It was like a scene out of a horror movie, Vega thought, as the team entered the mining facility. Outside was all Reapers and chaos. Inside, it was like a normal day at the office. The soft drone of voices and hums of machinery were a stark contrast to the shouts and gunfire outside.

There was something vacant behind the eyes of the miners who noticed the strangers moving through the complex, something that put him once again in mind of horror movies. As if Reapers weren't bad enough.

Shepard gave a soft huff, the kind she used to clear her mind before getting into the unknown, then marched over to reception, looking from one of the men behind the desk to the other. "I'm Captain Shepard, Alliance Navy. Did you…miss…the Reapers banging on your front door?" she asked.

They both blinked. The gesture wasn't synchronized, but it reminded Vega of cats, that slow blink that was so weird—like they understood, but were pretending they didn't so you'd assume they wouldn't.

Cats were sneaky. He wasn't a fan.

"Are they gone?" one of the guards asked.

"We've taken care of them," Shepard answered. "For now."

It was like lag in real-time. The guard who spoke blinked that slow blink again. "Good. That will be all." With that, the turned his attention towards his desk.

"That will be all?" Shepard asked before exchanging looks with Vega and Alenko.

She nodded and Alenko moved forward, rapping his knuckles gently on the desk. "Excuse me?"

Nothing.

This time Alenko reached over and pushed the 'assistance' button. This did get the guards' attentions. The one who seemed the elected speaker looked up. Slow blink. "Yes? Welcome to T-GES Mineral Works."

It was like he didn't realize he'd been part of a conversation moments before.

"How can we help you?"

"Yes," the other guard interrupted, but slowly, as if navigating between sentences like a fish between obstacles. "For the tour, please sign in."

"You don't seem too worried about those Reapers. You know something we don't?" Alenko tried again.

"T-GES Mineral Works is a small- to mid-level supplier of tungsten to the galaxy," the first guard droned.

Vega saw this in school: kids giving answers they knew by rote but which they didn't really understand.

"Not really what we were getting at," Alenko said, shrugging and glancing at Shepard.

"Excuse me?" Shepard broke in.

"Are you familiar with the applications of tungsten?" the guard asked, as if he didn't realize he was speaking to a new party.

"It's like listening to an answering machine," Vega huffed. It was creepy beyond words.

"I'm looking for a researcher, went by Garneau," Shepard said slowly and clearly.

That blink again. It was beginning to give Vega chills. Definitely like a horror movie. As if the Reapers needed a supporting cast.

"He'd have arrived a couple weeks ago. I need to speak to him if he's still here."

"We have no Garneau," the first guard responded after a pause.

"Do you need to see a doctor?" the second asked.

Shepard sighed. "How about I just have a look for myself?"

"No." This time, they spoke in unison without lag. "The access elevator is broken," the first continued as a loud, sparking sound erupted from the access elevator.

The three marines looked in time to see a worker drifting away from the not-so-subtly-sabotaged door.

"We're done. Step away," the first guard said.

"Step away," the second echoed. "You don't belong here."

Shepard's eyes narrowed. "Neither do you."

Vega really did shiver, wondering if whatever was on the other side of those blank eyes would react badly to this declaration.

Nothing bad happened as Shepard motioned him and Alenko to follow her to a quiet corner. Out of sight, out of mind never seemed so literal. As soon as they were away from the desk, the guards seemed to forget about them.

"Does this feel weirdly familiar to you?" Shepard asked Alenko, glaring as several of the workers drifted out of the room.

"Yeah. Which makes me wonder, where's Fai Dan in all of this?" Alenko asked, looking at Shepard as he crossed his arms.

"I was wondering that myself," she answered, rolling her shoulders before moving to examine the damaged elevator.

"What's Fai Dan?" Vega asked, looking from Shepard to Alenko and back.

"Fai Dan was a colonist on Feros," Shepard explained, cuing her omnitool. "Mind-controlling plant—it was all bullshit."

"Seconded," Alenko declared grimly, holding up two fingers as though voting. "You don't think the Leviathan could be…I don't know…like a Thorian?"

"I don't rule anything out, but the Thorian we saw was sessile."

"Could be somewhere in the mines. We're not exactly on the beaten track here."

"Not a lot of resources, unless it's eating the workers."

"Ugh," Alenko groaned. "Don't take us there."

"Too late. Sorry," she snickered.

"What's a thorian? Come on, guys," Vega groaned, hating the fact that it sounded a step away from whining, like a child after adults who were having a conversation above its head.

"The Thorian was a sentient plant-thing that brainwashed a colony. Saren wanted it. We dropped it down a deep hole. Never heard about it again so we assumed 'died on impact,'" Shepard supplied. "I don't think I can fix this myself," she sighed, kicking the door in annoyance.

"A mind controlling plant? Out here?" Vega asked. He was with Shepard: this didn't seem like a place for a plant to set up shop.

"It's possible, but the Thorian's thralls all referred us to a single contact, like they couldn't manage on their own. These guards seem at least partially self-reliant," Alenko continued. "…if with short memories and attention spans."

"You know, I actually like the second Thorian theory," Shepard frowned, crossing her arms and drumming her fingers on her ribs.

"You do?" Alenko arched his eyebrows.

"Because if we're really dealing with a rogue Reaper I'm gonna be pissed. It's just clichéd and complicated," she sighed.