Vin had barely stepped off the elevator from the Alliance docks when a woman intercepted her, a camera drone hovering over one shoulder.
"Excuse me, Commander Shepard? Khalisa al-Jilani, Westerlund News. Would you mind answering a few questions for our viewers?"
"I suppose not," Vin said, "What do you want to know?" The drone floated forward, the lights around its lens striking her face.
"You've been given an unprecedented opportunity to represent our race. People want to know just how you'll do that," al-Jilani asked. "Humans have been trying to gain the galactic community's respect for nearly thirty years now. How do you feel about being the first human Spectre?"
"Spectres are the absolute best of what each species has to offer. Being asked to join is an incredible honor," Vin said.
"I see. Some have said that your appointment was merely the Citadel throwing humans a bone. Have you encountered any situations where the Council asked you to place its needs before those of Scadrial?"
Vin kept herself from frowning. It figured that the first interview she gave would be with someone who seemed to want to paint her as a traitor to humanity or something.
"The Council deals with the needs of the whole galactic community. Our needs are part of that now, even though we're one of many." al-Jilani raised her eyebrows.
"You really believe that, don't you?" she said softly. She continued in a louder voice. "You've been given command of a cutting-edge human warship for your mission. Is there anything you can tell us about it?"
"The Normandy is actually a joint venture between human and turian engineers. However, I'm afraid that all the innovations in its design are classified. I'm sure you understand."
The reporter gave her a smile, one that said that Vin had just given her an opening.
"So the turians have knowledge of the Normandy that's being kept secret from the Alliance public? Was it really appropriate to hand our most advanced warship over to the Citadel?"
"If the Normandy's been handed over to anyone, that's news to me," Vin said sharply. "I and my crew are still human, and we're still part of the Alliance."
"Yes, but you do work for the Council. Tell me, Commander, did they order you to sabotage human interests on Therum?"
Vin swore mentally, but kept her expression calm. "I'm afraid that I can't comment on anything regarding my mission. Spectre activities are classified, Miss al-Jilani. That includes where I may or may not have been."
"How interesting," al-Jilani said, eyebrows raised. "Given your recent experiences, do you think humanity will ever gain the respect of the galactic community?"
"We'll get their respect if we earn it. That's the only way you can get respect. It's earned, not deserved. And yes, I firmly believe that we will earn their respect, sooner rather than later."
"You're a real idealist, Commander. I hope you're right. One last question. Rumor has it that you're tracking a rogue Spectre named Saren Arterius. Would you care to comment on that?" Vin shook her head.
"As I said, I can't confirm or deny anything about my current assignment," she said. Al-Jilani smiled.
"Oh, don't worry, we'll find out. The eyes of our world are on you, Commander. I hope you don't let us down," al-Jilani said, switching off the camera drone. "Thank you for your time, Commander Shepard."
The reporter walked away, seemingly a little disappointed. She'd probably wanted to get more out of Shepard, or had wanted Vin to say something that she could spin a certain way.
Vin's omnitool beeped, and she pulled up a new message.
Spectre Shepard.
Come to the Spectre outpost in the embassy building.
Lonar Maerun.
Vin stared at the message for a moment. The message had apparently been sent from inside the Spectre outpost, and it was supposed to be incredibly secure. So the message was unlikely to be a trap. And, well, it wasn't like she had anything else to do at the moment.
The outpost was accessed through a back corridor in the embassy building. Just to get in, Vin had to go through a scanner that confirmed her identity based on her height, eyes, blood, and probably like twenty other categories she wasn't aware of. Inside, there were several information terminals, a couple of rooms with simple barrack beds, a shooting range, and a common area with a kitchen and tables.
"So, you're Shepard," a deep voice said from behind her. Vin turned, and came face to face with a batarian. Her heart started racing, and she had her pistol halfway out of its holster before her brain caught up.
"Lonar Maerun?" she asked warily. The batarian nodded.
"Good reflexes," he said, nodding at her pistol. Vin flushed, and holstered it.
"I'm sorry," she said, but Maerun shook his head.
"No harm done. And I can hardly blame you, given your previous experiences with my kind. Come, sit," he said, gesturing towards one of the tables. Vin did so, watching as the batarian picked up a mug of tea from next to the stove. He sat down opposite her, meeting her eyes with the lower pair of his. "Now, tell me what I can do to help you deal with my old student."
"Saren? You trained him?" Vin asked. Maerun nodded.
"Chose him, molded him, trained him, helped shape him into what he is today. If I'd been here when you got the assignment, I'd have volunteered to go with you." Vin snorted
"People are already thinking I'm a traitor to my species for having a few aliens onboard. I don't wanna imagine how the media would react if I brought along a batarian."
Maerun gave a short, bitter laugh. "Traitor to your species. Yes, I know what it's like to be called that."
"I didn't want to ask, but, well, if you're bringing it up…?" Vin said, leaving the question unsaid.
"How did a Batarian become a Spectre, and how am I still one?" Vin nodded. "The same way as anyone else. Being an outstanding example of my kind. There used to be quite a few of us among the Spectres. But when my people severed all ties with the Citadel, most resigned. Only three of us left, now."
"Huh," Vin said, not sure how else to respond. "So, what can you tell me about Saren?"
"Ruthless, cunning, and willing to do anything to achieve his goals. But I suspect you already knew that. You want to know his skills, his abilities."
"Yeah."
"The main one you should know is that he's a practitioner of what the Turians call the Secta Ossis, the Way of Bone. Those who follow it can give themselves certain abilities by sacrificing others. They use their magic, fueled by the sacrifice, to reshape their bones and carapace into the symbols of their art. The reshaped carapace is nearly indestructible. Saren has given himself increased strength, speed, senses, and reflexes, and that's only the ones I know of."
Vin sucked in a breath through her teeth. "That's monstrous. How can the Hierarchy allow people to use something like that?"
"It's rarely practiced, from what I understand. And they have very strict rules about it. They're only allowed to sacrifice people who agreed to become a sacrifice while of sound mind. I'm told some turians see it as an honor, and will agree to it if they're already dying."
"That doesn't make it right," Vin said. Maerun surprised her by nodding in agreement. Vin felt a burst of shame at her surprise. The man had done nothing to make her think he'd agree with the practice.
"No, it doesn't."
Vin sighed. "Alright, what about other batarians working with Saren?"
"Yes, I read your report. You're sure that they had devices for turning people into Lifeless?"
"I saw those things on Mindoir. I know what they look like," Vin said harshly. Maerun frowned.
"I've not heard anything of devices like what you described, but I do have a few contacts left within the Hegemony. I'll see what I can turn up."
"Thank you, Spectre Maerun. I'll take all the help I can get," Vin said as she got up from the table. She was halfway to the door when she turned back to him. "Oh, wait, one last thing. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that ship of Saren's, would you?"
Maerun shook his head. "Afraid I'm just as much in the dark as everyone else about that thing. All I can tell you is that wherever it came from, Saren didn't design it."
"You seem awfully sure of that."
"It's not his style. Saren had his own ship personally made once, years ago. He prefers things small and fast, and has a completely different design sense and aesthetic."
"Well, I'll take your word for it. Design and aesthetics aren't exactly my area of expertise. Kinda surprised they're yours, honestly."
"Didn't think batarians had much of an eye for art?" Shepard blushed, ashamed of her biases showing so clearly. But Maerun shook his head. "Most don't. Certainly not the lower castes. Art is only for the upper castes to appreciate. But I've had about a century to pick things up here and there."
Vin's eyebrows shot up. "You're kidding. You don't look that old…not that I know what old age looks like in a batarian," she remarked, more to herself than to Maerun.
"The signs aren't as noticeable in us. And I suspect you don't know anything about Awakeners or Biochromatic Breath, either?"
"That's the kind of magic you use, isn't it? I didn't think anyone outside of the Hegemony knew much about it. And batarian soldiers aren't exactly the talkative type."
"True enough. Here, this should help," he said, tapping a few keys on his omnitool. Her own omni beeped, she accepted the file transfer, and opened the document.
"An in-depth guide to BioChromatic Breath and its uses," Vin read aloud.
"It's a common text among those in the Hegemony. Many uses of Breath aren't all that practical these days, what with body armor and guns," Maerun said.
"This…Awakening doesn't work on them?"
"No. Doesn't work on any non-organic material. Awakening, to vastly simplify things, allows one to animate inanimate objects, but only if they were once part of something alive."
Vin chuckled. "Yeah, can't imagine that's very useful anymore."
"Which is why most just stockpile Breath. Get enough of it, and you essentially stop aging, in addition to gaining immunity to most toxins and diseases."
"Now that's a lot more useful," Vin remarked.
"Indeed. It's also why our damned government has stagnated so much. Politicians who don't age, who don't retire, and who don't change their views," he growled. "But you're not here to listen to an old man's woes."
"Maybe not, but it's interesting all the same," Vin said. "But I probably ought to get going."
"One last question, if I may," Maerun said. "You accepted me quite quickly. Given your past, I expected more hostility." Vin shook her head.
"If you'd met me right after Mindoir, I probably would've tried to murder you," she admitted. "I held onto that hate for a while. But when I joined the military, I saw other soldiers who let their hate define them. I'd rather not be like one of them."
"Not easy, constantly carrying around that kind of hate and not giving in to it."
"No," Vin said. Maerun nodded, apparently satisfied.
"I've taken enough of your time, Commander. Good luck on your hunt."
"Thank you, Spectre Maerun. And good luck with…whatever your next mission is," Vin said as she left.
On the way out, she remembered something. Garrus had mentioned that Spectres had access to better weapons and armor, and given what Saren had access to, turning down an advantage would be a stupid idea. Vin took a look at the requisitions console.
"Fuck me," she swore when she saw the prices. Vin was hardly broke, but some of the equipment there would take a serious chunk out of her bank account.
On the other hand, good armor was a pretty sound investment. Vin pondered the choices for a moment. Then, she shrugged, and bought a new set of armor and weapons.
"Not like I do much with my money, anyway," she said to herself, telling the requisitions office to deliver her purchases to the Normandy.
On the way out of the embassy building, Vin stopped by Udina's office, intending to check in with him. But when she stepped through the door, there was already someone there, a weathered looking man in an Admiral's uniform.
"Ah, Shepard," Udina said.
"Sorry for interrupting, I can wait outside, sirs," she said. But the Admiral shook his head.
"It's alright, Commander Shepard." A thoughtful look crossed his face. "Actually, perhaps you can help me."
"With what, Admiral…?" Vin asked.
"Kahoku. Admiral Kahoku. I've been trying to get someone to look into one of my teams that's gone dark, but everyone I talk to is giving me the runaround. But you're a Spectre. You could look into it and find out what's going on!" he said, pounding his palm with his fist.
"Of course, sir. Where was their last known location?"
Kahoku told her, and Vin took a moment to check the coordinates.
"Hm. It's close enough to the Traverse that it shouldn't be too out of the way. I'll get there as soon as I can, Admiral," Vin said, saluting.
"Thank you, Commander," Kahoku, said, returning the salute before departing. Once the door had shut behind him, Vin turned back to Udina.
"You set that up." It wasn't a question.
"Kahoku's concerns are legitimate, and my hands were tied. Besides, can you honestly say that you wouldn't have agreed to help him if you'd met on your own?" Udina asked with a small smile.
Vin shook her head.
"There you are, then," Udina said, leaning back in his chair.
"Sorry if I made any trouble for you with what happened on Therum," Vin said as she pulled up a chair, but Udina waved a hand dismissively.
"I read your report, Vin. I don't see what else you could've done. And I agree with your assessment of Dr. T'Soni."
"Good. Got any more leads for me?"
"Scattered reports of geth activity. I forwarded all of them to the Normandy. Besides that, nothing. You're free to look into Kahoku's missing marines at your leisure."
"Leisure isn't exactly the word I'd use to describe my life right now," Vin said, and they shared a small chuckle.
Wrex sat down across from the old krogan, and placed the gemstone on the table between them. Neither spoke for several minutes, the elder simply sipping at his drink while Wrex waited. Only when he'd emptied the mug did the elder speak.
"It has been a long time, young Urdnot," he said in a rumbling voice. "When last we spoke, you swore you were done with the Orders, with our people and with Tuchanka. What has changed?"
Wrex nodded at the crystal, and the thing within it. "I fought a younger krogan, one in service to Saren. He had a strange Form, and when I slew him I captured that."
The elder picked up the gem, examining it closely, rotating it so that different facets caught the light. He kept staring at the dark shape within the gem for several minutes, and when he put it down, the elder's face was troubled.
"That is no Voidspren. Or if it is, it's not one any Elsecaller has seen or heard of. Describe this new Form to me."
"Not much outward change I could see, but I didn't have time to strip his armor for a thorough examination. The edges of his brow plates were sharper, more jagged, and there were black veins in his eyes. He could call lightning, like the legends of Stormform, but seemed to be able to direct it more accurately," Wrex said. The Elsecaller's frown deepened.
"Worrying. Very worrying," he said when Wrex had finished. "If this Saren has found something like the Listener Gods, he's a danger to every Krogan. And still you refuse your role!" he exclaimed, pounding the table with both fists.
"I'm just a mercenary, Arek," Wrex snapped. "I tried to be something more, and you know how that turned out!"
"One failure and you give up? Bah! You should know better than that! Journey before Destination, you fool!"
Wrex sighed. "I'm not the right Krogan for the job. Even the Rider can make mistakes. Find someone else to be your storming unifier!" he snarled, chair scraping against the floor as he stood up and stomped away from the table.
"This isn't over!" Arek called after him.
It wasn't long before a call from Garrus interrupted her conversation with Udina.
"Vakarian? Something up?" she asked, answering the call.
"Might be," he said. "I stopped to say hi to Doctor Michel, and someone was blackmailing her for medical supplies. I managed to get a name from a krogan who was working as a middleman. Someone called Armistan Banes. Michel said she worked with him once, and that last she heard, he was doing some work for the Alliance. I thought maybe you might've heard the name somewhere?"
"Can't say that I have," Vin replied. When she looked back to Udina, he was already frowning.
"I have. He was involved with some sort of black ops work. Anderson would know more. But I don't see how he could be blackmailing anyone, seeing as he's dead."
"You sure he's dead? Could he have faked it?" Vakarian asked over the phone.
"It's possible, I suppose. That team of Admiral Kahoku's that disappeared, the one you said you'd investigate? They're the ones who found Banes's body."
Vin sucked in a breath through her teeth. "That's one hell of a coincidence," she said.
"My thoughts exactly," Udina replied, typing out a pair of messages and sending them off. "Vakarian, bring the doctor here, please. I think we're going to need to talk to Kahoku and Anderson about this."
It took about thirty minutes for Anderson, Kahoku, Garrus, and Dr. Michel to get to Udina's office. Once they were all there, Garrus explained how he'd gotten Banes's name in the first place, and Dr. Michel told them how she'd met Banes. When they were done, everyone in the room was frowning.
"Kahoku, how sure are you that the body your men found was Banes?" Udina asked.
"Less sure than I was when they first reported it," he said. "The body was badly damaged. We had to run DNA and dental to make a positive identification, and that was when all the red flags came up in the system."
"Given the kind of work Banes was involved in, he could have falsified his records in the system so that they matched whatever body he used to fake his death," Anderson said. "I've seen some of the files on what we had him doing. It was dirty stuff. Shepard, I'll get you whatever intel I can on Banes and what he was involved in, if you're still planning on finding Kahoku's team."
Vin raised an eyebrow. "If? Sir, I remember another team of marines that went out of contact like this. I'm not letting that happen to anyone else, not if I can help it," Vin said, her eyes blazing fiercely. A grimace flickered across Udina's face at Vin's words, but Anderson simply nodded.
"Good luck, soldier. I have a feeling you're going to need it."
Unfortunately, they couldn't just take off right away, even with the urgency of their mission. It took almost a day for the Alliance to deliver a new Mako to the Normandy, and another couple hours past that for Dr. T'Soni to finally return to the ship, laden down with OSDs and even a few paper notebooks. All in all, the Normandy spent almost a day and a half on the Citadel. By the time they finally cast off, Vin had gotten so tired of waiting that she'd told Pressley to handle things, and went to go take a nap and store some wakefulness. In truth, she didn't really need to store any more of that particular attribute, but it had been a while since she'd gotten any actual sleep. Being unconscious for most of the trip from Elendel Prime to the Citadel didn't count, after all.
Vin finally woke up around the middle of the night.
She found Wrex and Tali in the mess hall, in the middle of a conversation.
"—you've never been there?" Tali was asking, her voice full of disappointment.
"You're asking the wrong Krogan. If my grandfather was still alive, he might have been able to tell you a story or two. I remember him mentioning that he'd been to Rannoch once or twice, but he never talked about it in detail," Wrex said.
"And you didn't ask?" Tali said, sounding faintly indignant. Wrex snorted.
"I had other things on my mind at the time. Quarian history didn't really hold my interest," he replied, nodding at Shepard as she stepped out of the doorway and pulled up a chair.
"Hello Commander," Tali said, taking a sip through the straw that went from her cup into her helmet. Vin raised an eyebrow at that.
"Iced coffee," Tali explained, "or the dextro equivalent, anyway." Vin made a face.
"Iced?"
"Have you ever tried drinking something hot through a straw?" Tali asked. Vin shook her head. "I tried once, and had a burn on my tongue for a week." She turned back to Wrex. "What was your grandfather like?"
Wrex chuckled. "Tough, mean son of a bitch. He was near two-thousand when he died, as far as I know."
Shepard whistled, impressed. "I thought that if a Krogan got that old, they were pretty much unkillable. How'd he die?"
"We're tough, but hardly unkillable, Shepard," Wrex said, "We can die same as anyone else. It just takes a bit more work. Grandfather…he died because he chose to. Said it was his time, and walked out into the heart of a Highstorm."
"What's a Highstorm?" Tali asked.
"Tuchanka has massive storms that blow across the world from east to west. Everything on Tuchanka's been shaped by them, life adapting to survive the storms. Plants lay down or retreat into burrows during them. Krogan and other animals evolved our shells, our armor, so that we could weather the storms."
"Just rain? That doesn't sound so bad," Tali said, and Wrex let out a harsh laugh.
"Rain, lightning, and winds that can pick up boulders the size of the Mako and toss them around like a child's ball. Even Krogan don't go out in a Highstorm without a reason."
"Like dying," Vin said.
"Like becoming one with it," Wrex replied. "The storms are Invested. Some Krogan believe that the Storms come from the Origin, the source of all power on Tuchanka, and return there when they've passed around the world. They believe that those who die in a Highstorm will have their souls carried back, that they'll rejoin the Origin to be reborn."
"And how's that belief square with the whole Genophage business?" Garrus asked, taking a seat next to Tali. Wrex's eyes narrowed, and he gave Garrus a sneer.
"Beliefs on that differ," he replied, "but the most popular is that the Genophage created a dam, one that prevents rebirth. They believe that if enough Krogan return to the Storms, we will break down the dam and surge forth through the galaxy like a great flood."
"And you?" Vin asked, "what do you believe?"
"That Krogan need to stop think about how they should die, and focus on life. It's not right, this twisted mix of Honor and Hate that most Krogan are content to submerge themselves in. "
With that, Wrex stood up from the table and stomped toward the elevator, muttering under his breath in an odd, rhythmic way. Vin turned to Garrus, glaring at him.
"Real tactful, Vakarian. Remind him of how your people have practically committed genocide," Vin snapped. Garrus at least had the decency to look a little sheepish, but Vin had a feeling she'd need to have a talk with him later. She headed off after Wrex, taking the ladder between decks rather than waiting for the lift to return.
Wrex had settled into his usual spot, leaning against the wall in a corner of the cargo bay as he read through something on his Omnitool.
"Wrex, I—," Vin started to say, but he waved a hand.
"Save it. You're not the one that needs to apologize. And you don't need to tiptoe around the subject. The Salarians made the genophage, the Turians deployed it, and now my people are dying out. Everyone knows it," Wrex said.
"He still should've had more tact than that," Vin replied. "I'll talk to him about it later." She turned to leave, but Wrex held up a hand.
"Hang on a sec, Shepard. You asking about my Grandfather got me thinking."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Back when the turians put down the Krogan Rebellions, they took a lot of stuff from us, as part of the disarmament. Some of it got destroyed, some ended up in museums, or in private collections."
"And there's something that used to belong to your Grandfather out there?" Vin asked. Wrex nodded, turning his Omni to show her an image of a set of Krogan armor. There was something different about it, but the image wasn't large enough for her to figure out what.
"This armor was passed down through Clan Urdnot for generations. And I've finally managed to track it down," he said. "A turian named Tonn Actus has it. The bastard's got his own collection of artifacts from all over the galaxy, especially Krogan relics. That bigoted cremling thinks we're little more than animals."
"Well, if we go charging in after him, that's not going to do anything to change his mind," Vin said. Wrex growled, deep in his throat, the strange humming he'd been doing changing its tone.
"I don't give a damn what he thinks, Shepard. He's a pirate and a thief. I'll send you the coordinates for his base, as long as you promise me that you'll leave him for me to deal with personally.
"Pirate?" Vin asked. Wrex chuckled.
"Yeah, He's got a lot of men working for him, and he has some sort of partnership going with some Batarian slavers."
"You really could've led with that, you know," Vin said, clenching her fists. "After we've dealt with this thing for Admiral Kahoku, I'll take a look at whatever info you've got on Actus."
Wrex gave her a nod. "Thanks Shepard. I appreciate it." Vin returned the nod as she walked away, wandering over to the weapons bench and Ashley. Absentmindedly, Shepard reached up to brush a lock of hair out of her face. Williams turned at the sound of her footsteps.
"Oh, Commander. There was something I've been meaning to talk to you about," she said.
"What's up, Williams?"
"It's just, well…do you really think it's a good idea to be allowing all these aliens unrestricted access to the Normandy?" She asked, lowering her voice. "I mean, krogan and turians?"
Vin pressed her lips together, her mouth forming a thin line. "Williams, have you ever interacted with aliens before you joined the Normandy's crew? Like, had a conversation with one?" Vin asked. Ashley looked away, and Vin sighed. "I kinda figured that. Look, they may not be Alliance, but they're still our allies. At least when it comes to Saren."
Williams shook her head. "I'm not saying they aren't. I just don't think we should give them free reign to poke around everything. The Normandy's the most advanced ship we've got."
"A ship that was developed by working with turians," Vin reminded her. "And we need to learn to work together with other species, if we want to stand on the galactic stage."
"I'm not saying we should turn down allies, Commander," Williams said, "I just don't think we should count on them staying allies. The Council members seem noble, sure, but if their backs are to the wall then they'll favor their own people over us. That's just the way it is."
Vin kept her expression carefully neutral. "You feel pretty strongly about this, chief."
"My family's served in the Alliance since it was founded. I guess we just tend to think of Scadrial's interests as our own. My father, grandfather, and great-grandmother all picked up a rifle and swore the oath of service."
"I can understand that. But I'm surprised you haven't had any interaction with aliens before now. I took a look at your history; your record's spotless, and your technical scores are some of the best I've seen. You really should have been serving with the fleet."
"Yeah, well, things just haven't worked out that way, I guess," Williams replied, looking away again. "What about you? I'm…I'm honestly surprised you're so trusting, after what happened on Mindoir."
Vin frowned at the change of subject. Ashley didn't want to talk about her military history, which meant that there was almost certainly something there. But there'd be other opportunities to dig deeper.
"Surprised I'm not a xenophobe, you mean?"
"No! I just meant that, well, you seem awfully willing to give aliens the benefit of the doubt. I've met others who survived attacks by batarian slavers, and they had a ton of baggage."
"Believe me, chief, I've got my share of baggage from my past. But my parents always taught me to be accepting, and to give people a chance. For a while, I wanted to go into the diplomatic corps. Even though I ended up in the military, I still want to understand people," Vin sighed. "Look, I can understand where your concerns are coming from, Ashley, but this is a multilateral mission. Like it or not, you're gonna have to work with aliens."
"Won't be a problem, Commander. You tell me to jump, I'll ask how high? You tell me to kiss a turian, I'll ask which cheek."
Vin raised an eyebrow, and resolutely ignored the part of her that wanted to ask who else Williams would be willing to kiss. "I don't think that'll be necessary."
"You never know, Commander," Ashley said with a small smile.
"Dismissed, chief."
Shepard was halfway to the lift when Joker's voice came over the intercom. "Hey, commander, we're about twenty minutes out from our destination."
"Understood," she said, tapping into the comm system herself. "Vakarian, Alenko, get down to the shuttle bay and get kitted out. We've got some marines to find." Vin switched off the intercom, and turned towards Wrex. "You too, Wrex!"
When the Mako reached the top of the hill, Vin could finally see where Kahoku's marines last communication had come from.
It wasn't pretty.
Unease growing in the pit of her stomach, she drove the Mako down and parked it next to the wreckage of the Alliance vehicles.
"Stay alert," she instructed as she climbed out, "something's not right here."
"Roger that, Commander," Alenko replied, already scanning everything with his omni. Vin looked over the scene, trying to piece together what could've happened damage the sturdy vehicles.
"These transports were torn open," Wrex said. "Not many things out there powerful enough to do that."
"Anyone see any bodies?" Vin asked, checking the metal lines around her for movement. Apart from the ones pointing to Wrex, Alenko, and Vakarian, there was nothing.
"Nothing yet," Garrus replied. "Lots of burns, though."
"Burns?" Vin asked, the hairs of the back of her neck standing up.
"Yeah, looks like some kind of acid," Alenko said.
"RUN!" Vin shouted, "Back to the Mako, now!" But even as the words left her mouth, she realized it was too late. The ground between them and the Mako churned.
The Thresher Maw burst into the open air, and its screech sent Vin crashing back.
Back into her memories.
Back to Akuze.
"Normandy, we need evac!" Kaidan shouted into his radio. "Joker, do you read?"
There was no response.
"Joker? Anyone?"
"No use," Garrus said. "There's something interfering with our communications."
"Shepard? Commander, are you alright?" Alenko asked, waving his hand in front of her helmet's visor. She'd crouched down behind one of the pieces of the vehicles that had been here, but now she didn't seem to be aware of her surroundings. Behind the visor, Vin Shepard's eyes were wide and unfocused. With a sinking feeling, Kaidan checked her vitals. The readout confirmed his fear.
Shepard's heart rate and breathing were both spiking, and despite the way her eyes were flicking this way and that, she didn't seem to be noticing anything around her.
"Shit," Kaidan breathed, "I think she's having a panic attack.
The maw roared again, twisting this way and that as though searching for something.
"Garrus, you said something was blocking our communications?" Kaidan asked, an idea forming in his mind.
"Yeah. Our helmet radios should be fine, but we can't contact the Normandy."
"Could it be something to draw the Thresher Maw here? Some sort of beacon?" Garrus nodded.
"I'll see if I can find it and shut it down…Wrex, where are you going?" Vakarian asked as the krogan strode out from behind cover, heading for the thresher maw.
"I'll deal with the maw. You find the blocker!" he shouted, biotics flickering to life around him.
Wrex attuned the Rhythm of Resolve as he walked, his biotics flickering and pulsing in time with it. He breathed deep, inhaling the aroma of the battlefield. Acid, burning metal, and the thresher maw's reek.
With a thrust of his hand, Wrex flung a Warp at the thresher, the shifting biotic energies ripping at its thick flesh. It screeched, vomiting another glob of acid at him. Another bit of mental effort, and a barrier manifested before him, the acid splashing against it with a hiss. Wrex dodged to the side and let the barrier drop, taking cover behind the remnants of a marine shuttle.
"Vakarian, any luck? This thing's definitely not acting normal." Wrex asked.
"Maybe. I need more time to narrow it down though."
"Damnation. This thing's going into a frenzy. We don't have that kind of time. We'll have to take it out ourselves," Wrex said. Garrus stared at him, mandibles flaring.
"Are you insane? The Mako's too damaged for us to use its weapons. You seriously think you can bring down a thresher maw on foot?"
Wrex swore under his breath. "Not my first choice, but we don't have a lot of options, do we?" he said, poking his head out from behind the ruined vehicle to see where the creature had gone. It was nowhere to be found. Wrex swore again. Thresher maws were nearly impossible to detect when they were underground. It could be right under him, for all he knew.
"How many grenades do you have, Vakarian?" Wrex asked. Garrus chuckled.
"Three. Alenko has two, and so does Shepard." Wrex shook his head.
"Won't be enough, not unless we can get them to all go off at the exact same spot."
"You sure?" Alenko asked, speaking for the first time since he'd started attending to Shepard.
"Of course I'm sure! This isn't the first thresher maw I've fought on foot."
"Then how'd you kill that one?" Garrus asked, sounding genuinely curious.
"Bigger guns," Wrex said. His eyes went wide as he felt the ground begin to rumble. "Storms! Vakarian, do something about the jammer and do it fast, that's an order!" He shouted, bursting into motion with a Charge that hurled him away moments before the maw surfaced.
Garrus's fingers flew across his omnitool, trying yet another scan. He'd already tried to find the jammer almost every way he knew how.
If this one doesn't work, he thought, I'll have to go over every inch of this place with a damn crystal radio, checking for interference.
The omni beeped, and a signal appeared on the screen. On the other side of the ruined Mako, Garrus could hear gunfire and screeching as Wrex did his best to damage the beast. But it wasn't enough.
"Wrex, I found the signal! I'm about to shut it down!" Garrus said.
"Wait!" the krogan replied, "Don't shut it off. Boost it!"
"Are you insane? It's already put the maw into a frenzy!"
"Just do it!"
"Crazy-ass krogan!" Garrus muttered, but he tapped the omni and set the device into overdrive.
Wrex watched the thresher maw stiffen, and then begin to flail, its mouth open in an agonized scream.
Certain sounds hurt maws, drove them into a blind frenzy. But if you intensified the sound enough, the pain would become paralyzing. For a little while, anyway.
Long enough for Wrex to deal with it. He took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry, old friend," he murmured, closing his eyes and attuning the Rhythm of Mourning. "I swore I wouldn't use you again. Guess that's another vow I've broken."
Urdnot Wrex held out his hand and counted the heartbeats.
Garrus peered out from behind the Mako, watching the maw writhe in agony. And watching Wrex just stand there.
"Spirits, what is he doing?" Garrus muttered.
A moment later, he got his answer.
A sword materialized in Wrex's outstretched hand, condensation beading along the edge. The sword was massive, nearly as tall as Wrex himself, and made of a shimmering silvery metal. The blade didn't have a point, but rather a large hook-like spike at the end.
Garrus's jaw dropped open. He knew what the weapon was, of course. Every turian who'd had any sort of formal education could recognize a Shardblade. He also knew that Wrex shouldn't have had one. After the Krogan Rebellions had been quelled, the Hierarchy had gone to great lengths to track down and confiscate every last one of the weapons.
And for good reason.
With a roar, Wrex charged at the thresher maw, just as it began to shake off the paralysis. It was too late to do the beast any good. Wrex's blade passed through the maw's flesh like it wasn't even there, the blade's outline fuzzing slightly as it did. Where it passed, the flesh went grey and lifeless, and the creature screamed in pain.
Wrex struck again, this time slicing through one of the thresher's scythe-like front limbs. The appendage went grey and limp, and Wrex kept going, hacking away at the thresher maw as it howled.
Finally, one of Wrex's blows sliced through the spine, and the thresher maw slumped over, smoke trailing from its head as its eyes blackened and burned in their sockets. Wrex stepped back from the corpse, barely looking at the thing that should've taken heavy artillery to bring down. Instead, his gaze was fixed on the blade in his hands.
"—ello? Commander? Does anyone read?" a voice cut through Garrus's awe, as the jamming finally ended.
"We read you, Normandy," Alenko answered. "We're going to need an evac…and another Mako."
Chakwas looked over the results of the scan.
"Physically, you're fine," she told Vin, "But emotionally and mentally is another matter entirely."
"Thanks, doctor obvious," Vin said. Chakwas 'tsk'-ed at her.
"None of that, Shepard. You need to take this seriously."
"I am taking it seriously!" Vin snapped. "Excuse me for being a little off-kilter about being reminded of fucking Akuze. Or am I supposed to just shrug off a damn PTSD flashback?" she asked, voice rising until she was close to shouting.
"Shepard, that's not what I'm saying," Chakwas said. Vin sighed.
"I know, Doc."
"You should probably get in touch with your therapist, Shepard," Chakwas said, brushing off Vin's outburst as though it'd never happened. Vin nodded. "And you're not in danger of running out of your anti-anxiety medication?" Vin shook her head. "Then it appears we're done here. Just get some rest, Shepard, before you go charging into any more dangerous situations."
"I'll just call Saren and the geth, and see if they'll give us a breather, then?" Vin asked as she stood.
In her quarters, Vin typed up a quick message for Udina, Anderson, and Kahoku and sent it off with the highest priority flags she was allowed to use. And once that was done, she collapsed onto her bed, her entire body shaking. Without a conscious decision, her right hand went to her left shoulder, tracing the designs through her clothes.
Forty-nine names etched into her skin and her memory.
"Jameson, Aris, Layne, Toombs…" Vin murmured, reciting the names like a litany as she ran her fingers over them. She didn't even need to see them anymore. She'd done this so often that she could repeat them in order from memory.
Vin was on her fifth repetition when someone knocked on the door, bringing her back to the here and now.
"Who's there?"
"It's me, Commander," T'Soni's voice replied. "May I come in?"
"Sure," Vin said, "door's unlocked."
The door hissed open and Liara stepped in, the door closing behind her a second later.
"So what's up, T'Soni? Found anything on this Conduit?"
"Perhaps. I'll need to double check some of my translations. Actually, I wanted to ask you about the Beacon," she said hopefully.
"The Beacon?" Vin frowned. "Not sure how much I can tell you. It was big, it glowed, it lifted me up and hit my brain with something that knocked me out for about a day and gave me weird dreams."
"Yes, but what were the dreams about?" Liara asked eagerly, leaning closer to her.
"Battle. War. It was all too chaotic for me to get anything concrete. There were machines of some sort, things that didn't look like anything I've ever seen or heard of…" Vin said, then paused as another memory surfaced. "Wait, there was one other thing; a sound."
"Speech?" Liara asked, her eyes widening, "Did you actually hear a Prothean speak?"
"No, nothing like that. It was a horn, like a massive foghorn or something, so huge that it made the ground shake. I could feel it too, feel the vibrations in my bones."
Liara's shoulders slumped. "That's it?"
"Sorry," Vin said.
"No, no, it's alright," she replied. "But I might have a way to help you get another look at whatever was in the Beacon…how much do you know about Asari physiology?"
"Not much," Vin admitted, "I was always more interested in history and politics, to be honest. I mean, I know about the whole monogendered thing, but that's it."
"Yes, well…Asari reproduction is rather different from that of other species. We can mate with any sentient species and reproduce, but there is no…physical act of fertilization," Liara explained, her cheeks darkening slightly. "Instead, it is a form of parthenogenesis, where the 'mother' uses genetic data from the 'father' to randomize the offspring's genetic code."
"Oh…kaaay," Vin said, completely at a loss for where T'Soni was going with this. "But what does that have to do with the Beacon?"
"Part of the mating process is known as 'melding'. During this, an Asari attunes herself to her partner. At first, it was believed that we simply linked nervous systems, but the truth is that melding briefly merges an Asari's Cognitive aspect with that of her partner. This allows us, if done properly, to share information and memories."
Vin's eyebrows shot up. "And you think you could use this melding to see whatever the Beacon left in my head?"
"Yes!"
"Great!" Vin exclaimed, then paused as a thought occurred to her. "Wait, you said this was part of how Asari reproduce. You don't…"
"No! No no no!" Liara said, waving her hands frantically in front of her face as she flushed even darker. "Melding is a part of our reproductive process, but it's also a completely distinct act."
"Oh, good," Vin said, her own face heating up. "What do you need me to do?"
Liara pulled her chair closer to the edge of the bed.
"Simply relax," Liara said, leaning forward and placing her hands on the sides of Vin's head, her thumbs on Vin's temples. Liara took a deep breath, her eyes drifting shut for a moment. When she reopened them, they were black from corner to corner. "Now, empty your mind…and embrace eternity!"