The Warrior of Mass, The Soldier of Effect

by MilitaryMan1

There are many things one can prepare for; genocidal, synthetic-AI hell-bent on the destruction of galactic civilisation? Shepard had already mapped out 10 contingencies for that probability. Being transported by a Reaper artifact into an entirely new universe? Well...it may hold no bearing here, but she's prepared to show this new universe how she got the title "Butcher of Torfan"

2. The Beginning Of The End

(A period prior…)

Gaucherie; If Shepard had to pick one word to describe how her team had disbanded following the, once considered suicidal, attack on the Collector Base, that would be in her top 2 choices; that, or "difficult". Difficult in both a practical sense and an emotional one. Due to her utmost commitment to the team, Shepard ensured that every one of those who walked into hell and back for her made it to their desired destinations before she even considered returning to the Systems Alliance' controlled space; although, she had to make exceptions for certain members who preferred anonymity. Kasumi, for example, wished to be simply dropped off on Illium at a docking port about 2 miles south of the Azure hotel resort; this particular depot handles off-world traffic, suggesting she was planning on leaving the planet anyway. While it was likely just "Ms Goto" being stuck in her ways, it caused Shepard a little pain to have to bid farewell feeling slightly…unreliable as a friend, not a commander, to the young thief. One by one she watched those she had learned about, fought alongside and would die for slowly fade back into the galaxy. It felt as cruel as when she'd first strode onto the galactic stage nearly 3 years ago in her hunt for Saren; the pain was different but the amount suffering was the same. Despite her disinterest about the Cerberus operative, she had thought back to what Jacob had said to describe the state of the galaxy in the current era; "Politics, bureaucracy; same bullshit different leaders". Back then, the pain came from the judgment, "How could she release the Rachni Queen? Stupid bitch…" an onlooker would say as to a friend as she passed outside the markets by Chora's Den, or "There's no way Shepard could defeat Arterius; they'll be using the three chunks left of her corpse to spruce up the presidium's demari flowers" an extranet forum frequenter would write. Now? The pain was internal, a missing part of her lost when her rag-tag-team broke apart; the chirping tone of Mordin's singing had faded from the lab's walls, the Thanix Cannon's efficiency decreased with the lack of constant calibrations from Vakarian's constantly working talons and the small static discharges left by the residue of passive biotic usage had become limited to Shepard's own chemistry.

Mordin had requested a drop-off at a small base in the Joral mountain range on Sur'Kesh which, even with Shepard's Spectre Council Spectre Status and infamous reputation, was heavily restricted due to its nature as the Salarian equivalent of a "black-ops" or "silent-running" site; surprisingly, little resistance to the Normandy's presence occurred once the base's head of operations, Major Kirrahe, was able to confirm that Mordin Solus was on-board and that it was ,in fact, Commander Shepard attempting to land. After numerous "apologies on the behalf of the Salarian Union" from a young "holo-jockey", Shepard was treated to a warm welcome from the Salarian unit on guard at the base; the Major said that he was honoured to have the woman who saved his men on Virmire at his base, but that he remembered the Normandy "flying friendly colours" when it came to their aid. No doubt he was trying to refer to the Cerberus' logos that adorned the frigate docked at the base and was using specific vocabulary to mask his message from any bugs in case of a data leak. After a brief explanation that EDI had swept the ship of bugs and an exchanging of pleasantries, Mordin managed to get permission using some old contacts within STG to allow the ship to dry-dock for the day while the Normandy was repaired after the damage it sustained on the trip through the Omega-4-Relay and repainted to a standard matte white in exchange for Salarian access to study the Tantalus Drive-Core; given that Shepard was planning on giving the ship back to the Alliance and Council for study anyway, she gave permission for the engineers to do as they please and managed to improved Quarian-Salarian relations, if only by a minor degree, by placing them under the command of Tali (who is a shining example of the Quarian race, Shepard might add). After a few days of tireless work and a little elbow grease, the Normandy flew back into the galaxy as a white beacon against the endless abyss of the stars, Mordin left at the base of his own request, humming a quiet tune under his breath.

Now no longer bearing the stained logo on its hull, the Normandy went to the Citadel to restock on all munitions, food and materials necessary for the deep space operations constantly undertaken by the stealth frigate; however, it was also the drop-off point for the majority of the remaining crew aboard the vessel. Most of the non-essential or replaceable civilian Cerberus members chose to depart, primarily due to the success and completion of the mission, including Kelly Chambers and mess sergeant Rupert Gardner; this left behind a skeleton crew of people who were comfortable with entering the Alliance military or, at the least, were loyal to Shepard. In addition to this, Justicar Samara, Thane Krios and Garrus Vakarian all chose to leave the squad at this destination, all citing various reasons and objectives. Thane wanted to reconnect with his son Kolyat, not wanting to enter the "oceans with Kalahira" before reconnecting with his son or leaving him "disconnected" once more; Shepard donated a "small" amount of money anonymously to the bank account of a "Tannor Nuara" (his moniker) for an apartment in a complex on the Silversun Strip and bid him the politest of farewells. On the opposite end of the Citadel, Samara stated that she needed to commune with Councilor Tevos about the death of Morinth and to encourage support and preparation for the incoming reaper invasion; thus, she left for the Presidium Ring and promised to contact Shepard if she found it necessary to return to Asari space in the immediate future. Garrus, in true Vakarian fashion, left on a cheap zinger about Shepard's "physical capabilities".

"Alright Shepard, I need to garner support in the Turian embassy and pull in some resources to contribute to the War preparation across our colonies; although I do have our 'ace in the hole', as you humans say" Garrus contemplated by the cockpit's hatch, one talon on his fringe scalp

"What's that, Garrus?" Shepard said, opening the hatch with a lopsided grin.

"If the Reapers come before we've had time to prepare for their onslaught, I'll broadcast that omni-tool recording of you dancing after hitting the hard booze in Afterlife's VIP section; they'll either melt down, run away or fall in love" came the choked reply from a sniggering Turian sniper specialist

Shepard got an evil glint in her eyes "It can't be as embarrassing as your attempt to block rockets with your face; the only other Turian who witnessed a payload that big was the recon scout schooling you in flexibility, yes?", came the sardonic reply from the red-headed warrior

Mock pain shot across the Turian's scarred faceplates "Touché…Just like old times", with a quiet passive march, Garrus faded into the masses of people, leaving Shepard to smile at the disappearing figure. Once more, the Normandy departed a little emptier than before.

About a day later, Shepard at the request of the ex-Cerberus operatives Miranda Lawson and Jacob Taylor travelled to the Omega system and then the station itself; apparently, they were going to a data dealer called Ish and retrieving some rather valuable information on a powerful "ruler". One could only guess given Lawson's elusive nature from years of manipulation and spite. Following that, Miranda said she was going to visit Oriana and live with her for a while to build up that relationship they never had; Jacob was going for a more peaceful pleasure, for he was planning on taking his years of accumulated credits and building a home on Virmire as his own territory. Due to the lack of a Council presence in the area, the lush garden-world was technically open to settlement by any third-party groups but with the risk of possible pirate or Geth attacks, neither of which concerned a hardened marine like Jacob. In all honesty, Shepard was less affected by their departure than the others as she had long ago distanced herself from the two for different reasons; one due to a disinterest in their depth of character and the other due to their inherent condescending nature caused by a weird concoction of an inferiority and superiority complex. So, with polite handshake and fist-bump between two of the trio, the group dispersed and Shepard returned to the Normandy; a feeling of regret at her inability to bond with the two washed across her, before being drowned in a blanket of acceptance, the clamps on the dock releasing the vice like grip on both the Normandy and the swallowed lump in the commander's throat as she began her voyage to the Migrant Fleet, currently field stripping minerals in the Argos Rho cluster.

Tali'Zorah vas Normandy "returned to where she began" after traveling amongst "shoals" of cosmic dust. Travelling with Shepard one last time, with Legion no less, they stepped onto Koris' "Qwib Qwib" ship, an old second-hand freighter from Irune; after some minor hostilities from the guards and a bit of light questioning about the origin of the ship from Legion, Admiral Koris was given a private extranet server from which the Geth collective could be contacted.

"Creator-Koris, we have an enquiry." Legion's expressive flaps perfectly synchronized with its speech modulator.

"Go ahead,..uhm..'Legion'", the Quarian guard detail were very twitchy around what they considered a hostile species; however, it seemed to have no effect on the Geth platform and its inquisitive nature.

"Name of current Quarian vessel is consistent with Volus cultural trading vessels; was this ship previously in the ownership of the Vol Protectorate?" came the innocent question from the synthetic form

"Yes actually, this vessel specifically was purchased during a special period of uncertainty called …"; these conversations continued for several hours before Shepard left for human space. The talks ended with Legion stating that "further contact with creator forces is necessary to ascertain amicability between Geth and Quarian units", and exiting the Quarian dock on a shuttle back to the Perseus Veil.

To say Tali was ecstatic was like saying "Yagh are big" and "Salarians know things!": a colossal understatement. After a hug, big enough to crush an Elcor, miss 'Zorah bestowed upon Shepard a gift: her father's monomolecular blade. Shepard had heard about these: thin, durable swords that split molecules apart and were typically made of alloys normally reserved for ship armour. They could be infused with a variety of abilities based upon their specialisation; while's Tali's was undoubtedly used in combination with Tech abilities like "incendiary plasma" and "electrical" effects, Shepard had no doubt in her mind it could be infused with her biotics as well. Left utterly speechless and a tear in her eye, she told Tali to keep in contact and stay safe; a similar request was returned to Shepard. Now leaving the shrinking series of ships behind, Shepard ordered Joker to hang around in the Hydra cluster until further notice. While looking over the galaxy map, Shepard was greeted to the scarred, yet comforting face of mercenary Zaeed Massani, who initiated a conversation

"Hey Shepard." The rough and coarse voice called out

"Zaeed, good to see you, you're actually my next destination; where'd do you wanna go?" Shepard responded. She was quite fond of Zaeed and his stories; she reminded Shepard of her childhood friend's grandad and a little bit of an old dog. He held a surprisingly charismatic presence for someone who had no conventional etiquette in conversation.

"If I'm being honest, I don't know where I'm heading Shepard, after this "suicide mission" I just want to rest for a while and see if I can fix up ol' Jessie downstairs; when these "Reapers" come, the bloodthirsty bitch better be back in action." He sighed and began to reminisce on the last time he wielded her in action.

Shepard felt bad for Massani; she knew he spiraled down into alcoholism for a long period of time after Vido's betrayal and knew his romantic life had come with equal amounts of betrayal (specifically when she inquired more about that Turian model ship, the Verikkan). She began to think about a good place to unwind for his type of character: Omega would cause more problems than it would solve, Illium was too paperwork-heavy and Eden Prime was still rebuilding after the Geth Attack. Elysium? Ah, he wouldn't be allowed weapons there; then it clicked. Pulling up her old registry information, she checked to see if her apartment on Intai'sei was still under her name; due to its nature as a retirement villa, it had no taxes and was still under her ownership due to her success on Ahern's survival mission.

"I've got an old retirement place on Intai'sei that- " Shepard got cut off by a throaty chuckle and a light push from Massani

"You tryn' tell me something, Shepard?"; a toothy grin appeared on the face of the Paris-green-eyed commander.

"Don't fret too much; you might throw your hip. Anyway, I added a forgery and workshop to the shuttle garage there if you'd like to take it off of my hands; you're closer to retiring than I am anyway"

"Sounds good; Shepard?" Zaeed asked with a slight grim edge to his face appearing

"Hmmh?" They were now facing directly at each other.

Zaeed put his hand out for a firm shake that Shepard gladly took "Thanks, for everything; I'm not good at this cheesy crap but I got the bollocks to try because you've earned it".

"Anytime. Joker?" Shepard looked over the map to watch Joker respond over the intercom.

"Oh hey, the conquering heroes; what's up?" came Joker's sardonic response as he leaned around his chair, careful not to fracture a rib; he was still sore from the crash during the assault on the Collector Base.

"Take us to Intai'sei in the Phoenix cluster" came the order from Shepard.

"Shepard, I know the mission was tiring and you are getting a bit up there in age, but retirement has to wait; the space cuttlefish are still coming" came the oh-so innocent reply from Joker, laughing under his breath.

Two can play at that game, "Don't worry Joker, I'm sure all the people in the retirement home will love your extranet bookmarks….and so will the rest of the Alliance"

A 5 second dead silence followed, "Shutting up now Commander…."

Zaeed pissed himself with laughter "What you got on your omni-tool, glass-bones?"

Joker muttered something under his breath before saying "Nothing that concerns you, Scar-Face"

After a day of travel and another day of preparations after landing, Zaeed had disembarked on Intai'sei to stay at the apartment and Shepard left another good friend behind on the pulchritudinous planet.

This left two squad members left on duty; Grunt and Jack

Shepard and Jacqueline Nought had an…. unusual relationship. While both kept their distance initially due to Jack's hostility clashing with Shepard's formal militaristic nature and informal concern, they eventually became "girls club" types as Jack had put it, if less eloquently. They found common ground in their shared childhood trauma; Shepard fighting every-day on the streets of Earth to survive a hostile gang underworld with the Tenth Street Reds and Jack fighting to survive the human experimentation camp created by Cerberus on Pragia. Though it wasn't a common feeling of mutual pity or sympathy; it was one of respect at what the other could survive.

"Jack" Shepard greeted as she entered the ship's bar, only to see Jack mixing a weird magenta-coloured drink with a verdant-coloured one on the counter.

"Girl-scout" Jack bolted the potent mixture of liquids down and turned to face the head of the ship.

Shepard had asked Jack why she never wore any clothing aboard the Normandy; she had told her that she felt the clothing restricted her, both in a metaphorical sense and in a literal sense, that it restricted her abilities in combat. In response to this, she placed a requisition order for a casual set of fatigues that Jack was currently sporting; in appearance, it looked like a slim sports bra combined with a spiked bomber jacket, with the back of the bra coiling down to cargo trousers in a military camouflage. As well as this, her hair had begun to grow back out and was currently in bob-curl style sitting comfortably around shoulder length.

"What's your poison today?" Shepard asked, absentmindedly pulling up a chair over the bar, opposite from Jack.

Jacqueline eyed the empty glass, raising it to the light in an exaggerated fashion, "Mindfish and a Weeping Heart"

Shepard scoffed "Sure, because drinking skin venom and slow-acting hallucinogens is a great idea when I'm planning on dropping you off soon"

"Relax, I was joking; just a Full Biotic Kick. Why are you coming down here again?" Jack snarkily asked, topping her glass up once more.

"Bourbon, Tuchunka dry, twist of orange and ginger beer, right? Not a bad choice; I'm a Ryncol drinker myself. More importantly, I came down here to see where you wanted to go now that the mission's over.", a response that was immediately followed by the verdant-eyed soldier downing a pint of Ryncol.

Jack's voice was full of mirth "And you're complaining about me being irresponsible? Shit, Shepard; that drink is pretty much radioactive glass and will ruin your oesophagus, if you even survive it. Where I'm going? Not back to prison, that I'm fucking sure of"

Jack finished her drink in one go and gained a solemn look for a moment before returning to her regular brash demeanour.

"This might sound fucking backwards to you, but could you use your Council Status thing to get me onto the Alliance's ascension program in some way?" Jack asked in a deadpan tone

A deep frown etched itself onto Shepard's face " 'SPECTRE' status, and I'm sure I could pull some strings and give it a shot; the real question I have is: why?"

Jack got slightly somber and Shepard immediately regretted being so inquisitive

"Look, you heard the logs on Pragia, those dipshits infiltrated the Alliance's programs and could still be on elusive's payroll; I'm not gonna stand by while some fuckers screwing with the kids behind the scenes".

Thus, the quest to make one of the galaxy's most notorious criminals an instructor of one of the most advanced programs within the Alliance Military began.

This was undoubtedly one of the hardest drop-offs Shepard was making thus far; it took 5 days before Jack was able to even be considered for a training course. With a little help from Councilor Anderson and Liara's pull on the Council governments, Shepard managed to get all of Jaqueline's charges dropped onto a fake alias, who'd been pronounced dead from a drug-overdose in a skycar on Omega and gave her a new alias that was buried under enough "classified" tape to sink a cruiser so as to ensure complete secrecy on the matter.

"Thanks Anderson, I'll never forget what you've done for me" Shepard flashed Anderson her most genuine smile as the words left her lips.

"More than one…" Anderson sighed as he realised the political shit-storm he was going to have to deal with when Udina caught wind of this, but put on a brave front as he knew Shepard found it difficult to come to him even without knowing how much strain he was under.

Eventually, Jack got a station at Grissom Academy and, as the viewport showed the academy turning into a cosmic speck, Shepard was actually happy to see the growth of such a hostile crew member into such an outgoing, if not friendlier to strangers, person.

That left the "Perfect Krogan" on the engineering deck to be dropped off on Tuchunkan soil, or more specifically, at Urdnot's encampment.

"Joker, set a course for Tuchunka" Shepard said with a weary sigh under her breath

"Oohhh, course set. You going for a radioactive sun-bathe or is Wrex taking you out for Thresher Maw steaks?" came the mirthful reply over the comm system

"You'd miss his friendly nature when he's not around" came the sarcastic reply from Shepard, spinning a small amount of alcohol around in the air with her biotic abilities before sipping it from the mass effect field situated in front of her face.

"Also, it's for Grunt, not "Clan Leader" Wrex, so go and ju-"

EDI's holographic form interrupted the conversation, 'her mouth' a violent red colouration, "Alert! Incoming transmission from Alliance Headquarters at Arcturus Station! Private Transmission request from Admiral Steven Hackett".

"I'll take it in my quarters…" Shepard all but sprinted to the elevator…...only to be left waiting around for 2 minutes because the elevator was on the fritz again; without Gardner constantly working the non-emergency electronics, every worked slightly less efficiently in the Normandy crew's casual life.

Eventually escaping the steel death trap, she activated the communication relay and accepted the transmission, her skin having a light-turquoise tint to it against the backdrop of the aquarium.

The holo-screen popped to life, revealing an elderly, greying man in his ceremonial dress-blues military uniform,

"Commander Shepard? Admiral Hackett here, I have an…issue that requires someone not officially in the Systems Alliance chain of command: that's you." came the gruff voice from the top head of the Alliance's fleets, worry as apparent as the wrinkles upon his forehead; these signs placed his age around the low to middling 50s.

"I'm on it Admiral, what's the issue?" Shepard responded, switching back into her authoritative formal tone after the casual chat with EDI in the elevator on the way up to the loft, in which, they discussed the possibility of a plane of existence without the "mass" effect; since the removal of the hardware shackles in the AI Core, EDI had become much more personable to other people and, due to her proximity "emotionally" with Joker, had even begun to crack a few jokes.

"The Alliance has a deep-cover operative in Batarian space, name's Dr. Amanda Kenson; she was part of a science team looking into the reaper threat. Dr Kenson recently reported that she found evidence of an imminent Reaper Invasion"

Immediately, this sent alarm bells to Shepard's head; why was Kenson chosen? What did she find? A Beacon? A Reaper device? Was she aware of Reaper indoctrination? As these questions raced through her mind, she remembered Hackett had contacted her, meaning something was wrong.

"So why contact me?" Shepard let the words fall from her lips, her tone slipping for a moment toward the middle of the sentence.

Hackett's worried face fell into a grim stare "We've just received word that the Batarians have arrested her and moved her to a concealed prison camp on Aratoht; she's being held up on terrorism charges"

That did not bode well; either this Amanda was under the influence and coercion of someone (or something) else, meaning the "real culprit" needed to be stopped, or the Batarians were holding an innocent woman on false charges and she wouldn't wish such torture as Batarian "interrogation" on anyone.

Hackett continued "I need you to infiltrate the facility and retrieve Kenson as soon as possible; as a favour to me, I'm asking you to go in alone"

Shepard had many concerns about that request; the no allies part, not the infiltration part. She could handle two-bit-slave-traders with ease, but from experience, she knew that if Kenson was in fact Indoctrinated, the situation might become a lot more complicated; she could end up trapped herself, with no hope to escape in the form of a squad member to hack a door or guard the shuttle. This job was about deniability as well as skill, so she doubted Hackett would commit to her any of his own soldiers for the mission. Deciding to test the waters a bit, Shepard responded to his specific request with a request of her own.

"Sir, is it absolutely necessary for me to do this mission solo? I have a hell of a squad with me, I'm sure they'd help out". She was lying through her teeth, as most of her team had obviously departed from the Normandy and she had little time to consult any of them given the urgency of this matter, but she wanted to understand his reasoning a bit better before deciding how to approach the situation.

"Shepard, Kenson is my friend; If the Batarians see a squad of armed soldiers, they'll kill her. I need you to go in with discretion or not to go in at all" Hackett spoke in a slightly rushed tone, whether from concern or an eagerness to get a response out of her so he could return to his duties, Shepard couldn't tell.

So, he was having a healthy dose of paranoia; it was clear from this brief conversation that he had a long history with this "Kenson" woman, possibly romantic, but difficult to tell without a solid reading on Amanda's age.

While Shepard was certain under normal circumstances this task would be effortless, the Reaper element threw her into an uncomfortable uncertainty that shook her a little on the inside; every time the charismatic commander had faced the Reapers in any fashion, she'd pulled through thanks to a significant amount of help from her team members. Deciding to use her charm and appeal to his militaristic pragmatism, Shepard coolly responded

"Sir, with all due respect, it seems like a lower-risk situation if at least two people went along on this mission; although, I do agree that it should be kept strictly off of the Alliance's record"

Now intrigued, and the worry fading back into mild concern, Hackett asked "How so, Commander?"

"If one person was kept outside the facility, as a scout for the prison, it leaves a lot of options open for infiltration purposes. For example, they could monitor the progression and location of the site's guards and Dr Kenson, if necessary, create distractions to ensure the acquisition of Kenson when louder alternatives are needed and numerous other tasks, such as guarding an escape vehicle from enemy forces or hiding any bodies of patrollers to avoid suspicion. More importantly, If I got theoretically caught, the guard forces would converge on my location; thus, the 'reinforcement' could reach Amanda with little resistance." Shepard listed off, hoping her reasoning would be enough to convince the stern Fleet Admiral.

Judging by the pained expression on his face, Steven was deeply conflicted and troubled over the decision; the seconds felt like hours to both parties in the conversation. After what finally seemed like an eternity, Hackett spoke up.

"…Permission granted Shepard, but I want this done right; only you enter the facility itself and if this mission leaks out to any other governing bodies, alien or otherwise, you are taking full accountability for the mission. No mention of our involvement here, just you" his voice sounding slightly lighter and with a more resigned undertone than his more coarse, natural voice.

After gathering as much information from Hackett about Kenson, the Alliance Black-Operations and her discovery, Shepard was alerted by EDI that they had just entered the DMZ of Krogan Space. She weighed her options up, and she didn't have many. Normally, this job would be easy pickings for the Normandy crew, but all of the stealth specialists who would find this to be child's play had departed and were unreachable in one way or another.

Kasumi was a no-go, on all levels; she had neither the time or resources to locate Kasumi in any regard, even if her last known location wasn't on the far end of the galaxy.

Legion, she knew would come in a heartbeat or…..heat cycle in its case, if she classified it as an emergency to deal with "the old machines"; however, like Kasumi, being thousands of lightyears away provided a massive time barrier Shepard couldn't afford.

That left Thane as her only option by time and availability alone, and Shepard wouldn't drag Thane back into this for a few reasons. She knew that his sense of justice and care for innocents would make him feel obligated to help; he wouldn't really have a choice in his own mind. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, as it's what made him such an honourable man; however, he was dying of Kepral's Syndrome, and had very little time to spend with his son before he did so. To add to this fact, the dossier on Aratoht said to expect very humid temperatures, which would wreak havoc on his condition; that left Grunt as the only person available at this time.

Grunt; "Grunt and "stealth" should never be in close proximity to one and other in a thought process, so that was a "no".

Wracking her brains, she walked up to the Galaxy map and updated it with all the known locations of squad members; Shepard then sat in deep thought, contemplating the issue. Who was available, skillful and had the experience to be tactful and pull off a mission as a mercenary for the Alliance, unofficially on their payroll?

"Shepard? We are just orbiting Wrex's camp on the radioactive pile of rubble; you still alive down there? If you're dead, I'm not putting you back together, for god's sake; I don't have some shady terrorist organisation to fund me now and I'm not Liara, who can pull funds out of the government through blackmail. But, I am still going to laugh at Sparatus' head thingies when he goes *air quote* 'Ah shit, Reapers' *end air quote* sometime soon" Joker's conversation drifted into monologuing quickly as he realised Shepard was only half-attentive to his words as they hit her ears and were filtered into the recesses of her mind.

Shepard had completely forgotten that currently she was in the process of dropping Grunt off back at Urdnot's camp; she'd saved Grunt's location till last so he would feel cooped up and ready to fight so she could teach him the value of restraint. As well as this, it meant he'd succeed in Krogan society, by expelling his anger in powerful controlled bursts; similar to how the Ancient Krogan Warlords had fought, as per her readings on their species. That was something Wrex had showed her during their first tour on the Normandy. Wrex had-Wrex...

A glint appeared in Shepard's emerald eyes.

(A few hours later)

"Shepard! You're back! I assume that means the Collector's got turned into violent puddle's in the galactic core?" Wrex greeted, marching down from his throne of rubble to welcome his old friend. His literal old friend; not like the Krogan he called an old friend earlier that day and "engaged" with him through a "courtship" of blood.

"They would be if they weren't incinerated by the radioactive blast" came the reply from the smirking soldier, helmet under arm, and an evil glint in her eyes.

"The labs on Noveria, Virmire and now this? Are nuclear explosions generally your choice of exit?" came the throaty chuckle back from the battlemaster.

"Maybe, but I have a favour to ask of you Wrex" her tone switching to deadly serious in a split second, capturing the attention of the Krogan, who as a predator species, were more attuned to these sudden changes

"And it's a big one…."

Author's notes: Sorry for the delay, this flashback was to establish continuity for why Wrex was suddenly there. The next chapter will be the Aratoht mission, hopefully a finished inventory for what the characters are taking with them, and the last chapter currently in the Mass Effect Universe. I'll be counting up what the results are then, but Halo 1 end/2's beginning seems to be the overwhelming winner here at the moment. I say this now, as I'm still not fully sure where I want to go with this story and have tonnes of exams/work to do. Do you think that when they reach Halo 3's end they should cross back over in the ME:U for a sequel? Don't answer now, just food for thought.

Apologies for any mistakes in this chapter; the original got corrupted and in order to fit my own schedule, I rewrote it all in 3 hours

(Update 1/2: I've gone through and corrected some mistakes; should be mostly corrected now)