Characters: John Shepard, Sheale, Elizabeth Banem.
Scene: Feros, Exo-Geni colony.

Although the Thorian was killed, and the Exo-Geni tower was freed from the Geth, none of the colonists felt joy. Each of them lost his friend, comrade, or even a loved one during the attack. It was possible to survive only a small group of people entrenched near the ship called "Borealis", located on the roof of one of the many Protocan skyscrapers. Initially, the reason for choosing the landing site so unusual for a transport ship was its damage, but in fact the colonists simply used the space ship to close the entrance to the skyscraper's bowels - it was there that the controlling consciousness of the poor inhabitants of the Thorian colony hid. However, now, when this terrifying plant was finished, Shepard did not want to think about him. On the contrary, he wanted to completely abstract from what happened on Feros, because the spectrum had to be balanced on the thin line between loyalty to people and the goal of his mission.

It was much easier to kill the colonists controlled by the Proteanin, but Shepard decided to do otherwise. Thanks to one of the surviving scientists at Exo-Geni, Julian Bane, the captain managed to supply the grenades of the battle group with a unique anti-T ryan gas that neutralized the colonists without physical harm. Of course, this task has become much more difficult. It is not so easy not to shoot at someone who intends to kill you, even if this “someone” is not the master of his own consciousness and is not aware of his behavior. Another spectrum in place of Shepard would not take care of the life of the inhabitants of the colony, but perform the task at any cost. But not John. Despite his overly straightforward approach to business, Shepard was characterized by the concept of compassion. And when there was a little chance to save the colonists and avoid their death, Shepard used this chance. Thanks to the gas that paralyzed the colonists, the victims among them were avoided, and the captain now felt much better, because he once again proved to himself that he still puts humanity above any other factors.

Nevertheless, Shepard could not praise himself, looking at the sad and tired faces of the colonists who had survived such that they wouldn’t wish the enemy. The mission of the Normandy on Feros came to an end, but John decided to remain in the colony for a few more hours. From the nearest habitable system to Nadezhda Zhu, the ship was already moving with the necessary supplies and, most importantly, the guards, and until it landed, Shepard decided not to leave the colony. After experiencing, he felt some responsibility to all the inhabitants of the colony for what they experienced. Appear "Normandy" before, who knows how many lives they could have saved.

“Captain,” came the pleasant, almost velvety female voice very near.

The man turned his head and saw an asari with a purple skin and the same color with tattoos on his face standing a meter away. Shiala, rescued by a captain from the captivity of Thorianin. Her slender body was dressed in a dark combat overalls of Asari paratroopers, and even though the girl looked exhausted and devastated, she still had to go through so much! - she tried to keep her head straight and her back straight. Apparently, she did not want to look feeble against the background of the colonists, who, as she probably thought, got much more than she did.

“Sheelah,” John replied amiably. He himself sat on an empty crate from under the provisions and dismantled his own machine gun.In the last battle, the autocooling system began to act up, so the captain used the first break to test its performance. The appearance of the girl did not surprise him. Surely in Nadezhda Zhu, she now feels like a recluse. Although the girl did not personally participate in the attack on the colony, she served as the matriarch Benesia, and therefore initially flew to Feros with very vile purposes. Fortunately, she managed to come to her senses in time, especially when the matriarch betrayed her, allowing Thorianin to enslave her mind. After this, Shiala revised her views and decided to stay in the colony to help her inhabitants restore what the geth had destroyed. The goal was noble, and even if the colonists first treated the asari with suspicion, later she would surely establish herself as an extremely useful member of their society. Shiala despised herself for being so easily under Saren's stupefying, and therefore the spectrum had no doubt that the feeling of guilt would be her guiding star on the way to normal life. Let her be the only representative of the asari race in the human colony.

- Can I sit down? - asked Shiala. Without waiting for an answer, she sat down on the next box, pulling her knees to her chest and resting her chin on them. Her gaze was somewhat detached, so Shepard decided, nevertheless, to ask if anything had happened.

- Everything is good? - the captain put down his weapon and carefully looked at the asari. Up close, she looked even more gaunt - a feeling that the girl had not slept for at least a couple of weeks.

“I took a sleeping pill, but it has almost no effect on the asari,” Shiala replied, looking vaguely off into the distance. - I tried to sleep, but ...

The girl closed her eyes.

- I can not. As soon as I close my eyelids, those bright pictures that the Thorianus sent again appear in my mind. Weave roots, enveloping the mind, overshadowing all other senses. I seem to fall into non-existence ... And immediately startled in horror. The emptiness that I felt when I was in the grip of a plant scares me. More than anything, I just want to relax. And it ... Oh, goddess, forgive me. You don't have to listen to my lamentations. Enough that you saved me and gave me a chance to atone.

The girl opened her eyes again - a magical emerald color - and smiled hard at the captain.

“I understand how you feel,” Shepard said. Now he did not yulil and did not lie. After the massacre on Akuse, in which he lost the entire squad, Shepard, too, could not sleep for many days. Every night he shuddered in a cold sweat, waking up from nightmares, in which he saw the terrible death of his comrades over and over again. Deep sleep came with time. Time, as the spectrum now knew, has an excellent ability to heal any wounds.

“I am not a master to talk beautifully, Shiala,” said the captain. - Yes, it does not help. All you need is to stop thinking about what you have experienced. As soon as possible. It is difficult, but if you do not, the past will haunt you for the rest of your life. Try to turn away from what you did before. Start a new life, imbued with it. In addition, now you have a goal, and a noble goal. You help to fix life not only yours, but also other people. Devote yourself to this cause completely, without a trace, and then the past, no matter how terrible, will lag behind.
Sheaha thought for a few moments, but then the corners of her delicate lips twitched slightly.

“And you say that speaking beautifully is not your end,” smiled the asari.

“There are bright moments,” Shepard replied in turn, allowing himself to smile slightly.
They fell silent, enjoying the silence reigning in the colony. The sun slowly rolled over the horizon, causing the metal structures of the ship and the ruins of the skyscraper to acquire an odd orange hue. In the light of the sunset, the purple skin of Shiala seemed no less beautiful. Shepard admired her completely unnoticed by himself.Only when the girl coughed happily, obviously amused by the fact that the spectrum could not take her eyes off her, Shepard looked up at the asari.

“Sorry,” he said with a smile. It was nice to just sit here, enjoy the sunset and not think about the future of the galaxy. A short moment of pleasure and tranquility, a sweet moment of relaxation, which was so hard to snatch in a mad whirl of spectrum duties. Evening ...