

Kaidan frowned as the inner door began to open. "Ma'am?"

"A sentient form of plant life called the Thorian. It's tens of thousands of years old, at least. ExoGeni Corporation purposefully built this colony at this location so they could observe the Thorian's effect on the colonists." She stepped into the airlock, then wheeled around to face him. "Something about spores in the air and mind control." Wrex joined her in the airlock, raising his rifle into a ready position just in case the colonists outside were conscious again and waiting to attack.

"That's...great," he replied, suddenly wishing he'd brought his breather helmet. "Do you think we're going to see more of those husks?"

"Yes," she nodded grimly, watching the inner door sliding shut behind him. "I think the plant controls them, that they're what the colonists will turn into eventually." Consecutive metal clangs signaled the closure of the inner door and the opening of the outer door. "That's why I wanted a squad full of biotics."

The colonists who had been assaulting the ship still lay where they had fallen just below the airlock's outer door, peacefully asleep. "So why is this plant telling the colonists to attack us?" he asked as they stepped over the colonists and headed for the stairs.

"Good question," Shepard sighed, taking the stairs two at a time. "If we knew that, maybe we could find a way to end this fight without using pistols as pesticide."

"You don't want to kill it?" Wrex growled.

"Not if I don't have to." She strode quickly through the colony's open areas until she reached a console in the middle. Kaidan took up position behind her, glancing around for any sign of movement from the colonists or husks. "All we really need is to figure out how to get the colonists back to normal and why Saren was so interested in this rock," she continued, punching a few buttons and then watching grimly as a crane lifted a cargo container into the air, revealing a wide stairway hidden beneath. "If we can't do that without killing it, then so be it, but if we can then -"

A single figure staggered around the corner of the central building, the silhouette of a gun in its left hand - "Commander!" Kaidan called out, raising his pistol with one hand while the other reached back for her. Behind both of them he could hear Wrex growl and ready his assault rifle to fire.

"I see him," Shepard said calmly. She stepped around Kaidan and towards the approaching man, her pistol held firmly in her hands and aimed at the man's head.

He lurched a few steps closer to them, then lifted his head far up enough for them to recognize Fai Dan, the leader of the colony. "I tried to fight it, but it gets in your head," he whispered. "You can't imagine the pain."

"We're going to find a way to stop it," Shepard said, her voice lower and gentler than Kaidan could remember hearing before.

"I was supposed to be a leader," Fai Dan said, grief twisting his face. "These people trusted me."

Shepard began moving slowly closer to Fai Dan, taking one hand off of her pistol. "You still are their leader," she intoned softly, her eyes glancing down at the gun in his hands. "You're going to help them get better when this is all over." The familiar shimmer of biotic energy began to envelop her free hand. "You're going to get better."

One step more was too much - Fai Dan jumped back, raising his gun to point directly at Shepard. She stopped, her biotic field vanishing as she regripped her pistol with both hands. "It wants me to stop you…" Fai Dan cried. Kaidan took one hand off of his pistol, his own biotics crackling to life. "But I…won't," Fai Dan choked, his arms shaking as if warring against themselves. The biotic energy sprang from Kaidan's hand - Fai Dan turned the pistol towards himself - "I won't!"

Shepard stood, unmoving, her arms still raised and hands locked around her pistol even after Fai Dan's body had fallen to the ground. The biotic field Kaidan had hoped to use to pull the gun from Fai Dan's hands faded. "I'll make sure there are no other stragglers," Wrex muttered, marching away.

Kaidan waited until she took a step back and finally lowered her arms before approaching her slowly. Her face was as pale as he'd ever seen it - even more than when she'd been unconscious on Eden Prime. "Commander?" She gave no sign that she'd heard him, instead dropping her head to stare at the pool of blood spreading below what remained of Fai Dan's head. "Shepard?" he asked again, stepping close to her. She started, as if for a moment she'd either forgotten that he was there or that she was here. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she said quickly. "Fine." She took a long, deep breath, then whipped her head around and began striding purposefully towards the newly revealed stairs. "Let's go kill this thing."

Kaidan paused. "No more hoping for a peaceful solution?" he asked carefully.

She slowed her stride only long enough to glance back first at him, then at the body on the ground. "No."